Side Project

I ended up wanting to do a project that would come together quickly. And so this is what I did between Friday and just a few minutes ago...

...and now back to our regularly scheduled project :).

Winter is Here!

Last night winter came on strong. I went to bed with a few flakes in the air and woke up this morning with eight inches of snow and a few flakes running through it:

The dogs were having a great time running through the snow. I get the feeling we will lose most of this over the next day since it is predicted to rain, but I definitely enjoyed the winter wonderland. One of my neighbors was kind enough to clear my driveway with his snowblower as I still can't quite shovel due to my shoulder injury. Soon I should be back to doing all of the things I need to with both arms functioning.

In the mean time I still have been able to get some stitching time in. This week I completed the letter A in Black & White. I love how the shading in the stitching came out. I used Week's Dye Works Eggplant on a Silkweaver solo.

I have the letter R ready to go. But I made myself a promise that for every two letters I could work on another project. I started Thy Needle from The Primitive Needle (tribute to this delighful designer here). I have been meaning to work on this cute little project for years. I just have a bit done, but it is really coming together:

Next week the holiday season officially begins with my trip to Boston for Thanksgiving. Then I will be back to studying for a bit as I have some certification exams to address. But my projects will always be there for me!

Vacation...Keeping my Hands Busy

I have been on vaction this week. It has been my first vacation since sometime in the last decade where there was no plan to do something specific. No spending the week painting a new house, no trip with a bunch of people I am only moderately interested in spending time with, and no sporting event. This time I spent the first week sitting around my house and now will spend the next few days visting Maine to see if I can spot a moose. That isn't to say that I have been sitting here doing nothing. I have been going to PT for my shoulder, running errands, puttering around the house cleaning and organizing, and taking care of all the stuff that piles up when you are busy driving back and forth to that job thing. I am so excited that I finally feel like I have some control over my home space. Yes!

Meanwhile, it hasn't been all cleaning, errands, and painful arm exercises. I have been able to stitch!!!! I was able to spend a day hanging out at the stitching shop with Gail and Pat and Jackie...my friends from the local stitching retreats. I bought more floss. I have been bringing my stitching everywhere and spending my free time stitching. I even fnished some projects.

On the 22nd I finished the letter "D" in the art deco Dessins DHC series "Black & White". On the 23rd I started letter "A" and can't believe the progress I have made:

This is stitched on a Lugana 32 count Silkweaver solo in Weeks Dye Works "Eggplant".

Gail was awesome and let me have some of her left over fabric from the March stitching retreat. My dog ate the last piece of the project I was working on back in the spring. With my move and all of the upheaval I have had this summer with classes and work I wasn't able to catch up with her. But this week I was able to get the tiny tiny piece of fabric and finish the pin cushion for the project:

It only took a couple hours from beginning to end. What a satisfying project! The completed pieces from the retreat look amazing together:

Only a few days left to power through some stitching, then it's back to studying, working and PT. But maybe with a bit more balance?

Crusty Exterior, Soft and Squishy on the Inside

So I decided that I wanted to work on a new project, so I did. So much for my plans to knock out a bunch of my WIPs before starting anything new...as usual :-). A close friend of mine and I share the same birthday, so I decided to make him one of my horoscope kits I got from Thailand (I'm sure there is some irony in this). I knocked it out in a few days:

I have a few more kits like this, but I think I will try to complete 2 more letters in the Black & Whie project before I start the next one. I think that's fair... 2 WIPs completed before 1 new project.

Overall it was a lazy weekend of me reading and stitching punctuated by cleaning the hot tub and taking in a bunch of yard things now that the weather is turning cold. Soon my shoulder should be healed enough that I can exercise more. I'm not sure if I want to sacrifice my reading or my stitching however. This is working out for me currently!!

Back to stitching! Too bad I can't do it while I'm sitting in the hot tub.

Birds in the Round

Owing to my currently half-functional right arm, I still have plenty of time to sit around doing things that do not require heavy lifting. So, today I was able to complete another project. It is a lovely little piece that I have been meaning to finish for some time:

Ronde d'Oiseaux by Dessins DCH on Eggplant R&R Reproductions 30 count linen using Crescent Colors "Rain Shower" 6-stranded floss.

I'm also working on the letter "D" from Black & White. No photos of that right now however. Maybe I can whomp that one out this week and then get onto something like Seasons of the Trees :-).

Voila!

I completed a project beginning to end without letting it sit for three years! Today I finished Dandy Dreams by Silver Creek Samplers. It was a fun little project and definitely helped me through the long hours stuck healing post-surgery. I will be back to work on Monday and feel good having finally made something with my own hands!

A few nights ago a couple of my dogs had a fight and the adrenaline rush prevented me from getting much sleep. So instead I cleaned out my stitching cabinet and rearranged my kits and WIPs. I was a little disturbed to discover that I have 15 pair of embroidery scissors. I also have two scissor fobs that do not have scissors...um, oh no!! I also moved all of my kits to my stitching box in the living room so I can just pull one out when it's time to work on the next project. Then all of the WIPs were moved to a bag...a -large- bag. There is also a small (thankfully) pile of things that I don't quite yet know where to place. Ah, the odds n ends!

Currently my WIPs include:

• White Nights of St Petersburg by Chatelaine
• Seasons of the Trees by Rosewood Manor
• Sampler Book by Erica Michaels
• Fragments from an English Garden by Samplers Not Forgotten (a reatreat project)
• Nova by Genny Morrow Designs
• Ronde d'Oiseaux by Dessins DHC (no longer operating)
• First Bass, Alto Gether Now, and Here Comes Trebel by Ink Circles (First Bass is done)
• The Bramble and the Rose by Ink Circles
• Black & White by Dessins DHC

I have been working on "D" from Black & White on and off between other things. I'm hoping I can make some headway on that project this year. It's a great travelling project since each letter is just one color. So far I think I have 8 of the letters done with "D" being the 9th. I have a ways to go with that one for sure. 

I have to admit I was surprised to see how many projects I had open...and all of them are absolutely delightful!

And, of course, I had to accompany my friend Anna to A Stitcher's Garden again a couple days ago. As if my money and I don't already part too easily! I was good and got only one item...

This project is from Little House Needleworks. I am very much looking forward to completing this project sometime between now and the end of times!

Anna and I also stopped by Michael's to pick up some frames and other random project bits. While I was there I found a lovely book on hand quilting which has patterns for all of the traditional quilt blocks and a straightforward description of how to bind a quilt! The Handmade Quilt by Carolyn Forster.

I'm looking forward to being back at work next week, but I will definitly miss the ability to stitch when the mood takes me! 

Stitchy Tuesday

Yesterday was an eventful day. I had my second physical therapy appointment and was looking forward to having my shoulder stretched to improve my range of motion when I received a phone call from my friend Jaspreet involving a lot of tears. She had just been involved in a car accident. Fortunately, I was headed over to the hospitals anyhow, so I was able to check in with her. After all was said and done she ended up spending the night here so I could keep an eye on her to be sure that she didn't have any after effects from a concussion. So what better thing to do than to spend the time learning to stitch (stitch therapy is real!)...

This girl took to stitching like a fish to water! She picked the Stoneware Cat pattern with a delightful Silkweaver Reflections scrap fabric I had (I think it is Jamaica Sunset) and Weeks Dye Works "River Rock".

I did end up working a bit on Black and White the day before. But, of course, I decided to start a new project (because one can never have enough WIPs).

This one is Dandy Dreams by Silver Creek Samplers. I changed the floss colors and the fabric color...photos to come as I progress!!