Rotation Review

Hey Blog Buddies,

How has July been going for you?  Hope you all have had a chance to enjoy the summer (or winter) weather.

I've been stitching, but not so much on my regular rotation lately.  I do have some progress to share, though, so get ready!

First, there is Carriage House Samplings' Frederika.  Here she was last month:

And here she is now:

I cropped out the little zigzag at the bottom left because I didn't like the way it looked in the photo, but I certainly didn't rip it out.  It's my modest start on the border, which is a solidly stitched 12 rows all around.  That's "all" I have left to go on this piece.

Next up (surprise!) is Cindy Valentine Designs' Pristine.  Here's where I was last month:

And here it is now:

It was sunnier out this time!  It's really hard to notice, but I filled the two remaining large border triangles with eyelets, and I completed all the cutting for the woven bars.  Not counting the hemstitched border, which will be done last, all I have left to do is weave the woven bars...  hundreds of woven bars.  The good news is that I actually like doing woven bars, there are just so many of them.

Here is a close-up so you can maybe see the difference between the woven and non-woven bars for those of you not familiar with hardanger.  The woven ones are skinnier!  I estimate that as of today I have the bars on the inside of the perimeter about half done--not too bad.  I finally have a little momentum going on this piece!

This is better!  That other photo was difficult for even me to make out, and I know what I'm looking for!  But looking at this close-up, that one section of the satin stitch looks wonky, doesn't it?  And don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!   (I'll have to look into that...sigh)

Last but not least, I finished Jennifer Riefenberg's Carrots.  Here's where I was last month:

And here it is, all finished:

I think this piece is really cute, and I'm glad that I stitched it, but lemme tellya there was simply too much laying going on for this #5-pearl-cotton lover!  The entire piece was done in cotton floss and silk floss.  True, the wacky carrot tops didn't have to be laid exactly, but they had to be shaped and couched.  The lighter green was DMC Memory Floss and the darker green was a slightly flat Kreinik braid--not a ribbon, two threads I had never worked with before.  That was fun...

But it is hanging in my kitchen now, and I get to ogle it every time I sit down to eat! 

If all this looks like a lot to you guys, keep in mind it's been over five weeks since my last rotation update!

That's it from here.  Stay tuned because I have several new starts to show you.  I know some of my friends are shaking their heads, but it's not like I haven't been finishing stuff, now is it?

Thanks, as always, for visiting!

The End of an Era

Yesterday I heard via the grapevine (Internet) that Prairie Schooler will be retiring at the end of this year.  Say it ain't so!  Their folky Americana designs are hugely popular with thousands of stitchers, including me.

Here is my first Prairie Schooler piece:

Booklet No. 4

The Bremen Town Musicians

Stitched in 1989

You don't look at it and think

"Oh, that's an '80's piece."

It's classic.

It's been hanging on one wall or another

all of these years,

and I love it just as much today

as I did then.
And that's saying something. 

I'm selfishly sad that they are retiring,

but wish them a long and happy,

well-deserved retirement.

And I'm glad, too,

because I have enough PS charts in my stash

to provide me with years of stitching bliss.

What's your favorite PS chart?

Or can you pick just one?

Thanks for visiting! 

A Finish and A Challenge

Hey Blog Buddies,

Happy July!  And what better way to usher in the month than with a Christmas ornament, right?!

This chart was a bonus added in with

Laura J. Perin's Red Hot Peppers chart.

I changed the colors to make it more Christmas-y,

and didn't stitch the whole design

because my Christmas tree is modestly sized.

It was a really quick and fun stitch,

and the best part was that I have a friend

who is now doing finish-finishing so I don't have to!

I think she did a fantastic job.

Go check out all of her gorgeous finishes here. 

Now for the challenge.  My ANG chapter wants to encourage us to finish our WIPs, so those interested in the challenge were told to bring three WIPs that were no more than half finished.  The studio audience (i.e., the meeting attendees) would vote on the one project that they thought each participant should finish.  We have a year to finish that project.  If we are successful, we'll get a free ANG tote bag.  If not, we will pay $10 to our chapter's treasury.  Here are the projects that I submitted:

Jennifer Riefenberg's Carrots.

This was a chapter workshop in 2014.

Kay Stanis' Copper Illumination.

This was a 2015 chapter workshop.

And, finally, Debbie Rowley's Angles.

This was a 2-part class given earlier this year.

That little blue triangle in the upper left

indicates how far I've gotten on it.

And which project did the gentle chapter members pick?

I think you've probably already guessed:  Angles.

Of course they did.

It's the largest of the three and obviously

has the least amount of work done.

But that's OK.

I have an entire year!

I think I'd like to get Carrots out of the way first, though.

Then I intend to buckle down on Angles.

Not sure where that leaves Copper Illumination...

To all my US buddies, have a safe and fun Fourth.

To my non-US buddies, have a wonderful weekend.

Thanks, as always, for visiting!