Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch 55

It is called the buttonholed herringbone stitch:

and I'm not totally happy with the outcome --- it isn't in smooth curves like the example and tends to stand up like chenille after a bad washing! Sooo,  I've clearly done SOMETHING wrong here but I don't know what...

Oh well, here is "Page One" of the 2013 sampler for TAST --- stitches 49 through 55:

WIPocalypse Report for February 2103

I should have done this yesterday but the entire day was basically given up to an esophageal endoscopy (to convince the insurance company that I really DO need to take meds for my esophageal reflux! Here's hoping as it wasn't a pleasant procedure!)...

This month's WIPocalyspe themes are : Designer – Little House Needleworks; Style – Love/Family; Colors – White and Red. Well, I don't have any LIttle House pieces in progress (not sure I even own a chart by them, for that matter) and the closest I could come to "love" was my "I Heart" butterfly for the Bead Journal Project and the February block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project, which has a few heart buttons on it! But I have dabbled in red! First of all, there is the March block which I've started for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project, and then there is my long-term WIP, "Red Thai Mandala", which is progressing slowly.

In addition to the above pieces completed or in progress, I have been working on the following -

Completed

• Take a Stitch Tuesday - Inverted Feather Stitch, Raised Herringbone Stitch, Triangular Feather Stitch, Herringbone Square and Laced Herringbone Square.
• Mini-sock called "Quince" and matching mitten

In Progress

    A block for a class called "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" 

Planned but not started were finish-finishing of my 2012 BJP /CQJP squares... I really want that done in time for the next quilt guild so maybe I will put some time in this weekend. Otherwise, I will continue with the works already in progress and try for a completion by the next WIPocalypse!

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Eight

This week has been focused on Take a Stitch Tuesday (Stitches 53 and 54 posted earlier), Red Thai Mandala (where the outer border is about half-finished:

My contribution to the "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" class - week two, seam treatments:

and a base block for my March Crazy Quilt Journal Project --- this one is red:

Still mulling around a challenge idea for TAST and trying to work out a basic 12" block for Encrusted Crazy Quiltling. The class in "Sumptious Embroidery" from Sharon B is about ready to start too so the next week is going to be pretty full.

2013 Take a Stitch Tuesday - Stitches 53 and 54

Stitch 53 is the Herringbone Square and Stitch 54 is the Laced Herringbone Square. I decided to make a border line, using the laced herringbone square every other stitch:

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Seven

This week sucked, stitchery-wise, as there were all sorts of "interruptions"! Monday waiting for the furnace inspector to come, Tuesday "Girls Night Out", Thursday quilt guild meeting, Friday an appointment with a general surgeon about my esophageal reflux, Sunday a luncheon where husband was elected to the Board of Friends of Wood County Parks - all of these interfered with my stitching schedule. Still, I did get some stitching done over the weekend for International Hermit and Stitch Weekend!

First of all, I managed to complete my February BJP (posted earlier) and TAST Stitch 52 (posted earlier).

Then I did a fabric toss for my "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" class:

But while the comments indicated that the color palette was "peaceful", there were too many patterns for the embellishment stitchery to show so I rethought and came up with this one:

Completely different look, isn't it? I think I see the point and will go with # 2... I hope I'm not "over thinking" this!

Next, I stitched a bit on "Red Thai Mandala" and made progress on the blackwork part of the outer border:

And finally, I stitched the "Mittens & Mini-Socks" "Quince" sock  (posted earlier)  and the matching "Quince" mitten:

A lot of this (the mandala and the mini-sock and mitten) were part of IHSW but I'm not behind in the encrusted crazy quilt class as a new lesson is due out this week and I don't even have my block made! I have made almost no progress in making my 2012 Bead Journal Project in to a wall hanging. And there WILL be another TAST assignment on Tuesday.

The mini-sock called "Quince"

This is the latest in Janet Perry's Mittens & Mini-Socks class: "Quince"!

The threads used were DMC cotton floss: 335, 677, 420, 677 and variegated 4050.

Mitten to follow...

Bead Journal Project 2013 - February

My February butterfly (I'm calling it "I Heart...") is done! Encrusted with two shades of red, one translucent pink and opaque white seed beads, body in red bugle beads and antenna stitched in three strands of white embroidery floss. I added two heart buttons from my "extensive" button stash ( I would have liked that they were symmetrical but...)

Now to decide on March --- will it be Easter or St. Patrick's Day or...

2013 Take a Stitch Tuesday - Triangular Feather Stitch

Another stitch I really enjoyed once I started on it:

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Six

I only stitched two days this week --- Girls' Night Out the concert (which was wonderful: Toledo Symphony adn combined Bowling Green State University choruses doing Carmina Burana) pretty much scuppered Tuesday and Friday nights, respectively; and miscellaneous doctor's appointments during the week more or less killed my stitching mojo the rest of teh week.  I did completed this weeks TAST, however, and made some progress on Red Thai Mandala (the middle border is now stitched and the outer border is in progress):

I did start cutting sashing to make a wall hanging of my 2012 Bead Journal Project pieces, but it's slow going, especially since i'm going to have to hand sew due to closeness of beads to the seam allowance...

Drifting far behind on the February Bead Journal piece and a new "Mittens & Mini-Socks" arrived yesterday...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Raised Herringbone Stitch

Here are my two attempts at Raised Herringbone:

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Five

One completion this week... the February block for the 2013 Crazy Quilt Journal Project:

And two WIPs... "Red Thai Mandala":

and the February 2013 Bead Journal butterfly (the white areas will be beads...):

Doesn't look like much but those beads are fiddly and take a lot of time, espciually when they decide to go skittering across the floor!