Elizabeth Mears Sampler Stitching

The start of the Elizabeth Mears Sampler

I had great intentions of getting a head start on the stitching for Elizabeth Mears -- I have done very little stitching on this lovely sampler.  After struggling with glasses, magnifiers, and light, I realized that I had not done any recent stitching on fine linen and it was time for an eye check.

My new stitching glasses should be ready next week and then I will try to keep up with the With My Needle and Pen internet stitch group.  I am a very slow stitcher even though I stitch two-handed using a frame.

Until then, I will continue to work on Gleneagle.  Here is my progress on the first block called the Mistake Patch -- such a pretty piece!!

Gleneagle - Mistake Patch

Dept 56 Christmas Decorating - The End

New England Village from Dept 56

This is the last village that was put up for Christmas decorating.  The houses and most of the people are from the New England series.

Our holiday decorations have been up since the week following Thanksgiving and they will soon be back in storage waiting for Christmas 2011.

Gleneagle Needlepoint

Mistake Patch from Gleneagle

Cover photo of Gleneagle

The time has come to work on something that has been on my "to-do" list for years - Gleneagle.

Gleneagle is an amazing Jean Hilton design from 1990.  It is large -- the entire project is 252 threads by 332 threads.  The designer stitched hers on 14 count canvas using a combination of perle cotton and floss... mine is also on 14 using dmc 223, 224 & 225 and 926, 927 & 928 as the main colors.  The border will be 712 and the accent will be 746.

Churn Dash Woolies - Quilted

The Woolies Churn Dash quilt is almost done!!

The quilt has been quilted.  I used my home machine -- an Elna Quilting Queen -- fun flannel alphabet/sampler fabric for the back and a mid-weight poly batt to make it machine washer and dryer friendly.  All it needs is the binding.

Christmas Ornaments On Our Tree

There are quite a variety of ornaments on our Christmas tree.  These are a couple of my favorites.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The puppies ornament was made by my mom, the bird ornament was made by my aunt.

Even More - Christmas Village Decorating

Here is the last section of the North Pole Village - the houses, people and most trees are Dept 56.

 

New T-Fal Iron - It's Wonderful!!

It has been two months since I bought myself a new T-Fal iron called an Ultraglide.

The weight is lighter than my old Rowenta -- took some getting used.  The no-stick sole plate is not as smooth as the Inox stainless steel, but -- and this is HUGE -- it doesn't require constant cleaning.  Build up caused by starch, steam-a-seam, etc. wipes right off.   The T-Fal heats up quickly and the extra holes in the sole plate deliver plenty of steam causing my spray water bottle to get lonely.

This has been a great find!!

More Christmas Decorating

More of our holiday decorating!  This group of lighted buildings are part of Elf Land (Dept 56) -- the two trees in back on the left are from North Pole Woods (Dept 56).

Christmas Cross Stitch

These are a couple more of the Shepherd's Bush mini pillows -- letters "S" for snow and "C" for Christmas.

Christmas Decorating 2010

Once Thanksgiving arrives, the days turn into a blur.  The Christmas decorating is just about done. This is part of the North Pole Village (Dept 56) that is set up.  All it needs is the fresh fallen snow.