Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #79

This week's stitch was the Chained Cross Stitch and here is my version:

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Thirty-Four and IHSW

Last week, I was fighting the cough to beat all coughs, but after my WIPocalypse summary showed how little I had accomplished in the past month, and with International Hermit and Stitch Weekend being this past weekend, I determined to get some finishes and clear the decks of at least some of the items that have been "cluttering" my growing WIP list since the first of the year.

So, in addition to the weekly TAST, I stitched on my August Crazy Quilt Journal Block (and completed it), stitched on (and finished) Purple Daisy, and the 2012 Color Palette/ Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project wall hanging (the last two sashing strips were attached):

It needs pressing and then it will be ready for batting and backing.

Yes, I'm still way behind on BJP and I haven't touched "Midnight Garden" in ages but my WIP pile looks significantly less imposing and I think I can have a shot at catching up, at least a little, in the next month or two (when there is a Quilt Work Day September 14 and a Quilt Retreat October 11-12-14 to force me to focus).

"Purple Daisy" with messy beading

Another August finish:

This was an email class by designer (and instructor) Laura J. Perrin.

August 2013 Crazy Quilt Journal Project Block

I put in a few hours on Friday night to get this August Crazy Quilt Journal block done: 

It looks unbalanced to me (that peacock is too "horizontal, maybe?) but maybe, when assembled with it's 2103 compatriots, that will cease to be an issue.

Not caught up but it feels good to get something completed!

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - #78

My version of cloud filling, stitch #78 for Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), in two shades of purple #5 perle cotton:

WIPocalypse - August 20, 2013

WIPocalypse (August 20)

This month's themes were: Designer – Long Dog, Style – Smalls, Colors – Blue and Red. 

• I have never done a Long Dog design. Don't think I even own one. 
• I suppose my TAST, BJP and Purple Daisy could be considered "smalls" --- for me, they are, anyway. 
• As for blue and red --- not a stitch in either color! 

So much for themes to keep me stitching!

My only completions during the past lunar cycles were TAST- Zig Zag Chain, Woven Zig Zag Chain, 

Vandyke Stitch, and Woven Cross Stitches.

I did bead a little on the June butterfly for BJP  but it still is three wings short of being complete, and started on Laura J Perrin's Purple Daisy class (lesson One is complete and lesson two is 25% complete:

Still works in progress (rapidly turning into UFOs) are "Midnight Garden" (which hasn't been touched since June), three BJP butterflies (June, July, and August), my August Crazy Quilt Journal Block, the InkCircles online "Roll Your Own" mandalas (there are six so far), Janet Perry's online class on stitching journals/background stitches (printed out but not read, let alone started) and Janet Perry's Stitch Guide practicum (which just arrived in yesterday's mail). What is more, there is a quilt block I really need to assemble for the Quilt Retreat Challenge in October and there is another that needs assembly of a quilt guild January challenge; I have the fabric for both and am awaiting some embellishments purchased online, but not gotten any further...

Not a good stitchery month for me. Too much traveling (a weekend at a stamping expo and a two night stint at the Stratford, Ontario Festival), too much prep for the fair (out of nine entries: 5 blues, two reds, one white and an honorable mention; also helped at Quilt Day set up) and a nasty cough/cold have held me back, I fear. Also, that stitching mojo seems to still be in hiding...

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Thirty-Three

Wednesday and Thursday were no-stitching days (we were either on the way to, in, or on the way back from Stratford, Ontario to see some Festival plays) and Friday was a "recover-from-the-bus-trip" day, I didn't really stitch much this past week. It doesn't help that I apparently picked up some bug along the way between Stampaway/Cincinnati and Stratford because I have a dry cough that I cant kick. 

Besides TAST,  I stitched on "Purple Daisy" and finished lesson 1 (lessons 2 and 3 are here already and the final lesson, really a review, will be in my mailbox next weekend so I'm behind on this one too!):

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch 77

Here are a scattering of woven cross stitches, this week's TAST stitch:

If I were better at random, this would make a great background using thinner thread than the perle cotton I used here, I think. 

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Thirty-Two

I just couldn't face that June beaded butterfly so I decided to try a change of pace, especially since I was traveling this past weekend (went to a stamp expo with two friends) and needlepoint is easier for me when traveling, Of course, I didn't count on the extremely bad lighting in the hotel room but I did finally get this far with "Purple Daisy":

This is an email class from Laura J Perrin, with the final goal being to "messy bead" the center of the flower...I'm far from finished with lesson one and lesson two is already here. And the printer is out of ink and I don't know how to replace it! AAACK!

Maybe if I finish something different, I will be able to go back to BJP and catch up. I hope so...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #76

The  "standard" Vandyke stitch is on the right top. I played around with this stitch a little, varying the lengths of the "barbs" to create different "shapes":

Sure does use up a LOT of thread! But I like the possibilities of creating a sort of ribbon border in floss.

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Thirty-One

Other than going to the fair to work quilt day and check on my needlework, all I managed to accomplish this week was:

purchase of the necessary stretcher bars for L auraJ. Perrin's "Purple Daisy", which arrived this week, complete with the first weeks assignment

stitch #75 for TAST

purchase a packet of silvery seed beads which, although they don't quite match the ones I'm using now, might just work on the June Butterfly. You tell me --- does it work? Most of the lower right wing has the new mix in, the lower left does not:

Pretty sad, don't you think?

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - #75

This week's TAST stitch was the woven zig-zag chain. Basically, you weave thread in and out of the zig zag chain we did last week! I had some tension issues on my chain which showed up in the weaving but I see where I went wrong and I like the look. This is a keeper!

The County Fair Results Are In...

Knowing the issues I had with many of my entries (I knew that some didn't really fit in with the category I entered them in and others had some major technique issues which could result in them placing out of the running) , I held off until today to actually go see for myself how I did with my nine fair entries (although my husband did check them last night and called me with the results so I wasn't surprised).

Anyway, here are the results, and the photographic evidence!

First place in their categories...

Home is Where the Heart is in "Counted Cross Stitch 25 count, framed picture" (technically, it's a sampler, thanks to the words on it but I took a chance...)

Red Thai Mandala in "Counted Cross Stitch 28 ct, framed picture" (See that loose black thread that's showing through the linen from the back in the upper left corner! AAACK!. And it's not really cross stitch or a picture but it had some cross-stitch in it so...)

Kimono - Revisited in "Needlepoint framed sampler" (was it a sampler? It had many different stitches. But it was also a picture?)

The Charles "name badge" in "cross stitch 28 ct, framed sampler (yes, I suppose it is a sampler --- it has words but...) - and another bad photo because the case it was in was all scratched up!

Encrusted Crazy Quilt block in Green in "Any beaded item on fabric" (heck, it was a crazy quilt block and it was potentially competing with all sorts of other kinds of beading:

Second place in their categories...

Sumptuous Embroidery in Blue in the category "Hand embroidered or Stamped framed picture" (wasn't sure how this would fare against stamped pieces...)

Birds of a Feather in "counted cross stitch, 32 ct" (the mistake in the upper right side border should have downgraded it. To me, at least, it was blatant and fudging didn't correct for it - but it was husband's favorite, and he was upset about the second place more than I...) - sorry about the glare, I couldn't get a good angle on it in the case...

Third place in its category...

The Taco Sampler in the 2013 Special Contest "In the Kitchen", wall hanging or picture with a kitchen theme (again --- potentially competing against all sorts of other kinds of needlework, it really wasn't a picture, and the white stitching didn't contrast enough with the background to show; the winner was a black-on-natural cross stitched chicken while the second place was a quilt)

Honorable Mention in its category...

"Pink" Crazy Quilt block in the "Pink Quilt Block" special category (it was a crazy quilt block competing with traditional blocks so fourth place was a good result, IMO... although the guild members who were with me didn't agree with my reasoning that crazy quilt blocks don't quite hack it technique-wise in judging when up against perfect points and the like in pieced blocks - which was encouraging! )

Oh, and I made my entry money back! YAY!