Summer!

Hoping you are having a fun summer!  It's blazing hot here in Florida and feels like a sauna.  We've been busy with a variety of activities.  I've been stitching almost every day which is unusual for me.  I've slightly changed my work schedule and that seems to give me more time and more energy for stitching.  

If I missed replying to your comment on my last post, I had a Blogger issue where I wasn't getting notified of comments.  That issue has been corrected now.  I SO appreciate your visits and comments as well as your friendship.  Thank you!

I've started and made great progress on Maria Phinney 1832 by Shakespeare's Peddler.  This is the first project in the 2019 in Country Sampler's ABC Schoolgirl Needlework Club.  The colors in this are very muted and browny but I am enjoying it immensely.  This came with 36 count Weeks linen in Straw and I substituted this for the same count/color etc for the new Weeks on Zweigart which I purchased from Sassy Jacks Stitchery.  I needed a little less wiggly fabric.  If you're stitching this, you're going to need an extra skein of the Fawn color.

Maria Phinney 1832

Shakespeare's Peddler

Called for Threads

36 Count Weeks Straw on Zweigart Base

July included a visit from our niece and nephew from Arizona.  The photo below shows my husband with Jack in the middle and Sophie in the lower left all wearing their hats we bought to shade their face and neck from the sun.  We had a great visit.  The kids are super polite and well behaved.

One. of the activities we had planned was surf fishing.  My oldest son was in charge of that activity.  Jack caught a small fish and they cut it up for bait.  He told Jack that they could catch a shark with it and within minutes Jack had caught a baby hammerhead.  Cool, but kinda scary if you think about it for a minute or two!

Then last week, my favorite guy in the whole world turned 50.  We had dinner out and he ate every bit of this ice cream cake himself.  Since it was a big birthday, I surprised him with an Apple Watch which he is enjoying. 

It is morning here and Murphy and I are just up today.  Greg is still sleeping.  Here is Murphy not understanding why he has to go outside to do his business before he gets to eat.  It's been 45 minutes since we've been up!  I'm off to convince this guy to go outside.  He's as stubborn as can be!

Hoping all your stitches are happy ones!

Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Hello there!  Who can believe it is almost July?  I have no idea where the year has gone but it sure is hot here.  Christmas will be here before we know it.  I guess these comments are a sure sign I'm getting old!  Ha!

I have a ornament finish that I've never shown.  One of the BBD Christmas stockings.  They stitch up pretty quickly and finish fairly easily.   They do look so pretty on the tree too!

I don't know what has gotten into me but I've started several projects over the past couple of months. This is the third one and it's a big one - And They Sinned by Examplar Dames.  The chart is OOP but you may find a copy here and there.  I'm stitching with the called for threads on 36 count Picture This Plus Legacy.  I'm really enjoying this and can't wait to get further down into the stitching.  There is a really pretty tree with Adam and Even in the next section below where I am now.  I didn't mind stitching the big cloud (even though my two thread colors were probably too close).  I did not want stripes so I stitched in a circular fashion.   It used more thread but I do like the results.

I've also managed to block my Pradera Wrap (free pattern).  I used the call for yarn and it was wonderful  to knit with.  The yarn was soft and squishy before blocking and is still that way after blocking.  I can't wait to wear it this winter!  Here is Florida, I don't ever wear a jacket.  A hand knit around my neck is usually just enough to keep me warm from car to building. 

Pradera Wrap

Yarn:  Manos del Uruguay

Colorways:  Miel, Azafran, Hortensia, and Granada

Needle:  US Size 10 

Here is a photo of Murphy in my sewing room trying to Jedi Mind trick (by sitting) me into giving him a treat!  Of course, that worked but I made him lay down first.  Don't kind yourself, he is fully in charge!  Ha!

I hope your week has started out well and that all the stitches you take are happy ones!

Summer is Here!

Happy June!  Where has the year gone?!  The past couple of months, I've been busy but still have had time to do some of the things I love.

I pull out Ann Dale from deep hibernation and have stitched this bottom row on it.  I've also done a lot of border work (and re-work) which isn't shown here.  Ann is a lovely sampler - a BIG girl but so worth the time!

I also immediately ordered Elizabeth Atkinson from Sassy Jacks Stitchery as they had kits at a very affordable price with silks.  I chose the 46 count linen (SilkWeaver Golden Oats) option with the 100/3 you see on the spools below.  LOVE the colors in this one!

I started it too!  At first the 46 count was slow going but it has gotten much better!  I'm using a 28 needle and it feels a little big so I might need to go to something else(any suggestions?).  The colors in Elizabeth are fantastic.  The 100/3 is used as it comes off the spool and I'm enjoying not having to strand or put the remaining strands back away.  The little things!  I think this one is going to go fast because I'm so in love with it!  

I've also felt the desire to sew a little bit.  All of my WIPs are on the more complicated/fiddly side so in an effort to flame that desire, I'm sewing charm squares together.  So far, it's been soothing and mindless and all the things you need when you haven't sewn in ages.

In personal news, my youngest son moved to Tallahassee 2 years ago and he moved back to Jacksonville Memorial Day weekend.  He's so happy to be back and we're happy that he's back in town too!  He lives about 15 minutes away and that makes this momma's heart happy!

I'm already ready for summer to be over.  Here in NE Florida we've already had record setting heat, 100 degree days, and one large fire that closed I-95 both ways.  The humidity is off the chart and I'm in full on hibernation mode!   

I'll be back soon with more to share.  In the meantime, I hope all your stitches are happy ones!

Other Things

Here are a couple of other things I've been working on while I was away.  I started When Thou Art Rich by Hands Across the Sea Smplers.  I had the good fortune of seeing the antique while I was at Sassy Jacks in January 2018.  Such a beautiful sampler.  I've LOVED stitching what I have stitched so far.  The next row, however, is a row of queen stitches and I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to get through that.  The queen stitches are over 4 on 40 count and are the light yellow so not a good thread color to really see what you are doing.  I know I'll get through it at some point and hopefully I'll grow as a queen stitcher because there are other rows of queen stitches in this sampler!  

I found a very bad photo of the antique.  It was sitting in a window where the light was coming from the rear.

I've also been working on Curly Witch from a class with our EGA chapter in 2018.  I've really enjoyed this so far.  It's the first time I've stitched a plaid and I'm happy with how it came out.  I've got a fair amount of work left to do but I'm sure I'll get it finished at some point.

Things with my stash got to the point where I couldn't find anything.  I had kits bagged up but they weren't labeled so what good did that do?    Also my charts were in a drawer which meant it was a pain to find anything.  So I pulled much of it out of the closet and got to work.  The charts are now alphabetized in magazine holders (you can see them in the background) and my kits are in more similar sized bags and are labeled.

Here are the labels I'm using.  I can reuse them easily.  I also bought the binder rings from Amazon very inexpensively.  I feel better about being able to find things now.  Still lots of work to do in there but being able to find most of what I need is a real improvement!  It seems like any stash needs constant maintenance!

Remember my dilemma on my last post with the Shutter Green dye lot?  A reader sent me her older dye lot of Shutter Green along with a Victorian Motto Sampler thread that she felt was a good match. Here are my two Shutter Greens along with the ones she sent.  Can you tell which is which?  I don't have her permission to say who it was but THANK YOU!!!

I hope all your stitches are happy ones!

Happy New Year?

Hello!  I certainly didn't mean to be away so long.  No excuses!  I have been stitching though.  I'll share with you what I stitched on Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow today.  I'm using the called for linen in 40 count and DMC (because there are 60ish colors in this one).  

This is block 5.  Probably my least favorite block though I could not tell you why.   I apologize for the wrinkles.

More recently I've finished block 6.  This one went really fast for me.  I just love the spiders in this piece.  They really seem to add interest and capture my eye.  This block has one spider.  I stitched him very last.

Here is a picture of where Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow is to date.  I've taken to stitching the outline of the next block before I put this project away.  That's what you see happening in block 7.  I haven't started stitching the interior of the block and for now, I'm putting this one away.  I'll be happy I stitched the border already when I take it back out to work on.

I'm working on gathering my supplies for And They Sinned.  While I had almost everything threadwise in stash, I didn't have 3 skeins of Shutter Green, I had two.  So I ordered 3 more because I wanted to dye lot to be the same as this color is used in a very large area (the grass at the bottom).  I didn't expect such a significant difference in the colors.  They don't even look anywhere near the same color!  Better safe than sorry.  If anyone runs out of an older dye lot of Shutter Green, let me know!

I hoping to get back to posting on somewhat of a monthly schedule.  I enjoy the interactions and sometimes I just need to say more than Instagram allows.  Thank you for sticking with me during my silent periods.   You inspire me so much and I love visiting your blogs too if you have them!

Happy Spring!  May all your stitches be happy ones!

Bees and Mountains!

My EGA guild was selected to pilot Betsy Morgan's new teaching piece called Bee Contained.  It was such a privilege and obviously we were all thrilled.  Being a pilot class comes with responsibility.  As a result, I worked hard to clear some stitching from my schedule so I could devote plenty of time to stitching this project.  You know, instead of just putting the project in stash for a while to marinate.  Hopefully I'm not the only one who does that!  Being a pilot class entails giving Betsy feedback on such things as the pacing of the class, her presentation, the stitching charts and instructions as well as the quantity of threads, etc.  Betsy is an established and seasoned designer and teacher.  Everything went so well so the major item to give feedback on after class was the charting/instructions and threads.

Betsy demonstrating the blackwork path.

This is the primary piece to Bee Contained.  This is Betsy's model.  It's so cute and Betsy's kits are full of high quality materials.  This class will be offered beginning 2019. The linen color here is more true to color than the photo of my stitching.

 

Here is my finished stitching of the class pieces other than the piece we assembled in class.  As a pilot class member, we were not required to assemble the project as part of our feedback.  I'll probably end up doing that next year.  Once the main panel was stitched, it went really, really fast.  I left class confident that I could assemble the project on my own which was a real plus and not always the case!

This isn't a good photo but this is the piece we completed in class!  It's so cute.  So cute that my dog Murphy is super interested in it every time he happens to see it!  It's a good thing I'm always careful with my stitching around  him!

Longtime readers of the blog will recall that Greg and I typically vacation in the Smokies every fall. This year was no exception.  Living in Florida, we get zero fall color.  Our trees typically go straight to brown from green.   I think this is our 9th or 10th year visiting the Smokies in October or November.  The last several years we've gone with dear friends.

We love visiting the mountains (any mountainous area really).  I think with views like this it's understandable why this is our happy place!

Hoping all your stitches are happy ones!

Framed!

I've had a chance to get some projects framed.  They've been hung too after a couple of weeks of hanging out in my sewing room.  First up is this Brenda Keyes piece that was a SAL with my EGA chapter.   You can find my details on this sampler HERE.  It's called Country House sampler and I fell I love with it when Tanya from The Scarlet House posted her version on FB.  It was in a grouping of sampler pics and she graciously gave me the information.  I personalized this one with my name which is why you see the black blob.

 

This one is A Pennsylvania Alphabet by the Goode Huswife.  This is not one that Anne has reprinted as yet and is rather hard to find.  Thanks to a generous friend who lent me her copy!  You can find my details on this project HERE.  I did change the thread colors.  This project is special in that it saved my sanity when my dad fell and had surgery/was in rehab.  Every stitch was stitched at his hospital bedside or with my mom who has dementia.  It was a long and stressful 2 months but I was blessed to spend time with them and help take care of them.  Do you have any projects that take you back to a specific time in your life or to a certain event?

The close ups of the frames indicate a good dusting is needed!  If I do that and retake the pictures, this blog post would never get made.  Ever feel that way yourself?

We had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you did too!  May all your stitches be happy ones!

Heritage Sampler

I hope you're having a great summer.  It's been hot here with a LOT of rain.  No water shortage here for sure.  Fall still feels like a long way off but I'm ready for it to cool down drastically.

I've been absent from the blog but I have been stitching!  I finished up Heritage Sampler from Plum Street Samplings.  I fell in love with this when I saw Paulette's video that explained what each quadrant meant and shared insights into her design process.  I really enjoyed stitching this and learned that when the designer suggests half crosses on certain over 1 sections that it a good idea to NOT decide to do full cross!

The Heritage Sampler

By Plum Street Samplers

Called for threads

Called for Fabric - 36 count Vintage Meadow Rue

I'll be back soon with more!  I hope all your stitches are happy ones!

Some Progress

This spring and early summer I've been focusing on my WIP Challenge list projects for 2018.   My EGA guild has a challenge each year and since we have something coming up at the beginning of July that will take a few months, I decided to try and knock some of my Challenge list out.  My photos are of the projects un-ironed but figured that if I waited to post before ironing, it very well might be another month without a post from me!

First I pledged to finish the stitching only on A Lady's Worke Box (3rd project down) by With My Needle/Ellen Chester. It's such a beautiful project and once I put my mind to it, the stitching went rather quickly.  I had a small to finish up and the larger inside and outside panels left to do.  I also had to correct some border backstitching that wasn't done over the correct number of threads.  Ellen's instructions are amazing and I have no doubt I'll be able to finish this myself.  It most likely will not be this year based on what I want to accomplish.  Maybe the finishing will go on my 2019 WIP Challenge list?!

I also finished the stitching on this stocking from Blackbird Designs called Snowy Eve.  This is found in their booklet called Merry December which  has 3 stockings included.  Fun rather quick stitch!  I have the finishing to do yet for this one before it can count for my guild.  I'll probably do that in the fall.  I've done one before but I definitely want to improve on my technique.

Last up,  I finished block #3 of Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow!  This block was fairly densely stitched but also fun.  I've also started stitching the black outside border for the next block before I put it away.  I've pulled this back out to work on block #4.  It's a fun stitch.  I'm using DMC because there are about 60 thread colors for this one.  

The summer is already beyond hot here, even with all the rain.  Is it terrible that I'm looking forward to fall already?!

Wishing you all happy stitches!

Classes with Betsy Morgan

Since my last post, I've had the pleasure of taking two classes from Betsy Morgan.  My EGA guild was so fortunate to have her teach as she has announced her retirement 1/1/2020.  I've never taken one of Betsy's classes and I'm so glad I had the opportunity.

One of the classes was Swan Bower - this is her newest teaching piece as of the date of this post.  She will have a new design coming out the end of the year/early next year.   Here is Betsy holding Swan Bower.  This is the same class she taught at The Attic in January.

Our class project was to finish the stitching on this floss card and to assemble it.  It's really cute and not as quick as it would appear at first glance.  Or at least it wasn't for me.  Am I the only one that grossly under estimates how long something will take when it comes to stitching?

The other side has our initials and the year.  This was really fun!

We also had Maria Katarin's Stitching Reticule - this project is full of bright happy colors.  This class was also taught at The Attic in January.  I've not seen any photos that do this project justice. 

We assembled this accessory during our class.  I was able to get it all done during class except for making the tassel and attaching it.  I did that the weekend after class.

If you've never taken a class from Betsy, I would highly suggest it.  She has a great teaching style and has something for every level of stitcher - to include her own joining method.  

After the classes were over and after stitching a bit more on The Heritage Sampler, I was ready to stitch something else.  I thought of A Lady's Worke Box which is a class project from a class I took from Ellen Chester of With My Needle.  At the time, the assembly of the box was a little overwhelming.  I so love this project!  I realized that now it is well within my ability to assemble.  Since I'd put the stitching piece of this project on my guild Challenge List and because the project was calling to me, I've pulled it out and finished up the pin cushion and finished the stitching on the inside panel.  Here is a pic of the inside panel:

I'm not saying I'll assemble this during this year but it is definitely my plan to stitch it all this year!  I'm trying to get a few things stitched on my challenge list to make time for something that is going on mid-year.  We also have a couple of members who are teaching a flat fold finish and I need to stitch something for that.  

Wishing you all.a great week and may all your stitches be happy ones!

Focus!

I picked up Scottish Sampler from the framer and thought I'd share it with you.  This was definitely not one of my favorite stitches due to a linen issue but it certainly is a pretty sampler now that it is done.  I don't have it on the wall yet so I threw it on a stand to take the picture.

Close up of the frame.

I've been meaning to share this Chessie and Me book box now that it is fully finished.  She has designed a series of them and they're all so cute.  This one is called Tudor Rose Stitch book.  The cardboard book box was painted with acrylic paint from Michaels (it's about $2) bottle and then the placed where I didn't need to place glue were waxed.  

This simple pin cushion is filled with graduated sizes of cotton quilt batting.  I was concerned it would not lay flat but placing something on top while it dried solved that problem.  It's still nicely glued down.

Inside there is a pair of scissors with a scissor fob.

On the other side of the fob I stitched my initials and the name of our EGA guild.  The finishing of this box was taught by our EGA member Linda F.  She did a great job of explaining each step!  As far as finishing stitching goes, this was a simple finish.

My New Years start was the Heritage Sampler by Paulette Stewart.  I saw her FlossTube video prior to the release of the chart and I was hooked.  It was wonderful having the background on the design.  I have been SUPER focused on this project and I have the outside border completed.  The bottom inside section is entirely over 1 and that took a lot of time.  I'm stitching this on 36 count Vintage Meadow Rue (called for linen) and the called for over - dyed cotton floss.

What are you focusing on this month?  Hoping you have a great week and a Happy Valentines Day!