There's No Place Like Home

     I don't know if you've noticed but I have been quite the joiner this year!  Earlier this summer, Jo over at Serendipitous Stitching renewed her blog hop and I jumped right on the bandwagon.  The theme is home and today I received this lovely 'postcard' from Cheryl of  Today I Found.... 

And this is what Cheryl had to say about her photo:

"I would love to live in a little house on a hill surrounded by fruit trees 

and flowering trees.  Maybe some day I will ... until then I  

will just stitch little houses.  I stitched this "House on a Hill" 

from a free pattern found at: www.thesilverneedle.com"

Come on over and join us in the hop!  After all, there's no place like home!!!

August IH&SW Report

  I managed to find some significant stitching time this past weekend.  I worked on Ann Bowers for 2 afternoons although it probably doesn't look like that much progress.  This is before:

And this is now:

That vine is 4 rows deep and that one leaf has 6 different colors in it!  Add to that, I was also trying to watch tennis and you can see where the progress might be a little slow!!
  Sunday is my regular house cleaning day so I was pretty deep into the day before I got to the stitching.  I had thought I might put some more stitches into my Scarlet Letter piece but I promised my LNS that I would stitch a particular piece for them as a model and I figured I better get it started! I saw a recent finish of this piece over on Keeper of the Crowes  and I just love it!!  Her finish really spurred me on the get this one going!

WTN&T The Pink Sparrow Sampler

This is where I managed to get to with this one:

40 ct. WDW Parchment w/ called for threads

  I will put this in the rotation with the others, that will make 4 right now.  I think 3 might be my ideal number so I need to get this finished fast!  M. Woods should be winging her way to me this week and I may be tempted beyond endurance to make a start on her!!  And I have learned that time split between too many projects gets nothing done fast.  I think I may have to give up sleeping in order to have more stitching time!!!

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!!!

A Visit From the Framing Fairie

  Well, I picked up my framing yesterday and as promised, I have pics to share!  The first one is a piece my local sampler group (Colonial Samplar Dames) did as a SAL.  We started it in January and it has been stitched for quite a while, just not framed.

13 Colonies by LHN

  The next one was a frequent visitor to the blog some months ago.  She too has been waiting anxiously for her turn at the framers and she came out quite lovely if I do say so myself!!

Francis Pool by WMN&T

I love the way the blue of the frame really makes the blue in the sampler pop!!  She will go to my LNS to show off her bad self for a while before she comes home to stay.
  Lastly, I managed to get the field of stars finished on One Nation this afternoon.  Next time I pick this one up I will be able to start on the stripes!!

  Its back to deadline stitching now but I hope to have that done by the end of the weekend if all goes well.  I have a ton of other things calling my name and boy, summer sure is speeding by!!  I have 272 Words slated to come out the 1st of August and I would sure like to make that date.  Someone has been waiting very patiently for that reappearance and I wouldn't want to disappoint!!

IH&SW July

  I know it's been a while since I've posted.  I've been working on some things that I can't show here and I find blog posts without pictures BORING!  So,  I've been off the grid as my son would say.  I decided to take a break from the stitching I can't post about and work on some other things for the IH&SWeekend.  It gave we a chance to refresh my mental state concerning my needlework and just do something for the fun of it!!
  My local EGA chapter president gave us a challenge for the summer.  We are trying to increase our membership and have reserved the display cases at the local library for a fall showcase of our guild's handiwork. The challenge is to come up with different types of pincushions for the display and I am into it in my usual over-the-top fashion!  I have come up with about half a dozen things I want to do over the summer.  I'm not sure how many I will actually get done given that it is almost the end of July but it could be fun to work them in between the larger pieces I'm working on.
   I stitched up the first one over the weekend.  It is an older piece I've had in my stash for quite a while, a biscornu done as a collaboration by MTV Designs and GPA called Seasonal Biscornu.

I stitched the side with the Rhodes stitches first and thought it was my favorite; then I stitched the other side and I think I like it even more!  I am not much of a finisher but will give it a go when I get some of my other deadline stitching finished.
   After getting those 2 small squares finished, and they took way more time than I thought they would for what they are, I went back to work on One Nation. The before picture is in my last post. This is where it is now:

I plan to work on this until I have the rest of this section finished, hopefully only another day or two,  and then I'll go back to my deadline stitching.  I have another pin cushion waiting in the wings and hope that 'carrot' will  keep me motivated.

  Just as an aside, while on the bay of evil recently I managed to snag these!

Chessie and Me sampler magnets!  How cute are they?!  Love them all!!
  Well, that's about it for me for today.  My framer called this afternoon and it seems I have some things to pick up.  I'll post again soon with some newly finished framing!

Until then,  may your needles fly!  Laura

A Red, White, and Blue Holiday

  It has been hot and humid here in the 'burg over the holiday and I have been trying to stay in as much as possible.  We did spend the 4th at a local park picnicking with my  future daughter in law's family and although it was on the 'sweltery' side, we all had a good time.  We live near Busch Gardens and were able to come home and watch fabulous fireworks from our front steps. What more could you ask??!!
   Even with all the busyness of having company, I did manage to complete one of the memorial samplers I am trying to finish. It has an additional 10 lines of personalization that I am not showing because well, its personal!

 

  I have another one to do asap but after just finishing this one I need a break from stitching the same thing!  I have never stitched the same thing more than once except for these memorials and I really need to work on something else for a bit before I get to the other. 

  So,  I picked this one back up again.

One Nation on Lakeside Linen Woodsmoke

(Edit:  I did some research and got this picture thing working! Thank you 'Lines Across' for the excellent info on where to go and what to do!)

I have tried everything I can think to do and can't get this to turn so I guess this is the way it will have to stay, sorry.  Anyway, in keeping with the UFO year I pulled this one back out to work on.  I think I started it last July but it may have been the one before, yikes!!  I was sorely tempted to start the Chessie and Me I have seen burning up the blogosphere lately but I resisted and will work on this one for a few days and then go back to memorial stitching.  

  I had hoped to be working on 272 Words again by now but this other stitching is taking longer than I had planned.  You know what they say about plans!!! If all goes well, I should be able to dust 272 Words off (literally!) and get back to work on it by the middle of the month. It is 1/2 finished so I hope to have it wrapped up a few weeks after that but lets not forget that I still have Ann Bowers and Dorothy Walpole calling for the pile too!!!

Hope you're all finding lots of time to stitch,  Laura