A Gift, Stitched

Adana brought this gift from SB retreat to me at our Hoosier Stitch in September of this year. Isn't it lovely? Not my stitching, but the gift. It was a big surprise, but she knows just how much I love scissor fobs, and SB. I didn't do the greatest job on this new trim style--much prefer the cording method. I'm going to look at Hobby Lobby and see if I can find a pair of scissors with orange handles, to match the pumpkin.





This month, Esmeralda's Friends brought this lovely kit to my door. Isn't it adorable?

A New Endeavor

After finishing Come Tarry, I didn't want to get involved with anything huge or intricate, so I chose to work on a few "smalls" designs. These are Indigo Rose designs, with a few changes in colors. The fob with the Rhodes hearts should have been light around the outside edge but I choose to match it to the hearts. The blue one is called 3 Penny Fob, but with the size it is, I doubt I could have gotten 3 pennies in it. It was designed for congress cloth but I did all of these on 32 count Belfast. I designed the Needlebook from the 3 Penny fob because I liked the stitch and how the fabric looked after the beads were added. I did not add beads to the back "page" but a cross stitch in that area. It's been fun playing with these tiny pieces, usually only took two or three evenings to complete, and they make a joyful addition to my fobs.

I have recently started working on the SB Retreat Fob, which my friend Adana brought me back from Retreat. As soon as I get it finished, I'll post a picture here. Thanks, Adana.

A New Finish

It was a long time coming. Started last year, but with Christmas stitching, and 20 scarves to knit, it languished in the bottom of my pile for months. Seemed to take forever to get done, but finally, I'm happy to report, I got it finished, ironed, and scanned. Had to scan it in two parts, but my friend Deb "stitched" the two pictures together for me so that I could show it in its entirety. Was it worth the several months spent stitching it?

There were spots in this sampler that I despised doing. The whitework section was the worst for me. And the top hill seemed to take forever. I'll always be thankful to Lancy for sending me some Williamsburg green to finish it. My favorite section was the sheepies. I'm thinking I can use those cute sheep for other things. In fact, I have this Adam's Original bag with a linen front that they would look perfect on.

My next project will be a Christmas gift for my Father. And I'll also add Drawn Thread's Gameboard as my next SAL with Adana. She's so far ahead of me, I don't know if I can catch up. But, I'll have some extra time when she heads for Utah to the SB retreat. While she's having a great time, I'll be feverishly stitching.

Until next time, keep those needles smokin'.

Trip to House of Stitches

Our drive to House of Stitches, in LaPorte, IN takes over two hours. We set out fairly early, at least for us. Before 10 a.m. For the five days prior, DH had been stuck in a truck, with no one to talk with, except for when he called me. So, the trip to HOS was non-stop talking. On his side. Even going over my list and putting some music on didn't hinder him.

At last, we reached HOS. Made pretty good time, too. Only had one potty stop. Linda and all the ladies were waiting, and knowing what dh's tolerance point was, I had my shopping all planned out. I walked into the store, and all those plans just flew out the door behind me. It had been close to two years since I'd been in a stitching store and I was going to enjoy every minute.

But, wait. I have to set the scene for you. Here is this lovely store, a bit cramped for all the great things to see. Enter this big bear of a man, in a store generally visited by ladies, and he stuck out like a sore thumb. He towered over all the women there, didn't seem to know what to do with his hands, until I stuck a calculator into them. So, he wandered around behind me, carrying the calculator and the shopping basket, until I reached the fabric cutting table. He found a chair and ensconced himself in it, along with the basket, so I got to run around the shop and take things back to him, while he added it all up. I was in heaven. Until I found all the new Waterlilies silks. A ton of new ones, that Lois hasn't put up on her website. Now it was time to go to work, get the colors I was missing, while dh tried to keep up with imputing prices. The higher the total got, the higher his eyebrows.

I walked out of the store with 39 skeins of silk, two pair of scissors, a few leaflets, one kit, four pieces of fabric, two magazines, a silk "remember the ladies" kit and a few JABC buttons. Dh laughed over the look on my face. And for his patience, he got a lunch out.

We arrived home just at dinner time, and ds had dinner ready. It was my best birthday ever.

A Special Birthday Surprise

I sort of dreaded my birthday this year. It wasn't a milestone or anything like that, but it has slowly been penetrating my brain--I'm getting old. Don't really feel older but when you hit 53 years, its a bit of a shock when you still feel 30. My family started asking in June "what do you want for your birthday?" How could I tell them, "to be younger"?

I knew right off the bat, what my dear husband was planning. A long awaited trip to a cross stitch store. House of Stitches. Best shop in Indiana. He'd been promising that since Christmas. And I'd been saving money so I could go nuts in the shop, which I did. More about that later.

Anyway, back to not looking forward to my birthday. About two weeks before the dreaded day, I got a package in the mail. Wasn't expecting anything, no orders being shipped so I was really surprised. My friend Adana's return address was on the box. Couldn't wait to open it. This is what was inside. She made this herself--a lovely wooden box, all lined inside with pretty blue fabric, with a cute card, a pair of scissors and a bookmark. She chose all the things I loved. Shepherd's Bush sheepie design, scissors, the color blue and teapots. She sanded and stained the box herself. Stitched the top motif, which is from Garden Gate, did all the finishing work, and it turned out most lovely. And she made me feel special. How could I dread my birthday when I had friends like Adana?

She doesn't even know how much she did for me. How she brightened my outlook on life, how being friends with her has opened me up to more possibilities. Thank you Adana, you ROCK!

My birthday turned out just fine. My son, his wife Olivia, and my grandkids took me out for dinner, gifted me with a game, and a stuffed animal Garfield, for my car. My son Chad gave me a photo printer. My parents sent me money to add to my shopping spree at House of Stitches. And my darling Shawn took me there. But, that is another story for another time. Thanks for reading.

SAL updated

The stitching part of our SAL is finished and all there is left is the finishing. I've completed mine, put the top into a pincushion box and sewed up the fob--even attached the scissors. It makes a cute little table top set. Adana is thinking of making her box top into a needle roll, and I think that will look great. She was to work on her fob tonight. I'm hoping to get a picture of her set soon. Until then, here is mine.

What is the quarter all about? We're doing an estimated size difference. I worked mine on 40 count lambswool linen, and Adana worked on 32 count. We wanted to find out how much of a difference it made, using two counts.

Drawn Thread SAL with Adana

This is my progress thus far. Had to wait for the fabric to arrive since I don't keep a stock of 40 count. This is Lambswool, and I love working on it. The 40 count is a bit hard to see but looks so lovely. I'm using Vikki Clayton silks, which Adana shared with me, and they are a joy to work with. I'm hoping to finish the Lady's Necessaire tonight, and maybe even get a start on the matching fob.

This is not my usual kind of project. I keep very much to working Shepherd's Bush projects, the colors, the visual impact of them. Doing this was Adana's idea, and a great one it was. We all need to expand our experiences, do new things, try out new fibers and fabrics. Now, if I could only find the Lady's Necessaire box to complete the project.

A New Look

Isn't my new page lovely? Deb has been helping me get it looking like I want it. She's done a ton of work, teaching me to post links, and add images.

Why did I choose this type of heading? To me, the picture represents the open road--the place where I'm happiest. He drives our truck--and let me tell you, when I start talking, he can't leave the room or turn the television on. I have his complete attention along with the road. Over the years, we have talked so many things out. Like having a private therapist, on retainer, available at all hours. Imagine a closet, with two chairs, maybe six feet wide. Not much lighting. The hum of the road under your feet. Music playing softly in the background. What else is there to do but talk and listen?

Our newest truck isn't set up for two people, so I've been staying home and keeping the fires burning. I've managed to get a lot of stitching done, (and spent a lot on stitching supplies at the same time) and now its time to turn my thoughts to stitching for Christmas. My good friend Adana made me a lovely decorated box for my birthday and it is such a wonderful work of art, I'm thinking of trying my hand at a few as gifts. I have four sisters who, I think, are getting bored with stitched pictures to hang on their walls. This idea would enable me to still stitch for them, while choosing a small chart that fits them perfectly. When I find my camera, I'll take a picture of Adana's gem and show it here. Thank you Adana. I love it.

Maybe I'll go do a bit of house cleaning, and reward myself with some stitching tonight. Have a great day all, and try to keep cool.

If you have been reading this, you must wonder about the Summer band sampler I was working on. It is finished now, but still waiting the charms. Here is what it looks like without the charms. My scanner doesn't work well with the linen, but I think the project turned out well.

Meet two special people

Here they are, two of my most favorite people, my grandchildren Robert and Katie. Still missing pictures of three other grandkids but I'll add them later.

July 13, 2006

Got that sampler finished, finally. Still have charms to attach but have to get them first. It was an enjoyable stitch, I've always liked Elizabeth's Designs.

Spent the morning emailing with a friend, you know who you are. Was able to share a memory that needed sharing.

I am hoping that writing in this blog will help me over some of the hurdles of life, and learn how to express myself better. I find myself, at this point in my life, a bit vulnerable to my feelings. I'm hoping to get over that soon--please Lord.

Tonight is UFO night on the SBBB and I'm going to force myself to work on a project my sister wants me to do, and that I hate working on. If I can give it my all one night a week, it might get done in time for Christmas. that would thrill her no end.

Why do I hate this project so much? The entire thing is done in sampler threads, which means working individual stitches through out the entirety of the project. That wouldn't be too bad, if there were solid areas of stitching. Think bricks, tons of bricks, each about 6 stitches and those 6 stitches are three different colors. So, a lot of jumping around to do. Or a lot of starting and stopping. Takes forever to see any kind of progress. I'll just grit my teeth and work on it tonight. Maybe I'll start scanning it and let the reader see if they can find the progress week to week.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

After spending the afternoon either cleaning or emailing friends, I am going to spend the evening stitching. I have many projects in the works, but tonight, I'm trying to finish a gift for a friend. Working on Summer Band Sampler by Elizabeth Foster of Elizabeth's Designs.

I am finding this project to be quite enjoyable and I'm hoping for a finish tonight.