A Little Stitching, A Little Painting

We have been painting.  Our associate pastor and her family are moving into the parsonage.  We need to paint.  So I have been painting.  My son, our senior pastor and I painted her future sewing room.  My son and I also did some clean up work.  All in all, it has been rewarding but tiring.  It has motivated me to think a little more seriously about the painting we must do.  This week I picked up a gallon of ceiling paint and a gallon of wall paint.  Because they blend one into another, I selected colors from a single paint card for the front entry, bedroom hallway, passage way from the front entry to the living room, and the living rooom.  The front entry is extremely small; the bedroom hall and passage way to the living room are confined and have no natural light.  So those three areas will be the lighter shade while the living room which is quite large and has south and east windows will be the darker shade.  I picked up the lighter paint because where it will be going are three small areas and the living room is so large it is scary.  I need to begin by vacuuming the corners and prepping the walls.  I think the radiators will be what I paint first.  They are such a pain to paint that if I have them done before I paint the walls, the painting should seem like a breeze. 

Our church youth program has been giving the confirmation students a fleece blanket when they are confirmed.  It is a reminder that as they wrap themselves in the blanket, the members of the congregation figuratively wrap their arms around them and stand behind them.  We stitch a patch of the United Methodist symbol on the blankets.  I stitched eight but the eighth blanket was flawed.  Fortunately I did not wait until the last minute to do it and we have ample time to arrange for an exchange. 

I have just barely begun Little Bo Peep. 

My XOUFO is coming along very nicely.  The row with the nine pansies took a long time and was very fussy to stitch.  The final parts should progress very quickly in comparison. 

Back to Normal

I have had a couple designs to stitch for Annie's Publishing.  The last one is in the post and is due to be delivered tomorrow.  I have had some time to decompress over the weekend. 
First off, I want to show you another finish. 

This is Blue Carnations by Thea Dueck, Victoria Sampler.  I have modified it to be a birth sampler and changed the colors.  They are the same colors I used to stitch samplers for each of her older sisters. 

I am very pleased to say that it and the wedding sampler shown in the previous post are now in the possession of their intended owners. 

It does not get much better than that. 

Not much progress on my XOUFO.  The UFO always is left out when I have a stitching assignment. 

My new project is Little Bo Peep, one of the Country Cottage Kids by Country Cottage Needleworks. 

I will make it into a pillow with a tooth fairy pocket for the daughter of one of our nephews

  Today is Cosmo's first birthday.  Unfortunately he is the definition of a bad boy.  His defenders say that he is not a bad boy just that he has no conscience and acts before he thinks, if indeed he can think.  I can tell you that he has put his claws in the curtains and made huge rips in them and that he jumps on my back and sinks he claws into it. 

Mister Mooch has permanently unfriended him.  It seems that Mooch does not like being swatted; does not like being jumped upon; does not like being bitten and chewed upon; and does not like seeing Cosmo in his food. 

Cosmo is now keeping his distance from Mooch. 

My Finish

The wedding sampler is finished and in its frame.  It was a struggle every step of the way but very much worth the effort.  Currently I am waiting to hear from my sister in law to make arrangements to deliver it to her. 

Back At Last

Okay, I just scanned through all the posts in other blogs since I was last here two weeks ago.  I finished a little project for Annie's Publishing.  I have no idea what they are doing with it because I think it is not for Just Cross Stitch.  In any case, it seems like it is all a closed subject because my check arrived in the post today. 
It has been a little difficult for me to settle back into my stitching. 

My last posted picture of the wedding sampler shows it completed but not in its frame.  That has been fraught with problems.  First I had to locate some 1/8 inch foam core because 3/16 inch is too thick.  I cut the foam core and laced the sampler to it.  I could not line it up squarely behind the mats; it just would not work.  With much frustration, I cut the sampler off the foam core.  With some help I hauled the mat cutter upstairs and set it up.  Please keep in mind that I have never used this mat cutter since it was given to me a number of years ago.  After spending half a day learning how to set it up and how to use it, it cut the foam core with lovely straight, even, and smooth edges. Ahhhhh, I thought, I will get that sampler on here so quickly and it will just jump behind the mats, not so.  I had to carefully manipulate the sampler but it is now taped to the foam core and looks rather even and square.  It has been sitting there of almost a week.  At first I thought I would just leave it taped in place.  Then I decided to stitch the corners and leave the edges taped.  Now I think I will also lace the edges in place.  I am not certain when I will begin but it ought to be sometime this week.  Please keep me in mind to silently urge me to resume the framing process. 

There is some nice little progress to show you on the birth sampler.  This week I plan to paint the dowel and finials for it.  Last week I picked up some lovely pearl cotton to make cording and a tassel for it. 

My very old UFO, otherwise know as XOUFO (Extra Old Unfinished Object) has been languishing.  I have only done a little bit more on the band of pansies.  But I did make a correction to the mats for Last Stitches.  The mats for both Last and First Stitches were made with a spacer.  As nice as it looks, it was not going to work because it made the back stick out way beyond the frame.  I knew I would have to take the mats apart to take the spacer out but I was very hesitant to do so because I feared ruining the mats.  I did try with the mats for Last Stitches and was successful.  I feel confident I can correct the mats for First Stitches when I am ready to frame it. 

Nancy's Giveaway

Nancy of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her birthday. 
Visit her blog to enter. 
The drawing will take place 14 August 2014.  
She is one of the most generous people around. 
Her products are extremely nice.  You would love to have something from her shop. 

A Little More Progress

Here is the birth sampler; for obvious reasons, I am trying to preserve a little anonymity for the recipient and her family.  The colors are the same as I used for the birth samplers for both of her older sisters.  Besides the name and birth date, I added the row of pulled thread work under the date to better balance the personalization with the rest of the design.  With a little bit of luck, I will be able to resume my stitching during the coming weekend; however, I will not be stitching on Sunday as we have an out of town obligation in the afternoon. 

The Wedding Sampler Advances Slowly

As I predicted, the post this week is very slim.  Probably next week too. 
The charts I am supposed to stitch for Annie's Publishing arrived this past Monday and I need to try to get them back in the post a week from yesterday.  Remains to be seen whether or not I can do it. 

But, the most exciting news is that I got the bride's initials last Friday and stitched them into the sampler before the model arrived.  Yes, the wedding sampler is stitched.  The frame and mats should be ready for me some time this coming week.  Remains to be seen when I can mount the sampler and pop everything into the frame.