Stuff

Hi all! I'm finally back on time for a change! Since I basically stitched on 2 projects in the last 3 weeks I wasn't sure I'd have anything to talk about; but I actually do.

First, let's talk about the weather...Yikes! It's been pretty warm around here. This past week, we saw 91 and 92 degrees. Today it's 89. We don't get this warm until the last part of May and into June. I'm scared for what's in store for us this summer.

That was nothing compared to Phoenix this past Friday. I had to drive down for an ultrasound. I got there a whole half hour early, so I sat in my car. I gave it up at 9:30 am, starting to sweat! I have a clean bill of health, just got to watch that pre-diabetic condition that has been the story of my life 🤷🏻‍♀️ I've been knocking on that door for forever and only once have crossed the threshold. I have a ferocious sweet tooth so there's that!

After that appointment I decided to go to Attic Needlework in Mesa. The route I usually take gets me there within a half hour upon reaching Phoenix but this time I was practically in the middle of Phoenix so I had to do Maps to get there. However my phone wasn't cooperating! After a half hour of driving on those freeways, I pulled off and called my daughter to use her Maps app and direct me there. I was just 10 minutes away, lol. Anyway, here's what I bought (Carol, I know you've seen this picture already)..

The chart by Summerhouse Stitchworkes I've admired since it came out for market, the Christmas chart, the silk for a project that I've been slowly gathering silks for, and the 32ct vintage country mocha that I thought was 36ct, ugh. I'll still use it. When I left Phoenix it was 104. Here's the thing though, 104 is not hot! Not to Phoenicians or the rest of us who have been in hotter temps😅

It was still nice to get home!

Enough chatter, let's see what I've been stitching.

For the first 2 weeks of March, I started the 3rd Christmas ornament for Carol Stitching Dream's SAL. I decided on Sweets for Santa by HOD...

He's stitched on Latte by Zweigart I think, 32ct using most of the called for floss. Truthfully, all the stitching had me rethinking my choice! It took all of the 2 weeks! I'm glad I did though because it's wonderful. It's big though. I think I'll need a 4" sticky board round to FFO it. For April, I'll start the 2nd in this series through Patreon. I might as well stitch them all, right?!

WIPS

After I finished Santa, I started back on A Bit of Spring by BBD. I won't show it here but it's on Instagram which #azcampis is my handle there. I stitched on it for a week.

My next WIP is A Victorian Christmas by Samplers and Stitches...

I'm so close to a finish! Still needing the rest of her dress, a rectangular cartouche with Christmas in it underneath her, white floss for the letters and filled in with WDW Charcoal. I have changed how I react to a near finish. Before I'd get tunnel vision and give myself a big headache getting to the finish line! Now, I will set her down tonight and stitch on a WIP that did not get packed.

Market has come and gone and my order has arrived from Garon Stitchery. A conservative purchase. We're renting a u haul next weekend for my move to my new place. When I saw the book by Mrs Kogut, I emptied my pre-order list of everything else and added the book. I'm not me if I don't buy a Halloween chart! Both that and that coveted Christmas chart from Shakespeare's Peddler had to come home to me.

So, the first pattern is this one...

It takes 36ct Vintage Country Mocha, as mentioned up above. On 36ct the size would be 8 x 9 7/8. I. On 32ct it's 9 x 11 1/8. Nothing earth shattering, I just like shrinking patterns down🤷🏻‍♀️ it's been kitted up but since all of my WIPs have been packed and I can't borrow the missing floss, I'm kind of in limbo! I'll start it once I get settled into my place.

I believe that's it! I did all my chores yesterday so I can just sit and stitch for the rest of today. It's back to work tomorrow after having 4 days off for Spring Break. It's going to be rough, lol.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope your wintry weather begins to taper off soon! See you in April🙋🏻‍♀️

Hello March!

 Hello! So I tried really hard to post on the last day of February but I got my dates mixed. Then my phone was giving me grief. Here we go but it might be a short one🤷🏻‍♀️

In February I had one more finish and that's this cutey...

How cute is this scaredy cat?! For once the color of the fabric shows up right! On 30ct Carrot using the called for floss. I must admit that sewing on his eyes was a struggle. The model on the chart shows his 'eyes' looking up but not so much on mine. The color used on the cat is WDW Old Purple Paint or Old Faded Purple 🤪 not sure of which but I almost used the whole skein! What an adorable design. I have more of Val's Stuff charts because they're too 🥰cute.

I don't think I started anything new but I stitched on 4 maybe 5 items. On the Facebook group Stitching 911 (I also follow her flosstubes), Stacy announced a challenge. It was to find household items in your house and take a picture of said item with your stitching. So I joined! I have pictures for a few of the things so let's take a look.

I pulled out Summer in the Country by Stitches Through the Years, an Etsy shop. Here's what I have..

I stitched in 'hope' in the text, moved down on that left border and stitched in 2 and a half sheep. I used 36ct Parchment, non Zweigart linen. I think we all know how flimsy it can be. It's a good sized sampler. It's pretty though.

Next up are the dancing pumpkin people at the disco, Halloween Night Fever, a freebie by The Stitcherhood...

I stitched the rest of Her torso, on the left, and got to her belt. The Man pumpkin requires more stitching than Her. Then I moved on to....

Oops, I forgot her name but it's by Atelier Soed Idee. I stitched the rest of the big flower and wanted to stay stitching but I had to move on.

The others have only a few stitches in them. Because I got my dates wrong I had to stitch on 6 pieces before the end of February at 10pm Arizona time, on Saturday! Stacy would pick a winner from all those who found the 10 household items and the prize was a bunch of stitchy things. However I am sick and tired of Americans vs Americans (I cannot watch this happening), I have terminated my Facebook account so I don't know who won the goodies. I miss the stitch groups I was in though.

 I went in and saved important pictures to my phone. I warned friends and family that I was doing this. Yes, Instagram has nearly the same content about politics and such, but I'm ignoring it. With Facebook it was every other post that was politically based.

Back to the fun stuff!

Oh I did have a new start...

I started Jane Southward by GigiR. Ever since I saw this being stitched in a, you got it, Facebook group, I had to have it! Here's where I got to...

I'm using the called for 40ct WDW Cocoa and the over dyed cottons. It was the big chunky pink flowers that did me in! It's a huge piece even on 40ct. 

If anything, I'll save money not being in Facebook!😁

That's it for the stitching.

My daughter and I went to Phoenix this past Thursday for my doc appointment. It was 72 or 73 degrees and it was so nice but windy. We think we know what's going on with me and it's easily taken care of with some supplements but I have to go back for a gastric ultrasound to rule out anything else. Aanndd they're talking a colonoscopy, ugh! My blood pressure has shot back up and I'm back on meds for that. Getting old is not for the weak, I'm telling ya!😂

It's Market time!

All I preordered was 1 book and 2 charts. The book is Hello Snow (Winter?) by Theresa Kogut and the charts are from Shakespeare's Peddler, that's it! I could've done more damage but thought I'd get the charts when they're released further down the line.

What did you all preorder or were you behaving?!

 

I think this is pretty much it! I need to stitch more on my HOD Christmas ornament, it's one of the pieces with 4 stitches in it, lol.

Take care, stay safe! We'll meet again in 2 weeks...hopefully🙋🏻‍♀️

Stitch!

 

I don't know if we can call it awesome!🤷🏻‍♀️ somewhere someone said they were done with winter. We haven't even had a winter! 

Instead of the groundhog, Arizona has Agua Fria Freddy who is either a rattlesnake or a Gila Monster. The Gila Monster is a large beaded lizard that lives in the deserts south of me. They're protected and they're venomous. I guess when they bite they will not let go. I didn't think to get a picture of one!

Take a look at what's going on in my yard...

Yes, those are flowers, lol. This happens in April not February! As I've said before, Mom Nature has gone crazy!

Shall we do stitching? Let's go!

I have 2 finishes and 4 pieces that I've been working on.

Here's my finish...

Stacy Nash's bonus pattern that I've called Gingerbread Houses. I finished this on the 27th of January. The big house on the right was not bad at all! It's just lovely! My plan is to finish it as a pillow with either pompom or chenille trim the same color as the floss which was WDW Parchment. I forgot to include what's left of the floss...1 strand! This design took almost the whole skein. 

Next up is the ornament SAL that Carol leads...

I finished the moose at the top right. I measured them for round sticky board and it'll take 4" rounds. They'll be kind of big. I have a 4 ft green Christmas tree, artificial of course, that I'd like to hang these on. I have another moose finish that is from a JCS Christmas ornament mag that I will add to the tree. I might stitch a couple more to fill the tree.

WIPs 

Here we have A Bit of Spring by BBD...

I've added the F, G, T, and the Y. I'd like to be done this month but there's a lot to the letters. 

Next is...

A Victorian Christmas by Samplers and Stitches. Just last night alone while watching flosstubes I stitched in the tree and its pot (ghosty) on the right. It needs hanging flowers now in red. Maybe I can finish this before the 28th which is just 12 days away🫣

Last but not least is my foray back into Halloween! I missed it, lol...

He's coming right along! I'm just moseying along through my WIPs and decided to see if I could finish him. It's close!

Because I got Meowt out, I want to start this chart...

So gorgeous 😍 I could graph 1776-2026 in there somewhere to be my 250 year celebration sampler.

Lately I've been signing up for Patreon accounts. I'm with Hello From Liz Mathews already but jumped on the HOD Christmas ornament Patreon; for tier 1. I'm sure you all have seen the first ornament...

So pretty. I signed up in November for an autoshjp from Barefoot Needleworks? Not sure if that's their name. The autoship is for a new series of charts from Country Cottage Needleworks. Here they are...

I am missing one. The 4th chart is on its way soon. Because I finished Frosty Forest a couple years ago, I'd like to stitch another series onto one piece and these charts are it! Oh here's that lost chart...

I also might stitch this instead for March...

This would be the 4th in the series of White Christmas by HOD. I have 3 stitched already. We shall see🤔

So the 29th of January was my bday. My boss gave me a Visa debit card and I promptly spent it at Primrose Cottage!...

The Toadstool Stitches chart I found on a stash selling site. It was an exclusive to their Sip and Stitch mystery boxes.

I'm feathering my nest, folks! When I move I'll have to clamp down on spending. 

I'm just about done! On March 6th, I have to drive down to Phoenix to see a doctor. Back in January, I ended up with a pain in my gut, front side, and my gut would just swell up. It hurt and I couldn't sleep on my right side or flat on my back because of it. I don't know about your area but around here doc appointments are far out! When the receptionist said March, I thought in my head Well I could be dead by then! When the pain began, I read that soda pop with its carbonation could create bloat in your stomach. So could swallowing air🤷🏻‍♀️ so I lowered my soda intake down to 2 12 oz bottles of Coke Zero a week and started drinking a fiber powder and water drink at night before bed. It has helped as I can now sleep on my right but whatever it is, it's still there. It also leaves me with back soreness on that side. I have sciatica on my left side and my right side has never ached before like it's doing now. My mother died at 49 years of age with renal carcinoma so it's best I get this thing checked.

I believe I'm done. Thanks for your comments last post. Honeybee, I tried to comment on your post from today. I just wanted to say that I agree, stitchy blogs have a place on the net judging by those of us still hanging on!😂

Take care everyone! I'll leave you with this to peruse 👇🏼👇🏼

Lost and found

Helloooo! I haven't really been lost, just sick, again! This time around I lost my sense of smell and nearly taste. A week later, I can now smell again but things taste strange🤷🏻‍♀️ lots of congestion still.

It's been a weird winter and January! For once this month has flown by. Probably because I wasn't looking!🫣

However, I have been stitching, so let's look at that!

I started out the year stitching 4 projects, 1 new start and 3 WIPs, and 2 are now a finishes. I joined Stitching Dreams Carol and her 12 ornaments SAL and finished Christmas Eve, from a JCS ornament issue. I don't have the date of that magazine but if you'd like to know, let me know in the comments.

All the colors are darker than IRL. I used a 40ct linen from Heartstrings Samplery during Jingle Ball. I like to look for unique colored fabric from the designers shops. This fabric was for one of her designs. It's similar to Chives from GAST. One down and 11 more to go. I don't have February's picked out yet but I have one in mind.

Next are my WIPs. Martha Richardson is a finish!!!

I'm not sure of the name of my fabric but it's 36ct and definitely a PTP. Isn't she something?! That mansion is H U G E! I saw someone talking about this sampler and she thought that's a lake with a sailboat on it. It does look like a sailboat. Below that is the large wreath stitched in Otter Creek by GAST which is now my favorite color. If you look at it under good light, there are dk greens, med greens, and what I thought was blue. When I first looked at this chart, I thought the wreath was just a bunch of stitches but no, there are flowers on the top and bottom. I love it! It's an adaptation of an antique and adapted for Needlework Press. 

The next WIP is A Bit of Spring by BBD and in their Ooh La La book...

I finally turned the corner at top right and could cut off the extra fabric getting in my way! Sorry for the wonky-ness. On 36ct Patriot's Brew by R & R. I think I'm going to carry this into February, this and the next piece...

The bonus pattern from Stacy Nash. I wish I could get the correct color of the fabric😕 anyway, I'm stitching on this to the end of this month as long as my WDW Parchment floss lasts! It's coming along nicely. Only thing is I wished I had done a better job placing it on the fabric. That tall house on the right threw me off so I started in the middle. I could've had some extra fabric to start something else on. Oh well!🙂

I'm liking this little plan I have to work on the Christmas ornament and then stitching on WIPs. For finishing the 2 pieces, I'm going to have a new start in February besides the ornament and it's also from the Ooh La La book by BBD.

Stay tuned!

That's it for the stitching. I may have had more to talk about but I can't remember!😂the brain fog is real, folks!

The sun is shining but it's about 43 degrees out. Nowhere near what those of you out East are dealing with. Here's to keeping warm and safe and with stitching on your lap!

See you in February🙋🏻‍♀️