Joyful World Finish

I finished stitching the last square of the Joyful World Stitch-a-long. 

I have started on the border so I will show you the entire piece when that is done.

Two Down, Seven to go....

Finished up Sunny Day from the SamSarah perpetual calendar yesterday.  These pieces take longer than I thought, but I will get them all done!

Biscornu Finish, Finished!

This cute biscornu was one of our EGA Guild projects.  It is the Valentine Biscornu by Cindy Valentine, and can be found under petite projects on the EGA webside. 

It is listed as a beginning hardanger project, but I would argue that it is not for beginners, but probably should be listed as an intermediate or at least advanced beginner. 

Nevertheless, I stitched it (with a few minor changes) and then did the finishing yesterday. 

Pumpkin Fob Finished, Finished!

Well, here it is!  I got this pair of black cat scissors a few years ago and the Black Cat Stitchery retreat, and they have been nakid ever since.....until now. 

I stitched up this little pumpkin a few days ago, and today we had a Saturday Session at our EGA guild where I helped other stitchers construct their own scissor fobs. 

May Progress and June Goals

Well, May went by very quickly and now it's June!  May was a pretty good stitching month.  Just a few minutes short of 6 hours of stitching per day!  And lots of good progress.  I finished the last two pieces of the Crazy January Challenge!  I started 16  new pieces for the 'May'nia challenge and finished 9 of those!  Not sure I will be able to carve out as much stitching time in June, but I will try!

May

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3  worked on it
April flower of the month  worked on it
Landon’s Stocking
Valentine Biscornu  finished
Pacific Heart
Mini Embellishment 2 

Crazy January Starts

Afternoon in Rome  finished
Stitch-a-long sampler finished

Maynia Starts

Stephanie’s Wedding Sampler finished
Shamrock scissor fob finished
Pumpkin scissor fob  finished
A Fall Heart  finished
December Joyful World worked on it
Border Joyful World worked on it
Spring Banner worked on it
Afternoon in London  worked on it
Frank ‘n Boo Photobooth  finished
Gingerbread House #1 -2 finished
Gingerbread House #2 -2 finished
Emerald Patch   finished
Perpetual Calendar
 #1 finished
#2  worked on it
#3 worked on it
#4 worked on it

Future New starts

Afternoon in New York
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Perpetual Calendar
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
Ladybug pin
Patriotic Heart
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
 
June
WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 
April flower of the month  
Landon’s Stocking
Pacific Heart
Mini Embellishment 2 

Maynia Starts

December Joyful World
Border Joyful World
Spring Banner
Afternoon in London 
Perpetual Calendar
#2
#3
#4
 

Future New starts

Afternoon in New York
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Perpetual Calendar
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
Ladybug pin
Patriotic Heart
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge

 

A Pumpkin Scissor Fob....Almost

I stitched this little pumpkin last evening, and it is already to be turned into a scissor fob for my black cat scissors.  I will do that on Saturday, when I demonstrate it for the members of our EGA guild.  The pumpkin is from the Sue Hillis chart Happy Holidays.

Photo Booth Finish

I just love these Bent Creek Photo Booth charts!  I have done a number of them already, and here is the latest installment that  I have stitched.  I need to pick up a frame for it next time I am at Welcome Stitchery. 

This is Frank 'n Boo! 

A Biscornu Stitching Finish

I stitched the Valentine Biscornu as an EGA project.  I just need to stitch it together, and will do that on Saturday as part of class to show those who are a little intimidated that it is not hard at all!

1 Down, 8 To Go.......

 A little while ago, I received everything (and I do mean everything) for the SamSarah Designs perpetual calendar.  A lovely stitcher, Jackie Walters recently passed away, and her sister-in-law, Judi, was cleaning out her stash.  I was gifted with the charts, the stand, and 39 of the 48 pieces stitched, as well as the cards to mount them on.  I finished the first of the 9 pieces left to do.  The rest will be done as soon as I can fit them in!

RIP Jackie, and thanks Judi!

Sampler Fin-ee!

I finished it!  All those eyelets!  and 4-sided stitches......and regular cross stitches too! 

This is actually a stitch-a-long project at our EGA guild, and it needs to be done by October, so I am ahead of the game.  It is a free chart from Blackbird Designs, and I chose to do it in a variegated floss instead of lots of different colors

Needle Case Finish

Fox Emerald Patch Needle Case by Handblessings Designs.  I finished this one up and attached it to the metal needle case box, and Voila! 

This was fun to stitch, I love doing these specialty stitches on canvas.

A Fall Heart Finish

I finished the Fall Heart by Sekas and Co.  rather quickly.  It was hard to put down!  I will be teaching a class for this project in August, so I wanted to get it finished!  It was a very quick and enjoyable stitch.  I have lots of these hearts in my 'to-do' mountain, and I will be stitching another one very soon!

A Scissor Fob Finish

Now that the recipient has received it, I can show all of my blogging buddies!  This is the scissor fob I stitched and finished just a little while ago.  It was gifted to Marguerite for her birthday along with the shamrock scissors. 

Happy Birthday Marguerite!

Stitch Mayia Recap

The first 15 days of May was dubbed "Stitch Maynia" by a Facebook stitching group.  We were to start a new piece for each of those 15 days.  I managed to do that and have been posting a picture on each day.  I have managed to finish 5 of the 15 starts so far, and will be working to get them all finished as soon as I can!

Maynia Starts

Stephanie’s Wedding Sampler finished
Shamrock scissor fob finished
A Fall Heart  finished
December Joyful World worked on it
Border Joyful World worked on it
Spring Banner worked on it
Afternoon in London  worked on it
Frank ‘n Boo Photobooth  worked on it
Gingerbread House #1 -2 finished
Gingerbread House #2 -2 finished
Emerald Patch   worked on it
Perpetual Calendar
 #1 worked on it
#2  worked on it
#3 worked on it
#4 worked on it

 

Stitch Maynia, Day 15

On day 15 I started Fox Emerald Patch by Handblessings Designs.  It is stitching up very quickly, and I did enjoy my time stitching it so far.  This was designed for the Fox ANG guild 35th Anniversary Luncheon.  I was not able to attend the luncheon but was gifted with a kit by Marguerite.  Her mother attended the luncheon with her, but does not stitch, so I got that kit! 

Stitch Maynia Day 14

On Day 14 I started the Sekas and Co.  Fall Heart.  It was hard putting it down at the end of the day, I wanted to keep on stitching!

Stitch Maynia Day 13

On Day 13 I started Afternoon in London by Country Cottage Needleworks.  Big Ben is almost done!

Twenty five years ago.....sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago, and sometimes it seems like it was yesterday. 

Stitch Maynia Day 11 & 12

On Day 11 and 12 I stitched one Gingerbread House each day.  I have stitched these before, and will be making more of them for all the children and grandchildren for Christmas.

Stitch Maynia Day 10

On Day 10 I started School Daze from the SamSarah Fun Every Day series, chart 9.

Stitch Maynia Day 9

On Day 9 I started Nancy Cucci's Spring Banner.  Doesn't look like much progress, because I pulled the border out two times before I was happy with it.  I always seem to have this problem when I stitch one of Nancy's banners.

Stitch Maynia Day 8

On Day 8 I started Frank 'n Boo, from the Photobooth series by Bent Creek

Stitch Maynia Day 7

On Day 7 I started a wedding sampler for Stephanie.  Her wedding is June 10th, so I need to get this stitched quickly so that I can have it framed.  Luckily, I got almost half of it stitch in a marathon Sunday stitching session.

Stitch Maynia Day 6

Day 6 found me stitching another panel from the Sam Sarah perpetual calendar, this time it is titled Happy Anniversary

Stitch Maynie Day 5

On Day 5 I started the border for the Joyful World Stitch-a-long, since I already had that project bag out.  I thought it was going to be tedious but it is moving along faster that I expected.

Sttich Maynia Day 4

On Day 4 I started the December square of the Joyful World Stitch-a-long. 

Stitch Maynia Day 3

On Day 3 I stitched up this little design that I will turn into a scissor fob some day!

Stitch Maynia, Day 2

Day 2's start is Sunny Day from chart eight of the Fun Every Day series by SamSarah Designs.

Stitch MAYnia, Day 1

Stitch MAYnia is a challenge to start 15 new pieces, one each day on the first 15 days of May.  Here is my day 1 start.  It is Beach Days from chart eight of the Fun Every Day series by SamSarah Designs.  Stitched on perforated paper with the recommended threads.

April Progress and May Goals

I had a fair amount of stitching time in April, got one piece finished and one almost finished.  unfortunately, with the coming of summer and better weather, stitching time will be less, but I will try and soldier on.  the stitching list keeps getting longer......

April

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 
April flower of the month
Landon’s Stocking
Valentine Biscornu
Pacific Heart
Mini Embellishment 2 

Crazy January Starts

Afternoon in Paris 
Afternoon in Rome  
Stitch-a-long sampler

Future New starts
Scissor fob
Shamrock scissor fob
Ladybug pin
A Fall Heart
December Joyful World
Afternoon in New York
Afternoon in London
Spring Banner
Patriotic Heart
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge

May

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 
April flower of the month
Landon’s Stocking
Valentine Biscornu
Pacific Heart
Mini Embellishment 2 

Crazy January Starts

Afternoon in Rome  
Stitch-a-long sampler

Maynia Starts

Stephanie’s Wedding Sampler
Scissor fob
Shamrock scissor fob
A Fall Heart
December Joyful World
Border Joyful World
Spring Banner
Afternoon in New York
Afternoon in London
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Perpetual Calendar #1 
             #2
             #3
             #4
             #5
             #6
             #7
             #8
             #9

Future New starts

Ladybug pin
Patriotic Heart
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
 

March Progress and April Goals

March was a pretty good month, stitching wise.....8 finishes and a few other WIPs that were worked on.  About 110 hours of stitching, hopefully April will bring more stitching time.

March

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 
April flower of the month
Landon’s Stocking
Valentine Biscornu worked on it

Crazy January Starts

SamSarah fruits  ( 6 of them)
                Lime      finished
                Berry  finished
                Pear  finished
                Kiwi  finished
                Apple  finished
Afternoon in Paris  worked on it
Afternoon in Rome  
Stitch-a-long sampler

Future New starts

Breast Cancer Banner finished
Pacific Heart worked on it
Mini Embellishment 2  worked on it
2 Gingerbread Houses #1 finished
2 Gingerbread Houses #2 finished
Scissor fob
Ornament finishing sample piece
Ladybug pin
A Fall Heart
December Joyful World
Afternoon in New York
Afternoon in London
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
 

March

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 
April flower of the month
Landon’s Stocking
Valentine Biscornu
Pacific Heart
Mini Embellishment 2 

Crazy January Starts

Afternoon in Paris  
Afternoon in Rome  
Stitch-a-long sampler

Future New starts

Scissor fob
Shamrock scissor fob
Ornament finishing sample piece
Ladybug pin
A Fall Heart
December Joyful World
Afternoon in New York
Afternoon in London
Spring Banner
Patriotic Heart
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
 

 

Fin-eeee!

Ta Da!  All done, pressed, and with all the 'seeds' sewn on!

Two Gingerbread Houses Almost Finished

I stitched both of these Gingerbread Houses by Handblessings Designs while I was in Southern Illinois.  I was almost finished on Sunday afternoon, when I ran out of white floss with only 2 stitches left to go!  This design uses Perle Cotton #8....and every shop that carries DMC and is open on Sunday was out of it!  It is quite frustrating!

My Stitching Supervisor

This Satchmo, one of my grand kitties.  He lives in Southern Illinois with my youngest daughter and her family.  Satchmo has always been rather aloof, and only came around after I was in the house for over three days, and then he stayed at arms length.  This visit however, he has not left my side.  He either sits on my lap or on the right arm of the chair I sit in, and carefully observes every movement with the needle.  If he gets bored with that, he sleeps on the ottoman, next to my feet.  

Fresh Apple Finish

This is the 6th finish in the Fresh Market series by SamSarah Designs.  I must now iron the piece and sew on all the 'seeds'.  I dug out the companion piece, the vegetables.  It is all stitched, but I need to locate the buttons that are the 'bugs'.  the I can order frames for them.

Meeting Some New Stitching Friends

I recently drove to Lake Geneva Wisconsin (only a little over an hour away) to have lunch with these lovely ladies.   From the left, Cathy from Canada, her daughter Karen from Wisconsin, Retha from Wyoming, me from Illinois, Maggie from Michigan and Bev from Wisconsin. 

The reason for the lunch was that Retha was visiting her in laws and wanted to meet us in person.  I have know Maggie for years, and have corresponded with Retha for some time, but never met in person.  It was a lovely afternoon full of stitching talk.  Hopefully we can do it again next time Retha comes to the Midwest.

A Late Christmas Finish...

...or perhaps an early finish for next Christmas!  I stitched this one quite awhile ago, but couldn't find my doubled sided tape.  Just found it, so I finished up this sucker!

Fresh Kiwi Finish

Today I finished the stitches on Fresh Kiwi, which is part of the Farmer's Market Series by SamSarah Designs.  Only one more to go and the series is finish!

Last Thursday I took the first of my three Nancy Cucci classes that were my birthday gift to myself.  The first one was the Heart Banner, and a portion of the cost went to Breast Cancer research.  I finally had a chance to finish this one last evening.  Nancy's designs are always fun to stitch.  She uses some challenging stitches and lots of beads and textures.      This is the third of Nancy's Banners that I have stitched.  I need to actually do some finishing so that I can display them......

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

An Early Morning

 Since retirement, I rarely get up before the crack of 8 or 9 or even 10 am.  But today, I got up at 6:30!  I had to be in Crystal Lake for a class with Nancy Cucci by 8 am.  Thanks to all the people that forgot how to drive when there is snow on the sidewalk, I was a little late, but I got there!

 This is my piece at the end of the class (5 and 1/2 hours of class).  I am quite pleased with the progress!

The class was called Pacific Heart and was pilot class for Nancy.  She will be teaching this at the national seminar this summer, and we were the group that got to be her 'test run', we get to stitch the project and make sure there are no errors in the chart, etc.  We only found two very minor type-oes so far.  It is a lovely project, and all of Nancy's designs are a joy to stitch.

Another Cheesecake

This weekend's baking is a Double Decker Raspberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake.  It's a recipe I clipped from Bon Appetite Magazine at least 15 years ago, if not longer.  It is still available on line if you google the title. 

When I was going through recipes the other day, I realized how much I like this cheesecake (well, I never met a cheesecake I didn't like) and wondered why I don't make it very often. 

I baked it last night, and brought it to German School today, and there isn't a crumb left!  Between the teachers and volunteers, they just devoured it!   I will have to make it again real soon.

Fresh Berry Finish

I finished the stitching on Fresh Berry!  now I have 3 of the six parts done!  Buttons will be attached when all 6 pieces are stitched.

Baking Again

 Twins!  Well, almost.  My oldest daughter hasn't used her Kitchenaid Mixer since she got it 11 years ago as a wedding shower gift, so she decided to find it a new home.  I had been wanting to either upgrade my own basic Kitchenaid to a larger model or get a second one, and so the Artesian Kitchenaid found it's way to my house!  Now I can mix and bake twice as fast with out having to stop and wash the bowl and beater constantly.

 Here we have Bienenstich ( Bee Sting Cake).  I always thought this was really hard to make, but it really wasn't.  My taste testers really enjoyed it, they didn't leave a crumb!

I also made Almond Streusel Cherry Cheesecake Bars, ( a Betty Crocker recipe) which were also a big hit. 

Fresh Lime Finish

I finished the Fresh Line chart, which is part 2 of the Farmer's Market series by SamSarah Designs.  It was fun to stitch, and I am looking forward to finish the rest of this series soon.

February Progress, March Goals

February is a short month, so not as much stitching time, but I do feel like I got some things accomplished.  5 finishes, 2 other pieces worked on.  1 finish was a new start. 

February

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 
April flower of the month
Small bargello ball  finished
Landon’s Stocking
Jen’s sled finished

Crazy January Starts

November Joyful World finished
SamSarah fruits  ( 6 of them)
                Melon finished
                Lime     
                Berry 
                Pear 
                Kiwi 
                Apple 
Afternoon in Paris
Afternoon in Rome  
Stitch-a-long sampler worked on it

Future New starts

Valentine Biscornu worked on it
Perforated paper ornament (2)
Large Bargello ball finished
Scissor fob
Ornament finishing sample piece
Ladybug pin
A Fall Heart
December Joyful World
Afternoon in New York
Afternoon in London
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
               Nathan
spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge

March

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 
April flower of the month
Landon’s Stocking

Crazy January Starts

SamSarah fruits  ( 6 of them)
                Lime     
                Berry 
                Pear 
                Kiwi 
                Apple 
Afternoon in Paris
Afternoon in Rome  
Stitch-a-long sampler

Future New starts

Valentine Biscornu
Perforated paper ornament (2)
Scissor fob
Ornament finishing sample piece
Ladybug pin
A Fall Heart
December Joyful World
Afternoon in New York
Afternoon in London
Candy Corn Heart
Gingerbread Heart
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge