Mary's Stocking, Part VIII

I've gotten somewhere with Mary on this rotation. The top is nearly finished--just a couple more leaves and one small tendril on the left. I had had to fudge things a bit on the right side, and as I was moving swimmingly along on the left side, I was thinking that I was going to have to fix my mistake. Then, I came to the realization that I made a similar mistake on the left. Problem solved! (Here's how she looked last time.)

I was also able to stop off at the LNS and get the right color for her face and hand. So I quickly filled those in.

The M looks disproportionate in the name, but it's just a fold in the fabric distorting it.

Next up: Wisteria Snowman
Onward!

The Return of Waldorff

There is something about this dignified Airedale, that in no way reminds me of the goofball dogs that my aunt had. Max, Woody, and Jameson were terriers through and through--stubborn, energetic, rambunctious, and (worse!) diggers. But she adored them all.

I'm pleased to report that I have completed page two. The colors in the leaves on these flowers are so strange, but I just go along for the ride. We wouldn't want to detract from the main feature!

Thank you for your kind words on how this rotation is working for me. I am pleased that a thing (or two) will get done this year! Three days seems to be enough time to make a difference and not too much time that I get bored. Which is my wont.

Onward!

Last Up in the August Rotation, Tis the Season

Ah, September. I look forward to your cooler temperatures. You have cooler temperatures for us, right? RIGHT?

The last project up in my rotation was Tis the Season by Blackbird Designs. You may remember that I am stitching this for my aunt (she of the "In the Pink" project) because she asked for a Christmas stitch. I am stitching this on the called-for fabric with the Belle Soie silks. I am enjoying it very much.

The last time I worked on it, it looked like this:

Once the cardinal is done, most of what's left are smaller motifs which should give the feeling that I am zipping along toward a finish! LOL We'll see about that at the end of September.

There is a needle stuck in it now, so we shouldn't have any future mishaps!

My goal last month was to stick to my "Molly Rotation."

1. Waldorff, Homespun Sampler -- yes
2. Mary's Stocking, SB --switched Mary with Wisteria, but did stitch on her
3. Wisteria Snowman, SB - yes
4. Our Souls, Midsummer Night Designs - no
5. Greenland Santa, Mill Hill - finished!
6. Cinnamon Stars, Plum Street - yes
7. Small #8 - finished!
8. Lovebird, JABC - yes
9. Ladybug, Ladybug, Rabbit Workes - I couldn't find it! Nominally, I switched it out with Deruta biscornu, but I didn't actually stitch on that either.
10. Tis the Season, Blackbird - yes

During September, I plan to stick with the rotation. After all, things are getting done!

1. Waldorff, Homespun Sampler
2. Mary's Stocking, SB
3. Wisteria Snowman, SB
4. Our Souls, Midsummer Night Designs
5. Christian's Stocking, SB
6. Cinnamon Stars, Plum Street
7. Small #9
8. Lovebird, JABC
9. I haven't decided yet what to put here. I may call audible on game day.
10. Tis the Season, Blackbird

Artful Dodger

The other day, I found myself in need of entertainment, and I wandered into Barnes and Noble to find a magazine and came out with this, Artful Blogging, which has to be one of the strangest magazines ever.

Let me start by saying this isn't really for people like me, hobbyists who blog with whatever they are working on, without expectation of compensation; people who don't spend hours and hours on the "look" and "brand" of their blog.

But should it really exist at all? I mean blogs are a staple of the virtual world. Why would you stick it into something as static as print form?

The photos in the magazine and most of the blogs are beautiful. And most of the people I read about were trained artists, And if they weren't trained photographers they
were people who spent a lot of time learning about and paying attention to their photos. Not like me--since my camera's battery "door" broke and won't stay shut, all my blog photos have come from my phone. You probably noticed but were too polite to say anything.

Photo from Death to Stock.

The bloggers all focused on different things--some were painters, others bakers; some were lifestyle bloggers and others interior decorators. That said, the blogs were all of a piece. I mean you could have dropped this photo of a succulent (especially if it were in a milk glass container) into all of the blogs and it would fit right in. They looked rather samey.Well, maybe if the shot weren't so crisp, but rather moodier and gauzy (Maybe that was an editorial decision to focus on a "look"?) .

The advice from the bloggers was similar--and maybe there's just not that much to say about writing. Words like "voice" and "authenticity" over and over. (How many months can you run the same story?) And it's not like you can't find the same advice...on the internet where blogs live!

This publication has been making it in the world for almost a decade (!) now. I'm pretty sure my buying it this time but never again isn't going to make or break them!

---

I bring you this foray into the publishing world because I did not work on the Deruta biscornu at all, after all the drama of not being able to find the next project in my rotation. We had a busy weekend for a change. I think the dude is taking one of those "say yes" challenges so when I asked him to go to IKEA to look for a chair to replace the one the dog has chewed, he said yes. (He hates to browse even more than he hates to shop!) When I asked him to help me with yard work, he said yes. (He's a delicate flower from the north who wilts under our harsh Pennsylvania summers.) When I asked him to go to an open house with me, he said yes. (That browsing thing again.) Anyway, I didn't spend the weekend on the couch, so no stitching.

Today's not much better. I snuggled into my massaging spa chair for my monthly pedicure and took out Tis the Season only to realize that I didn't have a needle with me! Welp.

Onward!

Love Bird

Love Bird was started as part of Debbie's Ultimate January Challenge. (Previous pic below.) I sat on the edge of my bed and took those 28 stitches while the dude was getting ready for bed. That challenge was really challenging.

But now the bird has really filled out. I loved this fat little fellow when I first saw him as a wooly pincushion. (Don't you think JABC should bring back their patterns, if not the kits, which are so expensive*.) (OMG! You can find them ALL--ALL!--at Stitching Bits and Bobs under the JABCo button. I think some places aren't carrying the patterns because they still have the kits.) Just so cute! I don't want to jinx myself and make a prediction about what will happen next month. So no comments on completion.

I'm supposed to move on to Ladybug, Ladybug, but I can't find it. I've looked in all the places it should be and some places it shouldn't be. It looks like I haven't touched it since I started it in January 2015. It couldn't have just walked away...

Instead I'll go back to the Deruta biscornu that I worked on in June.

*Expensive but deservedly so.

Small SAL--August Mermaid

The moment keen readers have been waiting for! Just which piece was I able to zip through so I could get back to that handsome bearded fellow from the arctic?

"In the Pink" is a breast cancer awareness piece from Elegant Stitch. It was designed by Midsummer Night Designs, and it sold out before I could sign up. But someone--and I've lost track of who at this point--sent it to me. I started it last year for the Smalls SAL but only got halfway through.

This piece is very pink, stitched on "Awareness Pink" from R&R. (I couldn't get the fabric to photograph well.) It's stitched over one, and so the eyes look like crazy bug eyes.

I think I got this because my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer around the time it came out. Of course, it has been out for ages; happily, my aunt is cancer free. Maybe I'll give it to her anyway. They say it's the thought that counts.

If you were the person who sent me the kit instead of stitching it yourself, please feel free to give yourself madprops in the comments, and I'll right this half-assed post.

Linking up with Heather of Stitching Lotus who hosts the Smalls SAL.

Greenland Santa Finis

Many of you had complete confidence that I would be able to complete Mill Hill's Greenland Santa. And we were right! Woo-hoo!

Not only did I complete my small with enough time to finish this, I started my next project--JABCo's Lovebird--with the "extra time!" Look for some incredible progress on that one. Of course, I started out rather weakly.

Okay, kids, keep on keeping on!