Stitching with Friends...

I took a vacation day yesterday; it was a "use ir or lose it" situation. The best way to spend a day like this is stitching with friends!

We got together at Joan's house . The early morning risers were there at 7:30am. Me? I like to sleep in on my days off; I didn't arrive until about 9:15am. We stitched and yacked and stitched. It was nice to have no other worries for the day.

Who was there? Well, Joan of course - here's a shot of the project she was working on. It's the first part of a four part series in the recent issue of JCS magazine. She's almost done with this first part (Spring). I'm planning to stitch it too, but haven't started yet.


Chris (no blog) was there too. She is our stitching maniac - never see her without a needle in her hand. She is stitching a special class model, so I can't show you the full piece, but I can tell you that it was a gorgeous design!


Jill was there too working on a Victoria Sampler piece. She had just put the hoop on it to work on some specialty stitches.


Last but not least is me. I started a new piece by Jeanette Douglas. It came out at market; I think it is called Quaker Stitches...the colors in the picture are not quite right...

The cats in the house frequently stop in to see what we're working on. At this moment, Kitty Boy (aka Captain Underpants) was more interested in what was going on outside. Note that he is straddled between the table and the window sill!


I have a few other updates to show you, but those will have to wait for another day. Still counting down the days until the Stitchville Spring Fling Retreat! Just 9 days away now!

BOAF Happy Hearts...Progress Report

Have been working on BOAF Happy Hearts sampler this week. Please forgive me for not pressing the linen before taking this photo. The picture is a little crooked too; photography is not my thing!

I'm a little frustrated with my WDW Chesapeake which is used for some of the letters in the alphabet (WDW Onyx is used for some of the letters too.) The skein of Chesapeake that I have is too dark and there's not enough contrast between it and the Onyx. The Chesapeake should be more blue, closer to DMC 924.

Now you might be wondering, why did I keep stitching the alphabet if I wasn't completely happy with the color of the Chesapeake threads? Good question. As my friend Joan will tell you, I am a "rule follower" - I tend to always use the linen and the fibers that the project calls for. It's rare that I ever deviate from the pattern!

In this case though, I think I might have to make an exception. I'm just not happy with that alphabet. For now, I'm going to put this piece away. Next time I am at Stitchville I will take a look at WDW Chesapeake and see if I can find a better skein. If I can't find a lighter skein of Chesapeake, then I am going to switch to GAST Brethren Blue or DMC 924. And yes, perfectionist that I am, I will frog the letters that need to be frogged and re-sitch them in the right color of blue!

Speaking of my friend Joan - she was traveling this week with her husband while he was on a business trip. He always allows time to stop at needlework stores and/or quilt shops along the way. On this trip they made a stop at The Inspired Needle in Lemont, IL - check out the post from Cathy at The Inspired Needle. What a nice LNS this must be; I wish they were closer!!!

I added a countdown counter to my blog earlier this week - I'm impatiently anticipating the Stitchville Spring Fling retreat -- just 18 days away now!

Have a good week and thanks for stopping by.

Seven Down, Eight to Go

It's CRAZY, I know, but the challenge has really worked for me. I've really been motivated to finish projects from my stash; some of them have been kitted up and ready to go for a long time.

Here's project #7 - Finito!

Scarlet's Christmas Sampler - Chessie & Me

36 ct Vintage Pearled Barley Linen

Limited Edition GAST Thread Pack

24 more days until the Stitchville Spring Fling Retreat! Can't Wait!

How Can It Be March Already?

Oh dear - I can't believe it has almost been a month since the last time I posted! Darn job has been keeping me busy, but I can't complain too much since it supplies the funds for my stitching (and pays the bills too...) I have been stitching, just haven't had enough time to blog. You know how that goes!

Let's start with a finish, and it's one of the "crazy" finishes to boot! This has been in my stash since 2007; it was a class project when I attended the Hands to Work retreat. All I had completed were the basting threads and maybe 25 stitches. Not sure why it took me so long to get motivated to finish it. Pulled it back out in January and voila it's finished! So, without further adieu here is Blackbird Designs Flowers for Sarah Needle Case!

Blackbird Designs Flowers for Sarah Needle Case
30 ct Espresso by R&R
Crescent Colors Fibers

All of the finishing materials were supplied at the class including the fabric for finishing. This fabric is from one of the Blackbird Designs lines and if I remember correctly they used a color remover to tone it down.

I still need to sew on the button and make some cording for securing the needle case when closed, but I'll do that tonight.

What do you think of my stitching box? Diane from Little House Needleworks had a good idea here. What a very stylish way to hide our stitching when we're not working on it! My husband helped by affixing a magnetic board to the inside cover. I think I need a little "Eiffel Tower" pincushion to place inside.

As you can see, I've been working on Scarlet's Christmas Sampler from Chessie & Me!

Gotta run. Thanks for stopping by!