THE BUZZ FROM THE HIVE

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Road Trip.....and New Finish

I have put off driving up to see the needlework exhibit at the Chester County Historical Society all summer. It seemed September 7th (when the show ends) was a looooong way off! But, it was a "now or never" moment realized on Friday--that I had to go soon or miss it. Soooo, Rich and I took a road trip yesterday of about 3 hours to West Chester, PA. WOW--was it worth the trip!!! The exhibit was fabulous with many examples of different styles of samplers, huswifes, pinballs and globes. A veritable feast for the stitchers eyes! When we first got there, we were the only visitors--in fact our movement into the rooms turned the lights on. The whole time were we there , there were only 4 other people, so we could take our time, study the pieces, read the info cards in a very leisurely fashion. I was especially taken with some beautiful examples of needle lace; it was so fine and delicate. I was also happy we took some time to walk around the rest of the museum as we came across some fabulous pinballs that were in wonderful condition with very good color.

Sadly, there is no plan for a catalogue as a reference tool. I did take some pictures before my camera battery died on me, but am not allowed to post on my blog without permission. I'm figuring others have gotten that permission and posted them, so hopefully they are just a google search away.

Then, a walk up the street to find a plethora of restaurants- a veritable feast for the stitchers tummies!!!! We chose an Irish pub since they had available seating outside. Oh...and did I mention it was an absolutely beautiful day--temps in the low 80's and NO humidity!!!
Rich at lunch


A quick visit to The Strawberry Sampler where I bought a shop model that was perfectly fitting for the day...don't ya think? Heck, I couldn't buy the frame for the price of the whole stitched piece, so I'm extremely happy!!!



Now on to the finishing front!!! I completed one of my Merry cox classes  from June, Le Nouveau Palais Royale. I stitched this for my granddaughter, Cora. It has her initials, her name, as well as mine and the name she calls me...Mimi. The only change I made was to sew beading around the pin keep instead of using silk ribbon.  The pieces all fit inside the box stacked on top of each other and then the box slides into the silk bag. I'll have to start my hunt for treasures to put inside. I'd really like to come up with something special as a  scissor fob instead of the ribbon.
 I just love the colors...they are as sweet and lovely as my little Cora! I've been whispering in Cora's ear since she was born( she's almost 21 months old)  that I was going to teach her to stitch...that she'll be my little stitching buddy one day. I am starting to refer to myself as the "stitch whisperer" where she is concerned. My hope is she'll become interested in some type of needlework so we can keep the art going.
The whole shebang

Pinkeep and pincushions (bottom layer)

middle layer with scrims

top layer

presentation bag















That's all for now--thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Back in the Saddle Again.............

I survived my week with the grandkiddies and am back to my usual routine of work, trying to squeeze in a walk and stitching in the evenings. We had a blast with Asher and Cora, some fun times at the pool, Chuck E Cheese, Monkey Joe's, etc.. Hubby and I were definitely worn out at the end of the week, but so thrilled they are comfortable enough to spend a week with us. It definitely showed me I need to work HARDER to get in shape. It's pretty tough trying to sing an adorable,sweet thing to sleep every night with a  20+ pound weight on your chest. Cora loves to lay her head on your shoulder and have you rock and sing her to sleep..... and I wanted to savor every minute because by next time she may not want to cuddle. So, out came Puff the Magic Dragon, Hush Little baby, My Favorite Things, All Most Heaven West Virginia and her favorite Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Asher is in perpetual motion, but likes to unwind watching some videos on our bed and then goes quietly into his good night. All in all, a memory filled week for us and hopefully for them too!

Now on to the stitching front.  I finished stitching Just Nan's Lady Scarlet's Scissor Roll --will show finished photos after I've put it all together. The fabric is a beautiful soft green 32 count Limestone Belfast, which isn't showing well in the photo. I stitched it with the called for DMC colors but changer the Gentle Art Tea Rose to Victorian Pink (since i had that in my stash) for the border. I'll be on the hunt for a cute pair of red scissors to stick in the roll when I'm done. I'm thinking I've seen some "ladybug" scissors somewhere along the way that may be perfect!




All kinds of cute little critters--bunny, squirrel, turtle, grasshopper and birds--even a lurker under the pumpkin patch



I'm also currently working on a biscornu for a class I'm taking at my local EGA chapter in September. I chose a piece from the EGA publication Needlearts called Pining to Stitch: The Biscornu. This was part of a seminar held by the Southern Maine chapter for the New England Region that included many more pieces, but luckily--for me, they published the biscornu one. I stitched mine with Valdani  overdyed threads and enjoyed all the different stitches. My favorite is the buttonhole bar that was used for the pine cones--makes them very 3-dimensional!! Again, I am on the hunt for some smallish pine cone button for the center. I have a pair of lovely pine cone buttons but they are too big for that purpose. I still have to stitch the back but that is mainly the pine branches and my initials.

Pining to Stitch: The Biscornu

Hers's a close up of a pine cone with the buttonhole bar stitch: 


I've also managed a little stash enhancement from The Attic. I love reading their newsletter and recently succumbed to placing a mail order for the following:



































If only there were more hours in the day!!!! I know we all wish that!!!

That's it until next time. Thanks for visiting and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi