Prairie Schooler SAL Update

I'm still working on this - not much, to be honest, because I'm working on my own freebie January Biscornu and Fob - and I had to take a break to do a bit of re-design ...

So far, I've been lucky - my borders have matched up first time on each block - hope this continues!

Slow progress... the colours on these pictures aren't great because of the artificial light - the low energy fluorescents give a very yellow cast...

This next picture shows the first change I've made - the eagle is now a Golden Eagle, and not a Bald Eagle. Apart from the fact that in the UK, we don't have Bald Eagles, I'm afraid I can't take them seriously - too much Muppet Show when I was young! Basically, I've swapped the colour of the eagle and the arrow - so this block with have less 3371 than most of the other blocks, but I don't think it will throw the balance off too much.

The other amendments I'm going to make are to put a Scottish flag in the box, and a Lion Rampant in the shield - these are all charted out, just need to be worked now!

SAL Sunday

This is progress after week 2. It seemed to want to "grow" really quickly yesterday. The Cashel linen that I'm using is a joy to stitch on, the needle goes through so smoothly, and I love the texture.

I'm mostly stitching this as charted, although I have amended the over-one areas. Instead of cross stitch in one strand of floss, I'm doing tent stitch in two - which is probably why I had time to work on the next couple of bands, although I don't think I'm way ahead of Sally, my partner in this.

Ma and Dad came over yesterday morning, and Ma really likes this chart - she's an accomplished stitcher herself, but we have quite different tastes, she's much more traditional than I am, and I think she's a bit bemused at my bees and sheep obsessions - she's more of a floral type, which is so not me... I think she thought I was stitching this for my niece, because of the farm animals on it, but it's mine, all mine!

WIPs

This is how far I got, Sally, with Morning Song - it looks a little forlorn, doesn't it? :o) I've tacked the outline for the sampler, too - I forget how small Just Nan's can be, the chart always looks so big! I guess that's good though, as they are nice and clear.


This is one of my other WIPs at the moment - Sow Kind Seeds by Bent Creek. I traded for the chart years ago, and the sender included her left over perle cotton, which I've used, as well as some from my stash. At that point, I was waiting on my order for more of the border colour - ordered it Sunday afternoon, it arrived yesterday lunchtime, you can't fault Sew and So's service! I stocked up on some other DMC that I was running low on, and also the ones that I lost on the bus, so I'm ready for anything now - I think! I'm going to stitch the missing motif (a hand, as in heart in hand) in mauve, or gold as I don't have enough of the charted blue - blue isn't a colour I'm fond of anyway. I'm not sure now, looking at the picture, that the mauve I have will be dark enough to balance the composition ... hmmm, it might be a case of trial and error!

Update

My camera batteries are flat - again - so I can't show any pictures at the moment. Not that I could for one project anyway, as it's a return exchange from my last days as a member of Crazy Exchange :o) I finished it as a pinkeep, and that's the only clue I'm giving ... so that was last night's creative endeavours.

Sunday, as promised, I started a SAL with Sally. We're stitching Morning Song by Just Nan. I've chosen to do mine on a plain linen - Flax 28 count Cashel. I managed to stitch most of the right hand barn, the picket fence and the tree trunks - seems straightforward so far, although I haven't attempted the over one parts yet!

My travel project is currently Rooster Strut by Meme's Quilts (who no longer appear to do cross stitch designs, only quilting and applique). I'm stitching it on Tula, which at 10 count is quite a change from my usual stuff! It was one of the first folk style charts I traded for on Chartswappers so it's been sitting in my stash for quite a while!

Sunday Stitching

Well, we had more bad weather, but fortunately, none of the snow settled. It's bizarre - we're officially in British SUMMER Time. Oh, and the cricket season starts today ... Mind you, I'm old enough to remember a match at Buxton having to be called off because of snow - in July! That year we had a drought later in the summer ... and that was before anyone knew about global warming!

Both The Hermit and I stayed in, nice and warm. I finished stitching Shepherd's Bush "June" - which made me feel a little more summery. I think mine is a little less pastel than the model, because of the overdyes I chose to use, but I like it. This will probably be framed.

After the finish, I did think about going back to The Sludge Monster, but by that time, the light was really dull, so I picked up another new start - bad girl! Anyway, this one is Tall Trees by Brightneedle. This is proving to be a quick stitch, despite the number of colours (fifteen! in a piece 61 stitches by 39). I also have the freebie chart for the matching scissor fob, so that will be my travel project this week. I think I will finish Tall Trees as a pinkeep, and I might try that type of finish for the fob.

And good news! I found Morning Song (it was filed with some of my stitching magazines) so I can start the SAL with Sally when she receives the chart. I think I'm going to stitch mine on Flax Cashel, I just need to do a "floss toss" to check that there's no clashes or invisibility.

I hope everyone has a good week, thanks for dropping by!

Saturday Stitching

Yesterday, the weather here was awful - we had rain, hail, snow, sunshine, so what's a girl to do? Curl up and stitch, that's what!

Actually, first of all I had a trip to the framers to make - the nice lady in the quilt shop had told me that this particular framers sells off-cuts of mount board cheaply, so I went to get some, for my own framing and also for making pinkeeps. She'd made a curious comment "make sure they are your last stop, and not the first" - and when I went, I saw why! I have a huge bag full of pieces, I could make dozens of pinkeeps and still have some left over - and it only cost me £5 ($10). You must think I'm a real cheapskate, but I do love a bargain! Anyway, I came back cold and wet from this trip, so The Hermit and I went out for brunch to get warm. We came back, I started some laundry, and then sat down to stitch :o)

I've finished another motif on Neat Country Stuff (aka The Sludge Monster) and finished Land That I Love. So, as a reward, I made a new start - June, by Shepherd's Bush. It seems ages since I stitched a golden beehive ...

I also sorted and tidied all my stash on the shelves, so it's looking a lot better. I still need to go through the freebies and charts taken from magazines again - with each pass, the pile gets smaller, so I'm making progress. I've got a lot of othe charts I don't think I'm going to stitch, either, so I need to get myself sorted and list them here. I wish there was a group like Chartswappers about - does anyone know a good place to trade charts? I don't really want to get back into selling on eBay, it was a lot of work and took over the flat at one point as I kept acquiring things to sell on, in addition to my own stuff...

Sally and I are going to be stitching Morning Song by Just Nan as a SAL. Of course, despite my newly organised stash, my chart has gone AWOL, so sometime today I'm going to be looking for it ... hopefully the sheep will return to the fold, and we can get going next weekend! I haven't stitched a Just Nan in a while.

Pictures of my finishes will appear on Monday, when I get back to the office. Happy Stitching Sunday, everyone!

Update

Well, I finished the good luck present for the two guys I work with - it turned into a small flatfold, and they were thrilled with it! I should have a photo to show of it completed when it comes back from being a lucky charm in the dressing room ...

I'm working on the pinkeep for the Hooked on Exchanges exchange, and I think I've chosen too big a design - especially as I'm stitching it on 28 count fabric. When I've made it up, it will be about 5" x 6" which seems a trifle large to me. I do have a smaller design I could stitch as a replacement ... especially as this current design would fit into the "freebie" theme for the next exchange, if I'm fast enough to sign up. Oh, what to do ... perhaps this is a sign I should keep away from exchanges, as I cocked up the last one I was in too, I got the lady's birthday date wrong :o( How silly - and such a shame for the recipient! The package is in the post now, of course, but I haven't heard if it's got there yet.

I'm having trouble getting my digital camera to talk to my PC at the moment - the PC recognises it's there, but it won't upload the photos! I've got stacks of finishes to share, but no way of showing pictures ... I might bring the camera and USB cable to work, and try and sort things during my lunch break, as this blog is rather dull without pictures! It's probably a bit dull with them, but I tell myself there are people interested in my witterings...

Right, I'm going to go and get stitching on a pinkeep - which one yet, I don't know!

Stashing on the cheap ...

I'm still sneezing and coughing, but I keep telling myself it will pass - I'm drinking a herbal tea called Yogi Tea Himalaya which is mostly ginger - it's strong stuff, and it's certainly helping. It's very warming and helps clear your head at the same time!

Yesterday, after the Hermit and I had brunch at our local cafe, I went for a browse around the shops in our neighbourhood. I'm lucky enough to have not only a general craft shop but a quilt shop within 20 minutes walk of the flat, as well as a host of charity shops, so Ith ought a walk in the fresh air and a visit to these treasure palaces would make me feel better, and I was right!

In one particular shop, I struck the crafter's equivalent of gold :o) Stash! I bought George the Giraffe (RRP £10.50, charity shop £0.79)and a Little Suzy's Zoo Card kit (RRP £6.49, CS £0.99) - both of which I will stitch for my niece. I also - because I do knit from time to time - bought a kit for making a felted bag (£0.50) and 800g of Aran yarn in a funky purple, which will be enough to make a cardigan for me (£3.50). It's always nice to have new stash, but it's even nicer when it's a bargain, and when you've helped a good cause (our local hospice) too!

I then went to the quilting shop. Nothing there can really be said to be a bargain, but she has such nice fabrics ... I bought a fat quarter of a Chinese print for backing the good luck symbol I'm making for the guys I work with, a half yard of a fabric for making a finished project into a pillow (or possibly a wall hanging), some assorted FQs (these were a bargain, 6 for £5)and three skeins of Stef Francis threads. So I probably blew all the money I saved in the charity shop, but I've told myself I needed all that I bought, and that I had projects in mind for what I got - which is mostly true! Oh, and I shouldn't really link to websites - I've just seen the special offers on Stef's website, and the kits, and the pewter charms, and the buttons and ...

Okay, deep breath, calm down.

When I got back - and after I'd shown the Hermit my stash, and he'd made the appropriate interested noises, I settled down to stitch. The Chinese good luck symbol is being stitched in half cross stitch over one group of threads on read 22 count hardanger. I'm using an odd thread I found in my stash - I think it's coton a broder - it's thicker than perle 12, and matt. It's looking very effective, but it got to be a strain as the evening got darker, stitching on quite a small scale. So, I also started my HoE pinkeep exchange piece - in fact, I started it twice, as I wasn't sure about the colour scheme - it's a freebie from a favourite designer of the recipient, but I am doing it on a lighter fabric than the designer used, so everything needs tweaking. This designer is a favourite of mine, too, so I will complete both, and then decide which one to send - it will probably come down to which one I finish best, as I've only made a pinkeep once before!

Okay, it's probably time to get back to the needle - I have a lot to do if I want to have a finished finish for tomorrow morning! Thanks for dropping by, and thank you to all who comment, it's appreciated!

I'm full of a cold at the moment, and being at work is interesting - the guys I work with have a World Premiere performance on Monday, and so we're trying to avoid each other ... which is a bit tough when I'm also trying to sort out press and such for the event and need their input ... my office is next to the rehearsal room, and the tech stuff has been added, so I'm getting all the sound effects and music score now - think Victorian Music Hall. Well, it makes the working day interesting ... I'm online at the moment because I've just decided to stitch a good luck card for them, featuring the relevant Chinese character, given that the play involves a "Chinese" conjuror. Yay for Google - I found a great freebie, so with a bit of personalisation, I will have something nice for Monday!

It will mean that Random Thoughts get pushed aside for a while, but as I didn't sleep well last night, I got quite a bit done on it in the wee small hours! I'm over one third done, and even the over-one stitching isn't proving too tough. I've changed the Queen Stitches again though - they have to be my least favourite stitch of all time. Is there anything you really dislike working?

Works in Progress

I frogged all the gold metallic out of Coeur ... gosh, it looks pathetic now! I will take a picture before I start again on this. The frogging took a while, as I'd anchored the threads down well in the first place! I think it will stitch back quite quickly, or at least I hope so!

After all that destruction, I was glad to get to work on another UFO that had been put aside merely because ... actually, I don't know why I laid this aside, although I suspect it was because I'd run out of one of the DMC colours it uses a lot of!




This is O Christmas Tree from the Christmas Samplers leaflet by Prairie Schooler - it's an old out of print one I got in a sale somewhere. I'm nearly half way through now, and I'm enjoying every stitch. The colours are muted and work very well together. The cardinals need their beaks on this shot!