Spring's Arrival

It appears as if spring has arrived here in the desert. Temperatures here the last week or so have been in the 70's, with a high predicted this coming Friday of 81. Naturally, my thoughts of stitching have naturally turned towards spring related projects. Easter is going to be early this year, on March 29, which also means a very short season for Peeps from the Just Born candy company. 

I got this one out this past weekend and worked on it a bit. After hitting my thousand stitch goal for the challenge that Michelle Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs had issued on the official Heaven and Earth Designs Facebook group, I decided to keep going on this one until it was finished. As it is from the Bin O'Shame, this is yet one more closer to the goal of 12 for the year. As of this finish, this makes a total of five stitched from the Bin O'Shame this year. I am quite please with my progress in stitching up old as the hills projects. 

Well, at any rate, on with the show! :)

Design: Jardin Mythique

Designer: Danielle Chevallier of Danybrod

Fabric Used: 36 count Edinburgh linen in White

Fibers Used: Gloriana Threads  12 strand French silk floss in #079 Monet's Pond (Lot: T17/12148)

Stitcher's Notes: Began Friday, September 11, 2015. Will not be stitching the alphabet and outer border.  Finished as of Tuesday, February 23, 2016.


As of Monday, February 22, 2016:

 Finished as of Tuesday, February 23, 2016:

The question now remains: Do I stitch something from Kit Mountain, or perhaps Leaflet Silo? Or do I keep calm and carry on with the Bin O'Shame? I have some lovely Spring related projects that I could get to that really do need finishing up. I suppose we will all have to tune in later this week for 'As The Stitch Ends', haha!

I had best be off. Time for dinner chores. I hope everyone is having a fantastic week. 

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

1K Sunday

This weekend was a two project weekend. I wanted to 'touch base' with another project that has fallen by the wayside and attempt to get caught up with the challenge that Michelle Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs had issued on the official Heaven and Earth Designs Facebook group. Or at least put a dent into it :). 

The first WIP was picked up on Friday and continued on into Saturday. It is a monochrome that I had started back last year after my poor Ozzy had left me. I had set it aside as I wasn't 'into' it. I figured almost 6 months in the Bin O'Shame was probably long enough. I will probably have to get more Gloriana Threads  12 strand French silk floss in #079 Monet's Pond (Lot: T17/12148) for this project as I am rapidly running low. I have a great deal more to stitch and I do not think I will have enough. 


Sunday's project was the challenged thatMichelle Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs had issued on the official Heaven and Earth Designs Facebook group. This particular challenge was 1000 stitches in stair step stitching. 

I chose QS Maleficent/Evil Queen as my project as I wanted to get more stitching time put in on her. I love the colors that are used in this project and she really is a fun project. 

Yesterday, I managed to finally get around to the challenge. I also managed to get all 1000 stitches in during the afternoon. It helped that there were large blocks of one color. Had these sections been all confetti stitching, I probably would not have gotten so far :). 


Well, here they are. My two projects for the weekend:

WIP #1:

Design: Jardin Mythique

Designer: Danielle Chevallier of Danybrod

Fabric Used: 36 count Edinburgh linen in White

Fibers Used: Gloriana Threads  12 strand French silk floss in #079 Monet's Pond (Lot: T17/12148)

Stitcher's Notes: Began Friday, September 11, 2015. Will not be stitching the alphabet and outer border. 

As of Wednesday, September 16, 2015:

As of Monday, February 22, 2016:

WIP #2:

Design: QS Maleficent/Evil Queen 

Designer: Michelle Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs. Based on the original artwork of Annya Kai. 

Fabric: 22 count Antique White aida by Wichelt

Fibers: DMC as called for in the chart

Stitcher's Notes: Began Saturday, January 24, 2015. The Quick Stitch for this design is no longer available for purchase at this time. The chart was originally called Maleficent, however, this was changed at some point. 

As of Monday, November 23, 2015:

As of Monday, February 22, 2016:

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

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

WIP Wednesday Post For September 16, 2015

Things have been quite busy here in the house lately, so I am not as far along on my current project as I would like to be. I told myself that this is ok, as I have managed to finish the stitching on quite a number of projects this year, including 15 from scratch starts, which more than covers the unofficial yearly goal of one project a month (for a total of 12 per year). Given all that I have done this year, I have 'allowed' myself to coast for the rest of the year, should I so choose to do so. I probably need the break anyway, if for no other reason than to not give myself carpal tunnel trying to stitch everything in my not inconsiderable stash. :)

I can tell I am feeling better since losing our beloved Ozzy just over a week ago. It really does feel like a lifetime ago. I miss him horribly every day. I still look for him in his favorite places out of habit, but I assume like everything else, this too shall pass. This week I have been looking through stash to find things for other folks and have gotten the urge to stitch everything I am looking at at the time. Which is a good sign, I suppose. I have my OOP binder on my desk and as it is fall, I really want to get to all the Primitive Needle and Prairie Schooler that I have in that binder. Here, I must practice a bit of discipline, as that is how the Bin O'Shame came into being. I certainly do not need a repeat of that. I've worked far too hard this year to get it down to a somewhat reasonable level! :)

Well, here is this Wednesday's update: 

Design: Jardin Mythique

Designer: Danielle Chevallier of Danybrod

Fabric Used: 36 count Edinburgh linen in White

Fibers Used: Gloriana Threads  12 strand French silk floss in #079 Monet's Pond (Lot: T17/12148)

Stitcher's Notes: Began Friday, September 11, 2015. Will not be stitching the alphabet and outer border. 


As of Friday, September 11, 2015:

As of Wednesday, September 16, 2015:

I had best be off. I need to go out for a walk and take care of some things around the house. I hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

The Water Lily Pond

Monet: Water-Lily Pond, c.1915–1926

This has always been one of my favorite paintings. I find the colors so soothing and restful. I have sorely needed that this past week. Yesterday, as I was picking the last of the odds and ends from the Great Cleanup and Organization, I caught sight of a skein of French silk thread that I have by Gloriana Threads . It is called Monet's Pond and it reminds me a great deal of this painting. I got out the floss and just set it on my desk to look at, very much like the knickknacks that I have decorating my desk. After more cleaning and putting away of things, I came across a design that I had purchased some time ago that I had put in the 'To Do' pile. I looked at the thread on my desk and knew it would be a perfect match. I found a pice of fabric in my stash that was the perfect size for this piece. It didn't even need to cut it to size! I haven't gotten too far into it, as I want to take my time with this piece. No frantically trying to beat an imagined deadline or to 'get it over with'. I need the slower pace to calm my soul after losing Ozzy. I suppose I will eventually return to Blessed Be, but not now. 

Well, at any rate, here is the newest start:

Design: Jardin Mythique

Designer: Danielle Chevallier of Danybrod

Fabric Used: 36 count Edinburgh linen in White

Fibers Used: Gloriana Threads  12 strand French silk floss in #079 Monet's Pond (Lot: T17/12148)

Stitcher's Notes: Began Friday, September 11, 2015

I had best be off. It's time for some breakfast. I hope everyone has a great 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.