Finally! A Happy Dance!

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I put the last stitches in Carriage House Sampling's "Wild Roses" tonite. This was my New Year's Day start this year. I had originally planned to have it done in June,well I missed that by a long shot but at least it didn't carry over until 2007. I really loved this project - at one point I got a water spot on my linen somehow and had to wash the piece. Because I used R&R linen I lost a bit of the color (it was 36-ct Abcedarian) but it still came out looking good. I like using NPI silks for just that reason - if you need to they can be washed and hold up great. This piece is very long - 26". It will go into the "framing" pile and probably won't get framed until after Christmas. The pattern is modified somewhat from the original - the model stitcher at my LNS did a modification of it and you could obtain her changes as long as you bought the original chart from the store. The letters down the sides read "Bless the Beasts and the Children" which I think is nice instead of just random letters. I'm already planning to hang this piece in my living room when framed - I have mottled yellow walls and brown leather furniture so I think it will fit in well.

This is about the most fun I've had all week finishing this! I've had a stressful 2 weeks at work and working overtime on some problems. In fact I was finishing this in-between monitoring my work email account tonite. Nothing like stitching to perk you up! Now I just have to resist starting a new project because I really need to finish my Christmas stocking that has been a WIP/UFO for 2 years!

Yeah - it's October!

I am so happy it is finally October. Not only is it my birthday month, but it's my favorite month in the year. I love all things autumnal and especially Halloween. Also, it's when summer finally ends here in the desert southwest. Soon we say goodby to temperatures in the triple digits and settle down to a beautiful winter!

I haven't had any time to update my blog in awhile. My DH and I had to take an emergency trip out of state because my father is very ill. He is 83 and been in poor health for a few years now, but it has been stressful. On top of that I've been extremely busy at work and it just seems I can't get caught up with anything lately. I did take my Secret Garden with me when I was out of town and got a little bit done while traveling. It is an easy stitch and hope to have it finished soon so I can make the little box that goes with it. Here are 2 pictures of it - one with the fabric I'll be using to line the box, and another photo closeup - not the greatest photo but the best I could do in a hurry today.





I picked up a few things at my LNS a few days ago. I had some patterns that they had been keeping for me - the latest Loose Feathers design and I finally got my copy of Flea Market Souvenir from Blackbird Designs. Somehow they sold the first shipment out and I didn't get one. My 2006 JCS ornnament issue was in and I succumbed to buying Little House Needlework's "Watermelon" kit. I had seen pictures of it but when I saw the model,well, I just couldn't resist. The model at my LNS was done on 40-ct with a wide frame and it was SO cute! So I picked up some 40-ct Newcastle linen in Summer Khaki and hope to get started on that soon. Here's a photo from my little stash trip - try not to look at my messy cutting table - my sewing room is overflowing with projects lately.



I'm not a big ornament stitcher. I stitched several Prairie Schooler ones back about 15 years ago (has it been that long??). I'd like to stitch some more but they just aren't at the top of my list it seems. That said, I have started buying some of the annual JCS ornament issues and I did buy the 10-yr anniversary one in case I wanted to stitch some of them. Mostly I like sparkly, traditional glass-blown ornaments on my tree. They are getting harder to find though every year, and if you do find any, they are usually very high priced. I don't like the Ladko ornaments because they're too darn big - I think 8" ornaments look too big on a tree unless it's like a 25-foot one. Most houses don't have trees that big. I guess I should try to fit in some ornament stitching over the next year, now that I have improved my finishing skills a bit it's not so daunting to do the finishing.

I need to find more time to update my blog. My DH and I are heading out to take my father-in-law out to dinner in thanks for coming over and staying with our dogs while we had to rush out of town. At least I don't have to cook tonite! Then I have some work I need to do in preparation for work tomorrow - nothing quite like having to face work on a Sunday night. Ugh. I did however finish up a Shepherd's Bush RR today will mail it out tomorrow. At least that's one more thing off of my 'to do' list.