Pumpkins Three

As you may (or may not) remember, I started "Pumpkins Three", a La-D-Da pattern, way back in May.  I also made a big ol' promise that I'd keep you updated.  That, my friends, I did not do.  I have no excuse...well, that's not true.. I'm full of excuses...but I'll just go with the fact that my computer has been a pain in my BUTTOCKS recently, and I never got the pictures uploaded.

Until last night.

I finished it what feels like decades ago, even though it was only 2 months, so on Tuesday night decided it was high time to do the finish work for it.  I've been on a kick lately to not frame much, but to find different and fun ways to finish these needlework projects so I'm not giving framers my first born and one of my kidneys to have them frame all my pieces.

So, without further ado...here is "Pumpkins Three" ---

Anddd....I just noticed a rogue string on the bottom right.  (sigh)

BUT...isn't this cutie?!?!  I had just enough fabric with the little maple leaves on it to do the borders and the tabs, but had to do the back a light tan.  No matter -- you can't see it when it's hanging, so it's all good.

I even did a top stitch with matching orange all the way around the border ;-)

This was super fun, and very easy.  The finish work only took me about 2 hours, and is simple straight stitches.  I did add a piece of warm & natural cotton quilt batting to give it more weight so it would hang better and stand the test of time, rather than stuff it.

I also want to give a sliver of info about the "16 Men" project I'm working on.  It dawned on me that I never gave you the exact color changes that I made for the piece so far.  For those of you wishing to make the same or similar changes that I've made, here is what I've done so far:

• The fabric is 32 count "Haunted" from Picture This Plus
• The fiber changes so far are as follows:  
• Instead of DMC 310 (black), I'm using Crescent Colors  "Black Crow".  It's an awesome black that has a purpley-blue tint to it, adding variation and a spooky Halloweeny eerie-y feel to it :-)
• Instead of DMC 333 (I think), I'm using Weeks Dye Works "Purple Majesty".  Again, the variation adds the spook and Halloweeny feel to the piece.
• Instead of whatever horrific puke green color is used for the moon (gaggggg), I'm using Weeks Dye Works "Chartreuse".  I think it is PERFECT for that night moon...and I'll be using it elsewhere in the piece, so keep an eye out for it.

Hope this helps those of you who are planning to do this project!  

Do something creative today, before that molten hot lava comes flowing back into town tomorrow!!

Enough, Heatmeiser.

Ok.  It's hot.  I love summer because of the hot weather, but this past week has just been stupid hot.  One of the guys I work with told me there are two designators for how hot it is: Africa Hot, which is for anything 92-98 degrees (but isn't the majority of Africa hotter than that??  Just sayin'...); and Surface of the Sun Hot, which is for anything above 98 degrees.  I told him this was boring, and we need better descriptive words for how hot it's been, and I decided either Liquid Hot Magma or The 9th Circle of Hell.  They seem to be better at giving you a visual as to how hot it's been on the East Coast...and pretty much all over the country this past week.  I'll let you know if he approves of my new terms, because I think they're way better than his.  But, I may be slightly biased.....

On days like this past week (with the exception of Friday, which was just so hot it actually put me into what I'm referring to as a Heat Coma -- I couldn't move off the couch, even though my AC was on cooling down the 1st floor, so I just stared at the tv.  It was even too hot to turn a page in a book or hit the button on my nook.), there is little to do other than stay inside where it's cool and stitch!!

I've been working on a few things -- my Country Cottage project is coming along nicely, but I had to put it in time-out for a bit, since I have to rip out one of the chairs -- it's too narrow.  I'm a square too short.  (sigh)  So, I picked up my Cricket Collection "16 Men" again, and have been feverishly working on finishing that one.  It's going great, and I'm SO pleased so far with the color changes I've made.  Most of the major changes I made to fiber color won't come into play until I get down to the actual ship, but so far, so good!!  Love that moon and the skull flag!!  LOVE.

I also did a bit of work on my Cricket Collection "Spring".  I made a major fiber color change in this one, too.  The "P" is supposed to be a light yellow, but up against the Buttercream Silkweaver fabric, it was too light.  So, I opted for a light orangy-pinky-salmony-color instead, and I think it turned out faboo!

I bought some great fabric for my Little House "Stitch in Thyme" piece that I'll be turning into a needlebook, but I realized I'm lacking brown thread, so I'll have to hit up Joann's this week so I can get cracking on that project.  So many things to do, so little time.

I also, shockingly enough, decided to do a little gluten-free baking last night.  I know, I know, with Liquid Hot Magma temperatures out there, who could think of turning on an oven??  Well, I saw this recipe over at Blacksheep Bakes, and was inspired to make it gluten free!!  I underestimated how much more of the sour cream I'd need in the recipe, so it came out very crumbly, but very good nonetheless.  I'm sure it would be bangin' on vanilla ice cream!!!!  I plan on perfecting this adaptation, and once I do, I'll post pictures and my changes.  I've also adapted it to be refined-sugar free, too!  Keep an eye out!  I promise to post the changes asap!

That's all I have for this blistering hot weekend!  I wish I had more to post, but this week went by so quickly, and the heat made me drag every day.  I bought some nifty stuff for scrapbooking and papercrafting at Michael's this weekend (I had some great coups!), and I have some cool ideas that I hope I can get to before 2015.  I have one specific project involving a travel coffee mug that I hope to finish and share with you all before the fall arrives!!

Stay cool and do something creative!!!

Here goes nothing...

Good morning to you all!  So far, so good...my computer is behaving for the moment, so I'm trying to do this little post as quick as humanly possible in case anything happens.

I've been doing quite a lot around here lately, but you'll have to see it in installments, thanks to my ancient technology.  Bear with me!

Ok.  First up - I fixed the binding on my nook cover.  I got a lil' tip from my mom (thanks, mom!), and it was WAY easier this time around.

Holy guacamole, does this look a million times better or what?!?!  I also think I like the blue I chose this time around better than the yellow I'd originally put on there.

Yep.  This is eleventy billion times better than my first stab at binding.  Pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.

Next up - my Cricket Collection "16 Men on a Dead Man's Ship".  I got this a few years ago, and just didn't have the opportunity to work on it.  I don't particularly care for the fabric used in the model (it's a hideous pea green color.  blech.), and was on the hunt last year for the perfect fabric to do this on.  In my mind, this is a ghost ship.  It needs to be SPOOKY, which pea green is not.  That color just makes me ill.

So, I searched and searched and found THIS.  I hope the link works, but if it doesn't, it's called Haunted by Picture this Plus.  It.  Is.  AWESOME.

Now, I had the fabric, but had other projects going on at the same time, and couldn't fit in a giant project since I was already doing "Sabrina" (stay tuned for her story...she's still waiting for a spot on my living room walls...), and couldn't find time to do another big project.  Not to mention the fact that I was not thrilled with some of the floss color choices, but again, had no time to figure out alternatives.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I found that time about a week ago, when I decided it was high time I got the ball rolling on this one.  I headed down to The Strawberry Sampler and picked out some faboo WDW and Crescent Colors as alternatives to some of the DMC that is called for in this graph.

In this section, I've only changed one of the colors.  I'll give all the details when I show you the finished piece, but I had to give you a glimpse of this so far, since it's just SO cool --

To really get the full effect of this fabric, you need to see it close up, but it's really dark grey with PURPLE in it.  Absolutely perfect for your Halloween projects!!!

On a separate note:  this past weekend was my birthday, and to save myself from having to eat an entire gluten free birthday cake, I made these coconut muffins instead.  They are to. die. for.  If you like coconut, then these muffins are for you.  Amy Green over at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free is amazing.  If you haven't tried her recipes, you must.  She's extremely talented, and I'm so happy I found her site!

I hope to keep you updated as my computer allows!  I've been keeping the craft room busy lately, and I'm eager to share with you all...it's just that my computer hasn't been friendly.  Thank you all for understanding my plight and being patient!

Do something creative today!  It's supposed to be a gorgeous day!

Finally, some finishes.

Ohmigosh.  I can't believe it's been a week already since I last posted about my adventures with my sewing machine.  This month is FLYING by.  Next Friday is 1 July, and I can't believe it.  I just can't.

Anyways.  Now that I have a sewing machine, I decided it was high time I did some finishing work on projects that have been lying around the house.

First up was one of the baby gifts I did for Katie, which I gave you a preview of way back when.  Well, this weekend, I finally did the finish work on it.  Since I'm having Katie and the baby over tomorrow night for a lil' visit, I figured I should mayyyybeeee have at least one of the two things I stitched for the baby ready for her when they come over. (The other one is awaiting a frame.  Stay tuned...)

Ok so here is the "Sleep Tight" Mill Hill Sticks project all done up into a pretty pillow:

Sorry if it's a little dark - I was trying to eliminate glare off of my super shiny freshly semi-glossed bookcase :-)  Didn't it turn out great!?  I love how the small amount of green fabric that I put around the edges just brings out all the colors of the stitched piece.  It really makes the green stitching pop!

Here's the back fabric:

A starry night, perfect for a little one sleeping :-)

Up next is one of the Cricket Collection seasons, each of which I've been showing you my progress in this bliggity blog.  This one is "Summer", which I stitched on 32 count somethingorother.  I can't remember what the name of the color is, since it wasn't labeled on the package when I bought it.

Anyhooter...here is the finished piece:

Sa-weet, right?!  It is a smidggggggggge larger than I anticipated, but I still love the way it turned out.  I used a plain yellow for the border right up against the stitched piece, which was a remnant from Joann's.  The outer border is from a Moda jelly roll that I got from Cloth & Bobbin in Narberth.  I think both complement the stitched piece rather well, if I do say so myself :-)

For the back, I didn't have a piece of fabric quite big enough to cover the entire surface area, so I made panels to cover it.  Voila! -

I thought all three pieces that were in my stash were very summery, and therefore perfect for this project!

For those of you working on the Cricket seasons pieces, the finished stitch size of mine is 17"w x 4.5"h - I stitched all of them on 32 count linen.  Adding the border fabrics to this piece made it closer to 24" long, so it's a daggone good thing I have big bookcases to display these!!

I'm currently working on the final Cricket season - "Spring", and attempted to take pictures of it, but the fabric just isn't picture friendly.  I'm stitching this one on 32 count Silkweaver Buttercream linen, which is a-ma-zing, but again, not very photogenic.  Hopefully as I progress, the stitching fibers will be a little darker and conducive to photographs so I can share it with you all.

That's all I have for now!  Do something creative today :-)

There is a Season

Cricket Collection has some of the coolest designs out there.  Most recently, the designer has created four designs - one for each season - that are just SO cute.  I've already completed three of the four, and you've already seen my Winter, so I figured I'd show you the other two which I've completed but not yet framed.  I actually haven't decided as to whether or not I'll be framing them or making them into pillows...but that's a decision for another day.

Here's my favorite so far - Autumn.  I know we're all trying to get into the spirit of warmer weather, but I just love love love this pattern and the way it turned out.

I stitched this on 32 count Desert Sand.  I think it's available from Wichelt, but I can't quite remember, so don't hold me to that...

How freaking awesome are these colors!!!  I love fall colors, and they all just pop off of this fabric.  LOVE.

The apples in the "U" might be my favorite on the left side...but...the "T" is the absolute COOLEST.  The twisted tree trunk!  The leaves (which are stitched in a varigated silk)!  The crow!!  So darn COOL!!  And the Jack-o-lantern in the other "U"!  Love it!

And then, of course, there's the marshes with the cattails in the "M".  The turkey and the acorns are just the best final touches to this totally cool pattern.  I love everything about it!

Now...onto fresher colors...SUMMER!!  This pattern was the first of the series to be released, so I finished this in no time.  My favorite in this pattern are the chairs - one on each end.  I wish I was in one now, on a beach, sipping an umbrella drink.  I can't remember what the name of this fabric is, but I know that it's 32 count Jobelan.  If I can remember the name, I'll post it later.  I know this picture came out a smidge dark, but the fabric is an overdyed, and looks very much like a cloudy summer sky.  Totally cool.

I just love the radishes and carrots...and the grapevine on the "M"!  It'll be wonderful when those lazy, hazy days of summer come rolling in once again :-)

And look at that totally adorable birdbath in the "E"!  OMGosh!!  I love these patterns! 

I'm in the midst of making the final trips for my move and trying to complete some baby gifts, but next on the list is the final in this series, "Spring".  I will be stitching it on a 32 count Silkweaver fabric called Buttercream.  It's a beautiful fabric, and I can't wait to get started!!!

Do something creative today!! :-)

The North Wind Doth Blow...

...and we shall have snow...

Well, the first part is definitely true.  The wind has been absolutely howling out there tonight!!  We had another gorgeous, unseasonably warm day, and, as expected, it didn't last.  I certainly hope the second part of that old saying doesn't come true...but rumor has it we're in for some snow on Tuesday.  Of course, our wonderful weather people here in Philly are not committing to any type of accumulation amount (which usually means we're going to be snowed in for a few days...), so the best I can do is hope we get next to nothing.  I've had it with the white stuff. 

Because of all this crazy wind, I've been staying warm inside, finishing up my Cricket Collection "Winter".  I've been feverishly working on a few baby gifts, but really had to finish this project for myself before the next and final installment of the Cricket seasons comes through my door - "Spring".  "Autumn" and "Summer" are patiently waiting for me to frame them both, so here's hoping I can do all the finishing work for them before their seasons start!

Ok, so...here's "Winter" from above...(nevermind my ugly ironing board)

Cool, huh?!  The fabric I chose is 32 count Crystal Zephyr from Picture This Plus.  It's kinda tough to tell from the picture, but it's an awesome opalescent.  Gives you the feeling of a cold, frosty night after a snowfall.  The pattern calls for a Krienik blending filament for all the snowflakes and that plump snowman right in the center.  I used the filament for one snowflake, and promptly took it right out.  It virtually disappears on this crystal fabric.  So, I ran and got my skein of DMC B5200, and the bright white pops off the fabric.  Much better.

I just love the smoke coming out of the "W" :-)

And I love that fat snowman!

And the winter birds at the feeder and the seed ball are just too darn cute!