Marvelous Monday Update 2/27/12

WEATHER
My area received 7" of heavy, wet snow last Thursday night. I spent 3 hours shoveling and snowblowing. I was sooooo sore and tired by the time I got back into the house.


This is what the pine tree in my front yard looked like. Yesterday, temps were in the lower 40's and a lot of the snow has melted. Have no doubts... more is coming this week.

STITCHY STUFF
I finished the 9 o'clock rock garden and cherry branches! Here's what it looked like at the beginning of the month:


Unfortunately, I had to do some frogging of the cherry branch ice crystals. I originally used the wrong color! Talk about a tedious process of frogging. Ugh.

Here's what it looks like now:

Other WIP photos can be seen HERE.

Blossom Splendor

When I hand-dyed the fabric for Blossom Splendor, I wasn't sure I was going to like how dark the yellow turned out. As time went on, it blended in really well. WIP pics can be seen HERE.

She is finally finished! I'm holding off on framing her until I get the Blue Geisha stitched as I want them to have matching frames. But L@@K! Isn't she gorgeous??!

Blossom Splendor
Designer: Joan Elliott
Fabric: 28ct Hand-Dyed Jubilee Evenweave
Fibers: DMC
Embellishments: Beads
Started: Dec 31, 2010 ~ Finished: Feb 21, 2012

Le Jardin Pourpre in Aubergine

When I picked up this artwork at the thrift store for $3.99, the clerk gushed on and on about how cute it was. I tried to tell her I was buying it for the frame, and she asked: "But, isn't this cute?" Uh, yeah if I lived on a ranch... it'd be perfect.

I decided to go with Aubergine for the frame. It really brings out the dark purple stitches in Purple Garden.

I was getting peturbed at the Logan point driver. This is the only the third time I've used it. The first two times, it worked just fine. This time it wouldn't shoot the points consistently, and they kept getting jammed. After spending an hour trying to get the thing to work, I looked online for help. According to some reviews, I found out this is a known problem. I've contacted Logan and they are sending me a replacement (I have to send my faulty one to them at their cost). It should be here by the end of this week. I'll reserve my opinion of the product until after I use the replacement a few times.

Despite my framing "issues", I am really pleased with the final result:


Le Jardin Pourpre (Purple Garden)
Designer: Angie SB, from Argentina
Fabric: 28ct Charles Craft Dusty Rose Monoco
Fibers: DMC
Started: Oct 5, 2011 ~ Finished Dec 9, 2011
Size 14 x 17"
Framed: February 19, 2012

As I mentioned in a previous post, I plan on hanging Purple Garden in my bedroom. Out of all the rooms in my house, I think it fits with the decor best in that room.

TUSAL 2/21/2012

It's amazing how much stitching I get done when I don't have to study!


I'm doing really great for the 2012 Totally Useless SAL coordinated by Daffycat.

My jar contains threads from:
• Japanese Garden... pretty pastels and sparkly #4 Krenik braid
• Snow Ornament... varigated blue green
• Blossom Splendor... blues and lots of sparkly #4 Krenik braid

Marvelous Monday Update 2/20/2011

GIVEAWAY
Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is hosting another giveaway! Click on over to see what it's all about.

STITCHY STUFF
Coming up with the perfect frame is a fun challenge! I scour thrift shops searching for the right size and "look". More often than not, the frames I find are solid wood and can be refinished to look gorgeous! Remember the frame for ABC Lessons?

I saw this frame and had an inkling it would be perfect for Purple Garden. If you look close, you can still see traces of the gold finish. I didn't work too hard to get it all off since it will be primed anyway.

Now comes the fun part! I've decided PG will hang in my bedroom since it won't fit into the decor of my living room. A trip to (where else?) Menards yielded a purchase of Aubergine paint that matches one of the two purple colors on my comforter. I painted this frame with the Aubergine (for another project).

Or, I could use the Expresso paint like I did for ABC Lessons:

Aubergine... Expresso... Aubergine... Expresso. Which shall it be?

The is stitching done for Blossom Splendor. Woo Hoo!! I was diligently working the Kreinik pattern on the obi when guess what?!? I used the entire spool. I ran out of Kreinik!! Wahhhhh. Here's a close up of the "shinies":

The photos don't do the embellishments justice,
but they're clickable for a larger view.

STITCHY GADGETS


For beading of Blossom Splendor, I used the bead nabber. I like that it holds 5-10 beads on my finger tip while I have my threaded needle in my other hand.


A while back, Rachel from What Looks Like Crazy posted about how JoAnn Fabrics resurected "Jammers" cases from yesteryear. It seems JoAnn's is already sold out on them. While I was shopping at Hobby Lobby this past weekend, look what I found:

Creative Options
Double-Sided Thread Organizer
by Plano Molding Co
They are exactly the same ones sold by Walmart years ago for less than $6. I know, because I've been storing my DMC in them.

The price is considerably higher now at $12.99. Back then, they were used to store 1/24 scale Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars and found in the toy department. Now they're purported to be used to store spools of sewing thread and found in the sewing department. With the HL 40% off coupon they're much more reasonable.

You can also find them at:
Hobby Lobby Online
Walmart Online
Connecting Threads
Plumbers Surplus