Sunflower finish!



BBD Sunflower House
32 Ct Ocean's Siren Lugana

This morning I put the final stitches in on what has been a delightful stitch. Blackbird Designs Sunflower House is now complete and ready to be stretched and framed. I've enjoyed this one so much that I haven't touched anything else in the past week.  I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. If I had to do it over again I would swap out the colour of the stems and leaves on the sunflowers. I used the recommended GAST Grecian Gold but I'm not sure it worked all that well. I realized from the start that it might not work for me but I didn't have anything else in my stash that would. Ordering anything else would have prolonged my start by a couple of weeks and I'm trying to be a bit more frugal these days. I find it so hard to pick a floss anyways when I don't have a LNS and can't see the colour in person. So Grecian Gold it is!
Although it's not meant to be an autumn design, this one felt so much like fall to me with the colour scheme it uses as well as those gorgeous sunflowers.
Here are a few more upclose pics of the design. .

Don't you just love this house?

I noticed that when you click on this one and look at the left edge of the vase, you'll see Clarisse's contribution to the design.

Now I have to decide on a new start although I really think I should be finishing off some of the other WIP, but really, how much fun is that?

I've also got a few pictures of my newest stitching spot, our gazebo. I know that I posted a pic of the outside but I've neglected to show you how comfy it is inside. I spend most mornings out there with my coffee, stitching in hand, and again for a short bit after supper. Clarisse has  been joining me out there too but as you can see from the pic below, she was far too busy this morning!

My youngest sister Lana gave me this sign to post in the gazebo. It's the perfect sentiment! It was a retirement gift along with a really pretty bird feeder which hangs just outside the gazebo. Bob and I love to sit and watch the birds as we sip on our coffee.

The days are growing shorter and the evenings getting cooler in our little corner. On our way into the city yesterday we noticed how much colour is starting to appear on the trees. It won't be long before I'm digging out the sweaters once more.

Now I'm off to get ready for my stitching time with the Tuesday group. I'm heading in a little earlier to run some errands. A stop by the market for apples just might be in the works!

Hope you are having a good start to your week and that it includes lots of stitching time.

Stitching progress

Two posts in one day. Wow, I must have time on my hands! Turns out that the weather hasn't exactly been what we'd hoped for today. It's been overcast and cool all day. DH and I have both been rather lazy and spent the afternoon watching the ball game rather than cleaning out the back room. It's a good excuse!

First off I'm going to show you the lovely gift that Bonnie made for me. I hadn't taken any pictures yet so I couldn't post it earlier. The last time I saw Bonnie at a SAL at Dani's house I asked if she could make a beaded fob for me. She does such a lovely job on her fobs and several of the ladies showed theirs off. We don't exactly live close to each other so I had to wait until this past weekend when our paths crossed again. I wanted a black and white fob to go with my new scissors and Bonnie has done a wonderful job. Thank you so much Bonnie!

Isn't it pretty? I love how she's added a charm with my inital. It looks fantastic with my scissors, don't you agree? Thank you so much Bonnie. I love it!

I also promised some more stitchy pictures. Below you will find pictures of the two RR that Kathy has been stitching on. The first is a TW Band Sampler and the second is a Mirabilia of Pixies and Fairies . Kathy stitched the top band in the TW sampler and the pixie on the upper left in the Mirabilia piece.  I believe that it's Ivy. Lovely work Kathy! The others pictured  in the Mira are Poppy, Sweet Pea, Lilac, Amaryllis and Jasmine. It's a beautiful RR and I love the fabric chosen for it.

Finally I have some before and after pictures to show you of my weekend projects.

The first is my LHN Canadian version of America. It was a good piece to work on. Filling in all the white on the house didn't take much concentration and then I could listen to all that was going on around me.







Before



After

When it was a little quieter, usually in the evenings, I would bring out my BBD Sunflower House.
This continues to be a favourite for me and I had many favourable comments on it this weekend.



Before



After



I'm really pleased with the progress I made on both pieces. In addition, I worked on a third project but since this is a gift for someone who reads my blog, I won't be showing any peeks at the moment. Considering how much chatter and laughter was going on it's a wonder I got any stitching completed at all! Oh yeah and how can I forget about all the eating!! Thank you so much Kathy for opening your home to us. It was a delightful weekend that I soon won't forget!

Road Trip

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be packing up my stitching and hitting the road for a trip to visit my stitching friend  Kathy. Every Labour Day weekend Kathy hosts a SAL at her home. I haven't been able to attend for the last couple of years due to prior commitments and vacation plans so I'm really looking forward to this once more.  We are each expected to bring a potluck item for the Saturday lunch. I was sitting at the computer reading through my blogposts and mulling over some ideas when I saw Edgar's post which had a link to a yummy looking pumpkin spice bar recipe. I baked it this afternoon and I'll frost it in the morning before I leave.


Just in time for my stitchy weekend, my floss order showed up in my mailbox. Now I have what I need to continue with both my LHN Acorn Hill and BBD Trix or Treat. I'll also be taking along Sunflower House. I haven't had time to put any stitches in on this one today and I'm really missing it.

On my way into my Tuesday night stitch, I stopped off at the framers to pick up two of my smaller works I had dropped off earlier in the month. I'm please with both of them but I really love the frame on the PS Weather Wise. If you click on the picture you can see it a bit better.

Prairie Schooler Weather Wise

Tra La La Maison No 4

That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll have lots of progress to show after this weekend.

August TUSAL and a new start

Here's a pic of my August TUSAL. Lots of colour in those orts this month. The red, white and blue are from my LHN America and the LHN Acorn Hill and my new Halloween start are responsible for all those lovely fall browns, greens and golds. My new larger ort jar is starting to fill up. I'll have to squash down some of those orts to make room for more.

Now that I look more closely, I'm sure that I see a white cat hair from Clarisse in among all those orts! It's unavoidable, I find her fur everywhere.

I'm setting aside my Halloween stitch for now until the rest of the floss arrives. Here's as far as I've gotten on BBD Trix or Treat. In the meantime, I put in just a few stitches on LHN America during my Tuesday night SAL. I had too much fun catching up with everyone so my stitching progress was really limited as you can see from the pic below.  Just a few more windows and a small start on the white of the house.

Now I've grown a bit tired of this one and wanted some change.  I'm still waiting for some more floss to arrive for my LHN Acorn Hill  so that one was out of the question. I finished stitching my exchange piece which still requires finishing but I really didn't feel like getting into that right now. What to do, what to do?  Then the mailman arrived (at the post office, not my house since I don't have home delivery). When I checked the mail on Friday I found a package of floss from an ebay win which I'd forgotten all about. I now had all the floss necessary to start Blackbird Designs Sunflower House. This one is #9 in the Loose Feathers series, is out of print and extremely difficult to find. Occasionally it pops up on ebay but usually bidding gets pretty high and I've seen it go for as much as $40! I've had mine for quite some time now. I've always loved it and don't know why I haven't got started up until now. Distracted by too many other choices I guess. Here's a progress pic.

I only started this on Saturday evening and I'm enjoying it so much that I find it hard to put down. I'm liking this fabric too. It's by Enchanted Lair on 32ct Lugana called Ocean's Siren. Such a pretty blue! The picture doesn't do it justice. Although I'm Canadian, I decided to leave the US flag untouched in this design. It just suits the piece. Besides there is some US blood in the family. My DH's grandfather was born in Utica, NY and my sister has taken her US citizenship and resides in Michigan.

I received an email from the new bride that she has received my Wedding Sampler, safe and sound. She is thrilled with it and because her Mom is also a stitcher she appreciates the time and effort that went into it.  I'm so happy that they like it!

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures taken in my girlfriend's yard. I just couldn't resist snapping a pic of this frog which greets you at her front door. Then I found the small group of frogs on a fence around her vegetable garden. They're adorable but she did promise that they don't go travelling!  Happy stitching!