Not gone as long as I thought

Thank you everyone for all the good wishes for my surgery and a speedy recovery.  They seemed to have worked!  The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday the 23rd and went well.  It took longer than expected for my body to fully come out of the anesthesia so instead of going home on Thursday as planned, I went home Friday evening (and was very glad to be in my own bed).  I am resting and recuperating and just generally enjoying the lack of stress that comes from not being at work.  I am doing lots of reading and have started stitching again.

Just before I had my surgery, I signed up for the Mega-Mini Month Madness SAL hosted at Pull the Other Thread.  Pick a small or smalls, stitch and post about it each week in October - simple.  As I am home for the month of October it seemed like a bit of extra incentive to get myself going on my ornament/small stitching again.  I am hoping to finish a couple of pieces, but will be happy with just finishing this one:

This is Fondant Icing from The Nutmeg Company's Christmas Collection - Gingerbread Houses.  These are great kits that include everything you need to stitch and finish that cute little gingerbread house shown in the picture.  This is the last of the four Christmas themed ones I have in my stash but I do have four seasonal ones that I will eventually finish.

Here is my progress on the roof:

Also hosted at Pull the Other Thread is the YOTA SAL.  Pick some or all of your WIPs to work on and post your progress on the first Saturday of each month.  I like participating in SALs that encourage me to get through that list of WIPs there in the right sidebar.  Technically the posting day isn't until tomorrow, but as I have been combining posts lately, I figured I would keep continue with that, at least until I have myself back on some sort of schedule.

The only piece on my YOTA list that I stitched on this month was Chatelaine's Secret Victorian Garden.  I started this piece in 2007 when it was the big mystery project.  I kept up with it until July or August of that year and then I moved.  I pulled it out and put a few stitches in here and there, but nothing that amounted to a lot.  Then the Stitching Bandits Chatelaine Challenge started and I decided that it was time to give SVG some quality time.  Not a lot was done this month, but I did go from here:

To here:

This has another day in the rotation and then on to Elegant Doily for a week.

Mega SAL post

The last two weeks have been eventful to say the least.  The short story is that I had a health scare a couple of weeks ago and while it wasn't the feared heart attack after more tests than I care to count, my heart and associated systems were declared healthy  I will be going in for surgery tomorrow to fix the cause.  After doing a little research, I am not sure why I didn't figure it all out sooner.  I am not looking forward to the surgery but am looking forward to the relief from all the symptoms that I put down to aging.  Because of the surgery, I probably won't feel up to posting for several month-end SALs so I am going to cram them all into this one.

Before I get into my SAL postings, Pull the Other Thread is hosting a Mega Mini Month Madness SAL during October.  The link should take you to the sign-up page if you're interested.  All you have to do is stitch on a mini (ornament size or smaller) piece and post once each week in October you don't have to do five different pieces just post your progress each week.  There will be a drawing for a gift card at the end for everyone that participates and follows the rules,  While I am recuperating (6 to 8 weeks of no commuting - I will be teleworking as I can) I will actually have time to stitch so I may sign up for this one.

The first SAL is TUSAL.  TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch Along) is hosted by It's Daffycat.  If the links don't work, the buttons along the sides should take you to the information pages for all the SALs mentioned.  TUSAL asks that you collect all those little snippits of thread in a pretty jar and take a picture on the new moon each month.  I had more additions to my collection than I expected given my relative lack of stitching recently.  My jar is shown in front of Chatelaine's Secret Victorian Garden.

The next SAL post due is the Smalls SAL.  Heather at Stitching Lotus is hosting this SAL.  Another easy one - stitch on a small and post the last Wednesday of each month.  I did finish a small this month but it was leftover from last month's non-finish month and I didn't start another one.

Little House Needleworks' Red House In Winter stitched on 30-count Northern Cross linen with DMC and Crescent Colours

Stitch from Stash is the next one in line.  Mel at Epic Stitching hosts.  This group encourages you to keep within a budget and enjoy what you already have stashed.  We have a very generous $25 a month budget and your unspent balance rolls over, so if you have a larger purchase in mind in a fairly short period of time you'd have the money saved up.

For September I had:

                 Carry over:  $200
    September Budget:  $  25
September Purchases:  $   0
       Balance Forward:  $225

I had no new starts from stash, but I did work on Red House in Winter, Holly and Hearts Sampler, Santa's Magic, Spring in the Air, and Secret Victorian Garden.  I do expect to have a new start for October's report, but I am not sure what.

Last, but not least is the Just Nan SAL.  This one seems to have fallen apart but I will continue to post as I am enjoying pulling out some of the Just Nan's that I have had kitted and stashed for years.  I am currently working on Spring in the Air.  While I didn't get a lot done this month, I did get two of the over-1 pansies completed, so I am happy with my progress.

Stitched on 28-count Antique Ivory with DMC 

And I did have progress on a couple of other projects:

Holly and Hearts Sampler by Lizzie*Kate

Stitched on an unknown Silkweavers fabric with called for fibers

and Secret Victorian Garden by Chatelaine

Stitched on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with called for fibers

WHEW!!!  I think that covers everything.  Lots of little things to do around the house to get things to a point where The Hubs won't feel overwhelmed while he's the one trying to keep it all together.

YOTA and WIPocalypse

The stitching drought finally ended last weekend!  Apparently four episodes of Endeavour and the first Hobbit movie was just what I needed to settle in and stitch.  I had all intentions of settling in with the Desolation of Smaug and stitching all day yesterday but instead of looking at this:

I looked at this:

Yes, another "finally", we got the boat out and did some fishing.  Not a lot of luck fishing but it was a nice day to be on the water.

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month and Tuesday is the full moon which means, YOTA and WIPocalypse respectively.  YOTA is hosted at Pull the Other Thread and WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings.  They are both set up to help keep you on track to finish up some of those WIPs that you have hanging around.  As I had that stitching block going on I only stitched on one WIP on my list so another combined post.  Here's where Mirabilia's Santa's Magic was when it started its round in the rotation:

And here's where it was last night:

For whatever reason Blogger decided the photo should be sideways and despite all my tries, including following all the directions I could find on rotating photos in Blogger, it stubbornly stayed like this.  I am very happy with the progress I made and even more thrilled that things are lining up and matching where they are supposed to.

 

Before I forget, Melissa has questions to go with each month of WIPocalypse.  This month's question is, "Who is your favorite person to stitch for, or do you keep your stitching for yourself?"  I don't know that I have a favorite person to stitch for.  I have stitched a lot of gifts over the years, but I don't think any one person has received more than anyone else.  Items that will be given away tend to be picked out specifically for that individual and usually for a specific event, such as weddings, babies or anniversaries, so eventually everyone gets something.   



A little stitching on a small and Just Nan.

The summer stitching slump continues.  The college football season started yesterday so perhaps my brain will think, despite temperatures predicted to be in the upper 80s/lower 90s for the week, that summer is over and it is time to think about stitching again.  I am behind on several check-ins which isn't much of a surprise for those of you that have been reading my blog lately - thank you if you still are and welcome if you are new - I do hope that I can get back into a stitching and blogging mode again soon.
 
  As I did not finish a small, I am not officially posting for the SAL, but if you are interested in participating, Heather at Stitching Lotus is hosting and clicking on the badge there at the beginning of this paragraph should take you to the information page. 

  Sharon at It's Daffycat hosts TUSAL.  Collect all those bits and pieces of thread that you would normally throw away in a pretty container and post a photo of it each month.  As the name suggests, it isn't really very useful but it is pretty.

I've combined my Smalls and TUSAL photo this month.  The house needs a front door and some landscaping but I should be able to finish it in September. 

One SAL that I am not late on is the .  Zeb at Keep Calm and Cross Stitch is hosting this SAL. As its name implies, pick a Just Nan pattern, stitch and post.  Spring in the Air is my current Just Nan project.  The pansies are stitched over-1 and are worth the extra time they are taking.

Santa's Magic by Mirabilia is on the frame for this week.  This has been a fun stitch so I am hoping that it will be just what I need to get stitching again.  Here's where he is right now:

August Stitch From Stash

With all the travel the last few months, I was in Alabama last week, summer has passed me by with a whoosh!  I really do feel like I completely missed out on it this year.  Normally that wouldn't bother me too much as summer is my least favorite season, but this year, the weather was very nice and I would have liked to take more advantage of it.

My stitching mojo has also passed me by with a whoosh this summer.  Fortunately, the lack of stitching mojo has had a positive impact on my stashing mojo making the    challenge easy.  Stitch from Stash is hosted by Mel at Epic Stitching and has a duel purpose - love your stash and save your cash!!  Each month you get a $25 budget and sometimes, like this month, you can have a bit more.  If you don't spend your regular budget amount, you can roll it over to next month so you could have a rather substantial amount for a splurge by the end of the year.  If you can't wait that long, you do get a by month when you could go stash wild.  For August, my spending report is:

               Carry over:  $175

        August Budget:  $  25

   August Purchases:  $   0

     Balance Forward:  $200

 

I had two starts from stash this month:  Just Nan's Spring in the Air:



 

and Little House Needleworks' Red House in Winter

I did stitch a little on a WIP this month, but only a little.

 

This is Secret Victorian Garden by Chatelaine.  My progress was those blue stitches around the backstitched motif with the heart.  Not much progress, but each stitch in is one stitch closer to done.

 

August WIPocalypse

I had the perfect opportunity for lots of stitching this week.  We were encouraged to telework on Tuesday and Wednesday this week due a summit in DC and all the associated extra traffic and closed roads and with Thursday my usual telework day I had an almost normal life - work, home at a decent hour, fix dinner, clean up and still plenty of time to stitch - instead my summer stitching slump made its appearance.  I had no desire to stitch.  Didn't look at it, didn't think about it, didn't read any blogs, and didn't really miss it.  I did read and comment on some blogs this weekend and managed to switch pieces on the frame so maybe it will be a short slump this year.  I do have some pre-slump stitching to show and will do that as part of my August  post.  WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings and is a WIP reduction SAL.  You make a list of projects you would like to complete, stitch and do a post on the full moon each month.  Easy?  Yes it is (unless, of course, you're in a stitching slump and there isn't too much to post about.  Thankfully, this year Melissa posted prompts for each month and this month's is "Tell us about your oldest newest WIP". 

Newest is easy!   It's Just Nan's Spring in the Air.  I posted a photo of my progress in my last post but I did some stitching on it before the slump hit.  Here's where I left off Saturday evening a week:

This is done on a 28-count Antique Ivory evenweave with DMC fibers.  The pansies are over-1 so a little slow to stitch but the results are well worth the time.

Oldest is a little harder.  It's either Crossed Wing Collection's Flower Power or Cross My Heart's Floral Welcome.  I started Flower Power on New Year's Day 1996 or 1997 as a SAL on RCTN and I think I started Floral Welcome in 1996 to go over the door of our new house in New Hampshire.  There was a major family medical issue around this time and stitching fell by the wayside while dealing with it, so there isn't a ton of progress on either of these despite them being so old.

Here's my progress on Floral Welcome:

It's stitched on 18-count White Aida with DMC and Kreinik.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it as the New Hampshire house was sold seven years ago and I'm not sure it really fits the house here in Virginia.  I suppose if it takes me as long to stitch the C, O, M, and E as it has to do the W, E and L, this house could be sold and it will fit perfectly in the next!!

Here's where I stopped with Flower Power:

 

I think this is a 28-count evenweave but other than "blue" I don't know the color.  It's stitched with DMC.  The insects are all over-1 and I believe I did the hummingbird beaks over-1 also.  The hummingbird heads and throats use Krienik blending filament to give them a bit of shimmer.  I recall that I didn't do any of the backstitching as everything seemed to stand out quite well without it, but will revisit that decision once it's back in the rotation.  

 

Secret Victorian Garden made it onto the frame for its time in the rotation, but I am not sure how much stitching will actually happen.

Economizing My Posts

A week ago Wednesday, I got on a train headed for Union Station in Washington DC and then on to Toledo, Ohio.  While I have traveled by train in the past, numerous times in Italy and once on the Acela from Boston to Washington, DC the Acela is Amtrak's high-speed train and is a very nice way to get along the east coast and every day for work, the trains involved were very different than the ones I was on for this trip so I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  If you haven't considered Amtrak for travel, you definitely should.  Yes, it does take longer than flying and the schedules can be a bit challenging, but it's about 1/3 of the cost and you can get up and walk around anytime you chose, stretch out to nap (more than enough room for the seats to recline without landing in the lap of the person in back of you), visit the dining or cafe cars for food and drinks or sit in the observation car and just watch it all roll by.  I did a lot of sleeping (two overnight trains), looking out the window and reading.  My sister picked me up in Toledo rather than me taking the bus to the Detroit area and I spent a wonderful week with my family.  First at my sister's, (thanks JANE!!) and then at my parent's (thank you Mom and Dad!).  Went to a family reunion, talked, laughed and ate way too much, there are some awesome cooks in my family, and generally just lazed around and relaxed the rest of the time.  While I was gone, several of my SALs had posting dates so you are going to get four updates for the price of one!!! starting with .

TUSAL is hosted at It's Daffycat.  All that is involved is that you save all those bits of thread that you used to throw away and on the new moon, post a photo.  Simple as can be.  This month, my TUSAL photo is also my  photo.  Zeb at Keep Calm and Cross Stitch is hosting this SAL.  All you have to do is stitch a piece or pieces designed by Just Nan. An easy one for me as I have a ton of her designs in my stash.  So in an economizing post, I'm economizing on photos too!!

I know what you're thinking - the jar is full, the fabric is blank.  Yep, getting the fabric (28-count Antique Ivory) straightened, ironed and marked is all I got done on my Just Nan piece this month.  I do hope to get some stitches in Spring in the Air tomorrow as its rotation is up and Secret Victorian Garden will be going on the frame Sunday morning.

Next up is .  Heather at Stitching Lotus is hosting this SAL.  Pick a small, stitch it and post on the last Wednesday of the month.  How easy is that?  I really enjoy participating in this one as I tend to stitch large projects and if it wasn't for these smalls, I would have very few finishes in a year.  I was able to finish this one just under the wire - I have a feeling my summer stitching slump is trying to make an appearance - while at my parents.

Winter Sheep by Little House Needleworks  - stitched on 30-count Weeks Dye Works Straw Linen with DMC and Just Another Button Company buttons

The directions call for the holly sprig to be stitched onto the hanging cord, but I liked it on the piece and being the stitching rebel that I am okay I knew it would take me a while to actually finish this into an ornament and that I would probably lose the button so it was safer to attach it...

And last but not least, a not late, YOTA post.  YOTA is hosted at Pull the Other Thread and is designed to provide incentive to work through those WIPs that you may have sitting around.  I think I have posted updates of all the WIPs on my YOTA list so here is a photo of my progress on Lizzie*Kate's Holly and Hearts sampler.  Although it's not on my YOTA list, it is a WIP that I would like to get done this year.

Holly and Hearts by Lizzie*Kate - stitched on an unknown piece of hand-dyed linen with Weeks Dye Works fibers.

It is supposed to be a wet weekend here in central Virginia, so once the laundry is done, I should have lots of time to stitch!!  I don't even have to worry too much about cooking - the air conditioner's compressor went out last week and we're waiting for the part so trying to keep heat production to a minimum calls for slow-cooker and grilled meals - neither of which take lots of preparation time!!