Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Making Up for Lost Time

   I haven't posted in so long I don't know if I remember how and so much has been happening that I'm not sure where to begin!!  Maybe I need to look at my last post and refresh my memory of where I left off.  Okay, I think I can catch you all up now!!
  After I finished the gift for my FDIL, I rushed it to the framer so I could have it back in time for her birthday, which we were celebrating at the beach.  This is what it looks like now.


(Sorry for the glare, it is under glass.  I love the frame on this and according to my framer, it is a molding specifically designed to match DMC colors.)
  Then I moved back to working on  Harriette Coe.  Every day I would say, 'Surely this will be finished in a couple of days and then I can post to the blog.'  And every day, it didn't happen!!.  I churned away and churned away until my stitching time became just about nil because I had to start getting ready for the beach!  I finally put the last stitches in  it just last night and I am so happy to have it finished!!


I stitched it on my usual 40 ct. so it is pretty small.  But it sure did seem to take forever!!  I have included the close-up below so you can see all of the animals.  The chart says all the eyes are to be stitched in the red.  There was no way I was going to do that!!  What are they then, Vampire animals??  Werewolf animals?? So, I just left the eyes blank.  It seemed like a much better choice to me!




   We try to go to the Outer Banks twice a year, in the spring and later, in the fall. We like the off season when there aren't so many people and not as much traffic.  We do, however, travel with an entourage.  This last trip there were only 7 of us but we have had as many as 18 in the past. We haul in all of our provisions like we are going to the wilderness or something. We carry in linens, food supplies, water, you name it.  That requires a lot of prep work.  Luckily, The Hubs has taken over the cooking so he does all the menu planning and food shopping for the week.  There is a huge perpetual list we work off of each time so the planning has already been done but the gathering, shopping and packing are a big, multi-day extravaganza.
   So, the week before the beach trip, I had my weekly stitch group on Monday, the regular EGA meeting on Tuesday, which left me with the rest of the week to get my act together for the trip.  Not just for the trip, but also getting the house together for guests since everyone congregates here before going on down the road.  I had already packed my stitching bag so the important stuff had been taken care of at least!!
    Wednesday morning, I woke up with a sore throat.  I did okay for the first couple of days but the 3rd day is always the worst for me and by then, I was feeling pretty wrecked. I haven't had a cold in a long time so I may have just been being a baby about it but no medicine helped and I was living on Advil and Halls cough drops. By Friday night we were talking about me staying home for a few extra days and driving down later in the week.  I gave it serious consideration but in the end, I wasn't sure I could make the 3 1/2 hr. drive by myself, even later in the week, so I went with the crowd.
  And so glad I did or I would have missed this...

Sunset over Frisco, NC  Sunday night

  So, I laid low for most of the week.  I read and relaxed and gradually got to feeling better.  I went shopping with my son and FDIL and had a lovely lunch out.  We didn't make it over to Ocracoke and we never made it out to dinner, 2 things we traditionally do every trip, but we had fun none the less.  And I got to wake up to this every day!!

The view from my bedroom

   Toward the end of the week, I did finally feel like doing a little stitching.  I got back to work on Harriette and wouldn't you know it, I ran out of the color I needed to finish!!  I took it as a sign and moved on to something else.  The Red House Sampler saw a little work.  Not a lot, but some.



Such a gorgeous piece and really in need of a slot in the rotation.  Not really sure what has happened to the rotation either but I need to get that worked out again too!
   Then,  last but not least, I started the Blackbird SAL piece last night after I finished Harriette.


I kind of went my own way with the colors, brightened some up and toned some down.  It will be interesting to see what everyone winds up with in the end!!  Its a small piece and shouldn't take too much time to finish.     Then, I guess I need to get back to the rotation, whatever that may look like now.  I am several months behind now in a couple of the Year Long Sals I joined and I, maybe unwisely, joined a couple more recently!! I have vowed to not add to the UFOs this year so completions are what's called for!
  Recently, I was looking at the list I made at the beginning of the year of my stitching goals for the coming year. Some of the things in the 'to finish' section still haven't seen the light of day.  It's nearly June, half the year gone already!  I need to get busy!!

Hope you're enjoying your stitching as much as I am,  Laura

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

I think this post falls into the continuing disasters category!

    When last we met I was planning to work on a piece for my mother's birthday.  I had decided to finish the cream colored piece for her since a) the pulled patterns were showing up more nicely and b) it was farther along and should have been quicker to complete.  Needless to say, that didn't happen!!
    I got the rest of the pulled patterns in and had moved on to the satin stitch flowers in no time at all.  I was confident that I would be able to wrap it all up in just a few days and be able to move on to the next project I had slated for completion.  Then, out of the blue, things started to go awry.  I can't even tell you what the problem was because even though I ripped out the 3rd petal three, I said THREE times, it still wasn't right and couldn't figure out why!!
    It didn't become a fireplace piece, although I did give that serious consideration.  Nor did I throw it in the trash although that sounded pretty good too!  I took it off the frame, folded it neatly, and put it all away.  I don't know what will become of it.  I may go back to it later and try again.  I may decide to change the flowers in the corners to something in cross stitch, I really don't know at this point.  All I can say is my mom didn't get it for her birthday and since this is was her 75th, I don't know if she ever will!!
     After all of that drama, I managed to get myself into 2 other SALs.  I think I have a mental illness where this is concerned! I get caught up in the excitement of the group (Group Hysteria??) and wind up signing up for more projects than I really have time for. But, I guess that's fun too and spurs me on to get other projects finished up.
    Since I have signed up for more SALS on Facebook, plus I plan to do the new Blackbird one that will be starting on the 12th, I decided I needed to reduce the rotation.  I am trying to NOT add to the UFO list so a couple of finishes are in order.  I managed to wrap up the Quaker Medallion Sampler last night!

40 ct Lakeside Linen w/ my own
GA Sampler Threads conversion
This is a current Facebook SAL so I can cross this one off the list now and add a new one.  A very pretty sampler and one that was in the stash for quite a while.  I bought the chart twice so I must have REALLY liked it!!  No trip to the framer for this one. It is destined to be a birthday gift for one of my stitchy friends!!
     I have also been working on Harriette Coe.  Not as much work done on this one but it will be the subject of some intense  attention over the next week or so and will be the next one I finish.



It is such a pretty sampler and once again, on 40 ct, almost fits within the Qsnap!!
     That's about all for now.  I have to go kit 3 new projects and see if my can make some further progress on Miss Harriette tonight.  Should have a guaranteed 3 hrs. plus to work on her since we'll be watching baseball. Wish them luck! Our Indians are currently in the basement in their division and need all the help they can get!!

Stitch On!
Laura