A Gift and a Little Stitching

The kids are out of school (as of yesterday). I'm so proud of them both! They both got perfect grades and conduct (well Jake had satisfactory on self-discipline, but that's not a big surprise). Tomorrow is the big day of stitching at French Hen's with my friends and I can't wait!! It will be great to see everyone and it will be great to get away! The day after we're headed down to Florida for a few weeks.

I got a very sweet package in the mail the other day from Andrea. I sent her a chart and she wanted to send me something in return.

She sent a very sweet little snippet bag that her friend made, some chenille trim, scissors and candle. Thank you again Andrea! I love it all!!

I have been stitching a little. I got Village of Hawk Run back out and finished block 9. Well, it's almost finished. I still have to put in the grass. I thought I'd wait on that because I always end up snagging my straight stitches.

40 ct. Sand Dune, NPI silks (1 over 2)

After I finished the block I decided to get my Kind Fond Love Sampler back out. I forgot how much I love this sampler!

40 ct. Vintage Light Examplar, DMC threads (1 over 2).

Well, Matthew is needing me! Write when I can! :)

Kindred Spirits

I worked on "Kind Fond Love" for a little bit and then I got bored (that's been happening a lot lately). So I decided to restart an old project I had started last year. The Primitive Needle's "Kindred Spirits."

First here is the little bit of progress I got on KFL...

40 ct. Vintage Light Examplar, DMC (1 over 2).

And here is my "Kindred Spirits" start...

36 ct. Days Gone By Silkweaver Linen, Belle Soie silks - Noir, Kiwi, and Lasagne (1 over 2).

I'm loving it so far! I was not happy with the fabric I was using before, and I'm much happier now that I'm using the recommended fabric.

The weather has finally cooled down here in South Carolina. It's been such a hot summer and it's such a relief to go outside and not have it so hot and humid that I can barely breathe. I have the windows open and the air off. It's so nice to hear the birds singing and feel a cool breeze! Well, nothing else going on here. Maybe I'll get out and enjoy this beautiful weather while it lasts! Write soon!

More Kind Fond Love

I worked on KFL a little bit yesterday. I actually stayed up way too late watching the Bachelor finale. How dumb!! Anyway, I got the words stitched and a tree and a dog? Or is it a cat? I can't tell. Here's the before and after....

Before


After

I also made a little progress on HoHRH on Saturday that I forgot to share.

Before


After

Here's the fabric I got at Amy's to go with Mouline Rouge. I think I'm going to use DMC 498 like Sharon (scroll down) did. Her finish turned out so pretty!

I had quite a bit of fabric leftover from the fat 1/2, so I decided to try to Vonna's Baking and Basting dyeing technique. I love how it turned out! I'm definitely going to use this technique again. Thanks Vonna for such great instructions!

I have also decided to join Paulette, Margaret and few others in a SAL. They have been stitching Scarlet Letter's "Ruth Bacheler 1717." I got the pattern a couple weeks ago. I'm planning on using 36 ct. Pearled Barley and DMC threads. I just love this one! It will be my first Reproduction Sampler!

Well, today is Titania Tuesday. I hope to make some more progress on her wings. Write later! :)

P.S. Thank you for all your very kind comments on Sea to Shining Sea!

Changed My Mind

I decided to work on Kind Fond Love after all. I finally got the section with the people finished.

40 ct. Vintage Light Exampler, DMC threads (1 over 2).

Today is Titania Tuesday. I hope to get started on her wings today. Write soon! :)

Kind Fond Love (Not)!

I would have made more progress on KFL, but I can't count and I can't read chart symbols. I did a lot of ripping yesterday. Oh well, thankfully I'm back on track now Here's my latest progress pic...

I think I'm going to work on this today and Titania tomorrow since I haven't started the Quaker Virtues SAL with Amy and Vonna yet. I would like to try to get the section with the people finished before I move on to something else. Wish me luck! I don't want to frog anymore today! Write soon! :)

A Little KFL Progress

I worked on "Kind Fond Love Sampler" a little bit last night and this morning. I don't have a lot to show, but it's something, I guess! :)

I have a feeling this sampler may take me quiet a while to complete! I'm trying to figure out some kind of rotation. I really want to add "Houses of Hawk Run Hollow" to my future sampler wall. I have one and a half blocks completed, so I was thinking of trying to get a block stitched a month to get it finished by the end of the year. This is what I was thinking of as far as a rotation goes...

Mon - TSC - KFL
Tue - Mirabilia - Titania
Wed - Bygone Stitches - Quaker Virtues (starting 2/25)
Thur - Primitive Needle - Simply Live
Fri - Goode Huswife - With My Needle
Sat - CHS - HoHRH
Sun - LHN - StSS

Last time I did this sort of rotation I actually did get a lot finished. More than I thought I would. So we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

More Boring Border Pictures!

Well, I finished both of the borders on "Kind Fond Love Sampler." Now for the fun part - the inside! Hopefully the pictures will not be so boring from now on! :)

Thank you to everyone who helped clear out some of my stash! I really appreciate it! :) Write soon!

Kind Fond Love Progress

I decided to get out "Kind Fond Love Sampler" and work on it some. I finally finished the light green part of the HUGE border. It seemed to take me forever. Frogging part of it didn't help any!

Stitched on 40 ct. Vintage Light Examplar by Lakeside Linens using DMC thread.

Not a very exciting picture. I hope to get the dark green part of the border finished today. Write later! :)

Another one for the Wall

When I ordered my threads for "Quaker Virtues" from DSL I also got The Sampler Company's newest chart "Red House Sampler." I loved the when it first came out and I really fell in love after seeing this one on The Scarlet House blog.

So this one will be another future stitch, probably way far in the future because I have so much going right now as it is. I took a picture of the threads I got too. They are so pretty! I can't wait to start the "Quaker Virtues" SAL now! :)

Thank you all for your very kind comments on my samplers. I am going to try getting some framed myself. I was looking at that American Frame site and I think that would be a great idea! I should have done that when I was framing my dad's Christmas present. Well, I hope to get some stitching done today. I need to get off the internet! I've been looking at sampler charts for the past couple of days trying to get ideas of what I want to stitch. Write soon! :)

New Years Start

I decided to start "Kind Fond Love Sampler" by Brenda Keyes of The Sampler Co. yesterday. I couldn't decide if I wanted to stitch it on the fabric I dyed for it or the new Vintage Light Examplar that I got the other day...

I ended up going with the Vintage Lt. Examplar...

I didn't have much time to stitch yesterday. In fact, I haven't had much time to stitch in the last two weeks! I'm really looking forward to getting home now and getting back into my routine. Write soon! :)

Warning Long Post - Lots of Pictures

I didn't stitch much yesterday. I spent a lot of the day organizing my stash, which is almost as much fun as stitching. I'm thinking of planning on stitching mainly samplers in 2009. I would love to have a sampler wall. I would love one like Diane Jourdan's of Sampler Cove or like Merumo's. They are both gorgeous! I have decided one sampler that I would definitely like to stitch next year is "Kind Fond Love Sampler" by The Sampler Company.

I decided to kit it up yesterday. My only dilemma was fabric. I didn't have any 40 ct. long enough. So I decided to cut up the fabric I had for "And They Sinned," which is 40 ct. Elegant Bean (coffee-dyed linen by Elegant Stitch). I came to the conclusion that I'm not going to stitch it anytime soon. I think I may have to wait until the kids are in college for that one.

While I was getting the threads together I noticed I was getting low on Thread Drops. I thought for sure I had another package, but I couldn't find them anywhere! I had bought some Comic Book Boards on ebay not too long ago. I learned about using comic book board through Jane Timmers. She had us use this board for our needlebook in her class.

I thought the board would also make great thread drops and it does!

Here is a picture of the one I made (#632). I think it turned out pretty well. I used some old scrapbooking supplies I had in stored away to make the ovals. I also got a few charts in the mail the other day from DSL. I've been on a Birds of a Feather kick lately. It's all Melissa's fault from Words and Blooms. I have recently discovered her blog and I love everything she stitches! :)

BOAF "Happy Hearts Sampler" and "Sally Spencer Sampler"


BOAF "Red Reindeer" and "Winter Sampler"

I also got "Yule Sampler" by The Primitive Needle. Here it is kitted up...

I kitted up "Red Reindeer" and "Winter Sampler" too. I hand-dyed some of the Elegant Bean last night using some tan Rit Dye. I think I may dye some more - I really like how it turned out.

Wow, if you have made it to the end of this post you deserve a medal! Oh, I almost forgot, I ended up starting "A Bit of December" last night. Hopefully I can get finished today. Write later! :)