Weekly update March 27, 2022

Hi Everyone, 

I'm a little late posting. Taxes and cleanup of our yard has kept me busy.
This month's theme is birds & berries.

Stitching:

Finish # 9
March Exchange from the Facebook Group: International Cross Stitch Pen Pals
Theme: π or pie
Challenge: Variegated floss

Pumpkin PI ( π ) Design by Jennifer Rodriguez of Always Time to Stitch
published in the Just Cross Stitch Special Halloween Issue 2018
Fabric:28ct queens anne lace
Threads: DMC, GAST
Stitch Count: 33 x 30, 2 over 2
Cross Stitch, Back Stitch, Running Stitch

Finished as a bottle apron....
front

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the exchange I sent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My partner sent me a few things for the 

February exchange

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the March exchange...

 

 

 

 

 

 

close up of her pie stitch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finish # 10

Buono Pasqua © 2019 Madam Chantilly
Fabric: 40ct Colour & Cotton Limestone
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count:69 x 57, 1 over 2
Cross Stitch


 

 

 

 

Started Easter Babies Berry (Bonus Chart: Stand Alone Chick) ©2020 Erica Michaels Designs
Fabric: 32ct Opal White Wichelt
Threads:DMC, WDW
Stitch Count: 50 x 64, 1 over 2  (instead of 28ct 1 over 1)
Cross Stitch


 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Stash:

Crazy Annies Exclusive Annie Beez Folk Art : 12 days of Christmas Stocking Club - March

Spring is here... our first robin!

Until my next update,
Have a wonderful week!
Lisa M.

September 2018 embracing my inner geek

Hello everyone,
Time has gotten away from me this month. The weather has changed and we've seen some lovely sights.I thought I'd get more stitching done and most of this months sharing completely finished but I've been enjoying the good weather (and some pretty bad allergies).

When I saw this chart I had a good laugh and knew that I had to stitch it up

Pumpkin PI ( π ) Design by Jennifer Rodriguez of Always Time to Stitch
published in the Just Cross Stitch Special Halloween Issue 2018
Fabric:28ct queens anne lace
Threads: DMC, GAST
Stitch Count: 33 x 30, 2 over 2
Cross Stitch, Back Stitch, Running Stitch
This is a gift for my housemate from college (also an engineer) as I know she'll get a good laugh from it as well.









A fellow stitcher kindly gifted me with this Bent Creek snappers chart.

September Brings © 2003 Bent Creek
Fabric: 32ct Lambswool evenweave
Threads: GAST & WDW
Stitch Count:50 x 50, 2 over 2
Cross Stitch, Long Stitch

I couldn't find theWDW Dark Chocolate called for - I did have it in GAST. Maybe a chart error? DMC Colors are listed and my GAST was close enough to be a match.

I forgot that I still had a bit of water in my iron...ugh the red  colorfast bled...so I tried the ice cube method and the red bleeding came out- but the green started to bleed. ugh...But lots of ice later...it's okay! I was rushing and for no real reason...this wasn't going to be a gift...I really should have taken my time.. guess the heat got to me and I didn't think - LOL!

I've been waiting for my subscription- Just cross stitch ornament magazine -before starting my exchange piece in case I decide I like something else for my partner... Mid month and it still isn't here.. The Christmas Ornament Exchange is coming up soon - so I started my partners ornament and the next day it showed up!

So more stitching is done...(almost finished) just can't share yet as it's a surprise.. will share the exchange in November.









Not enough progress on anything else for this month... hopefully next month will be better.

Stash: Silver Needle A Little Help from our friends stitching Circle (Samplers Not Forgotten) and
Then I was surfing on the internet and found a few charts on sale -

Scarlet House Salem Hill Sampler
and
Heartstring Samplery Winter Snow Stocking

 Heartstring Samplery Stars & Strips Forever Stocking
and
Chessie & Me Autumn Blessings

JBW Alphabet Owl














DH & I had to travel south to run some errands for my parents and we finally had a bit of extra time so he stopped at Hobby Lobby. I've only managed to schedule a quick visit one other time so it was a nice treat. I did find a few treasures...mostly some charms and crystals for finishing.. and a package of delightful pumpkin shaped jingle bells...  Now where are my fall patterns? I also found a couple of bookmark kits.


I won a delightful chart from a fellow stitcher's giveaway. Kustom Krafts Snowy Wolf. Thinking of doing over 1 on 28ct. I hope to start it as soon as I finish my exchange.


The bears have been pretty active. Our neighbor has seen a female, large male, and a female with 2 cubs on his trail cameras between our houses. We had some broken branches on our apple trees so it's a pretty good bet the the bears were hungry.

The deer have been busily eating the crab apples. We've seen  a doe several times with her 2 spotted fawns..  we thought one of them got hit as we've only seen the one fawn until the the past few days when we saw 2 again...so it must be 2 separate does that are about the same size.. one with twins and another one with just this one.

The fawns aren't the only deer we've seen.. This buck has been coming by daily... neighbor says there are two eating at our back apple trees... But on this day he was joined by a flock of 22 turkeys.

 more turkeys







Took my 10yr old Jeep in for servicing and found out that about 1/2 the lug nuts were frozen and needed to be replaced.... brakes were worn- need replacing (no surprise)...and the original muffler/tailpipe has seen better days...(What did I expect after 10 years?) So they ordered the brakes and I went back the next week. I will take care of the rest in November when I get the inspection done.

More repairs: this time plumbing repairs - our bath sink trap was leaking and the joint was disintegrating. I don't know why I was looking in that vanity as it is not our primary but so glad I caught it before it made a mess.

Dad's leg edema has flared up so he had some extra appointments to make sure no infection sets in. Still having an issue but it's going to take time to heal.

Mom also had to see the specialist and have x-rays. Her ankle is rolling on her and it's continuing to bother her.. nothing broken- just a ligament/tendon issue and flat feet.

 I'm still getting used to the shorter days. I don't seem to be looking for dusk at the right time.. but every few days I remember to look at the right time and  I was lucky enough to see some beautiful sunsets. 

We're still missing the pitter-patter (okay the loud thump- thump) of Samantha and Bucky - and we've started talking about looking at the shelters for another rescue after DH has his eye surgery.

Until next time,
Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.

September - October 2017 update Happy Owl-ween

Hi everyone,
It's been busy here... September flew by and now we are nearing the end of October.

The grapes turned,
The pool is closed for the season,
The wood is stacked,
The sand- salt barrels are filled,and
The waxwings and robins have eaten most of the berries on our mountain ash trees.
But enough about some of the fall chores...I still found the time for a bit of stitching.

This little treasure was in my freebies binder that I got with an online order. Such a fun quick little stitch  - although I misread the chart...There were 2 symbols similar a dash and a bold dash... well I was quite far along before I noticed that I still hadn't used the GAST Nutmeg.... hmmmm
Anyhow, I thought it looked nice using the GAST Brandy for both symbols so I left it and continued on to finish.

Owl on an Egg © Bent Creek
Fabric: 28ct Flax
Threads: GAST, WDW
Stitch Count: 28 x 54, 2 over 2
Cross Stitch

Here is Gone Batty © Design by Christy Schmitz, published in the 2016 Halloween Issue of Just Cross Stitch
 Fabric: 28ct Antique White Lugana
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count: 11 x 105, 2 over 2
Cross Stitch
I have some ribbon (black & white chevron) that I will use to try to turn this into a bookmark

 I continued my beading projects...First Up -

Pointsettia and Holly Berry © 2003 Deb Moffett-Hall
Miyuki Delica Beads
Black Nymo thread
Bead Count: 22 columns x 83 rows







One of my Etsy purchases was for this lovely autumn bracelet cuff - I love this design so much! Fall is my favorite season and when I saw the birch trees I knew I had to make this. Since I'm not much of a jewelry person, I plan to coat it with acrylic floor wax and use it as a bookmark.My Mom saw it as I was finishing and it looks like I'll be making one for her as well.

"Autumn" Pattern by Diushes found at Etsy here
Miyuki Delica Beads
Natural Silamide thread
Bead Count: 40 columns x 100 rows





I also stitched and finished my Christmas exchange and got it mailed out a few days ago. Hope to share that with you next month.

Earlier this month was our 19 year wedding anniversary - Dad had a scheduled Dr. visit that day- but I got home in time to cook us a nice meal.

New Stash:
Silver needle Circle of Friends Kit by SamSarah Designs and

Just Nan Autumn mouse in a house series.

I ordered some of the sulky 12wt from Amazon... fall and Christmas favorites... can't wait to try them out!







Samantha went to the vet at the end of September for her routine nail trim and clip, and to drain the cyst on her neck as it was filling with fluid again. She was also treated for pink eye and a problem with two of  her paws - the tissue was a bit unhealthy looking... so she was on an antibiotic for 14 days. She is doing much better now.
A few days ago, she slipped while going upstairs...she never made a sound...we thought the worst... but after a few minutes she got up fine and climbed the stairs...just to be sure,  she went another checkup...nothing hurt...we aren't sure what caused it but it was a scary afternoon /evening for us - especially since it was exactly 1 year since we lost her brother.

Dad had another flare up in late August - though late October:  Leg edema; discoloration  and skin sloughing...first round of antibiotics did not help much...and it was difficult for him to walk. He's feeling a bit better now. Since he & Mom couldn't go out to celebrate their 56 year wedding anniversary, I made them a dinner and dessert and brought it over to them.

Power outages have been fairly regular... and the last one brought this visitor up to our back door... on the way to the apple trees.












It's rainy today but I'm sure the snow isn't too far off. Still have some fall chores to get done, but I'll save them for later in the week when it's nicer outside. 
Until next time,

I'll leave you with this view.

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.

June & July 2017 update

Hello everyone,

I missed last month's update so decided to combine the two here.
I started out the June with this lovely freebie - and thought I'd stitch it over one since it was all whole cross stitches. I couldn't find my 28ct black...so I dug out a small snippet of 32ct.I plan to finish this as a small scissor fob.

American Pride © 2017 The Nebby Needle
Fabric: 32ct Black Belfast
Threads:WDW
Stitch Count:26 x27, 1 over 1
Cross Stitch









Next I received my August 2017 issue of Just Cross stitch in the mail... and since it has the Annual Christmas Ornament Preview, I had to take a look... and then since I was just about done with my over one stitching, I opted to do this easy one -

Blue Santa Drop Ornament © Design by Lee Fisher of Stitchyfish Designs
Fabric: 14ct Starlite Silver Aida
Threads:DMC
Stitch Count:82 x 21, 2 over 1
Cross Stitch, Straight Stitch.
I actually had to begin this twice as I cut the fabric piece the wrong size at first- I forgot about the template shape.Now I'm just waiting for my trims to arrive so I can finish this. I ordered some Estaz colors to try out.







Beginning of July our almost 4 year old propane range had a problem. Luckily the cook top was still functioning and no gas problem. So we dug out the paperwork and found we had 2 months left on the warrantee. Took about 10 days for repair  to come- then parts had to be ordered- parts were back-ordered. Repair was scheduled for the day after the parts arrived.  It it so nice to finally have my oven / broiler again. I was so tired of slow cooker /microwave meals.

Mom had her cataract surgery left eye mid-July. Follow- ups scheduled for one day, one week, and one month. 

While waiting during Mom's surgery, I dug out this kit from my purse - it will make a cute bookmark for a child.

Frog Kit 4125 © Needlemagic, Inc
14ct white  Aida
yarn included
Stitch Count: 25 x 26, 1 over 1
Cross Stitch, Back stitch


  oops my flash must have been off.







Dad continues to heal - He had to have more circulation tests done early July - but the technician didn't know why as they were done 2 months prior at a different facility - maybe it was misfiled?

I finished this project that I mentioned a few months ago.

Wee Spring © 1996 Heart in Hand (Cecilia Turner Needle Artist) part of the wee one series
Fabric: 32ct Desert Sand
Threads: GAST, Wisper
Stitch Count: 68 x68, 2 over 2
Cross Stitch, Back Stitch, Eyelet Stitch










I also stitched up:

Love bits: Love Baseball © Hinzeit

Fabric: 28ct antique white
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count: 31 x 41, 2over 2
Cross Stitch, Back Stitch
I contacted the designer in early June, but still haven't heard back as there were a few mistakes in the chart (mostly with the baseball). Hopefully she'll post the corrections soon. 








I did manage to get one more patriotic chart stitched up - this was a quick one.

Celebration Flags Freedom CF-6 © Frony Ritter Designs
Fabric: 28ct antique white
Threads: DMC, Kreinik#4
Stitch Count: 43 x 43, 2over 2
Cross Stitch, Back Stitch









My HAED is coming along... hopefully I'll have enough done to post another picture soon.

New Stash:I took advantage of the flash sale at Heaven and Earth designs. I added Mini Quiet Reflection (Lisa Parker), Mini Guidance (Lisa Parker), Mini Spirit of the Pack (Dona Gelsinger), Mini Blue Moon (David Penfound Artworks), and Mini The Curse of the Dragonfly (Chris Ortega)

I had planned to order some fabric during the Picture This Plus Sale - but that was the day I had to take Mom for her surgery follow up and then she needed to do some shopping. So later this month I'll pick out the colors I want for some of my HAEDs... I still have to narrow it down- but so far I'm thing about Crystal Alchemy or maybe Jay for the Mini Quiet Reflection, Vedlt for Mini Last Look, Crystal pewter for Mini Frozen Hearts, Twilight for Mini Curse of the Dragonfly, Nocturne or Jay for Mini Night Unseen.

I'm looking for a leaflet #2077 published  1994 by Just Cross stitch called Wild Kingdom Bookmarks.  Please contact me if you have it available for sale.










Samantha: had a nice visit at the vet... routine nail trim, hygienic clip, blood work for her liver and her rabies shot. Her liver function has improved!

Last month she brought in a treasure.. DH noticed it around 3am... he saw a bright light on the living room floor. At first he thought it was on of my craft things that blew off the table near the window... but no... it wasn't mine. I wondered why Samantha came down the hallway and laid just outside the bedroom.. Can you guess? Yep, she brought in a firefly. and she was scared cause the room was so bright with all the blinking. LOL!. We rescued it and put it back outside. So when I saw the Cross eyed Cricket freebie Summer in a jar, I knew that I had to order the firefly buttons so I could stitch this up.  Hopefully it will stay on top of my to-do pile!

Until next time -
I'll leave you with these lovely visitors,

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa M.

May Stitching from Stash check in

Hello everyone,
It's time for my monthly check in for the Stitch from stash 2015-A hosted by Mel at Epic Stitching.

Month: May 2015
Budget Amount: $25.00
Spent: $13.49 (Just Nan Bluebird Tweet)
Earned: $4.00 (nutkin Mitten) + $ 2.00 (Star card) + $4.00 (baseball bookmark) = $10.00
Carry Forward: $25.00 - $13.49 spent +$10.00 earned + $126.00 carried from last month =$147.51

This was another busy month. Dad is healing - but slowly so that meant weekly trips to the surgeon's office as well as his other medical appointments.  His sutures and staples were removed this past week.

I've been trying to spend as much time as possible outside at our house as well as at Mom & Dad's doing necessary yard work. It was a long winter - and we even had another frost a few days ago. It hit our blooming azaleas and peonies but luckily the apple trees and crabapples seem to have escaped the damage.

My brother came up from Florida for a surprise visit. (Well - actually it was a surprise for Mom (and Dad) as he wanted to see her for her birthday and Mother's Day). We knew he was coming for a few months.

We had a visitor to our bird feeders a few weeks ago. It was so nice to see the splash of color from this indigo bunting. (we normally only see blue jays and the occasional eastern bluebird).

That inspired my purchase for the month. This lovely Just Nan Bluebird design.















So with this busy month, I still managed to get some stitching done.

First up is  this freebie that I got in the mail.
Nutkin Mitten © 2014 The Cricket Collection
Fabric: 28ct Spruce Green Pastel Cashel Linen
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count: 42 x 43, 2 over 2
Cross stitch * contains fractional stitches, backstitch, French knot

Next I picked up my Just Cross Stitch Magazine that arrived in the mail and chose to bring along a project to several of Dad's appointments.
Hardanger Card Duo- Star Card by Roz Watnemo published in the June 2015 Issue of Just Cross Stitch
Fabric: 28ct antique white lugana
Thread: Caron Wildflowers (I didn't have any black iris on hand... but I did have some Appalachia)
Stitch Count: 82 x 18, 1 over varies
Horizontal and vertical Satin stitch, lazy daisy, backstitch, woven bars
It will be finished as a bookmark when I get the chance to cut and fold some card stock.

Another project I worked on in various waiting rooms was this lovely bookmark pattern that I found in 501 Cross Stitch Designs by Sam Hawkins for American School of Needlework, Inc. © 1993
Fabric: 18ct ivory Aida
Threads: DMC
Stitch Count: 61 x 21, 2 over 1
Cross stitch, backstitch
Somewhere I have some home plate eyelets and baseball brads that I will use to embellish this when finishing it.

Lastly, I filled my quiet days with a little of this Heaven and Earth Design.
HAED 2012 BB SAL SK Forbidden Doorway Chart Design by Michele Sayetta Artwork by Meredith Dillman
Fabric: 28ct Picture this Plus Opal Moonglow
Threads: DMC & Kreinik #4
Stitch Count: 75 x 291, 1 over 1, full cross

At last count I had finished 14535 stitches, now she is at 15750! So close - I really hope to finish this one up soon as I have at least three more that have been calling for me to start them.

That's it for now.
Until next time - Have many wonderful days!
Lisa

Fall is here

Hello everyone and welcome new followers.
Sorry about the time between posts.Things are finally starting to get back to normal. Fall arrived earlier this week - we had frost a few mornings.But then we had summer come back with the high heat and humidity for a few days. Today was back to more comfortable weather.

Our hummingbirds have left. The bluejays are back. The leaves are starting to change color... and some of them are already falling. The birds have been flying into the mountain ash trees to gobble up the frosted berries. This year we have lots of crab apples. The turkeys have returned. It won't be long before we get to see them fly up in the tree to shake the crab apples to the ground. The deer have already been around our apple trees and the wild apple trees.

Our flooring arrived - but it wasn't what we ordered. Somehow the truck got loaded with the wrong item. We finally got the correct flooring yesterday. Today I spent finishing all the touch-ups on the ceiling molding. Tomorrow my Dad will come over to help with the hardwood flooring.

Last week, I turned on our oven to make dinner and smelled the propane additive. The valve had a slow leak that had been there for some time. Since it was an older stove that had already been repaired for the same problem in the past, we decided to replace the stove. Since we have a grill it wasn't that much of an inconvenience to wait the week for the delivery truck to arrive.


I haven't had much spare time-  but I did manage to dig a project out of my finishing basket .Since it seemed to large for an ornament, I turned it into a stitcher wallet.

From the September /October 2011 Issue of Just Cross Stitch 
Witchy Kitty ©Michelle Lash of Brittercup Designs
Fabric: 28ct Silkweaver BOO! Cashel Linen
Threads: Weeks, Gast and DMC instead of the called for Crescent Colors
JABCO Button
Stitch Count: 66 x 66

 Inside...


 I signed up for a fall exchange - I picked out my project - so that's what I'll be stitching  this week. I'll try to get another finish ready for next week.

Have a wonderful day!
Lisa