WIP Wednesday 09/30/2015

This week, I completed a Christmas cross-stitch from the Leisure Arts leaflet: Christmas Jar Toppers.

This is my 1 Xmas Item a Month finish for September. (If I manage to sit down with my sewing machine, I may have several items to share in October.)

As for my weekly goals...

Last Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #25 at Super Mom No Cape on September 28th. (If you missed the party on the 21st, you may check it out here!) Done! The post is here.

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. Embroidery is done, I just need to sew it together.

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs. Included in my TAST post. I love Kathy Shaw's mermaid.

4. Share a TAST Week 12 post on September 29th. Done! If you missed it the post is here. 

5. Share pictures of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin. Done! If you missed the post, it is here.

6. Finish embellishing one of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin. Nope, but I have made progress.

7. Share a 1 Xmas Item a Month Blog post. Done!

This Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #26 at Super Mom No Cape on October 5th. (If you missed the party on the 28th, you may check it out here!) It will be an update on my HAED QS Red Hearts cross-stitch! I had 3,072 stitches completed when I last shared my progress. It has over 5,000 stitches now. 

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 13 post on October 6th.

5. Finish embellishing one of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

TAST Week 12: Barred Chain and Alternating Barred Chain Stitches

TAST Week 12

Barred Chain Stitch:

As I worked with this week's stitches, I could have kicked myself for not thinking about adding them to my previous under the sea blocks!

The mermaid was created with watercolor pencils as part of Kathy Shaw's free Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course (ICQC) #102. (Registration for the beginner's course is open through September 30th, if you are interested!)

For the seaweed above, I used DMC size 5 perle cotton #4045, a variegated green, and the barred chain stitch.  The flowers were added with DMC size 8 perle cotton #48, a variegated pink, and detached chain stitches with elongated tacking stitches.

Alternating Barred Chain Stitch:

The mermaid above was also created from Kathy Shaw's free ICQC #102 course. This scene was colored with Crayola crayons following this tutorial from quiltingboard.com.

The alternating barred chain stitch was created using a strand of DMC size 8 perle cotton #954, a light green. Mill Hill Magnifica Glass Beads #10026 were then attached with a strand of DMC 3688 floss.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. This week, the barred chain stitch and alternating barred chain stitches were introduced. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

Monday Stitchery Link Party #25

I stem stitched this heart and couched down a spider web - with a heart center - for this pink beaded spider.

This will be the front of a denim change purse. I just need to sew it together and sew it into the frame.

I am linking up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #25 at Super Mom - No Cape! If you hand stitch and have a blog, I encourage you to link up and enjoy the fun! There is a giveaway this week too. There is also a great free embroidery pattern. If you do not stitch, I still encourage you to stop by and see what everyone has been up to!

Thank you for stopping by.
-Renee

CQI UTS RR #2 - Kathy's Blocks Arrived!

I recently received Kathy Semone's beautiful blocks for the Crazy Quilting International Under the Sea DYOB Round Robin #2. Barbara Nicki Lee Seavey embellished this gorgeous piece of work.

Now I have to choose one of the five remaining blocks to embellish.

It is not going to be an easy decision.

I love the color variations of the fabrics Kathy used.

And how every block differs from the others.

This will be another fun round!

For those of you wondering what a round robin is, this post may help. 

Crazy Quilting International (CQI) is a group that meets on Facebookand on Yahoo! You may see some of the work members have done at the CQI blog.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

WIP Wednesday 09/23/2015

If you would like to see some eye candy, I encourage you to visit Quilting in Texas with Mary K. Beard. She shared her gorgeous work on this block that I made for our round robin.

I am afraid I have no pictures of my progress to share with you today. It has been another crazy week with out of town trips to help an ill relative. On a positive note, I get to spend more time with someone I care about. :)

Last Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #24 at Super Mom No Cape on September 21st. (If you missed the party on the 14th, you may check it out here!) Done! If you missed the post, it is here.

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 11 post on September 22nd. Done! If you missed it the post is here.

5. Embellish a block for the CQI UTS Round Robin. Done! For a link to the post see goal #1. 

6. Share pictures of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin. Sort of done... The post is ready and scheduled to post on Thursday, the 24th.

7. Begin embellishing one of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

This Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #25 at Super Mom No Cape on September 28th. (If you missed the party on the 21st, you may check it out here!) 

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 12 post on September 29th.

5. Share pictures of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

6. Finish embellishing one of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

7. Share a 1 Xmas Item a Month Blog post.

TAST Week 11: Whipped Wheel Stitch

TAST Week 11: Whipped Wheel Stitch

With all of the under the sea themed blocks I have worked on over the past year, my most frequent use of the whipped wheel stitch has been to make star fish (which should actually be called sea stars, according to a friend that volunteered at an aquarium.) 

This week, I wanted to try using the stitch for something different, so I added a floral seam to a panel of the messenger bag I have ever so slowly been working on. (Things I make for myself tend to be set aside...) I used green and variegated pink size 8 Anchor perle cottons to create this floral seam. The flowers were whipped wheels. The stems were stem-stitched with and the leaves were lazy daisies (also called detached chain stitches.) Small straight stitches added bits of grass.

Above is a photo of a shell and a sea star created using the whipped wheel stitch. The base stitches were made with a single strand of DMC floss and it was whipped with 2 strands of floss. These were added to the block I embellished for Barbara Nicki Lee Seavey in our current Under the Sea Round Robin.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. This week, the whipped wheel stitch was introduced. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

CQI Under the Sea Round Robin #2 - Barbara Nicki Lee's Completed Block!

On Saturday, I finished embellishing this block for Barbara Nicki Lee Seavey.

Above is a picture of the block before adding embroidery.

You may recognize the treasure chest from my Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) post last week. The chest was inspired by Carolyn Phillips' tutorial to paint a treasure chest published in the Summer 2015 edition of Crazy Quilt Quarterly.  (It looks so small for a 12-hour labor of love, doesn't it?!)

I added some drizzle-stitched seaweed, French knot coral and fly-stitched sea grass to this under-the-sea scene.

This little fish was added with the help of waste canvas. The pattern was adapted from the Tropical Waterline cross stitch chart designed by Michele Johnson and published by True Colors Cross Stitch in 1992. (The link will take you to the chart on Amazon. I am not affiliated with the chart, but do receive a small credit for purchases made at Amazon through my blog.)

The jelly was created with a detached buttonhole stitch and drizzle-stitched tentacles.

A seahorse charm completed the block.  This was such a fun block to watch come together and I hope Barbara Nicki Lee is happy with it!

I am linking up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to stop by and see what others have been stitching. If you have done any hand stitching, I encourage you to link up and join the fun!

For those of you wondering what a round robin is, this post may help. 

Crazy Quilting International (CQI) is a group that meets on Facebookand on Yahoo! You may see some of the work members have done at the CQI blog.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

Work in Progress Wednesday 09/16/2015

I do not have any progress to show on the Christmas stockings this week. However, I thought I might share what I harvested from our backyard yesterday. 

My husband loves growing hot peppers for his amazing homemade guacamole. We still have several peppers that have not ripened, so there will be more.

The pumpkins I planted in our garden box are not doing all that well this year. So, I am glad we opted not to transplant the pumpkin plant that sprouted in our compost this year. It is huge. All 6 of these sugar pumpkins weigh roughly 4 lbs. There are 4 more pumpkins on the vine still ripening and a few more that are just beginning to grow. (I love all things pumpkin...) Last night, I made this pumpkin soup (although I added less liquid than it calls for because I had to omit the potatoes) and it was soooo yummy. I loved the addition of fresh rosemary.

Next week, I hope to have more stitching to share. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Renee

Last Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #23 at Super Mom No Cape on September 14th. (If you missed the party on the 7th, you may check it out here!) It will be the second Monday of the month, so I will share progress on my HAED Twilight Duel cross-stitch. Done! If you missed the post, it is here. 

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 10 post on September 15th. Done! If you missed the post, it is here. 

5. Embellish a block for the CQI UTS Round Robin. Almost. The TAST photo above is a sneak peek.

This Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #24 at Super Mom No Cape on September 21st. (If you missed the party on the 14th, you may check it out here!) 

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 11 post on September 22nd.

5. Embellish a block for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

6. Share pictures of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

7. Begin embellishing one of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

TAST Week 10: Running Stitch

TAST Week 10: Running Stitch

I tend to use the running stitch as a flight path for butterflies and dragonflies and as a trail behind snails. So, I challenged myself to find a new way to use the running stitch for TAST this week. It was the perfect opportunity to gather up my courage and attempt my first embroidered treasure chest. (I have used crayons combined with stitching to make them in the past, but never actually stitched the wood.)

I sketched a treasure chest onto waste canvas with a pencil. The sketch was inspired by Carolyn Phillips' tutorial to paint a treasure chest published in the Summer 2015 edition of Crazy Quilt Quarterly.  

Using 2 strands of DMC 611, I outlined all the treasure chest with a stem stitch. Then, I removed the waste canvas. The outline was filled in with a stem stitch using various combinations of 2 strands of DMC flosses 611, 612 and 613. A single strand of DMC 610 was used to outline the boards, using stem stitch. And the running stitch was used to add darker grains of wood.

I also used a strand of Impressions by Caron #0000 to add a staggered running stitch beneath the treasure chest. Then, I wove a strand of Watercolors by Caron #000 through the running stitches to create a wavy line of sand.

Below are a few examples of my use of the running stitch from the past.

The flight paths for the butterfly and dragonfly on the camera block I created for a dear friend were created with the running stitch.

The snail trail on the "snowball" I created for Andrea was also created with a running stitch.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. This week, the running stitch was introduced. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

Post edited 9/16/15 to note the waste canvas was removed after outlining the treasure chest (so it could actually be removed!)

HAED Twilight Duel Progress Update #1 September 2015

On August 30th, 2015, I began working on the Heaven and Earth Designs Twilight Duel cross-stitch chart based upon artwork by Ruth Thompson. 

This is a chart my son would like me to stitch for him. There is a photo on the right side-bar. I warned him that a project this large might take me about 5 years and he was fine with that time-line. The adventure has begun! (If he had an iPhone, I would be sorely tempted to get him a Twilight Duel phone case...)

There are 147,600 stitches in this chart. So, I need to complete a minimum of 568 stitches a week to finish on schedule. I am aiming for 700 stitches a week (or 100 stitches a day), in hopes of finishing early.

August 30th - September 13th, I completed 1,422 stitches. 

Page 1 is now 18% complete. The entire chart is 0.96% complete. (I am trying not to think about the fact that this is less than 1% finished, so I do not intimidate myself too much. This is a HUGE project for me.)

My biggest concern with this chart was that I might get bored working on all of the blue background. Luckily, I discovered I enjoy seeing the shading of the sky come together. 

I am linking up with Monday Stitchery Link Party #23 at Super Mom - No Cape! I do hope you will stop by to see what others have been up to this week. If you do any hand stitching, I hope you might link up, too! 

My next progress update on this piece will be shared on October 12th, the 2nd Monday of next month. That is 28 days and hopefully 2,800 stitches away.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

Work in Progress Wednesday 09/09/2015

This week has been full of unexpected interruptions, requiring 4 trips out of town. So, I have not made a lot of progress on either stocking this week. In yesterday's post, I shared a photo of the couched tree I added to the snowman stocking. Above is a photo of the completed stitching to date.

Using straight stitches and size 12 perle cotton, I outlined squares along this seam on the Santa stocking. Next, I used a red size 8 perle cotton and created a red ribbon (with French Knots) and a bow (using 2 detached chain stitches) on each gift. The "wrapping paper" on the first three gifts was created with white and green size 12 perle cotton. The first two were decorated with French knots. The third consists of stem stitches. The last two need to be completed. I am just glad real life presents do not always end up perfectly square. My embroidered gifts certainly did not!

Last Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #22 at Super Mom No Cape on September 7th. (If you missed the party on the 31st, you may check it out here!) It will be the first Monday of the month, so I will share progress on my HAED QS Red Hearts cross-stitch. Done! The post is here.

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 9 post on September 8th. Done! The post is here.

This Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #23 at Super Mom No Cape on September 14th. (If you missed the party on the 7th, you may check it out here!) It will be the second Monday of the month, so I will share progress on my HAED Twilight Duel cross-stitch.

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

3. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 10 post on September 15th.

5. Embellish block for the CQI UTS Round Robin.

TAST Week 9: Couching Stitch

TAST Week 9: Couching Stitch

For this week's TAST Stitch, I couched down a strand of green (color 320) size 8 DMC perle cotton floss with a single strand of DMC #320 floss to create a Christmas tree. 

Through trial and error, I learned that the center of the tree pulled out of shape if I couched it down, so I only couched down the curvy turns on the outer edges with the floss. 

Next, I attached gold Mill Hill Petite Glass Beads (#40557) with a single strand of DMC #676 floss. I was careful to bring my thread up on one side of the perle cotton tree and down on the other to couch it down.  (I find myself drawn to these tiny beads. I love how delicate they look and I like that Mill Hill has a DMC conversion chart that tells which shade of DMC floss matches the beads I am using.I purchased these beads at Friendship Crossing last time we drove through Corvallis, Oregon. They are also available through Amazon.com. Note: I am not affiliated with the beads. If you go to Amazon through my blog and make a purchase, I do receive a small credit. Also note: these beads are generally cheaper on Amazon if purchased in a 3-pack.)

Looking through photos of past projects, I realized I generally use the couching stitch to create trees. A few examples are below.

The snowy tree in the upper-left part of this Christmas stocking was couched down using various sizes of white perle cotton flosses and DMC metallic white floss following the Kathy Shaw's Easy, Breezy Trees Tutorial.

The spooky tree in the ornament I made for the Halloween Exchange hosted by Kim at Wisdom with Needle and Thread last year was created by couching down a couple of brown variegated shades of Boucle EdMar rayon flosses.

And, the leafy sections of the tree I added to the African themed snowball I made for Kathy S. were also couched down.

I also used the couching stitch (with clear nylon quilting thread) to couch down the metallic chain and the anchor charm on this block embellished for Sandy.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. This week, the couched stitch was introduced. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee