Week Forty-Three, October 29, 2015

What a difference two days makes in stitching. despite a new bout of ripping out (upper left corner this time), I FINISHED the outline for "Revenge" late last night!

I even managed to put in a few more stitches on the outline for "Rematch" (I had some black stands left and didn't want to mess with them tangling in my project bag):

Here si what "Roll Your Own looks like as of October 28, 2015:

Now, on to color! YAY!

WIPocalypse 2015 - October 27 - Hunter's Moon

This month's topic is "Are there any fibers or materials used in stitching that you’re nervous to try?" I'd have to say "not really". I think I've tried most of the fibers out there and while I don't LIKE to use some of them (metallics, rayons, even linens), I can use any of them if pressed. I have to admit my favorite is silk, but I can't really afford silk in quantity so I tend to stick with my old stand-by DMC six-stranded cotton.

Last month, My goals were (not necessarily in the order listed):

• finish outline of "Revenge" ===  75% DONE
• put some stitches into "Save the Stitches" blackwork === NOT done
• Design and prepare the base blocks for the Crazy Quilt/Bead Journal Project for October, November and December === DONE
• Complete the October blocks for the Crazy Quilt/Bead Journal Project === DONE  
• Quilt three placemats for the quilt guild holiday project === NOT done (but I did load the bobbin!)

Also, while away at a paper crafting class, I put in some stitches into the border of my traveling needlepoint "Palm Tree Elegance"  (I thought I had two night football games last month but I was wrong --- they are in the next three weeks...).

Considering I wasn't feeling that "stitchy" all month, this wasn't too bad.

Next month, my goals are:

• Start putting in the colors on "Revenge"
• Quilt those three place mats (or they will have to sit around my quilting space until NEXT holiday season!)
• Finish the November Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal block

Week Forty-Two, October 22, 2015

Since last week, there was a Cross Stitch Crazy "Stitchathon" and the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, so I did get in some stitching. At this point in time, I am on page five (of six) of "Revenge"... and the outline is nearly 3/4 complete!

I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I sure hope it isn't the train coming in the other direction!

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, October 16 - 18

I plugged away at "Revenge" in Roll Your Own. And when I say plugged, I really mean fogged. That lower left corner was ripped out three times due to silly one-off miscounts. But I finally got the third page done and the outline is now half complete!

Week Forty-One, October 15, 2015

Last Thursday was taken up by quilt guild and the  this past weekend was pretty much taken up with paper crafting classes in Michigan, but I did take my travel bag with me and stitched a little on "Palm Tree Elegance" on Friday evening, which was last touched in June when we were in Atlanta!The leopard spot border now has it's second color half done!

Then, Monday and Tuesday were taken up by catching up on sleep, visiting the dentist, the optometrist, the grocery store and the gas station and I didn't get around to more stitching until Wednesday night (last night) when I put in a couple of hours on the Roll Your Own mandala outline for "Revenge". I now  have the entire bottom outline at least placed, if not fully stitched:

So how will this coming week work out? Well, I have a papercrafting challenge to prepare, but that should only take a few hours. But today and tomorrow are pretty much marred by very early rising (4:45) so we could make the 6 AM starts of the first two days of the public radio fund-raiser... That in itself doesn't mean much until one realizes that I come home exhausted and crash, sleeping at least four more hours of the day away and waking, feeling groggy. Whether or not I will be able to focus on stitchery those two nights is doubtful.

On the other hand, this week is Stitchathon week for the Cross Stitch Crazy gang, and the weekend is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend for October. These are always always stimuli for my stitchery.

Hope springs eternal, as they say, but I hope I will have a completed out line by next Thursday!

Week Forty, October 8, 2015

Well, I managed to “force” myself to try to live up to the goals I posted in the latest WIPocalypse: I stitched! Every night! Not sure it was really enjoyable, but I did get a good bit accomplished, despite a lot of competition from various events in out lives.

First of all, over the weekend, I planned out, gridded, and assembled the blocks for October, November and December in the Crazy Quilt/Bead Journal Project for 2015:

That took the whole  weekend working on my sewing machine (which still hates me!). Heck, I even managed to load a bobbin in the right color for quilting placemats! 

Then, I alternated stitching on the October block and “Roll Your Own” (“Revenge”). What resulted was a completed October block (The beading is pretty sparse --- just couldn't come up with more than scattered beads and a few lines…):

and one corner of the outline for “Revenge”  nearly complete:

Tonight is quilt guild  and this weekend a Dyan Reavley Art Journaling class, so I won’t get a lot more done until next week (I may take my traveling needlepoint along to the journaling class to work on evenings)… And next week is further complicated by a dentist appointment (always puts me off anything for the entire day — purely psychological, but…). And the following weekend starts off with two early (VERY early)  morning volunteer sessions on the phone banks for the local public radio station ( have to get up at 4 AM in order to be there at 6 AM, and that ruins the day for this night owl). Maybe my stitching mojo will get a rest and come back in November, refreshed and eager to go. Maybe…

Week Thirty-nine, October 1, 2015

The best laid plans and all that. I posted for WIPocalypse and had plans to stitch for three straight nights on "Roll Your Own". Well, on Monday, I started and ended up ripping out a lot of stitches, fudging a few more and fighting knots and tangles on the back of my fabric. It ot so frustrating that I only stitched three strands before giving up, and that frustration lasted for the next two nights. Not a lot accomplished (although I am into the third page of six, the first two pages were only partial pages so I'm not even halfway done with the outline...):

and at this rate, this BAP may last well into 2016!

And what is more, my ambition to begin assembly of the base blocks for my October, November and December Crazy Quilt/Bead Journal Project also went by the wayside (need to clean up my work space so I have room to assemble), as did quilting those guild holiday challenge placemats (Need to change bobbin thread --- NOT my favorite activity on the machine which hates me!).  My stitching mojo is just plain NOT on residence...