Santa and orchid lady and butterflies ... oh my!

 I just finished this little guy.  He's for my ANG Christmas ornament exchange this year. It was a old kit from What's New Inc. for a Christmas Tree Candle.  I opted to make it into a pillow ornie instead.  It's been a long time since I've stitched on Aida.  I had forgotten how small the holes are -- either that or my eyesight isn't what it used to be. I didn't read the directions until after I was done stitching.  I read them to see how complicated their finishing was (too much for my taste).  And that was when I read that I was supposed to soak the threads in vinegar before stitching to make them colorfast.  Whoops.  I had to wash it because there was a major crease in the fabric so I washed in cold water. No bleeding.  Whew!  I ironed it and then saw it start to bleed.  RATS!  Ran it under cold water immediately but couldn't get it out.  Time for some tea staining to hide the bleed.  And it worked.  I can still see a little of the bleed but I don't think anyone else will unless they know where to look. Yay!

 

 Orchid Lady is finished.  I'm happy with the way it turned out and I really enjoyed working on canvas again.  

The first column on my Randje with butterflies is done.  Two more to go.

More Stitching!

I finished Small Rustic Composition yesterday.  It was a kit from DMC and a gift.  The kit came with lovely minty green aida but there was a permanent crease in the middle of it so I switched to something I had in my stash.

I also finished a few more squares for the Sampler Life SAL. 

And then when I dug out my iron to press the Small Rustic Composition, I came across 3 other smalls that I finished earlier this year but totally forgot ... duh.

I can't find the pattern for this one, so cannot remember the
designer,  but I think it's from one of the JCS Christmas
magazines.  Sorry ... I'm too lazy to go look it up right now.

I love this little guy.  I stitched him for an exhange a
few years ago and always wanted one for me.

March's Gifted Gorgeousness

I'm  a day late for the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL  mainly because my weekend was so busy doing non-stitching stuff.  But better late than never ....

To begin, I put the pretty pansy in it's frame and gave it to my friend (that took care of my Saturday).
 

I also started a DMC kit I received in an online exchange.  This is what it will look like

 

 

and this is where I stopped

Now it isn't going to look exactly like the finished picture because I substituted the mint green aida fabric with 35 ct white linen.  Even though I don't usually stitch on Aida, I wanted to use what came with the kit because it was such a pretty color.  Unfortunately, there was a nasty crease right smack dab in the middle of the Aida and no matter what I tried, it proved to be permanent.   Because I changed the fabric, I had to change the yellow thread to a slightly stronger shade for it to show up.  There is virtually no fear of running out of thread since I'm using 1 strand instead of the called for 2 (unless something horrible happens).  I'm not sure I like the light green of the butterfly because it matches the blue square so closely.  I may rip it all out and pick another darker green and restitch it.  I really like the soft pastels of this project ... perfect for Spring.

Switching seasons now to Autumn, I have Nevermore almost finished for the upcoming birthday gift.  It would be almost completely finished if I hadn't stitched the moonface about 5 threads to the left.  Of course I didn't notice until it was finished and I tried to add the 'hair' to it.  Rip, rip, rip :(



That's it for the Gift Gorgeousness update but there's more to report.  This time we switch to Christmas and my Santa for this year.  I decided to start on him early because I'm stitching him on black fabric (my least favorite to stitch on).  I was afraid if I didn't start early, I wouldn't get him done in time.  This is another kit with Aida.  Again I switched out the Aida for linen but this time I dyed my own black fabric.  I picked linen because I reasoned it has larger 'holes' and might be easier to stitch.  I used black Rit dye with salt, heat, crumpled and stirred the linen and let it set for over 4 hours.  I thought I would get a nice solid black piece of linen.  What I got wasn't solid, but mostly black with a dark purple cast in bright light.  Hmmm.  After letting it set for a couple days I decided I liked it and wouldn't try to get the solid black coverage. 

 

Here's what Santa will look like

 

 

 

And here's where he is so far

 

You can't really see the purple cast to the fabric in this picture ... well, maybe (?) a bit near the lighter areas.  Anyway, the really, really great part about this is that I'm having absolutely no problems stitching on this black fabric.  Woohoo!  In fact, I didn't want to put him down for another project.  Perhaps I'll stitch on black fabric more often now.

Happy St. Paddy's day everyone!

 

 

 

 

He's finished with months to spare!

I haven't been doing much Christmas stitching this year.  Just not in the mood, I guess.  Not a good sign.  So I decided  to work on my Santa for 2014 to help get some Christmas cheer.  Introducing 2009 Santa by HeartStrings from the 2009 JCS Christmas edition. 

And here he is framed:

When I showed him to my dad, he commented on the cute sheep toy.  Hmmmm, I was thinking it was a little polar bear toy.

Every year, I stitch myself a Santa and I love keeping them up year round.  I have a wall of Santas in my hallway and he'll look nice there.

Santa for 2013 -- Stitched St. Nick VII,  Simply Old Fashioned

Santa for 2012 -- Wee Three, Lorri Birmingham.

Santa for 2011 -- And to All a Good Night, Cheryl Shaeffer

Santa for 2010 -- Rose Wreath Santa, Libby Sturdy

Santa for 2009

Santa for 2008, another one from Simply Old fashioned

Santa for 2007, Winter Magic, Cheryl Shaeffer
The beginning of my yearly Santas

My very first Santa from 1989 and still one of my favs.
It was a kit of some kind.

I love my Santa collection.

Still happy dancin' ....

Santa is finished! 

The pattern called for red and white threads with smyrna stitches in his beard but I changed to brown overdyed and ecru threads and used eyelets for the beard.  Then to hide the black thread of his eyes, I attached a slip of ivory muslin to the back before adding the eyes.   The fabric was only big enough to cover his whole beard.  If you enlarge the picture you can see it peeking through the eyelet holes.

I also stitched almost half of the Autumn Log Cabin SAL part 3 over the weekend.  Though I do have some frogging to do tonight where that thread is hanging.  It isn't much so it shouldn't take too long to fix - knock on wood.

Have a good day!

Big Happy Dance

I'm ever so happy to say I have all my Christmas gifts stitched and assembled!  Yippee!  This is the very best gifting-shape I have been in for many a year.  And, to top that off, I almost have my brown Santa finished.  I started attaching the beads and it's going fairly quickly.  Barring a catastrophe, he should get finished this weekend.  Don't you just love the look of his beard?

Let's go back in time to Autumn . . . in October, I participated in a Halloween exchange and forgot to post a picture of the lovely package I received from Janet.  I adore the pillow (that fat little bird makes me chuckle every time I look at it) she made for me and was sorry to put it away for Christmas decorations.  Though actually, I just moved it into my exercise room where I can still see it while burning those holiday calories.  I love the LK fall basket pattern and the pumpkin fabric is perfect.  Thank you Janet!

For my part, I sent a package to Connie filled with assorted bugs, bats and pumpkins.

I love this pattern and one of these days, I'm going to stitch it for myself.  This trio of jacks gets me giggling every time I stitch it.  I love the goofy looks on their faces -- too funny!

And now back to winter . . . .

Some finishing touches

Firstly, thanks for all the nice comments on my last post!  It was very kind of you to take a moment out of your busy day to say 'hi and job well done'.  Thank you.

And now for the final finishing touches to my little ornaments.  Though some just got a bow or a tassle, others got a button or two.  Since it's technically still Autumn (though it's snowing at a goodly rate right now), I'll start with the Halloween ornies.  I had wanted to get them all done for Halloween this year but that (obviously) didn't happen.  Well, at least they're ready for next year.

DONE

DONE

AND DONE  -- I love the spider on a button here

And next up the Christmas ornies.  These are all gifts.  I like to make Christmas ornaments as gifts and right now I'm in good shape for the holiday.  I think I only have 3 or 4 more to finish (they're already stitched just waiting to be ornamentified).  This is definitely the best shape I've ever been in since I started gifting ornaments.

I love the red trim but am still trying to decide about that yellow.

I never thought the green-package-with-an-orange-bow button would ever find a home.

My brown Santa got a little loving also.  All that remains is the beading and his beard.  The beard will be next while the beads are last.  I probably won't do anything more on him until all the gifts are finished.

If you believe the weather forecasters, we're supposed to get some serious snow the next couple days in my neck of the woods.  If you're traveling in the northeast on your way home for Thanksgiving, drive carefully and have a wonderful visit with family and friends.

YUM!  My favorite.

WIPocalypse & IHSW for November

I'm sorry it's been awhile since I posted last.  Blame it on my shoulder (which is loads better -- not completely, but it's getting there).  Unfortunately typing and stitching (among other things) have been on the back burners.  Typing has been confined to work-related stuff  and not to fun stuff like blog hopping or posting.   And stitching has been kept at a minimum.  I've been working on my Santa and though he's a recent start, I'm including him in my WIPocalpyse report.  I'm almost done with his coat and have just his beard and all the beads to add.  I'm sure he'll be done by year's end.

 

I also got a little stitching related fun in over the weekend for IHSW.   It was basically a finishing kind of weekend.  I made the cording for a bunch of ornaments (however, I didn't get them all attached) and assembled 2 little pillows.

The pillows still need the cording made for them. The smaller one is getting red cording around it and the larger one will probably get blue or maybe white (I haven't decided yet). Once all the cording is attached, I'll add some buttons, bows or other baubles to each of the ornies. 

And last but not least, I do have one finish to show you.  It's a little Christmas bird all ready for the tree:

Happy stitching!!

Stitching Update and a Toad Lily

Well, the old shoulder is getting better but it still isn't 100%.  I haven't been able to get much stitching done or internet visiting because of it -- which  is making me kind of grumpy.  Right before injuring my shoulder, I started my 2013 Santa.  He's a tall, skinny Santa from Simply Old Fashioned simply called Stitched St. Nick VII.  I decided to make him a brown coat instead of the traditional red.  Searching through my thread stash, I came across a skein of variegated cotton floss called Cosmo Seasons and decided to give it a go.  What lovely thread!  And a delight with which to stitch.  It doesn't twist or knot easily.  The ends don't fray and shred.  I have no idea where I got it from but I love it and want more.

I stitched another one of these Santas a few years ago in the called for red and white:

The other project that's getting some stitching time is a new SAL I joined by designer Kathy Bungard.  It's her Autumn Log Cabin.  I'm almost finished with part 2.  I hope I can keep up with this one.   If my shoulder had blown out before I joined, I probably wouldn't have started it but now that it's begun, I really want to keep going with it.  Her patterns are so pretty.

And lastly, from my garden.  I have a plant called a Toad Lily (can't remember the formal name) that is at least 13 years old.  The plant itself isn't very pretty but the flowers are gorgeous.  And it blooms now -- in October -- when most plants are quieting down for the upcoming winter.

I took these pictures a couple weeks ago when it first began blooming.  You can see the unopened buds along the stem in the first and last pics.  They will open until the whole stem is covered with flowers.  Just lovely and one of my favorite things about October.

Have a treat-filled Halloween!