Finally...

...my quilted wall hanging is done!

The overall effect is a bit more autumnal than I'd like.

And here is it hanging from it's wooden bar.

I think as a reward for finishing this,

I'll start another project from my list.

Thanks so much for all your kind comments
on my last post!
To Bea who said that I did a good job
coordinating the fabric with the piece--
that is all my finisher, Miss Averyclaire.
She has an awesome fabric stash
because she's a quilter;
and if she can't find just the right match,
she takes the piece to the fabric store
to make sure it's perfect.
I and her other customers are
lucky that we have such a gem.

That's it for now.

Thanks for visiting!

Two Winter Finishes

Here are two finishes that have made an appearance on this blog, but I thought I would show the finish-finishes.

This is  the SamSarah Winter Cardinal,

finished as a flat fold.  So cute!

And this is First Star, from the 2012

JCS Christmas Ornament issue.

The back is covered in a luxurious flannel

that feels like velvet.

I think it has a sophisticated look.

Both of these adorable finishes

were done by Averyclaire.

I was going to wait until I had my quilted

wall hanging finished and show them all together

(all I have left is to tack down the binding)

but that's going a lot slower than anticipated.

Besides, I kind of like the idea of

more frequent, shorter posts.

Hopefully, I'll be back before the end of the month

with another finish.

At the rate I'm going, it will be

Prairie Schooler's "G" and not the quilt.

That's it for now.

Thanks for visiting!

The 2017 List - Part 13

I've finally reached the end of the road

with my 2017 to-do list.

Here are the last two.

It's hard to see in the photo, but the bottom tree is done in hardanger stitches.  This is an old design, from the 1990's, and I may have a hard time finding the two gold tree charms that you see in the bottom third of the piece.  I can always stitch a couple of trees in, though.

The name of this piece is Funky Bird.  

Obviously, both projects are kitted up and ready to go, but I can really only handle four to five active WIPs at once.  The ones I'm working on right now are the Prairie Schooler Alphabet (G is proving to be quite fiddly), Spring Logs (needlepoint), Wandering Star (blackwork) and my small quilted wall hanging.  The quilt should be my next finish.  Something on this extensive list should hop in to replace it, but I do have a lot of cute valentine designs in my stash, and February is just around the corner...

That's it for a little while.

Hope you had a great weekend,

and thanks for stopping by

and staying with me while I

meandered through this crazy list.

The 2017 List - Part 12

Today I have an almost-start to show you.

This is Blackwork Journey's Wandering Star design.

It was named after a song from the 1970 movie

"Paint Your Wagon."

I had ordered this design 

about a week ago, and I've spent

the time since wondering why I didn't receive it.

Then it dawned on me:

my Paypal account is under a different 

email address that I don't check too often.

It's sad when you get old and the mind goes...

I got the fabric cut and colors chosen.

They are not the recommended colors,

and my computer screen is making the

burnt orange a lot redder than it is IRL.

But I just didn't have the time to start it.

Tomorrow it will see its first stitches.

That's it for today.

Thanks for visiting!

See you tomorrow.

The 2017 List - Part 11

Greetings from the icy Midwest section of the United States!  Everything outside that hasn't been salted is covered in 1/4 inch of ice.  It makes stepping out in the yard with your dog somewhat hazardous.

I can cross an item off of my list today...

Here again is Permin's Two Horses.

The only change I made was outlining

the horses in black instead of DMC 3371.

I wanted them to stand out a bit more from the gloom.

I overestimated the finished size in my other post;

the piece measures 2" by 1.5."

It wasn't nearly as difficult to stitch as I had expected,

since there were no confetti stitches to deal with.

I plan on finishing this as a tiny picture.

That's it for today.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Thanks for visiting,

and I'll see you tomorrow.

The 2017 List - Part 10

Here is another small project...

This is an EGA class that I took in 2011!

The designer is Marsha Papay-Gomola.

It's funny how you have to take a photo of something

to notice various things.  For instance, I just now

noticed that there is a second "r" in the word Forest.

Anyway, here is my progress so far...

It's basically what I got done in class.

I had this on my to-do list last year,

and I had high hopes of finishing it.

It's not a large piece.

I never even took it out of its bag.

It's on my list again this year,

but my hopes are somewhat dimmed.

We'll see.

That's it for today.

Thanks so much for visiting,

and I am thrilled that

so many of you are taking the

time to comment.

See you tomorrow!

The 2017 List - Part 9

I'm back again, because there are so many items on this here list!  And the list wouldn't be complete without listing upcoming classes and workshops.  So far this year (I realize it's only January 11th), I have signed up for only two classes, both hosted by my needlepoint guild.  They are:

Underwater Basketweave by Hands on Design.

This can be made into either a picture or a biscornu,

but our instructor has told us that she favors the biscornu.

This is coming up in February.

And in June, we'll be doing

Needle Delights Originals' Independence Day.

Both of these projects are on the small side

(that shows some restraint, doesn't it?),

so they should stitch up quickly.

That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

See you tomorrow!

The 2017 List - Part 8

Today's list items are three ornaments that I'd like to stitch sooner rather than later.  They are:

I found this pattern from Nordic Needle in the

2002 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine.

It may be old, but it's one of my favorites.

These cute needlepoint stockings are designed by

Lois Caron, so they of course feature the Watercolours

and Wildflowers threads.  

I haven't decided which one to stitch yet.

I'm a bit concerned about

sourcing the threads for this one

since we've lost two local needlepoint shops

in just the last year.

But maybe I shouldn't be

since I have so many different

Watercolours in my stash!

Finally, this trio is from Victoria Sampler.

I'm partial to the heart-shaped ornament

which is the one I intend to stitch.

Will one of these be my next start?

Two Horses is moving right along.

That's it for today.

Thanks for dropping by!

See you tomorrow.

The 2017 List - Part 7

Today's features are:

...my first finish of 2017.

I knew this one wouldn't take long...

and

...a new start!

This is Two Horses by

Permin of Copenhagen.

It came in a kit with

what appears to be 22-count aida cloth.

I think it works up to about 3" by 4."

That's it for today.

Thanks for visiting!

See you tomorrow.

The 2017 List - Part 6

Today we have something a little different.  My passion, of course, is hand embroidery, but every so often I try a little quilting.  I had made a quilted runner as a Christmas gift, and since my machine was still out and I had a slight urge to continue sewing, I figured I'd better run with it.

I have had this fabric sitting around for at least 6-7 years, and I have planned every year to make it into a wall hanging.  It's the remains of two different jelly rolls. A jelly roll, for the uninitiated, is 40 strips of fabric, 2.5 inches wide and 42-44 inches long, many times packaged after winding into a circle to resemble the bakery treat.  I got the inspiration for this block from the book Still Stripping After All These Years by Eleanor Burns.

The wall hanging will be 3" by 3", and the above block is 18" square, so I will need to assemble only three more blocks.  When it's all finished, it will be laid out into a pattern that will resemble Summer Logs...

I'm thinking that I'll position my blocks 

with the dark colors on the outside, though.

The first photo I took made the block appear rectangular!

I can now show you the runner that started

all this sewing madness,

since the recipient has it in her possession.

That's it for today.

Hope you had a grand weekend.

See you tomorrow!

The 2017 List - Part 5

Ah yes, until today I had forgotten about Kindred Spirits, the Ellen Chester workshop that I attended in October 2015.  So many small items that I could pick and choose from:  needle roll, scissor case, ruler case, pipkin...

But what I'm shooting for this year are the three pieces which make up the lining of the sides of the wooden carry-all.  It would be really nice to get those done.  (Lots of over one on 36-count there.)  And I have almost a whole year to do them!

Thanks for visiting!

Have a groovy Saturday.

See you tomorrow.

The 2017 List - Part 4

Well the title of this post is a bit misleading.  This little project is not one of my longer-term goals this year, I just happened upon the chart when pawing through my stash recently and thought it would be a good idea to stitch it up sooner rather than later.  So it's in the daily rotation.  (Yes, I normally work on more than one project in the course of a day...)

This chart spoke to the

bird enthusiast in me,

and it will be a nice addition 

to my seasonal display,

if not this year, then next year.

This is my start.

That's it for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

See you tomorrow!

The 2017 List - Part 3

Today's WIP is from one of my favorite designers, Kathy Rees from Needle Delights Originals.  Regular readers of this blog will recognize Spring Logs.

This is the ongoing project (SAL) from my ANG chapter.  Our collective goal for the end of January is, I believe, the green "log" in the right-hand section.  I'm a little ahead of that.

Here is a close-up of the newest section.

I may have to loiter a bit to stay current with this SAL.

Molly wanted to pop in and say "hi."  

She says she needs to be featured more on this here blog.  

I don't know about that.  

She's had a very frustrating dry skin condition every winter since we've had her; she just scratches and bites at herself during most of her waking hours.  It seems to start and end with heating season.  In past years we've been able to manage it (just barely) with a combination of over-the-counter meds, large amounts of Omega-3 and our humidifier, but this year she's been scratching herself raw.  She saw the vet on Monday and we got a bottle of Apoquel ("the miracle anti-itch drug"), and so far it seems to be working!  That's the good news.  The bad news is that the vet discovered two growths in her mammary glands that will need to be removed.  We'll know more about them after her surgery.  Any good thoughts you can send her way will be appreciated. I'll keep you updated as things progress later on in the month.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tomorrow:  my first new start of 2017!

The 2017 List - Part 2

Today's featured project is one we haven't seen for a while here...

Some of you will recognize

Copper Illumination by Kay Stanis.

This is my challenge piece for my 

ANG (American Needlepoint Guild) chapter.

It needs to be completed by the end of June,

or I will be $10 poorer.

This is where I left off.

It's not really a large piece, but

the blackwork section on the left is "random,"

the large flowers on the bottom 

are all beads with purl purl leaves,

there's more goldwork on the sprig

of flowers in the upper left,

and there is a small piece of copper sheeting

that needs to be shaped into

that tulip design you see in the model.

($10 won't break me.)

This piece is still on the list because

if it's not finished this year,

I'm afraid it never will be.

Thanks for stopping by.

See you tomorrow!

The 2017 List - Part 1

Hey Blog Buddies,

January is the time that we stitchers start talking about our plans and goals for the upcoming year.  I was going to do just one post and show everything that I have planned, but I probably couldn't do it in 10,000 words or less!  So, in a departure from what I've been doing lately (one post a month), I've decided to showcase one project from my list per day to keep the size of the posts manageable.

Let's start with the WIPs that followed me here from 2016. Sadly, not all of them did. 

First and foremost is The Prairie Schooler Alphabet.  I think if I were forced to choose just one piece to stitch this year (perish the thought!), it would be this one.  I'm having a lot of fun with it.

I never really showed close-ups of the last two letters as they were finished, so here is E...  

And here is F...

And finally, here is my start on G...

I am hoping to be able to stitch the next three leaflets this year, which would put me through the letter O.  We'll see what happens.

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting and thanks, too, for all your wonderful comments.  See you tomorrow!