Little House NeedleworksTag Archives

Weekend Stitching – Another Finish

Since I’m stuck at home most of the time right now due to a bum knee, I’m getting in some good stitching time. It gives me a much welcome break from studying for finals for school!

After finishing Sunflower Fairy recently, I decided to go through my WIPs and pull out a couple of smaller projects that I thought I could get knocked out before year’s end. Pear Tree is part of the ornament of the month series from Little House Needleworks. We won’t discuss how long ago I started it. All that matters is that it’s finished now. Here is a pic of my finish followed by a close-up view that shows off the beads. As always, click to biggify.

After I finished that piece on Saturday. I pulled out It is Never Too Late from Primrose Needleworks. I love the saying on this piece! It’s a quote from author George Eliot (who was actually a woman in case you didn’t know). I’m thinking of framing it and hanging in my office after I finish it. Anyway, I think I made really good progress on it. Here are pics of before I started stitching on it this weekend followed by the after pic showing how much I got done on it. I hope I can finish it this week as well, but time will tell since I’ve got finals. It would be really nice to mark another WIP off my list.

I also signed up for the WIPocalypse 2012 that Measi is coordinating on her blog. There are lots of familiar faces on the participant list, so it’ll be fun to see how we all fare. I’ll be spending time over the Christmas holiday coming up with my list of projects I want to focus on for the challenge.

I’ve also made some progress in my decision-making for the Mirabilia round robin over at TWRRB (The Worldwide Round Robin Board). Sign-ups closed a few days ago and we ended up with eight stitchers in our group. I’ve decided to use the Pixie Couture collection for my theme. Now that I know exactly how many stitchers will be in the group, I can get more serious about figuring out my exact layout and which of the pixies I want to use for it. Our first mailing date isn’t going to be until late February/early March, so I’ve still got time to sort it out.

Well, that’s it for now. Until next time …

12 December 2011

Cross Stitch

4 comments

Little House Needleworks, Mira RR 2012, Mirabilia, Ornaments, Primrose Needleworks, Round Robin, WIPocalypse 2012

Sunflower Fairy Finish

I finished my Sunflower Fairy a few days ago and I love how she turned out! Here’s a pic of my finish followed by a close-up view of the glitter and bling. As always, click to biggify.

This is a design by Nora Corbett (of Mirabilia) that appeared in the September 2009 issue of Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine. I stitched her on 32-count Copper Penny linen from Wichelt using the recommended Valdani cotton floss. The only change I made was substituting Creamy Peach from Crescent Colors for the skin because the recommended Valdani seemed a bit too fair to me.

I was on a business trip last and got in a bit of stitching time on another Nora Corbett magazine design. This time is was her Halloween Fairy (a.k.a. Trick or Treat Fairy). It’s also from Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine in their September 2008 issue. Here’s my progress thus far on it:

Given I’m on such a Mirabilia/Nora Corbett kick lately, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve signed up for a Mirabilia Round Robin that’s starting up in February. It’s being coordinated through TWRRB (The Worldwide Round Robin Board). It seems like a really great group of stitchers and Kathy is moderating our group which should be fun, too. Now I just have to figure out my theme and layout.

I’m currently work on the Pear Tree ornament from last year’s ornament of the month series by Little House Needleworks. I don’t really have enough done yet to show a progress pic. Since it’s an ornament, you may not see a pic until it’s actually finished. LOL

Well, that’s it from me for now. Until next time …

7 December 2011

Cross Stitch

10 comments

Halloween, Little House Needleworks, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Ornaments, Sunflower Fairy, Woman Challenge

Little House Finishes

It seems I’ve been on a bit of a roll this month finishing up some Little House Needleworks pieces that have been in my WIP pile for a while. I’ve been traveling about half of the month, some for vacation and some for work, so I had some great stitching time sitting in hotels. I guess I need to just perpetually travel to keep myself stitching.

Here are the pieces I finished. As always, click images to biggify.

Design: Acorn Hill by Little House Needleworks
Fabric: 36-count Vintage Maple Sugar by Lakeside Linens
Fibers: Recommended Belle Soie silks stitched 1-over-2
Finished 16 October 2011

Design: Winter Band Sampler by Little House Needleworks
Fabric: 28-count Summer Khaki Lugana
Fibers: Recommended DMC (subbed 321 for 355 except for the house) stitched 2-over-2
Finished 27 October 2011

Both of these designs were part of the 15 projects I selected for the 2011 Crazy UFO/WIP Challenge. After finishing these two projects, that puts me at …. three projects of the 15 completed. I somehow doubt I’ll meet my goal at this point.

Speaking of WIPs, I also came to some startling realizations lately regarding my quantity of stash & UFO/WIP pile. Let’s just say I failed miserably at my 2011 stitching goals thus far, especially the one about no stash spending. I’ll give a full recap of my goals in late December, but to give you an idea of just HOW miserably I failed in the no stash spending department, I spent over $400 on stash in the past month alone. Oops! So, I’m going to try again. I’ve set some new goals & challenges for myself to try and reign things in and get them back under better control. I’ll share more about that in my next post. Since I’ve already shared about them on Facebook, I guess I’m committed to actually following through on them now.

Until next time …

29 October 2011

Cross Stitch

8 comments

2011 Goals, Crazy 2011 UFO Challenge, Finishes, Little House Needleworks

One Cocktail Away

Every year around this time, I begin my quest of finding a new wall calendar for the upcoming year. In most years, this causes me a bit of stress as I don’t generally go for traditional-type calendars. I like something either very artistic or very snarky. Imagine that.

Last year was actually very easy for me. I picked up a really nice one when I was on vacation in Hawai’i last October with Terri and Tracy. It was full of vintage travel poster inspired artwork from artist Kerne Erickson. I have thoroughly enjoyed it throughout the year, and it has often brought back wonderful memories of my vacation.

I have to admit, this year’s selection was also very easy for a change. Those of you who know me well know that I’m a major fan of the work of artist Anne Taintor. If you aren’t familiar with her work, you MUST check it out. Go … now … I’ll wait.

Ok, welcome back. Anyway, I’d never even thought of seeing if she had calendars. Naturally, she does! Once I discovered this, I immediately ordered one which arrived today. I’m just really bummed that I missed out on getting what would have been the perfect holiday card for me to send.

Here is a pic of the cover of the calendar followed by my favorite image. Unfortunately, I won’t get to see it until next December.

I’ve actually been doing a bit of stitching as well. I’m working on the Fa-La-La ornament of the month from Little House Needleworks. It’s stitching up very quickly, so I’m hoping to finish it tomorrow at the monthly all-day stitch at my LNS.

Now, for something completely different. Although, for those who are readers of Missy Ann’s blog, it may well remind you of the weekly manicure pics she used to post. (I miss those, Missy Ann!) I went and got my nails done today.

I just have to say that even after wearing it this color for a couple of years now, Vodka & Caviar by OPI is still my favorite nail color. That is followed closed by their I’m Not Really a Waitress color. I so want one of the Dell laptops in that color.

Speaking of OPI, has anyone tried their new Nicole line? If so, how are they? I noticed them the other day at Target, but didn’t have time to stop and really look at the colors. I want to try and get by there this weekend to check them out more.

Ok, that’s it for now. Until next time …

4 December 2009

Misc., Stitching

6 comments

Anne Taintor, Art, Calendar, Girly-Girl, Kerne Erickson, Little House Needleworks, OPI, Ornaments, WIPs

Autumn Leaves

Contrary to popular belief, we actually do get a bit of Autumn here in southern California. I snapped a few pics of the tree outside my home. By this time next week, I’m sure the last of the leaves will be gone. The first of these photos will satisfy PhotoHunt #177 which was the theme of Orange.

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

Here are a couple of others I took as well:

In stitching new, I’ve been working today on Fa-La-La from Little House Needleworks. It’s the first ornament in Diane’s ornament of the month series that will run until next November.

I’ve signed up for the automatic from Drema at Needlecraft Corner. Her kits include the chart, recommended fabric, and beads. Since they are stitched using the regular DMC line, the fibers aren’t included.

I also picked up a couple of pieces of new fabric from Lauren at Sassy’s Fabbys. If you aren’t familiar with her fabrics, you should definitely check they out. They’re wonderful!

The large tan piece is 36-count linen in her new color called Snickerdoodle. The smaller piece is 32-count Lugana in Witches Brew.

Until next time …

29 November 2009

Photography, Stitching

2 comments

Autumn, Fabric, Little House Needleworks, Ornaments, Photography

Halloween Squares & A Finish

Jeanie in Singapore received the Halloween squares I stitched for her as part of the Fair & Square exchange, so I can share a picture of them now. The design is by Prairie Schooler from their Boo to You chart.

I received my squares from Jeanie last week. She choose a couple of small motifs from San-Man Originals. She did a great job. I think the squares are adorable. Thanks, Jeanie!

I also have another little finish to share. It’s actually a partial finish of an ultimate larger piece. It’s from the Sea to Shining Sea silk thread pack series from Little House Needleworks. The whole piece is made up of five regional squares and a border pack. Since they are each packaged separately, I’m counting each thread pack as a finish. So, here’s the West Coast:

I have one last picture to share before I finish this up. I’m a week late posting it, but here is my monthly photo of my orts jar for the Totally Useless SAL:

I also want to add a note for those of you who are following my weight loss journey. I registered a new domain name for that blog. The new URL is http://www.melgetsfit.com. ~~If you have the old URL bookmarked, it will still continue to work.~~ Edit: Turns out I was wrong, the old URL apparently doesn’t work any longer. It will get you to the site, but the blog entries are no longer displayed. I just ask that if you link that blog elsewhere that you please use the new URL. Thanks!

Ok, that’s it for now. Until next time …