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!

Tricks AND Treats received!

Just a quickie post here because I've got some kind of cursed 'itis' in my shoulder and it's hard to type (and stitch -- wah!).  I received a wonderful package from Melissa (thank you thank you thank you!!!) for the Tricks AND Treats Exchange over at Parsley's. 

I   LOVE   the little witchy ornament (the backing fabric is fab) and all the other goodies.  The creepy green finger is the 'trick' and is a sucker -- how funny is that?!?

Now I'm off to ice my shoulder :-(

Another busy week!

I got lots done over the weekend, most of it finishing work.  First up is the blingy ornament from Threedles Needleart Design.  I am pleased with my first attempt at this type of project.

More Chirstmas ornaments finalized:

And a few more in the process of being finished:

Now for a couple Halloween finishes:

And a few in the process:

Being on a roll, I decided to finish a couple Fair and Square ornaments:

And a couple flea market finds that I just couldn't throw away after scavenging the frames:

And lastly, a scissor fob that I finished a couple months ago and never showed off.  Another first for me, silk ribbon:

Whew!  Have a good week!

Weekend stitching

Over the weekend I finished stitching the Bling! ornament.  I had planned on making it into the ornament on Saturday but after reading the finishing directions (several times), I decided to add some fray check around it.  I've never cut close on canvas and thought it a good idea to add some adhesive around the edges 'just in case'.   Well, it had to dry a bit and then I wasn't home most of the day Sunday so it still isn't done yet.  Anyways, here she be at this time:

While the fray check was drying, I added the cording to 6 ornaments:

They still need assorted baubles, buttons and bows added but it's a good start to the final finish.  And I tell you this, my fingers were sore (ouch!) after tacking all that cording down.   I really need to learn to use a thimble.

And last, but not least, I put in a few stitches on Mary:

Happy Monday!

Bling! and my Mary

I spent some time on the bling-y Christmas ornament this week.  Only one more section to go and I can assemble it.  This finishing technique will be a first for me but it seems similar to biscornu finishing so I'm hoping it isn't too difficult.  I'll be glad when this one is done.  The silver thread is still bothering my eyes and I'm making many small counting errors.  Most of them I've corrected but a few I'm just letting go.  They aren't that important.

Mary Wigham has an update as well.  I worked on the dark bird motif and the empty one in the middle.  I only stitched the border in the middle because I was anxious to see if the third motif would fit.  There are lots of counting differences/errors from the original and I was concerned.    I changed the size (reduced the width) of the dark bird's border just in case.  And happily they all fit nicely.  Woohoo!

I need to decide what to put in the empty spots on the bottom.  Mary has initials on hers but I decided to change the pattern and leave them off.   There's still plenty of time to decide what to do here.  And it's fun to be thinking about it as I stitch.

A couple weeks ago, I posted some pictures of my pups and I realized I didn't have any current ones.  Bad me!  So I took a few pics of my pack on Tuesday and will  now bore you with a few . . . .

 First up are the papillons.  I think Firefly is the most photogenic little doll.  It was because of that face that I adopted her.  How could I resist??  River is a neurotic little dude but loveable none the less.  Both of my paps are 9.5 years.

Next up is my old fellow, Stormy.  He turned 14 on Sept 13th and gets chilly easily at his age.  He's been a pistol all his life and it's difficult watching him slow down.

And finally . . . . the beagles.   Missy Willow is my oldest beag.  She's 11 now and definitely slowing down as well.   When I adopted her, her whole face was brown, now it's all white.  Willow is auntie to the 2 pups, her brother is their daddy.

.

Shasta is only 6 but one of the laziest dogs I've ever met -- she was born slow.  I hate to see how much slower she'll get as she ages.  Eating and sleeping are her favorite past times.  Shasta didin't want her picture taken outside so she hid out in her crate chewing a bone.  She's mama to the 2 pups.

And now the pups . . . . Meadow is 3.5 and very tiny in stature.  She's a doll.  Since she wouldn't hold still for me, her picture isn't the best.  She definitely inherited the silvering gene from Willow's side of the family.  Her muzzle is almost entirely white already.

Spider is 2 and definitely trouble with a capital T.  It's a good thing he's so cute!  He has a girly collar with flowers on it because he got one of his front legs caught in his old collar.  The collar looped around his neck and under his armpit.  I have no  idea how that happened but thankfully it happened while I was home.  The old collar had to be cut off. 

You can see in this picture the size difference between Spider and Meadow.  He's always walking over her or she's sliding underneath him.  Neither gets offended and it's funny to watch.

Happiness is a warm pup!

September's IHSW

My plan for this month's IHSW was to begin and finish the first part of a new SAL.  Here's what I accomplished:

And, unfortunately,  I'm afraid that's about all I'm going to get done of it.  I got much too frustrated with counting to the next stitching area to continue with this project.  I hate to give up on it so early but that's the way it is :-(

So I switched to Mary Wigham.  I started this one back in 2009 and haven't touched it since the end of 2010.  I can't believe it's been that long.  I took it off the stretcher bars, gave it a good shake to get some of the cobwebs off, put it in a hoop and just started stitching.  Here she is as of this morning:

 

 You can see from the hoop marks where I was working on her.  I finished the lower left motiff, the flowers next to it and the bird medallion near the bottom.  I'm still working on the little yellow flower nearby -- the one that looks so washed out in the picture.  Here's a close up of this area:

There is lots more stitching to do on this piece but I would like to get her finished in the near future (maybe by the end of 2013??).  Wish me luck . . . .

My September WIPocalypse update

I knew it must be WIPocalypse time because last night as I was driving home the full moon was shining so brightly.  It was beautiful!

I'm sorry to say that I haven't worked a smidge on any of my older projects.  I've been stitching Halloween and Christmas ornaments and Exchange pieces exclusively.  Two exchanges are still in process so I can't show you anything on them yet -- both are Halloween related.  I participated in an exchange hosted by Mii Stitch last month and haven't posted the item I sent my partner Heather yet.  So, here it is:

I found this pattern in an old Just Cross Stitch issue (May/June 1995).  It's called Sandcastle by Marie Barber.  The theme of the exchange was Summer Holiday and nothing reminds me of summer fun like a sandcastle.  I liked this pattern so much, I stitched another for myself.  I didn't have any more of the dark linen, so I put it on some coffee stained linen instead.  I think I like it better on the darker fabric -- it just shows up better against the darker background.

I'm currently working on a cute little snowman ornament (times 2) and am almost finished with them.  They just need the words, Let It Snow, added (though I may add a little border, just for fun).

The pattern can be found in the 2009 Christmas issue of  Just Cross Stitch.  It's called Let It Snow by designer Glory Bee.

And finally, I started a new Christmas ornie with tons of bling:

It's by Threedles Needleart Design and is called Christmas 2011.  The silver thread is driving me nuts, not because it's difficult to stitch with but because it's so shiny.  All that glitter is straining on my eyes so I only stitch this one early in the morning when I'm fresh.

And that's about it for September.  I hope you have a nice weekend.  Mine is going to be busy with dog-related activities but I hope to get a little stitching in on Saturday for IHSW.