More Special

Last week I got more of the specialty stitches done on this. It's easier to do them than it is all the cross stitches. I really need to get more time to stitch. Not going to happen today - ten hours in a car. Doing the driving.

Crazily Patriotic

Well, Cathy sent this block out without a specific theme outside of it being made completely of old ties. The previous person added the patriotic cigar silk, and I picked that up for my work. This top picture is of the block after I worked on it.

This is the seam I did. The seams otherwise were heavily beaded, so I decided to balance it out some.

And here is the star I stitched for it. I think it came out pretty well.

Cleaning It Up

As seen in this picture, I'm redoing the right side border. It's coming along. I've gotten another square done and this section has a corner, so I can see how that's going to come along. It's interesting. Since I've finished two deadline pieces this week, I'll be working on catching this up more, too.

A Line Done

I got one of the bands done this week and started the bottom stars. Now to actually get more done. I'm feeling soooo behind still after the nearly month-long break. I think I'm finally making a dent in the items with deadlines, though, which is a good thing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I'm grateful for having the time, ability, and stash to stitch whenever I can.

A Christmas Finish

I started this one day and finished it the next. It was the October program at my face to face EGA chapter. the fluffy stitch is called rya, and it looks like it could be successfully substituted for turkeywork in some situations (ie, when you need directional pile. I think it came out kind of cute. It also counts as number 13 on my project challenge and my July ornament for my ornament a month. A quickie threefer!

It's not a Goatee

It's a Van Dyke. At least, that's what Jim Wurth calls the stitch I used to fill in the two horizontal bars. I really need to catch up on my stitching and get things done. This project would be so quick and simple if I did them one at a time. Maybe my resolution for next year will be to cut down on the multi-tasking.

Adding Some Detail

This last session I stitched on this, I added some details to this first house. I still like how it's coming along.

Kiku Update

I had fun working on my kiku temari this week, and got two motifs done. Only three more to go and it'll be done. I'll probably do those over this coming week. I really like making temari and have ordered some rice hulls so I can make some more.

Asian Nights- Cobi's Block

Okay, so with my hospital visit and so on, I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped on my stitch commitments to others. I finally finished one of my round robin commitments this week. Cobi chose the theme of India, and India is orange to her, so the block is orange.

I did two motifs and one large bead line. They're visible in this close up. The circular motif is supposed to be a mandala circle, or prayer maze. The one up top is a basic shaped I found from a picture of a street drawing in Delhi. I punched it up with a lot of "bling" metallics. The bead trail is supposed to symbolize how India juxtaposes so many divergent things but they all come out as a harmonious (for the most part) whole.

Finally, I Have Pictures!

I haven't been posting this week because I had no pictures! Now I do, my husband took a lot today. This one is of my finished alphabet for the old French round robin. It should be framed really soon, as my husband has the frame made already. He was waiting for me. This counts as a finish in my twenty-five project challenge. Between this and the crackers, I've now finished eleven things!

A New Ornament

I found this freebie ornament on Solo Brode a couple of weeks ago and decided to make it. I'm using Bush Christmas from Dinky Dyes and a leftover piece of linen. I think it's coming out cute so far.

Stuck on T

While I was on holiday, I managed to get to T on this. I haven't worked on it since, though it's in my modified Christmas blitz rotation. Truly, I should just take a day and finish it. Only six more letters, after all.

Crackers Made

I finished these up this morning, and since my husband took a picture of them, they're all sealed into their envelopes and ready to go places. Each one has threads and trims and buttons and beads inside. I hope the recipients like them.

Pretty Mail Day

Yesterday, I got this beautiful Christmas cracker in the mail. It's the same exchange that yesterday's blocks were made for. I wonder what's inside.

Three Exchange Pieces

One of my quilting groups is having a Christmas cracker exchange. We make crazy quilt blocks to embellish and then roll them up into crackers stuffed with stitch goodies. These are the blocks I made for the exchange - all of it done this week.

Joyeux Noel Done

I got something done! It feels good to have something completed after such a long drought. Now this goes off to my husband to frame or whatever for one of his colleagues. I like the way it turned out, and it counts toward my project challenge, since it was stitched totally from stash.

Rhodes Around the Corner

With all that's gone on this past month, I feel like I've made so little progress with everything. That's why I decided to go ahead and finish Joyeux Noel. It'll make me feel better to get something -done-. The bottom left corner has all its Rhodes in place on this neglected mandala, and the bottom right is started. At least it's something new.

Housing Fun

It's been great working on more than just the blue border, pretty as it is. I've really enjoyed starting the housing. Ask me in a few months and you might get a different answer...

Over the Halfway Point

One project I managed to work some on in the past couple of weeks is this little ornament. I still love the colors on it. They look brighter in person than in this picture. I think I'm just going to finish it before stitching on something else, and ease myself back into stitching.

The Rest of the Stash

I bought lots of stuff at The Needle Works in 26 Doors in Austin during my holiday. The threads patterns, and canvas are all from them. They have Gumnuts, the whole line, and I love the feel of that stuff. I bought several other threads too, and a canvas to help me remember home where ever I am.

The beads were all bought in Rice Village in Houston, almost next door to where I got the ribbons in my earlier stash post. Aren't these mother of pearl flowers great? They had them in sizes from about an inch across to nearly four inches.

And I got lots of strings of beads too. They were relatively inexpensive and oh so beautiful! Now I have to make more things to embellish.

This bag of miscellaneous beads was

only six dollars, and it's -heavy-. And the crystals below are dark blue with an AB finish. The picture doesn't do them any justice whatsoever.

Finally, a Post!

Okay, so my surgery knocked me for more of a loop than I thought and I should have pre-written some posts. I'm much much better now and ready to start stitching again! This picture was taken before the stitching and is of Poirot. I got some of the ribbon outlines done on it before I put it aside for the holiday and surgery. I'll have Texas Ren Faire and Ellington Field pictures up in the next few posts, so you now know where I went. It was a great way to avoid the anxiety pre-op buildup. I like how this is coming along and hope to finish it before Christmas (yes, I can hear you laughing now).

Queens

The queen stitches on the bodice are done. I don't really like how they look, and they were really hard to do. There are some mistakes in them, but I'm not redoing it. On to the rest of her tunic and skirt.

Stash, Anyone?

I found a wonerful fabric store at the place I'm visiting and these great ribbons and buttons were dying to be bought. I have plans. My two favorites are the daisies on black and the ships. I've never seen a ribbon like the ships one.

The buttons in close up. I really like the gold-flecked ones.

Filling in the House

I made significant progress on the first house this week. I'm sorry my blogging's gone a bit spotty. I promise that after Friday, it'll be back to normal. Been off on vacation and will be back to whatever normal is next week.

Small Progress Again

As you know, I've not been stitching much this past week and a bit. Can you see the progress on here? I promise there is some. I'm going to be making really slow progress probably until the end of the year, since it's just about time to begin my Christmas rush.

Over Halfway

I'm over halfway done with my little heart. I'm really loving how this overdye is working up.

Going Round in Circles

i finished the circles I was working on last week and added more circles inside. One more set of stuff inside- smyrna crosses, then these circles will be done!

Part 15 Done

You can really see the area where the mistake was made now, so I'll be working on correcting it for sure. Not much else to say except I'm falling behind a lot this week...

Starful

I got more of the Stars done this week. I've decided the stars are going to bered, white, blue, white red across the top. Also got the line of yellow just before them done. Easy, but it's hard to find time these days. I've actually not stitched at all two days in the past week. This is unheard-of from me.

Last of Some Blues

This week I added the last of some of the light blues on the white stripes and a bit more on the sashing coming off her waist. Still slow progress, and sometimes hard to see, but it -is- progress nonetheless.

Can It Invent Things?

I'm up to Q now. Got quite a bit more done this week, and it's getting close to being done. I'm taking it on the trip I start tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to finish it there. It's -so- close and my husband is almost done with the frame.

Ready to Go

At the beginning of the month, I got Candi H's block for the seamy side round robin. This is how it looked when i got it. The seams are huge, wonderful fantasies.

I found it hard to work around the seams because they overlapped so much else, but I got it done. There are still two more people to work on this block, so I left room for them, too. Here's the block after I finished.

Here is a close up of one of the seams. I couched down a green velvet ribbon with French knots and chevron stitches.

This is what I did with the other seam. I made scrolls, added a butterfly, an covered the whole piece of fabric in French knots. A kind of restful place to give the eyes a break.

And finally I put her initials in a small area that needed to be filled. I hope she likes it.

Circling Around

More jessica stitches, who would've guessed? These ones are all largish circles on the inside of the center motif. When they're done, I get to put more jessicas inside of them. Wheels within wheels within wheels...

Half a Head

So Bibendum not only has a finger, he's got half a head now. It's working up fairly quickly, thankfully. I like the way he looks.