What a weekend!

I can't believe the productive weekend I had. Of course when it's in the 90's what else is there to do but craft! :-) I don't know how many photos I can upload in a day but I'll be close to the limit I'm sure! :-) Of course, Blogger is so slow today - I'm having a hard time loading any pictures!

First I finished Linen and Lace from the Drawn Thread. I used most of the recommended threads only swapping out a WDW mauve for the alphabet. I stitched it on a Silkweaver 32 count linen called cameo. I love how it turned out. I'm going to order a frame for it right away.

Next stitching finish was on Sunday evening - I finished Moon Garden from Blackbird Designs. Big lesson learned here - if I'm not happy with a color, don't keep going, fix it! I don't like the way it looks with the Willow that I purchased. I should have stopped and moved forward with a different color. But I didn't and I think it looks ok, just not as nice as it could have.

On Saturday morning, I decided I was going to be a total finisher so I went to my local Hobby Lobby store. And fate was looking out for me! All framing supplies were 50% off. So I purchased five frames for various finished that I had over the years. The oldest was from 1993! I then spent most of my afternoon framing five projects both current and from the past. I was able to put together my first sampler wall. Out of the closet came my first sampler from 1985 - on 14 count aida! I can't wait to fill it out more.

I framed Spring Blessings from BBD, Quaker Garden from BBD, Vintage Bloom from BBD and two Shepherd's Bush designs, French Openwork and Simple Threads.

I even had time to start my next Blackbird Designs, Garland Fair. I'm doing it on 30 count R&R Cordy's Special Blend with Waterlilies silk graphite. Sorry about the bad photo - I even tried it twice! :-)

I was smoking last night :-)

I stitched last night for a few hours while watching TV. I really got a lot done! It's helping the overall look, I think, to get more of the piece done. Once I get the main flower in, I'm sure it will look just fine. I'm tired of whining. :-)

Odds are I will come close to finishing Moon Garden over the weekend - it's supposed to be in the 90's both days so I'll be inside for the bulk of it. I'll also finish Linen & Lace - I just want to get that off my plate. I've only got an hour or so to go, so why not just do it?

If I have time, I'll prepare Sunflower Charms for stitching but most likely I won't. My frame for Bloomin Alphabet should also be in and I'd really like to get that done also. I'll have to go shopping and pick up a few supplies but I don't mind that at all. Maybe I'll bring a few other finishes and see if I can't find a stock frame or two that works for a couple. Then I can start my sampler wall!

a misplaced stitch - bummer

Today on the train I found that I had missed a row on the left hand border. And quickly decided not to rip out the rest of the column which was finished. I'm so not liking how this is turning out. That willow thread is just driving me crazy. I can barely see any green and it makes the avocado color really pop out. And is there anything nice I can say about my buttermilk? It's all one color - a yellow cream - if there is any other color in it, I sure can't see it. I guess I could stop where I'm and buy some different skeins. But then the thread wins! LOL! I guess I'm just stubborn. I'd love to finish this by the end of the weekend. I'd like to move onto something that I'd enjoy more. I did purchase the last thread I needed for Sunflower Charms and I should have that by Saturday so I'll be able to start that as soon as I'm done with MG. And let me tell you, it will be a fight to finish.

I check the Stitching Bits & Bobs website everyday to see if my NPI silks have been shipped yet so I can start Village of Hawk Run Hollow. No luck. And because they haven't shipped today, I won't see them before the weekend. I placed that order on June 30 - it's been almost a month! I love the sale prices I get from them, but you don't know until after you place your order if you are going to receive your items in a timely fashion. If I would have known, I would not have ordered from them. And if I cancel my order, I'll have to pay a restocking fee. I will never buy from them again. At least when I really want my supplies right away. I know they got caught like a lot of other retailers when Village was shipped early, but I think this is a bit much. If I had the money I would just give Drema a call and I know I'd have my silk by Monday. But I can't afford to buy duplicates. I'm so pissed right now I can't stand myself. And I have checked, none of the colors I ordered are needed in multiple skeins. So if I buy more, I'll just have dups.

Edited to add later in the day: I got tired of listening to myself whine about my silk threads and SB&B. So I called Drema and ordered the silks for month 12. There is only one duplicate color and that color required two skeins so I'm not spending any money I don't need to. So next week I'll be starting the Village! The graveyard block. I can't wait. :-)

No update today

As predicted yesterday, I didn't have time to stitch. But I had a great time seeing the Beach Boys! :-) And I have a bit of a headache today. A little too much wine I fear. I did start to stitch a little on the train into the city, but just couldn't put in a stitch or two before I needed to nap. Hopefully on the way home, I'll be a little more productive.

I've been asked if I mind such a long commute (3 hours a day) and now that I'm used to it, I really don't. After all it brought be back to needlepoint and cross stitch after a 12 year absence. And I've finished so many lovely pieces lately so it's worth sitting on the train.

I did purchase a frame yesterday off eBay to fit my La-D-Da Bloomin Alphabet I finished last month. It's a sagey green color over white. It should work nice - and hopefully sorta match the sagey color of the flower in that piece. I have a kinda funny story about that piece. I used to always mark the center of my linen with a cross made from blue wash-out marker. Since I always washed my piece after finishing, it was never a problem. Well I'm new to over-dyed linens and over-dyed floss and I didn't think twice of marking this piece. When I didn't need the mark anymore, I simply squirted it with water and left it to dry over night. I know you know what's coming! The over-dyed sage floss bled all over! I was in such a panic but it did come out. Along with a lot of the cool over-dyed colors. :-) Live and learn. Now I don't wash my pieces when done, nor do I use blue wash out market anymore.

I need to start finishing my pieces all the way and not just the stitching. I'm planning a wall with my sampler finishes. I have two samplers that I framed more than 20 years ago - yikes! Very basic compared with what is available today but way back then there wasn't much out there. And I think my mother is going to offer up one that I completed in the same time period. I think I'll reframe that one though as I never really liked what I did to it.

A little happier with Moon Garden

Now that I'm almost finished the with bottom portion of Moon Garden, I'm a little happier. The letter are three different colors of thread and that really helped with the overall look I think. Before I got the other two colors in, it just looked so washed out. But now there is a lot of improvement. I'm closing in on the half way point. I should be able to finish this and Linen and Lace before I receive my Village silks. They are still on backorder. :-(



I'm not going to be able to work on it at all tonight - I'm going to see the Beach Boys at Ravinia Park. And missing agility. :-( That leaves only six classes before our first trial. Boy am I in a panic! :-)

A super weekend!

I had a great weekend - the pug picnic was so much fun and the weather was perfect. Here is a picture of some of the pugs watching us eat. They looked so funny all lined up on the fence.

I mostly worked on Linen and Lace over the weekend, actually I only stitched on Sunday - I didn't have time Saturday. I'm very close to being complete. That lacey edge does take forever. It took almost eight hours to do the three sides. Yikes!

I started back on Moon Flower on the way to work. I'm not really liking this piece in person. My colors are looking so washed out and don't have the nice color change that I prefer. I'm so disappointed. I guess this is what happens when you can't pick out your skeins of thread yourself. I order all my stuff online and I get what I get.

In addition to being a cross stitcher and needlepointer, I'm also a quilter.

Each year, my family takes a turn a making everybody a gift for Christmas. Last year was my year. So I made each person in the giving circle a wall hanging. I thought I would show them off. I did send them off to be quilted - but I have since taken a class from Harriet Hargrave and will no longer have to send out my quilts to be quilted. They are all 40" square - to fit in the oak quilt rack my brother made for his gift the previous year.

Wheel of Mystery

Prism Feathered Star

Mariner's Compass

Stairway to Heaven Snail's Trail

Not a whole lot of progress

Not much progress yesterday - I was so tired on the train home, that I took a nice little nap. :-) I didn't get in but a few stitches. And later in the evening I did the right thing and worked on my Linen and Lace border. No update picture - since I worked on the first row of x's and the 1/2 x's you can barely tell I made any progress. I'll work on it some more over the weekend and post a photo on Monday.

Yesterday I received in the mail my four Vicky Clayton silks. I need to pick out a color for my Cirque des Cercles (it's a one color design) and I had planned on using one of Vicky's silks - but it's so hard to pick out colors online. All of the four colors I purchased are way to bright and one wasn't even variegated. In contrast with the two Watercolor silks from Caron that I purchased last weekend, they looked garish. I much prefer the Watercolors I picked out. I'm not sure if I'll look for more VC silks - on a positive note, they are so much more affordable than the $5.35 my LNS charges for each Watercolor but how much money and time will I spend looking for the right shade of VC silks?

I wonder how other people select a color for a one color design. Especially when it's a large design. You are going to be working on that piece for a long time and you've got to get it right from the start. I was thinking of maybe taking the two Watercolor silk I purchased and really like and doing a small one color design and seeing how I liked it. Then make any adjustments needed. That way I won't waste my time starting something that won't work for me in the end. I've got two really cute freebies from Heart to Hand that would work as trial pieces. Maybe I'll give that a go.

I sent in my entry form for my first agility trial with Molly today. I registered her in the 8" regular standard class and the 8" regular Jumpers with Weaves. We are really going to do this thing! Yikes! And I'm not even sure we will be jumping at the 8" level. I'm sure she is right around the height cutoff of 11". We might have to jump the 12" height. That would really tired her out since we usually only practice at 8. Well I can't worry about it now.

Big doings this weekend with my Pug Meetup Group. It's our First Annual Pugnic. It should be fun.

This weekend I also need to look for a book on blogging. I want my blog to look a little nicer and I want to add links to my favorite stitching and pug places as well as other blogs I read. I'd love to find someone who can make me a custom look. I did a search yesterday but haven't followed up yet.

Moon Garden Start

OK - I know what you are saying, Margie was going to finish Linen and Lace before starting Moon Garden. Well that was the plan. But yesterday on the train ride home from work, I miscounted and have a ton of stitches to frog. And I really wasn't up to frogging on the train this morning. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :-0

A good start I think - my willow thread is very yellow compared with the photo on the cover. It's very pretty but not quite what it should be. I'm going to carry on however. I'm sure it will still look nice when complete. I love the linen from R&R used for this piece. 18th Century Rook. I want to look for more in a smaller weave. I really don't like working on 28 count. I much perfect the 30 and 32 counts. This one already feels like a quick stitch.

Tuesday night was agility with Molly and she was a rock star. We only started this past January so we are still fairly new. On Tuesday, I really felt like she was starting to get it. She now can use all the obstacles. The last stopping point was the shoot and she ran right threw it during the warm up like she had been doing it all along. Of course for the rest of the night, every time she spied it, she took off for it! :-) Silly pug. Now we are working on getting the weave poles at the full up position and we are there! And we did most of the course off leash. To me that has been the biggest hurdle. Getting to stay with me through the entire course.

We only have seven more classes before Nationals on September 13th. That will be our first agility trial. I'm already nervous.

My stash arrived :-)

It was a good mail day. The fibers I ordered came, the linen I ordered came, the Blackbird Design charts I ordered arrived and my special order linen for The Houses of Hawk Run Hollow from Drema arrived! I spent quite a long time just looking at everything. I've been so worried over which project to start next, Sunflower Charms or Moon Flower - well it was decided for me - I forgot to order one of the fibers for Sunflower Charms and it was the one I would have used first. So Moon Flower it is. As soon as I finish Linen and Lace that is....

Here is my progress on Linen and Lace - I just started the cream lace border. It should take me the rest of the week's train rides to complete. The variegated mauve I purchased worked out just great I think.

Still no NPI silks from SBB - still on backorder - it's been three weeks now with no end in sight. I guess I could order month one silks for the HoHRW but I kinda wanted to do the Village while everybody else was starting it. I'll check and see how much money I have - maybe I'll just order a different month from Drema to get started. And you know Murphy's Law, if I do that, I'm sure month one will show up!

Linen & Lace

I must be about 2/3 done on Linen and Lace from the Drawn Thread. I bet I'm done with the letters by the time I get home from work. Then comes the hard part - the lacey border in cream. I'm starting to have enough confidence to make changes where I see fit to - sometimes with the linen color or maybe a thread color. With this piece I changed the color of the lettering. It was designed in 1998 before there were a lot of variegated thread choices out there (I'm assuming). The alphabet uses three different shades of mauve to create the variegated look. Well in 2006 we have a lot more choices so I went to the needlepoint store and purchased a variegated mauve! So I don't have to change threads for the same look. I'm feeling pretty cleaver. :-) I also had to come up with my own numbers since I didn't want to date mine 1998! I still have to chart out the 2 but the rest (006) look ok.

Of course the big question is, when I get all my supplies for Moon Garden and Sunflower Charm in the mail (maybe today?), do I stop this and start one of those? Or do I finish this one before moving on. I think I should finish this one since I'll be at the boring place of the design. Goodness knows when I'd get back to it knowing I have nothing but tedium left.

AND WHEN IS MY SILK FOR VILLAGE OF HAWK RUN GOING TO SHOW UP!!! I made a huge mistake in ordering from SBB. They are so slow when they are in a backorder situation (my last backorder took over a month!) and Drema had them in stock. I thought I was doing the right thing is spreading my orders around to give my favorite stores a chance for some business. I won't make that mistake again when it's important. I only ordered month one's silks so maybe I'll order month three from Drema and work from right to left instead of left to right. At least I'll be able to get started.

Some like it hot!

It was quite a weekend - temps over 90 degrees both days. So naturally it was a good day to stay inside and stitch! So that is what I did.

Thanks to everyone who posted such nice words about my Quaker Garden. :-)

On Saturday evening I finished Secret Garden from Blackbird Designs. It's the latest Loose Feather. What a quick piece this was. I think it took me longer to paint and finish the box on Sunday then it did to stitch the top! But I think it turned out wonderful. I did the inside in a red and cream stripe and I finished under the lid in a really pretty tan and cream toile. I love having useful pieces around. Especially since I haven't had one cross stitch piece framed in years. (I really need to fix that). I did Secret Garden with the recommend red - Turkey Red I believe on 30 count R&R light espresso - it is a little more yellow than the recommend linen.

I did drive down to my favorite needlepoint store, Northshore Needleworks in Northbrook on Saturday. I had ordered a pug canvas about three months ago and it was finally in. I did not buy the fibers for it since my focus is on cross stitch right now and they recommended silk pearl - that's going to cost a small fortune to kit. However, I did pick up some really pretty variegated silks (Watercolors from Caron I think) to experiment with a couple of single color designs that I have at home. I'll see how they look with the linens I have. It was be nice to shop my stash for a change.

I started back stitching Lace and Linen by the Drawn Thread. About 1/3 done there I think - I'll post a photo tomorrow. I should finish that one by the weekend at the current rate of which I'm stitching. :-) And I'm waiting for all my new goodies to arrive.

All finished!

I finished up my Quaker Garden yesterday at work during lunchtime. I don't stitch much at work, but I was so close I couldn't resist. I could not put this piece down! If I could have stitch all night I would have. LOL! Here it is:












I finally got a picture that shows the linen color and the cream threads! :-)

Many many thanks to Karen for organizing this SAL. I have had such a nice time watching all the progress and I look forward to seeing everyone's framed QGs. I've picked out my framing stock and hope to order it next week.

Of course I started working right away on Secret Garden - it's pretty small and I'm over half way done. I'm doing it on 30 ct R&R Light. Espresso with the recommended Turkey Red thread. I wish I would have gone with my first instinct and done it in blues/blacks. Maybe I'll have to stitch it again. :-) I won't have much time to stitching over the weekend - I've have plenty going on. Dinner with friends on Saturday and the Tom Jones concert on Sunday evening at a wonderful outdoor venue. It should be a blast.

But who knows?? I would really like to get my box finished before I start on Moon Garden or Sunflower Charms. Both are Blackbird Designs Loose feathers. I had to order everything but the Moon Garden chart so which ever design I have all the pieces to first, is the piece I'll do first. For both designs I'm going with the recommended threads and linen but I did buy a piece of Light Heather from Silkweaver Fabrics. I'm going to see if the threads for Moon Garden look ok in it. If they don't I'll go with the 18th Century Rook and save the Light Heather for a freebie pattern I picked up, heart alphabet.

Yesterday I also order five silks from Vicky Clayton for my new piece from Ink Circles, Cirque des Cercles. They are all variegated dark blues. Since I only have a couple of her threads, I have not idea what these colors are really like in person. So I ordered the five I liked the best and I'll see which one works best in person. Then I'll go ahead and order the rest. I'll need a ton of the one color I finally choose. I have a piece of 32 ct linen from Silkweaver Fabrics called Golden Harvest. I had started a Mirabilia piece but my heart is just not in it anymore. I only have about 20 stitches in it so I'll frog it and use it for Cirque des Cercles.

Now that I'm so passionate about samplers and the like, the Mirabilia designs really don't do much for me now. Oh I like the way they look but I have so many other designs that I love so much more and I only have so much time, I must start to be more selective. I actually started Deco Spirits a couple of months ago and I am about 1/3 of the way done with one of the squares but I put it down to work on a Drawn Thread piece and haven't looked at it since.

Less than a 100 x's to go!

I'm down to the last color and the last few stitches on Quaker Garden. Tomorrow I'll post the finish pre-framed photo. I always get really excited when I'm about to finish a piece. In my early cross stitch years, I was much more of a starter then a finisher. And while starting is exciting, the finishing is so much more rewarding. I remind myself that everything I think of starting something new before tying up a few older projects.

Many thanks to Karen! What's next?? ;-)

Edited to add at 12:00pm CT.

I'm finished! I snuck away at lunchtime at work to finish up those last stitches. I LOVE to finish things. I even get tingly in my tummy! :-) I'll post the pressed photo tomorrow - hopefully with enough detail so the colors will show up better. This green sure is hard to take photos of.

a little more

I stitched a little more yesterday on my Quaker Garden. I can see the end in sight. The weather is predicted to be in the 90's both Saturday and Sunday so most likely I will finish it one of those two days. :-) I just have to finish up the alphabet, last motif on the left and a few of the squares along the left bottom. I'll work on my Secret Garden next.



Last night Molly and I went to agility class. She is not progressing as well as I had hoped so we need to do more work at home. Our first agility trial in on September 13th at the Pug Dog Nationals. Normally I wouldn't push her but since is a once in a life time chance to participate with pug dogs from all over the county. And most likely the only pugs only agility trial this year. I talked to my teacher and we both agreed that we just need to make it a fun day.

Rainy day in Illinois

It's supposed to rain all day today - and I'm really happy. First because my yard and gardens really need it and rain is still free and second because it's a rainy day and I'm at work. :-) So it's perfect. I love the way everything smells so fresh and clean. It can do this at least once a week as far as I'm concerned all summer long.

I made a ton more progress on Quaker Garden. I did stitch last night while watching TV and instead of picking up one of my other projects, my hand went right to QG. So I got in around six hours yesterday. I calculate I'm over two thirds done and should have it rapped up by the weekend or at least Monday of next week. No stitching tonight - tonight is agility with Molly!



I need to find a source for framing stock. I can, with the help of one of my brothers, make my own frames. I do ok at cutting at a 45 degree angle but Marty, the youngest of my three brothers is a perfectionist and he has all the right power tools. So if any one who reads this has online sources, please let me know. I have a backlog of over 15 projects that need to be framed. I can even cut the glass should I choose to frame it that way. Stained glass is one of my many other hobbies.

Hot Weekend = much time for stitching

It was very hot over the weekend. Almost 90 on Sunday. I didn't do much at all except water the lawns and gardens and stitch. I did manage to start planning a new perennial garden and buy a few new plants for it. I've created so much work for myself! I stepped in way before I looked at the hours and additional money it will cost me. I might scale it back a bit this year and only do half of what I've currently set out to do.

Here is my progress on Quaker Garden. I'm over half way done! I ended up stitching quite a bit on Sunday afternoon and during the evening while I watched TV. It's really a darling piece. I'm thinking of Moon Garden or maybe the Sunflower Charms next. I have the chart for Moon Garden but nothing else. I'd need everything for the Sunflower Charms but Drema still has it on her website. I'll have to give her a call this week. It's the Loose Feather from last August so I really should get it while I still can.

The boss is in the office all week, back from his travels. And I have much to catch up on because I goofed off so much my three days at work last week. I hate it when I do that! :-) But I do it all the time so you'd think I'd be used to it by now. ;-)

Much progress!

I worked on my Quaker Garden last night and have much progress to report. As I said yesterday, it really is quick to come together. I'm not sure how much I'll get done over the weekend but I know I'll do some stitching. But my goal is to complete the top vine and the letters under it. That way I'll be half way done! And can start The Village as soon as my silks arrive without any guilt. :-) But I really doubt my silks will come - as of yesterday some of the colors were still on backorder. No biggy really, I can work on my Linen and Lace and Secret Garden. And it would really be nice to tie up a couple more WIPs before I start a huge project.

I caught this really cute picture of Molly last night. I love the way she sits like a little person. She was patiently waiting for her dinner. Tomorrow is our monthly Pug Meetup - I organize this group and I have over 60 members! That is over 80 or so pugs. I should have a nice sized group show up at the park tomorrow, about 30+ I'm thinking. It will be so much fun.

Great diet day yesterday - all water and vitamins. Plus I stayed out of the pretzels until the appointed evening snack time!

And thanks to everyone who has made comments on my blog. I'm still learning the correct etiquette but it's make me feel more comfortable in leaving comments with others.

Quaker Garden - more progress

Here is my Quaker Garden after about 8 or so hours. It really is stitching up quickly. It fun being part of a SAL. It's really cool to see how everybody tackles this project. Some work to the right and some work to the left. And some start at the sides. I started at the center and I'm working to my right.

I found a new designer from information found on the Legacy board (thanks ladies). It's called Ink Circles by Tracy Horner (http://www.inkcircles.com). I purchased the one called Cirque des Cercles (Circus of the Circles). It's another BAP! What am I thinking? :-) It's done on linen and one color of contrasting thread. The color combinations are endless. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do but the planning sure is fun. Maybe a greenish hand-dyed from Silkweaver (http://www.silkweaver.com/) with an overdyed silk? I sure do love those silks. In any case, I'll be looking for a piece of 32 count linen 22" x 18". Tracy has also designed a piece called Garden Stars and she designed it using greens. It's gorgeous. A friend of hers (Carrie's Threads) developed a set of overdyed floss to go with this. And it's very affordable.

I had a great diet day yesterday - ok, pretty good! I took all my vitamins, drank all my water and only had one slip up. Normally I don't get my undies in a twist about one slip up but this was right after dinner. I wasn't even hungry - I ate a bunch of pretzels. Now I know that pretzels aren't the kiss of death, but dinner wasn't even down my throat before I opened up the bag. That's why it's bad. Oh, well, today is another day I've let it go!

Vacation last week - slow to recover

I was on vacation last week and since I have dial up, I didn't even try to post anything. Takes forever! :-)

I did finish a couple of projects during my week off, Sunflower Bell Pull from The Drawn Thread and Vintage Bloom from Blackbird Designs. It's so nice to be a finisher. Now I have to look for the bell pull itself. I think I can order it for $25.00 or so. Not too bad of a price and it's cheaper than framing.

Last week I purchased off eBay, all four of The Drawn Thread arbor kits for $15.00 a piece! I love it when people clean out their stash. I'll put them in my pile. AND get to them.

I had many new toys show up in my mail last week - The Village of Hawk Run Hollow and the Houses of Hawk Run Hollow. They are wonderful. I'll be starting the Village as soon as month one of my NPI silks arrive. I have to buy one months worth of silk at a time - I just can't afford all at once. I could have gone with the DMC but I really like the silk threads. I'm doing it on 32 count Sand Dune. I just can't see 40 count or even 36 count anymore and both of these are huge projects. So I want to enjoy the process, not struggle with it.

I'm currently working on three projects - the first, a SAL organized by Karen (Karen is from the UK and has the most wonderful blog - I want mine to look like hers when it's grown up!) from the online group, Legacy Embroidery Guild, which I'm currently a member of. We started on Monday, July 3rd. I did ok with the start. This will be my train project and I'll work on it until it is complete - Quaker Garden by Blackbird Designs.

Day one progress:

Day two progress:

I'm also working on from The Drawn Thread, Linen and Lace. I'm doing it on 32ct hand dyed linen, cameo from Silkweaver Fabrics. It's so pretty. Here is my progress - I have almost the entire center done.

And I'll be starting the new Loose Feather from Blackbird Designs - Secret Garden. I think I'll only be doing the box design and I'll be doing this at night along with Linen & Lace. Right now I don't have time need for the strawberry needleholder and I have another strawberry design from Sheepish Designs that I want to do more. And I have to cut back! I have more than enough to keep me busy for the rest of the year.

I'm back on the food wagon again. I lost 35 pounds last year and gained 25+ back (I'm afraid to get on the scale). So no more Mini-Moo's at work!

It was Clancy's first birthday yesterday! He is one year old. I had a little party for him.