Gearing up....again

Our time at the cabin is winding down....we will be leaving WV this Thursday for good. We'll be watching the grand kids until Labor Day weekend, followed by some down time at the beach before we begin the unloading, unpacking and re-establishing of our household. We should have possession of the new house by 9/14!!!!

We've been reassessing our time in WV and realizing we didn't take full advantage of opportunities the region offered up to us over the last 11 years. It's that pitfall where you think you'll have all the time in the world for discovering/enjoying things, but then you get caught up with your day to day work and responsibilities and, before you know it, you're pulling up stakes. I wish we had tubed and/or rafted down the Shenandoah River, visited DC more often, taken a ghost tour of Shepherdstown, gone to the Luckett's Antique Market etc.. We did manage to visit Harpers Ferry last weekend with the goal of me getting my Senior pass to our National Parks--mission accomplished! (Oh my...did I just say "senior"????????)

On to stitching news......I have the back panel of the Mexican reticule stitched. I managed the Aztec stitch without any difficulties and love it as the centerpiece of the panel.

Not sure how much I'll be getting accomplished --stitching-wise-- in the next few weeks/months, but will try to post when possible. If nothing else, I'll try to work on the Samsarah calendar series as I can pick that up easily and stitch just about anywhere.

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship! See you on the flip side!!!

Stasi 
  

Binging and Stitching.....or Stitching and Binging.....

......either way I am getting a lot accomplished. Of course, I don't have much else to do here at the cabin and to be honest...it's starting to get a little old. I wish I had my finishing supplies here to break up the stitching but I don't so, whoa is me, I have to stitch (very tongue in cheek)!!! BTW, I've been binge watching Cedar Cove from the Hallmark channel.

Things are going to liven up soon however. Not sure how long ago, or if, I shared this but my daughter has been on a list to adopt two children from Sierra Leone for almost 2 years. Lots of waiting, red tape, dealing with different cultures, patience and faith on her part. But she finally has a court date and she and her hubby will be traveling there in a couple weeks. We have been "on call" for when this might happen to go take care of our grandchildren; we received the call yesterday and are starting to plan accordingly. Sadly, they won't be bringing the children home this trip but it brings them one step closer. Fingers crossed they are with us by Christmas--what a gift that would be!!!! So if you can spare a prayer or positive thought for them, it would be much appreciated. 

For my next project I decided to take on Maria Katarin's Mexican Reticule, the second class I took in June from Betsy Morgan. This is not my usual color palette but I am enjoying the bright colors and different stitches. The most challenging stitch is the Aztec stitch and I'm showing my practice piece from class. There are linen threads that must be cut for this stitch, so the execution of such on the reticule will take my utmost attention...not to mention extremely sharp scissor points!!! Please don't let me screw up...please don't let me screw up may become my mantra!!!

Front of reticule

Aztec Stitch

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

Stasi 

Words to Live By...............

I started the Lizzie Kate piece yesterday and with my marathon Olympic watching was able to get it completed today. I picked my own floss colors and then thought the final look was too bright for me. So I pulled out my bottle of "Distress" and shot it! I think I over shot it as the "distressing" is too uniform, but it did tone down the colors a bit, especially the light pink. I'm showing a before and after photo. So here is Accept What Is.....  Next to decide whether to frame or make into a pillow----oh the possibilities!

Original

Distressed

 

 

 

Now, on to see what project I pull out of my "magic" basket!!!!

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

Stasi 

Travel Stitching

We've been traveling to Richmond and back for house updates and such so I've been getting some work done on the Samsarah perpetual calendar. I usually delegate this to car rides and doctor visits since I can see the perforated paper holes without my magnifier. The aging vision process sure does cramp my stitching style!!!! Here are four more that I have completed----Wednesday is from the May series and the rest are from June. I still have one more June to go!

 

 

We also recently traveled to see my younger daughter in NC. She is getting married in October and I took the opportunity to shop for dress while I was in an area that actually had some department stores. We found a Dillard's outlet in Asheville and wonder of wonders I could say "yes" to a dress!!! I was dreading this hunt as I don't like myself in dresses. I'm on the shorter side and always feel I look "frumpy". But my daughter found a lovely burgandy shift dress with lace overlay and sleeves. It fit well and, with the addition of Spanx  to smooth out the "muffin tops", should be perfect. I'm definitely channeling my great aunts/grandmother who squished themselves into girdles. LOL    Oh, and they were also having a BOGO sale so I got a second dress for free!!!

I finished the stitching on the Pioneer Girl's Book Etui last night. I had great intentions of completing the finishing on this but I'm too frazzled/out of sorts without my usual "finishing" set up. It will be on my growing list of things to do once I'm settled in the new digs.

Pin roll (top), Scissor fob (center) and thread winder (bottom)

 Next, I'm on to a Lizzie Kate Inspiration Boxer called Accept What Is ...... My husband saw this and really liked the saying...I did too! It goes "accept what is..let go of what was...have faith in what will be". It should be a fairly quick stitch. I need to learn to practice this in my daily life...words of wisdom!

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

Stasi

Pioneer Girl Etui Progress

Quick update on the  Pioneer Girl Etui. I've finished stitching two more pieces, the scissor pouch and the second inside box lid (the first was our pre-stitch). Don't you love the little birdie in a cage? It reminds me of an old optical illusion "toy" (See  http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/bird-cage-optical-illusion).

Here they are:

Top- inside box lid/ Bottom-scissor pouch

 That's it for today--heading out to meet some friends for lunch in Frederick, MD. Hopefully will be back soon with another update.

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

Stasi

Baby, It's HOT, HOT, HOT

This heat wave has been quite beneficial to my stitching accomplishments. And that's about the only good thing I can say about it!!!! I don't tolerate these high temps very well....never have. I can remember, as a child, our welcoming front porch as a haven in the summer...perfect for reading, playing jacks and cutting out paper dolls. That was well before the days of A/C and I'm not sure how we ever survived the heat of those summers. Fans, popsicles, and cool washcloths on our heads at night! Now, I am extremely thankfuI for mechanical systems that can moderate our inside temps and keep me cool, calm and collected. So please mother nature, send some cooler temps our way!!!

Here is what I accomplished over the last few days, the book cover for the Prairie School Girl Etui...stitched as called for.

 
Now, it's back to stitching and binge watching Suits.

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

Stasi 
 

A New Project.....

A new project beginning is an exciting time. It is always a thrill to put that first stitch into the virgin piece of linen. This time is a little different. The piece I'm starting is called Pioneer Girls Book Etui by Betsy Morgan and it requires a little fabric manipulation before the actual "stitching" begins. The outside book cover is based on a training cloth on which school girls of old would practice their needlework. Since they don't make this training cloth anymore, we have had to create our own by removing horizontal linen threads and reweaving with a blue thread. I've spent the last couple nights doing just that!!! It was a little tedious (there were 16 lines to be rewoven) but soothing in a way. I did find using a size 28 petite needle made the "over and under" a bit easier. And that being said, I am HAPPY to be done with it!!!

Overall view

Close up of small section

 Here is a photo of the whole project so you can see where I'm heading.

I am now anxious to begin adding some color and motifs! Please stop back and follow my progress.

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

Stasi