My Stitchalong

We all have them.  Projects that started working on, and got quite far on, but it then gets puts aside for  one reason or another.  I am certainly no exception!  I started this more than a year ago. Meet Vinny the Vampire by Glendon Place.  As you can see I got a lot done.  I had to stitch the moon that goes behind the bat, and do the back stitching.  So why did I put him aside? There were several reasons, but the big one was that I just could not figure out the directions for how to stitch the moon!  It sounds simple.  Start here, and stitch diagonally.  You would think I would be able to figure that out! I finally plucked up the courage and asked the question on Facebook!  Thank goodness for the kindness of stitchers!  No one made me feel stupid for not understanding what turned out to be something very simple.  Vinny finally has a moon, and I will soon be able to remove this project from the unfinished ...

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it's summer, which means the kids are out of school for their summer break.  Heaven knows I love my boys, but the summer vacations really take their toll on my nerves for a variety of reasons.  This summer is no exception since it's the first summer that I've worked in many years.  M has taken on the responsibility of cooking dinner for the family while I'm gone, so that has taken some concerns away from me, and he's gotten quite good at it.  We started with simple dinners, like pasta and tacos.  This morning I taught him how to make sausage and spinach bread, a recipe that my father used to make for our family when I was a child.  It's a favorite of my kids, and he was really surprised to see how easy it is to make. Yesterday the kids gave me some quiet time.  M was tired and went to lay down, and Z was watching a movie .  What was a stitching mom to do??  Set myself up with my stitching and st...

Two friends and I have been working on the Little House ABC series.  As I said in my last post the OPQ square that I was working on is going to be scrapped and started again once I get new fabric and more floss for it.  The rest of the squares have not really seen much day light, partially because I wasn't sure what to do with them once I finished them all.  I thought about a wall hanging, but I wasn't loving the idea.  Then I thought about making them into little pillows, but I didn't really know how to display them.  While the project lagged I kept my eyes open for something that I liked.  Last night, while I was at work, I found it!! There are nine pieces to the project, and I can display two on the top and the others in the little cubby holes.  When  Christmas rolls around I will put some of my Christmas ornaments in there to display for the season.  Now that I have a place to put the finished pieces I started the next square i...

I can't believe it's almost the 4th of July already.  Last September school started on what would be my oldest son's senior year.   Now it's July.  The prom, senior day, graduation, and the celebrations that accompany all of these happy events have now come and gone.  M is excitedly looking forward to the next chapter: college!!  There was a time when I was not sure college was a possibility for him.  Behavioral problems at home have caused me many tearful nights over the years.  In all honesty, they still do, but as  M has gotten older and maturity has kicked in the problems have gotten better, and he is able to go forward and study the things he wants to study.  I'm very proud of him. Summer brings lots of changes to our daily routine.  For the summer months I decided to change my work hours to evening hours.  With two kids home my husband and I figured it would be easier for me to be home during the day and work nights.  I...

Big news on the stitching front!  I finished one of my long time WIPs. Cherry Hollow Farm Sampler by Stacy Nash.  This project right here explains perfectly why I don't buy kits anymore.   Let's start at the beginning.  I saw this project at Lazy Daisy, my LNS, which has, unfortunately closed.  I had just gotten into a Sampler period and really liked this one, so I snapped it up.  It came with linen and Weeks floss.  What could go wrong? When I went to start it I was planning in starting in the upper left corner.  Three inches in and three inches down, right?  Something didn't look right.  I couldn't figure out what it was.  Then I measured. The fabric was too small and only left a one inch border.  I needed new fabric.  Okay.  Of course the only fabric I really loved was expensive.  Are we surprised?  Isn't that always the way? Then I was reading the instructions that came with the kit, and it ...

I seem to have entered a stitching slump.  Frequent migraines, several home improvement projects, my son's looming high school graduation, and family issues seems to have gotten in my way, and nothing seems to be tempting me to get my needles moving. What is a stitcher to do?  This stitcher looked to a book that I bought at Christmas time, hoping to get myself moving.  I LOVE Star Wars.  While I was walking thought Barnes and Nobles one night I saw this kit on the shelf. Wow!!  How cool is that?  I did Darth Vader and  Bobba Fett for my sons for their birthdays, and I've had R2D2 kitted up since the beginning of the year.  Could this be what I need to get me out of my slump? While I have stitched on it, I can't say that it's gotten me moving.  I am, however, trying to stitch.  Maybe clear progress on a project will help motivate me and my stitching needles.  I have to say that I'm seriously thinking about orde...

If you have gone back to look at some of my older posts you will see that I am not a "one project at a time" kind of girl.  I used to be.  Then I met some other stitchers and their influence was pretty strong.  I'm not, however, the kind of person who can have hundred of projects started.  I have a stitching friend who is joining this group that will start a new project a day for 10 days.  I couldn't do that.  Too many projects started and I get seriously overwhelmed. So, while Intervention has been taking up the bulk of my stitching time lately, I have been working on other projects here and there, as well.  Let's take a look! As you can see, Intervention's borders are almost complete .   Now I get to pour through my book and pick motifs for each section of the piece.   Last night I had stitch night with my friend, and she and her husband thought it was a cool project to work on being that there really is no pattern.  We will s...