Second Blogaversary Coming Up: August 24

It's been two years since I began blogging. And I have made many wonderful cyberspace friends ... and have even met one or two of them face to face at GTGs or stitching retreats. I have learned a great deal from my fellow bloggers: I have broadened my stitching horizons to include new techniques and materials, I have found a wealth of information about all sorts of textile crafts, and I have added to the list of vendors who cater to people with this particular passion ... all in all, it has been a great ride and promises to continue to be so.

To celebrate, I am going to offer a Fiber Surprise Grab Bag containing five different specialty flosses as this month's giveaway: including a silk, a cotton, a bamboo, a rayon and a linen. I figure that's a great way to share the joy of wandering about in the wide wide wonderful world of fiber. To enter, post a message in the comments explaining why you already enjoy using a wide variety of fibers [you might name a few of your favorites] ... or, if you haven't yet ventured beyond the good old reliable DMC, why you'd like to expand your repertoire.

On August 10th, I'll choose the answer that tickles my fancy most ... entirely unscientific, totally subjective and probably grossly unfair ... but every now and then I like to indulge myself.

Confessions

First off: a confession. I broke my vow to limit my purchases of charts to 5 this year. Worse yet, the sixth chart is a multiple ... an automatic subscription no less ... Bent Creek's The Branch. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! I saw it when it first came out, I coveted it, I resisted it, but when they added an owl [one of my favorite images], I succumbed to temptation and I purchased it.

So, other than being weak of will, this is what's been going on the past few days: my husband and I babysat my daughter's beagle, a grand old lady named Shenandoah ... Shennie for short. Got in a few nice walks with Shennie for a companion. I'd thought about dragging my husband on a 40+ mile trek through really bad weekend traffic to JoAnne's to search for the fabrics I needed/wanted for my next round of finishing. He's the better driver in congested, city-like traffic. But neither of us were really at the top of our game after a long work week. So, I decided to work with what I had on hand and save those few projects lacking the right stuff for another time. Instead, I settled in for a cozy weekend of stitching and sewing. Okay, a little bit of cooking, laundry and housekeeping [the bare minimum] as well ... one does have to bow to reality every so often ... but only when it becomes unavoidable.

But I have been strong in a few areas. With great laudable [for me] discipline and, I might add, considerable enthusiasm, I have been working on this month's WIPs and have been sticking to my plan to plug away at the sewing finishes.

The WIP's:

I will wait to photograph Beach Find Pansies when there is a bit more progress. It is slowly coming along ... free-form embroidery seems to take so much longer than cross stitch. This is mostly stem-stitching and French Knots, with the occasional bit of chain stitch. I have one more pansy, a pansy bud and the leaves to sketch in once I have completed the second blossom. I love the way the bits of polished oyster shell make irridescent centers for each pansy. When I spotted these shell fragments on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay [Md], I immediately saw them as pansies. I don't know what that says about my psychological profile ... I'd probably be better off not taking any ink blot tests ... I mean, who looks at broken shells and sees flowers? ... and I won't reveal what inspiration came when looking at some of my other beach finds ... at least, not till I start to stitch them up. One hint, though, think Phantom of the Opera or the Man in the Iron Mask.

Fertile Circles Needlebook: who thought a bargello variation on the back would take so long? I have stitched aout half the back cover and will need to backstitch between the rows of satin stitches with something relatively thin ... maybe two strands of blending filament ... and fill in the triangles left after completing the satin stitches ... that will be with the Belle Soie Paprika to match the initial and the border. Then, all that will be left to do will be to couch the Caron Watercolour on the front to give the impression of a snake twining around all the nests. Once the stitching is done I will be able to assemble it into a stitching book: the inner "pages" will be WDW wool with Blanket stitched edging and back stitched letters indicating the type of needle for each of the four pages. I figure I'll use this book for my favorite needles: Piecemakers Tapestry 28, John James Petite 28, John James Tweens 23 and 25, Piecemaker Beading.

Cross Stitch Finishes:

Workbasket's Quaker Pig: although this took far longer than I thought it would, I enjoyed watching it take shape. The last Quaker animal that seemed to take so long to stitch was the Cat ... all the others felt like relatively quick stitches. Next up are the Cow and the Sheep ... I have a sneaking suspicion that these will be much like the Pig and the Cat ... definitely not quick stitches.

Glory Bee's Which Witch: I'll finish this up as a Halloween Trick or Treat Bag for my new grand-daughter

The Finishes: I'll post photos of my sewing finishes when I finally get a sunny enough day to photograph them outdoors. These pieces are too large to photograph on my little sewing table under my Ott Lite. So for now I will just list them.

Liz Turner Diehl's Autumn Acorns, as a bellpull

Modern Art Goddess, as a wall hanging

Baa Baa Black Sheep, as a tote

These last pieces brings July's finish total up to 21 ... pretty respectable. And only leaves 15 more finishes to go in August ... of which four are ravioli pillows and four more are pillows requiring buttonholes and nun-stitching ... which is why I have been studiously putting off the pillows for as long as possible. There are also a few more wall hangings to sew up and a chance to use some of my scrumptious new trims from Farmhouse Fabrics. All in all I think I will enjoy the August finish sewing just as much as the July even if the "body count" will be lower. And, yes, I do think of it as a body count! With each item removed from the sewing basket [actually, a large plastic laundry basket] and turned into a usable or giftable item, I mentally pump my right arm up and down and shout out "Awright!" ... my own version of Rocky Balboa tenacity and celebration. I am simply not going to think about the fact that as I continue to cross stitch, I will continue to accumulate items requiring finishing, the Fertile Circles Needlebook for one and the Beach Finds Handbag for another as well as any Christmas and Halloween ornaments generated by perusal of upcoming JCS issues. Besides, I could always limit myself to BAPs that require professional framing thereby eliminating the sewing basket altogether ... but that probably would mean spending what's left of our retirement savings on framing. No, on second thought, I will simply revel in the current reduction of the backlog in the sewing basket. Inexorably, it will start to fill again but perhaps, after a two month marathon at the sewing machine, I will be motivated to keep up with the flow. I don't think I want to fall so far behind ever again.

Assessing July Goals/ Setting August Goals

The July Goals were

Stitch 10 hours on TW's Autumn Faerie: still not really moving on this ... only an hour devoted it to it during the entire month. I'll need to move my stitching stand downstairs to living room if I want to make any progress on this. At least that way, I will have it right at hand for evening stitching while watching DVDs with my husband.

Stitch two more Workbasket Quaker animals: the Pig and the Cow: well only the Pig got done but he was such a big, fat Pig.

Stitch at least one more Christmas ornament: WOO HOO!!! I exceeded the goal with 4 ornaments. Finished Homespun Elegance's Santa ornaments: 2001, Noah Toy and 1999, Great Good Cheer, Workbasket's Quaker Christmas Holly, The Stitcherhood's Quaker Flower.

Stitch a Halloween project: Glory Bee's Which Witch? Began on Saturday 7/25 and finished on 7/30.

Start Workbasket's Quaker Sampler: still waiting for my fabric from Silkweaver since I foolishly added it to the random rotation of my FOTM club rather than asked for immediately.

Sewing Finishes AND ANOTHER WOO HOO!!! GRAND TOTAL FOR THE MONTH: TWENTY-ONE. Bright Needle's Sauce for the Gander Needle/Tool Book; Homespun Elegance's ornaments: 2001 Santa [Noah Toy], 1999 Santa [Great Good Cheer], Oh Snowy Night, and Christmas Night Mini-Stocking; Workbasket's ornament Quaker Christmas Holly, Imaginating ornament Cardinal with Holly; Primitive Needle's Halloween ornament Salem Witch;Workbasket's Rabbit Rondel finished as a sewing box; Rainbow Gallery's 1st Class Teacher Bell Pull; a doorknob hanger using Chessie and Me's Guardian Chessie chart [from 2005 JCS Christmas ornament issue] and a mystery freebie chart Cat Skull and Cross Bones; LHN Needleworks House Sampler finished as a bell pull; Dragon Dreams Elemental Dragons finished as a long narrow bell pull; Workbasket Rabbit Rondel's sewing accessories: scissor fob and mattress style pin cushion; Poisson du Avril scissor fob; The Stitcherhood's Quaker Flower finished as a Christmas ornament; Primitive Needle's Salem 1692 as a mini wall hanging; Modern Art Goddess wall hanging; Baa Baa Black Sheep tote bag, Liz Turner Diehl's Autumn Acorns Bell Pull.
Finish Beach Find Pansies panel: started the second pansy but still a long way from finishing this project.

Finish Fertile Circles Needlebook: still have about half the stitching of the back cover to do but I really like this little project and should have it finished next month.

UFO>WIP: Peacock biscornu: about the only thing I did with this was mount it on some scroll rods and unpick a few stitches ... I really hate frogging ... so this is another project I'll be carrying over into August.

Order Workbasket's Quaker Halloween and Quaker Polars as well as the JCS Christmas and Halloween ornament issues, also some Piecemaker Needles [tapestry 28s]: Yes, on July 6. Received on July 10. Also ordered and received some more Belle Soie silks to finish up some of the projects listed above, specifically the Beach Find Pansies and the Fertile Circles Needlebook, as well as a selection of bell pulls so that I can turn a few more of my back log of stitched pieces into wall hangings. Then, of course, I just had to order a few more trims and buttons from Farmhouse Fabrics ... it's becoming my new obsession.

The August Goals

• Stitch 10 hours TW's Autumn Faerie
• Stitch Workbasket's Quaker Cow and Sheep for the Quaker Quilt
• Stitch at least one more Christmas ornament
• Stitch a Halloween Project
• Finish Fertile Circles Needlebook
• Finish Beach Find Pansies panel
  Devote at least five hours to sewing finishes
  UFO > WIP: Peacock Biscornu

A Simple Task ... but Hard to Master ...

Making Twisted Cord: I have seen it done just about every time I have attended a stitching retreat. People make it look so easy. I bought one of those drills in which you insert a hook you make out of a broken paper clip. I've read the 11 step directions over and over. I've measured and re-measured floss. I have recruited my husband, who has far more spatial intelligence and just plain old mechanical instincts than I, to help in the manufacturing process. And I have wasted skeins and skeins of floss making loads of really crappy, uneven cording. I have used language rarely used since my college days in '67-'71. I've reminded myself that I am intelligent, competent, creative ... dammit, I have an MA degree and more in-service certifications than you can shake a stick at [though why you'd want to shake a stick at anything eludes me]. I still make crappy cord.

But last night, I think I finally climbed my personal stitching Everest ... as I suspected, I was missing one simple but necessary step [in this case: weighting the cord in it's final stage of twisting back on itself] ... you know how, when you finally figure something out, you think "How could I have been such an idiot ... it was so obvious?!?"

At last, the door knob hanger for my daughter has a proper finish ... cording that picks up colors of both

the angelic cat [Guardian Chessie from 2005 JCS Christmas Ornament issue]

and the piratical cat [Jolly Roger Cat, free chart]

And for a close-up of the cord, here is the final result: a three color [medium & medium dark grey with black] cord. I made cord twelve strands [of 6 ply floss] thick for the cording around the door knob hanger and six strands [of 6 ply floss] for the hanger at the top ...

If I didn't feel like such a moron for taking so long to figure this out ... and if I didn't secretly fear my success was one of those happy flukes, not to be duplicated ever again ... I'd be celebrating all over the place and breaking open the champagne.

Balancing the scales and bringing me back down to reality, I managed to back and fringe another mini wall-hanging: Primitive Needle's Salem 1692. But as luck would have it, when I ordered my new stock of bell pulls, I was at work and relying on my memory. Everything I ordered is at least an inch or two too wide ... and the novelty bell pull I ordered, a Mill Hill Metal Pumpkin with a 4 1/2" opening, does not have the slitted opening as pictured on the site. Anything hung on this pull will have to be sewn on to it. So between false advertising and personal miscalculations, I have a whole lot of mini wall hangings with no matching hardware and a whole lot of lovely hardware but no matching mini-hangings. I did mention I have virtually no spatial intelligence, didn't I? As I sit here muttering curses under my breath, I am calculating how long it will take to re-order and receive the proper size hangers and bell pull hardware. I'll be able to use the "too wide" hardware on future projects, to be sure ... but it is aggravating not to be able to put the finishing touches on my latest round of sewing finishes.

And during the past few days

I have divided my time between stitching and reading. I finished reading Catherine Coulter's new FBI thriller, Knockout ... one of those great summer reads ... just challenging enough to keep the brain functioning in the hot, hazy, hummid summer of a NYC suburb but straightforward enough to put down and pick up at will without losing the thread of the story. And I've nearly finished reading Nora Robert's Black Hills, another interesting but easy and casual read.

I received my most recent order from Farmhouse Fabrics, my favorite source of buttons and trims.

Among the treasures I ordered was this little mother-of-pearl button Flower kit ... a very quick stitch ... and a perfect complement to my Beach Find Pansies piece.

I think I shall use both as embellishments on the crazy quilt handbag that is forming in my head. I'll probably get around to sketching it out shortly ... all the pieces are here. But my current focus is on finishes and will be for a while, probably through August. I just did an actual count: even though I have done the sewing and/or assembly finishes on 17 projects so far this month, I still have 21 finishes left in my to-do pile. I think these things breed like rabbits. I guess I am just going to have work on BAPs requiring framing next year to avoid the same problem in the future.

But before I start showing you my latest finishes, I'll get the WIP report out of the way:
I haven't made enough progress on the back of my Fertile Circles NeedleBook to make taking a photo worthwhile ... but ... Workbasket's Quaker Pig actually is beginning to look like a pig:

And another two hours of stitching on the Beach Find Pansies yields this result: And now for the finishes:

The Workbasket Rabbit Rondel Paisley Scissor Fob ... this one with beaded trim.The Poisson du Avril Scissor FobDragon Dreams Elemental Dragons, finished as a bell pull. Sorry about the picture quality ... not enough light. The close-ups of the individual dragons are better.The Dragons representing Fire and Air The Dragons representing Spirit and Water The Dragon representing Earth
The Stitcherhood's Quaker Flower, finished as a fringed pillow ornament,I am still working on my Rabbit Rondel mattress pincushion finish ... I can only do so when my eyes are really fresh and well rested ... the tiny ladder stitches are a bitch since the equally tiny straight stitches in which they are worked seem to slip beneath the linen warp/woof as soon as I insert a needle in the fabric. The fact that everything [linen and silk floss] is all in tone on tone blues isn't helping matters much. But I am determined to have it finished tonight and thus, it is on my list of sewing finishes.

This finishes up all the small projects, at least for the moment. Once I start stitching more ornaments, that will change. I have two more Christmas ornaments and a patriotic holiday ornament coming up in my stitching rotation. And, of course the JCS Christmas and Halloween ornament issues should arrive shortly. I am hoping to be caught up with all the other finishes by the time that occurs. But, now, I really have to get started on the pillows, totes, pedestal pin cushions and wall hangings I have been avoiding. These more complicated projects will be slower going, but in their own way, even more satisfying. At least, using up all the pillow forms will decrease the bulk of the projects in the to-do basket substantially. There are eight pillows awaiting finishing. That should keep me busy for the remainder of July ... and probably well into August. I think I shall work on the totes, wall hangings and pedestal pin cushions for the remainder of this month and declare August the Month of Pillow Finishes. How's that for justifying my procrastinating? Can you tell I am not really looking forward to starting on the pillows? Once I do, I'll enjoy it but it's the getting started that I find so very hard.

Handcrafting Justice

Our church sponsored a sale by this organization which helps women in the Third World start up cottage industries following a Fair Trade model ... so that they can support themselves and their children with basic human dignity. I went just a little hog wild buying Christmas gifts, baby gifts and some items for myself. For my brand new baby granddaughter I found a delightful soft sculpture clutch ball, a smocked and embroidered dress, an adorable little fish washcloth and a doll in native Andes costume to start an International doll collection. For my daughter, two sets of woven hemp placemats. And for myself: an embroidered tablecloth, a pulled thread and crochet lace edged table runner, one of those over one shoulder handbag/backpacks, an owl coin purse, a woven cotton scarf/sash. For the office: a statue of the Good Shepherd made from clay made from the ash of a volcanic eruption in the Phillippines by the very farmers whose farms were destroyed by the lava flow. And just to hold an American Express gift card or two at Christmas, a folk art embroidered coin purse.

Here's the link:

www.handcraftingjustice.org

They have pottery, baby items and toys, bags & purses, clothing & accessories, table linens, indigenous art, handmade cards, jewelry and hair accessories. Just browsing their site is an adventure in shopping ... and one you can feel good about.

Stitching in the Twilight Zone via Star Trek

I have noted a strange statistical reversal ... a sort of alternate stitching universe anomaly ...

... there is a tear in the fabric of the stitching space time continuum ...

... I have gone where no stitcher has gone before ...

my sewing finishes outnumber

my cross-stitching finishes

Photos of latest finishes will be posted as soon as the latest sub-space transmissions are decoded.

[Feel free to hum eerie music]

And some more finishes

Since I set up my finishing center in my dining room just before the July 4 holiday weekend, I have completed 8 sewing finishes. And now I have these to add:

Workbasket's Rabbit Rondel made into a sewing box

And this little door hanger still needs its trim ... I can't decide whether I want to trim it with cord or with beading. The project combines an angelic cat [Guardian Chessie from 2005 JCS Christmas ornament issue] with a piratical cat skull and cross bones ... a gift for my daughter who shares her home with six cats of varying temperament ... I figure she can warn visitors of the moods of the feline brood by displaying the appropriate side. I wonder, does this count as one or two finishes ... it is one object but it is made with two charts ?!?

Here's the good

... and here's the bad

With any luck, there's no need to discuss the ugly!

A bellpull made from one of the LHN house sampler free charts or a PS card ... it's been so long since I stitched this piece that I don't remember ... I'll have to get a different bit of hardware for this ... it is clearly too wide ... I think I'll look for one of those country style wire hangers with a star or a heart or a house at the top. I saw some nice Tudor birch hangers in all widths on the 123stitch website, as well.

And, last but not least, this little bell pull for my niece, using Rainbow Gallery's 1st Class Teacher free chart. I added a close up of the apple since I really enjoyed stitching all those Rhodes stitches that add so much texture and interest to this piece.

And here's a close-up of all the neat Rhodes stitches that add such nice texture to the apple ...

That brings the monthly total for finishes up to 12 ... or is that 13?

Also, I did a bit more work on my Quaker Flower [from The Stitcherhood] WIP this morning. I think it is coming along nicely.
Today after work, I plan to work on another bell pull ... about three years ago, I stitched all of Dragon Dream's Jennifer Aiken-Smith's elemental dragons free charts on a pretty piece of white banding ... finally, I am going to do something with it ... it's long and narrow perfect for the narrow space between two side by side sliding door closets in what will become my sewing room. I have a nice hanger in coppery tones, a large black tassel for the bottom and two smaller black tassels for the top corners and some winter white damask for a backing.

And today ...

This morning, before work, I took a few minutes to iron a few more pieces from my "to finish" basket and to put the Workbasket Rabbit Rondel on its backing. I laced it, pressed down the gathered edges so that it laid flat when I glued it to the top of the box. Now, all that is left to do on this project is gluing the two overlapping trims along the outer edge of the lid. And, of course, I need to continue assembling the pin cushion. This is a really fussy job since foolishly I decided to assemble it with ladder stitches just like one does with a biscornu and the silk straight stitches seem to disappear into the fabric. Even with my magnifying lamp I am having a hard time with it. I only stitch an inch or so at a time before my eyes cross and I put it down in disgust. God knows how I am going to manage the scissor fob which is even smaller ... I am thinking of stitching two rows of machine stitching around the edges of the design and the layers of backing [after I have inserted a quarter for weight] and then pulling threads to create a 1/4" fringe outside the machine stitching. It will save me some eye strain and still be reasonably pretty. I can then make a beaded bracelet style cord to attach it to a pair of scissors. I also laced the angel cat and the cat skull and cross bones to their backings and then whip stitched the two sides of this little door hanger together. Since the black linen on which the cat skull and cross bones was stitched was almost gauze like in weave, I backed its board with stiff black felt instead of the usual quilt batting. It really makes the white stitching pop since it gives depth to the black background. I still need to make cording that will work with both sides. Since the angel cat is a tabby in shades of grey and black, I figure blending a medium and a dark grey with black floss will make a workable cord. Now, I just have to search out a really good tutorial on cord-making. I've only seen it done twice and am not at all confident I can make a really nice one. I also attached a hanger to a little "1st Class Teacher" bell pull I made for my niece who teaches Middle school special education students.

I should have some pictures to post tomorrow since I plan to work on these finishes after work this evening.

I also spent an hour this morning continuing to stitch on The Stitcherhood's Quaker Flower ... I have chosen a 40 ct. linen and have changed out the colors somewhat to make it suitable for a Christmas ornament. I decided to use GAST Pine for the leaves and GAST Cranberry for the flower and corners. And, at lunch I plan to do a bit more work on Workbasket's Quaker Pig, finally finishing the center motif.

Following up on those promised photos

I returned to the finishing center this weekend and here are a few photos of what I have accomplished thus far:
Workbasket's Quaker Christmas Holly ornament

and some Homespun Elegance ornaments:
Oh Snowy Night

Great Good Cheer [Santa 1999]

Toy Noah [Santa 2001]

And stitching on WIPs during the past few days and in between stints at the sewing machine, has produced these results:

Quaker Flower from the Stitcherhood

Workbasket Quaker Pig

Since I only worked with finishes on Sunday, I am satisfied with my progress. I did manage to cut out the cardboard backs for my next finishing project, a two sided door hanger with an angelic cat on one side and a piratical cat skull and cross bones on the other, and put the last coat of paint on the band box that will become the Rabbit Rondel sewing basket. I hope to have those two items finished by Friday and then I'll get to work on some bell pulls and gift totes over the weekend.