Better late than never?

Long time no write! It's been ages since I've posted, so I do have some work to show for all my time away. I actually have some of it finished! First up is House Blessing by Barbara Bangser, which I got from Keepsake Needlearts. This is the third design of hers that I've done (the Thomas Jefferson quote and Storytime are the others); unfortunately there are no more that I am enamoured of so this will be it for awhile.

I made a few changes to the design - there was nothing in the lower right corner next to the Amen, so I took a motif from the top and added it there. There was a cross in the middle of the P in Peace, which I changed to kind of a star shape. And for some reason every H was charted differently, so I made them all the same. This piece reminds me of an illuminated manuscript and I loved stitching it. I'm going to hang it in my entryway, and hope that its sentiment holds true.

This is French Country Owl by JBW Designs, stitched on 36 count linen with WDW Sweet Potato.  Isn't he adorable? I had an old hoop that fit it perfectly.This was my first real foray into over one stitching (Carol, you amaze me with how easy you make it look!)

This is Promise of Spring by Silver Creek Samplers. This one took forever to complete - I kept putting it down to do other things, even though I really liked it. The lettering was supposed to be black but I changed it to WDW Havana, as I wanted a softer look. The linen is from Picture This Plus. If anyone wants to stitch this, be aware that the color given in the chart (Sterling) will not look like the picture of the design. The color needed is actually Tarnish (I found this out when I had to send Sterling back to PTP). The linen is somewhat grayer than my picture shows. I love its mottled look.

Finally, as of tomorrow I will be the mother of a teenager! My son turns 13 as of 4:13 am on Saturday. Gulp - I'm not sure I'm ready for this! His favorite subjects are Math and Science, so this was a natural (I hope he heeds the advice!) 

Even though I haven't been around much I am out there enjoying all the beautiful work displayed on your blogs. I wish you many blessings, whatever you celebrate, and a wonderful New Year!

Remember Me?

I could title this post the same as my last one - long time no post! The summer was busy with travel and keeping DS amused and not always on the computer, so I haven't gotten that much stitching done. But I did manage to finish a few pieces.

Moose Box
Lynda D. Baldauf (Scandinavian Stitches)
Scrap of taupe linen
DMC

I made this box for a friend who is a moose afficionado. It's the first time I've made a covered box, and I can't say it's perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I cut the cardboard insert a bit too small, so you can see the inside edges of the box. Still, for a first effort, it will have to do.

My other finish is from the kit that I got from Keepsake Needlearts. The only thing I used was the chart; I switched out the Aida for linen and changed the floss from DMC 310 to CC Black Coffee. At first I wasn't sure whether that was the right decision and thought maybe I should have kept the stitching black, but I really like the finished product. As I've said before, I generally don't buy kits from catalogs, but I really like the Barbara Bangser's designs. Here is the latest one I bought, called House Blessing:

By the way, Keepsake Needlearts has a $5 off code in each issue of Just CrossStitch, in case you are interested in checking them out.

I'm still plugging away at the Silver Creek Samplers design I've been working on - all that's left is a lot of snow. Hopefully I won't let 2 1/2 months go by again before I finish it and have something to show.

Long Time No Post!

Time has gotten away from me. Between DS's school ending and going on vacation to Florida (where Tropical Storm Debby definitely rained on our parade), I haven't been doing too much stitching and certainly no posting. I have a few small things to rectify this a bit. Here is a pinkeep I made for a friend who I will see when I visit her in Minnesota next week. This is Imagine by Bent Creek. I think it's Taupe Belfast, but it was a scrap so I'm not sure. Threads were DMC.

I can't say too much for the finishing - my ribbon and pins are a little wonky, but I hope she'll like it anyway!

Then I framed Wisdom and Compassion by Brightneedle for my therapist friend. The gold of the frame is a little lighter than it shows in the picture. Sorry I couldn't get rid of all the glare on the picture. The glass plate really enhanced the richness of the overdyed threads - they look more vivid than it did when I was stitching it.

It took me nearly 15 minutes to get the pictures to display the correct way - Blogger kept turning them sideways. It's so annoying when that happens!

I have been pleasantly surprised by some of the offerings in The Stitchery and Keepsake Needlearts catalogs lately. Usually I don't find designs I like, but recently I've bought these:

I had some birthday money so I splurged on the candle screen as well as the kit. Storytime is by the same designer as the Thomas Jefferson quote I stitched and framed a little while back .I'll do it in linen instead of the Aida contained in the kit. I enjoy getting the catalogs even though I don't often buy things, so it was nice to be able to place orders. 

I hope everyone is having a lovely summer. Be well!

Stitching Update

It's been awhile since I've posted but I haven't been totally idle. At Celebration of Needlework a vendor had a whole bin of old Brightneedle charts, and I picked up this one. I've stitched it for a therapist friend of mine; I thought the sentiment was perfect.

Let Wisdom Flower
Brightneedle

Belfast Country Cream / WDW

I also stitched my first Lizzie Kate design, and enjoyed it so much I bought another one (Talk Less, Say More). Unfortunately I don't like the other two designs in the series - I don't particularly want to stitch the words Whine and Hate. So I'll just do two out of the four.

Fear Less, Hope More
Lizzie Kate
Cashel Mocha

WDW/GAST

Finally, I framed the Thomas Jefferson quote that I made for another friend. It always feels so good to finish a finish!

Jefferson's Book Quote

Barbara Bangser

18 count Charles Craft Aida

DMC

Now I'm working on a fairly new Silver Creek Samplers design. DS and I are going to Lake George for the holiday weekend and I'm looking forward to stitching by the water. Have a great weekend!

A Trip to Celebration of Needlework

Last Saturday I went to my first-ever cross stitch workshop at Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH. DH and DS accompanied me to the hotel where it was being held, and we stayed overnight. DH went in to register us and came back out to the car and said "you're going to be in heaven - there's needlepoint everywhere!" I had to gently correct his understanding of my craft, but otherwise he was right. The lobby was filled with stitchers and more stitching accessories than I have ever seen in my life. It was wonderful! While my guys went off to the pool, I attended a workshop by Linda Duree of Stitching Treasures, who showed us how to make a Rose Garden Pinkeep:

It looks really complicated but as Linda kept telling us, it is surprisingly easy to put it together. She showed us how to do the finishing from the outside, rather than having to turn everything inside out. Here is the kit she supplied:

The linen is by Picture This Plus in gorgeous shades of greens, and the CC floss is green and purple. Linda also showed us how to make ribbon rosettes to sew on the points of the pinkeep. It was so much fun and I'm really looking forward to making it.

Of course I hit the merchandise mall and while I didn't make a lot of purchases, I found among other things an old Brightneedle chart with a design that is perfect for a therapist friend of mine. It says "let wisdom and compassion guide thee." And Linda had cording drills for sale so of course I had to buy one - I've never made my own cording and if I can ever figure out how to use the thing I'm sure it will be my favorite gadget.

Next year I'm hoping to attend Celebration for more than just one day. It's a little intimidating since everyone seems to know each other, but the lure of being around other stitchers will hopefully overcome my shyness. If anyone plans to go next year, let me know!

In other stitching news I made a few small things for friends who don't read my blog. I haven't finished them yet, but I have until July when I see them both at a children's book convention this summer.

Imagine
Bent Creek
Taupe Belfast/DMC

Jefferson's Book Quote (Kit)
Barbara Bangser
18 ct Charles Craft Aida
DMC

Finally, I will leave you with a cartoon I found online that I know we can all relate to!

Continuing my Owl Obsession

When I saw this in one of ABCStitch's emails I fell in love with it, and ordered it straightaway. It was great fun to stitch, though attaching the owls with invisible thread was harder than I thought it would be. I can't seem to get the crease out of the linen no matter how much I steam and iron it. Any suggestions?

Moonlight Owls

Puntini Puntini

Taupe Cashel

DMC Color Variations 4150

I was sorry to learn the news that The Gift of Stitching Magazine is going to cease publication with the May issue. I was a subscriber for awhile and enjoyed getting it each month. All back issues are 50% off now. I did a Google search for the table of contents for one of their issues because I was looking for a certain chart. One of the searches led me to a website that I found absolutely appalling. It appeared to be a forum where people were requesting and posting scans of charts which could then be downloaded if you had some kind of membership. It was obvious that the site activity was illegal, and it really made me sad to see how many users were using it to cheat designers out of their work. I know designers know about this site and they have to vigilantly police it to have their charts removed when they see them posted. How upsetting and discouraging for them. I'm glad there are so many good people in the cross stitching community who would never dream of doing this.

For my next project I bought this from my LNS; truly words to live by. I'm stitching it on Light Mocha cashel with the called for GAST and WDW threads. My LNS visit was not cheap, but it was worth it!

Summer Song Finished

I finished up Summer Song yesterday morning and headed to Joann's hoping to find some backing fabric to use for my pillow. I wanted something with sunflowers on a black background. The only thing I could find had a green background, and it really didn't look right. So I picked out the fabric the stitching is lying on top of - the color of the design is actually more orange than it appears in the photo - it's as orange as the color in the lettering. I'm still not completely satisfied so I may wait until fall, when sunflower material may be more available.

I find myself without a project now that this is done. I'm just not sure what I want to stitch - has that ever happened to you? I'm trying to use my stash rather than buy new charts (famous last words) but nothing is really appealing to me. I guess I better get back to stash diving and pick something out before I go into stitching withdrawal!