Re-Finishes

I've been itching to stitch little Nemo today, but I wanted to bear down and bead, bead, bead. I added the beads to the Mary Engelbreit kit, which is now an official finish. Now, I just have to find a frame that will fit well.

I also added the beads to the initials and now I'm all set to pick out some fabrics! I found a quilter who will piece and quilt for me for a really reasonable price, so I can't wait to get this rolling.

Stick a fork in it!

I knew I should have just held out until I finished. :P Oh well, now I'm finished. When I started Baby A's initials, I decided to leave out the knots, because I didn't think they would hold up well in the washing machine. It turns out that was a good idea since I can't quite seem to perfect knots, anyhow. But, now that I've discovered beads, I think they should be ok. So, I need to pick up a few shades of beads and then I'll repost all three initials.

Then, I get to pick out fabric for the quilt! Yay!

I can taste it!

I was trying to hold out until I finished, because I'm Al. Most. There. But, I hate to go for days without posting. I've finished the backstitching on the flower and butterfly and am about a quarter of the way through the M. Should be done very soon!

With Father's Day being a nice chance to remember just how awesome my Dad is, I pulled out his piece and intended to stitch at least a thread length. But, it's quite big and the fabric is rather heavy and quite soft. I'm really not sure how I was stitching it in hand before. I'm planning on investing in Q-snaps very soon, so I'm going to wait until I get those before I start up again.

"M" Almost There!

I have a few more stitches to put in on the butterfly, the other half of the M and then the backstitching to go! Despite the many neutral shades with really similar tones, this one has been a snap. Much faster than the last two now that I bothered to read the directions and found out the initial designs call for 1/4 stitches not 3/4 stitches. Oy!

P.S. Why can't I consistently make my pictures clickable? Sometimes they work so people can click through to the actual size and sometimes they don't...

I "M" Making Progress

I've gotten started on the last letter for Baby A's quilt. I had to put a dark paper behind it when I scanned so you could at least sort of see the really light colored stitches.

With no tutoring scheduled this week, I've had time to fly right along on stitching! And, I *think* I've finally figured out how to put in a picture so you click on it for the full size shot. Crossing my fingers...

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!

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.

BackStitching is BS

Ok, not really. But, I couldn't resist. :) I have a few more leaves to backstitch, some curlie-q's and then I need to figure out what color to use to backstitch the perimeter of the A since I changed the color from the chart. Then, I'm done!

I also realized that I'm not the sharpest needle in the pin cushion as it turns out I actually *do* have the colors needed to backstitch the N as well. I was just reading the chart wrong. So, there goes my excuse to buy the full set of DMC. For now...

And, I'm going to start working on a project for my son, who has been patiently requesting something anything just for him. That should come as a relief, since you all have to be as bored of these letters as I am by now!

Big A, Little Progress

I've done a little more stitching on the A. Not a lot as I've been tutoring every night this week. I really love the colors in this one. But, I'm not happy about how the blue stitches in the butterfly look very x-ey. There's no backstitching on that area in the design, but I think I'm going to have to add some to tone down the Frankenstein vibe.

Next, I need to finish up the butterfly, add some leaves, backstitch and then this one will be done! Now, I'm starting to have to think about how on Earth I'm going to get these into a quilt. :P I'm going to try to find a quilter in my area to sew the stitching and other patches together - I'll do the cutting. Any thoughts on what would be a reasonable price for me to offer...?

Two steps forward, one step back.

I finished the cross stitching on the "N"! Woohoo! Then, I went to start the backstitching and realized I had ignored the backstitch column when I went thread shopping, so I don't have any of the colors I need. Boohoo!


So, I put it a little more work on the "A" instead. I'm kind of digging the black. Adds a little edge! Once the butterfly fills in, the two patches will coordinate more as the colors are in both designs.

Slowly coming along...

While these patches are for a crib sized quilt for my daughter, at this rate, they may make it in time for a queen sized quilt wedding gift. :)

Haven't mentioned yet that these designs are from Butterfly Garden Alphabet by Carol Schmidt and Leisure Arts.