Hello again

It's been ages since my last post. That wasn't intentional, but somewhere along the way, I lost my motivation to blog. I'm not promising to be any better in the future.

The past 6 months have been a bit rough, and I've spent a lot of time in western NY visiting my parents and helping them manage health-related issues. Since I have a lot of downtime while I'm with them, I worked on a few stitching projects. I made 18 keychains for friends of mine who have allowed me to vent about all of my frustration and have given me encouragement. I've gotten great reactions as I've handed them out.

Here's another project I'm working on. I started this for our 20th wedding anniversary in 2012, but didn't get very far. I stitched nearly all of the flower and the open box in January. My new goal is to have it finished and framed before our 25th in 2017!

 

 Additionally, I've made a lot of cards this year. I gave my mom and MIL tins of cards for Christmas. I'll show you some of them next post.

Looky looky!

Look what came in the mail yesterday. Karen at Pins and Needles did a fabulous job finishing my pumpkin sampler (and photographing it). Isn't it gorgeous? Thank you, Karen!

Seeing Stars

Here's my latest card for the swap. The theme was "holidays", and my card is suitable for either New Year's or Independence Day.

All products Stampin' Up. Seeing Stars stamps and punch. More Mustard, Night of Navy, and Real Red ink and paper. Gold embossing powder. The "celebrate" comes from a retired birthday word set.

I've been remiss in posting my squares from the summer Fair and Square patriotic swap. Here are the squares I received from Linda.

And here is the Quaker heart I sent Linda.

I hope your September is off to a good start.

Happy Easter!

Staycation

I am having a bit of a staycation. DH and the girls went to see my MIL for spring break, and I am home alone this week. I love my family. I'll be excited to see them on Saturday. I'm enjoying my free time this week. Even though I'm only taking one day off from work, I have been using my extra time in the evenings on projects that are too difficult to tackle during the usual bustle of school, work, dinner, and laundry. I'm cleaning out closets and cupboards. I'm reorganizing shelves. I've left a mess on my dining room table all week as I sort things out. And I've been crafting.

Last night, I finished my witch. This was a fun project. It's DMC (108 + 310) on Aida, and the original pattern is here.

I don't think I've shown you this project before. It's Cathy Jean's Buttercups. I've been working on it since 2008. It's one of those projects that goes pretty quick when I'm working on it, but then I set it down and forget about it for a while. This is going to be a birth sampler for one of my girls. It's a companion to this piece. I'm using the same fabric and the indicated threads. I stitched the left side lavender on Sunday at my craft group, the one I rarely get to attend any more. It was fun to sit and stitch with my friends again.

This is my April swap card. The theme was black, white, and one bold color. I used Rose Red. The stamps are SU! Botanical Blooms.

Wishing you all a Happy Spring!

My Nephews' Samplers

I can't believe I forgot to post the pictures of these framed. The pictures are horrible, but you can see the framing OK. All three use the same frame and same green mat. The undermat is light blue on two and yellow on one. The framer did a fantastic job making them all the same height, as there's about an 1 to 2 inch difference between all of the samplers. The widths are all different, but close enough that the casual observer isn't going to notice.

My sister was delighted with them, and my oldest niece started campaigning to get a matching one with bling. I don't have a picture of hers, but it's very country-kitchen sort of design (I bought the pattern in colonial Williamsburg in 1992) and done in bubble gum colors. It was my sister's style when my niece was born, but it's so much not my niece. Since her birthday is also in November, I'd either re-do the middle pattern or find something similar.

Monocromatic Stitching

Some time at the end of January, I found my stitching groove again. Blame it on the weather or in anticipation of the Olympics. I'm just happy that I've had time to put needle to fabric again.

I started this project last fall and finished it yesterday. It's Autumn Spice + White by Bent Creek. I used WDW Tobacco Road instead, and I'm still trying to decide if I want to fill in the turkey. I also changed the wording from Bless You to Thank You, because that's more my style. If I did it again, I would adjust the lettering a bit, but overall, I loved working on this project.

Not a stitching project, but the Valetine's cards I made with the girls this year. So much fun. They're from Stampin' Up, and we added little heart erasers (instead of chocolates) under the hands. Normally, I'm all for chocolate, but I've found that my girls get a steady stream of sugar at school already, and I appreciate when we receive non-food treats.

This is another project I started in the fall. It's been my travel project as much as anything. It's DMC (108 + 310) on Aida, so I'm not afraid to wash it if I have to. I found the pattern via the DMC blog, and the original pattern is here.

Finally, do you remember this project? I started it in June 2008 as part of the ornament SAL.  The last time I showed you the progress on it was January 2011. I had a babysitting gig through our co-op the end of this January and was able to spend some quality time with it. If I have one real stitching goal this year, it is to finish this. Only 30 rows (of 81) to go. It's over one with two threads of GAST Cranberry on platinum cashel. The pattern is Rejoice from Milady's Needle.

One of these days, I'll return to more complicated patterns. For now, I'm enjoying the one-color-floss challenge. Especially since I only spend 1/2 hour stitching at a time, these kinds of projects allow me to see progress quickly.

Given Away

Back in March, I offered a giveaway on my 250th post. I selected a name, and started working on what I wanted to do. There were little delays here and there, and I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to complete this.

Last Friday, I finally managed to give Christine the prize. I stamped some cards for her. Stamps are Flower Factory and one of the greeting sets. All products are Stampin' Up.

I also turned a piece from the Bride's Tree stitchalong into an ornament. This is the "house" and the image is Liberty's of London. Christine and I both lived in London, so I thought this would be perfect for her. The fabric in the background is what I used to back the ornament. While it's not a Liberty's of London fabric, it reminds me of something they would have. The brown ribbon is from Stampin' Up.

Furlough Finishing Flury

It rained last week. A lot. Here are a few of the projects that I finished. I'm having others do the final finishing on all of them and will show you pictures when I have them back. I am >< this close to having a happy dance on my other nephew's sampler. I also have a few other projects almost ready to show you. 

Bent Creek, The Pumpkin Flower Sampler

WDW Chrysanthemum, Mulberry, and Bullfrog

Buttons from Just Another Button Company in Plum 

(instead of the Tarnished Gold)

North Star sampler from the Sweetheart Tree

 Stitched on 28 ct Platinum Cashel with the recommended threads.  

The charm is from ArtBeads.

 

Acorn Garden Sampler from Patricia Ann designs. 

Stitched on 28 ct Platinum Cashel with the recommended threads. 

I may add a couple of crystal paillettes to this, to help it coordinate 

with the other two samplers for my nephews.

Of Pumpkins and Furloughs

This fall, I've made a concentrated effort to start stitching again. I'm mostly trying to finish up some works in progress, although I have also started a freebie stitched in two colors of DMC. I'm finding with my schedule, it's hard to stitch on projects on linen or with specialty threads, so I like having a project with DMC on Aida that I know I can wash when someone spills something all over it.

Last week, I finished this project that I had started last fall. I love, love, love this design. I need to order the beads to finish it, but I'm very happy with it. I altered the colors of the threads to match some fabric that I want to use when I turn it into something.

Bent Creek, The Pumpkin Flower Sampler

WDW Chrysanthemum, Mulberry, and Bullfrog

The next is the never-ending birth sampler that I've had to restart. This is the last project I need to complete (minus beading) to have all my niephlets' birth samplers done. I stitched most of the last section yesterday and this morning. I'm one of the 800,000+ on furlough thanks to the government shutdown. DH is also furloughed, so we're praying that the shutdown doesn't last too long. We're making the best of it for now, but if this goes on long term, the consequences for us, while not as completely dire as they are for some folks, will not be pleasant. Remember, DC (the City) is a federal entity, too.

 

Sweetheart Tree, Bluebells

 

Muriel's Next Stop

Erin of Fairy Tales and French Knots won the coin toss (sorry, Lee), so Muriel is off to central New York for a fall visit.

Memoirs of New Orleans

Hello, all! Madame Muriel here. After my travels to Italy, then back to Arizona, and on to DC, Ms. C let me have a few days out of my travel pod, and then it was on to the Crescent City for a conference. Look at this nice welcome we received in the airport.

Unfortunately, it was quite rainy during our time there, so I didn't get to go out and see as many of the sights as I would have liked, but I did have plenty of stitching time in our hotel room, especially when Ms. C was in her conference sessions. I also took plenty of naps.

 

One of Ms. C's colleagues also brought along a companion. I'm pleased to introduce you to my new friend Cina. We've become pen pals.

I did attend one business meeting, as they were serving lunch. Those archivists were a little out of control, so I had to step in and take over. I know how to keep a meeting in order!

I did insist on being let out of the hotel after a few days! How could one be in New Orleans and not visit Cafe Du Monde? I did have to stow my stitching to avoid the powdered sugar.

I partook of another New Orleans tradition. I highly recommend Cafe Adelaide for their libations. I didn't take a picture but the Saint Lawrence restaurant had excellent food. Larry is the patron saint of archivists, so those crazy nuts felt compelled to check it out.

We finally had a nice day for some outside photos. (I'm lucky I didn't start to mildew with all the rain we had!) Here I am at the famous St. Louis Cathedral. Can you see me?

 

Oh, that's better!

I even tried my luck with horse-back riding.

 

The back of the Cathedral.

Another church with pretty architecture, the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception, at night.

 

And back to overcast weather. How I wish I could've taken a boat ride.

Ms. C took me for a quick stop at the Aquarium to find gifts for her daughters, who love marine mammals. She's sad that the girls weren't with her to see the otter exhibit.

 

We ended the trip watching the New Orleans Zephyrs beat the Iowa Cubs. Here's Cina checking out the game.

It was a whirlwind trip, but great fun. I hope you've enjoyed my Memoirs of New Orleans.

P.S. Don't forget to comment if you'd like me to come visit you next!

Madame Muriel

Due to some miscommunications, Madame Muriel took an extra leg on her trip and returned briefly to Arizona before coming home to me. Thank you to Chiara and Gracie for taking good care of her and ensuring that she remained on her journey. I'm going to take her on a trip with me, and after that, she will be ready to head out on her next adventure.

If you would like to be the next person to host Madame Muriel, please comment on this post by August 24, 11:59 pm EDT, and I will draw a name to see where she'll travel next.

Two Starts and a Search

With the craziness of August over, I've found some time to be stitching again. I've made two starts, about which I'm very excited. The first is the start of an anniversary present for DH. Our 20th comes in early December.

The second is a pumpkin. You know how I love to stitch fall-themed items, especially pumpkins!

Finally, I saw this on Edgar's blog. Isn't his stitching and the finishing lovely? Do any of you know whose design this is? Searching on "Be Ye Thankful" hasn't turned up the chart. And yes, I did ask Edgar already.

Happy Fall and happy stitching!

Catching up on some SBQs

Here I am proposing all these questions (and I do enjoy your answers), but I forget to answer myself. So here goes:

January - What's the oldest pattern in my stash? I have a Girl Scout surface embroidery pattern that was my mother's when she was still a Girl Scout. It's probably from the '60s. I can't decide if I want to keep it, sell it, or see if GSA would like it as a donation.

February - Are you ready to break up with any pattern/project in your stash? In the past year, I've been trying to week out patterns I'm not going to stitch. The ones that I'm having the hardest time breaking up with are ones where I've started the project. The one I most need to release is a dupli-stitch sweater bought from JCS in the early 1990s. It's so country and 1980s and so not me any more, but it's 3/4 of the way done and one of my first BAPs, and so it's still in the closet. My mother would probably wear it if I got it to the point of being done enough.

March - Round Robins and Exchanges - nope, haven't done these. I did put in an inquiry about Fair and Square earlier this year, but haven't heard anything.

April - was there an SBQ? I think I missed it.


May - Favorite floral piece? I'm not into stitching large floral pieces. I love to see them, but they're not the types of pieces that I enjoy stitching. Hmm, maybe that's why Spring is underrepresented in my stitching. My favorites include a spring breadcloth I did for a friend of mine, probably in 1995. It was a small corner motif with daffodils. I also did a wedding sampler for my cousin that has a background of variegated trees.


June - Do you stitch patriotic pieces? I love the color combination red, white, and blue, and I've stitched a few patriotic pieces. I'm surprised I haven't stitched more.


July - "I don't have the patience for that!" - I hate when people dismiss cross-stitch, especially with the patience bit. And I never know what to say. For the most part, I think they have it backwards - cross stitch helps me be more patient. I find it soothing and calming. It is an oasis from the go-go-go part of the rest of my life. It also gives me a guilt-free excuse for sitting down and perhaps watching some TV. Some people run; some woodwork; others garden. I stitch.

Whew! Now I'm caught up, until Monday!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

We spent last week avoiding the heat of DC by visiting the Bahamas. It was my first time to the Caribbean, and it was wonderful.

We had our own private beach.

The girls and their grandfather built a sandcastle.

The view from the back of the house.

A marvelous sunset.

It was a very, very relaxing vacation. I even managed to work on some stitching from my Wipocalypse list. This birth sampler I started from scratch while there.

This replaces the sheep PIF piece I had planned. I had the red star and blue waves on this one done before we left. There are white stars on either arm of the red star that don't show up well. Here's a link to the PDF of the pattern.

We followed our tradition of watching A Capitol Fourth on PBS. And we managed not to have to go to Urgent Care at all this trip, although we had a close call when A. decided to bite the end off of a glow stick. (Fortunately, they are non-toxic, but still taste awful.)