Redwork Noel Stitch-a-Long, part 2

Hello everybody! 

I'm afraid I didn't make as much progress on Redwork Noel as I had hoped, but I did finish another set of ten rows and just barely started the next set. Yep, it's those adorable kittens again...

Here's where I was last time: 

Now I've stitched just over 30 of the 120 rows. 

Between now and our next check-in I have a work trip. Normally that wouldn't mean I could get much stitching in, but in this case I have two verrrry long flights, all on my own, so I'm hoping to get some good stitching done on the plane!

I love checking out what the other stitchers in this stitch-a-long work on. Go check out their blogs and get inspired by their amazingly beautiful and diverse projects: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and Helen.

See you in three weeks!

Redwork Noel, part 1

Hi everybody, and welcome to Autumn! It's my favorite season, especially here in Seattle where we get a few weeks of gorgeous weather every late September - early October. And then, of course, it's Halloween and you know I adore the spooky season!

Last time I had just started the "Redwork Noel" pattern -- though in white on red rather than red on white.  

The idea was that this "thread only" project would be a better choice with my two boisterous and curious kittens. Well, let's just say that that are VERY INTERESTED in both thread and paper, so it's still a little rough. But sometimes I get some stitches in while I sit in the garden, or while they sleep. (All those zoomies tire a little fella out!)

I've stitched nearly 20 of the 120 rows and I like the way the white-on-red looks. There's a long way to go, but I like it so far! By our next check-in I hope to have gotten at least another 10 rows stitched.... again, assuming the kittens allow it... 

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and Helen.

See you in three weeks!

Halloween Ornaments Project, September 2024

Last month (and, um, part of the previous month as a head start...) I started work on this piece: 

Here's where I was on August 13:

I stitched and realized that I didn't want any of the other colors -- I liked the "scherenschnitte" feel of the piece.

Not sure why the colors are so different in the two photos; but it's closer to this purple/grey than the lighter image above!

I did decide to add glow-in-the-dark white for the eyeball, and I used half cross stitches for the smoke tendrils. And I LOVE it. 

The only question is what to do with it -- it's too big for an ornament. I have two other "monochrome" pieces I'd like to stitch up that are similarly sized, but I want to ice dye some Aida to stitch them on. Then perhaps next year I'll make them up into pillow covers to holidazzle my couch a little. Perhaps...

Now, what's next? Having taken a step back from just making ornaments for my Halloween trees, I am going to continue down that path for a bit. This is "Into the Woods" by Mill Hill: 

Three very cute black cats marching along in the moonlight. I've been making these 5x5 bead+stitch on perforated paper projects for a while and I always find them satisfying. This might not be finished by October 13, but I'll have a good start on it! (And it's a Christmas present, so I have PLENTY of time!).

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 10

Hi everybody! So sorry for the late post -- I forgot about our check in, and it's a holiday weekend so I was out of town this weekend. More on that later!

Last time I had started this weird, new, "felt and sequins" GNOME kit. 

Here's where I got to last time: 

As many mentioned, it's "challenging" to stitch with new kittens in the house. It's hard enough just with floss, but add in little trays of beads and sequins, and, well, you can see it might be extra challenging. 

But we had some nice days so I sat in the garden and, well, IT'S HAPPY DANCE TIME!!!

For everyone else who, like me, wondered how this fella would end up "3D", well, he's more "2+D" -- just sorta stuffed and weighted, but really pretty flat. 

Still, I love all the detail of him, like these beautiful embroidered gloves!

I'm really happy how he turned out, and I'm thrilled to have him join our gnome family. 

Of course, the real question now is "what's next?"

I decided that something a little less involved is probably a good idea while the boys are so INTERESTED in everything. (I also know that this phase may last quite a while...)

So I found a pattern I purchased a long time ago and decided that a simple cross stitch project would be perfect. 

In theory "Redwork Noel" is worked in red floss on a white background. But as I have a bunch of white floss and some red Aida in my stash, I decided I would work on it "backwards" -- so where the pattern has a stitch, I leave it blank, and vice versa. 

It also has the benefit of being easy to transport -- which was useful for my weekend trip to the eastern half of my state. An iconic structure in the Pacific Northwest is the firewatch tower -- these towers built in the middle of nowhere and manned all summer long by solo "fire lookouts" -- people whose job is to, well, watch for fires in the surrounding forests, and, if spotted, radio them in. Jack Kerouac spent a couple of months at one, hoping to write, but didn't accomplish much. 

I had wanted to stay in a fire lookout tower for years, and finally managed to get a reservation for the Quartz Mountain Lookout near Spokane, Washington, over Labor Day weekend this year. It was glorious. A steep uphill hike carrying food and gear but so, so worth it: 

finally arriving at the lookout

the lookout tower

sunset from the lookout

sunrise from the lookout

My friend Jenny Hadfield calls things like this "earned views" -- you spend time hiking up, you have earned the view. So it was great to have a quiet weekend in this cozy tower and just watch the skies and read and relax. Perfect. 

By our next check-in I hope to have gotten more than a few stitches in my next piece -- kittens permitting, of course!

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and Helen.

See you in three weeks!

Halloween Ornaments Project, August 2024

This month I decided to make up an odd little wooden "kit":

I stained him black, added some purple metallic highlights, and voila: 

That seemed too small for a monthly project, and I had another project on my list that felt too big to be just a month. So I decided to get a head start on my September project: 

I had dyed some Aida a mottled purple/grey that seemed perfect for the project. I've made a good start and I'm sure I can finish it by September 13:

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 9

Hi everybody! Usually I prep these posts on Saturday and set them to go live first thing (as in just after midnight) on our check-in days. But things have been a little chaotic -- in the best possible way -- so I'm playing catchup. 

Last time I did a happy dance for my Christmas is Love banner, and set out to work on this Nordic Gnome kit: 

At the outset I wasn't sure how he was going to go together... and I'm still not 100% sure. But after three weeks, here's where I am: 

My next step is to "stuff tightly" and then I'll stitch the hands and feet, stuff them, and sew them on. 

Oh, as for the chaos at home -- three weeks ago we brought home these two kittens: 

We adopted them from a friend who took in a stray cat a few months back, only to discover the cat was pregnant ... with FIVE kittens. These two are Apollo Moonshadow (or MuMu) on the left, and Oberon Halford (or Obi) on the right. 

They are unspeakably adorable... and best photographed while sleeping because there are a LOT of zoomies. Here they are competing in synchronized snoozing:

Demonstrating that the wrestling they enjoy is all for show, and that really they love each other: 

Kittens also make it difficult to stitch because thread is EXCITING. So we'll see how the next three weeks go!

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and Helen.

See you in three weeks!

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 8

Hi everybody! Last time I was feeling like there were SO MANY SEQUINS and that this was going to drag out a bit. Here's where I left off: 

I got all of the "inner" sequins done and started on the long line of sequins around the edge. And here's the thing -- they looked SO GREAT that I just kept stitching them on! Clearly, I got my groove back because...

IT'S HAPPY DANCE TIME!!!

I am so pleased with how it turned out after all. The red sequins around the edge add exactly what was missing from the earlier stages. Thanks everyone for all of your support as I struggled a little with this. 

I'm going to stay in the Christmas vibe because, well, I still have SEVERAL (yep, more than three...) Christmas kits downstairs. Next up is actually a new one: 

Yep, I'm moving into the third dimension! My husband loves gnomes, and over the years I have given him a gnome every year. Some I've made, some I've bought. This guy looks adorable and fits in with my felt-and-sequins obsession.

For our next check-in on August 11 I hope to have gotten a good start on him. I don't yet have a sense of how he goes together, so we'll see!

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired: Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and Helen.

Halloween Ornaments Project, July 2024

For my June check in I hadn't finished my ornaments. Shame! Shame! But I'm happy to report that I finished two ornaments from the Prairie Schooler "Boo to You" booklet: 

But that's JUNE. For July I made up another pattern from the 2023 Halloween special issue of Cross Stitch magazine: Midnight Meeting. 

I stitched the cats on white Aida -- as called for in the pattern -- and thought it looked a little bland: 

So then I overdyed it with the "ice dye" method -- so much nicer!

So I made it into what feels a little oversized as an ornament, but will definitely find a home on my Halloween tree: 

Next month I'm going to do something a little different -- I saw this "kit" at a local store and thought it seemed like a good addition to my tree: 

I plan on staining him black and adding a little silvery color. I know this won't take long, but it will be nice to have a little break, maybe?

I'll be back on August 13 to share my finished ornament and my next project pick.

Christmas Banners Stitch-a-Long, part 7

Hi everybody! How can it have been three weeks?!?! Last time I had finished the critter embroidery and was set to start on the sequins. And there are a LOT of sequins. But here's where I was last time: 

I started the sequins on the bow on the top of the piece, followed by the letters, but realized I would be happier getting the rest of the "interior" sequins done before doing all the ones around the edge. So here's where I am now: 

I still have some green sequins on the tree as well as some "sparkle" embroidery on the tree to do, and then some red sequins on Santa's suit. But I did all the white sequins! When I look at the "before" and "after" photos they don't look very different, sadly, but in person there's some pretty good bling going on already. 

I wish I could get more of the sparkle effect, but here's a closeup of the lettering: 

For next time I hope to have the sequins added about halfway around the perimeter. I'm hoping I get into a groove and it doesn't take quite so long! 

The other stitchers in this stitch-a-long are always working on amazingly beautiful and diverse projects. Go check out their blogs and get inspired! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Mary Margaret, Cindy, and a warm (belated!) welcome back to Helen!

Halloween Ornaments Project, June 2024

Well this is embarrassing. This is the first time in almost two years that I haven't completed the project I set out to do!

Having made two of the ornaments from this booklet (the ghost and the skeleton, of course) in May, I decided to make two more.  

But somehow I ran out of time and didn't complete them. The stitching is done, but I haven't actually "made them up". Here's the most shameful part: the hardest part about completing them will be getting to where I stored the felt I use on the back! 

Next month -- besides finishing these two ornaments! -- I plan on stitching another piece from the 2023 Halloween special issue. (Seriously, I look forward to the new edition each year.)

I didn't bring the issue with me, but here's a shot of the cover and I've circled the project I want to do -- it's called Midnight Meeting. 

You may recognize other projects I've done! (And now I'm thinking about that cute 3D witch's hat in the foreground...

I'll be back on July 13 to share my finished ornaments and my next project pick.

The Independence Series ... and Winterthur

 In my quest to run a half marathon in all 50 states, there have been some strange trips. I had originally thought about a 2-week trip to the mid-Atlantic states and New England to pick up 5 of my final 6 states -- but that required a lot of time off and just didn't make sense. 

I found a 2-state weekend in September that would allow me to complete Vermont and Maine, so I focused in on Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey -- which I could run on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The first two states were so close together that I could even stay at the same hotel. I flew out on Monday, worked from the hotel on Tuesday (because it would have been grim to fly in the night before, frankly), then raced starting on Wednesday. 

I had some time after the Wednesday race to visit Winterthur and its exquisite decorative arts collections. I took the tram to the house. The gardens weren't particularly in bloom, but it was lush and green. I loved that it was all DESIGNED to look NATURAL. 

Then I went into the house and admired both the architecture and the exhibits. 

what's that on the right??

IT'S A KNIFE HOLDER

gorgeous embroidered necklace

After touring the collections, I moseyed around the grounds a bit. My favorite was this swimming pool and "seahorse": 

I enjoyed this very strange trip -- a great mix of running, sightseeing, and meandering. The only downside was that Wil couldn't join me for it. But he will be joining me for the shorter trip to New England in September!

June 3 - fly to Philadelphia, drive to Elkton, MD

June 4 - working in Elkton, MD

June 5 - Independence Series day 1, Bear, DE, plus Winterthur

June 6 - Independence Series day 2, Elkton, MD

June 6-7 - Gettysburg

June 8 - Independence Series day 4, Sussex, NJ

June 9 - Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater