The Peacock's Feather

What I've Been Working on and New Stash

It's been far too quiet here lately, but I have actually been working on a new project.  I am actually finished stitching this and am working this weekend on doing the backstitching in anticipation of finishing it very soon!  This is an Elegant Stitch Breast Cancer Charity piece that I was on automatic years ago.  I have a pile of these projects--some are done and others (like this) just waiting to be worked on.  This particular design is by Indigo Rose called "Rose of Hope".

And I took advantage of the Super Bowl Sale over at The Silver Needle a few weeks back and got everything on my wishlist.  I love the little fobs by Drawn Thread, Peace" and "Love" and had to have my birth month, "February".

More February designs.  I don't generally go for mushy sorts of charts, but when you're born in the month with Valentine's Day it's hard to get around all the hearts and gushy stuff.  "A Little Love" by Lizzie Kate is another instant gratification project.  It's small and I think it will be another pincushion.  "February Wordplay" by Brenda Gervais will be another to add to my collection and will likely finish this as a mattress pincushion.

I have wanted "Pink Hill Manor" for ages, though.  I love designs with houses on them.  And I am a pushover for just about anything Prairie Schooler comes up with and "A Farmer's Almanac" was no different.  And I promise...the next needlework post I share will be about something I have finished.  I still have snow to fill in on my PS "February" Sampler.  I vowed to complete it by the end of the month, which is now quickly approaching!  Of course I have itchy fingers to start one of these new designs, but I don't have anything kitted up and had better stay focused on my 'almost finished' projects anyway.

Chart Lust

 

Isn't this nice?  I want it, of course.  No matter that I have yet to finish any of the other Hawk Run designs, but maybe this will give me inspiration to pull out one of my UFOs to work on it while thinking about buying this one?

My mom recently visited my sister in Virginia where there is a wonderful little needlework store.  I gave her a list of charts I would be interested in having if they had any on hand.  She brought back two Prairie Schooler designs that I'd been eyeing--"Tortoise and the Hare" and "September", which I look forward to stitching at some point.  Now that the weather has cooled off somewhat (still warm and sticky, but much improved) I hope to get back to stitching very soon--I'm getting itchy fingers!

I've Been RAK'd

I've received a couple of lovely things in the mail recently that were sent to me by other stitchers, so I guess you could say I've been RAK'd!  The first is a gorgeous little Blackbird Designs chart called "Bluebird", which I am looking forward to stitching--sooner than later as a matter of fact.  I thought I'd stitch it on Lambswool as I don't have the called for linen, but I think the blue will work nicely with it.  The floss is by Vikki Clayton, which I have not used before, but the color is gorgeous.  It is much nicer than you see in the photo--a nice variegation.  As it's silk I'm wondering whether to use one or two plies?  As the linen is 32 count, I'm guessing two would be better even though it is silk floss?

 

My other set of goodies are some hand-made pins, which I can't wait to use.  I've never had anything this fancy, so will be looking for a project to use them on.  It's nice to get surprises in the mail when I'm used to mostly just getting bills and junk mail!

Many thanks to both stitchers who kindly sent me these gifts.  I love them!

Sorry I've not been around--either here or visiting other blogs.  I feel like it is always the same refrain--busy with work, busy with housework, and too tired!  I do hope to get in some stitching this weekend, though, so will perhaps have a little update to share soon.  Also I am having my "No Work No Honey, No Bees No Mone" design framed.  It's actually finished, so I just need to go and pick it up.  I can't wait to see it and will, of course, share it here!

Wants and Desires

So far I've not succumbed to ordering any of the new designs that came out last weekend, but I do have my eye on a few of them.  I have the first two Hawk Run designs by Carriage House Samplings started, the third bought and linen at the ready (no threads yet), the fourth am just looking at from afar, but this one (have I counted them all??) I really do want.  At the moment I might be able to order the chart, but anything more might be beyond my budget at the moment.  Plus I really need to finish at least one of the UFOs I have sitting waiting for me!

 

I must have "Lucky" by Shepherds Bush for my sheep collection (I've got four or five of them stitched now).

 

I really love this "Rose Quaker" sampler by Stickideen.  I want it.  I'm just not sure where to order it from?  Has anyone seen it around?

 

I love biscornus (my favorite accessory to stitch and finish) and these designa looks great.  I love the muted colors. 

 

These little "Needle Tweets" by Just Nan look too cute, too!

And definitely the newest Prairie Schooler designs.

I'm sure there are more designs out there if I start really looking.  Whenever this happens I try and think of something comparable I already have in my stash to pull out and work on rather than breaking down and buying new stash.  We'll see what I come up with.  I will likely order something, but I'll have to think about what I really want!  What designs can't you live without?  Any favorites?

A New Sampler to Stitch

Thanks very much for the Birthday wishes!  I had a lovely day and a delicious dinner (complete with cake--Italian Cream Torte, which was as good as it sounds!).  Along with a few other things, I received a sampler and the linen and floss to stitch it!  I'd love to start it right away, but I am going to try and finish my Sampler Farm first before starting anything new that is on the larger side.  This is Shakespeare's Peddler's "Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler".  I'm not sure what the finished dimensions are but it calls for a 9" x 9" frame.  I'm going to stitch it on 40 ct. Vintage  Pearled Barley using Gentle Arts limited edition overdyed floss.  The colors have names like 'nightmare', and 'zombie flesh' and 'dried blood', which is sort of fun.  I know I'm out of season for this one, but I don't mind.  Maybe I'll actually get it stitched and framed by next Halloween!  It doesn't specify, but I'm guessing it calls for one strand of floss, since it is 40 count linen.  I might have to start collecting the Jenny Bean samplers--I know there is a Christmas desigan and I think a new one due out sometime soon (Market this weekend?).  But first things first....

And I've just noticed, the floss cards only say "limited edition" on them and don't list the actual colors!  I guess I'll be matching the floss colors up first!

Toccata No. Four and Five!

Although I'm still working on Toccata Two, I asked for the newer Toccatas for Christmas. As you can see I was lucky enough to find them under the tree!  I'm hoping having Three through Five on hand (and Three is all kitted up) will spur me on to get back to my work on number Two!

 

Here's where I left off.  I'm working on the little motif under the tree.  I'm not too fond of working with the gold thread, which I think is why I've not picked this one up in a while.  As soon as I get past those little motifs I think things will go much faster.

A little side note--I've been trying to update things on my blog and I've started with my blogroll.  Some of the links were dead or the blogs hadn't been updated in years.  If I have inadvertantly deleted you from my blogroll, please let me know and I will add it back in!  I finally dropped Bloglines and added all the blogs on my blogroll to my Google Reader account, which I check daily.  Hopefully I'll stay more up to date on things.  I really do want to be a little  more timely in my posts (famous last words!).  If you're curious where I've been all this time, I am an avid reader and am often busy over here,  Some years I spend more of my free time on crafts, but lately I've been reading more.  Oh, to have a few more hours in the day!  Still, I very much miss being part of the stitching community and am sorry that I've been so absent.  We'll see how things go in 2010.

Merry Fifteen

  

I really want this, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to spend $100 on it.  I've never stitched a pin-suchion like this--fifteen panels.  It is gorgeous, though.  It's an exclusive kit through The Silver Needle.  The thing is I am notorious for buying expensive designs and then taking forever to stitch and finish them.  Is anyone planning on ordering this?  

Needlework Update

I buy very little in the way of new needlework designs these days.  Aside from the fact that I'm not stitching quite as much as I'd like, I also have so much needlework stash that it's more than I could ever finish even if I devoted all my free time to it for the next decade!  Unlike with books I am pretty good at knowing when to say when!  One of my favorite needlework shops offers a birthday discount, which I took advantage of in February, however (it's hard to say no totally).  A couple of the designs hadn't been released yet, so this week I finally had a nice surprise in the mail!

The two designs on the left are by Chessie & Me.  The chart on the top is "Miss Chessie's Tuffet" and the bottom chart is "Busy Bee Tuffet".  A tuffet (also called a biscornu in French) is a pin cushion with eight corners (four pointing up and four down).  They are my favorite accessory to finish.  I've made lots of them, but I've only ever kept one for myself.  Both these charts have tuffets and fobs.  I ordered the fabric to go along with the charts, but the photo of the bottom one looks distinctly blue, but the chart calls for a color called putty.  Hmm.

The designs on the right are by one of my favorite designers, Just Nan.  If anyone knows how to market her designs, Just Nan does!  They're so clever, and very tempting, and also pretty expensive.  She's designing a series of four of these little tins with stitched lids and fobs to hang on your scissors.  "Hop" is the first one.  It's too bad this didn't come out before Easter, as I'm not sure I'm in the mood to stitch rabbits!  It's a small project at least.

What am I working on?  I've finished what's going to be a pincushion.  This is a freebie design that Carriage House Samplings offered several years ago.  This is another very favorite designer.  Her designs are very American folkish.  I'm a very lazy finisher and I should have sewed this ages ago.  I thought I might finish it as a mattress pincushion.  I've never tried this, and it doesn't look particularly hard, but it does look time consuming.  I tend to be a lazy finisher, so I might just sew a nice piece of fabric to the back and call it finished.

I did start this one well before Easter, but it's been languishing.  It is  by designer Drawn Thread (I have lots of her stuff, too).  This is a another series of designs, one for each season, that are finished as little cushions.  This is the "Spring Spot" and really I should be pulling out the "Summer Spot" soon, since it's getting so warm.  Like books I always have more than one project on the go.  Unlike reading I don't feel too guilty to set a project aside (I hate to admit how long some have sat waiting for me), but it's nice completing something.  Especially something small, which really shouldn't take all that long to stitch anyway.

And my most recent new project?  Little House Needleworks also makes very folksy American types of designs.  I have lots of her charts, but I've yet to actually finish any of them (unlike the other designers that I've mentioned).  This is called "ABC123".  It's not very large, just a tad over 4" x 4".  I think I will try and finish this as a mattress pincushion.  I like small projects as they usually give me the satisfaction of working on something and finishing it relatively quickly.  I've been in the mood for a larger project as well, though I can't seem to settle on one thing.  I used to stitch in the mornings before work, but lately I've been spending the time reading.  This means stitching just on the weekends usually when I am watching a movie.  And I've really not even done much of that lately either.  I wonder how other people do it...reading, working, and maybe some other small hobby.  Do you do something more than read?  Hopefully I can work on one of these this weekend (and finish a book--I'm still being optimistic!).

**I actually posted this on my book blog, which I hope will explain my explanations in my post.  Normally I wouldn't be so specific over here!  I've been terribly neglectful lately of my stitching blog.  I'm not quite sure what to do with it.  I want to post more regularly, but I've disovered how hard it can be to just post in one place let alone two!  I would love to update this blog a few times a week, but I haven't been stitching a whole lot, which means I don't have much to share!  I do thank you for anyone who still comes around and checks in here!  I'll do my best to try and update more often.  And I absoutely say thank you to everyone who is still kind enough to stop by and leave comments.  Oh, to have a few more hours in the day!

Nashville?

This is how out of it I've been when it comes to stitching this year.  Did Nashville just happen last weekend?  It's probably better not to look too much...then again maybe I will read Elegant Stitch's market report...I already know I want the new Hawk Run design, and I am being tempted by a few of the new Just Nan designs.  I love that little tin in "Hop"--and I've never tried finishing anything like that.  And "When Barnabee Met Bella" biscornu is a must have for me.   Any other favorites?  I plan on choosing carefully.  Aside from not stitching as much lately than in the past couple of years, I am still working hard to whittle down my credit card bill.  Why doesn it never seem to decrease very much?

So I might just splurge on a very few items.  Otherwise I can keep working from my stash.  At the rate I'm going I'll never get through it all anyway.  I am still working on Trilogy's "Secret Flower Bed".  I have mostly been spending my stitching time working on a project that I am stitching for a lady who will give it as a gift to a friend.  I'll share a photo of it soon!

Another One!

Another one!  And I've not finished either the first or the second.  But will I buy it?  Probably.  I think I might invest only in the chart and wait to buy supplies until I think I might actually stitch it (maybe I could finish the first two???).  I do like the design, though!  You can see the list for supplies here.