Tuesday, October 30, 2018

The Road to Hell

Paved with good intentions it is.  I miss blogging, I really do, but ever since leaving the Devil's Playground my life has been, well, you really don't want to know.  And then there's Blogger which continues to provide utter confusion in the best of times.  I was always able to monitor my comments, choosing whether or not to publish them.  Now they just show up despite the fact that my monitor thingy is checked.  Argh!

I was aware that I haven't posted any photos of my finishes for a while, but I was surprised to see that I haven't posted any finishes or even talked about my projects since April!  I will remedy that now.  Grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy, and here we go   : )

I will intro this first one by saying that I had more problems with it than you can imagine!  I don't know how many times I frogged bits and started again.  And stitching the autumn part of the design was a special kind of crazy because despite carefully counting not once, not twice, but three times to make sure I started in the right spot, I started it one stitch too far to the right of the summer part and didn't realize it until I was preparing to start the leaves and acorns at the bottom.  I had to frog the whole of autumn and begin once more.  The finish was well worth it but I don't ever want that to happen again   : )

   Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  4 Seasons
Fabric:  32 ct Amber linen
Floss:  WDW as suggested by designer

I changed up this next one just a wee bit.  It called for Mill Hill buttons to be used for the pine tree at the top and the birdhouse at the bottom.  I just designed my own tree and birdhouse to stitch.  It also called for turkey stitches to be used for the ends of the scarves and chain stitches for the mitten strings.  I used straight stitches for the ends of the scarves and a 2-strand back stitch for the mitten strings.  And here's a fun fact … there are 74 individual Smyrna stitch snowflakes in this design   : )
Designer:  The Drawn Thread
Design:  Generosity
Fabric:  32 ct Lambswool linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Nothing to add to this next one   : )
Designer:  Prairie Schooler
Design:  Winter Sampler
Fabric:  32 ct sage jobelan
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

On to ornaments!
 Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  Flora McSample's 2014 Stockings -
Unto You Is Born; Silent Night; Reindeer Sampler
Fabric:  32 ct Lambswool linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  Flora McSample Treats - Hark
Fabric:  32 ct Lambswool linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  Flora McSample 2015 -
Love Came Down; Deck the Halls;
Joy to the World
Fabric:  32 ct Lambswool linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  Flora McSample 2013 -
ABChristmas; Noel; Twas the Night
Fabric:  32 ct Lambswool linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Little House Needleworks
Design:  Pear Tree
Fabric:  32 ct Vintage Light Examplar linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Little House Needleworks
Design:  Six Little Cardinals
Fabric:  30 ct Cocoa linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Little House Needleworks
Design:  Hot Cocoa
Fabric:  28 ct mystery linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Country Cottage Needleworks
Design:  Let Us Adore Him
Fabric:  32 ct Amber linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer
except for church which is the
suggested WDW White Lightning

Designer:  Little House Needleworks
Design:  All Is Calm
Fabric:  32 ct Amber linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Little House Needleworks
Design:  Frosty Flakes
Fabric:  30 ct Straw linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer
(still need to add beads)

Designer:  The Trilogy
Design:  Cheer
Fabric:  32 ct mystery linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  My Favorite Time
Fabric:  32 ct Summer Khaki linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  Tiny Tidings XIX -
Jingle Jingle and Snow Bird
Fabric:  28 ct Amber linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Deign:  Flora McSample 2011 Ornaments -
Peace and Joy
Fabric:  28 ct Milk Chocolate linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  Tiny Tidings XXII -
Merry Christmas and Snow House
Fabric:  32 ct Light Mocha linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

Designer:  Lizzie Kate
Design:  Tiny Tidings XI -
Merry Chris-Mouse
Fabric:  32 ct natural linen
Floss:  DMC as suggested by designer

There are a couple missing I think, but otherwise this is it.  I will need to look into finishing possibilities for the ornaments.  Since Myra, the queen of finishing, had to give it up, and after having so many ornaments ruined by someone else, I'm thinking I might give finishing a try myself.  Not this year though.  Since I literally can't take more than two steps without tripping over a bunch of boxes or other clutter strewn around here, and I am still operating with hardly any furniture, it's a bit difficult to set up a sewing machine, cut fabric, etc.  Hopefully things will turn around for us in the new year. 

Thanks for visiting with me!

14 comments:

Linda said...

Congrats on all of the absolutely stunning finishes Shirlee. I am very impressed with your beautiful stitching.

Linda

marly said...

No wonder you haven't been blogging. You've been too busy stitching! Thanks for listing the info with each, really helpful.

Beth said...

Welcome back to Blogland. So many wonderful finishes. PS winter stitch is especially lovely.

Vickie said...

Oh my goodness! So many fabulous ones! I love, love, love them!! Just wait til you finish them. Your tree will be so loaded with cross stitch. AWESOME!

gracie said...

Wow....wonderful stitching.

Marilyn said...

Good to hear from you Shirlee!!!
You have a bunch of great finishes!
I love Generosity, love the soft colors.
You take care, and I hope you have a better year next year.
Happy Halloween!!
Marilyn

Kathy C said...

Wow...you have been busy stitching. Lovey stitching. I can't imagine tearing out that much stitching...I would have pulled my hair out.

Robin in Virginia said...

Shirlee, I enjoyed reading and seeing a recap of what you have been stitching on since April. Your ornaments look great as do the larger pieces. You are in my thoughts and prayers; here's hoping life settles down for you.

Vicki said...

Great to hear from you, Shirlee!! All of your finishes are gorgeous - you have certainly been busy this year. So many great designs - I can't even pick a favorite one, they're all cute.

Kay said...

Oh my, you have been busy. So many gorgeous stitches, but my favourites have to be the stockings. x

ricketyjo said...

What beautiful pieces! It's made me really happy to sit and look through all these lovely project photos, thank you for sharing them!

Pam in IL said...

I love seeing all your wonderful stitching!

I haven't been reading blogs much lately so I looked back through your previous posts. When I was stitching for clients, I never used knots, but now that I'm stitching for myself or gifts, I have relaxed that a bit. If the only solution is to use a knot, I use a tiny knot and don't worry about it. I don't think my knots are any more bulky than running the thread under other stitches. When I frame a piece, I usually have interfacing on the back of the piece and a thin felt between the stitched piece and the mounting board.

Did you get an answer on your linen question? I know I have used pieces of linen that I have no idea of the direction of the fabric weave and have not noticed any issues of using it one way or the other.

I had the blogger email problem and someone suggested on Marly's blog to go into blogger, click on settings, click on email. Remove the email address and save. Go back into settings, then click on email and enter your email address back in, then save. This worked for me.

Kaisievic said...

Wow! Shirlee, these are all so stunning! Too many gorgeous ones to choose a favourite. You have been very busy since April. Love, love, love them all. Wishing you a very merry Christmas season.

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

Wow, you have been on a Lizzie Kate kick and no mistake! Love the four seasons despite the trouble it gave you. Also love the collection of tiny stockings.