Peas

I went walking in the rain this morning.  I only saw one other person on the trail.  She was riding a bike in the rain.  At least it was a nice warm 72 degrees.

I hot glued my pea pod to a ribbon covered stick.

It worked!  The pea pod is now stable and doesn't tip over.  I was afraid it wouldn't be wide enough but it seems to be working.  Yeah!

When I went to Silk Road Textiles, I got a free pattern for a scarf when I bought the yarn.  So I thought I would try it out and see if the pattern was easy enough for me.  I tried a few rows.  It's not perfect.  But this is the type of scarf that it's okay if it isn't perfect.

It is supposed to look like this.  So I'm continuing.  I like knitting as a break from stitching.

I am at loose ends at the moment. I want to finish my 2014 Spring Fling project before next Wednesday.

 But it is a spot sampler that I'm not crazy about. I'm on the third of four panels.
 I have too many things going on.  I like working on the both the Catherine Theron projects I got a couple weeks ago. Then I want to finish the Merry Cox projects.  But there are a lot of other things calling my name too.  Starting something new would add to my being overwhelmed.  I think I signed up for too many retreats this year.  Of course I think I said that last year as well.  Then I say to myself,  what do I really want to work on?  But the answer isn't helpful:  Everything.
What I should be doing is cleaning up my sewing room.  Yuk.
Maybe I'll go eat lunch.
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This and That

We survived the 4th of July.  There was a lot of noise but it stopped at midnight.  Thank goodness.
My aunt got a Fitbit.  This is good, right?  She friended me.  So now she can see how many steps I get and I can see how many steps she gets.  I'm can't help it, I am a competitive person.  It drives me crazy that my aunt gets more steps than I do.  She has always been very active.  But she's making me look bad!  She is 80.  EIGHTY! She's had both knees and a hip replaced.  And she beating me!  Then this morning I forgot to put on my Fitbit before walking.  So now I don't even get credit for the four miles I walked.  I'm trying to keep up with you Aunt Mary,  I really am.

I made a pea pod with peas in it out of velvet.

I think it is so cute.   This is the second one I made.  The first one didn't turn out.  I made this one differently.  I think I have to put a base on it so it will stand upright.  I'm hoping this ribbon covered stick will do.

 I'm going to hot glue it to the stick and keep my fingers crossed that this works.  Otherwise, I'm on to version number three.

Sometimes I work on things that I'm not fond of just to get them done.  Changing the colors helps me like it better.  Changing it to more flowery looking helps too.  This is where I am on the pocket I'm trying to finish.

I'm about half done.  This is like a spot sampler.  It is an exercise in doing a ton of different stitches.

I found Ophelia's sampler chart.  So now I have abc done.  Over one on forty.  Not my favorite but it is tent stitch.  I'm going to try to get at least 3 letters done every day.  We'll see how long that lasts.
The bathrooms are clean.  The AC is on.  I'm ready to stitch.
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Ophelia's Memory Book

I am tickled to announce that I have finished Ophelia's Memory Book.

It wasn't easy as much of the stitching is over one.  I changed a few things.  I used a different font for my name.  I didn't want to do nun stitch for the edge.  I saw a new stitch on facebook and looked it up.  I tried it but it didn't work well with this small piece.  So I went to my favorite stitch, long arm cross.  I wasn't sure it would work out since I had withdrawn some threads for the facebook stitch that I tried.  But I like how it turned out.  The channel created by the withdrawn thread was perfect for sewing it onto the memory book.  Then I had an inspiration.  I printed out some small photos of my Cincy trip and put them in the memory book.  I love it!

There is an antique label on the back of the book.

 I love the silk fabric in the kit.  You could choose which one you wanted for the front.  I have a very similar edge scissors to what Merry used on the inside pages.  This was pretty easy finishing and I like the spine.  Happy dance!
I still have Ophelia's sampler to do but right now I can't find the directions.  I decided that I need to finish up the Drawn Thread project that was from Spring Fling last year since I'm going to have a new Drawn Thread project in a week and a half.
Have a fun and quiet Sunday.
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Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July!  It is a lovely day here.  The trail was busier than usual today.  I've been to the Farmer's Market and I found some tart cherries.  There is nothing better than a tart cherry pie to celebrate on the 4th of July.  The bad part is having to pit all those cherries.  But I'll do that later this afternoon when I need a break from stitching.  I also was able to buy some of the best chocolate covered orange peel in the entire world.

 I'm going to have to make it last for more than just today.

I finished off some stitching into a pin.  It was a round robin piece at Celebrations last year.

I also finished off Ophelia's needleroll.  This is what made me want to take the class.

So it is only fitting that I get it done first. It is quite tiny as it is stitched over 1 on 40 count linen.  Look at that teeny needle page.   I'm going to work on the memory book next.
God bless America!
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Tying Up Loose Ends

I had a great time in Cincinnati.  There are a few things I forgot to show you.  This is the fabric I bought at Silk Road Textiles.

 What am I going to make with it?  I have no idea, but I want to make something to wear with the blue one.  Each of these fabrics is reversible, you can use either side.  I think that is really cool.  I thought of maybe making a jacket with the blue but I haven't found a pattern that I want yet.  BTW, patterns are so expensive, what's the deal?

Stasi inspired me to finish my Needleworker sign.  I put it on the door to my sewing room (the one I close when I have guests!).  I used comic board and silk dupioni to finish it.  I put a loop on the back so I could hang it.  The first loop I messed up and put on the bottom of the sign instead of the top.  Duh.

This is Ophelia's undies.

I am so happy that I got her all finished.  That's her trunk in back of her.

Things I learned in Cincinnati:
1.  Merry's projects almost always have a bag or a box with them.
2.  I learned a great way to keep dupioni from raveling.
3.  Some people dry their toes, some people let their toes air dry.
4.  Skyline Chili is unique.  They give you free crackers too.
5. Not that many people have heard of A Girl of the Limberlost.
6. Waynesville is a great place to spend some time and money.
7.  Talking is the best way to make a long journey short.
8.  No matter where you go, you can always find good food.  I happen to find way too much of it though.
9.  Going to cross stitch classes is just the most fun.
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Cincy Trip Day Four

It is the last day of Squirrel's Nest Getaway.  The weather is better today so I can get some steps in before breakfast.  We want to get to Carol's early enough to see what is for sale and get a nice seat.  We had to say goodbye to several friends who are on their way back home.  Before Stasi left she let me take a photo of her basket.  I love how she added the Needleworker design to the top.  Her light even fits in this basket.

I have stitched this design over one.  I should make it into something when I get home.
Today our project is The Eternal Love Stitching Tray:

We have to do basting first.  But it isn't too bad.  Once you have one side in and the other side started, you can start your stitching.  Again Merry tells us about her inspiration for this.  Merry writes poetry and this is one of her poems.  This kit comes with a box:

There are a couple of smalls too.  The scissors case has interesting finishing that Merry explains and demonstrates.

This is a short class that lasts only until noon.  Thanks Merry for such great classes!

BFF#2 and I have to decide what to do after class.  Our choices are to go the Limberlost museum and maybe a quilt shop on the way home or go another way and hit Waynesville.  Several people have been talking about Waynesville and some of the shops there.  One has a lot of silk dupioni that is on sale.  We opt for Waynesville even though it is a little out of our way.  First on the way is a quilt shop.  It's in a space formerly occupied by a paint store.  It feels a little like a warehouse.  But he ladies are nice, the row by row pattern is cute and it is fun to see their fabric.

Then we are off to Waynesville, hoping it isn't a bust.

 At first we have a hard time finding the fabric store, Fabric Shack.  It really isn't a shack.  It has an unbelieveable amount of fabric in a fairly small area.  Wow.

 I find a piece of fabric that looks like toweling.  I can do some redwork embroidery on it.

Then we go to Fabric Shack's home store.  That is where the silk dupioni is.  Outside of the shop are benches where husbands sit and wait.  There are darling fish pillows on the benches.  We want to make some of those.  So we get some of the fish material.  Then we have to climb quite a few stairs to see the silk.  We see several people shopping who were in our class.  There is a lot of silk to choose from but only one clerk trying to cut it all.  It takes a while but we find some great silk.

Now we are hungry.  We are still hankering for pizza.  There is a local pizza place.  Perfect.  Man, does that pizza hit the spot!  Yum.

Then we need dessert.  There is an ice cream place across the street.  It has a tables and chairs outside to eat at.  Yum.  I'm so full I can't eat all my ice cream.  It's 4:30 and we still have to drive all the way home.  We could spend a whole day in Waynesville, maybe another time.
The drive home is fine as we talk most of the way.  That makes the time go fast.  We make it home before dark.  What a weekend it has been!  What fun!  Now I have a ton of stuff to stitch.  How lucky and I?
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Cincy Trip Day Three

Saturday in Cincinnati was rainy and windy so I didn't go walking.  We went over to Starbucks and had a nice breakfast.  The class today is very full so we want to get to Carol's early so we can get a good place to sit.  I know I will see even more friends today.  I was hoping to get Ophelia's clothes all stitched but I am still working on the hem.  We all got antique lace for her petticoat and bloomers which I haven't made yet.

It is time to change gears as I now have a whole new kit to work on.  The kit today is A Yound Lady's Workbox.

This project was inspired by this antique sewing box:

 The title of the box is perfect, Dewitt Academy for Young Ladies, as I happen to be born in DeWitt County.  This box will be lined in pretty paper.

 We start stitching on the needle case's house.  Merry gets us all started in just the right spot.  There are several smalls that go with the main tray in this design.  One of the extra things is a spool of antique thread for our box.  Cool.
After a very nice lunch we talk about the finishing directions.  Merry has some clever finishing for this design.  We don't want to quit when it is time to go.

 You just get some momentum in stitching and then it is time to quit.  But we have another place we want to go.  Our trusty GPS get us to Silk Road Textiles.  We are hoping they have some  silk dupioni that will be helpful in finishing.  We park in back of the store.  It doesn't look that promising.

But when we go in, wow.  This is a great store.

I took some photos of the bathroom, nice.

They had dupioni but we didn't find the color we were looking for.  They had some very interesting yarn and a scarf that looked easy to knit. They have lots of great fabric and a row by row pattern.   I find some material that I just love.  It is so cool.  I haven't made clothes for myself in a number of years but I couldn't resist getting some of this cool material.  It is fair trade from India.  Now I'll have to find a pattern to do it justice.  They have some silk Kimono thread.

 BFF#2 has this thread (in about 25 colors) and loves it so I get a nice neutral color.  I have wanted to try this thread.  The girl that waited on me was Sasha, who it showing some attitude.

 She spins my yarn into a ball, which is fun to watch.  We have to get out of this store before we spend too much money.  Too late.

We feel like eating pizza.  We drive around but can't find a pizza place.  Rats.  So we decide to go eat at Bass Pro.

When we go into Bass Pro we discover there isn't a restaurant inside this one, just a snack bar with hot dogs and hamburgers.  No, we want something else.  As we are leaving we see fudge in interesting flavors.  I ask if the Bubble Gum flavor is good.  The girl gives us a sample.  It tastes just like bubble gum and it is good.  So, where to eat?  We decide to eat at Cracker Barrel again.  It is really busy this time.  They don't have pizza but we find something we want.  The big excitement while we are there is the ambulance showing up along with a policeman and the fire truck.  If you need help in Cincinnati, it is certainly available.
When I go back to my room, I work on Ophelia's undies.  I try using the Kimono thread.  It is fabulous.  I'm using the ecru color and you can hardly see it on the white antique linen.  I like this thread a lot.  It is great for finishing.
This weekend is going so fast.  How can tomorrow be our last day?
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