Saturday, April 2, 2016

Revisiting the UFO's and a Prairie Schooler Finish

Hi everyone,

I'm happy to have a finish to share.
This is The Birdhouse Sampler by the Prairie Schooler. It's in the Garden Samplers book #45 which is now OOP.
It is stitched using the recommended DMC threads on 32ct linen and I'm very happy with the way it turned out



Following on from my last post I have continued to dive into deep stash to revisit my shameful pile of UFO's.

Once upon a time I started Celtic Banner by Butternut Road. This thing is 42 inches long and I really don't know what I was thinking at the time although it must have been all of thirteen years or more.
Anyway I pulled it out to look at and decided that I could crop this to just the alphabet and the Celtic border. I have only the bottom border to do so this will be worked on at some point in the near future and hopefully finished.



I no longer remember what linen this is but I used some of it for the Birdhouse Sampler that I showed in the first picture.

Still deep stash diving I pulled out my Houses of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings. This is almost at the halfway point and I'm happy to be stitching on it again in a weekly SAL with Brigitte
This is stitched on 36ct linen using the Vikki Clayton silk conversion



I'm happy to say that the mystery from my last blog post is solved. The design is Needle in a Garden by Just Nan. It's such a pretty design I have no idea why I stopped working on it but the plan is to finish it. I ordered the chart again from Sew and So and I already had the Scarecrow charm.
Threads are just DMC and there are lots of specialty stitches to hold my interest.



You should be able to click on any of the pictures for a better view if you wish.

Finally Nancy of the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe
has another of her amazing giveaways going on for 10 20yd skeins of her newest colour floss. There is still time to enter.

So that's it for this time. Thanks for your continued visits to my blog and for your lovely comments.
Happy stitching!
Margaret

27 comments:

Manuela said...

All your stitching are so wonderful.
Happy Weekend, Manuela

Barb said...

You are doing terrific with your finishing! The Spring design by PS is just perfect for this time of year. I also love the Houses of HRH. Actually I think all of the designs you are working on are beautiful!

Lili said...

How pretty projects! Birdhouse Sampler is lovely. Glad that you know the name of the pattern, waiting for progress pictures ;)
Have a wonderful weekend,
Lili

Vickie said...

Wow Margaret! I am so proud of you. Look at all you are accomplishing. Looks beautiful.

Elizabethd said...

I love the Prairie Schooler designs.
So good that you have found the maker of your sampler.

Penny said...

I absolutely love the Prairie Schooler finish with all of those pretty sunflowers! And you have some lovely works in progress, too! : )

Beth said...

PS finish is truly lovely.

Chookyblue...... said...

lots of beautiful cross stitches on the go..........

Daffycat said...

Awesome projects, Margaret!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

PS Spring is beautiful and it's such a classic. Love HRH. I can't wait to more of that and of all your WIPS. You are knocking them out. Way to go!

Yvonne W said...

Lovely projects, Margaret.

sigisart said...

Dear Margaret,
sometimes we do not know, why we began something...so long ago...and sometimes it is so strange to find an UFO sleeping deep, deep down in a box. But it´s so fine to see your lovely projects and of course your finish is lovely.
Have a good sunday and many hugs
sigisart

Sandra said...

I can't believe you have so many UFO's Margaret, but at least you kept them all and are now able to finish them off. Carry on the good work.

angelasweby said...

Margaret, I'm not surprised you are pleased with your PS finish. You weren't joking when you said your mojo has returned in overdrive. You've stitched it so quickly. I remember, it was the inspiration from this sampler that caused a deluge of Neighbourhood stitching. We all joined in with the euphoria and it was great fun :-)
Good idea on the Celtic Banner. The end is in sight and what a great idea to do your HHRH as a SAL with Brigitte. That will move on a pace now.
Well done for persevering with the mystery sampler and getting to the bottom of it. It's such a lovely design. You've got lots of irons in the fire but lots of energy and motivation to match. Can't wait to see your progress.

Jenn M said...

Oh, stash diving! I have been doing a bit of that and have found some things I no longer have any desire to stitch! I have learned that as much as I admire Quaker motif type pieces, I just can't handle working with one colour - variegated or not! Congratulations on your finishes and your happily 'rediscovered' pieces.
Happy Days!
Jenn

Dianne said...

This post is a real inspiration - thank you! I have a couple of major UFOs that I'd love to finish this year (and of course lots of others to start too!) and your post has hit just the right note to me to take hold and get 'er done. Your solution for the Celtic banner piece is perfect - I vaguely remember seeing one of our Guild members show her finished project of that design, but I think she eventually included it in a quilt.

Brigitte said...

Deep stay diving is always a pleasure, isn't it? Even when you find long forgotten projects that you are not willing to go on with. I think you found the perfect solution for the Celtic Banner. And great that the JN chart was still available so that you can continue stitching on it.
Your birdhouse finish is just stunning. You know you made me think about starting this wonderful piece as well, lol. I have to think about that a bot longer. Or maybe it will be one of the other two designs of Garden Samplers. This would exactly match my gardening chores at the moment.
Stitching on the HoHRH in an SAL with you is so motivating. It was a great idea!

Carol said...

Oh, I do love your PS finish, Margaret. I've stitched it myself, but still haven't framed it after 5 years. I am so bad about getting anything framed as I have no reliable framer nearby and I'm hesitant to try larger pieces like this by myself.
I also made a small pillow out of just the upper right birdhouse portion and it is one of my favorites...

Loved seeing your Hawk Run Hollow piece again and how nice that you'll be doing a SAL with Brigitte. I have the chart, but have never started--something to save for retirement, I suppose.

So glad the mystery of the chart was solved--it is such a darling piece!

Hope April is off to a wonderful start for you...

Lynn said...

Lovely stitching Margaret, I am glad someone else has UFO'S like me, it makes me feel less guilty!

Von said...

Celtic Banner is a huge project, so you've hit on a great idea in cutting it down to a more manageable size!
Love your PS finish too!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Love love love your PS piece :) And your Celtic Banner! Not to mention HRH...you've got lots of good things on the go! :) Happy Coming Weekend to you!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Great work! I think it's a good idea to finish the Celtic Banner as it is. It looks lovely already.

Hawk Run is a huge project too!

Well done on solving the Just Nan mystery too.

Sheryl said...

Wonderful birdhouse sampler, the colours are so pretty. Wish I could get some UFO´s finished too and not to mention dwindle some stash.

Andrea said...

Some wonderful pieces. It makes you wonder sometimes why we stop working on pieces for no real reason. I'm looking forward to seeing some finishes now.

Karoline said...

Lovely finish and it's a good idea to finish Celtic Banner where it is. Hawks Run Hollow is looking gorgeous, I look forward to seeing your progress.

Jeanne said...

Good to catch up with you Margaret and your lovely projects! Not sure if you remember back several years ago when people were doing those 'neighborhood' round robins that PS birdhouse chart was in huge demand and going for big bucks on eBay. I remember at the time I wanted it badly but didn't want to spend that much so I used a little Dimensions birdhouse chart instead on my sampler. Your finish is very cute! I also remember when Celtic Banner was so popular...I've seen some amazing finishes of it. I'm also trying to finish up some old UFO's and I'm making good progress but it's hard to hold off from starting new things! I look forward to some day not having any old projects wearing on my concious! Happy stitching.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

A lovely catch up post. So nice to see your projects and I love them all. The Hawk Run Houses is just remarkable and your crocheted blanket is so sweet. Happy Stitching to you.