A bit more progress

Between my last post on May 12th and receiving two models for Friendstitch on May 15th, I was able to complete another "round" on Chatelaine's Little Tuscany Mandala:

I'm starting to think I probably won't even be done with the regular cross stitches in this one by the time the retreat rolls around, but I'm not going to worry about it as I'm just really looking forward to the trip.

The two models that arrived on the 15th were both larger than I had anticipated; last year I stitched two and one took only a day and a half and the other about three days, so I thought this year would be similar, but both designs are bigger than either of the previous ones. I finished up the first one last Wednesday, so it took about a week, and the current one will probably take closer to two weeks; I'm hoping to be done around the middle of next week.

We had another shot of yucky weather here recently, cold and wet and windy, so I still have windows in a couple of rooms to clean and all of the planting yet to do, but I'm getting there! Hopefully after next weekend most of those chores will be done and I can settle back in with the mandala for a while.

I did hear from my finisher last week that she's making a start on my Tiny Town drums, so I'm hoping to hear from her again very soon. I also think there might be a new Tiny Town being released soon, possibly a farm (Cecilia used a sheep emoji when she posted about something new coming), so I am looking forward to seeing what comes out.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week! 

It's finally spring!

We have finally had about a week of gorgeous spring weather here in Wisconsin, which has really boosted my mood lately, but it has also cut heavily into my stitching time. I am back to walking every day, which takes almost two hours by the time I walk the dogs and then go back out for more on my own, and now I'm trying to spend at least three or four hours every day doing the deep cleaning that I neglected all of last year. Once the cleaning is caught up, I need to get outside and finish some of the yard work that I didn't get to last fall and then get my flowerpots planted and the patio furniture out of the garage. All that to say that I might not have much stitching to share for a bit while I get my home (and life!) back in order.

I returned a Heart in Hand model last week, so what little stitching I did do was on Chatelaine's Little Tuscany Mandala:

I have a couple of models for Friendstitch coming, one later this week and then the second one probably next week, so I'll be working on those in my spare time, then I'm hoping to get back to the mandala. I'm thinking that I should hear from my finisher soon, so I'll be able to share some photos of the three Tiny Towns I sent to her back in March.

I'm also excited that I was able to sign up for a class with Cathy Habermann of Hands on Design that will be taking place at Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop in September (the week before Friendstitch, luckily, so I can do both!). The class is called Elves Workshop Ornament Finishing, and there will be some prestitching that should arrive in July, so I am really looking forward to that--I've always found Cathy's finishing instructions to be great to work with, so seeing and doing them in person should be even better.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Round and round I go

I started Chatelaine's Little Tuscany Mandala a week ago yesterday and this is my progress as of last night:

I like that this one is small enough to start with the outer border (stitch count is 119 x 119) and work my way in to the center, as it will seem to progress more quickly as I get further along. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy watching these designs come to life layer by layer, and I love the way the colors look on the black Belfast so far:

I'm expecting a Heart in Hand model towards the end of the week, and then a model (models?) for Friendstitch possibly the week after that so I'm not sure how much more I'll get done on this one for a little while, but hopefully I'll get some good stitching in for the next few days.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Reset button

I've been home from Tulsa for just over a week now, and this past week I have felt better than I have since the end of January 2024, when my mom's health really started to decline. I spent most of last year in crisis mode and forgot what it felt like to live my "normal" life, so I've been struggling to find that normalcy again. Taking the trip turned out to be really good for me; getting completely out of my usual environment and having a weekend with no responsibilities to anyone, human or animal, just felt so relaxing. I know I'm not done with the grieving process, but it feels more manageable now and I am very thankful for that.

I did end up finishing Hands on Design's Botanical Bee before I left for the retreat and had ordered some finishing rounds from HOD so that I could work on fully finishing them when I got home. I don't enjoy the process of finishing and I don't have a large stash of supplies, including backing fabric, so I decided to use the fabrics I had used to stitch the designs. That seemed like it would have been a bit too plain, so I decided to stitch something on the backs and this is what I came up with:

I finished stitching the backs Saturday afternoon and was able to get them laced before I went to bed:

Yesterday I sewed them together and I now have two new FFOs!

I did the ladybug first and realized part way into it that the size 11 beads were not large enough, but I didn't want to undo it and start again, so I just went ahead and finished it; the bee turned out more like what I had been meaning to do, so I was happier with that one. Then someone on FB suggested adding a layer of larger beads to the ladybug, so I decided to try that. The red and black seed beads were too close together to add a larger white bead in every space, but I was able to fit some in and am much happier with it now:

It's not quite as good as the bee, but I can live with it!

Once I was done with those I had to think about what to work on next, and I landed on Chatelaine's Little Tuscany Mandala, which I'd like to take to the Chatelaine retreat in July:

I'm stitching it on black Belfast, which is very difficult to photograph well; hoping to make some good progress in the coming weeks, though I should be getting some models in from Heart in Hand fairly soon.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

The Silver Needle--wow!!

Last Thursday I flew to Tulsa, OK for a class with Amy Bruecken and Miranda Weeks at The Silver Needle, and I am really glad that I went outside my comfort zone to attend because it was a blast!

Amy had mentioned on FB that this would be the last class that she would have, then at the retreat she told us that she was actually going to be retiring soon, so I am doubly glad that I went and had the chance to meet her--she's a hoot, and so nice! Her project was called Spring in a Jar, and I was able to finish it a few hours before the end of the retreat:

I took the opportunity to grab quite a few of Amy's charts while they're still available (I might have gone just a bit overboard, but I don't want to regret not getting ones I really love!):

She even finished the bottom of my little chick pillow to show me how to do it, then I was able to complete the bunny pillow myself. Here we are at the end of the event (doesn't she just look like a fun person?):

The other part of the retreat was getting to meet Miranda Weeks of Weeks Dye Works and dabbling with dyeing some different materials. It would have been great to have had more time to play with the colors, but space was limited and time ended up being too short to try as many colors as I would have liked. We dyed one piece of linen and velveteen each on the first day, then some floss and four pieces of wool on the last day (and received a carrier bag and a pack of wool and floss as extra goodies):

I wish I had had a piece of opalescent linen, because this blue/black combo is one of my favorites (Sugar Maple Fabrics used to have a color called Cursus that I was trying to replicate, though hers had a softer/smoother transition between the colors):

This photo was shared on The Silver Needle's FB page and shows Amy, Lindy (the shop owner) and Miranda with everyone's linen and velveteen pieces:

The shop itself is absolutely amazing! I was going to take some photos Saturday afternoon before I left, but the wool dyeing went until the store was going to close, so I didn't get a chance to do that. The stitching room/She Shed was very nice, with good lighting and really comfortable chairs:

I would definitely consider attending another class/retreat at The Silver Needle, so I'll be watching to see what they have available next year since I'm already going to Charlotte for retreats in July and October this year. Apparently, my dog Murphy was pretty inconsolable while I was gone, so he's really going to be unhappy when I leave in July and am gone for a day longer.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Leaving on a jet plane

I leave for Tulsa and The Silver Needle retreat this Thursday, which seems a bit unreal. For the retreats I've previously attended, I've known about them for at least six months to a year ahead of time, so this seems really sudden. I need to start thinking about what to pack soon and figuring out which summer clothes still fit after several months with little to no walking and too much comfort food--ugh!

I finished Heart in Hand's Nativity Tiny Town and Frill after my last post a couple of weeks ago:

I really enjoyed working on this one, and it is already at the finisher waiting to be "drummed", along with Frosty Tiny Town and More Any Town Tiny Town. Faye said she's running about two months out, so I'm hoping to get them back towards the end of May.

I didn't do too much stitching for several days after I finished, and when I did, I made a start on Any Town Tiny Town. I only worked on it for a couple of hours, but then Hands on Design's Ladybug Picnic started calling to me and I was helpless to resist! 🤷‍♀️ And I did end up changing my mind about the fabric I was going to use, as the one I originally picked just seemed too bland; I ended up using PTP's Rubious 32ct Lugana, which even had some mottling that formed a kind of circle, and I'm very happy with the result:

After that was done, I started right in on HOD's Botanical Bee. I was hoping it would be finished by the end of the weekend, but I couldn't quite make it:

This one is being stitched on Needle Bling Design's Wapo Blue 32ct linen, which is a great, bright aqua that makes me happy just to look at it. This one should be done by the end of the day; after I get back from the retreat, I'd like to try to get these both finished as rounds, though my finishing skills are not great and I don't really enjoy the process.

I doubt I'll get much more stitching in before I leave on Thursday, but Any Town is still in the Qsnaps so I could put a few stitches in that if I do end up with some time on my hands. Wish me luck as I try to figure out what to pack, and hopefully I'll have some fun stuff to share when I get home.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Missed it by THAT much!

I couldn't quite finish Nativity Tiny Town last night, though technically I guess I did finish it because the Nativity Frill is a separate chart and that's the part I haven't completed. I have to say that I wish the wise men had been designed a bit smaller so they didn't appear quite so disproportionate, but I understand they were made that way because they needed to "fill" their own design space if stitched separately.

I'm hoping to send this one and two other completed towns to a finisher to be made into drums soon, and once it's in drum form, I think the size difference will not be quite so obvious.

This should be finished later today, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to work on next. My guys are travelling this week, so I have the house to myself and I'm planning to get some spring cleaning done (though it's snowy and windy outside right now!), so I probably won't stitch very much this week.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Taking shape

Nativity Tiny Town is progressing well; the top of the manger is the halfway point, so I should pass that sometime this week as long as I can at least stitch for an hour or two each day:

I'm in love with the critters and can't wait to get to the camel; I really hope Cecilia does an animal tiny town at some point because her animals are just so cute!

Hands on Design's Ladybug Picnic arrived a few days ago and I have all the threads now, so I've picked fabrics for it and Botanical Bee:

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind if another option comes to mind and I like it even better than one of these!

I really need to start thinking about starting a Chatelaine design soon if I'm going to have any appreciable progress by the time the retreat comes around in July. I was going to start Rose Lights, but now I'm thinking about Little Tuscany Mandala. I've had the supplies for years now, and it's small enough that I could probably get quite a bit finished by July:

Just this past weekend I signed up for another retreat, this one in April at The Silver Needle in Tulsa with Amy Bruecken and Weeks Dye Works. I'd been toying with the idea of going for a while but had decided not to, and then the deadline to sign up passed about a month ago. Recently I saw Amy mention on FB that this would probably be her last class, and I regretted that I would never have a chance to meet a designer whose work I enjoy so much. Then last Thursday I got The Silver Needle's newsletter and they said four spots had opened up due to cancellations, so I called the next day and signed up! We will be dyeing linen, thread, wool and velvet to make this project (or something similar):

I'm very excited for meeting Amy, working on the project and being able to look through the shop, and it's really nice to have something fun to look forward to in less than a month now.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Unexpected good mail

Last Thursday night I finished Heart in Hand's More Any Town Tiny Town, so now I only have six more towns to stitch to get caught up! 🤣

It's stitched on PTP Demoiselle Belfast with the recommended over-dyed threads. I was planning to use petite beads for the stained-glass church windows, and then I decided I'd also use them for the theater marquee:

I'm using the same fabric for Any Town Tiny Town, which I'm stitching again as charted since my previous version was personalized with some local buildings, so Friday morning I put the fabric back in the Qsnaps and was ready to go. Then the mail went and I got a surprise package from Cecilia with some of her Market releases, including Nativity Tiny Town, and I had to change my plans and start that right away! I stitched a little bit Friday night, not much on Saturday since I had to make a trip to my LNS for a few of the threads, and not at all on Sunday, so I'm not very far along, but I'm hoping to make good progress this week:

The fabric is Zweigart's Stormy Night Newcastle linen and I'm using the recommended over-dyed threads. I think I'm going to add the wise men to the far right of the design, since they're traveling from afar.

These are the other charts Cecilia sent:

It was so nice to receive a pleasant surprise, as I'm having a hard time dealing with some of my mom's affairs. The USPS has still not correctly forwarded her mail to me after four in-person attempts since December 16th and I feel like I'm living out the definition of insanity--doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. One of her tax forms never got to me because of the mail issue, so now I'm stressing about that because of the time factor...ugh! So, a gift of stitching was much appreciated, both for the charts themselves and for the kindness behind them.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Almost time for Market releases

As a stitcher, this is an exciting time of year with Nashville Needlework Market happening this coming weekend. The older I get and the larger my stash gets, I find myself not adding a lot to my wish list, but I will be getting a few of the Heart in Hand releases. The one I'm most excited for is Nativity Tiny Town, and the corresponding Frill:

Cecilia is also releasing Bumblebee Etchings, of which the bee is my favorite part:

I did stitch the skep for her on 20ct linen over-2 with pearl cotton #5, which she had finished as a pillow that is just as cute as can be:

Another design I'm looking forward to is Ladybug Picnic by Hands on Design:

Last year I had picked up Cathy's Botanical Bee at a retreat but hadn't gotten around to stitching it yet, so last night I pulled it out and went through some fabrics looking for a couple that might work for these designs:

Once I have all the floss I'll make a decision, but I'm hopeful that at least one of these will work for each piece. I've commented on Cathy's FB post that I would love to see a firefly in this series, so maybe that will strike her fancy and happen in the future.

I'm currently still working on Heart in Hand's More Any Town Tiny Town and passed the halfway point once the tree to the left of the toy store was done:

I'm hoping for a finish this week, then I'll decide what I feel like working on going forward. Murphy finished his pain meds last Friday and seems to be back to normal, so I'm hoping to get back down to my craft room soon so I can finally do some more stitching on Mirabilia's Merry Merry.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Bittersweet finish

I finished Amy Bruecken's Warm Wooly Welcomes last Friday night, and while it has some very sad memories attached to it, I still really love it. The adorable sheep and bright, happy colors really appeal to me, and even the back stitching was fun because it brought each design to life. Here are the final progress photos and the big finish:

I took the final photo under my OttLite, so the fabric color is pretty true in it; it was a piece of Belfast from Nicholas Flamel Designs in his Fragrant Lilac Collection. There were two pieces in the set, and I used the other piece for Amy's A Little Batty SAL:

I think purple lends itself well to designs with bright, primary colors as it seems to mesh with any of them. I'm going to send the sheep to Rensel Studio to be framed, since they did such an amazing job with Batty, and since they take over a year to get to a project, by the time I get it back from them the worst of the sadness should be past and the happy should come to the forefront again.

I recently went on a bit of a spree and picked up five of Amy's SALs that I didn't already have (I've had Lucky 13 for quite a while now), so once I get some other stitching done, I'll have the pleasure of choosing which one to work on next. I'm leaning towards Lucky 13, and I have a piece of PTP Crystal DaVinci (purple, of course!) that might work really well for it.

Murphy's movement has been improving, but he's still on a pain med and a muscle relaxer for a few more days, so I don't want him trying to go up and down the stairs to my craft room because the meds make him a bit woozy for a few hours after he takes them. So, since I'm still "stitchin' in the kitchen" I pulled out Heart in Hand's More Any Town Tiny Town yesterday and worked on it for a while. I had started this last May at the same time I started Warm Wooly Welcomes with the intention of switching between the two, but I loved the sheep so much that I just stayed with that one. I had stitched just the cloud back then, and here it is as of last night:

Last year I was almost caught up with all of the Tiny Towns, but now I am woefully behind. I have both of the Any Towns to do, as well as Thankful, and Nativity Tiny Town is being released at Market very soon. Cecilia has also released Frills for the Christmas and Big Hearted towns, and a Frill for Blooming is also coming out at Market; this means that I want to stitch all three of those again so I can add the Frills to each one, so I now have seven to do to get caught up again!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!