Quietly Plugging Along

In between karate, dog classes, work, food and sleep I've been doing a little stitching here and there. After finishing Sudden Showers I decided I should get to work on the Quaker Gameboard that has been languishing and also finish off a few smalls that were lurking. I'm trying to get through the WIPs and UFOs floating around the house so I can start a HAED project.

First I finally finished the pieces for the Polychrome Palooza project. I still need to assemble everything, but I figure that's something to do on a day i'm home sick from work and looking for something to stave off the boredom.

Then I FINALLY did the commemorative sampler from last spring's stitching retreat.It was a quick piece. I whomped most of it out while I was sitting at the car mechanic's garage waiting for my car to be winterized.

Then there was the nametag for the upcoming stitching retreat. But you can't see that one yet because it's a surprise for the retreat in March.

In addition to all the little things I've been assiduously working on the Quaker Gameboard. Here's the last WIP photo from the end of October:

And here's where I'm at as of 10:30pm last night:

This week I'll be heading to Portland, OR for the holidays. I'm planning on taking this project with me and also "Merry and Bright". I'm hoping to get a decent amount done on each while I'm on the planes and also hanging out in the airport. I have a nice 4 hour layover in Chicago that will allow some quality stitching/people-watching time.

Oh and.... I had a lovely attack of the greedies and ended up getting a number of new stitching patterns (like I really need them). Moon N Starz Cat, Rottweiler, Whimsical French Bulldog and Purple Dragon. And at the end of October I ordered more Silkweaverfabric (again, like I need it). Due to a rush on the limited edition colors it took a little while for me to get it, so I had a nice mail day recently when it all came in. I didn't get a photo of it all but here's the list of what I picked up and some images following from the website:

Cnt	Color	Fabric	Size
28	Solo - slate blueish	Linen	18x26
28	Solo - lt blue/purple	Lugana	18x26
28	Solo - tan/lavendar	Lugana	18x26
28	Solo - pinkish coral	Linen	18x26
28	Solo - deep blue (midnight)	Linen	18x26
32	Splash of Brandy	Linen	26x36
32	Autumn Leaves	Linen	18x26
32	Frankenstein	Linen	18x26
32	Harvest	Linen	18x26
32	Hocus Pocus	Linen	26x36
32	Witches Brew	Linen	26x36
32	Flighty Fairy	Linen	18x26

Check(ers) This Out!

I love fall! It's finally a comfortable temperature outside for me and the dogger, the air smells crisp and clean in the morning and people start to wind down so I have more time to stitch :-D.

After finishing Sudden Showers I pulled out my Quaker Game Board project that I had done a little stitching on before I started the other project. Now I'm starting to make decent progress on it. It's difficult to see the letters that I've finished as they are white on the light tan and washed out with the flash, but you get the idea...

I've done a bit more since this was taken over the weekend. Is started the inner borders for the empty squares on the fabric. I'm organizing a dog event this weekend, so I'm not likely to be getting a lot done on it this weekend. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do more next week during the week.

I've also been sporadically working on a knotwork project. Mostly this has been my morning before work project. I posted the finishes for the scissor fob and the needle book cover. I'm now working on the scissors case. I also made progress beyond the photo here over the last week. I'm now just about finished with the first row in red...

I volunteered to provide awards for dogs passing the event this weekend from the "herding group" and forgot to get items. So... I'm frantically trying to get some little projects finished so I can hand out some ornaments to the successful dogs. I'll get photos of those once they are completed and handed out to the winners. Wish me luck - time is short!

Sudden Showers

It was quite fitting that I finished this project last week during a day of showers. It felt great to finish one of my larger projects finally. I haven't been able to stitch nearly as much as I would like over the last year or so and I missed that feeling of accomplishment :-D. So here is... Sudden Showers:

Today I'm planning to get back to working on my Quaker game board. Yay!

Serenity

It's been a great couple of months for me. My pup is getting older and more responsible and is a joy to live with. We've been taking and teaching a lot of doggy classes. The kitten is also growing up and makes a great companion for the pup. I have been enjoying taking karate lessons and will be testing up to yellow belt very soon. I'm hoping to move up to orange by the new year.

Between all of this stuff I've even been able to get a decent amount of stitching in. I've been working on a couple of large projects, a medium project and a small one. So I'll post from small to large :-).

For a thank you gift, I've been working on First Bass from Ink Circles. It's a lovely little project. I also have the other two pieces in the series, but I don't know if/when I might get to them. I'm almost finished...

I've also been working on a knot work project from Theresa Layman Designs. One of my favorite things is color and this one fits the bill with bright rainbow colors. It's Polychrome Palooza. I've finished the needle book cover and the scissor fob. I just need to finish the scissors case...

Every so often I feel like doing something light. I found a great pattern, "Merry and Bright", to stitch for Christmas. It's so Jetsons! I love it. I can't remember the designer right now (EDIT: Monsterbubbles), but I'm sure I'll post that information in the future...

Finally, I'm closing in on the last part of my year long project. I always think I'm going to get done fast than I do, but then when I finish I think to myself "well that really didn't take all that long". Interesting how time warps and twists. Maybe I'll finish this by the end of the month, maybe by the end of the year, who know!

I signed up the the annual A Stitchers Garden retreat. I'm really looking forward to March and my weekend of stitching, chatting and spending money I don't have on STASH! Now I just need to wrap up my outstanding projects and design my name tag so I'll be ready for the big event!

Dogs and Starting a Little Business

I received another 3 mini projects for the dog club's obedience trial awards. These are cute little 1 hour projects. I did a corgi, a westie and a yorkie.

I've only done a little stitching otherwise because I've been splitting my time between training my dog for an upcoming trial and also working on getting items ready for the BMR Acres Shearing Festival yesterday. I started making a couple of little scented items to help cover my dog training and vet costs. I'm partnering with my vet/breeder/friend, Karen, who does wood burning and painting. We're slowly getting it ramped up. The first of the information is getting out to the web at... Winkin' Hound Crafts. I'm pretty excited about our little business. We're not looking to become a super store - just to keep those hound costs under control ;-).

Today however, I'll be stitching! I have a design I've been working on. More info to come on that later :-).

A Flurry of Activity

Last week I finished up a few little projects. First I whomped out a couple of dog motifs for the upcoming Obedience Trial. I just picked up another 3 to complete, so I'm sure I'll be working on those tonight and tomorrow night.

Then I finished the first part of a three stage knotwork project that I picked up at last year's stitching retreat. This is going to be a needlebook cover:

And I have a friend who's going to be having a baby soon, so I did another little outfit on Sunday:

I also started putting together items for sale. I have some out to BMR Acres for sale at their annual Shearing Festival. I'm hoping they're well received. I've been working on a web presence for my little craft operation at Winkin' Hound Crafts. I still have a few things to add to it, but it's a good start :-). Now I just need to get to all of the other projects hanging about my place.

What a Little Sick Will Do...

I've been home sick for two days and so, instead of sleeping, I've been taking care of all the little life things that creep up on you when you're doing the working thing. If nothing else I feel mentally better for having dealt with items related to my professional society, the NYS department of taxation (*sigh*), banking and even some stitching!!

This morning I wrapped up a cute little project that's going to a shiny new person. I'm going to be working on another one soon (maybe later today). In the mean time I'm planning on organizing my crafts area a little more. So here it is:

Finishes Abound

They're all little finishes, but they're done :-). The first is a scarf the I designed - my first ever knitting design. Miss Thunder is modelling it. It's a double cable using roving...

And then I finished a little doodad I got from last year's stitching retreat. I was cleaning my crafts area and decided it was easier to just stitch it up rather than finding a place to store it...

And then I motivated to finish the stitching retreat sampler from last year the night before this year's retreat...

And of course the name tag for this year's retreat...

Currently I'm working on a gift for a friend - so I'm not going to post a photo of that.

This past weekend was the stitching retreat. It was a blast. Teresa Layman and Gretchen came again this year. Teresa gave a great presentation on the history and making of lace. We had a really nifty project from her that combined a number of different techniques. Here's the photo of it before:

And here are the photos of it after:

It was a ton of fun working on it. Now that the retreat is over I'm already wishing it was next year's retreat. What a blast we have!!! As usual I got a ton of things (you can see the charts on my pattern stash page. I won a couple of prizes, including one of the two gift baskets. Mine was a beach basket with a towel, flipflops, a cheesy romance novel, sunscreen (score!), chex mix, a can of iced tea and a spritzer bottle. The basket is gorgeous - I have a band that I'd like to stitch up for it. Oooh ton's of projects to work on. I better get to work!

New Knitting

I found some great fibers when I was in Canada last year. One of them was this odd velour-ish kind of texture. I picked up a patter to knit using it that had a lace style to it. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off, but it worked out beautifully:

I love how it came out and passed it onto a friend as a gift. The only thing I'm disappointed with in this fiber is that it snaps quite easily because it isn't very elastic.

I'm thrilled that I have a computer at home again with internet access and a new camera. I'm hoping to find a little time this weekend to go through my place and get photos of my WIPs and various things in states of being finished.

I've been working on a sewing machine craft to sell. I'm hoping to get that all finished in the next week or two so I can bring my little items with me to dog shows and other venues this spring. I'll post photos of that when it's ready to unveil.

I'm getting ready for this year's stitcher's retreat with my local shop. I got my name tag kit earlier this year and had been sitting on it for a while waiting for inspiration. The theme this year is Oceanside Tranquility. Last weekend my idea came to me. I had it charted and stitched in an afternoon :-). Now I'm waiting for my next thought bubble to decide how I want to finish it. A couple of years ago I copped out pretty badly on the name tag and it's been weighing on me badly since then. I'm amazed with the ideas people come up with - they're so gorgeous!!

Time for me to roll another yarn ball before hitting the pillow for the evening - happy stitching!