Happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Angels and Demons
Happy Sunday everyone! I've already been for my walk this morning, which I was very glad to do at my favorite neighborhood park. Thankfully, the season change is finally making its way this far south, allowing me to walk outside again without the risk of heat stroke, dehydration or swarms of mosquitoes.
So, first things first - an update on Ann Grimshaw
After our return from Key West, I was so excited about the idea of using the patterns and images from the trip for a new stitching project that I worked like a she-devil on Ann. The good news is that I got these two beautiful motifs in in short order.
The bad new is that i just as quickly used up the last of my lighter skeins of Finnegan's Fog. With our trip and other things going on, I was late getting my order for more in and when I finally did, I was told it would take a month for it to be filled. A full month - really??! But with the order already submitted, I didn't really have much choice but to be patient and find something else to work on. Hhmmmm....
Marly had already captured my attention lately with her Prairie Schooler Santas. And could it have been more than a little coincidence that of all things to find at Publix on a Saturday morning grocery shopping excursion was the 2013 JCS Christmas Ornament edition? I haven't picked one of them up in several years and it's been even longer since I'd found it at the grocery store. I decided it must have been there for a reason....time for me to shake off the ornament finishing demons that have followed me for waaaayyy too long. Funny thing, I didn't find anything in this year's edition that was all that thrilling, but it did prompt me later that evening to get out all my old copies from previous years and have a long browse through them. This Prairie Schooler contribution to the 2005 edition was the result.
I had enough room on the same piece of linen to also add this little guy.
I love his tiny size! He came from this golden Prairie Schooler oldy:
Seeing how the ordered silk for a return to Ann isn't anywhere in sight yet, I think I'm going to keep working on more of the same for awhile. The pear, pineapple, grapes and apple are on the radar next. Seeing as I'll have a week off work around Thanksgiving, I'm planning to dedicate one of those days strictly to finishing - with some patience and skill this time - the end result.
But back to the images from Key West that were such an inspiration. Here's another from our morning visit in the old cemetery - what an image of serenity. Notice the detailing in her collar, perfect for a stitched sampler motif....
Halley captured this one of Molly the other morning, looking not so angelic at all. She's always up to something, the little devil!
So angels, or demons, I hope this finds you ready for the approaching seasons. Thanks for stopping by!
So, first things first - an update on Ann Grimshaw
After our return from Key West, I was so excited about the idea of using the patterns and images from the trip for a new stitching project that I worked like a she-devil on Ann. The good news is that I got these two beautiful motifs in in short order.
The bad new is that i just as quickly used up the last of my lighter skeins of Finnegan's Fog. With our trip and other things going on, I was late getting my order for more in and when I finally did, I was told it would take a month for it to be filled. A full month - really??! But with the order already submitted, I didn't really have much choice but to be patient and find something else to work on. Hhmmmm....
Marly had already captured my attention lately with her Prairie Schooler Santas. And could it have been more than a little coincidence that of all things to find at Publix on a Saturday morning grocery shopping excursion was the 2013 JCS Christmas Ornament edition? I haven't picked one of them up in several years and it's been even longer since I'd found it at the grocery store. I decided it must have been there for a reason....time for me to shake off the ornament finishing demons that have followed me for waaaayyy too long. Funny thing, I didn't find anything in this year's edition that was all that thrilling, but it did prompt me later that evening to get out all my old copies from previous years and have a long browse through them. This Prairie Schooler contribution to the 2005 edition was the result.
I had enough room on the same piece of linen to also add this little guy.
I love his tiny size! He came from this golden Prairie Schooler oldy:
Seeing how the ordered silk for a return to Ann isn't anywhere in sight yet, I think I'm going to keep working on more of the same for awhile. The pear, pineapple, grapes and apple are on the radar next. Seeing as I'll have a week off work around Thanksgiving, I'm planning to dedicate one of those days strictly to finishing - with some patience and skill this time - the end result.
But back to the images from Key West that were such an inspiration. Here's another from our morning visit in the old cemetery - what an image of serenity. Notice the detailing in her collar, perfect for a stitched sampler motif....
Halley captured this one of Molly the other morning, looking not so angelic at all. She's always up to something, the little devil!
So angels, or demons, I hope this finds you ready for the approaching seasons. Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Inspiration
Good morning to you all! Not too much real time stitching has happened since my last post, but so much inspiration for something new has been churning in my head that I just have to put it out there. As always, the place that holds my heart is the source....
Last weekend's visit to Key West was different than most for a number of reasons, but I came home with so much to consider. Rather than spending time exploring the outlying islands and seascapes as we usually do, this trip was devoted to absorbing the details of the old town. After spending so much of my stitching time lately on Ann Grimshaw, the textures, patterns and colors that fill the island were everywhere I looked. For example, this motif from Ann was brought to mind...
... with this bit of porchfront whimsy:
...in the brickwork of the old Customs Building near Mallory Square.
An early morning visit to the Key West Cemetery called to mind similar patterns....
suggested another stitched image.
It was easy to spot a pattern something like the border of this motif....
on the balcony of the Truman House.
...
I even saw this floral circle.....
...inside the lighthouse.
So with the help of Jim's magical photography and a lifetime's gathering of linens and floss, I may just try my hand at fashioning a sampler that borrows color and images from Key West, but design and arrangement from the Quaker school girl style. No set timeline for completion, just another item to add to my stitching bucket list....
Last weekend's visit to Key West was different than most for a number of reasons, but I came home with so much to consider. Rather than spending time exploring the outlying islands and seascapes as we usually do, this trip was devoted to absorbing the details of the old town. After spending so much of my stitching time lately on Ann Grimshaw, the textures, patterns and colors that fill the island were everywhere I looked. For example, this motif from Ann was brought to mind...
It was hard not to spot these eyelet patterns.....
...in the brickwork of the old Customs Building near Mallory Square.
An early morning visit to the Key West Cemetery called to mind similar patterns....
....from Sarah Tatum.
The shadows on an old crypt....
suggested another stitched image.
It was easy to spot a pattern something like the border of this motif....
on the balcony of the Truman House.
...
I even saw this floral circle.....
...inside the lighthouse.
So with the help of Jim's magical photography and a lifetime's gathering of linens and floss, I may just try my hand at fashioning a sampler that borrows color and images from Key West, but design and arrangement from the Quaker school girl style. No set timeline for completion, just another item to add to my stitching bucket list....
Sunday, September 22, 2013
February Dreaming
Hello everyone, hope your Sunday has been good so far! I'm experiencing major "fall envy" with all of you who are sharing your season changes and autumnal stitching projects. September is always the worst down here. I know that everyone living anywhere north of the Georgia-Florida state line is getting out their sweaters, building fires in their fireplaces and noticing a crisp change in the air. At my house though, the ground feels spongy, we have thunderstorms every afternoon and the air conditioning never stops running, Have to keep reminding myself that February will be glorious, but that seems like such a far time off now....
Anyway, I do have a little more progress to share on Ann Grimshaw, which I've focused on almost exclusively since my last posting. Here she is:
Believe it or not, Anne is only about half finished, and I've already gone through more than two skeins of the Finnegan's Fog. I do still have quite a bit of the darker dye lot on hand, but the lighter one is getting smaller and smaller.
I noticed on the Needle in a Haystack website that when purchasing more than one skein of the same silk you can check whether or not you'd like them both from the same dye lot. My first impulse was of course I'd want them that way. But then I starting thinking what a happy coincidence it was that the first three weren't all the same. Maybe I'll take my chances again and just see what they send?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to picking up the pace for the missing motifs that will finish the current row. After it's done I can move into the many alphabets underneath them. It may just be me, but it feels as though them might move a little faster than the stuff on top has.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm counting the minutes until tonight's episode of Breaking Bad. Halley has been watching the show faithfully since it first premiered, but Jim and I have only been mesmerized by it since we signed on for Netflix a few months ago. All summer long we've been trying to catch up and living from one episode to the next. It's really cut into my stitching time, because the show is so compelling I can't just stitch and listen, I have to focus on it completely. Her's a clip of one of my favoorite scenes.
So on that note, I'll say "Adios, Heisenberg!"
Anyway, I do have a little more progress to share on Ann Grimshaw, which I've focused on almost exclusively since my last posting. Here she is:
Believe it or not, Anne is only about half finished, and I've already gone through more than two skeins of the Finnegan's Fog. I do still have quite a bit of the darker dye lot on hand, but the lighter one is getting smaller and smaller.
I noticed on the Needle in a Haystack website that when purchasing more than one skein of the same silk you can check whether or not you'd like them both from the same dye lot. My first impulse was of course I'd want them that way. But then I starting thinking what a happy coincidence it was that the first three weren't all the same. Maybe I'll take my chances again and just see what they send?
Anyway, I'm looking forward to picking up the pace for the missing motifs that will finish the current row. After it's done I can move into the many alphabets underneath them. It may just be me, but it feels as though them might move a little faster than the stuff on top has.
So on that note, I'll say "Adios, Heisenberg!"
Monday, September 2, 2013
....and I Really Should Be Back at School
Hello everyone, and welcome to September! It seems all week the words of that old Rod Stewart song "Maggie May" have been floating in and out of my head, though I really can't keep many of them straight. Still though, that part about "I suppose I should collect my books and head on back to school" seems to suit my stitching as well. After lolling the summer away on my Hemingway version of"Once Upon an Island, I've gathered my thoughts and returned to my school girls, namely Ann Grimshaw and Frances Eden Here's a report on Ann:
She's not so very different from the previous time I posted about her, though I'm excited to see the last motif in the 3rd row coming up very soon. One more row of big motifs and I'll be on to the alphabets!
Ann is such a big girl that I keep her tightly scrolled on the rods most of the time and don't often take a look at her from the top down. It was great fun to unwind her this morning for photos and see how nicely the two different skeins of Finnegan's Fog were contrasting with each other. It was also fun to stitch the eyelet M.
My other schoolgirl is Frances Eden, who's also been a very pleasant traveling companion over the summer..
Again, she's not a great deal different than the last time I posted a pic of her, though the lettering of the verse to this point was added during my week in Little Rock. So far, Frances has been such easy straightforward stitching that I know I could get her finished fairly soon if I could just show her a little love. Why is it the finicky, high-strung , high maintenance pieces are always the ones that draw all my attention? Speaking of which, as I was serenely plucking along on Frances, this little she-devil crossed my mind and I had to at least have a flirtation with her.
This is Hands to Work, one of Tricia Nguyen's exquisite little pieces. Yes, it's 40 count, and yes, it's over one...am I crazy?
Part of the thrill is how perfectly the silk fabric I found suits the stitching. But still, I don't feel very certainly that I'll have enough eyesight, much less sanity, to get it done.
So that's how things are looking for me as of Labor Day. I've loved seeing every one's thoughts shift to autumn on their blogs and in their stitching! If you blink your eyes it will be Christmas. Thanks as always for stopping!
She's not so very different from the previous time I posted about her, though I'm excited to see the last motif in the 3rd row coming up very soon. One more row of big motifs and I'll be on to the alphabets!
Ann is such a big girl that I keep her tightly scrolled on the rods most of the time and don't often take a look at her from the top down. It was great fun to unwind her this morning for photos and see how nicely the two different skeins of Finnegan's Fog were contrasting with each other. It was also fun to stitch the eyelet M.
My other schoolgirl is Frances Eden, who's also been a very pleasant traveling companion over the summer..
Again, she's not a great deal different than the last time I posted a pic of her, though the lettering of the verse to this point was added during my week in Little Rock. So far, Frances has been such easy straightforward stitching that I know I could get her finished fairly soon if I could just show her a little love. Why is it the finicky, high-strung , high maintenance pieces are always the ones that draw all my attention? Speaking of which, as I was serenely plucking along on Frances, this little she-devil crossed my mind and I had to at least have a flirtation with her.
This is Hands to Work, one of Tricia Nguyen's exquisite little pieces. Yes, it's 40 count, and yes, it's over one...am I crazy?
Part of the thrill is how perfectly the silk fabric I found suits the stitching. But still, I don't feel very certainly that I'll have enough eyesight, much less sanity, to get it done.
So that's how things are looking for me as of Labor Day. I've loved seeing every one's thoughts shift to autumn on their blogs and in their stitching! If you blink your eyes it will be Christmas. Thanks as always for stopping!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Hurricane Season
Happy Sunday! The climate in central Florida has most definitely turned tropical since the last time I posted. We have steamy mornings, slippery pavements and regular downpours each afternoon. Every time I catch the local weather forecast I hold my breath for news of developing tropical storms off the coast of Africa. Hurricane season is on its way....
In keeping with this tropical time of year, I do have a finish to show off! Here's the finale for what originated as "Once Upon An Island", but is now referred to as "The Hemingway Sampler":
This piece wrapped up earlier this morning. It was an easy, fun project that broke up the monotony of my more ambitious undertakings, particularly Ann Grimshaw. I especially enjoyed the four little motifs in the corners, each for a different reason.
One of the more charming sites in Key West, is the goats that graze on the sloping sides of the bunkers at the US Naval Base. They elimiate the need for other types of landscaping maintenance and add a certain Caribbean essence to the scenery So do the wild chickens that roam the island. No matter where you are in Key West - atop the lighthouse, strolling the neighborhoods or watching the sunset - you'll always hear them.
No visitor to the Hemingway home leaves without hearing the story of Ernest's love for cats, particularly those with 6 toes. Sailors believed that 6 toed cats were good luck, so they kept them on their ships and traded for them in port. On a small isolated island, the gene pool for them increased quickly, so most cats in KeyWest now have at least 6 toes. I had to give them a place of honor in the bottom left corner of the sampler:
It was great fun figuring this cat out because I tried my best to make him look like good old Mo. See the resemblance?
The crown in the bottom right was a part of the original design. I liked it because it gave the chance to work in a little more of the darker gold color into the border.
All in all, it was a very fun piece, one I'm glad I took the time to play with. Now I have 3 finished samplers in my Florida themed collection!
Oh yes, one last item to share. Am I the only one who finishes with a chart that looks this bad?
You'd think a hurricane had blown right through my stitching spot, wouldn't you? But no, this sadly tattered scrap is the result of stitching on a couch with a very affectionate and rambunctious Molly. She just assumes that if I'm sitting down, it has to be because she 's ready for some attention. As many times as she trounced on this chart, I'm very lucky to have any of it left at all!
So with the end of August fast approaching, I guess it's time to return to other more serious stitching projects like Ann Grimshaw, Frances Eden and Hannah Pepper. I would dearly love to have all 3 of those old ladies safely in retirement by year's end, but it will take some other act of God to make that happen.
Anyway, thanks for stopping in and as always, I love to know what you're thinking!
In keeping with this tropical time of year, I do have a finish to show off! Here's the finale for what originated as "Once Upon An Island", but is now referred to as "The Hemingway Sampler":
This piece wrapped up earlier this morning. It was an easy, fun project that broke up the monotony of my more ambitious undertakings, particularly Ann Grimshaw. I especially enjoyed the four little motifs in the corners, each for a different reason.
One of the more charming sites in Key West, is the goats that graze on the sloping sides of the bunkers at the US Naval Base. They elimiate the need for other types of landscaping maintenance and add a certain Caribbean essence to the scenery So do the wild chickens that roam the island. No matter where you are in Key West - atop the lighthouse, strolling the neighborhoods or watching the sunset - you'll always hear them.
No visitor to the Hemingway home leaves without hearing the story of Ernest's love for cats, particularly those with 6 toes. Sailors believed that 6 toed cats were good luck, so they kept them on their ships and traded for them in port. On a small isolated island, the gene pool for them increased quickly, so most cats in KeyWest now have at least 6 toes. I had to give them a place of honor in the bottom left corner of the sampler:
It was great fun figuring this cat out because I tried my best to make him look like good old Mo. See the resemblance?
The crown in the bottom right was a part of the original design. I liked it because it gave the chance to work in a little more of the darker gold color into the border.
All in all, it was a very fun piece, one I'm glad I took the time to play with. Now I have 3 finished samplers in my Florida themed collection!
Oh yes, one last item to share. Am I the only one who finishes with a chart that looks this bad?
You'd think a hurricane had blown right through my stitching spot, wouldn't you? But no, this sadly tattered scrap is the result of stitching on a couch with a very affectionate and rambunctious Molly. She just assumes that if I'm sitting down, it has to be because she 's ready for some attention. As many times as she trounced on this chart, I'm very lucky to have any of it left at all!
So with the end of August fast approaching, I guess it's time to return to other more serious stitching projects like Ann Grimshaw, Frances Eden and Hannah Pepper. I would dearly love to have all 3 of those old ladies safely in retirement by year's end, but it will take some other act of God to make that happen.
Anyway, thanks for stopping in and as always, I love to know what you're thinking!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Dog Days
Good morning everyone, and welcome to August, the dog days of summer. In keeping with this theme, I thought I'd start off by sharing this short video of my dogs - Ruby and Molly - and how they've been spending their summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve5fhSnHp_0&feature=player_embedded
I love this clip, because it really shows what herding dongs do - they herd other animals. Unfortunately since the girls don't have any sheep of their own to keep together, they spend a lot of time herding each other!
The crazy pace this summer hasn't let up one bit since my last post, so stitching time has been rather hard to come by. However, I have have managed to reproduce a satisfactory replica of the Hemingway home in Key West into "Once Upon an Island" and I'm really quite tickled with the result. If you saw my previous post, you'll remember that this was the actual home......
And this is what I came up with for the sampler:
Not an exact replica, but that's not really what I was going for anyway. Here's the entire piece as of this morning. I'm still debating about what to put in the four corner boxes and a suitable quote for under the scene. In the meantime though, I'm buying some time by getting the border in place. Hopefully once it's done I'll have figured ot the rest of it!
Jim and I had the rare opportunity to take a boat cruise around the southern point of Egmont Key with the local Audubon Society a few weeks ago. This part of the island is a federal bird sanctuary, so visitors are almost always prohibited access to it. July is the height of nesting season for many of the sea birds, including laughing gulls, brown pelicans, sandwich terns and American oystercatchers, all of which find the beaches on Egmont Key the perfect spot for raising their chicks....
No visit to Egmont is complete without appreciating the lighthouse. The boat tour around the nesting grounds was cut a bit short by a sudden rain squall, but the rainbow it produced was worth the change of plans. Start to finish, it was quite a spectacle!
One of the perks of my job is that I do occasionally have the chance for some travel. Because if this, I spent last week in Little Rock and had the chance to spend some time with my sister Judy and her wonderful family. Turns out, Judy is a budding jewelry designer, with quite the eye for beaded color and style. Lunch at the Starving Artist Cafe lead to a stop at a nearby favorite bead shop, where we picked up the beads and supplies for this project.
It was great to have the time with her and to come back with such a special token. Love you, Judy!
So that should bring me about up to the present time, though fast as it's passing, I'm probably alredy behind again. As always, I love your comments, and am so glad you spend a few moments of your dog days here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve5fhSnHp_0&feature=player_embedded
I love this clip, because it really shows what herding dongs do - they herd other animals. Unfortunately since the girls don't have any sheep of their own to keep together, they spend a lot of time herding each other!
The crazy pace this summer hasn't let up one bit since my last post, so stitching time has been rather hard to come by. However, I have have managed to reproduce a satisfactory replica of the Hemingway home in Key West into "Once Upon an Island" and I'm really quite tickled with the result. If you saw my previous post, you'll remember that this was the actual home......
And this is what I came up with for the sampler:
Not an exact replica, but that's not really what I was going for anyway. Here's the entire piece as of this morning. I'm still debating about what to put in the four corner boxes and a suitable quote for under the scene. In the meantime though, I'm buying some time by getting the border in place. Hopefully once it's done I'll have figured ot the rest of it!
Jim and I had the rare opportunity to take a boat cruise around the southern point of Egmont Key with the local Audubon Society a few weeks ago. This part of the island is a federal bird sanctuary, so visitors are almost always prohibited access to it. July is the height of nesting season for many of the sea birds, including laughing gulls, brown pelicans, sandwich terns and American oystercatchers, all of which find the beaches on Egmont Key the perfect spot for raising their chicks....
and doing what seabirds do...
No visit to Egmont is complete without appreciating the lighthouse. The boat tour around the nesting grounds was cut a bit short by a sudden rain squall, but the rainbow it produced was worth the change of plans. Start to finish, it was quite a spectacle!
One of the perks of my job is that I do occasionally have the chance for some travel. Because if this, I spent last week in Little Rock and had the chance to spend some time with my sister Judy and her wonderful family. Turns out, Judy is a budding jewelry designer, with quite the eye for beaded color and style. Lunch at the Starving Artist Cafe lead to a stop at a nearby favorite bead shop, where we picked up the beads and supplies for this project.
It was great to have the time with her and to come back with such a special token. Love you, Judy!
So that should bring me about up to the present time, though fast as it's passing, I'm probably alredy behind again. As always, I love your comments, and am so glad you spend a few moments of your dog days here!
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