Tuesday, May 26, 2015

It's a Miracle

That's an inside joke around the Chateau.  Saying "It's a miracle" impels DH to quote a line from the movie "Zulu".

 I finished stitching Christmas is coming!  Yeah!  I'm proud of myself for getting this done.
But the more remarkable thing (miracle!) is that I found the finished supplies.  I didn't even remember if I got the complete kit or not.  So I looked it up.  Yes, I did.  So then I had to figure out where on earth the finishing stuff might be.
And lo and behold, it was right there on the floor.  Now I am making it into a bag with red lining and a handle.
I got around corner #2 on Friesland's edging.  It would be nice to get this done before I leave but that's being optimistic.  
I got the messed up page fixed on A Case of Indian Ink.  Looks the same, doesn't it?
Not much more to go now.  But then I realized that I still need to stitch the spine of the case.  So one more part after this.  Then it will be ready to put together.
I have to get something to stitch on the plane and in Arizona.  I'll have to see what I can find.  I printed out my boarding passes, my hair is done.  I'm almost ready!  So I'll be back next week with tales of my adventures.
A

Monday, May 25, 2015

Memorial Day 2015

Today feels like a Saturday.  When you are retired everyday is Saturday according to DH.  A boy across the street had his Boy Scout uniform on all ready to march in the Memorial Day parade.  I remember those days.  Alas, kids grow up and move on to other things and places.

The bathrooms are clean, there is no holiday when it comes to cleaning.
What did I do yesterday?
The lawn on Christmas is Coming is done!  Yeah, on to other things.

I got almost to the end of one side's edging on Friesland.  So I'm more than 25% done.
 See how nice and neat the edging looks on the back.
 The front looks good too.

Then I realized I had an error of the counting kind on A Case of Indian Ink.  Rats.  I had to take out half of the side I just finished.  ARGH.  Oh well, it is better than having to stitch the whole thing over again.

Sandra asked me where I display my finishes.  The answer is in the dining room.  There are three cabinets.  One has china in it.

 Two have stitching things in them.


Maybe I will have a shelf by shelf tour of the curios when I get back from A Stitcher's Gathering.  I get my hair done tomorrow and then leave on Wednesday morning.  I've got my fingers crossed that BFF can join me there for more adventures.
A

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Acting Rashly

I acted rashly the other day.  I had been thinking about gluing the handmade paper to the bottom of the tray of my flat casket.  It is all cut and ready to go.  I have some wheat paste left to mix up but I wanted to try a more modern glue - like Aleene's Tacky glue.

 I got this glue in the finishing supplies for Elizabeth's trunk.  I decided on the spur of the moment to just do it.  So I used a sponge brush to put it on the bottom of the tray.  It was hard to do because it is really thick.  Too thick for this project.  But I continued to act rashly.  I brushed it on the tray and put the paper on it.  Hey, maybe this would work.  Uh-oh, the paper rippled.

Maybe the ripples will go away as it dries.  (I'm an optimist)  I put a big book on it.

 Then I checked it in the morning.  The ripples are less noticeable but they are still there.  I didn't do three of the sides of the tray yet.  Now I know what can happen, I won't use Aleene's again, I'll mix up the wheat paste and try that.

I got a whole corner of Friesland's edging done.

I love this edging.  It is a pain to set up and to work but it looks gorgeous when it is done.  I want to get one whole side done today.

I made progress on the lawn of the Christmas is Coming bag from Barbara Jackson.

 I want to make progress on that too.  I know that if I can finish the lawn, the rest is easy.

I got almost all of one side done for A Case of Indian Ink.  The last side is easy.
Happy Sunday!
A

Saturday, May 23, 2015

And Now For Something Different

Yesterday I worked on stuff that I had put down a while back.  I have been keeping up with Stitching Foolishness's blog as she is working on The Shepherdess.  Then Shining Needle Society offered it as an online class.  Of course I want to take it.  But I didn't sign up.  Why not?  Guilt.  I still haven't finished the last Barbara Jackson class.  Correction:  I still haven't finished the last two Barbara Jackson classes.  The little bag from last November is not finished.

 Why not?  Because it is on 40 count with specialty stitches and over-one parts.  ARGH.  I haven't even started the basket class from January and I was desperate to make that one.  So I didn't let myself sign up for the new class.  I picked up the little bag to see where I left off.  Oh, yes, the specialty stitch lawn.  Ann was not happy with the colors on the lawn and took some stitching out.  I also was not happy with the colors of green in the lawn  So I made a decision to increase the likelihood that this project would get done.  I made it easier.  I am just using one color green for the the lawn.  Then I changed the stitch for the geese to just cross stitch.

I got enough done yesterday that I am encouraged that this could get finished.  Especially if I find the bag with the rest of the kit in it.

I also found the various pieces to A Case of Indian Ink.  Only one more page (two sides) to go. I can do that.  So I put a few stitches in it.

Then I set up Friesland for the edging.  I only got about an inch or so done.  My goal today is to get down to the corner.  It could happen.


No Farmer's Market today.  My car is in the shop and I'm going to be gone!  Soon!
A

Friday, May 22, 2015

Friday Again

I know I say this almost every Friday, how can it be Friday again??  But it is.  It is sunny today and walking was very pleasant.
I am thrilled that Drawn Thread's Pastoral pocket is all finished!



I got all the eyelets done on Friesland. I also read the directions for putting on the woven edging.  I'll have to reread it again before I start to make sure I've got all the steps down.  First thing I have to do is get it all set up.

I got the first piece of banding stitched on Jackie's My Little Bird.  There are three more pieces for the top of the birdcage and one for the bottom edge.  It's a good thing to work on while watching TV as it is a bit monotonous.

Does this mean I can start something new??  Maybe.  Or maybe I should pick up another WIP.  I ought to work on the Quaker Bag.
We decided to fix my car enough to be workable but not pretty.
 I hope it gets so hot today that I'll have to change into shorts and sandals.
A

Thursday, May 21, 2015

One and a Half to Go

That's how many eyelets I have left to do:  one and a half.  Yeah!  I can finish those today.

The next step (I think) is the edging.  I have totally forgotten how to do that so I'll have to study the directions.  It involves Amy's special tool and a chair.

I finished stitching Drawn Thread's Pastoral pocket.  Happy dance!  I sewed on the button and trimmed up the pocket.





I don't really like the lettering font of "her work"  but whatever.  It is in desparate need of ironing.
It will look a hundred percent better all nice and smooth.  I have to dig through my stash to find some lining fabric.  I want something that uses that dark blue/green color of the needle felt.  I don't know if I have anything.  It doesn't have to be dupioni silk.  Just a cotton will do.

I started packing for my trip next week.  I'm trying out a new suitcase that is hard sided.  I hope it works well.  I'm getting excited.
A

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Stuff

Life got in the way of blogging yesterday.  I am the proud new owner of a crown for my tooth.  Now I can chew on both sides again.  The dentist said I was lucky that this crown fell out.  He said if it had fallen out next year, he probably wouldn't have been able to save the tooth.  The old crown was 19 years old.  Whoa, times flies when you're having fun.
Then the insurance adjuster came to tell me that my car is totaled.  That means it will cost more to fix it than the car is worth. A minor fender-bender has become a big headache.  (Not my fault!)  We have to decide what to do next.  Still thinking . . .
So anyway I have been working on my eyelets for Friesland.  I'm on the 15th one now.  If I worked at it I could finish them today.

Then I went back to working on Drawn Thread's Pastoral pocket.  It is almost finished!  If I worked diligently I could finish this today too.  We'll see.


Maria asked me if I sewed my Shepherd's Fold needleroll with right sides together and then turned it right side out.  Yes I did.  Was it wrinkly?  Yes, very.  But I stuffed it with polyfil which smoothed it out a lot and then I ironed it.  I was happy with it then.  You might not have any wrinkling problems if you use the overdyed linen that is in the kit as it is softer and less prone to wrinkles.  BTY, I used my sewing machine to sew the needleroll together.
One week and I go to Arizona!
A

Monday, May 18, 2015

17 To Go

I got some more eyelets done.  Now I've got a total of 7 in of 24.

 I'd love to get five more done today - and then I will be half done.  So I peeked to see what the next lesson is and it was putting together the pin ball.  It was a lot of work to stitch all those pentagons.  But the putting together turned out to be easy.  Ta-Dah!


Then I also put together my Shepherd's Fold needleroll.  I can't believe I have it all done!  Yeah!



Now I need to run to Macy's.
A


Sunday, May 17, 2015

Eyelets

The next step on Friesland is the eyelets.  There are 24 of them.  I thought I would try one.  So I did.  But coverage looked a little thin.

I better reread the directions.  Oh no, I didn't use the right thread.  So I took it out and started over.

The right thread covers better.  So I tried another one.  Uh-oh.

 Can you see the problem?  One is closer to the border than the other.  My first one is one thread away from the border but the next two are touching the border.

I am not inclined to take out the first eyelet again.  So right now, it stays.  Twenty-one more to do.  If I do three a day, I can have them done in a week.

On a happier note, I finished the stitching on the Shepherd's Fold needleroll.

Well, almost.  There is a herringbone row between  two sections of withdrawn threads.  That's what I'm working on now.  Wouldn't it be great to get this all done-done?  I changed a few things like the writing and the color of the satin stitch row at the bottom.  It 's supposed to be green but I wanted to use the Sheep Fold color.  This was a fun stitch.
Happy Sunday!
A






Saturday, May 16, 2015

Something New

Yeah!  I got the Shepherd's Fold needleroll kit in the mail yesterday.

You know I had to start it.  I'm using my own linen that is kind of a lilac color.  I'm about half done.

 I was unsure of how the rick rack was going to look and if I was putting it in the right place or not.  But now it is in and it is what it is.  I meant to serge the edges of my linen but I haven't gotten it done yet.

I tried out the colors I was thinking of for the birdcage.  Not a great photo, sorry.

I like them.  I also decided to do half cross instead of cross stitch as I'm using some premium hand-dyed floss which is thick.  I'm afraid this will get tedious pretty fast.  We'll see if I can stick with it.

I got some wool felt for the needle page of Friesland.

 I need to finish putting it on today.  The tape measure tape helps me space my stitches evenly.
I had fun at the Farmer's Market today.  One lady had some candied orange peel.

 I couldn't resist getting some and eating three pieces on the way home.  De-lish!
A