Crock Pot Kitty

I haven't posted about the critters lately, but I just had to share this with all of you other cat lovers!  I made a crock pot stew yesterday and left the base out last night till I could get the pot washed & put away.  KC found it this morning & DH got a picture.  Is that Classic Cat or what?!

Menagerie, Blocks 1 & 2

Menagerie is the new Mystery Project by Karen Anthony through ANG's Cyberpointers chapter.  We are periodically given stitch types to explore & create a sampler.  We were given several designs to use, but I decided I only wanted to do 18 of the stitch types, so created my own design.  You can see the basted outline of my overall design in the photo to the right.  (You'll probably have to click on it to make it big in order to see the outlines.)

I have completed Block 1 (Hilton Stitches) and Block 2 (Rhodes Stitches).  I had a LOT of trouble working out the Hilton block.  I just couldn't figure out an arrangement I liked.  Finally, I used my Mad Miters (see below) technique to break up the block in an unusual way and used that to place the different stitches.  It worked!  Then I filled in a lot of the blank space with the Hilton Stitches called Theresicas, which is
kind of a pinwheel.  I haven't decided yet if I will fill in the background somehow.  I'll wait to decide that later.

Block #2 is Rhodes Stitches.  I only used 2 because I have done many Rhodes stitches over the years, beginning back in the 70s when I first discovered Mary Rhodes' books!  The picture to the right is a detail of the first 2 blocks.

I will decide later if I"m going to add an outer border, or inner borders.

Addendum:  The Mad Miters technique is part of the Mad Miters Bargello class that I will be teaching through ANGs Cyberpointers in a few months.  Registration for that class opens April 1.  The class is Bargello, but the layout technique can be used for many things.  Click the link above for information about the class.

Atlantis Rising Progress #3

I know, It's been more than 2 weeks.  But here we are now with the next Progress report on Atlantis Rising.  At this point, the Bargello is complete and I had nearly completed the 2 upper corners.  There is still a lot to be done!  I had not yet decided what I was going to do with the big diamonds within the Bargello and, as I recall, I ran out of the thread I used for the Criss Cross Hungarian at the top right and had to order more.

The Seminar Brochure for Philadelphia is out with the class descriptions & photos, so you have seen Ro's model for this class.  I will post my finished piece next week.



Bitter Springs Finished

Wow!  Another finish!  Bitter Springs is done too.  I'm happy dancing all over the place! 

Bitter Springs will ultimately be a pattern for sale on my website.  It is a fun and fairly quick project.  Hopefully within the next few months I'll have a flurry of pattern writing and get all these out there.

Now for a bunch of new projects!  Oh boy, my favorite thing!

Twister is Finished

At long last, Twister is finished!!!  I wish I had noted the start date, but it was at least 2 years, maybe more.  Of course, I didn't work on it all the time. 
I had to make an adjustment on the final square, the very last section!  It was to be the exact same pattern as one next to it in the adjoining square.  I didn't want that so I just used an alternating Scotch to complete the square.
It will be quite a while before this gets framed as it is destined for the Reno house, where my other "red" pieces are.  It is easier to move unframed!

Marta Mask by Leigh Designs

Some of you may recall that DH gave me the Marta Mask canvas by Leigh Designs for Christmas 2010.  Well, I am finally ready to stitch this gorgeous thing!  As a counted person, I am quite intimidated by this large and stunning design.  I hope I can do it justice!  I have spent lots of time selecting threads and thinking about stitches & techniques.  The actual painted canvas is darker than the picture on the website, and I like the picture, so I'll be using lighter threads than are indicated by the canvas.

So here we go.  I have done just a little bit.  First I stitched the mouth in Slanted Gobelin using an overdyed red silk.  Ordinarily I would not do a bright red thing first on a light background, however, I wanted to make sure just where I wanted the edges of the lips in case I needed to make any adjustments.  I think it turned out well!  Next is the "petals" on the face.  I just got the ones on the left side done and they need some tweeking.  I laid down "padding" with white pearl cotton and then stitched over it, more Slanted Gobelin, with white Neon Rays Plus.  Finally I outlined the petals with a Whipped Backstitch using Kreinik #8 braid, whipped with Kreinik #4.  I'm not happy with the Whipped Backstitch - I think it needs to be heavier, so I'll take it out and try again before I tackle the Petals on the other side!.

Kangaroo Progress #4

I know, it has been a long time since I showed you this Kangaroo.  I do work on it occasionally, but not often.  You may remember that I hate rayon floss & a lot of the greenery is in rayon floss, so I hate working on it.
He's a cute little guy, and a "souvenir" of our trips to Australia.  One of these days I'll actually finish it!  Maybe this year?

Fractal Progress #3

I know it has been quite awhile (several months) since I showed you any progress on my fractal.  I haven't worked on it much until just recently, but it is now moved closer to the top of my WIPs pile and I've been stitching on it once in awhile.

I find that I can't work on it all the time as it is very intense keeping track of all these colors and "where am I?" !!  But I do enjoy working on it and it will get some more attention this week.

Happy Valentine's Day by the way!!

Twister, Progress #19

Here is the next to last Progress photo for Twister!  I worked on it during the week this time as I am determined to finish it by the end of February.   Last Sunday I decided to do all the outlining for the final gray sections.  I was about half finished with that when I noticed that things were not lining up quite right, and it was getting worse with each section.  So, I stopped & studied & found I had miscounted on the very first sectioin I basted!  so, it all came out and I started over!  Thank goodness I baste!  Otherwise, I would have had to take out all the stitching.  Argh!!

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So this is my progress to date. I will work on it this afternoon & evening! I expect to finish the gray and the basting for the last red sections today. Maybe I'll even get a start on stitching the reds.  DH is out of town for a few days, with dog, so I have extra stitching time!

2012 Stitch of the Month, February

The February section of this year's Stitch of the Month (SOTM) is completed.  It is Criss Cross Hungarian stitched with a red overdyed silk and Kreinik braid.  This is one of my favorite stitches and I think it turned out quite pretty!
I wonder what March will bring?

Malachite Maze, Framed

Malachite Maze is framed and hanging on the wall!  Isn't it pretty?

I got it back from the framer last week.  The mat is about the color of the lightest aqua in the piece and the frame is a light brushed gold.  I got the jewels glued on and there you are!  All done.

Scottsdale FINISHED

You saw Scottsdale when the stitching was finished.  But now I have added the beads.  I really like this!

Eventually this design will be written up and added to my website.  It will have two options:  with & without the beads.

More Mad Miters

It's been awhile since I showed you some of my Mad Miters.  So here are a couple more.  The one on the left was stitched quite a few years ago in shades of kind of a khaki wool. The one below was stitched more recently in shades of brown with blue metallic accents.

These are both models for the online workshop I am doing for the Cyberpointers chapter of ANG this summer.  You can find details on their website.  Registration opens April 1st and hopefully these pictures will whet your appetite!

Digits FINISHED

Some of you may remember this project.  The design was adapted from a fractal by Kerry Mitchell.  

Summer of 2010 I worked up this design and started stitching a few months later.  This project was stitched in floss with a few Kreinik accents.  It is supposed to be a Kindle Cover - it is a prefinished, zipped together piece by Alice Peterson.  Unfortunately, I didn't try it before stitching and it is much too big for our Kindle!  I'm still trying to think of a way to make it work.

The canvas used in these items is 14-count interlock which counts closer to 13 than 14.  I used floss mostly because there are so many colors and it's a good thing I did.  I think anything else would have been too heavy for the canvas.  Because it is prefinished, there's no way to put it on a frame.  Well, by the time I finished it was waaaaay out of square!  I was surprised that it blocked out easily!  Anyway, it is finished now.  I will use some real heavy fusible interfacing to stabilize it and make it a little stiffer.

Atlantis Rising, Progress #2

OK, here is a later version of Atlantis Rising.  I had made quite a bit of progress by this time.  The Bargello is complete, and the upper corners are done except for the background.  I had started to fill in the area beneath the point.

I don't have a lot of progress photos.  So, I will wait two weeks before showing you the next one!