Sunday Stitching

I worked more on Autumn Nap today. I didn't get very far because I realized I had no Smoke last night. So I spent most of the night trying to figure out how to remedy the situation, other than dreaming about finding gems--I am getting excited for vacation, LOL. First, I thought, I will just order one skein of floss. Then I realized how stupid that was to pay Priority mail for a $2 skein of floss. Then I pondered changing the floss out to what I have in my Crescent Colors stash, but that didn't seem like a good idea, then the DMC equivalent. But I wanted it to be the black cat the way it was on the cover. So I went up to Frederick and stopped at Primitive Sampler. She was open. I thanked her for being open.

I am not really fond of the color of the leaves though. Too much yellow and orange. So I picked out a red and dark green to mix in.

And I don't like the frame in the photo, I was thinking about a haystack maybe. Thought it might be cute to have one with a little mouse in it. have to think about that.

This week

Just didn't feel like posting this week. I haven't been doing much stitching wise. Work has been really crazy. I did treat myself to a knitting bag from AC Moore this week. I thought it would be good to store Santa's Journey in there because it can be zipped away from the cats.

I have been a little tired of working on it, though, so, last night, I pulled out Summer Ball from Cross Stitch Collection and worked on that. It's very slow progress, butI made progress, I worked on the coats of the gentlemen in the middle and started on my over-1 faces. So far, I like the affect. I think it will give a finer look to the faces.

I did start Waxing Moon Autumn Nap just now. I got the fabric in a grab bag at CATS. I don't know who dyed it, but I like it.

Woodlawn entries are in

I took my entries for Woodlawn up to the Stitching Post yesterday. I entered HOHRH, Lanarte Sea Life and TIAG The Barnraising. Now the walls are kinda bare. All I have hanging up is Lighthouses, and The Best Place to Fall. I don't have high hopes for my entries, but . . . That frame for HOHRH is really fragile. I dinged it taking it in yesterday. That is not a picture to be taken up and down. They said they could fix it at the shop, so hopefully that should be OK.

This is my progress on Santa's Journey for the week. The little penguins are coming along. I am starting to get antsy about getting this finished. I figured out how to do the partial stitches on this. I have to do it with a 28 needle, but it works.

I am rushing to get it finished so I can start on Winter Stack. I bought a bunch of fabric to use for a wall hanging at the quilt store next to Stitching Post. The fabric is so pretty, all wintry blues and sparklies! And I found some autumn print to use on Halloween finishs

Hard to stitch with wet nails

Still no stitching tonight. I did start on Ghost Wind last night. Did not get very far, maybe 150 stitches, but it took me a while to get it situated. I cut the fabric a little short when I was trimming it--they cut me a 17X30 piece at the LNS and cheap me decided, "Hey, I can use that extra 6 inches of fabric for something else." and then cut it so one side was 3 inches for framing, the other was like 2. So I had to fix it, then tried to grid. I can not grid. So I compromised and basted center.

I stopped in Michael's after my nail appointment--quite a challenge to maneuver the aisles and not smudge my nails. I found two little kits in the $1 section. One is a flower pot, one is a beach chair. I would like to do the beach chair in a big frame, or at least with a big molding. I don't think the LNS would do it, though. Not sure. But, heck, I need to get some things done before I start anything new.

OHHHH, one thing I did do tonight was I managed to find the right fabric for Like Feathered Wings. It was in my stash. I have a silvery blue that will work perfectly! I floss tossed it and it works

Not much stitching

Didn't stitch much today. Normally I stitch at lunch, but Rashad and I actually had lunch at the same time, so we went to the good Safeway, which is a ways away from the office. I was glad he went along, I always worry that I am going to run into someone from that place I briefly worked at, and I figure that they won't mess with me if I am not alone. Not that they would, but you know how bitchy people get, and they feel like they have to let you know how they feel. And I don't feel like discussing with them on the off-chance they want to, it was a professional decision. Anyway, R and I went to lunch. He said no one would mess with me, he is too tall.

I am working on the penguins processing Christmas wishlists tonight. It is going to be a PITA. Why don't they make afghans with aida inserts. If it was damask or a soft aida, it would be easier to split the threads and you wouldn't have to worry aboutit rolling off to the sides. I know, if I want that, make a quilt.

Times like these, I wish I had a webcam.

It was so funny.
Lily was laying on the sofa, and I put my afghan over her to take the picture, so I didn't have to move her. Her brother figured out she was under there, and so he had to wake her up and mess with her. So she is under the afghan, he's on top, and they are starting to tussle. Chancey, who is really throwing herself into this security detail role, then attempts to get involved. Don't know if it was because she must protect the stitching, or just because she hates when the cats fight and loves to wade in the middle and break it up (a brave woman, my 4-legged human), she attempts to calm the situation. I caught her right at the point when she went to jump on the sofa onto the middle of my afghan. I don't mind the cats on it, I really can't keep her off, but I have to draw the line at the dog. I know she is security, but I had to Tide stick it already today (which, BTW, works really well)and who knows what invisible grunge she carries. So I called her off, Next thing, Lil comes sliding down off the sofa. And she was PEEVED.

Not getting much stitching done today

We took the Christmas tree down today, so didn't have a lot of time to work on Santa's Journey. I did do a little bit this morning while I was watching Sunday Morning, and have been doing a little when we have been taking breaks.

I am working on the bootprints now. I have 4 sets left to do. They shouldn't be as tricky as they are turning out to be, but they are kicking my butt. I finally figured out if I ran a basting line at 12 cm, that I could just find center, and center them off that, and it's been working better. I did read up on the nun stitch, just to be clear on it. I haven't nunstitched in, gosh, 4 years, not that it's hard, but certainly not something that I am really that familiar with. I don't do specialty stitches, at least not well. But this afghan is, on the whole, really kinda fun to stitch. I am just trying to figure out how to back it. I am thinking maybe flannel. But I have to get it finished before I finalize the thinking. But I gotta find something snowflake-y, somehow flowers won't work.

Had S.E.X. today

Mom went to the Stitching Post today to take a class in Punchneedle. I didn't take the class--I have no interest in Punchneedle, but I had to driver her. Anyway, I ended up having a little bit of S.E.X (stash enhancement experience). I kitted up Waxing Moon's Autumn Nap, Something Old Fashioned's Like Feathered Wings, Kustom Krafts' Ghost Wind (which came last night and which I am stoked about starting) and a chart out of Cross Stitcher from last March of irises. I decided to do the irises on black. I saw a picture of it done like that in the magazine, so this is not exactly my idea, but it looked really pretty, and I thought it would be cool for the fair. Then we went to Frederick, and went to the shop there. I hadn't intended on going there, but it seemed like it would be OK. I found some charts there.

I am really going to try to stop having days like this. I really have to finish some things that I have in my stash. I did kit up 3 charts that I have in my stash, so I guess that is a better than just buying new and kitting up. I am going to customize the colors for Like Feathered Wings because it shows as shades of brown, and I changed it to black, grey and white. I prefer grey horses. I think it will look pretty cool.

I think this deserves a mention

This is my completed Houses of Hawks Run Hollow, by Carriage House Samplings. I worked on this for 2 years, a week, and 45 minutes. Now you may ask, "How in the HELL do you know exactly how long you worked on that." But I do! I started it Halloween of 2004, which was the day my friend Sharon ran in the Marine Corps Marathon (and I got a Charlie Horse walking to the Metro to see her run) and I started it as soon as I woke up, then worked on it for two years, and finished on my 30th birthday, at 7:15 AM, while I was waiting for the polls to open, so I could vote against Robert Ehrlich.

Anyway, the frame was really cheap. This is a big piece, about 19X24, if I remember right, and I figured it was going to be scandalously expensive, but my mom paid for it to be framed, and it was like $125 USD, which is really not bad because I have two other pieces that cost as much and they are not as big. So I posed Chancey next to it. The frame is pretty cool, it's distressed. I was really inspired by Brea and I's, and then Mom and I's, trip to Lancaster County, and I thought this sorta went with the family's painted wood furniture. It looks like an antique, and that is what I wanted. Aunt Susan wanted a black frame, but I thought this looked better because in the 19th century, they wouldn't have been as morbid about death.

I have the next chart in the series, Village of Hawks Run Hollow, but I haven't started it yet. I am still recovering from this. And there's a new one coming out, the people of Hawks Run Hollow. I think that would be cool, I will buy it and might start it. Anyway, thought I would share so you see I actually do finish things

UFO Wednesday

I am working on a UFO tonight. It's Berb and Cheryl's Sanctuary. I started it back in July, but put it aside. I am stitching it on 22 count Aida. I like it and all, it's just very hard for me to count on fabric that small. I don't know what has happened to me. When I was 15, I could stitch on 22 count, not no more. But this will look really cool when it's done. It shouldn't be any bigger than my hand. I would post a pic with my hand in it, but I chipped my nail today--let's be honest, I was trying to eat my fingernail and broke the acrylic. So my nails look bad. Or not good enough to do the whole "The Price is Right" thing.

That didn't last long

I put down Thunder Ridge. Til the tree comes down, I can not work on it. I enjoy not being blind, or at least less blind. I picked up my Santa's Journey afghan. I am trying to get that finished. It was in Cross Stitcher magazine a couple months ago, and I thought it would be cute if I ever have a baby. I don't have a lot of Christmas stitching done. If you hand me a horse pattern or a Christmas pattern, I will let you keep the Christmas pattern, I am just not that into holiday stitching. But I thought that was cute, and an afghan is something that does not cost a great deal to get finished. I have three squares done on Santa's Journey, about halfway done on a 4th.

My New Year's Day start

A couple people on the message board I go to, 123 Stitch, mentioned that they were starting a new project on New Year's Day. I decided it would be a good idea. Not that I don't have about 40 other things to work on that I started prior to 2007, but it seemed like a good idea and I enjoy the process of starting to stitch on a vast clean expanse of fabric.

So I chose Dimensions Gold Collection Thunder Ridge this morning at 11. I thought about just keeping working on Summer Ball, but I decided that if it was the first day of the new year, I ought to start off fresh. I can work on Summer Ball tomorrow.

Anyway, I haven't got very far. It has a lot of tweeding, which part of me feels like saying, if I wanted to do a bunch of tweeding, I would buy a Theresa Wentzler. But it is stitching up fairly quickly. I didn't work very long, started at 9, left at 12 to go to the gym. I haven't gotten back onto it since I came home. I sorta think that I will do better when I get the stitching light set up, after we get the tree down. Though, I am struck by fact that this tree throws off a bunch of light. The fabric is navy blue, and 18 count. I wish Dimensions would think about these things. Large projects on small count dark fabric, not great idea. But people have finished it, and I love horses, so this is a good project for me.