Jetting Around

Eric and I are back from Miami! I may have alluded in my previous posts that we were heading out for an adventure. Well, Eric surprised me with a trip to Miami over the 4th of July weekend. We left on Thursday night (flying First Class - woohoo!) and came back on Monday. We had so much fun, and I will have photos to share soon. As you may imagine, though, there wasn't any stitching while I was gone. In the past week though, there's been a tiny bit of stitching. As you can see above, I pulled out Earth Sampler and stitched on it a bit last night. I took Andrea's lead and replaced the GAST Sable with GAST Cinnamon. I am so much happier with it. So, I'll definitely be pulling out the h,i,j in the middle to replace it with Cinnamon. My little bit of stitching last night while watching True Blood was the only stitching I did all weekend. Friday night I went with a friend to see The Hangover - so funny! Saturday we had a dinner guest and then Sunday was of course cleaning and laundry during the day. But, I think I am happy with the piece again after the color switch.

On Monday night after we returned, I did settle down and do a little bit of stitching on my new start, Sweet Treats. I finished block 1, minus the buttons, and I've started the border.

I think the buttons will look really cute once I stitch them on. Any suggestions on what to stitch them on with? Matching thread?

Wednesday night I took my final for Access, and happily did very well on it. I just need to schedule my vendor certification exam now. But, having my final behind me allowed me to spend Thursday night with some stitching friends. I took Mystery 9 and did a little more stitching on the swirl. I was doing more talking than stitching though, so not much progress to show.

And I would like to provide a little update on my vent from a few posts ago. After calling the needlework shop with my credit card information for the one chart that was sent, I did also cancel my order for the second chart. I politely explained to the person on the phone that I'd been waiting for four months for the order, and at this point I just wanted to cancel the order. So, imagine my surprise when on Saturday a package arrived from the needlework shop. In it was the chart I'd been waiting on, for no charge, a letter of apology from the owner, and some extras. I sent the owner an email this morning thanking them. So, I wanted to update everyone on what happened, so that I didn't also leave you with a bad taste in your mouth about the situation (even though I haven't mentioned which shop this is, as I'm sure we all from time to time have a bad experience). Anyway, while never expecting to see this chart, much less the way in which the owner handled rectifying the situation, I was pleasantly surprised. So, anyway, the situation is resolved.

So, I will have photos from Miami to show you all soon. And if you want to take a look at more of my Dallas After Dark photos, you can see them here. I hope to get some more stitching in this week. I'm itching to get back to Earth Sampler now!

I am grateful for a fun vacation to Hot Miami.

After Dark Sneak Peek

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by my little part of the world. I always appreciate that you do. Our Dallas after Dark photowalk was fun (although h.o.t.). I think I got some good photos, although I haven't had time to really sit down and go through them. But, I thought I'd share at least one of them with you for now. This is taken at the West End in downtown Dallas. I haven't made any edits to this photo other than resizing, so I'd say that's pretty damn good. I love how you can see the green building in the background through the arches. I can't wait to go through the rest and see what I've got. I'll be sure to post them when I do, probably over on my alternate universe (ie the other blog). I will of course also have photos of the other adventure that is forthcoming. Yay!

Not much stitching to report. Last weekend was a full one, as I'm sure you can imagine. I did, however, manage a new start (like I need another WIP). But, whatever, it's summer...I can do what I want. I wanted a new summery start, so I decided to pull out a piece that had been calling to me for awhile.

Can you guess what it is? Why yes, it's Sweet Treats (block 1) from Country Cottage Needleworks. I've had all the fixings for this piece in my hot little hands for some time now, and it was finally time to start it. So much fun. I should be able to finish up this block pretty quickly I think. I'm using the Crescent Colors threads that came with the pattern, of course. I am also using the suggested 28ct Vintage Lentil from Lakeside (so that the buttons will fit). Love it!

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th, if you're here in the states. And for everyone else, a wonderful stitchy Saturday!

The quilt top below is one I finished several years ago, and it has yet to be quilted but I thought it was appropriate for an Independence Day post.

Swirlies and Possibly a Little Venting

Last week Eric surprised me with these colorful beauties. No reason, just because he's a sweetie. Aren't they pretty? They are really brightening up my kitchen.

When I changed my blog template a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the pieces that were WIPs still even three years after my first post. One of those is Mystery 9, which I'll show you progress on in a minute. The other is Bay Sampler by The Workbasket. Glenna asked me if I'd finished it, and well, you can see I haven't. But, I thought it might be fun to show you where I last left off on this piece. I LOVE this piece, and stitching with Silk N Colors (which are probably one of my favorite threads) is such a pleasure on this piece. Here's what happened though, I had problems with the top sail on that boat. The color it was supposed to be stitched in was the exact same color as my fabric. So, I switched it out and restitched that sail three times. Well, I'm still not happy with it, but I was at a loss as to what to do. So, I put it down. And I haven't gone back to it. Are you noticing a trend? In case you're just tuning into the blog - I do this a lot...once a problem arises I am notorious for setting a piece aside. So, no more progress on Bay Sampler. So, not sure what to do with that sail still, but I may pull this out again soon and stitch on the other stuff and leave the sail alone for now.

So, last weekend I finished Part 8 on Mystery 9. On Sunday, Eric and I sat down to start watching Season 1 of True Blood and I started on Part 9. This part consists of the swirlies in each corner. The one on the bottom there is finished except for beads and crystals. This part is almost all beads and crystals. So, it is going to be blinding once all the bling is in place. I can't wait! And it's coming along pretty fast too, I think. I'm almost done with the stitching on this corner, then three more to go. Also, the more I look at it the more I wonder if this thread might work well for my sail? I may have to try it out and see, if I have any left over.

And I am loving my new stitching bag! It's ginormous, but I love that M9 fits in there easily. And I may just have purchased a little accessory piece that matches to hold my scissors and needles. Possibly.

And let me vent a little moment here. Let's assume that a stitcher decides to place an order with a needlework shop for the first time. And let's assume that said stitcher sends an email inquring about ordering, gets an immediate response back saying that of course they would be happy to help. Said stitcher then calls the shop to provided credit card information. Now, let's assume that this ocurred say oh, about four months ago. Let us also assume that said stitcher has not yet recieved either of the two charts he/she may have ordered. And, progress reports on the status of the order are only given when the customer inquires. Sometimes it requires two attempts to get an answer. Said stitcher finally may have sent an email indicating their extreme disappointment with the customer service and ordering ease with this needlework shop. Needlework shop sends email stating they will send one of the two charts ordered and would stitcher please provide credit card information. Stitcher in question just may have responded a little hastily with an email stating that credit card information was provided four months ago, you should check your records. At this point the stitcher in question doesn't know if chart A will be arriving, and if chart B will ever arrive. Needless to say, it is assumed for the sake of argument that stitcher in question will not be giving Needlework shop a second shot at his/her business. Stitcher is an entirely reasonable person, and with adequate communication is willing to understand what all issues may arrive - except of course that chart B did come in and although was being held for stitcher, was then sold out from under stitcher to someone else...thus adding another two months and counting onto the transaction. Of course all of this is just theoretical. Of course. Really.

And I made a little bitty start on BBD's The Simple Things. Love the colors on this so far.

So that's about all the news from here today. Eric and I will be heading off on a short adventure next week, which was also a surprise and I am really looking forward to. And tonight, another adventure, we are going on a Dallas After Dark photo walk. That should be fun (hot as hell, but fun). I hope to learn a few things and also have some cool photos to share.

I am grateful for losing another 1.6 pounds this week.

Part 8 Finished!!!

Finally! It only took me oh, two years to finish this part! Sad. But, that's the way it is. This part is finished now. And I only have four parts left. I am so excited to be making progress on this. Martina's designs are so intricate, and involve a lot of shading, color changes and intricate work. But, when it all comes together, it is magnificent. I took this piece with me on Thursday to Barnes & Noble to meet up with some of my stitching friends (I had such a blast, ladies!). I do have to say that it made me feel really good to have people stop and tell me how pretty it is. And, of course, I am a sucker for sparklies, so beading this piece as I go makes it a lot of fun. I finished up the beading on my last artichoke bed this afternoon. And don't those stitches for the flowers just make them? I love how three-dimensional they are.

Here's the whole thing so far.

Keep in mind that I haven't added the bigger Swarovski crystals yet, nor have I added the bugle beads on those triangular beds. And I was asked about the center. Yes, there is a center designed for it, which is part of Part 12. Martina offered two options, a beaded center or a stitched center. I am actually going to be doing a combination of the two. I have the pearls and crystal embellishment Martina offered, but I will be stitching around them. And Part 9 is all about the sparklies, so it should be a beautiful effect that I'll be seeing next.

And, my trusty mail carrier arrived this afternoon with some goodies for me. One package contained The Primitive Needle's Sampler Sisters of the Thread. This design is so beautiful, and I will definitely be starting it pronto. I also received my gorgeous hand-turned pincushion base for the BBD Loose Feathers "extra". This piece is so well-made and I highly recommend that you all call your LNS and order one immediately. (Mr. Milady will probably be cursing my name soon). But really, this is so pretty. I can't wait to make my pincusion. Although, I am holding off on the sewing accessories for now because I want all of mine to match, so I'm thinking about color schemes. I do really like the color chosen for the pincushion though, so I may just carry that through.

And, have you seen this?

The new Mirabilia mermaid. Love it - she is a real beauty!

That's all for me today. I am going to be ironing my fabric this weekend to start on the new Loose Feathers (The Simple Things), and also probably making a start on Part 9 of Mystery IX. I'm so happy to be able to say that!!

I am grateful for Eric's surprise - I can't wait for the 4th!

Resurrection

Thanks to all of you for the compliments on my new look. I am so in love. And it's weird to look at my blog and not see Botticelli's Venus looking back out at me. But, that's ok. I love the red. So, in my last post I mentioned that two of the three pieces that were WIPs in that first post of mine in 2006 are still WIPs. The two are Mystery IX and Bay Sampler. Well, after writing that post, plus seeing that blank spot on my bedroom wall staring at me, I decided to pull out Mystery IX and work on it a bit. I am currently working on Part 8 (of 12). I have two of the four artichoke beds still left to finish. So, I've been working on it the past couple of nights and I'm making a bit of progress.

The blank spots you see in those right hand beds are for the specialty stitches and beads. I'll do that once I have all the cross-stitching done on the left two. I'm also missing the bugle beads around those yellow beds. Bugle beads can cut the thread you've sewn them down with because of their sharp edges, so I'll wait until the end to add them, along with the larger crystals. If you want to see my last progress photo of this, you can see it here. I'm stitching this on the 32ct Lavender Mist linen that was called for with the recommended silks. It is so hard to tell in the photos, but the fabric is really the palest of lavenders. You wouldn't know it unless you held it up against something white. But, it is not the bluish/greyish color it appears here. That's just 7am light through the window. I love this piece so much, but I just can't seem to stick with it for very long. And I have the incentive. I've promised myself it will go to Jill Rensel for framing and I have the space picked out in our bedroom to hang it. I'm anxious to finish up part 8 and move onto part 9.

And remember that crappola of a week I was having? Well, on the very worst day of that week, look what arrived in my mailbox! Sweet and thoughtful Anna sent this sampler chart to me as a new addition for my A&E wall. So fun! Thank you, Anna!! And, of course she sent along one of her beautiful handmade cards as well. She is talented in so many areas! [Although I wish she'd send her framed Anna's Bird to me...I covet it.] Anyway...thanks again, Anna! You made my week!

And here we are again with the yeti fabric. I haven't made much progress on it since I last showed it to you, but I am liking the progress I made. I saw Andrea's finish of this on her blog and she also subbed out the Sable thread. I think I am going to do the same, because I hate mine. So, the h, i, j may be coming out to be replaced with a better brown. I want my bunny to be a pretty brown, when I get to him, not this weird-o brownish blackish greyish color. I don't have the GAST Cinnamon she used, but I'm sure I can find something that works.

And I've also got some progress to show you on Dorothy's Garden. As I mentioned, I finished the alphabet and started on the border.

This piece is just so dainty. It's a lot of fun to work on, but I am really dreading that house. I'm gonna have to just suck it up and do a little at a time. Here's the whole thing...

I also bought a new stitching bag, which I was in desperate need of. I'd been using this fabulous woven bag, but it's just gotten so much use that the material it's made from is starting to wear down. Which is a shame. So, I saw that Silver Needle was having a sale on Vera Bradley bags, and I ordered one. I decided on the Miller bag, in the retiring fabric "Night Owl". I just fell in love with the little owls! The bag is freakin' huge, but it is wide enough I can fit my 17 x 17 q-snap in it with no problem, which I suppose is a good thing. And it has a ton of pockets around the perimeter of the inside, which is nice. I've never even really looked at a Vera Bradley bag before, so this was a new adventure for me.

I have also signed up for a 5k in August, and have been training for two Saturdays now. I'm excited about it, and looking forward to it. My plan is to walk it, but last night I made my first venture into running, so I may end up doing a walk/run. This morning I probably walked close to 3 miles, so I don't think the 5k is going to be any problem. I'm tired though, so I think some serious stitching/couch time is on the horizon for me this afternoon.

So, that's all the news from around here. Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!

I am grateful for losing two pounds this week and pushing myself to run last night. Yay me!

Surprise!

As a slightly early gift to myself for my third blog anniversary, I decided to do a complete overhaul of my blog template. What do you think? I am absolutely in love with it. I've had the same template since my very first post back in 2006, so it was time for a change.

If you're interested, you can read that very first post here. And yes, two of the three WIPs I show in that post are still WIPs...don't judge. There will be a big party with fireworks and champagne when they're finished. I promise.

Sadly, I have no progress photos of my current projects to share. It's just been that kind of week. I've made a bit more progress on Earth Sampler, currently stitching that cute little speckled egg. And I've also spent more time on Dorothy's Garden. I finished up the alphabet and have now moved on to the border. I am hoping that I don't completely regret starting on the border without all the middle finished as reference points. But, I think it will be fun to have the border done so I can see how big this sampler really is. I'm also hoping that sometime in the near future I can get back to my quilting. I have several quilts in progress that are calling my name.

Thanks to all of you who have been with me for three years, and thanks to all of you who have joined me along the way!

I am grateful for my new look.

Snuck a Little In

So remember I said that we were supposed to have a check-in on our MAGIC projects at the guild meeting last night? Well, I picked up my piece over the weekend and made a surprising amount of progress. At least, I surprised myself.

Since last we left off on progress pics for this piece, I had finished up the roof and begun that flower basket. Over the weekend I finished up the flower basket and then started on the alphabet. I love how it's looking.

There is really so much more to go on this piece, but I am glad I made a little progress on it. And just for bringing my piece in for the check-in, I got a pack of John James needles for my trouble. And apparently, if you look at this from far away it looks like Shrek or something. You may have to squint. Guess I'll have to fill in the house so that the roof no longer appears to be legs. Oh, and just in case you're wondering, since it's been so long since I worked on this...it is Dorothy's Garden by A Stitcher's Hands. I am stitching it over one on 32ct. unknown linen with DMC and AVAS. I started this in 2004, which is why I decided to offer it up to be my MAGIC piece for the guild this year. I hope I finish it.

It is lovely though, I have to admit.

I am grateful for chocolate...because it's been that kind of day.

The Rest of the Story

So, remember when I ran out of Rose of Sharon Belle Soie halfway through the "u"? Well my friend, Sylvia, took pity on me and when she read on the blog that I'd run out, she donated the necessary thread from her own skein. Thank you, Sylvia!! On Wednesday night, after receiving the thread I came home and finished up the alphabet. Thursday I attempted to stitch my initials, and after two tries got them mostly stitched. Last night I finished my initials, stitched the year and then determined a motif that would fit between the "Z" and the "M", since what was designed to go there would no longer fit. I think I made a good choice. So, without further rambling ado, let me present the finished stitching.

Peacock Pinkeep (Loose Feathers #35)
Blackbird Designs
Belle Soie on 28ct Gingham linen by Weeks
Finished 5/30/09

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out using two threads over two, rather than the recommended one (except of course, for that whole pesky running out of thread thing). And although my photography skillz don't adequately showcase this, the fabric for top and side are the same color. Probably close to somewhere in between the two that you see here. And let me just say again for the record, I love Belle Soie silk and I love this fabric. And maybe, just maybe, I will attempt to finish this sucker on my own. We'll see.

And there's been a tad more progress on Earth Sampler, although I have to admit I quickly tossed it aside to finish up on the piece above. This is another piece of fabric that eludes my attempt to capture it on film. Perhaps we will just call it Sean Penn. Or the Yeti fabric, that may be more fitting. It is much warmer than the photo here shows. But, I am moving along on it. I'm feeling a bit iffy with the threads so far. I'm happy with the starburst to the flower, and the sheep. But the rest of it is risking a big rip out. I'll keep after it, and it may all even out in the end. But, for now...the rest of you letters and motifs, consider yourself on notice.

And I've just been reminded, via an email from the guild, that we'll be showing the progress on our challenge pieces on Tuesday. You mean that challenge piece I haven't touched since oh, February. Guess I'd better get that out and put in a couple of stitches or something this weekend, or maybe just iron it. Don't hold your breath.

I am grateful for Sylvia coming to the rescue!

Bellpullooza

Do you remember my Barnabee's Quest? I stitched him as a SAL with some other lovely stitchers, and although I was one of the founding members of the SAL, I was the last to finish. I finished him July of 2008. And there he waited, hanging in my closet. It seemed such a shame to let this piece languish, so I sent him off to Deb to be finished. I cannot tell you how utterly gorgeous Barnabee has become under Deb's amazing finishing skills. I am so glad that I purchased the pullware for this piece. Look how beautifully it goes with the stitching. Notice the triple cording that Deb added.

I am thrilled with how the piece turned out. Deb is a marvel!

I stitched this piece long after it was first introduced, so finding the pullware for it was a lucky break. I was not able to locate the accompanying beeskep tassel. But, look at the wondrous tassel that Deb created for me. I love that it has not only the colors of the cording, but it also incorporates the purples in the piece and in the pullware. Lovely! I cannot imagine trying to attempt this finishing myself. So thank goodness, I have Deb!

But, that's not all. You may remember that I finished this piece myself a while back. Well, although I tried to artfully photograph the piece in order to camouflage the problems with it...I was so unhappy with my finishing. The main problem with the piece was that the stitching needed to be blocked. The border lines were wavy and crooked, just due to not having been blocked. Try building a fabric border around wavy lines. Well, after pulling the piece apart twice and attempting to correct it, I finally gave up and sent it to Deb. She managed to block the piece and also straighten everything else up. You'd think I'd been sewing drunk. Thanks to Deb, I can now look at this piece without cringing. I am so pleased with it. And what I thought was a simple bit of finishing, frustrated me to no end.

All better! Who knows what Deb thought of me when I emailed her asking if she performed rescue operations. And guess what...she does! Thank you, Deb for your beautiful artistry!!

So, you can see what a happy mail day I had last week, when these arrived carefully wrapped up.

I also did a little bit of stitching over my four-day weekend, although a lot more than you see here. First, let me say that this piece is impossible to photograph. The best photos I've gotten of it are with no flash, but those are also blurry...so this is the best I can do. Please ignore a) cat hair b) thread behind piece c) inaccurate color representation...as the colors are not nearly this "neon". Anyway, I did stitch a lot more than it looks like. I just stitched the same thing three times. I filled in Adam's face, then proceeded to outline his torso. Then, my lines didn't match up. I ripped it out and tried it again...still not matching up, but the problem was in a different place. Ripped it out and restitched a third time. Worked. Then I started filling in his torso, and got tired of stitching on it after giving him a cummerbund. I had hoped to see way more progress on him this weekend. Of course, we were catching up on episodes of 24, and so possibly trying to watch the last four hours may have contributed to my inability to count.

So, after throwing in the towel on Adam...I decided to pick up something new that I already had in my stash (fabric, thread, chart - how often does that happen?). This is Earth Sampler by Primitive Needle. I love this chart. And I think this may be my first time to stitch on 40ct. I love it. It is not nearly as hard as I was thinking it would be. And I am feeling good about the coverage of one thread over two. I love love love this fabric too...it is Picture This Plus Ale, which is the recommended fabric. It is gorgeous! I wish my threads were showing up a bit better against the fabric color, but perhaps it will look better as I move along. The greens are just a bit light. And, with Eric and I having finished up 24, we moved on to watching more episodes of Season 1 of Earth:Final Conflict, which I am really enjoying.

Anyway, I hope to have some more done on Earth Sampler in the next few nights. Thanks for all of your congratulations on my Access test. I hope to have another unit test under my belt early next week. After Access, I'll be starting on my Project Management classes. Here's hoping those go quickly! Hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed your stitching!

I am grateful for time with Eric.

Adam Emerging

I made a deal with myself this week. I really wanted to meet up with some friends from guild Thursday night for a stitching evening, but I had to take a test at school this week also. I ramped it up a bit and got my test out of the way on Wednesday night. I scored a perfect score (1000). Go me! So, last night I began my four-day weekend (I took today off work), and I was able to meet up with my stitching buddy at Barnes & Noble for an evening of guilt-free stitching! Since I've done all I can on my peacock for now, I decided to go back to working on Adam & Eve (CHS). I've done some fill in on the tree and last night I started in on filling in Adam's face. He's got on helluva five o'clock shadow going on there, huh? I am hopeful that over the next few days I can spend a good amount of time stitching and have some serious progress to show on this piece.

I haven't gone back to stitching on Shores because frankly, I am not happy with it. I really don't like the coverage of one strand on 36ct. So, I've been debating what to do. Start over on 40ct? Leave it and hope I learn to love it? Well, I think I've figured out what I want to do. So, I'll have to do some test stitching and see what I think. But, that's the reason Shores has been tucked away for a bit. I hope to get it back out soon, because I do dearly love that design. I'd just like to dearly love my stitching of it too.

Anyway, I have some other goodies to show you next time. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

I am grateful for a stitching night.

Blackbirds Aplenty

Thank you for the compliments on my PLR. Since I've been in a Blackbird mood lately, I'm still stitching along on my Peacock Pinkeep. I'm working my way across on the alphabet, but I've run out of Rose of Sharon silk halfway through the "U". So I see purchasing more of that in my future. I am using two strands over two, rather than the recommended one strand, which is why mine looks so much darker than the others of I've seen (and also the reason I ran out of thread). If I had had a full skein, I would have been fine. Not sure if I'll make it with the Tortoiseshell or not...we'll see. But, I love how this is turning out and I love my coverage. I am really enjoying stitching on this so much. My photos of the fabric and so different, I would say the actual color is closer to the top one, just a bit lighter.

As you can see, I've finished with the top of the pinkeep. I just love this! I am making a significant effort right now to stitch from my stash, which is why I haven't run right out and bought more Rose of Sharon thread. I have so much lined up waiting in the wings that I should be just fine working from my stash for awhile.

Of course, I am still on the automatic shipments for the Loose Feathers club, so I was treated to this lovely package in the mail on Friday. Look at the luscious colors! And I am so excited to stitch the little pincushion with the hand-turned wooden base, that comes from Milady's Needle. As soon as I lift my ban on new purchases, you can bet I'll be ordering one of those bases!

I definitely want to stitch all the the "extras" for the Loose Feathers club this year, based on what I've seen so far. However, I am thinking I like the colors in this pincushion much better than the colors in the needlebook. So, I may work on making them match. But, what fun this year's Loose Feathers are so far. I love this design as well, and the texture that the chain stitching will give around the flowers and leaves will be beautiful.

I am grateful for time to stitch.

Petites Lettres Rouges

Petites Lettres Rouges

Blackbird Designs

Needle Necessities over one on 28ct Silkweaver FOTM Exclusive

Stitched April 18, 2009 to May 2, 2009

A finish! As I mentioned in my last post, the moment I saw this lovely chart posted on the Blackbird Designs blog, I dropped everything and started stitching it. I chose some beautiful 28ct fabric from Silkweaver that is a FOTM Exclusive color. I've used this before for another Blackbird piece, and the fabric is really a gorgeous mottled color. I knew I needed a special thread for this, so I pulled out the gorgeous red skein of Needle Necessities (I believe the color is Razzle Dazzle) that Anna gifted me with at Christmas. I've been waiting for just the right piece to use it on. I decided to stitch this over one, because when I think of French stitching, my thoughts always run to over one stitching with beautiful red threads. Alma suggested in her blog to stitch a family name into the sampler, and to add a little bird motif. The original sampler had 1918 charted, and I immediately thought of my grandmother who was born in 1911. As you can see, I chose to stitch her name and the year of her birth into my piece. The little bird was modified slightly, in order to fit, from another little Blackbird Designs bird. I hadn't stitched in the last week at all, but on Saturday I went over to another stitcher's home for a day of stitching with a few stitchers from the guild. It was such a relaxing and fun day. I was so in need of a day like that, it was a mini-vacation! I took several pieces to work on, but decided to stitch on this piece. Sitting outside on the porch and enjoying the wonderful weather (right up until it started pouring), I began to stitch my grandmother's name into the sampler. By the end of the day, I had finished everything but the outside border. So, when I came home that evening, I was able to finish the piece easily. I found a wonderful frame for it on Sunday and framed it myself. I've placed it in what is becoming our new French guest bath. I love it there, and I can see it each day and be reminded of the woman who taught me to stitch and encouraged my creativity from when I was little.

After finishing up my little sampler, I put my Loose Feathers back in the q-snap. One of the women at our stitching day was working on the alphabet portion of this, and it got me inspired to get back to it. I just love stitching this piece, and it was fun to start getting to use the second color of the Belle Soie. I think my skeins are darker than a lot of those I've seen stitching this...but that works for me. I think it's very pretty. I may move that "L" over. I'm waiting until I get some of the little motifs around it stitched before I decide. It may be fine where it is. I should have the top of the pinkeep finished soon, and then I can move on to the alphabet. I'm hoping I end up with enough fabric to stitch the needlebook too.

I have my guild meeting tonight, which I am looking forward to. And I am glad I have a finish to share too. Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and happy Cinco de Mayo!

Spring Colors

Thank you all for your sweet compliments on my progress photos last time and for the anniversary well wishes. This weekend we are going on a little day trip that Eric had planned for our anniversary, but due to car trouble we had to postpone. I am really looking forward to it! Anyway, as promised I am showing you my new start above. This is the new Loose Feathers by Blackbird Designs. I love the linen for this little pinkeep. I am stitching with the recommended Belle Soie silks as well, which are luscious. I've made a little more progress on my peacock since this photo was taken, but I have to admit I got slightly distracted. In case you didn't know, Blackbird Designs have a blog now! And, of course it features the lovely photography that I have grown to love on their charts. There is a freebie offered that is a sweet little reproduction sampler. And I couldn't resist making a little start on it. So, I've been focusing on that the past few days. I hope to show you a finish on it soon, and then I can get back to my little peacock.

At my last guild meeting, one of our members gave a wonderful presentation on darning samplers, as a great introduction to our SAL on the darning sampler we've chosen from SANQ. That is one of the thing I have just loved about belonging to this guild, the things I am learning. So far, my two favorite meetings have been the one about Adam & Eve samplers, and now this one. Such knowledgeable women! At our meeting, I received my linen and silks for the darning sampler, aren't they lovely? I'll be stitching this on 40ct. I believe the color is Sand. And the silks are Au Ver A Soie. Two of them are missing from this photo, one is on its way and one because I'm a dork and left it out of the photo. Lovely though anyway.

I've been continuing with my photo a day project, and you can see more of those over at my other blog, if you're interested. Thanks for stopping in, I really appreciate all of your comments and friendship!

I am grateful for time together.

Surf's Up

Long time, no blog! You may be wondering what have I been up to? Well, as you can see I did finally manage to get my waves stitched on block 1 of Shores. I'll be moving up to the top half of the block now. I had hoped to catch up and get through blocks 1 and 2 in April, but well...we'll see. I haven't done a ton of stitching lately between migraines and just tiredness. But I have done some reading, which has been really nice. I think maybe my brain just needed a break, you know. I sat aside Pillars of the Earth (which is excellent, by the way), and picked up Dead Until Dark, which is a very fun read. Anyway, I'll be getting back to Shores soon. But, I am glad to have those waves finished!

I've also made a bit of progress on Adam & Eve too (also by Carriage House Samplings). This is a fun little stitch. And I am stitching it over one on black. I decided to take my progress photo with my scissors in there, just for scale. I love the size this is turning out to be. Please excuse the cat hair, my hair, and general fluff that this black fabric seems to attract that for some reason shows up glaringly in photos. Don't those little scissors look giant sized?! I dearly love that little squirrel. He now has a little perch to sit on, and I've stitched in Adam's head (which still needs to be filled in), and I've begun work on the tree trunk.

Saturday, I had a pile of mending that needed to be attended to, so I spent some time with my sewing machine. After everything had been repaired, I decided to get out one of my quilts that needed quilting and worked on it a bit. You may remember that this little Valentine's Day quilt had previously had quilting on it, which I have been ripping out because I wasn't happy with it. I've now finished the ripping out, and I've started on the quilting again. It's turning out nicely so far.

This past weekend was also Easter, so we went to visit family and I took some photos of some fabulous ornaments that my MIL made out of ribbon. Aren't they fun?

Her good friend made one for me, and then taught her how to do it. I'll have to remember to take a photo of mine too to share!

And finally, last week Eric and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. Even with his father in the hospital (now home and doing well), my sweetie surprised me with two dozen red and white roses as well as a single white rose in our special vase from the Rose Ceremony at our wedding. I am so happy, and I am a lucky lucky girl.

I've got a new start to show you next time, and I also have some lovely new stash to share as well. Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for stopping in!

I am grateful for my ability to embrace change and to move through what seem like difficult times and see them in a new light.