Blog Hop: Stitching Goals

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?

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.)

Stars for a New Millennium, 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!

Tessellations Again, 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.

Prelude to Peace, 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.

Flyways, 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.

From Molehill to Mountain, 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!

Leaf Collage, 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!

iPhone Case. 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.

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.

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?

Kthxbai.


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I have been stitching

     A little. Not a lot.

     I have one finish, which I hope to put into a boxtop very soon. It's St. Margaret's Star, by StitchPlay Designs, the collaborative effort of Michael Boren and Carole Lake.

     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?

     A few weeks ago, I took a three-day workshop with Terry Dryden, Leaf Collage. 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.

     This is not 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.

     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.

     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.

     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 Salty Yarns, 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:

     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.

     Kthxbai.

Needles, Old and New

     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 Stitchstress Stumbles's blog and pictures on Kikuko's Website. 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?

     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.

     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.

     Kthxbai.