A Flurry of Activities ...

Hi everyone ... Happy July!

We have had a flurry of activities in our family over the past two months ... all good! ... all happy! ... our daughter, Jill,  graduated from college with a degree in meteorology and a minor in communications, and within weeks accepted a position as a broadcast meteorologist  at a television station in northern West Virginia. She has been on the air for about three weeks now. Her colleagues have all been very welcoming and supportive, the community is a good mix of established and new development, and she is relatively close to home (yay!) ...  she's happy and excited  ... all and all it seems to be a great start to her career!

Here are just a few photos from graduation ...




 

























Needless to say, we are very proud of her and are excited to see her begin to 'live her dream'.



While we were in the process of moving Jill she asked if I had finished stitching the "Sabrina" (from Miribilia) that I had started a couple of years ago. She thought it would be perfect for her new apartment ... she somewhat surprised me with that, but, of course, I was happy to dig her out of my WIP basket and start working on her again.

Here is how Miss Sabrina looks to date ...

When I returned to stitching about 25 years ago, I stitched "Lavendar & Lace" and "Miribilia" designs almost exclusively. But more recently my interest has turned to reproduction samplers and it's been awhile since I have stitched a L & L or Miribilia ... whew! I've forgotten how elaborate and detailed they are. I think I have only about 1/3 of her gown completed ... and have not even started the beading yet!!! But I am thrilled Jill wants her for her new apartment! She mentioned there are a couple more of the 'glamour ladies' from Miribilia that might be nice too... hmmm, it just may be time for Jill to learn to stitch! :)

So that's what I've been up to! Thank you for taking a minute to stop by and visit. Hope you are enjoying your summer!

God Bless,
Lanie  xxoo

Today is her 100th Birthday ...

Today my grandmother would have turned 100 ...

She loved playing cards and taught all of her grandchildren how to play various games; whenever she was visiting there was always a card game in progress ... she loved coffee and would drink it all day long, adding more coffee and milk to the same cup she had started first thing in the morning ... she also loved Tanqueray gin and tonics with a twist of lime  ...  and Pirate baseball; she would listen to the games on a small transistor radio that crackled with static ... she loved Christmas and died on Christmas day 22 years ago ... 'Silent Night' was her favorite Christmas song and every year when I hear that song I feel surrounded by her love ... she loved God and taught us about His goodness and the importance of  having faith in Him by how she lived her life ... most of all she loved her family and was so proud of each of us.

She was still living when our oldest daughter, Jill was born ... her 5th great-grandchild ... but died before we were blessed with Kelly, our younger daughter. However, one day when Kelly was about 3 or 4 years old, out of the blue she proclaimed that she had met "GG" in heaven. "GG picked me out of all the babies in heaven and asked God to send me to you and daddy" she told me. Tears just fell from my eyes ... to Kelly that story was the absolute truth ... I love the sentiment of that story and see so much of my grandmother in both of our girls.

I have so many sweet memories of my Gram ... I loved spending time with her and to this day I still feel her presence. She passed the love of needwork on to me and taught me to cross stitch. No one else in the family stitches and so stitching is the little piece of my Gram that I claim for myself.

I started stitching Scarlet Letter's MARY BAILEY  the beginning of this month. I love the big, red family house; I love the angels; I love the flower motifs; I know I will love stitching her. Miss Mary will be stitched to honor my Gram's 100th birthday.

Thank you, Gram, for the sweet memories  but most importantly, thank you for the unconditional love you gave to all of us ... Happy 100th  Birthday! ... I love you!

Scarlet Letter's 'MARY BAILEY'  (my adaptation from the reproduction)
Fabric: 40 count 'Lambswool' Linen from The Scarlet Letter
Fibers: AVAS silks

Finally ... Finally ... Finally!

SARAH HARVEY 1737 is now complete! She took a little longer than anticipated, but here she is ... ready for her closeup!

Scarlet Letter's 'SARAH HARVEY 1737' (an adaptation of the reproduction)
Fabric: 40 count 'Lambswool' Linen from the Scarlet Letter
Fibers: AVAS silks

 

Not really sure what was going on with our relationship, but we were continuously plagued by little, silly, and frustrating moments. Nothing serious ... the relationship was never in jeopardy of ending ... but I can say I am very happy to have made it through to the end ... Whew!  She's now on her way to the very talented hands of Jill Rensel and company for framing ... can't wait to see what magic they work up for her!

 

Moving on, I'm going to try and work on two projects simultaneously ... never been successful at that before ... but I'm going to give it a good try. I've already started a bit on Scarlet Letter's MARY BAILEY 1818 (I'll share the progress in my next post), and have just ordered the silks for Scarlet Letter's THE HUNTSMAN. Don't know yet if I'll put them on a schedule or just stitch what is calling to me.

 

Here in western Pennsylvania USA we had delightful Spring weather this past weekend with lots of sunshine and temps in the high 70's ... things are a changing' today ... winds with cold rain/wet snow are quickly bringing Spring to a halt! ... we might even reach a record low tonight! ... arrrrgghh ... I'm afraid my sweet daffodils and the blossoms on my magnolia tree will be shriveled brown buds by morning ... arrrrgghhh and arrrggghhh! And to top it off ... complainin' ain't going to change a thing!

 

So that's about all for now. As always, thank you for stopping by for a visit ... I love hearing from you!

 

Until next time ...

 

God Bless,

Lanie   xxoo



Hoodie Hoo Day!

OK ... maybe it's just a Pittsburgh, PA thing ... but it was reported on the news this morning that today is "Hoodie Hoo Day!"

 

So here's what you do to participate/celebrate ... at Noon stand outside and wave your arms around while proclaiming "Hoodie Hoo" ... my friends we do this to bring on Spring! And let me tell you, I don't care how silly, at Noon you know where I will be! In fact, at this point I will do just about anything to bring on Spring!

So ... HOODIE HOO!

 

 

Aside from planning my Hoodie Hoo Party, I've been busy working on my

Sarah Harvey ... I'm hoping to have her completed by the end of February, but that is only a week away and there is still much to be done so I'm going to have to stay motivated!

 

Scarlet Letter's SARAH HARVEY
Fabric: 40ct. 'Lambswool' linen from The Scarlet Letter
Fibers: AVAS
 

 



 

I love these patchwork birds ... a little quirky ... but they have captivated me and in the last couple of weeks I have not touched the eyelet alphabet section soooo ... lots of eyelets still need to be stitched!

 

The foliage and the birds will all be outlined with small stem stitches ... as I mentioned in my previous post, I really like the subtle effect this gives. The birds get outlined in the same dark green as the border. It seems a bit dark to me so I think I'll just do one bird and think on it for a day or two ... might have to adjust that color ... we'll see!

 

 

That's about it for today ... let me say it just one more time ... Hoodie Hoo! ... ok that's enough! ;)

 

Thank you for stopping by ... have a great day ... and happy stitching!

 

God Bless,

Lanie  xxoo

Hello! ... what's new?

Hi everyone ... Happy Friday!

Dare I ask ... how is everyone in the Midwestern, Southern,  and Eastern parts of the US holding up? Arrrggghhh this winter weather!!   Will it be Spring soon?!!!  It has been so bad that I'm even tired of complaining about it!

 

And how about Super Bowl fever? ... do you have any of that?  I'm really just a so-so fan of football, but the Super Bowl is always fun. I especially look forward to all the commercials produced for the game. Always my favorite ... the Budweiser ads ... and this year's does not disappoint. Have you seen the preview yet? I've seen previews on a few of the morning shows and my girls found it on YouTube. Definitely puts a smile on your face! Well done, Budweiser! :)

 

I have been doing a lot of stitching ... one good thing about this weather! And as I sat to write this blog post, I realized I have not introduced you to my latest project. Her name is 'Sarah Harvey', she is another sampler from The Scarlet Letter.

 

When I first started with her, I fussed a little about her color palette and tried to brighten her up a bit, but after several attempts realized the colors as charted really were what suited her best ... even if a few were not on my 'favorites' list. And after spending some time with her, I have grown fond of her quirky charm!

 

The stitching is pretty much straight cross stitch over two with the exception of the large alphabet that I am now stitching ... that section is stitched with eyelets over 4.

  

The other area that is different and uses a technique I am not familiar with is the very bottom section. I have just a wee bit started.

 

 

 

This entire section is first stitched in cross stitch over 2 and then the details are outlined with stem stitch. Can you see the detail in the photo? ... I have the top cluster of leaves completed. It creates a subtle effect ... although it does give the areas a little dimension and softens the edges slightly.

 

 

I like it ... I'm just not 100% sure I am executing the technique properly. So if you have some experience with this technique, I'd love to hear any of your secrets/helpful hints.

 

That's pretty much all that is new with me ... just stitchin' stitchin' stitchin'! Hope you all are well! Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Until next time ...

 

God Bless,

Lanie   xxoo

'It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ...'

Hello everyone! Three more days ... three ...!!!

I've shopped for gifts, I've wrapped gifts, I've baked cookies, I've decorated the tree and the house ... inside and out, I've been to the market (a couple of times!) for preparations for Christmas dinner, our girls are home from college for a nice long break, and now I'm ready to sit and enjoy! I hope you're ready too.

Just a few hours ago I finally finished stitching a small gift for my sister ... I was almost finished with it early last week when as I was hurrying to complete a few errands, I fell on a patch of ice ... my feet just went out from under me ... and I landed hard on my behind. **Ouch**Ouch**Ouch**!   In addition to a sore tailbone, I also bruised/sprained/did something to the middle finger on my stitching hand! It's still a little swollen and still a little stiff, but after a few of days of ibuprofen, I was at least able to hold my stitching needle again and muddle my way through to finish the gift ... arrrrggghh ... winter weather!

But it's now finished ... Prairie Schooler's 2010 Santa ... with a few changes!

I like him ... and I think he looks quite charming hanging around my house!! My sister enjoys cross-country skiing ... I hope she likes him too!

So that's it ... 'Cross-Country Skiing Santa' ... the last gift to be wrapped.

Wishing everyone a Christmas season full of peace and love, may we all be blessed in the New Year! I'll end this post with the photo from our annual Christmas card ... two of my greatest blessings ... our daughters!

Merry Christmas!



Lanie   xxoo

An Ending and A New Beginning ...

Hello all ... happy Monday!

Well that post title is a little dramatic isn't it?! ... but I do have a finished project and a new project to share with you.

I finished MARION ROBERTSON 1834 a few weeks ago and have sent her off to
Jill Rensel's Studio for framing ...

Scarlet Letter's Marion Robertson 1834
Fabric: 40 count 'Sandstone' linen from Scarlet Letter
Fibers: AVAS silks

 

Miss Marion was delightful to stitch and I can't wait to see what framing magic Jill and Amber come up with for her!

My new project is another Scarlet Letter sampler ... MARIA IGNACIA OLIVERA




She is a Mexican sampler originally stitched c.1850. The motifs used are mostly European but the bright color palette is greatly influenced by the Chinese silks and finished goods from the Orient that were widely traded commodities in New Spain.

With her lovely colors and a few 'new-to-me' stitches, I think she is going to be great fun to stitch!

 

So December is the month of busy, busy, busy ... but I do hope we all find a few moments to relax with our stitching.

 

Until next time ...

 

God Bless!

Lanie   xxoo