Quiet Time Means More Time to Stitch

I think there is a very small light at the end of the tunnel...no wait, that's my Dazor ready and waiting for me to finish all those Queen stitches in the border!

But if you've been watching, you'll see that I've made significant progress in recent days.  Geometric motifs are so much quicker because I can memorize the pattern. So I don't have to spend as much time looking at the chart and figuring out where I am.  Plus doing an entire row of eyelets is easier than doing them one at a time in some kind of pattern.  I stitch the top half all the way across the row and the bottom half on the return trip.  That method also makes the eyelets themselves more consistently balanced.  I don't have to worry that one side is bigger/tighter than the other, thus creating a lopsided eyelet.  For some reason, when I stitch a complete eyelet, one side always ends up bigger than the other.

My friend, Donna, who owns my LNS, Angelwing Needlearts, called me the other day to tell me that Darlene O'Steen, of The Needles Prayse, had been in the shop that day.  Apparently, Darlene and Chris are looking at property down in our area.  Donna forgot to mention that I am working on one of my all-time favorite samplers, Virtue Outshines the Stars.  I'm sure Darlene would get a kick out of know that I've finally gotten around to it. LOL  I really wish I had been working that day.  I haven't seen Darlene in years and would love to visit for a few minutes.  I can only hope that she'll stop by another time.  

On the needlework bling front, I had a request for 200 purple stitch markers for a 'knitting event' in mid-August.  What a great opportunity to show my wares to some enthusiastic knitters.  Each participant will get one in their kit! Thanks so much to Jen at WoolGirl.  Here's a sampling.

 Stop by TJBdesigns for a look at all my stitching accessories. You can never have enough stitch BLING!

Tweet

I'll Be Your Honey Bee

Well, the visitors come and go and I'm back in my nest.  I took a short break from Virtue last week to stitch this little piece for my husband for our 31st anniversary! Happy Annivesary!

 "June's Honeysuckle" by Cottage Garden Samplings

And now I'm back on Virtue.  For those of you waiting on the color conversion that I'm using, be glad I postponed giving it to you.  I've had to make a couple of adjustments for the symbols that were originally blended needles.  Since I'm working this on 36 count, I'm only using one strand of Splendor, so no blended needles for me!  But, never fear, I will post the list as soon as I'm sure about it.

I'm currently working on a big wholesale order of stitch markers for a knitting 'event' in Oregon.  Every single one has at least one purple bead included!

Tweet

Featured Artisan - I Knit Quilt Sew!

This week's Featured Artisan is Sandi Levy - I Knit Quilt Sew!

Sandy has delightful creations in here shop. Something for everyone!

You can find I Knit Quilt Sew on:

Etsy

Handmade Artists Shop

Blog

Facebook

Tweet

Another Fun Finish!

 I can't figure out what I've been doing, but it's not stitching. At least, not as much as I usually do. Anyway, I finished this lovely sampler, as well as a Habitat for Humanity sampler. A group of ladies from our now defunct EGA chapter stitch them for new H for H homeowners in our area.  Emily Gorgeina Dixon is a reproduction from Ewe and Eye and Friends. The colors are unusal, but stitched as charted.

 
Now I'm officially starting the Christmas panic. I usually start my Christmas ornaments in June. Today, I final got around to kitting up some today. It's going to be quite a push to get 25-30 completed this year. Guess I'll have to give up sleep for a while.

Of course, I'm also gearing up for the gift giving rush in my Etsy shop. Don't forget your favorite stitcher, knitter or crocheter. Scissor fobs, counting pins, laying tools, stitch markers...Bling for the needleworker who loves pretty things.

Tweet

It Pays to Read Ahead

Okay, I know, you look at this picture and think: "She hasn't blogged in a week and this is all she's manged to get done!" 

I stitched absolutely nothing while visiting my mom last weekend. And frankly, I'm happy to be this far! You know how I love to stitch on 36 and 40 count. So I changed the fabric on this piece to 40 count Pear from Lakeside Linens. (See, I finally remembered.) However, I should have studied the pattern a little before making this change.

You see that pink dividing band that looks like a zigzag? Well, that is French stitch. Not a particularly common stitch and not really difficult either. It's kinda like a Queen stitch in that each vertical leg over 4 threads is tacked down horizontally in the middle. But the stitches are done in pairs and are verically offset by 2 threads, hence the zigzag look. I love Queen stitches, even on 40 count, but somehow this little band took three nights for me to complete!!! And I had to use the magnifier for the whole thing. Very easy to misplace the couching stitches. Plus, since it's a hand dyed it's already been wet and dryed so shrinkage has already occurred. So the weave is tighter and harder to see. Again, not usually a problem for me, but this was a bugger! I love the effect and since Tuesday night, I've completed the alphabet and almost finished the next dividing band of Bosnia stitch (the dark green one). What a difference. Bosnia is so quick and easy that you're done almost before you start!

I'd love to be able to stitch more during the day, but I'm staying busy make fobs and counting pins and stitch markers, etc. for several new needlework shops. And here's my shameless plug, feel free to tell your LNS about my needlework bling and direct them to my Etsy shop or they can contact me about having some in their shops!

Tweet

Stitching Time is Sooooo Wonderful

I've been making an effort to stitch every night this week. Having houseguests, as fun as it is, really puts a crimp in my stitching time. Since I finished Abigail's Wisdom, I'm back on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. Block 10, the ship in a bottle, is done and I started on Block 11 last night. Letters are soooo easy and they go so quickly.

During the day I am spending all my time getting ready for the Oak Island craft show. I started spreading the finished things out on the dining room table so I could get a feel for any gaps in the inventory. I like to have color coordinated sets of fobs, counting pins and laying tools. Plus when, possible I coordinate some stitch markers for knitting and crochet with some fobs too. 

I have a few bookmarks ready, but not nearly enough! I haven't even started on extra laying tools yet! So I may not come up for air for the next week or so!

Tweet

Quaker Diamonds is DONE!

Actually, I finished it last week right before we left on a fun little road trip to celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary! I planned to post this while we were away, but I just never got around to it.  Anyway, I finished re-stitching the letters fairly quickly and pulled out Shores of Hawk Run Hollow to work on the last three blocks, but didn't get much done there either. LOL

Then I realized that July is almost over and I haven't started thinking about my Christmas stitching yet! So, the Christmas Panic has officially begun. I'll try not to whine about it too much, but I really have to get busy.

But I have another project to take care of first. I have to beef up my inventory of needlework bling.  My friend Elaine from FigtreeBoutique on Etsy has convinced me to give a local craft fair a shot. She has quite a bit of experience doing them and is sure that there are lots of knitter, stitchers, and crocheters attending craft shows. So we'll be hawking our wares the Saturday of Labor Day weekend at the Oak Island Craft Fair. If you're in the area, stop by and say "hi".

Tweet

Mother's Day is Coming!

Do you remember my Mother's Day fiasco last year? If not, click here. Well, the tradition (not the moronic one) continues. I started Mama's silk gauze sampler last night.  And I know I haven't done this one before because I just got the chart in February!

I just love doing these little samplers because they go so fast. It's cutting that tiny little frame that always makes me crazy.  The frame size is about 1.75" x 2.25".  And that means my pudgy little fingers get pretty close to that mitre saw blade going a zillion revolutions a minute.  (This picture is not my finished piece, it's the photo on the chart.)

If you need a non-stitching idea for Mother's Day, drop by my Etsy shop. All sorts of needlework bling for a mom who stitches or knits or crochets.  I even have beaded bookmarks if your mom is more into books than needles.

Tweet

Have You Met Kelsi and Emily Yet?

I don’t often wander from posting about my stitching life, but I joined an Etsy team, Collaborators in Cahoots, a few months ago.  It’s been a terrific experience and I’ve learned a lot from many of the people on the team. It’s a small team compared to most Etsy teams.  We have around twenty members, give or take a few.  Check out all of them!  As you might guess, the primary purpose of Etsy teams is to promote each other’s Etsy shops, but we also network and share tips and even become friends without ever meeting face to face.  I’d like to introduce a couple of those folks to you.

Kelsi is a multi-talented, funny, smart, and clever (which is different from smart) person.  And I’m pretty sure she’s not afraid of anything!  She comes up with some really inventive ways to attract customers.  Some of her tweets just make you giggle.  And I’m way too old to giggle.
 
Kelsi’s shop, called Kelsilove, is full of creative things.  She recycles all sorts of things into jewelry.  She knits scarves and scarflettes and coffee cup cozies.  She sews and paints and  takes wonderfully, interesting photos. Did I mention she’s still in high school?  And she’s headed to University of Nevada, Reno next fall. 
And you can follow her blog, just for fun.


Then there is Emily.  Another creative, smart, and outgoing woman.  Emily’s shop is called NothingbutString, but she does some incredible things with “string”!  She says “whether it's beading, crocheting, knitting or sewing, it all has one thing in common, the thread that holds it all together.”

Emily’s main focus is Irish crochet, which is a form of lace.
Irish Crochet Lace is made with a very fine crochet hook and fine crochet cotton or linen thread.
She makes all sorts of jewelry, from rings to necklaces to bracelets .  She even embellishes purses with Irish crochet.  She recently added crocheted bowls to her inventory. 

Isn’t this beaded kimono amazing? 

Emily doesn’t have a blog, but you can follow her on Twitter.

So, now you’ve met two of my CIC buddies. I hope you’ll take a good look at their wonderful shops.  Then stop by the Collaborators2 shop and see what the rest of the team is doing.

Tweet

Busy as a little bee

Sorry about the lack of postings lately, but as you can probably guess, I'm up to my eyeballs in the Christmas Panic to-do list.

1. shopping - 95% done
2. stitching - taking things off the wall for sisters, one to frame for Mom
3. knitting - one cowl left to do, 2 necklaces left assemble
4. finishing - too many ornies to count and one hardanger Christmas tree (thank God for the friend who found the candlestick and painted it for me.)
5. decorating - naked tree standing in living room
6. baking - not started
7. wrapping - not started
8. selling - still shipping orders (yeah!) and still adding new things to Etsy

Oh, and let me not forget the December birthday present still being stitched. At least, I'm enjoying that!

Tweet

New item for Crochet

Now I know some of you don't crochet or knit, but lots of people do as an alternative to stitching. So bear with me just for this post.

I've been making stitch markers for knitters for several months now and recently I've had requests for row markers for crochet. These are open ended so they can be removed from the stitch. They will also work for knitting, except for very small needles. They might fall off needles smaller than size 5. I've been working on these for a little while now and I think I'm ready to show them to the world. These, and more, will soon be listed in my Etsy shop.

Tweet

Red, Red, Red

I found some gorgeous knitted items on Etsy this week and I decided to share some of my favorites. Maybe it's because I have Christmas (remember the Panic?) on my mind, but they all turned out to be RED.

I've admired this rich mohair capelet from elineof for a while now. Wouldn't this just dress up the little black dress for a Christmas party?


This red fashion shawl from mucar makes a statement ... funky, beautiful, striking are just a few. What does it say to you?











I'm fascinated by knitted lace patterns like this elegant wool shawl with crochet trim from Berniolie. It could dress up or dress down any outfit you choose.

And this Cherry Blossom scarf from Sweetknitting will certainly draw lots of compliments wherever you wear it.

Tweet