49 and Counting.....

 

 

Today is our 49th anniversary!!! Thought you might get a kick out of a wedding photo....or two. Obviously our photographer was not the best as he blocked my Dad's face!!!

 

These are my parents and grandparents with us.

On to stitching...I thought I'd share my patriotic displays today. Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

I am leaving early Saturday morning for a stitchy weekend with friends in PA. I am picking up my parents on the way home Tuesday, then Jax and his Mommy are coming to visit for a few days on Wednesday. Gonna be a busy time!!!

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

Stasi
 

A Whole Lotta Stitching Going On......

 Between the heat and my knee, I've been getting quite a bit of stitching accomplished. I try to run out in the AM to do my errands and then home to the A/C. I feel so bad for workers who have to be in this heat to do their job....I don't know how they do it!

I finished hte stitching fo my exchange piece in the fall.....Bittersweet September by Blackbird Designs...this will be hard to give away! This chart was printed on both sides of one sheet of paper---Yuck!!! This made for an error on my part and that border on the right side wound up being too far over. Of course I didn't puck up on it until I went to 'join' the border. It took me quite while to figure out where I went wrong and I was NOT going to take all that stitching out. So I finagled!!! Another save!!! I hope this isn't going to become a regular occurrence!

 I worked a bit more on Puffin Party by Hands on Design.

And then I started a new project.....Mary Briggs 1806 by Erica Michaels. I love alphabets and the saying on this particularly appealed to me...." The greatest thing in the world is the alphabet, as all wisdom is contained therein". Linda provides two charts here...one is a reproduction of the original piece (which doesn't include this verse); the other is an adaptation, with the verse, which is the version I am stitching. I have a specific finish in mind for this and needed it to be under 4" when complete. So, I am stitching it, over one, on 46 count Wild Birdseed Legacy linen. Wish me luck!!!

Hope you are staying cool! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

Hot Day Stitching......

With it being so darn hot, I passed on attending my grandson's baseball game in Charlottesville and stayed home and stitched. This is what I worked on.....Bittersweet September by Blackbird Designs. 

 

I love the fall colors in this! Since this is an exchange piece, I'm trying to knock it out sooner rather than later.

I hope you have a nice, relaxing Sunday. Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi
 

Gone Fishin'.....

 I finished up Jax's birth sampler last night. I left off the mermaid and added his birth info. Now don't laugh but......as I was filling in the bottom section I realized I had forgotten to put in his birth date. I couldn't bear the thought of frogging all the green. Luckily I hadn't stitched the border across the bottom and it fit there perfectly.....SAVE!!!! A stitcher's gotta do what a stitcher's gotta do!

So, here you have Good Things by Birds of a Feather. It's stitched on 40 ct Antique sampler linen by the Victorian Motto Shop with the called for GAST. 

This is a much sought after OOP design and  I knew a friend of mine had been searching for it for a long time. I saw someone post on an ISO page on FB and a couple people responded that they had it in their stash. I reached out to a lady who generously said she would gift me the chart. I realized after I got it that it would be the perfect birth sampler for Jax, as his Dad is a big fisherman and the saying at the bottom was perfect for their family's baby journey. I asked my friend if she minded if I stitched it first, then passed on to her. She was good with that ....thanks Ann....and the chart is making its way, as we speak, to her. Stitchers are really the BEST!

Hope you have a great Saturday! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

A Tiny Finish and a Santa FFO......711

 Wow, it is almost the middle of July already....I feel like the month just started! We're in for a rainy day today, so after a few errands, it'll be time to stitch and, hopefully, finish up Jax's birth sampler. I just have to fill in around the words and add the border across the bottom. I have already mailed the chart to my friend, who has been patiently waiting for it. 

 

 

Here is my completed 'Christmas Eve' mat...already for cookies, a carrot and a note to Santa. This is Jolly Old St. Nicholas by JBW Designs and was stitched on a 32 ct. mystery linen with the called for GAST colors. I had made one of these years ago for my older grands and saved the extra place mat....now Jax will have one.
 

 

Lastly, I have a tiny finish that will become a necklace. This is a little kit called Milady's Quaker Pendants II by Milady's Needle. There are 4 designs to pick from and the fabric, fibers and glass pendant came in the kit. It was stitched, over one, on 36 ct. Luna fabric from Lakeside linens with Vikki Clayton silk, Old Maid of the Forest.

 

It's Friday...yippee!!! Wishing you a relaxing weekend with plenty of stitchy time! Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendstitch.

Stasi

Santa is Ready for Cookies..........

 

 

This past Saturday morning I zoomed in on the DVHSG meeting. Linda from Erica Michaels graciously invited us into her studio where she shared her antique samplers and other needlework collectibles. What eye candy!!! It was a delightful visit! I so love her designs, especially the strawberries!

Saturday afternoon, I went to the RVA Stitchers get together. There were two new ladies who were very nice. Of course they had gadgets we had not seen, so some Amazon shopping was in order. Here is a great collapsible stand (cook book holder) to hold your charts. It folds flat and doesn't weigh much--great for traveling. And the price was right..only $8.99.

 

The I had a great visit with my friend, Lisa, the other day. We stitched, we chatted, we ate and we shared. Lisa had traveled to Ireland in May and brought me back some lovely gifts. She said she never found a "needlework" shop to speak of, but kept stumbling across stitchy related goodness. Here is what she generously gifted me:

Cute pins on the left and German needles on the right

An adorable sewing themed mug and beautiful Irish bowl (perfect for orts)

 ....the shamrock bag was filled with lavender and made from Belfast linen

 I was so tickled with everything!!! 

 

Well, our little Santa is done and ready to be mounted on his final resting spot. The little pocket for the 'reindeer' food is also set to be added.

 

I have a PT session this morning, then stitching planned for the afternoon...too hot to do anything else.....at least that is a great excuse not to do anything else!!! LOL

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

Stasi

Back in My Own Bed......

 

Our grand sitting gig is over and we are home after a week of ferrying back and forth between our house and my daughters. Luckily, they are only 5 minutes away! We had a quiet week.... too hot to do much of anything outdoors.  

I did manage to get quite a bit of stitching accomplished in the evenings as everyone watched TV. I worked a bit on Jax's birth sampler. 

I just have the bottom saying to do and fill in around it, then finish the border.

Then I started the next in the Polar Plunge series, Puffin Party, by Hands on Design. Stitching this on the same 32 ct. mystery linen as the other three with DMC.
 

 

Lastly, I signed up for a fall exchange and chose this piece.....Bittersweet September by Blackbird designs. This was a kit, fabric is 32 ct Korty's Special Blend by R&R. Fibers are GAST.

 

My friend, Lisa, came over Monday for a day of stitching and catching up. We try to get together at least once a month, but life has gotten in the way since early March. I will share the sweet gifts she brought me from Ireland on my next post. 

On  personal note, I did something to my left knee while walking two weeks ago. Went to a walk in ortho clinic and was prescribed 6 weeks of PT. It is so much better....I could hardly put any weight on it for a few days... I am doing exercises daily to strengthen it. I need it to be in tip-top shape for our Canadian Rockies trip in September. 

I hope you are doing well and dealing with the heat. If you aren't dealing with summer heat, I am jealous...lucky you!

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

Stasi