Finally: Progress on My Family History Sampler

For the past several years, I've focused on quilting and ignored my cross stitching. The main reason, I think, is because I haven't done the same traveling I did when working in high tech. But earlier this year I went on a Panama Canal cruise which included several days at sea and I knew I needed a project to work on during those days. The solution: a cross-stitching project.

When I got home I decided it was about time that I started working on my family history sampler again.

This is the sampler I designed to represent some key people in my mother's father's line.You can read about the people represented by the different squares here. It is being stitched on 40-count fabric with silk floss over two threads. The inspiration for this sampler came from the Carriage House Samplings Hawk Run Hollow series.

Since it had been a while since I stitched (and my eyes aren't getting any younger), I first stitched up the center medallion on 32-count fabric to give to my mother. She decided she wants it finished as a pillow -- which I have yet to complete. But it is such a classic view of the home where my mom grew up.

Albert Lee and Selma are my mom's parents, along with their 10 children. Grandma was a quilter, so I had to include some quilts. Grandpa was a dairy farmer, so yep, there are a couple cows. His horse Old Chief is depicted, as well as their apple trees and their iconic derrick.

And here's how far I am on the complete sampler on the 40-count fabric. It's slow going, but I'm loving the results.

And close-ups of the individual blocks. I haven't done all of the outlining yet.

Still a lot of stitching to do, but it will be a real heirloom when done. 

I've just begun designing a similar project representing my dad's father's ancestry.

No stitching or quilting for a week because I'm running two back-to-back events with a total of about 350 combined. And, it will probably take a few days to fully recover. But, when it's over, I will be fully retired!

Double the Stress-busting Benefits of Tube Time

Turns out that the combination of busy hands (fine-motor activity and handiwork) with TV watching triggers a light meditative state that soothes anxiety (according to a supposed reknowned psychiatrist Norman E. Rosenthal). I don't know how much his study cost, but I could have told him that myself! I rarely watch TV without multi-tasking -- but I'm able to totally de-stress when watching TV while sewing or cross-stitching. (Of course, adding chocolate helps even more!) So, you can justify whatever guilty pleasure you watch on TV (royal wedding? Dancing with the stars? shopping or cooking channels?)

Here's progress on a couple of my de-stressing projects (yes, they were all done with the TV on):

This quilt is totally scrappy. I didn't make any effort to match setting blocks with the chunky churn dash blocks. I kind of matched the appliqued arcs within a single setting block -- but that was it. I love randomy, scrappy quilts like this.

Chunky Churn Dash swap blocks + appliqued setting blocks

Close-up showing machine applique (the Kim Diehl way)

I'm loving this Carriage House Crossing project -- all with one color floss (albeit hand-dyed for the value variation).

Bye for now.

Catching Up

A quick catch-up post before I head to Orlando for the better part of the week.

This is the Carriage House Samplings project I've been stitching.  I'll work on it to/from Florida (and during a long layover in Atlanta when returning home). I've been upgraded to first class both directions and will be by the window, so should have good light to stitch by! I'm using Belle Soie hand-dyed silk, color is called "Mudpies". I am loving the way this looks. And, of course, I think Belle Soie is my favorite silk to stitch with. It is so luscious to the touch.

I did make some progress on my family history sampler. It's been about a year since I finished designing it -- but I have been very slow to stitch. I must have perfect conditions to stitch on that darker 40-count fabric -- good light, mageyes, etc.

I picked up Jenny and Chad's wedding quilt from the quilter yesterday. I was hoping to get the binding sewn on before I head to the airport, so my mom could finish the hand-stitching of the binding. But alas, it's not going to happen. I haven't packed yet and have a family event this evening.

I gave in to quilt-blogger peer pressure and bought a Twister template to make a twister quilt. Or rather, I made a large block that will become a pillow. It's a fun technique. Basically sew together a bunch of squares and then use the tool to cut 4-patch blocks that, when sewn back together, form the twisted pinwheel design.

For the twisted pinwheel, I used scraps from this quilt.  The top is finished, but I haven't had it quilted since I haven't decided who will be the lucky recipient.

I put my mom to work basting hexagons. She did a great job.  I think she has finished about 300 -- but since I haven't figured out how I'm going to set them, I haven't given her any more to work on. The fabric is "Bliss" by Bonnie and Camille. These were all done from a strip set, but I have a fat quarter bundle of all the fabrics -- so there's the potential of a lot more hexies!

Lastly, I've been remiss with my stash accountability. Luckily I haven't been buying a boatload of fabric -- and I did drop off another quilt to be quilted which helped, but not enough to put in a stash deficit position.

Since February 9th (yes, 2 months ago):
In: 22 yards
Out: 11-1/4 yards
Net: 10-3/4 increase to my stash

Year to date:
In: 54-1/2 yards
Out: 47 yards
Net: 7-1/2 yards increase to my stash

But I have made good progress towards getting quilts DONE! 4 totally done; 1 ready to bind; and 1 at the quilter. So, that will make 6 in 2011. I'm planning to drop off a quilt top each time I pick one up for the rest of the year -- about  one per month. And with a new baby born this week awaiting his quilt, and one due in a couple weeks, I've got to get busy!

I hope you all have a great week. It snowed (again!) in Utah. I'm looking forward to better weather in Orlando.

A Couple Stitching Projects

I have a triple batch of Bolognese sauce simmering on the stove – 3 more hours to go before I can let it cool and put in the fridge. The sauce works well on spaghetti, but I’ll be assembling lasagna Bolognese al forno on Thursday for a family get-together at my brother’s ranch this weekend. All of the baby animals are being born. He’s got about 25 new calves, 3 lambs, 5 kittens and 12 piglets.

My tried-and-true, authentic lasagna recipe doesn’t use ricotta, but instead uses béchamel cream sauce, along with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, ham dices, lasagna noodles and the Bolognese sauce. I use the Barilla no-boil noodles – which are easier to use than the typical thick, wavy lasagna noodles; they are much thinner  like fresh pasta so I can make a lasagna with many more layers. It will need to feed 13 people on Friday night. So yummy!

Sorry, I didn’t think about taking photos while I was making the sauce. But, here’s a photo of the cross stitching project I worked on while travelling to Philadelphia last week. I mixed “Wisper” floss with the off-white floss for the sheep – so it is thicker and a bit fuzzy from the mohair in the Wisper.

This next project will probably only be of interest to any LDS stitchers who visit my blog.

I designed it to commemorate the 200th birthday of Joseph Smith, but after I started stitching it, I wasn’t liking all of my floss color choices. But, I bit the bullet and decided to finish it – even though I’ll most likely re-stitch it with some color switches. I don’t like the light blue alphabet or the pink used in the little blossoms and some of the numbers. I will also use a softer gold for the beehives and house roof.

Plus, after I started the outline lettering with black, I decided it was too harsh – and so switched to dark brown. But I never frogged the black stitching – so although it’s done, I’m only moderately happy with the result.


I designed the Joseph Smith sampler to fit in the top of the Old Colonial burl wood box used for Jeannette Douglas’ Stitching Treasures. Before I invest in the fairly expensive box, I definitely need to re-stitch my project. Actually, I should get the box and make sure my floss selections match the box!

I also noticed that I forgot the letter “W” when I did the alphabet – so I need to do some minor redesign to fit it in (although I don’t think anyone would notice unless they were stitching it themself.)

Thanks for stopping by.

First Official Quilt Finish for 2011

I’ve actually completed five quilts -- with the help of my mom doing the binding, and will post them individually over the next few days. Here's the first one.

Emrie celebrated her first birthday on Sunday, and I (finally) presented her with her quilt. It matches her nursery and will drape the back of the rocker when not in use.

I also had time to do some stitching while traveling to and from Philadelphia last week. Although I had a couple WIPs I could have taken, I started a new project for the trip. I wanted something on light 28-, 30- or 32-count fabric so that it would be easier to see on the plane and in the typical hotel room with bad lighting. Both of the WIPs were on 36- and 40-count darker fabric. I also wanted something that only had a few flosses to minimize what I had to pack with me. And, lastly, I wanted a pattern that easily fit in my small, vinyl travel-stitching pouch which began life as packaging for pillow cases. (This photo shows how I pack up my stitching for travel.)

I chose a Little House Needleworks design and finished the stitching last night. Quick and easy and fun.

 

Have a great  Monday everyone!

First 2011 Stitching Finish

I’m dealing with computer problems, so this will be a quick post. My main PC is being worked on at Office Depot. They say it’s only software issues – malware that got installed without me knowing about it that is causing the problem. The problem happened while I was trying out the FindMyFabric website I mentioned in the previous post – but I don’t know if that’s what caused it. Hopefully they can get it fixed and it won’t cost an arm and a leg.

I finished this one-color project. It was a simple project to get me back into a stitching frame of mind.

Bye for now – or until my PC is back in business.

First Orts of the Year

It felt good to put some crossed stitches into a lovely piece of 30-count linen.

The project is “A Sheltering Tree” by All Through the Night. It is stitched on Weeks Dye Works #1201 Putty linen using Valdani hand overdyed Olive Green thread. I love the variation in color and value that comes from using only one overdyed thread!

I should have been working on my family history sampler, but my eyes weren’t up to 40-count fabric last night.

So instead, I started something that will hopefully work up fairly quickly – especially since I have two business trips in March that will provide a little airplane stitching time.

I’ve never used Valdani floss before. I need to use a bigger needle than I prefer to use, but it is stitching up nicely nonetheless.

I was a DMC girl for so many years. I have nearly every color in the DMC line. Who knew that I would ever need anything else? Then I became enamored with the hand dyed/ overdyed Gentle Arts, Weeks Dye Works, and Crescent flosses. More recently, over the past couple years I’ve added dozens of silk flosses to my collection. Love the silk!! I love the way it glides through those little holes. But I do love them all.

Thank goodness for "MagEyes". I just don't have the courage to wear them on the plane!

Stitching Progress

I’ve made some stitching progress on my family history sampler.

I also have nearly finished the final block in honor of John Billington, my notorious Mayflower ancestor. I want to do a bit more tweaking, but the design inspiration has been somewhat lacking. It's the 3rd block in bottom row.

I don’t think I’ll have time to completely finish the first two blocks this week because so many other things are going on – a boatload of work for my full-time job that pushes into my personal time, a baby shower, getting ready for a business trip next week, and a couple days at my brother’s ranch on Friday and Saturday. I’ll hopefully have time to post some photos from the time at the ranch to show the cattle branding and sheep shearing that is planned – not to mention some dutch oven cooking, lots of gardening, and trying out my solar oven.

A note to Linda (aka Dreamquilter): Linda, if you have sent me your snail mail address for the magazine subscription, I haven’t received it yet. Please re-send asap! My e-mail is on my profile page.

I hope everyone is enjoying spring weather. Our weather has been erratic at best – snow in the mountains is predicted for later this week!

Bye for now.

We have a winner!

The odds were pretty good -- a 1 in 3 chance of winning.  Congratulations to Linda -- aka Dreamquilter!   Linda, please e-mail me your mailing address and I'll get the subscription underway.

It's been a hugely busy few weeks, which is why I've been away from blog-land. Our fiscal year begins June 1st, which means all of the planning for the next year is underway (my team works on go-to-market strategies, plus I'm part of our overall strategic planning team ultimately responsible for putting the plan into a format for presenting to the rest of the organization). Plus it seems like I've had commitments nearly every afternoon or evening, which takes away from stitching, quilting and blogging. Not to mention trips to Las Vegas and Philadelphia for work.  Oh, and I'm doing a final copy edit on the family histories my mom has assembled of her ancestors -- about 80 pages of 10-point type! (My weary eyes!)

I was able to finish one stitching project amid the chaos that has become my life. The pics below are the first ones taken with the new camera I received in recognition of my 25 years working in this hectic, computer software business! It'll take a while to figure out all of the bells and whistles.

It's hard to believe that it is  May 1st, especially since it has been getting into the 30s at night and we even had new snow in the valleys over the past couple days.

Once again, congratulations to Linda.

I hope you all have a great weekend, a fabulous May, and can find some creative stitching and quilting time.

One Finish and A Couple WIPs

Thanks for all of your kind comments to recent posts.

I finished “Return the Kindnesses” this week, and yes, there was a lot of fill-in stitching on this project.

This was the first project I started (a couple years ago!) using 40-count fabric, so the fill-in work was good practice using 1 strand of silk floss. The “learning process” is certainly apparent in the bunny’s body, but once again I have to say “finished is better than perfect”.


I’m getting ready for another business trip. It’s gonna be an intense week, with 3 all-day meetings Monday through Wednesday, and training for our newest sales people on Tuesday and Wednesday. I haven’t yet figured out how I’m going to be in two meetings at the same time. I’ll be giving the kick-off presentation at the sales training, while also being responsible for the agenda and meeting facilitation for the other meeting. Plus I have a new employee starting on Monday, so the fun never ends.

Each evening I’ll be cramming for the next day’s meetings, but I’m optimistic I’ll be able to do some stitching – at least on the airplane. I haven’t yet been upgraded to first class, so may be stuck in coach, but at least I have a window seat in the exit row in case the worst happens and I can’t move to the front of the plane.

Since it’s easiest to stitch on the plane (and in dark hotel rooms) on light 28-count fabric, I’ve prepared two projects to take with me on the trip. By “prepared” I mean I’ve threaded a bunch of needles with the threads I’ll need so I don’t need to worry about threading needles at 35,000 feet in cramped condition.

The first project I’ll be working on is the darling “Do Not Worry” by Silver Creek Samplers. I did a little stitching on it last night to get it started. Rather than use the DMC colors recommended, I’m using over-dyed Gentle Arts. My fabric is also a bit lighter than the original.

The other project is one I brought home from the ranch last weekend. I’d left it there to work on in the event that I ever arrived without a WIP. But I decided to bring it home with me and work on it while traveling. It is Birds of a Feather’s “Bitter Flower Sampler”.

Not a ton of work left – the most time-consuming will be the vase, but the border alphabet should go pretty quickly. Here's the original design in case you aren't familiar with it. (It's several years old -- so you can imagine how long I've been working on it.)

It’s going to be a pretty nice day in Utah today. I’m hoping I can convince my mom to go with me to a charming shopping area called “Gardiner’s Village”. I’m hoping to find a new couch at the Country Furniture store. I have been dreaming of a black and cream toile print couch for several years – and am finally ready to replace my 20+ year-old couch in my family room. The shopping area also has a quilt/stitching shop called Pine Needles, so will definitely also stop in there as well.

Have a wonderful week. Work and travel will keep me away from blogland until probably next Saturday. Will hopefully have good progress on projects to report.

Pin Pillow Exchange and Stitching Progress

I received this darling pin pillow from Kathy as part of BeckyBee’s pin pillow exchange. Every day since the April 1st deadline (and even before) I was eagerly watching for the mailman each day in hopes that my exchange would be in the mail. And today it was!

We had a great weekend at the PX ranch – even with some fresh snow both Saturday and Sunday mornings. Lots of great food – from roasted turkey with sausage, cashew, and dried cranberry dressing and roasted asparagus, to freshly gathered eggs scrambled and served with grits and PX ranch bacon. I made Ina Garten’s Easy Sticky Buns. Yummy, and yes, they are extremely easy because they are made with frozen puff pastry dough. We even had enough to warm up the leftovers for breakfast on Sunday, and they were just as good.

Mom and I got one vegetable garden box planted with cool-weather veggies – radishes, both red and white; spinach; leaf lettuce; and cabbage. Tomorrow I’ll head over to my parent’s house and we’ll get the seeds started under grow lights for tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of squash. They should be ready to plant on branding day, planned for May 15th.

I got some stitching in – thanks to taking a floor lamp with a 150 watt bulb to make it easy to see what I was doing. I made good progress on both my Family in Stitches design, as well as another WIP that I’m hoping to finish this week.