Update from Tiger Lily's House

We're still here! It's been a busy few weeks and I have been quiet on my blog, so I figured I'd better report in before some of y'all send the dogs out! We just got back from a trip to North Carolina, or as we call it, Pottery Disneyland. (Check out this post for an explanation.) We were supposed to go in September, but had to cancel our trip because of Hurricane Florence.  I haven't even unwrapped all of our treasures yet, and my living room looks like Santa crashed his sleigh. When I get it all unpacked, I'll photograph it (my pieces, at least) and share. If you like pottery, click on the "pottery" label in the right sidebar.

Let's see... new stuff at my house. First, two new designs from With Thy Needle & Thread. Brenda Gervais has sneakily become one of my favorite designers. The series of oval designs she's doing is just adorable. I've stitched a purple version of Here a Peep and have Jingle All the Way on my to-stitch list, so when I saw Candy Cane Wishes, I had to have it immediately. Her little mice series is also growing on me, so I picked up Plum Pudding, as well. 

Here's another of her designs I got recently.

Picked up some Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid for some Christmas stitching. I've never had a problem using Kreinik metallics, and always use them when the Brooke Nolan designs I stitch call for them, but I know a lot of stitchers seem to dislike using them. I find they work great on perforated paper, but for linen I prefer Petite Treasure Braid, simply because it has a more delicate feel to me. If you hate metallics, but have never tried PTB, give it a go. It's very easy to work with and is so pretty.

New dishes, y'all! Aren't these beautiful? Spotted these at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago (on sale!) and couldn't resist. I got some plates...

...and a little bread and butter plate and mug just for me to enjoy my winter tea and snacks.

Had to throw this in here! This is some Stanley Cup swag I got last month celebrating my Washington Capitals winning the Cup back in June. This hockey playing calico kitty was a must-have! We are very partial to calicos around here.

And this beautiful patch, combining the Cup with two D.C. symbols: the flag (based on the coat of arms of George Washington's family) and some lovely pink cherry blossoms.

Tiger Lily got something new, too. I found this adorable fleece at Jo Ann Fabrics for 50% off and figured it was time for Tiger Lily to have a new blanket. It's an ultra-plush, anti-pill fleece and it is sooo soft.

Ready for whatever winter throws at us... I think. We've already had our first snow this year (15 November), which is really, really early.

So that's what's going on around here. Having to squeeze our trip to North Carolina in right before Thanksgiving has thrown me off of my holiday game a bit, but now that it's done, I can turn my attention back to more pressing matters... like my Christmas Open House! (No hints! No sneak peeks!) Since it will be my 5th annual Open House, I'm planning something sort of celebratory. As of right now, it will be the third week of December, unless I amaze myself and have a stunningly productive week next week and can do it a bit earlier.

Hope y'all are all healthy, cozy, and ready to bake all your Thanksgiving goodies! Have a great week!

New Sparkly DMC--UPDATE

Just a quick update on the new sparkly DMC now that I've had a chance to stitch with it. If you missed my first post on this new thread, just scroll down a bit.

I'm happy to report it gets a thumbs up from me! The two issues I mentioned wondering about in my first post (shredding and texture) were not a problem. It has a light, almost wispy feel in hand, but it stitches just like regular DMC and has a very nice sparkle to it. Shredding wasn't a problem. The cut end that was repeatedly passing through the fabric separated just a bit, but that's to be expected with any thread like this. It did not come apart along the length of the thread as blending filament usually does. 

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I do wish they had used an iridescent filament in the Blanc, instead of silver (which gives the Blanc a greyish look), but it's still pretty. Just don't expect a true white if you're thinking of using it for snow. 

Hope this, along with my other post, is helpful. Happy Stitching!

Spooky Finishes!

Victory! After last week's flu shot adventure derailed my finishing and framing plans, I have finally been able to play in my sewing room and I have stuff to show y'all! 

Ichabod Crane Inn is by The Primitive Hare and is in the book "Le point de croix au fil des saisons." I got my copy several years ago from Amazon France, and it used to be available from Casa Cenina (which I have no personal experience with), but I don't know if it's still available. I have always loved this piece and even though it's not a perfect job, it's now framed and I can enjoy it.

Here's my purple house conversion of Judith Kirby's Victorian House #9. Color conversion and fabric info are in this post and in this one.

I also did the finishing on this little piece, Simply Boo by Elizabeth's Designs from the 2015 Just Cross Stitch Special Halloween Issue. Info on my color changes can be found in this post.

I love this spiky black ribbon trim. I've used it several times and keep a supply on hand as I've never found it anywhere other than Hobby Lobby.

I have grown-up stuff to do tomorrow, but hopefully Thursday I'll be back in the sewing room making a mess. Stay tuned!

New Sparkly DMC

As you've probably heard, DMC just released a new 35-color line of sparkly threads called Mouline Etoile. The full set in a "collector's" tin is *cough* 70 bucks *cough*. I wasn't inclined to spend that much on a new, never-before-seen, never-before-stitched-with thread, and especially not since it seemed to be so difficult to find a good, clear, close-up picture of it that wasn't cluttered up with little star shapes or animated sparkles. I understand how difficult it is to capture sparkles in a photograph, so if you tell me it sparkles, I believe you, but I wanna see the texture of the thread! So here's my public service for the day: a close-up of the new thread (minus pretend sparkles)!

I found a shop on Etsy that had a limited supply of Blanc, so I was able to purchase just one skein and have a look at it. As you can see, it looks a bit "wooly" compared to regular DMC and the Blanc reads more as a very light grey, due to the silver metallic in it. It is pretty sparkly, much more so than the picture shows, but I think you can see the texture well. I separated out the strands in this picture so you can them better.

I haven't stitched with it yet, but there are two things I'm curious about: 1) will the metallic filament separate from the cotton during stitching and be a pain? and 2) if used with regular DMC, how noticeable will the difference in texture be, and will it matter?

I'll post an update when I've had a chance to stitch with it. 

Thanks so much for all the kind comments about Clover and Lace. When I said this on Monday:

"I hope--hope--to have a quiet week in the sewing room, finishing and framing"

I should have known I was tempting fate. Sure enough, my week went sideways. I got my flu shot on Tuesday afternoon (big fan of herd immunity... also of not dying of a preventable illness) and within an hour and a half, boy, was I feeling it. (Mr. Wonderful said I got a good one... LOL!) I've never had any side effects from a flu shot before, other than having a sore arm and being tired, but this one hit me hard. I had fever for about 12 hours, and spent Wednesday in bed. No cause for alarm, as it's just the immune system doing its job, but man did it mess up my plans to play in my sewing room all week. I'm all back to normal now, but I won't promise to have goodies to show because it seems every time I do that, I am overtaken by events. So, if I show up with a finish or two, it will be a surprise... to both of us!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Clover and Lace is finished!

Middle of autumn and I finally finished my summer project! This is Clover and Lace by Misty Hill Studio stitched on 28 ct. PTP Oaken. I stayed really close to the original colors, only making slight adjustments to compliment the color of the fabric I was using and to use thread I already had on hand. Here are the original colors and-->my changes:

GAST Grasshopper-->GAST Sage***
GAST Roasted Marshmallow
GAST Endive-->CC Weeping Willow***
GAST Highland Heather-->GAST Punchberry
DMC 611
DMC 3865-->GAST Oatmeal
GAST Rose Garden-->CC Wild Berries

***The original is stitched on 40 ct. linen over two. If you use a larger count like I did, you'll want two skeins of the greens (Grasshopper and Endive), just to be on the safe side. 

I really enjoyed stitching this piece. I loved the colors and the cheerful verse (and the tiny bunnies!) and it will be just perfect hanging in my sewing room when I eventually get it framed. Thanks, Holly!

I hope--hope--to have a quiet week in the sewing room, finishing and framing, so pop in occasionally to see what I come up with. Have a great week, y'all.

Sewing Room Status: Ready for Action

I survived the great sewing room re-arrange! 

Maybe now I can actually get some finishing and framing done!

Fall has officially arrived

It never really feels like fall around here until Tiger Lily takes to her "donut," an old robe of mine that my mom made into a blanket for her. I coil it into a donut shape for her, and it's her favorite place to nap in cooler weather. Today was her first donut day, so fall has officially arrived on the East Coast. Next stop on her seasonal migration: the blizzard basket. (yikes!)

A few more peeks at my Halloween decorating in my sewing room. These little babies are from my mom. She makes their outfits using kits from Mary Maxim. Aren't they just the cutest? I am not a fan of the modern trend in Halloween decorations, so these babies are just about my speed: adorable.

Hope to be back soon with a few pics of my sewing room, and some stitchy stuff. 

Stitching with a Friend

When you stitch with a friend and they insist on sitting right next to you even though there's an entire couch to sit on:

Happy weekend, happy stitching!

Halloween Dollhouse

Consider her ways, and be wise...

I have a little finish to show and a freebie to share! Back in the summer, while I was searching for something else, I stumbled across this adorable little stitching ant freebie. 

Ants always remind me of these verses from Proverbs:

Go to the ant, thou sluggard;

consider her ways, and be wise:

Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

Provideth her meat in the summer,

and gathereth her food in the harvest.

~Proverbs 6.6-8

I spend my summers scurrying around trying to get as much done as possible--in ant-like fashion--so I decided to add the phrase, "Go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise" to the border of this design. I stitched this on a scrap of what I think is PTP Sand, using Caron Wildflowers Black Forest and Cardinal. 

Speaking of being busy, I'm still working on my big sewing room rearrange. My work time has been pretty hit or miss because Mr. Wonderful has been on leave, and y'all know, it's hard to get stuff done in the house with a hubster under foot. The major part of the project is done, and I'm now down to those odds and ends that seem like small tasks, but that always end up taking nearly as much time as the big stuff. We had to cancel our trip to North Carolina because of Hurricane Florence, but we've rescheduled it for November, the tail end of hurricane season... and before blizzard season.

My head is swimming with thinking of all the stitching, finishing, and framing I want to do when I get the sewing room done. My goal is to have it done by the beginning of October. Wish me luck and stay tuned!

Clover and Lace Update

Just the border left!

Clover and Lace by Misty Hill Studio, stitched on 28 ct. PTP Oaken. I hope my next update will be a finish!

Autumn Dollhouse

Taking a quick break from the giant sewing room rearrange to share my new way to display my seasonal smalls. If you've been reading for a while, you're probably familiar with my seasonal baskets. Unfortunately, in rearranging the room, I had to give up the surface space where the basket lived. A few months ago I picked up this unfinished wooden dollhouse shelf at Michael's on sale and set it aside for some future use. My dollhouse was always my favorite toy when I was little, and I still have a soft spot for them. (My mom still has mine!) The dollhouse has become the new home for my seasonal smalls display. It now sits atop a bookshelf, taking up very little space, and it's easily visible. 

I want to fiddle with it a bit more and add a few things, but I've still gots lots of work to do and no time to play! Just wanted to share another idea for displaying smalls.

Have a good weekend, y'all!

End of Summer Update

I'm back! Yay!

And *summer is over! More yay! Tiger Lily started blowing her summer coat in July. I suppose it's sort of "old-wives'-tale-ish" on my part, but I have noticed that when she loses her summer coat mid-way through, we get an early start on winter (which around here, is early December). Fine with me. I'm ready for a blizzard.

*Meteorological summer started 1 September. Yes, I'm a weather nerd.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I've been spending this summer doing some redecorating and cleaning out for a possible spring move. As is often the case, messing with any household project of any size can be like accidentally knocking over the first domino in the line, and then watching helplessly as the cascade of falling dominoes runs madly throughout the entire house. That's where I am right now. I was only re-doing the living room, but had to move some cabinets out, which required finding a place for them elsewhere, which ended up being my sewing room, which then required a major re-arrangement to accommodate them... you get the idea. I think I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and none too soon. My stitching and blogging about stitching has been sadly neglected.

Mr. Wonderful's birthday was last month, and we did manage to get out for a little day trip to celebrate. I got this adorable 4.5" pitcher. In one of my earlier pottery posts, I was fussing about being nuts about pitchers but not really having much use for them. It was hard to justify buying them. Then I decided that loving them was all the justification that I needed, so here we are. Life's too short to deny yourself charming little pitchers. (If you want to see some of my other pieces, click on the "pottery" label at the end of this post or in the right sidebar.)

While we were out trekking the countryside, Mr. Wonderful survived a ferocious chicken attack!

In the surest sign of fall, college football is back! Saturday we went to the Texas game (we are both Texas grads). Of course they lost. We still had a good time (except for the hour and a half rain delay), and we're both just killing time until hockey season starts anyway.

In my last Clover and Lace update I optimistically (and delusional-y) announced that I only had two more lines of verse and the border left and that I could probably finish it by the end of the summer. I knew--even as I was typing it--that I was kidding myself. With everything else going on in this house, I have managed to stitch exactly one, o-n-e, line of the verse. It's not even worth an update. However!

This! This is worth noting! Brooke Nolan has started a new six-part series: Woodland Santa & Friends, available in her Etsy shop. It is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. Parts 1-3 are out, and they are available separately or in a bundle. Part 1 is Santa, part 2 is Freddie Fox, and part 3 is Rebecca Rabbit, and y'all they have little outfits! So, so, SO cute! The morning they were released, my cousin texted me a picture and I immediately went out and got my supplies together (I was about to leave to run errands anyway, but you know, that went to the top of the to-do list.)

Did I have time to start them? No. Did I have a zillion other things to get done in the house before I could give myself permission to start them? Yes. Did I have another WIP I need to finish first? Yes. Did I buy them and all the supplies anyway?

YES.

So that's where things stand at my house. 

Big living room redeco: almost done

Big sewing room rearrange (caused by big living room redeco): uh... let's skip that one

Clover and Lace WIP: one line of verse and border left 

Christmas stitching: should've started two months ago

Oh, and Mr. Wonderful and I have another trip to Seagrove, NC planned for this month (see this post). 

But I did get my blog updated!