Time to catch up

8 months? Holy cow!!!!! So much has happened in the last 8 months. My mom has moved and is loving her new apartment in a senior complex. She is no longer depressed and happier than she thought she would be. Yay for her! 

But my big news is that we totally remodeled our whole first floor basically. New kitchen, family and dining room. That was a 4 month project that we  did ourselves with a little help from professionals. We love the new look and now plan on staying here for another 20 years! You can tell its the same house by looking at the doggie screen door on the far left of both before and after photos. Since then my husband has also helped my son remodel his kitchen with our old cabinets. To say the least, he's looking forward to fall/winter to relax!

 

The finishes I've had this year have been Lizzy Kate's Halloween Rules stitched on PTP Monet.

 I needed to do something other than my Mystic piece.This is not finished yet, I just put it on the bell pull.

We went to the Florida Keys in March to get away from the AWFUL winter in Michigan this year. I took this little project....that had 50 colors.....and was over one on 28 ct! By Blackberry Lane called Snow Day
                              

I also kitted this one on vacation and finished it after getting back and still enjoying the winter....Sleigh Bells by LHN. I have several things now needing finishing.

But most of the year was taken up by remodeling and finishing Balcony View of Villa. 88,500 stitches on 22 ct over one with 2 threads. I started it 2-13 and finished 6-14.This is the finished photo, and not the computer generated one Mystic gives you! The doors look a little wobbly, but it wasn't stretched or framed yet. It's at the framers now and I should have it back sometime next month.

My current WIP's are a new Mystic, Bon Appetito

This is where I was as of July 13...... just a few more stitches before it's done!  :-)   That is the upper left corner if you can't tell.

And I also started another soldier memorial. It is for the other soldier that was killed the same day as Drew, my first soldier piece that I showed on my last entry. 

I guess I need to update you on my Grand daughter too. I know you are wondering! LOL Well she is now 5 and will be starting all day Kindergarten right after Labor Day. She has learned to swim in the deep end of a pool without flotation devices and she went tubing behind our boat too! Time flies. This was just the best Santa, and since I haven't posted since the beginning of Dec 2013 I have to share and then from this June.

Thanks for reading this photo heavy post, maybe someone is still out there! I've been hanging out on FB a lot more than blog post readings. I like these though so I can have a summary for myself. So there's my last 8 months in a nutshell!

Some old and new........

Here it is the new year, I knew I wouldn't get another post in before the end of the year. I had to read my last blog post to see where I left off. I don't have much new to share this time. Here is the last of the 3 ornaments I couldn't share before Christmas. Pattern is by Homespun Elegance.

I also found a local person to "finish" the stocking for Henry. I was very pleased with her sewing and will use her again when needed. I got to give it to them about 2 weeks before Christmas. So just in time!

 

 
My boss gives us money each year to buy something for ourselves. I decided to use part of the money to get my Mystic Stitch Seasonal Collide framed. I took it to Hobby Lobby for framing. I think it was the first time I've used them. I was pretty happy with the price. Here is a close up of the frame.

And the the whole piece.

Then I started a new piece after Thanksgiving. Cirque des Cercles by Ink Circles. I wanted to do this for my master bathroom in grays and burgundy's . I searched high and low for a variegated thread to no avail. So I contacted Carrie at Carries Threads and she did a special dye job for me. I had her do this in silk for me. I am doing the big inner circles in 2 strands and all the outline of the smaller circles. The 2 circles in the middle on the sides are also 2 strands. The rest of the pattern is done with just 1 strand. I wanted to add some beads, so the outline of the large circles will be beads and the 4 corner circles will be done in all beads. I had already stitched the upper right circle so I am leaving that for now, just in case I don't like the beads (but I'm sure I'll be unstitching that corner!)

I now have to wait for my beads to arrive. I had a partial package that I was only able to get about 3/4 of one big circle done. So this finish will be in my next post!
Christmas was fun with a 3 yr old and here's a couple pictures to share.

This is the doll we took to the hospital in Chicago and got the new head! It sure is nice to be able to give our granddaughter the same doll that her mother played with as a child.

Finishing and traveling continue......

The beginning of November I was fortunate enough to be asked to share a vacation with 2 other stitchers, Stephanie and Paula. It was a glorious, sunny, warm, relaxing 4 days. I got in 18 holes of golf, shot the best score of my life, soaked up the sun, walked the beach, and got some stitching  and finishing in with friends. I don't know what could sound better than that.

I finished 3 ornaments, only 2 that I can show right now. One is Hallelujah by Little House Needleworks. Stitched on 40 ct linen over 2. This will be given to a fellow stitchers family that I make an ornament for each year. Lori passed away just before Christmas 3 years ago. She left behind a husband and 2 young girls. I thought this looked like an angel looking over 2 others and was perfect!

LHN Hallelujah

Then I started this ornament while in Florida and took me another 2-3 weeks to finish it.These take a long time to do! They are fully stitched and then TONS of backstitching. This is from a Dimension Gold kit called Christmas Village. The backing material is what you see it laying on. I have now stitched 3 of the 6. Only taken me 3 years!

Dimensions Gold Christmas Village

And last but not least I finally got the December cottage in the mail last Saturday.....even though I am auto ship, but that's another story.....and I really wanted to get it finished for next month. So I finished stitching it tonight and then decided to "finish" it tonight too. There is a little bit of burgundy felt around the edge (even though you can't see all sides in the photo) and then mounted it on some material. I covered a couple buttons with the material too. So I am now officially ready for December.

December Cottage Country Cottage Needleworks

 

I also took the May Cottage with me to stitch on the plane and I finished that soon after I got home. There is no need to rush the "finish" on that, so here is a photo with the material I will probably finish it with.

May CCN Cottage

Now I am heading to Chicago this weekend with my husband and 2 other couples. We've been to Chicago many times, but always in the summer. So we thought we'd like to see the city all decorated for Christmas. Amberlyn has already picked out an American Girl doll dress from the catalog, so I am going to the store to buy it. Speaking of Amberlyn, here she is getting her haircut.

 

I doubt that I will get another update in this year. I can't see much stitching going on during the busy holidays. So I'm wishing you all a Happy Holiday and safe travels!!!