A thoughtful gift from Marie

The other day, this very sweet gift arrived from Marie. She treated me to a wonderful project bag made from a tea towel (I'm prone to using plastic ziploc bags for many of my projects, so this will class it up a little).  And the little teapot embroidery reminds me so much of the iron on Aunt Martha's transfers (remember those?)  I used to do when I was younger.

Marie also included two locally handmade cutting boards, with holes drilled by one of her sons to form thread holders.  When I opened the box, my husband said, "Oh good!  One for me too!"  I'll have to find something special for these - I'm thinking some sort of PA Dutch pattern would be perfect.  And I also received my very first flower frog, something that comes in handy for many stitchers for holding their scissor collections.  This pretty clear glass one happens to fit perfectly on one of the glass bowls we inherited from my husband's grandmother.  But as pretty and as useful as it is, it will most likely live in a china cabinet for a few years, as there is a curious and not so careful preschooler in the house.  Better safe than sorry for a bit, right?

Thank you, Marie, not only for the beautiful, thoughtful gifts, but for your friendship as well!

Marie's blog is one of the very first I came across, and over the years I've gotten to know this lovely woman.  My blogging may be spotty, but we stay in touch regularly via email.  If you visit her blog, you will see that she has created some gorgeous ornaments, many of which have been gifted to others.  She also has a special talent combining her stitching with one of her other passions, quilting.  I am in awe of her talent with quilting - just look at her lovely treat bags and candle mats.  And did you know Marie is a prize winning quilter?  It's no wonder her blog is so fun to read!

I've also been paired up with Marie for the Fair and Square Exchange twice, and have actually finished both pieces into objects on display.   She knows my fondness for lighthouses, so for the first one, she stitched me this Prairie Schooler piece. Which just happens to still be in the living room on the shelf because I cannot get my act together long enough to come up with a decorating plan for our family room mantel, unless you count my Pinterest boards, and then I'm an EXPERT at decorating.

The second piece set a landspeed record for finishing because it happened to arrive as I was in the middle of finishing several other ornaments, so the squares went right into the pile and were also finished into an ornament right away so they could join the 50 or so other lighthouses on our Christmas tree.

Speaking of the Fair & Square Exchange, is anyone else interested in continuing it?  it's been dormant for over a year now, and perhaps if there's enough interest, we can convince Jill to get it going again.  I miss it - sometimes it was the only thing that kept me going with stitching because it was a small, manageable piece with a specific deadline, and it was so much fun meeting other stitching and choosing what to stitch for them.  I've made some truly wonderful friends through the exchange and I'd hate to see it die off.

Ornaments for Little Dude and his Preschool Teacher

Speaking of Little Dude's yearly ornaments, here's the one for 2013...

Little House Needleworks' Main Street Station
Hometown Holiday Series
Stitched over 1 on 32 ct. Linen with recommended threads
Backed with plaid fabric shown in background

Little Dude is train obsessed.  OBSESSED.  A few months before he was born, a friend of mine was cleaning out her basement and wanted to give us her sons' Thomas the Train table.  I turned it down, not knowing whether or not my child would be interested in trains.  It's a decision that I kick myself for on a regular basis.

All is not lost though - he has a very talented dad who hacked an IKEA coffee table and built him his very own train table.  We were also gifted with piles of wooden train tracks, trains and accessories from my BIL and SIL, who passed them on from my SIL's sister's son.  We added a few more accessories and trains for him, and they are by far his favorite toy.   He's gotten hours of enjoyment out of them.  He started playing with them when he was just over 2 years old, and it's been fun to watch how the way he plays with them has changed and developed.

And it's not just Thomas that holds his interest, although I am certain we've seen every single episode of Thomas, read all the books, and own most of the trains.  He's obsessed with all kinds of trains - real ones, wooden ones, model trains, books about trains, videos about trains, etc.  We've taken him to Day out with Thomas twice, on at least a dozen train rides around the area, museums, model train displays, you name it, we've done it.  Two weeks ago, we took him to the Railroad Museum in Strasburg for the second time.  We spent four hours there, exploring the actual restored trains (engines, cars and cabooses) and playing with the various set ups and displays they had for the kids.  He begged for a ride on the Strasburg Railroad across the street, but we told him another time as he was already getting crabby.  Never in a million years did I think I'd get a kid as crazy about trains as this one, but it's been interesting.  I've certainly learned way more about trains than I ever thought I would.  (And if you find yourself in the Lancaster area, I highly recommend a visit to the Railroad Museum)

The other Little Dude related ornament is the one I stitched up for his preschool teacher.  He started preschool in September, three days a week, and he LOVES it.  I was a little nervous at first, but he is still excited to go and very much enjoys it.   He's (so far) an only child and most of the kids in our neighborhood are middle school or older, so he's been making friends at school.

I wasn't quite sure what to do for his teacher for Christmas.  My husband and I bake a tremendous amount of cookies (usually 12 different kinds, plus several kinds of candy), so we hand out cookie platters to neighbors, family and friends.  I was already planning on giving his teacher some baked goodies, but I wanted to do something extra for her as she's been really wonderful with Little Dude.  My MIL is a former preschool teacher herself, and she said the gifts she treasured the most were handmade ones.  Perfect, right?  So I flipped through some of my JCS Ornament issues and this one popped out at me.

The Decorator by Full Circle Designs
JCS 2007 Ornament Issue
Stitched on 32 ct. grey linen with recommended threads

I lucked out and had two matching pieces of grey linen in my stash, so I stitched his name and the year on the back so she would always remember him.  I had a strand of red, green and pearl seed beads in my trim stash, and that finished it up nicely.  His teacher loved it, and told me that snowmen were one of her favorite winter / Christmas themes.  Score!

An ornament for our tree

I might as well get caught up on several of the pieces I finished at the end of 2013. I was determined to get some new ornaments on our tree, and someday plan to be caught up with the yearly ornaments for my son. (I can't tell if it's good or bad that he's four, and I'm already missing one year's ornament)

Angel Greeting by Kissy-Cross
Free Chart available here: http://kissycross.twoday.net/stories/4537414/
Stitched on 40 ct. linen with Belle Soie Cranberry Silk Thread

I apologize for the weird pink cast to the photo, but this is a beautiful piece.  The linen is a neutral sandy color, and the cranberry Belle Soie is a rich maroon color.  (The Belle Soie silks are always so lovely to stitch with, and they have a nice sheen to them)

It's been finished and sitting in a drawer FOREVER, waiting for my husband to stitch our name and the year (2011) for the back of the ornament.  (I won't even tell you how long it was kitted up waiting to be stitched in the first place)  I finally ended up doing it myself, and putting the piece together so it could hang our our tree this past Christmas.

Because his family is very proud of their German heritage, he went with the German wording, but the chart also includes Merry Christmas in English.

A return to blogging. Again.

The last time I posted was back in September, and before that, it was the end of March 2013. Life with a toddler, now preschooler, gets in the way of blogging, I guess.

What brought me out in September was a tribute for Cathey's blogoversary, and it's part of what brought me out again. Sadly, Cathey passed away in October and our stitching community mourned her loss.  I still keep up with many stitching blogs, and I watched the ripple of sadness as the news spread.  It's taken me a while to get back to blogging, and I feel the need to make it more of a priority for the sense of community and friendship among stitchers.  Many of these stitchers will never be in the same room with each other, but still develop and nurture these bonds through our shared craft.  So many people came together to celebrate Cathey's blogoversary, to mourn her loss, and to help keep her memory alive for her husband and young son, people brought together by the love of stitching.

I want to make a contribution to that community, and I need to make a better effort to remain a part of it.  I've made some truly wonderful friends through stitching - some I've met in person, and many more that I haven't, and the sole reason our paths have crossed has been blogging.  Those relationships are important to me, and what brought us together should be more of a priority, especially since stitching is something I enjoy doing on a near daily basis.

Back in November, my friend Lee the Lake Stitcher wrote a post called "Why have we stopped writing?"  I put a great deal of thought into it, then failed to do anything.  I could probably blame it on November and December being busy times with the holidays.  We have family obligations, a four year old in preschool, loads of baking and cooking, etc.  If I'm being honest, though, I must admit things like Pinterest and Facebook have also cut into the time I normally would have spent blogging.  They're easier distractions, not really requiring me to put the effort into taking photos and writing a post.  By the time I've gotten through doing what I need (want) to do on those sites, I've hit a wall and am ready to get offline, without updating my stitching blog.

I'm lucky that a few of my stitching friends are on Facebook, but many more are not, and sometimes those relationships don't get the attention they deserve.  I tend not to share my stitching on Facebook either, because I've compartmentalized it.  I have Facebook friends from all aspects of my life and while it may be unfounded, I have this notion that people just aren't interested in my craft.  Which is ridiculous, I know, because I am proud of what I do, and I've actually changed the perceptions of a few people who thought cross stitch  was "those country looking pictures with geese wearing bonnets".

I want to put myself out there more than just following the blogs and making a few comments here and there.  I want to share more of my work, even if it's just for me to be able to say "I made a contribution".  I also need to keep up with my blog because it's my record of what I've done.  I've stitched many pieces that have been given away as gifts, and this is my way of remembering those pieces.  Knowing that I will eventually be blogging about my work also makes me more conscious of what I'm stitching, who I'm stitching it for, and the materials and time I put into it.  Right now, there are at least two dozen pieces of completed stitching sitting in a drawer, waiting to be finished and displayed.  Those pieces represent hundreds (maybe thousands?) of dollars and hours spent working on them, and I need to find some way to honor that effort until we can get them framed or finished and on display. It's not just my work that deserves to be on display either.  I have been the lucky and grateful recipient of some lovely pieces from fellow stitchers, and their work should be on display as well.

In a nutshell, I quit blogging because I'm a little bit lazy, a little bit crunched for time, and a little bit too involved with other forms of social media.  (Lee wrote a follow up post about why other bloggers have quit / fallen behind on posting).  I want to make it a priority to return to blogging because the relationships I've developed from it are important, contributing to this community is important, and honoring and sharing my craft is important.

Pumpkins for Cathey

I've been very bad about updating my blog - it's ended up taking a back seat to some other priorities.  I keep meaning to get back into it, and somehow it gets lost in the shuffle.

Something came up today, though, that pushed this blog post to the front of the line.  As many stitchers know, there's a great deal of friendship and caring in this community, many of whom have never met each other in person.  But that doesn't stop people from reaching out, from showing their support and from doing things both big and small to bring a little sunshine to a fellow stitcher.

Today is Cathey over at Pumpkin Patch & Co.'s blogoversary.  To be blunt, Cathey has cancer and it sucks.  It sucks because cancer in general sucks.  It sucks because Cathey is a sweet, wonderful, generous, talented, kind, considerate and compassionate woman.  And it really sucks because Cathey is a mother to a young son, which hits me a little harder because her son isn't much younger than mine.  I think about being in her position, and it breaks my heart.

But thanks to Sharon (Daffycat), Pumpkins for Cathey has been organized so we can all show our support for Cathey in her fight.  And she is a fighter. 

I haven't posted in forever, but I thought this was enormously important.  I don't have any needlework pumpkins to share, but I do have quite a collection of pumpkin recipes.  Since one of the things that has been limiting my blogging time has been meal planning and cooking, I think it's appropriate to share some delicious pumpkin treats in Cathey's honor.  Enjoy.

Baked Pumpkin French Toast by Dana Made It

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins by Annie's Eats

 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Streusel Bars by My Baking Addiction

Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Glaze by Brown Eyed Baker

Tantes Zolder Patterns

The other day, I received an email from Karen at Ambitatterous.  She was looking for the Tantes Zolder butterfly chart I stitched a while back but the link in my blog post was dead and the page refused to load.  It wouldn't load for me either, and  it appears that the Tantes Zolder / My Aunt's Attic blog is offline.  From what I can make out from the translation, it appears the weblog.nl  that hosted the Tantes Zolder blog has been moved to wordpress, but I cannot find the blog itself.

I did, however, find another site that's hosting the patterns.  You can now get the Tantes Zolder patterns here, so you may want to update your links (I did in my previous post).

And if you're not familiar with Tantes Zolder, you should definitely check them out.  There are some very beautiful patterns.  They're from a collection of handwritten charts that were digitized and published on the blog.  Lilian Kok found the charts in her aunt's attic (hence the name) and with the help of some volunteers, generated almost 300 images that she made available for free.

If anyone knows where the original blog may have gone, please let me know.

A wedding gift for a happy couple

Sew Blue by iStitchaholic 

1 over 1 on 28 ct. evenweave
with Belle Soie Peacock

Personalized as a gift

This was a freebie pattern offered by Carol of iStitchaholic.  The original pattern has an alphabet across the top of the design, but I wanted to personalize it for a wedding gift, so I used the alphabet for  their names and wedding date, and charted out my own ampersand.

Gina is a dear friend of my husband's from college, and we wanted to send her and her new husband something personal since we could not make it to their wedding.  This is actually the first of two pieces I stitched - the other is a framed piece for their walls that has yet to be framed.  At least this one got out in time to hang on their Christmas tree this year! (And you'll see the framed piece later, once it's finished up)

So I changed the pattern to personalize the piece, and I took the ribbon from their invitations to my LNS and found a perfect match in the Belle Soie Peacock silk.  Gina also had a bit of a lace motif throughout her wedding plans, so I picked up on that with the trim around the edges, and found some teal blue fabric (what you see in the background) for the back of the piece.  The lace is actually much nicer in person.  I didn't realize it looked off in the picture until after I had mailed it out.  But rest assured I didn't send out a wonky ornament.

I've been on a bit of an over 1 stitching kick, and I never fail to be thrilled with how the tiny little stitches come out, especially with silks.

On Safari

I keep meaning to check if these gifts have made it to their intended recipient, and it keeps slipping my mind. That happens sometimes.

So these are two pieces I stitched up for my friend's son.  We meant to get together over Christmas so I could give them to her, but between family obligations and illnesses, it just didn't happen. I left the pieces with my mother-in-law, since she is good friends with little Mitchell's grandma.

Animal Alphabet Birth Sampler
by The Historical Sampler Company Limited
Stitched 2 over 2 on 36 ct Edinburgh Linen
Personalized as a gift

This is a piece I modified from the original.  Whenever I stitch a birth sampler, I like to include as much of the information as possible.  The original didn't leave room for the weight, length or time, so I added in a box under the last row of letters and extended the border.  Luckily, this worked out perfectly.

I also changed out the original panda bear for an elephant.  The panda bear was very cute, but the elephant was better suited to the "vintage safari" theme used for the nursery.  Once again, my husband did the framing (with a frame from American Frame).  I'm not sure if I've shared this tip before, but I always give him the chart I've stitched from with the rest of the framing materials.  He uses the chart to find the center of the stitched piece, and pins through the center gently into the backer board, then works out from the center to stretch the fabric over the edges.  He finds this especially helpful when framing something with a stitched border such as this.  Once he's done, or has enough of the piece pinned to hold it in place, he removes the center pin.

In addition to the framed piece, I also stitched up an ornament for Mitchell, keeping with the vintage safari theme.  As soon as I spotted this piece at my LNS, I knew it would be the one I did.  This one was done as charted, except I left out the bird charm (the original has a tiny bird perched on the back of the giraffe) and stitched in the birth year instead.

Zoo Line Up by The Trilogy

Stitched 1 over 1 on 32 ct. fabric

I'm super happy with how both pieces came out.  They're very different, yet have a similar feel to the pieces I stitched for Mitchell's older brother, Mason.  You can see them here.

Gift for a baby girl

Gabrielle Rose by La D Da
Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. Antique White
Name intentionally blurred for privacy

Here's another piece that I finally finished up and framed, and delivered.

Kelly is the daughter of a childhood friend of mine and I wanted to make something special for her nursery. Since the parents didn't go with a specific theme for her room, I chose this piece from my stash.  It's pretty and feminine without being overly girly and I think it will be something pretty for her room for a long time to come.

I used the recommended colors for the piece, but left out the initials in the corners, and changed the wording on the banner to Kelly's last name.  In hindsight, I might have used a lighter color thread for her name, since the grey does seem to blend in, but I like the subtleness of the grey.

You may remember the piece I stitched up for Kelly's brother Ryan.  They went with a jungle theme, so I stitched Safari Birth Sampler by Mary Stickley for The Coleshill Collection.  Since the furniture in the nursery remained the same, I ordered a similar frame for both pieces.

Back at it: Valentine's Day Fair & Square

So it seems I'm back at my blog after yet another extended break. Sometimes life gets in the way, and sometimes I get frustrated that I can't do things as quickly and easily with this updated version of Blogger that I was able to do before. I have a whole backlog of posts I've set up, most of them partially written, and I'll try to be more consistent with posting. (I say this every single time, don't I?)

Let's start with an easy one - the latest Fair and Square exchange. Before I show the photos though, let me make another pitch for people to sign up. The Exchange IS taking new members. Participation has been down in recent rounds, and perhaps a few new members will re-energize the group. Jill has been a really wonderful administrator for the group and I have had a fantastic time getting to know my exchange partners, some with whom I've developed real friendships. If you're part of the group and haven't participated in a while, please consider signing up when the next round opens up. If you're not part of the group, submit your application to Jill - you won't be sorry.

Back to the pictures.  Peg and I were paired up again.  I enjoyed our last exchange, and was pleased to be her partner again.  These are the pretty squares Peg stitched for me.  The pattern is called Random Hearts by Erica Michaels, stitched on Vintage Strawflower with WDW Romance thread.  I'm thinking these would be lovely done up as an ornament or doorhanger with some lace trim, or maybe as a no sew cube with a Valentine themed ribbon around the edge.

And these are the squares I stitched for Peg, Valentine Heart 2008 by Dragonfly Stitches, on Antique White with WDW Begonia.

  

The pattern was a freebie I've had in my collection for quite some time.  Whenever I post a freebie I've stitched, I like to provide a link to the original so others can stitch it as well, but try as I might, I can't track this one down.  If you know where to find this chart, please let me know and I'd be happy to update the post with the link.