2014 - Staying Connected, Week Thirty-eight

Well, I had hoped for more progress after the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend got me back on track with the RYO mandalas. And I would have done a lot better if that darned frog wasn't still in the house. Oh well, almost halfway through the outline for "Bride":

And I did get in the newest Take A Stitch Tuesday assignment: #131, Beaded Lock Stitch. I rather like the look of this one and tried it two ways, with the beads stacked on the right and staggered on the left:

The expected company hasn't arrived yet and the arrival date is still pretty much up in the air (although departure date appears, now, to be Tuesday. Kind of plays havoc with things previously planned, like my haircut on Monday and DH's dinner "date" with an old HS friend who will be here for university homecoming...) The visiting party now numbers 8, which means I may well have to give up my room for the duration and sleep on the roll-out in the basement. DOn't think I'll be getting a lot of stitchery done this weekend!

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, September 19 - 21

I really didn't expect to have anything to report on this weekend since we were expecting 7 house guests this weekend but, at the last minute, after a mad rush Saturday morning inflating air mattresses and sorting sleeping situations, we got a phone call saying they weren't coming until NEXT weekend! Down side --- all that panic for nothing. AND a possible addition of two more to the guest list. Up side --- seven sleeping arrangements sorted, the guest rooms are clean and ready, and I had time to stitch! YAY!

First item of the weekend: my September Bead Journal Project atc/ornament! My Snowy Owl made an appearance again, this time, as a fan of the falcons who are my alma mater's mascots and who were sighted flying over the stadium just before the football team pulled off a victory over a major "Power Five" team (Sadly, they couldn't repeat over another team from the same "Power Five" league this past weekend, but that's another story)!  Snowy knew a prerequisite of being a fan was team colors but all he had was an old, white1920's style tennis sweater with a band of orange and brown around the collar. Freddie and Frieda (the school's falcons) couldn't help but observe that he looked slightly out of place and time, but admired him for his attempt:

Once Snowy was assembled and laid aside until his next appearance in BJP, I turned to the Roll Your Own mandalas. I worked on the outline for "Bride" and, despite alternating frogging entire lengths of floss with stitching, did manage to complete page one and arrive at a 25% completion of the outline:

I plan to plod on with "Bride" this week, until the guests really do arrive. Perhaps I can get it ready for the color...

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Thirty-seven

So very sad... Between quilt guild meeting on Thursday, Family Day at the University on Saturday, Girls Night Out on Tuesday, and the presence of a pair of HVAC installers in the house Monday and Tuesday to install a new furnace, air conditioner and associated accessories, the stitching week was shortened by three whole days! 

This wasn't helped by what I can only best describe as an anemic stitching mojo aggravated by feeling so very tired at having to be up early for three of those events (HVAC installation and Family Day). All I worked on this week was my Bead Journal Project atc ornament, which hasn't gotten very far, as you can see.

What is more, this snowy owl ornie changed direction from an autumnal theme to a college alumni theme on Saturday. Luckily, what had already been stitched fit right in but a color scheme theme did have to be implemented with the addition of orange to the brown and white (school colors!), and the autumn mix of #11 seed beads and selected autumn leaves will not be used as planned. However, Owl sure looks like he is going to be wearing a 1920's-style tennis sweater, doesn't he?

Expecting house guests (seven of them) from Saudi Arabia sometime this week (still don't know their arrival date for certain) and they could be here as long as a week. Busy today cleaning guest rooms, making sure sheets are clean and towels are available in quantity,  and rearranging sleeping spaces (we can handle 4 easily --- seven will be a challenge). International Hermit and Stitch Weekend will probably suffer as a result.

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Thirty-six

Not a lot accomplished since I reported in on WIPocalypse on Monday... Just the two Tale a Stitch Tuesday stitches ## 129 and 130: Lock stitch and Double Lock stitch.

That makes another page for my "Stitch Journal" (stitches include # 118 - Beaded Buttonhole Stitch, #119 - Woven Trellis Stitch, #120 - Double Herringbone , #121 - Twisted Lattice Stitch, #122 - Chained Bar, #123 - Woven Chained Bar, #124 - Closed Herringbone, #125 - Beaded Herringbone, #126 - Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole, #127 - Beaded Alternating Up and Down Herringbone, #128 - Interlaced Up and Down Buttonhole, #129 Lock Stitch and #130 - Double Lock Stitch):

Other than quilt guild this week, I should have lots of free evening stitching time this week. Let's see if I can actually get something cleared out of my project file!

WIPocalypse - September 8, 2014

The question for the month is: "Who is your favourite person to stitch for, or do you prefer to keep your stitching yourself?"

I rarely stitch for others, exceptions being close family (husband, a few in-laws, etc.) and the occasional friend and neighbor. I tend to keep my stitching for myself, mainly because I usually have no clue as to what is appreciated by others (style, colors, decor, even if they appreciate hand work at all) and I KNOW my own taste. Not that I have purposes in mind for many of the pieces I stitch --- I stitch because I enjoy the process and I pick projects because they intrigue me, at least at the beginning (I can get bored easily and projects slow, or even stop sometimes because of that)!

At the ast WIPocalypse, my stated goals were to catch up and get on schedule. I'm afraid I failed to meet that goal. I blame a number of events, like a failure of teh AC twice in the last two weeks  (which meant I had to sit around waiting for the plumber --- and will again as we are going to replace the unit), my car in for service (another AC issue and an unknown brake issue!), the telephone land line acting up so no calls can be made or received half the time, a power failure on the 31st which not only made stitchery, especially beading which I had all prepped and ready to go,  impossible but also caused my DVR to go all wonky and lose local stations... About the only thing that didn't go wrong was that surprise asteroid pass-by which did NOT hit the planet and add to my misery! Somehow, when I get stressed out by events such as these (and I DO get stressed out), I lose my stitching mojo and resort to reading and online games on my iPad!  I did manage the following, however:

• a block pieced for the quilt guild retreat challenge although it still needs to be sandwiched, quilted and bound
• a block pieced for the Seed Bead Botany class and another for test stitching,  but neither yet fully prepped for beading (and the class is pretty much over this week! AAACK!)
• a "dossier" block for the quilt guild which I should have  pieced over four years ago!
• Take a Stitch Tuesday #125 (Beaded Herringbone), ##126 - 7  (Alternating Up-and-Down Buttonhole and Beaded Alternating Up-and-Down Buttonhole stitches),  and #128  (Interlaced Up-and-Down Buttonhole stitch)
• My August Bead Journal Project atc/ornament  - my Septmeber one is sketched out and kitted up but not started
• A portion of the outline for the Roll Your Own mandala "Bride"
• Not yet posted but completed in the last week is my block for September in the Crazy Quilt Block Project Challenge:

Still languishing are the "Meals on Wheels Christmas placemat" for the quilt guild (due in November), the Funk & Weber finishing classes (although I HAVE read them through at least), and installments 10 - 19 of "Save the Stitches" ... 

See what I mean about stalling out, coming to s slow, or even stop? At least there is a small chance that the placemat will get started at guild work day on the 20th and I might even work on the retreat challenge block as well - after all, it IS due at the end of October! That is, I might go to work day if the promised visit by a family of 7 (or more) from Saudi Arabia, arrival date still not set, duration of visit also not set, will not interfere!

Meanwhile, next month's catch-up list is:

• Bead Journal Project for September (and start one for October)
• Start Crazy Quilt Journal block for October (it's drafted and fabric has been chosen)
• "Seed Bead Botany" class - at least catch up on the videos before the site pulls them
• TAST - whatever stitches come in (I expect one tomorrow, for example)
• "Save the Stitches" --- at least the outlines 
• RYO "Bride" - at least the outline
• the guild retreat block

Keep your fingers crossed!

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Thirty-five

I didn't stay connected at all this past week. I spent the weekend working on challenge #10 for the Compendium of Curiosities #3 Challenge. I even read a book (!!!): the latest Deborah Crombie Inspector Kincaid novel (and it was wonderful!) and started another - a Victorian era historical mystery Called "The Yard". 

I think my stitching mojo is suffering from county fair aftershock. Nothing appeals to me in my project bag, I don't want to start something new and... so I didn't stitch a thing until Tuesday, and then, only because I didn't want to fall further behind in TAST! The latest stitch (#128) is another variation of buttonhole stitchL the Interlaced Up and Down Buttonhole:

There's a new pair of charts printed out, and not stitched, for "Save the Stitches" by Elizabeth Almond. That makes blocks 14 - 17 to be outlined  and blocks 10 - 17 to be filled!

And I read the final lesson in the third "Finishing" class from Funk & Weber.

But otherwise, this week was a stitchery no-show! I need to get the base block ready for my September Crazy Quilt Challenge and the atc/ornament sketched out for my September Bead Journal Project. My Seed Bead Botany class is languishing, while everyone else is on lesson three, I'm still prepping my fabric and I really need to view the video links before they take the course down in the next two weeks! I have to sort the threads for the two John Clayton golf charts for next year's fair (the threads I was missing arrived this past weekend). And there's a quilt work day coming up where I would like to get something done (let's see, there's the retreat challenge block that needs to be finished, a Meals on Wheels Christmas placemat that needs making, two Crazy Quilt Journal years of blocks that need assembly into wall hangings and that Chinese coin top I started at last retreat than needs finishing as well!). And I have a HUGE stack of bargello ornament fronts that need to be finished as well... 

As you can see, I'm really falling further and further behind, and sadly, not feeling guilty at all! I'm enjoying my papercrafting and have my reading mojo back as well! YAY!