January Finishes, RAKs, & Thanks a Lot Vonna!!!

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

Psalm 19:1

I took this photo from my front porch one morning about 2 weeks ago, looking over to the east of our property.  I did not enhance it at all.  It's funny that just a little before noticing this sunrise, I was reading a book & Psalm 19:1 was mentioned.  It's neat when things happen like that   : )

I caught up on blog reading this morning & decided I had better post my January finishes before I blinked my eyes & March was here!

You might remember this first design.  I actually started it in early December but then set it aside so I could stitch a few more gift items.  It is my first finish of 2014.  You might notice that I left off the black back stitching around the snowmen.  I thought it looked okay in the magazine photo, but when I did it in real life I just wasn't happy with it.  

   Designer:  Dames of the Needle

Design:  Windy Night from

2013 JCS Christmas Ornaments magazine

Fabric:  As suggested by designer

Floss:  As suggested by designer

I really love this next design & stitched 2 of them for exchanges in 2012 & 2013.  This one is mine come hell or high water   : )

Designer:  The Sampler Girl

Design:  Good Tidings to You from

2011 JCS Christmas Ornaments magazine

Fabric:  40 ct Newcastle natural linen

Floss:  DMC

I made just a small change on this next ornament.  Instead of using Colonial knots for eyes, I used 2 black seed beads.  I would have gone ahead & driven myself crazy with the Colonial knots, but since I have enough tries & fails making them with regular floss, I didn't dare want to put myself through trying to make them using silk ... lol!  Also, the design calls for a small heart button stitched to the snowshepherd's chest.  I'll need to hunt around for one of those.  

 Designer:  SamSarah Design Studio Inc.

Design:  Holy Night from

2013 JCS Christmas Ornaments magazine

Fabric:  As suggested by designer

Floss:  As suggested by designer

 

Do you notice the strange light stripes framing both the Holy Night & Windy Night designs?  I can't say this for sure, but I wonder if this was maybe caused by my Q-Snap clamps being snapped on & off the designs at each sitting???  I used padding underneath them though, so it really doesn't make sense for the clamps to have done this.  Any thoughts?

 

You might want to sit down for this next finish because I not only changed a color, I changed the design!!!  First off, the designer suggested DMC 918, Red Copper DK, for the snowman's scarf & mittens & for the tree's planting pot.  It was more rust than red.  I just didnt' like it, so I changed it to DMC 3777, whatever that color name is.  I also didn't care for the gold stripe on his top hat so I stitched that with 3777 as well.  I kept looking at that big red planting pot with the gold bow & decided I really didn't care for that coloring either.  I asked Mr. Color Sense for his suggestion.  His response was "I'd hate that pot & bow no matter what color they were!  Why not just make the tree standing in some snow?"  Well, I decided that was a good idea, so I just lengthened the tree trunk a bit & stitched some snow.  It's not the best arrangement of snow I could have done, but I'm happy with it   : )

Designer:  Little House Needleworks

Design:  He's A Flake

Fabric:  As suggested by designer

Floss:  As suggested by designer

except I changed DMC 918 to DMC 3777

As I started working on this next design, John took a look at the model photo & said "I hope you're not going to put that bow on there!"  I decided at this point to keep model photos away from John for fear of him wanting me to redesign everything I choose to stitch!  The bow, by the way, was part of the finish.  I don't see anything wrong with it.  By next Christmas I'm sure he'll forget all about it, & if my illustrious finisher decides to finish the ornament with such a bow, he will probably indicate how wonderful it is.  Men!  Incidentally, it took me ... no kidding ... about 2 hours to make those 2 Colonial knot eyes.  It was 2 hours of making an eye, taking it out, making it again, taking it out again, over & over & over.  I actually decided to give up at one point & use seed beads, but the beads I had were too big.  I finally got the knots to where I was happy with them.  I'm too much of a perfectionist for my own good sometimes   : (

 Designer:  Country Cottage Needleworks

Design:  Snow Birds from

2013 JCS Christmas Ornaments magazine

Fabric:  As suggested by designer

Floss:  As suggested by designer

 

I would have finished this next design except I ran into a snag.  There is a planting pot ... an urn really ... that has this branch coming out of it upon which the bird is sitting, & the designer wants it stitched with WDW Peach.  The WDW Peach used in the model photo looks fine, but the skein I have in my collection is rather poorly dyed.  It has about 6" of dark peach, then it suddenly changes to about 6" of light pink, then back & forth like that again & again.  It just doesn't look good at all.  I tried all the conversions that I have.  They all fall flat.  If you have any ideas for a color I can try instead, please let me know   : )

Designer:  With Thy Needle & Thread

Design:  Snow Bird

Fabric:  As suggested by designer

Floss:  As suggested by designer ... thus far

I'm working on another ornament now which should be  finished in another couple days.  Not bad considering where I was last year at this time & how it put me off stitching for 7 weeks.  You can learn what prompted those 7 weeks of stitchlessness by clicking here.

 

Last week I received 2 wonderful RAKs in the mail!!!  The first was from my dear friend Lisa ... this wonderful My Big Toe design, He Holds Tomorrow, & the WDW threads with which to stitch it!  Gorgeous colors, by the way   : )  Thank you again Lisa ... I'm really looking forward to stitching this!

And KimM gifted me with the most wonderful scissor fob that she made using beautiful blue beads & a wonderful snowflake charm!!!  It's an absolutely perfect design for me   : )   I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm a sucker for scissor fobs!  Thank you again Kim, for your kindness & thoughtfulness!  I really love this!!!

You are probably wondering what I'm thanking Vonna for.  Last week she made the following post ... A Stitching Story ... wherein she described her stitching areas & her love for her Vera Bradley Kiss & Make-up clutch which she uses as a stitching tote.  Well, you know I'm the first to admit how easily influenced I am.  I immediately made my way over to eBay & ordered one ... & here it is!  As I said in my comment to Vonna on that post, yes ... I'm pathetic   : )

Vonna also influenced me to purchase a Lizzie*Kate kit called A Little Snow.  That one is still in my 123 Stitch cart   : )

I may as well share another purchase with you.  This is what I bought from The Silver Needle's New Year's Eve sale.

I know you really can't see much of anything here, but there's the Ultra-Slim Magnifying Lamp by the Daylight Company, & that round thing on the white box on the right is the base for my candle screen frame which is used for LHN's Warm Winter Woolens design.  I couldn't get it back in the box with the rest of the frame after I took it out.  I've had the design in my stash for maybe 2 years now but haven't stitched it as I've been waiting to get the frame.  Here's a photo if you're not familiar with the design. 

Okay ... back to The Silver Needle.  I thought the balloon tissue paper wrapping some of my order was a really special touch, especially considering how swamped they no doubt were with orders at the time!  Not only that, but they sent me two thank-you gifts for placing my order!  One was a little wooden needle keeper box, & the other was a set of 6 Limited Edition GAST threads!

You are probably thinking "tell us what was wrapped in that balloon tissue paper!"  Well, there were 10 little wooden hornbooks (perfect to use for an ornament design I have), some tapestry threaders, an extra bulb for magnifying light, & the following charts:

Country Cottage Needleworks

Snowman Trio

Plum Street Samplers

Wintertide Friends

Heartstring Samplery

Three Little Proverbs

With My Needle

Cherished Workes

Sheepish Designs

Betsy

Needless to say, I haven't joined the Stitch From Stash group this year   : )

Since I'm still feeling rather out of it since being sick last month, I saw my doctor on Wednesday & am now taking antibiotics for a sinus infection.  John isn't feeling quite right yet either.  He called his doctor on Thursday & they told him to come in the following day, so yesterday we headed off to Louisville.  He didn't receive any medication ... his doctor just told him that this illness that's been going around this year takes a while to get over & he should be fine in a couple weeks.  I get a little perturbed with his doctor ... she never seems to think anything is anything, if you know what I mean.  I guess this is the difference between a doctor who works for the Veterans Administration & one who works in private practice.

 

By the way, my no-reply status should not be a problem any longer.  If you notice me showing up as no-reply again when I comment on your blogs, please do let me know.  

 

Well, this has been a lengthy post, hasn't it   : )   I have more photos to show you ... & more stash acquisitions if I am so inclined ... but I will save all that for another day.  John's birthday is on Monday.  He wants to go out for an Italian dinner but that's the only plan for now.  For the remainder of this weekend, I think I will just stitch & eat   : )

Evil Blogger

I really don't want to post anything negative, but I have come to believe that Blogger is the devil.  I have not been able to delete blogs from my reading list for several months now.  A follower informed me today that when I leave a comment on her blog, I'm showing up as a no-reply blogger.  I can only assume this is happening when I leave comments on other blogs as well.  When I went to my profile to fix this, nothing has changed ... I am still showing that people can respond to my comments using my email address.  As if this isn't enough, I tried leaving a comment on one of my own posts in order to see if I would show up as a no-reply blogger on my own blog.  What happens instead is my comment posts immediately to my blog even though I have "always" checked for moderation purposes.  

I don't know what to do about this.  Of course you can't contact anyone at Blogger.  I've left questions on their forum in the past without any help at all. I've just searched to see if I can switch my entire blog over to some other blog hosting site without losing my past 2-1/2 years' worth of postings, photos & comments.  Apparently not   : (

Any ideas?

His Unfailing Love

"Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy & be glad all our days."

Psalm 90:14

God sent me a sign of His unfailing love for me this morning!

Here is a view out back.

Snow!  Wonderful, marvelous, glorious snow!  What a wonderful gift from Him!  I took these photos at about 9 a.m.  It's 1:30 now & there really isn't much grass showing anymore   : )   I was so thrilled when I woke up this morning & saw it snowing that I turned my recliner around while I had my morning study & prayer time!  

Can you see Sophie there in the recliner, looking outside so intently?  Here's what she's so interested in!  Male & female cardinals, chickadees, Gregory Peck-er (our Red-bellied woodpecker), Robert Downy Jr. Jr. (our Downy woodpecker), finches, & sparrows.  Unfortunately the titmice & mourning doves were camera shy.  I guess they thought they were having a bad feathers day   : )

 

I am feeling much better ... I'd say about 95 percent   : )   I'd like to say thank you once again to everyone who sent me good wishes & prayers ... they were very much appreciated!  I've accomplished some stitching during my down time & lately I've been trying to do a little bit of putting away/decluttering/reorganization each day. Christmas is still here a little bit.  The stitched ornaments are still hanging on the tree which John & I continue to light it up each night.  There are still a few decorations on tables or counters, & I'm sure anyone passing by the house at night or in the early morning wonders why the pine tree in the front yard is still lit with Christmas lights. They're not lit in this photo I took earlier, but you can see that they're still there   : )

I guess I'll spend the rest of this week putting away the remainder of the decorations ... sigh!  Well, per my Christmas countdown counter today there are only 337 days until next Christmas   : )

While I was putting away a few decorations the other day, Sophie decided to help me by flopping herself down on the papers I was using to wrap some things.  

It looks like I have many signs of God's unfailing love for me today ... snow, birds, returning health, & a helpful kitty!  I am very blessed indeed   : )  

I have much to share with you on the stitching front, the stashing front, & a last bit of Christmas. I will do that, or at least a part of it, next time.

Wishing you a day filled with joy!

He Keeps A-Knockin' But He Can't Come In

First of all, I want to thank all of you who left such kind comments on my post yesterday regarding your concern for my health & offering your prayers.  I am not feeling up to answering everyone individually & hope you will understand me not being able to do so.  This illness, whatever it is, really hangs on!  I usually toss off a cold or the flu pretty quickly, but not this time.  I read blogs while making cups of tea but haven't felt up to commenting on any.  Again I hope you will understand.  As of this morning I am, I think, feeling a tad better.  I managed to do a bit of stitching yesterday but mostly I slept a lot.  Sleeping is probably a good thing to do.

Thank you again for your prayers & concern.  I really appreciate them.   

Two Old Friends

Two of my old friends, DayQuil & NyQuil, have come to visit me this week.  They actually arrived last week to visit my husband, then decided to stay on & spend some time with me.  That was nice of them beings that I'm sick & all   : (   John actually came down with a terrible cold last week.  I avoided him as much as possible but his pesky little germs found me anyway.  I keep opening my eyes each morning thinking I'll surely feel better today, but then I get up & the room spins & my nose runs & I hack up a lung.  I'm drinking lots of fluids & trying to stitch but can't count how many times I've had to frog my current project which is something I haven't shared with you yet.  I did finish stitching my Dames of the Needle ornament with the exception of the back stitching.  Even I know better than to try to tackle back stitching when I'm feeling like this. It's almost like this cold is attacking my brain cells.  I actually wrote an email to Marly yesterday asking her if she used the colors suggested by the designer for the Heartstring Samplery Christmas Band Sampler she posted or did she use some other colors.  She was rather confused ... was I talking about the freebie she posted?  I didn't think the band sampler was a freebie design.  It was then that I realized it wasn't even her blog where I saw the sampler posted!!!  Yep, the brain cells are at dangerously low levels indeed! 

Time for me to crawl back to my recliner & sip some tea.  Hopefully I will be a picture of health when I visit with you again.    

Hacked Again!

If you received an email from me ... it went to a group of stitchers ... with a link included, delete it right away & definitely do not click the link!   I don't know if it's Yahoo or what, but I've been hacked again   : (  

To Hoop/Q-Snap/Scroll Frame, or Not to Hoop/Q-Snap/Scroll Frame

That is the question.  I  have been having a bit of a dilemma regarding my stitching as of late & have faced this dilemma from time to time in the past.  My dilemma doesn't actually concern the stitching itself as much as it does the hoop, Q-Snap, or scroll frame I am using.  I don't use hoops.  Never liked them.  I have various sizes of Q-Snaps which I have been using for all my projects but they can present many a problem.  I always cut a larger piece of fabric than I need for a design in order to make it fit securely into the Q-Snap.  This often results in quite a bit of fabric waste.  Also, the Q-Snap clips do not always hold the fabric tightly enough so I am continually twisting them in order to keep the fabric taut.  The clips can also squash & distort the stitches if you need to move your fabric around.  This can be remedied by putting a piece of quilt batting between the fabric & the clips, but then you have the problem of little bits of batting fluff coming loose & being caught in the stitches. The clips themselves can also damage your fabric if you aren't careful, & attempting to press out the corner wrinkles left by them can be impossible.  (I do not leave my fabric in my Q-Snaps when I'm not stitching so this does not contribute to the wrinkling problem.)  I had a scroll frame in Stitching Life #1 but sold it after my insane no more cross stitching decision in Stitching Life #2.  I do remember the scroll frame being a bit awkward to use though.  I've never used a frame of any kind with a lap or floor stand.  

I know there are stitchers who don't use any sort of hoop or frame at all ... they just hold the fabric in their hand & joyfully stitch away.  I really like that idea, but how in the world can you keep your stitches even & untwisted & not distort the fabric in any way?