Two more down the 'finishing line"

It is always fun to complete a project, but I procrastinate generally getting things framed and sometimes worked into their final finished state if they require hand finishing. I managed this week to get two more pieces to the framers, and I am so glad that that they are in process. I have difficulty picking frames and mats though and that is a real learning process for me . Some people just have a knack for picking what works and matching the different parts, but I really struggle with it, and I know that practice like anything else is the answer to learning what works and what doesn't.

I really do love getting these pieces frames, such a sense of accomplishment. The framing costs are always shocking ...even at 50% off they aren't cheap, but I figure that at this point I can work through the costs if I don't finish things too fast .

So my Carnation sampler by Darlene O'Steen is finally at Michael's for framing and so is my very old Lizzie Kate Turkey Time. I bought a nice stained frame in green for Turkey Time and the Carnation sampler has a pale olive green mat that is textured, and a platinum 1 1/4 " Frame, with an interesting dark olive/brown kind of rubbed glaze that is in the crevices, so it makes the carved wood show up better but also reflects the greens in the stitching and the mat. NOw I can hardly wait to see it -- and I hope I did good . it is still hard for me to be sure when I only see one corner completed.. This is the piece I am framing, so you can see the design -- I'll post final pics in a week or so. They generally get my framing back in 10 to 12 days...which is always amazing to me. I posted two pictures because I cut off the top part in one of them, this shows a darker and lighter version -- the actual piece looks in color more like the lighter one. I don't have a photo of the Lizzie Kate Turkey Time, but will post the final framed design when I get the piece back.

In the meantime, I am working on the Workstation which we will be assembling this weekend..so I am really under the wire here .

Hope you have a great day...
Cathy

Recent Finishes --

The main part of the Birthday Buddies package were the Beatrix Potter chart and the silks and other fibers I sent along. The rest were items I made and a pair of scissors which are shown below.

These are pictures of some items I made recently to send as a gift package for a Birthday Buddies group that I am in. There were items sent along with these -- Belle Soie Silk, another strand of silk from Italy, and a set of Flosche fibers in pastel colors, as well as a card of Carrie's Creation's Flosses. The items were piece I made. They are not necessarily a set, as the beaded item is in a differnt color than the rest, but it was fun making them, and I think the recipient enjoyed the package.

Here first is the Pincushion I made with the beaded berry edges -- that beaded stuff is so cool! I had so much fun with it and I plan to get myself some more of this in differnet colors as soon as I find more if it in our stores. I had a great time working iwth it, and I plan to make myself one of these pincushions as well.


Here is the back of the pincushion and the side view so you can see the way the beaded banding is made. Really easy to work with and I love those little berry beads.

Lastly are the fobs I made...the one with the teal colored motif also has her first initial added to the back, and yes, this is a mini biscournu. My first.

The beaded red fob I also made, and has some cloisonne beads on it -- they are so much fun to use and it gives it a sort of oriental look with the red and the cloisonne beads. The scissors were also included.

I am hoping to finally get back to some stitching again this week and finish off the Workstation by Judy O dell. When I get it done, I 'll post pictures as well. I am anxious to do the stitching and get it completed because we do our assembly next week on the 19th and 20th of May. I am really down to the wire here . Not unusual for me, the way my life is with different jobs and responsibilities that seem to interfere with my stitching plans.

Will be back with more pics I hope in another week...

See ya then! Cathy

Changing my plans . Goal 10-20-30-45-60

Well I guess that is what plans are made for -- to be changed . At least in my life they are changed often. I get going in one direction, find something else that works better and go on to do something different.

That is what has happened with my original list for the Goals to stitch 50-60 designs and UFOs that I already have on hand, or works in progress. Anyway, since I am redecorating the house now I have changed a lot of what I will be stitching, so I will have to make some changed to my original list of commitments for the 10-20-30-45-60 plan . I think that is what I had down before. The most wonderful part of this is that I will be creating a new look in my home with every finished design and that is really incentive to get stitching. If I was ever excited about my needlework projects, this certainly has done it for me.

I am also going to be stitching the 4 projects in the Gift of Stitching Magazine that include the 4 seasons and one motif in each design. I may stitch the words Spring, Autumn, Summer and Winter as one word though at the top or bottom of the motif rather than spreading the letters int he corners. I think it will work out nicely doing that with these charts. They are simple enough and doing them in an over-dyed fiber will be a great way to experiment with colors too. I really do love seasonal themes as well, and these are perfect for my kitchen area under the cabinets. So those might be stitched along with the CHS Ladies first and then I will have to decide what is most important to complete after that. I do plan to set up a sort of pecking order for all these projects so I can complete a room at a time.

So the saying about best laid plans does apply here...they are being changed, once again, but I think it is a very positive change as far as completing some of my dreams about decorating my walls and finishing up some old things that will help decorate my home.

I'll be posting pics as I get more of these worked on and update my progress as I work thru the rest of this year on my plans to redecorate my walls now that the other 'redecorating' is nearly complete. It's been fun, and the stitching will just be pure joy! Looks like I will be having to save some money for framing costs too this year -- but that too will be exciting as I will want to frame everything as soon as they're finished so they get onto the walls sooner.

Wish me well :-)
Cathy C

Projects, plans and redecorating ....

Well, life has been anything but dull lately. I am making considerable progress with my redecorating. I have painted my entry , entry closet which kind of stands alone except for one wall that goes to the ceiling in the dining room section. I've painted the desk area off the living room, and the facing wall to our bedroom which has a double door entry. I also have painted the living room and my kitchen, and the dining room -- so I have made a lot of progress lately. I have also added new pots and plants in my entry and dining room, a new reading lamp that matches the other lamps I bought last year for my living room. I now have 4 lamps and the overhead lights as well (which I don't use very often). I've bought and attached new drapery rods for my kitchen. I am going from draperies with pinch pleats in our bay window to cafe curtains with clip rings for hanging the curtains. I can hardly wait to get my new fabric so I can start sewing the curtains!! The kitchen is a lovely maize color, and it has taken some getting used to -- much brighter than the Spanish Lace I had up there before. But I really do like it. I have had challenges trying to get the fabric I wanted for the curtains. Both that I really loved were discontinued. So I had to settle on another pattern which is nice, but not my first choice. I will still continue looking in hopes that I can find something a little more like the first two choices I made. The nice thing is I did get the fabric on sale, which is great, because designer fabrics are not inexpensive.

Right now I am catching up a lot of housework that has sat unattended while I worked on all these other things. I've bought new linens for the bathrooms, a new piece of artwork framed for my bedroom, and some others moved around in the house to give new life to the rooms, but using some of what I already owned. These House and Garden programs do help you figure out some of the strategies if you are not as savvy about decorating as you'd like to be. I didn't get those genes, but my sisters sure did. S o I struggle a little more with decorating than they do. This time though I think I am doing much better, and my DH is pleased, which is a real blessing as he is quite particular about colors and styles. I gave away a very large framed mirror to my niece -- it just didn't do it for o ur living room. A nice piece but just not something that worked in our living room. Set too high to really do much good reflecting images, and it just didn't make sense to have it up where it only let you see the reflection of the fan on the ceiling . Our fire place goes up fairly high, and we have higher walls in our living room than the rest of the house...anyway, it was just not suited for that space. I have a still life of roses which I love anyway that works so much better for that space. In the master bedroom I have invested in new sheets, from a cooper color, or caramel, maybe, to a dark red, which I love!!! Red is my favorite color, and I have some in a nice malted cocoa color, and others in brown, and some in white, and cream, -- well, you get the idea. Those are colors I am using in my bedroom, along with splashes of dark plum, burgundy, and some softer coral/peach in a floral arrangement, with two shades of green , a hunter and sort of olive green, and cream. I also invested in a nice bed set that includes shams and a quilted coverlet -- I don't use the bed skirt because we have a wooden frame that holds up our bed -- sort of a box thing . So bed skirts don't really work on our bed . I purchased a bunch of new towels and towel sheets for the bathrooms, which I am enjoying already. Those bath sheets are heavenly! I have one more area to paint, and a couple to touch up, but I am nearing the end of that bit of work, and it is work!!! My bones and feet can tell you, it definitely is work!! The sewing will be a joy, as I enjoy it so much and I don't often get to sit down with my sewing machine, so I am looking forward to the process of creating new curtains and roman shades for doors and oher windows in the house in the coming week. Each piece adds so much to the whole, and it is really fun working on the different pieces.

My next big investment will be a new red chair and long ottoman so that I can sit in it and have my feet completely stretched out. Almost like a Chaise effect, only using an ottoman. I am using red in the house which to me is just the most wonderful color there is, along with Plum, which I also like a lot. Though I am not using that at the moment except for accents in the house. Eventually I would love to replace my sofa, but for now the rose print on that cream fabric will work with the color scheme I have. The problem with the sofa is it is not very comfortable, but eventually I will find something that works better and that I can move more easily. Sofas with sleepers in them are difficult to move around!! Not great if you have any back issues. Lastly I will paint the laundry room, rearrange a few pictures and plan for a lot of new artwork that I will stitch for my walls in the future. That is one of the best parts of all these changes, I will be planning to stitch pieces specifically for different parts of the house and I have a list going already. This is some of what I will be doing.

From Carriage House Samplings, I plan to stitch:

Folk Art designs for my Laundry Room /Pantry Area-
Carriage House Samplings: Mary Margaret -- Elizabeth -- Suzannah -- Molly -- and Sarah Spurr -- plus "When this you see Remember Me" -- Pennsylvania Redware and Dainty Housewren.

Eventually I will stitch the A to Z designs into one piece and frame it for the center back wall which is what you see first when you walk into the Laundry room. It will make a very nice view as I make my way to do the laundry. Also I will add the La D Da Alphabet and the Briar Rabbit to this collection. It should be a lot of fun planning and stitching these pieces. I can hardly wait!!!

You can see all of these designs at this site: http://wyndhamneedleworks.com/Carriage_House_Samplings/carriage_house.htm[Carraige House Designs]

Designs for my Kitchen -- Carriage House -- Only One Ewe
-- " " -- Spring (which I need to buy the chart for)
-- " " -- Strawberry Blond
-- " " -- Scarlet Berries
-- " " -- Northern Exposure
-- I already have Bounding Bunny, by Bent Creek in the kitchen.
and one still life of an aged picture of fruits in a distressed pale
yellow frame
-- La D Da -- Jasmine's Song and Our Daily Bread and Polly Wolly Doodle
-- La D Da -- My Sunshine

Here is a link to see the La D Da pieces: http://wyndhamneedleworks.com/La-D-Da/la-d-da.htm

I have plans to finish the Celtic Christmas for our bedroom to place over our bed. It will look nice with all the reds in that design on our newly painted walls. I have to find some other designs for the walls, but one of them will be my Edcina Pieters when it is completed. That is a perfect design for our bedroom with the color of linen and the black and brown silk threads used to stitch it. I can hardly wait to finish it. There is wall space enough to add a few more pieces, and one is a companion piece that is a portion of scripture -- I have a verse from Proverbs 31 -- "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life" stitched, there is another companion piece that commands the husband to lay down his life for his wife -- I don't have the reference, but I want to stitch that and frame it to hang on our wall as well. I already ahve the frame, so the stitching is all that needs to be done.

I also love La D Da -- they are one of my favorite designers along with Blackbird Designs. These are some of the items I want to stitch for our bedroom and my husbands dressing area off the master bedroom.

The Blessing by La D Da -- Master Bedroom
the Marraige Sampler By La D Da -- Master Bedroom
Sweet Dreams - La D Da -- Master Bedroom
Watchful Eye - La D Da -- Dressing area
Now I lay Me - La D Da -- Master Bedroom
Love birds - la D Da -- Dressing Area
My Ways - La D Da -- Dressing Area
Peaceful Ways - la D Da -- Dressing Area
Roses are Red -- La D Da -- Dressing Area
Bushel and a Peck -- La D Da -- Master Bedroom
Mocking Bird -- La D Da --Dressing Area
Tie that Binds -- la D Da -- Master Bedroom

This is quite a bit of stitching and framing, so I will be a busy woman the rest of the year working on my current WIPS and these new projects as well. I am excited about it though, and it is hard to decide where to start . Though I will probably start stitching the CHS Ladies first since I have the materials on hand for those projects. But I also wan to get all the stitching done for the kitchen as I do not have a lot of pieces in that space, and with the new color I am excited to start stitching pieces that have the right colors to compliment the new wall color.

There are other spaces that need more of my stitching, but they will come later. This is more than enough to work on over the next year -- and I am sure it will take me at least that long to get all these done. But what a joy!!!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my plans. I will eventually post the pics of the changes in the house and the new additions to my walls as they are completed.. give me a little mroe time .

Cathy -- have a blessed day!