Spring Finishes

At last I have been productive with my stitching stash.  When you have a goal to get items done for something very important you seem to pick-up an astounding pace.  First up is a project I started on back in January of 2011 and then put it back in the stash pile.

 

Flag Day by With thy Needle & Thread

Conversion Design by Shepherd's Bush

Is this one great!!!!  I love the color changes and buttons.  I cannot wait to have this framed. I have a few great ideas.

Next up is a pattern that I saw at my LNH.  Several of the stitchers got together and came up with color changes in silks.  The shop owner at Inspired Needle put it together as a kit with fabric.  I just love this one. 

"Spring Robin" by Widgets & Wool Primitives

Conversions by Inspired Needle

The final completion of this month is.......

"Tis the Season" by Blackbird Designs

This one I did on a fabric called "Patina" and the only color that I changed was the white called Vanilla Pudding.  I changed it to Icing by Crescent Colours.  My photo does not give this picture true justification.  Hopefully once it is framed it will show up better. 

I cannot tell you how exciting it is to get three projects done and ready for finishing.  Next week I will let you all in on my secret adventure coming up.  In the meantime have a great week and lots of good stitching time.

February Stitching

There has been a lot of progress going on in my projects but I know that my blog has not represented it lately.  Everytime I think I am going to sit down and post there isn't either enough time to take pictures, poor lightening, or I am just too tired to get the laptop or camera out.  So, today I was on mission to iron my projects and take advantage of daylight for photos. 

First: Inspired Needle in Lemont is working with a group of stitchers to offer a new small project each month of 2012.  I didn't pick up the January project but did grab the opportunity to do the February project which is "Garden of Love" by Citrouille's Designs.  I just love the fabric and threads that were put into this kit.  The threads are what the pattern called for.

Second:  Margaret Cottam by La D Da.  I just love this design and currently working on Part 2.  It took me a while to be excited by using only one thread on this design but the more I have done the greater it is looking.

Next up, I continue to work on the following designs from Blackbird Designs - Loose Feathers and With thy Needle & Thread - mystery sampler Birds of a Feather.

Lastly, I have done a bit of progress on Winter Floral Sampler from the designer Knotted Tree.  I just love the colors and how they pop on this fabric.

At the end of 2011 I did finish a project but didn't get a picture taken of it.  I am attending a class this Friday at Inspired Needle which we will put our finished projects onto a box as shown on the pattern by Blackbird.  This design is called Morning Star.  I love this.....

I hope to get a good scan of this pattern that I completed and add it to a necklace.  Right now the printer and I are not playing well together.  I will send DH to tackle it.  Course, only after he finishes the wonderful roast he put in the oven today.

The last update that I have really been behind on is the ABC Stitching Gals project.  There are three of us working on Prairie Schoolers ABCs and so far I am way, way, way behind on this project.  I did work more the other day on the pumpkin but I think someone is taking out the stitches on me since I am not able to get to the end of this pumpkin.  Here is my progress.... UGH......

Ellen has gotten a lot done on hers.  She off onto her third letter.  Here is her progress:

Keep up the good work Ellen.  Cannot wait to see what you send to me next.

As soon as I finish up my February small Garden of Love I have two new projects to decide on.  They are both for February but I think this will one will be my focus.  It is With Thy Needle & Thread's -
Be My Valentine. 

This was an easy decision since I get to eat the chocolates first.  Yummmmmmm

Well, see, I have been doing a lot of stitching.  Just a slow blogger.  I haven't set any goals for 2012 like I failed at in 2011 but I have changed the way I sit down and stitch.  Each time I sit down to stitch I pick up one of these projects and have made a habit of switching to a different one the next time.  If I have a good week of stitching I should be able to touch each of them with at least an hour of stitching time.

As I was taking pictures of my projects my the living room window I happened to look outside and caught this picture.  I am going to call it the "Lady in Pink".  This girl was completely dressed in pink and was walking her standard size poodle.  The poor poodle had its head dyed pink to match her coat.  I wish I had a better camera that was able to get a closer shot.  Enjoy....

 That poor dog....  I wonder how long the pink dye lasts or if it will run in the rain.

Soar Sampler

This weekend I started a SAL with Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle & Thread.  Here is my progress today on this sampler called "Soar".

This project was started due to the recent birth of three baby eagles in Iowa.  Here is link to the blog to see the camera feed.

http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2011/04/see_the_first_baby_eagle_hatch.html

Brenda sold this design to raise money  for the Rapture Resource Project.  Follow her blog weekly to see the progress we are all making on this project.  There is a link to her blog at the bottom of my blog links.

Enjoy and come back to see my updated progress.  I can promise you it won't be very fast since stitching on dark fabric is a challenge.

Last Finish for 2009

It is so exciting to end the year on a finish. This was a design that I picked up in October on vacation from a really neat shop in Shelbyville, KY called "The Needlenest" (www.needlenestky.com). The owner was so excited to show me all the stuff that she had brought back from market. Feeling her excited caused me to fill up my baskets with goodies. This is "Miss Snow Fairy" by With thy Needle & Thread.

I knew that I wanted to have this project done for Christmas but time ran out and with the wonderful snow day we had yesterday I was able to finish this and say that I got it done for the holiday. Okay, so what if I missed Christmas by a day and it isn't framed yet. It will be ready for next year. So just imagine this one in a really pretty frame. I am......

Even though the holidays are over I still have a couple more Christmas projects that I really want to stitch and complete. For this evening I am going to start "Christmas Eve" by Prairie Schooler. Take a look at Shepherd's Bush blog to see how they stitched it. When I saw their photo I had to make the call and get the materials and directions for their changes. It is so pretty that I have to do this one and right away.

In the next several weeks I think I will review my stash and come up with a stitching plan for 2010. I have several large projects and many smaller ones that if I schedule my timing correctly I should be able to accomplish more than I have done in the past. Hey, with a good scheduled plan, plenty of stitching time, and all the necessary supplies on hand I should be able to make a dent in my stash so that I can think about adding in future designs. I have to support my favorite shops and designers, RIGHT????

Well, hope you all have had a wonderful holiday and wishing you a Happy 2010.

Finish

Don't you just love Blackbird Designs!!! I do and I am so excited to have this one finished. I have to admit that the day I picked up this pattern "Midnight Watch" and material I ran home quickly to start it. It took me about 5 weeks to finish this one but you have to keep in mind that between day to day activities kept me from finishing this one quicker. For me this is still record time. There is a lot of stitching to this one. Also, if you pick up this pattern beware, you will need extra skeins of blackbird. I purchased three skeins and it took at least 2 1/2.

After finishing this up I did head on to a Christmas picture. This is "Miss Snow Fairy" by With thy Needle & Thread. The fabric looks so old fashion and the DMC threads are looking really good against it. I would have never been able to make this selection on my own. I hope to finish this one quickly and maybe even frame it myself. With all the tips I have seen on different blogs my mind is racing with ideas. I love blog reading.

Hmmm, the dogs have left the room and are way too quiet. Time to see what they have gotten into. Good night dear friends and happy stitching.