October 2006Monthly Archives

Yay! New stash has arrived!! Here’s the scoop …

I recently won a free chart from Linen Flowers as a doorprize from the online needlework show. I went by their site and picked out the Florentine Bookmarks chart since I’ve been wanting to learn hardanger. I really like the corner page one and will probably end up using that finishing technique for some other bookmarks, too.

I also got my annual Silkweaver treat bags today. I picked up both the 28/32 count bag and an Odds & Ends bag. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the fabrics I got. Three of the five fabrics in the 28/32 count bag were opalescents which wouldn’t have necessarily been my first choice, but they are pretty. Here is a listing of the fabrics from the 28/32 bag and a pic:

Iris Garden – 32 count Jazlyn (13×18″ – VERY pretty, IMO
Peaceful Waters – 32 count Belfast linen (13×18″
Midas Touch – 32 count Opalescent Lugana (13×18″
Limited Edition 28 count Opalescent Jazlyn (9×13″
Karma Sparkle – 28 count Opalescent Cashel linen (13×18″ – also very pretty

The fabrics in the Odds & Ends bag weren’t labeled, so I’m not sure of the color names. There was a total of 8 pieces of fabric in the bag, only 1 of which was an opalescent. They are all also 28/32 count evenweaves and linen. Here is a pic and the closest match I could find for each on the Silkweaver site. Descriptions of each are in order as they appear in the photo working left to right:

Top row:

32 count evenweave (12×13.5″ – similar to Mountain Rose
28 count evenweave (8.5×12″ – similar to Baby Blue
28 count linen (9×13″ – looks like Periwinkle

Middle row:

32 count evenweave (9×13″ – similar to Blue Dynasty/Winter Breeze
28 count linen (8.75″ square) – similar to Violet Mist
28 count opalescent evenweave (9×13″ – similar to Shimmering Romance/Lavendar Diamonds

Bottom row:
32 count evenweave (12×13″ – didn’t really find a match – maybe a solo?
32 count linen (9×13″ – similar to Lemon Lime

Finally, here are a couple of links to other blog entries I’ve read recently that I found extremely interesting and thought-provoking. If you have a few extra minutes, be sure to give them a read. They’re well worth it, in my opinion.

You Don’t Have to Be Pretty
In the Woods

Happy stitching!

I’ve seen this floating around in several blogs and even got tagged a time or two, but I’m just now getting around to answering it. I’m not going to tag anyone specifically because I’m not sure who all has, and who has not, done this already. If you haven’t done it and want to play along, consider yourself tagged.

The rules:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

1. Choux Pastry Heart by Corrine Bailey Rae
2. Daydreamin’ by Lupe Fiasco and Jill Scott
3. I am Not My Hair by India Arie
4. In My Mind by Heather Headley
5. What’s Come Over Me by Amel Larrieux feat. Glen Lewis
6. Let Me In by Floetry
7. Simply Beautiful by Queen Latifah

Hmmm…from looking at my list, I’ve clearly been in a more mellow mood than normal for my musical tastes. Maybe I’ll throw in some Jay-Z or Eminem later for something a bit edgier.

I’m off to stitch on the latest piece I have for my Quaker RR. It needs to go into the mail on Monday and I’ve still got a little more stitching I want to do on it. The fiber being used in this piece is Wenge from Vikki Clayton and I’ve fallen in love with it! I’m definitely going to have to pick some up for a project to keep for me.

Well, that’s it for now from me. Happy stitching!

I finally got a pic taken and downloaded from my Week 2 progress on the Red Desert Scissor Pocket SAL. I have all of my stitching done, so I’ll be starting the finishing this week when the SAL time rolls around. Here’s the pic:

This has been a really fun project. It’s stitched up very quickly and look great! I wish the colors of the fabric and fibers showed up better in the pic, but hopefully it’s enough that you get the idea.

Here’s a cool thing I found on Trish’s blog.

Happy stitching!

I have done any questions from the SBQ in quite some time. Given that I’ve some extra time on my hands right now, I thought I would go back and catch up on a few.

Which Way: (October 1

Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I stitch /// followed by \\\ on the top. I am right-handed, but I’ve never really thought about whether or not that affects how I stitch. That was how the person who taught me to stitch did it, so that’s the way I’ve always done it.

Mistake Breaks: (September 2

When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do you take?

For me, I find it’s best for me to take a break from the piece. I’ll generally put it down for a day before working on it again. If I’m still in the mood to stitch, I’ll pick up a different piece to work on in the mean time.

Stitching Statistics: (September 21)

How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques besides cross stitch?

Wow, what a great question! I’m not sure how many pieces I’ve completed during my 30 years or so of stitching. I was far more prolific with my stitching in high school and college. If I had to guess, I would probably estimate that I’ve finished somewhere between 300-400 pieces.

i’ve never really been one to keep pieces for myself. The bulk of my stitching has always been gift pieces. I don’t have more than a couple that I’ve kept for myself. I do have a few WIPs right now that will be for me though. After much encouraging from a couple of friends, I’ve decided it’s time to do some stitching for me.

Until the past 5 years or so, all of the pieces I’ve done have been just basic cross stitch. I love the look that specialty stitches add to a piece, but I prefer pieces that don’t use tons of them. Ultimately,I’m still mostly a fan of just basic cross stitching. I have learned though that I DO NOT like Queen Stitch.

Ok, that’s it for the catch up for now. I’m going to try and start answering these in my blog more often. I always enjoy reading everyone else’s responses, so figured it’s time I actually start answering them, too.

I haven’t downloaded my latest progress pic for my Red Desert Scissor Pocket SAL. I’ll try and do that today and post a pic tomorrow. This has been such a fun project and stitched up pretty quickly. Now I just have to figure out the finishing.

Happy stitching!