Incoherent Scribblings

It’s official! I remember how to stitch! Actually, I have been working on Harvey’s web a few minutes at a time here and there, but today was the first day since the SAT a couple of weeks ago that I actually had time to sit down and really stitch.

It was my goal today to finish her today and finish her I did! Dawn and I are now done with our “Harvest Witch” SAL. This has been great fun and is a tradition that we are planning on continuing. Next up: “Summer’s Magic”

Harvest Witch
by Stoney Creek
January 18 - July 5, 2008
32 count “Tangerine Sparkle” Belfast Linen by Silkweaver
Stitch Time: 98 hours
DMC, Krieink Glow in the Dark #4 VF Braid, Glissen Gloss

P.S. If you want to see a picture that sort of gives you an idea how she “glows” in the dark, you can see one here.

In addition to having class last week, I have been going through a bit of a stitching slump for almost the past month. My stitching hasn’t come to a stop, but it has definitely been in slow motion lately!

During this little slump, I have been pacifying myself by knitting, but since last weekend was SAT weekend I thought I would start a little something new and see if I could get motivated again. I am not sure I am completely re-motivated (which is probably OK seeing as I need to spend most of my time focused on my studies for the next few weeks), but I at least had a successful SAT with this little happy dance.

French Country - Cat
by JBW Designs
June 20, 2008 - June 23, 2008
30 count White Evenweave
Unknown Anchor Variegated

I really like this design and can see myself stitching it over and over again. But for now I need to get back to studying for my Romantic Poetry exam tomorrow! Ta!

I was going to post this picture of my latest finish last night but I was experiencing technical difficulties.

Anyway…

For those of you who may not be familiar with this motif, it is Sunbonnet Sue, one of the most widely recognized quilt block patterns of all time. However, in this case Sue has been stitched instead of quilted. The pattern comes from the November/December 1993 issue of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts and is one of several traditional quilt block motifs in the issue.

I am sure I have mentioned it before, but I have always thought it would be neat to take several small cross stitch pieces and put them together for a quilt. Unfortunately, I have always run into a number of difficulties with this scheme; the main problem being that I don’t want take the time to actually learn to quilt. However, after reading the instructions for this project and seeing these motifs finished into a wall-hanging/doll quilt in the magazine, I think I may have found a solution to my dilemma.

This Sue won’t be for that though. I stitched her over one on 32 White Belfast for one of my PIF gifts. I had originally intended on finishing her into a fob, but I had a different idea last night so now I am not sure.

However, the thing you will probably notice as I am stitching up my PIF gifts is that I have decided that I am going to show them on my blog when they are finished. I am not going to say which gift is for which recipient though, so that will be the surprise. I figure this is my PIF and I make the rules, so I will show them when I want!

This week I decided to work on my bi-monthly Christmas Ornament commitment for my 10 Ornies in 500 Days Challenge. After browsing through my magazines and my freebies, I finally settled on “A Colonial Christmas Ornament” by Cherished Stitches from the JCS 2007 Ornament Issue.

I don’t think this ornament was originally on my list of things to stitch from this issue but I am glad I decided on it because it challenged my finishing skills a little bit. I doubt you can tell because I had a hard time getting any pictures that accurately portray how it actually looks, but I finished it as a three-sided whip stitch ornament. A three-sided finish was a first for me and it wasn’t until I started whip stitching the panels together that the directions made sense. Once I got the hang of it though, the ornament went together nicely.

There are a few things about this piece that I should mention: First, instead of beads I chose to do French knots for the holly berries. Why? Because I didn’t have any suitable beads in my stash. (Note to self: Really should work on acquiring adequate bead stash.) Second, the date and the holly on the third panel are stitched over one… on 36 count! Third, I am especially proud of the cording that I made. After two or three years of making my own cording, I finally made a length that has uniform tension!

A Colonial Christmas Ornament
by Cherished Stitches (from the 2007 JCS Ornament Issue)
April 14, 2008-April 17, 2008
36 Count Khaki Edinburgh
DMC Fibers, Rainbow Gallery Petite Treasure Braid

P.S. I am not going to say who I originally had in mind when I started this ornament because I like it so much that I just might keep it for myself!