Almost There!

I've got a little more to do on the last two flowers, and then it's on to backstitching! I haven't really been in a stitching mood, today. I keep finding reasons to do other things. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be ready to let that needle rip!

SBQ May 30, 2007

I haven't answered the last few SBQ's because they didn't really pertain to me. Here's this week's question from Kathryn.

How many needles do you use during a project? Have you ever loaded up a needle for every color? Do you use a new needle for every project or recycle your
favorite needle?

I usually have two needles out during a project. If I have enough area with one color to warrant it, I'll load up two needles at a time with that color and stitch one, then the other. If I'm working a piece with small areas of any given color, I still like to have that second needle out to help every now and then when the thread on the needle I'm using isn't long enough to stretch over the hoop to the other side.

I've never loaded up a needle for every color, but I have tried to stitch in rows once so I had about 6 or 7 needles going at any given time - all tethered to the piece of course. Oy. That was a headache, for me.

I have a whole bunch of the same exact needle in a little case and I just pull any given two out when I sit down.

My Kind of Gardening

I've finished the hat and the lettering and started on the flowers. Lettering is always fun - it just flies along! :) This pattern is just so cute!

Kinda Like Molasses

That's about the pace I've been working this piece. :P I've had a few nights of no stitching at all. I'm almost done with the hat, and have the flowers and lettering to go.

My First Kit

I got a small start on the kit my friend Alicia sent me. Mary Engelbreit stuff is so cute and I really like this design!

Here's what I've done so far...

Another One Bites The Dust!

I got a burst of motivation and polished this bib off last night. Yay! The design originally had 2 flowers, but I decided to stop with one and make Baby's name bigger. Aesthetically, I just like it this way a little better. Besides, it was going to be a while before I finished a second flower at this pace.



Next up is a cute little kit that my friend Alicia sent me. I've carded the floss and will probably get started tonight. Is it just me or is this an awful lot of thread - and a lot of colors! - for a 5" piece?

Blooming Slowly

I've been working on the bib requested for a friend, and I've almost finished cross stitching the first flower. I think I'll backstitch it before I move on to the next flower. This is coming along very slowly as we've been very busy. It's definitely almost summer! BBQs and baseball games and bike riding galore!


Next up is a little kit sent to me by my friend Alicia. I don't think I've ever actually done a kit before, so I'm excited to dig in!!

Hook, line and sinker!

Well, I refused to post anymore on this stubborn fish until I was finally finished. So, it's been a few days. :) I actually finished the stitching yesterday afternoon, but haven't mounted him on his velcro yet. I have been deciding whether to wrap him over a piece of plastic canvas first, or not. I think I'm going with not. Now, I just need that illusive backpack...

I've also gotten a small start on the next project. My cousin asked me to stitch a baby bib for a friend of ours who just had her second baby. Baby's name is Sabine Magnolia (isn't that pretty?), so I'm stitching magnolia flowers.

STILL Swimming

Well, I didn't meet my goal of finishing Mr. Betamax by Saturday. In fact, it's Sunday and I'm still not finished. I have made a lot of progress, though. Just having the goal helped motivate me to put time in on the project. I guess I just need to recalibrate my reasonable-goal-setting skills.



I've finished the cross stitching and have dipped a toe into the backstitching. I have a ways to go, though. So, I'm setting a new goal of Tuesday for the finish.


Apparently, the most difficult part of the project is finding Little Man's backpack. Whatever happened to Jansport? If I wanted a plastic Thomas, Dora or Spiderman backpack, I'd be SET. But, a plain, smallish backpack...a leetle hard to find.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Dawn.

Here are the rules:
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. You need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged and to read your blog!

1. I've never broken a bone or sprained a joint.

2. I've lived in Oregon, Hawaii, Arizona (for a short while), Oregon, Wyoming (for a short while), Oregon, Hawaii and North Carolina.

3. My husband has turned me into a food nazi. High fructose corn syrup is apparently the devil and at least 70% of our food is organic.

4. I own the sweetest and weirdest Boston Terrier on the planet.

5. I met my husband in college because my roommate had a crush on him and brought him home for a study date. Sounds bad. We're all still friends. :)

6. I played the piano for about 7 years growing up, was a performance piano major for one term in college and miss having one more than I miss anything else in the world (besides my family).

7. I have a stack of magazines next to my computer almost a foot high. I haven't read any of them. Why do I subscribe!!?

I'm tagging Lea, atoxicsparkle, Aud, Dana, Pix, and Alicia. (That's only 6. I don't know that many bloggers. :P)

Just Keep Swimming...

I've made a little progress on Mr. Betamax here. He's starting to look a little more like a fish and a little less like a whale! I'm not sure if I'm going to make my goal of finishing by Saturday, but I'll just keep swimming, just keep swimming!!



The tip from Kathryn to "lay" the thread on the fabric rather than pulling it, has really helped! I really like the way this little guy looks.

The Reveal!

Well, the Double Secret Super Classified Oh So Mysterious Project recipient opened her present 4 days early (the cheater!), so I get to share it a little ahead of schedule!

My dear mom is a bit of a coaster fanatic. (Sorry, mom, it's true. :P) So, I stitched a coaster/trivet set for her for Mother's Day. This character is a family name, and I was so thrilled with this design that included it! The coasters are stitched one over one on 32 ct fabric (my eyes are only just now recovering :P) and the trivet is stitched on 18 ct aida.

Here's a close up of the stitching.

A Patch-y Spot

As I've mentioned, the next mini-project is Little Man's first patch for his backpack. He chose this pretty little Beta from my handy dandy Cross-stitcher's Complete Companion.



I've gotten a small start on it so far. It should move very quickly. But, I'm tutoring a lot this week, so I don't have a lot of time to stitch. My goal is to finish it by Saturday.



I've also been keeping my stitches a little looser. I've noticed from looking at other people's work, that I may have been pulling my stitches too tight. I'm really liking how this is coming along so far!

Dunzo!

Well, I've decided that I'm done. The pattern calls for some french knots, but I don't think those will hold up well on a quilt. So, I'm leaving them out.

Next up, some patches for Little Man's backpack!

Come "N" Along

Yep, it's coming along. I've finished about a third of the backstitching so far. I don't know why I used to hate backstitching so much. I kind of love it now. :) I guess it was just a matter of getting the hang of it!

SBQ May 4, 2007

I've noticed a lot of stitching blogs posting weekly SBQ questions and their answers. (I'm assuming this stands for Stitching Blogger Question, but who knows, I only *just* figured out what an LNS was. :P) So, I've decided to jump in on the action.

This week's question seems to be:

How many WIPs (Works In Progress) do you have? How many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) do you have? When does a WIP become a UFO?

Currently I have two small floral pieces that I started years ago, and then tucked into a book. Since then, I've had a daughter and have decided to finish the pieces for her room. This will be a really quick finish, I just need to get to it.

I also have several quilt squares with my daughter's initials that I'm working on - one down, one almost done and one more to start.

I have a quasi-UFO (which I'm calling The Elephant In The Room) that I'm trying to turn back into a WIP. It's been at least 2 years since I've done a stitch.

I don't think I'd consider a project an official UFO until I admitted to myself that I had no intention of picking it back up. Being that I'm quite the optimist, I may never have an official UFO. lol

One Letter Down!

I've finished the Big Bad Letter A! Doesn't seem like I get two finishes, two days in a row very often. Or ever! So, I am one happy camper today.

The original design has a pink A, but it didn't mesh well with the M and N. I'm really happy with the substitute color I picked out. I agonized over the backstitch color choice and think it came out pretty well! Does DMC have a color wheel or anything that helps you find compatible colors?

Now, I just need to backstitch the N and start (and finish) the M. Guess I need to get cracking on the next step, as I'm skeptical these will just jump into a quilt all by themselves. Unfortunately.

Another Day, Another Bib

I finished this a month or so ago, and can share now that the birthday boy has had his day. This was for my nephew and his sports themed room. I *had* to get Boynton for this bib because Boynton for Brayden's bib just makes me happy. I ♥ alliteration. :)

I am also happy to report that the Double Secret Super Classified Oh So Mysterious project is officially a *finish*! I've snapped the pics, wrapped it up and will send it out tomorrow. I'm not 100% thrilled about the quality of my stitching, but it's not half bad for a first attempt at one over on 32 ct fabric ifIdosaysomyself.