On the Road Again!

Well, I have managed to get in three posts this month! I wasn’t sure I could. 

I just returned from a weekend at the Heartland Region Mini-Seminar in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There were no classes at this one so we had a slightly smaller group than usual, but it is always fun to get together, stitch and laugh!

Four of us drove down from the Twin Cities to attend and on the way we stopped in Waverly, Iowa at Fiberworks. This is a fun little shop with just about every type of stitching you can imagine plus quilt fabric. The women in the shop were very nice and helpful. Their offerings are eclectic and if you happen to be in that area of Iowa it is a very short drive off the main road to downtown Waverly. Check the website before you go for their current hours.

I have been eager to try stitching on 40 count gauze and picked up a kit from The Crossed Wing Collection. They had several bird options so it was hard to choose. The kit includes just about everything you need except for the final finishing materials.  I also picked up a pattern by Blackbird Designs called Christmas Garden along with a few other odds and ends like new tapestry petites, which I like to stitch with better than the full size needles.

After our arrival in Cedar Rapids two of us had a meeting to attend. It was a quick one so we had time to go to the Village Needlework Shop in nearby Marion before dinner. This shop also had a variety of needlework items, everything from yarn, knitting and crochet supplies, needlepoint, cross stitch and all of the fabric and floss you might want or need. They had an interesting way of displaying their fabric. Instead of folding up their yardage on a shelf, they hung it up on hangers, much like you would see in a clothing store. They would then cut to size whatever you needed. Each of the four of us made a purchase and helped the local economy!

I did not go home with an Opportunity Basket this time around, but I did win a silent auction item. It's an old Winterthur kit for a sewing roll. The copyright on the box says 1989 so I imagine you can no longer purchase it directly from them.

You are probably wondering if I did any stitching at this weekend event! I did manage to finish one of my Mary Wigham motifs. But now I am home again and back to working on the model I am stitching.

Mid April Update

I can’t believe it has been over two weeks since my last post! I’ve been busy with a lot of things that have taken me away from my stitching, but I can update you on the little bits of progress I have made.

I did manage to felt my knitted tote bag and handles, although I have yet to sew the two to each other. This will likely be my last felting project as I have a washer with no agitator. It’s a top loader, which I was told could easily be used to felt, but I found this to not be quite true. After an hour of trying to felt the thing I finally decided it was as felted as it would be. Plus, it made a huge mess in my washer! Ugh!

I worked some on the grass area of my Whale Hunting piece. This is done with one strand in a tent stitch using overdyes. The designer suggested stitching in a random pattern and not in straight rows to help give it a nice grass-like look.

I am still liking the lap frame I showed you last time, although I am finding that sometimes the Q-Snap slips and I have to remove it from the frame and get it set up again. But in the grand scheme I like stitching with it more than stitching without it.

About a week ago I received a package from a designer that contained the fabric and silks for stitching a model for one of her new designs. I’m so excited to be able to do this for her! The fabric is a 40 count and the silk colors are wonderful, in spite of their names: Collard Greens and Lasagne!!

I’ll show you a photo of the silks and fabric, but no photos of the piece because it isn’t published yet! Once it has been published and presented at Market I’ll give you the links for where you can purchase it. 

 

 

I haven’t been able to stitch on “her” for the last few days because I’ve been busy with the annual Textile Center garage sale. This is a crazy annual event with everything textile related you can imagine for sale. I did enhance my personal stash with books, patterns and a couple of new projects. The sale is now over and today is a gray, chilly, damp day. Just perfect for a cup of tea with a side of Lasagne and Collard Greens!

Updates and Freebies

This last week I was happily doing Grandma Day Care for my 3 year old and 8 month old grandchildren, so stitching took a back seat!

The next stage of my knitted tote bag was completed and was felted. Now it is drying. I stuffed it with rolled up towels to help it keep its shape. Once dry I will secure the knitted handles and be ready to use it.

While taking care of the grandchildren, I also worked on a small dishcloth. My little pumpkin pie wanted to help so I taught her how to do the basic knit stitch, with a lot of help from Grandma!

Now on to the freebies!

First up is a nice selection from Nordic Needle. They have a section on their website called Save the Stitches which has blogs, stitch aids and useful information. The best part though is the freebie page! I love that the web address includes the word swag! These are mainly hardanger but there are also a few cross stitch and a variety of other needlework techniques. If you like fun pieces be sure to check out the hardanger designs that are a Santa face and a cupcake.

Next on the list is Victoria Sampler. I posted once before on this site but referenced the page that had some great stitching videos. Most of free designs feature a combination of hardanger, cross stitch and specialty stitches. You will find charts for biscournu, ornaments, name tags, needle rolls and other fun things. While on the site you might want to check out the free Cyberclass.

Last, but certainly not least, is a great site if you like samplers or primitives. These are presented by Liberty Needle. Go to this link and you will see a photo that says, “My Album.” Click on this and you will come to the page that has free charts. Most of the charts are accompanied by a color chart and a black and white chart of the design along with a thread guide. That means you have the choice in most cases whether you would like to stitch from black/white or color.

You’ve probably read a lot about copyright and pirating on the various blogs and forums lately. This is just a gentle reminder that these designers ask that you not sell or kit these free designs.

Slipping away...

The days have been slipping by this month! Maybe it’s the record breaking temperatures we’ve had. The calendar says March, but the trees are budding and the lawns are greening so it feels more like May!

I’ve been working on two main projects these last couple of weeks.

First is my Whale Hunting by Finger Work. The grass is done in several shades of green in both Weeks and Gentle Art. It is done with a single strand, over two and in a tent stitch. The designer suggested doing random stitches and not just going back and forth or up and down. My strategy has been to do the outline of the color I’m using and then to stitch in oblong patches, working my way around the area and then back to where I started. So far I’m seeing nice coloring in the grass.

I do need to work around the whale spouting so I decided to start stitching the spouts so I would have less counting and skipping to do with the grass stitches.

The Z frame allows you to move the frame to just the right spot for you.

I’ve been stitching with my K’s Creations Z lap frame I recently purchased. This is actually my second frame. I had to return the first one because it was missing a drilled hole. So far I really like it. The clamp holds on to my Q-Snap frame nicely. When I need to end or start a thread I just flip it over and then flip it back and tighten the knob.

Flipped to start/end a thread

There are some "lap" frames that you sit on. This one rests right in your lap. It’s very comfortable and I like that I have both hands free to stitch. The only negative about the frame is that for the price it could have been finished better. The staining is pretty light and the edges aren’t as smooth as I would expect, but all in all I’m happy with it and would buy another one should anything happen to this one.

I’ve also been working on my tote bag for the knitting class I am taking. I finished the first project, a scarf, which was just basic knit stitch. I have the pieces of my tote bag knitted and now need to learn how to get them all closed and attached so the tote can be felted. I did learn that I was casting on incorrectly and I also think I have finally learned how to purl correctly!

It doesn’t look like much now, but trust me, next week it will be a tote bag!

On to Spring!

Remember that snow I told you about? Well, it has pretty much melted away. We’ve had temps in the 50s and 60s and are expecting 70s by week’s end! But, this is March so snow could still happen.

I had one finish this last week, my Lady's Trimkeep by Plum Street Samplers from the Attic Sampler Symposium. I filled it with crushed walnut shells. They give it some weight, don’t have an odor and are pretty inexpensive. They are easy to find at your local pet supply store. Look in the bird section for litter. Get that look off your face! Seriously, look for the bird litter. The crushed walnut shells come in two sizes. I purchased a 7 pound bag for under $12, including tax. That will fill a LOT of pincushions!! 

I really like the colors of the trim pieces. It was a fast stitch and easy to finish.

I also worked a little on my Mary Wigham and Elizabeth Talledo/Finger Work's Whale Hunting, but not enough to show any real progress. Instead, I decided to show you a few pictures of my “feather” tree decorations. In the spring I hang the cross stitch carrots I made a couple of years ago. They are from the Cricket Collection. I also hang the hand painted eggs I purchased in Germany a number of years ago. They were quite expensive but I decided to splurge as I hadn’t seen anything like them in the US. They are made from real eggs that have been blown out. I bought 6 of them and was given a half dozen egg carton for them. I keep waiting for one of them to break, but so far, so good!

Last year a friend sent me a link for embroidering on blown out egg shells. I thought I might try it this year but now that I am looking at all of the many projects I’m working on I may have to skip it. Here’s the link in case you would like to try it.

A Touch of Winter

Now that it is March we are finally getting a little taste of winter! We had a big storm roll through dumping, depending upon where you live in the state, anywhere from lots of rain and slush to a foot of snow. In our neck of the woods we had about 7.5 inches of the white stuff, but not before we had several hours of rain, sleet and slush.

I suppose then it was quite appropriate for me to finally get a winter cold. I have been battling it for the last week or so. I am usually able to take my Cold-Eze when I feel one coming on and avoid it altogether, but this one got away from me. I am finally starting to feel somewhat human again and realizing just how much I haven’t accomplished in the last week!

I did manage to get just a bit more stitched on my Mary Wigham sampler before the cold struck.

As I started to feel well enough to focus on stitching, but not clear headed enough for that one over one sampler, I worked on one of the outreach projects our EGA chapter is currently doing. I stitched up four Soldier Kissing Pillows. I still need to sew and stuff them. You can read the story here, but be aware that if you want more info they don’t seem to answer their emails on any kind of a regular basis.

I also decided it was about time to prewash all of the fabrics I purchased to make a quilt for the grandbaby to be. Because the baby will come to us through adoption we have no idea how much notice we’ll have of the arrival. I love the fabrics and realize I purchased way more than I need, but this way I will have some options to play around with.