April Arrives

Have been working diligently on my projects so let's get to it.

I have been working on my Chatelaine designs and am enjoying them more than I could have imagined.  They are complex and take concentration, but I love the designs and the threads.  I am even enjoying the beading.

First is Mandala 06.  The colors on this piece are so amazing.

I work a little on Mini Mandala 11b.  I am looking forward to reworking this piece on a better fabric and with the special threads that are specified.  This one, remember, I used all DMC substitutions and while I like it, I miss the variations with the different threads and the textures.  I may or may not finish this piece

Gardens of London is also coming along.  I hit a snag with a particularly challenging portion of the design, but I plan to knuckle down and work on it this week.  Thanks to some postings on this project I am a little less frightened of it.

I did work on Books Reading Books.  I am pleased with the way it is going which is a good thing since this piece is going to take a year or more at the rate I am going.

I have not touched the Buddha piece this month so no progress there.

I finished the bell pull I am doing for a friend.  This is a design by Ink Circles and it worked up rapidly.  Finishing this finish was a big of a challenge.  I would like to have better (or craftier) finishing skills. 

I have also started to put together the projects that I will take with me when we travel in a few months.  I have kitted up several of the Glendon Place dessert series designs.  I am planning on doing Pumpkin Swirl as a gift so will not post it until it is completed and gifted.  I also have others that are ready to go.  I think the Chatelaine Mandalas sort of got me into the symmetrical designs.  I am kind of stuck on them at this point.

I started a small piece just for a change of pace since my WIPs are pretty much all Chatelaines.  Well, the pieces I want to work on that is!  It is "Good Things Come to Those who Stitch" by Lizzie Kate.  Just a quick, small project.  I am using a piece of fabric that I dyed.  I will probably change out the pink on the right side for a gold/brown color as well as make some other changes to the pattern. 

 



 

Last but not least I did some more adventures in dying fabric.  I sure to love doing it.  I also dyed some thread for a tooth fairy pillow for my grand daughter.  Perfect timing as she lost her first tooth just after her 6th birthday.

 

 

That is it for this month's update.  We may be on the road in the next couple of months --- probably late May--so there WILL be road adventures!

Thanks for visiting

Have a great April!









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!

 



Roughly Week Two of 2015

Now that I have reached a new part of the Books Reading Books chart and the colors have changed, there is considerably more confetti stitching. I am thinking that a page a week is too optimistic.  I seem to be able to do about 100 stitches an hour when the confetti is heavy.  I am sure there is an easier way with all the thread changes, but I find I get very confused if I try to have too many thread colors going at one time.    I am definitely making progress and still hope to finish this by the end of the summer.  I am enjoying the fact that there are no fractional stitches, no blended threads and no back stitching.  Started on Page 3 today.  Should be interesting to see how long it takes.  I do love seeing the design take shape.

I have also made considerable progress on the Celtic Welcome Friends project.  The 14 count seems really large!  I would not say I am half way finished, but would like to finish this by the end of January.   I have another gift project to go in its place so I need to get it done.  I am very pleased with how this is coming along.   I am thinking I am going to add some beading to it.  Not quite sure, but there are some places where some little beads would be appropriate I think.

Part 3 of the Lizzie Kate Things Unseen sampler arrived this week.  I am going to slow down on this project I think.  I  moved it to a bigger frame so I can stitch with both hands.  The jury is still out on the Qsnap. 

I am enjoying this project but am looking forward to completing it for some reason.  I have never been fond of samplers so that may be the issue here. 

I am wanting to do a quick finish so I kitted up Teaching is a Work of Heart by Lizzie Kate.    I have some waiting room time coming up so I made this a traveling piece since it is small (3 x 5 or so).  I will be doing it on a 28 count evenweave in Mushroom from my stash and using the Weeks Dye Works threads that are recommended.  I should have used DMC from my stash, but it is only 6 colors so not too bad. 

I added two more things (both kits) to my 2015 box.  One of from Lenarte and is called Quartet of Penguins.  It is only about 3 x 5 or so and is one white linen.  Should be really quick.  Will probably start it as another traveling project since it is small.  The other is a kit by Glendon Place and Dinky Dyes.  It is a learning piece that teaches how to sequence a fiber with 5 distinct colors (the words on the kit, not my words.....we will see how well I learn it).  It will also be my first experience with silk threads and some more basic help with using variegated thread.  All in preparation for my Chatelaine that I am anxious to start.

 

And speaking of Chatelaine.  I make minimal progress on the Christmas Tree Mandala so I am not going to post it.   I did a little outline stitching while waiting at the dentist office....not enough to write about.

I got frustrated with the Biscornu from Riolos so it is in the "probably never be finished" pile. 

I did make a small start on another Biscornu using the thread that I dyed myself that I will share next week. 

Thanks for visiting. 

2015 Week One

I made two new starts on the first day of 2015.

First is the Lizzie Kate Mystery Sample, Things Unseen.  It is going well, but I have to confess that I am not really comfortable with the QSnap.  I like them OK for working on Linen, especially since the linen projects that I have done recently are small.  But I like to stitch with both hands and it is hard to do with them.  So, I whip out my Christmas Present (the Qsnap holder for my Lowery Stand) and will see how that works with these.   I do find that I like the grime guards I got from EBay to hold all the extra fabric. 

 I am also enjoying working with the Weeks Dye Works threads on this project.  The very subtle variations in the threads make it interesting and force me to do one completed stitch at a time.  I also found that gridding was difficult on this linen.  I put in some vertical lines to kind of help me out but I did not do them in blocks like I usually do. 

 

I am anxious to get the first two parts done so I will be caught up when the third and final part of the project is released.  No idea when that will be, but I am still quite a bit behind so am not too worried about it.  I have to say, for for someone who has never been a fan of samplers I am enjoying this quite a bit.

 

 

Speaking of Weeks Dye Works, these are the first non-DMC threads I have used.  I have just ordered the threads I need for planned projects and am not really planning on keeping a stash of them.  I have no organization for them yet, and have not even put them into my inventory program.  Once some of the projects that call for them are finished and I have (hopefully) some threads left over I will figure out how to store them.  

Because I am planning to do a large Chatelaine Mandala this year I thought I would try one of the smaller ones.  This is a Christmas Tree Mandala from Chatelaine from 2004.   It is on the dreaded 6x6 Qsnap so holding it is not easy.  Also, it has LOTS of single strand black line work.  I hope I keep working on it, but I may check for another freebie that does not have as much black work on it.  Then again, it is good for me to work on something different.    I saw a post somewhere that had about a half a dozen small Mandalas someone had done and it was incredibly beautiful.   I am resisting the urge to add a mini Mandala from Chatelaine because I want to stick to my commitment NOT to order anything new this year. 

 I also updated my Cross X program with all the projects that are kitted up and started. So now I have 11, yes 11 projects, that are in progress.  I am not sure that I will keep working on some of these.  My tastes and interests have changed since I have been going on line and seeing all the beautiful pieces that are out there.

Am working on my Books Reading Books project as often as I can.  I am well into the second page.  I am thinking I will shoot for doing one page a week. That is about 5000 stitches a page.  At that rate I should finish it in approximately 31 weeks assuming I can do about 700 stitches a day.  Giving myself extra time that puts me finishing in August 2015.  I think that will be a good goal.   Photo is blurry, but you get the idea.

Finally, we are several days into the year and I have stuck with my resolution not to purchase any more "stuff" for stitching.   I did order some Mo's threads on the 30th and got them in the mail this week.  They are interesting.  It is inspiring me to attempt to dye threads as well as fabrics.  It also may inspire me to re-start the Tree of Stitches using the Mo's threads. 

I am going to attempt to post once a week.  My plans are pretty ambitious for this year and I am hoping that I will have progress to report on a weekly basis.  At the least, I am hoping for a finish of some kind every month. 

Thanks for visiting.

2015 Plans and Resolutions

As I begin to think about stitching in 2015, I find I have several projects planned that I am stitching specifically for someone in my family.  I am liking that idea, so 2015  may be the year of the stitching gift. (Warning to family)

I also am going to attempt some new techniques, new fabrics and new types of threads.  I am looking forward to it actually.  I think it is easy for me to get into a rut with my stitching which may explain why I had so many starts toward the latter part of 2014 and very few finishes. 

I am also going to try my hand at some fabric dying.   I picked up some thrift store buys on fabrics so I don't feel as if I am going to throw money away on something that might not turn out.

And I want to work on actually finishing my finishes. 

This is where the internet, facebook, UTube and the like have really been enablers for me.  I have seen so many beautiful projects done on various fabrics, colors, threads and so forth and they are made into banners, pillows and all sorts of lovely things.

I am going to try my hand at making a biscornu.  It is a funny shaped pin cushion.  Should be interesting.  I already have a bag of walnut shells that are used for filling and I have more beads than any human needs so it should be fun.

Of course my HAED Books Reading Books will take me well into 2015.  I would like to finish it in 6 months, but we will see how it goes.

I am going to do a project that is sent from the designer in parts.  I have received parts 1 and 2 already but will not start it until January.  It is the Lizzie Kate Things Unseen project.  It comes with a fabric and threads that I have never used before and is an embellished sampler which is a new thing for me. 

I will be doing a projected called Tree of Stitches so that I can learn to do some specialty stitches.  Should be interesting.   I am going to use variegated threads that I already have in my stash and plan to dye the fabric for this project.  I am doing this in preparation for a Chatelain design I want to do.

 Because several of my projects are huge ones, I am also going to do a small 5x7 Charles Kinkaid Tinkerbell.  I think it is just a section of a larger piece, but I figure I will need some finishes to keep me going.



 

Big plans for 2015 in the stitching arena.  I should also add to the list all the Christmas projects that I didn't even start this year. 

 

I am also going to make a concerted effort to learn to frame my work.  The cost to have then done is just crazy and I have not been happy with the last two things I had professionally framed.  The Michaels is only about 30 minutes away so I have access to mats and supplies so I am going to go for it.

 

And finally, I am going to refrain from buying any kits, patterns, fabrics or notions.  I am putting myself on a cross stitch diet.  I know a lot of stitchers take great pride in their stash, but it is just making me feel overwhelmed and lazy!  Of course that has not stopped me from stocking up during this final month of the year.  Kind of self-defeating I know.

 

Taking advantage of more sales I picked up some fabrics for next year.

These are linens,  32 ct.Belfast Ruby Wine, 28 ct Antique Green Jazlyn and 28 ct Thunderstorm Cashel.  The Thunderstorm is much more grey than it appears in the photo.  Lovely.  One of my 2015 goals is to try fabrics that I don't normally use.

And because I have several large projects planned for 2015 I picked up two kits that are smaller and should be faster finishes.

These also fit into my plan to use different threads and fabrics as they use threads from The Gentle Arts, Weeks Dye Works, Crescent Colours and Classic Colorworks.   I may start these before the end of the year just for  the heck of it.

And last but certainly not least I hit the HAED sale on patterns:

These will probably be 2016 - 2017 projects.  They are huge, of course, so I do not plan to kit them up until after 2015. 
So as you can see, I certainly do not need any more supplies. 

Wishing you a great December and wonderful Holiday season.  Merry Christmas to all.

Thanks for visiting.