May 2015: WIPocalypse Check-in

A few changes to my WIPocalypse list. I can't seem to get going on Josephine:Porcelain Doll Pincushion. I think it's because of the over one. I stitch mostly after work and it's sometimes a chore to stay focused, so working over one becomes very tedious. I would like to get at least one doll finished so, I have added A Christmas Doll Pincushion and Thimble Purse by Giulia Manfredini to my WIPocalypse list. The stitching is over 2 and all color changes are from the overdyed fibers. Gorgeous colors, very little mental challenge after a long day at work.

A Christmas Doll Pincushion

Fabric:35ct off white linen 

Waterlillies: Cherry, Fir

I have found 2 FB groups that focus on half dolls. One is  Pincushion Doll SAL: working on pincushion dolls, from various designers and the other a group of half doll enthusiasts, Hall Doll Connections: displaying their collections and offering advise on origins, starting, adding to a collection, etc. While both groups are listed as closed (to prevent spammers), a request to join is welcomed by the moderators Robin and Reen. If you are on FB check them out.

Part 2 of The Finely Finished Folio has been released; this portion has a pinkeep and needle minder. I received my kit last week and started the pinkeep. Here is my progress so far.

Finely Finished Folio Part 2

It's Fine-ally Finished/Needle in a Haystack

My latest almost finish is a God Bless America Tuck-A-Way pillow. I just need to stitch down the candle button, then pop it into the pillow in the back of the picture. I bought this at my guild's first Stash-2-Stash sale. I needed to support the guild, I needed some new red, white and blue. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I have several other good excuses for the other stuff I bought, but we will talk about those later. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

WIPocalypse February 2015

I have more projects started than I care to count. I have picked a few that I would like to finish and/or make significant progress on this year. Now whenever I do this I wind up working on everything but my focus project(s). This year I am joining in, on this SAL to hopefully stay focused and cross some projects off my list by the end of the year.

My list as of Jan.:
 WIP: Margery Dean - Scarlet Letter
WIP: Strawberry Lace - Diane Clements
WIP: Josephine: Porcelain Doll Pincushion - Rae Iverson (Moss Creek Designs)
WIP: Finely Finished Folio - Jackie du Plessis (It's Fine-ally Finished)
WIP: Tulip Tray - Sherri Jones ( Patrick's Woods)
WIP: Christmas at Hollyberry Farm - (Stacy Nash)
My Son - Catherine Strickler (Indigo Rose)

My February progress:

The pinkeep for Finely Finished Folio:Lesson 1, is stitched.
Next up the pouch.

Added two windows to Christmas at Hollyberry Farm

The Front and Back of the scissor fob. (Strawberry Lace)

I will be adding a date and initials below the crown later.

 A little progress on Josephine. I added a small portion of the stem to the leaves.

Joy and Peace

My stitching in November was almost non-existent. Now that my job has moved into the new building my life is getting back to normal. Yeah!

This week I picked up Joy and Peace, a Little House Needleworks ornament from 2011.

Joy and Peace

Little House Needleworks

I also put a few stitches in the second layer square for my biscornu. This square is slightly bigger than the first and is being worked in Rice stitch.

Thanks for Stopping by,

Gwen

Roses and Pineapples

August was a slow stitching month for me. I did manage to stitch two squares for a biscornu. These are for one of three biscornus that are part of It's a Pineapple Pincushion with Thread Holder by It's Fineally Finished.

Stop and Smell the Roses is a pinkeep project from Jackie that was stitched some time ago but just finished this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Spring and Lavender

Spring is finally here and April is almost over. We have had lots of rain here. Hope everyone had a good Easter.

It's hard to believe that Easter has come and gone. At first it seemed to be so late that I could be so much  Spring/Easter stitching done. The only project I was able to complete was a few tatted crosses. I encluded the in a few Easter cards that I sent out. I wore the small green one to church on Palm Sunday.

 Tatted Cross from Free-tatting.com

sz20 Lizbeth White and sz80 DMC tatting cotton green

I had to tweak the pattern and instructions a bit to match the model but, this was a nice, quick pattern.

My other finish so far this month is another set of smalls, French Lavenders by Jackie du Plessis. This was a gift that I received for Christmas, and I am so excited to have it stitched and assembled.

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

My First Finish

Just a quick post to share my first finish of the year, Album Souvenir.

Though this is not a large project I am excited to get it  stitched and assembled. Album Souvenir was a companion project from Attic Treasures, designed and taught by Jackie of It's Fine-ally Finished. I was fortunate to take the class at The Attic Needlworks.

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

Read, Reread, Stitch

Most of my weekend stitching was spent on Rhapsody in Blue. I wasn't able to complete all of the stitching for the start of the finishing class today but I came very close. Even after reading the instructions I stitched one set of motifs over 2 that should have been stitched over 1. So I am having to stitch them a second time.

New Motto:
Read directions (chart)  twice or thrice (if necessary) stitch once!!

My other big stitching accomplishment was working on the house on Christmas at Hollyberry Farm.My first window has been framed in. Moving on to complete the top floor.

I also finished the stitching on my project  for the blog hop sponsored by Jo that will be taking place on Good Friday. Stop back by for a link to see what everyone has created.

 Thanks for stopping by,

 Gwen


 

March: Week 1

Several stitching friends and I,  have signed up for Jackie du Plessis' Class offered by the Shining Needle Society. The project is Rhapsody in Blue. It's a very cute sewing basket, with a pinkeep and strawberry. We are to have the stitching complete and be ready for an online finishing instructions on the 18th. This is my progress so far.












The stitching on 2 of my SL Quaker Pincushions is complete. Yeah!!  I am pretty excited about that. I have 2 more to go, I also need to get going again on Margery, she languished this week. I worked a little filling in the flowers.

Quaker Pincushion
Scarlet Letter









Off to work on some Easter ornaments. Time is running out. Hope you are having a blessed day.
Gwen

Alphabet Finish

My work schedule often puts a dent in my opportunities for stitching. Last week was one of those weeks when not much got done. I did finish stitching the alphabet on the Darning sampler. The group leader recommended stitching the alphabet and numbers before starting the darning patterns, but I'm stitching in a slightly different order. Since finishing the alphabet I have completed the first 2 darning patterns. I don't have an up to date picture but I hope to complete 2 more patterns and have good enough light this weekend to take a decent picture.



The Darning Sampler
Trenner Needleworks


 
This week I started the pre-stitching for a class I will be taking with Jackie du Plessis in June. Looking forward to this class and seeing friends.

Thanks for stopping by,
 Gwen

Road Trip

I spent a wonderful 5 days with some stitching friends last week. Though it rained the entire time it did not deter us.









We visited a couple of quilt shops, Delectable Mountains in Vermont, and Webs a very nice yarn shop in Mass. Driving up from NY our first stop was Norton House, a very nice quilt store and the 1836 Country Store in Wilmington, VT. Norton House had a very nice fabrics and quilting accessories. Second stop on the list was Delectable Mountains.


Delectable Mountains is a treasure trove of  silk, velvets, trims, buttons, scarfs, jewelry and linens. There was so much to see and experience that we could have spent the whole day there.



After lunch we started on our way to Webs.
 




Even those of the group that were not knitters spend some time in Webs admiring the large collection of yarns and accessories. The wide array of texture and color were enticing on a rainy day.

Friday and Saturday was a class with Jackie of It's Fine-ally Finished. It was a wonderful time. I feel privileged to be able to spend the time together and hope to see everyone next year.

Thanks for stopping by,
Gwen

Lady Jane's Garden pt. 2

My carrier arrived home on Thursday. I was very relieved when I opened the box and there was no damage to its precious cargo. I am waiting on some ribbon to embellish the carrier lining but in the meantime here is my progress so far.

Spool holder

Inside carrier

 

Spool holder inside carrier.







Just one more piece to compete ...............

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

Lady Jane"s Garden pt. 1

Do you attend a stitching event and dive right in and get as much stitching/finishing done as possible or do you just sit in class and take notes waiting to get back to your cozy stitching nook to stitch or do the finishing? I am usually in the latter category.  This past weekend I had an opportunity to switch gears. I spend 2 days working on a project and got more done in class than ever before. I am very excited to have accomplished as much as I did.

A group of friends and I met to work on Lady Jane's Garden and LePetit Trianon. I spent the two days working on Lady Jane's Garden and came away with a lined carrier and several of the smalls completed. Thanks to Jackie and a wonderful group of talented and encouraging friends I have a project that is 90% complete.

Scissor fob, floss holder and pinkeep for Lady Jane's
 Garden.






( I had to mail my carrier home so I will be sitting on pins and needles until it arrives.)
Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

As January Closes

One of my goals for 2010 is to working on completing some of my projects, so I have been trying to work on my finishing at least once per week. Here are the results of some of my efforts.

It's Fine-ally Finshed: Pineapple Treat Pinkeep
Make it-Take it Kit from Celebration of Needlework 

  Back with scissors.

It's Fine-ally Finished: Merry Christmas Ornament Make It-Take It kit stitched on linen banding.







This finish was for an exchange on the Legacy BB. My partner Nancy has posted that she has received it so I can post pictures now.

Each participant in the exchange was to stitch a Quaker inspired motif and finish any way you desired. I stitched a motif from Quaker Trifles by R&R in WDW Deep Sea. The larger motif is on the front and the smaller on the back. This needlebook is hinged with ribbon so that the neddlebook can be opened from the left or right without the needlepage falling out. While I remembered to a picture of the outside I forgot to get a picture of the inside. I will try to get a picture the next time I make one of these.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

The Reasons ....

I am very excited! Why you may ask? I finished my first projects for 2010!

Reason #1
Between Christmas and New Years, I stitched 3 small projects from It's Fine-ally Finished. Well on Saturday I put Rip-It together and here he is:
..
Closed ................................................................... Open
Rip-It Kit
It's Fine-ally Finished.

Inside the case is a seam ripper for the times when you have to rip-it, rip-it , rip-it ... I had fun stitching Mr. Frogger, but I hope I will not be needing his services very often. The inside front cover also holds a needle page. As you may have noticed mine is missing, it has taken me a couple of days, okay 3 0r 4 days to locate one of my 2 scallop scissors. I just found a pair today and now my needlepage is ready to be attached.

Reason #2
I have increased my stitched ornaments by 4! Here are 4 ornaments that have been in my to-be-finished pile for awhile. A friend at stitch-in on Friday was kind enough to hold my perle cotton for me while I made twisted cord. On Saturday and Sunday I finished attaching the cord to my ornaments.



Reason #3
I a also very excited to receive this pinkeep from Michele from Haven and Earth Designs. We took part in a Quaker themed exchange on Legacy BB and she stitched me a wonderful pinkeep. It is stitched one over one! Thank you very much Michele!



Thanks for stopping by,

Gwen

Treats not Trix

Last weekend I attended ASG at Hilton Head, South Carolina. This is one of my favorite retreats each year. Our classes this year centered around a nautical theme. Rae Iverson of Moss Creek Designs was our hostess and teacher, along with Jackie du Plessis of It's Fine-ally Finished, and Marcy Pumphret of Scrimshaw by Marcy. I must say, I approached Marcy's class with intimidation. How could someone with no artistic ability enjoy or get anything from this mere 4 hour block of time? Well, I am here to tell that I not only survived but I had a great time. Marcy is a very patient and gracious teacher. She made us all believe in our ability to at least try the the technique and each person left class with a greater appreciation for the art of scrimshaw and each piece that we own or hope to collect in the future.
Jackie's piece for this year was The Ship to Shore Etui ( sailboat with pinkeep and needlebook sails, scissor holder and option scrim anchor) and Rae's piece was a Fish Purse Etui. Both pieces are just stunning. It will be hard to decide which to stitch first.

This week I finished stitching Softly Walk, tonight I will be working on Something Wicked. I was almost able to get it done but, I need another couple of hours to finish the verse and put in the border.

Gwen

Fourth of July update

Happy Fourth everyone, Hope you are having a great day.

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to be invited to NY to take a class with Jackie of It's Fine-ally Finished. Jackie taught Hands to Work, Hearts to God. This is a super project with Jackie's flare for beautiful and functional smalls. During class we worked on the lining for the Shaker carrier and started finishing the pieces that we had pre-stitched. I need to finish some hand stitching on my liner then it will be done. My lyre waxer pocket is done (middle left of 2nd picture on IFF site) and now I am working on the thread pail (gold piece upper right in 2nd picture on IFF site). Hope to have some pictures to share soon.

I do have 2 things that I finished on Friday night. One is my BBD Stocking that I started last month:

BBD: Winter Carnation
Fabric: 28 ct Coffee/tea dyed a la Vonna
Fibers: per pattern

and the second is a Mill Hill Kit that I did in honor of The Fourth of July.

Mill Hill: Flag Star
Perforated paper
Fibers and beads from kit.

Here is a link for a freebie chart if you would like to get started on your patriotic stitching: Quaker 4th of July , Thank you Aury.

Hope everyone is having a safe Fourth.
Thanks for stopping by,
Gwen

Quick update!

I spent most of the day finishing an ornament. I can not show a picture just yet as it is for an exchange, will post later. What I can share are pictures of 2 small projects from It's Fine-ally Finished that I stitched this week.

Blue Rose is a covered tape measure.

Smell the Roses is a pinkeep.

Hopefully I will be able to spend some more time this weekend on finishing. I have some ornaments that also need assembly.

Gwen