Completed Stitcher's Wallet

Thank you everyone for your nice comments on my stitcher's wallet. I'm really thrilled to have it completed. I have really enjoyed working on this project with Joanie and Sue and I hope my finish encourages them to hurry up and finish theirs so I can see it! LOL

Believe it or not, I actually completed the final finishing and it was a lot easier than I expected. Last night I cut out all the pieces, sewed the front and back together and began sewing on the pockets. I finished up a short time ago and here are the photos. I've already filled my wallet with the materials for a new BBD project (not the stuff shown in the photos) that I started right after I finished my wallet.

The pockets are sewn onto the muslin by hand and the left hand pocket stitching is not that great but there was no way I was ripping it out to do it over. I got better with my hand sewing as I moved from left to right. I considered sewing on the pockets by machine before attaching the front and back together but I think it would have made the piece more challenging to turn rightside out. This went together A LOT faster than I thought it would with no swearing at all! LOL

I'm really glad I've finished this piece but will miss working on it on Friday nights. Guess I will just have to find another large project to start right?

Done, Done, DONE!

I finished this on Sunday, February 17th! Wahoooooooo! Now to get immediately started on the finishing part. I'm off to dig out my materials.

Stitchers Wallet and a Mystery Start

Here is the progress on my Stitcher's Wallet. This is actually progress from the week and not just Friday night stitching. I took this to work with me last week and was able to work on it during my lunch hour two or three times during the week. I probably won't have time to do that this week but if I get up early enough, I might work on it before Friday.



I also started the new Papillon mystery project. Here is my progress so far. This piece is full of wonderful specialty stitches and I really like how it's turning out. I'm using 32 count linen in Toasted Almond and Needlepoint Inc. Silks.







I've chosen a cream, two blues and a brown (the one on the right is the one I ended up using) for my flowers to coordinate with a quilt I'm making for my bedroom. I repainted my bedroom this weekend and the bathroom two weeks ago so I'm on a bit of a roll. The color is Benjamin Moore Beacon Grey which is a bluish gray color. I think this piece will look great in the room once it's framed - at least I hope it does once the rest of the design is revealed!

Hope for spring?

It was quite cold here today - maybe mid-teens with a really wicked wind that brought the temp down to single digits. It was nice to come home to see my hyacinth in bloom - a little breathe of spring even though we've got quite a way to go before we see that up here. My friend Mulan gave me the bulb all rooted for Christmas and I'm enjoying the fragrance of the blooms as I sit in my office.

I managed to put a tiny bit of time into my Stitcher's Wallet SAL piece both last Friday and the Friday before. As you can see from the progress - or lack of! - I've not worked on it that much. I've been so tired on Friday nights that I can only manage a small amount of stitching without frogging. I'm going to try and pick this up a bit this week and see if I can make more noticeable progress.

I also received my Christmas exchange package from Germany last week. Manu stitched me the most gorgeous pillow and sent some wonderful goodies as you can tell from the photos. The gummy bears she sent are gone as of tonight and the chocolate is about half-way gone!

Some lovelies in the mail

Yesterday when I got home, I had this lovely, unexpected surprise waiting for me from a dear friend. She makes the best scissor fobs and this one is no exception. Lovely colors and a cute little flip flop to remind me that summer will eventually arrive again! Thank you Sue, I will put it to good use.

I also did a little end of the year stash enhancement from ABC Stitch Therapy. I always look through their clearance pages but usually manage to refrain from buying. I decided to give in and order a few charts and a Sampler and Antique Needlework issue. I really love the pin cushion on the front and plan to stitch it one of these days!

UFO Sunday

This was my view out my office window this morning. Although it was fairly warm with lots of melting going on, it was a dreary, grey day. I just could not get motivated to start painting wooodwork trim so instead I spent the day working on my HAED Storey Keeper WIP.

Can you believe I put in 400 stitches on this today? It just seems so puny looking but I worked down another row to the bottom of the page. I've still got a column and a half to go before the first page is finished. I swear I'm going to be working on this 10 years from now! I definitely need to get some small projects going so I get a sense of accomplishment. I'm going to try and work regularly on this on Sundays to see if I can make some progress.

This week I'm going to be focusing on my Valentine exchange piece and see if I can't finish the stitching off.

Colder than....

blue snow? Or some blue sock yarn? LOL On top of all the snow we've had this week, today was quite cold, -2 degrees Farenheit when I came through town and the high was 10. Yeeha it was a nose hair freezer day - or one where the snow looks blue if you dig deep. Sigh.... remind me why I live in Maine again? My brain is so frozen I can't think - not to mention my toes and nose and fingers.

The yarn above is my last installment in the 2007 Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Club. It's called ... Bella Coola! I did not sign up for 2008 Sock Club but my friend Kathy did so I get to live vicariously through her and the blogs of others who joined.

I've been working along on my Valentine's exchange piece and finished the back of my cardigan project and started one of the front sides. I will post a photo of that over the weekend I think.

I hope wherever you are, you are keeping warm!

Some End of the Year Finishes

The last part of my year was taken up primarily with exchange stitching. I had a December birthday exchange due as well as a Christmas exchange. Now this may not look Christmas-ey but it was requested by the person I stitched it for. It is from the PS Pumpkin Patch chart and my first attempt at ruched ribbon finishing. Laura seemed to like it and I really like how the ribbon turned out. I will definitely try this technique again.

My next attempt was a biscornu for Leigh's birthday. I had never tried this technique before but I'm glad I did as it was easier than I thought it would be. I waffled on whether or not to add a button in the center but decided against it. The design is one I purchased from Creative Poppy. I really love being to able to download and stitch a chart instantly - very handy when the closest LNS is an hour away.

I started another exchange piece yesterday - this time for Valentine's day. I won't be able to show the progress on that but will remember to post a photo once its been received.

Are you going to be starting a new project tomorrow in honor of the new year? I feel a strong urge to but I also have several large WIPS (one almost a UFO) that I really need to make some progress on so I'm going to try and resist the urge. I did order a few clearance charts from ABC Stitch Therapy this week so maybe I will start one of those when they arrive. Stay tuned!

I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy 2008!

Not a sock knitting

Believe it or not, I've started something that isn't a sock! I started this Everyday Cardigan project from the book "Hip to Knit" which I think might be the first knitting book I bought after I learned how to knit again. I bought the yarn - Manos del Uruguay kettle dyed - at a Superbowl Sunday sale in 2004 I think. I absolutely love the colors in this and this knits up quite quickly. I started this project on the 24th and have been trying to work a bit on most days since then. I received a blocking board from Patterworks for Christmas from my family which is great as it will come in handy for finishing off this project.

End of Year Stitcher's Wallet Progress

Well, this is the last of my progress for 2007. I managed to finish the third panel so there's only one more to go and the stitching part will be done. I have promised myself that I will immediately start on the finishing so that it doesn't languish away in a drawer. I am probably going to end up giving the lady a bit of a face because I can't stand just having a blank one - gives me the creeps!

Merry Christmas!

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to purchase a live tree this year or one of the fake ones with the lights already on it. A peek at my bank balance had me looking for another alternative so I decided to use the wire tree I bought this summer. I think it's quite festive looking but I need to stitch some ornaments this coming year as their a still a number of "branches" that don't have something on them.

I wish you and yours the happiest of holidays!

Stitchers Wallet SAL Progress

It's been a while since I was able to pick this up due to exchange stitching. Life has also been very busy so I've not been working on this piece as usual on Friday nights. However, I did pick it up on Saturday and spent a luxurious day stitching just for me! I got all of the wording stitched on the third panel and most of the frame completed. I had really hoped to have this completed by the end of the year but that's not going to happen. I do plan to keep working on it though as my commitment stitching has slowed down for a little bit.

Stitchers Wallet Progress

Although I haven't been doing a very good job with keeping up with blog entries, I have been doing pretty well with stitching on my Stitchers Wallet. I forgot to take a photo last week - I hadn't done too much - so here is a photo as it looks from yesterday. I would say I'm about 1/2 way done this panel at this point.

I've also been working on a Christmas exchange ornament and on Sunday's I've been pulling out my HAED Storey Keeper and working on that. It seems to take forever to do one 10x10 square on the chart but I've made pretty good progress the last few weeks.

Halloween Exchange Received

Yesterday I received the most wonderful package in the mail from Donna in Canada. She was my exchange partner for the Halloween exchange in my Yahoo group. Donna stitched me the most adorable pillow which I promptly displayed with some of my other decorations.

She also included a piece of the cute fabric she used to complete the pillow, some wonderful socks that I immediately wore to a dinner party that evening, a piece of fabric from Enchanted Fabrics called Witches Brew, GAST Black Crow and Carries Threads Harvest Brew, pumpkin stickers, napkins and a cute felt pumpkin bag, some great scrapbooking ribbons and a paper garland. I just love everything!

Stitchers Wallet Progress

It was 9:15pm by the time I sat down to work on my SAL piece so I didn't get too much completed. I worked on it a bit more over coffee this morning and here is my progress. I've now put in two of the little over one letters. I think they turned out okay. Having managed to get past the 1/2 way point on this project, I am really hoping to keep the momentum going and get it completed by the end of the year. That includes the sewing together part!

I Think I Remember how to do this....

Blog that is! It's been quite a while since I last sat down to write something. The three or so weeks since I've been back from vacation have been the craziest in quite a long time. I had some stitching deadlines, some book reading deadlines and lots of stuff going on with work so my time on the computer was limited to trying to keep up with emails.

I have not spent much time on my Stitcher's Wallet SAL - just too tired or not enough time to work on it but I did managed to get a bit done since I last posted a pic. The date on the photo doesn't mean I stitched on it last Friday, just that I pulled it out and thought about it! I hope to get back to my regular Friday stitching on this piece this Friday.

Yesterday was UFO Sunday with my Yahoo group and I decided to pull out my HAED Storey Keeper. I can't remember the last time I stitched on her but it was a LONG time ago. This time I managed to get two 10 by 10 squares done. I really enjoyed stitching on this piece so I'm going to leave it out and see if I can get on a regular Sunday stitch schedule with it.

I'm also going to work on my blog reading to catch up with everyone. Sorry I haven't been by but I'm working on it!

We're Back!

Well, it was a fairly long trip but Lola (my Carolla) and I made it back from our road trip to NY, PA and OH, crossing through NH, MA and CT at various points in our journey. It's so amazing to me how many states you can cross through in a relatively short time when you live in New England.

I had a lovely time visiting with Joanie and her wonderful husband David. They are fabulous hosts and I'm sure I gained at least 5 pounds on each of the brief 2 days I was there! I arrived at about 3 on Friday and was given a tour of Joanie's lovely home - including her stash room which contains a serious amount of stash! Of course we had to do some comparing and discussing of stash! I also got to meet Chrissy the Wonder Dog and the horses.

That night after a wonderful dinner of local favorites, we sat and stitched on our Stitcher's Wallets together - we talked to Sue by phone, and she was working on hers in VA so it's like we were truly SALing together. This is the only progress I have to show that is stitching related. The rest of what I worked on is an exchange piece so I can't show you my progress.

On Saturday Joanie took me to her LNS which she can walk to - very dangerous stuff! It was a nice shop with a very good selection of fibers and fabrics. I bought one piece of fabric, which you will see in the stash photo below, and the Ginnie Thompson Flower Thread I needed for my Stitcher's Wallet. The rest of the items I got at a shop in Berlin, OH. I got the top two charts for 50% off and then I think this is a relatively new Halloween chart from The Primitive Needle. Or it is just relatively new to me!

Joanie (on the right!) took me to Owego which is about 20-30 minutes away and we had a really wonderful lunch sitting outside on a deck that backed up to the Susquehanna River. It was just heavenly. That is us sitting out on the deck before we ate a really wonderful lunch and some divine dessert with some great coffee.

Then we proceeded to visit all the neat little shops in the town. Owego has some really great architecture so I had to take a few photos - of the streets where we were shopping and their court house. There is so much brick work in PA and OH that you just don't see in New England. I really enjoyed our day!

I really hated to leave for PA on Sunday - it was a rainy day and would have been perfect for stitching the day away with a dear friend! Next I will share some photos of my OH visiting.

Road Trip!

Cowboy has gone to "camp" and I am leaving tomorrow to visit Joanie and some family. I plan to take lots of pictures and have lots of stitching to show when we get back.

Final Birthday Exchange Package Received

Today I received the last of my birthday exchange packages from Britt in Germany. She made me the most adorable "tie on" pillow that is just perfect for displaying right now and I immediately set it out on display. Britt included the PS Birdsong II chart I had on a wish list and 4 great pieces of 32 ct linen in Antique White, Toasted Almond, Sand and Light Mocha. I have been really needing a piece of Antique White and the other colors are just perfect for samplers (or other good things in my stash!) I also received a really cute lavender sachet kit which I will make for my undies drawer and some great cards.

Pin Exchange

I found out this evening that my pin exchange piece has been received in Canada so it's safe to share some photos. I used one of the designs from the July issue of The Gift of Stitching.

I used the finishing technique they showed involving rolling 1" strips of felt up until you have the right size for the design and then you lace your two pieces to the front and back. I was pretty pleased with how the piece turned out and I hope the recipient is too. I forgot to take a picture of the sides but I found a piece of quilting fabric in my stash that worked with both colors and attached it using Mill Hill seed beads and a running stitch. I would definitely like to make another one of these for myself as it was not as hard as I thought it would be.

This is a photo of my Stitcher's Wallet progress. I stitched on it a bit yesterday instead of Friday night. I finished the top band and tested out the DMC#8 to see if I would like it for the lettering. I did not and promptly pulled out what I had put in. The #8 is too thick for my taste and will never work on the little letters that you have to stitch over one in various places on this panel. I will pick up the Ginnie Thompson Flower Thread I need when I visit Joanie in a few weeks.

And speaking of Joanie, this photo is for her - my clean blinds in the living room Joanie! Just three more rooms to go. LOL Can't wait to see the photo of your clean bedroom.

New Start

Thank you everyone for your kind comments on my PS finish. I do think I will end up finishing it as a felt backed ornament which I think will be easier to display around my home. I plan to start the large piece from this chart quite soon as it's one of my favorites.

I promised I would share a photo of my newest start which is an exchange piece so it's probably the only time I can show it until it is completed and sent to the recipient. The mail date on this is October 1st but I think I will be having the piece framed so I need to get cracking to allow time for the framer. I've shown it with the Atalie threads that are to be used but there are also four DMC colors as well. I am hoping I will have enough of the Atalie threads left over to stitch this for myself at some point because it's a really cute design.

From UFO to FO

Well, I was able to finish off my PS Autumn 4 square last night and mark this off my 25 projects list. I love how it turned out - the designer is so wonderful at picking plain old DMC and creating brilliantly colored pieces that have so much character. I think I'm going to wrap this around padded foam core board and then attach a ribbon and a felt or wool backing with a pinked edge and use it as a little hanging decoration. But it would probably look quite cute framed as well but it's so small I'm not sure even custom framing could be done. Any opinions?

This morning I started another piece of my 25 projects list that will be an exchange piece. It's a french designed chart that uses Atalier threads. I've never used them before and I must say I really like them so far - very soft and smooth. They are hand dyed and remind me a lot of GAST threads but somehow smoother. I may show you a little bit tomorrow since it's just been started and a photo shouldn't give too much away.

Stitcher's Wallet Progress

Well, there's not as much done as I had hoped after Friday night - I had quite a bit more - in fact most of the top band - in but discovered that I'd put one stitch in one hole off at the right had edge so it all had to be ripped out and redone and this is how far I got before I called it quits. On Saturday I went and picked up a spool of DMC #8 in black to do the lettering. I still haven't found the Ginnie Thompson thread I know I bought and was going to order another but the website wouldn't recognize my zip code so I gave up and just went and got the DMC. If I don't like how the first row turns out, I'll rip it out and order the GT but I think it will be fine.

As our weather has turned quite cool and fallish this week it was 37 degrees on Monday morning when I walked the dog!), I've been stitching and making a fair bit of progress on my PS Autumn over one piece. I may even finish it tonight!

Very Slow Going Toe

This is the mate to what is likely to be my one and only pair of socks for the Summer of Socks KAL. I had such great plans for multiple pairs of socks but will be lucky to finish this pair. Too many other projects and things vying for my time these days! But I will complete the pair and be proud I at least finished one pair.