Best Plan Ever...

 Hello, dear friends,

Once again, after a long pause, I am back -- with just a few updates. 

Life has been crazy  really busy - with work (I got promoted in July) and school (just two more classes until my degree is finished) in full swing, I barely have time to stitch. That is, officially I do - after work, I sit in my chair and pick up the needle. I make several stitches. Next thing I know - it is two hours later and I am feeling refreshed - after a nap with a needle in my hand and a piece of linen on my lap. I tried to stitch, honest. I even started stitching. I was just too tired to go on.

So, the updates I have are due to me being on vacation this past week. After the initial couple of days of (mostly) sleeping and drinking tea, I looked at my pile of WIPs and decided to make a plan. What a plan it was! I wanted to start - and finish - a new sampler I had just purchased, with a swan and a cute thread ring. I was determined to also complete my "Charles Dickens" by Bothy Threads. Finally, "Mary Mary Needleworker" just HAD to be done! And what about Year at Hawk Run Hollow - I needed to work on that too! 

I had a whole week - more than that, eleven days! True, I had a doctor's appointment, and a pile of homework to catch up on, and a couple of friends to see after a long time apart, but - eleven days, completely free! 

Here is what I was able to accomplish. 

Mary Mary... How long is your skirt?

Here is my "Mary Mary Needleworker", or, as I affectionaly call her sometimes, "the endless orange skirt." I tried to stay focused, but eventually just had to take a break from all this orangy goodness. 

Happy Halloween! 

I did finish the October square of Hawk Run Hollow - just in time for the festivities! The witch's face was too pale against the fabric, so I decided to add some backstitch. What do you think, should I also get her hair outlined, or would it be too much? 

And... that is it. Not much - especially compared to the plan, huh? Oh well. After all, it's just eleven days. I try not to be disappointed. 

My cat Crystal has the best attitude about all plans. Her general motto in life is: "Take a nap." Running behind? Take a nap! Can't remember something? Take a nap - and it will come to you. Frustrated about miscounting stitches? Tired of doing homework? Have I mentioned... 

Guardian of Diagon Alley

Somewhere along the way, I decided to be more like Crystal and stopped worrying about my plan. Instead, I stitch, drink tea, listen to the book, drink more tea, stitch some more... and take my time to enjoy it. 

For what it's worth - I don't have to be back at work until Tuesday, which is still three days away. Who knows, I may still get more done. 

Temptations

Until next time, 

Stitching Update

 Hello, dear friends,

I am back again, trying to revive this blog of mine. Will it work? I hope so.

Over the past year I have not posted much (anything, really), but I have been stitching and puzzling - when not working or studying. I am trying to finish my second AS degree - in Accounting this time, and I am getting ever so close to the finish line. Right now I am just three classes away from completion. 

So, what have I been stitching on? Some time last year I saw this and got curious. The name of the project - "Charles Dickens" - got me interested, as at the time I was also watching the show "Dickensian". 

The kit is by Bothy Threads. I have always been curious about their "cut through" projects, but this seemed too interesting and unusual to pass by. 

Next - there's "Mary Mary Needleworker" by Lindy Stitches. 

Still love the colors - and the details, like the mushrooms and the thread bobbins, but the skirt is starting to get to me. It is just so vast and so orange. I know it will look beautiful once it's done, though. 

Finally, I have been doing some puzzling. Here's my favorite as of today - the Zodiac Circle. 

I worked on it while listening to "Troubled Blood" by Robert Galbraith. The puzzle completed the book experience.

I hope you read my post until the end and did not get bored. Please leave a comment if you can. 

Until next time, 

 

A Grey Ladybug

 

The other day, I met a grey ladybug. Actually, she just sort of fell into my hair from the bus shelf. I got so freaked for a second I just swapped her away, and she fell into the bus aisle between the seats. She started crawling towards one side of seats, then rolled and changed direction, until she chose to go in a straight line. The whole time I was really hoping that she would not get squished by one of the passengers. When we reached the end of the trip, I discovered her on the floor, alive and well, maybe slightly disoriented. I bent down in the middle of the aisle, scooped her up and marched us outside. 

"Shall we find some grass for you, maybe some flowers?" She was crawling on my hand, grey with dark spots, - an unusual animal. I must have looked really strange to the passersby, standing there, talking to my hand. And then, when I looked away for a moment, just like that, she was gone.

I hope she is OK. 

Stitching Updates

 Hello, dear friends,

Once again, it has been... oh, only just over a month? Never mind then, I can hybernate a bit longer...  But I do have some updates to share, so here it goes.

After completing "Thirteen Colonies", I looked around for a new project and discovered myself desperately hooked on samplers. During Nashville Needlework market this year I loved several projects. 

"Seeking Refuge" by Scarlett House perfectly describes how I feel about needlework. Cross stitch is my therapy, it's a skill to combat my fears and anxiety about the challenges of the outside world. So - I had to have this pattern. I even got all the threads it called for. 

Next was "Heaven and Nature" by Teresa Kogut. This one was a bit more complicated. Several years ago I stitched a commission piece designed by Sandy Orton (I Believe) with words "Let Heaven and Nature Sing." For those who remember, it had a garden theme with angels wearing gardening aprons and with garden shears in the pockets. And now, seeing this same verse on the new sampler, I thought - continuity. Something about it spoke to me, perhaps reminded me of the previous project, - and I got the pattern. 

Then, there's the "monster" (because of its size) - "His Eye is on the Sparrow" by Heartstring Samplery. This one - first of the two - interested me because of the way Adam and Eve were designed. I noticed that in many (older) samplers Adam and Eve were pictured in a grotesque, very awkward way. This one makes them look... more human. Not to mention, of course, all the details. 

Finally, there's "Consider the Lilies" - another design by Heartsrting Samplery. Once again, Adam and Eve here look very much alive, not doll-like, and the snake looks like he's holding a conversation... 

Once I received the patterns, I started on kitting the samplers. Fabric was not a problem at the time, but some of the threads, due to COVID, I could not get. Now I know about substitutions and conversions and details that makes the sampler yours, so to speak, but... Truth be told, until now I often had to substitute threads - simply because I could not afford the ones called for in a pattern(s). So, I do want to know what the "original" version with all the called for threads looks like. I will wait on the (last three) threads to become available, then I will start the sampler.

In the meantime, I signed up for - and completed - "Jesus Wept" sampler by Elisabeth Cooper. It came from The Sassy Jack's Stitchery, and it was in many ways a new experience for me. 

I wanted to stitch it, first of all, because it was the first time I was going to work with silk. I learned that silk is a very pleasant material to work with, both soft - and strong. Then, there was something about this design that reminded me of the cave paintings of the ancient times. The birds and the plants, the animals - the way they were designed. It was a very interesting process. 

After this project was completed, I moved on to something more colorful. Mary Mary Needleworker from Lindy Stitches caught my eye. Once again, continuity played part in my selection - Old Witch Mary from Lila's Studio and this project definitely have some things in common. 

For me, it's got something to do with those mushrooms. I could not resist them in Witch Mary - and now I cannot say no to them in Mary Needleworker. They had to be stitched! Not to mention the thread spools, the shoes, the flowers... and the verse of course. That one is still coming, along with more details.  

Until next time, 

"Thirteen Colonies" from start to finish

A Finish!

Hello, dear friends,
With the year coming to a close, it's about time I have... a finish! Absolutely not Christmas related, but - what does it matter, right? Here it is.

"Old Witch Mary" by Lila's Studio

It was stitched with Gentle Art Sampler threads, and I so enjoyed the colors.. the toadstools were my favorite.

The verse was stitched with two threads over one, and it was a bit challenging. Also, the pattern called for "u" in "poisonous" to be stitched backwards, but the speller in me did not allow it.

Now, with this project finally finished, I ask myself two questions: how should I frame it - and.. what should I stitch next? Once I make up my mind, I will be sure to check in and share my progress here.

Until next time -

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Stitching to you, my friends!

Merry Christmas...

Hello, dear friends,

It has been, as always, shamefully long. What have I been up to? Working - of course, can't go without it. Taking a class towards a degree in our local college - online. Working out... Reading... Watching movies.... And, of course, stitching. 

School proved to be a bit more stressful than I expected, to the point that, towards the end, I swore to myself that I would not take another class for a while... Things at work got busy, quizzes and homework assignments became due one after another, life changes piled up - I thought I was going to lose it. Then, just like that, the day of the final came, so I got up, dressed up, showed up - and passed it. Now, just a week and a half after the final, I am thinking - hmm, maybe I should take another class in the spring... Perhaps, I am (secretly) a glutton for stress. 

In my reading pursuits, I have discovered for myself books by Toni Morrison. I started with "God Bless The Child." It gripped me right away because of the subject - a strained relationship between mother and daughter. The daughter does not want to be in contact with her mother, save for the occasional post card or check, and she has her reasons. The mother, while respecting her daughter's wishes, believes that she has done the best she could, everything she could, for her child, given the situation they were in. 

Next, I read "Sula." The novel is about lifelong friendship between two women, - but, once again, it's the portrayal of motherhood in the story that spoke to me. Motherhood is doing what you have to do to keep your children alive, safe, and healthy. This is the job, the responsibility, the purpose of it, and everything else beyond that purpose is non-essential fluff.  I could relate to Eva, the mother, when in response to her daughter's question, "Mama, did you ever love us?" answers, "No, not the way you think." The daughter, all grown up, wants to know how come her mother never played with her as a child. Eva answers, "What would I look like leapin' 'round that little room playin' with youngins with three beets to my name?" Taking care of essentials equals love. Providing for your children equals love. Kissing booboos and playing hopscotch is good for a commercial. It has nothing to do with real life, or real love.

Next on my reading list is "Beloved," and I am gathering all my gut strength to read it. 

As for my stitching, I have turned it from a job (as was once upon a time) back into a hobby. I stitch what I want, when I want, with... what I want. 

"Pilgrim Couple" - The Primitive Hare. 

Here is a small Thanksgiving finish - a freebie from The Primitive Hare. I used specialty/variegated threads I had in my stash, and I think it turned out well. 

"Behold" by Subversive Cross Stitch

This pattern I have had in my stash for ages, always thinking, "One day..." Well, that day happened to be just a couple of weeks ago. I stitched it while thinking about the class, the test, the final... and it helped. Now, I think I will frame it and put it someplace private, just so I can look at it once a day and remind myself of what's important.

"Old Witch Mary" WIP by Lila's Studio

As you can see, this one is not quite finished. I saw the row of toadstools and simply fell in love. The threads are from Gentle Art sampler (as per pattern key), stitched on 32 ct Blue Moon Linen. 

The verse is stitched two over one, and at times I want to pull my hair out... but it's all worth it. 

"Year at Hawk Run Hallow" - Carriage House Samplings

Here's another Halloween fragment - from a much larger piece I have been working on for... oh, over a year now. I love the detail in this piece. I keep coming back to it and stitching a little bit at a time... I hope to finish it in the new year. 

Oh, I also tried my hand at baking! Quite unexpectedly. Let me tell you, I am no pastry chef, and even when it comes to everyday cooking, I prefer something "quick and easy" to anything remotely complicated. But, a friend shared a Lussekatter recipe, and it looked delicious and at the same time uncomplicated. So... I did it. By my standards, I did great - that is, the smoke alarm did not go off, nothing burned, and I did not get poisoned.

They don't have much sugar, but the raisins and the saffron make up for it... At first when I tasted one, it seemed like just a regular scone, but with every bite it grew on me. 

Finally, it looks like I have finally become that crazy cat lady I tried to run away from... Oh well. Crystal does not seem to mind. 

Merry Christmas!