Reptiles Post

Well, I finished a page and did at least 1200 stitches on this piece. Here is where I started at the beginning of the month:

 And here is where it is today:

I hope to put a few stitches on it later today. The next page doesn't have a lot of confetti so I should make more progress.

Road Trip!

My dd and I went with a couple of friends on a day trip. It was a blast! We stopped at Dick Blicks and I picked up a few art supplies:

Then we went to a quilt shop where I HAD to get some fabric:

 A bead shop:

 And an antique mall:

Fun! I had a great time with friends and my dd. Now to use some of this stuff!

IHSW

What is IHSW? I did it a few years ago, or tried to- it is the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend! You try to stitch as much as you can on the third weekend of the month. The next one is August 17-19. If you want more information, look up the Facebook group or    Random Ramblings   .
Here are my projects:

 I was able to get two more angels done on my Drawn Thread Sampler.

And another stripe on Uncle Sam's Hat!

Needleweaving

This piece is taking FOREVER!!! I love it, but it is truly a stretch for me to stitch.

I have completed 2 of 6. I need a huge bit of time to do each little "angel" and I need quiet to keep track of what I am doing. There is no way I can get this done by August, but I am going to keep plugging along.

So I Didn't Work on My Sampler

Uncle Sam won the tug of war on what to stitch. I was too tired to stitch on Drawn Thread Sampler, but it was easy to work on this piece. It is fun and relaxing and I love watching the designs develop.

July is Moving Fast!

I totally forgot about Gifted Gorgeousness on July 15th at  Jo's blog   . I am working on one thing as a gift and here it is:

The fabric is not green although it reads that way. I was too lazy to get my lights out to take a better photo. I don't work very often on it and I think it is not a favorite piece. Why? I think it is my floss. Too blocky for lack of a better work. I wish I had over-dyed it and made it darker.

TUSAL

I saw on     Jo's blog  , that it is time for the Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long.  It is always fun to see what other people have collected in their ort jars.

My photo doesn't show it, but there are lots of little sparkly bits in my jar. Some are from Uncle Sam's Hat while others are from Reptiles. Yes Reptiles has a little Kreinik blending filament in it which is a royal pain!!!  I am so close to a page finish that I can taste it!

Can you see the lizard emerging? I can if I look at it just right. Hopefully I can get a page finish and then move back to Drawn Thread Sampler. Although Uncle Sam is calling my name!

Jo's Postcard Request

This is not needlework related, but Jo from  Serendipitous Stitching    asked, so here it goes!
When I make postcards, I usually start with something that will be recycled. My dd was leading the art camp at our local library and had me gesso a million cereal boxes

Gesso is a primer that allows the paint to stick to the surface better. I have heard it described as underwear for paint.
The kids used pieces of them as their pallets and she had hoped THEY would make postcards from them. They used a bit of paint and had lots of little pallets left

 Normally I stencil the background and then cut the paper up, but these were already cut, so I will just stencil on them:

Some of my favorite stencils

 I then choose ephemera from my stash to use as a focal point. Stamps and magazines are my favorites:

 These are some that are almost ready to send.

I work in layers and a little at a time. These are close to be done, but need doodles, words or something. And I feel they could be sent as is. After all, one of these in your mail box is much more fun than a bill!
 Kitten Stitcher   on Youtube suggested (several videos back) that we send cards out. After watching that video, I have been trying to mail a card out a week.   With all the craziness in the world, a little card in the mail seems like a good idea.                 

Summer Cold

My college boys came home and they caught the cold my dd had from working VBS. I managed to stay healthy until the day before they left. I am still congested and I hope I am not contagious as I want to see a friend tomorrow. Would hate to share this.
Anyway, I did work on Reptiles, but I don't have a photo. Will try to take one in a day or so. I was too sick to do much stitching the last couple of days, so I pulled out Uncle Sam's Hat.

It is an easy stitch and not too difficult when I was not feeling the best. Now I just want to keep stitching it! Maybe I will carve out some time later this week.
Stay healthy my friends!

Dyeing Threads(Lots of Photos)

First, I hope all those in the United States had a fabulous 4th of July. I did!

I decided about a week ago to start dyeing threads for my Quaker Puzzle Ball. Why? Because I did not have enough of any one thread to stitch the piece up and I have white floss and dye.
First, I got this technique from      Melanie Testa  . Her book Inspired to Quilt has this technique in it.
Anyway,  I used Intense Blue and Silk Black by ProChemical

 And I put two different colors of floss on Stitch bows (a mystery blue and white)

 Stuck them in bags:

 Then I made my "soda ash" which is to get the pH correct for dyeing.

 We normally use a heaping 1/3 cup per gallon of water, but I just guessed:

 I soaked my threads in the soda ash:

 And then I mixed my dyes while wearing gloves:

 First up was blue:

 Test the color!( A very important step that I did not do later!)

 It was too bright so I started adding black dye powder:

 First try:

 Till I finally got what I thought I wanted:

 Into the bags went the dye! Just enough to soak the threads.

 After 24 hours I started the rinse process. Rinsing is why they are on stitch-bows. First cold water:

 Then hot water:

 I then  add a little synthrapol to aid in getting the dye from my threads.

 Then I placed my threads on paper towels to let them dry.

 But they still had dye coming out!

 So I got in a hurry and bundled the original mystery blues together and soaked them in soda ash:

Then I just mixed up some black dye with a little blue(but I didn't test it!)

 I was afraid they would be too dark so I pulled them out of the dye bath after 2 hours:

 After rinsing and rinsing and rinsing, this is what I had:

The threads on the left were the mystery blue, the ones on the bottom were the original white one and the ones to the right were thrown in during the last dye section. The bobinnated thread is marked 311 and is probably DMC. The dyed threads are all slightly variegated, but it is subtle. A lot of work and time. but they will be fun to stitch with.

More Reptiles

My college boys are home for the week and I am not sure I will get much stitching done. Reptiles was out so I decided to keep stitching on it, at least for today.
Here is where I left off:

 And here I am today:

I am close to a page finish which makes me want to push forward! Waiting for my first lizard to show up!