Thanksgiving Birds

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  I've been up since 5:00 am this morning.  Not cooking, but savoring the time and making plans. Being up so early, I was able to head out for my usual morning walk shortly after sun up. 

One thing is for certain about life in Florida, you never know when you'll have an unexpected encounter with wildlife.  It was such a thrill to be trekking along the usual path, only to be surprised by a gaggle of sand hill cranes stalking along behind me.  A speedy dash to the car, a short sprint home, quick, grab the camera! and repeat in reverse back to the park and along the walking path..  Of course, they were long gone by the time I got back, probably laughing at me all the way out.  Oh well, as my photographer husband always says, some things in life are meant to be experienced, not captured.  Today I should be thankful to have this bit of wisdom.  But mostly I'm just happy that in spite of missing the cranes, the dash to capture them forced an extra lap and a speedier pace into the usual morning walk.

And even more in keeping with the day, I found a few more unexpected birds in my stitching closet, just in time for sharing. 

I stitched these guys years ago, probably even before my Shepherd's Bush days.  Note the huge klostern this dude is worked on.  That should date him a little?

This fellow was found along with the ravaged Prairie Schooler Santas I'm trying to refurbish.  Please ignore the blob of craft glue on his tail.  Well, I've already said finishing isn't my strong suit, but even I have enough sense to know better than that now!  Maybe a good New Year's resolution for me will be to improve my skills in that area.  Either that, or just to quit trying and hand them off to a finisher.

So last off, I thought I'd share a quick update on progress with Atocha.  Here's where I am, though further changes are going to happen.

I'm having so much fun with this, but have decided that a few things have to go.  Jim pointed out that there would never be a sperm whale cruising around in the Gulf of Mexico.  Of course, he didn't mention it until after the big guy was finished.  Same thing with the little seal floating under the manatee.  So as soon as the smaller stuff on the left side is in place, I'm going to make that whale into a pair of swordfish, which  I think I can pull off by adapting the dolphin design.  As for the seal, he's going to mutate into a stingray.in the same soft brown as the ships.  When all that is the way I like it, I'm going to give it a rest before putting in the big ship in the middle.  Back in September when I started this, I promised myself  I'd go back to Jean Rattray (remember her?)with enough time to finish her before the end of the year.   The clock is ticking and poor Jean still lingers on...

Our Thanksgiving celebration happened last weekend so that Jim could have some time in Illinois with his elderly parents today.  I'm thinking of them and having fun with  Halley and the dogs this morning.  I'm grateful for all the richness in my life and the time to appreciate it.  Here's wishing that for you too!

And They Sinned, Framed At Last!

Good morning everyone!  I'm so happy and excited to share the big news - my And They Sinned is finally framed and displayed!!

My birthday was a few weekends ago.  Jim asked if there was anything special I would like as a gift and the words "I want to do some framing!" flew out of my mouth so fast I didn't have a moment to even think about anything else.  Since ATS was at the top of my finished pile, that's what we decided to take in to the frame shop.

We've had many of Jim's photographs framed at this shop before but this was the first time I'd taken any of my stitching into them.  The lady there said it was by far the biggest piece of needlework she'd ever had the opportunity to frame.  Wait til she sees my Sarah Tatum!

You can see in this detail how perfect the frame molding is for the piece. It's rustic looking, but not too weathered.  And I love how the scrolly detail on the outer edge mirrors the vine around the borders of the stitching.  The subtle gold band on the inner edge just adds a little polish, don't you think?

 

I knew we'd have to wait for two weeks while the work was being done. But when I headed off to the office yesterday morning, I had to make myself stop from getting my hopes up that there would be a call from the framer when I got back home.  Little did I know, she's actually finished it earlier in the week and had been in touch with Jim already.  So when I did get back from work, it was already home and hung in its place of honor at the end of the hallway.  What a thrill!  It was the perfect birthday gift from start to finish.

 

Anyway, thanks so much for taking a look at my long in process masterpiece,  What is it about seeing your stitching finally framed and displayed that makes you want to stitch with even more diligence?  All I know is that withe the long Thanksgiving weekend approaching, my needle will be flying!  I hope each of you has the chance to spend the day with the people and things you are most thankful for.

Repurposing Santa

Good Sunday morning to everyone and happy November!  Hard to believe, isn't it?  I was delighted and thrilled early this morning to be be awakened by the distinct, eery hooting of a great horned owl somewhere out in the oak trees of our swamp.  While I'm sure they're  there all year long, it's only during the fall and winter that we seem to hear them calling in the early mornings.  To me it's a sure sign that the seasons have changed at last.

Now, on to stitching news, something I hope I can figure out in time for the upcoming holidays.

While rumbling around in my stitching closet this summer, I came across a bag of old Prairie Schooler things I'd stitched so long ago I didn't have the slightest clue about how to turn them into finished ornaments.

The best I could come up with at the time was to simply seam them together with a piece of synthetic felt, stuff them with a little polyfill and tie on a ribbon.  What was I thinking??

This abuse wasn't limited to just Santa....

As Christmases came and went I dutifully stitched a new Santa.

But never figured out a better way to give him the finish he deserved.

As ny stitching tastes moved more to samplers and larger projects, I eventually stopped the annual Santa mauling and relegated these poor guys to the back of the closet.  There they stayed, shabby as ever, for more years than I'm willing to own up to.

But then I started following all your amazing blogs and got a glimpse of all the clever things being done with Prairie Schooler Santas.  So when I found the bag o' Santas in the stash closet this summer, I spent a very sad afternoon carefully trying to trim the cheesy felt backing off of them without ruining the stitching completely.  The raggedy edges you see on all these are the end result.  To prevent any further fraying - these guys are all on 18 count jobelan, and you know what that's like - I stablized the stitching with some iron-on interfacing.  But now I'm stymied.  What to do with them?

You can see, like in the one above, that there's next to nothing beside the edges of the stitching. Obviously, finishing has never been my forte - that's why I'm in a constant state of awe when I see how wonderfully some of you can whip your smalls into little finished gems.   

Does anyone have a thought as to refinishing these little beauties with the little- to- no borders that are left?  Suggestions, ideas, prayers......all will be welcome!
..

As always, thanks for stopping by and for steering other bloggers this way.  Maybe there's hope for these guys yet!

Sarah's Cigar Box

After a rushed week back at work, Jim and I decided to pass on a trip to the beach yesterday.  I knew as soon as we changed our plans that it was my chance to finish my Sarah Seifer cigar box project.  What a fun way to spend the afternoon!

Even if I do say so myself, I couldn't be more pleased with the final result.  Everything from the colors of the floss and linen to the pattern in the fabric and the tone of the box wood seemed to work together. 

Mounting Sarah to fit inside the box lid was a little tricky.  Besides the usual considerations for making sure she was centered and stretched over the mounting board, I also had to allow enough space between the stitching and the side of the lid for the lip on the box bottom to fit inside.

After that, I lined the sides of the box bottom and mounted the padded fabric bottom.  It did take some fiddling to make sure everything was stretched and glued without gaps, but I do think it worked out well.

I'm thinking now of stitching some matching smalls - maybe a scissors fob or case and a needle pillow - to go inside.  And the perfect place to display it is on top of my cherry wood floss cabinet in the hallway.  Anyway, it feels good to have another finish under my belt.  I do have a few more cigar boxes on hand, so maybe I'll do another one as a blog give away....hint, hint!

Hope all of you have found some time for stitching on this brilliant October Sunday.  Thanks for stopping by for a look!  

Sailing Along

Hello everyone!  At long last, we're finally getting a glimmer of cooler weather to come here in the Sunshine State.  Ruby and Molly have been enjoying it thoroughly.

As you can see, Aussies have a very thick, shaggy coat, a lot like Collies do.  It makes playing in the back yard on summer days hot. buggy and messy for all involved.  Needless to say, when the first breath of cooler, dryer air blows in during October, these girls are overjoyed and more than a little rambunctious!

October has also brought a lot of employment changes for me as well.   Thank goodness, I'm now back at work full time.  Income issues aside though, my biggest fear in returning to a real job was that I would lose all my quality time for stitching.  So far, I've managed to keep my priorities in order!.  Let me show you what I mean.  Here's progress as of this morning on Atocha....

I've loved every stitch of this so far, even those that I've pulled out more than once. 



This little ship is my favorite motif to date.  I had my doubts the sails would have enough contrast on the linen. along with reservations the reddish brown tone I chose for the ships was going to work with all the blues and greens of the sea life.  But now that the first ship is launched, I'm tickled to pieces with it.

Then there are the sea creatures ...

And this little dude was a joy!  He looks exactly like the crabs we find at the Canaveral National Shore.

Last off , there's the manatee.  How Florida is he?



You're probably wondering what those two skeins of gray floss are doing beside him.  Well, I've never been quite satisfied with that orangish brown shade I worked him in. When you spot manatee  floating along in the Gulf Stream, they're just not the shade of sweet potatoes!  So he's coming out and will be reborn in the darker, more natural gray.  There's going to be a big whale at the center bottom so I'm guessing this color change will pull it all together in the long run.


A finish on Sarah Seifer - or what will probably be all I'm willing to put in - has also been reached!  Here she is...

Sarah may still end up  inside the lid of one of my cool wooden cigar boxes, but when Jim mentioned getting her framed, I had to reconsider.  If we do this, I probably would want to finish her all the way with the border from the original design  So my dilemma is "Do I turn her into a really cool cigar box?"  or "Do I put in the time and expense of turning her into a real piece of art?"  What would you do?

Anyway, I'm in a very good place these days - things seem to be sailing along smoothly on all fronts.  Hope this finds you in calm seas too!  Thanks for stopping by...I love your comments...

Atocha Sets Sail

Good morning everyone!  I have sooo enjoyed all the blogger comments about the season change from wherever they might be experiencing it.  Things are still rather sweltering here in Florida, but I'm holding out for the promise of the fall beach season in the not too distant future.  The water is warm, the breezes are crisp and dry and the beaches are serene.  The best way to experience them!

After a few mishaps.the long awaited Atocha sampler set sail on September 6th.  I found out the hard way that my poor middle aged eyes can no longer find those tiny little 40 count holes, even with the help of my trusty Dazor.  So it was back to the linen box to salvage a similarly toned linen with a more visible weave.  The best I could do was this piece of 32 count lambswool, which is a little bit on the beigy side for my preference, but at least it was in hand.  Here's a look at progress so far.

I just had to have a shot of the cool scissor fob I'm enjoying while working on this piece!  When Halley was in high school, she took a jewelry making class as an art credit and went through a phase of manufacturing scissors fobs for my stitching group.  There is still an impressive collection of them lingering around with my stitching stuff.  I thought this one has a an interesting Gulf of Mexico feel to it, with its mix of shell, silver and sea glass.  Isn't it funny how the little things really are what makes this sort of project so much fun?

Here's a close up of the motifs so far.

Gotta love that brazen mermaid!  Since this was taken, I've pulled the bright yellow center of the sun out and am in the process of restitching it in the same sandy white color I've got in mind for the ship sails.  To my eye, there wasn't quite enough contrast between the yellows I used, which made the center look a little lemony.  I'm hoping the lighter center will pull it all together once the ship sails do go in. We'll see.  This is one of those "it's the journey, not the destination" projects, so as it gets underway, I'm just going to let the motifs tell me what color they really want to be, even if it means second guessing color choices from time to time.

But speaking of destination pieces, the end is getting real with Jean Rattray!  Here's a look at the finished grove of trees and the right hand flower urn.

2 more major additions to it, and she's done!  Another of these needs to go on the left of the trees.

You'll also notice that empty space between the forest ground and the top of the border band needs to be filled.  That'll be another solid slog, but I'm hoping if it's the very last step before completion, I'll be motivated to get 'er done.  I may also work my initials and the year into the sides of that spot, as they'll be unobtrusive there and might also break up the monotony.  Seeing as I started Jean as a New Year's piece, an easy goal will be to have her done by the upcoming holidays.  I'm planning to take her back up as soon as some of the honeymoon romance with the Atocha piece wears thin.

 

A few posts back, I shared some pics of a beautifully finished cigar box I was given.  Since then. the idea of finishing one for myself has been a bug in my brain.  So that's another project underway now, though stitching on it has been relegated to later in the evenings.  Progress so far:

Adam and Even are taken from the Goode Huswife's Sarah Seifer.  When they're done, they'll be mounted on the inside of the cigar box lid.  The bottom of the box will be lined with the fabric.   Just describing it makes me want to get busy, because it's really not a huge undertaking!  Anyway, I'll share progress as it evolves.

 

So that brings me up to date with all my stitching launches.  Thanks for stopping by - I'll be sure to return the visit!

The Fruit of Your Labor

Here's how we celebrate Labor Day at our house.....

The flag is hung out front.

 

 

Late summer  - in all it's heat, humidity and tropical lushness  - abounds.

 

 

 

 





Pulled pork, corn on the cob and watermelon for dinner...

...and a new stitching project underway!

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope you are enjoying the fruits of your labor.