A Work in Progress

Not For Us Alone, a sampler by Amy Mitten, was up during the last rotation spot. I started this as a SAL with Ellen Chester's Samplerband and, of course, other projects and life got in the way before I got very far. This patterns for this design come in seven chapters and each chapter has part of a mystery. The chart is easy to read and the fibers are wonderful . This design has lots of Montenegrin stitch, as many of Amy's designs seem to have. I bought her book, Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch , and the diagrams are a great help. Here's my progress on Chapter 2. Have a great weekend, everyone!

My family and I have a standing joke about something that seems to happen to us on a fairly regular basis. We can enter a store or other public area and be the only people there, but within a few minutes, several other groups show up. We're quite proud of our "ability" to attract crowds. :) Well, it seems that we needleworkers are doing just that these days. I saw an article by Molly Albertson in our local weekly paper that began "Crafting is hot again." She goes on to discuss how the recession is bringing out the urge to create and how families who are now spending more time at home are doing craft projects together. She goes on to quote from the Craft and Hobby Association website that "Crafting has proven health benefits, both emotional and physical. Whether providng a sense of accomplishment, relaxation or memory keeping, crafting has therapeuitc benefits that are appealing to people of all ages, looking for a creative outlet....Knitting, sewing, scrap...

I paid a visit to my local quilt shop on Saturday to pick up my block of the month. While I was there, I spotted this fabric, and thought it would be perfect as the backing for a quilt for my son. He'll be working at a camp this summer that adjoins a state park where black bears are often sighted. Alas, there were only two yards left. The shop owner will be searching out more for me. In the meantime, I started thinking about what pattern to use for the front of the quilt. At first I thought I would do a scrappy quilt of 5" blocks and when I set out for the sale at another quilt shop yesterday morning I intended to look for suitable dark fabrics. After all, this quilt is going to be used in a dorm room. Instead I found these fabrics (all at 40% off) and the Pennsylvania Fieldstones pattern (from Endless Mountain Patterns) popped into my mind. This pattern is 8, 12 and 20 x 5 inch rectangles so it's super easy. These are really "my" colors as I love autumn, b...

On Friday, my husband had to have his car towed to the dealership when the 'check engine' light came on. I mentioned this to the guidance counselor at my school and also remarked that exactly one year ago on May 22nd that my older son had been driving in Florida when the engine in his car seized up. When I heard the details, it was very frightening--he was in the left lane, passing a panel truck when he lost all power and brake functions. He managed to get the car to the shoulder and was safe. It turned out that the cap had been left off the oil pan when he had the car serviced several weeks before and had been slowly losing oil. (It all ended well with him being safe and the dealership replacing the engine, but thinking about the "what ifs" still causes me to shudder.) The guidance counselor talked about how there may be a pattern to these events and perhaps I should look at what they are telling me. Then I recalled that four years ago on Memorial Day weekend my son ...

I've been thinking about starting a blog for several months, but hestitated for several reasons. First of all, I couldn't think of a name! Inspiration hit this morning and this blog has begun. I intend to use these pages to talk mostly about my addiction to--um, I mean passion for--cross stitch and quilting, but I'll also share other thoughts about life and events in my family. I'm looking forward to this new adventure!