Happy Labor Day!

It's Labor Day in the USA.  Did you know that this holiday was created by the Labor Movement & became a Federal Holiday way back in 1894?  Well  now you know!  

I will be celebrating this day, by kicking up my feet and putting in a few stitches as well as spending some quality time with my guys. 

 I hope you all have a super day & Stitch On!  = )  Pam

Study in "Blue" by Sue Hillis
stitched by me April 2019

Adventures & a Finish

 This past weekend I attended my first Estate Sale.  The owner was a talented seamstress and gardener who loved to cook!  I could have rummaged thru her stash for days.  I did manage to restrain myself.   I only spent about an hour and a half at the sale.  I purchased  some vintage buttons & spools of thread, a handmade quilted throw, and a couple of vintage aprons that she had made.

Estate Sale Haul

  

Another adventure that I had over the weekend was attempting to color match a Classic Color works floss using Rit Dye.  I made 10 attempts each based on their websites custom colors  (only photographed 9).  I will try again another day because at the end of the day I was frustrated & dissatisfied!  

Failed Dying attempts

The reason for this madness is,  I'm stitching "A Study in Blue" by Sue Hillis.  I chose Cauldron instead of the called for floss.  I want my inside fabric to match the outside.   

Chart cover photo

I've completed all the pieces except the alphabet band.  I have until October to complete when my LNS is having a finishing class.

Here's a sneak peak of my pin keep:

As you can clearly see, my attempts are way too purple.  I think I need a darker gray with a hint of purple.  I will either get close or  I will use a neutral silk.  

I also have a finish.  It's for a Love Quilt Square due Sept 1.  It's in the mail & should arrive before the deadline!

Love Quilt  2019

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Have a wonderful week & Stitch on!  = ) Pam

Follow me on Instagram @farmboyslove

24 Hours of Cross Stitch

Hey Y'all! Welcome to another week.  This past weekend I joined in with a group of fellow stitchers  attempting to stitch for 24 hours within a 48 hour period. This was the 4th time that some of the people have done this.  It was my 3rd attempt.  

 Now before you go a get all excited, I only managed 12 official hours.  I was on #teamsleep.  I also went about my daily duties, work, shopping etc. Some of those more dedicated folks, set everything aside and only stitched during the 24 hours.  Some stitched for 24 hours straight, others took naps, while others like me spread their time over the 48 hour period.  

 This group is very laid back.  Each person picks their own start time & that's when their 48 hours began.  Even though I went to my LNS for our Friday meet up & stitched during that time, I did not officially start until 9:30 PM Friday.  During the hours that I actually stitched I also walked dogs, did laundry etc. The good news is I'm happy with my results. 

Some of you may be asking, why didn't you count the time you were at your LNS stitching as part of your 24?  I had just received a newly re-released chart, Easter Parade by Blackbird Designs. I decided that I wanted it to be my project for this event.  While at my LNS I purchased the fabric & threads for both the bunny & basket charts.  When I arrived home I started the bunny chart.  

Below is my hour by hour progression: 

New Start

Hour 1

Hour 2

Hour 3

Hour 4

Hour 5 

Hour 6

Hour 7

Hour 8

Hour 9

Hour 10

Hour 11

Hour 12

After the official time ran out, I decided to continue stitching while watching Wonder Woman with my family.  Below is the final progress I made on this project for the weekend!

Final Results

There are still many more stitches to be made in this project, especially if I decide to stitch the boarder.  I will likely put this one away for a few weeks as I have some other WIPS calling my name.  I'm still plugging along with my Stitch 9 challenge pieces as well as some gift pieces.   

Until next time, Stitch on! = ) Pam
Follow me on Instagram @farmboyslove

It's Been Delivered!

Hello!  Welcome back to my blog (I refuse to address the elephant in the room.).   I wanted to share about a stitching endeavor that I had the privilege to participate in.  A group of stitchers have come together to stitch a design by Ursula Michael made especially for the Ronald McDonald Houses.  I chose the Columbia SC location b/c they supported some of my family members in their time of need.    I stitched the smaller piece for the Family Room, which is located inside the hospital. 

Close up of the stitching

Last week my cousin, her son & I  traveled to Columbia to deliver the piece.  She wanted to show him where his parents had stayed when he was born.  Back in 2010,  the Columbia house could only host 8 families at a time. They have a new house now and they can host 16 families at a time.   

I want to take a moment to give some information about  the Ronald McDonald House.  **This is NOT a paid advertisement!**
The Columbia location helped about 250 families in 2018.  They provide a place to stay for families who have children in the hospital with critical health issues and are far away from home. Not only do they have a place to lay their heads;  they provide meals, snacks and a community environment of support within the families.   Most of the funding for these homes come from private donations and fundraisers held throughout the year. They also accept donations of  tabs from soft drinks & soup cans. 

 I recently found out that you can sign up with Amazon Smiles (link here) and .05% of  eligible products you purchases will be sent to the Ronald McDonald House of your choosing.  You can also choose to send actual wish list items directly to your local RMH thru the Amazon Smiles program.  Would you consider signing up to support your local RMH today?

I enjoyed being able to participate in this stitch along. As always, it truly is better to give than to receive!  

Executive Director, Me, My Cousin & Her Son
Inside the Family Room

I thank you for stopping by today and hope you've enjoyed your visit.
Have a wonderful weekend & Stitch on!  = ) Pam 
Follow me on instagram @farmboyslove

Fully Finished Object

I am so excited to write this post!  On Saturday I attended a class @ my LNS, Panda's Crossing. Donna, the owner, guided us in making a hoop box. She originally learned this technique from the one & only Vonna, the Twisted Stitcher! Vonna's detailed instructions are listed here, should you decide to try this at home.  

In all we had about 17 people sign up for this class.  Some people had their stitched pieces ready to complete the box by days end, while others did not.  Either way was perfectly fine.  

We started out the morning with an unfinished wood base and 6 hoops. 

Before

We sanded and stained them all. Then waited for them to dry.  We also cut out the circles for our box top.  

After lunch we began assembling. 

Mid Assembly

By the end of the day this is what my finished project looked like!

Infant Oaks by Cricket Collection (Vicki Hastings).  Stitch & Assembled by Me.  

A few of the ladies were kind enough to allow me to photograph their finished boxes as well.
I just love how they were all made the same way, yet look so different & wonderful!  

Sweet Land of Liberty by Blackbird Designs. Stitched & assembled by Christine

Spring Frolic @ Bunny Hill by With thy Needle & Thread(Brenda Gervais). Stitched & assembled by Tara

"Those who wander" by Emma Congdon (Stitchrovia).  Stitched & assembled by Lydia

This is a finish that I intend to utilize for possible future exchanges and gifts.  I hope this might inspire you to finish something you have laying in wait & ready to go.  
Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoyed your time here.  Until next time, Stitch on!  = ) Pam

WIPocalypse Check-in

It's the last Sunday of the month. That means it's WIPocalypse check in time. This months question is:   What do you listen to while stitching?  

My first option is to go to my LNS the 2nd & 4th Friday of each month and listen to my friends while we enjoy stitch night. While technically this photo is of my birthday "party" last year, these are some of the folks I get to visit with on a regular basis.  

Most evenings though, it depends on my mood. Most nights, I will listen to FlossTube. Some of you may be asking what is  FlossTube?  There are many many many stitchers  who make videos about what they are stitching, what they've purchase/acquired & how they have finished their stitching, & upload them to YouTube.  I have too many favorites to list here and would not want to hurt someones feelings by omitting them in my list.  My best advise if you have not watched is to search FlossTube on YouTube  and pick a few to watch.  If you don't like one, you may find another that is like minded to you that you'll enjoy.  I have learned so much over the years from FlossTubers, so give it a try!

There are other times, where I enjoy stitching while listening to classical music to help me unwind after a particularly long day or relax during a difficult stitch.  

Still other days, I "watch"/listen to movies on the Hallmark channel or Netflix.  These days, I have to be working on a simple stitch like filling in a dress, house etc.  Otherwise the frog will have to come out later.  

I hope that you all have a Happy Sunday & get lots of stitching done.  I will leave you with a couple of updated photos of Oliver.  He has grown quite a bit since December.  He loves to look over my shoulder, nip at my clothes during play time & of course treats!    

Until next time, Stitch on! = )Pam

Getting a chip 

Looking over my shoulder

Lets Catch Up

 Goodness I can hardly believe that 2 weeks have gone by already.  I've been quite busy stitching and have lots to show you. I've had a bit of "startitus" as well.   I started and finished HUG stitched for a friend on Jan 11.  I've waited to show this on purpose. (Letters found in freebie online)  I know what you're thinking....Pam this is not finished.  You would be correct.  This is actually a joint effort that is being completed by some other stitchers.  If  & when I have access to the completed project I will share it with you.  

 Two other finishes that I completed on 1/16/19 were the arrows & the red heart that you saw in my Jan 15th post. I had every intention of finishing them into pin pillows, but they are still languishing unfinished on my table at the moment. 

 I managed to finish up the "June" Band of   Linen & Thread 2017 Mystery SAL on 1/31/2019.  As stated earlier I'd love to complete this design by August. Unfortunately I have not touched this for February yet. Perhaps soon!  

My next finish I'm quite proud of.  I started Green Damsel by Ink Circles on  2/25/18. I did manage to exceed my goal and finished on  2/4/19.  Go me : )   I probably will not frame it until 2020 as I'd like to hang it with my 2 band samplers & want the frames to compliment each other.  

Here it is with the original colors side by side one last time:

Lastly here are my color conversions just in case you were wondering:

As you can see there are 2 blues.  I was 50 stitches from completing the piece when I ran out of Peacock. I seriously thought 2 skeins would have been enough.  I may have used some on another project?  As my luck would have it,  when I arrived @ my LNS, the dye lot had changed.  It was much lighter than before.  I was able to tweed the Deep Sea & the Peacock together to achieve the desired color and the overall piece looks perfect 😊



On  2/1/2019 I started  Hands on Design Year of Celebrations, March. Stitched this during my lunch & finished on  2/7 /19.  I changed up Most of the colors to match my stash & of course added in my favorite color as well.  Who knows I might actually finish this up into a pillow by the end of February?  **Nobody hold your breath

Since I completed one thing for my March dough bowl, I decided to start something that I'd just purchased on the 2nd....Shamrock Row by Bent Creek.  I changed all the colors, and its almost done.  Just need to stitch 2 leprechauns.  

 I would have finished this already; however I signed up for a finishing class for Feb 23.  Though having the stitched piece is not required, I wanted it done.  Well of course time crept up on me--imagine that.  I had to stop working on the Shamrock row to start my next stitch....
Infant Oaks by Cricket Collection designed by Vicki Hastings.  This is another chart that I've just recently acquired and it worked perfectly for my upcoming class.  I started this on Feb 12 with just a few stitches and then picked it back up on Feb 15 and stitched like it was my job all weekend!  As of  2/19/19 I have a finish!!!  **I did modify the center as the original design suggest a monogram.  A  facebook group friend suggested a squirrel & the rest is history!

Stay tuned as I will  likely do another post next week after my class this coming weekend to show this Fully finished.  


Next up for your viewing pleasure is a start that I finished the same day--Whaat?  Yep you read that right!   I won this chart  a few years back and finally stitched it up on Feb 12.  Its called ...Sunflower Sampler. I plan to display this in my dough bowl later in the year.  

Again in my mind I had plenty of time to stitch my class piece so I also started the Hands on Design January block on Feb 13th in attempt to "catch up" on this SAL.   I've been stitching on this during my lunches.  I obviously can't read a chart and stitched the letters in the wrong color--Oh well. Mine will be unique : ) .  I also changed the other colors to my liking.  

I have signed up to do another biscornu swap which is due to be mailed March 17.  The theme is home.  I also started this on Jan 13th.  Now I need to focus on completing it in time to mail to Canada. This piece as well as my Shamrock Row will now be my focus pieces until they are completed.  

If you've made it to the end--Hooray!  Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope all your "x's" are straight and you love every stitch.  Until next time, Stitch on!  = ) Pam

SAL's I'm Participating in...(so far)

Wow how did it get to be February?  Its now past time for my WIPocalypse check in.  As promised last month, I'm going to talk about some SAL's I'm participating in for 2019.  

My last post was about the #stitch9challenge on Instagram & Facebook.  I won't rehash all those details here.  

I've also  joined the Facebook group HOD a Year of Celebrations SAL.   We are stitching Year of Celebrations by Hands on Design.  For me this will be a year long SAL. Others in the group have already completed all the charts!    I will be making these into pin keeps for my dough bowl. 

I've started & completed stitching February:

I've also started March, made several mistakes, changed out the DMC colors to what I had in my stash & frogged a portion.   

   

Linen & Threads announced their new Free Mystery SAL at the beginning of January--Peacocks Garden.  Are you Kidding me?!!!!  I LOVE PEACOCKS. Obviously its a Mystery so I cant show you a photo of the design, but here is my progress:

 Definitely not something that will fit in my bowl.  Unfortunately, I'm off somewhere & I'll need to frog, before i can continue.  Therefore, he's in timeout. 😭

Emily C @ eclecticpossessions on Floss Tube & Instagram is hosing a SAL in honor of her birthday in March .  We will be stitching Goat Load by Plum Street Samplers. #goatloadbdaysal

Is that not the cutest?  This too will be displayed in my dough bowl.  

I had planned to start Starry Night Sampler as a  2018 SAL. All I need to do is pull threads.    Lucky for me there are a few folks planning to start it this June and I am going to join them. As I often do, I plan change up some of the colors! Unfortunately, this will also be too large for my dough bowl 😀.  

I have not completely made up my mind as to how I will address Maynia this year.  I'm leaning toward the modified version that I followed last year.  If I have an incomplete former Maynia start, I will work on it for that day. If I have a free day, I may start a new SMALL project, which will either be for my dough bowl or a Christmas Ornament. I may also start my unicorn chart which I recently acquired.  We will just have to wait & see what I can accomplish between now & May.    

There may be other SAL's that will be announced during the year, but for now this is my list.  


 Until next time, Stitch on!  = ) Pam