Tuesday's stitch was the Raised Cross Stitch Flower (AKA Whipped Cross Stitch) and here is my sampler, using three different threads (from left to right, DMC six-stranded floss, DMC #5 Perle, and a boucle baby-weight knitting yarn): The "Flip" mitten, the last in the "Mittens & Mini-Socks" class series, stitched using DMC Perle #5 variegated(4250) and DMC variegated cotton floss ($220) for the bargello, DMC Perle #5 (211) for the dividing line and Stranded By the Sea 134 (Sea Sponge) for the cuff (a completely different look from the sock).
2 Comments
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. It's been a busy, if disorganized, week for me but I did complete a few pieces and made some progress on some WIPS... The completions were: "Red Thai Mandala", "Vintage Kitchen" from "Color Through the Ages", and stitches 56 and 57 (Sailor Stitch and Sailor Edging) from Take a Stitch Tuesday: Progress was made on my Crazy Quilt Journal block for March --- only beading to go, I think: I completed Lesson Three in the "Encrusted Crazy Quilting Class" (I am now officially behind a week in that class): And I stitched on the latest "Mittens & Mini-Socks" lesson (Mt. Fuji): Other in-progress pieces without photos are lesson one for "Sumptious Surface Embroidery" (I have a possible post-card-sized design sketched out), a mug rug for quilt guild (needs binding but I actually did some needle turn applique - first time since Saudi Arabia - *and* machine quilting - first time EVER!) and trimmed the blocks for finish-finishing of my 2102 Color Palette/CQJP/BFP challenge wall hanging!
Somehow, with all of this, it doesn't feel like I got a lot accomplished --- it was too scattered, no focus. And this week is going to be a busy one so I fear I won't get much done on the stitching front. We shall see... This week sucked, stitchery-wise, as there were all sorts of "interruptions"! Monday waiting for the furnace inspector to come, Tuesday "Girls Night Out", Thursday quilt guild meeting, Friday an appointment with a general surgeon about my esophageal reflux, Sunday a luncheon where husband was elected to the Board of Friends of Wood County Parks - all of these interfered with my stitching schedule. Still, I did get some stitching done over the weekend for International Hermit and Stitch Weekend! First of all, I managed to complete my February BJP (posted here) and TAST Stitch 52 (posted here). Then I did a fabric toss for my "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" class: But while the comments indicated that the color palette was "peaceful", there were too many patterns for the embellishment stitchery to show so I rethought and came up with this one: Completely different look, isn't it? I think I see the point and will go with # 2... I hope I'm not "over thinking" this! Next, I stitched a bit on "Red Thai Mandala" and made progress on the blackwork part of the outer border: And finally, I stitched the "Mittens & Mini-Socks" "Quince" sock (posted here) and the matching "Quince" mitten: A lot of this (the mandala and the mini-sock and mitten) were part of IHSW but I'm not behind in the encrusted crazy quilt class as a new lesson is due out this week and I don't even have my block made! I have made almost no progress in making my 2012 Bead Journal Project in to a wall hanging. And there WILL be another TAST assignment on Tuesday.
This is the latest in Janet Perry's Mittens & Mini-Socks class: "Quince"! The threads used were DMC cotton floss: 335, 677, 420, 677 and variegated 4050.
Mitten to follow... First completion this month was the sock from Janet Perry's "Mittens & Mini-Socks". It's called "Jewel" and is posted here... Second was the companion mitten for "Jewel", completed January 21, 2013: Also completed on January 21 was the January piece for Bead Journal Proejct 2013 - a beaded butterfly on snowflake fabric which I call "Snow & Ice": Completed on January 23 was the January block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2013 - a monochromatic yellow piece: And also completed on January 23 was the Take a Stitch Tuesday #49, "Knotted Feather Stitch" which I did in variegated #5 perle on white DMC linen: It's been a busy week and I have at least one more small piece I want to complete before January winds down. But I thought I should play catch-up with posting today!
This International Hermit & Stitch Weekend coincided with the Cross Stitch Crazy week-long Stitchathon ... AND weekend house guests. Still, I managed to squeeze in 2295 stitches over the week, 752 of which were on the weekend and resulted in the completion of the latest Janet Perry "Mini-Sock", Jewel, on Friday: The "jewel" is Kreinik silver braid (#16 braid, color 001) while the purple background is DMC 208. 209 and 2011. The instructions called for four coordinating colors for the background but I didn't have another purple that quite matched the three (purple is a hard color to match, IMO). There is still the mitten to do --- I only have a few of the silver stitches in at present. In addition, I put more beads into my January Bead Journal Project butterfly ('m calling it "Snow & Ice" because of the ridiculously cold weather we are having right now, even if it hasn't snowed much to speak of year this January...); All that remains to be done is the antenna (a few stem stitches in silver and a couple of larger beads...) and it will be finished as well! At the beginning of the week, I also stitched on "Red Thai Mandala" and got a bit more of the border stitched: I have neglected my Crazy Quilt Journal Project piece which I really have to get moving on as the month is almost over! Also, I need to start my BJP "finish-finish" this week and Take a Stitch Tuesday will be starting up again tomorrow as well.
Hmmm, doesn't sound like I lightened my stitching commitments at all, does it? A study in how thread choice and thread color can change the look of a simple wave bargello pattern... and I used DMC 4230 for the "sky" and DMC 909, 930 and 3756 for the "sea"...
Two finishes for the Janet Perry Mittens & Mini-Socks bargello class... Autumn Trees, completed October 10, 2012, using all variegated threads (except for the tree trunk): Threads used - DMC 3031 for trunks; DMC 4126 for cuff; for tree leaves, DMC 51, 61, and 4075 4130; WDW Kudzu (2200), Cornbread (2222), Marigold (2225), Carrot (2226), and Fiesta (4131); San Man Threads Autumn Leaves (049) and Hot Stuff (058); and GAST Bittersweet, Forest Glade, Fudge Ripple, and Pumpkin Patch (4402). Variegated threads are hard to predict when in teh skein which colors will end up where so there are a few trees that sort of merge together... And the mitten for the same assignment, completed October 11, 2012: Threads used - DMC 3031 for trunks; DMC 4126 for cuff; and for tree leaves: DMC 51, 61, and 4075 4130; WDW Kudzu (2200), Marigold (2225), and Autumn Leaves (2234); San Man Threads Autumn Leaves (049); and GAST Bittersweet, Forest Glade, and Fudge Ripple. Because of the shape and overall size of the mitten, it used fewer colors. This pattern reminds me strongly of the one I did last back in November, 2011, in the 2011 Bargello Club: White for the "stems make it looks like a lot of pastel lollipops! And the lollipops are oval instead of round... and in rayon threads instead of cottons!
|
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
January 2024
Categories
All
Follow Me to...
* 2012 Color Palette Challenge
* 2012 WIPocaplypse * 2012 Bead Journal Project * Take a Stitch Tuesday 2012 * Crazy Quilt Journal Project Challenge 2013 * Crazy Quilt Journal Project Challenge * Cross Stitch Crazy * Cross Stitch Crazy forum * On Beads and Needles * Black Swamp Quilter's Guild * Craft Kingdom Quilting * The Crime Readers Association * Blog #3 BJP 2010 * Blog #1 BJP 2011 |