All We Need is Love..... (539-540)

 

Love is All We Need..... I don't know where the time is going but it's already the middle of February and winter is almost over without any snow and barely below springtime temps since December. We have trees blooming and daffodils/hyacinth poking out their heads....... I fear a big frost will come and take them all out leaving us without a lovely, blooming actual spring. Oh well, mother nature will have her way whether we like it or not!

Okay--got that out of my system....now onto some 'love' related projects in honor of the day. I managed to get two Valentine related pieces stitched and finished. One was for my hubby and the other was a kit from JoAnn's; I had bought three of them on sale last year...one for me and one for Cora and Esther. I'll be giving them theirs this afternoon and setting up a time I can help them. The piece for my hubby was one of the freebies I mentioned in my last post.....Meant to Bee by Hands on Design. I changed it up and stitched it on a 32 ct. mystery fabric with GAST Black Crow, Soot, Buckeye Scarlet and a LE Cypress Mulch. I finished as a flat fold ( I had this already made up as a sample for a class I taught at my Guild last year) with black rick rack and an old bee pin I've had for years that was painted by Frank at Mosey n Me.

So, I'm starting to see a problem with me and SAL's....I think I need to be reined in!!! I've joined two SAL's  so far this year and signed up for a free on line class at Sassy Jack's. I will admit that, like many others, I get caught up in the frenzy and think I can do it all.  I WANT to do it all!!!!   Then reality slinks in, so I reel myself back in, tell myself to calm down and enjoy the stitch. If I don't keep up, so be it. If I never finish the project, so be it. I love the process and it is always a THRILL to place that first stitch in a blank piece of fabric. So with my urges under control....yea, right.... here are the projects I am undertaking.

1. Burgandy Band Sampler SAL by iStitch Designs........I have changed this up since my post on January 22. It has been a headache since the get go, but I think I have it on the right path now. The first piece of banding  I bought was accidentally cut too short so I ordered another piece from a different source. I received the wrong color banding this time , natural instead of antique white, and had to wait for another piece to arrive. In the meantime, I started the SAL on a different banding I had in my stash and  had to rip it out twice as I couldn't seem to get it centered. UGH!!! After all that I wasn't happy with my colors on the antique white and decided to keep the natural and do it on that. Don't really know why I'm telling you all this but some pieces are just cursed!!! I also strayed away from my usual two complimentary colors and opted for four solids and one over dyed ..it's a little out of my comfort zone. I'm using Glorianna silks--Bellagio (overdyed), Elizabethan Green, Rosewood, Lacquered Gold and NPS Williamsburg Blue. It's a bit brighter than my usual color palette, but it's growing on me!!!

2. Blackwork SAL by Peppermint Purple..... I chose to do this on banding too. Many of the stitchers are using an array of color and they look fabulous, but I decided to stick with the traditional black. There will be a block a week for 52 weeks---falling behind quickly! :)

3. Learning Stitches by Jeanette Douglas...an on-line class at Sassy Jacks.....This is a free class---you just have to go through the process of adding to your cart and "buying" it, but the cost is $0.00. Since I already had the booklet, I decided to give this a go. You can work at your own pace and Kim, the owner, is doing videos to guide you along. I am doing mine on banding though you can choose to do as a framed piece (see photo below). Kim designed a top piece and an ending piece and we'll do the different stitch blocks in between. I started with the topper. The banding is approx. 4 3/4 " wide, 21 count and cream colored. I'm using fibers from my stash, as Kim suggests, and chose Amy Mitten silks. I changed my squirrel to a white one as my daughter lives in Brevard, NC ( not far from Asheville) and they are famous for their white squirrels.

We recently drove to Baltimore for my parents birthday ..they share the same date.... and had forgotten my 'home' stitching. Luckily I had a small kit in my car project bag that I could work on. I think we got this as part of our goodie bag one year at Salty Yarns, A Tisket, A Tasket...a Little Scissor Basket by JBW Designs. It was a quick stitch and done with the included 32 count fabric and fibers. Pretty sweet, isn't it? now to FFO!

I leave early Sunday morning for a quick overnight trip to Williamsburg. I am taking two classes with Lauren Sauer, Sassenach's Sampler and Crofter Catchall & Smalls. The sampler is based on the Outlander series and I've been wanting it for awhile. This turned out to be the perfect opportunity because I don't have to travel far.

I hope you are having a sweet day with your Valentine or maybe dreaming of Jamie Frasier from Outlander...now that I have him on my mind! I awoke this morning to Jamie on the TV...my hubby tapes the Stephen Colbert show every night and watches it the following morning, and the actor who plays Jamie was on. Yummy...now that's some nice eye candy...and no calories!!!

On that note, I'll sign off....thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi (who's wishing she was Clare about now)