2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Thirty-Five

I buckled down this week and tackled more WIPs which were tending to becoming UFOs...

I completed the Take a Stitch Tuesday stitch.

I kitted up the Crazy Quilt Journal Block for September: 

I assembled the block for "Bling it On", the quilt retreat: 

I stitched on "Midnight Garden" (only eight more border blocks to stitch in the two blues): 

and I completed the June BJP butterfly: 

Yet I'm still woefully behind... 2012 Color Palette/Crazy Quilt Journal/Bead Journal Project wall hanging needs batting, backing and binding; the July, August and September BJP butterflies need to be kitted up and beaded; the September Crazy Quilt Journal block needs to be embellished as does the the "Bling it On" block; "Midnight Garden" has those eight border blocks to stitch and then bead;  the "Roll Your Own Mandala" SAL with Tracy Horner of Ink Circles (there are now seven) has only been printed out with fabric selected and threads pulled and the class on stitching journals/background stitches from Janet Perry and a stitch guide practicum by Janet Perry have only been printed, not even read! I'm hoping that, with Septembebr 14 being a quilt guild work day, that I'll get SOME of this done but I fear catch-up is highly unlikely in the near future...

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Twenty-Six

I don't know where this week went! I KNOW I stitched but I don't have a lot to show for it. I seem to have gotten sidetracked into reading and sleeping late (because I can't get to sleep until late.) Oh, and the local HOA Girls' Night Out on Thursday didn't free up much stitching time either...

Oh well, I did get in one completion --- the "pink" quilt block for the special "Pink" category for the fair:

It's not as encrusted as I would have liked but I was stumped as to what to put on it. I have some pink (and green) buttons and beads but they looked too heavy for what I was aiming for so I left it rather simple. What I get for using such a bold print, I guess... it sort of set the scene and I couldn't match it with buttons or beads. Hope it qualifies...

I also got back to stitching on "Midnight Garden":

Borders are set and I'm starting on the backstitching and blackwork in the inner borders now, with the parts that are in black... Doesn't loom like much but it's like confetti stitching in those inner borders. I'm hoping to get started on the blue this week.

I'm so far behind on other pieces, though. The basic block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2013 is made up but now it needs embellishment.  I have yet to kit out a June butterfly for Bead Journal Project and it's already July (which means two in one month! AAARGH!). The sashing hasn't been touched on my 2012 color palatte/CQJ/BJP wall hanging. I have two "Roll Your Own" mandalas to select a color scheme for and kit out, to say nothing of the Sharon B weekly TAST (which starts up again this week after a week's hiatus) and background stitch guide. Oh yes, and in one month, there will be the "Messy Beading" Purple Daisy for L. Perin coming! I really need to get my stitching mojo back!

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Twenty-Four

Besides catching up with TAST, finishing the piece for the fair ("The Taco Sampler") and taking nine finished pieces to the framer on Saturday, I did squeeze in some stitching as well this past week. 

I managed to get the main part of the outer borders done for "Midnight Garden", as well as some of the black cross-stitched elements in the middle border:

Ready for blackwork! 

I also put together a 12.5" block (12" finished) for the "Pink" category for the fair. It needs embellishment but the basic block is done:

And the basic block for the June Crazy Quilt Journal Project is ready to embellish as well:

I still need to kit out the June Bead Journal Project butterfly, the needlepoint background stitch journal for Janet Perry,  and at least two "Roll Your Own" mandalas for that Tracy Horner SAL.  Of course, kitting out isn't the same as stitching but my eyes seem to be improving daily and if I can do better than my latest stitching times, I should be able to do some catching up this next week!

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Eleven and IHSW for March...

A productive week --- lots of smalls finished and progress made on some long-term WIPs.

The completions already posted to this blog, were my March Crazy Quilt Journal Project Block, a mug rug for quilt guild, the Mt. Fuji sock for the "Mittens & Mini-Socks" online class, and the TAST stitch #58. An additional completion on March 17 was the matching mitten for Mt. Fuji:

Progress made, an posted earlier, was the finish-finish of my Color Palette/Craay Quilt Journal, Bead Journal challenge project for 2102... four rows of three blocks each were sashed and stitched together. Only three more strips of sashing and it will be a top ready for quilting!

I also stitched more on my "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" class block:

I added a little more stitching, some buttons and beads and think it might be done... It feels done... but I'll wait and see what the instructor says before I declare it a completion.

Thanks to the incentive (I was going to say pressure, but that's not totally true) by a quilt guild challenge, National Quilt Day, and International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, I did get a lot done this week. But I'm still behind: there's "Sumptious Surface Embroidery" where I haven't started stitching yet, the March Bead Journal Project butterfly which I have finally kitted up, and a new blackwork piece which needs kitting up and starting in my project bag. And while that doesn't sound like much when I write it down, it feels like a lot when I look at that overflowing bag!

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Ten

It's been a busy, if disorganized, week for me but I did complete a few pieces and made some progress on some WIPS...

The completions were: "Red Thai Mandala", "Vintage Kitchen" from "Color Through the Ages", and stitches 56 and 57  (Sailor Stitch and Sailor Edging) from Take a Stitch Tuesday:

Progress was made on my Crazy Quilt Journal block for March --- only beading to go, I think:

I completed Lesson Three in the "Encrusted Crazy Quilting Class" (I am now officially behind a week in that class):

And I stitched on the latest "Mittens & Mini-Socks" lesson (Mt. Fuji):

Other in-progress pieces without photos are lesson one for "Sumptious Surface Embroidery" (I have a possible post-card-sized design sketched out), a mug rug for quilt guild (needs binding but I actually did some needle turn applique  - first time since Saudi Arabia  - *and* machine quilting - first time EVER!) and trimmed the blocks for finish-finishing of my 2102 Color Palette/CQJP/BFP challenge wall hanging!

Somehow, with all of this, it doesn't feel like I got a lot accomplished --- it was too scattered, no focus. And this week is going to be a busy one so I fear I won't get much done on the stitching front. We shall see...

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Nine

In between an esophageal endoscopy (which pretty much wiped out Monday as a useful day - but so far as I know, this was also a positive result) and a mammogram (which really set my Wednesday off to a WONDERFUL start --- but at least it was a positive result!) which bracketed the first day of a nasty icy four day winter storm, I did manage to accomplish a little in the way of stitching. 

I did manage to get all the blackwork done on "Red Thai Mandala":

All that is left now is a lot of little gold seed beads in the centers of all those lotus flowers and about half of the Algerian eyelets. I just wasn't in the mood for chasing beads around this week so...

I got a head start on the March Crazy Quilt Journal Project block --- this one is monochrome red  (with a little pink thrown in --- honest, that center patch is supposed to be PINK although it looks ecru next to the darker reds) with a few seam treatments done:

And then there was lesson 3 in "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" which focused on texture --- primarily silk ribbon and Brazilian embroidery, neither of which I have ever done. I have some silk ribbon somewhere but can't find it and odds are, it's the wrong color anyway, so I ordered some on sale... We shall see it gets here on time. As for Brazilian, when you all must know by know how I feel about rayon threads! So I compromised (cheated?) and tried to add some texture with some basic free-had embroidery daisies and French knots:

And of course, I finished the latest Take a Stitch Tuesday assignment as well as the challenge issued at the end of stitch 54, both posted earlier this week.

My big goal this week is to finish up the taxes because there is a new class starting on the 7th: Sharon B's "Sumptious Embroidery" (materials on order for that as well) and it 's already beginning to look like I've bitten off more than I can chew there!

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Eight

This week has been focused on Take a Stitch Tuesday (Stitches 53 and 54 posted earlier), Red Thai Mandala (where the outer border is about half-finished:

My contribution to the "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" class - week two, seam treatments:

and a base block for my March Crazy Quilt Journal Project --- this one is red:

Still mulling around a challenge idea for TAST and trying to work out a basic 12" block for Encrusted Crazy Quiltling. The class in "Sumptious Embroidery" from Sharon B is about ready to start too so the next week is going to be pretty full.

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Seven

This week sucked, stitchery-wise, as there were all sorts of "interruptions"! Monday waiting for the furnace inspector to come, Tuesday "Girls Night Out", Thursday quilt guild meeting, Friday an appointment with a general surgeon about my esophageal reflux, Sunday a luncheon where husband was elected to the Board of Friends of Wood County Parks - all of these interfered with my stitching schedule. Still, I did get some stitching done over the weekend for International Hermit and Stitch Weekend!

First of all, I managed to complete my February BJP (posted earlier) and TAST Stitch 52 (posted earlier).

Then I did a fabric toss for my "Encrusted Crazy Quilting" class:

But while the comments indicated that the color palette was "peaceful", there were too many patterns for the embellishment stitchery to show so I rethought and came up with this one:

Completely different look, isn't it? I think I see the point and will go with # 2... I hope I'm not "over thinking" this!

Next, I stitched a bit on "Red Thai Mandala" and made progress on the blackwork part of the outer border:

And finally, I stitched the "Mittens & Mini-Socks" "Quince" sock  (posted earlier)  and the matching "Quince" mitten:

A lot of this (the mandala and the mini-sock and mitten) were part of IHSW but I'm not behind in the encrusted crazy quilt class as a new lesson is due out this week and I don't even have my block made! I have made almost no progress in making my 2012 Bead Journal Project in to a wall hanging. And there WILL be another TAST assignment on Tuesday.