Incoherent Scribblings

Stitching Large

I know I have been quite chatty today, but it is Wednesday and time for the SBQ you know, so here is one last post for the day.

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Vash and is:

Have you ever used a magnifying glass while stitching? If so, did you find it helpful?

To date I have not used any type of magnifier while stitching. However, if I ever get brave enough to try something like over one on 40 count I am sure it would be most helpful!

Friendship Bag

Today my Friendship Exchange from Ash arrived in the mail. Though the exchange was a friendship exchange, we weren’t required to stitch something that said “friend,” rather the goal of the exchange was to get to know your partner and stitch something that she would like.

For example, when I chose my design for Ash I chose a Victoria Sampler design because I have seen her stitch one or two of them and I thought she would like it. The fact that it had “friend” in the title was merely a coincidence.

Anyway, as I love basically anything and everything cat and have a weakness for those funny little Margaret Sherry designs, Ash fittingly chose to stitch me Margaret Sherry’s “Pot-Purri.” She then turned it into an awesome little tote bag. (You can’t see it from the picture, but the stitched piece actually forms a pocket on the outside of the bag.)

The bag is the perfect size for a book or some stitching, and in fact when I peeked inside the bag some stitching is exactly what it contained: Ash was also generous enough to include Margaret Sherry’s “Purr-fick.” Ever since I stitched “Purr-Plexed” I have wanted to stitch its companion piece so I will definitely be putting a needle into “Purr-fick” soon.

Thanks again for everything Ash!

A Flowery Finish

This morning I completed “Stiefmütterchen!” I don’t have much to say concerning the last two pansies so I will just leave you to enjoy a picture of the finished product.

Stiefmütterchen
Der feine Faden
36 ct Natural Linen
DMC Fibers
Started 4/8/05 - Finished 6/21/06

Stitching Towards a Finish

I have decided that I am going to finish “Stiefmütterchen” this week. I am so close to being done with it that I just don’t want to put it down, so I am not going to.

By and large, “Stiefmütterchen” has been a fun stitch. I started it as a SAL with Susie last April, but when she got pregnant and more or less took a break from stitching it was in danger of becoming a UFO… not so much because I didn’t want to stitch it, but because I wasn’t working on it when Susie wasn’t.

When I put together my rotation plan this year I decided I would be sad if “Stiefmütterchen” became a UFO and considering the money that I spent on the kit, I decided with or without the SAL I wanted to finish it, so I stuck it into my rotation. I only had five pansies done when I started working on it on a regular basis back in March, but since then I have stitched nine more of them and now I only have two to go.

While I was stitching away last night I started thinking about what I would like to put into my Friday rotation slot and came to the conclusion that I am going to reserve Fridays for medium-sized projects. If I don’t count robins or exchanges, my current rotation is full of large projects (OK, “Above the Clouds” isn’t huge, but it sure is time-consuming) and I would like to work on some smaller projects so that I can have a happy dance once in a while!

So once “Stiefmütterchen” is complete, the first mid-sized project that I will work on will be “House of a Needleworker” by Little House Needleworks. I am really looking forward to stitching this and have already started thinking about the fabric for it. Right now it is between the 28 count Quaker Cloth in light mocha that Melissa gave me for my birthday or 36 count Edinburgh in summer khaki… only a floss toss will tell me for sure.

Flowers and Friends

This afternoon I put the final backstitches into “Sunflowers” and as soon I make my little log book it will be ready to pack up and send to my RR partner Kara. As I predicted, the backstitching really gave this piece an added dimension and as a result, I think the sunflowers look almost real enough to pick!

I did find one oddity (mistake?) on this pattern though. There was no indication that the birdies should have eyes. I found the notion of blind birds a little disturbing so I gave them little French knot eyes so they can find their way into their birdhouse.

I also received word today that Ashleigh’s Friendship Exchange package arrived to her safe and sound in the Netherlands. I made her a needleroll from a Victoria Sampler freebie called “Friends Count.” The freebie chart is actually for a bookmark, so I modified it a little bit in order for it to work as a needleroll. I absolutely loved stitching this piece and had a blast stitching all of the specialty stitches. (I think the Scotch Stitch and the Diamond Eyelets were probably my favorites.)

I also included a chart, a Munich postcard, and a piece of Belfast that I dyed a greenish color. I had originally intended to add some German chocolate to the package as well, but it has been so hot here and in the Netherlands I was afraid it would melt and ruin the needleroll. So instead, I thought of Ash while I ate the chocolate. I can assure you Ash, it was quite tasty!
And now, since I still have some stitching time this evening I think will work a little bit on “Stiefmütterchen.”