After a short hiatus from stitching this summer, I am back to work! I have pulled out a languishing project that was meant for someone a year ago. It's rarely a matter of not being in the mood to stitch but more an issue with free time. Limited free time and too much I want to accomplish--that's my problem. I have yet to find a really happy balance, so I just squeeze in the things I want to do (and enjoy doing) amongst all the things I need to do (and that I probably don't much enjoy doing--we all know how that goes!).
So this first photo is only a teaser. I am mostly working on this project. As it is something I am making for a friend (and hopefully it will be in the mail before the first official day of fall), it is the project I spend most of my stitching time on. I had planned on finishing it quite some time ago, but I think the season simply passed and I couldn't get the enthusiasm going to complete it. Now that I am looking forward to fall, and it is the perfect project for the moment. I look forward to working on it each day with renewed interest! Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, but I had to get close in order to just show a small section of an already small project. Once it is finished (and sewn together) and in the hands of the recipient I will share the whole design here.
I've not made a lot of progress on my bee sampler, but there are a few new additions since last time. The border is nearly finished. I've added another letter "B" and Mr. Bird is coming along nicely. There is no rush as it is just for me, and as I am enjoying stitching it I might as well take my time, right?
But here is something new. I don't think I ever shared my Quaker Heart with you. I stitched this pattern once before (a freebie I got from PieceWork Magazine). It is something I thoroughly enjoyed working on ("finishing" included) so much I have long wanted to make another one. The first redwork pincushion I made also has my old initials and now that I have reverted to my maiden name, I wanted to make it again with everything up to date. The floss is overdyed and the color is called "India". What do you think, does it look like what you might imagine India would be color-wise? It is warm and bright and energetic and I think it is very evocative. I will finish it slightly differently this second time around.
I need to get back to my Halloween project, too, since the holiday is just around the corner. It will make for good "mood stitching" with RIP reading beginning next month (and my reading list growing . . . ). I plan on taking some stitching projects along with me to Colorado in a few weeks time. I am not sure if I can stitch while sitting in a car (eight hours to fill in with books or stitching--going and coming), but I am sure there will be some extra time in the evenings to do a little stitching. Something to look forward to. Hopefully not so much time will pass until my next needlework update and I will have a few finishes (or maybe new projects) to share.