Making a Dent in the Finishing Pile

I spent my Saturday night putting together this little flat fold.

"Smooth Sea" by Raging Stitches
stitched on "mystery" 28-ct. evenweave, with DMC flosses

Flat fold finish using the Twisted Stitcher's tutorial

In Which I Master the Flat-Fold

I finally made it to Jo-Ann's to pick up some more black cording, so I could finish "Blessed Be" into a little flat-fold. I think I'm finally getting the hang of the hot glue gun. It certainly is an exercise in patience, though!

the front

the back - I just had to show off the cute fabric I found... LOL

I'm still working along on Annmarie's Neighborhood, but haven't had much time for photographing lately. I have a campus interview next Friday for a librarian position at a community college a couple hours from here, and my mind has really been focused on that (for obvious reasons!). I keep thinking about moving....and how much I HATE packing... *sigh*

July Goals

First, the June recap.

1) Stitch like mad on the Celtic blessing (I'd love to have it to the framer by the first weekend in July!). erm...I DID work on it, but it still has a ways to go.

2) Assuming "Enchantment" arrives soon, decide what to do - if anything - for second wedding gift. Since it will be rather small, start AND FINISH it ASAP! Done!!

3) Work on Neighborhood RR - shipping date is July 15. I worked on the borders a bit...

4) Pull out Wintry Mix, the Gaelic blessing, or some other "personal" WIP if boredom sets in and if time permits..... Yep - started and finished Sue Hillis' "Wine a bit."

July goals:
1) Finish Celtic blessing - no more excuses.

2) Finish the borders on my RR (possibly finish my square, too, but that can always be finished when it comes home!).

3) Do a Christmas ornament, freebie, or other small project.

If my goals for July seem rather modest, it because the renaissance faire starts next weekend...I'll be spending entirely too much time and money there over the next 6 weeks...

Over the weekend I was very productive -- for the first time in a looooong time, I actually sat down and planned out some menus for the week, then went grocery shopping - with a list! - and got all of my ingredients. I feel so....domestic? hehehe I made fish on Saturday, and a crock pot full of beans and ground beef today. Yum! Then I cleaned the bathroom (ick), did some laundry, and baked a batch of cookies. Plus I made some time for stitching/finishing, too! I worked on the Celtic blessing, but forgot to take a picture. (Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of that over the next month or so...) And after a trip to Jo-Ann's for some appropriate fabric, I finished the "Wine a bit" piece into a flat-fold. I'm getting better at the flat-fold concept -- I forced myself to be patient and let the glue dry, so it didn't get lumpy with blobs of hot glue like my first one did.

I looked all over for fabric with wine or grapes...but had no luck. I thought the burgundy stripes on this piece looked a little "viney," though, and the tan background and green flower leaves worked with the other colors in the stitched design. The beads are stitched on with invisible quilting thread -- great for stuff like this, but such a pain to work with!

Crazy Weekend Finishing Frenzy

After finishing the Old Books sampler last week, I was itching to get out the sewing machine again (not for that piece, though, it will definitely be framed!). Here's what I accomplished....
1) I made the "Fairy and the Swan" piece into a little pocket pillow, which is currently holding a pouch of potpourri. It is hard to tell in the pic, but the back fabric is purple.2) I tried another padded wall banner - this time with "Share Love" by Twisted Threads. The stitched piece is teeny, so this made it look a little bit bigger. I'm not completely pleased with the finished product, though.....eh. (FYI, the purple fabric is the same as the pillow back above.)
3) I made Whimsical Element's "Sensational Summer" into a lined drawstring bag. The proportions didn't come out quite right...I didn't mean for it to be so tall! But I love the colors. This was the piece that was intended as a wedding gift....who knows, maybe I'll still give it to them. If not, since we are going to St. Thomas for the wedding, I'll just keep it as a trip momento for US. LOL4) Finally, I tried my first flat-fold. It definitely is NOT perfect....an impatient perfectionist and a hot glue gun are a BAD combination...but it will still look cute on my bookshelves. Now, back to watching the Oscars...