Why Does Life Keep Getting in the Way?

I guess that life just happens regardless of what we plan. 
Deb, I am very sorry I never posted your comment on my last entry. 
I had hoped to make an entry to show you what I am doing once a week.  Let's start again. 
We have had several baptisms at church during August.  There are two more on 30 August.
I was stitching one from the beginning and have it ready to back.  I am just waiting for the second one that someone else is stitching to finish  them both at the same time.
Here is the one that I stitched.

Just the other day, I received in the mail, a partially finished sampler.  It is Heirloom Wedding Sampler by Thea Dueck, Victoria Sampler. 
The owner of it is having some health and vision problems that are preventing her from finishing the stitching.  Thea suggested to her that I might be able to finish it and so I am finishing it. 
It arrived rolled on scroll bars making it not especially easy for me to show you the entire sampler.  What I have to do is finish the Hardanger section at the bottom and finish the floral heart garlands at the top and then stitch on all the pearl beads.
I have stitched this sampler twice already so I am ready to go. 
This is the first one I stitched. 

                                             This is the second one that I stitched. 

This is the one that I am going to finish.
Tonight, I am going to try to match my stitching to that of the owner by working the remaining diamond eyelets that surround the three rectangular cartouches at the top of the section. 













Now I want to tell you about Nancy's fabulous give away. 
Her threads are lovely; just take a peek.

Go to her blog to register for her give away. 


And that's all folks for this week. 

A Little Bit of Life

This week my stitching has been to make a baptismal banner from the cross stitching to the backing.  We have a baptism Sunday, 23 August and now I will back it.  When it is finished, I can begin making one for 30 August. 
The mats and frame were ready for the wedding sampler and I thought that you might like to see the fully finished sampler. 

It is time to think about my personal stitching.  It should take me a week to make the second baptismal banner. 
We had a nice time at the cottage last Saturday.  I did pick up Row by Row license plates at the quilt shop in Wahkon before we went on to the cottage.  The license plates are Fabric Fishing.  I guess that I will be making totes before I pick up my personal stitching.  It just gives me longer to mull over the decision.  And that, in itself, can be fun. 
This morning before the sun rose, as soon as I could see colors I was out in the garden.  Tuesday I got a new weigela bush for the hummingbirds and 5 new perennials for the garden.  This is the one that I got, My Monet.  The online information states that it is hardy to climate zone 5.  The garden center, a very reliable one, indicates it is hardy to zone 4.  I guess that I will have to save the receipt in case it does not make it through the winter.  I also got a gillardia; this one, Arizona Sun, a coreopsis, Sunray, and a leucanthemum, Real Charmer.  The three look very nice together and their heights should be complimentary. 
The last two perennials are a pair of campanula, White Clips and Pearl Deep Blue, just because I like these little flowers. 

I missed posting last week.  I have been busy what more can I say?  It looks like life may begin to slow down a bit for a couple weeks. 
I have more pictures of the wedding sampler for you.  Actually I finished it a week ago and went out to order its mats and frame.  You should see the whole thing; until then, this will have to do. 

This is what you saw last, two weeks ago. 

Here it is finished with the needleweaving, beads, French knots, and silk ribbon work. Quite honestly,  I can take little credit for it.  I understand the colors are perfect.  I knew from the moment I put my hand on the fabric I was channeling other energy.  The sampler has a life of its own.  Now for a little more eye candy. 

During this week,  I have been working on a banner for a baptism at church.  I thought that I was seriously over extended when I discovered that the one I am working on is due 23 August and not 16 August.  We do have two due for 9 August but I only have to back them. 

Just to make certain I am not at loose ends, I have made four tote bags, one for each of the Nelson girls.  Two were born Nelsons and two married into the Nelson family.  I used the Row by Row license plates from All in Stitches in Zumbrota, MN.  My husband's father's family farm was in Zumbrota. 

New Life for an Old Blog

It has been a little less than a year since I last posted.  I have decided to resurrect the blog because there are several people who are interested in my progress on this sampler.  I feel this will be the easiest way to do it. 

It is another wedding sampler, the second one this year. 

It is a little hard to believe it looked like this a week ago. 
Ruth Ann can verify that. 
Now for a little eye candy from the sampler. 

Later today I will complete the hardanger needleweaving in the heart above. 
After that I just have the sprays above the hearts.  Some Japanese ribbon stitch leaves, two spiderweb silk ribbon roses. some pearl beads and a few French knots. 
All in all, I should be able to order its mats cut and frame made next week. 

While I was outside taking these pictures, I had chance to look over the gardens. 

The raspberries are at their peak.  They ooze juice and are so sweet. 
It is a dream, maybe goal, that we have to be able to stand in the middle of our raspberry briar patch and eat raspberries off the canes until we are beyond satiation.  We are there this year.  

I may not continue to use the blog.  I may have to use Facebook.  Something has happened; it is extremely laborious to upload pictures.  This one of the raspberries was tipped on its side.  While they look unnatural when the picture is on its side, they do not look too strange. 
I am a little apprehensive about what will happen when I try to upload a picture of my blue hydrangea; I will give it a try. 

Nikko Blue is blooming like it is made for Minnesota when it is really for a slightly warmer climate zone.  Our winters kill the growth that is supposed to overwinter for the flowers.  Nikko does not reliably bloom on new wood.  I have some HUGE blue pom poms.  I had not been especially good about acidifying its soil last year.  Its flowers are blue in acidic soil otherwise they are pink.  As you can see, I have some mauve flowers. 

Come Look at My Jell-O

It is a brain.  I dug out my brain mold for Halloween. 

There is no progress on Little Bo Peep or First Stitches. 

But Gracie got Moonie's Harvest Pumpkin on Tuesday this week.  Considering that the Post Office said Gracie's Grandmother would not get it until Wednesday, that was pretty good.  She took it to Gracie on Tuesday.  When Gracie took it out of the box, she said that it was Moonie.  Not too bad. 

I pressed heat transfers onto 70 tote bags this week.  It was decided that I only needed to do 70 and not 100.  Another project down. 

My next project for Just Cross Stitch magazine arrived last Friday.  I made a wrong cut when I serged the edges and have to wait for a new piece of linen to come, maybe tomorrow. 

This is my next new project but it is going to be put on hold for a while.It is Dog House Sampler from Little House Needleworks.  I am substituting the white floss for the ecru floss because it will show up better on the linen I selected.  It will become another pillow for a child,  a little boy this time.  I had stitched all of the alphabet but had to pick out everything beginning with the third row.  I miscounted the location of the "H" so the whole row was off and I based the next rows on it, consequently they were off too,  It is almost like starting from the beginning.  I will have little time to stitch on it when the new linen comes from Just Cross Stitch.  I do stitch on it a little in the evening but some of the time in the evening, I have been knitting.

Yes, Christine, I commented on your most recent entry so I am writing an entry.  I was looking through the bogs I follow before I went to compose the entry.  There is lots to tell you so let's begin at the beginning.  I have four finished to make up.  I think I have never had that many at one time. 

My first ornament of the year.  Four years ago I made a friend Patience in the Christmas Virtues Series I by Thea Dueck.  I made it for the only person I knew at the time who would appreciate Patience.  It had significant meaning for her.  Each subsequent year I have made another Christmas Virtue, Faith, Hope, and now Charity. 

This is Moonie's Harvest Pumpkin Pillow.  It was made especially for a certain little girl named Gracie.  Gracie has some serious physical issues.  She had extensive surgery this summer to help relieve the issues.  She has a little black cat named Moonie.  I got this cute freebie pattern from her grandmother and decided to stitch it for her customizing it to more closely resemble Moonie.  Moonie has amber eyes and I know that the eyes do not go very well with the pumpkin.  Moonie also has black lips like my black cat Mooch but I made the lips pink because black would not show up very well; I already knew it would not show up well.  I tried using black thread with black blending filament for the nose which is black like Mooch's.  It did not show up so I stitched on a small black button.  I stitched in whiskers with charcoal gray thread because her whiskers are black like Mooch's; it is subtle but the whiskers do show.  I pieced the pillow top with red fabric because red is Gracie's favorite color.  And, yes, I know it does not go well with the pumpkin.  The name of the game is this is specifically for Gracie. 
The horizontal paisley stripes at the top and bottom of the top are leftovers from my sons' Siamese twins costume for the musical the high school did during their senior year; that was back in November, 1987.  They became the Siamese twins because they are twins, because one of them worked on the production crew for several years, and because they were seniors.  We called the character The Meezies and we still call the character The Meezies.  The fabric in the vertical stripes close to Moonie are from the leftovers of the Meezies' coat; it is the yellow diamonds on red.  We still have one of the coats and I wear it during the winter.  When one of the guys saw the pillow, the first thing he said was "The Meezies." 

Little Bo Peep is coming along.  This is the top and I think you can see some of the glitter in the stripe fabric.  For family privacy, I have blotted out her name and birthdate.  The top is still missing its ruffle.  It will be the dark pink fabric and maybe there will be a second ruffle of white eyelet. 

First Stitches is finished with all the beads.  I need to stretch it on some mat board and pop it into its frame.  Finishing these last two may be interrupted.  

I have to fuse a transfer on each of 100 tote bags for our church.  I am also expecting a new project from Just Cross Stitch.  Speaking of which my white poinsettia is in the current issue.  That is what I was working on when I broke my arm earlier this year. 

In the evenings I feel the need to stitch so I am working on a new design which will become a pillow for another child.  I will show that to you next week, maybe.  There is just too much in this post to do it now.  I am also digging out another XOUFO and lining up the threads for it. 

Little Bo Peep is done except for the child's name and birth date.  They will be at the bottom between the little blue flowers but I doubt that you will see them.  I plan to not disclose them in the interest of family privacy.  I have actually finished stitching them and have begun to piece the top. 

I have finished all of the stitching and have begun to stitch on the beads.  I have gotten as far as the beginning of the butterfly row. 















I was going to show you a finished Christmas ornament but I did not finish it today.  Instead I cut back a lot of the iris, did a significant amount of laundry, made applesauce from our apples, and watched the installation of our new garage door.  It is much more weather tight than the old door.  The ornament is stitching and finishing so quickly that I do not plan to show it in progress.  I can show it to you next week along with Moonie's Harvest Pumpkin.