Needles and Haystacks

Stitchy weekend approacheth!

2012-02-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Oh fnally, finally, finally - I have a whole weekend that I dont haveta work! Tomorrow a.m. I plan to 1. sleep in 2. stitch in peace 3. have a Jane Austen movie session.
The afternoon will be a bit crazy with kid's karate and errands but from then till Monday time is on my side- and all my guys will be going to the Star Wars 3d movie Sunday so it'll be ALL mine, Queen of the Couch lol. The whole idea of that has me going in circles with which or how many WIPs to work on! The mind boggles...

Fabulous February is here

2012-02-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

I couldnt think of a fun nickname or theme for Feb lol, Guilt-Free January was the only one I paid attention to, though I think there was a Mirabilia May way back when. So here's a bouquet of roses from my garden, from me to you for Valentines :)

But to recap, my GFJ starts were HAEDs "QS Lovers", "Gloaming", and "Nocturne". So it was a BAP theme too lol. But with those on the go and others waiting, it looks to be a very pretty stitchy 2012. I've ordered some patterns for ''smalls" and hopefully will order some more HAEDs before the sale is done. I do love smalls but outside the Nessessaire and the Chatelaine ones I dont have any others. So it's been fun to cruise the net to see what's out there. On Bikegirl's blog she had posted a book of the coolest little set, designed to look like an english cottage and it is too lovely to resist! So I didnt! It reminds me of Jane Austen of whom I'm a huge fan, in particular the little cottage in Sense & Sensiblity. I just wish there were some ladies in the set but maybe I can figure something out to that affect... Or maybe there is already & I just havent seen it yet. 2012 is to be the year I broaden my horizions in the stitching and try new things and new styles and designers I've admired but never attempted. And so far it's been wonderful getting the mojo back.

Pics of the "Nessessaire"

2012-01-28T08:09:00.000-08:00

Alrighty then, first pic is a front panel, only 3 more to go! Then a closeup of the scissor pocket, and a pic of the different peices at their various stages of progress. Stitched on 32 ct platinum linen with Needle Nessessities, and will add the beads at the end.

Late night stitchy progress

2012-01-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

This is a pic of "Nocturne" a HAED of Dahlig's artwork, on 25 ct cream lugana, tenting 2 over 1. Since I play violin I fell in love with this the moment I saw it. So far it's big blobs of blue and black so it goes fast. But I have only a half hour in it so I could count it among the Guilt-Free Jan starts, and now it'll wait while an older WIP gets attention for a bit, and get back to it in Feb .

Guilt-free January...

2012-01-26T05:33:00.000-08:00

..is nearly over! I plan to get caught up on my plans for it today and this weekend. On deck are HAEDs "Nocturne" by Dahlig and "Forgotten Melody" by Thomas, one of which will be started today. I also plan to go thru stash and see what calls to me.
HAED is also having their Valentines sale and what temptation! I plan to get some Oriental charts and I've been thinking of doing a 'fun' HAED as most of my choices are rather 'serious' and the Faces of Fairy and the Kuiks look so cute so I'll havta look into how they are to deal with. The eyes are so pretty on the Fairy Faces that it's hard to choose lol.

IHSW

2012-01-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

so a little progress happened- the first pic is HAED "Gloaming" by Maxine Gadd on 22 ct "Dusk" by Polstitches. Tenting 2 over 1. I found that the water soluble pen didnt work so gridded with ordinary black sewing thread- so far so good cuz it's easy to stitch over & doesnt show, at least what I've done so far. I wont do the background on this project, just the vampiress. The 2nd pic is "QS Lovers" on 18 ct wedgewood davosa, full crosses. Lol, this is progress after frogging what I had done. I also did a little progress on the "Nessessaire" but my camera is dead so I'll do pics later. All in all considering what all the weekend had in store I was tickled to get this little bit of progress...

.... and reason why not alot is this little girl! Meet Roxy, she is purebred Australian shepherd adopted out of our local shelter. Such a little honey and smart!

IHSW

2012-01-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

... and I so need to hermit away!!! My Ott lights came but I havent even had a chance to try them out it's been so nuts lately! One experiment I wanna do is see how it works with black fabric!! But this weekend I hope to work on HAED "Lovers" so I can get enuf progress for a pic! We shall see......

Seriously!

2012-01-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

There is alot of temptation out there, and I am succumbing...

First off, all the pics of progress and new starts in the blogospere have been awesome. Secondly, they have been dangerous! It seems everyone is making great progress and inspiring creativity all around and I've been enjoying it vicariously thru them lol!
My stitching has been sparse lately, I cant even post a progress pic but maybe by the weekend... I worked on Lovers yesterday but wound up frogging what I did get done! Lesson learned- no more skipping the gridding no matter how small the HAED!
I finally got a major breakthru in stash, and that is a pair of Ott lights that are somewhere in transit yet. I know that will help with the HAEDs in a major way- what I'm using now is 2 desk lamps and they get so hot I haveta shut them off after a half hr! So I got a folding portable and a regular desktop style. Amazon had a great deal so I just hope it comes thru ok, there were some iffy reviews on there. If they prove to be awesome then I'll see about a floor stand one but since I move around with the stitching I wanted something to go with me.
I also got the HAED stuff organized, all my charts have thier keys & first 2 pages (working copies so i can highlite!) of chart in a 3 ring binder, so it's just a matter of finding whatever page/project I'm dealing with and it's all together & ready to go- no more making sure I have the pages I need and searching/swapping out.
So far I havent added more new starts yet, but now that things are settling down at work I hope to have more energy, Nocturne & Forgotten Melody haven shut up yet lol...

2012!

2012-01-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

So far it's been Guilt-Free January all the way!!
The last start of 2011 was "2 Crowns" by HAED, it is on 25 ct 'baby lotion' lugana. I wanted this particular project to close the year for me so I'd been saving it for New Year's eve, and it was the first thing I worked on when I woke up so it was also the first project of the year. In a few days when there's more to show I'll take a pic.

The first new start for 2012 was the "QS Lovers" featured in the HAED 2012 SAL. Mine is on 18ct davosa, not sure of the color but it's a pale blue, using full cross and 2 strands. I started this one in the center so currently it's a gray blob. I've set it aside for now to work more on 2Crowns but wanted its starting date to be today lol.
January for me is a free-for-all of starting projects, I feel absolutely no guilt starting them anyway so it's perfect for me. Among the Jan line-up are HAEDs "Nocturne," and "Lost Melody," and whatever else yells. I havent made a goal thing for 2012 except the HAED SAL, since my stitchy time goes in phases anyway and I just want to enjoy it for what it is. Jan is also "organization month" so I haveta get on board with that for the stitching stuff too.

cats & art

2011-12-31T05:50:00.000-08:00

This is Jeff's xmas painting at 6 hours progress. I cant do any more to it till it dries, which for oils can take awhile. But then I'll add the light from the lantern and the glow/shadows on everything. sorry the pic is a bit dark I had to turn flash off cuz the paint is too shiny when wet

THESE are the king/queen of the house lol. Deisel is the gray tabby siamese mix and is 1 year old and Jasmin is the tortoiseshell/calico siamese mix and is 10. Both were bottle baby projects and came from different farms. Everyone thinks Deisel is more of a raccoon cuz he is huge and has a poofy striped tail, currently he's 16lbs and it's not all hair! And Jasmin may be smaller but no contest she's in charge!

Christmas Survival Celebration

2011-12-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

As everyone knows, the last 25 days (or More) are always chaos, mayhem, and even stress- it's all part of it. But today, the 26th, is my annual Survival celebration! That's the day when i get to catch up on all the goofing off I wanna do but never get to during the holiday season. But today's itinerary included one last thing for xmas, hubby's gift! he is so good he didnt mind if it was late, cuz it usually is due to my job. And his gift is usually an oil painting of his cattle. It took 6 hrs to get it this far, and now I haveta let it dry so I can add the light from the lantern. He's very happy with it, the cow is the show heifer from last yr who is due to calve this spring, and she's his favorite. It was so awesome to get the paints out again!! i wish I had more canvases-I'd keep going! But that was 2 birds in one stone, cuz painting is zen to me and now xmas is officially done.
The other bit of my celebration will involve some stitching tonite!
Either a new start or working on HAEDs, not sure yet...
Will get some pics taken to show what a wonderful day today was...

Happy Holidays!!

2011-12-23T05:06:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a happy and blessed Holiday Season this year!

As promised

2011-12-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

Chatelaine's "Persian Iris Garden" 13 hrs

HAED "Winter Wings" 25ct lugana 5hrs

HAED "Peacock & Doves" 25ct lugana 1 hr

Chatelaines "Swan Lake" 6 hrs

New starts, big plans and

2011-12-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

Progress is happening. Somwhere in my travels I lost my camera battery charger, dang it, but I went and ordered a new one, hopefully it comes this week in time for xmas! Then I promise some pics finally!
The HAED adventure is going along wonderfully. Now there are several on the go- "Winter Wings," "Echos of Autumn," "Peacock & Doves" on 25ct and Mini "Gypsy Firefly" on 18ct. I really like how they work up, truly this is what I've been waiting for as far as works of art. Not that the other projects arent beautiful, lol I wouldnt waste my time if I didnt think so, but these are a whole 'nother level- yet are so simple. More bang for your buck if you ask me. I'm still working out a storage solution for them, but what I'm finding super easy is each project's floss stays in a gallon ziplock, I dont bobbin it or anything. And all the projects have thier own 2gallon ziplock to hold the fabric. I put all the fabrics into a scrapbooking case along with a folder of working copies, the cheapo magnifyer lol, embroidery hoops and nessessity bag. So it's good to go for whatever one I feel like working on. I havent used hoops in years, and never for xstitch, but since it has to come off it's easy to switch projects with them.
Next year I will haveta figure out a rotation cuz of them, the Chatelaines, Miras and my LLCeltics will all be yelping for attention!

What to do, what to do...

2011-12-15T14:19:00.000-08:00

For so long I havent had much drive to stitch, even projects that I had seemed like "eh" or added to the stress life was in. Partly cuz there was alot of stress with the injury, work, life and holiday chaos the last couple months that I put too much emphasis that the stitching was supposed to make that all disappear. And mostly that just added to it lol. But soon the holidays will be over and work will slow down somewhat, and I found out for certain I wont need surgery so there's a light at the end of the tunnel. January is looking very promising, and for xmas there are some HAEDs on the way, so it wont be long and stitchy bliss will be exploding all over lol.
In the meantime I've been making lots of progress on Winter Wings and the first page is nearly half done. It helps that that part is all one color lol. I think my HAED fabric is 25ct Lugana, it just agrees with me. And I'm not sure if I'll keep Fairy Ball on the 20ct with 3 strands, now that there's enuf progress it just doesnt cover like I'd hoped. But I could use that for some of the smaller projects to make them bigger, and use full crosses instead. So will probably get some 25ct for Fairy Ball, and the others. Gypsy can stay on her fabric though.

I really miss Jennifer at Needlework Plus! With all these upcoming projects I miss my bargain store!

2011, what a year!

2011-12-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

What a crazy year as far as stitching goes! Now the year is coming to an end and looking back it's been a journey. Losing dear freind & stitching buddy Kirsten was/is a hard hurdle to deal with and stitching mojo was gone. It took awhile to realise she'd probably whip me with floss to see that happening so it was time to expand the stitching horizon, and do the projects we'd talked alot about but never got around to.
For starters I finally jumped onto the Chatelaine bandwagon, and am lucky enuf to have several on the go. It was also the first time I'd ever done a Mystery or even an online Chatelaine class. However, I have yet to keep up with one lol! I take awhile to kit those blingy monsters up and fall behind! But it's all good lol. In 2012 I'll be doing the Deep Sea Mystery and who knows what others Martina will bless us with.
I also bit the bullet as regards HAEDs. I've had 2 charts for several years, gifted from Kirsten actually, but hadnt kitted them. Doing my LLCeltics skin over 1 on 28ct had cured me of wanting to do anymore over 1. But the HAED look won me over and after some fabric research on that bb and testing some fabrics & techniques for myself I am a happy camper. I'm sure once I get an Ott & magnifyer it'll be even better, (and my over-1 skin on 32ct Rose Celebration & Midsummer Night Fairy would benefit too so I could finish them.)Now my mission is to collect HAEDs,which is impossible cuz they're like potato chips!
So that's some major "stitchyness" for one year...

An update

2011-12-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I've had 2 days to play with the HAEDs on different fabric...
While I love doing tent stitch with 2 strands on 25 ct (boy is that fast!) it gave me a headache and I had to quit! Yesterday when i tried again there was frogging to do so that was discouraging. However, I dont have a light nor a magnifyer so I'm sure that's a huge factor & it's top of my list to get one now lol. So I havent given up on the 25ct just yet, but Echos of Autumn is gonna haveta be on standby.
The 18ct Davosa is wonderful to work with, using 2 strands and doing full crosses. Gypsy Firefly Mini is on this and so far working on tree and sky, but I'm loving how this one is easy to manage.
I also got some 20ct Valerie fabric for Fairy Ball, and in the end decided to use tent stitch in 3 strands. This is probably gonna eat up alot of floss lol, but I love how fast tenting works up. I dont plan on doing all the background to the right of the fairy anyway.
For gridding I used a soluble quilting pen and just dotted the intersections so i could get stitching. And Echos was already started when I gridded hence the frogging discovery. So in light of that I'll be gridding HAEDs from now on lol....

Pics to follow soon as I have any progress to show

HAED over heels!

2011-12-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

Lol! I couldnt resist!
All my charts came today, woot woot! And I have the stuff for Gypsy Firefly (mini) and QS Echos of Autumn and different fabrics for each to test the waters before buying big pieces of fabric for the rest and finding I dont like. So that's my plan... and we'll see which fabric wins out!

This..

2011-11-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

has been a crazy week! Now that Thanksgiving is past it's full steam ahead for XMAS- which means xtra craziness to deal with. Needless to say I havent stitched much, Thanksgiving weekend was so nuts I didnt get to it. But I did get over to a fav 'mom & pop" store that miraculously sells dmc for 39cents year round. Not suprisingly they order 600 boxes of it every month. So half of my upcoming HAEDs have thier floss now, still needing to be sorted lol, and I'll get the rest next time I go, as it's about 40 miles away so not exactly just down the street. (But that would be nice!)
At the lns I picked up some different fabrics to try the HAEDs on, 25ct lugana & 18ct davosa. I dont hav a light or magnifyer but it's on my list lol! So I'll see how these go. I have 28ct fabric already but dont like it for alot of over-one. I think a proper light would change that though. I really like how soft the davosa is, I hav finally found the fabric to sub out a couple of kits I love cuz I cant stand to work on aida! I just hope it comes in navy for Thunder Ridge.
Beltane just has the dark symbol of her cape left, and a couple symbols in her skirt left to go, I just need to sit down and do it.
Best of all I finally got rid of crutches yesterday so even though I'm slow I can actually carry stuff and get around!! Merry Xmas to me lol!

Black Friday...

2011-11-25T11:31:00.000-08:00

.. and I'm staying outta the stores lol! I did finsh up some stuff at work to prep for big doings tomorrow but now am home again, home again. By accident I found out there's a sale today at Heaven & Earth designs, so better check out the site for some bargains, as that is what I just did :D ! I think I'm gonna love getting into HAEDs cuz of the detail involved. The only HAEDs I had (till now lol) were "2Crowns" and "Pheonix Rising" and they were gifts from years ago from Kirsten. Now that she's gone and I'm still missing her terribly I decided it'd be a good way to feel connected to her by getting these going. She was a big fan and had several going, and kept encouraging me to try- and finally got me 2 Crowns for XMas one year to break me in, as that was my fav. But I never got around to actually starting it. But no longer, soon as I get the stuff I plan to get going!
HAEDs that are coming are
"La Belle Dame Sans Merci" by Dicksee
"Return to the Sea" by Beirtempel
" Mini Gypsy Firefly" by Stewart
"Winter Wings", Echos of Autumn Mini", "Moon Amethyst Mini," by Nene Thomas
"Fairy Ball" by
"Stairways to Dreams," Aurora Painting the Dawn," "Minerva's Melody", and "Daughter of the Deep QS" by Josephine Wall
"Peacock and Doves in a Garden" by Eugene Bidau.

So now I need to live to be 400 years old but maybe if I get cracking I could do it all in 399... ;)

IHSW results

2011-11-22T16:36:00.001-08:00

Some progress but not as much as I'd hoped cuz I had to work. Off now to catch up on the blogs!

Hermit weekend!

2011-11-19T06:45:00.000-08:00

is here again! This round I'll be focusing on my LLCeltic "Beltane" conversion, she's close enuf that I could see a finish before Xmas if I keep at it. She just has the lower half of her skirt & cape to go, & most of the beads. I was doing great on Swan Lake but am missing some threads I need for the gold medallion thing in the center. Hopefully they come next week and I can keep going. In the meantime, Beltane has been getting my attention. Now that football has taken over the tv and I'm still limited what I can do the stitching is seeing progress even if not much else is lol. Boy do I miss my horses!!

Things are lookin up

2011-11-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Some of the fabric has come in to the lns & is now home with me. It was what I'd ordered last Jan (!). Granted they are very beautiful but the wait has been long. I decided to switch fabrics for Swan Lake, and when that peice comes I'll use it for st Pete's or Evening in the Park instead. What SL got instead of a 28ct brittney by either Zweigart or Wichelt called "Ametrine" and it's shades of purple, blue, pink, green, and tan all swirled around. The floss toss looked great so I went ahead and started and am very happy thus far with it.
Will post pics when I get enuf done on it.
Also been playing with the Chatelaine fabric veiwer to see what looks nice for the patterns I have...
The leg is slowly coming round, still on crutches & strict orders to elevate & ice.. which is hard to do trying to deal with work so been too tired to sit at the puter much at night. But am looking forward to catching up on all the blogs...

what would you do...

2011-10-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

... if you had ordered fabric thru your lns, spent a chunk of $ to do so, and 6 months later it's still not in? i know they're having trouble getting it and so forth, but this long? Im still waiting on my fabric for Swan Lake and several Mirabilias. But none of it's here yet and I wonder if I'll even get to start before the class runs out! So what would you do?

in the mood

2011-10-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

for something new to work on! I can finally finally finally manage the stairs with crutches so actually got to sleep in my own bed instead of the lumpy couch! 2 wks of that was more than plenty! So I plan to go play in stash today since it's been forever and withdrawl is not pretty...
Octorber's only goal not done is progress on My Lady's Garden but she's ready to go whenever and will stay that way. I'll probably switch out Persian Iris for another but dunno which one yet...

Hermit weekend progress!

2011-10-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

And here are the contenders :)
Chatelaine's Persian Iris Garden Mandela on 28ct Chai Tea Jobelan by wichelt; and
MLI's Celtic Spring in my Beltane conversion. The weekend saw more progress on Beltane's skirt and the start of the pillars & rug on PIG. So not much to brag about but it was a nice distraction.
As for the knee it seems I tore the acl so it's gonna be a long road but I'm stubborn enuf it should be managable. Needless to say I dont care for tennis lol!

Mixed progress at a standstill

2011-10-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Doesnt make sense huh? Well, all week it's been a challenge since I've spent most of it on crutches. Today I find out how bad I blew out a knee trying to play tennis. Needless to say I will stick to horses & hiking & sports I know! Stitching has seen a little progress, not as much as I'd like, but a little. Hopefully after today's verdict I can actually start focusing instead of worrying. Persian Iris Mandela has seen some progress and I hope to play with it more tonite. I'm so glad the Hermit SAL is coming cuz that will be wonderful. I'll probably work on Persian or My Lady's Garden cuz I cant get upstairs to my stash,(talk about sucky!) and they were portable projects I was dragging along everywhere and are downstairs. (We live in an old farmhouse and the stairs are very steep) So perhaps my stitchy goals stand a chance this round lol!

October Goals

2011-10-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Seems I do better when I have to answer for reaching a deadline lol, so I'm gonna figure out some stitchy goals for Oct.
1. Get some serious progress done on My Lady's Garden
2. Spend some time on a Chatelaine- Probably Persian Iris Mandela since it's the only one I have all the fibers for and my fabric hasnt come for Swan Lake yet (grr!)
3. Finish & mail off a package soon as I get the address for the person
4. Sort the stash out again, that always fires me up

I also hope to get to the lns for some fibers for Greek Mandela since I have the fabric & floss for that and it'd be a fun start. For whatever reason my local lns-es are having trouble getting jobelans and such from europe this year. What the heck is going on?? I wish I could even start Swan Lake but hard to do without fabric lol!

Blame him!

2011-10-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Lol, this is why I havent been stitching lately! He is a handful, but a fun kind of handful at that...

off the radar...

2011-09-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

...lately cuz of horse adventures. Needless to say not much stitching is getting done cuz now I have 2 green (young-in training) horses to deal with till weather gets too wintery, so what spare time I get goes into them now. Dusty (the gray Arab cross) should be coming home soon and my Pheonix went camping with me this weekend so I missed the Hermit Stitch-Along this round. But I will have all winter to get caught up on stitching lol, and only a month or 2, if i'm lucky, to cram all the riding I can into these guys. So that's why the blogging is taking a hit lately! :)

oh the possibilities

2011-09-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

A whole afternoon to play in stash?? And see what finds attenton?? What more could a stitching-staved girl ask for??
I havent picked up a needle since the seahorse project but it's high time again. I have some "maybe that would be fun to work on... or start.. or convert.." lol. And with a 3 day weekend what better chance to play in it.

The Seahorse needlebook

2011-08-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

It's nearly done! Well, minus a snap to close it lol, but I dont have any so it can wait till I get some. The verse is from "Lines to the Ocean" a poem by Martha Lavinia Hoffman 1865-1900. Details: The fabric is 28ct linen, no idea of the color cuz it was a remnant I'd picked up for $1 but it's a blue, and the inside is a funky cotton print. The seahorse is from Mirabilia's "Bluebeard's Princess" and I just backstitched the poem as it would fit and added beads and charms to fill in the empty spaces. I didnt use a pattern for the words, just stitched as I went along, and the interior has a little pocket to hold a scissors as well, with my homemade seashorse beaded fob on it which makes it actually look like a set or something I wouldve bought. I winged it making that pocket lol I was so afraid it wouldnt come out on the right side when I sewed it by machine & was terrified I'd have to stitch the whole thing over!

getting a routine

2011-08-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

i hope to have a new progress pic by the weekend of a finished needlebook. It took awhile to figure out what to put on the backside of it and now haveta configure it all out... And I haveta decide if I wanna use cotton or another peice of linen on the inside cover so haveta search around to see some examples.
Today is a day off and prepping for hubby's bday party tonite- a day with cake involved is always a good day! But I spose I better get to it then!

Hermit stitching

2011-08-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

here is what i got to do this weekend! It is one of the seashorses from Mirabilia's Bluebeard's princess. I thought it might make a pretty scissor fob but it's too big for that so I'll figure out how to make a needle-book with him instead ;)

Stitchy weekend!

2011-08-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

http://joysze.blogspot.com/2011/08/ihsw-august.html
for all the details, but what a fabulous idea! Since I wont be going riding this weekend this is the next best thing! Of course there's the usual weekend catching up on life now that autumn is fast coming and school has started.
And speaking of such, as tradition dictates I celebrate the start of school every year by spending time at the lns looking over everything in peace and unhurried bliss lol, getting ready for another winter of stitchin. Today I brought home some fabric for Greek Mandela, a leather scissor sheath (to use as a pattern to make more since i have lots of leather), some fibers for Greek & Mermaid Treasure box, and a chart I've been looking for forever- "Sanctuary" by Drawn Thread which I can't wait to start and I'm thinking I have some fabric in my stash that would work for it. Only thing I noticed is there's no center arrows on the chart and I like to start on the center if at all possible!
I also wanna get more "smalls" going this winter, Mermaid Treasure Box is top of that list,...

Stitchy pins!

2011-08-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd try my hand at sculpting stitchy pins and it went kaboom lol. The koalas will be a fun little gift for a lady at work who's the only other stitcher besides me- and is obcessed with koalas. They are made of Sculpy clay, baked in the oven, and coated with clear sealer. Some have ultra fine glitter added as well. All in all a fun project!

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today I dont feel like doing anything...

2011-08-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

But play in stash and stitch. The weather is so perfect out that I'm tempted to take a project out to the treehouse (where no dogs or cats can get into it lol) and just enjoy my day off...
So wish me luck nobody changes that for me ;)

My Sunday project :)

2011-08-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

I took a break from Egypt Mandela to play with beads instead! The Magpie within is at peace now lol! This is my newest chatelaine :), mermaid style lol. It's made of freshwater pearls, glass "pearls", crystals, glass silver-lined beads, and semi-precious labrodite stones. The charms I found at Walmart and Micheals. The octopus holds 8 strands for attatching as many stitching tools or scrissors, etc. The big fish on the left is intended to be a fob as well but I need some more jump rings- so attatched him so he wouldnt get lost lol. Havta work on that tomorrow...
So if I ever get that Mermaid Treasure Box (by Martina) going I already have something to put in it ;) and in the meantime it complements my Mira Mermaid projects wonderfully. Such a cool feeling to have blingy stitching toys

over one

2011-08-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

is not my freind!!
Egypt Mandela is in a major flub cuz Im one thread off in the center fishpond. I think I'll haveta get that extra skein of Tropical Sea Gloriana cuz of all the frogging. NOW I know why I swore off over one for most of my projects! When there's alot of it it just doesnt go well for me. Chances are the LLCeltics will be the only projects that get it.
SIGH

a new start

2011-07-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

As of today, I can officially say Egyptian Mandela is started :D. now I will haveta do some research to find out what fabric lol, but it's a 28ct evenweave by either Zweigart or Wichelt and looks like parchment. Or in this case papyrus ;). The one lns doesnt label fabric they cut for customers so will just look next time I'm there & write it down.
The fish pond is a headache but what's even crazier is I might do the entire thing over 1 cuz I can hardly see the fish against the over 2.
So crazy??

2011-07-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

a quick project to get the mojo going :). It was inspired by Victoria Samplers Monthly birds, only I just used dmc and added pine branches with beads. This will be a gift for one of my elderly buddies who does lots of embroidery & collects cardinals.

best laid plans...

2011-07-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Still waiting on that stitching idea! First we had county fair and 4H doings for an entire week, then a horse show that weekend (I was helping manage it, not participating however)and thought, whew! It's all over and I can get back to normal routine!
Not so!
My son had his appendix out this week and then had a reaction to whatever meds he was on for it, so needless to say stitching hasnt happened yet. but tonite I've made up my mind that it's high time cuz I so need a mental vacation!
But some stitchy news is I finally got to give my sister the sampler i made for her some time ago. It was a Jeanette Douglas Lowland Lakes one that I personalised for her and she seemed to like it so that was cool. She came up to visit when we got outta the hospital and I finally remembered to dig it out. Now haveta get something else going now that one goal is finished lol

Stash.....

2011-07-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Gotta love stash! Especially when it's new stash!
Today I had to go to the lns as an errand for an elderly person who needed embroidery supplies. Happy to oblige her, I enjoyed this kind of mission lol! It turns out my silks for Egyptian Mandela (Chatelaine) had arrived and were waiting, AND, they were doing inventory so there were all kinds of goodies in the clearence bins. I found Mirabilia's "Sabrina", "Lady Hera", & "January Garnet Fairy"; Victoria Sampler's "Babe's Honey Farm,"Christmas Villiage Sampler," Carol Singers Sampler", "Gingerbread Garden Sampler" and "Button Up Birdies", and a Shepherds Bush "Halloween Night" and Cricket Collection "Spring Fleece". FOR 50 cents each! And then 7 or 8 various stitching magazines for the same price. And then 2 fancy little scissors for hardanger at $4 each. They are gold and one has a cross cutout of the handles and the other has flowers and such. Needless to say Ive never had pretty or fine pointed scissors before so this is a treat. I wonder what fun little projects are in the magazines, cuz I didnt get a chance to look through them much but they're older ones.
Now I can get Egyptian Mandela started and the Victorian Samplers are ones I've been looking at for weeks but thought $15 was too high. Lol 50cents is much better! I'll haveta go see what they put out next week!
So.... it may be that E Mandela will be the next start.

in the mood...

2011-07-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

For something different... But not sure what! This calls for digging thru the stash and WIPs tonite and see what catches my attention. Update to follow....

finally some pics

2011-07-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

First up is Chatelaine's "Persian Iris Garden" and the other is Mirabilia's "My Lady's Garden. I havent been stitching much the last couple months but now that it's getting hot out I'm spending more time indoors so then I hope to get back into it

stitchin blues

2011-05-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

... cuz I havent done any lately. With the monsoon we've been having keeping me away from gardening or riding horses you would think the stitching would be flying along, but it isnt. It's been really hard to pick it up lately cuz I still miss Kirsten and all the obcessing we did over our projects. I think she'd be first to kick my butt for slacking too. Now that May, (2nd craziest month at work) is nearly over and I actually have the holiday weekend off I hope to go thru stash and pick out something to get me back in the groove. I also gotta charge the camera and get some new pics in here! Maybe even a new project or something I havent seen in awhile...

Happy Easter Everyone!

2011-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!
It's been a crazy week round here, yet have gotten back into a routine at night of doing some stitching. Yesterday I also spent most of the afternoon at it and today that's my same plan, after which I hope to get a new pic in here. I reached 2 goals on My Lady's Garden, getting her shoulders done and serious progress on the flowers and urn beside her. Lots of confetti stitching but it's so beautiful. I'll be doing this one twice so I can have one in my house too lol!

back again!

2011-04-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile due to family being sick for a couple weeks, then craziness of farming, and a family member passing away last week. So I havent touched much stitching in about a month. What I did get done a couple weeks ago was starting Swan Lake--on black-- which didnt work cuz I flubbed up with only 7 seven stitches done. So black is not gonna work for me to do this on, it'll never get done. With that in mind I went to get some blue n purply hand-dyed fabric from the lns and had to order a peice big enuf-- only to hear it's hard to get fabric now from the suppliers so they dont know how long it will take. Same story from the other lns as well. So no idea how long it'll be before I can get going on Swan Lake-- hopefully it'll still be a mystery then lol! I also ordered fabric for Greek Mandela and hoping it comes before the class is over. But I did find the perfect fabric for Egypt Mandela, it looks like sand or papyrus, warm sany tones and the colors just sing against it. I need to get the Glorianas and some others before I can start it, but at least the fabric is in my stash so I dont haveta wait on it.
Persian Garden has the carpet and pillars started on the top side, but I havent been at it either lately. Beltane still sits waiting. Today I'm in the mood to work on My Lady's Garden- big blocks of color go quickly ;) and that particular project I'd like to see finished by xmas or Feb. So,,, it'll be nice to lose myself in the stitching for awhile

At long last

2011-03-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

I have finally started a Chatelaine! :D ! However it's not Swan Lake-- that stuff still isnt here-- but thanks to Han's conversion of Persian Iris Garden I have officially started it today, on 28ct "Chai Tea" jobelan by wichelt (a pale tan and green, very soft tones and the colors look wonderful on it. I still need to get some of the braids but in the meantime will go far as I can, using Han's version of the solid Silks into DMC, and the overdyeds as called for. I'm anxious to play with all the silks and specialty stitches!
In other news Beltane has seen some great progress and the front skirt is mostly done. Next week will be totally nuts so she remains out where I can work on her as time permits. The Nessessaire has moved off the Qs for Persian and I think I'll put it on scroll bars like its other peice, the Qs kinda rumpled the linen anyway so that will work better.

onward!

2011-03-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

This weekend Beltane moved onto the biggest Qsnaps for the final journey. All that's left is the 100 acres or so of skirt, and today I got about half the gold done in it. There's also beads to do but for some reason that goes faster than stitching for me. I plan to keep her out and about where it's easy to just put in a few stitches when I can since that worked so well with Mermaid of the Pearls and she grew faster that way. No promises she'll be the next HD, but as of now she's the closest and will keep at her till my Chatelaine stuff comes...

playing in stash

2011-03-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

:) I spent some time to myself today going thru my stash. OK, I admit there was a motive, but it didnt pan out that I had anything for the Chatelaines lol. But it was still refreshing, like a miser counting his gold lol. I dont know why, but for some reason the Chatelaines are driving me crazy cuz their stuff isn't easy to get and taking forever to get here. Yet I'd get shot if I ordered the kit and hubby saw the bill for it lol. This weekend will be my last freetime one for awhile and I plan to just pull out whatever project I feel like or maybe start one of the Infamous 11 lol.
Tonite I got out my binder of Jeanette Douglas, Sweethart Tree, and Victoria Sampler, just perusing my sampler collection and thinking it'd be fun to play with specialty stitches and get 'warmed up' for when my stuff comes. It's also March now so a good time to do an Irish project. I have done the Irish Blessing Sampler (Sweethart Tree) for a gift, but I've always wanted one for me. However, my Celtic Ireland has reservations for that day lol, since I finally get it off this year from work. So it might be fun to get a sampler set up and make some progress. But anyway, today I got to play in stash. It was something of a band-aid lol.

other projects

2011-03-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Since I'm still waiting to start my Chatelaine but unwilling to sacrafice my stitching time wallowing in misery (lol) I've been busy with other projects. Celtic Spring as Beltane has been getting beads added all week, the Nessessaire is seeing progress, and I put Mediterranian Mermaid back on Qs so I wont miss the Mermaid SAL for March, which is coming up again and this time I'm ready. Tonite it's more Beltane cuz she's easy to deal with after a long day. Swan Lake has part 3 out now and I'm anxious to get going. I hope to have the remainder of my silks in a couple weeks, and I really hope to find out soon what Chinese Mandela will need. I made that my priority for now instead of buying more charts but perhaps in a couple months I can get the next round of Chatelaines I'm missing....

testing my patience

2011-02-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

A much-anticipated package today, and got me all geared up that I could finally finally finally start my first Chatelaine, as this package contained the Gloriana silks I needed. However, the slip said some are backordered-- and wouldnt you know it just happens to be the 2 colors (among others) needed for the center medallion??
Grr. Part 3 comes out in 2 days and I'm still stuck waiting for supplies. I really miss Needlework Plus, they were always quick and helpful so I can't wait till they're back up and running. I will just haveta find a sub company till they come back cuz my lns doesnt carry everything.
So here I sit, with still unstarted Swan Lake, and torn between ordering some other Chatelaine charts or wondering if I should be good cuz Chinese is coming out also and I have no idea what stuff it even needs. Sigh

progress update

2011-02-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

I spent my stitchin time this weekend on the Nessessaire project, thus far one panel is done, the 2nd started, and the misc peices on one peice of fabric are in a scroll frame, mapped out and working up quickly, pin cushion and scissor pocket sections are almost half done. I think they shouldnt take long either, but at the same time once my Chatelaine supplies come it'll be full blast into that. Since the end of the month is always crazy at work I require a non-thinking project to unwind with at night, so it'll be the Ness for awhile.
Beltane saw a little progress over the weekend, and My Lady's Garden awaits for possibly this coming weekend. But not too worried about that far ahead. But I'd like to keep progress on her and give her a weekend once in awhile.

my homemade chatelaine

2011-02-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

And here it is, made of freshwater pearls, denimn lapis lazuli stones, and glass beads. The middle strand will hold a needlecase, and all tools are detatchable. The compass is a pendant. It took about 20 minutes to make and I'm thinking I'll make a few more just for fashion's sake lol.

adventures

2011-02-16T13:14:00.001-08:00

Since the price of dmc is destined to go up today I made a run for it today, and my Chatelaines have thier floss. There is a locally famous variety store in my area that still carries it for 39 cents so I usually stock for my projects there. Now I haveta sort thru it all for each project. I wish they carried the rest of stitching supplies for such bargains! But anyway, this morning saw progress of the Nessessaire and very little left to do on that front panel lol, but I shall continue and finish tonite. I love how the colors turned out on it and the whole project will be so pretty when done. I'm using it as a guinea pig before I take on Leporello ;)
The other day I worked on making my own chatelaine-- while searching for the Martina patterns google had all these images of antique chatelaines to hold all the tools for sewing and such. And I wanted one, so I dug into the jewelry making stash and invented one for myself. I just need to get a needle-case and it is finshed, and I'll post a pic on the weekend. It is inspired by my life-long obcession of Atlantis- the main feature is a pendant of a compass, and then it has 5 strands of freshwater pearl and denimn lapis semi-precious stones that trail down ending in large clasps to hook my tools onto, and I made a laying tool to match it. Im very happy with it, and like the convenience of not having to dig around for what I need.
I also toyed with the idea of making another beaded needle-case in more of a mermaid theme to go with the Mermaid treasure box, but need to find more appropriate seed beads for it, none of mine match it's colors. But bit by bit I'll have my Mermaid collection of sewing trinkets, which only seems fitting as the Mira Mermaids grace my bedroom now and that's where I do the majority of my stitching anyway.
And it's been really fun keeping an eye out for designs that would work for this plan lol.

Waiting sucks

2011-02-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

and I hate doing it! But it'll be so worth it once my stuff comes and I can finally start. In the meantime I've been plugging away at the Nessessaire but it's been sparse, the 32ct is not the greatest for working on in the evenings. Since this week promises to be nuts I think I'll get Beltane out for some easy progress.

Jumping in

2011-02-12T05:39:00.000-08:00

...to my first Chatelaine as soon as my supplies arrive. :). And for the first one it just so happens it's an online class, and a Mystery at that! It is the Swan Lake #14 Mystery. I got the recommended black fabric but am really wondering!! I may find it easier to use a blue so once the rest of my threads come I'll see if I should go that route instead. Perhaps a purply blue hand-dyed would be just the thing to pop the white and yet be more managable. I have alot of catching up to do on it as well, since I'm waiting for stuff and the first 2 sections are out.
I also signed up for the Chinese Garden class in April, which gives me a chance to kit that one up and get caught up with Swan Lake.
These are what hubby got for a Valentine idea when he asked me to pick out something. We typically do a heart-shaped box of candy cuz it's cliche and then get each other something we especially want.
I also got a few fibers for Persian Iris Garden while I was at it, as there are some fibers neither of the lns'es carries. I know what fabric I want for that one- it and Egypt Garden will go on a parchment-y looking fabric so they look all antique. I plan for them to be the big fall startups this year.
In the meantime, the Nessessaire is coming along, and the fist panel is half done. It works up quickly but I havent stitched much this week. Hopefully can catch up on it tonite.

Mysteries

2011-02-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have utterly and completely fallen into the Chatelaine ABYSS. The ones Im still after are so many, but the two that call the strongest are The Chinese Garden that's coming up for a class, and the Swan Lake Mystery. Now they are something I've never undertaken, simply cuz my stitching time can be so haywire. But at the same time they are so gorgeous I hate to think I'll miss out like in the past. So I think I will do some more research on how these work out. My fear is falling behind and missing a chunk of design, so haveta find out how they work exactly.

New look

2011-02-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

So things look different around here lol, but I figured it was high time for a change to something brighter and something to keep my mind off winter! :)

January report, Febuary hopes

2011-02-07T07:33:00.000-08:00

January was a good month stitchy-wise. There was progress on Beltane and My Lady's Garden. There was the start of MLI's Ice Angel, Just a Thought's "Nessessaire Box", and a HD of a scissor fob, whose pics I'm still having trouble getting in here. January also saw the return of Chatelaines to my wishlist and the aquiring of several charts- Alpine Garden, Evening in the Park, Mermaid's Treasure Box, Egypt Garden, Persian Iris Garden, Convent's Herbal Garden, and Stitching Leporello. There are more on the wishlist naturally, but these should keep me busy for a very long time. I'm not sure which one to kit up first, and it'll be a slow process, but after how many years of admiring from afar it feels so awesome to at least have the charts lol.

Now for Febuary plans:

1. Continue to give Beltane a good chance at progress
2. Work on My Lady's Garden
3. Complete several sections of the Nessessaire
4. Begin kitting a Chatelaine. This should become easier as March comes and the
big sales hit my lns.
5. Start a new project just for fun, like a small biscornu or a fob

fun little thngs

2011-02-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

I spent the weekend learning to do something Ive never
tried before - making a tiny project
instead of a big one. I found it to be so fun to have so quick a happy dance lol! Since discovering biscornus and stitching smalls I have become hooked on having some pretty things to organize my stitching tools, which currently just float in a small pencil case. So yeah, it's time to upgrade. I'm also determined to get some etui kits and build some of those. I just need fabric to do the Just a Thought "Nessessiare" but am doing it in a softer color pallette than the origional, more soft rose, cream, and sage greens instead of the fall colors or purple and yellow. But first I wanna get the Chatelaines going so that is the kitting priority, and when the lns throws some 32ct fabric into the clearence bin I'll start snapping those up too instead of just the 28ct.

stitchy day

2011-01-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's your typical January day outside, for my corner of the world anyway, with temps in the teens and flurries. I debated about using my day off for making a run to the lns but decided against it till my Chatalaine patterns come. Besides, my horse Dusty comes back from the trainer on Sunday, so I should pay that bill first lol. So I plan to cozy up with whatever project yells the loudest and a movie and try to ignore the weather outside till choretime. Yesterday I ordered the finishing instructions from Just a Thought for Chatelaine's the Mermaid box and Leporello, and I got Just a Thought's version of the leporello box as well. They are so pretty, and I can't wait to have them done and keep stitching treasures in them. Up till now I had no idea such things existed, except for scissor fobs and needlerolls, but how very elegant. I also have a chart by Jeanette Douglas for Biscournus and those will be fun to make too. But for now I'm gonna go see what's gonna yell to be worked on.

Adventures...

2011-01-24T07:15:00.001-08:00

January is going well. Ice Angel is slow but beautiful progress. I've taken a break from the blends in her, to Beltane again. Beltane is quickly growing thanks to being a simple project. Haven't started Winter Beauty Princess yet, but might save her for a rainy day since I have all of 2011 yet.
Yesterday I dug out an old list from years ago, and what was on it was a list of designs that I had liked years ago but hadn't gotten. Since it's been rather nostalgic round here with kitting old projects/designs I thought I'd take a look and see if certain patterns from this old list were still available.
Thanks to Charb's posts on her new Chatelaine, I finally decided to investigate if Chatelaine was still going, and seems it's more popular than ever! Though I have no idea what I'm in for I went ahead and ordered 3 charts- Evening in the Park, Alpine Seasons, and Mermaid Box. That was enuf damage for one order lol, but plan to make another for Weeping Willow Keep, Stitching Leporello, Convents Herbal Garden, Taj Mahal, and Celtic Garden Maze, and probably others when I look more into it. I would love to do a class for Winter Watergarden but not sure how those work or if I'd be able to keep up once summer comes. But for now, I'm looking forward to finally getting into a Chatelaine, though it's gonna take me awhile to kit one up...

Guilt Free January in full swing

2011-01-15T09:02:00.000-08:00

Passione Ricomo's "Winter Beauty Princess" on 28ct "Starquest" Britney by Zweigart. Zweigart and Wichelt have some pretty hand-dyed fabrics and this is my fav of them all. I plan to start this one tomorrow :).

MLI's "Ice Angel" on 28ct "Tile Blue" jazlyn by Zweigart. I opted for a solid fabric for this Angel, after seeing it done in the lns on a solid. I also decided to use a blending filament with white DMC instead of the rayon in her dress, and it looks nice, so I'll skip the silks I was thinking of. The entire dress is blending filaments so you can imagine the glitter! Started today :)

My Lady's garden

2011-01-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

Here she is at 16 hours progress. I didnt get to participate in the Mermaid SAL this round like I'd planned, due to work and wasting my whole weekend being sick. But MLG saw some progress since she was familar territory. I love the colors and silks in this one!

My 11 in '11

2011-01-07T05:24:00.000-08:00

And here they are, after much deliberation. It's a mix-mash of started projects and new starts, but 11 projects I plan to enjoy this year.

1. My LLCeltic "Beltane"
2. My LLCeltic "Ireland"
3. Mirabilia "My Lady's Garden"
4. Mirabilia "Mediterranian Mermaid"
5. Mirabilia's "Bluebeard's Princess"
6. Mirabilia's "Winter Queen"

New Starts
7. Victoria Sampler's "Heirloom Christmas Sampler"
8. Joan Elliot's "Blue Geisha"
9. Passione Ricomo's "Winter Beauty Princess"
10. MLI's "Ice Angel"
11. Whatever unstarted Mirabila catches my attention lol

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

It's officially Guilt-Free January!! That said, buisness before pleasure. TOday I moved stash around, and emptied one of the Sterilite towers into a dresser, (not to mention a thorough cleaning and good start at feng shui'ng the house). Now this is a trade off, as the sterilite had more storage space cuz the dresser drawers are really shallow. However, the dresser will hold the other tv and it'll be nice to have a second tv, since I love to watch, or rather listen to, movies while I stitch and usually the tv is commandeered by the males of the house.
So now that everything is somewhat sorted and organized, my day is free to enjoy stitching tomorrow. Not to mention finding a new start to dive into to lol. I decided against using rayon for Ice Angel, I have a feeling it'd just tick me off so am gonna look for silks at the cool lns that usually has everything. I also plan to make the tree an overdyed floss to give it some oomph lol, so it's not so much a Charlie Brown-looking tree. But I did find some fabric that should work nicely for her.
I also decided on fabrics for the Seasonal Angels but dont have peices large enuf for them. While sorting thru stash I was thinking about 11 in 2011, and debating whether it should be starting 11 new ones or choosing 11 main projects. I really need to give it some serious thought....

Christmas stash :)

2010-12-29T05:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a good Christmas, my order from ABC came, and what I spent my gift $ on was kitting MLI's Ice Angel & Seasonal Angels, minus fabrics. I have plenty of plain blue fabrics that I wanna do a floss toss on, but the Seasonal angels might win out for some hand-dyeds. I also can't wait to get Summer Queen going now that my Mira Queen set is complete, but she needs her stitchables yet and hopefully her fabric works for her- I chose it using the fabric overlay thingy instead of seeing the fabric in person. Now that it's here it's alot paler than online pics so I'm hoping it still works once I get the floss.
I am determined to do 11 in 2011 but havent pinned down which projects yet. The Mermaid SAL is coming and I plan some serious progress on Med Mermaid. This weekend we'll be moving furniture and I may transfer my stash into an antique steamer trunk that currently houses my fabric for sewing. I dunno though. But it would hold everything, only that there's no way to really organise it in there since it only has the top tray. But it may work nicely. Otherwise there is a dresser I can swap one of my Sterlite towers for, or I may go hunting in the antique shops.

Christmas leftovers

2010-12-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

Today was the first lazy day I've had in a long time! And I made what I could as far as stitching progress. The project for today was My Lady's Garden, which I will be returning to shortly. I hope to get this one done in 2011 but there's acres of it to get thru lol. I just love the opulence of this one! My order didn't come before xmas so I'm hoping for this week. I also havent yet heard from my lns about the fabric I'm waiting for, so hopefully once holidays are done. Hard to be patient though! I'm also planning to do some switching stuff around, right now my stash is in rubbermaid plastic drawer towers and I'd like something more like furniture to store it in. DH mentioned making me a cupboard or trunk so we'll see what happens...
I've also been trying to plan out January and get some structure or at least plan of attack lol. I may save most of the new starts for 11-in-11 so I could enjoy them all year. There is also the Mermaid SAL coming up. Since I dont work the weekend I know I can have some fun with that. What has been catching my eye lately is old patterns I've had forever but never kitted or started. And I'm rather glad cuz now they can go on prettier fabrics ;). There's quite a few of MLI's angels and her Indian ladies, and bunches of TWs and samplers too. I need a day to just dig around and play in the stash! Perhaps when I get better housing for it, like a dresser or something if DH doesnt get around to building something

What 2011 may bring...

2010-12-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

and here is where it gets crazy lol. I've been stitching for 12 years now, and it tends to go in phases for me throughout the year, spring is usually getting the garden ready and working with the horses again, so not much stitching happens then, especially when there's young horses needing extra miles and attention. Mid-summer when it gets hot stitching stands a chance cuz it's too hot to do anything but stay indoors. Stitching picks back up in the fall somewhat and after Xmas progress is seen. This year I'm not taking violin lessons so that has freed up my spare time but at the same time, I really miss it! I plan to catch up in a couple years, either the teacher has to lower prices or I haveta find a new one. So this winter looks like stitching can really blast off. And that 11 in 2011 idea has really caught my attention but I havent found any more details on it. Perhaps I can make it my own style. The trouble is those months I don't get a chance to stitch are hard to catch up on. Like the Mirabilia monthly themes I didnt get to last year or the year before, it's more than likely the same thing will happen again. But it'd still be fun to try. Designers would be Mirabila, MLI, Teresa Wentzler, Jeanette Douglas, Joan Elliot, Sweethart Tree, Victoria Sampler, Dimensions GOld, and I'd need to figure out 3 more lol. But time is what goes against me to cram all that into time I do stitch.
But, starting 11 more projects would be fun just for the helluva it ;)

beads....

2010-12-18T13:29:00.000-08:00

I was in the lns today, to get beads for Celtic Spring (my Beltane) and although I found them, I'm not crazy about them. I got others also, in colors I thought suited better, and got it configured out what I'll be subbing around. Lol, this is where it gets hairy, as I went and added extra beads to my Mabon and Imbolc. So for the most part, Beltane's beads are gonna be scrambled.
While I was there they also had all the Xmas and Winter finished models up on the wall, and I saw MLI's "Ice Angel" in real life. Holy cow, I've had that chart for years with the idea that someday I'd start it. Who knew it was so gorgeous and blingy! It was done on a pale blue solid fabric, which complimented it very nicely. I 'm pretty sure that's how I'll make mine as well, as a hand-dyed, much as I love em, would maybe compete with all the beads and glitter of her gown. But I'll hold judgement till I play on the fabric veiwer. But if I do decide for a solid, I have tons of blue colors in my stash that might suit perfectly, so kitting her would be easy. I also got the remainder of the "Starquest Purple" brittney, which I found out is by Zweigart :) . Good to know. I may use it for Passione Ricomo's "Winter Beauty Princess" cuz it looks to work with her as well. So a very good stash day. My order hasnt come in the mail yet, probably not till after Xmas cuz of the holidays, but ya never know. That should be fun too, now that I'm no longer stash-starved it's been fun catching up with projects I've had forever waiting to be kitted. I plan to have a very fun GFJ in 2011.

Christmas wishing

2010-12-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

My Christmas wish would be for a time machine so I could actually manage to get the projects and the rest of life's requirements done lol.
But my hopes for the day are to spend the morning dealing with groceries and xmas shopping and then the afternoon is mine to stitch! However the sleet that's starting outside may scramble all of that. Beltane is back on the Qs and I'm hoping she will finish up quickly but there's alot of skirt to finish lol. But with all the craziness of the holiday season I wanted an easy project to unwind after a long day. And she fit the bill. My Lady's garden is still on Qs and Winter Queen, and they are travel projects. I'm hoping for some good progress in 2011 and some finishes, lol, we'll see. One of these days I should take a WIP count and see how many there actually are!

a New Start!

2010-12-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Mirabilia's Winter Queen on 28ct "Starquest" brittney by Wichelt or Zweigart. Not much to show yet but I'm loving how the colors are working together on this one.

pics

2010-12-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

First up is Bluebeards Princess at 5 hours progress. "Thyme" hand-dyed linen by Wichelt

Mediterranian Mermaid at 8 hours progress. "Watercress" hand-dyed jobelan by Wichelt

My Lady's Garden at 6 hours progress. "Antique Copper" hand-dyed jobelan by Wichelt

in the Christmas spirit

2010-12-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

... and never even noticed Nora's set of reindeer that she's done. They are so cool! But I doubt I'll have any of them by Christmas, however, they seem little and quick to stitch so maybe by next year. I wonder if I could kit them as a huge project if they use alot of the same materials... haveta do some more research...
While seeing those I also finally looked through the whole alphabet that she's designed as well and that is really cool. It would be fun to do names made with these letters. But oiy! What a chunk of $ ! Haveta keep my eyes open for any bargains cuz I just placed an order! And what is coming is Summer Queen, Maidens of the Seasons II, and Spring Topiary Garden, and fabric for Summer Queen. Then all my Queens will be ready to get going.I plan to do all the Maidens on 1 big fabric so that'll be cool, but will worry bout that sometime next year.
I have something of a repreive now that painting orders are nearly over and hopefully the craziest time at work is done for awhile. So stitching stands a better chance now that there's some free time at home anyway. I dug out the kitted projects and found Winter Queen, but havent set her up yet. She will be fun and I have a frosty-looking fabric just for her :). Just not sure if I should save her for Winter Soltice day...

an update

2010-12-04T10:13:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving weekend Bluebeard's Princess and Med Mermaid saw some progress. Not as much as I'd hoped, for the ride home was in a car and too jostled to even try stitching (much easier to do in the truck!) Since then no luck stitching at all. But next weekend is another trip and I hope to make some good progress then.
Stitching thoughts are all about winter-themed projects or Xmas ones. We had the first snow yesterday and there's 6" of the white stuff out there now. It looks pretty but I can't help wishing it leaves after Xmas! But it puts me in the mood to work on a wintery project, maybe Winter Queen or getting fabric for Santa's Majic and Royal Holiday.
November Goals didnt make it so hot this round.

Middy: didnt even get looked at :(

Queen of Peace: Major frogging session so only got about half the progress I wanted.

Med Mermaid: Reached the tailfin and worked some more on her skin.

So probably wont be making any goals for Dec cuz that month gets eaten by chaos too. And January is the free for all lol, that I'm really looking forward to this year.

a promise of progress

2010-11-24T05:28:00.000-08:00

is on the horizon... Roadtrip tomorrow, and 4 hours in a car, 2 nights in a hotel is a good opportunity. So Med Mermaid is going cuz she's easy, Bluebeards Princess and My Lady's Garden are ready to go as well, and not sure who else I'll take along. It's not likely I'll make huge progress but I still keep trying ;)

Stitchy progress

2010-11-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

has been happening on Mediterranian Mermaid, have almost completed her tail to the fin. But I hope to take her along for a family trip and make lots of progress in the car. This week will be crazy and afterwards it's all systems go for painting and the stitching will haveta get put on hold. But this weekend looks promising for more progress.
So, so far only one Nov goal getting close

Some Progress

2010-11-13T12:40:00.000-08:00

My puter is still down so no pics, but Queen of Peace has been taken off the Qs for awhile, after a major frogging session I need a break from her. Besides I think the Mermaid SAL has started so I have Mediterranian Mermaid on the Qs and put Bluebeard's Princess on some as well. I spent the last few days prepping kreinik braids for projects and now most are good to go. I hate trying to thread kreiniks into needles, always have, but stumbled upon a neat little trick about 6 years ago. First you wrap the entire spool of braid around a peice of cardboard about 8" long. Tape the ends so it stays, and then make a mark on either side of the strands to mark where you will next run some Fray Check across them. The area for this need not be big, one pass of the bottle tip is plenty. The Fray Check is a godsend for this stuff! Let it dry for a few hours and then cut it where the Fray Check was applied, right in the middle. Now both ends of the braid will not fray, it's easy to thread your needle, and the Fray Check gets cut off or not used anyway. I put it and the empty spool together into a little floss bag and it's very convenient and far less swearing this way lol.
Middy has seen a little progress but nothing to brag about. My time is beginning to get crunched so hard to say how Nov goals are gonna go. But I keep trying.

November Goals:

2010-11-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

I'm hoping this helps to continue progress on the stitching during the chaos that is to come in the next couple months.....

1. Continue to make progress on Middy. Finish the wings and at least half of the branch

2. Hit 15 hours on Queen of Peace

3. Work on Mediterranian Mermaid for the SAL, get as close to finishing her tail as possible during then.

Now, I'll be glad to get 2 outta 3 lol, but having it in writing helps make it a priority. Wish me luck!

Still no puter at home..

2010-11-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

.. and I'm slowly going nuts! But it's suprising how much stitching I've gotten done lol, since I hardly bother with tv. I did get a cheapo magnifyer light and it's great, however I would like to get one that doesnt get so hot from the light bulb. But Middy has seen some serious progress and is about half done now. She remains on the Q's for opportunity, since the lamp stays in the bedroom cuz it is the kind that clamps and doesnt have a floorstand. My Lady's Garden is the travel project now, and last night I dug out Mirabilia's "Queen of Peace" that I had started years ago and her progress is flying along. I'm doing a conversion on her, getting rid of the green sash and making it plum instead. Mediterranian Mermaid is also on the Q's and has seen a bit of progress but am saving her for the Mermaid SAL coming up. I plan to sub pearls for the bigger cream beads on her as well. I have some that are the perfect size and shape. Yesterday was an awesome day for going to my favorite lns. Now most of my Miras have thier beads and kreniks, fabric for some, and i brought home Fairy Roses to add to my Mirabilia collection. They are ordering fabric in for Enchanted Mermaid, Blossom Harvest, and Cinderella, and when those come in I may kit up what's left of my Miras that I have, and there's several left that I dont have charts of yet either. I didnt have much luck finding Mill Hill treasures though. Thinking i might just order Swarovski crystals from Fire Mountain instead of buying Mill Hill, and save a fortune if I can. I also got some clearence samplers and fibers which was cool, but nothing that screams to be started right now. I'm having too much fun with the Miras I have started now anyway. My Starting List has grown a bit but there again, Middy is the focus and the others are fun distractions. Winter Queen is still the top contender for a start but I'm saving her for a rainy day so to speak. Perhaps this week I'll get to the other lns and bring home the Starquest and Antique Copper fabric they have left. I have a couple Passione Ricomo's that work nice with Starquest, and maybe Royal Holiday or Santa's Majic for the other. It would be nice to have some Xmas projects going and this year would be great to add them in. But for now I better go see how far I get on Peace Queen so there's enuf done for a pic once I actually have my puter back.

My computer is in the shop

2010-10-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

So it may be awhile before I can post more updates or pics. But progress on My Lady's Garden is coming along, and last night I dug out Middy and worked on her wings for a bit this morning. This (and Ashley's Roses) will the ONLY projects that I will ever attempt to finish on 32 ct fabric, simply cuz there's too much progress to restart. But those wings gave me a headache cuz of the blending filament on so tiny a stitch (at least for me). So I'm caving in and getting a magnifier light, once these projects are done I can use it for fly-tying. But she is beautiful, every time I go digging thru the WIPs she comes out for awhile, but sadly doesnt stay cuz of her fabric. HOpefully the light changes all that.
In other news, been buying fabric for projects and getting more ready to start, wont be long and all the Miras I have will be ready to go. I plan to have one fabulous stitching season this winter lol....

The Short List

2010-10-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

These are projects I have that are ready to go, though some may need thier beads yet, but are in no particular order.
1. Winter Queen. This is my favorite Queen cuz it looks like my favorite aunt
2. Forest Goddess
3 Queen Mermaid
4 Crystal Symphony
5 July's Amethyst Fairy
6 Sleeping Beauty

There are more in the process of kitting up in various stages, maybe by Guilt-Free January they could be ready too...
Right now the loudest one to be started is Winter Queen, but I just started 2 Miras this month. Normally I wouldnt blink an eye at that lol, but I would like to get some good progress on those 2 first before crazy season hits and stitching suffers for time. Besides there's a Mira Mermaid SAL coming up and I'm joining in that, maybe Bluebeard's Princess would get a go, or Mediterranian. At least lately those are the the ones on my mind for that event.

Rainy Sundays

2010-10-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

can be a blessing lol. And how I spent my free time today was a combo of working on My Lady's Garden and digging thru stash. I also decided I really hate fluorescent lights at the lns, cuz once I get the fabric home it always looks different. So Enchanted Mermaid will have to wait now. However this fabric will work perfectly for Winter Queen, it actually looks like a frosty window with how the dye set, in shades of blue and a bit of purple. So now Winter Queen is good to go ;) and I hope soon. I also made a list of all the projects that just need fabric and can be started, along with sizes I would need, and played on the fabric veiwer for awhile. What an awesome site that is! I do miss the Mira/Lavender n Lace Gallery though, it was so cool to be able to see people's WIPs and HDs all in one place and get inspired.
I'm really having alot of fun with the stitching and hate the thought of Nov-Dec coming-- usually the job goes nuts for Holiday season, there's alot of outdoor chores to take care of here, and when I am free for creativity what takes priority is my biggest rush for art orders for Xmas - so the stitching really suffers then. but January always promises to be stitchy again.
This week I hope to get some more progress on Rose Celebration, get enuf progress on Lady Garden to warrent a pic, and finish the face on Samhain and get a pic of her. Time is running out and I'll have to depend on weekends I dont work or paint orders to make any progress... but I remain ever hopeful ;)

Some progress and a framing

2010-10-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

here is Rose Celebration at 10 hours, on 28ct "Thyme" linen from Wichelt. She has been fun to work on, so I'll continue to do so till I can get fabric for My Lady's Garden and kreiniks for Enchanted Mermaid, as those 2 are getting pushed to the front lol.
My LLCeltic Imbolc has finally been framed and a pic is up on http://celticladysal.blogspot.com/ . I do all my own framing but finding frames that are the right size and dont cost an arm n a leg can be tricky. This winter I plan to learn how to build my own frames cuz my artwork could use some as well.

And success! I found some pretty fabric for My Lady's Garden and the kreiniks for Enchanted Mermaid tonite at my lns. The fabric is 28ct "Antique Copper" hand-dyed jobelan by Wichelt, and it is light shades of tan and green, like copper that is just getting patina, only lighter. It looks very much like a garden background for this particular project, and the floss colors just glow on it so I'm very anxious to get started. This weekend I'll cut fabric for Enchanted Mermaid and hopefully there's a peice left that'll be big enuf for Winter Queen or another.

Frustrated

2010-10-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

.. with a project. I got My Lady's Garden all set up on scroll bars today and planned to make some real progress on her. But after a couple hours I just cant get used to the floppy-ness of scroll bars vs Qsnaps. But what bothers me is I can't wash this project at all, ever, cuz of it being on R n R Reproductions linen. And I wonder about investing a 100 hours or so into something that may get ruined. There's 5 hours progress on her so far, but she is to be a gift so ultimately isnt gonna live under my watch. So I'm thinking bad choice now that I'm finding more out about R n R fabric not being colorfast. Waste of $ and time I guess. So I guess I should be looking for another fabric she'd be pretty on. Sigh.
But in other news, hopefully I can get to the lns and get some fabric for her soon... Tomorrow IS my day off... I did do a floss toss on the Thyme linen and it was beautiful so maybe, if they have any of it.

randomness...

2010-10-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

I got to thinking about stitching today while I was doing housework, (yeah I know).
I heard of the 100 Project Challenge and no idea what it's about so will look around. Then I thought about Round Robins and wondered how people designed thier projects for those, specifically the Mirabilia ones where there's a bunch of designs arranged together- Very cool. Then I thought about all my finishes, which isnt many lol, 2 Mirabilias, 2 LLCeltic conversions, and 2 small and 1 large Sampler. Now if you wanna talk starts I'm your girl lol. But I know I dont have 100, so I wonder if the goal of that challenge is to get or whittle down to 100 WIPs. In which case some people are lucky either way it goes! I thought about WIPs I have and what I need to do about them. Maybe it's time to do a more formal rotation. The only trouble with that is my stitching time varies, and it could take me a month to get 10 hours on a project or just 2 days,nor does a weekly one work cuz oftentimes I dont get to stitch much if it's been a busy week, and I hate switching projects when there isnt much to show. So it's always been a screaming rotation- whichever one seems most fun to work on whenever. But if I made stitching more of a priority it might help, there's usually alot of other stuff between family, work, farm, and painting for $. With winter coming, time indoors fending off cabin fever is the main thing lol, so I'm hoping I can do more this winter than in winters past. Once a project gets 3/4 done it's a push to finish it then, but right now I don't have any that far. Beltane is half done and she's the farthest.
As for Rose Celebration, she is coming along nicely and I love how she looks on the Thyme linen. 4 hours left to go and I'll reach my goal for the SAL. If I reach it before the deadline I'll just keep going till it ends. DH says this one looks like me so I ought to finish it. It'll happen, just not instantly lol.
I need to get back to my lns to see the hand-dyed fabrics they have. Unfortunately, they dont have many, only 1yd cuts in Wichelt's line. So limited selection, plus they do NOT like the look of hand-dyeds, so it can hard to find what I need. But that said, alot of times they throw a whole yard in the clearence bin, which is where I got a yd each of Thyme and Babbling Brook fabrics, for $15. So it helps when I like things that are not 'traditional' and look 'damaged' cuz then I score big. I also wanna get some Miras that i dont have. The wishlist is always growing...

LLCeltic progress

2010-10-17T15:16:00.001-07:00

Finally a pic of the mega-conversion Ireland. The horse is my own drawing, and I'm figuring him out as I go, his blanket design is actually Spring's skirt lol. The shamrocks are from Sweethart Tree "Irish Blessings Sampler" and I plan to add more in the borders somehow, either across the top or instead of roses- I may need to keep the roses to get burgundy in the border cuz there's already alot of green in it. So I havent decided yet on borders. But I'm liking how it's turning out. My other 2 WIPs with this horse (Arwen & Eowen) will not have the borders, so that makes Ireland my biggest Celtic yet. It would be cool if I could finish her on St Patty's Day but whether that's 2011, or 3011 remains to be seen lol.
Tomorrow is a day off and I plan to make some serious progress on Rose Celebration and get her closer to the target mark.

Start-itis....

2010-10-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

Lol, it's beginning to show symtoms round here! Contenders are: Mirabilia: Queen Mermaid, Crystal Symphony, Blossom Harvest, Forest Goddess, and several others that just need fabric or kreiniks. And TW's Fortunate Traveler is a long-time contender.
But am sticking to Ireland till she gets enuf progress for a pic, likewise with Samhain, and Rose Celebration gets turns in something of a rotation till the Mira BB contest is over. Ireland is coming along, I would like to get her letters started and more of the horse done as well. The colors are working together nicely so far, and Im happy with how it's turning out. Samhain is the travel project and currently is getting her face put on lol, in over-one. I need to tweek some colors on that conversion as well, but this hasnt been the week for it, due to a crazy work schedule. So Ireland, being the easiest WIP, has any hope of progress at the end of a long day. Hopefully things settle down soon and I can enjoy progress like I was seeing a month ago. This weekend looks to be a good opportunity to catch up on what all didnt get done during this week.
I hope to start a more formal rotation this winter and see how it goes, so more projects get attention.
My next endevour is to start collecting hand-dyed fabrics, in colors to suit Mirabilias since I tend to use solids for samplers and TWs, and my Celtics are all kitted anyway.

Stitchy fun

2010-10-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

I have seriously been enjoying the stitching time lately, mostly cuz it's usually sparse so the past few weeks have been awesome for stitchin progress. Rose Celebration has 2 hours progress so far, and Ireland is nearing the point where I plan to take a pic on her progress. Today I also ordered some stuff, a beautiful Geisha kit (I think by Joan Elliot but not sure) and a nifty little scissors that has special blades for ripping out wrong stitches. Sometime I also wanna order some fabric from Silkweavers, but first I need to buy a saddle for one of my horses, so perhaps for Guilt-Free January...
I also got some foamcore board so I can get Pearls all laced and hopefully there's a frame here I can stick her in...

a new start!

2010-10-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

Rose Celebration by Mirabilia. She will go on 28ct "Thyme" linen by Wichelt, which in the pic looks washed out. It is actually shades of gray and green and her colors just sing on it. I've had this fabric for 2 years and always thought of her when I'd see it, but hadnt done anything about it. Why? cuz this is a project I'd already started years ago and had alot of progress on. Why am I not working on it? Well, it is 32ct natural linen, and she looks beautiful on it, only I no longer care for 32 ct very well anymore, PLUS I went and did part of her skin over-one and now feel like a crazy person. Too much to frog and too risky to try, and just trying to progress on it gives me a headache. So it sits in a drawer hoping for the day I'll get a fancy magnifyer-light setup, to see if there's any hope. But since a peice a fabric is alot cheaper than an OTT Light, a restart wins.
Lol, I started this so long ago the floss is in little baggies! I havent done that for years!

Back to the Celtics

2010-10-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Since I have to wait to get fabric for Blossom Harvest I dug out the LLCeltics yesterday instead. Today I hope to get Samhain on a set of Qsnaps as well. Right now the Ireland conversion is getting a little progress, and Beltane is ready to get back to as well. I need to figure out something else for Ireland's shawl, I had thought that Autumn's orgional colors for it would look well against the greens I had chosen, only after doing the undersleeve in that color group I seriously wonder. I'm leaving the undersleeve for now, till it gets more green around it, to know if it should be frogged or not. So far it looks 'ok' but that color group I'm not crazy about ( DMC 832 color group) so am not gonna do the shawl in those colors as well. Looking at the origional Autumn I would never add those colors with the cold purple group of Needlepaints, yech! It's not 'fall-like' or even complimentary to each other. Thank goodness for DMC thread sample cards to the rescue on that one!
So if my eye gets drawn to that undersleeve everytime I look at my Ireland, well, it'll just haveta change ;)
When I get some progress I'll post a new pic of her and Beltane.

FINALLY! A Happy Dance!!!

2010-10-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

Here she finally is! I finished her today at 58 hours stitchin and 35 beading for a grand total of 93 hours. Now for the details- She is on 28ct "Babbling Brook" Jobelan, available from Wichelt. Changes I made were subbing MH Beads 03047 instead of 03055, changing her nose, adding extra beads to her hair and pretty much everywhere else, and adding frshwater pearls- and lots of em, cuz I did not like how the pebble beads looked- and then I got carried away lol. She is very heavy! I started this project WAY back in 2003 and progress was intermittent during the years cuz I wasnt in any hurry. Now the goal is to get some frames for her and Waiting for Ships and display them in my bedroom.
And I'm free to start Blossom Harvest for the Mira BB SAL-contest and play with my LLCeltics once more :)

Finally....

2010-09-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

All the floss work is done on Pearls! It took 58 hours for that to happen, and she's got 31 beading hours in, but SO many left to go. I'm curious to see how much more she'll take to finish...

ok, that does it

2010-09-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

I'm on break at work and what's been in the back of my mind all day? The very little amount of floss work Pearls has left, of course. Just the white of the ribbon fins on her tail. Yes that is all. Yet I wont get near it till probably 9pm, what a world, what a world. Boy if that was the only problem to deal with life would be a snap lol.
But my goal is to get back to her beading this week, which means all floss work has to be done first. I usually devote October to my LLCeltics but now there is a Mira contest on one of my fav BBs so I dunno. If I join the contest it'll haveta be just for fun lol, cuz I doubt I'll stand much chance of winning. My Celtics have been patient though, it's time I got some new progress and some pics of them. Someday when I'm 100 I'd like to see them finally done ;p lol. But since Halloween is coming it'd be nice to make progress on Samhain, so that's when I really enjoy working on her. But for now it's back to work so I can kit up new projects, right?

that 'almost there' stage...

2010-09-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

has finally happened with Pearls. I didnt get a chance to work on her at all on Thurs cuz I got called into work instead. So I'm hoping for this weekend. The only bits left are the top part of her tail fin and the trailing ribbonlike fins and then I can finally finish the beading and ultimately her. So little left and it's driving me crazy. I am rather worried about how much extra fabric I'll have for the edges down by her fin, really hoping to not need to sew fabric just to frame her.

The countdown continues...

2010-09-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

I'm guessing there's less than 15 hours left of stitching on Pearls -and probably double that for beading lol. I need to hide away and just get her done but this thing called life keeps finding me ;). Perhaps by the weekend her stitchin will be done if I give it an all out session tomorrow and make serious progress...
And a stitchin catalog came today which is fun to go thru! Toying with the idea of ordering a pretty Geisha kit so we'll see. So many to wish for and dream about LATER so I can get Pearls outta my hair first lol

Beads, acres of beads

2010-09-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Pearls has some more beads and they're getting sewn on as time allows. I've gotten in the habit of adding extra as I see fit so it's even 'beadier' than normal. But I am loving the results.
Nothing right now is shouting to be the next start once Pearls is finished, which is strange for me. There are some contenders, as usual, but for now Pearls is obcessively captivating...

Delays delays delays!

2010-09-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

UGH!
For those of you who are working on Mermaid of the Pearls by Mirabilia, you will need an extra package of Mill Hill pearl colored beads.
...as I've come to find out.

So now I hope to get to the lns sometime during this insane week and in the meantime catch up on doing the stitching of her fin. My new goal is to finish her this month if at all possible...