St Patrick's Day

Hey, Friends!

Don’t forget to wear a touch of green on Monday so you won’t get pinched!  Are you preparing the St. Patrick’s meal?  Would you believe I’m making my first attempt at Corned Beef Brisket following The Pioneer Woman’s recipe?  Sure does smell good!  

It has been a very South Carolina March this week - starting with 70s Monday, and it was 24° when I left home Friday morning, and supposed to be 72° today!!  There are a few payoffs...

I took this sky cloud shot yesterday and noticed the semi rainbow.  I read a while back what those are, but can't find it again.  Does anyone know what these are?

Next on my stitch list for 2014 is a Heartstring Samplery piece, but will wait until a bit more is done to share it with you.  I’ve seen several people, like Garden of Stitches and The Twisted Stitcher, working on their BBD Anniversaries of the Heart projects recently.  It’s not on my list (yet), but I’m tempted…  We’ll see: 

Did you see the finish work that Faye – AKA Carolina Stitcher – did recently on the LHN Sheep Virtues?  If not, go take a look. They’re a beautiful set!

I mentioned a couple of posts back that my DS had asked about me knitting a hat for him.  Well, I showed him my experiment piece the other day and he said, can I have it?  Guess that means he liked it well enough.  Have been playing around with size of yarn and needles, and I picked up some wool to try next.

Thanks for stopping by to say Hello!  I appreciate your comments a lot!

Charlene♥SC

Peace♥Love♥Joy

Happy Stitching!

Spring Forward

Hey, Friends!

Are you ready for Daylight Savings Time?  Not nearly as ready as we are for spring; right?  We have to spring forward anyway, don’t we?

I’ve seen some daffies here and there, and my tulip tree had just about burst its buds until that last freeze.  They got nipped, so they’re now brown instead of that beautiful purple. The forecast is for high 60s with sunshine for the weekend, and low 70s the first of the week.  Wish I could share THAT with  you all!

My next stitched piece of 2014 is Be Ye Kind by Hands to Work stitched with some miscellaneous silk fibers in colors of my choice.

Thanks for dropping in and leaving your kind words.  I appreciate each and every one!

Peace♥Love♥Joy

Happy Stitching!

Charlene♥SC

Hey, Friends!

How’s Spring acting in your area?  It was quite chilly and breezy yesterday.  I’m guessing the high was around 55ish, but it never felt warm – pulled the sweats back out.  Today is supposed to be near 60° but it’s 50 now with the wind whipping the rocking chairs on the porch like mad – and now the rain has started.  I know there were some college graduations yesterday, so I hope everyone made it through without getting drenched!

This week I met the ladies of the LNS Tuesday night stitch group at Outback for dinner.  I guess it’s been more than a year since I’ve gone to actual stitch night.  It was nice to see them again, and the meal was good, too!  It was a small group, with one who was not participating when I went before.  Maybe I’ll get back into the routine of going again… just see how/if the dynamics have changed. It really wasn’t relaxing or fun for me anymore. It had gotten to the point where I was on edge, anxiously waiting for time to leave. 

Do you ever perk up your coffee with a little spice?  Last night I wanted something ~ that illusive craving.  Into my coffee with caramel macchiato creamer I added a bit of ground ginger and allspice.  Yum!  This morning I added allspice and pumpkin pie spice. Just a little, mind you.  Sometimes those coffee shop flavors are a bit overwhelming, but now think I’m on to something!    

I did finish stitching Hannah Skinner.  I spent the morning last Saturday decluttering my stitching table next to my chair and filing the charts that had been waiting to be put away. Know what it caused other than putting a kink in my back?  My to-do list is totally turned around. There’s one thing in progress for a birthday, and I want to get the June Wordplay underway, too. 

Thanks for stopping by, today and always.  I appreciate your thoughts and comments!

  

May 2013 be filled with Happy Stitching!

Peace♥Love♥Joy

Charlene♥SC

April Showers?

Hey, Friends!

On Thursday, we had rain and about 40°.  Not so much like spring, but the predictions for the coming days is climbing up to the 70’s.  Let’s hope it stays in that vicinity of spring for a while!

I started on a new piece on 28 ct planning to stitch over one, but with two threads.  How many times do I have to start a project that way before I remember – it won’t work!  I frogged what had been done and began with one strand.  Now it seems so easy…  Maybe that’s the point??  Not far enough along to share, but maybe next time.

I finished stitching May Word Play by With thy Needle and Thread.  I am really enjoying these!

Oh, and here's April hanging on the office door at work.  Not a great pic taken with my phone... 

What else?  Finished the piece that was a gift from TheScarlet House at the PALS conference last year.  Thanks, Tanya.  It was a fun stitch!  It’s in a small shadow box that sort of reminded me of drift(barn) wood with shells around.  It’s stitched on 28ct Tea Linen over one.      

Hope you all have a great spring weekend with a bit of time for stitching – maybe on the deck or garden?!

Thanks for stopping by, today and always.  I appreciate your thoughts and comments!

May 2013 be filled with Happy Stitching!

Peace♥Love♥Joy

Charlene♥SC

Spring's Coming

Hey, Friends!

It was a very busy work week, and with a little vertigo thrown in to put things ‘off kilter’ it seemed even more rushed!  There are no finishes, but a little stitching was done this week.  I’m still enjoying ‘A Wish for You.’  I’ve changed the door’s initial to an ‘S’ and lightened up on the trim and windows with Weeks Parchment.  Hopefully the weekend will see it completed.

It was a fabulous stashing week!  My LNS – The Stitch and Frame Shop – came back from ‘Market’ with loads of beautiful and fun stuff, so I grabbed my list and headed off.  The BBD girls had been busier than I remembered reading about – there were several pincushion rewards that I couldn’t resist, including this one, Breath of Spring, plus the great Stitcher’s Journey book. It is really fine and there are some great photos of it all around that I'm sure you've already seen!

I found several charts I’ve been ‘needing’ for some time on etsy, too.  Someone had some items for sale without a blog, and I picked up this lovely book from the Charleston (South Carolina) Museum, Samplers and Embroideries from Charleston and the Lowcountry.

AND I received the prize, Blessed are the Needleworkers, I won from The Wooley Stitcher's Blog.  It not only has the great chart, but also the silks to stitch with!  Thank you so much, Kim!

I hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine as much as I am today.  It’s still cool, but tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70’s.  How great is that? 

Spring must really be on the way – the guy who cut my grass last summer came by this morning to see if I still want to have his service this year.  Ha, ha, ha…  I loved it!  Not having to spend a part of the weekend doing yard work – of course!!  I also noticed the Tulip Tree is showing its color…

Thanks for stopping by, and I’d love to hear your comments or your favorite finds  this week!

PeaceëLoveëJoy
and Happy Stitching 

Charlene♥SC

Back to Spring

After more than a week of summer weather ~ although nice after all the harshness of winter, it really is too soon~ it has returned to spring here in South Carolina!  We got the much needed rain to wash away some of the deep pollen on Thursday, then Friday followed with sunshine and cooler temps ~ about 50 now with expected highs of low 70s for the weekend.  Perfection!
Just found out, Edgar is having a Blogiversary give away over at his blog, Blacksheep's Bit of the Web.  Hop over for a chance to enter! 

I’ve done very little stitching since the retreat.  I did finish the Brooke’s Sewing Alphabet ‘D’ for Darning (with exception of beads) and the StitcherHood’s Scattering of Moments. 

Today I’m having a go at dying some linen and fabric.  It all started because I need some tie backs for the drapes in my LR.  I got these lined, deep red ones for blocking the icy winter winds we had, but now it’s time to let some sunshine in!  I had some faux toile in red and white left over from a pillow that I thought would be pretty, but it was just TOO white.  I’ve done a little dabbling with coffee/tea staining before, so that’s what I thought would work – and it’s drying now. 

SinceI had all that ‘dye’ I figured, Why not try the Twisted Stitcher, Vonna’s method?  So, I added a tea bag to the left-over coffee grounds and put in a couple of extra cups of water and let that drip into the remaining coffee.  Deep, dark, and rich.  Then I put two pieces of 18ct aida and three of 28ct evenweave in the bath.  I shifted them around, wadded them in different shapes, and left them for different amounts of time. 

Next they were piled onto the foil-lined cookie sheet.  I had preheated to about 225 since my gas oven gets a little hotter than some, and set it to 15 minutes.  Waiting for the first results now.  They were a bit dark in some places, so I sprinkled a bit more over each one, decreased the temp a little, and put it back in for 10 more minutes.  Next will be ironing to set the color, and then onto the clothesline for drying.

I'm very well pleased with how they turned out.

In today's mail I received a PIF from Audrone.  It's a very nice little covered notebook with a beautifully stitched fence with sunflowers growing over it.  I am so surprised to get this, and very appreciative!  Thank you, Audrone!   

   

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  I appreciate your visits and love to read your comments!  Hope you'll stop in again very soon!

 Peace~Love~Joy
and Happy Stitching!Charlene

Signs of Spring

It’s been a while since I posted, but there’s not that much to show for all the time passed!  Do you believe that I’ve been sicker in the past four months since I quit smoking than for the last 10 years?  How can that be?  I quit in November – had the flu in November and an awful intestinal virus in March.  Oh, so awful – lost eight pounds – but you’d never look at me and see it.  Do you think it’s because the lungs are clearer and you breathe in more germs?  One doc told me it was because the lungs are so busy cleaning themselves they can’t protect as well for a while.  Don’t know the facts, just that it seems so!

The last new moon was Monday, March 15, so here’s my TuSAL for the month.  Note the beautiful sunshine outside the window?  If you’re interested in joining the Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long, you can join here.

Signs of Spring … Not only is the temperature supposed  to be in the low 70’s this weekend, but there are buds and blooms around as well.  The tiny daffodils are usually the first to show their bright little faces.

Remember in a previous post that I’ve dropped out of the Weather Poems Round Robin?  Take a look here at what tempted me to join.  Jo has done a fabulous job, hasn’t she? 

This does not prevent me from wanting to do more… I saw the finish of Jan’s ‘Lettre F’ design by Gigi, and had to have the ‘Lettre C.’  If you would like to be tempted, have a look here … and she is working on more .  If you’d like to see some already stitched, click here.

During that week off work being sick, didn’t even feel like stitching – now that’s a real waste of time; right?  After the worst, I did a bit of weekend stitching and some finishing on a project.  Next weekend is Camp Stitchaway – the stitching retreat of my LNS, The Stitch and Frame Shop.  I’m excited and really looking forward to getting away with that single focus – stitching!  Last year’s project was a small stitching tray. 

Meg’s challenge to us was to create a larger tray before this year’s event.  Well, mine isn’t perfect, but it is finished.  I really wish I’d used a different color thread for the piece, but that is hind-sight.  The tray is an inexpensive one from Hobby Lobby that I’ve painted, sanded, and urethaned.  The altoid tin is my first, using Plum Street Samplers, Lovely You, as the top cover.  I got the idea of the Pin Ball from Blackbird Designs using an unfinished napkin ring painted with the same tray paint process.  The little birdie motif came from one of The Stitcherhood designs. 

I also finished the OakHaven Design March SAL.

That's it for today.  I'm going to get ready to take Ms. Pixie for her checkup at the vet, then to ramble around enjoying the gorgeous weather!  Thank you all for visiting and leaving your kind words for me.  I really do appreciate them all.     

   Peace~Love~Joy
and Happy Stitching!

Charlene

Springtime and Stitching

After a week of rain, what a glorious day this is! I went out this morning and noticed all the pretty colors abloom.

If you want a closer look at my weeds, you should be able to click and enlarge the photos!


The iris is just about to open.

The tulip (magnolia) tree is almost finished with her first round.


The red dogwood is just beginning to peek some color.


The wisteria is well on its way.


The red buds (about 3 years old) are lovely!


These tiny tulips (don't remember their true name) have been trying for a week or more.

Bleeding hearts are out.

The old screen door was just about demolished, so this week a new storm door was installed - with glass at the bottom so Pixie can see out. She was watching for me to come back in from the 'photo shoot' this morning!




I started a new project this week. It's Sarah Hook - Tombstone Angel, by Carriage House Samplings, and loving it so far. I'm using DMC threads and it's on 16ct Aida. It was the color I wanted, and from my stash, so I'm going for it.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I'd heard about future retreats at Camp Stitchaway. Today I found the note I had made of those dates, and here they are:

Fall Stitch Seminar in Rock Hill at the Hampton Inn: September 18-20, 2009

Seaside Stitch Retreat at the North Myrtle Beach Hilton: November 13-15, 2009

Next year's Camp Stitchaway: March 11-14, 2010

I'll post a link when I see them on The Stitch & Frame Shop website.