PrimMaynia 2018....

Hello.....long time no post!

Thanks for Sharon (It's Daffycat)

for nudge me to do an update.

I am back to share my plans for May and

PrimMaynia 2018.

I am again participating in StitchMaynia 2018

(Instagram hashtag #stitchmaynia2018

or the group is on

Facebook under Stitchmaynia)

where you have a new start the first 18 days

of May but many are making it their own and

planning all kinds of things to do..

So what is PrimMaynia 2018 you ask? 

Coined by Christy

( @ladygatorstitches on Instagram),

you will start 18 (or however many you want)

new primitive designs in May. 

So what is considered primitive? 

Anything I want! 

My least favorite part of stitching is gathering the

thread,  choosing a fabric, deciding where

to start and putting in the first few stitches.

By doing this for numerous designs at once,

I then have a great assortment of projects

to choose from as I stitch throughout the year.

So....this year I decided to do a new start

each day so that means I will have 15 new

starts. The thing I do love about doing this is

"shopping" in my stash and rediscovering all of

the wonderful designs I own that have been

patiently waiting their turn in the hoop. 

Here are my few starts......

~ ~ ~  May 1st  ~ ~ ~

Goode Huswife

Ellen Birdseye

Linen = PTP 40ct Wren

Thread = recommended DMC

~ ~ ~  May 3rd  ~ ~ ~

Carriage Housing Samplings

Katy Horn

Linen = PTP 40ct Sand

Thread = recommended DMC

~ ~ ~  May 5th  ~ ~ ~
Summer House Stitche Workes

Simple Abundance

Linen = PTP 40ct Doubloon

Thread = Victorian Motto & Gentle Arts

~ ~ ~  May 7th  ~ ~ ~
Blackbird Designs

1861 Antique Sampler

from 
In Friendship's Way

Linen = PTP 40ct Doubloon

Thread = Victorian Motto threads

~ ~ ~  May 9th  ~ ~ ~

Blackbird Designs

Darling Buds of May

from

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

Linen = PTP 40ct Sand

Thread = Gentle Arts

~ ~ ~  May 11th  ~ ~ ~

Blackbird Designs

Feliz Navidad

Linen = PTP 40ct Wren

Thread = Weeks Dye Works

 ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~

I have been stitching the last 8 months and have

lots to show.  As per my usual, I will catch my

blog up over the next month

so I can look back and see all that I have done.

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a great

stitching week.....

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

You can find me almost daily on Instagram

@karenshandiwork

Tis the season....

The Christmas season is upon us as we

begin the wave goodbye to fall.

I had a pretty good stitchy autumn since

last we spoke.

October's installment of the

Prairie Schooler Alphabet

was a mermaid.

Prairie Schooler "M is for Mermaid"

stitched on 40ct linen with DMC

Honestly I was not looking forward to

this block due to the large

chunks of color.  I was surprised to

find the blues and greens were a

nice change of pace from 3371. 

This is one of my favorites thus far.

Yes...November is over and I should

have the next installment, N is for Nest,

finished but I am can't find my

motivation to stitch finish it. 

Good thing about being an adult is

I can stitch a little bit at a time

until it is done.  My goal is to finish

N and O is for Owl by December's end.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *  ~

A favorite finish in the month of October

was Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 8:11".

This is a three-part series and I stitched

the other two parts in 2015 and decided I

really wanted to finish this one this year also.

 

Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 8:11"

stitched on PTP 40ct Legacy with recommended hand-dyed threads

I loved this series from the first time I saw

them not only for the messages but for

the softness and beauty of the designs.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I decided to throw in two more Christmas ornaments too.

Summer House Stitche Workes "Barn Star Ornaments"

stitched on PTP 40ct Ale with Victorian Motto Red and WDW Bark

I love these little ornaments and hope

to finish as bowl fillers.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Who doesn't love Lizzie Kate and I was

gobsmacked as soon as I saw her

"String" snippets.  Is this not the cutest?

Lizzie Kate "Merry String"

stitched on 28ct over one with DMC

I wanted to one to be small for an ornament

and I envisioned this one to be in a drum fashion. 

It turned out to be the size of a

Christmas tree ball which was perfect.

Oh my.... cuteness overload!

~    *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

As Thanksgiving neared I couldn't

resist these two cute designs any longer.

Homespun Elegance "Turkey Tyme"

stitched on 40ct mystery linen with recommended threads

Lizzie Kate "Sampling Thanksgiving"

stitched on WDW 30ct Straw with my own thread conversion

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Holding on to fall a little longer, I stitched

this Blackbird Design from last year. 

 BBD "Bittersweet September"

stitched on 40ct mystery linen with Victorian Motto threads

I just love the burst of orange on this

design....the over one stitching

for the alphabet not so much.

My friend Charlene shared a tip to

use a #10 beading needle for the over

one and I will say it did go a lot quicker.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Thanks for visiting today and

happy stitches....

Catching up: April.....

I hope I'm not boring you with all

of the posts but it has

been fun to reminisce about

what I have been up to the last

few months.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

Fifty Shades of Gray....

this took on a whole new meaning in April

as I celebrated my 50th birthday.

I tried to celebrate quietly but my

family and co-workers had other plans. 

I am just glad I was here to celebrate with them.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

While browsing through my Blackbird Designs,

I saw this one and had to instantly

start it.  There is just something about

it I love so start I did.

Blackbird Designs "Button Box"

from In Friendship's Way booklet

stitched on  hand-dyed 40ct Buttercream from DixieSamplar

with Victorian Motto threads

I love the yellow tones to this piece and

do plan to finish as sewing box.....one day.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I had to travel to Denver for a conference

and decided to take something small for the plane trip.  

The Prim Society's retreat kit from

Summer House Stitche Workes was perfect.

Summer House Stitche Workes "Prim Tapestry"

PSS 2016 Retreat kit

I was a little unsure about the rusty star

included ...looked a little big.  Obviously

Beth knows what she is doing

because it was just the right touch.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

And yes there was another

Prairie Schooler alphabet finish....

Prairie Schooler "S*R*T"

stitched on 40ct Lakeside Linen with recommended DMC

I loved this block especially the

measuring tape border detail.

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

That's it from my little stitchy

corner of the universe.
Not too many more and I will
be officially caught up.

Happy stitching....