I'm Back (sort of)

Well, I had a couple more posts in me this month, but we've got a super annoying computer problem at the moment and I'm having to create this post on Mr. Wonderful's laptop, which is also super annoying. So, I'm super annoyed. But I have a cute finish.

This is a little freebie that I can't provide the link for at the moment, but when I get my computer back I'll add it. If you want to hunt for it, it's at Balades et Broderies par Carmela. This one is stitched in Gentle Art Baby Spinach, Bittersweet, and Sable and Weeks Periwinkle.

 Off to set the laptop on fire.

SAL Update: Meet the Boys

Skeleton Crew finally has a crew!

Meanwhile, this was going on behind me...

Overcome with fatigue, no doubt.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, and to all those who mother.

Fun with Paint!

Me, again. I'm on fire, huh? Today I have a non-stitchy finish for you, but it's sparkly, so it belongs here. Y'all know I'm big on sparkly. Have you seen those gorgeous sparkly bowls and platters they have at Pier One Imports? They're from Turkey and/or Italy and start at about $25. I drool over those every time I go in there, but it did occur to me, after I examined one closely, that I should be able to make my own. Kinda. So, off I went to Hobby Lobby.

My supplies. The plate was $1.50 (50% off) and the acrylic paint was $3.93 (30% off) and the glitter spray was $4.79 (40% off coupon). Grand total: about 10 bucks. The paint colors are all metallic: Ice Blue, Blue Pearl, and Aquamarine.

I gave the plate a good spray with the glitter stuff, but it wasn't sparkly enough. So I went to my old stand-by, Glamour Dust! It goes on white, so you can see what you're doing, and dries clear. When I do the next one, I'll skip the glitter spray and just use a couple of coats of Glamour Dust. If I don't factor in the cost of the glitter spray, my sparkly plate now costs less than $6. How about that? By the way, all the painting goes on the back of the plate.



 Slapped on some paint. Just swirled it around. Artfully, you know.

It looks messy (and it is) but it doesn't matter because when it dries and you flip it over, you get this:

Pretty good, huh? (The blob at center left is a reflection.) Of course, it's not as gorgeous as the ones at Pier One... but it's also not as expensive! And I made it myself, and in my book, it gets extra points for being homemade. Homemade is awesome. Within reason.

It's now waiting for a coat of silver spray paint and a coat of sealer to finish off the back, but that has to wait until we get some dry weather. We're socked in with rain all week. When the sun comes out, I may be able to get a better picture to show. Then again, the sparkliness may fry my camera, so we'll see. I'm already planning another one in fall colors. (I heard you gasp... I know, right?!)

Little Things

"Little things comfort us because little things distress us." (Pascal)
It's fun to go big every now and then, but it's the little things that get us through day-to-day life.

A little finish... this is my fifth Woodland Baby (Victoria Sampler). Two more to go.

A little package... my new set of counting pins from The French Needle. Aren't they pretty?

A little face...

 Happy Stitching... even if it's just a little.



Tutorial: How to supervise an evening of stitching

1) Check that all supplies are present and correct. Coat with fur. Taste floss.

2) Settle comfortably. Stare until attention is directed back at you. 

3) When bored, nod off adorably to hint that it's bedtime.

4) If the hint isn't taken and stitching continues, be more obvious.

5)  If stitching persists, fake exhaustion. This should cause the stitching lamp to be turned off and everybody can go to bed.

More dancing sheep, please.

Because we all need more dancing sheep in our lives. This kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?

 

This is a Mosey 'n Me freebie available here. It's stitched over one on 28 ct. mushroom evenweave with Weeks Dye Works Azaleas, Dutch Iris, Fiesta, and Moss. The sheep is DMC 310 and Wisper W88. The braid it's trimmed with has been in my finishing stash for years and years and years, just waiting for the perfect project. I think this was it.

Hope you have the kind of day that sees you leaping joyfully over the meadows, trailing brightly colored ribbons in your wake. If you can't swing that, milk and cookies around 3 o'clock is an acceptable substitute.

Raiding the Finish Box

I've been digging in my finish box again! You know, that box (or drawer) where all your unfinished finishes live. I'm supposed to be having a finishing day once a month, but naturally I've missed the last couple of months. But I'm back on track... at least for this month. 

I finished a couple of smalls but I can only show one. The other I can't show until Tuesday, so come back and check... it'll make you smile! This one is a little design called Bird Bath by Hinzeit. I used one of my favorite techniques for trimming it. I use two colors of 1/4" wide picot ribbon and simply pin and twist all the way around. It's quick, allows you to bring out a couple of colors in the design, and looks fancy but is easy to do. 



 

I also did some framing. This first piece has been framed for a while but I hadn't photographed it. It's an out of print design from Redbird Designs called Texas Home. The chart was graciously loaned to me by Sandi in Texas. The frame is Mill Hill.

 

Here's another Redbird Designs piece you'll recognize from my blog header. It's called A Texas Garden and it also is out of print. The designer has resumed designing after a lengthy break, but as far as I know, she isn't planning to re-issue her old designs. The frame is one of my do-it-yourself projects. I bought the frame at A.C. Moore and the star applique at Hobby Lobby. I used white paint mixed with a staining medium to create a whitewash effect.



 



 

And that's what I did today! I'm making a pretty good dent in my finish box, especially when I don't count the 12 (of 14) Button Up Birdies I have stitched or the 4 (of 7) Woodland Babies I have stitched. They don't count because I haven't decided yet how I want to finish them. That's my story, anyway.

 

Happy Finishing!

A Furry Little Fan

The Washington Capitals just clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Mr. Wonderful was at work, but Tiger Lily and I cheered them on to victory.

Actually, the cheering was a bit subdued. It's hard to cheer when you have a cat on your chest.

GO CAPS GO!!!

Hey! Remember us?

Remember way back in January when I was whipping out those little Victoria Sampler Woodland Babies? Fox, squirrel, bear? Well, I finally got back to those and just finished the baby racoon. Isn't he cute?

In keeping with the others I've stitched, I used brown buttons instead of red for a more woodsy--less Christmasy--look. There are three more in this series. They're such a quick stitch, I have no excuse whatsoever for why I haven't gotten all of them stitched yet.  

The Wolves of Speedwell Forge

Mr. Wonderful and I just visited the Wolf Sanctuary of PA. What an experience. They currently have 44 wolves, divided into packs and housed in large woodland enclosures. We spent 2 1/2 hours with a guide, visiting the packs and hearing stories about their histories and behavior. It was fascinating and well worth the trip. The highlight was when the guide coaxed the pack into howling and the other packs joined in. Beautiful and slightly bone-chilling at the same time. Here are a few pictures of these magnificent animals. We hope to return in the winter to see them when they are at their peak weight and in full coat.

If you are within driving distance, they are having a fund raiser on 18 May, details on their website and Facebook page. We wanted to go, but Mr. W will be busy saving the world that day so we can't. Great trip, and the bed & breakfast on the property is lovely. 

SAL Update: Main Mast Finished!

I really should have gotten more done since my update last month, but even slow progress is still progress, right? Right.

Happy Stitching... even if it's slow!

Honey Bunny and Friends

Every spring I put out my little bunny collection, so when I saw Just Nan's Limited Edition Honey Bunny, I snapped one up before it sold out. But why have just one bunny when you can have, well, more? In more colors. Y'all know how I am about fiddling with colors. I decided what color bunnies I wanted and then pulled my favorite bright spring colors to come up with a color scheme for each bunny. Here's my palette for this little project.

And here are all my bunnies stitched up and waiting to be finished.

Ta-da! Bunny outbreak!

Here's the color information for these bunnies:
Black: 28 ct. black Brittany; DMC 208, 209, 210, 743, 906, 907
Beige: the original colors on the chart
Brown: 32 ct. chesnut; DMC 743, 744, 745, 906, 907, 3609
Grey: 32 ct. cobblestone Belfast; DMC 340, 350, 351, 352, 3346, 3347

Happy Birthday, Tiger Lily!

Look who's seven years old today! Most adorable kitten ever. She still looks at us like this. It's the face she uses to get treats. It works.

All grown up, with two people to take care of (well, one to take care of and one to keep in line) and a whole house to run.

Mad as a March hare!

Ever heard that expression? It means you're a nutter. This is my somewhat boisterous take on a very cute little freebie that can be found here. He's stitched on 28 ct. Rosemary linen in plain old DMC 310 and white. The scissors are Crescent Colors Cerise and the needle is RG Petite Treasure Braid 04. And some miscellaneous buttons I've scrounged. As you can see by looking at the original, I decided to make my bunny a Dutch. I thought the black and white and the pink scissors would really pop on the green fabric. Not traditional spring colors, but we can do whatever we want when we stitch, can't we?

Hope the Easter Bunny leaves you something yummy!

About that groundhog...

...you know, the one that didn't see his shadow and predicted an early spring? Yeah, that one. Here's what we woke up to this morning--more snow than we've had all winter, and more snow than we've had at once since January 2011. This is the view from my sewing room windows.

This is my tree, wearing its spring red fuzzies which it puts on before it buds out. And a coating of snow.

It's nearly April, y'all.

Striding Toward Old Ladyhood

For whatever reason, I have always associated button jars with Grandmothers and other old ladies. Now, at the ripe old age of 41, I find myself accumulating buttons. They're for my needlework finishing, but still. I even have a button box. Today I was sitting in my sewing room working on something (to be shown later!) when I got up, turned around, and saw that a sunbeam had found my button box. It was so pretty I had to snap a picture.

Back to work. (Hint: bunnies!)

Houston Texans Awesomeness

Finished JD's Houston Texans quilt square for Cole's Quilts. This was my first attempt at charting a logo, and of course it had to have lots of curvy and pointy bits to make it challenging. My main concern was getting the shape exactly right, since it's very bold. I had seen some Texans logo finishes online, and they had gotten the shape right, but they were huge. It's easier to get a good shape on a larger scale. For the quilt square I needed a much smaller logo but I didn't want it to look blocky.

First, I found a logo the size I wanted and printed it out. Next, I used transparent graph paper and traced it. Then I went crazy. Actually, all I did was work backwards (if this doesn't surprise you, it means you've been visiting awhile). Instead of stitching and then backstitching, I did the backstitching first and then filled in. That way I could get the shape exactly like I wanted it. The consequence of having to fill in, though, is that with a curvy, pointy design like this you end up with lots of little bits around the edges that you can't fill with a cross stitch, or even a proper fractional stitch. So I took what I like to call an "embroidery approach" and just filled in with whatever was needed: fractional stitches, backward stitches (top leg going the opposite way of the other cross stitches), straight stitches, etc. Here we are in progress.

And here's the finished logo.

The resident Houston Texans expert, Mr. Wonderful, approves. We both are Texans fans, and when I saw that JD's quilt request included Houston Texans football, I had to stitch for him. I'm proud to send it off for his quilt.

First Day of Spring!

It's officially spring! A time of new beginnings. A time when our thoughts naturally turn to... Halloween? Look what arrived in my mailbox this morning!

Isn't that fantastic? It's Le Charabosse by Nimue, come all the way from France to live at my house. I love the detail in this design, even that creepy little frog. But of course what struck me most about it is the calico cat. Do you ever remember seeing a Halloween design with a cat of any color other than black? Me neither. As you know, we're kinda partial to calicos around here.

                              
The other little bit of stash that came to my house today is a small package containing the new Weeks Dye Works colors. This one, Sea Glass, really caught my eye. The photo really doesn't do it justice, and it's actually more green than it looks here. A beautiful, bright color. Very warm weather-y. Not very it's supposed to snow tonight-y. Which it is. {sigh}

Happy Spring!

Cole's Quilts

Taking a break from stitching for myself this week to whip out a quilt square for Cole's Quilts. Well, "whip out" might be a bit excessive. I'm in the process of charting/stitching a Houston Texans logo and it's a bit slow going. I don't have design software so I'm going old-school with the graph paper and the light box. So far, so good. While the world waits for the finished product, check out some of my past Cole's Quilts contributions. And if you're not familiar with Cole's Quilts and would like to learn more about how to become a stitcher for this project, visit them here: Cole's Quilts

For most of my stitching I use linen and hand-dyed threads, but I also really enjoy pulling out some good ol' aida and DMC and stitching up a quilt square to send off to Linda Z., who will sew it into a wonderful quilt (she's super easy to work with, by the way).

And of course, I have lots of... help.

Really, you'd think I'd be able to get so much more done with all of the support I get.