A Couple Weekend Finishes.........

I made a couple small pillows this weekend with two pieces I had stitched on the 52/60 count linen. The first is a freebie from Blackbird Designs called Her Sampler-1796.  This was the first piece I did on this teeny tiny linen and, if using the correct needle and plenty of light/magnification, found it wasn't too awful hard to do.

The other pillow/pincushion is my recently stitched Good Intentions by Kathy Barrick.

I kept them both on the plain side--just adding the rick-rack band, and they are ready  to reside in my special "wormy" chestnut box. I bought this at the Mountain Heritage Festival in Harpers Ferry, WV a couple years ago and it's been waiting patiently for some residents. 

worm holes in wood

 

 I did finish another in the Chalk series, July, and am moving along on the Long Pocket class piece.

 Going to be settling in this evening to watch the Oscar's. Not sure why, as I haven't seen many of the movies at all, but it's always fun to see the fashion on the red carpet and dream a little dream of the likes of George Clooney. And...it's a great stitching opportunity!

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

Stasi

 

A little progress on the pre-stitch

I finished stitching the needle case and now will move on to the actual bag. I'm liking this triangular shaped edging stitch--how about you?

I'm waiting for the phone guy to come and help us figure out what' going on with our internet. Every time we get on the treadmill to walk, our internet goes down.  We googled this issue and lots of people had the same problem. Some bought a special surge protector that "blocks" RF signals.We bought one...didn't work! Called the phone company (we have DSL) and they've never heard of that problem but are sending out a tech. I sure hope he can figure it out. Wish us luck!!!
 
 Thanks for stopping by and your"twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi

And the Pre-Stitching Begins.......

Even though I'm finished with the needlework challenge on FB, it continues with a  stream of beautiful work flowing down my timeline. This has been so enjoyable and motivating. But now, reality is setting in and I've got to get moving on the pre-stitch for my two Sherri Jones classes in April. I started with the Long Pocket first and followed Sherri's suggestion to begin with the smalls. Here is where I stand as of today:

Pin cushion and Scissor Sheath on bottom; start of needle case on top

I've learned a new stitch, the Peruvian loop stitch. I'm not sure it's been executed correctly, but it is acceptable at this point. 

I've also finished another in the Chalk series--June. I've been flitting back and forth between these two projects as the Long Pocket is a bit more tedious and I need a break every now and then. 

In my recent organizing mode, I came across a wedding sampler I had done for my hubby and I back in 1981. Now, at the time, this was 7 years after we were married. Now, almost 35 years later, I finally framed it!! There has been a definite love-hate relationship with this piece. When I stitched it, the budget was a little tight and I remember buying my floss from a catalogue...very cheaply. So, in this case, the old adage was definitely true...you get what you pay for!!! I washed the piece (first and last time I've ever done that) and the pink in the ladies gown ran all over the place. I tried to get it out and made more of a mess. It was put aside and forgotten about until many years later. 

When I stumbled across it again, I had read an article about this problem. They suggested to keep rinsing and rinsing and rinsing until all the errant dye was out. This actually worked for the most part but I still had some telltale shadows. Again, it was put aside for some years. Then, the light bulb went off and I decided to tea stain it; this solved the "shadow" issue. But for some reason I again put it aside. I think that's because I had "evolved" in my stitching and didn't really care for the colors, aida, etc.. So, when I ran across it recently, all mounted and pinned, I had a little change of heart and decided to finally frame it (I've had the frame for eons). My thinking is, this is a good way to document how my stitching has evolved and it's a part of my needlework history. So here is the sampler in all it's glory......or not!!! :)

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

 
 

DAY 7 Needlwork Challenge

DAY 7   My final piece is A Town House Sewing Case by Gay Ann Rogers. This was an on line class with the Shining Needle Society back in 2009. I hose my ow color for the house.

DAY 7     Here is one of my favorite all time pieces.....Regal Bee by Theresa Baird of Heartsease Samplery. This was a challenge since, at the time, there were no finishing instructions. Luckily, I had taken enough classes to figure it all out. I was tickled pink to win a blue ribbon at Woodlawn in the blackwork category with this submisson.

This is the final day of the needlework challenge--it's been fun!

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

Stasi

DAY 6 Needlework Challenge

DAY 6 This is North Country Sampler by the Drawn Thread, stitched in 1997. I changed up the verbage a bit!

DAY 6 This is a class piece from Merry Cox. I stitched it in 2012 in honor of my first grand daughter. It is called Le Nouveau Palais Royal.

One more day! Thanks for stopping by and your"twisted threads" of freindship!

Stasi

DAY 5 Needlework Challenge

DAY 5 This is Mary Wigham by Needleprint. I used the initials of my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles throughout. This was a great piece for using up leftover threads.

 DAY 5 A Stitch in Time by Jackie DuPlessis of It's Fine-ally Finished. This was a class piece from Jamboree at Salty Yarns in 2010. The watch is a pinkeep!

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

Day 4 Needlework Challenge

DAY 4   I thought I'd post two pieces with one of may favorite subjects...bees!!! First is Keeper of the Bees by Ewe and Eye and Friends. It was one of their Black Sheep kits back in 1999. Second is a combination of Itty Bitty Bee and Itty Bitty Honey by Twisted Threads.

 DAY 4 A Lady's Cabinet by Judy Odell from Just a Thought designs. This was an on line class I took from Judy in 2010. A fun stitch and a challenge to put together!

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

Stasi

DAY 3 Needlework Challenge

DAY 3  

 The Mermaids Two Tales by Sherri Jones of Patrick's Woods. This is a class piece I took in 2014 at Salty Yarns.

 Sampler World   I thought I'd post this today, Valentines Day, as I stitched this for our 25tth anniversary back in 1999. It is With Thy Ring by Chessie 'n Me and i have it framed in a Sudberry clock.

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

Stasi

Day 2 Needlework Challenge

Here is what I posted for Day 2 on FB for the needlework challenge.


 DAY2
Todays post is A Lady's Collection by Bright Needle. This was on line class I took in 2007 from The Elegant Stitch. It's a set of needle holders and scissor case. Isn't it sweet?

 DAY 2  Sampler World

This is A is for Acorn by Hillside Samplings and I stitched in in 1999. I used a hand dyed fabric a little darker than what was called for. Each of the "larger" acorns is a specialty stitch, to add a little dimension, and a special ceramic button in the center.

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

Stasi

Good Intentions

A quick post with my completed Good Intentions by Kathy Barrick. Now, do I want to frame it or make a small pillow? It is only 3 1/2 X 4 inches, so I'm leaning towards a vertical style pillow. Time will tell!!! I love the saying!!!

I'll be taking part in the needlework challenge on Face Book. I've been nominated three times and finally have the time to pull it together. You are supposed to post a photo of a needlework piece once a day for 7 days. I'm going to post a sampler to the Sampler World  page each day and something from my smalls collection to my own timeline. I thought I'd go ahead and post photos here for anyone who's not on FB. I have to say it has been great fun to see so many people responding and posting such fabulous work. Thanks to Carol (The Polka Dot Chicken blog)  for my last nomination that got me moving and to Robin (Crafting with the Stitch Witch blog) for my first nomination. 

DAY 1

Needle's Ease by Schoolroom Samplings

Toy Chest by Betsy Morgan Of Willing Hands

 Smalls for the Toy Chest

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

Stasi

I'm Free!!!!

I've been distracted the last week or so because my husband and I sold our business, closing just yesterday morning. This has been in the works for months but finally, the papers were signed, payment made and we are semi-retired!!! I say "semi" because my hubby will be helping out the new owner for awhile, especially through the upcoming busy season. We had a home inspection business so things pick up a lot spring into summer. I'll still have some book keeping and such to do, but the daily chores like answering the phone, scheduling and accompanying paperwork have been lifted from me!!! I am ready to stitch...stitch...stitch!!! But, we'll also be getting ready to move to the Richmond area to be closer to my oldest daughter and her family. So, I will be very busy dealing with all that that entails---house hunting, house prepping for sale, cleaning out, traveling back and forth, packing, etc.!!! So, will I find time to stitch??? You betcha--it's what keeps me sane! In fact, I have to get cracking on two pre-stitches for classes with Sherri Jones in April at Salty Yarns. Here are the projects:

I have managed to get a few things accomplished since last we visited. First up is a framing job. I mounted the piece over the weekend and just have it "popped" into the frame. I still need to get glass and finish the framing  off properly. Isn't the frame perfect? I included a close up of the frame so you could see how well the colors go with the piece. The design is Hibernation Day by Heartstrings Samplery (with a few twists of my own) and the frame is an East Side Mouldings.

Then I got May from A Year in Chalk stitched and finished up the number "4" in the Samsarah calendar series (this is a car project). 

 Finally, I had been seeing a lot of this design posted on FB and knew I had it in my stash. I felt an extreme urge to pull it out and "get er done". I am almost finished and think I can complete it tonight. I changed colors up quite a bit, mainly replacing the black with a rich dark brown and just pulling on leftover silks from classes. I knew I wouldn't be using much silk since I stitched it on the 52/60 count Lakeside linen fabric. So here's Good Intentions by Kathy Barrick. And yes, I did add a beehive, instead of a dog, on top of the left stack of spools! :)

 I hardly ever use a hoop, but it helped a lot with being able to see this teeny, tiny count linen.

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

Stasi

A Weekend Finish

I got a couple pieces finished over the weekend..not sure why they took so long for me to stitch/finish. I bought these back in 1999, one of the first "smalls" patterns I ever bought. They were kits from Needleworks by Sue Hawkins out of Britain. I seem to remember there was a series of these with different floral motifs, but the Heartsease stood out. I loved the colors and ladybug!!!  BTW, I stitched these back in 2013-2014.

 I stitched as called for but fiddled with the finishing on the pieces.  They used a long legged cross stitch to join fronts to backs and it worked okay on the scissor fob. The pincushion was a whole other story...... I understood (at least I think I did) what I was supposed to do, but it wouldn't lay flat. So, I fell back on Betsy Morgan's joining process and all turned out well.

So here you go..... Heartsease Pincushion and Scissor Keeper by Sue Hawkins.

Fronts

Backs

 I did add beads at the corners of the pincushion rather than tassels. 

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Our snow is slowly melting but we still have quite a bit since our house faces north.

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

Stasi