Cooking With Gas

My Auntie Theresa was a character. She had certain phrases she would say that I think of every now and then. “Cooking with gas” was one of those things she used to say.

I guess you could say I’ve been “cooking with gas.” I now have all four of the medium sized pinwheels stitched.

Eight done and four more to go!

Pardon the Wrinkles

It’s been a relatively good stitching week. I have two more pinwheels stitched. Six down, six to go!

Winter Wishes and Autumn Fields.

Have a great weekend!

Perennial Pinwheels Part 2

The Spring pinwheel is finished. Tonight I will move on to the medium sized pinwheels.

My friends who regularly stitch with me know that I have issues with linen. I have been known to switch up my linen after stitching a significant portion of a design. I abandon what I have already started and I start over. They just shake their heads at me. So, with that in mind, see if you can follow my story.

I decided that I would like to stitch Teresa Kogut’s Land That I Love. The called for linen is Weeks’ Tin Roof. The finished size is 16.5 x 16 5/8 inches. I stitch in hand, but I still like to have a two inch border to be safe (and comfortable).

When I purchased my pattern and threads at Stitchville, the largest piece of Tin Roof on hand was 19 by 26.5.  That number 19 made me a little nervous, so I decided to search for other options.

I checked my stash first. I have a fat half of Lakeside Vintage Cedar Plank that I was planning to use for Samplers Not Forgotten’s English Garden. A fat half might be enough for both projects though.

Then I happened to watch Flosstube and one of the Portland flosstubers commented that Jeannine at Acorn and Threads had Tin Roof in stock. Well, I didn’t call right away, but when I did I had a nice visit with Jeannine. She didn’t have enough Tin Roof, but she suggested Confederate Grey and fixed me up with a Portland cut (fat half). As long as I had her on the phone and because no linen can travel alone, I also got a piece of Lakeside Vintage Tundra from her...and perhaps a few other things...

So now that the linen has arrived, it is time to decide between Confederate Grey and Vintage Cedar Plank. It was an easy decision, Confederate Grey won hands down.

But then last night, I watched Kindred Stitcher on Flosstube and she showed her progress on English Garden and shared that she is stitching it on Lakeside Vintage Tundra. It was really stunning. Now I have another decision to make! Do I stitch English Garden on Vintage Tundra or Vintage Cedar Plank? Oh, and did I mention that the linen called for in the pattern for English Garden is Tin Roof?

Stitching is hard.

From left to right: Tin Roof, Vintage Cedar Plank, Confederate Grey, Vintage Tundra

Perennial Pinwheels

This week, I continued to plug away on the large “Summer” design from Hands on Designs’ Perennial Pinwheels. Summer, Fall, and Winter are now finished in the larger sized design. There is also a medium and small sized design that I still need to stitch for each season. So, three down and nine to go! 

They stitch up quickly though. I love the linen colors and the thread colors Cathy selected; they really pop on the linen. I should have Spring all stitched up by Sunday night and then I’ll move on to the medium-sized designs.

Look at this sweet finish that I received in the mail this week. About three years ago at our guild’s Annual Meeting, several finished pieces were offered as door prizes. A member of the guild had stitched the items. I selected a beautifully stitched band sampler.

Recently, I’ve been cleaning through my stitching things, trying to organize better, and I came across the sampler. What to do with it? I didn’t really want to frame it - not quite my style. I didn’t want to stick it back in a drawer either. Then all of a sudden the light bulb went on. I decided to reach out to Faye Riggsbee. I had seen a Huswif that she finished recently for another stitcher and thought maybe she could do something similar.

I sent the piece off to Faye and she worked her magic. This week, the finished piece came back to me and it is beautiful! Faye created the most gorgeous Huswif using a beautiful lining fabric from French General that coordinates with the design. There are two pockets for scissors and/or threads and a needle page that is embellished with a sweet little bow and some buttons.

 

I am tickled pink with Faye’s finish. 

Hope you are doing well and staying safe. Please wear a mask. We need to do all we can to stop the spread of this horrible virus. Stay home and stitch!

Poor Neglected Blog

Poor neglected blog...yes, this was the subject line of a recent email that I received from the Mad Tatter. I visited her twice this weekend and both times she told me that she had checked for an update and was disappointed that there was no update. So here we go!

The past two months have been busy. I’m working from home and find that I spend even more hours working than I did when I went into the office everyday. Doesn’t leave much time for stitching. I took pictures today of the projects I have been working on though and was surprised at how much I’ve actually done.

Around the Memorial Day weekend I got the patriotic stitching bug. I started Summer Jubilee by Blackbird Designs. I’m stitching on 36 ct 18th Century Blackbird and I don’t mind the dark linen at all. The linen color in the first photo is more accurate.

Squirrel...sometime in June I got distracted and started another patriotic piece. This one is from Plum Street Samplers...A New Constellation. Using all the called for linen and threads. Love stitching this one.

Another squirrel...I was looking for something that would be easy to stitch on while visiting with my mom, so I started this Blackbird Designs piece after seeing Abibellastitch (flosstuber) stitching it on this Weeks Straw checked linen. Loved it so much I couldn’t stop.

Revisited patriotic stitching by pulling out Star Spangled Spectacular from Brenda Gervais. I’m not a big fan of over one stitching, so I stitched mine over two on 40 ct Vintage Pearled Barley.

Squirrel again...some of the flosstubers were going to start Flag Folk on the 4th of July. I just happened to have it in my stash; I had purchased the Country Sampler conversion on 36 ct. Picture This Plus Murky. Just a small start...

This past week, I have been working on the Perennial Pinwheels from Hands on Design. I will be meeting up with a friend in August who has hers all stitched and we are planning to finish them together. These two are almost finished. Ten more to go. :)

Now you are all caught up!  And you have this lady to thank (included are some pictures of her recent tatting!)

True Confessions

Hope you are having a nice Memorial Day weekend. The weekend has gone by fast! Hopefully the upcoming shorter work week will also go by fast - right?

I’ve been busy stitching over the past several weeks; working on what I would call “comfort stitching”. One of my projects kind of went awry though.

I purchased this kit at Keepsakes during Stitch Con last summer. It is a Heart in Hand design that was created specifically for Keepsakes. The linen was from Picture this Plus, 32 ct Sand and the fibers were from Colour and Cotton. I was having a delightful time stitching it until I got to the red and white checkerboard on the chicken. It was at that moment that I realized I had made a counting error. Reverse stitching the black thread for that chicken was not an option. I added another row of red and white on the left side of the chicken (look close and you will see it). I ended up putting it in timeout. After two or three weeks, I decided I couldn’t live with it and started it again. This time on 40ct Vintage Country Mocha. It’s finished now and I’m happy with it.

Yesterday, I switched out my stitching that’s displayed in our living room. Brought out the patriotic stitches. Didn’t think I would have much to display, but I had more than I thought!

I also took time to finish a couple of smalls; nothing fancy, just a simple pillow finish. I think my collection of patriotic smalls looks great. It makes me smile.

That’s it for today. Be well. Stay safe.

And then there was stitching...

Quick post to share some of the things I have been working on since my last post. Most days I am grateful for time to stitch and updating this old blog is not a priority. I know that there are still a quite a few of you who like to peruse the blogs though and I also need to keep the Mad Tatter happy!

Last month I finished up this wool pouch. It was a class piece at Needlework Galleria last fall with Summer House Stitche Workes. It was a fun project!  It’s called Pumpkin Patch Pouch.  Love the fall colors!

Also from Needlework Galleria, this little make and take kit from Hands on Design. The inside was all pre-assembled and ready - all I had to do was cross stitch the outside, then sew the two together. It turned out okay. I always struggle making those corners look good. It’s called “With this needle, I thee thread”!

Two weekends ago, I finished up another block on the Village of Hawk Run Hollow.  Six down and six to go.  Those blocks are solid and very deceiving - they take much more time to stitch than you would expect.

I have one more finish to share but I’ll save it for another post. Let me leave you with a snap of the pretty flowers I received from my daughter on Mother’s Day.

Lazy

Lately, I’ve been lazy about posting. Sometimes I just want to stitch. I know that many of you like to see regular posts from me though. Not mentioning any names though (Mad Tatter).

Last weekend was spent dusting and vacuuming and I decided to pull out some of my “springier” needlework projects. I also moved around others.

Here’s a sweet set of projects that complement each other because they were all stitched with my favorite color...RED! The two projects on the left are from Blackbird Designs; the piece on the right is from Stacy Nash.

Then I moved several of my framed pieces together on one wall. I think this needs one more piece at the bottom, but I couldn’t find the right piece. I guess I will have to stitch something for that bottom spot. Oh darn.

It is a bit chilly here today and it rained all day.  Looking for warmer temperatures this weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

A Visit With the Mad Tatter

On Wednesday afternoons I try to stop working a little bit earlier so that I can go to the grocery store. I pick up our groceries and I shop for the Mad Tatter.

It’s a beautiful day here and so when I stopped at her house, her neighbors were outside. They keep an eye on her and shared that she told them that her children “were keeping her on a tight leash”! Quite an accomplishment I say. She’s Quite independent and not easy to control. Lucky for us, she’s taking this whole shelter in place order seriously.  She’s been keeping busy with her tatting.  Here are some of her recent finishes:

Before I left, I snapped a quick selfie. We both are overdue for a haircut.  I have an appointment in two weeks. I wonder if I will be able to keep it.

Hope your week is going well.  Happy hump day!

One More Finish

Today I worked on this little pillow finish. I love the ruched ribbon edge; it’s my favorite type of edging!

The design is from Heart in Hand and it’s called Friendship Garden. This was one of the kits in The Silver Needle’s Circle of Friends.

So cute!

I have quite a pile of finishing yet to complete. Will need to continue to whittle away at this pile since I must stay at home!

Have a great week!

Finishing Day

I have a large box of stitched projects that just need to be fully finished. Today was the perfect day for it!

My first finish is from Blackbird Designs. This was a class piece last November at the Attic (it’s also now in their book, Sewing Club). The box has a recessed lid, so after lacing it to cardboard, it just fit in the top of the box. Easy, peasy.

Second finish, a class piece from 2017. This pattern for this design was also released at Nashville this year, Miss Nettie’s Needle Usefuls is from Chessie and Me.

And last but not least, this project was 75% finished, but I needed to mount the biscornu pincushion on top of the spool. A Study in Red was designed by Sue Hillis and I took this class with her last fall at Needlework Galleria.

Productive day!

Hardanger

I’ve been spring cleaning here and there now that I am confined at home. I gently washed the valance that hangs above my kitchen sink last weekend; today, I pressed it a bit and put it back up.

I stitched this piece about 30 years ago. It’s one of my favorite pieces of Hardanger.

Wishing you a nice weekend!

Tatting

Happy Easter! Thought I’d share something different with you today. The Mad Tatter has been behaving. She has stayed home and is busy tatting away. Here’s a doily that she has been working on.

Next time I post, I have two finishes to share!

No Loss for Stitchy Projects

So, I was looking for something new to stitch and I dug out this box of stitchy projects. This box contains small projects; most of the came all kitted up with linen and floss.

So, the possibilities are endless. So endless that I had to take two pictures!

What did I work on first? This small project from Blackbird Designs. This was a limited edition kit at  Nashville Market several years ago.

What will I stitch next?