Motorcycle Flask

This was my "secret for Christmas" piece this year.  My husband rides motorcycles, yes plural, he has 5!  The BMW R1200GS is his current favorite.  He likes to do trail riding and camping.  He enjoys a nightcap when he is camping.  When I saw the flask with needlepoint insert on Chilly Hollow, I had to do it for DH for Christmas.  With Jane's help, I was able to locate a vendor and purchase one with blank canvas.  Then I found an image of the bike on Google & charted it.  It turned out great!  I painted the canvas yellow, the color of his bike, and just stitched the bike and his initials in tent stitch with pearl cotton.  He was really surprised and pleased.

Puzzle Piece, FINISHED

It's finished!  My Puzzle Piece (not a purse) is finished!  Happy, happy dance!!!

 

I concentrated on this piece in an effort to finish it before the end of the year and I've just made it.

 

This was an incredibly intense project.  Every section required multiple decisions.  Even though I sort of planned out a lot of it, deciding where to use the different area designs from the Puzzle Purse book, I still had lots of decisions to make all the way.  And towards the end, I couldn't fit any of the area designs into my remaining shapes, so I pulled out all my Jean Hilton books and chose stitches from those.

 

I think the biggest mistake I made on this piece, was not to see it as a whole.  I tended to focus on each area individually and that was a mistake.  It is going to be a very busy piece no matter what, but if I had been looking at it more as a whole, I would have arranged the colors differently and used fewer colors so that the center Bargello diamond would be set off more. 

 

That being said though, I do like this piece.

 

Candy Cane Ornament

Merry Christmas everyone!  Can you believe Christmas is tomorrow already?!

This cute ornament stitched up in minutes, well, maybe a couple of hours.  And the prefinished fabric ornament is a dream!  Just stick in the finished stitchery & you're done!  A friend told me about these "Christmas Tucks". I love them!  Your LNS can order them online from the Yarn Tree.

Puzzle Piece, Progress #4

I have been working on my Puzzle Piece, hoping to get it finished before the end of the year.  I don't think I'm going to make it, but I'm still trying.
I didn't work on it for several months and just got it out again a few weeks ago.  It is a fun project, but it does require me to make constant decisions about stitch placement, color & thread.  Sometimes I just don't have the energy for all that!
I have two bags of threads for this project - one has the threads I've used so far and the other has possibles.  More & more threads are migrating to the "used" bag!  I can't believe how many different threads I've used so far.

A Little Bit of Happiness, FINISHED

A Little Bit of Happiness is finished!  This project turned out to be a "bigger" project than I

thought it would be.  Jan  also has finished hers, do take a look at her lovely finish!

I have used heavier threads than the designer suggested for most of this project, and, therefore have run out of threads twice!  I also ran out of beads. The joys of working from stash!

I did not want to go across town to my LNS just for a few beads, so instead I used a different color for the beads in the center diamond and a different thread color as well. 

And, I didn't care for the look of these very shiny Magnifica beads using the pattern that Peggy designed for the center diamond area.  Instead, I redesigned it to be the same style as the corners.   I actually like that though and DH says it looks like it was supposed to be that way.  High praise indeed.

Nature-Earth Finished

Nature-Earth is finally finished - and the rock rocks!
I found the rock in the aquarium section of Petsmart!  They had fairly small bags, about 12 rocks, for $1.  Hard to beat that!
Now if I could just get the directions finished! 
And, Nature-Sky, the 3rd in the series, is waiting to be stitched.  It is kitted & ready to go, just have to finish up a couple more things.

2-4-6 Bargello 4-Way

No, I am not sitting around eating bonbons and watching soaps.  I have been stitching, although perhaps not as much as usual.  Like everyone else, the holidays do get in my stitching way!  Also like everyone else, I do have at least one "secret" project that I can't show you till after Christmas lest the surprise leak out.
When we were in Reno the last time, I ran across a notebook of a technique I used to do, and teach, many years ago.  It is called 2-4-6 Bargello and is just a ton of fun!  I will be working on more new models for this and hope to have a class put together sometime in 2014.
This model is 2-4-6 worked as a small 4-way, it is just 5" square on 18-count, worked in Silk & Ivory with one row of Watercolours and a center of FyreWerks.  I think it is rather pretty and it will make a nice box top.

A Little Bit of Happiness, Progress #2

I have made considerable progress on A Little Bit of Happiness.  So has Jan, check hers out too!  It's so fun to watch the different color schemes develop!
I've had a bit of trouble with this pattern, figuring out the positioning of the different elements.  I made a mistake somewhere and didn't want to spend hours trying to find it & fix it, so I'm just adjusting everything to compensate.  So, mine is a bit different, but probably not really noticeable.
I had to go back & put in the borders, which took awhile!  But now I'm on a roll. 

Nature-Earth, Progress #3

Nature-Earth is finished.  Well, almost.  Now I have to find a rock to fasten to it.  I'm on the hunt!  I thought I had found one at our Reno house, but it turns out to be too big.  I hope to find one this week, so I can get this piece completely finished & headed for a frame.

And HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you! 

Fun with Fiber, Finished

Fun with Fibers by Marilyn Owen was a CyberPointers program a few months ago.  I had planned to make a bookmark of the project,  however, it was too thick for a bookmark.  So, after staring at it for a week or so, I presented it to my finisher and said, "here, do something with this".
Here is the result!  Isn't it cute?  It is quite tiny, about 2" x 2-1/4".  I'm thinking it will be a zipper pull for one of my project bags.

Nature-Earth Progress 2

I've completed quite a bit on Nature-Earth.  I should be able to finish it in a couple of good sessions.  I like working on this piece, it is just kind of fun!  I have made quite a few, ahem, corrections to the chart as I stitch.  So, I'll need to redo the chart!
Then I have Nature-Sky ready to stitch!  I hope the chart for that one will be closer to reality (sigh).


A Little Bit of Happiness

Peggy's colorway

"A Little Bit of Happiness" by Peggy Carstens is the CyberPointers meeting project for the meeting we just had.  This project is from ANG's Chapter Project Book.  I don't have much of a start, but I did choose my colors (in my comfort zone), got the basting done & got a fairly good start on the center diamond.  The canvas is Vintage Sage Green/Green. 

My colorway

 

 

 

 

Diamond Delights III picture

Blogger fooled me.  There was supposed to be a progress photo on that post!  It seems to have vanished!  Here it is:

Diamond Delight III

 We are back in Las Vegas.  DH had some meetings, so we returned a week early.

While we were still in Reno, I got a bare beginning on Diamond Delight III from DebBee's Designs.  I am using Debbie's colors throughout, even the Vintage Brown canvas!  How rare is that??!!

The stitching begins with about a million pulled diamond eyelets.
I got 1/4 of the first row of those done.  I decided to start the next row of NON eyelets so I can go back & forth.  I can only work about 2 thread lengths of the eyelets before my fingers give out!

This is going to be very pretty!



5-4-3-2-1 and some 3s

5-4-3-What?  Is that a crazy title or what?!  Well, I first saw this most unusual pattern on eBay, but did not win the auction.  A year or two later, I was finally able to track it down and buy it.  This design is meant to be stitched with silk on silk gauze and came as a kit.  No, I am NOT going to stitch on gauze!  I am doing it on black 18-count canvas with floss.  There is also some metallic (Kreinik for me) and silk ribbon (overdyed shimmer ribbon floss for me).  I have just barely begun.  The basic pattern is pretty simple, 5x5 squares mostly, but to begin with you are supposed to lay the ribbon floss around, sort of randomly (oh oh, the R word!).  I started that & decided I needed to work the squares up to where the ribbon will be first.  Here is all I have done.  I know, it doesn't look like much yet but I have high hopes!

 

Nature - Earth

I have begun the model for the next in the Nature series.  This one is Earth.  All of the brown is done.  The rest will be in the shades of blue you see in the photo.  It is mostly Silk & Ivory, with a little Watercolours & Neon Rays Plus thrown in.  It goes very quickly, but does require that I watch my chart carefully.  There's going to be considerable editing of the chart before it can be published!

We are in our Sparks (Reno) NV house now where it is COLD!  We didn't expect it to be so cold, so it is a good thing we came up when we did to get the house ready for winter!  Brrrrr we even had a few snow flurries.

Where does the time go?

Well, I give up, what happened to October?  I swear it was just the other day that I got home from Seminar and here it is the end of October!  No fair!

We have had a bit of company and many activities and not all that much stitching!  And now we are heading up to our Reno house for a few weeks to get things set up for winter.  It is already getting cold at night up there!  I have packed far too many projects, but I do plan hope to get a lot of work done there.  I'll try to post some progress photos, but they may not be very good.  I think my only camera will be my phone or iPad.

Please check back next week & I'll try to get something here for you to see.

Tiebele NIghts FINISHED

I know, I haven't been showing you progress photos.  Oh well, now it is finished.

Tiebele NIghts by Terry Dryden is now finished. 

I made a few changes.  I decided I didn't care for the yellow/gold parts, so I changed them to the salmon color.  Since the background of the center diamond was painted yellow, I stitched it with 071 #4 Kreinik, kind of a copper/black blend (this same color is used elsewhere but it is #12), in a 4-way Continental.  The yellow still shows through, but not so much. 

I used the brown/black overdye for the border. 

Thanks to Terry's generosity, I had plenty of thread for everything, even though I used a lot more than intended of some of the threads.  I did have to replace the bugle beads though because I wanted to do them all in one color rather than in 2 shades.  Fortunately, I had what I needed in stash.

Now I'm caught up from Seminar and back where I was before!

Fun with Fiber

The program for the last CyberPointers meeting was called Fun with Fiber.  Marilyn Owen designed and presented a scissors case and the idea was to experiment with fibers that you hadn't used before. 
 
I don't use scissors cases, but it was an opportunity to try out a new thread I had just received.  It is Dinky Dyes "Jumbuck", a new silk/wool blend that looked like it would work for Bargello on 18-count.  It does!  It is a lovely thread, hand dyed.  So it is like an overdye, but very subtle. As you might expect (smile), I started with 4 shades of aqua/teal.  It is quite nice to work with and I'm sure I will use it again.

I also used Waterlilies#197 Monsoon and an overdyed #12 Kreinik that I had laying around.  I did not make it quite like Marilyn's pattern.  Hers has a different pattern on the 2nd side, but I chose to just mirror image the Bargello.

Now, what will I do with this little project?  I had thought I might fold it in half & make a bookmark, but it is just too thick.  Any ideas?  It is only2-1/4 x 4-3/4.

Indian Summer FINISHED

Indian Summer by Laura Perin is finished!

I would have finished it earlier this week, but I ran out of the thread for the outside border!  I had about 1-1/2 sides done when I realized I didn't have enough.  If any of you are going to stitch this, I used 2 skeins of the dark green #3051 pearl cotton and 3 skeins of the tan floss #738.  Guess I'm just not a thrifty stitcher!

So now I have 2 pieces done in these colors.  I will do a 3rd, but it will be DebBee's Designs Diamond Delights 3.  Eventually they can all hang together.

Serengeti FINISHED

Serengeti is finished!  Whew!  I should never tackle Congress Cloth again!  
I ended up changing the Silk Lame Braid (light brown) to Vineyard Silk Shimmer in a dark brown.  The size and feel of the thread is similar, but I like the color better.
On the bottom row, large center block:  I got carried away when I did the (ahem) RANDOM pattern in green and went right across the next block!  Well, that block was supposed to be a another 2 rows of the green & black chevrons, so I just filled in with black so at least the colors are right!
Anyway, it's done now.  Onward & upward!

Indian Summer Progress #4

Indian Summer by Laura Perin is moving right along.  Each border gets longer so it takes more time to complete.

I did the 4 corners the other night cause I was tired of working on the border!  Then there are the center squares to do the next time I need a change!

I'm pretty sure there are 2 more borders, but they are both basically satin stitches in pearl cotton & should go fast.

Serengeti Progress #3

OMG, it's October already!

I am making considerable progress on Serengeti by Pamela Harding.  I'm getting tired of working on it, but I really want to finish it.  Looking at the picture, there is less left to do than I thought.  When working on it, it seems endless sometimes!

The colors & stitches are working well now.

The unfinished section on the far left will stay that way for awhile.  There are 2 areas of it that have long straight stitches and I'm not sure what thread I want to use.  I'm waiting till I get everything else done to decide.

Illusions & Menagerie FRAMED

I finally had a couple of things framed.

 

Here is Illusions by Ro Pace.  This turned out better than I expected.  We had the mats & frame all picked out and then they told me the cost.  Whew!  Back to the drawing board & picked a simple ordinary mat, but with the same frame.  Done.  I picked it up yesterday and I think it looks great!  This piece will go in our guest room with all the other "blue" things.

And here is Menagerie.

This was CyberPointers' year long project for 2012.

I'm only a little behind (ahem!).

This technique sampler was fun to figure out & stitch, but I'm not sure I really like it.  I think my colors are too much the same value and the background overwhelms.

Oh well, we learn by doing, they say!

Serengeti, Progress #2

I have been concentrating on Serengeti.  Since it is on Congress Cloth, I know that if I ever put it away, it will never see the light of day again!  I am a little over half done I think.  The last few blocks I've done have gone fairly quickly.  Depending on when I start stitching, I can do 3 or 4 blocks per day.  So far my favorite block to stitch was the last one I did:  Tiny pink square surrounded by tan & then by green.  I like the way the arrangement of stitches looks.

Indian Summer Progress #3

I worked on Indian Summer quite a bit before going to Seminar, and once since then.

All of the "stars" and the first border are complete.  I have just started the 2nd border, which is more complex & wider.  I think there is another one after that.

It seems that every project I am working on requires stripping and laying threads.  I'm getting tired of that!  I may have to break out a Bargello just for relief!!

Tiebele Nights by Terry Dryden

The second class I took at seminar was Tiebele Nights with Terry Dryden.  This was a one day class.
The project is small and a fun stitch.  I chose the alternate colorway which is earthtones.

The best part of this particular class was learning about Copic markers.  Terry let us play with her markers and the yellowish part of the center diamond is colored with those markers and will be stitched over with light coverage.  They are GREAT markers for canvas.  Since I have been home I have purchased a set of 36 of these markers and will be experimenting with them for some of my Bargello designs.

The second best part of this class was Terry telling us a bit about Zentangle.  I know you have heard of this drawing technique from your blog reading and so had I.  But I never explored it before & now I am.  It is very cool.

I have only worked on Tiebele Nights once since returning home, but it goes fast!  Here is a photo of my progress so far.

I have used almost all of the threads/colors included in the kit.
This is going to be really pretty!

Serengeti by Pamela Harding

The first class I took at seminar was Serengeti, a 4-day class with Pamela Harding.  The project for this class is on "Spice" Congress cloth and uses a variety of threads and stitches.  Pamela has very kindly given me permission to post my progress.

I haven't worked on Congress cloth for a very long time and it isn't quite as hard as I remembered LOL!
To the right you can see a scan of the cover of the instructions for Serengeti.

I have changed out 4 of the threads/colors.  There was a pinkish #8 Kreinik, which I changed to a copper in the same value.  There was a Tiara which has been changed to a #12 Kreinik.  I changed the sort of violet Splendor to a dark rust Splendor.  There is also a Silk Lame Braid that I think will be replaced with a Kreinik.

Below is a photo of my progress to date.  I have been working on this piece quite a bit since returning from seminar.  Most of the sections that we started in class have been completed, getting rid of all the "spaghetti", and now I am working the blocks "in order".  The first row across the top is almost finished.

Leaping Stag WINNER

Leaping Stag

Sorry I haven't posted again since I got home from seminar!  I've been waiting for the sun to come out to get decent pictures.  Here in Las Vegas it is the Monsoon Season, which means that we have mostly cloudy days interspersed with thunderstorms.  It is supposed to clear up by the weekend, but I decided to go ahead & just get not-as-good photos!

Lest you forget (tee hee) here is a photo of Leaping Stag with his 3rd place ribbon.  I'm soooo proud of him!

And, yes, eventually I'll get him charted & available on my website, but don't hold your breath, "eventually" is the key word here!

Seminar Report

I am back from ANG Seminar 2013, but it will take me a few days to decompress!  I drove back to Vegas on Friday and got caught in a couple of terrible thunderstorms.  Cleaned up my car though :-) .  I am unpacked, but haven't the energy to stitch yet. 

Today I will pull out my two seminar projects and decide about threads.  There are a couple I want to change even though it will involve some un-stitching.  My classes were Serengeti with Pamela Harding and Tiebele Nights with Terry Dryden.  Both were good.  I learned some things in each class.  I was in class for 5 days in a row and that was too much.  I wouldn't do that again.  I really needed a break in the middle. 

Seminar was fun & I really enjoyed meeting so many people that I had previously only "met" online.  No one looks like I had them pictured in my mind!  Isn't that crazy?!  Teacher's Showcase was unfortunately in a much too small room and it was hot.  I did get a chance to visit with Linda Reinmiller, but didn't stay much longer.  Expo (Merchandise night) was smaller than expected, but I did pick up a couple of things.  Emphasis was on painted canvases and since I rarely do that, I went through pretty quickly. 

I dropped a few bucks in the store, but the book store was disappointing.  The exhibit was quite good this year.  And, trumpets please:  My Leaping Stag got a third place ribbon!!  Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to enter it.  Most of the ribbons were justly awarded and there were many exceptional pieces.  I'm sorry that we probably won't get to see pictures for several months!

I'm sorry I have no pictures to show you.  I will post pics of my projects as soon as I get permission from the teachers.  Dummy me forgot to ask in class!

All in all, I'm glad I went.  I made new friends, got reacquainted with some old friends, had a good time, learned some new things.  And now I have two more projects in my WIP pile.

ANG Seminar 2013

Today I am heading to Anaheim to attend the ANG Seminar 2013.  I am excited!  I haven't been to a seminar in several years and I am soooo looking forward to meeting folks and attending classes and seeing the exhibit and shopping!

I will not have my computer with me, so I won't be posting again until after August 30.  See you then!

Menagerie, Finished

Menagerie is finished!  It only took me a year & a half to do this year long project...  Of course, there were some pretty long stretches when I didn't work on it at all.  It is finally finished and I'm quite happy with it. 
It is somewhat of a departure for me.  I'm not completely thrilled with the shaded blackwork background, but it does set off the "blocks", which is what I wanted.  I also backstitched around each block with #4 Kreinik.
One of these days I might even have it framed!

New Threads

Last weekend we went to San Diego and part of the trip was a visit to Needle Nook of La Jolla! 
Above is a quick pic of the threads I got there.  They are all Painter's Threads.  The 3 skeins on the right are (top) #5 Pearl Cotton and two #8 Pearl Cotton.  I didn't know they made that and the colors are scrumptious!  So I had to have some (ahem) samples.
All the rest is the Ribbon Floss Shimmer.  I used some of that in the last Bloomin' Bargello I did and it was so gorgeous I wanted to get a selection of colors.  There are a few more colors, but they weren't anything I thought I could use.  They have apparently changed their packaging so the threads are in little cellophane bags, which is nice because it protects the thread. 
I am anxious to use some of these beauties!

Transitions, Framed

Transitions is framed.
I couldn't get the color quite right in the photo.  The inner filet is actually a silver wood, the mat and frame are kind of a pewter.
It looks good.  The red inner mat brings out the diamond.

Indian Summer Progress

Indian Summer is moving right along.  It stitches up quickly and doesn't ask me for much of my attention!  The top 2 patches are complete (except for that one corner which I'll fill in the next time I use that thread) and I've started on the bottom.  Once the patches are done, there are several borders to stitch.  I'm pretty sure hoping this will be finished before the end of the month!

Menagerie, Progress #3



I've got a good start on the background and a border for Menagerie.  The background is shaded blackwork, working from light in the corner to dark at the center, the thread is an overdyed silk and I'm using just 1 strand.  (The squiggly lines in the upper right are my shading guidelines & will come out.)  The border is a Crossed Scotch variation in Watercolours and FyreWerks.  I'm lucky that the stitch just fits!

Marta Mask, Progress #6

 

DH was out of town this past weekend, so out came the Marta Mask.  I spent the better part of an afternoon deciding on a stitch to use for the "feathers".  I found this one, called Katie's Cross, on my Suzy's Stitches app.  (I love having stitch books on my iPad & iPhone!).  It is worked in shades of gray #8 pearl cotton with Neon Rays Plus accents.
Once I completed one feather, I realized that it was time to get some cording.  I want to do the black & silver edging around the feathers with black purchased cording and couch it with silver.

I took Marta with me, thank goodness!  I thought I would want a 3/8" twisted cord, but it was much to "tall", although it covered the areas well.  I had to get 3/16" cord and as you can see below, it doesn't cover well, but it looks right.  I will need to increase the inside of the areas. 
In the pic, the cord is just laid on the canvas, I haven't started stitching it down yet.  I'm hoping that I can force the ends through the canvas & secure on the back.  I will probably tack it down with black sewing thread and then couch it with silver FyreWerks or Kreinik metallic ribbon.  If any of you have any ideas about all this - I'm open for suggestions!

Indian Summer

I have started another Laura Perin piece - Indian Summer.  This will be a companion piece to Sedona Sunrise which I finished a few months ago.  I have changed a few of the colors so that they will be compatible.  I know, I already have a ton of projects going, but sometimes I need to work on something that someone else has already figured out!  Just follow the directions...  This project uses Pearl Cotton, Floss, Watercolours and some FyreWerks.   Here is my progress so far:

Menagerie Update #2

Menagerie is done except for the large amount of background.  And I may need to add a border.  The photo is dark on purpose so you can see the sections better.  The canvas is actually Eggshell. 

I only worked 16 of the suggested 19 blocks plus background, which will be the 17th "block". 

I chose not to do Whitework, Redwork, Couching or Beading. 

But I added Assisi work (the years 2012 & 2013, lower right), a plaid, and a Darning Pattern. 

The background will be shaded Blackwork.  I think it will go fairly quickly once I figure out what to do!.

 

Halloween Kitty Stand-up



 

Halloween Kitty is finished as a stand-up with an easel back.  Isn't she adorable?!
Since she will be travelling to Scotland, we decided on the ball fringe rather than fancy ribbons & bows for easy packing.  Love the ball fringe!  And the back fabric has glitter in it so it is sparkly.

Transitions, Finished

Transitions is finished!  I'm quite pleased with it overall. 
I ended up using fewer beads than I thought I would in the first section, but I like it.  I stitched the open area with floss in Basketweave before attaching the beads.
I filled in the open areas of Sections 2, 3 & 5.
I redid the "center" in the center section using #12 Kreinik instead of #8 and it is much better.  #8 was just too skimpy. 
Now to find the perfect matt & frame!

Puzzle Piece, Progress #3

 

While we were in Reno, I worked on my Puzzle Piece.  I have completed 4 sections in

addition to the large Bargello section.  After the first two sections, I decided not to follow the order of the sections as written in Jean Hilton's instructions.  Instead, I spent a couple of hours with the book choosing stitches for my piece according to the size of the various sections to be stitched.  So now I have sort of a roadmap to follow.  It isn't set in concrete and I still have to decide which threads to use in which sections.  But at least I have a starting point!

 

 

Bloomin' Bargello Analogous, Finished

Bloomin' Bargello, Analogous, is finished!  I had planned to finish it while we were in Reno, but ran out of one of the colors.  It only took me 2 evenings to finish once I got the thread.

So, now there are 3 Bloomin's:  Monochromatic, Analogous and Complimentary.  This now goes on the pile of things that need instructions written.  Sigh......

Halloween Cat, Finished

The little Halloween Cat is finished.  She goes to the finisher this weekend.  She will be finished as a stand up, with an easel back.
This was an easy little canvas to stitch and was nicely painted.  No globs of paint filling up the holes or making the canvas threads thick!  This is an Amanda Lawford canvas.


Walk the Wild River, Progress #4

Since we've been in Reno, I have worked on Walk the Wild River a bit.  This is Sections 12 & 14.  Section 12 is just the three little corners.  I chose to do each one in a different color. 
Section 14 is the medallion. It went pretty easy, just required constant attention to the count!  It is a little brighter than I had planned, but it will do. 
Next up is a section that involves cutting the canvas.  Yikes!
(Sorry for the poor photo, all I have with me is my phone.)