Turning over a new leaf - I hope

I intend to blog with greater regularity this month ... and thus I have to report that yesterday I finished the Workbasket Quaker Swan and started the Knotted Tree Needleart JCS 2007 Christmas ornament. Although I had been doing the Designer Series Santa ornaments for my sister Kate for the past several years, I had to pass up this year's entry in the series ... it was just too bizarre with all that "stuff" seemingly growing out of Santa's head. I chose to do the Knotted Tree piece instead, with a few notable adjustments: first, I drastically reduced the size of the boots; second, I regularized the pattern of the beads in the sack to make it look a little more like the Designer series I had done in the past; third, since I don't have the called for JABCo button, I will stitch a Rhodes Star in tarnished gold in its place and fourth, I am thinking of adding some backstitching to delineate the sleeve ... I am not sure about this and will wait till I have done all the other stitching to decide. Also, having reduced the size of the feet, I can finish the border as a square and may end up finishing the entire piece as a biscornu ornament, maybe even with a beaded edge. Next in the rotation will be finishing the red dragon in Cross Eyed Kat's Snow Fight series. I don't think it is worth starting Liam's stocking this year ... one doesn't rush Teresa Wentzler designs ... so I think I'll just do a quick little Baby's First Christmas type deal ... ornament size ... this year. That way I'll be able to concentrate on the last few gifts I need to make ... Mom's needlecase, Angela K's pillows and Christina's tea towels and maybe, time permitting, a tea towel for Angela. Anyway, it is good to have a plan even if I end up modifying it along the way.

November was gone in a flash

This is a very busy season for me professionally: I counted the number of major events I had to stage between the dates of Nov. 19 and Dec. 18 and the total came to 15. Since I also have to complete my annual report and conclude the biggest fundraiser of the year during the same time frame, I have been left with little time for stitching or blogging. And, of course, it was also during this time frame that the painters finally came ... the same painters who were supposed to have painted my entire downstairs as well as the upstairs hall and all of our bookcases in October. Then, of course, there are the little details of shopping for my grandson, Liam's first Christmas ... and, incidentally, shopping for the usual crew.

In any case, I did manage to complete another band of my Thea Dueck Mystic Stitcher's Pocket from the Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway as well as the Prairie Schooler 2007 Limited Edition Santa, Let It Snow and the Workbasket Quaker Frog. And I am more than halfway through stitching Workbasket's Quaker Swan. I have also noted that Workbasket has come out with two more Quaker animals: a cow and a sheep. I will have to get those sometime in the new year.

As this year draws to a close, I am inclined to plan for the next ... and, as usual, set unreasonably optimistic goals.
Goal #1: Limit the purchase of new charts until I have caught up with the 50+ I currently have in my stash. I realize I will succumb to a few "must-haves" like the Workbasket leaflet mentioned above but I will try to limit the total new purchases of charts to 10 for 2008. Fiber and fabric will be purchased on a "as needed" basis ... as needed, i.e., to complete charts already in my stash.
Goal # 2: Participation in two SALs. The first is a 123 stitch SAL for Crabby All Year Round piece from Raise the Roof. I have all the charts but will be checking this week on fabric and fiber needs. The second is a committment to stitch all my Halloween charts along also with a group from 123 stitch that will be doing the same with their own Halloween charts. At last count, I had 16 Halloween charts to stitch.
Goal # 3: Then, of course, there are my own WIPs, UFOs and sewing finishes. The WIPs: the Teresa Wentzler Autumn Faerie [to be followed by the Christmas and Summer Faeries] and the remaining projects from the Stitcher's Hideaway in Mystic: finishing the pocket, stitching the tuffet, scissor case, scissor fob and needlebooks. The UFO's: Midnight Moogies and the Celtic Tarot. Last count the sewing finishes were hovering at about 20 in the sewing basket.
Goal # 4: Learn to use the digital camera doo-hickey to download photos, to mangae a Photobucket account and to post photos to the blog and groups.
Goal #5: Keep up with sewing finishes ... this means no more than 5 completed cross stitch pieces in the sewing basket.

Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway

It was a fantastic experience ... This was a whole new venue for me ... small [about 30 stitchers] and intimate, with approximately 15 hours devoted to stitching one project, having the time to actually learn and practice a new skill and actually getting to a point where the project is at least half done. In the past I have gone to two CATS events with it's one or two hour classes where one merely sees a stitch or technique demonstrated and, at best, gets to stitch it once or twice on a doodle cloth before moving on to the next class. The end result is that two years later, I have still completed only half the CATS projects from 2005 and 2006. But I am literally itching to finish my hardanger pocket and get started on the other pieces in the kit: a tuffet with lots of hardanger, a scissor case and fob, and two needlebooks. I actually learned how to do hardanger weaves, wraps, dove eyes, Grecian Crosses, Kloster blocks and blanket stitches ... and was able to cut my threads successfully ... a minor miracle, so far as I am concerned. Okay, so I had to go and wash my hands immediately after the cutting ... talk about sweaty palms ... but it worked and it actually looks presentable. Thea Dueck was a fantastic teacher: the epitome of clarity and patience. I would take another class with her should the opportunity present itself. And I will definitely want to go on another Stitcher's Hideaway ... meeting stitchers, enjoying the project, eating some very nicely catered meals ... it was all a very lovely break from the end-of-year madness at work.

Off to Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway

My husband and are packing ... we leave today at noon for Mystic Ct where I will be attending the Stitcher's Hideaway and he will wander the seaport meeting up with me [and the other stitchers and their tag alongs] for meals. I am looking forward to this and have been working diligently on the pre-work for the past two days. I am the sort who always works to deadline - I turned in my bachelor's thesis the day before my wedding. That was 37 years ago and I am still a down to the wire kind of person ... it's not that I procrastinate, it's just that I take on more than is reasonable and then juggle everything till it all works ... or crashes about my head. Most of the time it works.

Anyway, this time, at least, I probably should have started the pre-work earlier. The whole reason I signed up for this class was to learn hardanger. So what do you think the assigned pre-work is? That's right: all the Kloster blocks and blanket stitching on the pocket and, time permitting, the Kloster blocks on the tuffet pin cushion. So it is all very slow going ... very paranoid stitching ... stitch, count, stitch, recount, stitch, count yet again, frog, stitch, count, frog, count, stitch, re-count, pray, curse effusively and creatively, stitch ... well, you get the idea. But the finished project will be worth it ... a whole set of Thea Dueck [Victoria's Sampler] stitching accesories ... the design references the locale with all sorts of 19th century tall ships, ladies, lighthouses, etc.

I am looking forward to this immensely ... partly because I will be meeting some people I "know" only through stitchery message boards, partly because I will enjoy the project/classes/teacher, and partly because my professional life has been a mad whirl since mid September and will not let up till January ... so this provides a much needed break halfway through the career-related insanity.

Shall report on the hideaway upon my return.

A small finish

Well, I have finished the Glory Bee blackwork ornament and though I have no shortage of stash, I take an inordinate degree of pleasure in using up the odd little bits and pieces of fiber and fabric left over from other projects. I was able to stitch this piece using up the two lengths of green cotton floss left over from my Shamrock bookmark and a small scrap of 35ct linen that I had received in trade for some charts. It just warms my frugal little heart. And now, I have picked up the Cross-Eyed Kat Red Snowfight Dragon again and am moving along nicely on this piece: the head, right arm and wing as well as a really good start on the snow. But I really must get to work on the pre-work for the Mystic Retreat ... I leave for Mystic on Thursday.

October Goals

I always think I am going to accomplish so much more than I actually do and consequently set impossible goals for myself whether it's school work, administrative paperwork, housework, reading or stitching. The stitching goals for October were no exception.

I did finish my designated "freebie of the month": Star Light, Star Bright from LHN and even managed to stitch it up into a rather attractive throw pillow. And I did finish three of the Workbasket Quaker pieces for my Quaker quilt [that makes 10 down and 4 to go]. This month, I stitched the Cat, the Mouse and the House. That leaves the frog, the swan, the tortoise and the hare ... but they will have to wait until after Christmas ... I have a number of gifts and ornaments left to do. I finally finished the Passion de Croix SAL for the 123stitch board ... the last to do so. And I stitched a Trick or Treat bib for my grandson, Liam. Furthermore, I managed to complete a number of sewing finishes: made up the 2006 JCS Imaginating Santa & Sue Hillis Merry Christmas into Christmas ornaments with beaded trim, made throw pillows of Glory Bee's Home Sweet Home and LHN's Summer Place and Starlight Starbright , as well as stitching up the Waxing Moon Checkerboard Pumpkin [with my additions] into a trick or treat bag for Liam and assembled two biscornus and a name tag. I took Heartstrings Bittersweet Season to the framer and brought home Dragon Dreams Stormbringer.

But I did not do any work on the TW Autumn Faerie or Crosseyed Kat's Red Snowball Fight Dragon, and only a little work on the 2007 JCS Sue Hillis Spool Tree ornament, nor did I even start the Prairie Schooler Ltd. Edition Santa and the current year card Santa as I had hoped ... the Santas were supposed to be finished and at the framer by Halloween. Also not started is the TW Woodland Angel stocking for Liam [supposed to be done by this Christmas]. Nor did I start the pre-work for the Mystic Stitchery Retreat [8 short days away]. My other goal, to transfer all my photo files to Photobucket so I can learn to add pictures of my work to my blog and to some message boards I frequent has yet to be achieved ... I have been taking pictures of finished work faithfully but still need my husband's help to download them to my personal files and need a tutorial in then transferring them to photobucket.

One of November's goals will have to be to set more reasonable goals.

Some recent projects

I am going to see if I can get my husband to help bring photos to this blog ... but first I'll have to get my photobucket account up to speed ... have lots of photos to load and sort. That being said, I am very proud of the two biscornus I have just assembled though I gave one away before I photographed it [won't be making that mistake again] and the two Christmas ornaments I just stitched up ... even though the 2006 JCS Imaginating Santa was, IMHO, way too huge to qualify as an ornament even though I stitched it on the recommended count linen. The only tree it might actually suit would be the tree in Rockerfeller Center. And then there is the Halloween Trick or Treat bag I just stitched up for my brand new grandson ... okay, so at 3 months of age, he won't be doing much trick or treating this year ... but I stuffed it with three board books, a light weight flannel sleeper I had made for his father some 27 years ago and I'll be adding one of those bibs that look like fingertip towels with an aida insert. I used the Waxing Moon free chart "Checkerboard Pumpkin" as the basis for the trick or treat bag and added Liam's name done in what I am calling "candy corn" lettering [orange/yellow/cream from bottom to top], the phrase "Trick or Treat", some candy corn motifs and another checkerboard border around the whole. I am using the same candy corn motifs to make a border for the same "Trick or Treat" lettering on the bib. I used thin wale black corduroy to make up the tote bag and hope he will get a few years use of it when he is old enough to go trick or treating. Other than that, I have been working on my Passion de Croix SAL - I'll probably be the very last in the 123stitch group to finish it since I had to start all over again after a disaster when an overly damp pressing cloth caused a major bleeding of color. I have also been working on my Workbasket Quaker house. But soon I will have to turn my attention to the prep work for the Mystic Stitcher's Hideaway ... I received the kit in the mail last week and have been downloading all the additional instructions that have been e-mailed. I admit to being somewhat intimidated since some of the pre-work involves Kloster blocks and the very reason I was attracted to this Hideaway was the chance to learn basic hardangar skills ... which I definitely do not have as yet. Oh well, I shall do my best and stitch very carefully and slowly with the instructions always at hand and maybe I won't have to rip the whole thing apart when Thea sees it for the first time.

Off to work now.

Biscornu

I just stitched up my very first biscornu using the very clear instructions on
www.own-two-hands.livejournal.com
... a step by step picture tutorial which also includes a whole bunch of freebie charts. I did the olive branch, the cats [which I stitched in black with a Needle Necessities autumn leaves border to give it a Halloween look], one of the geometrics [also in the Needle Necessities autumn leaves] and one of the Algerian tile designs [in what was labelled Caron Waterlilies Peach Sherbert ... but was probably mislabelled at the store because it doesn't look remotely like Peach Sherbert as pictured on the Caron site]. All of the above were stitched on left over bits and pieces of linen or laguna from my scrap bag. Even the flosses were leftovers from other projects. So, with virtually no financial investment, I learned a new skill. Don't you just love the internet.
If anyone here has been curious about these little irregular pillows/pin cushions/whatever, the above mentioned site is a great place to start.
I have to admit that until I found this site, I was somewhat intimidated by the "finishing" part of the project. But guided by the photos in the tutorial, I found the whole process amazingly easy and I am quite pleased with the finished product. Though I have stitched four of these little projects, I have only "assembled" the olive branch biscornu. I hope to assemble two more today since it is my day off and all I am doing is laundry and a little pick-up housekeeping with the rest of my day devoted to stitching. I'll post pictures when I've got them all done.

Mea culpa continued

I didn't realize there was a limit to what could be put in each entry and was stunned when my computer stuttered in mid-sentence ... I hit the Enter button thinking to advance to the next line only to discover I had inadvertently "posted" an incomplete and unedited post. Oh well, I will learn how to do this eventually. I had started to say I had ordered all of the Sue Hillis Santa series and two of the Prairie Schooler Santas that I had wanted ... since I have many goals to meet over the next few months ... I believe I will save them for the Christmas vacation. It will be fun to stitch something Christmas-y during the actual season instead of the usual September/October/November time frame required to get them done for the season.

As to goals, I am slowly learning to moderate mine. For October, I want to work primarily on finishes. I need to finish two Homespun Elegance pedastal pincushions. Then there are the two samplers from CATS Stitching Circle Dinner 2005 [the Stoney Creek & Lori Birmingham pieces] that I wish to use as the covers of a crochet needle book for my mother's Christmas gift and the Liz Turner Diehl Sampler that I wish to use as the cover of a needlework tools case for myself. I plan on using the 2006 CATS Liz Turner Diehl Autumn pillow band as a bell pull instead and have a lovely acorn trimmed hanger for it. I need to hem and affix the LHN Seasons of Plenty samplers onto their appropriate prefinished pillows as a Christmas gift for one of my sisters. I also want to finish the Modern Art Goddess I stitched in #5 perles on 10ct tula into a wall hanging for my daughter as a Yule gift. There are three biscornus awaiting assembly. Finally, I have a trick or treat bag to finish for my brand new grandson. That makes 14 items to sew ... and still leaves another half dozen or so in the basket awaiting attention. Did I say I was learning to moderate my goals?

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

I will never again criticize, even within the privacy of my own thoughts, a blogger who does not post regularly. I started this blog in late summer and then school began and the days raced by. Here it is mid-October and I am only now returning to this blog. Happily, I have not ignored stitching in all this time and have completed a number of projects, including: Dragon Dreams' Stormbringer, Wiorkbasket's Quaker Cat and Mouse, Leisure Arts Corner Bookmark Dragon with Crystal Ball, Glory Bee's Home Sweet Home, LHN's Summer House and Starlight, Star Bright, Heartstrings' Bittersweet Season, and from the 2006 JCS Ornament issue, Imaginating's Santa and Sue Hillis' Merry Christmas. Finally, I have completed the stitching on 3 biscornus [front & back] and have only to stitch them up. I have also stitched a name tag to wear to the Mystic Retreat in November and have assembled it and only have to bead the edges to give it a pretty finish and then attach a pin back. I have done quite a bit more work on the Passion de Croix SAL and have started Workbasket's Quaker House, Sue Hillis' ornament from the 2007 JCS issue and CrossEyed Kats Red Snowfight Dragon. I have also managed to get quite a bit of sewing finishes done: made Best Witches into a stand-up, made Dragon Dreams Morning and Evening Dragons into a double sided gift tote, finished another of the LaDeDa Cardinal ornaments, finished the Imaginating Santa as a large pillow ornament, and the 2006 Sue Hillis ornament as a smaller "pillow" with a scallopped beaded edging that I was quite pleased with ... even made a beaded loop for hanging it, finished up Rainbow Gallery's Blackwork Victorian Lady as a scissor case and Japanese Lady as a scissor fob, stitched up a long-completed stocking for my son and trimmed it with twisted cord, and made the Home Sweet Home, Summer House and Star Light, Star Bright pieces mentioned above into throw pillows. I have also received the Thea Dueck kits for the Mystic Retreat in the mail and need to get started on the pre-work. I also ordered all of Sue Hillis'