2012: A Year of Challenges - week 30

Well, I need some sleep, having spent the last six hours watching men's cycling road race! Why, you ask, as if you know me, you know I can't keep a bicycle upright at street speeds, let alone 50 mph? Well, it was started and finished in the neighborhood of where we lived for nearly 5 years and it was so cool to see our old neighborhood from the air (from Putney Bridge through Richmond Park) , however fast they moved through!

At 9:30, I was first in line at the fairground to hand in my entries  (three categories of ornaments, one cross-stitch set, one framed picture and one fair theme entry). What I found out was that they already have next year's theme selected so I need to ask when I collect my pieces on August 8. Then I can concentrate on what I stitch for the fair earlier than I did with "Ornaments ala Round"!

Anyway, besides TAST, "Kimono" and Mittens & Mini-Socks  this week, I worked on "Birds of a Feather" and here is where I am so far...

It's slow (because nothing is more uninteresting than straight lines! I thrive on patterns!) but it's progressing...

Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge - Week 30

The oyster stitch, done in a variegated perle because I just KNEW that if I tried it in floss, I'd be screaming and tossing it across the room! I suspect if I had four hands, this would be a lot easier and I'd be less likely to lose my place in the steps.

Yet another wonky circle...

And I just noticed --- check back on the previous couple of posts and note that nearly everything I'm working on is  the same shade of BLUE! AAACK! N WONDER I'm getting sick of Kimono and slow in Birds! It's the color! Gotta be!

International Hermit & Stitch Weekend, July 2012

This weekend, I stitched, and completed, two stitching tasks!

The first was the July installment (sections 66 - 78) of "Kimono - Revisited":

which means I'm all caught up with that class.

And the second is the sock portion of the July "Mittens & Mini-Socks" class from Janet Perry:


Same threads as for the mitten but a slightly different auroral "wave" from the same photograph.  Still have coverage issues with that navy...

I also got in a few stitches on "Birds of a Feather" - the outside border is now about 2/3 complete:


In all, a productive weekend!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 29

Besides TAST and Color Through the ages, which I posted on the 19th, I have one more completion for this week - The Aurora Borealis mitten:


The Aurora "pattern" is my own, based on a photo called "Green Aurora Rising"  but I used blue threads instead of green because my stash was somewhat skimpy on green "shiny" threads!

The Aurora is Kreinik 1/16" ribbon (014HL), DMC Jewel effects (E334), Kreinik #4 braid - 3 strands (3214) and DMC Pearlescent effects (E3747). The "sky" is DMC 3750 (I have coverage issues with dark threads...) and the cuff is DMC 3756.

I plan on doing the sock as well, although I need to buy more DMC 3750!

Otherwise, my stitching has been focused on the July installments of "Kimono - Revisited" which I hope to have completed before the weekend is over... After all, this is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend so I should be putting some time in (after my husband's garden is clear of visitors, that is --- he's on the local hosta and daylily society's garden tour today!).

Some completions...

Take a Stitch Tuesday - week 29: Basque Stitch:
It was "OK" but not really pleasing to stitch --- I'm not a fan of trying to keep a needle in the fabric while wrapping thread around it. My fingers always end up being too big! But my circle is a little better on this one --- now if only I could keep the "rays" all the same length!

Janet Perry's "Color Through the Ages", lesson Five - Japan (A Japanese Star):

Based on the dsicussion in the lesson, I opted for a "September" feel of fallen leaves and went with DMC3830 as the accent color (in the sashing) and the color range of 3820, 3821, 3822 and 3823 as the dominant color (the stars and the backgrounds). Perhaps the color choice wasn't different enough to show the centers of the stars off well enough but finding a range of colors for that deep gold "fallen leaf" color isn't that easy to do... at least in my stash!

Now back to "Kimono - Revisited"!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 28

It may seem like I didn't stitch much this week with only two "completions" and little else to show and I suppose that was partially true --- no stitching on Tuesday because of Girls' Night Out or Thursday because of quilt guild meeting but, really, I did stitch quite a lot.

I did the TAST for the week and finished my Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal Page/Bead Journal project block for July. And I stitched on "Kimono-Revisited"! I actually got June's installments done (along with a lot of yelling and ripping out --- some of those patterns simply would NOT stick in my brain):

I even got working last night on the first part of the July sections  only got one part done though - stitches are so SMALL on this congress cloth and it's so hard to see what I'm doing half the time, even with magnification!:

I finished all the threads I had but one so am starting over with the entire thread selection --- having put aside three sets of threads for sections which are repeats of ones done earlier. I decided that, since this was supposed to be a scrap kimono, made up from scraps of OTHER garments, that is a pattern was repeated, so would the colors I used used the first time (I just don't feel creative enough to try a made-up stitch and these colors are hard enough to work with as it is - I'm already tiring of my color-way choice - can you tell?). Besides surely there were 130 different kimonos in the same color way in that ancient Japanese sewist's cupboard?

The last Stitch Guide lesson arrived last night and I skimmed through it. The latest Mitten & Mini-Sock piece still awaits canvas before kitting it up (it calls for all sorts of metallics which I only have a limited selection of - DMC and Kreinik, primarily - so I'm a little flummoxed about how I will stitch this thing from stash) 

I didn't get time to put in any stitches on "Birds of a Feather"... hopefully I will catch up with "Kimono" before the August sections are released and be able to work on that ore-or-less full time.

Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge - Week 28

This is the Up - and- Down (or Mirror) Buttonhole (or blanket) stitch;

I found the stitch pleasing and easy to do but I still have issues with circles!

Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project for July...

The color palette comes from Judy Laquidara's Patchwork TImes and at Vicki Welsh's Field Trips in Fiber while the grid for the basic block was based on  Block 57 of the "I dropped the Button Box" crazy quilt at Pin Tangle. I used a lot more beads this time since I felt that the previous blocks had been getting skimpy with regard to the bead journal project part of things.

2102 - A Year of Challenges, Week 27

In the past week, I have completed a) three Christmas ornaments on perforated paper, b) one rather tacky attempt at TAST week 27, and c) the latest lesson from the Stash Busters. I took my fair entry form (five categories this year so I won't make my money back, even if I won first in all five) in to the fair office and I paid my entry fees.

On Sunday, I started a new project which I have had kitted up for some time - "Birds of a Feather", designed by by Yvonne Horn of Papillon Creations which was published in The Gift of Stitching. I'm stitching this on 32 ct pewter linen (not because I think it's the right color choice but it was the only piece of 32 ct I had that was large enough):

The border is basically half-done now...

I also started on my July Color Palette/Crazy Quit Journal/Bead Journal Project: 

The color challenge was based on a Picasso pastel shown and posted on Judy Laquidara's Patchwork TImes and at Vicki Welsh's Field Trips in Fiber: Funny thing was, as I was piecing together the block (based on Block 57 of the "I dropped the Button Box" crazy quilt at Pin Tangle), what kept coming to mind was a tee shirt I own from the University of Florida --- at least until I put in the yellow piece! LOL Go Gators!

Since it is so dratted HOT (100 before NOON, for gosh sakes ---I thought I'd left this kind of heat behind when we left Saudi Arabia!), I plan on stitching this afternoon after I get all my computer tasks done --- assuming, of course that my laptop stops dropping out --- so far, iPhoto has crashed twice and Safari once in less than 30 minutes!

Anyway on the stitching agenda today is "Kimono- Revisited" --- the instructor is getting antsy since it appears the entire class has slowed to a screeching halt on this thing, and has threatened dire consequences if we don't start posting pictures again!

Stash Buster completion...

Another in Janet Perry's Stash-busting Projects. It's called Gran's Afghan:


I was thinking of doing it all in shades of brown/beige/tan, of which I have a surfeit in my stash scraps but, when I realized how many blues I had in the last stash buster, I decided maybe a little Blue Delft made more sense. Trouble was, I only had 12 blues and I didn't want to repeat a color II have enough problems with random as it is) so I tossed a mental coin between greens (again, a surfeit) and purples and purple came up trumps (I had seven of them, JUST enough to use each one once the way this pattern worked out in a 4 x 4 inch square). So, DMC floss, ecru as the borders, blues as the larger "ring" and purples as the inner ring.

This one is meant to be a card case but, as with the others which had a specific " purpose", I went with an ornament size instead.

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2012 - week 27

The stitch was the bonnet stitch...

I KNOW that stitching with floss is not recomended for this stitch but it's what I have so,,,

It wasn't that hard of a stitch to do if I paid attention but I did have to back up and start a gain a few times as I'd lose my place...

My stitching reminds me of how a little kid, just learning to print, makes letters all wonky. Check out that circle --- and I actually drew a circle on the fabric too!  It can't ALL be the fault of the floss (or the fabric). It has to be me!

WIPocalypse 2012 - July 3, 2012

Hmmm... progress? Well, I have more or less caught up with everything except the "Kimono-Revisited" project which has stalled out at the place last reported.

Ornaments ala Round is done and framed and ready to register at the fair. Ditto "Sewing with Mama", the "set of "Purrfect" and "CatPack", and three sets of ornaments (one cross stitched, one on plastic canvas and one on perforated paper).

Color Through the Ages and Mittens & Mini-Socks are up to date as is the Stitch Guide class (which really doesn't have any stitching associated with it).

Take A Stitch Tuesday is up to date (not counting week 27 which arrived today)/

Stash Busters has a new piece to work on as does Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project.

My new start is "Birds of a Feather", a design by Yvonne Horn of Papillon Creations from the late lamented Gift of Stitching, which I have kitted out and put on a frame. No real photo to show here...

Three more ornaments

I have never stitched on perforated card before so these are a first:


The shapes are from Tokens & Trifles (they are, respectively Style 2005 Kugels - left and center,  and 2006 Kugels - right), stitched in one strand DMC, and backed with blank sewing cards of the same shape. The pattern on all three is based on a design by Tricia Wilson Nguyen of Thistle Threads, for Redefined, Inc. All they need is a hanger and they are good to go for the fair!