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.