Plans

Happy New Year!  

Still no stitching to show.  Way back at the beginning of November I injured a finger.  After many bandages, antibiotic and tetanus shots and many weeks of healing it is much better than before.  But strangely, it is still super sensitive.  So sensitive in fact that it hurts to have 32 ct linen move across my finger.  Holding the needle is very uncomfortable and as you can imagine, if I wear a band-aid while stitching the needle keeps slipping out of my fingers - very frustrating.  I am grateful that my fingertip has feeling because the doctor wasn’t entirely sure how well that would heal.  But this is a little too much.

So I have spent my allotted stitching time organizing my stash and surfing the internet for inspiration for when I go back to stitching.  A little while ago Nora Corbett released Merchant Mermaid.  As usual, some stitchers loved the mermaid in a commercial advertisement design and others hated it.  But, like most photographs of stitched models, I think the photo on the front of the chart doesn’t do this design justice.  Just looking at the material list tells me that she is just dripping with sparkle - she uses 9 different packages of beads from petite beads all the way up to pebble beads.  In addition to all those beads she is decorated with a number of glass roses and amethyst crystals.  Not to mention that she uses 5 skeins of beautiful overdyed silks from Caron Collection.  How could she not be gorgeous?

Mirabilia Merchant Mermaid

I found Stitchitandie’s blog with her start on Merchant Mermaid and she really is beautiful.  Please visit her blog for a better look.  She is an incredible stitcher and her blog is just full of beautiful work and inspiration.



I am going to pull together the materials and do a floss toss and pick the perfect fabric.  Hopefully I’ll be able to stitch soon and it will be all ready and waiting for me.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone celebrates safely and I wish for health and happiness for all in the coming year.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  It was great having my mother visiting for Christmas and we all had a great time.

Things are slowing down now and I hope to have time to sit and peacefully stitch this week.

Enjoy your holidays everyone.

No phone, no lights, no motorcars

After a week without power, we finally have lights, heat, internet, phone and cable again.  Since October 29 when we had a freak early nor'easter before the leaves fell from the trees, we haven't had power.  And we've been lucky - twenty percent of the folks in our town still don't have power.  The kids will finally go back to school tomorrow - but they have already had 8 snow days for this school year and it isn't even winter yet.

Unfortunately, I spent a good part of the week with a nasty cold - otherwise, there probably couldn't be better stitching time.   Just before this whole hullbaloo Nora Corbett released her new mermaid - Merchant Mermaid.  I know some people don't care for the new design but she has grown on me.  I think maybe if the lower advertisement part were either bigger and more clearly in the advertising style or that the upper 'MILL Hill' were smaller so that the advertising portion could be completely removed, more people would be interested in her.  The beads and treasures on her and the silk threads are exquisite.  I plan to stitch her starting with the main part of the mermaid.  I'll see how I feel about the emblem when I get there.  In the meantime I'll keep an eye out for other Merchant Mermaid Works in Progress to see how I feel about her.

She really is beautiful.

Here's hoping that the rest of the folks still in the dark have there power restored today!

Happy Stitching.

What an artist can do with just six shades

Isn't it amazing what an artist can do with just 3 shades of red and 3 shades of green?  This is the Poppy Biscornu from Faby Reilly.  It's actually really and easy and quick stitch but I haven't put much time into because I have some gift stitching to finish up.  So really this is all I can show.  I truly love the poppies in this design and I haven't even beaded or backstitched yet.

We're just starting to see some color in the leaves here.  We've been warned not to expect too much red and orange this year due to all the "extra" rain from Hurricane Irene and the storms that came afterwards.  While i hope the forecasters are wrong, it does look like a good number of leaves are just turning yellow and falling off the trees.  Still, it hasn't gotten cold yet so maybe we'll get lucky.

Speaking of the forecasters, I've seen the squirrels running around with giant hickory nuts - some even bigger than the squirrel's head.  I am thinking that this cannot be a good sign regarding winter.  The squirrels always have a better handle on the season ahead and they seem to be busier than usual this fall.  I better beef up my stash for those snow days at home.  There's nothing like getting your cup of tea, your music and your project and finding that you're short one skein of silk or one package of beads and you won't be getting out or getting mail until you've shoveled out of the most recent snowstorm.

Here's to enjoying the warm weather this week and planning for the coming season.  Happy Stitching everyone.

Cross stitch on a Pumpkin

I came across this while surfing around yesterday - Cross Stitch on a Pumpkin from the StitchPunk blog.
Creative!

My Poppy Biscornu

Here's an update on my Poppy Biscornu from Faby Reilly.  I really like this design.  The spiderweb roses came out nicely.  Faby Reilly recently released some new designs - We'll get the Violet Biscornu and the Plum Orchid Needlebook up at NeedleartsGallery.com real soon.  I just love these pieces.

Time to switch back to Moonlit Kitties or they won't be done in time for Halloween.

I know it isn't normal to get excited over fruit - but these pears are from our very own pear tree.  This is the first year that the trees produced well.  I knew I liked pears before - but pears from your very own pear tree are just soooo good.  They won't win any beauty contests but they are mighty tasty.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.  The water here is receding.  I wish we could send some of it (much of it) to places like Texas where it is so badly needed.

We saw many of the memorial services for 9/11 today both local and televised.  I feel like I have spent most of the day in tears.  My prayers still go out to all of the people who lost loved ones on that day and to the friends and families of those first responders who are suffering illness today as a result of their heroic actions on that day.