Mary Ann

Greetings! Just a little drive-by today. I abandoned my good intentions after a boring session stitching a long-term WIP, so I thought: Why not start a new sampler? Why not indeed? Introducing Mary Ann MacDonald, who's been in my stash for many years: I tore my stash apart yesterday looking for just the right fabric (Large pieces of the right color are in short supply at my house--guess a little restocking is in order. I had PTP in fog (too gray), Lakeside in magnolia (great color but that piece for some reason is somewhat flimsy), Lakside in navy bean, lentil and vintage examplar--all too dark). Then I unearthed this Picture This half yard in probably Legacy, and it did the trick, although I might have preferred something a little lighter. I had all the AVAS in my stash except for a few. A couple that I needed right away and didn't have or didn't like I converted to Silk n' Colors, and the rest I will pick up on Stitch Night when I'm at the shop.

Here she is. Mary Ann is by Scarlet Letter, of course.

A close-up. She is even prettier in real life. And I stitched the honeysuckles pinker than they are charted. The were originally charted for two salmony shades, and I wanted the brighter, clearer pink, especially since the two other samplers I am going to hang with Mary Ann have lots of pink in them. This will hang in Mary Ann's neighborhood. Lots of pink here. Pink: "You can never have too much Pink!" Happy week ahead!

Next!

Hi, all! Whoa, this new Blogger is a little challenging to work with. Of course, I could probably find some directions somewhere online, but I never read directions; Impatience is my middle name. Finishing Sarah a couple of weeks ago was such a kick that I decided there needed to be more finishes in my near future, so here comes Catharine McNeal, down the homestretch. The colors photographed less warm than they are IRL--it's late afternoon and the light is funky. But you get the idea. I'm thinking she should be done in the next two or three weeks. I need to clear the decks so that I can start Scarlett House's new Christmastide design, the new design that just popped onto the Essamplaire site, and a few others. (You thought I had reformed?) Next up for a finish this year will probably be Elizabeth Easdon by the Essamplaire; that's about 2/3 done.

Peaches is demonstrating patience here, bunny loaf style.

Happy week ahead!

Three Years

Greetings, all! Today is the last day of my one-week vacation, but I spent it well and satisfyingly: a trip to the Cape with my sister and Gilbert to see my dad (and spent some quality time with a plate of seafood at the Flying Bridge); and lots and lots (and lots) of stitching. In fact, I have a finish!

Sarah Hatton McPhail, reproduced by The Essamplaire. I started it in August 2009 on 32 count fabric and after a few months restarted it 40 count Lakeside Linen in maritime white using the AVAS that came in the kit. So three years, more or less. I stitched most of it as charted, except for whatever mistakes I might have made and changing the verses. A verse floating in the trees on the left, was to have said: "Regret succeeds folly" which I thought was too busy with everything else going on in this design. The right verse was to have said "Yourself respect," which struck me as a bit too Aretha Franklin-ish. I really did not want to mentally spell out "R-E-S-P-E-CEE-T!" every time I looked at it. In the end, because the last couple of years have been no walk in the park, I chose the marathoners' motto: "Endure" and my initials and year of completion.




I had expected to start a big new project when I completed Sarah (and I do have a major re-start in the wings), but now I'm addicted to finishing, so I've chosen one of my next closest-to-being-finished and favorite large projects, Catharine McNeal 1843, reproduced by Patty Yergey of Samplers Revisited. I love the colors in it, and I'm rocketing along, in spite of there being lots of over-one. I elected not to do the called-for satin stitches (every other thistle in the border, the roof of the house and the large tree on the lower right--see the photo of the project) and am a little sorry. All the same, I love this sampler for its quirky design and gorgeous, unique colors (NPI silks on the recommended Picture This Plus linen). Patty is both a fabulous designer/reproductionist and fun person; when I told her somewhat apologetically that I wasn't stitching it completely as charted, she got a little twinkle in her eye and said it was a shame I wasn't stitching the satin stitches, since those sections would have gone faster than cross-stitching them.




Because I flew to the Cape, I only took two projects with me--Sarah McPhail and my restart of Charlotte. Here's the cat I worked on quite a bit.


And a photo of the whole thing to date:


Also worked on this week: Esther Rondel 1822 by Queenstown Sampler Designs (NPI on 40 count Lakeside).



And Christinia Cathcart (AVAS on 32 count something)


Pink sends his greetings from his summer-camp willow teepee.


I miss posting more often, but I've had to choose between spending my scarce free time blogging or stitching, unfortunately.

Happy week ahead!

Fat Bottomed Girls

Hey, guys! It's been a while, but my job seems to be of the all-consuming, hours-eating type. At the end of the day I'm pretty well drained and every weekend is catch-up, so I haven't been blogging much, although I continue to stitch. Thank goodness that stitching is so calming. I've been working on much!

Here's where Sarah Hatton McPhail stands. Not finished, although close. I've got a little bit here and there--something on the border, finishing the four-sided stitch over the top of the navy letters/numbers, completing the boat and the lines in the water, doing some top stitching on bushes and trees, and a couple of over-one mottoes. I'm hoping to finish by the first Stitch Night in September, wherein my pals and I will be selecting a suitable frame.

Love the sampler but hate these little four-sided suckers, because you know, it's enough. This relationship is over. Time to move on.


Of course when a relationship goes bad, sometimes you cast your eyes around and start another relationship prematurely. My friend Carol M. loaned me this chart--I've been wanting to stitch it forever. Thanks, Carol! Blackbird Designs' "Blessings Be Thine" stitched on a piece of LL (vintage examplar, I think, 32 count) from my stash, using a conversion to Belle Soie silks from my stash.


Remember Hannah Carter? I hemmed and hawed over what to use for her.


Simple Cashel--everything is covered, so no sense using a nice over-dyed. I'm using the called-for AVAS with the exception of the background blue-green, for which I'm using Silk 'n Colors in Green Leaves (there are two Green Leaves--this is the dark). Hopefully the variegation will make it more fun to stitch all that background. And no, I'm not stitching it in the recommended one-stitch-at-a-time way--there's just too much of it.


I put a little work into Ann Dale: Big and Beautiful. I love this and am thinking ahead to Christmas (Christmas 2015 maybe). Called-for NPI on PTP 40 count fabric. Legacy?


Another new start: Sheepish Designs' "Spotless Innocence."


I'm stitching it on 40-count LL Examplar from my stash, along with a silk conversion of the DMC colors. It's a fun stitch.


Many thanks to a local stitching friend, Beth, who had listed the SI chart on ebay, and which I won in a bid, not knowing it was hers. She was destashing and generously gave me all of these Sheepish Designs! Thanks so much, Beth! I foresee many hours of happily sitting on my butt, stitching away.


Elizabeth is sitting in the sink, having her sticky pantaloons soaked clean in a plain warm-water bath. She appears serene here, doesn't she?


Noooooooo! Let me out!


On to stitch a bit. Happy week ahead!

Dead Wood

Hi, everyone! If you watch the Weather Channel, you probably know that on Friday night Virginia (and several other states) got walloped by a cluster of terrible thunderstorms that knocked down trees and killed power to over a million customers. They're estimating that power won't be restored to everyone until the end of the week. We were very fortunate; although the power flickered on and off about 20 times, it finally came back and stayed on. It's really hot--it was about 102 today, so we appreciated the A/C. Likewise we appreciated not having this tree limb fall on the car. The tree is being taken out tomorrow; the canopies of these pears (decorative--no fruit) are heavy and the wood is soft, so they tend to split easily.


With such high heat, there was nothing better than stitching inside all weekend. I worked on Elizabeth and Sarah, but I don't really have anything to show--just more alphabets. But here's a little progress on a snow globe Christmas ornament from 2011 by Blackberry Lane. I'm stitching with DMC over one on 30 count linen.


Here's a photo of the project:


And thanks to Nicole, who showed her "Charlotte Clayton," I took mine out. This is the third time I have started this project--I didn't like the fabrics I used in the last two. This is 40 count Picture This Plus, but I can't remember the name of the color. It's a very blotchy pink/orange that looks just right with the NPI colors of the design. So far I'm pleased.


We have kept cooking to a minimum to keep the house cool; the bunnies counsel eating lots of nice chilled salads. It's even better if you can eat them while lying on a chilly tile floor.


Happy Fourth! You know what I'll be doing, and it isn't going to be shooting off a bunch of firecrackers in the heat!

Travel to No Avail

My sister and I planned to go to the Cape this weekend to see my dad and attend his church's Strawberry Festival, always a fun event (lobster rolls! strawberry shortcake! linens table!), so we headed to National Airport after work and had a relaxing dinner and chat before we were to catch our 10 p.m. plane to Providence. As we walked to our gate after being both body scanned and frisked, we noticed that flight after flight was being canceled and there was a huge line forming in the terminal. We noted that our flight had been moved to 11 p.m. As it turned out, an FAA facility had caught fire in NJ and they had lost the ability to meter flights into and out of airports up and down the east coast, and there were thunderstorms in all the affected areas as well. So we got in line, anticipating that our flight was going to be canceled and reasoning that even if it wasn't, there was a good chance we'd arrive in Providence to find the car agency shuttered (everything there closes at midnight). We didn't want to lose the value of our ticket, although by now--11 p.m. and no sign of the plane--we decided we were too tired to continue regardless. So the exhausted ticket agent refunded our tickets, and gave our seats to two people who had lost out when their flight was canceled at 5 p.m. Hopefully they got to go. Gleefully, we headed back to the car and drove home. Written on our refund voucher are the words "travel to no avail." Lots of people around us in the line were traveling to no avail: the woman from Richmond doing the 3-day museum tour in Portland, Maine, who flew from Richmond to LaGuardia, only to have her plane routed back to DC. The woman flying to Boston for a wedding whose replacement flight on Saturday would get her there too late to attend. We'll try again next month.

In the meantime, I decided I'd clean a few closets and stumbled on this nearly finished project. And finished it! It's a very old project from a book I no longer have, and I started it in roughly 1990. It's on either 16- or 18-count white aida, using DMC. I'm going to frame it and hang it in the kitchen; I think its cuteness stands the test of time even though I don't like the fabric and there are a couple of indelible hoop marks on it. Had I traveled this weekend, I might never have finished it!


Since every finish deserves a new start, I started "Lilies" by Kustom Krafts, Inc. It's Heaven and Earthish, with every square filled with DMC. I want to hang it in a cottagey bedroom full of yellow.





I have not neglected my ongoing major projects either: here is Sarah Hatton McPhail:



And progress on Elizabeth Easdon:


And a close-up of the area I'm stitching now:


Speaking of Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Elvis finding time to cuddle in between renovations of their bunny cardboard tunnel (to date, three skylights).


Although I haven't been blogging much, I have been stitching, as you can see. Happy week ahead!

Woodlawn

Greetings, all! I had the opportunity to go to the Woodlawn Needlework show yesterday before working at the shop, and it was quite wonderful--very worthwhile. Unfortunately, as I mentioned last week, no one is allowed to photograph anything but their own entry in the show, so I could not take the photos of the various amazing needleworks that I had a chance to see. There were 649 entries, I believe, and they ranged from simple to elaborate. Many I was familiar with, particularly in the cross stitch division, but there were many wonderful designs I've never seen before and would love to get my hands on. Some I have in my stash (see below) and have a new appreciation for since I've seen them stitched up. None have design names on them though! For some reason, all the exhibits have the name of the stitcher and in many cases the framer on them--but not the name of the designer or the design!

This is a photo of Woodlawn Plantation. Woodlawn has a long way to go before it's in reasonably good shape--this is not a spiffy Williamsburg-type restoration. It is very, very primitive inside and the grounds are shabby. I'm happy that the entry fees and ticket sales, among other monies surrounding this show, will go to help restore Woodlawn. No air conditioning on a 90-degree day and looking at exhibits on the 2nd floor of the building--it certainly makes you think of the rigors of wearing a long-sleeved corseted dress in the early 1800s during the long Virginia summer.


Here's the guide to the exhibits. The cover photo is a design that was exhibited at the show. It is a map of the DC/MD/VA area's rivers with Mount Vernon and other local points of interest. It is both stitched AND painted. The design is by Catherine Jordan, who offers other maps as kits, and who also offers online map classes. I'm hoping she offers this one as a kit!


Speaking of Southern Plantations, I've made a bit of progress on Sarah Hatton McPhail this week. Here's the area I've been concentrating on.


Which is a bit of a change from last week.


This arrived at the shop. I'm excited about stitching it, but I'm hemming and hawing about the materials I'll be using--and my stitchy friends have announced that I need to finish Sarah before starting Hannah.


And this was one of the stitched exhibits at the show. I've had this design in my stash since the late eighties, and now might be the time to stitch it. Yup--I started it: DMC on some vintage Examplar Lakeside from my stash.


Pink and Peaches send greetings and hope you're keeping cool.


Happy week ahead!

Rabbit Run

Greetings, all! I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. My new job is all-consuming at the moment--learning the ropes and the procedures. I get home so over-stimulated and tired I'm virtually speechless (no doubt a relief to Tom), but it has helped calm me to stitch. And as I may have mentioned before, the light in my new office is so wonderful that I spend nearly every lunch hour stitching contentedly, so I've actually been accomplishing quite a lot.

Here's the latest shot of Sarah Hatton McPhail. The "before" photo is below. I've managed to nearly finish the bottom and the right lower corner and I've brought one of the alphabet lines to the right border. This photo is the truer color of the fabric. Frankly, although I love it, I'm finding it disappointingly small. I was going to mat it with a nice fabric (pink or blue linen) and then find the biggest gilt rococo frame they make for it so that it's more imposing on my wall. My walls are so bare that I'm afraid it will look like a speck otherwise. The kind ladies at stitch night were aghast at my plans and told me I would not be MATTING anything, nor would I choose a loud gold frame. We have decided, in fact, that framing Sarah will be a group activity on a stitch night, supervised by a number of my fellow sitchers, so that I do not make a horrible mistake. LOL!



Here's the latest on Elizabeth Easdon. I've made it to the right-hand border on the top. There's still a ton to do on this.



And a couple of new starts, which you may have noticed if you read the In Stitches blog. Here's this year's Mirabilia Santa, which I'm stitching on 32 count fabric with DMC, some sparkly Kreinik and lots of beads to be added later. I love stitching Santas, as many of you know.


And each year I try to stitch a Blackberry Lane designs Christmas ornament. Last year I stitched two and gave them away in a Christmas swap. The Blackberry Lane trunk show is in the shop, and I got so enthused about last year's model (everything's more enticing as a model, isn't it?), that I started it also.


Also soon on my plate: I've ordered the newest Scarlet Letter, and my copy of Gigi R's Virginie Grimoux has arrived at the shop. I had that awful decision to make for today: drive to the shop, pick up my new chart and miss a few hours with the needle, or stay home, stitch and plan to pick up the new chart when I work at the shop next Sunday? I decided to stay out of the car today, but it was a tough decision! Here she is:




Pink and I have missed everyone, and we hope to post a little more frequently as things calm down.


Happy week ahead.