IHSW: May 2013

Hey Blog Buddies,
I signed up for the IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend) this month even though I knew I would be able to stitch only on Sunday.  BUT... I was able to put the finishing touches on two projects!  The first was my knitted cowl, which I started at the end of February.  And now I'm all ready for...  November?

Molly looks a little glum here.

She's thinking, "It's 80+ degrees and dinner time.

Why do I have to pose in this woolen cowl?"

Yes, that is a black T-shirt that she's wearing

to protect the knitted cowl from her black hairs.

Needless to say, I was rather disheartened

when she plopped herself down on the carpet

which attracts dog hairs like a magnet.

 

You can see in this photo that the wool is

variegated--it's kettle-dyed--Malabrigo Merino Worsted,

and the color is Red Java.

The cowl is long enough to wear as a sling for your arm,

although I'm hoping I won't need it for that.

Molly was disrobed and fed immediately after

this photo was taken, and all is now forgiven.

 

My second finish is my Prairie Schooler Heads Up Witch:

 

Her face was originally charted as orange,

but I thought that any self-respecting witch

would have a green face.

Stitched 1 over 2 on 40-count Heritage linen, as usual.

I was going to use my Gloriana silk for the black,

but I've somehow misplaced it.

Don't know how that happened,

I have so few stitching supplies!   hehehe

So I thought I'd try No. 12 pearl cotton.

I used it on her mouth and eyes,

but it was way too chunky to continue using it

for the rest of the black,

so I switched to Crescent Colors Blackbird

for her hair, hat and clothing.

She is the April ornament for

the Halloween Ornament SAL 2013.

You can see everyone's ornaments

by clicking here.

I may be a month behind, but at least

the ornie is finish-finished

 

I should be starting the May ornament now,

but instead I decided to give some love to

Crabby All Year, which has been neglected recently.

I didn't stitch enough on it to show here,

but I hope to have February finished soon.

 

To see what my fellow hermitters did this weekend,

click here.

 

That's it for now.

Hope your weekend was fun!

Thanks for visiting!

Seasonal Smalls

Hey Blog Buddies,

For the past few days, we've been having what has been described in a poem as "October's bright blue weather"--beautiful bright blue skies which set off all the glorious autumn colors on the trees, but it's been somewhat chilly.  Great weather for stitching!  But you could make a case that all weather is great weather for stitching!

So, on to the stitching.  I made the last item that I'm planning on selling at the Quilters Plus Boutique (see shameless plug on my sidebar).  It's a hardanger tree that I made earlier this year. The first version was white on white--you can see it here.  I like this new red version better.

I used red congress cloth, #8 red perle cotton

for the blanket stitch and klosters,

#8 red Kreinik metallic for the eyelets,

and white #12 perle cotton for the woven bars.

The color variations are endless on this one.

And, since it's October already,

I finally finish-finished my two little Halloween ornies:

The owl from Prairie Schooler's Heads Up booklet...

...and the tombstone from the same booklet.

Very simple finish--just mounted the little pieces

on some matboard, then glued it to black felt,

with an orange ribbon sandwiched between the two pieces.

I'm also working on Night Song from the

BBD booklet "Tis Halloween."

I'll show it to you when it's done.

Hopefully, that will be finished and on the tree before the 31st!

Hope your upcoming weekend is fun,

and that you have a little time to

do some stitching.

Thanks for visiting!

Theme-a-Licious - Jolly July

Hey Blog Buddies,

It's time for the Theme-a-Licious July update. 

The theme for this month is:

"It's a jolly holiday with your WIPs.  You can concentrate on
Christmas designs, ornaments, or even pick a different holiday
to render in stitchy goodness.

I had a new (ahem) chart that kept calling my name,

and since it's only 3 months until October,

I decided to go with Hallowe'en as the holiday.

The chart is Heads Up! from Prairie Schooler

and my pick to stitch first was the "head" stone.

The recommended color for this one was DMC 3371,

but I decided to go with all Hallowe'en colors,

so, of course, I used 310.

I plan to stitch quite a few of these,

and they'll all be on 40-count to make the ornies smaller.

I again substituted thread from my stash, WDW Carrot and

WDW Peoria Purple, for the recommended DMC.

Here are the other heads

in case you haven't seen the chart yet.

I ask you, how could I resist this one?

The designs are all perfect for my black tree.

If you want to join in on the Theme-a-Licious fun,

it's not too late.

Click on Heather's logo below

to go to her blog for all the details.

Hope your weekend was fun.

Thanks for visiting!