June IHSW

Hey Blog Buddies,

How is your summer/winter going?  Did you have any time to stitch this past weekend?  Despite being "gone" for a day and a half of this past 3-day International Hermit & Stitch (IHSW) weekend, I managed to work on two new and very different projects.

The first one is...

Lofty Pumpkin by Twisted Threads.

There are two options:

just the pumpkin stitched over two--the model is 32-count--

or the "scissor weight" with specialty stitches, over 1.

I chose the over-one option,

but used 28-count Lugana instead of 32-count linen.

It's not the over-one that's driving me crazy

(a very short trip)

but all the blasted confetti stitching!

This project has now been lovingly placed

at the bottom of my rotation pile.

 

The other project that I started is

Needle Delights Originals' Tangerine Twist.

Zany, huh?

I grabbed this chart as soon as I saw it,

not so much for the design as for the colors.

It will go nicely with the quilted wallhanging

that I finished earlier this year.

See photo of that here.

Okay, there is no green in this design,

but it's close enough to be a nice

companion piece.

 

Here is my progress so far.

I really love this design--photos don't do it justice.

It's challenging enough so that it's certainly not boring,

but not so difficult that it's frustrating.

The cashmere stitches

(on the diagonal stripe right next to the yellow eyelets)

were the worst so far

because of all the compensation stitches!

 

Right now I'm torn between finishing this square

and starting my June Halloween ornament

to stay on track with the 2013 Halloween SAL.

I have too many projects,

and most of them seem to know my name!

 

That's it from here.

To check out all the other IHSW stitchers,

go to Joyce's Random Ramblings blog, here.

Until next time, thanks for visiting!

In Search of a Starlet

Hey Blog Buddies,

This past weekend was the annual More on 34 garage sale.  Many towns along Route 34 participate--from Aurora to Galesburg.  There is an Internet web site listing participating towns, with addresses of vendors and lists of what you can find.  I became quite interested when I saw that a vendor in Somonauk had several Schwinn ladies' bicycles from the 1960's.  I currently have a 3-speed bike with hand brakes, but would really like to get a one-speed with coaster brakes, something like the one below.

The Starlet wasn't the most high-end bike that Schwinn made,

but this particular model

was pimped out (can I say that??!!!) with

headlight, tank, carrier and whitewall tires.

It was a beautiful dusty rose and white--truly a great bike.

Is there a bike that has a special place in your heart?

 

So we left the house at the crack of dawn (8:10 a.m.)

and headed toward Route 34.

 

It was even a little too early for Molly,

seen here trying to catch a nap in the back seat of the car.

 

 

We had gorgeous weather, and no traffic gridlock

(once we left the Chicago metro area).

 

Alas, the address in Somonauk did not exist,

and the few bikes I did see were not suitable.

But this didn't put a damper on our spirits.

After all, you never know what you'll find at a garage sale.

The towns along  Route 34 were filled with friendly people,

and some real bargains.

Here are my garage sale finds:

 

3 books...

 

...and the cutest little sewing box that

I hadn't known that I needed until I saw it.

 

It came with all these threads and notions.

I thought $4 was a great price!

 

And after all this excitement,

I even managed a stitching finish this weekend.

 

Little House Needleworks' Home of a Needleworker (too!)

stitched on 32-count cream linen

with the called-for Crescent Colors threads.

 

Well, that's it from here.

Hope you had a marvelous weekend.

And thanks for visiting!

Seasonal Smalls

Hey Blog Buddies,

I'd like to start off by saying thank you all so much for the love you gave to Crabby All Year.  I savor each comment in much the same way that I do White Chocolate Truffles.  (Now you know one of my guilty pleasures...)

There's nothing wrong with a little stockpiling, is there?

I wouldn't want to run out...

 

Ahem.  On to the stitching:

 

Here is my May ornament for the

Halloween Ornament SAL 2013.

May's theme was ghosts.

This is Bent Creek's District 13 - Jacks in the Box

stitched on 40-count linen with the recommended DMC.

I know the jacks outnumber the ghost 3 to 1,

but they had such personality, I couldn't resist.

And there is a ghost in the box, too!

 

I have my June tombstone design picked out

and once I stitch and finish that,

I'll be all caught up!

 

And now, just in time for Father's Day...

June from Prairie Schooler's Summer and Winter leaflet,

stitched on 36-count Natural linen

with the called-for DMC.

Yes, folks, that is a male red-wing blackbird feeding the kids.

(The females are brown and white.)

The only color that's technically "wrong" on him is his beak.

(They have black beaks.)

I looked it up in my "Birds of Illinois" book

after I had stitched the beak

(it was charted as gold)

and wasn't inclined to rip it out.

And yes, the males do take their turn in feeding the babies.

This was a fun stitch, and I loved the colors.

 

I am thinking of finishing this one a little differently,

and am torn between what I would like to do

and what I'm able to do.

Hope it gets finish-finished before the end of the month!

 

There are lots of cute designs in this leaflet,

so look for "August" coming in about a month.

 

That's it for now.

Hope you have the time to get some stitching in today.

Thanks as always for visiting!

Dance with Me!

Hey Blog Buddies,

Come dance with me!

 

 

I've just finished a project

and the happy dancing is in full swing...

 

I was going to give this project just a week in the rotation,

but when I finished the allotted segment

I felt so good--and it was so close to being finished--

that I decided to just go for it.

 

Can it be??

After an entire year...

Yes!

Crabby All Year by Raise the Roof Designs

Started:  June 2, 2012

Finished:  May 29, 2013

The above photo shows my button-sewing work area.

As you can see, I needed:

a magnifier so I could see;

a box with all my DMC floss

to match the color of floss to each button;

photos of the months for button placement;

a portable phone so I wouldn't have to get up to answer a call;

and an iPod (music makes every task more pleasant).

I had everything but a glass of wine--

and that wouldn't have been a good idea!

 

I started this project last June with the June "row"

(April, May and June)

so this is the last row that I finished.

I had February and March (and the header)

to finish when I picked this up about 10 days ago.

I just noticed yesterday that I was missing

two tiny heart buttons for the header.

I decided to rummage through my stash

and came up with the black star button.

It was from Joann's, and the holes are

much bigger than the JABC buttons

called for in the design.

It was a dream to sew on!

Those are little chicks being blown around

in the March square, BTW.

 

I also ripped out, recharted and restitched the word

"Rabbits!" in the May square.

 

This is the way it was originally charted.

I thought the lettering was too small.

What do you think--would you have changed it?

 

The July design is my favorite.

But sewing on two buttons,

one on top of the other,

was not my favorite thing to do.

JABC buttons have tiny holes!!

 

Some stitchers have changed out

the flower buttons in the December square

to something more closely related to money.

While they don't relate to the theme of Bills,

I thought they were cute--so they stayed.

 

Are you up for looking at the whole thing one more time?

Why not!

 

This is such a goofy design--

it was a lot of fun to stitch,

even though I might have lagged a bit at the end.

 

That's it from here.

Until next time..

thanks for visiting!