Third Rock From the Sun

I got my third rock done.  Yeah!  It was easier than the first two.  Now I am all caught up until the next lesson.

Now what to stitch?  I've been looking around my sewing room and I have another Nostalgic Needle chart I want to do.  It is the Strawberry Thief Ornamental based on a William Morris design.  First of all you have to do all the outlining then you fill in.  Another candidate to start is Nostalgic Needle's strawberry ornament. I have a thing for strawberries.  It is the same size as the blackwork ornament that I just finished and will be very quick to stitch.  I have to find some threads to stitch it with.

I can't wait until my Needleworker's Pocketbook kit arrives.  It will be so fun to work on.
I asked DH for advice yesterday.  He told me to go for it.  What a great guy!  So I did.  I signed up for classes at The Attic in November.  My BFF will be there and we'll have a blast.
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Rocking

I am so proud of myself!  I did Grotto Rock #2!  It is done in detached buttonhole and it doesn't look half bad.  Thank you Amy Mitten for having great instructions.

Next up is Grotto Rock #3.  It is also done in detached buttonhole but in a different way, horizontally.
I also finished the Blackwork ornament from Nostalgic Needle.  Cool.  The colors turned out fine.

I was very thrilled to find that my next class, Needleworker's Pocketbook has its first lesson online.  And my kit has been mailed.  Since it comes from Canada, it will take a while to get here.  I am thrilled to be taking this class.  What fun!  I printed out the first lesson last night and it was 37 pages.  Wow.  It has a great big chart (8 pages when taped together) which is good as that makes it easy to read.  I can't wait to get started.
I'm a lucky girl.
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Bee Finished

Here is my Just Nan Bee:

All done.

I decided to be brave and tackle the first grotto rock.  It is done in trellis stitch.  It worked out pretty well.

I am surprised that I could do it.  It isn't perfect.  It is what it is.  I still have to put the "moss" on the rock.  I was assuming that the other rocks are done the same way.  Nope.  The next rock is done in detached buttonhole stitch.

I need something easy to work on during Nashville last night so I picked our a Nostalgic Needle chart and started on it.  I am just using some handy hand-dyed fibers.  It is all back stitching.

It's a cool rainy day here.
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Bee Happy

I finished off Lady Catherine's Slipper.  I am happy with it.  If you haven't done it, do not transfer the outside edge line.  Mine shows a bit on one side.  I knew I shouldn't have transferred it.  It was good to get some experience working with the #9 gold thread.

I picked up a Just Nan kit that was on my sewing room floor.  I get the automatic from Silver Needle for Just Nan's smalls this year.  I made the bunny and gave it to Claire.  This is the bee.  It is nice to do something quick and easy after the impressionist's painting project.  I am putting on the beads.  I have to backstitch around the edge and I can put this baby together.

Just as I was looking up the finishing instructions for the slipper, I got notification that the next three lessons for Mermaid's Treasures was up.  So when I feel brave I can do the grotto rocks for the mirror.  It doesn't look too hard but it involves the trellis stitch.  So we'll see how it goes.

I only got in about 800 steps yesterday waiting for my calf to heal.  Today I went to exercise class and walked a mile.  I am over 8200 so far.  Big improvement!  I'm so glad I can get back to walking.
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Done

I finished the Impressionist's Painting Project.  I even ironed it.  It was an interesting project to do and I like how it turned out.  I didn't like stitching with three plies of floss.

 Ta-Dah!

I also finished the stitching part of Lady Catherine's Slipper.  I tried fixing the curlique that didn't match the corresponding curlique.  I discovered that the permanent marker line was under the stitching.  After pressing it, the transfer line doesn't show up so much.  I also took a string of linen and tried to weave it in so as to cover the transfer line.  Right now, I can't even see it.  So maybe it worked.

I am in the process of finishing the slipper.  I have to put in some tufting (where the white dots are), ladder stitch the soles together and make some black cording.  I like how it turned out.  The gold and black together are cool and I really like the silk lining fabric.  Nifty.

I decided not to go to exercise class as my calf is still very sore and I limp a bit.  I am not happy that I can't get in my steps.  That will slow down the weight loss a lot.  Rats.  But I look forward to being better next week and getting back to walking.  How could I have hurt myself just walking?  It's crazy.
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Close But No Cigar

I am soooo close to finishing the impressionist's painting project.  I just have a few stray stitches to complete and she is done!  Yeah!  I decided to show you the back so you will know I am not the best stitcher.  It is very messy especially when using three strands of floss for each stitch.  It is not pressed yet either.  I probably could clip the threads closer but I'm afraid of clipping them too close.

I worked a bit on Lady Catherine's Slipper.  I put in the gold I had overlooked.  Then I started the stem stitch around the gold.  It is starting to take shape.  I don't like the split stitch for the little tendrils as they don't look very smooth and curved.  But they are so small, maybe no one will notice.  I am going to try and fix that one curl that curls too much, it drives me crazy.

The bathrooms are clean.  I don't go to see Dylan any more this school year so the rest of the day is mine.  My goals are to finish the impressionist's painting and get close to finishing Lady Catherine's slipper.  Maybe work on a UFO/WIP.

I'm hoping Claire gets her busy book today.
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Taking Shape

I worked hard on the impressionist's painting project and it is beginning to look almost finished.  I just have to fill in stitches here and there.

I think it is cool that you can see a reflection of the sail in the water.  I want to finish the sky and the water today.

I thought I put in all the gold on Lady Catherine's Slipper but I notice I still have two small pieces to do.  Then I can concentrate on the black.  You can see that the design is not symmetrical.  I want it to be but it is too late now!

It is a beautiful day.  I went walking but pulled a muscle in my calf.  Rats.  I am icing it and hope it feels better soon so I can walk.
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