Monday, February 13, 2012

I miss repros......

The title of this post says it all.  I'm not good at this switching from project to project.  And I'm missing just sitting down with a good repro and stitching away.  But on the other hand, I do love the projects I'm working on.  Like this one.


I've gotten the main part of the Amy Mitten Quaker Winders Keepers done.  Pretty, huh?  Here are all 4 corners.





I love the flowers in the bottom right hand corner.

I also worked on the Toy Chest Etui from Betsy Morgan to catch up with Loraine.  We're working on this as an SAL together -- which is good.  I know I would have given up on it already otherwise.


This is the little Amish doll.  I obviously haven't finished the girl doll yet.  lol!  I'm dreading figuring out that satin stitch on her dress!  Loraine is ahead of me and already has the doll stitched up and has started the next part of our SAL.  I'd better hurry up!

I'm feeling exhausted and very out of shape this morning.  That sweet girl child of mine has been exhorting me to get exercising again.  She has picked up her exercise routine (the lucky girl has a nice gym right on campus of course) and wants to motivate me to do the same.  Well, I admit shamefacedly I haven't exercised since Hurricane Irene hit and threw me for a loop bigtime.  So I'm very out of shape.  I went ahead and did the exercise routine (a beginner routine) that my girl child recommended.  But I tell you, I'm blowed.  lol!  It's going to be tough getting back into the routine!

The boy child had pit orchestra duty for the mid season high school musical Nunsense this weekend.  As he says, it was his last time doing the pit as a high school student.  Another last.  So weird!  Now for the last high school musical he will be in -- rehearsals for Oklahoma will start soon.

Here is something I end up doing a lot with my little girl cat Mia.  She is always jumping into my sink and wanting a drink.  So I spend lots of time waiting for her to be done drinking.  lol!  I need to buy one of those faucets that turns on and off with a touch and teach Mia how to use it.


Oh, and yes, I have a little ceramic fountain for her to drink water from.  She does use it, but she still insists on drinking straight from the tap as well.  Silly girl!

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week!

53 comments:

Nicola said...

Margaret your stitching is so beautifully done, so fine. I love both your projects.

Mia is such a cutie at least she doesn't use the toilet bowl to drink.

Life goes quickly when you mark the years by your children's milestones.

Nancy said...

You are stitching a beautiful Quaker sampler - the colors are so soft and pretty together! Looking forward to seeing more of your toy chest. What a cute photo of Mia! She would fit right in at our house drinking out of the faucet!

BrendaS said...

Margaret -- Your stitching is beautiful no matter what you are working on. I really like the colors in your Quaker piece.

Mia is such a cutie! What we won't do for our pets:)

Laurie in Iowa said...

The Amy Mitten piece looks fabulous. What count linen are you doing it on and how many strands of fiber?
Wow... the toy etui project looks fabulous, but challenging.
This year will be the year of many 'last times' for your boy child, but next year will be his year of 'new starts.' Such exciting times for him.
Mia just wants her water to be as fresh as possible.
Good luck with you new exercise routine.

marly said...

The Quaker is soft and lovely. Not hard and wonky as what I usually pick. This is a nice compliment to your vast array of needlework, and the toy project is so cool!!!

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

beautiful stitching my friend

have a good day

bisous xxxx de FRANCE

woolwoman said...

I bet you do miss being on a "repro" Margaret but that Amy piece is just beautiful. I'm not good with fiddly smalls but I sure love seeing what other people do with them. Good luck on your SAL with Loraine. I saw the prototype when I took a class from Betsy a few years back - it is darling. Hope you have a great week and don't overdo getting back in the exercise routine. Mel

Bertie said...

Stunning Margaret!! I have not yet picked mine up and your done, well nearly!! Mia is a clever girl, a bit like us LOL.
Good luck with your exercise:)

Myriam said...

Your stitching is beautiful!
Mia: as fresh as possible for her water!!!!!! Funny!

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

Mia is such a silly girl! That Quaker sampler is stunning! I love satin stitching as long as it behaves itself!

Glenna said...

I know what you mean--when I step away from the repros, I miss them, but it is fun (and pretty, as in your Quakers and Amish dolls) to do something else once in a while.

Michelle said...

Love love love how your Amy Mitten is looking. Wow! I just have one sad little motif stitched on mine. And the dolls are so cute, glad you're working on them too. I'm sure a repro is not far in the future! Any ideas what you might want to pick up?

The Inspired Stitcher said...

Your Quaker is looking so beautiful! I was tempted when I saw it. Sigh. That Mia is just too dang cute.

Jan said...

You always do such beautiful work, Margaret...even when it isn't your beloved repros!! You are doing great keeping up with dear Loraine...that is going to be such a sweet finish when all done!

I love your pic shares of Miss Mia...I am going to have to start taking some pics and sharing them of my sweet girl,Boo.

Anonymous said...

Hi

I love your sampler the colours are great. Mia is very sweet - I have two girl cats who like to drink from the taps as well!

Krista said...

Your quaker project is coming beautifully. You are stitching so quickly!

My cat does the same thing at the sink too like Mia, and I even have two water dishes out for her.. I guess it is something about the running water.

Enjoy your day!

Anne said...

Love the Amy Mitten Quaker design! I've said it before, but you are super fast at stitching!! I couldn't even finish a small yesterday! Those little flowers in the bottom right corner are my favourite too. Those Amish dolls are cute! What will you turn them into?

Good luck with the exercise routine (I'm definitely in need of some exercise!!)

As for drinking outta taps, Lucy always drank out of a tap so we just left the bathtub dripping for her. Luckily Titus is a water bowl cat!! Whoohoo! No more waiting around till they finish! I think the auto tap would be great for her!!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

Beautiful stitching, Margaret! Love the colors on the Quaker piece - seems like quite a departure for you. Your SAL piece is looking great as well. The dolls will be adorable.

Better the sink than the toilet for Mia!

Mouse said...

ohhh it is sooo pretty ... and they do like to have fresh running water don't they ...
where is the satin stitch on the wee girl going to be ??? and exercise coooooo I am hoping to start going swimming again soon :) love mouse xxxx

Penny said...

I love the Quaker piece. The colors are so pretty and beautifully stitched too! The little Amish couple are so sweet. :)
Good for you on the exercising!
Mia is funny drinking from the faucet - I have one that is the same way. The mysteries of the cat's mind. :D

Mugwump Woolies said...

O.k....you either stitch in your sleep...or...you forgo sleep to stitch. Whichever it is, your work is beautiful!
Enjoy the week,
Robyn

Joy said...

Your stitching is lovely, but I think I like repros. Happy Week!

Kim said...

You're stitching is beautiful as always!!! I giggled when you spoke of being out of shape, as I am in pitiful shape myself. I am trying to move more, but it is hard to get going again after you have stopped for so long. Also, I need a knee replacement on the right knee which keeps me from doing alot. And of course, I could sure lose some pounds to help it go better....being middleage can be very brutal!! lol

Nicole said...

Beautiful stitching, as always, Margaret! I really love that Amy Mitten project.

Mia is such a cutie! :)

Siobhán said...

Beautiful stitching, Margaret! I always feel more settled working on samplers--it's like that is what we are SUPPOSED to do--but am learning that it's okay to work on other things, too. LOL--it's hard doing the switch!

LOL at Mia! Duffy has learned to bark at his water bowl when it isn't full to the top. Or maybe it's us who has been taught, that when Master barks, we must respond. LOL

Deborah said...

I love your Quaker piece. The colors are beautiful. Mia is a cutie. The things that we do willingly for our fur babies.

Annie said...

Love the pretty colors in the sampler. Fun to stitch when you get to change colors so often. The toy chest design looks fascinating.. a little departure from your usual projects.

And take it one sit-up at a time and you'll be in shape in no time!

Carol said...

Beautiful progress, Margaret! I'm not good at juggling multiple projects either--think that is why I stitch so any smalls. I can finish one quickly and move on to the next within a matter of a few days...

Good for you for resuming exercising--you'll have so much more energy once you've established a routine :)

ROSELLA69 said...

STUPENDO,BELLISSIMO,E VELOCISSIMA,BRAVISSIMA.

Solstitches said...

Beautiful stitching as always!
The Quaker is gorgeous. You stitch so fast it won't be long until you're back on your repro's :)
What a cute picture of Mia.
Margaret

Dawn said...

lol...our cat loved to do that she would drink and play. Love seeing your project progress - so beautiful.
Sigh...a year of lasts - next year will be a year of exciting firsts!

Melissa said...

That's funny about Mia. Yes, they just want things that require your attention!

I can understand you missing the repros but you are doing great with your projects! I am sure you will be stitching your beloved repros again soon!

Catherine said...

Great projects Margaret! How funny is Mia?!?

Deb said...

I love both your pieces Margaret! Just keep going and they'll be finished and you'll back to the repros!

I hear you on the exercise. I have been out of it for a few months and it's like dragging - well, I was going to say - like dragging a cat to water, but that one doesn't work here as I see Mia lapping from the faucet! LOL Anyway, I hear how hard it is to get into the routine. As soon as I'm feeling better I'm going to try!!

And about Mia, I don't think that I've seen a cat drink from a faucet like that before.

Loraine said...

Oh, your Amy Mitten Quaker is fabulous! Love the colors. I haven't done anything except the Toy Chest, so at least you are accomplishing other things. I agree that I would have quit this project without your help as well, so thanks for helping me stay on task! LOL.
It makes me sad to hear about your son's "last" performance. I am realizing that mine will be out of the house in a short time as well. Better enjoy them while we can.
Good luck with the workout routine. It's always a battle with me. :)
TTYS.

Jackie's Stitches said...

Both projects you're working on are gorgeous! I think sometimes it's good to step outside what is typical for us.

I hear you about the exercise. I need to get back to it too and have been thinking about it. Now I've come down with a cold. I rarely had a cold when I exercised regularly - another reason to get back to it.

samplerlover said...

Margaret, your Quaker piece is really lovely as is your Toy Chest pieces. Looking forward to seeing them all finished.

In some ways a Mother always feels sad when she realises that her youngest child is going out to face the world. Guess it is all part of of the growing process.

Patty C. said...

LOVE the Quaker piece - but of course I always love your work !!

valerie said...

Your quaker piece is wonderful! I really like the soft colors. Good for you with trying to get back to exercising. I've been away from it for the past 2 weeks and feel all out of shape. Back to the gym for me! =)

Veronica said...

Beautiful colors on your Quaker sampler. Toy Chest Etui is looking good.

Cute, cute, Mia.

Hugs,
Veronica.

Chris said...

Your stitching is looking great Margaret! Do you have a special repro to start when you are finished these projects?
Congratulations on the exercising! It will get easier :)
Hugs to you and Mia!

Donna said...

Ah. You've finished that much of your Amy Mitten? I've done two corners and across the top on mine. But I do think that the Friesland one has more stitches in it. Or that's the story I'm going with.

Looks wonderful!

Kellie said...

Love your stitching and Mia as always! Good luck with getting back into the groove of exercising. I have been trying to motivate myself to do the same.

Katrina said...

Pretty projects!!!! Funny kitty, that just cracks me up.

Ruth said...

You know I so look foreward to your posts and their windows into your beuatiful stitching, but sometimes it's more than I can stand. Like right now for instance. I want to go home immediately-- IMMEDIATELY -- and stitch.

Lois said...

I love the colours in this Quaker piece. I'm next to useless at juggling pieces, it just doesn't seem to work for me because I get too involved in the piece I'm working on and then don't want to put it down to work on something else. Love your SAL piece! Good luck with the exercising! I try and walk regularly but in the winter it always takes a back seat as I'm a fair-weather walker and going out when it's cold, damp or dark just doesn't appeal to me!

Kathy Ellen said...

Beautiful stitching on your Amy Mitten Quaker piece. I love Quaker designs, and so this is just "my cup of tea"! The Amish dolls are coming along nicely. Have courage with those satin stitches:)

Love that amazing cat, Mia!

Anonymous said...

beautiful stitching, love your blog

Karoline said...

Your Winders Keepers is looking gorgeous & so is your piece for the toy chest.

Cute photo's of Mia

Kerri said...

Your winder keeper looks great! I am still working on the darn border, but maybe this weekend I can find some time.

Thanks for keeping me motivated to get the main piece done.

Unknown said...

spectacular !!!!
ciao Pat

Melanie said...

My Meisha loves drinking from the sink too - but she's the only one out of the three cats. She always jumps up there after we brush our teeth and we oblige her, of course. She doesn't like food treats so it's the only 'special' thing you can give her.
Lovely stitching!! Can't wait to see how the SAL comes out when you are done. I didn't peek at the whole pattern so I can see it bit by bit as you do it. :)

doris said...

A lot of the cats I've had loved jumping on the sink to drink! We always wondered why they liked it so much.

As always, your stitching is beautiful!