Prairie Schooler Alphabet Update.......

Seems like I was just here yesterday....

Summer has been passing by slowly but surely
and I can sense fall isn't too far in the distance.
I am ready for it....it is my favorite
time of the year.

Summer hasn't been too terribly busy and
I have a few finishes to share.
Today I will focus on my Prairie Schooler.

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I realized in May that I am closer to the end of
my PS Alphabet project than I am to the
beginning and I could start to imagine
a finish this year.   Stitching one a month,
I was slated to finish the 27th design March
2018 but thought it would be nice to
finish by December.  After a little bit
of figuring, I worked out a schedule that
will allow me to finish in October.
I usually can't stick to a schedule when
it comes to stitching but I am amazed that
I have made it two months stitching
one of the letters every other week.

So.....here is what we have so far.

PS "H is for Honey"

PS "I is for Indian Corn"

PS "V is for Vineyard"

PS "W is for Welcome"

PS "X is for Cross Stitch"

  

Here is my progress as of 8-5-2017.....

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 It takes me about a week per letter and
I have been alternating weeks since May.
I will be back soon to share some of my
other stitching and finishing!

Thanks for visiting and
happy stitching....

Stitchmaynia 2017....

I decided to participate again in Stitchmaynia,
where you have 15 new starts in the
first 15 days of May.  I decided
to tweak it to better suit my schedule

and have a new start every other day. 
I was able to get a really good start on my
projects and still have time for other stitching.

To make it even easier I decided to us the
club kits I have been accumulating the
last 3 years as my new starts.

All of the projects are small and this
will give a good variety to pick up
and go over the next year.

The clubs kits were included the
Colonial Gatherings Club, which I
have been a member of for 3 years. 
The designers are Plum Street Samplers and
Scarlett House so you know these will be good.

The third club is Silver Needle's
A Little Help from our Friends Stitching Circle. 
Each year has featured 5 different designers
so I have a good variety with this club.

I did have to swap out some of the fabrics
because of color or texture but I know I will
have some finishes I will treasure.

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Plum Street Samplers

Thistle Pocket

Cricket Collection

Autumn Blooms

Scarlett House

On Redware Road

Lizzie Kate

Stitch With Me

Plum Street Samplers

Fraktur Friends

Scarlett House

Nice to Meet Ewe

La D Da

My Friend

Shepherd's Bush

Heart of My Heart

Scarlett House

Strawberry House

Plum Street Samplers

Colonial Candle Pocket

The Drawn Thread

Threads That Bind

Scarlett House

Button Posies

Plum Street Sampler

Autumn Cottage

Scarlett House

On Stoneware Street

Blackbird Designs

Patchwork Pinkeep

Plum Street Samplers

Hurt Not the Earth

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I hope to finish many of these this year. 
Some of these were hard to put down
so I will definitely visiting with them this month.
It will be nice to have a basket of smalls to
sprinkle within my bigger projects

I hope you are finding time to put needle
and thread to fabric.
Thanks for visiting my little space
on the stitching universe!

April progress....

April was a good stitchy month and  I

finished the next installment of my

Prairie Schooler ABC's sampler.

Prairie Schooler "G is for Gardern"

This was great stitch for April as the gardens

were so appropriate for the month. 

I only have 11 left to stitch and would love

to finish this one this year.   I just have to

double up a few months...easy peasy!

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I was also able to finish two more on my

BBD Garden Series.  These stitch up

very quickly and I hope to finish this one

up by year end.   

BBD "The Gardener"

stitched with recommended thread

on Silkweaver 40ct Clay Pebble

 BBD "Lily in the Garden"

stitched with recommended thread

on Silkweaver 40ct Clay Pebble

Progress thus far....

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I am taking part in Stitchmaynia 2017

and have decided to finally start all the

club kits I have been accumulating the

last 3 years.  All of the fabric and threads

are ready to go so it is easy to pick one

up and go.  Since they are all "smalls" I

am also going to challenge myself to fully

finish these so I can enjoy each day.

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I am excited to be attending the

Primitive Stitcher's Society retreat this

weekend in Columbus Ohio.  I am so looking

forward to spending great stitching time

with both old and new friends.   I am off to pack

and hopefully get a few stitches in.

Happy stitching....

Stitching progress.....

Hope all are having a great stitching month....

I finally decided to start the BBD

Garden Series from this month after

seeing Nicole's beautiful finish.

I started in the bottom right corner which

meant the last one would be the first.

BBD "All in A Row"

stitched on Silkweaver Clay Pebble

with recommended threads

This was a quick sweet stitch but I have

to admit I was a little disappointed

in the colorway of the hand dyed threads.

I know the variegation of the threads can

cause the stitched piece to vary from the

model and I wish I had now changed the

threads to better match by taste.  I will

definitely do that going forward.

After finishing up my monthly PS Alphabet series,

I decided to stitch another in the

Garden Series. I just love the colors in

this one.  I can tell this one will

be a fun one to complete.

 BBD "Fairy Garden"

stitched on Silkweaver Clay Pebble

with recommended threads

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Speaking of my PS Alphabet,  I have finished

my next installment and stitched

"F is for Friend".  This was a fun

stitch even with the solid blocks of color.

PS "F is for Friend"

stitched on 40ct linen with recommended DMC

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Wishing you many happy stitches and

thanks for visiting.....

February frolics....

Hello stitchers....

This past month has been a good stitchy

one.  January's installment of the

PS Alphabet

has been completed and I can

honestly say this was not a favorite.

I dreaded stitching it before

I even started but decided to

go ahead and get it over with....

Prairie Schooler "D is for Drum"

stitched with DMC on 40ct linen

I wasn't thrilled with the design and think that

attributed to my lack of desire to stitch. 

I really didn't like that the letter was

at the top, which is the only one like

this.  I decided to switch it which meant

a little bit of a redesign but I am happy

with how it turned out in the end.

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I decided to carry on with the next installment

for February and have to say this is one of

my favorites.  I love the tapestry even

though I did a little unintentional redesign.

Counting is hard.

PS "E is for Embroidery"

stitched with recommended DMC

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I was able to get together with some stitching

friends the end of January and decided

this little design would be good for

stitching and talking simultaneously. 

Someday this hopes to be a pinkeep.

Threadwork Primitives "All in Bloom" kit

kit from the Primitive Stitcher's Society 2016 retreat

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I also had the opportunity to have a few pieces

framed and glad I veered away from the

brown frames to choose reds.

Carriage House Samplings

"Matter's Choice"

This is still one of my favorite finishes from last summer.

Heartstring Samplery "Three Little Proverbs"

 This will be on display as a daily

reminder of the poignant messages.

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Thanks for visiting and I am off to stitch!

Out with the old....

 Time got away from me before year end

so I start 2017 reflecting on my

last finishes for the year....

"O is for Owl" was this month's stitch

for the Prairie Schooler Alphabet. 

Like the last two, this one had a lot of

stitches in brown but I persevered

and got it down before year end.

PS "O is for Owl" stitched on 40ct linen with DMC

Here are the last three stitched.  "N" and "O"

really tested my patience so I'm glad they are done.

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I had a few days left in before we turned the

calendar page and I decided to focus on a finish

from one of my Crazy January Challenges. 

I have put a few stitches in this one here and

there and decided this one deserved my attention.

BBD "Quaker Garden"

stitched on PTP 40ct Legacy

with overdyed threads

This was finished on New Year's Eve with

the help of some all day football

and a little time to spare.

I did change the color scheme slightly

using WDW Caper instead of Palomino. 

My ivory thread is a little lost on the

fabric but I am very happy with the

way this one stitched up.

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I think I have counted 10 WIPS I will be

carrying over to 2017.  As always,

I like the Crazy January Challenge

of starting 15 new projects the first 1

5 days of the month.  My least favorite

part of the cross stitch process is the

gathering of supplies and the initial stitches

in a design.  I guess I am always second

guessing my fabric or thread choices

(yeah....I like to make a lot of changes so I

guess I bring it on myself!)

so once the first stitches are done I am

pretty much committed and can relax.

Once I have all started, I enjoy having some

many stitching options and can choose

as my mood suits.

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I hope to be back later to document my

lingering WIPS and their current status as

well as the projects I have slated to go. 

With so many WIPS, I am changing my

plan and will start a new project every

other day in January.  This will allow me

to have some extra time on each project. 

I also plan to devote at least a few stitches

each day to one of my WIPS.  By the end

of the month, I will have at least touch all

of my projects with either 1 stitch

or 100 stitches.  Wish me luck!

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I hope everyone had a great new year

filled with many stitches!