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!

Uptown Stitcher: The Farewell Tour

Dear Patient Blog Buddies,

You may have thought (hoped) that you'd seen the last of our old friend, the Uptown Stitcher, but she's just come back from the finisher, and I just knew that you all are so interested to see what she looks like now, and wanted one last look at her.  You do want one last look, don't you?  (I thought so.)   She went on a "trip" and I'm sharing her vacation snapshots.  She insisted on doing the narration:

"What is this supposed to be?

The International Quilt Show?

Are your readers that gullible?"  ... U. Stitcher

"I'm at The Library of Congress, right?

This is embarrassing."  ...U. Stitcher

"I guess this is supposed to be the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

Any 4-year-old can tell I'm perched on the

back of a sofa in someone's living room!"  ... U. Stitcher

"If you think this is the Morton Arboretum, think again.

I was stuck into a bush in a rather scruffy looking backyard!

I think I'm getting a sunburn and I feel faint."   ... U. Stitcher

"I'm surprised she didn't make me pose with this beast!

The minute I arrived here, it tried to dismember me!

I fear for my life!!"  ... U. Stitcher

"Beast?  Is there a beast in the house? Where can I hide?

Is my new chew toy handy?  She would comfort me."  ... Molly

"In the microwave?  Really??

I have fallen into the clutches of a madwoman!

I must phone the authorities!!   ... U. Stitcher

Well, that's all folks.

You can kiss her good-bye.

I will be dealing with her diatribes

for quite a while, I fear.

For those of you wondering about

the details of the finishing,

her base, back and piping

are all purple Ultrasuede.

Hope you are having a good first week of spring

(or autumn, as the hemisphere dictates).

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!

IHSW: A Happy Dance That's Been Almost 10 Years in the Making

Hey Blog Buddies,

I did it--worked diligently during International Hermit & Stitch Weekend (IHSW), and  I put the final stitches in yesterday!  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you are probably tired of seeing her face by now--not, however, as tired as I was of putting my painfully slow progress out there.  So here she is, the Uptown Stitcher by Libby Sturdy:

She is now all dolled up

and ready for her first shopping expedition!

I was fretting the most about how I was

going to do the trim on the hat.

Well, the netting for the lace went on fine,

and the instructions for the flowers

were simply to make loops of different sizes.

So I did.

Didn't really have to frog anything

while I was doing it.

(Notice that she has earrings to match her necklace.)

Her @#%^& shopping bag

was another story, however.

I said I wasn't going to redo it, but it was

just bothering me too much to leave it alone.

I can't say that I'm pleased with my third attempt,

just that I dislike it less than the other two.

I'm not going to bore you with what is wrong with it

that I can't seem to fix after three tries.

I put cording around the body of the purse

because some canvas threads were showing

where I plunged the unwoven threads

attached to the purse into the main canvas.

I think that part turned out well.

And to treat myself for finally finishing

the old biddy the lovely lady,

I started a new project:

This is the first square from

Rainforest Revisited by Needle Delights Originals.

One down, 31 more to go!

This project should cause me

a lot less grief than Ms. Uptown Stitcher!

It's the companion piece to

Rainforest Crunch, which I stitched last year.

A big thanks to Joyce for hosting the IHSW!

To see the progress of all the other participants,

go to her blog for all the links.

Happy blog hopping

and thanks, as always, 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!!

My First IHSW (This Project is Cursed...)

Hey Blog Buddies,

Over the weekend, I participated in my first International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, and it was quite fun to be stitching along (virtually) with so many fellow stitchers, and then be able to visit their blogs to see what they did.  Here is what I accomplished on the Uptown Stitcher:

Starting with just a few lines of backstitching

in the lower left corner,

I stitched almost half of the background.

It's a criss-crossed backstitch

(Alicia stitch)

done on the diagonal,

and it's really time consuming.

I spent a lot of hours on it

both on Saturday and Sunday.

Although the Alicia stitch

done in this exact color

was listed as a background option,

the photo showed a different background,

with much of the white canvas left unstitched

(a design element I still have a hard time with).

I also redid her little shopping bag:

Yes, I'm aware the design is a little off center (sigh).

This is the second time I've put this little bag together

(after ripping it out the first time)

and I think it would fall apart if I went for a third go-round.

But that's not even the worst part.

Here's the bag where it will

eventually be placed in the finished piece.

Yes, it stands out because it's 3-dimensional,

but to me it looks way too tone-on-tone

next to the background color.

That's all I'm going to do on her for now.

When she comes back up in the rotation,

I'll decide whether I want to rip out the background,

redo (from scratch) the shopping bag (probaby not!)

or leave it the way it is.

I look forward to participating in

many more IHSW weekends.

They are the third weekend of every month.

To find out more about them, go here.

Hope your weekend was productive.

Thanks for visiting!

My New 2012 Plan

Hey Blog Buddies,

I'm usually a serial stitcher:  once I start something, it will usually get finished (with a few notable exceptions) before I start something new.  This year, I thought I'd try a rotation of four items.  Once an item gets finished, a new one will take its place.  (We'll see how long this lasts.)

Snow Patches was Item 1.  Item 2 (are you ready?) is none other than the Uptown Stitcher.  She actually deserved to be Item 1, but she'll take whatever she can get.

It doesn't really look like much progress was made.

But, I finished the details in her boots,

gave her some grass to stand on,

added all the yellow French knots to her dress,

drew the outline for the shape of the background

and started doing the Alicia lace stitching

on all the areas that aren't Her.

Alicia lace (a new-to-me stitch)

is just criss-crossed backstitching,

done on the diagonal.

It's not at all hard to do, but very time-consuming.

(Basketweave would go quicker.)

I'm doing it with one strand of DMC 341.

We'll have to wait and see

what projects will emerge as Items 3 and 4.

If you haven't already,

don't forget to check out my giveaway

and leave a comment on the giveaway post

for a chance to win.

The deadline is tonight, 11:59 p.m. Chicago time,

and the winner will be drawn tomorrow.

Good luck!

And 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.

It's Greek to Me

Hey Blog Buddies,
Did you ever feel that you were spending a little too much time on one project?  Did the shapes that you were stitching (and stitching and stitching) take on a life of their own, reminding you of other, entirely unrelated things?  Do your projects ever talk to you?

Well, that's about where I'm at right now.  Here are a few progress pics by way of explanation:

A week or so ago,

this is where I was at

on CT13 (the red Christmas tree).

Well, that's obviously the top of

a Greek architectural column.

Don't believe me??

...oh yeah!!

Here is my latest progress pic

from said project:

It should be apparent to anyone

that these are the snakes that Medusa

(from Greek mythology)

was condemned to wear

in place of hair.

Skeptical?

Color those snakes red

and you couldn't tell the difference!

"Hee, hee, hee," Southpaw cackles insanely.

My final progress pic

is of my Little Lady.

Thought I'd forgotten

about her, didn't you?

(So did she.)

At least she has feet now.

But you'll notice she still

doesn't have a mouth.

That's so she can't start

complaining at 2 o'clock in the morning,

"Hey you over there in bed.

Why aren't you over here

working on me?"

CT13 and I are going to take a little break.

It's going on hiatus because

last night I started stitching

(yes only just started)

my final holiday gift.

Now that's planning ahead!

Hope your projects have

nothing but nice things

to say about you!

Thanks for visiting!