fairy – On Beads and Needles

A Mid-Summer Update

Well, here in the Rain State, things are damp. The temps have been pretty nice, though this week, summer has finally shown up in force, with uber-humidity. For the months of May & June, we were well above average for rainfall, coming in at nearly double the average. Which is great for the garden, which is producing cucumbers at an alarming rate.

First Pick – July. I NEVER get peppers before fall, let alone 4 of the Cajun bells, which I really need when chili season starts…

In stitching news, I’ve been working through a few things since I last posted. First, when I left off in May, I was still working on Plum Pudding. I only worked a couple more days on it, got some beads in, and got to a stopping place.

Plum Pudding by Glendon Place – DD converted to Carrie’s silks, and the awful MH beads converted to Miyuki delicas. On 28ct Sprite, though my piece came decidedly GREY instead of purple – which works out with Carrie’s vibrant colors.

I put PP away and then decided to do a rotation on IC Anatolia – it seemed my start/finish of Green Damsel wasn’t enough Ink Circles, so Anatolia it was (though Growth Rings was yelling at me too – but I needed to re-do my Tacky Bob before I could work on another bead project). I did a couple of small bands all the way across, and then a couple of the bigger ones on the left; I LOVE these Carrie’s colors!

Ink Circles’ Anatolia – Carrie’s cottons on 32ct, I think…

Then I couldn’t stop the hollering any longer – Hummingbird Lace wanted to be worked on. It wanted to be worked on so much, I completed BOTH of the remaining over-1 hummers, and started the top left inner border! I probably could have kept going, but nothing else gets touched that way, so…

Châtelaine Hummingbird Lace – bottom hummer. On custom-dyed 28ct jobelan, using DMC, silks, metallics, delicas.

Left over-1 hummer, and the beginnings of the inner border.

You can see the weekly progress photos, which I took for the Chatelaine FB page weekend challenges, in the Flick album for this project here.

Wall cloud; since we are in a hole, we can’t usually see much in the way of cloud formations, since all we have sight of is the sky directly overhead of the street – but we had this parked over us one evening, just one of many storms we’ve had this summer.

I had an impulse start around the 4th of July, mainly because I don’t have any Halloween stuff going at the moment, which is WRONG. Tempting Tangles has a Halloween SAL going from her FB page/Etsy shop, and I signed up, picked a purple fabric out of the stash (28ct Wood Violet, which my friend Judy gave to me, because, you know, purple is ME) and got part 1 in:

The Great Cheshire Pumpkin SAL by Tempting Tangles; DMC on 28ct jobelan. I added the feather details to the owl, just because.

Part 2 is sitting here waiting on me, but I am busy trying to finish NC’s Faerie Winter Dream, which I am not really enjoying because of the mix of Caron Wildflowers w/DMC – some WF on its own, some mixed with DMC, and then DMC 2 strands, as well as single-strand Kreinik #4. I know the mix is for visual interest, but it just doesn’t provide consistent coverage that I like. Maybe if I had put it on a light fabric as it was charted, it wouldn’t be so noticeable, but because I have it on dark, the dark shows through more than I like. BUT, once I get all the beads on, it will be awesome. This is where I am as of last night:

Faerie Winter Dream by Nora Corbett, on a 28ct linen in Winter Solstice from Hand Dyed by Stephanie. A zillion beads to come, soon…

That’s the progress of things lately; I think I did more on SC Life’s a Journey, too, but didn’t dig it out to take a picture. Stitching has been a bit of a challenge lately because we’ve added a 4-legged terror to the household; Monkey was missing poor Bean, so we’ve been looking for a kitty for her, and instead of a new black kitty – which EVERYONE ELSE can find – we found:

Opie Cunningham Rife – a Manx of all things. And one of about 20 orange cats at the shelter.

It took 30 years, but I finally have a cat that pushes things off onto the floor. I wasn’t specifically looking for that trait.

If he grows into those feet, he’s going to be a MONSTER.

Until next time, happy Stitching! And wish me luck this cat doesn’t destroy anything too important, and learns how to stay OUT of the water bowl (my kitchen floor is ridiculously clean, thanks to mopping up a LOT).

March? Oops – I Guess I missed February

Yeah, well, in my defense, I have been working my ass off since I got back from medical leave – which probably is not what the doctor ordered, but it’s my life, so…. And my Baby Sailor turned 20 in February – his first birthday away from home 🙁 It was weird trying to figure out how to get birthday food to him – I ended up sending Cheryl’s Cookies, which I was told he ate 🙂 The Big Sailor turns 24 next week. Time flies….

We’ve been having spring here since the first of the year, for the most part; a lot of the blooms have already fallen off the trees to be replaced by leaves, and daffodils have been out for weeks. So of course, winter shows up this week; there’s snow north of us, and we are supposed to get down to the 20s the next couple of nights. I have to figure out how to cover my Dutch iris – the bed is huge and next to the road, so if I do manage to cover it, all the cars blowing the speed limit will blow my cover off. so – do I bother? We’ll see. In the meantime, we have all kinds of avian activity going on in the backyard, including this pair of red-tailed hawks:

Last time I posted, I had worked on From Nancy’s Needle’s Field of Sunflowers a bit, and I worked on it once more, at the January PINS get together – finally broke into the blue:

Field of Sunflowers, by From Nancy’s Needle. On deluxe mono canvas, using all called-for threads.

I haven’t been going to the IHOP on Thursdays for the last several weeks – trying to eat a cancer- and heart-friendly diet, which IHOP is NOT – so haven’t had much progress in the travel bag aside from PINS monthly meetings. But I did also make a bit of progress on my Stoney Creek Life’s a Journey series, starting the 4th block and completing the moon potion; I should finish this block at the March PINS:

Stoney Creek’s Life’s a Journey, on 28ct Clay linen, using DMC and a few converted colors, as well as GG Blending Filament.

I worked on Deep Blue Sea for 3 weeks, and managed to complete 3 parts in that time! This is probably the smallest “Big” Chatelaine I have, actually – each of the next 8 parts look pretty simple to complete in a single rotation (unlike Tuscany, which one I get to 11 & 12, will take FOREVER). And Part 4 of DBS included the oysters, which will contain actual pearls when done:

Chatelaine Deep Blue Sea, parts 1-4 done, 8 to go. On 28ct jobelan in Surf, from Sunny Dyes, using DMC, silks (some converted to HDF), RG and lots of beads 🙂

And when I put DBS away, JE Autumn Fairy really yelled at me, even though there were things that didn’t get touched last year, and I was going to keep working from the Project Randomizer. She yelled at me so much, I finished her! What a great project, though I was surprised to see she is MUCH taller than Iris Fairy; I was hoping to order some basic metal frames in a few colors for the Seasons and Flowers series, but I guess I need to wait to get more done; the Elemental Goddesses will probably need to have one started next, so I’ve got one of each series done 🙂 Here she is – on 28ct jobelan in Melody from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie, using DMC, miles of Kreinik, and icky Mill Hill beads:

Joan Elliott’s Autumn Fairy – done 3-12-17.

I haven’t decided what to work on next, so while I decide, I’ve pulled out the Jellyfish again, since he’s not “officially” part of the rotation. Yet. Since I have 3 new Ink Circles charts coming my way, thanks to the new market releases – Green Damsel, Dragons of Sumatra and Dark Shards – Anatolia & Growth Rings are both hollering at me 🙂 If you need stash, too, check out my local online shop, Cross Stitch Felicity – good sales, frequently, and if you don’t see it and it can be had, it can be added to the website 🙂 Sign up for the newsletter to be informed of all the sales – the newsletter comes out every Monday like clockwork.

A new window-mounted bird feeder – so far, just one chickadee and this LBJ (little brown jobbie) have discovered it way up high. Guaranteed to be squirrel-proof that far off the ground 🙂

That’s the news. I am hoping spring comes back later this week and sticks around until summer (and equally hoping, since we didn’t have winter, that that doesn’t mean we have 6 months of summer!). Until next time, Happy Stitching!

The Countdown is ON – an Update

The countdown to what? Well, several things, actually. Christmas, certainly, though I have that relatively under control, assuming the mail keeps running! How did I manage before online shopping? Oh yeah, I remember – I HATED it 🙂 If it weren’t for picking up an order at JCPenney, you wouldn’t catch me in a maul this year 🙂 And no, that is NOT a typo. Another countdown is my oldest leaving for the Navy; he’s ready to go, but I’m not sure I am ready. I know he will be fine, but it’s a whole other world out there than it was the day I left to begin my service 29 years ago; we knew who the enemy was then, whereas today, it could be anybody – and that scares me. It’s not combatant vs. combatant anymore, it’s combatant vs. ANYONE who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – Paris being a perfect example. My niece and her husband were IN Paris, celebrating their 5th anniversary, on the 13th of November. Like my BFF Cass, we now both have a major terrorist attack to mar our birthdays. What is wrong with the world? Being agnostic, I don’t ordinarily “pray”, but the next few years may hear me doing just that, frequently, as I send my children out there to deal first hand with the bad things in the world; I can only hope we have helped prepare them for the unknown….

Sailors

On a lighter note, we celebrated Thanksgiving last week, with the usual spread. I will of course amend my usual statement that there was enough food to feed an army, to enough food to feed a NAVY 🙂 Since I suspect neither will be here for the big holidays next year, we are TOTALLY doing the Chinese take-away next Thanksgiving! DH says we aren’t, but yeah, who’s King of the Kitchen? That’d be ME 🙂 Chinese it is!

Homemade half-wheat bread, Apple pie, Pumpkin pie. Not shown - vanilla ice cream & cool whip to go with :) — Homemade half-wheat bread, Apple pie, Pumpkin pie. Not shown – vanilla ice cream & cool whip to go with 🙂

I have done some stitching since I last posted. I completed my rotation of Autumn Fairy, and while I didn’t get nearly as much of her wings done as I’d hoped, I did get a good bit done. I don’t think I can finish her in one more rotation, but I may be close enough that I extend it another week 🙂 Here she is, as of 2 weeks ago:

Joan Elliott's Autunm Fairy, on 28ct jobelan in Melody from Hand Dyed Fabby's by Stephanie. — Joan Elliott’s Autunm Fairy, on 28ct jobelan in Melody from Hand Dyed Fabby’s by Stephanie.

I also made a great bit of progress on my BtB Summer Cove – I am almost to SHEEP! I should be able to finish it soon – if not the next IHOP, shortly thereafter. Which is good, since this will be my ONLY BIG finish this year 🙁 I guess that’s what happens when you set your own bar too high – you trip yourself up 🙂 But in another couple of years, I am going to have a HUGE pile of finishes, I just know it! Here’s Summer Cove – those little blanks are SHEEP!:

Summer Cove from By The Bay, on 28ct jobelan.

At the November PINS, we had our Christmas ornie exchange. I was again spoiled, this time by Jean, who made this wonderful piece for me:

My exchange recipient was the same Jean, strangely enough, and while the piece I stitched came out pretty cool, if I do say so myself, I am rather disappointed at the finished piece; it ended up being slightly off-center, after the glue dried, so I don’t know if I had it pulled so tight that it moved a bit before the glue was completely set, or if I really just didn’t have it centered. This is reallllyyyy bugging the crap out of me – but because I didn’t get it done until the weekend before – and then worked a long week before the exchange, I didn’t have time or energy to disassemble/re-assemble it the way I had intended it to be 🙁 But here it is, before it was quite done (I undid the braid for the bottom tassel):

This design came from the JCS 2000 Ornament edition. On 28ct opalescent lugana. The trim si kumihimo braid, an idea I stole from Jackie :) — This design came from the JCS 2000 Ornament edition. On 28ct opalescent lugana. The trim is kumihimo braid, an idea I stole from Jackie 🙂

I think it was a resounding yes that we do the exchanges again next year 🙂 I WILL center my piece better, I promise! Heck, I might even start a week or two earlier, give myself some wiggle room…. Nah, pro’ly not.

November Pepper Haul #3 - why did it take until October & November to get peppers? — November Pepper Haul #3 – why did it take until October & November to get peppers?

November Pepper Haul #4. Chili, chicken chili - how I will miss having my own produce department over the next several months. I highly recommend Cajun bells if you want a hot, prolific pepper.... — November Pepper Haul #4. Chili, chicken chili – how I will miss having my own produce department over the next several months. I highly recommend Cajun bells if you want a hot, prolific pepper – you can eat ’em green, and they get hotter as they go red….

So, after I put Autumn Fairy away, and because I am saving Sparkly Hummingbird to work on over the Christmas holidays, the only thing I had left to rotate was Monet’s Water Lilies, which did enjoy the long Thanksgiving weekend. I had actually planned to post an update last week, so took a photo last week:

Monat's Water Lilies as charted by Scarlet Quince. 2 over 1 on 20ct aida. This is all on Page 1 (of 9). — Monet’s Water Lilies as charted by Scarlet Quince. 2 over 1 on 20ct aida. This is all on Page 1 (of 9).

And, since I didn’t actually get an update done, thanks to EVERYONE cleaning their desks off onto mine before they left for the long weekend, here is what it looks like now, after another week’s progress:

This has extended onto the next page to the right, and onto the next page below (just a tiny bit, like 5 rows down, maybe 15-20 to the right). I shoulda gridded the pages – maybe next time it’s out, if I feel lost where I left off…

So, aside from Sparkly Hummingbird, I have now touched everything in a year, and some of the new ones, twice, depending on where they fell in the Startapalooza 🙂 I plan to continue this same 2-week rotation into the new year, though, depending on when my surgery gets scheduled, I do plan to have a New Year’s Start – probably another Chat, Deep Blue Sea 🙂 Because I am that crazy… This week, I think I am going to work on my AAN Christmas Tree, that should be a pretty quick finish (and then I’ll have 2!), and some other secret stitching. Hummingbird may come out next week, or maybe the week after – we’ll see 🙂

If I don’t post again before year’s end, I wish all of you and yours a wonderful holiday season, filled with peace, joy and love. And stitching, too, of course!