Friday, September 30, 2011

Stash, Startitis, and Sweet Mail!

I have these:






This would be complete; but the top large snowflake at right is one stitch too high. I can't decide to change it because stitching on this 18 count aida with two threads was beyond punishment (Not a fan of the ol' Stab-and-Yank!) I picked up a piece of 35 count black linen that Nicole was clearing out, so now I am actually thinking of stitching another from this leaflet, Santa's Night.





Homespun Elegance's House on Pumpkin Hill, from their A Halloween Year series. The spider and tiny cat need legs. And I need to learn how to do colonial knots for the tree. Wonder how they compare to french knots (which I am fine with.)



I even have this one; which I was supposed to Reveal to You All Finished this time on the blog. It lacks only the cat's body at Top Right. :/

These are only a few. November Nights (remember that PS?) is just as close. Jenny Bean Christmas needs only her words charted and snow and berries stitched. And the signature area added (okay, more to do on this one).

...

So, I started these:



Not sure I like the linen/thread combo I chose for this one.





Day 11 from Santa's 12 Days of Christmas. This is the second of the charts I chose from Kathy A's gift; an important one for me as I love (and want ALL the PS Foxes! :o)

Stitched 1/2 on 36 count Days Gone By, this is an easy one due to to thread laying (non-existent) but a bit of a plodder due to small-size finish making the progress less appreciable. Also, I have run into a problem with Huntsman Santa's coat. It is supposed to be DMC 815. The last skein at the shop had the number tube shoved back on, and only one of the adjacent colors was in stock. I bought it anyway, and thought it looked dark at home. I went through my DMC stash to look for it, and did not find it, but DID find 814 and 816. I decided I thought the one I purchased fit in between them. So I went ahead with it. Yes, it looked too deep in comparison to the cover photo, BUT PS covers are generally washed out/yellowed up (as a former film processor, I call it the Kodak Effect!), so I wrote it off. But, when it was time to lay in the 902 browny pants, UHoh! They are pretty indistinguishable from The Coat.

Should I: Frog, Find, and Change the coat? Frog the pants and choose a more brown color? I would obviously take the second choice, BUT the fox is supposed to Match Santa's coat, and I don't think want to make him this pseudo 815. Also, I think I want to stitch 1-3 more of this series. How much will it bother me if they are different in their Brightest Christmas Red. Since this is a Prairie Schooler Fox(!!!) Piece, I don't want to see only error and disappointment when I spy it on my tree.

Ah, DMC; the low-hanging fruit of my childhood is now more rare than hens' teeth! The Michaels I went to for it (atrocious parking; never go there but in desperation) had less than half my list. Six facings of Blanc--ALL EMPTY. So, I inquired about the back room. Was told it was all out. "But Really?? No White?!?!?" "Okay, I'll (pretend to) check for you." Even my ONS has to be cajoled into selling me DMC. "Yes, I have it, but you should buy it from Michael's. Mine is 6X cents per skein. You really don't want to buy mine." Umn, yes. I do. That's why I asked for it. And I don't care if I have to spend an extra $2.47. Cost/Benefit reveals it as a bargain: Gas, fighting nightmare parking, never-my-complete-list-in-stock/Definitely Getting What I need. My kingdom for a skein of 815! (And 437, one of those 5200 whites... Oh, and there is the supplies for my new stash...)

Thanks, friends, for listening to my DMC rant. I should also say that my ONS does totally send it to me, when pressed.



Isn't this floss toss pretty, though? And I think this is a new record in away waste knots for me.

The Stash:




I am forever coveting "Hallows Eve" finishes, so I figured it was time. Mary Katherine's beautiful "A visit from St. Nicholas" still tempts me all these months after I first saw it. At first, I did not like this New PS Halloween, but when I saw it again on Kathy A's blog, I thought, "Okay, I do need this" I can envision some nice smalls made from it. :D I also bought a skein of GAST's new Otter Creek. It is lighter than I expected.



Perhaps best of all is this giveaway I won from Marjorie! She offered a Halloween Goodie to anyone who could guess the title and designer of her new Halloween Start! Of course, I knew right away that it was Primitive Needle's Ouja Board. :D I think of that piece as a sister piece to Kindred spirits. Thanks, Marjorie--the BBD pin pillow and finishing goodies will be enjoyed!

Thanks for visiting and all your kind comments,
Berit

P.S. Any other Downton Abbey Season 2 watchers out there? We are following it with avid interest over here.

21 comments:

Parsley said...

I've loved seeing all the patterns and stash.

Your DMC story is a funny one but I'm sure it wasn't funny to you at the time.

I have NO...NONE...NADA piece of floss to buy in my town. I have to drive 90 miles or mail order ALL flosses. Depressing, huh?

staci said...

Wonderful finishes! I don't think anyone would notice that snowflake, especially if you hadn't pointed it out!

Enjoy your new stash...I hope you found your DMC ;)

Marjorie said...

All gorgeous--see, I knew you could finish Kindred Spirits! I have to get off my lazy behind and put mine to rest. Love House on Pumpkin Hill too--I was trying to resist more stash-buying but you are not helping matters!

KarenV said...

I think you have my missing mojo! I love everything you've posted today. The PS piece (1st pic) looks amazing on the black - I wouldn't take out the snowflake, it looks fine as it is. Kindred Spirits is really cute and I love the faces on the HE pumpkins.

Sorry you're having so much trouble getting DMC - I refuse to buy it from the LNS/hobbycraft and usually wait until I need a few colours and order from Ebay, where I can get it for around 35p a skein (Hobbycraft is more than twice as expensive!) How strange that your LNS is reluctant to sell to you though - makes me wonder why she stocks it if she puts people off buying it ;)

Margaret said...

I love all your finishes! DMC -- sometimes I have problems finding what I need too. I'm hoping that it's not going to be a trend!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Oh golly....I just don't know where to begin! All I an say is that your post holds bountiful inspiration, although I'm just atwitter with what you should do wth Mr. Santa's coat....golly, I think I'd chuck it and start over especially if you are going to do some more in the series...and if you are anal about it and never can forget about it and it will bother you hanging on the tree...why put any more into it? I did something similar 10 christmases ago...bad, bad mistake...because now I think about it every time I hang the ornaments....

Christina said...

Lol - love the fact that your LNS was reluctant to sell you DMC - I'd be interested to take a look at her business plan!
I begrudge buying DMC. My LNS sells them for 90p which just seems extortionate to me. I seem to be forever buying 3371, black, white, 814, 815, 816 (all that Halloween & Christmas stitching me thinks!)
So you caved and bough Cats, Bats & Witches?! lol. I can see why...after initially being disappointed with the design (same as all the others!) I do really like the idea of using the smaller designs for ornies.
It's great to see 2 posts from you in the same week. I'm struggling to do 2 a month at the mo!

Linda said...

I'm impatiently waiting for Season 2 of Downton Abbey! Love your kindred spirits stitching....and the giveaway from Marjorie. Do you know the source of the BBD pin pillow pattern? Keep on stitching!

Myra said...

OH Berit! This post is just loaded with beautiful eye candy. I love PS designs but confess I don't particularly enjoy stitching them. I think it is that most of them are so solidly stitched.

As for me on the Day 11 piece - I would start over with the appropriate flosses and then finish this up at a later time for a gift or a giveaway. I detest frogging and would rather just start over than rip out so many stitches - but that is just me.

Congratulations on your win and your new stash aquisitions - I love the little pillow.

Mindi said...

Lots if inspiration for me in your post! As I kept scrolling through it, I kept seeing more and more pieces I loved. Hopefully startitis isn't contagious, I just had a case of it last month...

Sally said...

Love all your new starts and all your finishes! Nice stash too:)

Carol said...

You've certainly been keeping busy, Berit! Love the PS and I don't think I'd worry about the higher snowflake. (Perhaps add another tiny one in the upper left at the same height if it really bothers you?)

I would frog the coat and do it in the correct color--ONLY because you plan on doing others. I know it would bother me if I had different colored coats on a series of finishes...

Nice win from Marjorie!!

I just got season one of Downton Abbey from the library on DVD--can't wait to watch it after hearing everyone rave about it!

Sherry said...

Everything is wonderful! What a great giveaway and Congratulations on the win!

Laura said...

Personally, I kind of like the disembodied cat head floating around on Kindred Spirits!

Catherine said...

Oh my, what great projects! As for the coat - I'd mist likely start over. As for the DMC, I know my lns, The Strawberry Sampler, has it, but I'm not sure how much it is. If you would like me to check when I am in there this week, let me know!

Lynn said...

My gosh you have so many lovely finishes! I really love Kindred Spirits.
As for Santa's coat, I'm afraid that I'd have to start it over. It would bug the heck out of me otherwise.
Love the new stash!

Giovanna said...

Congrats on your lovely finishes!

Siobhán said...

You do know that foxes = Berit in my mind, right?! Everytime I see one, I think of you. :) First off, I am el lazo stitcher so I would keep santa's coat as is. Too pretty to rip out. So it might be a bit different from the others--chalk that up to the Amish practice about leaving in mistakes to show that only God is perfect. I know I'm in the minority on that, though, since I've read the other comments! All of your stitching is gorgeous! I need to get cracking on my ornaments. I say that constantly and then do zip diddly. I did start one a few months ago and that's as far as I got. :P Oy.

Congratulations on the win!

Downton Abbey season 2. Well, Oh. My. Gosh. We LOVE it. We are a week behind what's showing in the UK because even though the Irish channel that is connected to the DVR SHOWED on their planner that it was going to be on, they aired something else and delayed the start a week. It is taking every ounce of my very limited will power to not jump ahead and look for spoilers. It is absolutely amazing. My 17 yr old DD sits through it each week and just keeps repeating, "OMG I love this show!". LOL I want Bates to come back and hook up with Anna soooo badly! It is just amazing--so much fantastic acting, things conveyed with just a look, so much happening in each episode. Yeah. We love it.

Brigitte said...

Great stitched pieces, particularly the Prairie Schoolers. I'm curious to see what you were finally doing with your started piece. Personally I'd go with Siobhan and leave everything as is.

Anonymous said...

Ah, sweet startitis! Thank you for sharing all the lovely near-finishes. That kitty head on Kindred Spirits reminds me of a YouTube video my son likes--Cat Face. That cat has a body, just very tiny. :o)

Bertie said...

Hi Berit, thanks for your comment and just for you I made the picture bigger!! apologies for that.
Your stitching is lovely and you certainly make better pics than me lol.
Yes Downton is a favorite too here:))