Happy dancing!

I am in a state of shock. My fair entries did far better than I ever could have hoped. Generally, when I drop off my entries, I just hope that I will take home some sort of ribbon. I am in such awe of everyone else's pieces and their hard work. I realize how much work has gone into every piece. I also understand the tough job the judges have. So I just do my best and hope for the best.

Here is the breakdown on my fair results:

Close to My Heart - Handanger -1st place
Candy Nutcracker Stocking - 1st place
Toccata 1 sampler- 2nd place
Bordeaux sampler - Best of Show

It was a really nice surprise and a true honor to receive recognition for something that I love doing so much.

What made it even cooler is that my hubby entered the fair for the first time this year. He is a homebrewer, so he entered his beers and his cookies. He won 3rd place with his cookies, and Best of Show with one of his beers. How cool is that?!

Glitter, glitter everywhere!

Well, I haven't posted for a few days. I have been working on a surprise for my church. Last year I noticed there were some bare spots on the Chrismon tree so I vowed that I would make a bunch of the traditional ornaments. Since the early Spring I have been collecting pearls, gold beads, styrofoam and such. Several years ago my church bought the instruction books and left them in my care, so I set to work this week.

The time finally came when I had gathered enough supplies so everyday for the past 4 days I have glued, beaded, and applied glitter. I have about 10 ornaments ready to go. I want to make at least 10 more. Keeping the surprise is really rough. There is gold and white glitter everywhere, no matter how hard I try to control it. I was a bit concerned when I noticed the dog walking by and she a couple of specks of glitter on her back.

They are coming out quite nicely. I can't wait to see them on the tree!

Stitchy Gifts!

I was pretty happy because I was able to give my daughter my gift that I had been working on. It was a scissor keeper and fob that I had made. I stitched it with silks on Silkweaver opalescent fabric. It turned out really nicely and I think it will make a nice keepsake. I also put a nice pair of Gingher's in there. I was so excited about giving it to her. She is into crochet so it is nice that she has a pretty pair of scissors to work with.

Now I trying to figure out should I start a new stitchy project, a quilting project, frame some old projects or just read a few books for a while. My Prairie Schooler Farmer's Alphabet pattern is calling to me though...

"Tis a sickness, really...

Okay, while I will admit that my first love craft-wise is cross stitch, I do have a really powerful weakness for something else. I know you are thinking chocolate, but while I do so love good chocolate, this is even worse. It is my love of retro fabrics. I am totally weak in a fabric store which carries old novelty prints. Never has this been more evident than when I was in San Jose last week and had to see these prints in person. I have been looking online at them for weeks. Someone else who had purchased the ballerinas herself (in all three colors, no less) said that I really needed to see them in person and that the photos did not do them justice. I have to say that she was absolutely right and so I proceeded to buy a yard of each one. Bonus: They were 30% off. Happy dance!

Now, I will admit that I do not have any clue what I am going to do with them. They are just so darling that I just enjoy looking at them.

I was a bit proud of myself today because I had to run by the craft store for a last minute detail for a gift. I stood in the fabric section wanting this fabric with little vintage cupcakes (A Michael Miller fabric) and even had a coupon! I passed it up. I just know that tonight when I go to sleep, I am going to dream about little vintage cupcakes!

Almost there

Well, here it is- the night before the fair entries are due. My Bordeaux Sampler is framed and ready to go with a beautiful frame. My hubby did a great job making it. I love the way the leaf pattern mimics the vines in the sampler itself. We still have one more item to frame, but felt that we should probably do it in the morning when we are fresh. That one requires us the cut a mat so I am a bit nervous about that.

It is always exciting to go over to the fairgrounds and turn in the entries. There are quite a few people with their entries wrapped up in bags and paper. It is such a mystery and I wonder what is underneath.

I am looking forward to eating some deep fried artichoke hearts. It will be great to see all of the best of the best in our county, too!

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.