Planning a Busy October

Lots going on this month.....I hope I get my stitiching fixes!

Two sets of company and the trip back to California.  I have a tendency to plan, replan and overplan before I even start packing things up and getting the house ready to leave.  It makes me a little sad to leave the bend, but after a day or two on the road I will be looking forward to getting to the West Coast for the winter.  We have alot of plans for the months that we are there so the time should go by rapidly.

WIPS

Books Reading Books, Heaven and Earth Designs

The never-ending wip.  Making progress, but it is slow.  About 500 stitches left on this page.

Bee Keeper, Plum Street Samplers

Enjoying this in spite of the awful fabric.  I did her face 1 over 1 and it makes her look like she has a big long nose.  I am not sure I will re-do it.

O Canada, Jeanette Douglas

I have still not received the thread I need to finish this.  It is kind of depressing.  I am going to look for a replacement I think.  I have ordered it from two places (ABC Stitch Therapy and Stitching Bit and Bobs) and have heard nothing so I broke down and ordered it from Canada and they are waiting for it to come from the supplier.  Grrrrr.  This may not be completed by Christmas after all.

Hatching Christmas Cheer, Good Housekeeping

This is turning out really cute.  The fabric came in a Stitchy Box a few months back.  It is a cream color opalescent by Fabric Flair.  Lots of back stitching should help make it really pop.  It is a pretty easy stitch.

NEW STARTS

Woodland Wonder, Glendon Place

This is on 28 ct. Lugana,  a solo from Silkweaver.  It has gold flecks in it....I love this fabric.
Just barely started the border.  I am not so happy with the border snowflakes (white DMC....), but they are OK for how.

Comet, Nora Corbet

I ordered the fabric called for but did not like it, so I am doing it on 28 count Dwarf Twilight opalescent by Picture this Plus

The border of this piece is in white DMC but it is so unforgiving  I ordered pearl cotton #3 and #5 and will use that when it arrives.  Not to file:  Never do a project that has alot of white stitches on it....!  I am not sure if I will do all 8 reindeer and rudolph, but I am watching anotherh stitcher doing Santa's sleigh and it is amazing.

Home is Where You Hang Your Needlework, Homespun Elegance

I just could not resist this sampler pattern.  I had purchased a bag of silk threads Waterlilies from Caron) over a year ago and had not figured out what I could do with them, so I used them on this sampler.  I am really pleased with how it is turning out.  It is on 28 count Prairie Grain linen.  It is a little stiff, but not too bad.  I am really liking the "homespun"  rustic look of the sampler.

Months ago I ordered the Coloris set of DMC.  It finally arrived today.  I am not sure if I will do the sampler that is included but the colors are really nice.  It is odd to me that the sampler says "Sweet Home"  and not "Home Sweet Home".  Just kind of sticks out to me.

I also took advantage of the month end sale at the local quilt shop and loaded up on fat quarters for finishing.  I think I have all the fabric I could ever use for finishing!

It dawned on me that for the first time in years I do not have a Chatelaine going.  Seems odd.  Of course there is Gardens of London but I have completely lost the love for some reason.  I have several kitted and ready to go, but will try to wait until 2017 to start a new one........maybe.


I will probably not post again until we are on the road.  Depends on if I get anything accomplished.

Thank you so much for visiting.  I hope you enjoy visiting as much as I enjoy creating the blog.

Beginning our Travels and Beginning a Project

We are in San Angelo, Texas for tonight.  There is some kind of update to our RV that needs to be done and the place to do it is here.  They open at 7am so we will be up early.


I have mostly brought straight DMC projects of various sizes and subjects.  I also have prepared a couple of needlepoint projects to do while we are driving along.

Lilac Time,  Laura J. Perin Needlepoint

I got a fair start on this one today.

These are the projects I will work on during the trip.  I will post progress as it happens; this is where these are at the present time.  That way you do not have to go backwards on the blog.

Knot Garden, Chatelaine
  I would really like to finish the DMC potion of this project during this trip.  We will see.

Books Reading Books, Heaven and Earth Designs
  I would like to get a couple of pages (or perhaps just one) done during the trip.

Blue Heron, Imaginating
  I should be able to finish this if I really give it some attention.  There is very little back stitching (Hurray) and it is not a full coverage piece.

Great Blue Heron, Crossed Wing Collection
  I am not sure why I included this one.  I have barely started it.  This project is also not full coverage so who knows, maybe it will go quickly.

Starburst Flag of Canada, Cherry Lane Designs
Am doing this for my cousin we are headed to visit in Calgary, Canada.  I hope it goes quickly.  I am a little nervous about it since it is specialty stitches and I am afraid I am not going to be able to count it accurately.  I will give it a whirl, but I already feel overwhelmed by it and I have only put in a few grid lines.

Mini Mandala 05, Chatelaine
  I threw this one in at the last minute because I decided I could not go a month without doing a Chatelaine.  Am I loosing it or what.

Also taking along my Americana small projects and my Halloween small projects.  Why?  Because I have completely lost my mind!

I am sure I am being overly ambitious.  If I only took one or two projects perhaps I could actually have finishes!  Not sure why I feel compelled to take so many.

Tomorrow we are headed to Amarillo.  It always takes at least 2 days to get out of Texas ya know.  I should have some great progress on the Needlepoint project, and who knows what I will work on this evening.

Thank you for visiting.

Oh, There is some magic thing about comments and being able to contact me.  I messed with the settings (Google + and whatever else I ran across) so hopefully all will be well.  I do enjoy your comments (well, most of them anyway) so feel free and I will attempt to respond to them all.

April Almost Over Already!

It has been a whirlwind of chores since we got back.  I did have some stitching time.  The weather has been too beautiful to be inside during the day so I need to come up with an outdoor project.  It is good to be back on the bend.

Orchid Intrigue by Summer House Stitch Works

I wanted to do something with varigated threads.  I purchased a grab bag from Mo's Sale (they sell hand dyed threads) and simply have not been able to find any place to use them.  So, I used the pattern from Just Cross Stitch Magazine.  I used a 35 count linen in Watermelon and one strand of Mo's Pretty Bird.  It was an interesting stitch, and I have no clue what I will do with it.

I still want to do some other things with varigated threads, but it may be a while.

Mini Mandala IIC, Chatelaine

I framed the second of the set of three Mandalas

Mini Mandala IIB

I used the wrong thread for the algerian eyelets in the center, but I am not sure I am going to re-do them at this point.  They would be the dark green color and for some reason I had a brain face and used the variegated silk.

Books Reading Books, Heaven and Earth Designs

Also finished the second "row" of pages on Books Reading Books.  It is coming along and I am doing a version of parking that is making it a little bit easier.  I am working in columns by color and it seems to be helping.  I am just a little under half way done.  It amazes me how it looks when I step back from it.

That will about wrap up this month.  I am looking forward to some new starts for May.  I am kind of in a rut, but I do want to get some of these older projects finished this year.  One can always hope!

Thanks for visiting.

Mid March

It has been a busy and interesting few weeks.  Rocking along on all these WIPS.  But no finishes this month so far.  Trying to do some serious organization before I have to pack up and head East in about a month.

I am sure it is my imagination, but there have been a plethora of little annoying things happening in the past few days.  Makes me stressed and ill tempered.  Nothing major,  just those minor things that get on my nerves and distract me from what I want to accomplish.


17th Century Irish Garden, Liz Taylor Deihl

 I have determined that the Madeira Threads that are with the Irish Garden will have to be put on bobbins as I pull out one strand.  I am not sure I like the Madeira threads as much as I like DMC.  They seem alot "thinner" and prone to tangling and shredding.  So far this project is coming along nicely.  The chart is different in several ways but it is not bad once I get the hang of it.  The instructions are not as clear as I like but it is testing my brain power!  Lots of fractional stitches and back stitching so far but not enough to make it a pain to stitch.  I think the cats are really cute.  There is a story about them that I will put with the finished project.

Books Reading Books, HAED

Still working on the same page.  Try as I might I simply cannot figure out the parking method.  I am going to try once again on the next page.  I would like to at least do the page in some kind of systematic order rather than scattering all over the place.  It makes the tiny holds of the 18 count Aida harder to count than it needs to be.  I really want to figure out a better system as I have many pages to go to complete this project.

Lavender Fields, John Clayton

I find this a little boring as I thought I might.  I am just about 2/3 of the way done and would like  to finish it this month.

Gardens of London, Chatelaine

I finally got the top part of the buildings done.  Now moving on to the left side......more buildings.  Here again, perhaps being able to park my threads would be helpful.   I put it on a different size Qsnap and have not decided if I will try a large scroll frame again until I get to Texas.

Grace Needlepoint Project, Dimensions

Had to do some riding in the car last week so I got a little more accomplished on this project.

I also ordered a new kind of frame.  I am trying to find an easier way to work on the large Chatelaine designs I have kitted and ready to go.  While I like the Q Snaps I dislike moving them around and I do not like the way the excess fabric as to be wadded up.  In particular, because I know I will not be able to launder the chatelaine design projects I am concerned about constantly messing with the stitched areas.  I look at it and it looks like some of the stitches are worn.  Probably my imagination.

Here are the "fabric stretchers".  I have not yet put them to use.  I have been trying to avoid starting a new project!  I put the marks on the bars for lining up the fabric.  They are from Just a Thought.  I have two of their stands and am anxious to use these bars.

Pumpkin Swirl, Glendon Place

And last but not least, I frogged the incorrect stitches from Pumpkin Swirl and put it back on the scroll bars.  It was one block off so the center did not line up correctly.    I have been beading as I go so  I think I will just finish up the stitching before I add any more beads.  I hope I can get this done this year.  While I like this project and have a couple of other Glendon Place dessert series kitted I am not sure I will be starting another one any time soon.  It is not that they are hard, but they are a little tedious with all the beading.  Time will tell I suppose.

I seem to have a few projects that I have put aside (at least six).  I call them my TWIDME (this WIP is driving me crazy).  Pumpkin swirl is only the latest.  They are haunting me lately so I think I will try to get back to them one at a time.

That is it for now.  We have a busy few weeks coming up; guests and birthdays and packing for our trip.  Hopefully I will be able to put in a little stitching time.

Thanks for visiting and for putting up with my ranting!

February Update and a Finish

Mini Mandata IIC  Chatelaine

Finished this one at least.  Took about 40 hours total beading and all.  I used the recommended NPI silks and other recommended silks.  The frame for it is in Texas so I will be taking it back with me to frame it.  I used the suggested belfast linen in antique white because it is practically full coverage.

I really enjoyed this project.  It was just enough variety with specialty stitching and beading that it seemed to go really fast.  There is one more mini in this series of three.  Not sure if I will choose it for my next project,  but hope to do it this year.

Lavender Fields by John Clayton

Going along well.  As I thought, I am a little bored with it, but I am going to keep going.  There is considerable tweeting but not too bad.  I know there is quite a bit of confetti coming up!

It photographs well as the tweeding really shows up well.

Books Reading Books  Heaven and Earth Designs

Just an update.  Lots and lots of confetti and I get a little frustrated at how slowly it is going.  But I keep plugging away.  I am trying to put in about 4-6 hours a week.  This is when I wish I could find a class on parking threads.  I see people doing it all the time but I just cannot seem to get the hang of it.  

I am still putting in time on the Knotgarden and Gardens of London both by Chatelaine.  These two are taking quite a bit longer than I had originally figured.

On Knot Garden I left the birds off of the top of the gates.  I was not happy with how they came out.  I like it fine without them.  This is the project I have to wash before I start the specialty stitches and beading so it is just cross stitch for now. and I am not keeping "time" on this project.    

 The buildings full of confetti and the backstitching on the Gardens of London are a real pain.    I am also finding working on the top of this project on the 15x15 qsnap is a little difficult.  I am thinking of using a smaller frame but what to do with all that extra fabric!   I do not want to give up as all four sides have extensive work on buildings.   I tried putting this project on a scroll frame, but it was so big (3 feet across) that it was really difficult to handle.

I have not done any work on the new needlepoint projects as I am "saving" them until we are on the road.  

I am looking forward to a new beginning in March, but I have not decided what I am going start.  I am so tempted to start another Chatelaine.  I have more than a few kitted and ready to go.  I feel like I should be doing some spring theme but have not found anything that grabs me so far.

That is it until March

Thanks for visiting.

Working and Stitching

I have had so little time to stitch that it is really frustrating if I let myself think about it.

It has been a busy summer of cleaning.

The worst part is that I do not pace myself very well so I end up getting hurt and over tired so that stitching at night is not an option.  I would love to blame my age, but the truth is I am just in lousy physical shape!  I think I heard about some exercise program somewhere that takes every day tasks and makes them a work out.  It is probably a California thing.  I can claim that is what I am doing!

Since I killed my regular camera during the flood (note to self:  do not take photos during torrential rain) I am struggling with getting pictures.  It is hard to find a camera these days that takes a decent picture and does not require a computer science degree to operate.

The weather is hot so afternoons are perfect for sitting with iced tea and stitching.  I have also started refinishing a door I got for free from my brother.  What a score.  Am sanding it down to re-stain and varnish it.

 This is the glass in the door.  I have it covered in the photo above to protect it while I am working on it.  Cannot wait to finish and have it installed.

And in the meantime, I am working on Pumpkin Swirl by Glendon Place.   Enjoying it, but it is not going as rapidly as I would like.  I am almost finished with the top half. 

 

 



I have done some work on Gardens of London..  It is interesting to me that the lamp is in greens.  One of the best things about this huge Chatelaine project is that it has so many different areas that have different stitches and threads.  Am enjoying it a lot.  My biggest concern is that it is going to take me so long it will need washing and I won't be able to launder it because of all the threads that are not color fast.  I guess I will have to frame it dirty if it comes to that. 

 

And have done some work on Books Reading Book.  This is my HAED (Heaven and earth Designs) project.  I hope to finish page 8 this week. 

 And a Chatelaine I am working on called Knot Garden.  I work on this when I travel or when I sit outside because it is mostly DMC threads and I will be able to wash it once it is done.  This is just the middle section.  There are many more parts to it!

And here is a little baby bunny that has taken up residence in one of the rosemary bushes.  Obviously, the dogs have not found it yet!

That is all for this post.

Thanks for visiting.

A Finish and a Flood

I have been working on this post for what feels like months!  It is a little rambling, but here it goes.  The camera I was so used to using got too wet during the flood while I was trying to take photos.  Unfortunately, the photos on this posting are not as good as they could be. 

We survived the flood in Blanco, but have quite a bit of work and clean up to do.  There are many who lost everything and some lost their lives.  We are living in a new normal now. The riverbank has changed dramatically and many of the old springs are flowing again.

It has been busy around here with clean up and reworking some water flow.  In addition, there is a layer of sand covering the back yard.  Good for the grass in most areas, but there are many areas that have too much sand for the grass to get through, so it needs to be moved.   I have learned that shoveling, raking and hauling dirt and rock is not for someone my age! All this work has really put a damper on my stitching time! 

Just one of the many collections of debris to be cleaned up.



Back to Needlework!

I finish the mini mandala IIA by Chatelaine.  It was great fun.

Photos jus do not do justice to the special threads, stitches and beads.


Have been far too busy to stitch for more than a few minutes at a time, but things should slow down after this week.

It is raining most of the time so I am getting a little more done at last.

I have been working on Books Reading Books by Heaven and Earth Designs.  I am just finishing page 7 at last and am looking forward to getting into page 8 (of 35!)

I have done a bit of work on Pumpkin Swirl by Glendon Place but not too much.  It is becoming a little more fun as I get into it.  I think I am going to bead as I go since it have it on my millennium frame.

I am making progress on Gardens of London by Chatelaine.  Am working on the third "garden" and am still enjoying this project. 

I also started Knot Garden by Chatelaine.  I am doing this project because it is mostly DMC, which means than I can work on it outside and on the patio because I will be able to wash it before I add the specialty stitches in silks and the beads.

I have not done any work on the Buddha project.  Oh well. 

I have kitted a few new projects so I really want to get going on the ones that are in progress right now.  All of the projects are large and intricate so I may start something smaller next week.  Who knows.

I hope my posts improve in the next few months. 

Thanks for looking

Stitching in Texas at last

We are safe and sound in Texas.  Have not done much stitching since we got here because the house sorely needed a good cleaning.   Now that some of the cleaning is done I am setting up my stitching spots and trying to get organized so I can get to work!

We have had a lot of rain which has given me some time to stitch.  I started a couple of new projects just for the heck of it.

First is Pumpkin Swirl.  It is going well so far, but I am not enjoying it as much as I thought I would.  I will finish it, but I  may use a different frame for it. 

I also started Mini Mandala IIA by Chatelaine.  I am loving it.  It is going well.  I decided to use all the NPI silk threads that were recommended.  They are lovely threads, but a little pricey.  I think I would use DMC in place of these for other projects.  I do like the colors, but on a large project I think the cost would be a consideration.  As far as the Caron and other specialty threads, I would not substitute them.  They are so lovely and really make a difference in the overall look of the project.

I am hoping to finish this little project this weekend so I will have a finish to show next time!  Hurray.

I did some work on Garden of London (another Chatelaine).  Still have a long way to go but I am loving it.  I have not done any of the beading yet. 

I am still working on Books Reading Books, the large Heaven and Earth Design.  I set it up next to the window since I do not need magnification for it.  It has, however been so overcast lately that the light is not quite bright enough to make it comfortable.  When the sun is out, it is perfect!

As I mentioned we have had quite a bit of rain.  No severe weather though.  We are just far enough into the Hill Country that tornadoes don't like it.   Here are some photos of the creek that appears in our yard when we get a lot of rain.  I am loving it.

This dries up pretty quickly once the rain stops.  It is going to be quite the mosquito heaven I am afraid! 

There was a lot to do.  The patio and front of the house needed a good power wash.  We got a little break yesterday so I got that done.  There is still a lot of work to do on the rental cottages, but they are booked this weekend so I will wait until next weekend to work on them.   Hopefully it will dry enough to paint, mow and get them into better shape before the peak of the season.

That is all for the time being.  The days go by so fast here!  It amazes me how busy I can be. 

Thanks for visiting.