The little stitcher who could

     I have been stitching my fingers to the bone this past week, trying to catch up on lost stitching time due to vacation.  Here is an update of ATS.  My last post had ended with the star motifs.

     Here is a picture of the whole sampler.

     Two feet or so of fabric remains and I have some decisions to make.

     Underneath these goofy looking guys holding the grapes is a row of large motifs, then the verse which is charted unevenly.  Some of the letters are crowded and some are underneath others.  Should I straighten the verse out?  One of my Facebook friends did and it looks nice but having that school girl charm to my sampler would be cute as well.  Also, if I move the words, other things have to move as well.  It reminds me of when my husband and I built our house.  We wanted a step down living room but the builder told us it would make the basement ceiling lower.  A beam would have to be moved and then a wall downstairs, etc..etc.  Really?  All that headache just to lower a floor eight inches?  Forget it, just leave the floor alone.  So I may just leave the verse alone as well.

     I have three more followers!  Yippee!  I enjoy checking out your blogs as well.  One of my favorite bloggers just finished Frances Eden 1809 by Handwork Samplers.  I have been looking for this sampler for several months but it must be out of print.  If any of my dear followers has this chart and would like to part with it, I will give it a happy home.  You can email me at dchronis@mchsi.com  Otherwise if you know of a shop that has it, please post a comment and let me know.  The end of And They Sinned will eventually come and Frances is on my short list to stitch.  Happy stitching ladies!!

Stash!!

     Hi ladies!  This is going to be a lengthy blog so if you are here for the pictures, they are first and then a bit about my trip below it. Some of you know that I went to Las Vegas and visited Stitcher's Paradise.  The name says it all and here are my finds.

     From left to right, top to bottom are Crystal Mercedes linen (with sparkles and all), Rainbow Dreams, Phoenix by Picture This Plus, Crystal Glory (sparkles too), Antique Yellow, and Carnival by Picture This Plus.  They are all 32 count and 1/4 yards.

     The linen pictured with the floss is Highland by Picture This Plus.  The threads are Sampler Threads for Permit Me Not to Stray.  I might use the blue linen for this piece.  It sort of looks like the sky.  Also pictured are a few more Belle Soie silks to add to my collection.  I am hoping to eventually have enough to only use those to stitch with.  They are so yummy.

     Here is part of the shop.  On the left is the end of the fiber wall.  Just look at all those models!

     This is part of the linen room.  Yowzers!  All the way to the right is 32 count linen in every color imaginable.  I had the owner take off the whole stack in the overdyeds and I thumbed through them, pulling out each one I wanted. 

     The shop is small so they take the older charts and place them in magazine holders by designer and then display them in alphabetical order. 
     So ladies, that's all the pictures I have.  Thank you for looking and if anyone gets a chance to go to this shop, GO FOR IT! 

     Top 10 things I learned while being in Vegas.

10  You can't carry a souvenir snow globe on a plane.  (Poor Evan)

 9  Quit while you are ahead.

 8  If you think your shoes are comfortable, you are wrong. 

 7  Cab drivers are crazy.

 6  The days of cheap buffets are over.  A plate of spaghetti will cost you $35 dollars.  Don't even think about ordering the steak.

 5  Get a map of the hotel/casino and study it.

 4  Don't wait until the 3rd day to get a player's card.  You will be out of money anyway.

 3  Don't go in July.  It's fricken HOT out there.

 2  Go to as many shows as you can afford.

 And the number one thing I learned in Vegas is...Never get a hotel room for four people with only one toilet.

I need a quickie!

     Why is it that I am on vacation and have less time to stitch than if I weren't?  Oh ya, because my husband keeps planning things without my knowledge.  He doesn't understand that I want to stitch.  I don't want to shop for bushes, go out for lunch, or clean the restaurant.  I also don't want to be sent a third party text message saying we are having company in an hour.  He just loves to do that to me.

      Here is the disappointing update for the week on And They Sinned.  I finished the last of the alphabet on the right side, the coral flowers, some of the vine border and a few motifs.  On a positive note, I am nearly done with the second page.  It might only be a couple weeks.  Well, actually three because I'm leaving on a jet plane early next week and this is too big to take on my trip.  Therefore....that's why I need a quickie.

      Get your head out of the gutter, I'm not talking about that kind of quickie.  A very small project is in order for the three hour plane trip so Shepherd's Bush's Happy Day is coming with me to Vegas.  Certainly I can get this finished on the plane as long as the turbulence is minimal.  Once I am there a trip to Stitcher's Paradise is planned.  They don't have a website in which to order supplies but I hear the shop is heavenly. 

      I will have to miss next week's blog but will update soon on my awesome shopping trip.  How about I post pics of all my goodies?  Sounds like a plan.  Happy stitching ladies!