Slow

Okay, I'm slow to post today. It's all because I ran into an old friend at Panera. She is just the nicest person and has not aged a day in the last 20 years. We played soccer together in another life (when our kids were small).
The tour of my curio is complete but I thought of other stitching that I could show you from around my house and behind my sofa and in my closet. There is much more.
I worked on My Storybook yesterday and got most of the back done. I have a little of the border left to do. I started the name plate on the front but the floss isn't showing up very well so I will have to change it or use two strands.
I cut the mat board for Buttons and sewed some buttons on the front cover. Gorgeous! It is starting to look like a book. I don't have the buttons for the inside cover or the calicos page but I've decided I can go ahead and sew those together anyway and add the buttons as I find them - or buy them off of ebay.
I put in some nun stitches on Winter Cottage. The outside cover is all nunned. Now I am outlining the shapes on the front cover. It still doesn't look like anything yet.
My back feels fine today, thank goodness.
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The Tour: Part Five

The bottom shelf in my curio is a catch-all. Things that don't fit on other shelves like the Barbara Jackson Tea Time basket are here. I've stuck a bunch of little things in the basket as well. I love the Victoria Sampler design "Count Your Blessings" that I have open. A few things have accessories that go with them but I haven't stitched them. The box with the bunnies back in the corner has a pincushion that is half stitched. Count Your Blessings has a scissors fob that is not stitched. So when I see some of these things I feel guilty that I haven't truly finished the project.
I got a lot done on My Storybook. It is fun to stitch little motifs. I guess that is what is appealing about Shepherd's Bush samplers. You just do a short row of a specialty stitch and then are on to other things. It suits someone with a short attention span or limited time. In My Storybook, there is a symbol that is not on the list. I hope to finish the verse today. My real goal is to work my way down to the little house in the right bottom corner. That is my favorite motif.
I have just started the borders on the next page of Buttons. I want to cut the mat board that fits in the cover today.
I did nothing on Winter Cottage yesterday. I should at least put in some more nun stitches today.
The snow is still on our front yard but it is supposed to be warm enough to melt it today. I'm skipping pilates today as my right sacroiliac is sore.
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The Tour: Part Four

We got snow yesterday! Several inches of it. Bummer. I'm not ready for winter. I want summer back. This is my least favorite season of the year and it lasts for about six months. When we go to California in February we will really enjoy the weather.
On our tour of my curio cabinet we are down to shelf number four. It has a special item on it. The casket. When I went to Celebrations last year the Olde Colonial shop had a casket for sale. I had heard they were hard to get and you have to wait a long time for them. I took the plunge and decided to get it since it was available. It is kind of pricey too. I knew Drawn Thread had a design to fit it. So I ordered the design and the recommended linen. It was a difficult project as it was repetitive and some over one and many specialty stitches. But I was determined to finish it. I stitched the first panel. It didn't fit in the box very well. It was too large. I don't know what the problem was as I was using linen from the designer. So I altered all the rest of the inserts to fit the openings - no small task. I was very proud to have finished it and lined it with silk dupioni. There is also a Drawn Thread notebook on this shelf. I love the inside. The outside not so much. So I've opened it up so I can see the part I like. Sitting on top of the casket is Glastonbury Garden. I am proud of finishing it too. It was quite a challenge as well but so pretty when all finished.
I am very close to finishing the calicos page on Buttons. I want to do the glass buttons page next with the basket. I put a teeny bit of color on Winter Cottage. Still working on those nun stitches. My Storybook's flag is not as easy as it originally looked. Doing rice stitches over two on 32 is hard. I changed the color of the verse on the back. I couldn't see it very well in the Kindred Spirits overdyed floss so I switched to an aqua Hand-Dyed Fiber just because I like that color.
I was planning to drive to our monthly guild meeting this Sunday when I heard the project had been cancelled. I am disappointed. I was looking forward to it. Oh well, I won't miss the driving part.
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The Tour: Part Three

The third shelf in my curio is my favorite. I just love looking at the things I've made on this shelf. My Mary Wigham wardrobe was quite a challenging project. I signed up for it on Judy O'Dell's blog and stitched it over several months. Then the finishing! I had to mount all the pieces on mat board and put them all together. The drawers on the inside aren't really square but I am proud to have actually finished it. There is a certain designer that I just love the designs of and many of those are on this shelf. The box (from Olde Colonial) has a Drawn Thread class design on it. I'm so glad to have a place to enjoy looking at the stuff that I have made. It would be a crime to stick all these things in a drawer.
Not a lot got done yesterday. I got my Stitching Bits and Bobs order. I couldn't resist, I started it. I got the accessory packets that have all the threads. I just had to find the right linen. I started with a white but the pattern called for lambswool. I switched to a more natural color so the cream color edging would show up better. I wanted to get done with the Winter Cottage nun stitches but I'm not even close. I stitched the first frame on the calico page. It is so easy to mess up this pattern. You really have to pay attention. The design looks very even and regular but there is a stitch variation thrown in at the corners and center top. So the goals for today are:
Stitch the other frame and maybe finish the calicos page on Buttons
Stitch to a point where I can put some color into Winter Cottage
Have fun starting the flag on My Storybook
I'd better get busy!
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The Tour: Part Two

The main thing on the second shelf of my curio is Chatelaine's Japanese box. It was very challenging to stitch and to finish into a box and took a lot of time so it gets the center spot. There are half a dozen class projects on this shelf. I really enjoyed making the Just Nan's Bluebird box. For a long time, I couldn't find this finished project anywhere. I finally discovered it behind a bookcase. It had fallen back there. I'm not crazy about the felt bluebird that sits on top but it is unusual. I have my beaded fish scissors holder. I'm not a beader but I am proud that I finished it. It was a lot of work too. Also on this shelf is a basket that I got when I visited Frye's Measure Mill. I love the little hand shape on the side.
I finished the left hand page for calico buttons. Let's say I did a lot of "reverse" stitching. It is so easy to get off just one thread. I really like the bird. The other side of the page is just pearl cotton frames for button cards so it should go pretty fast.

I found some 25 count linen and I have started the Winter Cottage on it. To start you have to do a million nun stitches. Nun stitches on top of nun stitches. Really. And it is all white pearl cotton on white linen. So not very exciting. I thought the congress cloth was 18 count but when I checked it, I found that it was 24 count.
My Stitching Bits and Bobs order is in the mail! Considering that the store is about 25 miles away, it shouldn't take too long to get here.
The radio station that I sometimes listen to in the car has started playing all Christmas music. UGH. I'm not ready for that at all.
Joe is coming over to measure the kitchen floor for ordering the tile. We may get this project done this year.
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The Tour: Part One and a half

I thought my pictures of my curio yesterday were not very good. You couldn't really see some of the things on the top shelf. So today I will open up a couple of things that I haven't shown before here. The box is a class with Louise Henderson at Celebraions called Isadore's Treasures. The biscornu is from Just Nan.
I fixed the inside cover of Buttons so that it matches the outside cover. I was worried that I would have to stitch it all over again. But I tried just taking out the left side borders and moving them in about 7 threads. I think it looks okay. Whew! I am making good progress on the Calicos page. I hope to get to the bird today. I don't have any calico buttons yet.
DH and I voted today. We were voters number 9 and 10. Not a big turn out. The precinct workers looked bored. There were at least 5 people working there. I wonder if they were the first 5 voters??
It is November and it was warm enough this morning that I didn't even take a sweater/jacket or coat to exercise class. I need to appreciate this while it lasts.
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The Tour - Part One

Margaret wants to see my curio cabinet that I have filled with my stitching. So I thought we would take a tour starting with the top shelf. I am "petite" which just means rather short. But it is all relative since my mother is at least two or three inches shorter than I am. What this means is, I can't see the top shelf. I can only see the bottom of the things on the top shelf. The back of the curio is a mirror (in case some of these pictures look weird).
The biggest item on the top shelf is my C.A. Wells Legacy Event piece, Queen Bee. Then there are several Just Nan designs: humbugs, Hop, pin cushion and my favorite scissors holder and needlebook. I have several roll up boxes. One by Stitching Treasures and two by Louise Henderson (Cherished Stitches). One of the boxes was a class at Celebrations and I stitched over one on like 35 count. That was a stretch for me at the time.
I put the interfacing on the cover pieces of Buttons and pressed the seam allowances under but I have discovered that the inside is bigger than the outside. How did that happen? I guess I am glad that I accidentally made the outside two threads too big. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will fit together okay. I suppose if I had enough linen, I could stitch the inside part again. We'll see.
I am going to talk about money and how many chocolate milks you can get for a dollar with Dylan today. (Three!)
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