Happy Hallowe'en!

Late IHSW Post: La Calabaza!

Hey Blog Buddies,

This is my latest IHSW post ever!  International Hermit and Stitch Weekend was a week ago!  I've been quiet the past two weeks because I've been working away on Debbie Stiehler's Autumn Pumpkin Patch.  (Calabaza is Spanish for "pumpkin.")  My original plan was to stitch half of a football-shaped section, but when I got to the halfway point I decided to go ahead and finish the rest of the section...

 

So now I have two footballs instead of one:

 

They're just like two peas in a pod.

 

From now on, I'll probably stick with the

original plan of stitching just

half a football at a time.

I was really burnt out at the end

from laying all of the 4-, 5- and 6-ply floss

which is called for in the various sections.

But I wanted to move this long-neglected project along,

and I made significant progress.

 

 

Here are a couple of the sections deconstructed.

This is the top left section on the left football above,

to give you an idea of the scale of the project:

 

The first step here was to lay the metallic ribbon in a grid.

You'll notice that it covers a good portion of the canvas.

 

The next step is stitching a double upright cross

using (at least) 4-ply of DMC.

We are covering up all that pretty ribbon!

 

(Sorry for the blurry photo!)

There are more upright crosses

in an Anchor floss that's an almost-identical orange.

You may be able to see some tiny

areas of white canvas still peeking through.

The ribbon is really hiding now!

 

Can you tell the difference in the oranges?

I can't, either in the photo above or in real life.

The last step is to cover the tiny bare areas

with regular cross stitches in lime green.

It gives the finished section sort of a tufted look.

And the ribbon underneath does add some shine.

Not all of the sections had four steps,

but all had two or more.

 

 

(Now you know why this took so long...)

 

Here is one of the plaid designs:

 

First step:  back stitch on the diagonal.

 

Next, fill in the same color pattern

with basketweave stitch,

and you can see the plaid start to take shape.

It's almost a no-brainer.

 

This week I'll be stitching on Part 2

of my Winter Logs SAL.

It will be a soothing break because it is all

Caron Watercolours with a couple of

#16 Kreinik braids thrown in--NO laying!

 

That's it from here.

Hope you had a good weekend,

and thanks for visiting!

October Ornament ... and Stash!

Hey Blog Buddies,

Halloween is almost here (17 more days as of this writing!), and I've finished my October ornament...

This is Prairie Schooler's Night Owl,

from the 2011 JCS Halloween Collection,

stitched on a random 28-count linen,

one over one.

I used Gloriana India Ink silk for the black

and the recommended DMC for the rest.

I love the way the owl looks annoyed

and the moon looks worried.

Ten down and two to go...

 

Last week I met a friend in Lemont for lunch.

Lemont happens to be home to Inspired Needle,

and all I was looking for was this:

 

Caron Watercolours Quicksilver,

which is called for in my latest SAL,

Needle Delights Originals' Winter Logs.

I was happy that they had it.

 

They also had this:

The chart for Autumn Logs.

Uh-oh...

...but isn't it gorgeous?

 

And wouldn't you know that Cathy,

the thoughtful owner of Inspired Needle,

had made thread packs for this series:

(double uh-oh)

 

So, of course, one went home with me.

 

And over the weekend

DH, Molly and I went to Knox County, Illinois,

for the Scenic Drive

(think lots of food and flea markets).

 

There was one vendor, in Maquon, with

a lot of old books and I found this:

This is a book which originally came out in 1936.

I'll have lots of fun perusing chapters

devoted to Florentine, Hedebo,

Jacobean and Moutmellick Embroidery,

to name a few.

 

Here are a couple of pages

from the Drawn Thread Work chapter.

 

That's it from here.

Hope you had a great weekend.

And thanks for visiting!

Autumn Harvest and Friends

Hey Blog Buddies,
Our warm humid weather is finally gone and it's much more Octoberish today, so it's a good time to show my latest little finish:

Lizzie*Kate's Autumn Harvest

Ground:  32-count Legacy Lugana

Threads:  Recommended DMC

 

I had the frame in my stash--

it was housing a little Spring piece.

I try to frame all my seasonal pieces

so that the pieces pop out easily

and the frames can be used for more

than one design.

 

Well, I have started a new stitch-a-long.

It's the Ongoing Project at my guild--

a SAL by any other name.

Here is what it will look like...

 

It's by Needle Delights Originals--how could I resist?

There is a log design for each season..

...I think I may be in trouble here.

 

Here is what I've done so far:

I'm almost where I need to be.

There's one log, just to the left of the first

pastel-colored log, that I couldn't finish

because for some reason I don't have the thread.

But that will be remedied this week.

 

And speaking of Needle Delights Originals,

I made some more progress on Tangerine Twist.

Here is where I left off in June--the first block:

 

 

And here it is now:

 

There will be four identical blocks,

each twisted 90 degrees from

the adjacent block.

I usually don't gravitate toward bright colors,

but I love this piece!

If it stays in my rotation, it will

easily be finished before 2014.

I'm to the halfway point

(not counting the beads) already!

 

And that's a good thing because

there are just too many workshops in 2014

(that I'm currently aware of) 

that I want to participate in!

I've already signed up for three, and it's only October.

And the ANG (American Needlepoint Guild)

National Seminar is being held in Chicago next year.

I know I will take at least one class there,

even though I haven't even seen the catalog yet!

How about you?

Are you mentally lining up stitching projects

for next year already?

 

Hope you had a grand weekend.

Thanks for visiting!