A Few Finishes

First up, the second of the JCS Strawberry Scissor Fob ornaments, the flower.  I stitched this on Lakeside Linens 28 count Buttercream with Carrie's Creations Sassy.

Next, Harvest Blooms.  I decided to frog the brown shading after all.  I went with WDW Terra Cotta.

And a new start and finish: Workbasket's Quaker Bear.  It was meant to be a polar bear but that didn't fit my theme so I made it a brown bear.  I used my darkest dye lot of GAST Maple Syrup for the solid area and much lighter dye lots for the Quaker motifs at the center.  If you look carefully at the head of the bear, you will note a gradually darker to lighter wedge extending from the face to a point at the back of the neck.  I was running short of the darker dye lot and blended a strand of Maple Syrup with a strand of DMC 3371 [for two 18" lengths] to transition from two strands Maple Syrup to two strands DMC 3371.  I think the strategy worked well.   I used two other dye lots for the motifs: one with a grey undertone and one  with a rosy beige undertone.

Next, I resurrected a needlepoint class piece: Making Waves ... from July 2015.  When last seen, I'd worked only two and a half rows of satin stitch.  See this link.  I am much further along and the color gradation from  white to palest blue to darkest blue is becoming evident.  The bulk of the piece is done in the satin stitch, giving me the chance to use my lovely laying tool.  Later there will be some basket weave, some eyelets and some bullion knots.

And then, because I would like a few quick finishes, I pulled out Ink Circles Celtic Halloween ornaments and completed the Celtic Cross and the Spider.  I am using some scraps of Lakeside Linens 28 count Luna and some partial cards of Catherine Jordan and of Carrie's Creations over dyed cotton floss for these little beauties.

These are fun stitches.  Even the designer's notes are amusingly macabre, as befits Halloween, explaining that the spider's legs look like a cat had played with the hapless arachnid [though no actual spiders were harmed in my project].  There are also suggestions for making boldly unrealistic color choices as in key lime spiders.  I went with the slightly more conservative Purple Pansy blend of medium purple and raspberry from Carrie's Creations.

I started the Polipus, aka octopus in Scot's Gaelic.  For this one I am using Needle Necessities 194, a color way of violet, blue-violet and pale sage.









And a short shout out to Rita re the recent giveaway: I sent an e-mail but have yet to receive your mailing address.

A Few October Smalls

I know these weren't on my monthly goals but I seem to have caught a touch of Seasonal Stitching Disorder from Sue Donnelly at the recent Stitcher's Hideaway.  Now, ordinarily, I have no problem stitching Christmas items in February, Easter designs in November or a St. Patrick's Day project in July, but somehow this month I had to stitch something appropriate to October.  I don't know why.  Just a whim, I guess!

This first piece is a small Columbus Day design, shared with me by a stitching friend, Peggy Bowe, who designed it for a feisty little old Italian woman who declared that a certain seasonal series Peg had stitched for her was incomplete because it didn't include a Columbus Day piece.  Being as accommodating as she is talented, Peg designed and stitched one.  She has since shared it with friends she knows to be of Italian descent.  I'll be very happy to be able to add this to my basket of smalls once I finish it as a small pin pillow.  Happily enough, I actually started stitching this on Columbus Day.

And the second piece will serve as my annual Halloween piece for 2013.  It is a challenge piece from Plum Street Samplers but I didn't participate in the challenge having missed the deadline.  I used some 14ct banding in eggshell trimmed in a muted green that has been kicking around in my stash for a while.  I paired the banding with Perfect Palette & Needlepoint Inc Silks Inc. left over from a Primitive Needle Project.  And instead of stitching the number 13 or 31, I attached a small sterling witch charm in the semi-circle.  I also replaced some of the stitches in the border with beads.  I will finish it as a small Treat bag that I will use for one of my grandchildren next year.

After all, I couldn't let October pass completely by without stitching something autumnal!

Autumn Stitching

On one of the boards I read, a request has gone out to share photos of one's Autumn stitching finishes.  Since I have been stitching for a little over 40 years and since Autumn is my favorite season, I thought I'd gather as many of my Autumn finishes in one blog post ... at least as many as I have photos of:  I have had a digital camera for only the last decade or so.  Of course, I am not counting Halloween or Thanksgiving finishes since I have already done gallery posts on those holidays.  This post is just generic Fall stuff: acorns, colorful leaves, harvest scenes, etc.  The gallery below includes 20 projects.  I know there are more around the house but I limited myself to those already included in my digital photo albums.

This is an old Handblessing complimentary bookmark chart - I don't think it is available any longer

Bent Creek [I think] ... one of the many Autumn samplers I have stitched

This is a very old complimentary chart ... I am afraid I cannot remember the name of the designer or the design.  I stitched this at a time when I was less discriminating and frequently failed to note such details.  I have a vague feeling that this might be a San-Man design but I wouldn't swear to it.

This is a Silver Needle Night design from the days when Mona was still doing most of the designs.

This is one of the pieces from a CATs stitching banquets ... take a closer look and note the beaded tops of the acorns ... this is one of my favorite things.  Three designers on the organizing committee of CATs would each supply a design, we'd all eat the usual rubber chicken meal and then the rest of the evening would be a quick class on each design.  This is a Liz Diehl design.

This is a Round Robin:  I did the border the top panel and the center and right panel on the bottom.  The rest was done by other members of the round robin.  It uses Prairie Schooler charts and a border from The Better Homes and Gardens 2001 Cross Stitch Designs.

This is another old Handblessing's free bookmark chart.  I can no lonher find it on the website so I suspect it has been withdraw.

A small amulet bag I made for my daughter using  another older free design  the name of which I can not remember.

Spots of Fun done in autumnal colors.

Strictly speaking, this is an Earth Day sampler but I switched the colors to an autumn palette and re-designed it to include two squirrels instead of one bird.

A Prairie Schooler complimentary chart - somehow pheasants suggest Autumn to me.

Teresa Wentzler's Autumn Faerie

Cedar Springs Berry Patch Rabbit

A biscornu using autumn colors

LHN's Autumn Entry from the Season of series

A Prairie Schooler piece I used to make a long pin cushion for an exchang

Just an ornament I use it on both my Halloween tree and my Thanksgiving Tree



The gist tote bag below features a small red squirrel ... another creature I always associate with autumn.

Sheep and knitting and wool also suggest Autumn to me ...here is a knitting project baf I made for one of my sisters

And here is another knitting bag I made using an old Halloween ornament design on a larger count linen than originally called for.  The photo below shows the interior of the bag.