Fair Results and Rainforest, Framed

Hey Blog Buddies,

Thanks so much for all your kind comments about my pyramid!  (I will miss it when it's gone.)  To answer the question "Why 39?":  I am making one for each of the 27 people who will be attending my embroidery guild's workshop in September.  The rest will be sold at my quilt guild's boutique in November.  (Do I belong to too many guilds?)  And I will keep one, or maybe two, for myself.

Yesterday I got my stuff back from the Lake County Fair!

Front Row:  Uptown Stitcher by Libby Sturdy,

NOEL by Erica Michael, Soar by Brenda Gervais

Back Row:  CT13 by Alessandra Adelaide

No Sweeps or Champion ribbons,

but I'm quite happy with how I did.

And today, I went to pick up Rainforest Revisited at the framers.

This is Sue at The Great Frame-Up in

Orland Park, IL.

She does all my framing.

I love how it looks--you can tell I'm not a fan of ornate!

This one will go up next to Rainforest Crunch.

Now that I have two that can hang in the space I've picked,

I can take down all the small Christmas

pictures that have been up since last year!

That's it for now.

Hope you get time to do something fun today.

Thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - June Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

May was a much more productive month for me than April, so I've got a few things to show you.  Let's start with a finish!  Here's the before photo:

And here's the finish,

Alessandra Adelaide's CT13:

Rainforest Revisited by Needle Delights Originals

also got some love in May.

Here's the before picture:

I added eight more squares since then

(the top and bottom rows):

Last and probably least,

at this point anyway,

I made a start on Raise the Roof's "Crabby All Year."

It's on my list because I've had the charts for quite a while.

So, say hello to June:

"B"?  Really??

Yes, June is "Bugs!"

I had a bad moment with it this morning.

As you can see, I did measure for the center and

basted a line down the middle.

Trying to be careful here

because this is another BAP.

I'm doing all the months on one piece of linen.

Then it hit me:

there's an 80-thread header I forgot about!

I vaguely remembered Joy at House of Stitches

telling me I was getting a little extra

when she cut the fabric.

(I think my measurements were

almost equal to the width of the fabric.)

So I counted, and there's plenty of room at the top!

Whew!!

That's it for this month.

Hope your month was productive, too!

And thanks for visiting!

CT13 -- Done!

Hey Blog Buddies,

I'm very excited that CT13 by Alessandra Adelaide is actually finished!  At the end of its turn in the rotation, it seemed so close to being done that I went for it.  All it took was three extra days.

This was a big project for me (207 x 168 stiches).  I know it's nothing compared to the HAED projects that some of you are doing.  I really don't think I would have the patience to do those, but I admire all the ones that I see.

The pattern suggested stitching the entire piece in one color, but I decided to add the green and gold, and I'm happy with that decision.

Here are a few close-up shots:

I used the following Gloriana silks:

Pionsettia for the tree;

Holiday Green for the pot;

and Lacquered Gold combined with

Kreinik gold blending filament for the star.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - May Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

This past month my WIPocalypse rotation just got kicked to the curb!  It was a combination of my trip to Fargo, ND, for the Nordic Needle Retreat and some obligation stitching.  Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes.  But I did find a little time in the past three days to work on CT 13.  I guess DH must be getting a little tired of the swirly red tree, because when it reappeared on Wednesday he said:  "Haven't you finished that yet??"

Here's where I left off last month.

Here's where I am as of today.

We had a bit of lopsided three growth!

Isn't it weird what different lighting

will do to the color?

The top photo is more representative

of the floss color.

I also have a little bonus finish to show you!

I'm including it here just because.

This is a model for a Ukrainian whitework workshop

that's being offered by my Guild in September.

I think the design is cute as a button!

And the workshop will eventually be

opened up to the public,

so stay tuned.

That's it for this full moon.

Happy stitching...

...and thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - April Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's the April full moon and it's time for another WIPocalypse update, so I'll get right to it:

First up is a finish!  I had a freebie Calico Crossroads chart in my possession...

(my "before" photo")

... since approximately the turn of the new millenium, so I finally stitched it up--and it's finish-finished!

I finished it as a bellpull.

The floss used for the lettering is something

I've had for a long time,

and the label has long since been removed.

Next is Rainforest Revisited by Needle Delights Originals.

Here is where I left off last month...

...and this is where it's at now.

I'm happy with my progress on this one.

There are 32 squares in all, so I'm over a third done.

Last is CT13 by Alessandra Adelaide, my swirly tree:

Here's where I was at last month...

...and here's what the tree looks like now.

It hasn't grown an inch over the past month,

but, like almost every other tree in this area,

it's sprouting leaves!

Many, many tiny leaves.

The leaves are bringing the tree to life,

but it's slow going and kind of tedious.

Some folks don't like to do backstitching--

I'm not a fan of this confetti-type stitching.

Well, that's it for this time.

If you want to check out all the other

April WIPocalypse posts,

go to Measi's blog for all the links.

Have a happy Easter, Passover, Equinox

or whatever else you may be celebrating.

And thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - March Report *EDITED*

Hey Blog Buddies,

February was a short month (even though we had an extra day), and it's WIPocalypse report time already!

This month I have four items, including two finishes!

I included this in the WIPocalypse because

I had had it kitted up for a l-o-o-ong time.

This month I started it and got

the four center squares finished.

Another chart that I've had for some time

is Springology, and I knew I needed one or two

spring designs for my stitchy bookcase.

So I started and finished the Spring design last week.

The most exciting news of the year so far (at least for me)

is that, after ten years, I finished the Uptown Stitcher!!

If you're new to this blog, click here to see my post about it,

complete with close-ups.

And, finally, we have to talk about the swirls.

(Yes, I'm afraid we must.)

I'm still plugging away at CT13.

Here's where I left off last month.

And here's where I am now.

Yes, there are leaves in the design...

many, many leaves, not just the few that you see here.

And I decided to make the woefully undersized pot green.

(The design calls for only one color:  red.)

I actually added a row of stitching to the pot,

and it is still really, really small.

But it's not supposed to be true to life, is it?

I'm really glad I signed up for the WIPocalypse.

I made my list at the beginning of the year and,

with one or two exceptions, have really stuck to it.

Even though it's only March, I've realized that

there's no way that I'm going to finish

all 22 projects, but they're all on my radar,

and that's a good thing.

To see the links to everyone's progress on the

WIPocalypse this month, go here.

That's it from here.

Hope you're having fun doing what you're doing.

And thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - February Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's time for the February WIPocalypse report already!  Time sure flies when you're stitchin.'  I've worked on three things over the past month, and decent progress has been made, I think.

First, we'll check out Allesandra Adelaide's CT13.  Here's where I started out a month ago:

And here's where I am now:

I added a little extra on the lower right

since my last update

just because I couldn't leave it sitting "unbalanced."

Everything's got to stay more or less symmetrical.

(It's part of my problem, dontcha know!)

Next we have our old friend, the Uptown Stitcher.

Here's where she was at a month ago:

Here's what she looks like today:

Did a bunch of little details

(finished the boots, French knots on dress

and added grass for her to stand on)

and started the background.

I've decided to keep the background color

even though it's close in color to her

shopping bag (not shown here).

She needs to get done.

Last, I have a finish to show you!!

Here is Snow Patches by the Cross-Eyed Cricket

a month ago:

And here he is now.  I finished him yesterday:

I switched around the colors

and even some of the patchwork patterns.

The purple buttons were left-over

from another design.

They go with the hearts on his mittens.

I was going to use beads for his eyes,

but comparing the size of the beads to the

size of the buttons, he would have looked too

(are you ready?)

beady-eyed  (teehee).

So I did French knots instead.

They're not perfect, but then again

no two stones are the same in nature, are they?

He's got a little character,

and I'm happy with the way he turned out.

That's it for my February WIPocalypse report.

Go here to find links to all of the

February WIPocalypse reports.

Happy blog hopping and..

Thanks for visiting!!

It's not the Destination, It's the Journey

Hey Blog Buddies,

I kept repeating the above phrase as I frogged quite a bit of blood red silk in my CT13 this afternoon.  I contemplated leaving the mistake in--it was on the left side of the bottom branch--but then I would have had to make a similar "mistake" on the right side, and the whole branch would have looked too thick and out of whack.  So I frogged.

You can still see a little red fuzz

on the bottom where I ripped.

This won't be nearly as far along as I had hoped,

but again, journey not destination!

(And it's been one heckuva journey today!)

Yesterday, I went on a field trip (for research purposes only, of course) to Designer's Desk in Geneva, Illinois, with six other gals from the guild.  I had heard much about this needlework store from various people, and was interested to see if it would live up to the hype.  All I have to say is, it's a stitcher's nivana.  It's in a cute Victorian house.  The main floor and upstairs are packed with stuff.  The basement is packed with stuff, too, and everything there was 75% off!   They carry a full line of cross stitch supplies, as well as all the needlepoint you could want, including a bunch of painted canvases.  Their thread walls have to be seen to be appreciated.  Did I remember my camera?  No.  That's why I must go back--so that you can see photos of this wonderful place.

I had been doing so well with working from stash and not buying anything new--until yesterday.

Hey, it's almost the end of January!

Clockwise, from left:

Summer by Indigo Rose (75% off!),

Hare's Summer by Plum Street Samplers,

Mix it Up from Mill Hill Kitchen Collection,

and two Mill Hill beaded Halloween ornies for my tree, of course.

I also found the Rosewood Manor bin,

and had six charts pulled.

I eliminated the charts, one by one,

until only this beauty was left.

And who says I have no impluse control?!!

We had a 1 o'clock lunch reservation

which was a good thing because

it gave us an excuse to get our purchases rung up and leave

(after 2-1/2 hours in the store).

Good friends, tasty food and fabulous shopping.

Hope your weekend was just as marvy.

Thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - January Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

Are you as stoked as I am about the 2012 WIPocalypse?  Not that I'm hoping that the world will end in December, but if it does, there are over 300 of us who will have our WIP's (hopefully) all finished!  And there's something to be said for that.
I haven't actually showed photos of my 2012 to do list before.  And since I can't seem to get this Blogger page thing figured out, I'll do it here.  Some are WIPs, and other are just things I want to do this year.  But since this is a picture-heavy post, I'll stop blabbing and go straight to my WIPocalypse list:

Here she is, our old friend,

Libby Sturdy's Uptown Stitcher.

She's nearing completion.

There should be no reason that she remains a WIP.

Alessandra Adelaide's CT13--

the zany red Christmas tree.

I'm really hoping it will be up on my wall

for Christmas 2012.

This is Indigo Rose's Winter.

It's probably my oldest WIP,

started in 1998 or 1999.

The project benefiting autism research

that my Guild offered in April 2011.

The multi-colored row that I'm doing now

is really... interesting.

Another stocking from

BBD's 'Tis Halloween booklet.

I'd like to get at least one other one stitched, too...

..this one.

I've got two of these designs finished.

I want to do three more.

(Yes, I'll be stitching one twice.)

These will look cute finished as a cube.

Plum Street Sampler's "Boris."

He is just too cute for words!

Milady's Needle "Christmas Elegance."

You can never have too many holiday ornies!

(I want to do at least one, hopefully two.)

Raise the Roof's Crabby All Year

This is such a fun design!

Once I get all the buttons and some linen,

look out!

I found this free chart while

rummaging through my stash today:

Calico Crossroads'

"I Stitch Therefore I Am" band sampler.

How cute is this?!!

And I didn't even remember I had it!

Gotta do this one soon!

This was a Guild project,

a freebie blackwork design from Laura J. Perin

that I'd really like to get done this year.

This is another guild project:

cross-stitch pinwheels

from Calico Crossroads

worked on perforated paper.

Everyone needs a cross-stitched pinwheel, right?

Right???

This is Rainforest Revisited

by Needle Delights Originals.

I'd like to start this right now, except

the short ends of the stretcher bars

are being used by Uptown Stitcher.

(Just another reason to finish her soon.)

I want to do 2 or 3 of these

for my spring display....

This Victoria Sampler ornament

was in the 2010 JCS Christmas issue.

It's all kitted up and ready to go!

And wonder of wonders, I have a finish!

Lizzie*Kate's January Flip-It.  Woo hoo!

And here is my latest start.

Snow Patches from the Cross-Eyed Cricket.

If you've made it through the end of this list, congratulations!

Hope your weekend was fabulous.

And thanks for visiting.