The Eyes Still Have It

At our last Stitch Day, I showed everyone a little needlecase that I made a couple of years ago.  I used a little wooden needlecase and worked the beaded part in the tubular peyote stitch.  I've proclaimed this case as  mine and carry it with all of my other stitching stuff.

It got me to thinking that I should try this particular craft again now that my eyes have gotten a little older.  I honestly wondered if I could still do it or if the tiny Delica beads would do me in. 

During my craftroom cleanup, I found my pattern books for these beaded cases.  Jennie Might at Black Giraffe Designs is the author of the books and designer of all of the patterns in them.  I found a pattern with only three colors, which worked out well because it was pretty straightforward and an easy re-introduction to beading.  I also happened to have all three of these colors "in stock".  Yes, there are actually some beads that I don't have.  Then I got to work.  And here's the result.  It's the one with the American Flag design.

The other two were ones I made previously.  I think these will become special gifts eventually.  I intend to add to this little collection because the good news is that I CAN still do this, old eyes and all!  Hah!  It was a fun  project and I may be ordering some more beads soon.

Also, here's an update on my LHN mystery sampler, "Song Of The Seasons".  I'm not exactly getting through this at the speed of lightning, am I?  But it is turning out nicely, even though this is kind of a funky picture.

Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for commenting on my posts, few and far between they may be lately.  I'm happy to say that the craftroom organization/cleanup is done!  Look for a post about that in the near future.  It's such a good feeling to get everything put into place and have a nice environment to craft!

A Lot Of Love Went Into This Finish

I decided to use my day off to finish a finish.  That sounds pretty funny, doesn't it?  We talked about this exact thing at one of our Stitch Days -- what to call a completed cross stitch, and what to call it when you actually do something with that cross stitch piece.  We're talking about framing or making it into an ornament or a pillow or whatever.  Which one is the finish?  And what do we call the other one? Or are there already terms for both of these and I'm just out of the loop?  Fellow stitchers, I think we need to address this.  It's important.

So I pronounced today the day of accomplishing something crafty.  All thoughts of finishing the ongoing craftroom project were pushed out of my mind.  Hey, all I needed was a clear table for the sewing machine, right?  Yes, it is taking me a long time to organize one small room.  I know.  OK, I'll set a goal for organization completion:  Done by September 13th.  Sounds good to me.  Then I'll share photos of the organized lovliness. 

Back to my project.  I took my completed "Love" by New York Dreamer, some fabric, some rick-rack and a little fiberfill stuffing and turned it into this.

Something cute to display at Valentine's Day!  I'm happy with my little finish....or whatever we're calling it. 

Here's something else I just found.  I went to Dictionary.com to find out the correct spelling of rick-rack (rick-rack OR ric-rac.  You choose the one you like.) and there was an ad!  Right there on the dictionary page for rick-rack!  This could lead to all kinds of trouble, especially when you find something like The Ribbon Retreat.  Look at all the ribbons and trims!  I love this kind of stuff!  I think I hyperventilated a little just looking through the ribbons!  See what I mean when I say trouble?  It's been bookmarked.

Thanks for looking at my blog today.  If you have a minute, drop a little comment about what you think about my finish.  And let me know if this is a finish or something else.

Brick Or Bark? What's The Difference?

Oh, let me tell you, the difference is a lot of frogging.  I received the second part of LHN's mystery sampler, Song of the Seasons, a couple of weeks ago.  Sorry to say that the stitching on this part is not going as quickly as on part 1.  First of all, there are a lot more stitches to do before we can call this section completed.  Also, I've been a bit of a slug in the stitchy/crafty department lately. 

It seems like every book I reserved at the library is coming in at once.  I'll be halfway through one and then another one comes in.  It's always like this with library books -- feast or famine.  So I've been devoting my time to reading and the (seemingly) never-ending craft room organization. 

I worked a lot on the book case yesterday and have organized my charts.  Most of them, anyway.  Wow, there is an abundance of charts.  How did this happen?  I watched an episode of Hoarders today and got a little worried about myself.  Mark said I'm not a hoarder, but he was trying to be nice.  The good news about the craft room is that I have only one more section to go through. 

So back to the Song of the Seasons.  Last night, I put my book down and picked up my stitching.  I decided to work on a house, starting with the roof.  The color key said the color to use is "Bark" (Weeks Dye Works).  I looked through my project bag and found the little Floss Away bag I thought I needed and saw a B....k and got to work.  I was pretty pleased with myself when I finished that little roof today and went to work on the house.  Oh, the color is "Brick".  Wait a minute.  Then there is that moment when you realize that something is very wrong.  I had stitched the whole roof in "Brick" instead of "Bark".  And a-frogging we will go.

That frog is laughing his head off.

Mark observed that it must be a lot more work to take the stitches out than to put them in.  Um, yee-ah.  And there you have it.  My frogging adventure for the weekend.  OK, not the end of the world.  I'll just spend some time with the frog and then go on my merry way!

The Sisters Get Together

Last Saturday was our July Sisters In Stitches Stitch Day, and we had a full house as all 8 of us were there.  We have a few "honorary sisters" who live in different states and who we see only occasionally, but they're still sisters.  One of these is Marti, who has just moved to Arizona and we now found out that this move is permanent.  We wish Marti the best, but already miss her.

One of the fun things about Stitch Day is, of course, seeing what everyone is working on.  These ladies are not ones to shy away from large projects!  For example:

Thea's "Magnolia" by Mystic Stitch

This photo does not do it justice.  It's truly a work of art.

Thea's collection of patriotic smalls!

Laurie's "Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler" by Needleprint

 I love the fabric and floss colors that Laurie has chosen for this.

Trish's "Faith Family and Friends" by Stoney Creek

Again you just can't see all of the beautiful detail in Trish's work.  There are blended metallic areas which sparkle so subtly!

Renee is working on a needlepoint, "Flowers In A Row" by Janlynn

What a great idea for a glasses case!  If we have to wear them, we might as well store them in something lovely that we made!

Peggy is almost finished with "Angel of Spring" by Lavender and Lace

I have to apologize for the sideways photo.  Blogger won't let me orient this the right way, but it IS the right way in my photos.  But you can still see the beautiful work that Peggy has done.

Pat's "America Sew Beautiful" by A Stitcher's Hands

Pat also brought in a framed finish!

 It's fun to see another item stitched on something different.  Pat is stitching her "America Sew Beautiful" on a tote bag.  And I just realized that I don't have the name of her framed Christmas piece, but what a great job of stitching and framing!

Sheila's patriotic hearts by Aury TM

These hearts will look good framed.  I love the tones of red and blue that Sheila used for these!

My new start:  "Quaker Star" by Bent Creek

And last but not least my newest project, "Quaker Star".  I started this while waiting for Part 2 of LHN's "Song of the Seasons".  I did finish Part 1!  I know that's a shock.

Part 2 arrived in my mailbox this week, courtesy of Marty at Stitch N Frog.  Stitch N Frog is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to order from.  I like their website a lot, they have periodic sales, and they're friendly to work with.  Since my favorite LNS closed, finding a good online place to order from is a necessity. 

I'm still having fun with this mystery sampler.  Part 2 looks like quite a few more stitches to complete, but I'm up for the task! 

It's always good to see my stitching friends at our Stitch Days.  What a wonderful way to catch up with each other while seeing our stitching progress and getting tips and hints.  The day goes so fast and I know that we all eagerly wait for the next Stitch Day!

Welcome, new followers and thank you to everyone who has left comments!

Liking This Mystery

One thing I'm finding while stitching the mystery sampler, Song Of The Seasons, is that I'm extra-motivated to stitch.  It must be because I know that another piece of the mystery is just around the corner.  The next one is released in July and then the last one in August.  It's coming along very nicely, if I may say so myself.

Or maybe I just want to "keep up" with the other stitchers who are working on this one.  I have joined a stitch along group on Facebook and it's fun seeing everyone's work in progress, or even their completed portion.  So what do you think?  Will I complete part one before part two comes out?

I really like posting the crafty work of other people who I know.  Just a couple of days ago, Sherry posted a picture of her completed cross stitch project on Facebook and I knew that I had to show it here!  Sherry is relatively new to the stitching world, but has accomplished an awesome project -- a Halloween themed Iphone cover!

How cool is this?  The chart is from the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.  And I learned something new:  this Iphone cover was found in the cross stitch department at Wal-Mart!  Who knew?  I'm a Wal-Mart fan, but I guess I haven't perused the cross stitch aisle in a while.  Anyway, I'd like to give Sherry a thumbs-up for a cool and creative project!

My craftiness has slowed down a bit (aside from the mystery sampler) because I'm plowing ahead with the cleaning/organizing of the craft room.  I have two more areas to work on:  the book case and the bottom of my storage cabinet.  Who knows what lurks down there?  I'm finding that a good organization effort can unearth stuff I forgot I had! 

As you saw from my last post, I joined Bloglovin.  I'm pretty sure that the whole idea of this is to put all of the blogs you read in one handy place.  Bloglovin sends you a daily feed so that you can keep up.  So Bloglovin fans, is that correct?  I have a blog, so all of the blogs I follow are listed on the right side of my blog.  But I can see how someone who doesn't blog would benefit from joining Bloglovin, especially if they follow a lot of blogs. 

I'd still like new followers to click the "Join This Site" button here on CraftyCat. I get a kick out of seeing my follower number increase, and I appreciate every one of my followers.  Thank you for all of the comments too!

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I joined Bloglovin to make it easier for my followers to follow my blog. Alrighty then.

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It's Never Too Early

So I had this dream last night where I was completing a lot of stitching projects.  I just kept finishing them, one after the other, and in the dream I was so happy with myself.  I woke up a little disappointed because my stitching has seemed to go nowhere lately.  Oh well, dreams are goofy anyway. 

I did have a little ornament project that I completed this week!  Peppermint Twist has finally been turned into a Christmas ornament.  We stitchers know that it's never too early to work on Christmas projects! 

There it is, ready to go onto the tree. 

I also got a happy package in the mail this week - my materials for LHN's Song of the Seasons Sampler.  I'll admit that I was a little apprehensive about starting this one because you have to start at the top and I'm a middle of the fabric starter.  You know why.  So I spent part of this afternoon meticulously measuring the fabric after calculating the dimensions.  Then I put a safety pin where I want to start.  I measured again.  Yes, I have this fear of getting most of it done and then realizing that I'm going to run out of fabric at the bottom.  Right now I'm sure that I have a good starting place and am ready to begin stitching this fun project!

Look at me, stepping out of my comfort zone.  Seriously, though, I've seen some finishes of this first part on various Facebook pages, and it looks very pretty.  The colors are gorgeous, and I'm sure I'm going to like this one.  Stay tuned for progress!