Tuesday 12 April 2011

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!

17 comments:

  1. I'm not always a fan of Quaker designs, but this one is beautiful - must be your stitching! Take care, and don't get run down!

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  2. Those darned frogs! Sorry to hear about your counting error. On the bright side, Spring Quaker is looking fabulous! My favourite thing about this design is that it is multi-coloured.

    Don't wear yourself out. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging and commenting. It happens to all of us. Take care of yourself and get that stitching time in for your relaxation/de-stresser. :)

    As for the wedding piece you are doing, maybe the thread could be an overdyed, but a little more rustic. Maybe something that would still have that orange tone. The lambswool linen is such a lovely neutral shade that I think just about anything would match it.

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  3. Spring Quaker is looking wonderful Lynn, and as far as the Wedding Sampler goes, stitch with what ever colour makes you think of the Bride and Groom. That way you will always like working on the piece and they will always think of you when they look at their special gift. I hope you get some OOTDS time, it really does wonders for the soul.
    Be always in stitches.

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  4. Spring Quaker is progressing nicely !
    Congratulations on you winnings ;)

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  5. Your spring quaker is looking gorgeous! I just love the colours!!

    I hope you feel more rested soon, sometimes you need to force yourself to take it easy and give your body a chance to catch up...our minds always seems to go faster!!

    I'm glad you received your goodies...always nice to get something in the mail that isn't a bill to be paid. :)

    For the Wedding Sampler...how about something in a nice cheerful green tone...like Eve's Leaves from Crescent Colours? I just used that one in my LHN Acorn Hill and thought it was a really lovely shade of green.

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  6. I just love spring quaker!!! Alyssa and Judy will be coming to my stitching day in May (you did get my e-mail with this summer's "schedule?") If you can make it you'll get to meet them in person!

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  7. Oh Lynn....your "Quaker Spring" piece is coming along so beautifully! I absolutely love Rosewood Manor designs and think that I might need to purchase this one too! Just love that darling "Kitty Easter Bunny"! How precious! I was just reading your blog and describing the photos to my son, who called from PA. He thought it sounded just great too!

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  8. Hi Lynn,

    One of the best things about the
    spring/summer time is the long
    hours of daylight which allows
    for outdoor activities even on
    weeknights after work. I look
    forward to sitting outside and
    stitching in the natural light
    instead of by Ott lite indoors.
    And Phil is going out to work
    in the garden after dinner now,
    taking advantage of the extra
    light.

    In spite of the infernal frogs
    frustrating your progress on
    it on Saturday your Spring
    Quaker is coming along nicely
    and looks fabulous!! Those
    thread colors are amazing in
    the photos so I can only
    imagine how dazzling they
    must be in real life.

    And I love Sweet Little Berries!
    The basket piled high with ripe,
    juicy berries is adorable. Have
    you seen the newest LHN design
    featured on Diane's blog yet??
    The Inn at Fox River Mill. I
    think it's a keeper.

    Alisa sent you some great
    stuff for stitching didn't
    she? And that Hummingbird
    card is brilliant. I really
    really hope you can make it
    to Dani's gathering in May
    but if not we will find
    another date this summer to
    meet up. I'm determined!!

    Uh, yeah ... that tangerine
    thread is a bit overwhelming
    isn't it??? Too bad. An
    overdyed floss for the new
    start of this design is a
    great idea. Do you know
    what the bride's home decor
    is like and what colors she
    has used for furnishings
    and trims?? That might
    help you decide on a color
    or color range for the
    sampler.

    Cheers!

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  9. I never get tired of seeing your Spring Quaker, Lynn--it really has some of the most luscious colors in it, doesn't it?

    Sorry you have to start your wedding sampler over. I'm with you, I'd avoid metallics at all costs (they don't like me either!!)... Good luck with the color choice.

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  10. That sounds like a perfect Spring evening to me, I hope you enjoy many more of them. Do remember to take for yourself Lynn, you deserve it :) Great stitching too, keep it up!

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  11. Ugh, sorry to hear about the frogs! Everything is so pretty, though. Good luck with the wedding sampler. Maybe look at it as something for them to always display, so do it in a decor-friendly color, rather than matching the dresses? It's hard to tell with something like that, it's such a personal gift yet you want to enjoy the process of creating it, too.

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  12. Love that Spring Quaker! It's going to be gorgeous when you finish it. Hope you figure out a good color for the wedding sampler; it's hard to stitch on something unless your like it!

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  13. Hi! I've just finished RM Spring Quakers; I loved it and the Valdani threads too! Nice to meet them in your blog:)
    Your works are fabulous...I think I become a follower :)
    Erika

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  14. Spring Quaker looks great, Lynn! I can't wait to see it finished. :) Sweet Little Berries looks wonderful as well. I had the same feeling last week while working on Biff, I would stitch a couple dozen stitches, have to frog 1/2 of them, stitch a couple dozen more and then loose the drive to do any more.

    I love that it doesn't get dark until just after 8PM now! Spring is still struggling to find it's way back here though, we had tons of rain & some snow last week and over the weekend. In fact it was snowing this morning.

    Happy stitching! Nick

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  15. Spring Quaker is looking amazing, I love the colors. I might have mentioned that I have this in my stash and you are really making me want to order the threads. Take care of yourself, and make sure that you gets lots of x's crossed, I also stitch for relaxation. Caitlyn just saw me reading your blog and laughed at the picture of the cat with the rabbit ears. I then showed her a picture of Clarisse and she picked up Puddles and let him look at her also. LOL. She said that she wishes that they could meet in real life and have babies.

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  16. Spring is just around the corner, this is what my house looks like right now.

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