October WIPocalypse

October is almost finished! Where has the time gone? At times it has seemed to stand still during this pandemic and at other times it just races on. This month we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving.....sort of.

The turkey fixings and pumpkin pie were still on the table but this year it was only my husband and myself sharing in a much smaller feast. Despite the fact that family were not able to join us because of the increasing covid cases in our region, we still have much to be thankful for. We are blessed with a very supportive family and friends as well as contined good health up to this point. My husband is also continuing to be paid from all three of his employers even though choirs cannot sing and the churches were closed for a good part of the year. Also we have that new grandbaby on the way!!

Stitching this month didn't occur until about the midway point of the month. The holiday, storing things for the winter and putting away summer clothes occupied a good part of our time. However I do have a finish to show you!!  First though I'll show you what little stitching I did on two of my other projects.

I have almost completed the Birth Sampler with the exception of the child's name and birthdate. Just a bit more on the bottom border and then we wait for baby's arrival.

I hope to get the name charted next week but I won't be putting it in until the baby is here.

Next I have a pathetic amount of stitching that I added on Victoria's Garden. I only managed to get in one flower and part of another.

No stitches were put in on Fanny Compton this month because I was determined to finish A Yuletide Welcome once and for all! I'm pleased to say that my mission was accomplished. 

I'm so happy with how it has turned out! The designer is Paulette Stewart of Plum Street Samplers and I stitched this on the suggested fabric, 40 ct Lakeside Linen Vintage Buttercream with the suggested floss with the exception of one. This was my New Year start and it was the second time that I started this piece. I originally started it in November 2017 on a 32 ct fabric by Kiwi Illusions but I was really unhappy with the loose linen and I wanted it to be smaller. It was put aside for a little more than 2 years before I tackled it again. I also have A Ghoultide Welcome in my stash but I think it will still be awhile before I get to it.

 With Thanksgiving over I spent a bit of time putting some of my Halloween stitching on display.

The next pic is of my Halloween finish last year,  The Primitive Needle Annie Hyssop's Harvest Moon. I've had it stretched but as yet it is not framed.

Here are a few other favourites. The first pic actually resides at my son's home now.

I'm busy working on some Christmas gift stitching now and don't think I'll get to any personal stitching for a bit yet although I'm itching to start something new. Who knows?.... maybe there will be something started during the next month. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

October WIPocalypse

For the first time in quite a while I didn't work on a small finish this month. I actually started one but quickly lost interest because my WIPs were calling to me.

The two WIPs that I'm referring to are The Primitive Needle Witches Nine and Willow Hill Samplings Pennsylvania Dutch Sampler. The Pennsylvania Dutch Sampler occupied most of my time early in the month. I'm stitching this on a lovely piece of 40 ct Silkweaver Burmese Beige and I'm using a Gentle Arts Limited Edition floss, Cardinal. Here's my progress for the month.

I am loving how the floss looks on this fabric but early on I realized that I might run out. I'm only using one strand of floss to stitch with and I've already gone through half of a skein. I only have two skeins of this Limited Edition and I'm only halfway through the first page of the design. There are a total of 2 1/2 pages of stitching so it stands to reason that I'm going to run out. I wondered if there was some way that I could alter the pattern to accomodate the remaining floss? While I was thinking about it, a dear friend mentioned how much she loved the floss in this piece. I proceeded to tell her my dilemma. That's when she told me that she had purchased about a dozen of the skeins and offered to send me some as a pay it forward offer. I was thrilled!! So now I will be able to complete the entire design without modification.

I started Witches Nine towards the end of last month and picked it up again mid-October. It didn't take me longer to complete it. I've always loved all of Lisa Roswell's designs and I'm so very sorry that she is no longer with us. She loved designing for Halloween and added a touch of whimsy to all her pieces. If you recall, last year I stitched Annie Hyssop's Harvest Moon. This year it's her Witches Nine. This is stitched on Picture This Plus 36 ct Earthen linen using the called for Weeks Dye Works floss.

I am fortunate enough to have several of Lisa's designs in my collection and hope to get them all stitched at some point in time.

My hip is progressing well. Yesterday I received the nod from the surgeon to ditch the 6 wk protocols and I won't have reached my 6 weeks post op until Halloween. So that means that I can now get into a car in the normal fashion without laying the seat back and I can lift my leg to get into the bath/shower without using a shower bench. I am grateful that we already had one of the higher toilets installed in our home which makes all the difference when you are dealing with joint issues. I am slowly increasing my physio and my walking although I do find that I tire easily. 

I have enjoyed the extra stitching time that recovery affords but I'm also glad to start getting back into my normal routines. Christmas stitching is on my mind and as well I'm currently working on a small piece, Plum Street Samplers Tired Trio, for my granddaughter's birthday. If it's not complete at the end of November then it just may become a Christmas gift instead, lol!
See you all next month and happy stitching!!

September WIPocalypse

For the most part September has been an absolutely lovely month! The weather has been comfortable with cooler evenings and my favourite season is here.
I also love samplers which is why I decided to stitch along with the #samplerseptember group, started by KittenStitcher also better known as Theresa Venette. I knew I wanted a smaller sampler that could be done before the month's end so I checked out my stash and decided on Blackbird Designs Blooms for Sarah. My fabric was Vintage Buttermilk by Dixie Sampler Hand Dyed Fabrics and I used a gorgeous Silk 'N Colour Chocolate Caramel for my floss choice. It was a most enjoyable stitch and I completed it this past Saturday.

The picture really doesn't do it justice. Lighting was a real problem when I tried photographing it. After it was done I decided to tackle another sampler I've been wanting to see on my walls. This one is by Willow Hill Samplings and is simply called Pennsylvania Dutch Sampler. I'm stitching it on a lovely piece of 40 ct Silkweaver Burmese Beige using a Limited Edition Gentle Art Floss called Cardinal.

This is a fairly wide sampler and may take me a bit longer but I love the look of the floss on this fabric already. It should be really pretty!!

I had another new start the week before my surgery. This one has been waiting many moons in my stash for me to pull it out and get started. I'm fortunate to have quite a few designs by The Primitive Needle and this one was calling to me.

Witches Nine is being stitched on 36 ct Earthen using the suggested WDW floss. I love how it's stitching up!! My kids all love the Halloween designs and have already told me to hang onto them because they love them so much!

Speaking of my sons, the weekend before my hip surgery we all got together for our first dinner in Chris and V's new home. It's a rare occasion when I have all three sons together so I took the opportunity to snap a pic.

Chris' cats, my fur grandbabies, Nibs and Beldar got in on the action. Beldar wasn't too polite though baring his backside for the camera!

Here's a pic of all of us minus my hubby. Beldar graced us with his face for this one, lol!

That's it for this month. In keeping with October, the temps have started dipping down a tad more the past few days in anticipation. Cozy throws are appearing on the couch and I've stocked the cupboard with some of my favourite fall teas.Wish you could drop by for a visit!

January WIPocalypse

First month of the year and I'm off to a great start. Record cold temperatures and two significant snowfalls have made for lots of indoor stitching time.
As I'd hoped, I managed to complete two of my major WIPs that were carryovers from last year. 
I'm thrilled to share my first finish which is Plum Street Samplers Pomegranate Santa.

I thought that I had started this in early 2018 but it turns out I actually started it in early December of 2016! It's about time I finished it off, lol!  I dragged my feet of this one many times. A lot of frogging took place and all that snow at the bottom border was time consuming. The shading on the pomegranates turned out better than I expected. I just couldn't seem to keep focused on this one for some reason but I am very pleased with the final results.

My second finish was equally satisfying for me as I'd started it in late September of 2017. However I must say that I enjoyed working on this finish. This the The Primitive Needle Annie Hyssop's Harvest Moon.

It was the colours which first drew me to this design, in addition to the fact that it was a Halloween piece and I love Halloween. As I stitched it I loved every little motif that developed. I can't wait until it's framed. Hopefully I won't have to wait too long!

My first new start for 2019 is one that doesn't even appear on my WIPocalypse list of hopefuls. As I as browsing through my charts I came across this design. Prairie Moon The Good Shepherd is one which I first started stitching in 2007. I wasn't happy with much about it at the time. I disliked my fabric choice and finally put it aside for a couple of years. Then I decided to do away with it and restart it if I ever got around to it again. Fast forward to Jan. 2019 and this is that time. A fresh start with new fabric and a new conversion of the silk floss has made me fall in love with this piece all over again. One final motif and I will actually be complete!

So are these sheep, or cows? 

Can you tell how much I love this one?! I'll have the final pic of the finish for you next month.

I've also made a small start to another Blackbird Designs piece which also doesn't appear on my list. Are you starting to see a pattern, lol! 

This piece comes from the BBD book, A Fine Collection, and it's called February's Hearts. I found an older piece of fabric which worked but it's 28 ct so I'm using two strands of floss for coverage on this one.

 Not much to show yet but hopefully more by next month. 

The cold let up a bit today and we had a couple of visitors to the feeder. I believe this is a male House Finch along with his mate.

November WIPocalypse

November has been a great month for catching up on my WIP. I made a fair amount of progress on Annie Hyssop's Harvest Moon, more than I expected. 

All the stitching of the hill and grass was completed and I stitched the border with one exception. As you can see from the top of the piece, each border on the three sides must be filled in with the mustard coloured floss. It's time consuming and boring to boot! I got partway through the top portion and by that time Halloween had just passed and I quickly lost interest. Christmas stitches were  occupying my thoughts at that point so I have put this one aside for now. With what little remains I know that it will be complete by next Halloween.

Next I picked up a Christmas stitch from last year that I had lost patience with....Plum Street Samplers Pomegranate Santa. This is where I had left off partway through this year.

Here is this month's progress:

I probably would have been further along except for the fact that some frogging had to take place. I don't know what it is about this piece but I keep screwing up in my counting. As soon as I picked this up once more I realized why I had put it aside. Santa's stick and sack were both off. I had to completely frog them out and restart. Partway through I realized that I was repeating the same mistake! Duh!!! Frog and repeat a second time!
Finally I managed to get things done right and could move on to stitching Santa. It's moving along fairly well now but I have some ornaments for gifts that I want to get working on so it will sit for now. However I don't think it will be too long before I pick it up once more.

Winter has arrived here a little sooner than usual as you can see from my pics. Shortly after the snow fell there was an arctic front which brought in some record breaking frigid temperatures. Consequently the snow remains for now. It's starting to warm up and rain is forecast over the next few days so I'm hoping this white stuff disappears for a spell. Below is Clarisse's reaction to the whole thing.

To all my US family and friends I wish a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all had your fill of the gobble, gobble and without too many added pounds. 

October WIPocalypse

Happy Halloween everyone! I love fall and in particular, Halloween, and it only seemed fitting to continue stitching on Annie Hyssop's Harvest Moon. Time was not kind to me this month though and life left little time for me to sit with needle in hand. Unfortunately this sweet design will be not be completed in time for the holiday this year. Instead I get to enjoy the journey for a little while longer. 
What time I had for stitching was taken up in filling in the bottom landscaping of hills and grass. I've posted the before pic where I left off last month followed by this month's progress.

At this point I can finally start on the border of the piece which is stitched on the remaining three sides. The bottom remains as is. 

Perhaps it's the time change and the colder weather but I'm having a hard time to get motivated this month. This hasn't helped in my stitching and I'm also a bit behind in my Halloween preparations. Usually by now I have my little handout bags all ready to go and my Jack O' Lanterns are carved and ready. I'm almost finished preparing the candy bags but I have no motivation to get started on my carving. I usually carve more than one but this year I only purchased the one pumpkin. Who knows, I might even cheat and go for one of the lazy man pumpkins. Have you seen them yet? Apparently they have minimal carving however for me it's the cleaning out of the pulp that is the worst part.

Here's a few pics of my carvings from the last few years. 

The carvings are fun but are a lot of work. I just might take a break this year. Stay tuned to my next post and see whether or not I cave, lol! Until then have a safe and Happy Halloween!

September WIPocalypse

 Although it's officially only the start of fall, the chill in the air here along with overcast skies tends to suggest.....dare I think it!..... that W word! The forecast for next week however looks like a typical fall thank goodness. 

In keeping with the fall theme I brought out a WIP from last fall hoping to complete it. Last weekend I was successful. This is a really cute design by With Thy Needle & Thread called Acorn Gathering Sewing Roll. The first pick is where I had left off when I dug this out on Aug. 22nd. 

I intend on finishing it as a sewing roll as the pattern calls for.
This is what got me to thinking about this design and pulling it out again. I spotted this little fella when we stopped for gas on a drive into Ottawa.

Next I decided to continue working on another WIP, also started last fall. This one is an OOP design by The Primitive Needle called Annie Hyssop's Harvest Moon. 

I've spent most of the past month working on this piece. There's a lot more work to it than I expected. The grass under the houses is taking me forever. I've only got 3 lines in and still have about 6 more to go. After that point I can begin to work on the border. It's a detailed border and covers 3 sides so it should take me a fair amount of time.  Then I still have a few more lines on the bottom to be added to connect it to the border. With the amount of stitching still left there is a good possibility that this won't be complete by Halloween but I'll just be happy if it's done by the end of this year. Plus I tend to get bored working on borders and often put it aside in favour of another piece.

I have a few other designs by the Primitive Needle that I'd like to get started on over the next few years. I love her designs!

I'll leave you with a few pics from one of the Ottawa markets. My favourite time to visit there is in the fall!

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