End of year report

This has been a rough year all around. No stitching or blogging mojo was just the start. On the plus side, I’ve had a sleep study and discovered why my CPAP machine wasn’t helping me. 🙂 Now I have a new machine, with a new pressure, and I’m sleeping better. I’ve decided it’s a sign of good things to come in the New Year.

On the stitching front, I’ve received a sweet, sweet ornament from Wendy. She and I have had a private ornament exchange the past couple of years, and I was determined not to miss it this year. Here’s what she sent me–

I always enjoy reading her blog posts about her garden and the birds that visit there. She made this one because she has robins visit her, and they make the sweetest song. I loved the ornament without the story. It’s that much more special now.

This is what I made her–

It’s a freebie I found on a blog somewhere. I’m not sure where. I’m usually better about noting sources. Wendy was organized and early with my ornament. I was unmotivated and late with mine. The good part about that is that after I finished my ornament, I was able to photograph both of them together.

I love that I was able to get this photo.

The one thing I managed to do last year was read, quite a bit more than I normally read. It’s nice to feel I accomplished something for myself during a rough patch. This year, I’m going to participate in Book Riot‘s Read Harder Challenge. There are 24 tasks, that run the gamut from reading a book according to an author’s age when published, to where the book takes place, to specific genres, to self-help (traditional to non-traditional, which is inspiring people in the Goodreads group to read cookbooks to help them and other non-traditional books to help themselves). It’s a very loose challenge, so if you don’t normally read 24 books in a year, a book can cover two or more categories to accomplish all the tasks. It’s entirely up to you. I’ll have the hardest time with the poetry task.  I’m excited for the New Year to begin so I can get started. Like cross-stitch, I seem to think I can finish the challenge in five minutes. I have a list of selections for each category (with some books listed in multiple categories). My goal is to read books I already own or to check out titles from the library. I don’t want to purchase books specifically to complete a task. Unless I simple can’t resist…

Happy New Year to all and happy stitching!

🙂

I completed something

It’s tiny. Don’t laugh. It’s something.   It’s called Vive Noel. It’s a kit I got on one of my stashquisition adventures. It’s a mysterious item. It appears to be part of a series called Miniatures d’Alphabets by a French company called Alphabets. What I do know is that it’s stitched over one on 40-ct. linen with the included supplies, and I didn’t stitch the entire design for two reasons–I made some sort of counting error and my project is two stitches too narrow and I didn’t feel like dealing with figuring out where to make the compensation in the bottom portion of the design, AND it seemed done to me. This was the part of the design I was drawn to. I guess maybe I should have found a place for my initials and the year, but, meh.

Vitals: Vive Noel kit by Alphabets Stitched one over one on provided 40-ct linen

 

P.S. WordPress seems to have gotten buggy in my absence. It didn’t accept my photo opening in a new window, like it invited me to request, and then it squished everything into one paragraph. Rebellious little platform, isn’t it? 😮

Happy Stitching! 🙂

Final sharing from 2013

It’s time to clean up the hanging threads of 2013 and make sure I’ve shared everything I’ve meant to share. I’ve been a neglectful blogger this year, so I have a few pictures I haven’t yet posted.

Bone Appetit from Lizzie Kate’s Halloween Thrillogy. I finished this a few days after Halloween.

Later in November, I got Pieta framed. I took a quick picture to show my father before Christmas. He was traveling for the holidays, so I’ll be sending this off to him shortly. I never did get a better picture than this. Dad joked I should take a picture with my phone. I thought it was a good suggestion. That one wasn’t better.

After I sent Wendy her ornament, I started working on ornaments for myself that I’ve wanted to stitch for a very long time–Brightneedle’s “To Thee” stockings from JCS Ornament issues. I stitched them on 28-ct. Country Cream Vintage linen. I used all DMC for each ornament.

           

To Thee Love, from the 2004 JCS Ornament Issue, and To Thee Hope, from the 2006 JCS Ornament Issue.

                     

To Thee Peace from the 2003 JCS Ornament Issue, and To Thee a Very Merry from the 2008 JCS Ornament Issue.

I rotated the colors in Peace to give her a pink dress instead of pink accents. For A Very Merry, I added the year and moved around the eyelet stitches above the year to fit. I also had fun with the eyelets. Many of them are off center.

Finally, I made progress on 272 Words by Primrose Needleworks. I’m not quite done with the first page. Instead of GAST Nutmeg for the text, I’m using soot by Nina’s Threads, which I ordered from The Thread Basket.

That does it for 2013. I’m going to participate in the Sampler World Snoot Parrots SAL 2014 on Facebook, so I’ll have another WIP very soon.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year.  Happy Stitching! 🙂

Merry Christmas

I participated in an ornament exchange with Wendy this year.  She sent hers early, but I had to wait to open it. Like all things this autumn/winter, finishing and sending Wendy’s ornament took longer than it should have. Here’s what she sent me:

It’s the gorgeous Fresh Fallen Snow by Little House Needleworks, which was published in the JCS 2011 Ornament issue. It was quite easy to verify the particulars, because this was on my list of ornaments to stitch–

I’ve got a few ornaments rated 10 before I move on to the ones I’ve rated 9 (or lower), but I don’t have to wait for this one. I’m so lucky! Thank you, Wendy. I love it.

Here is the ornament I stitched for Wendy. It arrived before Christmas, and we opened our packages sort of together on Facebook. That was nice. 🙂

A “Tweet,” Merry Christmas and Healthy, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Happy Stitching. 🙂

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I have a brown thumb, so I grow mine one stitch at a time. 😀 Here are the pieces awaiting assembly. At a quick glance, you can see the pink pieces appear to have seam allowances that are too small. If any parts are going to end up in difficulty, these are the pieces you’d predict. You’ll soon see that wasn’t the case.

    

Assembly in progress~~

The top and bottom pieces stitched together…

At this stage of assembly, the boy and I agreed it looked like a Chain Chomp from Super Mario World. You might also be able to see that in addition to interface, I lined each piece with quilt batting. I had two reasons for this. First, I came across the idea on this blog while looking for photos of other stitchers’ completed balls. That post’s pictures didn’t load for me, ironically. I was intrigued by the recommendation to use batting. I’ve never had the experience with lumpy fiberfill she mentioned, but that seemed a good reason to try it. My second reason for using the batting is that I love this project so much, I wanted to prolong the experience.  Eventually, though, it was finished…

I love it. There are a few wonky things “wrong” with it. But I love this piece so completely, I don’t even care. That’s so uncharacteristic of me. Here’s the wonkiest part~~

I’m not sure how/why that happened. That’s the white fabric, which puzzlingly, had the largest seam allowances of all of the linen colors. It’s DMC brand. It had the loosest weave and was the stiffest fabric I used. The stiffness was nice for finger pressing, but something went wrong with the stuffing. I chalk it up to the loose weave. I would ordinarily flip out over this. But Fray Check is my friend, the ball is safe and I am wabi-sabi about the whole thing. As I said, uncharacteristic. Love is blind. 😉

Happy Stitching! 🙂

February Catch-up

This is what I was up to in February:

Vitals:
Peace on Earth by Victoria’s Sampler as appeared in 2011 JCS Ornaments issue. Stitched on 28-ct Cafe Mocha linen.

I love this little purse so much. It was fun to stitch.

Vitals:
Think Snow by Sweetheart Tree. Stitched with recommended fibers and beads on 32-ct Blue Ice linen.

I’m not going to mention how many times I’ve lost and found this chart, mmkay? I think I love the final choice of linen color, though I do occasionally wish I’d used the opalescent gray I bought for it, because it was sparkly. But the icy blue makes me happy without opalescence, so it’s all good.

Happy Stitching! 🙂

Ornaments, plus a couple other goodies

Well, I’ve been scarce, haven’t I? Part of it was not feeling like blogging, and part of it was Webshots changing over to Smile. That completely discombobulated me. I’m still pouting that all my linked photos are gone.

I hope you had a happy, blessed holiday season.

I may have been hiding, but I was stitching while doing so! So, pictures, pictures, pictures!

First: June Monthly Sampler finished into a flat fold. Yes, I finished stitching it in ’07. Yes, I have many more flat folds to complete. Don’t judge me.

Next is God Bless Those by Shakespeare’s Peddler. I ordered this as a gift to myself and stitched it up straight away. Now it needs to be finished, as my many previously mentioned monthly samplers do.

Vitals:
God Bless Those by Shakespeare’s Peddler
Stitched with included supplies as charted on 40-ct linen provided; key charm added where stitched key was charted.

Now the ornaments. 🙂

I finished the Shepherd’s Bush Merry Be pincushion as an ornament. The fabric you see was used as backing. The red isn’t that bright, but you get the idea. When I try to darken photos, Picasa gets upset. I was going to ruche the ribbon like the model, but I liked it plain. I like the knotted ribbon, too. Amazing ideas can come from impatience and laziness. I liked the plain finish so much that I didn’t bother to cover the slice I put into it with a seam ripper. I’m learning to be wabi sabi about my stitching. Sort of. You can see where the slice was, but I’m not helping you find it. 😀

Hardanger Poinsettia by Carole Rodgers for Cross Stitch & Country Crafts, April 1994. This was stitched on 32-ct Picture this Plus Phoenix linen. The flash was really bright on this. The red is darker. The splotch is pink, which I really like. That only took eighteen years.

He’s a Flake by Little House Needlework. I stitched twins. One for an exchange partner, one for myself, because I lurve him. They were stitched on 32-count linen (I think Rue Green) with the recommended colors, except the red. I don’t remember what I used. It was less brick-y, but not really bright.

Christmas Beer, front and back. This is modified from Christmas Cheer by Heart in Hand, as appeared in the JCS Ornament issue, 2001. I removed the year, moved the stars, and used the hearts from a different ornament on that page (I can’t remember the designer offhand. You don’t want me to procrastinate posting this to go check, do you?). The beer stein was modified from a picture of an old design I had saved on my computer. This was stitched on 32-count linen, Rue Green.  I’ve been planning this for forever, too. This ornament has great family sentiment behind it. It’s based on a carol my husband “wrote” while enjoying Christmas cheer. Here are the lyrics:

A McGinty Carol

Christmas cheer
For Christmas beer
Christmas is
Our time of year!

{You’re welcome. 😉 }

I’m thrilled I finished two ornaments that have been on the back burner for so many years. You know how it is: so many ideas, so little time. And so many distractions.  Nod, nod

Happy Stitching, and all the best in 2013.

Exchange Day Came Early

Because we couldn’t wait (kiddies, much?), because all ornaments had been received, the exchange moderator moved the opening day to yesterday. I gasped and squealed when I saw my giftie. It was on my to-stitch list. I’d admired it on other blogs. And now I don’t have to stitch it, or think about how I want to stitch it someday, because I have it! I’m thrilled to bits. Thank you, Carmen. 🙂

Joy of the Snowflake by Litlle by Little from the 2011 JCS Ornament issue. How perfect is that trim? It’s whimsical and gives the ornament movement and life. Carmen attached it with matching beads.  Just gorgeous. Did I mention I love it? Because I do. 😀

Here is what I stitched for Lyn, and previewed the other day–

She says she likes it, and I’m relieved. Exchanges always tie me in knots, which is why I don’t participate in them often. And then they’re over, and I’m so happy I did it.

Lizzie Kate, JCS Ornament issue from the 90’s, 32-ct shell linen, recommended fibers, flat finish. And stuff. I’ll likely edit it with proper info later, but you get the gist.

Happy Stitching! 🙂

Ornament exchange preview

I stitched an ornament for an exchange on a Yahoo group I belong to. The opening date is Dec. 20. I can’t show what I stitched until then, but I can have fun and show a preview here for myself.

This is sort of a picture of the back. The starry pattern is the fabric I used for the ornie back, and I did put our initials and the year on the back with blanket stitch. Really, though, I used a neon framing tool that eliminated the ornament’s image and changed the trim’s color and moved the initials to the center of the ornament. And now I realize how complicated that was, but I was goofing around and didn’t know what I was going to do until I did it. It was just a bit of fun.

Happy Stitching! 🙂

Gifts for a Graduate

I stitched a few things for my step-daughter, who recently graduated from nursing school.

First up is the ornament I shared earlier, Christmas Mosaic by M Designs.

I also stitched Merry Christmas Stocking by Blackbird Designs.

Last is a sachet. It’s a freebie from the blog, Broderies Passion Martine 290. It was published 20 November, 2011. It was charted to say, “best wishes,” but I changed it a bit to suit my needs. It’s stuffed with walnut shells and lavender. This diploma is a scrapbooking brad.

Thank you, Wendy!

I participated in an exchange on a Yahoo group I belong to, and Wendy was my partner. We had a bit of a scare, thinking the ornament she stitched me had gotten lost in transit, but patience won out. *PHEW!* Here is the ornament Wendy stitched for me:

I scanned the perfect fabric Wendy used for the back of the ornament, which I used as background for the picture. It’s so adorable. When the husband saw it, he exclaimed, “It’s Michigan!” It’s on our tree now, front and center so I can see it when I watch TV and/or stitch.

Thank you, Wendy. It’s terrific.

This is what I stitched for her:

Vitals:
Souvenir of Paris Stocking. Designed by Barb Adams of Blackbird Designs, as appeared in Joyeux Noel book.
Stitched on 30-ct St Valentine’s Blend linen, as was the model.
Fibers as recommended except I used CC Black Coffee instead of WDW Caper.
Modifications: I used motifs from the design to stitch the back of the stocking, and used an alphabet from the Joyeux Noel sampler (Reproduction adapted by Barb Adams and Alissa Christianson) that appeared in the same book

It was a lot of fun to stitch. I enjoyed every minute of it.

It was a great exchange. I also loved the card Wendy handcrafted for me. Thank you, Wendy, so much. 🙂

Exchange complete

I recently participated in an ornament exchange on one of my Yahoo groups. One of my “likes” was Quaker motifs. I didn’t say anything about how I’ve been cooing and sighing at reindeer ornaments lately. Irene had her mindreading cap on, though, b/c this is what she sent me:

Quaker Reindeer by The Workbasket.  Feel free to coo and sigh at will. 😉

Here is the snowman I stitched for Julie:

I love how the colors in the backing fabric are in his stocking cap. I always feel happy-go-and-lucky when I find a match like that.

Vitals:
Snow Wishes ornament by Cathy Coombes of The Victoria Sampler Designs by Cathy Jean as appeared in JCS Ornament issue, 2009.
Stitched on 28-ct Cafe Mocha linen with recommended fibers. Initials on back stitched over one and attached with buttonhole stitch. Embellished with lace at bottom. Backing fabric from Moda’s Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey.

Happy Holidays…

So, um, Merry Christmas!  Early…late…your choice. 🙂  I stitched this piece in 2006, assembled it last autumn, and finally, finally attached trim to it this week!  I used DMC specialty fibers for fun.  You know how they say they heart wants what it wants?  Well, so does the imagination.  My brain forced me to use boa yarn for the trim.  Bossy cow, that brain of mine.  I’m glad I listened.  The boy wanted me to use a traditional trim, but the brain said, “No.”  I think it’s more fun this way, and doesn’t highlight the lopsidedness of the ornament.  I thought for sure I measured and cut the board symmetrically–front and back, yes.  Each side, not so much.  Truth:  it bugs me that it’s not even.  Bigger truth: it doesn’t bug me so much that I started over again.  I think my camera’s beginning to fail.  I don’t seem to be able to get sharp pictures lately.

Vitals:
Loopity Tree Ornament, designed by Twisted Oaks from the 2005 JCS Ornament issue.
Stitched on 28-ct white evenweave with DMC Color Variations, Fluorescent (bird) and Light Effects (tree).  I made a counting error and was able to fit my initials on the tree.  Happy accident.

Continuing in the holiday theme, today I received a new chart from Monique of My Mark Designs.  I ordered it from her Etsy shop, and she included a mystery skein of Vikki Clayton’s silk.  Thank you, Monique! 🙂

If I don’t get back here before Saturday, Happy Valentine’s Day!  ♥ ♥

Ornament exchange

I participated in an ornament exchange, and Milly picked my name.  I squealed with delight when I finally got to open my ornament.  I love Santa, and I love Carriage House Samplings, and I love Milly’s beautiful stitching.  How lucky am I??

I stitched an ornament for Nancy. One thing she said was that she likes Brightneedle designs. So do I!, so this was an easy pick for me to stitch.

I’ve been busy working on a gift for the husband, which he requested. I haven’t been doing anything else. “Don’t worry about it,” the husband says. “I don’t care when I receive it,” he says. Is he crazy? How long has he known me? Don’t worry about it. Yeah, right. I should have stitched him this, I think it would have been quicker, but I know he’d rather have what I decided upon.  As a hint, I will tell you it’s from this series, which I know the husband loves.   While searching for a page with the series, my status as a slow stitcher was confirmed.  This stitcher stitched six from the series and each of them took less than two weeks to stitch.  I’ve been working on mine faithfully for three weeks.  Well, four, but I lost a week of stitching time when I visited my guy, so I’m only counting three weeks.  I’m hoping to finish the piece this weekend, so I can take it in to get it framed on Monday, and hopefully, it will be ready before he goes back to California.  That’s my hope, my plan.  If not, well, I did my best.  Did I tell you he asked me to do this for him on Nov. 11?  I had nothing to go on.  I was in a panic.  I had planned to stitch him Missing You at a leisurely pace, not as a Christmas gift.  I couldn’t give that to him for Christmas, though.  It’s not really his style, and if he wants me to stitch him something, it’s got to be something he would like.  He asked me to stitch him something with a University of Washington logo (his alma mater).  I laughed.  How am I going to get a pattern like that in a timely fashion?  I could go on and on about the stress and anxiety that has visited me in the last month, but I’ve got stitching to do! 😉

Hint

Here is a hint for my exchange partner (and you don’t know who you are–yet)

There. That ought to narrow it down a bit.

Christmas Goodies

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We did around here.  My gift was tickets to see Wicked in Chicago in February!  Squeee!

I participated in an ornament exchange on Yahoo’s Bent Creek and Trilogy group.  Here’s the lovely ornament Nancy stitched for me:

It’s all over one.  Note the perfect lazy daisy stocking hanger (just to point out one feature of the beautiful stitching).

Here it is on my tree:

If I’d been more clever, I’d have made a point of including the pretty Santa ornament Melita stitched for me in July in the picture.   They aren’t very far from each other.  Alas, I’m not more clever. But, here’s a clickable thumbnail to remind you:

Here’s the ornament I stitched for Renee:

Bad pictures, sorry.  It’s Star of Wonder by Forgets-Me-Nots in Stitches, from the 2001 JCS ornament issue.  The fabric is lighter yellow than the model, and I changed the stitching colors b/c Renee said she likes those colors.  I like her colors, too, don’t you?

I also got some yummy stash!

Two charts from the French company, Tournicoton (now being carried by Down Sunshine Lane! *clap, clap*),  and a Kelmscott Needleminder, fabric to stitch GPA’s A Canadian Journey Sewing Necessaire, a French book of motifs and a book on temari! *sigh*  I love temari, but don’t hold your breath waiting for a finished piece! LOL 😀

Here’s a toast for all of you, wishing you a very Happy New Year!

Received!

My exchange partner posted that she received her ornament on our Bent Creek group, so I can share with everyone.

Based on the “Christmas Ornament 2004” design by Barbara L Rakosnik of Periwinkle Promises in JCS Ornament Issue, 2004. Stitched on 32-ct linen, I substituted queen stitches with star stitches, using DMC rayon floss.  And, you know, switched the red floss for white, and ivory fabric for red.  Hanger and tassels were made with RG Very Velvet floss. Alphabet on back by La Broderie (as usual, for me).  I love the backstitching design of this piece so much.  It’s not often I stitch a design more than once, but I’ve used that motif twice now.  The first time was in a biscornu for an exchange.

More…
I’m a member of livejournal’s cross stitch group.  I posted the wedding sampler I stitched for my brother and SIL there.  Now, two stitchers are stitching it, using the red-heart color change I did.  I believe they are both using three shades of red (in place of the gold)  rather than an overdyed floss like I did.  One is a wedding sampler, the other is stitching it as an anniversary sampler.  I am most flattered.  My brother called me, Terri A M, Super Genius.  We grew up watching Looney Tunes, you see. 😉