tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89650139239169131512024-03-18T09:44:23.783-07:00Melanie the WIP SlayerMelaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.comBlogger468125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-2900776473764217952024-03-04T16:58:00.000-08:002024-03-04T17:02:31.680-08:00Slowly getting back to normal<p>Thank you so much for the well wishes for my mom; she continues to work on getting her strength back in the rehab facility with no big setbacks, so I'm hoping we're past the worst of this particular episode.</p><p>I've been a bit all-over-the-place with my stitching lately, as I'm still finding it difficult to settle down and get back into my normal rhythm on any one project. I did finish Kitty Love, the Mill Hill kit I was working on in my last post, and I think he's adorable:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgz-e_u9RjkaWRsSwYg4t0V9hlTXEgXeK2EBRYiUHE2D7gvE46GcJ9iLGVh0vJW9FIcft203g9KGXoNPb-p8S7J-ZwwlaLoj96EYID9FPPOUKw0akMOndpP9nDN93_Ghjox3J9Q19UK2lQXbXqcdoXURWWVL-VIG5d2JM6DPe4KdxNcTg5Rbogtq1uLc/s2016/MH%20Kitty%20Love%202-24-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgz-e_u9RjkaWRsSwYg4t0V9hlTXEgXeK2EBRYiUHE2D7gvE46GcJ9iLGVh0vJW9FIcft203g9KGXoNPb-p8S7J-ZwwlaLoj96EYID9FPPOUKw0akMOndpP9nDN93_Ghjox3J9Q19UK2lQXbXqcdoXURWWVL-VIG5d2JM6DPe4KdxNcTg5Rbogtq1uLc/s320/MH%20Kitty%20Love%202-24-24.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>This one wasn't extremely bead heavy, but it's still fun to see the before-and-after photos:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75fec0UgZMbstkZ5IZSXDZTTMgOHcpTnh2mFy49aGffwWuB3D0CS00goX_CQdMjR77ysiIZwv42l-92eDj4KfZstgOYZYCWADvkIRkNDWsMe_ddgUbkfd9I9jSMSUQ3UvUyOJcmuKZfNuHENTyn2_p-P3E8pgYTUd21StuTEua-Ghj7syIttCige6mSc/s2016/MH%20Kitty%20Love%20pre-beads.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75fec0UgZMbstkZ5IZSXDZTTMgOHcpTnh2mFy49aGffwWuB3D0CS00goX_CQdMjR77ysiIZwv42l-92eDj4KfZstgOYZYCWADvkIRkNDWsMe_ddgUbkfd9I9jSMSUQ3UvUyOJcmuKZfNuHENTyn2_p-P3E8pgYTUd21StuTEua-Ghj7syIttCige6mSc/s320/MH%20Kitty%20Love%20pre-beads.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisixpQ33cL6F-YBl8eFb62r7IAVZWEQOYW-hocIBJA0wuq9svwwKpsIpap04-yfQ2GTmcIqsJGr4B9XaSlas58fL_74MCvywBh0MkhwN3zwIy6PMUi61SJi8tN6JHuFuY2MQ1YuCbpz8YhXyJW3iDFvwzA9-fma2Rp2kC6W1_fHaVcrgcxOsAmYwJczzk/s2016/MH%20Kitty%20Love.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisixpQ33cL6F-YBl8eFb62r7IAVZWEQOYW-hocIBJA0wuq9svwwKpsIpap04-yfQ2GTmcIqsJGr4B9XaSlas58fL_74MCvywBh0MkhwN3zwIy6PMUi61SJi8tN6JHuFuY2MQ1YuCbpz8YhXyJW3iDFvwzA9-fma2Rp2kC6W1_fHaVcrgcxOsAmYwJczzk/s320/MH%20Kitty%20Love.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I have Puppy Love all ready to go (in case of emergency!), even though as the years go on, I find myself going from being a dog and cat person to leaning more into just being a cat person. This is what Puppy Love will look like when stitched:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_u32VhIiZrBqRIQmCDTg3wF3Ax6wqeGuSw96ecV9VZhals-Ycc7Hx3A1VOZcIbN2XUXAC8HUYozppOkQMAS0aM4UBfG68RMEU2MjUdY1C7SZut-Czjg_5yfC2FrzVejLCaOw57DlKkuXnGxZiSkLCWompvgwSDj0AahcKRP9MLlU3zXB5jMeXVfkEXw/s340/MH18-2315.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_u32VhIiZrBqRIQmCDTg3wF3Ax6wqeGuSw96ecV9VZhals-Ycc7Hx3A1VOZcIbN2XUXAC8HUYozppOkQMAS0aM4UBfG68RMEU2MjUdY1C7SZut-Czjg_5yfC2FrzVejLCaOw57DlKkuXnGxZiSkLCWompvgwSDj0AahcKRP9MLlU3zXB5jMeXVfkEXw/s320/MH18-2315.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I worked on Miss Pink Mushroom quite a bit and am still enjoying her. I would have to rank orange as being one of my least favorite colors, but there's just something about a little orange lady that makes me really like it in this design:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xqmcwBnOdK7mzmm6l3ahD5zrQr_2Ao9gItd9hkzyHMOXfzrrugVCri0WNMZV8fh_ZBhB7StPk-ZflNPXItb5lsSthOWhOCL7WK49G17RkUEORKRcLvxXAr9RhGyviKrtAig80ic4Z48LX1MZzirXqJvz8PpOmbJaumyUeX0wNsJVjfLq3oTPp9OBbxo/s2016/MPM%203-3-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xqmcwBnOdK7mzmm6l3ahD5zrQr_2Ao9gItd9hkzyHMOXfzrrugVCri0WNMZV8fh_ZBhB7StPk-ZflNPXItb5lsSthOWhOCL7WK49G17RkUEORKRcLvxXAr9RhGyviKrtAig80ic4Z48LX1MZzirXqJvz8PpOmbJaumyUeX0wNsJVjfLq3oTPp9OBbxo/s320/MPM%203-3-24.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>Last Friday I received a lovely package from Cecilia of Heart in Hand Needleart with some of her new releases from the Nashville Market, which took place this past weekend. Two new Tiny Towns, including Frosty Tiny Town, for which I stitched the drum model, Frosty Frill and a book containing some of her Collector's Hearts from the past 20+ years:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Q5cXqcGJBBeXjvV9hg90Bcj2B6_D1sbI1N7mK5pyBB7sz-D2gXshlHracMrGy0DuHVx7h_B3jY1xTX8a4kgPTg0QaWdWh2Czz9FVx-SyOChN_LF8dskrKq_MEpyP2Mx89_Oz4UeUA_sOZDks07chBiScRur2TFRQx3yMxJJ7Me0dYvLrJ4a5pUoTKIE/s1782/HIH%202024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1782" data-original-width="1467" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Q5cXqcGJBBeXjvV9hg90Bcj2B6_D1sbI1N7mK5pyBB7sz-D2gXshlHracMrGy0DuHVx7h_B3jY1xTX8a4kgPTg0QaWdWh2Czz9FVx-SyOChN_LF8dskrKq_MEpyP2Mx89_Oz4UeUA_sOZDks07chBiScRur2TFRQx3yMxJJ7Me0dYvLrJ4a5pUoTKIE/s320/HIH%202024.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqb_0iEX71U9yv0Y7gq5PbZzgiC5vt2cT2vK7b7M3KcTtdlmYAqFkr9kDvjAZeIONX_vkqG39j4DI2Gelv_GGySwNlK-NuJqw8hrfKdjVkw0MeRxs4ThOF983VyS9RM29vURxvQ51OGycZrDl8kgjNobcYsomgLXXbRdl1H6dhCbVAKjcVFwns-eStEu8/s1905/Frosty%20back%20of%20chart.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1905" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqb_0iEX71U9yv0Y7gq5PbZzgiC5vt2cT2vK7b7M3KcTtdlmYAqFkr9kDvjAZeIONX_vkqG39j4DI2Gelv_GGySwNlK-NuJqw8hrfKdjVkw0MeRxs4ThOF983VyS9RM29vURxvQ51OGycZrDl8kgjNobcYsomgLXXbRdl1H6dhCbVAKjcVFwns-eStEu8/s320/Frosty%20back%20of%20chart.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><br /><div>There are six of her Hearts in the book, a few of which include both the original version and an updated version for 2024, as well as a new design called Kindness, which is the round piece on the cover. It's a beautiful book, really a pleasure to look through. I'm hoping to play with some colors and stitch Kindness soon in a different palette than is called for--I'm thinking some purples and pinks, but who knows what I'll end up with when I go stash diving.</div><div>I decided that before I started any of the new designs I would make myself finish Harvest Tiny Town; I'm out of empty Qsnaps right now anyway, so I have to finish it so I can frame up a new one! I made just a bit of progress last night, but am hoping to get close to finishing by the end of the week:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzyzWKOqAt96YCCN0J8P-BT7PGivOZQwYBRRaqpu0FvEEnCJWE57jeHeDgVXqTNFRpvfwDkXSIREkVcEC5hsBAj-PWx5J6418lHxDFwoV279iOGenTx5vpS17YoGFjYwq3TBaV8kaTxVLl5XBJ3Wl4doPF4t9RS0R4DFUJ-WYMcI9j0CQnmofKR8n0u8/s2016/Harvest%20TT%203-3-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzyzWKOqAt96YCCN0J8P-BT7PGivOZQwYBRRaqpu0FvEEnCJWE57jeHeDgVXqTNFRpvfwDkXSIREkVcEC5hsBAj-PWx5J6418lHxDFwoV279iOGenTx5vpS17YoGFjYwq3TBaV8kaTxVLl5XBJ3Wl4doPF4t9RS0R4DFUJ-WYMcI9j0CQnmofKR8n0u8/s320/Harvest%20TT%203-3-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>For most of February I kept seeing posts on Facebook about Leap Day SALs, where you start something on 2/29/24 and try to finish it on or before 2/29/28. I honestly didn't think I would have the energy to get a project together and be able to start it on time, but things had settled down just enough that by February 26th I decided I would make Mirabilia's Lady of the Flag my Leap Day start. I had bought the kit on clearance many years ago at Hobby Lobby, so all I had to do was pick a fabric; I decided on BANG!!! Cashel linen from Crossed Wing Collection:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D9jMmZYiGkjVeNJJehWJp8r7d3dma9A3Wkxe6yN7Jq8kdd3P7wjVXxiW7iK6HzY9mi15bHJ-Lz7rcPbtjVpNe9A2SsPJjyYHe0an0MZWb_f2XdJBNlVeqiSTq7agM5wGZVm3_p8L1kUDRV8OL6rZWF15O-WNhpmF6orWur75apv7BzoNj1Y6FxJF-Y0/s1979/bang.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1979" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3D9jMmZYiGkjVeNJJehWJp8r7d3dma9A3Wkxe6yN7Jq8kdd3P7wjVXxiW7iK6HzY9mi15bHJ-Lz7rcPbtjVpNe9A2SsPJjyYHe0an0MZWb_f2XdJBNlVeqiSTq7agM5wGZVm3_p8L1kUDRV8OL6rZWF15O-WNhpmF6orWur75apv7BzoNj1Y6FxJF-Y0/s320/bang.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Unfortunately, even though the fabric said it was "approximately 24" x 27", which would have left just enough border at the top and bottom, it turned out that all three pieces that I had were only 26" high and were too short to use. So, I went stash diving and came up with a piece of PTP's Mystic on Edinburgh linen; while it won't look like a starry sky, I do think she'll glow on this fabric so I'm reasonably happy with it as a backup. I made a very small start on 2/29 (and now I have four years to finish!):<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuPRIv8tnvpDgquVqObqZyRFkOhbegGYs0jI5UoqSxE0CdNC_9g9-LvKEp4Dwb2TtS49vA6lgd834RI0zE632Y6iJURcVf2yu3PUXyBso6LOCEoLx4s591pBOFDR_RB4_jiOjpGk8h54WNYniroHPsIo4UTcxFu6xIc7I4qqmblyu-XStv3T_q0lcukI/s1901/LOTF%202-29-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1901" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuPRIv8tnvpDgquVqObqZyRFkOhbegGYs0jI5UoqSxE0CdNC_9g9-LvKEp4Dwb2TtS49vA6lgd834RI0zE632Y6iJURcVf2yu3PUXyBso6LOCEoLx4s591pBOFDR_RB4_jiOjpGk8h54WNYniroHPsIo4UTcxFu6xIc7I4qqmblyu-XStv3T_q0lcukI/s320/LOTF%202-29-24.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I also decided at the last minute to create a Facebook group for a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1520601745157858" target="_blank">Mirabilia Leap Day SAL</a>, where people pick a Mirabilia or Nora Corbett design (or some people are starting more than one) and try to finish it by 2028. I've committed to finishing Lady of the Flag and then giving the chart away to a member of the group at the end of the SAL, so I'm hoping that will make me get her done for sure.<div><br /></div><div>For now it's back to Harvest Tiny Town, and then I'll decide if I want to try to finish Miss Pink Mushroom or make some progress on Lady of the Flag, or start another Tiny Town, or maybe Kindness...</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-51474252650410834172024-02-19T16:57:00.000-08:002024-02-19T16:57:47.263-08:00A rambling post<p>I will start this by saying that my mom has had three hospitalizations since January 25, all three of which involved many hours in the ER before admission (two of them starting in the evening, with one going until 2:30 and the other until 3:30am). She is currently getting her strength back in a rehab facility so that she can go home, so things are better, but I am well and truly frazzled from weeks of stress with very few days where I was able to just be home and retreat to my craft room for any appreciable amount of stitch therapy. I'm almost to the point where I couldn't make myself start this post because it seems like too much work to even try to remember what I've been working on sporadically for these past weeks, but I decided it wasn't going to get any better for a while so I might as well bite the bullet and try to get myself back on track. Bear with me if I start to ramble...</p><p>I finally received approval for the last of three Nora Corbett models before things blew up, so they were safely back in the hands of the folks at Wichelt and thankfully I didn't have to worry about them anymore. Then I stitched my first Tiny Town model for Heart in Hand, which will be released at Nashville Market next month; it is called Frosty Tiny Town:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGH2qhgzjRWNKSMXfUZm0PawPgim7RklyfM1Q1W9ln1zBKS4SMphsxYP6j5wE4RC5iCA10f-MHnyPJyHw8dltJnHXo_dTqEYanZil1vNoiRzvslJ4dmTb46zDIa8qVkiejzbwT4YLjNu8GRxyl40-mLu7PGAAC993P4VDJT3iX6hesNGsX0Gu2mPjB-Cw/s1954/Tiny%20Town%20model%20with%20floss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1954" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGH2qhgzjRWNKSMXfUZm0PawPgim7RklyfM1Q1W9ln1zBKS4SMphsxYP6j5wE4RC5iCA10f-MHnyPJyHw8dltJnHXo_dTqEYanZil1vNoiRzvslJ4dmTb46zDIa8qVkiejzbwT4YLjNu8GRxyl40-mLu7PGAAC993P4VDJT3iX6hesNGsX0Gu2mPjB-Cw/s320/Tiny%20Town%20model%20with%20floss.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>There are some embellishments that Cecilia added when she got it back, and it is finished as the drum shown on the chart cover:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3ZGV7Ax5lU3bIrj6BvH3fkYi2xOdTFWBhoqbPjn-5JO5dIyLu2_xLemUzIO6Fme3r9JJgfFPpu-RY8OnTeqfMfgRtM93kRRX1zAw-T1SQib_SmV9T3ezmtJOEtTfQb4rtb_LR8Vi38T1jJ9Z_xjFN_hlpq7frTkDYkumLhggSGCu0YwqSaQ-UhyDIfE/s525/HIH-527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3ZGV7Ax5lU3bIrj6BvH3fkYi2xOdTFWBhoqbPjn-5JO5dIyLu2_xLemUzIO6Fme3r9JJgfFPpu-RY8OnTeqfMfgRtM93kRRX1zAw-T1SQib_SmV9T3ezmtJOEtTfQb4rtb_LR8Vi38T1jJ9Z_xjFN_hlpq7frTkDYkumLhggSGCu0YwqSaQ-UhyDIfE/s320/HIH-527.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><p>There is also a Frosty Frill that goes with this design, so when I stitch it for myself I'll be adding this cute little guy to the town:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNLhEhvHtWY-ofbGwuFaWzth7Odul3o-rxbw7FbSiMbLCKtkRLfRj6nznMzTTNp7eUVkqg5-sjU4-7TaWTGV6AMhZS_JR0whjAzUt7GGJfXjbqrZ-_KuCPinQ4dgTqCy1G3xeHtbtgkzO0C81YzCbTfT0yOknthj70DLXG2M9dDDiACjehw1Z21YFtO0/s1650/HIH-528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1650" data-original-width="1275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNLhEhvHtWY-ofbGwuFaWzth7Odul3o-rxbw7FbSiMbLCKtkRLfRj6nznMzTTNp7eUVkqg5-sjU4-7TaWTGV6AMhZS_JR0whjAzUt7GGJfXjbqrZ-_KuCPinQ4dgTqCy1G3xeHtbtgkzO0C81YzCbTfT0yOknthj70DLXG2M9dDDiACjehw1Z21YFtO0/s320/HIH-528.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><p>I ended up with a PayPal balance after Cecilia paid me for the model and I had won a $50 GC from The Thread Gatherer a few months ago so I decided to try a little retail therapy to soothe some stress. I was able to get all of these gorgeous silks from their Silk'n Colors line for what felt like $30:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL_7yTK3PBiGGrLZ79SiQT2Gwtq_EqFSSZ8X2jMwLYDARpJQsgLa7k0A3Q7WhwBqe8ZzzEwTElwXV5mZZj_98pVwxXZH_gT-bKN99NagZVItcmKC6ypDdE1sLvjgSBXm2ZIEczApGOUTcCs5e7tu02Og9pgfjNzOVOQkbYGtr4w8DTsQquFchbJv8vGw/s1512/SNC%20bundle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1478" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL_7yTK3PBiGGrLZ79SiQT2Gwtq_EqFSSZ8X2jMwLYDARpJQsgLa7k0A3Q7WhwBqe8ZzzEwTElwXV5mZZj_98pVwxXZH_gT-bKN99NagZVItcmKC6ypDdE1sLvjgSBXm2ZIEczApGOUTcCs5e7tu02Og9pgfjNzOVOQkbYGtr4w8DTsQquFchbJv8vGw/s320/SNC%20bundle.jpg" width="313" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I then had some fun working on some color paths that I might use for conversions in future projects:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5E1gAJ6zA15N_1CkBPN5N1xMftWIwIoUOIpS8WWphDPq5IRUjiClLNro-c1zaetNNn40gUSjoT_VLyO3FNMP7Diwws9MXWQHq4vCj8VHZXyKCYYW0o4DfogSkIaSPfz50MLsyKfZkLv6vg390dlx_vP7elHsSXh10Cn6BaaPqv3i_t3k-A9FI97dPjQ/s1914/SNC%202-6-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1393" data-original-width="1914" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5E1gAJ6zA15N_1CkBPN5N1xMftWIwIoUOIpS8WWphDPq5IRUjiClLNro-c1zaetNNn40gUSjoT_VLyO3FNMP7Diwws9MXWQHq4vCj8VHZXyKCYYW0o4DfogSkIaSPfz50MLsyKfZkLv6vg390dlx_vP7elHsSXh10Cn6BaaPqv3i_t3k-A9FI97dPjQ/s320/SNC%202-6-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>There were a few nights when I would wake up at midnight or 1am and not be able to get back to sleep. At that time of the morning I didn't feel up to working on anything too complicated, so luckily I had this Mill Hill kit that I had started back in October on a layover on my trip home from a retreat; it was perfect for those mornings. I actually finished this at 3:30 one morning; it's called Spooky and Friend:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8woJjl8oCOnVO8t4oa-WN__snw4JDNVC2lqVc_uIMrhEnNp8JdVSZ0FYCaDKG6jQ1HrrRBR9mf-txySXQK1Ii6nep3GFzZzfks6d6PU6PaOuYcxbb4-42X2SvVdsUFLs74D3KmszsUjTB-6D8vcN0G5GFfFuPkH6sluBtkxq0RW48GGXo0XdSuR20ts8/s1694/Spooky%20and%20Friend%20finish%201-30-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1327" data-original-width="1694" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8woJjl8oCOnVO8t4oa-WN__snw4JDNVC2lqVc_uIMrhEnNp8JdVSZ0FYCaDKG6jQ1HrrRBR9mf-txySXQK1Ii6nep3GFzZzfks6d6PU6PaOuYcxbb4-42X2SvVdsUFLs74D3KmszsUjTB-6D8vcN0G5GFfFuPkH6sluBtkxq0RW48GGXo0XdSuR20ts8/s320/Spooky%20and%20Friend%20finish%201-30-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>It had a LOT of beads; this is what it looked like once the stitching was done but before any beads were added:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfUuowaIUWaNtO4bEwVXE5qQ4UupmxbTYDejMmidZNDXxB0j6FG5T0dnXwdZLcI914DBrrkOo48ti19wwDxB7JYpnUVDKGuC5yvoj3qWA006HlEL1O40ogzqk4bvY3SjpdNrc0XKB55faMazQhnrJjNTMErjqhOwZBq2LttU6DEouZI727TQHP3yB9XE/s1822/Spooky%20and%20Friend%20pre-beads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="1822" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfUuowaIUWaNtO4bEwVXE5qQ4UupmxbTYDejMmidZNDXxB0j6FG5T0dnXwdZLcI914DBrrkOo48ti19wwDxB7JYpnUVDKGuC5yvoj3qWA006HlEL1O40ogzqk4bvY3SjpdNrc0XKB55faMazQhnrJjNTMErjqhOwZBq2LttU6DEouZI727TQHP3yB9XE/s320/Spooky%20and%20Friend%20pre-beads.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I have also made a start on another Mill Hill kit, which I worked on while sitting in the hospital room last week:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5CU7a9kMHWewpT4ogY69dJXbbN-vWvFVWCMEkgWyedsp_LXRyX_cNh_v5vbClbOIXB5-E_g681con0jXY-WKw-RdYSgvFtN4FCNmOWiSOiVxfRPigR0lL8ekVcTSlx85F-qEWVzQQwv1F9EIEdyWxcwD78eAkdJuyWrpnc7T4lkhy-E4VhgW5GPChAc0/s2016/MH%20Kitty%20Love%202-18-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5CU7a9kMHWewpT4ogY69dJXbbN-vWvFVWCMEkgWyedsp_LXRyX_cNh_v5vbClbOIXB5-E_g681con0jXY-WKw-RdYSgvFtN4FCNmOWiSOiVxfRPigR0lL8ekVcTSlx85F-qEWVzQQwv1F9EIEdyWxcwD78eAkdJuyWrpnc7T4lkhy-E4VhgW5GPChAc0/s320/MH%20Kitty%20Love%202-18-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I really like these Mill Hill kits for "stitching on the go"; the perforated paper is easy to work with without a hoop/frame and the holes are easy to see, they usually don't have a lot of different floss colors and they aren't so intricate that you can't keep track of your place even when you get distracted periodically while working on them.</div><div><br /></div><div>After I had finished the Frosty Tiny Town I pulled fabric and floss for Harvest Tiny Town, which I've had for a while now but didn't want to start until the Wichelt models were finished. I started it on a piece of PTP 40ct linen from PTP called Chalice, and this is where I left off a while back:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZDPwNOGReo56-Nv4l_0gWubVBRy25vvTXfDoRSdaJnvz94Hns3riuVcz9DJwYOqRl3Gk4lmA9Gff1PYo5NoFr3wxkQMn7iBqwZVl_mlOBlkyxsC81ZV5_UAor3Ur05PZRaVxa_U8PU8WxqIp1361KWrL5Rg-2nh9lMo4B3v3PByh9bQA1ZHf2SGItaw/s2016/HIH%20Harvest%20Tiny%20Town%202-18-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZDPwNOGReo56-Nv4l_0gWubVBRy25vvTXfDoRSdaJnvz94Hns3riuVcz9DJwYOqRl3Gk4lmA9Gff1PYo5NoFr3wxkQMn7iBqwZVl_mlOBlkyxsC81ZV5_UAor3Ur05PZRaVxa_U8PU8WxqIp1361KWrL5Rg-2nh9lMo4B3v3PByh9bQA1ZHf2SGItaw/s320/HIH%20Harvest%20Tiny%20Town%202-18-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>The three flowers between the houses are the corresponding Harvest Frill that goes along with this design, which of course I had to incorporate. I was trying to get this one done so I could send it along with three other towns to my finisher, but then I got distracted by some new Nora Corbett designs that were released last month. They are from a new series called The Dark Forest and I just think they are as cute as can be:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXdtUhY4mXVsJEJ8K4HM78xGRt1O9qx3aNVxn4BcHX59jm1igB3Ig0sTYHQBgBP230MuJpZnC0pH_uwJdD5ByFTXN1P3rP-JEkyrZ-Ey02xgspwJZJlUyl_dPd_zp-gKx_FOYgjo2ZgLx-uqsKY-dAjcLvY-RxhxBonnPy06gfihw2G4u2rU_DNwGg6k/s2016/Dark%20Forest%20Pixies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="2016" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXdtUhY4mXVsJEJ8K4HM78xGRt1O9qx3aNVxn4BcHX59jm1igB3Ig0sTYHQBgBP230MuJpZnC0pH_uwJdD5ByFTXN1P3rP-JEkyrZ-Ey02xgspwJZJlUyl_dPd_zp-gKx_FOYgjo2ZgLx-uqsKY-dAjcLvY-RxhxBonnPy06gfihw2G4u2rU_DNwGg6k/s320/Dark%20Forest%20Pixies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>One of the days that I was really stressed I spent some time going through my fabric stash and decided on the pieces in the photo, and I pulled all of the floss needed for all three designs. I really meant to finish Harvest Tiny Town before I started one of these, but I just couldn't resist seeing how Miss Pink Mushroom was going to look on the fabric I chose for her. I wasn't sure how much I liked it with the first few colors stitched, but now that I'm further along I am liking it much better:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg73ZT8dsARfKOkMNZHvjQ8uM62tUlITYfdhrJA5NzKOxVhX9batQgImNcDlAF9BB7QcaB7THDrGXNNU4a2TrflL8iX7BK0ypiImlRb91iR1JyoRrYvQOgTNki1fMFzPbwNJKWAJWcjT8lFiPFS9H_gxWccV3DGYdqRLX-YkQ2cMwVfcrFT74pt25RYRg/s2016/MPM%202-19-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg73ZT8dsARfKOkMNZHvjQ8uM62tUlITYfdhrJA5NzKOxVhX9batQgImNcDlAF9BB7QcaB7THDrGXNNU4a2TrflL8iX7BK0ypiImlRb91iR1JyoRrYvQOgTNki1fMFzPbwNJKWAJWcjT8lFiPFS9H_gxWccV3DGYdqRLX-YkQ2cMwVfcrFT74pt25RYRg/s320/MPM%202-19-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I am really enjoying working with these colors on this fabric right now, and the sassy little mushroom girl is just such a mood lifter; I'm hoping to continue on with this one for a while at least, in between chores, errands and appointments.<div><br /></div><div>I think that is about it for now, though it would be pretty surprising to me if I haven't forgotten something. At least I feel better for having gotten this all in some kind of order; I really like having this blog to look back on and keep track of projects, so it's good to feel like I made some positive progress today.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-10322985002852800122024-01-15T10:19:00.000-08:002024-01-16T05:30:50.043-08:00Brrr!!!<p>We've had a pretty mild winter here in Wisconsin up until recently, but between the snow we got last week and the polar vortex that has settled in it has definitely taken a turn for the worse! Lows in the negatives, highs in the single digits and wind are making it feel awful, and here is our current snow situation:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbud3-Oghho7K9IzlBv5oilA4t81lo9VGqzAjAWuFYxarRwGngoCgvlnIwFRvCghXLJf6c-S6CTAgmABaW87TIcFprA_kKehn4kJwrpKSRecBkgalPdPlzveLnmr1STwMgOKwYZdPPJJwAwOMRfByj-lEo1X01Yh4BSVg7etYvTJX2c9JtsCP78ALH__E/s2016/1-13-24snow.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbud3-Oghho7K9IzlBv5oilA4t81lo9VGqzAjAWuFYxarRwGngoCgvlnIwFRvCghXLJf6c-S6CTAgmABaW87TIcFprA_kKehn4kJwrpKSRecBkgalPdPlzveLnmr1STwMgOKwYZdPPJJwAwOMRfByj-lEo1X01Yh4BSVg7etYvTJX2c9JtsCP78ALH__E/s320/1-13-24snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsf7kSUrQN-vdJ77oVgd_x3mIlYSBlnwRrv8hytNfmLDBuu8lwxrUeutjeOGSW_jzv8JNXAGVGeThRBO8JIJvoaPAdhFKLDe-Pe7P6pIOKQS0wVnUvfEjOlor_rINtEKDjDLRbLZNz0QessK9w9dXeUgiyRNRk4_UKvh2KuGxVqyj645pJXLUBXGsriE/s2016/snow%201-13-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsf7kSUrQN-vdJ77oVgd_x3mIlYSBlnwRrv8hytNfmLDBuu8lwxrUeutjeOGSW_jzv8JNXAGVGeThRBO8JIJvoaPAdhFKLDe-Pe7P6pIOKQS0wVnUvfEjOlor_rINtEKDjDLRbLZNz0QessK9w9dXeUgiyRNRk4_UKvh2KuGxVqyj645pJXLUBXGsriE/s320/snow%201-13-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Roxie and Murphy are having a horrible time trying to get their business done before their feet freeze, poor babies. I think we're supposed to get back to 30F in a week, which will feel almost tropical at this point!</p><p>On the plus side, I've had a lot of extra stitching time while I've been hunkered down avoiding the cold as much as possible. I finished the third of three models last Monday, then had a couple of days to work on Fairy Idyll while I waited for another model. I completed the stone face at the top of the design; it was a time-consuming process, but it turned out beautifully:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUt0fttr01_pCOYypikyUIVYtnxdRLDXF4dJw_7C968-Gb1Y9TGussT64P3Q5_2r_-BFwQ5aYf4Vt1gkuzeNoV1pTiV1JNVqSqJCSzAPMzOzGoLhrdrzroyGJyYmb3UDIZoZRGPpv7y9mzIDXbDmxWLHF16cxPpbCsn5mff9Sr6BQci27rLQmNfvzM3oU/s1743/Fairy%20Idyll%201-11-24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1743" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUt0fttr01_pCOYypikyUIVYtnxdRLDXF4dJw_7C968-Gb1Y9TGussT64P3Q5_2r_-BFwQ5aYf4Vt1gkuzeNoV1pTiV1JNVqSqJCSzAPMzOzGoLhrdrzroyGJyYmb3UDIZoZRGPpv7y9mzIDXbDmxWLHF16cxPpbCsn5mff9Sr6BQci27rLQmNfvzM3oU/s320/Fairy%20Idyll%201-11-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The drapery is stitching up much more quickly and I look forward to getting back to it when the current model is done. It's a Tiny Town that arrived last Thursday afternoon and I'm already past the halfway point, so I'm hoping to finish it by Wednesday or Thursday.</p><p>I also recently received a chart that I've been looking for off and on for probably 10+ years and I've already kitted it up so I can start when I have the time and inclination. It's called Princess Wandabee and I've just always thought it was so cute; there's something about the expression on the face of the frog that she's kissing that just makes me smile:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjElibwfCKtwqHd8nHi8RX_Nz1y99PA2NbHrt3lgKV7n5yHVs8wuCxOJUyRXI8uoAiEOZ1sdoKXD-sj8ZVU1h15vPsBuBaeo0mlAqqo5fsRUy9TuvN3a21QbdBXn5UV8C6XVVr2bPpEFyjczJ-qvSl4Efafgd_UxX5M7Ogmrk62dtshLyuyQY11QNaLDo4/s1864/Princess%20Wandabee%20kitted.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="1864" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjElibwfCKtwqHd8nHi8RX_Nz1y99PA2NbHrt3lgKV7n5yHVs8wuCxOJUyRXI8uoAiEOZ1sdoKXD-sj8ZVU1h15vPsBuBaeo0mlAqqo5fsRUy9TuvN3a21QbdBXn5UV8C6XVVr2bPpEFyjczJ-qvSl4Efafgd_UxX5M7Ogmrk62dtshLyuyQY11QNaLDo4/s320/Princess%20Wandabee%20kitted.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week, and stay warm if you're in the polar vortex!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-92187843864109619912024-01-01T07:05:00.000-08:002024-01-01T07:05:59.956-08:00Happy New Year!!<p>I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and has had a good start to this new year. I know a lot of people make a new stitchy start on January 1 but it's not something I've ever done; however, yesterday was 123123 day (12/31/23) as my son pointed out to me, and for some reason the thought of making a completely new start on a once-in-my-lifetime day was too compelling to ignore. I'd already been toying with the idea of kitting up Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll because I've been seeing some WIP and finishes photos on FB, and then I bought this gorgeous piece of fabric (Charmes on Edinburgh linen) from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/NicholasFlamelDesign?ref=usf_2020" target="_blank">NicholasFlamelDesign</a> and when it arrived I immediately thought that it would be a great background for Fairy Idyll. That was about a week ago, but I'd still been resisting doing anything about it because I really meant to finish the last of the three models and maybe a current WIP or two; then 123123 day happened and I just had to do it! This is what I pulled together yesterday morning:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OLICDHC5vgJUFBCVvqNM_9BaAAnpCL_NNTnhEsx87RLbfhe6ZYH8LQjF5hIeirclwLVi_aksb0kP_uIUVVkgE8f_pKb0QApDgKQV-zKnR42Rj-2RbpOBRLqOEe_wklC9sf9EKnWudW7eeRk-xHkrBmqtLC_U00IvgblWK9Ro65e999Fs_bZrsUpLpmM/s2446/123%20123%20start.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2446" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OLICDHC5vgJUFBCVvqNM_9BaAAnpCL_NNTnhEsx87RLbfhe6ZYH8LQjF5hIeirclwLVi_aksb0kP_uIUVVkgE8f_pKb0QApDgKQV-zKnR42Rj-2RbpOBRLqOEe_wklC9sf9EKnWudW7eeRk-xHkrBmqtLC_U00IvgblWK9Ro65e999Fs_bZrsUpLpmM/s320/123%20123%20start.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>And here is where I left it last night:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIG29xa5zXW6tbKvAmF1QAtI80XjASTmYSdlsSEnxM5Jk2yXrnsT7FtXapaykFofcwv6q_8k-UhtphWoAX2rBHiZFTUnyKNUQy84oPHgDz40qCdgXqocxu6LZytLHqYQwZivmu6cI0s1S5xwcUl6qC7KD-ZSb07INdFpE4TlsiUkRRItmhck_u109lYU/s2016/Fairy%20Idyll%2012-31-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIG29xa5zXW6tbKvAmF1QAtI80XjASTmYSdlsSEnxM5Jk2yXrnsT7FtXapaykFofcwv6q_8k-UhtphWoAX2rBHiZFTUnyKNUQy84oPHgDz40qCdgXqocxu6LZytLHqYQwZivmu6cI0s1S5xwcUl6qC7KD-ZSb07INdFpE4TlsiUkRRItmhck_u109lYU/s320/Fairy%20Idyll%2012-31-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The colors in the first photo are more accurate than the closeup, and I'm hoping give it the feel of nighttime in a fairy bower. I think I'll work on this for one more day and see if I can get the stone face at the top finished or almost finished.</p><p>After that it'll be back to work on the final model; the second one is done but I'm still waiting for it to be approved. I'm hoping the last one will only take another week or two, but I'm still horrible at estimating how long projects will take, so who knows?!</p><p>After 12 days the Silks4U Christmas advent box was empty, and it was a lot of fun opening all the goodies for almost two weeks:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzmRsSvljgpinK6xSDvCkM3__Qk4Tb1v5y-9bFSBOnJeaNgaltL1gGNkpPaOo1FuCy_6zSvAquUn8Y1NKg0kCV2PnOIbOGaN4bGClkxFmV9kLvUVgw0kN7xUfqQwP8pUHwRhBrqffSbBC86hoLo2hAD3x_ixWsK0ohJ0D8ZXG0MEqXxP_gkQvZgmPazo/s2063/s4u%20all.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2063" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzmRsSvljgpinK6xSDvCkM3__Qk4Tb1v5y-9bFSBOnJeaNgaltL1gGNkpPaOo1FuCy_6zSvAquUn8Y1NKg0kCV2PnOIbOGaN4bGClkxFmV9kLvUVgw0kN7xUfqQwP8pUHwRhBrqffSbBC86hoLo2hAD3x_ixWsK0ohJ0D8ZXG0MEqXxP_gkQvZgmPazo/s320/s4u%20all.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIUdHdov_4n7YkzKbhK4ABlZRMWBDW6KSnj6vnbcDnMcNZIOCYXLqgQmLt0Nj0Tat-ckIBKiZw4-i7CDIDoLLxebAT9RLo1EqrWlwYZsVQhdqVrNpVps3mnMtz6iZWPPQv5r_AiV2DPZw8FZDhZobuQh3j7YRqjfot8LPap8v2FReK5Zo8A3CQr_0wgs/s1882/silks4u%20Christmas%202023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1852" data-original-width="1882" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIUdHdov_4n7YkzKbhK4ABlZRMWBDW6KSnj6vnbcDnMcNZIOCYXLqgQmLt0Nj0Tat-ckIBKiZw4-i7CDIDoLLxebAT9RLo1EqrWlwYZsVQhdqVrNpVps3mnMtz6iZWPPQv5r_AiV2DPZw8FZDhZobuQh3j7YRqjfot8LPap8v2FReK5Zo8A3CQr_0wgs/s320/silks4u%20Christmas%202023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Hope everyone has a great stitchy New Year!</p>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-14905534609815154292023-12-18T09:36:00.000-08:002023-12-18T09:36:26.761-08:00SewMuch2Luv!<p>Last Monday my custom bag arrived from Karen at SewMuch2Luv and I am thrilled with how it turned out!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWlUV3IUsl7WUHpHDCxANyp7O0f7hN_IqnqDgnKD7EPIJUZY6Iw9fovwKOzJthKEmLlibHcOu4I0k61dV-p-qHiNsEuZv5wO2NDN7tHH8ps149fkrDjupiHBXOrcdrHfaGD9amWBp9QnTkDcvFz4UODdFXFN5-BVHCRdvx8WQm66TnbZ6KiHLlKGY1w8/s1640/QC%20Retreat%20bag%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1435" data-original-width="1640" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWlUV3IUsl7WUHpHDCxANyp7O0f7hN_IqnqDgnKD7EPIJUZY6Iw9fovwKOzJthKEmLlibHcOu4I0k61dV-p-qHiNsEuZv5wO2NDN7tHH8ps149fkrDjupiHBXOrcdrHfaGD9amWBp9QnTkDcvFz4UODdFXFN5-BVHCRdvx8WQm66TnbZ6KiHLlKGY1w8/s320/QC%20Retreat%20bag%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtph64m-xNcFtgztf9XaIxyQ3exKBRrCnJtVCKAVFsn4AIidQccdYN1aPcdJFb5WL8xXHq7eKdIqjNwSR6wqKVhAESv6W2yV8IR6HDysPCf9g4k7hyphenhyphenVMT0F9l0yqptx5i1YVyFkP4g3obmG8novh70mTYbaahlSuUxz8A9PkwewmWOyyxa8Hvfp_EBFK8/s1420/QC%20Retreat%20bag%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1164" data-original-width="1420" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtph64m-xNcFtgztf9XaIxyQ3exKBRrCnJtVCKAVFsn4AIidQccdYN1aPcdJFb5WL8xXHq7eKdIqjNwSR6wqKVhAESv6W2yV8IR6HDysPCf9g4k7hyphenhyphenVMT0F9l0yqptx5i1YVyFkP4g3obmG8novh70mTYbaahlSuUxz8A9PkwewmWOyyxa8Hvfp_EBFK8/s320/QC%20Retreat%20bag%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb2hOYW8NJsIlpxyTfYdt5oKp_HpYcRJ7nwqsQKhdZBby0TvYDoFiBlp9FW5uLPkoTZm-FdsKIFxmuNMPZl85dFbF3mQnK_ZjDPv3FiBazoei17ZvCqRiWVI85uYgKEeAbEW9TeqseIfDhDNWVDUmLa7nZcUX2Ynza_hF9wGYczCuAzO6VMwu1EG-gcA/s1516/QC%20Retreat%20bag%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="1516" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkb2hOYW8NJsIlpxyTfYdt5oKp_HpYcRJ7nwqsQKhdZBby0TvYDoFiBlp9FW5uLPkoTZm-FdsKIFxmuNMPZl85dFbF3mQnK_ZjDPv3FiBazoei17ZvCqRiWVI85uYgKEeAbEW9TeqseIfDhDNWVDUmLa7nZcUX2Ynza_hF9wGYczCuAzO6VMwu1EG-gcA/s320/QC%20Retreat%20bag%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The quality is top notch and I love the fabric choices Karen gave me to coordinate with the stitched piece and the retreat fabric. I now have a really special memento of a great retreat. This is the second time I've used Karen's services, with the first being this fun project bag:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fDQrgySuRFjTYE5MU68JEW3lmbZigQ-TQYfv9hIc5W-BD-ByRhfOhYz4S9lQDjr0I4QP6rb2U9O_f1RJEw0Y0e9sK5-Yl3CrOUdmNrlN1bLUNL5YMcXaizvZWfsgeTHNdCyvEmocMtpnfv5Z_R3PR75dMr011KDEBA5CNyPOJZVCocBUzDtfV4BqOb8/s1600/HalloweenTownbag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fDQrgySuRFjTYE5MU68JEW3lmbZigQ-TQYfv9hIc5W-BD-ByRhfOhYz4S9lQDjr0I4QP6rb2U9O_f1RJEw0Y0e9sK5-Yl3CrOUdmNrlN1bLUNL5YMcXaizvZWfsgeTHNdCyvEmocMtpnfv5Z_R3PR75dMr011KDEBA5CNyPOJZVCocBUzDtfV4BqOb8/s320/HalloweenTownbag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I highly recommend <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewMuch2Luv?ref=usf_2020" target="_blank">SewMuch2Luv</a> if you're looking for a well-made and useful finish for a stitched piece!<div><br /></div><div>I've been making good progress on the second model lately, though I lost most of a day when Nora made some changes after seeing an area stitched--frogging and then restitching always seems to take so long, and then you're just back where you started! I am hoping to finish this one by the end of the year and then I'll just have one more to go and almost three months left to do it, so I'm feeling better about my progress now.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been having fun opening the 12 Days of Christmas goodies from Silks4U; the theme this year is gemstones:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG74jp9H5b9E3aID-X15vz0mtJfmyO07F82yjD7FjJOeYbyFmUagJtn4IerrkijVHr4dHAn8hLjsDGHomu1HiG10bMz0ntT8610jMlu6mJKsZV5lp4wLFQ87_RAGb6evlp5l-jR62ns9Aj1l2KqyR5WnoQvGn2x8vsuLfgVy0Qkojv3SwPVZ80RsAVLSA/s1621/silks4u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1621" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG74jp9H5b9E3aID-X15vz0mtJfmyO07F82yjD7FjJOeYbyFmUagJtn4IerrkijVHr4dHAn8hLjsDGHomu1HiG10bMz0ntT8610jMlu6mJKsZV5lp4wLFQ87_RAGb6evlp5l-jR62ns9Aj1l2KqyR5WnoQvGn2x8vsuLfgVy0Qkojv3SwPVZ80RsAVLSA/s320/silks4u.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Six presents opened, six to go...<div><br /></div><div>Wishing those who celebrates it a very Merry Christmas, and to everyone all the best in the New Year!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-58815776615492969842023-12-11T06:27:00.000-08:002023-12-11T06:30:54.309-08:00Time to buckle down<p>I'm happy to say that model stitching is back on track now; I got an answer to a question about the first one, made the changes required and it has now been approved, so one is completely done. I received the revised chart for the second one and made good progress over the weekend, especially considering I spent a good part of yesterday putting up the Christmas tree. The revised chart for the third one should be arriving any day, and then hopefully things will go more smoothly for a while!</p><p>Last week while I was waiting for the chart(s) to arrive I spent some time charting out Nora Corbett's latest Patreon chart, Starry Starry Christmas Eve. It's another artist-inspired tree like last year's Klimt Tree, and it's going to be stunning!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HFnROk29NTK04qyCH4KVAzFPM3KkB5uqfx4RSh7nL3KsDlLSGZViaGTaqmWWBFpnPKhZr3zAZwaDgzk43HkkYKNwM_QEj08C3-xvQEooRMXzu_dtpyBQoVFZaX8L-CinZ9QqTtH0PWOUBLtMxRsR-dUF9bETs-JeQNVf7xXZpkFFEkLrjBKA6VB_WFk/s1014/SSCE%2012-8-23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1014" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HFnROk29NTK04qyCH4KVAzFPM3KkB5uqfx4RSh7nL3KsDlLSGZViaGTaqmWWBFpnPKhZr3zAZwaDgzk43HkkYKNwM_QEj08C3-xvQEooRMXzu_dtpyBQoVFZaX8L-CinZ9QqTtH0PWOUBLtMxRsR-dUF9bETs-JeQNVf7xXZpkFFEkLrjBKA6VB_WFk/s320/SSCE%2012-8-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I'm waiting on a skein of Sable Waterlilies, so it's not in the photo, and I couldn't figure out how to chart the bugle beads in the tree within the tree, but this at least gives an idea of what it will look like. I think I have an idea of how to do the bugle beads now, so next time I'll be ready; every time I work on one of Nora's Patreon charts I learn new things to use on the next one. I won't be able to work on this for a while, but hoping to get back to it once the models are done. If you've thought about subscribing to <a href="https://www.patreon.com/user/posts?u=30824276" target="_blank">Nora's Patreon</a>, now would be a good time; there are several charts from this past year that are still available until the end of this year.</p><p>Speaking of models, a Rosewood Manor that I stitched a while back has been released; it's called Dreaming of Violets:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWC0Uu-eXsz8XriBG9Xe-l6OeNCYQ28XyJ7WPXVjj-HfEbivs7JJ1MuCVplH5UQOsLUj1aPaRgSN7HtrHfONx7FzNxSyKY5stu3kLpaUGrIkekCqiY7pSipyDf6px7gulS66iPhA8UTRc1JS4xVBg-E4yWiktQ9gof4zD4nTQgI4UzYO0kbGjIFsg5uc/s529/DoV%20framed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWC0Uu-eXsz8XriBG9Xe-l6OeNCYQ28XyJ7WPXVjj-HfEbivs7JJ1MuCVplH5UQOsLUj1aPaRgSN7HtrHfONx7FzNxSyKY5stu3kLpaUGrIkekCqiY7pSipyDf6px7gulS66iPhA8UTRc1JS4xVBg-E4yWiktQ9gof4zD4nTQgI4UzYO0kbGjIFsg5uc/s320/DoV%20framed.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><p>The project bag that I had made from the Queen City Retreat project is finished and should arrive today. Karen didn't send a photo, so I'm excited to open the package and see how it turned out; tune in next week for photos.</p><p>Now that the Christmas tree is up, I'm going to spend part of today wrapping presents and getting an idea of whether I'm done shopping or if I need to pick up a few more little things. At this time last year, I was still waiting for biopsy results and feeling very scared and fragile, so I am especially grateful as I get ready for another Christmas.</p><p>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</p>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-28065785175892478082023-12-04T09:10:00.000-08:002023-12-04T09:10:46.548-08:00Frustrated<p>While I love model stitching, it can be frustrating at times when I have a question (or several) and it takes almost two weeks to get a response. I had pretty much finished the first of three models but had to wait for a reply to completely finish it, then the reply was a bit ambiguous so I'm back to waiting to see if it's really done or if I need to make some more changes.</p><p>In the midst of that process, I decided to start the second model, but fairly early on had a question about it and was told that they need to redo the section I asked about and add something else that had been forgotten, so I need to wait until they send a new chart before I can get back to that one. Then it was on to the third model, which I started last Friday--until a question popped up right away and I knew there was no way I'd get a response until today at the earliest--sigh!</p><p>So, I decided to spend my weekend stitching time working on Needle Fairy, who now has her feet as well as her arms:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLqAjIthBJ32Iq7qkw3NAGu5206F9cUuwZWMjPmg56-uwNCYmL7hAfmd4AAba5szf584cE-WcPuNFKsVGLe4Z1YHDmvws3aDLukwQnCfyDDkCR72B4Jj8ueV_EfMwLHiMZIGd0VM5VPXyMntTGZLHs_c6NTA_6_Q-umzJlIE1jUgsjwT70SgxswKBQiY/s2592/Needle%20Fairy%2012-3-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLqAjIthBJ32Iq7qkw3NAGu5206F9cUuwZWMjPmg56-uwNCYmL7hAfmd4AAba5szf584cE-WcPuNFKsVGLe4Z1YHDmvws3aDLukwQnCfyDDkCR72B4Jj8ueV_EfMwLHiMZIGd0VM5VPXyMntTGZLHs_c6NTA_6_Q-umzJlIE1jUgsjwT70SgxswKBQiY/s320/Needle%20Fairy%2012-3-23.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><p>I realized that I had never shared the goodies from the Friendstitch Needlework Pop-Up event that took place in October:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EzPeF5mG8Kbv9O1Jll6nDmAbC_B862k1tlhCyEozU-3T2bQgzpo1MaF9tSI3zeKiQXVbGnV9syzvVggImgCRY4tCCcNOHbpNn1bFCWBGKCz7owArmt4NTKbzGN72ZYenxv7xHG2GqInP7m3t36b9kaos6FDKrTFJwgZ88UCnqA2mnErOl8jGCqX6E9I/s1789/Friendstitch%20box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1789" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EzPeF5mG8Kbv9O1Jll6nDmAbC_B862k1tlhCyEozU-3T2bQgzpo1MaF9tSI3zeKiQXVbGnV9syzvVggImgCRY4tCCcNOHbpNn1bFCWBGKCz7owArmt4NTKbzGN72ZYenxv7xHG2GqInP7m3t36b9kaos6FDKrTFJwgZ88UCnqA2mnErOl8jGCqX6E9I/s320/Friendstitch%20box.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Everything came in that great metal tin, and it was a lot of fun to open and explore the contents. The people behind these events (the designers of Heart in Hand and Bent Creek) do such a great job with them, and I am really looking forward to next year's event, which will be the fifth anniversary of Friendstitch.<div><br /></div><div>I have another fun box to look forward to as well, which is a 12 Days of Christmas box from Silks4U:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTST2AZ-2GtE2w8xQKOW7lRf9iOIzD0ofcrylAOK8QmS35K8sRiU369oksZzdaRu6jPjkHWGEitZwNVi231QvT661FXNzBfSFN-WXmn42YPXRdVTX7jf9MeVwGNZPIxMVrGsGnxgHJDTl3dlUxkep1qhEIAZSMNPWJ5zAL_i2krbB7FlZ18I8L0_XyyJ4/s2592/Silks4U%20box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTST2AZ-2GtE2w8xQKOW7lRf9iOIzD0ofcrylAOK8QmS35K8sRiU369oksZzdaRu6jPjkHWGEitZwNVi231QvT661FXNzBfSFN-WXmn42YPXRdVTX7jf9MeVwGNZPIxMVrGsGnxgHJDTl3dlUxkep1qhEIAZSMNPWJ5zAL_i2krbB7FlZ18I8L0_XyyJ4/s320/Silks4U%20box.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>There's one package to open for each day, starting on the 13th and ending on Christmas Day; I'm going to be good and not open everything at once, but it's hard not to!</div><div><br /></div><div>I think I'm pretty much done with my Christmas shopping, except for picking up some little things to put in stockings, but I still need to wrap presents and put the tree up. It's always a relief to have those two things done so I'll probably try to do them this week, and then I'll be able to focus on stitching again. Can't believe Christmas is only three weeks away!</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-49237646482092956472023-11-20T15:32:00.000-08:002023-11-20T15:32:29.035-08:00Nora's Christmas Stocking<p>Around nine years ago Nora Corbett designed a little stocking ornament for a charity stitching group on Facebook. I joined the group and saved the chart but never stitched it, and actually didn't even know what it would look like when it was done. Someone asked about obscure Mirabilia/Nora Corbett charts recently, and it reminded me of the stocking ornament, so I decided to pull it out and stitch it. I was thinking it would take a couple of days, but for a small design it's fairly intricate and it ended up taking about five days (though I haven't had a lot of stitching time lately). It's a cute little design, and I'm hoping I'll get the urge to make it into an ornament in the near future:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1cBJY7tZc44IDoa-ZqdgRvRMHY9uAmrXBRqsgaNQYw_EeVhDLXZHL8I_-79FUiQU4UDwI2LcT3mJVBAEbQAKySXxwb_gP3X1iGWDZ61NJxN_btmViK_UOwArCPWyCNGGQ3RJ5mUfHQv1nP_TYi2yw8nliCtjvNrOiR4kTLqBRp-RtmfF30BRjFwZDqk/s1975/Nora's%20Christmas%20Stocking%2011-2-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1975" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1cBJY7tZc44IDoa-ZqdgRvRMHY9uAmrXBRqsgaNQYw_EeVhDLXZHL8I_-79FUiQU4UDwI2LcT3mJVBAEbQAKySXxwb_gP3X1iGWDZ61NJxN_btmViK_UOwArCPWyCNGGQ3RJ5mUfHQv1nP_TYi2yw8nliCtjvNrOiR4kTLqBRp-RtmfF30BRjFwZDqk/s320/Nora's%20Christmas%20Stocking%2011-2-23.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The fabric is an old remnant that I no longer know the name of, but it looks like it's 32ct opal Lugana. I messaged Nora about the chart and she had me send it to Wichelt so that it can be offered as a freebie in the near future, so keep an eye on the Mirabilia site if you'd like to stitch this.<div><br /></div><div>I sent my Queen City Retreat piece to SewMuch2Luv on Etsy, and just received a photo with a rough idea of what the finish will look like:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNz2Xs2VU6qduCjBKVxP0e92gMSpquhaANuwVDH2A7QmfObFArcM09SxUU5F82WptPc6wqyF_N4Q9JJ7mRzd4GEJUuCxWsh7YF0e3zZPB3YGoujENOPqaWl_eoC_5Budh9CmHePVEbfanQrL6U9LYQj1WwjFE9wM_WIIxb-sH4EEzp5K_rTccWRJ7V-8/s2926/bag2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2926" data-original-width="2924" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNz2Xs2VU6qduCjBKVxP0e92gMSpquhaANuwVDH2A7QmfObFArcM09SxUU5F82WptPc6wqyF_N4Q9JJ7mRzd4GEJUuCxWsh7YF0e3zZPB3YGoujENOPqaWl_eoC_5Budh9CmHePVEbfanQrL6U9LYQj1WwjFE9wM_WIIxb-sH4EEzp5K_rTccWRJ7V-8/s320/bag2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I'm really looking forward to seeing the actual finish. If anyone is interested, the retreat design has been posted and can be found <a href="https://www.queencitystitchretreat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RetreatQueen2023Chart1018.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. The <a href="https://www.queencitystitchretreat.com/" target="_blank">Queen City Stitch Retreat</a> has their own site now, and they announced that the guest for next year is Autumn Lane Stitchery. The plan right now is to have another Mirabilia retreat in 2025, so hopefully that will happen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three Nora Corbett models arrived while I was in North Carolina, so I've been working on the first one for just over a month now. Stitching time will continue to be a bit limited with Thanksgiving this week, and then starting some Christmas decorating, but I'm hoping to have a finish within a couple of weeks. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure why but this past weekend I had a sudden urge to pull out Nora's Needle Fairy and put a few stitches in. I haven't touched her since 2013, but after Saturday she finally has some arms:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pvwIvKF5HaGdc6raGyOg4ahii5vgTDN0m5lsVoLfa5q96ySTJ-axn1XKjp9WiUNfjpem8pr7rWCozGQ1nSP19C2WGz01Pf6XYEKhM5I1NIOxU8g0Dpi4r9fsxuDa2X_njzab96K8VQdKHOGZJT12XDVXyOgoBhjcI9Z-8G3iOhOcsjOwqwO4xK5j-dE/s1369/Needle%20Fairy%202013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1369" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pvwIvKF5HaGdc6raGyOg4ahii5vgTDN0m5lsVoLfa5q96ySTJ-axn1XKjp9WiUNfjpem8pr7rWCozGQ1nSP19C2WGz01Pf6XYEKhM5I1NIOxU8g0Dpi4r9fsxuDa2X_njzab96K8VQdKHOGZJT12XDVXyOgoBhjcI9Z-8G3iOhOcsjOwqwO4xK5j-dE/s320/Needle%20Fairy%202013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlL81M4N6ahy815qiHu6dVgvGjXWuaTwALDcipQ2-0n_axJiYqC7xevaFtGw1iJXOiorE0x_wq1Q8mKO8i3kNlWDGropzGDeLbpNZh-SAO-zc2Fxx2KAxoj38gM_g6LjeHKWPXSgBrG_h5r9XlWE2eZ9_8YiY26rMPMRCEE8xYbFPyRpy3CWrWqXuFc80/s2425/Needle%20Fairy%2011-18-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1655" data-original-width="2425" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlL81M4N6ahy815qiHu6dVgvGjXWuaTwALDcipQ2-0n_axJiYqC7xevaFtGw1iJXOiorE0x_wq1Q8mKO8i3kNlWDGropzGDeLbpNZh-SAO-zc2Fxx2KAxoj38gM_g6LjeHKWPXSgBrG_h5r9XlWE2eZ9_8YiY26rMPMRCEE8xYbFPyRpy3CWrWqXuFc80/s320/Needle%20Fairy%2011-18-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>She's the third in a series of six Stitching Fairies, and probably my least favorite of the six. I've completed Floss Fairy and Pincushion Fairy (my favorite of the six):<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGKdKZHKEYV0BSdwzbuCnhZX0g9-i48OUDbTZGQ0xG5TQ8uWF7bYHNnTRn0-MFB139kigQV1jRn6TIGKUdArS-L8obprcHesqGzJnq3jorqXFAuUog8AJoKYohL034PMzk9Aqv7FR6W2YpiTl2Lq958dWCSKRwcTy6fSV1o1w8G5AYSFHKXU7T-7IGec/s1024/Floss_Fairy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="838" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGKdKZHKEYV0BSdwzbuCnhZX0g9-i48OUDbTZGQ0xG5TQ8uWF7bYHNnTRn0-MFB139kigQV1jRn6TIGKUdArS-L8obprcHesqGzJnq3jorqXFAuUog8AJoKYohL034PMzk9Aqv7FR6W2YpiTl2Lq958dWCSKRwcTy6fSV1o1w8G5AYSFHKXU7T-7IGec/s320/Floss_Fairy.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUgle9ec0DXFFmtvv0JI5bKM8vbhlaZqOk0Cj7cCU6z-ixGcX0jge36__vm900GeTrC4wIOVMCrzxEQGVvALCU2_zWxvkEB1JDXWuHAguxYaM4GdTQicaMoIS8JuKzrqzvjInAvnMxQNWmJvMFFc-mFZBS7lBzyHhyaSZ5oT_YniQAun9cKK2g0p5ick/s1024/Pincushion_Fairy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="805" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUgle9ec0DXFFmtvv0JI5bKM8vbhlaZqOk0Cj7cCU6z-ixGcX0jge36__vm900GeTrC4wIOVMCrzxEQGVvALCU2_zWxvkEB1JDXWuHAguxYaM4GdTQicaMoIS8JuKzrqzvjInAvnMxQNWmJvMFFc-mFZBS7lBzyHhyaSZ5oT_YniQAun9cKK2g0p5ick/s320/Pincushion_Fairy.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The remaining three are Linen, Bead and Thimble Fairies. I'm going to try to work on Needle Fairy one or two days a week, just a length or two of floss at a time and see if I can get some decent progress on her.<div><br /></div><div>Hope those who celebrate it have a wonderful Thanksgiving this Thursday!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-85869409594510333212023-10-30T10:46:00.000-07:002023-10-30T10:46:23.032-07:00Absolutely amazing retreat!<p>I flew out to Charleston, NC at the beginning of the month for a Mirabilia retreat, and I am so glad I did as it was so much fun! This was the first retreat that the hosts, Maggi and Amy, have ever put on, but you wouldn't know it from how well it was put together. I definitely hope to attend more of their retreats, even ones with a different guest designer.</p><p>The hotel was in an area billed as a "walking community", so there were a large variety of shops and restaurants within walking distance (round trip within about 1.5miles), and the weather was beautiful, so it was nice to get some exercise in between bouts of sitting and stitching. My table mates were Debbie, Mindy, Rachel and Chris (from left to right, with me in the middle and Nora sitting at her meet & greet table), and it was a very nice group to spend a few days with at table 17:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVunHRla3XJ16vDzJGCNTA2MgMNCT1dpqSkxvoeuZSXWVCloWfN91kVocqji5yEKVrPrrrVQpAOxf571cjr3Xp8DVxLbp2hncQ_nIpF9u4YItpvaoydVMLTIKz-bxVc_3mGgIjafw5a0FvR0_3-8flGBb5ecRj8eMp8FwphuyAOPmFtQn1Y9evu9otEYs/s2048/table%2017%20group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVunHRla3XJ16vDzJGCNTA2MgMNCT1dpqSkxvoeuZSXWVCloWfN91kVocqji5yEKVrPrrrVQpAOxf571cjr3Xp8DVxLbp2hncQ_nIpF9u4YItpvaoydVMLTIKz-bxVc_3mGgIjafw5a0FvR0_3-8flGBb5ecRj8eMp8FwphuyAOPmFtQn1Y9evu9otEYs/s320/table%2017%20group.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>How fun is a photo booth?!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkAoqH84W33IbeE7DP4HOLj-obY6cy3Tjjf6Qqo7ESNbxACEWUp-hVOA4eHF_bTYbEZiXpBmdz9d_G-xm6KR_TJCdGbWESRLx4efeTsG1Y-SdyAeXdnd55VgP2zCeWSWqust2VSdxJTRQWjuvPd92GaDgluv171ejg3dPr8VttBWoCTYQGzYsvyjm558/s1280/table%2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="430" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkAoqH84W33IbeE7DP4HOLj-obY6cy3Tjjf6Qqo7ESNbxACEWUp-hVOA4eHF_bTYbEZiXpBmdz9d_G-xm6KR_TJCdGbWESRLx4efeTsG1Y-SdyAeXdnd55VgP2zCeWSWqust2VSdxJTRQWjuvPd92GaDgluv171ejg3dPr8VttBWoCTYQGzYsvyjm558/s320/table%2017.JPG" width="108" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Every person won a door prize (which is pretty amazing because there were almost 150 attendees); my table number must have brought me luck because I won the OOP Adia the Garden Fairy:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0t-eu6_URtXh-qzlCNySFH9N6BtkxBfibBB9w-bjvLSUntEKgeFAMJdHfAna4EDnFP2Wgd7cpKxNO_7sJE-_EvLCWj1oG1iyNczbIkrrYxxQ3-0HNuX5IHNtprpbFqaXKRQXDthywZdxkoIhJlnX7vg-tBZu0erBLHG5kAmqyp6R8RJSAdVyNKVuYf8/s2016/aida.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0t-eu6_URtXh-qzlCNySFH9N6BtkxBfibBB9w-bjvLSUntEKgeFAMJdHfAna4EDnFP2Wgd7cpKxNO_7sJE-_EvLCWj1oG1iyNczbIkrrYxxQ3-0HNuX5IHNtprpbFqaXKRQXDthywZdxkoIhJlnX7vg-tBZu0erBLHG5kAmqyp6R8RJSAdVyNKVuYf8/s320/aida.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>However, I already have two Adia charts so I gifted it to Rachel, who is a relatively new stitcher. It was so nice to sit with a younger stitcher and see someone at the start of their stitching journey, but also odd because I don't feel that differently than I did when I was the younger stitcher!</div><div><br /></div><div>There was also a table full of prizes that were raffled off on Saturday night. Everyone got some tickets in their welcome pack, but you could also buy extra tickets at a rate of 5 for $5; the proceeds from the sale of those tickets were donated to a local animal shelter. The grand total raised and donated was $5213, which is absolutely amazing!</div><div><br /></div><div>The brag tables took up one entire wall of the room, and pieces were still stacked up in piles because there wasn't enough room to have them all displayed:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNfdWrlkPGPZdRQfSfpG6S5tMjutHDT9JQVZVYA1no3NFCmPFGg9X0oBu1Zv2CtabHY12n8LTpxde9_qKx6Lm9w-Fem72POkjSTI6P9FwmT4uEns-Xom2Bv4YdZ0q4_fBGD-eeHhQ7-5UZlAaDimjfT0p3gLFRRql21r5jgQN_aJ15G6qIYeM8waZA5E/s2016/brag%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNfdWrlkPGPZdRQfSfpG6S5tMjutHDT9JQVZVYA1no3NFCmPFGg9X0oBu1Zv2CtabHY12n8LTpxde9_qKx6Lm9w-Fem72POkjSTI6P9FwmT4uEns-Xom2Bv4YdZ0q4_fBGD-eeHhQ7-5UZlAaDimjfT0p3gLFRRql21r5jgQN_aJ15G6qIYeM8waZA5E/s320/brag%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lDiuXyy-41mqQ9Az5Vr7faxuQmTapIPLFf8eV3n4g2Q4v2GZmiru9GhALQH-kr7Qnor0dU1kgSzdpTBAWh1yCbECOf65TpmPlmYSw4LUAGTAAX4yY3xVejc9UhkwH0U8lUBMFO9SCJC4pN3obJoDcbl7r40Wn2B_8YO_IuMbCU9TZGSN0c5R9zd3KA4/s2016/brag%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lDiuXyy-41mqQ9Az5Vr7faxuQmTapIPLFf8eV3n4g2Q4v2GZmiru9GhALQH-kr7Qnor0dU1kgSzdpTBAWh1yCbECOf65TpmPlmYSw4LUAGTAAX4yY3xVejc9UhkwH0U8lUBMFO9SCJC4pN3obJoDcbl7r40Wn2B_8YO_IuMbCU9TZGSN0c5R9zd3KA4/s320/brag%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGi3ZZ6l-_VEdH6xgeUiTe2pCnxAFedP1Hhc0amdqyrYOt3DsAt-PPkNTHYqBLg9zcuuIqmFuvMphU8a3fEUXS_QIHKaKEMNVNxnXzpPVjE95gwJMoIsnzdxU1y5Fnlzt0FvgEOQ9P6Vqx5w4nfEVDur8mVlAqjAK_k8098Oygt4BgBsFU-X5RMEBgWE/s2016/brag%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGi3ZZ6l-_VEdH6xgeUiTe2pCnxAFedP1Hhc0amdqyrYOt3DsAt-PPkNTHYqBLg9zcuuIqmFuvMphU8a3fEUXS_QIHKaKEMNVNxnXzpPVjE95gwJMoIsnzdxU1y5Fnlzt0FvgEOQ9P6Vqx5w4nfEVDur8mVlAqjAK_k8098Oygt4BgBsFU-X5RMEBgWE/s320/brag%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GXmHCLMUJf5tEz7oj2OxyVtfA5aX20ATuOBh4RwLhtCZ5Mk4NkdTPdmBPlLlSNak7QZCf65bWdiJ7oTepyNfjbbWA9xJstR52CAjNpA1O-c1IsZxafhkaih24b0BimzHa55_6HMp7sW5ivQqu-1s10ZzRSHuo3FXCGlNxbkOzb6QKt3rqXU_V9RTrT8/s2016/brag%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GXmHCLMUJf5tEz7oj2OxyVtfA5aX20ATuOBh4RwLhtCZ5Mk4NkdTPdmBPlLlSNak7QZCf65bWdiJ7oTepyNfjbbWA9xJstR52CAjNpA1O-c1IsZxafhkaih24b0BimzHa55_6HMp7sW5ivQqu-1s10ZzRSHuo3FXCGlNxbkOzb6QKt3rqXU_V9RTrT8/s320/brag%204.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZVcaCuWLEEpeqspN57bvAGJS4Q2n38ROcB3OV5EfmoWWbvXjtVpdTDj2BBNHIInaYP6TYFw9NYU8H35JrhQKW6Ftxet1nCTNaH0hm4wUf516QKZMsDV9yLiNFMjSueIauS2s6sz0eNcZSJkZLHWK1HIYoEeCc6v1kCJgSsf4RN-r2ptEXBMd36xJEO4/s2016/brag%205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZVcaCuWLEEpeqspN57bvAGJS4Q2n38ROcB3OV5EfmoWWbvXjtVpdTDj2BBNHIInaYP6TYFw9NYU8H35JrhQKW6Ftxet1nCTNaH0hm4wUf516QKZMsDV9yLiNFMjSueIauS2s6sz0eNcZSJkZLHWK1HIYoEeCc6v1kCJgSsf4RN-r2ptEXBMd36xJEO4/s320/brag%205.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQHR1HyTavhST8oRqjhatQj8fNzU17lIn0lCiFAvpr6JbANviW10mhL_BPe14RBdWmIktwYFqqRCwKFeZ3mLI9oJ8xSbq4YpssmhyphenhyphendXMm_tbe6emsninUogf00idr07kgqbtOhrhiumVmMFKTM-OHtry33CFhrT_87qxS1yBiXiwvo1yshrRueLSvUD8/s2016/brag%206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQHR1HyTavhST8oRqjhatQj8fNzU17lIn0lCiFAvpr6JbANviW10mhL_BPe14RBdWmIktwYFqqRCwKFeZ3mLI9oJ8xSbq4YpssmhyphenhyphendXMm_tbe6emsninUogf00idr07kgqbtOhrhiumVmMFKTM-OHtry33CFhrT_87qxS1yBiXiwvo1yshrRueLSvUD8/s320/brag%206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlTVEzOMueH-hRZ3Dn_2NMg55Mbv4kLkUTR7KAF13sMroeMu0ihZEQRLzyK8fHpErYsKrv29sLgIJhqn0W7gXkG0f55-bdwnWfyyRotBwRn1-4zeIgPOdCMvUbuT0ZDtlN-k8YpC7VHv7rkHzth5Oa_7Ld5dAdU80ImYj6XYv73BEwcZG3adpu4jabkM/s2016/brag%207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlTVEzOMueH-hRZ3Dn_2NMg55Mbv4kLkUTR7KAF13sMroeMu0ihZEQRLzyK8fHpErYsKrv29sLgIJhqn0W7gXkG0f55-bdwnWfyyRotBwRn1-4zeIgPOdCMvUbuT0ZDtlN-k8YpC7VHv7rkHzth5Oa_7Ld5dAdU80ImYj6XYv73BEwcZG3adpu4jabkM/s320/brag%207.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34EeRnSRBWM_HNkdHyUMUObrRPWlh1MK1U7zfJruJ__RPDJHCLG2iTJuIpIczpVarW5qBloSTGS1v8FOufyFQ3RWwu8Giy3qhTrRPZByKIl2hx6rnvnAehkL738kAND3IW2ddxIdY1m8iFSfDlagV2BNU4HZIWm73DVfoyVMkoYj-R0QZtt2r5XZlppQ/s2016/brag%208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34EeRnSRBWM_HNkdHyUMUObrRPWlh1MK1U7zfJruJ__RPDJHCLG2iTJuIpIczpVarW5qBloSTGS1v8FOufyFQ3RWwu8Giy3qhTrRPZByKIl2hx6rnvnAehkL738kAND3IW2ddxIdY1m8iFSfDlagV2BNU4HZIWm73DVfoyVMkoYj-R0QZtt2r5XZlppQ/s320/brag%208.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtwHDLoupqvoWnUoLoHE0Ezcsms-ku3CNo68LNfZaA9kQ1y1ZhSaIlJbxQGACWGhEZYJnVKiDVis7m0ap44Kc6RRaBNWqWA7eDofo5p0ncOJbUZmf2AgHk2bHEx1DfGdA1yKt8182zjA6CKggHh226jCXvDhmpp2BfrdnPfR5Ti3aAPcqbZ8p13qbvj0/s2016/brag%209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGtwHDLoupqvoWnUoLoHE0Ezcsms-ku3CNo68LNfZaA9kQ1y1ZhSaIlJbxQGACWGhEZYJnVKiDVis7m0ap44Kc6RRaBNWqWA7eDofo5p0ncOJbUZmf2AgHk2bHEx1DfGdA1yKt8182zjA6CKggHh226jCXvDhmpp2BfrdnPfR5Ti3aAPcqbZ8p13qbvj0/s320/brag%209.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Even knowing how much better these designs look IRL doesn't prepare you for the so much blingy beauty in one space--it was almost overwhelming!</div><div><br /></div><div>Nora Corbett did a meet & greet on Friday morning, then gave a talk on Saturday morning and the hosts did a Q & A with her as well:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0i61YMZqPFRTs4L3FG3g7_Sm6LjdqRfoMjnoYZZ08ZwiUPVqzVAVZhhLmYKIkRchDBRdRZppC1kztg22Rlu3QqaaWuN4CYLZD-4zFuixS2NeYebQl04lRSk1a3bOSfASBQAB5nuEOaNg5N1PMcbP9kFWvdCtB7NG61Mfvh88puGxuGbczQydMgbPlCA/s2016/nora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0i61YMZqPFRTs4L3FG3g7_Sm6LjdqRfoMjnoYZZ08ZwiUPVqzVAVZhhLmYKIkRchDBRdRZppC1kztg22Rlu3QqaaWuN4CYLZD-4zFuixS2NeYebQl04lRSk1a3bOSfASBQAB5nuEOaNg5N1PMcbP9kFWvdCtB7NG61Mfvh88puGxuGbczQydMgbPlCA/s320/nora.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>She also spent time visiting tables and getting inspiration for possible new designs. Someone suggested doing Betsy Ross, so Nora spent some time with an attendee studying and sketching her hand movements as she stitched:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mb0nqKo4fgyK8j0Ki9VCA8EG0p9uUTHAhKs6GPCeMMXLQwwXD0PesOAphpA9yMrAVHPk0t-rN09BrCbbnRuiokFDWRHkDYPV1AY3c99CD5KVi5dbiuZzmwiasu2bt8peOw2I5J1gjIoopxEIYdGv7g3eKYmCUa6r-ZTKw8Y_Vp56RBE-vL6JWWPfGL4/s2016/nora%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mb0nqKo4fgyK8j0Ki9VCA8EG0p9uUTHAhKs6GPCeMMXLQwwXD0PesOAphpA9yMrAVHPk0t-rN09BrCbbnRuiokFDWRHkDYPV1AY3c99CD5KVi5dbiuZzmwiasu2bt8peOw2I5J1gjIoopxEIYdGv7g3eKYmCUa6r-ZTKw8Y_Vp56RBE-vL6JWWPfGL4/s320/nora%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>It was such a thrill to see her in action, after being a fan for so many (30!) years. And if Betsy Ross shows up as a chart in about a year from now, you read it here first! </div><div><br /></div><div>I took Silver Moon Tea with me, and spent Thursday evening working on her; basically, all I stitched was the teacup and the steam trails above it:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYwsTixOH5uT3c7gKgVVwx39FZq7oe7e83W7JIHCh8pcw7G_f97F1RiatGYtegVDtHvZ8_y0YPQM6Px_s-SJkRF3mgE-5TjoRsWnBvrO3aDOrrDdXNP27FoTS2gXAUyFR9xEzfxmG6hKt1aADIS7a9RoU16de1BfzB7Qc7khhc6JyyclfZTVS2IM7U7A/s2592/silver%20moon%20tea%2019-9-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYwsTixOH5uT3c7gKgVVwx39FZq7oe7e83W7JIHCh8pcw7G_f97F1RiatGYtegVDtHvZ8_y0YPQM6Px_s-SJkRF3mgE-5TjoRsWnBvrO3aDOrrDdXNP27FoTS2gXAUyFR9xEzfxmG6hKt1aADIS7a9RoU16de1BfzB7Qc7khhc6JyyclfZTVS2IM7U7A/s320/silver%20moon%20tea%2019-9-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>There was a chart designed by Nora for the attendees (which will be released a free chart for everyone at some point in the future), so I decided to work on that starting Friday morning. I bought a piece of fabric from Grace Notes Fabrics, who was a vendor in the room; it's called Melissa and it's on 36ct linen; this is how far I got by Saturday night:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnl-6o4C7dVNnYHbxDi3w0Zn4z_Si8KTr18JMcbFoHNDX3VPlsMx8s0CljSNM2wbdno-3vnRpl7tfxzmIB30TcQMhAWwyJkPMPTXMSMIF6dBqaX4hZ6zmbDbfNkWyvaLi5qjlhA9lKrNmnhRgPMOXa9A1ReDNBe80TGqsxXKKAsfhQkFx6_aQrx9FQCI/s2048/retreat%20design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2048" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnl-6o4C7dVNnYHbxDi3w0Zn4z_Si8KTr18JMcbFoHNDX3VPlsMx8s0CljSNM2wbdno-3vnRpl7tfxzmIB30TcQMhAWwyJkPMPTXMSMIF6dBqaX4hZ6zmbDbfNkWyvaLi5qjlhA9lKrNmnhRgPMOXa9A1ReDNBe80TGqsxXKKAsfhQkFx6_aQrx9FQCI/s320/retreat%20design.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I finished it last weekend, and am planning to send it to a finisher to have it made into a project bag using some of this great fabric that Maggi used to have notions bags made for all the attendees:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBS0X1JHMCD-OhwXWbqYd3zveuLT41fzPkVjDf9sjnYyEQR38Wn06qxN0jH0sUEypaSF8yx-6EWkD8F7MajJB7qtZdaOafgsT9CNFt9_xh7Zg9wPpddh31Eq4vcKWXyEo5uxDrSsyp-t1LsVAP98097mwgMUxCSvVQFqnV9FduWel3KsAHxAyaGfFSDK0/s2592/queen%20city%20design.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBS0X1JHMCD-OhwXWbqYd3zveuLT41fzPkVjDf9sjnYyEQR38Wn06qxN0jH0sUEypaSF8yx-6EWkD8F7MajJB7qtZdaOafgsT9CNFt9_xh7Zg9wPpddh31Eq4vcKWXyEo5uxDrSsyp-t1LsVAP98097mwgMUxCSvVQFqnV9FduWel3KsAHxAyaGfFSDK0/s320/queen%20city%20design.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I had to laugh at this picture that Rachel took of Mindy and me scouring the floor for a bead that I dropped on the last night:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePc2-TWVtoMkgvo6ny-yJn7VBDBjYJfr5RcH8sx6FFjVWDRHhAieDFuCJTG7ZcDYKI7Dd2ArWoqChn7Kkx_2_YmDi4GswPKHa6yQs8wOwKI7RCrTsdU3VQyzbcziSMejwih14X-34lxVKQ7gu_Zn_vfqdgOF_zJpspzx0D3wvFim6L_WoG4iGkPk26Hc/s2048/bead%20search.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePc2-TWVtoMkgvo6ny-yJn7VBDBjYJfr5RcH8sx6FFjVWDRHhAieDFuCJTG7ZcDYKI7Dd2ArWoqChn7Kkx_2_YmDi4GswPKHa6yQs8wOwKI7RCrTsdU3VQyzbcziSMejwih14X-34lxVKQ7gu_Zn_vfqdgOF_zJpspzx0D3wvFim6L_WoG4iGkPk26Hc/s320/bead%20search.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>In my defense, it was a Magnifica bead, which are currently unavailable for who knows how long; I did end up finding it, as well as another bead that wasn't even mine, so I doubled the return on my time investment! I guess the person who dropped the other bead isn't as obsessive as I am...</div><div><br /></div><div>On the trip home I had a 6-hour layover at O'Hare, so I improvised a truly portable stitching stand and spent the time working on a Mill Hill kit:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbobL8_MVTzeJ1VMI-lmAH3ERFA6FEIscApjtYd3xdhl7OlRYvrNJbHgaTsSVak37_TF98z_OGjD3SvkCxxoJyGXiBHePVDMlHWZIG6s_yYU-6UhW2QSf5KO55bNNM8O71uYaEgld2drygATTpGJMf5xUtNe0lcs4kYljjn_iwQHgP3blNexyvjANH0Q/s823/Screenshot%20(142).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="658" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbobL8_MVTzeJ1VMI-lmAH3ERFA6FEIscApjtYd3xdhl7OlRYvrNJbHgaTsSVak37_TF98z_OGjD3SvkCxxoJyGXiBHePVDMlHWZIG6s_yYU-6UhW2QSf5KO55bNNM8O71uYaEgld2drygATTpGJMf5xUtNe0lcs4kYljjn_iwQHgP3blNexyvjANH0Q/s320/Screenshot%20(142).png" width="256" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NWKFb57LAMU749RyGMnzU-OvC7HPItockhAwYpvkj-faxX0OeFM3yQVprkTMlRnE5auRz8FHRTr0xNd08P4HIMhInWyIdGbmefWVtI2fK1qAltVt3OeWmOCiCPed8dyuZhzbCZ8a93fWC7o-iyCvRUxHyHHQNvxIK3PWzhpKbPdoxbuSVguFKztE4mQ/s2592/travel%20kit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NWKFb57LAMU749RyGMnzU-OvC7HPItockhAwYpvkj-faxX0OeFM3yQVprkTMlRnE5auRz8FHRTr0xNd08P4HIMhInWyIdGbmefWVtI2fK1qAltVt3OeWmOCiCPed8dyuZhzbCZ8a93fWC7o-iyCvRUxHyHHQNvxIK3PWzhpKbPdoxbuSVguFKztE4mQ/s320/travel%20kit.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>The time really flew by and I was sad to see it end, but I was pretty tired by the time I got home, and it's always good to see my guys and critters. Maggi and Amy will be announcing their 2024 guest in a couple of days, and I'm hoping to be able to get into that event set for next October--fingers crossed!</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-12357333026167386152023-09-25T10:10:00.000-07:002023-09-25T10:10:26.017-07:00Hardly any stitching<p>In the past couple of weeks I have been doing some charting work, so my stitching time has really suffered. The only thing I worked on was Quilting A-Bee-Cs, and so far I only have one color from part 3 finished:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCNwUztRk25mvVxoHARNDy9AGqkwzhibBWHHrNk6SY3x4bmW46y3hhsnmCo4RuIa3WvFJKEG6jX8Iqnv_O8j1eMChMZMzeLuRGTDK_J5vy2ue7E1yf1QlMSStdExZ6LzPxN_8pbtrNdoeZ7AK8ulC5rulzFg8R-SofhPonqAPblQ2mfCb1hkqlQDXG28/s2592/Quilting%209-25-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="2592" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCNwUztRk25mvVxoHARNDy9AGqkwzhibBWHHrNk6SY3x4bmW46y3hhsnmCo4RuIa3WvFJKEG6jX8Iqnv_O8j1eMChMZMzeLuRGTDK_J5vy2ue7E1yf1QlMSStdExZ6LzPxN_8pbtrNdoeZ7AK8ulC5rulzFg8R-SofhPonqAPblQ2mfCb1hkqlQDXG28/s320/Quilting%209-25-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />I've been charting a couple of things; the first was a hand drawn chart by Nora Corbett that she gifted to her Patreon subscribers:<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3NmoL7PYFOB82s3oBjIK-r35jtXrN5qRMQuwi1hpjj9yCo9kxBHLP03Gap32Y3hF7aFtpmFoKZmAgLN9dMaWKeEcMGqkmbzVlmdWiGn9KIwjVSU1ADqXtH8TNfyDrsogC8AIfw60Ui_k5A84wZg7jv4Me3KDNED7Nu6c376ETOcyUdki-p3KxK6HRjo/s793/Screenshot%20(118).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="569" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3NmoL7PYFOB82s3oBjIK-r35jtXrN5qRMQuwi1hpjj9yCo9kxBHLP03Gap32Y3hF7aFtpmFoKZmAgLN9dMaWKeEcMGqkmbzVlmdWiGn9KIwjVSU1ADqXtH8TNfyDrsogC8AIfw60Ui_k5A84wZg7jv4Me3KDNED7Nu6c376ETOcyUdki-p3KxK6HRjo/s320/Screenshot%20(118).png" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nora suggested that "hand" could be replaced with the stitcher's name, so I decided to do that (luckily the capital M had already been charted!), and I changed the single blue flower to pink because I just couldn't get past one flower in a different color:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJgQ61dlnPA_0mb9acWry5ze_guWFy8Bqj7JNrXkadVkMqtOdd249CZrhfrLEY5KLkcnN8DKB7Jtt0CW8yu1xF-1YTkrj3PjeYzV4ckVd1Ty9lGwVdUv7kDlesm_m5Hr9HXKOKu1iiBU8SEr44dI4T9suSnf4E-TbDWSYtbr5rwMoqdS4moQVKLIlTvY/s785/Screenshot%20(119).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJgQ61dlnPA_0mb9acWry5ze_guWFy8Bqj7JNrXkadVkMqtOdd249CZrhfrLEY5KLkcnN8DKB7Jtt0CW8yu1xF-1YTkrj3PjeYzV4ckVd1Ty9lGwVdUv7kDlesm_m5Hr9HXKOKu1iiBU8SEr44dI4T9suSnf4E-TbDWSYtbr5rwMoqdS4moQVKLIlTvY/s320/Screenshot%20(119).png" width="215" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then, since I was already working with the charting software, I decided to test out an idea I've been pondering for a while. I've always loved the skirt portion of Lavender & Lace's Angel of Love (which was actually designed by Nora for her mother's company), but I've never really liked the top portion of the design. I was wondering if the top of Mirabilia's Angel of the New Dawn would look good with the Angel of Love skirt, so for the past several days I've been working on a mashup of the two. I still need to do some tweaking of the chart, and I'll be converting the beads from round to cylindrical, but I think I'll be able to make it work. Here are the two designs:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70mgpzeTax8xjTxxDGdDxyB84ziUxNsR1vdD2NynBDIm9MuUs_89fYw5KKgDP6uoGDXMhngHYgE01DwS48sX_HuDDYAhiPwB9O5tAbdckxFrUWpiI5GTxeOKQrm8fpzlWxeL45CBV-W47mCThWC8VgQzpAU4q85R8KJ2xARf-CFIP3DTlutGQfaoTKdo/s1860/mashup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1860" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70mgpzeTax8xjTxxDGdDxyB84ziUxNsR1vdD2NynBDIm9MuUs_89fYw5KKgDP6uoGDXMhngHYgE01DwS48sX_HuDDYAhiPwB9O5tAbdckxFrUWpiI5GTxeOKQrm8fpzlWxeL45CBV-W47mCThWC8VgQzpAU4q85R8KJ2xARf-CFIP3DTlutGQfaoTKdo/s320/mashup.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here's a rough draft of the mashup:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG5jvrwDXcs58Pm7NIJeT8Ok8Zcz4SuC8NrG-8FkFCheAIGoCm7gHHO4aVXw2BQgymsmFnCddoOzrE6vp5T2VgCewYlvs6POFneJwbzUaboocz8rPOZs7Vf2BZ5mfaOGyp0RJbfDUEwKIR305WRwJ3UNHe-I7L1r7mS7Pm1sD8BmUu6SCMEunNg9kOB4/s782/Screenshot%20(126).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG5jvrwDXcs58Pm7NIJeT8Ok8Zcz4SuC8NrG-8FkFCheAIGoCm7gHHO4aVXw2BQgymsmFnCddoOzrE6vp5T2VgCewYlvs6POFneJwbzUaboocz8rPOZs7Vf2BZ5mfaOGyp0RJbfDUEwKIR305WRwJ3UNHe-I7L1r7mS7Pm1sD8BmUu6SCMEunNg9kOB4/s320/Screenshot%20(126).png" width="256" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I'll probably start working on it sometime after the retreat, which I leave for next Wednesday. Right now I'm starting to get everything together for the trip, and I'm probably not going to get much stitching done in the next week. It's been quite a while since I worked on a Mirabilia so I wasn't sure what stitching to take; I went through my WIP bin and found Silver Moon Tea, which was last worked on about 10 years ago--at a retreat, funnily enough! This is the last photo I found of it in my blog:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaBiZuxUvC6HXR5mnVUzAec2ShKMWwGMOuierS0eBx_ytOGqtTrXlR4TxuLpZc322Kvuihs_r7RqN-Sdtbk8LoCqBKFVwczUqKFocXB-tvhh4imauBV3gjdgZ1i9j1stYSOeNN8qvM9ip4i9Of_x-4_gZqYM38VrlPOt7SKses2YP3QcuNclUxl-gMKw/s770/Silver%20Moon%20Tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="770" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaBiZuxUvC6HXR5mnVUzAec2ShKMWwGMOuierS0eBx_ytOGqtTrXlR4TxuLpZc322Kvuihs_r7RqN-Sdtbk8LoCqBKFVwczUqKFocXB-tvhh4imauBV3gjdgZ1i9j1stYSOeNN8qvM9ip4i9Of_x-4_gZqYM38VrlPOt7SKses2YP3QcuNclUxl-gMKw/s320/Silver%20Moon%20Tea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I might have done a bit more on it than this; if I did, I'll take a photo before the retreat so I can see how much progress I make. I like this one because it's fairly small in size, so I can take moderately sized Qsnaps, and it won't take a lot of room to work on at a shared table. There is also going to be a chart by Nora handed out, so I'm taking a few fabrics in case I decide to work on that instead, but it's hard to pick a fabric without knowing what the design looks like!<div><br /></div><div>I'm also expecting Hands on Design's final Gather Round kit to arrive later this week; it turns out Cathy did surprise us (or me, anyway) by making it "Gather Pinecones" instead of "Gather Snowflakes". I think it might be my new favorite of the set:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HkeBVPWUvIlRow3mCtfawY8l0MwEv2tcwZRL0RAHPFTP4ru0rhCwt0L47kkHw1Z8XVt0NotSr4psdIesOlhe65c85600p-9nsxyjixz1rrsJicd94_Cq-GA5RV4ncI64i_N7NDWAizZI-jPbTwO80KZPVzzqbbUzTC-fBYa-e-zRgh4uRYK4jo0SdyM/s1080/gather%20pinecones.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HkeBVPWUvIlRow3mCtfawY8l0MwEv2tcwZRL0RAHPFTP4ru0rhCwt0L47kkHw1Z8XVt0NotSr4psdIesOlhe65c85600p-9nsxyjixz1rrsJicd94_Cq-GA5RV4ncI64i_N7NDWAizZI-jPbTwO80KZPVzzqbbUzTC-fBYa-e-zRgh4uRYK4jo0SdyM/s320/gather%20pinecones.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-85481178497750496632023-09-11T08:51:00.000-07:002023-09-11T08:51:40.216-07:00Appleton/Green Bay Tiny Town is done<p>I finished my personalized Heart in Hand Any Town Tiny Town last week, and while my buildings would probably have fit better in a Medium Town, I am pretty happy with the result:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6ImImzjLCkXobPNmOcrePdpEUvo9GeHhDxOLj42THCGWZungtgkaF_jou06KPuJaRNuj_e-z91DHUTGQpAYQzsdRk4R5JS_6-5EAoz7C8uqkBDwOgqnohPqM5e-kFxhTADFHPPTsITwu2M0wSFHeNSvKq6Aqjfj5Ws3yMjVbjSGG7bnjXQM4U7sDxH4/s2456/HIH%20Any%20Town%20Tiny%20Town%20finish%209-6-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="2456" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6ImImzjLCkXobPNmOcrePdpEUvo9GeHhDxOLj42THCGWZungtgkaF_jou06KPuJaRNuj_e-z91DHUTGQpAYQzsdRk4R5JS_6-5EAoz7C8uqkBDwOgqnohPqM5e-kFxhTADFHPPTsITwu2M0wSFHeNSvKq6Aqjfj5Ws3yMjVbjSGG7bnjXQM4U7sDxH4/s320/HIH%20Any%20Town%20Tiny%20Town%20finish%209-6-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TRdE2AT9k3KNLT119uSDnhrUNE_lLYMLtaqeRrdcP4Krvr7tFfbd1So4mX6YlF1pZCRRY2wc5TrWlj66FCxVPM935PzWpa14qY3riqycykDFlfL-M-BRaBQROyXFMrmcz169mP2DIsZIMEh2EIzu8HBoLnnz_LdzUgeanSYqu5ArSptJf0T9Se58Jtc/s2592/HIH%20Any%20Town%20finish%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1522" data-original-width="2592" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TRdE2AT9k3KNLT119uSDnhrUNE_lLYMLtaqeRrdcP4Krvr7tFfbd1So4mX6YlF1pZCRRY2wc5TrWlj66FCxVPM935PzWpa14qY3riqycykDFlfL-M-BRaBQROyXFMrmcz169mP2DIsZIMEh2EIzu8HBoLnnz_LdzUgeanSYqu5ArSptJf0T9Se58Jtc/s320/HIH%20Any%20Town%20finish%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgjyedppvy-NID-Q_QTdwoshNla3i_WOknqoe2OxdEqLCRPdMIF4Ai7dkPbiHcQi9N9OJFXzR0P3qzLeaQdg-Ml6aTGDhOb96VaNipTN9Kmabrbu5SQHXwRTBZuD_cIGKVvIbopWL5dFebBfqVBU7YNWTeXDwWouIRgyPIdpEuA75Zr6x15ErwAEh-1I/s2592/HIH%20Any%20Town%20finish%203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1582" data-original-width="2592" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgjyedppvy-NID-Q_QTdwoshNla3i_WOknqoe2OxdEqLCRPdMIF4Ai7dkPbiHcQi9N9OJFXzR0P3qzLeaQdg-Ml6aTGDhOb96VaNipTN9Kmabrbu5SQHXwRTBZuD_cIGKVvIbopWL5dFebBfqVBU7YNWTeXDwWouIRgyPIdpEuA75Zr6x15ErwAEh-1I/s320/HIH%20Any%20Town%20finish%203.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Here are the three buildings I replicated:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzsh6EY-N8iDmRaRRaSt7fKcK8B5cNuw6HKalZJS5dKcUwQ-VmnEfW82GAUnmfehh9irTN4WAnh7M1BQY8HgMbY2t1SFBvE_7XIvO6gGtORAeLBg5E5BgH8STRTrQv8SVGDGlwxJqMTqvFdN0OUlKfoRGSpfy6URwurKN6j8tDsgpJGJbLaWd29FXnc4/s2016/Lamers%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzsh6EY-N8iDmRaRRaSt7fKcK8B5cNuw6HKalZJS5dKcUwQ-VmnEfW82GAUnmfehh9irTN4WAnh7M1BQY8HgMbY2t1SFBvE_7XIvO6gGtORAeLBg5E5BgH8STRTrQv8SVGDGlwxJqMTqvFdN0OUlKfoRGSpfy6URwurKN6j8tDsgpJGJbLaWd29FXnc4/s320/Lamers%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweFLcMmDes4-JxBm05HA_AQBsduu9Df5SVoa8-kTeyc3aNJo0p-Kpn8ujiDz1QhSgZ8CLSVibXeWldpZB9CdbXfJlUzXNn8wSr5_YK-l1rDDGkPOoMpndeUr8F713mhszPT1T8A1W93fWewMkPPQouliay-OYL_by_9GAcRIBKBu7HUvGq1UaKIoCIgU/s2016/The%20Stitching%20Bee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweFLcMmDes4-JxBm05HA_AQBsduu9Df5SVoa8-kTeyc3aNJo0p-Kpn8ujiDz1QhSgZ8CLSVibXeWldpZB9CdbXfJlUzXNn8wSr5_YK-l1rDDGkPOoMpndeUr8F713mhszPT1T8A1W93fWewMkPPQouliay-OYL_by_9GAcRIBKBu7HUvGq1UaKIoCIgU/s320/The%20Stitching%20Bee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4gfKDWq3OKnJWuxaFFE5hrQGGDOE8basIqU1KfTnwBAimYkfY4-i32DXOOuXCQLPRsjUM9jtSD-CB49YJKX7_uDzHwJiAgvrvUTwRjNkyEViWbRMgoW-tOxYxMRT3vc6RmZAbA7bASgqRNmNS5CEK0E93eC8rHB-WeElFBUs23xVRYeIE2xY9_Jf6dc/s2016/flower%20shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4gfKDWq3OKnJWuxaFFE5hrQGGDOE8basIqU1KfTnwBAimYkfY4-i32DXOOuXCQLPRsjUM9jtSD-CB49YJKX7_uDzHwJiAgvrvUTwRjNkyEViWbRMgoW-tOxYxMRT3vc6RmZAbA7bASgqRNmNS5CEK0E93eC8rHB-WeElFBUs23xVRYeIE2xY9_Jf6dc/s320/flower%20shop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I have three Tiny Towns completed now that I want to send to my finisher, but unfortunately, I've already missed the cut off to have them done this year. By the time she'll be ready to take them I'll have at least one more town done (Harvest Tiny Town), and possibly more if Cecilia releases another one in a few months. Harvest will be my ninth; I'm glad I started these fairly soon after the second (or third?) one was released so I can keep up with them as they are released--such a fun series!<br /><p>I decided to start on part 3 of Quilting A-Bee-Cs instead of Owlvira's house, since part 4 should be available at 123Stitch in two or three weeks; I don't want to get too far behind on a fairly large design and then have it end up in the WIP bin for years. I haven't made a lot of progress since I spent quite a bit of the weekend cleaning, but I'm hoping to get a lot done this week:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4yMPX-UjhQBGxLICXmrmP3Yecs4uzEyZkRpYq6NnCtmo8lc4lhR9-EZ7nwKXYFMY1ybeqJFD61HvnC0KWsZj2MB3C5Pk0hWNzwL3GtPsrLV8tc9TJDMETZCx88sfAHgd2ntLF95uVqY3R5ik1BrNccO7fmFgYm9gqvVLFcxtBz_QC02xuCesyKUmlIY/s2592/Quilting%209-9-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1305" data-original-width="2592" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4yMPX-UjhQBGxLICXmrmP3Yecs4uzEyZkRpYq6NnCtmo8lc4lhR9-EZ7nwKXYFMY1ybeqJFD61HvnC0KWsZj2MB3C5Pk0hWNzwL3GtPsrLV8tc9TJDMETZCx88sfAHgd2ntLF95uVqY3R5ik1BrNccO7fmFgYm9gqvVLFcxtBz_QC02xuCesyKUmlIY/s320/Quilting%209-9-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-44207654069274005322023-09-04T08:56:00.001-07:002023-09-11T10:23:07.614-07:00Autumn would be my favorite season...<p>...if it weren't followed by winter! I'm always a bit sad this time of year, knowing that we're heading for shorter days and colder temps; February is the shortest month of the year but I'm already dreading how long it seems to take to make it through to March. Not that March is noticeably better, but at least there's the tantalizing possibility of that first little peek of spring, and knowing that soon everything will be turning green and there'll be beautiful weather ahead for months to come.</p><p>We're actually having a mini heat wave here for a few days, hitting around 90F during the warmest part of the day, but we recently had some pretty cool days so I made use of them by getting most of the fall clean-up yard work done already. I'll probably do a bit more trimming on some of the bushes and trees, but it's nice to have the bulk of the work finished this early, especially since I'll be heading to North Carolina one month from today for a Mirabilia retreat that Nora Corbett will be attending. It's getting close enough now that I need to start figuring out how to pack so that I can just take a carry-on bag, and my flights have already been changed a couple of times so when it gets a bit closer I'll have to figure out if I need to change anything with those. I wish it was close enough to drive, but I know I would go crazy being in a car for that long!</p><p>I haven't been doing a lot of stitching because I've been busy outside, but I did finish part 2 or Erica Michaels' Quilting A-Bee-Cs:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jRDtZmVok3vrxqbl-bqQuaMgv8HChBiCGXyNb3ruzQcexc_yJJU-A80KL1LCvAuO6YU0Djs9dbjJ1Fw135ooibDVzZyKU94web6WXWIpOhlDQ9tNArVcwQB9VO7zTqcDCb87oDf0mjg3MSrqx5eitH7vVGyfSankf9BH_ucMaqrizmx5XWnv2U-EGzI/s2592/Quilting%20part%202%208-16-23.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1281" data-original-width="2592" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jRDtZmVok3vrxqbl-bqQuaMgv8HChBiCGXyNb3ruzQcexc_yJJU-A80KL1LCvAuO6YU0Djs9dbjJ1Fw135ooibDVzZyKU94web6WXWIpOhlDQ9tNArVcwQB9VO7zTqcDCb87oDf0mjg3MSrqx5eitH7vVGyfSankf9BH_ucMaqrizmx5XWnv2U-EGzI/s320/Quilting%20part%202%208-16-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Part 3 has arrived, but I'm not sure when I'll get to it at this point. I was going to work on it after I finished my Any Town Tiny Town, but Just Nan released another amazing 3D house design that I've already kitted up and that I'm excited to start:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6nR_YoJl6i_yvRVGZGH3CKZWswgCiX_FsWdCscw5Se7jWXoSuKwpU08yI4R9yT9uFjnwkTP0HuE7Tnyx0AIFZayQEIPz3PtbL04nsNhKpDVfNUDebS8v_GnfOuF-enxMz-KAix2zR7b22uGV7YsflknslDMN1hQNMN9yYUeyS-XOfJSNaSNl1nfwOrQ/s2592/owlvira.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE6nR_YoJl6i_yvRVGZGH3CKZWswgCiX_FsWdCscw5Se7jWXoSuKwpU08yI4R9yT9uFjnwkTP0HuE7Tnyx0AIFZayQEIPz3PtbL04nsNhKpDVfNUDebS8v_GnfOuF-enxMz-KAix2zR7b22uGV7YsflknslDMN1hQNMN9yYUeyS-XOfJSNaSNl1nfwOrQ/s320/owlvira.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div><br /></div>The main part of the house is stitched together on one piece of fabric in a cross shape, then sewn together. The chart has every side being stitched in the same orientation on the fabric, but that means when it is assembled some of the sides will have the top legs of the stitches going in a different direction than some of the other sides. I think when I stitch it, I'll probably turn it as needed to make sure all of the sides have the stitches going the same way when assembled (since I'm just weird that way!).<div><br /></div><div>First, I need to finish my Any Town, which I should be able to do tonight or tomorrow; I need to finish the flower shop, add a tree next to it and then go back and add some French knots and buttons:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMc7m7XQKQfMFPMg5ZTmo8sCF4YwKAiKWYbYTWv9qAFiqbSWXT8DfR4RAK8HWM0Va6Bpe_RhI12sua8kXp8L-gjA8MO5rRkvFUlFLpRmwTib9D-oQlLgyf2-yYPIq6m1XOaaJ0mkEm7GBXBsyQ0jiLVzjJqWu4dRj8Q0k_yfwTxBOG_jJWueSGrVRbsQ/s2589/HIH%20Any%20Town%209-3-23.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="2589" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMc7m7XQKQfMFPMg5ZTmo8sCF4YwKAiKWYbYTWv9qAFiqbSWXT8DfR4RAK8HWM0Va6Bpe_RhI12sua8kXp8L-gjA8MO5rRkvFUlFLpRmwTib9D-oQlLgyf2-yYPIq6m1XOaaJ0mkEm7GBXBsyQ0jiLVzjJqWu4dRj8Q0k_yfwTxBOG_jJWueSGrVRbsQ/s320/HIH%20Any%20Town%209-3-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I was concerned that the buildings I designed would be too big and they are, but I couldn't really get them any smaller and still make them look like the originals so I'm just not going to worry about it! Someday I'll probably stitch the town as charted, though probably not for a while since I still have Harvest Tiny Town to get to.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-46042692338914561552023-08-14T09:54:00.000-07:002023-08-14T09:54:02.875-07:00Almost time to stitch a Tiny Town<p>I received the Any Town Tiny Town chart a couple of weeks ago, but I decided to finish up the Hands on Design Polar Plunge and Gather Pumpkins pieces before I started it. I also still need to finish charting another local shop; I have the basics now, but I need to refine it:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrxUQMyQsS-I4a1WydCP8sNB_CUc05vErd0Qw-qz1d1MUjkihbMMkL8-VaRPTEDyn6duvk6G1SXIVmu_rTFdY3WOlnBZxXLjtzGIJfIFcfd_D-k7qMRJaIlWghl2uhp0DRQn_kDPXWQNuqAEfv6cHOYyuJM0HE8SZGN7Ro1fUza26tRjmS_ZXhck8-LI/s1800/Screenshot%20(100).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="1800" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrxUQMyQsS-I4a1WydCP8sNB_CUc05vErd0Qw-qz1d1MUjkihbMMkL8-VaRPTEDyn6duvk6G1SXIVmu_rTFdY3WOlnBZxXLjtzGIJfIFcfd_D-k7qMRJaIlWghl2uhp0DRQn_kDPXWQNuqAEfv6cHOYyuJM0HE8SZGN7Ro1fUza26tRjmS_ZXhck8-LI/s320/Screenshot%20(100).png" width="320" /></a></div><p>This was going to be my next start, but then Cecilia released Harvest Tiny Town and Frill, and I think I'm probably going to start it when it arrives since I really love the color palette:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLmCOEUCPltyNhZRSxwJjXQUe7ZygXgtne-9jjIRGahAeieny4AOIeaXkIvpmy5ErP4XlI9DjsjjFmaaGZ_2VxW-Pn6Ophs9V6ZBqECJIZkNoTftA1N4PJGqwVJeoFBwAZ0yHKYFe5amrgrZEieEz1zvVBLi5cg2HygqNFbtqtL5zCKQFSxzVOUrHlRQ/s1440/harvest%20tiny%20town.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLmCOEUCPltyNhZRSxwJjXQUe7ZygXgtne-9jjIRGahAeieny4AOIeaXkIvpmy5ErP4XlI9DjsjjFmaaGZ_2VxW-Pn6Ophs9V6ZBqECJIZkNoTftA1N4PJGqwVJeoFBwAZ0yHKYFe5amrgrZEieEz1zvVBLi5cg2HygqNFbtqtL5zCKQFSxzVOUrHlRQ/s320/harvest%20tiny%20town.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Right now I'm still working on part 2 of Erica Michaels' Quilting A-Bee-Cs, which I'm hoping to finish tonight:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyySUrlmrkxA0qlRQmNYTiTrsJzOFr4RnYZulSk1wRvRzHoAlEWNaup6hnRBoo8sqdVpa2J0kIFkh5m5qe8-DVKygXuoIC2w8e4xuKmJwsErumZFQwzyulGqdzb7pldfJjY4m8ZVf1pfiLStnH_eTYBo9UD0ARC3pooj5h926diCSwn6I5pC2oNszQXc/s2592/Quilting%208-13-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="2592" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyySUrlmrkxA0qlRQmNYTiTrsJzOFr4RnYZulSk1wRvRzHoAlEWNaup6hnRBoo8sqdVpa2J0kIFkh5m5qe8-DVKygXuoIC2w8e4xuKmJwsErumZFQwzyulGqdzb7pldfJjY4m8ZVf1pfiLStnH_eTYBo9UD0ARC3pooj5h926diCSwn6I5pC2oNszQXc/s320/Quilting%208-13-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Part 3 should be arriving at 123Stitch soon, so the plan is to start that after the Harvest Tiny Town. I have to say that while I'm enjoying getting some of these smaller designs stitched (and even fully finished!), I'm starting to get the itch to work on a Mirabilia design--missing the pretty ladies!</p><p>Finally, I was able to finish Amy Bruecken's Moonlight Magic last week, stitched with Classic Colorworks on PTP Crystal Haunted:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xn7VKkEafWcBR4W-R-GO0ki-Wk66PMAM9FkT0XT7ZIWxbWIa74KYzoGHvPvSynvZ9yiyngHEIItoTNgh4nOUrMmlugtp9DwI_TpdbklvBChX0mx-LU5S4DFQ20cHBFuZTstl_fy6E3kDRfAibvgwtBjxJLDbgIS2NYu3Fkgq2Zstbb-y7NTJFAno494/s2093/AB%20Moonlight%20Magic%208-8-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2093" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xn7VKkEafWcBR4W-R-GO0ki-Wk66PMAM9FkT0XT7ZIWxbWIa74KYzoGHvPvSynvZ9yiyngHEIItoTNgh4nOUrMmlugtp9DwI_TpdbklvBChX0mx-LU5S4DFQ20cHBFuZTstl_fy6E3kDRfAibvgwtBjxJLDbgIS2NYu3Fkgq2Zstbb-y7NTJFAno494/s320/AB%20Moonlight%20Magic%208-8-23.JPG" width="296" /></a></div><p>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</p>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-19930107331876409632023-08-07T12:44:00.000-07:002023-08-07T12:44:07.679-07:00My first Friendstitch<p>Friendstitch is an online retreat hosted by the designers of Heart in Hand Needleart and Bent Creek, which I hadn't heard of until recently. This year is the fourth time they've had it, and I think this is the first time that they've split it into two "pop up" events; this past Saturday was the Halloween PopUp Gathering and then there will be a Needlework PopUp Gathering in October. I received the box with the charts, supplies and miscellaneous goodies on my birthday, which made it even harder not to open, but they were pretty clear that we weren't supposed to open it until the Zoom event (and I am nothing if not a rule follower!):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkNozv9acAEW4z7b5ZviyP75cO_Fgfj-XbURm2T9x7vQZI8srfv-YLnFiHZabD-JXj0n141UW2PT2gM8qkPpT3QmfnPMGX_xxX0KNwcKIaLMsSVIgRNGoLoeawlRtIYZrOvMr2Oxw60bOAncbPtVFHi2mxQSH1Dc8ZqWhm0FLwogqlew71CuWm-ESBJM/s2592/friendstitch%20box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkNozv9acAEW4z7b5ZviyP75cO_Fgfj-XbURm2T9x7vQZI8srfv-YLnFiHZabD-JXj0n141UW2PT2gM8qkPpT3QmfnPMGX_xxX0KNwcKIaLMsSVIgRNGoLoeawlRtIYZrOvMr2Oxw60bOAncbPtVFHi2mxQSH1Dc8ZqWhm0FLwogqlew71CuWm-ESBJM/s320/friendstitch%20box.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>So, I was good and held onto it until the retreat and it was a lot of fun to open and explore with everyone else. There was some candy in there (but not in the photo that I took today because it's already gone!), a little notepad and a couple of little Halloween decorations, a great tote bag and then there were the stitchy goodies:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pWMpGvV1VWQyvtDyA2iiiKSgrdY9cH-HZTMTRV0F3wpO0r3emX_-bTczqDlq4nzQpvrrUR1pjlqPIuqeOzlMlGg9kd3hVZ2760PhoPGXl7qVLuhy6TlE7zKmK9RO3UA35OReibwEVEJAZOwWpTybiDOdRLYp_sMAXRdOgS4RLDsKpiCo9YZ5MMM43Yo/s1908/friendstitch%20goodies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1908" data-original-width="1756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pWMpGvV1VWQyvtDyA2iiiKSgrdY9cH-HZTMTRV0F3wpO0r3emX_-bTczqDlq4nzQpvrrUR1pjlqPIuqeOzlMlGg9kd3hVZ2760PhoPGXl7qVLuhy6TlE7zKmK9RO3UA35OReibwEVEJAZOwWpTybiDOdRLYp_sMAXRdOgS4RLDsKpiCo9YZ5MMM43Yo/s320/friendstitch%20goodies.JPG" width="295" /></a></div><p>This was also the first time that they had a special guest, and she was perfect because she has such adorable Halloween designs--it was Amy Bruecken, and she designed this sweet little chart for the retreat:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwNQzqJNzRXFQKXaxAXL4YkNCvOs0vA-Fq9wPqWpYbmE1JPY07VounjF28CuALv-ztUiNLtZAtcCIeLHfxhJ3kV1yUHpQLmNtJGeSIX3f6HXx0XU_0gDjMtY_BBzZcwOS_Tf8WysuNTDxhGwaVmKr-IqsjVzXnemlPyDuhtdAVHPIVwbL1PLXc2bSV3I/s2592/ABD%20Moonlight%20Magic%208-6-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwNQzqJNzRXFQKXaxAXL4YkNCvOs0vA-Fq9wPqWpYbmE1JPY07VounjF28CuALv-ztUiNLtZAtcCIeLHfxhJ3kV1yUHpQLmNtJGeSIX3f6HXx0XU_0gDjMtY_BBzZcwOS_Tf8WysuNTDxhGwaVmKr-IqsjVzXnemlPyDuhtdAVHPIVwbL1PLXc2bSV3I/s320/ABD%20Moonlight%20Magic%208-6-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm hoping to get that pumpkin finished tonight (or, more likely, tomorrow), then I'll probably stitch the crow and leave the larger chart for last. I really like all of the designs and am happy that I signed up for this without knowing exactly what was involved. Now I'm looking forward to the Needlework PopUp in a couple of months.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I sat waiting to find out what was in the box, I worked on part 2 of Erica Michaels' Quilting A-Bee-Cs, which still isn't finished:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlkjOZ6mviUls_yyeQ3viXEmBappwGpRHbM8ZpELvcMKpPFRbecNKsVeDoa0txaJEh9Kv710Kt0sjRIOZsBlKUzYOPkd-8KON1NwvU3hqEWws-alE1RRqA_knpxQw7LzSsxBvSo7IHQUVRlG3o8ZIT1sSpnSCBzx935bKjQi5abC9prAIqL-W5TY3sgQ/s2592/Quilting%208-5-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1389" data-original-width="2592" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlkjOZ6mviUls_yyeQ3viXEmBappwGpRHbM8ZpELvcMKpPFRbecNKsVeDoa0txaJEh9Kv710Kt0sjRIOZsBlKUzYOPkd-8KON1NwvU3hqEWws-alE1RRqA_knpxQw7LzSsxBvSo7IHQUVRlG3o8ZIT1sSpnSCBzx935bKjQi5abC9prAIqL-W5TY3sgQ/s320/Quilting%208-5-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I've been stitching one color at a time for this part, and it's been fun to see it come together in this way. I'd say I'm about halfway done with this section, so not horrible, but I don't know if it will be completed before part 3 arrives. Must stitch faster!<div><br /></div><div>My son has been subletting an apartment in Madison this summer, so my husband and I drove down there for a day to visit and tour the area; we had a really nice day, though it was about 90F and it felt good to get home that evening. It's about a 2-hour drive, so I took a Mill Hill kit (Kitty Treats) with me to work on in the car, and then I finished it a couple of days later:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2s7CCQ1lifAZs5pSkA3wtiGhm_FBGT4iE8EgXYxJxlH0waHcvyk5N7Ll4YGpOtlmf521ULbeU12N60X1Sd7xC5akcBJV88KplZZPTRcw7RhHemjSlQgh7fKvWrsB6_vd1hmbX1EYBkXvC6m1uMcy45X3HB0Hc8i6t38UdAg_LhhRbV-4AmfprUBw1Nmc/s2271/MH%20Kitty%20Treats%207-30-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1824" data-original-width="2271" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2s7CCQ1lifAZs5pSkA3wtiGhm_FBGT4iE8EgXYxJxlH0waHcvyk5N7Ll4YGpOtlmf521ULbeU12N60X1Sd7xC5akcBJV88KplZZPTRcw7RhHemjSlQgh7fKvWrsB6_vd1hmbX1EYBkXvC6m1uMcy45X3HB0Hc8i6t38UdAg_LhhRbV-4AmfprUBw1Nmc/s320/MH%20Kitty%20Treats%207-30-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>And today I finally took pictures of the last two pieces that I got back from the framer recently; they are Dog and Cat Lessons for People by Lizzie*Kate, which I stitched back in 2011/2012:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVbNUNwN8f2yHs3HQvG8HXlrA4BtnOamQaeYTKvH8x2eOPb0orQ4vpnXV55L2QN-H0VPULFWURyqFPsfoPHVwlCnOFjFwx4JhEHixu8OI4-nCubDkdvA7iW2Xuze9xUj1YiARfU62HKwKRQoaGXG_qpYtZfQcJdQVTRjK27gLMNzu4gP6VPx0K0PliRs/s2420/LK%20Dog%20Lessons%20framed%202023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1855" data-original-width="2420" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVbNUNwN8f2yHs3HQvG8HXlrA4BtnOamQaeYTKvH8x2eOPb0orQ4vpnXV55L2QN-H0VPULFWURyqFPsfoPHVwlCnOFjFwx4JhEHixu8OI4-nCubDkdvA7iW2Xuze9xUj1YiARfU62HKwKRQoaGXG_qpYtZfQcJdQVTRjK27gLMNzu4gP6VPx0K0PliRs/s320/LK%20Dog%20Lessons%20framed%202023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPACWzSkYzXYxngTm-9ntMbKHf1g7-SwB_vF3XOrtZ1IGrAor88z27J4RHap-bL6wxNs4Z9CFw-DL9W9rMLYorCye4waJFdeqST1SfD5Xsq8i_Bl3dfBxUUNluUWls5L1DDcHGbFsqwCSjaK4bmt7FbfBGThXCCjk_9yS3mnD_ow6mNE1wsWhS3f3k7Ds/s2495/LK%20Cat%20Lessons%20framed%202023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1861" data-original-width="2495" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPACWzSkYzXYxngTm-9ntMbKHf1g7-SwB_vF3XOrtZ1IGrAor88z27J4RHap-bL6wxNs4Z9CFw-DL9W9rMLYorCye4waJFdeqST1SfD5Xsq8i_Bl3dfBxUUNluUWls5L1DDcHGbFsqwCSjaK4bmt7FbfBGThXCCjk_9yS3mnD_ow6mNE1wsWhS3f3k7Ds/s320/LK%20Cat%20Lessons%20framed%202023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-11033368177514065162023-07-24T08:16:00.000-07:002023-07-24T08:16:03.793-07:00On a finishing roll!<p>I made steady progress on Gather Pumpkins last week, finishing the stitching on round 1 on Monday:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheS2YyRlLosPVzt309_wGIckpUZCXUGb5Gs0nkfMR1GHp8K6qfpJ65BAtDXkW_YPOdGSVkwkZ03iUmTiOygL-SOuWGlAfS8QNkDFHzxHFfjJDP_qxnRZ4HC-ALijdpk4Ot0JJENBO7KJpPh1PoC7D9OP_CbbVS2GwzW5OqJlIQ0Suzip_ga0xLqfEbDbE/s2410/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-17-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2410" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheS2YyRlLosPVzt309_wGIckpUZCXUGb5Gs0nkfMR1GHp8K6qfpJ65BAtDXkW_YPOdGSVkwkZ03iUmTiOygL-SOuWGlAfS8QNkDFHzxHFfjJDP_qxnRZ4HC-ALijdpk4Ot0JJENBO7KJpPh1PoC7D9OP_CbbVS2GwzW5OqJlIQ0Suzip_ga0xLqfEbDbE/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-17-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Round 2 on Thursday:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbifjFwhSRGUYnGZ1BEJSZyKeo6Jr-ZwPwTsmXfPhhqXdtR3d8t4eR7fGic6vFOvF_3QZa9h--Y-wyZ50tSjPdSf8-GY0V9CXUOOmSGZfyLn1n22EjCo_DqBFQ-KZ33ekWAsvMeIMcs2u-AHAdD25e8gMAkmLs6bP0CdGG_x2BHBs7Zw97aMQDcv6Pr44/s2592/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-20-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2592" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbifjFwhSRGUYnGZ1BEJSZyKeo6Jr-ZwPwTsmXfPhhqXdtR3d8t4eR7fGic6vFOvF_3QZa9h--Y-wyZ50tSjPdSf8-GY0V9CXUOOmSGZfyLn1n22EjCo_DqBFQ-KZ33ekWAsvMeIMcs2u-AHAdD25e8gMAkmLs6bP0CdGG_x2BHBs7Zw97aMQDcv6Pr44/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-20-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>And the final round was completed Saturday night:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN5_aYyumiGGtZ73LK1I6Id64mNnbrhPwkejG7u-yh-D1zZ1rkiuu9N7fyLX2626Kdw1SuL6ftI-V5yqO3UGKo371FAKTea_YhXasfhihfXr7o1VVXvTKyP-1CIRch5Wxv0Pfr8vPMG70og1L07_7PMRDn-Q0OmCgseXLEs5fXRe5FS6wygrhvpNtAgg/s2533/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-22-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1593" data-original-width="2533" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN5_aYyumiGGtZ73LK1I6Id64mNnbrhPwkejG7u-yh-D1zZ1rkiuu9N7fyLX2626Kdw1SuL6ftI-V5yqO3UGKo371FAKTea_YhXasfhihfXr7o1VVXvTKyP-1CIRch5Wxv0Pfr8vPMG70og1L07_7PMRDn-Q0OmCgseXLEs5fXRe5FS6wygrhvpNtAgg/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-22-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Sunday afternoon was spent finishing, and now the I have another set completed in the series:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPezAiE3Wm0Ny0upFV9K22EmorLF4Uf31EajAiYmOLSDTI3K6RhNl_nc0RuBzWjgvfivS4YLyLRpdK2K-Z5HhggP7Y83PqrflZ4ul3ngdd7In25EDj3mJVtUEtfGKcrwU7LpRg4kPYdAr9uazMpmVYPwqq97VF_qr9FsUfadkRIojUlSxjyvd2eZG05ag/s2592/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%20finished%207-23-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="2592" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPezAiE3Wm0Ny0upFV9K22EmorLF4Uf31EajAiYmOLSDTI3K6RhNl_nc0RuBzWjgvfivS4YLyLRpdK2K-Z5HhggP7Y83PqrflZ4ul3ngdd7In25EDj3mJVtUEtfGKcrwU7LpRg4kPYdAr9uazMpmVYPwqq97VF_qr9FsUfadkRIojUlSxjyvd2eZG05ag/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%20finished%207-23-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>It's hard to believe that there's only one season left. I'm thinking it's almost certainly going to be Gather Snowflakes, but maybe Cathy will surprise us!<div><br /></div><div>Here are all three of the seasons to date:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QPrMxH_gX1vTLEUoQ0wpiupeh-DMruFghr7MzpVTe-dATm9pgCbl--VNnLtDDz-nOD72SQerTugcYV_06VZkg63Zn4zgrY0MVkdScEwJC24oQw7Jh0SnZt3TGBAANzsfCic3pBFi5gkoAxhj1_EZtbvYxcI8PRg6fT_ljxZbtBKD83Se3DIUIPNsO1I/s2063/HOD%20Gather%20Round%207-23-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2063" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QPrMxH_gX1vTLEUoQ0wpiupeh-DMruFghr7MzpVTe-dATm9pgCbl--VNnLtDDz-nOD72SQerTugcYV_06VZkg63Zn4zgrY0MVkdScEwJC24oQw7Jh0SnZt3TGBAANzsfCic3pBFi5gkoAxhj1_EZtbvYxcI8PRg6fT_ljxZbtBKD83Se3DIUIPNsO1I/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Round%207-23-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Last week I also got back some pieces from my framer that I dropped off in March--this time they only took four months instead of eight! Just Nan's Frosty Hopes and High Hopes were stitched around 2003-2004:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkJdh63doTYmcV6ZX9f-bDCwumnwEC0pJIMD0JlXpo5Igq4DdOe-KZk1KU0gwOwZK0aNfQzkBllqDC8ukZFhuC4VFIE4ZfqVxTNgYDo8yV4cuHeGM2T1UfY6HpYjVY7beLK1uu-n_PeRQCQKrpF90Kldurq_mWcsO3rQ3RDt-brPZ_bdkwHI2rKPZIak/s2456/JN%20Frosty%20Hopes%20framed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2456" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkJdh63doTYmcV6ZX9f-bDCwumnwEC0pJIMD0JlXpo5Igq4DdOe-KZk1KU0gwOwZK0aNfQzkBllqDC8ukZFhuC4VFIE4ZfqVxTNgYDo8yV4cuHeGM2T1UfY6HpYjVY7beLK1uu-n_PeRQCQKrpF90Kldurq_mWcsO3rQ3RDt-brPZ_bdkwHI2rKPZIak/s320/JN%20Frosty%20Hopes%20framed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPv_GCR2Xk_cBwD_ASQikczHBoYUpg45X2egJBg7ZMjPumBGtzO2gY2xHObbr76_nzrvvTxlxdt4lZ8Bkz1qRDSvn0XNMuut1lH4v8yN_DyFY3-CaB2b2Kvo71sHEJiN-nR0ktKp60b09r7omLcMbLHjCeNuYaDJR2dlpRzHKNQ7O6VG2OWQTvpyvUMY/s2504/JN%20High%20Hopes%20framed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2504" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPv_GCR2Xk_cBwD_ASQikczHBoYUpg45X2egJBg7ZMjPumBGtzO2gY2xHObbr76_nzrvvTxlxdt4lZ8Bkz1qRDSvn0XNMuut1lH4v8yN_DyFY3-CaB2b2Kvo71sHEJiN-nR0ktKp60b09r7omLcMbLHjCeNuYaDJR2dlpRzHKNQ7O6VG2OWQTvpyvUMY/s320/JN%20High%20Hopes%20framed.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And Frosty Forest by Country Cottage Needleworks was stitched in 2009. The fabric is Silkweaver's Karma Belfast linen; I used some Caron Waterlilies for the trees and border, and "lit up" the windows:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-NbUwQ83o52nmW3t_V9sdh8ErytRIP1JOvg1-217-j54PzkJtEjpJLLiwQcCnz_s-2k5V3r4Uz8zgvaACo_ciYn7z3Eh_1xd_bmitc_IdE-Q38_cLq9XfhZfgIiGCpeyRpERG_y4o4mHwZ5OyCPS6OGWa7lH1FcbOJuruS4yNeddQEqfgBWeAxGAuZ8/s1532/CCN%20Frosty%20Forest%20framed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1532" data-original-width="1485" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-NbUwQ83o52nmW3t_V9sdh8ErytRIP1JOvg1-217-j54PzkJtEjpJLLiwQcCnz_s-2k5V3r4Uz8zgvaACo_ciYn7z3Eh_1xd_bmitc_IdE-Q38_cLq9XfhZfgIiGCpeyRpERG_y4o4mHwZ5OyCPS6OGWa7lH1FcbOJuruS4yNeddQEqfgBWeAxGAuZ8/s320/CCN%20Frosty%20Forest%20framed.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><br /><div>Now that I'm all caught up with the Hands on Design pieces, my plan this week is to try to get part 2 of Erica Michaels' Quilting A-Bee-Cs done:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzt3X_rjY7hBqUHgfq9eEz9jmdepBl6CH2SLYRDlfA8SbJNB4tTJMqQmMIWfKkKfMt2YkPm6h-IkJdx1wYrBRySXa4zUJlsuyF2rI4qDjAAYTvamfHUstL8rs2487MrJNRoBwYR0h8U_YeRD9zOE6jQuOqzPUUQRwKnxr1GpDcrCf9BGQ4SLRc373BNk/s2592/Quilting%207-23-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzt3X_rjY7hBqUHgfq9eEz9jmdepBl6CH2SLYRDlfA8SbJNB4tTJMqQmMIWfKkKfMt2YkPm6h-IkJdx1wYrBRySXa4zUJlsuyF2rI4qDjAAYTvamfHUstL8rs2487MrJNRoBwYR0h8U_YeRD9zOE6jQuOqzPUUQRwKnxr1GpDcrCf9BGQ4SLRc373BNk/s320/Quilting%207-23-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I've gotten behind on this one; part 3 was recently released but I think it will take a couple of weeks to arrive at 123Stitch, so I'm hoping to have this done before then.<div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-36162171953597371312023-07-17T08:25:00.000-07:002023-07-17T08:25:39.531-07:00It's a wrap on the Polar Plunge series!I still haven't been doing a lot of stitching, but I did manage to get all six of the Polar Plunge designs completed last week:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUxgkazKxgYaZUziVATrdT6mGosPIjUg2bq6xb0wxVGVHIq6mtkCE0Fom7sdXK_LnHS0cP7Ns2ZdfNEhGENwUv0Hjw4M2YmRIkbVhg4XvgDVlq8I01Dsa3z3NQg2-g3W0pBNJKQ259foNcRakuIvsdJq4mBXtIFZ-pJqL0TUI6mCsSWdZpuSj1uXQ9nw/s2592/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20finished%207-11-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUxgkazKxgYaZUziVATrdT6mGosPIjUg2bq6xb0wxVGVHIq6mtkCE0Fom7sdXK_LnHS0cP7Ns2ZdfNEhGENwUv0Hjw4M2YmRIkbVhg4XvgDVlq8I01Dsa3z3NQg2-g3W0pBNJKQ259foNcRakuIvsdJq4mBXtIFZ-pJqL0TUI6mCsSWdZpuSj1uXQ9nw/s320/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20finished%207-11-23.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><div>Then I made myself work on the finishing, because I knew if I put them aside for a while there was a really good chance that they would sit around for a very long time (or forever!) in a drawer. Cathy made a video tutorial for this series, which isn't really a great medium for the way I learn--I much prefer written instructions with photos, but I was able to work it out and get decent results:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEjzOd1WvdFak6I4scgEEerSTJyULVdAT7vjXQNFeD_dD_6KfHD5pZ2ME08f2enq9LjaZr6cW9MfAFM9CbZbKkai4csYUZkqLZ29YUyLycj_dk_cqHDqG8lGX_VBv4GjvXJuJerdR2aEh1vlTxcX9cPoKRvgRALN0fj8XTFN0ne7ra0XxsAVYC2EPJ7M/s2583/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20fully%20finished%207-14-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1859" data-original-width="2583" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEjzOd1WvdFak6I4scgEEerSTJyULVdAT7vjXQNFeD_dD_6KfHD5pZ2ME08f2enq9LjaZr6cW9MfAFM9CbZbKkai4csYUZkqLZ29YUyLycj_dk_cqHDqG8lGX_VBv4GjvXJuJerdR2aEh1vlTxcX9cPoKRvgRALN0fj8XTFN0ne7ra0XxsAVYC2EPJ7M/s320/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20fully%20finished%207-14-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I didn't use the scrapbooking paper on the boards, as I like a cleaner look, and I used a different paint color, ribbon and cord. The paint is a dark teal, which is kind of hard to photograph accurately:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtJIMToBK4VRXiVkhRWcH6vZhi4dCS8Hab5IFvzzRk6RnTY5RNFtTP2K-niQRRByYr9Kg07zQND9H8I8RcH15AvPlI1xRwxK7iR_MZtZ39Bmz7bpqNJ1bzdaw7osP_adhHmgzbx3A2QCdJ7H3HUU5UIeXx1AlU2aEdJOvNtNCq1eWq5k2yvEeWI6Eb2E/s1936/HOD%20Penguin%20Pair%20(on%20black).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1828" data-original-width="1936" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtJIMToBK4VRXiVkhRWcH6vZhi4dCS8Hab5IFvzzRk6RnTY5RNFtTP2K-niQRRByYr9Kg07zQND9H8I8RcH15AvPlI1xRwxK7iR_MZtZ39Bmz7bpqNJ1bzdaw7osP_adhHmgzbx3A2QCdJ7H3HUU5UIeXx1AlU2aEdJOvNtNCq1eWq5k2yvEeWI6Eb2E/s320/HOD%20Penguin%20Pair%20(on%20black).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I have some silver jingle bells, so I might still sew one in the middle of each ribbon like Cathy did, but for now I'm just enjoying the sense of accomplishment on having these all done!<div><br /></div><div>I also finished the little Mill Hill ornament I'd been working on; the marshmallow snowman is such a cutie!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AAyO8KinQrF4XkO47C4mDB-xx5hhHvaCxiyMsZ-wOz8TCbxGURvkOUF4thJYsh4q916TH6Kyu0RBpEBrEGc-ozyKEkCIeBE3Ujik_Kp5x-arpiHLY1ToOrn1tgrvMSFaHgkV7EmxjHJNomYfglgjvxUnOngzJWfgi00b3cB9lP_j21Yb3BXsPOkXUsA/s2016/Mill%20Hill%20Marshmallow%20Snowman%206-28-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AAyO8KinQrF4XkO47C4mDB-xx5hhHvaCxiyMsZ-wOz8TCbxGURvkOUF4thJYsh4q916TH6Kyu0RBpEBrEGc-ozyKEkCIeBE3Ujik_Kp5x-arpiHLY1ToOrn1tgrvMSFaHgkV7EmxjHJNomYfglgjvxUnOngzJWfgi00b3cB9lP_j21Yb3BXsPOkXUsA/s320/Mill%20Hill%20Marshmallow%20Snowman%206-28-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I received the third kit in the HOD Gather Round club series last week, so I started that a few days ago:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc5JeLJlZGDV08On0LAE1x-fy6XWP2KCfKD7eMj0oPoM2Z9MjmhNSPoAnAhRrVihpfYgTCrcGiNAmxd4FqKA_MX_QNvkcYH5seVDiFtz8CRDm6fSBk8m_XAL-UU7UHCfrB3QWCyPTlsSCL5vC4mxxPAM2rKoAOYjHLeF1RxHfak2Oz8KUw8YTUCI5MPs/s1936/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-16-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="1748" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc5JeLJlZGDV08On0LAE1x-fy6XWP2KCfKD7eMj0oPoM2Z9MjmhNSPoAnAhRrVihpfYgTCrcGiNAmxd4FqKA_MX_QNvkcYH5seVDiFtz8CRDm6fSBk8m_XAL-UU7UHCfrB3QWCyPTlsSCL5vC4mxxPAM2rKoAOYjHLeF1RxHfak2Oz8KUw8YTUCI5MPs/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Pumpkins%207-16-23.JPG" width="289" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This time I started with the middle chart, since it has quite a bit of over-1 stitching in it; I wanted to get that out of the way early this time, instead of doing it last. It took me several hours yesterday to stitch "gather", and I still need to do the word "pumpkins" as well as the pumpkins next to that. But it will be nice when this one is done, and all the rest of the stitching is over-2.<div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-41486799343983734732023-06-26T08:46:00.000-07:002023-06-26T08:46:07.828-07:00Too much "real life"...<p>...not enough stitching! The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy, so I haven't done much stitching; I was a bit surprised to find I completed as much as I did when I went to take some photos.</p><p>I added a sign to my second Any Town Tiny Town building (a photo of the original shop can be found in <a href="http://melaniethewipslayer.blogspot.com/2023/06/new-mirabilia-model-coming-soon.html" target="_blank">this</a> post):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnvGMDakRHdP1klmHyy1I3qQlz40LUIyHbNax3hsX4Xz-3WR5nmGuxW8pc-aaH40NyjTXTQRQYTPfvAynqUn-gKzj-m6Echvcke8BjM46cUmcdCnhDnzeZnm5fPZjzeYFYipyzmQKupGBMwJLfJlmhRydqVVT8WtP6G-HGCimyoATuZwGyd6hol4TqMk/s2592/Any%20Town%20shops.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnvGMDakRHdP1klmHyy1I3qQlz40LUIyHbNax3hsX4Xz-3WR5nmGuxW8pc-aaH40NyjTXTQRQYTPfvAynqUn-gKzj-m6Echvcke8BjM46cUmcdCnhDnzeZnm5fPZjzeYFYipyzmQKupGBMwJLfJlmhRydqVVT8WtP6G-HGCimyoATuZwGyd6hol4TqMk/s320/Any%20Town%20shops.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><p>And I found another great local shop that I think will make a really cute addition/substitution:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIGI8LrDxrkOAnMubeKL8aGZ59FaZD7VFI18dJw9C2DWr95w7hMF1FOzLLmarSvowQ_MBvCJuT7cv_uaGdwwWWy4Tfnt_x3UbzVRfCVhRYQV_4EPUJingE4QDiYVjJXoM42yMQ7t8G79SqdpvO-4FTf0jb6IqxCIrZNrU4SxDDUorzwW79Uf6u6ZJoOU/s1956/Lamers%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1956" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIGI8LrDxrkOAnMubeKL8aGZ59FaZD7VFI18dJw9C2DWr95w7hMF1FOzLLmarSvowQ_MBvCJuT7cv_uaGdwwWWy4Tfnt_x3UbzVRfCVhRYQV_4EPUJingE4QDiYVjJXoM42yMQ7t8G79SqdpvO-4FTf0jb6IqxCIrZNrU4SxDDUorzwW79Uf6u6ZJoOU/s320/Lamers%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Once the sign on the shop was done, I worked on Hands on Design's N is for Narwhal, which is just adorable!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MOf5SxZU2uqUivEcZ76nTBzzoFrIiq1JZKwDiKJtjvpDSynZV46_9QPt2soW0ZHwr447lqiLyeb_UO-c600KrMB5Q908UR2rt3BnRHh7xwf-XdnOmKSfNDQ47IZL9uV-XDBtMOnO4VfXDt56wbJE1H4mjG1n-iIU1ZOgdPp3FM17kuAYHKYjuDfxO-o/s2048/HOD%20N%20is%20for%20Narwhal%206-19-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2048" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0MOf5SxZU2uqUivEcZ76nTBzzoFrIiq1JZKwDiKJtjvpDSynZV46_9QPt2soW0ZHwr447lqiLyeb_UO-c600KrMB5Q908UR2rt3BnRHh7xwf-XdnOmKSfNDQ47IZL9uV-XDBtMOnO4VfXDt56wbJE1H4mjG1n-iIU1ZOgdPp3FM17kuAYHKYjuDfxO-o/s320/HOD%20N%20is%20for%20Narwhal%206-19-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I've made a start on Penguin Pair, will then work on Puffin Party and hopefully make an attempt at the finishing once all six are stitched:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr46pH4zd-XKlkpVnLOJpj0Ol59Ba3Io2UAJw5ZcqFG4VFAKE8nROm0KktI9Euo23idCQm3RzCCCc76_OgCKMSV3q-tnqZMk9DavLOjWHCycxuBbso9Kk6bWYm30nvcrdG86glve3qxYJaxz7g1PqcS6iwR9UYNrhHEDq3cdpn9cODtJo3nPvXxAIXK6o/s2592/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%206-25-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr46pH4zd-XKlkpVnLOJpj0Ol59Ba3Io2UAJw5ZcqFG4VFAKE8nROm0KktI9Euo23idCQm3RzCCCc76_OgCKMSV3q-tnqZMk9DavLOjWHCycxuBbso9Kk6bWYm30nvcrdG86glve3qxYJaxz7g1PqcS6iwR9UYNrhHEDq3cdpn9cODtJo3nPvXxAIXK6o/s320/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%206-25-23.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><p>I had to spend a few nights in a hotel, so I took a Mill Hill ornament kit with me since working on a small piece of perforated paper is so simple:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUS8YnbHMNdvsZLh5NQ4RQ9poSeJMrB4Gcc9QopaHcB8PuX_UcaEYOX8-5UbFbL9a_eMJC-umugNg7iLIOhOZlyxELqBRti4ejbfz7B_V77o05ORsL-AV6FlY1c4DSErfLlu8zCW2oKrp7EDvOIyuVIfDc3uMIF5nktZUwZUEpzgEJTdjt6bwv-Typky4/s2016/Mill%20Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUS8YnbHMNdvsZLh5NQ4RQ9poSeJMrB4Gcc9QopaHcB8PuX_UcaEYOX8-5UbFbL9a_eMJC-umugNg7iLIOhOZlyxELqBRti4ejbfz7B_V77o05ORsL-AV6FlY1c4DSErfLlu8zCW2oKrp7EDvOIyuVIfDc3uMIF5nktZUwZUEpzgEJTdjt6bwv-Typky4/s320/Mill%20Hill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I think I'll probably just finish this before I go back to Penguin Pair, since it's over half completed. Hoping to get back to my normal routine soon; I'm such a creature of habit that disruptions of any length are difficult for me to deal with.</p><p>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</p>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-18161767565581834442023-06-15T05:23:00.002-07:002023-06-15T07:17:46.631-07:00Blackbird has been released<p>It's always exciting to see a model that you've stitched released, but this is the one I had just started when I found out that I needed surgery to have a large (9 lbs.!) tumor removed last November, so it's bringing up quite a bit of the fear and uncertainty that I was feeling back then. It's funny how much of a stitcher's life is wrapped up in their work, how some pieces will always bring certain memories to the surface. There's still uncertainty because the doctors can't give me a definitive diagnosis (they're leaning towards it being benign, but they can't state that with 100% confidence), but I hope I'm here long enough to be able to look at this piece in a much more peaceful state of mind many years from now!</p><p>This is what Nora has to say about her design process on this: "It's meant to be like she's rising from the forest floor and the different patterns represent the complexity of her nature."</p><p>So here she is, in all her glory, MD188 Blackbird:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15o0PzQla-DG9vh5ZgKdB0eE2An9MIQih5OR3OeBGU-y1VS4GKecyHSezUSsx2o9AEvrRsrqG-orNAxZ_Kfy3jNAHjFdTO66mjJ_2CZN1ZzF0gI1oygxCLp7Y62hGLyFcQ5Y__xa7mB7fWhLmn3TAj_cSpMRSMPq9teIDkJMG-iB7ACAvE9aL8laB/s2227/MD188a2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1907" data-original-width="2227" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15o0PzQla-DG9vh5ZgKdB0eE2An9MIQih5OR3OeBGU-y1VS4GKecyHSezUSsx2o9AEvrRsrqG-orNAxZ_Kfy3jNAHjFdTO66mjJ_2CZN1ZzF0gI1oygxCLp7Y62hGLyFcQ5Y__xa7mB7fWhLmn3TAj_cSpMRSMPq9teIDkJMG-iB7ACAvE9aL8laB/s320/MD188a2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsnRcxYqEtVpozFuk7VvEVinIu9oYtnaOTVKdQcLRt2FDXfqoVe9__fDAHJo-pWyzL96szSYZofs_kbSd-SooTg0LXej9GG7dNTK4gyfH8j32suq19fWnXeJPxzgiEHXcHN_7pF6oGhsW9ES-f8RHyPPDQibmN4nC95MDkzZZZgQqASJh2S8OCe6s/s2531/MD188b2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2531" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsnRcxYqEtVpozFuk7VvEVinIu9oYtnaOTVKdQcLRt2FDXfqoVe9__fDAHJo-pWyzL96szSYZofs_kbSd-SooTg0LXej9GG7dNTK4gyfH8j32suq19fWnXeJPxzgiEHXcHN_7pF6oGhsW9ES-f8RHyPPDQibmN4nC95MDkzZZZgQqASJh2S8OCe6s/s320/MD188b2.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjXdEbmjPKLYIDesK1KAUX0t3hWCwiVwMUjHAAO9qAgYha5TTEU8fKyHN3S9_xJMb6wa69LZxgoIB-yrcjeo0uVPCSUfpC_iZ1EUT510jU6kc3QhByoi3hSUEb_WC40wShkU-exNoTs7ltR3yD1XBWo4kwf15UPKqMP3AiHEJB4Dx_VIhWYDCuwqJ/s2592/MD188c2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjXdEbmjPKLYIDesK1KAUX0t3hWCwiVwMUjHAAO9qAgYha5TTEU8fKyHN3S9_xJMb6wa69LZxgoIB-yrcjeo0uVPCSUfpC_iZ1EUT510jU6kc3QhByoi3hSUEb_WC40wShkU-exNoTs7ltR3yD1XBWo4kwf15UPKqMP3AiHEJB4Dx_VIhWYDCuwqJ/s320/MD188c2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XL9VxMGuqzMPuxvemxDijnoY_mmnQ_4Jv_ZcfDQTS_lMIAxL8_C5naPDxWVX9bYMK9bhbzTpnp7aUlRRNUhvSQ8Qq_xLDKQCZsX1-dmm_O3BXfCtJVYI6C4-k7guSHQ5t9BBRg-MPGxR283EeFCL4k-Ixp23t-8EhLcnjs0DDQ6Is6VdMR4ZnhS1/s2592/MD188d.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XL9VxMGuqzMPuxvemxDijnoY_mmnQ_4Jv_ZcfDQTS_lMIAxL8_C5naPDxWVX9bYMK9bhbzTpnp7aUlRRNUhvSQ8Qq_xLDKQCZsX1-dmm_O3BXfCtJVYI6C4-k7guSHQ5t9BBRg-MPGxR283EeFCL4k-Ixp23t-8EhLcnjs0DDQ6Is6VdMR4ZnhS1/s320/MD188d.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ebpciX5N1jRFMZ1p11LUj8IfAEIRFO98s2dCvow9rdhAp2q7whV-YO5gOoa_kp9CDxbbXVftt_V7oSizZ-8GB6kmWL0Yz1vQ6_0DZpBplE2fgoEqpTH_dfYWBR6l60gkuD9jv-AydZB0aTMahSS5eIK7Jvd1FibtCKe5PKuErGhWqnf1lcl0zvH/s2427/MD188e2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2427" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ebpciX5N1jRFMZ1p11LUj8IfAEIRFO98s2dCvow9rdhAp2q7whV-YO5gOoa_kp9CDxbbXVftt_V7oSizZ-8GB6kmWL0Yz1vQ6_0DZpBplE2fgoEqpTH_dfYWBR6l60gkuD9jv-AydZB0aTMahSS5eIK7Jvd1FibtCKe5PKuErGhWqnf1lcl0zvH/s320/MD188e2.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMW7rtndqopt_5WZ_aMuepUbY1EYjxA9j0XTHu9NYzOBATSd2vZdphGiTy-urBOLD1XPRFl3YGpgny4AhaxwzW2qEFfH0J57Av3arHohCIRoOD4dm3oFsA4zBIG3xBUicxBftOWe0FoFU5BQVICeCrYdR2rpywplWCD78cw2qAnWE7fRcqevbkJuys/s2592/MD188f2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMW7rtndqopt_5WZ_aMuepUbY1EYjxA9j0XTHu9NYzOBATSd2vZdphGiTy-urBOLD1XPRFl3YGpgny4AhaxwzW2qEFfH0J57Av3arHohCIRoOD4dm3oFsA4zBIG3xBUicxBftOWe0FoFU5BQVICeCrYdR2rpywplWCD78cw2qAnWE7fRcqevbkJuys/s320/MD188f2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP2U2EpaFrJyN7B-slZkQ1JtOg6r1vjwTdJPbP2_xbKHUwNqLuI2nZsli19y197knNkplhMCZsaWu4THOaesYbA6Zgds2LgRdNAI2X1LvVeqNxKm_Q9lfV4cH2JgjuWk4d5cE20NBljbhT51gWGYSV6mdjtMfSRGJOWBfaTlkNXrbLsW4fTvz2v0g/s2592/MD188g2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP2U2EpaFrJyN7B-slZkQ1JtOg6r1vjwTdJPbP2_xbKHUwNqLuI2nZsli19y197knNkplhMCZsaWu4THOaesYbA6Zgds2LgRdNAI2X1LvVeqNxKm_Q9lfV4cH2JgjuWk4d5cE20NBljbhT51gWGYSV6mdjtMfSRGJOWBfaTlkNXrbLsW4fTvz2v0g/s320/MD188g2.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh6lTWaM_Y2gZp4DUrlyW8UIFg3yPpTxcEOjrwsHDfBAl8vwJ-QMghqEx3OzpvtH7cKJCgs3p1gCVR77d2SabbyFJ75cqLEoCGny-CCukllLYeXztx3crcl_jJWVM9fkP2qhllMgpsuLxk6BdZ7yZBqKVviNF6pYJjvqJJrmVT7eGdkPBXkMXb_HA/s2592/MD188h2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh6lTWaM_Y2gZp4DUrlyW8UIFg3yPpTxcEOjrwsHDfBAl8vwJ-QMghqEx3OzpvtH7cKJCgs3p1gCVR77d2SabbyFJ75cqLEoCGny-CCukllLYeXztx3crcl_jJWVM9fkP2qhllMgpsuLxk6BdZ7yZBqKVviNF6pYJjvqJJrmVT7eGdkPBXkMXb_HA/s320/MD188h2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_jbPwIy1kxi3cp-XpWiguVq3g7I7PXUA50iVHzwHha5ZszWHhJ1qsRQNxomOw6Ul-D0Lo9aXcryA8YsVIvMOqAWn7CYshdqoTRzQRqT8WW62l_LwxrvpBCavy_X91WvS6zJU_tix_eusOpaldQ9iv5OnEhMoHTXM_gK_isNYto4JPRYfuVG-lEAv/s2592/MD188i2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_jbPwIy1kxi3cp-XpWiguVq3g7I7PXUA50iVHzwHha5ZszWHhJ1qsRQNxomOw6Ul-D0Lo9aXcryA8YsVIvMOqAWn7CYshdqoTRzQRqT8WW62l_LwxrvpBCavy_X91WvS6zJU_tix_eusOpaldQ9iv5OnEhMoHTXM_gK_isNYto4JPRYfuVG-lEAv/s320/MD188i2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-21629794517136091632023-06-12T08:54:00.000-07:002023-06-12T08:54:01.401-07:00New Mirabilia model coming soon<p>I'll have photos to share of MD188 this coming Thursday, but I just wanted to make a short post showing the two Any Town Tiny Town replacements I've been working on for most of last week:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDXL4BKrFM9JNptiL90TM3seV1oEUqUdX2r-EL9cSZoptYDGlbrt_EnwwbFGNo3QkZlLHL-iFZK_AFVLdVFALi64vwEmbqM87ysgjzAmer1BG29rLnhiQoRtPtQ-Z4neYqqYCuoYTV7CVFQFaFsduFn2fMhwHc9CJ5Qax3Mt07wvK_Uz0tHAUtXcW/s1854/Screenshot%20(70).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="1854" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDXL4BKrFM9JNptiL90TM3seV1oEUqUdX2r-EL9cSZoptYDGlbrt_EnwwbFGNo3QkZlLHL-iFZK_AFVLdVFALi64vwEmbqM87ysgjzAmer1BG29rLnhiQoRtPtQ-Z4neYqqYCuoYTV7CVFQFaFsduFn2fMhwHc9CJ5Qax3Mt07wvK_Uz0tHAUtXcW/s320/Screenshot%20(70).png" width="320" /></a></div><p>I'm still deciding whether to add a sign to the purple building. The business is called Schmalz Landscaping, but the sign is separate from the building so if I add it then it will look different from the photo, but if I don't add it then it doesn't necessarily convey that this is a local-to-me shop so I'm torn.</p><p>Now I need to wait for the chart to come so I can see if these will work with the rest of the design and decide if more tweaks are needed. I'm afraid they might be a little too big and/or detailed, but as I'm the only one who has to like it I guess there's no problem.</p><p>I'm also debating whether to try to chart the Little Chute Windmill, as I think it would be a fun addition to my Tiny Town:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cBtHCPlqCY5o07iZMuJzg97hgS6jpZRidqKgIshhgRaQuOxOaZKRL0A5C_waRqXZ5-06CKozVkDVkeUDdMzYH21xqiw224dKl_Q81iBniY75GvKZtn9EoGFIvQ9wYSGEfflpIhLVxx-DJz8WtY3FdmfTXhbbZ8PANCWcJ1o27VahYYpUNAZv7NlE/s700/Little%20Chute%20windmill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="700" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cBtHCPlqCY5o07iZMuJzg97hgS6jpZRidqKgIshhgRaQuOxOaZKRL0A5C_waRqXZ5-06CKozVkDVkeUDdMzYH21xqiw224dKl_Q81iBniY75GvKZtn9EoGFIvQ9wYSGEfflpIhLVxx-DJz8WtY3FdmfTXhbbZ8PANCWcJ1o27VahYYpUNAZv7NlE/s320/Little%20Chute%20windmill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I'm not sure if I could get this short enough or narrow enough, but it would be pretty cool if I could...</p><p>I'll be back this Thursday, so until then have a great stitchy week!</p>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-67640774241404313422023-06-05T08:45:00.000-07:002023-06-05T08:45:16.077-07:00Tiny Town number 7 is done!<p>We had a beautiful day here in Wisconsin yesterday, so I sat out on the patio and spent a few hours finishing Seaside Tiny Town. I added the Seaside Frill to the center (the little parade figures), and I think it is just as cute as can be:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPpOZ-P9OuFtD0quEkTPcm6i8ZvHlFFtAF4SvsDHK0EB0EYEEPs8rRMUs5f1yignveBYyYN5PlVkvXZLV4XiqKDGvF0mYag5Zzjz3dIbDgG1Mtdbrc2egqex80t62FPxLHsCKd6BAQC5MlAjXOHx_FgIpCP3kZYWNuyUwX8tXcTfgehX9yDLQomvH/s2541/HIH%20Seaside%20Tiny%20Town%20finish%206-4-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2541" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPpOZ-P9OuFtD0quEkTPcm6i8ZvHlFFtAF4SvsDHK0EB0EYEEPs8rRMUs5f1yignveBYyYN5PlVkvXZLV4XiqKDGvF0mYag5Zzjz3dIbDgG1Mtdbrc2egqex80t62FPxLHsCKd6BAQC5MlAjXOHx_FgIpCP3kZYWNuyUwX8tXcTfgehX9yDLQomvH/s320/HIH%20Seaside%20Tiny%20Town%20finish%206-4-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsH1zTi0onqd_3Evqf6eIolEedyhUGClVnhn7a4zA20qV0zyYh0l_Xr0QPTaIEx_gHqT4LY-GqV4HZ4_gffm7voxMJP2HAGnxg2tuY7B5DUX6EQJ72H7rCWgor2RecoavI2IJGW43xICU7Bc3qBwoRk_AzSFBz3PqKB0MnFbdsxRKQKvG3lFrq6cg/s2592/HIH%20Seaside%20Tiny%20Town%201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsH1zTi0onqd_3Evqf6eIolEedyhUGClVnhn7a4zA20qV0zyYh0l_Xr0QPTaIEx_gHqT4LY-GqV4HZ4_gffm7voxMJP2HAGnxg2tuY7B5DUX6EQJ72H7rCWgor2RecoavI2IJGW43xICU7Bc3qBwoRk_AzSFBz3PqKB0MnFbdsxRKQKvG3lFrq6cg/s320/HIH%20Seaside%20Tiny%20Town%201.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjdsZPZTsSy2MZ85-W2MvsXri66yHJxYMuzoDAMKfl61yiPh4twQLcEmMEMxOpZbaPjj8j-hpL6lXWGBRIBrXHYZuvvpaRg1rQdonl2GK7J6maFGHyRgvCURwKkU05kCogmqLJVbdGI59138SFboaXyU3Giftd8xLwoD08Ryqsoc4VF0cmXNNaBLw/s2592/HIH%20Seaside%20Tiny%20Town%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjdsZPZTsSy2MZ85-W2MvsXri66yHJxYMuzoDAMKfl61yiPh4twQLcEmMEMxOpZbaPjj8j-hpL6lXWGBRIBrXHYZuvvpaRg1rQdonl2GK7J6maFGHyRgvCURwKkU05kCogmqLJVbdGI59138SFboaXyU3Giftd8xLwoD08Ryqsoc4VF0cmXNNaBLw/s320/HIH%20Seaside%20Tiny%20Town%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I had to take a picture outside because I thought it was funny that the floss colors were so similar to my patio furniture:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6Rlj0LGjnAW3lsmFA01VKDu8x522u2DXnKjlkEzKOK0KqDp9snllznhfw42S3G6qvTTGicgvsmT4QlifkyY5tkfqwO3bgjkFhM3o55sO1N3hS5WfBFBQiW9SwLUj8NBBLQkLfK9auU-6klZ8ZJvLeYgxS1bVR05hXzP5JQOTrd1h2oNVh1vMO-KD/s2048/seaside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="2048" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6Rlj0LGjnAW3lsmFA01VKDu8x522u2DXnKjlkEzKOK0KqDp9snllznhfw42S3G6qvTTGicgvsmT4QlifkyY5tkfqwO3bgjkFhM3o55sO1N3hS5WfBFBQiW9SwLUj8NBBLQkLfK9auU-6klZ8ZJvLeYgxS1bVR05hXzP5JQOTrd1h2oNVh1vMO-KD/s320/seaside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>This was stitched using the recommended CCW and WDW threads on PTP Wren Newcastle linen; I would have to say that it is my current favorite of the Tiny Towns so far. I think I'll wait until the Any Town Tiny Town comes out in July, stitch that one up and then send the three latest releases to the finisher.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of the Any Town Tiny Town, I've been working on charting my LNS to replace the shop that is in the chart and I think I'm ready to start a test stitch today; this is what I've come up with so far:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXef6QX-VWphqI7ITCAgvbA2KYkpXMXD1BD8O4aYa275StpT8ZXCMyChOgzR2EhgW7TM3EzmNxseP4Zq-kgHFlmE1v6HApXTrqe937_9A2PB2iTzMw2EMM5nmqUJjalw6EI3PJpzjhq9AMNpJnlbBPrEXXpkHu_t58in9dd8RQYRJ-hp6Ol15a0_D/s1788/Screenshot%20(60).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1788" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXef6QX-VWphqI7ITCAgvbA2KYkpXMXD1BD8O4aYa275StpT8ZXCMyChOgzR2EhgW7TM3EzmNxseP4Zq-kgHFlmE1v6HApXTrqe937_9A2PB2iTzMw2EMM5nmqUJjalw6EI3PJpzjhq9AMNpJnlbBPrEXXpkHu_t58in9dd8RQYRJ-hp6Ol15a0_D/s320/Screenshot%20(60).png" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I have a couple of blues to try for the siding, and a couple of grays for the roof, and I need to pull some greens for the plants but I'm pretty happy with the general appearance. I've also been working on the flower shop, though it might still get some tweaks before I sit down to stitch it:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9F-VEut4dmOnW9jDPGhX0cNIrcpqdUmuXgq1T64GJNwSU4XjvOs-LmaAiQoKZvMp1ZF9oLvEK7gUkapWi__VytHb3j1jT_TZR7I60fbECTZ5RS1rpU-QBoyRMO38wupXuEaIK_ktd6cfqGBHacUQkU98VK8dsLk9wKvJmguzTjmtUqj7Iy6tU3a0/s1703/Screenshot%20(62).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1703" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9F-VEut4dmOnW9jDPGhX0cNIrcpqdUmuXgq1T64GJNwSU4XjvOs-LmaAiQoKZvMp1ZF9oLvEK7gUkapWi__VytHb3j1jT_TZR7I60fbECTZ5RS1rpU-QBoyRMO38wupXuEaIK_ktd6cfqGBHacUQkU98VK8dsLk9wKvJmguzTjmtUqj7Iy6tU3a0/s320/Screenshot%20(62).png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I'm also planning to get to work on the next three Polar Plunge charts later this week; the N is for Narwhal chart will be released as a pdf in just about 19 minutes from now, and it will probably be the first one I stitch:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0NRKNInd_Fs51p7fC8NUE_u35kroTfTs9k0OBHdCkcYRc8PAE9o_yryS-DcsYAZrFaUQknmYDdfKUtEZFLVKSpDo743n9VPxajk_SIL9LsPaZJ2p-NqBpe8PzZuJZM3cei4cWX63iU6JH4WB57Ihm0wDba6G2Re53yo1IsGXK_wWA84kqJSLZ7I-/s855/Screenshot%20(63).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="855" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0NRKNInd_Fs51p7fC8NUE_u35kroTfTs9k0OBHdCkcYRc8PAE9o_yryS-DcsYAZrFaUQknmYDdfKUtEZFLVKSpDo743n9VPxajk_SIL9LsPaZJ2p-NqBpe8PzZuJZM3cei4cWX63iU6JH4WB57Ihm0wDba6G2Re53yo1IsGXK_wWA84kqJSLZ7I-/s320/Screenshot%20(63).png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-81037421994003761272023-05-29T14:15:00.000-07:002023-05-29T14:15:26.038-07:00Enjoying all the water birds while I work on Seaside Tiny Town<p>The weather in Wisconsin has finally gotten really nice and I've been enjoying walking every day; I've started to carry my phone with me because there is a pond along my route that has a lot of birds, and after I missed getting a photo of a snowy egret I decided I'd better be more prepared in future. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the egret again, but I've seen more pelicans a few times:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1oXa_uRsQW52czpXUWPWYdVlspIWN1cqXzaCB4UsGVJAxBI8jDB_CNFR-Enpp6ebgVPHDQoCBievwfZr6Ci900uWiyivxnEiEajYT0RINo_gOTP7nryI54gRPpq41ZX1aylGkjeIaZG-bMVqOnuuedMDq17opPUaY_RbfgeVzd1H08whmG8NQR_Z/s2016/pelicans%205-20-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="2016" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1oXa_uRsQW52czpXUWPWYdVlspIWN1cqXzaCB4UsGVJAxBI8jDB_CNFR-Enpp6ebgVPHDQoCBievwfZr6Ci900uWiyivxnEiEajYT0RINo_gOTP7nryI54gRPpq41ZX1aylGkjeIaZG-bMVqOnuuedMDq17opPUaY_RbfgeVzd1H08whmG8NQR_Z/s320/pelicans%205-20-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I've seen one Great Blue Heron:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UMsGi4b1RwotxdICpj7jqRLylDnDYEqyBFMuwy0JFcIKPyCQaM21B1qd6jy9l5q1H_Sgq1bwQgtznDthwoKJg2QRJS7qrQ01kuN4djnEJIiI65tBUarGeUZnLtCfTJq2rjst0vp1pcJ50n2zXQnivhCtGVYScnt4_MwPVlwArIr-8gHgbLhpqMN3/s2016/heron%205-25-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0UMsGi4b1RwotxdICpj7jqRLylDnDYEqyBFMuwy0JFcIKPyCQaM21B1qd6jy9l5q1H_Sgq1bwQgtznDthwoKJg2QRJS7qrQ01kuN4djnEJIiI65tBUarGeUZnLtCfTJq2rjst0vp1pcJ50n2zXQnivhCtGVYScnt4_MwPVlwArIr-8gHgbLhpqMN3/s320/heron%205-25-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Ducks and Canadian geese with their babies:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBVdwMctGewC58ECfZ3PEtsNiqNhcBjxOnR0SJLi3rZNn4B2QVWPaK6YZWL2bo5O_lCibWqBi3hzmsrRlvznsieDEnlJztNblCe-snCFXaRbqOqG7WUChfMuYQ3g4vDgqNndB7emnaIYiFf8QcG1usDy3NAq4fFkRCTlCKYmja0F89ZAqKIXovo0A/s2016/ducks%205-19-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBVdwMctGewC58ECfZ3PEtsNiqNhcBjxOnR0SJLi3rZNn4B2QVWPaK6YZWL2bo5O_lCibWqBi3hzmsrRlvznsieDEnlJztNblCe-snCFXaRbqOqG7WUChfMuYQ3g4vDgqNndB7emnaIYiFf8QcG1usDy3NAq4fFkRCTlCKYmja0F89ZAqKIXovo0A/s320/ducks%205-19-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo25JiiVNn5OOFePV-l-JMfcX5Y_aqAilWmMga_H6QcwiXgU0PjfkZEYbTt6XhDwgfLpkPhGJmqHYPvUjoTE5l8sW7gthpxaMjg5qD43GSjPRt_3MMwx4GHxLRJsWodRBIHKwp6J8N6i8lHnB49BWzEzG4DdT8DtMNKRs_zZrZnw-Cu_dqy_JX6WzM/s2016/Canadian%20geese%205-28-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo25JiiVNn5OOFePV-l-JMfcX5Y_aqAilWmMga_H6QcwiXgU0PjfkZEYbTt6XhDwgfLpkPhGJmqHYPvUjoTE5l8sW7gthpxaMjg5qD43GSjPRt_3MMwx4GHxLRJsWodRBIHKwp6J8N6i8lHnB49BWzEzG4DdT8DtMNKRs_zZrZnw-Cu_dqy_JX6WzM/s320/Canadian%20geese%205-28-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>There's also a hawk right past the pond:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8sujsKZoupah1I9CJUwTDupSEXmV7zcKHRYcULL-MwvMJKLpCu2j1EMqlOsEYQmz4c7lmn8wgSubocrHm1miLCfc4AIf6dp3CTroP8sowuAxLvNXoeH3ikCp1WSom0KB8cINoFoK3d6hT4JUX9UwKoPwriosPyArmVLjmpM2Hse0u3KyBY-NXT62/s2016/hawk%205-26-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8sujsKZoupah1I9CJUwTDupSEXmV7zcKHRYcULL-MwvMJKLpCu2j1EMqlOsEYQmz4c7lmn8wgSubocrHm1miLCfc4AIf6dp3CTroP8sowuAxLvNXoeH3ikCp1WSom0KB8cINoFoK3d6hT4JUX9UwKoPwriosPyArmVLjmpM2Hse0u3KyBY-NXT62/s320/hawk%205-26-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>And I saw some Sandhill cranes a couple of months ago in a different location:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3o5maB-NJ44XDanxFYy5JQgVBAZZQKAHOi_ee5bVOK0cmBpn6wsZsYVWpDr8W4flhFkqUztEc-m_8XFGbwWp5Mc9jYSFqIv4krMILte0b4KJ_ldbE_3nT3O3NuQx1_IQ3YW0GWkNi2W8WjkZ3Q7rfS9EXfn1u-9Lufqx_yLaY7TwoSGyAsFscAWh/s2016/cranes%203-22-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3o5maB-NJ44XDanxFYy5JQgVBAZZQKAHOi_ee5bVOK0cmBpn6wsZsYVWpDr8W4flhFkqUztEc-m_8XFGbwWp5Mc9jYSFqIv4krMILte0b4KJ_ldbE_3nT3O3NuQx1_IQ3YW0GWkNi2W8WjkZ3Q7rfS9EXfn1u-9Lufqx_yLaY7TwoSGyAsFscAWh/s320/cranes%203-22-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>We've lived here for more than 20 years now, and this is the first I'm seeing some of these birds; there are newer water retention ponds in the area now, so that must be what is attracting some of them. I really look forward to getting to the pond every morning to see which birds are hanging around that day.</div><div><br /></div><div>The weather has been so nice that yesterday I sat on our patio and stitched for a few hours and was able to almost finish the Seaside frill (which has an egret!) that I'm adding to the Seaside Tiny Town:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jPZVYpB_F0nTHM5GslEHh4QhDwgKdmNIHHOHCidklQlZmfAnAR6A_jAbwoL0T1IRPnfcYnGjX8i4LaqQnsRimYrkFQAeRsyJMNu3QcpUcAN-Wqnfl2bcvcS3nxPXVNACGZnwZgx7yXkCJhbnZad-3qr5BF5lNy_o6r76QmQq0TnPwrXtnnWhr7-o/s2592/HIH%20Seaside%20TT%205-28-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jPZVYpB_F0nTHM5GslEHh4QhDwgKdmNIHHOHCidklQlZmfAnAR6A_jAbwoL0T1IRPnfcYnGjX8i4LaqQnsRimYrkFQAeRsyJMNu3QcpUcAN-Wqnfl2bcvcS3nxPXVNACGZnwZgx7yXkCJhbnZad-3qr5BF5lNy_o6r76QmQq0TnPwrXtnnWhr7-o/s320/HIH%20Seaside%20TT%205-28-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I've haven't felt much urge to stitch lately, so this Tiny Town is taking longer to finish than I thought it would; I'm hoping to get it done by the end of this week. Once it's finished, I'll probably start on one of the next two Polar Plunge charts which finally arrived this past Saturday:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6asV5xi5Rtz7Bes9ihuNCf1hmzttPLTqmVzT9MRAjDwXf-G9PHkbDzYDHWlRMnNlKvdZW7u9PA7zdJqQLgOKOAgth3m1nIRN7O1gCOR3cu-sSk2xgPfRyI259vb-ZfOlwhzkAQKVHVunE6PVQTq9X0KrtlnP2U82ONFNNtOdw8ZjAatohzoL3aWq/s2592/HOD%20PP.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR6asV5xi5Rtz7Bes9ihuNCf1hmzttPLTqmVzT9MRAjDwXf-G9PHkbDzYDHWlRMnNlKvdZW7u9PA7zdJqQLgOKOAgth3m1nIRN7O1gCOR3cu-sSk2xgPfRyI259vb-ZfOlwhzkAQKVHVunE6PVQTq9X0KrtlnP2U82ONFNNtOdw8ZjAatohzoL3aWq/s320/HOD%20PP.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I'm still waiting for the second part of Quilting A-Bee-Cs by Erica Michaels to arrive at 123Stitch so I can get it ordered, and I'll probably work on that after the Polar Plunge designs are stitched.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also took the plunge into needlepoint and bought a painted canvas after I saw this photo on Facebook:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqemC-RjuYtJMS4ZOTj6Uv9QCQ1Cgv9r8NEEpBt5DlJb1L562qOMgedfy8nZAfVFnYwvqPpg-07QysxOsHx8IvTtfGHbxtJtcpYZkJtHX_SDmsGY7zbjDFGE9ps-tXe5oAHgJs7pDpaeWCDR4zUC49b_jI7hnAf-eiS9NtZ7ja3uZUoHiNbHAM5np/s2048/enchantment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1546" data-original-width="2048" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqemC-RjuYtJMS4ZOTj6Uv9QCQ1Cgv9r8NEEpBt5DlJb1L562qOMgedfy8nZAfVFnYwvqPpg-07QysxOsHx8IvTtfGHbxtJtcpYZkJtHX_SDmsGY7zbjDFGE9ps-tXe5oAHgJs7pDpaeWCDR4zUC49b_jI7hnAf-eiS9NtZ7ja3uZUoHiNbHAM5np/s320/enchantment.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>It's going to require some time to decide what threads to use and figure out how the stitching works so I don't know when I'll actually start this, but I just thought it was such a beautiful design that I had to get it!</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-3043038766363633432023-05-15T15:29:00.000-07:002023-05-15T15:29:01.783-07:00Saw some pelicans (I think!)...<p>...so it must be time to start Seaside Tiny Town! Honestly, the timing of this was so fun; I went for a walk this morning and saw a group of pelicans (I think that's what they were, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) swimming and feeding:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT80MomgFm9SDXuE0eBpGZ8QNYlT-GL1HN-E-xGuilxuq6nIjIYmbLSyw9T962PAfnroWwe0_vMFXOb19cV9H1jr2ELQqFh1vuFLiOlbbnmngCuMq5nTRSvBKThkWBrfm6XuVY1UvqjLBlWhOqrwN0Ya7j0erB4cFXNsJSDyOOUWRuCCyNGWBcuit2/s1218/pelicans%205-15-23.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1218" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT80MomgFm9SDXuE0eBpGZ8QNYlT-GL1HN-E-xGuilxuq6nIjIYmbLSyw9T962PAfnroWwe0_vMFXOb19cV9H1jr2ELQqFh1vuFLiOlbbnmngCuMq5nTRSvBKThkWBrfm6XuVY1UvqjLBlWhOqrwN0Ya7j0erB4cFXNsJSDyOOUWRuCCyNGWBcuit2/s320/pelicans%205-15-23.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Then the charts arrived in the mail this afternoon:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFu4luz1H1ZUKnQ977avwkbiLVdM7AUdC8ocIlHG63fS3tE4ME1CsvE-PJ-h6kO3EKMx4gNYj2leR0DiYYHR8ZgCcIvtgOodLlhErBjoRb9HErV8W4mh3cnFIqzs91Uy2flb6fjiXNQG9DWs5rR52ExRg9pEhGlnkjv_HHCnPDO4HYF5ZijPpGj5C/s2592/seaside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFu4luz1H1ZUKnQ977avwkbiLVdM7AUdC8ocIlHG63fS3tE4ME1CsvE-PJ-h6kO3EKMx4gNYj2leR0DiYYHR8ZgCcIvtgOodLlhErBjoRb9HErV8W4mh3cnFIqzs91Uy2flb6fjiXNQG9DWs5rR52ExRg9pEhGlnkjv_HHCnPDO4HYF5ZijPpGj5C/s320/seaside.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I'm going to pull the threads tonight (I know I have at least some of them) and pick a fabric, then I'll be ready to start it either tonight or tomorrow. First, I want to do about 20 stitches on Black'd Skie to finish up the border of the fifth square:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdRPZgTDzPrMF_2qnXMPVk40nxTw72AkM2mUkcyu_EBpfZWtsFVcefqPfxadGzuLHfLtS5nNHHzcuifNp3EjJLMx3vw7odKi87I_6gHnjFEqTwag5u1RXqa_YtPkJtAbCXkgzKuNybftDLuWscvI5PH4TgGWR1UomGS77ddHbkqCfRfNtKUe1Jved/s2592/Black'd%20Skie%205-14-23%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdRPZgTDzPrMF_2qnXMPVk40nxTw72AkM2mUkcyu_EBpfZWtsFVcefqPfxadGzuLHfLtS5nNHHzcuifNp3EjJLMx3vw7odKi87I_6gHnjFEqTwag5u1RXqa_YtPkJtAbCXkgzKuNybftDLuWscvI5PH4TgGWR1UomGS77ddHbkqCfRfNtKUe1Jved/s320/Black'd%20Skie%205-14-23%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I finished the fourth square last week, and am hoping to get back to this within the next couple of months:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHMOyUcE9nhMB39hR3BAKg30Yuiw8qZkIxz3zvjkR4jxFVtrjE5ryKobnv3UkfPETOnyjey9Ja-cWzCXX-O6WJ7OhbRR2pZ9JvP5nQT7w8piXF5NPBY-F4I0ttThPA_FjRRCMRBQUyP16Iu9I-XquE8ypDwvSkmxKTQTeffWoJL6qznh6_ymwmNnF/s2592/Black'd%20Skie%205-14-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHMOyUcE9nhMB39hR3BAKg30Yuiw8qZkIxz3zvjkR4jxFVtrjE5ryKobnv3UkfPETOnyjey9Ja-cWzCXX-O6WJ7OhbRR2pZ9JvP5nQT7w8piXF5NPBY-F4I0ttThPA_FjRRCMRBQUyP16Iu9I-XquE8ypDwvSkmxKTQTeffWoJL6qznh6_ymwmNnF/s320/Black'd%20Skie%205-14-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiBMcJW3DcWrv4XRNqyvgXmebIZZXXIQwx70X3ateUsM75r3MdGqtE49UWnLCwFP6ri2jBKFj4CsPtnGtA8eIz3MzQAd0rjXnd5A8pTmRvRgkfYbqFsjAYbypW53S6vO9QDIqUHde4aSBj5cUDEuX8C-bD9sQQC9siOeb1_T5GJ32CXL2zFTlukEe/s2592/Black'd%20Skie%205-14-23%203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiBMcJW3DcWrv4XRNqyvgXmebIZZXXIQwx70X3ateUsM75r3MdGqtE49UWnLCwFP6ri2jBKFj4CsPtnGtA8eIz3MzQAd0rjXnd5A8pTmRvRgkfYbqFsjAYbypW53S6vO9QDIqUHde4aSBj5cUDEuX8C-bD9sQQC9siOeb1_T5GJ32CXL2zFTlukEe/s320/Black'd%20Skie%205-14-23%203.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This past Saturday I went to a local stitch group for the first time and had a really nice time meeting and chatting with the five other stitchers who attended. I wasn't sure what the room set up would be, so I didn't want to take Black'd Skie, which is pretty large; instead, I took a piece that I had just barely started a few months ago:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5JMxt1nM5epIegScIqLlZoyXthPhh32HXNGE06DrRBbGzl_EYcSO928If-_7lusxBzU20nVorwIh8Cj_l0q7pStkSKDnmcLpi3_WZF5dp5s208-i-xrDrx0uC1XKgiJH1AhsitvKyWg6SBfNkoivjbd1ngI-VAvXOy7RxZ3EtTSAfPpQcmb59wKD/s2592/Alice%205-13-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5JMxt1nM5epIegScIqLlZoyXthPhh32HXNGE06DrRBbGzl_EYcSO928If-_7lusxBzU20nVorwIh8Cj_l0q7pStkSKDnmcLpi3_WZF5dp5s208-i-xrDrx0uC1XKgiJH1AhsitvKyWg6SBfNkoivjbd1ngI-VAvXOy7RxZ3EtTSAfPpQcmb59wKD/s320/Alice%205-13-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The group will meet again in June, so I'll probably take this piece again since it's an easy one to work on while chatting (though I did have to frog a bit because a couple of those bricks are six stitches long instead of five like the majority of them were!).</div><div><br /></div><div>Yesterday I pulled up Cathy's finishing video for the Polar Plunge series and got the matboard and batting cut for all six ornaments:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5nzJBtkC-LoZdGgz1s4hbzyBbKz89EoHHzawELdXhHpo4hJTaTuRMOdCgegS9ZsdGi8ftHTNBxkdKS8QHwUgL-8dCd5pNNsQaaiPg6wXWVAUOYp4wmtMvGJy9Zd8T7XKNrHIs0rJtT_N00uCKCCwZlZCwUgYRcOc2OjAsrJ4OV5GaJSXbLxYNUHC/s2329/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20finishing%205-14-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1878" data-original-width="2329" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5nzJBtkC-LoZdGgz1s4hbzyBbKz89EoHHzawELdXhHpo4hJTaTuRMOdCgegS9ZsdGi8ftHTNBxkdKS8QHwUgL-8dCd5pNNsQaaiPg6wXWVAUOYp4wmtMvGJy9Zd8T7XKNrHIs0rJtT_N00uCKCCwZlZCwUgYRcOc2OjAsrJ4OV5GaJSXbLxYNUHC/s320/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20finishing%205-14-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>That's all of the preparation I can do for these now until they are all stitched. I finally ordered the next two Sunday night, but they probably won't ship for about a week--that gives me just enough time to get the Seaside Tiny Town done before they get here.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm a bit surprised that I got quite a few crafty things done last week, since I finally spent a couple of days cleaning out the garage. It only took three trips to the dump this time, instead of the four it took for the basement, and now I even like taking the kitchen garbage out to the bin because it looks so nice out there. :D</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-49346364700185240832023-05-08T07:56:00.001-07:002023-05-08T07:56:14.623-07:00Gather Round club halfway done<p>Last Monday morning I finished the stitching on HOD's Gather Butterflies and then did the final finishing that afternoon, so two of the four seasons are now fully complete:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7gBGKWChDpGNYzijeI3c4hWmlCbRE09LH4adQy3Krroh5EQ0LquIOvLe-o0ksb4kTKKC8AZ6DD5C5oa0laF1V13iydHPI13ulWRx2VYeSBoWvnsEfd6rgoLa7D6tbOJXj_V6cuspZznUeDoYz9eCurIy6dtYpK1tH4qJ5q6Ghg5GfatIsNdlj64c/s2592/HOD%20Gather%20Butterflies%20fully%20finished%205-1-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1702" data-original-width="2592" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7gBGKWChDpGNYzijeI3c4hWmlCbRE09LH4adQy3Krroh5EQ0LquIOvLe-o0ksb4kTKKC8AZ6DD5C5oa0laF1V13iydHPI13ulWRx2VYeSBoWvnsEfd6rgoLa7D6tbOJXj_V6cuspZznUeDoYz9eCurIy6dtYpK1tH4qJ5q6Ghg5GfatIsNdlj64c/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Butterflies%20fully%20finished%205-1-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I'm looking forward to seeing what gets gathered in autumn; leaves or pumpkins are probably two likely choices, but I'm thinking Cathy will do something different--will hopefully find out in June!</p><p>The next two HOD Polar Plunge charts should be in shops soon; while I wait to order them, I decided to get started on the finishing for them. I painted and sealed the ornament boards and picked up a big piece of matboard that I'll start cutting to shape this week. I decided not to cover the boards with scrapbooking paper, as I like the look of them plain like this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcyf443a1Bp8fHQepzxw1gXsWZNCx5bXfU_c2KNIhw90nQY0b_oCaZeeFVb_tAV0T1yOAJ0tbwygJ554gJOoFfDHJEM1IQxXzsXvCH3a69YaZHu2W2XLy6h9xAaWB7Oy9mtOLYNu6eY8jd35qwtKK9-v2GB9CjAVWJnXynzET_0QgjdX8-OQNaXFG/s2351/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20boards.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1790" data-original-width="2351" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcyf443a1Bp8fHQepzxw1gXsWZNCx5bXfU_c2KNIhw90nQY0b_oCaZeeFVb_tAV0T1yOAJ0tbwygJ554gJOoFfDHJEM1IQxXzsXvCH3a69YaZHu2W2XLy6h9xAaWB7Oy9mtOLYNu6eY8jd35qwtKK9-v2GB9CjAVWJnXynzET_0QgjdX8-OQNaXFG/s320/HOD%20Polar%20Plunge%20boards.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>While I wait for the new Tiny Town, Polar Plunge and Quilting A-Bee-Cs charts to arrive in shops I decided to pull out Primitive Needle's Black'd Skie. I looked back in my blog and saw that I last worked on this in December 2021, so I guess it was time to get it back out and finish at least one more square!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETlE4byqxU-D1nz4BhftipiH6wariWZnMTzD0V1g1VdiC6ALJNJcHqAcp7hKwcHem_Y6MnheF2IRdapwdEbfhHSmC7X5wFiLgfdSEcNxQLZ2yAE9AGwZmGjXRFHO9up6ElJnItLBdvJXqLSz_66OXefzcR8vwVO7mqnFUP8KJbtQWRdnsV3qNB1CV/s1870/Black'd%20Skie%205-8-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1827" data-original-width="1870" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETlE4byqxU-D1nz4BhftipiH6wariWZnMTzD0V1g1VdiC6ALJNJcHqAcp7hKwcHem_Y6MnheF2IRdapwdEbfhHSmC7X5wFiLgfdSEcNxQLZ2yAE9AGwZmGjXRFHO9up6ElJnItLBdvJXqLSz_66OXefzcR8vwVO7mqnFUP8KJbtQWRdnsV3qNB1CV/s320/Black'd%20Skie%205-8-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhOLTdtozKO0Hem9XYurMIz-_N1-jicKxoZ61DW7w6gmBAF1PgMYKw0aGpWMqaaI4Xy1CntOzKe994g0HfsvpYH22VTjGHytOVy9FlCOAk_OrtYEgUx4NpV8UxnW6t_dUXOUi1w39I-ADRQhSqBOP0SHZ8lSye6TZZoArs89v3FjYKHn6l82_Z88p/s2592/Black'd%20Skie%20square%204%205-8-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhOLTdtozKO0Hem9XYurMIz-_N1-jicKxoZ61DW7w6gmBAF1PgMYKw0aGpWMqaaI4Xy1CntOzKe994g0HfsvpYH22VTjGHytOVy9FlCOAk_OrtYEgUx4NpV8UxnW6t_dUXOUi1w39I-ADRQhSqBOP0SHZ8lSye6TZZoArs89v3FjYKHn6l82_Z88p/s320/Black'd%20Skie%20square%204%205-8-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>I should be able to finish square four today, then I might start on square five so I can stitch on it in between working on the Polar Plunge finishing preparations. </p><p>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</p>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-20222887262934852392023-05-01T07:53:00.000-07:002023-05-01T07:53:33.459-07:00Almost made it<p>I was hoping to have all three of the Hands on Design Gather Butterflies pieces stitched by the end of the weekend, but as I predicted I wasn't quite able to make it. I came pretty close though (and my inner 5-year-old had a gleeful laugh at this photo):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKjjtE08FNkHvzfq1QHZS94IkAeAK4II1G4o03zFzlSn_EMyCDqB-L0awNxa8kj-VgkRN1RpiVEpoWsSH-j4kKwsQHyrPpdrR8RuFvrAxV0p8J9DHAaODY-f463HglMkyYANPiOhL_XqZ9SljTEVgKkOrQUcKIpAFp26e-XXiYPD-I7tBVzMStdqt/s2566/HOD%20Gather%20Butterflies%205-1-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1842" data-original-width="2566" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKjjtE08FNkHvzfq1QHZS94IkAeAK4II1G4o03zFzlSn_EMyCDqB-L0awNxa8kj-VgkRN1RpiVEpoWsSH-j4kKwsQHyrPpdrR8RuFvrAxV0p8J9DHAaODY-f463HglMkyYANPiOhL_XqZ9SljTEVgKkOrQUcKIpAFp26e-XXiYPD-I7tBVzMStdqt/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Butterflies%205-1-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I'll have the stitching done later this morning, and I think I might try to do the finishing this afternoon so I can get a start on some housework tomorrow. It's funny that I'll have the spring and summer sets of designs done, since apparently we're still in the midst of winter here:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlB8azV_8Q5zsknyReoxSfkd1EUlq8AtahnBvW7P6vWDfnWbF8chrioi5egWCUYPFRNFktGRixmgNq9cTtY1u3w_doyV5Y9Jt2y_uatHXjLeR988yUM4usNxv-55Q-A1pG9VvRfxqDxF4w6yP8O3hPNuXNzO7pT9jzXRMEgyr9GOW9anzPF-g7S7Q/s640/snow%205-1-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlB8azV_8Q5zsknyReoxSfkd1EUlq8AtahnBvW7P6vWDfnWbF8chrioi5egWCUYPFRNFktGRixmgNq9cTtY1u3w_doyV5Y9Jt2y_uatHXjLeR988yUM4usNxv-55Q-A1pG9VvRfxqDxF4w6yP8O3hPNuXNzO7pT9jzXRMEgyr9GOW9anzPF-g7S7Q/s320/snow%205-1-23.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>My bleeding heart was just starting to flower, so I'm going to be pretty bummed if this kills off the blossoms:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6crRFoxDY6nC0ed7revgPLoSmmJvCJBIbsfhB8Jgbwc8K8PlBZYoU2f71_jr_4OvE2DjL6e4_Dg5Qm5fCopJWymqS22HV9s0UPstWSaZ1yXFaNRwYhsIo1nrlGNl6RpvD2VsHV9LgN5yW7_z70yqGq5Cix_Fpe9wBUjcwUFoo8FlgIAEX-eUOBHR/s640/bh%205-1-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="640" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6crRFoxDY6nC0ed7revgPLoSmmJvCJBIbsfhB8Jgbwc8K8PlBZYoU2f71_jr_4OvE2DjL6e4_Dg5Qm5fCopJWymqS22HV9s0UPstWSaZ1yXFaNRwYhsIo1nrlGNl6RpvD2VsHV9LgN5yW7_z70yqGq5Cix_Fpe9wBUjcwUFoo8FlgIAEX-eUOBHR/s320/bh%205-1-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week (and better weather than I do)!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8965013923916913151.post-41525341428961241522023-04-24T08:47:00.000-07:002023-04-24T08:47:25.877-07:00Part 1 completed, on to part 2 (of a different SAL)<p>Last night while watching the final (finally!) episode of Sanditon I was able to finish part 1 of Erica Michaels Quilting A-Bee-Cs, using the recommended Classic Colorworks floss (except for subbing the dark green and adding a purple):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqfFmIagHT2CYMWbm_bg5Dr-bEPsqXYYMmsR_vzzNbaIVDk4xBQBHXP0K6jU_6NNxrZKc4zcTLg7qJnqPFgVuuU2reXowXG5E6uNu6BVkZvupflt_wxDWO80Xawrv4hSwxkiXFKibX1iso7yg5Iy42617C-Rac8LE6AdjZtv7j4ifGiqBALT7LjHh/s2592/Quilting%20ABCs%20part%201%20complete%204-23-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="2592" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqfFmIagHT2CYMWbm_bg5Dr-bEPsqXYYMmsR_vzzNbaIVDk4xBQBHXP0K6jU_6NNxrZKc4zcTLg7qJnqPFgVuuU2reXowXG5E6uNu6BVkZvupflt_wxDWO80Xawrv4hSwxkiXFKibX1iso7yg5Iy42617C-Rac8LE6AdjZtv7j4ifGiqBALT7LjHh/s320/Quilting%20ABCs%20part%201%20complete%204-23-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Part 2 will be coming out next month, though I don't know exactly when; hopefully I'll be able to finish Hands on Design Gather Butterflies before it arrives. I'm having a hard time settling down with my stitching lately, but I would like to have this done by the end of this month (or, more likely, early next month):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWJz2x9BCShclR5ySq-JCeX7x-HwKyjA768buwYZ8PxZJPe-mx4ybZ-4TXgqe-L3ptk-MYZAyYF74uJh0vX1a6ImTn3Q8HfpxFC80I5EF41yJecUavBcYhZx__83XufBTS3WfMutcnPt36v3g2ns444sW_LRDQEnmElkKsTGltN8L9zNLRY13Pm8D/s1876/HOD%20Gather%20Butterflies%204-24-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1792" data-original-width="1876" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWJz2x9BCShclR5ySq-JCeX7x-HwKyjA768buwYZ8PxZJPe-mx4ybZ-4TXgqe-L3ptk-MYZAyYF74uJh0vX1a6ImTn3Q8HfpxFC80I5EF41yJecUavBcYhZx__83XufBTS3WfMutcnPt36v3g2ns444sW_LRDQEnmElkKsTGltN8L9zNLRY13Pm8D/s320/HOD%20Gather%20Butterflies%204-24-23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Also in May Heart in Hand's Seaside Tiny Town will be released, so of course I'll have to make time for that as soon as I get it! And there's another Tiny Town coming out in July called Any Town Tiny Town:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYLp6S5Z7gvJlMXhwJiye4dBETLkKZIc9cztusgWQfscjr8-Elj-2MxChCRg3KD7hYpRO1J8ZPrNLZwSE9vwLQQ3bYY4gMHmWtSwD7DsF4xNRGWWGZRP4km4UKGCKKPTYKedQ-dLC7WGePXlpAv2fnUYQncBjMs6yac37D_Sw7arHqZQfDa_YMdMK/s843/HIH%20Any%20Town%20Tiny%20Town.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYLp6S5Z7gvJlMXhwJiye4dBETLkKZIc9cztusgWQfscjr8-Elj-2MxChCRg3KD7hYpRO1J8ZPrNLZwSE9vwLQQ3bYY4gMHmWtSwD7DsF4xNRGWWGZRP4km4UKGCKKPTYKedQ-dLC7WGePXlpAv2fnUYQncBjMs6yac37D_Sw7arHqZQfDa_YMdMK/s320/HIH%20Any%20Town%20Tiny%20Town.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This was designed for the 25th anniversary of Keepsakes in Ohio; they had a pre-order on their site that ended on April 15th. Their shop is the white house to the left of the center, with their little black shop cat, 310, next to the door. The chart will be released to all shops next year, and the idea is to personalize it to look more like your own town. I might try to make the cross stitch shop look more like my LNS, The Stitching Bee, and there's a local flower shop that I would love to try to imitate:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaC7XBk43uhaoiois-8OOplwmn5MXjSEZpYsULHEMolOJm9sE_pWlzQ4wvmkAl_mHy2G56TWER-uZx0CiOZmCAnJBaUU7uNk4Lneu62X4GLNUkaiqClDf5Mnf2Cz_QkaqC2FNDvG6Rhw_sE8fV_IJbYgfXA4imvvmF2e-IylV2ZE20r64NqwUPN2p/s2016/flower%20shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaC7XBk43uhaoiois-8OOplwmn5MXjSEZpYsULHEMolOJm9sE_pWlzQ4wvmkAl_mHy2G56TWER-uZx0CiOZmCAnJBaUU7uNk4Lneu62X4GLNUkaiqClDf5Mnf2Cz_QkaqC2FNDvG6Rhw_sE8fV_IJbYgfXA4imvvmF2e-IylV2ZE20r64NqwUPN2p/s320/flower%20shop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I've messed around a bit already, and it isn't going to be quite as easy to translate into a "tiny building" as I had hoped, but I've got plenty of time to work with it and see what I can come up with.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!</div>Melaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14721625858879821146noreply@blogger.com4