End of the year Update

I have had a few finishes and some starts that were scheduled to be in 2015, but I got anxious and started them early.  I just needed some smallish projects during this busy time of year.

This is a tiny ornament size piece that was fast to stitch.   More practice on linen for me.  It is from Twisted Threads.  There was actually enough fabric from 123 Stitch to do the thing a couple of times.  Sweet.  This was also my first project using Weeks Dye Works threads.  I like them, and the variegations look much better in the photo than I can see in person. 

 

And in keeping with my resolution to actually finish my finishes, here is the finished product.   Since it is only 3 x 3 I got a little canvas and easel at Walmart.  I laced it and covered the back with felt which gave me a place to put my initial and date.

 

 

 And speaking of linen, I did not post the finished yellow rose from Thea Gouvernour.  It was not bad either.  There are a couple of places where it is off, but I can't even tell where it is anymore.

 

So, all in all I am feeling pretty good about linen and evenweave fabrics.  I think I will prefer evenweave simply because, as the name implies, it is more even than linen and is easier to count.  I have not attempted to grid on it so far.  I am going to switch out the fabric on the Thomas Kinkaid Tinkerbell (5x7) that I am going to do.  In checking the pattern, there are a ton of half and quarter stitches, so I am going with a 28 count evenweave.  It will probably come out bigger than 5x7, but I wanted to do some framing this year so what the heck!

 



 

Made some progress on Books Reading Books.  Am into the second page.  Still enjoying it, but still not able to get the hang of parking.  The colors are so close I just cannot seem to make it work for me yet. 

Pulled out Bay Dunes to finish it now that I am headed into the new year.  Would love to finish it before New Year's Day, but.......it is beginning to frustrate me for some reason. 

I started on the kitted Biscornu but I am not too happy with it.  I am not sure there will be enough fabric for the bottom and the top, and somehow I am a row off.  I will probably finish it, but I have found I am not fond of stitching with a hoop.  Makes it harder for me to stitch with both hands and always taking it on and off the hoop is a little annoying to me.  Probably why I like the larger projects.

 

I also broke down and started another project.  It has been kitted up for months and I just felt the need to start something new.  So far so good.  It will be a gift this year.  I switched out the white Aida for this fabric because I had the fabric and I thought it might be a little more masculine.  I also switched out the threads from the kit for DMC.  I have supplemented kits before, but this is the first time I have done a total replacement.  Seems like a waste to me.  Not sure what I will do with the kit threads.

 

 

 

 

And here is my Christmas Present.  I know it looks funny, but it is a QSnap holder that goes on my Lowery stand.  Have not used it yet as I am just working on a 6x6 hoop.  But I am ready for a larger project.  Perhaps the Chatelaine I have planned for this year. 

 

 

And last but not lease, I have been doing some work on Tree of Stitches so that I can learn the specialty stitches for the Chatelaine.  I am not too happy with it.  I am better with some stitches and not so good with others.  Not sure if I will finish it or start over.  I began using random threads that I had left over and the colors are, well, just terrible. 

 

 Did not get this posted before the end of the year, but that is the update anyway. 

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

Hope your New Year is fantastic.

 



 

New Starts and Old Projects

Just a few updates and new things this month.

December 1 started a Heaven and Earth Designs stitch-a-long.  I am doing the Books Reading Books design.  It is going so well I am lulled into thinking this is going to be relatively easy.  I am doing it on 18 county Aida because the 25 county I got originally was just too small and too distracting for me.

 

I am trying not to think about how stitching will go when I get to the portion of the picture that has a letters inside the book.  One stitch at a time, right.

 

 

I did get all the floss put on bobbins (most of it anyway) and am a little surprised that it doesn't use more colors.  It has a total of 86 colors which is not bad.  It has lots of area that only has a couple of colors and not much confetti.  When I get to the actual picture I am sure things will slow down, so I am making an effort to do as much stitching as possible before I get to the 'hard' part so that I stay motivated.

 



I have also done more work on the linen that I am learning.  It is coming along and is getting a little easier.  I am hoping to be more comfortable with this fabric as I have a couple of 2015 projects that use evenweave and/or linen.

This is a Thea Gouverner  kit that I got off of Overstock.com.  It is going pretty well.  Magnification and lighting sure help!

So that is about it for the first of this month.  I put in a few hours on Woodland Enchantress.  I have kind of lost interest in that project for now.  I am sure I will pick it up after the new year.

And of course I have not stitched at all on Bay Dunes, Cranes or any of the other WIPs I have going.  Oh well.


Thanks for visiting.

Finally Friday Finish

I am so glad to be able to report a finish.  It has been a while since I have been able to take a piece off the frame and get it in the wash!  woohoo


I finished the HAED Santa and Mouse free pattern from the Heaven and Earth Designs website. 

This was my first Heaven and Earth Design.  I did it in preparation for a really large project I am doing as a gift.  It is supposed to be an ornament......HA..... it measures 8.5 x 8.5 inches so it is a little large.  I did it on 18 count aida.  I did not want to use anything smaller for my first attempt.  Not sure how I will mount it.  I also note that I did not use the Krenik that was called for as it was only on the outside of the circle.  I may do a tent stitch in a square around it to square it up for framing or perhaps a round mat.  Have not decided.

What amazes me about this project is that while I was doing it the subject matter was a little hard to distinguish.  Then, as it came to life it was pretty inspiring.

I started this on September 19, 2014 and finished it November 21, 2014.  It took approximately 140 hours.  I used the Hours Tracker app to keep track of the time.  I was pretty good about recording the time, but it is still an approximation of the hours. 

Lots of left over thread.  What I found nice about doing this project is that because I kitted it myself using DMC floss, I did not have to scrimp as I often do when I work from a kit using the thread provided.  I like that a lot. 

Now to get to work on the rest of those WIPs.  I have been spending all my time on this little guy.  Glad it is over before December.

I started attempting to use different fabric, the first one being linen.  It has been a challenge, but I have a great teacher for support.  She has videos of her stitching under Tara C.  She is a wealth of knowledge about fabrics and very encouraging.  At any rate, I have been working on a small Thea Gouvernour design (a yellow rose) that I got from Overstock.com when I realized I had some credits so I paid nothing.....woohoo.  I got it because it was not on aida fabric.  I am getting the hang of it, but it is certainly a test of my patience and my eyesight.  It is also a challenge to photograph. 

 I started out using a hoop but changed to a QSnap and like it better.  Using the snap seems to help the fabric stay a little straighter and make the counting easier for me.  I am having to change the way I usually stitch.  I am doing a stitch at a time and I only put the center grid line in for reference.  I am also working on stitching horizontally exclusively as I find it easier to keep my place that way.  I have also discovered that my tension is an issue with this fabric.  I have to take care not to pull the stitches to tight or it distorts so badly that I cannot figure out where the next stitch goes!  Believe me, I have done a bit of stitching and pulling out and re-stitching.  But Tara C. told me that it would take about 100 stitches before I got into a rhythm, so I am not giving up.

Thanks for checking in.