Almost There

 I realized that I still had a bunch of details to add to the Elizabethan Rose before I sewed the petals on.

So I did.

There are supposed to be spangles on the gold framework but I looked at the photo of the finished piece and decided I didn't like them, so I left them off.

And then I was arranging the petals and decided I have a couple that are a little cattywampus--obviously the ones I did first--and I think I have enough thread to re-do them--so I may try that before this is finally stitched completely.

Meanwhile, today I think I'll work on Carmen a little bit. I ripped back to the mistake so I'm set to go. 

We come now to the end of the stitching part of this blog. We are now moving on to the latest Domestic Situation. If you are only interested in needlework, you can stop now.

Dearly Beloved has added a new snoring pattern to his repertoire.

He has several snores.n (And, yes, he has had several sleep studies and sleeps with a CPAP machine.)

The first and most common is the snort-and-snuffle snore. It is not unlike the sound a bear makes when it's rooting around for food in unsecured trash cans or Yogi Bear's pick-a-nick baskets. Or vehicles. There are reels and reels of reels showing bears destroying cars, vans, SUVs, and trucks in search of the food within. Generally that involves the partial PBandJ and string cheese the 7 year-old left in the side pocket of the back seat.

There are also reels and reels of reels of bears getting into and out of hammocks. If you need a chuckle, I highly recommend.

I digress.

The second is a sort of putt-putt sound that involves some lip action. It sounds a little like the old outboard on the fishing boat on the pond at your great-uncle's place. 

Then there is the major snore. It's a little like hearing a train from a distance, heading toward you and getting louder as it approaches--this is the inhale--and then diminishing as it passes by--this is the exhale. This one is loud and seems to last forever--quite frankly, Pavarotti would envy the breath control of this one.

And, last night, he added a new one.

It's a cross between a whistle and a kazoo.

He uttered it right next to my ear. It was very high-pitched. I hope to regain hearing in that ear as the day progresses.

And I wonder why I wake up in the middle of the night.

I Want to Stitch All the Things!!

I have piles and piles of projects I want to do.

Actually, mountains of projects.

It's overwhelming. Sometimes it's hard to decide where to start.

BDE and I were talking about this very thing last evening. We may have figured out a way to tackle the problem. 

One of my online friends has a bin of WIPs by her stitching chair. She has numbered them. Then she has slips of paper with those numbers in a little basket. When she doesn't know where to start, she pulls out a slip and works on whatever project whose number she pulled. It doesn't make any difference if it's something she wants to do or not--she refers to it as Fate's Choice, and apparently she's found that once she starts stitching, all is right with the world and she is back in the rhythm. And she's getting things done rather than starting something new.

BDE has gaming dice, so it's easier for her to roll a number. She's going to try that for a bit.

I decided to work on about a half a dozen projects in July and see where that gets me.

Mine are:

• Carmen
• Carmen's Etui (which just needs to be assembled)
• Elizabethan Rose
• All That Glitters
• The Queen Sampler

I will continue to work on the Spot Sampler one day a week. It is now being referred to as the Five-Year-Project.

Meanwhile, this is what I accomplished last night on All That Glitters--I'm starting a new motif pattern!

Fingers crossed that this works, that both BDE and I have some finishes, and we can add new projects to the list as we finish the current batches.

Mid-Year Review

 Since today is the last day of the first half of 2026, I thought I would see what I've been able to stitch so far this year.

I've stitched three samplers:

• Brenda Gervais's A Daily Reminder (this was my blessing sampler)
• Elizabeth Hall 1771 from Needlework Press
• Liberty for All by Stacey Nash

I have eight new ornaments for my 2026 Christmas tree:

• Alison Cole's Elizabethan Rose Christmas ornament
• Betsy Morgan's Christmas Treats--there are six of them and I am counting them individually
• Serpentine Stitchery's Scottish Sampler ornament

One silk and gold project:

• Hummingbird in Silk and Gold from Lizzie Pye

And a couple of smalls that are FFO'd

• Flower Pin Cushion & Needle Book from Merry Cox
• Clara 1876 doll by Susan Standley

I have a LOT more that I want to do in the second half of the year--as usually, I am being overly ambitious and think I can stitch faster than I actually can.

But for today, I'm going to work on Jackie's All That Glitters Stitcher's Pocket. I've started on the next motif.  Here's where I am at the moment:

I wish the glitter showed up better in the photo. It is very, very glittery--and I've found that I LOVE stitching with the AVAS Metallics--so much that I ordered three more spools of the gold used in this design for my stash.

After all, you can never have too much shiny stuff!

Back to Clara

 When I made the big pin cushion out of Clara 1876, I felt she needed something else--trim, or lace, or pompoms--but Joann's is gone, and buying trim from a picture online doesn't always result in what you want.

So I texted the Best Daughter Ever (aka BDE) and asked if she would be willing to crochet a trim.

BDE really enjoys doing the fiddliest of things--she makes bobbin lace and tats and knits and crochets lace with the smallest of yarns and threads--and she sent me photos of several different trims and I picked one and within 24 hours she had made the exact amount I needed for Clara.

I am the luckiest of moms.

So here is Clara with her added finery.

I think it's just perfect.

Meanwhile, I've made a little more progress on All That Glitters, which is currently my stitch-in/lecture/Zoom meeting project.

I almost got the second red motif filled in during today's Western Reserve Sampler Guild meeting. This is a delightful group of stitchers, and I always enjoy their meetings. They just had their first retreat, and my fingers are crossed that I can go to the next one in 2027.

But now I think I'm going to take a nap. 

Seeing Spots

The only thing that has seen the point of a needle this week is the third motif on the Spot Sampler.

 I'd be surprised if you can see them, but there's a bunch of white stitches that have been worked in. I can't see them and I stitched them.

I would like to point out that it's very difficult to stitch off-white thread on off-white linen and see anything at all. This takes ghost stitches to a whole new level.

We had to go back to our old stomping grounds for a return trip to our dentist--we haven't found anyone we like here since we moved, and since our insurance won't cover anything beyond cleanings and check-ups twice a year, we may as well go back to the guy we like and trust. 

However, apparently I decided to chew on my numbed lip at some point, and it's a little swollen. I don't think this is what bee-stung lips are supposed to look like. I look lopsided. I mentioned this to Dearly Beloved, who looked at me very seriously and said he couldn't tell any difference.

I think the next appointment that we need to make is with an ophthalmologist. For him.

The Big 5-0

Dearly Beloved and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary yesterday by running away from home for the week.

We fled to the mountains and had a lovely time, other than navigating highway construction. I'm not sure how much is recovery work from Hurricane Helene and how much is the never-ending, eternal, and forever construction on I-40. I do know that the GPS had us doing a number of U-turns on about every foray out into the world.

That was the only problem with the trip. We did some sightseeing, some shopping (I got to Sassy Jack's), a lovely visit with a treasured friend who lives in the area, and a lot of dining. We enjoyed the getaway. And BDE brought dinner to us last night to celebrate some more. 

So now we are focusing on making it to 60 years.

Not much stitching occurred while we were away, but a good bit happened since we got home. 

I took Merry Cox's Americana Sewing Case with me, and did a little bit on it.

Did I mention that it's all over one? Did I realize that it is all over one when I decided to take it with me? Did I get a thread off in 1998 and that's why I stopped working on it, or did I make that mistake on the trip? Am I going to try to find it and rip the border out (since that's where I think I made the mistake)?

The only question I'm going to answer is the last one, and the answer is a resounding "NO!" I am not ripping anything out.

And then I filled in one of the red motifs on All That Glitters.

I really wish the colors didn't looks so washed out in the photo. This is a really vibrant red. Dearly Beloved, who doesn't pay much attention to what I'm stitching because I'm always stitching and he can't keep up with the number of projects I tackle, even glanced over, stopped dead in his tracks, and announced that he really, really likes this design.

And last, but not least, I finished the cutwork on Elizabethan Rose and started doing some of the fiddly little detail work that needs to be done before I can add the petals.

There is more to do, but I'm hoping to have a finish by the end of the month.

Tomorrow, though, is Sampler Sunday and I'm definitely in the mood to work on the third flower. 

I believe I'll thread a needle and start Sunday a little bit sooner.

A little of this, a little of that

 Currently, I'm bouncing around like a BB in a boxcar.

Elizabethan Rose has been sitting in time-out because I am chicken. I needed to do the cutwork, which means you cut pieces of gold into short lengths and sew them down like bugle beads. Trying to get them the correct length is not the easiest thing in the world, especially for me. Due to Fear of Screwing Up, I set it aside until I finally decided perfection is the enemy of good enough and started working on it today.

One side is done but my hands started cramping and I thought maybe I should quit before I really screwed up.

I did make some progress on All That Glitters yesterday:

I though I'd go from one motif to the other but now I'm wondering if it wouldn't make just as much sense to fill one motif in completely and then do the other. A decision on that will wait for a few days

because I found this buried deep in the stash:

I took this class at Christmas in Williamsburg in 1998. We are talking about almost 30 years ago.  It's more than time to pull it out and work on it for that reason alone--but since we're celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, I think it's time to finish it.

Actually, I am finding that I can work on something for about three days and then I'm ready for something else. In the past, I've pulled out a half dozen or so things I want to stitch and moved among them until I have some finishes. That has worked really well, and why I haven't consistently done that, I have no idea. It's probably because something shiny pops up and I can't stand to wait. 

At my advanced age, I should be able to exercise some self-restraint.

I should be.

I'm probably not, but I may try it again.