The Peacock's Feather

No More Whining...It's Here

Okay...no more whining!  (Yay--I am sure you are saying!).  My Indigo Rose Arm Chair Pin Keep kit has arrived!  It was a surprise as I had just checked my credit card online and the charge has not  yet appeared.  It has made my day, however!  I was just quickly reading over the instructions, and I am glad I am doing this as part of a class.  It includes some specialty stitches I have never tried.  It is also interesting to see how the pin cushion is put together (a bit differently than another designer whose chart I have to make a pin cushion similar to this one).  Color photos never seem to show actual colors correctly.  The linen color is far less "brown" (a warm brown, too), it seems closer to a clay color.  I am not sure if you can tell from my photo that the colors differ.  I am just excited to have it here and am ready to get started!

I broke down today and ordered Strawberry Fields Stitching Bag and Accessories by Hillside Samplings.  There has been a thread going on the Legacy board about this kit.  It is only sold as a class kit.  For shops to get it, they must have at least ten people ordering it.  I thought if I really wanted it, now would be a good time as who knows when another group will get together for this one.  It is a splurge, but I think that the charge will end up on my next statement, so I am spacing out my purchases!!  (my own personal enabling system!)

Still No Sign

I have to admit, I have checked my credit card online a few times, including today.  Nothing has yet been charged from Elegant Stitch for the classes I signed up for.  I hope I get my Indigo Rose kit in time for the class--the first class is June 7.  Even though it is all done through email, I would still like to have it and work along with everyone else.  Fingers crossed that it shows up this week!

I have been really tempted lately to order some things online.  However, I just sat down and wrote out bills, and that is certainly always a sobering experience.  Since I have not been using my credit card at all, I have had to use my cash to pay for whatever little thing comes up.  I have been very good in terms of not really buying anything new in terms of stash.  And I have been going to the library more than the bookstore.  But by the end of the month, money is very tight as I try and make a big payment on my nasty credit card.  On the Legacy board, there is a group getting together to place an order for Hillside Sampling's "Strawberry Fields Stitching Bag and Accessrories".  Isn't it darling?  I really want to order this one.  I am trying to justify the expense, as I am signed up already for two classes.  The thing is, Elegant Stitch will only order this in  groups of ten.  Is it now or never?  Maybe in order for it to be cost effective, ES must place a bulk order, which is certainly understandable.  Decisions, decisions!!

I was not able to work on my current exchange project.  It is getting late now, and I had hoped to finish it today, and sew on it tomorrow.  For a long weekend, where has the time gone?!  I will post a picture as soon as it is finished!

Stitching Blogger's Question of the Week

How do you deal a "stitching slump?"

Good question.  Actually I am in a bit of a slump at the moment with a current exchange project that I am working on.  It is an ornament, and in my case I am stitching a Christmas ornament.  I am due to mail it out June 1--right around the corner.  I am so unexcited about stitching it, that this morning I pulled out all the supplies for an entirely different ornament.  I guess I can post a picture of the cast aside ornament, since that one will be for me now!  Maybe tomorrow I will pop it on to the scanner.  I just have not been able to get into it, and I would avoid stitching on it as often as I could.  So I chose a more traditional designer.  I think this will also work out better for the recipient.  Of course there was nothing wrong with the other one technically.  It is a design by Bent Creek from a book on Christmas stitchery. 

I think I am in a general slump at the moment.  I think this has a lot to do with the fact I have not had enough at home stitching time.  Where does the time go?  I was looking at my goal list this week thinking I am never going to accomplish even half of it and it was depressing me!  I guess this is my cue now, to get off the computer and go work on my project!!  And sometimes for me the bottom line with slumps, is to just start something completely different and take a break from my current projects.  Sometimes a change is what is needed.  Now I am off to stitch!

Mail Art Photos

This is a *wonderful* mail art book that I bought a while back called "Meli Mail Art: Quand le PCB s'en Mele".  It is French, and it has the most gorgeous examples of mail art.  Gina requested a peek in my postal art book, and I thought I would share a few photos from this one as well. 

I stitched a mail art earlier this year--around Valentine's Day.  If you want to see my mail art you can look in my Picturetrail album--the link is on the sidebar.  You should also be able to click on these photos and bring up a slightly larger picture. Hopefully this will give you an idea as to the contents of the books.

I love gardening designs, and these are a some of my favorite envelopes, though in this book it is really hard to choose.  I am not sure, but the middle envelope looks like Prairie Schooler designs.

I cut a bit of the sides off on this one, but I thought it was absolutely darling.  I think it reads--pretty girls and pretty flowers!

I think the peacock is my favorite design in this book (how fitting on my Peacock Feather Blog!).  However it was not the only peacock motif in the book.  I have never really tried embroidery, but these make me want to learn.  They are all so elegant.

Wouldn't it be nice to have all these in one collection?  I am not sure what the backs of the cards look like, as I didn't come across any shown in the book.  A few had writing in the corners or a stamp on them, so I am guessing they must have been mailed.  I need to try and see what I understand of the text, though that may not be much. 

There are quite a few examnples like these in this book--names, holidays and flowers.  The book is mainly photographs, though the back does have some patterns to follow.  Also some of the stitches are shown.  All in all a very lovely book and well worth the money!

French Needlework Books--Yay!

A while back I came across some new needlework books that French stitchers mentioned on the Legacy board.  I ordered two of them, and they just came today!  The first one is Les Cartes Postales Brodees.  It is an oversized hardcover book of embroidered postcards.  Luckily it is nearly all illustrations, as I am not sure how much of the text I am going to understand when I finally sit down and really look at it!  The postcards are really gorgeous and I can't believe something like that being sent though the mail, though they must have been as sone have stamps on them.  There don't seem to be dates for most of them in the captions, but the earliest one seems to be about 1906, and a later one from about 1931.  I wonder how easily these are to come by these days (vintage postcards)?  I will have to ask on the bulletin board and see if any of the French stitchers know.

The second book I ordered is Les Marquoirs Ancien .  Another very lovely book.  It is all vintage samplers.  Some are dated in the 1700s, but most seem to be from the 1800s.  This book is also lavishly illustrated, but there is text to go along with each sampler.  There are also many graphs with motifs, alphabets and borders.  It does not appear, however, that there is any sort of key for what floss colors are used.  Of course a creative stitcher could choose her own colors.  I wonder if all these samplers are in one collection.  How nice would that be?! 

Both are gorgeous books.  I have a growing needlework library now, and many of the titles are French.  It seems that more books on samplers and traditional needlework are published in France than here.  It has been a while since I have bought any needlework books or stash, so I am quite pleased with my new books!  I also have on my list some of the older Blackbird Designs books--completely different feel, I know!  These will be great to look at over the long weekend!

ABC URL Meme

Okay, so I can stop expecting any stash in the mail for a while.  I checked with Elegant Stitch, and my pin keep kit has not been mailed out!  Apparently the kits were mailed in two shipments to ES from the designer, and mine was not part of the first group that was mailed out--disappointment, but such is life!  I am not entirely sure when to expect it as I didn't quite understand if it would be mailed with the Bee Keeper kit, and I am not even sure those kits have arrived at ES yet!  There is a little bit of time yet, and I am sure Lois will get them out as soon as possible, so I just need to be patient!...Right...

I saw this meme over at Karen's Cogitations, and it looked like fun, so I thought I would do it as well.  You press each letter of the alphabet in your browser's address bar in turn and list which address the auto-complete function jumps to first:

A- A Work in Progress (of course)

B- Barnes and Noble

C- Carriage House Samplings (updated today, by the way!)

D- Daedalus Books

E- Elegant Stitch

F- First Born Studio

G- Google

H- Hamilton Book

I- Irina Charny Mosaics

J- Janine Anderson

K- Karen's Cogitations

L- Nothing

M- MSN.Com

N- New York Times

O- On the Amber Route

P- Pages Turned

Q- Nothing

R- Nothing

S- Stampington

T- The Peacock's Feather (of course)

U- Nothing

V- Nothing

W- Weather Underground

X- Nothing

Y- Yahoo.com

Z- Nothing

I guess I don't visit many sites beginning with letters at the far end of the alphabet!

Still Nothing...

Still no pin keep kit in the mail...I guess there is still plenty of time, but when you hear of so many other people getting their kits...I want mine, too!  I still have my frequent buyers card from Shakespeare's Peddler.  There are a variety of charts and other stash that I want, but I don't know yet what to buy.  I was thinking of Drawn Thread's Tocatta 2, and also one of the earlier Blackbirds Designs books.  The card is for $20, which is pretty good.  I am also thinking maybe I should hold off until the next market, which is just around the corner, isn't it?  I wonder who will be coming out with new charts?  There may be something I can't live without, so I guess that is why I have been holding off.  Until then, there will be my pin keep to look forward to!

Stalking the Mailman...

I am signed up to take two online classes from Elegant Stitch.  This isn't the first time I have taken an online class, as I have taken one Just Nan class from a needlework store (now out of business) that was on the East Coast.  That was really pretty straight forward--just lots of new specialty stitches.  This will be my first attempt at any sort of class that involves finishing. 

I am taking both My Bee Keeper and Catherine's Arm Chair Pin Keep!  The classes for the pin keep are June 7th and 14th.  I imagine it is all stitch as you go and then finishing afterwords.  The Bee Keep, however, is meant as a finishing class (September 9, 14, 21, and perhaps the 28th as well).  I will need to actually get all the stitching finished beforehand.  I have heard that the kits for the pin keep are in the mail, and some ladies have already received theirs.  I was hoping to come home from work today and find a lovely big box from ES just waiting for me!  No luck...maybe tomorrow.  The bee keeper kits are going to be mailed soon.  I guess the designer just shipped the floss to Lois and then they will also be mailed.  So here is me fidgeting, waiting for my new stash.  I have been very good not ordering more than a couple of charts, so I am anxious to finally get something good in the mail!

April Glooms

So finally I have finished something!  Although technically I am still behind as I should really be finishing the May snapper just about now!  But better something a bit late than nothing at all.  I also worked a wee bit on my John Foster sampler, but not enough to show any updated photos!  I really love working with overdyed floss, but it can be annoying when on the photo on the chart the colors look very different than what you end up with.  Of course this is the nature of overdyed floss, but this chart called for two very different (well they looked quite different) blues.  But even when I tried to look for the most contrasting sections of the floss, they still seem to blend together!  As you can tell from the umbrella (or can't tell in this example!), the ribs should really be much darker.  In this case I should have looked at the DMC and perhaps that would have been darker.  Also there are times when overdyed colors have very little variegation, and then I wonder why I am spending so much more money for overydyed floss...

Here is an updated photo of all the snappers so far.  As you can see I have also fallen behind in working on the vine.  I had planned to keep it going as I worked on each month, but I seem to be lucky just getting the month stitched.  It will all eventually get done!  Now to pull the floss for May's snapper.

More John Foster...

Here is my stitching accomplishment this past week!  I have had no stitching time in the evening whatsoever!  You would think with summer and the longer evenings I might get in at least a bit of stitching, but I seem to not have much time for anything I actually want to do!  I do get to work a little early, and that along with break time at work has been my sole stitching time!  However, I managed to get the right hand tree all done and a bit more of the right side border.  Tonight I want to finish my April Snapper.  And I did also work a little on my Christmas exchange project this past week.  I really do need to work on that as well.  And I would also like to work on the Booksehlf, and the Spanish Geometrical Sampler....Where does the time go and why isn't more of it spent stitching?