BITS & PIECES

I don't have any pictures to show you yet, but will report on my adventures anyway!

I just got back from the Mystery Retreat in Portland, OR.  It was really fun, I had a great time & learned new stuff!  I hope to be able to show you pictures later on.  I stayed an extra day to do some sightseeing and wished for more time.  Portland is a terrific city!  I did manage to see the famous, spectacular rose gardens and visit the Saturday Market, which is kind of an arts & craft show/sale held every weekend. 

My Mad Miters on-line workshop through CyberPointers started this week.  I have been busily answering questions!  It will be such fun to see these projects develop.

My trunk show has been received by Rittenhouse Needlepoint in Philadelphia and will be displayed during the ANG Seminar there next month.

It is summer in Las Vegas which means HOT HOT HOT.  We have had a few thunderstorms so far this summer which do cool things down for a day or so.  (It was cool, cloudy, overcast most of my stay in Portland.  Glorius!  Even though I wasn't prepared for that & had to buy a fleece jacket!) 

Menagerie Block 8

At last!  Another section of Menagerie complete.  This one is Diaper Patterns which are not exactly my favorite things.  But with the help of Ann Strite-Kurz's book and Margaret Bendig's article in a 2008 Needlepoint News, I finally figured out several patterns.  Some are adapted and some are exactly theirs from the wonderful patterns from those two ladies. 
Bargello will be up next.  I am holding off on the blackwork, redwork and whitework as they will be my background.

Here is the whole thing to date:

2012 SOTM July

Stitch of the Month for July is finished.  The stitch is called Woven Trame.  I do not like it.  The trame was done in Trebizond and then stitched over it with Waterlilies.  Because it is all red, you can't even see what it is in the enlarged photo! 

I didn't help myself by not reading all of the instructions!  It was recommended to do one trame, stitch over it, then do another, etc. 
I put in all the trame rows and then had to push them aside to stitch over them.  A real pain!  I still don't like it.  The different texture doesn't really show up and it just looks messy to me.  I think it might be pretty in 2 colors or a light & dark, or something.  Anyway, here is total project to date.

Illusions by Ro Pace

Ro Pace will be teaching "Illusions" at the ANG Seminar this year in Philadelphia.  I am one of her pilot stitchers. 
The picture to the right is Ro's version.  All of the pilot group have chosen other color schemes, but this is the one she will be using at Seminar.

I am using a blue & green.  Below is my progress to date.  I have just about completed one quarter.  I want to finish this section of border, I have another couple of rows to do, and then I can calculate my thread useage for Ro.
This is a pretty, delicate project.

Daphne Reborn

Daphne Reborn is being taught as a cyberclass by Michael Boren and Carole Lake, through the Shining Needle Society.

I chose the basic colorway, although there were many pretty ones offered.  I like this one and I already had most of the threads in my stash, so I only had to buy the pattern and a couple of threads.

This class started May 1st.  I don't know where I've been not to have posted about it before this!  This is the first progress photo I took showing the center square completed.

Tuesday night, I worked on this and have it all done but the border.  I really like the way it looks!  I think the only thread I have changed is the metallic.  I have stuck with gold.  This is going to look great in our Master Bedroom in the Reno house!

2012 SOTM June

ANG's Stitch of the Month, June's section is finished.  This is the Victorian Step stitch.  It was supposed to be stitched with Panache, which is a nice shiny rayon perle, but I thought it was much too light weight for this stitch on 18-count canvas.  So I tried a couple of things & ended up with Silk N Ivory #14 Burgundy.  The coverage is still a bit light, but it will do.

Here is a close up of that section: 

What have I been doing?

So far this has been a crazy busy summer!  We spent 2 weeks in Reno where we went for Jason & Monica's wedding.  The wedding was at Lake Tahoe and was very nice.

I signed up for way too many "monthly" projects.  Although I have worked on all of them, I haven't posted about all of them & I need to get that caught up so you can see what I've been working on.

Plus I am piloting Ro Pace's "Illusions", which she will be teching at Seminar this year.  I have completed one quarter and will show you that soon.  It's a very pretty piece!

Then there is all the stuff I can't show you!  I will be teaching a Correspondence Course called Bargello Techniques for ANG.  The model will be shown at Seminar in Philadelphia, but I can't show you here until after Seminar, I think.  I think registration opens in November.

I have shipped two pieces, the Diamond in a Square Mad Miters and Twisted Metal to the Seminar Exhibit.  Let me know if any of you see them there!

I will be doing a Trunk Show for Rittenhouse Needlepoint during Seminar!  I am very excited about that.  This week I will get everything printed up & packed to mail next week.

Next week I leave for Portland for this year's Mystery Retreat.  My prework is finished, but I can't show you any of that till after the Retreat.  I am looking forward to this little mini vacation.

Next I will start posting about projects with pictures!  Stay tuned!