and more de-stashing...

As you may be able to tell, I am making a major effort to go through some of my stash that's been sitting for decades (no exaggeration). I don't know if anyone will want these, but I'm putting the offer out there anyway--these kits are all partially done by me, if you want any or all let me know. I will never finish these, most are on aida which I can't stand any more and they are just no longer my taste. If anyone wants pictures just send an e-mail and I will send as many as you like. Here they are:

--Patchwork Heart Quilt Sampler by Linda Bird (on cream evenweave)
--Scenic Farm by Dimensions (white aida)
--Cabbage Pillow by Donna Vermillion Giampa (on white aida but it is solidly stitched)
--Treetop Angel by Diane Arthurs (white aida)
--Neighborhood Quilts by Linda Myers (white evenweave)
--Roses on Toile (needlepoint) by Dimensions

As I said, let me know if you want pictures and I will dole these out on a first come, first served basis. The charts are readable but some are bit crinkled and in all fairness I warn you that they are from back in the day when I did mark my charts (I gave up that habit along with the aida lol).

I've been very bloggy lately

Don't worry, it won't last long, then I'll be back to my once-a-month posts :) In the meantime, here is (not) Red House in Winter. I was going to do this for the Seasonal Exchange but changed my mind and stitched something else instead, so this will probably be the first of the teachers' ornaments for this Christmas.

Since I am short several colors for Snow Garden, I am making this my first February WIP--Delivering Tricks by Homespun Elegance. This one hasn't been sitting around too long, only since last fall, but I'm trying to finish up some of my pile of small half-finished projects before moving on to the larger half-finished projects. Haven't purchased any new charts yet, I'm so proud of myself...but then Nashville is coming up soon...

Fred and an exchange received

Here is Fred, finally. Took me at least a year, probably more--
I should have known that I would stall out on that border! This
is why I don't stitch traditional samplers, though I do love them.

I don't know what to do with him now--he will probably be framed at some point in time--but at least he's done!


And here is the piece I received from Kathy A. for the Seasonal (Winter) Exchange--JBW Snow Globe finished as a lovely pillow. Thank you Kathy, I love it and can't wait to display it next Christmas! As I write this, it occurs to me that (once again) I forgot to take a picture of the exchange piece that I stitched before it was mailed. Does anyone else have this problem? I am constantly begging my partners for pictures of things. Oh well, their pictures are usually better than mine anyway :)


I am trying to squeeze in one more WIP for January before I pick up Snow Garden again. This is LHN's Red House in Winter which I realize does not look very red lol. I am hoping for a quick finish...well, I can hope anyway! It seems that whenever I think I'm going to finish something soon it end up dragging on for weeks...

BTW, I'm sorry about the lack of comments on others' blogs lately. I still do the majority of my blog reading at work (it's about the only time I can count on having computer access) but can't sign in to Google, sooo... I still do read blogs faithfully, but can't do much else.

That's it for now. Looking back over past posts I noticed that I had planned in November to have a big birthday/100 follower giveaway, which obviously never happened, but I will put together something in the near future. Until next time and thank you all for your comments!

so I lied

sort of. Fred IS done...but I don't have time for a proper post this morning and haven't taken his picture yet, so this is just to announce the winner of the Valentine Rose chart is #9, Ranae! I will e-mail you shortly.

(And after some internet research, at work of course, I think the scissors mentioned in the last post are the Lindsay model from 2004.)

Back soon with Fred picture(s) and my next WIP. Have a great week everyone!

A finish and a question

but probably not the finish you were expecting :) Yes, Fred is still languishing. The striped bottom portion is almost as much a pain as the border was--but he will be done this month.

This was going to be my wip-of-the-month for February, but I picked it up on a whim and finished early. It is BBD's Valentine Rose, of course. I looked back through my blog and noticed that I had proclaimed this one "almost done" back in May of 2010. I'm so proud, it only took about 8 months to put the last few dozen stitches in it! The initials at the bottom are those of my grandmother, who lived in a fabulous old brick house much like this one back in Kutztown, PA--I thought of her and the house immediately when I saw this design. I haven't quite decided on my February wip but I think it might be Snow Garden.

Any takers for this chart? If so, please indicate in the comments that you want it. I will do the random number generator thing on the 27th if more than one person is interested.


For anyone who knows Gingher scissors, do you know/can you tell from my crappy picture which model these are? I bought them in 200_? , recently saw a pair (Julia) that I thought looked like it on eBay for some astronomical price, and was wondering if these could possibly be the same model. I tossed all the packaging and don't recall the name of mine. I just bought them because I thought they were cute.

I've logged about 38 miles through Middle Earth so far in the Walk to Rivendell Challenge. I hope to walk/run (though it's more walking than running, believe me) about 60+ miles per month, which will put me at Farmer Maggot's by the end of January, then it's on to Tom Bombadil's house and hopefully Bree by March.

That's about all for now. A completed Fred will be displayed in my next post!

giveaway winner

Sorry, I know I'm a day late with this--I planned to draw a winner last night but I ended up spending two hours at the dentist, after which I didn't feel like doing much of anything...

Anyway, the random number picker came up with #4, Gabi! I will email for your contact info. I have many, many more charts to dispose of so this is one of several giveaways to come this year.

Frederick is very close to being done, so I look forward to showing him off next time!

a little finish, a little giveaway and the same old resolution

I have been stitching a little bit more lately--not much with the kids underfoot, tbut they are finally going back to school today--but this is my latest, Acorns and Pines by LHN. I used the recommended DMC on white linen and then "sponge-painted" it with a tea bag.

Is anyone interested in the chart? If so leave a comment and I will include my leftover floss which should be ample to stitch this little piece again. If there is more than one taker I will throw the names in a hat and draw a winner on January 10.

I made a few additions to my sidebar for the new year, the first of which, related to my recurring new year's resolution, is my WIP-of-the-month project. I have been digging through my stash and getting very sad looking at all the nearly-completed projects which have been sitting around for years (does this sound familiar to anyone?) so I am going to try to finish one (or more if possible) per month, and to keep myself accountable will post pictures and the beginning and end of each month of the WIP in question. For January I decided on Frederick here, which was begun, I think, about two years ago and which is absurdly close to being finished. I am not allowing myself to start any new projects until the WIP-of-the-month is fnished. I'm not letting any more new charts follow me home either, until I make a dent in the stash pile (same resolution as last year--though I know it will be broken at some point).

The other addition to the sidebar is not stitchy-related but I thought I would share it anyway for you Lord of the Rings fans--this is the Walk to Rivendell challenge (found at www.eowynchallenge.net). If you walk/run/bike etc. you keep track of the distances you travel and this site has mileage charts that correspond to different portions of Frodo's journey (I chose Hobbiton to Rivendell) so you can see how far you have travelled in Middle Earth (if that makes sense). It's going to take me a while just to get out of Hobbiton, I'm not as quick as Frodo even though we're about the same height :) Anyway, it's an interesting motivator for someone (me) who needs an extra push to get out to the track in the morning.

Don't forget to leave a comment if you're interested in the chart! Until next time...