WIP Wednesday Update For Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Hidey ho, sports fans! Hope everyone is getting plenty of stitching time in. I have managed to get a bit further than last week, but not as far as I would have liked. It's always the way, isn't it?  :)


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

Design: Autumn's Bounty

Designer: Marva Owen for Black Star Designs 

Fibers Used: Crescent Colours cotton floss in Toasted Marshmallow. The Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Black Crow, Buttercrunch, Dried Thyme, Maple Syrup, Nutmeg, and Sarsaparilla. 

Fabric Used: 32 count Belfast linen in Legacy  by Picture This Plus, from their Crystal line.

Accouterments: Mill Hill beads in #03049 Rich Red 

Stitchers' Notes: Began Friday, August 3, 2018. Changed pumpkin from orange to white. Substituted Algerian eyelet stitches for  Mill Hill beads in #03049 Rich Red  seed beads. Please note that this chart is OOP and very hard to find. Please also note that this chart is not for sale/trade. 

As of Wednesday, August 8, 2018:

As of Wednesday, August 15, 2018:

Well, it is time for me to be off. I hope everyone is having a great week. Happy Stitching!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

WIP Wednesday And A Change Of Seasons

At least stitching wise. I really wasn't 'into' stitching a whole lot this past few weeks. The air quality here has been absolutely horrible due to the wildfires and it has made it quite difficult to breathe, let alone get anything done. I am sending prayers and good vibes to the people and first responders who are having to deal with this disaster. As bad as my burden is, theirs is far greater.

This actually led me to the decision to stop stitching my latest project , and instead start stitching on fall related things. I have really had the itch here lately to stitch on fall and Halloween related stitchery. I have had this one in my stash for quite some time now and I decided to start it immediately. 

Here is what I have so far:

Design: Autumn's Bounty

Designer: Marva Owen for Black Star Designs 

Fibers Used: Crescent Colours cotton floss in Toasted Marshmallow. The Gentle Art Sampler Threads in Black Crow, Buttercrunch, Dried Thyme, Maple Syrup, Nutmeg, and Sarsaparilla. 

Fabric Used: 32 count Belfast linen in Legacy  by Picture This Plus, from their Crystal line.

Accouterments: Mill Hill beads in #03049 Rich Red 

Stitchers' Notes: Began Friday, August 3, 2018. Changed pumpkin from orange to white. Substituted Algerian eyelet stitches for  Mill Hill beads in #03049 Rich Red  seed beads. Please note that this chart is OOP and very hard to find. Please also note that this chart is not for sale/trade. 

Well, it is time for me to be off. I hope everyone is having a great week. Happy Stitching!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Damn The Torpedoes!

It's full steam ahead for fall and Halloween related stitching. By the calendar date, we have T-minus 10 days and counting until much anticipated first day of September rolls around. This is really my favorite time of year. With fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years' all within three months time. Bring on the cooler temps! Bring on the snow! Bring on the flannel! Pumpkin flavored all the things!

To usher in this season, I did yet another fabric and fiber test. This time, with a part of a design that I want to stitch in its' entirety. As this piece only contains two colors, I will need to pick out a lovely shade of pumpkin for the other color. I think I have two designs from Lisa Roswell of The Primitive Needle that I think would look lovely on this fabric. I need to purchase more, so that I can hand dye it such as this piece. 

Well, at any rate, here is my 'sample' piece that I just finished up. I think it needs to be a bookmark. I think it would be a riot to use it for The Good Huswife's Book of Spells:

Design: Hallow Game Board (partial)

Designer: Lisa Roswell of The Primitive Needle

Fabric Used: 22 count Ariosa linen by Zweigart in Weathered Barn by Fleur De Luce hand dyeds. 

Fibers Used: Rainbow Gallery Splendor 12 ply silk floss in Black (S801).

Stitchers' notes: Design retired and out of print due to Lisa Roswell's death in February 2011. Fabric and fiber test for other designs in my collection. Please note that neither the Hallow Game Board nor the Book of Spells is currently for sale or trade. 

Time for me to be off. I need to clean up my stitching area and get the materials ready for the next project. It's another bonus design from Blackbird Designs. I really do love those bonus designs! :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Happy upcoming week! :)

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Respectfully submitted.

C. 

To Boldly Go

where I have never gone before. This latest finish was a combination of designer, floss and fabric that I have never used in my 20+ years of stitching. It was a lovely little experiment and I really enjoyed playing around with things. 

The floss is by Rainbow Gallery and it is a 12 ply silk floss, called Splendor. It was my first time trying it. It seems a bit thinner than my ubiquitous Au Ver À Soie  Soie d'Alger or my Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk. It is as soft as both of these, however, and it is less than $4.00 per card at my LNS. As I have a number of fall related projects that I wish to stitch up, I am looking at cost this time around. 

The also new to me fabric that I used is a 22 count linen called Ariosa. It is by Zweigart and it is a very nice fabric. It a 60% Viscose, 40% Cotton linen in a 22 count. I purchased this particular piece in a white and dyed it myself. I love the way it turned out. It is perfect for the piece that I had chosen to stitch. 

The designer was also new to me. While the chart was a freebie, I had never stitched any of the designs by Teresa Murgida of Primitive Acorns. I have had this particular freebie for quite some time, but never got around to stitching it. It stitched up in less than a day, and probably would have taken less than two hours, had I 'applied' myself. But it was Saturday, so I was not in the mood to 'apply' myself to anything but faffing about. :)


At any rate, here are my efforts from yesterday. 

Design: The King of Autumn (freebie)

Designer: Teresa Murgida of Primitive Acorns

Fabric Used: 22 count Ariosa linen by Zweigart in Weathered Barn by Fleur De Luce hand dyeds. 

Fibers Used: Rainbow Gallery Splendor 12 ply silk floss in Black (S801). Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk Collard Greens, Harvest, Mango, Pumpkin Carriage, Tree Trunk and Tulip. 2 mm silk ribbon in Witchcraft by Vicki Clayton of Hand Dyed Fibers. Kreinik #002C Gold cord. 

Stitchers' notes: Began and finished the stitching on Saturday, August 14, 2016. Fabric, Splendor fibers and designer were firsts. Fabric hand dyed by me. 

Well, I must be off. I need to do some things to get ready for the week. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Tiny Fall Finish

I really lollygagged on this one. It should have taken all of a day at most, however, here I am, over a week later and it's finally finished. This week was a wee bit busy, and to be honest, I wasn't feeling all that up to scratch. I am hoping that this changes, as I have many projects that I wish to work on. This also includes the loaner chart from the Blackbird Designs Lending Library. It arrived in the mail and I really do need to get to it. 

I love the way this one turned out. It's a seasonal freebie and I can see stitching this as a Halloween tree as well. Once I finish with the loaner chart from the Blackbird Designs Lending Library, I may do just that!

At any rate, here is my humble offering:

Design: L'Arbre d'Automne

Designer: Jardin Privé 

Fabric Used: 36 count linen by Hand Dyed Fibers in Earth Stars-5213

Fibers Used: Au Ver À Soie  Soie d'Alger in 4126. Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Carrot Cake, Cinnamon Stick, Cranberry, and Old Crow.

Stitchers Notes: Freebie may be found here. Substituted called for DMC floss for silks of my own choosing. Will be stitching this again as a Halloween tree. 

Well, I had best be off. Tons to do today and I need to get myself in gear here. :)

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Craftapolooza

Lots and lots of stitching and kitchen crafting today. Managed to finish Autumn Sampler and get in some cooking. I love to cook more than even stitching. I wanted to be a professional chef, however, 'back in the day' your only avenues were professional schools in France or quit school at 13 like Jacques Pépin and work in kitchens my whole life. It never happened, but DH has promised me that if we ever get the money, I will get to go to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris for both the Diplôme de Cuisine and the Diplôme de Pâtisserie. When you get both, Le Grand Diplôme is awarded. How exciting would that be?! :)


Well at any rate, I will post stitchy pictures first, then the cooking pictures. 

Design: Autumn Sampler

                        Designer:  Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks

Fabric: unknown 28 count Flax linen (Possibly Zweigart's Cashel linen)

                 Fibers Used:  Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Beanstalk,                                 Old Crow, Pumpkin Carriage, Red Fox, Teddy Bear, and                                                            Vanilla Pudding



Stitcher's notes: Stitched one over one. Did not stitch the called for border. Stitched checkerboard with Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Old Crow and Vanilla Pudding. Pumpkin stitched in Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Vanilla Pudding. Date stitched in Roman numerals. Only one berry stitched in Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Red Fox in upper corners due to space issues. 

And, now for the cooking pictures. I made up a huge batch of beef stew for dinner tonight. I was really in a fall mood. I am tired of salads (Hold that thought till January there, sweet pea! :P) and wanted something completely different. This fit the bill. This same stone killed another bird by being prepared before DH and I go camping at Prairie Creek Redwoods. Now, that particular meal is covered and I won't have to scramble to make it because I forgot to plan ahead! :)

I also made a Pumpkin Spice Cake with a Honey Buttercream frosting. DH gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. We both think that the frosting needs to be on my Pumpkin Loaf that I make. :P

Welp, I best be off. The work week starts tomorrow and I have tons to do before bed. Hope everyone has a great weekend and hopefully I will have a stitchy post next week for you all! :)

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C. 

The Ghost Pumpkin

I have a confession to make. I absolutely ADORE white pumpkins. I have no idea as to what fascinates me so with them, but I just love them. As consequence, whenever I get the opportunity, I buy one in the supermarket and stitch them whenever I can. I have another planned piece that I want to do, however, it will have to wait until next year. Autumn Sampler, however, did not escape the White Pumpkin Obsession and now boasts its' own white pumpkin. The thing is, due to the pale flax color of the fabric I am using, you know it's there, but you can barely see it. I am fairly amused by it and I am calling it the Ghost Pumpkin as consequence. This morning I managed to get a fairly decent picture to where it will show up, but I am fairly certain it will not make an appearance next time :).  I am ok with this because for several reasons:

1. I refuse to rip out one over one if it can be helped

2. While I love my silks, it is cost prohibitive to rip them out if it can be helped.

3. I rather like the idea of a pumpkin being there but not. Kinda ties in with the whole Halloween/Fall thing, yea? 

Well, without further ado, here is my progress so far on Autumn Sampler:

Design: Autumn Sampler

                        Designer:  Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks

Fabric: unknown 28 count Flax linen (Possibly Zweigart's Cashel linen)

                 Fibers Used:  Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Beanstalk,                                 Old Crow, Pumpkin Carriage, Red Fox, Teddy Bear, and                                                            Vanilla Pudding

I best be off. Need to have breakfast then I have to go get my hair done. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C. 

Autumn, maybe?

It's a sign of getting older when the days fly by and you go into a store and realize it's already the next season. I was still in 'Summer Mode' when I went into the grocery story the other day when I came upon Halloween candy out. I suppose in retail it's never too early, but honestly, I think you only need one month to stock up on candy for Halloween. As I practice crafting, I can see the need for having things out a few months earlier. I have projects that will take YEARS to finish, so yea, I need the extra time. Not food however. :P


At any rate, I felt the need to start a fall themed project since I managed to get another finish up under my belt. I'm not in the mood for Halloween, but since September 1 is not that far off (2 days!!), I thought something Autumn/Fall related would be ok. This also means that come September 1, everything you know and love will be pumpkin flavored until the day after New Years! However, this also means that the Barnes and Noble Cafe will have the maple pecan scone back in stock and my beloved New Jersey Devils are back in action. Woohoo!!! And not only that, my beloved Hubmeister got us tickets to go see my beloved New Jersey Devils play in November. Yay!!!!! Here is where we will be sitting:

Not only is it closer to the visiting goaltender, it's also where the visiting team enters and exits the ice. Woohoo!!! Let's go Devils, let's go!!! 


At any rate, here is what I've chosen to stitch fall related wise. I really love Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks  work as it lends itself easily to not only over one stitching, which I am doing in this piece, but it also lends itself for customization. While I am stitching this in the called for colors that were included in the pack, I am seriously debating making the pumpkin white instead of well, pumpkin orange :P. I'm not sure yet, but comments are always welcome! :)

Design: Autumn Sampler

                        Designer:  Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks

Fabric: unknown 28 count Flax linen (Possibly Zweigart's Cashel linen)

                 Fibers Used:  Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk in Beanstalk,                                 Old Crow, Pumpkin Carriage, Red Fox and Teddy Bear

Well, I must be off. Got some stuff to do before I can get back to my stitching. Hope everyone is having a great week! :)

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Respectfully submitted,

C.