Bits of Patriotic

Thirteen days after my last post, I'm here for another. I hope this post finds you all well and stitching.

Today, I have 3 finishes, progress, stash, and a life update. So let's go!

First, I want to comment on a few things Carol Stitching Dreams said. I agree with you, Carol! All that driving took a bite out of my stitching before work. I woke up at 9am, took a shower, ate breakfast and got ready. Then I would sit down for a couple hours to stitch. With the nearly 1 hour drive, I couldn't really stitch for 2 hours but maybe 45 minutes and then I had to leave.

Also, Carol, the show Turn is on Roku Channel of which I have the system but also on Netflix and on their ad-free account. It's not on the ad account which is what I have and pay 8.95 a month, I believe. 

Let's move onto stitching. 

I have 2 WIPs that got some love. First is the Grace Bridges sampler by Stacy Nash...

I finished the top 3 rows of alphabets and numbers! I also stitched in a couple of letters in the 4th and 5th rows of MORE alphabets😁 I'm sure I'll pick this up again in the coming weeks. I apologize for the slight blurry-ness of my picture. Maybe it's just my eyes too. I'm needing an eye exam and new glasses soon. 

Next up is Dr Raven by Stacy Nash...

An animal cracker, the latest stitching is the black cape, and the arms/wings. The middle part is WDW Charcoal with 'buttons' and one eyelet stitch in white. I think the Charcoal area is a coat so I have more stitching of the same. Some of these animals crackers are big but this one is medium sized. 

Now my finishes!

I'm in a patriotic mood so I started AND finished 2 tiny stitches, the other finish is Christmas. Here we have Liberty Flag by LizzieKate, a freebie...

A close up shot that doesn't really show the blue in Liberty! I didn't have GAST Presidential Blue so instead I used GAST Brethren Blue. In real life the blue looks better than in my picture. I'm pretty sure the fabric I used is Country French linen by Wichelt, 32ct. In fact the next 2 finished pieces are on this same fabric. I went 1 over 2 and I think it works pretty good. It's cute and took me just 3 hours or so to finish.

Next one is Uncle Sam, one of The Littles by Bent Creek, copyright 2008!

Uncle Sam measures out to 1/2" sq. He didn't take long to stitch up, also 1 over 2. He actually looks like a Bald Eagle though! Haha! 

This next one is a Christmas ornament. I went back in my posts to see just how many ornaments I actually had so this one is my 4th, for April. This is Christmas Peace by Heart in Hand...

found in a JCS Christmas ornament magazine, I don't know which though but I copied it. All I know is it's an early issue, possibly 2003 to 2007? Same fabric as the others. I substituted the called for red for the words with another red that I cannot remember! 

Oh, a word about the John James needles that I bought! I like them! They feel good, and the best part is they're readily available😊

I'm trying to resuscitate the Christmas ornament SAL that Carol hosts every year. I now have the month of May to stitch and I'll be caught up! Easy peasy🤪 I don't have one lined up quite yet but I'm leaning heavily on this one...

From the 2003 JCS ornament issue, another copy. It's called Sleigh Bird. On 35ct it's 3 2/3" x 3 5/8" and I have several pieces of leftover linen in that count. My latest trip to the house to pack up more of my stuff, I brought home a hanging file organizer that I stuck several pdfs, freebies, and copies of stitching. The original magazines are here somewhere. I found other copies of Little by Little ornament patterns also and they're cute. 

Now we're up to my Spring Mingle stash!

I'm becoming a fan of HOD. That design I feel was a Nashville Market release. It sure is cute! The Lugana is 32ct called Gothic Mauve and I feel it'll work for the HOD chart. The backside of the fabric is lighter than the front which you can see in my picture. Halloween designs would look nice on it too. Then I snagged the tin of lotion bar. It smells wonderful.

I think that's it for stitching. 

Now a life update: I found a job here in my area! It's a 14 minute drive to work. What a relief! I basically took the first caller! Then my 1st choice job called and pending background check, I'll be hired. My background check usually takes 2 days at the most because it's squeaky clean! This job will take me 25 minutes but it's not on an interstate with huge trucks! I've decided to stick with this one until I retire. When I retire rests on when I pay off my car. Yes, I'm making payments and it's hefty. I have 2 more years to go and I'll be 64 by that time. As long as my 100 year old knees and back last me!🤣 but we'll see!

Lastly, I thought I'd show you all what kind of vegetation we have here in this river valley. We have a year round river that runs through here and ends at a reservoir that waters the entire Phoenix metropolitan area. In Arizona we don't have many year round rivers and streams because we're a desert basically. After heavy snowfall up north and lots of rains, the dry rivers run for a bit. Here's the weird vegetation...

That top photo is off a strange Prickly Pear cactus that is huge! It also blooms and then it fruits. Where I am from, the Prickly Pear cactus doesn't get that big because it's cooler there.

Next photo is another type of Prickly Pear. It's purple in places, also blooms and then fruits.

Last picture is of a Joshua Tree, I believe, or a type of one. They're pretty with the creamy colored flowers. These are mostly found in northwestern Arizona/eastern California. There they get pretty big. My mom and I once drove through a forest of these coming back from Las Vegas on AZ state highway 93 one December. I think there's a national park in California called the Joshua Tree National Park or Monument. If you go, go in the winter! That area is the Mojave desert and it gets hot hot in the summer, whew! 

What have I been watching? I just finished Hell on Wheels about the transcontinental railroad across the US. I hated the end! It just left me bummed. It's bloody to the point that when someone was going to get killed AGAIN, I'd look down! It was good but I won't watch it again. Just like Breaking Bad, I was saying things like 'shoot him!' If I was a director, my movies and shows would probably last 30 minutes!😆 After that, I decided to watch a lighter mood show/movie and that was Van Helsing, Dracula Hunter! Hahaha!

Alrighty! I believe that's the end, ladies and maybe gentlemen. Who knows what I'll get up to in my stitching. I am starting to feel that FFO bug buzzing around me and I do have time to finish my latest finishes before Independence Day arrives. So be sure to watch this space!

Until the next time, thanks for stopping by! See you in June🙋🏻‍♀️

Just stitchin'😊

Happy Sunday! Today I have more finishes that I forgot about, progress on a few things, etc. 

Let's go!

Last time I posted, I said I had 3 finishes in April but 1 of them I couldn't find. Well, I found it, in a box that had no stitchy contents in it🤦🏻‍♀️story of my life in the last month and a half😆

This is A Victorian Christmas by Samplers and Stitches...

The fabric in real life should be more gray. I think it's Confederate Grey but could be wrong. I've been slacking on labeling my linen remnants. Anyway, it's very nice. I'll turn it into a pin pillow when my finishing mood returns.

This finished WIP I forgot to show is A Bit of Spring by BBD...

I cannot, for the life of me, get a good straight picture! At least the color of the fabric is spot on and it's 36ct Patriot's Brew by R & R. She measures out to 11" x 8". 

One more finish to show is Santa's Ride from the 2019 Christmas-Winter issue of Punch Needle & Primitive Stitcher magazine...

Sorry for the awful picture. Fabric is 36ct Ale by PTP using the called for floss except for what I used for the word Christmas. It originally called for GAST Endive but I was worried it would be lost on my fabric. The sack behind Santa is Endive. So I used CCW River Rocks instead, a nice silver grey. This is the 2nd time I've stitched this. My first one I finished into a cube and gave it to my daughter for Christmas after she admired it😁 It'll be turned into a cube also. Unfortunately where I live there are no craft stores. I have 3 choices-the Hobby Lobby in my old hometown, the Michael's in the town of Prescott, or the city of Flagstaff which is 50-60 miles north of me. Ugh.

I now have 11 finishes on the year, yay!

As I promised, I started Grace Doth Abound as soon as it made its way to me. It did take a side trip to Sedona though!

I'm using 36ct Maple Bar by Cedar Creek. My picture doesn't do it justice. I have all the called for floss. 

Another project I started is for #marketmaynia. I think Jem Stitcher the flosstuber started that SAL. This is Fang and Big Eyed Gang...

His head is taking shape. I posted to IG using a 32ct linen but hated it! Two strands of floss just wasn't happening. So I found a 36ct linen called Sanibel by Tropical Stitches in my stash and it's been so much better! I'm doing 1 over 2. The fabric is a cream color with a light beige tone running throughout. Designer is Twin Peak Primitives. On Instagram I said I could do all 3 designs but that's not going to happen. They're practically full cover stitching. I want to finish them the same way as the models and using the 36ct linen, they'll be a better size to finish.

And in between all that, I stitched in a few more letters and the rest of the top border of the Grace Bridges Sampler by Stacy Nash...

She's a big girl, 15 1/4" across the top. Sooo many letters but they're small and stitch up fast.

On the stashing front, I put in an order with Lindy Stitches for needles and a Spring Mingle T-shirt. Didn't need the T-shirt but oh well,! Lol...

Here I am wearing it. Back to the needles though! I have not been able to find my beloved #28 Bohin needles! So I went out on a limb and ordered# 28 John James tapestry needles. I've never used them and haven't since receiving the package either. I still have a few Bohin to use. If I went through all my bagged WIPs, I could find a few more. I also got this door hanger from Lindy Stitches...

Lol!

It's been the Spring Mingle virtual event all this weekend and I attended my class with Cathy and Mr HOD of Hands on Designs yesterday. Unfortunately I've misplaced all my floss of the Dragon fly project. It's a wonder that I get anything done with this brain of mine! It called for a few of those newer DMC floss with the 2 digit numbers like 08 or 21 and they are lost with all the other DMCs😆 The video was to finish the class piece together and it looks fairly easy to do a octagonal shape. 

Side note: Everytime I see the doc for labs, they say my thyroid numbers are still good🤷🏻‍♀️I'm not so sure about that!

I also hit the shopping hall at the Mingle and bought 3 things. A lotion bar, a HOD physical chart, and a piece of dyed Lugana. Even if I had a lot more money to buy more, there were items that sold out within a few minutes of opening. I'm happy with my purchases though. I'll show them on the next post.

That's it for the stitching.

As I'm typing out this post, Outlander is on the TV. I have Wi-Fi again and I signed up for Netflix and Starz. Outlander on Netflix goes to 7 seasons and on Starz it was the 8th and final season and I watched the last episode last night. I won't say what happened just in case some of you haven't seen it. I read the first book in 1997 and have since done several rereads so the characters I see in my mind stay different than the TV actors. I wasn't happy with the ending though. I don't know why but it seems like the last few episodes of an ending TV show or movie feel so rushed. 

I've caught back up with the Great British Baking Show, Outlander, and a few other shows. So much so that I fell behind in my flosstube watching. I knew that when I got WiFi back, no one could get me out of my home!! I still have to work and eat though!

I'm saving the show Turn for the month of June before our 250th birthday. It's about the Revolutionary War and the men where the term 'Turn coat' was coined for a traitor. It's a pretty good show.

I am still driving back and forth for my job. It's getting tiresome and with the price of gas, it's expensive. I've applied for jobs here in the Verde but haven't heard back from anyone yet. A gas station near me right off the interstate has gas for $5.19 a gallon! In town at a Maverick convenience store, the gas is 4.55 a gal. 

Temperatures were pretty warm last week here. Last Monday and Tuesday it was 100 and 102, respectively. I have AC now so bring it!! Haha!

We've come to the end of this here post. What am I stitching on as I watch Outlander. I don't know but I may pick up Grace Bridges and finish a row of letters or two. 

Thank you for your comments on the last post. Living in my new place is getting easier, the views are pretty. If I didn't have to drive so much for work, I'd go on a few small road trips. I'm not too far from Indian ruins near Flagstaff which is much cooler than where I live. It's a whole 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix. I love stitching though and it keeps me busy being at home.

Take care and we'll see you 2 weeks I hope😊