Today's Stitchy Post

No stitching progress to report as I'm in one state and my floss is in another. This type of long distance romance just doesn't work.

One of the very first serious stitching retreats I ever went to (with teachers!) was an event in Virginia. I don't even remember the name of the small town, but the teachers were Barb and Alma from Blackbird Designs and Kathy Barrick from Carriage House Samplings. I was so green back then. The Mad Tatter went with me and we stayed an extra day to take a tour of Washington D.C. - my first and only visit to our nation's capitol.

The retreat project from Blackbird was later published for retail sale. Many of you will recognize it. It's called Flowers for Sarah.




I finished it in 2011, but I think that the retreat was in 2007 or 2008....

Tomorrow we start the downward slide to Friday. Hurray!

Tonight's Stitching

Here's tonight's project....




Yep, that's right. A blank piece of linen. My linen and pattern are here with me in Atlanta. My fibers are in MN. :(

Tonight I'd like to share with you another Blackbird finish from a few years ago. It was one of their Loose Feathers designs.




And I really thought the Blackbird fabric on the bottom was pretty cool.




Thanks for stopping by!

Almost Forgot...

...to post tonight! A little more progress on my Helix Etui Smalls.







And for today's stitching stroll, how do you like these pincushions?



The top one is a design from Blackbird Designs, the bottom one is an old Goode Huswife pattern.

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Stitching and Football

Can't believe that this football game is going into overtime!

I was able to stitch quite a bit today. Made good progress on stitching the Smalls for Helix Etui. Sorry for the horrible picture!



Today's trip down memory lane goes way back to 2008. It was one of the first stitch-a-longs that I participated in online. The project is this beautiful Hardanger needlecase designed by Cindy Valentine.










Sad that the weekend is over....

An Oldie but Goodie

Here's today's stitching progress. All of the outlining is done for the Helix Etui. Tomorrow, I will start filling them in.




And here's my "oldie but goodie". I love this sweet little pillow. Design by Mary Garry - Forget Me Not!




Super Bowl Sale at Stitchville tomorrow!

Friday Night

Yes, I am still flitting between projects, unable to settle on one and finish it. Tonight I pulled out a Betsy Morgan class piece - Helix Etui. Doesn't look like much right now.




For tonight's stitch stroll I want to show you a project I did several years ago. Several of us worked on this together and stitched squares for each other. We then assembled them in cubes. The designs are from Little House Needleworks.













I only photographed four sides. Cute little cube. Until tomorrow.

Stitching Letters

I find Stitching letters to be very soothing. I love stitching alphabets! Tonight I worked on With My Needle from Goode Huswife.




And for tonight's stitch roll, look at these prints pink smalls. I forgot that I had stitched this sweet heart from With Thy Needle and Thread. The other two smalls were breast cancer awareness pieces from a Elegant Stitch.



So cute! See you tomorrow!

That Went Fast

January just flew by! I'm having trouble lately focusing on a project. None of my WIPs are screaming my name. Hope that by the weekend my stitching mojo is back!

I've enjoyed seeing Stasi's Stitch Stroll in January, so I'm going to try to do the same in February. This framed finish seems appropriate for tonight. Our temperatures took a nose dive today!



Design is from Heartstring Samplery. I love the frame.

I did stitch a little bit tonight. Missed my goal of having this block done by the end of January. Project is Village of Hawk Run Hollow.



See you tomorrow! Stay warm!

Saturday Stitching

I worked on my little strawberry biscornu from Catherine Theron. Still have a ways to go....but progress has been made.




And as they say on Flosstube, I received some "haul" today! Have wanted this sampler for some time and a limited number of copies became available recently through the Attic!




Hope you are having a stitchy good weekend!

Fertig

Every now and then, a German word slips out of my mouth. "Fertig" is German for "finished". Tonight I finished a small project. One of the Facebook groups I belong to, "All About Smalls", challenged its members in January to start and fully finish a small project.

This Hornbook was designed by Catherine Theron for our guild's retreat in 2014. The theme of the retreat was "Embrace the Pace" hence the tortoise and the hare.

Here is the front and back:






And her is a finishing tip for you. I learned this one from Sherri Jones of Patrick's Woods.

Need to pull cording or ribbon through a small hole? Use a floss threaded to guide it through! I keep a packet of them in with my finishing supplies. Never know when one might come in handy!



Haven't stitched much this week. Hoping to fix that this weekend.

Short Attention Span

Last night, I worked on this Heartstring Samplery design - Never Let You Go. Got the basket stitched and the three flowers. Sorry for the wrinkles.




Tonight I worked on a Catherine Theron piece called Strawberry Biscornu. This is just the first side. I will have to stitch a back side to match.




I visited the Mad Tatter today. She has been busy tatting "Ice Drops". I told her to make the cording a little longer and then these would make perfect scissor fobs!







Have a great week!

Friday Night Stitching

Happy Saturday! How are you? I had a great day today. Had to run several errands, picking up things here and there. I wasn't looking for a new winter jacket but I found one on clearance marked down from $159 to $29.99! I'm pretty excited about that purchase!

Last night I pulled out a project that I started at the end of last year - With My Needle from Goode Huswife. I worked on the verse. I'm stitching it from the bottom up!



Tonight I will likely stitch on something else.

I want to share something else with you. Amy Mitten recently announced her latest sampler in the Around the World series. She said that she did something to the linen to make it look like birch bark. This reminded me of a piece of art I purchased in British Columbia on a visit there in the 90's.

This is called birch bark biting. Ojibwa Indians would fold pieces of birch bark and then bite down on it with their teeth to create designs in the bark.






The artist for this piece was Angelique Levac. According to Wikipedia, there are only about a dozen people left in Canada and the U.S. who still create this art form.

Off to my stitching chair!

Stitching is Done!

I finished the stitching for my Hornbook. Now I just need to find time to finish it.

The alphabet will go on the front:




The date goes on the back. This was designed for our retreat in 2014. The theme was "Embrace the Pace" hence the tortoise and the hare.




As long as we have an animal theme going on here, allow me to show you a new mug I acquired recently on clearance at a local gift shop. The box it was in is pretty cool too!




When I drink my tea, there's a fox on the inside staring at me.




Foxes seem to be very popular this year. I've been seeing them everywhere!

Alphabet Stitched!

The All About Smalls Facebook page challenged everyone to start and fully finish a small needlework piece during the month of January. I chose to stitch and finish a Hornbook that was designed by Catherine Theron for our guild's retreat back in 2014.

The front of the Hornbook is almost finished, the alphabet is done! When I selected this project, I did not remember that the back of the Hornbook was also stitched. The border for the back piece is complete.




I am going to try to finish the stitching on this tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Tonight's Stitching

Two Headless Doves...

...and a Partridge in a Pear Tree!

So close, but I couldn't get it finished tonight. My eyes are tired and I need to go to bed.

January Challenge

One of the Facebook groups, All About Smalls, challenged its members to start and finish a small during the month of January. I'm working on the ABC Stitcher's Hornbook from Catherine Theron.




There is stitching on both sides of the Hornbook, so we'll see if I'm able to finish it this month!

A is for Acorn

I finished stitching the final acorn this evening. The cap is done with a woven cross stitch. The bottom of the acorn is done with the Irish stitch.



Now I need a finishing day!

Progress Made

Tonight I worked on Gathering for Winter a bit more. I have one more piece left to stitch - one side of the scissors sheath - then this project will be ready for finishing.

This piece will be on top of the cylinder. Aren't the colors luscious?



It's been a wonderfully relaxing weekend. I'm sad that the holiday break is over. I return to reality tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Hope you had a wonderful start to 2017. Our day was very low key - relaxed, watched football, snacked on last night's leftovers, and of course, I stitched!

I spent a good portion of the day working on this Betsy Morgan class piece. It's called Gathering for Winter. I finished all the acorns on the main piece. (Please excuse my wrinkles!)



Lots of specialty stitches in those acorns! The needlebook and the scissor fob pieces are also stitched. I still need to stitch the scissor sheath and the bottom. The top is started but not finished. Won't take too much longer to finish stitching. Pretty soon I will need a finishing day.

It has been my tradition for years now to start a new piece on New Year's Day.

2006: Game Board Sampler by The Drawn Thread (completed)
2008: Gabrielle Rose Birth Sampler by La D Da (completed)
2010: Alphabet Blocks by Carriage House Samplings (WIP)
2011: Poppy Maye Russell by Heartstring Samplery (completed)
2014: Needleworker's Sampler by With Thy Needle and Thread (completed)
2016: Four Seasons Band Sampler by Sally Hesketh (WIP)

My track record for finishing my New Year's starts is pretty good!

This year, my New Year start is The Village of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings.



I'm stitching mine on 40ct Lakeside Linen Buttercream. I'm off and running!




How was your day?