Sunday, February 16, 2020

Sewing a garden and other shiny things on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Hello ... and how did it get to be the middle of February already???  We've been having a pretty mild winter here in southwest Ohio...no BIG snows ... in fact hardly any snow ... and what little we got melts in a day... I like it... I like it A LOT... my daffodils and crocuses and hyacinths are already poking up ... we could have that early Spring that Punxsutawney Phil prognosticated ... I'm good with that.

My thoughts of Spring and Summer and gardening have been fueled by flower and seed catalogs the last couple of weeks... I've already put in orders with 2 different companies for some new to me dahlia tubers ... and I'm putting together seed order of some different varieties of zinnias and some cosmos and who knows what else... my snowman decor is still out but my mind has turned to Spring ideas...

But before we get to Spring let me show you a small finish ...




this is the freebie from Lizzie Kate... you can see the pdf here... I used a scrap of 32 ct linen from my Hands on Designs February stitch of A Year of Celebrations... the ribbon and Moda Grunge fabric were in my stash...  my cross stitch production has been quite puny so far this year... I did get a little more done on the Prairie Schooler March but not as much as I wanted to...



and I've been plugging away on Elliott's stocking... the front...



the back... easier for me to see what if any progress I'm making... top of the tree filled in... bottom is waiting...


my plan was to get ALL the Christmas tree done by the middle of February... then last week I revised  the plan to just get the green part of the tree and those ornaments complete... and I'm a bit short of my goal... the ornaments are all stitched and boy they were a bear... I'm using a shiny slippery rayon thread called Marlitt... it does give the ornaments a nice shiny finish and I like using different fibers for different effects but I forgot how it knots and slides and breaks... grrr... goal for next week... the candles and a trip to the needlepoint shop for more fibers... not sure what I want to do the garland in... don't think I want to do braid but I do want something a bit shiny... in gold... OMG... I think I'm leading myself back to Marlitt... ugh...

On happier note  my sewing mojo has been moving along nicely... I got more blocks done for the Fresh as a Daisy sew along...   here's the pattern...    but I'm not going to be able to keep up the pace of 7 blocks each week... and that's okay... I'll get there when I get there ... in the mean time I'm sewing up a pretty garden ...



along with the red and yellow block I previously completed I've done a pink and an orange one...


and then moved on to the exotics... green and blue...


 and a blue that's kinda turquoise and a deeper green...


 and one that is totally scrappy...



And along with these blocks I've been working on another quilt using my American Jane fabrics... the pattern is called Simple Pleasures... which you can see here... it is comprised 16 LARGE 49 patch blocks... as you can see I have 5 made...

I'm not repeating a fabric within a block... and I'm using lots and lots and lots and lots of differnt American Jane collections... the pattern was designed for a jelly roll ...which would make it quick and easy... instead I'm sewing individual little 2.5" squares together... and I LOVE it... so scrappy and fun and now and then I stop and fussy cut an image to include... it will look so pretty on my bed this summer... that's my plan... and I think it is doable... if I don't get distracted by other shiny things  like this top I made last week...


this is Waverly a pattern by Running Doe which you can see here...she is having a monthly top along on Instagram and you can see more variations of this pattern here... I picked up some aqua Grunge and some  floral low volume prints at my local quilt store Homegrown Homesewn ... and added in some that I had in my stash and within 5 hours this top was DONE...  I found some other floral yardage in my stash and the back is sewn too... didn't get enough of the Grunge for the binding so I'll have to go back next week and pick some up... however in the meantime I saw this one... click here...ooooohhhh .... Kaffe Fassett fabrics... I have LOTS of them... see the problem... shiny distractions... but so much fun!!!

I may have some sewing time today and tomorrow...not doing dinner with the family till Tuesday night... and the week ahead isn't looking too crazy... one day of babysitting... one doctor's appointment and one dinner out with friends... I may get something done... in the meantime I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I keep saying I'm going to linkup with some of the design wall Monday groups but I never get there...oh well... have a great week ... hope you get some crafty time...

happy stitching-
carol fun 

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Some seasonal decor for some seasonal weather on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

EDITED TO ADD:  So I had a righteous rant about time spent converting silks to DMC... I need to apologize... a reader, Ruth, left a comment that there is a conversion on The Drawn Thread site and I found it... it is way at the bottom of the page but here is the link...

http://www.drawnthread.com/Resources/Conversion%20PDF/needlepointsil_to_DMC.pdf

this is wonderful... thank you Ruth for letting me know... I couldn't find an email address to respond to you directly... sorry...


Hello all... well we actually got a little seasonal weather last week... Friday and Saturday morning had about an inch of snow ... and by evening it had melted... and the forecast is for temps in the 40's and rain... so it was short-lived...and I'm totally fine with that... the last couple of winters had way more snow and cold and I'm happy that hasn't happened... so far... we still need to get through February but my fingers are crossed that it isn't going to be bad... at least that is what the weather guys would have me believe... we shall see...

But the bit of  snow did motivate me to finally fully finish my newest piece of snowy decor and take some pictures... this is Welcome Winter by The Drawn Thread...


I stitched it on 32 count Opalescent linen that I painted with Rit Aquamarine dye...now I changed all of the called for fibers to DMC and one or two overdyeds...  umm... a bit of a rant... okay, I'm happy with my conversion but I will say that it does annoy me that I have to put in extra time and effort to convert from silks  where charts from The Drawn Thread are concerned... I understand that she enjoys designing and stitching in silk but the flosses for this piece would have set me back  over $40... that way more than I'm willing to pay for a seasonal piece... I might be tempted to spent that much for fibers for a sampler that I'd display all year... but probably not...anyway I haven't found any site that converts from silk directly to DMC... there are a couple of sites that go from silk to overdyeds, but not for all the colors... so after you've figured out some overdyed substitutions then you have to find another conversion to get you to DMC...I just want to jump in and stitch ...not spend a hour or two figuring out what flosses to use... I pulled out another chart  I'd like to stitch for Spring/Summer ... Sunnyside Sampler ...


I thought perhaps I'd just bite the bullet and stitch it in the  called for silk fibers... but then I counted...there are 23 different colors... it would cost over $100  for the fibers from 123 Stitch and they discount them... not gonna happen... I'll be spending time converting ... okay rant over... on to more pleasant things... like...

Here is my big display... the shelf unit...


At the top the Welcome ... I added a sparkly ribbon and snowman face bell to FFO this one... next shelf down



has All Bundled Up by Brenda Gervais... very cute if I say so myself... that LARGE noggin of a snowman took quite a while to stitch but it was worth it...


32 ct linen painted with Rit Apple Green dye...

The next shelf has a sled of Jim Shore snowpeople...



the sled was a Target Bullseye's Playground purchase last year...

I placed another Brenda Gervais  snowman  piece on this shelf... this one is called Boughs of Holly...





I like the inclusion of the alphabet on this one... notice the generous "dusting" of fake snow on all the shelves... it makes me HAPPY!!

Outside on the sunroom porch I did a little more decorating... next year I'd like to add a cross stitch piece or two to this display...


 I'm still HAPPY with this chalk painted shelf unit... that green is so pretty.... and here's another pic...


I'm also HAPPY with that oversized snowman on the wall... I'm always on the hunt for something interesting to put in that space... and I think the whole porch is going to look even spiffier when I get it painted... hopefully my handyman will be available soon... I want to have the brick painted cream like the window sills... the whole space brightened up when he painted the window sills so I know it will make a big difference to do the walls too... that little space is a favorite spot of mine to sit and stitch and watch the birds and nap... I have a space heater out there that warms it up nicely even when it is cold... as long as the sun is shining that's where I want to be...

As for stitching I did get a little more done on the Praire Schooler March piece and I put a few stitches into the stocking... but not a noticeable amount... I also did a little sewing last week... made a couple more of the Fresh as a Daisy blocks and made the back  and the binding for my Momo Modern City blocks and sent it off to be quilted... I'll try to get a quilting post up tomorrow ... or I'll show stuff next week... I think I may have overdone the pictures today... sorry ... I get carried away...LOL

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts ... always a favorite site... doing lunch with my sons and Elliott today... so no cooking today... may leave a little more stitching and sewing time... I always like that... hope you have a great week ahead... I've got a bunch of running around to do ... I like going out but I like staying home too ... need more hours in a day...

happy stitching-
carol fun

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Planning more than a 24 hour day can handle....on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Hello ... well I managed to update 3 out of 4 Sundays in June... last week I ran out of time on Sunday... had the family over for dinner... prime rib sliders with the roast left over from Thanksgiving... very tasty... and I did a bunch of errands... and before you know it the day is gone... and while lots of people were bemoaning how long January felt, I woke up yesterday surprised to find out it is already February... my sainted Grandma told me that the older you get the faster the days pass... and she was right... so much I want to get done every day and I always run out of time... I wake up every morning with a mental list of things I want to accomplish and when my head hits the pillow that evening there are still things on the list... 24 hours just isn't enough... oh well it is a better situation than being bored... I am never bored... so many projects I want to play with...

And I got a few projects finished... first, I've been knitting... I completed this pair of socks about 2 weeks ago...


scrappy Frankensocks... my favorite kind of sock... all Opal yarns... I used some of the mini skeins I've been stashing... they are so cute!!

And I've completed 2 shawls...first is this one using the pattern Easy Goes It... a freebie on Ravelry that you can see here...



I used Malabrigo Mechita in the Anniversario colorway... very soft... I could have made this one a bit larger ... will remember that for next time... I added a picot bind off which I always love...

And I also finished and blocked this shawl made with the Taina pattern... another freebie on Ravelry you can see here...



I used the entire skein of Urth Uneek Fingering on this one ...the colorway is 3002... I LOVE how this yarn stripes up... it is a little splitty but nice and soft... I like this yarn so much that I cast on the second skein I had purchased... colorway 3020... right away... I'm doing the Easy Shawl pattern... you can see it here, but it isn't a freebie... and did I mention how much I LOVE how this yarn stripes... yeah I did... and to prove my LOVE I ordered 3 more colorways...



from right to left... 3017, 3018, 3019... not sure what patterns I'll use but I've seen a lot of nice one skein shawls ... I'm sure I'll find something ... or I'll knit another one that I've knit before... oh I got the yarn here at Jimmy Beans Wool...

As for stitching... I started the Prairie Schooler March....


haven't gotten too far... I love the daffodils... with the mild winter we've been having I noticed the daffodils in my yard are already popped up an inch or so... obviously I want this one done by March... we shall see...

The stitching that has been getting the most attention is Elliott's stocking... I'm starting with the darkest colors... I've done the black parts... mittens, belt, boots... and the brown window frame and the navy sky...



it isn't easy to see what I've done since you are filling in the same colored spaces... here's pic of the back side where it is more apparent what I've done. 



Getting back to needlepoint has been interesting... I forgot how hard it is on your hands pulling fibers through canvas... and my eyesight was definitely better 30 years ago... black on black and navy on navy are not easy to see. I keep rechecking to be sure I haven't missed a spot... I think I'll get someone else to look it over before it is totally finished...

As for quilting I've got another finish here... Quilting by David got this quilt back to me super fast... like 2 weeks before I asked for it... I saw where he now has 3 quilting machines for his business ... his turn around time definitely seems quicker...



this is Tiki Tok Calder...


the panto is called Calder and it was the perfect match ...

I think it will reside here on the sunroom porch for a while...


We are suppose to have some warmer days... temperatures in the 50's and 60's... so I may be able to sit out on  the porch... and watch the birds... I love this "room" of my house...

Now, getting quilts completed is motivating me to sew more... however my focus wandered off from finishing UFO's to starting new projects... I made these 2 blocks for a SAL on Instagram #daisysewalong...




a cute pattern from Pen and Paper Patterns called Fresh As A Daisy..




but I'm envisioning zinnias... red and yellow and orange and pink and even a green one or two like that Envy zinnia I planted last year... I'm using my stash of American Jane fabrics... I love the prints and the colors...

And then I was distracted by another shiny project... the Jelly Belly Bar quilt from Fat Quarter Shop... it is a free pattern that you can see here...  I was entranced by this variation...





and that got me thinking about my bin of Jen Kingwell fabrics that have been maturing in their plastic bin... I cracked it open and made these blocks...



I like how this pattern shows off the prints ... I can't decide if these are 40's or 50's prints... some of then remind me of drapes that were in my Grandma and my Aunt's house when I was a kid... kinda funky... but fun... and again ... the colors are much brighter in real life... that yellow is definitely a chartreuse ...and what is looking black in that upper left block is actually deep turquoise... a rant... I know I said I was going to get a new phone... and they are pricey ...but I was going to splurge ...but then I handled my DIL's iphone 11... OMG... I knew it was bigger than my 8 but boy is it HEAVY... I carry my phone around in my front left pocket... it felt like I had a brick in my pocket... thinking this over ... again...

So back to sewing... I hope to get back on track with working on my UFO's... I have a few more rows of my Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern City quilt blocks to assemble  and that top will be complete... check back and maybe tomorrow I'll have a quilting post ... I've neglected Design Wall Monday for a long time... perhaps I can get back to that...

So plans for today include a  birthday party for my daughter-in-law's Grandmother... Mary Ann is celebrating her 91st birthday... should be a lot of fun... and I hope to get a little sewing in ...and some stitching....and some knitting... hmmm... seems like I'm still planning more for a day than I can ever get finished... some things never change...

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I always enjoy checking out what every one is working on ... I hope you have a productive week ahead... so far it looks like I have a day or two without any obligations ... I like that... time to play with all the crafty stuff...

happy stitching-
carol fun