This is where it's at!

No, really. See that little red house? Under the goose on the left and above the little pine trees? Ta-daaa! My house!

I finished Greeneframe's map of the Delmarva Peninsula a few days ago and am in love with it. I think I'll make it into a pillow for our teardrop. I just have to have to find a stash spot for it so my pup doesn't tear it to shreds when I'm not looking.

Hmmm, what fabric should I use...

Decisions. Decisions.

Framing Fiasco

After much deliberation I decided to use the frames that I had bought a few months ago for the pet silhouettes. Originally I wasn't quite sold - they had the look I was going for but seemed a little large. Turns out oval frames are almost non-existent anymore and anything smaller that I found was too small. Anyway with everything said and done... I love them! And good thing too because boy was it a labor of love getting these things framed up. Phew, baby.

The day starts off taking apart the frames and cutting foam board to the size of the glass. I can't cut a straight, non-jaggedy line with an Exacto to save my life so the boyfriend was recruited. We went through a few "oopsies" before getting 2 ovals cut to the right size. Then I cut my batting, 3 pieces for each (one big, one medium, one small). Next, at the ironing board, I end up burning a portion of the linen around the cat - the iron was set to "linen" and everything! No idea. I was heartbroken. Thankfully when I mocked it up the huge burn was just outside the frame. That was probably my closest call of all time - literally millimeters. With all of that out of the way I started framing the dog, had it all pinned to the foam board, even started cleaning up the back. Then I realized I hadn't signed the piece or written the dog's name on it yet. DOH! After all that was the grand idea - to created portraits of all the family members, even furry ones, that come into our lives over the years. And what's a portrait without a name to go with it? So I, extremely carefully, took everything apart and stitched in dates and names. After that everything was smooth sailing. I guess I learned that no matter how excited you are to get something finished up still take the time to make sure everything is exactly how you want it.

Confucius says, "Measure twice, cut once".

The Frenchman

The Lioness

Aside from the framing horror show I've been doing a little work here and there on Primitive Needle's Hallow Sampler. My camera died last week after 7 years of service (RIP, good buddy) so I hadn't taken any update photos. We bought a less-expensive replacement this weekend, a Nikon Coolpix, and I'm back in business! Here's the latest...

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Quilted Goodness

I finished my quilted blanket last night, slip-stitches and all. Pretty darn good for a first attempt if I do say so myself. Boh-boh climbed right on as soon as I layed it on the bed. Mission accomplished! Maybe I'll try making something with quilt blocks next time.

There are a few more pictures up on Flickr if you're so inclined.

My Little Pony and Friends

On Saturday we went to Assateague Island National Seashore. I haven't been there since my freshman year of college - Spring Break. Jeremy and I live so close now we decided to go have an adventure. If you're not familiar with Assateague it's a barrier island just off the coast of Virginia and just south of Ocean City, MD. There are lots of trails, camp sites and birds to watch. There is also a herd of wild ponies that live on the island (ever read Misty of Chincoteague?)The local yarn is that they are the decendants of shipwreck survivors - arr, matey!

She looks like a particularly salty dog.

After getting up close and personal with the locals we ran over to Salty Yarns - after all we were in the greater Ocean City area. Any destination within 30 miles and I'm required to visit :) I've been on a gift-giving kick recently, and not just because of Christmas so I bought another chart to stitch as a gift. This one doesn't need to be finished until October so I have some time. It's the Primitive Needle's "Hallow Sampler". That's all I am at liberty to say...

The last bit of news thats fit to print is I made my first quilt yesterday! Or at least I "quilted" something. My cat, Boh, has completely covered the bottom corner of my bed in hair. I guess she has decided that this particular place is more comfortable than any other place in the entire house to sleep. I know this because the ratio of cat hair to fabric is exponentially larger than that at any other location. So I decided to make her a blanket to lay on. After all, a blanket is much easier to wash than a quilt cover.

Its pretty small, about 3ft x 3 ft - perfect size for a cat butt. I used 2 different color pieces of fabric, 2 pieces of batting, and 2 thread colors that match the fabric I chose. After I pinned everything in place I sewed a 1in border all the way around the piece. Then I just quilted the sandwich so everything stays put. The only thing I have left to do is slip stitch the 4th edge closed. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm finished.

Oh oh, I also scanned a bunch of my favorite old photos from high school on into Flickr. Still waiting to nab the old photo albums from mom and dad's house!

Blogging is hard when your hands are tied up with floss

Howdy all! As you can tell I started working on my Told in a Garden chart. One amish man down (he says "what up") - 3 amish ladies, 1 amish baby, 1 amish tree, an amish house, and six quilts left to go! Moving right along. HA!

I also started working on a new K+IC chart on Monday. I recently joined Curves (which is awesome by the way) and when I went in on Monday there was a flyer up announcing that Mall Day is on Dec 15. So ladies that work out at Curves, that also have home businesses, get a day to peddle their wares. Most of it is just Avon and insurance but I figured that it would be a great opportunity to get something of mine out there into the world. So I came right home and started working on a Curves-themed chart. The basics are finished, I'm picking up my floss today after my workout, and I'm going to start stitching the model as soon as I can. So on Mall Day I'll bring the finished, framed x-stitch, a bunch of charts, and some business cards (which I still have to make) and see how they go over. I'm just going to give them away - publicity for my Etsy shop. When I finish all the final tweeks I'll post the chart here and you can stitch it too. Rock!

And you'll be happy to know that amongst all this craziness I finished something!! My first over-one attempt - and my first K+IC chart - The Frenchman is done!


But, of course, if you know me you know I can't sit still and empty handed for longer than a few hours. After all, I can't frame and hang Louis Dog until his counterpart[ner in crime], Boh Kitty, is finished. May I present... the Lioness.

My fabulous weekend with a frenchman

I've got so many things running through my head it's hard to keep them all straight. That being said I decided to jump ahead of myself again. Originally when I made my Frenchman cross stitch chart I also made one for Boh Kitty - and one for Jeremy and myself. Family portraits in silhouette...

I went to Salty Yarns, my local needlecraft store in Ocean City, and bought linen for each piece. Of course when I dug into my stash this weekend to get started outlining the cat I had already lost my $20 worth of fabric. The plan was, since Louis is almost finished, to outline Boh and then take both pieces to Michael's and look for frames. So, Jeremy and I got up bright and early and drove to OC to buy more fabric. Luckily they had something very similiar, heavier weight but same count and color. I bought a little piece to stitch the cat. But needleshops are like my candy store so I looked around and found a few more things. I got a bookmark chart to stitch, a scissor "sheath", and The Auction chart (a gift for someone who is probably reading this blog, so hush). Take a peep at the end product in my "In the Works" section - it doesn't really do the piece justice but... Whoever stitched the model at the shop was so creative. Instead of stitching the design as-is she stitched some of the quilts on seperate fabric and sewed them on to the piece so they looked like they were blowing in the breeze. This is going to be good.

So then we headed to Salisbury to grocery shop - and buy floss and fabric for my new project! Sometimes chain stores are just cheaper -thank you Michael's. Anyway, when I got back to the house I set up my new project in its home for the next few months - a very tricky velcro scroll frame (sooo much easier than the kind with split rails). I even got a few stitches layed down. I love new projects. The rest of the weekend was dedicated to cranking out as much of Louis' over-one as possible. Here are the results!

Yoda vs Louis

I think Louis Dog wins.