First 2012 Finish

Birds of a Feather

Le Printemps

36 ct Edinburgh Linen Cream color

Called for WDW threads

Stitch count 295 X 384

I was hoping to have this finished before the New Year.  Obviously I greatly underestimated just how much stitching needed to be done!  Feel free to click on the picture. Instead of feeling motivated to start one of the 3 sisters to this one,  I am ready to move on to something new.  

Last Summer Yard Sale Find!

Yes, those ducks are cross stitched!  My plan was to use the frame for Le Printemps. But I am having second thoughts now.  Do you think the frame is too old-fashioned? I would love to hear your thoughts.

As I was starting Plum Street Samplers Paradise Lost (as part of Becky's 2012 BAP Challenge) disaster struck.  I stitched out to one end of the design and found out there was only a scant inch of fabric left! What????

So I double-checked the midpoint (where I started) was in the correct spot.  Yes.

So I re-measured the fabric and found it to be an inch short AND the measurement included the selvage end :(( 

Upon consulting with my LNS it was pointed out to me that overdyed fabric is cut and then dyed resulting in some shrinkage to the fabric.   Most of the time it doesn't matter, but on this design I needed every inch!  So I had to start over with a new piece and I bought enough to stitch PSS The Flood in matching fabric.  The Flood is even bigger than Paradise Lost!  That project will have to wait until 2013 or so  :) 

Paradise Lost is begun (again).

CJC Days 7 & 8

CJC #7 Renaissance Designs Six Patchwork Stars Shimmering

Stitch guide by Pamela Harding

Various threads including Vineyard Silks, Anchor Floss, Fyre Works, Neon Rays, Silk Lame Braid

CJC #8 Heart in Hand Needleart Grateful Hearts

32 ct Lakeside Linen Navy Bean

Called for DMC threads

CJC 5 & 6

CJC #5 Blackbird Designs Peacock Pinkeep

28 ct mystery linen

Unknown Gloriana silk threads

CJC #6 Little House Needleworks Liberty Belles

30 ct R & R Reproduction scrap

Called for threads-DMC, CC and GAST

CJC Days 3 & 4

CJC #3-Blackbird Designs
Waiting for Harvest

32 ct Zweigart Belfast Linen

Waterlilies #052 Marigold

CJC#4 Blackbird Designs
Prairie House

30 ct R & R Olde Towne Blend

Called for GAST threads

2011 Wrap Up and 2012 Starts

2011 was a very, very good stitching year for me.

I participated in the Crazy January Challenge and finished all 15 projects!

I joined a Make & Take class at my LQS and added several mini-projects.

I also finished some large projects-

City Stitcher's Adam & Eve-

Mary Glover-

Mary Hannah Gipson-

With Thy Needle & Thread Mystery Sampler-

Blackbird Designs Mystery Sampler-

Heartstring Samplery Permit Me Not to Stray-

Jardin Prive Sampler Aux Bouquets-

Debbie Stiehler's Timeless Tomato-

Whew! Looking back makes me tired!

There was a total of 62 finished projects in 2011!  A new record for me!!  Of course, not all are "finish-finished"

And I won't even try to beat this record in 2012.  Not with a new grandbaby coming next month and living right across the driveway from me.  Rocking the new little one is more important than stitching :)

But I have started 2012 with a bang-

CJC Day #1-Goode Huswife June Morning

24 ct Congress cloth

Called for DMC threads

Pretty pathetic start but I worked all day yesterday

CJC  Day#2-Tree of Life Samplings Penny America

36 ct Lakeside Linen Maple Sugar

Combo of called for threads-WDW and DMC

You might recall that I actually stitched the gold threads early in 2011 and got distracted by something else and never found my way back to this one.  This one is "practically" new :)

Becky is hosting a 2012 BAP Challenge and I joined in just to pull this one out and get started. It has been kitted and actually on stretcher bars for a year!

Plum Street Samplers Paradise Lost

36ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Light Exemplar

Vikki Claytons HDF conversion silks

Still a very long way to go!

Thanks for sticking with me thru this very long post!  I hope all of you had a wonderful New Years Eve (we spent ours quietly at home with friends and watched the original True Grit)

I am enjoying all the new blog postings but have fallen dreadfully behind. Don't worry-I'll catch up!

A Finish & Preparing for 2012

 Yeah! Timeless Tomato is finished!  I managed to fit in my initials in one of the designs. Next this goes to my finisher, Kathy.

She finished this one that I saw at the Goldbar retreat. Isn't it beautiful?

 I gave in and signed up for the 2012 Crazy January Challenge.  I learned some lessons from participating in the 2011 Crazy January Challenge.  Like don't choose more than 15 projects (the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge would not work for me) and be careful how many large projects to include.

So here is my 2012 CJC line-up (please forgive the crappy photos-it was a struggle)-

1) Renaissance Designs

Six Patchwork Stars Shimmering

2) Tree of Life Samplings

Penny America

3) Sheepish Designs

Alpha Bird, Alpha Menagerie and Alpha Sheep

4) Blackbird Designs

Prairie House Sewing Case

5) With Thy Needle

Miss Trenners Needlework Academy

6) Goode Huswife

June Morning

7) Little House Needleworks

Liberty Belles

8) Little House Needleworks

He Is Risen

9) Heart in Hand

Grateful Hearts

10) Blackbird Designs

Waiting for the Harvest

11) Blackbird Designs

Peacock Pinkeep

12) L'Atelier Perdu

My Christmas Stocking 2012-The Magic

13) Sewing Chest Designs

Porcelain Pincushion Doll

14) L'Atelier Perdu

Smell the Flowers

15) Brightneedle

Pretty in Pink

Did you notice that I am not quite over my pincushion fetish yet?  :)

Some of the projects chosen this year were passed over last year, so they are getting a second chance.

Also for 2012, I have signed up for Kimono Revisited with the Shining Needle Society. 

And I am doing Holiday Patches by Susan Kerndt with my local ANG guild.  See below-

Even though I've already stitched this mini sampler (Florentine Holiday) by Susan Kerndt-

Do you think I'm overdoing things for 2012?  :)

I will do another post to look back at my stitching in 2011. 

Have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Gifts

I have been blessed from many friends this Christmas season. 

Have you ever seen a Christmas cactus with both pink and white blooms?  This is my first time.  It is beautiful.  It was my table's centerpiece at the Evergreen EGA Christmas party last Sat.  I won it!

I also got a beautiful, large, and lined  project bag from my friend Lorrie at A Stitcher's Snippets. It already has a project in it :) Thank you, Lorrie!

At the top of the project bag is a little Santa face beeswax. It was part of my goodie bag at the Northwest Sampler Guild Christmas party.

I participated in two ornament exchanges. This is the ornament I made for the Sampler Guild exchange. It is an old Prairie Schooler design.  I received the adorable little red Santa at the top of the picture above. 

I don't have a picture of the one I stitched for the EGA exchange but the green needlepoint design on the bottom right of the picture above is the one I received. It reminds me of a Laura Perin design, but don't know for sure if it is.

Ruth over at The Musing Badger sent me a consolation prize from her giveaway. A Belle Soie silk and a Carries Creation cotton floss.  Thank you, Ruth!

The lady bug and the red jar are a thank you gift from outgoing EGA president, Carolyn.

And the two patterns were at my place setting at the Christmas party! 

I so appreciate the wonderful friends I have made in the stitching world,both locally and online.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by my little blog and leave comments. It means so much to me to read them.

Here is the latest on Timeless Tomato.  It is amazing how fast it is moving along.  I am trying to devise a way to add my initials and will work on that more today.

I hope everyone of you has a safe, blessed and peaceful Christmas. 

I'll post again in a few days with an update about my 2012 Crazy January Challenge!

Christmas is Coming To Our House

It is beginning to look like Christmas here.  We are a little later than usual about getting our tree up, but look at the results!

The train is up around the tree.  The Longaberger Christmas baskets are around the base.  My completed Gay Ann Rogers Angel Tree Topper is on the top.  My grandson got to put his ornaments up.  And I found 2 more strands of my favorite garland on etsy.  It is red foil-wrapped gift garland that my mother used on our tree in the 60's.  (I watched on ebay for over 2 years and only saw it once but missed the end of the auction :(  Now I have 5 strands and it makes my tree just right. Know what I mean?

Another 2011 finish-

Blackbird Designs Autumn Song

30 ct R & R fabric-don't remember the color

Called for threads

 The alphabet letters that go around the edge of box top are about 1/3 done.  And I have the box to finish it, but can't decide on what color to paint it.

Here is Debbie Stiehler's Timeless Tomato from the class I took in May or June??  I hadn't touched it since the class, but I saw two of these completed at the stitching retreat in November and fell in love all over again.  So this is what it looked like when I picked it up:

 Here it is now!!

As soon as segment 4 is completed, I'll flip the whole canvas over and finish it upside down. This is the project I will finish 2011 working on (unless I get it done sooner!) When this part is done, there are green leaves for the top of the tomato and the strawberry fob (see top photo)

My Christmas shopping is almost done.  I ordered something for DH last week online and it arrived FedEx the next day while I was gone.  The delivery man put it right into DH's arms!  Now he knows what he is getting :)

Another (edited) 2011 Finish!

Heartstring Samplery

Beth Twist

I Sew'd My Heart

32 ct Glennshee Natural linen

Called for WDW threads

This was a lovely and fun stitch!  I love the color of the threads and had all of them in my stash.  I substituted WDW Pomegranite for the initials of my great-great grandmother. And it was a good thing because there was only one 2 strand piece of WDW Cinnamon left when I was finished!

I saw this pattern on Peggy Lee's blog.  Beth at Heartstring Samplery is collecting photos of her blog header in different areas around the world. Check out some of the places it has been here.  If you send her a photo you can get this wonderful pattern also.

Have a great week!
P>S>I see my blog wallpaper has gone haywire.  Don't know why.

Christmas Exchange has Arrived

I participated in a Christmas exchange on the JAT forum.  My box arrived yesterday!  It is a wonderful batch of goodies from Kathy (MadStitcher).  Fabric, pink threads (my favorite color), travel size calculator and sewing kit, Kelmscott scissors and peacock magnet, 2 new projects (one designed by Kathy), and handmade scissor fob and accessories roll!  What a great start to the Christmas season!

Of course, I forgot to take a photo of the box I sent out. But I know it has arrived and if a photo gets posted, I'll be sure to let you know.  Have a great weekend!