Lights Out Mary Wigham

It is 2:15AM as I am writing this on Wednesday morning, and I have been up since 5AM Tuesday morning. Why? I have had a lot on my mind the last few days, getting excited for the weeks ahead, and the time change hasnt helped either. I finished stitching her about 15 minutes ago, dug out the iron and board, and thrilled to present Mary Wigham as a complete sampler. What do you think?!! Yeah!! I had my 2nd wind about 12 hours ago, and I think I am on my 24th :). Mary was stitched using NPI on 40ct Pearled Barley Lakeside Linens.

This is the 4th Quaker that I have finished this year, my mistake in the previous post as I mentioned only 3 (Forgiveness, Mouline Rouge, Beatrix Potter and now Mary). I am happy to have her off the WIP, and can not wait to get onto something else. Not that I dont love Quaker samplers, I just need more variety!

I have a few in mind, and I have to order some silk this week, because I am missing a few from my newly organized stash. Silk and a few other items perhaps......

I have put Mary to bed, and I am soon to follow! Thanks for your comments, it is definately a highlight!

WIP & More Floss Organizing

Before


After


More Floss Organizing


I have to first say a BIG, HUGE Thanks to all who left comments on my Mermaid finish! I am thrilled I got 20 comments!!!! 20!!! It is the most I have received so far with my blog and I cant be happier. How exciting it is to be inspired and enabled by others. Whoo Hoo!

In fact, so inspired by reading several other blogs about WIP's. There is such a variety of WIP's out there, that I really was curious on how many I had going. I was all ready to start the next project, and thought, let me take a fast look and see what is really going on in this stash closet. Well, including some serious BAP's, I have a total of 8 WIP's. Which is not bad, but I like finishing things too!!! Checking all the ones in question out, which one would I really like to get done and put to bed. Well, you guessed it. Mary. Not that this would have really been my first choice, I would much rather have started another new project! Right? With all these great new designs out there from so many fabulous designers, who wouldnt want to start something new--raise your hand.

I dont see to many hands raised! LOL. I have posted a picture of where I left Mary, and up to the squirrel, was done before-- it seems like forever since I have worked on her. The top 3 sections are complete, and I am trying to complete a section before going onto another, but I am not sure that will continue. Working the right side, I think I might just keep going to the bottom right and work left. Who knows. All I know is that she needs to get done. This will be my 3rd Quaker complete this year, and I am ready for something new.

Another reason I am very excited, is that my floss ring of WDW from the Mermaid, is no longer sitting on the couch, it is put away in its place in my floss organizer. YEAH!!!! This is fabulous!! No more random floss bags floating around. They all just clipped right back into place. (For more information on this TERRIFIC SYSTEM, please check my blog archives on the right hand column) I also finished organizing my Needlepoint Silk. All numerical and ready for use. Both Cotton and Silk done. Check!

Off to another great week of stitching! Hope all of you had a great weekend. I know I sure did!

Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler Complete

Around 6 1/2 weeks this little gem took to start and finish. I am thrilled to be at this stage, looking at her on linen, instead of the infamous pattern! What a process this has been from my post yesterday. I immediately sat down and started stitching the last of the motifs, and finally after a few tube shows and movies, she was finished!!!! The last picture is so funny-- many of you have said the needles have been on fire! Just about, but at almost 11:30pm I had a serious situation at hand. My needle was bent so bad, I couldnt believe I had not noticed earlier!!!! I went so fast, looking for another speedy stitcher (Bohin #28) so I could continue!!

She is DONE!!!! Yeah!!!! Stitching her on 40ct Porcelain Lakeside Linen with Coffee Bean Gloriana Silk 1 over 2; Just a HINT of Belle Soie Pink Quartz, so delicate, so beautiful!! I can hardly stand it!!! I cant wait to show her off to all of you. Enjoy!

More Beatrix

Beatrix Potter is back under way. Small progress on the bottom left side, and hope to power her out. She is turning out more and more beautiful!

I am excited for all the new items that will be finding new homes in the next few weeks, after our LNS ladies/gentlemen get back from market! Besides the much anticipated Christmas of Hawk Run, new Plum Street, Primitive Needle, Sarah Woodham (oh there are too many!!).... I visited the Goode Huswife website last night and to my surprise, there was new pics!! I new about the new Book in her series, but the designs are great too! Nice to have her back in the swing of things.

I look forward to hearing from you, and seeing what we can do about enabling each other! I am sure there are things that I have missed!!

More Bea

Another INCREDIBLE weekend. Thanks to all for such a fabulous one! Who knew having such wonderful friends would be all you need? Well, that, a few stash projects and a nice bottle of wine! :) But really, I cant imagine not having them. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

I have put my English Whitework Sampler on the side burner. I think I will try to work on it once a week for a little while..until it is complete. There are so many things to stitch, so many new things coming out to stitch. All the projects need some attention! I am back stitching Bea, and I am loving her more and more. The more Coffee Bean I stitch, the more incredible she looks! I love the Pink Quartz too. I am also amazed at the size of Bea, she is alot smaller then I thought! I only have one 1/2 motif on the bottom and I can see the height that she is going to be. I thought she was a lot larger. Strange. I guess I never really measure and I generally work with a stitchers half of linen, so I dont need to worry to much of it not fitting. There are only 40 motifs to stitch, and I have 13 done. Not to bad right?

Thanks to everyone who leaves such wonderful comments! I enjoy reading each and everyone. Hope all of you enjoyed your weekend too.

Until the next time!

And Life Goes On

Gosh, what a whirlwind week. I thought last week was going fast, and here it is the 30th of August. 10 whole days without this computer. 10 whole days of mixed emotions and 1 Big Bag of Crazy!

A few things I am anxious to share with all of you, is my progress on a few, and 2 new starts. Of course there isn't a week that can go by without starting something new from my stash. Beatrix is moving along beautifully, even added the tiny Pink accent (as shown in the 2nd pic) I chose Belle Soie Pink Quartz as my companion color to the Gloriana Coffee Bean. I LOVE it. Subtle but what an impact it is going to have overall.


Peace has made an appearance this week & I have an example of all the colors stitched into the piece, except for the color I am using for the letters, etc. I wanted to see how the colors looked on the piece, before really getting to involved; already I had to adjust the shading with the greens. Mind you, this picture is just a drop in the bucket on this pattern. I am not positive, but I think this it is going to be the largest piece I will ever stitch.


This is a close-up of Dames of the Needle "The Sampler Purse". It is one of my new starts this week. I chose Gloriana silks instead of the Gentle Arts threads. The color variation with the chosen silks is just so much crisper for this piece. I am using the called for 32ct Vintage Woodsmoke Lakeside Linen, which is just gorgeous; one of my favorites. There is a little more to this piece then I expected, with a few fancy stitches. Overall it is an easy piece, and I am enjoying every part; ok, maybe not looking forward to the "finishing" part!!


Last but not least, I started "Eliza Pennance 1726" by Plum Street Samplers. 'The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord'. It is a fitting piece for this week. I didnt realize all of the over one that I have to do. It is so tiny and cute. I chose 40ct instead of 36ct Vintage Autumn Gold Lakeside with the called for NPI. I am not a fan of over one, so I have to discipline myself to get this one complete! You would think this would be an easy task. We all know that life isnt easy, especially not this week!

Looking forward to a brighter week, and lots more stitching.

Here She is!

This last few days have been so much fun. So busy and so much accomplished. While taking a few days off....... On Friday, after I posted my finished Garden of Life, I decided to pull out the stash for a bit. I want to stitch so many different pieces and I cant really decide which ones. I have had a few pieces in my stitching bag and decided to rotate some of them out, perhaps I would be inspired to work on some others. After cleaning up, my plan was to work on my Beatrix Potter (Surprise!!!!). I started it a couple of days ago, put her down, and when I went to work on her again on Friday, I couldnt find it!!!!!! Panic set in, and I re-went through everything. Where could she have gone? She disappeared for 2 days. I couldnt believe this. After going through everything twice, I decided to give up looking and work on something else. Since going through my stash and moving things around, I had a few of those mesh zipper bags left over, and put them on the side of the couch. Well, to my surprise, I needed 1 of those bags and who should come out of hiding?? Beatrix!!!!!!!!! Yeah!! I was so relieved.

So for all of you waiting to see the new Quaker I started to work on, here She is, Beatrix Potter. Combination of 40ct Porcelain Lakeside Linens, with Gloriana Coffee Bean. She is gorgeous!!! I couldnt be more pleased with the way she is turning out, and cant wait to stitch on her more. I have been reading about a few gals starting Bea, and I wanted to stitch her too! I know my friend Brandy is stitching Bea, and I cant wait to see her progress! I love all the color combinations. Isnt it so exciting?



Not being able to find Bea this weekend, what could I do, but start another project (I dont have ANY others started!) La D Da 'Love Thy Neighbor' with NPI silk and 32ct stash fabric. It was an easy stitch, and I love the colors too. Last night as the sun was setting, we took the piece outside and took some pictures of it in the natural light. So vibrant outside. I just love it.

Yesturday, I also organized some more of my floss. Now all the Crescent Colors, Gentle Arts and now Weeks floss are all hung in alphabetical order. OUTSTANDING!! What a job. Now I just have to do the silks. I am not ready to tackle that job just yet, I have to work up to that one. Besides Beatrix is calling and I have to tend to her!

Another day, another stitch!

While stitching the 2nd half of this piece, I was thinking of different initials I could use instead of the charted ones. It was not that hard, although which 7 would I want to use? I came up with 6, and used the year as the 7th. I know it is much more personal, and I should do it more often, but I usually think about changing them when I am good and done...who wants to rip out? Thank you again Brandy for this great piece of linen!!


How many colors do you think that this new piece by Eileen J. Bennett has in it? Looking at the picture, to me there are maybe 4 different DMC colors. There are in fact 12. 12!!! Amazing, the slight variations, so I chose to stick with the suggested colors given on the pattern. They are all really beautiful when I layed them out. I chose 40ct Liberty Gathering Grey linen from R&R. I love the smell of the linen, call me crazy!

Tonight I was invited to my first ever Guild meeting. How fun is this going to be?!!! I can only imagine what I am going to witness. A wonderful group of people, all there for the love of needlework!

This, is what is next!

Happy Monday everyone! How was everyone's weekend? Hope some stitching was involved :). I had a great one, lots of activity and some stitching! Last night after finishing the Black Forest early on, the question was, as it always is... What is next? My friend Brandy gave me this luscious piece of linen on Saturday, and we both decided to stitch a design from CHS- Quaker House Samplers. We changed the colors to WDW thread (Charcoal, Pewter & Whiskey), just to give it a bit of variation. Here is my start!

(PS, a few of you have been asking about this linen, it is an old piece of Birds of the Feather Sparrow, in 28ct. My friend Brandy found it deep in the stash!)

Quakers Rule

To switch things up a bit, I remembered I had this pattern from Milady's Needle called "Quakers Rule", and the ruler. My friend Barb has this stitched up, and I had to have it. Something out of the ordinary. I had started this a few months ago, and thought it would be nice to get it done. I chose Sienna Night Lakeside Linen 40ct, with Silk threads. Generally I dont know much about finishing, but I thought I would give this one a try, how hard can it be? Super cute right?! We have some blackbird families that moved into the yard, and I like watching them build their nests. I thought it would be fun to have one in the picture!

Mouline Rouge is Done!!!!

On Wednesday night, April 15, I was determined to complete my Mouline. I watched hours of my favorite TV programs, didnt watch the clock, and stitched! I only had 1 1/2 motifs to go!! When I was done, it was 12:50 am. Not to bad!!! I am absolutely thrilled to have this piece done!!!! Can you believe, that I used 30 skeins of WDW Confederate Grey for the motifs and 4 skeins of WDW Tin Roof for the letters/numbers. I used 2 stands over 2, I like it fuller. I am glad I had enough!! I couldnt be more pleased with the turn out!! I hope you enjoy it too!

Moving right along!

I took a look at this blog last night, and realized that I haven't posted any more progress pictures of Mouline in a while, and looking at my piece, I think it is high time!! What a difference 12 days makes!! It is almost finished!!

Some progress!

While I am supposed to be stitching up a STORM.....I have not been stitching enough!!!!! As many of you know, Florida calls me, in more ways then one!!!! So, the top pics are of some palm trees and my foot in the Atlantic ocean, while in Miami. I cant tell you the specific temperature of the water, but I can hear my Dad yell for some SOAP!!!!! It is outstanding!!! March!!!! Whoopee!! I only went in to my thighs yesturday, because I had a dress on, but it was worth it for sure!! Today, we went to the Keys, and it was just as nice. The beaches there are a little more "rocky", but, I did manage to lay on my towel for a bit!! My husband did wonder who was "whiter", ME or the BEACH??!!!!! LOL!! But onto bigger and better things!! We did go into the water, and saw a few tiny fish, even a baby blow fish!!! How exciting is that??!!! Some crabs in there beautiful home, walking in the shallow water along the shore. Amazing. It was about 85 today. As you all know, that I am NOT complaining!!! I had on my bikini, and was loving life!!!!

Mouline as you can see, even from a post last month, that I am making progress. Because of where I am, I am not making the progress I would like to be making, although it is still early in the game! I will continue to work my tail off and stitch stitch stitch. I am VERY pleased on how it looks though!!! I really really love the Quaker pieces, and look forward to working on many more in the future!!! But for now, dinner and a nice cold one is calling!!!!

Forgiveness is finished!!!

I have finished stitching Forgiveness! It is 12:10am on Valentines Day, and I had to post this piece of work!! I am thrilled with the turnout!! I can't wait to get this one framed!!!

Willies Quaker Band Sampler

I have a variety of projects I like to do, and it keeps it really interesting. The first picture, is Monasterium Designs Willies Quaker Band. I happened to find a piece of Birds of a Feather Sparrow Linen 32ct, long and lean, had to have it, but had no idea what I was going to stitch on it!! My friend Roz, came up with this great project, and with the help of Jeannine, Kim and Roz, chose Weeks Dye Works & Gentle Arts threads, and just love how it turned out!!

Forgiveness

Last night, after coming home, I picked up Forgiveness and did the bottom left motif, continued the border and started the dried thyme motif (you can see a small portion of it started..) and with that motif complete, (perhaps tonight) I will be well onto the 3rd and final sheet of the pattern!! YEAH!! I just love how this is turning out!!

Moulin Rouge

This is Moulin Rouge by Long Dog Samplers. Of course I always have to change things up a bit, I am using 35ct 18th Century Blackbird Linen by R & R, with Weeks Dye Works Tin Roof & Confederate Grey thread. I am really excited to get working on this again!! Arent the colors just fabulous??!!!!!!!

Progress on Forgiveness

This is my first blog entry, and excited to try this out!! I have taken a picture of what I am currently working on, during the super bowl. This is Examplars from the Heart FORGIVENESS. I have had some fun changing the colors it called for to- Gloriana, Silk n Colors and Belle Soie Silk (I had some great help from my wonderful friends) and chose Vintage Woodsmoke 40ct Lakeside Linen. I am really excited on how it is turning out!!