Found some time to stitch today

Did not feel like getting out a new project today, so I grabbed a scrap of linen and started another Assisi bookmark.

Finished the "I Heart Christmas" ornament

I ♥ Christmas

From needle arts magazine this month. Stitched it this afternoon.

Three ornaments

I finished up the ornaments for my three remaining pay it forward items today. I forgot how fun it is to see the final product emerge.

Bargello Tree

Phew!  All that bargello stitching.  I thought I'd never get done.  I finished up the stitching just in time for our EGA meeting where we will be doing the finishing!  Hooray!

Bargello Stitching for Christmas Tree

Bargello Stitching - Detail

Summer of Stitching

Despite the lack of posting, I have been having a busy summer.
I have done a bit of huck weaving. I made tissue pack covers for the guild's boutique sale at our upcoming needlework show. I also made a couple of huck towels for my sister. I signed up for the region meeting this fall, and have started the pre-work for a hardanger bookmark. A few more rows to my bargello tree.  Last night at EGA, we made cording and tassels for finishing projects.  I made mine from gold DMC to use on the ornaments I am making as part of my pay-it-forward project.

Huck Weaving Towels for Nikki

Huck towel detail

Huck Towel Detail

Tissue Pack Covers - Huck weaving

Tassel and cord made at EGA meeting

Turkey Family 7/2011

Here's a photo album with pictures of a turkey hen and her 6 chicks that spend a few days hanging around our house.

Turkey Family 7/2011

Stitching Funk

Since I finished the fun and beautiful bookmark, I have been in a little bit of a funk.  I can't seem to get my enthusiasm up to stitch much.  It might be the summer weather, but I think it was the bookmark.  I need to find something to get me going again.  Maybe I'll start thinking about those huck towels I got up in Fargo.

My hummingbirds are back, and we have a fence up around the garden!  

Hummingbird, female

Two turkeys in the yard

Click this photo to see it larger
there's the male hummer, and two female turkeys

Peacocks and bookmarks

Just got back from a lovely weekend in the great north.  As always, it included a trip to Nordic Needle.  In fact, I am sipping my tea from my new NN mug right now.  I got a bunch of fabric, and supplied to make my sister some huck dish towels for her new and improved kitchen.  And, a nice laying tool so I can uncramp my hands when working on my bargello tree (I am currently using a large needle).

I worked on my bookmark while I was up there.  Here's the progress before we got in the car to go home:

Elegant Bookmark - almost done

I finished it last night and it's so very very cool!

Elegant Bookmark, EGA Needleworks Magazine, March 2011

Elegant Bookmark, EGA Needleworks Magazine, March 2011

We took the kids to the Red River Zoo and my 2YO son, who is obsessed with peacocks got to see them for the first time.  He was in heaven!

Peacock, Red River Zoo, Fargo, ND  6/4/2011

Catching up and Enjoying Spring

I've been busy these last few weeks, got the garden in, went biking with the family (if you can call it that when there's a 2 1/2 yr old on a too small trike!) and got some stitching in.

We've had some visitors to the feeders this spring - the usual crowd of goldfinches, and a pair of orioles.  We haven't had them here at this house before, and given the amount of open space we have, I was quite surprised. We saw a tom turkey way out back with his feathers all in display.

Two Baltimore Orioles

Some of our Goldfinches

Tom the Turkey

The boys helped get the garden in.  Big thanks to DH who did the tilling!  We've got lots of good veggies planted, and some sunflowers too.  My oldest son got some sunflower seeds at kindergarten orientation this spring.  When the flowers bloom it will be almost time for kindergarten!

Freshly planted garden

A few months ago I got my EGA magazine, and was fascinated by a drawn thread bookmark in there.  I read and reread the article so many times I almost have it memorized. I finally went through my stash and got out what I needed to start it.  I am very excited.  It's gone quite quickly so far.  I also have been working on my pay it forward ornaments, and on my bargello tree.

Pay it forward - ornaments one and two

pay it forward - start of ornament 3

Drawn thread bookmark

Drawn thread bookmark - with article from EGA magazine

 

Bargello Tree

Even better than finishing the stitching on a piece, is getting it finished and on display.  I got my Herb Garden Sampler back from the frame shop, and hung it up in the house!

Ravenhill Herb Farm - framed and hanging!

So, what's new?

So much to do... spring seems to have finally come here.  The snow is gone and we have some flowers planted.  It was fun to sit with my littlest guy and play in the dirt.

Petunias out front

I've added a few more rows to the Bargello Christmas tree.  That's turning out to be quite fun to do, and it's fun to see as I add each new row.  There is still much to go.

Bargello Christmas Tree

Bargello Christmas Tree, detail

I have been working on some Christmas ornaments for the pay-it-forward.  I have one all stitched, and one almost completed.

Ornament 1: Red Flowers

Ornament 2: Peach Flowers

I have been thinking about some bookmarks I found the EGA magazine (one from the most recent, and one from last year).  I'm also making my reservations for the Fall region meeting.  I can't decide which classes I want to take though.  There are two I am really interested in, but they meet at the same time.  Such choices!  I think I'll try the hardanger one as my first choice an the Mexican Drawn thread as my second.

2011 Update

I've updated my 2011 Stitching goals to see what I have done, and what I have left to do.

Craziness!

Wow.  It's just been so busy lately that I haven't had time to collect my thoughts and figure out what I am working on.  I had EGA last week and started the Bargello Christmas Tree.  This will be really cool.  It's also going to be a lot of stitching.  It's a good thing I have until November to complete the stitching!

Bargello Christmas Tree - started

I picked up a punch needle project that I had started back in the fall and finished it up a few weekends ago.

Punch needle rose box top - Completed

And while the embroidery on the huck weaving dish towels had been done for a while, I finally got out the sewing machine and hemmed them.  This is the first of my pay-it-forward items and I hope to get that in the mail soon.  I keep forgetting to get an envelope or box for it.

Two Dish Towels with huck weaving

Towel 1 - greens and brown

Towel 2 - Blues and green

And last, but not least I am making Christmas ornaments for the rest of the pay-it-forward items.  Here's the start of ornament number one.

Ornament one of four

Now that I sit back and look at it, I have been getting a lot of stitching done.  I just didn't realize how much there was.

I did have so much fun making the towels I might make a few more this year.  I'll have to find some more fun huck patters in my stash, and of course I'll need to go get more fabric!

Christmas in the Heartland Finished!

Christmas in the Heartland, design by Cindy Valentine

I finished the Christmas in the Heartland Sampler this past weekend.

Finished, and some other updates

It's nice to get something completed.

Father Christmas,
stitching complete

Father Christmas,
finsihed

Ravenhill Herb Farm Sampler,
finally ironed!

Christmas in the Heartland,
last row of branches

WOO HOO

Countdown until my annual spring stitching retreat!!!!



I am really excited, a weekend away to stitch, no kids! I had a great EGA meeting the other night. We did some finishing, and I brought an old completed piece (Victoria Sampler Beyond Cross Stitch, Rose Trellis) and got it all done last night. Then I made some really good progress on the Santa face. A few more days and I'll be back to the Heartland sampler.

Easel Front

Easel Side

Father Christmas Progress

Christmas in the Heartland Sampler Progress