A Visit from the Finishing Fairie

   At the time of my last post I was expecting company.  My good friend from Atlanta, who also is a wonderful finisher, came to visit and we had a GREAT time!  There was stitching, lots and lots of stitching. Good food, provided by my husband the family chef as well as various restaurants in Virginia and North Carolina. Shopping adventures which included the addition of so much stash I think we might be keeping the industry afloat between the two of us!!
  Then there was the finishing. Lots of wonderful finishing! You may remember that I stitched this lovely back in August.

Stacy Nash Summer
 Gathering Pin Drum

I absolutely adore this piece but had the most terrible time trying to do the finishing. I asked my friend if she would do it while she was visiting and she graciously agreed.  This is what it looks like now after her considerable skill was applied. So, so cute!  I can hardly stand it!!

   Then we went to the beach for a glorious week of more stitching, eating, walking on the beach, more shopping, etc.  I think you're getting the picture.  I actually had a finish while at the beach and you may remember this one.

Scarlett House
A Sampler  Grew

 It took me a lot longer to finish the stitching than I thought it would (Surprise, surprise!!) but there was also a lot more over one than I realized.  This is the what it looks like now. Love it!!

 It is stitched on Lakeside 40 ct. Maritime White with the  listed colors.  We found the chenille on our trip to Dyeing to Stitch on our way to the beach. It was a nice break in a long drive. And a real treat since I hadn't been there in quite a while. So long in fact that they had moved the shop, a year ago, and I didn't know it!!  Just down the way from where they were before though so we had little trouble finding it.
   I had kitted up several fall inspired pieces prior to the beach trip and after I finished stitching 'A Sampler Grew', I pulled out Beggar's Night. This has been very popular. I have seen it finished on several other blogs and just had to stitch it.
    Mine is stitched with the Gentle Art conversion. Pumpkin Pie is now my favorite color!!   I did make a couple of color changes, one to accommodate the color of the pumpkin on my choice of linen, again the Maritime White, and the other for the raven. I could not stitch him in any color but black!!!  It worked up pretty quickly so I had a start and finish while at the beach.

  The next piece is from the current JCS Ornament issue.  We both love the Victoria Sampler cupcake and when my local shop had the finishing kits for it I couldn't pass them up.  I got one for me and one for my friend for her October birthday!  We got those stitched up pretty quickly, just a bit of basic hardanger and some sewing on of buttons and beads and it was good to go.  These are just too cute for words!!

  Then, (I know this is getting long) while searching for something else, I came across a piece I thought was lost.  I have been looking for it forever and just could not remember where I had put it!!  You know what I mean, this has happened to you too! Put it in a safe place and then can't remember where that is!!
   Anyway, it was a pre-stitch piece for a finishing class.  Loved it and thought I would once again tackle the finishing demon and learn how to do this.  I found the stitched part right before my friend got here and she WANTED TO DO THE FINISHING FOR ME!!!  How could I deprive her of that pleasure??

   This is another class designed by Holly.  It was a President's Challenge for her guild and you pick all your own colors.  I saw it on her blog and immediately approached my sampler guild to have her come and teach it.  I knew right away what colors I wanted to use and I actually had that silk tucked away in my stash.

The other supplies I collected from various places online, just looking at pictures on the computer, and I think it all matches pretty well.

   Well, that's about all for now. We had a terrific time together and I believe there was some discussion of me coming to her house next time.  I don't relish the drive through Atlanta and I won't be able to stay for 2 weeks but I am sure we will have a great time!!!!

*I also feel like I need to make a disclaimer here.  I did not chain my friend to a rock and make her do finishing the whole time she was here.  I had fully expected her to take the finishing home with her to be done at her leisure.  She did all of that finishing, including another one of the cupcake ornaments that she stitched and finished for herself,  in a remarkably short period of time.  She's just that good!!!

Finally, a little sunshine!!

  It was rainy and overcast here in the burg for a solid week and I thought I would lose my mind before I was the sun again!!  Finally, this afternoon the sun has broken through the clouds and we have another glorious day!  I used to think I would like to live in the Pacific NW with the rain forest and the mountains nearby but I think I would probably have SAD and have to spend all my time under one of those lights since they have so many days of rain!
  I finished my other October birthday gift about a week ago but it has been too dark to take a picture.  I finally go one today.  This is the finish of Alpine Garden.

I didn't worry about her seeing it since she picked it out for her birthday this year.  This completes the set; she will have all 4 of these gardens now.
   I also managed to get some time in on this little cutie even though I've been prepping for company and haven't had as much time to stitch as I would have liked.

My visitor is the recipient of the Alpine Garden and we are going to celebrate and stitch for over a week!  I should have the little sampler above and several other things finished by the time she is ready for home!!

Still Chugging Along

  I have been working diligently on my October birthday stitching since the last post and I thought I would be finished by now.  I am usually working right up to the deadline but I got a pretty good jump on it this year and had grand hopes of an early finish. Alas, it was not to be.
  The friendship/birthday sampler I was working on turned out to be harder than I thought.  Hats off to all of the designers out there who manage to put bands and colors together in a pleasing fashion for all of us to go crazy over. IT IS HARD!!! Even so, I did manage to make a go of it and I like the way it came out.  This is the part that I added, starting with the wandering vine. There are supposed to be beads but I think I will leave that to her, if she wants them.

   I added a band of Ukrainian whitework and then a pretty darning pattern, both of which I took from Shepard's Bush pieces. (That is the theme she wanted for her friendship sampler.)

   This is what the whole thing looks like now.  I will have to get it in the mail soon in order to have it there in time for the big day.  I think she is going to be shocked to see it!! And hopefully happy.  I have had it for so long now that I hope she still like this style!

   After I finished the one above, I started back to work on my other October birthday sampler.  I had the first band finished about 5 years ago and put it away and stitched something else for her.  After getting back into it, I now remember why!  It is a beautiful piece but the confetti stitching is driving me crazy!!  But since I have already stitched 2 of the 4 of these gardens for her and this is the last one, I have persevered!
   I am working it on a scroll frame so I have left off some of the specialty stitches, ie: mostly the flowers, so nothing gets crushed.  I would hate to have to do them over again!!!

The Drawn Thread
the Alpine Garden/kit

Then, just as a bit of relief, I have also been working on this lovely. So cute and so little!

The Scarlett House
A Sampler Grew
40 ct. Lakeside Maritime White
suggested Needlepoint Silks

    So, that's about all for now.  I have kitted up about 5 fall pieces, most of which are pretty small, that I hope to be able to get started early next week.  We have another beach trip coming up soon so I am pondering beach stitching as well.  I'll have to refer to my list and see what still needs to be completed by the end of the year too.  It should make for a fun mix of stitching for the next few months!!