PIF in honor of Carrie's Generosity

I posted the message below on the 123stitch message board just a few minutes ago and I want to open this PIF to the readers of my blog as well:

You may remember about a week ago I posted a confession about not making sure I had enough GAST Maple Syrup in the right dyelot to finish a project ... I trusted my memory of my fiber stash [usually a safe bet - as a former art teacher, I have a good eye for and memory of color - not this time, though]. In future I shall "confirm" my memory before I pick up my needle!

Well, Carrie sent me exactly what I needed and asked for nothing in return ... and I wish to honor her gesture with a giveaway of a $10 gift certificate to 123stitch.

But this giveaway will have a bit of a TWIST ... you can't apply for yourself. If you know of another stitcher who could really use a smile this week for whatever reason, post YOUR OWN e-mail address on this thread. On Friday, June 18 [NYC area], I will use the on-line randomizer to choose one of the posters and e-mail him/her for the name and e-mail of their nominee, who will then receive a GC. Please respect the privacy of your nominee ... don't post any details of hard-luck stories on this thread ... just your own name and e-mail address.

Please respect the spirit of this giveaway and enter only if you have a nominee who could truly use a bit of a lift.

The same conditions will apply here ... just leave a comment below.

Weekend Progress Report #23

It's been a little of this and a little of that this week ... trying to clean up unfinished business from last week [... and even from last month] and keeping up with developments in my on-line class on crazy quilting.

Monsterbubbles' Jail [Town Square SAL] Finished Sunday evening. I am delighted to get back to stitching in color. All of this grey was just a bit much since we have been having overcast days ending in thunderstorms each evening. A case of art imitating life that I could've done without. The next piece I am planning to do in this series is Crescent Colours Saloon ... ever so much more colorful ... but that will be a July goal!

Kreinik's Cornucopia ornament [ a Thanksgiving ornament-a-month goal] I picked this up again once I finished the Town Square SAL piece. The back-ordered silk mori I had been waiting for had arrived earlier in the week.

Prairie Schooler's Harvest Time Turkey [a Thanksgiving ornament-a-month goal] Thanks to Carrie [of Carrie's Threads] , I received the right dye-lot of GAST Maple Syrup. I expect to be able to finish this in the coming week.

The encrusted crazy quilted block: Last Wednesday's lesson included a lot of techniques and stitches that are either new or nearly new to me ... and I need to practice a bit more on these techniques before actually adding them to my block: boullion stitch [used for roses, leaves, and free-form outlines], spider-web ribbon roses, ribbon embroidery flowers. I did manage to gather some ribbons and beads for this stage of the embellishment but haven't gotten much further than that. With the next lesson coming up inexorably on Wednesday, I'd best get moving.

Some small progress ...

... on the Town Square SAL. At least, Monday evening was bright and beautiful while I worked with all this grey. Wednesday was overcast throughout the day though a bit cooler ... and I didn't even get some lunch-time stitching done since work was so hectic ... right up to 9:00pm. I'll work on this again today and tomorrow hoping to finish filling in the Dolphin grey in the taller tower. The sun is shining now but thunderstorms are predicted for the evening ... appropriate given the storm clouds in the design ... don't you think? Then, I'll be in the homestretch ... long-stitching the outlines of the granite blocks. I hope to finish this piece, and my three partially finished Thanksgiving ornaments this weekend as well as my May Bride's Tree SAL ornament. That way I can work almost exclusively on the Brightneedle piece, Ghosts and Ghoulies Etui, again during the next week.

The mail has given some satisfaction. The back ordered silk mori for my Thanksgiving Cornucopia ornament has arrived so I shall try to finish that ornament up in the next few days. The Valdani overdyed cotton that I wanted to try arrived the same day ... different package, from same online shop ... a waste of postage. But the threads were back-orders from two seperate orders and I guess the vendor doesn't cross-reference ... after all, the situation can't come up very often! I'll have to stitch a small project with the Valdani to check it out ... maybe a biscornu or cupcake pincushion. Then this evening, three skeins of GAST Maple Syrup were waiting for me, courtesy of Sharon. I haven't held them up to my unfinished PS Turkey ornament but at least two of them look very close to the DMC898 brown that is the dominant color in my piece ... so thanks to Sharon, I may not have to re-stitch the whole darn thing ... just frog out two rows I stitched with the wrong GAST hoping against hope that it would look right ... as if that ever happens!

On the other hand, I am still waiting for the May 15th piece in the RR ... It is June 11th and I have nothing to stitch ... well, that's not quite true ... what I mean to say is that I have nothing from the RR to stitch. I approach the mailbox with a little tune from childhood running through my head: "Nobody loves me, Everybody hates me, I'm going to eat some worms." I guess that means there is some tequila in my future! I think I prefer Amaretto. With the June 15th deadline looming, I confess to being a wee bit nervous ... how many days will I have to stitch my contribution on Jane's piece? 3-2-1-0 ? ! ? I am beginning to get very weary of this RR and expect I'll never participate in another. After writing the above, I got an e-mail stating that the piece had been mailed ordinary post on June 3rd and should take 7-10 days to get to me. The agreement at the beginning of the RR was to mail Priority with delivery confirmation! I can't even go on-line to track the dratted thing, since the sender didn't purchase delivery confirmation! So I can receive this piece anywhere up to June 13 leaving me between 3 [at best] to 2 [at worst] days to stitch my piece and then move it along on June 15. This is crazy-making and not at all the pleasurable stitching I was seeking when I joined the RR.

June Giveaway Winner

Again, using the handy dandy online randomizer, I have selected a monthly giveaway winner:#11, qsnaplover

I'll get the charts in the mail once I receive a response to my e-mail asking for an address.

Thanks to all who entered.

Encrusted Crazy Quilt Block Week 2

This has become an obsession. I can't seem to put it down and am making noticeable progress each day, at least, to my own eyes. Today, I attached the second velvet cord with half cross stitch in a metallic ribbon and added some more green silk to another seam embellishment. I have been brainstorming how to make a diamond trellis embellishment on the long red narrow edge, perhaps using the carved white mother of pearl buttons that look like carnival masks as motifs within the openings or threading a stem stitched vine with French knot berries or beaded flowers on the trellis. Tomorrow I get to download another class and I am very much looking forward to the next lesson.

The more I work on this block the more I brainstorm about other applications for this technique. I am already envisioning a tea cozy made up of four panels of encrusted crazy quilting using as it's main fabric the lovely rather Jacobean looking print salvaged from the slipcovers for a long-gone couch [those slipcovers were darned expensive and there is enough fabric there to make curtains for the sewing-room-to-be as well as literally dozens of tea cozies]. I am already mentally combing through my stash of quilting cottons for fabrics that pick up the colors in the upholstery weight cotton though I think I would have better luck with my wools, partly because of color considerations but also because of weight considerations. When this block is done I plan to use it to make a tote-like purse with button and loop closure and I plan on converting the band sampler I am using to play with the embroidery techniques as the strap or straps [either one long over the shoulder strap or two small hand straps]. I doubt I'd ever have the patience to make a full sized quilt in this technique but I can definitely see it used for handbags, tea cozies, vests, headbands and other wearable art. Maybe, if I am very ambitious, a small lap-robe type quilt. I definitely want to work up a few of those broad headbands that are so fashionable now as Christmas gifts for my daughter and nieces.

Weekend Progress Report #22

Well, the list is pretty much back to goal projects. My brief bout of startitis seems to have run its course.

Linda Stouch's RR: Tina's piece with a heart theme is probably lost forever as the stitcher who will remain nameless has been dropped from the RR ... one piece "lost in the mail" - possible, two pieces "lost in the mail" - improbable, failure to respond to e-mails and phone calls by organizer - damning. I am now waiting to receive Jane's piece [May 15th rotation - and held back while the nameless stitcher situation was resolved] and Dolores' piece [June 15 rotation] all within a week. This will call for some turbo stitching ... but luckily Dolores' piece is a PS and well within my comfort zone. I'll have to check the list to see what Jane's theme is ... and then go stash diving for an appropriate chart.

Sharon B's Embellished Crazy Quilt On-line Class.

This has been my primary focus this weekend. I have read and re-read Week 2's class and begun work on the seam embellishing: using the herringbone stitch, plaited algerian cross stitch, plain cross stitch, fern stitch, ermine fill stitch, chain stitch and french knots. I even made up a band sampler on which to practice some of the embroidery embellishments I wish to try over the next few days: the boullion stitch with it's many variations, some of the herringbone variations, trellis stitches that produce a diamond pane pattern and knotted stitches that produce figure 8 effects, as well as a few spider web roses. The first photo shows the block with the band sampler laid out behind it. The velvet cord that is laid across the top will be stitched down with the red 1/4" metallic ribbon in a spiralling half cross stitch. I have used silks, overdyed cottons, pearl cottons, metallic ribbons and braids as well as metallic floss. You can see close-ups of a few of these seams in the second photo. And I have pulled out all of my various stitch dictionaries in order to expand my repertoire and add variety and interest to the stitched embellishments. As I do all this, I envision where all the beads and buttons will go, experimenting with stacked button or button/bead combinations ... rather like playing with building blocks ... and have come up with a few combinations that I know will find their way into the final design. The third photo shows my favorite button combinations and the planned placement. Of course, I haven't stitched them down yet since they'd get in the way as I continue working with the embroidery embellishments. This project is very liberating since I can try out some rather over-the-top techniques and just play with different fibers and textures ... though I never attended kindergarten, I think I now know how a kindergartener must feel upon encountering a blank sheet of paper and pots and pots of fingerpaint. I haven't yet joined in the forum discussion with other participants nor have I posted any WIP photos, though I shall have to do that soon ... I have resisted looking at the work of the others till after my own project has taken a definitive shape of its own, for better or worse. One of the things I have enjoyed doing was working snakes of chain stitch over two adjacent pieces in layers: starting with a 1/4" wide metallic ribbon, moving onto a a #5 metallic braid and finishing up with a fine perle silk ... with the links of the chain getting progressively smaller as I use finer fibers. In a later stage, I'll add beads of various sizes so that that particular part of the block will look like a jewelry tray upon which a jumble of necklaces has been carelessly tossed.

Stash Enhancement:

I received an e-mail about the shipping date of the back-ordered Silk Mori for the May Thanksgiving ornament and have had offers of help with finding the right dye-lot of GAST Maple Syrup [for April's Thanksgiving ornament] floss from 123stitchers. I still need to find a source for the silk serica, though.

I pulled out and kitted up Shepherd's Bush's Be A Witch, ordering threads as needed as well as the two Homespun Elegance bee buttons I needed for HIH's Wee Bee.

June Giveaway

As I have mentioned before, I am trying to simplify my life and reduce my crafting stash. My first tactic is to give away any charts I have stitched, will never stitch again and have no earthly reason to hang onto. I never cease to be amazed at just how much of my chart stash seems to fall into this category. I have been giving away 5 or 6 charts a month for nearly a year and could go on for another year or two. I have been trying to group my giveaways in some logical fashion, either by theme or by designer or both. I hope the recipients of all my past giveaways have enjoyed my charts as much as I have done. This month's giveaway will be no exception: the theme is bees ... nice and summery for a June giveaway. This is actually a PIF on my part since I received these four charts from Nic last summer. I have enjoyed stitching these charts and hope you will as well.

If you wish to enter your name for this charts giveaway, the usual conditions will apply:

-- open to all stitchers

-- leave a comment below as to why you are interested in the giveaway
-- include an e-mail address in your post if clicking on your name will not lead me to an e-mail link
-- a winner will be selected on the 10th of the month and informed by e-mail-- winners are asked to commit to PIF charts to other stitchers through message boards, guilds or stitching groups or to donate the charts to a women's shelter or prison, a nursing home or some other venue where a stitcher would enjoy them.

Good luck to all who choose to enter.

SAL & Crazy Quilt Week One Class Progress

Town Square SAL: Monsterbubble's Jail. I put in a few hours on this each of the past three days ... even made it my "travel" piece by switching to a larger stitching bag capable of accomodating the doodler lap frame. As you can see, I still need to fill in the central arch and the taller tower with WDW Dolphin and then I have to back-stitch the outlines of the granite blocks in WDW Charcoal. I'd like to work on this till it's finished since I have received all the luscious Crescent Colors for the next piece in this series that I intend to stitch: the Town Square Saloon [designed by Crescent Colors, of course] ... and am itching to work on something a touch more colorful than all this grey. By the way, the piece is not really crooked, I must have loaded the scrolls slightly off kilter to give it that sadly askew look.

As for my Online Class, Encrusted Crazy Quilt Block: I have completed the Week 1 assignment which was piecing the block. I used a red tartan Duponi silk, a black watered silk moire, a black cotton, an ivory cotton with a very faint tone-on-tone floral pattern, a red cotton with a bleeding color effect and two different yellow-gold cotton prints. The yellow gold and red cottons pick up colors in the tartan though that may be difficult to see given the quality of my photography. In the first photo, it looks more like Modern Art because of the bold colors and the sharp edged shapes. In the second photo, I have laid out and cut [but not yet sewn] the lace and cording embellishments. I have used a variety of laces, including a heavy weight, white, wide grape and leaf lace, two much lighter, narrower, white cotton machine-crocheted laces and one tan lace that has a hand crocheted look as well as some black velvet cording. The next step is to tack down all the laces prepatory to the surface embroidery embellishment of the seams. As the block is embellished and "encrusted" it will take on more of a Victorian crazy quilt look. The Week 2 lesson has been down-loaded and I have begun studying it ... now the fun begins. There are so many surface embroidery stitches to be explored as a means of embellishing the block. I am going to work up a band sampler using the sew and flip crazy quilt technique so I can experiment with some of the stitches on real seams before working on my block. I'll be photographing the whole process for future posts.

Another genre of outrageous cross stitch

Okay ... I am always up for something a wee bit different ... I understand Mr. Hardy designs tee shirts ... though my guess is that his real calling is designing tatoos. I am not sure I am curious enough to actually buy this book but I sure as hell would want to page through it ... just to see what is going on at the fringes [dare I say, lunatic fringes] of cross stitch.

Imagine: 30 charts in this style ... I wonder if I can convince my local librarian to purchase this fine volume so that I and the rest of the stitching public can explore this new venue without undue expense!

And just look at that cover! Such a lovely message, don't you think? Maybe I should stitch this up for Valentine's Day 2011.

June Goals

SALs & RRs:
Bride's Tree SAL: Stitch the June Ornament [Fruit or Fruit Basket - Generosity or Plenty], assemble the May ornament.
Linda's RR: Tina's piece is the next in the rotation but I have yet to receive it.
Town Square SAL: Finish Monster Bubbles' Jail.


Monthly Projects:
Thanksgiving Ornament: Finish up the April and May ornaments once the back-ordered threads arrive. And stitch the mirror image pumpkins from the Prairie Schooler complimentary card as the June ornament.
Christmas Piece: start Sue Hillis' Cookie Baking Santa.
UFO > WIP: pick up the Peacock biscornu


Focus Projects:
BAP: TW's Autmn Faerie.
Medium Project: Brightneedles' Ghosts and Ghoulies Etui.


Sewing Finishes:
Take care of one or two from the backlog basket.
Keep up with ornament and any other finishes for this month.
Keep up with weekly classes in Sharon B's online quilting class.