Finished! Mary Ann Blackburn

I am so pleased to have finished Mary Ann Blackburn by Blackbird Designs..  Believe it or not, the piece is already at the framer's shop. I finished it on Tuesday evening and had it at the framer's LNS by the next day.

I used our wedding date at the bottom instead of using my grandma's name or Mary Ann's name. It was just something I decided to do.

Here it is:

I am now back at Paula Vaughan's Wedding Ring Bouquet. I started this in 2002 or so, so I think it's high time I finish it.  It's done on 22 count hardanger with one thread over one. 

I don't have that much left, really. Just a bit of backstitching and the white curtain (ugh, so much white to do) on the left side of the piece.  

Lately I have been using my hoop a bit. I bought the hoop back in 1974, and it's still as good as new.  It's plastic though, and is  not one of the much talked about Queen wooden hoops. When I started crosstitching I was told to NEVER use a hoop. I don't know why I was told that, and I don't know why I listened for so long.  For years I stitched in hand, and then I went to Q-snaps, and finally I added a lap stand.   

Do you use a hoop, Q-snaps, scroll rod, some other stitch accessory, or do you stitch in hand?  I would love to hear how you prefer to do your stitching. 

I ended up finishing off my Mary Ann Blackburn piece with stitching in hand, with the occasional use of a hoop. I  just got tired of the lap stand--all that cumbersome stuff gets to me. 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

White Chocolate Party Mix

One of our holiday and celebration traditions is to prepare a White Chocolate Party Mix.  I highly recommend it.  The chocolate's sweet taste mixes so well with the salty ingredients.

White Chocolate Party Mix- This batch shows extra white chocolate added.

White Chocolate Party Mix    

                                

+This can be divided in ½. This full batch is very large. I recently made half a batch, but used one and half bags of white chocolate chips for the half batch, instead of just one bag.*

1 package (10 ounces) mini pretzels- the curled kind work best

5 cups Cheerios

5 cups Corn Chex

2 cups salted peanuts- I use dry roasted peanuts

1 pound M & M’s

2 packages (12 ozs. Each)

     vanilla chips

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a huge bowl (When I make a full batch, I use two large pots and divide the ingredients evenly in the two) combine first 5 ingredients; set aside.  In a microwave-safe bowl heat chips and oil on medium-high for two minutes, stirring after the first minute. Microwave on high for 10 seconds, stir until smooth. Pour onto the dry ingredients that are set aside, stir well.   Spread onto 3 waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Cool. (I set each cookie sheet in the freezer for five minutes to harden it quickly.) Break apart. Store in an airtight container. Full recipe makes 5 quarts. * 

* I often times use more of the white chocolate chip/oil combination than called for in the recipe.  I find it makes for a better chocolate coverage in the finished snack mix. 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Embroidered Pieces

Last month in the world of Facebook there has been yet another 'challenge'.  This particular challenge asked for stitchers to share their needlework for seven days.  On one of the days I shared a collage of my surface/stamped embroidery work.  My grandma taught me how to embroider in 1974, and I recently came upon a photo of me stitching for the first time along side my grandma. At that time my grandma was 84 years old! She was fortunate, and lived a full life and was in her own home until the end of her life, passing away when she was 96.  I miss her to this day. 

 This collage shows a bunch of pieces I stitched between 1975 and 2015 or so: 

I still own the cut-off shorts and chambray shirt, but it's for sure they don't fit me anymore.

Thanks for stopping by today!

MaryAnn Blackburn WIP

I've been stitching just a little bit on MaryAnn Blackburn by Blackbird Designs.  It's a fun one to stitch!

I'm not sure what is next on my list after this one is done (or before?), but before I start anything else I will revisit my Fruit Bellpull by Teresa Wentzler, as well as my very old WIP Wedding Ring Bouquet by Paula Vaughan.  

As a complete splurge ( but using some gift cards) I ordered three DVDs that contain all of the issues of the magazine Antique Sampler and Needlework Quarterly.  What a great collection of stitching to do, as well as dozens of fantastic articles to enjoy.  This magazine is no longer being published.  I have spent hours just looking through these beautiful issues and making lists of possible project ideas for the near future.  I think my first piece will be the Susan Rambo sampler.  It's a beauty! If not, I will choose something smaller to stitch.  Decisions, decisions. 

Thanks for stopping by today, and happy stitching. 

Framing Commences At Long Last!

I finally took Summer Queen and Quaker Diamonds to my framer Kerry today.  I know she will do a super job, and I promise to share the pieces here when I get them back from her.

In other stitching news, I'm busy working on my Blackbird Designs piece. I will have to share an update soon.

Here the finished pieces are, ready to be framed:

Summer Queen- Stitched on White--forgive the odd coloring of this photo

Quaker Diamonds- Not sure on the fabric, but I used the recommended Valdani threads

Another look at Summer Queen

Thanks for stopping by today, and Happy Stitching to you.

More Mary Ann Blackburn WIP

It was wonderfully cool and brisk here a few weeks ago, and we found that to be very enjoyable. Now that has changed completely. Today it got up to ninety degrees.

I am still working on Mary Ann Blackburn.  I'm enjoying this one, and it will be done in a relatively short time compared to my pieces that are over a decade old.

Here it is now:

I think I am actually past the halfway done point on this one!

We did get a nice crop of lemons and avocados on Sunday.  These trees in our backyard are quite wonderful, and have been there for years and years.  There are still dozens of lemons on the tree, so I'll be picking more tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Mary Ann Blackburn Update

Springtime in our Yard- 2013

Looking forward to spring as it's been truly cool lately in our area.  I hope the yard blooms as it did a few years ago, as shown above. Flowers in our yard make my heart soar!

We are not accustomed to temperatures that approach freezing around here. (overnight, not during the day, of course)  I am not used to even wearing long sleeves, much less sweaters in the house. Crop pants are my cup of tea, in fact. 

 On a stitchy note, I've been working happily along on Mary Ann Blackburn. Yesterday I got to stitch along nicely while watching Jane Austen's Persuasion on YouTube.  

The colors of this piece are turning out so nicely, and I must drag out the finer camera to take a better photo for my next update.   Sharing my progress today as taken on my 'simpler' camera:

Thanks for stopping by today!

New WIP- At Last! Mary Ann Blackburn by Blackbird Designs

I truly have not started a new project since 2012.  Can that be true? I think so.  I am not overly fond of gathering up items for a project.  I know that is unusual as many have said they LOVE to kit up new projects. Anyway. since I only had two WIPs, (that are super old) I decided to start something new. I was happy to get this book:

This is the first pattern I am stitching by Blackbird Designs.  I so love their patterns!

Here is my fabric with the threads I'll be using.  A few of the threads are substitutions as my local store did not carry all the 'called for' colors. We found nice colors to take their place.  The store I shop at is great, and they're very helpful with this sort of thing.  I also chose a 28 count fabric, and I think the color is mocha, or light mocha perhaps. I felt many different linens, but I chose this one as it was softer than many of the others.

Here is the design I'm stitching.

It's going really well, and here are some progress pictures: 

I see now that the colors on my project look nothing like the leaflet, but that is perhaps a photo thing. Either way, I am pleased with these colors.

Thanks for stopping by today, and happy stitching! 

Sitting and Doing That Long Piece of Needlework

I really like inspirational or witty quotes.  I've been this way since I was a kid, and I used to enjoy looking and reading my parents' book of Familar Quotes when I was quite small.  Fun reading for a somewhat serious sort of  kid, I guess.

Anyway I have recently started reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.   I  have also been listening to this novel in Audiobook form while I am doing chores around the house, etc.  I'm primarily doing this as a challenge to myself as I find it hard to listen and pay attention, and I want to get better at it. It's becoming easier for me as time goes on, thankfully.

I heard a needlework quote from the novel today that made me laugh out loud.  I am sorry to say I don't recall reading it in the book. That's not surprising as I do all my book reading very late at night, so I was probably half asleep when I read it.  I decided to make a visual of the quotation and share it . Here's your humor for the day.

This sounds good to me, except for the 'no beauty' part.  Also, I don't think I need to be nicely dressed to sit and do needlework.

On a sidenote, the lovely fabric shown behind the quotation and the threads are from my latest project by Blackbird designs.  More on that another day.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Fruit Bellpull by Teresa Wentzler ~ A Bit of Work Done

Fruit Bellpull Progress
Designer: Teresa Wentzler

Lately I've had more time to stitch, and it sure has been great to see some progress. First, I worked a bit on Paula Vaughan's Wedding Ring Bouquet.  I'm stitching this on 22 count hardanger fabric, and I started it back in 2002 or so on a whim.  Here are a few photos of it. The first one shows how it looked awhile ago, and the second one shows how it looked when I tucked it away to 'rest' a week ago. At this point I have a lot of backstitching to do, as well as stitching the white curtain that's in the background.  I hope to FINALLY  finish this piece this year.

I worked some on my Fruit Bellpull. I also started this one back in 2002 or so.  Can you believe it? I am not even 1/3 done with this.  It has so many colors and blends, as do all of Teresa Wentzler's beautiful patterns.  I love working on it, but progress is slow due to the amazing color changes and shading of them.  Here are some photos, and they show progress going back in time and not just my most recent progress.


Here are the colors for this project:

This is how I store the blends for the project. I created this little box back in 2002 or so when I started this one. I bet that folks do it in a much cuter manner now, or perhaps in a more efficient way. This works fine for me. 

These are the peaches that I finished years ago. The peaches are in the top square of the design, and there are six fruits total in the design. Each depicted fruit is surrounded by a border of satin stitched flowers on vines. The leaves' colors are blended threads in the border, too.  The blends are gorgeous, but for me it makes the whole process much slower.   

If you have tips on how to make it go faster with the blends, please do leave a comment and explain it to me. :)  I would really appreciate it!

Here's a photo of the grapes that I took long ago. There are so many blends and colors that I found this bunch of grapes to be very challenging. 

Here you'll see a bit of progress in the grapes and leaves.

Last but not least, here is the project's appearance when I tucked it away for a well-deserved rest. I just can't work on this one exclusively.   I have finished all the backstitching of the grapes and its leaves, but I next need to work on that border that surrounds the grapes. Then I will move on to the apples. 

Here's a photo of the finished project. Instead of finishing mine as a bellpull, I plan on having it framed. I've seen a few framed online, and they look fantastic.  At this time due to its complexity of design I am toying with the idea of just doing three squares instead of six squares. I wonder how that would look? Well, knowing me I will do all six squares. Each square is so lovely, and I hate to skip three of them.  Here is the design, finished as a bellpull:

New Project News

I have never just had two projects going, so I had to start a new one.  Besides the low number of WIPs I had, they were both started so long, long ago. I haven't had a new start since 2012, so I figured it was time, right? We all need to look at some fresh work. 

I could have used a pattern I already owned, but instead I went out and purchased a leaflet by Blackbird Designs.  I have just started that project, and will share that with you next time.  I am finding it to be a joy to stitch. Instead of using DMC threads, I am stitching with the called for overdyed threads. That has been fun, too. 

Thanks for stopping by today.   

Wedding Ring Bouquet Progress

Finally, a small update. Here is my latest progress on Paula Vaughan's Wedding Ring Bouquet. I used a hoop for a small portion of it, and that was something I hadn't done in years and years. At this point I have a lot of white left to do, and also an abundance of backstitching awaits me as well. I started this on a whim in 2002 or so. It's done on 22 count hardanger fabric, using one strand of DMC.  

Thanks for stopping by today! 

A Finish~ Quaker Diamonds

I actually finished Quaker Diamonds. My second finish this year, which for me is a big deal.  (Summer Queen was completed last spring.) I started this on May 19, 2013 and finished yesterday. I have worked on other projects during this time, and had two other finishes of old projects in 2014.

A dear friend and I actually are doing this as a stich-a-long, but she has worked on other huge projects during this time so she isn't quite finished with it yet.

If you are working on this project, be careful with your orts. I ran out of vintage green and blue/black (I used the suggested Valdani threads) and had to scrounge through my ort vase to find threads to finish the piece.  I'm glad I save them now as for years and years they all went in the trash after each stitching session.

So now I am down to only two WIPs.  They were both started over 10 years ago, and then some. I don't think I have ever had just two WIPs, but for now I will focus on getting more progress on those pieces. (Paula Vaughan's Wedding Ring Bouquet and Theresa Wentzler's Fruit Bellpull)

Quaker Diamonds~~

Thanks for stopping by today!