A Little Road trip

 Gentle Friends, as things get back to the "new" normal I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off.  I have been planning to take more days and probably will later on.  After I put in for the time off I called up my LNS, Needle in a Haystack over in Alameda to get an appointment.  It's a lovely small store and I knew that Cathe, the proprietress,  had instituted a single shopper at a time so I got the 11 am spot yesterday.  I was in need of replenishing of linen etc...  I took some snaps to show the shop......

                                                 

... there is a large selection of floss...

... and here is one of the areas of new charts...

... what I came over the Bay Bridge for, the linen wall!!

.. and more lovely floss...

________________________________

Here is a snap of the linen 1/2 yards and 1/4's I selected, all 40ct.  From L to R, PTP Legacy, LL Pecan Butter, LL Vintage Buttercream, LL Vintage Navy Bean, Fabrics by Stephanie Chocolate Milk, LL Vintage Pear, and LL Vintage Autumn Gold, the phot washes them out quite a bit but the light was odd yesterday afternoon when I got home and this was the best I could get...

... and although I hadn't planned on buying charts and such, how can I resist Ann Uffindell or the only Christmas BBD design I knew I didn't have yet!!  I also picked up some needles, JJ 28 gold petit, I really like the small needles...and some floss, that the dark oliveish color (GAST Storm Clouds) is going to work out to be a Christmas present, and the super grey shade is a Limited Editon so I bought all there was, I do love me some grey color!!!  Overall it was a wonderful experience as always, super friendly, and well stocked with anything one could want!!  So, as always if you are anywhere in the Bay area and can make a run to the shop, make the time, you'll not be disappointed.

__________________

There you go sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again.  Stay Safe!

Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds!

edgar

A Stitchin' Finish, a Stichin' Start and a Stitchin' Trip Across the Bay

Gentle Friends, over the weekend I finally finished up Smith Sampler... 

and here's a shot of that sucker...

"Smith Sampler" by Scarlett House

8/12 - 11/16

It is stitched on 40 ct vintage something... and I used the called for silks, except, and you knew there would be an exception... I switched out the Glorianna "Woolly Bear" for Belle Soie "Espresso" and I also added a silk color, NPI Lightest Pear Grey color 671.  I added this additional pale grey because I thought the white I was using, Belle Soie "Oatmeal Scone" was far to close in color to the linen, so why not add something else...it was a fun stitch and I'm really happy with how it turned out!!

_____________

I had a couple of thoughts as to what to stitch next, I wanted something Christmasy for sure... and finally landed on a great piece from Modern Folk Embroidery.  I really like Jacob's designs and his aesthetic...the sampler I chose is "Scandinavian Christmas Sampler.  It's a great monochromatic piece with snowflakes, deer and pine trees!!  You couldn't ask for anything more??  Here's my pitiful little start...

"Scandinavian Christmas Sampler" 

Stitched on 40 Vintage Navy Bean 

"Poinsettia" by Glorianna

Start 11/17

________________

Before I could make a start on my new stitch I needed to make a trip... so Saturday we headed over to Alameda and my LNS, Needle in a Haystack, for a little shopping.  I needed to make this fun trip because I didn't have enough red silk in any amount in my stash to do this piece.   I wanted to make sure that all the silk came from the same dye lot.... and I also needed to stock up on some linen...and a road trip seemed like a sensible thing...  and I took some snaps...

 ... I knew I wanted to stitch the sampler in red, and so I began by just pulling reds... and eventually landed on "Poinsettia."  It's really a bright red with little hits of dark spots... and Glorianna silks always stitch up really smoothly!!

 ... there were so many choices to look at...

 ...  and there on the right, you can see the start of my pile of linen's and my red silk and a couple of packs of JJ 28 gold petit needles, I love these needles and they are what I always use.  Cathe, the owner of NIAH, was there and so helpful as always!!!  It is such a joy to visit this shop I should make the effort to get here more often!!  I would highly recommend this store and the ladies there they are all wonderfully helpful!

_______________

There you go sports fans, thanks again for stopping by dos top again!!

Take care,

edgar