June IHSW project...a day late...

Well Friends, another International Hermit and Stitch Weekend is in the history books.  Despite the fact that I was super busy, and I had to tack on 2 hours of stitching on Monday to extend the weekend...I finally finished!  While the border gave me some fits, it was smooth sailing once that was finished!  This is The Nativity Band Sampler by A New Creation Studio which I just recently discovered.  This was stitched on 32 count Black over two with the recommended DMC floss.  I really enjoyed stitching it (once I was passed the border) and love how the colors pop on the black.  I even have an idea of how I want to fully finish it...and as soon as I have a spare minute I'm going to get' er done!  Here are before and after pictures.  

I've been doing a little digging and sorting and I think I've come up with my next project.  I think I'll be working on the 12 Days of Christmas Stockings by Annie Beez Folk Art.  I honestly can't wait to get started.  

The next two weeks are going to be insane, but hopefully I'll have some time tonight to at least get started.  I have two others just waiting in the wings fully kitted...decisions decisions.  I think I need a clone!  LOL!!    

This past weekend was a little nutty.  Our Granddaughter came to spend the night on Friday.  We had a lovely time, though we were really confined to stay indoors because of the heat.  Still she was so much fun!  I ordered some framing but kept the stitching so I could stretch it myself.  I had to turn that in on Saturday and run some errands with DH.  Then we had some things to do around the house.  I didn't settle down to stitch until 8 that night....but Sunday (amidst doing laundry) I was able to really concentrate and stitch.  

Just last week, DH was given another award at work.  He was given 16 hours of paid vacation.  He's been given a few of them recently and they add up to 40 hours...so sometime soon we'll be taking a vacation!  I'm hoping we will be able to go around our anniversary but we'll see.  We have a lot of expenses coming our way soon with the new grandbaby on the way!  

Well I'm off to get some things organized and get some chores done.  Wish me luck that things will go smoothly so I can start my next cross stitch project!  Happy Stitching (and try to stay cool!)

An old finish and a new start!

I've had a few little finishes that didn't fall under Gifted Gorgeousness so I decided I had better update here a little bit.  I had hoped to get them fully finished before I posted them, but you know...life.  It's been a little hectic with Father's Day, my son's birthday, and lots of little outings too.  More about them later.  

I've been madly stitching things to update my mantle for the summer.  I found a few patriotic pieces to stitch (believe me when I tell you there are tons more I WANT to stitch...lol...but there just isn't time) and now they are done.  I stitched the Colonial Couple, but I think I'll have them professionally finished.  You saw the star and the little freebie from Jeanette Douglas in the previous post.  I also found this adorable little stitch in the Nashville Market Cookbook from this year.  I love this dainty little stitch.  It's by Primrose Cottage.  I've stitched a few of hers lately, and just love her style!  This was stitched on 40 count mystery fabric over two.  I'm hoping to pop it in a small tart pan...but we'll see. 

 

I stitched the 2024 Snowman by Primrose Cottage earlier, then found out she had one from 2023.  Of course I had to stitch him too!  I have ONE ornament left from Hobby Lobby (I sure hope they have more this year!!!) and hope he fits in that one.  We will see!!  I want to finish him like the one from 2024.  Here they are so you will remember what I'm talking about.

  

This last one is from the Just Cross Stitch magazine Ornament Issue from 1998.  I have no idea when I started this one...it's been years though.  I started it and then lost hope, I was struggling with using two strands of floss on this 36 count fabric.  I finally decided (when I ran across it the other day) that I just needed to put on my big girl pants and "get er done".  I'll be honest and say the over one portion is not up to my usual standards, but I'm going with it because it is what it is.  LOL.  Now that it's finished (I was going to gift it to someone, but honestly, as I said, it's not up to snuff)...I'm looking forward to finishing it off and hanging it on my tree this year.  It turned out way cuter than the pattern picture showed!  This is Christmas Ornament 98 by Crossed Wing Collection from the 1998 JCS Ornament Issue stitched on 36 (possibly 40) count Legacy over two (parts over one).  

A while ago I found this beauty on another fellow stitcher's blog and fell in love.  You know how I love nativities!  I just had to stitch it!  So...I finally pulled it out yesterday and got started.  This is called Nativity Band Sampler by A New Creation Studio.  I'm stitching it on 32 count black over two.  So far I love it, though setting it up requires a lot of counting and I've already had to frog a few stitches here and there.  Stitching on black tends to slow me down too...but I love the colorful threads they call for.  

I also joined a SAL...I couldn't resist.  Tempting Tangles was showing pictures of their new SAL that started June 13th.  It's called Starry Stable - Nativity.  (Did someone say Nativity?....That's like shouting SQUIRREL to me...lol).  I stitched up the first part on the 14th on 32 count light blue (I think).  Oh my...I love it already!!  

So that's what my little fingers have been up to lately.  Now if I could just get the finishing bug I would be a happy camper.  It will be some time though...the guys have an early release today (the day before the Juneteenth holiday) and will have tomorrow off.  I never get much done while the Hubby is home.  He wants to see the new Planet of the Apes movie today, and who knows what tomorrow will bring.  I also have two new filing cabinets that were given to me to fill.  I see some sorting and possible giveaways coming soon!  I love to get organized but it usually takes so much time!!  

As for the past couple of weeks...lets see.  We went to see the Bowie Baysox game last weekend...it was Bluey day, and we had to take our little Bluey fan to meet him of course.  After which she ran the bases...I think the boys had trouble keeping up with her...lol.  Someone had to stay back and take pictures (that would be Gigi ... ME!). 

 

Then for a combination Father's Day and Birthday gift to our son, we took a tour of the nearby Guinness Brewery.  We learned a lot about the history..truly fascinating!  And of course sampled a few of their brews (I swear I only had four sips!!)  I did enjoy Guinness when I was in college...one of the few dark beers I truly like.  We love spending time with them and my granddaughter just knows how to wrap Gigi around her little finger!  No matter where I go she likes to eat from my plate (just like her Daddy) so when she wraps her arms around me and says "I love you Gigi", how can I say no?  

I guess that's all the news for now.  I hope the extremely hot weather here in the US hasn't got you down.  I'm not a fan of the heat...so I'll probably hibernate for the next week or so.  The kids have things planned though, so we'll see how it goes.  Take care and Happy Stitching!

June Gifted Gorgeousness

Hi Fellow Stitchers and welcome to my Gifted Gorgeousness post!  For those who haven't seen these posts before, we post once a month showing items with the word gift associated with them.    They can be patterns, fabric, floss, gifted to us or things we are gifting others.  Jo from Serendipitous Stitching (click here) is our lovely host and you can go to her blog to see what others are posting for this challenge, and see her gorgeous stitching too!  

You've seen in previous posts some of the Just Cross Stitch magazine patterns I've stitched...I consider them part of GG because my husband has gifted a subscription for many years (and bought the discs of the ones I didn't have).   

First up is Decorating Owl by Jesse Schofield from the 2023 JCS ornament issue stitched on 28 count black over one.  

Next is Poinsettia Fairy by Kathleen Berlew from the 2023 JCS Ornament issue stitched on 28 count white over one.  

Next is Christmas Ornament 98 by Crossed Wing Collection from the 1998 JCS Ornament issue stitched on 40  count Legacy over two.  I've only just started this one as a gift for someone so you may not see more of it until I send it off.  

This next one is from a Stoney Creek Magazine Summer 2017 called Cat in Santa Hat stitched on 28 count white over two.  This is an exchange gift.  

This one is called Cat in Stocking by Les Broduses Parisienne from Le Grand Historie de Noel No 1.  stitched on 32 count Fleur and is also an exchange gift.   With this exchange we were only to stitch the ornaments and send them off unfinished.  I hope she liked them!

Several years ago the kids took a trip to Gettysburg.  They  brought home this kit from the Posy Collection and it's called Colonial Couple.  I finished both the lady and the gentleman, and hope to have them finished as stand ups.  I did change the fabric to 36 count Vintage Country Mocha as I don't like to stitch on Aida.  

This last one was a freebie by Jeannette Douglas in 2022.  It's stitched on 40 count Vintage Country Mocha over two.  This is Patriotic Mini-bouquet.  

I was hoping to get some of these fully finished before this posting, but time and energy just ran out.  Hopefully I'll have another post soon with some of the finishes.  We'll see.  The next few weeks are going to be super busy, as my son's birthday is coming up, a national holiday (Juneteenth) and Father's Day...the guys have a lot of things planned, one being a tour of the Guinness brewery here in Baltimore.  Should be fun!  And on that note, I'll bid you all adieu until we meet again.  Happy Stitching!  

Stitching from stash

I know I fell off the stitching from stash bandwagon last month.  I hadn't bought many new things in a while until I visited The Hodge Podge in Pennsylvania in March...lol...and then things started falling in my cart while searching for some black fabric.  I think I've cured myself from stash enhancement for a while (or at least until my next trip to The Salty Yarns, which may be in the near future).  The past few things I've stitched have been kitted in my stash for quite some time, and they were things I've really wanted to stitch since I acquired them.  Anyway, Frosty Weather, Long May She Wave and Land of Liberty were all sitting around here for years waiting to be stitched.  

I was able to finish Land of Liberty in 3 days (I have entirely too much time on my hands these days!!).  Now to figure out how I want to fully finish it.  Here it is, stitched on 40 count Legacy over two with the recommended specialty floss.  I am hoping to fully finish it and make a new display on my mantle for the summer of patriotic designs.

I pulled out another kit my kids gave me a few years back and I've been thinking about starting this kit for months now.  I downloaded the pattern into pattern keeper, sorted the floss and prepared the fabric last night and got started.  This kit has Aida cloth, and I'm struggling to use it.  I think I'm going to substitute some fabric and restart it today...right after I go shopping for some finishing material.  DH was home from work today while we had a garbage disposal replaced (our old one was leaking and we've not been able to use half our sink for over a month).  They were here and gone before 9 AM!!  Highly unusual with workmen around here these days!  So as soon as I finish this post, I'll be out the door and on my way to hunt down some fabric!  

I think we will be working in the garden early tomorrow morning as it's beginning to get very hot here lately.  Hopefully once those chores are done I'll be back working on my Colonial Couple.  I can't wait to see what my mantle will look like in a few weeks!  Hopefully I'll see you soon with pictures!  Until then, Happy Stitching! 

And the roll continues...

So I had this discussion with the lovely Ms. Mouse over in the UK...I have to be in the right frame of mind to get finishing done...what about you?  Sometimes I HAVE to finish something and then it rarely turns out like I hope...but if I wait until the creative juices are flowing, things turn out pretty well.  

I've been participating in the JCS SAL on Facebook for a few years now and I decided last year I would try to keep up with the stitching...but also the finishing.  I'm trying to finish the ornaments and the finishing before the month they are due is over.  Sometimes I'm a little late, but so far I've been making the deadlines which is pretty neat in my book!  I'm a procrastinator, but also have a little OCD when it comes to challenges...so this is a biggie for me to be able to keep up!  I'm literally at war within.....hahaha.  My goal this year is to fully finish anything I start during the year.  We'll see how that goes...I'm still a little behind in a few things.  

I was looking for something at the end of May...and ran across some patterns I've had in my stash for literally YEARS!!  I had the thread, the fabric, and even had the working copies ready to go.  I pulled them out and finished two of them!!  (I have a bunch more to go, but hopefully soon I'll get to the others).  Not only did I finish stitching them, but yesterday I pulled out my recent finishes AND one from 2020!!  My husband supports me when I buy extra trim and finishing materials, and I had everything at my fingertips...so here is the fruit of my labor.  I fully finished 4 items I recently finished... AND the one from 2020.  

First is Long May She Wave by Blackberry Lane.  There are several pieces in this pattern, so I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing this one again.  One of the patterns has a shadow of a servicemember and I wanted to stitch it for my cousin who holds a charity event in her brother's honor every year.  He served in Vietnam and was exposed to Agent Orange and suffered for many years because of it.  Anyway, one of these days I'll be stitching it again for him.  I stitched this one in honor of my husband's service.  We love anything patriotic in our house!  

Next is also by Blackberry Lane and is  Frosty Weather.  I finished another of Mary's patterns a while ago, and framed it in a white frame.  When I bought the frame it came in a package of 3, so here is the second frame used for this one.  My poor OCD brain has to overlook the fact that the dots were not straight on the fabric, so to my eye it looks crooked in the frame, but I assure you it's not...lol.  

Next is two of the upcoming JCS ornament pics for the Facegroup JCS SAL.  June's ornament choice was Poinsettia Fairy.  She was cute and a quick stitch, so when she was fully finished....  

I picked up The Decorating Owl.  These were both stitched on 28 count over one...and I was lucky enough to have a Michaels ornament frame handy that this one looked perfect in!  He was a quick finish!  So he was the choice for July...and now he's finished.  So...I have a month reprieve before I have to stitch another ornament.  

And last is Song of Summer by Blackbird Designs.  I saw someone stitch this a while ago and had to search for the pattern, which was reproduced in a new book released in 2020.  That's when I finished stitching it, so again, while searching for something else, I found this and decided it was time to fully finish it.  I had just enough of the gold colored pompom trim to encircle it...lucky me!  And it fit perfectly on one of the charcuterie boards from Hobby Lobby!  My husband doesn't realize how my sale shopping really does come in hand when I'm in the mood to fully finish things...hahaha.  

I participated in a Christmas in July ornament exchange with Friendly Stitchers.  For this exchange we were to stitch an ornament for our partners and send them to them without finishing them.  You have no idea how hard that was for me...lol!!  I complain about finishing, but in all honestly, I do like the results when I'm finished.  Anyway, in true DJ fashion, I couldn't decide on a pattern for her, so I stitched two!  The first is Kitten in Santa Hat by Stoney Creek from the Summer 2o17 magazine.  Stitched on 28 count white over two.  My partner likes cats, so thought she might like this one, but then thought maybe it was to cute?  

So...I stitched another one, this was from Les Broduses Parisienne Le Grande Historie Noel #1.  I love the French patterns, they are so cute and detailed.  This was stitched on 32 count Fleur over two.  

I hope she liked them!  They were not due until the end of June, but I have a lot of stuff coming up soon and wanted to make sure they got there in time considering she lives in the UK.  I learned just yesterday that she had received them so now I can show what I sent her.  

I picked up another item I've had kitted for a while, I'm hoping to have a patriotic theme on my mantle most of the summer.  With a little luck I'll have a few new items for the summer.  This is the start of Land of Liberty by Brenda Gervais.  I was part of an exchange several years ago, and someone had stitched this for someone else.  I picked up the pattern, the fabric and specialty threads, and there it sat for years.  I have so many things kitted, I decided I should really get busy and stitch the things I have lying around.  I'm looking forward to getting this one done and fully finished.  This is stitched on 40 count Legacy over two.

And on that note, I'm off to get things picked up and start stitching!  I hope you all have a lovely day!  My plans changed a bit when I learned that there will be storms rolling through today, but stitching is always a good plan in my book!  Happy Stitching!  

Who's on a roll?

Whew....I have been on a roll lately!  I probably should take some time soon to fully finish a few things...I've actually knocked out 3 more projects since I finished Frosty Weather!  I think I know how I want to finish everything, but as I was telling Ms. Mouse today, my brain has to be in the right frame of mind.  Anyone else have that problem?  Let's hope tomorrow is that day!  

Anyway, let me show you what I've been up to...  Yesterday I finished Long May She Wave, which has been in my stash for years.  This is a lovely pattern by Blackberry Lane and I picked this up because I like patriotic pieces.  I guess I have a soft spot since DH spent 25 years serving in the Army and I was beside him for 22 of those years.  We love this country!  This is stitched on 28 count white over one.  

The next one is Poinsettia Fairy by Kathleen Berlew from the 2023 JCS Ornament Issue, it's also stitched on 28 count white over one.  I love how it came out!  

Last is The Decorating Owl by Jesse Schofield also from the 2023 JCS Ornament Issue and is stitched on 28 count black over one.  Both of these were finished today!  

It's been a productive day!  Hopefully by the next time I post they will all be fully finished, fingers crossed!  

We all had a great time over the weekend while we sat through another Orioles game against Tampa Bay...and we won!!  What a difference a few days made!  It was a wee bit warmer this time around, but we enjoyed sitting in the sun for a change (the last few times we've been to a game, it was raining!  LOL).  It will be harder for me as the weather warms up...I'm not a fan of hot weather!  But it's still fun having outings with the family!  

Well, I guess I have decisions to make tomorrow...what to stitch, what to finish, and should I take a walk around Hobby Lobby looking for a finishing idea for the Nebula.  Anybody want to join me in a stroll?  haha  I'll let you know how it all shakes out.  Until next time...Happy Stitching!