January Stitch from Stash Report

   I have to admit that when I joined this challenge, I did it because I needed to not necessarily because I wanted to.  I have so many things in my stash that I really want to get stitched in my lifetime and continuing to add just because I like something at the moment seems ridiculous!  I am trying to be more selective about what I buy and I am keeping a list rather than buying as soon as I see something I like.
   I confess that it has been harder than I thought it would be.  Checking the shops online for new things had become such a habit!  Now I am getting my fix from the Facebook groups and blogs, seeing what others are stitching right now and so far that is keeping me in check.  But I read some designer blogs too and hold my breath each time they come out with something new, hoping I won't fall in love!!   So far, I have managed to get away with spending nothing!  I know, it's only January and we have  a long year to get through yet.  But we have to take these small victories where we find them!! 
    I have managed to resist new starts as well, with the exception of a couple of SALs I joined the end of last year and that started on the first of January.  I am keeping to the schedule set by the moderators on both of those and I have posted pics of those already so I won't bore you with them again here.  But, I have been working for the last week solid on AW 1662 and she is really coming along!!  Got the 2nd bargello section finished and am well on the way with the last big floral band. Once again, please excuse my knots!

This is all just filling in now!  Hope to make some real progress on that over the weekend!!

After, this band, there is just alphabet which I thing goes pretty fast so I should have a finish with this on in no time!!  I was shooting for the end of the month but we will have to see about that.  This will be a busy week so I don't know how much actual stitching time I will get. Like I always say, it always takes longer than you think!!  Good luck with finding your time to stitch this week!

SAL Crazy!

    I joined Facebook in the fall and have been overwhelmed with the number of needlework groups and SALs available there.  I never thought of myself as a joiner,  preferring instead to do my own thing with my stitching and working on pieces that caught my eye at the time.  I don't know if this is a change in me or if I just didn't know myself as well as I thought I did  but I have now joined 5 SALs hosted by various groups on Facebook!!
   I have started some new pieces within those groups so I guess there is some enabling going on  but  I'm hoping to finish some of my UFOs in  a couple of them too.  Several of these started the beginning of the year.  Within the confines of Sampler World I'm working on the Snooty Parrots Sal and have completed the assignment for January.  It is stitched on 40 ct. Lakeside Vintage Exemplar with GAST.

Then, I am also working on the Quaker Medallion SAL and have now completed the January assignment for this piece as well.  It is stitched on 40 ct. Lakeside Meadow Rue with my conversion from DMC to GAST.

The third SAL is Dorothy Walpole.  Since I was ahead of the schedule on that one, from the Scarlet Letter SAL, (yes, I guess you could call it Double Dipping!!) I haven't worked on her yet but here is a pic of where I left off the last time she saw the light of day.

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I worked on her!!  I makes me glad to have her back in a rotation again. I would really like to get this one finished this year.
  The other 2 SALs I've joined haven't started yet.  One begins on February 1st and the other doesn't start until March so I will post about those when the time is closer.  I my defense, I would like to add that I only joined these last 2 because I have projects already started for each of them and I'm hoping the SAL will motivate me to get them finished!!
    So that brings us to AW 1662.  I was reading the Scarlet Letter Year blog the other day and I saw a post by someone who is working on this one too.  She had just finished my favorite band and it really got me motivated to get back to work on mine.  This is a pic of where I left off:

And this is where it is now:

I am currently working on the top edge of the checkerboard band (my favorite) and I hope to be able to make some real progress on it this weekend.  It is the January weekend for IHSW and I would love to just sit and stitch for the long weekend but my son will be here and I don't know how much time I will be able to spend on needlework.  You want to spend time with the family when you can!!
   Well, that's about all for now.  Hope you all have a good long weekend of stitching!!

IHSW SEPT 13 Report

   As predicted, this weekend was a little on the crazy side. And although I didn't get to 'hermit' I did manage to work some stitching in among  all the craziness. First, I finished the large band I was working on AW 1662.

   Then I pulled this one out.  It is a friendship sampler that belongs to one of my stitchie friends and I am working on this for her birthday in October.  There is a long story associated with this piece that I will share with you once I get it finished and sent to her.  Let's just say she will be shocked to see it since I think she believes it has been lost forever!!
   This is where it was when I started the weekend.  My part started with the wandering vine section that I had stitched prior to the weekend.

I added these colored bands over the weekend. (Please ignore my waste knots! I really should have buried those before I took the pictures!!)

And this is what my section looks like now. I plan to add several bands of white work to this before I'm finished. I've acquired a couple of Ukrainian White work books that have some interesting patterns I'd like to try here.

   So, that's all for now.  Hope you all are having a wonderful time with your fall stitching!!!  I have kitted up several things, some new and some not, that are waiting impatiently to be started.

I Can't Put it Down!!

  I am supposed to be working on things that are on a deadline right now but I have been on such a roll with this one I can't put it down!!  AW 1662 at my last post:

This is where we are today!  I've  finished 2 of the large arcaded bands and am almost finished with the third.

This where I left off last night. There isn't much left to do, some filling mainly so I am hoping to wrap this band up tonight! With the completion of this band I will be over the half way mark!  And, almost to that intriguing checkerboard band!!

This is the whole thing so far.  It is so pretty!!

  This is the weekend for  IH&SW for September.  Both of my boys will be home this weekend so I don't know how much stitching I will get done. But I hope to finish the band I am currently working on as well as get back on track with my deadline stitching.  We'll see!!

The Finishing was a Bust!

   I was trying really hard to get that last pin cushion finished for our EGA meeting on Tuesday but I just couldn't make it happen.  I haven't really done much hand sewing since high school, which was a really long time ago, and try as I might, I couldn't get the ends on that darned drum to save my life!!  Lucky for me, I have a friend who LIKES to do finishing! (I know, shocking to me too!)  She is coming with us to the beach in October and says she would be very happy to finish it for me while she is here.  YEAH!!  Needless to say, I slapped that puppy in a bag and put it away as quickly as possible!!!!
  Then, since I was free again to work on whatever I wanted to, I pulled AW 1662 back out.  This is the progress I have made since last post.

AW 1662
38 Ct Italian linen w/ DMC

I am really enjoying working on this and will continue to do so for a couple of days but will have to move back to birthday stitching this weekend (and hope I haven't cut my time too short!).
  At our EGA meeting on Tuesday we were given the pleasure of seeing Barbara Hutson of Queenstown Sampler Designs.  She gave a presentation on the  history of some of  her recent reproductions, a lovely sampler display, as well as a very interesting description of what is entailed in the purchase, conservation, and charting of the samplers she has in her collection. It is always so wonderful to see her.  She's so cheerful and so willing to share her knowledge.  Thanks for coming Barbara!!
  I brought my camera but didn't take any pictures. DUH.  The meetings are always so hectic for me (the treasurer) and it was all over before I thought to take it out of my bag!  But I did manage to scoop up a new sampler chart though!!

FB 1827
photo taken for
Barbara's website

 Small and lovely and as soon as the rest of the threads get here (I just got an email that they are in the mail) I will be starting it!!  I know, I know, supposed to be working on UFO's.  But we need those occasional new starts to keep the creative juices flowing!!!  And this is just a small one after all.

Two Down, One to Go

  I've spent quite a bit of time stitching since my last post.  I have been working on a birthday gift, which I can't show, and I've also managed to make some serious progress on AW 1662.  This is where I last left off:

And this is how it looks now.  I have, once again, taken some liberties with some of the colors but I like this much better.  I'm finding that the old, faded colors of some of the reproductions really doesn't suit me and I am becoming less and less a stickler for keeping to the original interpretation.  Basically, I like mine gussied up!!

  Then, as the title suggests, I have been working on the "finishing" of the pin cushions for the challenge.  Our first EGA meeting after the summer break is on Tuesday so I figured I better get hot with that finishing I was going to attempt.  I have to admit, it it coming out way better than I expected!  (Please excuse my photos. My camera was acting weird and this is the best I could get today!)
  First up is the pin mattress that Holly taught us at our sampler guild meeting a looooong time ago.

  This was my first try and it is a little bit wonky but it is so darned cute!!!  I put the quarter in for a size reference.
  Then this afternoon, I put this one together. (Again, sorry for the picture quality.)

Side One

Side Two

The cute little pins came with the kit!  Now, all I have left is the drum.  Hope to have pictures of that soon!!

PS: Hope you're all enjoying the tennis as much as I have been!  There have been some GREAT matches!!

Stitching Time < Back Pain

  I haven't gotten in as much stitching time lately as I would like.  My back is acting up again and making sitting very uncomfortable.  I have taken to stitching at the breakfast table since those chairs provide the least discomfort.  I have to get up frequently and that cuts into my time but I had the Hubs move my Dazor over by my chair so I can at least get some stitching done.  I get pretty cranky if I go more than a day without the needle in my hand!!!
  Most of my time has been spent with 272 Words.  I think it might actually be the source of my back issue, this time.  I have it on a Kay's lap frame, the largest they make, and it really doesn't work well in my usual place on the sofa.  I find myself sitting twisted for long periods to get across the row and I think that might be the problem.  Anyway,  I have added 3 rows of the verse which I will not show here since it is after all, just verse!!!  I am hoping if I keep plugging away I might be able to wrap it up by the end of the month, or at least by the end of Labor Day weekend.  Keep your fingers crossed!
  I have also managed to get some time in with a couple of other pieces.  The long neglected Ann Bowers came out for some love this past week.This is before:

And this is after.  All that blank space is verse...over one...on 45 count. I am doing it in tent stitch but still!!  I guess you can see why I've moved ahead to the next row!!!

   Then, I also worked on my Scarlet Letter piece, and made quite a bit of progress on that!  Before:

And this is after.

I admit to taking some liberties with a couple of the colors but I am really enjoying this one and having a hard time putting it down to work on anything else.
   Well, that's about all for now.  This is IH&SW weekend so I hope to get in lots of stitching time and have some great progress to show you next time!

A Whole Lot of Stitching Going On

   In the time since my last post I have gotten some major stitching accomplished.  It may not look like it when you see my pics but I can tell you it has been taking up most of my time!!  I managed to get the last of my memorial samplers finished over the weekend.  YEAH!!!!  I really had to push through that one  since it was the same pattern I had just finished and I did them both back to back.  Won't make that mistake again!
   Then, I was feeling the need for a 'new start' fix.  So when I woke up one morning with  this piece on my mind, I took it as a sign and started it!!

AW 1662 by Scarlet Letter
38 ct. Italian Linen w/ DMC

The colors are gorgeous and I just love the checkerboard pattern in the middle!  Yes, I know I already have 2 other SL pieces that I am supposed to be finishing this year but when something is calling you from a dream, how can you resist??!!
   I have also worked on the pincushion challenge this past week and wrapped up the latest today.  It is Stacy Nash's 'Summer Gathering Pinkeep Drum' and I think it us just the cutest thing ever!!!  I admit to taking some liberties with the colors but what the heck, it is mine!

36 ct. R&R Old Mill Java w/
mostly listed threads

As we've discussed previously, I am not a finisher but I am going to give it a try and when it's completely finished, it should look pretty much like this.

Also, while I was rummaging around looking for something else, I can across this.

It is a pincushion mattress that I am embarrassed to admit I stitched in 2009 and never finished, even after taking the finishing class from the lovely Holly not once but twice!! (You can see a picture of her finished piece in her blog header.) That makes 3 different styles of pincushion I have stitched for the President's Challenge and that should be plenty!  I am going to try to get them all 'finished' soon, maybe even this weekend!

   Last but not least, I have finally dragged '272 Words' back out and given it a good dusting. (Please disregard the fact that I have a needle minder weirdly at the bottom.  I was trying to hold the linen up to take the picture.)

272 Words by Primrose Needleworks
45 ct. Italian Linen w/ GA threads

I started this some time ago, not sure exactly when, but really made good progress on it last summer during the Olympics.  I made it to the half way point and it has languished, gathering dust, ever since. I took it out this afternoon for its photo op and it is now waiting patiently in the family room for me to show it some love.

The hubs hasn't said anything about it yet, don't know if he's even noticed it, but I bet he will be happy to see it.  I don't think he believed me when I said I was bringing it back out the 1st of August.  I admit to being a few days late but it is back in the rotation, or whatever you might call what I do, and I have every intention of having it finished and framed for Christmas!!!  Let's just hope that old nugget about good intentions and the road to hell doesn't come back to haunt me!!!