Window Shopping

I've been Etsy shopping for a birthday gift and found a whole lot of wonderful things, so I decided to deviate from stitching today and share a few of them with you.

Hand painted sock yarn from SeeJayneKnitYarns

Midnight Blues earrings by NGHDesigns

Pugs on the beach print from k9artgallery

Greeting cards with seeds implanted in the paper by GreetingsthatGrow

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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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Yes, it's mine!

Yesterday when I posted about my blog makeover it never occurred to me to point out that the band in the new banner is from MY stitched "Truth Sampler".  If you are familiar with this stunning design by Marianne Rohrer of Samplers of Sylke, then you will understand why I am now claiming ownership and all bragging rights to this masterpiece! It's hanging smack dab in the middle of my dining room wall where I can visit it often. Just ask my friend Laura, who also visits it every time she comes to visit.

And, for those of you who have it in your stash, get busy. It is so much fun to do. And the stitch diagrams are impeccable.

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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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Must read blog for stitchers

Even if you don't care about this giveaway, you must read Vonna's blog on a regular basis. It's fun, beautiful and interesting.

And this is a beautiful giveaway. What a generous stitcher! Check it out.

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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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