Jenny Bean Finished!

Just a quick post that I have finished my first larger sized sampler.  It may be small to some by 160 X 160 is pretty large by my meager skills.  I started this on Jan 17, 2011 and just put the last stitches in December 2011.  I did my own conversion from the called for overdyed cotton to Vikki Clayton's Hand Dyed Silks.  I am pretty proud of how it turned out.  I should have finished it back in September but ran out of the overdyed silk I used for the border.  I don't know what I was thinking but instead of finishing the border I decided to stitch the house.  So all that roof stitching sucked in the last of my dye lot like a black hole.  I ordered some more on 2 different occasions but was never happy with the match.  Fortunately, Maureen from the HDF boards loaned me the 18" piece I needed to finish up the borader and the cartouche.  So here is Jenny Bean - finished but not framed.  I will save that for another day when I decide where her permanent home is or when a good framing sale comes along!



Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler
Designed by Shakespeare's Peddler
Stitched on 40 ct Pearled Barley by Lakeside Linens
Stitched with hand dyed silks by Vikki Clayton



Finishing a larger project like this give me confidence that I can tackle some of the projects on my wish list. My dearest hubby gifted me with Dorothy Walpole for Christmas (http://www.scarlet-letter.com/samplers/walpole.php)  and I think I may even kit up the large Ann Dale from Shakespeare's Peddler as my next projects.  If you haven't seen this one, it is a real beauty, but may take me a lifetime to finish! http://shakespearespeddler.blogspot.com/2011/11/thread-usage-for-ann-and-whats-next.html

See y'all soon!

Kerri

2011 Ornament Finish

Work has piled up lately and before I let too much of the year slip away from me I wanted to show two finishes I was quite proud of.  My new monitor arrived last week, so I was finally able to download my photos.  Everything is right with the world once again.

I had purchased custom Name Tree ornaments from La D Da around 2009 I think.  It was the year following the appearance of the first one in the JCS Ornament Issue.  I stitched that tree and loved it.  That one still lingers in the "Box of Shame".  But I was determined to get these ones stitched up for my lovely kiddos this year and I did finish the stitching by August of this year.  They were then forced to serve a short sentence in the "Box of Shame" until I could find some appropriate beads and backing fabric.

Since I have not completed the stitched stockings I had intended to, I decided that I would make these two little treasures into flat fold stand ups for my mantel.  I must thank the very talented Twisted Stitcher.  Without her wonderful instructions from Learn to finish with The Twisted Stitcher, I would never have attempted this.  I followed step by step and think they turned out "practically perfect in every way" as Mary Poppins would say.  So a huge thank you to Vonna for her help.  She has a wonderful blog too and you should stop by and say hello.

Here are my finishes.  Both stitched over one on 32 ct Coconut Macroon Legacy Linen.  Backing fabric is shown behind.

I struggled finding backing fabric with a Christmas theme for the first one to match the dark blue overdyed thread.  I finally stumbled on this Batik at my local quilt store that I think is a great match. 

What do you think?

I also wanted to share a snap of my girl, Zoe.   It is incredibly hard to get a good photo of a black dog and this one came out pretty well.  I don't know what this expression is for but it cracks me up.  Maybe she is thinking "Duh - of course I want what you are eating!"

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

See y'all soon!

Kerri



New Year - New Stitching Goals

I have had the best intentions of making some posts while off over the holidays but it seems the planets were aligned against me.  First the battery in the camera was dead and I couldn't find the charger.  So DH went to the store and bought me a new one but I had taken the battery out of the camera and now couldn't find it! ARGH! By that time it was almost Christmas and  with the awful cold I have been battling all of December I was way behind in getting all my Elf chores done - you know baking, wrapping, decorating, shopping.  Then my dear brother and his wife came for a visit.  It was wonderful having family visit but not really helpful in getting time to work on the computer.  So last night I finally got all the camera pieces in order, took pictures to share and what happens - the computer monitor won't turn on.  What now?  I have no idea what is going on but DH promised to try and fix it while I am at work today.  I am writing this during lunch so SHHH - don't squeal on me.

I have done some serious thinking about my stitching affliction.  How can I have stitched for so long and have so little accomplished?  Maybe I am just feeling like the under achiever after surfing through so many blogs with all these wonderful finishes.  But with a new year stretching before me it is time to teach this old dog some new tricks and be optomistic (or is that unrealistic?)  They will also go up in my sidebar (when I figure out how to do that!) so I will have them mocking me all year.  So here it goes:

1. Start a new project on New Year's Day and finish it before the end of the year.
2. Take a class to learn a new technique
3. Work on larger projects that I can display in my home and enjoy seeing everyday  That means that they also must be framed/finished and not
4. No stitching on new ornaments until half of those from the "Box of Shame" get ornamentified (that's from Daffycat - see her Dec 11 post  and I love it)
5. Blog more (plus figure out how this darn blogger program works!)
6. Improve my stitching photos

I am not very good at making or keeping resolutions but I heard a quote that "A goal is a dream with a deadline". (Napolean Hill) I like that!

If DH can fix my pc issues I will work on the year end update I wanted to post.  If not - because of goal number 5 I will post again soon.

See y'all soon!

Kerri

Crafty Superpowers?

I love being able to craft most things.  Being able to see something and say - Yeah, I can make that!  That is so cool!  It is like having a secret superpower!  I work in an office and am surprised that so few people know how to make anything with their own hands.  What do the uncrafty do with their free time?

But sometimes there is a downside to being crafty and creative.  Like when the rest of the Girl Scouts see your  expertly sewn patches and now you are the seamstress for the entire troop. I am sure you all have found yourself in that same predicament.  Please say you have? Here is the a photo of my 6th grade history project.  The assignment was to make a hat that represented a government.   I whipped up a Russian military hat from looking at a few pictures online.  Thank you crafty superpowers.  BTW - I got an A on my assignment

 So I somehow volunteered myself to make new hairbows for my daughters lacrosse team.  I thought to my crafty self "How hard can it be to tie a few ribbons to a hair elastic?"  I had two weeks before the tournament and there were only 20 girls, seemed easy enough to get done in a few hours.  Oh how wrong I was.  My first clue should have been the number of videos that came up on YouTube when I looked for Hairbows.   After two hours of watching other crafting wonders work their magic I had found a style that I thought the very sporty girls would tolerate, especially since the team colors are hot pink and navy.

Let me just say this took a lot longer than I expected and severely cut into my stitching time over the last few weeks.  Each bow had 5 different types of ribbons and a total of 19 pieces that needed to be measured, cut , trimmed and then each cut end needed to be heat sealed.  I had no idea you needed to do this to prevent the ends from fraying. 

I finally had my little ribbon assembly line going (after 2 more trips to Hobby Lobby and a few bent needles).  Here is a photo of my pile of bows and my daughter modeling them.  I am pretty proud of how they turned out once I used the full force of my crafty superpowers!

I just hope they last the whole season because they really taxed my crafty superpowers.  I am so glad she is not a cheerleader!

YaY me!  See y'all soon!

Kerri

Finished For Real

Wow I can't believe my last post was from August.  Time has just been flying by and another year is almost gone again.  I have finished a few things recently and thought I would share some of them.  I don't seem to be able to capture great images yet, but I am working on it.  Let's add that to the never ending list of things I need to get to.

Here is one that I finished earlier in the year .  This is my first attempt at framing something myself and I think it came out ok

Sue Hillis Designs

"Beatings Will Continue"

Using recommended thread. Fabric unknown

Framed with Hobby Lobby ready made frame

Here is my next attempt at framing.  It is really hard to get it centered and even.  I didn't really enjoy the process and think I will rely on a professional from now on.  The results are fine, especially for these two small projects, but I can't imaging tackling a larger sampler.

Hinzeit
Folk Art Flowers - left
Folk Art Tree of Life - right
Stitched and framed with same materials as model

This is from the recent Just Cross Stitch Halloween book(not the magazine issue).  It is from a new designer The Primitive Hare and is what prompted me to purchase the book.  I enjoyed this stitch immensely.  I changed to fabric to 32 count Cammo Fudge and used Single Strand Premium Floss in Basic Black from Vikki Clayton's Hand Dyed Fibers.  This was a dream to stitch with and provided such excellent coverage on the 32 count fabric.

Wicked Night by Primitive Hare
Published in JCS Halloween book
32 ct Cammo Fudge
HDF ssp Basic Black

I had this scrap left over from a larger design I have in my To Do pile - Quaker Halloween by Primitive Needle.  I will definitely use the HDF for this one as well.

I also took a class at my LNS Creative Stitchery in Richmond, TX.  It was this cool wool pumpkin with surface embroidery.  I chose to do something a little different and used black and white instead of the expected orange.  The seams are done in a fly stich and embellished with onyx beads.  There is even a little spider charm that I had in my stash tucked away on the stem.  I think it turned out great and will keep it out all year in my sewing room.

Well, that is probably enough from me right now.  I have two pieces to pick up from Michaels and will show them off.  I am also almost done with Jenny Bean Halloween.  I made a major error in judgement and ran out of thread.  A fellow stitcher, Maureen, heard my cry for help on the HDF forum and  is coming to my rescue with a skein from the same dye lot, so I hope to finish up the border in the next few days.   I am amazed at the generosity and kindness of stitchers. They are just amazing people.

Well, that's about it from my corner of the world.  My husband bought his own PC and now, maybe I will be able to post more often.  But don't hold your breath on that one.

Go grab a cup of joe and I will see you back here in a few!
Kerri

Coffee Talk

Hello - my name is Kerri and I have been a coffee addict for 30 years.  It is the last vice I have left and I don't see any reason to change my ways.  I have switched to iced coffee lately because of the  never ending triple digits here lately but that is just my afternoon fix.

My dear husband is off on a trip to India but was thoughtful enough to send me the pic below that I wanted to share with you.  Especially nice since he took my camera with him and I can't update my stitching progress until this weekend. 

There is a Starbucks in the Dubai airport!  I doubt I will get a mug or a trinket from this exotic place, but at least now I know if I ever have the burning desire to go to United Arab Emirates at least I can get a cup of joe.

Thanks for stopping by!  I am off to finish my morning Venti before it gets cold.

Kerri

A juicy read!

I  just finished reading "Girl with a dragon tattoo" by Steig Larsson.  It took me forever to get through and I guess that type of mystery just isn't my thing.  It was a good book and I totally didn't expect the twist at the end, but it didn't inspire me.  I wasn't anxious to get to the end and I have the next book in the series but don't know if I want to start it.

Now I am definitely not a book snob.  Give me a trashy romance novel any day!  The trouble is by the time you get involved with the characters and the plot, the book is over.  I like my books big and juicy.  If you like them that way, then I would recommend the one I just finished.  "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness. 

It had some threads in common with both the Twilight series, although on a more adult level and one of my all time favorite series "Outlander" by Diana Galbadon.  I curled up in my favorite stitching chair and spent a whole evening enjoying this book.  I couldn't put it down and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The writing was intelligent without being stuffy and the character development was excellent.  The best part is that the next book in the series will be coming out sometime in 2012. 

If you are interested, you can read an excerpt here:

http://deborahharkness.com/excerpt/

If you are interested in the Outlander series, you can find the details here:

http://www.dianagabaldon.com/

Reading enriches my mind and my life.  If you have read something that you thoroughly enjoyed, let me know.  I am always on the lookout for a good book.

Make yourself a cup of coffee and stay up late with a good read!

Until next time!

Kerri