Played around a little with the 59th stitch in Take a Stitch Tuesday using #5 perle: And decided to apply it to the "frame" in my Sumptuous Surface Embroidery piece, using a heavier weight of perle: Miscounted the "spokes" in the darker woven buttonhole wheel so it didn't come out "woven" but I kind of like the way it looked so I left it.
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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... Last week, Sharon B issued a challenge, the first for 2013's TAST, to use any four of the following stitches in an original project: Herringbone square, laced herringbone square, back stitch, straight stitch, detached chain and French knots. Here is my "creation": I did laced herringbone squares and added detached chain stitches to make flower heads, scattered a plethora of French knots about and made two droopy flowers (at bottom) with pale blue French knots) and detached chain leaves, and attached all with back-stitched stems (which I have to admit, periodically devolved into stem stitch in places...
It is called the buttonholed herringbone stitch: and I'm not totally happy with the outcome --- it isn't in smooth curves like the example and tends to stand up like chenille after a bad washing! Sooo, I've clearly done SOMETHING wrong here but I don't know what...
Oh well, here is "Page One" of the 2013 sampler for TAST --- stitches 49 through 55: Stitch 53 is the Herringbone Square and Stitch 54 is the Laced Herringbone Square. I decided to make a border line, using the laced herringbone square every other stitch:
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!
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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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