Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Lots of Snow and a Finish!

Well, the weather man just let us know if we get one more inch of snow tomorrow, we will beat the record. We did not beat the record low, but it was close....Time to move is all I can say!
I was able to finish stitching this canvas last night. I am not sure how I will finish it so I am waiting on the background.
It would be cute as a stand up, but I am not sure I can do that....
Now what to stitch? Not sure, but I do have plenty to choose from. Stay warm and have a great day!

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Reptiles and A Page Finish!

I started this in 2016 and I have only been able to get 4 pages stitched! I am jealous of those people who get a page done a month or more. Fast stitchers!
Here is what it looked like at the beginning of the month:
 Here is where I am today (upside down):
 A close-up:
I would love to finish the top of this piece this year. Goals are good....

Monday, January 28, 2019

Mill Hill Monday

I did a little stitching on my Mill Hill Kit so I thought I would show you.
Just a little, but it is progress.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

January WIPocalypse Post

This is the brainchild of Melissa over at Measi's Musings.  The idea is to work on your WIPs as if the world was going to end.....I posted all the WIPs I could find HERE. I know I won't stitch them all or even put a single stitch on some of them, but I have made some progress on a few.

Melissa asked what Stitch a Longs or SALs we are taking part of this year. I am joining Jo with several of her SAls including People's Choice SAL and Gifted Gorgeousness. I am also trying to stitch 1200 stitches on my Reptiles piece for the SAL on the Full Coverage Fanatics Facebook page. I hope to work on the Linen and Threads 2017 Mystery SAL as I have received my thread and linen for it. I am also trying to keep up with Nicola on the MH 1656 Sampler

Here is my progress so far:
1. MH 1656
I am caught up with the Facebook group.
2. Welcome Mill Hill Bead Kit:
Stitched!
3.Reptiles-Still have a bit to go to hit my 1200, but hopefully I will post that at the end of the month.
 4.Butterfly- I only do a strand a night, if that, but I am making some progress.
5.Warm and Wise-This is my travel piece. It is close, but not yet ready for beading.
6.Lotus Box-I had to totally restart this. It needs two pieces exactly the same so that is why there are two blackwork centers.

 Hopefully there will be more progress or different projects next month. Or maybe even a finish! Wouldn't that be fun? Which reminds me! Ten Hour Stitcher is doing a SAL to fully finish projects. February 10 is the day to have an FFO. I would so love to have something to share! Stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Weekend Progress

Yes, it is Tuesday so I am a little behind. What else is new, right?
Ice dyeing is a fun way to get interesting patterns on your fabric. The fabric must first be prepared by soaking it in soda ash. This lowers the pH so the dye will adhere to the fabric. Then you place the fabric in a container and cover a part of it with either ice or snow. Then a small amount of powdered dye is sprinkled on top. More fabric is placed on top with ice and then dye. Sort of like a parfait.
I thought I might have photos of the process, but I don't. But Dharma does!  Dharma Ice Dyeing
Hope that helps!
I worked on my pumpkin this weekend. I started by basketweaving the lines, but the color was too dark.

 So I went with a lighter color and I think it looks much better.
 I have it where I can see it since I put it away to work on Tall Year Squared. I keep hoping that I can get this done this month, but I can tell it won't be done for a bit. Here it is on some lining fabric.


I think I want to do it all on one color and strangely enough, the purple looks the best to me. But it is snowing and I am tired. I may try to assemble the scissors fob, but the rest will have to wait until I meet up with my friends next week.

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Fabric

I dyed fabric at the library last Friday and I have finally rinsed, dried and ironed it. Thought I would show you it.
First I ice dyed some pieces including some linen:
Firecracker

Dutch choc+silver lining

Linen-Night Sky
The linen is nice but needed to be overdyed so it would be better for stitching:
Linen overdyed

Cotton-Night Sky


I dyed 15 fat quarters and then made this little chart for my fabric calendar. I kept wondering why I chose this colorway. Then I remembered-I think the fabric might work for lining Tall Year Squared!

Friday, January 18, 2019

It's the Weekend!

If you can find some extra stitching time, join the fun! The idea is to take some time on the third weekend of the month and do some stitching.

It is also Friday night which means a stitching party on the Off the Grid Facebook group. The idea is to spend as much time with the needle as possible on Friday night.

You know the real reason for these is to get people to post photos of their stitching and make us think, "Oh! That is so pretty! I need that!"

I am in a dilemma. I would like to continue working on Reptiles so I can get a page finish this month BUT  I need to get some work done on Tall Year Squared so I am ready for a finishing party on Tuesday. (Not sure we are going to FINISH TYS, but we are going to move it forward.) Here is what my kitchen table looked like this afternoon:
Cutting and ironing interfacing. Now I need to add some eyelets and some other stuff. Lots of other stuff....

I had also thought about starting this piece:
I got rid of a canvas (Coverlet?) and framed this piece up. I am meeting my friend on Wednesday and I would like to say I have taken a few stitches on this piece. My major hold up is that we are expecting snow this weekend and stitching on a pumpkin does not appeal.

I should do a little cleaning before the evening. Hope to show you some photos of progress on Monday. Happy stitching!



Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Finished Another Band!

This is still not reversible, but I keep plugging along.
It took a lot longer than I thought it would especially since I ripped out a section of satin stitch and some of the blackwork. I also had to stitch the bottom row three times before I got it right.

The next band is also complicated, but I don't need to start it until February. I hope to get some finishing done before the end of January, so this is being put away for now.


Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Gifted Gorgeousness 2019

Our friend Jo over at   Serendipitous Stitching         hosts this SAL where we post something that is a gift, will be a gift or we can shoehorn into the title of gift.  I have been working on this butterfly for quite a while and it is on my list to finish this year. (I did find it BTW; it was at the bottom of my stitching bag.)
Here is where it is today:
Hopefully it will see some stitching time this month. Are you working on a gift? Let us see it!

Monday, January 14, 2019

Mill Hill Finish

I settled down with my needle and beads and got this thing done!
It needs a wash and a press, but it is stitched. I will place it with the pile of shame. I so need to get some stuff FFOed...

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Friends

The other day I had an Embroidery Guild of America meeting. I try to attend both the day and night, if I can. I had brought my Lotus Box to see if I could find the mistake in the piece. When I mentioned to a gal that it had a mistake that I needed to find, she said she was good at finding mistakes. Perfect!
 I can't circle it, but I made a mistake in the cable stitch. Sigh. Now do I rip it or start on another piece? I need two EXACTLY the same to make the box so something has to give. Thanks Lynne for finding my error. I really do appreciate it.

And did any of you read the post by Mary Corbet about storing Tulip needles? Tulip Needles
I found it quite interesting but resisted buying a pack of Q-tips just to store my needles. Went to the evening meeting and my friend handed me this:
How sweet! Now I need to get my Tulip needles from where I stuck them and place the bottles in my holder. Fabulous! Thanks Mary!

I have plans to stitch something to do with needles, but I haven't pulled threads or linen yet. And I must finish something before I start ANYTHING new. Ha!

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Working on My Sampler

I have not been able to get this totally reversible, but I keep trying. Now that I found the path, this is going quickly.
I missed a few stitches on the left that I need to put in, but the rest should flow easily. I will work on this piece until I get these rows done. What next? Not sure.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Mill Hill Monday or My Other New Start

I do believe I have stitched this one before. I showed him yesterday on my WIPocalypse post. Anyway, one night when I could not even think of stitching on the Welcome piece anymore, I dug through the Mill Hill kits that were close to where I was sitting. It was before Christmas and this one called to me:
He is cute and will be a fast stitch when I get back to him.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

2019 WIPocalypse or Jo Made Me Do It (Photo Heavy)

Jo over at Serendipitous Stitching suggested that I join Melissa at Measi's Musings for her WIPocalyplse SAL. Thanks Jo!

This SAL started in 2012 with the joke that the world would end that year and we needed to finish our works in progress. That year we were supposed to have 12 WIP's and finish them and then 13 the next year and so on... This year is a little more relaxed with posting whatever pieces you want. Love it! After all, this is supposed to be fun! Every month we are supposed to show our progress on our WIP's-I think it is the last Sunday of the month.

And every month there is a question to get to know your fellow stitchers. Brilliant! This month we are asked to tell a little about ourselves. I am a stay-at-home mom who home schooled her three children. They have just all gone off to college. The two boys are engineers and look like they will be getting their PhD's.(Proud mama moment!) My daughter is not far away at college and I know there will be a road trip to see her this spring. I have tried my hand at different types of crafts including mixed-media but have decided that I love needlework. Now if I could just settle on one type.

I thought it would be fun to show all the WIP's I have, or at least that I could find. Will I stitch them all? Probably not. Will I add more to the WIP parade before the end of the year? YES!
 1. First Christmas Stocking-I want to get this one done.

 2.Drawn Thread Sampler and Doodle Sampler by Gay Ann Rogers-I am tired of this piece waiting to get finished, so it is on my get done in 2019. If I can get the stocking done and these samplers, that would be wonderful.

 3. MH 1656-Hands Across the Sea Samplers: Nicola has us stitching a row a month, so this is very doable as long as I stay with the program. And we all know how well I do that!
 4.2020 Challenge with Sharon B- This is a crazy quilt challenge to use 2020 different things on a crazy quilt. I think I have finished block 5 but I need to make more blocks to keep going on this challenge. Time will tell.
 5.Welcome-Mill Hill bead Kit: This is close to being done. Hopefully I can get it out of the rotation soon.
 6.Butterfly-Alesandra Adelainde: This piece is harder to stitch than I thought. I think it is because I am stitching over one on an evenweave fabric.
 7.Flowering Lotus Box-Terri Bay: I have made a mistake somewhere on this piece. I need to do some ripping and find out where it is.

 8.Reptiles-Heaven and Earth Designs: I plan on stitching on this piece on the weekends. But I haven't yet, so we will have to see.

 9.Tall Year Squared-Betsy Morgan: I need to figure out what is left and assemble this piece. SOON!
 10.FFO-I have a stack of things that need to be fully finished. Not these things, but I do have quite a stack. I will show you when I get some things done.
 11.Saint Nick-Mill Hill Bead Kit: A nice small with all my BOPs(Big old Projects)
 12.Warm and Wise-Mill Hill Bead Kit-This will go quickly especially if I have to go anywhere and wait. (Have I even shown this to you?)
13.Project with a Friend: She has finished Drawn Thread Sampler and is patiently waiting for me to start several pieces. Yes, they are all big so I have to get a large project done first. She is a good friend to wait for me.
14. Catherine Jordan-Map: I joined a class with Cyberstitchers called Creating Needlework Maps. It starts in February but I need to get my map drawing ready now. Not sure what I will do, but here is a link to ones that are similar: Map Kits
15. Hooray for the Red, White and Blue-This is being offered by the Central Kentucky ANG and I am getting the local EGA guild to stitch it with me. So, yes, I need to stitch it.
 16.Pumpkin Canvas-I need to stitch this as a friend gifted it to me and I have her canvas as a guide. I think she will want hers back before the end of the year. My problem is that I don't have any more tacks as they are all in use with other pieces, as you will soon see.
 The rest of these are truly WIPs. Not sure I will put a single stitch on these pieces. But I found them in my stash and thought I would share.
17.Coverlet-Janet m. Perry: I have no clue when I started this or why I stopped. I think I will be taking it off the stretcher bars and use the tacks for something else.
18.Starburst-Patricia Hartman: I know why I stopped working on this piece. I made a mistake on this piece and I used to know where. I really would like to finish this and hang it up.
 19. O'Star of Wonder-Candamar Designs: This may be my oldest WIP. I am not sure where the chart and threads are. That is a scary thought, isn't it? I may have to clean out my room to find it. I also think I am stitching it the wrong orientation on my linen. Sigh.

 20. A Knot Garden-Catherine Jordan:I signed up for this piece in 2014. And here it sits, undone.
 21.Illinois Canvas:I am so close to finishing this but I hit a roadblock. What will I do with it when I am done?
 22.Florentine Ornaments-EGA Group Correspondence class: No, this is my oldest WIP! I have the pattern, but I did not love the colors. I do need to get back to this. Maybe.
 23.Maple Leaf-Laura J. Perin: This has been sitting around for quite a while. I know why. I don't love the colors. I think I may need to trash the piece and redo it in a color I love.
 24.Paisley Passion-Debrah Forney: I haven't touched this piece since the workshop. I do know where it all is which is a blessing.
25.Venetian Delight
25.Venetian Delight-Ro Pace: I took this as a workshop in 2003. And haven't touched it since.I want to stitch it, but on congress cloth, not 18 count canvas.

 26.Autumnal Abstraction-Joni Stevenson: I haven't touched this since I took the workshop. I think it is because I don't like the colors. But I do want to bring it out and play with it.
 27.Chick and Chat-Judy Jeroy: Another piece that I haven't touch since the workshop.
Can you sense a theme? I take a class and don't finish the piece. Sigh. And this list does not include stash that I haven't stitched or things that I have that I did not take time to photograph. Do I really want to start Linen and Threads 2017 Mystery Sampler? I haven't started it so I did not include it. And I have a feeling I won't. At least not tonight. But if I can find 29 skeins of floss, I found a piece of linen......