A HUGE Finish!

Hello stitching friends!  Well, I have not been blogging, but I have been stitching!  I have finally finished my Historic Countries Sampler from The Gift of Stitching Magazine!  After getting very far with it last year it was packed away and 'resting' until I suddenly decided that I wanted to finish it this year.  It was great fun to stitch and I am very happy with the result:

It is a bit difficult to photograph the entire piece due to the size (this really is a biggie!), so here are a few closer shots:

It is stitched on 28ct antique white Jubilee with the recommended DMC threads.  This is a big one off my ever growing WIP list!

I have also been stitching a few smaller designs and am currently working on an Angel by Joan Elliot, but more on that in the next post.

It seems that Spring is finally arriving - we have had a few sunshine days, but nights are still bitterly cold.  It was a very long, cold and wet winter and it is so good to finally see the sun again!

That's it for now.

Happy Stitching!

Michelle

Blog on Vacation

Hi stitching friends!  You might have noticed that, yet again, it has been a long time between posts for me.  I just don't seem to have the time for blogging/commenting anymore.  

To top off my distress, a package I ordered from Anita's Little Stitches in April has not arrived yet.  I emailed Anita to find out which mail method she used and she sent me such a rude email in reply!  She claims that 50% of her business is overseas and a package has never gotten lost (and if you believe that you'll believe anything).  I have been ordering stitching supplies from overseas for years and this is the first package I have not received.  Needless to say, I was shocked by her response - I was planning to re-order, but obviously she has now lost a customer. 

Anyway, enough complaining and on to some stitching.  Here is what I have been up to:

I have made great progress on Historic Countries Sampler (from the Gift of Stitching Magazine) and hope to finish it soon:

 The Heaven and Earth Designs bug has bitten me again.  I started Train of Dreams by Randal Spangler last year and took it out again this year.  Here is my progress, not much done, but I already love the way it is turning out:

 Here is what the full picture looks like:

 I also bought a Quick Stitch from Heaven and Earth Designs a few weeks ago and could not resist starting it.  Her name is Ruby and she is a design by Meredith Dillman.  Here is the bottom of her dress.

 This is what she will look like eventually:

So, to conclude, I have decided to put my blog on vacation.  I guarantee I will still be stitching and, who knows, maybe I will be returning to blogging soon!  Thank you to everyone who shared this virtual stitching experience with me - I am so lucky to have made such wonderful friends over the past two years.  I will still be visiting all your lovely blogs as often as I can.

Happy Stitching!

Lots of Love,
Michelle

Mary Glover Finish and Half a Finish

I have not been blogging, but I have been doing a lot of stitching! I finished the Mary Glover SAL, hosted by Emmanuelle, this weekend. This is such a lovely piece, I can't wait to have it framed!

Here are a few close ups:
The colours are so pretty and I love the Rice Stitch band, even though it was time consuming.

I have also made some great progress on Historic Countries Sampler, with half of the countries completed (Spain, Scandinavia, Holland, Ireland, England after the 1700s and Germany).
Here is a close up of Holland:
Close up of Ireland - I really loved stitching this section:
England after the 1700s:
Germany:
Germany also had some specialty stitches, including Queen stitch, Algerian Eyelets, Blackwork, Rice stitch and Zig Zag running stitch:

It is Mother's Day next Sunday, but I could not resist getting these lovely roses for my mom a week early :) Aren't they stunning - I love the pink with the hint of green of the flowers.
Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Mary Glover SAL and a huge WIP

Believe it or not - I actually have some stitching to show! I have joined in the wonderful Mary Glover SAL hosted by Emmanuelle after seeing it on Siobhan's blog. It is stitched on a light, natural colour 28ct evenweave in DMC thread. Some of the threads are in the recommended colours and others I had to change to match the fabric.

Here are a few closeups of the details - I just love the soft colours.
I have also resumed work on a piece I started about two years ago. It is Historic Countries Sampler and was given as a mystery sampler over twelve issues of The Gift of Stitching Magazine a few years ago. I am stitching it on antique white Jubilee in DMC thread. It is a HUGE piece and is made up of twelve 'samplers' summarizing the historical aspects of each country's samplers. The piece in the bottom left is Spain and the piece to the right hand side of that represents the Scandinavian countries. The small band sampler is the first part of Holland. The Holland sampler is quite big, but I am looking forward to it. I am also looking forward to Ireland, which will go at the top of Holland.
In addition to cross stitch this piece contains a lot of specialty stitches that make it even more interesting:

That is enough stitching for me for one post! I also have another 'semi finish' to show, but I will share that in my next post.

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!