Just A Quick Update...

First, I didn't get much stitching done this week.  Every time I started, my eyes were kind of blurry and I really didn't want to mess it up and invite in the frogs.  I'd been doing tons of computer work on huge spreadsheets for work, and I figured that was just taking too much toll on my eyes to see really clearly in the evening.

Tonight I realized what the real problem was.  With my new Mark 2 floor stand, my work is closer to my eyes than it was with my lap stand.  I was using the same MagEye lenses which were too strong for the new set-up.  I switched out the lenses, and I could see my work much better.  Hopefully this week will be more productive!

It's Been a (Mostly) Great Week!

With the exception of being rear-ended on my way to work in the rain on Thursday, it's been a great week.  Even that wasn't terribly bad, since no one was hurt and my car just needs the rear bumper replaced.  Insurance will take care of that next week.

On the HAED All Hallows Exchange on Facebook, I gave and received two more charts besides the ones I"d mentioned earlier.  One is Diana by Josephine Wall and the other is City of Coins by Ciro Marchetti.

Diana by Josephine Wall

City of Coins by Ciro Marchetti

My (early) birthday present should come in handy for stitching all the beautiful charts in my stash.  My Mark 2 by Hearthside Craftworks arrived on Tuesday, and today I mounted a WIP, HAED's Angel with Iris by Nadia Strelkina on the scroll rods. What a joy it is to have this workstation!  The frame rotates 360 degrees with just a touch of a finger....great for all the HAED confetti!

My New Mark 2

A Closer Look at Angel with Iris

That's my news for the week, and now it's time to get back to stitching!

RAKS and Birthday Presents

What a great two days for a stitcher!  First, I'd joined a group on Facebook that planned to do a group HAED RAK between October 24th and October 31st.  Called the All Hallows Exchange, the idea is that anyone who joined would both give and receive a Heaven and Earth Designs chart from their wish list.  Well, with the HAED Columbus Day Sale in progress, the organizer asked if anyone would want to go early and test it out. Lots of us chose to do so, and she assigned givers and recipients in groups of six.  Kind of like passing the love, #1 gave to #2 who gave to #3 who gave to #4 who gave to #5 who gave to #6 who gave to #1.  This is lots of fun and still going on.  I received Foregone by Marta Dahlig from Jen Bell and gave Witchcraft, also by Marta Dahlig to Michelle Davis.

HAED Foregone by Marta Dahlig

HAED Witchcraft by Marta Dahlig

Next came a totally unexpected RAK from Liz Dewis as an early birthday present.  She sent me Flight of the Lynx by Josephine Wall.  I just had to say thank you, so I sent her Mini Feeling Better from her wish list.

HAED Flight of the Lynx by Josephine Wall



HAED Mini Feeling Better
by Maxine Gadd
















I have so many beautiful charts to stitch, and tonight my birthday gift from my husband arrived.  Shortly after 6:30pm, the postman rang the doorbell and delivered my Mark 2 Floor Stand from Hearthside Craftworks in Calgary, Canada. 

Mark 2 by Hearthside Craftworks

In less than half an hour, we had it unpacked and assembled.  I have a few things to re-arrange in the living room and will need to baste my WIPs on the new scroll rods, but I will definitely be stitching up a storm this coming weekend.

My birthday's actually not until October 24th, but I think I'll be forgiven for using it right away.  Don't you agree?  I can even use this with my recliner.  It will be such a joy to stitch with this one.  The first piece to be mounted will be HAED's Angel with Iris by Nadia Strelkina, a WIP which is almost 1/4 completed.

Frogging Project Completed and a Present on Its Way!

As mentioned earlier, my major project this week was to finish frogging over half a page of HAED's Eternal Promise (retired version) by Matt Stewart.  I'd started that on 25 count Raw Dublin Linen using a 3x1 tent stitch.  While I loved the design and fabric, I'm really a true cross stitcher and did not care for the tent stitch nor the bulk of the three threads.  I am very careful to finish the threads tightly on the back, and this confetti-filled project was not easy to reverse stitch.  However, I did finish it this morning and am pleased to say I now have a fully frogged fat half yard of Raw Dublin Linen ready for another project.

HAED's Eternal Promise (retired)
Over half a page stitched 3x1 tent

Fully Frogged Fat Half of Raw Dublin Linen

 



















On the left is the stitched part I frogged.  On the right is you can see the needle marking the place where I had done the reverse stitching.  Happily, not one thread of the fabric was damaged! 

In other news to share, my Mark 2 floor frame from Hearthside Craftworks shipped from Canada on Tuesday, with an estimated arrival in 10-14 days.  That means I may have it by next weekend!  I ordered it with 4 sets of scroll rods, figuring that was a good number of projects to keep in rotation.  This is certainly a wonderful birthday present, and I love that my husband is so supportive of my stitching.

The first two pieces to be put on the scroll rods will be HAED's Angel with Iris by Nadia Strelkina and HAED's Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, both of which are WIPs.  A third set is earmarked for a new start, Golden Kite's The Turtle Dove by Sophie Anderson.  I have not yet made a final decision on the fourth set, but I do have many wonderful charts in my stash.  I think I'll get some stitching done on the first three, then make up my mind, as there's no hurry!

HAED Angel with Iris
by Nadia Strelkina

HAED Sistine
Chapel by
Michelangelo

GK The Turtle Dove
by Sophie Anderson



Closing September

With the re-build of this blog, I figured I'd follow the lead of Cindy Manock, who consistently updates her blog once a week.  Maybe that will keep Blogger from punishing me for being inconsistent in my posts!

Before I continue, let me thank those who expressed sympathy for my reverse stitching of Eternal Promise.  I will say that I consider that a long-term project.  Stitching with 3 strands on 25 count, even using the tent stitch, created a very heavily padded back due to all the confetti in this piece.  Several other projects are ready in the wings before this fabric is needed again, so I pick it up and do some frogging when I'm in a rare mood to do that.

John on vacation in San Juan

This past week has been one of planning rather than stitching.  My birthday is October 24th, and I'd teasingly asked my husband last week what he was going to get for my birthday.  He grinned and said, "Okay, you've obviously got something in mind.  What are we getting?"  I told him I wanted to get a floor frame, and he asked how he was going to know what, where, and how to make the purchase.  Now it was my turn to grin and say, "I can take care of all of that.  You can just take credit and say Happy Birthday."  He liked that idea, just as he likes my stitching. Isn't it nice to be married to someone for over 40 years who appreciates your hobbies?

I'd really done my homework on the floor stand I wanted and selected the Mark 2 by Hearthside Craftworks.  After discussing particulars with Helen, I placed my order this past week and should have my new workstation by my birthday.  It will work with my recliner and everyone I've been in touch with who has one absolutely loves it.  This will certainly put my stitching mojo on hyperdrive!

 The first piece that will be set up on the Mark 2 is HAED's Angel with Iris by Nadia Strelkina.  I started this piece in January 2011, and she's been stitched off and on since then, with 8 of 42 pages currently completed.  I've been stitching her using a K's Creations Z Lap Frame with Clamp which holds an 11" x 11" Q-snap nicely.  That was good for learning to stitch 2-handed, but now that I know I can do that, I really want her to be displayed on a larger scroll frame rather than all bunched up to fit the Q-snaps! 

I haven't really taken a picture of her since I finished page 7 and ironed her out.  Now I'm afraid to iron her again until I get a new iron.  Mine's getting old and we have hard water that occasionally leads to rust spots.   

As you can in the picture to the left, the fabric for the lower part of the pice is all bunched up in the Q-snap cover.  On the right you can see an earlier version of the full design off the Q-snaps.  What a pleasure it will be to stitch with the full width of the piece visible, rather than just a small window!



2419 Love's Messenger



My last stash purchase of September was a new release Golden Kite chart titled Loves's Messenger.  This is the smaller version at 200 x 249 stitches, but has 199 colors, of which 80 are solid and 119 are blends. 

In case anyone's interested, Golden Kite is having a 25% off sale on their site, and a few new releases such as this one are specially discounted.  The website link is http://www.goldenkitestore.com/ with the latest new releases listed at the bottom of the main page.

Gigi R's Belles-Lettres D

Finally, some notes on the coming week.  I do have one sampler I'm working on, Gigi R's Belles-Lettres D, which will not fit on my new frame.  This one is 36" wide, and I opted initially to purchase a crossbar that will fit up to a 30" frame.  All of my other pieces and those I plan to stitch in the near future will fit that size, and I can stay situated in my recliner where it stands.  So until the new stand arrives, I'll be concentrating on that piece, and maybe even getting it near to completion! 

That's it for now.  I hope you all have a great week in stitches!