First Blackbird Designs Finish For The Year!

Wow! That went super quick! I really enjoyed stitching this piece. I had a lot of fun plotting out what color was going to go where and why. I am thinking of stitching the Quaker Family Register in these colors, however, I will have to get DH's input. As this will contain both sides of the family's initials and dates, I think that is only fair. :)



Well, at any rate, here is the latest finish and the 10th finish for 2018:

Design: The Lily Of The Valley 

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 32 count Belfast linen of unknown manufacturer in white.

Fibers Used: Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 Spun Silk in 004, 037, 124, 126, 197,  561, 603, and 705. Kreinik silk serica thread in Light Charcoal, #8073. 

Accouterments:  Mill Hill bead in #42014 Petite Black

Stitchers' Notes: Design taken from the book And Blossom As The Rose. Fabric and fibers chosen from in house stash and converted from the called for Weeks Dye Works thread and Picture This Plus fabric. Left off border. 

As of Monday, June 25, 2018:

Finished Wednesday, June 27, 2018:

Well, I had best be off. Tons to do today. I hope everyone is enjoying a good  week. Happy stitching!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

I Spy A Blackbird

A Blackbird Design that is!

I have not stitched a Blackbird Designs piece in quite some time and I thought this latest piece would be perfect. It has a nice 'summery' feel to it and it is stitching up quite quickly. I am really liking how it is turning out so far. I just wish the frog would have stayed away! :O

As is my custom, I have changed the fabric and the colors, so that nothing would have to be purchased and I could start straight away. 

Well, at any rate, here is the latest work in the Q-Snaps:

Design: The Lily Of The Valley 

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 32 count Belfast linen of unknown manufacturer in white.

Fibers Used: Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 Spun Silk in 004, 037, 124, 126, 165, 197, 312, 486, 561, 663, 705 and 773. Kreinik silk serica thread in Light Charcoal, #8073. 

Stitchers' Notes: Design taken from the book And Blossom As The Rose. Fabric and fibers chosen from in house stash and converted from the called for Weeks Dye Works thread and Picture This Plus fabric. 

Well, I had best be off. Tons to do today. I hope everyone is enjoying a good start to their week. Happy stitching!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Día de Muertos

I hope everyone out there in Blogland had a Happy Halloween and a good start to their Dia de Muertos. It was quiet here, but that's pretty much the way we like it. Not too many tick or treaters in an apartment building, but that's the way things go. 

I managed to get this guy stitching up in a trice yesterday. I really do love the colors in it. This is a really good Halloween book to have and I am lucky enough to own it. I am really looking forward to stitching more out of this book. 

Design: Boo! 

Designer:  Blackbird Designs

Fabric: 28 count opalescent Cashel linen in Fog by Picture This Plus

Fibers Used: Access Commodities Soie d'Alger in Noir, 234, 521, 633,  and 1336.

Stitchers' Notes:  One day start and finish on Tuesday, October 31, 2017. Taken from the Trix or Treat booklet. Booklet is now OOP and HTF, as far as I know. 

Well, I must be off. Lots to do today. I hope everyone is having a great week.

Happy stitching!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

C'est fini

Hot off the Q-Snap from just moments ago. I stitched the parts of this that I wanted to stitch, very much like Willow House that I stitched last year. This one had a lot of pinks in it, which is not generally my style, but I like how it turned out anyway. 

Design: Be Kind and True (retired)

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 28  or 32 count white linen of unknown manufacturer

Fibers Used: Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 Spun Silk in 004, 037, 124, 126, 165, 197, 312, 486, 561, 663, 705 and 773. Kreinik silk serica thread in Light Charcoal, #8073. 

Stitcher's Notes: Stitched one strand of floss over two fabric threads. Chart on loan from Patricia G of the Blackbird Designs Lending Library Facebook Group. Replaced the cotton embroidery floss for silks. Began Monday July 17, 2017. Finished Sunday, August 6, 2017.


As of Sunday, July 30, 2017:

Finished Sunday, August 6, 2017:

I must be off. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Happy stitching!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

WIPs And An Organizational Post

I've put some time into two projects and have completed some more organization. When I am too tired to stitch, I have a tendency to clean and organize things, so that when the time comes to get out another project, I know where I stand. This is predicated on the fact that I have a 25+ year stash. I have been contemplating another 'great culling' but I am not quite there yet. 

I was going to wait until the end of the year to take another inventory of the infamous Bin O'Shame, however, I bit the bullet the other day and just got on with it. I was down to 29 going into the beginning of 2017, which made me really, really happy. I started off with 70 UFOs beginning in February 24, 2015, so every bit has counted! 

During the recount, I decided to separate the small to medium projects from the huge BAPs and long term projects. I wanted to separate the projects that I could complete in a reasonable amount of time, from the projects that will take many, many months to complete. After completing this task, I am now sitting on 23 projects in the infamous Bin O'Shame, however, I do have six long term projects that need to be dealt with. I have three projects that I am undecided as to whether or not I plan on finishing the stitching on them. One of them is the Forget Me Not Sampler  by With Thy Needle and Thread. The fact of the matter is, I cannot stand the color of the fabric. It is so dull and washed out. I understand it is a 'primitive' type design but the Lakeside Linens 40 count in Navy Bean just leaves me cold. I am not that far into it, so I may just finish of the central motif and restart it in a nicer color fabric. Or I may just finish the central motif and be done with it. Did I mention that I really do hate this fabric? :P

Well, at any rate, here are the two projects that I have worked on since completing the Strawberries and Cream sampler from Casey Buonaugurio: 

WIP #1:

Design: Be Kind and True (retired)

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 28  or 32 count white linen of unknown manufacturer

Fibers Used: Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 Spun Silk in 004, 037, 124, 126, 165, 197, 312, 486, 561, 663, 705 and 773. Kreinik silk serica thread in Light Charcoal, #8073. 

Stitcher's Notes: Stitched one strand of floss over two fabric threads. Chart on loan from Patricia G of the Blackbird Designs Lending Library Facebook Group. Replaced the cotton embroidery floss for silks. Began Monday July 17, 2017. 

I also managed to put in a bit of time on my 'Every Now And Again' project. 

WIP #2:

Design: Pretty Little San Francisco

Designer: Jody Rice of Satsuma Street

Fabric: 28 count Cashel linen in Fog by Picture This Plus

Fibers Used: DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117 as called for in the chart

Stitchers' Notes: Began Friday, March 17, 2017. Project to be stitched 'every now and again' with no set time frame for completion.

As of Saturday, March 18, 2017:

As of Tuesday July 25, 2017:

Time for me to bolt for the door. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. 

Happy stitching!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

It's Been Awhile

Happy Saturday to you all! I know it's been a while, almost a month and a half since I last posted. I haven't felt really up to stitching a whole lot. I do not know if it is a combination of stress, fatigue, or just stitching burnout, the end result is the same. I suppose it does not matter a great deal, as I have stitched a grand total of 111 pieces the last two years. That is a great deal of stitching! I have made my unofficial yearly goal of 12 projects, so I am just coasting at this point. Then again too, the weather where we are has been unseasonably chilly. It's quite difficult to get 'into' stitching mermaids and other summer themed projects when the low is almost in the 30's at night in the middle of May! :O

I have tried off and on to stitch, but nothing has 'clicked'. It just felt like going through the motions. I remembered that I had this project that I purchased on the secondary market some time ago. I have seen quite a number of recent finishes of this piece and it looked like it did not take too long to stitch, so I thought I would give it a try. The color combination used is the same one that I used in the Summer In Bloom taken from the book Maria Selby Humphrey - 1831 piece that I finished up a couple of years ago. I really do love the way the colors harmonize together. The funny thing is, I purchased the silks on clearance and only purchased them because I loved the colors and the feel of the silk! :)

At any rate, here is my latest finish. I need to find some nice buttons for the upper right hand corner, but otherwise, it is completed. 

Design: Buttons and Blooms

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 28 count white linen of unknown manufacturer

Fibers Used: Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 Spun Silk in 124, 126, 197, 312, 663, and 705. Kreinik silk serica thread in Light Charcoal, #8073. 

Stitchers' Notes: Substituted called for GAST and WDW threads for in house Au Ver a Soie Soie 100/3 Spun Silk and Kreinik silk serica thread. Shop chart exclusive for Elegant Stitch. Began Friday, May 12, 2017. Finished Saturday, May 13, 2017. Please note that the chart is not for sale/trade. 

Welp, it's time for me to bolt for the door. I hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Skipped A Season

But really, it's not my fault. I was in my LNS the other day, picking out floss for the Valentines' and Easter 2017 Flip-It series by Linda Ebright of Lizzie Kate. During my color matching, I happen to come across a particular color combination that I knew would be absolutely perfect for a summer themed Now I Know My ABC's by Barb Adams of Blackbird Designs. I quickly purchased what I needed and started the same day. I finished the stitching the next day, and I am so pleased at the way it turned out. I have a fabric in mind for Spring and Fall, however, I do need to experiment with a floss toss before I make my final choice. 

Well, at any rate, here is the summer version of Now I Know My ABC's:

Design: Now I Know My ABC's

Designer: Barb Adams of Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 25 count Natural Oatmeal Floba by Wichelt

Fibers Used:  Caron Collection Waterlilies in #181 Ocean Breeze (Dye Lot #CS201613).

Accoutrements: Shell found on the beach at Half Moon Bay, California on Friday, March 17, 2017. Crab pendant by Bead Landing for Michael's from the Tahiti collection. 

Stitchers' Notes: Began Thursday, March 16, 2017. Stitching completed on Friday, March 17, 2017. Substituted some of the punctuation for various motifs. Will stitch this design in spring and fall themed fabric and fibers. Second of four in this seasonal series. 

I am not too entirely sold on the crab in the lower right hand corner, but I may leave it anyway. It's a bit large to be there as it is. I may pop around to Michael's to see if they have any other fun summer charms or pendants that can be used. 

Time for me to be off. It's dinner time and I need to get prepped for tomorrow as well. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! 

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

The ABC's Of Winter

I confess. I am serial starter. At least for right now I am a serial starter. In a vain attempt to stitch and complete something, I have taken to an idea that I had the last time I completed this design. I had the notion that I could stitch this piece four more times. With each time, I would be drawing upon the colors that reflect the four seasons. I thought it would be a really nice way to use what I have in stash and to play around with various color combinations, two things that I adore doing. I also liked substituting various motifs for the punctuation. 

As there is quite a bit of snow on the ground at the moment, with more forecasted in the coming days, I thought it was appropriate to start with Winter and work my way around the seasons. I do not know if I will begin the Spring themed one right now. I may hold off and wait until March or April. Then again, I may not. :)

At any rate, here is my latest interpretation of this design. I had to wait until a sunny day appeared, as we have had so much inclement weather here lately. Still in all, I am ver pleased with the way this turned out:

Design: Now I Know My ABC's

Designer: Barb Adams of Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 28 count Bluebell jobelan by Wichelt

Fibers Used: Needle Necessities  #109 Blue Bayou (now #1013 Blue Lagoon by Threadworx). DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117 in B5200.

Accoutrements: Jolee's Jewels Swarovski 6704 20mm Snowflake, Aurora Borealis Crystal. 

Stitchers' Notes: Began Wednesday, January 4, 2017. Stitching completed on Friday, January 6, 2017. First project of the year. Substituted some of the punctuation for various motifs. Will stitch this design in spring, summer, and fall themed fabric and fibers. 

Well, I need to be off. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Respectfully submitted,

C. 

'Tis The Season

Well, apparently, I managed to get into the holiday season any way. At least stitching wise I did. I suppose I should be a lot further along on this one than I should be, but I really do not care. I have stitched a lot the past two years and quite frankly, I am not halfway wondering if I am just not burned out completely. 

At any rate, here is what I have so far, on this Christmas Eve day:

Design: 'Tis The Season from the Joyeux Noel book

Designer: Barb Adams of Blackbird Designs

Fabric:  R and R Reproductions 30 count overdyed linen in Witches' Teeth 

Fibers Used: Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Collard Greens, Fern Frond Slate, Tree Trunk, and Tulip. Gumnut Yarns Stars silk floss in #991 ecru.

Stitchers' Notes: As this piece of fabric is not large enough, only the cardinal and a portion of the branch will be stitched.

I have tonight and tomorrow off, so I am hoping to get more time in on this piece. 

I must be off. I am wishing everyone the happiest of holidays and the most blessed of new years!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Well, That Was Quick!

This project finish literally zoomed right on by. It went so fast, I almost didn't have time to enjoy it, haha! I love the color combination and I have several more planned for this piece. I think it would look lovely in a red floss and white/pale gray fabric combination. 

Well, at any rate, here it is! :)

Design: Simple Harvest (from the book With Needle and Thread)

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric:  28 count Cashel linen in Legacy  by Picture This Plus

Fibers Used: Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Old Crow.

Stitcher's Notes: Began Monday, November 14, 2016. Design on pages 14-15. Substituted the called for 32 count Old Towne Blend from R and R Reproductions and Waterlilies #139 Kelp for in house materials. Second project stitched from this book. Please note that this book is not for sale or trade. 


As of Tuesday, November 15, 2016:

Finished as of Thursday, November 17, 2016:

Time for me to bolt for the door. I need to get lunch ready and tidy up my stitching area. 

I hope everyone is having a great week!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Four And Twenty Blackbirds

...stitched in a year. Well, 11 to be precise. I find it amazing that so far this year, I have stitched a total of 11 designs from my Blackbird Designs library. 

After I finished my winter inspired finish, I decided that I needed to stitch something else. I am still not 'feeling' the return of the Autumn (Book Number 66, Autumn Samplers) from Prairie Schooler, so I decided that I wanted to do another Blackbird Designs piece. I really love stitching their designs and I spent quite a bit of time pawing through my BBD library in order to find the perfect one. In the end, I settled on a monochrome piece, which I do not think that they have a lot of that type of design. The fabric and the fibers that I am using are all 'in house' materials, as I did not feel like shopping for what was called for in the design. The scandal! :D

This one is stitching up so quickly, that I will probably be finished in a day or two. Then the hunt will be on for another project to stitch on. I will cross that stitch when I get to it, though! :)

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

Design: Simple Harvest (from the book With Needle and Thread)

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric:  28 count Cashel linen in Legacy  by Picture This Plus

Fibers Used: Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Old Crow.

Stitcher's Notes: Began Monday, November 14, 2016. Design on pages 14-15. Substituted the called for 32 count Old Towne Blend from R and R Reproductions and Waterlilies #139 Kelp for in house materials.
Unfortunately, this book is not for sale or trade. 

Time for me to be off. I should do a wee bit of housework, but I am just not feeling it. Stitching it is then! :)

I hope you all are having a great week. :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Chicken Noodle Soup For The Stitchers' Soul

Am I the only one that turns to 'comfort stitching' when stressed out? There are certain designer that I find are the stitching equivalent to mac and cheese and meatloaf. Something homey and comforting, like a big bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup that your grandmother or your mom would make when you were feeling low. 

I have several designers that fall into this category. Blackbird Designs is just such a designer. With the advent of fall just around the corner (less than 4 days now!), this piece was just the ticket. I enjoyed the colors and especially getting back to my Legacy  by Picture This Plus, which I dearly love. 

At any rate, I did manage to finish the stitching up on this piece late last night. As consequence, I had to wait until today in order to take pictures, as Mr. Sun was visiting Japan at the time I finished. :) 

The stitching went fairly quickly. I will finish this into a pincushion, whenever I manage to procure a sewing machine. :)

Design: Pumpkin Blossom pincushion (Taken the book Autumn, Loose Feather collection 2011)

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric Used: 32 count Belfast linen in Legacy  by Picture This Plus

Fibers Used: Au Ver À Soie  Soie d'Alger in #4125 Marron (Brown) and #4236 Lion. Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Carrot Cake, Collard Greens, Old Crow, and Pumpkin Carriage.

Stitcher's Notes: Started on Friday, August 26, 2016. Finished on Saturday, August 27, 2016. Design featured on page 8 of the book Autumn, Loose Feather collection 2011 by Blackbird Designs. Left off border.

Time for me to bolt for the door. I need to decide what is next, the Pumpkin Blossom Sewing Box or part of the main design as a scissor fob or more likely, an ornament. 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I wish you all a happy week ahead! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C.