Spring has sprung

....finally.    And with it lots of stuff to do.   One thing is enlarging our deck and pergola.   The existing pergola is a baked aluminum one from Lowes that I love expect for the scraping and painting part.   The new one with be out of the trex decking and in addition to being larger, will be maintenance free.   Now I haven't decided if I am a contractor's dream or nightmare....I'll let you know after I share my before and after drawings with him on Monday.

I went to the 2nd Annual Needlework Emporium put on the by the Women's Club of Bethesda MD.   Well worth the trip.   Lot's of vintage pieces, lots of buttons, lots of pin cushions.   I scored this vintage file box.  Shout out to Stasi at BeeMused and BeeStitching.   Check out her post.   She thought to take pictures at the show.   It was a great day with two great Stasi's/Stacey's and me!

We pulled the drawers out and bagged them separately to made the walk to the car easier.   It wasn't until I was putting the drawers back that I saw papers wedged in the back.    Well the Nancy Drew in me has her interest piqued but I wasn't sure how I could get them out.    Good old gravity did it.

I turned it upside down and after a few good shakes and twists everything came out.   There was just enough room at the end of each drawer slide for the papers to wiggle free.

The papers are dated 1934, 1946, 1949 and 1976 with locations of Roy, Indiana and Flemington, New Jersey.   What a story this file box must be able to tell.

 My other treasures today included the small red and white bakelite buttons, a sock darner, a half round drum button, more ribbons and trims and 5 old chandelier prisms which I can't wait to hang outside with the sun with catch them.

 And look what fits perfectly in the draw.   I am going to have to move a couple of things around to somehow manage to get this beside my stitching chair.   It will be the perfect place to set my shaker tray of scissors and notions.

 I am on the Hot Mess Express with me huck embroidery project.  I am too far in to want to start over.  I am just going to stay in my lane and keep moving forward.    This was taught at our last EGA meeting.  It actually is quite easy if you don't try to create all your own motifs and use every single row available!   Restraint!  I need to show restraint!  Just do it, don't over do it!

My focus project has been my EGA Challenge Piece No. 4   I have made great progress since picking this back up and can actually envision me finishing it......but maybe not before the new Challenge No. is chosen.

 It's all the darned 'bleeping' eyelets!  I think I have 9 more letters to do.  Ugh.   In between the torture of the eyelets I have been completing the lower rows.   I know how my analytical brain works and I'll conjure up some mathematic approach to the letters..... kind of like those old grammar school problems....if a car leaves Chicago, traveling east at 60 mph and a car leaves Pittsburgh at ....... stitch a letter and a half and then treat myself to stitch a row and both be done at the same time. 

I hope to be able to post again soon with some updates on other projects as well as life in general.    Now off to check off a few more items on the to-do list!

 Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching.

Alas......

Alas, I've been a bad blogger.   Not only have I not posted, I haven't even read any of the blogs I follow.  Now since I am more of a 'creeper' than a 'commenter" chances on I wasn't missed.  I can't account for what I've been doing.  It certainly hasn't been work because that is finally going along like a normal job and not a demand-every-ounce-of-your-energy job.

I do know that I seem to be singularly focused which is funny since I always talk about how woman can multi-task and man cannot.  I feel like lately I spend all my spare time on crafting.   Not a bad thing, but I am feeling one dimensional.   Spring is coming and I'd better learn to strike a balance between crafting and yard work for sure.

So, let's recap.   Sweet William made an appearance for a long weekend and it was so sweet having him here.   He is close to three now and just chatting up a storm.  Such a fun age and for whatever reason, he just thinks his "Damma" is the bestest.   I surely feel the same way back!   Willy G helped me make blueberry pancakes for breakfast.    Of course it was OK with me he stole some sprinkles.

I have kept up with my quilt block project and in fact I am two weeks ahead.  I had the bright idea to sew the blocks together as I go to save all the piecing at the end which originally seemed brilliant.   Now I am wondering if it was the right choice.   I don't know if I will have enough fat quarters to complete all 25 (x 3=75) blocks and now I am worried about colors clashing and thinking I should have planned on intermixing solid blocks.........well, this will surely end in a landfill once I am gone so I will stop stressing, stay in my lane and just keep on piecing.

Since I finished my monthly EGA Challenge piece and before the next meeting, I dug into the WIP basket of lost projects and found and finished this snowflake humbug from a Christmas in July piece of several years ago.   I only had one snowflake completed so I am happy I picked it up and got it done.  One less WIP in the basket.






For an exchange piece at an upcoming retreat,  I rooted through my fat quarters and I have pulled the fabrics for making a project bag.  I just need to dedicate a couple of evenings to cut and assemble.







At this week's EGA meeting we were taught Huck Embroidery.  Here is my progress so far.   I really like being introduced to different stitches and different methods of stitching.
We started with six strands of floss but I came home and pulled out my pearl cotton.   It's EZ PZ for sure but it is trial and error right now.

I have made progress on my 12-Days of Christmas ornaments.   I am kind of on schedule with the SAL if you think overall project progress and kind of bend the timeline.   #1 and #2 are due to be finished.   I finished #1, have stitched #2 and #3 but not assembled either.   So I am listing is as a break even.    Anyway, that's my story and I am sticking to it.

The new number for my EGA Challenge piece is project #4.   There was an audible sigh when from me when I opened the project bag marked #4.   I added this to the challenge because it has been languishing for too long.   I picked this pattern up at the Chester County (PA) Historical Society after a private tour I had there a few years ago.   I actually got to see the original this was charted from which was pretty awesome.   Problem being those dog gone eyelets.   Ugh!   That's why I keep putting it down.   Now that it is my challenge piece, I hope to get this one closer to, if not across, the finish line.  I am second guessing the linen thinking it looks to pristine......I do have a bottle of that distressing spray and I might try it on a corner of the linen to see what it looks like.  For now it is forge ahead like a good little stitcher!

So what's up next......the weather has finally turned to spring and let's hope we have a spring and don't just jump right into summer.   It will be good to get outside and start putzing around the yard and get the wintertime decor down and replaced with springtime flowers.

Willy is already enjoying the hanging egg chair I got for my deck.

 Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching......