Sunday Thoughts - Blue, Red, Yellow

Stitch Meditations Done in Blue, Red, and Yellow

I am still working on my Stitch Meditations. I occasionally get behind but then I catch up only to get behind again.

I worked a series of red and white for valentines and then worked a series of white, cream, and beige. Then I went back to color.

I did an all blue one. Then I decided to do an all yellow one. Since those are primary colors I decided to do another red one. And then the thought came to me: isn’t it amazing that God took just three colors and from them created all the other colors we so enjoy today. That just blew my mind. And then I thought wow – Blue for heaven where God’s throne is, Red for His blood that was shed for our redemption, and Yellow for His Spirit, the light of the world. And really that’s all the color we need.

That’s my Sunday thought for this week.

Enjoy living in such a colorful world!

Rose

Today ...

Today …

Love One Another

Today I prayed for Margie. I don’t know Margie’s story. I met her on the streets of midtown New York City. I had joined a team from the New York Relief group and we were just walking the streets of NYC looking for people we could help. Margie came walking toward us. Well really she was shuffling, she was bent way over as though she carried a heavy load and her feet and legs could barely move. She is homeless. Her friends on the street call her Speedy but we found out her real name was Margie. That is how I think of her – Margie. 

Today wasn’t the only time I prayed for her. She’s been in my thoughts ever since I met her so every day I pray for her.

Today though I thought I would share with you my experience. As the team leader begin to converse with Margie and see how they could help her. Other team members helped Zan set up an easel, blank canvas, paints and brushes. Zan does worship painting and the Lord has led her to take it to the streets of NYC. Zan and I began to add some paint to the canvas and as people came up we invited them to join in the painting. Some held back and watch, some eventually came forward and painted. 

We waved to the team leader to bring Margie over to join us. She came but held back saying she wouldn’t be able to reach the canvas. But we convinced her that she could just paint in one corner.

Margie made her way to the canvas and started. Soon she was a little straighter and could reach higher. There was a delightful smile on her face. She was enjoying it. We talked a little as she painted. She’s in her late 60’s, not much younger than me. We talked about abstract painting. There was a wonderful smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye as she painted next to a five year old girl who had also been invited to paint. 

Another New Yorker, a stranger to the two painting, stooped to help and encourage the young painter whose mom and dad were also enjoying the scene and taping their daughter painting on the streets of NYC. It was an amazing experience I will never forget.

We had to leave Margie to the streets that night because the shelter bed had been given to another lady one of the other teams had met. So I pray for Margie, for her needs, for her protection, and in gratitude that I was able to share a few hours with her.

To learn more about the New York City relief project visit http://www.newyorkcityrelief.org/. To learn more about Zen and her worship paintings which she sells to support herself and her ministry check out her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/worshippaintingsbyzan/ or her Etsy shop http://www.PaintingsbyZan.etsy.com.

When was the last time you stopped to look in the eyes of a stranger and smile?

Rose

Hello there! WWW

Thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts! My surgery went well. The tumor was a very small one and only Stage 1A cancer so no more treatment is needed, just watching me closely for a while. I’m feeling great just have to be sure I don’t overdo it with lifting etc.

I have been slowly getting back into stitching so this is what I have in progress this Wednesday.

I finished a block for my quilt guild’s monthly block exchange, I’m only two blocks behind now!

Scrappy Blues Block

My first fifteen minute project is now complete. It was surprisingly easy to keep it going. The day of surgery and two days of recovery did not see any stitching but I made it up later in the week by stitching extra fifteen minute periods. Thirty eight days later the monkey is now done but I think he will just go in the box with all the rest of my TAST2012 pieces. I haven’t decided what to do with them yet. (Please don’t ask how many French Knots are in that piece!) I did add ears which were not in the original scribble. Generally I do not add any lines or scribbles to one once the pencil leaves the paper or fabric but he just needed some ears so they were scribbled in.

French knot monkey 15 minutes a day priject

I’ve gotten back to working on my summer hexagon project that I started last year using embroidery designs from Wild Olive. I modified a few of them. This is my first time making hexagons and I struggled with sewing them together. I worked at it during a few of the Friendship Stitchers group I belong to. Then I decided I really want to get it finished (I have the designs for Fall, Winter, and now Spring waiting in the sidelines). So I started doing it as one of my just fifteen minutes a day projects but I got carried away with it and worked more than fifteen minutes. So it is getting done a little faster than expected.

Summer Hexagon Embroidery Pioject

Painted hoops

Next I painted some outer embroidery hoop frames in anticipation of another Finish It Friday project. I’m hoping this Friday to have some results to show.

Happy Stitching! 

Rose

WWW or What I’ve Been Working On Wednesday - Staying Calm

Trying to stay calm, that’s WWW. Had a call from my doctor yesterday. The news was not great. I have cancer. Trying to stay calm. Went for an appointment with her today to discuss what the next steps should be. Just trying to stay calm. It is the most common of female cancers and the most treatable. That’s good. Will need to have surgery soon to remove the offending organs. OK – still staying calm. Why? Not “why me” but why am I being calm about all of this? Because I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand. I know my God has my back and His purpose for this is for good. Jesus told me years ago that everything was going to be okay. I believed Him then and I believe Him now. He has never ever failed me. And so I am calm and secure knowing that I am in His loving hands.

Because of this though, I have not achieved a lot for this Wednesday’s post. 

C is for Circle Flash Card

I plan to have my “C is for Circle” flash card finished so I can damp stretch the three cards in time for finishing them on Friday.

I’ve unraveled my laces and trims so they no longer look like this:

but are being stored neat and tidy like this.

Tidy laces and trims ready for storage

I finished a scarf for my grandson using some leftover fleece with a basketball design on it. He really doesn’t like wearing scarves or hats so I haven’t gotten a good photo of him with it yet. But I will.

Jaden and his new scarf

The last thing on my desk is all of the journaling/organizing books and handouts my daughter has given me for this year. I really want to start filling out these tools but keep putting it off. That is why they are now spread out on my table along with some washi tape she has given me and some colorful pens I bought recently. I’m trying to tempt myself/ encourage myself into getting started. Once I start I will be into it. Funny how that getting started seems to be the hardest part.

Journals, worksheets, pens and tapes

Happy Wednesday!

Rose 

Tangled

Tangled Floss

Remember this?  I have been working on organizing my floss and came across several skeins that had become quite tangled. As I sat working out the knots and tangles I was reminded of another time I spent untangling. I was sitting in my Dad’s living room with a large skein of yarn that had become impossibly tangled. I needed it for a project I was working on and didn’t have money to buy a new skein. So I worked and worked at it all the while my dad was sitting nearby reading the newspaper and watching me. Finally after several hours I was done and now had a nice round ball of yarn ready to be used.

My Dad just looked at me and shook his head “You must have a lot of patience.” he said “If it was me I would have thrown the whole lot away after five minutes and bought some new yarn.” Well that wasn’t an option for me at that time, but I am a pretty patient person in most areas of my life. However if circumstances had been different I may well have done just that.

As I was thinking about that I thought how our lives sometimes become so tangled through bad decisions we make or even how we react to circumstances beyond our control. Some of us became so messed up and tangled that even our closest friends and family were ready to throw us away as a lost cause, beyond hope, of no value.

But thanks be to God He sees the tangled mess and says I can work this out if you’ll just let Me. And with His help slowly the tangles come out. I was so deep in sin about to give up and end it all when He heard my cry and saved my life. He’s still working on my tangles and knots.

Even when He runs into a big knot His love and grace keeps working at it until the knot is loosened and the tangle is freed. Some of us are so tangled it may take our lifetime to get it all straightened out, but as long as we rest in His hands we have the assurance that He will continue until we are perfect in Him.

Happy to be His!

Rose

I’m Here, I’m Here!

As you can see I haven’t reached my goal yet for my blog but I’m not giving up! Just having to juggle life and choices keeps me busy not to mention my grandson Jaden. I spent a couple of days this week helping a dear friend set up her Etsy account. She will be adding more items and improving her shop but you can take a look now. That was time well spent. Also spent some time waiting in doctor’s offices with my husband for follow ups on his recent hospitalization.

So here’s an update on my stitching for TAST2012.

I’ve been keeping up with the weekly stitches but I’m slow on getting them photographed and posted. So here goes!

Crossed Buttonhole Scribble Stitch

Crossed Buttonhole. I decided to stick with my scribbles and actually enjoyed doing this stitch. It took me awhile to get it right and develop a rhythm but then I was happy with it.

Half-chevron scribble stitch

Can’t say the same for the half chevron though. I was almost to the end of my scribble before I realized what I was doing wrong. I think I’ll try it again and see if I like it any better.

Bullion Stitch Scribble

And then there’s the bullion stitch. This is a stitch I first learned from by mother-in-law, Eunice Balaz, and then further expanded on it when I took some lessons in Brazilian embroidery. I really like the stitch but I haven’t used it much recently, You can view my Flickr account for older work using the bullion stitch. 

Recently I used it on my quilt guild name badge and on my February CQJ2012 block. I again decided to stitch with my scribble method and made long and short bullions along the line. The long stitches have 10 wraps and the shorter ones have 5 wraps. The thread used was a variegated pearl cotton.

Butterfly stitch scribble

Finally there’s the butterfly stitch. Oh my! I have never executed this stitch before. I think it would have worked better if I had made the straight stitches a little longer. I left my pencil scribble showing so you could see the original line I followed. I will eventually remove that line.

All of my scribbles are up on my design wall and they may make it into one cohesive piece when they are all done. I may even go back to some of the earlier stitches and do them as scribbles. We’ll see!

Thank you for taking the time to look at my work and a special hug thanks to those who leave comments!

Next I’ll show you my progress on my Crazy Quilt blocks and I plan to have another tip up on Monday. (Oh that’s tomorrow – lol – we’ll see!) I’m way behind on my 12 in 12 so I’m going to take some time to look for some simple ones to try and finish.

13. The sound of a train announcing its arrival
14. A gentle breeze blowing
15. A baby discovering his first tooth
16. Butterflies

Happy stitching!

Rose

Life Goes On

Well so much for good intentions. I’ve been working on my projects but not as fast as I’d hoped and definitely not posting updates like I had planned. This week was looking good for catching up. I even was almost done with the TAST2012 stitch for this week by Wednesday. Ha! I was going to finish block 2 and 3 for the CQJ2012 project in time to be included on their website with my own page. That didn’t happen either.

Instead I spent a lot of time at the local hospital waiting for the doctor’s to determine exactly what needed to be done for my husband. He had taken a mean fall at home on Wednesday and was in a lot of pain. Thankfully the injuries from his fall were not that serious (he does have to use a back brace and do no work for the next two months). That will be a challenge since he is working outside in our yard all day long.

The doctor’s did decide he needed to have a pacemaker installed. His heart rate was staying in the 30 range and the highest they could get it was 40. So Thursday they did the procedure and Friday afternoon he was released. I was at the hospital almost the whole time so I did not get much rest. I did manage to finish the TAST2012 stitch and add a whole lot of French Knots to the Monkey Face piece.

TAST2012

Wheatear Stitch Scribble

Wheatear Stitch following another one of my scribbles. I decided to use a wheat color thread to work this design. First I practiced the stitch on my sampler since this was the first time I had used this stitch. I wanted to see how well it handled the curves of my scribble especially the tight ones. I’m quite pleased with the results.

Last week the stitch assigned was the French Knot. I love this stitch and have been using it since I was a teenager. I had never seen it worked in a tight style until I saw the work my mother-in-law did. Eunice Balaz was a master of the French Knot and bullion stitch. Here is a sample of her work with close quarter French Knots.

I have a better example which she did on a dress for my daughter. As soon as I can get a picture of it I’ll add it to my blog. Also a picture of her bullion work.  My mother Mabel Ruth taught me how to embroider when I was just a child of six of seven. Eunice taught me how to do the bullion rose. She used DMC floss and a milliner’s needle. The needle was new to me. Her floss was the variegated variety which she bought by the case. It’s not as easy to come by these days. When she used it she would cut off the very pale sections and use only the stronger color. I’m still amazed when I see her work.

For my sample I decided to stick with my scribbles. When I scribbled this one I immediately saw a face so I decided to outline it with French Knots and then fill it in with more French Knots.  I decided it was a Monkey Face and I will add ears to the design. This is a departure from my usual scribble which I normally do not add any more lines once the scribble is done. Rules need exceptions and this is one of them.

Here is the outline:

French Knot Monkey Face

Filling the Monkey Face


And here it is in process of being filled in. These knots are all single loops done with DMC pearl cotton size 8.

CQJ2012 

February Crazy Quilt Block

My February block is finished except for some buttons and possibly beads to be added as I assemble the entire crazy quilt. March is in the works. April fabrics have been selected and should be stitched this week.

Robin's nest in my magnolia tree

9. Air scented with flower perfumes
10. Blue robin eggs
11. Plants poking through the ground
12. Modern technology

Happy Stitching!

Rose