More Black Belt Stitching Wizard Stuff

Showing posts with label Rosewood Manor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rosewood Manor. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

WIP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!  I'm actually on schedule this week and I'm actually getting my WIP Wednesday post up on the right day!

 Mini River Cottage
Michael Powell
stitched on: 27ct eveweave

After last week's post I finally settled on a WIP to work on, Michael Powell's Mini River Cottage... well I finished it Monday night!  I just love the look of these and stitching them!

Red Threads
Rosewood Manor
Stitched on: mystery fabric
Stitched with: Threadworx

I also had a small finish as well, I pulled out this little Red Threads motif by Rosewood Manor, one of my purse projects.  It had been started awhile ago, so it was nice to have that finished as well.  Its gone into my finishing pile, I've already picked the coordinating beads for when I'm ready!


Of course with the finishing of one focus project that leaves the tough decision of "what's next?".  A few texts back and forth with Christin and for the moment, I've settled on Teresa Wentzler's Fortunate Traveller.  I started this back on May 1, 2013 as a stitch-a-long with Bonnie, Beatrice and Christin.  Of course none of us have really made any serous progress since then.  I think we keep getting distracted by other projects!


I've also put a couple of more thread lengths into A Year In Chalk - June.  I'm planning on putting an hour into this each day until its done or I decide to put my head down and finish it.  Once this one is done, I'm caught up until I get a chance to buy/pick up July & August.

Tiny Tidings
Lizzie Kate

Over the weekend I also completed another ornament, and a floss ring tag.  I started a second ornament, but haven't managed to find the time to complete it yet.  I guess that just gives you something to look forward to next week!

Red Threads
Rosewood Manor

Nothing exciting has been going on to share with you, I've been back to work this week after an extra-long, long weekend.  Just the stitching you see here!

Saturday, July 04, 2015

Update : Finishing

So besides stitching like a mad woman, I've been doing quite a bit of finishing as well!


In early June Kathy and I made plans to get together to finally put together her Petit Sampling Etui.  Amongst my circle of stitching friends I seem to be considered the "finishing expert", go figure.  I think I'm just willing to dive in and give things a try.  I had never put together an etui before, but my finishing skills have been steadily improving over the years.




I have to say putting this box together was not easy and it definitely required two weekends, two heads, four hands, and a lot of reading over and over!  Though I didn't stitch the panels I'm certainly proud of the end result!  Kathy and I make a great team and work well together.


Of course neither of us are planning to put together or stitch another one for a long time.



I was motivated by helping Kathy with her Etui to do a little finishing of my own!  On weekends I've been home I've been pulling out one ornament after another out of my finishing box.  I've been quite productive now that I see it all here in one blog entry!

 My first attempt at a tag finish and I have to say it turned out great!
Fa La La La - Freebie

 JBW
French Country Star
JCS Ornament Issue

 Heart of Flake - Freebie

 Rosewood Manor
Red Threads

Heart In Hand
Snow Woes

 Ink Circles
Stained Glass Holly
Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue

 Stitchers Joy
Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue

The Stag
Freebie




Thursday, July 02, 2015

WIP Wednesday... on Thursday

A day late and a dollar short, but here's my WIP Wednesday post!

Parliament Hill as seen from the opposite shore of the Ottawa River
I'm lucky to be living in the Nation's Capital

Yesterday was Canada Day and we had dinner and spent the evening with two other couples.  We all get along so well that an evening is gone before we know it!  Needless to say at almost 11PM last night I didn't really feel like blogging.

I'm already enjoying my extra long weekend, I've been off since yesterday and I don't go back to work until Monday morning.  While I've been sitting here editing pictures for blog entries, and re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation (my inner geek is very happy right now!), I keep thinking about what I want to stitch over the next couple of days.  So here is what I've got in progress and that I may have worked on since my last post ... since I can't remember what's had my attention and what hasn't.

A Year In Chalk - May
Hands on Designs
Stitched on 32ct WDW Gunmetal
Stitched with GAST

First up I did have another Happy Dance yesterday!  Since my last post I've started and finished the next chart I had in line for the series A Year In Chalk, May.  I love how these stitch up so fast but the whole time I was working on it I kept thinking I wanted to work on something a little more complex.

Year In Chalk Jan-Jun(started)


After finishing up May in the Year in Chalk Series I started up June yesterday, but as you see I didn't get very far, I have one whale stitched up and I've started on a second.  The whole time I was stitching the whale I kept thinking of the whale in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its monologue (again, happy inner geek).

“Another thing that got forgotten was the fact that against all probability a sperm whale had suddenly been called into existence several miles above the surface of an alien planet.

And since this is not a naturally tenable position for a whale, this poor innocent creature had very little time to come to terms with its identity as a whale before it then had to come to terms with not being a whale any more.

This is a complete record of its thoughts from the moment it began its life till the moment it ended it.

Ah … ! What’s happening? it thought.

Er, excuse me, who am I?

Hello?

Why am I here? What’s my purpose in life?

What do I mean by who am I?

Calm down, get a grip now … oh! this is an interesting sensation, what is it? It’s a sort of … yawning, tingling sensation in my … my … well I suppose I’d better start finding names for things if I want to make any headway in what for the sake of what I shall call an argument I shall call the world, so let’s call it my stomach.

Good. Ooooh, it’s getting quite strong. And hey, what’s about this whistling roaring sound going past what I’m suddenly going to call my head? Perhaps I can call that … wind! Is that a good name? It’ll do … perhaps I can find a better name for it later when I’ve found out what it’s for. It must be something very important because there certainly seems to be a hell of a lot of it. Hey! What’s this thing? This … let’s call it a tail – yeah, tail. Hey! I can can really thrash it about pretty good can’t I? Wow! Wow! That feels great! Doesn’t seem to achieve very much but I’ll probably find out what it’s for later on. Now – have I built up any coherent picture of things yet?

No.

Never mind, hey, this is really exciting, so much to find out about, so much to look forward to, I’m quite dizzy with anticipation …

Or is it the wind?

There really is a lot of that now isn’t it?

And wow! Hey! What’s this thing suddenly coming towards me very fast? Very very fast. So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like … ow … ound … round … ground! That’s it! That’s a good name – ground!

I wonder if it will be friends with me?

And the rest, after a sudden wet thud, was silence.

Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now.”


― Douglas AdamsThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Prior to Cirque des Carreaux obsessing all of my needle time, I was working on Lanarte's Arabian Woman.  She is well under way now.

Also receiving a bit of my needle's attention is Michael Powell's Mini River Cottages.  I really should get this one finished sooner or later, its been in my stitching basket since last year.  Being that its not that big or complicated, it really should of been finished a long time ago.

I also pulled out my "purse project" (this is the project that goes with me everywhere so if I find myself with some free time I have some stitching with me) it hasn't received any attention in a long time.  This is one of the many motifs I've been stitching up from Rosewood Manor's Red Threads chart.  Its a great one to have in your stash, not only do you have about 24 various motifs but there's a set of monograms from the alphabet and numbers!

While in that same zipper mesh bag, I also found this!  A cute, little, simple kitty cat I had picked up at The Attic while in Phoenix, Arizona this past March!  I had completely forgotten I had started it a few months ago!

So that's it for this week's stitching progress.  I think you're going to enjoy the next blog entry I have planned for Saturday, its all the awesome finishing I've done in the last month or so.  If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you'll have an idea of what I've been up to.







Thursday, April 23, 2015

Belated WIP Wednesday

Were you looking for my WIP Wednesday post last night or today?  Sorry I didn't get anything up on my blog, I was too tired to blog.

I'm still not settled 100% on any one project, this week saw me working on three of my WIPs.  My friends and regular readers know that's very unlike me to flit from one project to the other!  I am certainly a one at a time girl!

I've put a few more thread lengths into Arabian Woman, a Lanarte Kit.  I think I'm going to really look forward to focusing on her at some point.

I've also put a few hours over the weekend on The Big Red by The Silver Lining, I think I missed working over one!

I think I've spent most of my stitching time on Peacock by Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks.  On the up side, I finished all of the dark outlining and now its time to fill it in with all of the gorgeous blues that remind me of the beach in the Dominican Republic!  Also I'd say the end is in sight with this piece!



I was determined to do a little finishing this weekend, its certainly piling up!  I finished up these three motifs from Red Threads by Rosewood Manor.  These are all whip stitched together with a beaded edge.


Next out of the to be finished bin was this Primitive Hare freebie.  I've done a flat finish on this and embellished it with a red/white polka-dot ribbon bow on the top and a pearl head pin.  Ideally I'd like to get a few pieces finished each weekend, we'll see how ambitious I am this weekend!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

WIPWednesday, Small Finishes and What's Next?

Happy Wednesday fair readers!  Which means its WIPWednesday and one of my blogging days!

As usual I like to start with the happy stuff, and I've had two small Happy Dances since my last post.

Red Threads
Rosewood Manor
Stitched with NPI Silk
Stitched on 32ct Natural Linen

This first little guy, was already well under way, so there wasn't much left to do.  This has been my "purse project" and I've been dragging it around with me most places but not really working on it.  So I finally put the last stitches into it.

French Country Star
JBW Designs
Just Cross Stitch - Ornament Issue 2010
Stitched with WDW Garnet
Stitched Over One on 25ct Sand/Gold Lugana

Next up is this month's ornament, I had a hard time settling on which one I wanted to stitch.  I finally picked up this sweet little stitch by JBW which was in one of my Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issues.  If I can, and it may be rather ambitious I'd like to finish this star-shaped!

I haven't settled on a new focus project yet, and really that's okay.  This week I've picked away at two different projects.


I kind of have it in my mind to finish up my January 1st start from this year, Peacock by Alessandra Adelaide.  Christin and I started them together, but she's been done hers for awhile now. Usually I'm the first to finish!  I've had a hard time getting "into" this project.


When I haven't been able to get "into" Peacock I've pulled out an oldie, but goodie Arabian Woman a kit from Lanarte.  I fell in love with and bought this project a long time ago, and it cost me a fair bit.  A few years ago I put some stitches in it to make myself get back to it.  I've enjoyed working on it this week.  The fabric on this piece comes painted and there's a little "+" where to start so I've slowly worked my way from that start point, to my happy place, the top left hand corner.

As promised last week here are the other projects I have started in my stitching basket... Which project would you like to watch come to life?  Leave me a comment!

Mini River Cottage - Michael Powell

The Big Red - The Silver Lining

 Cirque des Carreaux - Ink Circles

Fortunate Traveller - Teresa Wentzler

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

WIP Wednesday - The First February Edition

Welcome to my first February Edition of WIP Wednesday!!!

Winter here continues to be pretty brutal.  If its not been colder than -20c with windchills in the -30c then its been snow, blowing snow, snow drifts and black ice.  I've had enough and I'm counting the days until I head out on this year's Dominican Experience Trip ... 16 DAYS!  Not to mention in 37 days I'll be heading Arizona!!!  Neither trip can come soon enough.


So after my Sleep Study just a few weeks ago, I was back in the hospital today.  This time for a Day Study, in a day study you're still all hooked up to wires and stuff.  In a Day Study you're told to take a 15 minute nap, if you're not asleep in 15 minutes they come in and get you out of bed, or as soon as you fall asleep they set the clock for a fresh 15 minutes before coming to wake you up.  You get to sit up, watch movies ... I stitched for about two hours before its time for another nap.  This is done four times.


I kitted up another freebie for my future seasonal basket of smalls.  I'm still working on the Valentine's Day/Hearts/Love theme.  This will be the last one before I move onto St. Patrick's Day.  I worked on this while at the hospital today.  I didn't have any of the colours the chart called for so I pulled my own.  The border wasn't supposed to be green at all, it called for Crescent Colours Bamboo which was a brown-ish colour.  I really like the green MUCH better.

Valentine
The Primitive Hare
Stitched on: 28ct Tropical Pink Linen
Stitched with: Threadworx 1124

Last week I showed you my start on a freebie by Primitive Hare, I finished it on Sunday during the Superbowl.  Actually I stitched most of it during the Superbowl, not that I was really watching anyhow.  I embellished it with a pink heart button on the stitched heart.  I love how this turned out with my "outrageous" pink fabric!  I think I'm going to need to do some finishing soon!

Red Threads
Rosewood Manor
Stitched on: 32ct Natural Linen
Stitched with: Carrie's Creations Holly Days

After I finished Valentine I pulled out another Red Threads motif to stitch up.  I got a fair amount of it done in the last quarter of the Superbowl and finished it up the other day.  I love using the little motifs (and there's a great alphabet too!) on the charts for those long, narrow strips of fabric I used to just throw away.  Its also great for using up that last bit of a skien of a specialty fiber.  I hate throwing things out, but I also hate holding onto things hoping that someday I might come up with something to do with it.


Finally, what you REALLY came here to see... The Accolade!  I'm still drowning in grey!  I'm still not done page 10, but I've got two more rows of 10 by 10 to go!  So hopefully this time next week you'll see the start of page 11!!!



Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Last WIP Wednesday for January

Can you believe we're almost through the first month of 2015?  Its gone by so fast!

Since my last stitchy post I've had a couple of small finishes and made progress on a couple of WIPs.  First, the finishes.

Red Threads
Rosewood Manor
Stitched on: 32ct Natural Linen
Stitched with NPI silk

After I finished blogging last week it was a little late in the evening to pull out The Accolade.  So I pulled out my "purse project" and finished that!  How many of you keep something small in your purse?  I never go anywhere without some stitching, you just never know.  I've noticed the last couple of years, while waiting places I pull out my phone more than my stitching.  I'm trying to make more of an effort lately to pull out my stitching instead of my phone when I have free moments.  Of course its always a battle between my stitching and my Instagram addiction (you can find me there as tkd_chick).  These little motifs from the Red Threads chart by Rosewood Manor are perfect for "purse projects"!  I just love the combination of this red silk on natural linen.

Love Never Fails
The Primitive Hare
Stitched on mystery 28ct fabric
Stitched with Glorianna Silks

Remember last week I mentioned I had the urge to work on some seasonal smalls?  Well I gave in!  I started and finished this adorable freebie by The Primitive Hare.


Then I might of started another freebie from the same website this week as well.  This is a small start on Valentine by The Primitive Hare.  I polled my Instagram followers to see if I was crazy with my fabric and thread choice but I got so many positive comments and likes I went with it!  As I say the instant gratification you get from social media is addictive!  Also when you're looking for a quick bit of input its almost instant!


Now, the piece you've been waiting to see... The Accolade.  I'm still plugging away on page 10, I'm currently experiencing the stitching version of 50 Shades of Grey, sadly this is no where near as titillating.  Its a struggle to stay motivated when you're just stitching many shades of the same colour and no real image is emerging.