Stitching Progress

I made a bit of stitching progress this week, stitching in the car while my children had dance and music lessons.

First up is a finish from the CHS 'Mr. and Mrs. Abbot' chart.

 Then there was some work done on 'The Cottage Girl.'

And finally a new start: 'Dutch Alphabet' by Sheepish Designs.

This is a design I looked for FOR YEARS! I searched and searched until it finally came up on e$ay at a reasonable price. Have you ever noticed on e$ay that you search for years for a hard to find chart (usually a Sheepish Designs, Birds of a Feather, or Goode Huswife ) and then suddenly e$ay is inundated with the designer's charts? I wonder how often the people selling a chart for $99 actually make a sale?

I am toying with the idea of spending the day alternating between completing an alphabet/crown motif and doing a chore around the house. I'll keep considering my options while I finish my coffee. ;)

Wednesday the tornado sirens were going off, and today big, fluffy flakes are falling from the sky! That means it is almost spring in North Georgia! I may dig out Tanya the Sampler Girl's "Snow Day" chart for some afternoon stitching. I actually finished this Mary Beale piece this morning while listening to Mansfield Park on librivox.org.  

 I have been listening to it for several days, so it is no surprise that I chose 'Mr. and Mrs. Abbott and Daughters' by Carriage House Samplings as my reward for a finish. This looks like a perfect addition to any Jane Austen-themed stitching collection.  

 I am really enjoying Mansfield more this time than any other time I have read it. Jerry and I also have been watching an old 'Barchester Towers' mini-series. All my frustration with the two novels The Warden and Barchester Towers is coming back! Jane Austen novels are about the only ones I can read and not get frustrated. The good guys are lovable, and the and guys are too ridiculous to get upset about! I am still working away on 'Pennsylvania Bird.'




This morning I sketched in my initials, and now I need to work on a 2013. Then it will just be "filling in." Buttercup and Hektor are anxious to get out into the snow! I was only tempted out to take a 10-second video, and will be parking myself in my stitching corner with a coffee for the foreseeable future! 

First Finish

I was hoping this would be my last finish of 2011, but it turned out to be my first finish of 2012! I finished "Stitcher's Prayer" by Barrick Samplers/CHS last night while watching more of Agatha Christie's Tommy and Tuppence on Netflix. This is the year I get serious about blocking and framing. Yep. This. is. the. year. As opposed to all those other years I said it - this is the year. I think this piece will be a good piece to start with: it is not that much bigger than the pinkeeps I have made, and there is no finger nail polish spillage to try and hide.

Now to get going with my rotation! To start, I have included several WIP's and one BAP (or Big Hinney Project, if you prefer) that I committed to at Becky's Stitching Hive. I plan on adding pieces after each cycle. I also plan on taking a few Prairie Schooler and BBD smalls to work on in the car. We'll see won't we, but I am happy with the start I have made!

On the Third Day of Christmas...

I know today is the 4th day of Christmas, but yesterday, on the 3rd day, I went to a LNS!!!! I told myself I was only there to buy fibers and fabric, and that's what I did. It was difficult, but it helped that 1. I had purchased a rather large pattern of the Bridget Power Sampler that morning (here's a link to a great photo http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2597435540085030495BtHxGk), and 2. as I looked around the shop at all the stock in the store, I began thinking my stash was... well let's just say competitive.

So I settled on 4 patterns to "kit up." My husband had taken the girls with him to spend his REI gift cards. Boy, did he regret that! While I waited for him to try on every pair of 5-finger shoes in the area (with negative comments from his children), I sat down with the lady at the shop and stitched. I started "Dear Friend," a Reward of Merit by Blackbird Designs. I had to pick out every stinkin' stitch because, apparently, I cannot count! When I returned home, I started "Stitcher's Prayer" by Barrick Samplers. I have been wanting to stitch this for ages, but I couldn't find colors I liked for the flowers. Now, I'm a DMC girl, and I planned on using the DMC conversion, but 522 and 524? Sea foam flowers? I don't think so. But 931 & family weren't right; neither were 926 & family. So I told the lady at The Stitch Store, "I need heeeeellllpppp!" We pawed through and rejected the called-for Needlepoint Silk, then WDW, Gentle Arts, Caron, and Crescent Colors, and FINALLY I settled on Needlepoint Silk Williamsburg Blue 323 and Jade 522. I am willing myself not to fall in love with NPS!! ;)
Hector, my little Cookies and Cream, says hello. Why do I have a Coleman sleeping bag on the couch? Who knows?

I will leave you with a few of the pictures I have taken during Christmas. Now to get back to "Stitcher's Prayer!"

Cross Stitch Finishes

It is amazing that I found some stitching time this past week! I finished "The Mermaid" by CHS. I changed 'Margaret Mailey' to 'Margaret Mary' just because. I thought I was stitching it for Nutmeg's bathroom, but now I am not so sure. LOL!

I have been attracted to Darlene O'Steen patterns for years, and have collected several. Her small designs are incredibly complex! She always includes stitches I have never dreamed of! This is the first time I have done queen stitches with two colors per stitch! I left out some of the satin stitch on the blue backstitch band. No matter how many times I tried it, it just looked messy.

I have mentioned before that I spent (and still do spend) hours poring over my mom's old cross stitch magazines from the eighties and early nineties. I am still amazed that in so many issues, among the patterns for geese with ribbons, geese with laundry baskets, geese starting the first day of school, and geese baking pies, I occasionally find a truly timeless design such as one by Darlene O'Steen or this design by Kandace Thomas. I can't wait to start it although I don't know what the last word of the second line says. I assume it is "was," but that is not exactly what the chart says.
My mom also gave me another "vintage" design this weekend. I would like to start it also.

A special thank you to my stitching friends for being patient and understanding about my homeschool post last Friday. I will only post them on Fridays, and the title will always be "Weekly Report. Feel free to skip if that is not your cup of tea! :)

Progress and Giveaway Link

Why did I choose a design with so much stinkin' blackwork? I hate the backstitch family, but I keep being seduced by blackwork! Argh! Nutmeg calls this "the one with naked people with sprouts growing out of their bodies."

Here is my former progress on 'The Mermaid Sampler' by CHS. I don't remember when I started this or why I stopped, but I plan to finish it during an upcoming beach trip.

I planned to hang it in Nutmeg's bathroom. She seems to want an ocean theme, but I would like to gently steer her away from her dolphin shower curtain toward a more vintage feel. I must tread very carefully here! Yesterday, she turned her nose up at this design, and said she much preferred Prairie Schooler's 'M is for Mermaid." Well, that shows excellent taste, but I don't have that fabric on hand!

Shenandoah Sampler is having a giveaway on her blog - check it out! :)

Monday

I finished up 'Scottish Alexandria' a few days ago. I have been making myself work on 'Adam Alone' by Sheepish Designs. I love it, but I have done the easy bits, and now only the hard bits are left.

As a special treat for stitching Adam's one-over-one, I started 'Canterbury Tapestry' by Barrick/Carriage House Samplings. It is teeny-tiny on 40 count!

I don't know how much stitching time I will have this week - Tuesday is the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Wednesday is the Ash Wednesday service, and Thursday is a homeschool outing to a ballet performance. In between, I will be cleaning, teaching, taxi-ing, and planning lessons and Lenten meals. I'm tired just thinking about that! I think I need a cup of tea and just one more pre-Lent butterscotch blondie!

Taking a popsicle break

I have been very sick this week. It is not the flu, but it is pretty crummy nonetheless. And it is requiring a lot of popsicles.

Today I started a Mary Beale ornament, "Mary was espoused to Joseph." I have never been much of a snowman or santa Christmas stitcher. I usually prefer a religious or nature theme. Although I am beginning to like some of the Mary Beale repeated patterns too.

The ornament below was intense! There are a lot of stitches in that little ornament! I love bargello-style designs, and I can never resist Carriage House Samplings. If you remember this ornament from 2005, you know it was charted to say "Dec. 1804." In my sinus infection-induced fog this morning, I thought I would just freehand "Christmas" and see how it fit. I still cannot believe it fit perfectly - and on the first try!

Jerry has run to pick up pizza and calzones since I don't need to do any food prep! Pizza, stitching, "A Touch of Frost," (a mystery series) antibiotics, and then BED!

I have enjoyed looking through all the pictures with your Christmas decorating. I thought I would show you how much I have done this year. Hmmmm...I don't think this picture will win me any awards.... ;)

Today

How was that for a snappy title? Really, it should have been titled "This Minute," because that is as far ahead as I can think. If I thought any further ahead, I would be confronted with the facts that today at 5 I have a long-overdue eye exam, at 6 the girls need to be at my cousin's wedding rehearsal, at 7 we are invited to the rehearsal dinner, tomorrow is the wedding, and on Sunday my in-laws are coming to stay for several days. Other facts: my house is a mess, my yard is scary, Nutmeg has not finished her math, and Buttercup has been in a MOOD ever since she woke up, and right now they are fighting over which one gets to use the bathroom first, because of course they want to use the same one. So, rather than deal with these daunting realities, I have choosen to dust off my camera and blog.

I have finally finished something - CHS Be My Love! I also started another mermaid design my CHS. I am again fascinated by the color combination!

None of my friends in-real-life read my blog, so I am going to post a piece I am stitching for a friend. She and her family are taking Colonial America trip. Yesterday, I saw my "Williamsburg Lady," and I thought it would be perfect! I do not know if it is her style, or if she will even want it. So I plan on giving it to her for Christmas - like next week. If she does not want it, she will be getting another cookbook for Christmas! I have shifted and added and otherwise adjusted the design. In place of the alphabet, I have stitched "Williamsburg" and "Jamestown" across the top. I plan on stitching "Yorktown" down the right-hand side. I changed the colors to DMC, because stitching with silk stresses me. I think I may add a dog/cat/rabbit on the right side of the lady, and perhaps a little something under the bird.

Hmmmm....I always get my best stitching/cooking/crafting ideas when some unrelated deadline is approaching!

Come Live With Me...

I started "Come Live With Me and Be My Love" by Carriage House Samplings. Did I all ready tell you all that? My head is still not on straight! We went on a whirlwind trip to Louisiana to visit Louisiana Man's great aunt who was recently diagnosed with inoperable thyroid cancer. She is 92 and sharp as a tack, as they say. It was good to visit with her, but also very sad. We drove down on Monday, visited on Tuesday, and drove back on Wednesday. No, we did not have any seafood. We ate at an Indian restaurant twice though.

I did not get any stitching done on the trip, nor did I (read: "nor was I allowed to") find any stitching stores. Ah, well.

I am stitching this piece with good old DMC, and I really like the colors. It must be that "born-in-the-70s" syndrome flaring up again! The colors are calming, like the fleeting promise of fall in the air here today.

Carriage House Samplings Obsession

I was so sorry to hear that CHS is going to close its doors. As soon as I read that, I went through my stash (I mean, "our" stash, Mom) looking for CHS designs that I have not yet stitched. I get obsessed with one designer at a time and decide that they are the greatest artists in the whole world and I am going to stitch their entire line and nothing else! I usually get through a design or two and then rediscover another favorite genius!

I finished the creepy purple gal pictured above. I like her in a weird way. I look at her like I make myself look at writing spiders. Then I shudder and move away.

Yesterday I started "Point the Way to Heaven." I like the orange and green. Maybe it reminds me of my 1970s nursery. I need to find a picture and post it. It was yellow and orange with mushrooms. Maybe that is why I like to stitch oranges, greens and all the different browns!

Creepy Purple Skin

So last night, I started "Sirens of the Sea" by Carriage House Samplings. I got a little freaked out as I stitched this lady's skin! EWWWW! Maybe I have watched too many LOST episodes lately!