Bookmark #3 done!

I haven't stitched on my Winter Fairy since the 4th of July weekend. Last weekend was taken up with: Taste of Buffalo on Saturday morning and attending a high school graduation party Saturday afternoon; church on Sunday morning and then Sunday afternoon we went to see The A-Team movie, which is a perfect summer movie - fun, lots of action and just enough plot to keep going. Anyway, add in little things like grocery shopping and laundry and that was the weekend.

During the week, however, I had plenty of stitching time while waiting to pick up my daughter and her friend from the camp bus. They're counselors at a Girl Scout day camp and also bus aides so I drop them off at the bus in the morning and collect them in the afternoon. This week I averaged about 45 minutes of sewing time in the afternoons, and gleefully completed my elephant bookmark. I like him so much I know I'll do the pattern again sometime. I changed the headdress colors and added the backstitching because he didn't stand out well enough against the white plastic. I'd love to do him as an ornament or hanging sometime and do the headdress in beads. So, here is a picture of the fine fellow. I haven't decided on finishing yet. I may leave it in a rectangle or I may cut out the outline.

EDIT: This pattern came from an issue of the Australian magazine, Cross-Stitch & Beading. They show how to do every piece in both cross-stitch and beading, with charts and photos of both. It's a bit expensive, but has really wonderful patterns of all sorts. I do all my Christmas ornaments from them.

I've already chosen my next bookmark and set up the kit. It's a fairly simple ghost but I'm tweaking it a bit. I'll post a pic when it's done.

Ah July!

Had a lovely, long Fourth of July weekend and got some good stitching done. I finished the scarf on WF while watching "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (which we watch every year). I had hoped to finish the skirt portion today (7/5) and even though I didn't quite manage it I did get a lot done. I even got to start a new color (light green)! I could have sewn a bit longer but it's so hot that I'm working up a sweat just sewing. Enough is enough! So here's a pic of my progress.

Old Stitches

I thought I would post pictures of two long-ago finished projects. These were done in the days before internet (gasp!) and I've never gotten around to posting pictures of them before. The blue stitching is hardanger, which is challenging and particularly nerve-wracking when it comes to snipping threads, but it makes beautiful patterns. I did it for my hubby's return when he was stationed overseas. The second is my daughter's birth announcement. I really had to search for a pattern that wasn't too cutesy-custey and I liked this one as soon as I saw it.

Update - 6-27-10

I've been busily stitching lately. My third bookmark, the elephant, is coming along nicely. I'll post a picture of him when he's done. Meanwhile, here is the latest update on Winter Fairy. Working on her scarf is fun because the colors are so lovely and I love how they blend to make it seem three-dimensional.

Bookmark #2 Done!

It took a little while but I have finished bookmark #2. Isn't it lovely? Thanks to Dottie for the wonderful plastic Aida canvas. Partway through I wondered if I should have worked it on a lighter color so it would stand out more, but I really like how this looks in the end.

I've already started my next bookmark, an elephant. The pattern for that is also from the wonderful magazine, Cross-Stitch and Beading from Australia, to which I subscribe. I would probably get more bookmarks done if I stuck to the very simple patterns like my first one, but where's the fun in that?

Update - June 13th

Wow, here we are halfway through June already. The year is going fast, so I'd better get to work on my WF if I'm going to meet my Thanksgiving deadline! I have made some good progress on her this weekend (especially good because, knock wood, I haven't had to frog for a while), so here's a new picture. All the pale stitching goes faster when I'm simply filling in an area. I'd really, really like to finish this page (page 1 of 4) by the 4th of July weekend so I can start the second page then. That would be big progress!

Poking along

Sorry, couldn't resist attempting a clever title. I finished and have mailed both my entries in the Pokes-N-Seeds Exchange. I know the one arrived in Virginia and hopefully the other will make it safely to England soon.

The first picture here is of the beautiful poke I received from Gina. Didn't she do a wonderful job? It says "Sam's Garden" because Sam is my Hobbit alter-ego, both of us being fond of our gardens. This poke is in the pot with the Rex Begonia that was my father's and I can see it from my desk at work every day. The second picture here is of the two pokes I made. My oh-so-clever hubby made the little wooden stakes for me and drilled a tiny hole through each for me to thread the, er, thread. I painted the stakes to compliment their respective pictures before putting everything together. This was a fun challenge for me. I rarely (okay, never) do tiny pictures, so I had to hunt around to find some. I added tiny beads for the teddy bear's eyes and the stamens (is that right?) on the flower, just to give them a little more interest.

In other news, while I haven't worked much on WF, I am about 2/3 done on the rose bookmark I'm doing. I'll post a picture when it is completed - hopefully by next weekend.