A Little Bit More

Hi, everyone! Thanks for your kind comments! I had some questions that I'll answer here: Giovanna is right: I was thrilled to see that we can purchase (quite reasonably) Anagram Diffusion's charts online at www.broderie.net. Thanks, Giovanna! To Natalia: Christinia Cathcart was designed by The Samplar Workes. I run into it from time to time, so I don't think it's out of print. And Beth P: My LNS is In Stitches (I write their blog too at www.institchesshopblog.blogspot.com) in the Mount Vernon area of Alexandria, VA. They aren't very far off the interstate, and there are some eateries nearby where you can park your husband, plus if you have never been to see George Washington's former home, Mount Vernon, that is worth a trip too. In Stitches is about 12 miles from the DC line. [Note: why does the new blogger not let you create a new paragraph?] This was a busy stitching and stashing week, with the new Nashville Market merchandise in the shop. Just before Nashville though, I had purchased The Scarlett House's Rachel Howells 1856, and I started her this weekend. I couldn't resist those red pansies.

Here's what the chart looks like if you haven't had a chance to see it. I'm stitching it with the called-for NPIs, but I've substituted fabric--40 count fog by Picture This Plus.

I did a little more on Isabella Fox. I'm stitching her using the called-for overdyed cotton floss on 40 count Lakeside (I think it's Buttercream) from my stash.

And here's this week's progress on Anagram Diffusion's "Sampler Tendresse."

This is Pink's reaction to the news that he and the other three bunnies will be staying at the bunny spa while I go out of town. Tom is staying behind to work, but he thought that it might be nice to take a vacation from the bunnies. (Poor bunnies!)I'm headed to the Cape, which has had epic bad weather this year, and has my dad is climbing the walls--he's 86 and on a walker, so he hasn't been able to venture down the driveway to car, much less drive anywhere. I've promised him fun trips to do the small things that he hasn't been able to do lately. I'm looking forward to getting away from the traffic in this area--the Cape is quiet at this time of year. I plan to drive this time and take my cameras, so I'm hoping for some fun photos. Things I'd like to do along the way if the traffic isn't too bad: visit Logee's Greenhouses in Connecticut and drop by a place in Fall River that makes homemade pierogies.

What to Stitch and Eat During Snowquester

Hi, all! I'm enjoying a much-needed day off work, thanks to Snowquester, which is what they're calling winter storm Saturn (oh, for heaven's sake) in the DC area. (Just like a real snowstorm, only 20% less...?) We were supposed to get a foot or thereabouts, depending on what side of DC you live/work, so that scared the government, schools and most employers into calling everything off. We've gotten probably 5 inches or so of very wet, heavy stuff. I've been alternately stitching, clearing the driveway and eating all day. What fun I've had! I mentioned to a friend that I'd felt a little embarassed to post, since I can't seem to stick to anything these days--I'm working on perhaps a dozen things at once, all while watching the new things pour into the shop and planning more new projects. She encouraged me to post some of them anyway, so here we go: Catharine McNeal. The stitching goes on and on and on--over one. I should stop stitching everything else, of course, but the over-one is intense and I'm bored with it. And I don't like that I have two dyelots in the big tree on the right. I will probably leave it like that (it's supposed to be a repro, right?), but I've been on the fence about whether to frog the lighter (old) NPI and restitch it so that both sides of the tree match. Normally I don't believe in frogging unless it throws the math off everywhere else in the sampler or just bugs me too much, so we'll see. Note the woman's green faces--it's charted that way. Also note that I've put the year (2013) in already, which means I do plan to finish sometime this year.

And here she is, of course. I do love this sampler--I'm just having a tough time with distractions.

Distraction one: isn't it pretty? This is the first letter in a very large alphabet. I'm excited by it--even on 40 count it will turn out about 31" by 31" so it will solve the problem of looking like a speck on my oversized walls. Not a quick stitch, though.

Here's the chart: "Tendresse," by Anagram Diffusion. Sadly, hard to find AD charts these days (this was an ebay find). Don't know if they're out of business or just don't sell in the U.S. The fabric was cannibalized from a GigiR Designs that I will have to restart, because the color of the fabric (PTP in sand) was too assertive for the other sampler. It's perfect for this though. I did a conversion from the Anchor threads recommended (3 colors) to NPI.

Here's a quicker stitch: I'm making progress on "Blessings be Thine" by Blackbird Designs. Love this stitch.

Here's the chart--out of print, but loaned to me by a friend (thanks, Carol!)

Here's one of several new starts: Margaret Kramer by Handwork. I think of this as an oldie because it's out of print, but the copyright on it is 2001, so it really hasn't been around that long. I did a conversion from the recommended DMC to AVAS, and I'm stitching it on a stark white 40 count linen. The chart called for 32 count hand-dyed (sandpiper) linen.

Here's the chart--also very fun to do.

I'm making slow but steady progress on Christinia Cathcart--such bright colors. In fact, everything I've been working on is bright and cheerful--a nice antidote to this gray winter weather.

Here's Christinia's chart. I am stitching her on 32 count fabric (something overdyed), using the called-for AVAS. Fortunately the thickness of AVAS is such that the coverage is adequate even using one over two on 32 count!

Having a big storm forecast means shopping for fun foods. I can't recommend these highly enough--they're Sumo mandarins from California, and they're super sweet, juicy without being messy and seedless. They're also hideously expensive at about $2.50 apiece. Yes, they're that special; and they were passing out samples at Wegmans, so I got just two of them a couple of weeks ago. When I went shopping to stock up before the storm on Monday night, apparently a lot of people had decided that the price was too high, so the store was getting rid of boxes of them and had slashed the price so that they cost about the same as a regular navel orange. Try them if you can find them; you won't regret it.

We love odd flavored snacks here also: these taste amazingly of bloody mary--celery, horseradish, tomato, vodka, even though there's no vodka in them.

Kitten-Kitten is hanging out with Elizabeth, who just had had a sink bath of her sticky bottom.

She is completely unfazed that he puts his arm around her; instead of running so he can chase her, she just gives him the eye.

Happy week ahead--what's left of it.