mainely stitching

I’m afraid that I might’ve just received the best exchange ever. Anna, who I already knew to be super-talented, just blew me away with the Blackbird Designs exchange she sent me. I mean, wow! The design, from the Souveniers of Summer book, is fantastic enough (and I had to laugh at her comment about a Pole in Norway stitching an American flag for an American in Holland!) but her finishing is simply out of this world! I’ve always loved the cool pear finishes that you see around from time to time, but I knew such a thing was far beyond my humble abilities. Obviously, it’s not beyond Anna’s, though. Feast your eyes!!

This weekend I’m going to take a break from Quakers, which for some reason seriously challenge my ability to count correctly, and return to a couple of my own designs that have only the first few stitches done. Not that I’ll accomplish too much – although this weekend is slightly less jam-packed than the last two have been, it’s still a busy one. However, the sun is out and I’m feeling pleasantly recharged after an extra long night’s sleep and half an hour of walking the dogs. I hope your weekend abounds with happiness and health.

Size isn’t everything. Really.

To prove my point, look at this tiny treasure I received from Su to round out our year of Seasonal Exchanges. This is Dutch Strawberries by The Goode Huswife done over one on 40 ct linen. It’s exquisite, and even more gorgeous IRL. Su’s finished it as a floss fob/ornament. For now, I’ve taken the metal ring off so I can display it as an ornament. It is just so incredibly gorgeous that I can’t stop looking at it! It’s backed with a beautifully coordinating Moda fabric.

Here’s a little trio of petite pretties that I’ve recieved over the years. I have many others, but I like how these three look together.

I’ve been busy with some tiny stitching, too. This is Hope from the Virtue Sampler Series by Carriage House Samplings. However, I’ve change “Hope” to “Love” because it’s a gift for Rowen’s teacher, whose daughter recently died after a long illness. I’ve stitched it over one using the suggested Crescent Colours and finished it as a very tiny box to hold small treasures of her daughter.

This isn’t so small, but here’s what I stitched in the latest round for the Blackbird Designs exchange group. This is a compilation of various BBD design elements from several of their charts that I’ve done in a schoolgirl sampler style and finished off as a ‘make-do’ pin cushion on a tiny porcelein soup tureen with a tiny lace and ribbon trim. I love it! Luckily, so did my partner, Pilar! (I had to steal her photo, as I forgot to take one!)

And to show how well the international mails are working, here’s the Halloween JCS that Jennifer mailed me – it arrived in less than a week! Jennifer, you are SO generous and kind. Here’s hoping that your goodness will come back to you tenfold!

It was a funny coincidence that I received my end of the PS exchange on the same day that my partner received what I sent to her.

From Tracy, I received an amazingly detailed mattress-style pincushion that she weighted down with metal washers on the inside - she has cross stitched all six sides! It’s beautifully stitched and finished. Tracy, thank you so much – I’ll treasure it!

For Leena T. I used an excerpt from the old ‘97 Autumn Sampler leaflet and stitched it over one using the suggested DMC floss on 32 ct linen. Then I made a box (!) and covered it using some beautiful paper that I’d saved from Anna’s birthday gift to me. Because it seemed so sad to send an empty box, I filled it up with some vintage lace that I thought Leena would like. It was a joy to stitch for Leena because I’ve so enjoyed our contact in the past. It was also fun to try my hand at cartonnage – something I plan to try again in the very near future.

The wind is blowing up a gale – the kids were having so much fun running around in it when I brought them home from school for their lunch break; so much fun that watching them did wonders to lighten my own mood. Kids can be pretty terrific like that.

Growing up, autumn meant sunny days and chilly nights, bright fall foliage, newly-sharpened pencils, and a certain tang to the air that was just filled with promise. It was a time of new beginnings, just before winter set in and forced us all to cozy up for short days and long, cold nights. Where I now live, autumn means one thing: rain. After Niek and I bought our current house, September held a certain dread as we tried to keep ahead of the rain’s damage – it can rain so hard and so often that the ground around the house literally washes away. We’ve wakened to actual pits in the front and back yard where only the evening before there was dirt, sand, and paving stones, and have had to call in for partial truckloads of sand to replace what was lost. Just from rain! I know there are other parts of the world that suffer much worse from heavy seasonal rains, but I have to admit that I feel more than just a tad sorry for my loss of gorgeous foliage and crisp, sunny days. Here’s this week’s pictorial weather forecast. Sigh.

But like cold Maine winters force everyone inside for cozy pastimes, so does this autumn rain. Arden’s recently become very interested in books and I snapped a few pictures of him going through one of his new magnetic board books. You can stick the magnet onto the illustration to make something new – it was very popular on the plane trip, and continues to be a favorite now that we are home.

Of course this sort of weather also brings out the comfort foods. Tonight we’ll be enjoying garlic smashed potatoes with lemon-pepper fish and a salad. We had chili earlier in the week, to everyone’s satisfaction. What sort of recipes do you trot out for the change in season?

Most of all, the dreary weather means finding extra delight in cross stitching. Yesterday I completed my Prairie Schooler exchange and also worked a bit further on the new design shown in the previous post. The eyelet alphabet is soothing work to do. Today I’ll put the last stitches on my Blackbird Designs exchange so I can make a trip to the post office and get everything sent out at once.

Here’s hoping that you and yours are enjoying whatever Mother Nature is bringing your way!

Sounds like a festival of Bacchus over here, doesn’t it?

I’ve heard from dear Su that she received the little seasonal exchange I sent her. Sadly, it’s our last. I really have enjoyed the seasonal exchanges – this year I had Su as a partner and last year I had Nicki. I have been terribly spoiled! Knowing that Su’s tastes are on the feminine side, but that she also enjoys primitives, I thought this Mary Garry design from Seasonal Mementoes was just perfect. I found a tiny wooden tea box that I sanded, painted pink, and sanded again, then inserted the cross stitched piece (with a little floral Moda border) after lacing it onto a piece of padded matboard. I had a lot of fun making this, Su, and I’ve really enjoyed our year of stitching for each other!

So that explains the flowers and wild-haired women. This little WIP will explain the leaves. And perhaps those other things are either berries or rose hips? Anyway, this is a Marjorie Massey design (Nos Amis les Bêtes) that I splurged on when Lili mentioned that a very good French shop was having a no-shipping-charges sale. I must admit that I was nervous when placing the order because I don’t speak or read French, and the online translator sometimes gives very strange translations. LOL! But it all worked out well, and this ONS would probably become a true favorite if only the language were not such a barrier. This is stitched on 35 ct Peach linen from Vikki Clayton using Irish Blues silk from the Thread Gatherer. It will be a gift, so you probably won’t see it again for awhile…

Thanks for bearing up under my little National Geographic presentation yesterday. Those birds just completely fascinated me. Today I noticed a blackbird going in and out of the section of hedge that had housed a dove, so I guess the doves have moved on. I’d hoped to catch a glimpse of the little ones, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Here’s a picture of the feline responsible for all the hoop-la.

Thanks also for all the super-nice things you said about my productive weekend. I wish they were all like that, but of course then I’d lose my sense of enjoyment and simply expect more. As for the kit so kindly gifted to me by my well-intentioned neighbor, that will hit the posts for Jennifer. Hopefully it’ll catch a strong tail wind and arrive in about 10 days.

I think we’re in danger of wearing out the mail slot on our front door, LOL! A couple of days ago, I received Hickety Pickety by Little by Little from Melissa as a thank you for piggy-backing some other mail to another Dutch-based stitcher. Melissa, it wasn’t necessary, but thank you so much! And it seems that Melissa’s parcel was the one that broke the dam. Since then, the mail has been a’flyin’!

Ela received the Blackbird Designs exchange that I sent her. Now you may remember the glorious one that I received - as one comment said, ‘the bar for this exchange has been set high’. I really did my best to make something beautiful and functional, and Ela’s assured me that she really likes it. I stitched June Berries and used it as an insert for a wooden tray that I painted and sanded to look antique. I was really pleased with the outcome. Anyone who wants to sign up for the next round, head over the blog now and do so!

Then I received my Prairie Schooler exchange from Roberta and nearly fell right over – it’s that wonderful! Roberta knows how much I’m looking forward to heading home to Maine and figured that this design from the July leaflet would really get me in the mood for the gorgeous Maine coast. She personalized the back gorgeously (look at that over-one compass insert!!). And then I opened it up and just squealed! Niek thought I’d stuck myself with a pin, but I’d actually fallen in love with this little lobster. Everything is finished to perfection, and I’m seriously considering taking this home to show to my family this summer. Thanks, Roberta!!

And then the birthday fairy slipped something through that over-worked mail slot. Deb and I are birthday twins (add in Tanya’s son Ben and we’re triplets!) and every year this wonderful lady goes completely overboard gifting me with delightful goodies. The strawberry in this year’s package made Rowen’s eyes go round – you could just see her figuring out how good it would look with her new red hair! Never fear, it’s safely installed in my Hall of Fame and I’ll make sure she doesn’t sneak it off to school. Deb also included a fat bunch of NPI silks in glorious greens. I love HDF silks, but NPI is actually my number one favorite to stitch with – they are so smooth  and so gorgeous. Deb also included a chart that I’ve l-o-n-g admired and some fun invitations that I will use the next time we have a Sip & Stitch at Chateau Chaos. Thanks, Deb!

And then … yes, there is more! And then my order from TGOSM arrived. Remember I told you that there was a sale on the kits and that it really was a no-brainer to grab one? Here’s mine! I also splurged on some thread winders that will be popping up in packets that I send out. They’re so cute, and the price certainly is right. I’ve pressed my linen and installed it on a Q-snap so I’m ready to start stitching. But first, I decided I had to get an unpleasant chore out of the way – frogging all that I had done on Shores. I’m going to re-do it, either two-over-two or one-over-one. In either case, I need a different piece of linen and I want this one clean and ready to use for a new project. Good girl, right?

Well, I guess that’s more than enough out of me for today, isn’t it? Thanks so much for coming to visit!

A lot of people have wondered about Rowen’s hair – the red is only a wash-out gel. I promised her a special reward after her haircut, and that was what she wanted. Now why did she get such a different haircut? Let’s just say that the Chaos Crew Mommy may have to hang up her shears …. I’ve been cutting the kids’ hair for awhile now, and it’s all gone well. Until Saturday morning, when Rowen kept pestering me to cut her hair because her brother got to go to the barbershop with Daddy. So I did, but I obviously wasn’t focused on the job at hand and when she moved at the same time I snipped … she was missing a big chunk of hair and I couldn’t camoflague the mistake. So I took her to a beauty shop, which was what she wanted in the first place. She loves her new hairdo, and honestly so do I. She looks like a pixie.

My Prairie Schooler exchange arrived, I saw on the exchange blog. My exchange partner also enjoys fishing, so I tried to make her needlebook resemble a wicker tackle box. It was fun to think up something really original and I can only hope that my partner enjoys it. The two designs are from Prairie Lodge and I stitched them with the suggested DMC on 35 ct linen from Vikki Clayton.

My Blackbird Designs exchange, mailed the same day, didn’t have as far to go so I really hope it shows up very soon.

Stitching merrily away here at Chateau Chaos – making good use of all these rainy days! I caught a quick picture of Arden playing at the dining table yesterday and it made me wonder if my little lady from Mary Garry had hair as wild and cute as his. What do you think? LOL. This was a fun design to stitch, but alas, it’s another exchange so you’ll have to wait patiently for pictures.

Everyone assures me that the weather for the upcoming long weekend (Monday is a holiday here) will be gorgeous, so I’m not going to let our current wind and rain get me down. I hope all’s going well in your corner of the world!

I finish-finished my Blackbird Designs exchange today and wow, am I excited about it! Max was home when I was doing the last bit of work on the finishing and he was so disappointed that it wasn’t for us to keep. Obviously, I’ll have to do something like it for ourselves in the future. I can’t show you the whole thing, just in case the recipient stops by, but here’s a little peek.

It was a hot one today! 25 Celsius and humid – enough to get me into a skirt and T-shirt, that’s for sure. The kids had fun playing out in the backyard after dinner … and Arden just plain ol’ had fun, all day long.

Take care, friends, and thank you for visiting!!

Okay, it’s a guilt-free SAL, this CHS stocking thing that Annemarie masterminded. Good thing, as I haven’t had it out of the bag in awhile. I have had the bag out & about, though, so don’t worry – he’s getting fresh air and everything. LOL. I took him to Heidi’s Sip & Stitch, but he didn’t get out of the bag. I was too busy frogging my Quaker RR piece. Again. At Heidi’s, I was seriously tempted by Harmien’s progress on HOHRH to go pull mine out of the mothballs. I started it about a billion years ago and packed it away when I realized that at my current rate, it would take me 13 years to finish it. LOL. But I’m rambling. I’ll blame it on insufficient exposure to other adults – I’m forgetting all my social skills. I should take Harmien’s cue and go for fewer words, more pictures.

Let’s see. Big news. Oh, you must go over to Edgar’s blog and sign up for his giveaway. I know, you’ve heard it from scores of other stitchers and signed up days ago, but I signed up and am duty-bound to mention it. Edgar’s blog must be getting hits in the 100’s by now!

Other big news – my frog-damned RR went out a couple of days late despite my assurances that this would not happen. I have never experienced such an inability to count since I started stitching! It was insane! But it’s on its way to Karen and I must say that in the end, it looked very good. And there were no errors!

I picked up my BBD exchange piece to work on and discovered that the frogs are staying. Where are the little blighters? I’ll collect them all humanely and send them … to Siberia! Argh. Not sure yet how much I’ll have to unpick, but it’s certainly everything I’ve stitched today.

And lastly, a big hooray for big news, my Mom seems to be doing very well. Her neighbors are “on call” and she really sounded very chipper when I called her around 7 am (her time). Fingers and toes crossed this will work out. And thank you all SO much for your wonderful supportive, caring, and helpful comments!

Well, time to do a bit more unstitching. With any luck, I may actually reach the point where I can start stitching again tonight!