A small happy dance

I started this last weekend and finished it today. It is a Sampler Girl design that I stitched using my own colour choices of DMC that I had on hand, from the Jan/Feb issue of Just CrossStitch. I have folded the edges back to show you what it will look like once it is finished into a small pillow. This was a quick fun stitch...just the thing to take to work with me to get a few stitches in at lunch time.

Keep stitching ladies!

Stash Heaven!!!!

I got this in the mail Friday from Traditional Stitches. It is the linen and GAST threads for the Sharon Cohen sampler, plus 2 spools of linen thread and some lovely scented lavender bees wax (it looks like it somehow got melted a bit, but no matter...it will soon have thread marks in it anyway) The parcels sat in the car all day Friday while I was at work...whenever I had a minute to draw breath, I thought about my stash and the coming weekend. I am almost finished with a small sampler and may have a pic to share tomorrow. Keep stitching ladies!

Moms Afghan

This is the afghan mom has been working on since Christmas. There are 64 crocheted squares, all the same...the pattern is formed by the arrangement of them. It is called Chevron Log Cabin. Isn`t it pretty?

This and that....

I have been stitching almost every day lately, but don`t seem to have a lot to show for it! I started a small design by The Sampler Girl called persuasion. It is in the Jan/Feb issue of Just CrossStitch. I am having fun changing the floss colours and the linen...I am using what I have on hand because there is no LNS nearby. I am ordering all my supplies through Traditional Stitches of Calgary, and while I get wonderful service from them, sometimes I just start something on the spur of the moment and can`t wait for thread. I have ordered the fabric and threads for the Sharon Cohen project I mentioned here, as well as some linen thread, thread wax, and Coton a Broder in a few sizes to experiment with doing pulled and drawn work. It was interesting trying to find out about the Coton a Broder...Traditional Stitches has a thread called Broder Special , which I found out was the same thing as Coton a Broder thanks to Mary Corbet of Needle and Thread ...if you haven`t read her blog, you should check it out. She does goldwork and whitework and freehand embroidery...lots of wonderful things!

I have been surfing some this weekend drooling over needlework threads and tools...Lacis is a wonderful site, but due to the shipping and difference in the dollar i`ll save any buying until I am back in the US. I also found a wonderful site with some blackwork freebies called WyrdByrd`s Nest .
There are some wonderful designs there.

Well, back to my needlework. Sorry this is a picture-less post, but I will try to make up for it next time. Keep stitching ladies!

Learning something new?

Given unlimited time and funds, is there a needlework technique you would love to learn? There are so many wonderful types of needlework out there...hardanger, drawn thread, needlelace, bobbin lace, goldwork, whitework...what would you like to try?

I have been reading the Plymoth Plantation blog The Embroiderers' Story , and if I had the time and money for teavelling, I would go to one of the embroidery sessions. I can`t imagine anything more fun than spending time with ladies who love history and needlework as much as I do, learning to do detatched buttonhole (The blue petals) and plaited braid stitch (the gold work you see below). Just look at this flower:

Isn`t it wonderful? Keep stitching ladies!

Aftermath...

Thought you might like a pic of the workshop and the barn in back of our house...after the plowing and shovelling! I used to love snow...

Brrrrrrrr

Another storm! We got a nor`easter...30 cm of snow, and winds in the forcast for tomorrow. Classes for work were even cancelled, and that almost never happens! It has only been a week since the last storm. Thank heavens I didn`t drive home after that one...I got a ride with a guy who was used to driving on snow covered roads...good thing too, as the highway wasn`t even plowed. What a mess!

I did get some stitching in today...I worked on the wolves. It was cozy with the wind howling around the eaves. Not looking forward to the drive in tomorrow though.

Keep stitching ladies!

Dreaming...

I received this pattern in the mail last week from Traditional Stitches. It is the Heirloom Stitching Sampler from The Victoria Sampler, and I LOVE it! The only dissappointment was that it is not charted for DMC as well as the various silks and specialty threads. A pack with the threads, beads and charms is available, but it is $86.95!!! I just refuse to spend that amount of money on specialty silks when DMC would (IMO) look just as nice. I will likely buy the overdyed threads the design calls for and match my DMC threads up to those.

So for now, I am looking and dreaming of having the time to start it. I`m sure once I get my time organized I will be able to make time for my stitching...until then, I am reading and dreaming....

Keep stitching ladies!