Monday, January 26, 2009

First House finish!

I had a pretty good stitching weekend. :-) First I finished block 1 of Houses of Hawk Run Hollow. Yeah! And now that the piece is dated, I have to finish it this year. :-) On Friday I called Drema and ordered the six skeins of NPI that I needed for block 2 so I'll be ready to go on February 1st.
Just for kicks below is just how big of a piece of linen I need for HoHRH (32 count). It's a good thing that I have already completed the Village of Hawk Run Hollow because after seeing this, I would run away screaming there is no way I could finish such a large piece. When I purchased the linen for VoHRH I purchased the linen for HoHRH also. At the time I wasn't very comfortable with 36 count so I went with the larger 32 count. I wish now I just would have sucked it up and went with the smaller linen. I find now that I prefer the smaller count when working on super big pieces. Oh well, live and learn.

I worked a ton on Quaker Turtles from With My Needle. I really want to get this complete before the Nashville things I have pre-ordered start to show up as this is one of last year's Nashville things that I HAD to have and purchased complete. I did this with several things and I only finished one out of the many things I ordered. That is not going to happen this year. I won't be buying any charts unless they are limited. So far I have ordered A Petit Sampling Etui, the new collaboration piece (which I have shown before) and the Victorian Memories Chaise Lounge by The Cat's Whisker's. I have the two previous chairs and have even completed one. I pulled out last year's and I'm ready to start stitching that because I'd like to have it finished before this new one shows up at my door.

Here is Quaker Turtles so far. Tonight I'll finish off the piece on the top left for sure before I start to work on something else. And it's been going so well, I might just start on another of the shell pieces. :-)

This is where I'm at with Cirques des Cercles. I didn't get much done last week because I kept falling asleep on the train. The colors of the picture below are pretty close to real. I'm using a variegated silk from Vikki Clayton called Glacial (now discontinued) in a light periwinkle blue, light aqua and light violet.

I'm really struggling to work on this piece. And it has nothing to do with how much I LOVE the design or how much I LOVE the linen and silk I'm using. It's because I don't know what I'll do with this piece when I'm finished with it. None of the colors go with anything in my life nor does the design as I tend to lean toward a folk/county decorating plan. So this piece will never really fit in anywhere. So I'm wondering why I'm spending time on it when I have so much in my stash that I love as much that fits in with the rest. Does this ever happen to you? That you work on something just because you love knowing you will never do anything with it? I'm thinking rather than spend tons and tons of time working on it, I'll just work on it when the mood strikes. A couple of days here and there and stop worrying that it's sitting in my WIP basket.


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on finishing Block 1 of Houses, only 11 more to go (sorry, I couldn't resist ;))

Quaker Turtles are looking wonderful and I absolutely adore the colour combination you've got going on Cirque, even though I'm not a blue/purple person. I have to admit, I tend to stitch things that I know will fit in with some part of our house decor and am reluctant to stitch on something that I know won't fit anywhere. To this end, I've abandoned my Hannah Beeby WIP and plan to start over with colours that fit our house better. I think your idea of stitching on it as and when and not stressing over it is probably a good one.

LadyV said...

Your work is beautiful! Congrats on finishing the first house square...You're making great progress on all of your projects.

Vee (http://brokenneedle.typepad.com

Siobhán said...

Your Houses is coming along so nicely! As are your other WIPs. Looks like you had a great stitchy weekend! I do pretty much what Karen does... I stitch it if it will go in my house. I have so much that I want to stitch that I try to look at things as--where will I hang it? Do I want to pay money to have it framed/finished? Is it worth the time & money? That said, if you're enjoying it--and it IS a gorgeous piece--keep at it when the mood strikes.

Lindsay said...

Congratulations on finishing block one, love your Cirque.

I frequently stitch things because I like them knowing full well that they will end up in the drawer keeping each other company and may never have anything done with them

Unknown said...

Seeing that our house in very contemporary (with lots of modern art), I never thought that anything that I stitch would actually GO anywhere. I just stitch what I like. If, like Lindsay, it ends up in a drawer, so be it. (Though Warm Water Wash by Raise the Roof will end up in the Laundry room.) So I do tend to stitch for my family. I don't have to like it as long as they do.

It's too bad that you can't place the Cirques des Cercles in your color scheme. I love blue and think that fabric is absolutely wonderful. I'd put it SOMEWHERE, even if it doesn't go exactly. It's folksy enough that it wouldn't look out of place.

Christine S said...

I think that stitching is all about the journey, not the destination, so if you love stitching CdC, then enjoy it! Who knows, maybe it doesn't fit in right now but it will someday? Love your progress on it and great job on your other projects, too.

Cindy said...

Congratulations on finishing your block! It does look a bit overwhelming when you see the rest of that big piece of fabric, though :)

I absolutely love the fabric that you are using for CdC!! If you are enjoying it, keep on going. I have often stitched things that I have wondered what I would do with them when I was done. If it is working for you right now, go for it! Who knows, your tastes may change, and it may fit in down the road.

Laura said...

Wow, such pretty projects you have going. Congrats on your first block finish in HoHRH. And your CdC looks just stunning on that fabric!

Cindy F. said...

Congrats on your 1st house finish!
How many times did I stitch something and end up wondering why I chose it or why I made it so big?!!...lol...But your Cirques piece is absolutely beautiful on that fabric! Our home is supposed to reflect our personalities and things we like...if you like it (I love it!) you should hang it. If it bugs you, give it as a special gift. I like so many different styles, I like the mixture of designs in our home. Our style is French Country, but if I stitched and hung only roosters and such, I'd be sick of French Country. Just me:) Quaker Turtles look wonderful on your fabric choice too!

Melissa said...

Congrats on finishing the first house on HHRH. Keep up the great work!

Carmen said...

this month i will begin the garden chair of Cat's Whisker's too! I love that new couch, the Victorian style, ah!

The first house is very pretty. and ink and circles, fantastic fabric is beautiful, that beautiful blue!

Michelle said...

Beautiful finish on your first house. I know what you mean about doing the larger pieces on 36ct. And the stitchers at my guild tend to do all of their's on 40ct, and they look so pretty. I think your CdC is gorgeous, but I know what you mean about spending time on what will fit in with your house.