Days 21, 22, and 23 of Craziness

I am behind on posting, but here are my "starts" which are really WIP's.

This is actually my son's Candy Swirl Santa by Janet Zickler Casey.The hat is a bear to do.  As he stopped working on it when he was 11 or 12 and he is in college now,I figured I should finish it.

 This is my Illinois canvas.  It is close to being done so  it is back into my rotation.

 Next is O'Star of Wonder.  I think I made a huge mistake on it.  I think all the stitching I started has to come out.  Sigh.  I will double check, but I think I oriented the fabric incorrectly. Will keep you posted.

Day 4

Illinois Canvas will be my next WIP.  It has sat in the basement for a year.  It doesn't have much more to go, I just need to bring it up and start working on it.

I finished Heart of Elizabeth.  I can't get Blogger to load a photo from my camera.  Will see if I can get some help later today.

WIPocalypse Projects

 I realized I could add lots more WIP's to this list, but I decided to work on the ones that I really want to get done this year.  (WIP-works in progress)  The above is a project I started with my local guild last year.  It is called the Agecroft Sweet Bag by Catherine Jordan.  The pattern is from NeedleArts, the Embroiderer's Guild of America's magazine March 2011.  I have not gotten much done, but that is about to change!

 Solar Flare by Ro Pace.  I love this piece!  I got sidetracked from finishing it last year because of Serpentine...

Illinois canvas with my hand-dyed threads.  I almost pulled this from my list as my dh does not like the piece.  Also, I will need to dye threads and do the background for this piece.  But I enjoy working on it and want to see it done.

Box Top of Ukrainian Nyzynka by Phyllis Maurer..  I am very close to finishing this.  It looks like cross-stitch in the pictures, but it is a running stitch done on the back of the piece(in black), then "flowered" with all the color.  It is supposed to be reversible, but mine is not!  My stitching is less than perfect on this piece and I am not sure what I will do with it when I am done.  A small purse?  A box top? I do love the piece and hope it will be done soon. 

Mother's Day Weekend

I restarted my Illinois canvas. I am close to being done and hope to see some progress this week.

These are the threads I dyed this week. I think they need to be over dyed, but it will have to wait for a while. I need the "pure" colors to show my guild for our upcoming dyeing workshop.

Here is the front of my Townhouse. I have moved to the smaller piece of fabric so I can play with door colors and flower colors before I do my "front" door.

Not As Much As I Wanted

Isn't that how life generally works out? I did make some progress with my Illinois canvas, but not nearly 20 counties. I am at around ten today, and hope to get a few more done before I switch to something else. After all, Gay Ann is starting her Townhouse piece on Monday and I believe the Ro Pace ANG Cyberworkshop starts then too. Hmm. Must get permission to blog those pieces.

New Year's Resolutions Down the Drain

I did not even make it to the end of January before I ditched my New Year's stitching rotation. But I guess it is not a total loss as I have finished all my pre-work of the GAR Townhouse and I made some progress on the Heirloom Stitching Sampler. I think I need to get something DONE before I start on something new. And there are so many projects calling my name!

So I decided to make some serious progress on my Illinois Canvas. I still have around 50 counties to go, but I figure if I can get 20 done before the end of the month, I will be very happy.

Working on it makes me want to dye threads. Thank God my collection of dyes is with a friend who wants to dye some fabric. That removes a little temptation.

I am going to start on the ANG SOTM. Went and bought threads today. (Head hanging low.) Will try to take a picture and post tomorrow. I avoided silks as I am hoping to entice some of my guild members to join me in this mystery. We have a meeting tomorrow and I want to show them.

A Few More Counties

I finished a few more counties in the past few days. Yesterday was my birthday and I had hoped to get more stitching time in. No such luck as I had to make my cake (German Chocolate) and take the kids to the YMCA. (So we could all eat cake!) My wonderful husband took us out to eat at a local restaurant that I have been wanting to try. I had a glass of wine and that was it for stitching....I have decided to try to post more and record my progress on my pieces. It is fun to look at my older posts and see what I have finished in the past year.

Illinois Canvas

I am not getting tons of stitching done, but I am slowly making progress on my canvas. It is fun choosing the stitches and trying to find the right color for a county. I wonder if it would look better if I was more systematic on my color choices. I like how it is turning out and it is fun seeing how my dyed threads look stitched up.

Jerusalem 2000-undone

I decided that there was a section in this piece that I did not like and it bugged me. So instead of taking it to the framer, I ripped. Here is a close-up of the mosque undone:

I know I will be happier in the long run, but it was a tough decision.

Below is a photo of my latest "big" project. My local EGA is doing these canvases of the various Midwest states.

I am using those threads that I dyed. I love how it looks! Now if I just could spend less time on my garden and more on my stitching! Fat chance!

Hope everyone is have a good summer and getting lots of stitching done!