Retreat November 2012

Another stitching retreat in Temecula! Here's a view of the area from the top of the stairs by the dining hall:

And here's just one of the hot-air balloons from Saturday morning:

I didn't have a lot of luck with my stitching over the weekend. I had a hard time deciding what to work on (and even brought along a couple of extra projects!), and then kept making mistakes. This piece is a Dimensions' kit which only rarely sees the light of day. I actually started this piece back in 2005, so it's pretty obvious it doesn't get much lovin'. The first photo shows the status of "A Bird for All Seasons" as of Friday morning:

And here's the progress from this session:

(Ack! Another one popping up sideways!)

I also worked on Margaret's "Spot Sampler." Here's where I left off in June:

And here's where I left off on Sunday:

The motif in the upper left corner is actually farther over to the right than is charted on the original, so I'll have to decide whether to frog it and put it where it belongs or whether I'll juggle the other motifs around.

I had a good time, but seriously missed my BSF-M, who wasn't able to make it this time.

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!

Progress Pic

Hannah Beeby, as of today:

I just couldn't get motivated to work on Beatrix Potter, and, spurred on by Melissa's and Terri's progress, I decided to put Beatrix away and put some time in on Hannah.

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.

TUSAL 2011 July

It's the new moon, again, and time to post the TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long). I spent all of June's monthly stitch class frogging a project. Yes, the whole entire project. There's a long story behind it I've told elsewhere, and maybe I'll tell it again here. Anyway, huge, unfixable counting error, so I'm frogging everything. I also wasn't happy with the overdyeds conversion I'd tried on this attempt at this particular piece, so I'll go back, when I restart, to the original DMC, with just one or two conversions. And on top of the curly little frog bits are the orts from Teresa Wentzler's "Carousel," which has been languishing, until recently, for a couple of years.
And yes, I know: I'm way behind on posting cards! So much for resolutions.

Welcome Home, Endeavour and TUSAL 2011 June

Mostly a gift piece, with a few strands from TW's "The Carousel," which I put back into the floor stand after the gift was finished. "The Carousel" hasn't seen any attention in a couple of years!

It's Official!

I'm number 202 on the TUSAL list! Unfortunately, I think that means I need to find a moment or three to put the link in my sidebar, as well as keep track of the New Moons, since that's when we're supposed to post our TUSAL progress. Well, it gives me an extra reason to make sure I keep up with posting this year.

It's the beginning of a new year, and a lot of folks on assorted message boards and in various blogs are setting new goals. So what are mine for this year? I'm going to try to blog more, and post more photos of cards and stitchery. I've also decided to join my dear friend Terri in her goal to spend our monthly stitch class time working on pieces for which we're likely to need the teacher's assistance. Today before I left for class I hunted down a piece that's been languishing since before the LNS moved to its new location (a few doors down from an older location!). "Dazzle" was designed by Margaret Bendig, our class' teacher. I didn't think to take a progress pic before resuming this piece today (January 8). The center motif and 3 of the dark-green-and-shiny-stuff arms were done when I set this piece aside. So today I completed the 4th of those arms, as well as the light-colored motifs, and have begun the next segment at the end of each of the arms. For those of you familiar with DMC numbers, the dark floss and the middle value are in the 520 series of sagey greens; the lightest green is a Rainbow Gallery Mandarin floss (made from bamboo). And the canvas is a light sagey green.
I certainly won't be limited to counted canvas pieces in this endeavor, since I also have Margaret's "Spot Sampler" started and have an Ellen Chester class piece suffering neglect, both of which are primarily counted cross stitch.

Half the Year!

Gone already!!

So far this year, I've completed: two Quaker Quarterly Exchanges and a graduation sampler. Still in progress are: a gift, Margaret's Monochrome Madness counted canvas, the class piece from last weekend, and Hannah Beeby. Still languishing are: a Curtis Boehringer Wildflower of America (it's been so long, I've forgotten which one is started!), a Drawn Thread Garden (I think it's Wildflower Garden, but again, it's been a while), and TW's "Carousel" (which piece I'd actually begun with the intention of entering it in last year's county fair!). And my fingers are aching to begin Mary Wigham and Beatrix Potter (both are Quaker pieces and I'm not sure of the history of the Potter piece, nor why it's called "Beatrix Potter").

I'm still waiting for the fabric for Mary, which I had my LNS order from Picture This Plus. And I have a piece of fabric at home that I could use for Beatrix, but it's 28 count and I'm not sure I want it that big. Decisions, decisions.

It's a holiday weekend here in the US, but I have to work tomorrow. On Saturday the BFFs and I are going to the facility formerly known as NAS Los Alamitos for the Independence Day celebration hosted there. Any stitching this weekend will be on projects at home.

Come On In

And make yourselves comfortable while I try to get the place organized. All the backups from the Blog-City blog have been sent off to my Gmail account—never have understood why they never make it through to my primary mail account with another company, yet will also go through to my old AOL address! Now I just need to figure out how to create the archives of old posts over here in the new neighborhood.

Yesterday was the third, and final, meeting of a counted-canvas class at my LNS, although we're trying to schedule an informal meeting for later in the year to check each other's progress on the piece. It's really fun, and if life doesn't have other plans for me next Saturday, I'm going to spend the afternoon at the LNS in the classroom working on the piece some more.

The current actually-in-progress piece at home is the last of the graduation samplers. I'm seriously considering shredding the chart, once I've finished this one, and then burning the shreddings. Laura Mercy, but I'm tired of this one! It's only something like the 10th time I've stitched it, and there are only so many variations on the same theme. Assorted other projects are languishing while this one gets all the stitching focus at home.