Maynia finishes and progress, Road Trip

Hi all! Hope things are going well where you're at. 

Picture heavy so get comfy!

First up are my 2 Maynia finishes. I only did 17 days but my plans crashed and burned because of the blahs and a road trip. Up first is Stars and Hearts by Cross the Lilliebridge..

How do you like my French knots? Just stitches as I can't do French knots. I rarely do patriotic stitching and thought it was time to. Bowls or dough bowls of holiday stitching are all the rage on FB and Flosstube right now!

My 2nd finish is Oh Blarney! by the Sunflower Seed..

A fast stitch on mystery fabric with GAST floss. I don't know how I'll FFO this.

I managed to get some progress on a few things. First is Halloween Revelry on 40ct which is why it's taking awhile. It's my daytime only-with-readers-and-lamp project!..

I still have to fill in the kitty eyes at the top with that yellow or orange. I last stitched in the start of the witches hat. 

Next is A Bee in Your Bonnet by Summerhouse Stitchworkes..

The flower below Bonnet is all I stitched.

I think that's it, well, some other things I put in a few stitches on and not worth a picture. I am, however, enjoying this one..

The fabric is Saltmarsh green, 30ct I think, which is why that pumpkin is not going to be Itty Bitty! Stitching in hand because the fabric is stiff.

I'm horrible with sticking with a plan and this Maynia did not work for me like a lot of the other people who can stitch and put up pictures on Stitch Maynia. I'm a rebel! Anyway, I'm glad to get back to my WIPs if my mojo cooperates! 

So onto the road trip!

I had waited two years for the Dressing Downton Abbey museum exhibit to reach this side of the U.S. and for the last two or three months it has been in Anaheim, CA. Driveable from AZ for sure. So my daughter and I loaded up on the 9th and drove the 6 hours to Anaheim. Our motel was right across the street from Disneyland but we didn't go. At $105.00 a pop per person, it wasn't in the cards. Besides, we already had plans. So this exhibit was featuring the clothing worn on set of Downton Abbey, my favoritest show, among a few others. Here are some pictures I took..

Our tour guide told us all the clothing was made to specifications of the actors and actresses sizes. I forget their names but the actresses who play Lady Cora and Lady Mary are quite small! A few of the clothing where Lady Rose came out in London were vintage. No flash was allowed and the lighting was low. We spent a couple hours going display to display. We left and found us a pizza place and then back to our room to relax. The next day was open for whatever.

You probably don't know but I was raised in Los Angeles from 2 days old to 9 years. I was born here in AZ though and my dad drove here and picked us up and drove back to LA. We thought about trying to find the old neighborhood but decided to check out Hollywood and Rodeo Drive, instead. We walked up Hollywood Blvd. to see the Chinese theater and the stars in the block. They are everywhere but I don't pay attention because nowadays they just put anyone on a star! People like Jennifer Anniston, etc. I'm sorry but what has she done?! Lol. We stopped and had lunch at a wing place, dessert at a Ghirardelli chocolate place to sit and people watch at the front window. Then we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax museum! So cool! Here are some pics. My favorite is Angelina Jolie!..

They were all pretty creepy! Beside each 'person' was props like a boxing robe and gloves so you could act like you were doing something. My daughter put on the robe and gloves and was about to knock out Rocky Balboa..

Haha. 

So we had a good time. After that, we drove around in Bel Air and saw fancy houses and fancy cars like Maseratis, BMW, Porsches, and such. Lots of black cars there and we fit right in with my black Honda Civic! Next up we hung around at Santa Monica beach and before we left the next day, spent a couple hours at Newport Beach..

I wouldn't get in because I'm scared of drowning but I walked along and collected shells. We had fun but it was nice to get home! 

That's all she wrote! I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting to talk about other stuff but my brain is misfiring. 

I'll continue on with my sweetie Peetie pumpkin because it's going fast. After that, I believe I'll get back to Jack's Bash or Vintage Stars. I'm still feeling blah so I may not.

Thanks for stopping in everyone. Appreciate your comments as usual! Take care!

Stuff

Hello! I'm back with two FFO's, a WIP finish, and more.

FFOs-This first one is Batty and me, I think, by Keslyn's, made into a small cube..

I had the bow and the footies on the wrong side of this, forgetting that the bat is upside down! Luckily, the bow is held in with pins and the footies came off really easy. I found that nice black wired ribbon at Joanne's and I tried to make it look like the top of a tombstone. If I could get out of control on my FFO'ing, it would be hoarding ribbons and trim! I saw so many gorgeous trims at Joanne's. 

My next one is A Sprig of Holly from the magazine Primitive Punchneedle and Needlework, Winter 2017 I think..

I stuffed this to make it lay somewhat flat so the design shows up well. Added that batik fabric on top and bottom and for the back. Added a white pom pom, the aged bell, and red burlap-y ribbon and the white trimmed ribbon for the hanger. Love how it turned out.

And my WIP finish, yay!..

This is Halloween Quaker by From the Heart NeedleArt. I used the called for 30ct Straw linen and most of the floss except for a DMC substitution. Back story! I lost my stitching bug/mojo after my last post. I did not pick up a needle for 5 or 6 days and for me that's unusual! The two FFOs are the only stitch related things I did. Walking back and forth from my craft table to the ironing board, I kept looking at the Halloween Quaker half in its project bag. So last Sunday, I picked this up and just finished it this morning. My mojo/bug is back with a vengeance! Haha. I made a mistake when I started this Quaker. The black row at the top was to be stitched every other with a middle stitch. As you can see, I filled the whole line up except for the two empty diamonds on the ends. It was too late to frog when I discovered it. So the last band is done the same as the top. Fudging at its finest! I love the colors on this. The fabric should be darker than the picture shows.

I'm doing the Maynia on FB tomorrow. You can start how many new starts in May or half WIPs or whatever. I have new starts lined up and WIPs for 17 days for 2017. Here's my first three..

That top picture is Happy Owlidays from Barbara Ana from one of the cross stitch Christmas books, you know. Since I rarely stitch for the 4th, I decided on the left design on the Cross the Lilliebridge chart and the ornament WIP called Merry Moose Wishes from a JCS ornament issue. Here is what it should look like..

Unfortunately, I didn't stitch on my Frosty Forest at all this month. I think the house that is in the next block is freaking me out! I like stitching houses but there is something about that house, lol!

That's it gals and guys! It's been cool in my corner of the world. Had some crazy winds for awhile there and my allergies were horrible. Swollen eyes, big thick head. It was awful. Almost no wind today.

Thanks everyone for commenting! I read them all. I miss responding to everyone but it seems that when I attach an email to my blog, I get hit with a huge amount of spam emails. I don't get that so for now this is how I have to do it. 

Have a great week and stitch on! 

Happy Easter! In which Jack makes an appearance and more

Hope you're all doing great on this fine Spring day and enjoying the traditions that Easter brings!

Here we are halfway through April already. Just crazy! I have progress to show, a finish, new stash, an FFO, and something different this time around.

I think I picked up Jack the last week of March and stitched him until the Friday that the Halloween SAL, never mind, I'm getting my times confused, just like I've been these past weeks. So anyway, here is Jack before..

This is Jack's Bash by PSS and here is where I'm at now below..

I hope it's not blurry on your side. It would help if I put my glasses on! I love this. See Jack there? And see the skulls in the black stitching in the urns? I'm not sure if those are flowers or globe lights. So I've made my decision on how I'm stitching the verse, (drum roll, please)-full 1 over 1! I hemmed and hawed about doing tent over 1. Either way is going to be intense! In the end, though, I decided the verse deserved to be noticed. Paulette Stewart has said before that she makes up a lot of the verses that go on her designs. So there we go. I can't wait to get back to this. I know I'll have it done by Halloween.

Umm, what's next? I have a finish. Last post I mentioned doing the Buttercream Frosting sampler for a SAL that I joined in FB. Here she is..

A tad dark but at least the lighter stitching shows up! As I was stitching this, I kept thinking that I should've searched for a darker light floss. Finished up it doesn't look too bad and I just noticed I left out a stitch on that berry near the bottom of the cake stand. Ugh. Stitching the cake and the doily took up some time. I started it on the 1st and just finished it a couple days ago. It's been in my stash since 2007 so I'm glad it's finished.

Speaking of the Halloween SAL, here is how the first section will or should look..

And my start..

32ct Abracadabra linen from Ship's Manor. I'm doing 1 over 2. I like the coverage so far. I'll pick this up after I post this. E.A. Poe approves!

Stash! Just one chart and a few of the floss needed. I saw this announced on FB and had to get it..

This is based on a semi autobiography (not sure if it's auto or biography!) of the authors' grandmother or great who came from Texas I think, in a wagon to Southern Arizona. It's a great trilogy with the first book called These Is My Words which I read the first two in the series, part low key love story, part strong woman historical. Author is Nancy Turner. Calls for Lambswool linen but I think I'll use something else. All the Lambswool I ever bought I could use as a frisbee! I like the linen but not the stiffness and the weird stuff they put on it.

Here's my FFO..

Merry by PSS. I sewed on the chenille trim. Not bad considering I usually glue trim onto everything! Haha. Nice and puffy. Then I added the wire ribbon with a button through it. I'm calling this my Christmas ornament for April. I'm keeping up!

Yesterday I tried my hand at a project bag and this cute Saguaro pillow with big pom poms. This pillow took me 4 hours to put together! Ended up with a headache after!

Please ignore my messy craft table! I'm trying to think of an easier way to sew these. The huge pom poms make it hard to sew. What I did was first machine sew the pom pom to one piece of fabric and then I took the second fabric and carefully sewed it onto the first piece. It's cute. I found these on Pinterest and just cut out a pattern on wax paper using my imagination. I have another Southwestern fabric and red pom pom that I bought and since I'm a glutton for punishment, I will tackle that one next weekend. We'll see. I could always glue the pom poms on! 

Here is my project bag..

I used cotton batting inside and I think that was too thick for my poor sewing machine. As you can see, I didn't sew the flap at all because my 'new' sewing machine was laboring through all 6 layers on the sides. I don't remember my old machine having that much trouble. I'll have to break out my owners manual for the new one and see how I can fix that.

Alrighty! I feel like I was quite chatty on this post! Don't know what it is, exhaustion or my early morning trip to the laundromat because my washer sprung a leak. At least my dryer works fine. If it ain't one thing, it's another:(

I splurged on a set of all 8 Harry Potter movies and at the beginning of Deathly Hollows right now. Still addicted to Flosstube also and if I can find a way to film, I may do a Flosstube myself! I did some test videos but my iPad ran out of space after 10 minutes and I really don't want to empty my iPad of everything I have on it. So I'll see if I can do something on my laptop. We shall see. I found that I don't mind talking at a red button! I'm normally an introvert but it felt nice. I think the attraction is no one wants to hear about my stitching, namely my family and friends. I have all of you and I'm glad I do. 

Take care everyone! Please have an extra slice of Easter ham for me!

Winner, exchange goodies, progress

Hi all!

We have a winner for the needles. After doing the folded up paper-in-the-hat routine for two names, I grabbed one of them with Linda's name on it. Linda, you are the winner! I will contact you for your mailing address. Congrats!

Our Easter/Spring exchange run by Teri of the Dixiesamplar has ended and my partner and I have received our goodies. Here is what I sent to Augusta..

Minus the Easter ribbons though! I don't know what it is with these exchanges but I always seem to forget to pack something and those ribbons didn't make the trip (smacking forehead). She liked everything I sent. Here is the chart I used for the cube..

Augusta likes blue so I changed the color of the flowers to blue. It turned out nice.

Here is what I got from Nancy..

As you can see I broke into the chocolate minis already! All of the chocolate was gone in two days! Great exchange. I love everything I received. The LHN chart with the DMC's and that wonderfully framed huge rabbit! The chocolate though arrived melted and they went into the refrigerator right away. The risk of sending chocolate to Arizona in the spring when it's warmer than usual!

I stitched up the latest Frosty Forest block in two days..

The bare area above the fawn is for a button. I finally paid attention to where some of these buttons go. I decided to not let this go into the UFO pile, it's too cute.

After that last block I picked up Vintage Stars..

The latest additions are that big reddish motif with the darker stitching, the half motif on the edge, and the filled up areas in the lighter beige motif next to YZ. Here's the chart showing the other motifs I have yet to stitch..

On some of my earlier posts about this design I mention how the silks arrived in a little bag with no way to identify what was what. The yellowish stitching in the big top motif is nothing like what I used in my version. As a matter of fact, in this baggie there was no yellowish silk like in the model! The two reddish silks are called Brick and Russet. I think the two small identical motifs below the alphabet were supposed to be Brick and the large one I just stitched was supposed to be Russet. I'm pretty sure I got them mixed up! Ugh. When you have silks called Taupe Range, and Dk Mouse, it's anybody's guess what motif gets stitched with what! It's a keeper though and I'll have enough silks to finish it up.

I am putting Vintage away for a bit. I got a headache from it last night and realized I don't have to work on a WIP to finish it, just get some progress made. I'll pick it back up when I get the motivation to do more motifs! 

Jack's Bash by PSS is going on the snaps after I get some housework done today.

Here's that Buttercream Frosting Sampler design that I'm doing for a SAL on April 1st..

Is that cute?! I'm using 36ct Parchment and man, that Parchment fabric looks so much different than what I have bought before. It's super pretty though with the subtle vanilla and pinkish blotches. It's going to be a fun stitch. On 36ct, the design should be 4 1/2" x 6 3/4". At the bottom of this printout it says 2007. That is how long it's been in my stash. That's the beauty of these SALs on Stitch Maynia on FB. There are a lot and joining them has me going through my stash and picking out projects that have been there for months or years. 

One last photo of springtime in the desert of Arizona..

The flowers are called Brittlebrush or bush, along with a wild Burro! No doubt a descendant of burros used during the early days of mining. 

Okay, no more pictures of springtime! Pictures in the summer are like sitting next to a bbq grill and watching the heat waves come off it!

I think this is it! Oh, by the way, my header picture is of my hometown of Prescott. It still gets warm here, hot if you ask me. Last summer the highest temp we reached was 99. That's hot!

Take care, everyone and welcome to the new followers on Bloglovin'. Hope you enjoy it here!

Happy Dancin'!

Does anyone say Happy Dance for finishes anymore? Well, let's bring it back!

But, first, how's everyone doing? Hope those of you back east who got all the snow are dug out. It's acting like its Spring here. Door is open and the sun is shining, just glorious.

I have a couple huge finishes, one a WIP for over 3 years, and a recent start, and an ornament finish. First is Blackwater Hollow by Stacy Nash. I had to go back in my blog to see when I started this and it was 2014 when I put needle to fabric..

Do any of you get so tired of a long-time WIP and just want it done? Well, this is the one for me. As per the chart, I used 30ct Linen or Parchment, 1 over 2. I went into marathon mode to get this done. And you know what? I love it. I sprinkled a coffee/water mix on this to get the blotches. I wasn't too sure about 1 over 2 as it is pretty sparse. I also stitched the horse the wrong color and by the time I noticed she was completely stitched, so I left it. That black amorphous blob on the fence at left is supposed to be a bird as the one charted is huge; it is staying! Below the fence was a black upside down diamond border and the name and a date stitched but I left it all off. Not so much wanting to be done but I thought it looked better without. Whew! This thing is big, 12" high. Today, I stitched in 2017 and tried to put my initials in some of the blank areas near the house but I was just making a mess of it. So here it is in all it's glory and I'm a happy camper!

My next finish is the Spooked Mystery Sampler by LizzieKate..

Woohoo! On my last post I said if I tried I could have it finished that week. Well, I had it done two days after! My favorite block is the last because of the house. I'm not sure what that green thing is in the kettle next to the house. I think it's either a huge toad or a green ghost. It does have eyes! I ironed it and added all the buttons and beads. You can sort of see a bead or two sparkle in the quilt motifs in the first and last block. I love that Ale fabric from PTP. Also, I love the lighter portion in the upper right of the house. It almost looks like fog or like the moon is behind the house and the glow from it shows. Glad it's done. 

My last finish, Merry Christmas by the Little Stitcher...

So cute. The fabric is vintage mocha I believe, dyed on this side but just one color on the other side. 

All these finishes will come in handy for finishing credit at Stitch from Stash because I went to Market day at the Attic and did a little damage there, not bad though. After that, I stopped at Chik fil A!

Hope it's not blurry at your end. Vintage Birds at the top left because I have Vintage Stars that is a WIP, and silks at the bottom for it. Chessie and Me, love the house with the satin stitched roof, Lucky Notes by Shepherds Bush, Sweet Liberty by The Marking Sampler, two pieces of fabric, Freedom Reigns by Silver Creek Samplers, and a kit by Shepherds Bush. I don't have any nice patriotic charts just a few freebies, so was happy to pick those up. 

There's a blog called Quiet and Relaxation and she sells charts, fabric, etc. on Flickr, she has a link on her sidebar. I bought some charts but hit the jackpot when I found this..

An oldie but see that angel there at the bottom? I stitched her way way back and was my first time using beads and braid..

I sold her in eBay for $18.00! Back in those days, everything I stitched I sold on eBay. I have nothing from those days except one old WIP on Aida that I will finish one of these eons. I feel lucky to have found this chart. I think it's copyrighted 1995.

At present, I'm stitching on my 3rd Frosty Forest block. If I don't keep at it, it will turn into a UFO and I can't have that! I have two FB SALs coming up, one for April is called April Fools and you can stitch anything titled April or something funny or crazy. My project is from the old Gift of Stitching electronic magazine. Do any of you remember that? I had a one year subscription and printed off this particular graph called Buttercream Frosting Sampler by Primrose Needleworks. I am crazy about buttercream frosting so that's my entry into this SAL! I'll show a picture the end of this month. The other is a 15 day start SAL and I have everything ready for that. It starts in May.

We are all waiting on our exchange packages to arrive. I finally sent off mine to my partner after adding a few things from Market day. The deadline is next Wednesday. They are fun but can be stressful trying to get things stitched on time.

Also, there is a Halloween mystery SAL starting in April to October from Ships Manor. Here is a link if you are interested- http://www.shipsmanor.com/halloween-mystery-town-sal/  You get a section every month up to October and there are options to receive the fibers and fabric or just the patterns.

You know me and Halloween. I signed up for it, lol!

Now it's time for this little giveaway! I have a package of these needles..

I am a Bohin 28 needle gal. I tried using these but besides being big, 26, I don't know, they didn't feel right. So I'm giving someone a chance to give them a new home. Brand new. Follower or not, just say you would like a chance at them. Giveaway is open until the last Saturday of this month, midnight Arizona time. Good luck everyone!

Thanks for leaving comments ladies. I enjoy reading them. Carol, I might add I saw the Touch of Silk fiberfill in Hobby Lobby when I was just up there today. Maybe you have one there?

Take care!

FFO bug stopped by this weekend...

Hi all! Hope your day is going nicely. It's blustery and gray out. Here a coworker said to me last Thursday "Yeah, it's supposed to be in the 80's in Phoenix this weekend, so it'll be at least 65 here". I saw visions of getting my square garden upturned and ready, doing some other yard work. Umm, no. That wind has some teeth so I stayed in yesterday and spent a good 5, 6 hours FFO'ing with my cassette with 80s and 90s music going in my bookshelf stereo with the two cassette player, a 4 CD player, and radio. This thing is about 20 years old and still works! 

FFO's...On Vonna's Flosstube, she swears by a type of stuffing called Mountain Mist fiberloft. Holy Cow, this stuff is good! I bought a bag at Joanne's, a little higher in cost than the polyfill that I always buy. I fired up the sewing machine and made this..

This is the finish I have always wanted. Btw, this is by the Primitive Hare, a freebie. It feels substantial, does not slip around inside like the other stuff, does not leave little wiry strands coming through my fabric...I love it. I'm almost tempted to take everything I have that is in pillow form and restuff with the fiberloft!

These other FFO's I'm not happy with. This little Santa from a PS card..the last finish of February..

What I need is a rotary cutter with the wavy blade. I used my zigzag scissors on the felt and kept cutting and cutting to get it perfect. That's okay, it'll go up on my tree. At least I'm keeping up with my Christmas ornament plan for one or two a month. 

Remember Ewephoria by Mosey n Me? I should have just made this a pillow. I may give it to Goodwill.

I'm going to give the foam/styrofoam flat ornament finish a rest. I'm getting bored with it. After all, with that new stuffing, I see many pillows in my future!

I have progress on the Spooked sampler by LizzieKate...

I had to frog the white letters and leaf out of that last area and now have them all in correctly. I bet if I tried, I could have this finished up this week. Fingers crossed..

I joined two SALs on FB. One is a Mardi Gras one, stitching a Mardi Gras item or something with purples, yellows, etc. Here is mine, actually finished just an hour ago...

I had to take a picture in the hallway because anywhere else it made the colors a bright pastel. I started it on Fat Tuesday, the 28th. Turned out perfect on the black linen. Some of you said to use the black linen. I was undecided between the black and white linen. Love it! EDITED TO ADD: What a dummy I am! I'm not finished because I didn't stitch in the rest of the big right fleur de lis! 

The other SAL is for the letter M for this entire month. So I hauled this out to see the light!..

I know I can finish this this month and will be my March Christmas ornament also. I probably won't find another M project after this, just get back to WIP stitching. I joined another FB SAL for May and that one is to start 15 in 15 days. I have everything ready for that.

Last weekend my daughter and I headed down to Apache Junction, a town near Phoenix, for the Renaissance Festival that is held every year about this time. Because of all the rain we've had, the wildflowers are in bloom. Here is a picture of the desert down near Phoenix somewhere. I took this picture from FB

California Poppies. They do well here, obviously! Isn't that beautiful? Anyway, basking in the sun at the festival was glorious as we left at 8:30 am here and it was 22 degrees. I had my annual funnel cake and spent too much money as usual!

That's all I got, folks! Next Saturday I'm heading to the Attic Needlework for some Market charts I want (just 3 and maybe the floss/fabric for them), a Shepherds Bush limited edition kit, it is so cute (hopefully Attic bought some extras), and a few little things for my exchange partner. I will not spend a lot like previous years. I have a list and will not stray from that. After that, I can send the exchange box off to the recipient. My trip will blow my Stitch from Stash budget to smithereens but that's okay. There are some ladies who spend up to $200 a month on stitchy stuff!

Take care, and have a great week!