WIP Wednesday February 17, 2016 And A Finish

This project took a bit longer than anticipated as this month has been very, very busy. Still in all, this will make finish #7 for the year, and it's only mid February. I have only 5 more finishes to hit my unofficial yearly goal of 12. I really wanted the 12 to come exclusively from the Bin O'Shame, however, one takes one's finishes where one can, yes? 


Well, here she is. The stitching at least is finished! :)

Design: Birds and Berries (needlecase) from the book A Stitcher's Journey

Designer: Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs

Fibers Used: DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117 in 640, 642, 842, 3041, 3799, 3782.

Fabric Used: 36 count smokey white Edinburgh linen by Zweigart

Stitcher's Notes: Began Wednesday, February 3, 2016. Design converted from the called for The Gentle Art Sampler Threads and Crescent Colours  cotton flosses to DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117

As of Friday, February 12, 2016:

Finished as of Wednesday, February 17, 2016:

I had best be off. Time to straighten out the stitching area and pick something else back up. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Pre Valentine's Day Weekend Update

I managed to miss WIP Wednesday, so I decided to just hang on until Friday to do a pre weekend update. I am hoping to put a bit of time in on this one. I am really taking my time on this one, and I suppose I shouldn't feel guilty. But I do. I really want to get more from from the Bin O'Shame completed. I know it's only February, but I should have at least 2 more from the Bin O'Shame stitched up by now. Ah, well. It's only mid February, so there is time, I suppose. :)


At any rate, here is the latest: 

Design: Birds and Berries (needlebook)from the book A Stitcher's Journey

Designer: Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs

Fibers Used: DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117 in 640, 642, 842, 3041, 3799, 3782.

Fabric Used: 36 count smokey white Edinburgh linen by Zweigart

Stitcher's Notes: Began Wednesday, February 3, 2016. Design converted from the called for  The Gentle Art Sampler Threads and Crescent Colours  cotton flosses to DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117. 

As of Monday, February 8, 2016:

As of Friday, February 12, 2016:

I had best be off. Tons to do before the weekend. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Happy Valentine's Day to you all! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Birds and Berries

My latest WIP is one that I have wanted to stitch for a long time, so I decided to just get on with it. I haven't made a whole lot of progress, as it was started almost a week ago, however, things have been very, very busy here lately. One must stitch where one can. I am doing a conversion of the called for flosses as I did not have the called for threads for this one and just didn't feel like spending the money to get them. I do like what I have done so far, and I am looking forward to the outcome. 

Design: Birds and Berries (needlebook)from the book A Stitcher's Journey

Designer: Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs

Fibers Used: DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117 in 640, 642, 3041, 3782.

Fabric Used: 36 count smokey white Edinburgh linen by Zweigart

Stitcher's Notes: Began Wednesday, February 3, 2016. Design converted from the called for  The Gentle Art Sampler Threads and Crescent Colours  cotton flosses to DMC Embroidery Floss Art. 117. 

I had best be off. Lots to do today. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and they are having a great start to the week. 

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Distraction Stitching

Well, I have officially hit the wall with the Oriental Beauty. I have managed to stitch a bit more on her, but now I have gotten into Quarter Stitch Hell. Quite frankly, I am in no mood to deal with it. I suppose at some point next week I will get her back out and just hammer away at it, but right now, I am simply not in the mood. 

So, instead, I got this wee bit of a thing out last night. I was in the mood to stitch a Blackbird Designs piece for whatever reason. It is the companion piece to the Tulip House Stitching Companion that I stitched back in 2012. I have the card case somewhere and eventually, when I get a sewing machine, I will put the box together. It is enough that the cross stitching is at least done. I will need to find two colors of blue fabric for this piece, as that is what it calls for. I really should look into the Moda line of quilting fabrics that Barb and Alma have done for the company. I will also apparently need hand dyed trims, although, I think I might cheap out and just do it myself. I have some brown fabric dye, so why not, eh?

Well, at any rate, here it is, the Tulip Pincushion:

Design: Tulip Pincushion from the book A Stitcher's Journey

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric: 30 count Friendship Blend linen by R and R Reproductions

Fibers Used: The Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Apricot Blush, Chamomile, Endive, Lexington Green, Melon Patch, Pumpkin Patch, and Toasted Barley. 

Stitcher's Notes: Began Friday, January 29, 2016. Finished Saturday, January 30, 2016. Companion piece to the Tulip House Stitching Companion. Fabric substituted for the called for 30 Cafe Kona as I was not overly thrilled with the way the colors looked on it.  

I had best be off. I need to decide if I am going to stitch another piece from the book A Stitcher's Journey or stitch on a completely unrelated piece. I really should start the unrelated piece, but the call of the Blackbird Designs piece that has grabbed my attention is strong right now. 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Sizzling Seventeen May Day Finish

It has gotten into the 90's here in Las Vegas already, which means that by the time August rolls around, tourists and locals alike will have the ability to burst into flames as soon as they step outdoors. Honestly, I know there are people who love this type of dry, dusty oven type conditions. It happens to be my misfortune that I am not one of them. I pray daily to whatever deity happens to be listening at the time, that with hard work and a wee bit a luck, there will be another move in the future. Hopefully, to somewhere more hospitable to my nature. I am a Child of the Ocean and the Desert is not very forgiving. 

What this all means is that I start craving summer type things to stitch. I need to be reminded of days at the shore, toes in the sand with a drink in the hand. The chatter of seagulls and dolphins *just* off the coast. The tang of salt air mixed with the smell of Coppertone. I found this one the other day in the  Bin O'Shame and since I could not concentrate for any length of time on the Black Tulips project that I had pulled out, I got this one out instead. Say what you like about monochromes, but if you are tired and don't feel well, they are excellent for not being too taxing stitching wise. I was torn between keeping this as a strict monochrome or adding a wee bit of red, to make it more 'summer' like. In the end, keeping it as a strict monochrome won out. I really like the 'crispness' of the stark white fabric and the soothing dark navy blue. 

Well, at any rate, here are the before and after pictures:

Design: Seaside Retreat

Designer: Blackbird Designs

Fabric: 32 count white Belfast linen

Fiber Used: Kreinik soie d'alger #1425 E (dark navy)

Stitcher's Notes: Design taken from the book, A Stitcher's Journey. Design featured on page 16. Left off border and initials. Changed 'stitch with me' to 'sit with me. Added elements from the piece to fill in the space. 

As of Tuesday, April 28, 2015:

Finished, Friday, May 1, 2015:

Well, I had best be off. Tons of stuff to do today. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

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Respectfully submitted,

C.