A Few More Sewing Finishes and a WIP Update

The sewing finishes continue to outnumber the cross stitch finishes ... which is something that has never happened in all the years I have been stitching ... a bizarre turn of events, really. I am happy to be turning all the pieces stitched in the past few years into useful objects and gifts but it has cut into my cross stitching time considerably. Usually by this time of year I have completed about 50 projects, a mix of smalls and medium projects and one or two BAPs. This year, I have barely made a dent in my current BAP [TWs Autumn Faerie] and have stitched only a few medium sized projects. The bulk of my cross stitch finishes have been smalls: ornaments and biscornus. Granted, there was that fallow period of six weeks or so early in the year when I didn't pick up a needle at all ... but even so ...

The Baa Baa Black Sheep Project Bag: I'll be carrying my yarn and needles in this when I attend the Knitting Circle I have joined. I used some remnants of black corduroy for this piece ... and I do mean remnants. I actually had to piece scraps together to make the straps with the result that in some areas the fabric was thick enough to break a sewing machine needle ... I should have pieced the straps with diagonal seams like one finds on bias tape but I was too focused on finishing the project to think of it. I have lined the bag with black broadcloth.

A Trick or Treat Bag for my granddaughter Piper: Glory Bee's Which Witch. I made this bag with some black broadcloth I had on hand and lined it with a more colorful fabric. It turned out a touch larger than I had planned ... that lack of spatial intelligence continues to plague me. I can never quite visualize the finished size before hand. At the moment, Piper could fit in the bag and it will probably be years before she can carry it without dragging it along the ground. I'll have to make another smaller one for this year ... maybe the cutesy cartoony owl ornament from the current JCS Halloween ornament issue would be an appropriately sized piece to develop into a bag.

A gift tote made using Field and Forest's Celtic Knotwork Heart and some quilting fabric I had in my stash that picks up the colors in the Caron Watercolours Pomegranate used in the piece ... though the fabric photographed "redder" than it actually is.

And the WIP report:

Fertile Circle's Needlebook: I worked primarily on this today and have very little left to do: just the blending filament to fill in the blank spaces between the rows of satin stitch on the back and couching the thick Threadgather wool to make the body of the snake on the front ... and then it will be ready for assembly.

Glory Bee's Halloween Trio: I pulled this out as a reward to myself for all the sewing finishes of the past few weeks and for the steady progress on my monthly stitching goals. I am using a 36ct Silkweaver linen [Color: Days Gone By] and the called for GAST cottons with only one substitution necessary [Grape Leaf for Shutter Green] ... I figure the 36 ct fabric will automatically size them down to ornaments. I need a few for upcoming exchanges. After only an hour and a half spent stitching, I am nearly finished with the Fright Night ... only the border left to do. I'll provide a photo when I have all three stitched and assembled into ornaments.

Just a happy thought: Last month I did some cautious celebrating about having learned to make twisted cord but I was concerned that my success was a fluke, never to be repeated. Well, I can lay that fear to rest since I made some more cord ... this time for the LHN ornament pictured in my 8/28 post ... using the same WDW Kudzu and Hazelnut floss that I used in the stitching. True, there were two minor little kinks in the cord but I do believe I am finally getting the hang of this. And amazingly enough, I made just enough for the ornament in question, even allowing for a tassel at the bottom of the ornament. Now, that was a fluke! I am actually looking forward to trying my hand at this again. I'll be making tri-color twisted cord for my Glory Bee Halloween Trio ornaments, using the DMCs that most closely match the GAST Bittersweet, Grape Leaf and Butternut Squash since the GAST is pre cut and not suitable for cord making.