More Finishing

This past weekend, I finished two of the three pieces of Snow Queen's Slipper and Accessories by Carolina House Designs, the slipper itself and the fob. Just have the scissor sheath left to do.




I used the linen and fiber that came with the chart (32ct white linen and Gloriana Summer Sky is the fiber). I will probably give the set to my mother-in-law as either a birthday or Christmas gift this year. She's a stitcher, and she sews. So, I know she'll put them to use.

Thus far, my finishing frenzy seems to be working well. This coming weekend, I will be boxifying Teresa Wentzler's Elf and Flower. Should be an interesting adventure. I'm not making the box from scratch (though learning how is on my to-do list), and it's not a wooden box, either. It is a technique I've not done before. Stay tuned!

Mission Accomplished!

The first of the "Finish-it Fridays" was a success! My mission was to boxify Vintage Stitches. This is the Olde Colonial Box called for in the pattern. I pinned it using silk pins. And I used acid-free artist tape to secure the excess fabric on the back. I used corner points to mount it in place in the box and then created a dust cover on the back using brown craft paper (just like traditional framers use on the backs of their finished product).



I actually took a half-decent photo. The colors are pretty true on my monitor. Project details: By Jeannette Douglas Designs. Stitched on 32 ct Limestone belfast linen by Country Stitch. All materials as charted. Stitching completed November 2008. Boxification completed June 2011.

I did have one glitch. Initially, I put the paper on the back having forgotten the corner points. I debated leaving them off as it seemed to be holding in place securely. Then one of my daughters decided to slam the lid down. Yeah, it moved out of place. So, I had to rip off the paper, insert the corner points, and re-do the paper backing. At least now, I know it isn't going anywhere.

No idea what this week's finishing project will be. You'll have to stay tuned!

Hello, World!

I'll spare you the excuses and promises. Life happened. It will happen again. Meanwhile, there will be blog posts. So, without further ado:

I have a finish to share! I stitched this earlier in the year for my cousin and her new husband as a wedding gift. The design is based on JBW Designs' Golden Hearts which I personalized with a random font I liked. I also changed all the colors to match the Mardi Gras theme of their wedding (awesomely fun reception, I might add). It's stitched on 32 ct. cream belfast linen (which was supposed to be 36 ct, but the LNS had it mislabeled, so I couldn't add all the personalization I wanted to). I laced it and mounted it in this box.



I have another finish and some WIP progress to share, too. But, I need fodder for other blog entries, so you don't get those today!

I'm also going to start a new venture soon. I have lots of projects laying around for which the stitching has been finished, but the project hasn't been "finished" (i.e. made into it's final form). There used to be a thread on The Wagon BB called "Finish-it Fridays" in which we would post about finishing plans for the weekend, and then come back with photos of what we accomplished. I found that thread very inspirational, and I'd like to revive that theme. I'm still working out the details, as well a compiling my list of projects to finish. But, Finish-it Fridays will be returning in some form in the not too distant future! Get ready to ornamentify and observe my attempts at boxification, among other endeavors.

As if I've not got enough on my plate, I am also hosting the Second Annual Chatelaine Smalls Exchange on the Chatelaine BB. Check it out, if you have an interest.

I'm DANCIN'!!!!!!!

Medieval Town Mandala is FINISHED!!! I put on the last bead at 10:57 pm last night (12/22/10). I think I've been working on this for about four years. Guestimate I spent 350-400 hours stitching this one. Those towns are some pretty dense stitching. Fabric is 32ct belfast linen in Oyster by Country Stitch. As usual, I converted the NPI's to Eterna minitwist silk for all of the solid shades. Otherwise stitched as designed.






I am so unbelievably HAPPY!!!! Now on to NSTR!

What to do, what to do?

As I near completion of two BAP happy dances, my thoughts have inevitably turned to which projects should be my next focus and stitching/crafting goals for next year. I do view year-long goals as somewhat-changeable entities, recognizing that shit happens and sometimes you just want to change your mind. My 2010 goals and their related progress evidenced this quite well:

2010 Stitching Goals
Finish Hanging Gardens of Semiramis - Completed 5/28/10
Start Nativity Story Table Runner and stitch on it every month with the goal of finishing by year end - Stitched on it every month except May
Finish Medieval Town Mandala - On track to finish by Christmas!
Stitch Dragon Dreams' Fantasy Wedding Blessing for my cousin - nope! Decided not to do this
Start one project from my Stitching Bucket List - decided to postpone this until I finish NSTR.
Stitch three ornaments Changing this to three "smalls" - completed one in May - others in process!
Stitch as much from stash as possible If I buy it, then it is part of my stash
Attend Quilt Festival in Houston - Mission accomplished!
Attend bi-monthly Moonlight Stitching 4 of 6 sessions attended Jan. and July. All the other months I had conflicts.

When MTM and NSTR are completed, I will have 8 WIPs remaining. I'd really love to have that number to 5 or less by the end of 2011. But then, there are new things I really want to stitch (that age old dilemma). And, of course, there is the unknown entity of how much client work I will have in 2011, because I finally figured out how to get over my guilt feelings for crafting during the weekday daytime. Yada, yada, yada...

So take a look at the box to the right, and you will see my thoughts for 2011. DH really, really, really wants me to finish Egypt Garden (remember this is a gift for him and take 2 for me as the first one was victim to...well, that occurrence I refuse to remember). I'm going to try to make Egypt my focus. Elizabethan Sweete Bag just has 1 over 1 bugs remaining. I just need to get on it and finish the darn thing already. I don't have a plan for bag-ification, but "I'll think about that tomorrow". I have several ornaments in various stages of completion (lumped them together as one WIP) none of which need much effort (except to overcome inertia) to complete. I've finished 3 of the 16 blocks for Celtic Quilt with a 4th block well underway. I WANT to make progress on this. My other WIPs are languishing. They need some love. Some haven't been touched in the last two years!!! And then, of course, are the new things I want to do. I am listing a few of the big things, but I think there is room in my plan for some smaller projects, too. We shall see. Look for an update to the Stitching Bucket list coming soon.

Sorry for the lack of photos in this post, but if you really want to see my WIPs, click the link to the album in the upper right of this blog. That's the best I can do today. ;)

A Thing of Beauty...

...Is a Joy Forever



My very happy-making scissors frog filled with my collection of scissors. :D It holds my entire collection and still has THREE slots empty! However, it definitely appears that I suffer from a lack of scissor fobs. Will need to remedy that. Meanwhile, I am enjoying the display which sits on the table next to my stitching chair in my office.

And, there has been progress on Medieval Town since my last blog post.



It's now about 90% complete. If stitching time happens according to plan, I expect to finish before Christmas. Then I plan to pick up Nativity Story Table Runner and finish it, hopefully by the first of the year. I'd like to start a new rotation with existing WIPs and some new ornament/small starts for 2011. But I'm not ready to think about that just yet.

Remember my last post about taking time off? Well, literally the day after that post, I got a HUGE new client (divorce financial planning) unexpectedly. I think I've worked more in the past three weeks than I have in the past three months! I'm still hoping to be able to take off the week between Christmas and New Year's. But we've got some deadlines looming, so that may not happen. We'll see how efficient I can be.

Let's Make a Deal

I think I've written before that I like to make deals with myself. It's one of the ways I trick myself into productivity rather than just looking at my never-ending to-do list and thinking of procrastination techniques. I'm very good at that last bit. I can even rationalize my behavior quite well. But, I digress. The deal. I've got a boat load of professional tasks needing to be accomplished by the end of the calendar year - annual portfolio reviews, continuing education courses, regulatory filings, etc. All are time consuming, but are required. I need to buckle down and "just do it". So, the deal I'm making with myself is to work as hard as I can to accomplish all of these activities, and then I can take the rest of the calendar year free of professional responsibilities and use that time to stitch/craft! Doesn't that sound like good motivation? I think so. I've already made some progress as of yesterday. If I keep working steadily, I might get to take most of December off. Which means I could really do some crafting damage before the end of the year.

Lest you think I'd post without a pic to share, here is the latest on Medieval Town Mandala. I finished the last town, FINALLY!!!! Go me! Looks like I'm in good shape to finish by the end of the year. :D