Sunday, March 20, 2011

You're in the Air Force Now


Our daughter Erika is getting ready to graduate this Summer, and she has finally decided that she will join the Air Force.  We are so happy for her and hope that it will provide her with some great opportunities.

Here are a few pictures from her swearing in which my husband was able to do.

Friends and Family are gathered

" Alright Dad, you are embarrassing me!!"

"... and I will defend my country...."

Hope she is always this happy serving our country.
And its official
We are proud of her.  We have not gotten a departure date yet, but should hear soon as to when she will wing her way back to the US and start basic training.

 After I got the news that Lisa Roswell passed away, I had to put my stitching down and pull out one of her fabulous designs.  I choose Crescent Angel and stitched it over one on 35ct R&R linen - don't know exactly what color.  I wanted to finish it as a hornbook.    So here it is, in honor of Lisa.



I also started on Plum Street's HallowEden.  I chose my own colors from my Hand Dyed Fibers stash.    The 36ct fabric is also from R&R and is a nice vintage blue.  Now the only issue I ran into was that the coverage of the dark thread was a bit skimpy.  Smart little me knew exactly how to solve that problem... I would just stitch the dark parts over one... such a great idea!!!  Ok, you guys can stop laughing now!!


Uh uh, each over two stitch is stitched four times over one....brilliant!!  I think its called, how to make a fairly quick stitch into a really long & a bit excruciating one.  On the other hand, I really love the look of it though.  My sweet little A&E seem to be ready to join a Dia de los Muertos parade.


The over one ornie stitching has also continued.  Here is He's a Flake by LHN.


I used French and Colonial knots instead of beads and like how it looks.  Now, I did have a heck of a time getting the stitches of the white floss to look decent - I frogged and re-stitched so many times... why is that??  Its just the white floss that consistently was a problem.  Anyone have any insights?





 Last but not least, progress was made on ATS - I finally got through the tree and have started with Adam & Eve.  I am working on this piece today and hope to have them both completed.



    Spring has arrived here - thank goodness - I have had it with winter.  I have been trying to diligently spend time in the garden.  This poor garden needs some TLC so badly after almost a decade of neglect.  Its a massive job, but I am trying to make some headway, and hopefully the fruits of my labor will pay off this summer when the flowers will bloom, the vegetables are thriving and the weeds are under control... hey a girl can dream!!
    Until next time,
    Sylvia

    19 comments:

    1. Congratulations again to Erika! Fun pictures of her swearing in. I love the hornbook angel -- wow! You are a glutton for punishment -- doing all the black over one on Hallow Eden? Whoa! And the He's a Flake over one too! I love the look of over one so I'll enjoy your stitching. Your ATS is gorgeous! Ok, maybe you've just given me the impetus to get over that cloud. lol! I need to get back to my ATS!

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    2. Congrats to your daughter!! ATS is looking good!!! I can see what I have to look forward to! :o) Have a great day! I'm sick of winter too!

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    3. Congratulations to your daughter. May her time of service be all she hopes for. We will keep her in our prayers.

      White floss ---- from what I've heard, the lack of dye makes white floss behave differently from the other colors. It doesn't fill in as well because it is thinner. Black is sort of the same thing --- the amount of dye makes black somewhat "sticky" and it can be an issue too.

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    4. You're not alone in having problems with white floss. I once stitched a white house for a RR and took out more stitches than I put in because each stitch had to be perfect Ugh!

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    5. Great pics of Erika and her swearing in ceremony. Congrats to you all.
      Your Crescent Angel hornbook looks fabulous. Iknow what a PITA over one stitching can be, but the final look is so wonderful and well worth the effort.
      Enjoy stitching on your ATS with Michelle today. Can't wait to see the next progress update pic.

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    6. Congratulations to Erika and great photos of her swearing in!

      The Crescent Angel looks wonderful and you have some great wips. Hallow Eden is one of my faves but all that over 1?! Ack! You've come far along on ATS. Great progress!

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    7. Congrats to Erika! Ahhh, the day of swearing in. I remember mine fondly, although it was for the Navy.

      I love the Angel piece you did in honor of Lisa Roswell. It's beautiful! I am sure she is looking down upon all of the works created in her honor with a smile!!

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    8. Congrats on your daughter's swearing in. Great stitching on everything - love the angel in Lisa's honour.

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    9. LOL - here I am telling you that you should do a blog post, and lo and behold, you had! Yay! Congrats to Erika, how cool that DH did the swearing in. I love love love how Crescent Angel came out - and the finishing is perfect. Hallow Eden is looking so cool and I think you'll be so happy with the over one, even though it is a PITA. I hate stitching with white thread so much. I don't know what it is but my stitches always look like crap with white thread. And ATS - woohoo - looking amazing! One of these days we'll have to look at ours side by side. I'm going to have to do some massive stitching to catch up!!

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    10. Congratulations to you all, Sylvia !!! What an honor to have a daughter serving in the Air Force... She is beautiful too, by the way :-)

      What a nice way to honor Lisa, I know she would be so touched.

      Oh girl, you are brave to do that over one !! What got into you ??? LOL !!

      You know? I have the same problem with the white floss and I thought it was just me. Not sure why that happens, but when using that floss the stitches are just not very nice looking.

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    11. Congrats to Erika!!

      I always have a problem with white floss but I think it's just an optical illusion. I think the white, absent of any camouflaging color, just amplifies any unevenness vs. it ACTUALLY being more uneven. I just did a Blackbird stocking with a large bit of solid white and I think it looks awful. :(

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    12. Woohoo congrats to your DD!! That's awesome, wishing her lots of success :-).

      Gorgeous stitching pictures and tribute to Lisa.

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    13. Congratulations for your daughter!!
      Your works are very beautiful....
      Spring is at home too and the garden need me but my needles too, it's not easy to have time enough!!
      Good day from France.

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    14. What a wonderful post about your family! Your angel on the hornbook finish is lovely and A&Es are making nice progresses. Your needle seems to be very busy!!

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    15. Love your tribute angel for Lisa - very beautiful and beautifully finished ! congratulations to your daughter - I admire anyone who wishes to serve their country. thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog.
      melody

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    16. Okay, you lost me at voluntarily doing over one. I'm still stumbling around, confused over that one, worrying about the state of your sanity. I'm glad you posted such pretty stitching pics to distract me from my worrying. ;) I love love love the Crescent Angel--how special! It is beautiful. Nice progress on your other WIPs, too. I enjoyed ATS so much once I was past the never ending cloud!

      Congratulations to Erika!

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    17. Congratulations to your daughter! How wonderful that your husband was able to do the swearing in.
      I love all of your recent WIP. I can't imagine doing all that over one though!
      Beautiful job on the hornbook. It's a wonderful tribute to Lisa.

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    18. That's wonderful! Congratulations to your DD :o)

      Lovely finishes but I'm surprised you still have your eyesight with all that one over one ;o) Great WIP.

      The hornbook you finished is just stunning.

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    19. Big hug and thank you to your daughter! Smart young lady!

      Nice tribute, needlework. Xo

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