almost done

I heading into the home stretch of Alpha Sheep. Just a couple more days work and I'll be finished with all three. It's a really large piece since I did mine on 32 count linen. I would have used 36 count but as I had a perfect size and color of the 32 count laying around how could I not use it. :-) A lot of people have been commenting that they would like to do this piece together like I have. I recommend it, each piece was super quick (took me less than a week each) and the colors are great! Sorry though, I have already traded away my three charts.

On Saturday the pugs where sitting in the together in the perfect group. So I took a quick photo. Then I thought, since the are behaving so nice, why don't I try for a Christmas card photo? So I put them in this years selected accessory and gave it a go. Even though they took some good shots, them being on the couch just wasn't working for me so I tried outside. I couldn't get them to sit close to each other. :-) And I didn't like the background so I ended up with a ton of outtakes. I'll try again later in the week on a more neutral background.

And the winner is...

Sheepish Designs, Alpha Sheep! I decided to work on this piece and get it finished up. Of course it won't happen in November but by the end of next week for sure (I'm hoping). I have been working at home much of this week and a couple of days next week also so I'm missing out on at least three extra hours of stitching time every time I stay home. As a result, my progress suffers. Speaking of finishes in November, what a dismal month for finishes. Only three! For me that is a poor month considering that two of the finishes were very small. Of course I did work on St. Reatham for more than a week and made huge progress there, but I would have loved to see a couple more things finished.

I'm closing off the week with a pug picture. This is what I always envisioned when I became a multi-pug household. All three pugs nestled together, taking a nap. :-) This is the first time its happended. :-)


I have updated my for sale or trade list. The link is to the right.


Have a great weekend!

Imaginary Botanicals - Dots Finis

Imaginary Botanicals - Dots by SamSarah Design Studio

32 count Silkweaver Dark Tan Linen

Recommended Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Arts Floss

I finished up with Dots this afternoon. I love the two of them together. I can't wait to see the third (Stripes) go on the linen. It's going to be to the left of Swirls.

I had to order another skein of one of the colors for Strips so right now I'm not sure what I want to start on next. Part of me wants to finish up with what I consider one project and another part of me wants to finish up part three of the Alpha Series by Sheepish Designs - Alpha Sheep. And yet another part of me wants to do a couple of Christmas ornaments. I ordered a bunch of fabric cuts from Drema last week so I'm ready to go with at least five or six from this years Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue.

So many projects - so little time! :-)

Imaginary Botanicals - Swirls finis

Imaginary Botanicals - Swirls by SamSarah Designs

32 Count Silkweavers Dark Tan Linen

recommended overdyed floss

As I predicted, I finished up with Swirls last week and started Dots right away. I was hoping to finish it by the end of the long weekend but I was sick with a bad cold all Thanksgiving through Sunday and I didn't feel much like stitching. I'm hoping to finish up Dots by the weekend. I love how they look together. I can't wait to start on Strips.

Because I was sick, I canceled most of the plans I had made for the weekend. But that made the pugs happy because they had me to themselves for four whole days. :-) Here is little Aoife taking a nap on the pillow palace that she made. She is growing so fast!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

I'm almost finished with Swirls - I'll tie this one up tonight. Right now I'm not sure what I'll work on next. I'm feeling like I'm in a Alpha mood - it would be great to finish the Alpha series by Sheepish Designs before the end of the month. But who knows, maybe I'll start on the next botanical design.

Have a great thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate it!

We did it!

Clancy and I earned our first AKC (American Kennel Club) Qualifying score in Novice Jumpers with Weaves! And it was even a second place finish! As you can imagine, I am a very proud mom. :-) This means we have our first leg for our first AKC title. And we were "this" close to two more Qs but I have to blame myself and not Clancy for our failure. He did everything I asked him to and for one of the events, I didn't stay by him and I know he prefers it and in the other case, I pulled him off course with a bonehead move on my part. But in any case, I feel like we are well on our way. Our next trial is in two weeks and it's a four day trial so we will have many more attempts at Qs.

I have videos of the weekend and if anyone wants to be bored and watch them or just see what agility is all about, let me know and I'll forward my account name. I had to set them up unsearchable or I would just post them here. I have an old boyfriend who is practically stalking me online and I don't want him to have anymore access into my life then he already has found. :-( The whole thing is just sick. :-( But enough negitive talk on such a happy day!

I didn't find a second to put in stitch in Swirls all weekend. But I'm making good progress in any case and I should be finished with the first flower by the end of the week. I've already had to pull out one of the recommneded threads because it matched another color almost perfectly. :-( I hate it when I get such a different dye lot from the model. And by looking at this photo, I might have to pull another color because it's blending into the background too much. The model was stitched on a pinkish color and mine is Silkweavers Dark Tan and it's really a close match. Bummer.

A new start

This is where I'm leaving St. Reatham for now. Not to bad for five days work. :-) If I had to estimate how much I have completed, I would have to say I'm quarter of the way done. I really need to work on this piece more but I have so many other things to work on and they are all shouting at me.

Here is my new start - Swirls from Sam Sarah Designs. I'm doing all three Imaginary Botancial pieces on the same piece of linen width wise.
While I was taking photos of SR, Aoife wanted in the action. Can you find the pug??

First page - complete! :-)

I am "officially" done with page one! :-) Woohoo! Only seven more to go. ;-) As soon as I finish the motif I'm working on, I'll be pleased with this round of stitching's progress. My next project with be the Imaginary Botanicals and I'll start that as soon as the thread I ordered arrives.

Slow stitching weekend

I didn't get much stitched done at all this weekend on St. Reatham. The plan had been to at least finish the big motif but I fell short of that. I had plans with friends and Sunday was a really lazy day - napping with the pugs was the most important thing I did all day. :-)

I haven't posted a photo of the puppy in a whole week! Here is the cutest picture of Aoife and Molly. It's taken Molly a while to warm up to the idea of yet another pug in the house but I think she is finally there. I caught them taking a nap together Sunday afternoon. Aoife loves to snuggle.

Clancy was of course with me on the couch. He always pulls the pillows out of order to make a little nest. It's so cute.

I'm ending today's post with another pug photo but this one is not my pug. This is Molly and she belongs to my friend Peggy. This was taken at Pug Dog Nationals in Pennsylvania last September. The look of determination is incredible. She is a great agility pug.

At long last, progress

I'm making progress with St. Reatham, not fast progress but progress none the less. So far this round I've completed the round motif under the F and G, a couple of the tiny ones and have started on the of the three largest motifs to the left of the center. My goal for this bout of SR stitching is to finish the big motif I'm working on and then start back down on the left side of the piece. I realized this morning I still have not really completed one page of the chart. :-( I'm going to make sure that no matter what I'll complete page 1.
Isn't this piece huge?? I can't believe I even started to tackle it. :-) Sorry about the bad photo, in order to work on this piece on the train, I wrap the linen around my five inch hoop. It keeps the piece small and manageable and helps to keep in clean since I have only the back side of the piece facing me. Here is link the what it will look like finished - http://pagesperso-orange.fr/longdog/streatham.html
I did a little birthday shopping and here are a couple of the charts I ordered. It's the Imaginary Botanical series from Sam Sarah Design Studio. There are three pieces in the group, Swirls, Dots and Strips. They are really cool and I'm going to stitch them on one piece of linen. It's hard to tell here because they are stitched on different colored backgrounds but they use the same colors of fiber just in different amounts. I'm planning on ordered the fibers today and this is what I'll start next when the supplies arrive. So I'll work on SR until that happens.


Have a great weekend!

Hunt Sampler Finis

The Hunt Sampler by Homespun Samplar

32 count Silkweavers French Vanilla Swirl

Needle Necessities Woodland Fantasy floss, Gentle Art Forest Glade, Crescent Colours Brandied Pears and Needle Necessities Dromedary floss

As I predicted yesterday, I finished up Hunt Sampler last evening. I'm so pleased with how it turned out and I can't wait to get this one framed. Many thanks to Mindi who also did this piece - that right there is one of the best things about blogging. I didn't even know this designer existed and even if I had seen this chart I'm sure I would have pasted right over it because it was charted as a mono color design in blue. I saw it on Mindi's blog and knew I had to do it in fall shades like she did. :-) Thanks Mindi!

Just eight letters to go

As you can see, I'm coming to the end of this project. I just have the eight letters to go on the top and the personalization in the wreath to go. I should be finished by tonight. I really was hoping to have it completed by Sunday evening, but I under estimated just how much time I would have during the weekend. I did have a few things going on. ;-) I love how it's turning out and I think the colors I picked out are all working together. I'm not sure if you know it, but if you click on the top photo, you can see it closer.

By now, those of you who subscribe to the Gift of Stitching online, have seen the November issue. And I'm sure you all noticed the porcelain pin cushion doll made with a Christmas cross stitch over-skirt by Giulia Manfredini. Well I have always wanted a pin cushion doll and this project was made for me. So much that after I looked at my issue on Friday I went right to eBay and found a three inch half doll that appealed to me. It came in the mail yesterday! Above is a photo of it. How perfect is that? She even has a little dog in her arms. I'm not going to do mine in Christmas colors though, I want a more multi-season one and I'm already thinking shades of blues for it.

I need to start thinking about my next project but until that is clear in my mind, I'm going to work on St. Reatham. I have not worked on it since the beginning of September. I owe it at least two solid weeks of work but I think I'll work it until the weekend.

Progress!

After feeling like I haven't been making progress on the Hunt Sampler for most of the week I can really see it now. It's actually going to be a quick stitch. And I might just finish it by Sunday evening. :-)

Have a great weekend!

Thanks!

Thanks for all your kind birthday wishes. :-) I had a great day yesterday.

I didn't get as much stitched as I would have like yesterday evening. There was a flurry of well wishers at the house on and off all night. That was nice but I would have liked a little more time for me. ;-) But in any case, I'm making progress on the Hunt Sampler and I'm still very happy with the colors I picked out. Sorry for the bad photo today, I camera's batteries ran out this morning and I had to use the old digital from the office.

Happy Birthday to me! :-) And Happy Halloween!

I'm very pleased with how the colors are looking on my Hunt Sampler. It's going pretty fast now that I don't have to think about what to put where. I'm not getting much done as I would like however, because I'm struggling to stay awake on the train. It always happens this time of year when it's still dark in the morning and next week after daylight savings ends, it will be dark both ways. I'll get used to it in a few weeks and start to get more done.

Today is my birthday! That sure was a fast year. And like last year, I still have no idea on what I want to do when I grow up. :-) I just know it doesn't include a four hour daily commute to downtown Chicago. But for now, it is what it is so I don't complain much. And I get so much stitching done it almost makes up for some if it. As for goals, I think I'd like to start running long distances again. I'm sure there is another marathon in me. :-)

No big birthday plans until the weekend - I have a hot date planned. :-)

Rip, rip, rip!

I ripped out the Needle Necessities Woodland Fantasy floss and tried the Gentle Art Forest Glade I had on hand. I'm much happier with the results. The copper color is Crescent Colours Brandied Pears. For the four small motifs in the centers of the copper color I'm planning on using Needle Necessities Dromedary - a very pretty gold/tan combo. I'm planning on using the Woodland Fantasy for the alphabet as I pulled the other three flosses using it as a guide - I'm hoping everything will tie together nicely. Kathy make a comment on my blog yesterday and said she knows someone who started using Needle Necessities Serengeti as the base fiber (it's tan, copper and dark brown). It's funny Kathy, that is the color I started with! :-) Then I fell in love with Woodland Fantasy and I put the Serengeti aside.

Autumn Song finis

Autumn Song by Blackbird Designs

28 Count Natural Linen

Recommended fibers

I finished up Autumn Song by Blackbird Designs yesterday afternoon. I had to substitute out one leaf color because I ran short of Terra Cotta. Not because the pattern was incorrect but because I started with a short skein. Bummer. I was kinda surprised I finished this because on Friday I didn't think I'd be done with it by the end of the weekend. I was glad to be able to move onto something new. I haven't done the needle cushion yet nor have I done the alphabet that is used on the rim of the box. I don't really need a pin cushion right now and I'm not sure that I like the look of the alphabet where it's placed on the box. So I'm holding off on both right now.

I had time in the evening to put a little work into Toccata II. I'm half way with this piece and I really want to get it done so I can put the stand away. It's always in my way.


On Saturday I drove out to my LNS to pick out fiber for my Celtic Band Sampler by Homespun Samplar. I converted it from the charted DMC to the variegated colors you see below. I'm going to stitch it on Silkweavers 32 count Heritage. I love how it looks and I can't wait to get started on it.




For my train ride this week I started on the Hunt Sampler by Homespun Samplar. I picked out my own colors rather than go with the charted Gentle Arts Bretheran Blue and I went with a fall theme. I'm stitching it on Silkweavers French Vanilla Swirl. Right now I can't say I'm happy with the stripy look of what I've stitched so far. And it's kinda a duh moment. I picked out a Needle Necessities floss of copper, tan and green and them I'm surprised it looks stripy? Well duh! I'm not sure if I can live with it or if I should pull it out and go with the green. It's a variegated green and darker green floss. I could use the copper, tan and green for the borders maybe. I hate not knowing what to do.





On Saturday Aoife went to her first puppy pre-school class. The teacher settled on a four week course. It was a lot of fun and Aoife and her sister Seven were the two bravest pups there. Of course. :-) She had a blast and slept in her crate all the way to the LNS and then all the way home.



On Sunday I took the whole gang to a Howloween party! LOL! They even sat for a group photo for me. Clancy is a cowboy, Molly is wearing her Halloween party dress and Aoife had on a cute t-shirt that said trick or treat. After the party the slept the afternoon away.

almost half way

Here is my progress on Autumn Song. As soon as I finish the leaf under the bird, I'll be half way done! I have a feeling I'll still be working on this next week. :-) Oh well. I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday to buy the box that goes with this piece. I forgot to write down the stock number so naturally I came home with the wrong box - it's too small! But I'll hang onto it, they are very useful and if I ever get involved in a swap, a box with a cross stitched lid would make a great contribution.

Aoife continues to surprise me. She follows Clancy around everywhere and she is becoming very good at learning from him. Just yesterday she learned how to jump on the agility table to do a sit. :-) She has gotten so bad (or good) at following Clancy around the yard that when I do agility training with Clancy I have to leave her in the house because she disrupts him so much. :-) Here is a photo of Aoife and Clancy chewing on bones. Monkey see monkey do!

Have a great weekend!

fall is here!

The temperatures are finally at the normal point for October. For me that means chilly! I needed my winter coat for the first time of the season on the way to work today. It's all downhill from here.

I'm making good progress with Autumn Song from BBD. This would make a really cute pillow but I don't think I need anymore fall pillows right now as I have already made three this year. I was hoping to have it finished by the weekend but I don't have a chance of that happening because I'll probably work from home tomorrow and Friday. Next week my schedule returns to normal so I'll get the usual amount of stitching time in. Good for my stitching, not so good for me. :-) I really want to get started with one of my two new charts. I'm leaning toward the Hunt Sampler but the Celtic piece is looking pretty good right now also.
Poor Aoife, no one wants to nap with her - here she is in the big bed all by herself. Clancy is doing fine with her but secretly Molly is hoping she will disappear!

Alpha Menagerie Finis

Alpha Menagerie from Sheepish Designs (part 2 of 3)
32 count Wichelt Latte Linen
Recommended NPI Silks

I finished up Alpha Menagerie yesterday despite having a nine week old puppy glued to my side all weekend. :-) This finishes part two of three. I'm loving the colors - they are such a change from the usual muted palate I go with. I'll start Alpha Sheep (part 3) in several weeks. I pulled a couple of things to work on this week. When I was going through my stash, I found I had forgotten about Quaker Study by CHS - I started it over two months ago I think. I'm about a quarter of the way done so I tossed it into my bag for the train rides this week. Since I also tossed in the new Loose Feather, Autumn Song by Blackbird Designs, I passed on stitching on Quaker Study (it's still leaving me cold - maybe I should just sell it). I don't have much done yet so I didn't take a photo - I will tomorrow for sure.

It was a beautiful weekend here in Northern Illinois - almost 80 degrees yesterday! So the pugs and I took care of some long neglected lawn work outside. Aoife had a blast playing outside with the gang. She was so tired at one point I had to put her inside just so she would take a nap. She is a very clever puppy and I pretty sure I'm just not saying that because I'm a proud mom. :-) She is learning all sorts of things just by watching the other pugs. Late last week, she was watching Clancy run in and out of the agility tunnel and she started to follow him and is now running through all the way. I've started to ask her to do it and she is quite motivated by the little cookie she rewarded with when she runs all the way through. On Saturday I took her and Clancy to play at the indoor dog park where I take my dogs for training. While I was there the woman who teaches puppy training stopped in and asked if we wanted to participant in the next puppy session that starts on the 27th. Of course I said yes so starting on Saturday Aoife will be going to school. Puppy training is pretty low key and I'm so happy that I'm getting such a jump on things with her. I didn't start Molly in formal training until she was four or five months old. I really don't know about Clancy since he was six months old when I adopted him. He didn't start any formal training until he was a year old.

Here is Aoife getting ready to run into the tunnel.

And here she is with Clancy just hanging out. You can see just how small she is in compared to the size of the tunnel. I think her going through it is a really brave thing.