Ornament of the Month – November

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Heather

Here it is: the penultimate ornament in my ornament of the month project: You Are My Gift by Jennifer Aikman-Smith of Dragon Dreams, from the 2010 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue.

You Are My Gift from Dragon Dreams

I apologize for the poor picture. I didn’t take advantage of the whole hour of sunshine we had today, and ended up taking this when the light was fading. Anyway, it is stitched on white 28 count lugana (I think), using the called for DMC.

Although I plan to start my holiday decorating tomorrow, which means putting away the serger and sewing machine that are currently living on my dining room table, I am hoping to get this ornament and a few others finished up into something I can hang on the tree. Pictures forthcoming, of course!

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A Year of TWs

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Heather

As you may or may not be aware, I’ve been stitching one Christmas ornament every month for the whole year, taking one from each of the Just Cross Stitch ornament issues from 1997 through 2010 (I started in November 2010). It hasn’t worked out entirely as planned (what ever does?). A few times I had to substitute a different ornament from the same issue. But, as of this month, I’ve only got two more to do, much to my delight. Finishing them into ornaments is, of course, a whole different issue!

Since the year is quickly careening to its end, I’ve started planning for my 2012 projects. I’ve been running a little poll in the sidebar of this blog, asking your opinion, dear friends, on what I should stitch next year. So far, I’ve had 11 votes, and small Teresa Wentzler designs are winning 7 to 3 over Halloween ornaments, with one lone vote for Christmas ornaments. So, I’ve started to look through all my TW designs with an eye towards what I’d like to stitch next year, and what I can reasonably get done in a month. Front runners include the hummingbird freebie and at least one bookmark. Most likely, the majority of what I’ll be stitching will be her older, simpler, smaller designs from back issues of Just Cross Stitch and other magazines.

And just to help get us all in to a Teresa Wentzler sort of mood, here is my latest finish: Joyous Noel.

Joyous Noel by Teresa Wentzler

It was stitched on a random piece of 34ct something using the called for DMC. A big thank you to Christine of Christine’s Journal for lending me the magazine.

If you’d like to check out all the TW’s I’ve finished, I’ve set up a page. You can either click here, or click the TW Project link at the top of the page. I’ll be updating it as I finish more designs, and I will eventually add pictures of all my WIPs too. You can also check out my gallery of TW designs on Picasa.

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Look! A Purse

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Heather

As you may have gathered from the post the other day, I’ve got the sewing machine out again. I’m working on a couple of pairs of pjs for Baby Man, as well as a couple of other secret projects (e.g. Christmas gifts). I did, however, find time to make myself something.

Drawstring Purse

This is another kit from Quilt-a-Bag, which I picked up at the Creativ Festival back in October. It is really hard to get a good picture of it because it is much floppier than the other purse. But, I think this picture pretty much captures the idea. It is a two-tone drawstring style, with the opening actually set down into the outer bag by about two inches.

Drawstring Bag - Top View

Because it is so shallow, I didn’t add any pockets to this purse. But, I’m still very happy with it. I can’t wait to see what sort of projects and fabrics Quilt-a-Bag brings to the next Creativ Festival.

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Two Skeins Short

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Heather

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone described me as two skeins sort of a kit. But, that’s not what I’m referring to today. Unfortunately, I’m two skeins short of being able to finish my penultimate Christmas ornament in my self-imposed ornament of the month project.

You Are My Gift by Jennifer Aikman-Smith (Dragon Dreams)

This month’s project is You Are My Gift from the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament issue. I’m stitching it on white 28 count evenweave (lugana? I’m terrible with fabric names), using the called for DMC. I substituted PTB for the Kreinik braid, mostly because the PTB is with my DMC, and I’d have to get out another container to get the Kreinik.  Yeah, I can be be super lazy.

The missing two skeins will shortly be in hand, and I promise you that I will have this done by the end of the month. That will leave one ornament left: 2006 Santa by Vermillion Stitchery, from the 2006 issue (surprise!). Of course I left the largest design to the end. You’d think I would know better, but of course now. But, the fabric is cut, the floss gathered, and I’m ready to go. December just has to get here first.

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November TUSAL

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Heather

Oh, late a day again. Imagine that! Regardless, here’s my Totally Useless Stitch Along post for the month of November.

TUSAL - November 2011

For those who may be wondering what the heck this is all about, here’s a quick summary. The TUSAL is a stitch along where you collect all your thread ends (orts), put them in a jar, and share a picture of your jar each month on the new moon. It isn’t a competition for getting the most orts or the prettiest jar, it is all for fun. And, really, totally useless. If you’d like to sign up for the 2012 season, head over here to Daffycat’s blog to sign up.

And so this post isn’t totally useless, I thought I would share with you the little pin cushion I made for my sewing machine. I have a terrible habit of just leaving my pins lying in front of my machine, all willy-nilly, and when I saw this I knew it would be perfect for me.

Sewing Machine Pin Cushion

The project idea came from Kathryn at I Can’t Find the Time. The fabric is leftover from a project I’ll be sharing with you in a couple of days. And if my sewing machine looks like it is floating in the air, that’s because I work on the glass table in our dining room. One day I will have a craft room! Hopefully I won’t have to waiting until Baby Man moves out. 😉

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Pink Blankie for a New Baby

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Heather

A little over a week ago friends of ours gave birth to a beautiful little girl. And, being a knitter, I was still hard at work on my gift. After some marathon knitting and seaming sessions (which were much less painful than labour), it is done!

Baby Blanket

I knit it using Bernat Pipsqueak in colours Whitey White, Pretty Pink, and Sitting Pretty. The pattern is Blanket #5032 (such an evocative name), and it is available for free from the Bernat website. (Note that you need to sign up for a free account. And also note that the pattern is on some of the ball bands for this particular yarn.) It turned out quite large, almost four feet square, and it is so soft and cuddly.

I almost don’t want to give it up. If the yarn wasn’t such a pain to work with, I’d be crocheting or knitting myself a blanket from it. Baby Man has actually asked me to make him a blanket, but I’m hoping it was just a passing fancy. The yarn sheds quite a bit when you clip it (and their are eight ends per square in this blanket, and 36 squares total), so I’d really rather not have the house covered in fluff again. Thankfully, though, after a wash and a dry, all the shedding seems to have stopped.

Soon, this blanket knit with love will be off to its new home, and there it will hopefully be used to keep a precious new life safe and warm.

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Favourite Thread

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Heather

I’m so delighted to see that the Stitching Bloggers Question is back! This month Lee has asked:

What’s your favorite color of thread? Pick just one. Why do you like it?

Just about anyone who knows me can quickly answer that: purple! But, if I had to narrow it down, had to point to the exact shade of purple, the one that I would stitch an entire Ink Circles design in. Well, that is difficult.

I love all shade of purple, from DMC 211 to 550 and even into the blue purples like 333. But my favourite shades are the medium blue-purples, like DMC 340 for example. But would I say that’s my favourite? Nope.

DMC Purples (333, 211 and 550)

My favourite purple (at least this week) is Dinky Dyes Boulia.

Dinky Dyes Boulia

Why do I like purple? Well, I’ve never given it much thought. Maybe it is because it is a regal colour (although what the ancients called imperial purple was not quite what we think of as purple today). Maybe I like the large range of purple shades, all the way from very redish to very blue to almost black. Or, maybe I like it just because. 😉

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