Stitchy update and before and after home improvements!

Here is just a quick stitchy update on my Pineberry Lane spooky stitching:

I'm having fun with this one!

Meanwhile, my husband worked on bringing a vision to life for our house. We had a huge blank wall that I had been curating ideas of what to do with for two years now. It's been realized finally!  We went from this:

to this:

I could not be happier! My husband worked so hard on this for me. He hand picked the boards, stained them with the stain I picked out, polyurethaned and waxed them, and painted the Ikea brackets a satin black. Love that guy. We want to do a picture gallery above it. I purchased the frames, and it should be done as soon as I order the pics and figure out how I want it configured! I'll update after that.

The weather has finally cooled off and it's been so nice. I need to get out and start walking and taking care of myself again. It's been too long, and I've gotten out of my habits that helped me get into shape. Life is like that sometimes. Time just seems to fly and I just want to enjoy it as I go along. Make time for the little enjoyable things in life, like dinner with your family, listening to the rain, walking in the crisp air, savoring the fall flavors of apples and pumpkins. Get out there and enjoy life!

Until next time,

I caved! New Pineberry Lane start!

Yep, I caved! I saw Pineberry Lane's new design, October 31st, and had to start it. You know, 'cause I don't have enough designs to choose from, right??

I dyed a piece of fabric, but it might be too yellow-y. I think the colors will pop off the fabric nicely however. I've never stitched on a yellow, so this should be fun!

We've been decorating here and there for the holiday and we kicked off our celebration with a trip to King's Dominion Halloween Haunt.

They have great decorations and shows and we love it every year. They do however, need me in charge of their music this year.

Hope your Halloween season is well underway! We are looking forward to some very cooler temps soon (beginning tomorrow or so), and I'm so ready!!

Until next time friends,

Notforgotten Farm Flag Folk and Stash!

Back with just a little bit of progress on Notforgotten Farm Flag Folk.

I have to confess-I would like to be stitching something spooky right now. I may have to start something new and put this on the back burner for a bit. I don't know. This is enjoyable however!

Now on to some stash! I hope I haven't posted these before. And I really am putting them here to keep track of myself. I have purchased duplicates a few times (haven't we all?), so this helps!

I have wanted these forever!

How adorable is this spider??!

These Cedar Hill Designs are gorgeous!

A couple of these are re-purchases. I had them, sold them, and wanted them back. UGH! That is the stitcher's curse I tell you!
It is still so stifling hot here. I cannot wait for cooler weather. I couldn't enjoy a hot apple cider if you paid me. Happy Autumn, and until next time,

Oh the Miles! now framed and ready to go!

My framing disappointment is replaced with joy! I took the advice of a nice lady on the Prim Stitcher's Society facebook group and used a piece of cotton batting under my fabric to smooth everything out and make it look nice. Prior to that, no matter how I tried, the puckering wouldn't subside. My hand still hurts from doing all the pinning, but it was worth it! (oh, what LOOKS like puckers are actually those darn shadows and reflections--believe me, it's all smooth!)

Viola!

This was only my second attempt at pinning my own piece and making it work. I think I did OK! It helped my confidence to do this, and I'll be trying it again on the next thing I have framed, whatever that is!

I hope everyone is having a great stitchy week! I can say that with this off my "to do" list, I am feeling much better. Now I have to just finish that little crochet lamby I'm working on, and my kitchen table is mine again.

Until next time,

Flag Folk progress and update

This is about the third time I've started since I last posted! I didn't like how it was turning out on the murky fabric. I love the fabric, but wasn't feeling it. I then dyed some 18 count aida-came out beautifully, but didn't like that either. I finally got some 16 count aida and dyed it and I'm continuing no matter what this time!

I am pleased with my fabric color. Started out white and I used a pale brown and denim blue on it. The colors are showing up nicely. I have to say, I'm not thrilled with the way the WDW floss lays. I'm only using one strand too! You wouldn't think I'd worry about it. But here we are.  I enjoy the GAST much more. These flosses feel a bit dry and fuzz up more than some others. The colors are nice however! I do love the colors.  I can't really pinpoint it, but I think my quest for the perfect floss is going to be never ending. My favorite all time floss to work with has been Silk N Colors.

The colors are coming into the trees, even though it's still hot. I truly cannot wait for the fall weather. I enjoy summer, but the humidity is god awful this year it seems!

Be back soon with hopefully more stitching!  Until then,

Notfortten Farm We Are Flag Folk start and Summer Salad!

Started my next project after looking through some recent favorite things I've kitted up. I actually ordered this PTP fabric a day or two after I got back from vacation (around June 1). It took over a month to get here.

I got it out to begin my stitching and realized I needed some bigger QSnaps, so I ordered extensions. These snaps are SO hard to get on and off! OK, end of complaining, lol.

The fabric is 16 count Murky Aida by Picture This Plus. I had picked it up in linen while on vacation, but I didn't allow enough for finishing/framing. I might use that linen for another projecct down the road.

I made a pretty summer salad this week! Believe it or not, I'd never picked out or used a fresh avocado for anything. I was googling on my phone in the middle of the store to find out which one to pick. Luckily, I found one that seemed to fit the bill. The nice lady at the checkout counter even confirmed it for me. :)  It was really yummy.

Summer Salad

1 can corn
1 can black beans/rinsed
1 carton of cherry tomatoes/sliced
1 avocado sliced
1 package mozzarella "pearls"
fresh cilantro to taste
salt and pepper to taste
toss with cilantro lime dressing (I bought mine at the store)

Enjoy those last couple weeks of summer with this fresh tasting salad!

Until next time,

Thistles and Spells is DONE!

She's finally finished! Don't know why I said "finally" as this one hasn't actually taken that long. I'd have been done a few weeks ago if not for the little crochet lamb I got sidetracked with!

We are enjoying a break in the horrific heat we'd been dealing with and it's lovely. You can feel the seasonal shift, and we quietly move into my favorite time of year! Time for cleaning out, organizing, and setting goals. This is the time of year I focus on those things quite a bit. I've downloaded a few books I need to read and I want to accomplish some other goals as well.

I'll be back pretty soon I think, as I ponder what chart to take up next and gather some stash for sharing. I need to get my craft room cleaned up and organized. We've been here two years now and it's the one place that isn't fully taken care of yet.

Enjoy the outdoors if you can! Until then,

Updates and frustration.

Hey there stitchy friends. August has not been kind. It's had it's good moments and bad. Let's see what I have tried to accomplish this month. First up, progress, and ALMOST a finish on Thistles and Spells. I just have the corner on the right to go! I got caught up with some crochet and have neglected this little one.

This is what got my attention and had me leave my beloved stitching for a couple weeks.

It's going to be a little lamb. We'll see when I'm done if he looks like one or not. And I'll post the link at that time to the shop I got the pattern from. I've learned a lot that I wanted to know how to do with this little thing, and it's been fun to learn something new.

FRUSTRATION.

I took a couple chances on Hobby Lobby for framing. I had the rabbit pattern framed for my mom and it turned out good, but they initially left the spacers out and had the glass pressing right on to the fabric. I had to take it back and tell them that needlework should never be framed that way. So, the guy there was so very nice and accommodating and he fixed it for me. Fine.

Then I took the below piece in. I couldn't wait to get this back and reminded them up front about the need for spacers. No problem. I pick it up yesterday and though it was finished nicely, and I loved the framing, etc., I could EASILY tell that it had not been stretched well enough and there were some "gappy" areas where the fabric was puffing up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Geez. Really??! So I took it apart.

It was pinned quite nicely, but not stretched well enough. You may not be able to see it from the photo. I was mad. I'm just going to finagle with it myself and attempt to put it back together. UGH! I didn't notice it until closer inspection at home, but whatever. I need to try and do this myself more. I just am not satisfied. Maybe I'm too picky?

I am a member of several facebook groups regarding stitching, etc. And I see some people who say "Just back from the framers!" and the fabric is not well stretched. I'm thinking some of these people have spent probably hundreds of dollars and they don't notice??! I guess if they are happy, then it's all good, but I expect it to be straight and tight. Even if it's a small piece. I had been trying to avoid the time and expense of traveling to Alexandria to In Stitches (framing is outrageous, but I guess you get what you pay for!).

If I can get this pinning down well enough, I'm just going to order all the other stuff and assemble it myself. I can't stand when it's not right.

August is my and my mother's birthday month. We celebrated at a nice place in Fredericksburg that we go to for special occasions. My son and Tiara came to dinner as well and we had a nice time. My mom is the best, plain and simple.

I've gained a lot of weight back and am not happy with myself again. Time to get back on track. The last couple years have been unpleasant in many ways, but I have lots of good in my life even so, and I need to remember that, always!

Take care and I'll be back soon with some good updates hopefully! Until then,

Thistles and Spells, on to the border!

I can't believe how quickly I've moved on this one! I think it's looking good, and I'm officially beginning the border today.

Now, I've changed her dress to be straight all the way down. I loved the design, but I was never keen on the bubble butt this little witch had. So I just took the dress all the way down instead of big around the hips and skinny around the legs. I think it really looks good.

Work has been so busy this week. And life has been busy too! My son started a new job with his company (HUGE promotion!). His girlfriend, Tiara, had her young siblings staying with us this week for a vacation visit and I think they had fun. She took them to all kinds of great places like a bounce house, a jumping center and the movies. They are too cute. 

It's been a bit much for my little Jenny, lol.

I've also been intermittently working on a ripple crochet scarf in some pretty colors. This was an early pic, as I've gotten lots more done on it by now. I love these yummy fall colors. You can find the free pattern HERE.

And a shout out to one of my visitors, Joanne. She read my post from the Woodlawn needlework show, and send me a magazine that had one of the patterns I NEEDED to find (I had no idea what it was or where it came from!). She had some eagle eyes and was so kind to send it to me. I tell you, cross stitch friends are the best, aren't they? Very kind and sweet of her.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and gets lots of stitching done. I'll try to work on this border and then I have a new project brewing, so I need to get working on it soon! Until then,

Thistles & Spells Progress!

So happy with my new start! The fabric is so pretty and the pattern is so fun to work up.

 Made an eye appointment for a little over a week from now. I'm a bit nervous about what he'll say. My left eye is getting worse all the time. I'm sure my cataracts are no better than three years ago, lol. He said I had five to eight years of good sight left before I'd have to have something done, but I'm feeling like I'm on the shorter end of that estimate. I'll be stitching till I can't stitch no more!

It's hot as literal hell here. My goodness. I would love to be sitting outside to stitch at some point, but dang, there is no relief in sight for at least 10 days or more! Stay hydrated if you are in VA. Whew.

So, is blogging dead? Do people like the flosstube thing better nowadays? Give me opinions! I like the flosstube videos too, but I just don't have that amount of time to devote to watching. I suppose I could listen while I work--however, looking at all the goodies is what it's all about and some people have videos that are an hour or more, regularly!

Have a good weekend, and 'till next time,