Very Good Progress!!!

This weekend I totally focused on Northern lights sampler I'm now on row 24!!!! Here's a progress photo, its not a very good one the colours are quite washed out in this picture.

Northern Lights Progress Scan

Avoiding Burn-Out

I'm sure you've noticed the total LACK of blogs lately. The only reason I haven't been blogging regularly is out of sheer exhaustion! I'm getting home at night and going straight to bed! I've barely stitched either. I'm sure if I had the time and energy to stitch Northern Lights Sampler would of been done by now!

Thursday night I finished my class project for my framing class. I have framed one of my great-grandfathers watercolors. I'm very happy with how it turned out, despite the joining of the frame giving me a bit of trouble. So click HERE to see my framing project. I mounted, cut the mats, cut the frame and assembled all of it myself except with the help of a holder every now and again.

Once I'm done here on the computer I'm going to settle in to work on Northern Lights Sampler for the day!

Ornament Number Two

I finished it yesterday evening while I was at the Dr's office for my allergy shot. Have you ever been put in the little room where the doctor sees you and start to wonder if you had been forgotten about... that's what happened to me. When you go in for an allergy shot you don't need an appointment, you're pretty much put to the top of the list, the Dr. runs in gives you your shot and is off again. Well the Dr I was slated for kinda forgot to stop by to give me my shot until after she had seen the next patient. But at least I had my stitching to keep me company for those 30 minutes.

So yes... I finished that second ornament. Its Christmas Rose by Elizabeth's Designs in the 2002 JCS Ornament Issue. Its stitched on grey 32 count linen using DMC floss. The leaf stitch is supposed to be done using Needle Necessities cotton but I didn't have the colour called for so I used Six Stran Sweet's Wintergreen. I think in March I'm going to stitch at least one Dragon Dreams ornament.

I have two more bands done on Northern Lights Sampler. I'm now up to band15 out of 32. I don't think I'm going to make my goal on the finishing date I set for this piece. Oh well there's always March.

A Wee Finish on Sunday

I meant to blog late Sunday night... honestly I did. But I forgot. I wanted to show you my first February Christmas ornament. I stitched up Ursual Michael's Christmas Quilt 2000 from the 2000 JCS Ornament Issue. Its stitched on 32ct Antique White Linen Silk using Kreinik metallics.

Tonight, yet again I have not stitched much. What has happened to me being able to easily put in 20hr a week stitching... maybe for the whole month this month! I've almost finished my second Christmas Ornament, I should have a scan for you tomorrow.

The file for Mystery VI part 3 is now up in the yahoo group... however we're being tortured to clues for the password. Sigh... I don't have the energy to guess. So if you know it, drop me a line okay?

Friends, Good Food, Framing and Stitching!

Aaaahhhh I haven't done this in AGES! When I used to live in the city I'd have my best friend Christin over for the night or entire weekends. Now that I live in the sticks that doesn't happen too often because she isn't a scant five minutes up the road (she doesn't have a car). So it takes a little more planning and thinking out. We had decided earlier this month that we'd pick a weekend in February to do this.

Friday night we did our weekly grocery shop and dinner out. We also included trips to Wal Mart for batting and a cheap frame then off to Wallacks where we picked up some acid free foam core board, mat board, mat cutter blades, assorted tapes and framing sundries. The weather was bad, so it was great to be out shopping the stores and parking lots were fairly empty. I know, I'm crazy to be out shopping during a snow storm.

As you saw last night I framed my very first piece. Today we woke up at a descent time for a Saturday and got the preparations for dinner under way. While Christin made a huge batch of butterscotch pinwheels I made the sauce for lasagna and got the garlic bread ready to go. After all the cooking was done it was time for all the framing supplies to come out. Christin practiced cutting double mats then finally cut the mats for her class piece (we're taking framing together). I stretched, cut the mat and assembled my next piece.

Today I framed Illustrative Blackwork Fantasy c2003 Dragon Dreams, I had finished it earlier in the month. On Tuesday this past week I took it with me to Guild night and Donna's father whose health is not too great managed to make the trek into Ottawa and he really admired it. There was something in his voice that made me say to myself. I'm framing this piece and I'm giving it to him in March. So that's what I did today! Its framed with a thick, simple black frame I picked up in Wal-Mart (gotta love that place), I cut a single mat : white with a black core and stretched the piece. It looks fantastic... well the stretching or how I've got it sitting in the frame isn't the straightest but its the best I can do without driving myself nuts!

I think perfect (or close to it) stretching only comes after a lot of practice! I'm sure with time I will get it down pat and be totally happy with it!

After today's foray into framing Christin and I sat down for a stitch. Late in the day we were joined by Vicki who helped us eat some of that huge lasagna and we all stitched into the night.

Boy it was nice.

First Framing Happy Dance

I'm not sure if I've really blogged about it much but back in January I started a ten week framing course at my local college. Tonight my friend Christin and I braved the snow and went out and bought some supplies! My course is far from over (not until mid March) but I felt I had enough knowledge to go ahead and do a "retro-fit" that's make something fit in a pre-made frame.

A couple of weekends ago I had cut the perfect 8x10 mat to fit a piece I had stitched and stretched back in 2001 but had never framed. So tonight I picked up a pre cut 8x10 gold metal frame, some extra foam core to build it up to the frame size (I had stretched it to be 5x7).

So may I present : Above the Clouds by Teresa Wentzler stitched back in 2001 (my first TW) and finally framed in 2004 by ME!!!!!

I hope by the end of the day tomorrow to have another piece retro fitted... but I have to stretch it first! EEEEEKKKKKK!

Yes, I am Alive

Sorry everyone, its been over a week. Its been a very long week. On Wednesday Todd's Grandmother passed away and between everything going on besides the wake and the funeral I just didn't have the energy to blog.

So I've barely stitched in a week.

A Blackwork Finish

Yay! A little happy dance for me! Remember on my last blog I said I'd probably work on my Dragon Dreams piece on Monday? Well forget it, I went down for a nap at 5:30pm and never woke up until it was time to get ready for work the next day! Sooooo I stitched on it tonight and its done!!! This my first all blakwork piece was a lot of fun! I can see myself stitching more of these in the future!

This is Illustrative Blackwork Fantasy c2003 Dragon Dreams a class piece, not available for purchase at the moment.

Good Progress This Weekend

Despite sleeping quite a bit this weekend I feel like I got some great stitching progress in! I've now got rows 1-6 done on Northern Lights Sampler and I've got a progress scan. I'm still enjoying this piece I just wish I had more time!

Today was the once a month Dragon Dreams Stitch-a-long I participate in. A group of us have agreed to stitch on a Dragon Dreams design the second Sunday of each month. I've spent today working on a class piece called Illustrative Blackwork Fantasy. I've also got a progress scan of this piece. Its moving along super quick and I may take the time to work on it tomorrow!

I also played with my new mat cutter this weekend! Sure makes mat cutting much easier than using a hand cutter! A must have if you're thinking of framing things yourself!

Goal Number One Met!

Well its pretty darned late so here is part 2 of Mystery 6 by Chatelaine

February Stitching Goals

Okay I'm going to put it here, in print... well virtual print for the world to see my goals for February. I'm going to try to do this at the beginning of each month. Y'all can help keep me on track!

1. Stitch part 2 of Mystery VI from Chatelaine
2. Finish Northern Lights by Jeanette Douglas a model for Changing Tides
3. Stitch Vermillion's February freebie Beary Godmother for my friend's daugher's b-day
4. Stitch 2 Christmas ornaments

So far this week has been a slow stitching week. I thought I would of had part 2 of Mystery VI done by Monday. Its now Wednesday and I'm down to the backstitching. I'm finding that the dark green marlitt in this portion is behaving much better than the black. Makes me wonder if the black was a bad batch?

As my travel project I started Vermillion's February freebie, Beary Godmother. A very cute bear dressed up as a fiary. This year's series proves to have a lot of potiential ... Fantasy Bears. Its on a pink solo from Silkweavers, its got just a few stitches in it so far.

A Mystery Weekend

I've pretty much spent all weekend working on Part 2 of Mystery 6 from Chatelaine. Its very pretty, but still not quite finished. Hopefully I'll have it done by Tuesday.

Today I got together with Sherry and Robin, two other Mystery 6 stitchers in my area. It was really enjoyable to sit in a room and chat with other people stitching the same thing!

Cars!

Well I would have to class this week as pretty darned crappy! Tuesday evening I noticed my clutch wasn't working too well. I made an appointment with my dealer to have my car seen on Friday. Well we didn't make it to Friday, I could barely drive the car on Wednesday. So off my car went to the dealer on Wednesday morning. Long and short of it my car needs a new clutch master cylinder but Hyundai Canada isn't releasing any. YOU HEAR ME HYUNDAI CANADA I NEED A CLUTCH MASTER CYLINDER!!!! So it was temporarily fixed. That temporary fix barely lasted 24 hours. By Thursday after work it was getting pretty hard to drive again. I called my dealer and he told me to bring it in again. They were going to "flush the lines" and put in dot 5 fluid. Another temporary fix. Well Friday morning my car wasn't going anywhere! Sooo my car had to be towed to the dealer, they did whatever they did to temporarily fix it and I lost half a day's work.

Hmmm on the up side? Is there one? With all this car stress I've been exhausted! Wednesday night I couldn't even be motivated to pick up a needle I just laid there on the couch and went to bed early. Friday night I went to bed at 5:30pm and slept 15 hours!

Stitching... well I haven't touched my model since Tuesday, I had to do some frogging on my travel project. On the up side part 2 of Mystery 6 was released Thursday but it was too late for me to start it. I did get some work done on the border while I waited two hours for a tow truck, then another two at the dealer while my car was being "fixed". I have stitched all day today on it as well. I imagine I'll get it finished on Sunday. In the afternoon I'm getting together with some Chatelaine stitchers in my area to stitch the day away!

From here things can only get better????