Stitching from Stash in July

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's the end of July already and that means it's time for my Stitch from Stash report.  This is a Stitch-a-Long hosted by Mel of Epic Stitching where we all try to stick to a $25/month budget for new stash acquisitions.  I have three finishes and a new little start to show you, too, but first the stats.

I spent a total of $10.25 this past month,
all of it on this one little chart:

I guess I was just in a patriotic mood.

And, it's very cute!

This month I've been stitching on the usual suspects:  Mates, A Tree by Itself and, currently, 99.  And I stitched and finished...

 ...my Semaphore quilt.  My self-imposed deadline was September 1st for this autumn-colored cutie, but I beat that by a lot!  (That usually never happens around here.)  The bottom part of the quilt that's in the shade shows the quilted fern design a little better.  You can click to make any of the photos larger...

...and here's Nancy Buhl's Flowers from my Needle from the workshop I took in back in May.  This had been my traveling piece, because it was so mindless and small--and it was stitched on 18-count canvas so it was easy to see.  What looks like a frame is really the top of a lovely music box.  All I had to do for finishing was trim the piece a little and pop it into the top of the box.  Easy peasy!  It was fun to stitch--I'll miss it.

Oh, don't worry!  I have another small 18-count canvaswork piece in my stash that's been kitted up since last year and which I'll start the next time I go a-traveling.  This is why the Stitch from Stash SAL is so easy for me.

And finally, finally:  The Long-Lost Pumpkin.  That's not its real name, but that's how I was starting to think of it, since it took so long to get it finish-finished.  Remember this?

If you've looked at this blog at all in the past year, of course you do!  And you were probably hoping never to see it again!  I posted about my June 4th finish of this weeks ago.  It was at the finisher's until the day before yesterday.  It took a long time to be finished--much longer than the three weeks which was promised--and then it was weighted wrong (very lopsided) and the green crocheted stem had it's wire poking out.  It was a mess.  Why would the finisher/store even think that a customer would be happy with something like that?  I had the store send it back to the finisher to be done properly, even though I had wanted to enter it in the Lake County Fair and didn't think that it could be fixed in 10 days' time, which is all the time that was left at that point.  But it was more important to me to get it finished properly.  So I did get a call on Friday that it was done (again) and went to pick it up.  Saturday was the Fair deadline.    Did I mention that it's a 120-mile round trip to the store?  The weighting issue was fixed and the stem was fixed, but overall it was just OK.  To be honest, I probably would have been happier with the result if I had not been mentally comparing it to the stitched model that Debbie (Stiehler, the designer) had brought with her when she taught the workshop last year.  And the store owner did give me a 10% discount for my extra trip.  All I have to say is it's a good thing that paying for finishing doesn't count against the Stitch from Stash budget, even with a 10% discount!

Debbie Stiehler's Autumn Pumpkin Patch.

Yes, it looks fine in the photo.

All's well that ends well, I guess.

Last but not least,

here is my new little start (from stash, natch):

This is Blackbird Design's Bird in Hand.

I seem to be in a bird mood recently.

My friend Anne gifted me the chart a while back.

Yes, I just finished another small piece called "Bird in Hand,"

but that was from La D Da.

This will be just a bird, a branch and a border, no words.

I'm using a dark blue floss instead of the red

which was used on the original model.

The ground is a 40-count piece of mystery linen from my stash.

So that's it from here.

I'll be back in a week or so with 

the Lake County Fair report.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for visiting!

June Turtle Trot--More Turtle than Hare

Hey Blog Buddies,
Claudette over at BAP Attack is hosting the Turtle Trot SAL.  At the beginning of the year, we were to choose 10 of our WIPs, and then do progress reports on them on the 10th of each month.   This year many of the WIPs that I chose were BAPs that I really wanted to make significant progress on this year.  I worked on five of them this month which, for me, is really good.  We'll start with the "Turtles":

 Here is Ink Circles' 99 as of last month.

And here's my progress this month.  Yes, only one bottle!

And it's the simplest bottle so far.

I'd love to get the second shelf finished by next month,

but I make no promises.

The wolves are back!

Here's where I was last month with Cross My Heart's Mates.

 And here's my progress this month.

His second eye is started,

hiding in plain sight among all the confetti.

I didn't get much time to stitch on this piece this month,

hopefully more substantial progress will be made next month.

 Here is Cindy Valentine's Pristine hardanger table topper

as of last month.

This is actually white, as is the background of Mates, above.

The eyelets in the triangle on the right

were all I did last month.

Here's the progress this month,

another small triangle of eyelets...

...and a start on one of the large triangles of eyelets.

Here's the entire piece, to give you a sense of scale.

There are over 1,100 eyelets in this piece!

If all I do is finish stitching the eyelets by the end of this year,

I'll be happy.

Ah, yes, our old favorite Needle Delights Originals' Winter Logs.
I was pretty close to a finish last month.

And I did finish it.  Woo hoo!

No surprise there, as it's already been documented.

Last but not least, Debbie Stiehler's Autumn Pumpkin Patch.

Here's where I left off last month.

A month ago I decided to spend
the vast majority of my time and effort

on this piece and went straight into "Hare" mode.

Yay--another finish!
I'm really glad this one is done.
All of the smaller sections were 
repeated five times,
and there was so much laying of
4, 5 and even 6 strands of floss
that it was driving me crazy!
If you've never had to lay threads,
I'm here to tell you that it really slows you down!

One last close-up.

It's at the finisher's as we speak.

Hopefully I'll have one more photo, that of the finished pumpkin,

to show you next month.

That's it from here.

Hope you're getting some stitching time in.

Thanks for visiting!

May Turtle Trot Update

Hey Blog Buddies,

The Turtle Trot, in case you're not familiar with it, is a stitch-a-long hosted by Claudette at BAP Attack wherein the participants choose 10 WIPs at the start of the year to work on at their own pace, often slowly, sometimes not.  We report on our progress on or about the 10th of each month.  I threw in that "or about" to give me a little leeway 'cause it's the 11th today.

So, on to the progress updates!

This is what Needle Delights Originals' Winter Logs looked like last month.  I was a little behind my schedule.

Here it is this month.  You'll notice that I belatedly decided to add the optional border.  It's a wee bit busy, but adding the border will make it the same size as the other seasonal log designs, and I intend to stitch all of them!  (The intervention didn't work...)

Here's Debbie Stiehler's Autumn Pumpkin Patch as of last month.

I wasn't happy with my progress on it,

so I promoted it to the Vitamin Designation (once-a-day).

 

 And here it is this month.

The Vitamin Designation is working!

 Photos of the project as a whole can't show detail

and are very boring, so here are a couple of close-ups.

The partially completed section in the middle of the photo

is stitched, as you can see, with metallic ribbon

that is couched down with orange DMC as is it laid down.

(That's not the tricky part!)

 After all the ribbon is couched,

the sections between each ribbon are

backstitched with two strands of embroidery floss.

Light green and dark green are alternated.

Those little holes are very hard to see!

But it makes for an attractive section.

Last but not least here is Ink Circles' 99 where I left off in March.  I had just finished frogging a good part of the second bottle on the second row, and believed I had fixed the problem. I was blissfully unaware that the neck of the bottle was lopsided...

...a fact that I discovered after I had stitched most of the bottle on this go-round!

Here is my progress this month.
Yes, I did fix the neck on that second bottle!

I worked on only three of my Turtle Trot projects this past month, 
but I'm happy with the progress on them, even the "bottles."

That's it from here.
Hope everyone in the US is having a wonderful Mother's Day,
and everyone else, a fun weekend.
Thanks for visiting!

April Turtle Trot Update

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's April and the big news is that my friend Joyce and I are going to the Nordic Needle Retreat in Fargo, ND (road trip!).  The festivities begin at 7:00p.m. on Wednesday the 9th, with a Dessert Bar, and end at midday on Sunday the 13th with a Farewell Brunch (yes, there is a lot of food involved).  In between the meals we do a lot of stitching, and I will have a recap for you after the Retreat is over.

But meanwhile, we have the Turtle Trot update, which for me this year means the once-a-month update on the progress of my (ahem) rotation.  So, here we go--first is Needle Delights Originals Winter Logs:

 last month

this month

If I can get the rest of the bottom triangle finished
before the next meeting of my ANG chapter,
I'll be all caught up.

Next, we have Cross My Heart's Mates:

last month

this month

This month's progress doesn't even look like that much to me

because it was at least one hour of stitching

(often longer) every day!
And I should have more done, don't you think?

This couple might not see too much action in April

because they are no longer being worked on every day.

That doesn't mean they've been abandoned,

just that they are going to have to find a slot in the rotation.

(Good luck, Wolfies!)

The piece that has taken their place as the once-a-day, every-day stitch is Debbie Stiehler's Autumn Pumpkin Patch, known informally around here as La Calabaza (Spanish for pumpkin).  I did this switch just a few days ago, so don't expect much.

last month

this month

This is the piece that I really want to finish next.
Each of the 16 sections is stitched five times--
they just switch locations--and it's becoming a little tedious.
I still really like the piece, just want it to be finished!
I need to find my zen place with this piece
and think more about the journey than the destination...

And speaking of finishes, I actually have one this month!

Needle Delights Originals Tangerine Twist:

last month

this month

...and a close up of one of the squares so that you can see the beads.

They are Little Charmers,

and the package had an assortment of colors, finishes and sizes.
All the directions said to do was attach them at random,
making sure that you don't get two of the same beads
next to one another!
This is only my third finish for 2014.
(And one of them was a small piece!)
That's what happens when you devote a lot of time to the BAPs.

Check out Claudette's blog, BAP Attack, 
to see what the other Turtle Trotters have been doing.

That's it from here.
Thanks for visiting!

March Turtle Trot

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's the tenth day of the month, so it's Turtle Trot progress time.

Turtle shell deep in the snow in March--how sad is that?

Moving on...

First up, we have the ever-popular canvaswork pumpkin.  Here is where I was at last month:

And here is where I'm at now:

I hope you guys aren't getting too bored with this.  It's gonna be a long haul.

 

And a close-up to add a little interest...

Next, we have Cool Cardinal:

last month

 

...this month.  A finish!

In the third spot, we have Mates:

...last month...

...and this month.

As I look at my monitor,

his eye looks like it has maybe three colors,

but that's not the case.

It has a minimum of 20 colors--all in one tiny space.

I'm glad it's done!

Finally, I dragged out my hardanger piece.

 To refresh your memory since we haven't played with it for a while,

here is what it looks like--

kind of ugly since it's been folded up in a bag

since 2006.

I worked a little on the satin stitches in the center

in January of 2013.

This is where I left off.

Here's where I'm at now.

I'm actually surprised the satin stitches lined up!

I also did a bunch of eyelets in the lower right triangle.

Not too much progress,

but any progress on this piece is good.

And for the hardanger mavens out there

who are wondering why I am doing the eyelets

after I started cutting the ground,

all I can say is, I originally decided (in 2006)

that I didn't want the satin stitches and eyelets.

Now I've change my mind.

Wish me luck that the cut ends of the ground don't come loose!
(There are a lot more eyelets!)

Hope your weekend was good.
I went to yet another workshop which was really fun,
but more on that later.

Thanks for visiting!

February Turtle Trot

Hey Blog Buddies,
It's time for a first progress report for my Turtle Trot SAL projects, so let's get right to it:

Winter Logs

 Before

 After

The January Guild meeting was cancelled due to weather (sigh),

and the leader of this SAL suggested

that we just wait until the February meeting

to do the next two sections.

(We are doing an eighth at a time.)

I decided to do the piece that we would have normally done
now, and not have a double assignment later.

Autumn Pumpkin Patch

Before

After 

I love this design,

but it is very labor- and time-intensive.

Still hoping to get it finished

by May-June.

Tangerine Twist

 Before

 After

Seems I'm doing a lot of canvaswork this year!

Cool Cardinal

Before  

 After

Without his crest, the cardinal

looks more like a fat, red vulture!

The top photo most accurately depicts the linen color.

99

Before

After

I was only able to stitch 1.2 bottles!
It didn't help that I had to rip out half of the first bottle
and the bottom part of the outline of the second
because I miscounted and they were too long.

Mates

 Before

After

Yes! I'm getting some momentum going here!

My plan of stitching a little on this piece every day

seems to be working!
I'm usually the first up in the morning,
so I've been working on this in the quiet hour before breakfast,
which is good because I need all my concentration for it.
There was a large swath of white block stitching
 in Mr's muzzle this month,
so I may not have quite as much progress to show next month.

I might have overstated in my last post

when I mentioned "ten active WIPs"

because, as you can see, I've only worked on 

six this past month.

The other four are still officially UFOs.
Maybe I'll pick up one of them next month.  Maybe.

I'm itching to finish one of the above pieces

sooner rather than later.

The only two that have any chance of being finished soon

are Cool Cardinal and Tangerine Twist.

Cool Cardinal just has the bird's crest

and a moderate amount of backstitching on the bird.

And 80 large snowflakes.  Yes, I've counted!

Tangerine Twist has only one more square to stitch.

And 240 beads of assorted shapes and sizes need to be attached,
 to be chosen however I decide--no instructions on that.
Any guesses as to which of these
will get finished first?

I went into The City this past weekend
for a needlepoint workshop (more on that in another post),
so I'll leave you with this...

 This is a very common sight in Chicago's neighborhoods.
Lots of folks may not have a garage or, at best,
only a one-car garage, so they have to park in the street.
They have to shovel their car out before they can drive anywhere,
so they reserve that nicely shoveled-out spot
with anything they can get their hands on.
I saw plastic crates and buckets and even a wooden reindeer
this weekend, but lawn chairs or folding chairs
are by far the most common.
It's not really legal and "Mayor Rahm" 
has told people to stop doing this (yeah right),
but the overwhelming consensus at the workshop was
that no one would have the nerve
to move those items and park in those spots!
This doesn't happen in the suburbs, to my knowledge,
just in the city.
Is this strictly a Chicago phenomenon,
or does it happen where you live (if you experience snow)?
BTW, more snow is predicted for this week.

Well, that's it from here.
To see other Turtle Trot progress,
visit Claudette at BAP Attack for all the links.
Thanks for visiting!