If I weren't so tired, I would be doing a major Happy Dance!

HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY!

The rug is finished!

Yes, much to the surprise of a certain individual who thought it would never happen, the rug is finally finished!

I put a major push on this, worked all weekend, and finally finished it up.

Here is row 57, the final row:

Next, the braid was cut off. (This part is very scary)!

Then, about 8 inches was un-braided. The braids were tapered, and re-braided as far as they could be. When you can't go any further, they have to be sewn to the rug. This was the part I am not too sure of. It doesn't seem strong enough. I just hope it doesn't come undone!

Here is the 'rattail' finished.

Then came the really hard work. The rug was very large, so all the furniture had to be moved!

I bought an organic rug pad to go under the rug. Not so sure this was necessary, or a good idea now. It was very hard to maneuver it into place, position the rug over it, and then cut around it. Of course it wound up a bit skewed under the rug.

Unfortunately the rug did not lie totally flat! Really an OMG moment - My worst fears!

Thank God for my steamer! It really worked wonders!

The rug lies mostly flat now, and hopefully over time one of the other ripples will work its way out. If not, I can live with it the way it is!

The final measurements wound up 95-1/2 inches (8 ft) wide by 11 ft-6 inches long. A good bit of it wound up under the couch but due to the long thin shape of the room, there was no avoiding that.

It was very hard to get pictures of this, but I tried to get some before the furniture was moved back. You can click to enlarge the pictures to get a better look at the colors (and the bumps before they were steamed away)

Gracie had to position herself right in the center to inspect it. This was before the rug pad was cut around it.


The problem with it was the weight of the rug. It is extremely heavy and maneuvering it, especially on top of the rug pad, is a really tough job.

Oh my aching back! Literally! I pulled some muscles moving the furniture that put me out of commission yesterday, but today I am a little less sore, and yes, I am very, very happy that it is finished! I will make another one for the dining room (much smaller), and I will make some small rugs for the traffic areas on this rug, but I will be taking a break for a while.

Keith helped with all the furniture moving. He thinks the rug is ok, just ok, not sure it was worth all the work.

What can I say?!?

Rug Progress

This weekend was absolutely bitter cold with howling winds of 40 mph. We planted two little apple trees and nearly froze to death!

It was a good weekend to stay inside and work on the rug.

Several days ago I finished up row 55.

Row 55

I just now finished up row 56.

Row 56

I cannot believe there is only one more row to go! What was my life like before I was working on this rug? I can barely remember!

The last row is a whopper of a row though, and will take quite a bit of time! I have to make all of the wool rolls which includes dying some wool to match what I have.

Then there is the dreaded 'rat tail', the tapering off at the end. I just hope that goes well, and I hope that it will all lie flat! This is always a big worry because it is impossible to see all of this the way it is folded up.

I guess I will know soon enough!
Wish me luck!

Braided Rug and The Old Aviary Updates

Hooray! Row 54 is finally finished. The colors on this one were a bit dull, but I was really scratching to come up with the wool.

The next row will be a bright row. I have lost the order of my bright rows here, but it is necessary toward the end of the rug. I will be putting the bright color in one row early because I do not want to end the rug with a bright color.

Three more rows to go!

The Old Aviary is proving to be very frustrating to photograph. Maybe there is some secret to doing this that I don't know of, but the pale colors make it very difficult.

Instead of taking the whole picture, I have included the right and the left sides. Hopefully it won't look so washed out.

(click to enlarge)

The first row of letters is a small uppercase alphabet. This is done in satin stitch over 4.

The next line is the pale green divider in a herringbone stitch.

The next line is the remainder of the letters and the start of the numbers. At the beginning and end of the numbers is a group of 5 eyelet stitches. There was a huge amount of frogging going on with this! I re-did it several times before I was satisfied with it. There are 31 points in each eyelet stitch. This is really tough to see on 40 count!

After this, there is a divider row done in the Ray stitch, in a pale orchid.

The next row is a large uppercase alphabet in the satin stitch.

I have just started the next dividing line which is all in cross stitch in a light taupe.

The tiny stitches on the 40 count are proving very challenging, but I am enjoying it. One thing that I have learned is that I cannot work on it for as long. Frequent breaks are necessary!

I finally finished row 53!

This row seemed to take forever! I didn't have any rolls of wool already made up for this one, so it took quite a while. Then I had that miserable cold in the middle of it. (Thankfully, I am feeling much better now).

It was a real squeaker right to the end. I knew I would have enough of the camel and the glen plaid rolls to make it to the end, but I wasn't sure I would have enough of the rust colored herringbone roll. This was risky because I didn't have anything else in this tone. My closest match was a red herringbone, which actually wasn't a bad match, but it is always nice to be able to finish with the same color. I made it with 6 inches to spare!

The rows now are so long that it takes enormous amounts of wool to make one round. Usually one fabric will not do it so I have to match similar colors and patterns.

4 more rows to go!

I am also getting antsy with Peace in the Country. I finished the angel's dress and gave her some feet. Now I have to finish back-stitching that area before I can more on. I also finished up a few of the stars to see what they would look like. This design was much larger, and far more detailed than I thought it would be! We still have quite a bit of snow here, but it is slowly melting. We have been promised sixty degrees this weekend, so no doubt it will all be gone soon!

It seems like it has been a long winter. I am ready for spring!

Barely breathing but here . . .

Ughh! Worst cold in 5 or 6 years!

I can't say I am actually recovering yet, but today it seems like today, it has stopped getting worse anyway. I guess that is something!

I haven't made much progress. You would think if you were sick you would have more time to stitch, but it didn't work out that way. I was too sick to even do that!

Before the cold I made a little progress on Peace in the Country. (click to enlarge).

(Sorry about the shadow. I can't seem to get rid of it).

I finally got out of the grass which is something anyway! I finished up the lady and added another sheep. Then I went back up to fill in on the hills that I hadn't finished.

After that I did the orchard. This part was murder! The trees were all backstitching with lots of counting for the different directions on the branches. The leaves were all lazy daisy stitches, and the apples were all French knots!

Then I worked a little on the border to give myself a good reference to start the angel.

I finished up the angel wing and did a tiny bit on the hair and dress.

I will be happy to finish this one up. It seems like I have been working on it for a very long time!

On the rug, I finally finished up row 52 today. This row took a lot longer than it should have due to the cold.

Still here in the grass . . .,

but atleast now I have a little man and three sheep to keep me company!

I also have half of the woman's dress done there. Soon I hope to be out of this grass! It is driving me crazy! There are very slight changes to the color with blended needle and half stitches that are very time consuming.

Still working on the rug. Very slowly ! Here is a picture of the end of row 51, beginning of row 52:

. . . and so it goes.

I am always thinking of the next project, more correctly the next 6 projects!

One that I have always wanted to do is The Old Aviary, which appeared in the Summer 2006 issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly.

This is an expensive project. The design is laid out over 4 issues of the magazine. There is a large piece of 40 count linen required, and all the silk threads! Pricey!

I decided to use part of my gift certificate from Petra to purchase the magazines. Down Sunshine Lane had three of them, and I got the remaining one on ebay.

I have a lot of odd silk threads in my stash and I wanted to use them if possible. The pattern calls for Soie d'Alger and Silk 'n Colors. The Soie d'Alger, I can match fairly easily, but I have not been able to find any conversion, anywhere, for the Silk 'n Colors.

I do not necessarily need an over-dyed silk. The single color silks are just fine with me.

Does anyone know of a match for Silk 'n Colors: Latte (9710), Old Lace (111), and Spring Blush (9711) ?

Of course if you have the colors, it is easy enough to make a substitution, but with just the description, it is tough.

I would love to hear from anyone else who is working on this. Of course, I am a ways off from starting this project, but it would be nice to have it kitted.

Time for an update

February so far still has us in the grips of winter. This morning the temp was about 15F. Brrrr!

I know that doesn't sound cold to my Canadian friends, but we are used to it being about 10-15 degrees warmer here!

Here is a picture of my dwindling woodpile. My poor hedge in the background is completely eaten by the deer!

We started out the winter with what I thought was more than enough wood, but now, only halfway through the winter, we definitely will have to order more. Somehow the price keeps going up and up! I don't quite get that. It is quite high now. Last time I ordered, I couldn't find a cord for less than $200 (unstacked).

On the stitching front, I have made very slow progress on Peace in the Country. It is very slow-going with a lot of color changes and backstitching. I am really tired of working with greens! I will be glad when I can move on to the angel.
Now, on to the ever-growing rug!

I haven't worked on the rug for the last two days. I have had to scrounge for more wool. I searched all the local places with no success. I put out a call to my local freecycle. No luck! I finally decided to use some of the pieces in my stash that I previously decided not to use. I will have to find a way to make it work, (just like they did in the old days)!

Here are some pictures of my progress:

Completed row 46, beginning row 47

Completed row 47, start of row 48

Completed row 48, start of row 49

Completed row 49, start of row 50

Completed row 50

I know these are boring pictures and they don't give you an idea of the rug size, but the rug has gotten incredibly heavy. It is very hard to move around. The only way I can work on it is to have it folded over.

Here is a background picture of the tiny dining room:

You can't tell from the picture, but the other side of the rug falls down to the floor.

Quite the mess eh?!

One Year Today!

Hard to believe a whole year has passed, but today is my Blogiversary! One year ago today I made my first entry.

I am a little disappointed that I didn't make more entries, (and finish more projects).
A lot of the projects I took on were fairly large in scale. They are fun to work on, but unfortunately don't make for exciting blogging!

Well, a year later, and I am still working on the rug! The last row just took forever with the holiday distractions and all. Here is a picture of my last completed row 45.

By now I am about half finished with row 46. Groan! About 11-1/2 rows to go! Hopefully it will measure something like 8' x 12' when it is finished.

This this what I have finished so far on my Christmas quilt 'Tis the Season. I haven't been working on this too much. I think I will put it aside for a few months.

I have picked up Peace in the Country again, and have made a little bit of progress on this. This one turned out to be more detailed than I thought. The angel is yet to come. It is positively huge in relation to the town below!

It is quite cold here now, way below freezing with a lot of snow on the ground! This time last year it wasn't anywhere near this cold!

That's all for now. Hope we all have a great year!

Just no hurrying this rug!

During the last few days I have spent quite a bit of time working on the rug. I have the sore neck, shoulders, and arms as well as the rough hands to prove it! It now measures about 70" X 115"

I was disappointed when I realized that it would not be done by Thanksgiving, but now reality has set in and I realize that it will not be finished by Christmas either!

Bummer! It is just no fun having Christmas dinner on the coffee table!

I just finished row 43 today. It takes 2 to 3 days for each row, and that doesn't count the time to prepare the wool. I figure I will need 58 or 59 rows. Very best case senario with no interuptions (ha ha) it would take me about 2 months to finish it.

Here are some pictures:

Row 42

Row 43:

I just started row 44 today. This will be the last one in my medium shading. I am adding blue as my wild row.

On the stitching front I have been working on the little lap quilt 'Tis the Season. I have almost finished one of the squares. I know this one will never be finished by the holidays!

Oh well! Maybe by next Christmas I will be organized!

Long overdue post

Here are my latest photos of the rug.

This is the start of row 41.
At this point the rug measures aproximately 66.5" X 111.5".



Phew! This thing is hard to measure. I need to move it around to get a good measurement, and that is more easily said than done!

Since I took this picture I have made quite a bit of progress on this row, but I have had to temporarily stop working on it due to some sort of painful carpel tunnel or tennis elbow type thing. OUCH!!!

Hopefully I will be able to get back to it soon. The bad news is that I an running out of medium color wools. I need a lot of tans to complete this. I guess I will have to go back to scrounging the thrift shops again!


On the stitching front, I made a little more progress on Peace in the Country, but it is coming along very slowly. I am having trouble getting into it.

Also, I picked up another project. In the hopes of getting myself into a holiday mood, I have started working on a little holiday quilt.

'Tis the Season is one of those stamped quilts. It is easy to do when I am practically brain dead at night watching tv.

Here is a picture of my start. I have also made more progress on this one too, since. I will try to update with a new photo soon.
I may drop Peace in the Country for a while to work on this.

Slowly I creep. . . , inch by inch!

Still here working on the rug!

Here is the start of row 38

Row 39 is the start of the light group of rows.
I have just started row 40. . .
Phew! Still have a loooong way to go!

In the meantime, I have started a new stitching project. I have had Peace in the Country in my stash for ages. It is actually a kit from Sunset, but I decided to swop out the aida that it came with it, with a piece of 32ct Dove Gray linen.

I actually haven't been enjoying it too much so far. It is one of those designs that seems like it was designed by a computer. I am working on the the hills in the background. There are many half stitches and many, many color changes. Hopefully I will like it better when I move on to another section.

I have made a small start on it.

Fall Finish, the Rug, and a Beautiful Weekend!

Hooray! I finished up Harvest Blooms!

This one just makes me smile!

I thought I was doing well when I finished up the border with just enough rum raisin to complete it, until that is, I realized that I had another star to do.

I used blended DMC colors of purple and dark brown to do the star. I was very pleased how close it came to the rum raisin. It has a very nice effect.

I departed from the original design and added a star to the upper left and moved my initials to the bottom. I included the date on the lower right.

I am happy with this one! At some point I think I will make it into a pillow, but that will have to wait for now.

Also, I completed row 36 on the rug. I am still working on the "dark" section. I have just started row 37 here. This is my "wild" color row. I chose a faded red. It is hard to capture the colors. They look a little washed out here.

The Northeast, where I live has many problems, traffic, urban sprawl, etc., but during this time of the year it is simply glorious! The air is crisp. The sun is bright, and the colors are just spectacular!

This weekend we drove up to Rhinebeck, NY, about 80 miles north of here. We discovered when we got there that there was a Wool and Sheep festival going on at the fairgrounds. I was disappointed we had not gotten there earlier. By the time we got there, the crowds were enormous. Oh well, maybe next year! We did however go home with apples and a wonderful apple pie!

The trees were a couple of days past peak color, but still beautiful! This one was in front of a beautiful old house in Rhinebeck

Harvest Blooms and the Ever-expanding Rug!

I would like to thanks everyone who has taken the time to leave a comment or send me an email. I really appreciate it!

I am making steady progress on Harvest Blooms. I finished the border with not much to spare! I really worked to conserve the floss. The design calls for 1 strand on 36 count I believe. I am using 2 strands on 32 count. If you ever do this design, make sure you order more floss.

At first I thought the colors were a little odd, but now I am really enjoying their richness. I love how they all blend together. Rum raisin is such a good choice for the border. The brownish purple-ish color is unexpected, and perfect for autumn!

I should be finishing it up in the next few days, but I will be making a few changes. I do not want to put my initials at the top, so I will add another star to the upper left, and fit my initials in along the bottom somewhere.

Here is a picture of my progress so far. Furry is such a help! What would cross stitching be without cat hair!

I am also making very slow progress on the rug. I finished off row 35. The next three rows will be dark. I have just started row 36 here.