Update

I made a little bit of progress on my stitching rotation last week and here are a few photos of what I worked on. This is the Peace Ornament from the 2008 JCS ornament issue. I switched to the border for a bit because I was so bored with stitching all that white of the dove. I didn't get to work on this yesterday so I won't have progress to show until next week. Sorry the photo is so lousy but this is a hard piece to get a good picture of. Plus we've had very little sunshine over the last week so there's not much hope of getting a better view.

Next up is my CHS piece. I love working on this piece even though I'm stitching slowly. I hope to make more progress on it this evening if I can keep my eyes open. I love the colors in the piece.

And finally I made a fair amount of progress on the HIH heart I'm stitching for my sister. I love their little kits as they stitch up so quickly. I will definitely finish this and get it framed before their anniversary at the end of August.

I did a tiny bit of stitching on my SAL Alexandre and Halloween Fairy pieces over the weekend but not enough to be really worth a photo and post. I should have more to show this weekend. I hope you're week is going as fast as mine is!

Thanks for all of your tips!

As a result of all your wonderful tips and advice for working with the dreaded Kreinik thread, I buckled down and worked on getting some of the stitching out of the way on Sunday. It was a perfect day for stitching as the weather was cold and rainy so I had a great excuse for staying in doors. And I'm really happy with the progress I made!

I ended up going with one thread only and very short lengths. It was kind of a pain to have to rethread the needle so often but it was worth it. I was also careful to keep dropping my needle every few stitches to let the thread unwind so it didn't crimp up a lot and that really seemed to work well.

Thanks to all your great advice, I no longer dread having to work with metallic threads. Thank you everyone!

Busy Week = Not A Lot of Progress

Between a very stressful week at work and lots of reading for my current class, I did not make a lot of progress this week. I did manage a few stitches in my Peace ornament and The Gilded Cage.

I also cast on for the 2nd sock in the pair I'm knitting for a friend and yesterday I managed to finish the 2nd panel of my Alexandre piece but I did not try to start the third panel. Instead I picked up the sock and knit a bit on that.



Today I'm going to work a little on my Halloween Fairy - it's rainy and damp and my homework is done so I'm looking forward to making some stitching progress today. Hope your weather is fair where ever you are!

So close....

Yesterday was my day to work on my Alexandre piece and I came quite close to finishing it. I almost pushed on and completed the rest of the border but I was really tired and afraid I'd make a mistake so I stopped where I was. I should definitely finish this up next Saturday.

Thank you kind stitchers!

Many thanks to all of your tips for working with Kreinik - I'm going to dig out my Thread Heaven - I think I still have a container and try that and test stitching with only one strand and see how that looks - stay tuned! I really appreciate you all taking the time to leave a tip.

I've got some progress pics to show of two of the new projects I started this week. First up is the ornament I picked from last year's JCS ornie issue. I am starting with Peace by Knotted Tree Needleart. It was hard to get a decent progress photo. I'm stitching it over one on a light grey 28 count evenweave I had in my stash with the called for Crescent Colors threads.












Next up is my progress on The Gilded Cage by CHS. I'm stitching this on the recommended 40ct R&R Antique Cotton which I luckily had in my stash and the NPI silks called for. This is really going to be pretty I think.

And last night my class got out early so I sat down and finished off my Spunky Electic sock. I'm going to cast on for the other one this weekend as I'd like to get the pair completed and be on to something new!

Cranky over Kreinik

Here is my Halloween Fairy progress after working on her on Sunday. I'm now down to the Kreinik and beading part and I think progress will slow a fair amount as I'm struggling with the Kreinik.

Which brings me to my plea for your tips and techniques for working with this fussy fiber. I'm using short lengths as suggested however they are kinking a lot. Do you use two strands together or one strand crossing over each leg of the stitch twice? I am also finding it hard to straighten the thread after unwinding it from the spool which is contributing to the kinking part. Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

I did manage to put a few of the metallic stitches in but I'm not pleased with how they look. I was able to substitute out two of the colors with a Petite Treasure braid which I find easier to work with so maybe I will switch to stitching those sections first.

Rotation Tryout

In an effort not to bore both myself and you, I've decided to try out a project rotation to add some variety to my stitching. I don't have a great history with a rotation however, anything is usually worth another try. Here's my plan:

Monday will be for knitting or crocheting
Tuesday will be for stitching ornaments
Wednesday will be for a new project - CHS The Gilded Cage
Thursday will be for knitting or crocheting
Friday will be a HIH heart kit for my sister
Saturday will be Alexandre SAL day as usual
Sunday will be for my Halloween Fairy

Here is my progress on my Alexander piece after stitching on it Saturday. I have a floral motif on the left and right to complete and a small one below the end of the alphabet and the rest of the border and this panel will be done. I've been considering jumping to some of the accessories that go along with this project vs. starting another full panel but I still haven't decided what I will do. I probably have two more Saturday's of stitching on this before I make up my mind.

My thanks to all of you who have been stopping by - I really appreciate your comments and encouragement. Class starts back up on Thursday but I hope to keep posting and reading blogs as I am able. I look forward to seeing what everyone else is working on - it's so inspiring!

A great end to a vacation week

It's back to work for me on Monday but for one last hurrah before that, my friend Nancy and I got together on Friday and took a trip out to ABC Stitch Therapy in Grantham, NH. We met in Manchester and then drove out to visit ABC. They were in their new location which is just down the road from where they used to be. It's a really great space with lots of natural light, room and tons and tons of stash!

They have a truly incredible selection of fibers and threads and a really nice variety of charts and other stitching related items. We got there around 11am and before we knew it, it was after 1:00pm. As you can see from the photos, I did a bit of stash enhancement - mainly fibers. I made a list of projects I would like to stitch this year and then the threads I needed to complete them. I bought NPI silks, Weeks, GAST and a bunch of Crescent Colors cottons. I also couldn't resist the three new stocking booklets from BBD and The Primitive Needle's Cape Cod Girls.

Nancy brought along some of her wonderful quilting and gifted me with this gorgeous tote bag she made. Isn't it great? The fabric colors are so vibrant and she did a great job sewing it. I will be using this either to carry materials for my class or as a second project tote.

We had our own mini show and tell over lunch of projects we're working on - she's got some great new charts and projects coming so be sure to check back to her blog often - she's promised to update it!

She's got legs!

As you can see, I've made some great progress on my Halloween Fairy project this week - the luxury of free time during vacation! I am trying to decide if I will start the pumpkins that are to the left of her feet or pick up my Kreinik and start the wording for Trick or Treat. I do not enjoy working with Kreinik so my inclination is to finish the DMC work on the pumpkins. The pumpkins will add a welcome addition of colors other than brown so that's probably what I'll end up starting.

Saturday Stitching

I went to visit my sister this weekend and brought along my Alexandre SAL piece not really expecting to have time to stitch at all. However, I had a little bit of time to myself on Saturday afternoon so I picked up the piece and made some decent progress.

I'm on vacation this week and am in the process of painting my kitchen cupboards. What in the world was I thinking????? As of 9:30 this morning, the framework is done - primed and coated twice and the doors backs have the first coat of white on them as do the drawers. Once they dry I will flip them over and do the fronts and then the project will be done. What a tedious process! And of course now that they are changed, the wall color is next but not this week! I'm off to make some more progress on my Halloween Fairy - she's really coming along nicely!

Fair Progress

Last night was my last class for the Spring I term and I got out of class early so I picked up my Halloween Fairy and stitched on her till almost 11pm which is late for me - I hope there aren't a lot of errors! She's really coming along I think. I'm working on getting most of the regular DMC stitching done before switching to the Kreinik and beading. Once her skirt is done, it should go pretty fast because most of the solid stitching will done. I'm a bit apprehensive on working with the Kreinik - metallic threads are not my favorites and this has quite a bit. But it will be worth the effort because they really make the piece sparkle. I hope to put more time into this today as I have a few days off.

- 11 Degrees

Someone needs to tell Mother Nature that spring will be here on the 20th because I don't think she's gotten the message yet. It was -11 when I went out to get in my car this morning. We have had such a cold winter this year - a very good year for hand knit wool socks. The sock above is in progress for a friend of mine and I think she'll be able to wear them this year if I get them finished within the next two weeks as planned. This is some yarn from my stash by a spinner called Spunky Eclectic. It's sport weight so the pattern I'm knitting called for size 4 dpns which seem huge to me. I'm not super jazzed about the yarn - I love the hand dyed colorway but the yarn itself does not have that tight twist and springiness that I so love in Blue Moon sock yarn. But I promised myself I was going to knit down some of my sock yarn stash before I bought anything else so I will persevere.

This is actually my second pair of socks for 2009 which isn't bad I think. The photo below is the pair I finished for my sister using Blue Moon Flower Power which was part of my 2007 Sock Club stash. She requested a butterfly pattern from Fiber Trends and was quite happy with them. I think I will end up ordering another skein of this yarn as the colors are fantastic.

I stitched a little bit on my Halloween Fairy this morning but it's not enough to show any real progress. I hope to get a little more done over the next two days so I can post an updated photo.

I hope you are keeping warm wherever you are! And please someone, call Mother Nature will you? I need warm weather.

UFO Sunday

I didn't make much progress on my UFO stitching yesterday. The photo on the left is where I started and the one on the right is where I ended yesterday evening. By the time I sat down to stitch, my eyes were too tired to do much over one stitching. I am however going to keep this project envelope in my stitching bag rather than put it away until the first Sunday in April. I think for now I will alternate between this and my Halloween fairy depending on my mood. There is also a new project kitted up in that bag that I'm trying to resist so we'll see how that goes!

My thanks to everyone who has been stopping by and commenting. It feels good to be back in the blogging and stitching world and I'm going to do my best to keep my blog updated and visit more of your wonderful pages. The projects you are working on are so inspiring!

SAL Alexendre Progress

I made some pleasing progress on my SAL project yesterday. I finished the little bar in the middle and a row of the 2nd alphabet. I also completed more of the right side of the border. I really enjoy working on this project and it's quite hard to zip it back into its plastic project envelope at the end of the day. I hope to get more time with this piece next Saturday.

This is how it looks so far... I wish my camera took better pictures as these don't really show the true colors of the fabric but I'm still very happy with my choice of variegated DMC instead of the SnC I was originally planning to use.

Long Overdue Spring Cleaning

As you can see, I've got spring fever! Although there is still a large amount of snow left on the ground, there is a feel of spring in the air and for me it can't come soon enough. It's been a long winter in more ways than one. My new template is from here. I have been really into birds lately and I couldn't resist this colorful template.

I lost my stitching mo-jo for a while and had not picked up a needle in a very long time. I did start and finish a pair of socks for my sister this year but I just couldn't seem to find an interest in any of my stitching projects. Although I was itching to start something new, I decided to pick up my Halloween Fairy UFO and make it a WIP instead. Here's my progress as of yesterday morning.
Today is my SAL day on the Alexandre project from Tempus Fugit. I am working on the 2nd panel and will post an updated photo of my progress tomorrow as I hope to get more time to stitch on that today.

Only in Maine?

I completely forgot about these photos until I went to upload some stitching related photos this afternoon. In another of firsts since moving to Maine, I went to the lawnmower races this fall. This is what men do when there's no snow. I swear they will race anything. I worked with someone who was actually in a power sander race up in Poland Springs. Anyways, back to the lawnmowers. The local snowmobile club puts on these races every Sunday afternoon from late September to early November and I was invited to go. Actually, the person who invited me said he'd organize a "powder puff" race if I was interested in trying it out. "It's real safe, we'd have you wear a helmet and there are bumpers on the lawnmowers" was said with 100% sincerity. Ummm..... I don't think so! I'm saving that first for at least next year. There are two classes - these "regular" lawnmowers and then the modifieds. You'd be surprised at how fast these things actually go. I think next will be snowmobile races but we don't have enough snow for that yet, thank goodness!
On to stitching related stuff, this is a photo of the absolutely gorgeous birthday exchange package I received from Ilse in Germany. We were in a small birthday exchange together and Ilse got a bit behind. But as I always say, better late than never and this was so worth the wait. As you can see, Ilse stitched my favorite hearts into the neatest three part framed hanging piece and a wonderful little heart pillow. Both of these look great on my heart wall. And she sent along lots of yummy goodies as well. Thanks Ilse!

And finally, to prove that I am still stitching a tiny bit these days, this is my Saturday SAL on the Alexandre stitching wallet from Tempus Fugit. Slow progress on the second panel but I'm still plugging away.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week and please be kind when you hit all those holiday sales on Friday. Kohl's is opening at 4:00am I heard in the store today. I'm planning to be asleep and snuggly warm at that time so good luck!

Holey Moley!

I'm embarrassed that it's been over a month since I last posted. I have a good excuse but I'm still embarrassed. I started classes to get my Masters in Healthcare Administration on September 11th and my life has been pretty much school ever since then. Very little stitching going on these days at Casa Pearl. Unfortunately! But I have to remind myself it will all be worth it about 2.5 years from now right? And I've completed my first 7 week class and got an A so I'm just that little step farther.

I did manage to finish this before I started classes:
Now I just have to find a minute to turn it into something giveable. And I've managed to finish one panel of the SAL Alexandre project and make a small start on the 2nd panel. Unfortunately, my Halloween Fairy is languishing in the project envelope while I work on finishing a Christmas exchange piece before the end of November. Grad school on top of a crazy busy job is really proving a challenge so I'll be lucky to update this once a month but I will try! Hope you are having much more fun on your end of things!

Labor from Labor Day Weekend

Thanks everyone for your kind words on my eyesight issues! Knowing I have good company definitely makes me feel better. I am a sharing a picture of the new cheaters I got recently - they perfectly match the fob I got in a color exchange this summer don't they? Thanks to Nancy K. for the fob and my boss for finding the cheaters and persuading me I had to have them! LOL Sue, I envy you your shop with all the good cheaters!

Here is my progress update on My Mark's Grace. I am off by one row on the whole of the design but I still think it's coming along nicely. I was able to accomplish quite a lot while watching a marathon of CSI Las Vegas shows yesterday. I've never seen this show before but Spike TV was running them back to back Sunday and Monday so I'm a bit hooked now.

And finally my progress on Nora Corbet's Halloween Fairy. I'm obviously way behind Carol but I'm pretty pleased with how fast this design is going along.

August 30 Alexandre SAL Progress

Yesterday was my SAL day on this project and I'm pleased with my progress. I recently bought some stronger cheaters and it's making it a lot easier to work on this project even when the lighting is not that great.

I also finally broke down and went to Lenscrafters and bought new glasses with progressive lenses. I got tired of having to take off my glasses at night to stitch and not being able to see the TV. I found two frames I liked and unfortunately had to settle for my 2nd choice because of sizing issues. The first pair wouldn't have been large enough for them to get good middle distance on the lenses. Sheesh those things are expensive! Thank goodness for some insurance coverage and my flexible spending account. Because of the progressive part, I was not able to leave with my glasses but I hope they will be in before the end of next week.

Today I've been working on my Nora Corbet Halloween Fairy. It feels funny to work on this project which is over two - it's huge! LOL Stay tuned for a photo later today or tomorrow.

Finally Friday

This has been an incredibly busy and stressful week and I can't say how glad I am that Friday has finally arrived. And it's a three day weekend - wahooo!

Yesterday's mail brought these great floss drops from Dora who got the HIH Halloween Sampler chart I recently finished. Thank you Dora for your kindness - I have just recently seen these on a blog and now I have my very own set! I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Next up is my progress on the My Mark chart Grace - I'm judging again Lucy! LOL I somehow managed to get off in the sun rays part and so everything else is off too. Sigh.... to much on my mind I think or stitching while too tired. That said, I'm really liking this project - I love the contemporary look of a very old technique. It's a fast stitch too which is great!

And finally the rest of my supplies (with the exception of one Kreinik) have arrived for the Halloween fairy in the fall Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine. I'm hoping to put the first stitches into the design tonight. I'm going to be stitching mine on 32ct light mocha Belfast. And as you can see, I just had to get the Halloween special edition of Just Cross Stitch. While I wasn't wowed by all of the ornaments shown, there a several I hope to stitch as well as the Carriage House Samplings tombstone chart.

I'm off to get stitching! Hope you're enjoying your long weekend too!