Hodgepodge, Mishmash, Patchwork...

I am a little bit of a perfectionist and I like when things "go together" which means my posts generally have a theme :-).  I have had such a busy, busy summer I haven't had a chance to update my blog so this will be a bit all over the place as I try to play catch-up!!!!

First up is framing. I've received two boxes from Jill Rensel in the past few months and as always everything is completely gorgeous. 

Reproduction Round Robin

Blackbird Designs Where My Heart Blooms

Blackbird Designs Summer House

Shepherd's Bush Quaker Heart

And last but not least, the pièce de résistance, my Anniversaries of the Heart!

In between trips, my DH and I went to Tampa and Miami and I went to Breckenridge for a stitching weekend, company, friends from Germany and my MIL, and just the general busyness of summer I have managed to stitch a bit and acquire stash :-).

I've been dying to start Jane Tindall, I decided to do my own conversion to overdyed GAST, WDW and Crescent Colours along with the Gloriana Silks as charted on 40 count Lakeside Vintage Meadow Rue. 

I also started Melicent Turner, what a fun piece.  I am seriously considering committing Sampler Sacrilege and changing the name and intitial.  I'd love to use one of my great-grandmother's names.

I love mystery samplers so it goes without saying I couldn't resist the With Thy Needle and Thread Birds of Feather piece.  I had a fair start on it and decided to change from 40 count to 35 count linen.  I love the WDW linen in the 30 and 35 count but I think the 40 count is a bit flimsy and I don't enjoy stitching on it. 

On my "I want to start it now" list is the new Loose Feather!!!!  As you can probably guess I think mysteries are so much fun :-).  I am going to use 35 count WDW Parchment linen.

And wow if you've stuck with me this long, thank you!!!!!  I promise will do my best to update more often :-).  I hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying their summer.  I will leave you with a picture of my funny puppies and what they were staring at out the living room window, LOL.

Hugs,

Katrina

Anniversaries of the Heart Finish!!!!

I have loved this piece so, so much! It was such a joy to think about my family as I stitched on each section. I also thought it was so much fun waiting and wondering what the next chart was going to look like. It's bittersweet to see it come to an end but I think it is time to move on to a different project :-). I stitched this piece as charted on 40 count R&R Olde Town Blend. I've blogged about several of the blocks previously but I wanted to do a quick rundown for myself, don't feel badly about skipping it and just looking at pictures, LOL. 

Snow Garden is dedicated to my FIL, his wife and parents. He is just the sweetest man and I love his wife Cathy so much. I also included his parents intials and the year he was born.

Valentine Rose honors my maternal great grandmother, Elizabeth McCully, and my great Grandfather John Gibson.  They owned a farm in Northern Ireland near Belfast.

A Wish for You has my son, J.D., and his new wife's initials and the date they married. I am still getting use to the idea that I am someone's MIL, LOL. I couldn't ask for a sweeter DIL, we just love Krystal to death :-). I thought it was perfect piece for them.

Pink Hill Manor was stitched for my paternal grandmother, Audie Pearl. So many of my childhood memories center around visiting her in her little pink house :-). 

Farm House is stitched to remember my maternal grandfather, Sidney Frederick and his parents, Annie and Edward. He was an English soldier during WWII and met my grandmother when he was stationed in Northern Ireland. I always remember him coming home with candy for my sister and me. 

Happy Birthday was probably gave me the most difficulty when it came to personalizing a block. Nothing felt right. When I found the saying, 'Two hearts, one soul." it finally fell into place. I stitched it for my DH and me. I am so blessed to be married to someone who understands me completely and loves me in spite of my weirdness, LOL.



Swan Lake is for stitched for my MIL, Jacque. I included the year she was born her initials. Her father, Jack Pershing Wilbur died when she was a small child and she never had a chance to really know him. I wanted to honor him as well so his initials are stitched in this block too.

Clara Allen was stitched for my maternal grandmother, Mary Ann Allen, she was a funny, lively Irish woman :-). I stitched year she was born and married to my grandfather and my mom's initials.

Moonlight Visitor is dedicated to my daughter, Megan Kathleen. I love this block, it reminds me so much of Colorado. We have a Miller mother migration every year and pine trees in abundance.

Pumpkin Farm honors my DH's Granny and Paw. Another funny story about them, for years and years they lived on a property they named Belliacres up in the mountains. The first time we went to visit them I was so surprised to see a toilet in their yard, they used it as a planter, LOL. It was just too funny :-).

Evergreen Lane is dedicated to my parents, Grover and Sandra. We are so fortunate to have them living close by. We get to spend lots of time with them which is so much fun.

Elizabeth Jane was stitched in honor of my paternal great grandmother. She was born Delilah Francis but went by Peach her whole life. It's funny to look at the old census forms, she is always listed as Peach. I also stitched my great grandfather's initials on it, his name was Moses Ezekiel Wallace.

Finally, the last block has the dedication and also includes all my pets' initials.  After all they are a big part of my family too.  There is an S for Shelby, and S for Sophie and a C for Chloe :-).  I am crazy about my girls, LOL.  This project is hands down one my favorites ever.  I hope Alma and Barb decided to do another mystery piece.  I loved the aniticipation of waiting on each installment, checking their blog for pictures, it was so much fun.

I am so excited to see what Jill Rensel does with this piece.  Truthfully I normally just send my project and wait to see what comes back.  I think that I am going to make a special request for AotH.  In my mind's eye I can see a painted mat, the top mat being a color similar to the linen. 

I hope you all are happy and healthy and finding lots of time to stitch ;-).  We've been very busy, my DH has been traveling a lot for work, we married our son off in Vegas and my friend Karin surprised me with a visit while Jeff was gone.  The summer round of visitors and vacations and my DH's travel promises to make for a hectic summer. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to celebrate this finish with me, I so appreceiate it!  I have been happy dancing for two days now, LOL.

Granny and Paw and Anniversaries of the Heart

I have really loved stitching Blackbird's Anniversaries of the Heart!!! It is such a fun piece. I am still waiting on the Evergreen Lane chart, I've been haunting my LNS :-). My DH has been traveling a lot so I took advantage of not needing to cook to stitch, LOL.

Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart

This is a closeup of Moonlight Visitor, I love it because it reminds me of Colorado where I live. Every May we have a huge Miller moth migration and there are pine trees everywhere. I still haven't decided how I want to personalize this particular block. I think I know but I want to wait to see the December chart as well as the last bonus design.

Midnight Visitor

I had no trouble deciding who I wanted to remember when I stitched Pumpkin Farm. My DH's Granny, Annette, was born in October and she married Paw in October which made this block perfect for honoring her and Paw. She was a young widow with three small daughters, including my MIL, when she married Frank McLellan. They went on to have a fourth daughter and have been married 65 years in October. My DH's grandparents are wonderful, they are both fiesty, funny and artistic and a joy to their family and friends.

Pumpkin Farm

Granny and Paw's 60th Wedding Anniversary

The Cake (isn't the picture gorgeous)

A Painting by Granny

I think that I am going to get the Primitive Needle's A&E out and finish it and by then hopefully I will have the next AotH chart in my hot little hands, LOL. I hope everyone is finding lots of time to stitch and you are all happy and healthy :-). Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my blog.

Hugs and Stitches, Katrina

A Little Bit of This and Little Bit of That...

I hope you all had a merry, merry Christmas and your New Year is perfect. I've been busy, busy, lots of stitching and all the usual things that make life fun but crazy. I have managed to stitch every day so far this year, even if it's a few stitches some days.

I was ready to change my blog template again. It was fun playing with it and I am happy with the new look. I couldn't have done it without Siobhan's help. I am hoping it's not over the top, I just really wanted to have my own background and a template that was simple but me :-).

I've already modified the crazy 15 challenge yet again. I started thinking about actually starting all those projects, you probably heard the wheels turning and my head exploding, LOL. I was worried about the chaos of starting 15 projects and freaking out a tiny bit ;-). I love my list and I definitely plan to stitch all of them this year but I want to work on ornaments, BBD stockings, and a few tiny projects. I also want to finish my current WIPs and my BBD class project. Sooooooo, here’s what I came up with, start one at a time, work on it until it’s finished and continue on all the other things I want to do. I hope I am still keeping with the spirit of the challenge, but does it really matter if I am not :-)?

I've been in the mood to stitch the little BBD stockings. I stitched 6 and chose backing fabric, I think I've mentioned I am using Blackbird fabric for that. I did actually stitch the Souvenir of Paris stocking twice, it's my first ornament for Karin's and my exchange. Everything is packaged and ready to go to Deb for finishing.

The first project from my list of 15 is Ann Pennsylvania Peacock. I've actually stitched a bit more on it but I didn't feel like pulling it out to take another picture, LOL. I am considering whether or not to try and use a family name on it. My great grandmother's name was Delilah Frances Wallace, I am thinking that might be a nice fit.

I just love this little Shepherd's Bush pin cushion, it was such an easy stitch, one evening and it was finished.

Every year I stitch the Shepherd's Bush scissor fob and this year was no exception. They are so sweet. I didn't finish it with the ribbon because occasionally Chloe likes to steal my scissors and the whipstitched edge holds up better, LOL.

For Christmas I got the nicest presents, Polish pottery and 3 new Pandora beads for my bracelet from my DH, a gorgeous pair of earrings from my parents and the prettiest redware plate from my Mother-in-Law, I love it. She ordered it from Circa Home Living.

Last but certainly not least, my friend, Natalia, has started making Stitching Wallets. I am in love with them so I wanted to share with you all. I have already bought two of them, they are so beautifully made and her color choices are fabulous :-). The wallets are perfect for holding projects. She has more info on her blog if anyone is interested in getting one.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, I so appreciate it. I want to try and post more often, at least every couple weeks. Hopefully life won't get in the way :-).

Hugs and Stitches, Katrina

Merry Christmas and I am Ready for the New Year!!!

I am happy to say the shopping is done and because of everyone has other commitments around the holidays the presents have already been opened. We've had a busy couple months and I am just ready for some normalcy. I did a huge makeover of our family room, living room and dining room. The upside of having of an empty nest is being able to hand down the old furniture to the kids and get new furniture for the house, LOL. Between that, my DH making an unexpected 4 week business trip and getting ready for an early Christmas, I have been a bit overwhelmed. Another week of crazy and then I am hopeful I can transition back to a more normal routine :-). I've had almost no stitching time so I am ready to settle in with my needle.

I did finish a Christmas ornament for an exchange, I thought it came out cute and I hope the recipient liked it.

I've also worked a fair bit on Primitive Needle's A&E. I love the conversion Teri from Shepherd's Bush did for the piece. If anyone would like it, I am sure you can call the shop and ask for it.

I've been wishing my life away waiting on the New Year. I just love the idea of new beginnings, making lists and plans because it helps me get organized and motivated. Siobhan was a bad influence and convinced me it would inspire me if I joined the Crazy January Challenge 2011. I should probably listen to Karin, who despite all my cajoling, begging and nagging (I try to drag her along in all my schemes and plans) has declined to participate "because it would make her crazy", LOL. Still I persist and I've posted my list in the sidebar and of course I wouldn't be me if I didn't modify the challenge a tiny bit. My plan is to start the new projects Monday through Friday the first three weeks of the month, after the initial start I will concentrate on one or two pieces until they are finished. I will work on a BAP project Friday night to Sunday night. The first large project will be Frances Eden. I make no promises, just a commitment to try it and I reserve the right to change my list as my heart desires ;-).

And if you are thinking "Good for Karin", I did convince her we should do an ornament exchange again this year. We are each going to stitch 6 ornaments twice, so we both end up with 12 ornaments. We did the same thing 2 years ago but for that exchange we each stitched 12 ornaments.

I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my blog.

Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart!!!!

My goal has been to stitch each part of this design as it comes out. I got a little behind with the retreat and a quick trip to Texas. Last week I finally found some time to sit down and stitch. This piece is such a joy to work on :-). I finished the bonus chart, Happy Birthday, Swan Lake and Clara Ellen since I last posted my progress.

Next up for me is Primitive Needle's A&E. When I was at the Shepherd's Bush I saw their stitched model. They used CC, GAST, and WDW threads and I fell in love :-).

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and post comments, I love comments ;-). Hope you all are finding lots of time to stitch and are almost done Christmas shopping, LOL. I haven't even started but I am planning on getting busy. I want to be done before Thanksgiving!!!!

The Retreat Weekend!!!

Blackbird Designs Class, Shepherd's Bush Class, Jeannette Douglas Class

My New Stash, Make it and Take it, Close Up of Button

SB Simple Joy, SB Retreat Scissor Fob, Shared Stitches Piece

The retreat was so much fun!!!!! The projects are gorgeous. I don't know how well it shows in the picture but the Blackbird project is a little sewing tray, we got the frame and the hardware as a part of our class. Jeannette's design is fabulous and pictures don't do it justice. I was able to order the Shepherd's Bush piece even though I didn't take the class, can't wait to get it.

Love, love, love the Shepherd's Bush shop, the models are fabulous. Every where you turn there's one beautiful project after another and Tina and Terri do the prettiest conversions. I got their threads for Primitive Needle's A&E, Jenny Bean Halloween Sampler, CHS's Americana, EEF's Petite Examplaries, Lizzie Kate's Art of Aging piece, La D Da's Mocking Bird and CHS's Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow.

Besides the class kits and conversions I have to say my most favorite new design is the R&R Jenny Bean Companion, called Winnie Sue. It is such a pretty piece and is now on my short list to stitch :-).

Karin, Valerie, Natalia, Sarah (no blog) and I went to class, shared meals and stitched together. Thankfully our friends, Vicky and Danya, had a condo style room so we were able to hang out and stitch with them in comfort. I also got a chance to spend some time with my friend Chris, who got me this gorgeous retreat gift :-)!

It was so nice to meet Terri, Jolene, Deb and Loraine. They are all so sweet. I was sad I didn't get to spend any time with Cari and Cathy and their sister Joan :-(. The weekend got away from me and I never managed to catch up with them.

I could not have asked for more. To get to attend the retreat and share it with such wonderful ladies made for a perfect weekend!!!! I know there are ladies I spent time with that I didn't have a chance to mention, they are all dear to me :-). Shepherd's Bush puts on an absolutely wonderful retreat and if you ever get the chance to go, don't hesitate. Hope you all are getting lots of stitching time!!!!

Guess where I am going...

I am going to Utah for the Shepherd's Bush retreat and I can't wait :-). Their retreats are so much fun. My friend Karin and I are taking the Blackbird track which means we will have classes with Alma and Barb, Charland Designs and Jeanette Douglas. We have made plans to do dinners and hang out with Natalia, Valerie and Sara (no blog). I know lots of ladies who will be there and I am so looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making new friends.

I've been stitching like a mad woman this summer in between several fun trips, Chicago, twice, and Mt. Rushmore. I wanted to have at least a few pieces stitched so I could take them to Jill Rensel. She is the most amazing artist and I love her framing. I finished Blackbird Designs Where My Heart Blooms and Summer House and Shepherd's Bush Quaker Heart. I am also going to frame a round robin I finished at least two years ago. I had grand plans of having at least a couple more done but it just didn't happen. I am still trying to keep up on my AoTH piece, I am a little behind but a couple weeks of stitching and I will be caught up again. After that I have several projects waiting in the wings :-).

I have to share a sweet picture of Chloe and Sophie. They are so cute!

I hope everyone had a great summer and got lots of stitching done! I have to say it was bit warm this summer so I am ready for fall. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

My Heart, Family and Friends

I have loved every minute of stitching on this piece. It's such a special design. I've spent more than a couple hours doing some geneaology research so I can personalize it :-). So far I've paid tribute to my paternal grandmother, Audie Pearl, and my maternal grandfather Sydney Frederick. Unless a block speaks to me for a particular person, I will wait until the end to add the rest of the initials, names and dates.

Blackbird Designs Anniversaries of the Heart Series

Stitched with GAST, WDW, and CC

on 40 count R&R Olde Town Blend

May Block Sydney Frederick

January, February and May

March and April Audie Pearl

I haven't posted pictures of my four legged babies in a while so I will bore you all with new pictures. I've decided the girls think they are cats, LOL. Oh and Chloe thinks she's a boy, but that's a whole other story ;-). They both like to sleep on the back of the furniture.

Chloe (whose newest habit is hiking her leg on the fence? My neighbors must think I am a nut when I holler "You're not a boy!', LOL)

Sophie (who is such a little lady unless you are offering her food, then she's a vulture, LOL)

I so enjoy reading everyone's blog and I am always excited when I find a "new to me" blog or someone I know starts blogging. My friend Natalia started her blog this year, click on her name and take a look, she has such a fun blog and she's just the sweetest woman :-).

I hope this post finds everyone well and stitching!!! I am off to dig through my stitching bag. I have to find something else to work on while I impatiently wait on the next Anniversaries of the Heart chart. Have a great day!