It's August?

 It happened again - I've lost an entire month.  Poof, just like that, it was here and gone.  Although I have to say that July was not that different from June, so go back and look at one of my posts from June, did I do one?, and you'll have my July and probably August too.  

I'm still working from home and enjoying it.  The extra sleep has done wonders and the time in the evening for crafting has been wonderful.  I did have to go into the office one day to pack things up as  someone decided that the planned mass moves must continue.  Despite the size of my building - it's two city blocks long and one wide - there was a time when it was hard to find office space for new people so they were put as close to their division as possible or they were just left in their old space.  In an effort to get everyone in a division together and reduce our per person square footage so an office that had one person in it might have two or three now - perfect for keeping social distance, we are doing a massive office shuffle hence the packing up of my stuff.  Fortunately, I had done a fairly extensive paper file purge a few months ago so I didn't have a lot to pack so it didn't take too long.  It was strange being in the building though.  While the number of people that actually work in the building has dropped over the years most of our recent hires are remote workers there was always that background hum that any office has.  When I went in there was nothing.  No working sounds, no smells when walking past the cafeteria, no people, nothing.  The only person I saw the entire time I was in the building was the security guard when I badged in and out.  Very spooky.

That trip to DC is the total of my excitement for July.

Oh wait!  I did go to Joann's for fabric for Grady's stocking and Cassie's birth announcement pillow.  I was shocked at how low their stock of fabric was.  I don't know if it is all Joann's or just that one but there were entire racks that were empty can you tell that I don't get out much?  Other than one trip into the grocery store this was the first shopping trip I had made since March.  I did find fabric for both and just need to get myself finishing them.

I also stitched and knit and planned and watched a lot of  television.  I watched every episode of Time Team (I may have missed one or two), through season 6 of Digging for Britain and tons of YouTube.  I have my usual stitching and knitting channels but I am absolutely hooked on Bernadette Banner.  I have absolutely no idea why I find someone making period clothing so fascinating.

For stitching I worked on and FINISHED Cassie's stocking.  It went from here:

to here:

This is Vintage Baubles by Shannon Christine Designs.  It's done on a 28-count white Lugana with the called for DMC, Kreinik and beads.  I also used Petite Treasure Braid for some of the backstitching.  The stocking as charted does not have a space for the name so I stitched the bottom of the row of baubles with the name to be level with the tops on the previous row, stitched Cassie's name and wasn't that fun?  I found the 50's style font on Etsy and thought it fit the style of the stocking perfectly. Charted out "Cassimera" and then started counting to center.  In total the name had 117 stitches, well there were only 98 in the stocking - and no I don't know why I didn't think of that while I was charting - so I ended up doing her name over-1 and then did the top third of the baubles.  Doing that added a row or two to the stocking but not enough to impact the overall shape.  The other change I made was the backstitching.  The pattern called for all the ornaments to be backstitched in 3371.  That didn't appeal to me so instead I used the darkest of each color group and PTB for the tops.  Once the stitching was done  I beaded, for almost a week I beaded - sooo many beads.  I just need to find fabric for the backing and cording I'm thinking a pink to continue with the mid-century modern color scheme and settle down to sew.  I have a doctor's appointment on Monday and there's a Joann's around the corner from their office so will stop in on my way home.

With the commitment stitching done, I'm taking a bit of time and just doing what I want as far as crafting for a little while.  I have started a couple of ornaments but forgot to take a picture and The Hubs has my phone right now because it's Pokemon Community Day or something and he can explain a whole lot better than I what he's doing - I just walk around collecting he worries about stardust, etc.  I'm also crocheting a bunch of balls for Calder and Vance for their birthday.  I have one done and another about half done. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver yarn and a small hook so while it makes a very strong ball, it's very tough on my hands so can't do a lot at once.

I've also did some knitting.  I was working on the foot of my first sock when I posted last.  I finished the first one and am now ready to do the heel flap on the second.  

There are some issues of fit with the first sock, but I think some of that may be down to my tension. I was tense while knitting so my gauge is very tight I think I was close to 10.5 stitches on 2.25mm needles.  I was going to make the changes to the second sock but then decided I needed to make them as close to the same as possible as they are a pair.  I also need to practice my toe grafting - my Kitchnering was rubbish.  I understand the hows but my carry through left a lot to be desired.

And that's it for July and part of August.  I plan to get my rotation going again and I really want to start everything a couple of new projects  Hope you are all staying safe and well.

She's here!!

Introducing Miss Cassimera (Cassie) Lue L (she's named after her great-grandmothers).  She was born yesterday around 6:30 in the morning. 

Mom and Cassie are fine and home now.  Here's Jack trying out being a big brother (with some help from Mom):

This picture just warms my heart to no end

I so want to get to Michigan to see her, but as with everything right now, it will have to wait.  Thank goodness for all the social media platforms right now. 

Now I really have to come up with a way to finish up her birth announcement pillow and get it FFOd.

I have been working on her Christmas stocking and added a few baubles:

It was here last week:

And today it's here:

It's starting to look like a stocking

The colors in the before are much closer to true. 

I should continue working on it, but I am going to take tonight off and start Pandemic by Long Dog Samplers.  I didn't pick a terribly exciting color scheme - I'll be doing it on an 18-count Antique White Aida with Sulky 12 weight cotton petite in Sunset.  I don't need another huge project but this one was calling very loudly so I decided to give in.

I also had some progress on my sock:

 I got the gusset all done and have started on the foot.  As with all the other parts, it was easier than I thought it would be.  This has been my Teams project.  As it's just knit, knit, knit, I don't have to pay a lot of attention so it is perfect for those video conferences that are otherwise dirt dry. 

And one last horrible picture before I finish.  My computer faces a window that overlooks the front yard and the bird feeders, I caught a flash of red yesterday and looked up thinking it was a cardinal. It wasn't.

It was a Summer Tanager.  I had to look this one up as I'd never seen one before. The picture was taken through the window and screen so it's hard to see but here's a better picture from the Audubon Society:

   As he's a bug eater, I don't expect I'll see him again as I don't offer bugs in the bird feeders but it was a nice surprise.

I hope everyone is safe and healthy.

Bit of this and that and a check-in

I have been remiss in thanking everyone for their kind comments on my stitching and finishes.  As I'm a solitary stitcher it's nice to hear "nice job" from someone other than The Hubs who hardly looks up from whatever he's doing when he says it :-).

First, because it's time sensitive - RUN!! do not walk  to Long Dog Samplers website.  They have a freebie posted.  It's called Pandemic and is free until June 26th at 8:59 AM BST I had to look that up, it stands for British Summer Time which makes a whole lot more sense than my current Eastern Daylight Time.  It's a full size Long Dog, so REALLY BIG!  If you're interested click here and hopefully it will take you to the website.

I am still knitting away at my sock and am very pleased with my progress.  I have had to pull each section back at least once, but I did put in lifelines (in my case those are lines of dental floss that I put in after I finished each major section), so when I made an unfixable error, I only had to go back to that line and didn't have to worry about dropping any stitches so I didn't panic and just got better with each try which is good because I think that except for the leg, I did each section three times.  Today I'm here:

and because it doesn't show up too well:

that little cup the arrow is pointing to is the heel turn!!  I am waiting for a set of stitch markers (because there's a whole new world of practical and pretty things with a new hobby) they're supposed to be here tomorrow before I start the gusset decreases as they are different on each side and I don't want to mess them up - listen to me sounding like I know what I'm talking about :-).  I didn't mention in my last post but I am following the video series: Let's Teach Gerald How to Knit with Carolyn at Off the Grid Needlearts there's a bit of fangirl in the following...  You can find it on YouTube here.  I skipped right to the socks part as I already knew the basics.  Carolyn is the creative mind behind Evertote project bags and is hosting StitchNorth, a stitcher's retreat in Brampton, Ontario (it's been postponed to next spring and she has spaces available).  At Julie's suggestion, I am also following Christine at Winwick Mum's Sockalong directions and various of her other videos.  Between these two ladies, I will have a pair of socks soon.

Speaking of project bags, everyone on FlossTube shows their beautiful project bags and I kept thinking, "If that were me, I'd be showing my gallon project bag from Food Lion" (local grocery store, I think Ziploc makes their store brand bags). So, this afternoon after work, I went shopping in all the fabric I have from when I thought I was going to be a quilter and I made this:

for my sock and yarn to live in - this is a one skein sized bag and is from the tutorial by Hue Loco (a yarn dyer/store in Colorado).  I am planning to make some larger ones and maybe, if I feel adventurous one or two flat bags for a couple of my cross stitch projects .  Like the sock, it has some issues (the lining got a bit too close to the zipper in a couple places so it is a bit of a chore to unzip and I now wish I had put the handle on it), but I am overall very pleased with it.

For a stitching blog, there's been an awful lot of knitting talk hasn't there?  That's mostly because, I've only been working on one project, BUT it does fit with the one SAL check-in that I'm only a little late for,   Yes, it's time for Gifted Gorgeousness.  Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  It's a stitch along that highlights and thanks everyone that's given us something crafty, or things you won in a give away or a project you're stitching for a gift or anything you can shoehorn into the theme.  Vintage Baubles fits perfectly into the SAL as it is a gift for my new great-niece (we're on baby watch as her due date is the 23rd).  Last time you saw it, it was here:

and tonight, it's here:

These colors are much closer to real life.  I did get the beads and may start adding them tomorrow but will see how I feel.

We're in a stretch of "unsettled" weather so it looks like I'll be staying in and stitching this weekend oh darn.  Remember to get that Long Day freebie and I hope you and yours are well.

It's been a while

So much for the thought that working from home would get me blogging more.  I've been stitching and crocheting and knitting and reading blogs and watching floss tube but I haven't been posting.  Mostly it's boiling down to I think that because I've gone One-at-a-Time it will be boring to see the same thing over and over.

While it may be boring to blog about, OAAT has been wonderful for my productivity.  In May I stitched every day but one and logged 116.5 hours of stitching time.  30 of those hours were finishing up Candy Nutcracker and the rest were for Sweet Pea.  When I posted last, Sweet Pea was here:

and on May 31st, I finished her/them I have always thought that this looks like a mother celebrating her child

Here's a better idea of what the fabric looks like:

This picture is still not very good as the green is more vibrant and there are areas of gold sparkles (you can see them in the before photo).  Not sure why it doesn't want to photograph, but it's 32-count Water Color Meadow by Sunny Dyes Fabrics - I really like their fabrics and they provided wonderful customer service helping me choose a fabric for this piece.  I used all the called for threads and beads.  Mom has requested it be made into a pillow so once I have the baby's name and birth day I will finish it up.  I'm thinking of doing a narrow border around the piece and printing the baby's name and birth day on that piece and then the main pillow color (which I have no idea of yet).

Having finished Sweet Pea, on June 1st I started Vintage Baubles by Shannon Christine Designs:

This is the toe area.  It's stitched on a 28-count white Jobelan with the called for DMCs and Kreinik (so much Kreinik).  The blank spaces in the pink and green ornaments are for beads.  I finally found a store that sold the colors I needed in less than massive quantities and am just waiting for delivery.  This stocking is going to sparkle.  This is another piece with fairly limited colors but the designer does a wonderful job combining them to make it look like there are more.

I have taken a little time from stitching the last couple of days to:

learn to knit socks.  This is about 1" of ribbing.  And no, you haven't seen any other knitting on this blog, I know how, but I'm not a knitter.  EXCEPT that years ago, I got it into my head that hand-knit socks were absolutely necessary and I was going to learn how to make them.  I've read books, watched videos, etc. but never felt ready to jump in and then I saw a You Tube video that used a 9" circular needle rather than DPN (double-pointed needles) or Magic Loop and it all suddenly made sense.  I bought a circular needle, grabbed one of the numerous balls of sock yarn I've stashed (I will, someday, have very warm, comfy feet all winter with all the socks I will knit from the yarn I have stashed) and started.   Maybe it's the video, maybe it's the needle, maybe it's my mindset, maybe Mars is in retrograde, I don't know, but it was all so much easier than I had thought.  I had added another little bit of ribbing after I took this picture but ended up tearing this all back and starting again as there was an error that I couldn't fix.  I'm okay with that as the next try will be better than the first.

My office has started Phase I of a three phase reopening but our director said that she doesn't expect any of us will be called back under Phase I or II and we should expect to work from home through June.  Each phase is two weeks and moving backwards is possible.  Based on previous HR issues, I was honestly expecting an all or nothing situation so am pleasantly surprised by the slow and cautious tone that has been set so far. 

I hope you and yours are all safe and healthy.

On time for once

The time is simultaneously standing still and whizzing past - a very strange phenomena (da dee da dee dee) apologies for any earworm this caused.  Still working from home (and very much enjoying my job), still staying home as much as possible, and still stitching. 

Central Virginia has also into summer.  We're supposed to be in the upper 80s this weekend - I'm not sure I'm ready for that just yet.  Fortunately, it's not humid so it's not oppressive, just warm.

Before I get to the stitching it's time for a baby update.

Jack is looking so grown up in this picture.  He's definitely turned into a toddler and is losing his baby looks.

Grady is growing so fast.  He's a bit over 3 months old.  That smile just melts me and aren't those booties the best?

Calder and Vance are almost 9 months old and are cruising and crawling like champs.

Jack's sister is still due the end of June and we're all excited to welcome her to the family. 

I received a photo of Grady's finished birth announcement:

Grady received it yesterday.  I think it was well worth the time it took to complete the framing.

So babies and finished stitching, now current stitching and crafting - also baby related.  Fortunately, they all fit into .  Gifted Gorgeousness is hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching - if you click on that picture it should take you to the SAL page.  Gifted Gorgeousness is a fun way to thank those that have given us stitching goodness or show pieces we're stitching for gifts or anything you can shoehorn into the SAL.  All of my crafting the last few months have been gifts and fit into the SAL perfectly.

I finished Grady's Christmas stocking:

I am not sure what color I'm going to use for the backing and cording.  I'm going to go through my fabric stash and see if any of them will work.  I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

Once I finished the stocking, I started Nora Corbett's Sweet Pea.  This will be Baby Girl's birth announcement:

I'm stitching this on 32-count Water Color Meadow from Sunny Dyes Fabrics with the called for threads and beads.  I'm using one of the called for Kreinik but switched out the other for a Petite Treasure Braid.  I really like the colors together - very vibrant (which I think Baby Girl is going to be). 

The other piece I finished was her blanket

Here's a close up of the border I added:

Three rows of single crochet - simple but effective.

I'm going to focus on Sweet Pea.  Once that's finished  Vintage Baubles  will become my focus piece.  Once those are done, rather than start my rotation again, I may do a new start, but will decide when I get there. 

Stay well and safe.

April WIPocalypse and an almost finish

I hope every one is still healthy.  Everyone in my family is still doing well and I'll keep knocking wood for the foreseeable future.  Not sure how we got to the end of April already, but I have literally lost days so I'm not surprised that it's April 30th already.

I haven't been very good about SAL check-ins, but I am in time for .  WIPocalypse is hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings.  No special patterns, fabric or floss is required just stitch on what you've already started and post about it once a month.  The posting part is the hardest thing for me.  Melissa also gives us questions so we can all get to know each other and maybe find a chart we didn't know we needed.  

April's question is really a prompt:  Talk to us about your longest running WIP or UFO.  I honestly don't know. A large percentage of my WIPs - I consider everything a WIP as I AM going to finish them - were started in the 1997 to 2000 range.  My first husband passed away in 1997 and I did a lot of comfort shopping and starting.  The only one I have the starting year for is Linda Driskell's Sampler in a Year 1999.  

 

I first saw this series of samplers at Celebration of Needlework - way back when it was a new thing.  An EGA friend and I picked out the newest one and started it together.  I don't think either of us got much further than here.  I've lost touch with her since my move so don't know if she ever pulled it out and finished it.  It is done all in white and mostly perle cottons.  I don't even remember what the finished project looks like, but it's started so it's going to get finished. :-)

Speaking of finishes...  I've finished crossing all the Xs in Grady's stocking.  In April, it went from here:

to here:

I've started the backstitching at the bottom and am working my way up.  I wasn't going to do the outlining backstitching as it's all done on black and really doesn't show up, but it does seem to make a difference so outlining I'm doing. I was hoping to finish this in April, but that isn't going to happen.  It will definitely be finished in early May.  FFOing will have to wait until I can get to the store.  I was thinking of ordering fabric but most places have a minimum order and it is way more than I need.  If anyone is interested in statistics I stitched for 99 hours in April (so far - I do plan to stitch a bit tonight) all of them on the stocking.  So far, I've stitched 164.25 hours on it.  In April I stitched 26 days so I'm averaging just slightly more than 3.75 hours a day.  

Once I'm done with the stocking, I'll be starting Sweet Pea from Nora Corbett.  I'm doing it as the birth announcement for Baby Girl due the end of June.  I think it will be done fairly quickly.  Her brother's announcement was finished as a pillow, but I'm not sure how Mom will want this one finished.  Once that's done, I'll be starting her Christmas stocking - Vintage Baubles by Shannon Christine Designs.  

I am not sure how I'm going to put her name on it - I'm thinking of a fruffy tag, but may try to work up a band for her name.  I think a space above those half motifs at the top for her name and another band of half motifs or maybe just the tops above the name.  I got the notice today that my order has shipped so I should have the pattern, floss and fabric in another week or so.

   

Hopefully I can get myself around to posting more often.  Maybe once the stocking is finished - right now it's just black outlining on black fabric so not a lot to see.

I hope you all stay safe and healthy. 

Here we are again

Hope this finds everyone well.  I think it's been a week since my last post.  I have to be honest, time is running together.  I was thinking the other day about how it had been such a long time since I started working from home.   Then I looked at a calendar and it's only been a bit over two weeks.  Virginia announced a stay-at-home order (guess folks weren't paying attention to the "please don't go out" request) until June 10th in conjunction with Maryland and Washington DC.  Maryland's order is indefinite and DC didn't set a date.  Given that it seems like forever since March 17th, June is almost incomprehensible.  I've been catching up on a lot of shows and plan to take advantage of several channel offers - The Great Courses* has extended their free trial to a month from its normal 7 days and I'm sure there are many more companies doing the same - and oh my the FlossTube that's been going on (I get just about caught up and another flurry of videos are added).  If you've got little ones Audible* is offering free streaming at stories.audible.com of books for kids up to 18 (no membership required).  There are several classics too, so even if you're not a kid you might find something of interest.

So a bit of good news since my last post.  My son's employer has begun providing protective equipment (oh and I was reminded that he wears a baseball cap and not a hairnet).  Even if it is providing me a false sense of security, I'm relieved.  And

A long story on exposures and times and doctors, but the result is that Jack and mom are home again.

I haven't posted that many Grady pictures and everyone needs cute baby pictures right now so:

He turned 2 months yesterday.   Those eyes get me every time.  That nose in the upper right is his dog Winston.

Stitching?  Oh yes, stitching has been happening. In March I logged 82 hours.  I haven't done any averaging but I know I'm doing between 3 and 4 hours each week night.  I have decided to put my rotation on hold and focus solely on Grady's stocking.  Unless I run out a color (which is a real possibility), I think I could finish the stitching this month.  I'm not sure about getting all the backstitching done, but the crosses are a definite possibility.

Last week, it was here:

and when I finished up last night it was here:

I've had to roll it up the scroll rods, so imagine a green and white stripe along the top.

My goal for today is to finish the three candies in this section and then move down to the ribbon candy that is right below it.  After that it's finishing up the arms/hands and then to the legs and all the filler in the toe area (I've got a plan mapped out based on how much white is in a section.  Grady's name is charted and I was planning on putting that in early, but when I started it, the centering was off and I really didn't feel like figuring out why, so the math will wait until the stitching is done.

If you're able to, place an order with your LNS - it doesn't have to be a huge order, a pattern, a gift card or a few skeins of floss.  I've made a list of charts that I'm interested in (FlossTube and Instagram are full of ideas if you need them) and will be placing orders with Deb at Stitches 'n Things* in Fenton, Michigan over the next few months.

Stay well, stay safe and keep stitching.

*I am not affiliated in any way with any of the companies mentioned, I just like the service or products mentioned.