Happy Dance times 2

Finally have something to show. With some of the hottest weather in Indiana history, for the first week of summer, I've been staying indoors with the air conditioning. Hot and humid do not work for me at all. (Not to mention the hot flashes the doc says are normal at this time in my life, lol.) I have continued to work on the wall behind our four poster bed, making it look, (I hope) a bit less feminine.

First up, Moon and Stars by LHN. Wow, I really loved stitching this one. I didn't have the recommended Crescent Colours cottons so I substituted Crescent Colours Silks, the Belle Soies. Love working with these threads. I think my color choices were a pretty good match. I had to pull the DMC for general color, and then use the picture to make better variegated matches. I used the recommended fabric color and count, but I wasn't really happy with what I had. My fabric was thin, not nice and dense how I like it.

When I framed the piece, I took Diane's (LHN) idea for frame color and used white. I used a liming paint process that allowed the wood grain to show through and then polyurethaned it for a soft glow. I'm really happy at how it looks all framed up.

I finished the stitching early one evening, and had to find something else to work on. I had LHN's Thread pack of Berries so I pulled out fabric and got started on it. I got the outside borders stitched that first night, so I had the dimensions to measure for framing. Went ahead and made that frame--my first time making a frame before the project was completed--so when I was finished with it, was able to put it in the frame as soon as it was done.

I did make a few changes in this piece. I changed the door to 8 Rhodes stitches, to mimic an eight panel door, and added two chimneys to the roof. The flowers beneath the fences were done with a Smyrna stitch as were the two buds further up the flowers. Just wanted to give a bit more depth to the piece.

Next up is finishing Goodwill, another LHN Threadpack. I got that started up last night but only have the outside border and some of the green ground work done. After that is finished, I'm thinking of a Halloween scissors sheath but not sure of the designer. Or perhaps the Drawn Thread scissor pocket that's Halloweenish.

Here's what the wall looks like over our bed now. As Goodwill will frame just a tad bigger than Berries, it might look good where this tiny shelf is now. Or I can lower the tiny shelf and position the picture above it. And yes, before you ask, hubby and I used to collect Boyd's Bears plush. These bears, hares, and others reside on shelves that encircle the room high up near the ceiling.

On the non-stitching side of life, things are going a tiny bit better--if one can disregard my son's car getting vandalized for the second time in six weeks. (He thinks disgruntled old girlfriend.) Whoever it was left the driver's side of his car decorated with lots of long, deep scratches. Insurance company is NOT going to be happy. Hubby is right now stuck in Atlanta, waiting for a load that will bring him this way. Catching up on bills is going to take us longer than it ever has, thanks to the increase in fuel prices. Looks like perhaps my birthday trip to House of Stitches might have to be a lot later than next month. :(

Stitch on, dear friends, and thank you for all the lovely comments you leave. You have kept my spirits up, encouraged me to keep "keeping on".

Sunflower Inn Happy Dance

My newest finish is Sunflower Inn by Little House Needleworks. This piece seemed to take me forever, and I wasn't even distracted by my dh being home. It was an enjoyable stitch. I didn't use all of the recommended threads. Substituted Crescent Colour cottons for the three DMC listed and used a different fabric, Heritage Cashel. I really like how it came out.

I will admit to having a small problem with framing this piece. I got it all together, and was ready to put the paper on the back, and realized that I had missed two stitches--the ecru color between the house and the roof. I was so upset. Set about to fix the problem, with my son laughing hysterically in the background. Yes, I added those two stitches without taking the piece out of the frame. Can you spot my addition?

I seem to be on a roll with LHN designs, but there is a reason. For 18 years, the most prominant picture over our four poster bed has been an Alma Lynne bunny, dressed to look like a little girl. Okay, so that isn't the most masculine picture for a bedroom shared by two people. LOL. Dh said he didn't much mind what was hanging there, but I think he likes these LHN pieces better. So far, I've hung Sea to Shining Sea, Prairie Sampler, Holly and Berries (?) and now Sunflower Inn. I have Two White Houses in the works also. (only have most of one house done so far.) I know LHN has another chart with a house that's similar to Prairie Sampler, so I need to find out which one that is, and get that one going. I think that would fit into the collage.

A moment for a rant here. I did Sunflower Inn with two threads over two threads--and what is it about using two ply, strands, whatever, that really sucks? Somehow, I always ended up with one thread shorter than the other. I kept a close eye on my stitches, so I didn't have any uneven ones, but still. Does this happen to anyone else? Is there any way to keep it from happening? Between us, I prefer to stitch with one thread but it just doesn't cover well enough on 28 count, and it's barely sufficient for 32 count. (silk is a different matter, covers just fine on 32 count.) Oh, well, grin and bear it, right?

Here is the piece that I showed last time, all framed up. Acorn Hill. What do you think of the frame color? Too "out there"? Too bright? I tried dulling it down with a wash of green paint, but it doesn't show much.

On the home front, things are getting marginally better. He's running the miles and getting paid, but we have so much to pay back and it's taking a lot longer getting bills paid off than I had thought. I'm on a stash diet--well, not even diet as one eats on a diet. I'm in stash withdrawal, and will change that the second that I can. So many lovely charts out there, so many threads I'm running out of. I'm actually doing Two White Houses with the recommended DMC floss colors.

Life goes on, summer is approaching and with it, the dreaded heat. I've already spent a lot of time indoors with the air conditioning. Did spend one Sunday afternoon washing and waxing my car but it was a cool day, about 65 degrees. That's the kind of temps I enjoy. We have survived a severe storm with only a few downed tree limbs and short power outages. (Poor Boo, the thunder scared her so she stuck close to me.) And this stash withdrawal is causing me to dip into stored stash, and I'm finding things I didn't even remember I had--how cool is that?

Stitch on, dear friends, and thank you for all the comments you leave me. Your encouragement brings a smile to my lips and happy thoughts to my head. And a special thank you to all of you who keep your blogs updated on a regular basis, for I have interesting things to read. Until next time. . . .