Perennial Border – Starting Over

I was really unhappy with the lack of contrast shown in the previous post on the whitework interior of this project, which is what had attracted me to the project to begin with!

So, I scrapped it, picked a cut of 32 count platinum lugana, then substituted the 5200 white DMC for the plain white called for in the pattern and am much happier!  I love my project again instead of feeling disappointed.  Here is the progress as of tonight:

I just need to finish up those leaves and then I’m onto the flower names that are backstitched around the whitework, then onto the flowers themselves.  I love the look of pulled stitches…. lots of eyelets and that center cross is the four sided stitch.

I never officially joined the WIPocalypse, but I most definitely have a goal of finishing Alpine Seasons in 2012.  I started this project in 2005, I think.   That is my oldest WIP and is truly shameful…  so what that it will be my largest project to date (18-in x 18-in)?  So what if it is a confetti nightmare in sections?  It will be beautiful and needs to be on my wall instead of languishing, half finished in its project bag!

Holiday Stitching

I think I’m starting to get my stitching mojo back!  I did a couple of ornaments for friends… you’ve seen these before, but here they are again with new names!  These are the Victoria Sampler Virtues ornaments with names replacing the virtue words.  People just love these and they are so quick and easy that I end up making them every year!  I know I’ll do more so I just keep all of the fabric and floss and ornament forms kitted up:

I also started a new project – The Drawn Thread Perennial Border This thing calls for a huge amount of colors for such a small project that only has color in the outer most border of the project… How many greens do you really need???    I like it though and  the flowers look like lots of fun to stitch – lots of different kind of stitches.  Here’s what it will look like, hopefully, when I finish it.

My progress so far, and all of the floss….

You can just barely see the whitework I’ve started in the middle.  I’m using the recommended thread and fabric and I’m hoping it’ll pop a bit more once I’ve added more of the textural stitches.  Its platinum fabric with white DMC.  Maybe I should’ve used the extra white stuff?  Or maybe perle cotton?  Or maybe I pulled 28 instead of 32 fabric?  I just hope it all works out in the end.

 

The Pumpkins Are Complete!

Wow… I’m writing a blog post!

This momentous event is due to the fact that I actually finally finished a project.  The Sweetheart Tree Pumpkin Biscornu is finally finished!  I started it… like… a year ago.  Anyway, I hated it while working on it, but of course, like it now, so here it is in all of its glory!

Isn’t it cute?  Check out the little spiders on the second pic!

I’ve done some other stitching on and off – primarily on Chatelaine’s Alhambra…

The colors on that should actually appear a little brighter…. and the fabric is white as opposed to a lavenderish color, but I’m too lazy to try a new picture. 

So other updates, miraculously, I still have my job. That’s all I’ll say about that, besides the fact that I recently updated my resume and took calls from recruiters.

I’m going to Grand Rapids tomorrow to see Les Miserables… for the 6th time. I just can’t help myself! Its only two hours away… I must go.

So, not sure when I’ll blog again, so I hope everybody has a great holiday season!

6 months

I haven’t blogged for 6 months! I also haven’t stitched for 6 months. What have I done?

• Think about stitching, then decide to read instead
• Started new job
• Struggled with learning curve on new job
• Feared I would get fired from new job
• Stopped Exercising
• Gained weight
• Got engaged (too hastily)
• Got unengaged two weeks later
• Unsucessfully tried to get out of relationship that led to engagement
• Have evidence of people entering my apartment when I’m not here… nothing stolen… nothing out of place, but creepy
• Started seeing a counselor to help me out of my funk
• Fired counselor after three weeks and never looked for another
• Turned 40
• Wondered what I’ve actually accomplished for my 40 years
• Generally withdrawn from from staying in touch with people

Its been a bad year so far and the horizon doesn’t look too bright either, except for a visit from a friend coming up in June. I still think that if I could only get back to stitching, things might get better.

I’ve never had such a long stitching slump. It all started with that damned pumpkin biscornu. Maybe I should throw it in the trash so that every time I think about MAYBE stitching, I don’t think about how I never finished that and it would only take a little longer to finish if only I would get it out. But then I think about how I really don’t want to stitch, so I shouldn’t stitch at all and find myself curled up on the couch with my kindle instead. Usually starting a new project will break a slump, but getting out something new and getting fabric cut, struggling with my q-snaps that somehow never seem to make a square anymore (I don’t get it….) and pull floss just all seems like too much of a bother when I have BAPs and 7 year old projects all kitted up and ready to work on.

So its Memorial Day and I’m not stitching, or reading, or using the day to catch up on work. I’m still in my pajamas too.

Catching up…

I haven’t posted in almost a month!  I haven’t really been stitching and have been depressed about continued unemployment, winter, loneliness, relationship issues, etc.

However, I’m pretty happy right now because I GOT A JOB!  It was through a former industry contact and I’m really excited about it.    I’m supposed to start Wednesday, but I’ve been sick sick sick, with what my Dr says is a virus, since last Tuesday and am wondering if I’m going to have to put off my start date by a few days.  I have wicked sore throat, hurts to talk, turn my head, plus a lovely uncontrollable cough and as of this morning, an earache on top.  I don’t remember the last time I felt this bad.  I don’t think its just a common cold though because I don’t really have any sort of head congestion.

So the only stitching I’ve done since my last post was work on the Sweetheart Tree Pumpkin biscornu…  Here’s my progress so far:

I’m just not feeling very inspired to work on this, but I kind of hate to put it away until its finished, especiallly since I know it won’t really take that long. What I really want to work on is the Lizzie Kate Noel Squared pattern I picked up at my last LNS trip. I already had the gingham fabric. 

I figure for sure I’ll start it when I go to visit my parents for Christmas.  I may also bring the Lizzie Kate Banner that I started back in the spring.  I normally am not really a fan of LK (too simplistic), but I want something easy to stitch right now.  I can’t even think about picking up a chatelaine!!

I’m kind of bummed about not putting up a tree this year.  I’ll be gone from the 21st to the 28th so it seems a little pointless.    I have still yet to hang all of my 2009 Christmas Ornaments!  Maybe next year….

A New Family Ornament

I stitched and finished a series of ornaments for my family a couple of years ago.  They are based on the Victoria Sampler Virtues Ornaments… I just replaced the virtue in the pattern with the name of a family member.  Since I have a new neice, I stitched this ornament for her earlier in the week:

Here are the others that I’ve stitched over the years… each one for a family member is different (note, Casey and Carly aren’t family members!). You can find my finishing tutorial here.

Fall Fob Giveaway Winner

So… I’m a day late on this!  Its been a crazy couple of days! 

The winner is…  Cheryl! 

I don’t know how to show the actal graphic from www.random.org… so I’ve just copied and pasted the results below.

True Random Number Service

List Randomizer

There were 9 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. cheryl
2. jo
3. missy ann
4. jenjen
5. cymberleah
6. kmaurer
7. susan
8. blu
9. mary jane

Timestamp: 2010-10-27 17:33:50 UTC

Fall Stitching and a Giveaway!

I just got started on the Sweetheart Tree Halloween Pumpkins biscornu.  I’m not a huge fan of halloween stitching, but I do like pumpkins… so there you go.

I also stitched up a couple of little autumn scissor fobs. This is a freebie from the Drawn Thread and is about 1.5″ x 1.5″. Super cute, easy, and fast.  They are lightly stuffed and weighted.  I just used thread from my stash as I didn’t have what the pattern called for and I think it turned out OK.

I stitched 3 of these, but am showing two in the pic so that you can see what the back looks like. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing which will occur on Tuesday, October 26. Scissors not included.

Happy Fall Stitching!

grrrr… Allstate Commercial

Isn’t there a reason why teenaged BOYS have higher insurance rate than girls?  The fact that a MAN is playing this role pisses me off even more.  The little wink he gives at the end… is that supposed to make me feel better?  I’ve been to the Allstate web page, trying to lodge a complaint, but you have to call their 800  number and get a username and password to contact them by e-mail.

Video link below… am I over-reacting?

Parental Visit

My parents, now retired, split their time between my home town in NY and the town in Oklahoma where they moved my senior year of high school.  Since they were driving, they took a little detour to spend a day or two with me before they continued on their way.  It was nice, as it was only the second time since I’ve moved to Indiana 6 years ago that they came to visit me, rather than the other way around. They were really only here for two nights, we hung out, ate out, and did some shopping, but there were two things that really stood out for me.

A few weeks ago, my father called me to tell me that my grandfather was joining my grandmother at the nursing home and that they would be cleaning out their house to put on the market.  He asked me if I wanted anything, and after puzzling for a moment, I asked if there were any of the felt ornaments around that my grandmother had made over the years.  Apparently, in her younger days, she was an ornament making machine, as every year a new felt ornament would be given to her kids’ families.  So, all through my youth, all of the Christmas trees in the family would look very similar, decorated with all of these hand made ornaments.  I had a couple, but knew that there were many more than I didn’t have.

So, the ornaments that she had on her tree were found and split up between me and a couple of the other grandkids who had expressed interest.  My parents brought them to me and I was thrilled to get what I did!

There were also a bunch of other plastic canvas ornaments that she did in her later years. One of them had a magnet on the back so its now on my fridge.

The other fun thing, besides just hanging out and talking with them, was that my mother taught me to crochet a granny square. I can crochet, but whenever I’d tried to make one of these from written instructions, I’d end up with a tangled mess of yarn. I understood what I needed to do, but actually executing it just never quite worked. So.. now I know how to make a granny square! Here’s my practice one that she helped me with:

So all in all, a fun visit!