Eye of the Needle

Greetings! I finished something today, and I'm a bit stiff and sore from sitting so long on my butt to do so. Also, I lost the light as I stitched--it's a gloomy day out--so this photo doesn't truly represent the fabric color, which is more green than this shows. But I'm done! It's No. 288, "Dickens' Mittens-The Last Word" by the Cricket Collection. I stitched it with DMC over 32 count (two strands over two threads) Lakeside in Pear. I changed a couple of things: instead of 3865, winter white DMC, I used B5200, the super white. I like the white to really pop. I substituted Bayberry GAST on the words (instead of using 3768) because I think the variegation made it more interesting. Otherwise, I mostly stuck with the recommended fibers, including the bronze Kreinik #4 braid. I did not stitch "Scrooge" on the sign on the building, as it wouldn't lie flat and it looked dumb. I put it in and took it out twice.

I started in January 2009 and ended today, February 4, 2012. Only three years--practically a snap of the finger in my stitching world.

Here's a closeup of the little wreath with its red french knots.

I love Christmas designs, and I am working on several. Here's one: Snowy St. Nick by Dimensions. I'm stitching it on 34 count white Legacy linen using the called for DMC and Kreinik Floss. I stuck close to the recommended fabric count because there's some beading, and I don't want the beads to be out of whack scale-wise.

Here's the chart photo. I love elaborate Santas and would think about leaving him up all year. Although I stitch primarily repro samplers, I do enjoy projects like this. I've got more than one Santa in the pipeline.

I went upstairs for some supplies and happened to look down from the catwalk to see that someone's head was sticking out of the blue bag that I use to store my DMC baggies.

Chester's having a nice colorful snooze.

See you soon with another WIP. Tomorrow I work at the shop for the Superbowl Sale--come visit!

Hi, all! The week is getting away from me, so I thought I'd post WIP 16: Roses de Mai by Reflets de Soie. I love the colors in this--the blues and pinks on Lakeside Magnolia--but I'm on the fence about continuing. I don't remember if it is an historical reproduction, but to my eye it seems a bit too contemporary for my taste.

And I'm not loving the large area of working with thread the same color as the fabric, a small area started here. A lot of it is over-one. Hmmmmm--what to do. The thing is, I've had this piece of Magnolia for quite a while, so it is the more substantial linen, and I can think of a bunch of projects I could do on it instead of this one. Sometimes at Stitch Night, someone will point to the excess fabric hanging over the edge of the q-snap, showing a piece of an abandoned project, and laugh. For now, I'll keep working on it, as it really is a pretty stitch, and when I get a larger section of the cream-on-cream completed, I can re-evaluate.

Here's the chart:

I do not feel any conflict at all about my progress on Dorothy Walpole. I love everything about it. Here's a close-up of the top, which shows the rows of alphabets and dividing lines marching to the right-hand border.

And a view of the entire project as it stands today. I highly recommend it, and I know a number of stitchers are working on this, including Marjo, who just started it. What a nice antidote to all that snow in Alaska!

Here's Elvis, sending a bunny nose bump your way to carry you through the week.

See you in a few days with another WIP (I've got a ways to go on those yet).

Happy day, all! It wasn't so long ago that I was occupying a cubicle and counting down the hours until I could rush home on a Friday afternoon and stitch. Now that I'm not gainfully employed (hopefully briefly), you'd think I'd stitch all day long, and while I'd love to, my joblessness makes me feel apologetic for depleting our finances, and in a puritanish way, I don't feel free to enjoy my day completely, so at least the house is getting super clean, and the meals have been less scatter-shot and more nutritious (I'm missing the days of the bowl of cereal and an English muffin for dinner, although lemon chicken and steamed spinach with a touch of balsamic vinegar and a drift of parmesan is nice in its own way) and the library books are even being returned on time. But at least I can stitch half the night now that I'm not getting up at 4:30 a.m. to dress and commute.

I had not forgotten that I started Houses of Hawk Run Hollow some years back--it debuted on my then-new blog in July 2006--so I wasn't surprised when I ran across it. I was surprised at how badly I wanted to take up the needle on it again, though. So I had a little stitching session last night with it, and it's back in the rotation (calling my stitching approach a rotation is like referring to a tornado as a rotation, of course). I love the fabric--40 count, luxuriously rich Lakeside in Maritime whtie--and I love the colors. Some of the AVAS were scattered to the winds (took up residence in other project bags) when I disbanded it because of a major counting mistake that I made on the far left-hand block. I miscounted the blue-green area: it should be 9 rows deep, but it's 8 rows deep, so when I started the bird heads, their feet enter the gold dividing row. Grrr. I can shorten the birds' legs, I can eliminate the birds' feet, I can allow the feet to protrude into the gold row, I can move the bird bodies up one row (a major stitching pain) or I can frog the entire block. For now, I haven't decided what to do, although I'm leaning toward having footless birds. In the meantime, I'm stitching my very favorite block, below the offending block. Thanks to all of you who weighed in on whether it's worth it to continue on yesterday's project, for which I feel no particular love, even though it's a pretty design. I've decided to repurpose the fabric. I put it away long enough to decide I didn't care enough to continue stitching on it.

Counting error: see the bird feet of the right-hand bird entering the gold line?

There's a mistake in this block as well, in the fence, but I compensated for it, and it looks ok, so I moved on. I'm curious how many of you have either completed this design or have started it and have it in your stash.

Pink says he thinks there should be more bunny pictures and less stitching: "Your blog is a snooze."

See you Sunday. Happy weekend!

Hi, all! It's been a busy week, but I've been chugging along on my various samplers, and I spent all of today stitching away on four designs--Sarah Hatton, Dorothy Walpole, Snowy St. Nick and a new design toward the end of this post. WIP is The Product of My Needle Sampler by The Scarlet Letter. It's an original design by them, meaning it's not a true reproduction, although it looks a lot like one. The colors are especially nice in it, but I started it years ago and disliked the 32 count fabric I used, and the fact that I was using only one strand of the AVAS, which means all the filled in black didn't have quite enough coverage. I am not fond of skimpiness, so I put it away. I'd gotten pretty far along, but I decided to restart it on 40 count fabric, using a piece of older Lakeside from my stash (probably Examplar). I didn't have to buy any new fibers and the spool of silver metallic cord was still in the project bag. Here's the new start, which I'm much happier about:

The old sampler on 32 count. Not bad, but it irked me.

And the design, which was copyrighted in 1988, although it's still available on the SL website (for $7! A bargain, truly!)

I worked at the shop yesterday, and a bunch of brand-new JBW designs arrived. I snatched up two of them. For JBWs, they're pretty large (this one is 76 W x 207 H). This is "The Rabbit Alphabet," which is charted for 28 Linen in Antique White, using Crescent Colors in House Wine, WDW in Camellia or DMC in #3731 (the consensus in the shop is that the DMC is too bright). Personally, I think it'd be especially nice stitched on a piece of Cashel in "Baby Lotion."

I started this on a piece of Porelain Lakeside 40 ct from my stash, but I think I'll go back to the shop and get the Baby Lotion fabric, since the design calls from 10 1/4" buttons, 6 3/8" buttons and one 1/2" button, so the scale will be off. I'm using Silk 'n Colors in Raspberry Parfait.

I picked up this little design as well: "Rose Motif Sampler." I'm showing the WDW I'm going to stitch it with--Crape Myrtle--which is very variegated. I think I'll stitch it on Baby Lotion also.

Here's Pink, approving of the pink rabbits on the pink fabric.

Happy week ahead--back next Sunday with yet another WIP.

Greetings, all! Did you think I'd given up the needle and thread? Nah--just busy, and my schedule hasn't allowed a lot of stitching in the last few weeks, and who wants to see my progress if the total is half a flower? For a while I may be posting less. I'm working as a temp employee in a DC law firm, and the hours are awkward, so there isn't much time, nor is there anyplace in their crowded space to get away for a little stitching at lunch. And I'm commuting on the Metro, so there's no elbow room for stitching there either. Mostly I've been reading on the commute and spending some time at In Stitches. I've bought some new stash from the Nashville stuff, some of which I'll show you over the next few weeks. I was really thrilled with some of the new designs. This one, for instance: "Eve's Garden" by Shepherd's Bush. Love the design and the colors, including the fabric that's part of the kit, which is Picture This Plus. It is moving along quickly--I finished this portion just in a morning of stitching today. I did make a substitution. The heart and other pale motifs and elements are a cream/ecru, but I felt they faded into the fabric, so I lightened it up by using a white from Silk n' Colors.

Here's a refresher on the chart:

Which brings to mind my sadly neglected WIP 19: "Sail Away," also by Shepherd's Bush.

Why did I stop? Who knows, although I think I got knotted up looking for a few threads that might be a bit darker. I definitely will need to start this again--it's very pretty. Also on the back burner, I have "Cranberry Pinafore" (purchased years ago but not started) and have been meaning to get "Sailor's Collar," which is a companion to CP. Required stitching for this former Cape Codder.

Here's a little progress on Lois Minshall. The colors in this are fabulous.

And here's a photo of some hay box strife, wherein Pink is informing Elvis to keep his paws off Pink's girlfriend (Elvis' response was to jump up and pee on Pink). They are normally kept apart, but I was cleaning cages, and they like nothing better than to escape and occupy each other's cages. Peaches and Pink are inseparable, and Elvis is very unhappy about it. The next time I go to the Cape and drop the rabbit gang at the bunny sitter (who runs an adoption service), Elvis will have a chance to choose a new girlfriend. You can't choose for them--they have to do it themselves. Just like teenagers! When we get the new bunny there will be photos, of course.

Off I go to clean some bathrooms and Swiffer some floors. Happy week ahead!

Greetings! This week saw a little progress on the Shepherd's Bush Adam & Eve. The snake was fun to stitch. I started a little Easter treat; pictures next week.

It's a very warm early spring in DC, so I've been trying to get out of the office to walk around, partly to find food, since I haven't gotten back into the groove of the packed lunch yet. I work across the street from these guys. The signs say: "Ban All Nuclear Weapons or Have a Nice Doomsday."

In the year and a half that I was working elsewhere, the food truck has taken over the streets of DC. I can only imagine the damage it has done to all the little (mediocre) cafes and delis where we used to pick up our overpriced sandwiches. Now we can order just about any kind of sandwich, wrap, meat-on-a-stick or cupcake curbside. The various trucks ply their wares in different parts of town each day, and they transmit their locations and specials on Twitter. Some trucks offer tastier fare than others, and truck decor goes from straightforward stenciling to over-the-top. I've been looking for Chupacabra, which is supposed to be quite good and has an an artistically painted truck. This day I bought a chivita sandwich from Mojo Truck.

It was a garlic-buttered roll with a layer of pulled pork, a fried egg, lettuce and tomato, and a pungent sauce that performed a slow burn in the back of my throat for the rest of the day.

I've noticed on my commute that nearly everyone is sporting a Kindle or an Ipad rather than carrying a book. Peaches wants to know what she will chew on if the Kindle replaces the book.

Happy week ahead!

Greetings, all! I've been suffering from stitchers' ADD, so I've been jumping from project to project when I stitch at all, but I've finally settled back into working on Sarah Hatton McPhail. I WILL get her finished, and I WILL frame her this year. (I've heard if you visualize accomplishing something, you're more likely to accomplish it. I am visualizing every last stitch done, and handing her over to Karen at In Stitches, and selecting a linen mat and a nice gold frame. Yes.) Since I love before and after pictures, here's where she stands as of half an hour ago.

This is what she looked like in January.

A sad note tonight. Our friends at the House of Rabbits have lost a dear one, Lucky, a sweet lop-eared rabbit. Our hearts go out to Rabbits Guy and Bunny Lady.

Speaking of pets, we have been feeding a couple of stray kitties outdoors, and this lady has shown up lately to eat the leftovers. Meet Mary Beth. Isn't she lovely?

Here she is, in all her loveliness. I particularly like her little hands and feet. Possums are interesting to watch (and she's quite unafraid of the camera flash or the sight of me watching her through the window) and our critter control guy said that they're great cleaner-uppers and don't carry a single disease, so they're actually beneficial to have around. Not everyone likes their grins, of course, but she can't help that.

Off I go to get ready for the week!

Happy Easter, everyone! My wish for today was to sit and stitch all day on something I haven't worked on for a while and then prepare a simple Easter dinner. Wish fulfilled! We are having roasted arctic char with mushrooms and steamed cherrystones with melted butter along with steamed spinach. I'm not fond of ham and turkey bores me to tears. I've spent the entire day (since 8:30) working on Anne Anthony by the Essamplaire. I restarted it on a whiter linen (Lakeside) so that the odd colors show up better. There's lots of over-one on this (see the botton row with the little strawberry plant)--all the strawberries plus the people in the bottom row and probably the people flanking the house.

Here's the chart of the repro:

The Easter bunny woke up grouchy from his nap, as you can see. Too many jelly bean deliveries last night, I guess.

My contract position is over after tomorrow, so I am headed to the Cape next week before I start my new permanent job. Photos from the Cape to come. Maybe it will be warm enough to fish finally?

Happy week ahead!

Greetings, everyone! I wanted to post on my progress on Elisabeth Easdon, on which I've been stitching steadily for the last couple of weeks. The colors in this shot are fairly true. There are tons and tons of motifs in this--it's simply scattered with trees, baskets, birds, etc. This is another sampler that I'd like to complete and get framed this year. Seems likely.

This photo was taken in September (bad light).

Remember Ann Anthony? Here's a little progress. More about Ann in a moment.

I discovered this "book of patterns and instructions" for American Needlework (by the Editors of Woman's Day) dated 1963 in my father's basement. Probably my mom had bought it years ago, although I'm not ruling out the possibility that I picked it up at a book sale sometime in the 70s and left it there. It features pattern sheets for "reproducing Other Early American Designs in Embroidery, Crewel Work, Cross-Stitch, Needlepoint, Patchwork, Applique, Quilting, Hooking, Candlewicking and Rugmaking." This album of designs is available on the 'net (I checked both Abebooks.com and Amazon). There seems to be a companion hard cover book that I do not have--it possibly has the color photos missing from the charts and instruction booklet.

This thumbnail photo caught my eye; I identified it immediately as a Rhode Island sampler design. Intrigued, I looked inside, taking out the pattern sheets for the half-dozen cross stitch designs.

Look at Ann Anthony's photo. Do you see the little thumbnail? Hint: bottom row of people.

Yep, it's Ann Anthony! This is the "American Needlework" version of Ann. It's almost the same as the Essamplaire version, except that Am. Needlework suggests charting your own name in the "white" row beneath the alphabet. I don't agree with that. I sometimes sign my name to repro samplers in a small, out-of-the-way area, but I don't hijack an entire section of the design. The AA chart (although it's entitled "Colonial Sampler") is copyrighted 1961, so I imagine the rights ran out on the Woman's Day pattern.

There are other appealing charts in this volume as well: "Brick House Sampler."

I want to do this one: "Cat Sampler." Have you seen this anywhere else? I'll note, by the way, that if you want to acquire this book of designs, the charting is pretty terrible. You can see it, but they took a lot of shortcuts in the charting. Note the left-hand column with the blank lines. They have charted two border flowers, which are shown elsewhere, and you are expected to duplicate those on each of the lines. All designs are charted for DMC, by the way--after all, it was the 1960s.

We have a new family member! Meet Elizabeth! Elvis found himself a girlfriend--he fell in love with her while he was boarded at Bunny-Lu in Haymarket. Bunny-Lu's owner had noticed that he seemed depressed that Pink and Peaches were so tightly bonded, and since bonding attempts between Elizabeth and other bunnies had failed, she placed Elizabeth with Elvis and it was love at first sight between these two lionheads. He's so happy to have a girlfriend. Tom says to Elvis "hey, your girlfriend has a mustache!"

Awwwww. We were going to adopt through Pink's rescuer, and in fact, my own choice would have been another uppy-eared white bunny (frankly, lionheads are stubborn and obnoxious), but as Woody Allen would say, the heart wants what it wants, and I wasn't going to argue with Elvis!

Happy week ahead!

Greetings, all! I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. My new job is all-consuming at the moment--learning the ropes and the procedures. I get home so over-stimulated and tired I'm virtually speechless (no doubt a relief to Tom), but it has helped calm me to stitch. And as I may have mentioned before, the light in my new office is so wonderful that I spend nearly every lunch hour stitching contentedly, so I've actually been accomplishing quite a lot.

Here's the latest shot of Sarah Hatton McPhail. The "before" photo is below. I've managed to nearly finish the bottom and the right lower corner and I've brought one of the alphabet lines to the right border. This photo is the truer color of the fabric. Frankly, although I love it, I'm finding it disappointingly small. I was going to mat it with a nice fabric (pink or blue linen) and then find the biggest gilt rococo frame they make for it so that it's more imposing on my wall. My walls are so bare that I'm afraid it will look like a speck otherwise. The kind ladies at stitch night were aghast at my plans and told me I would not be MATTING anything, nor would I choose a loud gold frame. We have decided, in fact, that framing Sarah will be a group activity on a stitch night, supervised by a number of my fellow sitchers, so that I do not make a horrible mistake. LOL!

Here's the latest on Elizabeth Easdon. I've made it to the right-hand border on the top. There's still a ton to do on this.

And a couple of new starts, which you may have noticed if you read the In Stitches blog. Here's this year's Mirabilia Santa, which I'm stitching on 32 count fabric with DMC, some sparkly Kreinik and lots of beads to be added later. I love stitching Santas, as many of you know.

And each year I try to stitch a Blackberry Lane designs Christmas ornament. Last year I stitched two and gave them away in a Christmas swap. The Blackberry Lane trunk show is in the shop, and I got so enthused about last year's model (everything's more enticing as a model, isn't it?), that I started it also.

Also soon on my plate: I've ordered the newest Scarlet Letter, and my copy of Gigi R's Virginie Grimoux has arrived at the shop. I had that awful decision to make for today: drive to the shop, pick up my new chart and miss a few hours with the needle, or stay home, stitch and plan to pick up the new chart when I work at the shop next Sunday? I decided to stay out of the car today, but it was a tough decision! Here she is:

Pink and I have missed everyone, and we hope to post a little more frequently as things calm down.

Happy week ahead.

Greetings, all! I had the opportunity to go to the Woodlawn Needlework show yesterday before working at the shop, and it was quite wonderful--very worthwhile. Unfortunately, as I mentioned last week, no one is allowed to photograph anything but their own entry in the show, so I could not take the photos of the various amazing needleworks that I had a chance to see. There were 649 entries, I believe, and they ranged from simple to elaborate. Many I was familiar with, particularly in the cross stitch division, but there were many wonderful designs I've never seen before and would love to get my hands on. Some I have in my stash (see below) and have a new appreciation for since I've seen them stitched up. None have design names on them though! For some reason, all the exhibits have the name of the stitcher and in many cases the framer on them--but not the name of the designer or the design!

This is a photo of Woodlawn Plantation. Woodlawn has a long way to go before it's in reasonably good shape--this is not a spiffy Williamsburg-type restoration. It is very, very primitive inside and the grounds are shabby. I'm happy that the entry fees and ticket sales, among other monies surrounding this show, will go to help restore Woodlawn. No air conditioning on a 90-degree day and looking at exhibits on the 2nd floor of the building--it certainly makes you think of the rigors of wearing a long-sleeved corseted dress in the early 1800s during the long Virginia summer.

Here's the guide to the exhibits. The cover photo is a design that was exhibited at the show. It is a map of the DC/MD/VA area's rivers with Mount Vernon and other local points of interest. It is both stitched AND painted. The design is by Catherine Jordan, who offers other maps as kits, and who also offers online map classes. I'm hoping she offers this one as a kit!

Speaking of Southern Plantations, I've made a bit of progress on Sarah Hatton McPhail this week. Here's the area I've been concentrating on.

Which is a bit of a change from last week.

This arrived at the shop. I'm excited about stitching it, but I'm hemming and hawing about the materials I'll be using--and my stitchy friends have announced that I need to finish Sarah before starting Hannah.

And this was one of the stitched exhibits at the show. I've had this design in my stash since the late eighties, and now might be the time to stitch it. Yup--I started it: DMC on some vintage Examplar Lakeside from my stash.

Pink and Peaches send greetings and hope you're keeping cool.

Happy week ahead!

My sister and I planned to go to the Cape this weekend to see my dad and attend his church's Strawberry Festival, always a fun event (lobster rolls! strawberry shortcake! linens table!), so we headed to National Airport after work and had a relaxing dinner and chat before we were to catch our 10 p.m. plane to Providence. As we walked to our gate after being both body scanned and frisked, we noticed that flight after flight was being canceled and there was a huge line forming in the terminal. We noted that our flight had been moved to 11 p.m. As it turned out, an FAA facility had caught fire in NJ and they had lost the ability to meter flights into and out of airports up and down the east coast, and there were thunderstorms in all the affected areas as well. So we got in line, anticipating that our flight was going to be canceled and reasoning that even if it wasn't, there was a good chance we'd arrive in Providence to find the car agency shuttered (everything there closes at midnight). We didn't want to lose the value of our ticket, although by now--11 p.m. and no sign of the plane--we decided we were too tired to continue regardless. So the exhausted ticket agent refunded our tickets, and gave our seats to two people who had lost out when their flight was canceled at 5 p.m. Hopefully they got to go. Gleefully, we headed back to the car and drove home. Written on our refund voucher are the words "travel to no avail." Lots of people around us in the line were traveling to no avail: the woman from Richmond doing the 3-day museum tour in Portland, Maine, who flew from Richmond to LaGuardia, only to have her plane routed back to DC. The woman flying to Boston for a wedding whose replacement flight on Saturday would get her there too late to attend. We'll try again next month.

In the meantime, I decided I'd clean a few closets and stumbled on this nearly finished project. And finished it! It's a very old project from a book I no longer have, and I started it in roughly 1990. It's on either 16- or 18-count white aida, using DMC. I'm going to frame it and hang it in the kitchen; I think its cuteness stands the test of time even though I don't like the fabric and there are a couple of indelible hoop marks on it. Had I traveled this weekend, I might never have finished it!

Since every finish deserves a new start, I started "Lilies" by Kustom Krafts, Inc. It's Heaven and Earthish, with every square filled with DMC. I want to hang it in a cottagey bedroom full of yellow.

I have not neglected my ongoing major projects either: here is Sarah Hatton McPhail:

And progress on Elizabeth Easdon:

And a close-up of the area I'm stitching now:

Speaking of Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Elvis finding time to cuddle in between renovations of their bunny cardboard tunnel (to date, three skylights).

Although I haven't been blogging much, I have been stitching, as you can see. Happy week ahead!

Hi, everyone! If you watch the Weather Channel, you probably know that on Friday night Virginia (and several other states) got walloped by a cluster of terrible thunderstorms that knocked down trees and killed power to over a million customers. They're estimating that power won't be restored to everyone until the end of the week. We were very fortunate; although the power flickered on and off about 20 times, it finally came back and stayed on. It's really hot--it was about 102 today, so we appreciated the A/C. Likewise we appreciated not having this tree limb fall on the car. The tree is being taken out tomorrow; the canopies of these pears (decorative--no fruit) are heavy and the wood is soft, so they tend to split easily.

With such high heat, there was nothing better than stitching inside all weekend. I worked on Elizabeth and Sarah, but I don't really have anything to show--just more alphabets. But here's a little progress on a snow globe Christmas ornament from 2011 by Blackberry Lane. I'm stitching with DMC over one on 30 count linen.

Here's a photo of the project:

And thanks to Nicole, who showed her "Charlotte Clayton," I took mine out. This is the third time I have started this project--I didn't like the fabrics I used in the last two. This is 40 count Picture This Plus, but I can't remember the name of the color. It's a very blotchy pink/orange that looks just right with the NPI colors of the design. So far I'm pleased.

We have kept cooking to a minimum to keep the house cool; the bunnies counsel eating lots of nice chilled salads. It's even better if you can eat them while lying on a chilly tile floor.

Happy Fourth! You know what I'll be doing, and it isn't going to be shooting off a bunch of firecrackers in the heat!

Hey, guys! It's been a while, but my job seems to be of the all-consuming, hours-eating type. At the end of the day I'm pretty well drained and every weekend is catch-up, so I haven't been blogging much, although I continue to stitch. Thank goodness that stitching is so calming. I've been working on much!

Here's where Sarah Hatton McPhail stands. Not finished, although close. I've got a little bit here and there--something on the border, finishing the four-sided stitch over the top of the navy letters/numbers, completing the boat and the lines in the water, doing some top stitching on bushes and trees, and a couple of over-one mottoes. I'm hoping to finish by the first Stitch Night in September, wherein my pals and I will be selecting a suitable frame.

Love the sampler but hate these little four-sided suckers, because you know, it's enough. This relationship is over. Time to move on.

Of course when a relationship goes bad, sometimes you cast your eyes around and start another relationship prematurely. My friend Carol M. loaned me this chart--I've been wanting to stitch it forever. Thanks, Carol! Blackbird Designs' "Blessings Be Thine" stitched on a piece of LL (vintage examplar, I think, 32 count) from my stash, using a conversion to Belle Soie silks from my stash.

Remember Hannah Carter? I hemmed and hawed over what to use for her.

Simple Cashel--everything is covered, so no sense using a nice over-dyed. I'm using the called-for AVAS with the exception of the background blue-green, for which I'm using Silk 'n Colors in Green Leaves (there are two Green Leaves--this is the dark). Hopefully the variegation will make it more fun to stitch all that background. And no, I'm not stitching it in the recommended one-stitch-at-a-time way--there's just too much of it.

I put a little work into Ann Dale: Big and Beautiful. I love this and am thinking ahead to Christmas (Christmas 2015 maybe). Called-for NPI on PTP 40 count fabric. Legacy?

Another new start: Sheepish Designs' "Spotless Innocence."

I'm stitching it on 40-count LL Examplar from my stash, along with a silk conversion of the DMC colors. It's a fun stitch.

Many thanks to a local stitching friend, Beth, who had listed the SI chart on ebay, and which I won in a bid, not knowing it was hers. She was destashing and generously gave me all of these Sheepish Designs! Thanks so much, Beth! I foresee many hours of happily sitting on my butt, stitching away.

Elizabeth is sitting in the sink, having her sticky pantaloons soaked clean in a plain warm-water bath. She appears serene here, doesn't she?

Noooooooo! Let me out!

On to stitch a bit. Happy week ahead!

Greetings, all! Today is the last day of my one-week vacation, but I spent it well and satisfyingly: a trip to the Cape with my sister and Gilbert to see my dad (and spent some quality time with a plate of seafood at the Flying Bridge); and lots and lots (and lots) of stitching. In fact, I have a finish!

Sarah Hatton McPhail, reproduced by The Essamplaire. I started it in August 2009 on 32 count fabric and after a few months restarted it 40 count Lakeside Linen in maritime white using the AVAS that came in the kit. So three years, more or less. I stitched most of it as charted, except for whatever mistakes I might have made and changing the verses. A verse floating in the trees on the left, was to have said: "Regret succeeds folly" which I thought was too busy with everything else going on in this design. The right verse was to have said "Yourself respect," which struck me as a bit too Aretha Franklin-ish. I really did not want to mentally spell out "R-E-S-P-E-CEE-T!" every time I looked at it. In the end, because the last couple of years have been no walk in the park, I chose the marathoners' motto: "Endure" and my initials and year of completion.

I had expected to start a big new project when I completed Sarah (and I do have a major re-start in the wings), but now I'm addicted to finishing, so I've chosen one of my next closest-to-being-finished and favorite large projects, Catharine McNeal 1843, reproduced by Patty Yergey of Samplers Revisited. I love the colors in it, and I'm rocketing along, in spite of there being lots of over-one. I elected not to do the called-for satin stitches (every other thistle in the border, the roof of the house and the large tree on the lower right--see the photo of the project) and am a little sorry. All the same, I love this sampler for its quirky design and gorgeous, unique colors (NPI silks on the recommended Picture This Plus linen). Patty is both a fabulous designer/reproductionist and fun person; when I told her somewhat apologetically that I wasn't stitching it completely as charted, she got a little twinkle in her eye and said it was a shame I wasn't stitching the satin stitches, since those sections would have gone faster than cross-stitching them.

Because I flew to the Cape, I only took two projects with me--Sarah McPhail and my restart of Charlotte. Here's the cat I worked on quite a bit.

And a photo of the whole thing to date:

Also worked on this week: Esther Rondel 1822 by Queenstown Sampler Designs (NPI on 40 count Lakeside).

And Christinia Cathcart (AVAS on 32 count something)

Pink sends his greetings from his summer-camp willow teepee.

I miss posting more often, but I've had to choose between spending my scarce free time blogging or stitching, unfortunately.

Happy week ahead!

Hi, all! Whoa, this new Blogger is a little challenging to work with. Of course, I could probably find some directions somewhere online, but I never read directions; Impatience is my middle name. Finishing Sarah a couple of weeks ago was such a kick that I decided there needed to be more finishes in my near future, so here comes Catharine McNeal, down the homestretch. The colors photographed less warm than they are IRL--it's late afternoon and the light is funky. But you get the idea. I'm thinking she should be done in the next two or three weeks. I need to clear the decks so that I can start Scarlett House's new Christmastide design, the new design that just popped onto the Essamplaire site, and a few others. (You thought I had reformed?) Next up for a finish this year will probably be Elizabeth Easdon by the Essamplaire; that's about 2/3 done.

Peaches is demonstrating patience here, bunny loaf style.

Happy week ahead!

Greetings! Just a little drive-by today. I abandoned my good intentions after a boring session stitching a long-term WIP, so I thought: Why not start a new sampler? Why not indeed? Introducing Mary Ann MacDonald, who's been in my stash for many years: I tore my stash apart yesterday looking for just the right fabric (Large pieces of the right color are in short supply at my house--guess a little restocking is in order. I had PTP in fog (too gray), Lakeside in magnolia (great color but that piece for some reason is somewhat flimsy), Lakside in navy bean, lentil and vintage examplar--all too dark). Then I unearthed this Picture This half yard in probably Legacy, and it did the trick, although I might have preferred something a little lighter. I had all the AVAS in my stash except for a few. A couple that I needed right away and didn't have or didn't like I converted to Silk n' Colors, and the rest I will pick up on Stitch Night when I'm at the shop.

Here she is. Mary Ann is by Scarlet Letter, of course.

A close-up. She is even prettier in real life. And I stitched the honeysuckles pinker than they are charted. The were originally charted for two salmony shades, and I wanted the brighter, clearer pink, especially since the two other samplers I am going to hang with Mary Ann have lots of pink in them.

This will hang in Mary Ann's neighborhood. Lots of pink here.

Pink: "You can never have too much Pink!"

Happy week ahead!

Hi, everyone! This Sunday sees me a bit under the weather with whatever crud is going around--fever, chills, aches, coughing, etc. Fortunately, although I don't feel well enough to do much, I can still stitch, wrapped in my fluffy pink robe, cats gathered round and a box of Kleenex at my side. I keep nodding off though. I picked up my framed pieces on Wednesday night: Behold Sarah Hatton McPhail. There is museum glass in both frames, which I highly recommend.

And a close-up of her frame. There's a little bit of glare from the bulbs in the dining room chandelier--these are lying on the table at the moment, since I don't want to be wobbly when I hang them.

And the Dickens Mittens (Dickens Christmas? I can never remember the name of the thing) by Cross Eyed Cricket:

And a close-up of that as well. The framing was done at In Stitches, and I'm so pleased with the result!

I made chicken noodle soup from scratch yesterday.

Last week, my sister took me out for a wonderful lunch at Rosa Mexicano at Washington Harbor. There are Rosas scattered around the U.S.--Minneapolis, San Francisco, Boston, DC. We highly recommend it. Freshly made tortillas and tableside guacamole, seen here, along with some pomegranate margaritas. Yummy.

I picked up this little project at In Stitches on Stitch Night.

And promptly started it.

I haven't neglected Catharine McNeal either.

Elizabeth says hello.

And goodbye.

Happy week ahead! (Note, if you're looking for my blog list, it seems to have migrated below the action. It's a mystery to me why, and I'll fix it when I can figure out how to do so!)

Greetings from somewhere inside Hurricane Sandy! It is raining steadily here, and it's quite breezy--maybe 15-20 mph. The temps have dropped a bit, from 52 this morning, to 47 now, in line with Sandy's merger with the cold front. So far, we have power; I'm crossing my fingers that we keep it, since I'm having a blast stitching and puttering. Note that everything photographed lighter than it is IRL--it's really dark with the storm. This is an ancient project that I got out of the closet and re-started. I think I bought it about 25 years ago at the now-defunct Total Crafts in Annandale, VA. I loved TC, and they seemed to do a great business--they predated Michaels, but their products were better and more fun. Of course it's Beatrix Potter, and the fabric that came in the kit is actually linen.

And I keep working away on this, which is getting close to a finish. There's a good bit more over-one though.

Speaking of over-one, just for fun I'm doing a Christmas ornament from a Prairie Schooler chart. Over one. On black (28). At night. Blindfolded. (OK, not blindfolded.)

Here's a view of the hurricane out our back door. That bent-over oak on the right has always been crooked--it's not an indication of the wind. The weather forecasters do say it's going to get a lot worse.

I went to Target and the grocery store and the pet store on Saturday (and couldn't find any water). Yesterday I toured gas stations and drug stores and found a few cases at CVS. I did stock up on Halloween candy at nearly every stop--we have literally 8 pounds of candy. (and Siobhan, I put the Reeses on top, just for you). Is it me, or does candy have less taste than it used to?

Pink and Peaches say it may be time to flee. Too late, guys; the trains and planes stopped running yesterday. At least we didn't have to go to work today!

Best wishes to everyone who is in or about to be in Sandy's grip!

Today is just a quick post--I'm off to get my hair cut this afternoon, plus do some grocery shopping. I'm also going to make a stop at Hobby Lobby for some packaged shells as I'd like to start working on some Christmas garlands for the little tree we'll have on the Cape this Christmas. We came through the storm fine--thank you for your well wishes--with just some wind and rain; nothing like what we've seen in the photos of New York and New Jersey. My work on Catharine McNeal continues. I'm stitching the last thistle. I've run out of the color used in the tree (I suspect I simply lost the skein, because I know I haven't used an entire skein's worth. Fortunately, Stitch Night is this week, so I can buy the missing color. Hopefully the dye lot will match, but if not, I don't worry too much because it is supposed to be a historic reproduction, after all.)

Meet our two new house cats! The dark cat is the mom, who showed up at our door towing her kitten. We have spent a lot of time trying to lure them inside and finally got them in the door last night. The house overwhelms them, and they are spending a lot of time cuddling together. Little by little they're warming up to us though.

Pink sniffs that we don't need any further pets in this house!

Happy week ahead and best wishes to everyone who has been affected by Sandy!

WIP 15: Snowy Saint Nick, and a Finish!

WIP 16: Roses de Mai, and a Continuation

WIP 17: HoHRH

WIP 18: Revisiting the Product of My Needle Sampler

Eve's Garden and WIP 19: Sail Away

Waiting for Chupacabra

Sarah and Lucky and Mary Beth

Stitch All Day

Elisabeth/Elizabeth and Ann

Rabbit Run

Woodlawn

Travel to No Avail

Dead Wood

Fat Bottomed Girls

Three Years

Next!

Mary Ann

Article 7

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

Article 5