Friday, May 1, 2015

Catching Up

My thanks to everyone who wrote me such nice emails & made such nice comments on my last blog post.  I haven't had the chance to respond to anyone yet.  Please be patient with me.

John & I have been busy getting the house ready to sell.  The almost constant rains these past few weeks have really put us behind on outside work as well as having people come to make needed repairs.  It seems we are in for a bit of a dry spell for the next 10 days so we are scrambling around trying to get all that work scheduled & done before the rains come again.

One thing about the rains ... everything is so green & growing beautifully.  Even our willow bushes, which we were sure were dead, have sprung to life.

I haven't posted any finishes for the longest time. I kind of lost my stitching mojo in mid February ... I really don't know why ... but prior to that I had completed three designs.  Carol of Stitching Dreams inspired me to stitch this first design.  I had actually put it into my no-longer-want stash pile because I decided it was bigger than I liked. When I saw that Carol had stitched it on 40 ct to make it into an ornament, I retrieved it from the pile & began stitching.  Who would have thought to do such a thing?  Well, Carol would have thought it!  I'm so dense sometimes ... lol!

      Designer:  New York Dreamer
Design:  Frosty Night
Fabric:  I believe this is Examplar or Light Examplar
Floss:  Can't remember

I really should take notes while I'm stitching something so I can accurately tell people what I used.  I know I changed the red color as the original leaned more toward pink.  

I love this next design.  The Little Stitcher has so many great designs.  It was a fun stitch   : )   
Designer:  The Little Stitcher
Design:  Little Red Bird
Fabric:  I believe this is Examplar or Light Examplar
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

I stitched this next one but am not really thrilled with it.  I used the suggested fabric but changed the floss, not taking into account that it might not look so good with the fabric.  It also turned out much larger than I anticipated, & I didn't like stitching with 2 strands.  I don't know what will become of it.
Designer:  With My Needle
Design:  A Needleworker's Pocket from
2003 JCSCO
Fabric:  32 ct Light Mocha
Floss:  Gloriana Silk Black Cherry

You might remember that in February someone sent me an RAK from my Wish List.  I had loved this design for a long time but could never find it being sold anywhere.  I plan to stitch it again ... maybe on a smaller count.  Maybe a few of them! I stitched this last month during a time of frustration with "that" pair of socks.  I just had to put them down & work on something else.  This was it.  Thank you once again, whoever gifted this to me   : )  
 Designer:  primitivebettys
Design:  My Favorite Kitten Pinkeep
Fabric:  30 ct Old Salem linen by The Primitive Hare
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Of course I have to finish this into a kitten shape. I wish me luck on that ... lol!  When I do get it finished, it will be a little commemoration of Sophie.  I will place it with the paw print heart our vet sent to us.  Now that I'm thinking of it, I probably should have changed the date to either the year she was born or the year she passed away. 

When I lost my stitching mojo I began knitting socks.  It has been a wild ride but I did finish two pair & have another pair on my needles.  The socks  shown below haven't been blocked yet.  I just put them on sock blockers to take photos of them.  I'm not too happy with how either pair turned out, but I can wear them & it's a learning game so I am cutting myself some slack   : )   The first pair are knitted from a sport weight yarn. They will be warm & toasty.  The second pair are knitted from regular fingering weight (sock) yarn.
  
So I guess that's it as far as catching up goes   : ) I've been having good eBay sales for my no-longer-want cross stitch stash, & yesterday I went through my stash a third time & pulled out even more things to sell.  I've also listed rug braiding stuff (still need to take photos of the wool strips), & I have some yarn, knitting tools, & primitive doll/ornament/decor patterns still to list. eBay only lets you list 50 things for free each month, so after I get that number listed over the next couple days I'll get to have a break until June. Of course I'm wishing that my break will be longer because we'll be busy packing to move to an unknown destination because our house will have been sold.  Wouldn't that be wonderful   : ) 

17 comments:

Vicki said...

Your finishes all look great and I love, love, LOVE the socks!! They are so colorful and look so comfortable. Hope you get all of your home projects taken care of and can list your home soon. I'm excited to see where you decide to move to.

Mii Stitch said...

Congratulations on all your wonderful stitchy finishes :)

Robin in Virginia said...

What fabulous finishes you shared, Shirlee! I really like the cross stitch finishes; you had me with bird and snow! I think your socks look great.

Best wishes on getting the house ready for sale and destashing!

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend!

Robin in Virginia

Vickie said...

Yes! It would be wonderful indeed! Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin. Just saying.
Frosty Night is so adorable!
I thought of Sophie right away with the kitten pinkeep.

Angela Tucker said...

Your stitching is beautiful! The red of that cardinal is perfect. I must admit, I am jealous of your socks. LOL I am a want-to-be knitter and really love to see other's projects. I tried a sweater...once. It took me five years and was WAY out of style when I finished.

Linda said...

Congrats on all of the great finishes Shirlee.

Linda

Kaisievic said...

Hi Shirlee, Gorgeous Christmas ornies, as always. Your socks look gorgeous to me - really beautifully knitted. Good luck with getting the house ready for sale.

butterfly said...

Wonderful stitching , and your socks are amazing
love the colours.

Sarah in Stitches said...

Beautiful stitching! Congrats on all those finishes. I'm in awe of your socks! :D

Sally said...

So happy to see you've been stitching. Your finishes are beautiful.

Your socks are amazing! Really must try one day. I've had a kit for God knows how long but am too chicken to try!

Good luck with selling your house. Keeping my fingers crossed that it happens for you this time.

KimM said...

Your stitching is so nice - thank you for sharing. I can't imagine how much work you must be doing getting your house ready to sell. But I know you will be so glad when it's done.
xxx

Michelle said...

Oh my lovely stitching Shirlee and the socks are wonderful xx

Anonymous said...

great stitching and great socks!
good luck with the move and the de-stash!

The Inspired Stitcher said...

I enjoyed seeing your stitching and your socks. Am I the only one who finds it funny that they call it "fingering" weight when it's meant for socks that go on feet? Winks.

Carol said...

Looks like you've got a bird theme going in this years ornament stitching, Shirlee--they are all so darling. I do love that first one--glad you saved it from the "will not stitch" pile :)

Your socks are gorgeous--wow!! I love those bright colors.

Best of luck with getting the house prepared to put on the market--hopefully, this time it will sell quickly :) Enjoy the nice weather (it's pouring rain here today).

Annette-California said...

Congrats on all your beautiful finishes Shirlee! They are wonderful. I need to jump in and stitch Christmas ornies! And your knitted socks are = GORGEOUS!!!
love Annette

Julie said...

Lovely stitching and super sock knitting.