The Riddle is Finished!

I decided to be good and get "The Riddle" Finished up. This was such a fun stitch from beginning to end. I didn't get bored once! The only thing that bothered me were the tiny errors throughout the pattern. Nothing major, just enough to be an annoyance. So if you decide to stitch this, watch out for them!

The Drawn Thread "The Riddle"
Fabric: 32 ct. Vintage Fawn by Lakeside Linens
Threads: Needlepoint Inc. and Gloriana Silks
Started: 6/22/09 - Finished: 7/23/09

Well, now I think I'll get back to "Finch Song." Or maybe I should be good again and work on "It's Berry Time?" Nah, I think I've been good enough for one day. :) Write soon!

Busy Weekend

I went up to Amy's yesterday to hang out for a little bit and stitch. It was very last minute and she was very sweet to let me intrude on her for a few hours. She even got me lunch (Zaxby's, my very favorite)! While I was there I got a few of the new Shepherd's Bush kits from her online shop Down Sunshine Lane. SB kits are my absolute weakness, next to Lakeside Linen. :)

The first is my favorite - I've been waiting for this one ever since I saw it after their retreat last year.

Finch Song

I'm actually thinking of using a different linen. Maybe Light Examplar (pictured underneath) instead of the R&R French Vanilla.

The next is a very sweet kit that comes with beautiful fabric, ric rac, and a very sweet pin (DMC threads and linen too).

My Pins

And the last is another sweet and simple kit. I just love these tall pudgies. They are so cute.

Thanks A Lot

While at Amy's I worked on The Riddle a little bit. I'm getting very close to finishing! I'm also getting close to running out of the dark green thread. I may have to put it on hold until I can get some more.

I got this section finished up yesterday...

In other news.... Paulette the designer of Plum Street Samplers is having a great giveaway at her blog for her three year blogiversary. There is also a very nice freebie she designed for the occasion. Be sure to leave a comment! She is such a sweet person and a terrific designer!

And today is my baby Matthew's birthday. He's three today! I can't believe my baby is three! It seems like just yesterday that I was in the hospital with him. And now he's my little monster!

But he's a sweet monster! We're going to have a quiet party at home for him. I'm going to make him a cake with "Wow Wow Wubbzy" figurines on top (his favorite cartoon). Well, hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend. Write soon! :)

A Little More Riddle Progress

I got the second over one section and bargello finished up yesterday. Now I'm on to the alphabet section above it.

I also got a bit of stash from Down Sunshine Lane yesterday. I got some linen to stitch a few of the Blackbird stockings and LHN's "Bee Sampler. I also got Plum Street Samplers "A Sweeter Love" pattern and Annie Beez "Colonial Revival" pattern (not pictured).

Well, the kids are wanting lunch! Write soon! :)

Progress...

I worked on "It's Berry Time" a little bit over the weekend...

I also worked on "The Riddle" some.

I got this section finished...

Now it's time to work on my favorite section with more bargello! :) Write soon!

More Riddle

I've been working on "The Riddle" for the past couple of days. I finally got the grass/tree section finished and now I'm onto the over one words.

I think I'm going to get back to "It's Berry Time" now. I saw a beautiful finish by Francoise (not sure of blog) and she used the same thread (Belle Soie Rouge) that I'm using. It turned out so pretty! If I find out her blog or photo album I'll post a link. Write soon!

Weekend Stitching

I cleaned like a mad woman on Friday so I could relax and stitch on Saturday and Sunday. And that's exactly what I did! I worked on "The Riddle" all weekend. I was stitching along on the grassy area when I realized I didn't have a color that was needed! I double checked the thread list and sure enough it wasn't on it. The color needed was 341, I did have 342 in my stash, so I decided to try it out. I think it turned out ok. It's not as light as the picture, but I think it will be fine.

Even though I didn't have the right color, I had a lot of fun stitching the grass because it's all bargello. I love bargello. Have you all seen Coni's finished bargello canvas work piece? I would love to stitch something like that one day!

For those thinking of stitching this - there is a mistake on the left detail grass pattern - the bottom row is missing. That caused me to frog a couple times. I must have been tired because I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong! :)

Well, nothing else going on here. Just hanging out with the kids - watching Spongebob. :) Write soon!

The Riddle Progress

I have been working on the riddle for the past couple of days. I got one tree finished (after frogging the dumb branch about 10 times) and part of the house.

I am loving this project. I love the colors and the fabric and the silk threads. My dh took my older boys golfing and Matthew is taking a nap (kind of late, but I'm not complaining), so I'm going to get back to stitching! Hope everyone is having a Happy 4th! Write soon!

New Stash and New Start

I got some stitching stash from Down Sunshine Lane yesterday. I was able to get some things with the money I made from selling my old stash (thank you everyone!). :) The first thing I got was some fabric and the buttons for Shepherd's Bush's "Scatter Freedom."

I was browsing this quilt magazine...

When I came across this article...

And I saw "Scatter Freedom" as one of their stitched models in their shop. I hadn't really looked at it before and thought it was so cute! So I decided to stitch it for the Fourth of July.

I started yesterday when I got the package from Amy. Here's my progress so far...

I think I should be able to get it finished by the 4th. I also worked on "The Riddle" a little bit yesterday. I'm almost done with the bottom portion.

And here is the other stash I got from Down Sunshine Lane...

Moira Blackburn "Pains of Love" and "Emily Bronte Sampler," Blackbird Designs "It's Berry Time," LHN/CC thread pack "Joyful and Caring" and a fat 1/4 of 40 ct. Flax New Castle Linen.

Yummy silk and linen

I had a couple people ask about my stitching... I normally stitch in hand, but I do use scroll frames for projects that are long or that have specialty stitches. I usually iron my pieces before taking a picture. I'm just picky that way - I can't help it! About the scroll frames I use - the one pictured is an old frame called Rolaframe that I got at my LNS when I lived in Georgia. I honestly don't know if they are still being made. I also use the EZ Stitch frame, which I know is still being made. You can find them at Michael's and other shops. I also use Q-Snaps once in awhile, but not very often. I prefer to stitch in hand if at all possible. I don't use a stand with my frames, I tried them once, but I never got used to them.

Well, that's all for now! I'm going to get back to my stitching! Write soon! :)

Home again!

I just got back from Florida last night. I was able to stitch a little bit while I was down there. I worked on "The Riddle" some.

The lighting at my mom's wasn't too great, so I decided to start something else. I found some 25 ct. Natural Dublin linen at my LNS down there and started Drawn Thread's "Sampler Game Board." I have been wanting to start this over for a long time now.

I also decided not to work on "The Marriage of Minds" any longer. I took out the words and cut off the rest of the linen.

I think I'm just going to frame it as is. Maybe I'll send it to Jill Rensel one day for custom mats and have her paint our names and wedding date on it so it will still be a marriage sampler. :) Well, I'm so glad to have all the boys home again. I missed them so much! Matthew is glad to have his big brothers home again also. Write soon!

Another New Start - Ack!

I decided not to leave today after all. I'm going to go down tomorrow instead. I started working on "The Marriage of Minds" a little bit last night and then I had to put it down. The linen is just driving me nuts! Why did I start it on that awful linen?? Not only did I start it on blah linen, but I also started stitching on the horizontal. This was way back before I realized it's best to start stitching next to a vertical thread (here's a short article for those that don't know about the horizontal and vertical threads). I was just talking about this with Amy. It's the reason why I had to stop stitching my Drawn Thread "Sampler Game Board." So what do I do when a project is driving me nuts? I start something new of course!

I decided to start another Drawn Thread "The Riddle." I got a small package from Elegant Stitch yesterday containing a few silks that I was missing and the fabric - 32 ct. Vintage Fawn. It's much darker than I'm used to, but I'm liking it.

I got a small start last night.

Here's a close up...

32 ct. Vintage Fawn, NPI and Gloriana Silks (1 over 2)

I know I'm going to love this - it's going to take awhile, but I'm really going to try to stick with it. Well, I have to do some work for my brother and I need to finish cleaning before I go down to Florida tomorrow! Write soon (next week)!