ISW Recap

It's amazing how much stitching you can get done when you ignore the dust bunnies in the corners I did do a fair bit of housework just not the vacuuming.

Here's Just Nan's Elegant Swans before:

And now:

I had a couple of frog attacks that slowed me down a bit I really should remember that Dr. Who and stitching do not mix well but I have finished seven of eleven bands so a possible finish when this next shows up in the rotation.

A rainy IHSW

The weather here in my little corner of Virginia has been variable to say the least.  I understand that spring is changeable but it has been more changeable than normal the last couple of weeks.  The forecast for this weekend is for rain and thunderstorms which make it a perfect IHSW!  Another no pressure SAL, all you have to do is sign up here, and sit back and stitch.  Easy right? 

Before I pull out my Just Nan's Enchanted Swans for IHSW, I have a finish and an almost finish.

My finish is Waxing Moon Designs' Summer Sparrow.  You'll get to see this one twice as it is my ornament for this month so will be posting it the last Wednesday of this month too.

She/he is stitched on 28-count Summer Sky Jobelan with Gentle Arts Sampler Threads.  It's not my normal style although I really couldn't tell you exactly what my style is but it is one of a seasonal series and I am a sucker for those.

My almost finish is Twilight of the Tsars by Dimple Designs.

 

I spent last weekend finding and filling in all those stitches that I missed during the main stitching phase.  All that is left now is backstitching three different backstitching charts - one for each of the three colors used and beading.  I had thought of keeping this on the frame and pushing for a finish, but just was not in the mood for all that backstitching.  I should have a finish when this next shows in the rotation.

TUSAL and a bit more

It's TUSAL time again. Just a fun SAL - if you haven't heard of it or are interested in joining, you can check it out here.  Here is my contribution to the SAL:

Yep, pretty pitiful, but there is a story to it.  The other day I looked out the window in the den and saw a pair of Carolina wrens.  One appeared to be keeping guard, the other was scurrying all along the feeder station.  I could not figure out what they were doing until the scurrying one turned sideways and I saw little bits of fluff in its bill.  Seems it was picking the raccoon fur from around the mounting brackets and screws for the hangers we unintentionally feed a raccoon - at night it climbs up the feeder station pole (despite all of our efforts) and eats the sunflower seeds and leaves little bits of fur that the birds like, so I took the ORTS from my jar and put them on the feeder station to give them a few more choices.

All the ORTS are from Waxing Moon Designs' Summer Sparrow.

Waxing Moon Designs' Summer Sparrow
Stitched on 28-count Summer Sky Jobelan with Gentle Art Sampler Threads

This is one of a freebie series that is available here.  This is my ornament for this month and I am hoping to have a finish today weeks before the posting date - I know I shouldn't get used it but it is a nice feeling.

My primary stitch this week was Chatelaine's Serengeti. I said last week that I saw a lot of beading in my future.  I was only partially right.  I finished up the beading fairly quickly but that little medallion in the upper right corner?  That took hours and there is still a lot left to do and the best part?  There are three more!!!  When I eventually finish this medallion, I think I will start part two as a sort of reward.

Chatelaine's Serengeti
Stitched on 32-count Summer Sky Jobelan with recommended fibers and beads

YOTA Saturday

It's the first Saturday of May how did *that* happen?!?! so it's time for my monthly YOTA post.  YOTA you may ask - another fun, no pressure SAL - you can check it out at Pull the Other Thread.  I am not concentrating on one WIP as my entire rotation is made up of WIPs so I post on my whatever piece is on my scroll frame when the first Saturday rolls around.  This month Ink Circles' 99 is my  YOTA piece.  Here's where I left this one last month:

And here's where I am today:

22 down and only 77 left!  A finish for this Christmas is not looking very likely, but I will keep that as a goal.

All the housework is finished except for folding the laundry so I am hoping to spend the rest of the weekend stitching but we all know about plans don't we?  Chatelaine's Serengeti is next in the rotation so I see beading in my future.

IHSW, Ornament Check-In, WIPocalypse, and a Win

My only stitching goal this year was to keep up with the postings for all the SALs that I joined, I was keeping up just fine until this month.  Lots of life got in the way of just about everything not work related this month. I hope April's posting schedule is not indicitive of the rest of the year.

I am also way behind on my blog reading and commenting.  Please don't give up on me, I am trying to catch up on my reading, at least, and hopefully will be caught up by the end of this weekend.  I may not comment, but I am reading!!

So first up is my International Hermit and Stitch Weekend progress.  I worked on Kayann's Kreations' Elegant Doily.  Once again I stitched lots and lots of eyelets and while it's hard to see, there was definite progress:

Before:

And after:

I finished the eyelets around the diamond on the left and the row above the cut-out heart.  I have finally finished doing the pulled work around the prematurely cut sections so the stitching is going much faster as I don't have to worry about pulling too hard and pulling out the cut ends.

Next up is my April ornament check-in.  All of my ornaments can be seen in the 2013 Ornament tab above, but here is my April finish:

It is Cardinal Winter from Little House Needleworks' 2011 Ornament Series.  The word "tweet" didn't do too much for me, so I stitched a few more snowflakes instead.  I'm not thrilled with the spacing, so will probably add a couple more. 

April's WIPocalypse can be seen in the very imaginatively named "April WIPocalypse" tab above. There is not as much to show this month, but every stitch done is a stitch closer to a finish.

And last but definitely not least, Thank You, Julie!!!!  Julie the Red Couch Stitcher had a fabric give-away and I won this beautiful piece of 40-count Witch's Brew Newcastle linen from Silkweaver's.  It arrived in today's mail and I love it.  Here's the photo from Julie's blog the one I took, as usual, is bad:

I have a couple of ideas for projects on this but will have to think long and hard before starting one as frogging on 40-count is not fun!!  Thank you again, Julie.

Spring has definitely sprung here in central Virginia.  Our cherry tree was completely covered in blooms this year, it looked like a huge cone of pink cotton candy! The dogwoods are in full bloom, the hummingbirds are back and I have mowed the lawn for the first time with all the onions in the yard it smelled like I was mowing a salad actually some of the things I was mowing did look like greens that I had in a salad recently...

I am starting my new ornament today, a freebie from Waxing Moon designs called Summer Sparrow.  No, it's not a Christmas ornament but I'm stretching "ornament" to cover everything in my box of smalls which includes lots of things.  My stitch for next week is 99 from Ink Circles.

Little Progress and a Late TUSAL

You know the whole best laid plans thing?  Well, that's what happened to me last week.  I did very little of what I had planned stitching wise, most of my "gardening" consisted of planting an elephant ear bulb, sunflowers, basil and parsley and transplanting some daylilies, lots of unplanned reading and finished painting the kitchen island.  At least it was semi-relaxing.

Here is the bit of progress on Just Nan's Enchanted Swans:

Before:

and After:

Try as I might, I could not get the algerian eyelets to pull correctly.  I restitched them a number of times but finally gave it "done enough" and moved on.  I suspect I will be going back and trying again later.

I am almost a week late in posting my TUSAL photo, fortunately this is another stress-free SAL.

I will admit to having a thing for pink flamingos, I don't have them all over the yard yet but do have several stuffed ones, a papier mache one and several items of clothing with them.  DSon sent the following to me for my birthday:

Why yes they are Halloween decorations, but I like them so they are out now I'll probably pull them in before the worst of the summer sun hits so that they don't get too faded and yes the "bones" do glow in the dark.  Yes, most people would say that my garden is full of weeds, I actually prefer the term "wildflowers".  I like the little purple flowers  - they'll get pulled when they stop flowering leaving the bed free for the daylilies.

YOTA Check-In

Another fun SAL check-in!   All you have to do is stitch on a WIP.  You can focus on one, or like me, lots and post once a month - easy.  It's fun to see what everyone is working on and, of course, cheer them on.

I worked on several pieces this month, but will show Dimple Designs' Twilight of the Tsars.

Here's where I was when I started:

And here's where I left off:

Not a lot of cross stitch left, but there is quite a bit of backstitching and some beading so one, maybe two rounds in the rotation before a finish.

If you'd like to participate in the YOTA SAL, you can sign up here. 

I have taken next week off from work and have put a very old WIP on the frame.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful so there probably won't be as much stitching as I had planned when I first decided to take the week off, but some is better than none - especially when this what you are starting with:

This is as far as I got on Just Nan's Enchanted Swans when I started it in 1999!  The project is one of Just Nan's class project series and is one of many that I took as an on-line class through Tapestry of Dreams in Rhode Island a quick search did not find a listing for the store, so I suspect it is closed now.  Each week Kelly emailed you the directions for a different band and in a few months you had a completed sampler or at least that was the idea.  This is one of the few WIPs I can actually date with any precision as I have a copy of the email that was sent on March 4, 1999 with the directions for band 5.  Please do not post comments saying it is older than you are, the poor thing has a very bad complex as it has been sitting with other, younger, WIPs that are much further along!!