tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27593613730099850772024-03-04T23:07:09.762-05:00Confessions of a Remedial StitcherWherein the former owner of an embroidery supplies shop explores the vast world of needlework. Thread, fabric, technique. Anything and everything she finds interesting.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-24461117854334794552021-01-01T12:01:00.001-05:002021-01-01T12:01:34.773-05:00New Year, New Start, and 2020 Recap<h1 style="text-align: left;">A Fresh Start<br /></h1><p>I looked through my stash this morning, searching for a project to start off the new year right. This year has just got to be better. I found a few possibilities.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzqpKbQhDNCCJXnK7UXg5-mLJ5qkk838cuWW2wwolCXBzkPLgle-qBdB4coi8_VrA19kndEY1YvdNfYW8hykumpGav5c3i4KbJkNrXCZknxJYHrCunocO41M10TkMNvqAq71ubiSOrTk/s1346/First2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzqpKbQhDNCCJXnK7UXg5-mLJ5qkk838cuWW2wwolCXBzkPLgle-qBdB4coi8_VrA19kndEY1YvdNfYW8hykumpGav5c3i4KbJkNrXCZknxJYHrCunocO41M10TkMNvqAq71ubiSOrTk/s320/First2021.jpg" /></a></div>The large canvas is Kirk and Bradley's Tropical Leaves Clutch (which I'll probably have finished as a pillow). I've had it all kitted up, including stretcher bars, for some time. I'm not sure what it is that drew me to this, certainly not the pink background, but I find the other colors and the shapes very appealing. I think it's time to place the first stitches into a bright, cheerful design that will chase away the clouds from 2020. (I hope.)<p></p><p>The two smaller canvases are from Point2Pointe and would be very quick finishes. If I want, I could even finish them myself. I may do these little quickies today (not the finishing) just to feel like I've accomplished something. I have threads for the one with my initial, and I can easily find threads for the silver and black geometric. We'll see.</p><h1 style="text-align: left;">2020 Recap</h1><p style="text-align: left;">I joined in the 2020 challenge of completing the stitching of 20 pieces. I didn't get close, but I'm happy with what I did get accomplished.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnY_r6XExtrQxlVYk2-9CpyASuA9KAvUkWZXAGg8wQtD4GjBEgxopHHYkZqUg567As2_SH-zup4jTGNpoh-bdNfwx_OXh-taqgyYuW3ck5xhkpA0-TCoNviM5t9oXZDYQ6LLJ9jbIo59E/s1255/2020Finishes3Ornaments.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnY_r6XExtrQxlVYk2-9CpyASuA9KAvUkWZXAGg8wQtD4GjBEgxopHHYkZqUg567As2_SH-zup4jTGNpoh-bdNfwx_OXh-taqgyYuW3ck5xhkpA0-TCoNviM5t9oXZDYQ6LLJ9jbIo59E/s320/2020Finishes3Ornaments.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMOjwXlDet8QvOhRdii-K7PhTHdSpy0p5lym_1n-Ounn3avrq6nwdRhnknmx6GMGfcSsze4eKkTu4kSSDURBdgwbt1ayk2_cgaWPE5vTGrHfrbF0Y8XnEQ7gcyyiM7W7pEXbIb4jXTA8/s1708/SandSeaHeart+-+1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1689" data-original-width="1708" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMOjwXlDet8QvOhRdii-K7PhTHdSpy0p5lym_1n-Ounn3avrq6nwdRhnknmx6GMGfcSsze4eKkTu4kSSDURBdgwbt1ayk2_cgaWPE5vTGrHfrbF0Y8XnEQ7gcyyiM7W7pEXbIb4jXTA8/s320/SandSeaHeart+-+1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7eKJ2hfTgKAkT24GTs7m1CMZQoQgtn0SXSy1RCxiVMzR01zjFJLp7rpaVC06p8ASgr82axOQpqwWYkljzsAJqH7l0BfNCkdPZXvQI782Q88EEo1Wk97ATDy4ZTOoUxJzVabyJJ4k6hU/s1317/2020FinishesFestiveSquares.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7eKJ2hfTgKAkT24GTs7m1CMZQoQgtn0SXSy1RCxiVMzR01zjFJLp7rpaVC06p8ASgr82axOQpqwWYkljzsAJqH7l0BfNCkdPZXvQI782Q88EEo1Wk97ATDy4ZTOoUxJzVabyJJ4k6hU/s320/2020FinishesFestiveSquares.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZXfmX1rOH6Qaxy0rGX89RPmIFYrZKCcohLcC0NHrQnJ37TtXH6OKDasqd1Uwsu8V1Zd-aT-bP6UgEqgmJmG8m_PEWgcJSiofXIr5fOMEB-EkCc5xu-wII9HME0MN_gOBMAYarM9ELmM/s1200/2020FinishesPumpkin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZXfmX1rOH6Qaxy0rGX89RPmIFYrZKCcohLcC0NHrQnJ37TtXH6OKDasqd1Uwsu8V1Zd-aT-bP6UgEqgmJmG8m_PEWgcJSiofXIr5fOMEB-EkCc5xu-wII9HME0MN_gOBMAYarM9ELmM/s320/2020FinishesPumpkin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-19993316062615348202020-11-14T11:30:00.005-05:002020-11-15T12:42:38.285-05:00How I Spent My Corona Summer<p>Like many people, I now spend my days alone, since I live by myself and am of a certain age, the "vulnerable" age. I left my part-time job in a retail needlepoint supplies shop just as my area started closing down to try to control the spread of COVID-19. I was supposed to go back to work later in the summer, when things had settled down, and we all know how that's worked out. How have I filled my days?</p><p>The first month or so were spent finishing WIPs or doing quick pieces. Then in early May I was approached to pilot stitch a project that would be published in <i>Needle Pointers, </i>the magazine of the American Needlepoint Guild, at the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021. The designer was a friend whose designs I had charted for a while, the person writing the instructions and creating the charts and diagrams was a guild friend (she also was the one who approached me), and I was intrigued by the deceptively (it turns out) simple design. So I said yes!</p><p>Let me say, the individual stitches and threads were straightforward. For the designer, it was a relatively simple and straightforward design. I, however, had trouble with the stitching for most of the time. It was like I'd never stitched anything other than basketweave, which is so far from reality. Needless to say, I have chosen to blame all my difficulties on the pandemic. Focus, concentration, almost everything required for something that is being charted while one is stitching was so difficult! Add in my perfectionist nature and the knowledge that it would be published in a national magazine and you can see the problem. Every stitch needed to be as close to perfection as I could get it. Gah!<br /></p><p>Having said that, I think the project is beautiful! The combination of the threads and stitches in a primarily monochromatic palette is wonderful. And now that it has been officially published (albeit just the digital version at present), I can reveal all.</p><p>Behold in all its glory, "Asymmetrical Copper" by Jeff Kulick, charting and instructions by Marilyn Owen, beading completed by Donna LaBranche (because I don't do beads).<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOk9rSGuCBhYIs2ni6TITjuTmHlR_NDdAvw-tCed24Ff7eZ0x_RhGnFoq4McjVfZgK_PqSeSt38QWuHzmLhduMLnuZQMAOotRVZbYzYTE_4sTQ_ZWUDyGhzFnIAEgpvsBgrmkadPTeVSA/s3375/AssymCopperFinish.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3359" data-original-width="3375" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOk9rSGuCBhYIs2ni6TITjuTmHlR_NDdAvw-tCed24Ff7eZ0x_RhGnFoq4McjVfZgK_PqSeSt38QWuHzmLhduMLnuZQMAOotRVZbYzYTE_4sTQ_ZWUDyGhzFnIAEgpvsBgrmkadPTeVSA/w400-h398/AssymCopperFinish.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>If you are a member of the American Needlepoint Guild, you have access now to the digital version of <i>Needle Pointers </i>on the <a href="https://www.needlepoint.org/page/NeedlePointers" target="_blank">ANG website</a>. The printed magazine should arrive in your mailbox sometime between mid-November and early December.</p><p>I highly recommend this as a group project for chapters. I think the colorway can be customized, keeping in mind that one needs two colors (the green and blue here) that sharply contrast with the primary color to make it work. It can be a stitch-along, a special workshop, or a multi-part meeting program. Thanks to virtual meetings, anything is possible.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-92220868681905206512020-11-01T14:38:00.002-05:002020-11-01T14:41:33.270-05:00Leftovers From 2019 and a Sneak Peek<p>I realized the other day that in my frenzy to post everything I've worked on in the past several years, I completely forgot about a couple of very important items and other random stuff.</p><p>First, my daughter got married in July 2019 (so glad it wasn't this year). I stitched a couple of things for her and her new husband.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLEM84cnBLZRsmlNseJydmID1tOUtrXJtCUZYizPJb_ioYZwczqccUF1S3lGm-pwWrkcUGWRPIGt4d_RVwA7B1cYNgyPK3nQFKKypqo50kvhxpXVDpIO1Wt1qS-ZtiHvP0NnCkmaUW_c/s1200/SpacemanComp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLEM84cnBLZRsmlNseJydmID1tOUtrXJtCUZYizPJb_ioYZwczqccUF1S3lGm-pwWrkcUGWRPIGt4d_RVwA7B1cYNgyPK3nQFKKypqo50kvhxpXVDpIO1Wt1qS-ZtiHvP0NnCkmaUW_c/s320/SpacemanComp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The wedding coincided with the 50th anniversary of the space walk, so I couldn't resist stitching this Kathy Schenkel mini-sock with the spaceman insert. I changed the planet in the lower left to a moon, so it was perfect. The finisher had the important details embroidered on the back for me. The happy couple loved it!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oIdQe_aOO6KFhVUO1pKjekYgG95L2MpOGDKfbDLlP9uf0VbFx5_r81v53JpY97UxJ3_8qp5drGjpRkWp_iZzT7Po7NPevLoG_OeC5r6PNOkAuSLMF7IOJoqIcEaj_7rNLMTVbBHawXQ/s1902/CoffeeTea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="1902" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oIdQe_aOO6KFhVUO1pKjekYgG95L2MpOGDKfbDLlP9uf0VbFx5_r81v53JpY97UxJ3_8qp5drGjpRkWp_iZzT7Po7NPevLoG_OeC5r6PNOkAuSLMF7IOJoqIcEaj_7rNLMTVbBHawXQ/s320/CoffeeTea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>As a wedding gift, I stitched these two companion pieces (he's coffee; she's tea) and had my wonderful framer, <a href="https://www.totalframing.biz/" target="_blank">Total Framing</a>, make a tray with them. It turned out just as I had pictured it. They loved this too.</p><p>In 2019 I created a bargello insert for a fabulous Lee's self-finishing handbag that I picked up at a trunk show at <a href="https://www.wasteknotneedlepoint.com/" target="_blank">Waste Knot Needlepoint</a>. I use it all the time.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBppGO1XD6KJiC__mqROAXhHRnRxpAjjVXi1CPnWCUS57QxmuHCVA_sfH378D4bV2UxwJ4lR7E_Y37tqPTISxar2_fW_P_ruH-ObxdxTawO-uzFDIzl7ODhDa4FKIZT8OcbtkDZW3li8/s1200/BargelloBag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="989" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBppGO1XD6KJiC__mqROAXhHRnRxpAjjVXi1CPnWCUS57QxmuHCVA_sfH378D4bV2UxwJ4lR7E_Y37tqPTISxar2_fW_P_ruH-ObxdxTawO-uzFDIzl7ODhDa4FKIZT8OcbtkDZW3li8/s320/BargelloBag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I also stitched a bookmark that needs finishing. I have another of the same design still awaiting finishing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Qq455yLKxXbJOpFgAL9h6W9HBgrLkw3_7dS5FgEvoKqm2aBh2n2UXCbo43bv3J5fQGc_buJBdOp2dERQUDcuqOsWo3dvdY5ItDQCGCdtpbLgILx97_XRpIY5FLdN6Cx-4SW_YSJ8Xl0/s1200/Bookmark.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="366" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Qq455yLKxXbJOpFgAL9h6W9HBgrLkw3_7dS5FgEvoKqm2aBh2n2UXCbo43bv3J5fQGc_buJBdOp2dERQUDcuqOsWo3dvdY5ItDQCGCdtpbLgILx97_XRpIY5FLdN6Cx-4SW_YSJ8Xl0/s320/Bookmark.jpg" /></a></div><p> So what have I been working on while living in isolation for most of the past year? The main project took several of those months, and I can only give you a sneak peek at it. I pilot stitched a new design by Jeff Kulick for the November/December issue of the American Needlepoint Guild's <i>Needle Pointers</i> magazine. Here are some snippets for you to wonder about till it's off press (soon, soon).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4teXxmBaiI7OH2uaFcqO5U9IyOk7YLGXuKBGbsUSgA8Aktfbsllll1VOgWqEWPbxPHKbsduGgm-3QBS6xzgdGbyEiVySkrY6Lp0vQYUuKAnxM9i6qD6Xo2m0rKvv-LP27ZTQuJ8TJN8/s1200/AsymCu3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4teXxmBaiI7OH2uaFcqO5U9IyOk7YLGXuKBGbsUSgA8Aktfbsllll1VOgWqEWPbxPHKbsduGgm-3QBS6xzgdGbyEiVySkrY6Lp0vQYUuKAnxM9i6qD6Xo2m0rKvv-LP27ZTQuJ8TJN8/s320/AsymCu3.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRKSHZsG7f8pSMlV9jLMaRQEfxgViV1Bwsyx_f8kwa8YEck3xi7TP8ywAJKZvwanPFJB_KeYNUMRmoK4w944MTCeJFfZ3OZWIBd743bZWhC7x9pGdqQG5IJf1pT5yEsW9NouwselfntI/s1200/AsymCu1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGRKSHZsG7f8pSMlV9jLMaRQEfxgViV1Bwsyx_f8kwa8YEck3xi7TP8ywAJKZvwanPFJB_KeYNUMRmoK4w944MTCeJFfZ3OZWIBd743bZWhC7x9pGdqQG5IJf1pT5yEsW9NouwselfntI/s320/AsymCu1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0K4b9pYylIU7eoDJRhyphenhyphenQ2xXbvfdkgtYfFehGQ-dZCrgNd3lSk3U4JpbNVxYRxgvLVLrf2caBJI1mzPRa35Exy8rrSi16xv3X4Ji4j7Ei0BXCqJ9dWm2KaML-rnZLlDFWGd69U44_wBs/s1200/AsymCu2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0K4b9pYylIU7eoDJRhyphenhyphenQ2xXbvfdkgtYfFehGQ-dZCrgNd3lSk3U4JpbNVxYRxgvLVLrf2caBJI1mzPRa35Exy8rrSi16xv3X4Ji4j7Ei0BXCqJ9dWm2KaML-rnZLlDFWGd69U44_wBs/s320/AsymCu2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>After I finished this monstrosity (beautiful but large!), I needed to work on something smaller, quicker. During the summer ANG offered what they called "Holed Up Minis," small designs that could be stitched with one's stash, with charts and minimal instructions. My local chapter, Potomac Chapter of ANG, used three as a virtual meeting program in September. They were all designed by one of our members, Marilyn Owen, and were related mini samplers. I started with the Diagonal Stitches Sampler at the meeting, then proceeded to the Cross Stitches Sampler once I had finished it. I used both as an opportunity to play with threads from my stash. I think I made the second one more difficult for myself by deciding to use two different thread types for each stitch. I guess I was thinking, "How hard can it be?"</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM3P4RVSTbtETFhYQUkTKZRp7x-59vlxr5A1RSsW_euyMQGscJ5tgL4Do0UQta3hWNy83jDIV_ZMr1jNbbBN5OwqYU8qg4COGnpVdpuRHRB6rXoNBhZQXQtGyx2jnoyd_X0JS4loEpoE/s912/HUMDiagonal.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="912" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM3P4RVSTbtETFhYQUkTKZRp7x-59vlxr5A1RSsW_euyMQGscJ5tgL4Do0UQta3hWNy83jDIV_ZMr1jNbbBN5OwqYU8qg4COGnpVdpuRHRB6rXoNBhZQXQtGyx2jnoyd_X0JS4loEpoE/s320/HUMDiagonal.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GyVLjgdc4jtqzbo7QMD0cJTQcpeqeRfU5Z8Ca77ymlqyQVJAsAVkftfoNETrSUAbDPNggxnKIE7w36EzS6zxQi7AfFQfUTvDdkh-9utfwEp4_QBfJYOoPWmVmcMPtVr0bb0MyToRCFM/s900/HUMCross.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GyVLjgdc4jtqzbo7QMD0cJTQcpeqeRfU5Z8Ca77ymlqyQVJAsAVkftfoNETrSUAbDPNggxnKIE7w36EzS6zxQi7AfFQfUTvDdkh-9utfwEp4_QBfJYOoPWmVmcMPtVr0bb0MyToRCFM/s320/HUMCross.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>So I guess you can see that I've been keeping myself busy.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-73537775022081119452020-09-26T15:07:00.000-04:002020-09-26T15:07:18.824-04:002020, Month by Painful Month<p>I'm now up to the current never-ending year of 2020. Let's see what I've accomplished so far.</p><p>My local chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild, Potomac Chapter, has had a year-long challenge for 2020: Complete at least 20 needlepoint projects (stitching, not final finishing). I'm not doing as well as I had hoped, but I started off well. I got bogged down with a major project for several months, which is finished now but can't be shown until November.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">January</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQQIR-PP-cHR6ELwSHoUnGNrKs8jl9olTgzb-02KhyphenhyphenDuAddNZUUWL6WP8dWlSie0kn-VHNgjI3WyPpwpkKGgss8q3XgfjtnlEttCOHnuiHWR76rM7dD5qYs_2VUyeZtSd7Kw_nrUgZHk/s827/SaraLeighFinishes01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="824" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQQIR-PP-cHR6ELwSHoUnGNrKs8jl9olTgzb-02KhyphenhyphenDuAddNZUUWL6WP8dWlSie0kn-VHNgjI3WyPpwpkKGgss8q3XgfjtnlEttCOHnuiHWR76rM7dD5qYs_2VUyeZtSd7Kw_nrUgZHk/s320/SaraLeighFinishes01.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPgvUgP-aOts9ymWux-0LbceIHbx6zQHNjuovuNdBBXtG9ZUE2BtbXblSPIiOah0v0XqZxHC7nnsfYarH4JYYx3uJ49g56aQ1Exm2zBdlzhlnBrruFwKO6ddWUHQdUhrAwIutHQnECXI/s1708/SandSeaHeart+-+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1689" data-original-width="1708" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPgvUgP-aOts9ymWux-0LbceIHbx6zQHNjuovuNdBBXtG9ZUE2BtbXblSPIiOah0v0XqZxHC7nnsfYarH4JYYx3uJ49g56aQ1Exm2zBdlzhlnBrruFwKO6ddWUHQdUhrAwIutHQnECXI/s320/SandSeaHeart+-+1.jpeg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTo-Cc1Q2_bi3b3TwYEuREN967XbFgkthgLBTT6hhehrTQnilsLIiC8yQvLhLvuHXsseIqiJyPp0i3Jy9fb33_Ryzx4i1Kkf7iEEkW1dcqUaTrZP11_MyyxYj53al2-gFsDLI61oFAqwo/s1280/SaraLeighFinishes02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTo-Cc1Q2_bi3b3TwYEuREN967XbFgkthgLBTT6hhehrTQnilsLIiC8yQvLhLvuHXsseIqiJyPp0i3Jy9fb33_Ryzx4i1Kkf7iEEkW1dcqUaTrZP11_MyyxYj53al2-gFsDLI61oFAqwo/s320/SaraLeighFinishes02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">The heart is my own invention. I was striving for a sand and sea effect. The white on red ornament is Potomac Chapter's 2019 Holiday Surprise, Winter Frost, designed by Donna LaBranche. <br /></div></div><p style="text-align: left;">And I even finished the first one in a Sudberry coaster as a gift.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7mC0cNcyFksfLogL5ASao-k_eUD0J3EbTl9I0aJcXXD5G_UEz6hyv8bNvBtLv67pl2GwfVKw-mymg5OnRHlY6uDBXYR87DTUxMDw3cwvJQKQxUODaVbCxopZltjya3i1udUOag8nwHE/s2429/SmCallaLilyCoaster+-+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2429" data-original-width="2412" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7mC0cNcyFksfLogL5ASao-k_eUD0J3EbTl9I0aJcXXD5G_UEz6hyv8bNvBtLv67pl2GwfVKw-mymg5OnRHlY6uDBXYR87DTUxMDw3cwvJQKQxUODaVbCxopZltjya3i1udUOag8nwHE/s320/SmCallaLilyCoaster+-+1.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">February</h2>A group of us started stitching the ANG 2019 Stitch of the Month in October or November 2019, when we knew what it would look like. This is as far as I've gotten. I need to return to it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbApDMIgjcvB6hpHHQhZTRQV2OHidej5qDE_abyiNhPAMhPCmPO-kh7X_czR2JaZ2MW5TgP-O0JYwGJ8UF_jSx-Ybt7Mc5H3R3SGkAN4N18KZ9g0naIv96soT7hiTCzAKh72MnDfiRA0/s2778/SOTM2019+-+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2625" data-original-width="2778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbApDMIgjcvB6hpHHQhZTRQV2OHidej5qDE_abyiNhPAMhPCmPO-kh7X_czR2JaZ2MW5TgP-O0JYwGJ8UF_jSx-Ybt7Mc5H3R3SGkAN4N18KZ9g0naIv96soT7hiTCzAKh72MnDfiRA0/s320/SOTM2019+-+1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">March</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWgSfZU7rzEqKMYbQHKW9NI0hVjCtVj9dNecHJv4bZcsgLYgJas9KjQ-9jNu1C4BanJACqa0ST8dcbnytjoXNElFenFEd6WlgwDSkjHVWgXiXiktNPjF1xkhdRd1c-zRGK_l3HeuB9ls/s833/SaraLeighFinishes04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="739" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWgSfZU7rzEqKMYbQHKW9NI0hVjCtVj9dNecHJv4bZcsgLYgJas9KjQ-9jNu1C4BanJACqa0ST8dcbnytjoXNElFenFEd6WlgwDSkjHVWgXiXiktNPjF1xkhdRd1c-zRGK_l3HeuB9ls/s320/SaraLeighFinishes04.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">This is the only piece I finished stitching, but I was working on a couple other things during the month. The pandemic set in mid-month. Arg.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">April</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OA4XKB1r19gs3Y2tPALyJf9uLKLIUSpW6tu3da_L9gT5Tj4ZNdyEnRU0SIAcq2HE8Junc_KWN4-TG4kBar7A8Furw87WukeLbwSRI-Ba8WU8eXW9NVeZBU_4kdBKgbe2UdF1YgXTfVw/s640/SaraLeighFinishes+05.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OA4XKB1r19gs3Y2tPALyJf9uLKLIUSpW6tu3da_L9gT5Tj4ZNdyEnRU0SIAcq2HE8Junc_KWN4-TG4kBar7A8Furw87WukeLbwSRI-Ba8WU8eXW9NVeZBU_4kdBKgbe2UdF1YgXTfVw/s320/SaraLeighFinishes+05.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">A variation on Winter Frost, which I rather like.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And I was working on another piece or two.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">May</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4liI_Hx29hkZYc8V0hKv0Ug_x6qwK1ozS67otGJz3AE8TFTztc1RnGqwtemKx5FQKjywoL07R9yjWqp8KUS_eogxtetTPgG_UlCdtYYLGLh1WUb2bELIXUwgJidpI3wlYBHq7wypJBA/s2765/PlaidPumpkin+-+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2765" data-original-width="2743" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4liI_Hx29hkZYc8V0hKv0Ug_x6qwK1ozS67otGJz3AE8TFTztc1RnGqwtemKx5FQKjywoL07R9yjWqp8KUS_eogxtetTPgG_UlCdtYYLGLh1WUb2bELIXUwgJidpI3wlYBHq7wypJBA/s320/PlaidPumpkin+-+1.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">This is an ornament designed by Melissa Shirley, which I snapped up for a song at the ANG Seminar auction when it was in DC. It took me a while to get started, and once started, it's taken me a while to get it to this point. It's nearly done. I have to finish the black background, which I've been doing a little at a time, because black on black. And I'm not happy with the stem and may rip it out.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fY-kF6oFVF6Jgj5ZFl1qFMWoz3PYOYtBJWTQOOEes2z1vC1yTu7ibYF4mlvgKpA02L56PK8p0vupSGZQ-CGdOc3halrAudawU4oNDSF-rPGZ2-ZWx8GSWC0FjwCM9h_i2No5vr7Orqo/s3203/SLFinishesLove+-+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3203" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fY-kF6oFVF6Jgj5ZFl1qFMWoz3PYOYtBJWTQOOEes2z1vC1yTu7ibYF4mlvgKpA02L56PK8p0vupSGZQ-CGdOc3halrAudawU4oNDSF-rPGZ2-ZWx8GSWC0FjwCM9h_i2No5vr7Orqo/s320/SLFinishesLove+-+1.jpeg" /></a> <br /></div><p>This was a wedding gift for an April wedding that became an intimate affair that I watched via a Facebook Live video instead of attending in person. No fancy stitches. The design is intricate enough on its own.</p><p>And I'll leave you here. In May I started on a project that would consume all my stitching time until September. Stay tuned for what I'm working on now.<br /></p>Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-56682464591878340532020-09-23T09:19:00.000-04:002020-09-23T09:19:53.048-04:00Remember 2019?<p> I did a bit of stitching last year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxr6eGy0HoETwAeWJsRyU_rST76gmyre8M1L3boZc-gwKPO6PGP_lUDh_VUS_3qbvsHpwt6bXnCZ5qTSOpxOajrPdzowpvSDw72zj794nPvdYoRfVjSXtyKvCez8mTx_D0AHUGb0R7Zuo/s1280/Needlework2019+-+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxr6eGy0HoETwAeWJsRyU_rST76gmyre8M1L3boZc-gwKPO6PGP_lUDh_VUS_3qbvsHpwt6bXnCZ5qTSOpxOajrPdzowpvSDw72zj794nPvdYoRfVjSXtyKvCez8mTx_D0AHUGb0R7Zuo/s320/Needlework2019+-+1+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7l2rTgFF3lFof_EOW4TtvRAxc_lWUUU8iAHL-a1cPNaD5fkDugHOK0ckHM5kUJP7KLtc-VfwR_GkVeYj34xu3pqbwdKEHxwH6tbsoqb6Ks3_wMAu2C4X2WapOYVxLHfJXaMgVoxKr50U/s1280/Needlework2019+-+1+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7l2rTgFF3lFof_EOW4TtvRAxc_lWUUU8iAHL-a1cPNaD5fkDugHOK0ckHM5kUJP7KLtc-VfwR_GkVeYj34xu3pqbwdKEHxwH6tbsoqb6Ks3_wMAu2C4X2WapOYVxLHfJXaMgVoxKr50U/s320/Needlework2019+-+1+%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_RbgwYwSS9xA8T7x-oNtJI20XBoVvOiYaAQb3u0Zh5XogyKSaO5SZRbhSAZG2Ul_wlGCc2-RJy1miGwGaHqRlRTA5Av7IZbR42aqpPxCqvhsz0w3ixrCrxFSzT3nqOMU2qlvqG14eRQ/s1280/Needlework2019+-+1+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_RbgwYwSS9xA8T7x-oNtJI20XBoVvOiYaAQb3u0Zh5XogyKSaO5SZRbhSAZG2Ul_wlGCc2-RJy1miGwGaHqRlRTA5Av7IZbR42aqpPxCqvhsz0w3ixrCrxFSzT3nqOMU2qlvqG14eRQ/s320/Needlework2019+-+1+%25284%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vcNZAy-QjOVyTo7Vw1RilbjjsGU3vZREuoUk9RIbAwKPk5G0-i8Z2zlxmxiDI_5ApYNFBQx7DHMc3SOgdHFTFB3P8UlCcnY5XTluy_4D8bdc9O0gVq8bQYexv_gICF1UbIr8q76s6AQ/s1280/Needlework2019+-+1+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vcNZAy-QjOVyTo7Vw1RilbjjsGU3vZREuoUk9RIbAwKPk5G0-i8Z2zlxmxiDI_5ApYNFBQx7DHMc3SOgdHFTFB3P8UlCcnY5XTluy_4D8bdc9O0gVq8bQYexv_gICF1UbIr8q76s6AQ/s320/Needlework2019+-+1+%25285%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwd326Ny3hMmAnKcL9v78le64J5he45kt6ubGsPpWBoBp73UbZ7bFV3WRXCqYr0fEuxHvfMyCewnS3y7vgh2acSbxHC2o-Ny-Ff8WYCaDiNigV8K2q7P0shIIZ6hydjK0g5007_r4VXE/s1280/Needlework2019+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwd326Ny3hMmAnKcL9v78le64J5he45kt6ubGsPpWBoBp73UbZ7bFV3WRXCqYr0fEuxHvfMyCewnS3y7vgh2acSbxHC2o-Ny-Ff8WYCaDiNigV8K2q7P0shIIZ6hydjK0g5007_r4VXE/s320/Needlework2019+-+1.jpg" /></a></div><p>My good friend Donna gave me the Merrey Christmas canvas, after painting it to correct the spelling of Merry. She knows me so well. The two hearts were stitched for Hearts for Hospice and are my own inventions.</p><p>I also got the thistle ornament finished.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQzNqZ1RIJ8UGaO3smoJgZHxMXWEqqjY0CdHNn-mW_myTPyqfsvYlRu7UgANvCB2epfkzpdZBDoQkWGWDQL_j0qZJbnXNSPH15grCJRcyQABwNTgQJcJrB9FTA0Sw590eyqynJryGO70Q/s1280/Needlework2019+-+1+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1211" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQzNqZ1RIJ8UGaO3smoJgZHxMXWEqqjY0CdHNn-mW_myTPyqfsvYlRu7UgANvCB2epfkzpdZBDoQkWGWDQL_j0qZJbnXNSPH15grCJRcyQABwNTgQJcJrB9FTA0Sw590eyqynJryGO70Q/s320/Needlework2019+-+1+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>Next up, 2020, the year of living dangerously.<br /></p>Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-21706066468272839682020-09-20T10:23:00.000-04:002020-09-20T10:23:26.495-04:00More Old Stitching<p> Here's what I accomplished in 2018.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAija8BUjrIKAHN_cZfjZ8G1dz7LiCTDVpN45FfX64OTRi2ShO88KPjWgz7NmIsJanLOTvkNH6XgKHgd_aMyshwRz8jNe151ozFLpjBdPug4ISgZ8ZpuVXDxFhHlBddxV7oSf-LGIZAKE/s1280/Needlework2018+-+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1279" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAija8BUjrIKAHN_cZfjZ8G1dz7LiCTDVpN45FfX64OTRi2ShO88KPjWgz7NmIsJanLOTvkNH6XgKHgd_aMyshwRz8jNe151ozFLpjBdPug4ISgZ8ZpuVXDxFhHlBddxV7oSf-LGIZAKE/s320/Needlework2018+-+1+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMppareFlUIYV4qu0I3h3Inb3GOsfr6FASFBP4RxnEevXskcpsYWdIpOiO9lJFpLPL5aJiogvJOeY05O5R2WXJjXplAw5Zg4MGWOv5h8dd-iAkLVu2JR7U_jxNeKJeuy5LGyuEAQfKls/s1280/Needlework2018+-+1+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMppareFlUIYV4qu0I3h3Inb3GOsfr6FASFBP4RxnEevXskcpsYWdIpOiO9lJFpLPL5aJiogvJOeY05O5R2WXJjXplAw5Zg4MGWOv5h8dd-iAkLVu2JR7U_jxNeKJeuy5LGyuEAQfKls/s320/Needlework2018+-+1+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasTAXJPqh_zu55_syUM7HT_dhVqf1TC80PBzDfV-zPKOqGLDWIBLWbvFSyuujja4IEnRN7EYfwxlcCbNuSWwiN1_jPqXf1k4amPaNA1RCx1Jl6DtavtkFjoNgnNsFykgbeTABNBBAA84/s1280/Needlework2018+-+1+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1099" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasTAXJPqh_zu55_syUM7HT_dhVqf1TC80PBzDfV-zPKOqGLDWIBLWbvFSyuujja4IEnRN7EYfwxlcCbNuSWwiN1_jPqXf1k4amPaNA1RCx1Jl6DtavtkFjoNgnNsFykgbeTABNBBAA84/s320/Needlework2018+-+1+%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sX0y4KSZfbSz4xckN3CTExw6C4Gd8eb2Q7jtV3udraWhtOpTWsl9cnFAUQA9CJM-vzK2ck6uHE6N2Z_HWmTZyzNNEv5dJgcE2ISmgAUroQwL12abQfuQtzKtzGgqC7q9oBvgc-kap7E/s1280/Needlework2018+-+1+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sX0y4KSZfbSz4xckN3CTExw6C4Gd8eb2Q7jtV3udraWhtOpTWsl9cnFAUQA9CJM-vzK2ck6uHE6N2Z_HWmTZyzNNEv5dJgcE2ISmgAUroQwL12abQfuQtzKtzGgqC7q9oBvgc-kap7E/s320/Needlework2018+-+1+%25284%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO05_pKySV7w1_i1oHZqxRNx8IL6FqQ_v7eksz7SQVnls9cuBEiOag9mCsFck92IM2wMUyhloyuXFFib5XtLzNzDrOe1niOdoFwNEj9mNtIJEc_UfSvTe8vGZriWyzU49ocz0LXuDh6c/s1280/Needlework2018+-+1+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="958" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO05_pKySV7w1_i1oHZqxRNx8IL6FqQ_v7eksz7SQVnls9cuBEiOag9mCsFck92IM2wMUyhloyuXFFib5XtLzNzDrOe1niOdoFwNEj9mNtIJEc_UfSvTe8vGZriWyzU49ocz0LXuDh6c/s320/Needlework2018+-+1+%25285%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6uvHggcDI11smvoVmXUHkGGgxRF2wYLqAKCYo-QlFJtxvspn51m8sYqJfaM-C8KhUECw8ZgGgcYcLKbi1slM4cgbaAv9U9kTVZpCjeQDcd1IC3ZJGxnpkuwRRayVD6fFsDsvnO8vU7I/s1280/Needlework2018+-+1+%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6uvHggcDI11smvoVmXUHkGGgxRF2wYLqAKCYo-QlFJtxvspn51m8sYqJfaM-C8KhUECw8ZgGgcYcLKbi1slM4cgbaAv9U9kTVZpCjeQDcd1IC3ZJGxnpkuwRRayVD6fFsDsvnO8vU7I/s320/Needlework2018+-+1+%25286%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHzoJMu1ae45A-DGT7dGFGgjFu3gEiHF7f5a83Q9NomR74XFEc89foDALM8L2wxqXXcjHBxOHB0osCcwnRy6zUK18s4WZbwfgt4YVsiw13w2CehyphenhyphendH8hPlTlszGCjT9FNz5K7czjSzNg/s1280/Needlework2018+-+1+%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHzoJMu1ae45A-DGT7dGFGgjFu3gEiHF7f5a83Q9NomR74XFEc89foDALM8L2wxqXXcjHBxOHB0osCcwnRy6zUK18s4WZbwfgt4YVsiw13w2CehyphenhyphendH8hPlTlszGCjT9FNz5K7czjSzNg/s320/Needlework2018+-+1+%25287%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p>The first design is mine.</p><p><br /></p><p>I really enjoyed stitching the stocking cuff, though it was a marathon stitch that ended with an all-nighter so I could meet the deadline for finishing.<br /></p>Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-52823201994374140382020-09-18T11:06:00.000-04:002020-09-18T11:06:46.609-04:00I'm Ba-ackTap, Tap, Tap<br />
<br />
Is this thing on?<br />
<br />
Anybody there?<br />
<br />
I've not been around, but I'm still stitching. Here, I can prove it. I've grouped the photos by year, sometimes it's the year the stitching was finished, sometimes it's the year I finally got the piece finished. This may go on for quite a few posts.<br />
<br />
<h2>
2016</h2><h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADqHTlCr42ovtueriTjC6bXQzsmefh0I4ChEoRXMBY5LiyDXYoi-bF7-X_vkpnHjTXiqdZba7bkWqFsKMJD2s1ifXFztjOtQkoazFrjmQEUb4o9by5jIJ5MIatZAx9V5H0rmBISjuzlo/s1280/Needlework2016+-+1+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADqHTlCr42ovtueriTjC6bXQzsmefh0I4ChEoRXMBY5LiyDXYoi-bF7-X_vkpnHjTXiqdZba7bkWqFsKMJD2s1ifXFztjOtQkoazFrjmQEUb4o9by5jIJ5MIatZAx9V5H0rmBISjuzlo/s320/Needlework2016+-+1+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nyYx7Xd9LO2NUbD4Tc_ngfazzGbx9KBnM-jahm0ISPxAvJGuDOUVHn-a_rtkuco9YrXRvBIbLse1hR4OPIdbC48fsp5P9BVqsXzlgfkIzrUkWbHC9R6P97hP4kMZb5tzY6hKMhaTAp0/s1280/Needlework2016+-+1+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nyYx7Xd9LO2NUbD4Tc_ngfazzGbx9KBnM-jahm0ISPxAvJGuDOUVHn-a_rtkuco9YrXRvBIbLse1hR4OPIdbC48fsp5P9BVqsXzlgfkIzrUkWbHC9R6P97hP4kMZb5tzY6hKMhaTAp0/s320/Needlework2016+-+1+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbzT51sOvEAu48fugW2v6h5enhWEZAaSWQDutTMMfRhK_ZiSatQM8l8RxDuEWP2WbK0YlWNAb82QapyKUotyVLi_ieh7hgdYakA3SXV8rqBaN0je6gdZtwx-6fqnztCnQHyIYCIXFsIE/s1280/Needlework2016+-+1+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1207" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbzT51sOvEAu48fugW2v6h5enhWEZAaSWQDutTMMfRhK_ZiSatQM8l8RxDuEWP2WbK0YlWNAb82QapyKUotyVLi_ieh7hgdYakA3SXV8rqBaN0je6gdZtwx-6fqnztCnQHyIYCIXFsIE/s320/Needlework2016+-+1+%25284%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlYyaM7_vOB6xdPqaExvMDorQMK0GfrntzkCzu-Pcc_xI0gOF_gOcWQD6f2stNtNjeGFpmWB2eJ4glDGpUotXkIdzLdIiV4_TK87kZrAnQJ072-JfCpQUeCiPCEW3wba-e2mVj-lwg6A/s1280/Needlework2016+-+1+%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFlYyaM7_vOB6xdPqaExvMDorQMK0GfrntzkCzu-Pcc_xI0gOF_gOcWQD6f2stNtNjeGFpmWB2eJ4glDGpUotXkIdzLdIiV4_TK87kZrAnQJ072-JfCpQUeCiPCEW3wba-e2mVj-lwg6A/s320/Needlework2016+-+1+%25288%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />2017</h2><h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhokGWEEIZYQtkjQXpwa1pXuMEE6v5qxwoAz5zabZ5LTk81PQ7gcCCaSnvX618YRkXrYOZf4CyIk2P5iVyjoC484yArPt1nC_k3zfO64Gx19jvLO-jMS3pf-M1V010Qu3Uq1Yv44moDU/s1280/Needlework2017+-+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIOKiemX8WYoFEpuYUAw9MPEnL2zP0vB9JUEa1T4s-c7IL-A2Oq4vTZbSdC5ib6Or2B5PziM4JYdvGVJVTAF4enuEwP5mWy4QfWMAopB445M8DK41UK74G8ZBYD7PwAMCITi9Jw5jRws/s320/Needlework2017+-+1+%25284%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4_bY6NMVZ8KNC1sNstej9LCNi_rEFqg187Dx_f8SCja6leerOuMLwkbi77wmz6UMy_StHSlnR7UF-3g1BG6RL98-5mLr5VDqI65PgLVWph58EAcfsPGdXDMkqsdc5lagFaJXMf1_wtE/s1280/Needlework2017+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1009" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4_bY6NMVZ8KNC1sNstej9LCNi_rEFqg187Dx_f8SCja6leerOuMLwkbi77wmz6UMy_StHSlnR7UF-3g1BG6RL98-5mLr5VDqI65PgLVWph58EAcfsPGdXDMkqsdc5lagFaJXMf1_wtE/s320/Needlework2017+-+1.jpg" /></a></div><br /></h2><p style="text-align: left;">I think that's enough for one post. They're a mix of hand-painted canvases and counted canvaswork, four of which are my own designs.<br /></p>
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Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-32781508947688558752017-11-27T13:30:00.000-05:002017-11-27T13:37:06.988-05:00Finished!It's only taken me six months, but I finally have everything as organized as it will ever be. All of my stash is in a closet, a bench, and a vertical cabinet. I just finished up this morning.<br />
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First, the closet. I now have all my threads and larger WIPs in there, along with assorted bags to hold or carry around assorted projects. There's even enough space for me to keep my laundry basket in there! Woo-hoo!<br />
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I also have room for my bag o' ribbons from Woodlawn's Needlework Exhibition and other shows. See how nicely I take care of them. Hahahahhahaha. This side space is sort of a catch-all for needlework and other sundry items I want to get out of the way.<br />
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Next up, the bench. When my father bought the house I grew up in (a few months before I was born), this antique bench came with it. We always referred to it as the "hall seat," so named because it was a bench in the front center hallway. Through the years it's held a lot of things in its rather commodious storage space beneath the seat. When we were all taking dance classes (three girls, youngest and eldest five years apart), the bench was the repository for our dance paraphernalia: tap shoes, ballet slippers, toe shoes, batons, leotards, tights, random costumes, whatever. When we grew out of that era, my mother took charge of it. I don't remember what was in it after that. Fast forward to the adult me, married and a mother: I inherited the bench when my parents downsized from a three-floor Victorian farmhouse-style home to a one-level rambler. For most of its life with me, it's held Jane's artwork. When I moved this last time, I put all her art in a box to make it easier to move. (The thing is heavy!) I finally decided the best use would be to house what wouldn't fit into the closet.<br />
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I have a basket of "current" WIPs on the left and my Scott Church Creative "Bunny Mummy" on the right, which I hope to start sometime in the next year. I just finally figured out how I want to stitch it and pulled threads. The pillow on the right is mola embroidery from Panama. The other three are pillows I made (two of the same cross-stitch design I and a friend created, one stitched over two threads and the other over one). It'll be a pain to move everything, but if I want blank canvas or some of the other WIPs that didn't fit anywhere else, I'll just have to deal with it.<br />
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The other vertical cabinet? I believe I've posted a photo of it before, but here it is again. I did add a few more projects, but it basically looks the same as in this earlier photo.<br />
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Some of the shelves now hold a few more project bags with WIPs. Note the baton sticking out of the urn. The last remnant of my dancing classes.<br />
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And that's that!<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-9054237302808174662017-07-17T14:40:00.001-04:002017-07-17T14:40:53.767-04:00Progress?It's been over a month since I posted that I planned to organize my needlework stash. I know you're all on pins and needles waiting to hear what I've done.<br />
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The short answer? Zip, zilch, nada. But I <i>have</i> put a lot of thought into how I want to organize my threads. It means basically starting from scratch.<br />
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You see, I've been doing much more painted canvas over the past year or two and much, much less counted canvaswork. Color families are much more important than thread numbers or names now. Even when I do counted work now, I end up changing the colors to my taste. Having all my threads sorted by color families would make that much easier.<br />
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My main problem now is doing it. I've been putting it off while waiting for some work to be done in my condo. It was originally supposed to be done in early July, but that didn't happen. So I'm now in the middle of it. I hope to have my space back next week so I can get started on sorting my threads. Perhaps after I hang some pictures.<br />
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I'm planning to do the sorting and organizing in the guest room, but that's the repository for all the pictures that need hanging. I will have to tackle that to free up the bed for sorting. And for guests, should I have an overnight guest.<br />
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I <i>have</i> been doing some stitching on a number of large projects. I do a little bit on one, then a little bit on another. It all adds up to looking like very little being accomplished. That's why I love my small projects. Those I can get done. A recent finish was a jewelry box for my eldest sister's birthday earlier this month.<br />
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The insert is a Mindy design that fit perfectly. The jewelry box is by Lee. This was such an easy finish! And the whole project was easily finished in a reasonable amount of time.<br />
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So that's where I am this month. I wonder if I'll make any progress that I can report next time. I mean, how hard can it be to reorganize all my threads? Don't answer that!<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-47910903814738245122017-06-04T10:30:00.000-04:002017-06-04T10:30:41.512-04:00Oh, MyHas it really been that long since I posted here? Is there anyone out there? I understand if the answer is a resounding silence. Not even crickets.<br />
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I've decided it's accountability time. I recently decided to become a homeowner again. This time, though, I have a lovely, small condo that's just the right size for one person and the occasional guest. Having been here roughly two months, I think I've got the place fairly well organized, with most everything unpacked. What's left, you ask? Why, all my needlework things, that's what!<br />
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Well, that's not totally correct. Some of it's unpacked and stored after a fashion.<br />
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These would be my WIPs and projects at least mounted on bars. On top sits Stars for a New Millennium. The crowning glory?<br />
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I have in my storage unit across from my condo the three boxes I packed and moved from the rental condo, pretty much unloaded from the truck, placed in the guest room (which was the temporary holding station for all the boxes), then moved to the storage unit the next day by my brother-in-law so we'd have room to finish setting up the furniture (he put the bed back together) and find all the stuff I needed for the kitchen, dining room, and my bedroom. Oi!<br />
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Note that those wine boxes are empty. I think they could come in handy sometime. But those three medium boxes sitting there contain all my threads and a few random other things I can't recall. These are supposed to all fit in the smaller closet in my bedroom.<br />
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I don't know. Do you think it'll all fit? I may have to visit the Container Store for advice on reconfiguring this space. I also keep my laundry basket in there. Perhaps that may have to go to the big walk-in closet.<br />
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So this is my accountability post, after all these years. I'm determined to get to work on organizing all my needlework stuff sometime this week. It'll probably take some time.<br />
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But really, how hard can it be?<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-90610153540397999802014-11-10T14:09:00.000-05:002014-11-10T14:09:17.236-05:00Lucky Thirteen!I know you've been waiting with bated breath for this next installment in my WIP Walk of Shame. This post finds the Remedial Stitcher counting her counted projects. Mercifully, they aren't legion. I've included counted canvas and my one counted thread, which comes to the magic and lucky number of 13. Wait, that's wrong. One of that number is actually two projects that are kitted and ready, but they haven't been mounted on stretchers yet. So that would actually make 12 WIPs and 2 kits. I'm not sure that's any better.<br />
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Here they are, in order of stitching priority (at this moment in time).<br />
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This is <i>Florentine Sampler</i> by Nanette Costa, a design from the ANG Chapter Project Book that I'll be leading for my chapter's January meeting. So I have to finish this soon. I'm working on the background, which is the same basic stitch on the left side of the diagonal as on the right, just flipped and using blue instead of the raspberry. This has been an interesting stitch, as the motif in the upper right was a real problem to position correctly. I think I have it off by one thread vertically, which has made the background stitch around it kind of a pain. I will try to make it easier for everyone to position it properly in January. I used <a href="http://www.lecien.co.jp/en/hobby/thread/cosmo25.html" target="_blank">Cosmo</a> floss for this, which is a six-strand Egyptian cotton floss. It costs a little more than DMC (if you buy it at an LNS and not at Michael's, AC Moore, or Hobby Lobby, where they can charge a much lower price that's closer to the wholesale price for an LNS) but is so worth the price! It's got a very silky feel and sheen and is a pleasure to stitch with.<br />
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<i>Tropical Punch</i> by DebBee's Designs is another project that I'll be leading at a chapter meeting in March. The <a href="https://potomacang.shutterfly.com/" target="_blank">Potomac Chapter of ANG</a> (PANG) is doing this in four segments over the course of 2015, and I'm starting it off in March. What was I thinking? Sheesh! My part is the central diamond motif, up to the first Jessica border. I chose to make up my own colorway, which is based on the Caron Collection's Cheyenne in Watercolours and Waterlilies. I obviously need to get going on this, so I will try to work on it at least once a week.<br />
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The next two are projects that I submitted to PANG's annual Stitching Challenge, wherein we select up to five WIPs that we hope to finish within the next year. It begins anew each March. These were in my list for last year as well, and I paid up $5 apiece for not completing them in the allotted time. So I rolled them over for this year. Sadly, I fear I'll be ponying up another $10 come March 2015, as I don't see myself finishing these this time either. But you never know. They aren't in my current rotation (I say that like I really have a rotation going), as I have other non-counted projects that I need to get to first.<br />
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This is <i>Leaf Collage</i> by Terry Dryden, which was a class offered by PANG a couple of years ago (maybe three?). Terry is a wonderful teacher and I enjoyed the class tremendously. If you get the opportunity to take a class with her, jump on it! I really do like this piece, as it's made up of lots of small, easily finished blocks of stitching. What's my excuse? I have none (hanging my head in shame).<br />
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At the 2012 ANG Seminar in Philadelphia, I took a class with Toni Gerdes, <i>Carnival.</i> I love the different stitches and threads used in this. Well, maybe not some of the threads, but most of them. The colors are beautiful, and it's been a challenge to stitch. That empty part on the left is basically the same elements from the right side just turned on their side and shaped differently. It's a lot of compensation, the bane of my existence. This is what's got me stalled. I know if I just put my mind to it, I can finish it.<br />
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Once a month, I've been getting together with the rest of the people who took this class and haven't yet finished it, and we spend the afternoon working on it. It's the beautiful <i>Imari Collage </i>by Debbie Stiehler. I'm making slow progress, and at this rate it'll take me at least another year, maybe two to finish it. So much unfilled space. Sigh. <br /><br />
Now come things that I should do, want to do, need to do, but am not sure when I'll finish.<br />
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A perennial favorite, <i>Stars for a New Millennium</i> by Tony Minieri gets a little attention from time to time. I'm trying to work on this with a group of women I stitch with every other Sunday (when possible, sometimes more like other than every). I'm nearly done with the fifth square, which I've been working on forever. I'm hoping that I'll be able to stick with it now that I've allocated a specific time for stitching it; I just have to remember and not let other things nudge it aside.<br />
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I have to be careful not to let this lovely design fall by the wayside. This is the class I took at the Williamsburg School of Embroidery about two months ago. It's <i>Spring Refraction </i>by Jane Williams. Maybe I can work on this on the Sundays I'm not stitching Stars. I've decided to rip out the stitching I did in the large circle at the bottom left. That was the first thing I did in the class, and I'm really not happy with the way it looks. I'm going to use one strand instead of two of the Appleton Crewel Wool and try to use the colors the same way I did in the smaller orb at the top. We'll see. Ripping it out may be hazardous to the triangular shape's stitches, which are probably anchored in there. Arg.<br />
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Marilyn Owen's <i>Folding Ort Box </i>is languishing in the corner over there. It reproaches me with the blackwork that needs to be done. Again, I have no excuse. I'd really like to get this done, as I think it'll be very pretty and handy to tuck into my stitching bag when I'm on the go. This was a chapter project in 2013.<br /><br />
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I think this is the project that made me realize how wrong it is for me to start these major, large pieces. I love the colors I selected for Pam Gardner's <i>From Molehill to Mountain,</i> which is both a color study and an exercise in stitch variations. I fear this may become a UFO.<br />
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The last installment of Carole Lake and Michael Boren's <i>Building Blocks</i> series. I have only three blocks to go. I may take this to my Thursday stitching group once I finish the <i>Florentine Sampler.</i> I can get one block done during the allotted time. Then I can put all of the finished blocks in the binder I bought for them and use it as a handy reference when I'm looking for an interesting stitch for my painted canvas projects.<br />
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And because I'm an idiot and never will learn, I added this nice new project to my collection of WIPs just yesterday. It's Janet Zickler Casey's <i>Moon Pie Kitty</i>. The NOVA Chapter of ANG offered this and another of her kits in a chapter workshop, inviting members of PANG to join in the fun. It's a black kitty. How could I resist? And I'd watched my friend stitch hers and fell in love with it. I may square it off, since I'm not likely to finish it as a large round "cookie" or ornament. It would fit nicely in a boxtop or trivet, my new favorite way to finish my work.<br /><br />
Let's see. What's left?<br />
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Right. The two kitted projects. They are <i>Diamond Delight 8 </i>by DebBee's Designs and <i>Frankie</i> by Michael Boren. Lovely. <br />
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Nuff said.<br />
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Last but not least, my one counted thread project.<br />
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When I first opened Scarlet Thread in Vienna, I discovered <a href="http://www.millennia-designs.com/" target="_blank">Millennia Designs</a>, a British needlework design firm that was actually located in Wales back then. They carried a variety of historic cross-stitch and needlepoint designs, things I couldn't find anywhere else. One design that I carried was this <i>Aubrey Beardsley "Oriental Lady and Cat." </i>I always coveted it and kept one for myself when I closed the shop. I finally decided to stitch it this year, now that I rarely do cross-stitch. I work on it every now and then. There's no rush. It's not going anywhere.<br />
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And there you have it. My counted needlework projects. If you made it through to the end, congratulations! Your reward is this:<br />
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Kthxbai.<br />
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<br />Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-1960469826165758802014-10-24T20:21:00.000-04:002014-10-24T20:21:23.524-04:00UFOs and a Few Finishes!It's fall. Officially. There's a chill in the air, the leaves are turning, I got out my fall jacket and fall/winter hats. It's definitely fall now.<br />
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So I've been trying to get a handle on all my needlework, both needlepoint and cross-stitch. Yes, cross-stitch. I have projects in a variety of stages. Charted needlepoint, waiting to be kitted up; charted needlepoint that's all kitted up, waiting to be started; hand-painted canvases, newly acquired and awaiting threads; hand-painted canvases with their threads gathered, just begging to be stitched; and cross-stitch, just one, in progress.<br />
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Then there are the WIPs that have now become UFOs. Not too many, but enough.<br />
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That's Laura Perin's <i>Stained Glass Windows </i>(I decided to do just a 4 x 4 section and still couldn't stick with it) on the left.<br />
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Next to it is Carolyn Mitchell's <i>Mystique, </i>a beautiful symmetrical geometric design. And that's just the problem. It's based on the quadrant system. One of my friends had this to say about that kind of charted design: "There! You finished one section! Did you like it? Now you get to stitch it three more times." Not that there's anything wrong with that. I can handle it on a small scale. It's just the really big ones that I can't seem to complete.<br />
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To the right of that is the 2013 ANG Stitch of the Month, which I had all good intentions of finishing as we worked on it at my local guild meetings. I didn't even get through the first three-month segment, giving up after finishing one side of the border.<br />
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At the far right is Jim Wurth's <i>Prelude to Peace,</i> what you could call a BAP (or a big-a$$ project). Beautiful as it is, this one just couldn't hold my interest.<br />
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On the left in the front is a Ewe & Eye painted canvas piece that I saved from my brick-and-mortar store. I really do like the design. I've stitched a few portions, but I'm just not feeling it. So this one is destined to remain as it is.<br />
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Finally, you see a mystery from Blue Dogwood, <i>CAThedral.</i> I actually do like this, but I tried to do it with threads from my own stash, using colors that were close or might work as well and adding in other purchased ones as necessary. I created a monster! It just got too hard to figure out which thread I was going to use for each segment as they came out. I gave up.<br />
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These have now been taken off their stretcher bars, packed up, and stored in my guest room, where I keep all my needlework. My guild's going to have a swap in February, and these will be offered up there. If no one wants them, then the threads will all be incorporated with my stash (I say that like it's organized), the canvases discarded, and the chart packs filed.<br />
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I have been doing a lot of stitching, and I've finished stitching a few things.<br />
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This is a Sundance Designs canvas, <i>Chili Peppers</i>. I bought this for my brick-and-mortar store and started stitching it as a model. It languished with just the peppers stitched till this spring (summer?), when I finally figured out how to stitch the background and border. Ta-da!<br />
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This is my modified <i>Halloween Treat</i> by Marilyn Owen. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It's now awaiting finishing.<br />
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I went to the ANG Seminar in Chicago at the end of August and took a class with Orna Willis, <i>Color Inspiration.</i> What a wonderful concept for a class and what a challenge for me! Orna sent each student a pair of photos (you see the one I chose on the right above) from which to choose as the inspiration for the color story to be stitched. Each student received a unique pair. So I was the only one who had this as well as its companion. Suffice to say, this is so far out of my comfort zone color-wise that I finished the first day quite disheartened and feeling that I'd made a huge mistake. Everything came together the next morning, though; and by the end of the third day, I felt confident that I'd eventually finish it. Amazingly, I was so motivated that I finished it up within the next month. I even finally learned how to do French knots!<br />
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This is <i>Little Red Barn,</i> and I can't remember who the designer is. It's a little painted canvas I picked up at my LNS to stitch for a good friend who has a horse and loves all things related to horses. I whipped it up in about a day, then put it in a Sudberry coaster. I had a lot of fun stitching this little piece. I'm hoping that silly white fleck was on top of the glass and not trapped beneath it. Sigh.<br />
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So that's what I've been up to. My needlework organization project continues. I'll try to post an update when I've made more progress with it sometime next week. In the meantime, I'm going to take a class with Laura Taylor at <a href="http://bedeckedandbeadazzled.com/" target="_blank">Bedecked & Beadazzled</a> in Timonium, MD, this weekend. I can't wait! We'll be stitching Ruth Schmuff's <i>Flower Collage.</i><br />
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I'm really looking forward to learning some new stitches and techniques and working with new materials.<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-54453459663411108502014-07-16T21:43:00.001-04:002014-07-16T21:43:57.717-04:00A WIP is a WIP is a WIPUnless, of course, it becomes a UFO.<br />
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I've decided it's time to tally all the needlepoint WIPs I've got. Today is counted canvas day. I took pictures of all the ones sitting around on the main floor of my condo. I know there are some things lurking upstairs in the guest room, but I think these are a good start.<br />
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Ready?<br />
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In no particular order, these are all things I could finish up by just applying myself or projects I'm currently working on with my chapter of ANG. Actually a lot of them have sprouted up because of the guild. Hmmm.<br />
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This is <i>Carnival</i>, by Toni Gerdes. I went to the ANG Seminar in Philadelphia in 2012, and this is one of the classes I took. It's also one of my projects for the annual "Challenge" of my chapter of ANG. For the second year. Sigh. The color's a little off in the picture. That canvas should be yellow but is showing a distincly greenish cast to me here. What do I have left to do? The bottom right section, and the triangular sections on the left, which repeat motifs in the larger right part. The compensation for the triangular sections is killing me. And I think I just don't really like the thread I'm using for that bottom right piece. Oh, and the border. I have to do the border. This really is a lovely piece with fun stitches. I've just stalled on the left side, and inertia's taken over.<br />
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<i>Leaf Collage, </i>by Terry Dryden, is a workshop project. Again, from 2012 (I think, though it could be 2011; no, that's impossible). My guild chapter, <a href="https://potomacang.shutterfly.com/" target="_blank">Potomac Chapter of ANG</a>, sponsored the workshop. Terry was a marvelous teacher, full of good tips on technique. We "painted" the blue sections with <a href="http://store.copicmarker.com/pages/products-markers" target="_blank">Copic markers</a>; the leaves are photo transfers that Terry already had on the outlined canvas. What's great about this piece is how it's broken up into lots of smaller, manageable sections. I've been diligently (well, that might be a little too strong a term) stitching the sections with "spaghetti" threads and have actually made some progress. This piece is also a part of my annual Challenge. Also for the second year. There's a lot to be done on this, so I'm not optimistic about finishing it before the end of the Challenge year. I'm not happy with the stitching on the gingko leaf that I started during the workshop, so that will probably come out. I've learned some new techniques, so I may choose to stitch the leaves in a totally different way. But I'm getting way ahead of myself.<br />
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This is Marilyn Owen's <i>Folding Ort Box,</i> which I started in our monthly chapter meetings. Initially, the goal was to have it completely finished to send to the ANG Seminar in 2013, to be included in an exhibit of nothing but these Ort Boxes as stitched by members across the country. Obviously, I didn't make it. The square at the top left is the bottom, and the rest of the squares are the sides. Yes, they're all ultimately going to be square. I need to do the blackwork stitching on the bottom three, then finish the borders on the sides, then cut all the squares out and put it together. And voilà! An ort box that folds up in an origami fashion to a flat square. I painted my canvas to get the right shade of yellow for this. I really should get this done. Again, there's not all that much left to do. I do find the finishing intimidating though.<br />
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Debbie Stiehler's <i>Imari Collage </i>is the project of a recent workshop with Debbie, sponsored by PANG. We were lucky enough to have her come to teach just before she retired from teaching. (Ours was the penultimate workshop she led.) This is a daunting piece. Lots of metallic threads. Some very fine and unruly. There's a lovely or nue section that I was surprised to find relatively easy to do once I got into the rhythm. The finishing of that section, however, is very intimidating to me. I keep threatening to trim those long gold threads extending from either side to neat, short lengths and leave them on top instead of plunging them through the congress cloth. My friends just laugh. I enjoyed doing the plaid at the bottom left. There's another rectangle of that at the top of that column.<br />
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About a dozen of us are meeting once a month to work on this in an effort to keep our momentum going. Some are momenting more than others. This will take me years to finish, I just know it.<br />
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Another long-term meeting-program project we're doing in my chapter is the 2013 ANG Stitch of the Month project by Debbie Stiehler. This is what we covered in the first of four meetings. I haven't actually finished it; the borders should be completed all the way around. And I haven't even started what was covered in the last meeting. Arg. I do plan to try to catch up, though, since the next installment won't be until September (I think). (I should know this, since I'm in charge of the programs. Hahahahahaha.) There's a third color to be used, which I may decide to change.<br />
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Marilyn Owen's Halloween Treat is what we'll be working on at the chapter meeting tomorrow. I'm actually caught up on this and a little bit ahead. In case you haven't already figured it out, I changed the colors. Mine is not going to be a Halloween piece; I don't generally do holiday stitching, though there are exceptions. I had a hank of silk floss that had gorgeous maroon and green shades, so I used that for my jumping off point. Instead of the Halloween-themed buttons and embellishments, I'm using cats and cat-related ones. This has been a fun project (well, except for the borders and grid, which were just tedious and painstaking because if the count was off anywhere, the whole thing would have been out of whack). I've been enjoying figuring out which threads to use in each section. And this is what the original piece looks like.<br />
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And finally, the last long-term project I've been working on is a notebook series from StitchPlay Designs.<br />
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This is Michael Boren and Carole Lake's <a href="http://www.stitchplay.com/blocks.html" target="_blank"><i>Building Blocks for Needlepoint </i></a>series, which has been arriving every couple of months for a year. I'm working on the last segment now. Each segment included a booklet with a discussion of the threads to be used (three full skeins!), then directions for the stitch samples, along with a discussion of how each stitch can be used in your needlepoint. I've already used some of these stitches in other projects. It's been a great way to play with different threads and learn lots of stitches, and I'm really sorry it's ended because I did manage to keep up with this for the most part. I finally got a binder to put all of these in so I can use it for easy reference.<br />
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So those are my current WIPs in counted canvas. There are some others, as I mentioned above, but they're not really in the current rotation. Rotation. I say that like I actually do these systematically.<br />
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I have a number of painted canvas WIPs and even a counted thread project. Those will wait for another post. And then there are all the projects waiting in the wings, and they seem to be legion!<br />
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I'll catch up. I know I can. I mean, how hard can it be?<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-17453229818325879352014-06-08T09:40:00.000-04:002014-06-08T09:40:13.907-04:00Testing, 1, 2, 3. Testing, 1, 2, 3.Is this thing on?<br />
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::tapping the mike::<br />
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Is anybody out there?<br />
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Let's see if we can make this thing work.<br />
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It's been a long time, nearly two years since my last post. Sounds sort of like the beginning of a confession, doesn't it?<br />
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I'm back! Did you miss me? You might wonder whether I've been stitching. The short answer: Yes! And now for a longer answer.<br />
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I've been stitching a lot, just not finishing a lot. Those things that I've finished, I've generally given away. I've been stitching counted canvas almost exclusively, though I've done the random counted thread piece here and there. Lately, I've been doing more painted canvas, something I thought I'd never get into. But as I've learned more different stitches and techniques, I've found I rather like it.<br />
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Here's some of what I'm working on right now:<br />
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Nearly finished is a painted canvas piece I started as a shop model when I still had Scarlet Thread, the store, <a href="http://www.sundancedesignsonline.com/images/products/TM-CHLS.jpg" target="_blank">Chilis Small</a> by Terri Medaris, distributed by Sundance Designs and available through your LNS. For years, it's been languishing off in a corner, waiting for me to rip out the basketweave I'd started doing for the background and decide what to do instead. I finally realized that I now know enough different stitches to tackle it, so I spent an evening frogging. This was one time I didn't say, "How hard can it be." I hate ripping out backstitch! Takes way too long. Anywhere, that brought me to this:<br />
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Ahhh. I decided to stitch the yellow and orange background with a thin thread, Pure Palette's Soy Luster, using a light-coverage stitch. I had found the perfect one in <i>Father B's 21st Century Book of Stitches,</i> by The Rev. Robert E. Blackburn, Jr. (which was distributed by Rainbow Gallery when I had the store and should be available through your LNS). It's called the Background Stitch and is similar to the Diagonal Tent Stitch Variation. I loved the way it allowed the background painting to show through and added an element of texture.<br />
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The next step? How to do that ribbon-like border.<br />
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I started browsing my books as well as Stitchplay Design's <a href="http://stitchplay.com/blocks.html" target="_blank"><i>Building Blocks for Needlepoint,</i></a> a wonderful notebook series by Carole Lake and Michael Boren that lets you play with a variety of threads while learning wonderful stitches to increase your stitch vocabulary. After my comprehensive search and conferring with a friend while we were at her chemo session, I decided on. Wait for it. Cross stitch. Yes, you read that right. The other basic, a cross stitch. I think it's working wonderfully, using one ply of Caron Collection's Watercolours, stitching each cross stitch as I go, and cutting out whatever I don't like of the overdye.<br />
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What do you think? (Funny what different lighting conditions can do to the colors. This is pretty accurate.)<br />
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So I hope to finish this very soon.<br />
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In the meantime, I have a lot of WIPs! I have three counted canvas class pieces, a couple more painted canvas pieces (maybe more), and a new counted thread piece. That's correct, a new counted thread piece. Have I got my linen groove back? We'll see. I did get it on a scroll frame and stitched a bit to be sure I could handle what I bought yesterday. I have had the pattern since I opened the shop and finally decided to get the fabric and thread. What did I select? Oh, just a piece of 40-ct linen and a skein of overdyed silk floss. Stitching one ply over two threads, using a magnifier and light. Yeah.<br />
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I'll try to be more regular in my blog posts to let you know what I'm doing on my other WIPs, including more pictures. I'll also try not to start anything new. But I make no promises. I've got a lot of new things lurking in the corners, looking at me reproachfully.<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-10859458069788475812012-09-25T11:01:00.000-04:002012-09-25T11:01:05.821-04:00It's Finished!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's happy dance time! I finally finished stitching "Stella Polaris" by StitchPlay Designs, a cyberclass I started in June.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isn't she pretty? I really love the way this worked up. I used Caron Collection Watercolours Wheat Fields as the basis for the colorway. Although the purples are definitely part of my usual color palette, orange is rarely something I go for.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Those of you who are familiar with my stitching history are probably astonished at the speed (yes, I call this speed) with which I finished this piece! Once I grasped that silly double fan doubled stitch, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. It was mostly a matter of making the time to stitch. In fact, I finished it in a marathon session Sunday night/Monday early morning. I could see the end and decided to stitch as long as I could without making mistakes. (No, I didn't go over this with an eye for finding any mistakes. Any mistakes are personal design decisions, à la undocumented features in computer software.)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what am I doing now? I'm so glad you asked! At my ANG chapter meeting on Thursday, we started Marilyn Owen's "Ornament Quartet" from the Chapter Project Book. We could choose one of four different designs (or all four, of course). I selected the string art design (no surprise there). Here's my progress (all done last night, as I had to rip out what I had done at the meeting because the thread wasn't right):<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm using one of Nature's Palette's beautiful hand-painted canvases, Coffee Metallic, as my ground. The threads are Planet Earth Fiber 6-Ply Silk Hand Paint, Gloriana Princess Perle Petite, Kreinik #8 Braid, and Caron Collection Soie Cristale. The starting point for my thread decisions was the Planet Earth silk. After Dawn and my visit to the TNNA market in Baltimore a few weeks ago, I contacted Planet Earth and requested some samples. This is one of the ones they sent, and I just swooned! I needed to use it, and right away. How fortuitous that the chapter project called for a 6-strand floss. I had also wanted to use this rich brown canvas, and they played very well together. I pulled the happily coordinating Princess Perle Petite from another WIP (which someday I may get back to and for which I'll have to get more of this), then picked up the Soie and Kreinik (thanks to Donna for having just the right color to convince me that my first choice was wrong).<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There's not much more to this ornament. The Walnetto is repeated on the other three sides of the center motif, there's a Brick Couching stitch filling in the sides, and Mini Crescents fill in the corners. Will I finish this as an ornament? Stay tuned. You never know.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm also still plugging away at "Carnival" from Seminar. I do love this piece and hope to finish it in the near future. Now if only I could apply myself to "Stars for a New Millennium."<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-14556906409091295462012-09-16T21:35:00.000-04:002012-09-16T21:35:14.712-04:00Post-Seminar Catching UpGoodness! Has it really been over two months since my last post? I'm chagrinned. I haven't been doing a lot of stitching. It's been somewhat sporadic, with bursts of energy followed by stagnation. I'm not sure why, although I <i>have </i>been reading a lot. In fact, I spent most of August reading because I managed to borrow four (or was it five?) books from the library (having intended to just pick up one that was on hold) and had to finish them all within three weeks. Yikes! I managed to get them all back on time, but I did end up quitting one after about 100 pages because I just couldn't get into it.<br />
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On to the stitching news.<br />
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I made pretty good progress on "Stella Polaris" for a few weeks, before getting bogged down with the double fan doubled stitch. It wasn't the under, over, under, over, then go down (or is that over, under, over, under, then go down?) that got me so much as having three threaded needles going and keeping track of what went over or under which color. I tried doing this stitch at my Tuesday night stitching group and had to quit early on. Then I never went back to it. As it turned out, I was psyching myself out about this. Once I applied myself on Tuesday last week, I managed to complete the first of four large diamond areas containing this stitch. Huzzah!<br />
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I'm very happy with how this is turning out and hope to press ahead and finish it up in the next few weeks.<br />
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The last week of August was wonderful! I attended my first ANG National Seminar, held in Philadelphia this year. It was a drivable distance, so I and two friends decided to make it our first but we hope not last. We spent five days immersed in the world of needlepoint, surrounded by hundreds of people who understood our fascination with threads, canvas, and the artistry of needlework. If you have the opportunity, you simply must go at least once in your life!<br />
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I took two two-day classes, leaving a day free between them. The first class, I and my companions all took together. Toni Gerdes taught her stunning design "Carnival," the beauty of which wasn't truly apparent until we got in class and opened up our kits. The threads and canvas were stunning in shades of pink, coral, yellow, blue, and green, all pulled from the Caron Collection Carnival Watercolours. This is where I am after the two-day class and a couple of short stitching sessions:<br />
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Even this picture doesn't do justice to the colors of this piece. Our canvases had the outline drawn and several key points marked by slightly enlarged holes. This made it so much easier to get right to stitching, since a great deal of counting was eliminated. Thank you, Toni! She was a great teacher, giving us many great tips and explaining things thoroughly (sometimes more than once). Note the large diamond-shaped area in the upper right portion of the canvas. Does that look familiar? It should. It's a variation on the double fan doubled, and I'm sure that doing this one finally made it clear to me how to do the one in "Stella Polaris."<br />
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The other class took me out of my comfort zone. "Purple Mountains and Golden Wheat" is a beautiful landscape designed and taught by Lynn Payette. I learned how to iron! Seriously, the whole first day was spent ironing Wonder Under onto lots of little rectangles of sheer fabric in a range of purples and golds, then figuring out which fabric would go where to create the mountains and fields of wheat that formed the base of the design, cutting each piece to match the drawing on the Congress Cloth, and finally permanently fusing the fabric to the cloth. I didn't actually finish this up till the next morning. This was what I took the class for. I wanted to learn how to do this, how to visualize and then execute the effect. This is what I had done at the end of the second day:<br />
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Probably doesn't look like much, does it? Let me put the viewfinder included with our kit in place.<br />
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I think that's a little better. As you can see, I didn't get very far with the stitching. I did learn a great technique for beading that keeps the beads firmly in place along with how to make a cord from rayon (shudder) floss. But I spent most of my time creating the landscape base. Lynn is a very interesting and patient teacher. I feel like I really learned a lot about the process of creating this piece and hope to implement the technique in other projects. Will I ever finish this? Probably not. But you never know.<br />
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Btw, here are the completed models for both classes.<br />
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<a href="http://www.needlepoint.org/Seminar-12/images/23021-Purple-Mountains-and-Golden-Wheat-5843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.needlepoint.org/Seminar-12/images/23021-Purple-Mountains-and-Golden-Wheat-5843.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
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As you can see. I have a long way to go. I do hope to finish "Carnival," and you never know, I may get inspired to finish "Purple Mountains."<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-82458070047189906862012-07-09T18:20:00.000-04:002012-07-09T18:20:24.034-04:00A Finish and a Start<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Shortly after my last post, I finally completed the stitching of "Flyways." Yay! It feels so good to finish this at last.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodiqEZ3349swXmbhN-Tf7T_pRKDrt-OL9rmnAiwCneQ1F63R-76ILWrquOsoDFeW3dep8El4akNNM9ULSe8Gl2eKXjButv0ShaPQ1QzL2GkH_4oFO6NMgjhSsh23iolm2AwQ_dK0zPII/s1600/FlywaysCompleted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodiqEZ3349swXmbhN-Tf7T_pRKDrt-OL9rmnAiwCneQ1F63R-76ILWrquOsoDFeW3dep8El4akNNM9ULSe8Gl2eKXjButv0ShaPQ1QzL2GkH_4oFO6NMgjhSsh23iolm2AwQ_dK0zPII/s320/FlywaysCompleted.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here it is from another perspective.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCysgJcFay77P0h_v20JbYQf9uv4Vd00r_msG7fj8uHZgvbScT1xv_UE1OKn8Z4M-aAnygW30oCf8xg5meN80wnw_DVRzPKZAHZovwUU9PH9QLQWJu4_i8l0BzCV1fVBow3EtrFh7OT4/s1600/FlywaysCompletedAngle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiCysgJcFay77P0h_v20JbYQf9uv4Vd00r_msG7fj8uHZgvbScT1xv_UE1OKn8Z4M-aAnygW30oCf8xg5meN80wnw_DVRzPKZAHZovwUU9PH9QLQWJu4_i8l0BzCV1fVBow3EtrFh7OT4/s320/FlywaysCompletedAngle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I decided to put it in a Sudberry Small Square Tray and give it to my eldest sister for her birthday, which was July 3.<br />
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<a href="http://www.sudberry.com/pics1/68001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://www.sudberry.com/pics1/68001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So I wrapped the completed canvas still on its stretcher bars, gave it to her, then wrapped it up again and brought it home to put in the tray that I'll be ordering in a day or two. She's used to this kind of gifting from me.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On Sunday, July 1, my Stella Polaris cyberclass officially started. I refrained from doing anything other than the basting before receiving the first official lesson from Michael Boren and Carole Lake. I thought it would be nice to see what special notes, tips, and suggestions they'd provide before doing any stitching, and I'm so glad I did. These two are a hoot! In addition to providing incredible information and supplemental materials, they make a great comedy team. The back-and-forth banter is perfect, and it makes it seem like you're really in a classroom.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So here's my first lesson, completed mid-week (I think). (Hey! I'm old. I'm allowed to be a little vague with details. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking with it.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-mcjAPwZzCA6k_TWcyAWt2u1oF8y-6rc2eKqivLVJMGfL2j6Yu3oeW-DXFN-6Vii_gvPIXhDPvSFhUABVqD7ibUhiDyPZV4g9XwvKtmCOrGFAXifdYjyIqmVYWq0tv834X0YrBpbtEY/s1600/StellaLesson1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-mcjAPwZzCA6k_TWcyAWt2u1oF8y-6rc2eKqivLVJMGfL2j6Yu3oeW-DXFN-6Vii_gvPIXhDPvSFhUABVqD7ibUhiDyPZV4g9XwvKtmCOrGFAXifdYjyIqmVYWq0tv834X0YrBpbtEY/s320/StellaLesson1.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I like the way the colors are working, and yes, the variegated thread is supposed to have that stripey look. Carole and Michael said so!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The next class, which I received yesterday but haven't started yet, uses the accent color that I've been waffling about. After looking at several more alternatives on Tuesday night (I was wrong; I finished it on Monday or Tuesday night), which I had looked at with my stitching peeps the week before, I decided on an entirely different thread and color, Soy Luster in a tealy blue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPdHR-uJh5quK4q45Yz_2UbR-lbWWQ5fJBA6I8RDKsotNpcE42Nlu2drvvWmGeEDDCp-MQsHDbp0zCtTNf-nVCIpfEjWgqXiJ7RuA3zteze_vlGNKd6nsbp8s1mv_wjDY-AuVumQpwSo/s1600/StellaLessonAccentColor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPdHR-uJh5quK4q45Yz_2UbR-lbWWQ5fJBA6I8RDKsotNpcE42Nlu2drvvWmGeEDDCp-MQsHDbp0zCtTNf-nVCIpfEjWgqXiJ7RuA3zteze_vlGNKd6nsbp8s1mv_wjDY-AuVumQpwSo/s320/StellaLessonAccentColor.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I really like this color and just hope that the Soy Luster isn't too thin a thread to use for the Walneto and Arrow Amadeus stitches that are layered on top of these basketweaved squares. If it's too thin, I may have to see if there's a Presencia #8 pearl cotton that is close to this color.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's funny. I really wanted the pink to be the right accent, but when I looked at it on top of this center section, it just looked kind of bland and insipid. (Okay, that's redundant but I think that says it all.) Oh well.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-16238091213819003452012-06-25T18:18:00.000-04:002012-06-25T18:18:25.881-04:00Do I need another project?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh, never mind. That's really a rhetorical question. Of course I don't <i>need </i>another project. Need has never had anything to do with it, according to conventional needleworker's wisdom. So to celebrate that, I'm getting ready to embark on not one but two new projects. But before I go into that, let me show you my progress on a workshop piece that's, oh, more than a year old.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r4DJRkUflKM94k-12bHTgofI5q6Mxy8khRQcwQ8wPSxlZnBV4xw0B5Fli-ZZq7PgdTgx5b3TUHp0kF7MLgS-GZR6ige460d2mTZWtgCMpDKlkR-A_iE6kSTBpUHWXbSRj6EIu6AtrQ0/s1600/Flyways120625Tilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r4DJRkUflKM94k-12bHTgofI5q6Mxy8khRQcwQ8wPSxlZnBV4xw0B5Fli-ZZq7PgdTgx5b3TUHp0kF7MLgS-GZR6ige460d2mTZWtgCMpDKlkR-A_iE6kSTBpUHWXbSRj6EIu6AtrQ0/s320/Flyways120625Tilt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isn't she pretty? That would be <i>Flyways, </i>by Michael Boren. I really don't remember when I started this through the Shenandoah Valley Chapter of ANG, maybe sometime in April or May of last year. I'm on the last part, the border. Once I finish the double-fan stitch all the way around, there's another stitch that gets put in each of the diamond shapes thus created. Then it's finished! I'm determined to get this done within the next couple of weeks. It's what I'm taking to my stitching groups, nothing else.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now for the new projects. First is a piece that we're going to do during several meetings over the next year in the <a href="http://potomacang.shutterfly.com/" target="_blank">Potomac Chapter of ANG</a>, <a href="http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/ScarletThread/-strse-3278/charted-needlepoint%2C-canvaswork%2C-Laura/Detail.bok" target="_blank"><i>Stained Glass Windows,</i></a> by Laura J. Perin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2S7gmOG3GqUB4PiNVzCQ7r3RdNzkkpCpSLM89DDIFyAMLbg9DdGh7yhh_kCgnGSlIZkePCQp45_Nv3bEmr04U1H3u0H7wR-GT799aigO7irqCiXd1nmUfLDxlzjY0eF427x62UWTjC0/s1600/LJPStainGlWindowsCh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2S7gmOG3GqUB4PiNVzCQ7r3RdNzkkpCpSLM89DDIFyAMLbg9DdGh7yhh_kCgnGSlIZkePCQp45_Nv3bEmr04U1H3u0H7wR-GT799aigO7irqCiXd1nmUfLDxlzjY0eF427x62UWTjC0/s320/LJPStainGlWindowsCh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have to admit, other than my half-completed <i>Summer Kimono </i>(a class I offered in my B&M store and my second attempt at charted needlepoint, the first being <i>Lois </i>by Something Different), I've never actually stitched one of Laura's designs. At least I can't recall one. So this will be interesting, as I'm co-leading the group on this one. Hahahaha. How hard can it be, right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLDDagcfqoIOP5_ERxpSTk-jdJdDvP9Tf6fYRoELo_TGZUMRrhgBFCfJstX2yULnNI0PINxmB-uvDf27buJCb9BzdEGMSIsAy19mP5MT8UubRcg5vH1GnilTbCcba3xwjSTznhHYdC6s/s1600/StainedGlassWindowsColors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLDDagcfqoIOP5_ERxpSTk-jdJdDvP9Tf6fYRoELo_TGZUMRrhgBFCfJstX2yULnNI0PINxmB-uvDf27buJCb9BzdEGMSIsAy19mP5MT8UubRcg5vH1GnilTbCcba3xwjSTznhHYdC6s/s320/StainedGlassWindowsColors.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Never content to use the designer's colors unless they hit me just right, I've created my own colorway for this, based on Appalachia Watercolours. I'm loving the bright green. I just hope it doesn't overpower the rest of the colors. I'll be starting this sometime in the next month or so, to be ready for the August meeting.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The second piece is a cyberclass with Michael Boren and Carole Lake of <a href="http://www.stitchplay.com/" target="_blank">StitchPlay Designs</a>, offered through <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SNS_Home_Room/" target="_blank">Shining Needle Society</a>: Stella Polaris. Even though they have offered 10 colorways, I still felt compelled to make up my own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWmHhPZzPsevprWTS6o3Cw9o2RUeTQT2yQ90vEvqclIJ80dhUhLuBdMeg3OD5TI-i7GKIGVTaUKGZZZjhV-2rDdJZDLrBq5uL6eV9ZBYzUEQmr1icty_-8iv7U4W6uz1yYDVm3ChPerc/s1600/StellaPolarisColorsPink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWmHhPZzPsevprWTS6o3Cw9o2RUeTQT2yQ90vEvqclIJ80dhUhLuBdMeg3OD5TI-i7GKIGVTaUKGZZZjhV-2rDdJZDLrBq5uL6eV9ZBYzUEQmr1icty_-8iv7U4W6uz1yYDVm3ChPerc/s320/StellaPolarisColorsPink.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvSt89wNJy38K5SFL_9azkuoL1OQY_idswGG9hFpNLsbPM6ANFJgpMZMVclKorAlDVxtrsL-VTHKQZhyphenhyphenpy8gJZuWFhyphenhyphenjApT6znJ1tbELFYzVNoymEtaIvbXiQu1pMiWeWNpnfLYnSTKo/s1600/StellaPolarisColorsTeal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvSt89wNJy38K5SFL_9azkuoL1OQY_idswGG9hFpNLsbPM6ANFJgpMZMVclKorAlDVxtrsL-VTHKQZhyphenhyphenpy8gJZuWFhyphenhyphenjApT6znJ1tbELFYzVNoymEtaIvbXiQu1pMiWeWNpnfLYnSTKo/s320/StellaPolarisColorsTeal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Obviously, I'm conflicted about one color. It's the accent color. It should be either a different shade of one of the two main colors, purple or orange in my case, or an accent. I decided to go with an accent and loved the pink. But I had to go and share my colors at the ANG meeting last week, and that's where the problem began. Green or teal were urged. So back I trooped to <a href="http://www.theneedlewomaneast.com/Welcome.html" target="_blank">Needlewoman East</a> the next day to see if there was a teal in Elegance. Hah! Of course there was. And it looks nice too. I just can't decide. I may wait until it gets used in the piece and decide then. What do you think?<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So that's what I'm adding to my long list of WIPs. Stained Glass Windows borders on BAP-ness but isn't quite there. Stella Polaris seems manageable. Hahahahaha. Famous last words.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-60258703056122448002012-06-05T21:57:00.000-04:002012-06-05T22:00:01.464-04:00Blog Hop: Stitching Goals<a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/category/stitching-bloggers/"><img alt="Stitching the Night Away Stitching Bloggers Blog Hop" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2655" height="100" src="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/StitchingBloggersBlogHop.jpg" title="StitchingBloggersBlogHop" width="468" /></a><br />
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<blockquote>
Do you set stitching goals for yourself and how do you
plan them out? (Weekly, monthly, annually?) What are your current
stitching goals (if you don’t mind sharing)? In addition to setting goals for yourself, do you have a special reward that you reserve for when you reach a stitching goal?</blockquote>
No, I don't set stitching goals. I've found that over the past few years, I only end up frustrated because life intervenes and prevents me from achieving them. That doesn't stop me from stitching; it just makes it a more relaxing, soothing experience, since I'm not making any demands on myself other than to work toward completing whatever project I'm working on. And I do have projects. Let's see if I can recall them all. (Note: I think all of these pictures have appeared already in this blog; in other words, these are not progress pictures.)<br />
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<i>Stars for a New Millennium,</i> by Tony Minieri, now more than two years in the stitching and not even halfway finished. Perhaps I'll put this back into a weekly rotation again. Maybe try to work on this on Mondays. But it's not a goal!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WOGAo80m3xOxjgwy1pgTspfpda74VUjYsDzobFa5ax-Z3jZ1VsD1v4I4CQ8Lg3FvARzVy-6I5YequZwOZU5Ml69qa5FrN8eWIUXZDEUgsyuim4TT4ovmqpwbDERn1VGF5G2qLgRIA3Y/s1600/Stars120123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WOGAo80m3xOxjgwy1pgTspfpda74VUjYsDzobFa5ax-Z3jZ1VsD1v4I4CQ8Lg3FvARzVy-6I5YequZwOZU5Ml69qa5FrN8eWIUXZDEUgsyuim4TT4ovmqpwbDERn1VGF5G2qLgRIA3Y/s320/Stars120123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Tessellations Again,</i> by Orna Willis, maybe only a little more than a year in the stitching and maybe a third finished. I love the colors. If I just stuck with it, I might get it finished in a few weeks. I could try to stitch it at my Tuesday stitching group till I finish.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAG7VWQlih06_OAWFg-l5bekA4ITVCRDXcvL9vZyYZTGbXnEIqvoKrxH_65bcN3HH51hzuPP2BgpH8QU8LP_JipbCxs5qELhlnAZi8WaxlswfMr5Ei2MpvK9kyzJ0QSfyU4cvElEo0BX4/s1600/SLWIPsTesselations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAG7VWQlih06_OAWFg-l5bekA4ITVCRDXcvL9vZyYZTGbXnEIqvoKrxH_65bcN3HH51hzuPP2BgpH8QU8LP_JipbCxs5qELhlnAZi8WaxlswfMr5Ei2MpvK9kyzJ0QSfyU4cvElEo0BX4/s320/SLWIPsTesselations.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
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<i>Prelude to Peace,</i> by Jim Wurth, barely begun. And I had great plans to blog my progress on this. We all know how well that went. (See what goals can do to me!) I don't know when I'll ever get back to this one. Is it perhaps to become a UFO? Maybe.<br />
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<i>Flyways,</i> by Michael Boren, nearly finished! Now this one, I know I can finish in a couple or three sessions by just applying myself. It's a good candidate for my Thursday stitching group.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6gyDJaweSFLm_XaP2SOhnizgTvFuO-GP9wMM8CecX-TmObqjQsioz0eBzHmtH6vaIXCyz547VtE4M47CkGmcqTe4EVbzQDa5LXOn__nizBgFcmzMAUAFdW1SiuyQ0zz5iqQOXmERgZE/s1600/Flyways.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6gyDJaweSFLm_XaP2SOhnizgTvFuO-GP9wMM8CecX-TmObqjQsioz0eBzHmtH6vaIXCyz547VtE4M47CkGmcqTe4EVbzQDa5LXOn__nizBgFcmzMAUAFdW1SiuyQ0zz5iqQOXmERgZE/s320/Flyways.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>From Molehill to Mountain,</i> by Pamela Gardner. Struggling along on this, which was supposed to have been completed in time to show at ANG Seminar in Philadelphia with the rest of my ANG chapter. Ha! I think this was an ambitious goal for almost everyone involved, though there's at least one person who may actually achieve it. There are people who started the Scarlet Thread cyberclass in February who are farther along than I am, and I've been working on it for about a year (or more). Gah!<br />
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<i>Leaf Collage,</i> by Terry Dryden. I love this project! What a great class! I'm stalled, owing to having to rip out a portion of my last effort and not really up to it at this time. It's not a lot; it's just the frustration of stitching, then ripping, then restitching, then repeating the sequence on the next section I work on. If only I could count!<br />
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<i>iPhone Case.</i> I got this to preview before Scarlet Thread purchased a bunch. I don't even own an iPhone. Hahahahaha. Not liking any of the designs provided in the kit, I made up my own, which I like. But again. If only I could count. I'm maybe halfway done with this and not sure I'll finish it. Is that sad or what? Again, it's the cycle of stitching, ripping, restitching; repeat.<br />
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Perhaps my real problem is that I'm in a stitching funk right now. Too many mistakes are making it more of a chore than a pleasure. I think I've been too stressed out by a lot of things, which is reflected in my stitching.<br />
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When I finish one of these, especially the very large ones, I'll reward myself with a glass of champagne. I'll deserve it. It could happen. I mean, how hard could it be?<br />
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Kthxbai.<br />
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Visit all the blogs in this round of the <a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/" target="_blank">Stitching the Night Away</a> Stitching Blogger Blog Hop: <script src="http://www.simply-linked.com/listwidget.aspx?l=9f287754-2977-451f-a33e-9faa4e6f937c" type="text/javascript">
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Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by <a href="http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/2815/stitching-bloggers-blog-hop-3/" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-47455456410787322702012-05-06T21:18:00.002-04:002012-05-06T21:18:30.716-04:00I have been stitching<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A little. Not a lot.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have one finish, which I hope to put into a boxtop very soon. It's St. Margaret's Star, by <a href="http://www.stitchplay.com/index.html" target="_blank">StitchPlay Designs</a>, the collaborative effort of Michael Boren and Carole Lake.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I made up my own colorway for this. First, I pulled a number of Watercolours that pleased me. Then I looked for a canvas to go with each of them. The design is pretty much monochromatic, so this turned out to be a little challenging. I ended up with a Zweigart hand-dyed canvas, Dark Amorous Amethyst, which I love for its color but hate for its softness. I had to keep tightening the canvas as I stitched, and this is only around 5" x 5". Can you imagine doing a large piece on this canvas?<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few weeks ago, I took a three-day workshop with <a href="http://www.terrydryden.com/leaf-collage/" target="_blank">Terry Dryden, Leaf Collage</a>. What a wonderful experience! Terry is a great teacher, explaining everything clearly and giving everyone a little one-on-one time throughout the class. Here's how far I got plus a little more stitching since the workshop ended.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is <i>not </i>a small piece. What I like about it are the beautiful colors, the way it's broken up into lots of small segments that give you a sense of accomplishment as you finish them (okay, so I've only finished one segment so far, but I felt great when I did!), and the technique of painting with Copic markers (all those blocks of blue with very fuzzy edges are my work, not Terry's). There was much more to like and learn during the workshop. Those are just my favorite parts. The leaves are all transfers of paintings that Terry did. She provided the canvas with the outlines and transfers in place. We painted the blue areas and started stitching. Terry showed us how to stitch the leaves to get a very painterly, shaded effect. I'm not the only one thinking of just leaving them as paintings rather than stitching them. Hahahaha.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I know, there are many of you out there shaking your heads in amusement at the thought that I've taken on yet another huge project while I've got so many waiting in the wings to be finished. Rest assured, I have been working on them as well, at least some of them. One that's nearing completion is Michael Boren's Flyways.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Once again, I love the colors of this design. I went with Michael's Red Clay colorway and love the touches of lavender/mauve in it. I've found that contrary to expectations, I actually enjoy stitching on 14-ct canvas. This, coming from one who once thought anything less than 32-ct linen was coarse.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Speaking of linen, I just bought a beautiful piece of fabric and a couple of silk flosses to stitch a few ornaments for Christmas gifts this year. I was in Ocean City, MD, on Saturday and stopped by <a href="http://www.saltyyarns.com/" target="_blank">Salty Yarns</a>, a wonderful needlework shop that I'd heard of for years but had never been in. The store is filled to overflowing with patterns, fabric, threads, finishing supplies, and needlework tools and necessities. I was only there for a brief time, having stopped by to visit with a couple of friends who were at Salty Yarns's annual stitching retreat. Here's what I found that I couldn't resist:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Is that not a gorgeous ground for those beautiful threads? The fabric is Picture This Plus Moss 28-ct linen. The threads are Crescent Colours Belle Soie. I had picked the fabric out, and one of the ladies ran to the front of the shop to find a small pillow stitched in those threads on a slightly darker PTP fabric, Swamp (I think). No question, they looked perfect. So now I have to start getting into cross-stitch mode. It would be nice to get these done way before Christmas, so that I'm not up late every night running up to Christmas Eve, trying to get them finished into ornaments.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-72260352268625360702012-02-08T12:31:00.001-05:002012-02-08T12:31:32.623-05:00Needles, Old and New<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today is Hari-Kuyo, the festival of broken needles. It's a lovely Japanese tradition that honors the lowly needle for its service in our art. There's a lovely description of the 400-year-old tradition on <a href="http://stitchtress.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/hari-kuyo/" target="_blank">Stitchstress Stumbles's blog</a> and pictures on <a href="http://kikuko.web.infoseek.co.jp/english/harikuyo-wakamiya.html" target="_blank">Kikuko's Website</a>. If you want to have your own ceremony, get a slab of tofu, offer up a prayer, meditate, or do whatever you want to offer reverence for our most important tool, then stick your broken or about-to-be-retired needles in it. Of course, the question remains, what do you do with the tofu full of broken needles?<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I recently had one of those annoying mishaps with a needle wherein the eye splits, you don't realize it, and you keep wondering why the needle won't stay threaded. There's one for the tofu. This meant, though, that I could open a new package of needles! But what kind? Most of what I do requires a size 24 tapestry needle. Simple, right? Ha! Not so fast. Each brand of needle has its own, unique "feel." Some people swear by Piecemakers, while others say Bohin is unsurpassed. I prefer a petite size, which I've only found from John James. Why the petite? Because I can get it into some pretty tight spots and use that thread down to the last inch if I want to. And I do! Don't ask me why, but I don't like to see long orts. Silly, I know.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My stitching continues on Miss Zombie USA. I'm nearly done! Her lovely skintones are what I'm working on, her face, shoulders, and arms. Last night at my stitching group, I realized that I didn't have the right shade of pink for her rosy cheeks. Who knew a zombie would have rosy cheeks? Perhaps she applied blusher for the pageant. Fortunately, one of my friends had a pink that would do. I'll post a picture as soon as she's done, which I hope will be later this week. Another friend thinks she may have just the right frame for this beauty. I hope so.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-29022925656583640212012-01-23T11:15:00.000-05:002012-01-23T11:15:00.700-05:00New Year, New ResolveHey, I'm back! Did you miss me? Don't answer that.<br />
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I've actually been doing some stitching of late, making a little progress. I also pulled out all my UFOs to see just what needed doing to finish some of them. I found two that needed very little work to finish up.<br />
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First up is Miss Zombie USA. You may recall that my daughter gave me a kit with a book of small zombie-themed projects, a couple of pieces of Aida cloth, and some cotton floss. I started in on Miss Zombie with all good intentions of just whipping it out in no time. Sadly, I set it down and forgot about it. Earlier this month, in response to a challenge, I pulled it out and decided to spend at least two and a half hours working on it every week. Here's where I am:<br />
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Contrary to my normal mode of stitching, I started this one in the center and worked down. Weird. As you can see, I just have to add this beauty's head and arms to complete her portrait. I think I can manage it in a few more sessions. Then the really hard decision must be made. How do I finish this? Any ideas? She screams out for a fancy tabletop frame, but I'm just not sure.<br />
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The other piece that requires very little work to finish is a pretty little ornament designed by Michael Boren. I took this class a couple of years ago. It's embarrassing how little is left to do, but most of it involves adding beads. Remedial Stitcher does not like adding beads! But this is really not that bad, so I think I can manage it. I also need to finish adding the sparkly thread to the right vertical border.<br />
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It's a pretty piece and deserves to be finished! I might even go so far as to finish it as an ornament, a very simple ornament.<br />
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I've also worked more on Stars for a New Millennium recently. I finished up block number 4, Marlon Brando and am now working on block number 5, Eva Marie Saint. Right now, I'm not enjoying stitching this segment. Every stitch is apparently a couched stitch, and each thread must be couched before you lay the next. Not my favorite type of stitch! Here's where she sits.<br />
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I'm still loving the colors of this piece, and the multilayered effects are beautiful. But I do find myself cursing Tony Minieri at times when in the middle of a particularly intricate part. (No offense intended to Mr. Mineiri, of course.)<br />
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Last, I received a pretty stitched piece in the mail the other day. What a surprise! It came from a former customer who now lives in Utah and who used to stitch models for me. Nicole stitches beautifully, and the backs of her pieces are as much admired as the fronts. Hahahaha. The fronts of course are stunning. Here's what I got. I have to find out from Nicole what the piece is. It may have been a model I asked her to stitch before closing the store (sadly I can't remember exactly what it was), or it may be something else entirely.<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-34426527008161076572011-11-22T10:13:00.001-05:002011-11-22T10:42:17.729-05:00Painfully Slow but Painstakingly DoneLet's not dwell on how long it's been since I last posted. Suffice to say, it's been far too long, but my life has been nothing if not tumultuous of late. I have made some progress on a couple of fronts.<br />
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What have I been focusing on most of late? <a href="http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/ScarletThread/-strse-3056/charted-needlepoint%2C-canvaswork%2C-Pam/Detail.bok" target="_blank">From Molehill to Mountain</a> has taken over the position of primacy. Since my ANG chapter is working on this as a bimonthly yearlong project, I've been attempting to keep abreast of what we're doing in class. Right now, I'm a month behind in getting something stitched for each segment. Here's where I am:<br />
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The sequence of group stitching is right to left, Blocks 1–3 in the book. Block 1, as you may recall, caused me no end of difficulty and negative-stitching experience. I think I've got my problem taken care of and should be able to proceed without additional frogging. I stitched the small green-and-yellow checkerboard in the upper right quadrant on Sunday after one or two false starts (to take a break from so much tone-on-tone stitching). I've been spending the most time on Block 2 in the center. If I can get through the last medium purple tone-on-tone triangles, the final three diamond shapes will be simple. I'm really loving the way this part looks, with the bit of metallic on top of the overdye. The tone-on-tone part is taking a while because my eyes have to be fresh to see it, even with my wonderful new Ikea clip-on light.<br />
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I'm trying to get enough stitched in these top three blocks so that I can make a decision on the border and sashing. There are three options provided in the book, all very different, with different color emphases. The choice depends on how I'm using my colors. So as you can see, I really need to stitch more on Block 3, which I will as soon as I finish Block 2. I think I've got enough of Block 1 completed to make the border/sashing choice.<br />
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If you're interested in doing this project and would like the benefit of a class, Scarlet Thread's extended the registration period for their <a href="http://stitchything.blogspot.com/2011/10/from-molehill-to-mountain-cyberclass.html" target="_blank">FMTM cyberclass</a> through tomorrow.<br />
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Before setting everything else aside to focus on FMTM, I had made a bit more progress on Flyways. I really need to get back to this because I'm very close to finishing it.<br />
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All that's required is finishing the top two diamond-shaped motifs (crescents only), then the triangular-shaped pieces to square the design off, finishing with the border. How hard can it be? Don't answer that question!<br />
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The last project I'm going to show you is more to shame myself into getting back to it. Can you guess what it is? I don't think I need to identify it.<br />
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All I have to do to finish the third square are seven triangular-shaped segments. Really, not that hard. We'll be having another group stitching session in January, so I should really try to finish this square up before then.<br />
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Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-11210482818439243872011-09-29T10:53:00.000-04:002011-09-29T10:53:16.237-04:00Something Old, Something New, Some Things Never Change<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I originally started writing this post nearly two weeks ago, had to stop, and never got back to it till now. A lot has changed. I've been doing a bit of stitching during the past few weeks. Yay! I think I've finally gotten my stitching mojo back. Going to both of my stitching groups on a more regular basis helps.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At both the Tuesday-night and Thursday-morning groups a couple of weeks ago, I worked diligently on Flyways, and it's just WIPing right along. (Sorry, I just couldn't resist.)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm really happy with this colorway. When I selected it, I had no idea what it would really look like, as I couldn't find the picture of it. But it's been put on the back burner since that Thursday, two weeks ago.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That night, I started working on the class piece at the Potomac ANG meeting, Madrigal by Antonia R. Evans, designed in 1992. As is my wont, I changed the colors significantly. I substituted Caron Collection Waterlilies in Sherwood Forest for a light blue Marlitt (rayon floss, ack!); Rainbow Gallery Petite Very Velvet for their discontinued Ultrasuede, FyreWerks for Pizzaz, and Silk Lamé for DMC floss. The Petite Very Velvet and FyreWerks were suggested by our fearless leader. I picked the Silk Lamé instead of the Kreinik braid she used because I'm not a fan of Kreinik braids. Then to make it really special, I used a piece of Nature's Palette hand-painted canvas from their Solids line, Copper. I couldn't wait to get started.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The picture above is how far I got that night. I did a little more when I got home from class, having only really gotten the center waffle nearly done (or maybe all done; I can't remember). This is where I was when I started writing this blog. The following Tuesday-night stitching session had me realizing that I could actually finish this up in one or two more blocks of time. I took a picture, fully intending to get back to this post and show my progress.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was really liking the way the overdye fell. I have to admit that I pulled the whole skein apart to find the lengths with the best segments of the brightest orange. So there was a bit of waste that I'm not used to. I can probably use it somewhere when I need a nice variegated green in another piece as an accent.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Obviously I didn't get around to finishing up this post. So here's the finished piece, wrapped up at Tuesday's night stitchfest, wherein we celebrated someone's birthday as well as my finish (those of us who stayed latest, at least).<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I am very happy with the way this turned out. There are supposed to be 4-mm freshwater pearls and malachite beads in the centers of the large oblong triple crosses, but as readers of this blog know, the Remedial Stitcher does not do beads. Instead, I used Smyrna Crosses in the Silk Lamé. I wanted as much of the canvas to show as possible. I'm not sure the pictures reveal the metallic glint of this canvas. It's subtle and beautiful. Instead of finishing it as an ornament (why would I want to fold that beautiful waffle so that you can't see the way the color radiates around it?), I'm going to have it put into a boxtop, leaving a border of exposed canvas around it. Now to find the box.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> W</span>hat else I was planning to write about? Something that never changed. Perhaps Stars for a New Millennium? I've been urged to set up another day-long stitchfest for the stitchalong group, so that may be coming up in October or November. My October schedule is filling up, and one of our stitchers is going to be in Australia for two weeks mid-October, so it may have to be November.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2759361373009985077.post-3193597430732373052011-09-12T10:48:00.004-04:002011-09-12T10:48:40.757-04:00Flying Along on Some, Inching on Others<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I've finally gotten some stitching done. I was beginning to think I'd never get back into it in a meaningful fashion.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wonderful discovery: Stitching on 14-ct canvas goes really, really fast! Who knew? Well, I guess a lot of people have known for years. One of my WIPs, Flyways by Michael Boren (a workshop project that sadly had to be canceled due to his ongoing back problem, thus leaving us to work on our own), is on this canvas. At first, I wasn't sure I would like it. I tend to gravitate to higher counts, coming from the counted-thread world of 28-, 32-, 36-, and what-was-I-thinking 40-ct linen. Big difference. I'm pleased to say, I've been enjoying this immensely. Not only is the design fun to stitch (well, except for the tedious, to me, tent/reverse tent part), it's quick!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I'm now ready to embark on filling in the diamond areas with all the fun, special stitches and motifs. I did the center one before completing all the tent/reverse tent background of the Milanese-stitched Flying Geese Flight Paths to motivate me to keep going with it. I'm so pleased with it overall, although I'm not that great when it comes to tent stitch. I'm never totally satisfied with the result, but I think I did an adequate job here and won't stress about it.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now the question is, do I barrel ahead with the four diamond areas around the center, or do I switch to one of my larger ongoing projects, in particular From Molehill to Mountain? I think it has to be FMTM.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My ANG chapter is doing FMTM as one of our two year-long projects, with the goal of exhibiting the finished pieces at the 2012 Seminar in Philadelphia. Since we all started on this in April (I think), we should be able to complete the stitching and have our pieces finished in time for the Seminar at the end of August. Hahahaha. That's the plan; we'll see if I'm among those who actually reach their goal. Here is the progress of everyone who was working on this at the August meeting (light attendance, it being summer, and not everyone attending is doing this project), starting with mine:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Note the section of the far-right block that shows the signs of having been stitched, then ripped out. This block has been the bane of my stitching so far. I think I ripped out almost everything stitched at least once if not more, except for the center top and left squares of the block, the ones made up of two triangles. Thus I haven't done anything on the block to the left of it and proceeded directly to the block on the far left, the focus of our third meeting session. I have high hopes for this one proceeding much better, as it's variations on the Milanese stitch, which as we all now know, I just finished stitching quite a bit.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now on to my friends' progress. Please note that some of us only recently started working on FMTM, thus we're all over the map on how far along we've gotten. I also like the variety of colorways, in spite of several of us apparently being drawn to the purples and greens. The variety of threads is interesting too.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I hope to get pictures of everyone's progress when we work on this again in October.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>More to come in the next day or so.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kthxbai.Sara Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257302421725766079noreply@blogger.com2