Stitch Class November 2013

Stitched exclusively on Margaret's Monochrome Madness, and am now down to just the outermost border and the beads in the outer border.

Last Monthly Stitch Class of 2012

And, as has been my habit these last several stitch classes, I worked on Margaret's Monochrome Madness.
Here's the status at the beginning of class today:

 And when class was done:

The box in the lower left is now about half done...after stitching and frogging and stitching and frogging and stitching and frogging and getting new "string" because the old "string" was starting to look pretty shabby and stitching and frogging and stitching.... 

The light-colored border is now done up the right side and across the bottom, and is about a third of the way up the right side, and after trying one kind of "string" on the outermost border, I consulted with the teacher and tried another "string"--the same "string" used for the innermost border.

I had hoped to get that block done, but accomplishing what I did manage to get done took about 3/4 of the class time!

Stitch Class September

Stitch class this month was today, which is also BFF-N's birthday, so first the card for her.

The front. This was an experimental piece. I have a background stamp of cupcakes by the same artist as the main image here (also the same artist responsible for the cupcake-tower stamp I sometimes use), which I stamped with watermark ink, heat-embossed with clear powder, then ran through the dry-embossing "happy birthday" folder. I matted that with a sage green. The center horizontal panel got the folder treatment, but not the watermark/heat-embossing treatment, and was also matted with the same sage green. The cupcake was stamped with two colors of VersaMagic chalk ink on white card stock, cut square-on-point, and then matted with the sage green. The heat-embossing didn't work as nicely as I had hoped; maybe a touch of color in the embossing powder would have helped.

And the innard, where the sentiment square-on-point was also run through the embossing folder, then matted with the same sage green as the card front.

BSF-T (that's Best Stitching Friend) had a finish today:

This is her Mary Wigham, done on a much finer count that my own MIA Mary Wigham, and a most beautiful piece. Congratulations, GF!!!

I worked on Margaret's Monochrome Madness again. Here's MMM at the end of last month's session:

I started by frogging a bit of that green block I finished last month and then re-stitched the off-by-one-thread mistake I'd make on the last row. It's the green block at the top right corner of the (incomplete) center medallion. I also added a bit more (almost finished) to the block to the right of the green block.

 

And started stitching the border:

There's another section of border that will be stitched around the outside of this one.

10:30PM Update: Hannah Beeby is done. And getting a back.

Stitch Class 1208

Once again I worked exclusively on the piece affectionately known as "Margaret's Monochrome Madness."

Progress at the beginning of class today:

And at the end of class:

Now complete is the greenish colored block to the right of the center block. Unfortunately, I made a placement error in the top row, and it's obvious I'm going to have to do some frogging and re-stitching next month. I also added to the center block.

Yes, it looks like I'm getting close to a finish, but there's still a couple of rows of motifs for the border yet to be stitched.

TUSAL 1207 and a Progress Pic

Combined! Yes, I'm late again with the TUSAL, but that's life. This one contains mostly Margaret's Monochrome Madness and some nearly invisible--because of lighting and position--strands from the pictured current project, Hannah Beeby.

I see also that we're about 2/3 of the way through the month and I never posted anything from the monthly stitch class. Well, here's MMM, before class:

...and after class:

For some reason, the upper photo is turned 90° to the right from the correct orientation. I finished the block at the lower right corner of the center motif, started and got about halfway on the one on the far right side in the vertical midpoint, and got the center motif started. It looks a lot closer to "done" than it actually is, as there's a honkin'-big-arse border to go around it, too. With beads.

TUSAL 120619

Three days late, but here it is, mostly Margaret's Monochrome Madness:

Today I'm away to Temecula for a stitching retreat. Eat your hearts out, suckers!

June 2012 Stitch Class

I worked on Margaret's Monochrome Madness again this month. Status at the beginning of the day:

And at the end of the day:

 

Two blocks started and completed, and a third started.

TUSAL 120421

A little more this month, since I tossed poor neglected Beatrix Potter aside for even more neglect and put Hannah Beeby in the floor stand. The golden browns are from Margaret's Monochrome Madness, while the greens are from Hannah.

April 2012 Monthly Stitch Class

Today was the monthly open stitch class at my LNS, Needlepoints Ltd. As usual, I had no idea which piece (or pieces--I've been known to stitch on more than one piece in the course of a class) I'd pull out until I actually pulled one out to stitch on. I'd had tentative plans to work on the piece lovingly known among its stitchers as Margaret's Monochrome Madness, and that's the one I chose to work on again this month.

Progress as of the start of class:

Detail shot of the area I chose to work on this month, start of class:

Detail shot of the area after class:

As you can see, I finished the left block and started and finished the Utah-shaped block.

I also stopped by the LSS, Stamp Fever, before stitch class because the first Saturday is Card of the Month day. I learned another new technique, this time in the card base itself rather than stamping/coloring techniques.

The front (above) and the inside (below).

TUSAL March

Another pathetic month. This one contains both Margaret's Monochrome Madness, from the stitch class earlier this month, as well as a few token bits from Beatrix Potter Quaker.

Third Stitch Class of 2012

Today I opted to give some attention to Margaret's Monochrome Madness, a counted needlework piece that's been neglected for quite some time now.
Progress as of start of class this morning:
The block I worked on today is the second up from the bottom left corner (above the partially stitched diagonal motif).
The large eyelets are done; and we tested several different shades and colors of fibers to use to fill in between/among the large eyelets, but didn't have time to test what we hope is the last choice. Maybe next month.

I also went over to the LSS, Stamp Fever, to pick up some special orders and for the Card of the Month, but I haven't taken a picture of that card.

Stitching Progress

At least on Margaret's Monochrome Madness, from the last 3 or 4 class sessions:

Stitchy Update

I've been so bummed about the camera's memory card crashing that I haven't discussed last Saturday's all-day open stitch class at my LNS. Terri had been sick during the week preceding and wasn't up to the drive, so we missed her. Melissa had been sick, too, but hers is a much shorter commute, so she was able to make it. Thank goodness for that, because even with L and D and K there, it would have been most lonesome without my BSF. So anyway, I took the three in-progress Quakers and Margaret's Monochrome Madness in, but only the three Quakers got any lovin' this time around.

I made a little progress on both Hannah Beeby and Beatrix Potter, and a bit more on Mary Wigham. I'd like to call Hannah a monochrome, but she really doesn't have enough colors in her to call her a polychrome, either, since I'm only using two colors for certain, and only possibly a third (there are three used in the original). Anyway, I stitched a bit more in the predominant color, although I'm a long way from having page one done.

Beatrix is being done as a true monochrome--two shades of a terra cotta. And still on the first page.

Mary is a true polychrome, and I pulled a bunch of overdyed floss out of my stash for her. I finished the off-white half medallion that I'd started at the last class, and chose the blue to use for another half medallion, and got that one all done. And oh! am I happy with the way the blue I chose turned out!! And then I got started on a full medallion in a color called "Conch," which is a pale terra cotta/antique peach sort of thing.

The ongoing project at home is nearing an end, and boy, am I happy about that! I've reached the point where I just want that one to be done! Not counting backstitching and a handful or so of beads (in lieu of French knots), I have fewer than a hundred stitches left on that one. Wheeee!

This weekend is going to be busy as I get ready for NCIS FanFest, or I might try to take new pictures to replace the ones I can't get off the SD card. And no pics of the at-home project 'cause that one's a gift. So maybe I'll get before-and-afters at the October class.

Godspeed, Discovery!

And best wishes to you on your 25th mission. Today's NASA Image of the Day really rocks. If you don't already have that widget on your iGoogle, head on over to the NASA website for a look-see.

And in more mundane matters: today was the first of the new "Fifth Saturday" all-day open stitch class at the LNS and I made a little progress on three Quaker samplers (Hannah Beeby, Beatrix Potter, and Mary Wigham) and on Margaret's Monochrome Madness. I have pictures of the Quakers, but for some reason the MMM picture is corrupted. Oh, well, maybe next time.

Here's Mary, with the upper left half medallion finally complete and the next half medallion, down the left side of the piece, started:
Here's Hannah Beeby, with the tan stitching done today (after going to a slightly darker shade of Anchor floss).
And here's Beatrix Potter, with a bit more progress in a half medallion on the left side:

Rocking Day!

Stitch class today totally rocked! A truly wonderful surprise: Melissa's and my dear friend Terri joined our all-day open stitch class today!!!!! My face still hurts from all the laughter, but what a good hurt it is!

No progress on Margeret's Monochrome Madness this time, nor any on the Ellen Chester class piece from June, but I did get a bit of stitching done on my three in-progress Quakers: Beatrix Potter, Hannah Beeby (I love love love the colors Terri is using for this one!!), and Mary Wigham (which Melissa just re-kitted for a re-start, and I love the overdyed flosses she chose, very muted, very faded-samplery).
Here's the current progress on Hannah Beeby:
There are three colors used in the chart for this one, but so far I've only chosen two, of which only one has yet seen any use.
And the current progress on Beatrix Potter:
Beatrix is a true monochrome in my version; I'm using two shades of the same color.
And Mary's current state:
I'm stitching Mary as a polychrome, from overdyeds I pulled from my stash. And this half medallion seems to be taking forever.
I anticipate lots of laughter during the Fifth-Saturday class later this month and am hoping for lots of cancellations for the rest of the classes this year, to shorten the waiting list for Terri.

Stitch Class Today

It was the monthly all-day open stitch class today. The first project I worked on was the piece from the Ellen Chester class we took at the end of June:
Eventually this will be a ship, which will eventually be made into a scissor fob or something along those lines. Then I made a little more progress on the Hannah Beeby Quaker:
This is over one fabric thread with one strand of DMC (for now; there'll be some Anchor used later), on 25-count Lugana "Vintage Country Mocha." After that, I did some test-stitching for the Beatrix Potter Quaker and completed one half-medallion and got a fair start on another:
Beatrix is being stitched with plain ol' DMC, one strand over two threads on 28-count Lugana, an overdye I've forgotten the source of. And after lunch I put in some time on "Margaret's Monochrome Madness":
I worked first on the far right segment, and put three rows (I supposed they're technically columns, since they're vertical and not horizontal) and then started the block on the far left.