Stitching and a Shopping Spree!

Hello everyone!  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.  Thank you so much for all the great comments! It was a busy weekend for me, but I did manage to get some stitching accomplished....

I finished up my christmas partridge pinkeep pillow, although I still need to actually make it into a pillow...

Christmas Partridge Pinkeep Pillow
designed by Stacy Nash Primitives
28 ct lambswool with dmc as charted

And since I am still waiting on Elizabeth Hancock to arrive....she is now somewhere between Canada and Connecticut :D.... I kept rolling along on Mary... 

I am loving the purple I added in and now the squirrel (?) to me looks like he is playing in a vineyard :D

One thing I did find out this weekend was that stitching and watching tennis does not really mix for me!  Tennis is not a sport I can just listen to, which was okay since the Australian Open was on at 4am, I don't do too much stitching at that hour, but I didn't get much sleeping in either!

On Saturday, I went on a road trip and shopping spree at Thistle Needleworks!  Woo-hoo!

Thistle Needleworks
Glastonbury, CT

Omg, what an amazing shop!  I spent almost THREE hours browsing thru the racks and racks of patterns, and threads and linens.  I picked up some linens, stocked up on my twin pointed needles (which I can hardly find anywhere!), and of course picked out some new patterns for my stash!  Some Blackbird Designs, Plum Street Samplers, Mirabilia, r&r, e&e&f.......

I love that Blackbird in the middle of the pic... it looks like a stained glass design.  And even though I don't tend toward the Mirabilia's since they are so big, I just love this Sabrina pattern since it reminds me of the Audrey Hepburn movie.  I am thinking of trying that one over one so that it will not be such a HUGE project size-wise.  The R&R is the Jane Stone yuletide sampler.  I was really taken by all of the verses on that one.   LOTS more for my to-do list :D   For sure, I will be going back to Thistle again and again! 

And, another lovely Valentine giveaway to enter... Barbara at To Stitch or Not to Stitch is giving away a lovely Valentine sachet that she made!  Stop by and see! :D

Have a wonderful week filled with miles of smiles! :D
Thanks for stopping by...   Happy Stitching!!  xxxxxxxxxxx

TUSAL Fun

Ok, so as of two days ago I had no idea what a TUSAL was... but now that I do I now know what to do with the ball of threads sitting on the table next to me that have been gathering over the past month!  I found myself a TUSAL jar and signed up to join in the fun on Daffycat's blog!  I am a few days past the full moon, but here is my jar of ORTs.....



I have been doing some bits of stitching thru the week, but don't have enough to show you yet... but I am planning on finishing that Stacy Nash Partridge Pillow by the weekend.   Then I will have to sew it up into a cute pillow... for me that is the hard part.  Love stitching, not thrilled about sewing!  Any tips or techniques would be appreciated, so many of you are just plain awesome with your finishing!

I am excited for the weekend to arrive, to go shopping at Thistle Needleworks.  Since I don't have a LNS near me, it is a BIG deal for me to get to a stitching store.  I will be like a kid in a candy store :)
I have my shopping list ready, although I keep getting packages in the mail that I had forgotten I ordered!  Just yesterday I got some more stash...   Easter and more Christmas.....



My challenge list keeps growing, it really is becoming a wish list since there are so many projects listed it is overwhelming.  My major challenges are my SALs..... Mary Wigham and Elizabeth Hancock (which just today I got confirmation that it she is on her way to me ---Hooray!!).  I am also doing Elizabeth as part of Becky Bee's Stitching Hive's 2012 BAP challenge .  Also, a blogging friend, Whispers of Autumn is doing a Valentine Giveaway of a cute pattern of a Valentine birdie.   Lots of fun things to join in on!

Hope you are all enjoying your week!  Thanks to my new followers and for all the great comments!
Wishing you all miles of smiles :))))))  and happy stitching! xxxxxxx

A Snowy Weekend

Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  I think for many it has been a cold and snowy one!  I had such big plans to get lots done this weekend, but somehow things went a bit sideways. 

Did anyone get to see the Sotheby's auction of the Betty Ring collection online today?  It was amazing to see all of those antique embroideries and samplers go for such outstanding prices!  I only wish I could have been bidding as well...I should have played lotto!  Such a beautiful collection of 175 pieces!  I had hoped to get to the exhibition yesterday to see it but the weather was just not on my side.  Sotheby's has an e-catalog at their website detailing the history of the pieces, it is definitely worth a look-see!

So, I started a new stitch... one that isn't even on my to-do list!  It came in the mail this week and it moved to the front of the line.  It is a Stacy Nash Primitives Design, Christmas Partridge Pinkeep Pillow Pattern (say that three times fast!!) and here is how far I have gotten so far....

The rest of my time so far has been spent going through my stash of linen picking and choosing for patterns I have planned.  Everything seems to be the wrong color, wrong size, or wrong count!  Soooooo I will have to go shopping! :D  I have been pulling together a list of goodies to get because next Saturday I am taking a road trip to a stitching store in Glastonbury.  Woo-Hoo!! I can't wait!!

I am so happy we have gotten some snow, it finally looks like winter! 
My front yard is a blanket of white...

         ...and Gigi keeps looking out for birdies and furry friends....

..... but none can be found, they must all be nestled up in the their nests and houses!

So, for the rest of the day I will work on my BAP, Mary, and enjoy looking out at the beautiful snow with Gigi, watch a movie and some football, and stitch, stitch, stitch! 

Thank you for visiting.  I wish you all a wonderful new week!

Happy Stitching!!

New Friends and a Finish!

Thanks so much to all of my new blogging friends visiting my page and leaving me comments, I love reading them all.  It is great to meet up with other stitchers who love this hobby as much as I do!!

It was a freezing cold weekend here in Connecticut, BRRRR!!, perfect weather for staying in and for stitching, stitching, and more stitching!! :)

On Friday I finished the Small Sampler #1, my first for the new year, woohoo!

Small Sampler #1 by Ewe & Eye & Friends

32 count unknown evenweave

WDW and dmc threads

This was a real fun stitch, it had some over one, satin stitches, and eye stitches too.  I think I would like to make it into a small pillow instead of framing, so a trip to the fabric store will be in order to find a nice backing piece. 

On Saturday, I got some more stash in the mail!!  With my Needle and Thread Friendship Samplers, Birds of a Feather Kindness Sampler..... and the new Colonial Garden by Plum Street Sampler, which will definitely have to be added to my list for this year, I just LOVE it!  :)

Today, I was fortunate to have off for the holiday and since I was feeling stir crazy from being in most of the weekend, I decided to treat myself to another movie. After watching the Golden Globes last night, I decided I just had to see The Descendants to see how it possibly could have beaten out my pick, Moneyball.   And sooooo, I still stand by my pick and if you haven't seen it I recommend it highly, but, I really did enjoy the movie and the scenery was beautiful, how could Hawaii (and Mr. Clooney) not be! Especially when it is freezing cold here, it made me want to pack my bags and jump on the next plane outta here!

My weekend would not have been complete without working on Mary Wigham some more (especially since Elizabeth Hancock has still not arrived - I am afraid she took a detour somewhere!).  A few more motifs are done, and one of them finally in the PURPLE I switched in :)

I am still not sure about that spot of yellow in there but will wait until I get further on 'til I decide to take it out or not.  Hopefully, the yellow will blend in nicely as I progress further into it. 

I wish you all a wonderful week and thanks so much for stopping by!  Keep cozy warm!
Happy Stitchings to you all!!

A Busy Stitching Week!

Thanks so much to all of you who have stopped by and commented on my new blog.  It has been fun reading all of your comments and seeing everyone's stitchings!

I finally put together my 2012 challenge list and will hope for the best!
I am still waiting on many supplies to arrive and Elizabeth Hancock has been delayed (oh no!!), but I have PLENTY to work on in the meantime!

It has been a BUSY week of stitching for me!  I had two more starts during the week...
I started one of my smaller projects, Small Sampler #1 from E&E&F.  I really enjoyed starting this one with the alphabet over one on 32 ct.....

and my Alessandra Adelaide 'Albero Della Neve'...sorry for the wrinkles! 

I am doing this on 32 ct linen, using WDW Icicle and GAST Cidermill Brown. I swapped the threads out since I wanted a more wintery feel to it.  The pattern originally called for Chameleon Brand thread??  I could not find that anywhere.

This weekend has been another movie weekend for me... I love this time of year, the Oscar race is on!!  There are so many fantastic movies to see.  This weekend I saw Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (with my fave Daniel Craig :)), and Rooney Mara was unbelievable!  I think they did a good job of staying in line with the book for the most part, there was so much to cover in that book.

And, I also spent my weekend working on Mary.  I am happy to get in another three motifs, it is really such a colorful design.  I love it!!

Thanks again for stopping by!  I wish you all a wonderful week of stitching!!

Happy 2012!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend.  It was fun getting started on Mary and I love how the colors are coming out.  Even though I have only done four motifs two of them were my substitutions.  Starting this one was a little intimidating, my linen was covering me like a blanket it is so big!   

It has been a nice, quiet weekend for me, no wonder I was able to get this far.  I watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve Party, and was surprised to see Justin Bieber and Santana playing an awesome version of 'Let it Be', the newbie with the seasoned rocker.  

So it was just me and my kitty, Gigi.  I know, real exciting!  :)  She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

I went to see a couple of movies, and I really enjoyed 'My Week with Marilyn'.  Michelle Williams gave an excellent portrayal.  Although, today I stayed in watching movies and pulled out 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' with the real Marilyn.  :)   I also had time to sift thru my stash and plan out what I would like to make this year in addition to Mary and Elizabeth.  Oh boy, I have picked out a LOT, that is because everything is so beautiful I want to do them all!!  But no pressure, as long as I stitch something that is what matters most... and have fun doing it! :)   I have chosen some Blackbird Designs (at least some of them are smalls!), Bird Sampler by Birds of a Feather,

Reflets de Soie Stephanie Desmidt, With Thy Needle and Thread Mystery Sampler, an Alessandra Adelaide Tree, and of course, some Christmas ornaments too! 

I am happy to settle into this new year with lots of great projects and to follow everyone's stitchings.  Last year was a lot of change for me, moving to Connecticut, new job, and new apartment, so I will be glad to have a calm and 'settled in' 2012! 

I wish you all peace, happiness, and good stitchings this New Year!  Thanks so much for your comments and stopping by!