I Promised to Share

It's not like I haven't been stitching.  I just couldn't share some of it with you because they were gifts. Hopefully, I'll get my organized life back soon and have more stitching time. 

My beautiful great-niece, Miri, was born in September.  So my sister-in-law stitched a lovely needlepoint piece for her and I framed it. The white washed vintage style frame really fit the style of the piece, I think.

Then I decided I needed to stitch a birth sampler for her, so I used one of my favorite ones with a few minor color adjustments. "Heirloom Baby Sampler" by Heart in Hand from 1995. And yes, it is still available. Just as your local needlework shop to order it from Hoffman. The verse is especially sweet. "It is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us."

And, of course, you've seen Shores of Hawk Run Hollow unframed. Well, I did manage to get it framed in time to give it to my husband for Christmas. It's pretty nice, if I do say so myself.

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Stitching Time is Sooooo Wonderful

I've been making an effort to stitch every night this week. Having houseguests, as fun as it is, really puts a crimp in my stitching time. Since I finished Abigail's Wisdom, I'm back on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. Block 10, the ship in a bottle, is done and I started on Block 11 last night. Letters are soooo easy and they go so quickly.

During the day I am spending all my time getting ready for the Oak Island craft show. I started spreading the finished things out on the dining room table so I could get a feel for any gaps in the inventory. I like to have color coordinated sets of fobs, counting pins and laying tools. Plus when, possible I coordinate some stitch markers for knitting and crochet with some fobs too. 

I have a few bookmarks ready, but not nearly enough! I haven't even started on extra laying tools yet! So I may not come up for air for the next week or so!

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Good News! I Did Not Die of Boredom

Okay, there may be a few people who don't consider that good news.

I finished Block 8 of Shores of Hawk Run Hollow.  It's a relief to know that extreme boredom probably won't be listed as COD (cause of death).  But it was close. I hate filling in the background. As you can see, I replaced the memorial verse with my personalization. Now I only have 3 blocks left to stitch by Christmas. Piece of cake!

It was after 10:30 last night when I put the last stitch in, but I immediately pulled Quaker Diamonds out of my bag and started it. I'm so excited. I may stitch all weekend.

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It's Thankful Thursday, Hug a Stitcher!

I've seen this idea on other blogs and I've decided to try to incorporate it in mine too. And this is a great Thursday to start.

I'm thankful today for my stitching friends...all of them! We enjoy each other's company, we understand this crazy addiction, we support and encourage each other. And yesterday I got this wonderful package in the mail. Laura stitched this beautiful sampler for my birthday and she added a chart I've admired too. I stitched this piece for another stitching friend and Laura knew I loved it so she stitched it for me. Isn't it gorgeous?

People have asked me if I sell my needlework and I always answer, I'd rather give it away to someone who will love it as much as I do.  Now I have sold a few pieces, but that's the exception, not the rule. This is what we do. We share our passion for needlework with each other in the best way possible. We enjoy stitching it and we know the recipient will enjoy it just as much. What better gift can there be?

On the personal stitching front, I'm working on block 8 of Shores of Hawk Run Hollow, and I have to admit it's more of a chore than fun right now. It's a little on the bland side compared to all the other blocks. So I haven't even put my next project in my stitching bag.  I know if I do, I'll start it before I finish this block and that would be bad. And before you ask..."Quaker Diamonds" is next in line. I can't wait to start it.

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Can I Just Turn My Whole Life into a Stitching Vacation, Please?

It's amazing how much you can accomplish when you actually have time to stitch. Everyone should take a stitching vacation at least once a year! 

Although I thought I would NEVER finish filling in the water on SoHRH block 6-7. And Laura was working on the water in block 3 at the same time. 

We were ready to pull each other's hair out. 



But we both made it. I finished the block and Laura now gets to fill in the house. Note the personalization she's made by eliminating the tree in front of the house.  And please do not look at my stitching up close and personal at the same time you're looking at Laura's.  She puts me to shame. 

So I moved on to page 3 of Pigalle by Long Dog Samplers.  I am so loving this piece! I'll probably finish it before I go back to SoHRH, but who cares! 

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I Wish I Could Stitch All Day

Who knew that working on two projects at once could be so fun? I finished block 3 of SoHRH Wed night.

So I returned to Pigalle. After a little frog stitching (and swearing) I decided that even though I love working with the various overdyed flosses that I chose for this piece I really need to do a lot the navy ground work stitching. It makes it a lot easier to fill in the fun colors. (Translation: less frog stitching.) I'm still anxious about how my color changes will work, but so far I am very pleased.

I'm having so much fun with it I don't want to do anything else. But apparently I should. My shoulder is sore...couldn't be too much stitching, could it? My house is a wreck. I have about two dozen new items for the Etsy shop that I need to photograph and list. And Lester is nagging me to go for a walk. So I'm off to brave the cold and the wind. At least I know I'll have several hours tonight to stitch.

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No, I'm not dead yet!

I haven't been abducted by aliens either. I've just been away visiting my mom for several days. I don't get a lot of my normal stuff done when I'm away from home. Even though I have my laptop with me, I don't think you want pictures of me balancing her checkbook or all of us sitting around in our jammies being silly. So to spare you from that, I neglect my blog.

I don't get tons of stitching done when I'm there either, despite the fact that my wonderful husband replaced one of the bulbs in a livingrooom lamp with a daylight bulb! He takes such good care of me. However, I did get some late night (after dark in Mom's mind) stitching done on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. (I'd abbreviate it to SoHRH, but I'm hoping there are new readers and they might not understand.) Block 3 is almost done. The only thing left is to fill in the water at the bottom and in the bird bath. Then I'll decide whether or not to continue on to another block or go back to Pigalle.

I've also been really working hard on my Etsy shop, making new scissor fobs and counting pins. My book thongs and shepherd's crook bookmarks were a big hit for Christmas gifts, so I'll be adding more of those. The new stitch markers for crochet have been very popular too. I just have so much fun laying out the beads and combining shapes and colors and textures. If you haven't visited lately, please stop by. You might find something you just can't live without. Or you might get an idea for a custom set of counting pins and a fob. I love doing special orders.

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I Could Get Used to This

I'm starting to like having two projects going at once. (Does the phrase "pod person" mean anything to you?) It's a little scary.

Not only was Sunday SoHRH day, but so was Monday. I spent the morning stitching with my EGA alumni group. (Our chapter is defunct, but we still get together to stitch.) And since I FINISHED block 9 (which is really the 8th block...you figure it out) Sunday night with a big happy dance, I decided extending the border on block 3 was the way to go. Statistically speaking, I had a better chance of avoiding frog stitching if all I did was long rows of black x's.

So last night I started working on block 3. Mostly white, which always seems hideous when you are stitching it, but turns out great when washed and ironed. There was some frog stitching there because Jack Bauer was once again in the midst of choas and I got distracted. That man really needs to get a life.

So my big dilemma is what to work on tonight. Guess I'll have to wait and see what mood I'm in. How weird is that?

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I Love the Playoffs!

During the NFL playoffs you can pretty much depend on some good games which translates to lots of stitching time. Each game this weekend involves a team I like (or love...Go Colts!) so I'm making massive progress.

Yesterday was Pigalle day. When I compare the pics from Thursday, it doesn't look like I've done as much as I thought, until you look closely at all the little individual stitches added for detail. I'm really happy with my color choices, finally. It may not have the same visual effect as the originals, but I love the cool blue tones so much more. And that's what counts right? Plus I'm having so much fun. Obligatory stitching or stitching on a deadline can diminish the enjoyment of the process sometimes, even if you like what you are stitching. So I'm especially happy to be working on two projects that I really love and am stitching just for that reason.

Speaking of two projects...today is SoHRH day. As soon as I do something productive like Swiffer up Lester hair (man, that dog sheds!), I'm spending the afternoon watching the Vikings smash the Cowboys. The evening will hopefully bring the Chargers beating the Jets. If you're a fan of either Dallas or NY, don't send me hate mail. Us old farts have to stick together and Bret (at 40 yrs. old) is amazing. And Philip Rivers is a NCSU alum. Say no more.

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It Pays to have lots of WIPs

Rule No. 68: Always have a WIP for backup. (See Rule No. 67)

I was making great progress on "Pigalle" until I came to a spot where the Black Raspberry Jam GAST was called for. It looks very blah and I will once again be making some adjustments. Hence, the implementation of Rule No. 68.

Now, most of you know I'm a one-project-at-a-time girl and working on multiple projects makes my brain hurts. Well, either all of you right-brained stitchers with big piles of WIPs are sending those brain waves my way or menopause is really screwing me up. It occurred to me a couple of years ago that my unusual bouts of indecision might be hormonally induced, but now I'm convinced.

Anyway... I have put "Pigalle" down until I can come up with an acceptable substitute for Black Raspberry Jam. I've been working on SoHRH the last couple of nights and have made reasonable strides forward. And my brain is not taxed by all that creative stuff like color blending, contrast, etc. This is one of those things that makes you appreciate those geniuses that designs needlework. It's a lot of hard work.

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The Christmas Panic

That's what my husband calls it when I start getting twitchy in June. You see, I've been stitching ornaments for my family plus ? for over twenty years...make that thirty years. Suffice it to say that when I look at the early ones I can see growth in my stitching skills. Not to mention my finishing skills, which are still not expert.

I also try to stitch a larger framed piece for my three sisters at least every other year. In the off years I just take one off my walls that each sister has admired. My mom gets a sampler every year. I stitched a Santa for my dad every year for 16 years and they cover the living room walls 365 days a year. He loved those Santas and used to come into my shop and peruse the Christmas charts trying to figure out which one I was going to stitch for him next.

Anyway, the ornament thing has become a tradition and I've been threatened with familial excommunication when I've mentioned that I might not get them done. So I try to get about half of them done in the weeks after Christmas when I'm still in the mood, but the pressure is off. So, you may ask, "how many ornaments do you stitch?". Well, just for family, I'm committed to stitch fifteen. (Fortunately for me, my family is not very prolific! lol) And by "committed" I mean I want to stitch them. After that I have eight friends that I stitch ornaments for every year. After that, the number varies between five and ten. So that makes 28-33 ornaments a year.

The point of telling you all this is that I have put "Shores of Hawk Run Hollow" down for a nap to stitch a birthday gift for a friend who reads my blog. Since I can't show you pics of that piece I've decided to share this years ornaments with you...a few at a time. Most of these are not yet finished. I usually do that in an assembly line manner when they are all stitched or when the mailing deadline gets close, whichever comes first. You guess which. (Excuse my grammar.)

Some of these are freebies I've collected over the years. Some you will recognize from charts and previous JCS ornament issues. Some will even be repeated in various color schemes, rarely do I repeat the design exactly. Sometimes there is a theme, mostly not.

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Block 5 is done

Well, I finally finished block 5 last night and I actually remembered to do the backstitch steps and window panes. Haven't decided which block to do next and in fact, I may put it down for a nap while I do some smalls for Christmas.

The white areas don't show up well in the photos, but they show up well enough in person that I have not yet decided if I'll outline them. If I do, I'll use a very pale gray.

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More tweaking

Okay, I couldn't stand it. I changed the fish. Couldn't stand the darker blue fins which I originally thought would look better than an even lighter shade of blue than the main body blue . I WAS WRONG. They looked like they had happy faces painted on their sides and a patch over one eye. Had to go. And Faye reminded me that I had left off the stripes on the eel. So I had to go back to block 2 anyway. Not that it was all that far away. But in my head, it was complete. I told you I am a very serial stitcher. When something is done, it should be DONE. Now I'm about 30% done with block 5...lots of black and gray. Saving all the white for last. I hate stitching with white. It always looks like crap until it is washed and pressed. I'll probably drive myself crazy fiddling with individual stitches, but I'm determined to "enjoy the process". Remind me I said that when I start bitchin' about it later.

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Tweaking

Well, I'm done with block two of "Shores of Hawk Run Hollow". It would have been done sooner, but a little tweaking of floss colors was required.

I'm sure you know how difficult it is to make conversions from one brand of fiber to another and maintain the original look of the project, not to mention your sanity. As I mentioned previously, I changed not only the floss, but the fabric also. So I'm having to exercise the right side of my brain and be a little creative. Unfortunately, that means frog stitching from time to time because what I thought would work, doesn't. I'm finding that the conversion made for color "x" may work in one motif, but not another, so I'm adjusting as I go along. All in all, it's working out, but taking a little more time than I'd like. I just have to tell myself to enjoy the process. And I am, except when I flick the needle across the room while frog stitching.

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A New Start

Happy Monday morning to ya. I can say that now that I've had my pot of coffee and it's almost noon. I am not a morning person. In fact, if I had my druthers, I'd shift my schedule about 3 hours later than normal.

Last night I got on a roll, stitching-wise, and told DH not to wait for me to come to bed. I actually finished the first block of "Shores of Hawk Run Hollow", hereafter referred to as SoHRH.

As you can see, I changed the fabric. I'm using 40 count "Lucky Penny" from R&R. I'm also using Anchor floss. As I mentioned last week, I spent the better part of a morning making then floss conversion, but so far, I think it's working. I may decide to backstitch the lighthouse at some later date, but I'm going to wait until I get more blocks done to see if I really need to. I detest backstitching.

I slept in til 8:10 this morning and have already done more productive stuff than I have in a week. So, at least until Christmas, I'll probably do the night owl thing. I am sooooooo in the Christmas stitching panic.

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