Hello everyone, I am the "DH" Amy referred to in her posts. This will be the last post on her blog.

My younger son, the gifted writer in our family, has created a wonderful obituary to honor her and it can be found here:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kalamazoo/name/amy-wilson-obituary?id=35393458

I, as well as my sons, would like to thank all of you, her readers and fellow stitching devotees, for your faithful and engaging following of her stitching pursuits over the years. She so very much enjoyed your feedback about all her works, regardless of how she may have felt about how they turned out. You were all part of the stitching community that brought so much joy and happiness to her life.

I miss her deeply.

-DH

Trouble

 I am not well. My medicine has been changed and it is about to kill me. I am going to demand the lowest dose. So at the moment I am struggling to do anything. I take three hour naps. I go to bed at 10:30. I get up at 10:00 a.m. I am a sloth. I’m not the least bit hungry. 

I think posting will be sporadic for a while while all this plays out. 

I got Amy Mitten’s latest kit in the mail.

I haven’t had enough energy to start it yet.

How can it be the last week of May?

Happy Birthday to my sister Celia!

A

Itty Bit

 That’s how much I got done yesterday- an itty bit.Since the retreat I have been taking a three hour nap every day. That sort of cuts down on me getting something done. 

Essentially I got one more round around two dark petals. So I guess my goal still stands, finish an entire petal. I wish I stitched faster. Actually I would pay big money for some energy.

Amy Mitten latest project is winging it’s way to me. It’s a caterpillar needle book and a tape measure. I’ve made two of her tape measures. I messed up the first one.

It is raining still.

A

I stitched!

 I got my act together yesterday and did work on the Viola Hairpin. 

There are three different colors of dark red. I’ll get lots of long and short stitching practice.

It looks like it could rain outside. 

My goal for today is to get one petal all stitched. We’ll see. . . .

A

Trying to get Back to Normal.

 DH just got back from the grocery store. I have no appetite so he gets me various tempting goodies. I’ve decided to make it my goal to put in at least one stitch today. I forget if I told you how much I love the color of the silk lining of the Tudor Tool box. It is the most gorgeous light blue.  Yesterday (or Sunday?) I worked on the trinket box that fits in one side of the tool box. I got all five pieces covered with silk. I have five more to cover for the outside of the trinket box.

Second goal for today is to start a Viola petal. I haven’t stitched in a couple of days and I want to get back to it. Where’s my personal assistant to help me?

A

Retreats and Classes

 I started a new medicine about two weeks ago. I didn’t know the medicine would be pure torture. I was so exhausted that I could barely stand up. But then to have 4 hours of class and an hour lecture was more than I could handle. But how could I miss classes I signed up for? I soldiered on but I’m pooped!

I told you about my first class with Mandy Ewing. We learned how to do all the elements. There is a lot more work to do before I’m finished. 

So then my second class was a viola hairpin by Pippa Haynes. It was impressive to see Pippa finish all the stitching and put the viola together in just three days. I’m ready for that dark red color.

The most interesting lecture was the costumer who worked on Game of Thrones.

Then on this past Saturday, I had another class. It was the Tudor Tool box by Kate Pankhurst. T

here will be class every Saturday for the next 7 Saturdays. Our assignment this week is to cover all the boards. Five are done and there are 26 more to go!

I went to the Dentist this morning. I survived. 

A

What Did I Do Last Week?

 I had a very busy week. I am on a new medicine that deprives me of any and all energy so it is no surprise that I needed. Nap most days.  I had my first class with Mandy Ewing. We had a total of four hours of class each of three days. That is a total of 12 hours. Mandy showed us how to do each item in the design and stitched along with us. This is how much I got done:

It doesn’t seem like a lot. This was a good exercise for me. I have not known how to deal with filament silk so this gave me some practice. We stitched with two hair-like strands in the needle.

I also had 3 lectures with world renown embroiderers. The most memorable was Michele Garragher who embroidered costumes for Game Of Thrones. Dr. Lynn Hulse was very interesting. I have had a class and lecture with her on my last tour. I have another lecture this afternoon. My fabric is in a hoop as the frame loosened up and fell apart. Mandy was working in a hoop so I put mine in a hoop too. There is no class or lecture tomorrow but I have an infusion.

We picked up the frames I ordered so now I can finish-finish some stitching.

A

Success

 For my first class with Mandy Ewing I am supposed to frame up the sweet bag fabric. I don’t have the exact frame she has with twill tape but I have a frame I bought a few years ago from Estonia, from Ominik. I have never figured out how to put it together.  So I went looking for a demo option YouTube.  I found one by Orietta who I remember from flosstube. What ever happened to her? Anyway I watched her video and tried again to put it together.  Success this time! I did it! It is nice and taut.

I’m ready for class.

I made a big mistake during my guild meeting.  Let’s just say that I thought I was muted. Oops.

A

Guild Class

 Our guild had a meeting yesterday. I worked feverishly to get the stitching done. BUT, I did it my way.  It was supposed to be over one on 36. I didn’t want to do over one so I didn’t I did one strand of floss ( a whole cross stitch not half cross) over two on 36. Since it was bigger than it was supposed to be some of the other pieces didn’t fit. I chose a different backing fabric. One of the flowers I had to take out three times before I got it in the right place.

I think it turned out nicely.

The back:

The herringbone stitch over the ribbon could have been more even but I’m happy with it.

I also watched the opening Zoom featuring all the tutors for the classes.  I love Jenny Adin-Christie’s design so much. I didn’t get into class with her but I am on the wait list. The classes start today!!

A

Often

 As it often happens, I post about a project then I want to work on it some more. So my cherries were looking sad and I decided I wanted to finish the two cherries I started. And I did!

Now they look like cherries. This is. The fun of cross stitching, seeing the design take form. There are a lot of colors of red in these cherries. At first I was getting totally lost. So I used some highlighter tape. Then I colored some stitches on the chart with a colored pencil. I also put in a few guidelines with holographic thread.

I have a guild class tomorrow that I may start. We’ll see how the day goes. 

A

New Start

 I have a new start.

I know it doesn’t look like much but it was fun to get a start. It is the kit I got for Christmas.

I have the Crewelwork retreat starting on Sunday. I will be taking two weeks off from posting. There are four hours of class many days and lectures on other days. 

I went walking outside today.

A

One Slip

 I finished this pansy slip to Amy Mitten’s Blossom Etui.

It is stitched one over one on 40 count. There are lots of errors in it. It is small only about two inches square. But I did it!.

I feel especially poorly today after starting new medicine. No walking. Yet (?).

A

Happy Mail

 My friend Stasi showed her pewter sewing station and it was so adorable. I wanted one too. So I ordered one for me from the UK. It came yesterday. It is not the same as Stasi’s, I chose a different design.

It is small, only about 3 inches high with the scissors. So sweet!

It is raining again today. I don’t feel like walking so I may take the day off. I started a new medicine yesterday and I’m a bit achy.

A

Oops

 I meant to post on Saturday. I had a Zoom class that I thought was from 10:00 to 11:00. It wasn’t! It was 10:00 until three. We did take a break for lunch but I wasn’t sure what would happen if I left Zoom to write a post. Would I be able to get back on? After lunch was a trunk show. It was fun to see all her designs. The class was called A Schoolgirl’s Butterflies by Erica Michaels.

We weren’t supposed to look at the kit until class time. Ha! I wanted to change the colors a bit. I started stitching the strawberry design during class. Here’s what it looks like:

You can’t see it very well but the butterfly’s wings are sparkly. I like how it turned out. I have to iron, interface and finished it.

I went walking early today. 

A

Guess what I’m Doing

 

I picked up two frames from Hobby Lobby this week. I’m still waiting on three more that had to be reordered because they were the wrong size. It is really hard to lace on a piece of foam core when the linen doesn’t reach over the edges of the foam core.

This is the front:

Don’t worry, the messy bits won’t show.

I have my choice of two frames for this one. One is a metal frame in gold. The other I found in my sewing room closet. It is much prettier. I have to put the metal one together and see what I like best.

It is going to rain today so I decided to walk indoors. I saw that Amy Mitten had a new offering. Yes, I ordered it. I am almost done with one of the slips on her last kit. I’ll show you soon.

A

Newcastle Biscornu

 This is how far I am on the Newcastle Biscornu. I’m stitching it over two on 40 count.

I really like those butterflies. 

The rain was gone earlier this morning o I was able to walk outside. It was 51 degrees, very pleasant. Can you believe that Saturday it is supposed to be 80?!?

I have a Zoom class on Saturday. I want to change the floss colors. I’ll have to go digging for pretty variegated silk.

A

Box

 Yesterday I had an infusion so I was afraid of messing things up stitching-wise. So I just attempted to lace up the sides of the Holbein Hexagon Etui. They aren’t as nice and neat as I would like but I guess they will do.

I went looking for the bottom of the box. It is just pushed down inside the box.  But I can’t find it - yet. It drives me crazy when I can’t find stuff. I could start working on the pin cushion lid. There is no cross stitch on it, just hand stitching. 

Where on earth is the box bottom???

I went walking outside today. It was nice. It is supposed to rain this afternoon and evening. 

A

Two Sections

 I finished stitching the second section of the Stacy Nash Needleroll. I was glad to get back to this after losing my threads. 

There is a bit started on the third section. The last two sections will be easy as they are much smaller.

I need to go through my fabrics to find a coordinating lining for this. 

A

Finishing

 I worked a bit on finishing the Holbein Hexagon Etui. 

I don’t know why I had such a hard time lacing up this side like shoelaces. I did it about four times and this is the best I could do. I sure hope I get better at it as I go along. I have 5 more sides to go. 

I haven’t started the lid yet. 

We woke up to snow! And it is still snowing. ARGH. Luckily it is 37 degrees so it will melt.

A

Easter Saturday

 I got the order from Needle in a Haystack. It turned out to be three Gloriana threads that I ordered last December. 

They were threads that I needed for the Holbein Hexagon Etui. But wait, I already have that all stitched. I made substitutions so I could stitch it. So yeah, I don’t need them. 

I have to get going with the finishing. 

I got some very sweet Easter cards yesterday. 

The sun is shining today and I have walked outside. It is a little cold for an Easter Egg hunt at the park.

Happy Easter!

A

The Other One

 This is the other class kit that I got in the mail, the Viola Hairpin. My hair isn’t quite long enough for the hairpin and I’m not sure I would wear this in my hair but it could be a brooch type pin. 

I’m impressed there is even twill tape in the kit to wrap the included hoop. Cool.

“Sew wherever you go”

This is the fabric this viola is stitched on. She calls it voile. There are two pieces of it.

This will be fun to stitch!

It is rainy again this morning. 

A

Surprise!

 I told you yesterday about getting an email about my Crewelwork retreat kits being sent. I was very surprised when I got the kits in the mail yesterday. I looked at the date they were mailed, it was a week ago.  The kits were very nicely packaged. 

The design is printed on the satin. I’m very happy about that. There are some preliminary directions about framing up the satin. The classes start the first week in May. I’ll show you the other kit tomorrow. 

It is sunny today but much colder than yesterday. I walked inside. It is very windy today. 

A

Auditioning

 I went looking through my fabrics for something to finish the Holbein Hexagon Etui. This is the dupioni silk that won the contest.

I have this fabric thanks to my BFF who took me to great fabric shops in Minneapolis. The sides of the hexagon are supposed to be laced up with ribbon. 

I went walking this morning before the storms that are coming later today. The low last night was 64 degrees.  I got notification that the kits for the Crewelwork retreat have been sent - from the UK. We’ll see how long they take to get here. 

A

What?

 I got a notice from Needle in a Haystack that my order was ready to be sent. What order? The date of the order was last year. What did I order? I have no idea. Maybe it was thread. It will be an interesting surprise. Also House of Stitches is sending me the threads I needed. Yeah! I ordered two felting kits from The French Needle. I have been looking for a small bird for the inside of my casket. So I thought I could try making one. I got the kits on Saturday. 

Do I know how to do felting? Not really. I made a pin cushion a few years ago using this technique but all the felt pieces were already cut. It was pretty easy. The bird is an experiment to see if I can do it. I started out with the wire legs. I managed to twist them but in the process one of the wires broke. Well, I’ll be more careful next time. 

I have shaped the body.

Now I have to add some wings and spots and colored needle felting wool. Eyes come in the kit. I’m learning as I go along.

The sun is shining. It is going to be 70 today! It will be great for walking. Buds are appearing on the trees and bushes. Love it

A

New Start

 Since I couldn’t work on the Stacy Nash Needleroll, I started something new. My favorite design from Nashville was the Newcastle Biscornu from Teresa Kogut. The called for nine was 40 count. I wanted to try it on 37 count Russian Teacakes linen. When I stitched Teresa Kogut’s sampler I didn’t like that some of the colors weren’t different enough from one another. So when I started stitching the biscornu I changed some of the colors for more contrast. After thinking about it, I decided to try again with the called for linen and colors. So I actually have two starts.

This is the first one:

This is the second start:

Together:

I like using the called for linen and floss. It is a bit smaller and I like the colors together. The linen is wrinkly because I took it out of a kit that I started a way long time ago. 

It got up to 61 degrees yesterday. It is spring again! 

A