The Peacock's Feather

Finally!

I finally received an order that I placed in the middle of the summer!!  Originally I had a "frequent buyer's card" that I filled up and could use for a $20 order.   At the time I decided to order Shepherds Bush-Busy, Bent Creek-Jig of the Lady Bug (too, too cute), and the little bee skep button that will be the embellishment for the June chart (for the "Design of the Month"), which is one of my halfway stitched projects.  Unfortunately the store did not have the beeskep, so it was ordered for me.  In the interim new Prairie Schooler charts came out and I ordered the three charts for Santa's 12 Days of Christmas, as well as some fabric (this was before I went on the wagon byt the way!!).  Finally the store received their SB order, but my bee skep was not included in it (someone forgot to package it!!--argh!).  Now over two months later... I have my order.  Yay.  I had wanted to stitch the little SB sheepie kit-Busy this Summer.  Now Summer has passed, but I might just have to stitch it anyway!!

Gorgeous Sweetbag!!!

Look at what I received in the mail today!!!  I feel bad as I will only just be doing the finishing on mine this weekend to send out to my recipient!  I thought of not opening the package until I completed mine, but that lasted about thirty seconds until I had to open the mailer!!  Isn't this absolutely gorgeous??  Laura V. made this for me, and her finishing/sewing skills are impeccable!   The black fabric is velvet, and the inside is lined with black silk.  I have been so busy stitching my bag, that I haven't thought too much about the one I will get in return!!  What a really lovely surprise. 

And inside the bag are lots of treats!  She sent along some pins that I will be able to use on my pinkeeps (!!!), and five charts: Sweetheart Tree-Jack and the Silver Spider, LK-If the Broom Fits, LK-Plumpkin, Hillside Samplings-The Witch is In, and LK-Halloween Highway.  I love Halloween designs and I didn't have any of these!  She also included three WDW for my Halloween stitching pleasure: Jack-o'Lantern, Trick or Treat, and Autumn Leaves.  I will have to find something fun to stitch with these!  Now I have to get very busy finishing mine as well!!!  Not to worry, Rachel, yours will be on its way soon! 

Saved from the UFO Pile...

Okay, I have chosen a UFO to work on.  My goal isn't necessarily to complete it, but just to work on it.  Of course if I did complete it--that would be a bonus.  Since I have been working on Halloween projects for my exchanges, I have been in the mood to stitch something for me as well that has a Halloween theme.  I started this one ages ago, and I really love BOAF, but no doubt the holiday passed and I moved on to other seasonal stitching.  I have three (!!) new Halloween projects all kitted up and ready to go, and it has been so tempting to start one of those.  But for the present I will work on "Poor Jack".  I really like Anne's suggestion--attaching a number to each UFO.  Then one day a week you pick a number and stitch on that for the evening.  That would be a nice way to at least get a few stitches in on them.  Of course, as Romy said, too--it is nice to choose something you are really in the mood for as this should be fun activity.  So we'll see if I can get in some new motifs on my BOAF tonight!  Happy stitching everyone!

Stash Organization....

Over the weekend I bought a couple of nice plastic bins that can sit by my bed and will hold my current WIPs and UFOs.  I basically have just had a pile of projects sitting there, but as I tend to keep my projects in plastic bags, they were all over the place, and I hate mess.  Now I just need to figure out a rotation that will help me complete my WIPs in a timely manner, and this is the really hard part...how to get my UFOs under control!  Please tell me there are other stitchers who have as many, or maybe even more UFOs than me!!??

My current WIPs (and this list sort of fluctuates--sometimes I may not be able to stitch on something for a few weeks, and other times I am working on it daily):

• CHS: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow
• CHS: Dainty Housewren
• Historic Stitches: John Foster
• Prairie Schooler: Christmas freebie (that I plan on finishing as a pinkeep)
• Victoria Sampler: Serena Angel

My Classes/SALS that I would love to finish or make progress on by the end of the year:

• Hillside Samplings: Strawberry Fields Bag & Acccessories
• Indigo Rose: Catherine's Armchair Pinkeep
• My Bee Keeper

Now for the really hard part...do I dare list all my UFOs here?  Some have lots completed, and some are really very small starts:

• Au Fils de Reve: Atelier de Brodeuse
• Barrick Samplers: Pear Orchard Farm
• Barrick Samplers: Live With the Creatures
• Bent Creek: Snappers
• Bent Creek: Winter Row
• Bent Creek: Season's Greetings
• Birds of a Feather: Poor Jack
• Blackbird Designs: Greetings
• Chatelaine Designs: Mystery IV
• Chatelaine Designs: Mystery Sampler I
• Drawn Thread: Prairie Garden
• Examplar Dames: And They Sinned
• Examplers from the Heart: Quaker Heart
• Goode Huswife: With My Needle
• Just Nan: Barnabee's Quest
• Little House Needleworks: My Bookshelf
• Needle's Content: Spanish Geometrical Sampler
• Prairie Schooler: Angels
• Prarie Schooler: Autumn Sampler
• Prairie Schooler: E is for Embroidery
• Prairie Schooler: Summer Sampler
• SANQ: Little Paradise Sampler
• Shepherds Bush: June
• Trilogy: Wonderland

Now in my defense, this is about seven years worth of work! LOL.  I am very talented at starting projects...actually completing them is another story.  My intentions are of course good--I want to finish all my projects, but then designers keep publishing new charts...this is my downfall.  Anyway, I hope to put photos of my progress of these into my online album--there are a few there already.

Realistically I could work solely on my UFOs next year, not buy another chart, piece of fabric and probably not even a skein of floss, and still have plenty to keep me busy and perhaps not even finish everything by the end of the year!!  I want to keep working on my WIPs, and maybe pull out a UFO and add it to my rotation.  Now the problem is deciding what to choose.  I am leaning toward a PS or the BOAF.  The PS Autumn project would be perfect right now, but Poor Jack is a good Halloween design....  And I know that I will be starting one more medium sized project this year--my VS Jingle Bells Sampler that I had to have.  Why can't I be the sort of person who starts one project, finishes it, and then starts another???  LOL.

Surprises in the Mail

Today I received some surprises in the mail!  From my "not so secret stitcher" (the program through Shakespeare's Peddler).  I got a copy of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.  This has been on my Amazon wishlist for absolutely ages!  My friend was on vacation in Maine, and she also sent me a lovely notepad and postcard with a lighthouse on each as well.  Rachel Carson was a marine biologist and my friend stayed very near her salt pond in Maine.  This is great timing as a book I recently finished, The Highest Tide, talked about Carson in great detail, so my curiosity has really been piqued!  I am really looking forward to starting this book!

I also received some glass head pins from Mercedes in Spain!  I had mentioned that I was having a hard time finding any nice ones here (just very bright yellow ones, or boxes that have bright multicolored pins), and she very kindly has sent me a wonderful selection of them!  I thought she was only going to send over some nice white ones, but she surprised me by sending lots of different colors--including some that are more oval in shape--that I have never seen here locally!!  I can't wait to use them.  I have been spoiled today!  This has certainly been a nice way to start the week!

Pinkeep v. 2.0

Here is the pinkeep I made for the Legacy Quaker exchange.  I just heard from the recipient yesterday, and it arrived safely, so I can share it now.  The theme was sea and sand.  I chose a "sand colored" linen in 40 count, and an overdyed floss.  The flash has washed the color out a bit, but you will get the idea.  I was quite pleased with how this one came out.  I used matte board this time around.  To simplify things, I used a bit of glue on the edges of the fabric, and glued it down to the matte board (I don't really like using glue, but it worked so much better for me than trying to sew it down).  I used a fun fabric with shells on the back and did the same--glued the edges down.  I then sewed the front and back pieces together and used a green satin ribbon around the outside edge.  And finally I added the pins.  I think this is just about the happiest I have been on finishing something (aside from my two scissor cases).  I almost didn't want to give it away, but Joanne seemed happy with it, so I am glad!  Even my husband was pretty impressed.  Even though he says my stitching is nice, I could tell he was impressed this time around!  Now I want to make one for myself.  As soon as I get my Halloween projects finished (finished one last night--now just to finish my sweetbag), I plan on making on for myself!

I hope today to organize my stash--I bought two new plastic bins.  I am not sure I will get to that as it is already halfway through the afternoon, and I have house stuff to do--ugh!  I also plan on later scanning the BN freebie and seeing if I can email it to those who have requested it!  If it doesn't work by emailing--I can copy it instead.  Off to do chores now!

Time for Finishing

I just finished stitching on my Halloween project for my next exchange.  This is the fabric I chose for the finishing.  I hope it all looks okay when I am finished.  I always have such a hard time first deciding on a design to stitch, and then on the materials for finishing.  I am always second guessing myself--will the recipient like it???  Part of the reason I chose the design I did was the cute little embellishment that is used.  I am finishing it differently than how the chart shows it, however.  I have errands to do soon, and then a birthday party to go to later, but I am hoping we will get home early enough that I can drag out the sewing machine. Of course I will share a photo of it when I can!

Many, many thanks for all the nice compliments I was given on my little pinkeep.  Maybe this photo is sharper?  Anyway, it is from a freebie by BrightNeedle.  I was surprised that so many people had not seen this one before.  If anyone would like a copy, I would be happy to share (as it is a freebie, I didn't see any note on the design asking not to copy it).  Just send me an email with your address and I can pop a copy in the mail to you.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Found a Copy!

I found a copy of the JCS Christmas Ornaments issue finally.  After work I hit the bookstore, and at first I thought they must not have gotten any, as last year they had a stack prominently displayed in a magazine rack.  Alas, after I moved magazines around and looked into the far reaches of the case, I spotted only a few copies!  Yay.  I was afraid I would spend another weekend without seeing all the new Christmas designs.  There is a nice variety--at least I managed to find a few I will hopefully stitch.  I think there are several designers missing that have had designs in earlier issues--BOAF, Just Nan, and Bent Creek--unless they are hiding!

These are the designs I plan on kitting up:

• Lizzie Kate-Sweet Christmas (I like the peppermint colored design!)
• Jeannette Douglas-Love Christmas Ornement (needleroll!)
• Erica Michaels Designs-Merry Yule
• Charlotte's Web Needlework-Peace in the World
• La-D-Da-Christmas Heart
• BrightNeedle-Home for Christmas
• Carriage House Samplings-A York Christmas Ornament (my favorite!!)
• Handwork-Give Love
• Shepherds Bush-As Bethlethem Slept
• Prairie Schooler-Partridge and Pears 2005
• Praire Moon-Noel
• Brittercup Designs-Britty Christmas Kitty
• Little By Little-A Little Gift (sort of different but I like it!)
• Threads Through Time-Peace on Earth

Sheesh--that is more than I thought when looking through the issue!  There are others that I think are nice, but I don't want to stitch right now.  Some are nice (including those on my list), but I may have to change how they are finished.  Now I will have to get out my back issues and decide on an ornament for my exchange partner (from the Stitching Bloggers Board)! What are your favorites???

Spooky Village...

Okay, I'm sorry, this is not stitching related.  But I love Hallmark stuff.  If anyone was ever in any doubt over a gift for me, they would only need to go into a Hallmark store and buy any of their cool stuff, and I would be quite happy! This brochure just came in the mail today.  If I had more disposible income to my name, I would have to buy this little "village".  Unfortunately each piece costs--you can't just buy the whole set.  I think they must come out with something different each year, as I know they had something similar last year.  Since I have been doing so much Halloween stitching this week, I thought this was very fitting as I can't show you my current stitching work!  However there is a cool pumpkin candleholder in the catalog as well....more in my price range...

An Angel and a Baby

Here is my progress so far on my Victoria Sampler Angel "Serena".  I think she is looking very pretty.  I love the little bird!  I think there is a little rabbit I will be stitching, too.  I didn't get to work on her today.  I want to do the finishing on my Halloween exchange project this weekend, and I still have a bit left to stitch, so that will come first.  After I finish this Halloween project I have a sweetbag to finish next week!!  Then I think things should slow down a bit.  I will have one exchange and one gift to stitch in October, two ornaments in November and one last Birthday gift for December.  Whew!  This month was the most hectic!

My other exciting news is not really "my" news.  I heard from a good friend today that she is expecting her first child.  She and her husband are the nicest people and will make absolutely wonderful parents.  I am really excited for her!  I was thinking of stitching a baby sampler as a suprise.  She is only two months along, so there is plenty of time.  She will eventually be finding out if she is having a boy or girl, so I will get to know ahead of time.  I have never stitched one before, does anyone have any suggestions on something nice?  I know her tastes and I think she would like something more traditional or elegant.  Maybe along the lines of a Drawn Thread design.  I am not sure if there is such a thing as a DT baby sampler, but I will have to look.  But I would love to hear about anything nice that is available!  Thanks!