World of Charity Stitching

Okay, one last quick post for the night...

Anyone who has been following my blog has seen my progress at various times for squares for World of Charity Stitching. This group of stitchers from around the world donate completed squares that are made into anything from quilts to bags to pillows to cards for children at Ronald McDonald House and seniors who may not have anyone looking out for them. I have contributed three squares thus far: Knotted Hearts and Have a Heart seen here with their fabrics and Birdhouse Neighborhood seen here with it's coordinating fabric. May Lily of the Valley Teacup will be my fourth contribution when it is done.

Tonight, Bonnie, one of our members who puts together these wonderful squares into beautiful quilts, posted pictures of the quilt tops for each of these quilts and I have to share them just to show you all how wonderful it is to see pieces come together to make a treasured gift for a complete stranger:

Birdhouse Quilt - My square is in the upper left corner!

Knotted Hearts Quilt - My square is the purple one, third square from the left, second row from the bottom

Have a Heart Quilt - My square is on the bottom row, second from the right

Aren't these quilts stunning? It really gives me an even greater sense of pride in my own finished projects when I see just how clearly they are just part of a greater whole! I highly encourage you to join WOCS - you pick what you want to stitch, which projects you want to join, whenever you wish to do them. It's a wonderful organization, and we would love to have you join us!

Until next time!
~Katy

IHSW, September TUSAL and European Bistro

Lots of stuff to blog about tonight! Where to begin...

Tonight wraps up this month's IHSW, and I have to say that this was probably my most productive stitching IHSW I've had! I was able to make a good amount of progress on Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love on Friday and Saturday, and then today I was able to get back into European Bistro!

I realized as I was gathering my materials and putting European Bistro back in the hoop that this is going to be the first real week I will dedicate to this piece. I had started it, worked on it a few days, got caught up with Birdhouse Neighborhood for WOCS, and after I finished it, European Bistro was put at the bottom of the rotation. It's going to be good to work on it this week!

When we last saw European Bistro, this is what it looked like:

European Bistro - Start of Rotation Week - Last Touched 8/6/12

Oh my goodness, it really has been a long time since I worked on this piece! After a few hours of working on it today, this is where I stand now:

As of 9/16/12

I found the bottom edge of the piece with the ground that is stitched thus far. Another large section of half stitches goes rather quickly. I think the piece looks like it's curving just a little bit on the left edge, but that's just how the fabric is in the hoop, not really the piece itself. The page I'm working on right now is the right half of the piece, so now we have the left edge and the bottom edge found! I will be interested to see how far along I'm able to get this week!

Today is also TUSAL report day! I've been working on a lot of pieces this month, and I think my TUSAL jar reflects that!

Here is my TUSAL jar as of last month:

TUSAL Jar - August 17, 2012

And here it is today!

TUSAL Jar - September 16, 2012

Wow! Comparing the two side by side, I really have done a lot this month! Here are the views from the top:

Last month:

TUSAL Jar - August 17, 2012

And today:

TUSAL Jar - September 16, 2012

So pretty! At the end of the year after our last TUSAL report for 2012, I plan on taking all of my ORTs out of my TUSAL jar and filling a clear glass ornament with them for my Christmas tree. I think it would be great to start a collection of ORT filled Christmas ornaments to celebrate my hobby and to also provide unique, beautiful pieces for our tree!

What filled my TUSAL jar this month, you ask? Well...

I completed Birdhouse Neighborhood. Here is the status of it from the last TUSAL report:

Birdhouse Neighborhood as of 8/16/12 TUSAL Report

And here it is complete the very next day:

Birdhouse Neighborhood - Complete 8/17/12

I had two new starts whose ORTs were added this month as well.

Flames of Desire:

Flames of Desire as of 9/1/12

And Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love:

Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love as of 9/15/12

I started Christmas Countdown again, which hadn't yet been included in my TUSAL jar, so it was kind of like a new start this month:

Christmas Countdown - Ornaments as of 9/8/12

And of course, my other two big projects were included as well:

Italian Vista - from then:

Italian Vista as of 8/16/12 TUSAL Report

To now:

Italian Vista as of 8/25/12

And as already reported above, European Bistro got a few more ORTs in the TUSAL jar today as well. All in all, a very successful month, I think!


Whew, that was a long picture filled post! Congrats if you made it through all of it! I hope everyone has a great week ahead of them!

Until next time!
~Katy

August Update and September Goals

TGIF...or is it Saturday Already? I'm dealing with a bout of insomnia tonight, so though this is my Friday update, it's already well into Saturday...I think my kids are going to make me pay for this in the morning!

First, I wanted to start with my progress on Flames of Desire. One more day on this piece and then it will go back into the rotation! I'm really enjoying this one, though, and it's really made me a huge fan of HAED!

As of 8/31/12

Depending on how long my husband and I are out unexpectedly car shopping tomorrow (my car started having major issues tonight), I hope to make some more good progress on the piece until I put it back in the rotation! Regardless, this has been a joy to work on this week and I'm already starting to think of what HAED I want to start next and have literally well over 300 charts in my wishlist!

It's also time once again to look at how I did on my goals for August and set goals for September!


August Goals
- Complete birdhouse project for WOCS that I've signed up for - Done! I just need to buy the fabric for it and ship it this weekend!

Birdhouse Neighborhood

- Pull out Christmas Countdown and complete at least half of the remaining ornaments - Not Done - I pulled it out, but did not stitch on it this month. It's next on my rotation, though!

- Start European Bistro - Done!

European Bistro as of August 6, 2012

- Make more progress with Italian Vista - Done!

Italian Vista As Of July 31, 2012

Italian Vista As Of 8/25/12

All in all, a rather successful month goal wise! So now it's time to set the goals for September!

September Goals
- Christmas Countdown - Finish all ornaments and move to the fabric piece (should be doable, as it's going to be my focus in my next rotation)
- Flames of Desire - Finish Page 1
- Purchase at least one chart during HAED Appreciation Week
- Decide on and kit up my next project to be started after I finish Page 1 of Flames of Desire
- Work on European Bistro
- Work on Italian Vista

Whew, that's a lot, but only a few of those goals are specific! We'll see what I do over the next month! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a safe holiday!

Until next time!
~Katy

Birdhouse Neighborhood - Complete!

Okay, so I lied. I said I wasn't going to post until the end of the weekend, but I finished Birdhouse Neighborhood tonight and wanted to share it!

Birdhouse Neighborhood - Complete!

I still need to pick out the fabric for it that I'll send with the piece for the quilt. I plan on doing that next weekend when I am out finalizing school supply shopping for the first day of school. I'm very happy with how this turned out, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my rotation of WIPs!

I hope you're all having a wonderful IHSW!

Until next time!
~Katy

August TUSAL

It's TUSAL time again! I love how the TUSAL posts and IHSW fall around the same time. It puts me in such a good mood for the weekend!

This month, I'm thrilled with my TUSAL Jar!

Lots of ORTs!

View From The Top!

This is comparison to last month and it's paltry beginnings!

July TUSAL

There are threads in there from my daughter's Daisy uniform and from the following projects I worked on and/or completed this month!

I was able to finish two projects since the last TUSAL post!

Purples from Knotted Hearts for World of Charity Stitching (WOCS)

Knotted Hearts

Pinks from Have a Heart, also for WOCS

And these are the projects I worked on that also have ORTs in my jar!

Italian Vista - As of July TUSAL

As of July TUSAL

And as of today:

Last Updated August 3, 2012

 European Bistro - A new start since the last TUSAL

Last Updated August 6, 2012

Birdhouse Neighborhood - Also a new start since the last TUSAL and a project for WOCS:

As of August 17, 2012

I also received my lovely prize from Karen at My Stitchy Ramblings today, and I'm so excited for these charts!

Yay for Charts!

And look at the lovely stitch counter she included as well! I've never had one before and I think it's just beautiful! It's so delicate and feminine and I love the colors. I fully plan on starting to use it from now on!

My Pretty Stitch Counter!

Thank you again, Karen!

Wow, this was a picture heavy post! I don't plan on posting much again until Sunday evening, most likely. I have family coming over Sunday afternoon for a house warming and meet my younger brother's girlfriend from Chicago party, so when I'm not stitching, I'll be getting the house ready for that. I fully plan on getting some stitching in, though, and hopefully finishing up Birdhouse Neighborhood. I'll be sure to come back and post my progress from the weekend!

I hope you all have a wonderfully stitchy weekend! Until next time!
~Katy

In The Home Stretch!

Yay! I'm on the last color for the cross stitches for Birdhouse Neighborhood! It's a lot of stitches for the color though and will take me a bit to get through. Once I'm finished with that color, I'll have the back and straight stitching to do to finish out the piece.

Down to the last color!

Tomorrow, the next TUSAL post is due. I'm excited to share, it's grown a lot this month! It's also the start of International Hermit And Stitch Weekend. I'm not sure how much stitching I'll get done this weekend, but I'd love to finish this piece out so I can get back to my other WIPs!

Counting down to the weekend!
~Katy

Quick Post and Thanks

Thanks to everyone who gave feedback about the fabric for my HAED project. I was leaning towards Lava myself, and that was the favorite! Can't wait for payday to order it and the threads I still need so I can get started!

Just a quick update post on Birdhouse Neighborhood tonight...leaves are done! Yay!

As of 8/15/12

The bottom row of stitches on the leaf's stem is as low as the pattern goes, and then it stops on the right and left edges as show in the picture. I think there are two more minor colors with a few stitches, and then lots and lots of stitches in a third color. I'm really happy with this piece, though, and can't wait to put together the finished product! I just need to find a good fabric to use for the square too!

Hope you all have had a wonderful day and a great evening! I may not get much stitching done in the next few days with some family functions I have going on, but here's hoping!

Until next time!
~Katy

Another Win, More Advice Needed, and Progress!

I'm so excited! I found out today that I was one of the winners of the giveaway from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe and I got to pick out one of Nancy's wonderful charts! After much hemming and hawing, I decided on her My Witch's Brew Halloween Sampler:

My Prize!

I think it's just adorable and will make a great addition to my growing group of Halloween themed projects I plan on working on! Thanks again, Nancy, for such a generous giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who gave their opinions about where to find fabrics for my HAED piece. I need your advice again! I took a look at various places and think I'm going to go with Picture This Plus for my fabric, but I need more advice! I have narrowed my choices for the background fabric to the four following fabrics. Which do you like best?

As a reminder, this is the HAED piece:

Flames of Desire by Lee Ann Seed

Although there was advice to stick with an Aida fabric, the pattern calls for 25-ct. Dublin linen, so I'm going to take the leap and try it on that. If I hate it and have issues, I'll just switch it out. Here are the three colors I'm looking at:

Aurora

Ember

Phoenix

Lava

So what do you think? And oh boy, that place is going to be dangerous when I'm looking for fabrics for other projects in the future...I'm not sure I'll be able to go back to plain white aida!

And here is the progress for the night on Birdhouse Neighborhood:

As of 8/14/12

Until next time, keep stitching!
~Katy

The House Is Done!

I finished all of the stitching for the house tonight. That roof was a lot of turquoise!

The house is done!

I debated doing the backstitching for the house before moving on to the base, but I don't like back stitching if there are still stitches around it that need to be completed, I could do almost everything but the last couple of rows, where the bird's tail and the feet of the house are on the base for the picture. I'll just start on the base tomorrow and then go back and do the backstitching all at once. I'm really enjoying how this piece is turning out, and I think I'll be adding the entire piece to the wish list of projects to do in the future!

Off to bed! I hope everyone has some stitchy dreams!
~Katy

Just A Quick Update

Just a quick update tonight......I didn't do much stitching today as life got in the way, but I did get a little in......the bird is done and I'm starting on the roof. Once that is done, I will do the base, then the back stitching and the straight stitching details. I am not working on any other projects until this one is done. Depending on how the week goes, maybe I can have it done by the end of the week. We'll see!

As of 8/12/12

Until next time, I hope everyone has a great week!
~Katy

The Next Generation

I have two children. My daughter is T and my son is D. They are the inspiration behind my blogger name, tadamama, as our last name begins with A...so TADAmama it is! So my daughter, T, is six years old. She's a sweet, imaginative, loving, creative, smart, stubborn and determined girl who will be entering first grade in a couple of weeks. At her kindergarten graduation this past year, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said she wanted to be an art teacher so she could teach children how to make beautiful art. Well, what is cross stitching but a form of art? So when my daughter expressed an enthusiastic interest in learning how to cross stitch, I certainly didn't mind having her pick out a couple of "My First Cross Stitch" kits. And even when her first question out of her mouth when she woke me up at 7 AM this morning was if she could "learn how to sew today, Mommy", I was happy to oblige...once I had my caffeine!

She didn't get far in the kit today...truly, though the kit is a 'beginners' kit, I think it's more aimed towards the tween age set. I even tried to get T to select one of the "larger" kits with the massively huge X's for her to learn on, but this is what she wanted. She wanted to stitch just like Mommy. So we spent the morning in our pj's with me teaching her how to organize a kit, how to thread a needle, how to read a chart and determine what each symbol meant for each color, how the needle went through the thread in the little holes on the fabric, and how to make those tiny little X's into a picture. We didn't make a ton of progress today, so I don't have a progress picture to show you. Instead, I thought I'd show the enthusiasm and the focus of a six year old little girl who, I hope, is developing a love for this craft that will last her a lifetime.

Pushing the needle through the fabric

Focus

Admiring her progress

Dedication

And this is my absolute favorite...

So happy and proud!

I was truly blessed when God chose me to be T's mother. I love her with every fiber of my being and I loved being able to share this with her today. Oh, and I made some progress on Birdhouse Neighborhood today too!

As Of 8/11/12

Until next time!
~Katy