Progress on Jean

As promised, I finally have some progress on Jean Rattray to share.  This is how she looked as of this afternoon. 

When I first picked her up, I was afraid the limited color palette would become tedious very quickly, but so far it's been rather soothing.  In spite of all the looping and ornateness in the top vine, the tree section I'm in the midst of now is simple almost to the point of being primitive.  And I just love how all these little blossoms are frothing up like bubbles in champagne...

Eventually they'll turn into a tree with a rather noodly-looking Adam and Eve shivering under it.  I haven't quite decided what to do about them yet, but they may be too anemic for my taste.  After all, this is Florida - they should at least have tan lines!  So I will share a picture of them as soon as they emerge onto the scene.

Newbie blunder:  Turns out TUSAL pictures need to be posted with the new moon, not the full moon, dummy!  I suppose I should actually read the fine print with these things.  So to reconcile this faux pas, I have a picture of my thread jar doing its impression of the full moon, only it's now being posted just after the new one.

What am I grateful for today?  A schedule that can afford a day to focus only on the things I love.

Let Sleeping Cats Lie

I realize I'm probably too late with this to make an entry into Nicola's sleeping pets fun, but I just found this shot in one of my picture folders and thought it was still worth posting.

This is our cat Mo.  He can usually be found in some variation of this exact position.  Seeing as he's lounging out across my Christmas tree skirt, he must have either been waiting patiently for mere humans to bestowe their gifts on him, or sleeping off all the neighborhood carousing I'm sure he did on New Year's Eve.   We believe he carries a bitter grudge toward all his servants (that's us!) ever since he was deposed from his throne....by a  P U P P Y.  He spends his days lying silently, plotting his return to power......

Now, back to Jean Rattray, or she'll never be done!

Elisabeth Rhode and The Examplarery Hoard

I thought I'd share this pic of  Elisabeth Rhode, another completed project that's awaiting framing.  It's just occurred to me now in looking at the picture that it might be sweet to hemstitch the edges on her before having her mounted and framed  She's such a bold design, hemstitching might just be the final finishing touch for her.  What do you think?.

Elizabeth came to me as an old kit from the Examplary, reproduced by Joanne Harvey.  I won her on e-Bay during my "trolling for hard to find stitching projects" period.  Mercifully, that period has passed, though it was fruitful while it raged.  I managed to score several other old Examplarary kits, including the highly sought Loara Standish, which is still as untouched as an old maid in my stash hoard.  Perhaps I'll actually start her someday, though now that I have her I'm afraid the thrill may have been in the chase...

What am I grateful for this morning?  Enough stuff in my stash to make a single more new purchase unnecessary for the rest of my natural life.

BTW, I too am completely annoyed with the word recognition stuff that Google has imposed on those who'd like to leave a comment.  However, I'm so new to this whole bloggy thing that I'm clueless as to how to turn it off.  Can someone tell me how it's done?    

Chest Clean Out

I thought I'd share progress on Jean Rattray at this point - and I will, very soon - but if I work like a crazy woman on her today, the progress will be that much more dramatic.  And as for Frances Eden...the brick house in the bottom right corner has sucked my will to live for the time being.  I'll get back to her as soon as Jean starts to drag again.  

So instead I thought I'd share pics of another little endeavor I undertook last weekend, something I'm so proud to have gotten out of the way.

I have this awesome little chest I found in an antique mall at home several years ago.  Even though it clearly wasn't an antique, I was charmed by the prospect of all those little drawers and compartments.  Also, the little hanging drawer pulls wave and clatter at the same time whenever the chest is moved, just like the tassles on a belly dancer  Again, that's how my mind works...

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I keep this little beauty near my stitching spot. Inside the little drawers is where I stash all my stuff - needles, tools, scissors, you name it. However, keeping everything in its designated spot is a challenge, as you'll see by this bit of craziness.

It seemed full scale reorganization was in order.  This mountain of stuff was the entire contents - yikes!

So the first step was to make some tough decisions about what to keep and what to find a new home for.  How did you get in here?

Then I collected up all the lovely huswifes, needle books and stitching purses I've gathered over the years.  One more and they'll need to find a new home as well, I'm afraid.

Next, all my scissors  and fobs went into the other wide drawer.  Guess I can start using my Joann's 40% coupons on something else now...

Then, buttons and other pretties went here...

flossy begs went here...

needles here...

 and what I refer to as the "implements of torture" went here...

'This left just enough room for my favorite tins, full of stitch holders and nibbles for the girls. Turns out, that seashell really wanted to stay in my stitching chest, so it 's now the honored guest.

Life is good!  And for this bit of tidiness, I'm eternally grateful.

Audiobook Review!

Seeing as I'm nearly finished with "The Paris Wife", a review of "The Thousand Autmns of Jacob de Zoet" by David Mitchell is due.

Why did I choose this book?  Well, it all has to do with Franklin Roosevelt, the man I've become a huge historical fangirl for.  After listening to everything I could put my hands on about him, the time had come to go back to something in the historical fiction genre.  Jacob de Zoet was already in my Audible library and  - this is how my mind works - Franklin Roosevelt's ancestors made their big bucks in the far east trade.  Oh yes, then there was that whole business between Franklin and the Japanese.  So even though it was a stretch and Jacob de Zoet is fiction, I was somehow able to extend my Franklin Roosevelt reading path through it.  What can I say? It's my path, I can take it were I need it to go.

What was this about?  Without giving too much away, it was about true love, corruption and adventure in Japan during the time of the British and Dutch East Indies Companies.

What was my favorite scene?  Orito's escape from the shrine.  It was so compelling I walked an extra mile just so I could finish listening to it.

Who was my favorite character?  Believe it or not, I think it was Captain Penn Halligan.  While he doesn't enter the story until a relatively late point, his character and role in it is much more highly developed than some of the others.  I felt a certain sympathy for his position that was missing for Jacob and Orito.

Would I listen to this again?  On an extended car trip, yes, because it's a story we'd all be interested in hearing.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

So while I had the camera out last week, I thought it might be fun to take some pictures of my poor misplaced And They Sinned, which is one of my most favorite samplers of all time ever.ATS has always seemed like the piece to show a stitcher's mettle, one that sort of separates the men from the boys if you will.  My version of it was over 5 years in the making, 2 of which were dedicated to just getting that endless expanse of grass at the bottom done.  The biggest heartbreak with it  once it was finished is that this thing is such a monstrous size, the $$ for getting it properly framed has never come my way.  It's now lingering forlornly in my finished pile, getting ignored and creased.  A senseless tragedy.

But enough of this sad tale.  Let me show some snaps of some of my favorite bits on one of my favorite things.

Of all the large and tiny vignettes in this piece, my most favorite of all has to be the lion and the lamb being petted by the lady in the pink dress.  Please note the grass - there's about a mile of it underneath them.

Every sampler should have its own avenging angel.

 And  for shear lunacy, you gotta love this funky chicken.  Can't quite decide if he's a peacock or a cuckoo.  Perhaps a loon?

And for some reason, I also love this blooming heart.  Wish mine always felt like this!

Next time I post pictures of my ATS, I promised they will be framed!   But don't hold your breath...

What am I grateful for today?  I'm grateful this epic sampler actually got finished!

Bloggy Stuff

I've spent a lot of time lately looking at other stitching blogs, mostly as a way to decide whether on not I wanted to take one on myself.  Well, if you're reading this, you can see how that turned out!  But I'v noticed some things - I guess the best word for them is "practices" - that have piqued my interest. This post will give an explanation of my personal version of them.

First off, I've seen posts about a TUSAL, which is basically posting a picture of your floss ends each month at the time of the full moon.  This struck me as really pointless at first, but the more I thought about it, the more intriguing it became.  How mysteriously pagan, paying homage to your stitching at the point when the moon is at its most influential.  So with a little help from Miss Molly, here's my first offering.

 Another practice I plan to uphold?  Audio book reviews, because I've always been a voracious reader.  Now I'm equally so a listener, particularly while out for my walks.  I've already started a list of what I've been listening to.  As each book is begun, I'll add it to the list, and as it's completed, I'll post a quick summary of my impressions.  So look for the first review of "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet", coming in the next post or two.

Lastly, I've seen blogs that always end with a statement of something the blogger is grateful for.  Being a firm believer in the philosophy that what goes around comes around, it seems like a fitting way to spread some goodness.  Toward that end... today, I'm grateful for:

Good weather, good shoes,  and good legs!  And on that thought, I'm off for my walk.... 

My Hibiscuses (or is it habisci?)

Here in Florida, spring almost always breaks out by mid February.  I can feel and see it coming on already, even though it's still just the tiniest bit early.  Some sure signs - pollen counts are already rising and the produce stands at every stoplight are all showcasing this season's crop of strawberries.  Another sure sign - the hibiscus plant on our back patio is blooming like crazy right now.  These blooms are so special, because while they're spectacular when they open in the morning, by the  late afternoon, they're gone.  Fitting proof of so many sampler verses I've spent time on!.  So in that vein, here's a picture of what was blooming on our patio this morning:

The other hibiscus I've spent more time with this February is on the top vine of Jean Rattray.

Jean is an old  Scottish sampler by Threads of Gold.  I found her several years ago in a bygone stitching shop in St. Petersburg.  At the time I bought her, I did so more because the shop had the chart kitted with a nice piece of Vintage linen than because I had definite plans to actually stitch her one day.  I'm such an easy mark when it comes to a deal!  But in making stitching plans over the holidays, I found her waiting patiently and hopeful as ever at the bottom of my kit box, and somehow knew it was her time to shine.  Here's a look at progress on Jean as if this morning.

And another detail shot, just because I can.  Love the simple, stylized banding on the border.

I have been wavering back and forth between Jean and Frances Eden ever since they were both started as New Year's projects.  Picture of Frances to follow!

And so, we begin...

OK so I've finally gotten my nerve up to dip my toes into the blogging waters.

Here's a picture of my version of Brightneedle Design's Key West Sampler. 

Anyone who's ever spent time in Key West knows the lighthouse is it crowning jewel.  I couldn't stitch a sampler for my favorite spot without paying its due respect.  Accuracy is everything, so even while keeping the whimsical feel of the piece (and Key West!) I tried to be true to the architectural details.  These include gingerbread on the cottages, tropical colors and the arched dome of the lighthouse with a single window near the top. 

I also took some liberties with the thread colors, turning what seemed to be a drab brown buzzard at the top left into a more typical Key West parrot.  Now if I really wanted to capture the locale, I should have done some roosters somewhere..

This piece was a joy to stitch and every time I look at it, I'm back in Margaritaville!