My intentions for Stitch from Stash 2017

I'm in the Stitch from Stash 2017A group on FB.  I just wanted to go ahead and publicly put my plans out there for how I plan to participate in the group.  

I don't feel that I have over spent on my stash.  I have a ton of stash, but about half of it was gifted to me by a few different people.  Up until about 3 or 4 years ago, I probably only spent about $30-$40 per year on stash!  I'm not kidding.  I did project by project and only bought what I needed.  I was working on a couple of larger kits, so they took time but didn't take much money.  Then I made the deliberate decision to take a year or two and purposely purchase a lot to create a much larger stash.  My main purpose was to end up with a full set of DMC because I was tired of needing a color and not having it on hand.  So for a year or two, I bought a lot.  Threads, patterns, and kits.  But it was on purpose and planned.  Then about that time I ended up with a bit of a windfall of stash from three separate people and all of a sudden my stash was huge.  At this point I decided to stop spending on charts and kits, with a few guidelines.  I made a rule for myself that I could spend whatever I wanted stitching related at thrift stores.  Because truly, at my thrift stores I can spend $3 and end up with an armload of stuff.  I knew that would in no way hurt my budget.  I also let myself spend whatever I wanted when I was on vacation (going to an LNS) or when I was at a retreat.  Both times when my spending would be planned out anyway.  So for two years, I worked this plan and it worked out great.  I got some new stuff, but not so much that if felt overwhelming or messed with our budget.

This past year I decided to just spend what I wanted to spend.  I did and it wasn't too bad.  I even managed to get a few pricey things I had really been wanting during sales and they were half off.

So I don't feel bad about my spending.  But I do have a ton of stash and there's not a lot of room or reason to allow it to grow uncontrolled.  That's where Stitch from Stash 2017A comes in.

I want to share my intentions here for how I plan to work the concept of this group and make it work for me.  I'm doing this because when I do purchase something, I generally share about it here on my blog and on my Flosstube channel as well.  So I don't want folks who see me in the group and then see something here or in my videos that doesn't seem to add up with Stitch from Stash thinking mistaken things.

First of all, if you follow the guidelines of the group to a T, there is a nice give away at the end.  This involves using a group spreadsheet, keeping exact track of spending, etc.  But lots of the members are opting to not use the spreadsheet and thus, are not putting ourselves into the running for the give away.

So first thing ~ I'm not going to use the spreadsheet.  So I will not be entering the give away.

I will keep track of my spending, but if my figures get off by a few cents or a dollar here or there, it's not hurting anyone.

I don't plan - at this time - on giving myself a, "credit," for finishes because honestly, finishes are not going to put money in my bank.

I will not be including spending on gifts for others in this challenge at all.  What I spend on gifts for others is personal and not something I would ever share publicly.  And if you have read my blog, you know that I have a friend I exchange with quite regularly and I share about these exchanges here and on my Flosstube.  That will not change.  So when you see me sharing what she gave me or if you see her sharing what I gave her (I won't link her here as I'll let her address this on her own blog if she chooses, but many of you know who she is (wink)) then please don't get upset or think we're cheating on the Stitch from Stash.  Because I'm going into this with the full intention of not including these exchanges and I'm being honest about it by posting here.  I also commented in a thread this morning on the group saying the same.

So there you have it.  :0)  My Stitch from Stash plans for next year.

Happy stitching everyone ~ keep those needles flying!

Weekend getaways and stitchy stash!!

I've had a lot going on lately.  It's been busy.  

A couple of weeks ago I had a fun weekend getaway with my friend Laura.  We try to have a few weekends a year where we meet and stitch and do fun things.  

We started out our weekend at the famed Whistle Stop Cafe.  We had such fun looking around in all the little shops and boutiques in the area.

This year we had tickets to hear Jenny Doan speak.  She's the owner of the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  

On our way to hear Jenny Doan speak.

We also had tickets to go on a dinner train.  Neither of us had done this before, so it was exciting. 

Here's the train before we boarded.  They keep the shades pulled until the passengers start to load.  The inside was beautiful and restored to it's original 1940s style.

Laura did a really detailed post of our train ride that you can see here.  It was a really lovely evening.

We also usually do a gift exchange and this time was no different.  :0)  

We both read a lot, so we usually exchange some books or book related items as well as stitchy stuff.  There is another book mark, but it's currently in use.  :0)

Patterns and fabrics!!  :0)

This past weekend my husband and I had a getaway to the Smoky Mountains.  This was the first trip away we've had since our kids have been, "grown," and we could simply leave them at home to hold down the fort and not worry.  They did great and we had fun.

We took the tram up to Ober Gatlinburg, just so we could see all the Fall foliage.

We stayed in a quiet little hotel in Severville and had a lovely view out the back door.

I did some stitchy shopping as well.

On the stitchy side of things, I have been working on a model stitch for a designer.  I'm almost done and hope to be finished by the end of this week.

I also started the Gettysburg Address pattern that is being done as a SAL in my and Laura's FB group ~ Patriotic Stitches.

I didn't get much done because the lighting in the hotel was really bad.  Then on the way home, the roads weren't great.  Lots of bumps and this fabric has the teeniest holes ever.  I had to give up until I could tackle it at home.

I found fabric to do the finishing on my pumpkin needle accessory set.

I really love this and can't wait to go back and do the beading on the two pieces of the set I have done.  The third and largest piece is the needlebook and it's on hold because 123 was out of stock on this orange fabric.  But I hope to go ahead and do the finishing on the scissor fob and biscornu soon.

I bought a couple of needleminders for the first time in forever.  I make so many of my own, I rarely purchase them anymore.  But these came from an Etsy store in Australia.  Shipping was really inexpensive and I got the smaller of the two for free because the seller said it had some tiny imperfections.  Truly, it looks great to me.

So that's what I've been busy with!  No more weekend getaways planned until next year.  I'll be *so* ready by the time the next one comes along!

The Wee Beastie

Since last Saturday, I've been working on my Terrance Nolan pattern.  It's part of the "Professor Fizzby's Wonderous Strange Collection of Wee Beasties" series.  This is the Mother of Pearl Morpho Butterfly.

It was at this point when I started.

These are my progress pics from this week.

There is so much kreinik going on in there, you just don't know.  But I have a method of threading my needle and then knotting at the eye of the needle that basically takes away any fraying, etc.  So it takes away most of the "issues" kreinik can cause.

I got a package from 123Stitch this week that looked like it had really been through it.  But luckily the contents were ok.

Part of what I ordered was my fabric for the Gettysburg Address SAL.  If you would like to join in on the SAL, please join Patriotic Stitches on FB.  :0)

And, just because ~ here's my 16 year old best girlie ever.

Happy Stitching everyone!!

A method to my maddness

I have a bag where I keep all of my threads for various projects.  

Many of these threads are on rings, with each ring being matched up to a certain project.  But recently I've been having trouble always remembering which ring is for which project.  Some of them I know by sight, but others I've found that I have been getting them confused.  So I needed a way to label these individual rings.  But how to do that?

I decided to take an extra thread bobbin and write the name of the project the threads belong to and then attach the empty bobbin with the name onto the ring.

It's taken away my confusion and it's helping me stay organized.  I wish I had thought of this years ago.

I got some happy mail today.  I had ordered this little silhouette of a lady stitching.  She is sitting atop my little box I've been making stitched pieces for.

Isn't she the cutest?

And lastly ~ I finally got my Honeybee Happening piece framed.  I might be as happy as a chubby lil' peacock can be, lol.

That's all I've got for the moment.  More wip updates to come soon. ~~~

A lil' update

Nothing huge to share but a bit of WIP progress.  I have gotten a bit more done on the dragon's tail.  Although I did have to stop the last time I worked on it.  I got my thread tangled three times in a row on the back, having to frog it out each time.  At that point, I figured it just wasn't the project to work on in that moment.  This is stitched with three threads.  So even with using Thread Heaven, I have to be careful about tangles.

When I got flustered with the dragon, I wanted something easy to stitch on.  So I decided to pull out my current pillowcase pair that I've slowly been working on, off and on for most of this year.  I always like to get one new pillowcase pair stitched per year.  This is a vintage pair I found on Ebay last year.  I've really been enjoying working on these the past few nights.  They are both the same, so I'll just show one.  I'm at the same spot progress wise on both.

Earlier in the week, I worked some more on the 1 over 1 skin on my Mira.  She now has hands and a start on her decollete area.  Very slow going on this, but I can't wait to get her face done.

And I also finished the stitching on the pumpkin biscornu.  I need another piece of this fabric to stitch the needlebook.

I might see about going back to the dragon tonight to see if we can make nice with each other again, lol.

Gettysburg Address SAL

My friend Laura and I run a stitching group on Facebook called Patriotic Stitches.  We are all about patriotic and Americana themed stitching.  We are hosting a SAL starting on October 29 (although you can jump in any time after that date if you wish) for the Primrose Needleworks pattern Gettysburg Address.  (Currently on sale at 123Stitch as of 10/21/16.)  

We would love to have you join us for our SAL or simply join us in our group if you enjoy patriotic stitching patterns.  Click the link above for the group ~ hope to see you there!

Progress on WIPs and a New Start

I've got a lot to share, so I'm going to jump right in.

You may remember the spinning box I had started working in on this post.

I got another one of the outside panels done.  Only one more of those to go and then I'll move on to working on the inside.

In that same post, you'll see my last update on Christmas in the Kitchen.  

Here we are now:

I spent one evening working on my Fall owl plastic canvas piece.  There is something about plastic canvas work that is so relaxing to me.  When I started that night, the owl only had eyeballs and ears.

I started the Wee Beastie series.  This one is so fun and has lots of sparkle, but it is detailed work.  I can't work on this one if I'm tired or rushed.

But the thing that I'm very excited about is *finally* getting to start this set that I previously told you about.

I don't have all the fabric I'll need for it, but enough to get a good start.  I have everything else - all the beads, threads, etc.  I found the perfect pair of scissors to go with the scissor fob.

This is my start.  The camera really washed the color out on this picture.  It's vibrant like in the pic above.

So that's where I'm at, at the moment.  I'll need to get back to my HAED soon, but I'll probably spend some more time on this accessory set first.  I've been looking forward to this set for so long!  It's so excited to see it finally coming together.

First try at Hardanger and Carrot fabric

So.

In an effort to continue growing and expanding my stitchy skills and knowledge, I decided it was time to start tackling Hardanger.  I own a lot of Hardanger books and patterns, but....Hardanger.  

Know what I mean?

I did at least understand the process and wasn't at all afraid of the cutting.  I totally understood how and why it works, so the cutting isn't scary if you understand and trust the process.  It was just an unknown territory.

And I decided to dive in.  

I'm using a pattern from this book.  Who knows how old it is?

And this is the pattern I chose.  It seemed like the easiest one.

I'll admit I'm fudging a bit on this project because I decided to just start it on a whim.  So I didn't have the pearl threads called for.  So I'm using regular DMC cotton, three threads.  This is just a learning experience, so I'm not picky.  I will probably turn the finished product into a Christmas ornament.

But we're not finished yet.  Not nearly.

I'm using such contrasting colors in order to make everything easier to see.  And it's already painfully obvious that I need sharper scissors.  I need a pair of scissors specifically for Hardanger.  But for now, like I said, I'm just trying to learn and I'm not being picky.

I will also say that one of my first impressions is that Hardanger is even more time consuming than cross stitch.  This piece, once done, will have satin stitches, woven bars, and dove's eye specialty stitches.  And the initial stitching part isn't too bad.  (Once you realize that one square on the pattern is equal to two squares on your fabric - and they *don't* tell you that.  You're just supposed to know it by some special mojo osmosis or something.)  But the cutting and then the weaving - oh my mercy, it does take up the time. 

I'll get it done though.  Because I'm stubborn like that.  In the world of stitching there is so much to learn and so many ways to expand your skill set.  I love that.

I have a new project that I am going to start kitting up.  This was on the cover of Cross-Stitch and Needlework magazine last year in the Fall issue.  As soon as I saw it, I fell in love.  I love it all ~ the colors, the pattern, the edge work ~ all of it.  It is intended to be a jack'o'lantern pattern but truthfully that doesn't jump out at me.  I have to look at it a bit before I even see the little faces.  I just think it's a stunning set.

I went to 123Stitch to see about finding the fabric.  I don't want to change anything on this.  I was it exactly as shown, so the 30ct Weeks Dye Works fabric in the color, "Carrot," is exactly what I want.  

And let's just say....CHA-CHING $$$$$$.

The entire set requires two pieces of fabric 16X16, two that are 12X12, and two that are 14X14.  Now, of course, they are not sold in those exact specific sizes.  So to get what I need, I'll have to buy two that is 13X17 and four that are 17X26.  

And that, my dears, will run close to $110!!!

Wowsers.

So I'm just going to go at it a little bit at a time.  Eat the elephant one small nibble here and another there.  I really can't wait though.  I'm just itching to work on this.  

That's all now my dears.  I'm off to stitch a bit and read some stitchy blogs.  

Hugs and kisses and busy needles to you all!

:0)

Well, let's have a little catch up, shall we?

So.

I've been busy.  Lots of boring, real life stuff going on.  But nothing troublesome, thank goodness.  Just...stuff.  I'm sure you can commiserate.

So I'll just jump in here and catch you up a bit here and there and bring you up to speed on my stitchy happenings.

Most interesting is that March of 2016 is a red letter retreat month for me.  I was at retreat in Nashville for Nashville Market weekend last week and next week I will be tucked away at the Pumpkin Lodge (cutest name ever, am I right?) in Kentucky having another wonderful stitchy weekend.

Last weekend was *ever* so much fun.  (*I find that I must make one disclaimer about this retreat so that I don't cause any angst to it's hostess.  She is a shop owner and as such, was allowed to attend the Nashville Market.  But the rest of us at the retreat were simply stitchers - so *we* did not go to the Market.  Only the shop owner went. There was a tad bit of kerfluffle when certain folks thought she was going to allow us/sneak us (lol, seriously folks?) into the Market.  Didn't happen.  All was above board and we stayed cloistered away in our extremely lovely hotel and conference room during the days while she was at Market doing the shopping.)

We stayed at a hotel that was about a block away from the hotel where Market is hosted.  So our hostess was able to easily come and go between the two.  The really special thing was - since she was purchasing as a shop owner, at night when she was done with her wholesale shopping ~ she was able to bring things back to us and we could shop Market goodies from her right then and there, technically while the Market was still happening.  Which we all know, isn't something that's been an option for lay people, at all -ever.  So that was very exciting.  

I did really good and I stayed on budget.  (Major happy dance!) But I love (read: love, love, love) the items I purchased.  So without further ado ~ here are the Market goodies I bought!

The first thing I got was this patriotic thread keep from Priscilla's Pocket.  Super cute and I wasted no time in turning it into a needle minder.  :0)

Next in line are the very first Glendon Place and Ink Circles patterns I've every purchased.  I've admired their charts, but always thought they just didn't quite fit the style of things I like to stitch.  But then I saw these two and very quickly fell in love.  The Glendon Place is called Simply Love and I can't tell you how gorgeous this chart is in person.  It has some beading, but not over the top.  I love the colors, which are Dinky Dyes.  I already have some pink fabric in my stash, so I'm going to buy the threads next weekend and do a floss toss on my fabric to see if it will work.

Equally impressive is Tapestry by Ink Circles.  This also uses specialty threads but has a, "DMCish" conversion chart on the back as well.  I will probably just use DMC on this one.  I'm sure it will still turn out beautifully.

Next is Rosewood Manor's Friendship Quilt.  Love this.  It's part cross stitch and part blackwork.  So lovely.  You should click on the picture to get a better view of the details.  I have a few other Rosewood Manor patterns in my stash, but I'm sure that this one will be the first of those that I'll pick up to stitch.

Lastly is Jardin Prive's Ciseaux & Bobines. ~ Scissors and Bobbins.  :0)

This was a Market exclusive.  Which means that only store owners who attended the Market and bought it there, can sell it.  There were a few other Market exclusives, and some of them were this same brand and a similar theme.  I just fell in love with the pretty way the scissors are charted and the little village houses atop the bobbins.

While I was at this retreat, I managed to get a finish.  I signed up for a Love Quilts USA square at the beginning of the year.  The quilt I signed up for is for a little girl with a heart condition - if memory serves, she had a heart transplant - so it's only natural that she wanted a heart themed quilt!  :0)  I decided to use Durene Jones' pattern Heart of Mine for my square.  I did have to make a lot of changes though, because this quilt had a strict color scheme of pink and red with only two other accent colors - period.  So I had to leave out the flowers across the bottom and ended up changing the skin color a bit.  But it all worked out in the end and I'll be mailing this off soon.

I'll be back with more updates soon.  ~And~ I'll be at another retreat next weekend and I'll share with you all about that after I get back.  Happy stitching everyone!!

:0)