Heat is gone for a day or two and we are enjoying.sunshine!!!

Well after a hefty rain on Friday and then slight rain on Saturday, Sunday is here with sun out and everything shining brightly.  The ocean is a bit upset, but at least you can sit out there and get sun and there is a delightful breeze.  I've had a few finishes since last we spoke.  One of my favorites is the Brenda Gervais, "Patriotic Poppies" which I did on the a 20 ct Legacy linen over 2 using Weeks Perle Cottons.  Fun stitch and then I gave it dimension by stitching the patriotic swag on the sheep on a separate piece and then attaching it so it stands off.  When I stitched it originally as shown, things just looked so one dimensional so I added that, and then 5 of the flowers are the weeks wool cut and stitched in place (that's done on the original chart as well with directions included) and then I added beads for the sheep's eyes (which you can't see and the 2 patriotic quilted star buttons I used on the bottom,which are also hidden in the picture.)

 The entire pillow is around 16"x 16" so it's perfect for a chair or sofa.  While I was searching thru the racks I found the sheep pulling a pumpkin wagon for fall....I'm certain it's coming to the store this fall.  Another finish, Val's Stuff 3 dimensional bat has been in my tote since Nashville.  So it finally got it out of the tote and it was an easy stitch and an easy finish so he's now flying around the shop.

The chart comes with everything but floss, so your felted balls are in there along with the buttons for the eyes and fangs, perforated paper for the bat wings and the weeks wool for the backing of the bat wings and the cord for hanging.  You can pick either purple or green for the bats and both sayings are in each pack, "Bite Me" or "I'm going Batty",so you can pick the one you like.  Sara is always saying "Bite me" to me, so I felt it was the most appropriate for her.  

The final piece to show this week is Liberty Notes from Shepherd's Bush.  I have always loved Shepherd's Bush and this was a beautiful stitch.  I hate borders normally because they are boring, but the two small borders here were delicate and a delight to stitch.  From beginning to end it was a joy.  And I framed it in the same frame  that I used for Land of Liberty.  I should have had West End Framing cut a new frame just a slight bit taller so I had equal space on the top and bottom, but I just couldn't wait.  Love it!

So of course the best part of finishing is picking new projects.  Well, I decided to go back and finish Clementine by Stacy Nash....after all, Theodore is lonely in the cabinet all by himself.  I should be able to finish her in a couple of days.  When I was stitching Theodore I wished for more color on him because quite frankly I was a little bored using just a few colors....but I couldn't wait for Clementine because her dress is quite colorful.  Well, be careful what you wish for.  Two nights ago I had to redo so many parts I finally gave up for the night.  Then last night realized I was about 9 rows short on the dress so I had to pull out the bottom and redo so while there is more color, one color would have been easier.  But I love her and can't wait to finish her.  And then it's on to Harrison.  I realize I'm skipping Monroe for now, but I'll get back to him.  Harrison is just talking to me at this point.  Stacy has done such a wonder job with this series I intend to stitch them all.  Fun, Fun, Fun.  When I'm done with Clementine, I haven't a clue what I'm going to start next.....probably Halloween since I have the Halloween tote stuffed with projects sitting on the sofa for me to go through.  There are so many possibilities I've got too many to choose from.  I also have unfinished designs sitting here that I would also like to finish.  Decisions, decisions.  Got to get back to Clementine...talk to you again soon.  Have a great stitching week.

Day 2 of Heat Wave....OMG...how are people sitting out on the beach in this?

I walked to work this morning and by the time I arrived I needed another bath...honestly you would think this would be a weight reduction plan for me, but so is not.  Thrilled to be in Salty Yarns in the a/c.  We have all heard the power of social media, but we actually saw it first hand yesterday.  Sara and I had a  miscommunication when I spoke with her regarding a knitted shawl in the shop and what yarns were used.  (I'm not as familiar with the knitting section so I always ask Sara).  The customer purchased the yarns along with a great many other things and when Sara came to work I was still so uncertain about the yarn I asked her again.  We realized we(O.K.me, but I'm making Sara take the hit since she hasn't labeled a damn thing)  had sold the wrong yarn to the customer.  Thankfully the customer has been in the store every year when she's here on vacation, however we didn't have a phone number or e-mail so Sara posted a plea on Facebook asked anyone who knew her to please reach out and ask her to get in touch with us.  The customer was in this morning...she got a call from a co-worker from about 8 years ago.  Needless to say I was greatly relieved to get her the correct yarn and amazed it turned out so well.  Still not a fan of all the crap on social media...too much info on people that no one should have..Facebook certainly serves a purpose.  Last night when I finally got home from my shift, sat on the sofa, laid my head back for a little nap when the damn phone buzzed to let me know I had a message.  I checked and it was Michael, at work. asking me to bring him his shoes (he got new shoes while I was at work so he immediately changed into his new shoes leaving his other work shoes in the shop).  So I headed back to the shop to get the shoes and get them to him, got back home, found a parking space again (which is incredibly hard in the summer which is why I normally walk to work) and got back into the apartment and a/c, sat back on the sofa and started to nod off and about 15 min. later the phone rang and it was Michael asking me to pick him up.  While I'd love to have that shift...about 30 min since he got to work..this meant leaving my parking spot again.  But it's Michael so there's no question....I went and got him.  When I got home after that my parking spot was gone but I did find the last one on the street by my house so I parked,  went back in to the apartment and then took a nap...no stitching.  I woke up around 1 and tried to stitch a little but after finishing one motif I went back to sleep because today is my 10 hour day...shop and then hotel so I knew I'd need more rest.  It's killing me I'm losing stitching time, but family first!  Brian got an MRI and he needs surgery so we are in crisis mode for the summer.  What could go wrong?  God help us!  Anyway, I wanted to show you a finish I had which I never posted because I changed several things including the verse because I was stitching this for a gift.  This design came mostly from Plum Street "Mariner's Drum" which I feel in love with.  I experienced a few difficulties (of my own making) so had to change the top from a stitched piece to wool, but that was alright with me.  Let me point out a couple of things that really impressed me with this design.  The  band around the drum was fully designed, no blank areas, it had the sand on the bottom of the scene as you would have in the water and the anchor you see on the first picture...that chain extended onto the top which had a ship on it....little details mean so much.  And the mermaid's mirror...the mirrors usually appear on stitching with just grey or silver as the mirror, but this one has the mermaid's image on it (done over 1)...and while you may not realize it at first I find thats the kind of detail I appreciate.  This also allowed me to add some little embellishments.  At first I was looking for tiny shells to add, but then Sara brought up the smallest starfish I'd ever seen and in perfect condition (while I added 3, you can see one on the 4th picture at the bottom)  and the tiny seahorse....OMG, needless to say I attached starfish and the seahorse to the piece.  Then I beaded pearl beads I had and made a necklace which you can see in picture 5 coming out of the treasure chest.  I have to confess I did change the face of the mermaid so it was more rounded.  Then the verse I changed to "Remember me when this you see, forever friends we will be."   When I could see I was having some difficulty with the top I changed it to the wool, went down to the shell shop and found the perfect real sanddollar that was the perfect size  and attached it to the top.  Please know there was nothing wrong with the verse originally on this piece, but I was trying to customize it for my friend.  This is a fabulous design and a wonderful stitch.  I plan to stitch it again as charted.

Well, I suppose I should be getting back to work.  I'm trying to get all our yarns on the web site....UGH!  This is a necessity but more like work so of course I'm not having any fun at all.  Perhaps while Sara's not around I'll sneak in some stitching.  I have the July 31st deadline quickly approching...got a project that must be done.  Talk to you later.  Have a great weekend.  

OMG ...What a great time to sit in the a/c and stitch..............

OMG...the heat is turning up and we've had multiple events that have put me back to work full time...UGH...  Brian's out and can barely move due to a sciatic nerve problem.  Thankfully his main management job in the laundry room is being handled by staff that have worked for us for a few years so they know exactly what to do, but he backs Mary up at the front desk and so I worked there yesterday, but I'm a red hot mess there since it's nothing like the years I ran the desk.  The verdict is still out on whether I'm helping or in the way.  Brian's son, C.J., the marine who came home from Japan last September afer serving our country for 4 years, was at a party on Saturday night and was blindsided by a hit to the jaw which put him in PRNC where they decided he needed to go to Washington for surgery.  So on top of everything else we've had that drama.  He is home now recuperating but the family is unnerved at this point.  But I will be helping out in the hotel whenever I'm not in shop.  Judy has family coming down for the weekend so I'm in the shop....and that's an area I'm a lot more familiar with.  Although, I still struggle there since Sara and her crew have moved everything so I have no clue where to look for stuff.  This will cut into my stitching, however, I have 2 finishes...obviously quick ones, to show.   First is "To The Beach" which is a freebie when you purchase any of the "To the Beach" Series from Hands  on Design.  I actually framed this the way I now want all of them framed with a small border in our new Boardwalk Frames.  I did this on 18 ct. linen over 2 because I initially wanted this hanging on the front of the tin bin I was putting all the designs in for display and wanted it bigger than the pieces inside the bin, however when the display idea changed so did the finishing on this.

Land of Liberty is a Shepherd's Bush kit done on 10 ct. and so it is fast and easy, really a one day job.  All supplies were in the kit and the patriotic frame is from West End Frames.  My favorite frame for anything patriotic.   

  

Both pieces were fun to do and fast...two of my favorite things.  In the meantime I brought in Liberty Notes to get framed...and that was also quick and easy but so delicate.  I hate the repetition of borders but the border they used on 2 sides of this were so beautiful I didn't mind at all.  So while this was done on 32 Count I couldn't put it down so it became a 2 day project.  I'll post it as soon as it's framed.  Aside from stitching and annoying the girls my days all seem the same.  Eat, sleep, and stitch.  Thank God for Netflix and Acorn- my companions while I stitch.  Life is good as long as I've got my stitching, ice water with lemon (yes I barely drink diet sodas anymore), and the T.V.  I can ignore anything happening outside which is at times a good thing.  Have a nice weekend and I'll be blogging soon

No bail needed...........

Sara just called over to let me know that her mail order shipping has been successful.  New system seems to be working fine so she is not going postal.  We do not need bail, and thank you for being with us if she did.  Now we can all have a nice weekend.

OMG...what could go wrong?

Keep your fingers crossed in hopes Sara does not go postal this morning while dealing with the post office.  They introduced a new system for mail orders in which you put no postage on your packages, and the post office will deduct the postage from your account.  So she has her mail orders ready to go this morning and this will be the first time she's trying the new system.  But she's also ready to do battle with the postman in Salty Yarns.  I mean really, what could go wrong with this system.   I'll try to keep you posted or open an account for you to help me bail her out of jail.  In stitching news I finished all embellishment of Patriotic Poppies and will have it up on the blog as soon as the pillow is completed.  Yea!!! New start ahead.  I went through all my WIP and will pick out one to work on along with a brand new piece, as soon as I get home.  It's so exciting, isn't it, when you go through stash and see all the charts you loved, and so hard to pick just one (which is part of my sickness), but I shall give it the old college try.  I'm thinking Halloween....if I start now I'll be sure to have it done.  I'm also working on a piece along with Stasi and Debbie.  I don't know how far along they are, but I started it a couple of weeks ago, worked on it for about 2 hrs and put it in a bag and forgot about it.  I unearthed it yesterday, recalled that we were suppose to have the lid done by July 31st, so I'm back on it again.  I'm almost half way done the lid (do you hear me Debbie and Stasi) and feel certain I can keep up with this time line.  Then yesterday I ordered the special kit from Down Sunshine Lane.  If you haven't seen it, they have it under new on the website and since it's beachy and from Hands on Design, I just had to have it.  So it's on it's way to my house....whoppee!  Beth Jernigan was in the shop this week and we were talking about Theresa Baird's "Cottage by the Sea Sewing Set" and since we both love it and have it in our stash we were thinking about a stitch along for our Stitch 'n Bitch group.  Well, I don't have to worry about that since we don't meet in the summer, but I'm wondering how many challenges I can handle along with shop models.  God, I'm not getting any younger and I'm going to bed earlier, and of course there is the IPad situation I'm dealing with....I'm not sure I can handle this.  Well, since I'm suppose to be working on payroll this morning in the office, I best get to it.  Have a great weekend, hopefully with some stitching thrown in and I'll talk to you later.

Summer has officially started in Salty Yarns....

Events are a thing of the past until September, the heat is turned on and we are, Thank God!, through senior month...  Our last round of classes went well.  As always Betsy Morgan is a treat and the stitchers were a good group with no drama and Paola was here from Luxenburg and brought her friend Molly from Indiana to join her so we had a good time.  Paola, as always, delighted our stitch group on Tuesday night with her show and tell.  Exquisite, both front and back.  Honestly you had to get up close and personal to see which side was which, she takes such care to finish her stitching on the back so no color runs into another color when ending her threads.  And her pieces this time were big pieces, as opposed to her smalls....unbelievable.  It is such inspiration for all of us...something to strive for...perfect stitching...and of course she worked on counts which defy the eyes...45, 48 and I believe a 52 might have snuck in.  While she didn't have smalls to show the group, I still had my beautiful box, a gift from Paola, to show and of course, it was gorgeous.  The Ohio Girls were down Monday and reminded me I hadn't blogged in a while so I thought I'd dash a message off just to let you know I'm still alive and breathing and stitching as much as I can.  Damn that IPad though...as much as I hate the time suck machine, there are times I just can't force myself off.  I now keep it in the bathroom to limit my time on it, only now that has taken the place of my reading...that's not a good thing.  But for now it is a necessity, until I learn to control my IPad urges.  On the stitching front I've stitched 3 of the Hands on Design "To the Beach Series" which I had a specific plan for and cut the material based on that plan, but when we got a new framer that plan went out the window.  Instead we decided to frame them in what we call "Boardwalk Frames" which come in green, grey, and blue.  The colors are muted just like the colors in the series, as if this series was made for this frame...so I had no choice, but it did create problems for framing.  While my finished version is framed right up to the design, I'm now doing the rest of the series on larger cuts so there will be a border between the design and the frame.  I still love the series and these three even if a border would perhaps look nicer.  "  As Sara loves to say, "it is what it is."

 

"Scatter Freedom" was actually stitched many years ago and sat on the cutting table at home in the Hinzeit frame since then, never really finished.  (Don't Ask!) But with the framer here I decided to redo the framing and here it is.  I've always loved the scatter series and have done a few of them.  But I can't take credit for getting this stitched in 2017...I can take credit for once again starting the clean up of my stitching room, a job which will never be completed I fear.

"There's No Place Like Home" was stitched by our Judy Brunclik for her grandson, Jason, who is currently laid up with a broken bone and now can't play.  So...cute, and perfect fabric for finishing.  It is a Sue Hillis design and Judy stitched it on 16 ct. linen.  There are other designs so far in this series, "Shoot the goal,"  "Play Football," and "Play Soccer!"

And finally I added this to the finished list last night after struggling with the finishing a little.  The long side goes together beautifully, but for some reason, after doing several drums with no problem, I'm experiencing difficulty in getting it done to my satisfaction.  But after redoing it a couple of times, I couldn't be happier.  This is "Lady Liberty" by Blackbird Designs.  I can't say enough about the design.  I love a design which is chuck full of stitching and this certainly fits the bill.  Stitched on 36 ct. Ligonier Latte linen and finished with Weeks wool on the bottom.  I filled it half way with lizard litter, which makes it really heavy and then topped it off with polyfill.  Blackbird filled theirs with sawdust which is also a good idea if you happen to have a boatload sitting around.  Love the colors, love the design, and now love the finish.

And the final picture is actually the key fob to the Lizzie Kate summer tote I showed before.  I had stitched the bee but screwed up the tassel, had to redo and then forgot to bring it back...well I carried it around in my tote before I realized it was still there last night.  So now the Summer Tote is officially finished....although I was going to do a scissor spool so perhaps it's not finished yet.  

 Normally I don't work on items for a specific season or day after the day or season has passed, but this year I'm still stitching Patriotic....love it!  I did a Brenda Gervais from last year or the year before that I was dying to stitch, but I'm having difficulties with the lack of additions on my part.  I love   dimensional add-ons...and while this design has wool flowers added I wasn't  happy with just that so I'm still figuring this out, although I had a great idea but am afraid when I try to execute it I'll run into trouble..but what the heck I'm going for it anyway.  After my "Lady Liberty" finishing struggle I wanted a fast stitch so I stitched "Land of Liberty" by Shepherds Bush and handed it over to West End Frames this morning.  He's quick so I should have it in this week.  In my bag right now are 3 projects....Stacy Nash's "Clementine" cat (which I have stitched the head at this point), Shepherd's Bush, "Liberty Notes", and "Little Blue House, " and of course I've got 10 of the Hands on Design's "To The Beach Series."  I'm ready to stitch 24/7, the only problem is I can't stay up like that anymore.  I find myself, after a day of stitching, getting tired around 11 p.m. and going to bed, but of course that means I'm up at 3:30 to visit my IPad and then I figure what the hell and pick up my stitching, turn on Acorn T.V., PBS, or Netflix and ready to go for another several hours.  I have given some thought to cleaning up the apartment, but after hanging a couple of items in the closet I take an endless break.  So I'm not getting far with that chore.  I did drive Solomon to skateboard camp in Pennsylvania so that was 12 hours of  driving up and back and 6 days later did the drive again to pick him up.  But we do for grandchildren that I'm not sure I'd do for my own...oh, wait a minute Sara went to computer camp when she was around 10 in Connecticut.  I take back my previous statement.  I finally learned how to use the GPS in the car so that was a wonderful surprise and on the way up my Sirius went out (and yes I paid the bill) which was a pain and when I got home and went online I had to be in the car to reboot it which meant I forgot it until the return trip.  Of course I was on the road before I remembered, but once I stopped I took care of it and may I say how easy that was.  I'm actually becoming proficient with this on line stuff....not that you could tell by my banking experience.  For the last couple of years I've done mobile banking with no problem.  This year they updated and you had to change your password,etc, and I have to call them once a week because I keep getting locked out so I've said the hell with that and I'm back to taking the deposit to the bank, which isn't really that much of a chore since I give it to Mary to take when she does the hotel banking, but it's the principle here that is driving me crazy.  (I'm not sure what principle I'm speaking of but I'll find one somewhere.)  Anyway, I've actually got to get to work since I have to work on the card rack (UGH!!! I'm in Sea Trader and no one else will do it.  Since I only work in here once or twice a month it means the rack is a red hot mess when I return.  An all day job and I hate it-along with all the other things I hate about working.)  But I need to get to it and get it done so have a great weekend.  I'll post again next week hopefully.