January WIPocalypse

It's hard to believe that we're already starting another year's WIPocalypse. Although 2020 seemed to drag on in many ways because of our isolation, the year was over much sooner than I expected it to be. Thank goodness! 

 This is the first year that I haven't posted any WIPocalypse goals or picked out any new starts for the year. That whole format just hasn't worked well for me in the past so this year I'm just going wherever my stitching leads me and pulling out whatever I feel like working on. 

I'll start my post with my final finish for 2020 which I squeaked out on December 31st! This was the kit by Shakespeare's Peddler which I had started from stash. It's called A Wassailing and it's a limited edition kit that Theresa released several years ago. Not sure yet just how I will finish this one off. I may have it framed but I'm thinking that perhaps it would look nice as a board finish on a piece of barnwood .

I knew that I had another birth announcement to stitch for my nephew and his wife who were expecting in mid January so I was hesitant to start anything new at the start of this year. I was afraid that I would enjoy the new start so much that I wouldn't get to the birth piece in a timely manner. So while I waited for them to decide on a chart I pulled out a WIP that I had started in April of 2020. 

This is Blackbird Designs Her Fair Work from the Ooh La La booklet. I pretty much only had to finish the border on this and one small motif so it only took three days to finish it up.

I realized after the finish that I hadn't changed the year of completion to 2021. I may or may not change it. After all the majority of it was completed in 2020.

I worked on a couple of smalls until I was ready to start the birth announcement. You can see them on my previous post. I found the chart for the baby on Etsy. They had picked out a pattern in November but after getting started on it I realized that the pattern was really poorly designed. It looked more like it was a digital pattern taken from a picture. I was a little wary of it but stitched a small motif. The colours were really poorly done though and the detail wasn't coming through.  So we started over and they picked another chart from a different designer.  This one is so sweet and is stitching up really quickly. I should be finished it by the end of next week. Baby was born last Saturday and I still have to chart out his name and date of birth.

I had to pause my stitching on the baby piece since I realized I was missing one of the floss colours. While I was waiting for it to ship my dear friend Lianne of 1897 Schoolhouse Samplers gifted me with her latest release. I fell in love with My Precious Jewel - Ann Alice Townshend's work. 

I pulled the called for overdyes and was missing a few. Rather than wait for an order of more floss, I decided to do a conversion to silks that I had in my stash. Most of the silks are Classic Colorworks Belle Soie and couple of NPI silks. My fabric is Picture This Plus Earthen.

 I've completed a good portion of the house already. Only the window trim remains to be done. I'm currently working on the man and woman on either side of the house. This one is going to be my go to stitch for the next month. I'm really enjoying it and the sampler is not a large one. Sorry about the colour of the fabric. It's really not that pinkish. The lighting wasn't great. I'll try and get a better picture next month.

When I tire of any of the above stitching I've pulled out Heartstring Samplery Victoria's Garden. I started stitching this one in May of last year and hope to get it done before the spring. I'll have a progress pic for you next month. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has chosen for their new year starts!

December WIPocalypse

The last two months I've mostly concentrated on small finishes for gifts. I planned on posting last month with the one finish I did have but I realized that I wasn't able to show you a pic because I'd already delivered the piece to my framer. I asked him only to stretch the piece for now and I'll get it framed later with consultation from my son. The finish is of course the birth sampler I stitched for my grandson.

 I'm quite pleased with how this looks. We wanted a birth sampler that wasn't really babyish and would grow with the child so that it could be hung in his room at any age. It's really a great birth announcement for a boy.

After finishing this one off I pulled out a kitted work by Shakespeare's Peddler. It's a small Christmas sampler called A Wassailing. It was a limited edition kit when it was released so as far as I know it's no longer available. It's stitched on Lakeside Linen Vintage Meadow Rue with Limited Edition Gentle Art floss. I've managed to complete a little more than half of the piece and I'm really hoping that I can finish it by year's end.

That's it for current WIPs although there are a couple still hiding in my pile, lol. They can wait for now as I start searching through my stash for what pieces I would like to work on in the coming year.

I didn't accomplish any of the goals I set out for myself last year with the exception of two. I completed the Pennsylvania Dutch Sampler that I had started last year and I chose A Yuletide Welcome as my Christmas stitch for the year. All of the other charts that I had pulled remained untouched as well as the WIPs from the previous year. As per usual, I ended pulling and stitching out a completely different choice of stitches. In light of that, I may just not compile a list for next year and just go with the flow, lol! 

May Smalls

There's been an awful lot of stitching and finishing of smalls going on here during the month of May. In fact it's probably the most that I've ever completed during one month. Of course it was all due to my procrastination and another bout of vertigo which set me on the back burner for a couple of weeks. In any case I had 5 gifts to complete either the finishing of or the stitching and finishing of before I leave for the Prim Stitchers Society Retreat next week. One gift is for the optional exchange which takes place at the end of the retreat while the other four are birthday gifts for friends whose birthdays have either recently passed or are up and coming. I'll hold off posting a pic of the retreat gift in case anyone who is attending spots it on here. The other ladies don't generally check out my blog so I think it's safe to post pics of the gifts.

First up is a piece I stitched back in early 2017 by Blackbird Designs called Remember Me. I knew exactly who I wanted to gift it to but only completed the finishing this week.

Next is a sweet little pinkeep from the Summer House Stitcheworks series Fragments in Time. I personalized this one with my initials as well as my friend's.

The third piece is a design by Shakespeare's Peddler called Jenny Bean's Pin Tuffet. I didn't have a small tart tin or base with which to make a tuffet so instead I made a small pinwheel. I improvised and used lace trim instead of ribbon since I didn't have any that worked. I love how it turned out!

The final finish is appropriately called Bee Heart and is a design by E SubRosa. I have never ever completed a heart shaped pillow and this was a challenge for me since I am neither a great finisher or into sewing. It didn't turn out too badly though. It's just a little wonky on one side but I know my friend won't care and will love it.

Next month I'll post a pic of my retreat exchange gift and any new smalls I get to. 
At this time I want to thank each and every one of you who left comments on my recent posts. I really appreciate them and usually try to respond to your comments but this darn vertigo has kept me away from a lot of reading, stitching and keyboarding. The eye movements just aggravate things. There are a number of reasons why we suspect that I've had a recurrence but it takes time and rest to get rid of it. I'm feeling a little better this past week so hopefully it's on its way out. 
Take care and keep those comments coming. I love hearing from you!

Snowy Day WIPocalypse

The snow is lightly falling on this February WIPocalypse and as you can see, I have some feathered friends visiting today.

 I have a finish to show you on this snowy morning. The final stitches were put in on Heaven & Nature Sing last Saturday on a day that was so cold you didn't dare stick your nose out the door. It was a perfect day for stitching by the fire and here are the final results.

This design speaks to me of quiet, peaceful snowy nights just like the one on which it was completed. Soft and quiet!

Since the previous finish I've spent a lot of time sorting through stash rather than stitching it. I had a specific piece in mind for my next start and discovered that I didn't have as much of the required floss as I thought I had. So this new start has been put on the back burner until my order arrives. What to do, what to do? Everything that called to me was a large start and I didn't want to have 2 larger pieces on the go at the same time. So until I made up my mind I pulled out my Threadwork Primitives Winter Time and put a few stitches in.

I also put in a bit of time with a stitch I started in the fall of 2013, This is the Day. No pictures yet though, hopefully by next post.

Yesterday was the night on which my Ottawa stitching group meets. I've haven't joined them for awhile mostly because I haven't felt like doing the hour drive in the cold winter weather. I made the decision to go in last night and I kitted up this little stitch to take in with me. It's by Stacy Nash and is called To My Sweet Pinkeep.

This pic tells you just how much talking took place last night and how little stitching because this is the result after 3 hours of stitching! The lighting here today is just awful so I apologize for the quality of the photos.

One last pic I have to show you is of the Christmas gift my hubby gave me. This year Bob gave me a gift certificate to my framer. I have so many finishes still waiting for frames but this was the choice I made. I finished Weeds Make Haste in July 2013 and really wanted it up on display because I have so few summer designs. This one is designed by Shakespeare's Peddler and I absolutely love this frame.

 

Thank honey for an awesome gift!

Clarisse is busy at her post, keeping watch over all the various feathered visitors. They woke her from her morning nap when one of the birds tried flying through our front window. The bird survived but Clarisse looks a bit stunned!

Two finishes for WIPocalypse

The full moon this week signaled the time for a WIPocalypse post. I held off for a couple of days because I knew that I was so close to a finish on my one project. 

Plum Street Samplers Fruit of the Spirit

After four months, Fruit of the Spirit is completely finished. It took me far longer than I expected which I think had a lot to do with stitching on the 36ct fabric. My eyes would tire easily and I put the piece down more frequently than I usually do. I also needed good light for this one, particularly for the over one stitching, so I couldn't just stitch on it anywhere. The picture really doesn't do it justice. The colours are so much more vibrant in real life.

My second finish occured a little earlier in the month with the completion of Weeds Make Haste.

Shakespeare's Peddler Weeds Make Haste

This one is off getting stretched right now for framing later in the fall. I get a discount the more pieces I bring in at once so my friend and I are going to combine all our recent finishes in the fall and have them framed then.

I have also finished stitching my ornament for my monthly SAL but I can't post a picture until the chosen date at the end of the month.

Not knowing quite what to get started on next, I picked up my Halloween stitch from last fall and spent a little time with it. It's called A Wicked Plant and is designed by Barbara Ana.
Here's a progress pic.

I have received my kit for my Torah project, titled Torah Stitch by Stitch. For more information on this project follow the highlighted link. The project is open to stitchers of all religious denominations and from all countries. We have 140 stitchers signed on for the project and a total of 1463 are needed. I will be getting started on my verses of stitching next week.

Today I plan on rooting through my stash and deciding on my next ornament and design to stitch. We'll be leaving for the cottage in mid August and I want to have everything organized before I leave.
My next WIPocalypse should have some progress photos from these new ventures. Until then, enjoy your summer!

An exciting new project and my finish revealed!

Recently I learned of a new stitching venture from some of my Tuesday night stitchers. It seems that there is a group in Toronto who are planning to stitch The Torah. Now for those of you who do not know, The Torah consists of the five books of the Hebrew bible, known more commonly to non-Jews as the Old Testament. 

I was told that Torah Stitch By Stitch is now underway and they are looking for volunteer stitchers to aid them. In fact, a total of 1463 stitchers are needed!  The project is open to stitchers of all nationalities and religious persuasion. The Torah is stitched in Hebrew and once you sign up you will receive a kit with the necessary fabric, floss and chart. Each person stitches 4 verses of the text. When completed, the stitching will all be assembled into a scroll measuring 2 metres high by 86 metres long! 

Several of my stitching friends have already signed up and received their kits and stitching is underway. I wanted to be a part of the project but I had a few questions first which they answered for me. So earlier this week I went ahead and signed up. I'm anxious to get started and see which 4 verses I will be assigned. At this point, only the book of Genesis has been charted and several of my friends are stitching of Noah. Although the text is in Hebrew, you do know which verses you are stitching so that you can look up the text in English. I think it's an amazing project and I'm really looking forward to being a part of it.

Today I put in the final stitches on one of my WIP and did a little dance. Which one? Weeds Make Haste! It beat out Fruit of the Spirit and arrived at the finish line first!

Shakespeare's Peddler Weeds Make Haste
stitched on 28ct  LSL Vintage Lentil
using GAST and WDW floss

Since this was stitched on 28ct it was a faster stitch than Fruit which is being stitched on 36ct. I ended up making the legs under the bee skep a little longer after making an error in counting. Consequently the bees had to be adjusted some too. You'd think by now I could count, lol! 
Tomorrow I'm off to visit family for a week. Fruit will accompany me and with any luck I'll actually find some time to work on it. I don't always have access to internet while I'm away so if I don't respond to your comments please be patient and I'll check in as soon as I'm home. 

Canada Day Start

Canada Day is fast approaching and I decided to stitch up another small to add to my collection. This one is a Tree of Life Samplings design, My Sweet Land, which I've adapted with a Canadian flag. I started this one late yesterday afternoon and hope to have it completed by the end of the week.

There are very few Canadian patriotic stitches out there so I usually end up adapting some of the American designs. Below are pics of the patriotic designs I've stitched so far.

Lizzie Kate Land That I Love
Canadian version

Little House Needleworks America
Canadian version

Vee and Co O Canada

San- Man Originals Patriotic Heart

In addition to my new start I spent a little time with Weeds Make Haste. I'm stitching the over 1 lettering right now and really love to stitch it outdoors because I find the light is so much better for this.

I didn't notice until I added this pic that I made a mistake on the maiden's dress. There is a border along the white portion of the dress near the bottom that I stitched right over with the white. I guess I was on a roll and just forgot all about it. Looks like I'll be doing a bit of frogging in the near future. I also changed her mouth colour and feel much better about it now.

My overdyed silk floss that I was awaiting for Fruit of the Spirit arrived yesterday. Now I just have to frog out the bunches of grapes which I've already stitched and replace them with the new floss. I really prefer the variation that the overdyes add to these and the strawberries too.

Not much else going on at the moment. It's a rainy, cool day so I plan on spending some quality time with my needle and baking up a batch of rhubarb muffins with rhubarb from our garden. Mmm!

My latest TUSAL

Here's a photo of my latest TUSAL. I'm a little late because I've been away visiting family the past week. There seem to be more orts than last month at this time. Lots of pretty spring colours too. Most of these are a result of my Peace Inside finish and my Birds of a Feather finish. I thought it was only fitting to take the picture with my bird of Hope since there are so many Cancer Society Relay for Life walks taking place here in Canada at this time. 


My trip this past week was a busy one and there was very little time for stitching. The only time I picked up a needle was in the car on our journey there and back. I have two new starts though that I can show you. The first is Maissonnette aux Fraises which is designed by Cathy Roy.

  
This is a really sweet design and just perfect for the upcoming strawberry season.


My second start was  Shakespeare's Peddler Magic Garden Sampler. When I got started on this one I discovered that my floss list was missing two symbols and their corresponding floss. A quick email to Theresa solved the issue. It seems that I have one of the early releases of the pattern which was later re-released with the corrections. I know that I'm really going to enjoy stitching this one!
Here's my progress so far.

One of the reasons for our trip home was to attend our highschool reunion. This is the 90th anniversary of the school and my DH and I really felt we should attend because there is talk that the school may be closed in the next couple of years. We had seen many of our friends last year at the band reunion but this time my sisters and Bob's brother were also involved which made it all the more fun.
Here's a photo of me with my younger sister Laurie, enjoying the Saturday night dance. I think she looks fantastic, having lost 80 lbs over the course of the past two years! Way to go Laurie!

I was disappointed that we didn't manage to get a picture of all three sisters together. Lana didn't attend the dinner dance and on the Friday evening her decade was partying in a different location.What the reunion committee did was to arrange the closure of one of the streets near our school where many of the local hangouts are located. Each pub was host to a different decade from pre 1950s to the 2000s and because the street was closed to traffic you could wander back and forth between locations if you wished. All the street lamps on the street had either red or white bulbs to reflect our school colours. 
On Saturday the school was open for touring along with various activities such as a basketball game against one of our rival schools who were also celebrating their anniversary. A dinner dance completed the day. 
During the tour of the school I discovered this picture of the Hockey Team from 1948. I was thrilled to spot my Dad in the picture, second from the right in the top row. I knew he had played basketball but I had no idea he had been on the hockey team! My Mom is also a graduate of the school but was not well enough to attend the reunion.

We had a fabulous time and I'm so glad we made the trip. The rest of our time was spent visiting family and friends before we headed home on Thursday. With any luck I'll be putting needle to fabric this evening after cleaning up here at home. We're hosting a potluck with one of my hubby's choirs here on Sunday so there's lots to get done. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend especially my American bloggers who are celebrating their Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy!!

Jenny Bean's Christmas and an Exchange Gift

Just in time for the holiday, may I present Miss Jenny Bean's Christmas.......

Jenny Bean's Christmas by Shakespeare's Peddler
stitched on 32 ct Lakeside Linen Magnolia
using Gentle Arts Floss

This was the first design by Theresa Venette of Shakespeare's Peddler that I've ever stitched and it won't be the the last, that's for sure. I loved working on this one! I've had several comments by non stitchers who've seen me working on this that they really like the design and colours. Theresa has created a new design for the retreat in Williamsburg, VA and has a few extra kits left to offer. It's called A Wassailing and you can see a picture of it here. If you want one of the kits, you can put in a request on her blog. It's first come, first serve and I put in my request as soon as I saw the kit.

I also found the time to finish up one of the ornaments that I stitched last year. It's LHN Pear Tree and up until now it's been hiding in the bottom drawer with all my stitching finishes. There are several more ornaments hiding in that drawer which also should be hanging on my tree but there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get them all finished. Finishing takes me forever! Before I even start, I could spend hours just trying to decide which fabric, trim, etc. I should use. I envy those of you who can finish up an ornament within a short period of time.

Speaking of ornaments, lookee what the postman brought me on Friday!

Not one, but two of the sweetest little snowmen! These cuties were an exchange gift I received from Patty. I have admired this pattern on several blogs where they have stitched this design and I was so pleased to see that I won't have to stitch one for myself now. They're both finished so beautifully and each one sports a little Hand Made with Love charm on the reverse.

Aren't they gorgeous? Thank you very much Patty! They will always have a treasured spot on my Christmas tree each year.

I have recently purchased a new tree for my ornaments. My existing little tree is too small to hold anymore. I've been keeping a look out for a small twig tree but I found they wanted a terrible price for the ones I'd seen. Finally, in my own backyard, I found a sweet little tree that is just perfect for my ornaments. I'll have a picture of it to show you on my next post along with pics of my main Christmas tree. My son Daniel helped me finish off the decorating on Thursday. It was his birthday and it's a tradition that he helps me decorate the tree on his special day.

Happy Birthday Daniel and thanks for all your help!

It's nuts around here!

Two things have prevented me from getting a lot of stitching done this past week. The first is the ongoing renovations to repair our flood damage. Workers have been coming and going, drywall dust is everywhere and displaced items are in my way everywhere in the house.  It makes things very hard to settle and concentrate. However the  new carpet will be laid on Wednesday and all our junk  belongings put back in their rightful place Thursday. DH and I spent yesterday washing drywall dust off of most surfaces.

The second thing which hasn't helped my stitching any is that my Daylite lamp with magnifying lens appears to be on its way out. The light keeps flickering and now has finally died, all of which is due to a broken socket. Bob tried to repair it yesterday with no luck. He has a local fellow that he's going to take it to for repair. I have some table top Ott lites but it's not the same especially without the magnification. I'm hoping the repair doesn't take too long. Last time he repaired my lamp I didn't have it for a month.
 I see that JoAnn's has had a sale on the Ottlites. Perhaps I should make a visit stateside to pick one up.

Don't you just love the pics of my furry visitor? I've never seen a squirrel with white tufts of fur on the ears like this one. Her partner in crime could be distinguished by the beige vest that he was sporting.

I've put my ornaments aside this week in favour of Jenny Bean's Christmas.  I really enjoy stitching this one and find it so unique for a Christmas design.

It appears my iron isn't working all that well these days! It's just not putting out the heat even when I try the steam setting. Sorry about the mussy pic.

The second piece I've been working on is for an exchange so I can't show any peeks of that one yet.  I've also made a start on Tra La La Duo Noel. I wasn't far into it before I discovered a  mistake in the charting of the alphabet. The W didn't look anything like what it should and came out looking like a more glorified letter V. The charts for both of these two stitches have the same alphabet so I flipped the chart over to the second stitch and found the correct lettering. Now I'm back on track. I'm thinking that my next ornament stitch will be using the top portion of one of these designs minus the alphabet.

I'm hoping to get back to my ornament stitching next week. During the past two weeks I've managed to get almost all of my Christmas shopping done. Just a few items left such as stocking stuffers for my granddaughters.  The weather here has been unseasonably mild which has also aided me in getting my Christmas lights out on my shrubs.

 I've recently picked up a few Christmas baking magazines to help me pick out some new cookies for this year's baking. I always try to find one or two new ones to try each year. I love the BH&G Cookie issues that come out every fall. A second favourite are the Canadian Living issues. Oh yes and the Taste of Home seasonal magazines. This one is an older issue I dug out. I always manage to find some new favourites within the covers of these three. I'm so excited that I actually have the time to bake this year!

With extra time on my hands I also joined the new casserole ministry at our church. We will be cooking up casseroles and freezing them. These will be used to send out to any members of the congregation who fall ill and are unable to cook for themselves or to anyone who has a death within their family. Before this ministry was announced, DH and I made three casseroles last week for friends who took sick. I think it's a wonderful idea and there is definitely a need. After all, many members of the congregation are elderly and live on their own so there is no one else to cook for them should they fall ill.

Lots of Christmas craft and bake sales are popping up in our area and I noticed that the stores are now displaying their seasonal finery. It certainly brightens up the dull November landscape. Lots to see and do! I hope that some of the excitement of the upcoming season is spreading your way. I can hardly wait until I have my family all together once more!

Halloween's over, Bring on Christmas stitching!

I know that many of you start to bring out your Christmas garland once Halloween has past. Although we don't decorate here quite that early it doesn't mean that I can't start thinking about Christmas! Becky's Christmas Ornament Challenge starts today and I'm kitted up and ready to go. I'll put my first stitches in after I finish this post. I have so many ornaments designs that I've dug out to stitch. I'll be happy if I can finish even a couple of these. I know I won the Pumpkin Challenge last year but too many other activities start to take place in the next few weeks and I won't have a hope of completing as many projects as I did then.

However I have been stitching away on my Jenny Bean Christmas Sampler and really enjoying it! I'll put this aside now for a few days while I get started on my ornaments.

No, I haven't forgotten about Gobble. I've put a few more stitches into it as well and will have another progress pic soon. Yesterday's mail brought the charts from the rest of the series.

Gather, Give and Ghoul all look like such fun stitches. They won't get done in the near future but I certainly hope to start on at least one of them in the coming year. Eventually it would be nice to have them all hung in a group.

Another PSS design which was a recent ebay win also showed up yesterday. It's called A Handwork's Pace. I love the verse on this one. Click on the pic to read it.

My youngest arrived home on the weekend for a very short visit. He wanted to see his girlfriend and attend some of the Halloween festivities in the area. We caught up with them on Sunday for lunch. He showed me some great pics taken of the two of them in costume. He was supposed to email them to me but they haven't shown up yet. In the meantime I snapped a pic of them during our visit.

Chris always loved watching me carve our Halloween pumpkins. He asked if I was  still doing them. I sure am! Below is a pic of this year's carvings. Sorry it's a bit grainy. I didn't bother setting up the tripod to take it and should have with the low light setting.

Time to get to those ornaments! Hope you have a good start to your week and I'll catch up with you soon!


Edited: Okay so right after I posted this, the pics from Chris showed up. You saw the pic above, now see them dressed for two different events.

 

The first pic they donned makeup for a walking tour at Screamers in Toronto and the second photo is of Chris dressed as Chucky. and Steph dressed as Tiff, Chucky's bride. Love the makeup! Can you tell that my son is a horror film buff, lol? Seems his girlfriend has similar interests!

I've also included a pic that he sent me from this year's Festival of Fear in Toronto. Believe it or not, this is Doug Bradley who played Hellraiser from the movie of the same name. Chris also got to meet Robert Englund who played Freddy Kruger.