New Start Progress - Hands on Design

Last night was our guild's monthly stitch-in.  It was fun to get together with the peeps for the evening to sit and stitch.  Since I'd worked all day and was pretty tired, I decided to work on my new start I mentioned in the TUSAL post the other day.  I knew stitching on 40ct. was not happening.  Oh the hazards of banging away on a keyboard all day long staring at a computer screen.  LOL!

Here's a progress picture taken at the end of the night.  This was the perfect stitch for me since my eyes were already tired.  It's worked on 28ct. even weave with three colors of DMC.  It was such a change only working with a small selection of colors.

Here a link to Hands on Design's blog.  I just love her stuff!

 
This is what it will look like when it's all stitched.  I was even lucky enough to find that actual aqua print!  In case you are on the hunt, it's by Riley Blake Designs.  The fabric line is Polka Dot Stitches and this particular print is called Polka Dot Doily Blue.  If you type in any of that into a Google search you should come up with something.

I will say a lesson I learned from my quilting days, if you don't buy a fabric shortly after it comes out you may not ever see it again.  Knowing this, I feel extremely lucky to have found the aqua fabric.  I'm less concerned about the lining fabric but am leaning toward a small red and white polka dot or maybe a gingham.  We'll see what I can find.

There's an element of this particular bag's construction that I really like.  It has an interior pocket that runs the entire width of the bag on the inside back for your chart!  How stinkin' cool is that?!

This bag is also going to be a bit wider than the bags I've made in the past.  It will be closer to 14" wide.  I'm thinking I may try to make it a bit taller too to accommodate my 11" q-snaps.  As you can tell, I'm already getting excited to finish this one so I can actually use it!

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Well folks, that's all I have today.  I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I can see it from here!  Thanks for stopping by today!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

TUSAL - April

It's TUSAL Day!

(For those not familiar, click on the word TUSAL above or the link to the right.)

Well folks, spring has finally made an appearance in my neck of the woods.  We had storms last week and it seems to have helped everything grow!  I missed posting on Saturday when the actual TUSAL date was because I was road tripping.  It was the perfect day for a drive!  Some of my quilting friends had pieces displayed in a museum a couple hours away so I just had to go see them.

Here's a look at the ORT pile for the month.  Not too shabby a pile if I do say so myself.

Here's the list of this month's contributors:

"Speak to the Earth" by Donna Kooler Designs (In Progress)
"Heaven Above" by Midsummer Night Designs (In Progress)
"Cross Stitcher's Count" by Rose Sartore (Done!)
"Love My Stitching" by Hands on Designs (In Progress)


Yes, I've started a new project since our last TUSAL check-in.   The floss on the ring above are the colors I'm using.  I bought this one last summer at our Russellville Retreat and have wanted to stitch it ever since.  It didn't help that Stasi showed her finish back in February and it's haunted me ever since. So I decided it would become my lunch time stitch.  I'll do a progress post soon.

I also started and finished a quickie project for our annual getaway in Russellville for this year.  Our Queen Bee is going to finish the stitched pieces into something special for us but we won't know what it is until we get to the retreat!  I just love surprises like that.

I'm still pluggin away on "Heaven Above."  I'm currently working on the blue background fill behind the stars.  I had a visit from the frog a couple of Sundays ago too.  This set me back since the error was on a motif that I'd counted off of for several other motifs.  Rats!  I hate when that happens.

I'm still loving "Speak to the Earth."  I still have a hard time putting it down when I'm finished with the month's assignment.  I'm down to the point I need to work a row of queen stitches.  There was a frog visit there too and in the same weekend I might add.  I don't mind the queens it's just the placement had me a bit off.  I'm back on track now.  Whew!

So there you are, it's not too exciting this month but progress is being made and that counts in my book!  Hope you are moving things along in your stitchy world too.  Thanks for visiting today!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Speak to the Earth - March Progress

I slid in just under the wire this month on the Speak to the Earth SAL.  For some reason I procrastinated on the over one words.  They aren't that big a deal really.  I just have to be in the right frame of mind to work on them on this tiny count fabric.  So I buckled down and just got on with it already.  Enough of my yip yap, let's see the pictures!

Progress as of 2-15-15

Progress as of 3-31-15

I got on a roll on the right side with the green floss.  I don't know about you all, but I hate to cut a thread when there's a long bit of it still in the needle.  So I stitched it to the end!  I figure it's just time saved later when I get to that part.

I can truthfully echo the sentiments of the other peeps stitching this with me, this is one that is so hard to put down once you get going.  I really enjoy stitching it.  I like that the motifs are smallish and you can whip one out fairly quickly and the colors really sing to me too.  I find the colors make all the difference for me.  How about you all, what really draws you in and keeps your interest?  Let me know if you care to share.

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Well friends, it's a quick one today.  I switched over to Heaven Above once I finished this month's SAL assignment.  I made some more progress but not enough to show yet.  I'm hoping to spend more time with that one this month.  It's another that's a joy to stitch.

Hope all is well in your world.  Thanks for stopping in to visit with me today!


More next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

TUSAL - March

It's TUSAL Day!

(For those not familiar, click on the word TUSAL above or the link to the right.)

It's that time again!  This past month has been quite a productive month for me.  I feel like lots of things are moving along nicely.  I seem to have been on a finishing roll lately.  Now that certainly is a good feeling.  Let's have a look at the ORT pile and well talk about it more down below.

I decided to get out the spring decorations in honor of yesterday being the first official day of spring. Not a bad looking pile if I do say so myself! 

Here's this month's contributor list:

"Snooty Parrots" by Barbara Ana Designs (DONE!)

"Frosty Snowflake" by Needle Bling Designs (DONE!) 

"Common Ground - Needlebook" by Just Nan (DONE!)

"Speak to the Earth" by Donna Kooler Designs (In Progress)

"Heaven Above" by Midsummer Night Designs (In Progress)

Can I get a collective woo hoo from the blog-o-sphere?!  Yes, three finishes since our last check-in is such a good feeling.  I still shake my head at myself over that snowman ornament.  I still can't believe I abandoned that with so little to do on it.  Oh well, stranger things have happened in my world...believe me!

I'm so pleased with how the needlebook turned out too.  It feels good to know I have the skills now to stitch it and finish it.  I really have come a long way.  It just goes to show that some things are worth the wait.

Then there's Snooty, oh I could go on and on about that one.  I'm so very happy to have that one finished.  I'm currently investigating framing.  I really want to do it up nice.  Stay tuned...I promise to do a reveal post once I get it framed.  Right now, it's safely tucked away waiting patiently for that day to come.

I'm still plugging away with the peeps who are working on our "Speak to the Earth" SAL.  My favorite part of a SAL like this is seeing them all together.

I haven't given "Heaven Above" much attention this past month.  I'll have see what I can do about that.  It's just so pretty and now that Snooty is finished maybe this can get bumped up in the rotation.  We'll see...

So there you have it, friends, the monthly update.  It's been a good one for me.  I hope this month has been productive for you as well.  Thanks for visiting with me today.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Common Ground Needlebook...Done!

Friends, I'm on a roll!  Sunday I put the last stitch in the needlebook and Tuesday I completed the finishing.

This one has special significance for me since I've had it in the stash since 2007.  I fell in love with the needlebook the minute I saw it in an advertisement two years before I seriously took up stitching again.  I ordered the chart from the LNS and the finishing kit from Silver Needle.

When I actually looked at the chart I felt overwhelmed.  Keep in mind this was before I got comfortable stitching on linen.  So I carefully tucked both the chart and the finishing kit away in a box.  That's where they stayed until I gained some confidence with linen and honed my finishing skills. I'm so glad it's done and now I can enjoy it!

Design: Common Ground - Needlebook

Designer: Just Nan

Fabric: 28 ct. Tattersall

Floss: DMC as charted

Started:  1/3/15

Finished: 3/15/15

Completed: 3/17/15

This was the first time I'd used Tattersall and I have to say, I really enjoyed working with it.  I found I could count my starting points really easily off the white threads that were woven into the fabric.  It was also fun to work on lower count fabric after stitching on 40 ct. samplers lately.

Here's a look at the whole thing before the finishing commenced.  I added my initials and date. That spot seemed to be the best place to put them.  It looked bare to me without something there.  I always try be diligent about signing my work.  It's the historian in me, I can't help myself.

 Here's a look at the outside.

And the inside.

 

The back.

I like how the closure is on the back instead of the front.  The corded tassel is a fun touch too.  It's conveniently hiding the spine stitching that keeps the two pieces of padded mat board in their separate sides.  Clever!  I'll definitely do this type of finish again.  It was a lot easier than I'd anticipated.

For those who might be wondering, this is one of a set of smalls that came with the "Common Ground" sampler chart.  The chart is an oldie from back in 2002.  I'm thinking at some point I may stitch the other pieces in the set and maybe even the sampler itself.  We'll see.

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I hope you enjoyed seeing this finish.  Who knows what I'll pull out of my Mary Poppins bag next.  I may even dig in and do some finishing.  Tomorrow is TUSAL day and I think it will be a good report this time around.  Hope your day is good.  Thanks for visiting.

More next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Frosty Snowflake...Done!

Folks, have you ever gone rooting in the stash and run across an abandoned project?  I see heads nodding.  That's what happened to me.  The day I finished Snooty I went to my stash looking for something and ran across this.  I'm fairly sure I got derailed by the holidays when it got abandoned.

 

Photo not of it's found state but rather taken upon finishing

Now you all know I usually try to finish what I start in a reasonable amount of time, especially smalls or ornaments.  Since I'd just completed a biggie, I decided I might as well jump in and finish this little cutie.  I had all of Frosty's face stitched and a good part of his hat so there really wasn't all that much left to stitch!

Design: Frosty Snowflake (JCS 2013 Ornaments)

Designer: Needle Bling Designs

Fabric: 25 ct. avocado Lugana 1 over 1

Floss:  DMC as charted

Started:  11/24/13

Finished: 3/8/15

Completed: 3/8/15

The fabric in the background is what I used to back it.  I couldn't believe my good fortune to have some ribbon in the stash that matched the fabric so well too.  So here we are, a finished ornament!  Now I can say I've finished at least one ornament this year that I'll keep for myself even if it took me a couple years to get around to it.

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 I hope everyone has a good week.  Thank you for stopping by for a visit today.  Who knows what I'll finish next.  I appear to be on a roll.  LOL!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Snooty Parrots...DONE!

I am doing the happy dance today!  Why you ask, because I can finally share with you a finish and not just any finish...Snooty is finished!!!  Did you all hear me Saturday night?  Yep, that was me making all that racket.  Let's have a look.

Design: Snooty Parrots

Designer: Barbara Ana

Fabric: 40 ct. Light Mocha

Floss: DMC and GAST

Started: 1/26/14

Finished: 2/28/15

To be framed...

I know this SAL was over in December but I kept pressing on.  I decided last week that I was going to finish this sampler before March rolled in and that was that!  I really didn't have much left to do on it so I buckled down and got to it.  I'm so relieved to have it done.  Yay!

I only made a couple changes to the original design.  I decided not to put the extra initials on it.  I think it looks okay without them.  I noticed several folks in the SAL chose not to as well.

The other change is the addition of the clouds around the angels.  Ellen and Jana from my guild were also stitching this and we decided we'd like to distinguish ours somehow.  Our guild had a lovely lecture on Norfolk samplers last year.  We learned that one of the characteristics you find are angels in clouds!  The idea was struck and there you are.

We laughed that 100 years from now some historian is going to wonder about our three samplers and try to find meaning to the angels in the clouds.  Tee hee!!

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So there you have it friends, my first finish of 2015.  I'm so pleased to share it with you.  As they say, better late than never.  I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Thanks for stopping by to share my joy today!


Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher