Happy Hallowe'en!

WIPocalypse 2012, October Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

The full moon is here once again, and I'm happy to report I did much better on my WIPocalypse list than I did last month--which was no progress on anything, so the bar was really low to begin with!

I finished Blackbird Design's Night Song Hallowe'en ornament.  The photo is here.  Also completed is part four of Laura J. Perin's Christmas Ornaments, Series 1, as reported earlier this month.  The photo is here.  And since I was in a Hallowe'en mood after putting up my small black tree, I decided to tackle Blackbird Design's Haunted House because I still have a lot of empty branches!

My linen was not as dark as the model's
(it may not look that way from the photos,
but, trust me, it is!)
so I used darker-hued floss instead.

In order to make the house look a little more haunted,
I "turned off the lights," opened the front door a little way,

made the chimney crooked,
and added a couple of bats flying over the roof.
Since I used DMC 3371 for the stepping stones,
they look more like spiders to me.
That was unintentional, but I like it!

Below is the stitched model:

Hopefully, the ornie will be finished-finished
by Hallowe'en!
I'm currently working on a little craft project
but can't show it to you now, because it's going to be a gift!

Click here  to see everyone's October WIPocalypse progress.

I hope everyone on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA
stays safe from hurricane Sandy.

Until next time, thanks for visiting!

October IHSW: Four Down, One to Go

Hey Blog Buddies,

I got a lot of stitching done this weekend and was able to finish my current rotation item:  the fourth square of Laura J. Perin's American Quilt Collection, Holiday Ornaments Series 1:

The photo doesn't show how glitzy this piece is.

Half of the red is ribbon laced with metallic threads.

And, of course, gold metallic ribbon is used liberally.

It was a fun stitch (except for the metallic ribbon!).

To refresh your memory, here are the squares I've done so far:

The color isn't great on these, but you get the idea.

My plan is to have these finished as a cube.

These are all the designs in Holiday Ornaments, Series 1.

However, I just happen to have

another LJP American Quilt Collection chart

(Red Hot Peppers) which has a matching ornament pattern,

so I will be using that for Side 5 of the cube.

All I have to do is change the colorway a little.

The 6th side (bottom of the cube) will be a cotton print

'cause no one will ever see it!

And for those of you who are canvaswork fans,

have you seen LJP's latest, Harvest Moon House?

It looks like another must-stitch.

She has so many fabulous designs!

To see what my 97 fellow hermitters were up to this weekend,

click here.

Hope you had a fun weekend.

Thanks for visiting!

Night Song: Finished!

Hey Blog Buddies,

I finally completed another item on my 2012 list:  Night Song by Blackbird Designs!  There's nothing like putting up a black tree with too few ornaments to kick start your Hallowe'en stitching!

This was stitched with one strand over 2 on 40-count linen.

Stitching on the recommended 30-count

would have made the ornie too big for my little tree.

Did you sign up for this weekend's IHSW

(International Hermit and Stitch Weekend)?

It's lots of fun, and there's still time to join.

You don't have to stitch every minute of the day.

Some folks stitch a little, some a lot.

I'm going to try for another finish (we'll see).

Click here to go over to Joyce's blog and become a hermitter.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

Seasonal Smalls

Hey Blog Buddies,

For the past few days, we've been having what has been described in a poem as "October's bright blue weather"--beautiful bright blue skies which set off all the glorious autumn colors on the trees, but it's been somewhat chilly.  Great weather for stitching!  But you could make a case that all weather is great weather for stitching!

So, on to the stitching.  I made the last item that I'm planning on selling at the Quilters Plus Boutique (see shameless plug on my sidebar).  It's a hardanger tree that I made earlier this year. The first version was white on white--you can see it here.  I like this new red version better.

I used red congress cloth, #8 red perle cotton

for the blanket stitch and klosters,

#8 red Kreinik metallic for the eyelets,

and white #12 perle cotton for the woven bars.

The color variations are endless on this one.

And, since it's October already,

I finally finish-finished my two little Halloween ornies:

The owl from Prairie Schooler's Heads Up booklet...

...and the tombstone from the same booklet.

Very simple finish--just mounted the little pieces

on some matboard, then glued it to black felt,

with an orange ribbon sandwiched between the two pieces.

I'm also working on Night Song from the

BBD booklet "Tis Halloween."

I'll show it to you when it's done.

Hopefully, that will be finished and on the tree before the 31st!

Hope your upcoming weekend is fun,

and that you have a little time to

do some stitching.

Thanks for visiting!

The Best of Both Worlds

Hey Blog Buddies,

This past weekend, Homewood Embroiderers Guild participated in the Pieces & Patches Quilt Guild Show--the best of both worlds--and what fun everyone had!  The following are a very small portion of the photos I took on Sunday...

There's a lot going on in this photo--so many beautiful pieces!

There's an intricate Japanese embroidery piece

in the upper left of this photo.

For much better photos of that piece, go here.

The predominantly pink bargello piece (far right)

will be one of our class projects next year.

And if you look closely just under the top right piece...

is it Betty?   No!  It's her long lost twin.

Betty (not pictured) was there, too.  It was a joyful reunion!

A close-up of the large, pink canvaswork flower.

Our Christmas table.

(Sorry for the glare of the glass.)

The large Emie Bishop hardanger design on dark green linen

with the red mat is something I've had

kitted up for over ten years now.

Must put it on on my to-stitch list next year!

(Yes, I've had a 2013 to-stitch list for quite some time now...)

This holiday cone done on canvas is an eye-catcher.

It was started by one of our members who recently passed away,

and finished by one of our current members.

This beautiful cross stitch piece is quite large (30" x 20"?)

The hummingbirds and butterflies are over one!

Lot's to see here, as well.

cross stitch, Hardanger, Sashiko embroidery, temari balls,

a couple of specialty stitch samplers, and we even have our own quilt!

Here's a close-up of the beautiful Chatelaine piece.

Some quilting...

Needless to say,

this handful of photos does not do this combined exhibit justice!

The Pieces & Patches Quilt Guild

put on a wonderful display of quilts and

were very gracious in allowing us

to be included in their show.

I believe that the collaboration

was beneficial to both groups.

Hope you had as much fun as I had this weekend!

Thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - September Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

Ummm, yes, I know it's now October, but I haven't done my September report yet and Measi,  Mistress of the WIPocalypse, gives slackers like me a grace period.  If being late isn't bad enough, I did nothing from my WIPocalypse list last month.  Nada, zip, zilch--not one stitch.  Not even Crabby.  Blame it on commitment stitching.  Oh, wait.  I did have one tiny start/finish last month, which was not really part of my WIPocalypse list (and not commitment stitching, either)--it almost slipped my mind.  Since you haven't seen it finished, might as well show it to you now...

This is Quaker Cardinal by The Workbasket.

He's quite chubby--must have been spending a lot of time

at the backyard feeder.

For the threads, I substituted Gloriana silks in

 Poinsettia, Charcoal and Lacquered Gold.

If the red looks familiar, it's the same red

that I used for CT13.  I had quite a bit extra.

Karen from the Guild will finish him as a stand-up.

He'll make a return appearance on this blog

when he's all finished-finished.

And now for the comic relief:  my commitment stitching.

I crocheted a boa for my quilt guild boutique.

In cotton.

The instructions said to make a chain 70" long (quite long),

but it must have stretched out a little while I was crocheting.

It's now eight feet long.

I took it to my stitching retreat to finish it this weekend

(more on that in a separate post).

The ladies were very kind.

They said some teenager would want to buy it.

But I'm afraid it will come back to me.

So I'm exploring some home decorating possibilities for it:

...a centerpiece...

...holiday garland...

I'm sure I'll think of more uses for it.

I also started a small, red hardanger tree

that I'll show when it's finished.

It's for the boutique, too.

I wouldn't mind getting that item back,

it could fit somewhere on my tree.

I do hope it sells, though--

the whole point is to make money for the guild.

You can click on Measi's name above,

to see everyone else's WIPocalypse progress.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Thanks, as always, for visiting!