The Peacock's Feather

First Finish of 2011

I'm cheating a little--I stitched most of this last year, but I finally put in the last stitches just this afternoon!  It is Prairie Schooler's "Rain, Rain".  I stitched this one several years back and gave it away, but I like the design so much I wanted it for myself, too.  The first time I finished it as a pincushion with tassles on all four corners.  This time I will finish it as a mattress pincushion--my first time trying this sort of finishing!  I hopefully will share my first "finished" finish soon!

Houses and Lighthouses

And so my sampler progresses.  I've finished the little saying and am now working on the motif-heavy middle section.  That's the beginnings of a house on the left.  I discovered an error so I had to unpick stitches on a few of the letters, but I think I am back on track.   The design is "February" by Prairie Schooler by the way.

And I decided I needed a nice, small project to work on, so I have started the little lighthouse design from the "Weather Wise" chart by Prairie Schooler.  It is working up quickly, though again that dreaded white floss.  I love the design, though, so it will be worth the struggle.

Winter has properly arrived here.  It has been snowing steadily since last night.  The university closed for the day, so I had a free day, which I have managed to completely fritter away doing nothing much.  I made cookies and walked on my treadmill.  I did a little reading, but otherwise I haven't a clue where the rest of the day has gone.  Now had I been at work, every second of the day would have been apparent to me, but isn't that always the case!  Maybe I'll even be able to add a few stitches to these before the day is finished!

Slowly, but Surely . . .

Happy New Year, everyone.  One of my goals this year is to try and post here a little more frequently.  I'd like very much to get back on a regular stitching schedule, even if it means only adding a few letters or a row of stitches to whatever my current WiP is.  We shall see!

My break from work is nearly over and while I don't have as much progress on projects to share as I had hoped, I have made some noticeable progress on my "February" sampler by Prairie Schooler.  I hope to finish the last of the lettering at the top tonight and start working on the house and other motifs.  I think things will move along quickly at that point.

Alas, there is less to see on my Blackbirds Design "Mystery Sampler".  I have a feeling this third section is going to go slowly.  It has lots of solid blocks of stitching on the house and roof which can be a little tedious.  Also I am not fond of stitching with white or off-white floss, which is what the house calls for.

Although my WiP designs aren't particularly large, I was thinking I needed something small to work on--instant gratification, which is always nice and keeps me wanting to stitch.  So I've pulled out my little Prarie Schooler "Rain, Rain" from last year.  I know January is a long month, but I am already thinking of spring, so what better project? 

And maybe something else new for the new year?  I want to dig through my stash bins, but this Prairie Schooler chart is right by my bedside, and I love boats and lighthouses.  I thought the smaller design--top right might work nicely.  These designs usually stitch up very quickly!  It is from the "Weather Wise" chart. 

I hope everyone had a really nice holiday.  Mine went by far too quickly.  I spent time with family, including a sister who visits every year at this time.  Last year we had so much snow we had to celebrate Christmas after the 25th!  Happily this year we've had really good weather.  There is a bit of snow on the ground, but nothing that prevents getting about in it easily, so I can't complain.  Of course this is more normal for Nebraska.  We usually are hit in January, February and March, but I'm still keeping my fingers tightly crossed that we have a mild winter and that spring comes early.  Surely I'm not asking too much?