Saturday, June 9, 2012

Four Finishes & A Start

Sounds a bit like a Hugh Grant movie, doesn't it   : )

I thought I would share with you this morning that a few days ago I finished 4 of my stitchings into their final states.  Alas, I can only show you one of them this morning as the others are either gifts or exchanges.  The one I am showing you is something I am actually keeping for myself.  My poor husband has been seeing me stitch this & that for almost a year now but I haven't kept much of anything for myself.  He saw this particular finish sitting on the table & said "I really like that!  Who is that for?"  When I said I was keeping it he actually looked like he was going to cry ... he was so happy!  So ... without further ado, here is my finish!

Design:  Seek Joy In All Things by Stacy Nash
Fabric:  Osnaburg 
Floss:  Suggested DMC stitched 1 over 2
Started:  A while back
Finished:  Recently

I don't keep very detailed records as you can see ... lol!  I'd rather be stitching than in essence punching a time card in order to keep track of the number of hours I put into something.  Besides, if I ever want to stitch something again, seeing that it took me a gazillion hours to do it would definitely be a put off   : )   If the stitching experience was extremely long or extremely bad, I'm sure it would be etched in my mind permanently anyway.  Remember Frosty???  SHUDDER!!!  Anyway, I backed this little cupboard tuck with a lovely 1800s reproduction fabric that matches the color of the house ... not that you'd know that since I didn't take a picture of the back   : (   I also stuffed it with my current favorite stuffing ... dried lavender buds!!!  I just LOVE using dried lavender buds for stuffing!  I don't use it for everything I stitch since it's a rather pricey stuffing but I do love the effect & of course the scent is lovely   : )

I finished stitching the 4 Noel Pinkeeps by Country Rustic Primitives a couple weeks ago (one for me, the others for gifts &/or sales) but they aren't made into pinkeeps yet.  Here is the pattern photo to jog your memory as to what they will look like in the future.
My new start is another CRP design ... Joy Pinkeep.  I made one of these last year for a gift & enjoyed stitching it very much.  It was my first attempt at stitching on osnaburg & I loved it!  I don't know why I love stitching on osnaburg so much but I do   : )   The one I made last year was stuffed with sawdust ... another favorite stuffing of mine.  I'll be stitching 4 of these as well.  My first one is almost completed.  Once again I am showing you the pattern photo.    
I haven't started knitting my mirror covers yet.  I did commit myself to a Shawl-A-Long so I guess I really should take care of that project first.  However, I keep running into roadblocks!  First the needles I bought were too short & then I discovered they were crap as well so I took them back to exchange them.  Got some needles I loved using in the past but also bought a new type to use as well & guess what!  Both types of needles are again too short for the particular shawl pattern I finally settled on making.  No surprise there I guess.  After all, this is my life we're talking about ... lol!  I am going to attempt to start the shawl using the longer of the two needle types I have & see how that goes.  

What is on my agenda for today?  Well, I actually just got up to take a few pictures of my diningroom to shamelessly show you the mess it is in.  God apparently decided that I embarrass myself enough on this blog because my camera told me the battery is dead.  Said battery is now in the charger but charging it will take a while & the plan is to take care of all this clutter starting with the completion of this blog post so what can I say?  Just use your imagination.  Imagining the aftermath of a hurricane or tornado wouldn't be too big a stretch.  I will try not to let the enormity of this task paralyze me before I begin.  

I wish you a happy, productive day!  

12 comments:

Trace4J said...

Love it Shirlee.
Seek JOY in all Things!
Great job.
You have such beautiful stitches.
Have a wonderful weekend Friend.
Trace

www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

Vickie said...

I would not want to give that one away either, it turned out great. Aren't you glad you pushed through that big house? I hope you have a happy, productive day as well.

Janet P said...

Hi Shirlee, what a good idea about a time card, I'm sure we would have a shock when we saw how much time each piece of sewing takes. But at least we have something to show for it at the end, and yours in particular is beautiful.

Kaisievic said...

Gorgeous finish and I am so glad that you are keeping it for yourself. Good luck with the cleaning project today.

marly said...

I LOVE these! I've never stitched on Osnaburg but have a 50 yard bolt ~ think I'll pull it out. You are easily influencing me.

Mouse said...

ooooo well done on your lovely finish and it isn't a race how long something takes you to stitch as long as you enjoy the journey :)

and love the wee pink keeps you are going to finish finish too ...
hope you can get the shawl done .. I admire any one who can knit :)

hope you manage to get your sorting out done and if you need a paw or two just squeak hehehe :)
love mouse xxxx

Carol said...

Congratulations on all of your finishes, Shirlee. I really love the message on the first one so much...

I don't keep track of the hours I spend on my stitching. Just a little notebook with the start and end date, fabric and fibers used, any changes, etc. It's really come in handy when I post on my blog...

Chris said...

Wonderful finishes!!

Mindi said...

Congratulations on all of the finishes. The Stacy Nash piece looks great, very prim.

Siobhán said...

Beautiful finishes!! I had to laugh at your comments about when you started and finished them. LOL I don't keep track, either. I admire people who know it took them so much of this thread and exactly 65.4 hours to stitch something, but I'm never that organized.

butterfly said...

Hello sweet Shirlee, love your stitching your DH made me laugh that is what mine says all the time is this one for us !
Men are so funny, he never takes much notice but when I say where it's going it's oh I like that one.
I just showed him the one you sent me and he loves it smells just wonderful thank you.

TheCrankyCrow said...

Oh....Miss Shirlee - these are absolutely, positively, GORGEOUS!! I couldn't love these designs more. So glad you are treating yourself to some of your beautiful work - and gladder yet that John appreciates. My hubby could care less.... And I do hope you get that Etsy shoppe named and open soon - and you better give me advance notice....I want one some of what I'm seeing!! ;o) Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin (PS - Did I ask you where you purchase your Osnaburg from? If so, did you answer me? Sorry....but that's my brain these days....)