Sunday, October 9, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wow has time flown by! I can't believe it's already time for turkey!! Tomorrow night I will be partaking in some yummy turkey, stuffing, candied carrots and pumpkin pie at my Auntie's house.  I can't wait....my tummy is growling right now!! Usually I take off to Prince George to visit my parents and siblings, but since I visited them in the summer, I will have to wait till next year to visit again (plane tickets are expensive!) I really love Prince George at this time of year.  All the poplar trees are orange and there's a really nice crispness to the air.  Plus the smell of autumn around my old house makes me happy and nostalgic of the times I spent traipsing around the woods as a child.  Vancouver is pretty too at this time of year, yet PG steals my heart.

As for stitching, I have been working on Valerie's pin cushion and am loving it so much I think I need to make myself one!! I can't show any pics yet because I don't want to give away the surprise.  Now last time I mentioned I wanted to buy some threads--furtively looks around to see if hubby is nearby, phew he isn't!---and I bought some! Woot! I ordered some Valdani threads, just to try them out.  One is a luscious wine red which I will be using to stitch some Christmas designs and a friend's present.  I also ordered a chart from Birds of a Feather and I can't wait to get it!  Now I have been thinking about starting Jane Philpott, and I am having a hard time resisting buying the silks for the sampler.  I decided that since it will be an epic venture, I should stitch with the best of threads.  I noticed HDF has a Jane set so I may put that on my Christmas list, along with BBD's a Schoolgirls Work. My list is getting large!!
Photo courtesy of theSilverNeedle
As for the Tea Bath Fairy, I've been working fairly steadily on her and have almost completed 3 pages!! I can't believe that I've only stitched half the SAUCER!!! I thought it was the tea cup! I seriously give props to those who have stitched more than one HAED.  They truly are intense!
A quick question.  If you look closely, you can see my evenweave is a bit soiled from my fingers holding the Q snap frame, even though I'm constantly washing my hands.  Should I wash now or after the whole piece is done.  If I do, should I use a delicates soap like Dove? I've been using DMC threads, and I think they are okay and won't bleed, but before I do I would like to ask your opinion.

Some filler pics so my post isn't totally boring.  Here's a needlework piece my husband's grandmother made ages ago. She passed away two years ago so this is pretty special to him.  It's missing a frame and finding the perfect frame for it is difficult.  I really love this picture.  It's so pretty.
Pretty Sunflower
 Here are some lovely giveaways people are having (click on their name).

1. Cucki's giveaway
2. Lisa's giveaway.  She's having her 3rd year blogoversary and is hoping to get to 100 followers! So pop over and join her!

Now, as always, I'm behind on my commenting.  I was going to do it after this post but I really want to stitch.  So tomorrow morning I'll be popping around!

Love in turkeys

Anne

22 comments:

Annie said...

Looks like some great projects and threads are in the works.

I can't imagine doing an HAED piece at all. Yours is coming along nicely. I never knew anyone who washed a piece along the way, but I'm sure you will get some good advice from other stitchers on this.

So nice to have that heirloom piece in your family!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

rosey175 said...

Everything that I've washed, I used a drop or two of dish soap (Palmolive, usually) in the whole sink of water. For an extra stubborn mark, I have very super-duper gently scrubbed with an old toothbrush. Great for getting out hoop scum, hah.

As for washing now or later... I dunno, haha. I can never wash a piece in the middle because I know if it's dirty in the middle, it'll be dirty in the end, too. Eeek. I blame country living!

Tiki said...

Your piece looks great so far. HAED's are a long term project I think no matter the size. I'd probably wait till the end to wash and if Dove is too pricey there (like it is here) just get something with no phosphates in it.

Mouse said...

oooo I like your new to start piece .. wont tell about those threads ;) if DMC threads are used then washing in mild hand wash detergent is ok in warm water .. rinse well, don't wring and iron on reverse with white towel on top or below with stitching into it .... if I need to wash do it at the end ...much better :) hope that helps :) love mouse xxxx

Margaret said...

I love that BoaF piece -- I bet you'll love stitching it Jane Philpot is definitely on my todo list too. She's a biggie! Lovely stitching (I don't know about stains, sorry!). Nice piece from your DH's grandmother too. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bec said...

Your HAED is coming along at a great pace! I thought you were stitching the cup too!! lol
Can't wait to see more it looks fantastic :)

I have no idea about washing. I am too scared to attempt it, just in case. but I'm going to have to with my HAED because of the gridding pen I've used.

Claudette497 said...

I wash everything, but I'd wait until you're done, otherwise there might be a subtle difference in the tone of stuff you've washed only at the end, compared to stuff you washed while you stitched, especially since an HAED will only get dirty again - they just take too darn long to stay clean. I get the piece wet with lukewarm water, lather up my hands with dishwashing soap, and go to it. It doesn't hurt DMC to put the soap on the piece directly, it just seems to take a lot longer to rinse the suds out.

valerie said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you Anne! I hope you have a lovely holiday. I can't wait to see what you're stitching up for me! lol

Your HAED looks great! You're brave. I'm too scared to attempt anything like that. I would say that a tiny bit of dishwashing soup in lots of water would do the trick although I've never tried that with any of my stitching before.

Lesleyanne said...

Happy Thanksgiving. I would wait and wash it at the end. It looks great though.

cucki said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
cucki said...

happy thanksgiving :)have a lovely holiday dear..
i really love your stitching and your head is coming along so lovely..keep it up dear..
i think you should wait and wash it at the end..
thank you so much for posting about my giveaway on your blog.
keep well.love and hugs for you cucki xx

Carol said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Anne!

Good luck with your Tea Bath Fairy--I know I would never have the patience for a single HAED!! I'm too old and running out of good stitching years for one thing :)

I would probably hold off until the end and wash your piece, but that's just me! Good luck...

Elena said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!!!

и что дает этот день для души?

Sally said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love the BOAF chart you've bought. It's really pretty. I bought the Sally Spencer SAmpler a while ago as I just fell in love with it when I saw it finished on KarenV's blog.

Your HAED is looking gorgeous. I would definitely wait to wash it until you've finished it.

Pauline said...

I think you can better wash your work after finishing.
A Haed always become dirty...it takes years to make one!

Stitching Noni said...

Hi Anne, thank you for being a new follower on my blog. Lovely to meet you :o)

Tea Bath Fairy is looking good.... I seem to have the same problem no matter how clean I keep my hands there still seems to be dirty marks where the frames or hoop are. I always wait to the end of my stitching to wash it though.

Look forward to your next Tea Bath update!

http://firefliescatsinthegarden.blogspot.com/

Lynn said...

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving day!
Your HAED is looking fabulous Anne! I usually wait until I'm finished my stitching before washing. I've starting folding over the fabric so that the Qsnap is resting on the reverse of the fabric and then it doesn't matter as much if it dirties.

I have that BoaF chart all kitted up and ready to go. It's such a pretty one and I don't know why I haven't started it yet. Too many others calling I guess.

You are so lucky to have that lovely needlework as a family keepsake. It's a beautiful piece.

Veronica said...

A lot definitely goes into a HAED which is probably why I've yet dare to begin one. Yours look lovely. So far I've not had any problems with DMC bleeding but I'd advise using a mild soap anyway. That's up to you whether you'd like to wash it now or after you finish the whole design. Usually I'd wait to finish the whole thing but that's just me.

Love that scenery piece. It's gorgeous and it being an heirloom piece makes it even more valuable, not that it isn't already.

Hugs,
Veronica

Joysze said...

Hey babe! :D How was Thanksgiving dinner?

Love Tea Bath.... half a saucer in those teenie tiny stitches is a lot done. :D

If you have to wash, I'd wait till it's all done, then you'll only have to wash once. :)

HUUUUUGS.

Agi said...

I always wash my projects but only at the end, never had any prblem with DMC.

But If you are worrying about your hands, I heard someone used thin white cotton gloves for the hand which holds the fabric, maybe it can be a solution for you.
Or if you use Qsnaps you can try the covering fabric, I do not know the name, but you can make for yourself as well, it is a kind of fabric with sewn on rubber bands to make it fit the frame. It holds the excess fabric as well.

Meari said...

Happy Thanksgiving! and thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Your HAED looks good. I would wash it now. I always use Dawn dish soap because it gets out grease, so it will work for body oils too. I'd think Dove would work also but I don't have experience with it.

Pumpkin said...

Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving :o)

Ohhhhh, Valdani threads are beautiful although I do have my issues with them. They are hard to resist though!