lovely stitching day + some stash

On Tuesday, a few of us gathered for a stitching day at Teresa’s house and made ourselves at home on her back deck… isn’t her yard fabulous?!

This super-cute LK finish was hanging just inside the front door and I had to post a picture:

We ate and stitched and talked and ate… all in all a very lovely day! Before heading over to Teresa’s on Tuesday morning, I had ordered a few charts and they came in today’s mail:

I don’t have any progress pictures, though I have been stitching… I’ve been working on new designs. September’s Fall TNNA Market will be here any minute and I won’t have anything new to show if I don’t focus! Oh-speaking of September, here’s the cover of the ornament issue if you haven’t seen it yet:

Looks like someone forgot to put my ornament on the cover (ha!) but just knowing mine is in there is exciting enough. I’m hoping my recipe/article makes sense. I was down to the deadline as usual (like 20 minutes away in fact), getting ready to hop a plane to see about my uncle who had been taken to the hospital in Albuquerque, after about 30 hours without sleep because my cat was missing… and I honestly don’t remember what I turned in. I will be as surprised as everyone else ;)

Just one floody tidbit today: a muskrat is responsible for the latest levee break. The evac sirens woke me up early this morning!

 

exchange goodies

I received my Fair & Square exchange squares today from Sonda… very cute.  And nice goodies, too!  I am really enjoying this exchange because it’s nice to make new stitching friends and it’s also nice not to have to finish the stitched things!

 

time for a WIP check!

(not all are pictured)

• Bent Creek, United We Stand (zipper)
• XS Treasures, French Heart (from GOSM)
• Shepherd’s Bush, America
• LHN, Where There is Life
• Mosey-n-Me, Bad Hare Day
• Val’s Stuff, Friends
• Midnight Stitching, A Quaker Floral
• Glory Bee, Merry Christmas (from JCS)
• Papillon, Eightsome Reel
• Mary Garry, She Who Sews
• Funk & Weber, Read Ambigram
• LHN, Schoolgirl Lessons
• Olive Hope, Peace Band Sampler
• Val’s Stuff, Free to be Me
• LHN, Heart of America
• Hillcroft House, William
• JBW, French Country Rooster
• patriotic square for an upcoming exchange
• 2 My Mark designs

“With every project you do, you bring out a part of yourself, and it seems to be quite a good way of expanding a person.” -Kate Beckinsale

 

and we’ll be back after these messages…

What a nice surprise I had this morning… one of my threadholders is pictured on the cover of GOSM. Of course, I knew I had made a special one and also knew Tanya intended for it to be pictured along with her design, but I didn’t know she meant on the cover! Neat.

I’ve already gotten a few emails asking me how to get one, and I think the easiest thing for me to do is direct everyone over to my Etsy shop, Studio Twenty. BTW, you will have to register with Etsy, but all you have to do is give an email address, I believe. It’s very quick & easy, and I have never gotten SPAM as a result of being registered there so I feel comfortable recommending it. Etsy is a fun place to shop anyway, even if you aren’t after one of my needlework accessories :)

On the first of every month I wake up, grab my cat and my coffee, and download the magazine. I’ve been a subscriber since the first issue (Feb. 2006) with the exception of a small gap in mid-2007 when I procrastinated on renewing my subscription. I can honestly say that there has been something in every issue that I wanted to stitch… it’s a beautiful magazine; well worth the price. Oh-and there’s a subscription special going on until May 9th, too: $24 for 2 years! I totally sound like a commercial, sorry.

 

about that giant sampler…

I must apologize for posting such a picture without giving any information, but I was dashing off to New Mexico to see about my uncle who had been sent to the hospital. I was also trying to get as much done for the online show as I could before I left, and to top it off, my Katie disappeared so I was a bit beside myself with stress and worry from all angles! All is well, though… I’m home now, Katie has returned unharmed, Uncle Jim is back snug as a bug in his nursing home, and I’m making progress with getting show orders ready to ship.

But what you really want to know is what’s the deal with that ginormous sampler I posted a picture of last time, right? Well, it was done by a French designer, Françoise Marchadier, who specializes in BIG samplers. The picture on today’s post is another piece that she did (you can click on it to magnify, and I think you should because it’s awesome) while the picture on my last post was taken at an Expo in Brunoy. Françoise does not seem to have many (any?) charts available for sale, but I found one of her books listed on Amazon. I have heard that she is no longer exhibiting due to a tragedy that took place just before her last expo but if anyone has other information about her or links to her charts, I hope you’ll share in the comments here.

 

A Big Red Sampler

Can you imagine?! This photo just makes me want to grab a yard of linen and start stitching! I wonder how much I could get done in this lifetime…

***Sunday’s doorprize winner: Retha B. from GA***

 

habits of the modern stitcher

(copied from Kendra’s blog)

1.) How do you hold your fabric? I stitch in hand so I roll the fabric up from the left side and hold the roll with my left hand.
2) Floss licker? yes!
3) How do you thread your needle? With spit and patience. I usually lick the ends, try to poke it through the eye, mangle one or two strands, cut off the mangled end, lick it again, and so on.
5) Are you a needle loser? not really…I think I’ve lost 1 in my stitching life
6) What fabric do you prefer to stitch on? linen; Belfast & Country French are my faves but I also sometimes stitch on Aida, and I like evenweaves, too. A better question for me would probably be, “which fabric do you dislike” and I’d have to answer the afghan fabric is (so far) the only one I really detest.
7) Bobbins or floss bags? neither! Here’s a post (with pictures) of how I store my floss
8) Are you a scissors collector? well, sort of. I guess. I have about 16 pairs, I think.
9) Do you do your own framing, and if so, do you lace or pin? Yep, I do my own. I have used both methods… depends on the size and intended use of the piece.
10) Are you a floss floozy? I’ve never heard this expression! What does it mean? I probably am one anyway.
11) Silk? Love it… I don’t stitch with it much, but I love the feel of it :)
12) Railroader? almost never! (I’m a messy stitcher)
13) Are you a pattern or designer snob? I don’t think so… I like (and buy!) a wide variety of designs
14) Do you get antsy when you give someone a stitched gift? No. I continue to give my family stitched gifts, although I’m never quite sure they wouldn’t rather have something ‘bought’. I guess it’s because it’s something I can do, and enjoy doing. It’s really a way of giving of myself; even if they don’t see it that way, the meaning is there.
15) Have you reached S.A.B.L.E.? even I had nine lives like a cat, I could never stitch all the charts I have!
16) Do you wash your projects? Hmmm. I’m not against the idea, I just haven’t needed to so far.

Anyone else do this one?

***Thursday’s doorprize winner was Sharon C. from Kansas***