Fangirl February!

I'm REALLY late with this post. No excuses, I've just been busy with work and...and...like I said I've got no excuse. Anyway, you don't come here to read, you come here for pictures.

Fangirl Febrauary was fun. I ended up not working a whole lot of different things. I got started on Long May She Wave, a class I took last year with Ellen Chester. When I started it I just had a few red & white rows done. I worked on it until I finished. This is the front of the book that you end up making after you've stitched all the little pieces. I was excited to get this finished. It's the largest part until you start putting it together.

 I also worked on one of my favorite of all time pieces from Rae Iverson. I took Blackwork Band Sampler back in 1998. Interestingly this is the class where our fearless Theme-a-licious leader Heather and I met. I do have a picture from the last time I pulled this piece out so you can do a little before and after comparison.

Before

After

This one is getting close. Of course I've been saying that for YEARS and as you can see I still haven't finished it. I'm sure it will show up again soon (foreshadowing).

I also pulled out a needlepoint piece that I've been working on to finish. I've only got her hair to put in and she'll be ready to go to the finisher. Here's how she looked at the end of the month. I really only worked on her one Saturday, so it's not a lot of progress.

Finally I took Ann Dale with me to Sampler Guild since it's our guild project this year. Didn't get a whole lot done since I tend to do more talking than stitching. However, I got more of the ground under the trees finished so that's progress.

I also did some finishing. I stitched this several years ago and have never done anything with it. I have no clue why I went with this grey fabric, but I like how it's ended up now that I've got the box made.

I also picked up my pieces that I took to the framers. Have a look.

Winter Garden Gate

HallowEden

March Madness has begun and I've actually worked on a few different things. I might even manage to get a post out before the end of the month!

Another Great Weekend in Atlanta

So, in case you missed it, I started the month off heading to Mesa, AZ with DF Heather for a weekend of stitching. Ok, let's be real, it was a partial day of stitching and lots of stash enhancement opportunities. Then I came home, worked to pay for that trip, and then proceeded to head off to Atlanta for 6 or so days of fun, stitching and more stash enhancement with my peeps up there after only being home for barely 10 days.

I worked from Jean's on Thursday but we managed to make a trip to Eat.Sleep.Knit's store. Now I've done some damage on their website. But as scary as the website is the store/warehouse is even more so. The proof is in the picture.

That's just my haul. DF Jean managed to have a pile just as nice. In all that is a full sweater and who knows what else.

Now, I was there to take a class at In Stitches with Tony Minieri Friday through Monday. But that didn't stop us from heading over to The Nimble Needle and checking out what they had. I like to make sure I support small business as many of you well know, so of course I couldn't leave empty handed.

 A little something for mom's blue & gold tree....eventually.

 Something for my stitched tree...eventually. 

And of course I changed the colors!

(Quick Jean...don't look!) I had to have the Halloween shoe.
And really, didn't your mom tell you about kissing lots of frogs? 

Then Friday we packed ourselves up and headed to In Stitches. Heather met us and she and I managed to get started on our project with Tony. About 2 hours in Heather leans over and says to me in a very low whisper, "I couldn't figure out what we'd be doing for 4 days!" That was way funnier than it sounds, believe me. By the end of the day my canvas looked like this...

No really, that's a day's worth of class. And that was a LOT of work. Tony kept the class moving and I kept up. By Monday, that's day 4 for those of you trying to keep track, I was a little punch drunk but still going strong. I think it helped that Jean & I decided back a few months ago that it would be fun to really try and relax some that weekend and to get a hotel room in Buckhead near the shop for Saturday and Sunday night. It helped some not having to get up quite as early as if we'd stayed up at her house.

We really treated ourselves, well and I found a good deal, and we stayed at the Grand Hyatt, which used to be Hotel Nikko. The Japanese garden is still there, but I didn't get out during a morning to get pictures. If you're staying in the area I highly recommend this hotel. The staff was wonderful and the whole place was beautiful. Unfortunately Jean started feeling sick Saturday and by Sunday she was slightly miserable...maybe really miserable. So she went home and I hung out Sunday evening with DF Heather watching the final NASCAR race and rooting for Tony Stewart to win. I even had Heather rooting for him, although if she'd seen Carl without his helmet before the race started she might have been yelling a different tune at the TV. Heather went home after the race and some dinner next door at Brick Tops and then met me Monday morning for breakfast at The Flying Biscuit cafe. Then we grabbed a ride from the hotel's shuttle for our final day of class. By the end of the day this is what my canvas looked like...

For those familiar with this pattern you might notice that the colors I have are a bit different than any of the pictures you can find online. That's because I went with the "fuchsia" colorway, which is really more a jewel tone take on the original. Love the colors and I'm planning on working on this next year. It's an amazing piece with lots of great stitches. Learned lots of great techniques as well during the 4 days.

Now most of you are wondering what other trouble I managed to get myself in to while wandering around such a great needlepoint shop for 4 days. Wait no longer...

I mean really? You expected me to by pass this? As Heather told her dear husband it was a triple threat. Lots of great blue/green colors, bunnies and they are in Medieval dress. I was a total goner. It really was sad. Plus Tony Minieri himself was there and kept giving me ideas for stitches and pulling colors from the vast supply in the shop. For four days we had it laying on a table in one of the rooms and would just pull fibers and play with what would look just perfect. I forgot to lay out some of the fibers I bought already to get a start on this, but let's just say I'll be working on this for a nice long time. Heck, I don't even have stretcher bars this will go on yet! Oh, and that brown dress is changing colors thanks to Mr. Minieri's suggestion. Now to finish the Mermaid so I won't feel too crazy about putting this in the rotation come 2012!

Of course all good things must come to an end. So it is with getting to hang out for 4 days stitching and looking at fibers and great canvases, spending time with old friends and making some wonderful new ones. Tuesday I had to get back to work and fly home, in that order.

Thanksgiving was a day spent with my parents, nice and quiet. Didn't even cook. I took them out to dinner so we'd have a relaxing day for a change. Didn't even make it to shop on Black Friday (oh please stop...I know what you're thinking...why would I need to shop after my two out of town crazy stash hauls...and you might be right.)

Now I'm on the countdown to Christmas. We'll be starting to decorate this week I'm sure. Takes time to put all those tree's up you know. Of course now it's dark at like 5 so it's time to have trees with lots of lights to brighten the darkness.

If you want to know...

Earlier this month I took a trip to Mesa, AZ with DF Heather and took the infamous Chocolat with Jackie du Pleissi. Much fun ensued. She introduced me to her friend Annette who is apparently my twin separated at birth! The three of us had a great time.

Now, if you want to see pictures and a really good recap of what I did you need to head over to Heather's blog and read the post. My camera decided to hide on my and I didn't have it on the trip. Plus Heather does a much better job of letting you know all the fun we had (and the food we managed to find to eat).

I will show you my stash enhancement. I'm not sure what kind of fumes Jean pumps into the store to make you go all weak and have no will power to resist the patterns, fabric and threads, but apparently I'm hyper-sensitive to it. Here's what I couldn't resist...

 Mary Corey with my own twist. 

Changed all but the alphabet color, and working over 1 on 40 ct.

 Some things off my wish list.

Changed the fabric but that's all.

And then Heather surprised me with the great project bag

Obviously it's perfect because it has bunnies! But that's not all. Inside was....

That would be fabric for Spring Quakers. I had the pattern and the threads. Now I just need to get some things out of my rotation, or not.

So that was my weekend in Mesa. I'm proud that I managed to blog about it in the same month. Next up the weekend in Atlanta taking Tony Minieri's class, Antique French Ribbons. Not too many pictures from that, but there is more stash!

Stitcher's Bucket List

Chris over at Tot Hill Farms blog posed the question what is on your stitching bucket list quite awhile ago. Let's face it, we all have one. It would be really easy to say, "Finish all the pieces I took a class for" or "Complete everything in my stash (really, who thinks that's something that's doable?? have you seen my stash??). So here's what I decided on this week.

1. Finish at least one of the HUGE Chatelaine pieces I have in my stash. The two top contenders are "Misty Morning Vineyard" and "Tuscan Town". I have the most done on MMV so it might actually get finished.

2. Complete all 5 of Rae Iverson's Gate series. I have 2 completed and on my wall. I'm SO close to having Winter Garden Gate complete. See...

For those not familiar with this one I'm missing the mirror image of the assisi stag and some initials. (and a date to show when I actually finished it. Then I only have 2 more to do. 

3. "The Wind Blows" from The Scarlet Letter. I'm not sure exactly why I love this piece, but I do. I have to stitch it some day. I have the pattern, just need to college the rest of the goodies for it.

4. I want a "Noah" wall. I have several charts that are Noah, all that I love. I want to do them so I can have a whole wall of them with a picture of my maternal grandfather on that wall as well. (Yeah, his name was Noah and he was in the Navy, died in WWII, and finally I was born on his birthday.) 

5. Along those lines I've started an "alphabet wall", a "Quaker wall" and want an "A&E" wall. I have at least 1 of each so I've got a start, but I want more....MORE I say! Here's my current list for each wall:

Alphabet Wall

• Stitchers Row (finished)
• small prim hornbook (finished)
• La-D-Da bunny (finished)
• Illuminated Letters Sampler (Samplar Workes)
• Poppy Maye Russell (Heartstring Samplery)

Quaker Wall

• An Emblem of Love (finished)
• Spring Quaker 
• Mary Peacock

Noah Wall

• The Flood
• A Weeping and a Blessing (Barrick Samplers)
• Noah's Stocking (Carriage House - but not as a stocking)

A&E Wall

• HallowEden (finished)
• Mary Corey (The Linen Sampler)
• and here's where I get stuck I need some more in my stash. I welcome ideas from those of you who read this blog. (Hey Siobhan which other ones should I add? You've stitched so many great ones I trust your judgement.)

6. Visit the V&A and really spend some time looking at their collection. Maybe even come away with some ideas for a design of my own.

I'm sure there are other things on my list, although right now these are the ones that come to mind. If you look, that's a lot of stitching. Who knows if I'll manage to finish any or all of these, but it's a nice little list. Maybe I'll take a look at it once a year and see if it changes.

Weekend Fun

I have to admit that I have been a bad, BAD blogger. I had this written right after my weekend in August (gasp, that was like 2 1/2 months ago!) and it sat in my blogger folder as a draft since then. Why you ask? Because I kept meaning to take one single picture which I never did. So, I'm just going to post this 2 1/2 months late and beg your forgiveness. At least it has some good eye candy in it. I'm going to try and do better. I have some things to share from both my stitching and my knitting. So look for them. Thanks to those who have stuck around even when I have been quiet. And now what I did the weekend of August 19th.

_________________

I promised a report on last weekend's festivities and I don't like to disappoint. It took awhile to get around to blogging it, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.

Friday morning DF Jackie picked me up and after loading up her car with my "essentials" we headed to have a quick breakfast before going to Camp Blanding for the weekend. We were lucky enough to meet up with some friends of mine and stake out a nice spot of tables in the middle of the larger of the 2 rooms. Everyone got all set up and as they started sewing, I started stitching. Now, before you get all excited that I accomplished everything I set out to do, let me just warn you that I always set goals and rarely make them happen.

On Friday I worked on a couple of things. One was the Hemstitch Pillow, which was a class I took YEARS ago, like in 1998 or something crazy like that. It's a neat piece and apparently will take me a lifetime to finish since when I pulled it out of my bag it looked like this...

I managed to finish that 2nd row. So now the after...(ok, so there's no after picture. Which is what held up this post for months....MONTHS.)

I also worked on Daughters of Longbourn. I love this piece and hardly ever work on it. So I decided it was worth working on Friday. Here's what it looked like before:

Actually I had a little more than this done, but not much. And here's what it looked like when I put it away after a stitching and talking and looking at other people's pretty quilts and eating and talking, did I mention there was some talking?

For me that's a lot of work!

Then Saturday morning was a little hard. I had to go to a funeral so I didn't have a lot of time that morning and came back after lunch. There was also the presentation of the Quilts of Valor to Camp Blanding. That's always something to see. I did make a good start on my Chocolat for the class in November. It always takes me awhile to figure out how to get my piece sewn onto the stretcher bars! But you can see, it's going to be fantastic!

 This thread is fantastic and really I think I have plenty of time to get it done...no really.

I also managed to put in some time on Margaret W. Brown. This piece is just so sweet and if I haven't mentioned it before I just love the more muted colors that Jean at The Attic did as a conversion. Plus all those silks are just wonderful to work with. A little before....

And what it looked like after....

Jackie and I had discussed that we wanted to finish another project from our trip to Mesa in January. We decided that we could do an entire small little sampler that we got and put it in the cool frame we received during the weekend. Well, we did! Look, isn't it just too adorable?

The pattern called for the colors to be black, scarlet and a gold, but I decided to use some threads from my stash and go a bit more red, white-ish and blue. I'm working on getting this fixed so it can hang on my "alphabet wall". I need to find one of those small sawtooth hooks to attach to the back.

I did manage to add some things to my stash. There is a "sale" room where anyone can bring things that they no longer want to others can procure those items. I managed to procure several charts, and even some that were fully kitted up with fabric and fibers. All at a great deal. I also managed to "encourage" the purchase of a Singer Featherweight machine. It needs a little TLC, but was still a good deal. I almost wish I'd bought it since it was a 1935 which just might be the year my mother was born, but that can't be right so it's a good thing Eva took it home with her.

I did purchase a little bunny that's just too adorable and complete handmade by the very talented Heather Lynn. His name is Dusty and if you hurry over to here and scroll down you can see much better pictures than the one I took below of where Dusty is living for now. Although I think he likes being the bunny protector of my growing collection of "primitives".

That's all I have to share for now. It was a great weekend. I had a load of fun and can't wait for the next one in January.

Really I Couldn't Help Myself!

Here's the deal, I found this bag with some DMC and a spool of Kreinik in it today. The bag also contained some printouts of items in my stitching stash and what I needed for them. So I was curious, I went looking for the patterns, found a couple of them and of course felt the need to start one. Now here's the really screwed up part about the whole thing. I didn't have all of the floss colors needed, but I still wanted to start this one project, so I went to my stash, made a few changes and got started. I am justifying my actions based on the fact that I cast off Autumn in Cambria, a wrap I started last May after I bought the yarn during Stitches South. Made perfect sense at the time.

So here's what I managed to get done during Dancing With The Stars and Castle tonight. Please note that I was also on an online chat with two friends during DWTS and making comments about the routines and costumes. Plus in the middle I decided that I didn't like the color the alphabet was done in so I needed to change it. (Sorry for the glare on the pattern and I don't know what's up with that odd shadow in the top right of the fabric, no natural light makes it hard to get a decent picture.)

Briar Rabbit by La-D-Da

For those who are interested here's what I'm actually using. The fabric is from my stash, it's from Country Stitch in NZ and I'm not sure if they still produce this color since I got it by being part of their club several years ago. It's Cashel 28ct overdyed and the color is called Kiwi. It does kind of look like the brown on the outside of a kiwi fruit. The fiber changes include changing the alphabet from DMC 612 to two different flosses. For my initials (TMB) I'm using GAST Deep Sea and for all the rest I'm using a skein of overdyed cotton from my stash from The Dye Shop called Tropical Teal. I checked their web address and it's no longer being used so I'm going to make a guess that they are out of business. If I'm not mistaken a group of us went in together for some floss and fabric that was all hand dyed and I ended up with this color, I actually have 2. Then for the carrot and flower instead of DMC 3858 I'm going with WDW Terra Cotta, it looks so pretty with the fabric, just the look I wanted. Not too orange. The other sub I'm making is for the bunny, I'll do the body in GAST Lambswool and the tail in Anchor 926. So, really I'm only using DMC 730 & 833 from the original list on the pattern. I like my choices so far so I'm happy.

Sorry no picture of the finished wrap, I need to block it and get some pictures in some good light. That might not all happen until this weekend as we're supposed to get some much needed rain this week. Hopefully tonightt it won't rain since some friends and I have tickets to the FSU v. UF baseball game at the Jacksonville Baseball stadium. It's always a fun game and this year we have tickets right behind home plate.

Some February Progress

Haven't felt very well, what with the rain (which we really need so I refuse to be too whiny about it), the cold and not being able to take my RA meds for 2 months it's like a perfect storm of pain. But, I have been stitching so we'll cut straight to the pictures.

Since I finished my January goal for DTs Alphabets I jumped right in to February's goal. Haven't quite finished, but I did get a lot done.

 The goal is to finish this single color alphabet before the end of the month. Shouldn't be too hard.

I managed to finish my January goal for AotH finished a little late, but it's done.

Snow Garden completed

I even managed to get the personalization done. I made a couple of changes. The name "Barbara Jean" and the date "1937" is my mom and her birth year. (Oh please, she looks WAY younger than her age so why shouldn't people know how old she is?) The large "J" down in the bottom left is for my DF Jean since her birthday is also in January. Then I added some cousins first initials that have birthdays in January. "A" - Angela (she's married to my sweet cousin Steven), "D" for my cousin David, and the "L" for Lynda Gayle.

I really love how this has turned out so far. It's very "cold" looking, and I know a lot of people don't like this square, but I think it looks great.

Since I finished and didn't want to get up to pick up anything else I started working on February. Here's where I was as of a few days ago.

Valentine Rose as of Feb. 8, 2011

These colors are very yummy! The house will take me forever, but I hope to get it finished by the end of the month. I need to order the month that has the first bonus pattern so I can at least get the border done before I start March. Otherwise I'll be off in my counting I'm sure.

And a peek of how it looks together.

AotH as of Feb. 8, 2011

No new pictures of mom & dad's piece, but I am working on page 2 so the end is in sight. The party isn't going to be until the 20th so I have a bit extra time to get it finished and let my framers have at it.

I haven't been knitting much, but it's NASCAR season again, so there may be a bit more knitting or crochet going on soon. I really need to make a blanket for Victory Junction from the yarn I bought last year. Have enough for two, but I'm not crazy enough to think I'd finish them both this year. I'm thinking crochet since I do that a lot faster. Make squares and then put them together is the plan. More when I figure it out. However, I have been working on a scarf which I need to take a picture of so you can see. Not much to see right now, but I think it will be lovely when finished.

I almost forgot! Head on over to Cranberry Samplers, she's having a give away since she's reached 300+ followers. Make sure you follow her and post a comment to enter. 

It's Still Only January

And I did manage to finish one of the stitching goals I needed to do if I am going to finish any of the larger pieces I have on my list for my personal Crazy 15 challenge.

Yep, that's the entire top alphabet completed for Drawn Thread's Alphabets. I've still got A LOT more to stitch, and I have a plan that if I actually stick to it will give me a completed sampler that looks something like this at the end of the year. The big question is will I manage to stay with the plan? Or will I let some other sparkly goodie catch my attention? Be sure to stay tuned!

I've been stitching on the needlebook from Stacy Nash we got at our Primitives weekend. I've made good progress on that. Oh and I picked up AOTH to work on the January block. I don't think it will be finished in January, but I can hope. Plus I'm still working in secret on mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary sampler. And by "in secret" I mean I only start stitching on it after 11PM when I should be sleeping. One night I got a little carried away and was still stitching at 3AM. I'm closing in on being halfway done.

It really does look beautiful. I met some friends from my last work contract for lunch Thursday after my doctor's appointment (nothing but my regular check-up with the RA doc, no worries). After that I stopped by the frame shop I use to go ahead and pick out a frame so we can get it framed quickly when I get it done. I've had my stitching framed by Great Hang Ups in Orange Park for more years than I or owners Dee and Julia (a great mother-daughter team) would care to admit! Even without the entire piece done we had enough to work with and found the perfect frame to show off that it's for their 50th and that it's a Quaker design. So now I just have to get it finished and to them and give them a few days to get it all stretched and framed. Sorry, no update pictures. I took the sampler but forgot to take my camera so I could get a picture! I'll have to try again soon.

I think that's about all my stitching news. Have only knit on a pair of socks and they aren't finished so nothing to show there. Tonight is the symphony and I'm looking forward to hearing the music they are performing. We're so lucky in Jacksonville to have such a great symphony. More people who take advantage of their performances.

Hope everyone is finding time to do the things that make them happy!

A Vacation Cut Short

Unfortunately my trip to Atlanta was cut a little short because of the weather, but at least I got to go and have some fun with everyone up there. As usual DF Jean was a fantastic hostess. You know you're going to have a good time when this is what you find on your bed.

Yep, that's some Tony Stewart swag! Those who know me and kept track of my crazy attempt to get a copy of that calendar know that I ended up with 2 of them, plus this one that Jean ordered for me. I took one to my LYS to share the yumminess. I'm not sure where I'm going to put this one, but I'm sure I'll find a place! The picture isn't great since I took it on my iPhone, not sure why I didn't pull out the actual camera, silly me.

The weekend was mostly a lot of hanging out with friends, eating and stitching. Thursday night we headed over to Andy's for some fantastic turkey soup, birthday cake for Jean and stitching. Then on Friday it was all about hanging out at Jean's. We did a little beading...after I did some organizing of Jean's beading stash. There was some stitching and of course eating. Friday is when they started talking about all the snow and ice Atlanta was going to be getting. At first it didn't sound that bad, but it kept getting worse and when Delta started canceling flights and offering to switch people's flights for free, well I decided I should be a little proactive and get my Monday afternoon flight switched to Sunday morning so I could get home before I leave again for AZ. I'm really glad I did since the flight home had very few people on it and I'm not camping out at the airport. Plus I got to take my mom for an early birthday dinner.

Saturday was DF Jean's birthday and we had a great dinner with lots of friends at a great Chinese restaurant. It's always good to be with everyone and this was no exception. I'm not sure why we didn't get a group picture, but we didn't. Maybe next time.

I did some stitching while I was up there. I took several things with me, mostly new starts. Got around to starting three new pieces, which are going into my personal 2011 challenge.

The first is the one I'm doing a SAL with Jean & DF Ann. The Drawn Thead's Alphabets is such a beautiful piece.  (You'll have to follow the link to see what it looks like when finished.) I'd love to say that I'll have this one finished by the end of the year, but I'm not that crazy, and I know myself. I have a plan that if I actually follow it will get me to that goal, but I have a feeling that at some point during the year I'll fall off the wagon, so to speak, and something else will grab my attention. But on to the picture of what I did finish while I was in Atlanta.

copy write The Drawn Thread

I've been working on this today while doing some laundry and trying to not get sick. (Yes, I managed to pick up some bug while I was gone, or more likely I had it when I left.) I'd love to finish this top alphabet this month. Like I said, I have a plan and that's the first month's goal. I think it's doable, so we'll see what happens.

The next piece I started while gone is another big one. Anniversaries of the Heart from Blackbird Designs is my poison of choice this time. I opted to do all the parts on one large piece of fabric. I'm working on a piece of 35ct linen to keep it from being TOO large. I love how it looks, but so far there isn't much to see, especially since what I have done is very light and doesn't show up well when I've tried to photograph it.

That's the best I've been able to do. This will be January's block. I'm working who who it will include. I know my mom will be there since her birthday was Monday. I'm trying to decide whether to have this be just family, or family and friends. I figure I have some time to decide.

I actually have more to show, but I started this post on Monday and it's Wednesday evening and I really need to finish getting packed to leave for Mesa, AZ in the morning. I'll leave you with this little tidbit.

By Milady's Needle, this is the beginning of Margaret W. Brown. I promise I'll tell you more when I get a chance. But now I'm off to get my final items packed and hopefully get a few hours of sleep before I have to be on a plane at 6:50AM!

Happy New Year Happy Dance!

Wow, it turned 2011 and I didn't even take time to write a blog post thinking about all that has happened in the previous year or what I hope to do in the coming one. I have a really good reason too. It seems that my mother is sick with mononucleosis, and apparently it isn't the first time. We have a feeling she had a slight case when I was very, VERY sick with it a little over 20 years ago. This time she's really feeling it. She started feeling bad around Thanksgiving and hasn't felt good since. So, our Christmas was very low key and my final days working on the contract I was working were hectic with work and taking care of her. I know it's not much of an excuse, but it's all I've got.

However, I have had some time to do a few other things, like spend New Year's Eve in Savannah with friends. I didn't manage to get a picture of the entire group, but someone took this picture of me and my friend Donna, she's the tiny one.

I also talked myself and several friends from the sampler guild I belong to into starting a blog to chronicle our personal challenges for this year for finishing things. Since many of us do other things than just stitching there will be all kinds of lovely items showcased. There are currently 7 of us contributing and a few more are expected to join us. I'm so looking forward to seeing what everyone is going to work on this year. Some have their own blogs like I do, but several don't so this will be your opportunity to see the beautiful work they do. I hope you'll take a look and keep coming back to see what these lovely ladies have to share. You can find us at Working to Finish in 2011.

Ok, a couple of quick pictures before I head to finish getting ready to fly to Atlanta for my DF Jean's birthday weekend and to see all my great friends in Atlanta.

First, DF Jackie and I are headed to AZ next month for the Primitive's weekend at The Attic. We're both looking forward to it, especially since this will be Jackie's first opportunity to take classes from stitching designers. We received one of our pre-stitching kits last week and I started it on Jan. 1. I've finished all the stitching and am ready for the class. So proud of myself, but I know that it's helped that I am between contracts right now. When finished it will be a pinkeep drum.

Stacy Nash Primitives
Attic Needlework Peacock Pinkeep Drum
32 ct. linen w/DMC

My personal challenge this year is to finish things, and keep a rotation to work on and attempt not to get distracted from that rotation. In the past when I've done that I've managed to finish things, or move large projects along nicely. You can read more here. I hate to repeat myself too much in the hopes that most of you who still read my blog will head over to the group blog to read it as well.

Finally, for those who won't be reading both, I'll show you the progress I made on Winter Garden Gate last night. I started with this...

(Yep, took this picture at night before I started hence the really yellow color, but you get the idea.) Worked on it for about 2 hours last night and now it looks like this...

This picture actually looks like it does in person. Notice that I started this in 2005. I'll end up putting 2011 on it to show when I finished, plus there is a place for my initials. I was excited to finish the leaves and berries on the left side. I think I'll tackle the right hand Assisi work next, but that's for after I make my way through my list the first time.

I hope to be posting from Atlanta to show my starts and what I'll be working on while I'm there. We plan to spend a lot of time stitching. I'm taking a few things with me to start on so hopefully I can make some good progress on each of them.

A busy weekend

I had a busy weekend and barely time today to share, but I'm going to carve out a couple of minutes and show you what I did.

First the kitchen update. Really I'm just going to show you that I managed to tile in the "bar".



This is where I keep the important stuff, wine and coffee. We also finished getting the tiles up around the window in the kitchen, but those pictures don't really show much so you'll just have to believe me. Now all that's left is the grouting and finishing. We found the perfect piece of wood to use to finish the edges so we need to get that purchased and stained as well so we can put it up. Also need to decide what we're going to use for the window sill. We have a piece of marble that was there, but I'm not sure if it will still fit. If not it's back to the drawing board.

So far you've all been good at not spilling the beans about the sampler for mom & dad's anniversary. Since you've been good I'll show you what I managed to accomplish while stitching Sunday afternoon with DF Jackie.


The sun was almost setting my the time I got to take this picture so it's not perfect. But you can see that the Elegant Eggplant Belle Soie has some shading to it. If got to start playing around with what I'm going to change so I can include some info on their anniversary.

I also worked on Daughters of Longbourne but no picture, sorry. Maybe later this week. Hope you all had a Halloween full of treats and not tricks!

Got Mojo?

And by Mojo I mean for stitching and purchasing stitching. As those of you who are regulars (and by regulars I mean people who come and read my blog when I actually write something) may have noticed I haven't been stitching all that much. In fact I haven't been stitching hardly at all. Maybe a little canvas work when I was in Atlanta in July, but otherwise, nary a stitch in a piece of linen have I made. However, all that seems to have taken a turn for the worse better in the last week or so. I'm not sure exactly what changed, but all of a sudden I want a needle and floss of some sort in my hands.

Of course that means that I've been purchasing some goodies from a couple of my favorite on-line/remote needlework stores. I could list everything here, but instead I'll wait until I get stuff and show you. Instead I'll show you a few pictures of what I've been working on.

First and update on my Christmas Fairy. Isn't she pretty?


Then there's a long overdue start on The Daughters of Longbourn. Some of you may know that I love Jane Austen's books. All of them in some way shape or form speak to me. A couple of years ago my DF Melody gave me this lovely pattern and a cut of Vintage Maple Sugar fabric to stitch this one. I started the border last week when I was having trouble sleeping since I had those fibers. Then I called one of my favorite online stitching stores, Needlecraft Corner, and had the ever wonderful Drema send me the rest of the Crescent Colours needed. Not much to show yet, but it really is going to be beautiful!

A larger shot and then a bit of a close-up on a corner.

Finally I'm going to show off something that will have to be our secret. My parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary March 3, 2011. I feel the need to do something to commemorate this event, because let's face it so few people manage this milestone anymore and it should be celebrated. I'm sure there will be a party of some sort and there has been talk of a cruise, but that's not lasting. So I went looking around at samplers. I have been debating between Emblem of Love by the wonderful Ellen Chester of With My Needle and A Sweeter Love by Plum Street Designs. Both are beautiful and it was a hard decision, but again DF Melody to the rescue. She happened to have the chart and a piece of lovely Vintage Exampler linen in her stash for Emblem of Love that she was willing to part with. Throw in the fact she had enough Belle Soie in Elegant Eggplant and the deal was struck. She very kindly sold me everything I needed and Tuesday at our EGA meeting I received it all and that night I started working on it. My hope is I can keep it a secret from them and maybe have it complete before the date. It's a hope and a goal, nothing bad will happen if I don't quite make it. So here's a peek at what I've managed to do as of Wednesday morning when I could take a picture since they were both gone to daddy's eye dr. appointment.


As I said, I'm working it on 36 ct. Vintage Exampler with a single strand of Belle Soie. The color is beautiful, my picture doesn't capture the subtle changes. I've actually finished that motif and a couple of small ones next to it and started the next one that is below the one you see. I'm going to make some changes, take out some motifs to allow me to personalize it with their information. I'm playing with the idea of using a gold color for the personalization. Something with an aged look. Now remember you have to keep this a secret. You can't go telling mom how pretty it looks.

Since I started this I received my order from Drema and will take some pictures of the new stash to share when I get a chance. There's this thing called work that keeps me from stitching, knitting and blogging, the only good it does is allows me to add to my stash.

Lastly I need to show you a picture of the adorable needlepoint bunny I've been working on. This is the piece I obtained during my last trip to Atlanta and is the reason I'll be headed back that way in November so I can take a class from the woman who helped me pick out fibers and decide on the stitches to be used.

Don't you just adore him? Lots of fun sparkly fibers to play with. I think that's why I have started to do some needlepoint, the fibers you can use.

That's my update. I have more to share and I'm still working on a catch-up post from earlier in the year. Hope everyone has a safe Halloween weekend!