Weekend Progress Report: January 9, 2011 [Crazy January Challenge]

This will be a very long and picture heavy entry ... I have got a bit of catching up to do.

First an answer to a comment. When commenting on Zucca [the Day 5 Project], Rachel asked if the Thread Gatherer Sheep's Silk is wool. Yes, it is a wool so finely spun that it can be used, strand for strand, just like silk. It has a higher loft though and sits higher on the fabric, giving the piece a bit of a dimensional look. The wool is surprisingly sturdy though it looks as though it would shred if you so much as breathe on it. It's probably most frequently used for crewel embroidery, but I liked it for this project. And, hey, the name of the color, Pheonix Rising, just pleases me inordinately.

Next up, a problem: In my cleaning frenzy before Christmas, I put away a half yard of 28ct linen [Country French Latte] that I had intended to use for three of my Crazy Challenge projects, the three Quaker animals from Workbasket leaflets. Unfortunately, I put it away so haphazardly that I have absolutely no memory of where it might be. So I have had to substitute three other pieces for those Quakers. I will find the linen eventually and put those pieces into rotation, perhaps later this year ... but for now, I am moving forward with new selections for January 7, 8 and 9.

Now, for some more Crazy January Challenge photos:

January 7: The Victoria Sampler's Hearts of America: Connecticut. This a kit and it includes 25ct antique white Laguna. DMC floss and Kreinik VFB. A quick stitch, I actually finished all the stitching in one 24 hour period, early afternoon Friday thru Saturday morning! I will finish it as an ornament to hang on my table top tree now decorated with heart ornaments in honor of my wedding anniversary [Jan. 10 - 40 years] and Valentine's Day ... since I just put away the Christmas ornaments after Little Christmas. Eventually I would like to acquire the charts for New York, Virginia, Maryland and Maine from this series ... it would be a nice way of documenting my husband's and my life journey together: the places we have lived and the places we have especially loved to vacation.

January 8: Blackbird Designs A Bird in Hand. In keeping with my determination to stitch as much as possible from stash, I have substituted 32 ct Belfast linen in the color Flax and Gentle Arts Sampler Thread Raspberry Parfait instead of the recommended fabric and floss. This is a smallish piece, only 71x75 stitches ... so it ought to finish up pretty quickly once I return to it. I plan to finish it as a small pin pillow for my smalls basket.

January 9: Jean Greenoff's Blackwork Collection: Owl. This came as a kit so I am using the enclosed mystery ecru evenweave and the DMC 310 and gold metallic thread included. This is another small piece. I'll be finishing it up as an ornament for my Halloween tree.

And, I couldn't leave out this photo of the continued progress on Day 6's project, The Gilded Cage. The photo on my original post showed only the progress made in the morning, when I actually started that little lovely. But I continued to stitch on it in the evening when I got home from work and into the morning of Day 7. As I keep repeating, I am having quite a bit of difficulty letting go of each project. I guess I have some serious stitching separation anxiety going on here. This bodes well for the future, giving me confidence that I will happily pick up these pieces again and finish them before the year is out ... but I am not too happy at the moment.

And with the cancellation of classes due to snow this Saturday, I was able to spend some time on some WIPs leftover from 2010:

Workbasket's Quaker Sampler. Got one more motif nearly done. Now all the colors being used in this project are represented. This is a bit of a slow go since I am stitching this on a 40ct Silkweaver linen called Mississippi Mud. A beautiful fabric but as the day turns to evening, my eyes get a bit weary stitching on the 40 ct.

Last, but certainly not least, is this little lovely that was just lacking embellishments ... my friends at The Stitchery Row finally found three brass Bee buttons that suit it perfectly. I plan on finishing this up as a pillow or a stand-up to use in my living room during the summer months. I'll have to give it some though. The chart, Heart in Hands Wee Bee, was a PIF from an overseas blogging friend, Nic, who doesn't seem to be blogging much anymore, I am sorry to say ... I always enjoyed reading her blog entries on Girl As Mad As Birds. I hope she is well.

All in all, not a bad bit of stitching for the past three days!