The Sisters Get Together

Last Saturday was our July Sisters In Stitches Stitch Day, and we had a full house as all 8 of us were there.  We have a few "honorary sisters" who live in different states and who we see only occasionally, but they're still sisters.  One of these is Marti, who has just moved to Arizona and we now found out that this move is permanent.  We wish Marti the best, but already miss her.

One of the fun things about Stitch Day is, of course, seeing what everyone is working on.  These ladies are not ones to shy away from large projects!  For example:

Thea's "Magnolia" by Mystic Stitch

This photo does not do it justice.  It's truly a work of art.

Thea's collection of patriotic smalls!

Laurie's "Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler" by Needleprint

 I love the fabric and floss colors that Laurie has chosen for this.

Trish's "Faith Family and Friends" by Stoney Creek

Again you just can't see all of the beautiful detail in Trish's work.  There are blended metallic areas which sparkle so subtly!

Renee is working on a needlepoint, "Flowers In A Row" by Janlynn

What a great idea for a glasses case!  If we have to wear them, we might as well store them in something lovely that we made!

Peggy is almost finished with "Angel of Spring" by Lavender and Lace

I have to apologize for the sideways photo.  Blogger won't let me orient this the right way, but it IS the right way in my photos.  But you can still see the beautiful work that Peggy has done.

Pat's "America Sew Beautiful" by A Stitcher's Hands

Pat also brought in a framed finish!

 It's fun to see another item stitched on something different.  Pat is stitching her "America Sew Beautiful" on a tote bag.  And I just realized that I don't have the name of her framed Christmas piece, but what a great job of stitching and framing!

Sheila's patriotic hearts by Aury TM

These hearts will look good framed.  I love the tones of red and blue that Sheila used for these!

My new start:  "Quaker Star" by Bent Creek

And last but not least my newest project, "Quaker Star".  I started this while waiting for Part 2 of LHN's "Song of the Seasons".  I did finish Part 1!  I know that's a shock.

Part 2 arrived in my mailbox this week, courtesy of Marty at Stitch N Frog.  Stitch N Frog is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to order from.  I like their website a lot, they have periodic sales, and they're friendly to work with.  Since my favorite LNS closed, finding a good online place to order from is a necessity. 

I'm still having fun with this mystery sampler.  Part 2 looks like quite a few more stitches to complete, but I'm up for the task! 

It's always good to see my stitching friends at our Stitch Days.  What a wonderful way to catch up with each other while seeing our stitching progress and getting tips and hints.  The day goes so fast and I know that we all eagerly wait for the next Stitch Day!

Welcome, new followers and thank you to everyone who has left comments!

Liking This Mystery

One thing I'm finding while stitching the mystery sampler, Song Of The Seasons, is that I'm extra-motivated to stitch.  It must be because I know that another piece of the mystery is just around the corner.  The next one is released in July and then the last one in August.  It's coming along very nicely, if I may say so myself.

Or maybe I just want to "keep up" with the other stitchers who are working on this one.  I have joined a stitch along group on Facebook and it's fun seeing everyone's work in progress, or even their completed portion.  So what do you think?  Will I complete part one before part two comes out?

I really like posting the crafty work of other people who I know.  Just a couple of days ago, Sherry posted a picture of her completed cross stitch project on Facebook and I knew that I had to show it here!  Sherry is relatively new to the stitching world, but has accomplished an awesome project -- a Halloween themed Iphone cover!

How cool is this?  The chart is from the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.  And I learned something new:  this Iphone cover was found in the cross stitch department at Wal-Mart!  Who knew?  I'm a Wal-Mart fan, but I guess I haven't perused the cross stitch aisle in a while.  Anyway, I'd like to give Sherry a thumbs-up for a cool and creative project!

My craftiness has slowed down a bit (aside from the mystery sampler) because I'm plowing ahead with the cleaning/organizing of the craft room.  I have two more areas to work on:  the book case and the bottom of my storage cabinet.  Who knows what lurks down there?  I'm finding that a good organization effort can unearth stuff I forgot I had! 

As you saw from my last post, I joined Bloglovin.  I'm pretty sure that the whole idea of this is to put all of the blogs you read in one handy place.  Bloglovin sends you a daily feed so that you can keep up.  So Bloglovin fans, is that correct?  I have a blog, so all of the blogs I follow are listed on the right side of my blog.  But I can see how someone who doesn't blog would benefit from joining Bloglovin, especially if they follow a lot of blogs. 

I'd still like new followers to click the "Join This Site" button here on CraftyCat. I get a kick out of seeing my follower number increase, and I appreciate every one of my followers.  Thank you for all of the comments too!

Follow Me On Bloglovin

I joined Bloglovin to make it easier for my followers to follow my blog. Alrighty then.

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It's Never Too Early

So I had this dream last night where I was completing a lot of stitching projects.  I just kept finishing them, one after the other, and in the dream I was so happy with myself.  I woke up a little disappointed because my stitching has seemed to go nowhere lately.  Oh well, dreams are goofy anyway. 

I did have a little ornament project that I completed this week!  Peppermint Twist has finally been turned into a Christmas ornament.  We stitchers know that it's never too early to work on Christmas projects! 

There it is, ready to go onto the tree. 

I also got a happy package in the mail this week - my materials for LHN's Song of the Seasons Sampler.  I'll admit that I was a little apprehensive about starting this one because you have to start at the top and I'm a middle of the fabric starter.  You know why.  So I spent part of this afternoon meticulously measuring the fabric after calculating the dimensions.  Then I put a safety pin where I want to start.  I measured again.  Yes, I have this fear of getting most of it done and then realizing that I'm going to run out of fabric at the bottom.  Right now I'm sure that I have a good starting place and am ready to begin stitching this fun project!

Look at me, stepping out of my comfort zone.  Seriously, though, I've seen some finishes of this first part on various Facebook pages, and it looks very pretty.  The colors are gorgeous, and I'm sure I'm going to like this one.  Stay tuned for progress!

In The Confetti Zone

Well, did I tell you I was back into stitching big time?  I actually have a finish!  I spent part of yesterday evening and this afternoon completing "Love", and most of that completion involved the stitching of the dreaded confetti stitches.  Admittedly, those little confetti stitches are very cute on the design, but it's just the positioning of them that gets to us stitchers.  After doing a few, I got into the zone and I was enjoying it a little!  I "love" this finish!

I'm thinking of making it into a small pillow and displaying it at Valentine's Day.

In my last post, I talked about meeting up with my fellow Sisters In Stitches for a very pleasant Stitch Day.  I forgot to show you what Pat, a member of our group, gave to each of us.  We all received a beautiful handmade scissor fob.  Each one was different.  Mine has a little cat charm on the end because, as you know, three cats live in our house. 

Isn't it pretty?  I also like the way she packaged them for us, in a little bag with our names on a created-for-us tag.  Makes you feel special when you get a gift like this, doesn't it? 

I'm also embarking on something in the stitch world that I've never done before - a mystery sampler.  I just ordered Little House Needleworks' "Song Of The Seasons Sampler".  My biggest fear about doing these is that I won't like the finished product, but I'm a big fan of LHN so it will most likely be lovely.  So I'm taking the plunge.  I ordered it from Stitch And Frog, which is a great place to order stitchy stuff from. 

Thank you for all of your kind comments on my blog.  I appreciate every one of them.  And welcome to my new followers!

Jump Start

So there I was all ready to be a prolific blogger, stitcher and crafter.  Then it hit me -- the Ugly Monster Virus.  No ordinary cold, it slammed me flat on my back like nothing I'd experienced in a long, long time.  The only thing I could do for the first couple of days was watch TV, and the more mindless the better.  Monster Virus actually let me read by the third day, but stitching was out of the question due to my achy and stuffy head. 

Luckily I was better by the time we were supposed to leave for our beach vacation.  Ahhhh, what a good thing some ocean air is when you're recovering from the crud.  It took care of that cough quickly and I was able to enjoy some lovely time with my family at the beach.

But still no stitching until yesterday when Sisters In Stitches gathered for our monthly stitchfest and gabfest.  Wow, that quickly cured my stitching slump caused by being sick and then beach-brain.  What a great jump start back into stitching!  Because of the beach-brain, though, I forgot my camera, so photos will have to wait for next time.

I did get quite a bit done on "Love" by New York Dreamer.  And once again I'm stitching on black fabric, which I like a lot because of the color contrast on it.  Pretty pattern, isn't it?

Thank you to my followers for not abandoning me during my stitching and blogging slump!  I appreciate your loyalty!

The Case Of The Missing Blogger

That would be me, star of this Nancy Drew-sounding blog post.  Where have I been?  Here!  Just doing what I always do.  Except for the fact that I haven't been doing much in the way of stitching and crafting lately.  I have been organizing the craft room though.  It's on ongoing project and I'm very happy with the results.  I'll post pictures of the awesome neatness of it all when I'm done.

Mark and I did go away for Mother's Day last weekend.  We went to the Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA for brunch and then stayed there on Sunday night.  What a nice place, all nestled in the mountains.  We also went to the top of Brasstown Bald, which, (depending on who you talk to) is the highest mountain in Georgia.  Then a little visit to the Crane Creek Vineyard was in order.  All in all, a pleasant little trip.

Even though I haven't devoted much time to stitching, I still accomplished a little.  Or maybe a lot, because it's a finish!

Let's celebrate!  "Red, White and Bloom" is finished!  Now, to frame it or make it into a little pillow?  What do you think?

The funny thing is that I only have one project going now.  Time for a new start or two, right?

It's the end of the school year and many parents are contemplating what to get for their kids' teachers.  Sheila used her powers of craftiness to create these beautiful necklaces.

Wow, what teacher wouldn't be delighted to receive one of these? 

So that's it for now.  Coming up in future blog posts, and staying with the Nancy Drew theme:  The Craft Room Caper and The Case Of The Sneaky Stitch Starter.  OK, those probably won't be the titles of my posts, but they give you the idea of what's to come here at CraftyCat.