Sunday, September 19, 2010

The LIST

The picture!!


I'm sure you all remember that picture from the last post!

I have written a list of all of the canvases that I have just to make myself accountable:

Pink Angel
Henry
Ann
Katherine
Liz Basset Hound
Blue Rug
A&M stocking
Melissa shirley cardinal
Melissa shirley madonna
Joy
Marie Antoinette
Alabama A
October sheep
Melissa shirley scottish santa
Kelly Clark texas basket
Kelly Clark stitching santa
A&M santa
George and Martha
Liz Lab
Kelly Clark present topiary
Christmas lab round
St. Francis
Counted canvas heart
Chrismons- 2-3

I really want to have Joy, Alabama A, October Sheep, A&M stocking, and Pink Angel done by the end of the year.  Finishing those would take my list down to 19, but then I do have my chaparral discount that I need to use by the end of the year.  I would like to get the A&M seal, another Prairie Schooler design, and a squirrel canvas.  We shall see.

Seeing this list, and based on the fact that I get about 10-12 canvases done each year, it will take me two years to get through all of these.  I am resolving now to not buy another canvas in 2011.   Lets see if I can make it!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Holy Cow!

This post is all about my stash.  I have too much!  I have 20-25 canvases either in progress or completely new.  Holy Crap! And to top that off, I have not done much stitching since July!  Ugh!  Time to get busy!



I have been busy doing something- shopping- that I should not have done.  Here are my acquisitions, which I do love.

This is Joy by Raymond Crawford.  It is the companion piece to Noel, which was featured on the December 2009 cover of Needlepoint Now.  Joy will be my Christmas stitching piece.  It definitely has a warm place in my heart because Molly's name before she was adopted by us was "Joy".  Molly fits her better, but Joy definitely describes her the best both in the Joy she is and the Joy she brings to our lives.  *tear*.  

Purchased on sale at Chandail

This is Melissa Shirley's bear Madonna and child.  I love the colors, the little bear peeking around the corner, and the religious picture

Purchased at a Melissa Shirley trunk show at Chaparral.


This next one is a gift from my dad, to be made for my dad.  I think I am going to have to work on this one next.  He asked me about it today!  It is Alabama football season after all!

Purchased at Serendipity Needleworks in Tuscaloosa.

These next three canvases are part of the Petei Henry VIII and his six wives series.  I can't wait to put my needle into these!

Purchased at the Petei trunk show at Chaparral.

See all of these were bought on sale or were gifts!!!


Progress Report:

 For my stitching New Year's resolutions,  I have been able to cross out #5 with the completion of my September sheep, and I am almost done with #4 with the almost complete pink angel.  How exciting! 

1) O Come canvas
2) Patty Paints George and Martha- a huge canvas!
3) Boy Schnauzer
4) one Kelly Clark piece- maybe the Noah's ark or my Texas Santa that I have in my stash
5) 2 Rebecca Wood Ornaments- September and July Sheep
6) Liz/ Tapestry Tent Basset Hound- eBay canvas!
7) Melissa Shirley Cardinal (part of an 8 bird series she came out with a year or so ago)
8) 3-4 pieces of my choice- Patty Paints House, Mini Sock, Charleston Round, Scottish Santa

Friday, September 17, 2010

Progress on the Angel and A&M Stocking

Here are pictures of my progress on my ongoing projects:

The pink angel: 

All I have left now is the shoes, the hair, a bit of a topiary, and beading!



The A&M stocking:


The thread color is really a maroon, and not quite as dark as the photo suggests.

The ribbon around the pink angel is ribbon that I purchased on my recent trip to France!  I got it in a small shop in Versailles, a suburb of Paris.  I have never seen, outside of the Ribbonry at the Chaparral, so many beautiful and unique ribbons.  I also purchased these:  one navy and white for the 4th of July, one gray, one green for an as yet undetermined project, and one cream with daisies.  They all caught my eye for one reason or another. 

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Been away for a long time!

Hi!  I've been away for a while because I have been traveling for work, going to Paris on vacation, and working A LOT.  I hope to have more progress for you all soon!

Love,

Casey

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Trip to Dallas and Finishing

Great news!!!  Travis got transferred to Dallas!!!  No more Columbia, South Carolina! Whoop!!!  I am sooooo pumped!!!  The weekend of the 7th, I went to Dallas to look at houses and apartments for rent.  And of course, I had to check out the needlepoint shops in Dallas.  I started with Creative Stitches and Gifts.  I love it!  They have a very helpful staff, lots of fibers, and diverse canvases.  They had all of the major designers and all of the major fibers (vineyard silk, bella russo, impressions, etc).  I am still partial to Chaparral and Chandail, but this might be a very good substitute in Dallas.  In Columbia, there are no shops, and the nearest one in an hour and half away.  Ick.  I have been visiting the shops in Charleston mostly whenever I came to see DH, even though I did visit the Needle and Canvas in Spartanburg once.  I am very excited to be with my hubby in Dallas!

At Creative Stitches, they had a fiber by The Pure Palette called Empress that I simply had to try.  It's a merino, cashmere, and silk blend, and it is HEAVENLY.  I love stitching with it.  I, of course, found a cool canvas that I had to get- a Kathy Schenkle A&M stocking!  Here it is stitched up a bit.  I am doing the whole background in tent, and possibly all of the lettering as well.  I am not too sure about a stitch for the footballs yet. 


In other news, the June finishing sale a Chaparral cleaned me out!!  Look at what I got finished!  Nine pieces in all.  Yikes!   But now my to-finish pile is a lot smaller!  Here are the familiar faces from my previous blog posts. 

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Kelly Clark comes to Austin!!

Kelly's Class!

I went to Kelly Clark's class at the new Needleworks store in Austin.  I chose the Thursday/Friday class, and it was fun and tough at the same time.  The whole first day we worked on the basket.  UGH!!  No more woven/ 3-D baskets for me!  It was tough, and I had to re-do it about three times.  My husband and I decided to make the trip to Austin something special, so we stayed at the Driskill Hotel.  I definitely recommend this hotel whenever you get to Austin.  However, it does not have a pool or a spa, so that was a bit disappointing.  It's right in the middle of downtown and everything fun to do (even if you avoid 6th street).  He toured the Capitol and relaxed in the hotel while I took Kelly's class.  He did have a lot of fun.  At night, we went to the original Chuy's, Amy's ice cream, and did a little driving around Austin to see what was there.


When I went back to Kelly's class the second day, one person did not come back.  Since this was my first class, I did not realize that the classes cover all of the canvas in little bits through out the class, and you do not do one thing the whole class.   I think people got frustrated, and decided not to come back.  On the second day, we completed the suede boot, and learned how to do the ribbons for the flowers and the basket accessories.  The class was much better and way less frustrating on the second day.  Kelly is an angel and so kind.  I would definitely recommend taking any class she is offering.  I will be taking another one from her soon.


Speaking of Kelly Clark, I am doing her pink topiary angel.  I love this canvas and the threads (all planet earth silk and vineyard silks).  Here is my progress thus far.  I did not post at all in July because all I was doing was tent stitching!!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

September Sheep Finish!

These finishes are coming quickly!!  Maybe it's the finishing sales going on at Chaparral until June 30th and Chandail until July 31st??  I am not sure, but I am flying through these canvases.  That is good because my stash is too big.  I am currently working on the Pink Angel, the Melissa Shirley Scottish Santa, and will start the October Sheep soon.  I really like the Sheep series by Rebecca Wood.  The canvases are too funny and sweet, and most of all, they work up really quickly. Here is my picture!


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Progress on the September Sheep and GREAT NEWS!

This is my September Sheep!  I am almost done with the first part of the hourglass background.  I am doing one part in Gloriana and the other part in Burmilana.  Then I will complete the tent stitching around the letters and the letters themselves.  The fur on the sheep will be last. 



Now for my exciting news!!!!!   I am taking the Kelly Clark Texas basket class from the Needleworks in Austin!!!!  The class will be in mid-July, so I cannot wait!  A little under one month.  How exciting!!!  If you look at the Needleworks website, a picture of the canvas will be there.   I will definitely keep you all posted. 

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

All New

These are my new canvases that I have acquired recently.  I am and have always been a bit hesitant to acquire large amounts of canvases because I do not want to become someone who has a drawer or a suit case full of canvases that I will never get to stitch.  I love the pieces that I buy and would be really sad to waste the money and the space.  My canvas stash now is the largest it has ever been: Kelly Clark Angel, Kelly Clark topiary, October Sheep, rug, St. Francis, cardinal, Texas Santa, Lab, Basset Hound, Christmas Lab, Melissa Shirley Scottish Santa.  I think that is all and that is way to many!  I am declaring a moratorium on purchasing canvases.  Even though I really want to do the Texas boot club from the French Knot in Fort Worth.  I must do at least one or two of these before I buy something else.  With my new resolve, I can now tell you about the canvases pictured below (and my rationale for purchasing them!).

 This is a stash sale purchase from my local needlepoint guild (Lone Star):  I paid $6 for it.  What a deal!  I am still not sure how I would like to finish it though.  Maybe a box or a tray
This is my October Sheep.  He is soooo cute!!!  I have three out of 12 months from this Rebecca Wood series.  I love stitching these, even though my July Sheep gave me fits!  (I had to rip out the background three times because I miss counted!)

   

 

This next piece is a Patty Paint St. Francis.  I have had my eye on this one for a while at Chaparral, but I could never bring myself to purchase it partly because I did not have a lot of extra money last year for canvases.  Sooo last week when I was taking Carolyn's class on Saturday, I saw this in the sale room.  I snatched it up!!!  I love it!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Finishes

I have finally taken pictures of the finishes that have been truly finished and those that are in the process.

Here is my "in the process" finish. My Scottish Santa!

Lots of Silk N' Ivory threads and a pom pom for his hat! I think he will be a stand-up as well to add to my mom's collection. The collection is seen here with the Kelly Clark Scottish Santa that I had finished into a box stand-up for Mother's Day this year and the Petei santa I finished for her a few years ago.


Bad fuzzy picture of the Kelly Clark Socttish santa, but this was the best I could get!

Pictured below is my name tag for the Lone Star chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild:


Sunday, June 13, 2010

Stitching Goals

I decided that because this was the half way point in 2010, I should check my progress on my New Year's stitching resolutions. Here they are again with the pieces completed italicized and bolded:

1) O Come canvas
2) Patty Paints George and Martha- a huge canvas!
3) Boy Schnauzer
4) one Kelly Clark piece- maybe the Noah's ark or my Texas Santa that I have in my stash
5) 2 Rebecca Wood Ornaments- 1 left (september sheep)
6) Liz/ Tapestry Tent Basset Hound- eBay canvas!
7) Melissa Shirley Cardinal (part of an 8 bird series she came out with a year or so ago)
8) 3-4 pieces of my choice- Patty Paints House, Mini Sock, Charleston Round, Scottish Santa


Everything is coming along well!! Almost half-way through my resolutions!

I also turned in a lot of finishing for the Chaparral's annual finishing sale. Hopefully that will come back in the next few months and I can post pictures.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Scottish Santa and a New Canvas

Hello!

I have been on a stitching tear here in SC! I finished my chrismon, my july sheep, and lots of progress on the Scottish santa. I am doing pretty much the whole santa with silk and ivory threads. I love stitching with threads that I do not get to use that often. I love silk and ivory, but sometimes it is too thick on 18 count canvas.


Because I have been stitching a lot of Christmas or Christmas colored things, I have been trying to branch out to something that would be a bit brighter. Sooo... I thought I would try this Kelly Clark Angel! She is so pink and pretty! And I love the lime green. I had to go all the way to Charleston to find her. I went to several shops: Po's Point in Charlotte, Needle and Canvas in Spartanburg, and finally to It's a Stitch in Charleston. Needle and Canvas is a shop that I have not visited before and consequently have not reviewed on this blog before. I really enjoyed the shop and was quite surprised to find such a nice shop in Spartanburg. It is very similar to the shops in Houston and to It's a Stitch. The thread selection is broad with lots of colors in each line (silk n' ivory, burmilana, etc), and the canvas selection includes lots of Christmas things and lots of things from other seasons from lots of famous designers. If I was in the Christmas canvas mood, I would have bought a few! They had at least two Scottish santa canvases!


Monday, May 24, 2010

One finish!

Hi! I had a canvas finish this week! I am with my DH and Molly in South Carolina, so I took up an old canvas. This canvas is part of the Designing Women chrismon series. A chrismon is a Christian symbol that is made into an ornament and hung on a tree. Sometimes chrismons are made out of beads, but this is a needlepoint one. I have done about 9 total, including this one, for my Christmas tree. There are about 100 in this series, so I buy about three at a time and have them all in a bag with the threads ready to go. These are the canvases I pick up whenever I have to go somewhere on short notice or take something small.

I am doing these canvases in pearle cotton and kreinik with tent stitches throughout. A piece in this series was one of the first pieces that I finished in my needlepoint career (started in the Spring of 2006). In order to honor that piece, remain consistent, and celebrate classic needlepoint, I decided to continue the whole tent stitch/pearle cotton throughout.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

A finish and a new canvas!

I finished the July Sheep!! I put the last few beads in today! I love the way it turned out even though I had to pull the background out twice! Here it is!



I also purchased a new Kelly Clark that came in from the Dallas Market.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Fin!

I have finished the Charleston round! This piece actually took a lot longer than I anticipated. I decided to take a week off of needlepoint in order to catch up on some reading, and then dive back into Charleston with a new outlook. I finished Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts and started The Duchess by Amanda Foreman. If you can't tell, I am on a 18th century reading binge! I would highly recommend both books. Needlepoint wise, this took a long time because I kept changing the threads. The houses are done with Planet Earth 6 strand silk and Soy Luster. The sky is Watercolours, and the wheels of the carriage are the new DMC memory thread. I love how this turned out in the end, but all of the little pieces on this canvas made it take FOREVER. Needless to say, I was definitely ready to be done with this one.


Charleston
by
Silver Needle


In other news, I got a full-time job in Houston! DH and I are making preparations to move back to Houston from SC.

I got some finishing back from the finisher- pictures to follow!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Progress on Charleston

Hi! I have made great progress on my Charleston Round. My next canvas will be the July sheep I showed you all a few posts back. Stay tuned!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Charleston, Part Trois

In case you all can't tell, I love Charleston. It is definitely a place that is worth the trip no matter where you live. So beautiful and full of history that it's too much for words.

Battery Park



A Charleston Shingle House


Looking down Broad Street



I love the culture, the people, and the sights here. It's totally different than the rest of South Carolina. I feel that Charleston is more cosmopolitan, hip, and has more to offer (attractions, restaurants, jobs) than the rest of the state. Although my DH had to work, I did manage to snag him away for an hour to get coffee and a slice of Nestle Tollhouse pie at Kaminsky's on N. Market street. And for a bonus, I got to have lunch with a great friend from high school who moved to Charleston to go to college.

No trip to Charleston could be complete, however, without a trip to It's a Stitch! I only puchased one canvas, which was good. It's the September sheep from Rebecca Wood to complement my July sheep.


Also, to round out this post, I have a picture of my progress on my Silver Needle Charleston ornament. Since this picture, I have taken out the Neon Rays on the pink house to the far left and the green house. I think I am going to substitute it with Planet Earth 6-ply strandable silk.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Mini Sock

Here are the promised pictures of the mini-sock back from the finisher! I love it!

Front View

Back View

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Molly's Surgery

Molly had her eye surgery yesterday. I flew into South Carolina from Houston to be with her and DH (and to pay for the surgery!). Even though Columbia is the capitol of SC, there is nothing there, so the nearest dog eye specialist is in Charlotte, NC (only about 1.5 hours away). So DH and I drove to Charlotte with our puppy. Everything went ok. The doctor is concerned that the tumor went deeper into her cornea than he originally saw, so he is not sure if she will develop further complications from that or not. She is resting next to me now, but she was really active today and wanted to play. The vet tech said that when she went into recovery after the surgery, she was wrapped in a blanket with an IV in her paw, but as soon as the tech turned around, Molly unwrapped herself from the blanket and pulled out the IV!! My little Houdini!

While we waited for her to go into and come out of surgery, Travis and I had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory at the South Park Mall. We used to always go to Cheesecake in Houston. However, since we moved, we have not been, so this was a perfect opportunity to go. Also, the weather was so beautiful, so we ate outside. Then we walked the really nice mall, went to Nordstrom's (which is nicer in some respects than the Houston one but still lacking in other aspects), and then we went to Po's Point.

Po's is a needlepoint shop in Charlotte, but their address is wrong on Google maps, so you have to call for directions. They are actually only a block away from the mall in a really, really nice shopping plaza. Po's is a nice little shop to visit. They truly are little. The thread selection, while nice, cannot compare to the thread selection at the shops in Houston or at It's a Stitch in Charleston. They didn't have threads like Burmilana, but they did have Vineyard Silk. The canvas selection was very nice and varied. The atmosphere was new, modern, and homey, and they had a large table and butcher block in the store to help with classes and packaging. Po's overall really did a lot with the small space they have. I would definitely go back if I was ever in Charlotte again. What I found to be really interesting are the shopping bags. What a lovely, reusable idea! Definitely a plus!

I did find a few canvases that I liked, but I decided on this one:


That's all for now. Please pray and send good thoughts to Molly!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The house is done!

Hi!

While I have been away, I finished the house! My grandma (mom's mom) visited my parents' house for Easter, and while she was here, I stitched away so she could see the finished product before she returned home. I want to have the house framed and then sent to my grandfather (dad's dad) in Pennsylvania for Christmas.

Enjoy!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Charleston, part deux

Hi!

I went to visit my hubby in Columbia the week of March 8th. We had a blast! We also got a lot of things done that needed to be done, which was great. I got my car registered in South Carolina (including paying the property tax on it), almost finished the taxes, unpacked the last few boxes, organized, got my South Carolina driver's license, and went to Charleston. Even though I am back in Texas for the time being, it was important for me to get my car and license in South Carolina so I can have everything all in one place and not straddle the fence between two states. I needed to get new plates and a new registration sticker in Texas and transfer the title of my car to my name instead of my dad's, so I just decided it would be easier to take care of everything all in one day. I also was able to take Molly to Gregg Animal Hospital to get her a vet there in case she gets sick, and Dr. Gregg gave us the referral we needed to take Molly to an eye specialist. She is going on March 25th.

Travis and I visited Charleston twice! We ate at the Southend brewery (amazing pizza), Hominy Grill (famous for their shrimp and grits- yum!), drank coffee at Baked on East Bay Street, and ate crabcakes at Carolina's. We also got to visit the Exchange building on Broad Street. We took a tour and loved every minute of it!. The building was a post office, played host to President Washington on his tour of the new United States, held prisoners for the British, and served as the customs office. It is beautiful and a must see when you go to Charleston. We tried to see St. Phillip's church on Broad and Meeting streets, but it was raining that day and the church closed early- so next time! Both days we got to Charleston a bit late because of Travis' work, so we were limited in time but got a lot accomplished. We also shopped a bit on King Street. I got my Jurlique moisturizer that I love and Travis got new shoes.

I also could not let the trip go by without taking at least a peek in the needlepoint shops. At Cabbage Row on Broad Street, Travis bought me the beautiful sitting lab canvas by Tapestry Tent. The lab is sitting exactly the way Molly sits with one paw tucked. It is so beautiful!


At It's a Stitch on St. John's Island, I got these two canvases.

A Melissa Shirley for my mom and her Scottish Santa collection:


And a Rebecca Wood sheep of the month for my house. Travis loved these little sheep, so I am doing them for us. Finally, a few pieces stitched for us and not to give away.


I forgot to take a picture of the finished mini sock before it went to the finishers, so you all will see it when it comes back. Here is a picture however of my progress on the Patty Paints House.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

flit flit

Hi!

I am having a hard time deciding what to start next. I know I talked about the Texas Santa, but I decided that I needed at least one or two other projects to work on as well. I found this in my stash with most of the threads that I purchased from a while ago. I thought I would start it now. This is a hard piece even though it is so small. I bought this Patty Paints canvas to stitch for my Grandma Nancy in Pennsylvania. She quilted, sewed, painted, wrote beautiful letters, cooked wonderful candy, etc. I still have the baby blanket and pillow she quilted for me. I love when I think about all of the beautiful things she did for me. Unfortunately, she died in October of 2008, before I got to even put one stitch into this canvas. I am only now able to work on it, and I will give it to my Aunt Dawn. Maybe framed or maybe in a tray.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

A Finish! and an almost finish!

Hi!

While I have been absent, I have been diligently been working and stitching! I told you all about my Olympics of stitching event that coencided with the actual, wonderful, Olypmic games in Vancouver. Because of this, I got really far on my Kathy Schenkel mini sock AND I finished my boy Schnauzer, my ebay Barbara Russell canvas!!!!


This is the progress on my mini sock:


I also, figured out what I am going to to about Marie's skirt hem, but that will have to be another post.

I decided that because this was the beginning of the month, I wanted to check up on my New Year's stitching resolutions. Here they are again with the pieces completed italicized:

1) O Come canvas
2) Patty Paints George and Martha- a huge canvas!
3) Boy Schnauzer
4) one Kelly Clark piece- maybe the Noah's ark or my Texas Santa that I have in my stash
5) 2 Rebecca Wood Ornaments
6) Liz/ Tapestry Tent Basset Hound- eBay canvas!
7) Melissa Shirley Cardinal (part of an 8 bird series she came out with a year or so ago)

Marie and the mini sock are not on here, so I think it's time that I made a free stitch resolution. (I can do that right, update my new year's resolutions in March??)

8) 3-4 pieces of my choice

Also, along with finishing Maire and the mini sock, I wanted to tackle resolution #4, a Kelly Clark piece. I purchased this Texas Stitching Santa from the Needlehouse in Houston about a year ago. It is a Kelly Clark exclusive to the Needlehouse. I am really excited because I saw on Colleen Church's blog (the owner of the Needleworks in Austin) that Kelly would be coming ot her new store in July to teach a Texas basket whose border and theme matches my stitching santa. I must admit, that the possibility of taking this class really excites me and gives me a lttile push to start and finish my Texas Santa. Here is a picture of the stitching santa.

Monday, February 22, 2010

More pieces for the Olympics of Stitching

I am stuck on the schnauzer canvas because I need a new skein of thread to fill in holes on his face. I can't go to my needlepoint shop until the weekend, so I have had to think of other projects to occupy my needlepoint time.

I went back to an oldie but a goodie- Marie Antoinette. And of course, I am stuck on this one too because I cannot decide if I like the purple Kreink on the skirt hem or if I want to bead the purple areas. Also, I forgot my stitch guide in SC, so I need to go back to class to finish up the cuffs and hair (and to get an opinion about the hem). Here is the progress on her so far:


I also started the Kathy Schenkel mini sock I purchased from Chaparral in December. Here is a picture of my start so far. I also realized for this one that I do not have the necessary thread for the background, so I will have to get that this weekend as well.



Love,

Casey