Sunday Stitch Back from the Framers

Last week I picked up “This Is the Day” which had been my Sunday cross stitch piece for the last two years. I seldom take my pieces to be professionally framed, but I wanted this piece by designer Paulette Stewart of Plum Street Samplers to be protected with conservation glass. It’s always difficult to select a frame, but I think that it turned out great. 

You might be wondering how I’m doing on my current Sunday stitch, “324” by designer Arlene Cohen of Works by ABC. Well, I have stitched fifty-two motifs and squares so far with only 270 more to go!!!  While I do stitch on it on Sundays, I also work on it sometimes during the week. I was getting a bit tired just working in purples, reds, and pinks so I’ve worked my way over toward the blues and greens. It’s an enjoyable stitch. 

In case you are new to my blog, 324 refers to the number of colors in the piece: half are designs and the other half are blocks. Joanns had a sale on DMC on Thursday and Friday, so I purchased a number of skeins that I needed. By the time this piece is completed, I will have a very large stash of floss. :-) Fortunately, floss is fairly inexpensive.

In my previous post, I showed the poppies which grow under my deck. These blooms are super fragile, and they didn’t even last twenty-four hours. I turned around yesterday morning just in time to capture Miss Emma framed by the remaining blooms. The rain and wind had reduced them to orange confetti decorating the grass.

The irises are, however, putting on quite a display. 

One last photo of Miss Em in position beside me as we admire how pretty everything looks in my yard this spring. Though I have put together hanging pots and planters, I cannot wait to tackle my gardens!!! 

Happy gardening and have a fun, creative week.

A New Sunday Stitch and Two Awesome Quilts

 I was finally able to bring my recently finished “This Is the Day” cross stitch piece to the framers the other day. While I normally do my own framing, I wanted this piece professionally done. So, here’s the start of my new Sunday stitch. It’s 324 by designer Arlene Cohen of Works by ABC. Yes, you stitch 162 five by five blocks and 162 motifs which are more involved for a total of 324! With fourteen already stitched, I have only 310 more to go!!!!!! For this piece you use 324 different shades of floss. The chart also includes an option to stitch the piece with just thirty-six colors, but heck, what would be the fun in that? :-)

On Wednesday night, I hosted friends for dinner, and Maribeth brought her show-and-tell.

Maribeth has never met a quilt with a zillion pieces that she has not wanted to stitch. Are you ready to see her second quilt? It’s a massive masterpiece from the pattern “Stitch a licious.” Ta dah!!!!!!!!!!!

Please do click on the photos to see the details.

In my last post I asked what people were reading, and Terry @ On Going Projects recommended 

Now, truth to say, I was hesitant to pick up this book since all I ever knew about diving I learned watching Lloyd Bridges in Sea Hunt with my brother. Back in the day, families only had one TV, so we took turns picking out what we would watch; Sea Hunt was not my choice. Shadow Divers deals with deep wreck divers. Robert Kurson is an excellent author, and I was quickly drawn into this adventure. I was eager to start Doris Kearns Goodwin’s new book, but truthfully, I could not put Shadow Divers down. 

What else have I been working on? I have a spring-themed wool applique piece all prepped and ready to stitch, but first I am repairing a vintage quilt which I will talk more about in a future post.

Have a wonderful week. :-)