Stitching, Thanksgiving and a Glorious October

Good Morning!!

I have quite a bit to share with you, stitching-wise, so grab a cuppa coffee or tea, just like Mouse says and enjoy the pictures. 

Autumn has arrived and I'm loving it! So far, we have had a month of brilliant sunshine during the day and chilly mornings and evenings.  That's my favourite kind of weather.  I can't wait for tonight when we go to my Aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner.  Lots of turkey, roasted veggies and I'm hoping for some pumpkin pie..MMMM!!! I love Thanksgiving and am very thankful for my family, my husband and my job I have been blessed with.  Even though the job is difficult (with the organizing and the paperwork and trying to help each child) I am so grateful to have it.  I am also grateful to be working with supportive admin and staff. The ladies I work closely with, have been wonderful and I wouldn't know what to do with out them!!  Who could ask for anything better?!!

So onto stitching.  I have yet to actually finish anything, but I have prepped for finishing.  I'm hoping that next weekend I can carve out some time to get some sewing done.  All the projects are finished in my mind so it's only a matter of sitting down and getting to it.  

I love this gingham fabric I picked up.  Now all I need to find are some brass/rusted bells.  Not sure where I can pick those up.  I may have to make some.

Here's my autumn pumpkin design.  I love the leaves in this fabric.  The lady at the fabric store loved my stitching and helped me pick this out.  Check out Jenny Penny's Autumn Pumpkin finish! She did such an amazing job!! I love the blue she chose for the bird's chest.

A wee bit late but it will be finished for next summer, my Summer Quaker design.  

I considered starting the Autumn Quaker however, I have too many other things on the go and should really start thinking about Christmas stitching instead.  It's all about planning ahead!!

Now my Jane.  I am almost finished with her but have been putting her off lately.  I worked on her last weekend for a bit and then stopped at the vase.  Check out Margaret's finish of Jane Philpott! We wish we could place our Jane's together and admire them both!! Dearest Margaret finished hers in record time! Then again, I tend to get distracted by other projects and not stay focused like she does!!

At least that big bird is done and he has some friends to hang out with him.  I really loved stitching this section.

I also started a Quaker biscornu.  I'm nearly finished with just one more motif to stitch.  I love biscornus and can't wait to stitch it together. This was such an enjoyable design to stitch and it went quickly too. I love Stacy Nash Primitive designs and will be buying more in the future.

Stitched on 32 ct Natural linen with DMC threads

Carolyn from ....just one more stitch kindly sent me the pattern.  Thank you again Carolyn!

Remember my Knotgarden and the saga of the scroll rods??!?! Well.........I got the scroll rods adjusted by my cousin and after a LOT of fiddling around, Knotgarden is up on the rods!!! Even though one of the ends of the scroll rod screws needs to be taken out a bit, I can actually work on Knotgarden again! Last night I stitched on it and am pretty happy to be using my lap stand.  It's a very handy tool!!

Although I need those clippy things to make the fabric more taught, it works.  I'm happy!!

Stash buying.  I've been a bad girl...hehehe! I bought a couple of charts through the Scarlet Letter and can't decide which sampler to start first.  

Meet Hannah Brassington.  She's a purdy girl. I just looooove the border and that lion/cougar cat guy!!!

 

Marion Robertson is another gorgeous sampler.  I adore the house, the colours and motifs in this sampler.

I am hoping to start one of these samplers in the new year.  That is my plan.  I figured that it's a plausible plan and it also gives me time to order the materials.  It's just a matter of choosing now. 

I think that's all to share with you.  I'm off now to do some research for my kids and some planning.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!!!

Part 2: 34 Degrees, A Summer Finish and IHSW

What to do on a super hot Friday? Stitch and take cold showers!!! That's about all I can do at the moment.  I may take off to a mall or the library to get some respite from our apartment but that means walking in this heat! I'm looking out our window and I spy some juicy blackberries...perhaps I will pick some! Gotta love those blackberries!

Last night, I stitched my little hot heart away and finished up Summer Quaker.  I did a lot of it while camping but just couldn't quite finish it in time.  I'm now mulling over how to finish it because there are 3 other seasons to stitch and I should probably do something that I can repeat easily.  Well, I'll let it come to me as it usually does over time.  I really need to get cracking on stitching Fall pieces. It seems that I'm always a month or two behind!! For now, feast your eyes on the lovely berry and rose colours of Summer Quaker.  

Now onto some lovely stash and gifts I have recently received.  Before we left for our trip, I received my amazing win from the most generous lady, Nancy from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. I chose a selection of threads including Nan's Red which I have been wanting for awhile. Wow does she include a lot of thread! I definitely will be purchasing from her in the future! I also selected some trims and have been dying to feel the chenille trim and cluny lace.  I can't wait to make some cute Christmas ornies and use those trims!

Oh! Who's that sniffing my trims?!??!!! 

I also ordered some threads and fabric from Needlecraft Corner for my pattern The Magic Garden Sampler.  Funny thing is I didn't see the other column of threads so I actually ordered only half the threads.  Sigh.  I'll have to order more another time! I really love the customer service from Needlecraft and how fast my orders arrive from the States.  Stash fast is a good thing!

Titus the Stashoholic

There's my big fluffy boy!!!! He's a stashaholic can't you tell?!!!

Bear with me, I've got a little more to show! So just this morning the sweetest little package arrived from Portugal, from the sweet and very creative Nia!! She sent me the cutest little giraffe thread winder with my favourite DMC thread wrapped around his neck like a warm scarf! I've named him Georgie the Giraffe and he's just too cute! THANK YOU NIA you made me smile and my day!!!

Georgie the Giraffe and cute postie from Nia

Last note!! It's IHSW weekend and I have all of Saturday booked...insert frown here.  I'll be working on either Jane or Knotgarden or both as much as I can squeeze in.  Here's a look at Jane.  I managed to stitch a bit on her last night in the cool night air.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend stitching!!

I almost forgot something! GASP! Thank you to my new followers for joining my blog and a big thank you to all for looking at my camping pictures.  If you haven't seen them yet, you can take a look at the post below :D

HUGS from me and Titus!!

Knotgarden and a Finish!

Hello my lovelies!

First I would like to thank all of you who joined my tea party and cheered me up.  Your comments really helped me, along with stitching all day on Knotgarden.  I was mainly missing my husband but there were other reasons as well.  So thank you again for your support! HUGS!!

On Saturday, I worked on my Knotgarden as I promised Joyce I would. I also stitched a bit on Sunday  while watching Battlestar Galactica.  I love that show!! Here's my progress so far.  I think it's starting to look really good!

The colours are so much prettier in real life.  I can hardly wait till I get my sister's camera soon.  Then I'll be able to take nicer, clearer photos!!

I thought I'd also include some pics of Jane, with 1 over 1 stitching, the By the Bay freebie, which is finished but not completely, and my Summer Quaker progress.  I had to do loads of frogging on that one which made me mad because I didn't notice that I had started the bottom motif too close to the border which would have made the whole thing off!! No way I could've fudged it!!

Just this morning, I set about finishing the PS Summer design into a little pillow.  That's something I'm good at doing.  Took me an hour to do though.  I was going to finish some other little sewing projects but I had a big fight with a zipper and ended up sewing the damn thing the wrong way.  I'm done with sewing today since I can't seem to do things right the first time.  What's more annoying is that I actually thought I was sewing it on with the zipper facing the front.  Guess I can't tell what's the back and the front of zippers! LOL!

I added a cute little gingham bow on the corner and I think the stars on the other corners are adorable.  At least one thing went well today!!

Another irritating thing for me has been google reader and my internet.  For over four days google reader wouldn't load so I'm slowly working through commenting now that it's working for me.  I updated firefox in order to be able to use the internet without it freezing and flashing me a "stop the script" message.  So far it's been okay, slow, but manageable.  I think I'm going to save up for an 1pad 4 for Christmas.  That's it.  I'm switching to Macs!!!

Here's a funny photo of how flat Titus can get.  He's been good company for me while my husband has been away.  He'll be back on Wednesday which is in two days!! So excited to see him!!

So there you have it! Some frogging, some sewing, some ripping, some swearing (Frak!!), and a finish.  I hope to get back to Jane this week though before we take off on our cycling trip.  When I pulled her out and ironed her, I noticed how VERY close she is to being done!!

Big hugs to you all and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all who have sent me a kind word and email to cheer me up.  What also gave me a big cheery lift was I found out that I won a little something special from Nia! She is the sweetest and it gave me a boost at the right time.  Thank you darlin'!!

Love and hugs from

Titus and Me!


 

IHSW Results

Hello all!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend stitching.  Of course I ended up being fairly busy and only managed to stitch on Saturday.  Both Joyce and I planned a SAL with our Chatelaine's.  I actually managed to pull her off Diablo 3!!!It's a miracle!! Yay Joyce!!! She of course did way more than me with her speedy little fingers, yet I did manage to get some stitching/frogging time with Knotgarden.  Good thing I stitched on it cause I would've been in trouble! LOL

Sorry for the dull photo.  It's dull and rainy here today...blech.

I also worked hard trying to finish my Quaker Summer design and the By the Bay freebie and almost got one of them done.  

I think Nina's Thread colour "Old Berry" is the prettiest colour I have used ever.  The photo doesn't do this rich, luscious, make me think of a real berry colour justice at all.  Too lazy to iron today....it's raining what can I say!

Such a cute design isn't it?! I love that sailboat and red house! My hubby really likes it too.  We both dream of having a boat together so we can float off to sea!

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post! I adore red shoes and I think other than black and grey, that's the colour I tend to buy the most for feet...that and purple!! I've yet to wear them though due to the stupid rain.  The forecast this week says sun but I think they are LYING! This morning, before my hubby had to leave for the airport to visit family in Saskatoon, I checked the forecast and Saskatoon will be at 28 degrees today!! The forecast stated it will stay hot for the week, plus the occasional thunderstorm.  I just have to show you this photo from the weather site that a person sent in.  I love the "Land of the Endless Sky" aka Saskatchewan. I wish I could have gone with him :(

Stunning isn't it?!!!

Oh, and who here wants a Titus photo?!?!?! He's such a popular fella.  So glad I have him because I would be mighty lonely here while my darling is in Saskatchewan. 

I see loads of amazing posts on my sidebar that I can't wait to check out! I am a wee bit behind but should catch up this week...hopefully! That and I plan on doing some actual finishing...hopefully....just send that finishing fairy over to me k!!!

Hugs to all from me and sweet "ladylike" Titus!!!

Summer Stitching and Sunshine

The sun has been with us for over a week now and it's been glorious!! Needless to say, I have been outside most of the time trying to get as much sun as I can before it disappears. Lots of bike rides, walks, lying on the beach and relaxing with friends and family.  It has been wonderful so far.  I've even managed to kit up a couple of summer small projects to stitch and started two of them.  I haven't achieved a numb butt yet, but I'm working on it!

Last week, my hubby and I went on a really long bike ride all over New Westminster and the Burnaby farmlands.  I love the farmlands.  It's like a whole other world down there.  Quiet, tranquil, peaceful.  There's even an old school that has been boarded up and an interesting place to explore.  I wonder who went to that school and when it got closed.  Here's some photos from that trip, starting with the new quayside dock in New Westminster.  It cost over 5 million to make! (Loads of pictures!!)

 

 Now the farmlands.

The flower nursery we visited was amazing. I couldn't resist and had to get a couple of herbs!! They are very happy on my windowsill.

Catnip and Tarragon

Stitchy news!!! We spent a day hanging up pictures and my stitching.  It felt so good to get it all up and on display.  Here is my lovely display of all things I love!!

I really love the frame I had lying around that fit the Thankful for Ewe Traveling Pattern.  I initially wanted to make a little box for the design but found this frame so I popped it in and we put it up!! It's a wall in progress...there will be more stitching added to this wall...I say this quietly because my hubby doesn't know my plans!Sssshhhhh!

After seeing all the lovely By the Bay SAL's on people's blogs, I decided to finally stitch up a freebie from By the Bay Needleart.  I am using the recommended DMC threads and am stitching this on 28 ct. Aerial Cashel Linen.  It has a lovely mottled effect like the sky and I think it's perfect for this super summery design.  I almost can hear the waves of the ocean and smell the sea while I stitch this.

Next up is that cute little Prairie Schooler Summer design from the Gift of Stitching.  It was the second most popular design for my giveaway.  I've been loving stitching this on 32 ct. Lambswool Jobelan, the same fabric I used for the little bee fob I made.  I think it's becoming one of my favourite fabrics to stitch on! I already have the finish mapped out in my head after I picked up some pink gingham fabric that will work perfectly with this design!!

After seeing La Maisonnette aux Fraises on both Carol's and Lynn's blog, I've also decided to stitch up this sweet little design.  Je l'adore fraises!!! I have some sweet little polka dotted fabric that will be a great match for this piece. 

I'm not finished yet!! I've got some more to show you! I was really on a roll one night...as was Titus playing with my stash!!
I picked out two Quaker designs that I am going to start sometime this week.  I love this Gift of Stitching design called a Quaker Seasonal - Summer.  I will be using 32ct. Belfast linen with Nina's Threads in Old Berry and Weeks Dye Works thread, Madison Rose.  

The other Quaker design I chose to start stitching is the lovely Quaker biscornu from Stacy Nash's Primitive Designs that Carolyn had so sweetly gifted me.  A lovely piece of Natural linen that Melissa had given me is perfect for this primish biscornu. Thanks again ladies! 

Oh and of course, while I was putting some of my stitching away after their photo shoot, I walked back into the room to find.........GUESS WHO?!!



TITUS!!!!!!!!!! He was rolling around on my stuff!! How did he even get there so fast?! I got to remember to put all my stitching away FIRST before walking into the other room for a second! What an adorable, mischievous munchkin!!!

Um, wasn't doing anything.  Seriously Mom!!

Can't resist this chew toy!!!

After this I grabbed my thread bobbin from him.  I didn't want a disaster to happen!

Hmm, should I post a picture of Jane? Not much progress on her....might as well post one for those who look forward to seeing her...Margaret!!

C'est finis!! I hope you liked my picture heavy post.  I will leave you with a few lines from "An Evening Walk" by one of my favourite poets, William Wordsworth.

How pleasant, as the sun declines, to view
The spacious landscape change in form and hue!
Here, vanish, as in mist, before a flood
Of bright obscurity, hill, lawn, and wood;
There, objects, by the searching beams betrayed,
Come forth, and here retire in purple shade;
Even the white stems of birch, the cottage white,
Soften their glare before the mellow light;