TAST 09/30/2014 - and a giveaway notice!

This week I completed 2 TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) stitches.  Clicking on any photo should enlarge the image for a closer view.

TAST #130: Double Lock Stitch

I used a strand of black size 8 perle cotton for the foundation stitches and pink size 8 perle cotton to interlace the double lock stitches above.  I have a couple of ideas brewing to build this seam further on the project I added it to...  I have come to enjoy these interlaced stitches.

TAST #131: Beaded Lock Stitch

I used a strand of size 5 red perle cotton for the foundation stitches and to interlace the lock stitches.  Blue seed beads were added during the stitching process.  Next, I added small white pearl beads to the center of each square the Beaded Lock Stitch created.  I love the way this turned out on my red, white and blue block.

I can barely wait to try out the stitch Sharon introduced this week.  You can check it out at this link.  Click on the links in the comments to see which stitches others have completed this week and how they dressed them up!

Check out this giveaway - but hurry, the drawing will be tonight!

Sharon Boggon is not only generous with her time, teaching us new stitches on her blog at pintangle.com.  She has also provided another set of her crazy quilting templates (which I have only heard great reviews on) to Crazy Quilting International for a drawing on their blog. Check out the 1st of 3 posts about the Crazy Quilting Retreat that recently took place in Kansas City, KS and leave a comment to enter the drawing. 

I do apologize for the short notice.  There will be a random drawing tonight (Tuesday, September 30th) for the templates and the winner will be announced tomorrow morning.  If you missed the deadline for this drawing, keep in mind there will be 2 more posts about the retreat and each post will include a drawing.  (I wonder what the next two lucky winners will receive...)

A Snowball from Kristie!

A "snowball" from Kristie W. in IN.

Last night, my youngest son brought the mail in and just look at the wonderful surprise he brought me! 

I found the adorable little snowman difficult to capture with my camera. (You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.)  The close-up below was taken at an angle and the camera focused on the beads at the bottom, putting the top out of focus, but it does show more detail of the snowman.

Close-up of the snowman on the "snowball" from Kristie W. in IN.

I just love the movement Kristie created with the little snowflakes stitched down along the left side of the snowman and the way the snow flurry "blows" up along the seam to his right.

The variegated blue ribbon holding the lace down on the right is fantastic.  The star plays wonderfully with the light. The beaded star in the upper-left section is fabulous, and I love all the beads along the bottom.  The little white snowflakes are wonderful!

The way the beads and silver bits in the fabric play with the light make me anxious to see this beauty dancing with the reflections of Christmas lights!

Thank you, Kristie!  I absolutely love this little treasure!
 
For those of you new to my blog, I belong to a Yahoo! group called Crazy Quilting International and we have an on-going "snowball" swap.  This makes the 5th snowman/winter themed snowball in my collection and I absolutely love it!  To see all of the snowballs I have received and the ones I have made for my CQI friends, you may click on the CQI Snowball label in the list to the right, or follow this link.

Hugs,
Renee

WIP Wednesday 09/24/2014

This week, I finished adding the last two names to my Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt!

For those of you new to my blog, I am a member of the Yahoo! group, Crazy Quilting International (CQI).  I found them on Yahoo! after stumbling across their blog and enjoying all of the eye candy.  In 2013, I signed up to participate in a Winter/Christmas themed DYB (do your block - meaning everyone embellishes a full block) Round Robin.

I stenciled words onto blue fabric using acrylic paint, heat set it, and used those words as the center piece of each block.  My blocks went through a monthly rotation, allowing each of the other 5 ladies participating in the round robin to choose a block to embellish.  The blocks returned home early this year (I believe in January) with 5 beautifully embellished and one for me to complete.

This year, I finally decided to participate in WIP Wednesday - pretty much a support group to complete large stitching projects - offered by Sharon Boggon at pintangle.com.  (To read more about it, click here.)  I wanted to complete this wall quilt before the holidays, so I chose it as my first project.  I also began a Heaven and Earth Designs cross-stitch project this year and I share its progress on WIP Wednesdays, too.

I added the first name, last initial, and the state of residence of each person beneath the block they embellished, as I see this as a holiday heirloom that will be passed on to my children and thought it would be nice information for the future generations.  I also plan to add a label to the back with the full names of each participant.

I have a few more things to do before I will be ready to add the backing and bind my Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt.  I hope have more to share with you next week. 

If you would love to see some beautiful eye candy, I encourage you to check out this link to the WIP Wednesday post on pintangle.com.  Sharon made some lovely progress on her hussif.  For even more eye candy, check out the links other readers have left in the comments to see the progress on their lovely projects!

Now for those goals... I marked one item off the short-term list, but added two to the long-term list. Next week, I should eliminate at least one more item.

Last Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Complete at least one name. the last two names. The last two names are done!
2. Make a TAST post.  My Lock Stitch Post is here.
   
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 x-stitches by next week.  I believe I completed nearly 300 x stitches.
   
5. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me. I made more progress, but not enough to piece it quite yet.  This is a priority this week.
6. Embellish a Halloween ornament for the 1st Annual Halloween Ornament Exchange at Wisdom with Needle and Thread. (I love Halloween decor, so I am excited about this swap! This will be a secret until I receive my ornament and mine has been received.) I finished this Monday night and mailed it out yesterday.  I truly hope the recipient likes the ornament I made, I am a little nervous about that, but am excited to know it is on its way to its new home (I can share it with you after that!)

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block.
6. Piece August CQJP 2014 block.
7. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
8. Piece and embellish a snowball for Lori by end of October.
9. Embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee and Donna by the end of October.
10. Piece and embellish a snowball for Lynne by November 15th. 
11. Complete and mail a gift. 
12.  Paint guest bathroom.

This Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Complete quilting so it is ready to add the back and bind.
2. Make a TAST post. 
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 x-stitches by next week. 
5. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me.

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block.
6. Piece August CQJP 2014 block. 
7. Piece September CQJP 2014 block.
8. Piece October CQJP 2014 block.
9. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
10. Piece and embellish a snowball for Lori by end of October.
11. Embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee and Donna by the end of October.
12. Piece and embellish a snowball for Lynne by November 15th. 
13. Complete and mail a gift. 
14.  Paint guest bathroom.

TAST 09/23/2014 - Lock Stitch

This week, Sharon introduced TAST Stitch #131.  I am a bit behind and finished Stitch 129 this week to share with you.

TAST #129: Lock Stitch

I completed the Lock Stitch using a single strand of size 8 pink perle cotton for the lines, and a strand of size 8 black perle cotton to lock the stitches below.  Then, I turned the row into tiny flowers by adding a French knot to the tip of each pink line, using a strand of size 12 mauve perle cotton.  Lazy daisies (also called detached chain stitches) made with a strand of size 8 green perle cotton created the leaves.

I was truly impressed with all of the wonderful ways the friends I have made through TAST used this stitch.  I encourage you to check out the links in the comments on pintangle.com to see their work!  Just click here to learn the Lock Stitch and to see how others used this versatile stitch.

If you are new to my blog, TAST is Take a Stitch Tuesday, a challenge offered by Sharon Boggon of pintangle.com that provides an opportunity to learn new stitches.  There is no pressure in this challenge and there are no deadlines - other than the ones you set for yourself.  I aim to complete at least one stitch a week.  If you wanted to join, you could aim for 10 stitches a year or a stitch a week.  The choice is yours.  Each week Sharon shares a new stitch.  If she shares two new stitches, the following week will be a break week, to give everyone time to catch up.  To learn more about TAST, you may read the FAQS here.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

WIP Wednesday 09/17/2014

It seems like I blinked and it is Wednesday again.

Although I have been quite busy this week, I have no progress to show on my Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt.  I hope to have something to share next week, but I have a couple of deadlines quickly approaching for projects I cannot share quite yet.  So, we shall see...

WIP Wednesday is a bit like a support group for stitching projects run by Sharon Boggon of Pintangle.com.  I encourage you to join in the fun if you have a project you are (or know you should be - that's more like me - lol!) working on.  To learn more about it, click here.  To see what others have been up to this week (and/or to check out a Flickr group Sharon set up with pictures of studio art journals) click on this link - do not forget to follow the links in the comments to see progress others are making on their projects!

Next, I get to take a look at those lists of goals I set up for myself... 

Last Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Complete at least one name. the last two names.
2. Make a TAST post. 
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block. I managed about 50 x-stitches.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 200 x-stitches by next week. Done. See photo above.
5. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me.  I have something to finish for this before I can piece the block, and I have made progress.
6.  Piece and embellish a Halloween ornament for the 1st Annual Halloween Ornament Exchange at Wisdom with Needle and Thread. (I love Halloween decor, so I am excited about this swap! This will be a secret until I receive my ornament and mine has been received.) It has been pieced!

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel. Worked on outline.
5. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block.
6. Piece August CQJP 2014 block.
7. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
8. Piece and embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee, Donna and Lori by end of October. The snowballs for Nicki Lee and Donna have been pieced.
9. Piece and embellish snowballs for Lynne by the November 15th. 
10. Complete and mail a gift. 
11.  Paint guest bathroom.

 

This Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Complete at least one name. the last two names.
2. Make a TAST post. 
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 x-stitches by next week. 
5. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me.
6. Embellish a Halloween ornament for the 1st Annual Halloween Ornament Exchange at Wisdom with Needle and Thread. (I love Halloween decor, so I am excited about this swap! This will be a secret until I receive my ornament and mine has been received.)

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block.
6. Piece August CQJP 2014 block.
7. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
8. Piece and embellish snowball for Lori by end of October.
9. Embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee and Donna by the end of October.
10. Piece and embellish snowballs for Lynne by the November 15th. 
11. Complete and mail a gift. 
12.  Paint guest bathroom.

Ha! I did it! (I was racing to complete this post during my husband's lunch break.  With him working from home and using the PC my photos are all on makes this a bit tricky sometimes.)

Have a wonderful, productive week!
Renee

CQI Heart DYB Round Robin 2014 - Set 4 Completed

Almost all of my stitching time this week was devoted to embellishing this block for Alexandra.  It was fun to work on such a pretty block.  (You may click on any photo for a larger view.)

This was the block prior to embellishment.

I began with the heart in the center, as I did not want my seam work to be in the way.  (Some of the beads were added after all other stitching was completed.)

Next I worked an uneven button hole stitch along this seam.  Beads and lazy daisy (detached chain) stitches created flowers and leaves.  The butterfly and its flight path (which includes another heart) were added just before the final beads.

A green feather stitch along this seam was the next step.  Once again, lazy daisy (detached chain) stitches and beads created flowers and leaves.  (This seam was inspired by a seam on a glasses case on Humming Needles.  To see that beauty, click here.  It is worth the visit!  You may also find Humming Needles on Etsy - I am not affiliated with Humming Needles, I am just a big fan.)

This next seam was inspired by the heart flowers Barbara created along a seam on the block she embellished by Alexandra. I began with the chevron seam and then added the flowers. In hindsight, I wish I had used a darker shade for the hearts on these flowers, but I do like them.

You may recognize the beaded up and down button hole stitch from a recent TAST post. Fly stitches and French knots made with 2 strands of a variegated floss created small flowers. I did not want these flowers to compete with the heart above them, so I liked the way they almost blended in with the fabric beneath the central motif.

Sharon B. of pintangle.com offers a newsletter now.  The first addition arrived in my email this week.  (You may subscribe through a link on her blog here, if you are interested.) One of the photos included seam treatments with groups of 3 lazy daisy (detached chain) stitches and two straight stitches.  There was a bead at the end of each straight stitch.  I loved the look of this seam treatment and adapted it to fit the heart theme of this block by replacing the beads with hearts.  I love this seam!

This herringbone seam was the final seam treatment.  Along one side, I created flowers with lazy daisy and straight stitches and added a Mill Hill petite glass seed bead to the center of each one.  On the other side, I added small hearts.  (The flower tops and hearts were created using the same section of a variegated cotton floss.)

I wanted to add more motifs to the block, but I also wanted it to fit in consistently with the other 3 blocks that had been embellished. The photo above shows the completed blocks to be mailed to Tahlia. Kathy S. (aka Clothqueen) embellished the purple block. Barbara W. embellished the blue block. Lisa B. embellished the green block. And I embellished the pink block.

I do hope Alexandra likes her blocks!  Today, I plan to spend some time checking out some of Alexandra's patterns on Craftsy.  I adore Halloween decorations, and some of her free patterns are Halloween themed.  The birds are also pretty amazing. Once I catch up on my current projects and UFOs (that can happen, right?!), I may have to try some of these patterns out.  You may find them here on Craftsy - or just look for Alexa's World on craftsy.com.  (I am not affiliated - I just find it fun to be in a round robin with so many talented ladies!)

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Renee

WIP Wednesday 09/10/14 - A day late

Well... I am one day late.  I made zero progress on my Winter/Christmas Wall Hanging and I only managed 30-40 stitches on my Heaven and Earth Designs Santa and the Mouse cross-stitch (all in different areas, so making it even more challenging to see any progress.)  So, I almost did not make a WIP Wednesday post this week.  However, I wanted to make sure I pushed myself harder to accomplish more next week. (That is tricky now that school has started up again!)

I apologize for the lighting in the photo above.  It is fall now, and the wind would not cooperate with an outdoor photo.  The indoor lighting made the photo a bit yellowish-orange.

Work In Progress Wednesday is pretty much a support group to complete large stitching projects.  If you have a project and feel some accountability might increase your motivation (as it does for me!) I encourage you to join the fun.  You may learn more about WIP Wednesday here.  To see Sharon B.'s lovely progress on her hussif, check out this post.  Be sure to check out the links in the comments to see the variety of projects others have worked on this week!

Now for me to see how I did with my list of goals...  I knocked one item off my list (A total of 18 has dropped to 17.)  However, another item will be added when I receive the last set of blocks from our CQI Heart DYB Round Robin.

Last Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Complete at least one name.
2. Make a TAST post. Done.
   
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 x-stitches by next week. Only completed 30-40 stitches. Seen in picture above.
5. Paint guest bathroom.
6.  Embellish next block for CQI Heart Round Robin.Done! Here is a sneak peak of a seam.
   

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block.
6. Piece August CQJP 2014 block.
7. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
8. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me.
9. Piece and embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee, Donna and Lori by end of October.
10. Piece and embellish snowballs for Lynne by the November 15th. 
11. Piece and embellish a Halloween ornament for the 1st Annual Halloween Ornament Exchange at Wisdom with Needle and Thread. (I love Halloween decor, so I am excited about this swap! This will be a secret until I receive my ornament and mine has been received.)
12. Complete and mail a gift.

This Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Complete at least one name. the last two names.
2. Make a TAST post. 
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 200 x-stitches by next week. 
5. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me.
6.  Piece and embellish a Halloween ornament for the 1st Annual Halloween Ornament Exchange at Wisdom with Needle and Thread. (I love Halloween decor, so I am excited about this swap! This will be a secret until I receive my ornament and mine has been received.)

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block.
6. Piece August CQJP 2014 block.
7. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
8. Piece and embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee, Donna and Lori by end of October.
9. Piece and embellish snowballs for Lynne by the November 15th. 
10. Complete and mail a gift. 
11.  Paint guest bathroom.

TAST 09/09/2014

TAST 128: Interlaced Up and Down Buttonhole

This was a fun stitch to create.  I used pink and black size 8 perle cotton.  I do plan to use this stitch (with different spacing and colors) in the future. 

I really want to add beads to dress this one up, but this will be the strap to the messenger bag I am working on, so I am sticking with stitching only. 

To learn more about Take A Stitch Tuesday (TAST), click here.   Thanks to Sharon B. at Pintangle.com, TAST offers a great opportunity to learn new embroidery stitches.

To see the two new stitches introduced this week, and to see what others have been stitching, click here - and do not forget to check out the links in the comments!

Sharon is now offering a newsletter, too. There is a link to subscribe in her WIPW post last week.  You can find it here.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

CQI DYB Heart Round Robin 2014 - Set 4

The end of August, I received Alexandra's lovely set of blocks. 

Kathy S. (a.k.a. Clothqueen) received the blocks first and embellished the lovely block above. I adore hearts and just love the heart wreath she created.

Barbara W. received the blocks next, and embellished the beautiful block above.  (I hope Barbara does not mind if I use her lovely heart flowers on one of my blocks in the future!)

Lisa B. (of ivoryblushroses.blogspot.com) completed the lovely block above. Lisa's work is always exquisite. (You may view the post on her blog here. There are close-ups and more eye candy with her work. The seagull on the under the sea block is amazing.)

These last three blocks remained for me to choose from.  I opted for the pink block.  I am off to work on it now.  It is my hope to finish it by the end of the day so it may be mailed out on Monday.  

I am pulling various shades of pink from the block, as well as some of the purple and yellow in the bottom floral print.  The leaves pull out the green from this block and help it compliment the green block. I also plan to add a touch of blue, as there is a blue block amongst this group of 6 blocks. 

To stay consistent with the three blocks that have been embellished, there will be a heart-shaped motif stitched within the block (though, I fear mine may be a tad smaller.)

Thank you for stopping by to see what I am up to.  I hope you have an amazing weekend!

Hugs,

Renee

WIP Wednesday 09/03/2014

WIP Wednesday has arrived again.  I can barely believe it is September already.  My boys begin their senior and freshman years of high school today.  Time certainly does fly!

This week, I finished Barbara's name on my Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt.

I am very thankful Sharon B. of pintangle.com provides WIP Wednesday - which is pretty much a support group - to motivate us to complete our larger projects.  After taking 3 whole days off stitching this week to enjoy some vacation days with my family, I did not make a lot of progress.  However, every little bit is that much less I still need to do.

To see what others have accomplished this week, check out the comments in this week's WIP Wednesday post on pintangle.com.

As for my incredibly long lists of short and long term goals - here is my update.  (I completed one item and added another, so it is about the same.)

Last Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Progress seen above.
2. Make a TAST post. Done. You may view it here.
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 200 x-stitches by next week. Exceeded 200 stitches this week.
   
5. Paint guest bathroom.
6.  Embellish next block for CQI Heart Round Robin. - Wow! Only 2 more blocks... I have made some progress. I will share them all soon. This is the block I chose.

   

   Alexandra's Heart DYB bare block.

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. A change purse for myself. Done! If you missed the post, you may view it here. 
   
5. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
6. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block. Added a seam with TAST.
7. Piece August CQJP 2014 block.
8. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
9. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me.
10. Piece and embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee, Donna and Lori by end of October.
11. Piece and embellish snowballs for Lynne by the November 15th. 
12. Complete and mail a gift. 

This Week's Goals:

 Short-term: 

1. The wall quilt I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks. Complete at least one name.
2. Make a TAST post. 
3. Complete back for May CQJP 2014 block.
4. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 x-stitches by next week. 
5. Paint guest bathroom.
6.  Embellish next block for CQI Heart Round Robin.

Long-term: 

1. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
2. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
3. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Embellish July CQJP 2014 block.
6. Piece August CQJP 2014 block.
7. Make a sew-in frame purse for my Etsy shop. 
8. Piece and embellish snowball for Kathy S. by September 30th. - An Africa theme - new for me.
9. Piece and embellish snowballs for Nicki Lee, Donna and Lori by end of October.
10. Piece and embellish snowballs for Lynne by the November 15th. 
11. Piece and embellish a Halloween ornament for the 1st Annual Halloween Ornament Exchange at Wisdom with Needle and Thread. (I love Halloween decor, so I am excited about this swap! This will be a secret until I receive my ornament and mine has been received.)
12. Complete and mail a gift.

TAST 09/02/2014

This week I finished one TAST stitch.

TAST 127: Beaded Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole

I really enjoyed this stitch!  I used 2 strands of DMC cotton floss that matched the shade of the blue bugle beads in my stash.  This time, I did not keep the two lines right next to each other.  Inspired by the floral seam Sharon added to her hussif and shared in her WIP Wednesday post last week on pintangle.com, I made them look more like a flower stem and a leaf.  Then, I added red and white seed beads to stick with the red, white and blue theme for this block.

To learn more about Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), the FAQs are here.

To see the new stitch introduced this week (I cannot wait to try it out) and to see what others have been up to this week, check out this post and the links shared in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee