sampler – On Beads and Needles

Year of the Dragon, Patriots, and Other Things

I wasn’t sure I was ever going to post another update, as my last update created too much opportunity for harassment from the thought police, since being a conservative in America is to be persecuted openly and loudly at every opportunity. Just to be clear, you can shout at me all you want, call me names, tell me how ignorant I am – that tack is definitely NOT going to change my way of thinking. If that really is all the interaction you choose to have, just save us both the trouble and don’t bother, delete this notification and cancel your subscription. If, on the other hand, you want to take personal responsibility for how you react to feelings that mere words can provoke, and can ignore that I may not check all of your social or identity criteria boxes, then please read on for 9 months of stitching updates, and Welcome to my stitchy corner 🙂

On a side note, this blog, and others I had before it, is not really a forum for social debate; this blog is a TOOL used to chronicle events in MY life, through my chosen medium of needlework. It’s not really here to agree or disagree with; it’s to read or disregard as the individual sees fit. There can be no right or wrong for the reader; if you feel otherwise, you may need to seek professional help.

So, DRAGONS (not in chronologically-worked order):

Well, that ol’ Tracy Horner of Ink Circles definitely knows my number; she has released a series of Elemental Dragons, which I of course had to have before they were even released to the wild. I have taken a somewhat literal interpretation of them.

First, we have Elemental Dragon: Earth, which I did on earthy-colored fabric, using organic colored floss – meet Earth on Oh My Moose from Fiberlicious, using Green Tea Waterlilies from Caron:

Next we have Elemental Dragon: Water, done on Calypso’s Cay from Under the Sea, using Gloriana Deep Blue Sea (one of my favorite colors):

Then we have Elemental Dragon: Air, done on Vintage Stormy Clouds, using Thread Gatherer Wild Blue Yonder:

Elemental Dragon: Fire is pending; I thought I had colors picked (PTP Phoenix and a Thread Gatherer silk), but rethought it a couple of times, and am now awaiting the arrival of a different fabric (was going to be WDW Banana Popsicle, which, apparently, is not a popular color, so I gave up waiting for it to be dyed, and have opted for a different yellow). Hopefully it will be started/completed not too far into the new year.

But that’s not all! I then got on a kick to try to locate some of the TW dragon charts that I missed, when I wrongly assumed they would always be around; I scoured ebay and my dragon-collecting friends, and managed to fill in a number of holes. I even found a copy of the Best Of Fantasy Collection #1 book for a decent price, even though I’ve done many of the charts, or owned the leaflets, already – I just wanted to have the book, too. Forget the 2nd one – it’s made of unobtainium, aka $2-400. Nope. So anyway, my friend Paula has loaned me her leaflet for Fortunate Traveler, which I have put a decent dent in:

This is on a piece of 28ct fabric that I got from a friend’s de-stash; unfortunately, I didn’t look at it closely, and the left side is not cut straight, so I am going to have a very narrow margin when I get to the bottom of this. It’ll work for framing, but I’ll have to add fabric to it to stretch it to stitch it. Damn it, I’ve never had an issue with that before, even when I knew I had fabric that wasn’t cut straight (crazy bird lady’s shop, anyone?). Meh, I’ll work through it, eventually.

And that’s still not all! There is a serious dragon theme to this year, as you can see. So of course, my Dragon Quaker had to come out for a spin, in which 2 dragons and a few other motifs made their appearance:

Not a great photo, sorry; you can’t see the sparkle on the dragons at all here, but trust me, they are sparkly 🙂

That’s a lot of dragons for one year!

Next up: PATRIOTS:

Some of you may remember that I had stitched Bent Creek’s Glory several years ago; well, when DH left his long-time job, he forgot to grab that framed piece (it was over his cube wall), and by the time he went back to get it the next day, it had been taken by one of his former co-workers. I hope they enjoy it in good health, freaking thieves…. So I re-stitched it, using different materials. I think the first one was on 28ct monaco, and the threads were all cotton from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe; this time (after I re-bought the chart), I did it on 36ct linen from Vikki Clayton, and used silks from Vikki Clayton and Thread Gatherer. I haven’t gotten it re-framed yet – the To Be Framed pile is mountainous at the moment 🙁

I also saw a small freebie online, 1776, and started it while I was waiting for one of my dragon orders to arrive, so I haven’t finished it yet:

And then, one of the Mill Hill kits in my travel bag begged to be started – Home of the Brave, which is on really stiff aida, which I kept because I didn’t have any other suitable white fabric on hand, and I wasn’t going to wait to order any.

There’s not much left to stitch, I should probably finish it….

Also from the Travel Bag, as my local group has been meeting online via Webex:
started last year when we were still meeting in person, By the Bay’s Meadow Hills, on Star Sapphire jobelan:

Also from the travel bag, though it hadn’t been out for a few years until I started the 3rd piece last year, Long Dog’s Foursome Reel; I am working on the multi-color piece, though am using the same colors I used for the other two pieces, Gloriana Elizabethan Green, Red Clay and Antique Gold on Shadowbrook from Silkweaver in various counts; I’m placing the colors randomly rather than as the chart suggests.

I can’t turn this right side up – use your imagination and know the swan isn’t swimming down a waterfall…

As many know, Long Dog released a freebie on the world this summer, aptly re-titled Pandemic, and of course, I jumped onto that bandwagon with everyone else 🙂 I went back and forth on fabric, first choosing a plain white to go with black silk from Silks4U, but then decided white was too boring, and I really wanted the reddest red I could find. Enter Fall Flame from Fiberlicious:

This is probably one of the prettiest pieces of fabric I have ever stitched on 🙂

Of course, Halloween being my favorite holiday, saw some stitching, even though my walls are jam packed in October; one of the things was an ornament, which actually made it onto the Halloween tree before the end of October:

One of the 2020 Painted Pumpkins from Mill Hill; I have a few more to do 🙂

That tiny ornament didn’t quite satisfy my need for Halloween stitches, so Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow came out, and I finished the center Witch panel, and got the Sinking Ship panel at least halfway done (so much water! These blocks are deceptive!):

When I updated last, I was working, finally, on Lady & Unicorn, with plans to finish a page; I did that, and got a good bit of the next page done, too. This row is not too far from done! Of course, my “not too far” can still be measured in years when it comes to this project, but I am just glad that I can enjoy working on this again 1) when my neuropathy isn’t too bad and 2) the Scarlet Quince stitch app makes this pattern that much easier to manage (I’m not planning to convert to all-device stitching – I work on multiple screens 10-11 hours a day, staring at a screen more is not my idea of a good time).

Where I was the previous update – you will see where the 2 orange threads converge on the bottom just right of center; these are the page boundaries.

Where I ended this rotation. About half of this maid’s arm is the next page, so I have a sizable chunk of that page completed. The Unicorn’s horn can also be seen cutting through that page, the ecru line of stitches from bottom right towards the top left.

I had also posted my finish of Chatelaine’s Secret Victorian Garden; I needed to put all the leftovers from the kit away, but included with the original class files was a small “tryout” design that Martina sometimes included with the older files, which used all of the fibers and delicas used in the bigger mandala. I had it sitting here kitted for some time, so did it in between other projects, so I could finally put all the bits away. On 28ct Sapphire from Silkweaver – not sure what I will do with it yet – box top? Pincushion or ornament? Dunno…

To close out this god-awful year, I broke out another long-kitted Chatelaine “freebie”, from the 2006 Advent gifts Martina released to the support group – the Snowflake! I have dithered over fabric for this for a long time, and despite trying literally every color in my stash, I couldn’t come up with anything better, so here is the snowflake, right at the beginning of the miles of silver PTB, on 28ct Snowstorm from Silkweaver:

I will be adding more beads than charted – because that’s what I do 🙂

And that is what I have been doing when not working all through this horrible year. I don’t think I am alone in saying that I am not going to miss 2020. I don’t know what the coming year will bring, but the horizon looks dark to me – I hope I am wrong, but it feels like we’ve maybe reached the end of … something. Anyway, here’s to the new year, whatever it may bring – may we all have the strength to persevere….

Sprinter – an Update

No, not an insane person who runs fast for no reason; when Winter just can’t quite let go and give way to Spring – Sprinter. We had spring a couple of weeks ago, but it must not have been ready, because it bailed. It really wants to come back, I can feel it, and see it in all the things that are now green. Heck, most of the trees’ blooms are already gone. So maybe Spring will be back soon…

Going back to work after my recuperation was as much fun as I thought it was going to be; that first week was rough – not physically, but mentally. Some things just never change, sad to say. Oh well, it is what it is, all I can do is strive to make it a better situation, if only for myself, since clearly no one else is going to step up. So be it. Fortunately, I only have to spend 10 hours a day there….

In stitching news, I did a good piece on Tuscany Town Mandala, finishing the Duomo, and breaking out Part 11 to do the border over it and begin an inner corner. I knew the buildings were going to be quick:

Chatelaine Tuscany Town Mandala - DMC, silks, and RG PTB on 28ct jobelan, along with delicas. Lots of Swarovski to come... — Chatelaine Tuscany Town Mandala – DMC, silks, and RG PTB on 28ct jobelan, along with delicas. Lots of Swarovski to come…

TTM_3-28-16_TopLeftInner

After I completed 2 weeks’ worth on TTM, the next draw from the Randomizer was:

RandomizerDraw5

I managed to do a good bit on this over 2 weeks, as well, including my first DRAGON! And I decided that I wanted to add a bit of sparkle to my dragons, and after discovering Glisson Gloss Blending Filament in that Stoney Creek Life’s a Journey series of patterns that are in my travel bag, I decided to order an assortment of those in purples and blues, and will use them to add a splash of sparkle to the dragons – because I do that sometimes. Here’s where I stopped on Quaker today, with Page 1 completed, Page 2 about 1/2 done, and Page 5 almost done, too:

Wihenberg's Dragon Quaker, using Threadworx colors, 1/2, on 36ct Sterling from PTP. — Wihenberg’s Dragon Quaker, using Threadworx colors, 1/2, on 36ct Sterling from PTP.

And a close-up of the dragon, in which can’t really see the very subtle shimmer from the white pearl BF that I added to this lighter thread:

Dragon1

The only other thing I’ve worked on lately is the ever agonizing 12 colors of beige that is my Mill Hill Winter Woods – though I AM happy to say that I am VERY close to having it done – finally! Since this has such a minimum amount of beads on it, it really is almost solidly stitched, which is odd for a Mill Hill 🙂 Anyway, the cardinal button is not far off now:

Mill Hill Bead & Button kit, Winter Woods. On perforated paper.

Hopefully the next time I post an update, this will be DONE! I’ve got a zillion other things hollering at me for the travel bag, including Blackwork Journey: Save the Stitches and any of my canvaswork pieces. The next piece I will be working on is:

RandomizerDraw6

In other news, DH has been inspired to take up BMX racing again, which he did professionally almost 30 years ago; got the first touch of sun for the season at the track in Peachtree City, on one of our rare no-rain weekends:

That’s the news – I will assume it will be fully spring the next time I post – or, at the rate I’ve been going lately, it very well may be early summer 🙂 Until then, Happy Stitching!

We have at least 2 pairs of Goldfinches, to go with out bluebirds, Cardinals, and Jays. Am hoping the blue grobeaks come back this year, too... — We have at least 2 pairs of Goldfinches, to go with out bluebirds, Cardinals, and Jays. Am hoping the blue grosbeaks come back this year, too…

Pre-Gobble Chaos – an Update

So, since I can’t seem to get in here every week, maybe I ought to just call it a bi-weekly update and be done with it? Maybe for the new year and all those new starts that are in the works, the weekly will fit in again? We shall see… Speaking of new starts, this will be one of them:

This pile o' floss is slowly getting put onto bobbins - will I have enough box, or do I need to hit the Bass Pro tackle box aisle? — This pile o’ floss is slowly getting put onto bobbins – will I have enough box, or do I need to hit the Bass Pro tackle box aisle?

This will someday become this Scarlet Quince version of a Monet:

Monet's Water Lilies as charted by Scarlet Quince. — Monet’s Water Lilies as charted by Scarlet Quince.

And I only started winding bobbins because I FINISHED Samplar 4 Saisons! I don’t even know now how long ago I started it – long enough ago that HDF silks have changed floss and put ups and even their entire business model a couple of times 🙂 I can honestly say that I enjoyed nearly every stitch I put into this, but I am glad it is done!

Anagram Diffusion's Samplar 4 Saisons. On HDF linen, using 6SR HDF silks from the Examplar line - Mud Brick for Spring, Milligrubs for Summer, Flannel Dark for Winter, Lily Tutters for Fall, & Wattle n Daub for the tree and border. — Anagram Diffusion‘s Samplar 4 Saisons. On HDF linen, using 6SR HDF silks from the Examplar line – Mud Brick for Spring, Milligrubs for Summer, Flannel Dark for Winter, Lily Tutters for Fall, & Wattle n Daub for the tree and border.

Here’s a detail of just the bits I did since the last update:

S4S_11-22-14

In other stitching news, I got some progress in on my MH Believe kit; you’d think I’d be close to beading, but there’s really a lot of stitching left to go before I get to the funner part 🙂

Mill Hill Believe on 14ct perforated paper.

As far as my To Finish List is concerned, I’m calling it COMPLETE. The 2nd RYO mandala that I have going is going to stop right where it is – I just don’t think I can bear to complete the 2nd repeat so close to the first one (pink nightmare) being done. This is what I stopped on it last time I had it out – perfect ornament or pinkeep size right like this:

Over-1 on 28ct evenweave, using my own Flower Garden colorway.

~~Iris Fairy~~ – Completed 2/2/14
~~Halloween Rules~~ – Completed 3/9/14
~~Both versions of the Ink Circles Roll Your Own mandala that I have going (#2 is not as done as it could be, but as done as it’s gonna get)~~ – Pink Nightmare completed 11/9/14, Flower Garden over-1 done enough as of 7/14.
~~Dragonfly Tile~~ – Completed 7/25/14
~~Romeo~~ – Completed 2/16/14
~~Samplar 4 Saisons~~ – Completed 11/22/14
~~And maybe Witch’s Wheel~~ – Completed 8/24/14

So, since the startapalooza is a bit off yet, I can start planning what’s getting started, besides Water Lilies. Because, you know, I got these a couple of weeks ago:

1000 bobbins - that oughtta keep me busy for a little while.... — 1000 bobbins – that oughta keep me busy for a little while….

In other news, I got a wonderful birthday present from my DH – he did very well all on his own! He actually heard me one day when we were walking through Sam’s, and I detoured around the jewelry cases like I always do, and I said “Anything in this one, or this one, or this one”. He came home with THIS:

7mm freshwater pearls, diamond & blue topaz :) — 7mm freshwater pearls, diamond & blue topaz 🙂

Of course, now he’s going to have to TAKE ME SOMEWHERE that I can wear it 🙂 And I will probably have to buy new clothes to go with, too 🙂 🙂

This week, I am working on Noah’s Sub; I worked on it last night, but didn’t get too far on the Tiger; I still really don’t like the fabric I’m using (HDF linen – wonderful for samplers, not quite beefy enough for a solidly stitched piece like this – but I’ll manage):

Noah's Sub on 36ct light blue HDF linen. — Noah’s Sub on 36ct light blue HDF linen. That’s the beginnings of a tiger there with the bird standing on its back…

That’s the news for the week; only a 2 1/2 day week this week, then it’s cooking, and decking the halls on Friday, and I suppose I should start my shopping, since it’s almost that time. Everyone has made it hard this year – either want things this poor old woman can’t afford (a nice Fender Strat or brand new computers for everyone – really? Those are my choices?). On Monday, I’ll be home, trying to get some secret Santa stuff going, now that I have my old dining room table back and in my craft room (in lieu of those tables we haven’t gotten built yet). Not ready for the Christmas Crazies yet – but it’s not like you can avoid them! At least I can look forward to 2 weeks off over the holidays, maybe get my attitude adjusted 🙂 Happy stitching to everyone, and those who celebrate, Happy Turkey Day!