Fat Tuesday / First Finish of 2012

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Well what do you know?  I actually finished Tis the Season AHEAD of my goal deadline of Leap Day!  YAY!

Blackbird Designs

threads:  Belle Soie silks

fabric: 32 ct. stash linen

I loved Loved LOVED the color palatte and simplicity of this design (a.k.a. NO backstitching) but if I'm totally honest, I'd do a few things differently if I were to stitch this piece again. 

• Save the cardinal for last so the red has less of a chance to rub off onto parts of the fabric where it does not belong.
• Space the date a little better so it doesn't look so scrunched up.
• Work the berries in something other than eyelets.
• Push "Tis the season.." an inch or so to the right so as not to end up with an empty corner in the lower right.

For me to have finished it in just over a month, a normal stitcher could probably whip it out in a couple of weeks.  If it is on your "To Do" list, I hope my observations help you with your planning. 

Onward and upward!

The end of the vine...

Happy Long Weekend Friends!

Popping in really quickly to share a little progress report on Tis the Season:

Blackbird Designs

The vine is complete.  I'm down to 9 holly leaves and about 11 snowflakes.  Then of course, there are a few more berries and the date to add, but they won't take long at all.

With a three day weekend ahead, I have a really good feeling that I might just make my Leap Day goal with this one!

Here's hoping we all get the 'Must Do' list finished as quickly as possible so as to save a little time for the 'Want To' list.

Happy Stitching,

Unconventional Valentine's

In honor of St. Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share a pic of one of my oldies but goodies, stitched many years ago for my sweet hubby...

Better Homes and Gardens

America's Best Cross Stitch

This piece was originally charted to be a sampler but I substituted the Japanese verse for the alphabet and it became an unconventional love letter to the hubs.  If memory serves me correct, I gave it to him just before we were to move into the house we built together out in the woods.  It represents the country setting of our place perfectly.

To this day, I feel the same.  We all need very little.  But to love and be loved, there is nothing better.  I'll close by wishing each of you a heart full of love this St. Valentine's day.

Winter's Arrived

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It seems my dream winter (warm and dry) has sadly come to an end.  The flurries began yesterday and left us with several inches of the white stuff this morning.

And, it's bone chillin' cold to boot.  Brrrrr!

Carmen, I think, has the right idea...

I'll be spending a little time with Tis the Season this afternoon, trying to work in my snowflake and holly leaf for the day.  I fell off the plan a bit last week, so I'll see about making up some time this week.

Here's the progress...

excuse the wrinkles, please...

And that is all the news that's fit to report.  Here's hoping you are warm and cozy, wherever you may be..

In the Red Zone (progress report)

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YAY!  The cardinal is finished!  Only 17 snowflakes and 15 holly leaves to go...

I'm forecasting one snowflake and one holly leave per day for the next two weeks.  Taking into consideration a few uber-busy days that I won't be able to stitch at all, I'm guessing I'll be finishing this up around the end of the month.  Who knows, maybe I'll even have it to the framer before Leap Day.  That would give me something to leap about!

Happy Weekend Friends,

Happy February!

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Yay!  Another winter month over!  I can only pray that February will be as kind to us as January was.  I have a feeling that the other shoe will drop sometime (sooner than later), but one can pray for 'later'...

I've been making slow but steady progress on Tis the Season...

Even though I love the cardinal, I think my favorite parts so far are the snowflakes - - probably because they are super fast to stitch.  The row after row of red is starting to get a little monotonous but I keep plowing ahead, knowing the cardinal will be finished soon!

We have family visiting this week and SuperBowl preparations to make on Saturday, so I doubt I'll have much progress to show before next week this time.  But if I surprise myself, I'll let you know!

Happy Stitching,

2nd Tis the Season update

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Good Saturday morning, friends! 

This weekend for me will be like much others, busy, running around, grocery, checking in with family, laundry and then back to work, but I've pledged to find some time to work on Tis the Season today.  Some days throughout the week, I'm so wiped out by 6p that I can't concentrate well enough to pick it up.  So, to make up for that, I'm just going to have to find more stitching time on the weekends!  Or else I'll be working on this piece come NEXT Christmas!

I'm still enjoying stitching with the single strand of silk, but I'm wondering if the cardinal is starting to look a little thin?  I shouldn't worry too much about it now b/c I'm certainly not going to take it out and restitch with 2 strands.  The color I selected is Strawberry Shortcake instead of the called for Poison Apple.  I like a really red cardinal and Poison Apple was much too sun-baked for my liking.

Now for my crisis of the day.  The online photo editor I've used for years (and swear by) PICNIK, is closing in April!  Do many of you also use Picnik?  I honestly adore it compared to other photo editors I've tried.  I'll be lost without it.  It's so easy to use and offers me all the functions I could ever want.  Boo. Hoo!   I'd really appreciate any suggestions for a "you-don't-have-to-be-a-geek-to-use-it" photo editor. 

And with that, it's time to walk to d.o.g.

Happy stitching,

Tis the Season progress

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I'm happy to report that I spent a large part of MLK holiday on my rump, working on Tis the Season.  It's being worked on 32 ct. linen with Belle Soie silks, one ply over two.  I generally think one ply over two on 32 count is too sparse (especially with solid color blocks) but I think this is coming out well. 

What do you think?

Blackbird Designs

This little cheerful piece has helped me find my stitching groove again.  While the enthusiasm is still gurgling, I'm going to hop off the computer and settle in for the evening.

Happy Stitching Friends,

Round tuit

Yesterday, I found my 'round tuit' and whipped up a batch of suet for the birds.  They've hung around the deck today much more than normal so they must have missed it.  The cardinals are still learning to trust my back deck as a safe feeding ground so I was excited to catch this one sneaking in for a snack.

I think he has given me the inspiration to start my first new project for 2012: 

Tis the Season by Blackbird Designs

A quick stash search reveals that I only have one of the 8 Belle Soie colours required, so I might be off to my LNS a little later today.

However you spend your day, here's hoping it's peaceful and warm!

Tea in January

HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS!

I hope this post finds everyone healthy and happy in 2012.   Considering that my last post was in October, I'd love to show and tell you tales of all the stitching that has been happening since then, but sadly, I haven't even made enough progress on Pinecones since then to share an update.  In December, hubby and I took a quick 3 day trip to Columbus OH to see Andrea Bocelli in concert (swoon) and cruise the Winter Fest fabulous art festival.  While I didn't snag anything worth bragging about, I always enjoy walking the aisles and aisles of beautiful hand crafted wares.  We also darted away for another three day trip to visit family in NC.  The rest of the year was just a blur. 

Today is the official Packing-away-of-all-remnants-of-Christmas Day at my house.  I hate to put away the dishes and nativity.  They are always the last to go.  Just to prolong it a bit, I'm blogging about it whilst enjoying a cup of very special tea.  I've never tasted a tea exactly like it except for the first time I enjoyed it back in May.  It is one of the signature teas served at the historic Caffe Florian on the magnificent St. Mark's plaza in magical Venice, Italy. 

(Warning:  memory lane straight ahead)

Setting:  St. Mark's Plaza, Venice Italy
Circa:  May, 2011
Subject:  Taking tea with hubby

For starters, hubby doesn't drink tea.  So, everytime we visit a place with a tea room of particular note, he knows he will be persuaded to join me for the 'experience', as he calls it.  He's a great sport and even acts like he doesn't mind (plus they sell Coke everywhere).

salmon quiche and aperitif for me, club sandwich and Coke for hubby

Since it was late afternoon and we were quite hungry, we skipped the scones and went straight for the heavy stuff.  After lunch, I couldn't leave until I had tried their tea.  Can't come all the way to the Caffe Florian and not have a cuppa!  You might be thinking Italy is all about espresso, which was true, except for the treasure trove of teas at the Florian.

From their marvelous tea menu, I selected one they called Te Mosaico Veneziano and it was stunningly brilliant.  A black tea with orange rind and lavender flowers.  I couldn't resist bringing home a small box of beautifully presented silk bags of this tea.  Which brings me to the present.  It may not be May and I'm definitely not sitting in the sun on the plaza of the oldest caffe in Italy listening to the orchestra, but the tea is just as brilliant as it was then.

Now, enough of that!  Back to reality and off to the packing with me.

Happy Stitching friends!