Block Two Finally Finished!

'Ray!!!! Finally!! I am so, so, soooooo happy that this block is finally finished. I set myself a goal that I was not allowed to work on Block Three any more (which I snuck in!), nor was I allowed to start any new projects, or even pick up anything from the Bin O' Shame and work on that until Block Two was finished. I am glad I stuck to my guns and saw it through. I think I am going to finish up Block three and then go on to the Bin O' Shame. I haven't decided yet, so I will see what tomorrow brings :). I knew that if I didn't put the spurs to myself, it would never get done. And I invested way too many nickels and dimes to just let this one sit!

I had a few issues with this block as the The Thread Gatherer's Silk n' Colors #035 Mint Frost at times would not 'seat' correctly in the fabric. I've had this happen with white and off white cottons and silks, where it refuses to 'sit' in the block and it looks a bit wonky. I picked out a lot of them and redid them to the best of my ability, however, there are places where the silk simply would not cooperate. At that point, I just threw my hands up and let it be. It's not like this piece is ever going to be shown at Woodlawn, so it's all good. :)


At any rate, enough of my blathering! Here are the before and after pics:

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk flosses in 123, 124, 127, 128, 155A, 158, 159, 184A, 186, 204, 206, 241, 242, 244, 251, 293, 303, 313, 316, 331, 345, 401, 422, 473, 475, 512, 523, 524A, 526, 527, 548, 556, 587, 623, 636, 671, 692, 693, 694, 695, 722, 724, 725, 765, 767, 856, 867, 871, 902, 912, 928, 951, 957, 963, 972, 976, 982, 987, 991BB, and 993. The Thread Gatherer's Silk n' Colors #035 Mint Frost. 


Stitcher's Notes: Stitched a tiny 'W' for the gate. I let DH choose which house would be 'ours' in this piece and he really liked the house in block two over the one in block four. Letter taken from the book 

ABC Miniatures au point de croix by Françoise Prax for Marabout. 

Progress as of Friday, January 17, 2014 (without the 'W'): 

Progress as of today, Wednesday, January 29, 2013. (Finished block with the 'W' stitched on the gate):

Block Three progress as of Wednesday, January 29, 2013:

All three blocks:

Welp, I best be off. Have a rare extra night off of work tonight. DH will be out of work soon, and dinner will have to be taken care of. 

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Another Block Two Update

Haven't picked up Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow since last April, so I am pretty excited to see some progress on this piece. Block Two is taking FOR-EEEEEEEVVVVVVEEEEEERRRRRRRR. 42 rows of stitching 'snow' has me about half up a tree. I've decided to make a deal with myself that with every thread stitched on Block Three, I stitch two thread lengths of the Mint Frost in Block Two. That way, I am not bored to tears, and it gets taken care of. 


Here are the 'deets' as they say: 

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk flosses in 123, 124, 127, 128, 155A, 158, 159, 184A, 186, 204, 206, 241, 242, 244, 251, 293, 303, 313, 316, 331, 345, 401, 422, 473, 475, 512, 523, 524A, 526, 527, 548, 556, 587, 623, 636, 671, 692, 693, 694, 695, 722, 724, 725, 765, 767, 856, 867, 871, 902, 912, 928, 951, 957, 963, 972, 976, 982, 987, 991BB, and 993. The Thread Gatherer's Silk n' Colors #035 Mint Frost. 

Well, here is my progress as of my last post, on April 16, 2013:

And here is my progress as of today, Friday, January 17, 2014: 

And a quick snap of both Blocks One and Two together: 

Well, I best be off. Got stuff to do before dinner and what all. Hope everyone has a great weekend! 

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Not sure about growing fonder...

But I *have* been absent as of late. This can be accounted for in that over a week ago, we lost Charlie, our Maine Coon. The vet thinks he may have had cancer and he was declining fast, so we made the heartbreaking decision to put him to sleep. Then, as few days after that, my mother wound up in the hospital with a minor bug and her kidneys decided to not cooperate for a few days. The doctors decided to keep her for a few days as she is a diabetic and they wanted to keep her under observation. She came home this past Tuesday. I myself finally succumbed to sickness in the form of a sinus infection that was confirmed by the doctor yesterday. I am now on a course of antibiotics and have hit the headachy-grumpy-tired of being in bed phase. 


As consequence, what this means is that I have very little to show in my cross stitching efforts. I will however, mention that if you ever want 40 count to look big, stitch on 48 count for a while. To amuse myself, I pulled out some older projects to look at as I cannot concentrate on anything longer than 3 seconds, and so help me, the holes in the 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen looked big enough to hold a barn dance in. I picked up a project that I had finished, using a 14 count and I swear the holes looked big enough to drive a Mack truck through them! :)


At any rate, here is what I have so far:

Design: Summer In Bloom taken from the book Maria Selby Humphrey - 1831

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric: 48 count Dower linen by Lakeside Linens in Magnolia

Fibers Used: Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 Spun Silk in 124, 126, 163, 197, 312, 447, 463, 705, and 773. 

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

Well, I best be off. My head is starting to pound again and even posting this has worn me out. Hope everyone has a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. The single Moms, the partnered Moms, the Rescue Moms, the Moms for a lifetime and the Moms like me who were Moms for just a precious few minutes. Thank you for everything that you do and continue to do. 

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Another Block Two Update And New Goodies!

It's cold and snowing off and on here (this despite the calendar date!), so I picked Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow back up. I discovered much to my dismay that the roof on the East Wing of the house was one row off and had to be completely frogged. So, I bit the bullet and frogged that section out and went on to other places in the piece that needed attending to. I haven't yet restitched the roof of the East Wing, simply because at the bottom of this block, it is ALLLLLLLLLLLL fill in with Thread Gatherer's Silk n' Colors Mint Frost.  As in 23 ROWS of it. And that's not including the fill in of the windows of the house with Needlepoint, Inc. 871, which is an off white. Needless to say, I am stitching the Mint Frost  right now while the mood is upon me. Proper pacing procedures are being followed, however, I do anticipate a time where I get disgusted with stitching with so much white and off white. 



At any rate, here is my progress so far:

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

And now for the goodies that came in the mail yesterday. First up is a Maia cross stitch kit entitled My Fair Lady. It is based upon the artwork of Karen Dupré. The original piece was titled My Fair Lady IV. 

This second one needs no introduction. I have been looking for this one for forever now and every time it comes up on eBay, it's in the $100.00 range and above. I managed to snag this at a VERY reasonable price and was overjoyed when it came in the mail yesterday. It's by Midsummer Night Designs, and it's the much heralded Memorial Sampler: 

I am probably going to stitch both pieces on my beloved Legacy linen by Picture This Plus. I think both pieces would really 'pop' on that fabric. I am also seriously thinking of converting the Gentle Art Sampler Threads to silks, probably to either Belle Soie or Au Ver a Soie's Soie d'Alger. Or, I may stitch this on my 48 count Dower linen I recently snapped up and stitch it with Gloriana's Luminescence or Tudor Silk threads. Lots of decisions to make. Which, I think will probably boil down to availability and pricing (!) of materials. 

Well, I best be off. The Hubmeister will be here with lunch soon and I need to get my desk cleaned off of all this stitchy goodness. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Stitcher, Interrupted

Stitcherus Interuptus: A condition affecting the Stitcher in which life happens when they're busy making other plans. 


I really truly wanted to be further along than what I am with Block Two of my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow, but I have been just socked with work and have very little to show for my efforts. But, I suppose that's the way love goes, yea? No job, no silks. Get the silks, have no time to stitch. Ah, well. Next month's block doesn't look as intense as this one is, so I am hoping to be caught up by next month. 



Here is what I have so far:

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

Well, I best be off. Got tons to to today. Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Block Two Update

Howdy, sports fans! Hope everyone is having a great weekend and is recovering from the Super Bowl and the Great Blizzard of 2013. It was supposed to snow buckets here as well, but we saw nary a flake. 


In the mean time I have been diligently stitching my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow.  I am hoping to get the block finished before the end of the month, but I've gotten called into work a LOT this month and there is a metric ton stitches that are filled in. Well, if I finish I finish in time, if not, ah well. These things happen. :)





At any rate, here is my progress so far:

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

Well, I best be off. I have chores to do before work. Hope everyone stays safe and warm!

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Super (Puppy) Bowl Block Two Progress

Good Morning, sports fans! Hope everyone out there is having a great day today. It's Super Bowl Sunday here in the US. I have to work, but that's ok, as  it should be fairly quiet (knock on wood!). I'm a huge fan of the Puppy Bowl. I am a bit sad that I am going to miss it this year as I'm working nights, but if I can get the chance to take off early, that won;t be so bad. The contestants of the Puppy Bowl are picking the 49er's to win. But you know how that goes! :)

At any rate, I picked my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow back up and I am loving it again. I am waiting on more floss to come in, as Block Two does not contain a lot of the threads I used in Block One. No worries. I have plenty to do in the mean time, in between time! :)

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

I purchased a new Q-Snap cover to better fit my 11 x 11 frame. I was using one that was for an 8 x 8. Yikes! I purchased the one pictured from Barbara at TrulyN2Stitching Designs. She is wonderful to work with and I highly recommend her. This particular cover is in shades of turquoise blue and has kitty paw prints all over it. I love it! :)

Well, I best be off. I have stuff to do before I have to go into work. Hope everyone has a great day! :)

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

One down, eleven more to go!

Woohoo! Just in the nick of time, I managed to get Block One of Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow finished in time for the month of January. This went by super, super fast and I am so excited with the progress and the way it turned out. I am LOVING this project on the Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy. It is really making the Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss pop on the fabric. I am planning on stitching just the outer block in the 993 Black and then setting it aside until February the first. Part 5 of Simone de Jong's 1905 Sampler has come out and I need to get that stitched up. 



At any rate, here's the first block finished:

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

Well, I best be off. I have some stuff that I need to attend to. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Getting there!

Managed to get some stitching time in the last few days and I have just a bit more to go and the first block will be finished. I am a bit worried that it won't be finished by the end of the month. I am coming up on a large block of time where I will be working my behind off and do not know if I will get the time to stitch. Well, I suppose I will cross that bridge when I get to it, yea? :)


At any rate, here is what I have so far:

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

Many thanks to all of my new followers. I am now up to 90. Woohoo! 

Well, I am off for now. Got tons to do before work today. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

---

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Warning! Frog On The Loose!

Yep, I kicked his butt out of here the other night. I was off by a mere square, and it threw everything off. So, as consequence, there went an hour and a half's worth of work, not to mention silk thread besides! Ooooo, I was so mad!  Hopefully, he's gone for good, although given the size of this project, either he or one of his family members will probably be making a return trip. Le sigh. 

Not much of a an update as consequence, although there has been some progress. There's only 13 more days left in the month, and these blocks are a lot larger than I had anticipated. I am also about ready to hit upon a long work streak, so this will not help matters any. But then again, I started a mere 3 days ago on this Monster of a Project, so I think I'm making pretty good progress, despite the late start and Monsieur Le Frog putting in an appearance!


At any rate, here is what I have so far:

Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

Designer: Carriage House Samplings

Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy

Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

Well, I am off for now. Got some chores to do and Teh Hubmeister is wanting to out and about. Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)


---


Respectfully submitted,


C. 

Block One Start

Started my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings yesterday. I am really, really loving this piece. This block is stitching up so, so quickly! Since I am behind on the month, I am hoping I can get it finished by the end of the month and get the border for next month's block at least started. 


Well, at any rate, here is what I have so far:


Design: Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow


Designer: Carriage House Samplings


Fabric: 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy


Fibers Used: Needlepoint, Inc. silk floss as charted

I am really liking the fabric substitution. I wasn't jazzed with the called for Vintage Exemplar. It was not a light color at all!  Here is a quick snap of the two fabrics. The Picture This Plus is on the left, the Lakeside Linens 40 count Vintage Exemplar is on the right:

Believe it or not, the Vintage Exemplar is actually a bit darker than it is in the picture! As i like my stitching to 'pop' out more, I went with the 40 count Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy. It's probably my most absolute favorite fabric to stitch on. One day I hope to have yards of the stuff, LOL! :)


Well, I best be off. It's time for breakfast and then more stitching. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)


---



Respectfully submitted,



C. 

Another Finish From The Bin O' Shame

At the stroke of midnight last night, I managed to finish another one from the Bin O' Shame up. This one has a bit of history to it, which I won't get into to. Suffice it to say, this particular piece languished in the bottom of the bin for six and a half years. I'm not proud of that, but I am proud of the fact that it didn't bother me to finish this piece, which means I have well and truly moved on from that time in my life. And that's something, yea? :)



At any rate, enough of my blathering. Here is the finished stitching:




Design: Pretty Posies (Kit #WM43914)

Designer: Dena's Closet for Bucilla

Fabric Used: 28 count white Monaco

Fibers Used: DMC Six Strand Embroidery Floss Art. 117

Well, I am off for now. I need to clean out my desk, which has become heinous beyond all comprehension and then it's off to start my  Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings! Woohoo! The floss for the first block came in late yesterday and with one thing and another, I couldn't get to it until today. I did a floss toss and I *LOVE* the floss on the Picture This Plus Cashel linen in Legacy. The called for Vintage Exemplar isn't doing it for me. It looks very drab to me and the colors don't *pop* the way the do on the  Legacy.


Well, that's all for now, sports fans! Hope everyone is having a great week! :)


---


Respectfully submitted,


C.