June 2019 Update

Well it appears that I slept through June. Just one single post. I did manage to get some stitching done. I finished three small pieces last month.

June is finished. I think, I have only 4 more months to stitch. Still not sure how I'll finish these.

 

A Bit of June

Lizzie Kate

The theme for the June Halloween Ornie SAL was Witch. I stitched Family Portrait from 2013 Just Cross Halloween Ornament Magazine. I couldn't find any of my Tokens and Trifles perforated paper so I used regular white perforated paper. 

Family Portrait

Wendy White 

Wee Works

Hardanger 

class practice piece 

Moss Creek Designs 

My main WIP is still Halloween at Hollyberry Farm.

I finally started on the first floor. For the month of July, Melissa of the FB WIPocalypseSAL page has challenged us to a July One-Per-Day Event. The object is to pick a project and stitch at least one stitch on it each day. I'll be working on HRH again.  

Halloween at Hollyberry Farm

Stacey Nash Primitives

My new start is Votes for Women! A Celebration of the Centennial of Women's Suffrage. A half-doll pincushion and collections of smalls.

Thanks for stopping by,

Back to Stitching

Just a small chink in the wall. I have finally got back to needle and thread and have something to share.  My latest finish is the stitching for a pincushion. This is a bonus project from a class I took in June at A Stitcher's Gathering.

Cora's Rose Tea Spoon Pincushion

Finished!

edited to add finished pincudhion

Gwen

Double Duty

Smalls SAL 2015

My Smalls Check-In is late. I've shown my first finish the tuck-away pillow earlier, 

My second finish is a hedgehog pincushion. This pincushion is from a class I took at A Stitcher's Gathering over the weekend. The other parts of the set is a needle book and a gaming purse.

WIPocalypse 2015

Since I shared these pictures I've started on the needle case cover. I haven't gotten very far so I haven't taken any pictures yet. Hopefully by next check-in I will have more to show.

And my final update. The apron for my pincushion doll is growing.

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

......

Buttons and Pins

I was fortunate to be able to made my annual trip to Arizona to attend A Stitcher's Gathering.This year's project was A Lovely Garden, A Lovely Life.  The bee skep was the pre-stitching for the class. It is the the lid cover for my mini Shaker Box. The mini box is destined to be a Button box, for now it is holding some charms that I plan to use somewhere on another part of the project. the other pieces of the project are a Shaker Sewing Box, needle book and a Victorian Pin Ball. The pinball was my first attempt at English paper piecing. We used 3/4 inch pentagons to construct the pinball. The templates from Paper Pieces made the piecing easy.

Civil War Needlebook Kit

Threadwork Primitives

I have made some more progress on this, but don't have a current picture. I only have a few more days if I am to have this done before the Fourth. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

A New Look!

This past weekend some friends and I visited The Attic Needlework Store. This was our first visit to the store since they moved to their new location. The store is much larger now and the lighting is wonderful. The classroom area is also much bigger in the new store. Everything has not been unpacked yet but, Jean and staff didn't disappoint. Everyone found something to add to their needlework stash treasures. I can't wait to go back after all those wonderful samplers are back on the walls.

Of course the main purpose of our visit was our ASG Retreat. The project this year asks the question 'May I Have This Dance?'. Rae's description says it all. "A collection of stitching and sewing accessories that celebrate the custom of dance cards and boutonnières, glamorous silk purses and dance slippers of the Victorian Era." Our practice piece was this dance slipper pincushion.

 

Thanks fo stopping by,

 

Posted with Blogsy

A Stitcher's Gathering 2011

This past weekend was my annual trip to A Stitcher's Gathering, ASG. The weekend started as usual with a trip to Attic Needleworks. The store is chock full of charts, fabric, fibers, scissors and of course numerous stitched samples. Eye candy galore!
The project a Schwalm Herb Garden Hope Chest includes a Pinkeep Doll and Needle Book. The Pinkeep Doll was the portion of the pre-stitching that we brought to class.

 
Front of doll dress with peahole hem and heart outlined and ready for the Schwalm filling.

Schwalm heart filled with the waffle stitch. Next step assemble the pinkeep.




One of the things I love best about ASG is the opportunity I have to see my friends. We live all over the country but for at least one weekend we are able to get together and spend time visiting, stitching and catching up. I look forward to it each year.
Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

Back from a short Hiatus.

I have spend the last few months pre-stitching for classes and while I still don't have a finished project to show, I have had fun and learned a lot. The first class I took was Hare Pyns with Sherri Jones. Lots and lots of stitching but oh so worth it. The project is just beautiful, but still a W.I.P.

Two weekends ago some friends and I made our annual trip to AZ to attend A Stitcher's Gathering. This usually warrants at least one trip to The Attic Needleworks and this year was no different. We spent a few hours shopping, visiting, shopping, enabling, and shopping (you get the picture) with Jeana and her staff. We left there with more stash and lighter wallets to prepare for our class. Thanks Jean, April and Sandy for your hospitality we love visiting your store each year.

Rae Iverson of Moss Creek Designs the organizer/host of A Stitcher's Gathering has designed a fan etui Live Long with Joy. Armed with our pre-stitching our goal was to stitch the dragonfly and work on the construction of the case. During class  we used  5 weights of gold threads to make a gold gilted  dragonfly to adorn the fan etui. Threads used were Smooth Purl, Pearl Purl, Passing Thread Gilt Sylke Twist and Tambour Thread. This was my first time working with these threads. For a first attempt I am very pleased with my dragonfly.

Dragonfly taking flight from the branch of a mulberry tree.

In stitches,

Gwen

Treats not Trix

Last weekend I attended ASG at Hilton Head, South Carolina. This is one of my favorite retreats each year. Our classes this year centered around a nautical theme. Rae Iverson of Moss Creek Designs was our hostess and teacher, along with Jackie du Plessis of It's Fine-ally Finished, and Marcy Pumphret of Scrimshaw by Marcy. I must say, I approached Marcy's class with intimidation. How could someone with no artistic ability enjoy or get anything from this mere 4 hour block of time? Well, I am here to tell that I not only survived but I had a great time. Marcy is a very patient and gracious teacher. She made us all believe in our ability to at least try the the technique and each person left class with a greater appreciation for the art of scrimshaw and each piece that we own or hope to collect in the future.
Jackie's piece for this year was The Ship to Shore Etui ( sailboat with pinkeep and needlebook sails, scissor holder and option scrim anchor) and Rae's piece was a Fish Purse Etui. Both pieces are just stunning. It will be hard to decide which to stitch first.

This week I finished stitching Softly Walk, tonight I will be working on Something Wicked. I was almost able to get it done but, I need another couple of hours to finish the verse and put in the border.

Gwen

My last event of the year??

This weekend I attended A Stitcher's Gathering (ASG) on Hilton Head Island. The event was held there for several years before moving to Louisville, KY. This fall ASG was back on HHI at the Marriott. Stitchers had a total of 3 four hour classes, one each with Sherrie Jones, Catherine Jordan and Rae Iverson. Projects included A Clam Shell Purse, A Keepsake Box and a Celtic Etui. I had a picture of my Celtic Etui- Beach Plum Scissor Fob ready to upload when I realized I had stitched some of my beach plums in the wrong color. [Note to self: check your colors carefully if you are stitching by hotel -not the brightest- light.] I will post the picture later after I make the correction.

While at ASG I had a much anticipated but, too short visit with my stitching friends. Time between visits seem to drag while the weekend events fly by. CarolB celebrated her birthday last week just before the event. This is a floss tag I stitched for her. Hope that she enjoys it.

ASG was to be my last away event of the year but, my friends are twisting my arm and tempting me to attend Christmas in Williamsburg sponsored by JCS. We will see....................

Gwen

Happy Monday!

I had a very good weekend and was able to get quite a bit done. For starters I have made progress on Brave Heart, LHN. I had hope to have the top section done by the weekend, but I am still happy with it so far.

My second ornament from Old Town Needlework arrived on Saturday. I fell in love with it and sat down and stitched one version of it that will probably go to the cath lab at one of the local hospitals that my American Needlepoint Guild (ANG) chapter supports. I stitched this with DMC 700 floss, Kreinik Braid 002 and 031 on white 18ct canvas. I will be using Petite Frosty Rays PY218, PY062 and some Frye Werks Soft Sheen FT15 on cream 18ct canvas for my personal ornament.

Don't have pictures now, but I also started the finishing on an online project I did with Jackie du Plessis of It's Fine-ally Finished. I am two steps shy of finishing the first lesson. Goal get it done by the end of the month.

I also received the class information on the fall ASG on Hilton Head. Not a bad stitching weekend at all!

Gwen

Bits and Pieces

My exchanges pieces were mailed on Thursday. I hope that they will have safe travels to their new homes. I will have pictures after they arrive. On Friday I got my basket for my Little Martha's Pocket, now to find some fabric to make a liner.

Yesterday was a holiday here in the US, I hope all stitchers who had a 3 day weekend had a chance to get in some extra time stitching. I just eked in my ornament for May. I stitched it on Monday and added the beads for the center of the flowers today.


Freebie: Sablaise
Fiber: DMC 304, 3346, Delcia Bead for center of flowers

I am off on Thursday to attend ASG in Arizona. I am looking forward to a few days off from work. I was able to see a preview of one of our projects today I very excited.

Till next time...............

Gwen

My Finishing Accessories

Has it really been 2 months? Where oh where does the time go?

In August I attended 2 classes in Atlanta, GA with Jackie du Plessis of It's Fine-ally Finished. The classes were sponsored by The Sampler Guild of Georgia. Jackie taught "Buttons a Bounty" (BAB) and "My Finishing Accessories" (MFA). Both classes focused on the assembly of the project. There was no pre-stitching for BAB so I still have that one to stitch. I took MFA at Celebration of Needlework in 2006 along with 2 other stitching friends, Deb and Carol. This year Stephanie decided to take the class with Jackie in ATL. We, (Deb, Carol and I) decided to pull out our pieces from a year ago and take the finishing again along with Stephanie, and get the job done this time. Thanks to Jackie for the extra prodding, pushing and encouragement. I now have a completed project. Deb and Carol have also finished their projects. We have challenged Steph to have hers done by Oct. when we get together again for ASG in Louisville, KY.

ASG Report

I had a wonderful time at ASG ! I arrived on Wednesday morning. After meeting up with my friends at the resort, we climbed into two cars stopped for lunch, then spent 2 hours at The Attic. Jean and the other ladies were great. The store is chuck full of charts, patterns, threads, stitchers toys, just about anything a needleworker could possibly want. If its not on the shelf they will be happy to order if for you! One of the great experiences at The Attic are all the models. Its just wonderful to see all those designs stitched and wonderfully displayed.



On Thursday a number of us took a trip so Sedona. While 2 people went on a helicopter ride the rest of us took A Pink Jeep Tour. It was just awesome. Definitely worth the experience.



Friday and Saturday were reserved for classes. My first class on Friday afternoon was with Betsy Morgan-Willing Hands Designs. Saturday morning I was stitching with Ann Pettit from Brightneedle and Saturday afternoon with Rae Iverson of Moss Creek Designs. On Friday morning and between classes there was amble time for several visits to the boutique. Soo many projects soo little time. On Sunday was the parting brunch and the Golden Needle Gallery. On Sunday mornings stitchers are encouraged to display items of interest and is just a great time to see what others have been working on. Finally it was time to say goodbye to new and old friends. The weekend goes by so quickly!

Progress on GCC

I have missed the deadline for at least 1 of my GCC. This weekend I was able to work on 'To The Acorn' and made great progess. I have enough done now to send it in for an evaluation. I would like to complete a few more bands so, I will continue to see how much more progress I can make. I will take a picture next time I unroll it.



Tomorrow, I will be getting ready to go to A Stitchers' Gathering in Arizona. My friends and I have planned a shopping trip to The Attic for a shopping spree on Wednesday, an excursion to Sedona on Thursday, then classes on Friday and Saturday.