Almost there!

I have finished all the cross stitches on Simple Gifts. I have to put in the wedding date above the family and do the backstitching and french knots. Then I have to decide whether to finish as a bell pull or frame it. 

It's still a little wrinkly as I just took it off the q-snaps but I couldn't wait to share.

Simple Gifts by Told In A Garden

Happy Stitching!!

Simple Gifts - 5th block

OMG Guys! I made a huge mistake on the 5th block.

I made a working copy of the pattern and there was a dark line on the copy where the fold in the pattern was located and I thought that was the bottom of the blue frame when I placed the people and now they are placed too low. :(

Simple Gifts by Told In A Garden, Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum

There is supposed to be some grass or bushes under them, but now there is a big space above them and the proportions aren't right. After fussing a bit I had an inspiration to include their wedding date and/or initials over the people. I think that will be sweet because they blended two families on the day they were wed and the people, to me, represent that. 

Since I was moving qsnaps and my husband was available to hold it open for me I took an 'in progress' shot. There is no backstitching or french knots.

Simple Gifts by Told In A Garden, Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum

Happy Stitching!

Haul from A Stitcher's Garden

I dropped my daughter at college in Rochester on August 20th and on my return home I stopped at A Stitcher's Garden located just outside of Syracuse. The store had a large selection, was well laid out by subject and new patterns, and there were lots of beautiful samples. My reception was very warm and welcoming. I felt like I was with old friends in no time. The proprietor was patient and very helpful. If you are ever out that way I think it's definitely worth a stop. 

I had no business buying any more projects. If I'm ever stuck in a winter-long blizzard I'll be all set.

Butterfly Garden by The Drawn Thread

Here is Butterfly Garden from Drawn Thread. There are specialty stitches and it looks like most of the pattern is 1 ply over two threads except for the butterflies which are 1 over 1. I'm very excited to start this project but I still have to find some Threadworx colors that the shop didn't have. I'm stitching it on 32ct Belfast Linen in Platinum which is a little lighter than the "Natural Undyed" the pattern called for, but it's still a warm color. I'm using all silks but there are DMC options for most of the thread.

Where Hearts Rest by Brenda Gervais

Next up is Where Hearts Rest by Brenda Gervais. I had seen this pattern a while back and liked it and was delighted to see it in the shop. It is kitted up as called for in the pattern: 36 count Dubloon by Picture This Plus and a bunch of lovely over dyed threads.

Random Threads by Erica Michaels Needleart Designs

I was very excited to discover this pattern. I have always loved the look of petit point and this is the first time I've ever stumbled across a pattern. It is stitched on 40 count silk gauze. I'm using The Gentle Art: Simply Shaker 'Parchment' and Sampler Threads 'Dark Chocolate' and 'Cinnamon'. I'll let you know how it goes!

Four down and two to go

I've completed the fourth box, excluding back stitching and french knots, for Simple Gifts by Told In A Garden. I've been working on this project since mid-June and I'd like to finish it soon as it's a wedding gift.

4th panel, Simple Gifts by Told In A Garden, Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum

Simple Gifts - Third Block

Quick update. I finished a block, excluding backstitching and french knots, on Simple Gifts by Marylin Leavitt-Imblum. Three blocks complete and three more to go! 

Simple Gifts

by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum

Summertime Stitches

Hi!
It's been ages. I have been stitching almost daily but between my kids being out of school, my home garden, my community garden, visiting mother-in-law in Minnesota and now my mom visiting us it's been difficult to get a quiet minute to share here. Plus....I am working on a wedding gift for a friend so I didn't want her to see any pictures - but she hasn't discovered the blog so I'm going to go ahead and show you what I'm working on.

It's Simple Gifts by Told-In-A-Garden, Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. So far I've finished two of the six panels.

It's a charming little stitch and I'm really enjoying it.

While I've been keeping up with many of you on Facebook groups I am behind on blog reading. I take my daughter to college next week and I hope to catch up with everyone by then.

I hope you are enjoying August!!

XXXXX
Amy

Sunshiny Days

We've had beautiful weather so I've spent a lot of time working on the home garden and in my community garden. I'm not getting lots of stitching done but I have made a little bit of progress on Herbularius after frogging that blue section on the top left. I did lots of confetti in the greens.

Herbularius, part 2, Chatelaine

I've started a slightly different rotation schedule. My goal was to work on Herbularius for 40 hours and then stick another project in at the end of the month until the new month begins. With the busy spring and summer I'd never get to another project so I've started to work on Herbularius for 10 hours and then work on another project in my rotation for 10 hours and then back to Herbularius for ten hours. We'll see how well that works out for me.

I like to keep a simple project next to my bed for evenings when I'm not too tired to stitch. I'm currently working on "Farm Fresh" by Country Cottage Needleworks. It's a charming design and a very easy stitch. 

Farm Fresh by Country Cottage Needleworks

Spring is a lovely time of year and it's very busy in the garden. Still, I've managed to get 10 hours of stitching on Window Garden during the last week of May.

Window Garden by Tiny Modernist as of 5.30.16

Next up in the rotation is Herbularius by Chatelaine. Actually, my goal is to work on Herbularius then a WIP in rotation - then back to Herbularius. Here's my starting point this week.

Herbularius by Chatelaine as of 5.30.16

I had to frog 2 hours of stitching. If you look closely at the top of Herbularius you'll see that I made the right "void" three stitches wide and the left "void" four stitches wide when it should only be three. Sigh.

I'm hoping to get lots of stitching in this weekend. We are expecting  a lot of rain on Sunday so that will keep me out of the garden and give me time to stitch. Fingers crossed.

Needleminder

I forgot to add the needleminder to my haul list from last week. I bought it at Expressions in Needlework.

It makes me laugh ;)

A couple of WIPs

After picking up my daughter last week from college it's just been nuts here. I had to make up the chores I missed while away and take on some of my husband's responsibilities around the house because he hurt his knee while playing softball and is on crutches. Add to that my son's end of school year projects and his high school spring concert we've been busy. And, of course, it's spring here and I've been busy in my home garden and the community garden. So....not a lot of stitching is getting done.

I love working on Herbularius, but I took a little break from it to work on some simple stitching during this hectic time.

Here's my progress on Window Garden by Tiny Modernist. 

Window Garden by Tiny Modernist

I had started this on 16 count Aida but wasn't loving it so I restarted it on 28 count evenweave and I'm much happier with it.

I recently completed Kitchen Gadgets by Tiny Modernist and I have Gnome Sweet Gnome in my stash.

I also worked on Blue Jeans and Daisies by Blue Ribbon Designs. The linen is a little fiddly; it's a very loose weave. 

Blue Jeans and Daisies by Blue Ribbon Designs

Road Trip

College pick up - Road Trip!!

I had to pick up my daughter and all her belongings from college this past week. She goes to Rochester Institute of Technology and it's a looooooong drive from our home on the east end of Long Island. It's 7 hours without traffic - and there's always traffic getting around New York City plus stops along the way and I'm looking at 8-9 hours of travel just to turn around and do it in reverse the next day. It's exhausting. So this time I decided to arrive a day early and spend an additional night at the hotel so I could get a little rest between the trips. And that extra day gave me the perfect opportunity to visit some cross stitch shops!

I put a call out on two of my favorite facebook groups, Stitch Maynia and Cross Stitch and Discuss., for recommended cross stitch stores along my route. The groups came up with four shops depending on my route.

Three hours into my trip I stopped at Deer Hill Farm Cross Stitching. At first, it seems like a little shop, but then Pat, the proprietor, started turning lights on in 3 side rooms and a foyer filled with patterns. Plus there's another room with shelves against all the walss filled with fabric! They have an amazing selection of patterns and fabric and it was totally worth the small detour I had to take.

(BTW, Deer Hill Farm Cross Stitching's correct address is 1225 State Route 9G, Hyde Park, NY. Google maps has the incorrect building number as of 5/17/16)

I was there for at least an hour and a half and Pat was patient, helpful and charming. I am looking forward to going back when I return my daughter to college in the fall.

While there I purchased some antique white jobelan for the rather large piece"Inspiration" by Rosewood Manor.

"Inspiration" by Rosewood Manor

I purchased Ink Circles' Damask Square and kitted it with 32 count Milk Chocolate linen (a little darker than the mushroom that pattern called for) and DMC Variations #4150 called for in the pattern.

Damask Square by Ink Circles

I also purchased Keslyn's Autumn Dew and kitted it with 28 count antique white jobelan, Weeks Dye Works Peach, and The Gentle Art's Pine threads. Autumn Dew is stitched "one over one" so that should be an adventure.

Autumn Dew by Keslyn's

The next morning I was able to head out early to Golden Thread Needlearts in East Rochester. That store is amazing. They have needlepoint, cross stitch and framing. I saw some customer's finished framed pieces and the framing is excellent! The store is quite large and I was a little overwhelmed but eventually left with "Simple Gifts" by Told in A Garden designer Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. I'm planning to do this one as a gift for a friend.

Simple Gifts by Told In A Garden, Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum

I still had some time before I had to be at my daughter's college so I made a trip to Expressions in Needlework in Canandaigua. As instructed I said  "Hi" to Lori, the proprietor. Lori is charming and her shop is welcoming. She carries yarn, needlepoint canvas, and cross stitch patterns. There I found Flower Power by Ink circles and kitted it with 32 count Belfast Linen, ColorScapes Hand-dyed fabric in "Regency" by Picture This Plus, and Weeks Dye Works "Grasshopper" thread.

Flower Power by Ink Circles

I wish the color came out better in this photo. The fabric is a mottled, pale spring green and I think the grasshopper will show up beautifully. I'll try to get a better photo on a sunny day.


And the samples at each shop! It was so enlightening to see samples in real life compared to just the pattern booklets. It was well worth the effort to visit each one.

There was one shop, A Stitcher's Garden in Fayetteville, NY that I wasn't able to visit due to time restrictions, but I'll be sure to stop there on our return in August.

Herbularius, Part 1

Herbularius, Part 1 is complete! Well, except for the beads which I'll do at the end.

Off to start Part 2.

My Primary WIP

I finished the cross stitches and specialty stitches for part 1 of Chatelaine's Herbularius Garden Mandala. Next I'll work on the backstitches for this part.

It's really coming together and I'm loving stitching it.

The beginning of the pattern was a little fiddly. I have trouble with tension at the beginning of every piece I start. You would think I'd learn to do some practice stitches on a scrap piece of linen. But it also started with 1/4 and 3/4 stitches which I hadn't had a lot of experience with and while I got better at them throughout the piece I'm hoping the beads in the center hide the first partial stitches.

Here's a closeup of some Diamond Eyelets.

It's been a joy to stitch this pattern.

I stitched in my late teens-early twenties a little but then college, marriage, kids and an interest in knitting distracted me from it. I now have two nearly grown children, a daughter in college and a son in high school. 

In August 2015 I started cross stitching again with the pattern "Be Joyful"; a kit I purchased on Amazon.com. I started it during our vacation to Canada. I think that I finished it in December 2015.

It's a sweet pattern and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. I did not add all of the black beads the pattern called for because it was getting to be a bit much and a distraction from the loveliness of the piece. 

During this time I discovered several Facebook groups dedicated to cross stitch. Everyone generously shared images of their work and it's a great place for inspiration.

I have two finishes so far this year:

Kitchen Gadgets by Tiny Modernist; started November 25, 2015 and finished on April 14, 2015.

Mini Mandala Gardens 1A by Chatelaine; started December 29, 2015 for the Chatelaine Shenanigans SAL with Stitch Maynia on Facebook. Completed March 2, 2016.

This was so much fun to work on. I learned how to do Algerian Eye stitches! And beading, lot and lots of beading.