Keep on Stitchin'

Well, I have just about finished Saturday Dance on Hawk Run Hollow....that means just one more block to finish this piece.....that will be "Giving Thanks on Sunday".  I am so enjoying this piece.  Phyllis asked me today is I was getting close.  Beth put up her piece beside this one....both from Carriage House Samplings.  I'm thinking about stitching one of the blocks and putting it on a box top....will share that later.

Now a quick shot of the "back".......it doesn't quite look like the front, but I have managed to keep it pretty cleaned up......giving it a "haircut" as I go....clipping the tail threads.  Beth always has a great time yapping at the back side of my work.....to which I say...."just don't look at it!"   I'm brave tonight.

I'm off to choir practice shortly so will work on it when I get home.  

While I'm talking about threads....actually the floss I'm using, it is good to mention some tricks or tips about you thread.   This chart actually calls for silk which is lovely, but I have seldom used silk as my hands seem to "catch" the fibers, and instead DMC becomes my floss of choice. Because of the size of the piece, I've needed more than one skein of several colors and will try to give a list of those later when completed if anyone might be interested.  I used two strands of floss for the cross stitch and for the small amount of back or straight stitches.  

I tend to work with a length about 18 - 24 inches long, pulling each strand out and putting them back together for the two....keeps the floss from tangling.  

Now my next secret, flaw, habit, or mess......my "wad"  ... probably because I work on so many pieces at the same time and pull out a length of thread each time I need a new length.....I have the "leftover " strands that I toss together, keeping the skein in another pile.  When I'm changing colors I pick up my "wad" and check for what I need...and thus, I create a mess of thread.  Friday night while Stitching at the Ford with about 20 of us, my friend says politely to me...."Your wad is on the floor" and yes I had dropped it.  Should I admit such a thing....oh well, I just did.  

Later I will share with you some much neater methods of storing, using, gathering your floss when storing it or stitching with it.  And after some 40 years, I have had lots of ways... some good.....some a mess!  Wait till I tell you about the hoop with the floss braided on it!  Maybe I can put together an example of several.  

Well it is time for me to hit the road and practice.  I'm a member of a 100 plus voice choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church....the big church building just above 926 on Rt. 202.  We are a wonderful family of voices ..... me at soprano no less.  

Don't forget to gather up your completed stitching and bring it in for framing.  Sale goes on until the end of the month.....check the website for details.

Make a difference.......Ruth Ellen