A Visit to Pennsylvania

After many, many delays at the airport, I was off to Philadelphia, and then a drive to Lancaster at the
very end of June.  I arrived at the airport at noon for a 1:30 flight, but we didn't take off until 8 pm!  I got lots of stitching done at the airport!  I got into my rental car at 11 pm in Philadelphia, and then started driving to Lancaster.  Thank goodness for my trusty GPS, otherwise I would have never found my hotel in Lancaster! 











The occasion for the trip was the annual workshop of the North American Federation of German Folk Dance Groups.  The workshop was hosted by the Allweil Jung Folk Dancers of the Lancaster Liederkranz.  Although I missed the Friday evening portion, I arrived at the workshop Saturday mid-
morning. 













Over the course of the weekend, lots of dances were taught by Reinhold Frank from Stuttgart, Germany, who brought his son, Johannes, to play accordion for the teaching sessions.





 











Saturday evening was a gala dinner and more dancing, beginning with a grand march.

The weekend ended with a Sunday afternoon drive back to Philadelphia, and dinner and an overnight with Laura, Craig and the girls.  The bonus of Amy, Joey and Jane visiting from North Carolina was just wonderful.  Monday, it was back to the airport and lots more delays (and stitching) before arriving back in Chicago.

A Recent Mail Art Finish - Just in Time for the 4th!

Happy 4th of July!  The Mail Art piece I sent out recently was a patriotic piece for the 4th of July and has now been received so I can show you what I stitched on it.

The front of the "envelope" shows some fire crackers from the Sue Hillis It's Summer chart.  The alphabet is from a freebie by Victoria Sampler.   The address is her business address, so don't worry that I didn't block it out. 

The back shows a birdhouse that is from the Sue Hillis Life and Liberty chart.  The same alphabet was used on the return address.

The inside was lined with fabric that had firecrackers on it, and I enclosed a postcard of Chicago. 

To say the Sue loved it is an understatement!  And she reported that it arrived in perfect condition.

 

 

 



It's a Mystery!

Little House Needleworks is currently doing a 3 part Mystery Sampler.  Here is part 1 all stitched up.  Part 2 will be released in a few days......

Needleworker Finished!

I was away at a folk dance workshop over the weekend (more on that in a future post) and with all the flight delays managed to get a lot of stitching done.  I finished Needleworker by Little House Needleworks on Saturday evening before going to sleep.  It was stitched on 25 count Taupe Lugana over one fabric thread, with one strand of the recommended Crescent Colors threads.  I loved the design, the threads, not so much.  Unfortunately, the threads kept knotting and shredding and in general were very hard to work with.  I have used Crescent Colors threads often and never had this problem before, so I hope it was just a bad batch.

I will probably frame this next May when my LNS has their annual framing sale, if I can wait that long.....

June Progress and July Goals

Well, June sure went by fast!  I got quite a bit of stitching done, and had a good number of finishes.  I must get back to my WISP list.....gotta finish at least one more from that list this year!

June Progress
WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
work on Logan’s stocking 

Antique Map and Needlebook

Heirloom Christmas Sampler

In Progress

Strawberry #1
Fresh Baked 2 finished

Crazy January starts

Natalie’s Birth Sampler 

Future New starts

Joy and Peace  finished
Snow in Love
Good Tidings
afghan pillow bear
afghan pillow moose
Crystal Violets
French Alphabet block sampler
Silent Night (CCN)
Around the World in 80 Days
Owen’s birth sampler
Peter’s Birth Sampler
Natalie’s Stocking
Owen’s stocking
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Halloween House #15
Rose Quaker page 5  finished
Pink Flowers on Gingham 2  finished
Huntington Heart  finished
Jeweled Heart   worked on it
Needleworker  finished
My Stitching Bag  finished
Patriotic Mail art  finished
Needlefelted blue bird  finished
4 person Round Robin my border finished
Leta’s RR finished
Table Runner  started
LHN Mystery Part 1  worked on it

July Goals

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
work on Logan’s stocking 
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler

In Progress

Strawberry #1
Jeweled Heart  
Table Runner 
LHN Mystery Part 1 

Crazy January starts

Natalie’s Birth Sampler 

Future New starts

Snow in Love
Good Tidings
afghan pillow bear
afghan pillow moose
Crystal Violets
French Alphabet block sampler
Silent Night (CCN)
Around the World in 80 Days
Owen’s birth sampler
Peter’s Birth Sampler
Natalie’s Stocking
Owen’s stocking
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Halloween House #15
LHN Mystery Sampler part 2

 

Joy and Peace

Here is the Little House Needleworks ornament that I stitched over the weekend.  It is Joy and Peace, No. 9 in the 2011 series.

Ornamentification will happen at a later date.

IHSW Report

I got lots of stitching in this weekend - since I was at a stitching retreat, it would have been sad if I didn't!

I finished:

• 1 mail art piece
• the border and wording on my Round Robin's piece
• Leta's Round Robin piece
• a needle felted blue bird
• a Little House Needleworks ornament!

Round Robins Again

Our Threads of Life Group started another 4 person Round Robin, and I started it off by being
behind.  While on our retreat, I stitched up the border on my own piece: Bon Appetit by Sue Hillis.  This has been in my to do mountain for quite some time, and I am thrilled that it will finally be stitched!













And I stitched my square on Leta's piece.  They will be in the mail to Sue on Tuesday.

Mail Art Class

Saturday's class at the retreat was a class on Mail Art, taught by yours truly!  I stitched up a new piece of mail art to demonstrate the finishing of a mail art piece done on stitch banding, but I can't show you the piece until the recipient gets it in the mail.  I promise to post a picture just as soon as it is received.

The class itself was well received and a lot of fun to put together.  Hopefully I have inspired everyone to create a piece of mail art of their own!

Needlefelting

At our retreat, there are usually two short classes offered.  The first class was Needlefelting taught by Eileen Gurak of Handblessings Designs.

We began by wadding up the wool and then stabbing it with needles with barbs at the one end, shaping it as we went along.  Two balls and a tail were fastened together by stabbing them with the needles.

Blue wook was then placed over part of the white wood and stabbed into place.  A tail was also added.

The blue bird needed a face and beak.

Wings were added, and here he is, all done!  Not as perfect as Eileen's but I am pretty proud of him anyway.  It was a fun class, with lots of laughter while we were stabbing away at the wool.

 

A Weekend in Galena, Illinois

 

The Fox Chapter of ANG (American Needlepoint Guild) is holding their annual retreat in Galena IL.  

We are staying at the De Soto House Hotel, the oldest operating hotel in Illinois.  It is a charming old hotel with 55 rooms and lots of history.  

 We stitch in the ballroom, and at one point sleep for a few hours. 

I was too busy stitching to take any pictures of the stitching room and the wonderful stitching going on, but did love this very first finish of the weekend by Irene Mast.  I need to add this to my to-do mountain.....

IHSW - June

It's International Hermit and Stitch Weekend again!  The weekend begins for me on Thursday!  check back on Monday to see how much I stitched!

Two Finishes in One Day!

Sunday evening, I finished this quick little project.  I picked up this Shepherd's Bush kit at Black Cat Stitchery on Saturday.  Once I finished the canvas heart, I didn't feel like getting up to get another project to stitch on.  This one was in arm's reach of my stitching chair and had everything I needed in the package, so I started stitching.  By the time it was time to go to bed, it was finished!

Huntington Heart Finished!

I put the last stitches into this project on Sunday afternoon.  This is the Huntington Heart by Nancy Cucci.  I took her pilot class last Saturday, and really enjoyed working on this one!

Ornamentification will happen at a later date.

Black Cat Stitchery Revisited

 Saturday morning, we set out at the crack of 9:30 to take the drive to Black Cat Stitchery in Winthrop Harbor IL.  I picked up Trudi and Michelle, and off we went in the rain!

An hour later we arrived at Black Cat Stitchery, a shop that has just celebrated it's 1 year anniversary.

Lea, Sara and Kay were already there and had been shopping for a bit.  Thanks to Kay's expert navigation and driving, they arrived without incident, much earlier that I expected.  Lea and Sara have a reputation for taking the "scenic route" whenever they go somewhere.

 In the year that elapsed since I last visited the shop, the inventory has been increased.  I was happy to see that!  There are also models up on the wall, which were rather bare last visit.  I did have an opportunity to speak to Erica, one of the owners, and she mentioned that their web site will be going live in a few weeks.  I was happy to hear that too!

Holly arrived a bit later, but wasted no time finding stitching goodies to take home with her.  Another Michelle also met us there!   We filled up the shop and kept Erica's business partner, Paula, quite busy at the cash register. 

After the stash enhancement, most of us drove up the road just a bit to the Stone Creek Grill for lunch.  The Stoney fries were yummy as was the rest of our meals.  We were so busy showing off our purchases, and chatting that we forgot to take a picture!

June TUSAL Report

Here is this month's ort jar....doesn't look like much, but there was a bunch of over one stitching, and not many orts produced from that stitching.

Pink Flowers on Gingham take 2

I stitched the first one a few months ago, and just finished the second one.   This is Pink Flowers on Gingham, a "Teenie Tweenie" by The Sweetheart Tree.   I hadn't planned to stitch this one twice, but the piece of fabric was large enough for two, so as not to waste any fabric, I stitched it again.  One to keep and one to give away.

Ornamentification will happen at a later date

Traveling Stitcher Finish

I stitched this over a year ago, but finally had a chance to finish attaching it to the pouches.....

This is the Traveling Stitcher by Little House Needleworks, attached to the pouches by Impie, Hattie and Bea.  I attached the larger piece a few weeks ago, but misplaced the stitched "Needles" piece.  After looking for something else in my stitching room, I found it, and immediately attached it so I wouldn't lose it again.

Nancy Cucci Day 2

Since Nancy Cucci came all the way from Huntington Beach, CA, we wanted to use her time wisely.  A second class was offered, and I jumped at the chance to take the My Jeweled Heart class.  I chose the Rose colorway, although either one would have been fine.

Here is a photo of Nancy demonstrating how to attach some crystals onto the canvas to a few stitchers.  Nancy is a wonderful designer and teacher, and her instructions and kits are very detailed and easy to follow. 

Here is what My Jeweled Heart will look like when I finish stitching it.  Hopefully it will be sometime this century!

 

 

 

 

Nancy Cucci Day 1

Our ANG chapter hosted Nancy Cucci, who came to conduct a pilot class of her new design, Huntington Heart, which will be presented at the ANG National Seminar in Anaheim, CA this summer. 

 

I was thrilled to be part of this class!  Here is the canvas and all the supplies that we were given.  We stitched all day.  It was slow going with lots of instruction, but the day flew by too quickly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Here is what it will look like when I am finished stitching, some time this century.....

 

It was espcially interesting to hear about the designing process and how the various sections evoke feelings of the movement of the waves and water...

Tomorrow is.....

International Yarn Bombing Day...

How will you celebrate?

Freshly Baked Take 2

I finished Freshly Baked Gingerbread for the second time last evening.


This is a design by Sue Hillis that was in the most recent Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue.  I stitched the first one earlier this year, and realized that the piece of fabric was large enough to stitch two, so not being one to waste fabric, it stitched two, one for me and one to give away. 

Ornamentification will happen at a later date.

Rose Quaker Progress

Here is Rose Quaker by Stickideen von der Wiehenburg, stitched on 25 count ivory Lugana with one strand of DMC over one fabric thread.  I have just completed page 5. 

3 more pages to go!

May Progress, June Goals

May was not as productive as I had hoped.  I did manage 5 finishes, and three "finished finishes" as well as taking 5 pieces to be framed.  Not as many blog posts either, but I hope to correct all of this in June.

May

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
work on Logan’s stocking 
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler

In Progress

Cubistic color wheel  finished
Lavender Hill  finished

Crazy January starts

Natalie’s Birth Sampler 

Future New starts

Joy and Peace
Snow in Love
Good Tidings
afghan pillow bear
afghan pillow moose
Crystal Violets
French Alphabet block sampler
Silent Night (CCN)
Around the World in 80 Days
Owen’s birth sampler
Peter’s Birth Sampler
Natalie’s Stocking
Owen’s stocking
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Halloween House #15
Lavender Hill 2   finished
Rose Quaker page 3 finished
Strawberry #1 worked on it
Rose Quaker page 4  finished
Fresh Baked 2 worked on it

June

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
work on Logan’s stocking 
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler

In Progress

Strawberry #1
Fresh Baked 2
 
Crazy January starts
Natalie’s Birth Sampler 

Future New starts

Joy and Peace
Snow in Love
Good Tidings
afghan pillow bear
afghan pillow moose
Crystal Violets
French Alphabet block sampler
Silent Night (CCN)
Around the World in 80 Days
Owen’s birth sampler
Peter’s Birth Sampler
Natalie’s Stocking
Owen’s stocking
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Halloween House #15
Rose Quaker page 5

Remember This?

Remember this mystery project?  Well, I can finally reveal what it is!

 It's a strawberry!  This Strawberry was designed by Sue Hillis exclusively for our EGA Guild, and I presented the project to the guild last evening at our monthly meeting!  Everyone seemed to like it, and I can wait to see their finished pieces.

When Sue sent the chart originally, she had the working title of "Eva's Strawberry" on it.  I just assumed it was a working title.  Imagine my surprise when I got the final leaflets, and she kept the title!  What an honor to have a chart named after me!



Two Finished Finishes....

Here's how I finished both Lavender Hill pieces....Lavendar Hill is a chart by Little House Needleworks.  I attached the stitching to a lavender huswife by Impie, Hattie and Bea.  I added purple scissors and purple floss and a few needles and gave one to Marguerite for her birthday since purple is her favorite color.  

The second one is for me!

Success!

You might remember my difficulty in tracking down the congress cloth to do this project.....well, I got an e-mail from Freda Murfin, the designer, and she has located the congress cloth and it is in the mail on it's way to me!  I can't wait to start it!

Lavender Hill Take 2

I stitched this one a second time....stay tuned for the finished finish.....

Rose Quaker Page 4

I told you I was having trouble putting this one down!  I had planned to stitch one page each month until it was finished, but it kept calling to me....so I stitched a second page this month. 

May IHSW Results

All in all, it was a productive stitching weekend.  I finished the stitching on page 3 of Rose Quaker, I stitched quite a bit on LHN Lavender Hill (which I am stitching for the second time), I finished the Cubistic Mini Color Wheel by Handblessings Designs, and I got a good start on page 4 of  Rose Quaker on Sunday.  Unfortunately, the dreaded frog came to visit and I had quite a bit of reverse stitching to do on Sunday evening.....

Cubistic Color Wheel

At our ANG anual luncheon, we all recieve this design by Handblessings Designs all kitted up.

It's a small counted canvas design, and it stitched up very quickly.  Not sure how I will 'finish' it yet, but I will be inspired someday.

Just finished page three of the Quaker Rose Sampler by Stickideen von der Wiehenburg. 

I am really enjoying this one and hate to put it down! 



International Hermit and Stitch Weekend

Today marks the beginning of the May International Hermit and Stitch Weekend.  Let the stitching begin!

Looking for Congress Cloth

Southpaw Stitcher showed a finish on her blog a little while ago, that I just felt the need to stitch immediately!  It's a counted canvas piece call Variations on a Rhodes Theme by Freda's Fancy Stitching.  Rhodes stitch are my absolute favorite, especially Rhodes hearts and butterflies, so I got the chart and started to kit it up.

Welcome Stitchery had the chart and all the fibres but not the congress cloth.  The chart says Pewter Congress cloth.  The search for this is proving to be much more difficult than anticipated.  After contacting numerous LNS, I finally called Zweigart, who told me they never, ever had a color of congress cloth named Pewter.



I then contacted the designer to see who the manufacturer was.  Freda replied to my e-mail very quickly to tell me that I must have an old chart.  When she originally designed the piece she used a sample that was mismarked, and that the real color is Dusty Blue.  I then started searching for Dusty Blue congress cloth and have not been successful.  Freda then let me know she had a piece and would be happy to send it to me.  I sent her payment via paypal, and had an envelope in a few days.  Right before the envelope arrive, Freda let me know that she had mistakenly sent me mono canvas, and would look for the congress cloth.  She did refund my payment, and let me know her LNS as ordered the congress cloth, which is labeled Zweigart color number 594 in Canada and was probably called something entirely different in the US.  She mentioned that it would take quite a bit of time to get it in and she would let me know when that happened to see if I still wanted it.

So....does anyone have a 12 x 12 piece of congress cloth in Pewter / Dusty Blue / color number 594?  I will be happy to pay you, or give you a pint of blood or my left arm.......