A Very Merry Summer finish

Got another quick finish under my belt, just under the June 30 deadline. I got this last week during my usual Wednesday trip to Stitcher's Paradise. It was just as fun as the Very Merry Spring design that I stitched by the same designer, JBW Designs. I will have to look and see if she has designed ones for fall and winter, so that I can round out the seasons. :P

At any rate, enough of my blathering, onto the pictures! :D


Design: A Very Merry Summer


Designer: JBW Designs


Fabric: 28ct Carolina Linen in Salt


Fibers: Au Ver a Soie Soie d' Alger 7-strand silk floss in 945, 4911, and 4916.

 Well, I best be off. Today is my Friday, and I hope to get some more UFO's finished within the next few days. Thanks for looking and I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! :)


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

A (French) Blue Ribbon Finish

I managed to get at least one finish in for June, although, it was a new start and not a UFO like I had planned. Ah, well. These things happen, yea?

Today was my usual Wednesday trip to Stitcher's Paradise, and here is last weeks start finished today:


Design: Fleur de Lis


Designer: JBW Designs


Fabric: 32 count white Belfast linen


Fiber Used: #188 Ocean Depths by Gloriana


Errata: Stitched one thread of silk over two linen threads.

I am also taking part in the Heaven and Earth Designs message board Storykeep SAL that started the other day. I chose Treasures as it was a black and white and it kept calling my name every time I looked at it.


Design: Treasures Storykeep ***


Designer: Selina Fenech


Fabric: Fleur de Luce Hand Dyeds in Bahama Breeze 18 count aida



Fibers: DMC


***Stitcher's Note: This SAL is for HAED members ONLY and as of right now it is closed. Please do not contact me asking me to share this pattern, as it is NOT for sale/trade!


Here is the design:

 Here is the fabric that I dyed for it :

I am seriously contemplating ditching all of that white, because there is about 2-3,000 stitches of just plain white. Ugh. NOT looking forward to that at all! So, I decided that instead of stitching white on white, I would stitch it on a turquoise colored fabric and this is what I came up with. I am loving the color. It reminds me so much of the sea that I saw and swam in when I was in the Bahamas and that is in the Panhandle of Florida. I miss it so much. Being in the desert is really not my cup of tea!


Well, at any rate, I need to get going. Need to get some stuff done before I make dinner. Hope everyone is having a great week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,

C.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Christmas Ornaments

Every crafter that I know of, of any stripe and/or caliber, has that *one* project that they want more than anything. Be it a knitter, a quilter, a cross stitcher, or a sewer, there is always that one rare project that is lusted and coveted by the crafter. There haven't been a lot of those for me (thank God!), however, there have been one or two. And yesterday, one of my quests has finally ended. I have always wanted to have the 1997 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue. I didn't get it the first year that it came out (1997) as my father had died that October and all stitching in any form went out the window. By the time I got around to collecting the back issues, this one was always going for a king's ransom, and then some. However, I found an auction that had this issue listed and I decided to put in my two copper and see what happened. And this time, I won! Woohoo!!!! It came in the mail yesterday, and I spent last night with a cuppa and some lemon scones and just perused at leisure. It was a fantastic time and there are more than a few that I want to stitch out of this issue. This also means, that with the exception of this years' issue, I have all of the ornament issues, including the 10 year anniversary issue. YAY!!! Now I just need to find the UK Cross Stitch Collection Issue #101 and I will be in heaven! :)


Here are some pictures that I took:


Front Cover:

I find it ironic that the issue I missed the year my father died, is the one that shows up at the door the day before Father's Day 14 years later. Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I love you, too. :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

The French Blue Fangirl

Decided to take a break yesterday from working on my HAEDs, so I picked up a new start, another one by JBW Designs. I just love her miniature motif samplers. Generally, they are monochrome and stitch up very, very quickly. After I finish this one, I am going to pick up some more UFOs from my list for the year, and get back to those. DH has been grumbling about his map, so I figure I better get on it, LOL! :)


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



Design: Fleur de Lis


Designer: JBW Designs


Fabric: 32 count white linen, probably from Wichelt.


Fiber Used: #188 Ocean Depths by Gloriana


Errata: Stitched one thread of silk over two linen threads.

Now, for the fangirl part! :)


Alma Allen and Barb Adams of Blackbird Designs stopped in at Stitcher's Paradise this past Saturday on their road trip. I had to work, but Gina at the shop got them to sign the back of the Basket of Memories for me! I am so excited! I wish I could have been there and I'm bummed that I missed them, but I'm happy to have a signed chart by them! :)

Well, at any rate, I think I've babbled on enough. Need to figure out what's for breakfast and get back to my stitching. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

Order out of Chaos (Or How I Learned To Organize A HAED...And Love It!)

I had some emails and some PM's on some of the message boards I frequent, asking how I organize my HAEDs. And since I had a new one come in, Silvery Moon by Jessica Galbreth, I thought I would take this opportunity to chronicle how I organize my stitching. The vast majority of my 'system' I owe to Jules of A Fairy Princess Dreams In Stitches . I figured since she was the one responsible for this HAED mess I am in, it would serve me well if I ripped of some of her organization ideas. :P


I have found that when you are dealing with a multiple page chart, with around 90 or so colors, just throwing floss in a bag and calling it a day really doesn't help. (Ask me know I know this! ;) )


First up is gathering your mats, or materials. I usually wait until I get a 20% off total purchase coupon from either Michael's or Joann's. It really helps with the savings!


Here is what I have whenever I kit up a new one:


- Trash can or garbage bag if you are tossing out your floss labels and what all. I know some folks collect them, but since I don't I generally have a small trash bag or garbage bin nearby.


- Plastic Bobbin Box . For smaller projects, you can get five bobbins in per section, so you only need one of these. I have one larger project kitted up, Cynthia , and she has 90 colors, so two boxes were needed. Make sure to get the ones with the plastic, not cardboard bobbins. The plastic ones are a LOT sturdier and you get 50 in each box to start you off. The boxes are about around $2.50 here in the US.



- Plastic thread bobbins . You may need extras of these. It never hurts to have a spare set, either, I've found. The Silvery moon SK has 50 colors, but the larger project has close to 30 some odd. Go figure! :) These will run you anywhere from .99 cents to $1.99 for about around 25 per package.



- Heaven and Earth Designs generally call for DMC six strand embroidery threads, Art. 117 for your bobbins. I know that some of the projects now call for silks, however, for this project, I am using the called for DMC. DMC here in the US is the cheapest in the world, and here we pay about around .37 cents per skein, so we here in the US are lucky. IIRC, New Zealand has the most expensive at about around $2.00 per skein. o.O


***Skip the cheapo thread winder. It does no good at all, at least for me, and I find the winding by hand to be a mindless relaxing business after I've been running around all day like a chicken with my head cut off.


- Since I am lazy and at times my handwriting is atrocious (I blame too much computer use for that!), I get a set or two of the DMC Floss Number Stickers (Article No. 6103/12) to put on the bobbins. Bold, black text on a white background and I don't ever have to guess if the 6 is actually an 8, because I was in a hurry to get it done and got sloppy with it.



- A large Single Compartment Storage Box is also nice to store the whole kit and caboodle in. It keeps your project clean and cuts down on kitteh and/or goggie hair. :)





- Office Depot offers copy and print services, in addition to lamination. Since this particular chart was sent as a hard copy, I went to have ONE, repeat ONE, working copy made, so that I can mark off the chart as I go along. This is an absolute necessity, IMO, as some of the colors are so, so close together, and as I discovered to my dismay when I first started Rhiannon , speed will get you nowhere, and fast. I get the floss key laminated for $1.50 and to me it's worth it. I'm gonna be using it for a long, long time and as is the way of things, things can and do happen. I would hate for water or chocolate or what have you get spilled on it or it get torn or whatever. Getting it laminated is strictly optional, but I've decided that it's better to be safe than sorry. :)


Here is the current floss key, all laminated and ready to go! :

Here is what my bobbin box generally looks like on the outside. I have Office Depot make a color copy of the first page with the design on it, so I can tape it to the outside of the bobbin box that I am using. Nothing is more annoying than to open a bobbin box, behold the shiny, pretty colors and then say aloud, "What is *this* for?!!!" Ask me how I know this. :P





Next up, it't time to line up the bobbins with the floss. Before I begin winding, I generally put the DMC Floss Number Stickers (Article No. 6103/12) on the bobbins, and then put everything in numerical order, just like the floss key has it listed:

And since hand winding can be a bit boring, I suggest doing this whilst watching a movie or your favorite TV shows. Today I chose The Fifth Element. LeeLoo Dallas Multipass!

And finally, after all the winding, here is what you have to show for your efforts:

Well, I hope this explains the methods to my madness. I have found that this system really works for me and it's helped keep me on track.


Well, I am off for now. Got some things to do and I need to decide what's for dinner tonight. Hope everyone is having a great week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.

And yet even more organizing...

On Monday of this week, I managed to injure myself at work by burning my thumbs, a tiny portion of the palm of my left hand and the middle finger of my left hand on a hot towel cabinet that someone had left on overnight. Massage therapy is not without its hazards, it seems. As consequence, I did go to the doctor and get some prescription burn cream and my hands are doing a lot better. I had yesterday and now today off, as the doctor was worried about an increased risk of infection, due to my middle finger not healing up as fast as the other sites did. I have not been able to stitch much, however, this bump in the road has given me a chance to get my HAED's organized and kit up a few more. Before I burned myself, I managed to get a bit more done on Rhiannon and start a new one.


Here's what I have so far:

Rhiannon:

Design: All Hallow's Eve


Designer: Heaven and Earth Designs for Jessica Galbreath


Fabric 18 count aida in Antique White


Fibers: DMC


Here is what I have so far:

WIP #2 Shimmering Night:


Design: Shimmering Night


Designer: Heaven and Earth Designs for Ching-Chou Kuik


Fabric: 18 count aida in Antique White


Fibers: DMC


Here is what it's supposed to look like, fifteen pages of solid stitching later:

Here is what I managed to get in, prior to hurting myself:

I am loving the colors in this one and it's providing a nice contrast to Rhiannon. I also need to come up with a name for her, but I will let her choose, the same way my first one did :P~. This downtime will also allow me to get Silver Moon Storykeep kitted up. There was a member only coupon on the HAED message board over the Memorial Day weekend and I snagged this one as a small treat. She's really, really pretty and only has about 25 colors, LOL! :)


Well, I best be off. I need to study for my CEC test and get some breakfast. Hope everyone is having a good week! :)


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Respectfully submitted,


C.