2012: A Year of Challenges - week 26

The year is half gone and I seem to have only completed "smalls"... class assignments and the like. But hopefully the rest of the year will include some larger pieces (I have six or seven kitted up --- it's just that late last night, they didn't appeal to me at all...).

Anyway, I'm caught up again (except for "Kimono- revisited, of course), with the completion last night of the stocking for Mittens & Mini-Socks. It's called "One Singular Carnation" and is a bit larger than the others in the series given the pattern being stitched.:

DMC floss --- pinks, from dark to light,  were 3802, 3350, 3805 and 3354; greens, from dark to light were 3818 and 3816, and the cuff was done in an older skein of blanc (which looks a little yellowed with age after having stitched so much recently with B5200...). Anyway, in order to do the mitten, I'd have to enlarge that template too and I don't feel up to the math right now so I will make this a single... Now, if only I can stop humming "One Singular Sensation" from "A Chorus Line"! LOL

Lesson 5 for the Stitch Guide class came through last night and I've read through it. So I'm keeping up with my reading but not really in a position to do a stitch guide for my painted canvas. I suspect, given the size, the shading and the detail, it's going to have to be be all tent stitch anyway -  or put away for future generations to deal with... Big mistake in purchasing...

Coming up: July Color Palette will be posted tomorrow as will the July "13" for "Kimono - Revisited". And on Tuesday, there will be the start of the July installments for Take A Stitch Tuesday. Guess I need to get "Kimono" out and start on the June 13 and hope that I can get that out of the way and that when I do, I will be hearing siren calls from some of my kits-in-waiting.

Some finishes...

Three more Christmas ornaments for the fair - Candy Cane Hors, based on a pattern from the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Orrnament Issue 2009, design by Charlotte Dockens of Charlotte's Collectibles on 14 ct plastic canvas using DMC cotton floss and Kreinik blending filament. Backed with dark green felt. I changed colors for each horse:

Take a Stitch Tuesday - week 26, Palestrina stitch - i tried perle to learn the stitch as it said in the tutorial it worked best but I had issues with tension, so I switched to 6-stranded floss (Needlepaint 2011) for a curled approach and, indeed, I did have trouble with the floss separating. Couldn't seem to get a smooth curve until the very end either, possibly because I worked it in reverse and wasn't at all comfortable with it


Here's June's "page" with the three stitches (wheeled buttonhole, cable chain and Palestrina)we did this month:


A Janet Perry Stash Buster called Sumarta- a 4" x 4" square on 18 ct mono-canvas, floss from my "scrap stash - mostly DMC but also some Stranded by the Sea, WDW, GAST, Carrie's Creations, Wildflowers and SanMan Strands! I surprised myself by how many greens and blues were in that stash - it was a real challenge to get "random" with this one!


Working hard on the latest "Mini-Socks & Mittens" bargello - when they are finished, I will be caught up with everything EXCEPT "Kimono-Revisited".

Fair registration starts Monday... Whew!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 25

This was a week of "Finishing Frenzy"! Also a week of attempting to catch up, although I wasn't as successful in that.

Let's start with new completions.

1. Take a Stitch Tuesday, week 25 - cable chain stitch. Didn't do really well on my first attempt but the second was better and by the time I finished five more rows, I pretty much had it down. Top two rows are plain chain stitch; next two are "laced" with a contrasting blue thread, through the cable part of the stitch; and the last three rows are "interlaced" through the chain part:


2. Color Through the Ages - Renaissance Reborn. This is a needlepoint adaptation of the "Nelson's Victory" quilt block pattern, stitched using DMC cotton floss (115, 310, 355, 3582, 3586) and DMC metallic gold (5282) on 18ct canvas:


3. Candy Cane Horse (I plan on making this the first of three so I can submit them to the fair in the Christmas ornament category), pattern from the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Orrnament Issue 2009, design by Charlotte Dockens of Charlotte's Collectibles on 14 ct plastic canvas using DMC cotton floss (blanc, 310, 321, 436, 725, 738, 746 and 3347) and Kreinik blending thread (002, 003, 015, and 032).


I plan on switching out horse colors in ##2 and 3 (a darker brown in one, a dark grey in another is the plan at present), and maybe even the ribbon colors/pattern.

Now for the finishes!

1. Four pictures back from the framer, all candidates for the fair!

"Catpack" and "Purrfect", to be entered as a set, framed pictures, any count:

"Sewing with Mama", to be entered in framed pictures, fourteen count (my husband says he likes this one best!):


and "Ornaments ala Round", to be entered in the Fair Theme Category, framed picture or wall hanging:


2. And I got those three Christmas tree ornaments finished up as flat folds, using coordinating green fabric from my quilting stash of fat quarters (Kona Cotton) for backing, some silver cord for hangers and some white gimp for covering the raw edges:




I might have gotten quite a bit more done but Monday through Thursday were lost causes, given that we had house guests to "entertain". So now it's time to catch up...

What is sitting in that pile of projects-to-do? Well, there's a Janet Parry "Mittens & Mini-Socks" piece called "Singular Carnation" (somehow, that title has me humming music form "A Chorus Line"!), a Janet Perry "Stash Buster", two more "Candy Cane Horses" and the inevitable "Kimono - Revisited" (the 13 parts for June haven't been touched, although I have read through the instructions), to say nothing of reading through the latest lessons in Janet Perry's "Stitch Guide" class. And, of course, on Tuesday there will be another TAST!  And with July 1 there will be another 13 parts of "Kimono - Revisited" and another Color Palette Challenge (which means another Crazy Quilt Journal and Bead Journal project piece as well!). Given that fair registration begins July 2, I suspect "Candy Cane Horses" will take precedence...

International Hermit & Stitch Weekend, June 2012

I did try to get in stitching around cleaning up for company (houseguests arrive today at noon and stay through Thursday...)

In addition to finishing "Ornaments ala Round" on Friday...

Saturday morning I took "Ornaments a;a Round" to the framer as well as "Sewing with Mama!", "Purrfect" and "CatPack".

Saturday afternoon I kitted out three Gift of Stitching Charts, and three Janet Perry "classes (Stash Buster, Mini-Socks & Mittens, and Color Through the Ages)

Saturday night and Sunday all day I stitched --- and completed --- three Christmas ornaments which I think, if I finish them out properly, will be a fair entry.  They are my variants on "Oh, Christmas Tree", designed by Charlotte Smythe (Charlotte's Web) and published in the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Issue of 2009. Instead of stitching one tree in four or five colors of GAST, I stitched three trees, each in it's own shade of GAST; from left to right: Dried Thyme, Pine and Mistletoe. On 28ct DMC white linen...
I'm thinking of trying to match the colors with cotton fabric form my stash for backs, and trim them out with silver cording.

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 24

Yesterday was the start of this month's International Hermit & Stitch Weekend and I stitched. Oh, man did I STITCH!

And itt's finished! It's FINALLY finished!
OK, now it needs to be pressed (it got really really crumpled when I had to finish the beading in hand --- didn't have q-snaps or a frame large enough and those four center bells were horrid. Hind sight being 20-20, I should have done the center first but...) and then to the framer. Registration for the fair is between July 2 and 14  and the piece needs to be at the fair on July 28 so it should be ready in plenty of time. It will qualify for the "Special" contest - ""'Twas the Night before Christmas" in wall hanging or framed picture, although, since all needlework is now lumped in that one category, the competition will be stiff with quilters and all entering the same category. Now wondering if all this is worth the framing costs and entry fee of $24...

The categories have increased in number this year: One can enter in Framed Pictures or Framed Samplers one in each of needlepoint, stamped, crewel, counted cross stitch (11 ct, 14 ct, 16 or 18 ct, 25 ct, 28 ct, 30 ct,32 ct, 35 - 36 ct, 40 ct or higher) and in Framed Pictures on in counted cross stitch set, any count. In addition, there is the Hand-embroidered Wall Hanging category,  and the category for sets of three Christmas ornaments! Wouldn't you know, with all the stitching I've done this year, I can only enter one piece in all of these --- "Sewing with Mama" would work for Framed Picture, Counted Cross Stitch, 14ct. I did finish "Purrfect" after last year's fair and it could work as part of a set with "CatPack" although it was finished BEFORE last year's fair... so I don't know if that meets the deadline requirements. So that means frame two (or four?) pieces (which isn't cheap), pay $24 and at best, get $15 in premiums back? Hmmmm...

So what is left in my to-do pile? well, there are three Janet Perry classes to kit up: Stash Buster, Mini-Socks & Mittens, and Color Through the Ages (Renaissance). The third Stitch Guide lesson is also here and while I've read through it, it 's now time to do something about that class. And then there is "Kimono-Revisited" - I haven't touched it since I finished May's "lessons" and there are 13 sections awaiting stitches!

And in my stash --- Oh So Many Pieces calling my name. But I swear, until I get my act together, no more big complex ones! Or at least, none with deadlines! And maybe I should start planning early for next year's fair! LOL

Two completions yesterday...

The first to be finished yesterday was the Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge for week 24 - the buttonhole wheel:


The second was the Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project challenges block for June...
The color choices were based on the COlor Palette Challenge which used a photo of a Stargazer Lily: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/06/01/june-color-palette-challenge/ and http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/field_trips_in_fiber/2012/06/june-color-palette-challenge.html
The block grid is here: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/06/01/june-color-palette-challenge/  --- block 29 of "I dropped the Button Box" on Pin Tangle.

What is more, I even beaded on "Ornaments ala Round" --- 7 of the 20 ornaments that required beads were completed and an eighth started! Yippee! I WILL get it finished this weekend (blood work and a quilt guild meeting tonight mean there won't be much beading time today) and I MIGHT get it to the framers before our house guests arrive Monday (and my stitching time dissolves completely). Fair registration is July 2 - 16 so it has to be at the framers ASAP!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 23

Yay --- I DID it! All the cross stitch in "Ornaments ala Round" are DONE!

Now --- metallic is next... Fair registration is between July 2 and July 16. That gives me something like three weeks to get this one done, right? Of course, there are several other projects calling out to be stitched: my Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal block, a stash buster from Janet Perry (yet to be kitted out), the Mini-Sock & Mitten from Janet Perry )also not kitted out), and "Kimono- Revisited", to say nothing of the weekly Take A Stitch Tuesday. So, can I put all these off and work only on "Ornaments"? Not at all sure...

Speaking of Take of Stitch Tuesday, week 23 was a "break" week with a mini-challenge to take any eight stitches from the previous 21 weeks and do some "eye candy". Not sure if this qualifies but it does include 13 stitches (from left to right: couched stitch, chevron, herringbone, Cretan, chain; a bouquet of flowers using detached chain, buttonhole, stem, satin and French Knot stitches;  running stitch, crossed buttonhole, and chained butterfly), all on "Desert Sky" 28-ct Linen::


To be honest, this is my second attempt --- my first was such a failure ( a true meltdown!), I ripped it all out and let it stew a day or two. But I accomplished it finally!

So today --- do I satisfy my conscience and do a little on "Kimono" and a little on my crazy quilt journal? Or do I start the metallics on "Ornaments"?

WIPocalypse 2012 - June 4

I have been plugging away at "Ornaments ala Round" eve since the last WIPocalypse... and here is where it stands today --- one more color (in the evergreen boughs), and it will be time to start the metallic stitching!


Also in progress is the June Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project challenges. Here is my floss toss:



 and a close-up of the basic block as it will look when trimmed to size:


The color palette is based on a photo of a Stargazer Lily, as seen on Judy Laquidara's Patchwork TImes blog and Vivcki Welsh's Field Trips in Fiber blog. The block grid  block 29 of I dropped the Button Box on Pin Tangle by Sharon B. Again, I was lucky in that three of the colors in this block were used in the previous block so there is some color continuity in these blocks.

Other completions this month have included:

Take a Stitch Tuesday bands for half-chevron stitch, bullion knots, butterfly chain stitch, and knotted Cretan stitch.

the May color palette/crazy quilt journal/bead journal piece

the Mat Mini-Socks and Mittens lesson

the Color Through the Ages "Medieval Book of Hours" twinchie

I'm reading through lesson one in Janet Perry's Stitch Guide online class - this is the canvas  I will be testing out in that class:



 and plugging away at "Kimono - Revisited" (for which I have a new set of 13 sections to work on) - here is where that piece stands at present:

So, some progress on the BAPS and a few small completions. Still backed up in the WIP department, though!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 22

I tried, I really tried ... but I simply do NOT enjoy stitching these darned evergreen boughs and even though the only time I didn't stitch on "Ornaments ala Round" was when I did this week's TAST, I made very little progress - all the dark green in the boughs, half the medium green, and no light green:

Still have all that metallic and beading to do as well!

The June Color Palette Challenge is out... it is based on a photo of a Stargazer Lily and can be seen either on Patchwork TImes or at Vicki Welch's blog.  Here is my fabric toss for this month's challenge, which will also serve as the basis for my bock for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project *and* the Bead Journal Project for June as well:


I plan to use the grid from block 29 from Sharon B's "I dropped the Button Box" project. I've already prepared the foundation and planned out fabric placement.

The new "Stitching Guide" needlepoint class by Janet Perry starts this month, and there is a new set of 13 stitches for "Kimono-Revisited" waiting in my project basket. In addition, there will be the usual TAST and I expect another couple of small needlepoint projects from Janet Perry (Stash Buster, Mittens & Mini-Socks and Color Through the Ages) to arrive shortly. Looks like prioritizing is going to be a big issue this month because, while none of these take a lot of time, each takes at least two days away from stitching on Ornaments...