Finished Fairy

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Heather

On Thursday evening, I put the last bead into Halloween Fairy.

You know, that name is a bit confusing. There is the Mirabilia Halloween Fairy that was a limited edition kit, and then there was this Nora Corbett Halloween Fairy that was in the magazine. Maybe I should call her Trick or Treat Fairy. And there is also the fact she doesn’t have wings. Not much of a fairy, really. (And yeah, I didn’t notice the lack of wings until she was almost done…)

Anyway, here she is:


Halloween Fairy by Nora Corbett
Threads: DMC and Kreinik #4 braid
Beads: Mill Hill
Fabric: 32ct. Cashel in Cobblestone

I made a couple of changes: different colour backstitching for her gloves, left off one of the spiderwebs on the bottom left, and left off the top row of beads. I also added one extra black bead to her skirt in a place that looked like there should have been one.

That is finish #16 for my challenge. I may fall off the wagon a little this week, since I want to check out a yarn shop that carries a lot of non-animal fibre yarn. I’d love to pick up something to do some stockings, and I may look into buying some yarn to do the Diminishing Ribs Cardigan from the Spring 2009 Interweave Knits.

I’ve been working on Ackworth Swan Treasure Keep, knitting a dishcloth and crocheting what is becoming known as the Never Ending Blue Shawl of Doom. Hopefully I will have another finish this week.

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Guess They Liked the Movie Better

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Heather

It’s no secret that the world is going through a recession right now.  (Or at least the media tells us that an uncountable number of times a day.)  However, it appears that the movie-going public isn’t aware of this.  The Los Angles Times reports that:

Audiences seeking an escape have bolstered the industry’s U.S. box-office revenue to $1.8 billion this year, up more than 17% from the same period last year.

The same day I heard this news, I read in the April 2009 issue of The Writer that the book publishing industry has been hit so hard that some publishers are even suspending new acquisitions (Leddy, Chuck. “Economy dampens publishing.” The Writer Apr. 2009: 8-9.).  More here from Publisher’s Weekly.

So, to get this straight, people will pay $10US or  more (over $15CAN) to watch an hour and a half long movie that is probably only so-so, instead of spending $9.99 or less on a paperback book that will last them a week or more and (horror of horrors!) allows them to use their imagination.  Amazing.

Go out and buy a book.  Keep writers in business.  Read to your kids.  Buy them books.  Literacy is important.

This is a message from your friendly, neighbourhood bookworm.  Now maybe I should go put in an order to Chapters…  Any recommendations?

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A Nearly There Fairy

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Heather

I’ve been moving along very well on Halloween Fairy. Below is the latest picture.


Halloween Fairy by Mirabilia
Threads: DMC and Kreinik #4 braid
Beads: Mill Hill
Fabric: 32ct. Cashel in Cobblestone

And, since a girl can never have too many WIPs, I started Once Upon a Tree by Jeanette Douglas (a series from this year’s Just Cross Stitch magazine). I’m doing all DMC for this, except for the Gloriana colours that have no DMC equivalent.


Once Upon a Tree by Jeanette Douglas
Threads: DMC
Beads:
Fabric: Unknown linen, 32ct.

I’ve also been crocheting. My Pentacle Shawl looks like nothing but a long chain:


Pentacle Shawl by Maria Merlino
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Millefili Fine in Turquoise Blue Grey

As for knitting, I’ve got one side of the front of the Baby Man’s Manly Kimono done.

Garter Stitch Kimono aka Baby Man’s Manly Kimono by Bernat
Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquards in Boo Berries

I’ve also got a new pair of socks on the go, using Crystal Palace’s Panda Cotton. The yarn is awful to work with, but the resulting fabric is wonderful!


Show Off Stranded Socks by Anne Campbell
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in Blueberries-Grapes

And, lastly, are a couple of dish cloths from the Monthly Dishcloth Knit-Along: Pot o’ Gold from March and Cheyenna from Mid-January. Pot o’ Gold was done in Sugar n’ Creme Yellow and Cheyenna in Bernat Handicrafter Summer Prints. The husband and I are trying to cut back on paper towel usage, and these soft dishcloths are great for wiping up things around the kitchen… and on the baby.

What will the rest of the week bring? Well, I hope to finish up Halloween Fairy and maybe even get her completely beaded. I’d also like to get a few more rows of the shawl done. Late last week I picked up some yarn to knit a small bag and a rabbit for the Baby Man, so maybe I’ll get started on one of those. I think the kimono will rest for a while, because it isn’t going to fit Baby Man until the fall.

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Quantity or Quality?

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Heather

I have a very small circle of friends, a good size group of acquaintances, and one really good friend.  Oh, and Baby Man.  According anthropologist Robin Dunbar (see BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | What’s the ideal number of friends?), most people have an average of 150 friends.

I think, depending on your definition of friends, this is believable.  With sites like Facebook and MySpace, we are growing our circle of friends so quickly and easily now.  But I think we need to a bit more clear about the label of friend.  Merriam-Webster defines friend as ” a favored companion”.  A lot of people use it when “acquaintance” might be more appropriate.  For example, I quite liked some of the people I worked with.  And while I think there may have been a possibility for friendship to grow, I still consider them acquaintances since we never really got a chance to know each other outside of work.

Admittedly, the point of the article isn’t that we should try to have as many friends as possible (although the lead in about it boasting your income is pretty tempting).  The point is that while we may be able to have up to 150 “friends”, there is a core group of about 5 that are true 3-am-phone-call friends.  Those are the most important, the most precious, and the ones that we need to spend our time with.

I have 44 friends on Facebook. Truthfully, many of them I haven’t seen in years, and there are a couple that I have never met in person. Are all these people really true friends? No, but I like them anyway.

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Swans, Socks, a Fairy, and a Special Kitty

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Heather

The other day I promised to share a special finish. Here it is: Bushfire Kitty from The Cat’s Whiskers. It is a special design being offered by Janie as a way to raise funds for the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. You can learn more about the design here. At a cost of $3.50, I think it is a wonderful little design to pick up.


Bushfire Kitty by The Cat’s Whiskers
Treads: DMC and Dinky Dyes
Fabric: 36ct. white linen

Next, since it is Mirabilia March, I thought I would share my progress on Halloween Fairy.


Halloween Fairy by Mirabilia
Threads: DMC and Kreinik #4 braid
Beads: Mill Hill
Fabric: 32ct. Cashel in Cobblestone


My crocheting is also coming along quite well. I starting working on the Cygnus square just to prove I could do it. I was a bit confused at the frilling that seemed to be happening, but was happy with how it looked otherwise. It turns out I’ve been doing extended double crochets instead of regular double crochets. I guess I got confused because of the shawl pattern I’m following. (It uses extended double crochets almost entirely.) The shawl is coming along great, but it doesn’t look like anything, so no pictures. But here is my slightly wonky square, which I will frog.

Cygnus Square
Yarn: Butterfly Super 10

And to keep with the swan theme, I have finished the front of the Ackworth Swan Treasure Keep from February’s The Gift of Stitching.



Ackworth Swan Treasure Keep from The Gift of Stitching
Threads: Old Willow Stitcher
Fabric: Sugar Cane Crunch from Stitches and Spice


I’m also working away on a sock using Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace Yarns, and a jacket for Baby Man using Bernat’s Baby Jacquards. Both are coming along well, but I have been focusing more on my crochet because of the class I’m taking. Everything will get done in its own time.
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A Pretty Little Treasure

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Heather

For the past couple of days I’ve been working on Treasure Keep from the February issue of The Gift of Stitching. It is a lovely design featuring a wooden swan embellishment. Because I like the back side of my swan better, I decided to flip the chart for the front of the design. It is stitched on hand-dyed fabric from Stitches and Spice and uses threads from Old Willow Stitchery. Here is what I’ve accomplished so far, with the swan added for effect.

Treasure Keep (front)

Treasure Keep (portion of back)

The other day I mentioned a knitting finish that I haven’t shared yet. It is Calorimetry by Kathryn Schoendorf (from Knitty, Winter 2006). It is a head scarf, more or less. The picture isn’t the best, sadly. I used Red Heart Super Saver in colourway Monet. Truthfully, I really don’t like the yarn. I’ve tried washing it a few times in different things to soften it, but to no avail. I suppose it doesn’t matter, since it is for wearing on my head. The colours are pretty at least, but I plan to change the button when I find a nicer one.

Lastly, March is about to start, which means it is time for Mirabilia March! I’ll be working on Halloween Fairy, and I hope that I will be better able to concentrate on one design rather than jumping all over the place like I have been this month.

Here is where I am on Halloween Fairy right now:

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Totally Useless SAL… and Socks!

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Heather

I forgot to mention that I signed up to take part in the Totally Useless SAL (that’s Stitch Along for those not in the know). The point to get a glass jar and fill it with orts and other remnants of your stitching/crafting and share the picture with others once a month. Here’s my jar for this month:

It contains bits from all the cross stitch I’ve worked on, some yarn from knitting project I haven’t shared yet because it isn’t completely finished, and some yarn from Bamboo Sockies.

Speaking of which, here they are:
Notice the stripes line up perfectly. Yay me!!

And, yep, I am on Ravelry.  You can find me there as Silverlotus.

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