[Currently: Working ] I guess my first resolution should be to update this blog more often. I can't believe I haven't posted anything since the end of November, but December was a crazy month.
I think I still need to post pictures of some finishes, but I thought I'd start off the year (well, my posting year, I guess) with some things I hope to finish this year. All subject to change, of course.
First, there's Hare Pyns. I hoped to finish it in January but having problems with my hands made that hard. The stitching is all done and this is how it looked about 9 days ago when I actually took pictures:
At this point the binding is half on the piece and I'm really hoping I'm motivated enough to get the rest of the binding on this weekend, among all of the cleaning work I really need to do to prepare for guests.
I'm afraid to say that this is a class project and only available right now if you take the class with Sherri Jones of Patrick's Woods. I think she's teaching it on the West Coast somewhere this spring.
Another thing I want to finish is an ornament (JBW designs Christmas Motif Tree II). I think I started it at the end of 2008 and it's almost done:
Since I took the picture I spent time in the emergency room with my husband (no real idea of the problem, but a long day) and this is now finished. I'll post a picture when I've made it into an ornament.
This is Lancaster Manor pocket. It's a course I took in early 2009 and the finishing class is in June of 2010, so I need to get the stitching done:
This has the left side carnations finished now and the right side started.
Then there is my Swiss Sampler -- I don't think there's been progress since this picture:
I also started two stitch-alongs in January. The first is called Needlemania 2, and I have made some progress since this picture:
The colors are Undertow and what looks like Crushed Berries (a mystery spool), 1 strand of premium over 2 on 35 ct Peach Butter.
And the second is my start on SALexandre, which my Mayflower Sampler Guild is doing as a group project.
This is in Zumaque on 28 ct Antique Ivory Jobelan.
Lastly is a piece I'm doing over one, which I started as an example for a class I did for one of my EGA chapters to show how to stitch over one. It's a good example of a hard fabric to stitch on over one.
The fabric is gorgeous but a very loose permin linen. I think the thread is Nightmare; it was a single strand mystery mini so I'm not certain. Since I don't choose SSR in general, it was a good thing to play with here. The back side will have a rose on it, which I've now finished, along with most of the border until I realized last night that I charted it wrong and it's one stitch too low -- I need to decide if this will really matter for finishing and whether to take the bottom of that border out or not.
Oh, I almost forgot. I'm going to do Gay Ann Rogers' Townhouse Sewing Case class. I got the instructions early during her e-week so I've been working on the large amount of nun stitch used for finishing the piece. It's boring looking (and a bit boring to do) but here's a good place to see how it looked at the beginning of the year:
It has a few more bits on the smaller piece done now. I have Vikki's silk pack for this and I'm really looking forward to adding some color to this!
Well, that's more than enough to get on with, even though I worked on yet another class WIP last night. I really need to stop taking classes, I guess.
I'll try to post pictures of some finishes and newer WIP pictures soon.
[Mood: Happy ][Currently: Playing World of Warcraft and reading e-mail ] No, amazing though it seems, I have not actually fallen off the face of the earth. Things have just been incredibly busy since I got back from the UK and it's hard to believe my last post was a month and a half ago! I guess that's what happens when you start a new job and set yourself up for 3 needlework classes in a 12 day period.
Speaking of needlework classes, I thought you'd enjoy seeing an update on Hare Pyns by Sherri Jones of Patrick's Woods. By the time the class approached I felt like the scroll frame was an extension of my body and travelled with me everywhere. I was working on it in every spare moment, even during breaks in another class. The class was planned as a finishing class and I wanted to work on the finishing, which meant the stitching had to be done. I actually managed to get the stitching on the main piece done 4 or 5 days before class and left myself time to get it blocked. This took 3 or 4 tries because the linen all tightened up the first time and left weird points where my blocking pins had been placed, then I blocked it out of true, etc. It did come out well in the end.
The class was great. Sherri Jones is a great teacher. I saw some people from my guild in a class the weekend before and offered to bring my double sided ironing/cutting mats, my iron and my sewing machine. It was a good thing, since one person who was going to bring a machine had a migrane and wasn't up to driving to class. Everyone worked at their own pace and the two irons and sewing machines were busy as we all put things together. I was a bit behind but some help from friends got me sorted out, especially when I managed to sew one of my gussets on upside down!
The great part is that I left class with the main pocket almost complete (with just two sides of gussets pinned that needed sewing and a pin cushion to attach. I did those pieces that night when I got home and now the pocket just needs ribbon and the needlepage, which is still a stitching piece in progress. There are still a scissor sheath and a fob to complete but they are small in comparison.
So after its humble starts and well over 100 hours of stitching, here is the current state of Hare Pyns:
This is the front and back:
This is the inside with the back and some of the little pieces that will fit inside:
Here it is closed:
And here you can see a bit of the pockets inside. The little pocket would usually be in back and you'd see the ribbon holders for the tools, but I wasn't changing it once the gussets were attached. That ribbon will go around the outside edge of the piece.
And this needlepage will go inside the front when it's open and will open up to show a page to hold needles:
And since that's a lot of pictures, I'll share pictures of some of the lovely ornaments that arrived today sometime soon, along with some other updates on things that you've seen in progress.
[Mood: Happy ][Currently: Stitching ] Today I went to a Darning Sampler exhibit and yesterday I went to a get together with the UK Sampler Guild. Both days were lots of fun. I even got a little bit of stitching done! At the exhibit I bought some whitework pieces from the 20's that include a wonderful little whitework sampler.
Next weekend it's a craft fair and a class at the Royal School of Needlework, and some sight seeing in between.
Meanwhile, I'm almost done with my sampler for my Mayflower Sampler Guild and I finished a bracelet for my niece. I've done some of the background on Hare Pyns and added a few motifs onto my Swiss Sampler so I've had some stitching time, too.
[Mood: Happy ] Just finishing my last minute packing -- I'm leaving the house in about an hour and I'm just gathering stitching to take with me.
Oh, one note, if it's any comfort -- the casket I want to see isn't in Bath at the Textile Museum, it's at Sudeley Castle. DH has decided we're stopping at a Tank Museum on the trip so I definitely get the textile museum in exchange.
Here are a few pictures before I go. I haven't actually done that much stitching over the past week, but I'm taking several things with me and hope to get some done on the trip. Here's my Swiss Sampler:
I finally got to do some stitching last night and worked the blue motif on the left and half of the green one. I hope my little lights work well for me as I travel, since this is on 40 ct!
Here's my Mayflower Sampler Guild sampler with a bit more done -- no problem finishing this for October:
And here's the finished Pink and Green ornament from a mystery spool on Buttercream. The linen isn't exactly square but even with a square motif I don't think it's noticable, or it doesn't bother me anyway. I've packed a bit of Creme Brule and some red/green floss for an ornament for an exchange. At least 40ct is small to take along!
I have no idea if I'll have time to post while I'm away but I'll tell you about my trip and my ribbonwork class when I get back!
[Mood: Sleepy ][Currently: Working ] Sorry, no new pictures today. I didn't end up getting much stitching done yesterday although my pink and green ornament is almost finished at this point.
Yes, I'm going to the UK -- I leave next Tuesday and arrive Wednesday, the 9th. Unfortunately, May, I fly home on the 22nd so I'm going to end up missing you.
The first weekend (the 12th and 13th) I'm getting together with some folks from the UK Sampler Guild. http://www.thesamplerguild.co.uk/Events.htm There's a Meet-up on Canvey Island, Essex on Saturday and on Sunday we're going to the Darning Sampler exhibit in Kent. My MIL is a member so we're both heading off although I don't know who else will be there.
The following weekend I'm going my MIL, SIL and niece to a Stitching and Craft show. I don't remember there being lots of stitching stuff there last time but it was fun and I hope to pick up a few scrapbook things.
The best part is that Sunday my MIL and I are taking a class at the Royal School of Needlework, an Introduction to Ribbonwork. I've always wanted to take a class there and while I've done some ribbonwork I think this will be great fun. Of course, I need another class like a hole in my head but I sure wouldn't pass up this opportunity.
Meanwhile I'm hoping to get to the Textile Museum in Bath and to see some of the needlework that is at Sudeley Castle including a stumpwork casket. I'm dragging DH along there so I don't know how much time I'll have, but it should be fun!
[Currently: Working ] Well, since 3 things are finished, of course I've started some new things and I'm continuing along on others.
Hare Pyns is making some progress. All but one color is done for the front of the case and I've started working on the background. It's not the most interesting stitching but it moves along. I think this will be a great thing to work on while riding in a car on vacation since I won't be doing any driving!
My sampler for my Mayflower Sampler Guild is also progressing -- I decided the month had to be August since September would never fit, so I started that on the last day of the month! This is moving along nicely and it will be no problem to finish it by class in October. I must admit I like this dark Yonder Blue combination a lot!
I've given THE MAP some more backstitching since my last update. It doesn't get 12 stitches every day, but the work that I've done probably averages out to that. At least it's making some progress and when I finish other things with deadlines I really hope to give it a bit more focus:
I forgot to get a picture of the Pink and Green ornament on Vikki's buttercream linen but it's almost finished and I might get it done tonight, so I'll try to get a picture of that soon -- maybe even do some finishing!
Since I managed to finish a few things, of course I've started some others. I wouldn't be me without a ton of WIPS.
The first piece below is called Swiss Sampler and it's an EGA Correspondence Course by Ilse Altherr. She stitched hers with 2 strands of DMC on 30ct linen; I changed the colors in mine to the HDF equivalents and I'm doing it with one strand on 40 ct. I've had a fair bit of frogging along the way and it's time consuming, but I love the challenge of working out the paths. I guess this is maybe 1/4 of the way done (when I finish that second corner) and I hopefully will make my extension date of October 15th. It will all depend on how much stitching I do while I'm away, which is usually a fair bit when I visit my in-laws since my MIL stitches, too.
This last piece is called Through the Garden Gate and it's by Judy Souliotis and is being offered on-line through the Shining Needle Society. I'm a bit behind (but I have more work done on it yesterday after I took this picture) and I don't know if I can keep up with it, but there are so many new things to learn and so many interesting Japanese inspired designs that I just had to sign up for the class. At least I found out my husband has arranged his evening plans for tomorrow to give me a lot more stitching time, so I'm hoping I'll get through the rest of the first lesson, at least. This is on congress cloth and mounted on stretcher bars, so I don't think this is going on a plane with me.
I'm also 2 inches through another bracelet (in pink, for my niece in the UK) and started a Hapsburg Lace bookmark at my last EGA meeting (this will be a great travel project even if it doesn't fit in my purse) but I don't have pictures of those -- maybe in the next couple days!
I'll try to post another update before I leave on vacation and maybe tell you about some of my planned stitching adventures.
[Currently: Working ] I know it's been ages since I've had updates, but I thought I'd post the current state of some of my things. First, I've finished a few things since my last update, so here they are.
First, my Assisi Oak leaf and cross stitched Acorn are now on tins. The larger tin is being used as a mobile case for making a new beaded bracelet. Here it is:
I also finished the beaded braclet that I started with my other EGA chapter. It was lots of fun to make and I've started another one to take over to my niece in the UK and ordered beads to make more for Christmas (some year) anyway:
And most importantly, I finished the baby sampler for my cousin's new baby. I wanted it done for her Christening and I'm going to miss that because I'll be out of the country, so I made sure I got it done and framed before I left, and I gave it to my mom yesterday so that she could give it to them when they get together or at the Christening. The framer was great about suggestions and getting it done quickly (and I managed to get it done during a 25% off sale as well, which was nice). In case anyone wonders, it's from Victoria Sampler and designed by Yvonne Reitsma:
I'll put together another post with some WIPs so that this doesn't get too huge!
[Currently: Eating lunch at my desk ] It's so late in the week I wasn't going to bother win an update, but I've got a few minutes between meetings so I thought I'd post a few updates.
The oak leaf and acorn are now done and need to be mounted on tins. I'm thinking of asking DH if he has old brown paint he doesn't really like and painting the edges of the tins since all I can find in small is red (I do have some dark brown ones I can use for the bigger piece.) Maybe next week I'll have a finished update; I'd like to get it done before my EGA meeting since I won't be there for the finishing session in September and I've finished one before. Anyway, here they are unfinished:
Since that's not in my purse anymore I decided that I had to try out Vikki's Buttercream 40ct linen. It really is lovely to work on. I pulled out a mystery spool in muted reds and greens -- really more pink and light green when stitched. I was thinking of making it a Christmas ornament but I don't know if it's Christmasy enough or not. Any opinions would be most welcome.
Hare Pyns is making progress -- the central tulip is done and since this picture that first dark green is in all the leaves and I've got the second green in 2 of them.
And my Sampler Guild sampler got a first row of letters last week. I hadn't worked on it for a few days because I wasn't sure what to do with the first dividing band. It's designed to be long arm cross, but I changed the outer border from cross stitch to long arm cross (as frankly I don't love just plain cross stitch that much or do it that well in long stretches). Last night I pulled out 'The Proper Stitch' and decided to work a band of arrowhead stitch (which I guess is also an italian cross). It's worked in two passes and I don't know yet how that will look overdyed, so it might end up just being the first pass which is interesting enough. Watch for pictures on that next week!
The Sturbridge sampler now has the second maiden and I worked only briefly on the map (although both saw some stitches last night), so I won't bother with pictures.
I did start a baby sampler this past week. Changing colors has been an interesting challenge -- I'm still not good at it. The original colors were very grey (and Siilk Mori) and I didn't like that. So I changed them around, but the blue was so light that it didn't balance and a lighter blue wouldn't even be seen. I'm not sure if the yellow is too dark for the other colors yet or not. I put 3 more bands in yesterday and should get to a cross stitch bands that have all of the colors together soon, so hopefully I an judge better then. I'm sure I'm fussing over it too much, but that's me. Anyway, this is how it looked Monday night:
[Mood: Very Happy ][Currently: Listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ] Okay, as promised, I took pictures of my fair entries in the sunnier weather today. I've done my best, though I can't say that I've found a way to completely get rid of reflections. The piece on black is likea mirror!
Anyway, here are my entries:
This is called Dragon in the Round and it was a class piece by Lynne Payette that I finished last fall and entered in the Big E and decided to enter in the Barnstable County Fair this year. It's really different from other things that I've done and I don't know that it will ever be a favorite, but it was interesting to do:
This is Merry Cox's Americana Sewing Case. The finishing isn't my very best and I want to redo the needlepage. I was sewing the ends together right before I sent it to the fair and I'm glad it still got a blue ribbon even without the best of finishing. I used the machine and I'm really not as happy sewing on machine as I am with hand finishing.
(I've got pictures of the back, etc, but I'll post those soon since there are plenty of pictures in this post already.)
Here's my Quaker Pin Cube, with the colors changed to Vikki's HDF (I think the colors are listed in a previous post). Not only did it get a first place but it also got a Special Recognition ribbon. No, I have no idea what that might actually mean!
Here's my framed Wild Rose, which I know you saw in progress. Isn't the frame wonderful. The framer I went to was great with suggestions and the black with just a bit of fuschia really draws the eye to the stitching. The judges liked the framing choice, too. It's really hard to get a good picture without reflections, flash, or making it look washed out. Nice of them to make the first place and special recognition ribbons match, don't you think?
And finally, here is Mary Queen of Scots all framed up. I'm so glad the framer had the suede mat that I was thinking of using, and his suggestion of the coppery metallic underneath adds just the right touch. (We won't even think hard about an inexperienced framer suggesting putting light blue on this piece!) I loved it from start to finish and love the way it looks framed. The card for this piece said Judge's Choice on it. I think if I actually lived in Barnstable County it would have meant I'd gotten a silver bowl, but I'm pleased with my ribbons.
I wish I could have gotten to the fair to see all of the needlework. I did get to pick up my pieces and visit my dad in rehab (he's doing very well all things considered) on Sunday, anyway.
[Mood: Sleepy ][Currently: Working ] Waiting for updates here at work so I thought I'd make a quick post. I picked up my things from the fair yesterday but it was late by the time I got home and wet out this morning, so you'll have to wait for pictures (and thus news). Meanwhile, I grabbed some progress pictures this morning so I thought I'd subject you to those instead.
I only worked on the Sturbridge sampler once over the week so not much progress. Now I've realized that I might want to look for something to mount it in when I'm at the Sudberry House Garage Sale next weekend, so I'm going to see if I can work my way up to the top this week, depending on when I find stitching time.
Meanwhile, the stitching is all done on my tin topper (big one) and the accompanying acorn only needs a bit. I did a bit at the doctor's office today so that should be done tomorrow and just need finishing:
The sampler for my Sampler Guild now has a full outline. It will certainly be done for October:
The map has seen some progress -- it now has letters in the empty boxes and the left side black border is moving along. It's got lots of work in it already (probably over 150 hours) but it still has lots to do, so I'm trying to do a bit every day.
And my focus is really Hair Pyns. I finished the outline for the flowers and started some fill-in and I started the bunny outline. I have until November for it to be done but I don't want to wait until the last minute on it so I'm trying to make good progress.
I still haven't started the baby sampler. I really need to do that!
Currently: Working ] 
Mood: Happy ] [ 
Currently: Playing World of Warcraft and reading e-mail ] 
Currently: Stitching ] 
Mood: Sleepy ] [ 
Currently: Eating lunch at my desk ] 
Mood: Very Happy ] [ 
Currently: Listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ] 
