holy night finish

It's done! Woot woot! It turned out so dang cute, if I do say so myself.

Holy Night
by Shepherd's Bush
19 ct Summer Khaki linen by Zweigart
cotton floss by Crescent Colours, The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works
alpaca wool for sheep by Rainbow Gallery
buttons by Just Another Button Co.

Don't you love the wise man's swirly desert?

I had fun stitching the temples, and love the one with the dome.

Some more vines...

I couldn't resist a view upwards. :)

a little more on holy night

My lighting is horrid and washed out, I know, but I finished the shepherd's fields this morning on Holy Night. I really should have been doing laundry, but what are ya gonna do. I only have the wise man section to complete, and then it's done! I might actually have time to get it framed before Christmas which would make me really happy.

I can't get over the woolly sheep! Apparently neither can the stupid dog because he ate all my wool the other night. I was pulling it out of his mouth, all mangled and covered in dog slobber. I think I salvaged enough to finish with. Stupid dog...

holy night start

Due to my daughter being sick, I stitched all day yesterday while we watched Faerie Tale Theater and drank Gatorade. I can't speak for her, but I had a good time!

I'm using the recommended 19 count Zweigart cork linen with Crescent Colours, The Gentle Art, and Weeks Dye Works overdyed cotton floss. While this chart changes colors an insane number of times, and it's a bit difficult to keep three strands of floss from getting twisty, it is nonetheless very fun to work on. I'm stitching this one in a hoop to help control the tension on the floss better.

I like Bethlehem a lot, with the stars and the palm tree and the stable tucked away.

AHH! How much do I love these little sheep?! They're stitched with alpaca wool to make them, well, ya know, woolly.

These wild vines entwine themselves through the whole piece.

cranberry tea finish

Cranberry Tea
by Plum Street Samplers
40 ct Vintage River Willow linen by Lakeside Linens
silks by Belle Soie

I finished this one up Friday night since I received my linen for Holy Night that afternoon. I got a big head start on it since I have a child with the flu and a fever of 104.5, so I can't do much but sit and stitch while I take her temperature every 30 minutes. I will post a few pictures later of what I got done yesterday...I finished a full 25% of the whole design!

progress on cranberry tea

I spent the morning at the car dealership getting the oil changed and the tires rotated. And while I would rather have a root canal than sit in a car dealership watching Spike TV, I did get a fair amount stitched on Cranberry Tea.

I think the partridges are darling. (Are they partridges? I dunno. Let's just say they are.)

And I adore the little snowflakes!

I see I have a fuzzy sticking out there...These berry vines are my favorite part of this whole piece. I like green.

That fuzzy is driving me nuts.

christmas is coming!

I am happy to say that the moving in is finally done for the most part. I've been painting for the last week or so, but I have also been doing a lot of stitching for the holidays. Yay!

I started Cranberry Tea this morning in bed, snuggled under my big down comforter. I'm a lucky gal! I am using the recommended River Willow linen from Lakeside and Belle Soie silks. Oh, how I love me some Belle Soie...drool...



I started Quaker Sampler in Red two weekends ago, and finished it in three days. The flower pot and stems are supposed to be red also, but I switched it up a little bit. I think I might rip it out and do it all in red. I haven't decided yet. It's a gift for someone this Christmas, and I want to get it to the framer in time, so I have to hurry. I really enjoy stitching Quaker medallions- they're so easy and fun to stitch because of the symmetry. You hardly have to look at the pattern.

Quaker Sampler in Red
by Stitching Parlor
40 ct Exemplar linen by Lakeside Linens
silks by Belle Soie

I also added a ton to my stash! I am so excited for my linen to come so I can start Shepherd's Bush new Holy Night sampler. It is gorgeous! I bought all the little buttons for it as well.


I added Little House Neighborhood, Bent Creek's Christmas Row, and Snapperville with the fabulous border add-on. I am really looking forward to doing the Snapperville. It's so dang cute! The border says, "Teach us that we may feel the importance of everyday, of every hour as it passes."

I'm off to church now. I just put a roast in the crock pot, and rolls will be made when we get home. Life is good.

hiatus

Just a note to say I will be absent for awhile until we get moved into the new house. Be back soon!

something wicked finish

As I waited all day for the realtor and clients to show up (which they never did even though they made an appointment), I stitched away on Something Wicked, and before I knew it, I was done. It kind of shocked me when I put the last stitch in. I somehow wasn't expecting it! I stitched entirely in-hand today, so it went quickly.

I think it turned out pretty dang cute. Although, I found two misplaced stitches when I was inspecting the final product, and that is always irritating. Oh, well.

Something Wicked
by La D Da
35 ct Havana linen by Weeks Dye Works
silks by Needlepoint Silks Inc.

I am still working away on Mary Wigham, but I want to pay homage to the new house, so I'm trying to decide between No Place Like Home and Kindness. I'm leaning toward Like Home, but I love the overdyed thread in Kindness...decisions...Votes?

apple sampler finish

I stayed up late last night and finished the apple! This was a fun, fast stitch; definitely a good project to do for a gift.

Apple Sampler
by Birds of a Feather
40 ct Exemplar linen by Lakeside Linens

cotton floss by The Gentle Art

apple sampler

This move is really kicking my trash, but I have lots of time to stitch since my house has to be perfection every night before I go to bed, just in case we show it the next day.

I started a new project last week, the Apple Sampler by Birds of a Feather. The recommended fabric is BOAF 36 Meadow Lark, but I already had a piece of Exemplar to use. I think I like the Meadow Lark better, so I will stitch this one again, and maybe give this one as a gift.

The phrase under the apple reads, "a tree is known by its fruit." It's something I've been taught since I was a little girl, and I look forward to hanging this in a prominent place to remind the family of this simple truth.

My only complaint about this chart is that they spelled possessive form "its" with a misplaced contractive apostrophe as in, "a tree is know by it's fruit," as in, "a tree is known by it is fruit."

Um, no.

I'm sending an email to point out their glaring grammatical error. Just like the time I sent Fox News an email about a glaring grammatical error ("Do you know who there watching?) running in one of their ads. They sent me a thank you note and corrected the error.

Did I mention I got perfect ACT scores in the grammar, spelling and vocabulary sections? Well, I did. :)