Getting dirty . . .

I'll keep what I'm working on a secret for now but here are just a few of my supplies. Please tell me I'm not the only one with a collection of rusty treasures? I would rather work with them than I would the shiniest gold.

How about a steaming jar of coffee stain? I personally prefer that to actual coffee. I'm a tea drinker myself.

Today the stitching stayed in its' basket. There was still handwork to be done,though. The best thing about today? I got good and dirty! My fingers are stained with rust and there's cinnamon stuck under my fingernails. I'll have to take a scrub brush to my hands tonight but boy was it fun :)

Fall Back

I've heard people complain about it getting darker out sooner, protest the long nights, the lack of sunshine. Personally, I love it :) Maybe we run fewer errands and do a little less cleaning. No more yard work and less light to clean the trash out of the van. Instead there are long dinners that last well beyond the food. Lengthy conversations over empty plates as the sun goes down instead of running out the door to the grocery store. No more evening walks and playing at the park. Instead there are dance parties in the living room, my husband playing the guitar and making up silly songs with the boys. For every season there is a purpose . . . but this one is my favorite!

Even if you don't agree, really, who couldn't use a little more time? What do you plan on doing with your "extra" hour?

Happy Halloween!

Cora Lipton's Marking Sampler

I have finally finished my little marking sampler. It was an absolute joy to stitch. Though I doubt I could do it often, it was wonderful to sit down and just stitch without worrying about counting stitches or constantly having to look back to a chart. I must confess that I did cheat, or at least try to. When I began stitching the cursive alphabet up top of the sampler it became obvious I was going to have trouble fitting a full alphabet. I did pull up my pattern maker software and try to configure it in such a way that I could include the entire alphabet. I couldn't figure out how to do it without frogging stitches so I left it as is. I have seen many antique samplers with incomplete alphabets so I imagine I am in good company in just simply running out of room.

In this sampler I also experimented with intentionally pulling stitches so that the piece would look as if it were worn through time. I left out a couple of letters and a few of the borders are incomplete and I purposefully left blank most of the lower part of the sampler. In a few places I pulled the thread under in the back to secure it and then pulled it back out through the front in the last place I had stitched leaving a little of the thread hanging to make it look as though the stitching had come undone. Again, I doubt I could do this regularly but it does give the sampler a very old feel to it.

The threads are lovely. I used Gentle Arts Picnic Basket, Gentle Arts Toasted Barley and Gentle Arts Wood Trail as well as Crescent Colours Green Onion and Crescent Colours Onion Skin. They are beautifully faded colors of brown and green with Crescent Colours Green Onion being the most subtle. It mostly appears as white but there are slight hints of a very pale green. I adored working with the thread. I didn't intend to stitch the entire cursive alphabet in that particular color but once I started stitching with it I didn't want to stop. The linen is a scrap of 30ct R & R Reproductions Flax. It's a smaller pattern and not much linen is needed.

When the sampler was finished I signed the bottom Cora Lipton. For a week's worth of evening stitching my husband and I were watching Band of Brothers on DVD. I have an affinity for war films and it is a wonderful mini-series. Lipton is the last name of one of mine and my husband's favorite characters. I can't explain it but the name got stuck in my head and it just seemed . . . right. Cora was simply a first name that I liked. It is odd how we come up with these things isn't it? Wrapped up in this little sampler is a memory of my life that will now always come to mind when I look at in years to come. I imagine each and every one of you can say the same thing about things you have stitched. It doesn't always occur to me as I'm stitching but it is true that every stitch carries with it a little piece of the women (or man) stitching it of that moment in her life.

I finished the piece by folding over the edges and binding it with a blanket stitch. I've considered stitching a ribbon to the back and hanging it on the dresser in my bedroom. For the time being it looks lovely sitting on the table in the living room. I just have to remember to move it every time Mina climbs onto the sofa :)

If you would like to stitch this little sampler it is available as an e-pattern only and the cost is $7.50. The pattern is complete, showing all the "missing" stitches and a second chart included contains the rest of the cursive alphabet. Perhaps you could find a way to incorporate the remaining letters into the pattern? The sections where I chose to have "missing" stitches are marked. As always the pattern will include a color photo of the finished piece, both black and white and color charts to print and finishing instructions.

If you would like to purchase the pattern for Cora Lipton's Marking Sampler you can e-mail me or use the Paypal button on My Design page.

Now onto finishing the sampler I put aside when I started working on this one. There seems to be a never ending stash of designs to stitch but unlike with say, laundry, I love always having something waiting to be worked on :)

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Pumpkin Patch

No stitching, but something even better. This is a picture from our outing yesterday. We took the children out of school early and went to not one but two pumpkin patches. The first has the most spectactular corn maze. It has large towers to climb up, rope bridges, and tunnels to climb through. I lost track of the boys more than once as the ran through the maze. This was Mina's second trip and her first since she's learned to walk. This is the only photo I have of her that isn't of her backside as she's running off. The second pumpkin patch is where we selected our pumpkins. I didn't take many pictures there since I was the one tasked with pulling the wagon that carried both Mina and the pumpkins.

It was a wonderful day and for our family the official start of the Autumn season. How are you celebrating the season?

A gift from a friend and a giveaway prize

My sweet, sweet friend Lynn sent me this little care package of flosses. Two are Crescent Colours which I don't normally stitch with and don't really have a stash of. Of course now I need to start one. She also sent a skein of Gentle Arts Brandy. I already have a skein (or two) of that thread but the one she sent me is a completely different shade. That's one of the things I adore about hand dyed threads: no two dye lots are identical. It was such a sweet and unexpected little surprise. Thank you, Lynn!

My second surprise this week was winning Sandy's giveaway on her blog The Humble Stitcher. This sweet little pinkeep arrived in the mail just yesterday. The stitching on the piece is beautiful and the fall colors are so rich. My youngest daughter, Mina, went to it as soon as I opened the package. Apparently, she's a lover of prim as well. She especially loved the buttons hanging for its' beak. I haven't decided yet where I'm going to keep this little lovely but it will have to be out of her reach.

Last week Mina was evaluated for a speech delay. Despite being 20 months old she has the speech production of a 9-12 month old. Both of her older brothers had moderate speech delays and are still receiving therapy for some articulation issues. They're seven and nine years old, so issues like these aren't resolved quickly. It's a struggle for both Mina and I, but having been through it twice already I feel as though I am in more of a position to help her than I was with either of my sons. I am just thankful that this is so far the biggest challenge any of my children have had to face.

Other than that it's been quiet here. Later this week my husband is going out of town. It's both a blessing and a curse. I enjoy having time with just the children and I and yet it's also very challenging having so much time with just the children and I. I don't realize how much I rely on my husband for back up until he's not there to help. The weather is warming up again; Summer is having one last hoorah. By next week the Autumn season will be in full swing. The Halloween costumes will be arriving, we've planned a trip to the local pumpkin patch and corn maze, and soon after will follow pumpkin carving and decorating. By far my favorite time of the year it always goes so fast. I've often complained to my husband to move to a part of the country where the weather is more often like it is now. I swear, Summers here last nine months of the year. But then again if we did move to such a place then Autumn wouldn't be nearly as precious, so I'll simply enjoy the days I have, and wish all of you the same.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Progress . . .

My little project appears to be turning to a small marking sampler. I stitched row after row of borders then decided to add in the alphabet. Since I took this photo I've added an uppercase alphabet as well. Another alphabet? Some motifs? I have no idea where I'm going to go next and I'm perfectly fine with that!

My laptop is currently out of commission. I know nothing about computers; that's my husband's department. I do know that I love my laptop. I also know that it's the only laptop we own that hasn't (in four years) ever had to be taken in to be repaired. It's the only laptop of that particular brand that we own and has turned out to be a real trooper taking quite a bit of abuse and never once failing. It's funny, though, because the only reason I purchased that brand was because it was the only laptop available at the time that came in pink. A silly reason, I know, but it worked out well for me. The only issue I have ever had is having to replace the power cord. This will be the fourth time I've had to do that. It's a small expense compared to other computer repairs we've had but I do have to wait for it to arrive in the mail. For the time being I'm "borrowing" the children's laptop which doesn't have any of my photos, files, or programs. I actually think the kids are having a harder time of it than I am having to share with Mommy who can be a bit of a computer hog.

Well, there is always a bright side, and less time putzing on the computer means more time to stitch!

xoxo

Jennie Lynn