Heather's RR and New Project

Hi! Well, I finished Heather's RR for the Neighborhood RR. Her theme was farms - I expanded that a little bit and stitched a grist mill and an apple orchard - I hope that will be okay. The top photo is the block I stitched and the second photo is the whole piece. I also copied Cindy's birds and stitched them in the border - I thought the corner needed a little something. I think this piece is really coming together - I like it so far. I will post it off to the next stitcher next week.

Then to reward myself for finishing my Neighborhood piece before the deadline - I started something new. This is the new freebie from Papillon Creations newsletter. I am using scrap linen and HDF premium silks - This picture is blurry for some reason - but I think you get the idea.

And then the really exciting news - Celebrations has updated their web site with info about the 2008 shows. They also have given their web site a face lift - I like the changes. It is frustrating that they don't have a lot of pictures yet, but reading the class descriptions is making me think I'd better plan to attend the KY show as well as the NH show. In case you didn't know, I'm a class junkie. I already bought my plane tickets - couldn't beat the fare from Baltimore to Manchester.

Also, I am drooling over all the previews of the Nashville releases - and it seems silly - I am overwhelmed by the stuff I have now - adding more will only add to the disorganization - but judging by the message boards and blogs I am not the only one - LOL!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving me comments, Happy stitching! Margaret

A Small Project for TIF Challenge

Hi, all, I decided to join in on the Take It Further Challenge. The basic idea is that each month you take a concept and work it through to a finished product. Each participant can choose to either work with an idea or a color scheme. Well, this month's color scheme was perfectly inline with my taste (thus minimizing the challenge) - so I decided to work with that. The objective is to use your creativity - and I did not exactly do that this month- but plan to work harder on the creativity piece of it next month.

I stitched the Indigo Rose freebie - Wildflower Hearts on a scrap piece of linen and used DMC colors 333, 340, 3362, 470, and 822. Once again, the picture is wonky - but you get the general idea. I think that working on my photography skills would cut into my stitching time (which is limited as it is) - so that will just have to wait.

I am off now to stitch on my Neighborhood RR - I have stitched the main building, but need to add some fill in landscaping and/0r critters. I think the next mailing date is Feb. 1 - so I shouldn't be pushed for time.

I am *seriously* considering starting a monochrome - but I am having trouble deciding on a pattern and color combination. I have recently started buying spools of HDF silk - and can't wait to use some of it. Right now, the Wiehenburg Quaker 2008 is the front runner - maybe in Old Maid of the Vineyard? Or maybe in Old Maid of the Forest? I have tons of choices for fabric, so I will have to just do some experimenting.- Decisions, decisions.

I also love the new Papillon Creations freebie from the newsletter. This is one of my favorite designers - I love the elegance of the projects; and love the fact that they don't require an eternity to complete!

Wow! this has been a long, rambling post - thanks for bearing with me!
Happy stitching, everybody, Margaret

From UFO to WIP to HD

At last! I started this band sampler ages ago - it was designed by Jana Kerr and published in the EGA monthly magazine. I chose the color scheme - and since I have no sense of color, I originally thought I had chosen badly, and so put the project away. But, after pulling it out again, I think I like it. I really enjoyed the different techniques involved. Hopefully I improved my skills. I will finish it as a bell pull (after giving it a good pressing!)

I have decided to restrict the number of projects I have going at one time. I have just so many zip top storage bags. So, I will have one project per bag, and will not start a new project until I have an empty bag to use. I am hoping this will cause me to complete more projects! Wish me luck! My other plan is to do less lurking and more commenting on stitcher's blogs!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, filled with peace and joy. And I wish everyone a Happy New Year! I received the loveliest hand made card from Von, with a wonderful wish for the new year: unlimited stitching time. What a great sentiment!

So now I am off to start my Neighborhood RR. I have Heather's piece to work on. Her theme is farms - I think I may stitch a grist mill - a place where the farmers take their corn to have it ground. I think that would fit the theme and be interesting. Thoughts?

Until next time, Margaret

Birthday goodies and Soon-to-be ornaments

I was completely spoiled by these birthday gifts from a special stitching friend, Carol. In addition to keeping up with a fabulous blog, she is also the one who introduced me to the wonderful world of blogging. (Well, to be truthful, I spend more time lurking that posting or commenting - but I love to read about other people's projects!) I am late in posting this picture. Carol posted a nice picture of the scissor fob she stitched - I show it here attached to my Dovos. However, she is too modest to show pics of the wonderful extras she included. Many thanks, Carol!

I have been stitching Ornies - these four are done (meaning the stitching is complete) and hopefully over this weekend they will become done-done (meaning ready to hang on the tree).

I think all of these are from JCS ornament issues. I struggle with the finishing - I am just a beginner, and my projects seem to always turn out lop-sided. I guess I just need to practice.

And here are two more that are not done yet - I lack beads for the Teresa Wentzler Celtic Cross and I ran out of thread for the sampler one (the poor reindeer has only two legs). So I'm off to send a note to the Needlecraft Corner, ordering some stuff!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday Season!

Happy stitching, Margaret

Von's RR

Here is my completed block for Von's RR. Her theme is English cottages, and she said she loves gardens - this chart is from a Cross My Heart publication titled Garden Cottages. When I saw it, I thought it fit the theme perfectly. Now, we won't go into how much confetti stitching was involved and how horrible the back of the piece looks - it will certainly give the stitchers who stitch on it in the future something to tsk, tsk about!!!!!

This piece is really pretty - I love the background fabric - it's a little unexpected - a lovely blue/gray - the others have been more neutral. I hope Von is pleased!

Also, here is a picture of the real kittychernoff - when we adopted her from the pound in 1997, she had a bacterial infection, and we weren't sure we could cure it - so we didn't name her. We didn't want to get too attached to her, just in case the vet wasn't able to cure her (at least that was our rationale). So, the vet labeled her chart as Kitty Chernoff - well, many thousands of dollars later, she was cured and a permanent part of our family; but her name remained kittychernoff. Since she is the only one in the house that is allowed to touch Mom's cross stitch stuff - I adopted her name as my online nickname.

Happy stitching! Margaret C

Melanie's Round Robin

This is a picture of Melanie's piece for the Spot RR that I am participating in. I stitched the motifs from the blue horizontal rice stitch variation and the gold crown to the bottom. The motifs are from Indigo Rose's Monogram Sampler. You all know that I love Indigo Rose designs, I hope Melanie will also. Melanie's piece is just gorgeous. This RR has had some rocky moments - some of the participants had personal issues; and one participant seems to have lost interest - but Melanie ( who has had issues herself) has worked very hard to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience - thank you Melanie!

And now for a RR that is going great! This is an ornament from the general ornament RR that I'm in. I had planned to stitch it watching the Chiefs (DH's favorite team) last Sunday afternoon; but I got engrossed in the LSU game on Saturday night - I actually stitched on this dark fabric at night - GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!

This weekend I am back to the Monogram Sampler - I'm almost done with the spots - I still have to do the border; and wrapped bars - I'll have to gather up my nerve to cut my fabric.

Happy stitching everyone!!!

On a Betsy Stinner binge!!!!

Here is a pic of my latest finish - this is the Martha Washington sampler that Betsy Stinner taught at Celebrations in New Hampshire last spring. Her pieces are so lovely - I think it took me about three days to do the bulk of the sampler; but then two calamities hit - I ran out of the dark blue thread (Soie d'alger - which is a royal pain to find and purchase) and then I encountered the dreaded Bullion knots. I did finally receive the thread I ordered and I found a fabulous website with video tutorials of many stitches. The website is here: http://www.needlenthread.com/. Now this is not to say my Bullion knots look good - but I can see improvements from when I started.

I also did the preface piece for this one:

I also finished up the Eliza Pinckney piece that I started last fall. By coincidence, I ran out of dark blue thread on that piece also, and had to purchase more. This is how it looks:

And the preface piece for this one is lovely:

I think these preface pieces would make charming biscornus; but for now they are going into my drawer of completed stitching.

I have also finished Just Nan's Peacock Cipher - I will photograph it next time.

I am working on a piece for my Spot RR. Then I will need to work on the next Neighborhood RR piece. The next Neighborhood RR has a theme of English cottages - so I will need to go stash diving to find something suitable - I love doing that, except that I'm sure I'll uncover at least a dozen projects that I simply must stitch next!!!!

Last week I started Indigo Rose's Monogram Sampler - it is from a class I took with Carol (http://www.carolsxsblog.blogspot.com/) last spring. I will need to get DH to photograph that one, so the shite on white stiching will show up.

Until next time, happy stitching, Margaret

Cindy's Neighborhood

Hi! Here's the block I stitched for Cindy's Neighborhood RR. She requested something simple, and mentioned LHN and CCN designs as examples. I picked a French Freebie from http://perso.orange.fr/anne-les-petites-croix/. I am stitching the whole project, which includes more gardens, for myself on an opalescent linen - I think it is Precious Metals. It is a fun stitch - but I wanted to see what the house would look like, and so I chose to stitch a modified version on Cindy's RR.

I hope she likes it!

And here is the entire piece as it looks now:

I am back to stitching the Tranquility sampler - I am on page seven - I fell behind pretty quickly on this one - some pages go faster than others.

Happy stitching!

Spot RR

Hi, everybody, first of all, somebody out there must be doing a rain dance on my behalf; it has rained a couple of times in the last few days. We're still dry, but I haven't had to water in two days!!! I have beautiful hibiscus in bloom! I also have gorgeous roses - planted inside my pool fence so I can protect them from the marauding deer herd!

So, I have been spending my time stitching. This is a pic of my stitching on Angi's Spot RR over on the Worldwide Round Robins board. Angi stitched a gorgeous border from Indigo Rose, but gave us free rein to select spots. I picked some from the Drawn Threads ABC sampler (for what that series of charts will end up costing, I need to stitch them several times!)

My DS (also known as the apprentice photographer ) took these photos for me. He had trouble capturing the entire piece, but maybe you can get the idea. My DH is actually quite good at photography; my attitude is point and shoot, and hope for the best!

Well, that is all for today. I am stitching on Just Nan's peacock cipher from several years ago - I am roughly half done. I am also getting ready to start my next Neighborhood RR piece.

Happy stitching! Margaret

Fantasy Neighborhood RR

Hi! I finished my stitching on Dani's Fantasy Neighborhood RR. It was a really fun stitch! Plus, now I'll be sure to get this one posted off to Vonna on time!

I haven't been stitching very much lately. I have been spending all my time gardening and watering the trees, shrubs and perennials I planted this spring. Please do a rain dance for me!!!!!

Happy stitching! Margaret

Enough is enough!

Well, I am finally sending my Neighborhood RR off - late, late, late. There are two reasons I am late - one is that I have been extremely busy; and the other is that I really don't like the way my house has turned out (at least it looks better IRL than in this photo). Even though I am late, I am still not finished with it - it needs more flowers, the windows filled in, etc. I think I will do that part when it returns (that's a nifty way of putting it off for 18 months). I just wanted to send it on its way so that I don't cut Vonna's time with it way too short.

YEA!!! Now I can move on to other projects!!!!

Happy stitching!

Busily stitching!

Hi, all, I am back from Celebrations, and had a wonderful time! I saw old friends and met new friends - and, of course, acquired new stash. I am still going through it all - and pondering what to start next. This is a washed-out picture of the stitching I did on a Spot Round Robin that I'm in on the World Wide Round Robin's Board. I had mailed it before I recognized that the photo was bad - well, truth be told, photography is not my strong suite. I hope you enjoy seeing the pics anyway.

I have been stitching the Tranquility Sampler from Martina Wiehenberg. If I intend to frame a piece, I stitch in hand; so please excuse the wrinkles. This piece is on LL Magnolia in Vicki Claytons premium silk. It is a fun stitch. A new page comes out every Friday. I am about a week behind on this project.

The other piece that I have been working on during my duty as taxi service for my 11 year old is the Be Glad Sajou:

I also am frantically stitching on my neighborhood round robin piece. If I make use of every spare moment, I should be able to finish by the mailing date. I am in the "blind folks" group - LOL - I was too chicken to sign up for the high count group - so I am in the 28-32 ct fabric group. My fabric is Vintage Maple Sugar, and it is just gorgeous! I have been collecting up my house charts - but deciding which to stitch has really been a challenge so far.

That's about all for now. Time to go to the nursery to pick some flowers. We are simultaneously replacing the shrubbery in front of the house, and landscaping around the pool we put in last year. Not to mention that I have four other gardens that are in serious need of attention. I have huge piles of leaf gro and shredded bark that are screaming my name. The only thing I have blooming now is miniature bearded irises - and they are charming - only 8-10 inches tall.

Happy stiching! Margaret

Updates!

Hi! Once again I've let a long time go by without updating my blog. I just adore reading other stitcher's blogs; but I find updating mine to be a chore. I would like to keep a loose record of my stitching, though - what's a non-computer person to do?

Here are some updates:

I am in a spot round robin on the Worldwide Round Robins. This is a picture of the first sampler when I finished. I'd already mailed it when I realized my photo was blurry, but here it is:

These spots are from Consider the Lilies by Eileen Bennett and Rebecca's Sampler, a class piece from Betsey Stinner (my second favorite designer of all time). You can't hardly see it, but it has an adorable little frog on it - I debated whether the owner would like it - I hope she does. If not, she can replace it later. The colors are not traditional - I chose colors a shade or two away from the colors the owner had already used. It was great fun to stitch; and now I can't wait for the next one to arrive. I've already been through my stash, and set aside a group of charts with interesting spot motifs.

Next here are some pics of my my Treasured Workstation, by Judy O'Dell. I am taking part in the class through the Legacy Embroiderer's Guild. It is the only project that I am current on. I am using Viki Clayton premium silk and some stash linen for this project.

I am currently stitching on several other BAP's - but will save the update pics for later in the week.

I also have made my reservations - hotel and plane for Celebrations in May. I also have signed up for way too many classes - but haven't received my confirmation letter yet - I will give it a day or two and then check on it.

I have been on a tear lately collecting house patterns - I joined a round robin organized by Carol. It should be great fun also.

My issue of SANQ just arrived - I was late in renewing my subscription; and so I was beginning to wonder if I would miss an issue or not. Now I am going to have to sit on my hands to keep myself from starting the Old Aviary Sampler, now that I have all the parts. So many projects, so little time!

Well, until next time, happy stitching, Margaret

It's Snowing!!!!

Finally, it looks like winter has arrived in Maryland. They were predicting a bad storm to arrive last night; but it looks like it arrived this afternoon instead - just in time for the weekend. I do like it over the weekend - when I don't have to get out and travel in it.

The mailman delivered a wonderful surprise today - it was my exchange item from the Quaker Quarterly Exchange on Legacy - it is a "pendibule" according to my exchange partner - the stitching and the finishing are just exquisite. I also love the aqua/teal/blue colors. It is the CHS Quaker from JCS 2006 and our intials are stitched on the back. I am so lucky - I plan to use it to decorate a knob on my stitching table. I tried to photograph it - but I think my son has better photo skills than I do. There was also a gorgeous hand made card included in the package which was dry-embossed with a lovely design as well as both of our initials.










Jo, on the exchange piece I made, I used glass head pins - a good source is a floral supply place - they are the same pins used for boutonnieres.

This weekend I plan to work on Chatelaine's Mystery Sampler III. I have started on the border, but I find the process of counting to be a pain; and so I work on the middles first!

Happy stitching, Margaret

Tried Something New

Here is my latest finish - it is for an exchange; and the object was to try something new. So, I tried a bunch of new things; and here is my final project. I expect my work will improve as I get more practice. Does anyone have any tips for joining linen with fabric backing without one or the other going askew?

I am really enjoying the Nashville Previews - I've already placed one pre-order and am working on my second. As if I really *need* more stash!!!

Again, my DS tore himself away from his computer game to take these photos for me.

Happy stitching, Margaret

Ornament SAL for 2007

Hi, I am still out here stitching. Here is a photo of my first ornament for 2007. It is the Red Berry Tree from Rosewood Manor. I changed from red berries to ice blue - in honor of the winter we are not having here in Maryland. (No complaints about that). My DS took this photo with his new digital camera.

I have been busy starting projects, but not so busy finishing them. I also have been spending lots of time reading blogs - I love to see what other people are stitching.

Until next time, happy stitching, Margaret

An Update, At Last

Hi, all, at long last I am taking a few minutes to update my blog. I have been doing some stitching; but I have not found a convenient way to post my progress pictures. I can use DH's digital camera; but posting the pictures takes forever. Additionally, I stitch in hand, and so my fabric is wrinkled. So now I have decided that I will not let that prevent me from updating!

The big projects I am stitching on currently include:
(1)Chatelaine's MIX on 28 ct. lt mocha Cashel linen - my other big mysteries are being stitched on this fabric as well. I am about halfway done with Part 1. There was quite a lot of stitching in this part.

(2)I am also stitching Sampler Mystery II on SW Legacy 28 ct linen. I have done the border frame - but the flowers were tedious, and so I will do a few of them each month.

(3)The third project is Amy Mitten's Not For Us Alone - and my only project that is current. This is part of the sampler stitch along at With My Needle.

My travel project is Eightsome Reel, using Vikki Clayton premium silk. I only stitch it during DS French Horn lessons and when I travel. I am really enjoying this project. It is very difficult to put it down - I estimate that it is about one-third done.

I also am current on the JCS Retro RR and JCS 2005 that I am part of. Well - I have done the stitching; I haven't made them up into ornaments yet.

My Band of Many Colors is ready at the framers. I will go and pick it up next Saturday; depending on how it turns out, I may let them take it to Woodlawn - one stitcher suggested that everyone who participated in the SAL and completed the project display theirs at Woodlawn. It should be interesting to see a group of them. Of course, I wouldn't be really entering a contest - my stitching is not of that caliber - I stitch in hand and do not railroad the stitches.

On the back burner I have Celtic Winter. I started this a long time ago; but the grays were making me crazy; so I will return to it later.

Well, this has turned into a long post, so I will close for now. I will go and check the Celebration of NW site to see if they have finished updating it yet. I have my plane tickets and hotel reservations already - so of course they have now decided to start the event a day early! Oh, well, I will just miss the first day!

Happy Stitching, Margaret in Maryland

Never enough time

I have decided to set up a rotation in hopes that I will finally finish SOMETHING!!! My tastes seem to go to large projects; the amount of time I have seems better suited to tiny projects. Here's the plan:

1. Stitch the Retro RR ornament as soon as the supplies arrive.

2. Monday - Celtic Winter

3. Tuesday - Mystery VIII

4. Wednesday - Band of Many Colors Sampler

5. Thursday - choice of projects

6. Friday - archived project of choice

7. Saturday - Celtic Winter

8. Sunday - Mystery VIII

I have been working on my Celtic Winter; the picture is not very interesting yet; right now I am working on the swirls at the bottom of the skirt - I don't like working with metallics (although I adore the way they look), so I am trying to get this out of the way early.

This past weekend, my stamping buddy from Charlotte NC came up to spend the weekend. We discovered a fabulous stamping/scrapbooking store and stamp club. Now I am hoping my inky fingers don't discolor my linen. We also painted one wall in the garage while my friend was here - not everybody you know is willing to help you paint your garage!!!!! She has my undying gratitude.

Oh, my Expressions linen Silkweaver Fabric of the Month arrived today. It is gorgeous. I couldn't be more pleased. It is the only stash I will be getting for a while. I have to save up for Chatelaine Mystery IX and Sampler Mystery II and Pearl Lights and Smalls (the list is endless!!!)

Well, that's all for now. Happy stitching, Margaret

Quick update

I don't have progress pics right now - but I will try to post some tomorrow. I finished my little dragon for the JCS Retro ornie RR - he is just adorable. I guess I was being cranky in my last post, when I was complaining about him. Anyway, I restitched him on Mocha Cashel, and am happy with the results. Thank goodness I had only used the DMC floss on my first attempt when I discovered my error - and I had plenty of floss to restitch him.

I started my Celtic Ladies SAL. I selected Celtic Winter and am using 28 ct. opalescent Lugana, Winter Skye, by Silkweaver. I am working on the right hand side border - so that I have something to count against when I do the dress. Two other reasons - I was concerned that the border would be boring because it is repetitive, and I need to get it done while I am enthusiastic about the project; and also I haven't decided whether to go with grays for the dress, or move more to blues. So far I am loving the project.

I decided to go with Silkweavers FOTM for the next six months as my prize for the Summer Fun Event. I just love the hand dyed fabrics, and can't get enough of them.

It has rained and rained this weekend. We certainly needed it; but I have 300 daffodil bulbs in my garage waiting to be planted. I wish they were in the ground!!! This afternoon while DH and DS are footballing I am going to the nursery and buy some mums - I just can't resist any longer. I may get some pansies also. Then tomorrow (a holiday) I am going to visit a LNS (the first since moving to Maryland). I have been in mourning because I miss the Stitch N Frame Shop (Rock Hill SC) since my move - I am now over that!!!

Happy stitching, Margaret

Time to Start Over

Gosh darn it!!! I miscounted on my ornament for the JCS Retro RR. My little dragon's tail is practically at his nose; and his arm and leg are not aligned. So, now, I can choose between the lovely options of unstitching about half of the little guy or starting over. Well, time is valuable, and a little floss and lugana are not hard to come by, so I think today I will start over.

I am still working to integrate my CATS purchases with my stash. I will have to go and get a plastic storage box for some of the older kits I guess.

That's all for now, Happy stitching, Margaret