Faded Glory Framed And A New Finish

It took almost two years to finally get this one framed. I had wanted to get this professionally framed, however, after doing some pricing, I could not justify the cost. I decided instead to frame the piece using a nice frame purchased either secondhand or from a shop. I finally found the perfect frame and today was spent getting it centered just so. It reminds me of the Victorian Mourning Frames that were used long ago. 

As the piece was both a gift for my father on his last birthday and had become a mourning piece, I think it is fitting. 

At any rate, here is the finished product:

Design: Faded Glory from Portrait of the Civil War Book #119 (an OOP booklet)

Designer: Jeanette Crews Designs

Fabric: 26 count undyed natural dirty linen

Fibers: DMC 347, 415, 762, 930, 931, and 3328

Stitchers' Notes: Frame by Green Tree Galley, Oklahoma City, OK. Frame is 10 by 8 inches. Frame #829135; PO W0178685. 

I really do think that it sets off the piece nicely. The piece is now on one of my bookshelves where I can see it every day.  

I also have a finish for today. It is not a patriotic piece, however, I did have a lot of fun stitching this design. I purchased the kit at 40% off the price, so that was nice. I also substituted the 18 count aida for linen as I did not like the way the aida was preconfigured to make it into a potpourri bag. There are three designs in the kit, and I chose my favorite one to stitch:

Design: Flowers and Butterflies Tulips (Kit #PN-0154964)

Designer: Vera Verachtert for Vervaco

Fabric:  36 count Edinburgh linen in Antique White

Fibers Used: DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117 in 445, 742, 946, 963, 957, 601, 600, 747, 157, 3838, 791, 211, 340, 333, 550, 907, and 906. 

Accoutrements : Mill Hill beads in #40252 Iris, #40479 White, and #42101 Purple. 

Stitchers' Notes: Converted kit floss to DMC colors. Substituted 36 count Edinburgh linen for the 18 count aida that was included in the kit. Will stitch remaining designs at a later date. 

I must be off. It's time for dinner and I need to clean up my stitching area in order to start my next project. I hope every has a Happy 4th of July!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Nickles and Dimes (AKA- The Birthday Stash post)

Well, I haven't really been stitching any, but by Jove, I've been shopping up a storm! Nashville Market was at the beginning of this month and there were a LOT of goodies released. 


Teh Hubmeister took me to Monterey for my birthday. We speciffically went to go see the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was absolutely stunning. I could have stayed there ALLLLLLLL day! We went into San Francisco's Chinatown. Had a blast just wandering around and shopping. We purchased two sets of really nice placemats with matching chopsticks and some tea. 


Here is a picture of one of the giant sea turtles that I took:

Teh Hubmeister has better photos and I will try and get those later on. For my birthday, which was yesterday, he took me to Needle In A Haystack. What an absolutely WONDERFUL store! 

Teh Hubmeister also let me get whatever I wanted! He soooooo spoils me! Here is what I got:

1. Gloriana Threads Tudor Silk in Light French Blue #242. One ply is half the weight of a regular silk floss ply. Ideal for fine count work such as 40, 45 & 48 count linen. You can use multiple ply on less dense counts (e.g. 3-ply on 36 count, 4-ply on 32 count). 

2. Gessie's Flower kit. A lovely kit that is an exclusive to Needle In A Haystack.  The motif is inspired from an 1800 Italian Sampler in the private collection of friend of Cathe's. The kit contains everything, needle, a piece of 28 count Graziano Milan by Lakeside Linens in a Needle In A Haystack exclusive color - Fagioli, plus four colors of Limited Edition Gentle Art Sampler Threads. The colors have no names, but I plan on doing research to see if I can find any information on them. 


3. Lizzie Kate's A Bee C limited edition kit. 


4. A Mon Ami Pierre's Le Temps Qui Passe. For those that are contemplating buying the chart, but are hesitant over the $15.00 or so price, let me say that there are TWO charts in this chartpack. They are of VERY high quality printing and the paper is really nice. The instructions are in French, but you can easily figure out the directions. 


5. Just Nan's Spring In the Tulips. I loved this one, and this is apparently going to be a seasonal series. And I am nothing, if not a sucker for seasonal series. 


6. Puffin and Company Needle Nanny in the new Bunny style. I was pleasantly surprised about how strong the magnets are. I love the bunny. I thought it was just too cute to pass up!


7. And last but not least, a new pair of DOVO's! I got a pair if the Lion's Tail kind. They are 3.5 inches with a fine point. I love, love, LOVE these scissors. 



When I got home, I had some eBay winnings waiting for me. 


First up was Carriage House Samplings A Quaker Study: 

And the Holy Grail of them all, Blackbird Designs, Blessings Be Thine:

This one is loooooooooooooong out of print and VERY highly sought after. I couldn't believe it when I managed to score it! :) I may not get to stitch it this year, as I am still trying to plug away at my Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow. I am actually way behind on it, and need to get back to it. 

Well, I best be off. I have a ton of stuff to do today before going back to work. Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

The Flags of Our Fathers

Since I am on a roll with the WIPs and UFOs, I decided the other night to get out another one, after I had finished my nephew's birth sampler. I casted around and tried to find one that 'grabbed me', but wasn't finding anything in my WIP bag by my usual place next to the couch, so I went bin diving. Yes, you read that correctly...I have BINS of unfinished objects. Three to be exact. One in a small hall closet and two under the bed bins. Yes, I know it's the personification of gluttony, but honestly, I am truly trying to be better. :)

As I was rummaging around, nothing was really calling out to be worked on. Some of them I remembered why I didn't finish them (such as poor charting, mistakes on my part, ran out of materials, got bored with it, and in several cases, more stitching white floss on white fabric o.o) and others I had no clue. I kept digging away until I came across the one I eventually chose. I know why I never finished this one. This project was initially chosen to be the birthday gift for my beloved father. Being young and a new stitcher of two years at the time, I thought I could finish a 66 high by 109 wide piece in three weeks. I began the project in early August 1997 and worked on it day and night, whenever I could. Needless to say, I did not finish it on his birthday on the 29th of August. Instead of a completed piece, my father received the piece much as you see it below, wrapped up with my shamefaced apologies for not finishing it on time. My father was a big Civil War buff and I wanted it to hang in his library area where he had all of his books.

I kept stitching away at it until September of 1997 when my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had the Whipple procedure done, however, he eventually died in the hospital from the cancer and complications from the surgery. Needless to say, I could not bear to look at the piece, and it has languished for 15 years in the far reaches of my closets and my memory. About 5 years ago, I finally got up the courage to take it out and at least be able to look at it without turning into a massive puddle of grief, but I never took it out and put it back in the Q-Snaps. Tuesday night, however, I came across the project and actually took it out. I teared up a bit when I took it out of the bag that it was stored in, I will admit. Then, like any stitcher peering into the looking glass of the past, I began to chide myself for the sloppy stitching in places. I will have to correct a few things here and there, but when I showed it to my beloved Hubmeister, he told me to leave it be, because the flag is supposed to be old, and not perfect. It's ripped and torn and faded a bit in places and looks like it's seen better days, but the stitching as it is gives it character. I'll think about it at least, because that is a fair assessment, however, the stitcher in me is saying it needs to be corrected. We'll see :).

At any rate, here is my longest running UFO, Faded Glory:

Design: Faded Glory from Portrait of the Civil War (an OOP booklet)

Designer: Jeanette Crews Designs

Fabric: 26 count undyed natural dirty linen

Fibers: DMC 347, 415, 762, 930, 931, and 3328

It hasn't changed too much from when I first picked it back up until now. The first few rows I didn't think I was going to get through, as I was crying so much, but after a while, it got better and then it felt like I SHOULD be working on it, which is important, I think. I am kind of hoping to finish it by the 29th of August which would have been his 66th birthday. But I'll be happy if I can finish it by the 23rd of October which is the 15th year anniversary of his passing. The only problem I see in all this is that the DMC floss that I am using is 15 years old and I am running out of some it. This is the label that is on the floss that I am using:

If anyone has any 347, 415, 762, 930, 931, and 3328 with that same label on it, please let me know. I am happy to buy or trade.

Hopefully, this will give me the courage to tackle a start I have been wanting to do, but can't quite make myself do and that is a memorial sampler for my only child and son. That one may take a while longer to get the courage up for, but hey, yanevaknow.

At any rate, I need to get going. Got lots to do before the weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C.

A Busy Needle Indeed & An Award For Me

It seems I have been blessed with an award, the Liebster Blog award.

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It was granted to me by Claudia over at Me, My BuBble and My Stitching . Thank you so much, Claudia! :)



Liebster is a German word, meaning favourite, dearest or beloved. The Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition..

The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting
1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster too.
2. Show thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award too with links to their sites.Leave comments on their blog so they know about the award.
4. Share five random facts about yourself that people don’t know



Here are the folks I'm nominating for the award:


1. Queen Stitcher

2. Peace, Love, and Stitching

3. The Crafty Basenji

4. Michelle's Stitchcraft Place

5. Social Sue


Now, for the 5 random facts about me:


1. I fly the New Jersey Devils colors, but I will watch pretty much anyone playing. With the exception of the Red Wings and the Rangers. I loathe both teams!


2. I have a habit where I get all of my running around, shopping and cleaning done by Thursday night. My time is too precious on the weekends to stand around a pharmacy or a Wal-Mart on a Saturday night.


3. I love to cook so much, I do it for stress release.


4. I have moved more times than most military families.


5. I have now reached critical mass in my stash and really only buy fabric and fibers when I need to. I purchase the occasional chart, but that is becoming increasingly rare now.


And now onto the stitching! :D


Managed to get some stitchy time in this weekend and have made progress on my Busy Needle project. I just love Little House Needleworks designs. They stitch up so quickly and they're always a ton of fun to do.


Designer: Diane Williams for Little House Needleworks


Fabric: 28 count raw natural Cashel linen by Zweigart


Fibers: Crescent Colours cotton floss in Bamboo, Blackbird, Sassy Brass, Weeping Willow, and Wild Berries.

Well, I best be off. Have a ton of stuff to do before work today. Hope everyone has a fantastic week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Slán go fóill, Cara Dílis

In the Irish Celtic language, the title of this post means, "Goodbye, faithful friend". As today is St. Patrick's Day, I thought it was appropriate as I am retiring my favorite pair of scissors. They are a pair of Soligen DOVOs and I've had them for over 10 years now. A few years ago, I took them to be sharpened and the 'gentleman' who sharpened them stripped the screw that holds the blades together, and as consequence, they did not snip as well as they once did. I can't even get them repaired, because the screw is basically frozen in place. I know it's silly to be sad and upset about having to replace a pair of scissors, but they were the first really nice thing I purchased for my stitching back when Noah was drawing up plans for the Ark.


I never named them or anything, but they are very near and dear to my heart. They were wretchedly expensive at the time, 55 dollars US, if I recall correctly. I remember telling myself that if I purchased these, I was totally committed to stitching, because 55 dollars is a LOT of money to spend on a tiny pair of scissors. I waffled so much on the purchase, I thought I was going to have to put a Waffle House sign up in my stitching area. Eventually, I went into A Stitch In Time in Jacksonville, Florida and asked to see them outside of the case. As soon as I put my bourgeoisie mitts on these elegant and highly refined pair of scissors, I knew in my heart I was doomed. I immediately plunked down my VISA gift card that I got from my employer that year for Christmas, and I have never regretted the purchase. I loved the weight and heft to them and they cut threads oh, like a hot knife going through butter. They have served me for many, many years and have done so faithfully.

Here they are with the Royal Sealy China cup and saucer that was given to me by my grandmother upon her death. It was reputedly her mother's, but I have no provenance for that.

Here is a closeup where you can see the screw that holds the blades together is torn up:

I will probably create a design to stitch and display them on my wall near my desk. I have toyed off and on with using them occasionally, but honestly, the blades are getting very dull and since they cannot be repaired, I'd rather stitch up something nice in silk threads and perhaps some silk linen and give them the place of honor they deserve.


As consequence to all this, DH said that for my birthday, I could pick out another pair of scissors, even the same ones if I wanted those. I looked online and only found them Nordic Needle . Teh Hubmeister said he was ok with me getting them, but at almost 65 dollars, I balked at the cost (I don't even want to discuss what it was to ship them!). I thought I would go down to my LNS to see what DOVOs they had in stock. Nothing really grabbed me and the lady that owns the shop said that my best bet would be to just order them online as they did not have an order in for the company and it would cost at least twice the amount to order one lonely pair and take forever and three days to get here. She said she appreciated me coming in and trying to buy from her first, but she didn't have it in her to do that to me. I appreciated her honesty and thanked her for it. I found a nice lovely pair of French Bohin scissors instead. I purchased the 'Coeur' edition and I love them. The price was 18.00 and you can't beat that with a stick!

At any rate, here are my birthday goodies:


1 pair of the Bohin Ciseaux à broder 'Coeur'

2 packages of Bohin tapestry needles, size 26

JBW Designs 'La Fraise' chart

La Broderie's Crescent Moon Sampler

Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly Summer 2010 magazine


and Cross Stitch and Needlework July 2010 magazine. With all this, I still spent less than I would have buying just the DOVOs online. Go me, haha!


Stitchy stash!




And here is a closeup of the new Bohins, with my latest project, The Busy Needle. Haven't gotten a whole lot accomplished, but that's the way it goes, I suppose.


Design: The Busy Needle, created exclusively for The Busy Needle in Tuscon, AZ. (Sadly, this is now out of print and the shop has now closed due to the owner's illness as I have been told.)



Designer: Diane Williams for Little House Needleworks


Fabric: 28 count raw natural Cashel linen by Zweigart


Fibers: Crescent Colours cotton floss in Bamboo, Blackbird, Sassy Brass, Weeping Willow, and Wild Berries.

Well, I best be off. I need to put the kettle on again and get to stitching. Beannacht Dé leat! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.




PS: Perhaps I will name the DOVOs after the Duchesse de Polignac. She was best friend and favorite of one of my favorite Queens, Marie Antoinette. She was also a part of Marie Antoinette's Société Particulière de la Reine, or Particular Society of the Queen, that being the Queen's inner circle. Marie Antoinette had her domain and her faithful companions, just as we all do. Something to think about at any rate! :)

Birthday Pi Day

Hello out there in blogland. Hope everyone is having a great Pi Day. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535. It is also Albert Einstein's birthday. It is also my birthday as well, and I am celebrating by breaking my 'No New Starts' rule and I started a new project today because honestly, Honey Badger doesn't care.



At any rate, here is my new start:


Design: The Busy Needle, created exclusively for The Busy Needle in Tuscon, AZ. (Sadly, this is now out of print and the shop has now closed due to the owner's illness as I have been told.)



Designer: Diane Williams for Little House Needleworks


Fabric: 28 count raw natural Cashel linen by Zweigart


Fibers: Crescent Colours cotton floss in Bamboo, Blackbird, Sassy Brass, Weeping Willow, and Wild Berries.

Not much of a start, but I am enjoying it, as I do all of Little House Needleworks patterns. I am probably going to stitch this twice, so unfortunately, I am not parting with the pattern. I can see stitching this at least three more times. It's a charming piece and I am glad I purchased it as soon as I had the opportunity.


Well, I best be going. I need to sit some more in the fading afternoon sun and stitch. It will do this rapidly aging old woman some good. :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Sunday Organizing

It's another rainy Sunday here in my section of Clark County, Nevada. It's supposed to rain off and on until Thursday, but we will see how that goes. I don't mind so much as I find I do a lot of cleaning out and organizing with it gets like this. Since I have finished some projects, I need to put up the DMC that I have used and get out my project for SanMan Sunday. I've chosen Summer Side, which Sandy very generously gifted me with over the holidays on the SMO message board. It's a really easy stitch and I am looking forward to stitching it on my own hand dyed fabric.


Here is the card that I've put together for my Mom for her birthday. Another fun stitch from Sandy at SanMan Originals.


Design: March 2010 Calendar (Member Only pattern, not for sale or trade)

Designer: Sandra Dering of SanMan Originals


Fabric: unknown count of cream and gold evenweave

Fibers: DMC 700, 701, 704 and 712


Accouterments: Irish Green satin ribbon from Michael's. Card Stock from Diecuts With A View in Spring Green Parchment.

Time for more organizing and more stitching. I need to get together my projects for the road trip DH is taking me for my birthday next weekend. He's taking me to San Diego for a long weekend. Hopefully we are going to the San Diego Zoo, which I've always wanted to visit. :)


Hope everyone has had a good weekend!



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Respectfully submitted,


C.