I Am Still Here!

 Our computer has decided to develop a mind of its own and do things how IT want to! It started off with my blog. I have to hunt down several programs before I find one that will let me post and then it still refuses to let me leave any comments! So that is one reason I am often late in posting. Lately it has decided to make signing on the internet as hard as possible for us! Links and apps are either hidden or just GONE! We have had this one for a while but I am hoping we don't have to get a new one any time soon. I hate having to back up pictures and programs to transfer over!

 

Infusions are over for this round! I will start again in July!

 

No snow down this way - yet! And I am hoping it keeps its distance! We have had more than our share of rain. And a lot of thunderstorms with lightening! Our backyard is worse than a swamp! 

 

Hello, old friend! My neighbor gave me one of her extra canes when my hip went bad and it was hard to walk. I used it again after the hip replacement surgery and then again when I developed a case of sciatica. Both happened in 2015. Otherwise, it stays tucked away safe in the corner until needed again. I pulled it out last week when BOTH hips began to hurt again which turned out to be another case of sciatica! A much worse case than before but I seems to be getting better faster than the last time. I just have to be careful.

 

I have managed to get some more stitching done on Ann Pegg. It is still slow progress but she is actually starting to look like a sampler now! I have been getting antsy wanting to start on Hannah Jenkinson by Stacy Nash but I am still waiting on a few threads to come in. I am also still waiting on the Pink Sparrow sampler by Brenda Gervais to arrive!

 

Some happy mail arrived. Threads, some beautiful fabrics from myvintageneedlearts and some other stitchy items I was needing!

 

I have a bad habit of constantly looking for new and better craft storage solutions. I have been using project bags and putting them all in a basket beside my stitching chair. It worked good for a while but it began to get too cluttered for me.. I pulled out all of my old storage boxes that I used for scrapbooking and also kept quilt blocks in and I ordered several more. One box will hold all of my journals, stickers and Book of Days. Another box will hold stitching aids like scissors, needles, magnet boards, hoops, ect. Two boxes will keep my WIPs together and the last two boxes will keep my kitted charts safe and sound. I even have several extra boxes that I can still use for quilt blocks (if I ever get my quilting space back). And since they are clear, I don't have to label them in case I want to re-use them for something else, As for the project bags, they won't sit around unused. I plan to keep my threads and current stitches in them.

 

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Here We Go Again!

 I spent New Years Eve and New Year Day with my journal, my Book of Days (stitching calendar) and a WIP.

 

My journaling prompt for today is about stitching. Do you like to stitch borders? When I first started stitching years ago, I did not like to stitch borders and usually tried to leave them off but over the years, I have come to appreciate these as a big and important part of the design. I still get frustrated with them but am happy I took the time to stitch them after all is said and done.

 

 Have you ever lost a WIP? I have misplaced several before but eventually do find them except this time! I had been working on A Virtuous Woman by Carriage. House Sampling earlier in 2020 and set it down. I looked and looked for it and it was NO WHERE to be found! I had to re-order the chart, the threads and pull some fabric to start over! This will make me think twice about setting my work aside for awhile! LOL

 

I get so excited when I find a shop with an OOP chart that I had wanted but never got around to buying! This doesn't happen as often as I would like but it still makes me happy. I recently found Worthy Brown by Carriage House Sampling and had to bring her home!

 

In between the holiday rush and things going on around here, I decided that I would stitch on a WIP for the remainder of the year and until it is finished!  I have been stitching on Mary Eliza McMillan by HATS. I started on this when it first came out but I put it aside because of a bursitis flare. I thought about starting over with different colors but I like it with the called for colors. She is being stitched on 18 count Aida Beige by My Vintage NeedleArts over at Etsy in the called for DMC colors.

 

I decided to stick with stitching my samplers (and a few Christmas) this year. I have a bad habit of getting caught up in other peoples work and wanting to stitch the same thing only to end up setting it aside. No fancy wild hairs messing up my rhythm this year! I am going to stay within my comfort zone for a change!

 

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

After the 4th

I am slowly getting more done on my current stitch! The Bee Skep by BBD (in the Agnes Platt Strawberry Sampler book). The bees in this chart were not Aida friendly so I will use some bees from a different design. I am using 18 count Aida in Caramel Creme by My Vintage Needlearts over at Etsy and most of the colors are from the called for list. A few changes here and there out of necessity.

For such a small piece, it is really taking me a long time to stitch it. What with the Grumpy Ol Gazer being in the hospital. Then getting him back home and settled in with home health care. A few personal issues that caught me off guard and that house! Beautiful but very painstakingly tedious! Plus I have had a few ehhhhhh days. You know, the ones where you feel ok but just don't feel like tackling any projects. I am hoping I can finish it up before my infusions begin.

I found this old WIP one day while sorting through some drawers. I can't even remember the year I started it. It had to be after 2005. I did start it with the intention of dedicating it to my FIL who had recently passed in 2005. There isn't much left to do on it so I may just take this in as my infusion project if I can gather everything I will need to work on it.  I have most of the threads except for remainder of the border so I may leave that off. I will see how it works out. If I should happen to finish this up before my infusions are over, I will probably take in Never Enough Thyme by the Goode Huswife to finish. As a matter of fact, I am thinking that I may just take my WIPs for my infusion projects for a while!

A few trips to the grocery store. I found some clementines! Be still my heart! They are very seasonal and not available year round so when I find them, I am in heaven! A few trips to the doctor and pharmacy. Pretty ordinary for us. Once in a while we may venture out to get some ice cream at the drive thru and eat it in the parking lot. A haircut every other month. Once or twice a year we may venture out to our favorite steak house for an eat in meal and go to the home center to pick up plants or other needed items that can not be ordered.

A lot of people are working on Jolly July aka Christmas in July stitches this month. I usually do at least one Christmas stitch a year but I did not get any holiday pieces done last year. This year, I only have one I want to do so I have pulled it, ordered the threads and I plan to work on it. It may not get finished for several months but I will have a good start! Her name is Mary Ann Hutton and she is by The Scarlett Letter. I doubt I start her this month but she on my Top 20 list.

My list of TOP 20 to stitch in 2020 just may roll over into next year. I doubt seriously I will be able to finish them all this year but they are among my favorites and definitely a priority! I really wonder where I will put them all!

I wear my mask like a good girl when we go out in public but I prefer to go out early in the day before the heat gets too bad. Otherwise, I do have difficulty breathing good with the mask on. I haven't said anything about the events here in the US with the monuments being destroyed and so much more. Destroying these statues will not change history or make it go away. History is there for a reason. To help us learn and grow stronger. It is not be ignored. Enough said. This is a happy blog and this is how it will stay!

Until next time may you have simple days, an uncluttered heart and stay well.

Life is Good!

Life is Good! I finally got my hair trimmed up. The threads for Lizzie Kate's Things Unseen sampler finally arrived. The baby bluebirds have hatched!

Our hair salons are still closed but  we live almost on the state line and the hair salons in our neighboring state were allowed to open (with restrictions) so we hopped in the car to go get our hair cut! I feel like a person again!

It's that time of year again and daisies are in the store which means they are also on my table! I usually get them in time for Mother's Day but they were late coming in this year. As long as I get them, I am happy!

I have (almost) definitely decided on The Fall by Barbara Ana as my infusion project! I usually start on them about a week before infusions begin to get everything set up and started so I can just continue at infusion!

I spent a day sorting out my pattern stash. The ones I am interested in stitching were put in a special place that is easily accessible for me while the others that will probably not get stitched any time soon were put away where I can get to them but they don't clutter up the rest of the stash.

I ordered some more fabrics from My Vintage Needlearts over at Etsy. She had been out of the Beige (which I loved) and she got more in so I had to get some more of it! I would describe it as a light to medium pecan color.

I made my appointment at my LNS for their framing sale. I hope to have one or two more finished to take in by then. I will probably have between 6-9 to frame. I am looking to have at least 4 finishes for the Fall framing sale so I had better get busy! Whatever doesn't finished for this sale will be rolled over to the Fall framing sale! A lot better than last year when I only got 1 finish the entire year! LOL.

Until next time may you have simple days, an uncluttered heart and stay well.

Emelia

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know I had worked on Mother's Tree by Lavender and Lace. I worked steady and it seemed I never got past that tree. I don't know if it was the one color stitch after stitch or just frustration but I started to get terrible headaches every time I worked on it.

I was at my LNS picking up some framing and I mentioned this to the shop owner. She told me "make it your own". I thought on this for a while and I have decided how to do it. No tree but just as meaningful with the record of women in my family. A very simple design.

This has been a very hard piece for me to start. I just have this horrible feeling that I will stitch it, have it framed and BOOM, I will start finding new ancestors that should be on the tree! I have decided to make a detailed list with any extra information (and new mothers that should pop up) printed out and attached to the back after it is framed.

I am going to use the same alphabet but I am changing the colors and NO TREE (did I say that before? LOL)  I am going to stitch her on 18 count Aida Irish Cream from MyVintageNeedlearts over at Etsy. This is beautiful Aida fabric but it is sort of hard to tell that it is lightly mottled by my pictures.

Emelia Clarke Poer is the only woman in the tree with both her maiden and married name. The other women will only have their maiden name. Their daughter's maiden name is the mothers married name. She is my maternal 5th Great Grandmother.

Emelia (Milly) was born in 1791 in Lancaster, SC. She married Salvadore Poer on December 10, 1810. They were married in Lancaster, SC. After they married, they moved to Burnsville, NC. I looked and looked for Emelia's parents but birth certificates were not required back then. Most people just used the Family Bible.

Emelia and Salvadore had 4 children. Three girls and the youngest was a boy.

Emelia died in 1858 before her husband (who later remarried). Her grave is either lost or destroyed but there is no record where she was buried other than in Burnsville, NC.

I have some longer names coming up and I am not sure if my fabric will be wide enough. I will try to fit them in the way I had planned but I may have to shorten one or two. Either way, I will have the full info sheet on the back. Who knows, maybe I can finish this piece up by the end of the year. That would make me happy enough that I would not be upset about my lack of finishes in 2019!

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

I'm Late. I'm Late.

I am late with my post out of laziness. I kept forgetting to take the pictures I needed. We had a week of big thunderstorms each evening. I love when it rains at night. I sleep so good! Back on topic, after all that rain we are now having a week long preview of Fall weather! Love it! After taking a break from stitching over last weekend, I decided to start the week off with a new start but my threads had not arrived.

I spent the first several days working on AAFG. I am almost finished with section 8! Only 5 more sections to go! Maybe I will finish it up by the end of the year (no promises) if I stick with it. A reader suggested that after I finish with it, I could coffee stain it to hide those old age stains! Good idea!

I usually like to begin my infusion project about the time I go in to see the doctor which won't be until mid November so I have plenty of time for a new start.  I decided to do something smaller and on the simple side so I chose A Sister's Garden by La D Da so it does not cross over into the infusion project. The colors are so pretty. Hopefully I will start on it soon.

On the home front, I noticed that my wild rose is blooming again! Our oldest has taken over the yard work and he keeps my bushes trimmed back nicely. Of course my Grandma would probably have a heart attack if she knew how he does it -- with a machete! But it works! LOL.

He trimmed my pyracantha bushes way back. We actually thought they were dead (which is why he trimmed them back) but they are coming back and hopefully they will have some yummy berries for the birds this Fall.

I am already planning my garden for next year. I have a blueberry bush, blackberry bush (both self pollinating) and a butterfly bush ordered. The Grumpy Ol Gazer said "but the birds will get all the berries" Exactly! And I am already looking at tomato plants along with several other veggies and fruits to put out.

I have stayed indoors as much as possible lately since we have had some terrible heat and air quality warnings.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

It's Still Hot in the South!

The mail has been delivering some fun goodies to the house lately. Let me share! I received another order from MyVintageNeedleArts over at Etsy! I just love love love her Aida fabrics! Such a wonderful selection and beautiful colors! I still order my stand by Aidas but these fabrics give me the choice of linens without the headaches of stitching on linen! LOL.

I decided to splurge and spoil my feminine side by ordering several pairs of earrings at AutumnEquinox and NaturallySterling over at Etsy. I know I can wear their earring without concern. It's always nice to find a company you can trust.

I got a package full of DMC in various shades of blues for the restart of Faith by Heartstring Samplery. I was hoping to start on this one while at this infusion but it looks like it may wait for my last infusion of this year.

I got some more stitching done on Creation Sampler while at infusion #2 but not enough to share. I will post an update next time.Two more infusions to go.

Here is the recent update on Catharine Dickenson by Scattered Seed Samplers. Isn't she full of character!

I like to mix my family history and stitching. There were many women in my family that stitched in one form or another. Needlepoint, quilting, embroidery, knitting, crochet, plain ol sewing and so much more!  I am so proud to be a part of that legacy and carry it on with my stitching! I like to look through designs and wonder if it looks like something one of my ancestors might have stitched! Of course, all samplers are someone's family history!  My cousin found a new family picture for me to put out on the shelf. This is my Grandma's aunt Cindy. What a great find and treasure! I can't help but wonder what kind of needlework she did, if any.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Summer Rolls On

I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th with lots of good food, fun games, family and friends! It was fairly quite around here except for the fireworks that would go off usually at night. I just stayed up till all the noise calmed down enough to fall asleep!

I am still stitching away on Catharine Dickenson 1840. She seems to take on more personality with each line. Right now I am close to stitching a line and half of initials. I am guessing they are the initials of her family members since most of them end with a D letter. The last two end with E so they could be her maternal grandparents. Just a guess. Many designers include some history of the original sampler and stitcher but it is fun to try to look beyond that.

I don't buy much jewlery for myself especially earrings. My ears are so sensitive, my earrings must be made of quality materials. There are only a few places I will buy my earrings from. I found a pair last week in my birth stone. I prefer the turquoise stone to the gem stone. I found these at NaturallySterling at Etsy.

Ann Pegg 1877 by The Scarlett House finally arrived! I had bought the threads but could not find the chart anywhere! Tanya assured me that none of her charts ever went OOP and it could be ordered. Just knowing that she is kitted up and among friends in my stash makes me feel happy.

Even though I tell myself that I won't buy anymore designs until I get my stash down, it just doesn't happen! I have a nice handful of samplers in my shopping cart! Someone once said that cross stitching and buying the supplies were two separate hobbies! How true! So my Stitching Bucket List just gets bigger and bigger! What the heck! It makes me happy.

I had mentioned that I was going to hold off completing Creation Sampler until my infusion but I would be able to finish before my 4 rounds were complete. I have re-kitted Faith by Heartstring Samplery to take in for the rest of the infusions I have chosen 18ct Aida Irish Cream Hand Dyed by My Vintage Needlearts on Etsy. She has added a lot of new colors too. I will be using a variation of blues through out the design.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.