June update

Where has the last month gone to? I have wanted to update my blog but just didn’t have time. It takes a surprisingly amount of time to take pictures, edit them, and get it all loaded up. I have been working on a few exchanges so can’t post those yet and things have just been really busy for me at work and home. My DH got laid off 2 weeks ago and so that has been the main concern at my house. He is looking for a job and networking. This has never happened to either one of us before so it does take some adjusting. You have good days and then some days when you feel down. Since our income has taken a hit, I have been staying away from the LNS to minimize temptation. I just add things to my wish list for the future. I’m sure he will get a job alright but it just may take some months. We will just have to stay positive. Anyway, it’s not like I don’t have anything to work on, right?!

I did have a small finish today. This is "The Crab Is In" by Waxing Moon. I had to stitch it as soon as I saw it - my husband's pet name for me is "Crabby" and I have several crab items - earrings, paperweights, etc. I made this with a hanger and I have it on the doorknob to my sewing room. It was fun to stitch - I changed the colors slightly and used Crescent Colors "Crab Cakes" for the crab. I had a piece of fabric with crabs on it I used for the backing. The only trouble is I wasn't able to match the crab color exactly for the trim and Crescent Colors come in cut strands so you can't really make cording from it. The pattern came with 2 Fimo crab buttons but I found these 2 online and used them instead because I liked them better. The Crab is definitely in her sewing room today!!




I've been making slow but steady progress on my English Sampler pictured below. I’m still on track to finish this before yearend. I really do love this piece. Most of what is left is whitework or drawn thread work. I hope my lacis comes out okay - this is my first time doing it and it's been so long since I took the class for this sampler I'm not sure if I remember all the instructions. :)



I also received a round robin back that had been traveling almost a year. It is Drawn Threads’ Sampler Gameboard. As you can see, I still have a few more rows to do on it to finish it up. Since I am going to hang mine, I had all the motifs stitched right side up instead of in “gameboard” style. I did the border (adjusting it to be able to add initials of friends who worked on it) before I sent the piece out. Now that I see it almost done, it bothers me that the alphabet at the bottom is upside down. I may have to redo that – hate to frog it but when something bugs me like that I’m never happy until I fix it! Anyway, I think it’s going to be really cute when it’s all done and I’m so happy to see how far it’s come since I started it.



I’ve also been working on finishing up the monthly series from Shepherds Bush that was published in 2003. How can it be 4 years ago already?? I started that series and had bought all the patterns but then the effort fell by the wayside after the March piece. So I have picked it up again and am now on June. Even though each piece is small, it takes longer than you think with so many color changes. And you can’t jump around too much or you end up making counting mistakes. Then I’ll have to mount them all and that also takes time. My plan is to get a frame that I can rotate each month’s piece in and out of to save on framing costs once I get them all done.

There are a few of us on the Legacy board who are working on Brenda Keyes samplers. I really love her patterns. I started the Plymouth Sampler a couple of months ago but haven’t worked on it much. I chose 40-ct Lakeside linen and I’m having a hard time stitching on it even with my Daylight magnifier. My stitching seems crowded even though I am using just 1 strand of Needlepoint Silks. It’s kind of frustrating me but I love the pattern so want to keep going.



I keep finding more and more blogs to read too, it’s just amazing to me all the wonderful things I see. I try to take time to comment but I’m behind on a lot of entries. I want to thank all of you for inspiring me, teaching me new techniques, leaving comments, and contributing to the online stitching community. I really do enjoy it. I have decided I need to try to learn French – at least enough to be able to partially decipher the wonderful French blogs I see. I am amazed at the things the French stitchers do! I also just today found the Finishing Techniques blog – if you haven’t been there yet you need to bookmark it – lots of wonderful information. http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/useful-links/

According to the calendar it’s officially summer now although we’ve had summer here in Arizona for a month already. It is really hot this week – about 112 - and very, very dry. The humidity is only 10%. My skin is getting itchy so I need to keep reminding myself to drink more water. I love Arizona but summer is not my favorite time of the year! The heat sometimes just saps your energy. My DH and I are going up to Colorado for 5 days before July 4th to see some relatives. It should be fun and a break from the heat. I’ll be visiting Fort Collins and Breckenridge. If anyone knows of any shops there do let me know because I wouldn’t want to miss any!