It's Not Brown!

I got to add some non-brown to the houses this week. It's all outline right in the middle, but the whole thing took my requisite two needles-ful. It was nice to do something non-brown. I believe I go back to brown this week...

More of the Same

All one color this week, and all under the flag again. It's the light gold and I did two strips of it. That area of the skirt is looking pretty close to done, though.

Go West...

I've started the W for west now, and got a bit done on the point to it. Things are coming along.

Leafing Out

I stitched both leaves on the left this week; this project goes so quickly and every time I work on it, I feel I've accomplished something. Especially working with the Gumnuts, it's a pleasure to be crewel. I didn't like it nearly as much before I discovered this yarn.

What to do With an Old Container

This tin originally held a watch for one of my sons. It's not quite square, and I saved it because I thought it'd be useful some day. Some day came. I signed up for an altoid tin cover exchange with Crazy Quilting International. And so - I covered it!

The top is all one piece because I picked out the blackwork pattern before the tin. Then I found the tin to fit it. I didn't buy anything for the project except the two pieces of ribbon around the outer edge.

The inside papers were marbled by me a few years ago when I did it on a regular basis. This particular set has always been one of my favorites.

And here is the tin from the side. I really like the effect of the two layers of ribbon on it. I hope the person I'm sending to likes it too.

A Blackwork Star

I have an altoid tin swap due on the 30th. This is the base I am working from. The group is crazy quilting, so this is going to be pretty different from the others, but I liked this star and it turned out bigger than I thought, so - no other fabric pieces around it. There's going to be more embroidery, though. Anyway, fabric is a scrap from somewhere and thread is Vikki Clayton's perle 12.

This is coming along pretty well. I'm halfway through part six now and the latest release was part eight. Since it comes out every three weeks, I should be catching up. I still like this despite stretching myself and using colors I normally would never pick.

Got Some Gold

I added gold to the middle and finished off all the cross stitches there. Now to just finish the border and I'll be ready for the specialty stitches!

A Rather Bright Temari

This is the third and last temari for Kosovo. That sounds like some kind of clothes drive, doesn't it? Oh well, it's the end. This one is very different because I used the Bunka thread I got from tentemari.com in Japan. The Bunka thread is soooo different from anything else I used. It's a nylon chainette (that surprisingly doesn't ravel, thankfully) and doesn't lay like perle.

The reason the colors are so different on this one is that I had ordered two assortments of the thread - one variegated and the other solids. This used one of the variegateds and three of the solids. You'd think in an assortment of eight colors, some would like ... be compatible. They weren't really. So I decided to go Mexican.

It came out better than I feared, but it's certainly not like any of the other temari I've made. I wonder if that's a good or bad thing.

One Band Done, Another Started

When I last worked on this in March, I was a bit fed up with it. I'd separated the strands of some Soy Silk and was using them for the border. It shredded like crazy, no matter how short I made the strands. So when I was in Kosovo it got laid aside, and it just got back into my rotation last week. I buckled down and did the last of that border. I'll never repeat that experiment, either. Band eight is officially done, and band nine is started. It's a very small band and I hope to finish it in a couple of weeks. Only three more bands to go after this one!

Another Temari for Kosovo

This temari is also going to Kosovo as a gift. It's a simple four division with six squares embroidered on. I like the colors, and I think the blue variegated gives a bit of class. Unfortunately, one of the squares is a bit off, but oh well... it still doesn't look bad.

Brown, Again

It seems a few of my projects are stuck in brown phases - this and Lady especially. At least they're different shades of brown. This week I made significant brown progress! The buildings on the left are almost all done and next time I stitch on this, I get to use a non-brown color. Progress, indeed!

A Pool of Brown

There's more of a pool of skirt under the flag now. It's not much, but it's growing.

Eighth Part Done

I finished part eight, as I told you earlier, on Saturday. When Susanne sent me the pattern for part nine, she also sent me a correction for part four (the round flower on the lower left). There is green around it. Should I stitch the green around it, too? Also, Tam wrote me and said this pattern is now for sale! You can find it here. I really want to thank Tam and the Marquoir moderators for giving the group this pattern.

Twin Darts Temari

Barb Suess in her book calls this pattern "Twin Darts". I made it in just over an evening from a ball I'd already wrapped. It will be going to Kosovo at the end of the week with other things for gifts. I think I did a pretty good job with it.

The design is pretty basic, but I did a better job at executing it than I have with other patterns in the past. Maybe my technique is improving.

More in the Middle

The compass rose is coming along. I have two of the interior points done now, and I will be putting the E and W in next. I guess that means I'm nearly halfway done.

Round Robin Underwater

This block is from the Whatever Goes round robin, and I sent it out yesterday. The block itself is huge - at least twenty inches in each direction. This top picture is how I received it.

And this picture shows the overall block after my work.

Here is a close up of my crab.

And this shows the treasure chest and seam treatment I did.

As you can tell, the theme was the sea - both real and fantastical. I'm currently down to two round robins in my possession. Yay, catching up.

A Line of Hearts

And a flower too! I'm most of the way done with part eight in this picture taken on Thursday evening. I finished the part on Saturday. A later post will show it.

Scotch Done!

This week, I finished off all the rest of the scotch stitches. All but the middle and the little corners on the outside are filled in. Yet there are ten more pages of directions...

Another Crochet Finish

This afghan is made of an alpaca blend from Alize. It's SOFT and very fuzzy and wonderful to work with. The afghan will be shipped back to Kosovo as a gift at the end of the week. I think it turned out well.

Belly Done

The only part of Bibendum himself left to do is his leg. All the bigger parts - done! I also worked on the bike some this week. It's coming along.

A Bit of Gold

It's hard to see, but the straight line on top has some gold over it now. There is a lot to do with this section, but slowly as usual. I'm getting it done.

All Caught Up

Yay, I finished part five on time and I got part six with everyone else. I even have a month to do part six. Not going to fall behind again. I still really like the way this looks, although the light colored backstitching near the eight pointed stars is very poorly charted.

A Round Robin Home

Thank you to Vera-Ellen, Rita, Rebecca, and Melisa for working on my block! I really like how it turned out and I'll be making it into a huswif this summer. I even have a place for adding something of my own, right on the middle purple area.

Hard to See

Honestly, I stitched on this since the last picture! It's just hard to see where. There are a couple of golden stripes downward under the flag that have grown.

One More Row

One more row is done on this, in each of the four quadrants. The small areas are going to have another kind of stitch in them, though the color blending continues toward the center. I'm going to be working on this today. Yay.

Surprise! A Scarf

I started this scarf when I was on vacation in October and finished all but the fringe in Kosovo. I got the fringe done last week. It came out pretty well, and I love the yarn. It's an alpaca/tencel blend and super soft. I also really like the colors. Now for it to get chilly out so I can wear it.

Still Whiting Him Out

Yup, Bibendum's becoming more white, as he should be. I also did some more outlining on his leg. There's not all that much more of the big guy himself to do, but there's almost the whole bike, including both wheels.

Back in the Lineup

I started this at EGA Seminar last autumn. I love it, and I'm so happy to have it back in my rotation. The piece is called Berries for You and it's by Barbara Jackson. The fibers are Gumnuts, and they feel soooo good. This week, I did the stems on the left and finished the flower top on left, too. Since I'm back to working on it, it shouldn't take much time to finish it.

Bulgarian Souvenirs

Since they're all to the people we gave them to, I can now show you the souvenirs we picked up in Bulgaria. Everything here, altogether, was very inexpensive. I kept the books. My companion kept the copper bowl.

By far, the most expensive thing we bought was this copper bowl. It's fairly large, and I just fell in love with it. It'll get used, too.

These are just some little things. The wooden bottle on its side has rose oil inside. Attar of roses is a major Bulgarian export. Who knew? The barrel can opener just feels good in your hand when you use it. It went to my husband.

More of the Middle

I got more color done in the middle and some of the variegated edging done, too. I like the colors I've got on this and hope to get it done by the end of June.

Fencing It In

Since I had two anchor points, I decided to work more on the border lines between the eggs. I'll be working more on both the lines and the side egg next week.

My First Over One Finish

I had a finish this last week and it's my first finish over one. This is the Petite Monogramme aux Griottes from Rouge du Rein. I'll be making it into a tiny biscornu scissors fob, I think.

How I Rotate...

I've gotten some comments asking how I do this, so I'll post. It works for me; I don't know if it'd work for anyone else, but... here goes. Everything changes when I travel, too, and gets discombobulated, so that's one reason things get out of order sometimes. This is how I set it up when I got home from Kosovo at the end of April.

First, I get a sticky note pad with ten lines on it. I write down the project I am currently stitching until I have ten projects on the list. Each project gets two needles-ful of stitching done. Sometimes I'll fudge and do a bit more, sometimes a very little bit less. I do try to keep at least that much on each project. It's enough to see progress on it.

So, ten projects that I go through from top to bottom and keep going through until one's done. When one is done, I tear off that sticky note and write a new one with all the same projects except the completed one and then add a new one to the bottom. Adding a new one is my reward. Right now, I'm alternating between adding completely new projects when I finish one and old UFO's.

I also try to work extra on a project every day. Since I've been so behind on the stitchalongs, I've been doing them. I do two needles-ful of that project until it's done, or in the case of the stitchalongs, I've completed a section.

Then there are the crazy quilt round robin blocks. Because they're on a fairly short turnaround, I tend to put aside a day a week to work on them. Usually, that day is Sunday. I tend to work on that until I'm done or until I get too tired of it. When I do, I'll put it aside for the day and pick it up as the daily item until it's done.

I doubt this makes sense to anyone else, but it's how I've been doing things for several years now, at least.

Browning it Out

Next to the cream colored building, I've been stitching a dark brown one this week. I'll be working on it next time, too. This side is coming along pretty well, and I might make my goal of finishing it by the end of summer - then three more sides. I swear I'll get this done! It's only been in my rotation three years now.

Flag's Done

This week, I finally finished the last bit of red at the bottom of the flag. This means the flag's done. Now I've got more skirt to do and then the bottom flourish. It's getting close; I feel like finishing the flag's a pretty big milestone.

And Another Part Done

You can tell I'm getting close to finishing this one. I completed part seven this week and have part eight in my inbox. I'm going to finish part five of See the Stars before I do part eight of this, though. I'm glad I went with my colors. I like them better than the original.

More Real Progress

It only took me a couple of days to do it. I stitched part five of Marquoir's Zentangle. I'm now only two parts behind on this, so I'm catching up on everything gradually - at least, I'm completing parts in less time than they're releasing new ones!