Merry Christmas from all of us!
About Heather
Needleworker, Knitter, Crocheter, Sewist, Paper Crafter, and more!
Also known as Silverlotus & Stitchinglotus
Located just outside of Toronto, Canada.
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Happy (Prehistoric) Yule!
Happy Yule! Happy Winter Solstice! Welcome back Sun! (Yes, I’m a day late again. Imagine that.)
I was able to finish up Baby Man’s Yule gift in time. It is Planet June’s Stegosaurus. (FYI: She is having a sale until December 24th.) I used Bernat Satin, and made a few changes because my gauge is a wee bit tighter than June’s, even when using one size large hook.
Stegosaurus by Planet June
It was better received by Baby Man than I expected. He doesn’t really care for soft toys, but he has given this one a couple of hugs and driven it around in the bulldozer he got as a gift on Saturday from my cousin and his wife. I’m hoping to crochet Planet June’s Tortoise for him for his birthday.
I also finished up my first Pyroclastic Sock (by Marlowe Crawford, in Winter 2009 Knitty). It turned out quite well, even though I had to take a few guesses as to how the patten on the top of the foot was supposed to change. It is a bit different than the standard sock architecture, being based on Elizabeth Zimmerman/Meg Swanson’s Arch-Shaped Stockings. I love how the bottom of the sock hugs my foot, and I am so looking forward to wearing these. I’ve already cast on the second sock.
Pyroclastic Sock - Front View
Pyroclastic Sock - Side View
Christmas knitting is done, as is all the holiday crocheting. The gifts have been washed and the last one is is almost done drying. One thing needs to have the sweater lint remover thing run over it, but it still looks pretty good. I’m hoping to tackle my wrapping tomorrow, and then relax until it is time to put the turkey in on Christmas Day. After that, well, stitching again! And who knows what else.
SALsuffit – December 2009
Since we are just about to head into the Christmas rush, I thought I would get another SAL post out of the way. Today it is Anna‘s SALsuffit. The goal of this SAL, if you don’t recall, is to finish all of those pieces we have hanging around using what we already have in our stash. Not everything I finished into ornaments this month counts, since some of them were bought after I started the SALsuffit in September. However, I do have two projects that count for this month.
First, the Sampler de Noel 2009. It is done and framed! I’m so pleased. I stitched it over one on a very uneven fabric, so it doesn’t look quite as nice as I would like. But, it has a sort of shabby antique look that isn’t too bad. The frame, pins and foamcore were all in my stash.
Sampler de Noel
And the second piece is Baby Man’s stocking! I got up the courage to sew it together on Wednesday afternoon. I added a lining to it because the felt that it came with for the backing is awfully thin. It turned out pretty good, I think. Although, the toe is a wee bit wonky.
Naughty or Nice stocking by Dimensions
And here is Baby Man hanging his stocking on a bookcase.
I’m still searching for the right stocking for me. I think that in 2010, I will work on the stocking for my mom, and just hope that something eventually catches my eye for me.
TUSAL – December 2009
Surprise! I’m a day late again. Would you believe that I used to be a very organized person? No, I wouldn’t either.
Anyway, it is time for the December sharing of my TUSAL jar. This is the last time for this year, and my jar is stuffed full. I’ve had a pretty busy year, finishing over 35 cross stitch projects (none large, but several medium size). I also crocheted a little bit, and knit up a storm, including one jacket and nine pairs of socks. Not bad for someone who spends their days chasing around a toddler, eh?
Here is what my jar looks like today. There is lots of yarn from the Christmas gifts I’ve been finishing up, and thread from the ornaments I’ve been stitching.
I’ll be taking part in the 2010 TUSAL, starting my jar fresh on January 1st. If you’d like to join in, head over to Yoyo’s blog, Dragon My Needle, and sign up on this post. I don’t know if Yoyo will be offering prizes for the 2010 TUSAL, but she did for the 2009 one, and guess who won. Yes, me! I won one of the five prizes she drew for, and I am very excited. I will of course share it with you all when it arrives.
Now, on to other things. I haven’t been stitching this week because I hurt my stitching finger again. (I have a problem with calluses coming off. It is yuck and TMI.) So, I’ve been working on crocheting a gift for Baby Man, which doesn’t look like anything yet, and on knitting a pair of socks for me. They are Pyroclastic from the Winter 2009 Knitty. I’m already working on the foot of the first sock. I’m moving along so quickly because I like short socks. Instead of the six repeats of the leg pattern called for, I only did three. So many socks have such long legs, so I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one who likes shorter socks.
I’m knitting the sock using Panda Cotton in colourway Minty Greens. I used this yarn back in April to knit my Show-Off Stranded Socks. It is a pain to knit with since it isn’t plied very tightly, but it makes a lovely fabric and wears very well. Here’s what it looked like before lunch this today.
Pyroclastic
And last night I put together my first gingerbread house. It looks a little… amateurish, I guess I would say, but I like it anyway. On second thought, if I want a gingerbread house, maybe I should look again at the one offered by Victoria Sampler.
My 1st Gingerbread House
And if anyone out there happens to be looking for a gift for their favourite stitcher (me!), I am in love with Mirabilia’s new piece Sabrina. And, conveniently, Stitching Bits and Bobs has it and the embellishment pack on sale! And if you aren’t looking to send me a gift, you can at least agree with me that it is a lovely piece.
Christmas Ornaments – Done!
With Christmas just 11 days away, I am thankfully in the home stretch. Okay, the tree isn’t up yet, and nothing is wrapped. But I’m fine with that. The tree will go up on the 17th so that there are fewer days to worry about Baby Man tearing it down. And if the gifts aren’t wrapped until Christmas Eve, then so be it.
(Please pardon the pictures. It is dreadfully dull here today. In fact, it is actually raining. The nerve!)
I have finished up some more ornaments for the tree. The first is Mill Hill’s Snowflake from this year’s Tiny Treasured Diamond’s collection. It was done as per the kit, on 28ct white evenweave.
Snowflake by Mill Hill
Almost done is a freebie from Prairie Schooler, which I got as a kit from my LNS’s Christmas open house. (If you recall, I posted about the lovely gift package they gave out to everyone, full of freebies and this kit.) It is stitched over one on 20ct Lugana white/silver with 2 strands of floss (the chart suggested 3, but I think that looked too heavy). The threads are Anchor (which I almost never use) and DMC Colour Variations, and are different than the ones called for in the original chart. (If you are interested, you can download the original design here.)
Snowman by Prairie Schooler
And I’ve managed to crochet all five of those Planet June Christmas Puddings. One is for me, and the rest are gifts. The gift boxes are from a punch-out book I bought a few years ago.
Christmas Pudding by Planet June
I still have a Yule gift to crochet for Baby Man. I’d also love to crochet him another Christmas gift, but I think it will end up being a birthday gift (which is not that far away). I’m just about ready to declare myself done and cast on a pair of socks for me! (Ummm.. well, the new Knitty just came out and I may have cast on these socks using Panda Cotton in colourway Misty Greens, maybe.)
An Audience with a King
Yesterday I was lucky enough to be able to go see the King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibit at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario (aka The AGO). I have been in love with Ancient Egypt since I was a young girl. I remember first becoming interested back in grade 4 or 5, when a friend of mine was studying it in class. For some reason, my class didn’t do that unit, but she shared with me what she learned and a love affair began. A year or two later, I did an extra credit project on Ancient Egypt, writing a journal about my fictitious trip down the Nile. Even today, I read history books about Ancient Egypt and watch any documentary that is released. And, I hate to fess up to it, but I’m a big fan of Dr. Zahi Hawass and Dr. Bob Brier. (I do detest those mummy movies, though.)
The exhibit was amazing. Every time I get a chance to see artifacts from Ancient Egypt, I can’t help but feel awe. The statues are breathtakingly beautiful, the jewelry is stunning, and the religious objects demonstrate a piety all but unseen today. You can see a few of the object here, but the pictures do not do them any justice at all.
The items that stopped me in my tracks were relativity simple. Yes, the golden mask of Psusennes I is fabulous beyond words. But it was the simple white chair from Tut’s tomb that I loved, and the gold finger and toe coverings that protected the digits of the king’s mummy. I was also so impressed by the alabaster vase that once held unguents long ago taken by thieves.
Really, I can’t find the words to describe what I saw or how it made me feel. The best I can say is that it was wonderful to see objects in person that I have only seen on TV or in books. It has made me even more determined to get to Egypt one day to see more.
I’ve actually had a very special year when it comes to seeing ancient artifacts. I was able to see the Book of the Dead exhibit that the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) had earlier this year, and along with that revisit their permanent Ancient Egypt exhibit. (It features the most complete copy of the mural from Queen Hatshepsut mortuary temple, detailing the expedition she sent to Punt, among many other wonderful things.) I was also able to see the ROM’s Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, which was very moving even though I don’t follow that particular religious path.
Book of the Dead of Amen-em-hat
Sometimes, when I am at a museum, I wonder if we aren’t being a bit odd collecting and viewing these pieces of flotsam and jetsam from lives and times long past. There was a latrine seat in the Tut exhibit, something left behind at Amarna when everyone moved one. It brought some titters of laughter from the high school students drifting through the exhibit. And, yes, I will admit I found it a bit off too. But it was also humanizing; reminding us 21st-century viewers that these ancient people we put on a pedestal (literally) were actually the same as us.
I wonder what of our civilization will be deemed worth exhibiting in a museum in the centuries to come.
Pudding Pieces
I didn’t mean to go so long again without a blog post. I have plenty of excuses: I’m not sleeping well at all and I’m like a zombie right now; Baby Man hurt my bad knee the in the middle of last week, and yesterday was the first day I could sit at the computer comfortable for an extend period of time; I’m just pain forgetful. (As proof of that last one, I left my wallet at the library today. Seriously, where is my brain?!)
I have been working hard on several different things. Some of them are Christmas gifts, which means I won’t be sharing them until after Christmas (if I remember to take pictures…). I can share this though: the parts to five of Planet June’s crocheted Christmas Puddings. While it may not look like much more than a tangle of yarn right now, in a few days (or a week or so…), they should be super cute and ready to give as gifts.
Pudding Pieces
I’ve also been working on Snowflake, one of Mill Hill’s Tiny Treasured Diamonds kits from this year. The cross stitching is done, and I hope to work on the beading today or tomorrow.
Snowflake by Mill Hill
And, for my husband, I’ve started Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing, using a hand-dyed fabric from Country Stitch (Firecracker at 1.5 x strength; thank you for Cath for dying it special for me) and Dinky Dyes silk in colour Aussie Gold for the characters in the centre. I’m still not 100% of what I will use for the border. (The colours are off a bit. The fabric is a lovely Chinese red not fuchsia.)
Kitchen Blessing by Enchanting Lair
I also was able to go to my LNS’s Christmas open house. Erica and her friend Barb were kind enough to let me tag along with them. (Thank you so very, very much, ladies. I really do appreciate you going out of your way to get me.) I was exceptionally well behaved and bought only some DMC, one skein of Dinky Dyes, 2 skeins of Threadworx, 1 roll of Kreinik #16 braid, some fabric, and the mandolin kit from the ornament series Mill Hill did the other year. The green folder was a gift that was handed out. Inside is a kit for a snowman ornament, a bunch of freebie Christmas designs, and a flier for a retreat in the spring. (You have no idea how much I want to go.)
With that little purchase, I’m all set for my next several projects, except for one package of beads. (And I probably do have it kitted up with something else if I look.) I expect, though, that when I go to pull the DMC for one of the projects, I’ll discover I’m missing something. That always seems to happen, even if I double check before I go stash shopping.
Which brings me to my next things: the Legends SAL. Please head over to the Teresa Wentzler yuku board and read this thread. If you’d like to participate but don’t want to sign up for a Yuku account, that’s fine! Email me or leave a comment below and I will add your name to our list of participants. I will be stitching Sewing the Seeds, and then moving on to the other designs if/as I am able to. I hope you will join us!