What I Did in 2015

A Bit of Stocking Catch Up

Three more stockings completed in the past year and a half ...

I've got several more lined up to do!  Still my main project I work on these days ...

What I did in 2012 ...

 

 

 

Stained Glass Framed

Ever since I made my stained glass projects, I have wanted to have them framed in wood so that they looked more finished.  I finally did it!

I love how they turned out ... it was quite the collaborative work between my framer and me, but we figured out how to do it with stock molding and a bit of creativity.

I went with a white washed wood frame

Built in D rings for hanging

The back side of the frame showing the spacer

 

 

 

The top view showing the back to back moldings

Now if I can just figure out where I want to hang them ...

Tooting my own horn ... belatedly

When we were in Virginia, I was part of a stitching group that met once a week.  The ladies in that group encouraged me to enter something in the Woodlawn Needlework Show (a huge show that draws entries from all over the country .. this year is the 49th year for the show) in Alexandria, Virginia. 

I entered my three miniature needlepoint pillows and won second place in my category!

Recently, there was a local art show sponsored by the Dallas Business Council for the Arts where companies host internal competitions and the winners go to a big show at Northpark Center here in Dallas.

Matt's secretary (who knows that I do a lot of stitching) encouraged me to enter something, so I sent in my miniature Van Gogh needlepoint of Fourteen Sunflowers.  I won first place in the needlepoint category! 

It's fun to get a bit of "outside feedback" for my hobby!

Project Complete!

I finally finished making the valances for the kitchen -- check it off the list!

Sweet Claire's Stocking

We have a new niece (can't wait to meet her!) and I stitched her a stocking for her first Christmas.

More from the framer ...

Oh my gosh, I love the local framing store I found. They are very reasonably priced, and they do a fantastic job framing needlework. Sherri (my cross stitching buddy from the stitching group I meet with on Thursday nights) is the woman who does the mounting, and she does an awesome job! It makes me want to keep going!!!

Here's my latest ...

This one is a little pattern that Grandmom brought back from one of her trips. I stitched it years ago, and it had been languishing in the "too frame" box for long enough. It is actually my favorite thing I have had framed in a long time!


This is a sweet little alphabet I did for Jack's room:


And these are a pair of tiny little ladybugs (they are stitched over one on 32 count):


I started a larger sampler, and I am doing it over 2 on 40 count, just like the little alphabet. I think it will be darling when done!

Quick Framing Update!

This is a reframe of an angel I started in high school, worked on in Argentina, and finally finished in 2000. I love the way it looks now!



I fell in love with this little bunny when I saw him in a stitching store in Mt. Vernon ... he's in our hall bath:

This is another reframe, but now my tiny little Van Gogh Sunflowers (over one on 40 gauze) has a bold home!

Progress!!!

I have been plugging away (or as I see it, pumping in skein after skein of the same few colors) at my William Morris tapestry lately. Here's my progress so far!

At long last ...

I return from posting never land! I have actually still been stitching pretty regularly despite having a three month old and a 1 1/2 year old! Here's my main accomplishments from the past several months:

For my son:


For my niece (to hang the same way as Emily's!):


For baby Vick:


I am so proud of these, and I can't believe I've made eleven Christmas stockings!!!

Christmas Stockings

I love the way our family Christmas stockings look ...

A few finished projects

I finished up a few projects just in time for Christmas ...

Meara's stocking (finished in record time!!!)

Sus's Christmas sampler (she did most of the work, I just finished a bit of the stitching and framed it)

A poem for Dad for his two doggies (China and Mea) that passed this year

And I didn't get photos of the poinsettia towels I stitched for Sus or the Woodland Walk sampler I did for Mom. I always forget something!

And because they didn't make an earlier post .. here are the two stockings I made as gifts last year:

It was cool to see four of my handmade stockings hanging in a row this year!

Grant's Stocking

I have been working on lots of stitching projects lately, and don't have many finished to show off ...

But I did finish Grant's Christmas stocking just in time for the holidays. It is one of the hardest projects I've undertaken. Tons of blended thread, tons of different colors, specialty stitches, beads, and a very small thread count. I think it turned out beautifully, but I won't be doing this pattern again!

Upside Down Tomatoes

Matt got me an upside down tomato garden for my birthday, and we've been patiently watching two tomato plants grow for the past couple months. There are several promising looking specimens, and I hope that we have some nice sunny days so that they ripen quickly!

The two varieties we are trying are Bella Bush and Patio (both are determinate).

Our first tomato was a sad little guy - early on in his life he had a run in with a caterpillar and he barely recovered. He was quite delicious, and I was so excited to eat him that I didn't get a photo!

The second tomato might win a competition for smallest tomato ever. He managed to grow right in the shadow of the grower so he never got much sun. See what I mean?

(and yes, that's a baby spoon)

Who knew I could quilt?!?

My wonderful admin at work, Winky, was always bringing in these beautiful quilts that she was working on. One of the quilts had this perfectly pieced tiny little square patch in it, and I asked her how in the heck she got the tiny little pattern to be so exact. She told me that she was using a technique called Paper Piecing.

She said that it was pretty straightforward and that I would definitely be able to do it. After months of thinking about it, I was inspired to try it out! I thought I would make Mom a thank you gift for the amazing hand made baby quilt that she did for Grant. I know that she likes the log cabin pattern, so I found some instructions on how to paper piece it here.

She and I have been admiring William Morris fabrics and ideas for a while, and I actually found some Morris inspired, pre-cut fabric strips to work with. I ordered a roll of 40 different strips of fabric. When the roll showed up, it was like Christmas!!!

I used tracing paper to print out the pattern off of the internet, cut my strips to lenght, got out my roll of Scotch tape, and went to work. It only took a few days of working on it every now and then to make one 12" by 12" square - too cool!

I left it unfinished and gave it to Mom to do with what she will. She said that she liked the idea (and the fabrics) so much that she might want to do a whole quilt for her bed with the same squares!!!

Fun framed projects!

I got some fun things framed for around the house! The first are some really cool (color copies) sketches from a friend of Grandpa's family (Kennedy) ... they were the Christmas cards that the friend sent for several years (during the 1920s and 1930s).

I love how detailed and tiny they are!

The second is a piece of textile that I bought when Mom, Emily and I were on our two week cruise around South America. I bought it on the Falkland Islands (how many people can say that?!?). I think it turned out so cute! The weaving is only about 4" tall ...

The third is a photo from the children's book, The Advice of the Dandelions, that Granny Farley read us when Emily and I were little and would go stay with them during the summers. I bought the cute antique frame on eBay - it has a domed piece of glass, and I think it's just perfect for the picture of Larkspur the donkey.