WIPocalypse -- July update

I spent alot of time stitching since my last WIPocalypse update.  Unfortunately I didn't do anything on White Christmas -- the hardanger piece.  Instead, I picked up the beagle puppy (started January 2011) and stitched lots on it.  All that's left to do is the collar, eggs, grass and backstitching:

I'm planning on making the grass green (instead of the original straw color) and adding a few small lazy daisy flowers in it.  This piece should definitely be done by the next update.

Another WIP from 2011 is the Tulip Sampler by Rosewood Manor.  Because of all the backstitching on this piece, I'm going slow on it so that I don't burn out from said backstitching.  Probably only stitching one or two squares a month.  I finished the 2 squares in the pink rectangle over the weekend:

The original plan was to finish one of the squares over the weekend but things went so smoothly, I finished them both.  I have to say that even though there is tons of backstitching, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Dare I say, I'm finding it almost relaxing.  I think it's because there is a pattern to it within each square -- making it almost mindless.  Imagine that!

And lastly, I worked on the Old European Sampler and am still making headway on it -- slowly but surely:

With a little luck, I should get around the corner in the near future (maybe by the weekend since this in my Mon-Fri stitching project).   I think once this is done, the piece will go faster -- or at least seem to go faster.

I hope everyone that celebrates it, has a safe and fun 4th of July!

Tag ..... I'm "IT"

Well, this is a first for me, I've been tagged.  I need to answer 11 qestions:

1. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever confessed to eating for breakfast?

Bonnie: Two fruit servings – Orange juice and Peach Schnapps.

Tracey: Shreddies along with Homemade Skor Bars.

Anita: Original Mini Wheats along with Reeces Peanut Butter Cups.

Jody: Cold, left over asparagus.

Julie: I don’t think I’ve ever had anything strange for breakfast.

Marcy:  Birthday cake -- yum!

2. When shopping, what aisle do you gravitate to first?

Bonnie: Home Décor unless distracted by Bling.

Tracey: Books and magazines.

Julie: Movies

Marcy:  I hate to shop so just go in and get it over with.

3. What is the most recent book you’ve read?

Tracey: 50 Shades of Grey.

Anita: 50 Shades of Grey.

Jody: 50 Shades of Grey.

Bonnie: 30 Shades of Grey – I’m not done yet.
Julie: I am currently reading “The Hidden Power of the Gospels”. Most recently finished Janet Evanovich’s book (#17 Plum series)

Marcy:  The Gold Bug, a short story by Edgar Allen Poe  

4. Who is your favourite movie star dream guy/gal?

Tracey: Johnny Depp.

Anita: Richard Gere.

Jody: Robert Downey Jr.
Bonnie: Colin Firth, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Mike Delfino from Desperate Housewives, Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs; Bonnie is greedy!!

Julie: This is a toughie! Dominic Cooper was hot in “The Devil’s Double”. Orlando Bloom and David Schwimmer round out my top 3.

Marcy:  The above are all good but I've always loved Humphrey Bogart.

5. Do you file your patterns by Designer, Alphabetically or by Category?

Bonnie: Who files??

Tracey: Mainly by category, unless it’s a series.

Anita: Ditto to Tracey.

Jody: Ditto to Anita.

Julie: Filing? What is that??

Marcy:  What Julie said

6. Do you stick to the pattern when stitching or change it up?

Bonnie: I tend to change it up.

Tracey: hmmmmm 9 times out of 10, I”ll stick to the pattern.

Julie: Generally I stick with the pattern. I have made a few modifications on occasion

Marcy:  I make many modifications

7. Would you ever want to try your hand at designing?

Bonnie: Why yes of course.

Tracey: Perhaps…

Julie: Depends on the kind of designing you are talking about, LOL! I have created a couple of my own designs.

Marcy:  Definitely 

8. Do you tend to stitch more or less in the summer months?

Bonnie: Less. I spend more time in the gardens.

Tracey: Definitely less! The gardens always seem to be calling my name.

Julie: I tend to stitch more when I feel the urge. Season doesn’t equate into my mood for stitching unfortunately.

Marcy:  Probably about the same -- I hate the heat

9. Have you ever attended a stitching retreat?

Bonnie: Yes, at Brentwood on the Beach with the Stitching Sisters and soon to be at a cozy cabin in the woods.

Tracey: Ditto

Anita: Ditto

Jody: Ditto

Julie: Nope. But sure would like to sometime. I would love to go to the one in Nashua (NH – where I lived for a few years) and to Colonial Williamsburg.

Marcy:  I did (a small local one) and enjoyed it loads

10. If money wasn’t an issue and you had the opportunity to choose from one or the other, would you totally renovate your home and stay, or move.

Bonnie: I would move to a one level home. (with a pool and lazy river)

Tracey: I would pick my house up and move it to the country. Is that an option?
Bonnie: No Tracey, that is not an option.

Julie: MOVE!

Marcy:  Ditto to Julie

11. Do you track the hours you spend on a stitching project?

Bonnie: Not always, but I did for a special gift. I tracked it as 197 hours.

Tracey: I used to... I just don’t care anymore. I finish when I finish.

Julie: Never. It takes away the fun of the craft for me.

Marcy:  I did once -- but never again!  I don't want to know how long it takes. 

Now I'm supposed to write 11 questions and pick 11 people to tag.  Ummm, did I mention that I'm basically lazy??  So if you've never been tagged and always wanted to be, considered yourself tagged and play along by answering the above 11 questions and tagging 11 more bloggers.  Enjoy!

Unfortunately, I don't have any stitching pics to show.  But since it's going to be incredibly hot and humid (which I hate!) over the weekend, I'll be having a stay-inside-the-A/C-kind-of-weekend doing my laundry and stitching.  Pics will be forthcoming the beginning of next week.

Keep cool everyone!

OES and ASCA

I picked up Old European Sampler again and am making a little headway on it, as you can see:

For some reason or another, I'm having trouble keeping momentum going on this one.  I think the main problem is that I'm falling out of a cross stitching phase and into an embroidery phase.  This happens once in awhile.  The other problem is the colors -- and yes, I did choose them all by my lonesome.  Blues are not my favorite (this goes back to grade school and 8 years of navy blue plaid uniforms -- yuck!  To this day I run screaming if I see navy blue plaid) but I really like the blue/brown combo I picked.  It's just that the colors don't hold my attention while stitching all those x's --- Zzzzzzzzz.  I've got a few different stitches in there but apparently not enough to keep my interest.

However, I will finish this piece because it's going to be so pretty and I will be really happy with it once it's done.  I know this.

I also worked on the beagle puppy but forgot to take a picture - duh.  Basically, I stitched more of the basket, so not much interesting going on here.  I still haven't picked a collar color.

Keeping with the beagles but going off stitchy topic a little here, the dogs and I were at an ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America) agility trial over the weekend.  Since when did you get an Aussie? you ask.   Ummm, never. I reply.  ASCA allows all breeds, including mixed, to enter their agility trials.  This was only our second ASCA trial.  We had an excellent time and since all the dogs are in the novice (beginner) class, we had lots of qualifying runs (Qs).  Willow (10 yo beagle) had the most runs (4 each day) and got 6 Qs out of her 8 runs and her first ASCA title (woohoo!).  Shasta (4 yo beagle) ran twice and Qd both times.  River (8 yo papillon) had only one run and Qd it (he can't handle the heat so I only entered him one day in the morning).  Stormy (13 yo semi-retired little brown dog) had 2 runs and Qd both of them (way to go old man!).  Marcy (50-something yo human) ran 13 times and was (is) exhausted!

May your week be filled with laughter, stitching and puppy kisses.

A young Stormy flying

IHSW for June

I managed to get a bit of stitching done over the weekend.  Not as much as I had hoped to do but enough to make me happy.  I finished one quilt square on the Tulip Sampler and started another.  Granted, I didn't get much done on the new square (which is really a rectangle), but it's a start:

I love the look of this piece but all that backstitching is so daunting to think about.  My approach here is 'one square at a time -- don't think about them all'.  It appears to be working.

Prior to IHSW, I picked up the beagle in the basket project and finished the beagle!  Hooray!  I wanted to finish the entire piece during the week but that didn't happen.  I could have worked on it over IHSW but I was tired of beagle colors and wanted to see different, prettier colors (thus the Tulip Sampler).  Anyway, here it is:

The original puppy has a red collar but I'm leaning toward a pink one .... though I do like the red one ... decisions, decisions.

Not too bad for a week's worth of stitching if I do say so myself.  I hope your weekend was as productive and I'm off now to see if they were . . . .

Toodles!

Heart Note Alley is finished . . . .

You may notice that I decided against the lacey border.  Not because it wouldn't look nice but because it was becoming a headache trying to get the thing centered and the corners pretty.  Sooo, rather than spend hours on something that isn't fun, I just dropped it and moved on.  I'm still looking for a little frog, though.  I have one but he's too big.  If anyone knows of a tiny, flat frog charm available somewhere out there in internet land, just point me in the right direction.

Many thanks to Kathy Bungard of Gracewood Stitches for this lovely design.

June WIPocalypse

I'm late but I did get lots done.  And so without further ado .......

Almost all the white bells are stitched in White Christmas (only have 3 more sets at the top to stitch -- woo hoo!).  Once this is done, I can start the cutting.

The Old European Sampler has been gathering dust so I pulled it out and got some done on it also. 

The Tulip Sampler hasn't seen the light of day since January of 2011 when I first began it as part of the 2011 Crazy January Challenge.  I just love the colors in this one and intend to give it some major TLC.

The next few pics are a biscornu and some ornies that have been stitched for some time and needed to be "finished".  The biscornu is called Tumbling Spools (I think).  I forget the designer's name but it was offered in an EGA magazine issue from 2010 or maybe 2009 (hmmmm ... memory like a steel trap).

I decided I wanted to add the 4 buttons on the underside corners to match the spools.  Who knew that I, a lover of pink, didn't have a single pink button??  After a quick visit to JoAnn's, I do now.

These 3 Christmas ornies were from the 2011 Crazy Challenge also.  I finished the actual cross stitching in 2011 but never made them into ornaments until now.  As of now, I'm thinking I may remove the red beads from the sugar shocked reindeer's cording.  I'm not sure I like it.

And even though this isn't part of WIPocalypse (unless you count the "finishing" part) I want to include this lovely stitched by Linda B as an exchange from the Fair and Square group:

Hmmm .... can you tell I've added "finishing" to my WIPocalypse list?  When the world ends, I want to get all my little stitchings "finished".

Little Pillow Ornies

Last weekend was filled with non-stitching stuff but I managed to get some pillow ornies done.  I was determined to get them done and was 3/4 successful.  The 'plan' was to make 4 pillows out of my 4 squares from Fair and Square (an exchange group).  I only managed to finish 3 of them but I'm happy with my efforts and intend to get the fourth finished this weekend.

This is my first exchange in 2010 with Karen R from Australia

This lovely was stitched by Daniela T from Finland in 2011

These cute peacocks are by Nancy K from USA in 2011

Many thanks to you, ladies, for stitching these for me -- your time and talents are invaluable and greatly appreciated!

IHSW in May

Here it is Wednesday already and I haven't posted my IHSW update.  Unfortunately, there isn't much to show since I didn't get much stitching time in over the weekend.   The only thing I worked on was the kitty and I got him mostly finished:

I want to put a border around him but I don't like the one that came with the pattern.  Or maybe I should just leave him sans border.  So kitty is on hold while I decide what to do here.

Even though I didn't get much stitching time in over the weekend, I did get some in during the week.  I finished the piece formerly known as Sudoku and took it to the framer (where it is now):

I have all the stitching done on Wee Three and only need to add the beads and charms and put it on the bell pull frame that came with the kit (aren't they cute??):

And last but not least, I added some more x's to Heart Note Alley:

I want to add more border to this one also . . . . I'm thinking something lacey in the darkest color thread.  It can't be too wide because I don't have much extra material on the bottom (rats!).  Maybe just a quarter inch or half inch -- tops.

Take care until next IHSW!

May's WIPocalypse update

It's a day early but I won't be near a computer tomorrow so here goes . . . . .

I added a couple 'new' old projects to my WIPocalypse list.  The first one is the Golden Cat by designer Patricia Emlet.  I began this project 10-24-2010 and really want to get it finished.  All that's left to stitch now is the hind foot and tail tip.

The second 'new' old project is Wee Three by designer Lorri Birmingham.  This piece was one of my Crazy January 2011 projects that was never touched after January 2011.  Now the first Santa is finished.

Sudoku is almost finished.  I added a line of backstitch around the top and right sides only and am deciding if I like it.  Right now, I'm leaning toward liking it.  It sets a stronger edge to the whole thing.

I also spent some quality stitching time on White Christmas (finished all the eyelets -- hooray!) and completed (happy dance time) the Lily Pond.  Since I already posted pics of these in April, I'm not going to re-post them here.  Just go back a couple posts if you're interested.

So there you have it .... my May update and I must admit, I'm pleased with it.  One project finished, two almost finished, a third one in the works and all those eyelets done (hooray -- I'm soooo glad they're done).

I hope your month was as productive as mine.

A beagle and a heart

I kept forgetting to take a picture of  this one.  I bought this beagle pin at a conformation show last year but don't have occassion to wear it much.  Since I think it's cute, I decided to stitch a frame for it so I can display the pin even when I'm not wearing it.  The "frame" is based on Wessex Stitchery and took me about a day of laundry and stitching to do it.  The difficult part was turning the first corner -- it took me about 4 or 5 tries to get it right.

I realize most people don't care for the baying of beagles but every time I hear a beagle howling after a bunny, I can't help but call the sound 'a joyful noise' .... and smile.

Switching now from beagles to Heart Note Alley, this SAL is almost finished.  I love this pattern (even though it was plagued/cursed/hounded *wink* with multiple frogs) and am very happy with my version of it.

Thanks for visiting!

A Great Hermitting Weekend

I got lots of hermit-stitching time in over the weekend.  It was cold, rainy and basically yucky outside -- perfect stitching weather.

I devoted all my time to the 'Piece Formally Known as Sudoku' and it's almost finished -- woohoo!

Have a great day!  We're supposed to get snow tonight -- what a wild spring we're having.

Busy ... busy ....

I've been busy .... I finished The Might Oak (though I would love to find a couple squirrel charms to add to it):

Plus spent some time on White Christmas (all the eyelets are finished -- hooray!!! -- I thought they would never be done.  And no, I will not count them.):

Another WIP finished  ... introducing the Waterlily Pond complete with sparkly dragonfly (it didn't call for a dragonfly but my pond needed a bug .... and more glitter):

And lastly, I picked up another WIP -- Sudoku -- and am going gangbusters on it:

The last time I posted about it, there was tons of stitching left to go:

Even though this piece is supposed to be based on Sudoko, I gave up on that concept a long time ago.  Instead, I'm just playing around with stitches and colors and having a much better time with it.  The whole Sudoko thing was making me cazy and spoiling my fun .... so it needed to go.

I'm happy as a clam since I got so much done on these older projects. 

May your stitching time be productive!

April WIPocalyse

It's that time again.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any stitching in on my hardanger tree but I did pick up another WIP that hasn't seen the light of day for many moons:

I added all the sparkle to the pond.  Now it really looks like water.

The other 2 projects for this update are The Mighty Oak

and Heart Note Alley

We are still swamped at work so this is just another quickie ...... enjoy the day!

March's IHSW

I managed to get a bit of stitching in this weekend.  First I finished the tree in The Mighty Oak.

Then I began the next part of Heart Note Alley and started adding some of the bling (beads and sparkly thread) to it.

This is just a quickie so bye for now .....

WIPocalypse for March

Sorry to be a little late ......

I didn't get much stitching done over the past month but I have a couple pics to show for my WIPocalypse update. The first is Adriana. I'm working on the 5th part of this SAL and with luck will get it finished this weekend.  I almost had a heart attack last Sunday as I was stitching those obscenely looong legs and realized I may run out of fabric.  Sigh .... I need to go back to first grade and learn how to count again.

I also stitched a few more eyelets on White Christmas.  It's coming along, slowly but surely.

Work is still incredibly busy (thus the lack of stitching).

I did, however, start a new project -- even though I made a very stern New Years Resolution that I was not not not going to start anything new in 2012 until I finished a couple older projects.  So much for resolutions . . . .

Introducing The Mighty Oak, designed by Daniela:

Later ......



Big Smile

A couple weeks ago, Sadie, of Stitching Up A Storm fame, had a contest for the cutest little pink pin cushion you ever did see.   I lusted after it and actually won the lil darlin' thing (insert a squeal of delight here -- can you believe it?!?)



Wellllll, it came in the mail today and without further ado .......

I present the cutest little pink pin cushion I ever did see (and currently in my greedy little clutches):

It came in this little see-through golden bag covered with glittery stars (oh, how I love glittery things) just tempting me to open it.

Which, of course, I did.

 
Isn't it just the pretty little thing?  I love it!

You have no idea how this little cushion brightened my day.  Thank you so much, Sadie.

IHSW for February

Unfortunately, I knew I wouldn't have much time to stitch this past weekend but I did get a little in on Heart Note Alley. I worked on the row of chained diamonds, finishing it on Saturday between work, grocery shopping and naps.

Sunday kinda went to the dogs .... we spent the day at a USDAA agility trial.  Only my "old man" Stormy and Willow were entered and both ran great.  Out of 4 runs, we got 3 qualifiers.  The non qualifying run had only one error,  Stormy popped out of the weave poles, otherwise it was good.  He held his stay at the start, paid attention to me and hit all his contacts -- what more can I ask?   After all, he's 12.5 years old, still healthy, happy (though he can get a little grumpy at times) and able to play agility.  Willow finished her first USDAA title in Jumpers -- I'm very proud -- and only needs 1 more qualifying run in Standard (you go beagle!).

Remember to enjoy your day --- take a nap and play in the leaves.

Four down ... 2 to go

All my stitching time (the small amount that it is) was devoted to Adriana since my last post. 

I need to finish part 5 before March 1st to get the 6th and final part of this lovely pattern .... and it looks like I'm going to make it. Hooray!!  Even though I have almost no stitching time the next 2 weeks (grrrrump!  crankiness setting in already), I'm confident it can be stitched in time. 

Wish me luck .....

WIPocalypse - A Quick February Update

I missed the full moon but I have a couple pics for my February update.  The first one is White Christmas. 

There isn't much to show because I ran out of the Kreinik thread last week.  I bought  more over the weekend so I'll be able to continue on with it now.

My second piece is the SAL Adriana.  I stitched lots on it and will continue to do so since it has a time limit and I want to get it done. 

I bought some cheap finger nail polish over the weekend for painting charms.  As soon as I figure out how to hold the little buggers while painting them, I'll give it a go.  I'm thinking double sided tape.

Take care everyone.

Close but no cigar

I worked diligently on Adriana all last weekend but didn't get part 3 finished.  And unfortunately, I haven't been able to get any more stitching time since Sunday.  The dogs and I are back to agility training -- good for the dogs, bad for stitching.  Plus we are incredibly busy at work now  -- good for work, bad for stitching.  I'm hoping I can finish part three Friday evening (my only night off from doing dog stuff) -- though I can hear the couch calling  'NAP TIME' already.

Thank you for the suggestions for painting charms.  I read about using nail polish before and will give it a try.  I'm not too sure about spray paint.  I tend to make a royal mess with it.  Spray paints and glues, I'm not so good with -- you gotta know your limitations and those are definitely some of mine.

Happy Groundhog Day!

grumblegrumblegrumble -- 6 more weeks of winter --- I say we stew the lil rodent