2014 - Staying Connected, Week Twenty-Six

A busy week, but not for stitching! After last Wednesday's report from Georgetown, South Carolina, we headed north to Asheville, NC for the American Hemerocalis Society national convention. First day was spent touring the Billtmore Estate:

where I bought a little "souvenir" kid to stitch while I waited for the other 300+ people to finish with the gardens and the winery tour:

This pretty much wiped out the day. Next day was a bus tour of three gardens, all daylilies, although one had chickens:

and one had the daylily named for my husband:

The next day was another three garden bus tour but I opted out and this is when I manage to get in some stitchery.

Then, on Sunday, t was a drive north of Dublin Virginia (near where some old friends from grad school were living and we did a lot of driving on the Blue ridge Parkway but I forgot yo take my camera0), followed the next day by another drive to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.

After recovering from the drive, it was an evening drive to Antietam National Battlefield.

July 1 saw us headed in to the District of Columbia for a walk through the Dumbarton Oaks gardens (hotter than blazes, by the way):

followed by a limeade and mango sorbet at Tom Sweet's in Georgetown (to rehydrate) and then a dusk walk through the WW II Memorial:

and the FDR Memorial (where my camera's memory card filled up... plan ahead, right?):

Today was more walking , but in air conditioned comfort in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Air & Space Museum (at Dulles Airport):

Tomorrow, it's a guided tour of the Gettysburg National Battlefield! and on July 4, fireworks in Leesburg, VA (We had planned to see fireworks at Antietam but it turns out they have scheduled theirs for July 5! And while the fireworks on the Mall in DC are tempting we are leaving on Saturday for the long long drive back to NW Ohio...). When home, it will be time to pick up some needlework at the framers and rush to get it and two other entries in the fair before the deadline midweek! Add to that the fact that our first CSA pickup is scheduled for the 8th, and the laundry buildup on this two-week road trip will be calling my name, I expect very little more stitching before next Wednesday. 

And already, there are three TAST stitches and one more RYO Mandala in my inbox to download and stitch, to say nothing of the July Crazy Quilt Journal Block (at least it's is planned out, although fabric choices still need to be made) and the July Bead Journal ATC/ornament (I have an idea but nothing more) to be done, I doubt the traveling needlepoint or the Biltmore souvenir will get any more work done, to say nothing of Save the Stitches and "Bride" of Roll Your Own... 

Falling behinder and behinder!!!

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #94

This stitch, the Reversed Buttonhole Bar, done four ways...

It wasn't difficult (other than my usual inability to stitch a good circle, that is) once I got the tension down. I like the look, especially in the circles - it would make great flowers!

This completes another "page" in my TAST sampler, the fifth for 2013:

This page includes stitches 82 through 94: Spanish Feather, Siennese, Spiked KNotted Cable Chain, Raised Cup, Turkman, two approaches to Buttonhole Picot, Twisted Satin, Twisted Satin with bead, Straight Feather and two variations, and revised Buttonhole Bar.

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitches 91, 92 and 93

These three stitches are the Straight Feather (#91) and two variations (## 92 and 93).

Here is the Straight Feather Stitch:

variation #1, the Crossed Feather Stitch:

and variation #2, the Plaited Feather Stitch:

I stitched them side by side on my stitch sampler page and you can see how they compare here:  

I also caved and went stitchery surfing on Black Friday and bought a few things. Four new charts on sale for 20% off, for example: 

I've been wanting one of these Vickery Collection Celtic crosses (I bought the Celtic Garden Cross as well as the Celtic September and Celtic December) for some time, so this seemed a good idea. And I couldn't resist Chatelaine's. Celtic Garden Mandala. I have no idea when I'll stitch ANY of these! 

There were also some beads in this shipment for my final BJP of 2013 (Some may also show up on my December Crazy Quilt Journal block as well!) I bought some 12/0 magnificas to add some dimension to my seed bead collection (Christmas Green, Cherry Red, White Opal, Silver Fox, Opal Honey and Opalescent Periwinkle ) ... also 20% off! 

What can I say? 'Tis the season!

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2913 - Stitches ## 89 and 90

These two stitches are variants of the Twisted Satin Stitch --- the Twisted Satin Stitch makes up the cross and the vertical row of stitches in the picture below while the Twisted Satin Stitch with Bead is the four stitches in the row at the bottom:

The beads are a cloudy clear color so they don't show up well in this photo...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - ## 87 and 88

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - ## 87 and 88

Two stitches this week ---actually two variants of the same stitch --- the buttonhole picot.

I think I got the first variant right --- one that uses a bullion knot, but my tension suffers in this one and since I HATE bullion knots, that meant a lot of undoing and redoing to get the short line of stitch done. However... you can see this one on the left:

On the right is a failed attempt at the second variant, one using chain stitches. I couldn't make sense of the instructions, I fear, probably because I stitches this late at night. I only used one chain, instead of two or three because I simply couldn't figure out how to do more than one. Anyway, it's on the right.

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #86

This week's stitch was the Turkman stitch and here is my sample:

Again, it looks sort of, but not quite like, the example in the tutorial...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #85

This stitch, the Raised Cup Stitch is the latest in the Take a Stitch series of tutorials. 

My attempt is somewhat pathetic --- I have trouble seeing the stitches and am not sure but that I made my knots too tight and too close together. The second one, a little smaller to start with, was an attempt to make it flare by doubling the number of second row stitches, Didn't work; just got taller, but it looks better than my first attempt.  Oh well... Yet another on this page of stitches that needs a do over...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #84

#84 is the Spiked Knotted  Cable Chain: http://pintangle.com/2013/10/01/take-a-stitch-tuesday-84-spiked-knotted-cable-chain/

My somewhat "wrong" version of stitch #84:

and I think I know where I went wrong on this one... 

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #83

This week's stitch was the Siennese and here is my sample:

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - #82

Stitch #82 is the Spanish Feather Stitch and here are two attempts --- which didn't quite work:

I might attack this one again later this week..

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #81

Here's my take on the second variation of Raised Chain Stitch (Stitch # 81 of Take a Stitch Tuesday):

and here is page 4 for 2013, which includes stitches 74 - 81 (Zig Zag Chain, Woven Zig Zag Chain, Vandyke Stitch, Woven Cross Stitches, Cloud Filling, Chained Cross Stitch, Raised Chain Stitch version 1 and Raised Chain Stitch Version 2):

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #80

This week's stitch is the Raised Chain (version one) and here is my interpretation using a variegated #5 perle cotton: 

As easy as this stitch is, I found myself getting lost and having to undo it many times. Very frustrating...

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #79

This week's stitch was the Chained Cross Stitch and here is my version:

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - #78

My version of cloud filling, stitch #78 for Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), in two shades of purple #5 perle cotton:

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch 77

Here are a scattering of woven cross stitches, this week's TAST stitch:

If I were better at random, this would make a great background using thinner thread than the perle cotton I used here, I think. 

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #76

The  "standard" Vandyke stitch is on the right top. I played around with this stitch a little, varying the lengths of the "barbs" to create different "shapes":

Sure does use up a LOT of thread! But I like the possibilities of creating a sort of ribbon border in floss.

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - #75

This week's TAST stitch was the woven zig-zag chain. Basically, you weave thread in and out of the zig zag chain we did last week! I had some tension issues on my chain which showed up in the weaving but I see where I went wrong and I like the look. This is a keeper!

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013 - Stitch #74

This week's stitch was the Zig-Zag Chain - a fairly easy stitch which will come in handy the next tine I want to couch rick rack! I like this one! Here it is --- the start of the next "page" in my TAST sample book:

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013- Stitch #73

Here is a close-up of TAST 2013 Stitch 73, the Portuguese Stem Stitch:

and here is page 3 of TAST 2013, which includes, in no particular order,  Buttonhole Bar, Coral, Fancy Hem, Slipped Detached Chain, Buttonholed Double Chain, Crested Chain, Bullion Buttonhole, Wrapped Coral   and Portuguese Stem Stitches:

Take a Stitch Tuesday 2013- Stitch #72

The wrapped coral stitch was this week's TAST: