So many options

It has been a little over a week since I finished SDW and what a big decision it is to decide on what to stitch next!  So I pulled out a bunch and really stitched on 2 this week.  First up is Birds of  Feather Le Printemps (OOP), one of four in a series of seasons. 

She is so bright and colorful-- so far out of the box which is fun to do once in a while :)  I am stitching her on 45ct Vintage Maritime white (one of my very favorites) along with a silk conversion a few years back.  I have 1 more flower to go on the top left page, then 3 pages to go.  Then the thought is, do I continue on with this series?  I have L'Hiver (winter) started........
But easily sidetracked, I also have picked Peace by A Stitchers Hands back up.  When this pattern was first released in 2008, 3 of us kitted it up immediately.  Well, needless to say, all 3 of us still have it has the largest WIP in our baskets.  Well, its high time to invest some stitching time in it.  

Stitching it on 40ct Lakeside Sienna Night, 1 over 2 threads, with a overdyed silk conversion.  Yes, you are reading correct, it is a BAP.  I love the colors I chose for it.  The best part is, each of the original 3 that kitted it up, we each chose 40ct linen, but each a different color.  I LOVE this idea and each one is just so gorgeous.  I hope to keep my momentum going on this one, I would love to actually see it finished :)  Someone mentioned there has been some stitchers on Facebook that have been working on it; I am not on Facebook so I havent seen their progress.  But its kind of fun there are others stitching on it also!!
I would love to see that list of WIPs get smaller, but it is so hard as you all know.  It is terrible.  You finish one and want to start 5!!  LOL.  Time to get stitching on one of these great projects, so until next time!  Thank for stopping by and have a super week!!

Oh Happy Day!

There are many reasons why today is a great day!!  First it is my brothers birthday-- so Happy Birthday to you!!  The sun is shining, the weather is nice and warm.  Fun with friends and family.  Lots of activity!!  I cant believe it is June 2nd already, where the time is going I dont know.  So many things have happened since the last time I have blogged (almost 2 months ago?????), its unreal.  My nephew turns 1 this month.  ONE??!!!!!!!  Holy smokes!  He was just born!!!  Time is out of control these days.  I wish we could slow it down quite a bit, but I know that is like hitting the mega millions or power ball.  Not going to happen.

The last time I posted was about my SDW German Band sampler, and I must tell you, I have been trying my best to finish it.  I really wanted to have it done by the 1st of this month, but I was a bit short.  It has been so busy, I havent really had too much time to think, I have forgotten things I normally dont forget :(  But, I did make huge progress on the sampler, in fact, last night I put the deadline into effect.  Yesterday was the day I was going to finish it.  Oh sure.  With 5 1/2 bands to go on the lower left side, I was trying my best to be positive.   I ran over on time yesterday-- (what else is new) and didnt start stitching until 8pm.  Oh man, I dont know what I am going to do.  I was determined though.  Yesterday morning I chose the remaining colors for these bands, wrote them down and was ready to get right into it last night.  With several old episodes of Fringe and Law and Order SVU, I was down to the last row at 3am this morning.  I wasnt really tired, but knew the busy day I was going to have today, I figured I better hit it.  So back up at 8:30, and after a cup of tea, I had the final row complete and SDW German Band Sampler was complete at 10am.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!  I did it!!!!!  So without any further rambling, here she is :)))

(no the last rows do not curve up, just a slip of the linen)

To achieve this look on my SDW, I chose to stitch on Lakeside Linen Vintage Fawn 45ct along with my conversion of NPI and AVS.  It measures 8" wide x 31 1/2" long.  When I first saw this sampler I was drawn to the variety of motifs, and the colors.  After pulling the called for colors, I knew there was going to be another massive undertaking to recreate this sampler.  But, the long and the short of it, it is completed and I am over the moon to have it done.  It was a long time in coming, but worth it for sure.
What is next?  I have a few ideas in mind, but you know what this means, a bit of digging in the basement to do a bit of stash diving :)))))))
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all are having a great start to your week!!!!

Spring is here!

Spring has been around for many folks all around the country almost since last spring, but for those who experienced an abundance of below normal temperatures, snow, cold, ice, etc., etc., spring has finally arrived.   Thank goodness our snow shovels and snow blowers are on timeout-- hopefully for many many months to come.   It was announced yesterday that the Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C. reached there full bloom; the latest date in history.  WOW!  If you have ever seen these trees you know that they are just gorgeous!!  All those beautiful pink and white petals falling all over the place, like a flowergirl walking down the aisle at a wedding :)  Or like a blizzard of pink and white flakes!!  It is very exciting to see this beautiful world we live in, full of color and wonderful springtime smells. 
I ran out of time this week to post earlier, but I thought it would be fun to show my next section finished off on SDW.

I love the subtle colors for the alphabet and this is pretty much the palette for the rest of the sampler.  The alphabet stitched up rather quickly which surprised me, I am not really a fan of stitching letters (on any sampler).  They next row group of small motifs are super cute, but I am looking forward to stitching the peacock.... maybe this weekend I will get to him :))))

Until next time, enjoy this weather!!!!!

Interesting :)

In the US, when driving on many of our roads or highways, there is usually something to look at, whether it is a bunch of business-- retail or office buildings, shopping malls, restaurants, even houses.... Sometimes there is vacant land for what seems like hundreds of miles--literally just farming, desert, grass fields with animals grazing, trees, what else can you think of on nothing??  LOL.  But in the US, we often have a variety of what some may call ART.  In Amarillo, Texas; there is a strange place called Cadillac Ranch where you can pull over on the side of the road and in the distance maybe several hundred feet off you see this:

10 real Cadillac's buried nose first in some vacant land.  Created in 1974 on a different field and relocated.  It is a variety of different years.  You many walk up to the cars, take your picture next to them; but it is now customary to mark your visit with spray paint, you may sometimes see the cars covered in solid pink, or white.  Just kind of fun!  (photo borrowed from RoadsideAmerica.com- I have been there but cant find my own pics as of this minute!) 
While in Florida I spotted something similar on the side of the road near Tampa. These Airstream trailers also buried nose first in a field on the side of the road.  You may not pull over and spray paint on these (private property) but it also resembles a variety of sizes, years and styles.

I cut the small Bambi off on the left side, but you can see it in the top pic, also, pretty good while riding in a car going 70+ mph right?!!  I think its pretty cool, that we have these crazy things on the sides of our roads.   Gives us something to talk about to our friends all over the world right?  Has anyone seen either of these 2 things?
What is the strangest/interesting thing you have seen on the side of the road?  I can think of sooo many different things!!!

On the stitching front, I have filled in the church on SDW German Band sampler!  On Jane Tindall, I spent forever filling in the grass located on the bottom of that sampler and I knew I didnt look forward to filling in the church on SDW but it has to get done.  Unfortunately I knew I had kicked all of my stitching elves out of my house so it was not going to get done without me :(.

I am soo close to being halfway with this piece it is very exciting!  It should start flying now that the solid filling in is complete :)))  YEAH!!!!!  LOL.  I cant wait to start stitching again later tonight. 
A while back I had a birthday and I wanted to share a very special gift I received from my good friend :)  She did such an amazing job that I had to share it with all of you!

Tiny little pin cushion with a patchwork back on 40ct. You can see how sweet it is next to my scissors, soo stinkin cute!!!!!  Thank you so much, it means the world to me having this from you :)  I love it!!
Still a bit chilly, but I think we are in for some spring like weather, alot of rain has been coming, but its better then snow right??!!!!!  Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic week!!

Fun was had by all!

A great time was had last week while visiting my good friend.  We accomplished alot of fun little projects, stitched, laughed, watched old movies, and even finished her quilt!  The men were having a great time doing all kinds of manly things, fishing, gardening, going to the home improvement store, and lots of other fun things.

We made this quilt top last fall, had it quilted over the Holidays, and this week, the binding was complete.  Do you love it?!!! She did a fabulous job and I am so excited to see this beauty in her house!!

Even this fellow loves it!!!!!!!! 

I had this furry friend sitting next to me all week on the couch while stitching and sewing.  Just likes lounging next to you, keeps you warm :)
I purchased a piece of 52/60 Lakeside linen in Vintage Sand Dune over at the Attic a few weeks back and started the new Traveling Stitcher Ane Kirstine Larsen-- you know the one with the fabulous rooster???  Boy, I have never used the tudor silks or this count linen, but I tell you what, it is fabulous!!!  I am hooked!!!!  LOL

Not much to show, but its something, the border color is almost tone on tone, but in certain lights, it really pops.  The letter M is so tiny!!   I think the entire sampler is going to be something like 6 x 8".  Can you just imagine?!!!!!  It is sooo stinkin cute!!  The Attic had a few models hanging on the wall in this 52/60 and I am so crazy (you can take that statement either way!!  LOL)  about how small they really are!!!  I know for the few of you that have been working on this linen, you know exactly what I mean!!!
Now stitching on 45ct, its almost burlap!!!!  LOL.  Not quite like the 40ct, but its a really big difference.  Even the feel of the linen is different.  I really want to get SDW complete, which is a good thing, it has been long enough!

So the bottom pic is where I left off last night, and I can feel the final stretch of the church approaching this week.  I want to get to those trees!!! LOL.  Its something how this project is now all I want to focus on, its about time.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week :)

Happy St. Patricks Day!

What a fun day it is today right?  Fun is when the Chicago river is green, beer is green, there are parades and a great reason to where a shade of green when you normally dont!!  LOL.
Happy Birthday to my friend, you know who you are!!!  Sorry the cookies werent what they were supposed to be, but looks arent everything! Taste is!! 
I missed posting last week for just the simple fact that I really ran out of time.  I didnt stitch at all on SDW sampler last week, I worked on a couple other things, but now I am back in full swing.

and finally a full length of what it looks like so far, almost at the halfway mark. 

I even got the iron out for a nice presentation, after all, you cant really see much in a wrinkled mess :(  I really love it, and I cant wait to get the church complete, so I can work on those trees!! 
Enjoy Green today!!