End of Year Wrap-up --- and plans for 2012

I thought 2010 was a low productivity year with only 17 completions but 2011 has it beat! I had 32 completions  (1 of which was a long-standing UFO) but most (25) of the completions were small needlepoint stitch exercise pieces. I did manage to hold off on starting a new piece until a current  WIP was finished. I did complete the 2011 Bead Journal Project (although each piece needs to be "finished" into a wall hanging). And my seven entries in the county fair won 5 blue ribbons, 1 red and one white (I actually made my entry fee back!)!  I am a full-fledged, non-quilting member of the local quilt guild (and their webmaster as well!); maybe one day I will actually quilt something! So I guess I didn't do so badly after all.

I end the year with 2 WIPs: "Sewing with Mama", a Candamar kit, designed by Sandy Lynam Clough, which has all the embellishment stitching to go, and "Palm Tree Elegance", a Dimensions needlepoint kit, which I worked on briefly, again while on a cruise.

I have four UFOs still in the cupboard:
"Angel of Love" - started before we moved to England in 1992!
"Celestial Angel"  - started before we moved to England in 1992!
"Map of England and Wales" - started in Saudi
"Nature's Song" (excerpted from a larger chart) - started in Saudi

to say nothing of that ancient crewel-work pillow (I'm sure the moths have done in the wool by now) and all the top work on six or seven needlepoint pieces that all predate 1992! And a slew of piece-worked tops from quilting classes in Saudi...

And then there is my Round Robin piece from 2006 --- I still need to finish that off. As well as two BJP years, and a slew of Bargello and Learn-a-Stitch needlepoint exercises! Finishing is my weak point, as you can see...

So 2012:

In addition to "Sewing with Mama" (and "Palm Tree Elegance" on next year's cruise!), I have re-upped with the Bead Journal Project; signed up for challenges at Take a Stitch Tuesday 2012, the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012, and the 2012 WIPopalyse; as well as signed up for a year-long online course for "Kimono - Revisted" at Silver Needle Society. There are still Learn-a-Stitch mini socks to do (five, I think), and there are the ongoing exercise pieces in Janet Perry's Bargello and Stash-Busting Clubs…

So many from Cross Stitch Crazy have joined the WIPocalypse 2012 Challenge that the theme over there (and therefore here) will be WIPocalypse as well! In addition to my regular weekly progress reports, there will be specific WIPocalypse postings on the full moon of every month and special postings for TAST 2012 (Tuesdays), CQJP 2012 (monthly), Kimono-Revisted (monthly), and BJP 2012 (monthly, I hope!). Blogging will be keeping me as busy as stitching, I fear!

This sure doesn't leave me a lot of room for starting anything "new", and that could become a problem because I've been feeling a case of start-itis coming on for a month or two now...

Last completion of 2011

Learn-a-Stitch Mini Sock "Double Cross":



I used DMC Variations 4120 and 4077,  and DMC 307, 353 and B5200. I was thinking citrus but it came out more like "Dreamsicle"! Funny how mixing yellow and white with one variegated thread makes it look so differently!

WIP myself into shape, Week 52

There is a WIP --- it's one of the Learn-a-stitch mini socks, about 60% complete, but I don't have a photo. However, I do have two more completions:

Learn-a-Stitch Mini Sock "Byzantine":



where I used WDW "Celebration" (4123), DMC Variations 4240, DMC Satin S553, and DMC 312, 552 and 553.

Learn-a-Stitch Mini Sock "Laid Stitches":



where I used DMC metallic silver (5283), DMC Variations 91, and DMC 595, 3808 and B5200.

I'll get back to that WIP after the appliance repairman comes and goes  and will probably posts a photo tonight or tomorrow.

Bargello Club 2011 - a finish

Cup Cake 2 ...

When Janet Perry sent out the instructions, she said that she found that Cup Cake 1 looked naked and needed a background, so she provided a second model with a Darning background. So this is my version: A chocolate (DMC 938, 3031 and 839) cupcake with yellow icing (DMC Varuations 4077, DMC Satin S744, and DMC Pearlescent Effects E746)  - does lemon go with chocolate? -  and a white (DMC blanc) background.

So I'm caught up with Bargello Club --- a sure sign another is in the mail! 

Another stash-buster

This is another Janet Perry "Learn-a'Stitch" exercise, called "Alternations". Shopping my stash, I used WDW "Morris Blue" (2109) and "Snowflake" (4125), three shades of DMC blues (597, 598 and 3808) and a DMC metallic silver (5283):

A Stash busting Stocking

It's a Janet Perry design in her Learn a Stitch series --- called Potpourri I:


Stitched on 18-ct mono canvas using Weeks Dye Works "Noel", DMC 561 (dark green), DMC Variations 4210 (red variegated) and DMC 30326 (red rayon), all "shopped" from my stash...
Here's hoping I can get it to load in my photo album without losing any more thumbnails!

WIP myself into shape, Week 51

and nothing to show for it --- Christmas is getting in the way of stitching!

Anyone have any clue as to why my photos are disappearing and will NOT reload from my computer? I haven't heard from customer service and it's bugging me!

Problems with this blog

For some reason, photos are disappearing from both blog posts and photo albums... in a somewhat random manner. The ones with issues are the 2011 album http://thatyankstitches.multiply.com/photos/album/19/My_2011_Stitchery, the Bargello Club album  http://thatyankstitches.multiply.com/photos/album/22/Janet_Perry_Bargello_Club_2011and two blog posts here: http://thatyankstitches.multiply.com/journal/item/209/Two_of_the_bonus_Bargello_pieces_complete and here: http://thatyankstitches.multiply.com/journal/item/204/WIP_myself_into_shape_Week_31 (After half an hour and five attempts, I managed to fix a third blog post...)

Attempts at reloading the pictures are failing. So if you are looking at my site, apologies! I have a request for help into customer service --- who knows how long that will take...

Cupcake I, the December Bargello Club entry

Think devils-food cake cupcakes with butter cream icing...


There's a "second" model in the instructions with a background but I need different colors to work that as my canvas is white and white next to that white icing won't work, I think.

The last Bead Journal piece for 2011...

December "Holidays"--- done in turquoise (since that is the birthstone for the month) and adorned with a rather pathetic free-form poinsettia!

WIP myself into shape, Week 50

Nothing to show for this week. I worked, off and on, on the December BJP and it's not ready yet...

WIP myself into shape, Week 49

Sewing with Mama! --- 

the background stitchery is finished (unless I fond a missing stitch when doing the top stitching, that is... that often happens). I even got in some of the blending filament work (Cross stitched a pair of scissors near the sewing machine needle) and all the French knots (pin heads on the pin cushion to the right of the machine, because they used the same blending thread as the scissors,  as well as attached to the machine arm, and four on the sewing machine balance wheel, just because!)! Now to decipher the very cryptic backstitch. straight stitch, and couching directions since all the lines on the stitching chart are of the same color, weight and thickness, one has to be able to determine just what constitutes an item like "heavy" straight stitches on the sewing machine, etc...

I suspect it will sit this weekend through since I did a thorough count of kitted up pieces: 8 Learn a Stitch stockings from Janet Perry, one Bargello Club piece, two Stash Busting Club pieces, and the December BJP await! And the messages and tutorials are already flying in the Kimono-revisted class. I did get the the "Frog Pile" framed and the Christmas gift box lid assembled through. The exchange is December 20, so they need gift wrapping now!

WIP myself into shape, Week 48

Working on the printed "fabric" to the left --- driving me nuts as that is where I need to do a LOT of fudging due to the one counting mistake I made way back in August - a counting mistake which has compounded itself as time passed! Still, that piece is pretty abstract and fudging won't make much of a difference (I hope!). 


The second installment of the Stash Busting Club arrived yesterday and I haven't even kitted out the first one yet! AAACK! These are larger pieces than the Bargello Club studies and all have purposes which are not my usual stitching goals. We shall see if I can convert them to my purpose. And December BJP is calling out to me --- maybe this weekend, after Christmas cards and the like!...

November 2011 Bead Journal completion

"Autumn Glory" --- it came out sparklier than I anticipated, and the mixed autumn "wing" at the upper left doesn't show up well against the fabric I chose but it's done! Now on to December!

WIP myself into shape, Week 47

Spent a lot of time on BJP (not much progress there, I fear) and Bargello Club this week (two completions posted), but I did get in a day or two of stitching on "Sewing with Mama!":

At least one can see the form it's going to take now... But the fudging (and ripping when I can) is driving me nuts! And I'm not happy with all these outstanding WIPs --- I had pretty much cleared up my backlog and seem to have gotten myself back INTO a backlog. AAARTH!

And another!

This is the second part of the November Bargello Club, using the same yarns (plus one). The sock yarn is Walk Away's "Heel to Toe" #42; the light purple is Baby Bee's Sweet Delight "Sugarplum" #60, and the dark purple is Love This Cotton's "Amethyst" #250.

I think these yarns now constitute part of my stash and I will use them on the first Stash Buster Project...

TWO completions!

Both needlepoint.

The first was the LAS Mini Sock: Potpourri III, designed by Janet Perry and posted on her web site. LAS stands for "Learn A Stitch" and these socks are mini samplers. I shopped my stash and used GAST variegated (Purple Iris) and four shades of Needlepaints in the orchid range (2002, 2003, 2007, 2008). There's a mistake in this one which I didn't discover until two rows further on, and since I was running short of that color, I couldn't rip it out. I don't think it shows but an expert would find it... Also, since I was running out of the GAST, I had to use fewer strands in the toe section of the sock than in the cuff...

The second was Anna's Ribbons, one of two in the November Bargello Club installment. It uses a variegated sock yarn (Walk Away's "Heel to Toe" # 42) and a finger-weight pastel (Baby Bee's Sweet Delight "Suharplum" #60). First time I had to go our and BUY something as I didn't have a thread that variegated the way I wanted! As you can see, I have issues with circles --- they always seem to come out flat on one side or another!

So now i have to ask myself ...I'm NOT a purple person but I seem to be doing a lot of purple of late! Why do I own so much purple variegated threads?

WIP myself into shape, Week 46

Well, in addition to  stitching on Christmas gift and teh Stitch & Zip eyeglass case, I finally pulled  "Sewing with Mama" back out of the WIP pile and made some progress (although it is hard to see since it is cream on white)...


It's hard to believe but it's been over a month since I last stitched on this!

Waiting in the wings: I've kitted up three of the bargello projects (Stash Busting Club still needs to be measure out to fit the frame I have) and bought some more beads for BJP - December.  I have to take "Frog Pile" to the framer and put together the Christmas gift box, as well as line the inside of three Stitch & Zip pieces so they can be USED! And the 2010 BJP journal booklet still awaits assembly... Clearly, I am WAY behind!

Another completion

That vaunted "Christmas gift" piece... dark Christmas red silk mori on white linen:
It's actually one of the border motifs from "Cottage Garden", designer Marc Davis for Needlemania but the entire piece (7 more of these motifs to make up a rectangle plus some speciality stitching in the center) was WAY too big for the box lid I want to mount it on. This is just right for a 5" x 5" opening... and besides, it's a counting nightmare!

And I have enough linen and probably enough silk as well to do the entire piece someday --- but not someday soon. I have kitted-up pieces galore waiting to be stitched (many of which are Bargello Club, Stash Busting Club and Bead Journal Project projects), to say nothing of a few UFOs from ages ago, and of course, "Sewing with Mama!"!

Oh, and did I tell you? I registered to do "Kimono: 90 Stitches" at Shining Needle Society. I clearly must be mad!

Completion

Zen Bamboo eyeglass case, designer Lani Silver for Alice Peterson's Stitch & Zip... completed November 11, 2011

WIP myself into shape, Week 45

Decided to finish up that Stitch & Zip eyeglass case and almost made it --- just a little dark green to go:


The canvas came for my various projects for Bargello Club and Stash Busting Club... Now to kit them up. November BJP is ready to go: pattern is cut, beads are purchase - it just needs a design idea and I'm blanking on that. The proposed Christmas gift is still awaiting it's silk order, while Sewing with Mama is going to have to wait in the wings for a while. My stitching "dance card" is full!

October's Bead Journal piece...

Holiday because a) we were on holiday most of October (which is why this one is late) and b) because of Halloween!

The striped part was based on a button I had which I wanted to use on this mask but which was too large... So I copied it instead!

November has beads now --- just need a plan...

WIP myself into shape, Week 44

Not a lot of stitching this week, really. I did complete the last of the October Bargello Club and posted it here.

I did start on the Christmas gift but decided to wait until I got more of the silk I'm using because, while it says on the chart, one strand over two, I like the coverage of two strands better... Its called Cottage Garden, designer Marc Davis for Needlemania:



And I did work on my October BJP --- it's about 1/3 done now. And of course, November should be ready to go by now, shouldn't it? I still haven't decided is I want to do BJP a third year...

Not a stitch on "Sewing with Mama!" --- it'll have to wait until after the Christmas gift is finished.

And the Stash Club's first piece is here and ready to be kitted up... but I needed needlepoint canvas so that's on order too.

A completion for Bargello Club

In the October mailing, Janet Perry talked about how to modify a pattern she had seen online, using color --- the pattern was a shaded mushroom or tree-like pattern but she suggested sugary pastels and call it Lollipops. Well, I shopped my stash and found some pastel perle 5 cotton but by the time I finished with my version, it's more like Balloons!

WIP myself into shape, Week 43

Clearly, I missed week 42 and I have to admit I only put in a few hours stitchery while cruising, even though I carried my project along with me!

Sewing with Mama! is exactly where it was in Week 41:



I got two borders of spots (turned the corner on the right and nearly finished the one of the left) done on Palm Tree Elegance:



and two little patches of black floss in a Stitch & Zip eyeglass case that the needlework class on board gave away (it looks a little strange because the floss is stuffed inside the case right now):


I have a "bonus" bargello club piece yet to be kitted up and I fear that there is one in the mail as well...

October BJP hasn't been started and November is almost here!

And I have a Christmas gift I simply HAVE to start!

Is it time to panic yet?

Way to early for week 41 but...

Here is where Sewing With Mama will sit while we are on holiday...



Switching over to needlepoint now!

WIP myself into shape, Week 40

"Sewing With Mama!" It's progressing, slowly... If you squint, you can almost tell that that is a sewing cabinet with an open drawer on the right...

Of course, I'd be a lot further along if I didn't keep diverting to bargello!

Part two of October's Bargello Club

Ms. Perry named it "Daffodil Box" because she was going to use it in a box lid, and her example was one motif deeper and three wider than mine. I cut it down to fit the one piece of 18ct canvas I had left...


Shopping my thread stash again, I used Carrie's Creation "Jade Tree" for the green outlines and six shades each of DMC yellow ( 307, 444, 445, 726, 727, 728) and DMC orange ( 352, 352, 353, 720, 721, 722) as well as DMC white to create the daffodils!

She referenced one more "abstract" bargello pattern in her instructions so I'm off to find that one and print it and kit it out... Ooops --- maybe not! The printer, the marvelous wireless printer that replaced my dodgy cabled one, is NOT connecting! It will not print! Have no clue why! And of course, no more cabled printer so... it's either email the instructions to DH and have him print them or wait and see if he can fix it... AAARGH! A few hours later --- had to reload the software, FOUR times and finally gave up and set it up from the printer itself. Of course, it still is giving me an error message (COmmunication Error? What the?) but it finally printed. At least for now, I can print but this is NOT my idea of cool!

A completion for October Bargello Club...

It's part one of a two part piece, and is called Moghul Spires ornament. As usual, I shopped my stash for threads and used all DMC this time: 550, 552, 553, 554 and for the hanger, 169.

The second part of the October installment is called Daffodil and I've kitted it up, but it sill take a little longer, I think, since it's a little more complex.

WIP myself into shape, Week 39

Just slogging along, two colors and one frogging incident later...


At least I have the edges set now... all four of them! So fudging to correct that counting error up there in the sewing machine is going to be a  bit easier...at least until it's time to do the top-stitching.

WIP myself into shape, Week 38, AND a completion!

First, the completion!

My September Bead Journal piece is called "September Winds" --- not quite how I envisioned it but the leaf beads I had simply didn't work. And the color isn't really as  stark as the photo make it appear...



Because I spent so much tie this week on Bargello Club and Bead Journal Project, I didn't get a lot accomplished on "Sewing with Mama!" --- just a bit more of that drab grey background:

September 2011 Bargello Club - a finish

It's called "Little Wave" and was intended as a "book cover" but I made it slightly smaller, square instead of rectangular so it would be ornament size... The threads used are House of Embroidery "Harvest (#64), Gentle Arts "Forest Glade", Gentle Arts Avocado (# 0130), Gentle Arts Evergreen and Simply Sampler "Green Apple"...

And no, it's not stitched on blue canvas. I used the cat bench in my window to get natural light and it's navy blue. which showed through the white canvas!

WIP myself into shape, Week 37

Here is where "Sewing With Mama" stands right now... wrinkles are due to my Q snaps ...


I still haven't started on the September BJP or the September Bargello Club pieces. In fact, I think I need some beads for the BJP and Bargello Club still needs to have the threads selected, lahtough teh pattern adn canvas have arrived.

Sewing with Mama --- what it SHOULD look like!

See what I mean about color?

Oh well, maybe it will all work out in the end...

WIP myself into shape, Week 36

Well, I did stitch some --- took a break on that ghastly "blue-grey" and put in the cream (which is really hard to see on this fabric), and found two more one-stitch errors! AAARGH. And the fabric looks like it was skimpily cut as well --- only an inch to spare on the left side! And my Q-snaps are NOT happy with so little fabric to hold on to--- tension is a real issue!

This may be a kitting trend to save money  (this is the second kit company I have found shorting me on fabric in the last year...) but I do NOT like it! I mean, they SAY the picture as 10 by 12 so why do they supply a SQUARE of fabric --- more than ample margins top and bottom, skimpy at the sides! From now on, I'm re-kitting with my own fabrics.


 My September Bargello Club piece arrived Tuesday (I need to kit that out) and I still have to stitch my BJP for September...

WIP myself into shape, Week 35

"Sewing with Mama", designer Sandy Lynam Clough, kit by Candamar.

It's not a big piece (only 10 by 12) but already it's giving me headaches. At least six sheets of instructions, two of which are top stitching. So many threads and then there are the blended threads (WHY do I hate blended threads so much, anyway). The frog has visited regularly and then, when I got to this point, I found out I had goofed way back in the black ONE stitch which throws off the left side of the sewing machine (can you tell that's a sewing machine?) ... and I had already put in three more colors before I found it out. SOOO... fudge time!

What is more, this is another of those kits that shows a picture on the front that has no relation whatsoever with the actual colors that this is... for example, that "blue grey" in the upper right corner? It shows as a wedgewood blue in the photo. Irritating!

Oh well, enough whingeing. Here's the picture:

WIP myself into shape, Week 34

House guests this week so I didn't get much stitching done. And what little I did get done, I found, after four lengths of embroidery, was the wrong color so along came the "frog"!

So this is all you can see for "Sewing with Mama!", a Candamar kit, designed by Sandy Lynam Clough:

And the third... so I'm caught up with Bargello Club

"Bargello Surprise". It's supposed to be perfectly round but I lost my way about halfway through so it's more squished than I would like. Anyway, stitched with DMC FLoss (946, 972, 310 and 4124) as well as Kreinik gold cord (doubled but it still could have covered better).

Two of the "bonus" Bargello pieces complete

This one was called "Lightening Strike" and was stitched with three shades of wool: DMC 7768, DMC 7387 and Paragon 46. It looks a little "plain" but I think when it is finished and edged with cording, it will perk up a bit!


This one was called "Diagonal Wave" and I stitched it with Stranded by the Sea's Ocean Deep (#203) and DMC 964. Was afraid I'd run out of the Ocean Deep but it was one of the ONLY Stranded by the Sea threads I had two of! Luckily, i didn't have to resort to the second bobbin!.

The third, and last bonus, called Bargello Surprise, is in the works...and except for the metallic ribbon called for (I substituted Kreinik Cable instead), I had ALL the threads used in the model. Quelle surprise! LOL

WIP myself into shape, Week 33

...and catching up with Bargello! These are the August 2011 installments in Bargello club --- meant to be inserts in cards but again, probably won't happen.



As usual, I shopped my floss stash and neither of these uses the recommended threads: the green and red one is stitched with red (7666) Appleton wool, Stranded By the Sea overdyed called "Long Leaf Kelp" and Silk mori solids (4033, 4037 and 4034), while the gold one is made from three different DMC "metallics" (5284, E146 and 5282, a bobbinated "gold" cotton floss (identity unknown, possibky DMC 3046 if the number on the bobbin means anything - but I don't bobbinate and it's not my handwriting!), and a GAST overdyed "Cherry Wine".

Three "bonus patterns to go...

August BJP completed.

"On the Beach"...


Given the weather this summer, that is where I would have liked to be but...

It came out more like a British "shingle" beach than an Floridian white sand beach but that's OK. Any beach will do!

Not perfect but...

"Purrfect", design by Marilyn Robertson, kit by Design Works, completed August 13, 2011:

WIP myself into shape, Week 32

All the cross-stitch on "Purrfect" is complete. Only black backstitching and some French knots to do now... since I decided to leave off the border and the name/date wedding sampler bit!

Then I can move on to August BJP *AND* the five bargello pieces I have waiting for the Janet Perry 2011 Bargello CLub (HOW did I let them sneak up on me like that?)

WIP myself into shape, Week 31

"Purrfect" didn't get my full attention this week, thanks to GIrls' Night Out and volunteering at the fair but I did get in a couple of colors on the boy cat:

Reporting in on the fair... UPDATED

I entered 12 pieces in all into seven categories and won.........

six ribbons! And made back my fair entry fee with $4 to spare!








A third place for my Marilyn Robertson Art deco black cat set (four of the pieces)

a second place for my Michael Powell "Greek Window"


 and first places for "Witches Wheel"


"Harvest Sampler"


"Garden Stars"

and "Fountain Mandala"



The last three pieces --- a trio of Christmas ornaments --- well I couldn't find them anywhere so I'm assuming they didn't win anything (although I didn't see a blue for any cross-stitched ornaments so I really don't know. The blue I did see was for three cute little snowmen but they weren't embroidered, so should have been in a different category...

We went back this afternoon and found my ornaments. They hung them on a tree about ten feet away but they were there!


And another blue! So make that $7.50 profit! LOL

All but two were in glass cases, and so there is some glare... Apologies! My husband took more pictures so I replaced my really glarey "Fountain Mandala" photo  with his...