Stitching update

I haven't accomplished much this week. I worked on the Castle, Medieval Tiles, and the letter "B" though I didn't pick up Emerald Mermaid at all. I just couldn't seem to focus and I was all over the place. I did pick up my (2003) Christmas Mystery from Pam Kellogg and I was able to finish part 2.

And yesterday in the mail I find the package from my Secret Stitcher. I got two mini charts completely kitted up! I got Baseball and Dear Santa, both from JBW Designs. I love JBW Designs because they're cute without being overly cutesy and they're small enough to finish in a couple of days or a week at the most. They each came with the charm-pack and my SS included a piece of fabric and all the DMC and beads needed to complete the project. I also got a bobbin of beading thread and a clover cutter!

Everything is so wonderful that I'm going to take the package with me this weekend. Not that I'll find the time to stitch (I doubt it) but to look at and show off to anyone who wants to look. I'm doing that with Medieval Tiles and the letter "B" and even Futurecast.

Confession:
I checked in with a couple of designers that I haven't done work for yet this year and asked them if they had some work for me. Yes, this was going to be the year of working on stuff for ME (after I finished up the models that I was still working on from last year) but it turns out that $$ is going to be short during these next couple of months and at least one of them pays in cash. The other one usually has small projects for me to do which get done quickly. She pays in gift certificates at my lns. So I'm thinking I can use those gc's to buy stuff for my Secret Stitcher. This works out great for me, I get to pay my bills and buy stuff for my SS without spending out of my normal paycheck.

That's it for today, see you next week.

A little shopping...

I needed to go buy some supplies, specifically #1 gold Japan thread, and Saturday was the day to go. Besides, DD needed to get out of the house. So Saturday morning I get up and get DD up and get ready to go. We get to Elegant Stitch in Modesto and shop around. I ask for what I need (the Japan thread) and end up getting 2 spools. DD is shopping off the list for my secret stitcher. One of the charts she wants calls for Japan thread too so I thought I may as well pick it up while I was there - and it was in plentiful supply. So I got one spool of JT for me and one for my secret stitcher. I got a chart and some beads for my ss, and another chart and some fibers. Well, I had to make the trip worth it. Let's see 1/4 tank of gas (total trip) @ $2.30 a gallon for a 45 minute drive (each way) to get one spool of thread @ $1.39? I don't think so. Besides, I have a frequent buyer's card. Once you spend $200 there you get $20 in free stuff. Basically 10% off for being a loyal customer. Hey, I like to save money/get free stuff. So I finished off my current card (had about $12 or $14 left on it) and asked to start a new one and I'll get my free $20 the next time I go in.

Being a nice Mom I took DD to the mall and we got food and ice cream before we left.

Once I got home I started on the project that called for the JT and got that part finished quite quickly. So it's done! Happy dance! After that I couldn't settle on one project so I worked a little bit on Medieval Tiles, Castle, Futurecast, and "B". Not a whole lot got done on anything but at least I can say I've picked them up and worked on them.

Castle was frustrating. Apparently I didn't kit him up completely and have been working with less than the full complement of colors for some time now. So the question is, do I need to change this? I've been getting along so far. But it is frustrating this late in the game to not find a color. I've thought about putting them all on bobbins and putting them in the "project box" so I have everything together and know where it all is. But do I want to go through all that trouble? I do still have a bit of work to get him done, but doing all that organizing will take at least an hour or more and instead I could be stitching during that time. Guess I still need to put a little more thought into this. Which is going to have to wait. I can't seem to wrap my mind around more than one thing at a time lately and I've got to get ready for Faire and taking two kids with me. Also, DD has 2 softball games on consecutive nights this week and I need to go grocery shopping and get my truck fixed! Just shoot me now!

A New Blog...

Hello and welcome. I decided that I needed a better way to keep track of all my stitching projects and progress and what better way than to put it on the web?

I will consider all posts "confessions" but will maybe have a little extra to add in once in a while.

Confession #1
I am a floss licker. It started when I was very young and my mother was teaching me to sew. She automatically stuck the thread in her mouth before putting it through the eye of a needle. ANY needle. And I believed that was how it was done. By everyone. So I started sticking the thread in my mouth before threading a needle. And the habit stuck.

I know there are people out there that think this is a terrible practice and I've heard of/seen different ways to thread a needle. But for me this is and has always been the easiest and it's what I'm going to stick with. If there's something in my saliva that is going to break down the thread after 100 years then by then I'll be dead and I won't care. Besides, I don't see a problem in what I do. You see, the part that I lick almost always ends up being the inch or two of the tail that never gets used and gets cut off anyway. Yes, I know it passes through the fabric and across itself but I still can't believe it's going to do that much damage.

Not only that, but look at the antique samplers that were made 100 years ago and have survived. You can't tell me that these girls (aged 11-14 for most of the ones I've seen/heard of) didn't lick their thread. Most of it was handmade at that time and let's not go into the damage that dye puts on thread, whether it be wool or cotton.

So there is my confession. Now onto Projects and Progress!

Project #1: Model #1 aka Star Child from Pine Glen Designs. It has taken me a long time to get this one so near completion. It started with the over-one for the face and hands then onto the blending filament for the wings. I've never used so much blending filament before! (And honestly, I don't plan to use that much on something ever again!) I got the beading done on Wednesday night then realized I didn't know how to use the Japan thread that was sent to do the "stars". (Found out these were Algerian eyelet stitches.) I did some research yesterday and found out I had the wrong size. I called a couple of lns' and found some that I could use. I will be going either tonight or tomorrow to pick it up so I can get this finished.

Project #2: Model #2 aka What Next by Adventures in Stitching. It's mostly specialty stitches, specifically lazy daisy's. This is the second I've done for this designer and it's also the next in the series. (The first one was "He Loves Me". You know, he loves me, he loves me not while you pick the petals off a daisy.) This one however is a little more challenging with additional specialty stitches and some pulled thread work. I've managed to finish all but two or three flowers and the corner motifs. Which is fine because I don't have the instructions (yet) for the pulled thread work. When the designer gets those to me I'm back to work.

Project #3: Medieval Tiles by Dracolair. (Hi Sarah!) This is the first one I've started by Dracolair and I'm happy to say my friend Sarah is the designer. I think her stuff is wonderful and I can't wait until she finishes her Green Man because she's promised that I can stitch the model for her. (big grin) But I digress. Medieval tiles has been going slow. I started it in January as a gift for a friend. (He was knighted in March. DD and I gave him Dragon Dreams "No Late Knight Snacking".) I happened to find out what his coat-of-arms looked like (red shield with a blue stripe wtih 3 gold arrows in the blue area) and since one of the Tiles is a shield I decided to re-design that part to make it a bit more personal. I did a little research into coat-of-arms and found out that it means: warrior/military strength, truth and loyalty, and readiness for battle. That also fits my character at Faire so I'm kind of undecided as to whether I want to give it away or keep it for myself. (In the 20 years that I've been stitching I've never stitched a project this large twice.) So even though I'm undecided I'm still excited about stitching on this one because the part that I re-charted looks really good so far. I have finished: the outline of the shield, the red at the top, the blue stripe including the gold arrows. Tonight will probably see the bottom of the shield finished. I can't wait to take it to faire next weekend and show it off to my friends!

This has gotten pretty long so I'll leave it for now. I'll add more projects and progress tomorrow.