wipocalypse post ( a little late...)

Do we sense a theme here?

Anyway, I've decided to join in this year, because, even though I know that I will be starting new things throughout the year, I really do want to focus on getting some WIPs finished.

And I'm off to a good start. This is a design from ByGone Stitches  called Autumn Quaker Seasons and it is now finished...yay! Actually, I am kind of sad to see it done because I really enjoyed stitching this piece. It is stitched on a beige-y evenweave with threads from Carrie's Creations - Mud Pie, Toasted Marshmallow, and Koala Claw (silk). I started it last January,

This month, we are supposed to introduce ourselves. I've lived in Oregon for the past 22 years, originally from New York. I'm married with two grown daughters and one amazing grandson who is 7 years old. We also currently have two dogs and one cat who let us share their space. I'm a librarian, and am seriously thinking about retirement, maybe in the next year or so. I love to spend my time stitching (duh!); reading cozy mysteries; watching sports and British TV shows; listening to music and finding new places to explore. There is a tab on my blog called "Stitching Plans for 2016". There you will see a list of some of the WIPs I hope to stitch on this year, as well as some other goals...like an ornament a month...I still have 5 days to get January's done!

Hope everyone is having a stitchy day!

gifted gorgeousness...a little ( or a lot!) late

Last year, I signed up to participate in Jo's Gifted Gorgeousness SAL. But, like so many other things last year, I didn't keep up very well. So I decided to sign up again this year. I know...I'm already late for my first post, but hopefully that will get better! Since the regular posting date is the 15th of the month, I will post my progress as of then.

The first piece is the same one I was working on last year...Quaker Seasons - Autumn from By Gone Stitches. The pattern was a Secret Santa gift from Gillie in 2014. This is was my progress then, but I have stitched more on it, so next month I will hopefully have a finish!

This second piece is from Blackbird Designs. I belong to a Blackbird Designs Fans Facebook group, and since so many of their designs have gone out of print and go for huge sums on Ebay, etc, a lending library of sorts has been started. This is a design I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow
(so that's a gift, right? even though it will be returned and re-gifted!) It is called Moon Garden.

So, that is it for January! Now let's see if my addled brain will get this post to the proper place!

Hope everyone is  having a great stitchy month!

lynda

another wonderful giveaway

  
Nancy, from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe, is generously offering a fabulous Valentine's Day giveaway. Check out her blog for all details.

Have a happy stitchy day!

some stitchy progress

This was an extra long weekend for me. On Thursday, I fell going up the stairs at work (clumsy!) and I have been sore ever since. No-one ever said I was graceful!

I had to take hubby to the doctor on Friday, so stayed home and managed to get some stitches in on Moon Garden. It's getting there...finally! I wish I could take a decent photo of this piece. Maybe when it is finished!

Was lucky enough to have a sleepover with Asher on Saturday, so we got to have lots of grandma time. Always a joy!

The rest of the weekend was mostly spent watching lots of football and running errands, but I did manage to get some more stitches in on my Autumn Quaker. I can see the finish line on this one. I really love stitching on this piece and will be both sorry and happy to see it finished!

Hmmm...can't seem to get this centered. Oh well...off to work. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

first TUSAL of 2016 and some weekend stitches

January 9 was the first New Moon of 2016, and that means our first totally useless SAL post. Here is my faithful froggy with this month's basket of orts. Lots of pretty colors in there.

On Friday, I took part in my first Friday Frolics, thanks to kitten stitching's blog. I decided to stitch on Moon Garden by Blackbird Designs. This is where I ended up. The colors are totally off in this photo. The photo in my previous post is much closer to the actual colors. I don't know how this happened!

On Saturday, I picked up my Autumn Quaker Sampler to work on. This is a piece that I really want to finish soon. I love the colors and I love working on it.

And finally, on Sunday, I re-started Quaker Christmas II. I didn't get very far, but I am thinking that this will be a long term labor of love. Slow and steady.

I feel really good about the things I accomplished this weekend. I worked on the three pieces that I wanted to work on and made some progress on each. I haven't set any goals for this week...maybe tomorrow...

Thanks for taking the time to visit today...happy stitching!

friday follies

My friday got off to a messy start when I spilled my entire chai latte while opening the door to the library this morning. And I'm cold again. I know, stop complaining! Everyone else in the building is too warm and I am sitting here with a huge fleece blankie wrapped around me, trying to warm up. Plus, I think I probably look a tad ridiculous. Oh well.

I am really looking forward to some stitching time this weekend. I've stitched a tiny bit on my autumn sampler, but to be honest, I have been so tired every night when I get home that I have been falling asleep in the chair more often than putting needle and thread to fabric. I feel really bad too, because hubby doesn't get home now until almost 9 at night, so theoretically I have lots of time to stitch...and instead, I have been snoozing. Maybe it's just that this was the first week back after the holidays and I'll get a second wind or something...

I'm thinking of stitching on Moon Garden tonight. This is a design from Blackbird Designs, and the pattern has been loaned to me since it is out of print. Because of this, I really want to get it finished, but for some reason, I just can't seem to get into stitching it. The colors are all very pastel shades...maybe that's it, I don't know. But I decided to give it all my attention tonight and see how far along I get. This is my starting point:

Saturday will be devoted to the autumn quaker sampler, and then on Sunday, I plan on re-starting Quaker Christmas 2. I started this one a long time ago, and didn't get very far (a theme with me!). When I picked it up again last year, I was really determined to finish it by Christmas. Then I finished the first page, and when I went to start the second, I realized that I had stitched it the wrong way on the fabric. I had the short ends on the sides, making it more horizontal like QC1, but it should have been more vertical. I just didn't have the heart or the energy to pick out everything I had stitched, so I put it away for later. Now later is here, and I have new threads and a new piece of fabric and I am just starting over. Let's see how far I come this year!

I hope you all have lots of time to stitch this weekend. Thanks for taking the time to come and visit!

snow day!

Yesterday, I got an unplanned snow day, thanks to all the ice all over the roads. We woke up to snow on Sunday...pretty unusual here in the valley...but it gradually turned to icy rain which turned to really hazardous road conditions. Now, I am originally from the Hudson Valley region of New York, and no stranger to snow and cold weather, but I must confess to becoming a bit of a weather weakling since moving to Oregon! I don't like the cold all that much at all! And driving on ice is not the same as driving in snow!

So, on went the fireplace, and with a nice big mug of tea, I hunkered down to watch the new season of Downton Abbey and stitch to my heart's content. What a wonderful day!

And this is the result...my little lost but not forgotten Lizzie Kate. Geesh...it only took 4 years to finish...what was I thinking! It just needs two little buttons.

Anyway, I also found another lost treasure...another Lizzie Kate design called The Art of Aging Artfully.  I started this one on January 29, 2012...but this is as far as I got.

So I'm thinking that maybe I'll do a letter or two a week, and pretty soon it will be finished.

Tonight, I will be stitching on my Quaker Autumn Sampler. Gillie (at Friendly Stitchers) has challenged us to pick up a WIP and finally get it done, so this is the one I have decided to do first. It's fitting too, because this was a gift from Gillie when she was my Secret Santa a couple of years ago.
I've finished the first page.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today...I hope everyone is enjoying their day!

not the way I planned to start stitching the new year!

Not sure why I thought any "plans" I might have made would go smoothly...

The stitching plan was to start the 2015 Prairie Schooler Santa on New Year's Eve...the pattern didn't come in time and my grandson spent the night and we welcomed in the new year together. New Year's Day was to find me starting Crazy Socks from Rosewood Manor...but that day was spent playing with my grandson and continuing nursing the hubby through a bout of vertigo. Today we woke up to snow falling...something that doesn't happen too often here, and I spent a lot of time "thinking" about what I should stitch, finally filling in our 2016 wall calendar and wondering how/if I could get to work tomorrow.

I finally picked up a needle and thread when I found this little ditty while searching for something else. It is Lizzie Kate's Did You Ever Stop to Think...seemed appropriate! I did some sleuthing and realized that I started this in January of 2011 (yikes!) as part of one of those 'start a bunch of new designs in January' challenges. You can see that I didn't get very far that January! Hopefully, it will get finished this January!

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2016! Did everyone start a new piece on New Year's Day?

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog!

a special giveaway to start off the new year!

Nancy, from Victorian Motto Sampler, is graciously offering another giveaway of some of her beautiful flosses. Visit her blog to see all of her gorgeous threads and patterns. 

Good luck!

a little bit of Christmas

It's been so much fun visiting your blogs and seeing all the beautiful stitching, and trees and decorations for the holidays. I thought I would share a couple of photos from our house. If you click on the photos you can get a better look.

This is our tree. It's a little bit bigger than the ones we've had the past few years, and I love it! It's filled with an eclectic assortment of ornaments, some from when my girls were little, some from our travels, some gifts, some new...the star on top was my husband's when he was growing up. He remembers going to buy it with his dad, more than 50 years ago. And it is still spinning! The tree just isn't complete without that star.

This year, I finally bought a small tree to showcase my stitched ornaments. Some of these are ones I stitched, but most are gifts from stitching friends. I had a tabletop tree for years, but I cold never stuff all the ornaments on there. This works out so much better!

And this is our little Charlie Brown tree. I just couldn't resist!

I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful season...thanks for taking the time to visit!

last late TUSAL of 2015

I figured I might as well not break my pattern of being late all year!

Here is froggy with this month's offering...

 And here he is with my jar for the year...I didn't feel like I've had much chance to stitch this year, but the jar is full, so I guess I accomplished more than I thought I did!

Looking forward to next year...and being on time! (If you want to join next year, here's a link to tell you all about it! - thanks, Sharon!)

Thanks for visiting!

ideas for the new year and other stitchy stuff

Stitch from Stash is no more...not that I did very well this year anyway. Last year, I hardly spent anything, this year...well,I spent a lot more! And, even though I know that I have more than I could ever hope to stitch, and even though I have way too many WIPs, I am drooling over lots of new things to buy. Is there any hope left for me? Probably not!

But I do want to have some kind of plan for the new year. I don't think I am going to join the Crazy Challenge this year, but I do hope to finish some of the projects I started over the last few crazy challenges!

I think I might do the same challenge that my LNS (Acorns and Threads) did last year (although I didn't get very far in it last time!) We started a new project for every Saturday in January, and then a new project each first Saturday of each month of the year. So that would be 16 new projects, and since next year is 2016, I though it was kismet! In addition to a January 1st start, that would be at least 17 new projects.

And, I really do want to get through some of my WIPs... I'd also like to get an ornament a month done, a mitten a month, and all the blocks for our Stitchers' Timeout group exchange.
What am I thinking????

It has been so long since I actually updated this blog, that I do have some stitching to show! I finished two more of the Cricket Collection's mittens. The first is called Claddagh Mitten, the second is Ginger Mitten. I really love stitching these...they are so much fun to do.

There is a group over on Facebook called Fans of Blackbird Designs, and we are so fortunate to have access to a lending library of some out of print designs from BBD. The first is Blessings Be Thine (which I believe is being reprinted in a new Christmas book from Blackbird Designs), and the second is called Their Song. I loved stitching both of these, and am currently working on two more!

The last one I would like to share is a design from Carol at iStitch. It is called Stitching Soothes the Soul. I love Carol's designs...they always really relax me when I am stitching them.

I guess I should get back to work...thanks for taking the time to visit today. Hope everyone has a great weekend planned!

  

new birthday club

Nancy, from Victoria Motto Sampler, is starting up a new birthday club for 2016!

I'm sure that many of you have already seen this, but in case you haven't, here is the link:
http://victorianmottosamplershoppe.blogspot.com/2015/11/victorian-motto-sampler-shoppe-birthday.html

It looks like so much fun! Thanks, Nancy!

stitching from stash

Month: October

Spent: 46.83

Earned: 4.00

Hmmm...a pretty dismal report spending-wise. It went for everything - fabric, threads, patterns. I did finish a small mitten design from Cross Eyed Cricket, and have been stitching on a couple of samplers and round robins. So hopefully I will have more earned for next month.

Till then...I hope the rest of you are keeping to your budgets better than I am!

another late TUSAL

So...once again, I am a week late with my monthly ort collection. Froggy is getting a little bit tired of me! I did finally figure out that I can transfer photos from my phone to my computer at work though...I know, I'm pathetic when it comes to technology of any kind.
But here is Froggy, with this month's offerings...

See you soon...thanks for visiting!

The Enchanting Rose Mug Exchange

This was my first time participating in this wonderful exchange that Stephanie hosts on her blog, The Enchanting Rose. We could choose to send either a teacup or mug to our partner, along with other goodies if we wanted.

Here is the wonderful mug exchange package that I received from Julie in Texas. (there was also a book, but I forgot to put it in the photo) And I must admit that one box of those tasty biscuits was empty by the time the photo was taken as well!

My husband and I have been using the mugs nearly every day, and I know that I will be using the linens for our holiday table this Thanksgiving. And the lovely lacy basket will be the perfect resting place for some of my small stitched pillows.

Thanks again to Julie and Stephanie for such a wonderful exchange experience!

lynda

Stitch from Stash - September

Well, this was not a good month for staying within my budget, that's for sure!

Month: September

Spent: $63.38

Earned: $14.00

Money was spent on some really pretty threads from Shamrock Threads (a new to me company), some fabric from Picture This Plus for Halloween stitching, and a few patterns that I just couldn't resist!

I finished a couple of exchange pieces and one Halloween design...but I'll show them in another post.

I hope everyone had a good month!

~~lynda~~

there's an app for that

I've noticed some chat on Facebook about the app X-Stitch, and just wanted to talk about it a little bit.

The app doesn't have an Android component  (yet!), but I've been using it on my iPad for several months now, and just wanted to say how much I love it! If you are like me, you are always looking for an easy way to keep track of the threads and charts that you have stashed. I've tried making excell sheets, and I also made some google sheets. These all work ok, but you have to put in everything yourself and I just don't have the time or patience for that.

This X-Stitch app makes things so much easier.  There is a simple shopping list page to keep track of all the things you absolutely have to have (because we can never have enough stash, right?) There is also a journal section. This includes a wishlist, as well as a place to keep track of all your projects...kitted, started and finished. There is a place for the name and designer, along with notes about your supplies and just things in general that you  might want to add.

The inventory section is worth its weight in gold. There are over 20 different makes of threads listed. All the colors are there. You just click on the brand, add what you have to the color name and you're good to go. The charts section has almost 100 designers listed. Again, you click on a designer, and then list the patterns you have. Easy peasy!

And something I really appreciate is the excellent customer service the developers of this app show. You can just send them an email, and they will add a designer if they are not already listed, or color names if they are missing from the thread lists. You can also make suggestions for future additions to the lists (like thread manufacturers that are not already included). They are very prompt with their replies too.

I can't remember the cost of the app...I want to say $2.99...but seriously, it is worth every penny and then some. If you are on the fence about trying this, I encourage you to do it. I don't think you will regret it for a minute!

Thanks for taking the time to visit...hope you enjoy your day!

September TUSAL

Hi again,

It's time for the monthly TUSAL (totally useless stitch-a-long) post. Froggy has lots of different threads in his bowl this month...some bright colors from my round robin, and some fall and Halloween colors too.

See you next month!

Happy September!

It's hard to believe that it's already September! This year is just flying by. I don't know if time seems to go faster because we've been so busy, or if it is just that I'm getting older...but whatever the reason, I wish things would slow down, just a bit!

Our summer was unseasonably hot, and we are still having warmer than normal temperatures. And there was no rain all summer! Very unusual for the Pacific Northwest! But this past weekend, Mother Nature hit us with a vengeance...rain and wind, and even lightning and thunder, which we don't often see. It didn't last long, but it will be interesting to see what fall and winter bring in terms of our weather.

I know that I have really been neglecting my blog lately. I think about posting a lot, but it's kind of like reading diet books and thinking that you'll lose weight just by reading them! So I am starting this post (it's September 2, in the morning) and we'll see how long it takes before I actually get something posted!

I haven't been stitching anywhere near as much as I would have liked. Our building expansion project is finally under way (we had the groundbreaking on August 8) and it seems like there is always something to do or a meeting to attend. By the time I get home I am so tired that I usually fall asleep in hubby's recliner!

We do have a new round robin starting this month with the Friendly Stitchers group, so that has got me motivated a little! I decided on a design from Blue Ribbon Designs...A Sampling in the Square. I stitched all the borders, and lettering, so I actually feel like I have accomplished something! This group always chooses such lovely designs...I'm looking forward to the new round.

I thought you might like to see a few little goodies that I have bought over the past few months.

The candles are  from Where Sisters Gather. Jennifer is Beth Twist's (Heartstring Samplery) sister. I love these! They are battery operated and look so pretty when lit up, especially now that the evenings are getting darker. The little crocheted basket is from Nikyscreations and is just perfect to stash my scissors and needle threader when I am stitching.

This pretty little pincushion was purchased from Elegant Stitch, as part of their fundraising effort for breast cancer research.

Two threadkeeps: the one on the left is also from Elegant Stitch, and the one on the right came from Monique at The Primitive Jewel.

Two needleminders: the one on the left is also from Monique. The one on the right was purchased from pinoystitch (an etsy shop). She offers all kinds of needleminders with books, and since The Little Prince is my favorite, I couldn't resist this one!

So, I think I started this post on the 2nd of September. It is now September 11. My laptop was giving me loads of trouble...the dreaded Windows 10 critical error, and I couldn't upload any photos, or actually even do anything at all. It's working as of this morning (yay!), but in the meantime, I ordered a camera connection kit for my iPad and loaded the photos that way. Sorry that they are so large. I haven't quite figured out the editing part! (Apparently a couple of these are two large for my post. If you click on the photo you can see the whole picture! - I'll try to edit these when I get home!)

I am very glad that it is Friday. I mentioned that we have started our library expansion project and the last two days have been nothing but jackhammering...all day! It also just happens to be on the same level as my workspace, so it has been very loud! 

I did do a little bit of Halloween stitching this past week, but I will wait and show that stuff next time.

For now, I hope everyone has a great weekend! Thanks so much for taking the time to visit!