back to Medallions

I've decided to finish Medallions before I start something new. And most likely I'll also complete the new release from Book of Ink Circles and get caught up with the Papillion Mystery. Hopefully all this weekend. I took a photo this morning of where I am but the color is horrible. It's not nearly so yellow. I really need to work out a better way to take photos! :-) This piece really moves quickly.

Rites of Spring Finis

Rites of Spring - design by Blackbird Designs

Home dyed 28 count linen

Weeks Dye Works and Crescent Colours fiber

Yeah! I finished up Rites of Spring last night on the way home from work. I literally had six inches of green fibers left. Glad that worked out because I certainly wasn't going to wait to finish this waiting for a fiber order to come in the mail. :-)

I tossed Medallions in my bag for the ride to and from work today. In a perfect stitching world I'd finish this in July but since July is here for only one more day after today, that is not going to happen. But I would like to finish it before I start another new piece. I'm working out what new piece that is in my head was I write this. I have so many options I'm not sure which direction to go in. I've been building up my stash of fat 1/4s of Silkweavers linen. I had managed to use all the big cuts I've received over the past two years as a member of the wish list program so I had to change all my wishes to the double cuts. So I can start on a piece as large as that if I want. I'm also thinking I'd like to start Cirque des Cercles from Ink Circles. I've had that chart ready to go since it first came out almost two years ago. It would be nice to get it off my to do list.

almost!

I am down to the wire on this one! Yeah! And I'm almost out of thread on four of my colors. I didn't go with the recommended colors because I didn't have any so I just winged it with what I already had on hand. And all of them where partial skeins. I won't have any of the two pinks or any of the two greens left. In fact, I might be stitching with air those last couple of dark green stitches. ;-) But the end is near! I've only been working on this two weeks but for me and a BBD that is forever. I can usually finish one of their designs in a week or so.

I would like to start working on the latest LF #31, Blessings and Kind Wishes but after looking at the fiber requirements, I need to purchase all but one skein. I'm not sure I want to spend the cash right now as I'm feeling cheap and I have plenty of other stuff to keep me busy. I also want to get started on the BBD Mystery that came with this years LF charts. Did you see how big that piece will be when it's completed? 23" x 8"! Wow that's a biggy BBD for sure. If you are stitching it all on one piece (as I am) you will need a piece of linen that is 27" x 12" (30 count). I'm doing mine on 32 count and I think I'll dye another piece of linen like I did for this one but in a little more of a grayish tan. I'm hoping to get started on the Mystery before the next LF comes out but I might not make it as I expect #32 to come out soon.

half way

Well I'm half way with Rites of Spring and quite frankly working on this piece is leaving me cold. And yesterday I did everything but work on this piece. I was clearly avoiding sitting down and working on it. I'm not sure why, it's a lovely piece so maybe it's the lure of something new and exciting with my new hand dyed fibers from Vikki. I have a several new spools and I'm dying to start something with them but if I put this piece aside I might never get back to it. So I'll continue to plod away. I have to go into the office all week so that will help as I'll be trapped for 14 hours or so on the train. But I really want to start something new! LOL! :-)

a snails pace

It feels like I'm hardly making any progress at all with Rites of Spring. But I really haven't been stitching much this past week. And I've worked from home a couple of days this week and each day I stay at home is three hours less stitching time I have because I'm not stuck on the train. I have no plans for the coming weekend so I'm hoping to get this piece done by Monday or Tuesday. I'm dying to move onto something new or even finish Medallions. I have purchased some absolutely beautiful custom Hand Dyed Fibers from Vikki Clayton and they have all arrived. It's so much fun to work out what I what to do.
The quilt top I made for my bedroom finally came back from the quilter after six months and instead of cross stitching yesterday, I took the time to bind it. I love how it turned out. Here is a close up of the quilting. The quilter did a flower motif and I'm very happy with it. Now I need to finish the pillows and duvet cover.
And so do the pugs!

Clancy is a rock star

Here is my progress on Rites of Spring. I actually had a ton more done but last night I discovered a counting error at where I started the vining circle and of course I was finished with it and the whole thing had to come out. And I find that once I do so much frogging, I don't want to stitch anymore so no stitching last night.

As for Clancy, after months of struggling with the weave poles at agility trials, this past weekend, he gave me five out of six in perfect form. There were a few other mishaps on each run so no qualifying scores, but I think we are on our way to getting everything worked out. :-) Yeah for Clancy!

I leave you today with a photo of what I see when I leave the house for work every day. It's Clancy and Aoife saying good-bye. They don't leave the window until I pull out of the driveway. Where is Molly you ask? She goes right back to bed and doesn't bother watching me go. ;-)

not much to show yet

I started on Rites of Spring from BBD on Friday evening. I purchased this chart when it came out but wasn't doing back flips over it so I didn't buy any of the necessary fibers for it. When I pulled it out to start to work on it Friday, I discovered that I wasn't missing one or two but all but one! So I decided just to wing it. And so far, it's working out. I also didn't want to use one of my nicer pieces of linen so I went through my stash of 28/32 count Weichelt supply that I purchased for $5.00 a half yard when Hobby Lobby demolished most of their cross stitch aisle. I found a cream 28 count that would work but be a little boring so I tossed the piece of linen I cut to the size I needed into a 2 cup measuring container, added hot water and tossed in a couple of teaspoons of tan Rit dye. And this is what came out. :-) I'm very happy with it. And it even shrunk a little (I lost an inch from both directions) so it's a little smaller than 28 count now. I love it when things just work.

No joy for Clancy and a nice surprise

I've been on vacation for the past two weeks and when I got into the office this morning there was a package for me. It was my Quaker exchange! I didn't remember that I had given my work address as my mailing address and so I would be late in receiving my animal. Elena from Italy sent me this wonderful Quaker Cat made into a pillow with a pocket on the back. She also included some really pretty floss and ribbon. Thanks so much Elena! I love it. Sorry I made you wait to hear if your package had made it across the water.

Clancy and I had no luck at this weekend's agility trial and I'm putting the blame squarely on me. I'm starting to freak out before the weave poles and I'm sure now that I'm the reason that he is not even trying them. I have a trial this weekend (three days outside!) and then one in August but then we are going to take a break to work on fundamentals. And I'll try to find a way to hide more of my stuff from Clancy.

Here is Clancy with his buddy, Mr. Beasley. Beasley is a Bernese Mountain Dog and weights 105 pounds! But he as gentle as can be with Clancy and Clancy enjoys being around him. :-) This was Beasley's first agility trial and he Q'd on Sunday with a first place in Jumpers.

It's hard being an agility rock star.

Barnabee's Bride finis

Barnabee's Bride designed by Just Nan

Recommended DMC fiber and linen provided in kit

I finished up Barnabee's Bride this morning. What a cute and quick piece! It looks really cute next to it's companion Scarlet Lady ladybug box.

In case anyone is keeping track of my vacation goals this is the sixth goal met. I started with seven goals and one I'm holding on until I receive my Gylt Twist Sylke in the mail. So I made my goals! I'm not sure how much of Medallions I'm going to stitch. I have a strong urge to start something new - on the small side I think so I can finish it in a couple of days.

Part 5 - Papillion Mystery - done
Part 6 - Papillion Mystery - done
Work on Medallions by Rosewood Manor - put in a small medallion last night
VWX - Sampler of Stitches from the Drawn Thread - done
Stitch Gilded Dragon Fly by Just Nan - hold until I receive silk fibers
Dye linen for Randenlap Celtic by Marion Freijzer - purchased linen rather than dye linen
Stitch and finish Barnabee's Bride Bella - done

Plus one bonus: stitched part six of Book of Ink Circles. :-)

Yesterday I let the dogs outside for a while and came back into the house. A little while later, I peeked out the window to check on them. And this is what I saw - Aoife sunning herself on the dog walk. :-) So cute!

Clancy and I have an agility trial this weekend. Please wish us luck - hopefully Clancy-boy has his weave pole mojo back.

VWX finis

I finished up VWX of Sampler of Stitches from The Drawn Thread last night. I had to make a quick run to my LNS for a skein of dark blue as I ran out on Tuesday. So far that is the only second skein of a color I have had to buy for this piece and judging by how much I have left of the other colors and the fact that there is only one part to go, I'm sure I will have enough of all the others to make it for the entire project. While I was at the store, I picked up all the charms I needed and added them last night - they are so cute!
Of course while I was shopping I could not resist checking out the linens they had in stock and I found this piece of Colorscapes called Fresca. I took a picture of it but what you can't really see in the photo is the subtle hint of teal or aqua in the piece. It's perfect for what I had in mind for Randenlap Celtic. Here is the linen (I bought a fat half and I only need the upper left hand corner where most of the color variation is):
Here is Randenlap Celtic chart:
And here are the two colors I was thinking of using. Both are HDF from Vikki Clayton.

I have had spool requests with Vikki on the spool board for about a month now for both of these but didn't even get one additional request and you have to have five before Vikki will dye the batch for you. So yesterday I emailed her and asked if she had any extra from previous requests and she did! So she is sending one spool of premium in the bottom color and two spools of 6 strand regular of the top color. I have my fingers crossed that one of these will work. :-)

I also told myself that if the shop had the thread kit for the Just Nan Glided Dragonfly I would purchase it, but alas, she was out. After really thinking hard on it, I want to do the kit with the green Gilt Sylke Twist. It looks gorgeous and I bet it really makes the piece. So I went online and purchased a spool of it for $20.00. Once it arrives I'll finish the conversion to DMC so it all matches. I spent an hour or so on it Tuesday night and so far I'm happy with how it looks. Of course the green DMC colors will depend on the shade of Gilt Sylke Twist so I'll have to wait for that.

Book of Ink Circles Part 6 finish

I jumped online last night and noticed that Tracey downloaded the next installment to the Book of Ink Circles. So I slammed it out. It only took about two and a half hours. Talk about being current. :-) This is my favorite block so far. If the rest are like this one, I will end up LOVING this piece.

I also managed to do about half of VWX from the Drawn Thread. I upload a photo now because my camera battery is charging - tomorrow for sure. I have an agility trial Saturday and Sunday so that might effect my stitching goals for my vacation. But I already know that I'm not going to dye my linen for Randenlap Celtic - I have two custom spool requests for HDF and both have had no other takers for almost a month now. I wanted to use one of those two colors for this piece and I wanted the dye the linen to match. So without the silk thread, I can't dye the fabric. Or I could just find a new color. But that means a road trip to my LNS and gas prices being what they are....

check two off my list

I managed to get current with the Papillion Creations Mystery. I even put the beads in since I moved it from Q-snaps to a scroll frame. This project is half way finished! I'm using HDF from Vikki Clayton in Old Maid of the Forest, Winterberry 1427, Jewelweed 3163, Koi Gold 4213, Winterberry 1421, and Magpie Tears 2345 on a 32 count Silkweavers who's name I can't remember. :-)

I have been so busy in the backyard. It's a real shame though that after 30 hours or so of really hard work, the only people that can see most of the improvements/changes I've made is my parents and I. :-) I've been moving plants, taking out old fallow veggie beds, planting grass seed, and adding plants to my perennial flower beds. I spent an entire day cleaning around the shed in preparation for re-siding it. That involved splitting wood and hauling it to the front of the house where we store it in the wood bin, clearing away years and years of old tossed wood, raking up years and years of debris and generally picking up. Somehow I manged to find a piece of Poison Ivy and have blisters up and down my arm - as soon as I finish this, I'm off to the pharmacy to pick up stuff to make it better. And I still have hours and hours of work left but for the next two days the forecast is for storms and rain.

But I can use the break. Maybe I should start on one of the two baby quilts I'll need to give out any day. ;-) My niece is due to ave her baby any day and my nephew's girlfriend is due next month.

I have a couple of outstanding questions from older posts. For my Ink Circles Book of Mystery I'm using HDF from Vikki Clayton in Mahogany, Magpie Tears, Magpie Warbles, Sea Silk, Black, Old Maid of the Heart, Old Maid of the Vineyard, Old Maid of the Forest.

And Jackie you win! Aoife is pronounced with a hard E like Eva or evening. :-)

Quaker Exchange received

Valerie received my Quaker Animal Exchange so I can share the finished project now. I stitched Quaker Cat from The Workbasket and I finished it into a box. Here is a photo of the goodies I included.

caught up with Ink Circles

Two weeks ago when I started back on this I had no idea I would continue until the two parts I was behind on plus the outline and filling would be completed this go around. But it was easy to just keep tossing it into my bag before I left for work each day and to work on it when I had time at home. And I'm glad I did. Now I'll cross my fingers and hope that my counting is correct for the entire outline because if it's not, I doubt I will fix it. :-) I'm way to lazy for that and I don't think I would ever restart a piece such as this one. Especially since I'm not really sure at this point how much I like it. But in any case, it's all down hill from here. Each of the remaining blocks is around a couple of hours stitching a piece and since they come out every three weeks, I'm sure I'll keep up at this point and complete the piece. And if I don't LOVE the piece when it's finished, I can sew it up as a wall hanging with fabric I have on hand so it won't cost me any more money.

I'm off work until July 14th and I have quite a list of things I want to work on during this time as well as a huge list of things I want to do outside in the yard.

Stitching:

• Part 5 - Papillion Mystery
• Part 6 - Papillion Mystery
• Work on Medallions by Rosewood Manor (half way finished now)
• VWX - Sampler of Stitches from the Drawn Thread
• Stitch Gilded Dragon Fly by Just Nan
• Dye linen for Randenlap Celtic by Marion Freijzer
• Stitch and finish Barnabee's Bride Bella

WOW! Quite a list for sure. :-) I doubt if I get to half of it but it's nice to have a plan.,

As for the yard I have a ton to do, trim shrubs, mulch the veggie garden, re-side the shed.... the list goes on and on.

Those of you in the USA, have a safe and happy Fourth of July! And everyone else, just enjoy. :-)

done with the outline!

I finished up the outline to Book of Ink Circles yesterday and now I've moved onto filling it all in. :-) It seems like it just takes forever but it's really easy to do because you don't have to look at a chart to do it. I'm not sure if I want to finish all the filling in right now. But the next installment comes out next Tuesday and I had kinda planned on part 1 being finished by the time part 6 came out. We'll see, maybe I should just continue on until I'm bored out of my mind which might be any day.

Today is the last day I'll be in the office for two weeks! Yeah! I'm working from home tomorrow and Wednesday and then I'm on vacation until July 14th. I have not real plans except to hang out and enjoy the sun and pugs. :-) A perfect vacation.

It's my 2nd blogoversary!

Was that ever a fast two years. Four hundred posts later, I still find I have things to chat about. :-) I think that is the most amazing thing. I've been through three different looks, with the current one being the most custom that I've managed so far (I still have work on the banner - like getting it centered and how about a border?). I've finished close to a hundred projects (but not all framed - actually most not framed) and have learned a ton about stitching, finishing and many other topics. All and all, it's been a blast and I can recommend blogging and getting involved in a topic specific community. This year I started joining exchanges and that has also been a positive experience. Next on my list to try, are round robins. :-)

Here is my progress on Book of Ink Circles. As mentioned last week, I'm going to work on this through part of the weekend so I can complete more of the outline. I'd like to be in a situation where all I need to do every three weeks is just the new release.

I have to be honest here - I don't like the way the last block looks completed. I was very happy when it was just the knot but then the entire knot was filled in with three different colors. It just looks messy to me. I'm going to live with it a while and then make the decision on whether or not to pull out the fill.

June is going to be my lowest completion month I've had so far since I started blogging. I will only finish one project. I feel like a slacker! LOL!

Jackie from the UK stopped by yesterday and asked me how to I pronounce Aoife, my youngest pugs name. It's pronounced E-fa. It's a Gaelic name and some sources say it means splendid beauty. :-)

not so much done :-)

I did manage to finish part 3 of the Ink Circles Book of Mystery (it's the center top box) and make a start on part 4 (right fishtail). But that was about it. I had way to much fun this weekend and I didn't even bother to pick up my stitching.

On Saturday, Clancy and I went to an AKC Tracking seminar. And my little pug dog is a natural. :-) Am I ever excited. It's truly amazing to see a dog just get it. In Tracking a dog learns for follow human scent by tracking footsteps. There are three different titles and a championship title dogs can earn. I was told that there only around 200 dogs that have earned the champion tracking dog title. And I just bet, that if I managed to put a championship on Clancy, he would be the first pug. I'll have to do some research. :-) That's a long way from here of course and these titles are very hard to earn. It takes years to get a CT on a dog.

But what I think is the coolest thing, the AKC offers a title called Versatile Companion Dog - there are four levels of VCD (1, 2, 3 and 4) and a championship. To earn these titles the dog must have agility, obedience and tracking titles. It's very hard to get the upper levels and so far no dog has earned the ultimate VCD Championship. We already have our first step for VCD1 which is our first two Novice Agility titles. Now I want to start working on our TD or Tracking Dog title. The first step of course is to find a teacher. That is going to be very difficult because in the area I live in, there is a huge demand for tracking classes. And then of course, I need to start obedience classes but I'm thinking that will be last, after Clancy has all his agility titles.

I've been doing work on my blog and I'm almost ready to unveil the new look and name. I went with something that reflects all my interests. I think it's pretty cool. I wanted to have it completed by my blogaversary (in three days) but I'm not sure if I will get it all completed as it's this week. And I'm also pondering a change of email address as well as a totally new blog address. The only reason I'm hesitating is I'll loose a ton of blog visitors because I won't have anyway of contacting them and I don't want to put a link on the old blog because one of the reasons for changing the URL is I don't want an old BF to be able to follow me. I'm torn as to what to do.

Quaker Cat finis

Quaker Cat by the Workbasket

HDF Premium silk in a mystery color, dark bluish green

32 count Mountain Mist by Silkweaver

Here is my finished Quaker Cat. It's for an exchange so I won't reveal how I'm going to finish it until my partner has received it. ;-)

I started back on the Ink Circles Book of Ink Circles. The new section was released yesterday so I'm two full releases behind and I really wanted to stay current with this one. Right now the plan is to work on it for a week or so. That will give me time to complete both new sections plus get more of the outside frame complete. I'm also way behind with the Papillion Creations Mystery. The new section of that was released on Tuesday - I'm now have two parts to get caught up on.

I'm a huge Cubs fan and so are the Pugs. And they like to show their Cubs Pride. :-) From the left, Aoife, Clancy and Molly.

new project

This is what I worked on over the weekend and almost got it done! It's Quaker Cat from the Workbasket using a Vikki Clayton HDF in a mystery color on 32 count Mountain Mist from Silkweavers. Of course, it's a bad photo and you can't see just how pretty a color Mountain Mist linen is - a very light greenish/blue and it goes perfect with the dark greenish/blue of the silk. I'm hoping to have the head and feet done by the morning and then I'll start work on the really big tail. I bet that takes a couple of days at least. I'm not sure how I want to finish it yet. It's an exchange piece so I want it to look really special. Maybe a box. :-) That would be pretty.

I'm super behind with blog reading and even further behind with commenting. But I'm stopping by when I have a chance. Thanks for visiting me!

have a great weekend!

Here is my progress on Medallions. I'm a little over half way. :-) I'm so please with how the silk looks against the chocolate brown of the linen. While I know this combo isn't everyone's cup of tea, I just love it and it's exactly how I envisioned it.

I have to put this up for several days while I work on an exchange piece and get going on both of my mysteries before the new parts are released. I like to keep current on those sort of projects.

Have a great weekend!

almost half way

I'm almost half way finished with Medallions. I can't believe how quickly this piece is moving along - I'm almost at the top of the design. I'll work on it until the weekend then I have to put it down to work on an exchange piece that I have to have in the mail by the end of the month. And I'd like to work on my Ink Circles mystery and my Papillion Creations mystery before the new parts are available. So much to stitch and so little time. :-)

second exchange received

Yesterday Deanne from St. John's, Newfoundland in Canada posted on the Hooked on Exchanging blog that she received her freebie exchange. Here is a photo that Deanne took as I forgot to (as usual). I took a box that I had purchased around the holidays last year and topped it with Moire. I love how it turned out.

Below is my progress on Medallions. I barely had a second to put in a stitch. I worked out in the yard all weekend to make up for lost time in May. My Dad and I also put the finishing touches on our new screen house on Saturday and yesterday I purchased new furniture for it. Now we just need a new dining table since we lost the original one when the deck collapsed in February. As soon as the sun comes out again (we are having a series of really bad storms here in Northern Illinois) I'll take a photo of our new patio. We all love it and I can already envision many lost hours sitting with the pugs in the shade.

stitching along

I've been working away at Medallions - this photo is kinda washed out. The linen is a much richer brown (see Monday's post). I'm very pleased with how this silk thread is working on the my hand dyed linen. Sandra asked me a while back where I got the dye for my linens. I buy everything from Dharma Trading. They do ship internationally. I only use their Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes. Several years ago, I purchased their hand dyed fabric starter set - it contained everything I needed to get going. I do a low water immersion method of dyeing and the book contained in the kit tells all about it. It's really easy and super fun to make your own hand dyed linens.

Half way there with St. Reatham!

What a glorious feeling! I'm half way finished with St. Reatham. I'm stitching it on 36 count Golden Promises by Silkweaver using HDF Mermaid Blue 2327. I'm putting it up for a little while but since I want to be finished by the end of the year, not too long. I love how this is turning out. It almost makes most of the agonizing I did over my color selections worth it. ;-)

Here is a new start, Medallions by Rosewood Manor. I'm stitching it on the 32 linen I dyed myself using a HDF custom spool affectionately called Strawberry Shortcake. I'm going to work on this for a couple of weeks for sure. I also love my color combo with this one. It’s just what I was looking for.

Clancy and I had another tough agility weekend. Six runs, no Qs. Mostly because of his weave poles, or lack of. We are taking an agility trial break until mid-July. Hopefully we will have some issues worked out by then. But I have to give him credit where credit is due. He really rocked everything else and once we get things tweaked, he is going to be amazing. My agility teacher was one of the judges over the weekend and even she had praise for him. It was a nice, rosy feeling.

first exchange gift received

Kathryn received her Stitching Bloggers Birthday Club gift. Her birthday was on Monday. I stitched Tulip & Stars Pincushion by Blackbird Designs. I'm happy you liked your birthday gift Kathryn! :-) I borrowed a photo from her blog of the entire package. I never can remember to take one before I send it out.

still at it

I've decided to continue my work on St. Reatham until the end of the month which is Saturday. I'd love to finish another page but most likely I'll put some more letters and bottom border in instead. I would hate to leave a motif unfinished and that is what will happen if I try to finish page 6 - half of it is a really big one. But no matter what, I'll be half way finished! Will that ever feel good. Since I dated it 2008 I HAVE to finish it this year. :-)

I finished off both my exchange pieces for the month last Friday - I sent out my Hooked on Exchanging piece Moire - I can't wait to show off what I did. I love how it turned out. And I also sent out my Birthday Club gift. That really turned out cute too - hopefully I'll have photos of both to post by the end of the week.

Clancy and I didn't earn any Q's over the past weekends trials - weave poles again. My teacher has since instructed me to make him finished his weaves before letting him go on. It took him three tries on his last run on Sunday but he did finish them. Of course redoing them was an automatic NQ. We have one last trial this weekend. It's an outdoor one and I'd love just one Q before we take a six week break.

a wonderful surprise today

I got home today after a hard day at an agility trial with my pug Clancy (two more almost Qs :-( - again no weave poles) and there was a mystery package waiting for me. I opened it up and found my freebie exchange from Wendy Jo! She stitched me a pinkeep from Blue Ribbon Designs in a beautiful williamsburg blue. She also sent along several GAST threads in my favorite shades and to make the package complete, she sent along a couple of treats for my furkids. :-)

What a nice lift!Thanks so much Wendy Jo, the pinkeep is wonderful, I love the design and color and your work is very fine. The pugs thank you also for thinking of them. :-)

progress at last

It's funny how I can work St. Reatham for a week or so and not feel like anything is getting done and then I look at it and it's obvious to me that I have made progress. That was how it was this morning. I really have put a huge chunk in. :-) The original plan for this go-around was to put in the big motif that I'm working on now and maybe a bit more to page three. But I'm thinking that I want to work down the center a bit and finish some of page six also before I stop. I'd love to get more of that bottom border in. I'm worried that if I leave that to the end, it will never get done. :-)