SEBRING PART TWO

The landscaping and gardens at the Inn on the Lakes in Sebring FL are gorgeous - they have a full time gardener plus they also grow herbs and tomatoes and a few things for their restaurant.  I showed a lot more photos last year of the gardens - this year I only took a couple.

Here is a touristy shot of my DM in front of the hotel.  We were on our way to Lake Placid to visit an artisan co-op - I had been there before several times but my mom had never been.  Since we had such a beautiful day we thought we'd take the short 20 minute drive.  Lake Placid is supposedly the Caladium capital of the US.  They are also known for having these beautiful huge realistic murals painted on all the building sprinkled around the little town.  So I took mom on a little tour and also took a few shots - some of them were too dark but I think there was at least 20 or 30 huge murals painted by different artists.

This one was of particular interest to me.  My matenal ancestors came from south central GA and my great grandfather owned thousands of acres of pine trees and were into the turpentine business in the early 1900's. this mural was so huge I had to take it in two shots.  Wish you could see the gorgeous detail in this mural.

These are some shots of the rugs being worked on in my class.  These are only a few as there were 14 students in this class and these ladies were sitting in my immediate vacinity.  The first one is morning glories done in a 3 cut by a McGown certified teacher.  It was gorgeous!

This is a mandarin duck - it was awesome seeing this blank canvas come alive and to this point in 4 days.  I thought the color plan was exquisite and I think she plans to change the backround to a mt fugi type landscape - she had some museum quality note cards she was using for inspiration.

This one is called the Naples sampler - the colors are so "florida" and it was fun to watch this one too. Also hooked by another "teacher"

 This cute rug was designed by the woman who was hooking the next rug.  She has a design business (DIGO) and had some lovely canvases for sale in the camp store.  This kitty is in a larger cut but I'm not sure what.  Aren't the textures in the stripes wonderful !

this was probably one of my favorite rugs in the whole class - Do you remember the children's story Little Black Sambo - gosh I am probably giving away my age as it is probably no longer politically correct to call the name of that book as I remember it but anyway - that is the subject of this rug and I think she did an absolutely wonderful job with the color plan and hooking - it was in progress when she came - NO - she did not hook that much in 4 days LOL.

 Gorgeous bright tropical colors are what our teacher seems to love and her students flock to get her brightly colors wool.  This rug was tropcial flowers with this big lizard in the middle.  I think that is our dear teachers foot - good thing she had her pedi LOL

 This is my mom's bunny rug - toooo cute I think - isn't that daddy bunny just darling in his cool clothes.  I love how the  roof came out and the brilliant blue backround with the night sky up above is very appealing in this rug.  I know my mom will enjoy hooking it.

Here is the albatross that I don't even want to claim as my rug.  I HATE this rug - I have ripped out and reworked - re color planned and redone more on this rug than all the rugs I have hooked for the past 12 years - For some reason this rug just doesn't do it for me - I have thrown in the towel and finally given up the ghost - I am DONE DONE DONE with this rug - not a penny more or another minute am I going to waste on this rug.  I feel bad for the designer who is a good friend of mine - she designed the rug for me and I feel bad for the two teachers and another dear friend who is also a teacher who have tried to make me happy with this rug.  It just aint' happenin'  - I had a number of people in my class who loved the rug and could not believe I didn't like it.  If there are any rug hookers out there  - it is for sale - if you are interested let me know.

That is a wrap on Sebring March 2011 - Hope you all have a lovely weekend doing what you love to do.

SEBRING PART ONE

My mom and I had a great time in Sebring - it was very hot down there the first 3 days and then rained on our last day and all the way home.  I took a lot of photos of the rug exhibit so I am going to have to break this post up into two parts.  I am sorry if I did not photograph your rug - it was dark in the lobby area where the rugs are displayed and some of the photos were just too dark to put up on the blog.  Others are not great but I'm going to show them anyway.  Sorry but I did not make notes at to the makers of these rugs so again - my apologies for not giving recognition to the maker of these lovely rugs.

There was a variety of cuts and styles in this exhibit however I would say that there were probably more fine cuts than wide in this exhibit. Fine is basically 3 and 4 cut and typically does not include 5 and 6 but people who hook with 8, 9 and 10 cuts consider 5 a fine cut - not to confuse the non-hookers out there but I'm just trying to say there were more rugs 6 and under than there was 7 and up.

These two patriotic rugs are by Polly Minick - she is a well known artisan who has appeared in publications such as Coastal living, Country Home, Southern Living and sells her rugs in galleries all over the US.  Polly was teaching a class at Sebring and while I love my teacher - I wish I had taken the opportunity to be in Polly's class - she doesn't teach that often.  She is the other half of Minick and Simpson and has a very active blog with her sister Laurie Simpson who designs quilts.  Polly and Laurie have a beatiful line of fabrics by Moda and I love their style.  They are team teaching a workshop at Mackinaw Island this fall and how I would love to be able to go to that workshop.

So many enchanting rugs in this exhibit - so many hours of work goes into these rugs.  I thought the exhibit was really good this year and I was pleased that Miss Merrie was debuted among all these fine works.

In Part II - I will show some of the beautiful flowers and landscaping at the Inn in Sebring and show rugs in progress from my class.  I hope to get to that tomorrow but in case I don't - have a great weekend.

MARCH HARES

It's a fine spring day here in NE FL - I have the french doors open in my office and a gentle breeze is blowing in off the river.  If I could be stitching or knitting it would be total bliss but it is quite enjoyable for a work afternoon.

I was so excited yesterday when I got an email from Joanie that I had won her "I'm so tired of winter" giveaway.  I've never won a thing so needless to say I was very excited to hear that news.  Pop over to Joanie's blog and see what she is up to.

Before I show you a few fun bunnies - I am going to show a couple of photos of my main sampler WIP's - Here is a shot of Elizabeth Savilles - I am really enjoying this sampler - the silks are so lucious and so far there are only 3 colors of Gloriana being used - 2 pinks and one green - lovely isn't it !

Here is only 1/2 of the Spanish Mystery SAL - this sampler is SOOO big - I can't hardly fit the whole width in one frame - I am starting on the 4th band - thankfully it is not that light blue - I was getting tired of that color.  This sampler is relaxing and easy to stitch in spite of the huge size  - Jody thought it was a lap robe because when it is chilly at night I throw it out on my lap as I am stitching on it  - I'm sure some of you will shreik but I don't see any harm in utilizing the other end of this 1/2 yard piece of linen to help keep me warm at night .  Oops - I see a leaf I forgot - will go back and catch that one tonight.

Finally the Miss Trenners Academy box set and charts have arrived.  I've been waiting for this pre-order from market for a long time - actually I have been waiting for this box set since I first heard about it from Ellen - With my Needle when I saw her in December.  They are much larger than I expected and I LOVE them - I have the perfect spot for them to live while waiting for the stitching to be done.  Everything Ellen does is incredible - her finishing instructions are always top notch.  I am so pleased I was able to get a set of these limited edition boxes for my collection.

 There is a great primitive artisan in our area - she used to sell a great deal of her creations to the Olde Green Cupboard .  She has a shop in St Mary's GA called the Feathered Nest - Meet Bertram the bunny - he is soooo cute - he is sitting on a wooly carrot - his momma Harriet came to live with me last year.  I will probably show some shots of more of  my easter stuff in April.

I've been working on my Hare Easter lately.  This was adapted from Paulette's (Plum Street Samplers) freebie design for cross stitch.  I thought they needed some grass to stand in so I started adding that at rug guild on Sunday.  That pale aqua around their legs is the color of the backround.  My friend Katie transferred this pattern for me to rug canvas and she added a cute border with carrots which you can't see because I have it folded back -  I am having second thoughts about hooking this border - I want the bunny family to be the main focus of this rug and I think those giant killer carrots might be distracting from the subdued colors in the center.  I found a great easter eggy spot dye that would make a great border to finish off the rug.  I know exactly where I got it and from what teacher but Katie thinks she can duplicate it as I don't have enough to put a decent sized border on with what little I have left in my stash.

Speaking of rug hooking - I am leaving Friday morning for Sebring for a 4 day rug camp with my mom and DF Susan.  Mom and I have been going to this camp in March for quite a few years now.  We just love going to this small family owned inn on the lakes - their meals as chef prepared and it is just a wonderful relaxing setting.  We have the same teacher that we had at the rug camp in January.  We are both continuing on with our new starts from January.  Hopefully next post - I will have lots of shots from the exhibit and from our class to show you.

many thanks to everyone who commented on my Merrie Halloween - to finish a rug is a great accomplishment for me and I so appreciate all your wonderful comments on her.  Wishing you all warm spring days, gentle breezes and little march hares in your gardens.

MISS MERRIE - TAKE A BOW

Needless to say I am still ecstatic over my finish of Merrie Halloween on Sunday. She is a pretty miss in my opinion. For any rug hookers out there - she was hooked mostly in a 6 cut with hand dyed wool and the color plan and wool was by Diane Stoffel. There are some finer details in a 4 and 5 cut. The binding is not done but I consider her complete when the hooking is done. Here is a full shot of the rug which is 28" X 38" - WOW - that was bigger than I thought it was. I've been working on her a little over 3 years but of course have done lots of other things since I started her on Halloween weekend at a private workshop with Diane.

For some strange reason I have been unable to upload photos all week using my normal method of uploading the photos from my computer - the select button has not been active and is still not active.  I had to mess around with loading this from webshots - good thing I remember I could still do it that way.

Here is a little closer shot of her face and the vining which I love - too bad you can't see how beautiful the wool actually - I just presume most of my readers are non hookers and don't really care about seeing a lot of fine details. 

so - there you go - a BIG finish on my 11 in 2011 Challenge list can be marked off DONE - outta here !

I hope you are all having a good week and taking some time to do what you love to do.

WHAT TO SAY?

I had another cheery title picked out for this blog post but I just could not force myself into a cheery mood.  The news of Lisa Rowell's tragic death in Ohio hangs heavy in blogland this week.  There was also another sad passing of a vibrant 50something rug hooking designer and teacher - Kim Nixon of Under the Rug studio in Tennessee.  She succumbed to cancer leaving behind a family, many friends and fans.  I was never able to take a class with Kim but my A&E cube stool cover is one of her designs.  Both of these talented ladies will be missed.
I don't have much to show but I did finish my february assignment on the Spanish Mystery Sampler - an SAL I am doing with the Attic.  It is so wide - I have trouble getting a decent photo of it.

Here is a close up shot so you can see more of the color contained in the February band and since yesterday was March 1st - I felt I had to sink a few stitches but my heart just wasn't in doing any stitching last night so I switched to knitting before I screwed up on this.

This seems like a pitiful amount of stitching but honestly - I don't get much done.  This is my start on Elizabeth Savilles.  I could not resist starting her since we are having unseasonably warm temps here in NE FL - All the flowering trees are blooming - I just wanted something bright and colorful to stitch.  This is stitched on the called for LL Meadow Rue - vintage 36ct and Theresa at Shakespeares's Peddler so kindly converted the Olde Willow cottons for me to Gloriana silk floss and Gloriana Florimell.  The colors are stunning and I am so pleased with how they look on the linen.  I was working on this sunday and found an error and had to pull that whole flower out and start over - goofed up on the stem which made me 1 stinkin stitch off.  Don't you hate that !

What is this mystery shot??  This is all that I have left to do on Merry Halloween - YAHOO !!!!!!!

I finished the last of the black backround on Sunday morning - All I have left is the mound she is standing on.  Just a few more hours and I will have this Miss completed.  Mom and I are making our annual trip to Sebring for a rug camp at the end of the month and I so wanted Miss Merry to be finished for the exhibit especially since I missed finishing her for the exhibit in January.

I got a big box of wool from my teacher for Sebring week before last.  Since I revamped the whole color plan on my big oriental rug in January - I needed more wool in certain colors - so I really should spend some time with that rug before the end of the month.  I would love to come close to finishing the center medallion while at that camp.  She is also brining my backround to Sebring and then the color plan will be complete. I hope 2011 is the year to finish up a few rugs - I have several that could be finished this year if I just remain focused and continue to hook thru the summer months.

I'm going to leave you today with a quote from Marie Beyon Ray that really hits home in view of the passing Kim and Lisa.

"begin doing what you want to do now.  We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand --- and melting like a snowflake."

Wishing you all peace and much happiness

THE PRINCESS MERMAID

 Both my folks stitch - my mom stitches samplers and seasonals and my dad stitches awesome things - not usually samplers but he did do the beautiful Rachel Hyde for me a couple of years ago.  He enjoys stitching Mirabilia designs and my mom and I love that he loves stitching them.  We have quite a collection of them hanging in our homes.  The last one he did for me was Bluebeards Princess Mermaid and I have so many of them framed - I decided I wanted this one made into a pillow.  I had a very specific idea about what I wanted for this pillow - I did not want a glitzy overwhelming trim or fabric - I wanted something simple but elegant that would leave the Princess as the center attraction.  I debated about sending her to california to Marlene's and I talked to several other finishers about her.  One woman even refused to take it saying that Mirabilia's needed to be framed.  I tried a new finisher here in Florida.
The finishing as far as fabric choice, trim choice and workmanship is great - however I was horrified to see that she practically cut off the top and bottom motifs on this piece.  EGADS - wouldn't you think a professional finisher would not do something like this??????????  Plus it is a 14" pillow and I think a 16" would have been much better - it looks so small on my sofa - sad shame to have this lovely piece so poorly finished - I am sorely disappointed - oh and just so you don't think I properly communicated my wishes - NOT - I sent at least 3 very specific emails saying exactly what I wanted and truth be told - this is a 2nd attempt - she had finished as a box pillow and framed out the mermaid in fabric which I specifically told her I DID NOT WANT !!!!!!!!!!!  Ok - enough with the complaining - I guess my point is - no matter how much info you give someone about what "you" want - problems can still arise.

Lot's of stash has been purchased lately - Nothing from market has arrived yet and I am trying to be good - really I am.  I made another trip to Mt Dora to visit A Stitchers Dream this past Saturday and took a class on basic hardanger by Victorias Sampler.  the shop owner is quite the hardanger expert and a big fan of Thea's designs.  I was a complete failure - had to pull out everything I put in and start over - by that time - we had already taken a luxurious two hour lunch at the Garden Gate tearoom and all I wanted to do was SHOP!  So I'll restart that class piece another time (maybe LOL)

Here is some photos (not all) of a few things that I have gotten lately.  I was so thrilled when I saw on Shakespeares Peddler newsletter that she was stocking Elizabeth Savilles sampler by**** corrected from Fingerwork to Dames of the Needle.  I love Terri's blog face showing this lovely sampler.  Terri was kind enough to share her conversion with me but being the silk snob that I am - I asked Theresa to convert it to silks for me - Here is her conversion which is Gloriana silk floss and Gloriana Florimell - my new favorite overdyed silk - gorgeous huh?

Under the silk is Sugar and Spice linen from Australia in Gravestone - I probably won't use that color for Elizabeth but it was part of the stash haul.

Next is Mary Hannah Gipson from SANQ in the called for threads - the linen I chose I had never seen before - it was WDW Cocoa in 30ct - I would have preferred 35ct but the shop was low on linen.

These little Button Up Birdie ornament charts are soooo darling - I could not resist picking up what had been released so far - I think all in all there will be 12 of them.  The linen is WDW Mocha in 35ct and I'm sure I will use the GAST or whatever they called for.  I did not buy the embellishment pack - I thought it was expensive for what you got.

This is some lucious yarn - too bad you can't see the true color - it is MadelineTosh Pashmina for all you knitters out there. I have become a big fan of MT yarns - this is Norway Spruce and will be a cardi one day. I'm dying to start it but need to do a gauge swatch and so forth.

Hope to be back to visit blogland soon.  thanks for reading and following and commenting - I love to hear from you.

A BEAUTIFUL GIFT

I mentioned in a blog post in December that DF Anne Marie had finished a beautiful Crayon box jacket for my mom.  She was also working on one for me - that was not a surprise since I supplied the yarn choices for both jackets.  It was a surprise that mine was completed so quickly - Anne Marie kept that a good secret.I thought it was better to display on the couch than on my blobby body so here it is !!!!!!!!!!  isn't it gorgeous?

Here is a close up of how the mosiac squares look.  There are many different yarns used in this jacket however most of the base yarns are 3 colors of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran for you knitters out there.

Next up is a shoulder warmer - I guess that is a more delicate term than "poncho" - if it looks huge - that's because it is huge - I did not figure adding a very fine mohair to the worsted weight wool would add that much bulk to the gauge but apparently it did.  It is not a fashion statement piece any how - just something to bump around in with jeans or wear at home if I am cold at night and believe me it is WARM.

I started this last winter and of course put it away as spring wore on.  I didn't have much left to do when I picked it up again a few weeks ago - here is a closer shot that shows the halo of the mohair and the faint striping that was in the worsted base yarn.  the neckline and the bottom is supposed to roll like that just in case you were wondering.

Since I'm all about staying warm these days - here is a WIP called Purl Ridge by Stephen West - a free pattern on Ravelry.  The yarn is some leftover Dream in Color I had - this is a long cowl that can be doubled around the neck for a snugger effect or just wear it hanging long.  It is a relaxing knit for the brain dead.  I hope to wear it this season - I am probably at least 1/2 way done with it.  Please take note that neither of these projects I am working on were on the 11 in 2011 challenge list.  I just knew the 111 in 2011 would be a more realistic number for my short attention span.

I've been stitching about as much as I ever do - I am very pleased however that I managed to finish the January assignment for the Spanish Mystery sampler SAL with the Attic group.  This sampler is huge - sorry for the tiny shot but at least it will show that this sampler is GI GANTIMOUS.

Here is a closer shot that does show February's band which thankfully has some blue and white in it.  this band gets boring quick as it is just the same thing over and over across that mile wide row.

I was feeling Valentiney as I usually do the week before and decided to pull out something reddish to stitch on.  I had started one of the Splendor pieces by Maureen Appleton a few months back but it is on 40ct over 2 (not over one as she suggests) and I quickly grew tired of struggling with the linen count.  I worked on it Sat and Sun night and have gotten fairly comfortable with the 40ct.  I'm sure I will grow tired of the pinky red I chose but for now - it is a nice diversion from the blue and white on the SAL piece.  If I continue to work on it and make decent progress I'll show a WIP next post.

That's about all my news -  seems like lots of stitching and handwork progress went on last week with all the stories of too much snow to venture out.  I hope everyone continues to make good progress but at least is able to venture out if they so desire.

COMING UP FOR AIR

Coming up for air - that is exactly how I feel today - last week whirled by me in a vacuum of being sick at rug camp - being in the office only 1 day last week and leaving on Thursday - still not 100% for a long drive to Auburn AL for a meeting I needed to head up. 

I promised a complete run down of the Off the Ocean rug camp however the first day of camp I was already beginning to feel sick.  I went home Friday night instead of staying at the hotel with my mom - Saturday I was worse and by Sunday I was holed up in the hotel room too sick to even get dressed or venture very far from the bed.  How horrible is it to be sick at an event like this????  too sick to even get in my car and drive 10 miles to my house!!!!!!!!!  It's pretty horrible I might say - I missed the exhibit on Sunday - missed seeing many friends who come to see the exhibit.  I missed more than a full day of hooking/class time and my progress on this rug really shows it.  On the positive side - I did get a good start on this very large rug which is an original design by friend Katie Puckett who is a co-director of this rug camp.  I got to name it so it is Medieval Melody and I wanted William Morris type colors.  I must admit that I started this rug about 4 years ago with another teacher - somehow it just did not come together - it did not excite me - the colors were not what I wanted - it was too monotone so I rolled it up and put it away with the thought that one day I would pull it out again and find a teacher who was willing to work with some of the wool I had previously purchased and maybe add some of their own flavor and spark to the rug.  I knew I would get what I was looking for from Vivily Powers - I have had Vivily several times before at the rug camp I attend every year in Sebring Fl.  She did not disappoint - after tossing out a few of her choices that were too bright for what I had in mind - I added a gorgeous dusty plum 5 value color set and a rich rusty red 5 value set all looked awesome upon her great backround color called White Trash (yep she uses cute catchy names for many of her wool color formulas) - So she will have to dye more wool for me but I have made the plunge and am quite happy with how the rug is shaping up so far.  Here is a close up of the center medallion. 

Vivily came up with a beautiful spot dye that was the inspiration for the whole color plan on the rug. It is the leave section of the red flower on the right.  There is also a great 4 value turquoise set that is being dyed but is not currently hooked into the rug - so that will be a lovely addition to this color plan. 

Here is the full view of the rug including the border which is really the focal point of the whole rug.  For any rug hookers out there - I have started in a 5 cut and I might add some 4 for that looping vine in the border or any other fine detail - since there is not a lot of open backround in this rug - I will probably just stick with a 5 cut even in the backround.

Here is my mom's new rug - it's called Bunny Trails and is by Not Forgotten Farms reproduced to canvas by Spruce Ridge Studios.  My mom is a meticulous hooker - it takes her a while to make progress but she does a lovely job with the actual hooking.  She wanted something bright and springy and this certainly fills the bill.  The house is 2 shades of yellow gold - how about that blue door ???  Don't you love the texture of the daddy bunny and his cool ty dyed shirt - Vivily was trying to encourage my mom to make a plaid dress for Mommy Bunny but I'm not sure she is going to bite on that idea.  I love the rounded edge on the top of this rug - should be great fun to watch it take shape.

Here is Vivily on the right with fellow student and friend Susan Rogers on the left.  Susan is doing a lovely crewel pattern called Vasa and her color plan was exquisite.  Susan is a quilter convert to rug hooker - she told me she would sit and hook all day if she could and I think she has some interest in dyeing as well. 

 Dawn friend and a charter member of our local rug guild was hooking a stunning peacock design.  The colors in this rug were so wonderful - I know it will be fun to watch this one come alive.

Ladie (yes that is her real name) was doing a neat rug that was adapted from a old post card or some type of media like that.  She lives on St Simons Island Ga and  I wish the photo was better - the waves at the bottom were so neat - it has a shrimp boat and a rendition of the lighthouse on the island.  Her color plan was gorgeous and she said she dyed all the wool herself. 

there were about 15 or so people in my class - there were lots of  great rugs being hooked that I did not get photos of - sadly people were in and out a lot the last 2 days and I was mostly out of commission so I missed getting photos of many of my class mates rugs.

Off the Ocean 2011 is now a distant memory - it was their 12th camp and my 12th camp with the directors who are a mother daughter team and good friends of mine.  I have been fortunate enough to take classes with many great teachers at this camp - I have started a new rug each year except this year - yes I have many WIP's which are not finished from this and other camps but when I look back over the past 12 years of rug hooking - I have had so much fun and created some awesome rugs and made many friends along that journey.  I would not take anything for the experiences I have had and the time spent hooking with my mom and our friends is priceless.

GUESS WHAT??????

I bet some of my faithful readers will know what this pile of stuff indicates????????????

YEP - it's time for Off the Ocean rug conference!!!!  YEAH - yes this is my pile of wool and hooking frame as I was dragging it out last night to pack in the car.  I am going to try to breathe life into a big rug that was designed for me but I did not get off to a good start at a previous OTO camp several years ago.  The teacher I am working with this year has done several wonderful rugs for me and I have been very pleased with the results.  She is also willing to work with my existing wool and just dye a few more colors and try to pull together a cohesive color plan for me.  I am excited !!!!!!!!  I picked her up at the airport this morning and had a nice lunch before I dropped her at the host hotel and dashed back to work to wrap up a few loose ends before checking into the hotel for 4 blissful days of hooking and visiting with my mom and other friends.  A lot of these women I only see once or twice a year so it is a lot of fun.  We had another record low here last night but all the snowbirds scoff at me when I talk about 23 being a record low - but hey folks - it's all relative - that is COLD for NE FL.  I will be taking photos of my project towards the end of camp and probably my mom's accomplishments and some of my other friends.  So next post will be a report on the camp experience this year.

This is a WIP photo of one of my 11 in 2011 Challenge pieces - it is a cowl by designer Debblie Bliss.  I am so pleased with how it coming out - I would say I am about 1/3 or 1/2 done with it - it just gets seamed together to make a big circle which you wear loosely around your shoulders or can pull up over your head the way it is pictured in the DB fall/winter magazine.  The yarn is a limited edition color by Dream in Color and is their chunky weight wool called Groovy and while I hate knitting with big needles (10.5 US) I do love this fabric - there is a slight cable pattern which you can barely see because the yarn is so busy.

The next WIP to show you is my Plymouth Sampler by the Sampler Company - if you also read Jeanne's Willow Tree Stitcher blog you have seen her GORGEOUS finished and framed Plymouth.  I have worked on this occasionally over the past year and it was NOT on my 11 111 in 2011 challenge list however my new 2011 starts are all brown right now and I needed a jolt of color - I also needed something relatively easy to stitch - this is a nice sized piece with lots of great silks - Jean at the Attic did a personal conversion for me when I visited her shop several years ago (er - let's don't say how many years ago!) and it is a mix of NPI and Belle Soie - So I am definitely enjoying some mindless stitching on this piece. 

I am making good progress with my Spanish Mystery sampler and expect to be on target with finishing January's suggested stitching.  If you read the Attic newsletter - you will see the January suggested.

I also made a small start on Elizabeth J M Mears - OMG - WHY WHY DID I choose two gigantimous samplers as SAL's this year.  I can't wait to get into that mock flame stitch section on Elizabeth but I am missing almost all of those NPI colors and need to order them before I can proceed.  Right now I am entering rug hooking heaven and my mind is not on stitching, silks or project goals.

I have been very remiss in rug hooking in 2010 - I had hoped to have 2 big rugs to put in the exhibit - I only had about 10 or 12 hours left on Merrie Halloween plus the binding - I am hanging my head in shame that I did not apply myself more 2 or 3 months ago when the goal could have been attained.  I was sitting at my frame on Sunday - frantically hooking and made great progress and then I thought - you silly goose - you can't finish this rug so just give it up.  Oh well - no need to beat myself up - it didn't happen - now all that is left is to go and have a marvelous time and enjoy my new project and all my friends.

I appreciate your comments and hope you are making great progress on your WIP's and new starts.  Please come back again real soon and enjoy your weekend !

FIRST FINISHES OF 2011

Good day friends - I have a couple of finishes to show - Lots of my local friends laughed when they heard the story of Jody's one fingerless mitt for Christmas. Well to all those skeptics who might have doubted I would finish the 2nd mitt before NYD - it did happen !



I really love how they turned out and JD has already worn them a couple of times. I was so impressed I think I am going to make myself a pair right away so I can use them this winter.

The next finish is a scarf for my friend and our admin assistant at the office - Betsy - You might recall last December Betsy gave me a wonderful gift at christmas - an antique sampler which had been passed down in her family. For those knitters out there - the scarf is Hand Maiden Sea Silk and I don't remember the colorway but it is much prettier than this photo shows - actually the photo is pretty crummy but I was in a hurry this morning and wanted a snap before I presented the gift.

Here is my progress so far on my NYE/NYD new start. The Spanish Mystery sampler by Shakespeares Peddler and the 2011 SAL with the Attic .
It is worked on the new Lakeside linen color vintage Pecan Butter 36ct using Jean's silk conversion. This is actually one shade of Gloriana Florimell and one shade of Belle Soie - you can't tell much difference as they are two shades of brown - this is the color scheme for the foreseeable future on this BAP so I am already seeing stitchy-itis raising it's ugly head. Plus reading everyone's great challenge lists is not helping matters - I'm getting the OOOOOO - I want to do that one and oh I have that chart in stash - " I should start that one syndrome." Frances Eden is one of those which may see a start real soon. What a schlup I am - 5 days into the new year and I am already back sliding on my challenge commitments - oh well - I have made some progress on the list - I ordered yarn, purchased needle and downloaded the pattern for the beret that was on my challenge list. ( see previous post )

Speaking of challenge lists and finishes for 2011 - DF Teresa (girl with needles blog) has set up a new blog called Working to Finish in 2011 - please become a follower and add to your list of blog reading.  The gals who have become contributors so far are all in our Azalea Sampler Guild group but I think this blog is going to be open to anyone who would like to post their 2011 Challenge goals, photos and finishes in 2011  in one spot. I am excited about this as several who have joined don't have blogs of their own.  There are some very talented stitchers and needlewomen in our Azalea group and this will be a way for them to get their work out there for you all to see. More to come on that as our developer/creator TeresaB puts out more information about who can join or how to receive an invitation to join.

Thanks for all your comments on my Finish 11 in 2011 challenge list. I think mine should have been called "working on 111 in 2011" - that is about how many WIP's and new starts are rolling around in my head this week.  You are all wonderful inspirations to me and I value your comments and readership of my blog - thank you and please come back again real soon.