Long Overdue Update

The Fall and the holidays came and went in a flash!

I really was getting some things done, but I have also been working on re-doing my kitchen. I have taken on the difficult task of painting my old oak cabinets. Normally I do not believe in painting woodwork like oak, but these were from the 80's, and had seen better days.
I decided to paint them white. What a job! I am still not even half way through!

I finished Autumn Harvest.

Autumn Harvest - Chessie & Me, 32ct linen, Weeks and GAST threads

I love Chessie & Me designs. They always have a little cat in them.

Next, I worked on my 2014 Christmas Ornament. This year's was Down Jinglepot Road from the 2014 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Issue.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to finish it into an ornament, but here is the stitched piece.

Down Jinglepot Road

This photo didn't come out that well, but it depicts an old red truck going down a bumpy dirt road with a Christmas tree in the back. When Keith and I were first married we had an old red truck. We went everywhere in it! When we cut our Christmas trees, it is always in a place like this.

On top of everything else, the rooster on it reminds me of our dear departed Walter!

To finish out the year, I finally finished the socks that I bought in a kit from Maine Woods Fiber. I have had this for a while. The yarn is hand-painted merino wool.

I actually made 3 socks. They came out way too big for me. I re-knitted the larger one. Truth be told, the other one also needs to be re-done, but I just don't feel like doing it. After finishing one sock, you really don't feel like doing the second one, let alone doing a fourth one! You can see that one is bigger than the other.

Socks are hard!

The Knox Family Sampler is finished!

At long last, the endless sampler is finally finished! Yay!

Here she is:

The Knox Family Sampler - The Scarlet Letter - DMC on 36ct linen

Here is an additional view:

It is hard to see the detail in these photos. There is a variety of stitches used here, long-legged cross stitch, backstitch, zig-zags, and wheatear stitch. The grass is done in a satin stitch. The lettering at the bottom, similar to the top, is stitched one-over-one. My favorite part is the illuminated letters.

The chart states that it is an "ambitious sampler". I would definitely agree with that! I am very glad that it is finally finished!

I wasn't sure what I wanted to work on next, but I needed a little change of pace. I always love the colors of my favorite season, so I decided on Autumn Harvest, a Chessie & Me design from Linda Lautenschlager. I have had this in my stash for ages,

I love that her designs always have a cat in them! The chart called for it to be stitched with one thread, but I decided to make it bolder, and use two over two. I am stitching it on 32ct linen, using Sampler Threads and DMC.

This is what I have so far:

This one should be finished in a much shorter time!

Enjoy the lovely autumn, or the lovely spring if you are down under!