November Accomplishments and December Goals

November accomplishments:

1.finish Marriage of the Minds by DT. no
2.make progress on Isabel's Christmas stocking. yes
3.begin Ann Greanawalt by SL on Thanksgiving. yes
4. take birth sampler(older piece) for framing. yes
5. finish block 2 of HOHRH by CHS. no

December goals:

1.finish Isabel's stocking~priority one!
2.make progress on Ann Greanawalt
3.do finishing on Country House ornament
4. decide on Christmas day start and start it!
5.finish block 2 of HOHRH

Poor MOTM is going to the back of the list again, in favor of the Days of Advent sampler I will be starting on New Years Day. I am really making progress on Isabel's stocking, I'm into the boot part now. This is my biggest priority, as my little daughter does not think I will finish it, and even tried to get me to buy her a stocking at Target!(gasp!) hehe! I WILL get it done!!

In the middle of all my goals, my stitching chair has been moved and rearranged twice as we try to fit in a bigger tree, and now my teenage boys are getting so big my house is seeming smaller and smaller. After moving some pieces of furniture I took a good look at my living room walls and realized I MUST paint! Can you imagine, at this time of year? But I'm commited now and must get it done this weekend! So now its time to get off the computer and get to work!
LOL!
~Annie

Isabel's stocking

I really must put everything else aside and finish this one-I need to get it done as soon as possible. It is hard for me to work on because it is not really my style. Bel really loves this, and what little 7 yr old girl wouldn't! So I have to finish it for this year! Its more than halfway done.

Houses of Hawk Run Hollow WIP

Here is a pic of my progress on this piece. It is really fun to work on!

Decisions,decisions!

I was finally able to purchase the charts for Days of Advent! I love this piece and can't wait to begin! I ordered the NPI silks today. Now I just have to decide what fabric to use. I am hoping to go to Tomorrows Heirlooms this week, and have a look at the fabric that Mary Beale recommends. This is the same shop she is working with. I would like a piece with a soft hand for this. I don't like working on a stiff fabric with a project this big. But I would really like to see the color in person. The Legacy group is starting and SAL for this piece, so that will help me keep on track I think.
I was going to do the Plymouth sampler(see below) as my Christmas day start, but now I am leaning towards Jonah(see below again!), by Plum Street Samplers. I love this piece so much and I will use the Crescent Colors which are new to me.

Works in progress update

Ann Greanawalt was my Thanksgiving Day start. This one will go really fast I think, I've gotten a really good start on it. The top band has some free form satin stitch, and that is the only challenge for me. The rest is all lettering, with the bottom alphabet done in eyelet. This one is small, and it will be nice to have a quick finish. I love the colors in this sampler. It is done in my favorite deep primitive colors with AVAS silks-my favorite!! I love how soft they are, and vibrant. Fun!
Scroll down to see thew stock photo of Ann Greanawalt.

A little ornament finish!

I stitched this design from the Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue. It is called Winter's Eve, and is designed by Country Cottge Needleworks. I stitched it on 28 ct. natural Cashel linen, using a variety of sampler threads and white DMC. Now all I have to do is finish it into an ornament!

Under consideration

So now I have one more decision to make. I need a start for Christmas day. This one should be smaller, as I will be adding Days of Advent to my BAPs. I already have Houses of Hawk Run Hollow, MD 1660;The Unicorn Sampler, and The Marriage of Minds in progress. So I want to find a small or medium piece for this start. Here are some I've been looking at:
The top one is from Brenda Keyes, and I already have the chart in my stash. So all I would have to do is get the fibers and fabric. the next 2 are from Plum Street Samplers. They are so cute, I love them!

New Years start~Days of Advent

I am completely in love with this piece! It is a 24 part sampler designed by Mary Beale. I love the colors and of course the subject matter! I am a complete sucker for biblical and religious themes on samplers and this one is just the ultimate for me! It is a bit pricey to begin with, so I will need to work it into the budget. That is why I am going to start it on New Years, to have enough time to gather all the materials. It is SO gorgeaous!

Holiday starts

I am planning to begin 3 new projects for 2007, each one starting in my down time on a holiday. For example, on Thanksgiving, after all the work is done and the guests have gone, that will be my time to sit down and relax and start a brand new project. Now in reality, it might happen on Wednesday evening or Friday morning, but it will happen whenever that little bit of free time can be found. It is a reward and something to look forward to.
So I am trying to decide what projects I will begin.
On Thanksgiving I think I will start a reproduction from Scarlet Letter , called Ann Greanawalt. I have this one in my stash, kitted with silk threads. I have always been taken by this simple little piece. Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner I have decided this is a good start for that day as it is already kitted and all I have to do is pull it out.

Digital Camera Meltdown!

Well, I finally was forced to solve my camera dilemna! This has been going on for some time, and was mainly me not wanting to spend the money on a new camera! Dumb! Should've just done it long ago, but you know, there always some other expense that comes up. Anyhoo, on Halloween night while we were going around the neighborhood with Isabel trick or treating, dd #1 dropped the camera I have been using and it went skidding across the street! That was the end of that! So I was forced to do the research and get out there and get a new camera.
I bought a Canon PowershotA630 with 8 megapixels. I'm still learning how to use it, but so far I'm quite impressed. It takes wonderful close-ups.
I even took my Pilgrim Cat off of ebay because the improvised pictured with my old pieced together and loved to death Kodak were just SO inferior! They actually made my piece look BAD! But now she's up again, with a last chance to find a home for the holidays! The pics are SO much better! Ain't she a cutie? I hope someone will still be willing to give her a home with Thanksgiving so close now. Ah well, live and learn!!

A few of my current WIP's

These are a few of my Works In Progress. The top is a Chritmas stocking for my youngest daughter, and the bottom 3 are from Drawn Thread, The Marriage Of Minds.

Welcome to my stitching blog!

I have decided to begin a blog devoted solely to my hobby of stitching fine needlwork projects. I am obsessed with needlework. It is what I do to relax from a long day of creating things for a living and running my kids around to their many sporting events.
I began my career in needlework 16 years ago when I was pregnant with my second child. I had some problems with the pregnancy so I was housebound for a couple of months. My mother taught me to cross stitch and a love affair was born. I can't begin to count all the hours I have spent lovingly stitching my little projects. I soon moved on beyond cross stitch, with an eye toward more advanced stitching. I joined a local needlwork guild in the early 90's, an EGA group. But eventually it lost its vigor and the birth of 2 more children pulled me away from needlwork for a while. I went on with other forms of art, eventually opening and operating a business designing cloth dolls and patterns, and this remains my primary source of income today. I am very lucky to spend my days creating things, but in the evenings, when I want to relax, it is the needle and thread that I turn to.
Above are a brief account of some of the pieces I have stitched most recently.

Give Thanks! My Pilgrim Cat

Workshop with Susan Fosnot

Last week I had a wonderful time making a Googlie girl with Susan Fosnot in Woodstock, IL. This doll is made from Susan's original pattern and is oil painted. I love her little chubby arms and legs. She is so dear, I can't wait to get her put together and dressed. I am going to give her to my dd, who is 7 years old.

Some wonderful Halloween witches

These were created by Mandy Broome from my Jubal Davis pattern. Aren't they wonderful!

Snow Queen in full size regal splendor!

She is 28" tall.

Snow Queen with a French Twist!

Here is my sparkly Snow Queen dressed in steal blue and cream! Her scepter and crown are made of paper. I have incorporated some elements of my beloved Queen Anne dolls, as well as the early colonial style of dress! So much fun!

Some pumpkins and a black cat

And Little Red

Oh! I have been SO remiss!!

Busy, busy, busy!! Here is some of the work I haven't had time to post to my blog!

Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat!

On ebay all this week!

Some wonderful antique dolls!

Cool Slideshows

Dorothy and Toto!

It appears the ebay selling season has begun so I thought I better start working on my best Fall/Halloween ideas. Here is my first one, a costume party in the pumpkin patch! I'm very pleased with her, and Toto too! She is very large, 28" tall. I have adapted her from my Jubal Davis pattern. Click on the ebay link to see more pictures of her, especially her shapely gams!

Izzy #2 is on ebay this week.

I like this pic of her. She looks a lot larger than she is in this picture. I am working on a 3rd doll and then I'm thinking about doing a larger one. I'd like to do an authentic 18" size.
See Izzy 2 on ebay here.

2nd Izannah in my series

Here is my little Izannah #2. She is the same height as the last one at 13 1/2" tall. This time I tried a new crackle medium suggested by Cindi of CLC dolls. Thanks Cindi! It is very subtle, not sure if you can even see it in the pics, perhaps if you click the pic to enlarge. Next time I will try putting it on thicker to see if I can get a larger crackle. At first I was going to just put her into her antique white underwear, because I just love the beautiful underwear old dolls wear and think its a shame to cover it up sometimes. But when I finished it, she really needed some color, so I had to continue on and make her a dress. I love the way it turned out, it looks so 1860's!

And now for something completely different

I am making some dolls for my daughters from Patti Culea's book "Creative Cloth Dollmaking". This is a wonderfully inspiring book! The doll itself is interesting with her bead joints and I love all the diagrams on how to make faces using a grid technique-very cool!
My sister and I went to the Stitches Midwest knitting expo last Friday in Chicago. She is a big knitter, though I have never been able to do it! But I found some lovely yarns to use for hair and embellishments for these more artsy type dolls. I also bought some Miyuki beads which are SO beautiful! However I was quite well behaved and didn't spend much money at all.
This is a picture of the new doll I am making and some of the wonderful yarns and fibers I found for hair and embellishments! Yummy!

And here she is!

She is on ebay all this week. I can hardly bear to let her go! Her name is Penelope, and she is the first stump doll I have ever created. I plan on doing several more, with different costumes from different time periods.

Love this...

Beautiful Ribbonwork

Why does everything take so long?
Well, I've been working on my regency costume doll for some time now. I thought she would be done for ebay last Sunday, but here I am still not finished on Tuesday. Of course I went crazy adding silk ribbonwork(which I have learned is not the same as silk ribbon embroidery) to the bonnet. Part of what has taken so long is sort of learning this ribbon technique as I go. I checked out a wonderful book from the library called, "Ribbonwork; The Complete Guide, by Helen Gibb." This book is wonderful, and I will have to add it to my library.
The stump body in the foreground of this picture is the body I am using for my costume doll. She will have a paperclay head and lower arms and will be fastened to a wood base. Her costume is of the Regency period, with a high waist and puffed upper sleeves. She will also have a straw bonnet with silk ribbon embellishments.
She is almost done, but you will have to wait until she is done to see her! Coming very soon, she only has to be attached to her base!

Paperclay work

Ready to go live....

And already sold! Isn't that one for the books! Hooray! Hope the cat wasn't too usual, I just couldn't think of anything else to give her to hold. I hate that about deadlines! Now that it's too late, of course, I can think of lots of things. Those darn accessories are so hard for me. I spend so much time on the doll and her costume I just can't wrap my mind around the little extras. I do think they can sometimes be so important to make or break the whole doll. Gotta work on that!