A Lot of Stitching Going On

First, on my way to the Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway, I stitched on this little Halloween project which will eventually be a small "goodie" bag for a grandchild's special Halloween treat.

The retreat was taught by Thea of Victoria Sampler, one of my  favorite instructors.  She is a clever woman possessed of great personal charm and an endearing sense of self-deprecating humour.  She is also a phenomenal instructor and a gifted designer.  I have taken two classes with her prior to this one and have thoroughly enjoyed them.

Once classes started, I began the pre-work that I didn't have time to do prior to the retreat.  It went slowly, since I unstitched very nearly as much as I stitched.  This project was only my second hardanger piece and my Kloster blocks looked wonky as often as not.  Hence the frequent unstitching!  It didn't help help that I was allergic to something in the Connecticut air: leaf mold, pollen, something.   The resulting sinus pressure and headaches made precise stitching somewhat problematic.  Things improved when I switched out the magnifier I had been using [the one on the stem of my Brite Lite stitching lamp] for a simple pair of clip-ons for my eyeglasses.  The "better" magnifier had been reflecting the glare of the neon ceiling  fixtures into my eyes, making my headache worse.  As soon as I switched, things got much more comfortable and my stitching improved dramatically.  Even so, I didn't get very much done on the project.  I kept pausing to watch the instructional videos that Thea had made, not wanting to miss any details even though I was so far behind every one else.

The retreat was the first serious spate of stitching I had managed in about two weeks.  It was wonderful to feel a needle in my hand again.  The discipline of doing the Kloster blocks must have blown away all the mental fog that lingered from my recent glucose numbers spike.  The Celtic knot border on my TW stocking that had been giving me fits just two weeks ago, was clarity itself when I picked it up on Friday evening after class for a change of pace.  Considering the number of quarter stitches in this small strip of bordering, I am very pleased with the single hour's progress across the bottom of the border.

While at the retreat, I availed myself of the opportunity to shop Chris' Collection.  Chris will be retiring in November and closing up shop.  She had set up shop in one of the motel rooms and had put everything on sale for 50% off.  I resisted the urge to buy charts though there were many attractive ones on display.  I went straight to the Glorianna and bought $290 worth of silk [33 skeins] for a mere $145 ...

... and then bought a pair of Gingher scissors for $20 marked down from $40 and an adorable tiny little "airplane-friendly" pair of scissors for $5.75 marked down from $11.50.  Needless to say, I was delighted with my haul.  

There were the usual goodie bags and door prizes.  I loved my door prizes: a lovely stitchable phone case and a Glory Bee chart that announced that people who didn't believe in Santa anymore got underwear for Christmas gifts.  The motto was much more succinct and clever than that but I can't remember the exact wording as I type.  The goodie bags contained some lovely charts that I'll be offering as giveaways because I know I'll never stitch them.  Very pretty but just not my style.  The only chart I'll be keeping from the goodie bag is the Just Nan Needle Flitters: they will be fun to stitch as gifts for stitching buddies.  But more on that on another post.

As usual, the meals were lovely; the company fantastic, and the entire weekend a complete pleasure.  Sue's retreats are always a delight and I recommend them highly.

Prework

I finally decided to open up the folder from the Stitcher's Hideaway and take a look at the required pre-work.    I am here at the retreat and have been unable to get any of the pre-work done.  The past two weeks have been stitch-free due to health issues.  Well, I will just have to try and catch up with the rest of the class.  I will put up photos when I get home.

 

A Minor Irritation

It never pays to get too excited about an imminent finish.  Something always goes wrong ... as evidenced by the first photo today.  Somehow I managed to stitch the blue clad stitcher  four threads to the left of where she should be, throwing off the symmetry of this delightful little scissor case.  Now, I know I will never be able to enjoy the piece until I fix it so there is some frogging in my future this evening.  It won't take very long to re-stitch, even with the re-positioning of the waves and plait stitching below.  So, only a minor irritation.  On a more positive note, I did manage to form the silk ribbon seed stitches for the leaves on the vine properly.  I have finally learned that the trick is to draw the ribbon v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y through on the second leg of the stitch.  It pays to read the directions carefully!  Who'd have figured?  And, of course, I'll have to readjust the red stitching guide on the left to make the whole deal work properly but that'll be the work of a minute or two.  I know that red stitching is annoying to look at but it will make the sewing finish do much easier to manage.

In any case, since I'll be delaying the frogging and re-stitching till this evening when I can take my time, I decided to get a bit of a start on the needle book in this series.  I chose the needle book option using the dockside street scene rather than the stitchers yet again.  I thought I could do without another round  with those two ladies, especially since I'll be frogging and re-stitching one of them anyway.  As you can see, I didn't get very far but that's all right.  I have promised myself that I'll subdue my mania for completion and just enjoy the process.  Maybe if I take my time, I won't make rookie mistakes like the one above.

The Scissor Case

I am moving right along on this.  I guess I really needed a "small" to work on after a three month exclusive focus on a BAP.  It's so nice to see something come together quickly instead inch by inch.  And doing some satin stitching and plait stitching is nice after cross stitching for three months.  I have finished all the stitching with silk floss and now I get to play with silk ribbon stitching spider web roses and seed stitched leaves along the vine separating the stitchers.  I'll finish up with a few beads as charted.  Oh, my!  The variety! I just may swoon.  

And being able to put up my first finish of the year in the sidebar by this evening ... well, that's a nice bonus, too.  I can't remember a time since I began stitching some 45  years ago that I was so far into the new year without a finish.

Class Project Challenge

I have decided that my 2012 Challenge will be completing all the unfinished class projects I have been accumulating since 2005. Since some of the projects on the list involve multiple items, the total number of finished objects will be 24. That, of course, assumes that I will succeed. I have listed them here in the order in which I acquired them. However, I shall be stitching them in no particular order ... just as the mood takes me. I am determined to finish one piece from this list and one piece from either the 2010 or 2011 WIP Lists to "earn" the privilege of starting a new project ... a sort of two steps forward, one step back approach to the whole WIP/UFO issue. In keeping with my usual practice of stitching something Christmas-y in January, I'll be starting with the Holly and Hearts Sampler and ornament.

But here is the entire list:

Lori Birmingham's Pansy Garden Nantucket Style Basket (2005 CATS project),

Catherine Jordan's Pretty Picot Edges (2006 CATS project),

Karen Bovard's Filet Lace (2006 CATS project),

Phyllis Maurer's Japanese Kogin Tea Cosy (2006 CATS project),

Peyote stitch bracelet (The Willow Tree, Boothbay Harbor, Me),

2007 Stitcher's Hideaway projects: Victoria Sampler's Mystic: a stitchers pocket, biscornu, needlebook and fob,

2008 Stitcher's Hideaway projects: The Sweetheart Trees' Holly and Hearts Sampler and ornament,

2009 Stitcher's Hideaway project: Brightneedles' Ghosts and Ghoulies Etui,

2010 Stitcher's Hideaway project: Victoria Sampler's Sturbridge Box and needlework accessories.