it IS a sickness after all

Okay! Well! My needles are either on fire or I’m extremely nuts…maybe a little of both. LOL I meant to post this last night, but actually began falling asleep on the keyboard (no kidding) and had to shut it and myself down. This proves I am nuts (in a good way), and tired. I finish-finished two projects after I made my post yesterday which proves that my needles are indeed on fire including my embroidery needle and sewing machine.

28 ct. Natural linen
Recommended GAST
Lizzie*Kate

I finished November flip-it into a needle cushion. I filled it with crushed corn. How suitable, don’t you think? It’s so dainty and cute. Feels like a little bean bag. I like it and Jose likes it too. He thinks it’s cute. I'm really glad he likes one of my handmade pieces, but he's NOT getting it!

28 ct. Lambswool linen
Over-dyed threads
primitivebettys

Better late than never I suppose. I stitched Hallow’s Eve a year ago. I even machine quilted the framework of fabric around the stitched piece, but I never finish-finished it. So disappointing b/c I wanted it done so badly. Oh well. At least I got it done and I was able to use my black ric rack. I do love my ric-rack.

We finally settled on pizza for dinner last night. And my third tour of the Carnton Plantation was cancelled today but we’re going Thursday instead. I’m home alone right now, can you believe it? It’s so quiet, except for my teeny taps on the keys. I’m going to get off and see what I can get into while the boys are away. Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments. I adore each and every one of you! Talk soon!

november & dashing

As of late, I am literally on fire. I just started the November flip-it Sunday night and finished it last night. I’ve had so many finishes lately. I’m not sure what my craze is. I think it’ll become a needle cushion or it can just sit in a basket or atop a shelf through November. I also started something new while at mom’s yesterday. Stacy Nash’s Dashing Through the Snow. It’s a cute primitive piece.

I love that squirrel charm. Squirrels remind me of my Grandparents b/c they used to feed them from their dining room window, and Grandpa used to feed them outside on the porch. Some squirrels would sit on his lap and eat from his hand. There have been a few bites to the hands, but that never stopped Grandma and Grandpa from feeding the squirrels peanuts. Squirrels ran through the house a few times as well. LOL Wonderful memories!

I’m stitching this on 32 ct linen hand-dyed by me. I like it so far. It’ll help with the overall primitive feel. I’m using the recommended threads - can’t go wrong sticking with the SN recommendations.

That’s all I have for now. The sun is starting to lose its appeal. Going bye-bye! The days are so short now, but the weather has been fantastic! Tomorrow I’m taking my third tour of the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, TN with a friend of mine. It’s an awesome place with tremendous history. The Battle of Franklin during the Civil War was fought there. Well, Jose will be home from school shortly, Cameron is still napping, and I have no clue what's for dinner. WOW! Talk soon!

stitch, therefore i must shop

I hate shopping, but not shopping for stitching essentials, charts, linen, etc., and especially done with friends and/or family. =) Halloween afternoon I played over at my friend Sally’s house. Had so much fun! We went to her LNS which I had never been to. It was a neat little place. It had more than just stitching to glance over, but I stuck to the essentials and bought a little more stash. After wards Sally and I went for a juicy, heart-stopping cheeseburger which was d-lish. The conversation was much needed on my part, and then we headed back to her house for a little Sewing101 on a cute little pumpkin ornament she’s putting together.

Sally reads a lot. I mean A LOT. She has books in relatively every room of her house. I admire a person who reads and reads and reads. She allowed me to take pictures of her cozy library nook which is absolutely adorable and these photos probably won’t do the space any justice. For someone (me) who doesn’t read as much as they should or as much as they really want to I love looking over books. There is just something about reading over the spines and wondering what's inside. Maybe it’s the smell of the paper under the cover. I don’t know, but there is something about looking over shelves upon shelves of literature and storytelling that intrigues me.

I love Sally’s décor too. She has a thing for bunnies as well which are tastefully placed throughout her home. Did you notice her Jane Austen shelf? So cool. Sally wrote the Tennessee Criminal Law Case Finder book. She has two copies, but I had to take a photo as I’m proud to know this about my friend. She’s an attorney and I formerly worked for a criminal defense attorney so these books are intriguing and familiar to me anyway. The light is hand-painted and is really pretty. I just love this space and I enjoy the company I keep when I’m there. Sally, thanks for sharing Saturday with me. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Good luck with your finishing!

Shopping Saturday…

I plan to finish Bent Creek’s Winter Row into a long pillow and Lizzie*Kate’s November Flip-it into a needle cushion or maybe that’ll just get put into a basket for decorating. No needles required.

I couldn’t believe how many LHN charts this shop had in stock. I love the house series, but really want to stitch the Two White Houses first so that’s the one I purchased. Funny thing is that I’ve never seen Necessities Sampler before. In fact, there were some I had not seen before Saturday. I love it when that happens - it’s like new found treasure. I saw CCN’s Forest Snowfall and had to have it! The verse is so sweet and the little deer-bunny combo sold me. Pretty colors too. You know, you just can’t go wrong with his mother-daughter duo, can you?! Has everyone seen the Ornament of the Month Dianne has designed? These two amaze me with their talent and speed at which they create.

Shopping Sunday…

(L-R) 32 ct. Ice Blue for Winter Row, Bent Creek; 32 ct. Antique Ivory for Clara’s Skating Sampler, The Sampler Girl; 28 ct. Confederate Grey for Forest Snowfall, Country Cottage Needlework; 32 ct. Flax linen for Rain in the Country, The Sampler Girl; 28 ct. Vintage Autumn Field for Mr. Darcy, The Sampler Girl; 28 ct. Raw linen for November Flip-it, Lizzie*Kate.

The best part about all the gorgeous linen is that I shopped at moms for it – LOL. The boys and I went to mom’s house for a French toast breakfast, mixed with fruit and bacon, and coffee. Orange juice for the boys. After cleanup, which I gladly took on, I went through mom’s gobs of linen for these new charts I just bought and ones I received last week. If you can imagine, I’m pretty happy right now. Giddy actually.

Sally allowed me to borrow Little Women. I’ve never read this story. Can you believe that? I know…shame on me. Sally already crossed her fingers at me so I get it – LOL. I read about Louisa May Alcott. What an intriguing and robust woman she was. It makes the temptation to read her novel even more the fancy. So without further ado…Talk soon!

supplies and fabric and progress, oh my!

Today Cameron went to daycare and Jose was home from school. Fall break began today and will continue through next week. I went walking this morning. It was pretty chilly out but nothing a good hard walk couldn’t do to help heat things up. It was perfect! I spent a lot of time in the parking lot afterwards to cool down and do some thinking as if I don’t do enough of that already. Oh well. Afterwards, I headed home to freshen up and check on Jose. I drove to the LQS after lunch. Here are the goodies I picked up…

[Sorry the photos are blurry. I’m still using Jose’s camera. I can’t afford a new one for myself at this point.] I found tons of rick rack (baby rick rack too) which really pleased my heart - made me think of grandma. I had some vintage lace cut and that was satisfying to find that on huge spools for next trip out. I love variety and abundance. I also bought other odds and ends. I basically just stocked up on accessories for when I sew and embellish needlework. I had more purpose to be at the LQS than just for accessories though. I went for fabric. Not a lot, but enough for specific small projects I would really like finished by year's end. For instance,

this is Petite Rouge Lettres that Blackbird Designs gave as a freebie earlier this year. I finished this some time ago, but never finish-finished it. I’m finishing it into a pillow. I picked reddish/white reproduction fabric to compliment the color palette of the piece. I may add some vintage lace but haven’t decided just yet. And,

this is 2007 Christmas Special Edition by Lizzie*Kate. I started stitching this when I was recovering from my cesarean after having Cameron. However, I didn’t complete it until 2008. Here we are in 2009 and I just now decided on its finish. A wall hanging for the Christmas/Winter season. The green and red fabrics are both reproduction and I haven’t decided on the backing fabric, but I can decide on that later. I just want to piece the front together. “Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps into the elevator…” Lastly,

there’s progress on Crows – a fine day by Bent Creek. While I was shopping around I decided to pick up fabric for this one too (why not get a head start, right?). The mottled star pattern was with the Halloween fabs. There are some really sweet Halloween prints, I must admit! This fabric will work nicely with Crows, and it plays off the star perfectly, imho.

I’ve just been informed that the final Stacy Nash kit for 2009 will be coming my way very soon. I cannot wait! I’ve stitched and finished all the ones I’ve received so far this year (there have been 3). Each one has been unique and fun. Quick too.

First thing Saturday morning, and I mean first thing, I’ll be taking one of my long, hard walks. The weather calls for rain and 49 degrees as the high, which the temp may be even lower that early in the morning but I do not care. Well, I do, just not enough to stop me from my daily routine. Besides, living in Tennessee means the weather forecast is usually wrong; dead wrong. All the time. Anyway, I need this time to walk. It does a body gooooooood! I’m off to sit n’ stitch, and I should probably get crackin' on some of these projects too. Oh wait...I still have that table runner to start cutting and piecing ~ duh ~ LOL. Talk soon!

two heads are better than one

Saturday night I went to my LNS for a moonlight stitching gathering. About 14 women showed up including Melissa, which my mother has known for many years and who I just met for the first time. Melissa was so relaxing to be around. I truly enjoyed her company and she’s funny too. The make-it and take-it was a cute little heart made into a floss tag ~ appropriate for around-the-bend Valentine’s Day. Speaking of…

I finished my Lovebirds (sorry photo is so dark). It wasn’t anything major, but I enjoyed this Quaker-type piece. It was a pattern I got out of a library book I checked out called "Big Book of Cross-Stitch Designs" by The Reader’s Digest. I personalized it with my first name initial and my DH’s too, along with ’05; the year we married. I plan on finishing it into a pinkeep pillow. I spoke to my Aunt Pam Sunday and she’s going to look into her 1800’s reproduction fabrics to see if she might have a piece that will coordinate well with the color of DMC I used (#3685) – a kind of cranberry red. She has a huge abundance of fabrics, especially repros – you would love her stash! Speaking of Aunt Pam, I have a story…

My Aunt Pam told me a stitching story and she has given me permission to share (hi Aunt Pam!). The other day my aunt was cleaning the baseboards around one of her closets. She was on the floor cleaning a bottom shelf and noticed a clear storage bin that she has always thought contained quilting materials. Even so, and out of curiosity, she opened it to see its contents. Inside was cross stitching supplies and materials and a missing JCS Ornament issue (year 2000) that she recently borrowed from me, which originally belongs to my mother. Let’s just say that my aunt was completely and pleasantly surprised. She called to tell me her news and I was surprised for her. Finding something like this when you’re not looking for it is like finding money. In fact, better than finding money, because if it were money a person would just spend it on cross stitch, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought and that’s what my aunt thought! Anyhoo, it was a cool story I thought and I’m glad I heard it first, or maybe I was second. LOL

I want to share the goodies I bought while after-hours shopping at moonlight stitching Saturday.

Lizzie*Kate Double Flip-its ~ Create and Live. I love the teeny-tiny scissor and heart charms that come with the pattern.

Faithwurks ~ Cat. I had to have this little wooden cat. Isn't this too cute!

Hands to Work ~ My Beloved Tennessee. I instantly fell for this design. I live in Tennessee and don’t have anything stitched with Tennessee in mind, so now I will.

Blackbird Designs ~ Thank You, Sarah Tobias. This is a popular design or book rather. I love all the pincushions within this booklet. The first to stitch is Sarah’s ABC Pincushion. It calls for The Thread Gatherer’s Autumn Twilight which is gorgeous, but my LNS doesn’t carry that and I had to have something to go home with so I could start this sooner rather than later. I picked out Waterlilies by Caron Collection, color Kelp. It has lovely deep colors that I think will look just as good. Here’s a snip-it of the color below (mine has a little less orange though):

There’s a new designer out that I saw mentioned on Petra’s blog called The Stitcherhood. If you’re at all into antique, folk art, or primitive designs check this website out. They have some really nice patterns. There is also a section to download freebies, so go and check them out. Which brings me to…

one of my next quick stitches will be The Stitcherhood’s Valentine Love freebie. I’ve got just the fabric for this little pre-V Day project in mind. I love squeezing in quick stitches (QS) between WIPs and CRs. It gives my eyes something new to look at for a few days and it motivates me to keep stitching on those WIPs and CRs. I enjoy it. You should try it if you don't. Once you finish a little thing you just have to get something else done. All of sudden that needle finds its fire and goes! Whew!!! Tsssssssss

While I was surfing my favorite blogs, my sons were playing around and being such goof-balls. My seat kept shaking and moving about and when I looked down to see what all the fuss was about I had a funny little head staring up at me. The other little head was pulling the little head's hair.

Perfectly happy!

Perfectly unhappy!

Perfectly loved! (I'm sorry big brother.)

Sunday's Stitching: finished Lovebirds by RDBBoCSD
Watched Sunday: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone