It's Time for the Year in Review

It's that time of the year again--the year in review.  This is intimidating for me because it forces me to do a reality check:  what I actually accomplished and critique my work.  Seeing others accomplishments and beautiful finishes inspires me, keeps my creative juices flowing and makes me want to stitch, quilt or hook everything I see!

Hooked Rugs:

Whale of a Tale and Hit or Miss
Thank you Jan for coming to my rescue on these projects.  (Jan finished the whale rug shortly after my eye surgery.  Wool and detached retinas do not play nice with each other).

Quilts:

 French Braid, Red, white, blue HST and Tumbler Flag

Whew!  All those HST, there were times it felt like I would never finish this quilt.  It started as a small quilt and grew and grew and grew because I seem to have a bottomless pit of a stash of red and blue fabric.  Will be so fun to decorate with this quilt during patriotic holidays--Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Veterans Day.  The flag quilt was made using the tumbler--a quick fun project and so enjoyable I am tempted to make another.  I'm not sure why I do not have a photo of the French Braid quilt.  It was made from my stash of French General fabrics and the binding tool.  Thank you Missouri Star for the YouTube Tutorial on making this quilt.  Susan, the long armed quilter did a fabulous job quilting each of these quilts--Susan says we make a great team.

Colonial Gatherings Club 2014

Colonial Bird, Strawberry House, Cotton Bird, Coverlet

My first Club--am so glad I joined, every kit was a delight.  I made a commitment to keep current with the kits and I did!  I am one of those people who need disciple and accountability or else nothing ever gets finished.  2014 got off to a rough start with a detached retina and two eye surgeries--I am very blessed and my eye doc says:  after every thing you have been through, you see surprisingly well.

Ornaments from Colonial Gathering Club--first stitch for 2015?  The white bird stitched with Oatmeal on R & R's Creek Bed Brown linen is going to pop when stitched. 

In between projects:

Coverlet Birds, Harry Tyler's Lion, Birdy Stitching Roll, Whaling Ship  In keeping with the Colonial theme, I dug into my stash and found designs which I though complimented the Colonial Gatherings kits and stitched them--more disciple.

Turkey Trot by Notforgotten Farm, Hannah Birdwell by Liberty House and The Sampler House


Each year I have these grandiose plans of accomplishing more--they rarely materialize.  AppleJack took one look at my list for 2015 and wanted to know when the Army or Band of Merry Men would be arriving because he said it might take both of these groups to accomplish everything on my 2015 list!

Motifs and Borders

While enroute to a new to me shop on Saturday, I made a visit to one of Franklin's older cemeteries.  This fence caught my eye--I thought it had some wonderful elements for a border or motifs in a sampler.

Maybe a tombstone angel sampler someday?

Interesting Ionic column

Old cemeteries, kinda sad, sometimes neglected but full of artistic elements.

Retail Therapy to Countdown

There comes a time in a girl's life when retail therapy is the cure for her ailment.  The Nashville Needlework Market was four days after my eye surgery and this put a damper on the market for me.  However; I have had time to surf the web, read sites, look at postings and photographs and take advantage of some sales.  Whoo Who!  The excitement and enthusiasm of the Needlework Market always seems to bring out the best in the designers and this year was no exception--so many wonderful, awesome designs, new linens and fibers.

It's official--I'm in countdown mode.  Next Wednesday, May 14 is eye surgery #2.  To keep my mind off the surgery, the details, and the recovery, I have had to find ways to keep my mind occupied to keep from obsessing and playing the "what if" game!  I have no favorite designer--I have many favorite designers.  There will always be a special place in my stitching heart for samplers and there is also room for seasonal designs (Christmas, Easter/Spring, Patriotic, Fall/Halloween) primitives and folk art.  I have a big heart for needlework.  Some women, like Carrie Bradshaw of Sex in the City fame had a passion for shoes.  I have a passion for needlework and can shop with the best. 

   

In the booklet, Vintage Inspiration, the Blackbird girls write:  "I am attracted to antique and vintage samplers.  Each has a tale to tell, each has something that catches the eye."  The Scarlet Letters sampler from the Vintage Inspiration booklet certainly caught my eye. 

Rosy Morning
Loose Feathers
Abededarian Series--Nine

What caught my eye?  The funky pomengrates and rectangular shape.

Wrought by my Hand by Pinebery Lane was quickly dropped into my shopping cart.  The sampler is stitched on Weeks Confederate Grey, which is one of my favorite linens and I love the primitive simplicity of this sampler.

Nikyscreations has started a monthly series called the animals.  The rabbit seemed perfect for spring. Love the primitive design and so creative displaying on a pretty piece of china.

Samplers Not Forgotten is a new to me designer.  The beautiful border and oversized flowers of the Mary Shepherd sampler are what drew me to this sampler.  In reading the instructions for this sampler, I fear it might be above my skill level.

Who could resist Nan Lewis and the Beggers?  Not me.  Another Begger has joined the group--Beggers Fourth.

  

Spring must be on my mind and Brenda Gervais got my attention with her Easter Parade design.  A big old rabbit making his entrance on an Easter chick with a red tulip in his hand just screams whimsy and spring.

Emilia Poole with her sewing basket and journal jumped into my shopping cart.  Oh, the colors, the linen (Weeks Dye Works, Dolphin), the primitive.  Emilia will most likely get slightly modified to Great Great Grandmother's name:  Elizabeth. 

There are a couple of designs enroute:  Birdy Stitching Roll by La D Da and Mary Cotton by Kathy Barrick.  With all these wonderful new designs added to my stash, it is now time to shop for some fibers.  Shhhh, don't tell Miss Callie Mae. 

Am hopeful surgery #2 will be less involved than surgery #1 and the recovery time will be shorter.  The surgeon has said there should be a gradual improvement in my vision (might take 12 months).  I have many great projects in my needlework stash to give me motivation to work toward recovery. 

Enhancing my Stash or Great Finds at St Charles Market

I love needlework markets--Nashville in the late winter/early spring and St. Charles in the late summer/early fall.  The designs, the linens, the fibers, the accessories--it's all so good except for the dent in my wallet.  I am a sucker for a sampler and with a name like A Sampler Grows what's not to love.  I went digging in my stash and found this great length of wide rick rack.

The Remember Me Sampler, such a sweet little sampler.  I found some "aging" spray while looking for the rick rack.

Yes!  Pat and Ann from R & R had 36 count 18 century brown linen.  AppleJack raised his eyebrow and asked, "you need more linen?"  Yes, AppleJack, it's 18 century brown linen--perfect for samplers.

Bzzzz, the bees are coming!  Am so looking forward to starting these pieces from Nan at Threadwork Primitives.  More stash dividing, I found a scrap piece of Birds of a Feather linen left over from a sampler.  Gosh I love this linen.  Come back Birds of a Feather linen!  Found this fabric several years ago and knew someday I would use it on just the right project.  The design on the yellow fabric is bees buzzing, the brown fabric is like a honeycomb, can't wait to start these projects and let Betty the finisher work her major on finishing them.

Am awaiting the arrival of more goods from the St. Charles Market.  Tomorrow is one of the areas first fall quilt shows.  Today was the perfect fall day--cool temps, crispness in the air, leaves are beginning to change.  So fun to take a stroll through the quilts on a perfect fall day!

Working on my PhD (s)

To be clear, I am not working on my Doctor of Philosophy, I am working on my Projects Half Done.  Some people call unfinished projects UFO's, PhD's has such a nice sound.  With all the quilting and fabric pulling my sewing room looks like a hurricane touched down.  While doing some damage control aka house cleaning, I kept coming across PhD's.  In no particular order, here are the PhD candidates:

Christmas at Hollyberry Farm (The Christmas sampler gets a few stitches added each day)

Hannah Hope aka Hannah P Sharp

R & R 

(Poor Hannah, she has been a candidate for years.  I stopped working on Hannah when I reached the over one stitching and recharting from Hannah Hope to Hannah Sharp)

Ewe Alone

114th exemplary by Sheepish Designs

(I decided to stitch the sampler in silks instead of DMC's and changed all the colors, back to the coloring box for more colors.)

In The Garden

La D Da

(Poor Adam, he looks like he is suffering from a Vitamin D deficiency)

Adam and Eve

by the Marking Sampler

Remember the Ladies

(The tree reminds me of a telescope)

Bargello Sewing Case

Barbara Jackson

Cross Stitch Sampler Magazine

(On those queen stitches)

Two Red Houses

Little House Needleworks

(There is a reason it is called counted cross stitch)

My plan for completing my PhD's:  stitch every day, work on the most completed project first, and fight the urge to start a new project.

Feast or Famine

Yesterday was the day--the arrival of my Nashville stash!   Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy was it worth the wait.  An abundance of stitching goodness.




What's inside that bag?



Four pincushions by Nikyscreations.  Being a primitive girl, the simplicity of these designs call to me.  (And when I am needing a quick stitch and feeling the need for a sense of accomplishment, these designs meet the requirement)

Country Stitches (Brenda Gervais) very cleverly appliqued this basket onto a piece of fabric and created   a pillow. 

The minute I saw Paulette's Viktor & Irina I knew this was going in my shopping bag.  "Peace I leave with you."  Hearing those words always makes me feel more peaceful.

And since Peace seems to be something I am seeking, how could I resist Peace House by La D Da.  The giant rabbit weather vain leaping over the house--too much goodness.

Praise Ye the Lord by Carriage House.  "My sister Kathy designed this in 2002 and set it aside.  Somehow, it didn't turn up until a decade later!  This chart reminds me of the song Praise Ye The Lord, Hallelujah!"  I think Praise Ye the Lord and Peace I leave with you are destined to become companions.

Rachel Howells!  The giant birds, Adam and Eve, the man who looks like Santa Claus--a feast of goodness.

Spring at Hollyberry Farm!  

With all these new wonderful designs, of course, I needed some linen.  35 ct Weeks Dye Works cappuccino and 36 ct Edinburg raw--sampler linen.  (AppleJack calls all linen sampler linen).

Now to enjoy a Sunday afternoon of stitching.  I have a good case of gardener's legs with some blisters thrown in for good measure and needle and thread is an excellent remedy.

  

The Year in Review--Needlework

AppleJack and I have a running conversation about my needlework productivity.  I feel I never accomplish anything, he says "you accomplish more than you are willing to say."  This one is for you AppleJack, needlework year in review 2012.  For the record, I accomplished less than one half of my goal.

 

An All Was For An Appil

Scarlet Letter

 

 

Birds of a Feather

Alphabet Sampler

 

Carriage House Samplings

Houses of Hawk Run Hollow (House #3)

 

Chartmakers

Tombstone Angel, Sarah Hook

 

Blackbird Designs

Crowning the Tree

 

La D Da

Letters and Leaves (freebie)

 

Pineberry Lane

Lydia Broome aka Lydia Emaline Shults Tudor

 

primitivebettys

Crow (freebie)

 

Primitive Hare

Valentine (freebie)

 

Stacy Nash

Garden Gate (cartouche)

 

Threadwork Primitives

Merry Christmas

 

Shakespears Peddler

Make Do

 

 

Time to update my stitching goals for 2013.  This is the exciting/scary part.  Hannah Breed by the Scarlet Letter is at the top of the list.  A combination Adam and Eve/Christmas sampler by Gigi Isabella Fox 1827 and Christmas at Hollyberry Farm by Stacy Nash.  E Pluribus Unum by Heartstring Samplery and Summer House. Two pinkeeps by The Goode Huswife, tombstone angels by Carriage House, Rotten but not Forgotten by Plum Street.  Whew!  I think I need to re evaluate these goals or stop looking through my stash.  And. . . the Nashville Needlework Market is in March which brings even more tempting designs.