Getting ready for Spring to sprung on Slow Stitching Sunday...

I am ready ready ready for Spring to sprung... the daffodils in my yard are up about 6"... the daffodils I planted in pots aren't doing anything...and I think that experiment may be a bust. I think they may have gotten too wet early on and then too cold... I was really  hoping for cute little miniature daffodils  to transplant into my window boxes... but I may be disappointed... oh the joys of gardening.

So since I can't do much outside I decided to do something indoors...the snowmen have been banished to their bins in the basement, and bunnies and ducks and chicks have settled in. I've "priscillafied" a couple of cross stitch pieces and picked up a few new Spring decorations...so here's a look of what I've been  up to...

First off is the book shelf unit that I always deck out in seasonal stuff...

As far as holidays go Easter is the one I have the least decorations for. Starting at the top...

I "priscillafied" this older Bent Creek sampler called Hip Hop...

Just added a bit of burlap and gingham and a button... and I have two of my egg cups with feet front and center... I'm always  on the hunt for egg cups with  feet.

The bottom half  has a bit more cross stitch... this one is from  Blackbird Designs Loose Feathers Abcedarian series of a couple of years ago. There were 12 pieces in  the  series...I think I stitched 4 or 5.... might get back to it someday...

and  a couple  of  Spring-y quilts.

The little display cabinet has ducks and a bunny and a giant cross stitched egg....

I also "priscillafied" this cute Easter egg that was gifted to me by Barb, The Wicked Stitcher...

I added a bit of color with the Spring-y checked ribbon and another button... the little bunny with the polka dot belly is from  Target's Dollar Spot just last week.

I was wandering around  Micheals last week with a gift card in my wallet... living dangerously...LOL...when I came across this galvanized metal tray/basket/I don't know what to call it...but I had to have it... when I got it home I dressed it up in Spring-y green paper Easter grass and sparkly eggs and fat  little chicks with beady eyes ...  they were another purchase from Target's Dollar Spot.

I might paint that wooden handle part turquoise when I find the super safe spot I stored all my craft paints in...

And the last thing I want to share today... the stinking cute chick  I started stitching last week is finished... my  Easter Peeps from With Thy Needle and Thread.

Here's a close-up of how I finished it...I took my cues from Priscilla and mounted it on sticky board fabric covered frame and I hot melt glued that to the wide ribbon that looped over top of this Easter egg wreath.

Now don't hold me to it...but as my pea brain remembers the wreath came from Target last year... I found it either in the back section where they put all the candy or an end cap in the decorator section. I wouldn't be surprised if it might come back again this year.

I changed all the colors on this piece except for the hat... my thread picks were  much brighter, clearer colors ... all DMCs from my stash. I really love this little guy and he has spurred me on to doing more seasonal pieces...well him and Priscilla... I've been stitching samplers for the last 30 years because they were fun and season-less...now I find myself wanting holiday and seasonal pieces to display.  I did stitch up several Winter pieces but didn't get them totally finished before I was done with Winter...now I wish I had moved on to Spring sooner... I've even thought about jumping on to Summer stuff... and then there is Halloween and Christmas... I've got 2 small Spring-y/Easter-y pieces started that I want to add to my 3 tier tray...so I'm waiting to show it when I get them done.  So many things I want to stitch...

And have you seen any sneak peeks of the new stuff coming out at the cross stitch trade show next week?  Brenda Gervais at With Thy Needle and Thread has 11 new charts... ELEVEN!!!  You can see them here on her IG account... so far I think I can limit myself  to about  5 of them... and then  check out this sneak peek from Beth Seal of Summer  House Stitche Workes... I want this one too...and then I saw where Stacy Nash has more cute animal pieces ... one is a chicken so you know I have to have it...and I saw an elephant too... check it out here.

Well it will be a busy week... need to get things ready for my brother's memorial service/classic car display/Chinese buffet on Saturday... so far the forecast calls for decent weather. Thank you Lord!   This weekend has been rain rain rain rain rain rain...and more rain... here in Cincinnati the  river is about 60 ft...that's about 8 feet above flood stage...they closed the flood walls on the Kentucky side... it has been years since they did that. Can't wait for things to dry out, but it is going to take a while.

I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts  and watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics... I marvel at the athletic prowess on display and wonder how one decides to throw oneself down a mountain side and then do flips and spins... where do you get the idea that would be fun?? interesting??  I can understand challenging... I think the only winter sport I'm qualified for is curling but then I've heard that it is harder than it looks too... I don't know about throwing the stone but I'm pretty good with a broom...LOL

Hope you have a good week ....

happy stitching-
carol fun

Where stitching is therapy on Slow Stitching Sunday...

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts regarding the passing of my brother, James. I will continue to focus on the good in his life and take comfort in that. James never met a stranger... ever... he could and would talk to anyone and he has a million friends. We are planning a celebration of his life in early March with a classic car cruise in and a Chinese buffet... he loved classic cars and  Chinese buffets... keep your fingers crossed for nice weather.

And to keep myself occupied I have done quite a bit of cross stitch... I've jumped from piece to piece but in the end I have completed the stitching on three winter-y pieces. None of them are fully finished objects -FFOs - and they may wait till next winter as I am ready to move onto Spring stitching and decorating.

First, Prairie Schooler  Winter from the Prairie Seasons No. 50...

Excuse all these wrinkly pieces... I stitched this on 16 ct. Aida that I painted with Rit dyes. I used most of the called for colors except for the house and the shutters and the front door and maybe the birds... I can't remember for sure. I always think these PS piece should stitch up fast, but they don't...lots of big blocks of solid stitching. I personalized the windows on the house as to what my new windows are going to look like.  I'm replacing the more than 25 year old aluminum windows with some triple pane krypton filled gas ones... sounds very Superman-ish doesn't it.  Should keep the house warmer and I'm looking forward to being able to wash the windows from inside... boy I'm getting old if washing windows sounds like something I'm looking forward too...LOL

Next up  is Alfred by Heart In Hand Designs...

He's stitched on a  leftover scrap of 32 ct linen that I dyed. There is a little blackbird button that gets sewn on too.  I thought he was cute and my sainted Father's middle name was Alfred. I'll finish him into a little pillow...someday...

Then I stitched up a Lizzie Kate piece, Snowy String...

This one is on the called for 28 ct. and evenweave I painted. I'm not fond of stitching on 28 ct. I don't feel I get the coverage I like. I much prefer 32 ct.  I've kitted up the Spring String and for some reason it calls for 32 ct....huh?? Well from now on I'm doing these on 32 ct. This one came out big...a little over 12" long... doesn't need to be that big for my decorating. 

I'm sure you've all heard about Lizzie Kate retiring next month... I, like millions of you, will miss her designs. I did snag a couple that I've been thinking about and 123 Stitch says they will be getting more inventory of LK, which is a good thing since the day after the announcement they were out of almost every single LK that they carried. 

Like I said, I'm tired of winter...we had snow yesterday...big fat flakes ... I do hope that is the last snow of the season. Today it is 50 and sunny so the snow has melted... we are suppose to get to 70 by mid-week but rain rain rain every day. I enjoyed the sunshine today  and went out and painted some more linen in anticipation of the new releases at the needlework trade show coming up the beginning of March. I've seen some sneak peeks of Brenda Gervais from With Thy Needle and Thread that I will want ... (you can see things here on her IG) ...and a 3 part series from Beth Seal of  Summer House Stitch Workes that I have to get ...( and you can see her stuff here) ... and I haven't seen it yet, but I expect to see the Spring ABC's piece from Little House Needleworks... another gotta have. 

So yesterday as I sat inside and watched the snow I started a new Spring-y piece... Easter Peep from WTN&T...

Is he not stinking CUTE???    I used another leftover piece of 32 ct. that I'd painted and he'll just fit... there are two giant tulips that will flank him  and some green grass beneath his feet. I call this coloring book stitching... I just did the outline and then I can come back and fill in and don't have to count anything else. I have changed just about every color on this piece. They were all DMC and I  just picked colors from my stash that I liked better.  The chick is charted in 422... a light tan... blaaahhh... My chick is much brighter 3822 and that makes me happy. It will be good stitching to do when I watch the Olympics this evening. 

And here's another piece I've played with last week... I really want to have more Christmas and Halloween stitching and if you want that you have to start now...so I did...

This is WTN&T In  Santa Claus Land done on a 32 ct linen I painted with Rit dyes (are we seeing a pattern??? LOL)  I changed his suit from GA Chili Pepper to GA Ruby Slippers. As you can see I did more of my "coloring book" style of stitching, but since this is an overdyed I stitched a random number stitch pattern to outline the big guy. Then when I go back and fill him in I will stitch a length of floss in a more blotch-y fashion. I don't like the stripe-y effect you get from going back and forth with over dyeds and that will eliminate that.  I've will work a little more on this today for #santasundayxs     I bought a couple more WTN&T Christmas charts in a Super Bowl Sale so I have plenty of work ahead of me.

I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today and will enjoy looking at all the pretty projects posted there. I've got a busy week coming up...places to go...people to see...but there should be some cross stitching and maybe even some sewing time... I've been playing with a layer cake and those Moda Cake Mix foundation papers. Fun stuff!!!

Hope your week is productive and you have some fun stuff to do too!!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Trying to get this blog back on track...

So I had no intention of being away so long... and yes I've said that exact same thing before... but it is true. I started off the year with stuff to show and then... I didn't have anything blog-worthy so I took a week off...and then another...and then I got busy with other stuff... a big family birthday celebration... getting estimates for new windows for my house, re-arranging for the umpteenth time my little upstairs craft room, etc, etc, etc...

And then things got totally off track when my brother, my only sibling, my younger brother, passed away unexpectedly. James has been battling a multitude of health issues over the last 10 years... bad back injury that left him in severe, chronic pain... diabetes... vascular issues... and leukemia. He had a stem cell transplant 7 1/2 years ago that saved his life to this point. He rarely complained about his problems other than some times he just didn't feel well...ya think??... and he was doing what he loved to do, which was work on old cars, every day. It appears he had either a heart attack or stroke which wasn't on any of our radars but is likely with his vascular issues. I knew realistically he would probably pass before me but I thought the cancer would get him in the end...not some other ailment.

Needless to say I've been quite involved with the aftermath of this event. He left a  large, eclectic estate which has to be sorted out by my niece, his only child, and I'm trying to help where I can. He collected old cars the way we collect fabric and threads and yarn and charts... we aren't sure yet just how many cars there are. He had a big pole barn building with a bunch in there...and there are cars on his house property...and cars stashed at the service station lot where he had his first job at 14 and still helped out the now 80 year old owner who was his dear friend... and every couple of days my niece gets a call on his cell phone from this guy or that guy saying "I have a car that belongs to James at  my place and there is no rush to come get it, but just wanted you to know I have it."   This is going to take a while to get things settled

So that's my tale of why I've been absent. I will return tomorrow with some cross stitch that I've played with. My focus hasn't been too sharp lately and I've jumped from project to project... some things are only stitched, not turned into fully finished pieces... and some won't be turned into  fully finished pieces till next winter rolls around. With all that has happened I'm going to move onto Spring-y projects... going to kit up a couple of things today.


So hold those you love close... I know its cliche but you never know what tomorrow will bring... I take great comfort in knowing the last time I saw my brother he was eating my homemade lasagna at my table and smiling...the last thing we did together was hug each other and say that we loved each other... now I'm going to go cry for a bit... tomorrow will be better..

carol fun