Giving June a Miss

Before I jump into the excuses well-thought out reasons for not posting or stitching...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Alex and Michelle.  My Nephew and Niece are celebrating their first wedding anniversary today.  In case you don't remember, here's a photo from the day:

So, um, yeah, well, stitching....

See it started with an innocent work trip.  I had to pack and get everything around the weekend before the trip so not a lot of stitching that weekend.  I then had to unpack and do laundry and all the normal weekend stuff the weekend I got back, so no stitching that weekend.  I could have stitched while I was gone, but I have learned that I am so tired at the end of a full day of training that I usually have to frog everything I did, so I read instead in the evenings.  So, yeah, that's what happened.  I am so far behind on all my SAL check-ins that I'm just going to give June a pass and work on making July better which it won't be as I have two trips to Michigan for family reunions - see what happens with trips earlier in paragraph.  I do know I won't be doing any more work travel this year.  We got our Administrative budget last week (our fiscal year starts October 1st, so we've been guessing for the last 9 months on what our budget would be) and we had a rather significant, unforeseen, reduction - so no more travel or pens, paper or other supplies and don't even ask to take a class or other training.

So what have I gotten done?  Well I have been working on Just Nan's Seasonal Gems II Summer.

This is stitched on 28-count Platinum Cashel with the called for DMC.  If you are stitching or have stitched this one, mine is a bit different from the chart.  I decided I didn't need it to say Summer and it bugged me that the design wasn't really centered in the border, so I am modifying. If you've been reading my blog for any period of time you'll know I am not a pattern changer - I was attracted to the design just the way it appeared on the chart so I don't change things.  This is HUGE for me.  I haven't done anything really major, just flipped the piece around and stitched the top band of motifs on the bottom.  That move changed up the middle motif a little but now it's centered, so I'm happy.  I need to figure out what goes in those gaps on the sides.  I also need to add beads, Kreinik and eyelets, but there's really not a lot left before it's finished.

This weekend I pulled Chatelaine's Japanese Zen Garden back out.  Last time you saw it, it was here:

and today, it's here:

I didn't do all of this stitching this weekend, just haven't updated my progress photos in a while.  This is stitched on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with Martina's DMC conversion.  I am using the called for PTB, beads and two threads that didn't have a good conversion.  As usual, I love stitching a Chatelaine and am looking forward to settling in for a good stitch the rest of this afternoon.

To continue my WIP review, I have:

Liz Turner Diehl's Flamigerge Egg.  This is stitched on the called for fabric, but I can't remember what it is, with the called for threads and I can't remember those either, so will have to get back to you with that information.  When completed, this will be in the fashion of a Faberge egg but with the very non-Russian motif of flamingos.  Now all I can see are a line of flamingos wearing Ushankas or maybe Cossak hats...

The next one is another Liz Turner Diehl piece (I have several of her gardens in my stash too):

Hannah's Hummingbird Knotgarden.  The Hubs gave this kit to me for my birthday a number of years ago - it has a copyright of 2007, so probably not too much after that.  It has Madeira and Rainbow Gallery Glissen Gloss threads which are both new to me.  I enjoyed working with the Madeira but the packaging caused me a little headache and I still haven't figured out what I'm supposed to do with the leftover bits.  The kit also contained all the beads.

Blackbird Designs 2011 Loose Feather's Design is next.  I have a start on part one the alphabet bleeds over into part two a little bit

Again, called for fabric and threads.  I am pretty sure I got this as a subscription piece through Wasatch Needlecrafts (sadly now out of business).  This is the first piece I put on my belt scroll - the fabric mounts on the ends rather than the top for those pieces that are too long for even the longest scroll rods.  I did discover that it works best on shorter pieces as you would need arms like an orangutan to reach the top of this one comfortably for those of us with human length arms, turning it upside down also works.

And last for this week is Mill Hill's 2006 Buttoned and Beaded Christmas.

I am stitching all six kits side-by-side on one long piece of fabric.  I think the fabric is a 28-count raw linen.  Another one that's using the belt scroll - this one fits much better as it's shorter.  I really like the Mill Hill kits as a "grab and go" piece but am always worried about mangling the paper, so when I saw them on fabric it was a complete "palm meet forehead" moment - why hadn't I thought of that before?  Although I'm sure it goes back to my earlier discussion of "not a changer" or more likely it's "there's a perfectly good piece of stitching paper why should I spend money on fabric?".

And I have been doing some stashing I have GOT to stay off  Floss Tube as I have a serious case of stash envy and I go looking at things and then they're in my cart and then, well you know *sigh*.  This

is Evening in the Shire from CutePatternsByMaria an Etsy store (don't even get me started on the evil wonderfulness of Etsy).  I bought a piece of Twilight Mist Jobelan that I think will work really well.  I also bought Sea in a Bottle:

  I haven't found the right fabric for this one, but have a piece of Twilight/Silver that I think might work.  There are a couple more patterns in her shop that I am tempted by but I am determined to stick to my Stitch from Stash budget for the rest of this year so on my wish list they will stay.

A weird work week coming up for me.  Independence Day is on Wednesday so I'll work Monday and Tuesday, have Wednesday off and work Thursday and Friday.  Friday is my work from home day so only three trips into the office this week.

Stay cool or warm if you're in the Southern Hemisphere.  We're in the middle of an early summer heatwave with temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s with "feels like" temperatures into the 100s.  Tomorrow's heat index is supposed to be near 105 so not looking forward to walking to and from the train station tomorrow afternoon.  I think I will work on Christmas cards on Wednesday - think cool and you'll be cool right?

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Back to my rotation

Before I start, a big Thank You to everyone that has commented in the last few weeks - seems Blogger isn't forwarding comments to my emails - I didn't figure it out until a few days ago so I'm way behind in responding.  They say they are "working on it" but I don't know how long it will take.

I have finished my obligation stitching and jumped back into my rotation.  Before I show my progress, I can show one of my finished pieces.

This is a piece I did for my parent's 60th wedding anniversary.  It's from the Anniversary Sampler leaflet from The Sweetheart Tree.  I had to do a bit of improvising for the 60 as designers don't seem to think people celebrate 60th anniversaries.

In addition, I made this card for them:  

The swans and moon are done with a sparkle paper - you can sort of see a texture difference and maybe even a little bit of that sparkle.  Just gotta love that Cricuit (thanks family).

So - stitching.  I worked on Goldie this weekend.  Here's where she was when I started back on Friday:

and today she's here:

Lots of filling in and single stitches but progress so I'm happy.  Those stitches down the right side are confetti stitches so will take a bit to fill that in then onto the background.

For this week's trip down WIP memory lane I have:

Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow from Carriage House Samplings.  This is stitched on 40-count Vintage Sand Dune from Lakeside Linen with the called for NPI silks.  This one, like all the others, was set aside when a 17 piece rotation proved to be no way to make much progress on anything.

Next is:  

Countdown to Christmas from Blue Ribbon Designs.  It is stitched on 40-count Magnolia from Lakeside Linens with the called for Gentle Art Sampler Threads.  I love the little cardinals.  The gridding not so much, but I do like the finished piece.

The third piece is:

Eye of the Tiger by Sherrie Stepp-Aweau.  I don't remember what count the fabric is, maybe 22.  I love how the tiger heads are reflected in the eye.  Lots of background stitching left on this one - I didn't want to stitch on black but am now looking at lots and lots of background stitching so maybe I should have used black fabric.

Japanese Zen Garden is going back on the frame tonight but I don't think I'll get any stitches into it until Friday.

60 years

It was a winding and sometimes bumpy road from here:

to here:

but my parents navigated it together and today are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.  Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

Whoosh....

That would be the sound of the days rushing past.  I have worked from home the last few weeks, so while getting a lot more stitching done, I am also totally confused time-wise.  I'm heading back into the office on Tuesday (there was an issue with asbestos and lead-based paint in the office next door to mine and as there is a door connecting the two offices, after a bit of a tiff with upper management, we were allowed to work from home until they finished the remediation), so my extra stitching time is leaving, but I have a lovely 3-day weekend before that happens.

So where to start...

Well, the 15th was the check-in day for  which is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  It is a lovely way to thank people that have gifted us with stitching things or to show things we are stitching as gifts.  I have three pieces that fit this SAL, but I can't show any of them just yet, so while I am checking in, there is nothing to see here just yet.

The 15th was also the TUSAL check-in.  TUSAL is hosted by Sharon at it's daffycat.  It's a fun SAL that only requires that you save snips and bits of thread in a container and then show them off once a month.  Here's my jar so far:  And Blogger is being persnickety and not showing my jar this month (honestly, I'm so stingy with thread that it looks a lot like last month's jar, just no cat). 

  None of the cats volunteered to be in the photo this month, so it's just the jar and boy do I need to get out an trim those shrubs in the background.  It's filing up nicely, but really isn't too colorful.

Last weekend was .  Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and Joyze at Random Ramblings keep this one going.  On the third full weekend of the month, you have permission to sit and stitch - all weekend.  I participated and can show you one piece that I worked on and finished.

This is Just Nan's Pearl Orchid.  It's stitched on a 28-count Cameo Rose Cashel with the called for DMC.  The pattern came with a bit of over-dyed thread and all the beads and the orchid charm. This is also my piece for the  which is hosted by Heather at Stitching Lotus.  This SAL is a celebration of the smaller pieces in our stash.  You get to decide the pieces, you get to decide what a small is and you could have twelve finishes through the year.

And last for the SAL check-ins is  which is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings.  I have two pieces that are official WIPocalypse pieces but they've been set aside while I stitch up my secret pieces (I believe I will have them finished up by the end of June).  WIPocalypse encourages us to focus on those pieces we've already started and she also gives us questions each month to get things rolling.  This month's is:  Where do you love to shop for stash?  I love shopping for stash at Stitches 'n Things in Fenton, Michigan.  I started shopping there when they were located in Davison.  We would stop in while we were on our way from New Hampshire to my parent's house.  When she moved the shop it wasn't as convenient for me to be able to physically stop in but they do have a web store.  It's a small store, but every inch is used to the fullest.  Deb has a great selection of charts, an amazing thread room and all the fabric you could want.  If you can't make it there in person, check them out on-line.  Whenever I'm in Michigan and can carve out some time, I take a little drive to the shop (it's about an hour from my sister's house) and spend a wonderful few hours.  They also host two stitching retreats each year if you're interested in those.

This post is longer than I expected, but I want to continue with the WIP parade I started last time. 

First is the 1999 Sampler in a Year by Linda Driskell  and yes I started this the year it came out.  This is a mystery sampler and is done all in shades of white on a white linen.  I am not sure why I didn't get more done on it.

The next is Alpine Garden from The Drawn Thread.  I love The Drawn Thread pieces and have started and finished others after I started this one.  I think this one got put aside when I moved from New Hampshire and was sort of forgotten.  I bought this as a kit and have not changed any of the materials.  While they don't sell kits through stores anymore, you can buy kits for a very reasonable price from their website.

This last one is from Cross Stitch and Country Crafts and is Visiting the Neighbors from the Amid Amish Life triptych.  I have finished the other two so just need this one to finish the set.  It's stitched on 28-count Wedgewood Lugana with DMC.  Back when I started the series the "rule" was three strands with 28-count fabric, I find that much too bulky now which is probably why it's languished.

I have a nice long crafting to-do list for the long weekend I also have a housework to-do but I have slowly whittled that one down and only have vacuuming left and hope to cross lots of things off it by Monday evening.

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother's Day Mom

Progress

I have made great progress on my stitching the last week.  I just need to attach the beads to one piece and finish stitching one letter on another for finishes.  Unfortunately, I can't show you either one right now.

Instead of showing you what I am currently working on, I thought I'd show you what I have worked on in the past and not finished.  I got the idea from Jan when she commented she'd like to see my Flower Power.

So, I'll do a few now and a few later and eventually you'll see all of my WIPs.  I will make a tab up top to store them all, but right now, just here.

Since Jan asked, the first piece will be Crossed Wings' Flower Power. 

The fabric color at the top is more true than the bright bit at the bottom.  I'd say my craptastic photos are because of being in a hurry, but it's mostly that I just take bad photos.  This is done on a 28-count (I think) blue.  It sort of looks like Nordic Blue from Wichelt, but I honestly don't remember the name.  I'm using the called for DMC.  The insects and hummingbird beaks are over-1.  I started this as a SAL on RCTN back in the dark ages of the stitchy internet world.  The fabric was too long for the largest pair of scroll rods I had at the time, so I'm stitching it on it's side, so the bottom is on my left when I'm stitching.

I think I'll just put the three that I mentioned in my last post, so Rebecca de la Tour's The Heavenly Kiss is next. 

I had more of this done than I thought.  It's on a 28-count black evenweave with DMC - all in shades of grey, white and black.  There is splash of gold, but that is the only color.  I bought it fully kitted from the designer and thought myself very brave to do something on black. 

And the last one for today is Floral Welcome from Cross My Heart, Inc.  I don't know who the actual designer is as I can only find my working copies and not the actual pattern.

Hopefully you get the idea on this one as Blogger insists on turning it on its edge.  This is stitched on a white 18-count evenweave (probably an Aida) with DMC and lots of gold Kreinik.  It was originally charted vertically, but I needed it to be horizontal to fit the space I was stitching it for.  This was one of the first pieces that I didn't stitch EXACTLY as the designer called for.  Biggest issue for this one is that it was meant to go over the door between the living room and hall in my house in New Hampshire and I moved from there almost eleven years ago.  I am going to finish it as I really like it, but not sure where it will fit in this house.

There you have it, three of my seventeen non-Chatelaine, non-HaED WIPs.  I will post the others over the next few weeks.