June Smalls SAL

As promised, here's a pic of my smalls finish for this month. It is a freebie from Lori Brechlin of NotForgotten Farm and is just perfect to ring in summer.

I'm not able to use my sewing machine yet since my surgery but I originally thought I would finish this as a pincushion. However I have since had a second thought that might work out and would not require any sewing. If I go ahead with this idea I'll post a picture of the finish.

Speaking of summer, my favourite winged visitors have returned to our neighbourhood. That's right, the Cedar Waxwings are back and are busy removing all of the berries from my neighbour's tree. We have a perfect vantage point for taking pictures from our yard and I love watching the little thieves (they do look like that, don't they?) as they clean off the branches.

What is your problem? Are you watching me?

It's promising to be a beautiful summer week's end here and I hope that you all get in a little time with the needle soon!

June's Stitching From Stash

June just seems to be flying by! I figured that the month would drag since I can't get out my during my hip recuperation. Today is definitely one of those days due to non-stop rain which has curtailed even my walks. However for the most part the days are passing by quickly. 
I've spent the majority of my stitching time between two projects. One is now complete and the second one is my new start which is replacing it. My finish for this month is Primitive Betty's Live, Laugh, Love. 

I decided to try dyeing my own fabric once I'd finished the stitching. I used Primitive Betty's recipe using walnut crystals, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon. I painted the stain on using a foam brush and then dried the fabric in the oven. I'm pretty pleased with the results. It turned out much darker than it appears in the picture and I would have liked it a tad lighter but overall I achieved the effect that I wanted. I feel much more comfortable in trying this again.

Having finished this I dug through my stash looking for something summery to stitch. Strawberry season often signals the start of summer in this region especially this year with all the delayed growth. I knew that I had several charts which involved strawberries and here is what I finally decided upon.

This is Heartstring Samplery Strawberry Bower Sampler from The Strawberry Collection leaflet. If you follow the link it is the sampler at the bottom of the collection. I'm stitching it on some Picture This Plus Mello which I had in my stash. I also had all the required floss with the exception of one and for that I have made a substitution. This is such a fun stitch and I wish it was hanging on my wall already!

I completed a third small project for my Smalls SAL which I will post tomorrow with a pic.

I finally broke down and used the  $25 123 Gift Certificate which my youngest son gave me for my birthday. I ended up paying out of pocket for some of the shipping which fortunately doesn't count towards this month's purchases. The charts arrived last week and it's a good thing I'd already started the Strawberry Bower piece or I might have gone straight to work on Stacy Nash Miss Baxter's House (top left). Thanks Chris for such a great gift!

Unfortunately my clicky finger didn't stop. In fact, ordering these charts only served to make me want more and I ended up ordering a few more additions.

These are Stacy Nash Three Sisters Pinkeep and Heartstring Samplery Land of Liberty. I am the eldest of three sisters so I just knew I had to stitch that particular one. The total of these two still keeps me under my June commitment. The two charts were $12 and $10 so $22 spent from my $25 allowance. However in a moment of weakness I also ordered Plum Street Samplers The Pink House Sampler and the necessary floss I required. That moment of weakness only came about after Mel announced that we had an extra $50 bonus to spend this month. The total for this item came to $31.54. Subtract the remaining $3 left in June's budget and you will see that I spent $28.54 out of the allotted $50 bonus. Hopefully I'll be able to control that clicky finger next month!

Since I am recuperating from my hip replacement, my mother wanted to send me a gift. She lives 900 km away and is unable to visit me. At first she thought of flowers but after hearing that I had already received 3 arrangements she decided to gift me with some money to use towards a purchase of my choice. We talked and it was decided that I would use her money to purchase some fabric for my stash. Over the years my tastes have changed and I am using a lot of neutral colours now for all the samplers and primitive pieces I'm stitching. My own stash is dwindling when it comes to neutral colours. Her gift has only just arrived and I will be saving it for my favourite fabric sale which is coming up later in July. Thanks Mom!

During the first couple of weeks of my recuperation I spent many hours in my recliner stitching. It's just about the only chair in the house that is the right height and is comfortable for me. Clarisse often would sit beside the chair and keep me company. Here is where I found her when I went to reach into my stitching bag for some items. I guess she was craving some attention!

This past Thursday I made a trip into Ottawa for a checkup with my surgeon. He's pleased with my progress but I will be using my walker slightly longer than planned on. It seems some of my muscles had started to atrophy before the surgery because I was no longer walking as much. Subsequently it will take a little longer for them to come back up to snuff.
After my appt. I stopped in to visit my youngest son Chris who I knew was heading to Montebello for a rock concert. I get to see Chris often enough but the person I don't get to see as much is my eldest, Jeff, who was accompanying him. Jeff is on the left and Chris on the right.

It was great to catch up with them even if only for a short while. Jeff will be returning our way in late July, bringing his girls with him for a few days. That about covers things for now. Don't forget, I'll be posting my Smalls finish for this month tomorrow. See you then!

June WIPocalypse.....Short, but Sweet

As many of you know, there hasn't been much attention paid to my stitching over the past month until just recently. May was a busy month what with birthday celebrations and Mother's Day followed by an appointment with my surgeon for a total hip replacement.
I'm happy to report that all went well and I am well into the recovery phase now. I am slowly progressing from walker to cane, the staples are out and physio should begin next week. Now that I'm feeling much better and off my pain meds stitching therapy can begin in earnest!

Since I returned home I've worked on two designs, a WIP and a new start. First up, the WIP, Primitive Betty's Live, Laugh, Love.
This one should be completed by the end of the weekend or early next week although I'm not quite up to any happy dancing yet!

As you can see, I'm left with just the border to complete on this one. I've enjoyed this immensely and I'm starting to hunt for a new start to replace it.

Second up is a quick stitch freebie from Notforgotten Farm called June.

I love the flowers in this one. They remind me of sweet little faces. Only the basket/planter remains to be stitched. Until I'm able to use my sewing machine once more most of my finishing will have to wait until a later date.

I do have a project I'm stitching for a friend which I should get started on soon. It's Carriage House Samplings Pumpkin Farm. I think I have it pretty well kitted up so it should be on the agenda very soon. Besides that, I have no immediate plans and enjoy the time sifting through my stash for that one project which calls to me.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer (even though it's not officially here!) and I look forward to seeing what stitches are occupying those lazy days!