Ornament and Beads

Three months into the year and I have actually kept up with all of the SALs that I joined while caught up in new year excitement.

I promised I'd show my March ornament after the official posting date my other ornaments can be seen in the 2013 Ornament tab above and here it is:

Sunday Spooky SAL 2011 by San-Man Originals
Stitched on 28-count Haunted by Picture this Plus with DMC

This was a very fun stitch and was also the first Halloween ornament I've ever stitched.  I have several more in my stash and am looking forward to working on them.

I spent the better part of two days beading part 1 of Serengeti.  I still have quite a few Delicas to add but am glad to have completed as much as I did.  I was holding my breath while beading as I am stitching this on a 32-count fabric and Martina recommended that it be done on 28-count due to the heavy beading.  I was prepared to leave a few beads out if necessary, but I am happy to say that it wasn't needed.  There is some crowding but I think it will be straightened out during the stretching for framing step.  Talking about framing already!  How optimistic is that?!?!

Here's my before: 

And here's what it looks like today: the fabric color is closer in this one but still a bit dark. 

Serengeti by Chatelaine
Stitched on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with recommended fibers and beads.

 

I have started a Little House Needleworks ornament for my next ornament and will put Twilight of the Tsars on the frame for my weekend stitch. 

IHSW

I had a very productive IHSW.  I was able to finish my March ornament, but won't show it until the official posting date.  My focus piece this weekend was 99 by Ink Circles.

I was able to finish the shelf and the 4-1/2 bottles sorry Jo, couldn't get to 10 on the top. 

This is the piece that I made the huge counting error on when I started it, so the top row is everyone else's second row.  I don't think I will have to make any additional changes but will see soon.

TUSAL and Eyelets

I am late with my TUSAL posting, I had grand plans of writing it on Sunday and doing the delayed post thing but completely forgot about it until Tuesday morning at around 1:30. Why my brain thought it was such an important event that it deserved to be remembered right then I have no idea but I was not going to get up at that hour - 4:00 is plenty early thank you.  I am putting it all down to stress because it certainly CANNOT be age!!!

Before it gets any more delayed, here is my March TUSAL photo:

I really do have to learn to stage these better.  Lots and lots of white in there this month.  The majority of it is from frogging the whitework portion of Christmas Elegance and there are a few bits of perle cotton from the doily but mostly frog fuzz.

Speaking of the doily.  Here is my progress on that:

They are hard to see, but if you look closely you can see eyelets - lots and lots of eyelets.  I am getting rather good at stitching eyelets - lots and lots of eyelets.  And the best part?  There are still lots and lots of eyelets to go as the halfway point is still on the upper scroll bar.  I did develop a rhythm that made them go quickly but I am really not sure I am cut out for this style of stitching. I will finish this but I don't think I will be doing another one at least not until I get over the trauma of eyelets in the near future.  I have learned one very important lesson from this piece - Do not cut until you have finished all the pulled stitches, like eyelets.  See those two diamonds on the left and right with the fabric partially cut and pulled?  There are eyelets around the outside and around the motif in the center please repeat after me "lots and lots of eyelets" It was a challenge to get the thread tight enough to hold the eyelet hole open without pulling the the threads away from the stitching. 

This weekend is IHSW and I am very much looking forward to it.  If you're interested in playing along, jump on over to Random Ramblings and sign up.  No competition, just three days of stitching for the sake of stitching.  I am hoping to finish my ornament for this month and get some quality time with 99 by Ink Stitches which has NO eyelets.

What a difference a few days make

Here is the back deck Wednesday:

High winds and a total of about 4-1/2" of snow.


And today?

It is bright, sunny and a forecast high of 55 F.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer.

A few days also makes a difference in stitching.  The snow and cold of Wednesday seems to have chased the frogs away and I as able to finish Just Nan's Christmas Elegance.

I finally have a photo that accurately shows both the fabric and fiber colors, and Blogger doesn't want to orient it correctly.

Elegant Doily is on the frame for this weekend. Lots and lots of Algerian eyelets are in my future.

Frogs and YOTA

They're back......

Yes, they look cute and sweet, but they are evil, just plain evil.  Every stitch I did last weekend had to be frogged at least once.

The nastiness of the frogs was greatly mitigated by the wonderfulness of stitchers.  Jo at Serendipitous Stitching posted her finish of Joyous Noel by Elizabeth Designs a few weeks back.  I commented on how much I liked the pattern and it showed up in my mailbox yesterday!!!  Thanks, Jo!!

I am putting this one in the rotation soon.  I have the threads pulled but need to dig through my fabric stash for the perfect piece.

I also found out that I won a fabric give-away that Julie the Red Couch Stitcher hosted.  As I said, stitchers are wonderful people.

Yesterday was the first Saturday of the month, so it is time for my YOTA post.  I don't have a specific focus piece, as my rotation plan this year includes WIPs almost exclusively, but I spent most of February working on Just Nan's Christmas Elegance.  

Here's where I was at the beginning of the month:

And here's where I am today:

Yes, the whitework at the bottom is the frog playground.  A few more stitches, some backstitching and  beads and this will be done.  I am, again, going to hold off on switching pieces and continue with this one until it's finished.  I am sure that statement is an invitation for the frogs to stick around.