Ornament of the Month – December 2010

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Heather

I nearly let this simple ornament defeat me. But here it is:

Five Gold Rings from Flower Thread Company

It is Five Gold Rings from Flower Thread Company/Meg Shinall, from the 2002 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue. It is stitched with Vicki Clayton silks in colours I happened to like (the greens are from one of her random packs, the red is Gandy Tango), and the gold is PTB 26. The fabric is some white 28 count I had hanging around, probably Lugana.

It doesn’t look very complicated, does it? Well, the design as it is charted has a button hole stitch all the way around it to make it into a bellpull with a pointed end. I have trouble with the button hole stitch, as is apparent in my finishing of Keep a Little Secret. I tried to do the button hole stitch on this ornament no less than five times. I even made it around a couple of corners before I gave up and cut it all off. And then the gold thread I had planned to use went missing. Absolutely disappeared. And it still hasn’t turned up. But I finished it, and I’m glad I stuck with it, since it is beautiful. I don’t know how I will ultimately finish it, but you can be sure it won’t be with the button hole stitch.

Another, bonus, finish is this simple candle design. I’ve done a few others from this series from Bucilla, and still have a few to go. Eventually they will be made into Christmas cards.

Candles from Bucilla

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , , ,

Yes, Another Pair of Socks

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Heather

I love knitting socks. They are quick to knit, and totally portable. There are more patterns available for socks, I think, than any other type of clothing. The yarn is relatively cheap (I can make a pair of anklets from Knit Picks yarn for US$2.99), and comes in lots and lots of colours.

And speaking of Knit Picks, my latest pair of socks is a Knit Picks pattern using Knit Picks Comfy Fingering (which they no longer suggest as sock yarn, but I think it works okay).

Friday Socks from Knit Picks

The colour is Marlin, and the pattern is from the Fancy Feet sampler kit they released back in the summer. It features one anklet pattern for each day of the week, and this is Friday.

These socks, like the last  pair, aren’t for me. They will soon be on their way to Florida. I knit them in exchange for a copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting, a pretty fabulous knitting book (even though it doesn’t have any sock patterns).

Oh, and about that US$2.99 sock yarn. Well, most of the socks I make actually use yarn that costs between CAN$9.99 and CAN$19.99. Yeah, I know I can buy socks at Wal-Mart for two bucks, but are they handmade for my feet, in colours I love, and in beautiful patterns? I didn’t think so.

Comments Off on Yes, Another Pair of Socks | Posted in Knitting | Tagged , ,

A Little Christmas Bear

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Heather

It has been quite a while since my last post, I know. I had the best of intentions, really. But, last Sunday Baby Man and I both came down with a bad cold. He recovered quickly, but I’m only just feeling better today. I’m one of those lucky, lucky people who get knocked on their butt by a cold, every single time. It isn’t very nice, and even less so when Christmas is right around the corner.

Thankfully, I do have some Christmas decorating done. The tree isn’t up, but it looks a little bit festive around here. And, because I have learned my lesson, most of my Christmas knitting and stitching was well in hand before the cold knocked me low. I tackled a couple of simple projects this week, and I’m still very confident that I am on track for Christmas morning. I will admit to procrastinating on one thing, but it will get done. I may even cast on tonight, since I figure it will be another sit-on-the-sofa-evening just to make sure I really am on the mend. (Too many times in the past I’ve done too much too soon and ended up sicker than I was before, and with Christmas just two weeks [!!!] away, I don’t want to risk that.)

Since I can’t share gifts yet, I will share this guy:

Holiday Polar Bear from Mill Hill

I stitched him for an ornament exchange on Ravelry. I’m so pleased with how he turned out, that I think I may stitch him again for myself… eventually. He is backed with some white felt with sparkles in it, and I also attached the magnet that came in the kit. The cord is Kreinik #4 braid.

Tomorrow: socks. Surprising, eh?

3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , , ,

End of Year Goal Review and a Look Forward

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Heather

You might remember that at the start of November I set goals for the months of November and December:

  • Stitch and finish six ornaments
  • Knit six gifts

Half the time has passed, and I’m halfway there. I did change my mind about one gift I was knitting. I think it is too big to get done in time for Christmas. But, I’ve substituted another, small item and haven’t really gained any time in that respect. Also, being overconfident and greedy when it comes to books, I agree to knit a pair of lovely anklets for a lady on Ravelry. I’m about halfway through the second sock, and with some hard work, they will be in the mail next week.

I’ve also been thinking quite a bit about my stitching goals for next year. I do have my self-imposed sock club and ornament club (December’s ornament is underway and miles of buttonhole stitch are kicking my butt). But, that isn’t enough to keep me busy for the whole year. So, I’m leaning towards making 2011 the year of Victoria Sampler. Surprising, eh? Not who you’d think I would stitch for a whole year, but I do have a lot of their designs (all Thea Dueck’s).

My tentative plan is to work on finishing up Christmas Treasures so it is in the box and ready for display next Christmas (two years after I wanted it finished). I also want to work on H is for Homemaker, M is for Mother, S is for Stitcher, W is for Witch; all of which I will be doing on 30 count linen banding. And then there is Gingerbread House, the kit for which I managed to get at an amazing deal.

I also have Harbour Village Sampler, Heirloom Stitching Sampler, Heirloom Baby Sampler, Heirloom Nativity Sampler, Beautiful Finishing 1, O Canada Sampler, Cottage Garden Sampler and Spring Sampler. I have the thread kits for many, but not all. And fabric, well, I’ve got plenty of that too. And maybe I shouldn’t mention that I would love to get K is for Knitter and Santa’s Village Sampler. Yeah… and I wouldn’t even list VS as one of my top five favourite designers. Weird, eh?

So, a year of VS? Broken up, of course, with maybe a couple of TW smalls, some Enchanting Lair, and some class pieces from the Creativ Festival (which would be TW, Enchanting Lair and Dragon Dreams).  Am I crazy?

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Be Merry!!

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Heather

Yes, I mean that as a command! lol! In all seriousness, though, the Christmas season is very nearly upon us. This year I feel ready, even though I still have a few gifts that aren’t finished. Most of my cards are addressed and stamped, and some have even been mailed. New decorations have been bought, and plans have been made for where everything is going. Christmas coffee cups are in the cupboard, and so is the hot chocolate to fill them. All I need is for my gifts to magically wrap themselves, my tree to appear fully decorated in its corner, and my family to agree to lasagna for Christmas dinner. 🙂

And in that spirit, I offer up another Christmas finish:

Be Merry from Mill Hill

I stitched this for my mom to give as a gift, and it is quite lovely in person. The beads sparkle and the cord tinkles. Very merry indeed.

I hope your Christmas crafting is going well, that your supply of egg nog is endless, and that your mailbox is overflowing with holiday cards.

4 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

A Pocket-Sized Christmas

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Heather

I little while ago I mentioned that PlanetJune was holding another crochet-along (CAL), this time for her Christmas designs.  Being a PlanetJune fan, of course I had to participate again. So, I made two sets of her super cute PocketAmi – Christmas.

PocketAmi Christmas from PlanetJune

I used Bernat Satin, as I generally do for my amigurumi. I’m so happy with how they turned out. Although, they look a little squished in this picture because Baby Man stepped on all of them. :/

I’m still hoping to do one or two of June’s pointsettia pattern, but that depends on how much progress I make on other projects.

If you’d like to know more about the CAL, head over to June’s blog.

2 Comments | Posted in Crochet | Tagged , ,

Pretty as a Peacock

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Heather

I’m so happy to have finally finished this pretty little nonsense piece for myself:

Keep a Little Secret from Just Nan

Isn’t it lovely? I’m not sure what I will use this tiny needleslide for, but I like it anyway.

Attaching the felt to the back did give me some trouble. It didn’t turn out too neat, but I think it will do the job.

My messy upside down blanet stitch

Now, here’s a question for all of you: I have earned a nice sized gift card from Chapters. I’d like to get a needlework or knitting book. What is your favourite book  or which book do you think I should have in my crafting library?

And, one last thing, I’ve been getting a lot of comment spam lately. If your comments aren’t showing up, please send me a note (use this form or email if you have my email address) and let me know. Thank you!

1 Comment | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,