Stash and Points

I should be canning pears, but wanted to add something to my blog before my kids took over the computer. I went shopping at Dick Blick's yesterday (it is a big art supply store) and added a few things to my already ample art supplies. I decided I need to keep track of the art supplies I use and give myself points for them too. Which means I will start in the hole with this purchase. But...points will be different in this group. I will give myself 2 points if I use something that normally would be thrown away and one point if I use something I have purchased. I rarely use up art supplies-a little paint goes a long way!-but I will give myself 2 points if I do. If the piece gets mailed away, never to return, I will give myself a bonus of 5 points!

I also think I need to give myself some points for finishing a needlework piece. Maybe that will help with stash removal in my house. 5 points for Mill hill bead kits(small) , 10 points for larger Mill Hill bead kits, 100 points for large projects, with 50 points for medium ones. I have lots of Mill Hill Bead kits in my stash-I have 3 started right now! Also, since I like to bead, I will give myself points for finishing projects here too. (It seems more like needlework since I sting them with a needle and I prefer projects that involve needles.) So, since I took two classes-no negative points since I learned something new to get rid of stash!-and have finished one of them, I will give myself 5 points for it. (The Kumihimo bracelet) I also made the bracelet for my daughter and used beads from my stash-8 points.

I heard an alarm go off so I know I need to get to work. This is probably as clear as mud and will probably be too complicated. Time will tell!

Kumihimo Braiding

A couple of weeks ago I took a class at Your Design Limited on kumihimo braiding with beads. My local EGA had already had a program with kumihimo. It was fun, but I wanted more. So when this class was offered, I jumped at the chance. It is known as a round spiral braid.

This is the same braid with three colors. My daughter chose the colors. It was lots of fun. If you are interested in learning how to do this type of braid, I recommend Japanese Braiding:The Art of Kumihimo by Jacqui Carey.

Green

Sorry these pictures are so dark. We have been stuck in a rainy pattern here in Illinois and I decided to take a picture inside. My local EGA meets once a month on Saturday to stitch a small project. The idea is to learn a new technique or try a new thread or fabric. This month we worked on Fanciful Fob by Roz Watnemo of Nordic Needle fame. It is a nice little piece but I had a horrible time working on black! I need to get my eyes checked again.

The kit included instructions, fabric, thread, beads, metal box and scissors. Quite a steal! Now if I can just see well enough to stitch the thing!

Gay Ann Rogers had a month long creativity challenge and one day the topic turned to shades of green. I never got to comment on that, but this piece has lovely greens in it!

Jane of Chilly Hallow had a post about keeping a tally on using up thread stash. My stash is no where near that of some of my friends, but I think I will try to keep count of the threads I use out of my stash. Especially if I use it up!

Can I tell your Fortune?

First pick a number between one and ten...Now again...

Which animal do you want? Horse? Rabbit? Mouse? Cat?

You have an angel looking out for you!

I hope this explains Cootie Catchers to Jane of Chilly Hallow. Do you remember the paper ones we made as kids? This one was designed by Lynne Nicoletti and was fun and fast to make.

Cootie Catcher

I am really close to finishing this one. I need to add my kids names, add beads and charms and stitch the hem. It has been an easy stitch, especially since I normally did Gay Ann's 12 stitch challenge on this piece.

Some New Photos

Sam decided to take out his stitching again and has made some progress on his Janet Zickler Casey Candy Cane Santa. I think Sam wants to get him done before Christmas.

I have been working on this piece by Lynee Nicoletti. It is a Fortune Teller that my local EGA had as a program. I was very diligent for a while using it as my 12 stitch Challenge (Gay Ann Rogers' idea), but got side-tracked with my Illinois piece. But I want to finish it for our local show, so I will get back to work. I need to do one corner, the center and finish the edge. It is for my dd and she asks when it will be done. Soon...I hope.

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.