Monday, July 27, 2015

Some happy news and finishes to share!

Well the day finally arrived - I retired last week!  I had been thinking about it for next spring but the stresses of work were getting to me and I decided to move up my timeline.  It's going to take me some time to get used to not worrying about work all the time but I'm looking forward to all the things I will be able to do with the added time. I'll also be able to help my husband more as his job is stressful too so it's all good.  It will be good to finally have more time for blogging and reading other people's blogs - I know a lot of people have given up blogging but I'm not ready to throw it away yet although I admit that Facebook groups are taking a lot of my time.   I've already started a massive list of "things I want to do at home now that I'm retired"!  I've got thousands of photographs and momentoes I want to get organized, file cabinets I need to go through, etc etc not to mention a massive stash of stitching and quilting projects!

I do have some finishes to share at least.  This is Hannah's Brownstone by The Scarlett House. I had such fun stitching this one!  The house takes a long time to do but I loved it so didn't mind . I used a different linen than what comes in the kit - I used Lakeside Linen's Vintage Buttercream which is a favorite of mine.  All the floss is what the chart calls for.




Below is a little finish from Heartstring Samplery called "Instead of Sheep". I love the verse on this as it reminds me of the movie White Christmas when Bing Crosby sings this to Rosemary Clooney.  I changed out the sheep that was charted for a freebie one I found online.   It's framed in a dark green frame - it looks a little black-ish in this photo but in real life it matches the stitched border very well.  



I met a lady at the Primitive Stitchers Retreat in Virginia in May who does framing in her home. Her name is Patti Nicolosi.  I sent her the above piece and another one that I'd had laying around for years unframed - see it below.  She did a great job on both of them - I picked out the moldings from a website she uses and then she ordered the frames, mounted the pieces and put it all together.  I was very pleased with Patti's work and it was very fast too.

This is "Quakers & Quilts" from Rosewood Manor. I stitched it on 40-ct linen a few years ago and it's great to see it finally framed. I plan to hang it near another Quaker sampler I did as they go well together. I remember how thrilled I was to put the last stitch in this piece - there was a ton of back-stitching to do and it took a long time to stitch this but I got it done. 



I fell in love with this ornament everyone has been stitching - Snow Love by Country Cottage Needleworks. I do all my own finishing work and this was fun to do. I love it!  The polka-dot linen is so much fun to use, I'm looking forward to stitching some more pieces on it. 



And below is a little project I re-worked.  I had it framed and displayed many many years ago but my framing tastes have changed since then as well as the decor where I had it displayed. I had it put away for a few years and then I decided to take it apart and do something else with it.  So I gave the frame away to a friend and I made a little mini-quilt out of the stitched piece to display on my little wire stand.  I think it came out pretty cute and now I can enjoy it again. I've long since gotten rid of this chart and I don't remember what the name of this was or the designer but I'm sort of thinking it might have been a chart by Theron Traditions. It was a long time ago!

So here's how it looked framed and how it looks now.  It felt good to give it a new life.




Right now I'm stitching along on Blackbird Designs 'Strawberry Fields Forever'  - doing an SAL with my pal Cindy.  We enjoy doing SALs - keeps us going on projects so they don't turn in to UFO's!



For those of you still out there reading blogs I thank you for stopping by and I look forward to having more time to spend catching up with all of you!  My job has just consumed so much of my life the last couple of years with work travel and long hours - I'm so thankful to now have more time to do the things I love!










31 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your retirement. WOW all that lovely time to spend on your hobby.
    Lovely pieces, I love how you made your framed piece into a mini quilt.

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  2. So many lovely pieces! Congrats on retirement. Lovely to see you blogging. There are still a few if us out there lol. Xx

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  3. Happy retirement, enjoy your time.
    You have some great finishes.
    I LOVE Quakers & Quilts, it's gorgeous.
    Marilyn

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  4. First, congratulations to you on your retirement! You are going to enjoy your time and eventually wonder how you worked full time and got everything accomplished plus craft. Your finishes are awesome. I love your refinish of the framed piece to the quilted hanging. Great job on the ornament; I really like how you shaped it.

    Robin in Virginia

    PS I am glad you will continue to blog especially for those of us not on FB.

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  5. I'm so happy for you, Jeanne--enjoy your retirement! And I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful stitching on your blog now that you'll have extra time in your life... Your finishes are lovely--I especially like Hannah's Brownstone and how nice to have found a nice framer. May have to get her contact info from you as I, too, have many, many unframed finishes laying around :)

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  6. Enjoy your retirement! You have many productive projects on your list. Your stitching is beautiful and the framed pieces are lovely

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  7. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RETIREMENT! Good for you! What pretty pieces you have shared. The old piece looks fantastic in a mini quilt.

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  8. So many beautiful finishes! It is impossible to pick a favorite. Congratulations on your retirement.

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  9. Best wishes for a happy retirement! I'm sure it will be. Lots of awesome goodies in this post. I tried reading Facebook posts but hate the bombardment of political and nasty crap that people feel the need to announce without even checking facts.

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  10. Your stitching is beautiful. I especially love how you gave your framed piece a new life.

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  11. Congratulations on your retirement!

    Beautiful stitching and finishing!

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  12. Congratulations on your retirement! I'm so excited for you!

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  13. Yea for retirement! I'm sure you will quickly find ways to fill up all this new free time.

    What an amazing collection of beautiful stitching. Such nice finishing and framing. Love that Heartstring Samplery sampler. I may have to acquire that pattern!

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  14. Congratulations on your retirement. I just love your projects

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  15. Congratulations on your retirement! I retired from a stressful job in August 2013 and I don't regret it at all. I miss some of the people, but not the stress that went with it. Your finishes and projects are so pretty; I really like them. I am glad that you plan to continue blogging; I look at FB also, but the blogs are still my favorite; more personal and not all of the ads and junk that are on FB! Until next time, happy stitching and retirement.

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  16. Congratulations on your retirement! You must be so happy! Love all your stitching pieces. They are all beautiful. So this person who frames -- does she frame with glass?? or just without? I'm thinking of looking for a new framer. Anyway, enjoy all your new free time!

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  17. Congratulations on your retirement! I hope you can enjoy all of your free time now. Yea!
    I love your finishes. Oh so pretty!! Great job on your new little quilt and your new frames pieces! Beautiful!

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  18. Congrats on your retirement! Must be a nice feeling, once you get used to it, to not stress over work, never mind having to get up for work! I was hoping you'd say you are going to blog more. You do such great work that it would be a shame to not see more of it!

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  19. Congrats on your retirement! You will be surprised by how busy you will still be every day!! Lovely finishes and I am doing that SAL too. Laura

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  20. Congratulations on your retirement. Sorry it wasn't totally on your terms but I'm sure you'll enjoy it just the same (and I am TOTALLY jealous!!!). Lots of beautiful finishes.

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  21. I know I sent Congratulations to you on your FB page but it warrants saying over and over ! I am so happy for you ! I 'm glad you were able to move up your retirement date. I hope you have many years of joy to look forward too. Your finishes and re-do's are all lovely. I'm glad you are not giving up blog - we have developed some great friendships thru blogging. Cheers Mel

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  22. So many beautiful finishes! Nicely framed. Love the one on wire stand too. congrats on your retirement:)

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  23. First off, WAY TO GO!!! Retirement is a milestone and you deserve it ~ I know you will fill in the extra hours with many many nice projects.... Love the stitching and revamping..... Wanted to give a PSS shoutout!! Faye

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  24. I loved this post, my friend ... most especially the GREAT news of your retirement! I couldn't be happier for you, and I'm excited to see all of the gorgeous things you'll create with your new-found free time! I'm crazy about Quakers & Quilts -- as well as all of your other gorgeous framed & finished pieces, and I'm having fun doing our SFF SAL! :) :)

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  25. Congratulations on your retirement! More time for stitching.

    Your finishes are always so beautiful. I especially love Hannah's Brownstone.

    I have some of that polka dot fabric and now I know what I will do with it! Your ornie is perfect.

    Love what you did with the sampler piece. It looks SO nice!

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  26. Congratulations on all of your Finishes....

    Your WIP is looking good...I just love it.

    Happy Stitching
    Linda K

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  27. I love all your finishes, especially the "Blessings Instead of Sheep" one. I love that movie and sometimes when I am worrying about stuff I sing that song to myself. :)

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  28. Congratulations on being retired now. When I read your post I remembered the moment when I got retired exactly two years ago. I felt so so happy then and I am still happy about it now. It's so wonderful to be able to spend the time the way we want to. Enjoy every single moment!
    Great finishes that you show here. I hope that you stay in blogland and that we can see more of your stitching in the future.

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  29. Beautiful finishes! Congratulations on your retirement, you'll love it!

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  30. Lovely finishes! Congratulations on your retirement! It's wonderful!

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  31. Congrats on your retirement 😀 it sounds like you've had a wonderful time and you're stitching is beautiful

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