Needlepoint Ornament

I decided to go ahead and start my June ornament. It's Poirot by Jim Wurth, part of is dodecagon series. The first step is an outline completely in smyrna cross. I'm almost halfway done with that part. It's not that big, so I shouldn't take too long to complete it, right?

Not My Best Work

I made two mistakes on the border early on and didn't realize them until I was nearly done, so they stuck. This is my May ornament for my ornament a month - yes, I'm very behind. I'll be keeping it, since it has those flaws. Otherwise, I like it. This also counts as the second finish in my project challenge. I'm adding Poirot, one of Jim Wurth's dodecagon series, into the rotation as this one's gone. It's an ornament too, so it'll be July's. From what I understand, the dodecagon ones work up fairly quickly... we'll see.

All but the Border

Pretty much all but the border's done here, and I've finished it all since this picture on Friday. It's my May ornament, so I'm still two behind. On the other hand, it -is- another finish.

Still Stitching on May

I'm sooo behind on my commitment to make an ornament a month. I thought this'd be a quick stitch, but it's been taking quite a while. At least it's pretty. This is May's ornament, though, and it's the end of July...

What I'm Doing with my Anchor Floss

A few months back, I won a prize from New Stitches in their monthly giveaways. It was a bag full of all the new variegated Anchor flosses and perles. I didn't know what to do with them at the time, but I needed to do ornaments, so... I visited My Aunt's Attic and printed off this chart to make an ornament out of. I decided on the bright summery color variegated because it's summer. I think it's turning out pretty neat.

The Heart

As you see, I finished stitching this over the weekend and my husband came home, so he took a picture last night. I learned (again) that I really don't prefer Aida anymore. I also learned not to take a beading project to do at a medical waiting room. There's no place to put your beads and the receptionist gets upset when you spill them off your leg. It'll be turned into an ornament. I think it looks cute, but I won't be doing it again.

Finished Up

This was sitting on my desk with the back and front sewn together for weeks. This weekend, I finished it off and I like the looks of it. I could have picked light colored beads, but decided to go with the dark ones to add more contrast. It feels good to have something completely finished off, especially after the last month when I got nothing done.

Small, But It's Done

Yes, it's the first week of April, but I just finished my March ornament. It feels good to finish something - I only completed two things in all of March. January's overproductivity must be catching up with me. I did get quite a bit done today, so maybe I'll get on an upward trend. Anyway - this was a really easy stitch and I think it turned out pretty well. I think I'll finish it into a little pillow ornament.

Rose Angel Halfway

March's ornament is getting there, despite March being gone. I'm falling behind on so much I'm beginning to feel guilty about it. This has gone easily, at least.

This Month's Ornament Start

This month's ornament is Rose Angel from just Nan. As you can see, I didn't get much done by the 24th. Since this picture, it's significantly farther along (about two-thirds of the way) and I hope to finish it in the next couple of days. I picked it because it was a full kit and in my smalls pile and I knew I could give it to someone who likes angels.

February Ornament

I was sick on the 24th of last month, so I'm playing catch up with my commitment. This is Winter Wood from Papillon Creations. I eliminated the birds in it because I did it all in one thread instead of the five or six colors she designed it in. The floss is Vikki Clayton's Plumage, which I got as a present last year. I think the abstract version looks pretty good.

Ornament Done

As part of the fulfillment of one of my goals, and as part of ELF day, I spent yesterday making a Christmas ornament. Started stitching yesterday and finished, too. The design is called Wishing Ewe and it's a freebie from Shepherd's Bush. I think it came out cute, even if my family is continuously groaning about the pun. Now all I have to do is make it into an ornament and I'll have one of twelve minimum done. It feels good to accomplish a goal. Oh, and it even counts against my project challenge!

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!

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!

Latest Crazy Quilt Ornament - Done

This is the piece I was disappointed with last week. I just kept embellishing and it ended up looking okay. Not spectacular, but nothing to be ashamed of, either. The front is a lot more laden than the back, but then - it should be. There's a pucker in the seam where I put it together on the lower left - I'll be fixing that before I put it on the tree. The lesson I learned was not to judge things too harshly before they're done. Now to apply it! This also counts as the nineteenth project on my twenty-five project challenge, since I did it completely from my stash.

Received in Exchange

I am SO lucky! These two ornaments are ones I got in exchanges this week. The cardinal is from CyberStitchers and came in the mail on Friday. The triangle trees were from my face to face chapter, Pocono Mountain, and I won it on Monday. Both are proudly on my tree now, and will be there for years to come. Thank you!

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!

Ornament for Exchange

You may remember this heart. My husband took it and wanted to frame it when I was done. Well... he's been taking ALL my finishes lately and refusing to part with them, so I really needed one for my EGA chapter's ornament exchange tonight. I told him it was either this one or the Joyeux Noel one. He cut the mat board last night for it and I had to rush this morning on top of running errands to get it done. My husband took the camera on a business trip and left at two. Before he did, though, he took a picture!

A Block Without a Theme

I think the problem with the embroidery on this block is that I didn't have a plan when I started and now it just looks like random embroidery on it. I'm not really happy with it, but I'll be throwing more stuff on it this week and maybe it'll improve. Beads are next. This is the first block I've felt this way about, too.

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.