A very Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends and family both near and far. May the peace of the season fill your heart with joy!
Thursday, 24 December 2015
Christmas Greetings
A very Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends and family both near and far. May the peace of the season fill your heart with joy!
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
November Small SAL and WIPocalypse
The full moon (WIPocalypse) and Smalls SAL both fall on the same date this month for reporting so this will be a combined report. I'll start off with the smalls.
It's been a few years since I have stitched any ornaments for my granddaughters so I decided that I should get back to that this year.
They're getting older and are more interested in my stitching now. I decided to do 2 ornaments taken from the Prairie Schooler Evergreen leaflet.
The girls were here this past weekend for a visit so I gave them to them to take home so they could put them on their tree before Christmas rather than wait until they saw me during the Christmas holiday. They loved them and have already picked out which ornies they want me to stitch next year!
My next small finish was a new design by Lori Ripley of Homespun Prims. It's called A White Christmas and I plan on making it into a pin pillow.
In addition to stitching the above designs, I finished off two designs that I had stitched sometime during the past 2 years. I found these sweet little tins in my friend's gift shop. They actually had chalkboards in the center for writing a message but as soon as I saw them I knew they would work for a cross stitch finish.
This is Little Women Christmas by The Sampler Girl. I finished this for a birthday gift for a stitching friend. Unfortunately I don't think these designs are available any longer.
This is So This Is Christmas, designed by Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives.
When I saw how easily these finishes came together, I headed back to my friend's shop and bought the remainder of her tins. I plan on doing several more of these.
For WIPocalypse this month I have concentrated on two designs......Plum Street Samplers Autumn Fraktur and Kathy Barrick And Heaven and Nature Sing. Here are some updated progress pics.
And Heaven and Nature Sing is part of a SAL which I'm doing with some of the stitchers from the Facebook group Prim Stitchers Society. This piece is done in Needlepoint Silks. I chose to use up some Vikki Clayton silks that I had in my stash. It didn't take me long to figure out that I was going to run out of the dark brown silk. So what I have done is to stitch in one direction with a slightly lighter brown silk and then go back over it with the darker brown. It's working out pretty well so far and I should have just enough silk to finish this off but it will be close! I will be using red beads instead of stitches for some of the area within the wreath around the deer's neck.
That's pretty much it as far as stitching is concerned for this month. As the holiday season creeps nearer and nearer there will be less time for stitching. I will probably just work on some more small finishes until the new year.
We were treated to a rare sight this past week. Our area is on the flight path for the migration of the Snow Goose so we often see them flying over or at a distance in a farmer's field. This year though they decided to settle in a pond at a gravel pit just up the highway from us. They were there several days in a row so I managed to get some great pics.
It was a real treat to get so close to these beautiful birds as they make their way south for the winter. I look forward to seeing them on the return trip again in the spring.
Last weekend my son and granddaughters dropped by so that we could celebrate the youngest's birthday. Summer will be 9 on the 27th. I was supposed to drive to their home (a 3 hr drive) but as some of you may know I have been ill off and on since late September. A cold and sinus infection lowered my immunity and then things progressed into viral pneumonia and bronchitis. I'm slowly recovering but I'm trying to avoid crowds right now so I don't pick up anything else. So Jeff and the girls landed in Saturday night and we had a very short but sweet visit.
I will take this time to wish all of my friends and family in the U.S. a very Happy Thanksgiving!! We Canadians celebrated ours in October but I know I always looked forward to watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade on T.V. I know there were several times when we played sick as kids so that we could stay home from school and watch it! Enjoy your day my friends!!
It's been a few years since I have stitched any ornaments for my granddaughters so I decided that I should get back to that this year.
They're getting older and are more interested in my stitching now. I decided to do 2 ornaments taken from the Prairie Schooler Evergreen leaflet.
The girls were here this past weekend for a visit so I gave them to them to take home so they could put them on their tree before Christmas rather than wait until they saw me during the Christmas holiday. They loved them and have already picked out which ornies they want me to stitch next year!
My next small finish was a new design by Lori Ripley of Homespun Prims. It's called A White Christmas and I plan on making it into a pin pillow.
In addition to stitching the above designs, I finished off two designs that I had stitched sometime during the past 2 years. I found these sweet little tins in my friend's gift shop. They actually had chalkboards in the center for writing a message but as soon as I saw them I knew they would work for a cross stitch finish.
This is Little Women Christmas by The Sampler Girl. I finished this for a birthday gift for a stitching friend. Unfortunately I don't think these designs are available any longer.
This is So This Is Christmas, designed by Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives.
When I saw how easily these finishes came together, I headed back to my friend's shop and bought the remainder of her tins. I plan on doing several more of these.
For WIPocalypse this month I have concentrated on two designs......Plum Street Samplers Autumn Fraktur and Kathy Barrick And Heaven and Nature Sing. Here are some updated progress pics.
And Heaven and Nature Sing is part of a SAL which I'm doing with some of the stitchers from the Facebook group Prim Stitchers Society. This piece is done in Needlepoint Silks. I chose to use up some Vikki Clayton silks that I had in my stash. It didn't take me long to figure out that I was going to run out of the dark brown silk. So what I have done is to stitch in one direction with a slightly lighter brown silk and then go back over it with the darker brown. It's working out pretty well so far and I should have just enough silk to finish this off but it will be close! I will be using red beads instead of stitches for some of the area within the wreath around the deer's neck.
That's pretty much it as far as stitching is concerned for this month. As the holiday season creeps nearer and nearer there will be less time for stitching. I will probably just work on some more small finishes until the new year.
We were treated to a rare sight this past week. Our area is on the flight path for the migration of the Snow Goose so we often see them flying over or at a distance in a farmer's field. This year though they decided to settle in a pond at a gravel pit just up the highway from us. They were there several days in a row so I managed to get some great pics.
It was a real treat to get so close to these beautiful birds as they make their way south for the winter. I look forward to seeing them on the return trip again in the spring.
Last weekend my son and granddaughters dropped by so that we could celebrate the youngest's birthday. Summer will be 9 on the 27th. I was supposed to drive to their home (a 3 hr drive) but as some of you may know I have been ill off and on since late September. A cold and sinus infection lowered my immunity and then things progressed into viral pneumonia and bronchitis. I'm slowly recovering but I'm trying to avoid crowds right now so I don't pick up anything else. So Jeff and the girls landed in Saturday night and we had a very short but sweet visit.
I will take this time to wish all of my friends and family in the U.S. a very Happy Thanksgiving!! We Canadians celebrated ours in October but I know I always looked forward to watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade on T.V. I know there were several times when we played sick as kids so that we could stay home from school and watch it! Enjoy your day my friends!!
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
October WIPocalypse and Smalls SAL
It seems like it's been quite a while since I last posted. I had hoped to be back here sooner but life got in the way, more specifically I've been knocked flat by a miserable virus. It's been 4 weeks now and I've still not rid myself of it entirely but I am feeling much more human now than I was earlier.
I've decided to post my WIPocalypse and Smalls post on the same day since they fall only a day apart this month. I actually do have some stitching to report although a good portion of it has occurred in the past 4 days or so. I'm making up for lost time!
I'll start with my WIP. Since my last post I have been working on three projects. I started two of them on the same day right at the end of September. The first is Plum Street Samplers Autumn Fraktur.
I'm stitching this on 32ct Picture This Plus Mello. Once the leaves and vine are done I'll get into stitching the two colourful birds in this piece.
Once I had stitched a leaf or two on this I switched over to my second start which is Stacy Nash Thistles and Spells Pinkeep.
I'm really loving this fabric which is another Picture This Plus called Shale. Of course this will never be complete by this Halloween but next year is just fine.
My third new start is as a result of participating in a SAL on Prim Stitchers Society Facebook group. I can't remember the exact number but I know there are more than 200 of us who on Oct. 15 started stitching Kathy Barrick's new design And Heaven And Nature Sing. The recommended floss on this is NPI silks but I'm using a number of silks I found in my stash including some Vikki Clayton and Belle Soie. I am using the recommended fabric, Lakeside Linen Vintage Pecan Butter.
Of course I also completed a small finish for my commitment as part of the Smalls SAL. For me it couldn't be anything except a Halloween finish. Here is The Little Stitcher Pickety Witch!
Again I used the PTP Shale for this stitch. The finished piece fits right in with my existing Halloween decor. Love it!
October is also the month in which Canada celebrates their Thanksgiving. So on the second Monday of the month our family gathered to celebrate. My eldest and his family were unable to join us however this year we had an extra member at the table. My sister Laurie, who lives in the U.S., joined us as part of a week long visit. We all have so much to be thankful for including the wonderful meal we feasted on. Everyone had a hand in helping!
The others at the table included my son Dan, hubby Bob, and my son Chris with his girlfriend Violet. The boys had a great time catching up with their aunt.
How nice for Laurie too. Since she lives in the U.S. she gets to celebrate Thanksgiving twice this year!
My final photo is of a Halloween finish from 2013. I finally had this one stretched and hopefully it will be framed in the coming year. This is Plum Street Samplers Ghoul Tidings. Love those cats!
I'm hoping that by this month's end I'll be feeling 100% improved and this virus will be history. That should lead to plenty more stitching in the coming month. See you soon!
I've decided to post my WIPocalypse and Smalls post on the same day since they fall only a day apart this month. I actually do have some stitching to report although a good portion of it has occurred in the past 4 days or so. I'm making up for lost time!
I'll start with my WIP. Since my last post I have been working on three projects. I started two of them on the same day right at the end of September. The first is Plum Street Samplers Autumn Fraktur.
I'm stitching this on 32ct Picture This Plus Mello. Once the leaves and vine are done I'll get into stitching the two colourful birds in this piece.
Once I had stitched a leaf or two on this I switched over to my second start which is Stacy Nash Thistles and Spells Pinkeep.
I'm really loving this fabric which is another Picture This Plus called Shale. Of course this will never be complete by this Halloween but next year is just fine.
My third new start is as a result of participating in a SAL on Prim Stitchers Society Facebook group. I can't remember the exact number but I know there are more than 200 of us who on Oct. 15 started stitching Kathy Barrick's new design And Heaven And Nature Sing. The recommended floss on this is NPI silks but I'm using a number of silks I found in my stash including some Vikki Clayton and Belle Soie. I am using the recommended fabric, Lakeside Linen Vintage Pecan Butter.
Of course I also completed a small finish for my commitment as part of the Smalls SAL. For me it couldn't be anything except a Halloween finish. Here is The Little Stitcher Pickety Witch!
Again I used the PTP Shale for this stitch. The finished piece fits right in with my existing Halloween decor. Love it!
October is also the month in which Canada celebrates their Thanksgiving. So on the second Monday of the month our family gathered to celebrate. My eldest and his family were unable to join us however this year we had an extra member at the table. My sister Laurie, who lives in the U.S., joined us as part of a week long visit. We all have so much to be thankful for including the wonderful meal we feasted on. Everyone had a hand in helping!
The others at the table included my son Dan, hubby Bob, and my son Chris with his girlfriend Violet. The boys had a great time catching up with their aunt.
How nice for Laurie too. Since she lives in the U.S. she gets to celebrate Thanksgiving twice this year!
My final photo is of a Halloween finish from 2013. I finally had this one stretched and hopefully it will be framed in the coming year. This is Plum Street Samplers Ghoul Tidings. Love those cats!
I'm hoping that by this month's end I'll be feeling 100% improved and this virus will be history. That should lead to plenty more stitching in the coming month. See you soon!
Wednesday, 30 September 2015
September Smalls and a new framed stitch
September's small stitch is in recognition of Canada's upcoming Thanksgiving which takes place in just 12 short days.
Gobble is a sweet little turkey designed by Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives.
I haven't had the time yet to finish this into a little pinkeep but I did one other finish done shortly after posting it for last month's smalls.
Wild Chamomile was designed by Teresa Murgida of Primitive Acorns and was stitched as a gift for my friend Nan Lewis of Threadwork Primitives.
The little dragonfly charm which I added to this I found in Muskoka this summer at a local pewter shop. I wish now that I'd picked up a few more of these!
The next pic is not a small but is a finish which I completed in 2014. Blackbird Designs Acorn Hill has sat waiting in my pile of finished stitches until I found just the right frame to complement it. After antique hunting on my vacation this summer I found a wood frame which I'm told is called a Victorian criss cross frame. After bringing it home I realized which piece might work in it. My framer told me that it took a bit of work getting it right because it turns out the frame is not straight. I would never know that though looking at his handiwork. Sorry about the lack of light. This overcast day has not helped with my picture taking!
I'll be back soon with a post of my visit to Notforgotten Farm. I'm fighting a cold right now and just don't have the energy to get it all organized. Hopefully I'll feel better by the weekend. I have another stitching event to attend in Kingston!
Gobble is a sweet little turkey designed by Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives.
I haven't had the time yet to finish this into a little pinkeep but I did one other finish done shortly after posting it for last month's smalls.
Wild Chamomile was designed by Teresa Murgida of Primitive Acorns and was stitched as a gift for my friend Nan Lewis of Threadwork Primitives.
The little dragonfly charm which I added to this I found in Muskoka this summer at a local pewter shop. I wish now that I'd picked up a few more of these!
The next pic is not a small but is a finish which I completed in 2014. Blackbird Designs Acorn Hill has sat waiting in my pile of finished stitches until I found just the right frame to complement it. After antique hunting on my vacation this summer I found a wood frame which I'm told is called a Victorian criss cross frame. After bringing it home I realized which piece might work in it. My framer told me that it took a bit of work getting it right because it turns out the frame is not straight. I would never know that though looking at his handiwork. Sorry about the lack of light. This overcast day has not helped with my picture taking!
I'll be back soon with a post of my visit to Notforgotten Farm. I'm fighting a cold right now and just don't have the energy to get it all organized. Hopefully I'll feel better by the weekend. I have another stitching event to attend in Kingston!
Monday, 28 September 2015
September WIPocalypse
My favourite season of the year is here and already the cooler days and nights have heralded its arrival. I've been anxious to start an autumn stitch but I intended to finish what I was working on first. I'm pleased to say that that finish has taken place.
Some of the Tuesday night stitchers from Ottawa
We are so fortunate to have such a large group of stitchers in our area. It was the first SAL for this group and we hope there are many more. The day passed by so quickly. We shared a delicious lunch buffet in addition to our passion for stitching. Ann brought linen, floss and charts to tempt us with from her stitching shop Knowledge and Needles.
There were also some fabulous door prizes including charts, needles, homemade vanilla, and soaps. Not one person went home empty handed! Thank you so much Lianne for all your hard work in making this day so special.
Next post I'll show pics of my trip to visit Lori Brechlin's open house at Notforgotten Farm. See you then!
Heartstring Samplery A Stitcher's Resolution
I'm so pleased with the finish on this one. There was a minor mistake in counting which resulted in a slight alteration of the border but I can't tell so I figure no one else can either. I used 3 different lots of the same floss to finish up the flowers in the border to give things a bit of variation. This is pretty much all I worked on this past month besides my small for the upcoming Smalls post.
This past weekend I joined a group of stitchers who belong to Upper and Lower Canada Stitchers, a Facebook group. The group is comprised of stitchers from Ottawa to Toronto and everything in between. The SAL was organized by my friend Lianne and it was a huge success! The Brigadoon Restaurant in Oxford Mills was the site of our get together. Here are some pics from our fabulous day.
This past weekend I joined a group of stitchers who belong to Upper and Lower Canada Stitchers, a Facebook group. The group is comprised of stitchers from Ottawa to Toronto and everything in between. The SAL was organized by my friend Lianne and it was a huge success! The Brigadoon Restaurant in Oxford Mills was the site of our get together. Here are some pics from our fabulous day.
The Brigdoon Restaurant
Our second floor stitching area
The third floor stitching area where most of us gathered
A former co-worker Karen and myself
Mike and our organizer Lianne
Mike's fabulous wool penny stitch
You might recognize some fellow bloggers in the next two pics!
We are so fortunate to have such a large group of stitchers in our area. It was the first SAL for this group and we hope there are many more. The day passed by so quickly. We shared a delicious lunch buffet in addition to our passion for stitching. Ann brought linen, floss and charts to tempt us with from her stitching shop Knowledge and Needles.
There were also some fabulous door prizes including charts, needles, homemade vanilla, and soaps. Not one person went home empty handed! Thank you so much Lianne for all your hard work in making this day so special.
Next post I'll show pics of my trip to visit Lori Brechlin's open house at Notforgotten Farm. See you then!
Saturday, 29 August 2015
August WIPocalypse
Summer's end is near. I can feel it. The evenings are getting dark sooner and the days have been a little bit cooler. Already I'm spotting trees that are changing colour. As the season gets ready to change I feel the urge to get into some autumn stitching. I'm browsing my stash to see what I can come up with.
In the meantime I have some progress on This IsThe Day although it is meagre. I'm working on background fill and outside borders.
Here's a closeup of the background. I had thoughts of not stitching this portion but in the end I pulled out needle and thread and got started on it. It's very time consuming and boring!
The other piece I worked on this month was Heartstring Samplery Stitchers Resolution. If you remember I had started this one at the tail end of July when I realized that I had the fabric going in the wrong direction as I was stitching. I was too annoyed at myself to start frogging and I was anxious to get started on it again so I pulled another piece of the same linen out and restarted. The frogging on the other can wait until a rainy day. I was just lucky that I had more of the same linen in my stash!
I'm about a third of the way through this one now. I'm working on the top half and then I have a border all around the piece to complete. The colours are predominately neutrals but they look good on this fabric and I'm happy with the results so far.
I did a bit of antique shopping on my recent vacation. I'm looking for other ways of displaying my needlework besides framing it.
I purchased some rather interesting pieces including an old bread board with the inscription "Staff of Life" along the top. I have a Blackbird Design piece in mind for this one. The child's slate has slate on both sides so I can display the needlework on one side and still have the slate showing on the other. The large file drawer in the first pic has a felt bottom and I plan on displaying some of my work inside the drawer or using it as I would a dough bowl, displaying some of my small finishes. I'm hoping I can use the frame I purchased for one of my smaller finishes.
I'm really starting to enjoy these antique hunts!
Now I'm off to check out those autumn themed charts again. See you next month!
In the meantime I have some progress on This IsThe Day although it is meagre. I'm working on background fill and outside borders.
Here's a closeup of the background. I had thoughts of not stitching this portion but in the end I pulled out needle and thread and got started on it. It's very time consuming and boring!
The other piece I worked on this month was Heartstring Samplery Stitchers Resolution. If you remember I had started this one at the tail end of July when I realized that I had the fabric going in the wrong direction as I was stitching. I was too annoyed at myself to start frogging and I was anxious to get started on it again so I pulled another piece of the same linen out and restarted. The frogging on the other can wait until a rainy day. I was just lucky that I had more of the same linen in my stash!
I'm about a third of the way through this one now. I'm working on the top half and then I have a border all around the piece to complete. The colours are predominately neutrals but they look good on this fabric and I'm happy with the results so far.
I did a bit of antique shopping on my recent vacation. I'm looking for other ways of displaying my needlework besides framing it.
I purchased some rather interesting pieces including an old bread board with the inscription "Staff of Life" along the top. I have a Blackbird Design piece in mind for this one. The child's slate has slate on both sides so I can display the needlework on one side and still have the slate showing on the other. The large file drawer in the first pic has a felt bottom and I plan on displaying some of my work inside the drawer or using it as I would a dough bowl, displaying some of my small finishes. I'm hoping I can use the frame I purchased for one of my smaller finishes.
I'm really starting to enjoy these antique hunts!
Now I'm off to check out those autumn themed charts again. See you next month!
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