THE BUZZ FROM THE HIVE

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

This past weekend we celebrated my parents 60th anniversary and my Mom's 80th birthday. We chose a date half way between the two events (anniversary-Dec. 29 and birthday Feb. 5). My Dad's birthday is also Feb. 5 though 4 years apart. I always had trouble understanding this as a child; I thought when you got married, you had to change your birthday to your husbands. I vowed to marry someone who's birthday was in the summer since mine was two weeks before Christmas.....and I did. Alas, I never did get to change my birthday and perhaps, for the better, as nowadays I would rather forget it all together!










Here is a picture of Mom and Dad cutting a hot milk cake.








We had tons of wonderful food made by my sister, sister-in-laws and myself. Rich and I made a traditional Southern Maryland stuffed ham.




The "green stuff" is ground kale, cabbage, onions and assorted spices.








As an aside, I have 7 pairs of aunts/uncles who are all alive (save one) and married to their spouse for over 50 years. Six pairs are on my fathers side and one my mother. I think this is an incredible fact and am so proud of them all! Kudos!!!


Now on to my latest finish. I stitched this piece early last year and it has sat in the "to do" pile since. Since I'm in a "finishing" mood, it was pulled out and able to see the light of day. It was designed to go in a Whitman's candy tin which worked perfectly since I had one on hand...and a green one to boot. (If you know me, you know my favorite color is GREEN----something to do with my green eyes....and my Irish heritage!)





The project is called A Sweet Stitch by Sue Hillis. I, of course, substituted the fabric and fibers with ones I happened to have in my stash. So, I stitched it on 28 count Raspberry Lite jobelan with a combination of Glorianna, Belle Soie and Waterlilies silks. I found some wonderful coordinating overdyed felted wools to go with and an adorable pair of pink polka dot scissors.


Inside of box with  beautiful
scissor fob given to me by my friend Debbie.








Close up of smalls:                      Needlebook interior---                    
Floss holder                                 I used the scissor fob 
needlebook                                 piece to top off a 
biscournu                                    pocket to hold a                
                                                   needle threader. I was
                                                   thrilled to find this cute
                                                   needle threader by  
                                                   JABCO, just this past     
                                                                                              Monday, and it was 
                                                                                              perfect!!!! The vintage
                                                                                              button on the left was 
                                                                                              found at Accessories
                                                                                              of Olde.  


 All in all, a very fun project to both stitch and finish! Next up is finishing With My Needle's Miss Trenners Academy. I got the kit with the boxes so look for that in the next day or so.


Until next time...........Stasi                                                                                                                    



Thursday, January 12, 2012

I just came across this in a google alert and thought I'd share.

 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2012/01/11/f-hitler-british-prisoner-of-war-s-secret-bold-messages-of-defiance-hidden-in-his-cross-stitching-115875-23694806/

One soldier showing his indomitable spirit in a very unique way. It touched my heart knowing that cross stitch brought him comfort, as I know it does many of us, but also gave him an avenue to vent his frustration and in a very creative way "stick" it to his Nazi captors.

Stasi

Monday, January 9, 2012

Oh my....is this not the sweetest piece ever? I'm not usually a Just Nan, "pastel-ly", pink person but when I first saw this I was drawn to it. It kind of reminds me of the 50's for some reason and my grandmothers. For whatever reason, I immediately ordered the kit (it was a Silver Needle exclusive) and started it upon arrival. The it sat in my PIP pile for over 5 years waiting......and waiting.....to catch my attention. I think part of my problem in getting back to it is that I dislike all the color changes in Just Nan's charts. Granted, I think they are beautiful and realize the need for all the subtle shading ....I just hate to have to keep changing my floss! So, finally I got the stitching completed and again it sat waiting....and waiting for me to finish it. Thank goodness for a new year and new goals! I got my butt in gear, some motivation mojo going and volia...it is finished!!!


Here are pics of the front and back with the case closed:











Overall size closed is 61/2 X 4 inches.







The saying on the back is:
In my little kingdom of stitches that cross
I am queen of the needle and boss of the floss 
                                                                
                                                                                                                          
Here is a photo of the inside...too dang cute!!!                                                             
                                                               

 There are pockets/holders for needles, pins, threader, scissors, a sampler square and even one marked for inspiration (not sure what I'm going to put in that one but I started with a locket.....now just have to find something to put in it).I'm also on the hunt for a cute pair of scissors to slide in the ultra suede sleeve.  



Next up is a Sue Hillis project, A Sweet Stitch. This goes in a Whitman tin so should be a fun finish. Hmmmm, this one is pink too!!! Am I getting "girlie" or what???






Until next time............ Stasi
                
                                                                   
               
                                                               

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Yesterday afternoon I did some finishing prep work on a design I've had for quite a few years (says 2006 on the instructions), Just Nan's Queen of the Needle Sampler Case.  There are four little pockets that go on the inside that turned out just adorable. I love, love, love the tiny "picot" edging made by doing a buttonhole stitch. It's so delicate and sweet looking! The original only had it on two of the pockets, but I decided to do all four.
I'm planning on working on this more this afternoon and hopefully will make some progress.




Last night I worked a bit more on The Regal Bee and got the back of the scissor case stitched. I used a monogram from Eileen Bennetts book . I love working with silk but these are getting fuzz even though I'm only stitching with an 18" length. I may have to pull out the Thread Heaven which I usually don't like to do.




On the walking front, it's been so beautiful here I got to walk  outside the other day. Otherwise, it's the treadmill for me! Rich is out for a motorcycle ride this morning and I'm off to do some more finishing work. 'Til next time!


Stasi

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Well, I've made it to post #2--Yeah!!!


 I haven't gotten any stitching done since the little bit I managed New Years Day. My "other life" seems to keep getting in the way. You know--the laundry, dinners, walking on the treadmill, end of month business reports etc..
 But, I did start The Regal Bee (picture above) with the outlining on the scissor case, front and back and a teeny tiny bit of the black work. There are only two colors used which I changed from Vicki Claytons Black and  Barley Wine to Glorianna Indigo Ink and Lacquered Gold. I also changed the fabric from 36 count Light Sand Edinborough to 34 count Devonshire Cream Legacy Linen (The photo is not showing the true color--it is much more of a cream). I just love the feel of the Legacy linen and felt the color was a little more elegant than the original fabric called for. You will find I do like to "change" things up a bit. A lot of that is because I'm really trying to use some of my stash on hand. I truly have so much I could open a shop! :) A lot of it was accrued while working at Twisted Threads--having all the wonderful fibers, fabrics, embellishments, etc at my fingertips on a daily basis was temptation supreme!!! And I succumbed time after time after time............ I also learned a new..to me...stitch--the diagonal closed herringbone. It worked great on the bottom where the edges angle in. Anyway, I'll keep posting as I move along on this project.


I did want to share a fun piece I just put the finishing touches on this afternoon. I spent Halloween weekend down at Salty Yarns in Ocean City, MD. This was a collaborative piece a few of us worked on together. We used Fern Ridges's coffin piece as a jumping point and did our own thing incorporating earrings, pins, etc from Claires. I think it turned out very cute--the skeleton inside even glows in the dark! In fact--it's spooktacular!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself! Again, the fabric is not true to color--it is a bright chartreuse green!




















Till next time!
Stasi

Sunday, January 1, 2012

January 1st, new year,new beginnings, resolutions galore. Am I making any? You betcha! Will I keep them.....debatable. One resolution...and one so many pledge.....is to get in better shape. To that end I would like to start walking/hiking more. I usually plan to start this every year and never seem to keep at it. But, I do have a little more motivation in the form of these two adorable faces.

Another goal was to start a blog to record my stitching projects, progress, finishing, woes etc.....and maybe a little of my "other" life as well. Someone once told me a blog was a good way to document your life, as an on line diary of sorts for your children/grandchildren. I am entering my 60th year.....and NO....I can't be that old...and YES....my mind wanders and forgets things. So hopefully, this will keep a record of sorts for me.

To start off the New Year, I have picked a new project to begin. I really have no business doing this as I have a hoard of PIP's ....projects in progress (I've never really liked the term "UFO's"--- my stitching is definitely more than an "object"). So...drum roll please....I have decided on The Regal Bee by Heart's Ease Examplar Workes. This was given to me by a friend in October and has been calling my name since. 
I will be starting this in a bit while watching the Ravens....Go Ravens..Bengals game. 

So, welcome to my blog. A Happy New Year to you and yours. And I'm off to help take down the outside Christmas lights