Friends In Stitches

My second finished project of the year! This was my "take it to work" project, and I haven't really worked on it since I lost my jobs. I pulled it out the other day, realized how little there was left to do, and finished it. It still needs to be mounted. I want to mount it to the cover of a wooden, unfinished box. The box itself will be decoupaged, inside and out, and will have some sewing accessories inside.

The kit is put out by The Victoria Sampler, and is part of their Beyond Cross Stitch Learning Collection. This particular one is Level One - Montenegrin Stitch.

LOTT Update

I feel like I have nothing to blog about. I haven't finished anything lately. I've thought about but avoided sewing and tatting. Sunday night was crochet night, but due to a migraine I stayed home. My knitting needles are empty. I finally decided (well, narrowed it down to 3 patterns) to use the yarn I bought on Etsy a couple of years ago. Since I was having a difficult time deciding between 3 patterns, I thought I should see if I had the needles for any of the projects. I don't have the right needles for any of them. So, until I decide on one of the three patterns, the yarn will be waiting in my yarn basket.

I did put a few stitches in Lady of the Thread last Thursday at the monthly craft night.

I'm planning to work on her (or my pillowcase) during the upcoming Olympics, since I'm sure we'll be watching quite a bit of them.

Herrschners Order

Early in January, I received a catalog from Herrschners advertising their after Christmas sale. Being a sucker for sale prices, I placed an order.
I ordered some kitchen towels and some herb and spice iron-on transfers. I will be putting these in my hope chest when they are done. The top center package is the reason I wanted to order - it's a beaded snowflake kit. You see, every year I tell myself that I'm going to start making Christmas presents before November/December.  This year I'm actually doing it! I've already finished half the ornaments. The directions are easy to follow, and I can make several snowflakes in an evening. On the far right are two DMC Linen floss booklets.

 I also ordered the stitchers surprise box since it was half off. I figured that if I didn't like some of the things, I could use them for blog giveaways. So, the things I'm keeping are this cross stitch kit, and the bags of lace and embroidery floss. The things I'm not keeping are a secret, for now.
~Sarah

Buying Incentive

Mom and I visited the LNS and I bought some fabric for my next large cross stitch to help expedite my Ruth 1:16 cross stitch. See, the bonus (or downside, depending on your point of view) to having one large scroll frame is that you can only have one project at a time going. My Mom thinks I should just take one off and put the other on, but that's too much work. Besides, I'd never finish the current one if I did that. I have issues with DMC color 311, and that's the only color left. Let's just say I have some bad cross stitch experiences associated with the color.
Back to the fabric; yes, it's 28 count black linen. No, I'm not insane. I own three Lavender & Lace patterns. This is the only one on black fabric. I have a friend who just finished a project on black aida and nearly went cross-eyed. So, being younger than my friend, I figure that doing the black now while my eyes can cope is a good idea. And to really prove my sanity- I was originally going to get 36 count, but realized that I would only be able to work on it in front of my Mom's Ott-Lite. The design is Lady of the Thread - and guess what? It's got color 311 in it. It's only in three spots though, so I think I can handle it.

I also bought a chart that came with a pre-cut piece of linen. It didn't come with a photo, so here is a picture of my progress. Yes, I started it, and to help myself deal with the guilt of starting a new cross stitch without finishing one, I finished the Honey Teapot, sans backstitching. I'll post a picture after I finish the backstitching. I'm planning to do that after I finish the quilled picture for my friends.
~Sarah