The last day of November

I for one cannot believe how quickly this month flew by. And of course December will pass even faster and then we will be at a new year. I hope to have this piece completed by the end of December and am feeling fairly confident that I will be successful. Then it will be on to the accessories that go with this wonderful piece.

I don't know why Blogger decided to upload this in a vertical position because it was taken horizontally! Sorry for having to turn your neck. This is the complete view of the four panels. I will need to start thinking about a fabric to line the inside with. I'm thinking something in an orange or coppery color. Any suggestions? And links to sights would be great too as I don't have a fabric shop in my area that would carry the silk I'm thinking of for the finishing.

Stashing along!

While I might not of had a lot of time to stitch lately, that doesn't mean I haven't been buying things to stitch! I have ordered a rather large quantity of stash lately - retail therapy for sure. These are three of my favorites that arrived in the mail today. I absolutely fell in love with Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow and took the plunge. I am thinking of starting this in the New Year after I do an inventory of my NPI silks and see what I need to order. I already have the fabric for this piece.

I also just loved the new Drawn Thread although I'm not usually a fan of theirs. And I loved the new Quaker Diamonds chart even though I'm not a huge Quaker fan. I need to get the Valdani threads and figure out a fabric choice. It calls for PTP Mello which is a great fabric so I will likely order that to do the piece. I am hoping I get a gift certificate for stash so I don't spend too much more money.

My resolve for 2010 will definitely to be to stitch from my stash all year as I've added a ton over the last few months. I will share some more of that soon.

I hope for those who celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday, that you had wonderful day. Enjoy the weekend!

Birthday Exchange Recieved

I heard today that the birthday exchange piece I was working on forever was received by the recipient and she was very happy with it. Jen was recently accepted into the DAR and when I heard that, I thought my choice was even more appropriate. I chose Freedom House Sampler by Homespun Elegance and had it framed. Of course I forgot to take a photo of the framed piece but here is the stitched piece. I'm hoping Jen will post a photo of the framed piece because I was really happy with my choice. This was a great piece to stitch and I will likely stitch it for myself at some point. I really enjoy working on Homespun Elegance charts.

SAL Update

Now that my commitment piece is finished and mailed off, I have picked up my Alexandre SAL piece again. I was working on this on Saturdays but I'd really like to get it completed by the end of the year so I'm working on it as I can. I've reached about 1/2 way through the 4th panel. I can't wait to complete and then work on the accessories that go with it. It's such a beautiful design.

Correction

I need to make a correction to my last post. The photo is not from an autumn exchange but my birthday. This is the wonderful piece I received in the autumn exchange. It's stitched over one and the finishing is fabulous.s I obviously chose to receive a Halloween themed piece. Isn't this wonderful? I love it!

I also got these great Shepherd's Bush charts which I'm looking forward to stitching.

Autumn Exchange

Yesterday I posted a photo of the piece I stitched for the autumn exchange I was in. Here is the wonderful piece I received. Isn't it funny that we both stitched something from Homespun Elegance for each other? This was a mystery exchange so I did not know who I was going to receive from. I thought the coincidence was kind of neat. My thanks on your kind comments on the piece I did. It was a lot of fun to work on.

I was looking at the number of blog posts for each year since I started this blog and they're kind of pitiful. The most posts was in the 2nd year with 143. Pretty sad. I'm going to set a goal to blog at least 200 posts in 2010. That shouldn't be too hard right? That will give me an incentive to make sure I make time for creative pursuits next year. I will need some kind of break as I will be working intensively on my Master's final project.

It's all about time

I have been thinking about my relationship with time lately. I have been feeling like there is just never enough of it in my life and I live by the clock/watch and am always feeling rushed. Not a good feeling and probably not good for the body in the long run. I am working to change my perspective.

This update is long over due. I've not had a ton of "time" lately to stitch but I did manage to finish an autumn exchange which is pictured and a birthday exchange piece which is at the framers and will most likely be late to the recipient. That time thing again!

The design is by Homespun Elegance and was really fun to stitch. The acorn tops and the squirrel's tail are all french knots. They were supposed to be colonials but I kept forgetting to do the figure eight and I'm much faster at french knots. Plus, I can't really tell the difference between the two when they are done.

I have been working to read more blogs lately and hope to keep posting on a more regular basis. I've been seeing all kinds of wonderful things out there and they are inspiring and making me want to stitch and stitch and stitch! Keep your needles going everyone!