Two Executive Decisions

Many of my followers will remember last year when I confessed that my 2011 Crazy January Challenge had to be "amended."  At the beginning I had been unable to pick just 15 items for the challenge and ended up with 16 items.  As 2011 progressed my executive decision was to finally edit out the "extra" project.  (It was Brightneedle's Pretty in Pink)

 

Now as part of my 2012 Crazy January Challenge I  counted all 3 Sheepish Designs Alpha Series as 1 project.  When I pulled it out last night I thought "What was I thinking?!" So another executive decision had to be made. 

 

Now I am counting each pattern as a separate piece of the 2012 Crazy January Challenge :)  You saw that coming, I'll bet.  There are 11 finished projects for this year's challenge so far.  These will be numbers 12-14.  The last project needing to be completed is Brightneedle's Pretty in Pink :)  It deserves to be finished this year, I think.

 

So, what got eliminated?  LHN's He is Risen and L'Atelier Perdu's My Christmas Stocking 2012.  I still love them both and kept them in my staging box. 

 

As you can see below there is a lot of work to do and I already had to spend time frogging part of my beginning!

 

 

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Sheepish Designs

Alpha Bird, Alpha Menagerie & Alpha Sheep

32 ct LL Sand Dune

Called for DMC threads

 

I can't leave without an update on little Amber.  She is 7 months old now and just a delight! Strangers stop me at the store to tell me how cute she is :)  Can you see her two little bottom teeth?

Have a great Labor Day weekend!  I hope you get lots of stitching done!

Anniversary Dinner, A Finish & Stiching Updates

It was our 33rd anniversary this weekend and we had a gift certificate given to us for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  That place is so nice! (And expensive too).  Here is what my chopped salad looked like. Delicious!  I forgot to take a photo of my steak and lobster tail-it got gobbled down so quickly. :)They had sprinkled little Happy Anniversary decorations on the tabletop.

 

DD#1 finished another flatfold for me.  She does beautiful work.

Here is the fabric on the back. Love it!  Thanks, DD#1!

Crazy January Challenge Finish #11

Sewing Chest Designs

Porcelain Pincushion Doll

25 ct linen

Called for DMC threads

It looks a little wonky because it is stretched a little unevenly.  I did move the thread colors around a little to make it a little brighter.  I also changed the eyelet stitch on one of the borders to smyrna stitch.  Now on to my "to-be finished" pile.

I am starting to feel the pressure of the pre-work for the Merry Cox classes coming up in November!  So here is the needlecase for So Dear to thy Heart.

Here is the outlining for the pocket, 2 thimble holders, and needle page holder.

Sheepish Designs Sarah Salter is coming along.  She is so fun to work on. The 32ct lambswool over 2  seems so large after working on the Merry Cox pieces. :)

 

Did anybody see the Goode Huswife Sarah Seifer on ebay? It went for $128.50!  Does anyone have one I can borrow?

 

Don't forget to take a peek at my For Sale page. Lots of good stuff is still left!

Family Vacation & Updated For Sale Page!

We rented a house near Stevens Pass (Cascade Mtn range) for a long family weekend.  And spent the days fishing, chasing some trains, hot tubbing, playing board games, hiking and much more. Oh, don't forget stitching :)

 

This is DH and our grandson at the beginning of the Cascade Train Tunnel.  78 miles long, built in 1928 and still going strong!
Edit:  The tunnel is 7.8 miles long, not 78 miles :)

My nametag for the Northwest Sampler Guild is now finished.  :)

 

Please check our my For Sale page.  I just added about 30 new items--some are hard to find! I'd rather sell them to blog readers than on ebay, if possible. 

Stitching Day & Olympic Stitching Finale

DD#1 hosted a stitching day at her house on Saturday.

Here we are (I took the photo)-

Even my grandson got in on the stitching-(he didn't want to pose for the picture) The dinosaur kit was very cute.  But the plastic needle in the package was flimsy.  Luckily, DD#1 had a different one.

Here is what I worked on -

Quaker Hornbook

With My Needle

32 ct Lakeside Linen Maple Sugar

Needle Necessities 135 Overdye

  My EGA guild ordered this last year and it had languished at this point in my WIP pile until now!

Woo Hoo!  Another over 1 finish! You can click on the photo for a better look.  Isn't the hornbook just gorgeous? It is finished so smooth and silky-really beautiful.  I love the thread so much that I'll use it in another project.

Sheepish Designs

Sarah Salter

32 ct lambswool linen

Called for DMC/Soie d'Alger threads

During the closing ceremony I was actually able to start another sampler. I have loved this one for so long and it was sitting in my staging box.  Yes, I have a staging box for kitted up projects that I want to start asap.  I look at them like a baseball player who is "on deck" :)

Have a great week everyone!  Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.

Olympic Stitching Part 4

Crazy January Challenge finish #9

Heart in Hand Designs

Grateful Hearts

32 ct Lakeside Linen Navy Bean

Called for DMC threads

This one worked up really fast.

This is the frame I already had for it. Yes, it came from a thrift store. :)

Crazy January finish #10

L'Atelier Perdu

Smell the Flowers

28 ct lugana evenweave-Ivory

Called for DMC threads

After finishing all this over 1 stitching I needed the break of Grateful Hearts easy stitching. Won't this be an adorable threadkeep etui?  Now it goes in my finishing pile.  Uh-oh, it's growing again :)

Only 5 more finishes for the 2012 CJC!!

Olympic Stitching Part 3

I spent most of the weekend out of town with DH.  And most of that time I was in the car.  So I needed some stitching that I could see without my magnifier.  We were firmly in front of the TV when the Olympics prime time show started. Here is what I worked on--

Kissing Pillows

For those of you who are unfamiliar with kissing pillows, they are a project of EGA for deploying soldiers.  These little designs will be sewn and stuffed into pillows and distributed to soldiers at Joint Base Lewis/McChord.  My EGA chapter has already given out 20,000+.  They are a big hit with soldiers and their kids!

DD#1 stitched 2 of these.  And my 84 yr old MIL stitched the "I Love You" portion on the other 8 (after I taught her how to cross stitch-that is another whole story).  You CAN teach old dogs new tricks!!

Crowning the Tree

Blackbird Designs

Misc mystery linen piece

Called for CC and GAST threads

Love this design! I did substitute one thread-CC Calico Kitty was too orange for my taste, so I used Victorian Motto Sampler red F3

Pincushion Doll

Sewing Chest Designs

25 ct linen

DMC threads

I got quite a bit accomplished on this one over the weekend.  Now it will get tucked away until I am needing another project that I can see without a magnifier.  Hopefully one more good workday will see this one finished.

Welcome to all my new followers!  I love to read your comments. 

Have a great week!

P>S> Yesterday we finally had a day this summer over 90 degrees.  Today is back to normal-overcast AM-clear PM-temps in 70's. :)

Olympic Stitching Part 2

 L'Atelier Perdu

2012 Mystery Sampler

Part 1

36 ct Light sand linen

Called for WDW, GAST and DMC threads

It is almost done.  There is a little bit of border on the right to finish. And there is ecru background on the largest and the smallest of the 3 motifs.  Haven't decided if I will do it yet.  Waiting to see what more of the sampler looks like. :)

Wasn't too sure about these colors when I pulled them.  They looked a little.... well, dull.  But, so far I'm liking it.  I'm trusting Natalie, the designer.  Her taste is usually impeccable.