A finish!

With no thanks to my LNS, which never did manage to get the petite beads I wanted (so I ordered them from an ONS)...here is Black Swan Designs' "Fairy's Gate."

I really love this!  I used the DMC flosses called for, but stitched it on Sugar Maple Fabrics' "Butterfly Kisses" and swapped out the beads and sun charm.  Mine is more silvery than the model.

February 2015 WIPocalypse Check-in

(Late....typical.  Sigh.)

Life has been...well, I'd say "crazy," but it isn't that far from our normal anymore!  Winter weather, a cabin-crazy child, unemployed husband, ridiculous amounts of dental work - its all in a day's work around here lately.

I HAVE been stitching, when I can grab a few moments!  I managed a small finish last month for the Smalls SAL, and here is my progress on "Fairy's Gate."

(Sorry for crummy cell phone pic.)  There isn't that much left - just the second fairy (you can see the beginnings of her skirt on the left side of the sundial), a few flowers, and the border.  And I am waiting for beads that I had to order from my LNS - I decided I wanted petites instead of the larger ones I had in my stash.  Oh, and I have to attach the large sun charm.  I misjudged the size of design/layout on the fabric, so I've got a LOT left at the bottom and only what is under my Q-snap at the top, but I think it is still enough for framing....

Oh, and did you see my new needleminder?  Isn't it pretty?!?  I ordered this on eBay, and it only cost a few dollars.  It is MUCH more petite than the larger ones made by Kelmscott and others.  While I love the Kelmscott ones - and have at least one or 2 - I love how light this one is, while still strong enough to hold my needle.  I think it is made of repurposed jewelry findings, and there is actually a lovely little groove between the two pieces where my needle sits perfectly, providing a little extra security.

Now, on to Measi's monthly question:
How do you overcome that feeling that you’re in a rut with a particular project?
Well.....usually I start something new!  Although this is a little counter-productive for the WIPocalypse....  And with all the stressors in my life this month, I did exactly that.  I stopped at my LNS after getting my first - and very expensive - dental crown put on last Thursday.  I found a piece of 28-ct. linen banding in the remnant bin that was perfect for my latest obsession - Told in a Garden's "Family Treasure III."  (link is to someone else's blog - the pic on TIAG's site isn't very good.)  So right now I've got the very beginnings of that on my scroll frame in the basement, and when everyone starts driving me crazy upstairs, I go down to "start laundry" or do some other mundane task...and put in a few stitches.  LOL

Planning for the WIPocalypse, 2015

Measi is once again hosting the WIPocalypse...and I'm tempted to try again.  (Other years I've joined and been a miserable failure.)  I was initially resisting, but then I looked in the Mystery Bin and saw the Dark Sorceress languishing...along with my Fairy Tale Towne...and decided that I should try one more time.  I can't promise any kind of consistent progress on those 2 pieces, but at least this means they are still on the radar.

So here's my introduction!  I'm Erin, I'm notyet40, I'm married and have a wonderful daughter.  I've been stitching since I was about 13, but really got back into it about 15 years ago, when I finished grad school and got my first job.  I used to be obsessed with fantasy designs, but over the years my tastes have changed/grown (I still love fantasy stuff, but I've gotten pickier!).  As for my goals this year:

1. Make progress on Dark Sorceress
2. Make progress on Fairy Tale Towne
3. Chart name and birthdate and finish a birth piece I started last year
4. Work on smalls - as part of my other SAL commitment, Stitching Lotus' "Smalls SAL"
5. Finish "Fairy's Gate," my New Year's start this year.
6. Finish Just Nan's "Wings."
7. Stitch a piece for my kitchen.  I'm considering Homespun Elegance's "Olde Shaker Tune," but no concrete plans yet.
8. Annual ornament for my daughter (which will also qualify as a small, so winning!).
9. Just enjoy my stitching.  I want to look forward to my stitching and crafting time, not dread it!

I'll do my best to post here more regularly, too.  Two SALs should help that...along with with moving my daughter's Kinetic Sand Christmas gift to my craft/computer space, so she can be entertained while I'm typing!

A week off from work (plus a few more days for some medical stuff) has meant that I've made quite a bit of progress on that New Year's start, too - here is "Fairy's Gate" as of today.

2014 In Review, 2015 Begins

So...in just under the wire (I was sewing on the last buttons when DH and I kissed at midnight!), here is Country Garden Stitchery's "Here Comes Santa Claus."

You can probably tell that I used some different buttons.  I didn't have the ones used in the pattern, and I didn't feel like buying a bunch of doo-dads, so I just used some that I had left over/not used from other kits.  I really think this guy is pretty cute!  I did buy all the hand-dyed flosses for this one, and I think that was worth it.

I also completed a flurry of ornamentifying before the New Year - first, here is Prairie Schooler's "Boo 1602" card design.

(The back is just a piece of gray fabric.)
And here is the front and back of Just Another Button Company's "Tweet" freebie - well, it is a freebie if you buy the button pack.  Hmm.  Anyway, since my niece was known as "Peep" until her birth, I swapped out part of the button pack and changed the lettering, then made a back with her name and birth date.  I bought this as a kit at Celebrations, and tried to squeak the front and back out of the one piece of fabric included in the kit!  It was a tight fit, but I pulled it off without TOO many problems.

The hanger was a piece of a floral spray that I ripped out and stuck between the front and back of the ornament.

Here is M-ort-icia, standing with a couple Just Nan pieces.  "Spring Peepers" is an old finish, but the peacock cube I did stitch and finish as part of Zeb's Just Nan SAL....I was sorry to see that one disappear about halfway through the year.

Finally, today I kept with my tradition of a New Year's start and pulled floss and fabric for an old design from my stash, Black Swan's "Fairy's Gate."

I love the design but hate the fabric and that tacky sun button that were included!  (The fabric is just a 28-ct. lambswool....nothing terrible, but not what I envision for a fairy garden piece.)  So I've got a different charm to use, and the fabric I pulled from my stash is a piece of 32-ct. Sugar Maple Fabric called Butterfly Kisses.  Much prettier!

2014 wasn't a terrible year for me, stitching-wise.  I think I had about 13 finishes, most of them relatively small...the exception being the Labyrinth for DH.  Oooooh, unlucky 13!  Maybe that is why the rest of my year hasn't been the greatest....my cat died, I need a mouthful of expensive dental work, my DH lost his job (and the dental insurance) right after I got the dental work started.....  But life goes on.  Everyone in the house is healthy and relatively happy, I have my job, our child is growing and thriving.  DH does have some job leads, so here's hoping 2015 rapidly looks better than 2014!!  (And hey, I kicked off 2014 by backing into my own garage door from the inside.  At least I didn't do THAT again....  LOL)

Success?? And a bit of progress.

Here is the result of 12+ hours in a sink full of Dawn....

I *think* it came clean!! I know the color looks a little different from the first "finished" picture I posted, but that was done with the scanner, and this is a camera pic. The fabric didn't lose TOO much color, I don't think (if you look at my first progress pic of it from a week or 2 ago, you might get a better idea of the fabric colors). I'm still a little nervous about storing it with any other fabrics, though. Hmmm. I wanted to make it into a little pillow....maybe I'll do that, and it will just live on a shelf instead of in my pillow bin.

Saturday I got my package from Stitching Bits & Bobs, and it gave me just the push I needed to stitch some more! First, I started Just Nan's "Wintry Mix". Her little geometric designs just make me so happy....and when I mentioned this out loud, DH tried to give me a long psychological explanation of the human attraction to symmetry (which I understand and DO believe, BTW!). I love him, but sometimes he needs to leave work/school out of my stitching..... LOL

I also put in some time with the Celtic wedding sampler. I love the look of the design, but I'm beginning to despise the work that is necessary to create it! It is coming along, though. However, I've decided this will be the only "wedding gift" piece I'm doing this year. The second wedding I'd planned to stitch for -- my brother-in-law's -- I'm going to give them a "rain check" for something they'd like stitched. I don't want to get it wrong, you know? And since BIL's fiancee is a crafter, I'm sure she will appreciate the work I do (she is one who got the "Here Be Dragons" cube for Christmas, which she tells me is now displayed with her Anne McCaffrey "Pern" books). And it will totally take the heat off me, so I can get back to the Mermaids and other ME stitching. Yay!

A Weekend Finish!

Number 1 of my second round in the Multi-Project Challenge...

"The Fairy and the Swan" - freebie from Black Swan Designs

- stitched on a 28-ct. Silkweaver solo
- beads used in place of gold metallics in the globe
- aqua metallic added to the water

There is a really neat effect in the fairy's wings, created with blending filament...it didn't show up very well in the scan. I'm still debating how to finish this - a pillow, maybe? It seems too small to bother with framing (not quite 4 in. square).