October Stitch from Stash

Month: October
Spent: $0
Earned: not participating

It's time again.  is hosted by Mel at Epic Stitching and is a reminder to love the stash you have. I didn't do so well last month as I gave into temptation for a project I had lusted after since last November, but I'm back on track. So for this month:

Carried forward:  $2.76.
September Budget: $25
Available: $27.76
Spent: $0
Balance forward:  $27.76

I had three starts from stash this month: Just Nan's Florentine Floral

;

 

Blue Ribbon Designs' contribution to The Sampler Life's SAL, Friendship in Bloom

; and,

 

Plum Street Samplers' 2015 Sunday Mystery SAL (although it really isn't too much of a mystery as we know it is the twelve days of Christmas). (following is a loooonnng story which is probably boring, so if you want, you can skip down to the picture and you won't miss much!) I had my fabric and threads pulled and was ready to start stitching when I remembered I had some Christmas colored threads that I won from Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe (Nancy is always running give-aways so pop on over and see what's open) and decided I wanted to use those.  Well, hours later, I was so frustrated with myself.  I had done the old "put them in such a safe place I can't find them".  So I resigned myself to using my original picks, and they were good picks just not the perfect ones I knew the other threads would be.  Come Sunday morning, I downloaded the charts and sat down to start stitching and started thinking about those threads again.  Another several hours later, I found them!  But, there were two different reds, two different greens and two different golds, so more dithering trying to pick the perfect set. Had that all done and then started to worry if I'd have enough red to do the ornaments AND the border.  Now, Nancy's skeins are 20-yards each, so I was pretty sure I'd have enough to do it on the 28-count I'd chosen, but then I wasn't 100% , so.... instead of worrying about running out part way through, I went digging for different fabric in 32-count or higher.  I found a piece of 40-count Lakeside Linens Vintage Autumn Gold that was perfect but the label said it was cut for Village at Hawk Run Hollow - bummer - back to digging.  On another hanger, I found another piece of Vintage Autumn Gold that said *it* was cut for Village at Hawk Run Hollow!  Obviously, I haven't inventoried my fabric in a while (and at some point, I had disposable income) but I found my perfect fabric!  Fabric all cut, threads all picked, ready to stitch, right? Noooo, the thread didn't look as good on this fabric as it did on the original, so back to thread interviewing.  I think I have the right colors now and have started.  Of course, it took so long to do all of the above, that I didn't have time to do much stitching!  So after that crazy long story, here's my start:

 



Because I switched to 40-count, I'm using one strand of thread, so I will have plenty for the ornaments and the borders.  This photo does the fabric no justice at all, it is a mottled, dark gold color (I'd say about DMC610). Come to think on it, the threads aren't that bright.  I'll try for a better photo next time. I really like the subtle color change in the fibers and would definitely use them again.

Secret Victorian Garden is on the frame and I plan to get some stitching on it tonight - I'd like to finish up the last part 9 corner before I put it away. Elegant Doily goes on the frame tomorrow (after I do a bit on Friendship in Bloom and the Secret Sunday SAL.

Zoooommmmm

That is the sound of my week off going by. It wasn't a vacation in the usual sense as we didn't go anywhere and I spent most of it getting things done around the house so that it's ready to be closed back up for the winter, but it was a good week.  I had quite a list of things to get done and finished all but one (needed different parts to fix the couch and are waiting for them to be delivered) by yesterday. One of the main reasons I was able to get so much done is that my computer was having issues.  Took it in to our friendly big box electronics store and they said it sounded like a software issue (The Hubs was sure it was the hard drive). We think my computer just doesn't play well with some part of Windows 10. Fortunately, I was within the "put back the old version" month and things seem to be running just fine.  Of course, I've spent way too much time reading blogs, surfing and just generally wasting time the last couple of days (so much for finishing early).

One of my favorite projects was finally doing something about the light in the dining area. 

This was taken after I had removed the bottom globe and I didn't feel like putting it back on for the photo

We've been in this house for eight years and the entire time I had a like/hate relationship with this light.  I liked the general shape but hated the bright gold color. New lights were crazy expensive and since the shape was good it didn't make sense to replace it.  I finally found a paint color I liked and went to work.  After a bit of elbow grease to clean and scuff it up and most of a can of spray paint, it looks like this:

I am totally chuffed with how it turned out and the price (right around $10 USD for the steel wool and spray paint).

I did manage to sneak in a morning of sitting on the deck and reading in between all the other fixes and cleaning.  Oh and there was some stitching that took place. But before I talk about that, I have to show you this:

DSon sent me this and it just made me laugh (which will probably tell you a lot about me).

So back to talking about stitching.  I'll start with my SAL check-ins.  BUT before I do that, have you seen the post about the 2015 Sunday Mystery SAL happening over at Plum Street Samplers?  You can find out about it here.  Paulette is going to finish the twelve days of Christmas ornaments that she started in the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue.  It starts this Sunday and a new part will be available each Sunday until the week before Christmas.  Just because I am a sucker for anything Twelve Days and I don't have anything else to do (heavy sarcasm here) I spent a chunk of this afternoon pulling fibers and fabric and should be ready to start on Sunday.

And once I start, I'll have another piece to add to my  check-in.  Jo at Serendipitous Stitching is hosting this SAL as a way for us to say "thank you" to someone that gifted us with fabric, thread, or patterns or for a piece that we will be gifting to someone (because what better way to say thank you than to actually use the gift??).  My main piece for GG is Shakespearean Fantasy. The pattern was gifted to me by Pull the Other Thread last year.  I started it as my January start and have not spent as much time with it as I would have liked (I am organizing my rotation for next year now and will most likely add this piece as a part of the rotation rather than the sometimes every other Friday it is now).  So when you last saw it, I was busily stitching black, black and more black and it was here:

I sat down with The Fellowship of the Rings audio book (if you get a chance to hear Rob Inglis narrate, I highly recommend it) and stitched black, black and more black again and when I put it away, I was here:

I timed it and it takes me a bit less than 20 minutes to stitch one 10X10 square (including stopping and starting threads).  So another six hours or so and I should be finished with page 1. 

My next GG is The Sampler Life block for this month (Since the designer donated the piece to the SAL, I figure it's a gift).  It's Friendship in Bloom from Blue Ribbon Designs.  I am a bit further than this,

but forgot to take a picture before I put it away. I found that the block above is off by one but don't think it will be terribly noticeable when it's all done.

I did have one new start that isn't part of any SAL.  This is Just Nan's Florentine Floral

It is stitched on 28-count Violet Mist cashel with DMC fibers. Not a terribly difficult stitch, but it took three tries to get the outline to close correctly.

I also put a few stitches into Chatelaine's Secret Victorian Garden but didn't take a picture.

I am so far behind on my other SAL check-ins that I am just going to call a fail for them and go on, besides, this post is plenty long enough without adding the three four check-ins that I missed. 

A chill in the air

There is a definite chill in the wind today. It is also damp, definitely feels like autumn. The trees in the low, wet areas are changing color and the others are looking very tired.  I have also noticed a shift in the bird population at the feeders.  More chickadees, cardinals and titmice and fewer finches and the gold finches are putting on their winter colors.  The hummingbirds have headed south.  There are two females that showed up earlier this week, but I don't expect them to stick around much longer. I read that they migrate to Central America and Panama for the winter.  It is hard to imagine something that small flying across the Gulf of Mexico. Nature is truly amazing.

What hasn't been amazing this week was my stitching.  As I mentioned in my last post, I worked from home this past week and had several hours a night for stitching that I don't normally have.  You know the old "best laid plans?",  yeah, that was me.  I did some reading, I did a ton of net surfing, I spent at least one evening searching for fabrics for Serenity Harbor, I got all my unkitted and three kitted pieces of  DMC loaded into my Xstitch app (Jo at Serendipitous Stitching did this review in April) .  The inventory has been eye opening, more for the questions it raises than anything - for instance, why do I have 16 skeins of 501? The only thing that I would change on the app is how the thread is sorted.  Currently the 3000 series is interspersed with the 300s and the 4000 with the 400s.  A fairly minor issue, but it did make initial entry and additions a little awkward.  I will quit whinging about what I didn't get done and show you what I did:

99 by Ink Circles came up in the rotation.  When you last saw it, it was here:

today it is here:

One piece I did start and finish this month is Jayne Netley Mayhew's Bluetit for The Sampler Life's SAL.  The only change I made is the addition of the backstitched border, it needed something to stop your eyes.  This is a minor addition /change and pretty much the limit of my ability.  If you'd like to see some amazing chart changes/modifications, you need to check out Kate's blog at Needles and Haystacks.  Her work completely blows me away every time I see it.  The blocks for the SAL are my  entries each month.  Heather at Stitching Lotus hosts this SAL that focuses on smalls and ornaments.  So here is my September entry:

and here is the whole piece:

I was a bit worried that it wouldn't fit with the other blocks, but I think its closeness to the rose block helps.

I am going to start my rotation back up in the hopes of getting through this stitching slump, so 99 will stay on the frame through tonight and Just Nan's Florentine Floral will go on tomorrow.

Lost a week somewhere

First: Month reporting:  September
Amount spent:  $72.24
Amount earned:  Not participating

I could have sworn I posted last weekend, but it appears not.  I honestly cannot say what happened to the weekend and the last week. I do hope it was fun and exciting, although given that I can't remember it (and it is my life), it probably wasn't.

In addition to my sense of time, I have also lost my stitching mojo.  That's not to say I haven't stitched, but I when I have had time, I have found other things to do so that by the time I did sit down and stitch, I didn't get as much done as I could.  This usually happens in the summer, so not sure why it is showing up now.

I do have check-ins for  and  that are due. So, let's see....

 is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and is a way to show our thanks to those that have gifted us with thread, fabric or pattern. I have several pieces that fit into the definition of gifted pieces but only worked on two of them this month.  Shakespearean Fantasy was a gifted pattern from Pull the Other Thread and Christmas Presence is a freebie pattern so I am counting it as a gift from the designer.  Both pieces were shown in my last post and rather than show them again, there hasn't been any progress since then, you can scroll down just a little and see them or click here.

 is hosted by Mel at Epic Stitching and is a reminder to love the stash you have. This is my second year participating and my fourth or fifth stitching from stash.  I did buy the pattern and materials earlier this year for a piece for DNiece, but this month, I bought things entirely for me.  First the $.24 part.  I needed a skein of floss for this month's The Sampler Life's SAL piece (My first thought was:  Really? Given all the floss I have, how do I not have this one?). So while on my way to Trader Joes, I stopped at Michael's.  As I was getting out of the car, I realized I had no cash with me, I tend to use my debit card for everything, and I wasn't going to just shop so that I could justify using the card. So I started rummaging around in the car and managed to find about $.35.  I knew the floss would be more than that, so I checked my Michael's app and there was a 40% off coupon, so with tax the floss cost me $.24 and I had money left to put in the change jar in the house.  I am sure the cashier thought I was on the crazy side of cheap, but I needed the floss and wasn't going to waste the coupon.  The rest of it?  I finally caved and signed up for By the Bay's Serenity Harbor.    I was so tempted when it was first announced but talked myself out of it.  I have been going back to look at it since it was released and the more WIP photos I saw the more my resolve crumbled. This month it fell apart completely. The parts are released on the 3rd of each month and you are normally charged then but because I joined so late, I was charged for the whole thing.

Carried forward:  $50.
September Budget: $25
Available: $75
Spent: $72.24
Balance forward:  $2.76

Still within budget, but more than I have ever spent for the pattern for a single piece ever and more than I have spent all at once for stitching supplies in years.   I have no idea when I'll get around to stitching it but the planning is fun.  I did start one piece from stash, Bluetit by Jayne Netley Mayhew for The Sampler Life's SAL, but as it is my Smalls SAL piece, I will wait to show it during that check-in.

I did also do a little stitching on Mirabilia's Santa's Magic.  He was here when I put him away last:

and today, he looks like this:

There are about 100 more Xs of Wisper thread in his beard in the bottom picture.

Because of the Pope's visit to Washington, DC this week and the resulting traffic and crush of people, the Office of Personnel Management advised agencies that a liberal telework policy was needed.  So, I will be working from home the entire week. I do hope my stitching mojo will come back enough for me to get some quality stitching time in the evening.  It will be so strange to be home from work at 5:00 rather than the usual 7:30ish every night.

Half a page

Half a page, half a page,

Half a page onward,

 

With apologies to Alfred, Lord Tennyson, but I have finished half of page one of Shakespearean Fantasy.

 

In total, there are enough stitches to probably say there are a couple of pages done, but the great black blob, with one very dark navy stitch, is easy to count. Those hanging threads at the bottom are my first attempt at parking! I know, it doesn't really count with solid stitching but you have to start somewhere right?  I also just saw that you can see all of the travelling threads in this photo.  Fortunately, the black will cover them.

And that one photo takes care of my YOTA, HAP and part of   WIPcoalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings, YOTA is hosted by Pull the Other Thread and the HAP SAL is hosted by Stacy at Crossed Stitches.  All three aim to help us focus on finishing what we have started rather than just adding to that stack of WIPs. 

 

In addition to Shakespearean Fantasy, Elegant Doily and Christmas Presence are on my WIPocalypse and YOTA list.  Elegant Doily ended here:

 

 

Each month, Melissa provides a topic to discuss with our post. August's was to pick a piece we stitched on this month and discuss our stitching journey. I am going to use Christmas Presence from Heaven and Earth Designs.  I received Shakespearean Fantasy as a RAK and was planning to start it on January 1st.  As I was new to the solid stitched type piece, I went looking for all the hints and tips I could and ran across the HAED YUKU board. As I was looking through all the forums, I ran across a topic line to sign up for the 2015 Freebie SAL.  A part would be released on January 1st and the next three during various times through June. As the pieces were small parts from larger charts, they would be detailed but would be possible to finish in a year. I also thought it would be a great chance to try out various styles of HAED stitching - gridding, cross-country, parking, etc.  I signed up and went digging for fabric.  I found a piece of 28 count Cashel and set about gridding.  All the threads were pulled and I was ready for my January start.  As I stitched, I could feel myself becoming very irritated.  I was concerned as I had also just started Shakespearean Fantasy and if my irritation was with the style of stitching rather than something else, I was going to be very unhappy for a very long time.  After a bit I decided it was the unevenness of the Cashel that was the problem, so back to the stash I went and found a piece of 28 count Jobelan (the same fabric I had pulled for Shakespearean Fantasy). That change made all the difference and everything fell into place.  I have learned a lot on this piece, but most importantly, it's all just one X at a time. I am no speed demon but am making steady progress.  I have almost finished the first page and did it cross-country.  I am going to try parking on the second page as I think it will help with Shakespearean Fantasy once I get past the pages of black and really get into the confetti stitching.  I really do like the detail that is achieved and could very easily see myself getting hooked on these pieces.  Here's a collage of my progress:

 

 

I started September's square for The Sampler Life's SAL but will save that for a later post.

 

August Small Check-in

A day late, for  but the mid-week check-ins are tough for me and I forget to schedule posts, so late I'll continue to be.    Before I get going, thank you to all my new followers.  I appreciate you taking the time to read my blathering.

So,  is hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus.  Because I like large, fairly intricate designs, if it wasn't for the SAL, some years I would have no finishes.  This year I am using The Sampler Life's Sampler blocks as my smalls pieces.  This month's is from Olde Willow Stitchery and is called Spring Hearts.  Here is the block:

The border and flowers on this one look springy to me, but the hearts remind me of sunflowers which aren't but I do like the finished piece.  Here is the entire piece so far:

The fabric is Vintage Light Exampler from Lakeside Linens and is too light in the photo but the thread color is fairly accurate.  All of the blocks are stitched with DMC and any beads are either Mill Hill or Delica.

Another few days of stitching what I want before jumping back into my rotation, I haven't been any more productive but it's been fun for me to flaunt the rules, even if they are my own!

The weather has been amazing here the last week and is supposed to last another day or two, so The Hubs and I are going to get up early tomorrow (just what I want to do on my day off), drive down to Virginia Beach to visit the boat (I'm sure it has been wondering where we've been) and go fishing. 

August Stitch From Stash

Month: August
Spent: $0
Earned: Not participating

I had a wonderful week in Portland. I didn't really get to see too much of the city, I was in an office during the day and the hotel we were booked into was in Lake Oswego; however.  I did get to participate in rush hour (that is such a misnomer in every city I have ever been to) each morning and afternoon.  It was much warmer (95 or so one afternoon) and drier than I expected but I would definitely like to go back to explore.

I came back to beautiful weather. It is in the low 80s with low, for central Virginia, humidity.  I would like to say we've turned the weather corner into fall, but that would be very premature for this area.

No stitching happened while I was traveling but I do have a bit of progress to show from last weekend as part of .  Stitch from Stash is hosted my Mel at Epic Stitching.  It is a helpful reminder that we don't need to purchase every new pattern that comes along. Anyway, each month we get a very generous $25 budget, so if you just have to have that pattern, or thread, or fabric you can.  It does roll over each month so by the end of the year there will be a very nice bit of change available.

For this month: 

Carried forward: $25
August Budget: $25
Available: $50
Spent: $0
To September: $50

I had one start from stash:

This is Spring Heart from Olde Willow Stitchery and is the August block for The Sampler Life SAL.  I hope to finish it this weekend.

I also spent some time with Santa's Presence from HAED.  He went from here:

 

to here:

 

Slowly filling in the gaps. I am seeing the draw towards parking with this style pattern. I may give it a go with page 2.

 

No more scheduled travel this year, okay through the end of September, but I am looking forward to spending a bit more time around the house and settling back into a routine.