So Far So Good

Stitch from Stash 2017A

So far no purchases and no more new starts.

FINISH


Ye Old Coffee House, Little House Needleworks

I enjoyed this, but I must have frogged twenty times and miscounted as many.  How this simple looking project turned out to be so difficult is beyond me.  But, it is done, my first finish for 2017
I made several counting errors and added the coffee cup above the house where it was charted for a heart.

My monthly ornament and  FFO of an old ornament.

That give me $12.00 credit for this month so far in my Stitch from Stash Budget.





SALs

Beautiful Sea, Ships Manor

Was able to get caught up the first week of the new year and just finished part 8 so I am all caught up.  Really enjoying the colors of this.

2017 Mystery Sampler, Linen & Thread

Since I am stitching from stash for the first 6 months of this year, I pulled any DMC of which I had more than 10 skeins and pulled a piece of 32 count Platinum Belfast linen.  I am hoping to have the left side finished today.  The second band comes out the first part of February and I would like to stay caught up, but who knows.  Those large empty spaces are for bird looking things that I think I will do in a different color.  I may wait until the second band comes out before deciding what color.

WsIP


Alice Merryfield, Pineberry Lane

I worked on this for the "red" weekend challenge (Jan 13-15) so I got a little further on it and want to finish out the red part of the border this weekend.  I am probably going to replace the very pale color as it just is not showing up on this fabric.

Dancing Deer, Cherished Stitches

I am still amazed by the colors in this piece when I step back and look at it.

But Happy They Wedding Sampler, Cherished Stitches

I wish I could say I was enjoying this.  It may end up at a UFO by the end of the month.  It just is not holding my interest, although I do like the fabric.  I should probably make up my mind before I get to the personalization portion!

That is it for the first two weeks of the year.  I have a pile of finished things from last year that I would really like to get completely finished, but I just have not been in the mood for finishing.

Thanks so much for visiting.

End of the Year New Starts

The end of the year always finds me making plans and trying to get a jump on the new year.  Why?  Who knows.  It isn't like I ever get ahead....except of myself sometimes.

NEW STARTS

But Happy They, Cherished Sitches

I started the wedding sampler for my friends that is due in March.  It should not take long because it is mostly wording..  Lots of open space that is supposed to be filled with motifs that are personal to the couple.  Well, I am sure that will not happen.  I does have a lot of emply space, and I am a little nervous about adding the correct date.  I may just see if they are registered on-line anywhere and forget it altogether!

Alice Merryfield, Pineberry Lane

Not sure what it was that appealed to me, but I am giving it a go.

Evergreen Sampler, Good Housekeeping Christmas Book

This is my thrifty answer to And A Forest Grew that everyone is stitching.  I may still have to do it one day, but.....trees......

WIPs

Dancing Deer, Cherished Stitches

I was thinking I would put this away for a while, but I am so loving the colors that I am going to keep going.

I have a stack of other WIPs, but have not touched them this month at all.


And I worked on getting some old (and a new one or two) ornaments fully finished while I was in the mood.  Doing it quickly got me out of the mood, but they now have all been stuffed.  Just need to inspire myself to get them embellished so I can pack them away until next Christmas.

Oh, my wonderful cousin in Canada had the sampler I did for her framed and hung it in her kitchen.....she did a great job picking the frame and I am kind of amazed that I actually did this!

That wraps up 2016.  I am really looking forward to the new year and looking forward to what I can create in 2017.    I will post my plans after the first.

Thanks for visiting and sticking with me this year.  It has been a wierd one.

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.

Final Finishes of Christmas Projects

Lizzie Kate.

 It was a really fun stitch.  I used threads I had left over from various projects so it is not exactly as charted.   It was basically two greens, two pinks, white and red.   I am not sure how I will finish it, but I am going to wait until I get back to California to do something with it.  I am a little surprised how much I like it!

L

Prairie Schooler 2004 Santa

Both Santas are finished now.  Not sure what I will do to finish them.  Although I love the fabric (28 count Opal Lugana Winter Solstice Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie) I am not sure it was the beset choice for these.  I do like them, however.  I am thinking perhaps blocks unframed so that I can use them wherever for the season.  I am glad I decided to do these two designs but I do not see more Prairie Schooler Santas in my future.

This is the end of my stitching finishes in Texas for this year.  Am getting the RV packed and ready for our trip.   I am partially sad to leave and partially ready to get back to California.   I have all my travel projects ready to go so I can make some progress while we are traveling along.


Thanks for visiting.

Mid November Finishes

Managed to finish a couple of this in the past couple of weeks.

 Nora Corbett Alphabet 

This was a really fun stitch.  I am looking forward to getting it framed.

2015 Prairie Schooler Santa

Because I used a dark fabric, I changed the moon and the stars to a light yellow.  I am not super happy with the wording (I left off one word), but I think I will wait until it is ready to finish (however I am going to do that).  I sort of like the subtle wording (Although it does not photograph well) as I am not a huge fan of words in most pieces.

I am making decent progress on the other Christmas themed projects in my WIP pile while getting the house ready to close for the winter, wrapping pipes, mulching flower beds and the like so I am not getting as much stitching done.

Also getting my projects ready for the upcoming trip.  We will be in the Dallas area for Thanksgiving, then headed West as weather allows.  I really enjoy stitching on the road and will be working on some needlepoint projects during the trip.  I got them all ready to go in the past couple of days.  Photos to follow in the next post.

Thanks for visiting.

November Plans

A Finish:  Giving Thanks:

This a really cute.  Quick stitch and will make a cute little pillow.  I am reminded about 32 count and how small it really is!  For some reason it has really given me fits.  I think I need to enlarge the chart as I keep making mistakes!

 Finally got through it, however:

I made changes to the wording, making it Give thanks, rather than Giving thanks.  Then, while I am on a pillow roll, I made it a little pillow to give to one of my nieces if she wants it.

Christmas themes for November stitching.

I learned from doing the small projects that they are not comfortable to stitch on the little pieces of fabric that they require.  So..........I put border fabric (just a piece of cotton) on all the fabrics for these projects so I can use a larger qsnap.  I have a 6 inch one, but it is too small for me hold comfortably and too small to go on a stitching stand.

Two of the Prairie School Santa's from 2011 and 2015.

I am going to do them on a 28 count opal lugana called Winter Soltice from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.  I am a little concerned about some of the colors on this fabric, but will deal with it as i go.

Snoozin Santa by Holly Gordon

This kit was ridiculously cheap from somehwere.  It comes with 14 court aida, but I am switching it out to an opal aida because the white on the beard and santa suit are not stitched but just outlined.  I may put this project off for next year because I have a couple of other Christmas themed things I want to stitch.

Dear Rudolph by Lizzie Kate  Finished!

This is a kit that comes with everything but the stuffing to make a little pillow.  It will challenge my sewing skills no doubt!

Since I finished the October projects quickly, I got a head start on this little project and was able to finish it in just a few hours.

Took longer to make the pillow than it did to stitch the design.  It was fun, so I am looking forward to the next LK project......

Three Blox  by Lizzie Kate

I think I am going to make these into three separate blocks but who knows.   It comes with the fabric.  Again, a challenge to my finishing skills!

I may be a little too ambitious  with all these Christmas projects and may burn out on them, but we will see.

Last but not least I want to finish the Nora Corbett Alphabet letter A for my grand daughter.  It is going well and just needs a few hours of attention

Finish Just in Time for Halloween

I finished the Pumpkin Patch Quilting Shop from Cross Stitch and Needlework Magazine, 2010.  I had alot of fun doing this project because I have a specific recipient for it.  It only took about three weeks (68 hours or so) to complete but I was kind of on a mission to get it finished.  I was going to frame it and give it to the local quilt shop here in town, then I decided they might rather finish it themselves as a wall hanging.  The ladies in there are so nice.  The shop carries DMC and Cosmo threads as well as a few speciality threads that quilters use.  I try to buy a few skeins a year there just to help the local economy.  Selfishly, it keeps DMC close in case I run out!

It was a fun stitch and I am looking forward to seeing how they finish it.  

I also finished the Nora Corbett Alphabet R

It was a quick stitch that only took about 26 hours to stitch and bead.  I am really happy with the outcome and will be starting the "A" letter on the recommended fabric.

On our way to the DFW area we stopped by Fancy Stitches in Cleburne, Texas.  It is a great shop but was overwhelming.   I got a couple of charts that I had not seen on line anywhere

Two patterns are Halloween based that I will do next year:

Ghouls Night Out by the Trilogy (this one is a kit)

 Flight School by Just Nan.

I picked up Heaven and Nature Sing by Brenda Gervais.  I am going to do this one for my sister as a Christmas housewarming gift.  Already ordered the materials from 123 Stitch and hope they will arrive in the next week so I can get it started.  Hope to get it done by November.  I am not sure I am going to finish it as it is suggested, I may just make it a normal pillow.  It does comes with all the finishing instructions to make this pillow with a pocket on it as it is pictured.

Finally, I took advantage of a sale somewhere (Stitchery I think) and got a Christmas project just for the heck of it.  It is called Snoozin Santa by Holly Gordon.  I have someone in mind for this also.

It is a kit that include 14 count white aida and leaves the white portions of the pattern un-stitched.  I am thinking of changing the fabric and doing the white portions in stitching.  Or I might get a sparkly aida cloth in a 16 or 18 count.  Have not yet decided.  If I have no other Christmas project that calls to me I will do this one when I finish the Heaven and Nature pillow.

That is the update for this week.  Am hoping to do some work on the larger projects that are on-going.  I am kind of burned out on Gardens of London at the moment and have put it away for a while.  I was enjoying it so much I am a little surprised

Thanks for visiting.