Let It Snow

I purchased this as a kit at my LNS.  It is a Lizzie*Kate design.

Frosty in the Firs

Yet another ornament which languished in the finishing pile for far too long.  I first reported on this lovely piece on January 28, 2012.

Frosty in the Firs

Blue Ribbon Designs

Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments 2011

Deer in a Forest

Here is another ornament which I stitched a while ago, at the beginning of 2012 to be exact, but I just finished it this past Christmas. 

This is Deer in a Forest by Niky's Creations.  It was published in the 2011 Just Cross Stitch Christmas issue.  I love the way it came out!

2007 Pinecone Ornament

Long time, no blog.  This winter seems like it has lasted forever.  I think everyone is tired of cold, a little bit of snow, and the never-ending grey that dots our landscape.  But the tulips, hyacinths, and crocuses are pushing their heads up in our gardens, and we have heard the Canada geese flying overhead, so we know spring is on the way.  It's just a matter of time.

I finally went through the pictures on my computer, most of which were from Christmas.  I have some ornaments to share.  Not all were stitched last year; some simply languished in my finishing pile - and have now been replaced by others!

The first and only picture of this ornament I showed was way back here.  It is called 2007 Pinecone Ornament by Melissa Dunajski, and it is in the December 2007 issue (#23) of The Gift of Stitching magazine. 

I will be back shortly with more ornaments.

Autumn Harvest

The wind is howling outside, thanks to Hurricane Sandy.  We are five hours west of New York City, where she is wreaking havoc with strong winds (stronger than here) and storm surges that are flooding many parts of the city.  Up and down the east coast of the United States, Sandy has made her presence known.  My heart goes out to those of you affected by this huge and powerful storm.

Our thoughts at the Ingram household have turned to my husband's expected hospitalization sometime next week as he undergoes what will be a second stem cell transplant for him (his first was in June, 2006).  I have individual portions of several main dishes in the freezer, but still have baking to do so I will have some treats to take to the hospital with me every day.  I learned the first time around that there will be times I'll need some comfort food, not to mention that I have quite a sweet tooth!  It's much more economical to make my own granola bars and cookies than to go to the hospital cafeteria to buy food.  If the granola bars are good - and the blogger who shared the recipe says they are delicious - I will share the recipe!

I am finally working on some cross stitch again.  My arm still bothers me some, but with frequent breaks and avoiding stitching for too long at one time, I have been able to finish a few projects.  I can't share everything with you because I'm working on Christmas ornaments for family, but that's what happens this time of the year!

One project I finished is Autumn Harvest by JBW Designs.

As usual, I can't find the chart, so I am unable to tell you exactly which threads I used, but it was a combination of the specialty threads mentioned.  (The chart listed at least three different color combinations.)

I did a new-to-me finish for this one:  I found a wooden tray at A. C. Moore for less than $3.00, and painted it with black acrylic paint.  I then mounted the stitching on a piece of foam core that I padded with cotton batting.  I glued the trim around the outside, tucking the ends down beside the piece.  I am thrilled with how it came out!

Singing the Blues

It was not my intention to be silent for so long.  We have been struggling to keep my husband's cancer under control, trying to figure out what his next treatment should be, researching, talking, praying, seeing doctors.  It has been difficult to do much else.

But once again, I have a pile of pictures to blog about, so while I can, I will try to blog about them.  First up is another UFO.   I think I unstitched the border on this one at least four times before I finally got it right!

Singing the Blues

Little House Needleworks

Oh, no!  I just realized that I missed stitching a red heart to the right of the bird's belly!  I guess I was so excited to have finally stitched the border correctly that I completely missed it on the chart.  No wonder the cat kept pawing at the bag the piece was in, she knew something was missing.

I stitched this on (what else) 28 count evenweave.  I think the color is Khaki.  I used the suggested Crescent Colors.  As for finish-finishing, I think I will look through my collection of boxes and see if I have one this will fit on.

Out in the Garden

This cute piece is from the Summer 2010 booklet by The Sampler Girl.  I stitched it using DMC thread on a piece of 11 count Aida fabric.  (The pattern called for 9 count!)  I think it would make a cute pillow, backed with a flowery fabric. 

Herb Garden

Another completed UFO.  This one took a long time because of the constant color changes.

The Herb Garden

Shepherd's Bush

I stitched this one on my favorite Antique White 28 count Monaco evenweave, using DMC threads.  Unfortunately, I didn't cut the fabric very large, and I only have a 1-1/4" border all the way around, so I am not sure how I will finish this. 

I have the chart for another similar piece called The Arbour.  I think it will be a while before I tackle that one since it will probably be just as tedious for me!

Summer Iris

Here is another one of those UFOs that I can now cross off my list.

This one is Summer Iris by Blackbird Designs.  I stitched it on 28 count Antique White Monaco evenweave using Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Arts threads.  I did change the date to 2012, but I left the "A" since I couldn't figure out how to stitch my own initial (laziness?).

The "Crowsline"

Some of the cross stitchers in blogland have set stitching goals for the two weeks of the Olympics.  I, on the other hand, am not doing too much stitching these days (and the small amount I am doing goes very slowly) because I am trying to heal my shoulder.  I  got a cortisone injection back at the beginning of June and did have some reduction in pain, but then I hurt my back and spent about six hours one day sitting on the couch with an ice pack on my back and passing the time by stitching.  That undid all the good of the injection.  When I returned to the doctor on July 17, she said it is still possible the cortisone will do some good, and to try not to raise my arm too high.  She still thinks it's just tendinitis.  I have discovered that some things aggravate it, including stitching and using the computer mouse.  So back o the Olympics.  Despite the fact that using the mouse bothers me, my goal is to blog about all the pictures I have taken and edited.

This is The "Crowsline" by Cedar Hill.  I have no idea how many years ago I started this project, but at that time, I found stitching on the linen fabric too frustrating, and set it aside.  I finally decided it was time to finish up some UFOs.  Once I started working on it again, it took only a few evenings to complete it.  Unfortunately, I don't have any information about the fabric, but I can say that I used the recommended DMC threads.  I still have to figure out how to complete it - a pillow, perhaps.

Wedding Gifts

Once again, I have been MIA.   Does anyone else find that their weeks just fly by?  I was turning the blocks on my husband's perpetual calendar earlier tonight and realized that it is July 14.  How did that happen?  Wasn't it just July 4th?  (Big sigh.)

Back on June 23, we attended the wedding of the daughter of long-time friends and our church's music administrator (who is the worship leader for the band I sing with).  It was such a beautiful wedding!  The bride made sure her dress was modest with the addition of a short jacket, and the entire service was centered on Jesus Christ.  There were even two trumpeters, which took Phil and I back to our own wedding 28 years ago.

Do any of you remember the mystery project I was working on at the beginning of the year?  It was Nathan and Diana's wedding gift.  I am hoping that by now they have opened their gifts and will not have the surprise spoiled by seeing this post on Facebook.

I decided to stitch My Beloved by Country Cottage Needleworks, but I personalized it by using their favorite color - red - for the lettering.  I also changed some of the other colors by choosing different shades of those that were charted so that they coordinated with the red.

I also brought out the red in the frame, which wasn't easy to find.  (A huge thank you to the framing employee at Michaels!)

I also stitched a Christmas ornament.  This was the third time (I think) that I've stitched this.

I will do my best to be back soon to share some cards I've made recently.

Patriotic Stitching

While looking through my unstitched patterns, I came across the Summer 2010 Booklet by The Sampler Girl.  I had only stitched one design from this booklet, but as I was looking through it, two others caught my eye.  The first, the Primitive Patriotic Cupboard Sampler, I stitched in two days!  Probably a record for me. 

I stitched this on a piece of linen in the color "tea" using DMC threads, and finished it as a hanging pillow.  The hanger is one strand from a piece of jute twine. 

I have this hanging from our front doorknob, but moved it to take the picture because of shadows. 

Next up is the Out in the Garden door hanging from the same booklet.

90 Years Young

My mother-in-law recently celebrated her 90th birthday, which I mentioned in an earlier post.  I wanted to stitch a small gift for her, and found the perfect one in an old Leisure Arts publication (which, of course, I don't have in front of me, and is probably somewhere in the living room) called 50 Garden Minis Inspired by Scripture.

I stitched this on 28 count evenweave using DMC threads.  I didn't have some of the colors the pattern used, so I substituted close matches.

It has been a long time since I've stitched anything by Leisure Arts, and I forgot how tedious all that backstitching is!  I finished this as a flatfold and used a pretty pink and blue flat trim around the sides, which perfectly complemented the colors in the piece.

Working on a UFO

Looking through my project tote bag tonight, I decided it was time to at least make the effort to finish some UFOs.  So I pulled out Summer Iris by Blackbird Designs and worked on the flowers at the top of the design. 

I'm still having problems with my shoulder, so stitching is slow, but it felt good to pick up a needle tonight. 

Another Ornament

It's been a while since I've turned a cross stitched piece from one of my aunt's card into an ornament or pinkeep, but when I decided to work on some finish finishing this week, this piece was in the pile.

I'll be adding this one to my 3 foot tree of handmade ornaments - a new addition to our home that has yet to find a permanent place.  (I plan to leave it out all year round.)

Oh Joy Update

Little by little, I am putting stitches into Oh Joy.  The end is in sight.  All I have left is the snowman's heat on the bottom and a simple border. 

I was asked about my shoulder.  It is still bothering me, but I truly believe it's "just" fibromyalgia since the pain is not consistently in one area.  Some days it feels pretty good, but other days it really hurts.  When I stitch, I take lots of breaks and move my arm around.

This ornament needs to be finished, because I must start on a wedding gift.

Cassie says hello to all of you in blogland.

Oh Joy!

Another ornament, this time by Val's Stuff.  This one isn't so Christmassy that I can't leave it out all winter . . . if I get it finished!  The design is from the 2010 JCS Christmas Ornament issue.  It took me an entire evening to stitch the snowman face, and I ended up with a terribly painful shoulder.  (In July, I started having pain in it, which varies in intensity.  Since I've had this same type of pain before, I'm sure it's "just" fibromyalgia, especially since I haven't injured it.)

My mom is having surgery for two ruptured disks on Wednesday, so maybe I'll get some stitching done when I go over to help my dad care for her (or give him a chance to get out of the house for a while).  I'm going to schedule one more post for the end of the week, so I'll see you then!

A Bit of Stitching

There has been a bit of stitching since my last post.  I stitched a gift, but you won't be seeing that for a long while.  And I still have one more gift to stitch, so I'm not sure what I'll be showing you while I'm working on that one.

My plan is to continue stitching ornaments throughout the year; we'll see how that goes.  For now, though, I have almost completed Frosty in the Firs by Blue Ribbon Designs.  It's from the 2011 JCS Christmas Ornaments issue.  Although the snowman shows up well in the photograph, in real life, it doesn't, so I've been trying to find a floss color to outline him.  I tried a white, but it didn't work, so I have pulled a light grey, but haven't had an opportunity to try it yet.  I'll keep you posted!