Update on Sarah

I have really fallen away from blogging. I miss reading blogs, and writing here as well.

Hopefully I can find more time to do so regularly.  I will make more time!

It used to be easier to post photos, and now it has gotten more complicated so I have fallen away a bit. I will strive to find an easier way to post them.

I have been working on Sarah Braizear 1829 since the beginning of June.  She has been my only focus except for a few times I worked on a small travel project.

I am plodding away on the border.  At this point I am not even half done with it, I'm sad to say.  Life is busy and afford little stitching time, that's for sure.

Here is photo that shows a bit of the border. 

I have completed the top part of it, except for the satin stitches.  I have decided also that from here on I will only do the outer green portion of the border flowers, with hopes of moving along quicker. I know that many are not doing to border first, but I am determined to do it this way to make sure it is correctly placed.  I have found some errors I have made, and fortunately was able to correct them.

Work keeps me very, very busy.  I wish life had more relaxation in it, but that is the nature of what I do. 

I did take some photos I wanted to share here.

First, here is a beautiful foggy morning in the fall where we live:

Secondly, I was amazed at this sunset one evening.  We do get pretty ones in the autumn here.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Sarah Braizear 1829 Start

Summer is passing by so quickly.  We have taken a few lovely trips to various locations, and I am feeling very rested. 

Life has given me more time to stitch, and I appreciate it so much.

Here is some of my work on Sarah Braizear 1829. 

I am stitching this sampler on 36 count summer khaki linen using the called for AVAS silk threads. What great fun it is stitching this one!  I have also completed the undulating vine across the top of it, but unfortunately I just don't have a photo of that progress.  This is a large sampler with a stitched area of approximately 30 by 30 inches.

Finally, last week we visited Lake George in the Eastern Sierra Mountains of California.  What a lovely place it is!  It is incredibly idyllic and peaceful there.

Thanks for stopping by today. Happy Stitching!

Variegated Sampler Progress and Sarah Braizear 1829 Silks

It has been a busy few months.  I am a teacher and the school year will soon be over.  It has been a great year, but I am looking forward to vacation.  I miss my students at the end of each year, and thus at this time I feel that bittersweet emotion again.

My blogging life has been neglected. Alas, I am still here. I vow to return more often.

When I am not working and attending to life, I do find time to stitch here and there. I also watch Flosstube and watching these videos helps me indulge in my hobby when I am not actively involved in it.  On top of that I listen to Fibertalk as I commute to work, and that is enjoyable as well.

In the end of March we took a family road trip to Yosemite.  The beauty was amazing and awe inspiring. We hope to return there soon. Lovely place to go!

I also embarked on a new project around that time.  I love Instagram and get some stitching fix from hanging out there.  While looking through IG one day I happened upon a gal who was stitching a sampler I first adored thirty years ago.  It is the Variegated Sampler from the magazine CSCC.  The issue with the sampler is the March/April 1988 issue.  I recall wanting to stitch this piece when I first saw it, but you know how that goes.  So with the encouragement of other stitchers and the SAL group for the sampler on Facebook, I started this piece.

As luck would have it (and due to the encouragement of my then teenage daughter, who is now over thirty) I had purchased a package of variegated floss years ago.  I had all the required colors for the project.  I had used some of my variegated floss for various surface embroidery endeavors, so in the case of one color I relied on my DMC color chart.  I was able to match up some shades so that I could blend in colors and thus use just one strand of the 95 variegated color.  What fun it was to use that color chart, as always!

Here is my progress as of this morning:

And a bit more close up:

It has been a fun stitch!

In other stitchy news, I joined the Sarah Braizear 1829 SAL that was initiated by the podcast Fibertalk.  There's a group on facebook for it if this interests you.  I have my pattern now, as well as the silk floss.  Isn't it gorgeous?

I ordered and received my pattern and silk floss from Sassy Jacks Stitchery.  What a nice experience this has been! I am just awaiting the fabric, which is on back order. Evidently the SAL has created a worldwide shortage of silks and fabric.  I believe at this point the SAL group on facebook has over 600 members.  The pattern is gorgeous, and Sarah will be a big girl.  I will be stitching her on 36 count fabric, one thread over two.  I can't wait to get started and hope to get my fabric soon. We will see. If I don't, I sure have plenty of other projects that await my needle.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Houses of Hawk Run Hollow - WIP

It sure is slow progress on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow.

Last time I shared a photo it looked like
this .


I have worked on it just a tiny bit since I was mostly focusing on the mystery sampler, ornament, and life in general.  I wish I had more time to stitch, but someday when I retire I will, right?

Here is the piece as of last evening:

Thanks for stopping by today.

Finished Ornament and Progress on LK Christmas Mystery Piece

I finished this ornament by Little House Needleworks quite a while ago. Thus far it is not finished into an ornament, but here is the finished piece after stitching.

It was a lot of fun stitching this one!

I made a bit of progress on the LK Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler.  It's slowly coming along. Here is the last photo I took of it, before I did a bit more work:

I've also been working  a tiny bit on Houses of Hawk Run Hollow.  Photos are to come soon!

I wish I had  more time to stitch.  I keep figuring I will sometime, when I retire.

Happy Stitching to all,
Sue

LHN Ornament and Lizzie Kate Update

So I don't have stitching goals, but I did decide to veer off a bit from my very few WIPs. 

I started to partake in a facebook group's weekend stitchalong.  I spent a lovely evening looking through my various JCS ornament issue to find all the LHN and CCN patterns within the ones I have.  I found some very lovely ones, but decided to stitch one called Woodland Snowfall. 

I am stitching this little ornament on 36 count fabric, using one thread over two.  The fabric I am using is lighter than the model for this piece, so I thus changed some of the colors to better suit the fabric. 

I haven't had any time to stitch in almost two weeks now, but I hope to get to it soon.

Here it is-

I had time to work on the Lizzie Kate Spirit of Christmas Mystery Sampler last month.  I am now on Part Two of this fun holiday piece.

Here it is-

It is coming along rather nicely, and it is a fun stitch.

Today I went with a dear friend to meet another long time friend for a meal in a city a bit of a distance away.  After our meal, us two stitching friends returned to our local area and then visited our local stitching store.  I got to show her a piece that I adore called Fractur Flowers by La D Da.

 I had  bought the pattern earlier this week, and it is thus added to my large list of  STD "stitching to be done" projects.  I had suggested the term STD one time to a facebook group where the administrators asked for stitching acronyms, but for some reason my suggestion wasn't added to their list. I thought it was kind of a fun term, but I guess it could offend some. I thought too that it had a double meaning as well because STDs (stitching to be done) tend to be infectious, and others seem to 'catch' them too. Enough on that! 

Here is a photo of it, although the shop had a model and pictures truly do not do this beauty justice!

Thanks for stopping by today, and happy stitching! 

New Year Greetings, Stoney Creek, & Non-Goals

Happy New Year.  Here's to a great 2018 for all of us!

The holiday season has come and gone. It has been a VERY busy and fun season.  I hope you have also had a nice holiday time with your family and friends.

I finished this Stoney Creek Freebie in 2002 or so. I had started it in 1989, I believe.  It has sat in a drawer since 2002, which is awful.  This year I simply placed it in a hoop and had fun displaying it.

This pattern was sponsored by DMC, and the advertisement for it was on the back of a magazine.  This was of course way back before the internet was in homes, so I had to send away for the freebie pattern. 

Do you have any old completed pieces just sitting in a drawer and not displayed?  I confess I have a few others that are also sitting in drawers.  Maybe this year I will do something about that.  On the other hand, I won't stew over it if they remain in drawers.

I feel happy with things I have been able to do in my life, but I am not a huge goal setter, per se.  Therefore I don't have any stitchy or other goals to share as the new year starts.  Some would say that makes me a slacker, and I am okay with that.

I do strive to do more walking and exercise this year.  It isn't quite a goal, but it is something I need to do.

Happy Stitching today! Thanks for stopping by, and please tell me if you have things in your drawers that need to be finished.