House hunting and a quaker pizza

The past couple months have been dominated by our search for a house. We're still looking, still hoping that the perfect place pops up. It's been stressful, to say the least. 

On top of that, we've been on a strict diet in order to shed the extra pounds that appeared over the course of 2016, which was filled with lots of celebrations, restaurants, and pizza. We've both already dropped weight (with a bit to go), but my biggest challenge, even more so than junk food, dairy, and carbs, has been holding off on wine.

Luckily I'm letting myself have a break this weekend.

Also on the plus side, the extra time I spent snacking has been replaced with keeping my hands busy, mostly with crafting.

I've wanted to do a Quaker-style element for a while, since my overall project (at least the framed bits) have a Quaker sampler feel. Here's an example from 1802, from the Needleprint blog, which is packed with beautiful Quakers:

Source: Needleprint

Once I sketched out a pattern, I figured the best centerpiece for my Quaker design would, obviously, be pizza.

I also stitched in a little row of houses, to represent our hunt.

I've been wanting to start on another quilt recently, so hoping to squeeze that in too.

Happy weekend!

Shifting Focus and Little Obamas

I've been spending a lot of time avoiding the tapestree over the last few weeks. I haven't had the motivation to do any designing, which is the most tedious part of it, so most of my focus has been on existing patterns. 

I have, however, been pushing myself to add to it even when the inspiration isn't there. I decided to try and pull some elements and charts from books and patterns (with credit) when I need a quick design. To get myself moving, I added the new year, and some little freehand Obamas.

I also started a new project, Providence by Brenda Keyes. I love her books and charts, both because they tend to have a primitive look, and because my favorite things to stitch are houses and people. The border is nuts on this one.

I just received the Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly Collection CD, which has all of the issues from 1991-2015. And I've been pouring over it. There are a ton of complete pieces I would love to try, but I also think I could pull some elements for my tapestree.

Right now, it's a very warm January day, and the windows are open. I'm already looking forward to the end of the winter gloominess.

NYC Visit

At this time last year, I was visiting my little sister Molly in New York City. It was a mostly spur-of-the-moment trip, and since I'd already been to the city a handful of times, we focused on shopping, hitting a zillion little coffee shops, and eating amazing food.

I also made another spur-of-the-moment decision and sought out a tattoo parlor that would take me last minute. I'd been wanting a second tattoo since my first one 10+ years ago and it felt like the perfect time. I was right! 

I pulled some concepts based on a few things and the artist, Chuck, came up with an image I loved.

I wanted to add this to my tapestree because I still love it.

I tried to keep this one mostly cross stitch, since a few of the motifs are sort of crossing over into embroidery, and I want to keep it simple and folksy.

Hope everyone is keeping warm this weekend!

Walks and Winter Littles

I don't live in the city anymore, but luckily I work within walking distance of one of my favorite Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Also lucky, it's the middle of November and warm enough for me to be willing to be outside. 

Walks though pretty neighborhoods are perfect for curing worry and anxiety and all sorts of unpleasantness, especially since they bring about bouts of nostalgia, which is perfect for me, because I'm nostalgic as hell.

Anyway! I wanted to put together some little stitches to fill in a few blank spots between larger patterns on my tapestree and drew up the ones below for the upcoming months. Any colors can be used/substituted. Click through for the larger size! 

One for the Bean

My crazy little monster got her own spot on the tapestree last night, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!

We adopted Fina early this year. She was a scrappy little shelter pup that had been with a couple homes before being left at a country rescue about an hour away. I was looking for more of a cuddly, fluffy-type dog, but when she crawled in my lap, I began the adventure as the owner of a high-energy, ridiculous Jack Russel Terrier mix. 

Of course I loved her immediately. After some training, we learned how smart and sweet she is. She's still beside herself with energy, sometimes frustratingly so, but she never stops making me laugh. We started calling her "Bean" a few months ago.

Fina was stitched with cross, half, tent, and back stitch. 

Four Days Later

So here we are. Since this project is, essentially, a visual timeline, I decided this was an important milestone, regardless of the outcome and my (negative) feelings about it. So to finish the circle I started Saturday, now we have a name.

I finally made a tapestree page in my journal and started to sketch what will probably be my next element. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pressured.

Self Portrait Kinda

I love samplers. I especially love early American samplers, and find a lot of inspiration in the projects from 18th and 19th century New England.

One aspect I've always really liked was the way people were stitched. Of course they have a very primitive look, but I appreciate that the proportions and colors are hardly close to perfect. It makes them unique and personal, and gives insight into the stitcher.

The Scarlet Letter has some great examples:

Source: The Scarlet Letter