I got most of the tendrils done this week. The knotted Portugese stitch 9darker wool) looks good, but it has a nub at the beginning from the way it starts that I don't like. I had to be careful to not pull the whipped stem stitch very tightly to make it smooth, else it was pulling up and out of shape.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Knot Takes Shape
Labels:
cross stitch,
gifts
Saturday, December 29, 2007
New Calendar
This piece is just weird, and I'm learning exactly how much muscle memory I have invested in stitching. All the stitches are backwards. I guess the person who started it is left handed or learned that way, so we all have to do it the same way to make it look good. I'm doing Ares because it looked like the next one that needed to be done. Right now, I have this round robin, one more, and supposedly one in the post to me. I -will- catch up.
Labels:
cross stitch,
round robin
Friday, December 28, 2007
Stitchy Goals for 2008
I'm not one for resolutions, but I am a great fan of goals. Planning is good. Feeling guilty because you took something out of order or strayed off a straight line for half a minute is not. These are things I hope to accomplish with my stitching in the new year. As I complete them, I'll update this post. They're not in any real order, just the order in which I thought of them in the past few days.
1. Complete the Medieval Town Mandala. I started it in May of 2006 and have been working steadily on it since then. It's about time it was done.
2. Work two pieces that have been languishing for over a year into my rotation. Both are quite a ways toward completion. One is The Traveler by Teresa Wentzler. The other is a Barbara and Cheryl house.
3. Finish Crewel Choices. This has an actual deadline of the end of January.
4. Finish Celtic Knot. This one also has a deadline of the beginning of March. It's for my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary.
5. Complete an ornament a month. It doesn't matter the method. Just make an ornament each month instead of bunching them all up at the end of the year.
6. Complete the Take It Further Challenge. This means incorporating whatever the challenge is into a piece every year.
7. Complete, on time, the two GCC's I've signed up for that start in the next couple of weeks. One is the 17th Century English Sampler and the other one is the Swiss Sampler.
8. Make a new stocking for my husband. His got fused together in our last move and it's not well finished. He needs a new one.
9. Complete Lady of the Flag to be raffled for charity.
10. Make significant progress on the Chatelaine pieces I'm working on that are not specificially listed otherwise in these goals.
11. Complete Midi Mystery 2. It was started in July of 2006. About time I got it done.
12. Make one goldwork piece.
13. Stitch Velo Bibendum for my husband. I haven't made anything specifically for him in a while. It's time.
14. Make myself a purse. I don't have a single item of stitching that I wear or carry with me that's completed.
15. Stitch a design created by my daughter Tory.
I think that's probably more than I'll actually finish, but it's good to be ambitious. I'll finish some and at least start others and it'll get done eventually. What are your goals for next year? Do you have something you have to/want/would love to finish? What about starting something new on the first? I know a lot of people do that too.
Labels:
stitch goals
Island Home Complete
It's taken me a couple of months, but I did finish the Island Home project I set up for the test meeting of the ANG online chapter in formation. Overall, I think it came out pretty well. The best part is the house itself. I nailed that down perfectly with the look and stitch selection. With the fields, I made some poor selections on stitches.
What would I do differently if I restitched it? I'd not use the medallion stitch on the top field. The coverage wasn't that good and it just looks flat. Same with, I'm sorry to say, the water stitch. I had great hopes for it before I did it, from the write up it was given in stitch of the month. It has too much of a regular vertical flow for me. I'd also change the color of the alternating scotch stitch hill, though I like the nubby texture it gives.
One Side Done
Over the Halfway Mark
This week I got over the halfway mark on part five. I feel really good about the progress and still love the overall design. I think this is the biggest part to do, overall, since it's for corners of a -lot- of stitching. Once I'm done with all the corners, I get to start the houses. I'm looning forward to that.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Blue Upright
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Milanese Field
The Milanese stitch I've been using here is showing the effect I wanted - especially at a distance over a foot. It looks like a field of mostly ripe grain with bits of less than ripe mixed in. It's two strands of Splendor and one strand of Gloriana variegated perle. Only three more sections after this to go! I finished this section after the picture was taken on Friday. Hopefully I'll have the next one started before the next picture on this Friday. I'm planning on finishing this off during the first half of January.
Labels:
Island Home,
needlepoint
Squaring It Off
The squares I'm doing on this are the outer part of the design, which means I'm really close to done! I like how the light makes the one color look like two because of the difference in the angles of the thread. There will be Fyreworks over the top of each of of the squares, so they're not done yet. I will -definitely- have this done by the end of January.
Labels:
Dazzle,
needlepoint
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Another Start
Monday, December 24, 2007
A Knotty Start
This is a wedding/anniversary design from Great Bear Canada and Camus International. The kit came with dark blue Aida cloth, but since I really dislike Aida, I dug up this piece of 25 count Lugana for it. Eventually, it will become a 50th anniversary present for my in laws. They celebrate it in April, which means I need to stitch this pretty quickly so my husband can get it framed by then. It seems to be a fairly quick stitch, so I -should- get it done on time.
Labels:
cross stitch,
gifts
Out the Door
Labels:
cross stitch,
round robin
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Calendar Cat
The cat's coming along for this. I'm over halfway done. For some reason, I'm not a Margaret Sherry fan. I'll be glad to get it done. There really isn't anything new to learn from this piece, but I'm sure the person it's for will love it. I'm hoping to have it done this week.
Labels:
cross stitch,
round robin
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Stashed
This
Last of the Blues
Friday, December 21, 2007
Another Blue Done
The second blue color is done on the second quarter. It's soooo close! I'll definitely be finished with the second side before Christmas. With the thread left in my needle, I started the third corner. I really doubt I'll get that one done before the new year, though. It's coming along. There's only one more row of "stuff" beyond this. The goal for next year is to have the whole thing completed.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Going Up
I've decided to work on the upper half of the Lady first. There's less to do on the top because the cut off I used for edge to edge ended up being about 2/3 of the way up. Now to get cracking. It's all straightforward cross stitch, so it's pretty easy to do. And there are larger blocks of one color than I'd expect from this kind of piece, but I'm not complaining.
Ornamental Finish
I completed the ornament I talked about starting yesterday. It didn't take more than a couple of hours to do - a really quick stitch. My husband claims I like tone on tone stuff too much. I think he says that because it's hard to photograph. I think it came out really well and will finish it up into a small pillow ornament some time this weekend. Since the ornament pattern was a freebie and it was stitched from stash, this counts as my twentieth finish on my project challenge. Only five more to go!
Kosovar Textiles
There was also a business card enclosed for a glass artist in Pristina. Since my friend didn't enclose a personal note, I don't know why it was in there - if he purchased the textiles from there, or if he thought I'd like the fused glass work (I'm a big fan of fused glass.). The website has a lot of neat stuff on it, especially the glass Kosovar flags. A fitting metaphor, I think.
Labels:
gifts
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Ornamental Start
This is a really small ornament pattern from Follow the Leader. I got it free in something I had sent away for. Just started and changed colors, of course. The floss is Needle Necessities and the fabric is one I dyed this summer. Shouldn't take me very long to make, and it will probably be my last ornament on the Christmas blitz. Time to get back to other commitments!
Labels:
cross stitch,
ornaments
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Water Stitch on the Home
I used the water stitch in two colors of Soie Cristale for the latest completely filled area. I'd hoped it would give more diagonal movement than it did. There seems to be a stronger vertical line than I thought there would be. It doesn't look bad, it just doesn't look like I'd hoped. There are only four more areas to fill, though, and I've started one of them. It's woven Milanese stitch on the diagonal done with two strands of Splendor and one of Gloriana silken perle. I think it's giving the effect I want - random flowers and less ripe grain in a field. I should either have this area done or close to done by the end of the week.
Labels:
Island Home,
needlepoint
Monday, December 17, 2007
Star Filled Dazzle
Labels:
Dazzle,
needlepoint
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Catlike Progress
Labels:
cross stitch,
round robin
Latest Crazy Quilt Ornament - Done
Received in Exchange
Friday, December 14, 2007
Pink Petals
The area is filling up nicely; there are not very many areas that are unfilled that aren't either specialty stitches or beads. I think I'll get this area done by the end of the month. Even if I am very far behind, it's coming along at a pace acceptable to me. I wish the pink stood out more and was perhaps a bit more variegated.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Two More Blues Down
I'm feeling so close to getting this second corner done now! The blue outer border is done, as is one of the medium blue bands. There was even enough left on my needle to start that same band on the third corner. Today's a stay at home day because of the weather, even though it hasn't really started snowing yet. Perhaps I can finish up the second corner!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A Bit Browner
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Joyeux Noel
Yay! It's finished stitching! My husband has decided to be creative and wants to put this into a heart shaped frame. I really like the way this turned out and, because it was stitched from my stash, it even counts toward my project challenge. I hope to get one, perhaps two, more Christmas designs done before Christmas. If you want details on how you can do this pattern, go back to my previous post on it and you can get the link!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Ornament for Exchange
Labels:
cross stitch,
heart,
ornaments
A Block Without a Theme
Labels:
crazy quilting,
ornaments
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Latest Ornament
This is the ornament I told you about last week where I swapped the colors. It's come a long way and I'm even happier with the color swap now. Almost done, but not quite. Will definitely be done this weekend. My husband's decided to frame it instead of having me make it into an ornament. It's a bit wide for a regular ornament, so that's a good choice.
Labels:
cross stitch,
ornaments
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Just a Bit More Gold
Friday, December 07, 2007
Beginning of the End of Second Corner
One of the blues is done. The rest should go fairly quickly. This means the end is definitely in sight, and I'm getting more confident I'll finish this corner by the end of the year. It's really beginning to come together, and it's unusual to be stitching on something for a year and a half straight and still love it.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Filling in Some Blanks
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Homing in on the Hills
Because I've been doing so much on the Christmas stuff, this has slowed down quite a bit. I got another hill done, and since this picture was taken on Friday, most of the hill below it done too. The light green hill is DMC 368 in reverse scotch stitch. I think it gives a bit more diagonal flow than is expected of what is basically a square stitch. I like the bumpy texture, too. Only five more hills to go.
Labels:
Island Home,
needlepoint
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Another Ornament Start
Labels:
cross stitch,
ornaments
Monday, December 03, 2007
Out to the Edges
I have the cross ends all the way out to the outer border, so you can see pretty much how large this will be. Since this picture, I've worked on the large waffle stitches and if I get back to it this week, they'll be finished. One day I'll just learn to finish projects serially and not have so many going at the same time! I like how this is looking and hope to finish it soon. Ya, ya, I can hear you all doubting already.
Labels:
Dazzle,
needlepoint
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Another Week, Another Block
Labels:
crazy quilting,
ornaments
A Commitment for Next Year
Here it is December's beginning and I'm already committing to things for next year. Woe is me! I always overcommit. I've already signed up for the Celtic Mystery from Chatelaine Designs, will be leading a group for EGA's 17th Century Sampler for my local chapter, and I talked myself into Sharon B's "Take It Further" challenge. And that's on top of what I've already got started. I'm determined to get a lot done next year. I did get quite a bit accomplished this year, even if day to day it doesn't look like much. What are you thinking about doing next year with your stitching?
Labels:
plans
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Another Round Robin Started
I'm back to my more regular round robin now and trying to play catch up. This is a calendar round robin; mine was Lizzie Kate. This person chose Margaret Sherry's zodiac. It seems to be made up all of cats. There was a hold for Libra with everything around it done, so I decided to do that one. I want to mail it out by Friday, so I'll be working on it quite a bit this week.
Labels:
cross stitch,
round robin
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