Fun in February

Valentine's morning I spent a leisurely hour cruising through different stitching blogs and totally enjoying everyone's wonderful heart and love themed posts.  I was totally negligent in coming up with anything similar on mine.  Thanks to those who did create these lovely posts.

I had Valentine lunch with my daughter, granddaughter, and great granddaughter.  The lunch was so so, but the company was quite special.  Here is my 19 month old GGD enjoying her time with three older generations.

Saturday a couple of stitching friends are coming over for some IHSW time.  Hermit weekend is something new for me this year; another fun excuse to get together for a while.  My plan at this point is to stitch on a small spring project or work on the sewing machine to make a patchwork type pincushion...our group has become pincushion crazy the past couple of years, along with most of the rest of you!

Last week was a truly hermit type stitching weekend...me alone, stitching a few hours on Saturday, while about six inches of snow piled up.

Next weekend our group will be having our HoopLa get together...we will be attempting to put together our embroidery hoop boxes ala Vonna.  Boy, I sure hope the hoops cooperate!  More on this to come.

Have a cozy, stitchy weekend everyone.  Look forward to seeing what everyone worked on this weekend.

2012 WIPocalypse - Second Full Moon

So, where does time go?  I can't believe a month has passed since our last WIP post.  The night before last the almost-full moon was magnificent, especially while on the rise.  I definitely am a Moon Child.

I've stitched a little on a couple projects during the past month, but the only thing worth showing is my first little finish for 2012.  This is BBD's Summer House Pincushion.  This will be used as the top of a project I am planning to do over the next three weeks, Vonna's Embroidery Hoop Stitching Box.  Instructions for this project can be found here:  http://tts-learntofinish.blogspot.com

BBD's Summer House Pincushion
Stitched on 32 count Antique White Belfast Linen
HDF:  Steelies 2449, 2451, 2453
I used "premium" fibers for a bolder look on 32 count linen

I chose the thread colors to coordinate with BBD's Blueberry Crumbcake quilt fabs which I plan to use for a pincushion and maybe some other pieces.  Hope you like it so far.

Being part of the WIPocalypse group is having a good impact on some goal setting for me so far.  Now, if it could only make me a faster stitcher!  I look forward to wandering the web to see what all of you have been up to over the past month.

How Do You Swallow?

So how do you swallow when you are eating like this?  

This little gal held on for about ten minutes to eat some nuts 

on a recent cold January day in Cleveland.

Sorry the photo isn't better,

but I had to shoot through the window.

Hermit Stitching

Well, it was confirmed to me...like I hadn't figured this out before...that you get much more stitching done while on your own, but stitching with friends is much more fun.

I got off to a fair start on my January Cottage while here as a hermit on Saturday.  Remember, I am a pathetically slow stitcher!  Sunday afternoon I had three friends over, and all I got stitched were two snowflakes, but we had to take time out to eat Panera, delivered by my daughter...thank you...check out the latest stitching catalog, look up interesting stitchy things on the ipad, and play hostess.  A fun way and a good excuse for lots of stitch time on a wintry (but not bad) January weekend.

A couple of photos are shown below:

Toni decided it was time to leave all her WIPs go
and stitch something for Valentine's Day.
I forgot who she said the designer was.  Sorry.

Rose worked on another block for BBD's
Casting a Spell and showed us how her
first block looks in the shadow box.

I received my January and February Cottage patterns Friday,
just in time for Hermit stitching.
Here is my meager start, most of which was stitched
on Saturday.  Hope to get this January one finished
within the week, if possible.

I hope everyone who participated in IHSW had as much fun as we had.

Hermits

Hi, Fellow Hermit Stitchers -  I don't know about where you live, but here in the Cleveland area it is perfect hermit/stitching weather!  We had about four inches of snow last night.  The driveway has been plowed.  I had nothing pressing for today, except some tidying up, which I am doing between stitch sessions and bouts of reading.  What a luxury!

I am working on my Cottages since the patterns arrived in the mail yesterday and I am two months behind.  If I feel another project calling tomorrow, and that does happen here, I will spend some time on LF Autumn, BBD Summer House Pincushion which I am stitching in preparation for trying to make Vonna's wooden hoop pincushion stand, or BBD Christmas Garden which I have just begun.

Tomorrow I have three or four fellow hermits coming to join me.  I look forward to the increased activity and chit chat levels around here then.

Hope everyone's weekend is going stitchingly well.  Keep at it.

Many Thanks

Thank you to new followers...and old.  It is fun to have some new followers as a result of the groups that I am taking part in for 2012.  Thanks for all your nice comments, and I hope you will check in again on this meager blog of mine.

It sounds like there are a lot of people either stitching on the three BBD Loose Feathers projects for 2011, or hoping to get the time to start the series soon.  Like you, I can't wait to see what Barb and Alma have planned for 2012.

Not that I needed another WIP, you know how it goes, I started stitching BBD Christmas Garden last night.  I have to look closely at it today, despite lack of sunshine here, to see if I am happy with the colors I have chosen.  I don't want to put a lot of hours into this and decide that I don't like it.  Been there, done that!  I will putting this on my WIPocalypse list and adding photos when there is something worth looking at.

Again, thanks for joining me here once in a while.  Sometimes I think I spend almost as much time traveling around to different stitching blogs than I do stitching.  Amazing what ideas, and motivation, you can get.  Plus it's just plain fun!

Happy stitching!

2012 WIPocalypse - First Full Moon

Hi, fellow WIP stitchers, as well as stitchers of Smalls and Cottages.  It has really been fun checking in to see all the progress and finishes already this year, partly as a result of the different online groups that everyone has joined. 

I have pictures of the meager progress I have made thus far this year, including some stitching on two of my WIPs and the start of one project that I included on my WIPocalypse list to try to complete this year.

Blackbird Designs - Loose Feathers 2011 - Autumn

 I managed to do a little stitching on this piece in the short time since I last posted a picture.  I still have that enormous (seems like) bird and branch to go.  Then I can move onto Winter.  I really would like to have this finished before whatever Loose Feathers are coming in 2012 show up.

Shakespeare's Peddler - A Weary World Rejoices

 I spent most of my time on this piece.  The color is terrible...I took the picture after dark.  You probably can't see, but I have inserted some snowflakes above the moose instead of some critters that Theresa had charted.  I plan to have some snowflakes on the other side of the house, too.  As already noted, I am using my own color choices on this project.

Jeanette Douglas - My Story

I had included this piece on my WIP list even though it was not started on January 1.  I really hope to finished it this year.  I just totally fell in love with this design and the fibers used.  I am using the fabric and fibers called for on this.

I'll spend a little while tonight scouting around to see progress reports.  Too, too, too many fun projects and ideas, too little time!