Thursday at the Ranch

Dear Mad Tatter,

As requested, I’m posting an update for you on the first day at the Ranch. Today was a good stitching day. I started and finished the block “12 Drummers Drumming” from Satsuma Street’s 12 Days of Christmas.

I have one block left - number 11. I wasn’t excited about stitching that one and that’s why it is the last one left. My plan is to stitch it tomorrow or Saturday and then we’ll have a finish!

Tonight’s supper - Chicken Pot Pie!

Big snow storm coming tomorrow.

Stitchy Update and a Purchase

It’s Sunday night and it’s snowing outside. We have a very snowy week ahead of us.

I’ve continued to work on Mary Miller. I’m committed to the linen, so I may as well keep going!

There’s a second hand furniture store south of the Twin Cities. I follow their posts on Facebook. On Friday they posted this picture. Do you see it? It’s an old (antique?) Coats & Clark thread cabinet. It’s not in perfect condition, but the price was right making it perfect for me!  I brought it home and cleaned it up and I love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

And Then There Were More WIPs

Judy, please just look away.

Let’s resume the WIP review and see how many more projects are in that basket of shame.

#6 Dutch Beauty from Permin of Copenhagen. 40ct cream linen with DMC. This was one of those FOMO (fear of missing out) starts. I should be able to finish this in 100 years.

#7 Christmas Garden from Blackbird Designs. This is like the third time I’ve re-started this one. Don’t be surprised if I restart it again. The Attic’s model was beautiful and I want mine to look like theirs!

#8 Feliz Navidad, another from Blackbird Designs. I think the 40ct Picture This Plus linen got the best of me.

#9 Strawberry Fields Stitching Bag from Hillside Samplings - it’s a classic. I really should just finish it! Too bad that the rest of the stitching is all over one.

#10 His Eye is On the Sparrow from Heartstring Samplery.  I thought I had more finished than this. This is the second start on this one.it’s no wonder I can’t get things finished; I’m always starting projects over!

Don’t worry, the parade isn’t over yet. More WIPs to come.

No Stitching Tonight

Too cold....brrrr.

Stitching Letters

I decided to pick up Mary Miller again tonight.  Stitched a few more letters. Please excuse the wrinkles.

Diane asked about stitching in hand vs. using a frame. It’s been a long time since I’ve used a hoop or frame. I find stitching in hand to be the most comfortable for me. I use the sewing method; I’m not a fabric “stabber.” I think you might have better control of your tension with a frame though. Do what works best for you! I hope you enjoy stitching again!

Oops I Did it Again

That WIP I posted last night...I started it again. This piece of linen is a keeper. I’ll try to get a better picture tomorrow night.

A Finish and Two Wips

What was a WIP on Friday night is now a finish! Two football games provided ample stitching time to get this finished. The design is called Sweetheart Pincushion and it is from Blackbird Designs. The linen in this photo is more accurate than last night’s photo; it’s 36ct Tango from Picture this Plus.

I was too busy watching football last night to dig in my WIP basket(s), so I pulled two WIPs out tonight.

WIP#4 is from Homespun Samplar and it is called the Strawberry Sampler. I didn’t like the linen I started it on (PTP Doubloon - too orange) and so I started over. This might be Wren from PTP.

WIP#5 is the Snooty Parrot Sampler from Barbara Ana. I’m stitching it with silks. I should really give this some love.

Happy that the Titans won last night and the Vikings today. Hoping for a Seattle win now. Let’s hope I can keep up my stitching and blogging momentum during the week!

Last Night’s WIP...

...is today’s stitching project.  If I work on this one more day I think I can finish it.

Two Finishes and WIP #3

Well, I haven’t fallen off the blogger wagon yet. The Mad Tatter should be pleased. Diane, I’m excited to hear that you are going to try cross-stitching again. You go girl! Can’t wait to see your progress.

I have a finish! Thought it might happen last night, but I needed about two more hours to get it done. I started stitching this in early November with grand plans to have it finished in time for Christmas. Well, it didn’t make it for Christmas 2019 but will be ready for Christmas, 2020. Here is the December Word Play from With Thy Needle and Thread.

But wait! I have two more finishes! These are from back in December when I was a bad blogger. Both of these designs are from the Prairie Schooler chart “January” (Chart #177). You might recall that I stitched the larger design last winter. It still needs to be fully finished.

Today’s WIP is from Blackbird Designs. It’s the Sweetheart Pincushion. A very sad start. This project needs a little love. The linen is called Tango from Picture this Plus.

That’s it for tonight! Thanks y’all for visiting!

WIP #2 Mary Miller 1842

I put a few more stitches in Mary Miller 1842. The photo is a little dark, but I ironed the linen so that it would look lovely in the photo! I stitch in hand, so my linen is usually pretty wrinkled. This design is from The Scarlett House and is available as a kit from the Country Sampler in Spring Green, WI.

Robin...the mystery sampler in last night’s post is stitched on 40ct Beachwalk from Under the Sea Fabrics using Threadworx floss (10421).

Thank you all for your kind comments!  I was hoping to share a finish tonight, but I need one more night of stitching to finish it.

Here’s a photo of the Mad Tatter and me, taken on Christmas Day.

Happy New Year!

New Year, New Start and WIP #1

I started the New Year with a new project. For the past three years, Linen and Threads, a needlework store in Australia, has published a complimentary mystery sampler design on their website. The first three didn’t really call my name, but this year’s design intrigued me and so I decided to join in the fun.

On the first of each month (actually, the last day of the month due to the day/time difference between the U.S. and Australia) they publish a portion of the design. Between yesterday and today, I was able to stitch January’s installment!

Here’s an update on an ongoing WIP (work in progress) that I started back in 2017. It’s from Satsuma Street and it’s called the 12 Days of Christmas. Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve I stitched the Eight Maids of Milking block.  As you can see, I have two more blocks to go.

Not making any promises, but maybe I’ll show up a little more often on this here blog.  Happy New Year!

The Piece de Resistance

Final class of the weekend was a new teaching piece from Merry Cox called Friendship Samplers. Both projects are based on samplers that feature a young girl in a red dress.

A pincushion, a needlebook, a sewing bag...so many small pieces to stitch along with these two samplers.

This was truly a wonderful class!

And the Weekend Continues with More Rock Stars

The weekend fun continued on Friday evening and Saturday with Blackbird Designs. It’s always a treat to be in a class with Barb and Alma!

Great photo of Alma, Jean and Barb!

Friday’s project was a sweet sampler design based on an antique that Barb and Alma had in their collection. They shared their stories and we stitched away. (Antique followed by Barb and Alma’s version.)

On Saturday, Barb and Alma shared another antique sampler from their collection as well as the new sampler based on motifs from the antique. The pattern for this sampler is available through the Attic.

The motifs in this large sampler were used to create our projects. No painting! We received the pattern and supplies to stitch the top of this box and a tomato-like pincushion. I think it looks more like an apple. Barb and Alma said we could also finish as a drum if preferred. I should have taken better pictures.

Another fabulous day!

A Needlework Legend

The adventure continued on Friday with a class with Merry Cox. We worked on the beautiful Le Nouveau Palais Royal.

The beautiful box was made by Mr. Miller and is filled with layers of needlework tools, stitching and silk.

Looking forward to stitching and finishing this lovely project!

Weekend Adventure

Guess where I spent the weekend? It started on Thursday. I escaped the bitter cold temperatures of Minnesota for something warmer in Arizona. Yes, I spent the weekend at the Attic!

After checking in my hotel, I ubered to the Attic where I spent five hours ogling their beautiful shop models, fingered through luscious linens, visited with friends old and new, and stitched a little bit.

One of my purchases was the pattern for Bristol Sampler Emma Sandford from Dutch Street Designs. Optimistically, I purchased some 56 count linen and some beautiful silk fibers. In the picture below, the original Emma Sandford is on the right. The reproduction on the left was stitched by Jean Lea.

I’ll let the rest of the pictures do the talking!