Needleworker

Normally I post every Sunday.  Or at least I try to post on the status of my project every Sunday.  This week, I'm a bit early because I started this upon the completion of the owls, and put the last stitch in this evening.  Not sure what I'm going to start on next.  Still waiting for the fabric for the Amish Farm Scene, and I have another chart on order that reads "Sampler Maker."

Owls - Update 3 Complete

Having spent most of the day in the car (a total of 6 hours) for a trip to the Hampton Convention Center and then back to Manassas.  My daughter's college cheer competition team was competing there.  After their routine we jumped into the car for the ride back.

As soon as we walked in, I went downstairs to put the final stitches in this project.  WHOOP WHOOP!
I am always so happy to finish a project, especially when this is a Christmas Gift.  Not going to work on any cross stitch for the rest of the evening.  In fact, might even go to bed early since I didn't get a nap today.  Tomorrow is another day, let the stitching begin anew!!

Owls - Update 2

It was a busy week this week, yet I still managed to get in some really good stitching time.  Maybe because of all the snow we received here in Virginia, we were snowed in, so with no place to go, cleaning house or stitching.  HMMMMMM tough decision - stitching it is!

My husband gifted me with a dozen red roses for Valentine's Day.  So thoughtful!  I sent my daughter who is away at college, a dozen Shari's Berries.  They unfortunately got held up for delivery, as they had to be shipped through Charlotte, NC.  Charlotte was one of the areas hit by the ice storm.  Berries arrived yesterday, all nice and still very fresh, as they packed the berries with an ice pack to keep them nice and fresh.  Daughter was a happy camper, and there were enough berries to share with roommates.

A quick run to Norfolk, Va. to pick up my oldest son's truck.  He left on Saturday, for a nine month deployment with the Navy.  Hard to believe I won't see him till November.  We are storing his truck and have possession of his cat, until he returns.

Meanwhile, I think I know what I am going to start on next, after the completion of the Owls.  Years ago my sister sent me all her cross stitch magazines.  I went through them, and held onto several issues of things that I might be interested in sewing.  There is a 3 part series of a Amish farm scene.  Each scene is sewed separately and framed separately, but hung together to complete one picture.  I think over the next couple of projects, I will work on one, then do something different, then do the second scene......sounds like a plan.

Owls - Update 1

I decided I was going to knock out some smaller projects before I begin any larger stitching projects.  This week I began an Owl Sampler for my sister in law.  This will be a Christmas present for 2014.  After looking at many owl patterns I found this one on Etsy.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/120331878/owls-abstract-autumn-colors-sampler  It can be downloaded for a price of $4.50, and if you have access to a printer, printed out to begin stitching.

This is not my usual style of projects that I like to do.  I am a sampler girl through and through.  Maybe this one appealed to me because it called an owl sampler.  But....if I am going to work on a project that isn't for me, I certainly want it to have pretty colors and be at least cute.  Think this fills the requirements.

I made a beginners error, when I believed the information on the directions for the size, without using my handy dandy stitch calculator.  I almost had the first owl finished, when I realized that the fabric did not look large enough to have 3 owls across, plus room for framing.  Darn!  Stuff happens.  

As an avid stitcher, I am always looking for something that will make sewing easier.  Recently I received a catalog from Herrschner's with something in it that looked interesting.  I am pretty sure that I had seen this thing used by someone else on Google community but wasn't sure what it was.  Herrschners was selling it for just under $40.  It came with extra cards, and a bag to store it in.  Since none of my stitching is every put away, a bag is a waste.  I ended up going on e-bay and was able to locate the same thing for $19.  No extra cards or a bag.  I started using this immediately, and it sure has saved time.  Down side is the boxes on the cards are not big enough to write the DMC or any type of thread # in them.  What I ended up doing was taking a copy of the symbols page, cutting them out and gluing them to the card.  Works perfectly, I also stocked up on embroidery needles, so that I would have enough for each thread color I was using.   Since I like to skip around when stitching, I had already threaded needles with the correct colors just waiting for me.

Nautical Flags

My oldest son is active duty Navy, and evidently had been looking for something that spelled out his last name in nautical flags.  Luckily I had a book that had the patterns for them.  Originally I was going to teach his girl friend to cross stitch and do this for him.  But....literally it only took me a weekend to finish this whole project.  I am going to send it to her, and she will get it matted and framed to give to him as a future gift.

Moving on, I decided to try to get some really quick projects out before I started on another large project for myself.  My sister-in-law loves owls.  I found a pattern that was free, and very cute, but really small.  I finally found one on Etsy, that you could purchase and download, that looked really cute, and lovely colors. This will be a gift, so...at least it will be fun to work on because it is really cute, and I do like the colors.  I am leary of sharing the name and site, and or progress because there are numerous disclaimers from the designer.  Even mentions blogging.  But....will contact the designer and see if I can share pictures of my progress with links to her site.