Finished!

I actually finished this a while ago but I've been bad about blogging lately. I'm finished! Thank you so much for this SAL. I had this design in my stash for some time so it gave me the perfect opportunity to stitch and finish it!

Stacy

Loraine... THANK YOU!!!!

Loraine, THANK YOU!!!! I received your adorable needlebook in the mail. I'm having internet problems at home so I haven't been able to thank you properly. I love the needlebook! The boat that you appliqued on the inside is just darling and I love how you used the ric-rac. The pockets are sweet too!

I've been busy stitching on exchanges so I'm at a slight stand still with Sail Away. But the good news is that they are all stitched (just need the finishing) so I'll be able to get back to Sail Away again very soon. I can't wait to finish it!

Once I can get internet restored at home (I'm at work now) I'll post a progress picture with a picture of my beautiful new needlebook.

Thank you again for including me in this SAL. It's been so much fun!

A SA Finish

I finished up my SA piece this weekend. It was a super piece to stitch and such fun to do it in a SAL. Here is a very poor snap as we where fogged in and grey sky-ed all weekend.

Thank you again for letting me take part.
I can see this will be one of many SB pieces I will stitch!!

edgar

Another one drops Anchor

I finished up the last bit of stitching this morning. As I usually do, I made a few changes to this piece to make it my own. The hardest change was re-doing the lettering. Not a hard thing to do really, just a little time consuming. Because the whole thing reminded me of my sons sailing away on their life's journey, I put their names in it. I also changed a few colors - the house went from black to blue - not a significant change but one I liked. I also changed the last line of the verse. Rather than, "Come back again to me" I had it say "Come sailing home to me". Again, not a significant change but one I liked. I also decided, for the first time ever, not to put the buttons and charms on this one. I love it just they way it is.

I hope all of you that have been stitching with us will continue to post your progress pictures. No matter how miniscule your progress may seem to you, we're here to cheer you on! And of course, when you finally dock for the last time, be sure and post that, too!


Peace,
Terri

Still at port but ready to sail

I have a long way to go but hope to be able to work on it on Monday when I am home from work. I love it and my scissor fob is beautiful. It matches my favorite blue bladed scissors. Marjo in Alaska

What a Cruise

Dear Shipmates,

What a wonderful cruise this was. I enjoyed every stitch, every post and every comment. A great big thanks to Terri and Loraine for their leadership and friendship.

still sailing!

I'm still here too.....



Now to get busy with the last assignment :-)

Thank you Loraine and Terri, for such a wonderful voyage! This has been my first official SAL and I couldn't have enjoyed it more!

Will post again with my completed piece :-)

Are we at week seven already?

I'm still stuck at the last port. The scenery must have been too good to board the ship again!

Hi there all. I'm so sad to post this week, because this is our last assignment. I have loved sailing away with you. I will be adding all of you to my regular blog roll, and hope you do the same so we can continue to keep in touch.

Please feel free to continue to post pictures of your progress and finishes on here. We would love to see them.Finally the end!

Our last assignment is the last three rows of the sampler. The fence, the words, and the flowers on the bottom. This should be an easy section! I hope that we didn't make the assignments too difficult to finish. If Terri and Margaret are the only ones keeping up, then I'm worried it was too hard. I definitely could have used a couple extra catch up weeks in there, but then I probably would have put it off, so I'm not sure that would have helped.

I know some are still stuck on shore, or having a difficult time getting "in" to this sampler If this is you, then I hope when your ready you will use this blog to motivate yourself, and help you finish in a timely manner.

Dear friends. Let's do this again sometime! Would someone else like to take over the captains hat?

Don't fret, I'm still working on needle cases. I have several things on the cutting table but hope to finish them all up this week. Please be patient!

Take Care, and don't forget to keep posting!!!!

A gift for our little sailors

Hi everyone. Hopefully you are using this week to get the rest of your picture portion done on your sampler.

I've been designing a little needle case for our group. If you would like one, then please send me your mailing address to Hiddenheart@kellerits.com. I have Glenna's, Lizzy's, Terri's and Debs, but need everyone else's.

Hopefully you will think these are fun. I wish I would have gotten this done sooner!!!

Have a great day.

Done!

I like long weekends. Got lots of stitching in and finished the landscape portion of Sail Away. I do think the thread colors aren't the same as in the model -- too bad one can't guarantee thread dye lots will be the same from lot to lot. Still, it came out nicely, despite the differences in color.



I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's progress! Terri, thank goodness the cola disaster came out ok!

Finished Part 4

Ok well I'm less behind than before! I just finished up Part 4 so I'm close to being caught up. The over-1 stitching went quickly once I used my magnifier lamp. My eyes are getting older! Thank goodness for magnification. Anyway I do love how this is working up. My favorite part has to be the little person though. I love the colors!

Stacy

Week 5 & 6 Complete

I have loved working on this and got up very early this morning so I could have a couple of good stitching hours. I was able to take another pic in the dappled sunlight with some hydrangea petals that match the colors of the sampler so beautifully. A couple of other changes ~ I changed the colors of the fish; the brown didn't show up at all and I wanted brighter colors. I think I may go back and change the stem and leaves of the middle flower in the hill to the darker green so it'll show up a little better. I like the soft colors but not when you can't really identify what the shape is.

How is yours coming along?

Peace,
Terri

A House on a Hill is Built

I got a bit of stitching in over the last few days and this is where I was as of last night. I also made a couple of small changes. The house on the pattern actually looked blue and when I stitched it in black, it looked a little too ominous so I frogged it and did it in a dark blue. This is a blue from another SB kit I had already stitched. I always save those leftover threads 'cause you just never know. The only other change I made was to stitch the first big flower in the hill with a darker green just to be sure it showed up nicely in the hill.

How is yours coming? Be sure and check in with a picture or two so we can help celebrate your progress!

Some Band Stitching

I finished up last weeks assignment - here is a snap ....

Shot only using day light... now on to the next section!!

Better late than never!

Sorry to post so late mateys. I didn't forget about you, I've just had a million and one things to do!
For our 5th and 6th week we will be working on the lovely picture portion of our sampler. I'm excited to stitch that lighthouse.
Hopefully the lightning fast stitcher's are already working on this part. I won't make an assignment post next Tuesday, so just know you have 2 weeks to complete this portion.

If you are running a little behind (like I am), then this is the perfect opportunity to catch up. Did everyone notice how quickly Terri caught up, even with her major set back with the soda? I'm so glad it turned out okay Terri. We were all sick about the accident!
Let me amuse you for a moment with a quick cheer for the ones still sitting at the dock. GO, GO, You Can Do It. Your stitching waits, so let's get to it!
(Really lame, I know. No I was never a cheerleader, as if you couldn't tell!)

I've been working on some little gifts to everyone. They are turning out cute, I must say. Take care friends. I hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Sailing Away with Turtle in Tow

I'm sailing away with Terri's darling turtle fob! Thanks so very much Terri.

Finally caught up!

After rinsing my fabric, I was able to get out most of the soda stain - there is still some remnant of it around the edge but that's okay - it won't show. Luckily the threads didn't run but I do think the fabric faded a bit or at least it lost some of it distressed look. That's okay too, and I am going to leave well enough alone! Originally when I saw this pattern I thought of my son Matt graduating from high school and starting college, a whole new chapter in his life. But as I was stitching I thought it a worthy tribute to both my boys so I added Tyler's name as well. I hope they'll always know they have a safe harbor here with Rob and me whenever they should need it.

I got a serious case of numb butt yesterday watching all the Ted Kennedy stuff on television and was finally able to catch up. Today will have to be spent catching up on laundry and other chores I neglected yesterday!

Can't wait for the next part!




Be sure to post your progress pics - we're here to cheer each other on!

Peace,
Terri

My Part 2 is finally complete!

I am slow but at least I'm still making progress. Last night I finished up Part 2. My friend Elizabeth came over to stitch so I got in a good chunk of stitching time. Today I'm going to start Part 3. I can't wait to see more progress because I LOVE how this is coming out!

Stacy

Lookie at my new fob! And a wee bit of progress...

Terri, I think the turtle is PERFECT for me given my rate of stitching lately! I LOVE my new fob! I put them on a pair of silver Dovos with a blue blade which I will use to stitch the rest of this design. I am truly touched by your generosity. The fob is just gorgeous...

I'm just on Part 2. But I am LOVING stitching on this. One of my best friends is coming over to stitch today and I plan on getting quite a bit more done. Hoping to wrap up part 2 soon. Here's a picture of my progress with my new beautiful fob!

Thank you Terri!!!! BTW - I really, really hope that the soda comes out of your fabric... how horrible... Ugh. I've had good success with spot cleaning with powdered OxyClean. Keep us posted on the outcome.

Stacy

I must not be livin' right....

I have made some progress and felt sure that with a good day of stitchin' tomorrow that I MIGHT catch up. Here's where I was at the end of the day yesterday.
I decided to do this in honor of both of my boys and put Tyler's name in the first motif and Matt's name will go in the other big one. I am using an alternative lettering that I really like. Cindy Carter has re-lettered many SB charts and I really like the style. So, I re-did Sail Away in her style. It took me a while to chart it as I did it on graph paper (should have done it in excel) ~ oh well! I can't take any credit it all for the lettering - it's all Cindy! Here's a link to the many charts she has re-done if you're interested.

Cynthia's Lettering


So... anyway, I pulled this beauty out of my stitching bag a little while ago to go hunker down and get something done and this is what I found:






Nice, huh? I had a soda in my bag which I was sure was sealed tightly but apparently not. I left work in a hurry this afternoon and just tossed it in my bag without thinking. DRATS! What is it with me and wet samplers - remember the tornado and the Friendship Sampler? Anyway, I'll wash it and who knows, maybe it'll be fine. In fact, I may dump some pink tea on it just for fun. More to follow.

Keep up the good work all the rest of you! You're doing great and I will catch up sooner or later even if I have to start over! If you still haven't gotten your turtle scissor fob PLEASE let me know. I don't want anyone to not get one!

Hugs and Peace to you all,
Terri

my weeks 3 and 4

Had some extra stitching time, thanks to accompanying my hubby at his various doctor appointments all day (health scare averted, thank goodness!), so I am all caught up now :-)



My wonderful fob from Terri arrived this week, it's so gorgeous, I love it!
THANK YOU TERRI!! You ROCK!!

Half way there!

Hi again fellow stitchers. It's so nice to see Terri back with us again! (yeah!) There are a lot of you that we have not heard from. How are things going? Are you keeping up? Please let me know if the stitching assignments are too much. We want everyone to be able to finish if they can.

Without further adieu our assignment this week will be stitching Steps 7, 8, and 9, and the words 2 and 3.
Hasn't this been a great piece to stitch so far? I stitched all day on Sunday, but I'm still furiously paddling to catch up to all of you speedy sailors! I don't think I should be the captain of the ship! Have a great week everyone! Don't forget to check in once in a while!

The raft has come ashore!

Hi everyone! I know.... it seems I've been lost at sea but I have finally landed on shore and am so glad to be back. I have had the busiest month I can EVER recall. Most of it has been good - but there has been a bit of bad that set me back on my heels a little bit and kept me from stitching/concentrating etc. But, things have finally settled down and I'm ready to set sail (on a very fast boat!). I didn't know when I talked to Loraine about doing this that my August would be so busy but that's the way life goes sometimes, right? I have made and mailed (I think), all but one scissor fob. I mailed 4 today so if you haven't received yours yet, it should arrive this week. However, I still don't have your address, Marjo so please send it to me at rotematy@comcast.net so that I can mail yours out. I'm so sorry for the big delay on mailing some of these. I can't explain how inept I've felt the last several weeks - I just couldn't seem to get done all I needed to do. It is getting better though so I think I'll be back on track shortly. When I decided to make the fobs I wanted them to remind you of our SAL long after we'd completed it. So... the blues, whites and greens of the sea were the primary colors I chose. What better gift from the sea than a pearl so blue and white pearls it was. The turtle is an ocean creature that I love and to me it represents the various speeds with which we all stitch. But, no matter how slowly we do it, we get there eventually. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them for you. Oh, and like pearls from the sea, no two are alike. Here's a picture I took of some of them all hanging together.


Thank you to dear Loraine who never expected to single handedly be leading this SAL. You are doing a great job, girlfriend and I'm so grateful to you! If I alone had been left to captain this ship, it would surely have S-U-N-K!!!! I am thrilled to be your co-captain and hope you'll continue to steer this vessel as you are truly THE Captain. Everyone has always said I'm more like Julie (the party planner) on the Love Boat than Captain Steubing!. Do you all remember that show?? Anyway, I'm now going to close and go look at all the fabulous progress pictures! Have a great Sunday and a wonderful week! Keep up the good sailing!
Peace,
Terri

Aye Aye Captain

I have really enjoyed stitching Sail Away with everyone. I didn't know how much fun a SAL could be. Happy Sailing!

3rd Part Finis

I finished up the third part last night -

I am not sure about the initials yet -
I am waiting until it is finished to see what if any I will put in there.

On a roll

Well, I barely made the 2nd assignment on time -- put the last stitch in Tuesday night. Then Wednesday morning I figured I might as well continue with the 3rd assignment! I'm really loving how it's coming out. :D

Thank you, Terri, for my fob. I love it! If you want to see what mine looks like, go look at Edgar's blog -- he put his fob on the same pair of Dovos as I did! lol! (I forgot to take a picture of mine.)

Is it time for part 3 already?

Darling new scissor fobs from Terri!

Hi again fellow sailors! How did this week row by so fast? My kids started school on Friday, and I'm their "learning coach" as they attend an internet based school. My free time just evaporated like a puff of smoke. I'm so sick and tired (already) of saying "stay on task" in my sweetest Mary Poppins voice, that it feels like it will be a long year!
However, I am looking forward to sneaking in some stithcing time while they do their assignments! This is one guilty pleasure I don't mind a bit.

Did everyone get their lovely scissor fobs from Terri? Isn't she wonderful?!!!! I was so thrilled to open my package. The blue fob is for Dot, and I'm delivering to her. I decided to go with the pink and blue beauty (although that was a hard decision!) Everyone give her a big THANK YOU! We love you Terri!

On Friday I'm making a little run to my LNS, which is the very one and only Shepherd's Bush. I'm going to talk to Tina and Teri and see if they would be willing to post on here once or twice for us. I'm not making any promises, but I really hope they will indulge us. It would be fun to hear their insights.

Are we all caught up and ready for part 3? I must admit, I'm not, but after typing this, I'm going to plop in a movie and see if I can't get caught up. Everyone that is really behind, may want to get going, because in a few weeks I have another incentive gift to send to everyone that is still with us. It really has been an easy stitch so far, so don't worry you can catch up!For part 3, you probably already guessed that we will be stitching the cute girl and the big medallion, and the little motifs all around her. Yes Jolene, one more week until the lighthouse! I'm excited for that part as well!

A big thanks to all those who have been posting and making this blog so fun to read! I really appreciate it, and I love seeing your progress. Take Care!

A LITTLE PROGRESS

I should not have posted until I finished part 1 but who knows when that will be LOL

What I really wanted to show was the lovely beaded fob that I rec'd in the mail last week from Terri - WHAT a sweet gift and sooooo pretty! and the darling little turtle on the end - So I just had to show my pitiful progress along with my beautiful gift.

You girls are all making great progress on the SAL. Happy Sailing (and fishing! ) Mel

ONE FISH, TWO FISH.....

Round two finished!!! I enjoyed this part a little more than last weeks. The baby fish following the Mommy fish has to be my favorite part followed by the rosebud. Simple and fun. When I think back when I purchased this kit, I was drawn to the quaker motifs, so I'm chuckling at myself when I said I like the fish better than the motifs. Ha Ha!!! I am looking forward to starting on the girl with the spyglass which is one step closer to the lighthouse!!!

Sailing..Sailing

Wished you could hear me singing....maybe not. Loving every minute of this stitch!!

Finished my part 1

Hi everyone! I joined the SAL a little late so I'm just a tad behind... but I'll catch up! I finished Assignment 1 yesterday. I really love the flower border at the top. I started the second assignment and will hopefully catch up quickly. It's really pretty already!

caught up!

Hello Sail Away Stitchers! I am happy to be on this SAL with
you :-) and happy to be caught up!



My favorite part of week one was the Indecisive Stitch, and the Herringbone Stitch, and on week two, the rosebud!

Hope everyone has a smooth sailing week!
xoxo

SAILING ALONG....WEEK #1 PROGRESS

Here is the first photo of week #1's progress. Sorry it's a little late posting, but I just had to throw over the anchor and fish for awhile, the temption was just too great. I only caught one fish so I released it back to sea. I really liked stitching the indecisive stitch, I have never stitched that one before. What was your favorite part of round one? Other than the short stop to throw out a line, my journey has been smooth sailing all the way through, hope yours was too. Can't wait to get round two going....catch ya later!!!

Ready for a second week?

Celebrating Terri's Birthday with food...wish you could have been there Terri!
(Teresa's hand waving me away)

Hello fellow sailors. Hope you are having smooth sailing this week. I had a little get together with Cindy and Teresa (some of the members without blogs) and we started our project. Since we like to eat, and stitch they brought LOTS of food! Can you see all the chocolate and goodies?

We were having a grand time, and I was making good progress. Teresa forgot her linen at home (can you believe that? Something I would do!) so she ended up working on something else, but Cindy and I were cruising along. That night when looking at the pattern more carefully I had stitched my entire vine in "Olive Branch" instead of "Olive Grove"! I was really trying to decide if the frog had to come and visit, and after a day or two, I decided to unpick and start again. I'm a lot happier with the "Olive Grove" on there. I guess I shouldn't stitch and talk, it's counterproductive! Now for your next assignment. We will be stitching everything down to the girl and the big wreath medallion. I will leave it up to you if you want to go ahead and put the flower half medallion on the right, or wait until week 3.

Thanks for all you support and enthusiasm. I'm loving this project! Have a great night, and we hope you had a fabby 50th birthday Terri!

Cruising Along Nicely

I am cruising along nicely after some ahem...re-counting and re-stitching!! Once I got going it was difficult to stop! Looking forward to the next order!! Ships Ahoy!

Whew! I made it!

Well, I got a late start, but I finally tackled our first assignment over the weekend and just put that last stitch in. I'm a bit of a weird one -- I'm using 40ct linen. I know, I know, I won't be able to use the charm, button or sheep button. But I just couldn't face the large count linen. I'm a 40ct lover. I'm using Legacy linen by Picture This Plus. The over one was a pain, but it always is. :D

I'm looking forward to the next assignment. Best part of it is -- no over one for a while! lol!

Happy belated 50th, Terri! And thank you to Terri and Loraine for organizing this SAL!

Sail Away My D----

On target so far--trying hard not to fall behind. Or overboard. Glug!

A little start

We got home a little late last night so my start was only a small one...

I am really loving this already!!!

Ahoy Mateys!

I am not fortunate enough to stitch this along with all of you because I just had to stitch mine soon after I got the kit, but thanks to Loraine and Terri, I've been made an honorary member. Just to get everyone jazzed up about this piece, I thought I'd post mine to get you all started. I just picked it up from framing last week.

(frame and suede matt done at Joanne's)

I had so much fun stitching this, that I'm jealous of each one of you to be stitching it now. You're going to love it when it's done. I look forward to seeing everyone post their progress pictures. Enjoy the sail - it's going to be a fun one!!!

Are your bags packed?

This is a needle book that I made for me first Disney cruise a few years ago. I thought it would be fitting to show to all of you!

We are officially getting ready to set sail tomorrow! Hopefully you all have your linen prepped and your floss separated. I have to say that it was trickier than I thought it would be! All of those colors seem to look alike!

We will be working from top to bottom. You should have 3" of extra linen on each side. I usually measure in two and a half inches down and in from the left side. That way I know I'm safe just in case the linen was cut wrong or something.

We will be following the instructions from page 3 of our pattern. It looks like the page below. We will be stitching the Indecisive stitch, the satin stitch, and the herringbone stitch. Follow steps 1-3 on page 3 of your instructions. Also do "Words 1" for this section.This is the section you should do this week. (Don't do the flower on the left, heart or the medallion. I didn't know how to cover them up for the photo)

Hopefully this isn't too confusing. If you have problems e-mail me, or leave a post!

This is so exciting! Sweet Terri is mailing your first goodies in the mail this week. I'm getting mine done very soon. Take Care, and don't forget your posts.

P.S. So sorry if "playlist" drives you crazy. When we went on the said cruise above, I was sitting on this glorious beach on Disney's private island, with the most perfect sky and water in the world, and they were playing Enya's Orinoco Flow song, and I swear it was one of the best days of my life! Just had to recreate it a little bit for you. BTW, you may add songs to this playlist, so get creative.