Down By the Sea..............

I'm off to Ocean City, MD tomorrow morning for my much anticipated classes with Sherri Jones. Of course, I'm heading down a little early for some  R&R and shopping therapy. Boardwalk, Sunset Grille, Wockenfuss, Anthony's etc....here I come!!!  I'll need the boardwalk to help walk off the extra calories from the other places!

But first, I'm stopping at a book sale in Hagerstown. I went there for the first time 4 years ago and found the first 12 issues of Sampler and Antique Needlework magazine. I had literally been looking for them for 15 years, in hopes of not having to pay the astronomical prices they can go for on E-bay. So when I stumbled across them for 50 cents an issue, I could hardly contain myself. I wanted to scream, jump up and down and do a "happy dance". Instead, I quietly hugged them to my chest with a "cat who caught the canary" look on my face. I haven't found quite the treasure since, but am always hopeful. The funniest part of this story is a friend of mine found 10 of the 12 the very same day at a book sale in PA for 10 CENTS an issue!!!!!  An amazing coincidence!!!

So, I will try to post some photos when I get back..or possibly there...if I have time.

Now, on to my last minute preparations!!!

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

Quick Update

I wanted to share the photos of my finished stitching on the Blue Ribbon Sewing Box.
I had it all stitched except for the bottom of the cushion. I decided to dedicate it to my Mom and was looking for a quote to put on it. Couldn't find one I liked so I put "Mom ....a blue ribbon winner" ---thought that tied in with the name of the box. I've also put her full name on it. Now that has been taken care, I can post the photos.

These are the pieces that go on the sides of the box to hold the smalls and wonderful scrimshaw pieces in place

Needle case (left) and Pyn case(right)

Pyn cushion

So, I'll be heading to the beach in a week for my finishing classes. Can't wait to get there and smell that salt air. Classes are Saturday and Sunday, but I'm going a bit early to relax, visit with friends, shop and .....stitch on some new projects! 

I also wanted to share my finished Barbara Jackson piece, The Tea Time Basket. This was an on line class through The Shining Needle Society. The pictures don't really do it justice as it was hard to shoot the basket properly, but here goes!

Basket and scisor holder

Basket and pincushion

View of inside

Pin cushion and scissor fob

Don't you love this little tin I found in an antique store? It will reside in the basket.

Thanks for visiting and your twisted threads of friendship!
See you on the flip side!

Stasi

Where does the time go???

I can't believe it's going on 3 months since I posted last. Sadly, that means my goal of posting this year  more has fallen by the wayside. This "blogging" takes much more time than originally anticipated. By the time I get my projects ironed, take photos, download, write copy, upload photos, work the "quirks" out of blogger and post...hours have passed!!! I always say to myself..."I could have been stitching" but I do so enjoy sharing this passion of mine with like minded people. So I will try harder to keep up, but please forgive me if I fall short.

Before I go further, I do have to share some wonderful news .I entered two pieces for the first time at Woodlawn and won a first place ribbon for Blackwork in the Counted Thread division. I am so tickled with this honor and, thrilled as I am, I am also humbled to be in the company of such accomplished needlewomen. The caliber of work was amazing and a true sight to behold...so inspiring to have so much talent in one place.
The piece I won for (I've showed it in previous posts from early 2012) is The Regal Bee by Theresa Baird of Heart's Ease Examplar Workes. Here is a photo with my blue ribbon!

Now that I've come down off my cloud, on to my recent work. I have been busy stitching for my two classes with Sherri Jones in two weeks. I have completed the pre-stitching for Hare Pyns and have a small amount left to do on the Blue Ribbon Sewing Box.  The classes are in two weeks, so I'm in pretty good shape.

Here are the pieces for Hare Pyns:

Stitchers pocket

Pin Keep and Scissor Fob
The Pin Keep will go where there is an open space on the pocket

Needle Cover and Scissor Sheath

I got this piece back in 2007 when I was an "away" member of the Kindred Spirits Guild and it has been languishing in my stash since. When I heard Sherri was teaching it at Salty Yarns, along with The Blue Ribbon box, I was determined to get it done and audit the finishing class. I've put 81 hours in to the stitching alone, a lot going towards doing the background stitching. I wasn't sure, at first, if that would be worth the extra effort, but it definitely was. The Florentine section made up for that as it went fairly quickly. Now I can't wait to learn Sherri's finishing techniques and get it all put together.

Since I still have a small amount left on the Blue Ribbon box, I'll post pics of that next time. I have also managed to squeeze in some work on a couple other "fun" stitches. Will share them too soon....I hope.

But for now, that's it! 

Thanks for visiting and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

Hare Pyns update

Greetings fellow stitchers from a "spring-like" West Virginia. Yesterday in the 50'2, today supposedly in the 60's--where the heck is Winter and no wonder everyone is getting sick!!! The plus side is my sweet hubby was able to get in a 3 hour ride on his motorcycle yesterday and that made him very happy!!! Me too...as I stitched while he was gone!

I've been working on the back of the "pocket" for Hare Pyns. it involves 33 full rows of the Florentine stitch, then filling in at the top and bottom so you have even rows across. I am on row 20 and have been working on just this all week. I do have to say, I have been taking my time and "railroading" each stitch so they lay as flat as possible and side by side. Here's a "gander" at my progress:

Only 13 more to go, then filling in!

One of my "resolutions" for 2013 is to not buy "too much" in the area of new stitching projects. Note: I said "too much" which is very vague and really has no set limits. In fact, it's already broken!!! I saw the overstock sale at Wasatch and had to buy a few things. Who can resist an additional 50% off the already reduced price? Not me!!! So, here is what I got and I am proud it was only 3 charts:

L to R: House of Blues and Browns by With Thy Needle and Thread,  Blue House Needle Primer from With My Needle and Set Tirolese from Mani di Donna

All should be fairly quick stitches and can hopefully be "squeezed" in between all my required class pre-stitching. I just signed up for Betsy Morgans two classes at Salty Yarns in June, Gathering for Winter (which should be a fun class in June) and Tall Year Square. So that, on top of the two Sherri Jones classes, will be keeping me VERY busy!!! But, as I've said before...it's what I love to do!

No football today since the Ravens won yesterday---GO RAVENS!!! But hubby has a Board meeting so I'll be climbing into the "nest" in a bit to work on my Florentine. Then Downton tonight! 

I wanted to add a photo of my grand kids from Christmas. My Dad had won a go cart at Bingo back in November and they saved it to give to Asher for Christmas. Here are Cora and Asher enjoying--even Cora at two can drive it, so I'm sure they're up for many hours of fun!

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

P.S. Not sure about those 60 degrees I mentioned earlier; the sun has not come out and it's grey and overcast! 

Welcome 2013

Welcome 2013! I know I have been MIA the last couple months and am not sure where the time has gone, but I have been busy with life...and stitching! I have been dealing with a bad cold/cough...or possibly the flu according to some reports....that has been dragging on almost 3 weeks. I am SO ready to get rid of this and move on!!! I even went to a Minute Clinic at CVS on Christmas morning to get prescription meds---didn't help so I'm guessing it's viral!

Anyways, I wanted to share what I have been up to stitching-wise. I apologize for the photos, but just wasn't feel up to pressing the linens and they seem to look a little "wavy" in the photos.

First up is a Half-Pinball class I took from Sharlotte DeVere at the Loudoun sampler Guild back in September. I made this for a friend of mines birthday. Green is her favorite color so I focused on that color. I added little tea related charms to the tassel to complement the brass beads in the stitching.

Initials on Back

Front

Next up is the finished stitched for the Tea Time Basket class from Barbara Jackson. This was a really fun stitch and combines two of my favorite things--stitching and tea. How could I go wrong?

left side of bands

right side of bands

                     

                                                                                       

Scissor Fob

                                                         

Scissor Holder

                                                                                                       Pincushion

Next is the 2000 Limited Edition Ewe and Eye Santa. This was a travel project since it was on big count. I've been working on it the last couple years. Isn't he the cutest? He's 15 inches from the bottom of his boots to the tips of his mittens. His snowman buddy has been waiting for him ...oh so patiently!

Now we have two classes I took through my local EGA. The first one on Blackwork was wonderful as it FINALLY sunk in how to do this. I would always "chicken" out and do a back stitch in place of the double running. This time I accomplished the stitch correctly and it is completely reversible--except for the section I did in an overdyed floss (diagonal section). I did manage a "mirror" image on that, but due to the nature of the color changes, it isn't reversible.

The second class piece is Hapsburg Lace, which is my new travel piece. It will be a scissor case when completed.

Next up is Hare Pyns by Sherri Jones of Patricks Woods. I had already taken this class from a Guild but never got very far (just the bunny head) so I am going to "audit" the class again in April down at Salty Yarns. I will also be taking her Blue Ribbon box class, so I have lots of pre-stitching to accomplish in the next few months. The colors are lovely and I did choose to fill in the background (you can see in the upper right hand corner).

 My New Years Day project was Under the Deep Blue Sea by Sue Hillis. I've chosen a much more subdued hadn dyed fabric, though it does have sparkles in it, but am sticking with the bright and colorful floss colors as called for. Should be a fun piece and remind me of happy times at the beach!

Biscornu at top and floss holder at bottom

Now here are the 2012 ornaments I made for the grandkids. I'm trying to make them each one every year. I had tried this with my daughters and got behind rather quickly, so they each do have a few, but definitely not one every year.

Elmo for Cora

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Asher
Asher actually helped with some stitches on this. He called it "threading" and kept asking if he could help do some threading while we were together.

So, you can see I have been a very busy bee! Now I just need to get my butt in gear for a major finishing marathon. I also have a lot of pre-stitching to work on--Sherri's classes and then two Betsy Morgans in June. But this is what I love to do....and thankfully I am at a point in my life where I have the time to do it!

Last, but not least, I wanted to share a gift our daughters arranged for my husband and I. We both celebrated our 60th birthdays in the last few months and our daughters

came up with a lovely and memorable gift idea--a bottle tree! They asked our family and friends to send a bottle with a "message" in it for us with birthday greetings. They collected these and presented them to us Thanksgiving weekend in a wooden crate along with a welded metal tree. I made copies of the notes, put the originals back in the bottles and then we "planted" our tree. This is evidently a "protective" tradition in the South where people believe bad spirits are captured in the bottles at night and then burned in the sunlight the following day. My daughters put a different spin on it and we just loved the idea. So here is a photo of our tree, bright and colorful and ever so special to us!

A Happy New Year to all and hopefully we'll be visiting more this year via my blog. Thanks for your 'twisted threads' of friendship!

Stasi

Jammin' at Jamboree

Greetings all!

I have been swamped with work for the business and around the house since I got back from my trip last week, but I wanted to share with you some of the fun I had last weekend at Jamboree in Ocean City, MD.

Jamboree is a fun filled weekend hosted by Sally and Sara from Salty Yarns. It is  a great venue as we all stay in their charming hotel The Lankford, the oldest hotel on the Ocean City boardwalk.We can eat, sleep, shop, stitch, socialize  and never leave "home base". Of course, we do wander off at times to see what trouble we can get in.

I arrived Thursday and met up with friends in Salty Yarns; a few of us got together for a walk on the boardwalk to work up an appetite for dinner at The Sunset Grille in West Ocean City. A little "hiccup" is I got pulled over on the way back by a State Trooper for having a headlight out. Twenty minutes later we were on our way with a "thank you Mam" and brochure about how to become a trooper. (Yea- I know it's got to be bad if they're trying to recruit almost 60-something ladies) :).

Friday, up early for another walk and then a few of us drove up to the Serendipity quilt Shop in Dagsboro, DE followed by lunch at the Cottage Cafe in Bethany Beach--one of our favorite places to eat. More shopping, visiting and stitching in the afternoon. At 5:00 PM we met in the lobby of The Lankford for a delicious lasagna dinner. The hostesses think of everyone and offer beef, turkey and vegetable lasagna. This is followed at 7:00 PM by the "official" reception , where we meet the instructors and graze through a variety of yummy appetizers and desserts.Then it's more stitching, sharing and laughing!

Saturday we had two classes with lunch and a walk "sandwiched" (sorry couldn't help myself) in between. Then a dessert reception in the evening (I guess you can tell we eat pretty good while there) and more stitching and socializing in the lobby.
Here are my classes:

Saturday AM class with Donna from By the Bay Needleart
This was an Intro to Stumpwork: Felted Wool Pocket

I've never tried Stumpwork before and was pleased to find it's not as daunting as I had thought. We got most of it done in class and I'm confident I can finish the rest later. This will make an adorable glass case!

 Donna also had a fabulous stumpwork piece that she brought to share ( you may be able to see better pics of it on her blog), but I was fascinated with this-it was incredible to see.

Stumpwork piece by Donna  Bayliss (not our class piece)

Saturday PM class with Belinda from Blue Ribbon Designs
Feathers , Flowers and Fruit framed piece, scissor fob and Snippet Receptacle

We got lots of great tips from Belinda. Her project presentation was "fantabulous"-we got a binder with 35 pages of instructions, both color and b/w charts, and even a page with a " personalization exercise" to help graph out your names and/or wording. She is also quite entertaining--a real hoot!!!

Last, but not least, was my class Sunday AM with Theresa from Shakespeares Peddlar

This was a quick, fun little project called Passport Pincushion. We made the pillows in class and Theresa supplied us with fibers, trims, charms, etc. to make our "one of a kind" remembrance. We all got a good start in class and some even finished their cushion. I wanted to "think" on it awhile and see what I might have to add at home.

I snatched this photo from Belinda on Facebook--I'm the one ( green shirt) to the left of the lady in the white chair!!!

All the classes and teachers were different with unique styles but I loved them all and enjoyed myself immensely. We each received a wonderful "goodie bag" and, of course some stash enhancement was in order, so I'll share that now and then end as I am probably starting to bore you to tears.

Our goodie bag consisted of a lovely copper kettle with a calendar, scissor/tape measure combo,bag of ground walnut shells, tin of hand lotion, JABCO pumpkin pincushion kit, and Bohin needles (my absolute favorite). We also received a $20 gift card to Salty Yarns. Of course that went towards my stash purchases which were:

That's all for now folks............ I can hear the collective "phew"!!!
Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi

Some Cool Stitching..........

Well, this one has been a long time coming.........it's been my "car" project for the last few years, worked on only when we were traveling hither and yon...and, of course, when I was not the one driving!!!

We used to sell these limited kits at Twisted Threads every year and had a number of avid collectors. I could never bring myself to pay the asking price and, though I loved them, would pass every year. (I did have two girls to put through college at the time) A few years ago I noticed some one selling it  on the internet and was able to purchase (I also got the 2000 LE Santa) at a very reasonable price--YIPPEE!!! The fact that it was stitched on 19 count Cork Linen, over two,  is what allowed me to be able to work on this in the car. Sadly, I can't seem to work on smaller counts while moving. :(  

He ( I guess I should name him at some point...may have the grand kids help with that) stands frostily at 16 inches high and 8 inches wide. He was stitched with Anchor floss and Gumnut wool for the scarf. It was quite puzzling, however, that only 2 skeins of floss was included for the  light colored part of the body. I wound up having to buy 12 more skeins and used all but one! I think I wound up needing extra of the star color too, but can't remember for sure. Luckily I had plenty of the wool as that would have been difficult to come by. I added the 5 ceramic stars that I found in my stash to add a little dimension. The heart that's sitting in the wire came with the kit and is made of paper. I am already having issues with it as it keeps falling off and I know is going to get bent, torn and/or mutilated . I think I'm going to come up with something else....maybe some Mill Hill snowflakes

So, without further ado...here's my guy!!!

2000 LE Snowman from Ewe and Eye and Friends

A happy smiling face

Here is a photo of the backing fabric. I bought it years ago when I was living in Cincinnati from a shop up in the Dayton area called Kindred Spirits. They did a line of fabrics at some point and this was one of them. It appears a little more "blue" than it actually is....more of an olive green..... but you can probably understand why I picked it.

I'm moving along on my Barbara Jackson class piece and will post photo of that soon. 
On the home front, it has been absolutely gorgeous here, weather-wise, the last couple of weeks. The sky is always its most brilliant blue at this time of year and never fails to make me smile!

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads' of friendship!

Stasi