A Sprint to the Finish

Well, I can always tell when the fair entry deadline is coming up quickly. It becomes a sprint to get everything finished, sewn, framed, etc. Saturday is the big day and so Bob promises to keep his calendar clear as we will be pinning needlework to foam core board in preparation. Dinner will be from the crockpot so that the evening is free. This also explains why I have not posted much recently. I am bent over in my chair under an Ott-Lite with a needle and thread pretty much from the time I get home from work to when I lay my head on my pillow.

I am pretty happy with my stocking finish. This is an OOP pattern by Barbara Baatz. It had a gazillion color changes and took several years to complete. It is so beautiful and bright. Now I have to finish my hardanger piece. I got the backing sewn on tonight so tomorrow I just have to sew the dowel in.

Good luck to all who are entering fairs this year. I am hearing that fairs are experiencing tremendous financial pressures and low attendance this year. It is a mainstay of summer life in this country so it is important that we support them!

In Between Projects

That time in between projects always has me twiddling my thumbs a bit. I have to finish stuff up to get it ready for the fair. I plan on doing that when I have a couple of days off later in the week. Know myself a little too well, I know that I will not be able to focus on what necessarily needs to be done if I am playing with a new project. Once I start a project I will want to work on it all the time. So now I wonder if I should read, watch TV, or play a board game with my DH. I am feeling a bit wiggly and like I should be working on something. Oy vey!

I am really excited because yesterday DH and I went shopping and he bought me the most beautiful chair for my craft room. It is red, (I love me some red!) stylish, Scandanavian, high backed, with arms at the perfect level. It also tilts back far enough for me to think (no comments, please.) My favorite room in the house is our craft room/ office. It is done in Scandanavian style and colors, with a lot of stuff coming from Ikea. Since my house is done in Tuscan colors in a traditional style, this room is totally different. I love all of the bright colors. It makes me feel really creative to be in there. It also is very scenic when you look out the window. What a happy place...

Ta-Da!

I am totally happy dancing! I was able to complete the stitching of my Toccata Number One. It was a fun stitch, however, some of the stitches were a bit complicated. The colors are really gorgeous. My hubby has all of the framing materials and will build the frame on the weekend. It will be nice to have everything ready to turn in for judging at the fair in a couple of weeks.

I have four items to be turned in to the fair. Two have to be framed and two others to be finished. I have a bit of sewing to do.

We are looking forward to the fair! Corn on the cob, ice cream, fried artichoke hearts. We love looking at all of the livestock and watching the 4-H kids working with their animals. It is so much fun!

Stitching under stress

I am almost finished with my Toccata Sampler. It has been a fun and quick stitch. It looks quite nice. The part that I am stuck on are the five motifs that are actually pulled thread work. It is alot harder than it looks, but really leaves a beautiful result, based on what I have seen on the internet. I have been doing a little research on it just to see what the end result should look like. I was afraid at first that the pulling of the threads would result in buckling of the other motifs. This was not the case, yay!

We are in wait and see mode right now since the Basin Complex fire is so close. We are not getting to far away from home just in case the need arises for us to evacuate. Several friends are in the mandatory evacuation zone just a few miles away. I have been grateful for my stitching to keep my mind and hands busy.

We really appreciate the hard work of the firefighters who represent 41 states and several countries and are holding them in our prayers.

Fire Plume

We are having a little anxiety right now as the huge fires we are dealing with come a little closer to where we live. I took a picture of the smoke coming over the ridge right behind us this afternoon. It is a bit surreal that it is so close to us.

On the positive side, I was able to sit and complete two more rows on my Toccata Project. I am hopeful that I can complete it this weekend. Tomorrow night may be a stitchy marathon! I want to make certain that I have it ready to enter in the fair. So I will need to complete it in addition to framing and finishing my other entries. It is my third year and I am so excited.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog. I have been inspired to start a blog for about a year after seeing some really creative blogs on the web. I have really struggled for a few days with getting started and if I had really had anything interesting to write about consistently.

I truly love cross stitching. I have been stitching since I was 9 years old. I love the feeling when I open my floss box and see all of the colors. It looks like treasure. I love the peaceful sound of the needle and floss passing through the fabric. It feels like poetry or music to me. Some of my favorite moments are when it is late at night and I am able to sit up stitching in the quiet of the evening. My only light is my tableside full spectrum lamp. My little dog sleeping on the sofa next to me. My current WIP is Toccata Number 1 by Drawn Thread, pictured above.