Saturday, June 30, 2012

Halloween in July....

First, I must say I just enjoyed my first
tomato sandwich of the summer.
It was the perfect tomato sandwich.
What makes it perfect?
Sunbeam Old Fashioned white bread
(yes...it has to be Sunbeam & it has to be fresh)
John's Island tomatoes
(from the SC Lowcountry...they are the best)
Duke's mayo
(yes....it has to be Dukes)
Think I will enjoy another as soon
as I finish this post!

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Okay...back to stitching.  I have another
Crazy Challenge finish...lucky number 7!

Primitive Needle "Kindred Spirits"
stitched on 35ct. WDW parchment
w/CC & Victorian Motto

Everybody needs a little halloween in their June!
This little design was so deceiving!  I thought
I could knock it out in a day or two but it took
me over a week to get it finished. 
(Maybe too much t.v. watching and not enough stitching!)
Now I just have to figure out what to do with it....

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My time before has been preoccupied
with this little beauty and I thought I would
share a progress pic.  

Homespun Elegance "Peace & Plenty"
stitched on 40ct mystery fabric
w/ DMC

I just love the colors in this one and can't
wait to get back to it.  I have decided to use the
same color scheme for Plum Street Samplers
Colonial Garden since I think they will
really complement each other.

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I have also recently acquired some new
goodies though it is bittersweet.
I was sad to learn that Counted Stitches, one
of my favorite shops, was closing the end
of JuneThey were so sweet to deal with
and I will definitely miss my annual trip
for their Christmas Sale.

Hubby & I had a trip planned a few Saturdays
ago so he was persuaded to take a small detour
so that I could visit with them one last time.


Their sale started at 35% off so I couldn't resist! 
(I think I am set for life with HE brass buttons.)


My diginity will not allow me show the full
haul but here is just a glimpse.  
(I did some serious damage.)

I also got some goodies from Jill who was nice
enough to share some of her hand-dyed threads.


I just love pink & brown and I hope to put
them to good use very soon!

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Well I won't bore you with comments on how
hot it is here in SC since you are probably just
as hot if you are in the good ol' USA.  
Perfect stitching weather, though, so I
am off to see what trouble I can find.

As always....thanks for visiting
and stay cool!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Throwback Thursday....


While going through "The Bin"
(the place unframed finishes live),
I found a couple of vintage finishes languishing
on the very bottom.  Time to bring them
back to life (at least briefly) on my blog.

My oldest.....
I still have this book but am too lazy to look for it!
Good old ivory 14ct. w/ DMC
Circa early 1980's

This was probably my first "big" project when
I started stitching.  I was definitely a teenager
when I started stitching it...maybe 15 or 16. 
My grand plans were to finish it as a wallhanging
 but it was not mean't to be. 

 

I remember the design had two colorways...
pink or yellow. I picked yellow to match
my teenage room... too bad it never
made it to the wall.

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Another oldie...
D Morgan "Home Again"
Stitched on 14ct w/ DMC
Circa early 1990's

I stitched this one in the early 1990's during
my lunch hour watching the Young & Restless. 
I just knew this would hang in my house
someday.   Not sure why I liked this one so much,
but needless to say, it has never seen my house!

My favorite memory of this one involves the
original chart, which I still have.   I used to
drink Slim-Fast for lunch
(back in the good days when it was a powder and you had to mix it in the blender).  

I left my container in my car one day and the
southern heat caused pressure to blow the top off
and spitting my remnants all over my chart,
which was laying on the seat.  
Thank goodness my stitching was spared!

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And even older....
P Buckley Moss "Sisters"
Stitched on 18ct aida w/DMC
Circa mid 1980's

I know I stitched this one in my teenage years and
only remember it seemed to take forever to
finish.  Pretty sure it was all of the half stitches
on18ct aida as well as the backstitching.
This was to be the first of many P Buckley Moss
designs I planned to stitch. I love her style. 
Unfortunately, it was the only one.
I still like this one.

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And lastly...

I still have this book too but am too lazy to look for it.
Stitched on 14ct aida w/DMC
1990

It is easy to see this one was stitch in 1990.  
Yes...it the proverbial "country" design that I
know we all have in our stash as well as finishes.
I do still like it, though, with the bright red
and greens of the melons

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Psst....I have a confession!

I used masking tape on my edges when I first
started stitching.  I can only imagine that I read
that somewhere because I can't imagine I
would think to do that at 15.


Yes....it has been stored that way all of these years
and I just tooked it off.   Sigh...I know.

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Well....how many of these have you stitched???
Thanks for visiting and happy stitching!

Monday, June 4, 2012

My busy needle....


My needle has been busy this past
week stitching smalls.


Aury "Patriotic Heart 2011"
stitched on 40ct khaki w/
WDW & Victorian Motto

Finally got around to stitching this freebie and
hope to finish into a box top.

Threadwork Primitives "Happy 4th"
stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean
w/Victorian Motto and WDW

Another great design from Nan.  I did 
make a little change in the berries.

Homespun Elegance "Crow Patriotic"
stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean
w/WDW

Just love the crow and flag!

Homespun Elegance "Summer Fun"
stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean
w/ WDW

I love this little sheep... so much fun to stitch.

Homespun Elegance "Summer Patches #4"
stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean
w/ WDW

Just had to stitch this one for my little buddy!

Homespun Elegance "Summer Patch #3"
stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean
w/WDW

Nothing says summer like sunflowers and watermelon.

HIH "Summer Bird"
stitched on 32ct LL Navy Bean
w/WDW & Sampler Threads

I still need to sew the little bee button on but
love this little birdie too!

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Now I just have to figure out the
finishing on some of these
... hmmm...
think I will stew on it a little longer.

I think I have had my fill of smalls for now. 
Off to see what I can get my needle into next.

Thanks for visiting!