What Have I Been Doing?

Just wanted to let you know that I have been very busy with Nana Day Care. The first two weeks were wonderful. Jake took about a 45 minute nap in the morning and a 2 hour plus nap in the afternoon. Jake is a very good little man but he requires a lot of attention. It has taken me a while to realize that I just cannot do everything I use to do before him. I have to do a lot of my work after he leaves for the day and that is cutting into my stitching. Stitching has been going very slow. Only get about two maybe three hours, if I am lucky, to stitch at night. I have finished the bottom borders on Dr. A and am working on the background. During the day I try to work on something mindless while siting on the floor with Jake. Denise, my stitching sister, gave me a canvas with "Jake" on it for the Lee Photo Album and I am working on the background for that. Hope to get the background for Dr. A done by the end of the week and then I will do my homework on Hermina Batwings.

Will try to post pictures of my progress on Dr. A and Hermina soon.

Linda

Tiger's Done, & Now, Back to Ponza

I just finished my insert for my new Lee handbag. I am a handbag hound, & when Linda & I saw the Italian leather bags, my homeland called to me. So I concentrated, & did this tiger for the first of the two inserts I will make for this bag. I did the whole canvas in tent stitch, for wearability reasons. I used one of my favorite threads, Vineyard Silk, for everything except the eyes. Those I did in Silk Lame, so the eyes would glitter.

I love using Vineyard Silk, as I can avoid my laying tool and there's no plying. I have always loved it, especially for things that will be worn, like handbags & belts. I have a little complaint this time, though: for the first time, I found that it would sometimes pill. I mentioned this to our LNS last week, & this was not the first time they've heard that comment recently. It was a little bit annoying, but not serious enough for me to consider a wearability issue. I will pay attention the next time I use Vineyard Silk again, though. Has anyone else had this problem?

I am now on to my last of the Ponza canvases, the green door. I have a Tony Minieri stitch guide from my spring canvas embellishment class with him. I had to take some time this afternoon to reacquaint myself with the guide & the canvas. I am excited to get back to this canvas; this is one of my favorites, which is why I saved it for last. I would like to finish this before my next Tony embellishment canvas this coming November. Let's see how I do!

Linda is swamped with Nana Day Care & trying to keep up with her life & her chores. Suffice it to say that her two full time jobs are not easy. But I am jealous that she gets to spend time with Jake, while I spend time in my office. At least we had dinner together this week with Karen, where they gave me more details of their trip to Maryland. I tried not to show my jealousy ;)

Denise

Finished Baby Pram and Thank You Melinda

Jake's baby pram was finished at 1:30 AM today. I had to get it to our store so that I would make the finishing deadline for Christmas. Now all my projects for Christmas are done and at the finishers. What pressure!! I am having the pram finished as a stand-up. It will be gusseted on the sides with bun feet and a music box will be placed inside. Cannot wait to get this back.

Several people have asked where I got my tree. I ordered it from Lenox. I believe it was Dept. 56. If it is not 56 then it is 59. I did it online but you can always call Lenox and ask for it. A friend gave me the orange lights. I know she got them from CVS and they come in either orange or purple.

I want to thank Melinda of Living the Good Life. Thank you for inspiring me to be more creative in displaying Stirha and Frank. I never thought of putting them on my mantel since I always decorate it with gourds and pumpkins that I got from Pottery Barn. I then have it decorated for both Halloween and Thanksgiving. After seeing the absolutely beautiful display you did, I realized that I really did not do Stirha and Frank justice. So off I went in search of a fitting display for them. The first thing I had to do was to make sure my tree fit on the mantel. Then I knew exactly what I had to do. It is not complete yet still needs a few little treats but I think that it now does justice to the masterpieces created by Kelly Clark and Amy Bunger.

Linda

Spooky Tree for Stirha and Frank

I placed Stirha and Frank in front of the Spooky Tree for their Halloween backdrop. Jake was very excited about this. Every morning when he comes for Nana Day Care, he checks out the tree, Stirha, Frank and Mummy. As you can see, I stitched just one lonely Halloween ornament.

I was not going to put it on the tree but decided that it will be a good reminder to do some more for next year.

The boxes you see were one of the best things I got at Ruth's this weekend. They are for your beading threads. The great thing about the box is that there is a separate holder for each beading thread bobbin. There are a total of 25 holders. I figured between the Nativity and the Halloweenies I would have it filled in no time. You can always buy a sewing bobbin holder but I think having the little case for each beading thread is more organized. Everything in its place nice and neat.

Linda

Wonderful Weekend

I had the most wonderful weekend at Ruth's new store. Her new store is just beautiful. It reflects Ruth's personality perfectly - very bright and cheerful. It has been about a year and half since I was last in Maryland and it was way too long.
Ruth has the most wonderful selection of threads and embellishments. You can look through drawers and find the most perfect decorative buttons. I bought some corn candy, bats, quarter moons and spiders. I have a Melissa Shirley witch hat that I may use some on and you never know, maybe one will appear on one of the Halloweenies.
The shop is filled with canvases, leather bags, walker bags to hold your needlepoint and all kinds of accessories to entice you. I was totally overwhelmed the first day - I really had to hold myself back from buying everything.

I had never meet Brenda Hart before and was so very excited to meet her. She is such a wonderful person. She is very knowledge about threads, stitches and what type of needles to use when stitching. She did a wonderful stitch guide for Karen and myself. We had sent Ruth the same canvas (which we did not know). We were really lucky that we did the same canvas since we were able to get the whole canvas covered in the two day class.

I would post a picture of the canvas but I forgot to take it out of Karen's car when she brought me home last night. I had so many bags that I just did not realize that I had forgotten the canvas. Will meet up with Karen soon and get my canvas. I have a lot going on with Jake and finishing up things for Christmas that I will not be stitching it anytime soon.

The classroom in Ruth's store is just wonderful. It is large, bright and very comfortable. We had plenty of room to spread out yet we were all able to enjoy each others company.

It was just an absolutely wonderful weekend. I got to spend time with Karen, see Ruth, meet Brenda Hart and spend a lot of money.

Linda

Nana Day Care

I have been very busy with Nana Day Care. Jake is very good and gives me a two and a half hour nap in the afternoon but I still have to get all my work done. My sewing room during the day is transformed into Jake's playroom and as soon as he leaves it returns to my sewing room. I love every minute of taking care of my little man but he is a lot of work.

I have packed my new sewing suitcases that I purchased from Amy to take with me to Ruth's. I have not had time to take pictures and post them but I promise I will as soon as I get my act together.

It is 9:30 P.M. and I still have work to do before going to bed. Have to be up by 4 A.M. Karen is picking me up at 6. We are planning a full day of exploring new needlepoint shops. I am sure that by tomorrow night we will be exhausted. Saturday and Sunday we have a canvas embellishment with Brenda Hart at Bedecked and Beadazzled. Really looking forward to seeing Ruth and her new store and meeting Brenda Hart.

Off to finish up. Hope to be in bed by 12.

Linda

Whole Lotta Busy

Ok, we admit that after a rash of posts we've gone silent. Sorry! I took a staycation last week, & I enjoyed being home. We had lovely weather, & I got plenty of sun in my back yard. I napped, stitched & read, went to the gym & did a little bit of shopping. All in all a wonderful time.

Returning to work on Tuesday was a shock to the system; it has been insane in my office, & I got home at 9 PM last night. Linda, too, is in a bit of shock, as this was her first week with Jake; she watched him on Tuesday & Wednesday. So far, so good! She's off the next two days as schools are closed for Rosh Hashanah (Happy New Year!). This weekend she is going to Ruth's Bedecked & Beadazzled, with our friend Karen; I am jealous. I hope Linda has time to tell you all about the class she's taking this weekend. Next week Linda has Jake every day, & that will be the real test, I think.

I can't show you what I am working on because it's a gift; I am hopeful that it will be finished in the next week or so, and then I can go on to the last Ponza canvas. Ideally, I would like to finish that Ponza canvas before Linda & I have our next Tony Minieri canvas embellishment class in early November.

Looking forward to the weekend...oh, no, two more work days to get through!

Denise

Finished Mini Stocking and My New Favorite Accessory

I finished Jake's mini stocking today and am happy with the way it came out. I am progressing along very nicely making the Christmas deadlines so far. My next project is the baby boy's pram. I plan on making this into a stand-up with tiny bun feet and having a music box inserted in it. I should make the Christmas deadline with this also.

Today my stitching sister, Denise, and her daughter Ashley came over for lunch. Denise saw the finished Halloweenies and was really blown away. Denise is not a Halloween person but said that after seeing them she would really consider doing them. The Halloweenies like the Nativity are really works of art. Amy has done such an outstanding job on them. I can assure you that if you undertake one of these projects the rewards you will receive stitching them is worth putting aside other projects. I just love working on these projects. After having to work on some other project, I am always happy to return to the Home Study. I actually miss not working on it.

My new favorite accessories are the new suitcase type bags that Amy has in her September newsletter. I just received them today and am so excited about them. Either tomorrow or Saturday I will post pictures of them and tell you what I would use each size for.

Off to work on the baby pram.

Linda

The Package Arrived

The big brown truck finally arrived with Stirha, Frank, The Shepherd, Lamb and Dr. A.
What a ruckus was going on in that box. I do not think the Shepherd and Lamb were too happy traveling with the Halloweenies and Dr. A is not happy that he is not finished yet. Jen is all excited about her finished Shepherd and Lamb. I am thrilled with Stirha and Frank. The pictures do not do the finished pieces justice. I cannot believe how magnificient they came out. The finishing really made them come to life. Between Amy's stitch guide and her finisher Frank and Stirha really came out great.
I am still on cloud nine after Amy's newsletter. I even put page 7 of the newsletter as my screen saver for my ipad.
Linda

Jake and Mummy Waiting

Jake and his new friend Mummy are waiting for the big brown truck to come with Mummy's friends. Mummy cannot wait to see Stirha and Frank. Jake is very anxious to meet them. He saw them being dressed but now they are finished and he wants to see them again. Mummy keeps going to look out the window for Jake since he cannot navigate on his yet. Jake is getting a little impatient and decided to eat Mummy's trick or treat bag. Needless to say Mummy was not happy. I keep telling them that the big brown truck does not come until after 4 so they have to be patient. When the package arrives, I will post a picture of Stirha and Frank.

For anyone interested Amy has the stitch guide for NYC Santa on her website and it is for sale with the purchase of the thread kit. You can call the store if you are interested. The phone number is 901-458-6109.

Linda