Ta Da!

Band Sampler I by Pat Taff of Golden Thread Designs is FINI! Woohoo! And I must say, I do love it. I x'd out the recipient's name, just in case she sees this post. I hope she likes it as much as I do. Not really worried though. We tend to have the same taste in needlework. By the way, I found the original design date on this sampler...1992. So if you're looking for it, you may have to dig pretty deeply.
And now, I 'm on to a new project. I spent the morning adjusting thread colors since I changed the fabric color. But I'm optimistic that there won't be many mid-stream changes. So, until next time...enjoy.

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It's getting close...

I get so involved with stitching on this piece that I forget to take pictures and post about it. I looked at the last picture I posted and I've done a lot of work since last Tuesday!

I hope to be done by the middle of the week, because...wait for it. I'm anxious to start my next project. All you multi-taskers out there just rotate between projects. I wish I could, but it makes my brain hurt. So I have to finish one before I start another. Doesn't mean I don't have a gazillion lined up to start, but sometimes being left-brained is annoying.

Here's a close up view of top bands which are so pale that you can hardly see them in the picture of the full sampler. And the bottom band as I left it last night. Actually, there's a personalization band to follow, but that doesn't really count.

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I'm really cooking now

DH and I spent the weekend at my mom's so I didn't spend a lot of time on the computer. Boy, did I miss reading all the blogs I follow. Hope I didn't miss anything earth shattering. I'll try to catch up, but you know how it is.

Anyway, I did get some stitching done thanks to DH. I forgot my Ott lite and he saw me struggling to stitch under a floor lamp with a 40 watt bulb! What a nightmare that was. So he went over to Lowe's and got an Ott lite bulb for the lamp. Wow, what a difference. Then I stitched all the way home in the car. However, 3 hours of car stitching equals about 2 hours of couch stitching. I-95 in SC desperately needs repaving! I should email the DOT and tell them they are causing me stitching distress. Do you think they'd listen?

So I'm down to the last major band and it's a biggie. All the vine pieces are done in rice stitches, which I enjoy. The flowers, which I haven't done yet, are various other stitches.

These 4 bands were just chock full of fun stitches. The large flowers are satin and cross stitches. The acorns are palestrina knots (ych) and satin stitch. The bottom row of flowers are queen stitches.

So I should be done in about a week. I need to spend some time on my scissor fobs and counting pins, but I'd rather stitch.

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Back to Band Sampler I

Well, I've had a bunch of other stuff to do lately, but I'm back to working on Band Sampler I. Do you have stitches you love and stitches you hate? I'm pretty sure we all do. I've had a little of both so far on this piece. I'm not a big fan of knots of any kind because it's so hard to make them consistent in appearance. The acorn tops are Palestrina knots which are easier than some others, but I still do not enjoy them. And I NEVER look at them under the magnifier. It just makes me want to rip them out. However, I absolutely love Queen stitches! Once I figured out that the key to a beautiful Queen stitch is pulling each leg snugly I was hooked. Eileen Bennett (The Sampler House) is the only instructor/designer that has ever given that tip, as far as I know, and I will be forever grateful to her.

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Counting Fiasco

I know it happens to everybody sometime in their stitching life, but it just doesn't happen to me very often. Thank heaven. I'm very fond of telling people that I am very left-brained and the counting part is the fun part for me. Well, not last night!

It started at stitch group so I could blame it on the distraction of stitching in a group, but I've been doing that for about 15 years. I ripped out approximately the same 30 Italian cross stitches FOUR, yes I said four, times. Shoot me now! After I got home, I ate some dinner and picked it up again. Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment. Apparently, my brain needed food. Got it right the first time. (Do you hear the Hallelujah Chorus right now?) Then I went on a tear. Finished both flowers, a dividing band and started a satin stitch band. Woohoo!

I'm almost scared to stitch tonight. But I will persevere.

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New Look

Yes, you are in the right place. I just decided to give my blog a makeover. I figured out a new way to make banners. So I chose one of my favorite bands from one of my favorite samplers, "The Truth Sampler" from Samplers of Sylke. Sadly, Marianne is no longer publishing her designs, but I have a major collection and I love them all. I'd love to hear what you think of the new look.

For those of you who haven't known me very long, you may not know that I'm a sports fanatic. My husband used to refer to himself as a sports widower...especially once ESPN went on the air. When they first started broadcasting the ACC basketball tournament I used to take a day of vacation from work to watch the first day. Then I sat in front of the TV with my stitching all weekend. We lived in Seattle at the time and basketball might as well have been cricket for all they cared about the sport. But for a good southern girl who used to shoot baskets with her dad in the driveway til midnight, I was in heaven.

And sports on TV provides a perfect background for stitching, except basketball because I get too involved, which you can interpret at "screams at TV". If I could eat, stitch and watch sports on TV simultaneously my life would be perfect...except for the resulting large rear end. Anyway, this weekend the Golf Channel televised the Solheim cup. This is a biannual team golf event between the USA and Europe. The quality of the golf was outstanding and I made massive progress on my "Band Sampler I", which is why you all started reading this. So here it is.

For a fast stitcher like myself, this doesn't look like I spent hours and hours working on it, but I did. The band below the numbers is Holbein, or double running, and I did not cheat and use backstitch. So that takes time and concentration. Satin stitch, especially on 40 count, is also time consuming. The ripping out is even more time consuming, which I did several times on the last third of the lighter blue section. Grrr. The chain or rope section is an Italian stitch variation, each one of which has 4 legs, not 2, like cross stitch, so that basically takes twice as long as you'd think. But, it's coming along and I am enjoying it.

But I keep thinking about all the projects I want to start. I may have to give up sleep. For now, I'll just keep using every spare hour I can to stitch.

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A decent pic...finally

I finally got a decent picture of Band Sampler I this morning. Since I also made some progress last night I thought I'd show it to you. And after some work on the banner for my Etsy shop this afternoon, I'm going to stitch some more. I love this piece so it's hard to make myself do anything else, but I forced myself to walk again today even though the humidity is about 500%! And I listed this gorgeous fob that would look absolutely terrifc on a black purse. And I may even take the time to fix a healthy supper! I got lucky last night. DH had a meeting that included dinner, so I just snacked and kept on stitching.

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Finally, I have time to stitch!

I've had a busy week playing catch-up on a lot of tasks and not finding a lot of time or energy to stitch. I work Wednesdays at my LNS (local needlework shop) and the good news is that business is good. The bad news is that I was so tired when I got home yesterday that I couldn't stitch.

Well, I decided today that I after walking Lester and forcing myself to do my 3 miles, I decided that I was going to sit and stitch all afternoon. So I'm finally making a little progress on Band Sampler I. (I refuse to shorten it to BS 1)And, for the most part, that's exactly what I did. I did take a few minutes to check the Etsy shop and tweet, but I didn't let myself get sucked into a mindless pit of posting, as I frequently do.

I'm going to grab a little supper and then...wait for it...stitch some more. What a life!

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A New Start

Okay, as promised, a picture of Maragaret Gatis as she looked when I put her down for a "nap". I figure I'm about 15% complete. I actually started to enjoy it after I finished the over three Holbien band from hell. I'll get back to it soon...

after I finish Band Sampler I from Pat Taff. This one has to be done in the next few weeks so I decided I better get started. Not much to look at yet, especially since all the stitching so far is with a very pale blue (on 40 count ivory). But I should get more concentrated stitching time this week, since my house will be my own again. I enjoy having company, but it sure puts a crimp in my normal routine.

And here's a goodie for you. Visit "Feathers in the Nest" blog for a great fall chart giveaway. You will enjoy reading Jennifer's blog regularly, if you don't already.

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