A Few Finishes

This has turned out to be a busy month for me. I haven't stitched nearly as much as I wanted to. I did manage to finish a few things this week.

I put the last few stitches into Abbey Lane's "Be Ever Thankful" during the Violet Threads meeting on Tuesday. I used the recommended linen (32 ct Antique Cotton) and silks. The project is stitched with one strand over two threads. The chart calls for using Gloriana Autumn Arbor for the words, but after stitching a few letters I decided it was too busy for my taste. I used Gloriana Olive Grove instead. I love the way it turned out. Here is a picture -















Tuesday night we gave Cathleen the "Emblem of Friendship" project. She loved it! We then whisked it away from her so we could add more initials. Everyone was able to get their initials stitched except for Barb, so I brought the project home and stitched her initials last night. Here is a picture of the finished project. Pardon the wrinkles, I didn't iron it. Cathleen will be packing it in a suitcase to go to Germany so she'll have more wrinkles to worry about later anyway!














If the colors in "Be Ever Thankful" and "An Emblem of Friendship" look similar it is because they are almost exactly the same. I was working on "Be Ever Thankful" when we decided to stitch for Cathleen. The colors are perfect for her, so I adopted them. I stitched the vine with Needlepoint Silk 358, but the rest of the colors are courtesy of Sue. I thought that was fitting, because Sue spoke at a Violet Threads meeting last year. In fact, Sue was just about to release "Be Ever Thankful" and had the model with her to show us. We fell in love with it! I like that we were able to include Sue in Cathleen's project. Please pray for Sue.

I started Part 23 of Terre de France on Wednesday. I doubt that I will get it finished in the next few days, but I have plenty of time since the last part won't be released until September. Jeanne has the frame ordered. I'm starting to get a little bit anxious about finishing this project. It has been my companion every month for nearly 2 years. What on earth will I do when it is finished?

I've spent a lot more time than usual at the sewing machine this week. My Mom was here visiting and we worked on curtains for the kitchen and bedroom. We finished the kitchen curtains before she left Wednesday night. Dad and Tim put their heads together and made shelves to go over my kitchen windows. Dad put them up Wednesday night. I really love the way these windows look! I need to get a few more things up on the shelves. I also need to get something (anything!) up on the walls, but that is true all over the house. (A big thank-you to my family for all of your help!)














My focus for the next week will be getting ready for a stitch in! I'm hosting a stitch in next weekend, from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. It should be fun, and I'm excited about having company. I've never lived anyplace where I could properly entertain, so this will be a first. My local stitching friends are going to be guinea pigs to see if I can be a good hostess. We'll see!

Meri has been working on a series of complimentary charts that feature scissors. They are wonderful designs, and she keeps coming up with more. Check the "Previous Posts" section on her blog for the list. As of right this moment, there are 9 scissor designs. Thanks Meri! The Little House design is my favorite.

Today is Joy's birthday! Happy birthday, Sis! Put your feet up and stitch something.

One last thing, I enabled the word verification in comments. I had a bad rash of spam so hopefully this will nip it in the bud. I dislike word verification but I didn't have much choice. My apologies to those who leave comments. This will be one more hoop to jump through.