Thursday, August 7, 2014

I see the end of the line for a few projects...exciting


Oh I'm getting, on several projects, to the finish line and I'm really excited since I haven't had a finish in a month.  But...this month I should see a couple at least.  Anyway, thought I'd show you what's happening on the Welsh Cottage.  I finished the front wall, back wall, both sections of the roof and I've got one partial side wall and I'm working on the 2nd side wall.  As you may recall, this is my joint project with Linda Wimbrow, and we have a deadline of December 31st on it as I've already put the date on my roof.  We've had the project for several years, kept promising we'd start it and of course never did, so this year it was a "now or never" thing.  I'm determined and so is Linda so I know it will be done!  Pardon the wrinkled look the pictures have.  Of course I just ripped it out of the bag and photographed it...no ironing here folks.  Anyway, I'm enjoying this stitch once again.  Had a tough time with the first side wall, which is why it still isn't finished, but the second side is breezing right along.  I may not get as much time in now as I was getting.  Tuesday I picked up Solomon at 10:00 a.m. for the skatepark and he was there all day.  Brian relieved me at 7:30 p.m. so I was able to get home, go to the bathroom and relax for a while.  Honestly I don't know how this little 6 year old was able to do this...all day...no breaks...Mary brought him lunch and dinner and I never saw him take a bathroom break.  Meanwhile, if Mary hadn't given me a break at 1:30 so I could run home and use the bathroom I'd have a flooding in the van, where I sit the entire time as Solomon wants no parents in the park with him.  6 years old....he can't understand why we have to be there because none of the other boys have parents there....he is the only 6 year old in the park...duh!!! So I chose to go in periodically to see him (and hopefully he can't see me from where I'm standing), but basically I stay in the car with my a/c the entire time.  I came prepared, I had a book, 2 stitching projects and although I brought iced tea I was afraid to drink it because I'd been warned about the bathroom at the skatepark and told I would not go in there.  So I don't even want to take a chance.   Long day and not very productive for me, but these are memories for Solomon so I want to be a part of that.  I want him to remember while I may not be able to get down on the floor and play with him at the age of 3 (well I did but it was a 15 minute process to get up off the floor), but when he was ready for skateboarding I was there and willing to put in the time...well at least on Tuesday.  Now that we've lost one of the desk receptionist (she goes to her permanent job now that she graduated) I'm sure baby sitting and skateboard park sitting are in my immediate future...Mary is now our day desk receptionist at the hotel.  I seem to be the only free person in the family (sometimes semi-retired can bit you in the ass).   But school will be starting soon so then it will be an after school thing so  I'll only have to be there for a few hours.  What grandparents do for their grandchildren.  Back to stitching however, my traveling Quaker roll is about 2 days from completion.  Over one on 40 ct....ugh...but I'm gritting my way through.  The little needle book and fob are so precious to look at.  There is nothing more beautiful than over one stitching on smaller counts.  I still don't know how Paola stitches on 52 ct, but I'm taking her word for how "easy" it is I have no intention of going there.  The "Gathering of Sheep" which is a special kit from Chessie  & Me and only available from Tomorrow's Heirloom, is progressing very nicelynd I've almost finished the needlebook.  It's a fun project with a cute wooden carrier, and will have a stitched fob, needlebook and a piece that goes on the front of the wooden carrier.  It's a joy to stitch even though it's on dark fabric, but it's over 2 so I'm loving it.  I'll get a picture up in the next few days so you can see it.  Then the Cotton Bird is progressing very slowly.  It was suppose to be over 2 on 36 count, but I decided, idiot that I am, that over 1 would give me a small and I could figure out how to finish it better than if I framed it.  I force myself to stitch one part of this per day and that is how I'm getting through this one.  I haven't started on the tray mat which is the other club with Ladies Prim.  These clubs are getting me into a lot of trouble.  And I'm back on the Shepherds Fold.  Everyone knows what a fanatic I am about Shepherds Bush...love them!  Have just about all of them in my stash, have stitched many of their pieces which are now hanging in the shop (with only a few at home), so when I first heard about the Fold I was so excited and knew I would be stitching it.  When it got to the shop  though, there was something throwing me off.  I didn't even take one home at that point, but of course when everyone was getting one and starting them, I decided to get on that train.  I made a couple of changes instantly, made the chimneys shorter...just small changes that no one would notice, then I had the problem (strickly my fault) with the fiber difference in color and I just put it in the bag and said I'll rip later.  I took it out of the bag a couple of weeks ago and got the first fibers pulled out so the grass on the one side would look the same, but that caused a change in colors being necessary for the grass on the other side as well as the leaf color on the flowers as the color called for blended in with the grass so you couldn't even see it.  You know, with each change that must take place you get a little more bogged down and I found myself working on other things rather than working on it.  But the other day I said, "I've got to work on this and get it finished, since I'm already behind."  So I pulled it out of the bag, figured out what was bothering me so much and made the decision to change it a little more.  The urn of flowers sitting beside the house was throwing me off  because it seemed out of place to me.  Reminds me of the samplers where the people are as large as the houses they stand beside...which is what I don't like about samplers.  Shepherds Bush has done such lovely pastoral sampler the last couple of years so I decided to make this like that.  I decided if that was all that was keeping me from loving this piece and finishing this piece then I needed to change it.  I'm taking the urn out, moving the bee skeps up toward the house and adding a fence on the right side to match the fence on the left side.    I'm not going to discard the urn completely though, because I love the urn of flowers, so I'm going to use it inside the box, either on the lid or on the inside bottom.  I'm thrilled now with my decisions, and it's going to be perfect and I'll have my Shepherds Bush box, my way.  Can't wait.  And I 'm close to getting it done as well.  Summer Alphabet from Little House is done except....while I've charted Ocean City, Md., I haven't stitched it in yet so I'm hoping to get that done this week and then another finish.  But all this talking about it isn't getting the job done, so I'm going to end here and go finish something (hopefully).  Talk to you soon

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