End of September Update

I had planned on getting back to Opus Magnusson, after my start on the American Sampler, but, I got so busy and so into AS, that I just never did.  Here is my progress on the sampler -

I am stitching it on Lakeside "Navy Bean" 32 ct. and using the DMC colors.  That house was a bugger to do with all those over-one stitches, so I've begun cheating.  Instead of doing ALL over-ones, where I can, I am doing over-two and then doing the over-ones to complete; like in the sheep.  They were supposed to be done ALL over one.  I looked at that and said "Forgedaboudit!"  (I love the way Hugh Grant says that in Mickey Blue Eyes!)  Also, the windows are all done mostly over-one.  But what I did there was just a half cross stitch.  Got the same coloration I needed and took half the time!  YAY!

Some of you, like Siobhan, have correctly calculated that this is THAT chart that has tons of Queen Stitches.  I really dislike Queens.  I will try and do the thing as charted, but if those Queens give me fits, I will convert those sections over to cross stitch - or some other stitch that will cover; I am not into self-torture.

Husband's car has been repaired, mechanically.  Thanks to all of you who inquired after my son's welfare.  He's absolutely fine.  The judgement of the mechanic (and others he's consulted) is that the value of the car makes it not worth continuing with the major body work that the car will need to be brought back to where it was.  So, looks like we've got to get Husband a new car sometime soonish.  Husband is stubborn, so he's driving car until it falls apart underneath him.  I'm thinking of getting him a kevlar suit for Christmas.

At the same time that the car was wreaked, my dishwasher broke down.  When we bought it, the house had been outfitted with Jen Air appliances.  Except, for some reason, had no fridge.  So, we had to buy our own.  I'm a pretty loyal Kitchenaide/Whirlpool customer, so we bought a KA fridge.  Every single one of the Jen Air appliances have had major problems over time.  The oven door has never shut properly.  We had a repairman out when we moved in and he said, oh, you have that oven.  They know there's a problem, but they don't know how to fix it.  Say what?  I ended up having to put a strip of industrial velcro on it to hold it closed; can you believe that?  One day my husband went to open the oven and the plastic oven handle broke.  One day he left the oven door slightly ajar (you know how you do in the winter to get the residual heat into the house?) and the digital display no longer works.  The dishwasher had a small leak that we'd fixed a couple of times, but one day I opened it and the handle broke off in my hand (I swear we are not a family of Godzillas!)  Soon the delay feature on the dishwasher wasn't working and then it just wouldn't start at all.  My husband said it was some sort of relay switch.

We calculated the time and effort in repairing it versus going out for a new one.  Well, I've found the layout of that dishwasher difficult from day one.  Did some research, came up with a price for a new one and Husband said, let's go shopping.  So, for $449 we got a brand new model Whirlpool.  Even better, they're running a $50 rebate on it, so we end up paying just under $400 for it and got free delivery.  I even saved money by not buying the more expensive "stainless steel" finish.  Black looks just as good - even better since it won't require special cleansers like the SS.   Husband installed it the other night (savind $125) and I ran it for the first time yesterday while I was cooking dinner.  The dishwasher was quieter than the oven.  I am very pleased.  I have decided that if I can put a new oven in the hole for the old one I'm going to treat myself to a new one at Christmas.  I may have trouble because the microwave is over the oven and I'm not sure if they're a two-fer.  Will have to investigate that.

Will begin work on my Anniversaries of the Heart for October tonite or tomorrow so will update soon on that.  Hope you enjoyed!

Confessions of a Stitching Shop-a-holic

I've been bad.  Very, very  bad.  I should also say that I had quite a lot of trouble with Blogger this time around and had to publish an incomplete post in order to save it.  Sorry for double posting.

But first, to update you.  It's been awhile, I know.  I've been working like a demon designing up a new website for the historical society.  It's been quite a road.  First, I had to regain control of our domain name.  Then when I did that, I got an email saying oh, by the way, now that you have control, you can't transfer it for 30 days.  Thanks so much for telling me that before!  It wouldn't have changed anything, but at least I wouldn't have been so relieved about being near the end.  I have taken that 30 days and run with it though, got all of the pages built and have the new site ready to upload.  It will be a work in progress for a month or so.  I have to publish it so that the rest of the executive committee can chime in on it.  I'll then make all necessary changes and upgrades and viola!

In the meantime, it has meant everything to me to have my stitching to turn to in order to destress.  This has also been a terrific month for stitching related things.

Last I posted, I'd done this month's stitching on AotH.  Here's what I've done on the LK Christmas Rules . . .
 

And, when I'd stitched on that for two days, I moved on to my beloved "The Chase" sampler.  I have to say, as much as it drives me batty for different sized cross stitches and not following the thread, it is beautiful, even in its unfinished state.  In this photo, taken yesterday, I was closing in on completing all the cross stitch.  As of this morning, I did finish.  April I will move on to the embroidery portion.  I do not like spending most of my month stitching on this though and said last post that I would have to find something else to put into the rotation.

Now, see, rotation is something I'd never thought about.  I have to say that this thing I've started with the three projects, AotH at the first of the month until done followed by two LK Christmas Rules, followed by The Chase - it seems a little rigid to me.  On the one hand, I am loving AotH; almost too much.  And, I want to get Xmas Rules done and framed before this coming Christmas - so the rigid rotation is making me get it done; I think I only have 3 more turns on that though.  And I have to be rigid about the Chase or I'll put it aside and never pick it up again.  But I miss the fait par hasard  feel of it all.  Guess I just haven't found the right rhythm yet.

Anyway, it was the birthday of one of my stitchy friends and we surprised her with a birthday trip to the 48th Annual Woodlawn Needlework Exhibition. She didn't know where we were going until we were right at the entrance and she saw the sign!  It was a wonderful surprise for her.  She doesn't do computers or internet, so doesn't have the access to online shopping and information that we all take for granted.  And she LOVES needlework.  So we went in and went from room to room admiring all the beautiful work; it took a l-o-n-g time to go through it all.  Advice for future attendees - take your own penlight/flashlight.  The lighting is terrible and most rooms, the needlework is back away from where you are standing, so a pair of opera glasses or small binoculars might not be a bad idea either!

We had lunch in Nellie's Tea Room and I was delighted with the menu.  An old favorite of mine - cream cheese and olive sandwich - was on the list.  They don't serve anything hot (I guess they don't want to burn the place down!) and desert was delish!

There were some gorgeous pieces and several that I put notes in to find out if charts are available on them.  But, the one piece that has stayed with me was one that I almost didn't even see - or pay attention to.  Unfortunately, there are no photographs allowed so I can't show it to you.  It was done by someone whose name I didn't write down, but submitted by Lucy Edmison.  She is a Shenandoah Valley stitching instructor that I had the pleasure to meet when I worked at the shop in Stephen's City.  I can't wait to talk to her to find out more about this remarkable map.  It was of a large portion of the west and northwest - Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, and southern Washington, Idaho and Montana.  And it was done in something like a seed stitch in - well, the only way I can describe it is - map colors.  The rivers were done, some narrow, some wider, in navy blues and had their names next to them.  I believe there were some towns marked and named.  It really was amazing.

Afterward we went over to In Stitches.  Birthday Girl was as happy as a pig in  . . . well, she was really, really happy.  It was 1:30 when we drove over to the shop.  I was hopeful that I could get us back on the road home by 3PM.  Donchaknow we didn't walk out of that shop until 4PM.

And this is where the really really bad part comes in.  I spent way WAY WAY more than I had planned on.  But, I'm not taking anything back.

Somehow, I managed to find the tool tower first.  There were scissors . . .

The black pair are what I call "storklettes" 'cause they're so small.  The pair under the quarter were a recent purchase from an auction hound, not found at the shop.  The pair on the right are new this year from Kelmscott - got those at In Stitches.  The last pair are tartan plaid Gingher's that my husband gifted me with at Christmas.  I just haven't had time to show them.

Then there were some thread winders.  I'll have a picture of those in an upcoming post.  This shop is chock FULL of charts.  I don't know if I've ever been in another store with more charts!  They do sell them a bit pricier than I've seen in other places, but Alexandria is a high rent district.  Also, they had charts that I had never seen anywhere but online.  So it was nice to see them in person.  Some I decided I just didn't like in person.  But, there were a lot that I did.  Like these . . . .

I thought that the tree one would do nicely for when I want to make something for a friend.  I have been drooling on line over several Long Dog samplers.  There is another that goes with the one below called "All Things Part 2".  I will have to get that eventually.  I think that working this sampler will give me the color lift that my makeover of the Prairie Schooler "Adam Names the Creatures" did.  Also, another Long Dog I've had my eye on "Opus Magnusson" is now on order.  It is Celtic Knotwork (which I used to do when I was an art major) and has a Book of Kells influence.  My eldest son loves Celtic design, so I will make that one for him.

The other chart is the scissors keeper by the Cat's Whiskers.  I saw this when she released it in Nashville in 2009 and liked it very much.  I was able to find it in the clearance bin at In Stitches, so saved a little bit there.

Also, I've had in my mind lately that I wanted some Lakeside Linen to have on hand.  I generally don't use the chart-recommended linen on a project; preferring to go my own way.  The problem is that with the overdyed linens, it's hard to decide online if it's the one for you.  So, I had a look at the Lakeside selection at In Stitches.  It is quite complete.  I brought home a good bit and look forward to using it.

Now, if you know me, you know I love me some history and Americana.  I've seen the Ferry Farm sampler from Homespun Elegance on several blogs so it was on my shopping list when I arrived.  The other if from Blue Ribbon Designs and is a flag done with the names of the states. 

Next is a little mishmash.  The case, I found at the shop.  It's bright red leather - the last one they had on the shelf, but there were more colors available.  I think it's by Namaste.  Anyway, it's one of those that is magnetized on the inside top and bottom with the suede insert to go in the middle.  That HAD to go home with me.  The scissors shown were a gift from a friend at Christmas - they have an antique chain that has a slider that goes up and down to make the opening around the neck bigger or smaller.  The scissors are from Germany.  The floral thingy I got at the shop.  It's made by Lady Dot Creations.  The fabric is sort of laminated; but retains its softness.  Inside it is a needle book.

Next I picked up a SoHRH.  I'm not a big fan of these designs because I don't think the floss choices are always well considered.  I know, I know, there are a lot of folks out there that just love these designs.  Well, I'm not one.  Stand me up and pin me to the wall.  I like the designs, just not the colors.  And with these, there are a lot of colors that have to get along with each other on one piece of linen.  Well, long story short, I like this design so much that I have decided that at some point in the future (after I have finished with The Chase) I'll take the time to sit down and make the colors play nice together.  I'm thinking of using the hunk of 32 count Tobacco.

Now, over at Woodlawn, they had a niceish gift shop.  I saw this thing in a cabinet, but it looked like it was more for display than anything else.  There was no price, so why not come to that conclusion.  But, one of my friends never let's anything stand in her way.  What was really funny was that at lunch she was telling about an antique one her husband had recently gotten her at auction.  I told her that if she comes up with another one, I'd love to have one.  ten minutes later we're in the gift shop.  She sees the same thing and goes to the sales lady and wants to know is it for display or sale and if for sale, how much is it?  Turns out, it IS for sale - $30.  Now, it's not an antique, but it is quite pretty and until I get me an old one, I've got this.  Attaches quite nicely to the top of my chair-side cabinet.

Finally, on the day that we went there were three demonstrations happening.  One was cross stitch, one was hardanger, and one was Japanese embroidery.  That Japanese embroidery was incredible.  But, you'd only get maybe two or three done in your lifetime.  Unless of course, that's all you do 24-7.  Anyway, the lady that was doing the cross stitch demonstrations was really nice.  And she had quite a selection of items on the table that she'd done.  One really caught our eye though - a pincushion doll with a cross stitched skirt.  First of all, she was thrilled that people actually knew what a pincushion doll was.  And even more so that we loved what she'd done.  She told us that she'd taken a chart of Tuscany and just extended it.  For the size doll she had (and hers was a small doll body) I think she told me that she'd worked on a piece of linen that was 6 x 18 inches.  Or, it could have been 24 inches.  Anyway, you would use whatever gave you the height and fullness in the skirt that you were looking for.  So, ladies, if you have a doll torso that you haven't known what to do with - or want to go look for one, here is an excellent idea to use . . .

photographed with the demonstrator's permission.  Hope you enjoyed!

Progress on Christmas Rules

This week I'm working on Christmas Rules by Lizzie Kate. 

I am doing all the charts (Double Flips?) on one piece of Country French "Cafe Au Lait" linen; 32 count; by Wichelt.  There are 12 "Rules".  The designer offers a freebie on her website of the top chart if you're doing it all as one.  She also came out with a "last minute" chart in December that was a limited edition called "Jingle All the Way".  I'm going to add it to the bottom of this as the 13th Rule.  I was inspired to do this by  Edgar who showed the one he completed on his blog at Christmastime.

Behind you can see the lovely DMC shop box that a friend of mine picked up for me at an auction.  I have two stacked, one on top of the other, all chock full of thread goodies.  Then a small table lamp up on top of that.  It provides great light for me to work with.

Brooke's Books is doing a stitch challenge on Yahoo.  It looks intriguing.  Check it out; it's called Winter House Challenge - I signed up for it today!

Also, would like to let you know that Nordic Needle now has their Winter 2011 catalog online for you to see in PDF file format.  Click on the link - when the page opens, look on the right hand side, third block down - click on the catalog/pdf block.  It takes a minute or so to download, but you can save it to your computer and drool over all the wonderful stuff they have.

I Don't Usually Do This . . . .

. . . but -  since I haven't got anything to say about my personal sewing/needlework just now, I thought I'd tell you about this book I'm reading.

It is called The Wedding Officer and it's by Anthony Capella.  I got it at a very good price from Amazon.  I have no idea how I actually found this book on Amazon, but, a l-o-n-g time ago, I had added it to my wishlist.  I ordered a book last week and in order to get my supersaver (aka FREE SHIPPING) I needed to add just a little bit more to my order.  So, I went into my wishlist to see what I could dig up.  And this was there and didn't cost much.

I have been reading since late last week and have been mostly unable to put it down.  I say mostly because life actually has intervened and I've had to put it down for things like cooking dinner, planting azaleas, making birthday cake (my youngest just turned 18!) and loving on my dogs and husband.  I've also been enjoying our cherry trees in bloom.  We planted them fall 2008 and were very disappointed by them last spring.  But, we didn't panic and waited another year only to be paid off in droves.  The picture at right is of the Weeping Cherry we planted in the front yard.  It was covered with beautiful blossoms.  I wanted a picture of it in the evening sun and had to wait until I was home Sunday night to do it.  UNFORTUNATELY, middle of the night on Saturday we had a big windy front come through and when I got up Sunday morning, I had few blossoms left.  Que sera, que sera as Doris used to sing - maybe a better pic next year.  It was gorgeous for two days though!

Back to the book though - I love history and this story takes place in WWII Italy.  If you liked Captain Corelli's Mandolin, you will probably like this book.  There is a very shocking scene in the story about the murder of a cow.  It is horrible and made me think bad things of Austrailians for about an hour and a half.  I know, they're good people; Gift of Stitching is produced by an Aussie - or is she really from New Zealand?  Anyway, I digress. . .

Capella has his own website where you can read about other of his books - I think I'm hooked and will get another.  His prose is very attention grabbing - whether he's got the attention of my taste buds or my intellect.  Have a great week - I'm helping the treasurer now at the historical society and am putting on a Boy Scout display in the museum as well as trying to get things done for clients.  Think it'll be a busy week for me for sure!

Proof of Spring

Last week we were so lucky to have four days of sunny weather in the low 70's.  Of course the crocus just popped up right away.  Fortunately, I got out and took pictures when I did, because the next morning they were all gone - victims of hungry rabbits who apparently love crocus flowers.

Interesting Daily Mail Article

Found this LINK on the blog of Jen Funk Weber.  It is a very interesting news article on a 70 year old woman creating an embroidered tapestry about her life.  It is HUGE!  You may want to check it out.

Remembering the Irish

While watching Olympic coverage yesterday afternoon, I saw a piece by Tom Brokaw about the people of Gander, Newfoundland, Canada and what they did for the passengers of 167 aircraft during the 9-11 crisis.  It reminded me of my own 9-11 experience in Ireland.  I thought since this is March - the 17th being St. Patrick's Day and all, that it was probably appropriate that a shout out be given to several people for what they personally did for me that week.

I was traveling with my sister and we were in Kilkenny when we heard the news. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.  I remember feeling like the floor was opening up beneath my feet.  Our innkeepers were very solicitous.  Just the fact that we were Americans, they wanted to do whatever they could for us.  We were so shell-shocked that night though, that we just curled up in our room and watched the news.  I talked to my husband on the phone.  He was able to confirm that all our family, including his aunt who lived in Manhattan at the time, we all fine.  I wanted to come home even though we had another week and a half of our trip left to go.  He told me no, absolutely not.  That I was to continue on; I wouldn't have been able to get home anyway.  What?  I asked, he told me, US airspace is shut down, we don't know when they'll open it again.

The next day we headed to Killarney, and the next through Limerick.  That night, we heard about the Limerick airport; how there were so many stranded there that they'd run out of food, pillows, blankets.  And there were no more hotel or B&B rooms to be had because new travelers had come in to the country with reservations.  It was a mess.  All due to the fact that the US airspace was closed and the people couldn't fly home.  

The next day we were working our way north visiting the Cliffs of Moher, and the Burren; making Gallway our stop for the night.  That was on Friday which was the Day of Mourning.  We had been keeping posted on the news by radio and heard that everything was expected to be shut down by ten in the morning on Friday.  We were up and out early so we could go gas up the car before the stations closed.  Then, we were off.  Along the way we heard about what had happened in Limerick the night before.  People from the town and outlying areas had come to the airport and said we have a bed, or we have a couch and by the time the night was through, there were no more stranded passengers left.  Boy, did that make me cry.  Everywhere we went, all we had to do was say two words and the Irish knew we were Americans and then in the next sentence they wanted to know were our people alright, did we need anything?  It was so wonderful.  We'd just had this awful crushing blow and were now being wrapped in cotton wool to make us feel better.

Then there was Galway.  When we arrived, it was pouring rain.  We found our B&B for the night, a place called St. Jude's on Lower Salt Hill Road.  It was about supper time.  Having been on the road all day and not finding any place open, we knew the chances were that we'd be on our own for supper.  I'd been saving biscuits from breakfasts and we had two of those.  We each had a bottle of water and we had eight tea cookies left and one candy bar.  Enough carbs to keep our stomachs from growling, that was for sure.  

Inside we were greeted by our hostess, Ita Johnstone.  After getting set up in our room, we went back down where Ita met us in the hall.  We told her we were going out to find some dinner.  She expressed her concern that we might not be able to find anything.  Intrepid travelers, we thought that surely not everything could be closed.  But, we were wrong.  ALL the restaurants were closed.  Then we had the bright idea that a hotel would have a restaurant and we'd be able to eat there.  But, the hotels had put signs on the doors "Restaurant for Guests Only Tonite".  Guess they were running short on supplies.  

Dejected, we walked back through town, in the pouring rain,  to St. Jude's.  Ita's husband, Tony, met us in the hall.  Had we found anything?  No, we said, but that was OK, we had some supplies, we'd be fine.  Then he said, Ita could probably fix us up some soup and sandwiches, did 7:30 in the dining room sound alright?  WOW!  it sounded wonderful to our chilled, wet little selves!  We hotfooted it upstairs, hung our wet things in the shower, got dressed into fresh and were back down in the dining room at half past seven on the dot.

Now, a little bit about our experience with B&Bs in Ireland and especially St. Jude's.  Most of them are in people's private homes where they've set aside a section of the house to rent out.  And then for breakfast, you go into the dining room and you are served a hot or cold breakfast and are very politely asked if there's anything else they can get you.  And there is nothing wrong with that at all - except for those bloody sausage things that they can keep all to themselves, thank you very much.  St. Jude's is just different.  An old home that is architecturally beautiful with old family furniture and luxurious style.  The linens were crisp and soft all at the same time - and clean, fresh, white.  We felt like we were staying at a country house as opposed to the extra room at Aunt Sallie's.  Mind you, there was nothing wrong with any of the B&B's we stayed at - St. Jude's was just a touch above, that's all.


So, there we were in the dining room - did I mention that most days we did not each lunch in order to save some dinero?  So, there we were in the dining room, pretty hungry and expecting soup and sandwiches (which was just fine with us).  And in comes Ita with a bowl of homemade tomato soup, a bibb lettuce salad with vinaigrette dressing and garlic bread; we had gone to heaven!  When we were all finished, she came back in and was clearing the dishes and we were thanking her so much for her hospitality and she said, we weren't done, that was just the first course.  I think our mouths were hanging open.  She asked if we liked lasagna.  We must've nodded because in a few minutes she was back with plates of noodly loveliness.  And OMG!  it was SO good.  The absolute BEST lasagna I've ever had in my entire life.  NOT kidding.  When she came back in after we were done with the main course, she asked if we'd like to have some carrot cake and coffee - or tea?  At that point, we could only nod in mute stupefaction.  And it was good cake too.


Finally, when all was said and done, she came back in and I thanked her again.  I told her that we knew she'd gone out of her way, that her day had ended up being a lot longer because of us and she'd done such a marvelous job with the meal; could we please pay her for it?  She would absolutely not hear of it.  Because of what had happened in America and because we'd been unable to find a place to get a decent dinner that night, she said it was what she wanted to do to make us feel better.  And we graciously accepted her gift.   Of course, the next day we went down into the City and found a big florist shop and arranged to have a huge bowl of white roses delivered to Ita.  But, I will never forget her kindness.  Or the Irish who were so kind to us every step of the way after that awful day.

In case you're headed to Ireland and are looking for a B&B in Galway, here's a link to the St. Jude's website.  Ita and Tony are wonderful, take it from me!

My Head is Spinning

I follow a blog that had a link today to tea dresses.  That link was to an auction house in New York.  While on their main page I noticed "Tasha Tudor" and Auction.  Turns out, the auction was held back in 2007, probably shortly after her death.  Several years ago in a Victoria magazine, I had seen a lay out of models wearing parts of Miss Tudor's collection with beautiful jewelry.  Well, some of the pieces that were in that lay out were part of this auction - and so many more!  Here's the link to follow to the Tasha Tudor Costume Collection.  When you get there, click on Tasha Tudor in the navigation bar on the left.  Then, on the next page, click on Gallery One under Photo Gallery.  That will take you to the thumbnail views.  Also, when each one comes up large, there is a link over the picture that takes you to multiple views of the one costume.  I hope you enjoy looking at the vintage clothing as much as I did!