Spring Finish, Fall Start

I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle the border on my Torah stitch so this week I just decided to put it aside and pull out some other projects. It wasn't long before I had a finish on BBD Song of Spring. I just love the use of the 4 sided stitch on the alphabet. It sort of gives it a lacy effect.

As I mentioned on an earlier post, this sampler was stitched in memory of my Aunt Bev. It is meant to be finished as a pillow but that will come at a later date.

For my newest start I pulled another Blackbird Design. This one is a companion piece to the Pumpkin Blossom pincushion and is meant to be finished on a sewing box. 

It won't be long before the stitching on this one is finished too. It's small enough that it might actually work on top of a tin rather than a box. As you can see, this one can be personalized with the stitcher's initials, one on each top corner. 

I also have a fabulous new wall hanging which shows off one of my previous finishes, Plum Street Samplers Turkey Love. I changed the date on this one to reflect the celebration of the first Thanksgiving on Canadian soil.

My dear friend Thea, who loves to quilt, offered to once again beautify one of my finishes. She had a bit of a hard time with this one because the linen was a bit stretchy and tended to move as she sewed around it. She actually had to rip out her first attempt. For all her troubles I'm going to stitch her a sampler. 

The mail this week also brought me the most wonderful gift. I was the lucky winner of a Facebook giveaway by Handmade by Nina in celebration of 2000 likes. She was giving away 3 different hand dyed linens, as well as hand dyed ric rac trim to match. When the parcel arrived this past week, I was thrilled to find that it also included 4 of her overdyed floss.

 The linens are cocoa, wildberry and marble in 36ct, 32ct and 40ct respectively. The trim is called Cherry Cola of which I have the matching floss already. The floss are Nutmeg, Pearl, Red Grape and Heather and they look fabulous against the linen! Thank you so much Nina! They're truly lovely!

The weather here has been just lovely this past week. Our temperatures are above normal for this time of year and the days have been sunny with cooler nights. I took the opportunity to get out and visit our local orchard to pick up some apples and cider. 

As you can see, Cannamore Orchard is home to The Spooky Wagon Ride. I don't know how it is operated now but when my boys were in high school they volunteered at the orchard as characters in the wagon ride. The orchard would give a portion of the monies taken in to their school band. This was one of the band's major fundraisers each year. I remember that Jeff played the role of a warlock on one of the wagons, telling tales as they followed the ride. I think Chris was one of the costumed characters who jumped out of the cornfield at the visitors. They worked the ride each weekend in October leading up to Halloween and there were times when it was a cold, rainy night and they thought they'd freeze. Not once would they opt out though. They were committed to that band!

During my visit inside the orchard store I spotted this apple sampler.

One of the owners told me they found the sampler in an antique shop. When they removed the backing to repair it they spotted a date from the late 1800s. She couldn't remember the exact date.

Besides apples, the orchard also has a bountiful supply of pumpkins.

Gourds too!

In addition to the spooky evening ride there are also activities for the younger children including a small maze. I'm thinking of taking my grandchildren here when they come at Thanksgiving. The Canadian Thanksgiving takes place the second Sunday in October so it won't be long now.
Our other option is to take in the new attraction at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg called Pumpkin Inferno. There is nothing scary about this attraction which boasts close to 6000 pumpkins carved by local artists. I'm leaving it up to my son as to which attraction he thinks is best. 

Now I'm off to stitch Plum Street Samplers Mystery stitch, Mary's Sampler. Anyone care to join me?

Of Fall, Halloween finishes and a Win

It's a beautiful fall day here today and I have to go no further than the windows of my home to see autumn's beauty. I  snapped a few pics of the view but before I show you, it's time for a stitching update.

I've had two small finishes this week. First up is Hocus Pocus.

The Stitcherhood Hocus Pocus
stitched on 36 ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Pear
using DMC floss

I think I prefer this one without the vines and should I ever stitch it again I'm going to leave them off.
Next is a cute little stitch called Spooky Halloween. I'm on the hunt for the right fabric to finish this one off shortly.

Spooky Halloween by Shelly Auen of Primitive Stitchin'
stitched on 32 ct Lakeside Linen Sand
using DMC floss

My black silk floss for Ghoul has arrived so as of last night it's back in my rotation. I should have an updated photo for you soon. I'd still like to do one more Halloween small, yet to be decided on.

Besides the silk floss, I had another surprise arrival last week. Cath of The Stitchin' Chicken had a giveaway at the end of August to celebrate her blogoversary which I was the lucky winner of. All I knew was that there was a suprise package to be sent to the winner. Here's what I found waiting for me: 2 lovely cuts of linen, some 
WDW floss, a pair of scissors, gorgeous fob and Birds of a Feather Bloom Where You Are Planted. I was overwhelmed by Cath's generosity. Thank you very much Cath! I intend to make good use of everything.

 

Last week my family gathered in Ottawa for a memorial service for my cousin's wife who had recently passed due to a long fight with ovarian cancer. It was a chance for us to celebrate her life and also to visit with one another since we are rarely together anymore.
Here I am with my cousins and my sister Laurie (far right).

Two of my sons, Daniel and Chris were also able to join us so I snapped a picture of them with their Aunt and Uncle.

Now for some pics of the colours outside the windows of my home.

I'll be sorry to see all that colour go and it is going, as you can see from that bare tree in the last photo. I've been stuck indoors with some sort of a respiratory virus so I haven't been able to get out and enjoy the sights the last several days. 
Gotta go, I hear the timer on my oven beeping! I'm on for coffee hour goodies at church on Sunday so I'm baking some pumpkin loaves. Mmm, wish they were for us!

A Mail Treat

Over the holidays I learned that I was the lucky winner of Nancy's Christmas floss giveaway at The Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. This was a fabulous giveaway of 25 skeins, 20 yrds each, of Nancy's hand-dyed floss. I couldn't believe my luck when I found out I'd won! When I checked yesterday's mail, I found a package waiting for me. Could it be? Yes, it was the floss! Feast your eyes on this beauties!

Nancy is having another giveaway right now for some more of this floss so head on over and join in on the fun. While you're there, check out some of her great designs too! She is an extremely generous lady and loves to share her passion with her readers.

I wanted to show you what my middle son Daniel got me for Christmas. I have a wishlist over at 123 Stitch and Dan took it upon himself to check out my list.
He bought me this gorgeous chart and a needleminder to go with it. Dan knows I love deer which is why he picked this one and I was so thrilled with his thoughtfulness. Thanks honey!

I ran into a small roadblock on my BAP, Pardis Perdu. One of the floss used in the flowers didn't seem to match with the picture of the design. Now I know that these often aren't exactly like the picture but this one didn't even come close. The picture showed some flowers which appear to be a pale pink but the floss I had was a yellow-green colour and didn't go with the floss I'd already used in the design. Since I'd done a silk conversion of this I went back and pulled the DMC floss originally called for. Nope, no mistake on my part. It was the same colour as the silk I had been using. All I can figure is that it is a misprint in the chart. I paid another visit to Hand Dyed Fibers and chose another floss in a pale pink which will work much better. It's on its way to me now and in the meantime I'll work around that area.

I'll have another progress pic of Gobble for you on my next post. My camera battery ran out on me before I could get a photo. I'm nearing the end of this one now and hope to have it finished up by the end of the weekend.

With a finish in the wings I decided to start another small ornament for the Winter Challenge. This one is a Prairie Schooler called Winter. It's from the 2006 issue of the JCS Christmas ornaments.

This one is stitching up pretty quickly which means I can then pull out another start from my list! The weather is on my side as far as stitching goes too since we are receiving a nasty mix of sleet and freezing rain. It started early this morning and has been coming down nonstop.
Okay, so I just looked out the window and now it's turned to snow! DH has cancelled choir practice for tonight and we're going to stay put, snug as two bugs.
Welcome to all of my new followers and thank you for taking the time to drop by and check out my WIPocalypse post. I'm really enjoying this challenge too. I get to see lots of awesome stitching and meet lots of new stitching bloggers. What could be better than that?

My first exchange has arrived!



Prairie Schooler 1994 Prairie Fairie

This year I decided that I would take the leap and participate in my first exchange since I have a lot more time to stitch now that I'm retired. Angela of Hooked on Stitches offered to organize a Designer Exchange where a different designer would be picked for each exchange. Unfortunately the exchange has fallen apart due to another incident which I know many of you are aware of and this will be the only exchange taking place rather than the four planned ones.

My exchange arrived in yesterday's mail. Our designer that was chosen for this exchange was Prairie Schooler. Gracie has sent me the most adorable flatfold! This is one of the Prairie Schooler Prairie Fairies which were released as promotional cards. It's the perfect stitch for autumn and Gracie has finished it with a lovely sunflower (or are those daisies?) fabric for the backing. I'm so thrilled and can't thank her enough! It is proudly displayed in my livingroom with all my autumn decor. My exchange hasn't reached my partner yet so that pic will have to wait. I really enjoyed participating in this and I'm so sorry that a very unfortunate set of circumstances have forced things to come to a premature end. I'm not sure if I will participate in another because of what's happened. I'll have to think on it.




LHN Acorn Hill

 I was determined to get moving on my Acorn Hill and fix all the things that were bothering me about it. So yesterday afternoon I frogged out the pumpkins for the second time along with all the leaves on the vines and started fresh. This time I used WDW Carrot and it has really worked out well. The pumpkins have more varied colour and the colour fits the design a lot better. I then went ahead and restitched the leaves to match the grass. I'm really happy with how things look now and I'm forging ahead with the rest of the design today.

The postman also brought me another surprise besides my exchange. Nancy of the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe had a giveaway in September to share some of her new dyed trims with her blogging friends. I was lucky enough to have my name picked and my assortment arrived yesterday. Look at these wonderful trims! I just love her chenille and I'm planning on using some to finish off some pillows this weekend. Besides the chenille, the giveaway included hand dyed ric rac, cotton twill tape and even hand dyed buttons! Thanks so much Nancy, I will definitely putting these to good use. If you haven't checked out her shop, follow the link and have a peek. In her sidebar is a link to her ebay shop. She also has some wonderful hand dyed lace trims.

The other pleasant surprise I received yesterday came from Becky. Last year Becky had a pumpkin challenge on her blog of which I was the lucky winner. My winnings were put on hold because of some personal tragedies which hit Becky and her family and forced her to quit blogging for some months. Becky is now back and contacted me this week to say that there was a GC to 123 Stitch waiting for me at their site. Thank you Becky!! This was worth the wait particularily because now that I'm retired I have less spending money available than I did when I worked. I already have an extensive wish list at 123 and now I just have to decide what to choose for my winnings.

After such a wonderful day my mood has improved significantly and my stitching mojo is in full force. Off to grab lunch before my Wednesday afternoon stitching date! Keep on stitching!







Turkey Talk

Plum Street Samplers Gobble

As Canadian Thanksgiving approaches this coming weekend my thoughts seem to be centered on turkeys. This little fellow, or Tom as I like to call him, has occupied some of my time this week. I wish that I had time to complete this before our holiday but that's unlikely. I'm just not that quick of a stitcher. So should I tack him up somewhere as is for now and complete him after the holiday or should I just forge ahead and forget about displaying him this year? He's a pretty fine looking fellow if I do say so!

My other thoughts have been centered on whether or not to cook turkey this Thanksgiving. I always have in the past and then repeat the same meal again at Christmas. After all, turkey is a pretty easy meal to cook. It's the side dishes that take so much time. This is the first major holiday where I'm no longer working and have more time to prepare the meal. Should I alter the mix, or leave things as status quo?

 My oldest son is bringing home a young woman with him with whom he has been spending a lot of time lately. For those of you who may not know, he has been separated from his partner for almost a year now. We were not unhappy with the split since the relationship was never a great one from the start and we are thrilled that he has found someone to share things with. As parents we never stop worrying about our children no matter their age!

Jeff told me that she is a good cook so is that why I suddenly want to changes things up? In any case I'm ready for a change. I have found a recipe for cooking turkey breast in the crockpot with wine, apple, carrot, celery and a whole host of herbs. It sounds absolutely divine and works really well for me since we are at church for most of the morning which limits my preparation time. I can prepare most of this the night before and just plug in the pot before I leave the next morning. It's still turkey but not quite the same as our usual roast with stuffing. It also suits my needs since I recently started Weight Watchers and it's a much more healthy alternative to all that gravy and stuffing. As for the pumpkin pie, I'm replacing it with apple crisp and some pumpkin pie squares which are made with oats.

Lately I've spotted an increase in the amount of these wild turkeys showing up in our area fields.

I used to spot the odd one or two and maybe a small group of four but their numbers seem to be increasing . Yesterday I spotted a field with close to twenty of them. I'd watch out fellas if I were you! Has anyone ever tried cooking wild turkey? I'm sure the taste is far different from our store bought versions.

I also want to share with you the lovely exchange gift which I received from Lynn last week. I have long admired Lynn's work. Her finishes are superb and when she announced another giveaway I jumped at the chance to win some of her lovely work. I was thrilled to bits when she posted that I had won her Paris giveaway. Look at the lovelies that I received!!




Paris pillow(with crystal accents), cupcake needlebook, cupcake pin, strawberry fobs

 

Front view of the needlebook



Closure with a Swarovski crystal



Handmade pins



Isn't everything fantastic!! Seen in person, Lynn's finishing skills are even more impressive.  Both the pin and the fobs are accented with beading and the pillow and needlebook with crystals. I can only imagine the amount of time she put into this finishing. Thank you so very much Lynn for sharing some of your talent with me. I love it!!

It seems my dear stitching friend Kathy is also an admirer of Lynn's talents and has been entering her giveaways for some time with no success. She has been teasing me and threatening to spirit away my winnings the next time she visits. I may just have to hide these pretties, lol!

I'll leave you with a recent pic of my granddaughters enjoying one of my favourite fruits of the season,hand-picked! I hope all the recent cool temperatures spur you on to even more stitching.

TUSAL

 

I can't believe it's time for my TUSAL post again. Although I've had a busy month, I have managed a finish, a new start and some progress on Spring Quakers. However it seems that I have very small orts. I use my thread almost to the end especially when I was stitching Sweet Little Berries and I had a limited amount of floss in the kit. I have a really hard time taking pictures of this little jar. There seems to be a lot of glare whenever I try so this time I took it outside on my front porch and snapped this pic.

After snapping the pic I took a drive over to the post office to pick up our mail and found a surprise waiting for me.  Earlier this month Rhona had her first giveaway on her blog and I was the lucky winner. Good thing she emailed me to let me know. I was behind on my blog reading and had missed her post with the winner. Her giveaway included a pair of stork scissors, a magnetic needle case and some  DMC Gold needles.

 She also stitched the most adorable card with my initial on it. Isn't it sweet!? Thank you very much for everything Rhona!!

My DH just arrived home with another surprise. There is a soup kitchen which runs out of his church and they also have items such as clothing which are dropped off for those in need. Today, among some of the drop offs was a 17" Q snap. He waited until the end of the day to see if anyone had claimed it. Nope, it's yours! he was told. I was pleased when he showed it to me and surprised that he knew what it's used for. I guess he is paying attention to what I'm doing!

Since I just posted yesterday I have no new stitching to show but I do have a picture of my most recent framed piece. It's LHN North Wind and I felt this frame was perfect. The framing of this piece is a retirement gift from my Aunt and Uncle and I'm very pleased with it. Kelly, who works at my framer's, is amazing at picking out just the right frame for the stitching. I always hope that she's working when I drop by with a new stitch.

I'll leave you with a picture of my fur baby, Clarisse. She calmly sat and watched me as I went about doing laundry and cleaning up today.Usually she's got her nose right in everything but it appeared she was having a lazy day.

We have had very high winds here today and my laundry was dry in record time!

Spring Quaker resurfaces

Isn't it great? It's 7:30pm, the sun hasn't set yet and I'm sitting here listening to the cardinals call to one another. I love it! Today I was out looking at a new gazebo for the garden where I can soon sit and stitch while I enjoy these evenings.

After completing Cast All Your Cares for my friend I felt I could once more spend some time with Spring Quakers. Saturday I packed up my stitching and spent a good portion of the day stitching with some friends. I wanted to give my full attention to SQ but my fingers seemed to be as tired as the rest of my body and my progress was minimal. The frogs also found it necessary to make my life miserable after I found a counting error which didn't help matters much. The result is only 2 more motifs completed after several hours of stitching. I intend to concentrate on this one for the next few evenings after work.

Sweet Little Berries is coming along as well. Most of the work on this one was completed last week. It's such a darling little piece and I like to take it to work with me to pass the time during lunch and breaks. Reminds me of all those sweet berries that will be ripe for the picking in a couple of months.

My fatigue level has been pretty high lately which is why I didn't spend much time stitching or blogging last week. There were several evenings when I didn't go anywhere near the computer. When I finally did I couldn't believe all the blog posts waiting to be read. There are not enough hours in the day to catch up and comment on everything so if I failed to comment on any of your recent posts please forgive me. I am reading them but when I get so far behind I don't leave too many comments lest I have no time for stitching. No stitching means one miserable woman here! After all stitching is my means of releasing stress and trust me, you don't want to see me when I'm too wound up!

One thing that did brighten up my week was the arrival of my giveaway winnings from Alisa's generous giveaway. I met Alisa through another blogging friend Judy and was thrilled to learn that Alisa also resided in Ontario here in Canada and quite possibly we will get a chance to meet in person during several SALs that take place in our neck of the woods.

I jumped at the chance to enter into her wonderful giveaway and was thrilled to find out I'd won.

Here's a couple pics of my winnings including the fabulous stitched card that accompanied everything.

Isn't that hummingbird adorable? The package of buttons on the far left of the group picture is full of all kinds of tiny bug buttons.... dragonflies, bees, ladybugs, etc. They'll be perfect to adorn summer stitches. It's hard to tell from this picture but that fabric is a lovely piece of cashel linen that will come in very handy for numerous samplers. Thank you so much Alisa for your generous gifts!! I promise I will put everything to good use.

I've given myself until the weekend to stitch on SQ and then I have to put some time in on my Wedding Sampler. I started this last week and as I mentioned on a previous post, I decided to stitch this in the colour of the bridesmaid's dresses. The chosen colour was tangerine and although it's a lovely colour for the dresses it hasn't suited this particular design. The colour is more of a neon shade when seen in real life. After getting a few second opinions, I've spoken to the bride's mom (also know as my cousin, Sheryl) and have decided to start over with another colour choice. Which one that is remains to be seen. I'll do a floss toss next week and make a decision. Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted. I was thinking of an overdye floss. The original design was done all in metallics and that would not be my first choice! I can go with another shade of fabric if necessary. I'm using a 32ct Lambswool.

That's it for now from my village hideaway. I hope Spring is paying a visit to your doorstep and you are soaking up some of that fresh air!