Checking In.....771-772

 

 I hate to start out with a negative vibe, but we have been dealing with the results of Helene on my daughter's family in NC. They are in a town called Brevard, a bit SE from Asheville. They have been experiencing flooding, power and cell service outages since Thursday. They finally could drive a bit and find a spot where they had reception and called us. They are fine, just very stressed due to food, ice, gas etc. shortages. A few things are open, but they only accept cash. They robbed there piggy bank and came up with $60 in quarters!!! 

We were hoping to drive down today to take them needed supplies and cash, but they said they heard there was no way to get to them. We are going to try again tomorrow; Rich has mapped out a different route than normal, that appears to be clear. we shall see. Cross your fingers we make it!!! They know nothing about what's going on, except what they hear from groups of people gathering at the local Ingles store parking lot. The storm appears to have devastated the area; there are a number of rivers and reached historic highs and flooded out many roads, businesses, etc. it will be sad to see what we find; it is a lovely area. If any of you reading this are in the WNC area, please know our thoughts are with you and be safe!

On a happier note, my Mom is tolerating her treatments well so far. We keep waiting for the "other" shoe to drop,  but so far so good. She has, however, developed an addiction to Amazon!!! LOL

On to stitching.....This is a piece I started the end of August and wanted done in time for Halloween. I had the frame in my stash (purchased at a vintage shop) and it worked perfectly. This was reebie chart from JABCO if purchased with the button pack.

The Boys are Back in Town by JABCO...stitched on 30 ct. WDW Gunmetal with WDW and GAST.

Isn't this a cute group of monsters???

I forgot to take a picture o the gift I made for my friends, Lisa's birthday back in August. She kindly sent me a copy:

Life's Sweetest Flower by Threadwork Primitives......stitched on 40 ct. Dirty Newcastle linen with Glorianna silk, Falcon Brown

 My latest start is Halloween Greeting by Romy's Creations....stitching on 30 ct. WDW Pumpkin with DMC and anchor 403. I am not stitching all the orange for the pumpkin; instead I'm letting the fabric show.  The larger piece has a lot of pumpkin stitching, and I didn't want to spend all that time on a seasonal piece. I think it's looking okay...how about you?

To close, my daughter called recently and said she wanted to make a Halloween costume for Jax. He loves the book Dinosaurs Love Tacos.  She said she could handle the dinosaur and I was tasked with making a taco treat or treat bag. Tell me what you think....I pretty happy with it.....made with felt and glue except for the bag seams.

Stay safe everyone...I know another storm is forming! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

My Needlework, a Soothing Balm for the Soul......762-770

 Where to begin....it has been awhile and a nasty aspect of life has worked its way into our world. As I mentioned in my last post...almost 2 months ago....my Mom had fallen and broken her hip. She has reovered very well, especially for a woman of 92 years. Sadly, while in the hospital then, it was discovered that she has cancer. So, the last 2 months have involved many trios to Baltimore and back for doctors appointments, staying with my Dad while Mom was in rehab and just being there for support. My Mom is scheduled to start 5 weeks of chemo and radiation on Monday. She spent time between deciding to do nothing and moving forward with treatment. The doctors said it was treatable and she'd eventually be in a lot of pain if she did nothing. We are very concerned about all this at her age, but are supporting her decision and hoping for the best. It's weird, but I have not broken down and cried throughout all of this, but I am now.... I guess putting it out there on paper , so to speak, has made it all real. We have been blessed to have her....and my Dad for so long! Prayers and positive thoughts will be appreciated. 

Tears wiped, nose blown.....now on to my saving grace...my needlework. I have been amazed at how much I've accomplished through all this, but I may have left housework and chores slide to keep my sanity! LOL I'll share these in no special order and am not taking the time to say what I used to stitch them. If you have a question about a certain project, just shoot me a comment and I'll respond. 

First up is Santa's Delivery #2 by Teresa Kogut. Stitched on 18 perforated paper that I colored with a black Sharpie. The one on the right is the latest one.

Mary Briggs by Erica Michaels...finished on a hornbook. I did this on 45 count, over one, to make it fit. I love this saying and enjoy stitching alphabets..so win-win!!! This was my September Sampler Stitch!

Avery's Ornament 2017 by Homespun Elegance. This was my September #12in24ornamentstitchalong.

Trick or Treat  and Pumpkin Brew, both from Jack O'Lanterns Jubilee by With Thy Needle and Thread. I sewed these back to back and put them in a cute little Halloween jar I found at Marshalls, on a bed of green beads.

Sampler Bag by Shepherd's Bush. 

'Tis Christmastime by Merry Cox...this was an exclusive offer from The Attic a few years ago.

Christmas Pudding by Tangled Threads and Things....this was in the 2023 JCS Ornament magazine. I'm going to gift it to the lady that has been bringing me my 'scone of the month' gift. My friend , Lisa, had given me the tiny cloche.....perfect for it!

The last thing I stitched, but this was a bit ago, was an exchange piece.....Milady's Acorn Box by Milady's Needle.

Finally, these are things I received from other stitchers. The first two are from an exchange and the next two are from my Secret Stitchers with the DVHSG.

This was in the wrapped package above...all I cold say was WOW!!!

Final gift from DVHSG Secret Stitcher '23-'24

DVHSG gift from new Secret Stitcher '24-25

Thanks for sticking with me, if you made it this far. I'm closing with a photo of my family....they bring joy always!!!

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

Stasi

Taking It One Day at a Time........762

 Not much stitching has been accomplished over the last 10 days...life has gotten in the way. My Mom fell on 7/11 and broke her hip. It was replaced and she was in the hospital for 6 days, then moved to a rehab facility. My Dad is pretty helpless, pretty much due to my Mom waiting on him all his life. So, my two brothers, Rich and I are taking turns staying with him. It's a small apartment and we slept five nights on an air mattress...more to come! :) We're doing long stretches since it's a 3 1/2-4 hour drive for us, one way. 

My Mom is in good spirits most days, but is anxious to get on the move and go home. She's a tough cookie!!!

Stitching there is not ideal, but I took my very old Visual Mate and was able to work on a gift for a friend and Santa's Delivery #2. I can't share the gift, but here is Santa:

He's stitched on white 18 ct. perforated paper that I colored black with a sharpie.

Since I've been home, I've been working on a piece or an exchange I'm in with a fall theme. This is by Milady's Needle.

I also was able to take my Zoom class this past Saturday with Beth Seal of Summer House Stitche Workes. This was a fun class and we made the paper flower topper and wax holder in class. I had my pre-stitching done, so was able to finish all the pieces on Sunday. This is the The Golden Apiary .

Not sure what the next few weeks few weeks will hold, but counting on my needlework to get me through. Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi 

Surviving the Heat Wave.......759-761

 It has been a HOT summer!!! We finally had some rain on the 4th, but it didn't last long. We've been watering plants daily and it's getting old. On the upside, lots of stitching and finishing has been going on. We went to NC to visit Rich's brothers, one lives in Wilmington and one was flying in form TX. Sadly, the TX brother and his wife arrived with Covid and wound up spending their time in a hotel room for three days. We only spent a short time with them, while they confirmed with a test, but my other SIL and BIL wound up getting it. Somehow, we miraculously didn't!!! We still managed to enjoy our time there. A cousin of mine took us out on her boat for a ride up the Intercoastal and we did make it to the beach one day where we met up with my younger daughter and family, who were vacationing in the area. We had  a blast with Jax playing in the waves. Here is a shot of him in his swim wear!!!

Now on to some needlework. My friend, Lisa, gave me one of the SB mini bags and chart. Can you guess which one???

You got it...Buzz!!! A quick and fun stitch, that is pre-finished, so when you're done, you're done. And speaking of bees, check out this pair of boxes I found in the clearance section at Home Goods!

I finished the 1889 Alphabets,  by Needlework Press, piece on a spool...another quick and easy finish! I did this on a 28 ct. banding with Vikki Clayton silks. I decided to coffee stain the piece after I stitched it to make it look more vintage. I changed the last name to my grandmothers since this was a Czech sampler and my maternal great grandparents were from Czechoslovakia. I could leave the initials as my grandmothers were AM; I also changed the date to the year my grandmother was born. 

 

I also finished Fauna, The Fairy Witch, by Brookes Books. I did leave off her hat though, since I liked the white hair. This is my July ornament for the #12in24ornamentsal. I just love her!!!

Now, some WIPs.... I finished the stitching for an upcoming Zoom class with Beth from Summer House Stitche Workes. This will be a drum and a pincushion. 

A friend loaned me this chart from Scarlet House; it was a retreat piece and hopefully will be available to shops at some point. 

I put some time in on these two:

Live on Little by Plum Street

Bristol Green by Dutch Treat Designs

And, finally, I made 7 pillowcases for the charity, Beds for Sleepyheads, from Stitch Con and mailed them off to Keepsakes.

 

Now it is off to JoAnn's and Costco before it gets too hot. I hope you are staying cool, if you're experiencing this heat wave, and enjoying nicer weather if you are not. Thankfully we can stitch in climate controlled environments. How did we ever do it before A/C???

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

Stasi

Recent Finishes and Finds......755-758

 Greetings.....I thought I'd share some recent finishes today While at StitchCon I finished a piece I am doing for a friend, so can't share that for a bit. Then I started on my project for Stitch Camp with The Colorado Stitcher. Our project for June was to pick a monochromatic design and add a pop of color or take a multi color design and stitch it in one color. I opted for the first and stitched Merry Christmas 2020 from Hello from Liz Matthews. I even got to share my start with Liz herself! I stitched it over one on 29 ct. natural Glenshee linen with Vikki Clayton silks. I added a piece of tiny green chenille around the edges since I was a little "off" on my sizing for the foam core. It was the perfect size for a little stand I had gotten after Christmas one year.

Speaking of cross sticth camp, here is my camp badge added to my camp project bag. It's the one on the left, center. 

I FFO'd this piece at the end of May......One Nation by Samplers Not Forgotten. This was a club kit I bought from a friend.  It was stitched on 40 ct WDW Beige with WDW fibers. I changed up the panel on the left by substituting a section from A Primitive Hare Chart, Patriotic Queen of the Needle.  

    This project was received by it's recipient, so I can now share, A Second Helping of Strawberry Sweeties by Wendy KC Designs. This was stitched on 32 ct. flax linen with Belle Soie silks and Petite Treasure Braid.

I've been working on my fairy witch, Fauna by Brookes Books. and have the stitching complete. I now have to finish her. I am not doing her hat as it covers most of her white hair. I had so much trouble reading this chart and accidently reversed some colors, but I think she turned out wonderfully. She reminds me of Galadriel in Lord of the Rings. 

On to my finds while antiquing..... Lisa saw this necklace and pointed it out to me...had to come home with me...as did the tiny thimble.

Misc. finds at good prices

I love alphabets and stitching alphabets. I found this cool box of ribbons, one roll with each letter of the alphabet...26 in all, of course!!! I loved the box and took it off the shelf. All the spools proceeded to spill out and roll all around the floor; I was scrambling to scoop them all up. The holes in the sides of the box, 13 on each side, allow the ribbon to pass through to the outside. I'm not sure how "vintage" this is, but I had never seen anything like it.

My favorite find was this signed print by Catherine Grunewald. There was some damage to the mats a tiny section of the print that I think I can press out. She was very popular back in the late 90's and I bought a few of her prints then. I just googled her and she passed in 2021. I will remove the mats and reframe.  It's a small poster size and was only $25!!! Couldn't resist!

Well, that's it for today. We start watching 2 of our grand kids today and the next 5 days. Half of them are on their way to a baseball tournament in Atlanta and the other two had obligations here. We'll be back and forth between our houses as they're only 5 minutes way.

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

Stasi