A Calendar Year is Done

I have completed one year's worth of monthly stitches. Wow!!  I can't believe that all 12 months from Stoney Creek are done! I seem to have gotten into the swing of one-handed stitching, or this was just a fun little stitch for me to complete. 

Thank you to those of you who have left encouraging messages for me. I never realized how "spoiled" I was for being able to stitch with both hands, but I promise that I won't take it for granted when I'm able to do it again.

Now that my Pattern for the Months series is over, I will get back to the baby sampler.  I just realized that it has been on my scroll rods since *gasp* August!!  That is entirely too long to leave something undone. 

Ready for April Showers

It took me quite a bit longer to finish this little project because I was stuck using on the one hand, but I managed to complete April Showers by Stoney Creek. Yay!!

Up until this injury, I had no idea how much I used my left hand despite only writing with my right.  Whew!! I think the larger projects are going to be much more difficult until I am "back to normal" which I hope will be soon.

March is Ready!

I'm ahead of the game with this one! Whoo-hoo! I finished March Clovers last night, and now I just need to get it framed and ready for Friday.  It came out really cute and the Weeks Dye Works swirls for the wind are adorable.

February Complete

I was only a few days late, but I completed the February Hearts by Stoney Creek. I used Jobelan in 28 ct in Antique White for the fabric and the DMC floss as directed for the pattern.

Each of the months has been fun to make, but this one was particular was frustrating. I hated all of the confetti. All of those little squares alone made it impossible for me to get through it without stressing over the possibility that  floss would come untucked from the back. 

My middle daughter celebrated her 12th birthday this last week, and she loved the stitched representation of her birthday month.  

Stitched a Raffle Prize

My husband belongs to a conservation group, High Desert Quail Forever. They work very hard to keep water in the desert to preserve the wildlife. And, apparently, my husband has taken notice of my stitching which resulted in his request for me to stitch a piece as a raffle item for this Saturday's banquet. I didn't think I would make it in time, but the piece was completed.

The pattern came from The California State Sampler that I found on eBay. I liked it because it had an awesome depiction of California: our capital building, a surfer, the Santa Barbara Mission as well as our State flag, bird, bear and flag. The Quail is the state bird, and my husband liked the picture and thought it would be cool for the banquet. 

Imagine my surprise when I opened the package and saw a hand-drawn pattern!! I couldn't believe it!! I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a pattern done by hand - everything has been computer imaged or drawn. 

I looked through all of the pages, and I finally saw that this was created in 1994! Again, what a find for me!!

The project was started Tuesday and I finished it today. The fabric I chose was 28-count Wichelt Jazlyn in Bone, and I used DMC flosses as directed. 

I will purchase a frame for it tomorrow and then mount the picture and give it to the HD Quail Forever group on Saturday for their raffle. Now, fingers crossed that others bid on it rather than just my hubby!

Post-Script: There was no actual bidding on each item. People bought their raffle tickets and then an item was lifted and a ticket drawn for it. I am happy to report that lucky number 306 won the quail (we had 305 - wow!), and the man who won it went on and on about how he was really glad he won this picture because it was the one item he wanted most from the raffle table. Yay!!!  

Ready for the New Year

I managed to get another finish in for 2012 - the Month of January by Stoney Creek. I was planning to spend the rest of the month working on the baby sampler, but then I found myself wanting to curl up on the sofa with my girls over the weekend. We had cold and rainy weather this weekend, so I chose to cuddle up with a small project and the girls rather than have the stand out.  That one day of movie-watching and girl time let me complete this entire project in the one day. Very cool for me!

As an added bonus, our eldest son showed up to spend time with us, and he watched me complete this little pattern. He was amazed at how this came together and he started asking pertinent questions: So each symbol represents a color? How do you know where to start? Why do you get the knots and then take the time to get them out? Etc.

It was cool to have him help me put it into the frame and see it complete and waiting for January 1st. He even asked about which patterns I had left to do and what would I do when all 12 are done. HAHAHA!! Yeah, I showed him my stash - he couldn't believe how many patterns I have on my to-do list.  

Wine Charm - set complete

Whew!! The set of wine charms is complete and ready for my trip up North to visit with my co-workers - two of which will each receive a set of these. I am really happy with the way these turned out, and I'm actually excited to finish the last Santa for myself as well.

I loved being able to use my wine charm for the evening with my hubby.  He actually likes what I made and liked to choose his own charm for the night.

The hubby did figure out that having a wine charm to identify the glasses made it more difficult for him to "steal" my glass when his was all gone.  HeeHee

Wine Charm - almost a set

I have finished three sets of two of the wine charms from the Cross-Stitch and Needlework magazine. I am making two sets as gifts for some co-workers and a set for myself. These are quick little stitches, but the gluing and beading takes some extra time that is very well spent. 

The second wine charm is the ornament. I chose it next because there was no backstitching - the next two will have small amounts of backstitching, so I wanted to wait to do those.

Once again, the felt was stiffened and the beads attached after assembling everything together.

These are coming together very nicely, and I should have them ready in time for seeing these co-workers on Wednesday.

A Hostess Gift: Wine Charm

I needed to get a gift done for my friend - not only is it her turn to host Thanksgiving, but I had done a post to have people get a handmade gift from me this year and she was one. I spent months trying to figure out to make each person, and then I saw the latest Cross Stitch and Needlework Magazine - PERFECT!!

Winter 2013 Cross-stitch and Needlework Magazine - Wine Charms

 So, I sat down last night and stitched the Christmas Tree. It only took an hour and a half to stitch it (it would have been less if I hadn't added an extra row and had to frog). 

This morning, I used Aleene's Stiffen Quik on the white felt in order to stiffen it to hold the backside of the charm. I had received my order from Fusion Beads which included the Sterling Silver Beading Hoop, the jump rings and the 3mm Swarovski Elements Crystal Mix- Christmas blend. 

I put everything together based on the picture, and added the crystals. I decided to add the jump rings prior to gluing the felt on the back. I didn't see how I would be able to add the jump rings through the felt and it seemed the better way. 

So, in just a few hours, I have a great little gift to give my friend. Even my hubby has decided that he likes the looks of these and has requested a custom order for his own Wine Charm.

An Early IHSW

It was just the beginning of the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, but I have a finish to start it off. My December Stockings is complete and going in the frame to wait for the month to start!

Now, I hope to concentrate on the baby sampler for the rest of the weekend!