Chickens

Well, I finally took my chickens to be framed yesterday at Michael's.  Michael's was having a 60% off plus and additional 15%.  Even then it cost me $114.00 to get them both framed in plain black wood frames.  They should be ready in two weeks, and I can't wait, as they will be a great addition to my kitchen.  Especially given the fact, that the kit of the two roosters was called Chicken Soup, since one of the Roosters has pasta as part of the body, and the other rooster has vegetables incorporated into the design. It feels good to get something I did back in 2008 framed.

Rosewood Manor - Quaker Diamonds

I was going back through my blog and realized that sometimes I call the company Rosewood Manor which is the correct name and Rosehill Manor.  What a dope I am sometimes.  I decided that I would try to get more organized with the cross stitch patterns, kits that I currently have in my possession, and those that I might be interested in purchasing in the future.

So, yesterday I went out onto the web and found pictures of the some of the patterns/kits that I have.  Others, the package had a great picture, so I just went ahead and copied those.  I am going to organize them in a book, haven't quite figured out how yet, other than I have the dividers and binder.  But....I think that will save me from figuring out what I already have (so I don't try to buy the same thing twice like the Ann Hill Sampler) and also what I might like to try in the future.

On those sheets, I will note whether I already have fabric, or if there is any sort of special yarn required other than DMC and whether I have the appropriate thread.  I will put the sheets in sheet protectors, and then also add to it the cross stitch calculator sheet for fabric and also a list of colors that I may need.
Nothing worse than starting a project and realize you don't have it all.

Also, it will be handy when I travel to my local cross stitch store!

EH 1875 - European Reproduction Samplers

I am truly addicted to cross stitch, and I do try to stay off e-bay, the internet, and making a trip to my favorite cross stitch store in Alexandria, Va.  However, sometimes I just can't resist.  Recently, while surfing the net, I came accross a site.  I fell in love with one of the samplers, and it is not sold in the United States.  I ordered it on-line and paid through paypal.  It was approximately $35.00 including postage.  The owner of the site is a Sabine Taterra, who is lovely to deal with.  The chart arrived yesterday, and the packaging of the complete chart is one of the nicest I have ever seen!  The directions are in German, however I was able to use Google Translator to translate what I needed to know from German to English, and use a centimeter to inches conversion chart to figure out the size.

Now the only problem will be when I will be able to start it!

Downstairs Project - Family Tree

This is a family tree chart, which I bought a kit from E-bay.  I thought I was just purchasing the chart, so I was quite surprised when it arrived and it was a kit.  It wasn't that expensive, but once again, I am constantly worrying whether I will have enough thread to finish.  Especially given the fact, that although they give you the DMC numbers for the thread, when I matched the threads in the kit, to my inventory of DMC, it was off in color on pretty much every color.  This project has been a challenge, as it is much like the Cat one I did for my sister, almost every inch is covered with a stitch.  However, since I spend alot of time in the basement during the week, I am able to work on it practically every day.

Upstairs Project - Carriage House Alphabet Blocks

I have two projects going at the same time.  One is what I refer to as my upstairs project.  It is because, my husband works from home, so in the evenings, I work on this one, in the family room.  I am almost done.  I have one more row of blocks, plus have to redo "Q" as I miscounted and had to rip most of it out. Then the border, and it will be the on this list to frame.

Moira Blackburn - again

Here is my framed finished project.  Love the colors in this one!

Three Things - Moira Blackburn

I love Moira Blackburn's design.  I seem to be drawn to them, they speak to me for some reason.  This is one of the largest samplers I have worked on to this point.  Originally, I bought the material, started it, and realized I had done a huge mistake, and there was no way to recover.  So......I just bought new linen, and started over.  Here is the completed framed sampler.

A house is made of brick and stone

This is a sampler I did way back in 2008.   I did post a picture of it, unframed, but here is the framed version.   Now trying to decide where to hang it.

Spring has sprung

Recently I have been trying to organize a storage area in my basement, and in doing so, I located a grape wreath that was covered under one of the piles.  I certainly don't want to be seen on an episode of the hoarders and so, I decided to recycle the wreath for my front door.

Bought some sale silk flowers at Michaels, some new ribbon.  This is the final result, which now hangs on my front door.

Rosewood Manor - Quaker Diamonds

Framed and already hung

Chickens

These are probably one of the next things to get framed.  I did these many years ago, from a kit that I bought through some cross stitch catalog I received.  I don't really like kits, as I hate having to sort the thread.  I am always afraid, I will run out of thread, or sorted the color wrong.  But....these came out pretty good.  The name of the kit is chicken soup.  If you look closely you will note that one of the chickens has vegetables in it.  The other chicken has various pasta noodles incorporated into it.

Cats

Although not a true sampler this a cross stitch I did for my sister.  At the time, she had 6 cats living with her.  Four of the cats were hers, and 2 belonged to one of her children, who was moving, and needed a place for the cats to stay, while the transition was being made.  Somehow, it seemed appropriate for my sister to own this.  I will tell you it took me about a year to complete this.  I took it with me everywhere!

Not only was most of the canvas covered with stitches, but most of the also had to be back stitched in black as well.