Progress on Gentle Stitches and Haul from The Stitching Post

As promised, here is my progress on Gentle Stitches by Shakespeare's Peddler. I haven't done a lot of stitching this week because I was quite busy with house buying related errands, but here it is.

I'm really glad I switched to the whiter linen, and I can't wait to get to the prettier pinks and greens in this piece.

I'm using the Thread Heaven for this and I like it. I think it really cuts down on those annoying looped knots you get on the back of your piece when pulling your thread through. The thread does feel like it is dragging less, but that could also be due to the plain Zweigart linen rather than the Lakeside Linens I started on, which was a bit "fuzzier".
 

I don't know about other stitchers, but I have as much fun going to the stitching shop and planning new projects as I do actually stitching. I got a few things this week at The Stitching Post.

First is this cute "2009 Santa" pattern from The Prairie Schooler:

 

I'm going to stitch this for my hockey-playing boyfriend and personalize with Washington Capitals colors. I don't know when I'll get to this one, but hopefully in time for Christmas. 

I love Autumn and Autumn colors, so this monochromatic piece by Little House Needleworks caught my eye:

The pattern came with this Belle Soie silk floss:

But I couldn't resist the fall colors of these three silk skeins by The Thread Gatherer Silk N' Colors:

Top to bottom they are Rusty Amber, Apples & Oak Leaves, and Autumn Foliage.

When I got home I did some playing with linens from my stash:

I think I'm going to use the Rusty Amber silk (middle above) and the Summer Khaki linen (top left above) but I don't know, they're all so beautiful and each would give the piece a slightly different feel.


I'm also thinking about stitching this piece, which has been in my stash for MANY years, and would look good in my new kitchen:

I'm going to use the floss below, Highland Garden Dark by Gloriana, and either Summer Khaki (top) or Stone Grey (bottom) Newcastle linen. Again, two different feels based on which linen I choose.

I have a lot of stitching to do! Maybe I should do more actual stitching and less playing with stitching goodies ;)