My Trips to the Framer

My framer reopened a few weeks ago, and I had five finished pieces that had been just waiting for that day!  I decided to take them in one at a time, however, because we've been having a lot of protests in the area and, quite frankly, I figured it would be bad enough to lose one piece, let alone five!  They (father/daughter framing team) understood.  But my pieces are all back home safe and sound now, so here they are:

The first piece that I had framed was Spring Robin

by Widgets and Wool Primitives.

I didn't get it in time for this spring, but I'll have it next year.

Next up, Rainforest Birds, my Charley Harper piece.

My framer actually took this piece home with her
one night for safekeeping.

I can't say enough nice things about these people!

This is my "Covid" piece that I designed myself.

I just took a quote that I liked,

and added some motifs from a

folk art embroidery book that I've had for decades.

I did it the hard way,

scratching the chart out on graph paper by hand

since I don't have any cross stitch software.

This is my favorite piece;
they couldn't have found a more perfect frame!

Pandora's Box, a freebie from Blackwork Journey.

The photo doesn't do it justice.

Last but not least, I decided to double-frame
this needlepoint piece.

The canvas is by Eye Candy
and the design's name is self-evident.

I was really surprised when I went to pick it up
and they said, "No charge."

I do give them a lot of business, but I wasn't expecting that!

These folks are the best!

And finally, a small pillow finish...

...from the Little Dove's Year series of monthly patterns.

What do I have in the works now?
So glad you asked, because I have more photos...

I'm actually done stitching this one,
but it still needs to be pillowfied,
hopefully before July.
Little House Needleworks, Freedom

Plum Street Samplers,
Serial Bowl Collection, Lesson Two.
Here's another future pillow.
Once I've finished "painting" the house,
there's a huge bowl of flowers on the roof,
and a large swath of grass on the bottom,
so I've got a bit more to go.
There are five charts in this series,
and they all come with over-dyed threads,
but the suggestion is to use one strand
because if you use two strands you might run out.
I do use two strands and
I've had good luck so far not running out,
except with the red in this piece.
I was able to stitch all the letters except one,
and believe me, I used every scrap of thread.
Since the kit is five years old,
I figured I might not be able to match
the color, even with the same thread.
So I pawed through my stash first and,
lo and behold, I found an almost exact match
with a different color from a different manufacturer.
And since both threads are over-dyed,
no one, not even DH "the color guy" as I call him,
can tell the difference.
So you might keep that in mind
if you run out of an over-dyed thread in the
middle of a project.

This is a workshop that I took through my 

local ANG chapter last year,

Jennifer Riefenberg's Pumpkin Patch.

There's a lot of laying of threads involved

which I'm not fond of

so this will take a while, I think.

This is one of the 35 projects in the book

"Splendid Samplers to Cross Stitch" by Chris Rankin.

It's called Caribbean Sampler in the book;

I call it Southwest Sampler.

I love the rainbow bands between the squares.

Last but not least, this is my start on

And Heaven and Nature Sing by Kathy Barrick.

I usually like to stitch seasonal pieces

closer to the season, but since I'm using

the called-for silks, summer stitching it is

because silk catches on my dry, flaky fingertips

in the winter and drives me crazy crazier.

The linen photographed blue

(and a lovely blue it is)

but in real life it's light gray.

And the wreath is stitched in 

two shades of green.

That's it from here.

Thanks for stopping by.

A Plethora of Patriotic Pieces

How's your July been going so far?  A little while ago I started thinking about some of the patriotic charts that I've had in my stash for quite some time, and decided it was time that they were stitched.  So here are my Four for the Fourth.

Little House Needleworks' Old Glory.

You've seen this here recently; now it's totally finished.

Blackbird Designs' In Full Glory.

Prairie Schooler's Double Eagle Sampler

from Booklet No. 8, American Primitive.

You would never guess this design is from the 80's,

would you?

Their stuff is timeless.

And here's my little display.

The Liberty Bell is also from Prairie Schooler.

They fill up my rustic box nicely.

I won't need to do any more patriotic ones.

Well, maybe I could squeeze more in next year.

My fourth piece is canvaswork...

Independence Day

from (can you guess?)

Needle Delights Originals.

This will probably be put into a box top.

Along with all these,

I've been busy filling out my

Entry Form for the Lake County Fair.

I'm entering 13 pieces this year,

but might only have 11 or 12,

because one needs tweaking

and another one isn't finished yet.

But I've got a few weeks...

famous last words.

So that's what I'll be doing this month

(along with J).

For my US friends, have a happy and safe Fourth.

Have a groovy July, everyone.

Thanks, as always, for visiting.

Finishes!

Hey Blog Buddies,

I have a quartet of finishes to share with you today.  Some are brand new and one is so old it's new again.

First up...

Needle Delights Originals' Spring Logs.

I finished this slightly ahead of 
my ANG chapter's SAL schedule.
The colors are more muted in real life.

Next is a trio of smalls

adorably finish-finished by Averyclaire.

Lizzie-Kate's A Bit of June.

I love the rick rack that is reminiscent of sea waves,

and the ship's wheel charm that she added.

Next up, a pair of birds from

Prairie Schooler's Nordic Holiday leaflet.

This was stitched a couple of years ago, 
misplaced for a while,
and just now finished.
I love the addition of the pine cones!

I added the stork scissors in the photo
to give a sense of the scale of the piece.

Finally, a canvaswork sock,

stitched on "soft" Congress cloth;

the design is from Lois Caron.

It's lined with tiny Christmas tree fabric,

and the back of the sock is a

gorgeous red velvet.

Photos do not do these pieces justice.

I like to celebrate my finishes with a new start,
and I was in the mood for a
small patriotic piece.
I knew I had several such charts,
so I started rummaging through my stash.
This is usually not a good thing,
since I tend to find so many things there
that I really want to get started on ASAP.
As I did this time.
I did find a few (but not all) of my
patriotic charts, and I started
Little House Needleworks' Old Glory.

I'm not too fond of the drastic
color changes in the green.
As of this writing,
I don't think that I'll rip it out,
but the stem of the plant in the large pot
will be a DMC solid color.

Well, that's it from here.
Hope your May is going well.
Thanks for visiting!

Three Finishes!

Hey Blog Buddies,

How's your December been going?  Here in the Chicago area, we've been having very mild weather, courtesy of El Nino.  We've only had one snowstorm in our area that accumulated on the ground, and that's long gone.  I swear the grass in our yard is greening up!  (I hope it doesn't start growing again...)

Anyhow, I finally, finally finish-finished a couple of things that have been stitched up for weeks.  I always have a very hard time talking myself into putting the finishing touches on a project, even if I have all of the materials to do it.

First up is Plum Street Samplers' Serial Bowl No. 3.

Can you tell that I haven't glued down

the end of the chenille yet?  Sigh.

Next, we have

LHN's  Oh Christmas Tree.

I have a few quibbles with this one, too,

but I won't start whining about it.

The main thing is, it's done

and hanging on my tree.

Last (and best, in my opinion)

is the canvaswork scissor case

that I had been stitching on and off for the

better part of this year.

It was an untitled, painted canvas

from Lynn Deininger.

Ta-da!

And, ta-da!

I can't decide which is the front

and which is the back,

because both sides have their charms.

This piece was quickly and expertly

finished by my friend Averyclaire.

I love the beads that she added

at the top!

And with three finishes,

don't I deserve a new start?

Of course I do!

This class was taught at my

ANG chapter's meeting last Saturday.

The chart is Ho Ho Ho by

Deb Bee's Designs.

I actually hadn't planned to start this piece,

but I'm in a Christmas kind of mood now,

and I probably won't want to

work on it after the first of the year.

Here is my start.

It's not that big;

I may finish it by the end of the month.

(Famous last words...)

Well, that's it from here.

Thanks for visiting!

March Turtle Trot

It's Turtle Trot time once again and, as expected,

this month's report is much shorter than last month's.

But some progress is better than none, eh?

First up is Summer Logs 

by Needle Delights Originals.

Here's where I was last month:

This is what I accomplished this month:

This is such a fun, relaxing stitch.

If I didn't want to stay in sync 

 with my guild's SAL group,

I believe I'd have this finished by now.

Quit snickering--you never know!

Next we have Dawn Chorus by Long Dog Samplers.

I had made a great start on it last month...

Here's where I'm at now...

Didn't get as much done as I had planned.

But I have an excuse (dontcha love it?).

This was mounted on a too-small scroll frame

which was driving me crazy.

After I had taken it off (it was sewn on)

I realized that the frame this piece really needs

is in use.

So it will have to wait just a little while

for me to finish that other BAP.

I know I could just stitch this in hand,

but it's all pressed and I don't

want to wrinkle it up again.

Next we have Carrots

by Jennifer Riefenberg. 

Here's where I left off:

And here's where I am now:

More bands of "earth" have been stitched.

Last but not least, we have Ink Circles' 99:

Last month I was here:

And this month, here:

At first glance, it may look like all I did

was to finish off Shelf No. 7.

But I stitched Shelf No. 8, too!

And there are only nine shelves!!

This is the piece that needs to get finished

before I can get back to Dawn Chorus.

I'm too superstitious to predict a finish date,

but there is a great big light

at the end of this long tunnel.

Yes, I'm strange; 

we all have our little idiosyncrasies.

To change the subject,

as many of you are aware,

the Nashville Market was held recently.

Last week, averyclaire dragged me

(kicking and screaming, I tell you)

to our LNS to check out the

new Market pieces.

Well, she did have to wait

several nanoseconds 

before I hollered "field trip!"

Wanna see what I got?

 

Top row: LHN Oh Christmas Tree, 

BBD In Full Glory, PSS Lesson One of 

Serial Bowl Collection.

Bottom row: Kathy Barrick's 

Good Intentions and Bird's Eye View.

The Plum Street and Kathy Barrick designs

were all from Market.

This also came home with me:

Wow, it seems to be kitted up!

The fabric is a really pretty light yellow.

There was a gorgeous stitched model in the store,

and it just said "spring" very loudly to me.

I intend to start this the moment I finish 99 

(I do have some restraint),

and that's another incentive

to just get it done.

So those are my stitching plans,

with the exception of

a two-day Kay Stanis workshop

hosted by my ANG chapter this weekend,

and a rather challenging canvaswork class

to be taught at that same

enabling ANG chapter at the end of the month!

Go here to find out what the other

Trotters have been up to this month.

Thanks, Claudette, for hosting this fun SAL!

That's it from here.

Hope you are all having a fabulous March.

Thanks for visiting!

February IHSW: Something Simple

Hey Blog Buddies,

It seems that I have been stitching things lately that range from the fiddly (lots of color changes) to the annoying (having to lay a lot of threads and/or using the dreaded Neon Rays).  So for this IHSW I decided to go with something simple:

What could be more simple than a Prairie Schooler ornament stitched in only one color?  I started and finished stitching this piece this weekend.  It looks like basically nothing now, but eventually it will become a "strawberry" ornament with candy cane stripes.  The chart is from Prairie Schooler's Christmas Strawberries book--so that makes two ornaments that I've stitched from that book.  One more, and I'll have them all finished into the strawberry ornaments that they are meant to be.

In other stitching news, I have a lovely new finish-finish...

 This is Little House Needleworks' Warm Winter Woolens,

stitched by me and finished by the talented Karen U.

It was finished as a box, and is sitting on my shelf as I type.

That's it for now:  short and sweet.

To see the other hermitters' progress,
click on over to Random Ramblings.

Hope you're keeping warm if you're

anywhere near the Midwest US.
Winter is just not letting go here.

Thanks for visiting!

A New Start

Hey Blog Buddies,

First, I'd like to welcome all my new followers from the Grow Your Blog party--glad you're here.  That was so much fun!  There were so many new blogs to check out that I am still making my way through them.
 
Regarding the title of this post:  oh no, not another new start?  Yes, it's true.  It's not enough that I have ten active WIPs in my rotation this year (several of them BAPs) but I have started a new Stitch-a-Long.  It's the Nordic Needle Canvaswork Club, and Laura J. Perin has designed one of her long panels for it...

 

How cute is this?

I debated long and hard about this one,

because I really didn't want any more new projects.

But I liked it so much that I ordered it

at the end of December. 

Each month I'll receive

a chart and instructions to do

a piece of the panel.

This is the January piece--all finished!

All the multi-colored stars were done in 

Watercolours "Passion." 

It didn't take me long to do at all.

I don't have the February piece yet,

but from a glance at the photo of the model,

it looks like it will feature 

a lot of the gold metallic ribbon.

I've also been working diligently on my

regular rotation--believe it or not,

but I'm going to save those photos

for the Turtle Trot check-in

coming next week.

I do have an ornament to show you,

that I couldn't before

because it was a gift.

 This is one of the Lizzie*Kate Jingles patterns.

It was such a modest little design

that I felt it should be tarted up

with some fabric and rick rack.

Finally, I finished stitching

LHN's Home of a Needleworker

some time last summer

and I purchased a really nice frame for it

shortly thereafter,

but it took me until last week

to actually get myself in gear

and frame it.

Now it's hanging on my wall

instead of languishing in a bag

on my desk.

Finally, I have a snow picture for you.

It's of our backyard.

 Is it pretty?  Uh... no.

 When we get several inches of snow,

I have to go out and shovel paths in the yard.

Because we have a dog.

And I don't have snowshoes.

And you just can't leave all that "stuff"

laying there between the layers of snow

until the April or May (the way things are going) melt-off!

Well, you could, but eewwww!

There's more snow predicted for tonight,

so you'll know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

And even more snow is predicted for

this coming weekend, along with very cold temps.

90 percent of what I had planned in January

was cancelled--along with everyone else's events in this area.

And February is shaping up to be

more of same.

Enough already!!

(rant over--I've been very cranky lately)

On the bright side,

guess my WIPs will continue to get

lots and lots of love.

That's it from here.

Thanks for visiting!

Snowbound

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's been snowing here since yesterday evening and isn't predicted to stop until tonight, then we go into the deep freeze.  No one on our street has been out yet to shovel their driveways, and our street itself has not been cleared yet, so we are hunkering down at least until tomorrow, when the predicted high temperature will be -10 F but the snow will have (hopefully) stopped falling.

The snow this time around is pretty heavy,

as the drooping branches show.

(looking out my front window)

 

This is our goose on the deck,

attired in cape, hat, muff and lots of snow,

taken earlier in the day

when there was a short break in the precipitation.

 

But enough of the horrid snow

and on to the stitching.

 

I was able to finish LHN's Warm Winter Woolens

on the last day of 2013:

 

 

I am going to treat myself and

get this one finished professionally.

 

On New Year's Day I started the prework

for my canvaswork class at the

Nordic Needle Retreat coming up in April:

 

 

This will become an ort box.

I have done the borders for the top,

bottom and all four sides, so I am ready!

 

The past few days I've been stitching

a little something-something

that I can't show yet.

It's for my 3rd Blogoversary Giveaway

which will happen later this month,

so stayed tuned.

 

That's it from here.

If you're a victim of this winter storm that we're having,

stay warm and dry.

Thanks for visiting!