Take a Stitch Tuesday and a mini-sock; National Quilt Day and International Hermit and Stitch Weekend

Getting ready for National (and International Quilt Day), I was trying to clear the decks of several pieces in progress as well as pack for a guild work day. I managed two completions on Friday, the 15tth!

The first was a very small sample of the TAST Stitch #58, woven detached Chain:

Not at all difficult and, given time, I would have played around a bit more with it.

Second was the eleventh mini-sock from Janet Perry's Mittens and Mini-socks class. It's called Mt. Fuji:

I used DMC 827 for the sky, DMC B5200 (satin) for the snow on the mountain top, a dark brown for the mountain itself (I can't find the color band - it's probably in the washing machine with my bedsheets as I type!) and two shades of white (blanc and B5200) an d one light grey (415) for the clouds.

I spent the rest of the day packing a to-go bag for National Quilt Day work day, and hunting for my mini-iron (which never showed up... but I did find a nifty little mini-wood iron which worked like a charm! Didn't even know I HAD that gadget!)

On Saturday, March 16, I was at the community center at 8:30, and helped set up the classroom for the guild's work day starting at 9AM. Got all my gear set up (that Bernette I had in Saudi Arabia which hadn't been used since 2001, worked like a charm but while I set it up and turned it on, I never used it!). I worked from 9 through almost 3 on finish-finishing my Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal project blocks from 2012. Because I had beaded too close to the seam allowance, I had to hand-stitch the sashing strips so it was slow going but I managed to get four rows of three blocks each done by the end of work day:

I think the black sets the blocks off nicely and also disguises the fact that there was no rhyme or reason behind the arrangement (other than chronological) which meant the blocks simply did not "go" together... Only three more sashing strips required but they will also have to be hand-stitched (I've learned my lesson on beading crazy quilt blocks: plan ahead and leave PLENTY of room for the seam allowance!).

After returning home, I worked a little on the matching mitten for Mt. Fuji... and crashed. Who knew that hand stitching was that tiring?

I didn't unpack until this morning --- and guess what I found when putting away my notions and tools? That "missing" mini-iron *and* a roll of "Steam-a-seam" that I was so desperately searching for when I did my mug rug binding last weekend! I think I need to clean out and reorganize my quilting cupboards!

Since this is International Hermit and Stitch Weekend for March, 2013, I will attempt to get in a lot more stitching today and hope to have some more progress to report tomorrow in my weekly wrap-up.

2012 - A Year of Challenges - Week Forty-Nine

This week, in addition to the TAST already posted, I concentrated on Birds of a Feather and the December color palette/crazy quilt journal/bead journal project square. Given that the color palette challenge this month didn't quite "fit" with my other eleven squares (see yesterday's post) , I decided to do an alternate, based on the block 6 grid form from the "I dropped the Button Box Quilt" and six colors that were used more than once in the previous eleven blocks... Here is that alternate:

The rest of my stitching time was dedicated to the backstitching on "Birds of a Feather". That is almost done:

although I will have to make some modifications to the backstitching on the paislies since I miscounted two of them and they are too close to the feathers to do as graphed. There are a few confetti speciality stitches in the body of the piece and a lot of beads in the border to do yet...

The latest Mittens & Mini-Socks arrived yesterday so that will take precedence over "Birds" for a few days. Drat... I had hoped to have "Birds" done this weekend but it doesn't look good...

Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project Challenges, December 2012

The Color Palette Challenge threw a curve ball this month --- mono chromatic! It doesn't FIT with all the other eleven challenges and so I'm thinking I won't count it in my Quilt Journal or Bead Journal Project Challenges. Instead, I will search out fabrics and trims used in the past eleven Color Palette Challenges and make a "composite" block that does fit...

Anyway, here is my monochromatic block, using the block 12 grid from the "I dropped the button box" crazy quilt on PinTangle:

I have to say, I really enjoyed working with this one --- it was fun getting a set of fabrics, threads, trims and beads that were of the same color --- although I did cheat a little (that checkered fabric had as much ecru in it as green and so I added ecru lace and a touch of gold in the threads, beads and buttons... (gold isn't a color, right? It's an accent! LOL).

Hmmmm, maybe, in 2013, I can do monochromatic blocks for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project challenge... I'm thinking greens, blues and maybe a touch of violet? Aaargh! What AM I thinking --- I got so sick of that color set in "Kimono - Revisited" and "Birds of a Feather" this year. So maybe this block will be a stand-alone and I'll move to the other end of the color spectrum and go with reds, oranges and yellows... Bright and cheerful and totally different!

2012 - A Year of Challenges - Week Forty-Five

In the past week, there have been a few "completions"! 

The first, and biggest, is Kimono - Revisited which is now ready for the framers! 

The second was the weekly TAST - the open base needlewoven picot stitch. 

The third was the Hillcroft House "name shield" for my husband's birthday, also ready for the framer. 

And finally, there was my block for the color palette challenge - crazy quilt journal page challenge - bead journal project challenge for November! The grid was a modified version of block 12 for the "I Dropped the Button Box" quilt at Pin Tangle. It was constructed using fabric, lace, ribbon, beads and threads from my stash, ALL of which had been used at least once on previous blocks. And as always, the signature chain stitch and row of bead trim (although this time it was gold instead of crystal) were in this block. And I finally decided that, like all traditional crazy quilts, this block needed it's spider web and spider...

I am avoiding "Birds of a Feather" --- it's that the next speciality stitch is in metallic thread, not my favorite mesium to stitch with... But I will get back to it this weekend. I HAVE to! There no other WIP to procrastinate with!

2012 - A Year of Challenges - Week Forty-Four

This week, I caught up on the pale blue fan stitches in the border for "Birds of a Feather":

Completed the latest assignments of Color Trough the Ages and TAST 2012, picked fabrics for the November Color Palette Challenge:

and started on the last 13 sections of "Kimono - Revisited" (got three sections done in three hours!):

I also went shopping for a new project (a class online called "Stupendous Stitching") but failed miserably in my quest for basic supplies (Michaels has filled the store with Christmas "stuff" and nothing crafty can be found!). In addition, I signed up for next year's Crazy Quilt Journal Challenge (although I probably won't make it part of the Bead Journal Project this time), am seriously considering TAST 2013, and am talking with the administrators of the Bead Journal Project about being a "detail angel" next year... I also have a name shield project waiting for me from Stitcher's Village and a whole lot of pieces planned for next year's fair. Needless to say, even though I am caught up, I am digging that hole even deeper in terms of simultaneous projects! Oh my... will I ever get back to cross stitch?

2012 - A Year of Challenges - Week Forty

A day without internet, thanks to a gardening husband and his sharp little spade adn a very close encounter with the internet cable! But I have to give him credit --- after finding out from customer service that it wouldn't be until monday after 5 PM that someone could get out here to repair it, he talked to the dealer downtown and they had someone out last night instead! So only one day without. Bad enough!

However, every bad event has a good side. I stitched instead of hovering around this laptop for three hours --- which meant I got a LOT done this week!

In addition to the day of Rhodes Squares on "Birds of a Feather" and TAST 2102 Week 40, I did a fabric toss for the color palette challenge and kitted up the last Stash Buster Club project! Then, yesterday, in all that freed up time, I stitched the Stash Buster, called "Diamond Scraps", using my different shades of brown and dark yellow from my scrap bag:

Then, once this was done, I attacked my Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project challenges with some gusto. The colors weren't exactly my cuppa but all but one had been used in previous blocks, and I managed to arrange them in a grid (block 12) from Pin Tangle's "I Dropped the Button Box" crazy quilt. I set about adding my signature chain stitch swirl and a strand of crystal beads in addition to some ribbon, a piece of lace, and a small jewelry finding. Not a lot of embroidery on this one --- just didn't have the mental energy to tackle complex seam treatments so some of the seams aren't touched at all. I MIGHT come back later and try to embellish further, but I figured that I was at that point where attempting to add more just would mess it up.

The October sections of "Kimono - Revisited" are in now so I think I may spend the weekend trying out my new rayon thread straightening device and working on that. I'll report back on what I think of the device (it came highly recommended by one of the Shining Needle Society gurus so I expect it will do wonders for my love/hate relationship with rayon threads!).

Take a Stitch Tuesday - Week 40

The stitch is/was the Beaded Hebedo Edge and while it started out logically, I ended up melting down last night when trying to actually do the Hebedo part of the stitch. Not a hardanger person here and I simply couldn't picture what I was doing. MANY thanks to Sharon B who answered my very loud call for help and guided me, with three generous emails and a link, to what I THINK may be a completion. Couldn't get a picture close enough to show the detail but...

Once a single line was completed, I bailed. The thread I was using (two strands of GAST "Aged Pewter") simply didn't like this stitch either (possibly part of my problem --- it kept curling, knotting, separating, blocking my view, etc. especially after picking it out, over and over and over --- believe me, you do NOT want to have to pick this stitch out if it goes wrong on you!) and after my struggles, I considered myself lucky to get this far! Didn't even try to come up with a design possibility for it. I think I can do it now, but odds are, I will only use it for straight line seam treatments, if at all.

The other thing I did yesterday was select my fabrics for the color palette challenge:

Only one fabric new to the blocks --- the purple/pink one on the far right. All others have been used at least once in my blocks for the other color palette challenges...

ever notice, in crazy quilting, everyone else uses patterns and fabrics with texture and the like, and I seem to end up with solids --- maybe the odd batik? My stash is really limited and I don't seem to do pattern in fabric much! SO I have to resort of laces, ribbons, threads, beads and the like to spruce up my blocks. Still, my blocks look awfully simple compared wit those displayed over at the Crazy Quilt Journal challenge! The ladies who post there are really an inspiration to me to try harder in this form of needlework...

Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project Challenges - September 2012

I struggled with this one --- somehow, the color choices didn't resonate with me, even though MOST of them were used in other blocks. I suspect the black and gray are the culprits, although I am getting a tad tired of blue and orange! LOL

The color challenge was posed by Judy Laquidara and VIcki Welsh back in the beginning of September and is based on a photo of a mineral spring at Yellowstone National Park. All fabrics, beads, threads and laces are from my stash. The block grid was a slightly modified block six from the "I Dropped the Button Box" over at PinTangle. As usuall, I added a strip of lace, some crystal beads and my "signature" chain stitch to tie the series of blocks together.

That white thread lower left --- a stray --- don't know why I didn't see it before!

I stitched a lot yesterday...

And have a few completions to show for it!

First, the Take a Stitch Tuesday for week 37, which was the "pistil" or long tack knot stitch. I'm sure there are uses for it besides being the pistils of flowers but I wasn't thinking very imaginatively yesterday so here are my pistil stitch in a stem-stitched flower with couched stem and leaves:

Having spent the morning kitting up the Janet Perry Stash Buster and Mittens & Mini-Socks for September, I decided to work on one of them as well... I chose Mittens & Mini-socks - "San Francisco Fog" and got both sock and mitten done:

I used DMC921 for the bridge (as close as I could come, in my stash, to the memory of the rustoleum color they actually paint the bridge); DMC 3072 alternated with four strands of 3072 blended with 2 strands of GAST "Pebble" for the fog (the blend wasn't very successful as the GAST was way too close in color to the DMC, I think), and GAST Barn Grey for the cuff. 

Finally, I stitched together the basic block for the color palette/crazy quilt journal/bead journal project challenge:

Now to do seam treatments and beading...

A completion...

The August Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal; Project Challenge:

The color palette can be found here: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/08/01/august-color-palette-challenge/. The grid I used was block 59 of the " dropped the Button Box CQ" over at Pin Tangle: http://pintangle.com/2012/07/07/introducing-block-59-of-the-i-dropped-the-button-box-quilt/  Because of the stars in the red fabric lower right, I decided to use stars elsewhere on this block --- and luckily I have LOTS of star-shaped buttons so... I experimented with a button cluster, a la Kitty and Me: http://kittyandmedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/04/tutorial-how-to-make-button-clusters.html to cover up a very long seam and acute angle as defined by shawkl: http://www.shawkl.com/2012/07/bcq-tutorial-dealing-with-long-seams.html

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 32

I hate having to do this but I haven't found a new blog yet so until I do, I guess I'll just take my chances. I've been trying to save this blog as well as testing out three possible replacements (Tripod, Weebly and Ipernity are all failures so far... I can't do anything on Tripod due to disk limitation, Weebly will take my photo galleries and I can copy my blog text but I can't copy my blog photos, and Ipernity will only let me insert one photo per blog...)

I didn't get much done this week. between a plumber fixing two leaks, another plumber checking out our HVAC for the regular annual check-up, a notary with papers to sign (we finally sold our "vacation" house - closing is the 14th!), picking up my fair entries on Wednesday (it was supposed to be Tuesday night but I slept through it), and quilt guild on Thursday,  stitchery took a back seat this week.

But I did accomplish a few things...

I assembled the basic block for my Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Challenge for August:


I have only half a border of the fourth color to do on "Birds of a Feather":


And I finished (late, of course, but finished) a small sample of the Take A Stitch Tuesday week 32 (Cast On Stitch):

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 31

This week, I worked on "Birds of a Feather" and have only a little it to go to finish the second color in the border: I also stitched the latest Janet Perry Stash Buster - a "Triangles Key Fob"

using a variegated thread (WDW 4119 seems to be the only one I own that even comes close to her specifications:

• more than four colors, not in sequence (this thread only had three and they were in sequence, sadly)
• Similar values in all colors (I suspect that white violates this requirement)
• All colors equal in extent (pretty close, although the red seems to have been skimped on a bit)
• Transitional areas short (this also seemed to be the case although the blue transition did seem to be more prevalent than the red)

But I was darned if I was going to buy one that fit all her requirements, especially since I would have had to do it online and wait WEEKS before it arrived. besides, this little 1" by 4" strip took a whole card of WDW and there was no way a stash buster was going cost me more than a couple of $$$!

I suspect I made a mis-judgement on the DMC 413 background because it really blurs in with that blue, but white wouldn't have worked and I doubt that black would have worked any better.

Maybe I'll try another strip with another skein of floss late in the month --- if the spirit moves me.

Also done this week was the "fabric toss" for the color palette challenge:

It's a lot more subdued than previous months but there are repeats of fabric ( the two darker browns, the black and the dark blue were used in previous palettes).

There are now 13 new sections for "Kimono  Revisited" and I have read through them and made notes where I thought necessary. Once I get Birds' border done, I will take that up to work on. I need to carefully select threads so my distributions of lights and darks (what few there are --- most of those threads seemed to have turned out to be medium values!) is better...

Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project for July...

The color palette comes from Judy Laquidara's Patchwork TImes and at Vicki Welsh's Field Trips in Fiber while the grid for the basic block was based on  Block 57 of the "I dropped the Button Box" crazy quilt at Pin Tangle. I used a lot more beads this time since I felt that the previous blocks had been getting skimpy with regard to the bead journal project part of things.

2102 - A Year of Challenges, Week 27

In the past week, I have completed a) three Christmas ornaments on perforated paper, b) one rather tacky attempt at TAST week 27, and c) the latest lesson from the Stash Busters. I took my fair entry form (five categories this year so I won't make my money back, even if I won first in all five) in to the fair office and I paid my entry fees.

On Sunday, I started a new project which I have had kitted up for some time - "Birds of a Feather", designed by by Yvonne Horn of Papillon Creations which was published in The Gift of Stitching. I'm stitching this on 32 ct pewter linen (not because I think it's the right color choice but it was the only piece of 32 ct I had that was large enough):

The border is basically half-done now...

I also started on my July Color Palette/Crazy Quit Journal/Bead Journal Project: 

The color challenge was based on a Picasso pastel shown and posted on Judy Laquidara's Patchwork TImes and at Vicki Welsh's Field Trips in Fiber: Funny thing was, as I was piecing together the block (based on Block 57 of the "I dropped the Button Box" crazy quilt at Pin Tangle), what kept coming to mind was a tee shirt I own from the University of Florida --- at least until I put in the yellow piece! LOL Go Gators!

Since it is so dratted HOT (100 before NOON, for gosh sakes ---I thought I'd left this kind of heat behind when we left Saudi Arabia!), I plan on stitching this afternoon after I get all my computer tasks done --- assuming, of course that my laptop stops dropping out --- so far, iPhoto has crashed twice and Safari once in less than 30 minutes!

Anyway on the stitching agenda today is "Kimono- Revisited" --- the instructor is getting antsy since it appears the entire class has slowed to a screeching halt on this thing, and has threatened dire consequences if we don't start posting pictures again!

Two completions yesterday...

The first to be finished yesterday was the Take a Stitch Tuesday challenge for week 24 - the buttonhole wheel:


The second was the Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project challenges block for June...
The color choices were based on the COlor Palette Challenge which used a photo of a Stargazer Lily: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/06/01/june-color-palette-challenge/ and http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/field_trips_in_fiber/2012/06/june-color-palette-challenge.html
The block grid is here: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/06/01/june-color-palette-challenge/  --- block 29 of "I dropped the Button Box" on Pin Tangle.

What is more, I even beaded on "Ornaments ala Round" --- 7 of the 20 ornaments that required beads were completed and an eighth started! Yippee! I WILL get it finished this weekend (blood work and a quilt guild meeting tonight mean there won't be much beading time today) and I MIGHT get it to the framers before our house guests arrive Monday (and my stitching time dissolves completely). Fair registration is July 2 - 16 so it has to be at the framers ASAP!

2012: A Year of Challenges - week 22

I tried, I really tried ... but I simply do NOT enjoy stitching these darned evergreen boughs and even though the only time I didn't stitch on "Ornaments ala Round" was when I did this week's TAST, I made very little progress - all the dark green in the boughs, half the medium green, and no light green:

Still have all that metallic and beading to do as well!

The June Color Palette Challenge is out... it is based on a photo of a Stargazer Lily and can be seen either on Patchwork TImes or at Vicki Welch's blog.  Here is my fabric toss for this month's challenge, which will also serve as the basis for my bock for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project *and* the Bead Journal Project for June as well:


I plan to use the grid from block 29 from Sharon B's "I dropped the Button Box" project. I've already prepared the foundation and planned out fabric placement.

The new "Stitching Guide" needlepoint class by Janet Perry starts this month, and there is a new set of 13 stitches for "Kimono-Revisited" waiting in my project basket. In addition, there will be the usual TAST and I expect another couple of small needlepoint projects from Janet Perry (Stash Buster, Mittens & Mini-Socks and Color Through the Ages) to arrive shortly. Looks like prioritizing is going to be a big issue this month because, while none of these take a lot of time, each takes at least two days away from stitching on Ornaments...

Two completions and a work-in-progress

First, here's my Take-a-Stitch Tuesday band for week 19 - half-chevron stitch:

I had already stitched three versions when I realized that I had too much slant in my stitch and realized  I was stitching it wrong... When I figured that out (lower left of the band), I decided to bail for the time being and use the correct stitch in my Color Palette/CrazyQuilt Journal/Bead Journal Project block for May... It's the red stitchery on the green ribbon, embellished with orange and pale yellow seed beads, in the lower right quadrant:

The color palette is the one provided by Judy Laquidara and VIcki Welch; the block is 6 x 6 square per the rules of the Crazy Quilt Journal Project and uses the grid for block 52 of Sharon B.'s  "I Dropped the Button Box" crazy quilt on Pin Tangle; and is also being stitched to satisfy the May installment of the Bead Journal Project.

My WIP is continued progress on "Ornaments ala Round", a Glendon Place chart:


Empty spaces are eventually to be filled with Kreinik braids and Mill Hill Seed Beads. I can tell you now --- I do not like those evergreen branches --- murder to count, for one thing. And I seriously doubt, now, that it will be done in time for the fair... Oh well, c'est la vie!

Take A Stitch Tuesday 2012 Challenge - Week 18

This week's stitch was crossed buttonhole:

I'm doing May's "page" on 28ct Cashel linen ("Coral Reef") which has a different "hand" than the Jobelins I used on previous pages --- so my lines of stitching look a tad wonky (OK, it's not all the fabric's fault --- I have counting issues too! LOL). Threads were the usual GAST: Forest Glade, Butternut Squash and Old Blue Paint.

I also auditioned fabric for May's Color Palette Challenge:

What I like about this palette is that five of the fabrics above have appeared in previous Crazy Quilt Journal Challenge blocks (the floral red second from left, the batik orange, the two greens and the darker yellow) so there is "connection" with previous blocks. Sure hope there isn't a need for that floral red in future, though , because it's down to a scrap right now! I have a grid picked out and marked for the Crazy Quilt Journal and will be working on selecting embellishments today...

CQJP/BJP/Color Palette Challenge for April

This one went quickly... my Crazy Quilt Journal Challenge block:


It's based on the grid pattern of block 47 from "I Dropped the Button Box" on Pin Tangle and the colors in the Color Palette Challenge from Patchwork Times. . Seam treatments are based on one of  the Take A Stitch Tuesday 2102 series over at Pin Tangle (basically, "half" whipped wheels) with some chain stitching and blanket stitching as well. Beading (#6 and #11 seed beads)  of the lace and seam treatments as well as the snail shell charm are for the Bead Journal Project for April.

Checking back in to say I did a fabric audition

for the Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal/Color Palette challenge for April --- my, those moldy greens were hard to match and I'm not sure I really got there  (because, while I have TONS of blue fabric, none of them were quite there on the very light and very dark values...) but...
 
Here are the fabrics I picked form my stash:


In order to keep at least one fabric in common with my previous (March) block, I kept the medium brown and instead of going in a pinky-orange direction, I went in a browny-orange direction instead. And the moldy greens became teal/sea blues instead.

And here is the basic block --- requiring only seam treatment embroidery and beads to be done!

The block grid I used was Number 47 from the "I dropped the Button Box" crazy quilt Sharon B is doing over on Pin Tangle.

Now to start stitching!