Florida Stitching

Blehhhh....Monday morning.  Where did my weekend go?  I had every intention of posting this yesterday and just ran out of time......Anyway, a quick update:

Take a look at the miracle  Faye performed on my little Blue Dwelling.

It's been transformed into the sweetest little stitching bag, fully lined and cuffed and complete with a perfect little strap too.  Awesome!  Here's the back:

I just love how the fabrics chosen are a perfect match for the tones in the stitching.  Thanks again Faye - more on its way soon!

After my last post, it took about a minute to come to my senses regarding an immediate return to Hannah Pepper.  What was I thinking?  She's so huge and with miles still left to go, I didn't see how putting in a few more stitches on her would really solve anything.  Hannah is one of those behemoths that requires some dedication and focus. 2 qualities I seem to be quite short on right now.  So I tucked her back away and and refocused on Atoche.  The main ship has set sail!

I've reached the part where some harder decision need to be made.  But the upside is that the end is getting closer - yay!

I started pulling at the big whale last night - he just has to go.  Not only does he not work for the Gulf of Mexico theme, he's just way too dark and competes too much with the hull of the boat above him.  I think I can take the dolphin on the left side and turn his design into a pair of dueling blue marlins to take the whale's place below.  And that little seal?  His days are numbered too, soon to be replaced with a cow nosed ray.  I'm not sure what to do with the top just yet, but am waiting for inspiration to arrive!

I found this little beauty in the back of the closet and may give it some more love too, if I can figure out what I did with the chart and threads.  This is a oldie, "Once Upon and Island" by the Stitching Parlor.

  
I started this with the notion it would be another Key West themed piece,  Do you see a pattern here....it was started in a flurry of excitement, stitched just enough for the thrill to die down and then stuffed into the abyss for an interminable length of time? 

Anyway, a few more details.  Love this funky chicken - I do remember how much fun his tail was to play with.

And the wandering blossoms and tendrils are found everywhere in the Conch Republic.

   So fingers crossed, the necessary chart and fibers will turn up before something else catches my attention.....

You'll notice I haven't even mentioned Ann Grimshaw.  Poor girl, she hasn't been abandoned, but she is getting a nice long vacation.  All in good time.....

Well, Monday morning means back to the grind.  Time to face the music and earn a paycheck! 

Growing Up

My goodness, I'm overdue for a posting! No excuses really, just waiting for the right moment....and finally this morning it's here at last.  So the first thing I want to do is give a big welcome to those who have signed on as followers recently.  I love it!  I'm really flattered that you're interested enough in my meanderings to keep up with them. In any case, it's long time for an update.

Have come to the conclusion that as far as my stitching choices ago, I really am a big 6 year old.  You'll notice that I'm constantly drawn to huge, bright projects with bold, sharp images.  Which brings me to progress on Miss Ann Grimshaw.......

  These 2 big girls took more time than I thought they would, but now that they're finished I love how they round things out.

But also just like a 6 year old, I've  noticed that my attention span for any one of these big bold projects I like so much is only so long.  Then I have to go outside to play for awhile.  So while I'm head over heels with Miss Ann and am quite impressed with myself for having her nearly 1/4 or the way finished, I've found myself distracted by other new and bright playthings lately...like the shiny silks and tempting chart of Jane Atkinson.....

The more grown up and mature stitcher in me knows starting Jane would be a really bad idea right now.  Soon enough I'd be tired of her too.  Then there'd be one more huge and partially finished project added to the pile that now would also include Ann Grimshaw.  Where does it end?

So this morning I tried taking a look at some of my previous semi-retired projects to see if I could feel a little love for one of them enough to give me a spring break away from Ann.  You know, something small,  nearly finished and different enough from Ann to make me feel like I'm playing hooky.  Atocha came immediately to mind...

  You can see the big ship has begun to emerge onto the scene lately, so there has been a little bit of recent progress on it.  But what's killing my enthusiasm is that huge gray whale at the bottom.  He and  the little gray seal on the right side have both got to go..  The grown up mature stitcher part of my brain keeps pointing out that you'd never find either of these creatures out in the Gulf of Mexico.  Not that you'd ever find sea serpents and mermaids either, but they appeal to that kindergarten stitcher who seems to be running the show right now....

So then I considered the possibility of more work on Frances Eden, who's been patient and long suffering for far too long.  You'll note a similar pattern with her.  Huge size, bright colors, strong motifs......only a quarter of the way finished.

Frances has also gotten a little attention lately, though not nearly as much as she deserves.  I took her with me last month when I was in Tallahassee for a few days.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to bring scissors along in my carry-on bag, so each time a color change needed to happen I had to start with a new strand of floss. 

 
The grown up, mature stitcher in me knows that the right thing to do with Miss Frances is to dutifully run all those thread tails down before moving on to anything further with her.  But the 6 year old stitcher doesn't see that as a lot of fun, so poor Miss Frances will probably continue to be neglected.

But then I unearthed my completely abandoned Hannah Pepper.  Now Miss Hannah is 100% the opposite of what I had in mind.  She is 1) HUGE; 2) not nearly finished and 3) a lot more like Ann Grimshaw than is good for either project at this point. 

 I started Hannah many years ago.  She's one of those epic projects that I'm either obsessed with or not speaking to at all.  What put me off her last time was those ridiculous little over one red blossoms.   I just wasn't in the mood for them, so I left her high and dry.

But now this morning, when I'm searching for something small, simple and nearly finished as recess from Ann Grimshaw, who's dazzling me all over again with her awesomeness?!  You got it....Hannah Pepper. 

And in other news....

My brother Mark and his dear wife Carol recently sent us a gift certificate to a local nursery.  It included instructions to purchase a  tree for planting as a memorial to Jim's dad.  God love them both!  We chose a young live oak tree for our back yard. It will put down deep roots and provide shelter, shade and protection for a very long life.  I can't think of a better tribute to both our fathers.

The large tree in the background of the picture is also a live oak.  This one - in 100 years - will be just as magnificent.  I think of our dads and my family every time I look out now.

And it's official!  Miss Molly has reached the age in every girl's life where birth control is an important consideration.  We named her Moonlight Molly because of the moonbeam she had on her forehead when she first came home.

But now she 's all grown up and interested in boys.  This is her on her return yesterday from the vet's office, safely spayed and ready to romp.

 

Anyway, I'll close hoping this finds everyone enjoying their Sunday and doing things they love.  No doubt that means stitchng!