What I Have Been Up To This Month!

Time sure has flown by...One day it's the beginning of September and now here we are at the end!  It's officially autumn even though the temperature outside today still thinks it's summer.  But as they say "stick around and the weather will change again."  We have had a lot of rain and a lot of cloudy days these last few weeks, so I am not going to complain to much about today's weather because the sun is shining and the skies are a beautiful blue. 

I went to the Outer Banks with a friend earlier this month.  It was a wonderful, gorgeous week!  We had rain the first day and it rained the last day but in between the weather was perfect!  It was so relaxing to just roam the beach each day looking for shells. We had so much fun shopping at all the outlet stores and little shops in the area and trying out the restaurants.  It was a good week!

Kitty Hawk Beach, NC

I took several stitchy projects with me to the beach.  Decided it would be a good time to finish a UFO or two.  There was not much time for stitching but I did manage to finish one project and get about halfway on another.  Here is my finish...



PS Autumn stitched on 14 ct. Fiddlers Cloth with DMC Threads

The above project was 3/4 finished and did not take much time to complete. 

And here is the progress on my second UFO...


PS February stitched on Lambswool 14 ct. Aida with DMC threads

 This one is about 2/3 finished now.  I'm not loving this one but am determined to finish it. 

These projects were perfect for the beach because the lighting was not the best in our room and stitching on aida cloth enabled me to be able to see my stitches without bringing along my stitching lamp.

Next up is my progress on two more of my Crazy January Challenge pieces.

BBD Their Song stitched on 28 ct Irish Linen with recommended WDW thread

LHN Little House Neighborhood stitched on linen 32 ct with DMC Threads

They are projects #10 and #11. 

I have not been stitching on these much because my turn came to work on The Traveling Pattern!  Yes, the pattern and scrapbook arrived in my mailbox last Friday afternoon!  Thanks to Myra for sending these along to me and thanks to Jennifer for organizing this project.  Peggy Lee provided the pattern and Jennifer added the scrapbook.  Peggy Lee, I have to tell you, you will just love looking at the scrapbook and seeing all of the finished samplers!!

Here's my take on the sampler....


La D Da "A B C D" stitched on 32 ct Stony Point linen using DMC #924, #4210 & #310

I just love the varigated thread for the alphabet. My initials were stitched with #310.  I decided that the leaf design should be stitched with a lovely blue/green with just a hint of gray.  You can't tell by the picture but the linen is a lovely shade of gray/green.  The colors look so nice together.  Can you tell I am pleased with the effect?  I chose not to stitch the border around the design but would like your comments on whether you think that the border would add to the finish.  I am still on the fence a little about adding the border. This pattern will be on its way to Cat at Bramblewood Stitches by the first of next week.  I need to add to the scrapbook before I send it on its way.

A special welcome to my new followers!  I hope you all are enjoying visiting with me and I really look forward to any comments you might be inclined to leave.  It's so much fun making new friends!

Thought I would leave you with a picture of the mate to the cardinal in my header.  She has been hard to capture by the camera but one day she seemed to want her picture taken and posed a little for me.

She was looking at me like "Are you happy now?  Take the picture and don't bother me anymore!"  LOL I love it when the pair are in the tree next to the feeder chirping back and forth to each other.  Their calls are so distinct, I can always tell when they are outside the window.

Wishing you all a Blessed Autumn season!

Two New Finishes! And New Stash Too!

This week has just flown by! Hard to believe that it has been a week since Hurricane Irene paid us a visit. The weather has been beautiful all week, starting to feel like fall, warm sunny days and cool nights!

I have gotten a lot of stitching done this week! "Pumpkin Farm" was finished on Wednesday. I just couldn't put this one down until I finished!

"Pumpkin Farm" by With Thy Needle and Thread
stitched on 28 ct. evenweave with DMC threads

"My Ways" was completed on Thursday. My goal was to finish it by the end of August, but I am pleased to finish it only one day later. It is an easy little sampler to stitch but I did get bored with the alphabet stitched all in one color so I had to stitch on other projects in between working on this one which is why it took longer than I expected.

"My Ways" by La D Da
stitched on 32 ct. linen with DMC threads


These finishes are #8 and #9 of my Crazy January Challenge pieces! I don't know if I will be able to complete all 15 starts this year but I am making progress toward my goal!

Project #10 is "Little House Neighborhood" by LHN. I picked it up last night and was able to complete the vine part of the border before bedtime. I gave a little cheer when it matched up!

"Little House Neighborhood" by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 30 ct. linen with DMC threads


My postman delivered some new stash this week! I had been trying so hard not to buy any new projects from the Baltimore show but the temptation was too great. So I limited my purchases to only 3 projects...

"Weeds Make Haste" by Shakespears Peddler, "Halloween Eve" by BBD, and the new Inspiration Boxer by Lizzie Kate.

Don't you just love the beautiful colors in "Halloween Eve" and "Weeds"?

In family news this week, my youngest son and his wife purchased their very first home. They are so excited! And the best part for us is they are only a hours drive from us now so more frequent visits with our granddaughter are in our future! Yea!!!

Well, that's all for this post. I wish everyone a fun and safe Labor Day weekend! Hope you get to have some fun and some stitchy time too!

Blessings and Happy Stitching!