Valentine’s Day Blackwork

I finished Valentine’s Day Blackwork before Valentine’s Day. I have no idea how I’m going to finish-finish it yet. I bought it from Monique’s Etsy shop last year and planned to stitch it this year. And I did! Yay, me!  I used the DMC conversion rather than the Crescent Colors threads.  I’d planned to stitch it that way last year, but this year, that’s what the budget called for, so again, yay!  This is my favorite of her blackwork designs, and not just because the colors speak to me.  It’s the hearts, too. 🙂

Gee, you think I like these colors?  I wish I’d put my keyring in there, too.  I have a monkey key cap on my house key that’s the same color as my phone skin.  I was going to put my bag for stitching-on-the-go in the photo, but the watermelon solid didn’t mesh properly, and I thought the starburst design would overwhelm the design.

Vitals: Valentine’s Day Blackwork by My Mark.  Stitched 2 over 2 on Baby Lotion linen using DMC threads. 
Changes: I added a french knot to the center of one motif, altered two other motifs that weren’t charted symmetrically and stitched “be mine” one over one instead of backstitching.  It’s a little squishy up there, and I could have        re-stitched it for a better fit, but I didn’t want to.

Here’s Hero right before he jumped over the stitching.  Yeah, he’s a hero, alright.  Hero to all pesky kitties everywhere!  Seriously, he’s a brat.  I’ll show you what I mean some time soon.  He’s a very affectionate kitten, we adore him.  You can see my stitchy bag in the upper right corner of the photo to see what I mean about the watermelon pink shade.

Monique asked in her blog if we’d seen anything new in the Nashville Previews that we like or need. Most definitely, Monique!  Here’s a sampling of the things I’m dying for already:

Emiliana Sewing Case by Praiseworthy stitches.  Bargello.  Pink and green. *sigh*

GPA Blue Romance Sewing Set & Purse. No, it’s not pink.  But it could be.  It’s lusciously romantic without needing to be pink.  This was the first design I saw that made me swoon this market season.

Rose Quaker by Stickideen von der Wiehenburg.  I suppose I could do any old quaker with a similar colorway, but this is lover-ly.

Second tier, or pretty things I’m always going to like, but don’t occupy my thoughts like the items above.

Hearts Afire needleminder by Kelmscott.  I like her needleminders best of all.

Happy Heart by AAN.  Hearts.  Paisleys.  Yeah, I like this.  Her designs tend to be bigger than I expect, though, so I’m not likely to stitch this.  Sure do like it.

French Alphabet & Motif Sampler by Samplers Remembered.  This has the same mood as Joyeaux Noel by Blackbird Designs.  I love both of them, but I don’t think I’ll ever stitch either.  I won’t say never, though. 😉

That’s enough.  There are always many more designs I love that are released at Nashville.  Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings  and Cherished Stitches’ Blue Floral Tin, just to name two.   I love that tin, but it’s too far outside my budget to do more than drool.

How about you?  Have you seen any previews you’re anxiously awaiting?  Are you in a romantic mood like me, or are you feeling more whimsical or primitive or…something else?

Loving stitching again

I’ve escaped from the funny farm that is Missing You.  I wasn’t loving it, I was making myself crazy about it.  I don’t need help with the being crazy.  I stitch to escape that delightful feature of my personality, thank you.

I began BBD’s Loose Feathers #18, Strawberry Garden.

The whole time I was in my straitjacket, I was thinking about how very much I couldn’t wait to stitch this.  I’ve enjoyed stitching this completely so far.  I adore it.  Progress:

I thought this photo was a better representation of the fabric color.  I was wrong.  I’m using 32-ct Lakeside Linens Magnolia, which has a yellow hue.  Here’s a close-up of the basket, just because it’s been fun to stitch so far:

In other stitching news, webshots featured the photo I posted of my framed Pots of Love.  I think it was yesterday, unless webshots features more than one picture on each of its channels daily.  I didn’t know they had multiple channels until I received an email telling me about a comment from another user congratulating me for being featured.  SURPRISE!  I don’t much care for surprises, unless they’re unexpected happy surprises like that.

Home & Garden >> Crafts channel:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/tag/crafts

My featured picture:

Down by the Bay…

Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say,
“Did you ever see a llama, wearing pajamas,
Down by the bay?”

So, you know how you see patterns, and you love them, but you don’t need to get them right away, but then you see patterns and you must have them, right away? This is a “right away” pattern. I don’t know when I’ll stitch it, but I don’t care. It was posted as a new pattern on Hoffman’s site today.  I can’t wait to get it.  The boy and I were singing this song to each other just before Easter. Must. Have…Will. Buy. Soon…

Down by the Bay by La-D-Da

I love this pattern so much, it’s broken my stitchy silence! 😀  It’s not completely surprising, seeing as how I love Lori Markovic’s designs ever so much.  This struck me like a bolt of lightning.  If I was on a stash diet, I would break it to get this pattern!  Yes, indeedy.  I’m not on a stash diet.  I should be, but I’m not.  But if I was, I would use all my stitchy points on this pattern.  Am I gushing overmuch?  Are you thinking, “You know, Terri, it’s cute and all, but you’re really spazzing out about this pattern, and I don’t quite get it?”  That’s OK.  You know the feeling.  I know you do. 🙂

In other stitching news, I was very busy with non-stitching activities shortly before the boy’s spring break.  We went to visit the hubby during the break.  I didn’t get much stitching done.  In fact, I’d say it was about a dozen stitches until the plane ride home.  I intend to finish that project tonight, and get a picture and some stitch-speak up this weekend.

Happy Weekend Stitching!

To Market

Soon the shop owners will be traveling to Nashville for the annual market show, and they’ve been posting previews.  You know I must have this:

Victorian Memories Chaise Longue by Cat’s Whiskers.  So what if I haven’t assembled Peacock’s Chair yet?

I’m also tempted by this:

Fair Maiden’s Etui by With My Needle.  We’ll see.  It’s not like I need anything.  But the birds are so cute!  And they’re on a pyramid!

Enough facebook play, enough blogging…back to stitching!  I started In the Pink by Ewe & Eye & Friends.  I was visited by the frog, natch.  It slowed me down some, but it’s all pretty and pink.  It’s time to get back to it.

Happy Stitching! 🙂

OMG, LOVE!

Every once in a while, you see something that completely grabs you.  These scissors qualify for me.  When I saw them, I was filled with wishing for them.  So much so, I actually contemplated making an unplanned visit to see my brother this weekend so I could visit the Silver Needle booth at Celebration of Needlework show in Louisville.  That’s just nutty, not to mention expensive.  I can daydream, though.   I’m not one for collecting scissors.  I have more than one pair, sure, but I don’t remember ever having been overwhelmed with scissor-love at first sight.  Until today. 

In other stitchy news, I picked up a couple of framed pieces today.  *clap, clap*

Dandelion Clock by Margaret Sherry framed with our dwarf hamsters

Betsy by Sheepish Designs.  I LOVE this frame.

I hope you have a good stitching day, too.

22, 7+, 1,858, 232/574, 12, 6, 1

Our road trip by the numbers–

22: is the number of days our trip lasted.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

7+: is the number of states we visited (+ the District of Columbia). Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, DC, Maryland and Pennsylvania. North Carolina and Maryland were first-time visits for the boy.

1,858: is the approximate number of miles traveled. Not the actual number driven, of course. I didn’t keep track of that.

232/574: is the number of miles my husband rode (232) out of the number planned (574). His back went out severely after he rode 127 miles (of 469) on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He was down for a week, and then he rode the entire Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National park (105 miles).

 

12: is the number of hotels we stayed in.

Oak Park Inn in Waynesville, NC.

6: is the number of bears we sighted on the trip.

Mama bear and cub, Shenandoah National Park, Luray, Virginia

1: is the number of cross-stitch projects I completed.

Vitals:
Shepherd’s Bush 2008 fob
Used supplies included in kit:
32-ct Peach Whisper linen
DMC and WDW cotton floss, button

WANT

Sarah Elliot’s Sewing Chest by Primitive Traditions.  It costs a bundle ($180), but it comes with the chest and scrimshaw bookmark and a brass ruler and a whale charm and a button and felt and finishing instructions, and it’s lovely, simply lovely, and right now I can see it on a shelf under Shores of Hawk Run Hollow.  My birthday is in November…Christmas not long after.  If I send the link now, the husband can start saving. ;o)

Look at that checkerboard sea!  This picture is from ABC Stitch Therapy, second on the page as of today.  And it’s on the Silver Needle site with more pictures that make you swoon and drool and reach for the smelling salts.  Damn the Silver Needle for tempting me so!

I <3 the Rocking Horse

The Rocking Horse is my LNS.  It is a *wonderful* store.  The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, service-oriented.  They have so many models, I can’t tell you.  Every wall is covered in models–floor to ceiling.  There is no empty wall space.  The shop has two large front windows, both of which are always filled with seasonally current models.  They are always shifting models around. If you need inspiration, this is the place to find it. 

Skeptical?  The front page has a link to pictures inside the store.  Take a gander.  Models, models, models.  New stuff, classic stuff.  It’s mostly framed pieces, but there are pillows and stockings and fobs, too.  It’s a cross-stitch addict’s visual paradise.   

Still don’t believe in the inspirational power of this store?  Today, I took my son to the store to get Magnificent Wizard framed.  He’s tried cross-stitching a couple of times, but he finds it a tedious craft, and loses interest quickly.  Still, after looking around, he saw a model of a Margaret Sherry pattern that I believe I have in my stash, and asked me to kit it for him and to alter the pattern so it’s a hamster, not a mouse, because after this afternoon he wants to try to stitch again.  After talking with the clerk, he’s decided that if he has the patience to edit a video game, he might have what it takes to stitch.

Such is the power of The Rocking Horse.

iGoogle

My computer seriously crashed, and I’m putting it back together (s-l-o-w-l-y).  One thing about the putting back together is the looking at stuff I never pay attention to, like iGoogle. At the moment, my iGoogle has a “how to” section on it, and one of them is how to cross stitch! 

It doesn’t take much to excite me, which gives you a little insight into my daily grind. ;o)

Here is the how to link from iGoogle: http://www.wikihow.com/Cross-Stitch

As for the crashing, all I can say is this: I’m grateful I paid for an extended warranty, and I’m grateful I backed up my computer in the morning of the very day it crashed.  The final result of all my tech support maze negotiating is that my monitor is mostly kaput, and my DVD+RW is a goner, too.  *sigh*  It could be worse. 

But: waiting for Mozy is like watching paint dry, and so is my older back-up, StorageSync.  Eh.  I’ll get there.  I have much experience with the long-time-taking projects. ;o)

I’m in love

 I’m going to hell for ganking this off of the Shepherd’s Bush website, but OMG!  It’s so Shepherd’s Bush and so Ewe & Eye & Friends at the same time.  I MUST have it.  I must.  I wonder if my LNS has it yet?  I can go tomorrow and find out.  Or Saturday.  Or tomorrow.