Snooty Parrots...DONE!

I am doing the happy dance today!  Why you ask, because I can finally share with you a finish and not just any finish...Snooty is finished!!!  Did you all hear me Saturday night?  Yep, that was me making all that racket.  Let's have a look.

Design: Snooty Parrots

Designer: Barbara Ana

Fabric: 40 ct. Light Mocha

Floss: DMC and GAST

Started: 1/26/14

Finished: 2/28/15

To be framed...

I know this SAL was over in December but I kept pressing on.  I decided last week that I was going to finish this sampler before March rolled in and that was that!  I really didn't have much left to do on it so I buckled down and got to it.  I'm so relieved to have it done.  Yay!

I only made a couple changes to the original design.  I decided not to put the extra initials on it.  I think it looks okay without them.  I noticed several folks in the SAL chose not to as well.

The other change is the addition of the clouds around the angels.  Ellen and Jana from my guild were also stitching this and we decided we'd like to distinguish ours somehow.  Our guild had a lovely lecture on Norfolk samplers last year.  We learned that one of the characteristics you find are angels in clouds!  The idea was struck and there you are.

We laughed that 100 years from now some historian is going to wonder about our three samplers and try to find meaning to the angels in the clouds.  Tee hee!!

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So there you have it friends, my first finish of 2015.  I'm so pleased to share it with you.  As they say, better late than never.  I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Thanks for stopping by to share my joy today!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

TUSAL - February

It's TUSAL Day!

(For those not familiar, click on the word TUSAL above or the link to the right.)

Hello friends!  Here we are at TUSAL day again.  I have to admit there hasn't been much new in the way of stitching happening in my world since our last TUSAL check-in.  Life seems to have stepped in my way.  Nothing catastrophic, just the usual daily grind stuff dontcha know.  Oh well, it is what it is!  There could be worse things, this I know.

Here's a look at the ORT pile for this month.

Let's have a look at the contributor list:

"Snooty Parrots" by Barbara Ana Designs (In Progress)

"Speak to the Earth" by Donna Kooler Designs (In Progress)

"Common Ground - Needlebook" by Just Nan (In Progress)

"Heaven Above" by Midsummer Night Designs (In Progress)

Hmm...same suspects as last month, I see.  I can truthfully say I have moved each of them along since our last visit so even though the list is the same there has been progress made. To keep this post from boring you to tears, let's have some visuals to illustrate what I mean.  Here we go...

Progress as of 1/12/15

 Progress as of 2/15/15

You may have noticed the date on the Snooty Parrots as 2014.  I decided to put last year's date on it since that's when the majority of the work was done and the year I participated in the SAL.  What do you do when projects overlap years?  I'm curious!

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Progress as of 1/12/15

Progress as of 2/15/15

Speak to the Earth is coming along nicely.  It's a project I don't want to put down once I pick it up.  If it weren't for doing it as a SAL, I'd be tempted to keep on going with it.  I'm sure you've had projects like that too. 

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Progress as of 1/12/15

Progress as of 2/15/15

I spent this past weekend working on the Just Nan needle book. I was inspired by this post to pick it up again.  I could easily finish it up if I kept up the current pace with it.  Saturday is an all day stitch-in so just maybe...

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Progress as of 1/17/15

Progress as of 2/15/15

Last but not least, Heaven Above, oh how I love this one too!  I love that blue in the corner.  Does it remind you of anything?  Yes, memories of the Hornbook Bestiary came flooding back when I started that corner!  Oh yes indeed.  LOL!

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Now that was fun, wasn't it?  I always love to see people's progress pics, especially on BAPs or SALs.   I hope it won't be so long between our next visit.  Thank you for stopping in today. I hope all is well in your corner of the world.  I've missed you all!

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher 

Stitchaway Retreat Recap

I'm back as promised to recap the Stitchaway retreat.  This year I was only able to go for Friday afternoon and all day Saturday due to work needs.  Funny how life gets in the way of our stitching sometimes.  LOL!  Let's start out with gifts...

 This is the super cute ornament I received from my peep, Patti.  She knows me well and knew I'd love it.  She said this was a freebie she found on Pinterest but I've not seen it before.  Isn't it awesome?!

Here's the back.  I don't know if you can see it, the key has the word "Paris" on it.  The finishing is exquisite!  It was finished by the super talented Faye over at Carolina Stitcher.  Thank you so much Patti and Faye.  I absolutely love it!

While we are on the subject of gifts and this time birthday gifts, Anna Mae gifted me with these fun things.  Check out the gingerbread man earrings.  I just love everything but my favorite is the owl paperclip.  Thank you so much, Anna Mae!

Here's what Meem gave me for my belated birthday.  She knows I love Hello Kitty and these were spot on!  The lunch box is mini size and my feet are always cold.  Both are just perfect for me.  Thank you so much, Meem!

I couldn't resist sharing these things.  I just had to honor their thoughtfulness and express my gratitude!

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Every year there's a "free to a good home" table.  These were "gifts" from unknown friends. I love the sheep in turkey clothing.  My peep, Evie snagged the acorn sampler for me.  I really liked the two bunny charts and of course the bees!

Another tradition is the boutique with trunk shows. This picture was taken on the rare moment the shop was not crowded.  Oh so much temptation in there!

I just had to share this picture that was by the check out table.  Our theme this year was friendship and tea.  Barb's British friend emailed this picture to her and she thought it was a scream.  We had an informal contest to give this well endowed lady a name.  We settled on Tea Tea with the Ta Ta's.  That's one impressive rack she's got there!  If anyone knows anything about this mystery lady, please share.

Here's the stash that just had to come home with me from the den of temptation.  You know I love Prairie Schooler.  One of the Russellville peeps was stitching these at our retreat in November so I just had to have it.  Heart in Hand was one of the trunk shows and I fell in love with this Valentine's sampler.  It came with fabric and buttons!  The other HIH chart was in the dollar bin.  The blue fabric is for a chart I bought myself for my birthday.  You can't tell from the picture but it has sparkles in it.

These were some pincushions the shop made up to show you how you could use the freebies in our welcome packet.  Love the teacups!  I thought I'd share with you in case you might like the idea too.

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Next up is show and tell!  I only took a few pictures this time.

Last year we were given the chart for this one and some floss with the charge to do something with it and bring it back this year to share.  Well, there was a group of over achievers that actually remembered to do it and could actually put their hands on said chart/floss.  Ahem...I was not one of those people.  LOL!  Seriously, though these two are really pretty.

I thought this was a neat way to display several small stitched pieces at once!

This one the stitcher designed and stitched this one herself.  How amazing is that?!  Very cool!

I really liked the words on this one.  I don't think I've seen it done up and have no idea who designed it.

I saved my favorite for last!  This was done by Leslie LaFleur of Under the Sea Fabrics.  Leslie is a member of our guild and hand dyes the most incredible fabric. She did the fabric in this piece too.  It has wonderful sparkle but of course I couldn't capture it.  She's also a fan of Nora Corbett and hosts the Mirabilia retreat.  Here attendees gave her a gift certificate for framing by Jill Rensel.  It's just stunning!

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Progress as of 1-17-15

As promised, here is my progress on the Parrots!  I finally got past building the house.  Oh yeah!  I am actually a little bit farther along since I took this picture last weekend.  I've now got the box above the house done and the lady to the right of the house.  I'm hopeful!

Progress as of 1/17/15

This is my start on "Heaven Above" by Midsummer Night Designs.  Last year at the retreat my friend, Susan H. had completed this sampler and shared it at show and tell.  I had watched her work on it all year and was just in love.  I complemented her on the beautiful finish and she gifted me with her chart!  I was just so thrilled and humbled.  So I collected the fabric/floss and saved it to start this year at the retreat in honor of Susan's gift to me.  I hope to be able to share my finish next year!

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So there you have it, the recap.  I hope you enjoyed all the goings on.  It was a fun retreat and I really enjoyed spending time with my peeps.  Thank you so much for visiting with me today.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

New Year's Starts & WIPs

Like lots of folks I like to start something new on New Year's Day.  This year I had a false start.  I hope it's not an indication of things to come this year.  So what did I start you ask?  Check it out!

Progress as of 1-12-15

I present to you, "Speak to the Earth" by Donna Kooler Designs.  It's available as a pdf download if you are interested.  It's nice when you can get the chart instantly like that.  I printed mine on card stock so it will hold up better.

I had originally started this on 40 ct. exemplar but the colors were just not playing nice with the fabric.  Plus there's a good bit of over one stitching on this and I didn't really feel like fiddling with that so I ordered different fabric.  I decided to go with 36 ct. in light mocha which is the color I used for the Parrots.  I like it much better!  So stay tuned, you'll be seeing more of this one this year since a group of the peeps and I are doing it as a SAL.

Progress as of 1-12-15

Since I had to wait for my fabric to come and I was in the mood for a new start, I decided to root around in the basket o'joy.  This one has been in there since I started stitching again back in 2009!  It's by Just Nan and it's the needlebook from the "Common Ground" chart.  There are other pieces to it but I think I may just do the needlebook.  We'll see...

It's done on 28ct. tattersall with DMC.  This is the first time I've worked with tattersall and I really like it.  It's easy to count and find your place on it.  I just love the color pallet on this project.  The finishing doesn't sound too terribly hard either so it should go well.

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Progress as of 1-12-15

I'm also carrying a couple WIPs into the new year.  As much as I would have liked to finish the Snooty Parrots before the year was over, it just didn't happen.  As you can see, I'm getting closer.  This will be going to the retreat with me this weekend.

I don't think I ever posted a picture of this one.  I did mention it in my TUSAL recap though.  This is called "Quaker Heart" from Piecework Magazine.  I started stitching it on the airplane ride to Utah.  I got side one done while we were there and started side two.  I'm hoping to maybe get this one done before Valentine's day so I can display it.  Maybe it will go with me to the retreat too.

Progress as of 11-8-14

These two are the main ones I'd like to see finished soon.  I'd also like to get back on "I Sigh Not for Beauty" and get it done this year.  It's languished long enough.  If only I could just stitch all day long.  Sounds lovely to me!

Thanks for visiting with me today.  I'm looking forward to sharing my progress after the retreat.  I know I'll be able to move these along with all that uninterrupted stitching time.  Yippee!!

More later,

The Inspired Stitcher

Snooty Parrots Progress - August

I spent my Labor Day weekend with the Snooty Parrots. I was determined to get August done before the weekend was over and I'm pleased to say I achieved that goal a day early.  I'm back on track now!

8/30/14 - August's Assignment Done!

 

I started on the right parrot on Friday night and it had legs and a branch before I went to bed.  Saturday I got up and really got on a roll.  I finished up the bird and started on the vine again.  I had a good bit of the green still on the needle so I took it as far as it would go which got me close to the corner.  Since I was so close to rounding the corner, I decided to thread up another stand and go for it!

8/31/14 - Start on September's assignment

 

Then on Sunday I decided I'd see if I could get the borders to meet.  That's always an unnerving adventure till you get to the home stretch and realize they actually will meet!  Yay!  I felt like doing a victory lap around the living room.  Woo hoo!!  Now I have a better sense of just how big this sampler really is!

9/1/14

I'm running a tad low on the GAST Cranberry so I decided I'd go ahead and stitch all the berries on the vine.  I'd rather them all be the same dye lot for the whole thing.  If I need to get more for other parts it won't look as obvious.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it. LOL!

I'm actually further along now.  I've gotten a good start on September's assignment in the lower left corner.  I'm hoping to get it done in the next week or so. I have some gift stitching and an exchange I need to get started on.  I'm so happy to finally be caught back up again!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my joy today.  I hope you all are having a good week.  I just love these short weeks.  I can already see the weekend from here!

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Parrots Update

I'm finally able to show an update on the Snooty Parrots.  They've been sorely neglected this summer but I buckled down and am now up to the current month's assignment.  Can I get it done in a week?  Well...that remains to be seen.  LOL!

Progress as of July 8th

Last Saturday we had a Tiara Club all day stitch and I made some real progress there.  On Monday I got together with some of my quilting friends and I stitched some more.  Then on Wednesday our guild had its monthly evening stitch-in and I started my August assignment.

July's assignment as of August 19th.

 

I didn't take a picture of the August assignment start.  It's really nothing special yet.  Just the green part of the vine on the right.  I'm tempted to keep going on it to the bottom but who knows if that will really happen.  I am anxious to stitch the parrot though.  Its coloring is slightly different than the one on the left side.  You'll have to check that out next time.

 

I'm going into the city tomorrow with a quilting friend to see a quilt display at one of the local museums.  It should be a fun outing.  I hope you all have a great weekend too.  Thank you for your visit today!

 

 

Until next time,

 

The Inspired Stitcher

Saturday Stitch-in and Quaker Faith progress

Saturday was an outstanding day at the QCSG all day stitch-in.  We had a guest lecturer who brought all kinds of neat needlework necessities, tools and toys for us to all drool over. It was absolutely fascinating!  Most of them were from the 1700's and 1800's.  I took a ton of pictures so I'll let them speak for themselves and chime in where I can.

The bonnet girls had hand drawn faces and the box in the lower left was a child's needlework box.

The two shell shaped pieces were referred to as etuis and held small tools.  The box in the back had secret compartments.

I absolutely fell in love with this chatelaine!  In addition to the watch there is a scissor holder, needle case, thimble holder and pad of paper!

I love these turned wood pieces.  The box in the lower left was made by a sailor from shells collected during his travels.  The basket in the back was a family piece.

I loved all these tiny things especially the needle cases.

 Who would ever look at a walnut shell and think tool holder?  Apparently someone did!

 



 I love the spool holder on the right.  You pull the pins up and load the spools onto them.  The pincushion on the top is worked in bead embroidery!

 These were all made of either bone or ivory.  The carving was amazing!

These were called "third hand" tools.  They were used to hold fabric and clamped to a table top.

All of these were metal and came from England.  I love the chick and the bunny. They were tape measures.

The inlay woodwork was stunning on this box.  You lift out the tray and stow your project underneath!  Wouldn't that be a fun way to travel with your needlework project.

This was my absolute favorite of all.  It's French and was made by more than one crafts person.  Just look at that exquisite embroidery and those breath taking tools.  Swoon!

 

Edited:  Rae over at Reconstructed Fabulousness helped me remember what this particular box was called.  It's a Palais Royal (click here for more info).  The tiny pansy hallmark is a dead giveaway!  I'm adding some additional pictures for your viewing pleasure below!

 

This is the pansy hallmark to look for that identifies them as Palais Royal.  The word pansy in French means remembrance.

 

I was so amazed by the craftsmanship in all these tiny treasures when thinking about the technology back when they were made.  Everything done by hand and with such attention to detail.  There are simply no words.  Wow!

 

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I didn't get very good pictures of the show and tell table but we were able to lay out the three Snooty's and get a group picture!  On the left is Ellen's finished piece.  She had her framer bring it so we could take the picture.  In the middle is J's piece almost done and then you all have seen mine recently.  It was fun to see them all together.

 

I chose to work on my Quaker Faith for the day.  I hadn't touched it since at least April.  I decided it was high time to do something on it.  I managed to finish the church and a wee start on a motif in the lower right corner (that brown squiggle).  I really don't have that much to go on it and should just buckle down and get on with it already. LOL!

 

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Ever had your car just pull into a place like an invisible force field is sucking it in?  Yep, that's what happened to me.  On my way home I got sucked into stopping at the Half-Price Books store.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Something just told me to pop in and see what was there.  Boy, am I glad I did!  I've been watching the top book for ages on the bay of evil.  The second one just looked interesting.  The other cool thing was I paid even less than the sticker price because have a discount card.  One of the perks of my job! 

So yep, it was an outstanding day all around...cool lecture, fun show and tell, progress made and new books!  I hope you enjoyed seeing all the juicy things we saw on Saturday.  I just love days like that!

Well folks, I hope you all have a good week and get to make some progress too.  I need to get packing for my trip later this week.  I've got my stitch bag almost packed and need to do the usual other stuff you do to get ready to leave.  I'm so excited!  I promise I'll come back with a full report!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher