Know Thyself is DONE! Fall musings and thoughts.

 Another finish on the books, finally! I powered through and completed this little Blackwood and Briar pattern, Know Thyself, in just a couple days this week. I'm very happy with it.

As I stitched this, I not only thought about whether or not I know myself, but also, if anyone really knows me? I think this is a universal question. Not that I have any deep dark secrets, but who really knows all your aspects? This will hang in my bedroom on my witchy wall, to remind me about taking my own inventory and coming to terms with all aspects of myself. 

I may start this Pineberry Lane pattern next. We'll see. I dyed the fabric last night and got it all ironed and serged up. I need my husband to help me put the Q-snaps together. I have a big basket with all the stuff in it, and I get overwhelmed trying to figure out the pieces for a project, lol. 

Now, I know the fabric might look similar to the first one I listed, but I assure you, it IS different! This one is a brown/marshmallow-y looking fabric. I didn't want anything too crazy, but something a bit more fun than just plain old brown linen. I'm hooked on dyeing fabric. This is a Zweigart 32 count linen that originally comes in white.

Oh Autumn. How I love thee.

Maybe we'll hit up our local pumpkin patch next week and see what's going on out there. These are the times that I miss having a little one around. We had so much fun taking our son to the pumpkin patch!

Just a few stash items since last time. I have sold a ton of stuff too, in one of my stash unload groups on facebook, but I always seem to find something to replace it with, lol.

I got that Cricket pattern simply for the little elf in the upper right hand corner. I mean, c'mon!

I have to stitch this little guy. Is he surprised? Is he not supposed to be playing with that toy? I mean, what is the story here??!! He or she just makes me smile. 

I hope you all are having a lovely Autumn so far. Our weather has just been fantastic. A day or two of rain every now and then, but my gosh, Fall in VA has been awesome. BUT, I keep getting reminded of October memories on facebook and all the Fridays we spent at King's Dominion Halloween Haunt, and it just kills me. I miss it so much. I miss all the fun things we did not get to do this year. Vacations, birthday parties, summer get-togethers, King's Dominion, etc. And we made the awful choice not to have our relatives over for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. Heartbreaking. BUT, I want them all around next year, you know?

Time to sign off and go figure out what to do for dinner! Have a wonderful weekend, and get lots of stitching in! Until next time,

Finally a Finish!

I finally finished that sweet little Pineberry Lane October 31 design into a little pouch! 

I used fabric glue to secure the binding, since hand sewing didn't go well at all. And I also used the glue to make the bias for the handle. It worked out pretty good. It sure isn't perfect, but it's done! I like this design so much I might have to stitch it again for a frame.

I added some more rows to my crochet dresser mat. I am loving it!

A smal stitchy update. I have only taken a few minutes here and there to work on it. 

 The weather here has been absolutely beautiful. I cannot overstate that! It is REALLY finally Autumn in VA. I want to be more present in my daily life this month and really drink in everything about the season. I want to try and meditate for 5 to 10 minutes every evening or during the day if I break from work. I plan to eat all the seasonal fruits I can. And I plan to stitch more, and try to relax more. With everything happening in this country, I need to step away from the news and turn on my Fall or Halloween playlist and just chill out. I need to take more photos too. I have slacked off from Project Life for the past couple/few years, and would like to get back in to it at some point. So much to think about and do. I should have plenty to keep me busy over the next few months, at least!

I hope you all find lots of little pleasures in life this month and find some ways to appreciate what we have and plan for the future, whether that is tomorrow, next week, next year or beyond. Take care of yourselves! Thank you for checking in on my blog. I really appreciate it. 

Until next time,

Mrs. Maguire is DONE! A new BBD start!

Finally, a finish for Mrs. Maguire's Garden! I did alter just a couple small things. I used all the called for DMC, except for the skin. I used DMC 3864, because the called for floss just didn't show up on this fabric. I added her apron, and widened the brim of her hat by one stitch on either side to accommodate the addition of a bit of hair.

I enjoyed sticking with her for the long haul! I'd given up on this one at some point in the past, and had nearly finished it on different fabric. But I'd wanted to do it so bad, and I'm glad I did.

So, I eagerly ironed her out and gathered the supplies for my next project. I'm going to do Beneath the Sunlit Sky, by Blackbird Designs. The colors here are luscious. The fabric is 28 ct. cashel, by Picture This Plus in Fog. It's a pretty color. Very softly variegated with a hint of pale brown here and there.

I don't enjoy over-dyed flosses too much because I find they are thinner, and they have a tendency to "shred" while stitching. I've found Weeks Dye Works to be the worst culprit here. Most of these are Gentle Arts, with only one WDW color, so we'll see how it goes.

I hope the coming week is great for everyone out there. Until next time,

Flag Folk is FINISHED!

OMG, ya'll. It's done! I want to list a couple substitutions I made on this. I used all recommended flosses with the exception of the reds/orange in the flags and flower, and the blue in the flags and skirt. I used DMC 926 in place of WDW Dolphin, and DMC 3777 in place of WDW Terra Cotta. I took this pic in a lighter room than I usually do, so it's coming off a few shades lighter for the fabric.

Whew. I should have worked this weekend, but I just had to finish this and get it under my belt. It feels SO GOOD! I really adore Lori Brechlin's designs. They are so fun and have so many great little elements to them. I hope she never stops designing cross stitch! I need to try some of her embroideries too.

Don't know what I'll pick up next. I have so many things kitted and ready to go. Sometime soon, I'll show how I organize my charts and floss, etc. Don't know if anyone would be interested, but I'll put it out there anyways. None of it is particularly innovative, lol. But it works for me.

Here is just some random pretty pics that happened over the past two weeks. I have been trying to be consistent with walking and I find that driving up to the battlefield park helps me do that. This little deer wasn't spooked by me sharing space with her at all!

Don't ask me what I'm gonna do with all these baby hats, but yeah, I finished another one. The yarn just made it too cute.

How are you guys doing? I really want to know. I am having a pretty hard time about now. Life has been upended it seems. Yes, things are opening, but the numbers in this country are the worst they have been during this entire nightmare. Sure, we can go out. But I find myself asking "is it worth it?". Somehow, I thought that things opening up would make me feel better, but going into stores, or eating somewhere now comes with existential fear that wasn't present before. UGH! Anyways, that's where I am.

I'll be back soon, after I'm done picking out a new project to stitch. Hopefully you will all have a wonderful, healthy week and get lots of stitching done. It's going to be hotsy totsy here this week, so I might not be walking as much as I did this past week. Stay cool!

Until next time,

First 2020 Finish and New Start chit chat!

I'm so glad to be done with my project!

 

I'm happy with how it turned out! I kind of lost a month due to health issues, so I can't be too hard on myself for this being my first finish of the year I guess.

Now, I'm attempting another go at Notforgotten Farm's Flag Folk. I really don't like the red and blue that is used. I think the blue is too light and the red too orange (for my taste only!). So I may swap those for some DMC colors. And I don't like stitching one full "x" at a time because the rows don't match up when you go back the other way, lol. So I don't think I'll be doing that either.
I tried to start this on the "Murky" fabric from PTP, but dang. It's 36 count linen and I just had the WORST time trying to see this. I use readers in strength of 3, so I guess I need to move up. But man, there was just no way. Sooooooo...........

I dyed my own version of "Murky". Tell me what you think. Here is the original.

PTP Murky

And here is my own version of this gorgeous fabric in 16 ct. Aida.

My own hand dyed version on 16 ct. aida

I'm really happy with it. For anyone that wants to know, I used RIT Taupe, and Charcoal Gray, then mixed some Navy Blue in with the Charcoal Gray.

My wonderful Momma send me a sweet pandemic survival present.

I have the Clover hooks, but wanted to keep another set by my be and I really wanted that blush pink T-Shirt yarn.....yay! Such a sweet thing for her to do. We love her so much, and I treasure our relationship so much. I need to find a little something special for her as well.

Take care, be well,, and I'll be back soon with an update on my Flag Folk project! Until then,