In Stitches

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Wednesday

This week seems so long! That's what I get for having last Thursday and Friday off. ;)

I bought the Harry Potter dvds and have been watching and stitching (a bit)...I got my Happy New Year done and started on another Bent Creek pattern for Valentines Day.

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It turned out great, except I meant for the balloon to be a darker color, but didn't realize till I was done stitching it. LOL I think I will finish it into something this weekend if I have time.

I decided I have enough Xmas things so I'm onto stitching for Valentines Day... Yes I know it's a long way off, but why wait? I find it's a fun holiday to celebrate. ;p I don't have an update pic worth seeing yet, just started last night. :)

Greg however has been working his fingers to the bone stitching on those Calla Lillies! He says he finished the backstitching today! This pic is from last night.

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Doesn't it look fantastic! Wait till you see the frame we have for it! This is my absolute favorite thing he's done. :D And it's all for MEEEEEEEE! LOL, LOL

Okay I'm off to find something to keep me awake until it's time to leave! Happy Stitching!



Monday, November 28, 2005

Back Again


We had a fun weekend, but too short! Isn't that how it always is? :)

I got my Santa Clause done and started another project.

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I found some wonderful tapestry type material at my mom's this weekend. I'm going to use this to make this into a pillow. The other material I bought will be saved probably till next year as I'm not making any more Xmas projects this year. ;)

I started on Lizzie Kate's snippet Happy New Year:

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This will be a cute project when it's done and it's easy!

Greg worked on his lillies all weekend, but isn't quite finished. I will have to get a pic tonite. :)

We had a good time w/ family, ate too much and basically wore ourselves out. ;) We even had time to go see the new Harry Potter film. It's great I highly recommend it! :) My nieces loved their crown pillows, so that was nice! I love seeing the little girls they are so much fun. We watched Madagascar 3 times and they danced to the Lemur song every time, much to the parents annoyance, of course I was there encouraging them to dance a little more the whole time (lol) I am so bad. ;) But, hey I figure you only get to be 4 and 5 once so you need your aunt to get you to do silly things. ;P

Hope everyone had a fun weekend...now it's onto Christmas... LOL

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

He's Got Legs

LOL Now I've got a ZZ Top song stuck in my head...

I finally got the red done and then his little legs so I thought that I'd post one last pic before I'm gone for a few days. :D I'm sure the whole thing will be done before the weekend is over. :)

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This is the funkiest santa I've ever seen, he looks like he could be a float in the Thanksgiving Parades... But it will be fun to add to the collection. :)

I did hear from the mechanic place and they are going to fix the horn button free of charge, what a relief. I take it in next week.

Not much else to say, it's the day before Turkey day so it's pretty quite around here.

Hope everyone has a safe holiday!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The Day Before, The Day Before Thanksgiving

So here it is "pre" Thanksgiving...it's hard to get work done when you know it's such a short week. For those of you overseas who don't know about Thanksgiving, most people in the U.S. get Thanksgiving day and the day after as holidays. Most people, I know there are a lot of hard working folks out there that don't. But Greg and I do, so it's a mini holiday! And of course I'm looking forward to it! So when you don't see me around after Wednesday you will know I'm eating too much Turkey and visiting family. :D

Thanks for all the nice comments about yesterday's post. I am sorry to say that no I can't provide a tutorial for the Crown Pillows. It did come from a book that I purchased at JoAnn's fabric store and I don't feel it's appropriate to break their copyright. That being said... this is not a difficult project. It's your basic pillow. Front piece, back piece sew together and embellish. SO, if you are handy at drawing, get a big 'ol piece of paper and draw yourself a pattern. C'mon it's not hard! You make the pattern as big as you'd like the pillow to be. These pillows are supposed to be around 10", but I foofed it up and mine are maybe 6". So it's not a precise thing...heck you could use one of those crowns kids get at Burger King as a template. ;) I got the stuff to finish mine off, I bought some fuzzy trim and some fabric flowers and used fabric glue to attach them. Here's how it turned out:

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If you want to see a larger version go here and click on the pic of the embellished Crown Pillow

Here's an update of my Santa, the bottom is taking forever...it also doesn't help being distracted by pillows. ;)

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Greg has been busy! He finished his cat sampler and is now onto another project...I hope he finishes those calla lilies soon... ;p

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My car did get fixed (yay!), but unfortunately the mechanics place broke off one of the horn buttons, so now I've got to get them to fix that too...what a pain...

At least the 'ol car runs again! I just can't honk at annoying drivers... LOL -YES- that was bad. ;) Okay gotta run! Have a great day!

Monday, November 21, 2005

Why Yes We Do...


work! LOL For those of you who might be wondering, "yes" Greg and I do have full time jobs. AND Greg commutes 2 hours a day. So now you can be "mightily" impressed at how much stitching gets done at our house. LOL I think that because there are 2 of us creating projects it just seems that we get a lot more done. Plus I generally devote Sunday afternoons to finishing projects, if there are any to be finished. It seems that this time of year we just get a lot more done. I know I get loads more projects done, I think I am more inspired by the holidays. Does anyone else feel that way?

Well we had an "exciting" weekend. I went to spend the day w/ my mom, it was her birthday Saturday. And Greg stayed home to run errands, etc. Unfortunately for him, he was driving my car and it decided to die on him at his last stop. AND I wasn't home yet. I get home and have 5 frantic voice mails telling me what happened...because of course I decided to come home later than normal and now Greg is worried something might've happened to me as well. I rushed to pick him up from the mechanics shop and he was relieved that I was okay, but now we were upset that we had the unexpected expense of fixing the car... And of course we had just recently gotten a new computer. LOL Isn't that the way it always goes?? My car is being fixed today and it's not hugely expensive, but still a pain nonetheless... Ah well life goes on!

I did spend yesterday making pillows! I got several done and they all are so cute! Greg did finish his cat sampler but I don't have a picture today...tomorrow. ;)

First off I never liked the trim I put on my Be Ever Kind pillow, so I finally decided to just redo it. I made it into a flanged pillow and I love the results:

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I think it looks immensely better like this, the fabric matches so nicely!

Then I made crown pillows for my nieces, they aren't totally finished. I'm going to get some fuzzy trim for them, but here's the prelims:

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I got this pattern from a pillow book I bought at JoAnn's, I thought it was the cutest pillow and perfect for little girls. I'm sure they will love it. :D

Then I made Greg's ladybug project into a pillow, it's a Xmas gift so I needed to get it done. He picked out the fabric for this and I think it's PERFECT!

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Finally I had a package from AngelSan! She's such a wonderful friend! Look at the goodies she sent!

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Close Up of Snowmen:
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I love all this! An adorable potholder w/ a sunflower (my favorite) and these cute snowmen and a beautiful card! Made my weekend for sure!! Thanks to San, she's the best!

Hope y'all had fun weekends...going to go catch up on a few blogs now... :D

Friday, November 18, 2005

All He Needs Is A....


whistle!

Here is Ref Santa again, looking ready for the big game. LOL, LOL He's kinda cute in a weird sorta way. But then that's Birds of a Feather for you, gotta love them. :D

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I found the cutest candy cane fabric last night, it just fits the spirit of this project. I think I will make him into a cute pillow. Should be fun! :)

Greg is nearly done with his Cat Sampler and I have to say that I almost like his better than mine. Almost. ;D

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The colors he chose for this are really fun and the gray cat reminds me a lot of my own cat, although she has a lot of white on her. If you are looking for a fun project that stitches up quick this is one to get, it's fun and easy.

Not much going on today, it's Friday which is a plus. I watched the oddest news show last night about Madonna and Anna Nicole Smith. There's a bizarre combination for you. ;) But I'm not sure which woman disturbs me more...

Have a great weekend! Next week- TURKEY! LOL


Thursday, November 17, 2005

Peppermint Stick Santa


First off I have to say as a disclaimer that I LOVE Birds of a Feather patterns. They are clever and funky and have a folk artsy charm that I have a hard time resisting. But as I'm stitching this latest project I just have to say "What the H???" I have to laugh cuz it is rather funny looking, but in a weird sort of way. I've seen some funky looking Santas in my time, but this guy is just a riot!

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He looks like a referee for the Santa's Flyers hockey team. ;P LOL, LOL After seeing these stripes I am definately NOT putting the zigzag in the bottom part of his suit....it might cause someone to go cross eyed. LOL (Okay that was just evil...but you get the idea.) All in all this is a relatively easy stitch and all kidding aside, I think it will be a fun addition to my holiday decorations. :)

SBQ:

How do you feel about staying totally true to a pattern? Do you feel that you have to rip out stitches to fix a mistake or do you feel it’s acceptable to incorporate a mistake into the design?

Thanks to Renée for posting this question from Lili. I have to totally give credit to Lili for this question, as she thought it up and I only helped her forward it onto Renée. :D

Okay, well as you saw above, I have no problem altering a pattern to suit my own tastes. I don't have a problem changing a pattern's colors or leaving out elements as I see fit. Sometimes parts of a pattern just don't fit w/ the intended finish I have in mind or I just don't like something (like the zigzag or colors). Of course for me I tend to only make these changes on simplified patterns. Complex highly shaded charts would take an immense amount of time and thought to change, so I usually wouldn't make a whole color change on those.

As for incorporating a mistake into a pattern, well for me mistakes are just part of the way I stitch. No matter how hard I try I often find mistakes in my work and usually at a point where ripping it out would be extremely difficult. But sometimes frogging is a necessary evil because some mistakes just can't be incorporated. When working on difficult projects I try to work in small sections so that if I do make a mistake I can get it out fairly quickly. Often it's the small projects that end up w/ a few mis-stitches left in. But I have found that no one but me notices these glitches so it's only an issue if I make it one. :)



Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Meow


Greg decided to stitch the same Cat Sampler that I did, only he changed out all the colors. I think it looks great so far and I love how he cleverly worked in his signature into the design. If only I had thought of it first. ;)

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The weather is still cold and a bit icy. It's such a shock to the system, just last week it was at least 7oF out there. I have to say that it definately gets a person into the Xmas mood just seeing that snow. I can't believe that next week is Thanksgiving already, so I guess it's not a bad thing to forward project to Xmas. Seeing Xmas decorations when it's balmy enough for shorts is just strange, so now it's... "beginning to look a lot like Christmas" (bah, hah, hah)

Sorry I just couldn't resist. And for those of you who live in warmer climates does it seem strange to have Xmas without snow? Just curious.


Tuesday, November 15, 2005

For Greg :X


HASH(0x8c54094)
True Love

Lucky you! You guys have a very mature and
down-to-earth view of love. You've been through
a lot together, so you realize that it isn't
all a bed of roses. You are very comfortable
around each other and confide in each other
about almost everything. You can't imagine life
without one another and are committed to seeing
this through. Go you!


What Kind of Love are You in? (Beautiful Romantic Pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla

What Happened to...


Fall?

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This is what I woke up to this morning, charming isn't it? ;) I suppose if we didn't have to drive in it it would be fantastic. I'm just not ready for this...maybe it's not too early for those Xmas decorations after all. ;D

I started on Bird's of a Feather's Santa Claus last night. I am using a DMC 14 ct denim blue that I bought on clearance sometime last year. So far it seems like a good choice for this pattern. :) I plan on changing the pattern a bit, I just don't see a reason he needs a white zigzag on his suit and I changed some of the colors for things I had on hand. It's going fast though which is great!

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SBQ:
When comparing large projects versus small projects, which do you get more excited about finishing?

I get more excited when I'm about to finish a large project. Since they take so much longer there is that little gleeful feeling that overtakes me when I know I won't have to stitch on it any longer and I can get onto framing. I think that when I stitch small things sometimes the finish is anti-climatic, sort of "oh I'm done?", where as the bigger projects you can just anticipate the finish. I do find it harder to move to a next project after stitching a large one. I've spent so much time on it that it sometimes becomes hard to imagine stitching anything else. LOL

Enjoy your day and thanks for all the lovely comments!

Monday, November 14, 2005

Making Progress


I completed a couple of goals this weekend, 1. Feel Better - I can say I don't feel as bad as Friday that's a plus. :) 2. Finish 2 Xmas gifts - DONE! I finally got some sewing done this weekend and finished off 2 projects that are going out as Xmas gifts. I just hope they are well received. ;)

First I got the trim and accessories on the Cat Sampler flat fold. I think it turned out really great!

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Here is the back:

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I glued the fish buttons to the trim and I think it gave it a nice finished look. :)

I also made my Be Ever Kind project into a pillow...I'm not so sure about the trim, I keep thinking it looks like Gemelli noodles are sprouting out of it... LOL, LOL

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But it's finished and that's the main thing, I will let you know how well they are received. :)

I finished my Winter Row:

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Close up:
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It looks great, although I think the fabric may be a bit light colored for it. Barbara asked what the fabric is...it's 14 count aida that I hand dyed in my kitchen. LOL Most of the colored fabric that you will see here has been hand dyed by me at home w/ my little chemists set... ;D Okay, okay, I confess I don't have a chemists set, but I really do dye my own fabric. :D (Also Barbara, I would be interested to know more about your lilac fabric that you mentioned is up for trade, you can find my email in my profile if you would like to discuss it further. :D )

Greg finished his ladybug up, he did go w/ the red and despite my being wicked on Friday I honestly do think it looks great. The red head looks very cute. :) Here is a pic of it laying on top of the fabric that I'm going to use to make it into a pillow. Greg picked out the fabric and I think he did a fantastic job!

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All in all a very productive weekend! :)

Friday, November 11, 2005

Happy Veterans Day!

Today we say thanks to our men and women (past and present) who serve or have served in the armed forces. Thanks to these dedicated people we stay safe and secure from the big baddies of the world. Yes, the USA has had some terror incidents, but compared to other parts of the world we have not had to endure an ongoing onslaught of violence. And for that I am ever grateful to our military. Having been in the military I know how hard these people work and how dedicated they truly are, so today and every day THANKS for keeping us safe.

I am in the midst of a nasty cold, I guess it's just that time of year. Fortunately a cold can not be spread via the internet, so here I am saying HELLO! Thanks again to all of you who have stopped by to take a look at my Thanksgiving pics. I love decorating for the holidays and tend to go a bit overboard. It's a good thing I don't have a house or it might look like something straight out of Disneyland. LOL The bad thing about being sick is I have been stuck home feeling miserable and not able to get my job done. The good thing is that I've been stuck home w/ nothing to do but stitch. :D So I finished my Happy Xmas on Wednesday and started on Winter Row. Here is Happy Xmas:

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I am going to try stitching this into a cube pillow decoration. I am hoping I can make it look like a xmas present. The finished design is about 5x5 inches so it is doable... ;)

Here is my progress on Winter Row from Bent Creek:

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I love these row projects from Bent Creek, they are so quick and fun to stitch. I love that the snowmen in this one are juggling snowballs. I have a larger version of this update pic in my gallery Winter Row
click on the small pic for a larger version.

Greg left off the lilies to stitch some small projects for gifts. He's working on Bent Creek's Ladybug Jig right now. Here's an update:

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I mentioned that ladybugs technically don't have red heads and that sent him into a tizzy. He wasn't sure he wanted to stitch it black, like a real ladybug would be. So he tried another color of red but didn't like that either. Poor guy, I told him that no one would really care if it wasn't technically correct, so I think he's back to basic red. Yes, I am *evil*. It's the cold talking, I swear. LOL, LOL

Happy weekend to all of you!


Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Happy Merry Thanksgiving Xmas Day

LOL This time of year it's can get quite confusing as to what holiday we are celebrating in the USA. It's officially turkey day month (Thanksgiving), but everywhere you go all you see are Xmas decorations, advertisements and Santas waiting for the kiddies. Now don't get me wrong I like Xmas, love the decorations and Santas...but starting to celebrate it BEFORE Halloween is just not right. ;) Poor Greg has been so over commercialized by Xmas that I have a hard time getting him to even want to celebrate it. I try to explain that it doesn't have to be about shopping and gift giving, but he doesn't seem convinced especially when we went to Walmart the other night and saw this:

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Doesn't look bad does it...till you realize that it's at least 8 or 9 feet tall! I thought it was kind of kewl, you attach a blower and it blows fake snow around in it just like a real snow globe, but Greg was horrified and told me not to get any ideas... LOL Anyhoo for those of you who asked about my Thanksgiving decorations, go here to have a look: Thanksgiving

Here's another pic of Happy Xmas, I should be done but got to doing other things.

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Greg is making good progress on his lilies, but is going to have to stop to do some Xmas presents:

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Thanks again to all of you who stop by and leave comments, I greatly appreciate it! :)

Monday, November 07, 2005

Non-Foaming Kitty

Thanks for all the comments about the "foaming" kitty post. LOL Apparently the rabies shots worked and now she's looking better. LOL, LOL I finished it this weekend and it is very cute, if I do say so. :)

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The wiskers and nose helped tame the foaming at the mouth effect and now she's just sweet ginger kitty. I am finishing this into a flat fold, which I did yesterday, but it's not quite complete yet. I have to re-purchase the trim for it. The stuff I got was WAY too thick...ah well live and learn. I got the cutest fabric for it and if you are a cat lover get ready to be "wow'd" ;)

I have to say though that I'm becoming less and less enamored of the flat fold finish. It's just not my cup of tea. It's not difficult to do, but I just don't care for the end results. I think I will stick w/ cubes or pillows or wall hangings, etc.

I am now in the Xmas phase of stitching! I started Bent Creek's Happy Xmas on Saturday and it's a fast stitch. I am using fabric that has silver threads shot through it so it's very pretty in real life, although hard to see in pics. I should have it finished in no time and I think I am going to try "sewing" a cube and possibly make it look like a present. We will see...

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I got all my Thanksgiving decorations out yesterday, but I'm a bit disappointed as there isn't as much as Halloween and I'm sorta bummed that it's all over. Christmas will be here before you know it... These holidays just FLY by and it's fun, but a bit sad at times. I want to just SLOW down and enjoy each and every day. :)

Friday, November 04, 2005

Foaming Kitty

This Cat Sampler is going so fast that I thought I'd post another picture today. I like the colors I chose for it. But I have to laugh, cuz it looks like the cat is foaming at the mouth... LOL, LOL I think that when I get the whiskers added it will tone it down a bit, but right now it looks like I have a rabid kitty. ;P

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And to Cathy, it's so easy to mess up the simplest of pattern cuz my kitty has a extra stitch in it's backside. LOL Sometimes it's not worth ripping it all out for one stitch AND look you can't even tell. :D

Oh and San asked who Greg is stitching the Calla Lilies for, well ME of course! :D Aren't I lucky? They are my Xmas present and a darn nice one if I do say so!

Have a fun weekend!!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

More Updates!

Either this week has just been very productive or my project is just too easy. ;) Here is another click of the Cat Sampler.

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I'm glad to be getting to another color, the brown was getting boring. I'm making this a ginger kitty, we will see how that goes. :)

Greg has been stitching away on his Calla Lilies and they look great. He's always so good with these big patterns.

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Thanks to everyone who's been stopping by and leaving comments, I really appreciate the support! Enjoy your day! :)

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Fall Air

Have you ever noticed that each season has it's own distinct smell? Winter is hints of pine and wood smoke, Spring is flowers and wet soil, Summer is fresh cut grass and barbeques and Fall is falling leaves and apples and cinnamon... Lately the air is just heavy w/ the smell of dead leaves, which of itself sounds unpleasant, but it's not it's a warm swirl of headiness that no other season captures. I love Fall, I love all the seasons....but Fall has those warm but not too warm days, perfect for walking and crunching leaves and crisp clear skies that make me want to spend all my time outside. :)

I am making good progress on the Cat Sampler. It's an easy stitch and so adorable. Here's an update:

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Lili: You are right Bent Creek is one of my favorite designers, along with Heart in Hand, Birds of a Feather and Mosey and Me. I tend to purchase my patterns online mostly from Ebay, sometimes through an auction, but I also like the Ebay Stores since you can "buy it now". The prices are usually better than any LNS even with shipping. The other place I have bought from is Stitching Bits and Bobs Of course this is a U.S. store, so I'm not sure about the shipping, etc. I did notice that Sew and So in the UK offers Bent Creek - I hope this is helpful. :)