Monday, April 20, 2015

Some finishes...

Well...it's either feast of famine in my little world...What's new with you?  For a couple of weeks I was run ragged...but then things came to a screeching halt.  For a few days I was able to spend some time with a dear friend who is going through some trials lately.  I'm so fortunate that I am not working and I can pretty much chart my own course.  It did give me a little time to slow down, contemplate my life, and enjoy a little stitching.

I was able to finish up a chart that had been given me as a gift, I used it as a Gifted Gorgeousness SAL entry one month.  I LOVE this chart!  It was a pretty fast stitch, and hard to keep away from.  I love the way it came out!!  This is Noble, Right, Pure from Abbey Rose Designs and is stitched on 40 ct over two with one thread of floss.




I did change one thing, as I thought there was a pretty big area that needed "something"...so my friend Sonya suggested some little motifs she found in a book she had.  I had to reverse one of the patterns to make it look a little more balanced....what do you think?  I also had to stitch the new part over one....on 40 ct...WHY do I do these things to myself?  LOL!!



I also finished the April Showers chart from Garden Cottage Samplings.  This was a real challenge, as I'm still trying to stitch these mainly from stash.  It is stitched on 32 ct over one.  After a lot of fussing over threads and things I think I found a nice combination of fibers.  



I received TWO round robins (from the same RR group...eeek!!) so my next two projects will be to get those stitched and on their way.  I still have one more Christmas/Winter themed piece to stitch.  I guess I better get busy searching for the next one...better pick a small one if I hope to keep to my monthly goals!!  And of course...continue to work on Aurora Cabin.  That poor baby has been sitting on the sidelines for a little while now.  Life needs to slow down!!  OR...my fingers need to speed up!  One good thing, St. Michaels is coming up and I'll have an entire 4 days to let my fingers work their magic.  Off to work on my Round Robins, have a wonderful stitch filled day!  

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

April Gifted Gorgeousness

Just a drive by today....lots to do and so little time to do it in...

Here is my April Gifted Gorgeousness entry...




This is  a pattern I won through a giveaway from Stitchers Anon Cross Stitch Designs Facebook page.  It's called Away in a Manger and features Holmsey Hare and Fergus.  It is stitched on 40 ct natural linen over two using one strand of DMC.  It was a joy to stitch and you can find out more about this design and others by visiting their webpage http://www.stitchersanon.com/

You can find out more about the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL by visiting this site http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com/p/gifted-gorgeousness-sal.html

I'll try to update more in a few days...off on my next adventure...

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Tooooo Busy!

I sound like a broken record, but where has the time gone?  It just seems like that time is marching on at a more fast and furious pace as the months go by!

I will admit that I've been quite busy lately, trying to get the Matzah cover finished and then taking our trip to Long Island to attend Passover with a former roommate from college.  I literally stitched on it until the 11th hour, but finished it 3 hours before dinner time!  LOL  Nothing like a little procrastination...huh?

It took me 9 hours to sew it together, then I realized I probably should add some trim. 





That took an additional 4 hours, as most of the sewing was by hand.  I wasn't able to shop for the trim until the day we left, and all I could find was 4 inches wide....much to wide for the piece, so I had to trim it down to 2 inches.  I envisioned a "bad haircut" and said so to the person selling me the trim.  She suggested a roller cutter, and BOY!!  did that work GREAT!  It was trimmed and ready to sew in a few minutes!  We left shortly after I was finished cutting the trim for Long Island, so I couldn't sew it on until the morning of the Passover Seder.  Talk about cutting it close...



The Seder was so interesting (our first one so everything was a learning curve...LOL) and we were even asked to participate.  The food was amazing!  Here is a picture of the tables ready for us to sit down.  You can see the Matzah cover I made on the table in the foreground.  She actually used it at the table we were sitting at!!




I was able to finish up my "Red Thread" piece...






And added a little bit to my "Aurora Cabin" piece...




I worked a bit on a Round Robin through Friendly Stitchers.  It was Sally's piece I had this month, and I just love this piece.  I had stitched it in English a little while back, but Sally is stitching it in Italian.  Here is my part...



And THEN....I pulled out a piece I haven't stitched on since last October.  It is a SAL from this website http://www.tresorsdeboitesacouture.fr/and I had put it on the back burner trying to finish other things.  I finally caught up yesterday.  Nearly there....just waiting on the last two pieces!  I can't wait to finish!




So much going on here...but hopefully I'll get back to stitching in earnest on Aurora Cabin so I can finish before the end of the year.  I still have to get two Christmas ornaments stitched this month, and the Garden Journal piece as well.  I'm going to search through my WIP's and see if I can finish up a couple of them along the way too.  Wish me luck!  See you next time!