Throwback Thursday

When I was in graduate school, and friends got married, I made this little piece. I think I've stitched it six times. I'm not entirely sure because I let the little darlings--all mounted in boxes--go out in the wild without photographs.

One of my friends just celebrated his anniversary and posted this on Facebook to me as a reminder. They still have it 21 years later. There's a little joy knowing.

A Free Heart, Kandace Thomas

Anniversary Sampler Complete!

This was quite a weekend in America with not only our birthday celebration (or, as dogs know it, "The Worst Day of the Year") but also a giant win for the American women's national soccer team. (I will also take this time to say, "hooray, Title IX!" because you don't get to be that good at sports without money and encouragement. Just sayin'.)

I was also able to finish the dude's anniversary sampler. As you can see, I went with initials and XIV for the 14 years we've been married. This, it turns out, is how I've done many of the others, so it seemed only right.

I started back in on SamSarah's Shining Star, which I started during Christmas in July 2013. More on that at WIP Wednesday.

Day Five: Newlywed Ornaments

Sure you could make ornaments out of newlyweds, but the law so frowns on that. Instead, I made ornaments for the newlyweds! I did try to get to these by Christmas, but I couldn't find the damn invitation (just the one to the reception in Maine). I broke down and asked my sister for another last week in preparation for my month o' craftin'. She didn't even ask why. She only used about a third of the number she was forced to buy, so she probably figures I could make confetti out of it and she'd still be ahead. So I did...make confetti out of it.

I first saw these ornaments on Sweet Pea Stitches just before Christmas, December 12th in fact, so I am not going to beat myself up (any more) for not getting these done by December 25th!

I didn't follow directions or anything. I mean, you cut up paper and you put into a fillable ornament. It's not rocket surgery or brain science! I did have to figure out how to work with the formal invitation. It was two types of cardstock glued together, I started wrapping it around a pencil and the blue card would buckle away from the cream card. I would separate the two at the buckle and reglue at the end, snipping away the excess blue.

The gold ribbon was on the original card, thus the unworkable length. I added the red ribbon to the stateside reception ornament because it needed something. Et voila! the first anniversary present complete (two months early!).

March Madness and April Showers

Under normal circumstances, I would have left obscenely early this morning for Oklahoma. My friend DD would have met me at the Tulsa airport for the drive out to the Wagoner Wal-Mart, the last stop for water and jelly beans before we hit Sequoyah State Park for a weekend of stitching with our pals at the Silver Needle. {Sigh.} It was just too difficult to justify the trip this year especially given how I thought I would have had a damn job by now. I really thought I'd be the new girl with no vacation days to spend on something as frivolous important to my sanity as stitching. The good news is the dude is away this weekend. I plan on getting some serious numb butt. Of course, I have planned to go to stamping tomorrow night, and I need to head to New York with my sister for her first fitting. But the rest of the weekend (LOL) will be for stitching.

March Goals:

1. Finish a page of the marquoir.--Close, I screwed up the H and need to take half of it out. 
2. Finish-finish one three projects. (Let's try to catch up.)--Maybe I should put aside a weekend for this.
3. Finish Love, Me (due May 14th)--Done!
4. Finish S&BF, Winter Peace--Done!
5. Work on City Stitcher, Willow Trees Sampler--I have started some of the sampler (numbers) and added leaves to the tree.

In April

1. Finish a page of the marquoir
2. Finish-finish four projects
3. Work on City Stitcher, Willow Trees Sampler
4. Work on With Thy Needle and Thread, Hoppin' Along Sampler
5. Work on Lizzie*Kate's Dog Lessons for People

I'm so glad there's enthusiasm for the challenge. I'll try to remind you throughout the spring (when it gets here) and summer so the deadline won't bite you in the ass. Like it would me.

L-flower-heart-E

I'm so happy to be able to bring you the joy that is Maggie. I find what amuses "you people" as perplexing as she does. Still if I can provide inspiration or humor to you, it is my duty.

Love, Me
Hands to Work
Called for fibers and fabric

While we were in Florida--well, mostly when we were on the plane home from Florida--I worked on "Love, Me" for Sissy and Jersey. This is working up quickly.

Our trip was nice. It was wonderful to go outside without jackets on. (How disappointing to be home and have to suit up to walk the dog.) But it wasn't quite warm enough to lay by the pool. We went fishing one day and accompanied my mother on the Venice house tour another. And Bingo--how could I forget the bingo? But mostly we did the kind of hanging out with family that we tend to do. And we ate. A lot. 

An Invitation

I have plenty of invitations to go places, lots to do. If I'm not working, I go to have my hair taken care of and work at needlepoint.--Ethel Merman

Who knew Ethel Merman did needlepoint? I hope this wasn't taken out of context.

Today the bridesmatrons and junior bridesmaid accompanied Sissy to find invitations. Let me tell you how frackin' indecisive she has been about this. I think she's been too worried about the "invitation setting the tone."
Initially she wanted something "destination" and "beachy."
So I went through a million things online and came up with:

• sand dollar invitation
• scallop invitation
• etsy seaside invite
• a more traditional with sand dollar
• coral invite, my favorite

She was leaning toward the coral, but Jersey didn't think it looked like coral.

Today we went back to Papyrus. (We went in New York because it was around the corner from Kleinfeld's.) At any rate, after going through nearly every wedding invitation book at Papyrus (again), including Vera Wang, Martha Stewart, and kate spade (the three most likely, I thought), she chose a pearlized ecru card layered with a pearlized navy cardstock that has a gold ribbon (flat, not tied). It has their initials above the ribbon, and the text is right justified below. Let me tell you how much this is the opposite of everything she described to us. It only took two hours.

I need a nap.

Wedding Surprise

I finally got sissy to go to Strawberry Sampler to pick out a wedding sampler. I had been thinking Drawn Thread's Marriage of True Minds or Heart's Content's Rose Marriage Sampler. She took one look at the latter and said, "too floral." When she had a chance to study True Minds, she said, "too traditional." Then she pointed to a small piece and said, "I really like this one." Love, Me by Hands to Work. (Turns out I already own it.)

But it's so small! I've done some pretty intricate pieces for people. (See here and here.) It seems so wrong to make something so small for my one and only baby sister. She let me keep looking, and I found this one. She liked it, and we chose a couple of red flosses for it.

When I was recounting our trip to the dude, I told him that I felt like I had bullied her into choosing something more intricate. So I brought both patterns along to Sunday dinner. I showed them to Jersey. He thought the bigger one was nice but too formal. He liked the smaller one too. Then he saw that the MBT design had the date. I told him I could put the date on the one he liked, and that settled it. I am stitching Love, Me for the happy couple. And I shouldn't have any problem finishing that for May 14th.