Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge - Week 13

Let's start with a completion of sorts... the mini-challenge put out by Sharon B in this weeks' Take a Stitch Tuesday "break" take from 3 to six of the stitches we have learned so far and create some "eye candy. Well, you know me, I'm always looking at pieces others have done with these stitches and wondering "Why didn't *I* see that potential for that stitch?" And my "eye candy" probably isn't an original idea since I'm pretty sure it's been done before. But it is ALL my own, layout and I did the figures all freehand and from my own "knowledge" (and years of taking classes in marine biology)...

I stitched it on 32-ct opalescent overdyed "Reflections" ("Ocean")  from Silkweaver so the sparkle made photography a little tricky. The threads used were various scraps of Weeks Dye Works (3500 "Sand" for the pattern darning/running stitch ocean floor, 1230 "Molasses" for the French knot in the Sea-horse's Eye, 4125 "Snowflake" for the blanket stitch eye, and 4103 "Harvest" for chain stitched Brittle Star) and Gentle Art Sampler Threads ("Bittersweet for the whipped wheel scallop shell, Butternut Squash for the couched outlines and detached chain stitches in the sand dollars - which are barely visible in this photo, down near the scallop shell, Raspberry Parfait for the backstitched seahorse outline,  Antique rose for the blanket stitch fins and running stitch contours in the seahorse, and Green Apple, Shutter Green and Blue Spruce  for the fly stitch sea weeds).

By Tuesday, I had also completed (YAY!) the outline of "Kimono - Revisited", counting error and all. I can see it --- it's glaring to me, but am hoping that the filling stitches will camouflage the error. I looked and looked and looked until I was going cross-eyed; I marked up two chart copies, I even used pi pricks to keep count, but it is still off two stitches somewhere. Oh well, why should it be any different from any other counted project I do --- fudging is my middle name!

The fair announced it's needlework categories this week and, Lo! and Behold!, they are adding higher count fabrics (up to and including 40 ct) to framed samplers and pictures! It took two years of my comments but maybe someone was listening after all! Also, the "special" category this year is "Twas the Night Before Christmas" so I need to kit up a Christmas piece (I have just the thing) to do and see if there is any way I can get up to seven entries again this year (after all, the only way to make back my entry fee is to flood the categories...) while trying to keep up with all these challenges I signed up for *and* "Kimono - Revisited"!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 12

Again, it doesn't look like I got a lot done, and in fact, except for a Color Through the Ages piece and Take a Stitch Tuesday, both posted earlier this week, I didn't!  It didn't help that Tuesday night was a lost cause, stitchery-wise, since we had tickets to see the regional NCAAW basketball tournament which was being hosted by our local university (and one of my alma maters at that!). The game: No. 1 ranked Baylor v another of my alma maters, University of Florida! Needless to say, my Lady Gators weren't quite up to the job...

Every other night of this past week, that counting error (which I CANNOT find) on "Kimono - Revisited" more or less kept me away until Thursday night when I decided to say "to H... with it" and fudge! So I started in, only to find that somehow or other I had gotten lost in that dratted chart and had to rip out and restitch one whole column of outline. Let me tell you, if I EVER get this piece done, it will be a miracle of perseverance on my part!

Anyway, this is where the outlining stands right now...

Color Through the Ages - Lesson One

Ancient Egypt.



I pretty much followed the colors Janet Perry gave in her instructions, but I did add a green (DMC561) --- the color that the dead Osiris is often painted in tombs. My Lapis-blue is DMC30820, a rayon with some shine, and my gold is DMCE3852. Other colors were a rust red (DMC 355), an earthy brown (DMC 435), and a turquoise-frit (DMC 959). I used DMC 301 for the "border" and DMC blanc, ecru and 4150 for the background.

This one made me hunt for all the great books and guide leaflets we picked up on a Nile cruise. great memories!

Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge - Week 12

Week 12's stitch was actually two stitches (and to be honest, it had to be three since I had to learn a third to do these two!). The two stitched were Barred chain and Alternating Barred Chain and I had to learn Twisted Chain (top left):


I used GAST Raspberry Parfait and Butternut Squash on these...

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend - March 2012

Not as much progress as I would have liked for a weekend of "hermit stitching", and I'm debating on whether I will hunt for the latest counting mistake. I counted and recounted and recounted and I still don't see where I went wrong. Oh well... "Kimono- revisited" after a weekend of stitching...

and I did a floss toss and picked out what I'm going to stitch with on Color Through the Ages - Ancient Egypt!

A non-stitching post (!!!) and a "warning"...

Went to that concert and a) they aren't Chinese --- well not exactly. They are of Chinese origin but most were western raised (and many were western-born!). The group is based in NYC, not China, not even Taipei! and b) they aren't purely classical Chinese dance. In fact, they are an "arm" of Falun Gong (or Falun DaFa) which became apparent when they started doing little dance pieces about persecution of that sect (or cult, if you buy the People's Republic of China's POV). If I had been a little more vigilant, I might have noticed that their sponsor was Falun DaFa, which is the NYC version of Falun Gong... and when I googled the group, I found that they were actually a part of that sect.

OK, now the dancers are skilled and some of their routines were beautiful but about half-way into the piece, I began to feel like I was being preached at. I do not LIKE being preached at, ESPECIALLY when they cloak the preaching in song and dance and aren't up front with their intent! I almost laughed out loud when they stated, in a narrative, half-way through, that they performed all over the world but weren't allowed to perform in China. Well, no wonder!

So, if you want to see real Chinese classical dance, look for a group based in China (we saw one in Shanghai that was just FABULOUS). If you, like I, go to concerts to be culturally expanded but NOT to be converted to a specific religion or POV, avoid Shen Yun.

End of warning... Even though the tickets were free, I wish I'd stayed home and stitched!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 11

FInally! Forced into it. I am all caught up, sort of --- Colors through the Ages, part 1 - Ancient Egypt - is here in pdf but I haven't kitted it up yet, and of course, I'm not talking about all those wonderful charts and kitted up pieces calling my name or those four nasty UFOs that have been in my cupboard forever, but...

I started outline "Kimono-Revisited"!  Now I'm not close to done, three skeins of Kreinik 5003 later, and the number of times I have had to rip out because of miscounts! AAARGH! Not that I haven't been a good girl. I gridded my fabric and tacked it to a frame (still having tension issues so I will likely re-tack it after the outline is done), and I copied the chart and counted and numbered the outline TWICE! And still found that I missed one little stair step of 5 x 3 stitches! You can see the shadow of where THAT one was ripped out because I was almost finished with the top half of chart 1 when I found that! I have a few more miscounts but for the life of me can't find where I went wrong (I'm going cross-eyed trying to read that tiny chart and count on over-one 24 ct congress cloth!) and since they aren't "significant", in my opinion, I'm leaving them (Please don't tell the teacher! LOL).

So here is a week's work on "Kimono-Revisited":

This is the start of the March International Hermit and Stitch Weekend and I hope to put in at least part of today* and most of tomorrow on the rest of the outline. Then I only need to catch up with all of February and March's assignments (26 blocks of stitchery altogether!).

*Tonight is a lost cause for stitchery since I have free tickets to Shen Yun, a Chinese dance troupe, and I am going!

Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge - Week 11

Week 11's stitch was the Whipped Wheel (AKA Whipped Spider Web or Ribbed Spider Web or...) I couldn't think of a lot to do with it (I'm sure, when I see the weekly highlights for this one, I will say "Why didn't *I* think of that", like i do every week but...) as it isn't really a "band" stitch so I played with some back stitching and French knots to get this:


The threads are all GAST: Blue Spruce, Raspberry Parfait, Cherry Bark and Butternut Squash... I think I liked doing the "half" wheel best!

Stash Busting again...

Arrows" (meant to be a pincushion but I don't think that's what I'll do...) which uses ecru DMC as "grout" in this mosaic pattern and a variety of DMC threads used in previous Stash Busting Club pieces, on 18ct mono canvas:

 

Still can't round those circles!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 10

Not a lot to say today that's different from my WIPocalypse report... I have progressed a little on the Stash Buster mosaic and I did finish TAST for week 10 since that report, but otherwise, a slow week, stitchery-wise. 

Why? because life got in the way, basically --- house guests, DH's High School Class monthly breakfast, pot-luck at quilt guild. All of this seemed to take up my stitching time!

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2012- week 10

This week's stitch is the Running Stitch, a stitch I am familiar with but hardly ever use!

I've started a new "page" for March, on Wichelt Wood Violet 28ct Jobelan, and the running stitches are in GAST Cherry Bark with embellishment  of GAST Butternut Squash. I stitched a "typical" running stitch, and then some variants: threaded running stitch, whipped running stitch, interlaced running stitch, interlaced double running stitch and stepped threaded running stitch. Then, I went a step further and did a pattern darning border which can be found in the "Index of  Charts for Medieval Middle Eastern Counted-Thread Embroidery"  compiled by Mathilde Eschenbach.

WIPocalypse 2012 - 3

March 8 (and the moon did look almost full Tuesday night so that should have been a reminder to me that WIPocalypse is coming up!).

This month wasn't all that productive for me, actually, at least when it comes to counting finishes;  most were what I consider "smalls" although some, like the Stash Busters, take a lot more time than it looks like they should have:

Stash Busters: Finishes were  Aurora Borealis and Scotch & Soda; starts were a mosaic pincushion which I will likely make into an ornament instead (I'm not a pincushion kind of gal): 

Take a Stitch Tuesday: Finishes were chevron stitch, detached chain stitch, chain stitch and couching --- all of which can be seen on my February "page". Haven't even begun week 10 (running stitch).

Bargello Club --- the last installments were Medallion and Hungarian Point. The club is completed (although I have signed up for the next one!)

Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal/ Color Palette Challenges - two finishes - one for February and one for March. Have to wait for April 1 and the next color palette selection before I can move on.

FInishing Frenzy was mainly pillows and ornaments! Seven angel ornaments, one needlepoint pillow, and two crewel pillows - one of violets and one of poinsettias (which still need to be stuffed!). I need to come up with a new long-term-unfinished piece today...

"Sewing with Mama!," begun in the last week of August, was FINALLY done! No new cross stitch started.

"Kimono - Revisited" is kitted up, on a frame and gridded but not a single stitch yet (and I'm being gently nagged by the teacher to get some results!

CQJP2012/BJP2012/Color Palette Challenge combo for March

This piece was influenced by the color palette challenge issued by Judy Laquidara and Vicki Welsh. The Crazy Quilt Journal Challenge requires at least a 6 x 6 block and I used the grid from block 53 of Sharon B's" (of Pin Tangle) "I dropped the Button Box" project. In addition, stitches from the Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge adorn the seams: couched stitches, chain stitches , detached chains (Lazy Daisies) and chevron. The Bead Journal Project aspect of the piece was the beading throughout the seam treatments.

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 9

The challenges keep rolling in!

I've finalized my thread choices (I hope) for "Kimono-Revisited" but have yet to start stitching on it...


I've started two more Finish Frenzies, but since my last one consumed all my polyfill, I had to make a trip to Hobby Lobby this AM to buy more (A LOT more if my credit card charge is any indication but, hey, when I go in there, I have to check out the stamping department , the bead department, the embroidery department, etc...). Anyway, awaiting filling are the crewel violets, date completed unknown (I have it in my pre-2001 album but, since it's crewel, odds are its back in the 1970s somewhere):



and the crewel poinsettias, same time period as violets:



I also started the crazy quit block for the March Color Palette Challenge (which I will be using, again, as my Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project combo):


I actually got some seam treatment embroidery done on this last night as well...

Oh, and the latest "Stash Buster" arrived in the email yesterday so I need to kit that out...

The "last" Bargello Club piece

OK, I admit I thought I was done with this one month earlier but I was wrong. This is the last for Bargello Club 2011: Hungarian Point...

DMC floss ecru, 754, 760, 4110, 838, 3808 and 3811. This one was fast (only one evening) and I only got "lost" in the pattern once but found my way out pretty quickly! But I still have issues with rounding circles...

Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge - Week 9

Here is my exercise in couching for week 9:


and here is February's "page":

I had fun with this one. I've done couching before, but usually as borders or ways to hold down very log straight stitches as embellishments on top of needlepoint or cross stitch. In this one, I added some scraps from Rainbow gallery (ribbons and a suede thread and couched it with chevron stitch. But if you look further up the page, you will see I also used another piece of grosgrain ribbon in my chevron stitch exercise.