February Comes to an End



Have several WIPs that I have been working on, a couple of finishes and some new starts.

 

 

My first finish for this month is a Biscornu.  I decided to use the materials from the Stitchy Box that I received.  It is my first attempt and I have to say it was not as easy to get the thing sewn together as everyone would have you believe.  Not for me anyway.  It turned out fine, but I would not give it to anyone as a gift as it is pretty pitiful.  I will try another one and perhaps I will get better!

I am still working on this Dinky Dyes Berry kit.  It is my travel project  because it is the perfect size to carry around and only has a few colors.  It is coming along, but I am anxious to finish it.

I had another little finish this month.  My Daughter in Law has chickens and is always bringing eggs.  It is great.  I did not photo it once I got it in a frame.  It is a 5 x 7 by My Big Toe and was a lot of fun to stitch.  Did not take long.

Another WIP is this Budha for my sister to give to her brother in law.  I was hoping to finish it by the end of March.  I have become obsessed with other projects so I have to really use some discipline to get it done.  It is a kit.

 

 

I continue to make progress of Books Reading Books, my HAED project.  I am almost finished with Page 4.  Slow going but I am still liking it.

 

 

 

And last but certainly not lease is my latest obsession.  I started Gardens of London by Chatelaine and just can't put it down.  So much fun, so many different silk threads, different specialty stitches, love it.  It is going to take forever, but so far I like it.  

It is difficult to get a good photo of all the detail and specialty stitches.  There are also hundreds of beads that will go on this project once the stitching is done.  I can't wait.

 

 

And, as practice for the large Gardens project, I decided to do a Mini Mandala.   I am doing Mini Mandala II B.  I decided that since I was using this for practice I would use all DMC and a piece of evenweave that I attempted to dye a grey color.  I am enjoying it, but it sure does make a difference when you do not use the special threads!  

Hmm, wish I could get a better photo

 

That is a little better, but the part that looks white is actually shiny silver.   This is a good practice piece for me even though I am coming up on some pretty intense back stitching.

Have been clearing out years of stash and found a group in Florida that teaches kids needlework.  So, I am sending off a huge box of kits, notions, fabric and the like to them this week.  It dawned on me that I will never live long enough to do all the projects I have and that my tastes have changed drastically in the past few years so it is time to purge!

That is it for this month

thanks for visiting

February Changes to Rotation

Whenever a finish a larger project (see last week's post) I tend to take a few days and re-evaluate where I am on other projects.  As usual, I have made a few changes.


I decided to put the Lizzie Kate Mystery Sampler, Things Unseen, away for a while.  I just found that I was not into it.  I have never been one who does samplers so it does not really surprise me.  It kind of surprised me that it appealed to me in the first place.  I think it was the threads and embellishments that hooked me.  So, it is out of the rotation for now.

Am starting on Page 4 of Books Reading Books.  As I mentioned, it is slow going through all the confetti.  I am not happy with how far I am carrying my thread, so I am going to do even more cutting and restarting.  The good thing is that all the colors are DMC so I am not worried in the least about running out.  Even though I am not completely happy with the Aida fabric (it is really stiff) I am glad that I am not using a smaller thread count and am REALLY glad I have a magnifying light!

I began studying the Gardens of London Chatelaine as I have accumulated almost all of the supplies for it.  I am pretty daunted by it and will probably delay starting it until 2016.  The investment in the materials is considerable with all the silk, special threads and beads so I do not want to have to rip anything out.   I have a smaller Chatelaine design that I am waiting for which may be more suitable for a beginner to Chatelaine designs.  I have done no other work on the Christmas Tree free mandala as I have had a little trouble getting into a rhythm.  I may pack it away for a later time.  Perhaps if I replace the metallic that are called for with DMC gold and silver grey colors I will be more into it.  May work on that this week......or not.

 I have decided to restart Tree of Stitches since it is a learning piece for specialty stitches.  I intend to use some of the Mo's threads and the threads that I died for it this go round and see if I like it any better.

I also kitted up and prepared the Purity, Strength, Truth project that I am doing for someone who requested it.  Instead of starting in the middle this time I am going to start in the upper left corner as with the HAED design and see if it goes smoother.  I have done this piece before so I should be able to complete it by the end of March (that is the plan anyway).  Interestingly enough, after gridding, counting many times and starting in the top left corner, I realize that the piece is not in the center of the fabric!  It will fit, but there is a larger margin on the right than on the left.  Not sure how that happened but at least I can keep going!  Weird.

I received my first "Stitchy Box" with all the spring looking materials.  Not sure what I am going to do with that yet, but I think some pin cushions or biscornu might be perfect.   There are also some spring and Easter designs that are pretty nice. Pinks, aquas, purples and some spring greens.  Very nice colors.  I will be going through some of my free patterns to find one that will work with these supplies.

 

I still have a couple of travel projects that are smaller that are also in the rotation.  It helps to have some finishes  

 

That is it for this week.  Thanks for visiting!

 



End of January finish

I managed to finish the "Welcome Friends" Celtic project and am pretty happy with the way it turned out.  I decided against beading it.  Since I changed the fabric to make it a little more 'manly' I thought beads might defeat the purpose.

 

 

I am having second thoughts about giving this to the intended recipient.  Funny.  Not sure why.  But I do plan to frame it anyway.

Had a small finish.  My traveling project took no time at all.  These smaller projects are a nice break from the large, detailed pieces that I usually work on.

 

I think this little foam frame will work.  It is a gift for a teacher I know.  (Well Duh)

 

Am making progress on Books Reading Books.  It is slow going but I am not discouraged. 


I plan to finish the Lizzie Kate Mystery Sampler, Things Unseen this month.  It goes pretty fast when I work on it. 


I have not yet decided what project I will start next.  

Thanks for visiting.