Friday, May 16, 2014

SAL Report, & Kudos to Diane Williams

Last Thursday Sally & I started a new SAL ... LHN's Warm Winter Woolens.

Honestly, what's not to like about this design?  A sheep (a sheep wearing a sweater yet!), snowflakes, & a reference to warm winter woolens.  It's like it was designed solely for me!  Kudos to designer Diane Williams for such a great design   : )

I had a bit of a problem when starting to stitch the design though.  See those white snowflakes at the top?  Diane suggests using CC's Toasted Marshmallow to stitch them. Well, my skein of Toasted Marshmallow had a bit too much toasted color in the mix.  I like my snowflakes to be snow white.  I then started thinking ... Warm Winter Woolens. Wouldn't it be cool to stitch the design using wool floss?  I just happened to have some skeins of Simply Wool in my stash, & I had perfect matches for the CC colors that Diane suggested! Here's my progress from last Thursday & yesterday.  
You may notice that I somehow miscounted & started the design too low on the fabric.  I was afraid I was going to have to frog last week's work & start again, but thankfully there will still be plenty of room left over at the bottom for framing purposes.  I'm using the same fabric as used in the model ... 32 count Vintage Examplar ... which looks rather washed out here, but it's a gray, rainy day so I'll blame the light source.

And speaking of Diane Williams, remember that huge box of cross stitch magazines my husband brought me home from Half-Price Books a few weeks ago?  This magazine issue was included.   
For the Love of Cross Stitch, July 1999.  Inside is an article titled Portrait of a Designer, & guess who the designer is?  Yep, Diane Williams!  Love that sheep sweater Diane   : )
She contributed this delightful design to the magazine   : )
This month I decided to take a wee bit of a break from stitching Christmas ornaments & I started stitching a small Christmas sampler instead.  No photo of that yet, but I'm enjoying the stitch   : )

I'm sure that some of you are wondering if John & I have made a decision yet regarding selling the house.  The answer to that is no. We do have a plan though.  We are collecting estimates for various repairs & remodels that in our opinion must be done if we are going to find any comfort in staying here.  Things like repairing our front entry door, realigning the door going out to the garage, replacing the door leading from the garage to the outside, installing a window, & having some wall storage units built.  There are many other things we'd like to have done which would have to be done little by little as time goes on.  A new kitchen counter top for example, a bathroom remodel, new bathroom floors, a new staircase, maybe knocking down a wall, new trim work, & repainting all the walls.  Although the way these things are now make us want to barf sometimes, they serve their purpose.  We will collect the aforementioned estimates, then make a decision before the end of the month to sell or not to sell.  In all this move/not move confusion, some other stressors have developed as well.  Isn't that just the way things happen sometimes?  But in all of this stress & confusion, I am clinging tightly to this verse from God's Word ...
Your prayers will continue to be appreciated   : )

18 comments:

Robin in Virginia said...

Shirlee, I love your start on the warm woolen mittens piece. Please share what wool fibers you are using. Looking forward to seeing what small Christmas sampler you are working on. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Enjoy your weekend!

Robin in Virginia

Carol said...

Your new start is so pretty, Shirlee! The snowflakes show up very well, too... I have that older LHN chart from the magazine and have always loved it. LHN designs are so comforting to stitch.

Your move/not move plan sounds like a good one. No sense in rushing into it when you don't HAVE to move :) I owe you an email--will try to get to it soon (have worked 4 of the 5 days this week :(

Enjoy your weekend!

Annette-California said...

Beautiful progress on your LHN. The white wool really shows very well.
love Annette

Sarah in Stitches said...

I really hope you come to a decision that makes you most comfortable! It sounds like fixing your current house to make it more habitable would still be a lot cheaper than buying a new house. Oh, and beautiful stitching! :D

Vickie said...

Your stitch is looking great. That was a real neat idea to use the wool. I had to laugh at the old magazine with Diane. I have been wanting to post about my 1988 Just Cross Stitch mag with Marsha from The Scarlet Letter. :)
I am still praying.

stitchersanon said...

A lovely quote: I do wish sometimes he would be a bit more transparent in his will lol. I love the stitching peices...perfectly perfect xx

KimM said...

Your stitching looks so beautiful. I hope you come to a peaceful decision about your home. I will continue to keep you in my prayers.
Fondly,
Kim

butterfly said...

Love the new start on your SAL , looking so lovely.
That is what we are doing we had to think about moving or staying , and looked at what I was looking for and if they would work here and they will .
I hate mess but it will be worth it .
Hold in there Shirlee , hope you have a wonderful weekend big hugs .

Ele said...

I love your new start! so pretty :)

Linda said...

Lovely new start Shirlee. If it were me, I would fix up the house and not move.

Linda

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Love your sweater sheep! Shame about the over-toasted thread but there was a higher purpose to it - it led to the wool conversion.

Diane looks a little like my Mum, or maybe my sister if she had been that age in the 1980s!!

Maggee said...

I had that magazine and stitched that piece! I absolutely love it! and most of LHN pieces! I have LOTS in my stash!! Languishing... You made a great start on your SAL. Working with wool is fun... I did an ornament a few years back for a friend, and each year since, tell myself to make it again for ME, because it was so cute! Praying for you... Hugs!

Chris said...

Lovely new start Shirlee! Isn't it great when you find a design like that in old magazines.
I hope that everything works out well with the house.
Have a great week!!

Robin at The Primitive Hutch said...

What a wonderful stitchin' project ~ great progress on the stitchin' too. Are you going to stitch up the one you found in the magazine too ~ it's so cute!
Happy Stitchin'
Prim Blessings
Robin

Pam in IL said...

How neat that you found an article about Diane. I can truthfully say that I love all of Diane's designs! Your new start is great. I haven't used wool floss before -- how is it to stitch with?

You're always in my thoughts and prayers. I'm sure whatever decision you make about the house will be the best for you & John.

Kaisievic said...

Hi Shirlee, what a good idea to get those estimates. It will help you and John with your decision. Although it sounds to me as if you do know deep down what you want to do already. Love your Warm winter woolens and love the retro of Diane Williams. I love her designs so much.

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

I hate the M word almost as much as I hate the R word :) I'm praying that you reach a decision soon and that the conclusion, no matter what it is, is expediently reached.
God bless!

And I must say, my love for Diane Williams started from being a subscriber to For the Love of Cross Stitch. Joy in the Journey is a fabulous project! And if you have the magazines with the nativity in it...you hit the jackpot!

Sally said...

Love our SAL Shirlee and yours is looking lovely. Must pop an update up of mine soon. Hugs my friend.