So long March, it's been fun!

Hi all! Thought I would get on here for one last post in March. Can we please slow down the progression of the year?! Spring is here and I can hear dozens of birds chirping away through my open front door. Oh and guess what? I saw my first male Cardinal yesterday! No, not the Arizona Cardinal NFL team! What a pretty bird he was. Wished I had grabbed my cellphone to take a picture but didn't.

So I have progress, a finish, and some stash. 

First, the finish. This was a UFO of a couple years ago. One of the WIPs below I ran out of floss, again!

So after ordering another skein, I put it away for a bit. I was looking through my WIP container and saw A Lady's Sachet sitting at the top with the floss and a master copy of the pattern. So I picked it up and finished it. Yay, another finish! 4 finishes in 3 months. Anyway, here it is...

I just finished stitching in my initials S and C. I had to wait though because I misplaced the whole chartpack with the alphabet pattern. I tore this house upside down and no chartpack. So off to the Internet looking for another one! I only found two, one at a ONS where, with shipping, it would've been over $17. The other was found on eBay for $12.99, postage included. But look, it's a whole kit!

It actually called for 40ct fabric which mine is not and its quite big. And see how I measured wrong, with it hugging the edge? It's going to be a problem finishing it into something. I have a round papier mâché box that will fit that.  I'll just have to finesse the thing to fit. I will probably use wool to cover the bottom portion showing a lot of fabric. So now I have this kit to make another but on 40ct! I will do it but not anytime soon. It has some of my favorite motifs on it: the crown, key, and the color purple.

I tell you, it's been a couple weeks of running out of floss for two of my WIPs. I received WDW Moonglow for Midnight Ride, stitched more moon and some of the building lights and promptly ran out of Moonglow, again! Here is the before picture...

and after...

!!! I don't know who model stitched this design, and I am using the called for count and color fabric, but it needs 3 skeins of Moonglow and 2 of Mascara. I did run out of Mascara too but luckily had more in my stash. This picture right above is the correct color of the fabric. So, I put in an order for another skein of Moonglow and because I need LizzieKate, ordered a chart and it all arrived the other day.

So I decided to get back to the Christmas Carol Sampler by the Primitive Hare. I love this thing and think I can finish it next month. Here's the before...

and after...

I got quite a bit of progress on this. Working on the bottom border with GAST Tarnished Gold, and BAM!, ran out! Just as I was getting ready to stitch Tiny Tim Crachit's hair, the little figure to the left of Scrooge. Right now he's got just the lightbulb head! Put in another order for Tarnished Gold and the first chart of the LHN Farmhouse Christmas. For now, I am building the horse and its tail. Folks, I just have the rest of that bottom border, the horse, the carriage, and more snowflakes to do, and I'm done! But between the snow and the top of the bottom border are the words Tiny Tim Crachit Ebenezer Scrooge A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I don't know if I want the words there. I'm thinking of centering A Christmas Carol in the middle with squiggly tendrils on either side with the holly berries  you see up there with Merry Christmas. We'll see what I decide. 

Stash! I am doing my best to collect a few of my favorite LizzieKate charts. Here are 4 that I bought..

I have stitched the first one before years back but I had to have it again. I am hoping to buy more LK charts in the next month or so before inventory is used up. 

I also bought a piece of Lakeside linen, a fat eighth, but forgot to take a picture. That linen traveled from Oklahoma to Phoenix, then to Peoria, a city next to Phoenix, back to Phoenix and finally up here to me. What is up with the USPS? After Whittakers' travel from Iowa and getting lost for 3 months, I am almost afraid to order anything! I have been signing up for email notifications from the USPS so I can follow where my package(s) are going. 

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Wish me luck that I don't run out of floss again, ha. 

Since Christmas Carol is almost finished, I'll keep at it. I really don't have stitching plans for April. I'll continue with this one ^ and Midnight Ride, and maybe pick up the next Souvenir de France project. I'm waiting on the next exchange announcement to come out from Terri/Dixiesamplar. It's been fun seeing everyone receiving their Spring/Easter exchange gifts.

I'm off. I want to wish a big WELCOME to followers on Bloglovin' and through Blogspot! Hope you like it here. Also, thanks for your comments; I read them all. 

Take care!

This and that, and Lost and Found

Hi all! Greetings from a blustery day here in AZ. I'm hoping this isn't the beginning of our windy season. It wreaks havoc with hairdos and allergies. Love spring around here but could do without all the wind. I'm going to stay in today. Winter visited us last week with snow, 3 inches, but it was gone in 24 hours!

I'm finally feeling better, yay! Now if I could just get myself off to bed before 11 pm, I'll be doing even better!

So I held the drawing last Saturday and just never got around to announcing the winners. The days are just whipping by and leaving me in the dust! So just two people entered the drawing-Diana and Linda, for the Heart in Hand charts. No one wanted the linen. The winners are-

           Diana for the Big Blizzard Sampler! and....

           Linda gets the Red House Sampler! 

Woohoo! Linda, I have your address in Jackson. Diana, I'll need yours. You can email me at -----with your address. I'll have the charts to you ladies in the mail by Tuesday. Thanks for playing!

Last post I started that little Shepherd's Bush kit I bought at Market day last year. I finished it...

Hope it's not too blurry. The Heart of My Heart. It's just a petite little thing. Amazing how SB manages to get so many motifs and/or flowers in such a tiny space. The kit came with the floss and fabric. It's missing buttons and I don't know if I misplaced them or they didn't come with the kit. It still looks nice without. On Lambswool linen. I made a mistake down near the sheep. There was supposed to be a flower in the field but nope, I just methodically stitched in the field! I was watching Flosstube, that's my excuse! 

Speaking of Nashville market, any of you see anything you like? I like two charts of Heartstring Samplery-Bee Pincushion and the Little House on the Prairie sampler. I read all the Laura Ingalls books when I was little. And WTN&T, of course, 2 of her charts. And a few others. As for my yearly drive to Attic Needleworks in Mesa for Market day, I may not make it this year. I don't know when Market day is though. If I go, I want mostly fabric, Lakeside linens to be exact. I also really like the Farmhouse Christmas series from LHN. I like the fabric called for too. I just know that I can't spend as much as I have in past years. We shall see what happens.

From the Lost and Found department, look who showed up!

Whittaker! I mentioned that he and his package went missing December 12th. Isn't he cute?! He arrived just last week, still packaged nicely and labeled since December 5th when I ordered him. I'd like to think that he was taking in the sights between Iowa and here, haha. There is a woman version of Whittaker, I just might have to have her.

By now I'm sure you have all heard about Lizzie Kate retiring. Sad but understandable seeing how the designer has been doing this for 20+ years. I ordered 3 charts and have at least 5 others on my wishlist. I have two LK WIPs to finish and those extra patterns that come with her mystery sampler designs. I can't imagine how high prices will go once she permanently closes shop at the end of this month. 

I have been stitching here and there. I have a 2nd job working the concession stand at a colleges' performance hall and am being kept busy whenever there's a show to work. Last Sunday, the Phoenix Symphony was playing, this past Wednesday Garrison Keillor was story telling on stage. I haven't been in the mood to stitch really but last night I finally picked something up...

Midnight Ride. I have added more floss to the moon and worried that I may need another skein of it! All the building windows get the yellow floss in them too. I have the beginnings of the banner that the witch pulls behind her and the building below. I think I might run out of the black floss too. It's either Kohl or Mascara. Here's the before...

I also wanted to show you some pfd's I found out about from a flosstuber I watching last night. Take a look...

and...

These pfd's were only $5 each! This designer and her shop SamplersAndStories are on etsy, here's a link- https://www.etsy.com/shop/SamplersAndStories

The top design, Herbal Grimoire, would look great on a tea/coffee dyed fabric and the Christmas botanicals on a pale fabric. She has a few more designs at her etsy shop but these two really caught my eye. 

You can thank me later ;)

I'm going to get back to Midnight Ride and the 3rd season of Downton Abbey. My 3 kitties are snoozing and I have enough diet Pepsi to get me through today! I put myself on a diet Pepsi diet also. I'll have a bottle every other day and try drinking more water and herbal teas in between. I was drinking at least 2 a day! Just thinking about that kind of makes me slightly sick, ugh. 

I have some new followers, Welcome! If anyone tries to go back in this blog to start from the beginning, there are lots of pictures missing. I started this blog on a PC and then it went kaput and then used pictures from Picasa web album, and then got this iPad and use an app. My pictures disappeared when Picasa became no more. 

I'm off. Take care everyone and Happy Stitching!