2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Seven

Since this was an International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, I did a lot of stitching (and a completion) that I reported about Sunday. Since Sunday, however, I did accomplish a few more things...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2014, Stitch 140, is the last for the year while Sharon B takes a well-deserved holiday hiatus. It wasn't a difficult stitch to do (although my cable chain doesn't look quite right) and so the Threaded Cable Chain is now on my latest "Page" of stitch samples:

Here is the finished page, Page 4 for 2014:

The stitches are #131 Beaded Lock Stitch, #132 Kiko's Flower, #133 Triple Chain, #134 Fern, #135 Beaded Fern, #136 Knotted Buttonhole, #137 Beaded Knotted Buttonhole, #138 Barb, #139 Beaded Barb and #140 Threaded Cable Chain.

I also got to work on "Save the Stitches", frogging a short piece from assignment thirteen's outline (if you look closely, you can see where the linen was distorted from the frogging - I hope that the fill stitches will cover that) and completing outlines for assignment fourteen and most of assignment fifteen:

Only assignments 16 - 21 to go (to say nothing of the remaining five or so assignments that I expect to be in the piece)!

No progress on the November Bead Journal Project and not likely to be in this month of November what with Thanksgiving ton Thursday to prepare for (husband's brother, highly pregnant picky eater niece *and* niece's husband are coming to our house! AAARGH), the last university home football game of the season on Friday (we have tickets in the President's Box --- third time this season!),  a potential house guest this weekend. What is more, I'm starting the year off on Monday with an annual eye exam which means dilated pupils and no close vision for at least 24 hours (my eyes take forever to recover from those drops)! Also, to add more pressure to this pot, in addition to Christmas and all that comes with that holiday (Cards to address and mail; gifts to select, wrap and mail; trees to decorate, and the family Christmas get-together), coming up in December are the December BJP (AAACK!)and the December Crazy Quilt Journal block. It's like one step forward and two steps back!

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend (IHSW), November 21 - 23

I have lots of things I could have stitched on this weekend, most pressing of which were "Save the Stitches (I'm WAY behind in outlining and have over 10 blocks to fill in) and RYO "Bride" (Stuck on color four). And the Bead Journal piece for November is kitted but not started. But...

the John Clayton "Golfer - Fairway" was ALMOST done and calling my name --- only his trousers and the backstitching were left as of Thursday night, so...

Now he's done (except for the framing) and I can move on!

Sunday night, I finished up color four in the RYO mandala "Bride":

That leaves the BJP piece for November and Save the Stitches. Do you think I'll have much stitching time with family coming for Thanksgiving (not only do I need to cook but the dining room table is buried under jigsaw puzzles and financial records!) and a football game on the weekend!?

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Six

You can tell it's winter here when the two girls (the two black ones at the back) let the boy (the brown one in the front) into the pile!

And when the goldfinches are no longer gold:

But still, this is early for snow here, and so while this looks pretty

the roads are icy, the wind is gusting, and wind chills are really really nasty!

Oh, and it's snowing again today!

Good stitching weather though! I tend to retreat to my room and stitch with the television on, usually binge "watching" programs I have recorded form previous weeks. This week, I stitched entirely on the John Clayton "Golfer - Fairway" piece and completed all the green bits:

Even got a start on his hat, shoes and golf glove, although, since it's white, you can't see it here.

I still have so much to accomplish on "Save the Stitches" and on RYO "Bride", and there is still my November BJP piece to start, to say nothing of the last TAST of the year (which is probably going to be issued next week). I certainly will NOT be caught up by the end of the year and that is very frustrating!

Take a Stitch Tuesday - Stitches ##138 and 139

This week's stitches were the Barb Stitch and the Beaded Barb Stitch.

I found this stitch easy to do and like the final look of it as well.

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Five

I did stitch this week. Not a varied routine but I stitched and frogged and stitched and frogged on the John Clayton "Golfer - Fairway" and got all but a few stitches of the greens in page one and got started on the second green on page two. The golfer is even more apparent now:

The greens aren't the grass greens shown on the chart's cover photo --- more olive and lime green. But the background is beginning to take shape!BJP Owl is kitted, but I didn't work on either of those *or* on "Save the Stitches" or "Bride". "Golfer" was moving along so well, even if it is using blended threads in a confetti pattern (which is NOT my favorite way to stitch), so I didn't feel like switching projects. We shall see how that motivation holds up over the weekend ...

WIPocalypse 2014 - November 6

This month's theme questions is "What are your favorite and least favorite materials to use in your stitching?"

Well, my favorite fabric to stitch on is evenweave, usually Lugana but often slubby linen comes into play as the Lugana I favor is pretty pricey and I don't always want to put out that much cash for something small and simple, like ornaments. The threads I use most are stranded cotton, usually DMC, because I have most of their colors (there's always one or two I don't have --- isn't that always the case?)  and because the local craft stores stock DMC and little else. 

The fabric I like the last is AIDA. Not that it's hard to stitch on (except when it comes to partial stitches and backstitching), but I don't like the look it gives unstitched backgrounds. And the thread I like least is a toss-up between rayons and metallics. They create so many issues with me, from fraying to knotting and tangling and I have tension issues with both as well. 

Last month, I said I would like to continue with:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday
• Bead Journal Project for October 
• Crazy Quilt Block for October 
• Color in the RYO mandala "Bride"
• The outline and some fill for "Save the Stitches" installments 10 - 19
• Participate in the fourth, and final, fInishing online class from Funk & Weber (Pillow Palooza)

In addition, there was quilt guild retreat the last weekend of October for which I needwed to have a competed challenge block (itwas pieced - needed to be sandwiched, quilted and bound) and where I hoped to make progress on the wall hangings for my Crazy Quilt Journal Projects for 2013 and 2014, the placemat(s) for the Meals on Wheels donation and maybe even my Chinese coins top which I completed at the last retreat and have made no further progress on. Also, I hoped to take one of my traveling embroidery pieces for a break from quilting while at retreat ...

Well, this is what I did accomplish from that list in the last month of stitching:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday - Stitches #134 (Fern Stitch), #135, (Beaded Fern Stitch), and ##136 and 137 (Knotted Buttonhole and Beaded Knotted Buttonhole stitches)
• Bead Journal Project for October 
• Crazy Quilt Block for October and for November 
• Color in the RYO mandala "Bride" - three colors done and fourth started 

I also made up five 4" crazy blocks for a swap at the guild retreat and finished the quilting on the challenge block for that retreat.

While at retreat, I assembled the Bead Journal Project pieces from 2013 into a top for a wall hanging, assembled the Crazy Quilt Journal Project blocks from 2013 into a top for a wall hanging, and assembled Crazy Quilt Journal blocks January - September 2014 for a top for a wall hanging. I probably could have accomplished more at retreat is a)I had remembered to bring along my handwork and the placemat project and b) itf I weren't so sleepy (apparently I was coming down with a cold even then but missed the symptoms until the following week). 

I also made a healthy (no pun intended as I did most of the stitching with a raging head cold)  start on a piece for next year's fair theme of sports - a John Clayton Golfer called "Fairway".

I never made it past reading through the last lesson in the Finishing Class from Funk & Weber and all I managed for the "Save the Stitches" blackwork piece by Elizabeth Almond is to print out blocks 20 and 21!

Plans for November? More of the same, head cold permitting:

• Take a Stitch Tuesday
• Bead Journal Project for November 
• Crazy Quilt Block for December 
• More Color in the RYO mandala "Bride"
• John Clayton's "Golfer - Fairway"
• The outline and some fill for "Save the Stitches" installments 10 - 21

2014 - Staying Connected, Week Forty-Four

This was the week of the nasty sinus headache/head cold. And yesterday, my first not-OTC-drugs day, I overdid it: went to husband's high school class monthly breakfast, sat in his doctor's waiting room while he had a check-up with his GP, and got a haircut. The rest of the day was wasted --- I felt almost as bad as I did a week ago. So I'm back on OTC for the nighttime and hoping to recoup those losses by the weekend.

Very hard to focus when your whole face hurts. Still, I did attempt (with significant frogging) the green stitching for the John Clayton Golfer - Fairway:

At least you can make out that there is a golfer there!

Otherwise, this was a no-go week for stitchery.  I doubt next week will be much better. Blechh! But one can always hope.