I also got in a completion! The last band in the Wiehenburg Designs Mystery Band Sampler was stitched last night!
So, all in all, a pretty productive weekend!
Carol Stitches |
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Blocks 8 and 9 of the Elizabeth Almond blackwork SAL, "Save the Stitches" are now completed (except for beads, of course)! While I had allocated IHSW for the blackwork piece, I also fit in a couple of other tasks as well. I started on the second part of lesson 1 of the Funk & Weber finishing class on hemstitching, by prepping a 12 x 12 piece of Aida for folding the hem with mitered corners and then hemstitching. If I actually get stitching done on this, I will only be two classes behind in that class! I also got in a completion! The last band in the Wiehenburg Designs Mystery Band Sampler was stitched last night! All it needs is a pressing and a trip to the framer!
So, all in all, a pretty productive weekend!
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As I mentioned in last weeks' late report, part of why I didn't get much stitching done last week was being out of town at a scrapbook show. While I don't scrapbook, my friend does and we three "Girls' Night "Out" buddies traveled up to Novi, MI to attend "Megameet". Spent a lot of food (Novi is a pricey place), bought a few papercrafting supplies (very little there as scrapbookers are more into paper and stickers and the like than stamps and ink and such), and totally messed with my bad ankle (Walking on concrete for four+ hours isn't recommended for the healthiest of legs and my right ankle is far from healthy!). Too dim in the hotel to stitch and, besides, no way I was hauling along a magnifier as well as my regular luggage. SO I went into a brief withdrawal! Upon arrival home, husband and I headed back up to Toledo for a concert by the Toledo Symphony in Holy Rosary Cathedral. Bruckner's "Null" Symphony. Beautiful music. VERY hard pews! And no stitching Friday night either! So that meant I caught up a little on the weekend. However, Girls Night Out on Tuesday is cancelled due to illness so I should be able to get in one extra day of stitching to partially compensate for the three missed nights! Completions of works in progress included:
WIPS include the following...
Since this weekend is the May International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, I hope to finish the blackwork fill on those blocks then.
and the final mitered piece: A little wonky at one corner but I blame that on working with metric graph paper!
Part two of Lesson one was to mitre the corners of a piece of Aida and then hemstitch the "frame" down. Naturally, lesson two came out when I was just starting on this one! Typical! So I'm still not caught up... Holiday prep and a persistent headache sort of got in my way of stitching this week. To be honest, so did two or three football games! My alma mater, Bowling Green State University, won it's league by upsetting a ranked team and Ohio State LOST YAY! Adrenalin for two straight days, enhanced by a UPS delivery snafu before the first game which had me going as well (I HATE to deal with customer service with all their computerized messages and hang-ups and... it caused us to miss the HOA Christmas party - for which we had already paid). But I did get a crazy quilt journal block done earlier in the week and I got started on my December butterfly: In addition, on Wednesday, after husband's high school class month breakfast, I took three pieces into the framers: Laura Perrin's "Purple Daisy": Elizabeth Almond's "Midnight Garden" (the photo doesn't show it but that frame is a deep blue-black and matches the darkest blue thread in the piece exactly!): and the Ajisai "Puppy Dog": I'm really happy with how all three came out - the first two as fair candidates for next summer and the third as a Christmas gift for our West Highland Terrier-owned neighbor!
Quilt guild Christmas Brunch is Saturday so that will put a crimp in my weekend... and although we dodged one winter storm bullet, last night we got hit with freezing rain. The streets are icy and it's COLD! Good week to stay in, decorate two trees, wrap gifts for mailing and stitch (IF I can beat this headache, that is). Spring has sprung around here, despite two or three nights of hard-freeze temperatures... Even our tulip tree seems to have weathered the roller coaster weather, although it is a few weeks later in blooming than last year The scillia isn't very prepossessing but it does add a blue accent to all the white and yellow: And we have a proud gardener (husband) who is handing out bouquets of daffs to everyone who will take them! Despite having a week full of obstacles to stitchery (dilated eyes on Tuesday, absurdly early risings on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), all of which made it impossible to focus properly on anything requiring counting and acute vision, I did manage to complete the weekly stitch for Take a Stitch Tuesday and the last mitten for "Mittens & Mini-Socks" early in the week! For International Hermit and Stitch weekend for April, I tackled the following works-in-progress, and while I didn't finish any of them, I did manage to get quite a lot done... There was some stitching done on "Midnight Garden": I have all four rows of the 2012 Color Palette/ Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project challenges assembled, with only two long side sashings remaining: and I outlined my April butterfly for the April 2013 Bead Journal Project: I'm trying to clear the decks of as many WIPS as I can because I have eye surgery scheduled for April 29 and May 6, meaning lack of ability to see clearly for a while, I suspect...
I will leave you with another garden photo - Wordsworth's daffodills had nothing on my husband's! A busy week this week, trying to clear up lots of little ods and ends and I think I did pretty good with my list. I completed two Take a Stitch Tuesday "assignments",and my April Crazy Quilt Journal Project block, both posted earlier this week. But that's not all... Other completions are... The last sock for the Janet Perry "Mittens & Mini-socks" class. She called it "Ghosts of Flowers" but I don't have the right colors of threads to make the look she had so I went with a totally different palette and just call it "Flip" which is what the bargello is --- flipped on either side of the diagonal... I used Stranded by the Sea #271 (Mandarin Fish) and GAST "Blue Jay" for the bargello, Caron Watercolors #44 (Ice) for the diagonal divider, and, for the cuff, DMC Perle #5 (962). Only the mitten to go, but I don't have enough of the GAST in the Blue Jay to do the bargello, so I will be using a different colorway in greys and purples... Sumptuous Surface Embroidery - the color study - has been designed and kitted up for a while so last night I decided to actually stitch it. I wasn't sure exactly HOW I was going to stitch it so I just winged it and it came out rather well for a beginner in such things, I think. It's stitched on an old piece of 32ct hand-dyed linen from Silkweaver called "Iris", using varying shades of blues, green and purples with yellow and gold as an accent. Threads included DMC cotton floss, DMC #5 variegated perle and some crewel and needlepoint yarns from my stash of leftovers from kits done long ago... I threw in a little Kreinik #4 braid here and there and two colors of Mill Hill seed beads. Stitches included stem stitch, backstitch, lazy daisy, detached chain and chain, feather stitch, woven buttonhole wheel and French knots. The border is some of that crewel yarn, couched with DMC cotton floss. I also put in some stitching time on my 2012 CQJ/BJP block wall hanging. I now have two rows stitched together and two more are ready to stitch. Slow going because it has to be by hand due to the beads being so close to the seam allowances. And last, but not least, I did stitch a little (a VERY little) on "Midnight Garden" : I also kitted out my April Bead Journal Project butterfly... think green and gold for spring and daffodils, which I will HAVE to begin this week, along with the mitten for "Mittens and Mini-Socks" and the rest of teat CQJP/BJP wall hanging...and there will be more TAST, of course... A lot of WIPS, but with no more class deadlines to meet, I feel almost at a loss as to what to stitch next! Oh my, is startitis raising it's beautiful head again?
Getting ready for National (and International Quilt Day), I was trying to clear the decks of several pieces in progress as well as pack for a guild work day. I managed two completions on Friday, the 15tth! The first was a very small sample of the TAST Stitch #58, woven detached Chain: Not at all difficult and, given time, I would have played around a bit more with it. Second was the eleventh mini-sock from Janet Perry's Mittens and Mini-socks class. It's called Mt. Fuji: I used DMC 827 for the sky, DMC B5200 (satin) for the snow on the mountain top, a dark brown for the mountain itself (I can't find the color band - it's probably in the washing machine with my bedsheets as I type!) and two shades of white (blanc and B5200) an d one light grey (415) for the clouds. I spent the rest of the day packing a to-go bag for National Quilt Day work day, and hunting for my mini-iron (which never showed up... but I did find a nifty little mini-wood iron which worked like a charm! Didn't even know I HAD that gadget!). On Saturday, March 16, I was at the community center at 8:30, and helped set up the classroom for the guild's work day starting at 9AM. Got all my gear set up (that Bernette I had in Saudi Arabia which hadn't been used since 2001, worked like a charm but while I set it up and turned it on, I never used it!). I worked from 9 through almost 3 on finish-finishing my Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal project blocks from 2012. Because I had beaded too close to the seam allowance, I had to hand-stitch the sashing strips so it was slow going but I managed to get four rows of three blocks each done by the end of work day: I think the black sets the blocks off nicely and also disguises the fact that there was no rhyme or reason behind the arrangement (other than chronological) which meant the blocks simply did not "go" together... Only three more sashing strips required but they will also have to be hand-stitched (I've learned my lesson on beading crazy quilt blocks: plan ahead and leave PLENTY of room for the seam allowance!).
After returning home, I worked a little on the matching mitten for Mt. Fuji... and crashed. Who knew that hand stitching was that tiring? I didn't unpack until this morning --- and guess what I found when putting away my notions and tools? That "missing" mini-iron *and* a roll of "Steam-a-seam" that I was so desperately searching for when I did my mug rug binding last weekend! I think I need to clean out and reorganize my quilting cupboards! Since this is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend for March, 2013, I will attempt to get in a lot more stitching today and hope to have some more progress to report tomorrow in my weekly wrap-up. This was a week of "Finishing Frenzy"! Also a week of attempting to catch up, although I wasn't as successful in that. Let's start with new completions. 1. Take a Stitch Tuesday, week 25 - cable chain stitch. Didn't do really well on my first attempt but the second was better and by the time I finished five more rows, I pretty much had it down. Top two rows are plain chain stitch; next two are "laced" with a contrasting blue thread, through the cable part of the stitch; and the last three rows are "interlaced" through the chain part: 2. Color Through the Ages - Renaissance Reborn. This is a needlepoint adaptation of the "Nelson's Victory" quilt block pattern, stitched using DMC cotton floss (115, 310, 355, 3582, 3586) and DMC metallic gold (5282) on 18ct canvas: 3. Candy Cane Horse (I plan on making this the first of three so I can submit them to the fair in the Christmas ornament category), pattern from the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Orrnament Issue 2009, design by Charlotte Dockens of Charlotte's Collectibles on 14 ct plastic canvas using DMC cotton floss (blanc, 310, 321, 436, 725, 738, 746 and 3347) and Kreinik blending thread (002, 003, 015, and 032). I plan on switching out horse colors in ##2 and 3 (a darker brown in one, a dark grey in another is the plan at present), and maybe even the ribbon colors/pattern. Now for the finishes! 1. Four pictures back from the framer, all candidates for the fair! "Catpack" and "Purrfect", to be entered as a set, framed pictures, any count: "Sewing with Mama", to be entered in framed pictures, fourteen count (my husband says he likes this one best!): and "Ornaments ala Round", to be entered in the Fair Theme Category, framed picture or wall hanging: 2. And I got those three Christmas tree ornaments finished up as flat folds, using coordinating green fabric from my quilting stash of fat quarters (Kona Cotton) for backing, some silver cord for hangers and some white gimp for covering the raw edges: I might have gotten quite a bit more done but Monday through Thursday were lost causes, given that we had house guests to "entertain". So now it's time to catch up...
What is sitting in that pile of projects-to-do? Well, there's a Janet Parry "Mittens & Mini-Socks" piece called "Singular Carnation" (somehow, that title has me humming music form "A Chorus Line"!), a Janet Perry "Stash Buster", two more "Candy Cane Horses" and the inevitable "Kimono - Revisited" (the 13 parts for June haven't been touched, although I have read through the instructions), to say nothing of reading through the latest lessons in Janet Perry's "Stitch Guide" class. And, of course, on Tuesday there will be another TAST! And with July 1 there will be another 13 parts of "Kimono - Revisited" and another Color Palette Challenge (which means another Crazy Quilt Journal and Bead Journal project piece as well!). Given that fair registration begins July 2, I suspect "Candy Cane Horses" will take precedence... The challenges keep rolling in! I've finalized my thread choices (I hope) for "Kimono-Revisited" but have yet to start stitching on it... I've started two more Finish Frenzies, but since my last one consumed all my polyfill, I had to make a trip to Hobby Lobby this AM to buy more (A LOT more if my credit card charge is any indication but, hey, when I go in there, I have to check out the stamping department , the bead department, the embroidery department, etc...). Anyway, awaiting filling are the crewel violets, date completed unknown (I have it in my pre-2001 album but, since it's crewel, odds are its back in the 1970s somewhere): and the crewel poinsettias, same time period as violets: I also started the crazy quit block for the March Color Palette Challenge (which I will be using, again, as my Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project combo): I actually got some seam treatment embroidery done on this last night as well... Oh, and the latest "Stash Buster" arrived in the email yesterday so I need to kit that out... nancysxstitch wrote on Mar 5 Sounds like you've got your work lined up, Carol..... I can't wait to see your progress. Happy stitching!
I can't believe it! I FINISHED "Sewing with Mama!" Cursing as I stitched but it's done. Have to say, I'm not a fan of the finished product --- the issues I had form the beginning with the colorways in the kit were magnified when the top stitching went on. A lot of it simply can't be seen. For example, can you find the eyeglasses in this photo? I can only because I know that that little sprinkle of white "confetti" near the sewing machine base is the silver filament used to stitch them --- no matter what light I used to photograph this beast, those glasses simply do NOT show up! Oh well, it's done and now I can move on... to "Kimono - Revisited"! OMG Oh, and FInishing Frenzy this week brought out a needlepoint piece I designed myself (!!!) back in 1974! It's now a pillow and I need to buy more polyfill because this little 12 x 12 pillow ate it all up! nancysxstitch wrote on Feb 25 Carol - I love them both! I did find the glasses before I read where you said they were placed..but I wasn't positive I was right. Still, it's a beautiful piece and I know you're happy it's completed.
Now your pillow is right in style! With the retro craze going on it's perfect! Way to cute! Congratulations on the finishes and happy stitching next week! ksteyskal wrote on Feb 26 Both of them are wonderful! A big congrats on finishing the pillow! I don't have anything from that long ago. In the '70s I did a lot of knitting for my kids and sewed clothes for them, too. But I didn't do any cross stitch until about 1982. My first cross stitch piece was a small yellow rose. I gave it to my grandmother. When she passed I got it back and I still have it. Again, I didn't exactly act like a hermit! In fact, I was SUPPOSED to be working on my taxes, but I kept finding excuses not to, so all I got done there was the category summary reports printed out for the year 2011. I had forgotten about Finish Frenzy for the week so I worked on that over the weekend and got these seven ornaments sewn: These dated from back to summer 2002 and are the first seven pieces in my photo album for that year. I also stitched on "Sewing with Mama! You may not be able to make out much difference from where I was at the start of the weekend, but I did get all the backstitching done and a good portion of the straight stitches and Lazy Daisies: Basically, I got the cream parts of the curtain drapes behind the sewing machine done (even though you can't see it in this picture as it really doesn't show up well), the outlines of the thread spools and the tea cup, the bottom of the pin cushion (again, not that obvious), the rest of the gold decoration of the machine itself, and I threaded the machine! rifestitch wrote on Feb 20 Wow, great job on the ornaments! That's a cute group! And you'll have Sewing done before too much longer!
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AuthorBorn in New Jersey, I grew up in Southeastern Ohio. Attended university at Bowling Green State University (B.Sci in biological science, 1964), University of Southern California (M. Sci in biological science, 1967) and University of Florida (Ph. D in zoology, 1971). Archives
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