Well, I completely lost March. I had good intentions, took pictures, but I could never settle my butt into the office chair for long enough to post. So here I am two months later ... sheesh ... what's new?
Life has been busy, as always. Sweet Keagan turned two, and yummy little Blake is soon to be eight months. Here's a braggy grandma picture, because I just can't help myself.
I actually have a stitchy finish to show you. Here's the Napa Valley Sampler from Ewe & Eye & Friends.
It was kitted with Anchor floss and Gentle Art Sampler Threads, but I switched out the Anchor for DMC. The Anchor greens were just too close to each other. I also changed the fabric from 40-count Sandstone to a little piece of 36-count R & R of unknown color. It's darker and blotchier than the Sandstone was, and I wanted the piece to be a little larger. Instead of doing Kam's coils in the trees (my most dreaded stitch ... ugh), I used two strands of floss and did some Smyrna crosses. Finally, I added our friends' initials and ours. It looks much better in real life.
Adding to my WIP list, I've begun a small sampler from E&E&F. There's so little progress that I didn't take a pic yet, so maybe I can show you a finished version next month (more positive thinking).
Knitting has been big lately, and I finished a new pair of socks for my sister.
The tag on the yarn says that "every sock is unique", which I think I proved. I was knitting a pair for myself at the same time (also unique), but I rushed ahead to finish her second sock before finishing mine.
A new man came to live with me since I saw y'all last. He's very cute and will look perfect when sitting with his buddies on my mantle later this year.
He's the Ewe & Eye & Friends Limited Edition Santa from 1994 that I showed you here. He turned out so nice and fat!
OK, that's enough for today. Next time it'll be a finish to the giveaways, and I'll try to get on it sooner rather than later. Until then, make some fun.
The wedding is over. It was one of those you-had-to-be-there events that defy description, and if I ever do write my memoirs, there will have to be a chapter each for the night before (we were forced by the bride to number off and play Table Topics), the day itself (a lost-but-later-found ring and turquoise-sequined bridesmaids) and the wedding evening with my siblings, nephews and nieces. The good news is that Dad is married and will, hopefully, be happy and will never need online dating again.
To all of you lovely giveaway winners from the past weeks, your packages will go out tomorrow. I apologize for not getting them out sooner, but it took me a few days to recover from the wild weekend.
I've been stitching a little bit on the Ewe & Eye & Friends Napa Valley Sampler. It's going to be a gift for the friends who housed us in their guest cottage last summer in the San Francisco area.
Thank goodness the painstaking mortar is finished! The satin-stitched shingles were fun.
The heavenly guest cottage ... to die for. The sign in the window is a joke, thank goodness, and we proved it. Look at how pudgy I look reflected in the door's window!
The path to the cottage, which is beautiful but could be difficult to negotiate after an evening with our friends.
I've also been working on Mom's Calico Cat a little. My next WIPocalypse post will probably be without a finish.
After reading Lee's past two Stitching Bloggers' Questions, I decided to combine them and tell you about my oldest project. January's SBQ asked about our oldest projects. Mine is this:
It's called "The Chase", and I've had it since the summer of 1972, when I was driving my mom crazy. I had my second full-leg cast in two years, and I desperately needed entertainment. It's a Williamsburg reproduction kit printed on muslin. No counting was necessary.
Look at those woven strawberries and chain stitch fill-in! The last time I worked on this piece, I was in college. It was probably 1978.
I really "urned" my stripes (no, I'm not sorry for that) with outlined satin stitches and every other stitch you can imagine (ok, no queen's stitches, which are my faves). This poor baby has been lying in wait in boxes during uncountable moves and in my cedar chest for decades. I've picked it up and looked at it, but no needle has pierced its surface for more than 30 years. You'd never know that this is one of the reasons I fell in love with stitching.
Lee's February SBQ asks if we have a project we'd like to break up with. I think I broke up with this project many years ago. I'm not certain when it happened, but it did. I like looking at it and thinking about what was happening when I stitched certain sections, so I can't imagine ever getting rid of it. But the desire to finish it has left me. If I were to work on it again, I'd have to start over. I know too much now, including how little I knew when I was working on it. I've always waited too long to break up. Yes, I'm one of those dummies who wait until they are absolutely miserable and can't remember ever being happy with ... oh, wait ... those were relationships! Thank goodness I can still remember being happy with The Chase. Erica finished it in 2008, and she has my respect and admiration. Maybe she'd like to finish mine. Just kidding, Erica, just kidding.
Next time I'll give away our last two items from Mom's stash. Until then, make some fun.
