A Bunny's Bloom Challenge

Yesterday morning, before I had my Wednesday stitching fix at Stitcher's Paradise, I came across the cutest design whilst on walkabout on the internet and really fell in love with it the moment I saw it. During the course of the day while stitching, I get up and wander around, as I tend to get stiff when I sit for too long. (I blame it on a job where I am constantly moving around). I found this wee bit of a thing in the shop and bought it, plus the fabric and threads on the spot. I started it right after I finished the Downton Abbey piece. It was a bit of a challenge, as this was my first piece on something that had this tiny count of fabric. I usually stick to my 14/28 counts, venturing only into 32 counts only rarely, although, I have been stitching 32 a bit more here lately. I decided on the 34 as the holes were big enough for me to see and the color, while still the palest of browns, made the colors called for pop. (I am currently on a 'No Stitching On Brown Fabric' kick. I realized a while back that EVERYTHING I was stitching on was some shade of brown and I really needed a break!).


I managed to finish this last night whilst watching my beloved Hercule Poirot putting the smack down on 1930's criminals. Smashing!


At any rate, enough of my blathering...on with the show! :)



Design: Bunny's Bloom


Designer: The Primitive Jewel


Fabric: 34 count Oaten Scone by Access Commodities


Fibers: Weeks Dye Works in 1232-Palomino, 2200-Kudzu, and 2282-Charlotte's Pink

Well, I best be off. Breakfast is calling!


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Downton Abbey finish

I do not know about anyone else, but I am COMPLETELY and totally enthralled with Downton Abbey. I recently watched it via Netflix with their online streaming service and I couldn't stitch during it, as it was so good. I was sad that it ended and went online to PBS's online store and ordered it immediately and it came in the mail on Monday. I decided to stitch a freebie that I found online to commemorate the series. I am also thinking about getting out the pen and paper and making my own sampler when the second season comes out. I'm hoping it's soon, as this series is awesome and I really don't have any patience, LOL! :)


At any rate, here's what I started last night and finished today at my Wednesday stitching at Stitcher's Paradise today:



Design: Downton Abbey


Designer: Tanya Marie Anderson The Sampler Girl


Fabric: 32 count antique white linen of unknown manufacturer


Fibers: Au Ver a Soie Soie d' Alger 7-strand silk floss in 1425, 1844 and 2934


Accouterments: Crown and Key brass charms from By Jupiter!


Errata: Stitched one silk thread over two linen threads due to thickness of the silk.

Well, I best be off. Need to put some stuff up and get ready for dinner tonight. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

Spring Cleaning

Hot off the Q-snaps is my latest UFO finish, Little House Needleworks' Season of Growth . This makes the third UFO (and probably final) finish for this month. I have another UFO that I've been working on off and on. It's slow going on account of it being DMC's B5200 on white Monaco. It's total Snoresville, however, I am making some progress and I hope to finish it soon.



Design: Season of Growth


Designer: Diane Williams for Little House Needleworks



Fabric: 28 count Graziano Milan linen in white from Norden Crafts



Fibers: DMC Embroidery Floss Art 117 in 150, 433, 434, 712, 793, 930, 931, 3032, 3051, 3052, 3721 and 3790


Stitcher's notes: Substituted DMC 150 for the called for 3051in the words Summer, June, July and August.

Now that I took a bit of time to organize my stash, my organizing has taken a life of its own and has spilled out into the house on onto the computer. I've organized links and favorites on the computer, got rid of outdated links or places I no longer go to and have even cleaned out my junk mail address of unwanted newsletters and emails. It feels good to have extraneous junk taken care of and I am finding other places that still need a wee bit of organizing. (My desk being one, LOL! :P).


Well, I need to go. Tomorrow is my my Wednesday stitching at Stitcher's Paradise and I need to get another UFO in the bag and clean up the threads and put away the Season of Growth chart. Until next time, stay stitching my friends! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Another WIP finished!

Woohoo! I'm on a roll here! Got to go today to my Wednesday stitching at Stitcher's Paradise and managed to finish up Let's Go To The Beach. I am so excited! I even got to work on the next project in my bag, Little House Needleworks' Season of Growth . I'm going to wait until I have a bit more done until I post up pictures, however, I did make a color change and I am stitching it on the same 28 count Graziano Milan linen in white from Norden Crafts .



At any rate, here's the JBW finish:


Design: Let's Go To The Beach


Designer: Designer: Judy Whitman for JBW Designs


Fabric: 28 count Graziano Milan linen in white from Norden Crafts


Fibers: DMC Embroidery Floss Art 117 in 150, 159, 160, 161, 336, 435, and 3855


Errata: Design featured in the July 2009 issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine .

Well, I best be off. Dinner's not gonna cook itself, LOL! :) Hope everyone is having a good week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

The first of the UFO finishes!

Woohoo!!!! The first of the list was completed last night and I am so excited about it! I have started another UFO and can't wait to finish that one as well. :)


At any rate, here's what I have finished:


Design: Cherries , chart #115



Designer: Judy Whitman for JBW Designs


Fabric: 28 count Graziano Milan linen in white from Norden Crafts


Fibers: DMC Embroidery Floss Art 117 in 523, 935, 963, 3363, 3685, and 3688.

I've also picked 'Let's Go To The Beach' by JBW Designs again. Here is what I have so far:


Design: Let's Go To The Beach


Designer: Designer: Judy Whitman for JBW Designs


Fabric: 28 count Graziano Milan linen in white from Norden Crafts


Fibers: DMC Embroidery Floss Art 117 in 150, 159, 160, 161, 336, 435, and 3855


Errata: Design featured in the July 2009 issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine .

Well, I am off to go watch TV and do some more stitching. This staycation so far has been awesome. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Thrice I know my ABC's...

Got to go today to my Wednesday stitching at Stitcher's Paradise and managed to finish up Now I Know My ABC's by Blackbird Designs. This is the third time I've stitched it, and it never gets old. I am thinking about doing it four more times, once for each season and hanging them up during the appropriate season. I need to find some good charms to put in two of the spots on the sampler, but the stitching is finished. As for now, it get put away so that I may stitch on some UFO's, as I am sadly lacking in stitching up any of them, as I had planned to do in my 2010 Year In Review post. Since it is nice and warm out today, I think I am going to get out JBW's Cherries and finish it up first.


At any rate, here is the latest finish:


Design: Now I Know My ABC's

Designer: Barb Adams for Blackbird Designs

Fabric: 32 count linen in cream. Manufacturer unknown.

Fiber: Gloriana Threads in 079- Monet's Pond

While at Stitcher's Paradise today, I purchased one of the Kelmscott Designs thread winders in a butterfly shape. I also snagged the Evergreen Lane chart by Blackbird Designs . It's the 11th chart in the Anniversaries of the Heart series. The next one should be out soon, and then I will have them all. Yipee!!






Well, I best be off. Dinner is on the stove! Hope everyone is having a great week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

The third time is a charm?

I started Blackbird Designs freebie Now I Know My ABC's for the third time this past Sunday and while I am enjoying this easy stitch, the floss has me swearing like a sailor on a three day pass in Hong Kong.

This isn't a very good picture, but you can see what I'm talking about:

See that big kink? That's where the floss was knotted to keep it on the card. I mean *really*?! That is a LOT of floss to just snip off willy nilly. And the kinking up! OH. MY. GAWD.


This is what it looks like when you purchase it on the skein, prior to you carefully unpicking that knot to be able to use ALL of the floss that you just laid out almost 10 bucks for.


Yea, it looks nice, however, when you go to cut off a length to stitch with it, it literally folds back up on itself. I have tried to keep the lengths short, to minimize this, but it's the equivalent to shouting at the gale. Does one no good at all. The only way I know how to make it behave is to wet it down. When I go tomorrow to Stitcher's Paradise, I am going to have to pony up for one of those fancy Kelmscott Designs thread winders to try and help keep the floss straightened out. I mean, as my UK stitching sisters say, in for a penny, in for a pound, yea?


At any rate, here's what I have so far:

Design: Now I Know My ABC's

Designer: Barb Adams for Blackbird Designs


Fabric: 32 count linen in cream. Manufacturer unknown.


Fiber: Gloriana Threads in 079- Monet's Pond

Well, I best get my old cranky lady self going. Have to take DH to the doctor this morning about his leg and then I get to come home and nap and stitch for the next five days. Woohoo! I managed to get all of my chores completed, including the stash organization project I had created for myself. I'll blog about that next post! :)


Hope everyone has a Happy Tuesday! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Basket of Memories finish!

Managed to finish Basket of Memories last night. It was a nice, quick finish and I really do like the way it turned out:


Design: Basket of Memories - Reward of Merit Pincushion


Designer: Barb Adams for Blackbird Designs


Fabric: 30 count linen by Wichelt Imports in Ivory (DMC equivalent to 712)


Fiber: Simply Shaker thread by Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Aged Pewter


Accoutrement: Mill Hill seed beads

I started Blackbird Designs freebie Now I Know My ABC's again. I wanted to try out Gloriana Threads and figured this miniature sampler was perfect for it. I've stitched it twice before and while I like the color I chose, 079 - Monet's Pond, there are a few things I am not liking about using the threads. I will start with the fact that it is twisted all to hell and gone on the skein, which makes separating the strands a right Royal pain in the ass. Also, they knot the floss about 3 inches from the end onto the card and I'm sorry, at 8 bucks a skein now, I am most certainly NOT going to just snip that right off!


Quick picture of the Monet's Pond:





I am stitching the sampler on a 32 count cream linen and it's turning out really pretty so far. I will try and post a picture when I've stitched some more.


Well, I hate to post and run, but I've got to bolt for the door. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! :)


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

A Basket of Memories and Spring Cleaning

I have been making some progress with Basket of Memories. I have also decided when I take my mini vacation starting this coming Tuesday, I am going to have a different type of project to work on. I am going to be organizing my stash and organizing WIPs and UFOs. Lists will be made and everything is going to be cataloged and recorded. I have already begun the process, and I am starting to feel better about things already. I need to get some labels for my bins, as things as just scattered willy nilly and this will just simply not do. It took me forever to find something the other day and really, I could use the time to be stitching! I've also taken the time to go through bookmarks on my computer that I no longer go to and to even trim down the amount of time I am spending on Facebook and message boards. I'm not quite ready to fully eschew the internet altogether as some folks I know of, however, I do understand about wanting to spend more time participating in life rather than just reading about other people doing just that! :)



At any rate, here is what I have so far on Basket of Memories:




Design: Basket of Memories - Reward of Merit Pincushion


Designer: Barb Adams for Blackbird Designs


Fabric: 30 count linen by Wichelt Imports in Ivory (DMC equivalent to 712)


Fiber: Simply Shaker thread by Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Aged Pewter

I need to bolt for now. Gotta finish getting ready for work and all. No bees, no honey...no work no money! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Basket of Memories WIP

Yesterday, while at Stitcher's Paradise for my weekly stitching group, I wasn't feeling well and didn't feel like stitching anything I had brought with me. It was horribly overcast and the wind was kicking up the dust like something awful, running riot all over my sinuses. So, I figured it was time for something in a monochrome. I didn't have one to stitch with me, however, I am going to pack one into my stitching bag, so that if this happens again, I am better prepared. (Lord knows I have enough, LOL!).


I wound up purchasing another Blackbird Designs chart. Shocking I know! I managed to get a fair bit done. I suppose it was a good thing I felt kinda crappy as I am kinda tired of stitching on brown fabric. :)


At any rate, here is what I have so far:


Design: Basket of Memories - Reward of Merit Pincushion


Designer: Barb Adams for Blackbird Designs


Fabric: 30 count linen by Wichelt Imports in Ivory (DMC equivalent to 712)


Fiber: Simply Shaker thread by Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Aged Pewter

Well, I best be off. Today is my Monday and I have some chores to do before work. Hope everyone is having a good week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

A Very Spring finish

Hot off the Q-snap's is the JBW Designs project that I was working on. I like how it turned out. I have enough floss left over to stitch it again, maybe with a DMC B5200 for the bunnies and the ribbon. For now, the chart gets put away until I stitch it again.



Design: A Very Merry Spring



Designer: JBW Designs



Fabric: 28 count raw linen by Zweigart


Fibers: Kara's Quilt by SanMan Strands (discontinued floss line)

Well, I'm off to go get another project to work on. Tomorrow is my Wednesday stitching group at Stitcher's Paradise and I will be working on the BBD Moon Garden I think. Hope everyone is having a good week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

A Very Merry Spring!

Just a quick post before I have to bolt for the door to go into work. I wanted something quick and springy to stitch on so I pulled this out of my stash. I think the floss goes perfect with it!



Design: A Very Merry Spring



Designer: JBW Designs



Fabric: 28 count raw linen by Zweigart


Fibers: Kara's Quilt by SanMan Strands (discontinued floss line)

Well, I hate to post and run, but I gotta go. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.