new additions, part one

There have been some recent and not so recent additions to our home lately, and since I have been so neglectful in my blogging, a few are from last year even! If I don't start somewhere, I'll never catch up, so here goes, the first installment

The most recent one, back from the framer:

This is my Jenny Bean Sampler that I worked on all last fall and through the holiays...

Stitched on 40 count Ink Spot Black, it was a "sun-room" project that I could only stitch on during the day when the light was good, so I kept her out there, and another project in the living room to stitch on in the evenings, when not at work.

The chart is from The Scarlet Letter and I stitched it with the Au Ver A Soie silks called for.

Jenny Bean had been in my stash for a while, but here's what made me pull her out and get stitching last fall:

This little kitty came to live with us back in September. My friend had adopted a dog from our local animal shelter, and while I was there with her, I'd spotted some really cute kittens, so I had to go back. My son was wanting another cat to keep his cat company while he was at work during the day, but because she was sick when we first got her, she had to stay at our house, so his cat didn't get sick too. He named her Jenny. Well, long story short, it didn't work out for him, so we got to keep her :)

Now, what do you think this kitty gets called? Why Jenny BEAN, naturally! She is much bigger now and filled in some since her spay operation (she was so thin!), but for some reason, I cannot find those photos, so the ones above will have to suffice for now.
Notice the pug lounging in the background in the last picture? As you might guess, this little girl has shown all the boys who is boss.

So there it is, recent and not so recent additions. I will return soon and post more....more framed finishes and yes, another fur-baby addition ;-p
Thanks for visiting my blog!
xoxo

framed finish

Hello there,

Anyone still reading? I did not forget this blog of mine, no dears, my friend Patti would not let me ;-)! Lots of things going on, I will try to be brief and list them here:

*tennis elbow which hurts so bad one considers chopping their arm off.
*contemplation of why one would take such drastic measures, maybe reconsider.
*health problems with pugs, one in a cone (again!) for months on end, the other having one problem after another, the last being a tumor and it's removal.
*serious freak out over pug health problems, not to mention husband having issues at the same time.
*work related issues
*too busy stitching with my free time and having no desire to be on computer posting to blog (sorry, just keeping it real!)

Could probably come up with more excuses, but enough of that, here's my recent framing finish!

This design is from The Scarlett Letter chart called "And All Was For An Appil"



stitched on 40 count Natural linen with DMC thread. The last two photos were taken outside, and the true linen color shows better in them.
I could've sworn I took pictures of the bottom half of this, but can't seem to find them!

That's all for now. I will leave you with a picture of the boys sitting with their Dad, one showing his backside, where the tumor was removed and the other, happy to finally be cone free, after seeing a specialist for his eye problems and finally getting some results.

And I'll also leave you with the promise of posting more often....tootles for now!
xoxo

one finish and two wip's

First, the finish:

I Thee Wed by The Goode Huswife

Stitched on 36 ct. Vintage Sienna Night by Lakeside

DMC threads, 2 over 2

The top picture is the truest as far as the color of the linen. I LOVE this linen, it's so easy to see on and not the huge PITA that stitching on black can be. Every stitch on this was a joy.

Now, for my first WIP:

The Charlotte Clayton sampler.

Stitching this on 36 ct. Vintage Sand Dune, with Needlepoint silks.

How appropriate is it, that the last photo, of the doggie, has a DOG HAIR on it? Those pugs, they sure shed a lot ;-)

My second WIP:

THIS BLOG!! Poor Siobhan, first she encourages me, then she has to come to my rescue! She's pretty smart, and thankfully, a sweet friend :) Otherwise, this blog would be toast.

Now, all I'm aiming for here is bigger pictures, less clutter, and a nice blog header picture. Once I get those things in place, I'm never changing anything ever again! Meanwhile, if things look weird, just pretend you don't see anything wrong ;-)...
it takes me a while to do computer stuff!


Thanks for visiting! Happy stitching, and stay cool!

Hello!

Yep, it's me, alive and well!

Not dead, and no major injuries. Puggies are well, fat and happy :-)
Thanks to those of you that have emailed asking if all is well, or to say they missed my posts! You're nice!
I have been stitching, just having several issues of frustration with my blogging experience that have not worked themselves out yet. Mainly because I don't know just how to work them out!

*First of all, Blogger is such a booger for me these days, even to post these pics now took me FORever.

**Then there's my cruddy camera and horrible pictures. Ugh.
***Not liking the looks of the blog, but too lazy or tired or just too inept to change it!

****Tennis elbow! Painful and limits computer time (typing hurts!) Just been to the doctor for it (finally!) and got a cortisone shot and list of exercises to do, so hopefully that's much better soon.
Oh geesh! Sounds like whining, which I'm not, just explaining my absence ;)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

Picked up my Mary Beale sampler from the framer today, so I thought I'd share that and then come back later with what I've been stitching.

So here she is, Her Sampler, which is now MY sampler :)

The frame moulding just jumped out at me, as we were mulling over many different ones, I looked over my left shoulder, and spotted this one, and it ended up being the ONE!

So very happy with my framing gals. If you live anywhere in the area, you should check them out! Framing MemorEze in Plano Texas.
They are pretty much the only ones I can trust to do my things right. In fact, I had to take them something to redo, that had been done at another place :( Later on, you will see the before and after pics (some of you have already seen the before....hideous!)

This sampler was framed under museum glass, can you tell? Usually don't put glass on my pieces, but wanted to try out that stuff, and I do like it :)

Stitched on 40 count Park City Blend by R&R
over 2 with one strand DMC thread
Design by Mary Beale, Her Sampler was included in the 1998 Pocketbook Needlework, which is still available for purchase in Mary Beale's online shop.

Well that's all for now my friends. Thanks for visiting and for your friendships, I am very blessed by each one of you! Sorry I have not been commenting on your blogs very much, will try to do better as my elbow/arm pain gets better!

PS. Who's ready for Autumn?
Just wonderin' ;-)

ABC Hornbook (and the winner)

Here's my ABC Hornbook finish. It was while I was stitching this last month, that the terrible accident happened, which claimed Lisa's life. Such a tragedy, there really are no words. She will be missed.

Design by The Primitive Needle

Stitched on 36 ct. Earthen by Picture This Plus, using recommended WDW and GA threads.

 

Well, I have more Primitive Needle finishes to show, but since this post is picture heavy already, I will save them for later.

The winner (chosen by the random generator thing) of the Remember Me chart is Laurie! Thanks to all who entered the drawing and for everyone that takes the time to leave a kind word :)

Life is short, but LOVE is forever. Love those around you without measure.
xo

Remember Me

Hello sweet friends! How are you? Ready for Spring? The weather here in Texas has been beautiful! Even though fall is my very favorite time of year, Spring runs a close second :)

Despite being hit with a second round of the "creepy crud" as we call it, my stitching fingers are still working. Hot off the needle is my latest finish...

From Blackbird Designs Reward of Merit Sampler, Remember Me
Stitched on 35 ct. Parchment linen, by WDW
Over two with one strand Gentle Art threads in Aged Pewter and Cidermill Brown

In that second picture you can see an old pocket watch that my husband has had for years. He found it a long time ago, can't recall the exact details, but it's very old and very neat. It's not in the best of shape, but we treasure it and wonder about who it may have belonged to.

I'd like to offer someone the chart for the above finish. I accidentally marked it with my highlighter (thought it was my working copy), but it's just a small part and won't affect the stitching of the design :)

If you're interested in having it, just let me know in the comment section on this post. And please tell me about something old that you treasure.
I'll draw a name this weekend.

And in Pug news, Astro wants to know if you think he's handsome....

He's thinking about Daisy and how she's always on the lookout for a sexy pug, and wonders if he qualifies :)

Finishes

Next time I decide to go off and take a bloggin' break, someone please take a switch to my backside! Uploading pics to blogger is taking forever today. That'll teach me!

So, in no particular order, here are some projects that were completed during my blogging absence (all pics are clickable)....

First up, Trudy's Flower by Elizabeth's Garden (daughter of Kathy Barrick)



This one I started, oh gosh, who knows how long ago, and I just couldn't get into that much. Finally decided it was because I was using one strand of DMC over two, and the coverage was "meh" at best. Thankfully, one of my daughters enjoys frogging (she takes after her father, go figure), so she ripped out all I'd done (which was about a quarter of it, so I could start over on that piece of fabric.

So, with TWO strands of DMC, over two on the 36 ct. Barn Owl, it was much better.
Dated 2009 because that's the date it had on it before daughter ripped it out.



Next, Dainty Housewren by Carriage House Samplings
Stitched on 40 ct. Ink Spot Black with Needlepoint Silk.

I left off the beads because they just seemed HUGE and too busy on this piece.

This one is Snow Day, from With they Needle & Thread

Stitched on 35 ct. Confederate Gray linen by WDW, with two strands of DMC over two.





A very fun stitch!



This one, I've done before, for an exchange I was in. Liked it so much that I had to do it again






The design is from Chartmakers, and is called Christmas Night.
Stitched with DMC and WDW threads, on 32 ct. black Belfast, over two.

I'm thinking it would be nice to get it made into a bag like before. My friend Patti did the previous one. Maybe Tobie can help me out this time ;)


That's all for now. Oh wait....pugs!! As requested by MaryLou :)

Someone stole Mom's stitchin' chair....





and promptly got kicked out and put next to his brother ;)



They really cannot stand it when they can't sit right beside me. We got them that big pillow you see in the second picture, which I would pull up right beside me in the sun room, but they'll have NO part of it, thankyouverymuch. Astro says "You wasted your money Dad! We'd all be much happier with a bigger stitching chair" :)

Happy weekend y'all. Stay tuned for more finishes...will post next week :)

well, hello!

Anyone still out there? Hello! It's me, Andrea, and yep, I'm still kickin', chickens! Not sure how time flies by so quickly and how four months have passed since I made a decent post here! Yesterday I was at my eye doctor, getting my annual exam for contacts. Except that it had been TWO years since I'd been there. NO WAY! She showed me my chart as proof, since I didn't believe her, lol! Why is it, the older we get, the faster time flies? Oh well. You know that expression...time flies, whether you're having fun or not!

Anyway. I'm blessed that even when my life gets busy and hectic, I am still able to stitch. So I have lots of stitching to share, almost too much! My plan is to break it up into several posts. Also been doing a LOT of cooking and baking...if I'm on your list on Facebook, you already know this, lol! Sometimes I think I post too much about food. But it's a passion, as well as my stitching.

This is a little something that I stitched a long time ago and sent out for finishing. Love what she did with it!



Love is All You Need
Freebie by Bent Creek

Will be back with more that I've done, but for now, I must share a couple of gifts I'd received for Christmas.

Becky sent me this adorable little cupcake pincushion she made.



I think the design is from Blackbird Designs, but not 100% sure. It's just the cutest bitty thing you've ever seen! Thank you so much Becky, sorry to be so late in posting about it!

From my dear friend Patti:



Design by Carriage House Samplings. Filled with crushed walnut shells and also finished by (?), isn't it beautiful?



OK, one more from me ;-)



Bent Creek Winter Snapperland
I'd stitched this one a while back and sent to my sweet friend Tobie, to do her magic on it. I LOVE what she did :)




The fabrics she used couldn't have been more perfect! I have more Tobie finishing to share with you later :)



That's all for now. If you're still around after all these months, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I promise to come out and play more often ;)
xoxo