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.

Seeing Red

I had a Zoom stitch-in yesterday and an EGA chapter meeting online this morning and I wanted to watch the tape for May's Mayflower Sampler Guild meeting--so I had time to stitch on All That Glitters, which is now my stitch-in/lecture/meeting project.

I really wanted to get to the red motif on the design--and I did, just barely.

 I could go to something else at this point--no more Zooming for me today--but I'd kinda like to see what the next shades of red will look like in person. So, I am forging on with this for the moment.

Subject to change and wherever whimsy takes me.

I am the boss of me

 I know that I said the Spot Sampler was going to be my Sampler Sunday project and would be worked on only on Sunday.

So far I've broken that declaration twice. Today was the second time.

I planned to work on something else today, but I started thinking about how long each one of these motifs takes to stitch. I finally figured out that at the present rate, it could take me as long as four years to complete the sampler. I really don't want to spend every Sunday for four years on the same sampler, so I decided that I can spend another day or two a week on it if the mood prevails.

After all, when it comes to my stitching, I am actually the boss of me and can do what I want!

Plus, I'm retired and I don't have to meet arbitrary deadlines or performance metrics. After working for so long, I have a problem remembering that sometimes.

SO much green!

 And I'm filling in leaves on this Sampler Sunday:

I just realized when I looked at the photo--it looks like this flower has little cacti erupting all over it.

Hopefully, by the time I get the petals of the flower filled in, the cacti will look like leaves and not cacti. I'm not sure that an embroiderer in the 1600's would have had access to a cactus to know what one would look like.

I could start working on the petals, but I know that I need to take care of my greens before I get to the sweet stuff.  

See what I did there?

Obviously, I need to take a break.

And . . . a Start

 I've been making lists of older projects that I want to work on.

It's a very long list and definitely needs to be winnowed down. After all, I'd like to have some finishes instead of just moving forty-leven projects along.

And I was looking at the list last night and realized I didn't have anything that would be conducive to working on during guild meetings/lectures/stitch-ins.  And I have a lot of guild meetings and lectures and potential stitch-ins coming up.

So, short of digging out a needlepoint piece that just needs the background worked (and I'm sure there are a few of those in the stash), I pulled out one of the projects from a class I took from Jackie du Plessis a year or so ago. It's a stitcher's pocket, aka "All That Glitters."

And I have a good start. The design has a series of interlocking motifs that are easy to count and fill in, and it uses an elongated cross stitch so it has a beautiful texture, and it's complicated enough to keep me interested but easy to do while otherwise engaged.

Tomorrow is Sampler Sunday--that's going to stay the same--and then on Monday I'll start working on one of the multitude of projects on my list.

We'll see which one wins out.

New Stuff

 It's been a good mail week.

Tania Cohen's Knot Garden Bouquet is the focus piece for the Special Interest Group sponsored by the Dayton Chapter of EGA for the rest of the year. The kit has arrived! Unfortunately, Dearly Beloved and I had to be out of town for a few days, and I didn't get to participate in the first meeting covering the project.

And then, when we arrived home today, this was waiting for me:

Ann Beck is a new designer to me, but her bio is fascinating. She designed and embroidered the costumes worn by some of the greats in figure skating and also had a costuming business for a number of years. She has turned her attention to teaching embroidery now, and I just found out about her recently. And of course I fell in love with this design and ordered the kit.

Open the box and it's like Christmas:

You almost don't want to untie the ribbon . . . but you do . . . 

Silks and metals and trims, oh, my! And a quick scan of the instructions look like they are more than complete, with extra notes talking about various facets of the design.

And am I going to leap right in?

I want to.

I really want to.

However, while I was out of town, especially during the long drives to and fro, I have been thinking about all the WIPs and UFOs and amazing projects in my stash, particularly two big and long-term projects. I also found a list of projects I wanted to do as soon as I retired.

I retired five years ago.

Have I touched any of those projects on that list?

Nope.

So I'm going to focus on some stash pieces that have been started and add the new stuff once I get some of the old stuff completed. Some of the old stuff really only needs a few days to become finished stuff. and finished stuff is the best stuff!

This does not mean that there will be no further stash enhancement. I mean, do you know me? It just means that maybe the things you'll see me work on are mostly older projects. for awhile, with a new thing or two thrown in because I just can't stand it.