Round Robin

So, er, my husband can't tell the top from the bottom of a capital L? I think he was just in a hurry. Anyway, I've gotten more of this L done and should have it done in plenty of time to pass on on the 15th of January.

Christmas Tree

These are the pictures my husband took earlier this week of our Christmas tree. Almost all the ornaments on it are handmade - there are a few we keep that aren't for sentimental reasons. It's getting full of needlwork stuff and I think it looked good this year.

Goldwork

Just as I was on a roll with this, I ran out of Jap! So ... I ordered more from Tanja Berlin and it's already been shipped. It'll probably get here while I'm gone. This is getting pretty close to being finished. Over halfway there. I still like it, and was afraid when I started that I wouldn't.

Chatelaine WIPs

I got some done on all three of these. The one that shows the most progress is the Medieval Town Mandala - I'm almost halfway through with the leaves on the four sides. I should have the leaves done in the next week, except I have to drive for two days to another part of the country. Maybe, anyway. It'll be coming with me. For a little project, the mini Mandala is taking me quite a while. I think it's because I tend to put it off in favor of getting things like the panda done. And I'm not sure I'll -ever- finish this arch on the Midi Mystery. It keeps going on and on and on...

Present from my Secret Santa!

This year I participated in Chatelaine's Secret Santa. Mine went to someone else in New Jersey, but this one I received from someone in North Carolina. It's a bunch of Christmas-themed stash from European Cross Stitch. Isn't it pretty? I'm so grateful. Now I have to stitch a couple of Martina's Advent Kalendar designs on the fabrics.

More Ribbons and Roses

Well, I got more done on both parts of this. The strap is about 3-4 inches longer and the whole second line of beads is done on the main purse. At this rate, I'm going to have the purse done before the strap and I'll be an expert in peyote stitch by the time I'm done with this project. Anyway, I'm plugging away... it's good to feel like I've made progress on everything after the past few weeks.

Needlepoint Progress

I think I got more done on the bargello than I did on the auction despite actually working more on the auction piece. I'm still filling in the background on that first rectangle. It's about halfway done. On the bargello, I got the green diamonds done and all the long cross stitches around them and it seems to look nice. There really isn't -that- much more to go on it - just a set of arc stitches and the rose in the middle.

Panda - This Morning and Finished!

Hooray! After working all day on this, I finished it! The bottom photo is where it was this morning when my husband took the pictures for the week. The top is it done. My husband wants to frame this with a black linen-textured mat and a bamboo frame. He gets to choose, even if it is a gift for someone else. I hope they like it. I'll be taking it down to them (unframed) this week to find out.

Three Chatelaine Pictures

There's been progress on all three of these. I think the Medieval Town Mandala is going quickest, since I stopped working so much on the mini one so I could do more on the panda. This week should be much better for stitching - very few commitments and maybe some time to myself after tomorrow.

Pandaing Away

The panda's getting there. I'll be working on it a lot more this week in the hope of finishing it. It won't be framed by Christmas, but it will be done. Most of what needs to be done yet is in color (yay!). I've gotten kind of tired of black.

Goldwork Progress

Okay, so my husband photographed it sideways this week. You can still see the progress. I got the two golden couched berries on the left done. It's getting closer and closer to getting finished. Surprisingly, it doesn't take as much time to do as I thought.

Bargello and Auction Needlepoint

Both of these made miniscule amounts of progress this week. I'm filling in the white on the top left rectangle of the auction piece, and after this picture was taken, I put the upright crosses in the little green diamonds on the bargello piece. Next I need to do some more elongated crosses between the big motifs.

Crewel Confidence Framed

My husband finished framing this today. Didn't he do a great job? He picks the colors for the mats and makes the frames from scratch. This one will be going to my in-laws for Christmas. I hope they like it.

Ribbons and Roses - Scale

When he took pictures yesterday, my husband finally put a coin down next to the purse strap. Now you have a way to gauge how long and how wide it is. I got another couple of inches done on it this week. I'm about to start beading on the ribbons in a few minutes.

New Round Robin - Capital L

This is Lauren H.'s round robin piece. She asks each of us to stitch a capital L in DMC 115. She and Muriel have already done theirs. It's my turn and I've picked a freebie from Carrie's Creations after deciding the M Designs L was a bit much for me to tackle in a month.

Ornaments Received This Season

These three ornaments are ones I got in exchange or as gifts this year. Aren't they pretty? The gold one is from Karen W. of Cyberstitchers; the mitten is by Agnes W. of Pocono Mountain; and the cross was done by Dotti O., president of Pocono Mountain. The gold and mitten were exchange ornaments, while the cross was a gift. Dotti did a cross for each of us who hold some kind of officership in the organization. Since I am newsletter editor, I got one! Imagine, though... she did at least ten of those for people. Lots and lots of beautiful work. All three are on my tree and will be for years to come.

Two Done

Yesterday, I spent an hour making this little flower design for the president of my local Blue Star Mothers chapter. Her house burned down this August and she lost pretty much everything. Insurance is paying for it all, including, rebuilding her house, but it can't replace small things. So I started her on her collection. Also, the round robin is now all packaged up and in the mail. I honly got the sun done, but I think it looks good and fits the theme. No idea what Muriel will think when she gets it back in four more months. Two things done, though, is a good feeling ... and having the round robin done in time is excellent. Now to start the next one ... capital letter L's.

The Needlepoint Pieces

Not much work done on either of these this week. I just am too busy and not enjoying it. Maybe next week things will calm down.

Ribbons and Roses

Halfway done on the second of five lines of feather stitched beads. And another couple of inches on the strap. It's getting there.

Midi Mystery and Mini Mandala

Almost the whole upper left quadrant of the mini mandala is done - at least cross stitch wise. I've put in some of the Rhodes stitches in there. There are quite a few more and some back stitching. I think it's looking pretty good. The background is a really white white, unlike what the picture shows. On the Midi Mystery, I've gotten more of the arches done. This week was supposed to be less busy than last, but it's not really working out that way. Maybe I'll get more done.

Exchange Ornament

This is the ornament I'm exchanging tonight. I do a LOT better when I stitch finish ornaments than when I glue, for some reason. Anyway, I had time to do the stitching on this one. My husband wants me to do this again but increase the contrast between the thread color and the fabric. I like this one, though.

Goldwork Leaf Done

I finished couching the leaf this week. The next thing to do is the circular berries in the upper left. They also get couched -in a circle from the inside out. It'll look neat, I'm sure.

Medieval Town Mandala

I started part four this week - it's a line of flowers on each side with fences over them. The stitching you see there was just one needleful of the dark and half a needleful of the light. At this rate, it'll go fast. I need something to go fast at this point!

Round Robin and Panda

This week has been a disaster for stitching. My guild's quarterly newsletter had to get out and the computer I keep all my data for it on died. So, these two got a bit more work done than others because I took them along on errands. The round robin needs to be done by the end of the week. I think I can make it. The panda needs to be done soon after so my husband can frame it. Hopefully I'll get them finished. Right now, I feel sooooo behind on everything. Christmas does that to me.

Round Robin and Mini Mandala

Both of these progressed some. The mandala ornament got pushed aside somewhat in favor of finishing the Joyeux Noel. The sun in the round robin almost has its center done. Once I finish that, it's the rays coming out and then shipping off to France. I've already got the next one to add to and found a pattern to do. It should go fairly quickly, since it's only a capital L.

Joyeux Noel

This was one of the two ornaments I started a couple of weeks ago. I finished the stitching on this one and think it came out well. Now to do the finishing into an ornament to exchange next Monday at the Pocono Mountain Christmas party. It's a freebie on Isabell Vautier's blog if you want to do it too.

Panda and Midi Mystery

Both of these are making progress - some more of the little panda is stitched and the arches are coming along slowly. They're just stuck, kind of. I feel like I'm not making a lot of headway on them.

Beading Away

So yes, I've gotten some done on both. The strap is about two inches longer and the purse itself has beaded fly stitches over almost all of the first line - at least after these pictures were taken. The fly stitch goes really quickly, but like all beading, it's just not portable. I even have problems putting it on my computer desk and working on it while I'm waiting for something else, so it's a dining room table only process. It's getting there, though.

Medieval Town Mandala - Part 3 Completed

I finally finished Part 3! Part four is a border of little flowers along the outside with fences above them on each side, so it should take a LOT less time. Many fewer stitches. I'll be starting part 4 today. I'm just very happy to have another part done.

Needlepoint Progress

There's been progress on both of these. I've gotten all the colored stitching done in the upper left hand corner of the auction piece and, since this picture was taken yesterday morning, got most of the long arm cross stitch border of it done. the black lines delineating the edges of the signs will be couched, so after I get the border done, I'll be filling in that square. I've also gotten the second, red border done on the flower piece and started the third border. Maybe soon I'll actually be able to work on the focal point. At least it's coming along.

A Collection of Ornaments

I really need to get better at finishing ornaments. I am good when I take a lot of time and plan properly, but really am not good at using glue well. So, these ornaments are not finished well - they don't set off the stitching well. The one that I stitched (with the gold hanger) is much better. I have another ornament to finish soon. I'm going to try to take more time with it and do it properly.

Couching a Petal

The goldwork is coming along - I've spent this week's worth of time on it couching this one petal. I'm almost done with it. The pointy part I'm not quite happy with - the core gives a sharp turn, but the gold metal wrapping around it doesn't want to bend as easily. Anyway, as I do more lines of it, it becomes more acceptable. I'm liking the look of this more than I thought I would.

A Couple of Completions

The box is complete now - I added the cording this week. My husband will be taking it in to his office after I take it to the next Pocono Mountain meeting to show off. Someone saw me finish the stitching at the last meeting and really wanted to see the finished product. The butterfly picture is the Group Correspondence Course "Mariposa" by Dakota Rogers that I finished earlier this year. My husband finished framing it this week. I think he did his usual great job!