2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Thirty-One

Other than going to the fair to work quilt day and check on my needlework, all I managed to accomplish this week was:

purchase of the necessary stretcher bars for L auraJ. Perrin's "Purple Daisy", which arrived this week, complete with the first weeks assignment

stitch #75 for TAST

purchase a packet of silvery seed beads which, although they don't quite match the ones I'm using now, might just work on the June Butterfly. You tell me --- does it work? Most of the lower right wing has the new mix in, the lower left does not:

Pretty sad, don't you think?

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!

The County Fair Results Are In...

Knowing the issues I had with many of my entries (I knew that some didn't really fit in with the category I entered them in and others had some major technique issues which could result in them placing out of the running) , I held off until today to actually go see for myself how I did with my nine fair entries (although my husband did check them last night and called me with the results so I wasn't surprised).

Anyway, here are the results, and the photographic evidence!

First place in their categories...

Home is Where the Heart is in "Counted Cross Stitch 25 count, framed picture" (technically, it's a sampler, thanks to the words on it but I took a chance...)

Red Thai Mandala in "Counted Cross Stitch 28 ct, framed picture" (See that loose black thread that's showing through the linen from the back in the upper left corner! AAACK!. And it's not really cross stitch or a picture but it had some cross-stitch in it so...)

Kimono - Revisited in "Needlepoint framed sampler" (was it a sampler? It had many different stitches. But it was also a picture?)

The Charles "name badge" in "cross stitch 28 ct, framed sampler (yes, I suppose it is a sampler --- it has words but...) - and another bad photo because the case it was in was all scratched up!

Encrusted Crazy Quilt block in Green in "Any beaded item on fabric" (heck, it was a crazy quilt block and it was potentially competing with all sorts of other kinds of beading:

Second place in their categories...

Sumptuous Embroidery in Blue in the category "Hand embroidered or Stamped framed picture" (wasn't sure how this would fare against stamped pieces...)

Birds of a Feather in "counted cross stitch, 32 ct" (the mistake in the upper right side border should have downgraded it. To me, at least, it was blatant and fudging didn't correct for it - but it was husband's favorite, and he was upset about the second place more than I...) - sorry about the glare, I couldn't get a good angle on it in the case...

Third place in its category...

The Taco Sampler in the 2013 Special Contest "In the Kitchen", wall hanging or picture with a kitchen theme (again --- potentially competing against all sorts of other kinds of needlework, it really wasn't a picture, and the white stitching didn't contrast enough with the background to show; the winner was a black-on-natural cross stitched chicken while the second place was a quilt)

Honorable Mention in its category...

"Pink" Crazy Quilt block in the "Pink Quilt Block" special category (it was a crazy quilt block competing with traditional blocks so fourth place was a good result, IMO... although the guild members who were with me didn't agree with my reasoning that crazy quilt blocks don't quite hack it technique-wise in judging when up against perfect points and the like in pieced blocks - which was encouraging! )

Oh, and I made my entry money back! YAY!

2013 - Reconnect to My Stitchery, Week Thirty

Saturday, I took my fair entries to the check-in booth, and they were either judged yesterday or will be today. SO I will be able to find out tomorrow, on the fair's official opening day, what, if anything, I won. 

Otherwise, the only stitching I did this week was a little beading on my June BJP butterfly. 

What is more, I fear I don't have enough of the silvery grey to finish it. Plan B? I may have to order some online as the local shops have a very slight supply of Mill Hill... Clearly, I will NOT be caught up with BJP this month...

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:

Wipocalypse, July 22, 2013.

This month's themes are : Designer – Glendon Place, Style – Animals, Colors – Red and Yellow.

Well, I have stitched two Glendon Place designs, but none of their designs are in my WIP bad. Similarly, no animals, unless you count the itty bitty blackwork insects on "Midnight Garden". As for Red, well there was the July Crazy Quilt Journal Project block  --- it was ALL red, with a touch of white.  But nothing yellow...

What I have stitched on since last WIPocalypse check in is as follows:

Completions: 

• Take a Stitch Tuesday stitches: Wrapped Coral Stitch and the Portuguese Stem Stitch
• A "Pink" crazy patch block for submittal to the fair in a special "Pink" category
• That July Crazy Quilt Journal Challenge Project block

Still in progress:

• "Midnight Garden"
• My June butterfly for the Bead Journal Project

I'm sad to see how little I've accomplished this month. My stitching mojo seems to have gone on holiday while I'm stuck here in this heat...

International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, July 19 - 21, 3103

I hate to admit it but most of this weekend was taken up watching the entire series 1 of "Endeavour". As my husband said, it's addictive! And I LOVE that theme music.