A Small Finish

Towards the end of last year, a kind member of the 123Stitch MB had a giveaway for a Mill Hill kit of a little gray Christmas kitty. She asked people to leave a comment on why Christmas was special to them, and she chose my reply, in which I said how thankful I was that my mom and her four kitties were now safe, healthy and living with us at our house. I recently pulled that kit out, so I would have something easy to work on at the laundromat and during a movie at my friend's house, and here is the result:

Also pictured is a Mill Hill Tiny Treasured Diamond ornament that I stitched last year. The kitty actually came with a pin backing, but I prefer him as an ornament. :) There are some great people on the 123Stitch MB; if you ever visit, my board name there is chloerose.

So now, it is back to the model. It is a pretty large piece, and contains quite a few fractionals, so I find the need to take a break from it once in a while and work on a simpler piece. I pulled out my L*K Halloween Rules, and next time I'll show you a progress pic (and it's even on my WIP list!).

I've received a(nother) Liebster...

I am editing this post, as I have now been given another Liebster, this one by Jocelyn at Stitchy Minds Think Alike; Jocelyn is another Nora Corbett addict, and has some gorgeous finishes on her blog. Thanks Jocelyn!

My first Liebster was from Leslie at Stitching Under the Sea ; thank you Leslie! I am really enjoying sharing my stitching with others who understand my obsession.

Liebster is a German word meaning dearest, favorite or beloved. Liebster Awards are given by bloggers to other bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help newer bloggers gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions:

1. Choose 5 up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.

2. Show thanks to the blogger who awarded the Liebster to you by linking back to their blog.

3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving awards to, with links to their sites, and comment on their blog to let them know that you have given them the award.

4. Share five random facts about yourself that people don't know.

I was having a bit of a problem choosing five other blogs right now, for a few reasons. I don't follow very many as of yet, and of the ones I do follow, they have either already received the Liebster, or they have too many followers! I originally gave away two awards, but now have found three other blogs to give them to, which have now been added below.

The first Liebster goes to Rachel at What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day. She already has a lot of followers, but that is because she has a great sense of humor and shares everyday stories along with her terrific stitching.

The second Liebster goes to Karen at My Stitchy Ramblings. Besides sharing beautiful stitching, Karen has a gorgeous kitty, and every Friday she picks a new hunky guy to share!

The third Liebster goes to Nikki at Nikki's Crossed Stitches. Nikki's blog has a great combination of stitching, a bit of cooking, critters and just everyday stuff, as well as wonderful art works showing stitching being depicted throughout history.

The fourth Liebster goes to Stephanie at Stephanie's Stitches. Besides her beautiful Mirabilia projects, you have to take a look at all four of her finished Joan Elliott Seasonal Fairies; I am green with envy! ;)

The fifth, and final, Liebster goes to Amanda at The Stitch Menagerie. Amanda is a great contributor to the Mirabilia group on Facebook, and has just started a new blog; I am looking forward to seeing her blog grow.

Now for five things about myself:

1. I can name every state, in alphabetical order, in less than a minute.

2. I think I would have gotten better grades in college if I had gone to a smaller school (but Go Illini!).

3. I have every Nora Corbett/Mirabilia design ever printed.

4. I go through life feeling like most people were given a rule book that I never received.

5. I have a bad tendency to laugh when I'm nervous, which is usually in situations where laughing isn't appropriate!

Phew! This post took quite a bit longer than I thought it would. I was going to share a couple of small finishes, but I think I'll wait and post them in a few days. Until then, hope you have a lot of stitchy time, and no visits from La Grenouille!

Give your mom a hug!

For once, I don't have any stitching pictures to share, quelle horreur! Except for a small Mill Hill beaded ornament that I took to the laundromat with me, all of my stitching time has gone to a model that I've had in my possession since last October. That is when my life took a bit of a turn, and it has taken six months to get back to what feels like normal.

Last September, the day after her birthday, my mom ended up in the hospital with double pneumonia. I won't go into details, except to say that after she had to be intubated, the doctor told me she had a 50/50 chance of getting through it. But get through it she did; two weeks in ICU, another three in a rehab hospital and then she came to live with us. And just last week she was able to move into her own apartment, only 10 miles from our house (instead of 170 miles away like her house was). Here is a pic of Mom and her Sadie, not too long after she came to stay with us:

When Mom moved in here, so did her four cats and Sadie; added to our four cats and dog, it made for quite a menagerie. Here is a pic of what critter dinner time looks like in our household (there are seven kitties in the pic, and Sadie's eyes are glowing at the end of the counter!):

Mom can only have two pets in her new apartment, so she took her dog and one kitty; as I now have seven cats, I think I qualify as an official Crazy Cat Lady!

So now that my life has pretty much returned to its "new normal"; I'm hoping to really buckle down and get this model finished. Karen was kind enough to send me a project that she had no immediate need to have returned, but now I just really want to get it done. And then it is time to slay another WIP! ;)

I'm Doomed...

...DOOMED, I tell you! Nora Corbett released two new Pixies today, and I love them both! Here is Tulip:

And, my favorite of the two, Maidenhair:

And as if wanting to start these wasn't bad enough, there is a new Passione Ricamo design being released (which is already in the mail to me!) that is really calling to me, as well. It is called Medieval Enchantment, and I just love the rich colors:

Back when I stitched Laura's Poinsettia Fay design, I submitted the finished photo to her Stitchers' Gallery, and in the note I mentioned that I would love to see one of her larger designs with a similar combination of reds and blues; looks like I will finally get my wish! Here is Poinsettia Fay, just to give an idea of how pretty the colors look together:

It seems that no matter how hard I try, I cannot get my WIP pile any smaller! Oh, woe is me...  ;)

Thinking A-HAED

A large part of the reason that I decided to make 2012 the Year of the WIP was because I purchased my first HAED chart, but I would have almost felt guilty making such a huge start when I have so many WIPs around. Back at the end of December, I bought all the floss I needed for the HAED; it uses 89 different colors and requires 190 total skeins. A few days ago, I sat down and got the floss organized, as it was taking up quite a bit of space:

Someday, hopefully, all that floss will be transformed into Foxglove Ball, by Aimee Stewart:

The stitch count of this design is 625 x 833, so it will be 25" x 33.25" on 25ct linen, stitched over-one. I'm thinking I would have had a better chance of actually finishing this if I had started it 10 or 15 years ago! ;)

I Don't Like Backstitching, But...

...it really can add to a piece. Last night I finished up all but the backstitching on a Gorjuss design found in issue 249 of Cross Stitcher (UK) called "Laundry Day". This morning I took a picture of it before I started working on the backstitching:

This afternoon I finished it up, and even though there isn't a huge amount of backstitching, it really made a big difference:

So now I have this cute little piece, and absolutely nothing to do with it. Into the "finished, but nothing to do with it" bucket it goes.

And for those who may have wondered, no, this design wasn't in my WIP list (hanging head in shame). But when my magazine came, she just called out for me to stitch her. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it!

Judy Odell, I Love You!

For those of you who may not be familiar with her work, Judy is an amazing finisher who creates gorgeous heirloom pieces that stitchers can make for themselves. A couple of years ago, I signed up for her online class for Mary Wigham's Wardrobe, which looked like this when I finished it:

While I love my wardrobe, I definitely wish my finishing skills had been a bit better. So when I found out that Judy needed someone to stitch her My Treasures Workstation for a revised version that she wanted to publish, I eagerly volunteered. She sent me the chart, I chose the fabric and flosses, stitched it up as fast as my fingers would allow and sent it to her. Here is a part of what it looked like when I mailed it to her:

Here is what I will be receiving in the mail later this week:

I am positively giddy with anticipation! So now you know why I love Judy Odell!!

Two Small Finishes

While I sat and stitched with Tanner for a couple of nights last week, I was able to finish up Just Nan's Pretty Wicked, which was actually on my WIP list! The problem was, I needed something to work on while my mom had cataract surgery on Wednesday, but I had finished all the small, portable WIPs on my list. So, yes, I fell off the wagon again! But only for another little Just Nan Whimzi, Maple Ravens, which I was able to finish up that same night.

I really like these Whimzi designs, as they stitch up quickly and are easily popped into their little frames. I'm already thinking about which one I can work on when my mom has her other eye done next week!

Tanner got part way through the second "N" in his name last week, but didn't work on it all weekend because he was busy playing with friends. Hopefully, he'll get a bit more done this week. :)

A Huge Thank You!

I can't thank all of you wonderful stitchers who have posted encouragement to Tanner, both here and on the 123Stitch MB, enough. The first question out of his mouth when he got home from school yesterday was "Did anyone say anything about my stitching?", and he was absolutely thrilled to find that so many people had taken the time to look at his work and comment on it. As soon as he finished reading all of the comments, he sat down and finished up the "A". During the evening he completed the first "N", and then this morning started on the second "N". I will definitely be posting his finish in the near future!

I hope that Tanner will continue stitching in the future, but even if he ends up stopping I know we will both always remember this time, when so many kind people made one little boy feel so special. Thank you all!

Stitching, the Next Generation

Last night, Tanner, my 10 year-old son, asked if I would teach him how to stitch. So down to my craft room I went, in search of a pattern and supplies that would be appropriate for a beginner. Luckily, some of the patterns I've liked have only come in kit form, so I had some Aida available (as I honestly cannot even remember the last time I used it); grabbed that, some floss, a needle, a small Qsnap and a one-color alphabet chart and off we went.

He caught on really well to how the squares in the chart correlate to the squares in the fabric, and between last night and a bit of stitching before school this morning, he has come up with this:

I'm so proud of my little guy! I need to get the rest of his name charted out, and then I want to find some simple stars to add to it that he can use beads to stitch.

While I sat at the table with Tanner, I pulled out my Just Nan "Pretty Wicked" to work on, as it is nice and small. Here is where I started:

And here is where I am now:

Last night, sitting at the table with my son and my mom (who has been living with us since last fall as she recovers from nearly dying of double pneumonia), was truly a wonderful time; a beautiful memory I will carry with me always.