Let the People Choose-Birthstones

Got to love Jo over at Serendipitous Stitching. She has a lot of great stitch-a-longs to keep things interesting. The first Saturday of the month is her new one called-Let the People Choose! Just a way to share blogs and meet fellow bloggers.

Anyway, this month's theme is Birthstones. There are interesting monthly stitching pieces that have birthstones in them. I used to have a few needle rolls with different months and gems. Wonder where they are?

My birth month is July so my birthstone is ruby. I think that is why I love red so much. I have a few needlepoint pieces in my stash that I hope to stitch someday in my favorite colorway. But here are a few that I have stitched and shown at various times:

ANG Stitch of the Month

Gay Ann Rogers Townhouse needlecase

Solar Flare

I love red! Maybe that is why I like stitching Santas so much as they normally have a ton of red!          

Finished

Solar Flare by Ro Pace is finished!!!What should I work on next?

So Close....

I hope to have this done next week.  Depends on how the garden does and how much canning I do.

I Had a Bit of A Scare...

I thought I did not have enough of one of the threads.  I was in a panic.  I ordered a new skein, but the dye lots have changed dramatically.  Thank goodness I had enough!  I am on my last section.  Wish I could do it on black congress cloth, but I don't have time to do this piece again.  Someone did it on black and it looked stunning!

Can I Start A New Project?

I really, really want to start working on my workshop project. (Need to get permission to post pictures.) I really, really want to do this again in a different colorway.  But I will try to get this done.  I have less than a quarter of it to do.  A little every day....

Mistakes Fixed

I think I finally remember how to do this piece.  It is very addicting.  I have got to finish it and not let it go back to the basement.

Another Ro Pace Piece

 I had put Solar Flare away with great intentions of finishing it.  When I asked my kids what I should stitch next, this was the piece they wanted to see.  I was happy to pull it. I was stitching along when I realized that something was not right.  It took me a good hour to figure out that I had been using the wrong colors, not just this week when I restarted, but whenever I had put it away.

Mistake

Complete piece

I was not happy, but I removed the threads.  It is now ready for me to start stitching again.  Sigh.

Ready to restart

Day 16

Yes, you have seen this before.  It is Solar Flare by Ro Pace.  I am so close to being done that it seems a shame to leave it in the basement.

WIPocalypse January 9

These are the 3 WIPocalypse pieces I am currently working on.  There is a method behind my madness.  The Snow  Charmer from Mill Hill is my carry along project.  When I have a wait at the doctor's office, piano lessons, or where ever, I work on small Mill Hill kits.  Solar Flare by Ro Pace is the piece I promised myself that I would finish last year.  My dd loves it and so I have started working on it a little at a time.  It is complicated and uses silk, so some days I only get one "stitch" in, but it is slowly getting done.  (Compare this photo to my header...)  Softly Feathered has a due date, so I work on it every chance I get.  The problem is that it is difficult to count and I need quiet to stitch on it.  Hopefully it will move along faster after I get the outline in.

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. 

Saturday Stitching Day

I was able to spend all day Saturday working on Solar Flare. I made less progress than I hoped as I did a lot of visiting. Solar Flare needs to be carefully counted. Now I need to get Squaredance out and get my homework done.

A Little More Solar Flare

Here is a detail of the work I have done so far on Ro Pace's Solar Flare. I think the top of the piece is at the bottom. I love how it looks, but it takes a lot of counting!

A Goal Met

I have been working on Solar Flare and wanted to get the corner done before Orna Willis posted her next lesson for Squaredance. She posted it over the weekend and although I did not finish until Sunday, I did get it done.

Now to get Squaredance going so I keep up with the class.

Some Red on the Solar Flare

I did a little more on Solar Flare over the last few days। I am ripping less, but it still takes me a lot of time। Of course it is fun to see the piece develop as more colors are added.

Another Cell on Solar Flare

Not much progress to see, but I thought I would post what took me two nights to accomplish.

Brazilian Embroidery Class

My dd wanted to take Ganet Burr's Brazilian Embroidery Purse through EGA। I have a shirt that I dyed that needed something। So we are taking the class together। So far, I find it relaxing. Here is my little bit of progress with Ro Pace's Solar Flare। Slowly but surely....

Another Cell

Ro Pace calls these little sections "cells". I have decided to do all of the cells that are the same around the whole piece. It means less color variation and maybe a little boredom as it progresses, but I feel more comfortable with it. I can see this piece stitched with blacks and greys on a red background. Or how about reds on a black background...This looks so cool in person. I am having a lot of fun with this piece.

I have gone back to stitching on my Gay Ann Roger's Townhouse. We are doing the plaited stitch over one. It makes a great border, but there is lots to do. Great for watching the Olympics!

Center of Solar Flare

Well, I thought I would be done with the center by now, but time has gotten away from me. This piece is very addicting. I can't wait to see what the next part looks like when I start adding another thread to the piece. Currently I am using Veiled Sun (1023), a Silk 'n Colors thread by Thread Gatherer. Hopefully I will have time to finish the last little section tonight. I do so much ripping that it is slow going...

Solar Flare

First, thanks for all the nice comments on my mail art. I have my guild meeting today, if it is not cancelled because of the snow, and I will let you know if they want to do a workshop. I only mail things that I can whip up pretty quickly. I am too afraid of them getting lost in the mail or not being appreciated. My goal with the postcards I do send is to bring a smile. If it does that, I am happy.

I started on Solar Flares by Ro Pace.
This is a cyberworkshop offered by the ANG Cyberpointers chapter. Doing all the prework took some time, but I think I will be glad in the long run that I did it. Ro says we can leave the basting in, but I plan on removing it as I go. (I used the wrong thread when I did the basting and don't want to leave it.) This little bit of stitching took me two hours and that is not including the prework! I love the piece though and am trying to just enjoy the process.

Be careful out there everyone. They say we are getting a total of 8 inches here, but it is much worse out east. Hope you all are ready for this one!