Happy New Year Everyone!

We will be having a quiet night here. We have never been big celebrators on New Year's Eve.
Although we live just 25 miles from NYC, we will not be going to Times Square!

Times Square is one of those thing you have to do once in your life, preferably when you are young and more oblivious to the cold!
Keith and I still remember the year we went there. We were 18, just dating a few months, all those decades ago! I wish we had taken pictures.
Now, I prefer to stay home by the fire and watch a good old movie!

On the stitching front, I have made some progress with Freelove Hazard.

Here she is so far:

 She is coming along well, and hopefully I will have my first finish of 2013 before long.

2012 was a good year for finishes, 14 in all.

They were:
1. And They Sinned
2. The Tulip Patch
3. Easter Parade
4. L'Automne
5. The Sarah Whitely Sampler
6. The Most Wasted Day
7. Deep Peace
8. Prairie Schooler Pumpkin ornament
9. Fecelanno (Sears) Sampler
10. Prairie Schooler Cornucopia ornament
11. Prairie Schooler Hen ornament
12. Seek Joy in All Things
13. Early Candle Pocket
14. Count Your Blessings

Here they are (not in order).

2012 Finishes

Don't forget to leave a comment if you would like an opportunity to stitch the Traveling Pattern (see last post). I will pick the winner on January 6th.

However you celebrate, I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

I'll be back next year!

It's Time for The Traveling Pattern to move on!

Yes! She's finished!
I worked hard on this to make it my final finish of 2012.

For those of you who don't know, The Traveling Pattern was started by Sharon ( It's Daffycat ), back in Feb of 2011.
The design is Count Your Blessings, from Shakespeare's Peddler.

Here are the rules as posted on Sharon's original post:

1. Comment on this post, saying you would like to be part of the Stitcherhood.

2. By leaving this comment, you agree (if you are chosen) to stitch the design and send it along to the next person in a timely manner. If this means dropping everything in your rotation to concentrate on this project...so be it. If you can't bring yourself to do this ~ don't sign up.

3. You must have an active blog to participate. If you have a blog but never post to it ~ you won't be chosen to be the next stitcher.

4. This is a giveaway-type Traveling Pattern. That means you must follow it from blogger to blogger to enter each time it is ready to send along. Commenting on this post doesn't make you a guaranteed part of the Stitcherhood.

Here is mine.

Count Your Blessings - Shakespeare's Peddler

I changed the colors in mine to make it look more like my own gray cedar-shingled house.

It is stitched on palest green 40 ct linen, using Sampler Threads.

So there you have it. If you would like a chance to stitch this well-traveled pattern, leave a comment on this post, and I will pick the winner on January 6th 2013.

Early Candle Pocket

This is the time of the year when all these little stitching projects need to be finished up!

Early Candle Pocket from Needleart Designs - Brenda Gervais

This was a quick stitch on 28 count flax, using DMC floss. The stitching is all one over one.

I backed it with an Indigo reproduction fabric.

If I did it over again, I think I would make it a little bigger, but I do hope to use it as an actual candle pocket in my dining room. I need to find some smaller candles to fit in it.

It feels so good to finish up these stray little projects! Hopefully I can fit in a few more before the end of the year.

Seek Joy in All Things (with Chainsaw Stuffing)!

I am slowly finishing up some of the smaller projects I started.

One of them is Seek Joy in All Things, from Stacy Nash Primitives.

I absolutely loved stitching this!

It is stitched on 28ct Flax linen, using DMC.

I backed it with a rustic plaid.

For the stuffing, I wanted a primitive type, natural stuffing. I had thought of walnut shells, but I was inspired by my own back yard!

We had a huge 200 year-old Silver Maple come down during Sandy. It was quite a job to cut it up into somewhat manageable pieces. This was what was left after the sawing:

Lots of curly-que wood shavings! 

I thought it would be a great way to memorialize the tree!

It worked out pretty well. It is a nice scrunchy, lumpy stuffing, just perfect for a prim pillow.
This is how it looks finished:

I think it fits in well with the natural Holiday decorations.

It seemed a good way to truly "seek Joy in all things". Just my little way of taking something back after the storm!

HA! TAKE THAT SANDY!

Hen Ornament for 2012

Since this seemed to have been the year of the chicken, it seemed only fitting that we needed a chicken ornament!

The backing is a simple Christmas print.

This came from an old Prairie Schooler booklet.

Holiday Homestead - Prairie Schooler - Book 14

I changed the color from white to black to look like my Black Australorps. It didn't seem terribly Christmasy to me so I added some blending filament to the colors for a bit of sparkle.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving weekend, and spent some time trying to clean up after Sandy.
Keith worked on re-building the chicken run that was completely destroyed. This was very annoying because we had only finished building it last summer.

It will take us quite a while to deal with all these trees. Some of them may stay there for quite a while I'm afraid!

I also made a start on Freelove Hazard, even though I wasn't going to work on it until after the holidays. I just couldn't resist it! I will be back soon with some pictures.

Happy Thanksgiving

to all you Americans out there! To everybody else, have a wonderful Thursday!

I finished up this little ornament for Thanksgiving.

I gave it just a simple finish, backed with a tone on tone burnt orange fabric, and lightly stuffed with poly-fil.

It came from this Prairie Schooler "oldie but goodie".

A Prairie Year II from Prairie Schooler - Book # 23 from 1989

We are having a very quiet Thanksgiving here, just my husband and myself, and of course the fur babies!

From our house to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

The Fecelanno Sampler ( LOL) !!!

Anyone who is a regular reader of this blog knows that I love to stitch the older stamped samplers. I have quite a collection of them now. They are perfect for when I am feeling tired, brain-dead, or do not have access to my magnifier.

A while ago, I picked up one of these samplers that was about 60% completed. It was dirty and had a few stains, but overall it was a very nice sampler. From the looks of it, it had been stitched by at least 2 previous stitchers, if not more. Some of the stitching did not go in the same direction, which did bug me a little. I re-stitched one of the motifs, but quickly realized that I would not have enough of the remaining floss that accompanied it, to re-do much more. All in all, it did not look bad, so I just finished the remaining motifs.

This was a Sears Needlework Kit # 5142 published in the Fall of 1967. It definitely looked like an historical reproduction. I wanted to see if I could find out more about it, so off to Google I went.

I found the exact same sampler being sold by antique dealer/auctioneer. He listed it as, "The Fecelanno Sampler, stitched by someone in the Fecelanno family in 1850".

REALLY!?!

FECELANNO

or maybe , could it be . . .

Fece l'anno  (made in the year)

Ok, now maybe not everyone would know that that is Latin, but if you were putting yourself out there as an expert, wouldn't you at least take the time to do a little research?

In less than 10 minutes online, I found that this was a very common phrase found on many continental samplers. There were several samplers in the Victoria and Albert collection that included this phrase.

Anyway, I completed the sampler and gave it a good soak. Most of the stains came out, or got much lighter.

Here she is:

Vintage Sears Needlework sampler # 5142 from 1967
(click to enlarge)

And now for another old Latin saying:

Caveat emptor !  (let the buyer beware)!

Don't you just love "experts" ?

A Little Pumpkin Finish

I totally missed Halloween this year! It happened when we had no power or phone, and were completely cut off from the rest of the world.

I am not a big Halloween stitcher, but I do love harvest designs!

I started this several days before the blackout, but didn't get to finish it until now.

I did a simple finish with a striped cotton fabric, and stuffed it with polyfil.

It came from an "oldie but goodie" Prairie Schooler booklet that I have had for ages.

A Prairie Year - Prairie Schooler  #13 from 1986

We haven't had much of an opportunity to clean up after Sandy yet. We did make one unpleasant discovery. A large fallen tree had blocked our access to the back yard. When we went got over it, we discovered that one of the larger branches had fallen on our best bee hive!
Keith tried his best to save it, and moved the frames into another box, but the outcome is doubtful because it was exposed to the elements for a while.
Bummer!
I am really looking forward to things getting back to normal. I am sure the people who have lost much more, probably feel the same.

Deep Peace is finished!

I was beginning to think it would never happen! Actually I finished the stitching last week, but I didn't iron/steam it until this morning. Hopefully I took enough of the volume out of the center of the D with the steam. It seems to lie a bit flatter now. I hope when it is framed, it will not be noticed.

First I had to re-stitch the berries with the pink color.

Then I illuminated the vertical and horizontal columns with silver back-stitching.

I didn't have a picture that showed the pearl purl around the letter last time. This one shows the completed D.

The letter is over-layed with gold filament as well. I was worried about ironing/steaming the metallic area, so I used as little heat as I could. The purl at the top still looks a little wonky, but I am hoping it will stretch out when it is framed.
Next, the gold and silver paillettes were added. They were supposed to be done with French knots, but on occasion I had to take an extra stitch to keep them secure.

Here is the whole piece completed:

Deep Peace

Phew! I am very glad to have this one finished!

Just in time for the hurricane! Hope I will be able to get some Deep Peace and we don't lose any more trees! The winds have really started to howl here! I wanted to post this before we lost power.

Hope all of you stay safe from Sandy! Good luck!

TUSAL, some groaning, and a small finish!

That time again!

Here is my August TUSAL:

You see these guys?

FROGS ! ! !

They love Deep Peace soooo much, that they have decided to live here permanently!

Here is my progress (though you could hardly call it that)!

I have officially spent more time frogging this than I have stitching it! AGGGHH!
You would never know it from this rather innocuous looking picture, but a great deal of drama has played out on this little piece of linen! I was further along. I even had one of the forget-me-nots partially finished, but it all had to go. I had all kinds of problems with the stem. It definitely looks a little different than the picture. Something in there has gone very wrong, but I will be darned if I can find out where it went off the track. Also, I think mine is a little wider than the directions say it should be. Also I don't particularly like the dramatic differences in the green of the stem and leaves. I would prefer it to be a more subtle change in color. I refrained from frogging it though because I have had enough of that!

This was giving me such fits! I was very frustrated. That, combined with my insomnia induced jumpy eyes, I decided to take a break.

I always keep one of my easy little projects nearby for just such a situation.
I pulled out The Most Wasted Day, and finished it!

The Most Wasted Day - Erica Wilson 1972

I know, it's a silly little thing, but I love the crayola colors!

Well, I can't say that I have particularly enjoyed our summer weather this year, but atleast my Clivia has enjoyed the humidity. I was so pleased that it bloomed. Last year it didn't bloom at all. In fact it has been almost 2 years since I got a bloom. When they do bloom however, they are quite spectacular.
I will leave you with this tropical picture:

Happy stitching everyone!

The Sarah Whiteley Sampler is finished!

Yea!
It would have been a day sooner but I discovered to my horror that the border did not meet up.
Every stitcher's worst nightmare! It took me a bit of fiddling with it, but finally, with some creative stitching, I managed to get the ends to meet. Hate when that happens!

Anyway, here she is:

The Sarah Whiteley Sampler
Stitched with DMC on 32ct Natural linen

The chickens are giant! The rooster looks like he can peer into the second floor windows on the house!
I had fun stitching this one! I love the colors. I am always partial to red.

I had some trouble photographing this one. This was part of the reason:

Furrytail was hungry, and was not to be ignored!

I want to thank you for all of your comments. I love reading them. Will let you all know how it goes with the chickens. We are looking forward to our first egg somewhere around the middle of September.

L'Automne est finis!

Finally! Yeah!

I have to say that I found this very difficult. I'm sure that part of it was that I stitched it one over one, but the design itself was very curvy with the winding vines, etc. I do not think I have ever made so many mistakes on a design, at least not in recent history.
There was a lot of improvising going on here, especially towards the end.

Here she is. Sorry about the crooked picture.

L'Automne - Birds of a Feather
Stitched 1 over 1, using DMC threads on 28ct natural linen

Since we have been immersed lately in all things chicken, I couldn't help but be drawn to The Sarah Whiteley Sampler. I love the crazy looking chickens in it!

The Sarah Whiteley Sampler -Reproduction of an 1823 sampler

This is an oldie from 1985, from Susan L Coyle of Creative Designers.

I made a start.

There is something amiss here though. I started in the center the way I always do, and then moved to the left side, and up to the top. I was really surprised to find how much fabric I had at the top. Gives you a very uneasy feeling that there won't be enough on the bottom. There is also more on the left margin than there should be. I have measured this so many times. Mathematically, it seems to be reasonably correct, but my sense is that something is wrong. I am also wondering if the stated finished size is correct. Hmmm! I was thinking of re-doing it, but I would really hate to do that. Aggravating!

The chickens are keeping us in stitches! They are such funny little things! They seem to double in size in front of our eyes. When they were little, I would feed them the small bits from the bottom of the popcorn bag. The mere crinkle of the bag sent them into a frenzy! I created a monster, or monsters I should say. Now they come to my door to beg for popcorn, the silly things! I had no idea that chickens could interact so much with people. I'm afraid they have become unintended pets!

Chickens calling!

TUSAL, Easter Parade, and some progress

Happy Spring everyone!

Here is my TUSAL:

Last week when it started to get warm, I dispersed my 2011 orts on the bushes around my house. I always hope the birds will use them for building their nests.

I do have a finish to announce!

Here is Easter Parade:

Easter Parade by Blackbird Designs - Stitched on 32ct Waterlily with GA Threads.

I loved stitching this one! Now I have to find the right frame. I have an attic full of frames and yet none of them seem right. This is an odd size. It will be tough to find one. I would like to stitch it again on 40ct to have it a little smaller.

I made a little progress on L'Automne. This is very slow going one over one. It is frustrating because I made a critical error somewhere early on. I thought I found it and fixed it, but no such luck. Don't you just hate it when the lines don't meet up! It is especially important in this as it is a line drawing! I have been improvising as I go along but I am afraid there is something unfixable looming out there! Not a good feeling.

Here is where I am:
Hope everyone enjoys the day out there! It is beautiful here in New York. Hope it is nice where you are.

Tulip Patch is finished!

I should have posted this last week, but here it is:

I wanted to keep the Arts & Crafts style with the signature, so I used a Roycroft font for the initials.It was stitched on 40ct Ivory linen using Needlepoint Silks.

Now I will have to find a frame for it!

After that, I started L'Automne.

I have wanted to stitch this for a long time but have been put off by the huge size of it! As published, I would never be able to find wall space for it. I decided to stitch it one over one on 28 count, in Flax.

Even with that, it is pretty big. I am using 2 threads, making the stitch pop a bit, to give it a 3-d effect.

I have been a little surprised at the colors. I decided to use DMC, and it is coming out nothing like the picture! I knew it would be a bit different, but this is really quite a bit different. The colors are not so fall-like as in the picture. I am not sure how I like this just yet. I am reserving judgement for the moment.

I was unfortunately visited by the frogs! I think I have spent as much time frogging as I have stitching! LOL. This is what I have so far:

That hair! It is much redder in the picture. Here, it is flaming orange!

I cannot believe that it is March! I do love my calendar picture though. We have been getting this calendar every year from Wolf Creek in West Virginia, for years.

I just love the sheep!
March is going to be a difficult month for me. Besides being my birthday month (who wants to face that), I will be having some medical tests. This sort of thing should get easier as you get older, but I find that I have become very distrustful of the whole medical industry! I face them with great trepidation! We are still awaiting the results of our insurance appeal from my surgery last summer. I do not have high hopes for a good outcome. UGGH!

I will have to do a lot of stitching to counteract the stress!