Start all the things!

Yes, that's what I wanted to do, start everything! The whole month of July has been this way! All it took was looking through magazines or my stash. So I have 2 new starts in addition to a WIP. And yesterday, I found the graph to Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler in what I call the canyon on my sofa. I have a faux suede sofa with 2 recliners on each end. When something falls in between where I sit and the next cushion, it requires moving this heavy thing. I lost the TV remote and couldn't get my arm further into the canyon to grab it but I did pull up the graph! Lol. 

So I have progress to show, the new starts, and my ongoing FO parade. Let's do it!

I've been stitching on Summer in The Country..

I have since added the houses, the inside of the star, more of the left side border, and more tree. I am waiting for 2 flosses from 123stitch to stitch in a few other things.

New starts: my mind kept wandering to all the things I have kitted but I kept thinking of the 23 WIPs I have! Lol. So what I did start are not overly big...

Noel 

This is found in a Stony Creek holiday issue..

I'm doing something that I never do and that's doing 2 over 2 on a 36ct Ale or Doubloon linen by PTP. I wanted the red and green to pop on the fabric. I also changed the red and green DMCs to another DMC color. On the model, the green is so dark so I'm using a slightly brighter green. It's hard going but I'll keep at it.

The next new start is The Yule Queen by The Primitive Hare...

The model calls for a charcoal linen but I decided to use this 32ct Cow Fodder by a dyer who calls her fabric From the Cauldron. Her name escapes me. There are a lot of snowflakes all over this pattern, single stitch and more. When I'm done I'll go back and add most of them. When I'm stitching a pattern that has stitched snowflakes, I almost never put them in just like the graph. I do that with spider webs too.

The Yule Queen I started because it was so hot here. Nowadays it's not getting into the 100s like it was.

That's it for progress. 

In one of the FB groups I'm in, a stitcher showed a bunch of Christmas ornaments she's finished and I saw one that I'd never seen. I asked her from what JCS magazine and she couldn't remember. So I hauled out my collection and started from 2006 but it was in last years issue! So now I want to stitch ornaments, haha!!! Decisions, decisions!

Parade time! These are my medium finishes, and I will try to remember the info on them. 

First up is this pretty by LHN. I'm not sure of the title. It's a favorite finish of mine. I'm undecided on a final finish for this. I may end up framing it. The fabric is a slate-y color that I thought was perfect for this.

Next...

Halloween from a JCS Halloween preview issue. I don't stuff long designs very well! I think I'll add a strip of appropriate fabric to the bottom and then sew it and stuff,🤷🏻‍♀️

The Tribal Rooster! I can't remember the designer. I just know they do a lot of shapes like a pumpkin and call it a tribal pumpkin. My phone camera shows reds and oranges really bright but they're not in real life. Another favorite finish.

Here's an easy one! Dear House by La D Da, using the called for fabric and floss. I see this chart for sale on the FB stash sale groups every now and then. It's a favorite finish also.

A Country Cottage Design piece, I first FFOd this as a pillow trimmed with a store bought rolled trim; I hated it! So I took it apart and now I'm left with slim margins. I want to make it a table topper of some kind. The fabric is Guacamole by WDW and it's much lighter than my picture.

Aww, Buttercream! So pretty. This is from an e-magazine called The Gift of Stitching. Anyone remember that? I have 3 or 4 issues that I still have on my iPad. I forget that I've got a lot of PDFs on it! This is on WDW Parchment and it's so pretty. After all this time, I'm still not sure how I'll FFO.

Here's a Kathy Barrick pattern, I believe. Fun stitch, I put a red nose on the furthest left reindeer! Santa's giving them a break! 

Cobblestone Crossing by Stone Street Stitch Works. I love this! I really modified this pattern. It had a black 1-line border all around it with a date at the top, I left it all off. For whatever reason, I also shortened the house on the right and left a space below it to stitch over 1 the date of the first printing of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. I may have made some mistakes in counting stitches for that house and decided to improvise. At any rate, it's high on my favorites list!

Last but not least is Salem by Willow Hills Stitching. A cute Halloween design that didn't take long to stitch. It's small enough to turn into a pin pillow. 

That's it for the parade!

Not much going on around here. We're healthy, working, and I for one am impatient for Fall. I'm not one to wish away my life, but can we just skip August?!🤣

And that's all she wrote! I'll be back in August with more parade and hopefully more finishes. I had plans but now I'm thinking Christmas ornaments! We'll see. You'll have to tune in to see what I settled on!

Take care, and see you soon😊

Stuff

Haha, I'm out of witty titles! Hope you're all fine, staying cool. It's hot out there! 

Today, I have WIP progress, a small finish, and the FO parade continues. Let's do this!

Here is Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler by Shakespeare's Peddler. I have filled in the cartouche with GAST Oatmeal and promptly misplaced the graph, ugh....

Misplacing floss or graphs seems to be my MO! 

So! I've moved onto Summer In The Country. Take a look at the model on the chart. Flowers aren't dead, the stream has water in it, and the woman has a full length dress on! If that's summer, I want it!

It's so pretty. I'm using the called for Parchment linen but in a 36ct. The top border and the words represent the 1st page but there's more to fill in at the house and below that a sheep. I'll stitch on this for the remaining days of this month. Once I find the graph for the Halloween sampler, I'll work on that also. Changes are a coming though for August and I'll let you know what I'm up to the last week of this month.

That's my progress. My finish is Open If You Dare by Lucy Beam Love In Stitches...

On a leftover piece of Legacy/PTP, I have yet to cut the extra length of fabric since I want to be sure to have enough to mount on my papier mache coffin. I bought it a couple years ago, painted it back. I need to wax it next. The skeleton will fit though! There was beading for Mr Skeleton but I left them off. I do plan to use bright green beads for his eyes. In the middle of his black eyes is a space for beads. 

I am going to enjoy decorating that coffin inside and out😍materials being considered is off white satin that I'm going to diamond-tuft for inside the coffin, and dried moss that the Mr will lay down on! You'll just have to tune in! September that'll happen; it's just too hot to do anything right now.

Last but not least is my FO parade. Here are the last of my smalls. I will do my best to remember who and what and from where!

Starting from top clockwise is Merry Chrismoose from a JCS ornament issue. This is the one that set off my idea of a Chrismoose tree! Merry Winter is from Homespun Elegance, using Gloriana silks. At bottom is Love from JBW, and Snowy Day is a freebie from maybe Cricket Collection or Waxing Moon.

Top left, clockwise is a Prairie Schooler from a JCS ornament magazine. I love the fabric I stitched it on. I wish I could remember what it is. Next is Comfort & Joy, from a Primitive Punchneedle and Primitive Stitching magazine. Double is a LizzieKate, not a freebie but might be from a mystery sampler from some years ago. Last is a Trilogy or Bent Creek design. I used the 28ct WDW checkered fabric, 1 over 1, and boy, was that hard, lol! The 28ct Riviera linen works better for these 1 over designs. It sure is cute though.

Last of the todays parade...

Top left clockwise, a carrot from Cricket Collection on either Carrot or Tropical Orange linen. It's high to FFO this. Next is a Christmas ornament from a JCS ornament magazine. Below that is Peace by BBD, also from a JCS ornament magazine. The heart is found in the February 21 JCS magazine. It's a tiny little thing.

As usual, if you'd like to know more about a design, ask in the comments and I'll look for the particulars.

That's it for the parade. The next one will be medium sized.

Non-stitchy news is It's Hot! Things don't cool off around here until the end of September. Patience, grasshopper! I'm just glad my arm is doing great and I'm back to my usual level of stitching❤️ 

Alrighty! Take care everyone and we'll see you soon!

Parade of finishes, etc.

Hi all! Hope you're all keeping cool! There are thunderstorms brewing outside right now but no rain yet🤞🏼🤞🏼

Yes, I'm back in a week because in addition to the parade, I have 2 finishes. They're small and I wanted them done before the end of June which is today!

Here they are...

Long May She Wave, just finished today. On 32ct Taupe Jobelan and using DMCs. I have a 4 day weekend coming up starting on the 4th, so I plan to dedicate 1 day to FFOing! Now that it's been made public I have to do it!

Next one is Warm Wishes...

Cute! It's a little larger because the fabric looked to be 28 or 30ct. I've had this kitted for awhile and probably just took a scrap of linen and used it. 

On with the parade!

Here's a freebie from Hands On Designs. When I eventually get to FFOing it, it'll be a pillow in the shape of a house with a pointed roof.

Another freebie, this one from The Primitive Hare. The floss is from Ships Manor and is called Ganache which is a beautiful brown. I'll incorporate rusty bells on this one. 

Next is...

I cannot remember the designer's name or the pattern name but it is tiny. The words are over 1. I have a small papier mache box that this will be attached to. 

This one is...

from a Russian designer that was on Etsy. I'm sure I mentioned the name when I finished it here on my blog somewhere. It's very small. I think it's about 3" on the long side. 

Now, we have...

a recognizable design of a pear. It's from Marty at Samplers & Santas blog, or vice versa. They're freebies that are easy to find on her blog. Vonna the Twisted Stitcher has a great tutorial of how to sew a pear together. I'll do a practice pear first using cottons and then use my finish to do the real thing! Wish me luck!

Hang in there, there's more!

This is a cute winter design by a Scottish designer who is on Etsy. I can't remember her name though. 

Getting old isn't for sissies!!

But wait, there's 1 more!

Another freebie, this is from the Little Stitcher. It's to be a sachet. Whenever I get to FFOing this is anybody's guess!

That's it for now. I have a few more smalls to show and then I'll move onto the medium-sized finishes.

I really need to get all these smalls made into something! It'll be a goal for the rest of the year🤞🏼

Thanks for your words on my Mama cat and her growing deafness. That could be just aging or an infection of some sort. She doesn't act any different than she did before all this but I'll keep an eye on her though.

Anybody doing Jolly July or Christmas in July stitching? I'm going to keep plugging away on what I have going. I may or may not have kitted something up though so you'll have to tune in for that! 

Take care, keep cool, and stitch!

FO parade, etc.

 

It's dry alright but imagine turning your hair dryer to full blast and aiming it at your face! Right now it's 94 with humidity at 25%. This past week, it was anywhere from 97 to 99. Our monsoon season is trying to get started so the humidity is up. Sounds like the whole US is just hot! 

I have a lot to show so let's get started!

My arm is doing so well, my love of stitching has returned and I've touched on 3 WIPs in the last 12 days, had a finish, AND an FFO.

My WIPs...

This is Long May She Wave by Asbery's Echoes Stitches. She has prim-tastic patterns and is on Etsy. I am nearly done with that blue pennant and will move to the right of the red one after I stitch in the star. 

Next is...

Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler by Shakespeare's Peddler. As you can see I'm now filling in the cartouche with GAST Oatmeal. This is part of my plan to keep a Halloween piece going and is also for a SAL hosted by The Camping Stitcher. I can't remember the hashtag!

And the 3rd is...

Warm Wishes from the 2012 JCS ornament magazine, designed by Little by Little Designs. I misplaced most of the floss for this and still haven't found the bag it was in but I just rekitted the floss. I'm doing a horrible job of keeping track of my floss! I may have this finished before June is over.

It'll join the finish I have...

of Trick or Treat, found in JCS 2015 October issue. I used a 36ct PTP fabric to shrink it down and it's a good size for a flat ornament. I'm debating on sewing in shiny green beads for the cat's eyes. What do you think? Will that nullify the primitive style of this design? Let me know what you think. 

Some of you may remember this chart from a few years back...

On a fb stitching group, I saw a stitcher stitching this on heavily mottled blue fabric and it was fantastic! I asked her what fabric it was and it's a Fabrics by Stephanie, 32ct Ice Goddess. I managed to stitch a swan head but got frustrated by the 3)4 stitches and almost confetti stitching, I sold it all. Either I'm a glutton for punishment or something else but I'm giving it another go. I've had the fabric since last year or before and found the chart on eBay for $10 and received it yesterday. I'm so excited! I'm not sure when I'll start it.

Now my FFO...

Is that cute or what?! It's my Jingle Ball 2023 ornament. It's sitting on its backing fabric. I used store bought pink trim and finished it off with the different green ribbons. Love it!

Now we continue with my FO parade. Because I had a lot to show above, I'll show a few. I'll try to remember the designers but if you'd like to know, leave your question in comments.

First up is...

The fabric is a tad lighter. I cannot remember who designed this. I almost think it's a freebie. I do remember running out of fabric below so I left off a scarf on the snowman. It would make a nice flat ornament.

A Shepherd's Bush piece, I bought it as a kit from market one year. I forgot to sew on buttons. I'm not sure what the words say, maybe the heart of my heart? It's pretty and I would make it a pin pillow.

This one's easy to identify! A Prairie Schooler, the pattern is on a card. I have a paper mache round box to put this on. One day...

Next is...

I'm pretty sure this is from Sunflower Seed Designs. I think!! I finished this at least 9 years ago. My plan is to stitch in a quote from a Scottish poet below the design. I found a good one which includes the words 'the Wings of Aengus fly'. I have one sentence from the poem that is perfect, I just need to find it! I'll stitch over 1 to fit it in but I need to find a font to use.

I think I better stop here. I'll be back in a couple weeks with hopefully another couple of finishes and more FO parade.

A small home update...I think my 16 year old Mama cat is losing her hearing😞I've been surprising her whenever I move which never used to happen. She was the watch cat, she could hear someone drive up on the driveway way before I could. Sad.

Take care out there, drink your liquids or better yet, stay in with the AC and stitch!!

This and that!

Greetings from a warm and toasty central Arizona, even at 7:05 pm! Summer has really arrived🥵

There weren't any takers for the giveaway on the last post so we'll move along. I do have progress on a few things though, a couple of new starts, and a FO parade! I was watching a flosstube, I forgot who, and they showed stitching that was finished but not fully finished. I thought it would be fun to roll down my stitching road of memories. 

Progress first...Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler by Shakespeare's Peddler...

After doing the vine in both directions, I started the cartouche where Jenny Bean and a date goes. You can't see it but I have a few stitches in the cartouche of GAST Oatmeal. 

So, like I do every now and then, my stitching plans went off the track and I had a couple of new starts.

This is Trick or Treat from the October 2015 JCS magazine. I was looking for something else and flipping through magazines and saw this! Takes 3 DMCs, and with a leftover piece of 36ct fabric to shrink it down, I put down Jenny Bean and started it.  On the called for 30ct, it would end up being 3 5/8" x 5 3/8" but it's a nice size on the 36.

Here's how it looks in the magazine

I have no idea what the structure is supposed to be but it's fine! Like Abi Bellastitch likes to say!

Next start is Summer in the Country by Stitches Through The Years. She is on Etsy...

That is one night of stitching. It's a very cute design, I love the house. I'm using the called for 36ct WDW Parchment and the floss. 

FO parade!

I'm starting out with the small things. I'll do my best to remember designer and fabric but no guarantees! If you have questions about designer and name or fabric just leave them in the comments and I'll look that info up.

Here's we go! In no particular order...

A finish from last year, it's on 32ct Taupe Jobelan I believe. Can't remember the designer but she's in Etsy.

Now I think we can all agree that this is a Shepherds Bush design. Not sure if it's from a JCS ornament magazine or a freebie? It's cute!

Definitely a pattern from an ornament magazine. It's on 32ct Pearl linen, my favorite grey linen. White floss pops on this fabric.

This is one of 3 or 4 moose from the Merry Moosmas chart from Prairie Peddler Designs. It's my plan to have a Moose tree for Christmas!

This was from a kit from Love In Stitches or Becky forgot her last name. You got the floss, the little piece of linen, and the buttons. On the chart, this is framed in a white frame that may be found at Hobby Lobby. It's no longer available on her website.

A little Christmas stocking from a JCS ornament magazine. I really need to FFO this.

This one is found in a Punchneedle and Primitive Stitching magazine. I still haven't stitched in the white that those corners should have. My plan to FFO this is to cut a few layers of cotton batting to cushion this with a backing fabric. It can still happen! Lol.

Last but not least for today is...

Uncle Sammy! Found on the Notforgotten Farm blog. Sammy is stitched on a lovely piece of Gingerbread from Silkweaver. I found that fabric on a stash selling FB site. I'm not sure how I'll FFO him but I want to have him ready for Independence Day.

That's it for today. I'll be back in 2 weeks for more parade and whatever progress I have on WIPs. If you'd like dates of magazines for the finishes I have let me know and I'll hunt them down 

A little health update. With the help of blood pressure pills, I got my BP reading down to a good level-123 over 76. For the last year, I've been anywhere from 136-140. However, it's all the pills! Since 2 Sundays ago, I've cleaned up my eating. I read of a lady who lost her 45 year old brother to a massive heart attack. He'd been trying to to get his blood pressure down. It just spooked me so that's where I'm at. Doing it for me and my family.

That'll do ya! Thanks for stopping by and have a great rest of your week! See you in 2 weeks😊