Catching Up: February......

Stitching commenced in January and

I had a few finishes from my Crazy January starts.

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

I have always loved this design and it was

just perfect as Valentine's day

quickly approached.  I did my own

colorway and just love the color combination

of chocolate and cherry on the linen.  

Yummy....

BBD "Sweetheart Sampler"

Stitched on WDW 30ct w/ Victorian Motto

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

One goal this year was to stitch more ornaments

so I joined a monthly SAL.  My first

finish was this older design from

a Shepherd's Bush newsletter.

SB "Be Jolly"

stitched on 25ct evenweave with hand-dyed threads

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

With Valentine's Day approaching, I

decided to stitch this sweet holiday

design from years ago.   I just loved all of the

Be Atitude series and am happy

to have finish added to my collection.

SB "Be True"

Stitched on 32ct white linen with recommended threads

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

Another goal I set for myself was to

stitch the Prairie Schooler's ABC series. 

I have had the designs for several

years and decided I wasn't going

to wait any longer.

I am stitching mine all together with three

rows of nine designs.  Even though

the chart indicates the design

size to be 70 x 70, a review revealed

this was not the case for most of them.  

I was obsessed with making sure

the alignment is even.  

I have counted, counted again,

sketched it out on paper, counted again,

and then counted again

to insure I have enough spacing between

them without running out of fabric.

Since the second row would be the longest

(few were 70 stitches wide) I decided

to start with "J", which would be the

first design in that row.  

Oh my goodness....I never thought that

pumpkin would end.  It seemed like it took

forever to stitch but I got it done.

Prairie Schooler "J*K*L"

stitched on 40ct Lakeside Linen with recommended DMC

If I had it to do over again, I would

have changed the color of the pumpkin

but I can live with it now.

I not very happy with the coverage even

though this is 40ct but I will wash this

once done and hope the weave will

tighten up a bit.

Since I planned to finish a block a month,

I carried on to catch up and stitched

the next one for this month.

Prairie Schooler "J*K*L"

stitched on 40ct Lakeside Linen with recommended DMC

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

And my last finish for the month was

another Crazy January start.

So glad I finally have this sweet design stitched.

CHS "Be My Love"

Stitched on PTP Legacy w/ DMC

She is now framed and ready to be added

to the George and Martha wall....

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

Thanks for visiting & happy stitching.......

Catching up: January.....

My least favorite part of stitching is

starting a new design.  I am always second

guessing my fabric choice and

thread choices so it makes it hard to put

that first stitch in.  I have found over the

years that "speed starting" a lot of projects at

once helps with this anxiety and I then

have a basket of delight to choose

from each day.   I know that it stresses some

people to have too many designs going

at once but I believe that having something

started is no different than having the

design sitting in my stash waiting

its turn to be started.   

So.....I decided to partake in the Crazy January

challenge again and I kitted up 15 projects

to start.  I did change it a little by "speed starting"

several projects over the first two weekends

in January.  I eventually only started 9 and I

am glad these were in my rotation.

Scarlett House "Coverlet Houses"

BBD "Quaker Garden"

Rosewood Manor "Old Glory"

La D Da "Peace House"

Carriage House Samplings "A Quaker Study"

Rosewood Manor "Cornwall Cottage Sampler"

Goode Huswife "Be My Love"

Silver Creek Samplers "Shadow of My Wings"

BBD "Sweetheart Sampler"

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

Our journey with our Clemson Tigers ended

in Arizona at the BCS National Championship

game. Realizing this was a lifelong dream

and an opportunity that may never come again,

hubby and I made the trek west to see our

Tigers play.   Although they didn't prevail,

we had an awesome time. 

Clemson fans have an awesome tradition that

began in the 70's when Clemson always

traveled to Atlanta for a match with

Georgia Tech.  To show the impact fans

have on a city's economy,

we stamp Tiger paws on $2 bills. 

It is amazing how many you will see

floating around while visiting the host city. 

Some rival fans are aware of the tradition and

will often ask for one as a souvenir.   We know I

t works because of the usual publicity it

brings once we have left.   This was the

case for Phoenix when several stories were

printed regarding the tradition and how

much money fans pumped into the

hotels, restaurants and bars during our trip.  

And that is your daily dose of Clemson history......

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

The best part of the trip was being to

visit The Attic Needlework shop again and

to visit with Tanya from The Scarlett House.

We had a short and sweet visit and yes....

I did leave some $2 bills at the Attic.

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

Thanks for visiting my small corner of

the universe and I will be back

soon for another update.

Happy stitching....

Catching Up: December .....

The thing I love most about my blog is the

historical timeline I create when I post my

finishes.   I use Instagram to capture

my daily stitching activities but it is nice

to come back here and reminisce about

designs, fabrics and threads.

With that in mind, I hope you won't

mind my next few posts

will catch me up with my projects so that

I can enjoy them down the road too.

Let's start with December....

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

I continued stitching a design from the

A Most Suitable Name series 

by Jeannette Douglas

over the holidays and finished this sweet design.

Jeannette Douglas "Devoted Dorothy"

A Most Suitable Name series

stitched on 40ct PTP Legacy with recommended threads

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

My hubby completed his Museum Certification

program in December and I decided to

stitch a little memento for him.

My love for Lizzie Kate and this powerful

quote made this a perfect gift for him.

Lizzie Kate "Promise Me"

stitched on 28ct khaki evenweave with my thread conversion

I did make the design a little more masculine

and replaced the flower motif under

"Promise" with a globe and some books.  

I was very happy with the result and a

wonderful reminder to my hubby

of his accomplishment.

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

I decided to finish up this Colonial Gatherings

club piece that I had started back in August.  

The designed border just didn't appeal to me

and I played around until I settled on this.

Plum Street Samplers "Goodness & Plenty"

Colonial Gatherings Club kit

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

With my hubby's interest in Colonial history,

I too am drawn to elegant ladies and

gentlemen of this era.   Some years back

I decided I would have a George & Martha wall

(which I think I actually stole from Paulette Stewart of Plum Street)

and have been stitching designs that

reflect this time period to add to my collection.

Plum Street Samplers "Pretty Pleasures"

stitched on 36ct Lakeside Linen with my DMC conversion

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

As some of my friends know, I am avid

Clemson Tiger fan and December was packed

with travel following the Tigers on the

road to the National Championship game. 

We started in early December with a trip to

Charlotte for the ACC Championship game. 

Following the win,

Dabo (our beloved coach) held true

to his promise of a pizza party in

Death Valley if Clemson won.

We then headed down to Miami to meet Oklahoma in the BCS Playoff game.  We celebrated a win there, which was memorable, but not as memorable as the fish and chips I had.

Holey moley...I still dream about this piece of fish. 

Yes....I ate the whole thing!

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

Thanks for visiting as always and hope to

see you soon with another post for January.

Happy stitching....

Where has the time gone....

I'm still here!  Once again I have let time

get away from me and neglected my blog.

I have been busy stitching in 2016 and will

be back to share some favorites.

For now I want to share some wonderful finishes

from the Carolina Stitcher. Last year

I stitched these wonderful designs

from Jeannette Douglas and decided to have them

finished into project bags.  All were stitched on

40 count PTP linen & were the perfect size. 

Now I can enjoy them all of the time 

while I'm stitching away.

Wool Willi

Devoted Dorothy

Humble Hilda

Alphabet Annie

Nimble Netty

Button Betty

Prim Penny

Modest Mildred

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to be back

soon with some more stitching.

Until then....happy stitching!

November update.....

Time has flown by again but I have been stitching.

Might want to grab a cup of coffee...

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

I attended the Pals Stitching at the Beach in

mid-October and had just started this

BBD design.  I have had the design for

years in my stash and it hit me one day

that I had the perfect PTP fabric in my

stash and so a start was warranted.

I finished it at the retreat and can say

this one was a fun stitch. 

BBD "Sunflower House" stitched on

40ct PTP Dwarf linen with Victorian Motto threads

A few of my favorite elements from this design....

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

I decided to stitch another part of these

design and I will have to say it

seemed to take forever.

There aren't too many elements in this

design so I'm not sure why it was

such a slow stitch.

I still have the last part to stitch and

hope to finish before year end.

Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 17:17" from

"Three Little Proverbs" stitched on 40ct PTP Wren with

Victorian Motto and recommended threads

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

I found this old design in my stash.   

It was a very quick stitch and hopefully

I can get it finished before Christmas.

Drawn Thread "Peace" stitched on 32ct Summer Khaki

with Victorian Motto threads

I didn't realize this ornament was full of

specialty stitches until after I started but

will say they weren't that difficult.  My favorite

was this little corner stitch, the Boucle stitch,

and will file that away for future use.

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

I also stitched another in the

"A Most Notable Name"

series from Jeannette Douglass.   I just

love these quick stitches and only

have one left to complete.   I hope she

will continue this series with a few more. 

I love the sewing themed designs and hope

to have these finished into cross stitch

 project bags so I can enjoy them all of the time.

Jeannette Douglas Designs "Button Betty"

stitched on 40ct PTP Legacy with recommended threads

As is the norm, the design looked so much

better stitched than the model picture.

My favorite part was the little row of buttons. 

These will definitely be stitched again as

I add them to a future project.

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

Lastly, I stitched these

Hands On Designs Chalk ornaments.

I just love these on this PTP fabric

but will say they were are difficult

without good lighting. 

Hands On Designs "Peace"

2015 JCS Ornament Issue

stitched on 32ct PTP Shadow with

Victorian Motto threads

The only thing I wasn't too happy with

was the white stitches.

I always find the white DMC difficult

to stitch as my stitches done seem to lay flat.

I do love the results though.

 Hands On Designs "Plenty"

2015 JCS Ornament Issue

stitched on 32ct PTP Shadow with

Victorian Motto threads

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

If you made it this far...thanks for visiting.

Hope you have enjoying some good

stitching time during this holiday

season.  Happy stitching...

Stitched goodies....

 

I'm back.   I make a promise to myself

each time I do a blog post that I will not

wait so long until the next one. 

Amazing how time flies.....

 

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

 

I first want to say I have time to write

this blog today

due to my office being closed.

We experienced horrific flooding over

 the weekend in South Carolina

thanks to Joaquin.  The devastation

we have seen in our city has been unbelievable

and the flooding continues due to

dam breaches.  Please say a prayer for

all of these families.  We made it through

Hugo and know we will make it

through this too. 

 

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

 

Just a few goodies to share.

I knew as soon as I finished this one that

I wouldn't wait to have it framed.

I still love it and have to say it is still

one of my favorite stitches.

 

By The Bay "Thirteenth Colony Parts 1,2 & 3"

 

I always gravitate to this molding

and thought it fit this piece beautifully.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

August turned to be a good month to finish

up some long lingering WIPS.

 

I started this piece back in 2012 as part

of the Crazy January Challenge.

I have picked it up several times over

the years but it just felt like a chore to stitch.

 

Plum Street Samplers "Halloween Hornbook"

Stitched on Lakeside Linen 35ct Parchment

w/Victorian Motto threads

 

I still don't know why I had such as

hard time with this one but I am so happy

I stuck with it and finished in time

for this Halloween.  Hopefully I can

get my gumption up to get it finished

before month end.

 

I am guessing these are some type of

morbid peacock and I just love

this one with the witch's hat.

 

I dove back into my pile of WIPS

and pulled this one out.

This was a freebie that I had miscounted

and just lost my steam.



Freebie--"Pear XII--Swan Song"

from Samplers and Santas Blog

 



I think I still have a couple more of

these to stitch.  I can say that I was glad to

finish this one and add it to my collection.

 

~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~   *   ~

 

Well...if you made it this far, thanks for

visiting my small place in the universe.

 

I hope you are having a great stitching month.

Happy stitching.... 

Flosstube....

 

My. new. addiction.

 

Flosstube.

 

I can't even recall how I discovered Flosstube

but I have been watching for a few months now

and I am amazed how addicting it is.

Are you familiar with Flosstube?

In a nutshell it is stitchers making videos

talking about and showing their WIPS,

hauls, FFO's, UFOS.......

it is just fascinating!

 

I have been wondering for weeks why I find this

so interesting.  It is just another social media

outlet for stitchers to share.  I know Facebook

groups seem to be all the rage now but it

isn't my thing.  Like many I too find

Instagram the easiest way

to share my stitching and finishes.

 

Flosstube (a.k.a Youtube) is different. 

Although I don't know

any of the Flosstubers, I find it a nice distraction

at night while stitching.  It is almost like

having someone sitting with me as

I stitch and talking about stitching.

Granted it is a one-way conversation

it is amazing how much you can learn about

a person you have never met.  Even now

as I write this it still boggles my mind

why I like it so much.

 

I have learned a lot about myself too

from Flosstube.

 

I am very judgmental.

As Flosstubers share their stash and haul,

I often roll my eyes commenting that they

will never stitch all they have accumulated.

I know they will never stitch all they

have in this lifetime.

 

I am a hypocrite.

As I judge others about their stash

and inability to stitch it all in this lifetime,

I continuously add to my voluminous

stash that I will never stitch

 in two lifetimes. Bless my heart!

 

I obviously don't know the most

popular designers.

This could be a drinking game as you watch a

video.  It is almost with certainly that you will

find a flosstuber stitch at least one if not all

of these designs/designers:

 

HAED

Mirabilia

Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Storytime Sampler

Box of Delights

Save the Stitches

Twisted Band Sampler

Rainbow Band Sampler

 

If you are unfamiliar with any of these

designers or designs, head on over to

Flosstube and you will soon be educated.

 

I am amazed that I don't find more Flosstubers

showing designers and designs that I

like to stitch.  I guess that is one reason

I am so amazed at my fascination.

I may see the occasional Lizzie Kate but

surprised you don't see a lot Blackbird

Designs or Plum Street Samplers to

name a few being stitched.

Even though I have no interest in these

particular types of designs, I still have this

feeling I am missing out....am I?????

 

Great source for new techniques/designers/supplies.

I have gotten some great tips and techniques

to make stitching easier.  I love exploring

new to me designers, fabrics, threads

and other stitching accessories. 

 

I am motivated to stitch.

Although I will never join the Flosstube

community, I do find it motivating and

have noticed my stitching during the

week has picked up considerably.

I found it a chore to stitch after work but

there is something relaxing about stitching as

I listen to others talk about their stitching.

I will take it...any stitching is good.

 

So....if you haven't checked out Flosstube,

give it a try.  I do warn you, though,

that it can be addictive.

 

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

 

I do have some stitching to share...

told you I was motivated!

 

I just love the A Most Suitable Name series

from Jeannette Douglas Designs. 

This is my fourth finish and I still have four

more to go and hope to start another this month.

 

Jeannette Douglas Designs "Alphabet Annie"

from A Most Suitable Name series

stitched on 40ct PTP Legacy with recommended thread

 

 

I love the little motifs on this one and

would be cute on a little pincushion.

 

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

 

I decided late Friday night to get a start on

Heartstring Samplery's Three Little Proverbs,

which has been kitted since last year.  

There are three designs and I decided to

put in a few stitches on the first one in hopes

I could stitch on it this upcoming week.

 

 

Heartstring Samplery "Proverbs 15:1"

from Three Little Proverbs

stitched on 40ct PTP Wren with Victorian Motto,

WDW and Sampler threads

 

Not sure how this happened but I couldn't stop

and put in the last stitch this afternoon.

 

 

I don't know what it was about this design

but I couldn't put it down. I just love all of

the little motifs and the color combos

are just so pretty and pleasing.

 

I love the message also and am anxious

to move on to the next one.

 

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

Well...if you stayed with me this long,

thanks for visiting my small corner

of the web.  Happy stitching.....