April TUSAL

Well, I'm woefully behind on posting but I have been stitching a bunch as you can see by my April TUSAL jar, it's practially overflowing.  Time to squish those threads down and keep filling!  I'll be back soon with more of what I've been stitching lately!

Borders and TUSALS

I'm a few days late for my TUSAL post but had good intentions to post over the weekend, just got busy with a few dog events (including a long hike, watching an agility trial and a fun Mardi Gras party) and our Sampler Guild.  So, here's my February TUSAL picture. 

If you would like to play along with the TUSAL game you can jump right in and join us, just click on this link to Daffycat's blog to sign up and play! 

I'm also playing along with Nicola's Scarlet Letter year challenge which has been a lot of fun so far!  This is what I'm stitching my Ruth Bacheler sampler for and I'm loving stitching on her!  I had planned to stitch on Dorothy Walpole for this challenge but Ruth was just calling to me so I decided to start on her instead.  I am very, very tempted to start on Dorothy but not until I finish some of these other samplers first!  I have three going right now and have decided to set them all aside to finish the stitching for the box top for our year long project for the Sampler Guild of the Rockies before going back.  Once I finish one or two of the samplers on my list I'll start Dorothy, or maybe Lucy Redd or maybe something new from market.  I sure have an issue with there being too many things to stitch and not nearly enough time.  I think many of you can relate. 

So, here are my three samplers and my current progress on them, or progress as of a couple days ago when I took these photos.  Ruth Bacheler by the Scarlett Letter.

Ruth Bacheler

Elizabeth Milner by Shakespeare's Peddler.  I am loving the algerian eyelet lettering and once I finish the vine border I just have started there will be three more lines of it.  Maybe I won't love it then but right now I do!

 

Elizabeth Milner

And, I started Ann Bowers as part of the Attic's stitch along on this pretty sampler.  I'm not caught up yet but hopefully will get there, she's such a pretty stitch!  I'm stitching her in silk on 36 ct. Vintage Lentil linen. 

Ann Bowers

That's all for today (as if it's not enough already).  Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog and happy stitching!

January TUSAL

Here's my TUSAL start for January.  Not much to show (yet).  I dumped out my TUSAL jar on the first of the year and decided to use the same jar so I can compare the number of ORT's (old ratty threads) that I rack up each month compared to last year.  Will I actually compare?  Who knows but I wouldn't bet on it. 

Anyone can play along with the TUSAL game, just go to Daffycat's blog to sign up and then save up your ORT's and post a picture on or about the new moon each month.  You also need to post a link onto Daffycat's montly TUSAL post and you can be entered to win.  I signed up last year mostly because I figured I was tossing all those little threads so maybe it would be more fun to save them in a jar and see the pretty results at year's end. 

Before I found the TUSAL challenge and started playing along I used to do this on my own.  Since I tend to be a one at a time stitcher I'd gather up the threads from a project and then at the end of the project I'd empty out my little jar into a plastic baggie.  Somewhere I have that baggie filled with ORT's from when I stitched ATS, hardanger projects and more.  I had intented to put them out for the birds to use to build nests with but then heard that was bad.  I don't know if that's true but I sure don't need a baggie of old ratty threads cluttering up the house.  So, when I come across it again I'll either put them out for spring nest building, stuff something with them or toss them out! 

I've made some more progress on my Christmas Garden since my last post.  Here's my latest progress, all I have left is the the pinks on the last two motifs and all the initials and dates. 

It's been such a fun sampler to stitch!  I'm really enjoying the stitching and also using these silks!  The conversion I came up with is a combination of Belle Soie and Gloriana and I'm really happy with it on this light colored linen!  And, more reds/pinks for a potential red wall, especially since I stitched it with the alphabet so it could be hung year round.  Yay!! 

I thought I'd also leave you with a quick snap of my progress on Frances Pool. 

This is where I was on Frances when I last set her down, I missed a stitch somewhere in the border but was able to compensate so nobody will be the wiser.  I am loving the colors in this sampler, they are just so soft and I love the motifs in this sampler, I think the one motif I have done would be so fun as a pincushon.  It was really hard to set it aside to go back to Christmas Garden but this is what is waiting for me a few days from now when I am able to finish CG.  Talk about a fun carrot to look forward to!!

Thanks for dropping by to visit my blog! 

My TUSAL Jar Overfloweth

Here it is, the end of 2012.  I've had a very busy but fun year and the past couple of weeks have been no exception.  I went home to visit my family in Wisconsin over Christmas which was wonderful.  We had a very nice holiday together!  I've also been working on some projects around the house during the time I've had off.  I didn't get quite as far as I had hoped on some of them but I did make a lot of progress! 

You can also see that my TUSAL jar for the year is quite literally overflowing!  It's been a year full of stitching too and as I look back at the pieces that I've finished and framed it's really fun to see.  I have no idea how I managed to finish all that I did though.  With as busy as I've been with work, the dog and friends, I certainly don't feel like I've had a ton of time to stitch.  Tomorrow is a new year though and I will be emptying this jar and starting fresh collecting ORT's for 2013.  If you'd like to play the TUSAL game in 2013 just visit this link to Daffycat's blog. 

I've also been stitching a little over my break.  I worked on Christmas Garden, which was my Thanksgiving start.  Here's my current progress on it. 

 

I'm almost done so am tempted to go ahead and pick it back up and finish it, there are probably only a few evenings worth of stitching left here so perhaps this will be my first 2013 finish!  When I was in Wisconsin my Mom and I visited the Country Sampler in Spring Green.  They had this hanging on the wall, and it is such a difference to see it stitched as charted (huge) and mine that is tiny on 40 count linen.   

I probably would have finished this already except that I've been totally distracted by Frances Pool, the latest release by With thy Needle and Thread.  This was my Christmas start this year. 

 

I started this piece on Christmas Eve day and was able to get the flowers, red border and part of the outer border done.  Now that I'm on the border I will probably continue until it meets up and then go back to Christmas Garden.

Or... Maybe I'll work on this...


This is Ruth Bacheler by the Scarlett Letter.  I'll be stitching it on 40 count Vintage Buttercream linen.  I joined Nicola's Scarlett Letter Year challenge so this fits right into the challenge.  Plus, I was completely enabled by a few friends who are also starting this piece.  This is supposed to be my New Year challenge, only I read in the pattern that the Irish stitches and Satin stitches are all done with 2 threads.  I panicked a bit so started with one pennant and found that the cotton floss on 40 count linen using two threads is no big deal!

So, that's that, I have these three projects plus the smalls for my SGR project going for a total of FOUR projects at once!  That is a new record for me!! 

Thanks for dropping by to visit my blog, may you and your family have a safe and prosperous New Year!!

Jen

December TUSAL

Here's my TUSAL update for December.  This is a top view of my TUSAL jar with ORT's from all year.  You can tell that I'm stitching with silk because the ORT's are straight.  When I use cotton those bits of threads tend to be curly.  Just something interesting that I've noticed by doing this challenge this year. 

You can read more about the TUSAL challenge on Daffycat's blog here.  You can join in at anytime and I'm hopeful that she'll host another TUSAL challenge for next year!

This darling pincushion shown in the photo with my TUSAL jar is a gift from my good friend Katrina.  Earlier this year, I stitched several Mary Little pincushions, one of them was for Katrina and at our sampler guild meeting last weekend she brought me this sweet sampler pincushion for my basket!  I love it, thank you so much Katrina!  This makes me want to get out a couple little pincushion projects that I have kitted up and stitch my brains out during my Christmas break from work! 

I've been plugging away at the border of Christmas Garden over the last couple of days and here's where I'm at with it, over half way done with the strawberries.  Yay! 

Christmas Garden by Blackbird Designs

And, here's a close up of my Christmas Garden with my Sexy Black Dovo Scissors for scale.  I originally bought a conversion to silk that used this linen, the linen was in a bag that said 36 ct. Vintage Navy Bean but this is so tiny that it must be 40 count.  And, the silk conversion was all to shades of brown so I changed the whole thing to be pretty bright colors more in keeping with the original colors of the sampler.  That will teach me not to buy a conversion to silk sight unseen!! 
Lastly, here's a close up of the pincushion, I just had to show it to you again.  Isn't it sweet?  I just absolutely love it! 

November TUSAL and a JM Gardner Update

It's time for my November TUSAL report.  Don't know what a TUSAL is?  Go to this post by Daffycat to find out and to come play with us!

Some days I feel like all I do on this blog is report my monthly TUSAL but I've been trying to be better!  Actually, I've done a bunch of stitching and framing lately that I need to share on here but haven't taken the time yet to photograph it yet.  You might notice that I've got a bunch of red threads at the top here, that's all from JM Gardner, I'm a bit farther along than in the picture below and should have a finish to show you soon!  Now it's time for my monthly squish the TUSAL threads to push them farther down in the jar so I can keep stitching and filling this jar again.  It's good that the year is almost up since this jar is getting pretty full! 

I've been stitching and stitching and stitching on JM Gardner by With thy Needle and Thread lately.  I started this little sampler when I was visiting my parents at the end of October and even though I haven't had a ton of time to stitch since getting home when I have I've just been devouring JM Gardner.  She stitched such a pretty sampler and it is such a fun stitch!

Here is the last progress pic that I took, I've gotten some of the red in and should have a finish to report and show you soon!  We had our guild meeting last weekend and my friend Katrina and I are both stitching this sampler, her linen is a darker tan where mine is more on the beige side so our samplers look totally different!  she inspired me to change the reds so they were less rusty and more pinky-red.  However, we looked at some teals since we both loved the look of this with just the greens and tans stitched.  In the end though I decided to go with the pinky-reds so I could eventually hang this with a collection of mostly red samplers.  Stay tuned for a finish soon! 

October TUSAL

Wow, I'm not sure what happend.  I know I'm way late for a Blog update but I guess I've been so busy lately I just haven't gotten around to it.  So, here's a quick October TUSAL shot for you.  It's still not too late to join into the TUSAL craze, just go to this post to sign up and start playing! 

Since my last blog update I've finished up on By My Hand, you can see those threads just above the ribbon and started on Margaret Cottam.  That's what all the brown and red threads are on the top of the pile.  I've actually made great progress on Margaret and am enjoying stitching her.  She's a quick stitch and a great fall project.  Watch for another update later in the week and I'll show you my progress pics of her! 

Thanks for visiting!

Jen

September TUSAL

Well, as usual I'm a few days late for my TUSAL post, see below that for a current snap of my jar.  After finishing Ann Sandles I was really unsure what I wanted to start next and then I realized that I had started "By My Hand" back in July too during my girl's weekend away with friends.  I picked that up the other weekend to stitch on during our Sampler Guild meeting and was immediately hooked again.  Here is where I am as of today. 

Just the deer and the words left and of course I think I'm going to personalize the words on this one.  Just need to find my graph paper to chart out what I want to use.  This has really gone quickly and I must say that I'm in love with working with silk again. 

I used to be one of the people who just couldn't justify paying more for silk but it's really because I didn't know what I was missing.  I like the overdyed cotton and of course I stitched my Elizabeth Sheffield all in DMC and love how that turned out.  But, the thickness and feel of silk just can't be beat.  And, the difference is obvious in my TUSAL jar.  If you look close you can see the thicker strands of silk on the top of the jar and right below it the thinner, curly layers of overdyed cotton.  Both have their place in my opinion but for a piece that I just want to love to stitch there's nothing like the feel of silk! 

Even though it's September it's still not too late to play along with the TUSAL game.  Just go to this post to sign up and to get started! 

 

Ann Sandles and a late TUSAL

Wow, I can't believe that it's been so long since I updated my blog!  It sure has been a busy few weeks though!  A few weeks ago I visited my best friend Jen for a long weekend of laughs, camping and whatever we happened to feel like doing!  We even took her camper and went out to the Portland coast for a night.

Here I am at the coast with her pup who seems to think our shoes looked like fun toys!  You can see that it was very windy and we were glad we started into the wind instead of going for a long walk and having to fight the wind the whole way back! 

While traveling I worked on the strawberries in Ann Sandles.  I was able to get the border done (I left the "hats" off the tops of the strawberries) and also the house so all that is left is the A&E section.  I am thinking of making one of the dogs look like Sage since I've already strayed away from it being a true reproduction. 

And, even though I'm super late in doing so I'm still going to post my August TUSAL.  It's not too late to jump into TUSAL 2012, just go to this post in order to sign up and play along! 

I'm afraid that you won't see much change in the level of thread in the jar for next month as I haven't stitched at all since I took this picture a week ago.  Just too busy with other things I guess!

And, not that it's bad that I've been too busy, it's all been fun!  I've completed a few home improvement projects that were on my list, spent time with friends and I have my grandpa here for a visit now.  It sure is nice to have him be able to come out to visit!

The other thing that I've been busy with is Sage.  Not that it will come as a surprise to anyone but we have been super busy and our latest adventure finds us as new members of the Dog Scouts of America.  I'm sure some of you reading this may wonder what the heck that is.  Well, I will admit that I did too when I first heard about it.  I meaning earning badges with your dog?  Well, why not?  I don't have kids to do girl and boy scouts with so why not join an organization that promotes positive training and allows you to get recognition for teaching your dog new things.  Plus it is really fun!!  We've already passed 5 agility badges and last night I heard that we passed her merit badge test to become an official dog scout and add the DSA after her name.  The best part about dog scouts is spending time with other people who are into doing fun things with their dogs!  I'll post more soon about this, either here or over on my dog blog. 

So, that's what I've been up to lately!  I hope to get Ann Sandles done in the next couple weeks so I can start something new! 

 

TUSAL and a Gold House Update

Here's my July TUSAL update.  You can see from the photos that I've been stitching, stitching, stitching away on that gold house with all the gold at the top.  Each month after I take my TUSAL photo I squish the threads down to the bottom and it's fun to take a close look to see where different project are.  For example, I can see where I did the Briar Rose Etui because of all the pinks and greens in that section of the jar.  I wonder if I'll be able to mark my progress through the rest of the year by the layer of gold from this gold house!

If you're interested in playing along in the TUSAL game, you can join at anytime, just click on the TUSAL post and sign yourself up! 

Speaking of gold house, here is an update on Grace Bridges.  You can see that I'm finally nearing the end of the gold house, yay!!
I'm using a "Brick Stitch" as Jean from Attic Needlework called it.  I'm using the variation in the overdyed thread to stitch little bricks.  I thought since this house is so big it might be a nice change from the stripey look that normally comes with overdyed threads.  I've been working my way through the house in sections with the bricks so there's a little less traveling of threads on the back.  I am really enjoying how this is turning out!  I'm playing catch up on my blog but this is about a week's worth of work on the house and a few more days and I hope to have the house done.  I think that the rest of the sampler will then go very quickly!!

Grace Bridges Start and June TUSAL

This past weekend I decided on a new start.  There are so many beautiful samplers in my stash waiting to be stitched so it was a hard choice but I finally picked Grace Bridges by Stacy Nash as my next start.  It was nice to have a weekend that wasn't chock full of plans for once so I was able to get the vine in and the alphabet started before the work week began.  The alphabet hs gone fairly quickly and last night I stayed up past my bedtime to get the dividing line in.  I knew that I'd dread picking it back up if I didn't!  I have one more alphabet and Grace's name and then I get to the fun part of this sampler with the peacocks, flowers and that cool gold house!  I am using the conversion to silk threads put together by Attic Needlework and am stitching this on 36 ct. Lakeside Vintage Examplar.  I don't think I realized how big this was going to be but I love the sampler and it's going to look great in my bedroom when it's finished! 

I'm also a couple days late on the June TUSAL so here's my jar snuggled in with the dog and cat treats (I love these treat jars)!  Sorry for the poor snap of the TUSAL jar itself but you get the idea.  Each month after I take the picture I push the threads down farther in the jar.  I figured I'd need to do this to get a full year in one jar but it's not really a great way to show progress because I suspect that it looks the same each month.  Oh well. 

We're six months into the TUSAL challenge but it's not too late to join in, go to Daffycat's blog to get the scoop and join in! 

Mary Frankenstein and May TUSAL

Meet Mary Frankenstein... OK, not really, I just ran out of white thread and decided to stitch her hair before finishing up her face. When I saw this it occurred to me that she resembled something out of the Munsters.  Forget about that teeny waist or burly arms it's the forehead I'm talking about!

All kidding aside, this has been a pretty quick and very fun stitch!  I actually have Mary finished but just need to find a moment to take a quick final picture and then I just need to find a frame for her.

I have dreams of a bigger sampler wall someday, with lots of pretty samplers framed and hung tightly together on a wall somewhere in my home for me to enjoy.  While I do think I have a fair amount of stitching up on the walls, expanding the wall that contains And They Sinned to include more samplers or starting another wall and filling it to the brim sounds like a lot of work but something that I'd really like to accomplish!  I think I have enough in my stash to do it too, just not enough time!

Speaking of time, I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been so busy with my pup, Miss Sage and doing various spring tasks around the house.  Last weekend Sage and I performed at Ella's walk which is a fundraiser to benefit the Longmont Humane Society.  We take a weekly obedience class there called the ACES class (Animal Continuing Education Superstars) and have been working toward this dance routine for about 6 months.  It took a lot of time to teach the individual behaviors and we've been linking them together ever since.  Poor Sage was a bit spooked by the speakers and the stage but held it together pretty well.  If you want to watch, click on over to my dog blog at www.merlemayhem.com. 

And, before I forget, here is May's TUSAL progress!  You too can join the TUSAL fun, just visit Daffycat's blog here. 

I love all those brightly colored threads from Mary Roe and my latest start - the BBD Peacock Pinkeep. I needed one or two little things before my next big sampler.  I haven't figured out what that will be so stay tuned! 

My Intro to Rug Hooking and an April TUSAL

Wow, it was a busy, busy weekend but also very productive in many ways!  One of the things I did on Saturday was to take a Rug Hooking class at a shop called the Wool Basket in Loveland.  I had been up a few weeks ago to check out the shop and ended up signing up for class then!  The ladies there are very nice and it was a fun lesson.  Here's my progress so far:.

It doesn't seem like much to me but I was assured that I picked it up quickly and made more progress than a typical beginner (this made me feel good and I am very encouraged to keep going)!  And yes, I am hooking a black cat rug, that pretty much sealed the deal for me since I love black cats! 

I haven't been stitching too much since I've been so busy.  I did get to work on the letters of Mary Roe a bit, and I was able to get a start on the vine.  I was traveling on a plane with this piece and the little over one letters just would have been too much so I moved on to the vine since it's over two.  I'm loving this little sampler!  I'd like to go back and do some more on the words and then maybe put the strawberries in the vine for some color.  I can't wait to get to all the fun motifs below the vine but for some reason I tend to like to get the hard stuff out of the way and then save the fun stuff for last.  It's not so much that the over one words are hard, they're really not, but they're just not as fun as the colorful motifs below the vine.  I absolutely love the way the little letters look and was inspired to see Tanya's model when I was at the Attic a couple weeks ago.  That alone made me want to keep going with the words and get to the super fun stuff!  Actually, these little letters are reminding me so much of stitching Elizabeth Sheffield's sampler!

I've also put some time into Spring Song lately and I have to say that even though it seems weird to me to be stitching with two threads I am really enjoying this piece!  And, stitching with two threads instead of my normal one thread is really filling up my TUSAL jar quickly!  Here's a progress pic:

And it's a new moon so it's time for my latest TUSAL pic.  Anyone can get in on the TUSAL fun, it's not too late!  Just go to this post on Daffycat's blog for details.  I decided that the jar always kind of looks the same and that the added weight of the ORT's each month just push the whole layer down just a bit.  So, after I took this picture I squished the whole thing down and oh my, it really squished tiny!  Oh well, it will give me room for more ORT's even though some of you may wonder if I've removed any when I post next month.

Happy Stitching!

Briar Rose Finish

It's done, it's done!  My Briar Rose etui stitching is done!  Big happy dance going on here!  I love the way it turned out but stitching with a deadline just isn't my favorite thing.  And with all those pinks and overdyed silks for fill in I sure do have a pretty layer in my TUSAL jar!!  But now that it's done, I'm all set to take the class on how to finish it.  Yay!!

A Start, A Finish and a late TUSAL report

Wow, I've been super busy the past few weeks and haven't had an update in awhile but I have managed to get some stitching done in between taxes, dog stuff and a couple dentist visits.  I decided to replace the old silver fillings with white ones a year ago and I finally conquered my fear of the chair and just did it.  And guess what, it wasn't that bad!  Although as I write this my bottom lip still feels a bit fat! 

Anyway, let's get onto the stitching!  At the last Sampler Guild of the Rockies meeting I started stitching our latest fundraising piece, designed by Tanya of The Scarlett House.  Here it is shown with all of the basically 12 stitches that I managed during the three hour meeting.  I guess that's a sign of just how much fun we have at our meetings because we talk and laugh the whole time and get very little stitching done!  

I did manage to finish this piece and just love the thread colors, the backing fabric and that yummy 40 count Vintage Buttercream fabric.  It's been awhile since I worked on 40 count since I've been doing so much 36 count and it's just wonderful stuff.  Makes me want to start the project I kitted up on 45 count fabric while at the Attic back in January.  But, I digress... here's the stitched piece:

Isn't it great???  It will be stitched into a pincushion with hand dyed ric rack that my friend Katrina dyed especially for this project.  There are also some cute beaded pins that coordinate with these colors.  :)

I also managed to get some stitching done on my class piece for the Sampler Guild of the Rockies Seminar in April.  The vine is done and I've started the flowers.  There are 24 flowers each outlined over one with a rice stitch center and varigated tent stitch fill.  It's going to be very pretty but I must admit that I'm ready to have the stitching done as I'm just itching to start another big sampler! 

And lastly, I missed last week's TUSAL posting so here's my TUSAL for March.  I actually took this photo on the new moon day but was too busy to get it posted so please forgive the late posting.  Of course, if you want to get in on the fun, you can read all about it on Daffycat's blog. 

Well, thanks for dropping by to see what I've been up to.  I can pretty much feel my face again so I think it's time to hit the post button and go make dinner.  Happy stitching! 

Lions and Tiger and TUSAL, Oh My!

Lions...  I've been busily stitching away on Paradise Lost since my last post.  I finished the motifs along the top so I jumped down and stitched the lions.  I've been dying to stitch more animals so rewarded myself.  Take a look...

And, here's a shot of the total progress:

I am so excited to get to this point!  Next I think I'll take a break from the tree and finish the motifs on the far right which will let me pick a frame whenever.  Then, I'll finish the tree and then I'm on to all the fun animals and Adam and Eve in the middle! 

Tiger... Nicola is having a contest on her blog, Stitching by a Cornish Sea Shore to share the cutest pictures of our animals sleeping.  Well, I think all my animals are cute when sleeping but one of the things I've been getting a kick out of over the last year is how the cats have completely taken over the dog's beds.  In fact, she has several on the chance that she might get one but usually there is a cat on it instead.  Here's Tiger on the dog's bed...
Granted, I woke her up trying to take this picture.  I had stacked the dog beds up to vacuum the family room and then later in the day found Miss Tiger cuddled up on top, kind of makes me think of Princess and the Pea and believe me, she is definitely a princess!  But, this is one of my favorites.  This is Mr. Scooter on the dog bed and Miss Sage on the floor.  You can definitely see who is the boss in this relationship...

TUSAL...

Lastly it's time for my February TUSAL report.  Here's my jar as of today, I squished it down recently and am now wishing I had waited until after I took this photo.  Oh well!  It is sitting next to a star shaped basket that I recently picked up at Pier One thinking it would be great for all my smalls.  Hmm, I suppose I should get busy on finishing those smalls!  LOL!  I'll take a photo of the basked when I have something to put into it I suppose.  :) 

I hope you have a wonderful week! 

 

Gift Exchange and January TUSAL

I got together with some friends yesterday to stitch and if you remember from my post on Friday we did a gift exchange among friends.  We drew names and each picked a gift to open.  My friend Katrina received mine and here is what was in the box that you saw Friday night:

I really had fun making this fob!  It was stitched on some of the left over fabric from my Frances Eden sampler.  I stitched everything over one except the crown which is stitched over two.  I finished this by hand and was happy with the way it turned out.  So happy that I am tempted to make another one!  The scissors were part of the gift, and are the Elizabeth I scissors by Kelmscott Designs. 

I also received a gift of an adorable pincushion stitched and finished by my friend Theresa (no blog)

Isn't it cute?  She finished it with tiny chocolate ric rac and antique buttons.  I am already treasuring this beauty!  It's also about time for my January TUSAL post, so here is my new pincushion with my January TUSAL jar.  I haven't squished the threads down but with all the stitching that it looks like I've gotten done in January (so far) alone it looks like I will be doing that in future months. 

If you'd like to join in the TUSAL fun, visit this post on It's Daffycat's blog for all the details.  If you're a blogger you can join in the fun at any time! 

Happy Stitching!

Done with Over One!

That's right, I'm done with all of the over one on Elizabeth Sheffield, and there was a lot of it!  I was able to finish all the over one for the people and the windows of the house and now all that's left is to finish filling in the house itself.  The windows were all charted for over one and after finishing up the people I was really tempted to just fill it in over two threads so it would go faster but wanted to stay true to the reproduction so I stitched them over one linen thread as the chart called for.  No picture today but check back soon for a finish! 

In the meantime, here is a photo of my completed snowflakes so I can assemble them at our next guild meeting: 

And, I don't know what happened to the photo I attached of my cute TUSAL jar last time so I'm trying that again...