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

13 comments:

  1. Love that oversized snowman as well.

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  2. Your welcome cross stitch is lovely, great background fabric too! I'm with you on the rant. I only tend to use DMC thread. Your displays look great, especially all your fabulous cross stitching pictures!

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  3. I too have a soft spot for snowmen and have some up year round...not just when it is wintertime around here!

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  4. It's sad when supplies for a project are so expensive. Your Welcome cross stitch turned out beautifully and the Sunnyside Sampler is going to be a beauty. There is oodles of detail in this pretty. Oh my goodness, you have snowmen smiling everywhere. You must walk around your home all day with a smile on your face.

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  5. The Drawn Thread website has the NPI to DMC conversion on it.

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  6. Your display is wonderful! I have never heard of over painting cloth with dye. Very interesting!

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  7. I totally enjoyed seeing your winter/snowman displays, Carol! That tall snowman is an awesome find. I agree with you on your thread rant. Hope you have a wonderful week!

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  8. I love your snowmen display. I take mine out at Christmas and always say that I should keep them out for winter, but I rarely do. I should make a box just for winter and not have them out at Christmas. Your displays are really inspiring. I like all those cross-stitch pieces. I would be annoyed too if I had to spend so much time converting flosses. Your Welcome piece is very pretty though.

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  9. Beautiful snowmen on display. They wouldnt last here, it's summer in my part of the world!

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  10. What fun decor! I love seasonal decorating and often leave my snowmen up with February's hearts! Your Welcome piece is beautifully stitched!! Doesn't it feel good to display your pretty work?! :)

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  11. I love seeing all your snow people. Your seasonal decorating is always wonderful!! You have stitched some very cute snowmen. I rarely use silks. Several years ago I did a 4 part design. It was the 4 seasons in a Quaker design. I used silk for only one of the 4 parts. The rest were DMC. I then asked several people if they could see any difference in the threads I used. Nobody could tell the difference! Maybe I have dear friends with bad eyes but I don't think so! I tried to convert a sampler and the cost of the floss was over 90 dollars, Just more than I was willing to pay.

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  12. I really loved the decorations. Perfect example of Christmas fun!! Seems you've had a fun time decorating! Buy Etizolam Online

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