Woo hoo - He's found, he's found!!!!!

Yep, my November turkey is now found and sitting along with the other unfinished months.

That is, they are stitched but just aren't finished.  So far, my only finish is the doorknob hanger pillow I made with the July eagle.

This is part of a long term stitch along I've shared with Linda and Debbie.

I have December, January and February to go before I'm done.

I'm so happy I've found this.  Hooray!!!!

So, the plan is to finish my current in progress owl for Halloween and then concentrate on making some stitchy Christmas presents.  I hope to squeeze in time to finish the Prairie Schooler months.

Progress - IHWS recap

First, an update on my progress with the November Prairie Schooler, from the Spring and Fall leaflet.  This is a SAL with Debbie and Linda, I'm kind of ahead but then again I don't have nearly as many works in progress as these talented ladies.  With December, January, and February to go, I may have to try and talk them into another Prairie Schooler SAL project!

November has been fun, I can say that now that I've finished stitching color 3031, that was getting tedious. 

So Mr. Tom Turkey has his main feathers and the end is in sight. 

 I've also been working on a bib for my little great nephew, Dalton.  He's getting more and more adorable each day.  I have the distinct feeling that I'll be stitching and showing many more bibs for the little guy!
  This is the chart that came with the bib and it will have three pastel elephants frolicking amongst stars and hearts.  It definitely makes me smile as I work on it!

The kittens are doing very well; they have entered the household and Taz seems to enjoy their presence quite a bit.  We guess that they are roughly about 3-4 months old.  Arya was the first out the door when we decided to integrate them into the general day to day things, whereas Molly is still sticking around the comfy old chair.  Why fix what isn't broken eh?

So, what did you work on this past holiday/IHS(W) weekend?

Yes, I'm still making Prairie Schoolers!

Okay, so post-IHSW I didn't finish the Happiness ornament for my friend Yi.  SIGH

So, maybe it will be a Christmas present?  Then I'm already ahead of schedule!  Yes, make lemonade from lemons.

But I can share that I'm making solid progress on the Prairie Schooler Spring and Fall leaflet.  I'm getting further along with the November turkey.  This is a SAL that I was working on with Debbie and Linda in 2012.  When I finish this one, I am done with this leaflet.  Then I only have December - February in the Prairie Schooler Winter and Summer and they will all be done.  The only one truly "finished" in a usable form is July, but won't it be fun to finish all the others too?  Yep, and maybe I'll make them doorknob hangers or perhaps each with be something unique.  Maybe a few framed for those seasons when I am light on decorations. Maybe ornaments, or in a wreath....the possibilities are kind of cool to contemplate.

So, here's November in progress.  I am in agreement with Linda that the colors as they really are and how they photograph on the leaflet are different.  The in person colors are a bit darker, but they are working for me and I like them.

I've also got fun news - my niece had her first child, my first great nephew, and I was able to be there for the birth.  It was more of a miracle than I could have expected, and I was so overwhelmed with love and awe that it still gives me a shiver.  He is gorgeous, absolutely GORGEOUS!

Forgive how awful I look - I'd been up 20+ hours but was just so full of energy from the experience that I'm beaming.

We also have adopted two kittens.  They were born to a feral mom and were only semi-feral when we rescued them, they were intended to be fostered by us but who am I kidding?  I needed caring for them to help me bear the loss of Emma.  I think she must be visiting them at night and telling them to be good kittens because they have really been adapting well.  They are much more affectionate and we're trying to get them acclimated enough to join Taz in the everyday home.  Until then, they have a room with a comfy chair, their taming cage, and lots of toys and food.  The taming cage is open and they only go in there now for potty time.  But I keep it for them as a home base, for stability.  We will probably take it down next weekend and put in a cat perch for them to enjoy.

This is Molly.

This is Arya.

Hey Remember Me?

Oh, been away far too long

Not a whole lot of stitching going on...

But here I am ready to get right back into it

for the new year.

 

 

This is the first IHSW of 2013, no better time

to get to it, eh?

 

This project is for the Chinese New Year

on February 10

(so I need to get cracking)

and I have chosen a motif from

Celestial Dragon

by Teresa Wentzler

Some day I would like to stitch the entire thing

but for now and for my co-worker

I think this will be nice

 

I'm going to make a hanging ornament

for her to display on the wall

(if she wants)

It is the motif on the top left

Happiness

and here's how far I've gotten!

 

I am making it in red and gold as those colors

are considered lucky in the

Chinese culture

 

The second share I have is from my Sunday

SAL with Debbie and Linda

Prairie Schooler Summer and Winter

and Spring and Fall

Oh, I was doing so well and then

nothing....

SIGH

 

But October's stitching is done!

 

 

 

My last share is sad news

I announced it on my craft blog so I might

as well here too.

especially since she was my

faithful companion for many a stitching

evening.  Darling Emma is at the

Rainbow Bridge and I miss her terribly.

 

It was the right decision to make but a

heartbreaking one nonetheless.

She didn't bring any pain to our lives while we had her and I couldn't let her live in any pain.

 

******

So, with a bittersweet heart I'm taking on the new year, and I hope and pray it is a good one for all of us.

 

Will share my progress after the IHSW weekend!

 

 

Saturday Stitch Along - More Progress on October

Some progress was made on the October theme from the Prairie Schooler leaflet

Spring and Fall

 

I had hoped to be done by now, but haven't had nearly the time to sit and stitch like I want to, that's a familiar refrain stitchers can empathize with right?

 

This is part of a Saturday SAL that I'm participating in with Debbie and Linda!

 



Finally, an update

Sometimes, despite your best intentions, you just don't get things done.  Such is the case with me.  I've actually made progress on my stitching but haven't had a chance to update the blog.

So, here we go. My Saturday SAL with Linda and Debbie is progressing - I admit to sometimes stitching on these projects on other days (bad me bad me) but they are a great size for taking along in a bag.

September is done - I really enjoyed this one, fun colors and a fairly quick stitch.  Now I am getting autumn fever and want to start decorating with pumpkins and hay bales! 

October is underway and it's a lot of 3371, a lot of it but it's not vexing me as the red-winged blackbird of June did!

I missed IHSW this time, but did take a photo of my ORT jar, switched from the glass of before.  Love the mix of colors! (I also think I need to dust - LOL)

WIP and Saturday SAL

I just want to share one work in progress, which also happens to be a project for my Prairie Schooler Saturday SAL with Debbie and Linda. 

This is from the Spring and Fall leaflet and I am having so much fun with each month's motif, and this one is no different.  The rich colors are making me feel positively autumn-ey.  Hopefully the next time you see the secret squirrel he'll be finished!

July's IHSW - A Saturday SAL Finish and a Start

Well, it is already the IHSW time for July - I know, where has the entire year gone????

This weekend I am going to try and eke out a teeny bit of stitching time, I'm in the midst of a major clean, purge, and organize binge.  I have big plans for a home decor makover.  Woo hoo.

But I also want to stitch...a lot....

It's Saturday and that's when I work on Prairie Schooler projects as part of a SAL with Debbie and Linda, so let's see what I finished working on last weekend.  The August motif from the Summer and Winter Prairie Schooler leaflet is done.  Haven't made this into anything but like the way it turned out, this was fun with all the color changes and cute critters.

So, for the IHSW I am proposing that I'll make progress on a start - the September motif from the Prairie Schooler Spring and Fall.  This is what little I accomplished this morning.  Wayyyyy too early this morning. 

What?  You can't tell what it is?  I'm shocked (snicker).  It's obviously the flank of the little squirrel.  Still don't see it?  Okay, I'll sneak you a peek at what it is going to look like.

See?  Of course, you do.

Here's my helpful assistant, whom you can only see a glimpse of in the first photo.  His name is Taz and he's a Bengal and quite sure he is actually a Marine on temporary furlough.  He is short haired and quite a daredevil (some might call him reckless, but he believes he is simply very brave).  The ladies all love him too). 

 Thanks for coming by and I hope you are able to participate in the IHSW this weekend!

Prairie Schooler - Saturday Stitch Along - Progress on August

Been a long while it seems since I've posted.  More a matter of having time at night to be coherent in a post after a long day at work and then dropping over to the hospital to see Mom.  Good news on that front, the hyperbaric treatments are working and she is improved enough to have been released from the hospital (3 weeks, poor dear) and back into her orthopedic rehab facility.  Next stop - HOME!  She can't wait, she's ready to click her heels and get out of the medical loop!  It's been 11 months, eleven LONG months. 

On the stitching front, I have been working on my Prairie Schooler Summer and Winter leaflet with emphasis on August.  This is a cute one, lots of little critter motifs to stitch and plenty of color changes to keep your interest piqued!

This is part of my Saturday Prairie School Stitch Along that I participate in with Linda and Debbie.  We're all on different projects but they are all Prairie Schoolers and it's inspiring to see what we get up to!  I hope to have this finished up soon and I'm going to start going through the various completed stitching projects for this and see what I can totally finish (you know, put in a frame, make a pillow, a doorhanger, etc.).  Was inspired by finishing July up totally and actually displaying it!

What are you working on?  Let me know in the comments and I'll be by to check out your blog!

Happy Birthday America!

I've been hard at work on projects, some for home, some for work, and even some stitchy ones just for me (although they might end up at home or work).

I've been stitching a very pretty, ladylike sampler on linen but haven't gotten very far.  I tend to work on this in fits and starts.  It's from a leaflet (c. 1980's) from Pat Rogers - Hearts and Lace sampler. 

Since finishing my July Prairie Schooler SAL a bit early, I treated myself to stitch a Prairie Schooler Prairie Faery, a stitching fairy.  I'm already thinking of how to finish her once the stitching is done, she's going to adorn my craft area. 

Here in America it is our national birthday, our independence day, and I am sharing a lovely Fourth of July card made by my friend Anne and send all the way from Copenhagen.  She's so sweet and thoughtful.  If you would like to see more of her work; her crafts, thoughtful posts, and wonderful photography then check it out here.http://hotchypotch.blogspot.com/

I've even found a bit of time to stitch a little banner for this blog!

Saturday Stitch Along - July!

Well, I actually got one of my Prairie Schoolers completed and fully finished/displayed.  (and before the month is over, no less!)

This is the July motif from the Prairie Schooler's Summer and Winter leaflet.  It is part of a stitch along that I'm participating in with Linda and Debbie. 

It also, happily, works for the Order of the Opus Gluei, the craft challenge blog that I host with dear friends.  The Opus Gluei theme is America, America, or wherever you hold allegiance (okay a little wordy but fun) and we're asking crafters to share (in whatever media they choose to work with) their national pride.  Which is perfect considering that there is Canada Day, Independence Day, Queen's Jubilee, and the Olympics to name but a few of the national and cultural celebrations taking place.  Now's the time to share your hard work and stitched projects.  I hope you click on the link and do just that!

So, here's the finish.  I have never handsewn piping into a project.  It was a little unwieldy and I was a novice but I pushed through to complete it.  Now, I need to go out searching for videos on piping....

the stitching itself was fun, colorful and very quickly pulled together, I didn't feel rushed and I actually worked on another project during the week as well, so this wasn't an exclusive stitching project.

Saturday Stitch Along - A Finish and a Start!

I have my Prairie Schooler stitch along that I'm doing with Debbie and Linda.

As you may have read, June has been vexing me....a lot.

Now I may rejoice - it's done!  It's really a cute design, and since it's done, I'm not NEARLY as frustrated.

In the spirit of this, I started July, I really would like to get one done in time to finish it completely and use it.  Is that too much to ask? (apparently)  I think you also have a pretty good idea of the July theme too...

Interesting little story to pass along, I was sitting in the surgical waiting area as Mom had another procedure and was stitching on the June piece when a Vietnamese man struck up a conversation.  His mother used to cross stitch and he operates a mechanical embroidery machine.  He went out and brought in samples of the logos he does, they were really well done and we had such a nice conversation.  I learned about the intricacies of machine embroidery and he was interested in learning how different fabrics yield different results - not unlike is own work.  The time passed so pleasantly and quickly.  I love how many conversations can be started with people expressing an interest in a stitching project.

IHSW - June 2012

The June design of the Summer/Winter Prairie Schooler leaflet is vexing me. I had made SUCH good progress at the start and then somewhere, and I looked and looked, frogged and restitched and then....just could not figure out what was going wrong.

(insert very cross words and potentially some cursing)

Whew, okay, regroup.  Ever been so frustrated that you either have to put the stitching away, throw it away, or restart.  I did all three in sequence. 

Now, I've restarted.  So, this past weekend I decided to make a new start of the chart.

Here's the progress I made.

So far, no pulling out stitches and no headaches. 

But I'll be very happy when this one is done, and I hope that is soon.

Works in Progress Wednesday

well, I have actually made some progress on my projects. 

Forgive the lousy photography, I am doing this past my bedtime...

First up is the project from My Big Toe - there are still buttons for it but I'm not
sure I'm going to get them - I think I like it this way, but hmmm....

and I'm making good progress on the June project from The Prairie Schooler's Summer and Winter, the colors are a little bland compared to May, but the design is pretty nice.  It is a red winged blackbird feeding a worm to her chicks.  Unfortunately, she doesn't have a mouth right now to be holding the worm...

What are you working on???

Saturday SAL - May is DONE!

Nothing like having a hurt back to

give you plenty of time to complete some projects.

In between muscle relaxants, ice packs, and heat, I focused

well enough to finish off the sweet little May robin.

This is part of my Prairie Schooler SAL with Debbie and Linda.

Now, if only I could get a couple of them done ahead of time

hmmmm...some finishes for my months are in my future.

IHSW May 2012 and TUSAL

I have always wanted to participate in the

Interntional Hermit and Stitch Weekend (IHSW)

but there never seemed to be the time.

BUT, this month I did take time

and I worked on the May robin

from the Prairie Schooler Spring and Fall leaflet.

I also took a photo of my ORTs/TUSAL for this month. 

It doesn't reflect all

my little thread bits because I used to throw them away, but it's rather

nice to see a little reflection of the effort.  (besides the actual project)

So look, Debbie and Linda, I am making some progress!
(please, I'm lonely stitching this)

C'mon, get started on May!