Snow Day!

Here in Durham we got about 5 inches of snow and sleet, and it's currently 21 degrees F! My DD Kira and our collie Lad were out playing this morning! Last time we got this much was 2002! I'm gonna stay inside, watch Duke play b'ball this afternoon and the Carolina Hurricanes against the Blackhawks tonight and stitch the day away! It sure is hockey weather!

First finish of 2010!

Well, it took me nearly two weeks to finish this (due to some health issues that took me by surprise) but here is my first stitching completion for 2010! This is Just Nan's Christmas Biscornu, c2007. Pictures show boths sides before assembly, then the top (trees) side, and the bottom (snowflakes) side. I used 28ct opalescent natural cashel and DMC, along with the beads and embellishments that came with the leaflet. I love how sparkly it is on the opalescent linen!

Breaking Dawn Loon called to me....

I started a new rotation last fall and hope to work on all my WiPs at least once this year, and return my UFOs to WiP status. This month I returned to this Marilyn Boyle design from Kustom Krafts called Breaking Dawn that I started exactly 2 years ago today! It didn't see any action for two years, but it called to me, and I made great progress this past week, starting last Thursday evening and finishing the full page today. This chart has 4 full pages and 8 half pages. This is full page 7 of the 12. The fabric is 32ct Silkweaver's Polished Brass opalescent, and it is one over one. I wanted it small!
The left pic is from two years ago and the other is from today. The true fabric color shows better in the first picture. Quite a bit of the left side of the pattern is left unstitched. It called for yellow meran 28ct, but I wanted to use a sparkly fabric, and had the Polished Brass in my stash.

I'm still debating which WiP to pull out next....the dragon afghan from last month is so close to being finished, but I need to return to Castles in the Air as well....then there is the name tree, and another biscornu calling me....not sure what I'll do next, but watch this space!

Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow

My first start for the new year is Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings. I am a center starter, so this is block 5 of 12. I plan on stitching one block a month in 2010 along with a SAL group. I am (rather insanely) stitching it on cream 40ct silk gauze, over 1, with DMC. Each block is less than 2.5 inches square! I have had to make a few adjustments to the pattern so it will work on the gauze, like using full cross stitches on the lettering, instead of the usual half crosses of petit point. A few more minor adjustments too. This will be an interesting experiment! If anyone is interested in joining us visit here!

December Recap, January Goals!

December Recap
WiPs...
~Dragon Feathers Afghan UFO Working...4 blocks done in December! (4 to go)
New Starts...
~Lynne Biscornu Done!
More ornies!
~Winter Whitetail, JCS'03-Something in Common Done!
~Yo Ho Ho Ho Santat Pirate, Sue Hillis Done!
~Topiary Wreath, Mary Englebreit Done!
~Christmas Wreath, Mary Englebreit Done!

Prep for Christmas at HRH start on 01/01/10!! Ready!

January Goals
WiPs...
~Castles in the Air, Pt. 6 Done 1/30/10!
~Dragon Feathers Afghan Delayed...
~Breaking Dawn UFO Resumed 01/07/10, p.7 done
New Starts....
~Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow (one block/month all year) Started 01/01/10! 1st block done
~Alexa Name Tree (for a new baby cousin in the family) Started 1/31/10
~Just Nan Christmas Biscornu Started 1/13/10...Done!

Wrapping up 2009...ornies, a dragon and more!

Just a couple of days late on wrapping up my 2009 stitching year! First, I stitched a couple of Mary Englebreit mini kits that Santa brought....Topiary Wreath and Christmas Wreath... on Dec. 30th and 31st.




Then, a progress report on my Dragon Feathers Afghan (rescued from UFO status in December)
I only have four more blocks to go!


Finally, a recap of the year in stitching! 40 total finishes, 2 being former UFOs!

2009 Stitching (reverse order)

~Christmas Wreath, Mary Englebreit Dec.30
~Topiary Wreath, Mary Englebreit Dec.31
~Yo Ho Ho Ho, Sue Hillis Dec.22
~Winter Whitetail, Something In Common Dec.19
~Lynne Biscornu, Maria del Valle Dec.4
~Pumpkins, Little House Needleworks Nov.29
~A Christmas Partridge, Serendipity Nov.27
~17th Cent. Italian Garden, LizT.Diehl Nov.25
~Fabulous Fall Biscornu, Cats Whiskers Nov.4
~Owl Biscornu, Stitch Creations Oct.31
~Coffee Crossword, Primrose Needleworks Oct.28
~Midnight Magic, Mill Hill Oct.10
~2009 Schooler Santa, Prairie Schooler Oct.5
~Boo Club, Lizzie Kate Sept.27
~Floral Biscornu, Alice Okon Sept.9
~Alla Turca, Pelin Tezer Aug.22
~Cheetah Biscornu, Cross Stitch Happy Aug.11
~Bluebird Soap Dispenser, Cathy Livingston Jul.15
~1991 Schooler Santa, Prairie Schooler Jul.11
~Summer Butterfly Biscornu, Alexandrina Jul.3
~Kitty Frame, San-Man Orig. Jun.19
~Going Bananas, San-Man Orig. Jun.18
~Assisi Kiwi, CraftsWeb NZ (gift) Jun.15
~Beaded Roses Biscornu, Just Nan Jun.6
~Frog Biscornu, Casey Buonaugurio May 19
~Butterfly Motif, My Aunt's Attic (gift) Apr.29
~Pansy Biscornu, Dinky-Dyes Apr.15
~Peacock Heart, Gift of Stitching Apr.12
~Peacock, Papillon Creations Apr.1
~Roberta's Cats Fob, Cross Stitch Happy Mar.27
~Growth Rings, Ink Circles Mar.25
~Ohio Heart, Victoria Sampler Feb.25
~XS Cat, Margaret Sherry Feb.21
~Blue Bayou, Northern Pine Designs Feb.10
~Garden Biscornu, Kissy-Cross Feb.4
~Cherry Blossom Biscornu, Sweetheart Tree Jan.22
~Dream Tree, M Designs Jan.16
~Memory Wall Quilt (gift) Jan.16
~Floral Motif, My Aunt's Attic (gift) Jan.11
~Winter Bird Delight, Praiseworthy Stitches Jan.7

Best wished for a very Happy New Year to everyone in 2010!

Last minute ornament

Aargh! Meet Whitebeard the Pirate! (you know, Blackbeard's alter ego...) ;-D

This Yo Ho Ho Ho freebie is from Sue Hillis, stitched on 28ct raw linen and mounted as an ornie.

I made a Biscornament!

If you are wondering what a biscornament is....I was stitching an ornie from the 2003 JCS ornament issue, Winter Whitetail by Something In Common, and noticed it was square (well it stitched on point so strictly speaking it's a tilted square). I thought I'd try making it into a biscornu without the dimple in the center. Look.....it uploaded sideways but you get the idea!

It took me a little bit of time to figure out how to make both sides be right side up (the back is just my initials and the year), and it was a tad fussy on the whip stitching since the back stitch outer line was on the diagonal, but in general I love it! It really looks like an ornament, all roundish and such! I have decided to call it a biscornament, and will be going thru all the backlog of ornies waiting to be finished to see which ones will work for this technique....no diagonal ones this time, however!

December Biscornu

Here it is! The last of 12 biscornu for the Basket of Biscornu blog! This one is from the blog of Maria del Valle and is called the Lynne Biscornu. I used 22ct white hardanger and DMC varigated red floss. Pulled some motifs from the front for the back, as you can see...I almost forgot to take a "before" picture! My whole basketful is also shown...all freebies from the web, but for four, all from stash.

November Recap, December Goals

November Recap
WiPs...
~Castles in the Air, pt.6 Postponed due to fabric issues...
~Italian Garden UFO Done!
New Starts...
~Fabulous Fall Biscornu Done!
~Christmas Partridge Done!
~LHN Pumpkins Done!

December Goals
WiPs...
~Dragon Feathers Afghan UFO Working...
New Starts...
~Lynne Biscornu Done!
More ornies?
~Winter Whitetail Done!
~Yo Ho Ho Ho Done!
~Topiary Wreath Done!
~Christmas Wreath Done!
Prep for Christmas at HRH start on 01/01/10!!

What I have been doing in November...

After my last post, the month of November went downhill. We lost our cat Pixel to something called Sudden Cardiac Death on November 7th, one month ago today. I spent the month mourning, supporting my daughter in her feelings of loss, and stitching. DH had his own way of dealing by getting really busy at work, with DD's swim team, and with other volunteer events. We all miss him, but life's activities go on. Peace Pixel. See you at the Rainbow Bridge. Give Ari a nudge from us.

Here is what I finished stitching in November. Therapy stitching. First is an old UFO that I pulled out for my monthly weekend stitching. Before I knew it, the thing was finished, after 6 years of UFO status. This is Liz Turner Diehl's 17th Century Italian Garden, a Charleston CATS class, in 2003 IIRC. The fabric is raw linen, 32ct. I made one change from the class, leaving off the stubborn twisted braid that was supposed to go in the rectangles instead of the pink/lavender flower beds that I added.

Ironically, this picture (below) was taken a couple of months after I had started it....my DD is 15 now, and that is Pixel in his usual place, helping with moral support.


Next is a Christmas ornament from the 2003 JCS ornie issue by Seredipity Designs called A Christmas Partridge. It is stitched on 32ct Driftwood Belfast, sans the bf on the pear....I think it looks fine without!

Last finish of the month was from Little House Needleworks, the Pumpkins, from the Fruit series. Eventually there will be a total of 9 in a wall quilt/banner. Three to go. The fabric is Lakeside Linens 28ct Strawflower.

That's all for now....I'll post my monthly progress report and my December biscornu later this week.

November biscornu already!

This was a quick stitch, so I'm all up to date with the Basket of Biscornu blog entries...one more to go in December! This is Fabulous Fall by Cat's Whiskers, in collaboration with Dinky-Dyes, who supplied the silk for the chartpack. I used Silkweaver's Tawny Sparkle 32ct opalescent belfast, and a couple of gold beads for the center. Top and bottom are shown.