Progress

I've made some progress on my Maureen Appleton, "Splendor I" cross stitch.  I'm trying to get the border done -- if it doesn't work out that the pattern lines up properly, I'll have to cry.  But I have my fingers crossed. 

I've also decided that my New Year's Resolution will be that I will buy no new sewing projects in 2012.  I have plenty of them waiting for me to complete.  I'll do my best to keep make posts of the projects and progress of these.  With that being said, I have two days to buy backing and batting for Nolan's airplane quilt.  I'm debating whether to hand quilt it or have it machine quilted.  I'm thinking a hand quilted quilt would be a nice Grandma project, but I know myself and wonder how long it will take me to get it done!

Biking in the Spruce Creek Valley

 I like to bike in the Spruce Creek area but don't like the hills found there. But Sunday was a perfect day to get out and enjoy the weather before the cold weather sets in for good. I couldn't resist the tempation to enjoy the day and headed west on Route 45 from Whitehall. Not only did I have incredible weather, but I happened to pedal by a friend who stopped her car along the road to take a picture. I hadn't seen her for a long time, so we took the time to catch up on things. 

I had planned on taking a lot more photos but found my camera battery was nearly dead.  Next time I'll be sure it's charged before I take off. 

Below are some of the scenes this beautiful valley offers.

The old Presbyterian Church located on Whitehall Road in Baileyville.

Coming to the intersection of Whitehall Road and Route 45. 



A long stretch of Route 45 nearing Seven Stars in Huntingdon County.

A view of Spruce Creek from Eden Hill Road.

Another shot of Spruce Creek from Eden Hill Road.  Somewhere in here is a flyfisher out on the water.

Looking toward Sinking Valley from Huntingdon Furnace Road.

The quaint town of Huntingdon Furnace.  The iron ore furnace is visible on the right.



The Mitten Maker

I've been helping my friend make mittens from old sweaters for the past two years.  It's brought me my 15 minutes of fame by having a write up in State College Magazine and a segment on WNEP's Home and Backyard.  The mittens have been sold in stores from the Tyrone Mill and The Country Cupboard in Lewisburg.

As her business continues to grow, so does the amount of sweater stuff in my sewing room. 

Sweaters waiting to be cut and bins of cut pieces waiting to be matched. 

Just a very small selection of sweater cuffs and bands that will be used for mitten cuffs.

Adding the cuff.  It takes a pretty sturdy machine to go through all the layers

All that's needed is a cuff and these scotties will be ready to wear!

The Do-Over

Years ago I fell in love with Maureen Appleton's Splendor I.  The fabric is 32-count Glensheen Linen and uses one thread of floss over one thread of fabric.  It's fine work and requires that I use a magnifying lens to  stitch.  I worked the piece on and off for years--completing this much of the design:

As the years passed, I've become more patient with my work and wasn't happy with the piece because the stitches were no longer lining up as they should.  I tried to find the errors, but removing stitches in something stitched like this is very difficult (because you can't see them), so I made a painful decision and decided to start over. 

 This time I'm being very careful and checking the stitch placement often, but I can see this hanging on my wall and look forward to the day I finally finish it!  Stayed tuned for updates!