Christmas in July

Stacy Nash

Christmas at Hollyberry Farm

NPI Silks
Weeks Dye Works Straw 32 count

When I was active with EGA, they had a wonderful event in July called Christmas in July.  Members would begin stitching a Christmas themed project.  It was lots of fun and resulted in an ornament for the tree.

Christmas at Hollyberry Farms was released in 2012 and I was super excited for a Christmas sampler design.

Well. . . it has taken me a few years.  The border is beautiful and one of my favorite parts about the sampler and it was the reason I cast the sampler aside because my border does not meet!  Please don't send the needlework police to my house and if you do, they will be expected to find the counting error and fix it!  That big old white house is another one of my favorite parts about the sampler and I got bored stitching all that white!  Stacy stitched her sampler with over dyed fibers mine is stitched with NPI silks which are not an exact match to hers.    

The completion of one project always begs the question:  what's next?  

The Trials and Tribulations of Hollyberry Farm

Have you ever had one of those pieces of needlework which seemed to be jinxed?  You know, the ones where you stitch the flower or motif with the wrong color, or the border doesn't match, or you cut the linen to small?  This is the story of Christmas at Hollyberry Farm.

When Stacy Nash released the design Christmas at Hollyberry Farm in 2012, I was so excited.  I had been on a mission to find Christmas samplers and Hollybery Farm had all the elements I wanted in a Christmas sampler.

The first challenge with this sampler began when I changed the fibers from over dyes to silk--sometimes there is no substitute and I have to use the "close enough" guideline.  When using the "close enough" guideline, I highly recommend writing down the original color/number and the substitute color/number. It is even more helpful to know where you have written this information and it can be located!

The second challenge was my mission to reduce my fabric stash.  I put the sampler aside to work on quilts.  While I made a dent in the fabric stash, there was no Christmas sampler for 2012 or 2013.  

Challenge number three happened the weekend my eye blew.  Making borders match can be tricky when everything works in harmony and all the stars stitches are in alignment, stitching with a one eye handicap makes borders a little more challenging.  For the record:  my surgeon says there was nothing I did to cause the problem and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.  Whew!  Needlework you are in the clear.

Challenge number four involves a certain feline member of the Thistle Manor household aka Miss Callie Mae Calico.  You see our Miss Callie Mae loves ribbons and fibers.  She searches for them, she stalks them, she hunts them like prey, and she is sneaky, sneaky.  Yesterday morning I noticed she had something caught in her paw and she was having difficulty walking.  Upon closer inspection, I realized she had a skein of NPI silk caught in her paw and more silk fiber in her mouth.  Since this was not our first silk fiber rodeo, I knew not to pull the fiber out of her mouth, to cut the fiber and allow her to swallow.  (Our first silk fiber rodeo taught us the fibers and ribbons can actually cut the tissues of the digestive tract.)  Thankfully, Miss Callie Mae was caught before she swallowed the entire skein and was none the worse for wear.  The same was not true of NPI #134.  Let's just say stitching with silk fiber full of cat slobber is not cool.

Stitching continues on Hollyberry Farm, the sampler is nearing completion.  The colors are a bit different than the original, the borders almost match, Miss Callie Mae has made her contribution and the sampler is a one of a kind.  With all these challenges, my love for Christmas samples has not been diminished.

107 days

Yikes, there are officially 107 days until Christmas!  Thank goodness there is a whole lot of wonderful between today and Christmas--fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving.  If I am going to have a Christmas sampler for 2013, I'm going to have to put the petal to the metal needle to the linen!  Pages one and two are finished and this is the most dense stitching, I'm ready to turn the corner on the border.  Breath in deep, and lets hope those holly leaves meet in the lower right hand corner.

Am expecting my St. Charles market goodies to arrive this week.  WOW!  Where there some awesome designs, boxes, linens and fibers at market.  I have been stalking the postman--he will be happy to make the delivery.

Next Saturday, September 14 is the 3rd Annual Arts & Antiques Festival in Goodlettsville and one of the local quilt shops is participating.  The following Saturday, September 21 is the 25th Annual Upper Cumberland Quilt Festival.  More than 500 quilts will be on display--it is an awesome quilt show.  As a bonus, I can visit with Sis and Auntie M.  No wonder it takes me forever to complete a project there are just too many wonderful distractions.

It's beginning to look. . .

 Work continues on the Hollyberry farmhouse.  Chimneys to add and windowpanes to be back stitched.  Happily, I have completed page one of the four page design (and this was the most dense stitching one).

On to the alphabet and more holly leaves.  Dare I set a goal of the end of July for completion?

Christmas in July? ? ?

I woke up Monday morning and realized it was July 1st.  July 1st!!!!!   With that thought, I had a mild panic attack.  Why the panic attack?  One half of the year is gone and Christmas is in five months!  One of my goals for 2013 is to have a Christmas sampler.  I started stitching Stacy Nash's Christmas at Hollyberry Farm in Febuary  thinking I was giving myself plenty of time.  (The secret to completing a sampler is stitching).  Pulling weeds, transplanting perennials, and reducing my quilting stash have been consuming my time.  So. . . I went looking for Hollyberry Farm and each day I have been putting fiber to linen.

Mother Nature is raining on someones Fourth of July parade today.  For me, the rain just means more stitch time (and making weeding easier).  With the rain and the arrival of a needed fiber, I plan to direct my attention to finishing the windows and raising the roof on the farm house.

Hope no one is allowing the rain on the Fourth to spoil their parade.  Miss Liberty and I wish all a Happy Fourth of July!

Christmas at Hollyberry Farm

I am determined to have a Christmas sampler for 2013!  Since I am a super slow stitcher, I have already began stitching Stacy Nash's Christmas at Hollyberry Farm.

Am stitching my sampler on Weeks Dye Works Straw (the model is stitched on R & R Mink).  I enjoy stitching with Needlepoint Silks and am converting the Gentle Arts fibers to silk fibers.


Stacy has released a companion piece to the Christmas sampler called Spring at Hollyberry Farm.  March 20th is the first official day of spring 2013, since I will be stitching the Christmas sampler in the spring, I will start the Spring sampler in the winter--just to balance out the year.

Christmas at Hollyberry Farm

Stacy Nash

Christmas at Hollyberry Farm

I am determined to have a Christmas sampler!  Christmas and December are nine months away, am not waiting until the last minute.  In unision:  super slow stitcher

Am stitching my version of Hollyberry Farm Christmas sampler on Weeks Dye Works Straw.  Since I enjoy stitching with Needlepoint silks, I converted the Gentle Arts Sampler threads to NPI fibers. 

Stacy has released a companion piece called Spring at Hollyberry Farm.  Maybe I'll start stitching the companion piece in the winter just to balance out the year.