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!

It's Hot, Hot, Hot! Let's Crochet!!

Hey Blog Buddies,

Yes, it's true.  I've been crocheting.  With mohair.   My quilt guild is having its yearly boutique in November, and since I really don't have the temperament to block out a whole month to devote to making things to sell (like some people do--I admire them!), I've got to start pretty early.  I do a little here and a little there.  Fortunately, the items don't need to be quilted, just hand-made.  So I started with something easy (for me): crochet.  Most of this was done last week, when the temperature here was in the 100's (F), but it was very cool inside the house, which was where I was hiding from the weather.

Animal cruelty!

The yarn I used for this was Patons Divine,

only 10.5% mohair, but it felt and acted like mohair--

not the easiest to work with--

it kept catching on my crochet hook.

Oh yes, that white fabric peeking out from under the scarf

is the t-shirt I wrapped around Molly's neck

so she wouldn't shed all over my crocheted creation!

Don't worry, she got a nice treat afterwards

to compensate her for her time and humiliation.

Here is the same pattern, different yarn:

The pattern is really simple and works up quickly:

just chains and double crochets ("filet crochet").

This yarn is Sensations Angel Hair Stripe,

an acrylic/wool/nylon blend.

It was a dream to work with after the mohair.

It's very fuzzy, too, but you can't see that

in this photo.

I've also been sewing: lots and lots of ort bags,

one for each person who comes to our guild's

Ukrainian embroidery workshop.

I'll take a photo of my "ort bag pyramid"

after they're all done.

See my prototype ort bag here.

There has been some holiday stitching, too,

(on 40-count linen!)

which I'll share with you during the Theme-a-licious update.

Hope you get a chance to stitch today...

...thanks for visiting!

A Postcard from Mouse

Hey Blog Buddies,

I'm playing along with Jo's Summer Postcard Blog Hop, and just received a lovely postcard from Mouse! 

The message on it reads:

"dear all ... having a lovely time ...

food is fantastic and the hotel is lovely ...

seeing lots of sights and taking lots of photos ...

wish you were here ...

love us xx"

I think Mouse's stitched piece is just gorgeous

and the photo of the building looks very European

to my untrained eye.

It looks like a lovely place to stay!

It's not too late to join in the fun

and exchange postcards with a fellow blogger!

Click here to go to Jo's blog and find out all about it!

In the meantime, hope your weekend was fabulous,

and thanks for visiting!

WIPocalypse 2012 - July Report

Hey Blog Buddies,

The year is half over, but am I half done with my WIPocalypse list?  Uhhh, no.  Here's what I accomplished last month:

This was a quick start and finish.

(And see, it did get framed!)

I have had this Lizzie*Kate chart for several years.

Here is another start of a chart that I've had for a while.

(Raise the Roof's Crabby All Year)

The finish on this one won't be quite as speedy.

If I can complete two squares per month,

it should get done this year.

Rainforest Revisited got a tiny bit of love.

Here's where I was at last month:

And here's where I'm at now:

I stitched the three squares in the current top row,

which is actually the second row of the piece.

I also recently started Plum Street Sampler's Boris.

That didn't turn out too well (see previous post).

But here is the new and improved Boris:

He looks so much better (IMO).

The area of the fabric that I frogged

almost looks like aida cloth now (heheh)!

But those puny-looking letters have to be redone, too!

Will everything on my list be completed

before the end of the year?

Realistically, no.

I have a fair amount of commitment stitching

staring me in the face.

And there are two or three recently-purchased (cough, cough) charts

that are just begging to be stitched.

But I'm pretty certain Rainforest will get done.

And there will be other finishes from the list, too.

Stay tuned...

Click the dragon on my sidebar

to find out more about this SAL.

Hope your month has been productive.

Thanks for visiting!