Ann Pegg 1877

I have a finish!  I loved every stitch of Ann Pegg 1877 by The Scarlett House.  I stitched her one over two on Flax Edinburgh linen (I love the feel of this linen!) with the called-for colors. 

As always, I have another project "going"...Country Cottage Needleworks' The Nativity.  I'm using a scrap of linen with a little subtle mottling (I think 32 count) from my stash and the called-for colors and stitching 2 over 2.  

Sorry for the wonky picture.

Because I think I should always have a sampler going, I'll be deciding which one to start next.

We almost had an unwelcome visitor yesterday.  We were expecting tropical storm strength winds and some rain from Hurricane Laura.  We prepped for it to hit with the exception of boarding up the windows because the outlook for our area kept getting better and better.  (Boarding up is a lot of work!)  The storm veered to the east as the day went on yesterday and we hardly had any effects...just some nice breezes that made it nice to sit down by the lake in the evening. 

As relieved as we are to have been spared, we're heartbroken for the people who were slammed by this monster storm.

Be well and...............................................................

Happy stitching!

A Fall Finish and a Picture of a Framed Finish

Last week I felt like stitching something with a fall theme so I perused my stash and chose LHN's Autumn Sampler.  It is a thread pack that includes Belle Soie floss.  Loved stitching with the silks.  It's stitched one over 2 on Edinboro 36 count cream linen (also found in my stash) and I altered the design just a bit.  I omitted the word sampler, centered the word autumn, and filled the space with vines/leaves.

We finally remembered to go outside (to avoid glare) to take a picture of my framed HATS Jane Marshall sampler.  No glare but you can see my DH's arm.  lol!  I really enjoyed stitching Jane and have another HATS Little Gem waiting in the wings to be stitched.

Now I've returned to stitching Scarlett House's Ann Pegg sampler.

Happy stitching!

Progress

It's too hot to do much outside here in SE Texas and, since we're trying not to leave the house very much (thanks to COVID precautions), I've been stitching a lot.  Actually I've been enjoying getting to stitch so much...it's like building all this stash over the years was preparation for sheltering in place!

We're both healthy but have heard of some family and friends who have either tested positive for COVID-19 or have had mild symptoms.  I hope and pray that this pandemic will go away soon...but I think it will be with us for a long while yet.  My fall stitching camp was cancelled as has the International Quilt Show that was to have been held in late Oct./early Nov.

My stitching priority was to finish the stitching on our son-in-law's stocking and send it out to Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher so she can have plenty of time to work her magic on it.  The design called for white buttons on the snowman but I thought black buttons would more resemble "lumps of coal" like in Frosty's song.  Besides, I had some black buttons here already that would work.  I wasn't sure I liked the design but it was the one I liked best from the rest of the series that I hadn't already stitched for them.  Once I finished, I found I really liked it.  Often the pictures on the designs don't do the designs justice and I think that's what happened with this one.

I need to figure out which stocking designs to stitch for our son and his girlfriend.  I figure by the time I chose/stitch the designs that it will be too late to get them done for this Christmas.

Next, I finished stitching the PS Santa that I want to mount in a cute sled frame I found at Kohl's last year.  (I really hope they have those sleds again this year because I think they'd make great gifts for my kids.)

I decided to stitch Strawberry House for a SAL with the Littlehouse Needleworks/Country Cottage eedleworks group on Facebook.  I was in a hurry to start this one and, since I didn't have the buttons or one of the floss colors, I made do from my stash.  (Isn't it nice to have a big enough stash to be able to do that?)  It was a fun, little stitch.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it but I'll think of something.

I decided that the occasion of my birthday and an approaching tropical storm/hurricane (It turned  and mostly missed us.) was a good "excuse" to start a new sampler.  I'd had Ann Pegg 1877 by The Scarlett House kitted up with floss for a couple of years but just hadn't started it.  Well!  I'm enjoying this one so much that I can hardly put it down!  I'm quite a bit further along that the pictures show after stitching last weekend.

In the spirit of finishing up some of my wips, I'm stitching a few floss lengths on BBD Home of the Brave.  When I picked it up the other day, I had already stitched the alphabet, the house, and a little more.  I've been working on the flag for a couple of days now.  I haven't taken a picture yet of that wip.

I've found myself watching a lot of Flosstube lately.  It can get me into trouble as I'm seeing lots of things I want to stitch.  If only I could figure out a way to function with no sleep!!

That's all for this time.

Happy stitching!

July Already!

I'm not sure how this works but even thought we've been staying home more because of COVID-19 restrictions (and it's really spiked here in our neck of the woods!) and staying inside more because of the heat and humidity, the time has really flown by! 

One of our sons came for a visit but only after having himself tested for COVID-19 before risking bringing it into our house.  It was nice to spend a couple of days with him as we hadn't seen him since Christmas.

I've been reading/listening to the old "Irish Country..." series by Patrick Taylor which has been comforting in this crazy time in which we live.  While stitching, I often either listen to books or watch Flosstube.  Watching Flosstube is going to get me into trouble because I want to stitch everything my favorite Flosstubers are stitching.

I finished another model so I'm now working on my own things.  (The model I stitched before this one is about to be released so watch on Little House Needleworks for that one.)

Bent Creek Snowman Stocking is for our son-in-law.  This will finish up the stockings I'm making for their family although they've only seen the one for Paige so far.  I love sending them to Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher for finishing.  She does such a great job!  I'll post pictures of the finished ones here too.

I'm working on PS Santa 2008 that I hope will fit in a cute sled frame I found at Kohl's.

I've made a little progress on my True Virtue sampler:

I was in the mood to do some patriotic stitching so stitched Miss Liberty by Shepherd's Bush.  I'd had this kit in my stash for several years but didn't like the fabric included so I pulled out some from my stash that made it stitch up small enough to finish as an ornament or bowl filler...if I ever get around to FFO'ing it.  I also stitched a patriotic freebie by Cherished Stitchers (available exclusively to members of the FB Star Spangled Stitchers group).  I didn't have the called-for overdyes for this one so just pulled some colors I liked from my stash.

I'd also like to work on finishing up LHN's Melicent Turner (I'm so close!) and, since joining the FB group of One Nation Stitchers, I pulled out my languishing wip of that one.  I'm not even sure one of the colors I was using with that one so I'll have to figure it out.

I need to get back to work on Baby, It's Cold Outside and Lucy Redd sampler too...and I'm itching for a new start.  So, see?  I have plenty to keep me busy while staying home/inside.

Janet asked me about my color conversions for CCN's Liberty Lane, so here you are, Janet:

 Old                               New (DMC)

B5200                          3865

GAST Liberty               3750

GAST Rhubarb            3777

420                              420

640                              3031

937                              3051

3023                            611

3031                            3371

3347                            3052

Be well, stay safe, keep cool, and most of all..............

Happy Stitching!

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I've updated this blog.

We'd planned a 6-day trip to visit our daughter's family (and celebrate our granddaughter's 4'th birthday) starting March 10.  Thanks to COVID19 and the lockdowns, we opted to stay a "bit" longer, thinking it would only be another week or two.  It ended up as a total of 9 weeks there!  We ended up celebrating a total of 3 birthdays, Easter, and Mother's Day there.  Our daughter and son-in-law were trying to work from home with a 4 year old and a one-year old (He turned one while we were there.) and we served as "Grandma and Grandpa's On-site Day Care".  It was a blessing to get to spend so much time with them but they wore us out!

It was interesting living out of a suitcase for that long.  We are grateful to be able to order things we needed and have them delivered...toiletries, prescribed medications, etc.

I didn't take much stitching with me but I wouldn't have had the time or energy to do much stitching anyway.

Vonna, The Twisted Stitcher, contacted me while I was gone that she'd FFO'd the two Bent Creek stockings I'd sent her.  Since I had no idea at the time when I'd be home, I asked her to send them to me at our daughter's house.  As always, Vonna did a terrific job!  I have one more stocking to go and I'll be finished with their family's stockings.  (Then I have to choose and stitch stockings for our oldest son and his girlfriend as they've requested.  I'd planned to choose and start stitching them as soon as the 6-day trip was over but....they might not be done until next year now.)

I stitched a model while I was gone and I'm working on another one now.  In addition, I stitched a little patriotic piece by Barbara Ana and I'm working on Baby It's Cold Outside by Heartstrings Samplery and True Virtue, a sampler from an old JCS issue that I found while looking for something else in my wip pile.

 As usual, I have lots of things I want to stitch, both wips and new starts.  I'll never be bored, that's for sure!

Be well and....

Happy stitching!

Got Luck?

One of my FB stitching groups just started a Friday Freebie SAL and I chose for my first one "Got Luck?" by Plum Street Samplings.  I'll use it as an ornament for the skinny tree in my foyer that I decorate for the seasons.  I can use some more St. Pat's ornaments.

Happy stitching!

Kringles by Little House Needleworks

I was privileged to stitch the model for this new release by Little House Needleworks.  Diane really outdid herself on this design and I knew from the minute I saw the design before stitching the model that it was going to be something very special.  It was so fun seeing it come to life as I stitched it.

It's a big piece!  It also has the potential of stitching smaller portions of it if you don't want to stitch something that big.  My strategy for stitching large pieces is think of them in smaller portions.  It seems to work for me.

Fun fact!  I broke my arm during the time I was stitching the model.  I learned that stitching is a good rehab activity.  It especially helped with regaining my supination/pronation range of motion.

Kringles is being released this weekend at Nashville Market and will soon be available from your LNS or ONS.  (Call them now if you know they're attending Market.)

Happy stitching!