Flyways finish

Flyways is finished. OK, so I finished it a month ago, but it's still a finish.

Arabella Reborn

I have finished Arabella.

I don't think it's come out as bright a pink as I expected, but I still like it.

Bookmarks and Classes

The bookmarks finished:

Next a bit more progress on Stained Glass Sampler:

And finally, I've spent the weekend doing a class with Michael Boren - Arabella Reborn - and here is my progress - I went for the bright pink option:

I also drooled over the colourways of Olive Grove and Amethyst, but I wasn't sure I wanted to stitch the same design twice (either Daphne or Arabella), so I'm going to wait and hope that there will be more in the series that I can do in other colourways. Otherwise, some day when I've run out of other things to stitch (rofl) I might think about restitching them in new colourways...

I'm still here

I just haven't been stitching much lately, although I now have some projects I need to finish in a hurry, so I guess I ought to get going again.

First up I have Flyways by Michael Boren to show you (not finished) - this is the piece I piloted last year in about June.

Next I have a piece I started this weekend at our guild meeting - A Diamond Progression by Susan Cluck. I chose the colours to be a bit outside what I normally use, and found a gorgeous overdyed to use as my base that has beautiful wood tones that I thought would work really well for this piece. An added bonus was that it looked like a hokey pokey icecream cone after stitching the first point of the compass. Now that I've almost finished the second point it's looking more like a clown head. It should look like a compass centre by the time I've finished all the points though.

Lastly - this months progress on the HAED SAL Siberian Forest:

Coming up in my stitching I have a retirement gift for the school librarian (deadline - end of May), bookmarks for the teachers (again end of May), a wedding gift for my brother (April next year), a 40th birthday gift (August), another ANG class (June), and an ANG group correspondence class for which I got the materials at the class on Saturday.

I've also finished picking out all my threads for Tony Minieri's Stars for a New Millennium (only when saying that I keep transposing Minieri and Millennium - good thing that the people I'm talking to know what I'm really trying to say). A group of friends from one of the bulletin boards I belong to are going to be doing this as a stitch along starting September/October-ish and aiming for 1 square every two months. I've chosen royal blue and chocolate brown with silver accents and a cream neutral as my colours, but now I'm second guessing myself and wondering if I should have gone with my second choice which was black and white with red accents and a silver grey neutral.

I had intended to start stitching Gay Ann Rogers Heart of Elizabeth with the rest of the class earlier this year, but I'm still waiting for one thread to come in so I haven't started it yet, and now it's probably going to have to wait a bit longer while I get the things with deadlines done.

Daphne Reborn

Well, what do you know - I finished it:

That must be the fastest I've ever actually finished a class piece.

Now I'm debating with myself whether to stitch it again, this time in the green colourway, cos in class that just looked so good. I mean, I like this colourway too, but the green was just spectacular and if I'd seen them in person before choosing the colour rather than just a slightly blurry picture I'd have gone for the green. Or the colours are really easy to change so I could choose my own colourway.

Daphne Reborn

I've been stitching away on this as it's really quite quick, I think cos of all the little squares.

Daphne Reborn

I've just finished my two days of class (and had a great time) on this and this is what I have to show for it:

Now for some photos of my new stitching station - Mum, this is why I wanted the chair with the centre console.

See how nicely my current canvas fits between the seats, and behind it is the project bag with the supplies. Then the drink holders make a nice place to put a pin cushion and an ort pot (as well as providing somewhere safe for a drink). Just to the right you can see a bit of the upright to my light.

Then you lift up the cushion and find all my stitching supplies - they're all nicely tucked away in their bag at the moment as I haven't used them since getting home from the class, but normally the scissors and needles and things would be on top of their bag for easy access. Under the bag I've got the thread for the bookmarks and the round roll of banding is there at the front so I can just do one whenever that's all I can handle. Then hopefully they'll be ready when I need them. DD has also decided she needs some stitching tools like Mummy so that's her pink bag in there too.

Then across the other side of the lounge is the coffee table with all my current(ish) project bags and other supplies, mounted canvases down one side, a stand at the other end, and underneath are stretcher bars and another stand. It's all working rather well so far. Oh and the puzzle is supposed to be the next one we are working on, as at one point we decided that table would be a good puzzle table where we could just leave one out to be worked on. It did work for one puzzle, then it kind of fizzled out.

Daphne Reborn

I've finished the pre-stitching - not that there was much to do, but now it gets put aside until the class next month.

I think there will be a trip to Gingers tomorrow - I was looking for the last little bit of banding to make more bookmarks for the teachers and couldn't find it - found the thread and I thought the two would be together, but obviously not. Ah well, I'm sure I'll cope with a trip to the LNS.

I've also started thinking about my first painted canvas - I'm going to start with the quilt canvas that I got at the auction last year. I've already decided that I'm only going to use DMC floss, so now I've just got to work on colours and patterns. I've got a while to think though as I don't intend to start it just yet - get some more finished first.

New starts

Well, after getting my list down a little I've just started another corrospondence course, this time in a group with the Cyberpointers chapter. Serpentine by Ro Pace - here are my beginnings:

I've also started the pre-stitching for a class I'm taking in June - Daphne Reborn by Michael Boren.

And another project finished as well - my patchwork cushions:

And I also finally started cutting the squares for one of the quilts that I've been gathering supplies for. At my Monday class the tutor said there was a quilting bee I could attend on Friday mornings, so I figure if I do that I may actually get the quilts done (you know, before the kids are too old for pirates and princess castles).