Saturday, January 29, 2011

"CHARLOTTE'S SAMPLER": PRETTY IN PINK


is this sampler by Louise Henderson at Cherished Stitches. It's called "Charlotte's Sampler". Most of you all may have already seen it. I ordered my copy today. Part of the proceeds got to Susan G. Komen.

It can be personalized to honor friends who have experienced breast cancer. There is also a list of other colors for those  with other types of cancer. 

You can stitch it in black with pink floss (if your eyes will let you see it) or in pink floss on white fabby. Gloriana and Weeks are the threads recommended, but my mind is working in a different direction. Of course!

Can't wait for it to arrive.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

MAKING PROGRESS

Being stuck in the house has some advantages! I can sit and stitch with no guilt. Luckily for me the bad stuff has passed, so it's back to my normal schedule..darn it.

But there's been some progress.  This is the Plateau. Almost finished with the stitching.


Obviously I found a tray. Exact size, too. Found it at Hobby Lobby. This is the fabby, too. I've used the rose fabric before and I just love it. I saw the polka dot fab staring me in the face, so I bought it thinking I may use it for trim--maybe.


I've finished the stitching on one (of the 12) Helga Mandl biscornus. I chose a lighter fabric and ended up changing a couple of colors and doing some back stitches. It's smaller than I thought, but I'll get over it!
I'd like to find some buttons to use on all of them--to kind of bring them together.


I really haven't done much on the Red Thread except finish the last two pictures. It's a really nice piece.



My favorite! The Family Sampler. Great progress. All the family is in, including my Linzie and Marley and Annabell. I tried to get the colors as close to the personalities as possible--including the LSU colors!


Garden Prive. Putting in all those little squares is BORING!!


So that's it on the home front. Happy Stitching to all of you. And stay healthy.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Some days I'd lose my head if it weren't attached. I forgot the other three projects. It took a little while to find photos, so here goes:

 
Three Pumpkins by Prairie Grove Peddler
I've had this kitted for awhile--planned to have it done by this past fall. Best laid plans! Anyway, it's ready to go. Not in the mood for fall right now but when the weather gets really warm here, I'll be ready to stitch.



Dans mon jardin by Jardin Prive

I love the French designers! And it can be difficult sometimes to find patterns. And it's always a help if the directions are also written in English. On the bright side, my French vocabulary is growing.
This is a biscornu, which is one of my most favorite things to do. I've started it. It is a bit repetative, so I work on it awhile and leave it sit awhile. Lovely colors!



Plateau de Brodeuse by Grilles de Maryse

Next to the Family Sampler, this is my favorite stitchy piece.I loved it the first time I saw it and then began the effort to find it. The stitching is maybe half done. It is simple and moves quickly. Even putting it together won't be difficult. I haven't found any matching fabby yet-haven't really looked--and the tray is a specific size, so maybe my luck will hold and I can find one.

Okay. Now I can rest a little. Got it all down!

See ya'll later.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

ORGANIZED CHAOS?

All those stitchy people out there in Blogland seem to be getting organized for the New Year. Some have even started a project a day for 15 days with plans to finish them by the end 2011. I'm not that brave!

Well, I'm not quite that organized, either! I did some.......soul?.......searching and  came up with my list of projects. Here goes:


LHN's Family Sampler
I've already started this one and it's just plain fun. Pictures in a few days.



Bent Creek's Red Thread
  I started this one when it was first published. I found the perfect frame and am about 75% finished with the stitching. I'm not going to use the snaps. Probably some buttons, etc.

With My Needle's My Needle's Work Box

Another one started and not finished. I even have the finishing fabric ready.


Plum Street Samplers' Salem Sisters.
Kitted and ready to go.


Plum Street Samplers' Salem Sisters II
Kitted and ready to stitch.

Fallbrook House Needleplay's Not All.
Kitted and ready to go.

I've also got Helga Mandl's year of biscornu kitted and ready.

And there's nothing special about all the witches. I think.

I'm allowing myself some wiggle room for anything new that may come along. And there's the ever-present stash from hell in my closet. But these are the goals. Let's see what will happen.



Monday, January 10, 2011

SWEET BABY!


I always read before I turn off the light and go to sleep. Linzie always stretches out on my belly-lots of room there- and sleeps or just watches me. When the light goes off, she moves to her spot and joins me in the Land of Nod. Unless it thunders. Then she's on top of me!

Last night she just looked SO cute that I put the Kindle down and just had some quality time with her. I rubbed and she licked. I talked and she stared.  Such love on both counts. I remember, after my Rose went to the Rainbow Bridge, thinking that I would never let another little creature into my heart, only to lose her and go through the same torment.

Then along came Linzie. As you all know, she belonged to some friends of ours who couldn't keep her. We had known her since she was a pup and the family thought we might like to adopt her. She came to live with us the next day. Moved in lock, stock and barrel right into our hearts.

She is so smart. So cute. Loves Michael Harden, even if he is allergic to her. She's always happy. Loves a hug and a treat. Somehow life feels complete again.

Which brings me to this: this week Your Majesty Zsa Zsa Gabor has been in the hospital again, this time maybe to have her leg amputated. I was going along just fine until I read in the news about her "great love" of shih tzus. She couldn't be all that bad, I thought. Huh? Further into the article it explained that she loved to torment the little babies. She allowed her Alsatians--much bigger dogs--to pick them up by the scruff and toss them into the pool. So.....what does one say?

How can anyone-- including the great Michael Vick or any other human being--look at himself or herself in the mirror after mistreating any animal? They are such fine examples of unconditional love. Much more so than humans. How can anyone look into those beautiful little eyes and abuse these little animals? They are God's creatures, too.

So I'm getting off my soapbox. Maybe her leg should join her heart, wherever it is. That's not a very Christian attitude, but it's mine.

The photo is my sweet baby not too long ago. She sits next to me on the sofa while I stitch. I keep different sized hoops nearby so that I can change one as needed. We were sitting there and out of the corner of my eye I saw a little white paw reach out and gently move a hoop in her direction. That's okay. If she wants it, she can have it---for a little while.

I love my little Linzie.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

THERE'S SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT......

being housebound, I guess. I'm busily finishing some projects I started a LONG time ago. These last two days or so have been in the framing department. I used to beat a path to Hobby Lobby or my local framing establishment to have a piece framed.

Well, after having to remove a piece and re-frame it because it wasn't straight on line in the frame, I eventually figured out how to frame needlework. And sometimes not even using a frame!

Now, if it's a real "special" piece, I'll have a frame made. But, since I love the places anyway, I shop resale shops for frames. I buy them, bring them home and clean them up, trim a piece of acid-free foam board and go to work. My weakness is the brown paper on the back, but who sees that anyway? I've been working on "Red Thread" forever. Would you believe I actually found a frame a few weeks ago that is actually long enough for it?? Now I'm stitching 90 to 0 to get it in the frame and on the wall. And the red thread and the frame match. Just a good swipe with lemon oil will do the final trick.

Here are the finishes for the week. The needlework pieces are old--some are in aida (which is easier to get completely straight on the foam board). But they're finally completed. Just don't know where I'll hang them. Running out of space.



A little difficult to see! The top left I think is a Blackbird piece. Next to it is a very OLD Paula Vaughn. It will hand in my PV room. I wish I had done these pieces in linen. But......Below it is a piece of needle work I found in my fabby stash. Have no idea how old it is. The magnolia fabby around it came from my local quilting shop which has since closed. I bought some of the fab in every color they had. The brown fabby around the mags is just a piece I saw and liked. I'm not really a brown person.

The little" Fancy a Jane Day?" piece is new. It's from The Sampler Girl and will hang on my JA wall. The little frame I found at Goodwill and it was a mess. A little Old English stain cover and it was like new. I finished it with an antique button as Tanya suggested. Here's another shot:



And a few more:


Here's some oldies!! The kitchen sampler on the left is dated 1993, and I can believe it. The deer on the left is a Stoney Creek and I probably did it in 1997, when we moved into the house. We have LOTS of deer around here and it seemed.....appropriate. At the top is an old Snapper. It's a prayer by JA and will, of course, go on my JA wall. I used some stretcher frames, patchwork fabric and upholstery trim because the design of the piece wasn't really elegant. Here's a close up. Oh,and forgive the silly photo. I should have cropped it!




So that's about it around here. It's turning cold again. We have the wonkiest weather here: cold one day and warm the next. And it's supposed to rain again tomorrow. Just a little more coughing, sneezing and blowing...


Thursday, January 6, 2011

FINALLY, AT LAST, DIDN'T GET HERE TOO SOON.....

Today is Epiphany, which as a good little Baptist girl I'm not supposed to celebrate, the day the Wise Men came to see Jesus. But I do. When I do decorate for Christmas, this is tradionally the day I take it all down. No worries this year. I didn't decorate. It's also a  part of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Most people think the Twelve Days marks the days before Christmas Day. It's not. It's the 12 days from Christmas Day to Epiphany.

It's also the beginning of carnival season here in south Louisiana. Don't think I'm supposed to do that either, but I do love the costumes and all the other stuff that comes with the festivities. It all leads up to Mardi Gras, the chief party day of the year down here.

But the best part of all this:  from now until Lent------KING CAKE!  A delight for the eyes and treat for the taste buds.  I made one one year. It was great, but cost a LOAD of money. It's easier and cheaper to buy one.  You can go "cheap" and buy one at Albertson's or Winn Dixie, but your best bet is one from Cake Palace or, especially, one from a bakery in New Orleans. I'm not  a chocky person, so the Zulu cake is lost on me. My favorite is lemon-especially if it has cream cheese with it.  The praline cakes are good. Blueberry, strawberry.......apple, Creole cream cheese, plain cinnamon....Oh, Lord!

They may be shipped anyway-expensive, or course, but well worth it. Always comes with goodies. A few beads. Maybe a coin or two. And a plastic baby. It's pushed into the bottom of the cake somewhere, and the person who finds it brings the next King Cake to work, party, whatever.

The sugar on top (or buttercream frosting if you're lucky) is always alternating colors of green, purple and gold--the Mardi Gras colors.

Okay, I'm addicted!!!!


Here are some sites with more info.  The last is a link to Randazzo's Bakery in New Orleans. I know they're expensive-and the price includes shipping-but for a once-a-year treat it's worth it.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

TUSAL AGAIN AND THE FAMILY SAMPLER

Two days in a row! I'm doing good here. Maybe it's because I've got the sniffles and am homebound, but it feels good!

Daffycat has re-instated the old Totally Useless Stitch A Long. I really never stopped the old one-you'll see in a minute- so I'm glad to be back as a part of a group.

And some photos of the Family Sampler. This one has overtaken my life. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. More on it, too.



It's only the 5th, but I have quite a few thingys. Some thread labels and some orts. I found the glass pitcher at the Goodwill store (I love those places. I'm glad the ladies that work there sometimes don't know what they're holding!!). The big glass jar behind the pitcher hold all my orts and stuff from 2009 and 2010. They are in glass Christmas balls that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. And I've labeled them as to the year. They've outgrown the jar, so I'm thinking I may hang them from a silk ficus tree in my breakfast room. It's already wired with fairy lights. Cute idea, huh.

The funny stitchy things to the left are the Quaker months from Plum Street Samplings. It took FOREVER to finish stitching them. I did okay on the motifs, but the words are stitched one over one. Quakers wouldn't refer to months by their given names. They were named after mythological people and were considered heathern. So.....January is "First Month" and so on. They were finished as pinkeeps and may actually be hung.


Here's the sampler. Grace is to the right and the crazy redhead is next. Then David, Linzie and Michael. On the other side is the beginning of Ann and then Laura. Bradley will follow and then John. Michael will eventually have a red A (for Alabama, of course) and John will have some reference to LSU. We're a divided family! But SEC all the way.

That's about all for today. It's rainy here-stormed all night. Every time it thundered, Linzie got a little closer. Eventually she was on the pillow by my head. And this morning she didn't want to go outside to do her thing.
David prodded her a bit!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR........

you just might get it!

For weeks I've been trying to have a cold-or whatever this stuff is- that flies around this time of year. Too much to do to get sick, so I told God if He would let me get through Christmas and all the music and stuff, I would be willing to have this crud. Yep.

I laid down for a nap Sunday afternoon and woke up with a sore throat and a scratchy chest. Now I'm totally miserable but at least I don't have to dress and have a close up with an organ or piano.

The holidays were pretty good. The rest of the family was on a Carribbean cruise, so it was just Dave and me. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve service at church and then on Christmas Day he dressed as Santa and gave out the gifts at Sunrise Assisted Living. Did a pretty good job. Pictures are below.

I did a lot of stitching. Just have some finishing work to do. My BIG project right now is LHN's  Family Sampler. Having a ball stitching the figures in. Grace is in her favorite lavender. David has his semi-white hair. Michael is dressed in his work colors. John will eventually have LSU colors. Of course, the resident redhead is there, too. And there's a space for my little fur ball. It's going to be my main stitchy project for the year.

I've also pulled out some projects from YEARS past and have got them close by. One of my resolutions--maybe the only one so far--is to finish things I've started. I'm planning on doing Helga Mandl's twelve biscornus for each month of the year. They are quickies. I've already purchased the fabby--they are different colors--and have all the threads pulled.

Here's some photos:

Mr. and Mrs. Santa after the Christmas Eve service.


Santa at Sunrise Assisted Living



Had to include a shap of Linzie. We were on the way to Tuscaloosa for Thanksgiving. She just had to sit with her big brother.



So that's about all on the old homefront. It cold here one day--27-- and then warm the next--65. No wonder everyone is sick.

Hope all of you stay well. And have the very best New Year. It's always great to begin again!