Finished Now Framed III

Here's the third and final piece I picked up on Saturday.

This is a Design by Kathy. I originally saw it stitched at Everything Cross Stitch in Fredericksburg. And it wowed me.

I think this is a Crossed Wing fabric, but it could be Picture This Plus.

Love, love, love it.

Finished Now Framed II

Quick photo at the frame shop as this on didn't come home with me.

They put the wire on like it's a square, but it's a diamond. Words should be level, people.

You can see the date - 2010. This was a diamond Quaker challenge for my guild from Pam Darney of Guildhouse Samplers.

We picked our size of diamond, our colors, and then turned traditional Quaker motifs to fit our space.

I decided that I was never going to go back and tweak the few things that bother me (slightly.) It's all about positioning.

Photo doesn't do justice to the red frame from Total Framing!

Finished Now Framed

Last Saturday I fell. Stupid. Broke a finger - ring finger none stitching hand, phew.

But I'm waiting to hear about the MRI on my knee. Could be an ACL tear. But here's a photo of the backside. Yikes.

Meanwhile picked up some newly framed stuff.

One Sleepy Hollow. Finished six years ago.

Jack: in a Box

Here's a little piece I did and taught to my EGA guild yesterday. 

I got the idea from stitching Marilyn Owen's Halloween Treat that had a white ghost surrounded by Purple.

It's just two stitches - a slanted gobelin border and the interior is all byzantine.

Three threads and there you have it.

Bunny Surgery

 Here we have one ordinary bunny from Bunnies by the Bay names Ittybit. Maybe not so ordinary. He's really cute.

Ittybit is about to undergo surgery. 

Step one. Gather the supplies. Sewing machine, fabric, scissors, seam ripper, BBs, and a small funnel. 
 

Step two. Make a small rectangular bag using the sewing machine. 

Step three. Using the funnel, fill the bag with BBs. 

Step four. Sew the bag shut. 
 

Step five. Locate a bottom seam and use the seam ripper to open it up. How much? Large enough to stuff the bag into...
 

 

Step six. Stuff that bag of BBs into the bottom of the bunny. 

Step seven. Sew the bunny closed. In this case, I didn't have to be extra neat, as the fur covers a multitude of sins. 

Step eight. Flip him upright and laugh. He's just had the opposite of liposuction and he's completely adorable.

 

 

For those not in the canvas world, what I have created here is a frame weight. We use them to hold our frames on the edge of the table and then we can use both hands to stitch. 

Sometimes I use mine to counterweight a table stand when I'm working on a large piece. 

Disclosure:

I'm officially licensed to practice needlework. No animals were harmed in the making of this frame weight.   

The Alphabet Club

A day late because I haven't been keeping up with my reading. 

Trite as it may be, a is for alphabet. Because I've stitched a ton of them. Some without the letter j or u. Because that's how the schoolgirl's stitched them. You knew if the i or the v was a vowel or a consonant by its position in the word. I'm sure foreigners learning English are glad we decided to stop the double duty because English is difficult enough to learn. 

See these samplers? Three of them are Sekas designs and the 4th - bottom left is my own version following their designs. Funny when I started these, I didn't pay any attention to the fact they weren't all the same size. LOL. The white one with the moon that you can barely see is bigger. Bothers me to no end. 

Anyway, these used to hang in my dining room along with several other samplers. And once when my in-laws were visiting and they had old friends stop by, the wonderful gentleman said, "Donna, I have just one question for you. Do you think you finally know your alphabet?" I still think of him fondly. 

And yes. I know my alphabet. 

But a can be for other things. Like Assisi. 

I did this dragonfly a few years ago for my contribution to a thank you gift for our EGA guild president. My own design. 

And a can be for Amadeus. Like Jean Hilton's Amadeus stitch. 

 Jean Hilton was a fantastic designer of counted canvas. She did some fascinating stitch diagrams that are like converting string art to needlepoint. 

So feel free to go search for the info on The Alphabet Club. You'll find that Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and Chiara at The Grey Tail are behind this. 

Sometimes with the Stitching

Started this Charley Harper canvas on Tuesday. About 3 hours into it. That's a lot of background...

Using all Planet Earth silk except for ruby throat.

Name of this is Little Sipper and it's destiny is to be a pillow for my mother.

Always with the Stashing

Well. My name is Bad Girl.

And I have a problem.

I ran into the Patti Mann trunk show at work.

So bad. But I'm still smiling.

The spaceship one! Oh my.

Exhausted

Due to some karmic good timing, my husband is out of town while I'm tackling two big projects.

One is some major charting for someone. I've been learning tons about my graphing programs. And finally have gotten to the point where I rarely consult the manuals. That's where I spent most of today emerging from the office at 4:15 just in time to shower before heading off to a dinner meeting for my EGA chapter.

Then I came home to tackle the physical job. We have a stash sale on Saturday at our meeting and I've been given the stash of a friend who was a major collector. It's been occupying a section of our office for a while so it's good to see it leaving. But this meant I had to haul it all up the stairs. I'm exhausted.

This brings up that issue that we talk about from time to time - what will become of our stuff when we are no longer here? And didn't I just buy a stack of needlework books at the used bookstore? Ha!

I've got enough projects to stitch for several lifetimes. But I can't resist buying more canvases at work.

I've even been contemplating swapping my studio for the larger guest room.

Hello. I'm a stasholic.

Pillow Fight

So I've been kinda sick since going on retreat. Came home with bronchitis and I haven't picked up my needle in over a week.

But I did drag my half dead self into work today and found this pillow back from the finisher.

It's a Jean Smith canvas that I bought purposely to play with silk ribbon.

I love it.