Twilight Duel Update #21 - August 2017

On June 30th, this is how Twilight Duel looked. This is a Heaven and Earth Designs cross-stitch chart based on artwork by Ruth Thompson that I am stitching for my youngest son.

I feared the blue in this piece might become boring to stitch, but I love seeing all of the shades fill in the night sky.

5,504 stitches were added in July. Page 7 was completed and a bit of the gap on page 3 was filled in (on the far left.) Progress was also made on pages 13 and 19 along the bottom.

A photo of the full chart is on the sidebar to the right.

44,728 stitches are done. Only 102,872 stitches to go! (Only... I type with a chuckle.)

5 of 24 pages are complete.

Percent Complete:

Project:           30.3% (It was 26.57%)
Pages 1 & 2: 100% 
Page 3:            28.9% (It was 20.95%)
Page 4:         100%
Page 5:             1.83%
Page 6:             0%
Pages 7 & 8: 100% (Page 7 was 46.63%)
Page 9:             2.73%
Page 10:           0.25%
Page 11:           0%
Page 12:           0%
Page 13:         48.18% (It was 42.51%)
Page 14:           3.62%
Page 15:           0%
Page 16:           0%
Page 17:           0%
Page 18:           0%
Page 19:         13.03% (It was 0%)

Last month, I mentioned a potential splurge on a phone case featuring artwork by Ruth Thompson. Well, it turns out that goheadcase.com features a lot of artwork - including work by Anne Stokes and I also love her dragons. So, my son selected a phone case featuring Ruth Thompson's "Coldfire" and I chose "Kindred Spirits" by Anne Stokes. (I am not affiliated with the company, but my son and I love our new cases!)

I have been trying my best not to buy any more cross-stitch charts, because I have enough to keep me busy for the next decade or so (literally.) However, I have been sorely tempted to order either "Kindred Spirits" or "Mini Kindred Spirits AS" from Heaven and Earth Designs. It is such a gorgeous piece of art.

Although it is Tuesday, I am linking up with Monday Stitchery Link Party #122 at Super Mom - No Cape! (We had internet issues yesterday.) There is another adorable vintage pattern available and some lovely work has been shared.

Thank you for stopping by! 
Renee

August 2017

July had its ups and downs. One of the best memories of the month was participating in a Paint Nite event with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and my husband. I like the sunflower I painted last year better than my beach scene on a crate (mine is the one on the right), but I had a great time. And, I love the scene my husband created!

As for my July goals, here is how I did...

#4 A holly seam was embellished on the crazy quilt stocking I am making for my son. 

#5 A zipper pouch with a wristlet was created with my CQJP 2013 January block. This was my 4th finish with the APQ 2017 UFO Challenge. You may read more about it here. 

#8 Although I did not stitch every single day, I made a lot of progress and had a lot of fun participating with The Stitching Hour 2017  hosted by Ambitious Stitches on Instagram. You may see my posts on Instagram here.

Here is my updated list for the APQ 2017 UFO Challenge. (My original post about the challenge is here. It includes photos of all 12 items on my list.)

August Goals:

1. Complete 2 items for Etsy shop, including an under-the-sea eye glasses case.

2. Finish a gift for my friend's daughter. All of the pieces have been cut out now - it just needs to be sewn together.

3. Sew together the wall quilt with the 6 blocks from the CQI Hearts Round Robin. (This was #2 on my APQ UFO Challenge and was selected for May.)

4. Finish embellishing the stocking I am making for my eldest son. (It is pictured above. This was #10 on my APQ UFO Challenge and was selected for June.)

5. Finish the buttonhole stitches and other embroidery on block 5 of the Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month hosted by Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy and friends. And finish the fish border, which is block 6. 

6. Finish block 7 of the Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month. It is super cute and may be seen here. 

7. For August, #5 was selected as the project to complete for the AQP UFO Challenge. So, I need to sew my May CQJP 2014 block into a purse. (You may read more about this block here.)

Top 5 Posts Viewed in July:

1. 4th Annual Piggy Bank Savings Challenge - here

2. July 2017 - here

3. June 2017 - here  (The #1 viewed post in June.)

4. May 2017 - here

5. Twilight Duel Update #20 - July 2017 - here 

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

Fractal White Tiger July 2017

There were 1,202 stitches added this month to the Charting Creations "Fractal White Tiger" cross-stitch I am making for my eldest son. It is based on artwork by Ricky Barnard.

The top 5 rows of page 6 are now complete. I should have a page finish to share with you next month, as there are only 1,248 stitches to go on this page!

A photo of this piece may be found on the right sidebar of my blog.

You might remember me mentioning my mother-in-law gave me a scroll frame for Christmas last December. It works with a special type of velcro that you stick onto your fabric and cut off when you are finished. I really wanted to use the frame for this piece because I worried the clamps from my Q-snap frame were stretching the fabric (as seen in the top photo.) However, I did not feel there was enough room at the top of the fabric to risk cutting part of it off in the future and the rods the frame came with were not long enough to turn it sideways. So, I splurged and purchased 30-inch rods. It is working like a dream. (No pun intended - the frame is made by American Dream Products.)

This is how it looked on June 30th. In the top photo, you may see most of the stitches have been filled in above the eye and more stripes are appearing to the left of his eye.

I began this piece on January 1, 2016 as a part of what is now called the 2017 Stitcher's Group. (Due to other projects I have going, this is only 67 days of stitching progress.) If you would like to see the projects others are working on, you may see them here.

It is Monday, so I am joining Monday Stitchery Link Party #121 at Super Mom - No Cape! This week. I do hope you will stop by to see what others are working on that you might join the party.

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Renee

CQJP 2013 January Block Zipper Pouch Completed

This zipper pouch was created with my very first Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) block in January of 2013. 

I have added credits on the photo as well, but would like to point out that I used waste canvas to stitch one of the houses from a cross stitch chart called, "Cozy Winter Twilight" that is in the Stoney Creek Country Living Collection booklet. And the birch tree and snowflake flowers in front of the mailbox were some of my first attempts using tutorials in Diana Lampe's book, Embroidery for all Seasons. 

This is the back of the pouch.

For the lining, I used a snowy print found in my fabric stash.

My attempts to capture the lining in a photo with my camera blurred around the edges. I thought the affect was kind of fun, but used the camera on my phone for the clearer view in the photo above.

This block was #1 on my UFO Challenge list for 2017. This was the project selected for July.

Thanks to the motivation this challenge provides, I have completed 4 UFOs (unfinished objects) this year and made progress on 3 others.

(If you click on this image for a larger view the text will clear. I am not sure why the Picasa program's text seems to blur when photos are added to my blog.)

A photo of this pouch may be found on my Instagram account, on this Pinterest board, and on my Hand Stitched Treasure Facebook page.

This zipper pouch is also part of my 1 X-mas Item a Month goals. You may see what others are making here.

Notes:

The Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) is a personal challenge to complete one crazy quilt block each month. Sign ups generally open in November and close in December the year before the challenge. You may see more of the work others completed during CQJP 2013 here. If you might be interested in participating in 2018, watch for the sign up information on this year's CQJP 2017 blog here. 

You may find more information about the 2017 UFO Challenge here at allpeoplequilt.com. 

Tutorials I found helpful in making this bag include the Missouri Star Quilt Company Zipper Pouch Tutorial on YouTube, found here, and part of this tutorial at Emmaline Bags.

I am not affiliated with any of these sites, links were added for your convenience.

Related posts:

CQJP 2013 January block complete - here

My 2017 UFO Challenge List - here

January UFO Challenge #6: CQJP 2014 Wristlet - here.

March UFO Challenge #12: CQI UTS RR Blocks Set 1 - here

April UFO Challenge #11: CQI UTS RR Blocks Set 2 - here



Thank you for stopping by!
-Renee

TAST Stitch 68

TAST Stitch 68 was the Woven Zig Zag Chain Stitch. Looking at the stitch, I could picture a seam of holly leaves.

I thought using waste canvas would help keep my stitches even.

It appeared to be working. 

Unfortunately, I failed to line the dark blue line of the canvas up with the seam, as I thought I had done. Removing the waste canvas revealed the zig zag chain stitch above.

So, I pulled the stitches out and tried again, just eyeballing the distance between stitches.

Size 8 green perle cotton was used to create the woven zig zag chain stitch above.

Clusters of 3 red seed beads created holly berries.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. at Pintangle.com. You may read more about TAST here and find the Facebook group here.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee