'Tis a Finish

While I was away at PALS in Myrtle Beach I got tons of stitching time.  The whole time I worked on only one project because I felt like I was on such a roll.  I had other projects with me, but this particular project just kept tugging on my needle. 

By the time the retreat was over I was about 85% done so I kept the focus on this piece all week long.  Now all I have to do is find a frame and I will have a wonderful piece to display this Holiday Season.

I am thrilled to present to you 'Tis the Season by Blackbird Designs (from the Joyeux Noel booklet).

'Tis the Season by Blackbird Designs
Stitched on 40ct Vintage Pear by Lakeside Linen

I just love this Cardinal!

I've been trying to expand my skills with my camera, so I took this fun little shot.

Looks like I have another Crazy January Finish!  I hope that I may have inspired someone today.

Happy Stitches!

Minute Madness and a Quick Finish

I'm quite proud of myself these last few days.  I've managed to keep up with my fifteen minute a day promise for the time being.  While it doesn't look like much to me, I know that every little bit helps.  This "E" shot is the result of three days of fifteen minute (or sometimes half hour) stitching.

ABC's of Aging by L*K

When I finish my daily fifteen, I make myself ready for the next day's fifteen.  In today's case it meant that my needle is ready to continue with the "ate" in chocolate.  I find that the simple act of starting the needle makes the next fifteen minute session so much easier. 

Speaking of quick and easy, I'm so excited to say that my "ABCD" by La-D-Da was a quick, easy and extremely fun piece.  In fact, I finished it last week, but this was the first chance that I have had to post a good picture.  Too bad it wasn't part of my Crazy January Challenge!

ABCD by La-D-Da
Stitched on 40ct Vintage Dark Ltd. Run
using Peacock and Petunia Belle Soie

I also spent some time "finishing" over the weekend, but that will have to wait for another day.

Happy Stitches!

Two More Weeks and CJC #2

That's right fellow stitchers.....only two more weeks until I am free for another year.  Yes, I know that I've been griping about it constantly this year, but this just seems to have been an odd year.  So many issues and so little time to deal with them all! 

Too boot, today is going to be in the low 80's with about 45% humidity!  (This is about 20 degrees warmer than the usual average this time of year.)  I think that mother nature is teasing all of us today with a taste of early summer.  This is one of those days that I wish the office had windows that opened.

In other news, I finished my second piece in the 2011 Crazy January Challenge.  (Now there is only thirteen more to go!)

Rose Garden by BBD
28 ct Lt. Examplar by Lakeside Linen
Belle Soie Rosebud by Crescent Colours

A close up....

This one was a fun stitch and I will be stitching it again.....in the same color.  I had intended this one for another purpose, but as I began stitching on it I realized that I must do it again in honor of my Grandmother.  So, after I finish up some exchange stitching, this bad boy is going back into this summer's rotation!

Happy Stitching!

Attention Hog

I've noticed that MR (Mouline Rouge) has garnered your attention as much as it has mine. I'm glad to see that you love it too. I have to thank you for all your wonderful comments on it. I'm quite enthralled and I find myself drifting to it each and every time I sit down to stitch. It is getting harder and harder to work on my startitis with this project in my bag.  I'm sure that many of you have had a project like this at one time or another.

I've had a few questions about MR, so hopefully this will answer them all. It is a rather large project, but it is not the biggest Long Dog that I have in my stash. The biggest would be Bagatelle at 322 x 443, which equals 60,156 stitches!  I've had Bagatelle in my stash for sometime now (since at least 2007). However, I've decided that I no longer wish to stitch it on the color fabric that I originally chose for it. Maybe I will come to a decision as I stitch MR. Who knows?

On to the details........ MR is 364 x 364 stitches. I'll be stitching a grand total of 39,084 stitches. WHEW!!!! That is going to be a ton of thread!  With the help of dear Hubby I picked Rose of Sharon (Belle Soie) to stitch with.  Thank goodness I have a wonderful friend who helped me get all of my thread from the same dye lot. (Thanks Sharon! **waves, blowing kisses and sending hugs**) I'm stitching MR on 40ct Vintage Examplar by Lakeside Linen.  I really love this color fabric, don't you?

Now that I've talked about my current beloved project, I've got a hankering to get settled into the happy chair!

Happy Stitching!

More Ornaments

The craziness is still on, but I managed to finish these over the weekend:

Winter Joy by SamSarah
36ct Vintage Pearled Barley by Lakeside Linen
From a JCS Ornament Preview Issue

Love Letters by Blackbird Designs
out of Joyeux Noel
36ct Vintage Pear by Lakeside Linen
Floss colors were modified from original version

I really love how these turned out.  What is even better is the Blackbird one is for my tree.  So, I guess this means that my obligation gift stitching is now over.  I'm calling it quits so that I can "finish" these babies (along with the ones from prior posts) before the holiday.

Happy Stitching!

Deep Breaths

I'm totally overwhelmed!  Things have been crazy around here since last week and they don't look to let up anytime soon. I was so busy with friends and family over the weekend so my house is a "disaster run rampant".  I'm not even going to mention all the stitching and finishing that still needs to be done for X-mas gifts!  Plus, work is going to be more intense from now (tax projection time) until April 15th.  I just hope that there is a little reprieve in the first couple of weeks in January so that I can work on my 2011 Crazy January Challenge.

So, here's a little glimpse into what I have been working on........

I finished one of the ornaments that I featured in my last post.  It was for my dear friend Maggee.  I pulled her name for our first annual ornament exchange.  I knew as soon as I saw it that it had her name written all over it, especially after I changed the colors so that it matched her themed tree.  Let me just say that Maggee is doggone lucky that I decided to let this one go!

Windows of Faith, Hope and Peace
by Primrose Needleworks
2010 JCS Ornament Issue
Stitched on 36ct Whimsy by Picture This Plus
Belle Soie: Empress
Backed with the fabric it is sitting on

I also gifted my stitching sisters a copy of the cookbook that is being sold by The Attic to benefit Breast Cancer Research along with these pincushions that I love so much.  (I even stitched one for me using Belle Soie's Empress and Fern Frond, but I haven't had the chance to "finish" it yet.)

Rosemary Pinkeep by Blackbird Designs
Stitched on 40ct Olde Towne Blend by R&R Reproductions
Stitched using Belle Soie
"D" - Fern Frond and Mer Blue
"S" - Fern Frond and Elegant Eggplant
"M" - Fern Frond and Rosebud
Finished in Ball Jar lids

I also finished another ornament for Hubby's side of the family.  This one is from the 2007 JCS ornament issue and again I took liberties with the floss colors since I didn't have the called for colors on hand.  I really love the way it turned out.  Oh how my "finishing" pile keeps growing!  I'm going to need a holiday before the holiday so that I can get all these done in time for Christmas.  At least I only have two more to go for Hubby's family.

Joy by Lizzie*Kate
32ct Pearled Barley by Lakeside Linen
WDW Used: Bullfrog and Amber
Crescent Colours Used: Cupid and Bamboo

Whew!  All that and I still haven't caught my breath!  I guess you will have to wait until a future post to see what I got while at the first annual ornament exchange.

In the meantime.......

Happy Stitching!

Memory/Memorial Sampler Revealed

Side Note:  Before I reveal my memory/memorial sampler, I have to apologize for the crappy snap.  I've tried several times to get a good one, but I haven't been able to.  This was the best that I could do and to make matters worse, it's from my cell phone!  I will try again to get a better picture, but I just couldn't wait to show it to you all!

For those of you who are recent followers, here is the back story on my memory/memorial sampler.  Back in mid September I found out that I was pregnant with our first child.  To our dismay, we found out during week 7 of the pregnancy that I had a blighted ovum.  The following week I went in for a D&C.  In the meantime, I knew that I had to do something to deal with my grief.  My way of dealing with things was to stitch.  So, I dug into my stash for the perfect piece to remember my little angel and this is what I came up with........




Blessings & Kind Wishes
by Blackbird Designs

 I stitched it on 40ct Vintage Dk. Limited Ed. by Lakeside Linen with a conversion to Belle Soie.  I also removed the second verse and used the months that I was pregnant instead.  I finished it in just a few days.  Hubby picked out the frame and I did the framing on my own.

Things are much better these days and we are back to trying again.

Happy Stitching!

Picture Proof Positive

I have more proof that I have been hard at working stitching and finishing.  A few posts ago I mentioned that I took pictures of a personal exchange that I had stitched for Karen.  I got a lovely email confirmation that she received her package.  Here's the big reveal for those of you that don't read her blog.

"Seaside Retreat"
by Blackbird Designs

I thought that this was an appropriate piece for our exchange since she lives in Arizona and I live on the shores of the Mid-Atlantic.  I had a very hard time trying to decide how to finish this piece.  Nothing I wanted to do seemed right for it.  Then I dug into my small (but ever-growing) stash of frames and this one was the perfect match.  This was my second attempt at framing and I think that it turned out nice.  I decided to pin my work on acid free core board and I even "puffed" the piece out from the inside of the frame using quilt batting.  I backed the frame with the scrapbook paper that it is sitting on in this photo.

Here's the details on "Seaside Retreat".......Many of you may remember that I stitched this pattern for myself earlier this year. (See the June 4th and June 7th posts for pictures.)  I had tons of inquiries last time I posted this pattern and I can still honestly say that I am not ready to give up this pattern, especially since I have a feeling that I may be stitching it again someday soon.  The pattern was from a retreat that I attended in 2009 and has not been released to the general public as of yet.  I have heard rumors that Barb & Alma are going to release a book of their class pieces, so maybe this one will be in there.  I stitched this on 40ct Vintage Tundra by Lakeside Linen.  I also used a Limited Edition Color of Belle Soie.  This piece took about two weeks to stitch, but I was also working on other stitching projects during those two weeks.

I'm so glad to hear that Karen is enjoying our exchange!  I hope you like it too!  I'm always open to private exchanges as long as I have the time.

Happy Stitching.

What Happened to........

..........my weekend?  In a blink of an eye it was gone and now we are back to Monday!

..........my summer?  It's already the 2nd of August.  I don't know were the summer has gone!

..........my husband?  We went shopping, yes, shopping over the weekend because he has gone from a 36 waist to a 33 waist.  So, not only has he lost weight, but he has also gained the ability to go shopping with me for extended periods of time.  He hates shopping!  It's amazing how much better you feel and how your life turns around when you can get an illness under control.

..........Seaside Memories by The Sampler Girl (my current work in progress)?  This happened:

Seaside Memories

by: The Sampler Girl

Stitched on Lakeside Linen's 40ct Vintage Sea Storm

As you can see, it has gone from a work in progress to a happy dance! (Sorry for the crappy snaps, but today is real cloudy and this was the best I could do right before heading off to work.)  I finished it up last night after making some changes to the year and the area where the initials are.  The design had a place for a family of four, but since it is just the two of us right now I had to modify it a little.  I just added a few more birds in the empty spaces.  I really enjoyed this piece and it will be a wonderful reminder of the time we spent down there this summer.

What's next?  Well, I've sent off my Blackbird Exchange stitching this morning, so I should be able to show pictures of that in the next few days.  In the meantime, I'll be working on stitching a private exchange until my model stitching arrives.  I hope to have the private piece finished by weeks end, but you know how that usually goes!

Have a great Monday!  Happy Stitching!