Isabella Johnstone

Already over a week has gone by and I cant believe it.  I wanted to post this next exciting frame on Friday, but here it is already Monday night!!!  Holy smokes!  Where does the time really go?!!!!!
My husband and I had a great weekend, antiquing and supper with friends and relatives.  Fun to catch up on good old times.

But, with out further delay,  here is a great finish last month, with another super frame choice. Here is Isabella Johnstone from Needlwork Press.  (The pattern was just released this nashville in pattern form)  I am just as thrilled with this one, as I was for Double Dee.

The whole reason behind the 2 or double frames, is that I wanted from the start of stitching Isabella, to have gold next to her, just like the original.  Hard to find a frame exactly from over 150 plus years ago in condition I would be interested in....and could afford-- LOL......... I was shown this great frame and I was sold.  For me, it was perfect.   Isabella is a fine girl, and the large and ornate frame just blew me away.  Using the double frame for Double Dee, came after my framer showed me this gold frame for Isabella.  Outstanding right?!  I am thrilled with choosing something so different than normal, but now you see a pattern going right?!  Fancier is good!!!

I cant wait to show you the last one of the bunch---- stay tuned!!!!!!

Hope all of you had a great weekend, anyone go to any Nashville parties and have super new stash??!!!!!!  What did you get?!!!!!  Any good stitching to report?!!!!  I am still working on Weeping Tree, however, I am onto the house :)  Very very exciting!!!!!!!!

Miss Johnstone

Another great weekend has been put to bed.  Some much planning goes into some of these weekends it is incredible.  Then within a blink of an eye, it is all over and what we have left are fabulous memories!!  I surprised some of my friends this weekend at a stitching event, and I think they were almost left speechless!!  Yea!!  I am so excited to see everyone!!!!!  I love surprises, it is hard to get me to be surprised.....I am too much of a busy body.  But surprising others, easy :)
Yesterday was one of the wettest days I can remember.  I think it rained, and it rained hard for like 18 hours.  It was pouring when I finally got up, and was pouring till about 11pm.  WOW.  But, there is no real negative to this day---- only positive.  I got alot of stitching done.
We watched 3 movies, and I stitched and stitched and stitched.  Even during the day!!  Very unusual for me to stitch in the daytime.  I have an enormous feeling of guilt because I should be doing work......but I said to heck with work, I am stitching.  And, here she is:

My mistake and I feel bad, that I have been calling Miss Johnstone, Miss Johnson.   I forgot the 't'.  Oh well, as long as her name is stitched right, that is all that matters!!  LOL.  So petite- she is 6 1/2" wide x 9" tall.  Stinkin' cute right?!  She will go with the other finished ladies to be framed in no time.  She is worked in most of the called for Belle Soie colors on 45ct Vintage Maritime White (love this color).  I made some 'adjustments' in the flowers, just because.  I am happy to have her complete!!  I already grabbed another project that I stitched on last night ATS-- but I am not sure that piece will be the one I work on for a while or something else.  One of the very best things about finishing a sampler (for me) is that I can go into the basement and look through the stash/WIPs to see which one is yelling the loudest!!!!!

I hope all of you had a fantastic weekend, I look forward to a great week!!!   For so many reasons!!!!!!!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Isabella

Most days, I have a hard time being creative in my blog post title.  Why is that?  I try to give a mystery, what could be so fabulous in her new post?  Well, today is for sure not one of those creative days.  I am drawing a blank.  However, no matter the title, I am excited to see folks coming to take a look.  There has to be something new if there is a new post right?  Something exciting and inspiring??!!!  I am not sure on the new part, or finding something so fabulous in the back of the basement.......but, maybe some inspiration.  I have made some nice progress on my love of the week Isabella.

Like most of you that have this super cute sampler already stitched and hanging beautifully in your home; I am crazy about the cow.  You know when you are a kid, that brown cows have chocolate milk.  Well, this one is for strawberry milk :)

I just have to fill in the rest of the cow, his head is done.  I wanted to see what it looked like before I hit the pillow last night.  Upon being satisfied with it, I knew that tomorrow (now today) is a new day.  I started with the right tree, finished the grass across the way, finished the left tree......saving the cow for last.  Not last but not least either----- I still have a few more things to get finished up.  Tonight, I will continue on the bottom 2 pages of the pattern and get her put to bed hopefully by this weekend.  I am not holding my breath however.

Stitching is always interesting, no matter the size.  Seeing pics close up, and getting excited about them I always wonder about what count folks are stitching on.  For the most part, I stitch on 45ct, then 40ct.  Rare but not out of the question, some of the others.  Stitching Isabella on 45ct it is VERY hard to really see her size.  I have added a dime (from my husbands personal collection) next to my cow, so you can really get perspective of how big he really is!  Can you imagine, this dime is from 1914.  The original Isabella Johnson sampler is from 1854.  I think this dime is ancient, almost 100 years old and wow, 1854.  Really gets you thinking right?  What did the dimes look like in 1854?  I will have to check it out.
I was chatting with one of my friends this week about how in this industry, being a married woman, being legally allowed to be in love with so many others.  AND, I am encouraged to do so.  Last week was Rosina, this week Isabella, next week ????.  LOL.

Maybe the next time I show her, she will be closer to the finish, or finished!!!! 
Thank you to all of you and your kind words on my Rosina Payne.  If you are thinking about stitching her, I assure you, she is a pleasure to work on.  She doesn't talk back, and she gives you enjoyment in each and every stitch.

Thanks for stopping by again, and have a fantastic day!!

What a week!

Wow, this past week has been something else!!  Not only on the stitching front, but on various activities as well.  First, I will update Isabella for you and I am not as far as expected:

The algerian eye took forever, almost 2 nights worth.  It turned out fantastic and so delicate.  I modified the color as I previously mentioned so it is slightly lighter than the top alphabet.  I am anxious to start the next section-- the 2 trees and the center cow, but I have refrained, and put her down for a small bit.
What for you ask?  To start the over 1 on Rosina.

You see where it reads "and then"?  Well that is the 2nd time I stitched it.  HOLY **(@#))@!!  I couldnt believe my eyes when I read the chart and thought it was wrong, so immediately I ripped it out.  Then I re-read the pattern, and laid the 2 sheets next to each other and WOWZA.  It was RIGHT the first TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!! **((())!!!!))!)!))!)!)!%%%$&#(@+++===%.  Crap!
So, I restitched it, and it took almost all of my time to stitch it, rip it out (over 1 on 45ct--full cross) and then restitch it, and added a few other words.  I am not as scared as I was last week about stitching the over one-- something finally clicked and it isnt as hard as I thought.  I am actually looking forward to stitching it and getting her done!!!!!!!  Yeah!!!!
Onto the other fun stuff!!!!!  How many of you have ever been to an auction?  I mean, not at a large NY auction house, where things are through the roof and out of most of our pay grades?!!!!!  Well, we went to one and WOW was it sooo much fun.  The amount of things up for auction consisted of anywhere from furniture- all makes and models, tools, old toys, pictures, rugs, glassware, etc., etc., etc and things were CHEAP!  I picked up a few things, and 1 being a pair of old wooden spindles for 3 bucks.  3 bucks!!!!  I think that the most expensive item sold over the 5 hours was $280 bucks for a old display case-- including original rippled glass.  What a deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   We had so much fun, we are looking forward to another auction real soon :)

Looks good right?  Nothing like starting off the day with a naughty treat :)  We have been so good, and this past week has been soooooo bad!  I am ready to get back to routine asap.  But, what can you do but enjoy a good donut from Dunkin' Donuts.

A celebration was had this week, with my grandfather turning 90.  Unbelievable right?  I was thrilled to be able to go to the party and help with cake, cookies and almond treats.  See why this week has been sooooo naughty?!!!  LOL.  I got some great pics and video of my grandfather, cousins, aunts and uncles.  Grandma was telling us that she made 2 cakes the previous day, put them outside on the back porch and to her dismay, the squirrels had thought the party started early :(.  So she made 2 more!!!!  She most certainly doesnt need the practice, but I am sure she wasnt amused!!!!!


Looks like alot of progress has been made with the January WIPs and inspiration has been going strong.   Looking forward more updates this week!!!!!!!!

Freezin'

What could be better in the winter time ---when it is freezing out???  Besides stitching, is having a great big roaring fire!!!!  Yes, it has been super cold and last night we were toasty warm by this great fire :)

Yes, along with the warm fire, was a glass of wine and some stitching!!!  Of course!!!  I chose to continue with Isabella for a bit, and I am loving her.  She is ever so delicate and even with the cow, very elegant dont you think? 

I took this picture while Isabella was laying across my lap, so she is a bit lop-sided in the picture, but I assure you she is not :)  I hope to get the next section done, so that maybe tomorrow night I can start on the infamous cow.  I am going to have to make some adjustments to the colors, the poison apple belle soie that I am using, does not have much variation, so I am going to add a lighter color to get the look like the original.  I have to do a little more diving today--- darn it.  I hate looking at my stash!!!!!!!!!!!  LOL.
Thanks for all the encouragement on my decision to work on WIP's this January, I am looking to start the Drawn Thread piece, and also Ann Dale: Big and Tall but I am not sure when.  Ann, among all the other Ann's that I have playing in the yard, needs a bit of work-- and I mean choosing the right color linen, and playing with some of the silks.  When that finally happens, I will start her.  In the meantime, I am enjoying Isabella :)

Hope everyone is stitching madly and staying warm!!!!!!

Already the 2nd

Another great New Years Rockin' Eve under our belts and now it is time to get serious :)  I mentioned in the last post, that I didnt really have much thought into this Januarys challenge and yesterday, I got it all figured out.  I went into the basement and got out a couple of WIP plastic totes that I have been keeping them in, and brought them into the light.  As soon as the lids came off--- you could here the angels  "Aaahhhhhhhh"

And each one of these bags started moving around and wiggling.  It was quite a sight.  I should have taken a video!!!  So, pulling them out, and going into my WIP stash diving stance, I had a blast revisiting these projects from last years crazy challenge.  I was so excited to see the ones I had started, and the ones that I have decided are going to be my challenge for this year, is to finish some of these fabulous pieces up.  I went through the list of starts and wips from a year ago, and out of the 31, I did complete 12.  Now, it is almost half, and some werent even on the list of finishes that I did complete-- ie. Double Dee :)  I must admit, I have chosen some great samplers to stitch, why wouldnt I want to continue stitching them??????  I would love to see them framed and hanging someday.
Rosina has all of her motifs complete, I finished those up on new years eve, and I have to do the verse yet.  I am still betting she will be close to first, although, there might be a small contest between these girls!

My January 1st start began without a hitch.  See the progress I have made so far?!  I have never done a darning sampler, so this one will be interesting.  I will have to keep you posted on this one for sure :)
I did however, choose something to stitch on last night, that I have been anxious to work on.  (Again, digging out of the WIPS)  Isabella Johnson has made a wonderful appearance, and I think Rosina and her are going to be neck and neck for completion!!!

In the above pic, is where I started her last night after supper at about 8:30 and the bottom is where I stopped (12:15am) stitching her, and after several episodes of Pawn Stars.  I love that show!!!!!!!!  Focus, focus!!!  I think I will work on her again tonight.  Progress on her is going great, and she is stitched on 45 count, so for the closest thing I had for perspective, is a mint chocolate Hershey kiss-- pictured in the top right hand corner.  I will have to get the exact measurement out.  I love the frame, and will have to look into getting one close to it.  I know just the place too :)

I have put together a big bag of crazy with some of my great one of a kind project bags/WIPS to keep me inspired.  I have to get a few more of these-- looking at my first picture in this post, those bags are boring!!!!!!!!!  Need to spice it up a bit-- just like getting a new sweater.  Bringing it home and putting it into the closet-- there is a small rustle through the air-- what do we have here?!!!  Spice!!!!! 
Onto a great new day here in January.  Looks like this is going to be a fun week!!!!  Looking forward to seeing new starts and inspiration from all of you, it is going to be very very exciting!!!!!

One Blue Bird

Excellent news......another WIP is done :)  Well, it was done 2 days ago and my brain was literally all over the place yesterday.

Along with the variety of silk in brown tones, yes, there is One Blue Bird.  I used Ltd. Edition Gloriana for the special bird, along with Belle Soie and Florimell on 40ct Vintage Pearled Barley Lakeside.   Nice and easy, and another one checked off of the January Crazy Challenge!!!!

You know from alot of my past posts, that we like a good old fashion baked item.  Well, whether we bake it or if we buy it, we always like it.  So, as promised, I wanted to share this cake I baked on Saturday morning for the picnic we had. 

This is the pan from William Sonoma that is in the shape of an 'oreo' cookie, however, I switched it up a bit and made it a vanilla creme cookie cake.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!  Was it good.  It was gone in no time.  It is pretty big the cookie cake, about 12 inches so we all could have a taste or 2 :)  I love baking, and to make cakes and things in different shapes is always great fun.

So digging back into the challenge bin, I came up with a few others that I want to work on, and again, these WIPs might be sidetracked by new starts (i.e. Dorothy Walpole) until then.....this is what I had in my hands last night:

Isabella Johnstone from SANQ Summer 2010 using 45ct vintage lentil (I think), along with the called for Belle Soie silks.  Laying next to one of my gorgeous new project bags (I will have to take some more pics of those later).  Interesting enough the finished size of my Isabella is going to just be a smidge larger in length/width then One Blue Bird on 40ct.  I cant get enough of this 45ct, it all just looks so cute in this size!  If you have never tried it, it is worth it.  I know a friend of mine has started her first piece on 45ct (the new one in the SANQ Summer 2011 ?? magazine with all the great color-- I forget the name right now) she is doing a FANTASTIC job on it, and actually admits to liking it alot!!!!  Not as bad as she thought that is for sure.  I cant wait to see her progress on it.  It doesnt take long to get adjusted to it. 

Summer is here and the heat is on.  No complaints-- just crack open a nice refreshing beverage and pick up your stitching.  What could be better??!!!!

27th January Project- Start & Bonus

Another Friday is upon us already and I am positive the month is going much faster then I ever expected it to go.  My last weekend of freedom before I am back to the grind next week.  Fortunately, I am back to the grind on February 2nd, so I will have no excuses to get the 31 crazy challenge done and see what insanity waits on February 1st in the stitching department.  But lets not rush a good thing we have going here.  I have found a few more tricks up my sleeve and look forward to sharing them with all of you in due time :)
Today I have for you 2 things.  First, lets talk about what new project I started last night shall we?!   Out of the Sampler & Antique Needlework magazine, I have started Isabella Johnson.  I have had her kitted up for some time and last night made a slight adjustment on the linen.

I am using the called for Belle Soie Silks and I have opted yet again, for 45ct linen, this time vintage lentil.  There is a method to my madness-- if it makes sense or not, it doesnt matter.  But my reason is that I would like to stitch the other 2 charted samplers that the pictures are featured along with Isabella, Jane Tindall and Maria Tilley on 45ct too, so why not?  This doesnt matter, either way if you stitch them on 28ct or ??? count, because they are all different shapes and sizes anyway........  You can stitch samplers on what ever count linen that gets you going.  I am obviously going on 45 :)  I acquired a piece of Vintage Lentil the other day, a long a narrow piece.   I was looking specifically for long and narrow pieces because I have a VERY hard time cutting my linen.  To make that clear, I can cut anything, but the linen, the gorgeous linen, I have a hard time physically bringing myself to doing this, so I try to find pieces that will work in the right color for each sampler.  Sometimes, like in this case, it has worked out perfectly. 

So you can 'see' my tiny piece of fabric, for most stitchers, this piece you are laughing at me, as tons of room!!  Yes, the entire design fits on this piece width wise with no worries. You can see the width is done from the vine those leafs are growing off of.  The length isnt an issue at all.  Crazy right?!  Yes, I live there, and I have been asked along the way, where it is, where does crazy live, because others are interested in joining me there for more adventure.  The sampler is fabulous and I am excited to have this one going and someday complete.

Back in the end of November, after Thanksgiving I think, my Husband and I took a small road trip and I need an ez little project to stitch on.  So I started Little House Needleworks Mercantile.  Easy I said, it is a cute little pattern and perfect for my purpose.  I only got so far

on our drive and put it away.  Well, we went on another small road trip in the last few days and I have been a busy girl.  I got it done and here she is.

I used 40ct ??? with the called for WDW, GA & CC threads and I think it is super cute.  You need to have easy ones right?  These big jobs that we have going all the time are outstanding, but to finish something, is even better.  Especially, because she isnt in my January challenge!!!!!  My 2nd finish of the year.  BONUS!!!!!