M DESIGNS: Stitching With a View

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

Just popping in to wish you a very Merry Christmas from my goofy family to yours!!!!

It's been too long...

2011-12-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hello all, it's been quite a while since my last post and soooo much has happened. In a nutshell, new home, new town, new schools for the kids, new jobs, new friends, new adventures. Everything in my world has been whirling along nicely.
I haven't accomplished much stitching as of late, but I have been playing in my vast collection of yummy yarns. Cool weather signals the knitting bug in me and the pic here shows Di modelling a few of my latest knitty finishes. I've got a couple of scarves in the works and am going to try my hand at socks soon. Since I am a leftie, the double pointed needles scare me. I am motivated my all the gorgeaous knitty things that I have seen on my favorite blogs lately, and I am determined to advance my knitting skills.

On the home frint, I have tons of baking to get to before the holidays and between my two kids, there are five concerts to attend. We have Christmas parties to attend and lots of new friends to make. It's a mad, mad world and I love it!
Even though I haven't been blogging myself, I've enjoyed following my fellow bloggers adventures. Thanks for the inspiration!

Miss Mary Mac's French Red Pincushion

2011-05-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

I just finished a new design! This one is Miss Mary Mac's French Red Pincushion. It's stitched on 40 count Confederate Gray Linen from Weeks Dye Works with Weeks Hand Dyed Threads. I love the way it came out. When I was pulling threads I had a very clear picture of what I wanted the design to feel like stitched, and I achieved my goal. There are a few simple specialty stitches throughout the design, which look really nice on the 40 count linen. I filled it with crushed walnut shells so it has that wonderful floppy feel and it will join my other long pincushions in their little display basket. I listed the chart at my Etsy shop if you are interested in stitching it. Smalls are addictive, not a lot of time spent and a really pretty result. I do have a large sampler that I have been ignoring that I will have to get back to, but not until the school year is completed. I hope that everyone is enjoying some Spring weather, after the ugliness of last week, some sunshine is welcome! Take care and thanks for stopping by.

Miss Mary Mac's Sew & Sew Sewing Roll

2011-04-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's a rainy day here in TN, thunderstorms all night. The echoing thunder kept me awake most of the night. I love a good storm, as long as there are no tornado warnings. It has gotten a little brighter outside, and I did manage to get pictures of the newest sewing roll and here it is. Miss Mary Mac's Sew & Sew Sewing Roll, stitched on 40 ct. Examplar from Lakeside Linens with Crescent Colours, Weeks and DMC. I have the pattern listed at my Etsy shop.
I tea dyed the backing fabric and I love how it changed the look of the fabric completely. Now it's all I can do not to dump all of my bright bits of cotton prints into the tea bath to see how they come out.
The Miss Mary Mac series is a group of prim designs that aren't too primitive. You can certainly make your pieces more prim by giving them the coffee grounds treatment or a nice tea bath. Or, as my son suggested, leave them on the driveway on a rainy day. :) Today would be just perfect. Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Miss Mary Mac's Sew & Sew Pincushion

2011-04-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

I just finished something for Spring. It has bunnies so my timing is pefect. This is the second design in the Miss Mary Mac series, my prim without being too prim series. It's called Miss Mary Mac's Sew & Sew Pincushion. It's a long pincushion stitched on 40 count Examplar Linen with Cresecent Colours, Weeks and DMC floss. There are lots of Cornflower blue Smyrna Stitches and some sweet lazy daisy stitches. I am almost finished with the matching sewing roll, which I'll post as soon as it's ready. I just listed the charts in my Etsy shop. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful afternoon!

A new chart

2011-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

You may remember my bluebird ornament from the JCS 2008 ornie magazine. Well, I have finally released it as a chart. The chartpack contains two versions of the design, a patchwork bird, aptly named Patchwork Red Bird and the original Bluebird of Christmas Happiness. I've listed them in my Etsy shop if you are interested or you can email me. Have a great week!!

And now for something completely different....

2011-04-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

It's a very grey and stormy day here in TN, they are predicting hail and possible tornadoes for this evening so I thought that I would post my brightest finish of late. She is a lovely mermaid designed by Sandra Silberzweig, a Canadian folk artist. When Di and I were shopping in Chattanooga a few weeks ago, we found a really neat bookstore with lots of folk art paintings displayed. I couldn't stop thinking about the bright colors and fun style. Then, while doodling around on Ebay, I found a seller that sells printed canvases based on works by various artists. I went a little stash crazy and ordered several. Printed canvases are a little harder to stitch than those that are stitch painted, colors print on top of one another sometimes, muddying the shades, so you have to think a bit more about your color choices. However, they are a great deal less expensive than stitch painted canvases and I don't mind the extra color work. Here is the entire design, it's 9" by 12", stitched on 18 count canvas, using mainly Rainbow Gallery Manderin Floss (a super soft bamboo fiber) mixed in with a bit of Kreinik Braids and black Rainbow Gallery Petite Very Velvet. Soooo different, but so much fun to stitch!

I spend a lot of time stitching while waiting for my kids at their various activities and this piece received so much attention from others while I was working on it. The teen girls at dance classes loved it, even some of the fathers commented on it. The kids at orchestra thought it was neat as well. I've had several young girls ask me where I get the "stuff" to make the things that I make, and I've painted up a couple of easy canvases and kitted them up for two young stitchers. We had a mini class and they are both about halfway finished with their first pieces. I'll get pics and post them when they are finished. I do receive the occassional "Why would you spend time doing that?" comment and I've learned it's best to just smile pleasantly and keep stitching. Taking the time to explain my love of the process just makes their eyes glaze over. :)

Bottom line, for me, stitching is fun! and this piece is a perfect example of my idea of stitching fun.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your visits and your comments. Enjoy your day and have some fun!

A few finishes

2011-03-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

A lovely weekend here, a little rainy and cold so I pulled out the sewing machine to do a little finishing. First is my favorite, a needlepoint pincushion. This is a Carriage House Samplings Cross Stitch design that I stitched on 18 count canvas (I changed a few colors). I edged it with cording that I made using the thinnest hand dyed chenille from The Victorian Motto Samplar Shoppe. Nancy sells handdyed threads, chenille trims, rick rack, vintage seam binding and even handdyed buttons as well as her own victorian inspired designs. I filled the pincushion with crushed walnut shells and it will sit by my stitching chair.

Next, a little pillow with a Christmas design from Sheepish Designs. I've had the design stitched for years and finally got around to finishing it. I've seen quite a few Sheepish Designs on blogs lately and have a huge stash of charts so I am inspired to get stitching.

This design is a freebie from My Aunt's Attic. I stitched it using a lovely overdyed floss from Nina. I ordered some of her beautiful threads when she first offered them and the color combos are so exquisite that I can't bring myself to stitch with them. Silly, I know but that's the way it is. I finished it with a piece of Blackbird Designs fabric and used a bit of antique lace trim to complement the design.

That's it for finishing. I've barely made a dent in the to do pile, but I have been checking out all of the lovely finishing on the many stitching blogs that I follow and am going to try a few new things. I'll keep you posted of my progress. Until then, thanks for stopping by and happy stitching!!

Spring is here!

2011-03-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful Spring day here in TN and Spring cleaning is in full swing around the Turley household. My Spring cleaning motto is "Less is more" and I have been repeating it over and over as I sort through cupboards and closets. I have even ventured into my stitching stash and will be posting lots of things on my ebay and etsy pages over the next several days.

Colt and Di had their first Trap Shooting tournament of the year on Saturday. Dale managed a good pic of Di, above (so not looking like my girly girl with her jean mini, black leggings and combat boots) but the camera wouldn't cooperate for a Colt pic so I snatched a recent one from his facebook. Beautiful weather and everyone had a good time.

On the stitching front, I finished the barn canvas by Workbasket. It was a really fun stitch, I went very nontraditional with the background, using a lovely varigated silk, which gives it a patchwork feel. I plan to finish it as a pillow.

Then, I started on this lovely rose. Hard to tell from the pic, but the entire rose is stitched, just the background and the leaves to do. There is a tiny row of metallic gold to be stitched between the blue and the tan of the background, which should make the golds in the rose pop a bit. This one will be one of a pair for my mom who loves roses and dislikes anything too fussy.

In sorting through my stash, I've come across a few things that must get some stitching time, so, I feel a serious case of startitus coming on. New project pics coming soon.

Hope that you are enjoying the sunshine where you are, thanks for stopping by!

Something new...

2011-03-04T08:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you've seen the latest Just Crossstitch Magazine, but I have a couple of new designs featured in it. Spring Garden and Bloom Pincushion are bright, happy designs, perfect if you are itching to stitch for Spring. There are several nice designs in this issue and I always feel like I am getting a bargain when the magazine I purchase is filled with "must stitch" designs.

In other stitching news, I have been on a needlepoint bender again, I have an almost finish and a couple of new starts which I'll take pics of as soon as I am home long enough to pick up a camera. We have been running like crazy with Colt and Di's activities.

Last weekend was spent in Chattanooga, Colton had a East Tenn String Orchestra Clinic and Performance. Wonderful performance, really talented 6th thru 9th graders from the eastern side of TN performed. It's a yearly thing, you have to audition to get invited, I'm so proud of Colt for working hard his first year and getting selected to the advanced orchestra. Colt plays the concert bass and Di has just started violin lessons and hopes to join Colt in our local string orchestra in the fall. Solo and Ensemble is next, with Di's Spring dnace performance to follow and a couple of trap shooting tournaments as well.

While Colt was at his workshop, Di and I got to do a little exploring in Chattanooga. We had so much fun. Chattanooga is a college community, with a really outdoorsy vibe. We were surprised at how many joggers, walkers, bikers, etc. were out and about in the downtown. It's a very foot friendly place, parks, walking bridges, etc., with lots of wonderful restaurants and neat places to visit. The people are friendly and nearly everyone we passed said hello or gave us a nod. We visited a lovely antique mall that made me wish for a bigger house, a needlepoint shop, a funky used book store with tons of modern folk art for sale, a mongholian buffet, a cupcake shop (heaven!) and a fantastic ice cream shop (it's a good thing we were walking). Colt felt a little left out when Di told him of our adventures (mostly the food part) so we will be scheduling another Chattanooga weekend soon.

Time for me to get to work, my studio needs a serious spring cleaning, ugh!!! Have a wonderful weekend, maybe do something fun with someone you love. :)

Almost a snow day

2011-02-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well, we had snow on the ground again here in TN, but this time just a two hour delay on school, instead of a cancellation. Our school board has decided to add an hour to each school day for the next month and a half to make up for our excessive snow days this year. The kids are less than thrilled about the whole thing and it's made a mess of after school activities. Because of dance and orchestra practices, I'll be signing Colt and Di out early three days a week. On the bright side, I won't have to sit in the pickup line on those days.

I've been a little lazy with my posting but I have been doing some stitching. Since Christmas, I've been in a holiday stitching mood, must be the snow. I've completed a couple of Christmas themed pieces. Above is Ewe & Eye & Friends Christmas Sampler. I changed the colors as I wanted to try some of the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe threads. I had ordered a set of Christmas colors and a set of reds and when they arrived I couldn't wait to play with them. The shading is soft and they are very nice to stitch with. So nice, that I used them on the below projects as well.

Here are Prairie Schooler's 2008 Santa and 2003 Santa, stitched on 18 count canvas. I will eventually stitch the entire series on canvas. They were fun to stitch and worked up quickly. I used the Victorian Motto threads as well as Rainbow Gallery's Petite Very Velvet and a bit of DMC.

Last but not least, my latest start. A beautiful canvas from The Workbasket. The colors are still a bit Christmasy but the design is not. If you can't tell from the picture, I've only completed the red on the barn and the willow tree leaves. I love all the little creatures in the design and can't wait to start stitching on them. This piece is going to be very hard to put down.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping in. Enjoy your day!

A finish and a new start

2011-01-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

It's finished!! And I enjpyed every single stitch! If you haven't been by lately, this is Laura J. Perin Designs Color Study: One Long Panel. Counted canvas is sooo much fun! They are like a puzzle, you have to build the design layer by layer. I have a really pretty frame up in the studio that I think will fit this perfectly. It's a bulky, burnished gold, hope it fits. I don't have another counted thread project picked out yet, but I'll be dong that very soon.

In the meantime, I have started a new cross stitch piece. It's a BOAF and uses just six colors. Fun stitch so far, I've been meandering around the bottom of the design, dropping in the colors. It's going pretty quickly.

I also found another BOAF that I forgot to post. It was a quick little needlepoint design. Stitched on 13 count with Soy Luster threads. I plan to finish it as a pillow, with a ginghan fabric that I found in my fabric stash.

Well, that's all for today. I'm off to run some errands, the snow has stopped and we've actually seen some sunshine so the kids and I need to get out of the house. With no dance classes, no school and no music lessons this past week, we've been homebodies (really unlike us). Hubby gets in from CA really late tonight so I'm planning a relaxing family weekend. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!!!

I got a little distracted...

2011-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

While looking through my collection of charts yesterday, I came across The Prairie Schooler's Angels chart. I brought the chart down from the studio to put into my "to-do" pile, but within minutes I was pulling threads to start stitching it. I finished it last night. I stitched it on 18 count needlepoint canvas and chose my own colors, which are brighter than the photo shows. It's my first ornament finish of the year. I'll get back to my work in progress this evening, after a little productive break. We have another snow day here in TN and the snow is falling steadily, it's so pretty. Enjoy your day!

Moving right along

2011-01-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

I made quite a bit more progress last night and this afternoon on the counted canvas piece. I stayed up late last night determined to finish the 3rd large section, which I did and today just finished the 4th large section. So, just one more large section to go and then the border. I tried to get the sparkly parts to show up in the pictures, but am having very little luck. We've had a snow day called for tomorrow already so I'll stay up late tonight and continue. Maybe a finish to show by tomorrow night.

A little more progress...

2011-01-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

Snowy day here, ground is covered and more snow to come. I love the snow, makes everything so cozy. I have a little more progress to show on my latest project. It is moving along nicely and I am loving every stitch. Each section is stitched in layers so it's like a little puzzle. I'm so glad that I decided to start it. I have a couple other projects going right now but I suspect that they are going to be ignored for a few days. Back to work, more later.

A new project

2011-01-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

I was looking around the internet on New Year's Day weekend and I found a new to me online shop that specializes in counted canvaswork. The shop, Scarlett Thread, features many counted canvas designs kitted and ready to go, which is great for me. I found a couple neat designs and promptly talked myself out of them, reminding myself of my current stash situation.
The next day, I checked out some of my regular blog stops and found that the Spinster Stitcher had started this design. It's LJ Perin's Color Study: One Long Panel. It's a gorgeous, sparkly design. Spinster's pictures totally sunk my resolve and I immediately went to the Scarlett Thread and ordered the chart kitted up and ready to go. Super helpful shop, with a living person available at the shop number to answer my questions, really quick shipping, careful packaging (no affiliation, just my observations). The kit arrived yesterday and it is lovely. I took it to Di's dance class last night and started on it. My progress is above. Lots of careful counting needed, I've had to do a little frogging already. The instructions are well written and the diagrams are very clear, I just have to remember to stop and look at them every now and again. Can't wait to get back to it.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends! This is a picture of Colt and DiDi in full costume and makeup from their recent Nutcracker show. Colt played a father (with two wives and six kids) and Di was a flower maiden, soldier, marzipan and arabian. Nutcraker has become a tradition for our family, this is Colt's second and Di's 4th. Colt even agreed to have his long hair pulled into a ponytail for the role.

And here is Colt posing after a concert with his new favorite instrument. He joined our local string orchestra this past fall and has really enjoyed performing with them. Their Christmas performance was wonderful.

I have dinner guests at six so I'd better get busy. Have a wonderful holiday and I'll be back after the New Year.

Just Crossstitch Halloween Ornie Issue

2010-08-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Just stopping by to post a quick picture of the new Just Crossstitch ornie issue. The little green witch at the bottom of the cover is my contribution to the magazine. I always look forward to seeing the new designs, and I love the variety of this year's designs. There are several more ornament designs inside the magazine so if you get a chance, pick up a copy and take a peak.

Lots going on here. We've just welcomed a new fur baby into our family. Her name is Francesca, she is an eight week old black pug, the sister of our Lucy Lu. She has the same cleft palete issue that Lucy has, but she is eating well and is soooo full of life. She is so small that she fits in my hand. She perches on my shoulder like a parrot. I'll get a pic up in the next day or so. Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your week!!

August already?

2010-08-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

Another hot and sunny Summer day here in Tennessee, so I popped outside to take a few snaps of my latest finishes to show you. First is another little pillow, this one a Ewe and Eye & Friends design. I love the little jabc buttons, reminds me of candy dots, yummy little rows of pastel sugar.

Next, this adorable little witch from Brooke's Books. One of a series of three, it's done on perforated paper and was a blast to stitch. The really fun part was cutting the pieces apart and attaching them to create the finished piece. Her little girls are adorable and have such detail, can't wait to stitch the other two in the series for my Halloween tree. On the home front, lots of family stuff happening here, won't bore you with the deets, but it is making for some late night stitching, so I'll have lots more to show you. Enjoy your week and thanks for stopping by.

LOVE Needlepoint

2010-07-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit that I love needlepoint but this is actually a "LOVE" needlepoint. I used my Alphabet Series letters to chart out "LOVE" on 18 count canvas. I stitched it with a wonderful chocolate Rainbow Gallery Petite Very Velvet and 4 shades of overdyed cottons. I love the contrast in fibers, the fuzzy Very Velvet creates kind of a valley for the overdyed cottons to fit into. It's actual size is about 16" by 16" and it will make a wonderful pillow. I've found the perfect shade of faux suede to back it with and am searching for the correct size feather pillow insert.

If you haven't guessed, I am really happy with how this came out, next, I am going to paint our last name and do a long pillow for the family room.

I have a couple other needlepoint pieces that I need to finish as pillows as well. The first is by Birds of a Feather, it has a companion canvas with a pink background that I can't wait to start stitching.The next is a celtic inspired design that came with the neat clay button centerpiece. The counting on this drove me batty but it was worth the effort. And, last but not least, this cute little frog, a freebie design, soon to be finished as a scissor fob. Did I mention that I love needlepoint? :)

Before I go, I want to thank you for your comments on my last post and welcome the new followers to my blog. I'm trying to carve out a bit of time every fews days to post, lots happening here and posting is a nice way to organize the stitchy things in my life. I'll leave you with a couple of pics of my Boo Boo and my Lucy Lu. Take care!!!

Friday finishes

2010-07-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that it's Friday again, already? The Summer is flying by at record speed, I hope that you are enjoying some sort of Summer fun where you are. We made it through dance camp and boy scout camp (different kids, same week, same town, fifty miles from home, one day camp, one overnight). Dale took boy scout camp duty and I took dance camp taxi duties and fun was had by all. Tennessee USA is still running at the Playhouse and the kids do several shows a week, they love seeing the reactions from the various audiences. And, since sleep and I have been strangers lately, I have some finishes to show you.

First, I stitched up Blackbird Design's quick little monchromatic design. I finished it as pin pillow, with a bit of antique lace and a few antique bakelite buttons.

Next, another Blackbird Designs piece, this one their little Souvenir freebie. I used two Crescent Colours silks on a hand dyed piece of 40 count and it stitched up quickly. I finished it as a pillow with a bit of hand crocheted lace and a seed bead trim. I'll stitch this again, someday, for Di, in a bright turquoise, and finish it with a great piece of turquoise eiffel tower fabric that I have in my stash. She loves all things French, but this isn't bright enough for her room.

And, finally, my favorite pillow finish, a Carriage House Samplings design, stitched in silk on a 40 count handdyed linen. I finished it with a couple antique buttons and added a jute rick rack trim which I beaded with seed beads to add a little color to the trim. It may end up on my dresser as a place to display my antique pins.

I also did a little stitching this week. I was feeling nostalgic and did a little poking around in my stash, mainly my old magazines, and I found this little design from Birds of a Feather. It's just so cute that I had to stitch it. I will probably finish it into a little patchwork tote for my niece Vivian, the design suits her.

I also finished another piece for Just CrossStitch but I can't show you that yet. I have to say that I really enjoy reading the stitching blogs and am in awe of the true talent of the many needleartists out there. I don't comment all that often, but do know that I always feel rewarded when I take a moment to see what my fellow stitchers are creating. Thank you for sharing!

A new tree

2010-06-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show you my latest tree. The Liberty tree is featured in the July/August issue of Just Crossstitch magazine. I finished this one as a button on pillow using one of Trail Creek Farms pillows, a quick and easy finish. This magazine issue is also the ornament preview issue and there are several must stitch (for me) ornaments. I hope to have a nice batch of new ornaments for the Christmas tree this year. I've been collecting and designing ornament charts all year, now to get to stitching them. My kids enjoy adding the new ones to the tree each year, and the handmade ones are always the favorites. Thanks for stopping by, I hope that you are all enjoying your Summer.

Angels on Blue

2010-04-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't been getting any stitching done lately but Susan A. has. Susan kindly sent me this pic of all five of my angels stitched on 30 ct. Sky fabric. My first reaction was Wow!!! I love how the blue fabric sets the angels off so nicely. Plus, her finishing is lovely. Hers is the first set, other than my own, that I've seen completed and they just made my day.
As a designer, I design what is inside of me, never knowing if it will be something that others will want to stitch, so it always makes me smile when I see someone else taking the time to stitch my designs. Thanks for sharing these with me, Susan!!! And thanks, everyone for visiting my blog.

A Few Finishes

2010-03-10T08:53:00.001-08:00

It has been busy, busy here. We are well into March and the days are just flying by. Been busy doing kids stuff, helping with the cross country team, trap practice, boy scouts and dance, dance, dance. Spring recital is coming up so it's time for me to help with costume details, which involves checking the costumes, doing any quicky finishing work that needs done on them, making any extra items needed, handing them out to the students and explaining the stage makeup and costumes how to's. The costumes are beautiful this year and really well made, I can't wait to see them on the dancers.

As for stitching, my finishing pile is growing. I have over a dozen things needing my attention. Little pieces and big. I will schedule a finishing day soon, I will, I will.......

Here are a couple of recent finishes, excuse the wrinkles. The first is a sweet little design from Carriage House Samplings. I have so many of her designs in my stash and am trying to work a few of them into my rotation. I love the pink, red, olive color combo in this design and have plans to make it into a thread keep.

This is Shakespeare's Peddler's Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler. It was a fun design to stitch, enough color changes to keep me interested, and pretty shades of red and green. I changed a few colors here and there but nothing extreme. I have two great rustic frames that would work for this piece and I cannot decide between them yet.

The last piece is Cape Cod Girls, by the Primitive Needle. Really quick stitch. I used a beautiful piece of linen from my "special" stash. Sharon Crescent, creator of the lovely Crescent Colours threads used to dye linens when she first started out in the needlework biz. The colors were soft and amazing and I bought a fat quarter of every shade that she had. I keep them in my "special" box and use them sparingly. This is a soft blue green and worked perfectly with the Weeks threads that were called for. I did pick up the new Cape Cod Boys companion design so it will get a "special" linen from the box as well.

Enough from me for today. I have orders to fill and a couple of magazine pieces to get ready. Thank you for your comments on my stitching and on my new little Lucy Lu. My daughter discovered that Lucy likes to play dress up so there will be some silly dog pics in the future. She is also reading up on agility competitions for pugs and plans to make Lucy a star. Have a great afternoon!!!

Lucy Lu

2010-03-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

Here is my little Lucy Lu! She finally sat still long enough for a couple of shots. I LOVE her buggy eyes. Such a sweet little girl.

LHN Needle and Thread

2010-03-01T09:50:00.001-08:00

I started this Saturday night and finished this cute little piece last night. It's Little House Needlework's Hoffman exclusive, Needle and Thread. It was fun to stitch and easy to finish. My first "market release" finish. It will sit near my stitching spot, perfect for my scissors and spare needles.

It's been busy since my last post. Everyday life keeps me on my toes lately. We have a new fur baby addition to our household, a pretty 4 month old black pug. Daughter Di named her Lucy Lu and she is such a liitle bundle of fun. The rest of my fur family is adjusting well to their hyper little sister.

I've been sneaking my stitching in wherever I can and will post more pics when I get some time. I really need to have a little finishing marathon, I have a dozen stitched pieces waiting for their finishes.

Until next time, enjoy yourselves!

And the winner is......

2009-09-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

Before I announce the winner, I want to thank everyone that commented and posted about my giveaway. I'm a relatively new blogger and I appreciate your participation and comments. Thanks to you, I have "discovered" many new and interesting blogs and have added them to my list of favorites. This was fun so I'll be doing lots more giveaways in the future.

Okay, drum roll please..................... the winner of the JSC Ornie issue and the Angels charts is Deb, creator of the wonderful blog, The Thread Gatherer http://threadgatherer.blogspot.com Deb, if you would email me your snail mail addy, I'll send this out to you right away.

Thanks again to everyone for participating! Enjoy your day!

The new ornie issue is here, time for a giveaway!!!!!

2009-09-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

I've just received the Just Crossstitch Ornament issue and and it has made my day! I have eagerly awaited the yearly arrival of this magazine since I first discovered it. And, since my Hope Angel made the cover this year, and since I have been such a poor blogger lately, I am having my first blog giveaway.

I will be giving away one copy of the magazine, along with one each of my four Angel Ornament crossstitch charts. That way, the winner will have the entire set of angels to stitch. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. If you post about the contest on your blog, you will get entered a second time. I'll announce the winner next Thursday. Good luck!!!

More about the magazine, lots of great ornies in there to stitch. So many of my favorite designers are included this year, all with wonderful designs. I have kitted up six already and will start stitching the first this afternoon while waiting on the school pick up line for my kids.

This brings me to the reason that I have been a poor blogger, my kids went back to public school for the first time in four years. It has been a real change. They love their new adventure, new friends, new teachers, band, dances, etc. They do not enjoy homework, getting up at 6:00 am (mommy really doesn't enjoy that one, it's still dark here at 6:00 am, ugh!!!) or busy work. All in all, it has been a good experience so far. We'll have to see how we do on our first quarter report cards. Until then, if anyone has any ideas on how to motivate kids to get out of bed on the first call, please let me know. The "time to get up" song doesn't seem to be working as well as it did the first couple of weeks. :)

I do actually have some stitching to show, I'll post pics next time. Thanks for stopping by!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!!

2009-07-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is one of my early freebies, I've always liked it and it fits in with the theme of the day. Click on the picture to download. Enjoy!!

The angels are coming....

2009-06-16T16:18:00.001-07:00

My angel ornament series, that is. I'm printing the charts as I type this and soon they will be winging (slightly lame pun intended) their way to the shops and my distributors. They should be available in shops and on my Etsy site by the middle of next week. They are stitched on 30 count with just a little over one stitching and I love them. I enjoyed every part of the design process with these, even the finishing which I usually don't absolutely love doing. I can see them decorating a feather wreath or stitched one above the other on a bellpull. I have the threads pulled for the bellpull idea but haven't started stitching it yet.

In other news, the weather has been hot and sunny and the kids and I have been spending some time down by the lake, which is too good for words. It's a tiny lake but you'd never know it to see how much fun the kids have there. I've also started walking/jogging everyday. I've been inspired by some of you fellow stitchers that manage to work, take care of family, stitch and exercise and make it sound so easy. I used to run years ago, and hope to get back to where I actually can run 5 miles and make it look easy.

My printer is beeping at me so I'm off for now. Thanks for stopping by!!

Progress...

2009-05-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

First, thanks for all the comments about Miss Mary Mac's Sewing Roll. I'm working on another pin cushion and sewing roll set and will have pics soon (keep in mind that soon is a somewhat relative term on this blog). Between a new puppy showing up at the house (with 4 dogs already) insisting that this is where she should live and the first week of really nice weather, I've not had much daylight time up here in the studio. I have had lots of lovely early morning chats with my daughter on the porch and evening chats with my sister and nieces in the same spot. Family is a very good thing.

I do have a few things to show. First, my CHS SAL, I didn't forget this week Annemarie, I'm just hopelessly late at getting up to the studio to blog. I'm stitching it over two on 40 count as I am hoping to put it in a shadow box style frame. It will be too teeny for a real stocking. The fabric color is dangerously close to Noah's haircolor, so he may have a bit of a dye job before I am through. Oh, and I changed his coat color as well. More progress next week, I promise.

I also finished CCN Summer Bungalows yesterday. My chronic case of startitis caused me to finish this one, so I could have the stitching frame for my next design. Seven stitching frames and something on every one of them. Lots of solid areas of stitching on this one, which I normally don't do well with, but the soft colors made it easy to stick with. I apologize for the wrinkles.

In other stitching news, I found out that my ornament design for the 2009 Just Crossstitch Ornament issue will be on the cover and I am very excited about that. I can't show you the design but you'll be able to see it soon enough. It's my favorite out of all of the designs that I have done for the magazine.

My son turned 12 last week and I think that I am in shock. How can he already be 12, it seems he was just a toddler not so long ago. He spent his weekend doing guy stuff with two of his best buds, dirtbiking and the new Star Trek movie. We're celebrating his dad's birthday tomorow as he was out of town on his real day. Lots of birthday cake for our family in May, and lots of fun!Thanks for stopping by!

Miss Mary Mac's Sewing Roll

2009-04-23T07:30:00.003-07:00

I just finished the chart for Miss Mary Mac's newest design. It's a sweet little sewing roll to go with her pincushion. It was fun to stitch and easy to finish into the roll. I love doing these small designs and have several more in the works. This one will go out to shops the first of next week and the distributors will get them soon after that. So, I'll be folding and packaging this weekend, in between doing family stuff.

I had planned to post my progress on my CHS no pressure stocking stitch along, but as there is no progress, there is no post. The day is still young, though, and I could surprise myself. Thanks for visiting!

Finally, some sunshine!!!

2009-04-16T10:07:00.001-07:00

It is a beautiful day here in middle Tennessee, and we are enjoying it. The kids are getting into their Summer mode, which means doing everything possible outside instead of in. I tried to get pics of the human children and the furry children but as you can see, the dogs, especially my corgie Max would not cooperate. Most of the

pictures look like the first picture, with dogs going every which way, but I did get a couple with all faces forward. The other smiling girl is our dear friend Saxon who is staying with us for a few days.

I actually have some stitching to show you as well. I'm not quite getting the hang of taking pics as I go, but I am trying. The first one is Birds of a Feather's A Very Fine Sampler which I have been working on for years. I pick it up and put a few stitches in it, then put it aside. I'm not sure why it is taking me so long to finish it, I think that it's because I love stitching on it so much and I don't want it to end. The colors are wonderful, and I love the way that unfinished areas are designed into the piece, making it look like a beautiful old sampler.

I'm also working on Summer Rentals, it's a little faded in the pic but I didn't want to take it off the scroll frame to shoot it. It's taking a bit longer than I'd like, lots of solid areas of color always slow me down, but it is for my resort, beachy wall in the studio. I LOVE the shore, any shore and have been collecting beachy charts for my wall. I've got my The Sun Sets design hanging and my Summer At the Shore and this one will fit in nicely. And lastly, I'm working on this bright little pelican canvas. It's small, the perfect size to put on a beach tote. I've got some great stripey fabric to use when it's finished. Okay, has anyone else noticed that I am in a beach mindset? Time to sneak away to the shore for a few days, if only I could. Hubby has a big show next week, no where near water and the kids have spring show the week after that. Aghhhhhhh!!!! Maybe mid May........ Until then, expect more wishful beachy stitching.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-10T09:38:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I posted, time really flies when you are having fun. I've been stitching some new projects and will post some pics this weekend. I had to post this springy picture that my husband took yestrday. The girls were playing dress up and they posed for Dale in their "ballalina" outfits. That's my DiDi in the middle and my nieces, Adaline and Vivian on either side. We had a lovely sunny day and the girls enjoyed it to the fullest. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Finally, a new design and a new series!

2009-03-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

I just finished stitching Miss Mary Mac's Pins & Needles Pincushion. It's about 3 inches wide and 8 inches long, stitched on 40 ct. I love long narrow pin cushions and wanted to do one of my own. It's prim without being too prim, more of a sophisticated prim look. I stuffed it with tiny glass beads, so it has a bean bag feel, which I love. This is the first of a series of sweet, smallish designs. They will all be called Miss Mary Mac's something as that was my nickname all through high school and I like the way it looks in the prim typeface that I am using on my patterns. I am trying something new and will be selling the chart in my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5871581 . Thanks for stopping by!

A Little Needlepoint Progress

2009-02-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas, I saw a couple of Curtis Boehringer Santa needlepoint canvases. I was instantly hooked! I ordered several santas as well as some small ornaments. I haven't started on the big ones yet but here is one of the small ornaments. It's called Beach Santa and was such fun to stitch. Those are starfish on his head. I have a couple of others in the works and will show them as soon as they are done. It is so fun to be able to pick the stitches to fill the spaces in.

As usual, one good thing led to another and I reached into my stash and pulled out these The Princess and Me designs. These stitched up really fast and I love them, especially Rudolph. I've started designing some small canvases of my own and will show my progress on them soon.

This last canvas was stitched by my 11 year old son, Colton! He chose all the fibers and the stitches himself. Santa's beard and cuffs are stitched with two different fuzzy fibers and he used a red/gold metallic for the background. He is usually such a ball of energy that it was weird for me to see him sit still long enough to stitch, watching him work out the stitches was like watching a scientist working out an experiment. He's working on a long skinny santa ornament now and wants me to paint a dirt bike canvas for him to stitch next.

Until next time, happy stitching!

Two little finishes

2009-02-20T14:38:00.000-08:00

I've been busy on the computer all week so not much to show, stitching wise. Today was a great day for me to catch up with friends both via the phone and internet. I get so busy that it is hard for me to keep in touch with everyone that I want to (and I know that I am not alone in this). The internet helps, I've started a facebook page and love chatting on that while I work in the studio.
These are Carriage House Samplings Designs, and are 2 1/2" by 1 3/4" in size. I plan to make them into little scissor fobs.
The kids have Seusical tonight so I'll get a little stitching time in while I wait in the Green Room. If all goes well, I'll have some new things to show on Monday.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

The Show Must Go On! Suessical that is...

2009-02-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the first performance of our local playhouse's production of Suessical the Musical. I've spent much of the last week at the playhouse with DiDi and Colt, so no stitching to show. Although they do Nutcracker and the Spring Productions every year, this is their first"real" show. They are both so excited. Here is a picture of Di from Spring show a couple of years ago. I can't post the Suessical ones yet, but Colt is a Who Cadet and Di is in the Who Marching Band. It's such a cute show and they love being on stage with their friends.

Heart in the Garden Finish

2009-01-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

Heart in the Garden by Ewe & Eye & Friends is my latest finish. I stitched it over two on 40 ct. using the leftover threads from the last LHN that I stitched. I have always loved Ewe & Eye designs, I have dozens in my stash, though I've only stitched 2 so far. I do have four of their original stitched models in my collection, including my all time favorite, the Millenium Sampler. They are currently in one of the shop boxes, waiting to be unpacked. Some day soon, I will put all of my shop pieces back on the studio walls, I'll post pictures when I do. Thanks for stopping by!

A little weekend stitching

2009-01-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

I strated this cute little piece from Little House Needleworks on Thursday and finished it Saturday night. It's a stress relieving piece. Had a family member in the hospital this past week and I always start a new piece to keep my mind off of things. It's my version of a worry stone and it works for me. The chartpack contained the Crescent Colour Threads and I stitched it on 40 count linen over two. Since I only used a single strand of floss, I had tons left over so I started a Ewe & Eye& Friends piece using the same shades. It's nearly done as well and I'll post it soon. Not sure how I'll finish this, I'm thinking of mounting it on top of a papermache' box and stitching the rooster again to make a pin cushion for inside the box. We'll see. I'm off to do school with the kids, have a great day!

Something in the works

2009-01-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Two posts in one day. I totally forgot about posting my newest "in progress" piece. It is a sampler and it is coming along nicely, I find that I am enjoying the blackwork areas the most. I've not done a lot of blackwork and it is a little like doing a dot to dot. You just count threads and work your way around the fabric following the pattern and the design appears. I'm hoping to get this done in the next couple of weeks, although the outer border, which you can't see, may take little longer. My kids, Colton and DiDi, are in a Suessical production at our local playhouse and I get lots of stitching time in while waiting for them in the green room. :)

Since moving back into the studio, the design side of my mind has switched back on. I have so many new ideas going through my head that I've started keeping a sketchbook with me again. I have several new designs waiting for me to pull threads so that I can get them to my model stitchers. And several that I will have to stitch myself. I'll be posting progress reports and sneak peaks here. I will also be posting some freebies here as well. I just have to figure out how. :) Please be understanding of my limited blogging skills. I'll get better.

A cold day in Tennessee

2009-01-16T10:57:00.000-08:00

This is my baby, Beauregard. He is not happy about the weather. I have three other dogs but as he has the least amount of fur, he is the most annoyed by the weather. Besides, it is impossible to get my dogs to pose for a family portrait. They all went out this morning and he came back in shivering. We are having some unusually cold weather here in TN. It was 5 degrees this morning. Brrrrr!!!! I raced up to the studio and refuse to go back outside until it is absolutely neccessary.

My studio is across the yard from my house. It's above the garage. My husband built it for me and I love it. He even built the garage to put it above. I have a huge window in front that overlooks the neighborhood and a deck off the back which is wonderful for stitching and hanging out to watch the stars at night. Right now the front room is a little stuffed with extra shop merchandise but that will work itself out over time. The kids do their school work up here when I'm "at work" and my daughter DiDi has taken over a large corner for her crafts. It's a wonderful place to come to work to.

Acorns and Threads

2009-01-04T08:50:00.000-08:00

This is one of my first stitching projects for 2009. I've had it in my stash for years. It's Acorns and Threads by Carriage House Samplings. I'm stitching it on 40 count over two. I have a couple of the charts (new from my former shop) on my ebay auction right now http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280299538363 along with lots of other charts by Carriage House Samplings. I'll be adding things to my ebay auctions daily in an effort to free up a little more space in the studio.

I'm working on a new sampler of my own as well and I'll post a picture in the next day or so.

A New Blog for the NEW YEAR!!

2008-12-31T15:53:00.000-08:00

I've finally done it! I've started a blog. For the past year I've enjoyed reading other stitcher's blogs. I was so busy with the retail shop, and getting very little designing or stitching done, that I have been living vicariously through the postings of other stitchers. I've enjoyed the images and have been inspired and moved by many of the posts that I've read. I don't know that I'll inspire anyone here but I do know that I want to chronicle my creative process with this little online journal, as well as my family life. So, be patient with me, as I have yet to figure out the technical side of blogging.
And now, before I hit publish for the first time, I want to wish you all a wonderful and joyous New Year!!