Sampler Stitching

Bonjour mes amis!

It's a fair day out today compared to the super hot day we had yesterday.  I completely overdressed yesterday with a sweater and wool skirt and the temperature was up to 25 degrees Celsius! Who could have guessed we had one more hot day in October? Very strange. 

I don't have much to report other than I've done a wee bit of stitching this weekend.  I didn't start a new Sheep virtue yet, but will get to that next weekend.  I focused instead on my samplers since that was my fancy.  I do feel a twang of guilt for not stitching on my Chatelaine for many months.  The trouble with that one is that it's on a massive lap stand and quite cumbersome to bring out and put away.  Anyways, here's my stitching progress so far.

JCS 1707

A naughty Titus

Sarah Chapple and the taking an age rooftop

Bittersweet Flower sampler

Granny Stripe progress 

Who's under there?

Titus is!

Another sweet Titus photo after he smushed up against my charts

He just wanted to make sure I knew that he likes my stitching.

One of the best things about Autumn other than the beautiful colours, is the gorgeous dahlias. 

One day, when I have a garden, I will be planting many of these beauties in all sorts of different colours.  

So I've been giving some thoughts to a giveaway and I think I'll post about it on my next payday.  It will be a simple giveaway since I don't have much time to make something this year.  So stay tuned in the next week or so for an announcement!! 

Many hugs to you all and happy stitching!!

Anne

Love and Ceramics

Autumn has arrived and brought with it rain and cooler nights, although we had the sun come for a visit this weekend which I am thankful for.  This past week has been quite an adjustment to waking up in darkness at 5:30 and coming home as the sun fades. It's great to see the kids again and the staff although all of us feel overwhelmed with the amount of work to do.  At times I need to remind myself to breath and prioritize my work.  

The other weekend, I went to see my old high school friend, Niki Holmes, at a neighbourhood artisan fair.  Niki went to Emily Carr for design and specializes in ceramics.  She makes the most beautiful cups, pots, plates and the sweetest buttons!! I love her design aesthetic and colour choices, which are right up my alley.  Her signature is a little turtle which she whimsically adds to the inside of her cups. Take a look at her lovely works that I had to get for myself.

Spy the turtle?

Beautiful colour that reminds me of the sea on a stormy night

Turtle buttons!

I have a few ideas for these buttons already!

I love to collect my artistic friends' creations and wish I had more capital to buy more! Niki was a sweetie and threw in the beautiful brown flower buttons for me! Thanks Niki!!

Onto some stitching.  I finished Love for the Sheep SAL with Sarah, Kaye and Lija.  I'm not sure how I will finish these Sheep Virtues but most likely it will be a pillow finish.  I have a few ideas floating around in my head.  I might try to use some burlap string for a border like in the photos, or something entirely different.  The lovely Ann from Beadlework sent me the whole collection! Thank you so much Ann for your generosity!!

I picked Kindness as my next virtue in memory of Cathey who passed away a year ago yesterday.  Thinking of her dear Junior and husband and sending them prayers and hugs.  Still miss her kindness and her emails.  She touched so many of our hearts and won't be forgotten.  

Signing off with my fall display and a picture of me and my new haircut.  I felt I needed something easy to work with in the mornings.

Cheers and hope to catch up a bit with all of you.

Anne

Good News!

The strike has ended and we are back to work!!

Yippeeee!!!

The deal is a bit crappy but it's a step in the right direction.  I won't go into details, but the government still can't seem to fund public education but can find the funds for ridiculous projects and roofs that cost 500 million dollars.  Sigh.  Oh well.  

Back to work I go....feeling happy yet stressed too.  The new position I have is a bit daunting and there are a million and one things to do.  So I need to prioritize.  There are only so many hours in the day and I can only do what I can do! 

Stitching will now be taking a bit more of a back seat.  I will try to find the time to stitch in the evenings and weekends.  

I did manage to get some stitches into the Sheep virtue "Love".  I should be able to finish it tonight.  Kaye from Kitten Stitching is also joining us in stitching the virtues.  She was so sweet to offer the charts to me but Ann already did! Dear Mouse too offered charts, bits and bobs, and Mel from Wooley Thoughts offered to help me out in the stash department.  I sincerely thank you all for offering me all sorts of things during that most stressful time and to all of my readers who have supported me too.  I'm very blessed to have such lovely stitching friends from around the world.  Once I get my feet steady on the ground and my head wrapped around my new part of the job, I will be hosting a giveaway, but most likely in the form of gift cards....takes me less time!! 

Oh pictures...almost forgot!

Silly Titus "hiding" under my dresser....playing hide and go seek but I found him!! Such a silly furball.

Hugs to you all!!

Anne

Feeling the Love

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post.  It means a lot to me to have your support. Still no news on going back to work.  The union and the government have been negotiating all weekend but nothing has been reported yet.  So I continue to keep busy and am trying to be positive.  I finally put some trim on the last pillow I sewed up when I thought to myself, wow, I take a long time to finish my stitches.  I should get more into the habit of finishing my projects right away instead of taking a long time to get them done! 

I hand sewing the cording to the pillow since I wouldn't have the first clue how to sew it with the machine.  I like how I finished a February stitch in September...lol! Yes, I do take my time! 

Now I really need to work on my Christmas gifts instead of starting new projects, but hey, that's what stitching ADHD is all about.  I decided to join Sarah and Lija in a Sheep Virtues SAL.  Sunday is the post date but Mondays should be fine as well.  The girls have all the charts, but I just have Love! So I began that on the weekend and managed to work on the border. The goal is to put in about 100 stitches in which I think I surpassed. I'm stitching it on 40 ct. Natural linen with DMC threads.

Made some more progress on Bitter Flower Sampler although somewhere along the way, the count is off on the top alphabet but I can't seem to find where I messed up.  It doesn't make that big of a difference so I'm not worrying about it.  

Sarah Chapple's house is nearly completed.  I have a bit more filling in to do then I'll be finishing the birds on the left tree and working more on the border. 

I was thinking back to when I last posted about my granny stripe blanket, and I think it was in May or June.  Well, summer feels like it is still here, hot yet cool in the evenings.  So I have been working away again on the stripes.  I've also crocheted a little gift for my mom-in-law but I think she looks at my blog, so I can't post anything yet until she receives the package.  Anywho, here's Granny!

Those bright colours are going to be perfect to work with when the rain comes.  Nothing like a bit of cheer inside when it's miserable outside!

The other day we went down by the river and decided to try to fly our kites.  With a lot of fiddling with string and sticks, we managed to get one of our kites up.  You know the best kites are the dollar stores ones.  The kites we've bought from shops tend to not fly very well and often break.  Best to spend a dollar and not worry about loosing or breaking the kite.  

It looks so pretty against the azure sky.

Speaking of blue, here's a winky photo of Titus blue eyes.

Really not much else to report other than I am crossing my fingers and toes for a work resolution soon.  Please pray for that!

Hugs

Anne

Purely About Stitching

Hello everyone!

I promised a post dedicated to stitching, so here it is.  With the world as it is, in turmoil, and our provincial government piercing the hearts of teachers, I try to find a bit of solace in stitching. Although I have enough BAP's to work on, I started a new design I had kitted up some time ago.  Also, I added some finishing touches to my pillow finishes and worked on JCS 1707 since it was calling to be stitched.  Funny how some projects are like that...calling from my WIP pile: "Work on me! Work on me!!" So without further ado, enjoy a smattering of stitchy photos.

La-D-Da's O Birdy finished with chenille trim

Primitive Hare's Litha freebie as a prim finish

JCS 1707 Progress

Birds of a Feather's Bitter Flower Sampler started

Tea Bath Fairy cup...kreinik filling in...a little each day!

Did I title the post "Purely About Stitching?" Yes I did, but forgive me for I just have to show you these lovely photos of some late summer flowers, two of my favourite people (my mom, dad, sister and brother are too!), and my fluffball.

Gorgeous pink dahlias

Sunflower ripe with seeds

My two favourite people, Nana and Hubby

Furball Titus giving me morning love eyes although they are a bit googly

Some things are on my mind that I feel I need to say.  My blogoversary is coming up September 12th and I wanted to do a giveaway.  However, with the strike as it is, I cannot afford to send anything right now.  All of my husband's pay chq is going to rent, food and bills.  That's it.  Nothing left for anything else.  When the strike has ended, and we get a contract, I thought about celebrating with a giveaway then.  How about that? I've so enjoyed blogging over the past 4 years and getting to know so many of you.  Our little blogging community provides us the opportunity to stitch together worldwide, share our passion for crafts, and best of all, supporting each other through the good and bad times in our lives.  I thank each and everyone of you who have sent me an encouraging word, prayer, good thought through everything in my life, whether it be stitching related or not.  It's a great solace to know people care and have big hearts, particularly when the world looks so bleak.  Please accept my deepest gratitude for you, especially those who take time out of their day to comment and to those who enjoy reading my posts.

Hug to you all

Anne