November TUSAL

Here is my latest TUSAL picture:

I've been working hard to get each of my little month's done resulting in the fun changes in the colors for each season in my jar.

December Prep

It was a long weekend to honor the sacrifice made by our Military this weekend, and with that comes my girls all home and camping out in my living room. They take over control of the television, the dining room table, etc. which makes it difficult for  me to spread out and do the stuff that I want such as working on the large stitching project.  So, I put Netflix on my computer in my office and started the smaller project for the Month of December:

After a few episodes of Frasier, this was what I accomplished:

A really cool plus for the weekend was my middle son has suddenly taken an interest in what it is that I do (step-son, but I usually don't make the differentiation). He was watching me go through some patterns and he started asking questions. After some time, it seems that he realizes now the amount of time and energy that goes into this, and he's seeing everything a bit differently. I was really surprised by the change, and very happy with his interest. I wonder if I can get him to learn to cross-stitch now. Hmmmm......

By Request...For Bonnie

Ahhhhhh, now that I have my house back in order (we had the interior painted and were displaced for a week), I was able to find my stitching supplies, and I took a couple pictures of my frogger for Bonnie who mentioned she would like to see a picture of it. 

It's not very large; just 4 1/2 inches from the tip of the flower to the tip of the needle. However, this little gem has been completely invaluable.  Again, mine was made for me by Stephanie Bishop who also does her own hand-dyed fabrics, so if you are interested in one of these, you can contact her through her page on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/339985199376676/

Or, she has her email through her website: StephBish@sbcglobal.net. 

I believe that I paid $4 for mine, and it was shipped with my fabric order. I have not been tearing floss or fabric when I pull stitches out, which has saved me valuable time and money. If I used one of the embroidery needles, I inevitably had to re-do a lot more than the portion that I originally intended.  None of us like to "Frog", but this little do-dad really helps when you have to.

Blog Hop #11: Interesting Aquisitions

The prompt for this Hop is: What has been your most unusual or most interesting stash acquisition to date?

I have sat in my office for a couple days and looked at everything that I own. There is nothing in my stash that would be considered "interesting" or "unusual." I have never received a stash gift other than from my hubby (and he was good about learning where my wish lists are), and I have seen other stitchers who have far more interesting stories and items. 

The most unusual thing I purchased is called a frogger. It's a blunt needle with a beaded FOB, and I purchased it from the amazing and talented Stephanie Bishop of Steph's Fabbies. I never thought that this would be a useful tool, but it has become invaluable to me as I had to pull stitches out - the floss doesn't break and I don't tear the fabric. Yay!!

I will credit all of the amazing stitchers out there for my intense growth of stash over the last year: from charts I never thought I could possibly do myself to notions and specialty floss to just great tips and tricks! Thank you for always sharing what you know and helping me to be a better stitcher!


Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop:
Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by clicking here.

November - ready in time!

I love it when I'm able to get things done in the time that I "allow" myself. Even with a very busy schedule this last week, I managed to squeak out a finish on my Month of November and I was able to get it framed and put out with the November/Thanksgiving decorations this morning.

 Outlining started

 Finished the wheat and beaded

Whew! Now, I can concentrate on finishing the baby sampler, and I'll hopefully have it done so I can work on the Month of December without having to interrupt the sampler.

WIP(s) Update

Yes, once again I have found myself starting a new project in the midst of trying to finish another. It is all for a good cause though! I realized yesterday that I had less than a week before November will be here, and I hadn't completed the November month, so I got it started. I am so glad these are quick stitches, and it should be done quickly so I can get back to the Baby Sampler.

I did spend a few hours this week working on that baby sampler, and here is my progress:

I will apologize to all of the amazing stitchers who participated in the IHSW and posted their work. I have not had time to look at everyone's work, and it's something that I usually love making the time for. Sadly, work is still keeping me very busy, and I haven't had the time to carve out of my day in order to be inspired by you. I hope to have time to get to them during this next week, and as always, I will post the comments for you!! 

IHSW Update

What a great weekend!! While I hate being away from my hubby, I was glad to know that he had a great time this weekend AND my girls did really well in getting along. What is it about sisters that they are the best of friends and the worst of enemies at the same time?? Well, this weekend, I spent most of the time with Mother/Daughter time which they loved, but I managed to get some stitching done as well.

I would have loved to spend more time on the stitching, but I really couldn't justify putting off the girls to do it. It was great to actually reach the goal that I set for myself - to finish the bear and get working on the jack-in-the-box.

Honestly, I thought that this would be a quicker stitch because I was using a kit. I hadn't realized that in the last three years, I have apparently reached more of an "Advanced" status with my stitching. I have struggled to work with evenweaves and specialty flosses, but I hadn't realized what an upgrade and change they are from the kits that I used to always purchase. 

Going back to Aida has been difficult. I'm spending the entire time wishing I was using Jobelan so that the pattern would blend better and not be so choppy. The floss?? Oh.My.God! This stuff sucks!! I'm tired of the floss shredding while I'm using it and knotting up. 

Well, I promised myself that I would stick with the original design and style for this birth sampler. Again, I am re-doing the one that was almost finished, but the girls' father destroyed to get back at us for leaving him. So, I will persevere with this kit.