A Little Tombstone

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Heather

We’ve still got a couple of weeks of summer left to go, but I’m sure that many of you in the Northern Hemisphere are like me and already thinking of fall. Halloween is less than two months away! Thanksgiving is even closer than that. Pumpkins and fall leaves will be making an appearance before we know it. (If you are on Pinterest much, you’ve probably already seen a whole heck of a lot of Halloween and fall things.)

I’ve been working on Halloween ornaments so that my Halloween tree won’t be so bare this year.

Tombstone sans beads

Tombstone sans beads

This is Tombstone by Mill Hill before I added the beads. It’s pretty dull, even considering that it isn’t a good picture.

Tombstone, designed by Mill Hill

Tombstone, designed by Mill Hill

And here it is well and truly encrusted with beads. I can’t wait to hang it on my Halloween tree.

7 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Sampler Scarf

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Heather

While I’m not a huge fan of needlework samplers, I do really enjoy trying a whole bunch of new-to-me stitches. And, the same can be said when it comes to my knitting.

Lace 102 Sampler, designed by Kate Atherly

Lace 102 Sampler, designed by Kate Atherly

The pattern is Lace 102 Sampler by Kate Atherly. (It is available on Ravelery for US$7.50.) I used a hand-dyed yarn from Quo Vadis Vegan Sock Yarn in colourway Bubbles (which is actually dyed Berroco Comfort Sock). I love the light blue with the tiny pink and yellow specks. (I had blocked the scarf, but I put it away in the closet and it got all crunched up. 🙁 )

Lily of the Valley Lace

Lily of the Valley Lace

It is made up of nine different patterns. My favourite, probably unsurprisingly, is the lily of the valley lace.

Twisted Infinity Lace

Twisted Infinity Lace

I also love these twisted infinities.

I enjoyed knitting this scarf a whole lot. I don’t generally struggle with simple lace patterns, so I didn’t have too much trouble with this. And, it also makes me feel a bit more confident that I could handle more complex lace (e.g. fancy stitches done both on the knit and purl side) with not too many problems. I know for sure that I will be on the lookout for more sampler patterns like this.

2 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged ,

TUSAL – September 2013

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Heather

It is Totally Useless Stitch Along (TUSAL) day again! That’s right, I am actually posting on the right day. Can you believe it?

TUSAL - September 2013

TUSAL – September 2013

Here is my mess of thread ends for this month. I’ve been stitching on ornaments, using perforated paper, and just generally keeping myself busy. The little man has only been back to school three days, but I’ve been trying to make up for lost time and I’ve been stitching like crazy.

If you are interseted in learning more about the TUSAL, check out this post of It’s DaffyCat.

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Back We Go

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Heather

Yesterday was the first day of school for the little man. He is in senior kindergarten* this year, and still only half day. But that means I get a glorious 3 hours to myself everyday. So, hopefully within a week or so things will get back to normal around here. I know that I have been awful at keeping up with email, comments, and reading blogs. But, I’ve also had a busy summer with the little man. We went to the Royal Ontario Museum a few times, to Legoland Discovery Centre, family events, shopping, the park, day camp, etc. We played Lego, read books, did projects, learned math, played Minecraft and a hundred other things.

First Day of Senior Kindergarten - September 2013

First Day of Senior Kindergarten – September 2013

The upshot is that I fell behind in all things blog related this summer. I didn’t do as much stitching, knitting or crocheting as I normally do. I also did very little writing. If you follow my Project 36Five blog, you’ll know that about all I accomplished was a thorough decluttering of the house and loosing about 21lbs.

I have some ideas for this blog, Project 36Five, my column in Pagan Pages, and my etsy store that I hope to put into practice over the next couple of months. I appreciate your patience, and I hope you enjoy what is in store.

* In Ontario, children begin school the year they turn four. The first year of school is junior kindergarten, which is followed by senior kindergarten, then grade 1, etc. Some schools have all day kindergarten, some have half day because Ontario is in the middle of transitioning from half day to all day. C’s school begins all day kindergarten next year. To make things more complicated, full-day kindergarten may be discontinued soon due to funding issues and lack of kindergarten-ready classrooms.

3 Comments | Posted in Site News |

Ornament SAL – August Check-In

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Heather

It’s ornament check-in time again! I hope the lovely summer weather didn’t deter too many of you from stitching up your ornaments. I know I had a hard time resisting the siren call of the warm summer sun. lol! Who am I kidding? I don’t like the heat of summer one bit. I love have just another excuse to stay inside and stitch!

Never Too Big, designed by Dragon Dreams

Never Too Big, designed by Dragon Dreams

This month I stitched Dragon Dreams’ Never too Big, from the 2004 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue. It uses DMC, GAST and Kreinik braid. I stitched it as charted, expect I substituted some beads for the colonial knots in the border. I also substituted a silver present charm for the called for button from Fiddlestitch Cottage Buttons. (More in an effort to be thrifty than for any other reason.)

So, what did you stitch this month? Add your name to the form below to share your ornament with everyone else. And please be sure to stop by the blogs of the other participants. Also, don’t forget that every month you check in gets you another entry in the end of the year draw. (Be sure to send me a note if you would like to donate something to the prize.)

Next month’s check in will be on September 25th.

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

Little Tombstone

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Heather

It looks like summer is trying to make one more appearance around here. For the past couple of days we’ve been having some of the warmest weather we’ve had since the middle of July. But, you can still feel autumn in the air. The breezes are cool, and the nights are almost cold. So, of course, my thoughts are turning to Halloween stitching.

Tombstone, designed by Mill Hill (WIP)

Tombstone, designed by Mill Hill (WIP)

I’ve been working on Mill Hill’s kit Tombstone. And, like most Mill Hill kits, I love it!! Hopefully it will be done in a couple of days.

And, speaking of ornaments, don’t forget that tomorrow is check-in day for the Ornament SAL. I actually managed to get my ornament finished on time this month, even though I spent most of my time crocheting rather than stitching. I can’t wait to see everyone’s ornaments.

4 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Dragons!

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Heather

I apologize for not posting as much as usually. I do have a good excuse though: for the last three weeks I’ve been working exclusively on a crochet project that was taking up nearly all of my time. I thought it was going to take me quite a bit longer to finish, and since I had a hard deadline, I had to keep ploughing forward. But, it is nearly done already!

Chinese Dragon Shawl (unblocked, sans beads)

Chinese Dragon Shawl (unblocked, sans beads)

The pattern is Chinese Dragon Shawl from the Fall 2012 issue of Interweave Crochet. The yarn is Nazli Gelin Garden 10 in colour Valentine, a nearly perfect Chinese red. And, ladies, I am in love with this shawl.

For all intents and purposes, the shawl itself is complete. But, I still need to block it and gild the lily. The sides and bottoms will have over 1000 black beads crocheted on, and the top will have a pretty little scalloped edge added after the beads are attached. Unfortunately, I have to wait until Sunday for the beads. But that is okay, since I don’t intend to wear the shawl until the 31st. Still, I’m glad I managed to finish it ahead of schedule.

Close-up of dragon and fire

Close-up of dragon and fire

The shawl is made in a technique called filet crochet, which in a way reminds me of cross stitch. Essentially, you are crocheting a mesh where some of the squares are left open and others are filled in. You work from a chart, much like a cross stitch chart. In fact, because the filet crochet meshes are square, you could actually convert a simple cross stitch chart into filet crochet.

Clover Crochet Hook

Clover Crochet Hook

I also wanted to share with you my favourite crochet hooks: Clover Soft Touch. Thanks to some great sales over the past year, I’ve managed to put together a full set of both the smaller steel sizes and the larger aluminum sizes. I find the handles to be soft and very comfortable in my hands, and the hook end is well made and smooth. They are infinitely more comfortable to use than plain crochet hooks. I don’t think I would have been able to crochet for hours like I did if I had been using a regular hook.

2 Comments | Posted in Crochet | Tagged ,