I Have Conquered "The Beast"!

Finishes

Yes, it's true.  I have prevailed over the Beast!  Not only is it finished, but framed as well.

My framer tends to finish these pieces in record time.  (Maybe he feels a sense of urgency because he's 94!)  Anyway, he works with his daughter, and she wasn't there when I went to pick this up.  They have a new credit card reader, and he hadn't yet gotten the tutorial on how to operate it.  So he just sent me on my way with the framed piece and said we could worry about the payment later!  We did go back later that afternoon, with our checkbook this time, even though he said it wasn't necessary that we come back the same day.  I hope he wouldn't do that with a new customer, although I wouldn't be surprised if he did--he's very nice.  And they do know me well.

Here are some close-ups...

I didn't bother to change the date!

Blue Jeans and Daisies

by Blue Ribbon Designs

I mentioned a March small that was being pillowfied in my last post.  Here it is...

It turned out OK!

A Prairie Year - March

by The Prairie Schooler

Progress

My Lizzie-Kate Spring piece hasn't received much love, so I won't show that here, but I'm moving right along on the Easter piece.

Holiday Delights, Easter

by Needle Delights Originals

New Start

I usually like to throw a blackwork piece into the mix, and this year I chose a PDF download from Ajisai Press...

Here is my start on the ladybug...

It's kind of scary looking, and way bigger than life-size.

It's like the ladybug that ate Cleveland!

So that's it from here.

Hope your February is going along well.

Thanks for visiting!

Only One WIP!

Let's pick up where we left off, and I'll tell you how my WIPs dwindled down to just one.  (Now when I talk about WIPs, I am not including any of my UFOs.  They will be a story for another post.)

My mammoth project, the PS Alphabet, was stitched up and shipped off to the finisher to be made more beautiful.

I previously showed this little canvaswork start, Valentine's Day by Needle Delights Originals:

Since this design is very February, I wanted to finish it quickly, and I did.  These small designs are very fun to do.

I have a six-by-six box that I use to display seasonal designs in the lid, and this one is there now.

I had also shown you this little start...

...another seasonal design that I wanted to display with my other "winter" pillows.

So here it is.  The red and gray felt "pennies" were included with the chart.  The way I attached them looks a little ragged to me; the designer predicted that they would look similar to this, and said that it is part of their charm.  Okaaay.

I started and finished the March design from PS's A Prairie Year leaflet, but it is in the process of being pillowfied right now, so I'll show it next time.

So that left me with only Blue Ribbon Designs' Blue Jeans and Daisies (the "beast") in the WIP pile.  Here is my start on the lower part of the left third of the design (previously posted):

And here is where I was a couple of days ago (yes, I'm a bit farther than this today)...

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on this one.  I really like finishing projects more than starting them.  But I need to switch between projects; I usually stitch on at least two, sometimes three, projects during the course of a day.  Does this mean I have stitching ADD?  

So I needed to go to my very local "store" -- my computer/sewing room, open 24/7, 365 days a year -- and see what I could find.  Many, many projects got my attention, but I limited it to just two.

This is Spring, from Lizzie Kate's Spring Smalls leaflet.  There is a theme here, isn't there?  This one was not kitted up, so I had to hunt around for the threads and fabric.  The model was stitched on a beige-y linen, but I pepped it up by using Kermit as the ground.  I think it works for spring as well as Halloween.  (I had previously used this linen for L-K's Hocus Pocus--you can see it somewhere in this rather long post.) I always buy more than I need of any linen that I like--which is most of them!  This strategy works out well when you want to start a project when the store isn't open, or you simply don't want to leave the house!  This project should stitch up pretty quickly.  Yes, this will be another pillow.  2019 is the Year of the Small Pillows around here.

Easter Sunday occurs pretty late this year but spring, hopefully, is just around the corner.  I could keep those canvaswork hearts in my box until summer at least, but why do that when I have the Easter design by--you guessed it--Needle Delights Originals.

The colors are displaying a little strangely on my computer.  They are much more pastel-y in real life.  The tulips at the top, for instance, are medium pink, light yellow and medium purple.  Hopefully that's what you're seeing.  This one was a no-brainer:  all kitted up and ready to go.

Well, that's it from here.

Hope you are enjoying the weekend.

Thanks, as always, for visiting.

A Snowy Weekend...

...is good for eating snow, if you're Molly...

...and good for staying indoors and stitching, if you're me.

Here is my latest small finish:

This is from Prairie Schooler's

A Prairie Year booklet.

I am into small seasonal pillows this year.

And as long as we're talking stitching,
these are the projects that

I'm actively working on and

sincerely hope to finish this year.
Actually, I hope to finish at least
two of them this month:

Minimal progress has been made on the Beast.

But at least those @#$%^&* bees are done!

The actual name of the project is

Blue Jeans and Daisies by

Blue Ribbon Designs.

I'm having a lot of issues with it.
This is definitely not one of the projects
that I hope to finish this month.

This is Needle Delights Originals'

Holiday Delights Valentine's Day.

Would you believe that the small hearts

come from a skein of Watercolours that is

 a totally different color than

the large heart?

And they show up less well

against the lilac background IRL.

So I held my breath and
ripped them out (very carefully)

because I wasn't restitching that background!

And I was careful to avoid the pink parts
 of the thread when I restitched the small hearts.

Better.

Here's another little seasonal start.

There are two very similar designs in this chart:

Solitude and Serenity.

I'm doing Solitude.

Last but not least
this one needs no introduction:

So near, and yet so far.

I lightened up the flowers considerably.

The red flowers would have been

the same color as the watering can.
And the purples would have been darker.
The leaves were charted in a much darker color, too.

I'm happy with the changes.

That's it for now.
Thanks for visiting!

Year End Wrap-Up

Hello, Blog Enthusiasts!  It's me and I'm back for a year-end stitching wrap-up.  I realize it was July when I last posted, so we have a lot of ground (get it?  ground?) to cover.  Where to start...?

But of course, the Prairie Schooler alphabet:

I showed the V for Vineyard finish in my last post, and here's the entire row.

And we have Y for Yarn...

...and the ampersand.

No Z.  Yet.

This is the fourth block in this series

that shows a woman stitching,

and the first one who's a lefty.

The stressed-out sewer in S is for Sewing

had her scissors in her left hand,

but she could be ambidextrous.

I finished BBD's Spell of the Moon.

...and Lizzie-Kate's Hocus Pocus...

...Blue Ribbon Designs' Hayride Happenings,

published in an issue of Just Cross Stitch;

I got the frame from Hobby Lobby...

...Needle Delights Originals' Poppers...

...and Boo Logs by the same designer...

...I pieced together a bed quilt from a

Bonnie Hunter workshop!

The actual quilting was outsourced

on this large piece.

I used up a lot of scraps and left-over

fabric with this one...

...this cute little thing was a kit by Hands on Design,

sold exclusively by one of my LNSes...

...my only Christmas finish this year,

from PS's Folk Art Christmas booklet...

...and finally January, from Hands on Designs'

A Year of Celebrations.

This one hasn't been pillowfied yet -

hopefully, it will be before 1/1/19.

I have made very few stitching plans for next year.

Obviously, finishing Z is for Zinnia is one of them.

I have a start...

I'd also like to finish Blue Jeans and Daisies,

otherwise known as "the Beast."

I've got quite a bit done, 

but I just don't enjoy stitching on this linen.

This is an icky photo;

I can't get the colors right on my little iPhone -

it's much prettier IRL.

I have this little design in the works,

Erica Michaels' Defining Winter.

It's going to be another pillow.

One can never be too rich, too thin

or have too many little pillows.

I plan on starting this blackwork piece "soonish."

Other than that, I think I'll just stitch

whatever strikes my fancy.

So that's it for this year.

Hope your 2018 was a good one.

Thanks, as always, for dropping by.

This Year's Goals

Hey stitching peeps. How's 2018 been treating you so far?

I've put some effort into planning my stitching line-up for this year, and the list is surprisingly modest...so far.  Let's start with my current WIPs:

This is Winter Wind by Prairie Schooler.

This photo shows only the top third of the design,

but I'm quite a bit farther than that.

I generally don't like to predict,

but this will likely be my first finish this year,

perhaps some time this week.

I've got a bit done on Blue Ribbon Designs'
Blue Jeans and Daisies.

This is a fairly good-sized piece, and
I'm hoping for a mid-year finish. (hehe)
If I don't finish it this year,
I'll have to pick out the date!

Here is Ho Ho Ho by Debbie Forney.
At a minimum, I need to do Santa's beard,
to convince myself that I still remember
how to do the bullion knots that make it up.
If I get the beard and mustache done,
it will all be downhill from there.
Maybe.

And my last current WIP is
our old friend the Prairie Schooler Alphabet.

Poor headless owl.
A little more done in the past couple weeks, no?
My fervent desire is to finish O through X this year.
(hahhahahahahaha)

A piece that I need to get started on

is Plum Street Sampler's Merry Friends.

This needs to be finished by the vernal equinox,

because I will be taking a tart finishing class 

from Vonna (the Twisted Stitcher) at

the Fancy Works retreat in March,

and this will be the tart!

No, I have not started this one yet.

There will be a patriotic pincushion exchange

at the retreat, and if the tart stitching goes well,

here is something that I had planned

to make for the exchange:

Liberty Starburst by

Summer House Stitche Workes.

This one is a definite maybe.

And I simply must do a blackwork piece, right?

I have this cute bird from Tanja Berlin, all ready to go.
I must admit that it looks a little intense.

In March I have two workshops to attend:

Kathy Rees (Needle Delights Originals)
is teaching one of her pieces at my ANG guild!
I'm really excited about this one.
I've done so many of her pieces,
but I've never had the opportunity to take one of her classes.

The name of the piece is Highland Circle.

Then my quilt guild snagged Bonnie Hunter (Quiltville)
and she will be teaching her Pineapple Blossom quilt.

I'm a little nervous about tackling this,
but the only way to improve a skill is with practice, right?

And that's it, so far.
As I said before, a modest line-up for me.
We'll see what the rest of the year brings.

Hope you're having fun with your stitching
because that's what it's all about.
Thanks for visiting!

Auspicious August

Hey Blog Buddies,

Hope everyone's August went well.  
I was beginning to think I wouldn't get a post in this month, 
because I wanted to wait until I had another letter finish.  
But finally...

K is done!

I think the cat looks a bit nervous.

Maybe she's afraid that the birds

are going to start pecking at her ears.

I worked a bit on Rip-Ro, too.

Here's where I was last month.

And here it is now.

I had a good bit done on Forest last month.

And here it is now, all stitched.

I like the way the trees change color

when they overlap.

I made a couple of new starts, too.

I don't know if this will be

finished in time to be seasonally displayed, 

but at least I should have it for next year!

This has been in my stash pile for several years.

It finally called loudly enough for me to notice.

The Lake County Fair was in the middle of the month...

...and I did quite well.

This past weekend, I attended

Needlework Galleria with my friend Joyce.

It was held at the Embassy Suites Hotel

in St. Charles, Missouri.

There were close to 30 vendors,

mostly designers and some needlework shops,

and it took up the entire fourth floor of the hotel.

Since all the rooms were two-room suites,

the vendors set up their shops 

in the living room part of the

suite where they were staying.

I took this photo from the 12th floor where

our suite was, far from the madding crowd.
You can see the banners of some of the vendors
down on the fourth floor railing.

A tiny sample of goods from various shops.

I went a little nuts in the shop with all the fabric...

I got lots of nice 18- and 20-count evenweave,

good for over-one work!
Wait, am I planning on doing a lot of over-one work?!

I signed up for one class, the Round Robin.

Six vendors took turns presenting their small projects.  

Just what I need, six more projects!

But they're small...

Clockwise from top left, The Silver Needle's acorn stand-ups;

JBW's candy cane holder; Romyscreations' Christmas ornie;

J Design's Spooky Tin, Noteworthy Needle's

thimble holder (it's really small); and finally

Needle Bling's sampler pillow.

The Silver Needle is a needlework shop in Tulsa, OK.

They had a fabulous 2-suite shop jam packed 
with the most tantalizing stuff.

If you're ever near Tulsa, pay them a visit!

I have to give a shout out to Cathy from

Inspired Needle (my local LNS)

who puts on this incredible event year after year.

Thanks for all the hard work, Cathy.

It was well worth it.

That's it from here.

Thanks so much for visiting!