Goals, What Goals?

     Well it didn't take me long at all to toss aside those stitching/quilting goals for 2010. If you were expecting update snaps of my BOM Quilts, AAWFAA and Ann Medd you can stop reading right now. Quaker Friday and Ann Trump came and went without a stitch. There was no work done on any of those projects since I last posted.
     What have I been doing for the past week or so.... why stitching my first two finishes of 2010.

Margaret Pence

The Goode Huswife

30 ct. R&R Iced Cappucino w/DMC

The Evil Serpent Samplar

Examplars from the Heart

36 ct. R&R Antique Cotton

GAST

     I also spent a great deal of time sorting through my overflowing chart collection and offering some of my gently used charts for sale.You can find the link to my sale album in the side bar  or Shop Here. I'll be adding more charts as time permits.

      Emma and Owen gave their 'paws of approval' on the  new sofa. I can barely get them off the sofa and out of the house for their 'walkies' these days. What a pair of couch potatoes.

Please excuse the yellow sheet and lovely green towels protecting the sofa arms. I'm trying to keep as much Corgi fur as possible off of the  sofa. I hope one of these days Owen will allow me to take a video of him going up his white 'doggy steps'. The sofa is higher then the previous one and Owen, not having the agility of his sister, needs the steps to gain access to that 'oh so comfortable' sofa. They have a hard life!

Springtime in Iowa...

     Finally the temps got out of the single digits, the sun came out briefly on Thursday and we've had just the slightest bit of snow melt when it reached 34 the other day. Break out the shorts, T-shirts and flip flops... it's springtime in Iowa!
     It was a treat working on AAWFAA this week. A very 'easy on the eyes' stitch because I'm working the sampler on 30 ct. linen. 

I was planning on stitching all of the outline, but the sweet little caterpillar just begged to be stitched. One thing lead to another and I just needed to add a bit of red to brighten my day.   

     AAWFAA was put away on Thursday night and out came Ann Trump. A few of my stitching sisters decided to designate Fridays as Quaker Fridays. Several are stitching Ann Grimshaw, but I had already stitched AG. After much dithering about, Katrina helped me decide that I should work on Ann Trump. Thanks Katrina, I really enjoyed my Quaker Friday.  Here's a snap of Ann when I found her in my WIP closet.

and here's Ann after my Friday stitching session. I finished the light medallion in the lower center and completed the pink center medallion with initials. Not bad for a days work! 

The top snap is a more accurate representation of the linen color. It's been difficult getting good snaps with all the cloudy, dreary skies we've been blessed with in 2010.
      On Thursday afternoon I went on a Quilt Shop Hop to three shops within 40 miles of home. One of the shops I visited, Forest Mills, is the shop running the Civil War Tribute BOM. I was able to pick-up the packages for February and March. I also added some blues for my blue/white quilt a current work-in-progress. I picked up some pinks and browns for a future quilt I'm planning. I'd love to do a Chocolate and Pink quilt.

     I did a bit of quilt piecing too this past week. Here's a snap of the first BOM of the French General quilt top. This is the first time I've used Thangles. It made for a very accurate half square triangle, but I think it would drive me batty having to remove the paper from a whole quilts worth of blocks.

I pieced more blocks for a blue and white quilt too. The pinky brown is my accent fabric. I'm challenging myself a bit with this quilt top. I'm using the pattern for the blocks, but choosing different colorways and placement of the colors... so I need to pay attention to what I'm doing.

       When you wake up to this sweet Corgi smile each morning, how can you help but have a good day. Owen wants to send Margaret Corgi kisses for  saying he's handsome!

How Am I Doing?

I thought the perfect project to work on during the Rose Bowl Parade was AAWFAA. I managed to get some of the outlining completed during the parade. Unfortunately... that's the only time the sampler was worked on this past week.

Ann Medd received the most attention. I was stitching along at a pretty good pace... until it came time to stitch the over one on 36 ct. linen. I didn't like the look of the tent stitch, so I bite the bullet and went for the completed cross stitch.

 

 

The satin stitch left and right hand borders are going to slow me down too... I'm not a big fan of the satin stitch. Please pardon the wrinkled linen... I don't want to press the sampler for each weekly progress update... I feel that it would be too much pressing and I'd risk flattening the stitches.

       This past Tuesday was our monthly quilt guild meeting. Diane brought my Civil War Tribute BOM to the meeting, saving me a drive to the shop. I couldn't wait to get home and read the detailed instructions and create my first set of blocks. This month we needed to make an 18" and a 12" block of the same pattern. We also received the lovely canvas tote bag as a gift for participating in the BOM.

It only took a couple of hours to press the fabric, cut the pieces, and stitch the blocks. I'm already looking forward to the next BOM. We will have to complete between 2 to 8 blocks per month.

      All I've managed to accomplish on the My Favorite Things BOM is reading the instructions. I'll try and have something to show you in the update post next week.

      I forgot all about the 'Buck a Block' quilt I'll be making in 2010. My local quilt shop, Pine Needles, runs the program. Each month we will receive the fabric to stitch one block for $1.00, plus the purchase of a package of Thangles. They had two choices and I chose this quilt:

Rouenneries

French General

Emma and Owen are a bit miffed with me. They feel there has been way too many stitching and quilting snaps and not enough Emma and Owen snaps. So... to keep peace at Corgi Cottage I'll include this snap of E&O chilling out while I work on my projects.

Wishing you all a week filled with lots of stitching and quilting.

A Pleasant Discovery

While cleaning up after the Holidays I discovered a package I had tucked away. I had received a package from Deb and decided to wait until after the Holidays to share. I then promptly forgot all about my little stockings. 

 

 

 

 These are all from the monthly stocking series from the very talented ladies of Blackbird Designs. I'm not sure I'm all that jazzed about displaying the little stocking gems on my Christmas feather tree. Right now I have the tree sitting on my Singer Sewing Machine table in my sewing room. If the sun ever returns I'll take a snap to share with you all.
     Have you all seen the wonderful happenings on the PS ABC Blog? I admire all of the stitchers that are stitching this huge project over one! Yikes... that's a lot of over one stitching. I knew that I wasn't up to the challenge, but I did want to try my hand at some over one stitching.

Prairie Schooler

2006 Santa

32 ct. Green Mountain Muffin linen

DMC - one over one

I was surprised at how well I was able to stitch one over one on the Green Mountain linen. I've been discouraged, in the past, from stitching one over one because it was such a struggle to get my stitches to lay nicely. I think the key to over one stitching is the choice of linen. I still have a nice chunk of the GM Muffin and I think I'll save it for some future stitching of the PS Santa series. I plan on sending the stitched Santa to Deb for finishing. Wouldn't a feather tree filled with PS Santas look fabulous?

     I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to comment on my plans for stitching and quilting in 2010. You all have such faith and confidence in my abilities to meet the challenges I've set for myself. I hope I don't dissapoint.

There were a couple of questions that I'd like to answer. 

     Jancan asked if I use a magnifying glass. I use a Dazor magnifying light for my stitching. I have an Ott light on my sewing machine table for additional light for machine piecing. I also have a standing Ott light next to my reading chair for use when hand sewing my quilt bindings. 

     Melissa asked for some details on the AAWFAA SAL. Mel... just jump in when you have the chance. This is a very relaxed SAL with no rules or regulations. It's all about enjoying the journey. None of us need any more deadlines or must-do's in our lives. So... we'd love for you to join us when you can!

     I plan on doing an update post sometime over the weekend. It will be a progress post to see how much I've accomplished... if anything... on my 2010 quilting and stitching challenges.

      Wishing you all lots of stitching and quilting time!

The Year Ahead

 Before I begin my first post of 2010 I want to thank you all for visiting my blog and leaving me such lovely comments on my 2009 Year in Review post. You all know how to make a gal feel very special. You also encourage me to continue on my stitching and quilting journey in 2010.

Way back in May 2009 I started two Scarlet Letter samplers. 

Ann Medd

36 ct. PTP Legacy

AVAS as charted

An All Was For An Appil

30 ct. R&R Kansas City Blend

CC Blackbird and DMC

As you can see... I didn't accomplish very much on either of the samplers. I've decided to focus on both of these samplers in 2010.

 Deb, only has about a third of this huge sampler to complete. She's my inspiration for forging ahead on Ann. I'm hoping that  Siobhan, will be joining me soon too! I'll need lots of encouragement on this baby.

Ann will be 44" long by 18" wide upon completion. The Scarlet Letter website describes Ann as:

 "the Mother of all Samplers according to some overwhelmed admirers who have seen it in person. It is in effect, four separate samplers in one package: the upper third with the alphabets and a scene of Adam and Eve under the Tree of Life, titled Paradise Lost: the middle third a whimsy of vigorously blooming stylized flower-trees and a very fashionably attired couple with their pet dog, squirrel, and a deer: the lower third an enigmatic amalgam of myth and bucolic idealism; the borders complete the tablets of moralistic verse, each verse beginning with a consecutive letter of the alphabet, A through Z. The symmetry, balanced design, well chosen color, and sheer endurance of the maker, Ann Medd, are astonishing. The lower scene is most nontraditional and curious. A fisherman is engaged hooking a large fish from a meandering stream, while a shepherdess/mermaid (she holds a sheep crook in one hand, the mermaid's traditional mirror in the other, while her tail floats off into the background) tends her flock of sheep, all under the sun, moon and starts shining above simultaneously.

Here's what Ann will look like upon completion:

My friend Joann (no blog) and I decided to tackle AAWFAA as our SAL for 2010. Deb, Margaret and Katrina are also coming along on the journey. I'm not sure what count linen Joann has chosen for her sampler, but I'm pretty sure that Deb and Margaret have chosen a 40 ct. for their samplers. It will be fun to see how the samplers will look on the different count linens.This is a snap of how the sampler will look when completed:

I also have some quilting plans for 2010 as well. I'll be participating in two 'Block of the Month'  clubs, which both start this month.

Civil War Tribute

Judie Rothermel

My Favorite Things

Beth Fuller of Grace's Dowry Quilts

The Quilt Merchant

I received the center medallion for  My Favorite Things  in the mail yesterday. The applique center uses wool on a cotton ground fabric.

Since the weather forecast indicates that the temps will not get much above zero this coming week... I'll have lots of indoor time. I should be able to make some significant progress on my stitching and my quilting.