Dreaming the Days Away.............

Though it has been quite some time since I updated my blog, I thought I should at least acknowledge the fact that I am stitching!!! lol I have been diligently working on Lavender & Lace's "Angel of Dreams". It is coming along quite nicely but I sorely under estimated the intricacy of her gown and the tweeding involved. As with all good things, it just takes time and persistence. The blue linen that I am working her on is quite lovely and really adds a dramatic backdrop to the subdued colors of this particular piece.

Well, jabbering here isn't going to get it finished. She's still many long hours away from completion, so a WIP picture here might help keep me encouraged.

My First Time in Gitta's Needlework Shop

Discovered I was short some floss colours for one of my projects.....now how this can happen with all the floss I have is beyond me! lol Well, my friend Chris has been expounding the virtues of Gitta's Needlework store for a long time. Frankly, my curiosity was getting the better of me. Now I have been quite content to order most of my supplies on-line. But there are times when you need to actually 'see' overdyed flosses in order to choose the right ones. DH was in a generous mood, so he offered to take me to Gitta's.

With my introduction to hardanger, I have started a life-long love affair with Caron fibres. The Waterlillies, Wildflowers and Watercolors are perfect for hardanger and the colors on my monitor just make me drool. Twice I have ordered and been satisfied, but there is much discrepancy between monitors and with the price of the stuff, you really don't want to get caught ordering too much only to be disappointed. Well, let me tell you.........as soon as I walked in that store I saw the Caron collections immediately. Like a moth to the flame! lol Sumptuous does not even begin to describe the effect, I could have stood there for hours just gazing in wonderment and lust. Good thing my 5 year old daughter was with me, or DH would have been calling out the RCMP 'cause there would have been no way I could have left that store under my own willpower. But a whining child can bring you back to reality post haste! rofl

The staff were very nice, and let me browse to my (almost) heart's content and offered their services very inobtrusively. I even found a little kit from Sweetheart Tree that will make a lovely gift, that up until now, I had no clue as to what I would do for this person. There are little pockets of interest all over the store which just invites the consumer to linger and relish with glee each little discovery! With my treasures in hand, I went to the check out and had a delightful conversation with Gitta about the colours I had chosen and what I planned on doing with them. She was very encouraging about exploring and experimenting with different mediums for needlecraft work. I can honestly say, this will be a place that will remain front and centre of all my purchasing needs. They even do framing, and I know of at least one angel that is in need of her services! I can't wait to tell my friend Chris about my experience....she will be thrilled!

Woohoo I get to Happy Dance Today!!!

Just put the final stitches into Angelic Greetings!!! This was a wonderful happy dance for me, I really enjoyed this piece and it went fairly quickly. I started it January 23, so this is like warp speed stitching for me!!! LOL

The pattern was from Artecy Cross Stitching and I decided to do it on 32 count lugana from Silkweavers in a color called "Elegance". It really gives a lovely late evening sky effect. All the stitching was done using DMC 3740 and the design 'laid' just right in and around the white and lavender. I am very pleased with the results. This piece will be made into a quilt for a preemie to be distributed by The Angel Quilt Project division here in Canada. I really need to do more for this organization because it feels great!!!!

The dimensions on this piece are 183 stitches wide by 199 stitches high.

Angel Fever

Having just completed one huge angel you think I'd want to do something different......me too! But I didn't LOL My new start (and isn't there always a new one) is Lavender & Lace's Angel of Dreams. Actually she should qualify as a UFO because she has been sitting on the back burner for quite some time with only 3 little stitches in her. She doesn't feel like a UFO, so I'm keeping her on the WIP list.

Some stitchers from other boards were talking about this one when it was first released. Their concerns were over the colours used as being too muddy or 'dirty'. As I pulled the floss colours for this piece, I will admit to seeing that grayish/green and becoming a bit hesitant. Yet, from working with Heaven & Earth designs, I've learned how colours can play on one another and totally transform themselves when sitting next to different colours. Putting in those first stitches of 644, I began to see them 'change' against the dark blue linen. Continuing on in the concentration of stitches has not altered my opinion.....this is going to be quite an interesting stitch!!

As with my last angel, this one is a dedication to my later sister, Heather. Heather was a gentle soul......kind, caring, warm, loving, intelligent and funny. I have a picture of her holding my firstborn and the look on her face is very reminiscent of this angel's countenance. Heather was a dreamer so the two just go together in my heart. She is more subdued than the last angel, but no less impressive.....her quality is calming and gentle, just as my sister was and a fitting tribute to her as a person as well as a sorely missed sibling.

Funny thing though, as I finished the last angel, it was not a happy occasion as some might expect. As much as I am pleased with the results, my heart is saddened nonetheless, like the grief of these 3 short years has returned. Not really returned, as it never leaves your heart in the first place. It's a weird feeling.....a physical reminder that we are separated by a distance that cannot be breached. And I don't like it, not one single bit, but life goes on.....

It's FINISHED !!!!

Started October 20th, 2004, Angel of Healing is now completed as of 11:10 p.m. tonight. She's stitched on 28 count Silkweaver's Expression in Blue Dynasty, the face is stitched over 1 and the rest is 2 over 2. Some folks think they are slow stitchers......this took me 245 hours of stitching time to complete. And here's the lady of the hour now..........

If I remember correctly, this makes the 9th finish for The Challenge.

This too shall end................

Just don't ask me when! lol I've been pretty quiet on the stitching boards of late, but it's just because I'm working to get Angel of Healing done. Though I have been putting in some solid hours, the progress is less than encouraging. I'm at the bottom part of the dress where a ribbon hangs down....it's a beautiful effect but quite the amount of confetti stitching. Not sure if it is the confetti stitching that is getting me down, or just that I'm so close to the finish line.

I know it's silly, but it is really depressing for me to finish a project. Quick ones don't seem to have any effect; but the ones where you have spent so many long hours on.....they are the ones that I struggle with myself.

You should see the rainbow beads on this piece.....WOW, what an impact. That alone nearly took 2 steady days to get done.....I was being particularly persnickety that they follow a specific order I had in my mind. Took some finangling, but I am pleased with the effect once I got it to where I wanted it.

Okay, now back to the task at hand.....getting her finished.

The sounds of beads dropping all over the floor

herald the fact that I am once again working on my Angel of Healing. Today I managed to get about 6 hours work done on it. Now I have completed the backstitching on the wings.....the pattern doesn't call for it, but the contrast between the light fabric and the white/cream of the wings was not substantive, so a little DMC 932 seems to have worked in that regard.

I just love the rainbow beads on this piece, though it does get a bit tricky on keeping identical colours from being clumped together as I work around those lovely swirls. I still haven't decided if I am going to stitch her hands over 1 or just go with the pattern's over 2. Tomorrow I'll make that decision.....right now I just feel too lazy to chart it. Amazingly, there is not as much left to do as I had remembered ~ must be another senior's moment!! The day dawns early, so I best be off to bed, but it was a good stitching day and I feel quite happy about getting back to my ufo's.

The Young Lady loves pink......

so pink it is!!! This little square will be part of a quilt for a dear friend whose daughter has been ill for quite some time. Her daughter, Hannah, is a real sweetheart, and it is a shame that she has to go through so much at such a young age (11). So another friend wrote to me suggesting a quilt and that her favorite colour was pink.

After going through my stash and freebies, I found a cute little piece called Oiseau fleurs that seemed a perfect fit for a young girl who loves the outdoors and animals.

I started this on the weekend, I think, and finished it just a few minutes before 11 pm tonight. Hopefully, I'll be sending this little fella on his way to spread a little hope and cheer.

This piece is copyrighted by www.carinne.hst.st and was stitched on jobelan 28 count from Silkweavers in a colour they call Honeysuckle Pink. The floss is DMC #3733 and that is definitely pink!!!

This now makes 8 projects completed out of the 50.

Shovel snow or stitch? Yeah, there's a hard

one to decide, eh? LOL

Actually, I did do the shovelling.....it's not my fault 60 mph winds decides to blow it hither and yon. Once I made it to my stitching chair, it was all over but the crying. I have now completed 8 and half pages of the 17 for Angelic Greetings. Man, this thing is going to be bigger than I realized.......not exactly like this is the first time I have miscalculated a pattern size or how long it will take me to do!

Visited the bulletin boards looking at all the lovely work being done and I can tell you, I am downright impressed. There are now designs on my wish list I would never have considered, but after seeing them stitched, unbelievable!!!! I realize designers have to be careful, if the photographs are too good, some enterprising rip-off artists then scan the photo to make illegal charts. But if the photos are really bad.......it makes you hesitate on spending your money to buy the thing to begin with. Really a vicious cycle, not sure if there is an answer, but I am thankful for all the stitchers who have shared their work so many of us could change our minds.

Well, there's a sink full of dishes waiting, might as well get those done now that the girls are off to bed. If my eyes will cooperate, I might even manage another half page on my chart before I fall asleep. Oh to have the stamina of a 20 year old.........

Just can't stop myself.............

Ahhhh the joys of being addicted to a single design where all else just falls by the wayside! There is something about the combination of the Enchanted silkweaver fabric and this particular design that just won't let me put it down!!! Dust bunnies are roaming my home in wild abandon and dog hair has nearly coated every surface that is not exposed to a 20 mph wind......and that includes us!! LOL

I probably should feel very guilty about letting my chores go. Yet, no matter how many times I dust, how many times I vacuum, how many dishes I wash, how many trips to the basement for load after load of laundry, there never seems to be an end to it. No sooner have you got it all done, simply turn your head left or right to see it stalking you from all angles.....talk about your job security! At times like this I am reminded of that tongue-in-cheek rhyme, "A man works from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done." Don't get me wrong, I love a clean house....I just wish it would co-operate a tiny bit and let me enjoy the fruits of my labor for even a single day before looking like a bomb blast site.

Now how can that compare to this? :

With the advent of scanners and digital cameras, I can SEE the progress even when I don't necessarily feel it. The design itself is wonderful (especially as I have it earmarked for the Angel Quilt Project), but I think it is the fabric that is holding my interest. The color plays that are happening as the design develops is intriguing to me. By some lovely stroke of chance, the tops of the wings have entered into the larger lighter area, as well as the face. And I do mean chance....I simply started in the middle of the fabric and let the chips fall where they may.

This design is large, will probably end up a good 12x14 inches for the design area alone. I would love to try this in a reverse....dark fabric with a white, ecru or very light grey but stitched over 1 instead of over 2. The entire design is whole stitches and would lend itself beautifully to that method. Maybe another time....at 17 pages for the pattern, this requires some serious time allocation. Considering the number of UFO's and WIP's I have on the go......I really should show some kind of restraint. (though constraint would probably be more appropriate when I get off on my tangents.) Now that 6 pages have been completed, I am even more enthralled with working on it. Guess the dust bunnies and dog hair will live in peace for yet another day. (wink)

Shame on me................

I'm supposed to be working on a UFO for this coming week, but just can't put down my new start. I told myself I would stop after I put the face in...then, just a little around the neck, oh and that little area around the head, and on and on. There are a few times when being a serial starter has definite disadvantages......like finishing something! LOL

Actually, as I was stitching away on my new love, I gave some real hard thought to my 'block' when it comes to finishing. Though finishing is a happy thing, I find it kind of a let-down and tinged with sadness. I truly LOVE all my projects and when they are done, it's like a friend moving away....I'll never see them again, (ie I will never stitch on them again). I know this sounds totally inane, after all, the purpose of stitching something is to finish it and either display it or give it away. Well, that may be true, but not for me. Weird though it may seem, it is the emotional bond that I have with a piece that makes me want to stitch it to begin with. And that bond is what keeps me working on it, at least, til I see the end is near. Then I procrastinate, start new ones, do other projects, read, heck, I'll even do housework!!! Once that final stitch is placed, the bond is irrevocably broken.....there is nothing left to do on it. Stitching is cathartic for me....it restores balance in my little world. My mind enters this wonderful little void where neither sight nor sound penetrates beyond the chart and the fabric.....we become one. A little fanciful in the description here, but the analogy is bang on. Many of my cyber stitching friends talk about what they are thinking about and reviewing things in their minds as they stitch.......I do that all day long, no matter what task is occupying my hands. But when I sit to stitch, it really is an empty place. Now that may sound terrifying, but it is more like a cocoon, a special place my mind visits where it can rest from its endless worries, concerns and demands. This is probably the equivalent of an adult's version of a child's blankie. (I had one as a kid, still remember the color, and feel of it! LOL) Telling myself there are others waiting doesn't work either. Each are unique in why I am drawn to them, so even though two designs may have many similarities, it is the subtlety of their differences that engage me.

What to do with this new found information, I have no idea. Not sure if there really is anything I want to do with it. Just one of those lovely little tangents I went off to trying to understand why I do or don't do something.

Now to get back to the endless loads of laundry, dirty dishes, vacuuming, dusting and cleaning. And I wonder WHY I want to retire one day so I never have to leave my stitching chair!

Greetings of the Angelic kind.............

I love doing pieces for the Angel Quilt Project, it gives me such a wonderful feeling and I like the idea that there's a bit of my needlework somewhere out there that brings a little joy or comfort to someone. The reason for this ramble is that I was taking a tour of my patterns, bits and bobs and was actually looking for a piece to do a February SAL with some stitchers on the Pals Delights BB. Now I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find a piece from the Artecy site that is called Angelic Greetings. It's an effect that is like silhouette/blackwork but all done in whole cross stitches. Then I remember seeing a beautiful Silkweaver piece in my stash called Elegance which is shades of purple mottling with white and cream that has a "late evening" kind of feel to it. For my mind, the two were just made for each other. So I have started it and have done about 2 days stitching on it. As it appears on the fabric, my gut just tells me that this is 'so right'. Right now I have about a 6 hours stitching time on it and this is how it looks:


This is a 28 count Jobelan being stitched 2 over 2. The pattern is 17 pages plus 2 pages with additional information. The original was stitched using black, but I've opted to use DMC #3740 to compliment the purple without being too stark. There are no 'repeat sections' between the pages, so counting requires a little more concentration for me, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.
I just love the effect I am seeing. Well, this will be it for now until March as I need to get to work on my other angel.

UFO's Abound

Being a complete Serial Starter of the highest order, I sometimes feel like UFO’s are all around me…..probably because they are! :lol It is not that I do not like working on them, for they are all have a special place in my heart, simply a case of being in the right frame of mind to do justice to them with a happy heart.

I have been working on Aria for Christmas which was a Pam Kellogg mystery stitch-a-along about 2 years ago. I saved mine and decided to work on it only during the holidays. This year I have made some serious progress on it and I think I will bring it out again to see if I can finish it this year. The lovely shading of the pointsettias, the majestic cardinal, the gorgeously embellished leaves and goldwork border are all a delight to work on. And as the snow once again blankets our little neighbourhood, I feel that the holiday is over and so has my passion for working on this. Alas, it is time to set it aside and work on another of my lost loves. Here it is as of December 2005:

And this is where I finished as of January 27,2007

Angel of Healing has been quietly whispering a spell of enchantment that has lured me to release her from her plastic confines and out into the light once again. She has been a wonderful journey of healing after the loss of my 2 sisters in a terrible auto accident just three short years ago this past November. There is still a big part of me that seems to need to release the sadness, grief and emptiness that surrounds their loss. This angel (one of two) has been a gentle journey of turning something bad into something akin to healing. As macabe as this all sounds….it’s really not. It has become a wonderful release, one that I have not often been able to find with past losses. From this weekend on, she shall be my focus piece. Long has she been patient and awaited my ministrations, so now it is her time to shine….to stand proud in all her completed glory. Here she is as of October 25, 2006:

First 2007 Finish...........

One of the most delicious aspects of having cyber friends that stitch is that they allow you to indulge in new starts virtually guilt free. This one was part of a January SAL with the theme of "sewing/stitching" related. Wandering through my hoarde of stash, I found many lovely designs that would fit that theme so well.....yet, I wanted something that I could possibly finish this month. (This from a woman who still has her Christmas tree up!!! LOL)

As much as I love my big projects, there is great reward in those smaller finishes. This is one of them. Whilst I stitched away on her, I kept trying to figure out what I would do with it.......so easy an answer I sometimes thinkmy brain gears need a little WD40 to get the rust out. I think she'll make a lovely wall hanging for my basement sewing area! So I'll be taking a stroll through my quilt fabric stash and see if there is anything there that strikes my fancy......I picture this piece either as a quilted wall hanging or a mini bell pull. Oh, silly me, here she is:

Puttering along................

I've been working on a piece I started last year called Aria for Christmas by Pam Kellogg. It was originally part of a mystery stitch-a-long but as I never can keep up with them, I decided to save this one to work on just during the holiday season. I really love this design but its huge and Pam's shading is incredible but the constant changing of colors don't always encourage me to work on it. This year though, I seem to have found a rhythm that has me nipping right along and thoroughly enjoying it.

This is progress I had made at the end of last year. The finished piece is styled to be a bell pull. I haven't ever done that kind of finishing before so it should be an interesting journey to get it right!LOL


Another piece I am working on is for a SAL on the Pal's Delight bulletin board. The theme for this month was anything stitching or needlework. I found a cute Precious Moments pattern in my stash called "Because You Count" and I'm about 3/4 finished. Not sure what I'm going to do with it when it's finished. Kind of tossing around the idea of either doing it as a small wall hanging for my sewing room or a decorative pillow for the living room. I'm also toying with the idea of using the wall hanging idea to put on the daughters' room door. They love getting stitched pieces and it is a pretty little thing. Heck, I could always stitch another one for myself again if I really wanted to. LOL