Tartan progress..

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Two words describe my tartan plaid progress:  SLOW GOING

Stewart Hunting plaid needlepoint coaster

designed for Scottish teacup & saucer

If I hadn't convinced myself that the charting of the plaid was the ONLY hard part of this project, I probably would have approached the actually stitching more mindfully, BUT, me being me, whenever I've had two spare minutes, I grab the stretcher bars, glance at my notes, rip off some thread and start a new line of color.  It pains me to admit that on more than one occasion, okay two occasions, maybe three occasions, okay, actually four times I've discovered that I didn't follow my notes and had to take out several rows of stitches, each time.  So, I'd be much further along if I would simply force myself to slow down, relax, look at my notes/chart for more than 0.25 seconds before I start a new line of stitching.  I can be a real idi-o-TA, sometimes!  Mom would have said, no dear, just pig-headed.  :-)

It is an interesting plaid, if you ask me, because it is irregular (like someone else I know, like, really really well).  I've learned a lot about plaids since I started my research for this project (check out The Scottish Registry of Tartans if you too have ever had the desire to learn more about them), but I won't bore you with the "clan, set and pivot points" stuff..  I will tell you that when I tested my 7th grade algebra memory and figured the area of the circle in order to discover the number of stitches the coaster would contain upon completion, I about passed out. 

Area of a circle = pi x radius squared, or 3.14159 x (63 x 63) = 12,469

Seriously!  12,469 stitches to fill a 7" circle on 18 count canvas.

To most of you, that may not be a big deal, but it kinda rocked me!  I then started thinking about the hours it would take for me to do 12,469 stitches, and what ELSE I might do with said hours versus making a silly coaster for a teacup.  Then, I shook it off, grabbed my canvas, glanced at my pattern and whipped out another row..

Here's hoping you are having a wonderful early Autumn (or early Spring) week, wherever you are!

Hugs,

Meanwhile, back at the ranch..

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And we're back!  It's hard for me to believe that it was a full week ago that we left for Colorado to spend some much needed down time with hubby's brother and SIL.  It went by in a flash!  I'm beginning to believe I need ten days or two weeks away from the office to really relax, but... those kinds of "extended" vacations are definitely not the norm for us.

Here's a quick (photo heavy) glimpse of our week:

River Watching

(where I sat and stitched for many wonderful hours):

 

This shot was taken from the covered swing where I enjoyed the majority of each day.  The days were long and warm but the breeze was constant and made it feel like heaven on Earth.

Arkansas River

 

 

I only worked on this one project (tartan plaid coaster) all week, but to be honest, although I had big plans to finish this while we were away, I (obviously) didn't power stitch at all. 

I took the camera on long walks most mornings and evenings, enjoyed some local sightseeing, antiquing, bird watching, feeding the neighbor's horses, and just plain ol' resting.

Hubby did a lot of this:

The highlight of hubby's week:

19" (maybe 20") brown trout

He wasn't the only one fishing though:

Holy Wing Span, Batman!

Does he look hungry, or is it just me? 

As you may already know, I'm a bird nerd.  I am fascinated by the diversity in the bird world.  And, I saw 9 new-to-me birds, and that was without even trying! 

I know, I know... how do I contain myself?  (New birds: a white-tailed kite, gilded flicker, mountain bluebird, western bluebird, black-billed magpie, red-breasted merganser, white-tailed ptarmigan, Anna's hummingbird, and a yellow bird that I've yet to identify). 

Great BIG thanks to www.allaboutbirds.org for giving amateurs like me such an excellent, free on-line resource. 

The mountains were spectacular, from every angle:

lonely tree

 

dusty trail

 

To close out the week, we visited the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, which I'd never even heard of before, but was so glad to get the chance to see:

Awesome!

 

Last but not least: 

 

 

Pikes Peak

 

 

 

And, that's all folks... 

 

 

 

 

Hope you are having a great weekend, wherever you are..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back from the Fair..

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I'm not sure where this weekend went, but I can assure you that I'm not ready for it to be dinnertime on Sunday!  I'm pretty sure someone has robbed me of at least one full day of my weekend!!  Who can I see about that?  Anyone??

Quickly, let me share my Fair winners with you all.  Most of these projects, you've seen before, but maybe in a different form. 

Here are the 3rd Place Winners:

The categories I entered (in case you are thinking "WHY the HECK did those things ribbon?!?!?") were the less popular categories.  The Royal Wedding pillow was in the "Counted Cross Stitch Pillows" category; the Assisi Lion project bag was in the "Counted Cross Stitch, Any Article" category;  and the little box with the thistle lid was in the "Household article trimmed in cross stitch" category.

Here are the 1sts and 2nd:

 

 

 

The Bargello Easter egg box was in the "Needlepoint, any other article on canvas mesh category"; the red Quaker pin cube was in the "Counted Cross Stitch, one color" category; and the Flower Bed piece was in the "Counted Cross Stitch on linen, under 10"x12" category.

 

I entered a couple of other pieces in the very popular categories, like Christmas and Needlepoint, framed, but didn't win a dern thing.  

:-(

 

But, that's that and it's not going to slow me down any, that's for sure..

 

Speaking of slowing down, next Saturday, hubby and I are headed to Colorado for a week of down time.  I've got a couple of projects that are in desperate need of my undivided attention, so I don't believe I'll be taking the laptop.  But, I will be taking the camera.  Hope to share some vay-cay pics soon after we return..

 

Here's one last finish to share:

 

 

 

I got hooked on shoe bags when hubby and I used to golf regularly.  I just love them and had plenty, but it seems that I have either lost some or my sister has visited my suitcase closet!

 

(What say you, Jamie Michelle????)

 

Isn't the fabric gorgeous?  I've got several really pretty fabrics in the stash that are begging to become shoe bags....and, if I was a betting woman, I'd say they are already half-way there.   :-)

 

Here's hoping you had some stitching time and enjoyed your weekend, wherever you are!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summertime Summertime...

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Popping in quickly to share a couple happy pics of summer...

  Have a wonderful weekend, friends!  Summer is fleeting...

All boxed up...

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Sometimes I just can't leave well enough alone. 

In the case of my bargello Easter egg, I wasn't 100% happy with the finished product (not happy enough to have it framed) but I wasn't unhappy enough to pitch it in the garbage, so the question, "What should I do with that Easter egg?" rattled around in my poor little brain until I stumbled across an idea to use it to cover a storage box for some of my Easter decorations... 

I've had the box stuck away with a bunch of other boxes I can't bring myself to toss out. I know you know what I'm talking about.. It was pretty ugly but I loved the size and the fact that the lid was attached, so I've had it for several years, waiting for inspiration to strike.

Since I don't know when to stop, I pulled out some pretty Easter-y scrapbook paper and covered the ugly parts.  Then, I cut some stiff felt and made the compartment separators.  Finally, it needed some kind of closure, so I attached the pretty button and tasseled cord. 

It was great fun to make. 

Hope you are having fun with your stitching too!

                                             Hugs,

Olympic Stitch finish..

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So proud of the US (athletic) delegation in London!  Not only did they represent the USA well in competition, it seems, from where I was sitting (on the couch in my living room), that they conducted themselves with class (publically, at least.....I don't want to know what went on in Olympic village...none of my business...).

Perhaps in four years, the politicians will stay in the stands and the athletes will be the only "spokespeople" in Rio... 

"Olde Glory"

by Heart in Hand Needleart (Wee One series)

fabric:  natural 25 count linen

threads:  WDW Americana & Liberty; floche 321 & B5200

I almost forgot to mention that I altered this pattern a tiny bit to make it "almost" square.  It looked a tad squished to me as it was.  I think I added 8 stitches to the overall height of the pattern, so if you look for the chart and think something is wrong, it's not.. It's just me, being crazy..tweaking things that probably didn't need tweaking..

Happy weekend friends!

Mad for Plaid

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How do you store your stash linen/aida/evenweave fabric?  Until recently, I kept all of the bigger cuts in one big pile in a basket.  A couple of months ago, I got tired of pawing through the whole pile everytime I needed a "28 count blue" or a "32 count green" so, to help sort the mess out, I decided to divide the stash into three categories:

• Less than 28 count
• 28 count, and, you guessed it...,
• Greater than 28 count 

Originally, I thought I'd use those mesh vinyl zipper bags that we all use for WIPs to store them.  Then, I decided that it would be nicer to have pretty fabric storage bags with some kind of embroidered labels.  When I spied these plaids in my fabric stash, the idea sunk in and I was off to the races (after I said a short prayer over the electrified sewing machine, "Please Lord, don't let any innocent bystanders be hurt in the making of these bags...)..

plaid fabric storage bags

stem stitched felt labels

The two larger bags are about 13" x 18".  The smaller one is about 10" x 14".  I tried to coordinate label colors to fabrics the best I could without buying any new materials.  I wish the grey label was a darker shade of grey, but I really like how the stem stitch turned out, so I'm not about to do it again..(hate that stem stitch!)

After these three were done and dusted, I realized that I need one more for the Mystery Count.  I'm sure I have another plaid in that fabric stash... somewhere...

:-)

Have a great remainder of the week, friends..

And, thank you for your kind words, cards and emails regarding Carmen.  I cry a little less with each passing day...  Hugs!

The End...

Fair Warning:  this is not a happy post about needlework.  If you aren't in the mood for sad news, move on...







Dear Friends,

My four legged constant companion, Carmen, has been such a central part of my life for the past 12 1/2 years that I feel obliged to share the following.   The past month has been difficult for her, to say the least.  Age and arthritis were taking their toll while Mommy and Daddy were frantically trying to find the right combination of medication to make the age and arthritis tolerable.  Every medication seemed to make things worse, not better.  No medication at all made things much worse.  Ultimately, desperate for answers and the best diagnostics and medicine money could buy, we journeyed to Columbus OH where the MedVet staff and docs were so caring, thoughtful and thorough.  We got answers, but not good ones on Tuesday, 7/31.  Yesterday, Hubby and I made the hardest decision of our married lives (and that is saying ALOT!) to bring our girl home and bid her farewell.  Believe me when I say, we agonized over this decision but know it was the right one for our girl.  These are the hardest words I've ever written and I am only sharing because I've made Carmen such a fun part of this blog.  I hope to be able to blog again about silly things like craft fairs, tote bags, stitching finishes, and the like but it might be awhile... 

While my husband has three (human) boys from his first marriage, she was our only child.  His only "little girl".  We both are grief-striken and heart sick and will need some time to recover.. Twelve years is a long time, but, not long enough.

Together, we were 'The Fam'.  She was so special to us both...

Many tears...

Technical difficulties

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It seems the storms of two weeks ago caused a major problem with our internet service provider which they remedied by upgrading some piece of equipment that in turn rendered our older modem useless, although it appeared to be functional.  So, after two weeks of the most frustrating attempts to reset, connect, call customer service, etc., we finally had a 'house call' tonight by a tech and in all of five minutes, he replaced the modem and we are back up and running.

Bad news is we are also having major K9 medical issues and will be making a fast trip to Columbus tomorrow. 

More news later...

Christmas in July

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Got a jump on some Christmas ornament finishing...

If you've ever wondered about it, I have figured out the formula to accurately predict the amount of time you need to "finish" an ornament, pillow, project bag or just about anything else you aren't framing...

You take the amount of time you believe to be reasonable to finish the object, then you multiple by 5.

This will give you the low end of the range of the time it is going to take you to finish it.

Regardless of the ridiculous amount of thought and time I put into this tiny little gingerbread house, I believe it is my favorite of the batch:

Until next time, happy stitching friends!