Whoppers

Greetings, All! I skipped the malls this weekend and stayed home to stitch. It's been ages since I've been able to do that for a full day, much less two. I'm thinking ahead to January, which for me will be a blend of old and new projects. I'm making my list (and checking it twice). Of course, I got so enthused about starting something new that I had to dig in, so here it is. Mystery project (unveiled in January), stitched on Maritime White Lakeside in 40 count, using AVAS from my stash. This is an old, old chart, which is still available. I call this pre-stitching, by the way. It's a monstrously large project too. I have several whopper projects scheduled for the New Year.


Next up is my old friend Sarah Hatton McPhail. She's coming along, but there's lots of stitching to be done yet, and she's pretty densely packed with stitches. I don't think that I'm going to be able to make the framing deadline (January 6) for entry of this project in the Woodlawn show. On the other hand, my contract job ends on December 23, so I have a couple of weeks to devote to it full-time, but given my interest in new starts and old re-starts, I doubt I'll make it. I'll be spending some time on Cape Cod in January with my dad, and I'm hoping to do some good beach-walking, trying new-to-me beaches in Chatham, Truro, Provincetown and Yarmouth. I love winter beaches, and I hope to be able to capture the charm of them to post alongside my stitching photos.


And what's Christmas without a little Christmas project? Here we have Cinnamon Stick Santa XXIII by Homespun Elegance, "Such Delight." I'm stitching it on a 32 count mystery linen from my stash using the called for DMC, GAST and Wisper fibers.


The Wisper is a lot of fun (it's the fuzzy brown strip to the right of Santa's shoes).


And speaking of fuzzy:


Happy week ahead!

Borrowed Light

Hi, all. I've had a nice opportunity to stitch this weekend, and here are some of the results: I've started Anniversaries of the Heart by Blackbird Designs. The colors are just beautiful, although to show you the stitching, I had to throw a little more light on the fabric, which has washed it out a bit. I'm working on 40 count Lakeside Meadow Rue using the recommended GAST, WDW and CC fibers. The first design is "Snow Garden," of course, perhaps containing the most subtle colors of the 19 designs (and the most problematic for choosing the right fabric). The bonus for working on this year-old series is that I know what it looks like finished up and what the bonus charts are. I'm interested in working on Margaret Cottom (La-d-Da), but I am being typically cautious and waiting to see the whole thing.


I visited with a stitching friend, who has completed this design: "Menagerie" by Drawn Thread. I'm using a piece of fabric from my stash--Lakeside, possibly Pecan Butter in 40 count, using the recommended NPI and Dinky Dyes fibers. The completed design is beautiful IRL, although the copied photo on the chart doesn't do it justice. Great charting though, which counts for a lot, but: Designers! Large clear photos sell more charts! Don't hide your light under a bushel--or a dimly copied or digitized cover!


I love the calming colors of these two projects. I've also spent the long weekend putting the finishing touches on a stitched or knitted gift (not tellin'!) for a needlework event I'm attending in December. I'll show photos after the recipient has had a chance to see it. Does it make you nervous to stitch for stitchers? I find myself looking at it more critically than I normally would. I'd hate for someone to look at my stitching/finishing and think: "Amateur. Perhaps you should take up bowling."

Lots of my neighbors have gotten busy with their Christmas lights already. This year I probably am not going to do much in that department, and I'll just enjoy theirs. We laughed last night about the wattage from across the street leaving burn marks on the outside of our house, but the display is well done and cheerful--borrowed light.

Here are the bunnies, having a conference through the bars.

A Little Stitching

Hi, all. Blogger--or my internet connection--is slow tonight, so just a quick post of what I've been working on this weekend. Although I'm back from the Cape, I'm trying to catch up with the cleaning, grocery shopping, spreadsheet for work and whatever else I'm supposed to be accomplishing. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is this week.

Dorothy Walpole: with my ongoing sadness and with the dull weather, the flowers on Dorothy were just what I needed.


This guy was a big help too. He inspected the luggage carefully, no doubt hoping for a treat, but also out of curiosity. Had I left it there long enough, he'd have crawled into it and nested in my clothing. I removed it, picturing doots hanging off my favorite sweaters when I put one of them on early in the morning. Not to worry, though. The treat is leaning against the wall; you can see a corner of it (timothy hay with "herbs": rose petals, rosemary and some other stuff that makes it fragrant.


It's nice to be back. Happy week ahead!

Thank you, Everyone

I want to thank all of you for your comforting and supportive comments and emails. My mom passed away peacefully in hospice care. Today was her funeral, and it was a beautiful service with hymns and a moving eulogy provided by the priest.


Afterwards there was the most fabulous luncheon, created and hosted by the kind ladies of the church. Those little sandwiches in the front are lobster salad rolls; and there were lots of other tidbits and treats, including crab-and-cheese appetizers, sweet breads, vegetables and dip and tons of desserts. Thank you to the wonderful women (and men) of Saint Barnabas who served a delectable and comforting lunch.


I'll be back Sunday. In the time between my mom's passing and her funeral, desperate for some cheer and normalcy, I started a bright, fun Christmas design. I'm also looking forward to going back to stitch nights at In Stitches.

Glenna

Hyannis

Hi, all. I've missed posting here, but last Thursday I got the kind of phone call we all dread: my mom had collapsed at home and had been taken to the hospital. My sister and I rushed to Cape Cod to be with her and my dad.

She isn't going to make it, but we're spending as much time as we can with her at the hospital in Hyannis. She has a beautiful private room overlooking the harbor; we can see the boats going in and out. She would love the room if she were aware. The people at the hospital are the nicest, most competent, most compassionate professionals we've ever met, both in the ICU and in her current room. I can't believe how lucky we are to have received such treatment from such kind people.


Cape-themed art fills the walls of all of the floors, and I have spent some peaceful time gazing at the beautiful ceramics, paintings, weaving and photographs.


I have been working a little bit on Liz Easdon, on simple things that don't require much counting.


My parents' neighbors and friends, and the minister of their church have all been wonderful, and we're so grateful for everyone's kindness. I'm going to take a break from blogging, but I didn't want to just disappear.

Hug your moms.

Just One More Row: Ruthy and Mary Ann

Greetings, all! Do you suffer from "just one more...[row][stitch][thread]" syndrome? I do, consequently, I am not getting a lot done around the house, although Ruthy (and now Mary Ann) are profiting. If you're thinking of stitching Ruthy, she's very time-consuming, but a fun and absorbing stitch. She may have been stitched free-hand by the original stitcher, but you and I, if we want Ruthy to look as her picture does, are going to have to count and count and count. And outline. And stitch and stitch and stitch. And after an intensive week of this, you'll look at her and think simultaneously "ahhhhhh" and also "That's all I accomplished even though I haven't eaten a real lunch in days and haven't folded the laundry and gone grocery shopping so that we're down to eating Triscuits and cream cheese over the sink for dinner?"


I finally put Ruthy away. I was tired of outlining leaves and satin stitching them, and tireder still of the filling stem stitch. I wanted to cross stitch! So I pulled out Mary Ann Gollins and finished up the basket in the center of the row.


Here's most of what I've accomplished so far. There's a lot left to go. But after all of Ruthy's outlining and filling and counting, it feels like Mary Ann is flying. [Edited to add: I started Mary Ann Gollins early this year. I did a conversion to silks from what I had on hand: AVAS, NPI and a couple of Silk 'n Colors. I'm stitching her on 40 count Picture This Plus Legacy. I stopped because I suffered uncertainty and doubt about her colors. While the charting is fine, the photo of the finished project is not clear and so badly reproduced that even the colors are not a sure thing. Added to which, the called for fibers are Madeira, so in order to do the conversion I had to find a conversion from Madeira to DMC then to silk, and I limited myself to what was in my stash since I wasn't working at the time. So I was left feeling uneasy about my choices, although I've decided to just get on with it, since in the end, who's going to know? For me, indecision=paralysis, and not just in needlework.]


Off I go to get some chores done and then go back to stitching...something.

Pink: "And spend some time with the bunnies."


Happy week ahead!

Specialty Stitches

Greetings, all! A couple of ladies have arrived: Ruthy Rogers and Anne Anthony. Ruthy is going to be a huge challenge, but I think she's going to be well worth it. I am stitching Ruthy using 36 count Lakeside vintage examplar and AVAS. Scarlet Letter samplers generally don't specify a fabric, and I had a hard time deciding between examplar and tundra (which is a gray/green/blue, if you're not familiar with it). It's almost beside the point since most of the sampler is covered in stitches, except for the border.


We got into a scuffle right out of the package. I'm determined to do this sampler as the original was done, using the filling stem stitches. They add a texture and interest you simply will not get from cross stitches. Although this sampler can be done in all cross stitch, I don't recommend it. I think something will be lost--the lovely crayon-y, naive folky look. Plus you'd have to be willing to do quarter and half stitches. But my initial stab at the filling stems was not encouraging. Note this closeup of my first attempt. Disappointingly sparse. You can see the outline stitch and the fabric between the lines. The photo of the stitched sampler shows lush, full stitching. I didn't want my stitches to look like a bad comb-over with scalp showing through. Hmmm.


So I continued stitching the counted part of the sampler with one thread and doubled the thread on the filling stem sections. Ahhhh--much better. Plus, it has the added bonus of filling it faster. A couple of cautionary words, though: in order not to go astray, you need to outline each of the motifs to be stem-stitched; and you really need to follow the directions in terms of stitching the counted cross stitch sections first. They will serve as kind of a frame or scaffolding, so that you can attach the stem-stitched sections; otherwise you will not be able to count accurately. I will stitch a section of cross stitches, then add the stem-stitches sections to vary things, and will move through the chart that way. One of the fun aspects of the stem stitches is that they don't head off in a consistent direction. The chart shows the direction they're stitched. The end result will look like random fill-in, which after the nice predictability of our normal, neat cross stitching, goes "against the grain."


Taking a step back to see more of the design:


I'm still working diligently on Sarah Hatton McPhail.


She has specialty stitches too. From the top: the first row is a row of long-arm crosses in a tan color, over-stitched with blue diagonal stitches and finished with a stem stitch in gold above and below the crosses; the script alphabet is cross-stitched in blue and then those stitches are four-sided stitched over in gold floss (blue and pink in the top row that I haven't stitched yet); the next row down is a series of long-arm crosses; beneath that are capital letters in tan four-sided stitch; then below that are gold rice stitches outlined on two sides with blue.


Anne Anthony arrived in all her splendor. I subbed out the linen for Lakeside Pecan Butter in 40 count. Those little over-one people are going to be a bear to stitch, I imagine.



I spotted Carriage House's "Noah" stocking at In Stitches. I've been meaning to start it forever, so I picked it up (along with the "Virtuous Woman" stocking). No specialty stitches, although I'm sure the finishing will be a challenge.


Forty count Lakeside (Examplar) using NPI as charted. The coat's a snooze, but I'm looking forward to getting to the animals.


I got this out again. I stopped it because I wasn't fond of the over-one coverage on 32 count, but really, I think it looks all right. So I re-kitted it, having cannibalized the threads. One problem--I had not noticed when I stitched it previously that the yellow capital letters should be rice stitches. I really like rice stitches, and I think these letters would look better done that way. Trying to decide whether to take them out and re-do, or just leave and continue with cross stitches. Oh well, not fatal either way.


Here we have a nice example of a bunny loaf. Peaches: "I am not loafing!"

May your week have ample opportunity for loafing and stitching!

Moves Like Jagger

I have been trying to become someone who stitches and finishes rather than someone who just stitches, so that means taking those few finished projects that have been languishing in a drawer or a bag and getting them framed (at In Stitches, of course, where they know how to treat a piece of needlework). "Gone Fishing" by Sheepish Designs, mostly as charted (in DMC) on mystery Lakeside 32 count.


Here's a closeup that shows the colors in the wood frame.


I have been toiling (although it's an enjoyable toil) on Sarah Hatton McPhail. Here's the before picture as last shown (June-ish?)


And here's where she stands now.


I crammed as much stitching as I could into this weekend, so that I wouldn't feel bad when the new girl arrives, since I ordered the new design from The Essamplaire. Have you seen her? After having gone to Newport in August to see the Rhode Island sampler exhibition, how could I not stitch her? I'm thinking it might be a nice challenge to stich all the Rhode Island samplers I can get my hands on (and remembering I've started both Elizabeth Sheffield (Scarlet Letter) and Wisdom (Vermillion) and I own Sheepish Designs' Mary Tillinghast. There are others out there too, which I'm thinking of acquiring. This photo is from The Essamplaire's website.


Speaking of which, here's "Wisdom" as I left it.


Elvis says he moves like Jagger. Pink: "He moves like Jagger but he looks like Richards."




Happy week ahead!

Every Day I'm Shufflin'

I spend too much time in the car, listening to the radio, and the song linked to my title has been running through my head.

I've made some progress this week on Elizabeth Easdon. Here's a closeup of the section I worked on. It's more fun to do the various motifs (although even they're getting old, frankly), so I decided to knock out some of the alphabet. Fortunately the border is minimal. I'm driving ahead on it because I really want to finish before the framing deadline in January for the Woodlawn show. I'm not good about sticking to stitching stuff, but so far, so good.


And here it is in its entirety so far. The photos aren't quite true to the colors, as the weather is cloudy and gray.


To give myself a break from the greens, I'm working on Tanya's Sarah Elizabeth Brooke 1842: I don't normally do the border ahead of time, but I wanted to make sure I had a large enough piece of fabric. Clearly, I do. (Yes, I measured and counted--twice--but normally I work on a half yard and cut off whatever I haven't used when I'm done. That way, I never run out of room, even if I've miscounted.)


Outdoor Bunny: "Shufflin' Shufflin'."


Happy week ahead!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Greetings, all! I spent a lot of time with Elizabeth Easdon this week (and also with Sarah Elizabeth Brooke--pictures of her progress next week). This isn't all of what I accomplished; I worked on the alphabet at the top as well. I'll do a full picture soon when I get more of that done.


Here's a close-up of the peacock on the house (a hovering peacock, since I've not stitched his legs). I've also started the critters on the lawn. These two are over-two; there are quite a few over-one critters to come.


You may have heard about our epic rains and flooding last week. During the first hour of my four-hour commute home from work on Thursday night I amused myself with my camera. The traffic moved at under 10 mph all the way around the Beltway--note that I've allowed myself a little extra room so as not to rear-end anyone while I was shooting.


Heavy traffic in bunnyland.


Happy week ahead!

Labor Day Stitching

Greetings, all! Other than working at In Stitches yesterday, it's been a weekend full of stitching and house cleaning chores for me. I have to agree with Barbara's statement that fall bring out the housekeeping bug in me--not spring. In the spring I want to garden and get outside. Of course, it won't really be fall for me until the leaves begin to change and we can open the windows to the breeze--somewhere around mid-October--since it's still in the 80s and 90s here.

In spite of my resolution to finish a large project, I took out a smaller one to work on and bought two new ones. So here is Miriam Chilvers, which I started a while back. I like the calming colors. I forget what color Lakeside I'm using--probably Navy Bean. and I'm using the charted AVAS fibers.


Here's a photograph of her chart (Samplers Remembered).


Yesterday I worked at In stitches from 12:30-4:30 and bought up everything in sight, it seems. I brought a small finish to be framed that has been in a drawer for 3-4 years. Ellen, who has impeccable taste and an eye for color, helpd me choose the frame; I'll show you when it's done. Purchase number one is "Sarah Elizabeth Brooke 1842" by The Scarlett House. She is charted for 40 count Lakeside Vintage Meadow Rue, but I selected 40 count Strawflower instead. I'm using the Belle Soie silks, which I haven't used much in the past. They are so smooth and rich--I'm hooked.


I also picked up "Halloween Party" by Just Nan. I'm stitching it (see the little witch's hat with a spider on it?) using the recommended GAST and DMC fibers and some 34 count Legacy Puritan Gray from my stash. The beads come with the chart.


I picked up the newest Debbie Bliss magazine, which shows this sweater. Believe it or not, this sweater has 6 different colors of yarn in it. I am glad that I took a fair isle knitting class last year. I can tell you that fair isle knitting is a lot easier than it looks. For one thing, there are never more than 2 colors in one line of the pattern, so it's easier to keep track of the changes. Plus the patterns are laid out like a counted cross stitch pattern, the only difference being that you read row one from right to left, and row two from left to right.


Of course I also picked up the yellow bunny needlepoint that I had saved. What with the framing and the needlepoint, knitting and counted cross stitch, I kept myself busy selling to myself yesterday. (I am an excellent customer, and I hope I come back soon!) It's going to be a busy fall and winter on the stitching and knitting front!

"We don't have any hobbies, except for eating, dooting, sleeping and chewing the woodwork."


Happy week ahead!