February SFS 2015

Uh Oh, I am late.

That's ok, I am still going to make my post so I don't loose my place. :)

Month: February
Beginning Balance: $26.50
Spent: $18.96
Finished $ 12.00
End of Month Balance: $19.54

This month found me working on a couple of different things.

I started working on Lizzie Kate's Things Unseen Mystery Sampler but found I ran out of threads. Thank goodness I received a gift card at the beginning of the month. I was able to order them and finally complete the piece. I love how this piece came together and how it looks now that it has had the embellishments added. This piece does not count in the finished bonus because it is not over 6 months.

 

Surprisingly enough, this picture actually shows the fabric color pretty well. (maybe a little darker but I think that is the lighting in my room).  Now let me tell you about my service at 123stitch.com. I placed the order for the threads I needed and as usual, they sent an email stating that the order was processed and another when the order when out for shipping along with the tracking information. I waited impatiently, checking the tracking every day to see where my threads were at (obviously I really wanted to finish this piece) lol. The day finally arrived when the tracking stated that it had arrived in my mail box. What an unpleasant surprise when I checked the box that day and no package. So I waited another day and still no package. I had to wait an additional two days before I could contact the post office and ask what had happened. Of course I got the run around a promise of a phone call (which never came) and another two days of still no package. On Tuesday I contacted customer service at 123stitch.com via email and explained my problem. They were very sympathetic and said that while I contacted the post office they would see what they were able to do. Then on Wednesday I called the post office again and stayed on the phone for over an hour. Spoke to at least 3 people with the result of again receiving a phone call. During this time I received another email from the 123 stating that they were gathering new threads for me and were going to ship them out to me the next day with the only condition that if I end up receiving the original package, that I send it back to them. No hassle, no fuss, no muss. I did end up receiving the original package and contacted them so that they did not send out a second one, but I have to say that the customer service at this company is wonderful. I will not receive any compensation for these statements, I just wanted to share what great customer service this company has.

 

While I was waiting for the threads to arrive I had to work on something, so I picked up this piece. Nancy over at the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe designed the sampler below. I loved the saying but I am not a pink person and asked if it was possible for her to help me to chart the flowers in a purple color, which she agreed to do. If you know her sight you also know that she also hand dyes her own threads. I love using her colors. So I purchased the chart and asked her to include her own dyed threads to use. She not only provided an updated chart, she gave me two options to use for the flowers and provided the thread for both options. This has been sitting in my to do pile for about 7 months now and decided it needed some loving.

 

 

Next up is my first finish for the month. I used Stitching the Night Away's brushstroke butterfly and added a saying I found a while ago. I stitched this for a group based in Europe - Stitching Out Stigma. I wanted to express that even though we may think the world is ending, I is only the beginning of a new part of our lives.

 

 

Next up is a little flower I found as a freebie from Blueladie Designs for the charity group WOCS. I loved how the little violet came out. I forgot that I started stitching this on 18ct aida, so the flower came out really small. I added a border. Of course, at the first turn of the second row, I forgot the number of spaces I originally intended and by the time I realized it, I was already on the third row of the border. Even with this, I think that It came out looking pretty good if I say so myself.

 

 

 Next up is a piece that has not seen much loving but I did manage to add in another 100 stitches or so. This is not a piece that I normally would have picked up myself, but will finish so I can gift it completed to the co-worker that originally purchased the piece. This is obviously something that she would enjoy seeing in her home. I am so glad that I switched out the fabric on this piece since this has so many 1/4 stiches. I would never have been able to get this done on the 14 count aida that was supplied in the kit..

 

 

Well that is all for now. Need to go get my hair cut and some errands run.

 

Ta Ta for now,

Angela CG