A little progress

We have survived a 2 day snow and ice storm here in Maine. Yesterday we were without cable, phone or internet most of the day and into the evening. Luckily our power remained on....so I had light to stitch and crochet at least. We get so used to that WiFi, and I belong to so many groups and visit so many sites that I truly missed it when it was gone!! I started a new stitching project. I joined a Ornament Stitching SAL blog for 2020. You chose a theme, and stitch one or more ornaments per month.....I chose The 12 Days of Christmas as my theme, and picked CEC series of 4 leaflets. Well....of course I had a hard time finding those 4 charts to buy, especially The Fourth Day.....but now have 2 charts in hand, and 2 in the mail to me, so I began. I started with Two Turtledoves (Feb) and will try to get The Partridge stitched also before the end of Feb. I chose a fabric from my stash......28 ct Lugana from PTP in the color Nessie that I bought from them last year during their sale. I may use it for all of the ornaments, or do some in something different, we'll see.

I also finished crocheting my Cosy Stripe Blanket, design by Lucy @ Attic24 Blog. I LOVE how it turned out. I LOVE the border. I am keeping this blanket for myself, and will use it on my bed to curl up and have my afternoon naps.

I LOVED the Cosy Stripe so much, that I decided to crochet another one in slightly different colors. I had so much of the Stylecraft DK yarn left, I was surprised. So, a smaller couch throw is in the making now. Here is that progress.

The Long Winter

Here in Maine, winter's can last "forever" it seems. This winter has not been very snowy, but because of some health issues, I just feel cold all the time. I have a small heather for my room, and tend to sit in here during the day and work on my stitching and crocheting just so I am warm!!! Here is my stitching corner, with my new WIP blanket. It's called Cosy Stripe Blanket designed by Lucy at her Attic 24 blog. I used 15 colors of Stylecraft DK yarn that believe it or not; I had extra just hanging around in my stash totes !!!!

I stitched a small design right after Christmas. I just love little red wagon's and this is from Sue Hillis' Home For The Holiday's leaflet that I was gifted by a member of the 123 Stitch message board. I will make it into an ornament.

This is a special blanket that I am crocheting for myself. I started it last Fall....ran out of yarn and had to order more. It is done with Merino Wool/ Cotton blend of yarn in off white. The design in by Hooked On Sunshine, and called Phoenix. You can find her designs on Ravelry. Each round is a challenge, and at this time in my life, I LOVE a challenge. I need to get it finished now that the holidays are over; I think I am about half done.

I did also finally finish my Victoria Sampler SAL project. You need to be a member of her Facebook Group to get the pattern in different parts. I may finish it into a bookmark.

It's been a long time

Wow....it has been 1 year since I posted anything to my blog. I had a lot of health issues in 2019 and so that kept me pretty depressed and not wanting to share feelings etc. But I am doing better now and have begun to do some stitching and crocheting again. Christmas came and went last month without much joy....but I did manage to stitch my Christmas tree. I decided NOT to have a real tree. So here is Bling Tree, by Victoria Sampler. I had all the sequins, stars, etc in my stash and used them to decorate the tree. I stitched 99% of it with DMC, but did use a bit of silk I had in my stash. I loved the way it turned out.

I also crocheted a cute Santa doily from cotton yarn. It got me back crocheting again.

I stitched a cute little Pug for my grand daughter.....she loves pugs, and has a cute little guy who is half pug, named Moose. Here is Moose and the stitched piece. I will make it into an ornament and give it to her next Christmas.

Giveaway

Such beautiful beautiful threads. Check out her blog and enter to win....she is giving away a 2nd set.

Small things

Sometimes I like to stitch small things to take a break from my large projects. I have been stitching on the Scotland Mandala now for about 14 months, and thought I needed a small break. This Scottish Thistle bookmark was a small kit that I purchased on my trip to Scotland in the fall of 2017. I did start stitching on it one night in our hotel room, but put it away and there it sat all this time. I have finished the stitching this week, and now just have to add the felt backing and tassel.

I stitched this design for a good friend who lost her good friend/dog Buffie. It is a design by designer Lizzie Kate. My friend hung it in her entry way, and she loved it. I framed it myself, and my grand daughter Kaleigh helped me with the mat. I bought a dog paw rubber stamp and I think she did a great job on the mat.

I just loved this design by Homespun Elegance when I saw it in a magazine, so I stitched it. It should be framed in a wide barn board type of frame, but I haven't found one I like yet.

I have part 2 of the Victoria Sampler SAL done. Part 3 comes out tomorrow, and I am anxious to see what special stitches are used.

Catching Up.

I have done a few small stitching projects in the past year as well as stitching on my Scotland Mandala and done a LOT of crocheting. Here are a few of the small stitching I have completed. This one is called Christmas Fruit Basket by Primitive Cross Stitch. I changed the star and put a little Cardinal on mine. I had seen another stitcher friend of mine do this and she sent me the charted change. I love cardinals and like it better this way.

This cutie is called Christmas Eve Ride by Needle Bling Designs.

I have also begun The Summer Schoolhouse Lessons by Brenda Gervais. I love her designs. I have finished 2 of them so far......the letters A-K.

And here is some of my crocheting done in the past year or so.....mostly all given away as gifts.

Thanks for stopping by.

Why Scotland?

I began my love of Scotland for 2 reasons. First, I have been heavily into my Genealogy research with my oldest son for many years, and I had discovered an Irish/Scottish relative; however we seem to be stuck right there and I never found out the name or where in Scotland they came from. So I did some reading about Scotland and it's history and became fascinated. THEN, I discovered Diana Gabaldon's book series Outlander, set in Scotland. I read all 8 books in 6 months, and then reread them all again I loved it that much. Such a wonderful love story that lasts a lifetime for lead characters Jamie & Claire. So, when it came time to plan my retirement, I decided to take a trip there as my gift to myself, as well as buying the Chatelaine Scotland Mandala supplies to begin stitching when I came back from my trip. This is what the Mandala will look like when finished, as it was designed. This is NOT MY STITCHING....just to show what the original design looks like before I made changes.

BUT, the changes I made to mine.....incorporating an Outlander saying, Je Suis Prest ( I am ready, which is Jamie Fraser's clan motto from the book series). I also put my own initials on either side, and will put the date of my Scotland trip at the bottom. So it truly is personalized for ME !! The design has 4 different Scottish castles around the sides. I saw two of them on my trip.....so that makes it special too. Here is a close up of the thistle's in the corners that are done 1 over 1 and the Highland Cows and sheep done over 1 too. I think they turned out nicely.

STARZ made a TV series out of the books, which is into it's 4th Season now and is SOOOOO good. I am a true fan of the show too, and it's lead stars Caitriona Balfe (Claire) and Sam Heughan (Jamie). Anyone else a fan?

These are a few pics I took on the trip, Edinburgh and Perth area, but if you are interested in seeing more of the trip pics, here is a link to my Flickr album. https://www.flickr.com/photos/88218662@N06/albums/72157693010344485