Chatelaine Micro 02

It's been busy this month, but I did manage to start and finish Chatelaine's Micro 02 mini mandala over the course of the last week or so. Each of this series (there will be 4 in all) have two different colorways. The fabric is a Silkweaver Solo, 32ct and sort of a lavender/green color. The threads and embellishments are as called for. I used the center over 1 section from one colorway, and the rest from the second, mainly because I LOVE the Gloriana Tropical Seas color and wanted to use it as much as possible! It is used on the center, the flower eyelets and the border woven stitches and corner eyelets.

Next up is Castles in the Air, from Papillon....starting on the blackwork fence!

Progress on a class project

Last fall I attended the last of the Stitching Jubilee (formerly CATS) events. I took one class from a favorite teacher, Catherine Jordan of Catherine's Designs. This is the front panel of the Tree of Life Journal cover. Most of it is done in surface stitches, or crewel embroidery, the rest is counted work. It is about 3x4 inches. The fabric is a fine 40ct linen, ideal for crewel.

Below you can see the back panel I have yet to tackle. The edges will be hemmed and the cover will go over the little blank book. This was an adventure back to my stitching roots, as crewel was the first embroidery style I learned as a child. In fact my mom has several little birds I did in high school that I have recovered to re-frame properly. I really enjoy doing the variety of stitches in a more relaxed format, tho' counted work will always be my favorite.

Off to a new start, my reward for the progress!

Val's Stuff Kitty Kalendar again...

First off, I'm watching CNN's coverage of the Japanese earthquake disaster, and my thoughts and prayers are going out to everyone there, including those around the entire Pacific Rim who are feeling the effects of an 8.9 earthquake off Japan, and the resulting tsunami. Over 50 aftershocks in excess of 5 have come thru from the USGS in my email inbox. It's just stunning.

Our own little troubles pale in comparison.

I finished my June Kitty last night and wanted to post a pic. This one is very colorful and makes me smile. May it do the same for anyone visiting.

Tiny Daffy Biscornu!

Last night I sat down to watch tv, and by bedtime this tiny biscornu was done!
Stitched on a scrap of 28ct pearl linen, with leftover threads from another project. Design is a freebie from Tor Rhuann Designs.

My third tiny biscornu made into a necklace....it is small enough to fit in the blossom of a daffodil flower!

I have daffys and jonquils blooming already in early March! This little daffodil biscornu fits right in don't you think? Happy Spring!

In honor of Lisa Roswell...

Not everyone may have heard about the death of Lisa Roswell of the Primitive Needle in the flooding in Ohio last Monday, the 28th of February. I have only a few of her patterns, but joined in a Facebook SAL in her honor over the just past weekend to show support to her family, friends and fans at this time. I stitched a small Halloween piece called By the Light of the Moon, which is a freebie and can be found here. Stitching from stash, I took some liberties with the threads, which are all Weeks. The fabric is 25ct, stitched over 1. The border is stitched with Weeks Trick or Treat. Lisa was very fond of Halloween themes. May she rest in peace.

Chatelaine's Hummingbird Mandala

Martina called this her sparkliest mandala ever, and I believe the correct name is Sparkling Elegance, but everyone just calls it the Hummingbird Mandala. Anything with birds catches my eye (why else do I own every chart by Crossed Wing?) and the hummers on this one are stitched over one to boot, so how could I resist? At any rate, it was released last August and it took me a while to decide on fabric, so I just got started on it last week, in the center as usual.

This is my floss toss (minus DMC, about 2 dozen colors) on the blue 28ct opalescent I chose. You can see it has tons of Delica beads, and plenty of crystals too!

I spent about a week and a half getting the stitching and beads this far....

The four flowers at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock are different in color, and the four hummers visiting them are all different too. I will get to those when this comes back around in my rotation in a couple of months. It's hard to tell, but there are a ton of beads on it already! Here is a close up that proves my point!

I think it's time for another biscornu this weekend, just to rest the eyes!

February Recap, March Goals

February Recap
WiPs...
~Rose Garden Sampler SAL, Pt.1 2nd page Done!
~Evening in the Park, pt.7 Done!
~Class project-Tree of Life Journal, Catherine Jordan Postponed...
New Starts...
~Entwined Hearts Tiny Biscornu Done!
~Free Bird, Pine Mt. Designs Done!
~Hummingbird Mandala (finally starting it!)Center part done but for beads

March Goals
WiPs....
~Class project-Tree of Life Journal, Catherine Jordan Front Panel done!
~Hummingbird Mandala, Chatelaine...finish beading center motif Done!
~Castles in the Air, Pt.14 Done!
~Rose Garden Sampler SAL...finish Pt.1 corner motif Postponed...
New Starts...
~By the Light of the Moon Done!
~Daffodils Tiny Biscornu Done!
~Micro 02, Chatelaine Done!
~Kitty Kalendar-June Done!