Where was I?

Oh yeah...I remember now...I was going to write about our annual trip to St. Michaels...but then, well...life got in the way!!  Gee, I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I last posted.  Well, I have been kinda busy....

So, would you like to see what folks were working on during our annual retreat?

 These little characters were needlepoint pieces that were finished off as these adorable little decorations.  I think if you click on the picture you'll see a bit bigger picture so you can see them better.

And here is a picture of all of us.  It was great to see our friend, Ms. P, who we don't get to see too often.  It was a great weekend, full of laughter and stitching, what a great combination!!

I've been stitching here and there, it's been kind of hit and miss.  I did take a week long trip to go visit my Mom in New York.  I didn't get much stitching done there.  She kept me hopping!!

Once I got back, we had another stitch day with the lovely Ms. Astrid.  I actually stayed with her for a couple of days.  I think her ultimate goal was to give me a break (she knows how busy I've been and how tired I am) and I was able to finish this needlepoint piece I started a while ago.  It was such a joy to stitch, and though I'm happy for a finish, I'll miss stitching on it!

I finished another of the Garden Journal Series on the last day of May.  

I put a few stitches in Aurora Cabin, but I feel I'm falling terribly far behind if I'm going to finish before the year is out.

I finished the Little House piece I was doing that included three of the Hometown Series she was designing.  I thought this came out so cute!!

 

Here are the biscornus from the exchange I signed up for.  Roz made the first one shown here.  She knew I loved the color purple...isn't it just lovely?  And below the two pictures of the one she made me, is the top of the one I made for her.

 

  

I've been stitching some on a Round Robin I'm getting ready to start in September.  I'vve done the border and the first of the series.  This is a quick stitch and I hope the other ladies in the group will enjoy stitching on it!

I've also finished stitching my part on another RR I'm participating in right now.  I stitched February, first because it was my Grandmother's birth month (and she is the one who taught me to stitch) and also because I love the color purple.

I should be posting in a week or so for the gifted gorgeousness (I have stitched my piece for this already, but will wait till the 15th to post) so I'll see you back here then!  Happy Stitching!

Gifted Gorgeousness...a day late and a dollar short!!

Well, here I am....a little bit late, but...I have a good reason!  LOL!!

So I'll get right to the GG for this month...and I can't quite show it to you yet.  I promise as soon as the recipient receives the gift (which should go in the mail tomorrow) I will show you the top.  Friendly Stitchers yahoo group is having an exchange.  My partner is really quick and hers arrived in the mail over the weekend, while I was away.  I finished hers up over the weekend, so I will only show you the bottom of the finished biscornu that I made for her.  You will have to wait a bit to see the top.

I also made an afghan for my Mom.  It was supposed to arrive to her by Christmas.  Unfortunately I hit a road block, only mental, in finishing it for her.  BUT...I made myself finish her afghan before I did any fun stitching over the weekend, so here is her finished afghan.  I loved this because it almost looks quilted, but it is indeed crocheted.  It was a MONSTER to put together, and probably took more hours to sew the over 200 squares together than it did to crochet them all!  I'm so glad it's over, and, Mom, if you ever want another afghan, it will NOT be one I have to sew together!!!!!

If you want to know more about the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL, you can find more information about it here:  http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.com/p/gifted-gorgeousness-sal.html

This sampler was a SAL hosted on this blog : http://www.tresorsdeboitesacouture.fr/
I received the last page about a week before I went on this stitching retreat, so had to finish it while I was away.  I guess it could be considered a GG as it was a freebie offered on her blog.  It has since been taken down and is now for sale in her shop.  

I've thrown my hat into the needlepoint ring.  I heard about this design on the Stitchers of Wiehenburg Cross Stitch & Needlepoint Facebook group and just had to stitch it!  I'm nearly done, just a few more...hundred...squares in the background to fill in.  I loved stitching on this!

I also saw a picture of a grouping of the "Hometown Series" from Little House Needleworks and just had to stitch it.  This is the train station, the carolers and the church all stitched together.  Nealy finished, but not quite.  LOL

I also finished up this 15 sided biscornu that I finished stitching quiet some time ago.  I lacked the courage to get it together, so while I was away this weekend, I was determined to finish it up!  I found this freebie on the internet...you can find it here:  http://gittas-kathrin.blogspot.com/2011/04/15-squares-expand-to-18.html  

I guess that's all I have for now.  I will try to post again soon, but I'm headed up to visit my Mom and deliver her afghan.  Hope she likes it!

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!  

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...

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!