Jan 21, 2020

This zenbroidery thing is really fun! I am so excited to play with the colours and to see where the colour combinations take me. What I am finding is that I start each flower with a colour and add in the other colours as the section takes shape. The final bouquet is going to be kaleidoscope of colour and I like it! 

I took a trip to Michaels today to get a fabric marker so that I can trace out a design for a friend who is moving on from Ottawa. That is all that I can say about that project just yet. A unicorn silicone mold was an exciting find for the soap I plan on making for my dear friend, Lilly. There were a few other molds of interest that I may go back for. Amazon has quite a selection of ones that will work well for some gag gifts that I am planning. **wicked grin**

With this return to stitching, there is a return of my ort jar. This zenbroidery pattern is making my ort jar so colourful and lovely as I stitch during these cold winter nights here in Ottawa. The fella' is upstairs in bed with the flu so I am downstairs stitching on my day off today, in between chucking food and medications at him in his germ infested room.

Happy stitching!

Oct 17/18

So, a quick peek over here tells me that I am a little late  for the TUSAL, but ya know, better late than never! This photo is doubling as my stitching update for tonight, done after walking the dogs and while watching a few TV shows.

The late night hail against the window is telling this chick that it is cold and wintry outside tonight and that it is past time for me to be in bed. The 6:20am alarm comes earlier than this night owl prefers.

Happy stitching!

Jan 22/18

I just put the last stitches into this book mark! It was one of those things where I was determined to finish before I go to bed tonight which was a challenge because I did not pick it up until 10:30pm. My day was spent resting because last night I strained the muscles that I tore in my back on Boxing Day and then we had supper with friends. The pattern on pinterest was designed for some kind of bracelet, according to the link when I clicked through on the link. I loved the colours when I saw the pattern and decided that I had to do the pattern as a cross stitch. The piece is stitched on a cream 14ct Aida with threads from my scrap bag. My scrap thread bag is finally starting to look a little smaller with all of these projects that have been stitched using those threads. Is it weird that I was a little excited by how much thread this project used and that my scrap thread bag was just that much emptier? The piece is stitched 2 threads over 1 with a full cross and I guesstimate it to be 2 inches by 6 inches. 

As a volunteer, I do a shift or two per month at the opportunity shop run by the local health auxiliary. I usually go in at least half an hour early to tidy up and to put up any donations that have come in. I had a few minutes before I opened the doors the other day so I dug around in the craft supply bin and found these kilt pins. Who knows how I will end up using them, but they are kind of interesting and I am certain that I can find a way to use them.

Edited to add: TUSAL time! My apologies for being a few days late on this month's effort. My TUSAL includes thread, some perforated paper and a few other odds and ends chucked in as I worked away on my book marks and ornament this month. What's a TUSAL? Please click the link on my side board.

Time for bed. Happy stitching!

Dec 21/17

The ort jar overfloweth although I am not sure how considering how much my stitching time has been impacted by the pneumonia that felled me in November. Six weeks later, I am still coughing and looking for my get-up-and-go.

We are heading to Mom's for the holidays tomorrow morning, gifts and dogs in tow, so there will not be any more stitching until we return home. Happy Holidays to everyone who reads and comments on my blog. I wish you all happiness and good health and time to indulge in your crafts!

July 28/17

Despite my exhaustion tonight, I was determined to finish the cross stitching part of this ornament. Sleep deprivation thanks to peri-menopause and a scent-induced migraine knocked me sideways today to the point that I am exhausted, but I am waiting for my brain to slow down after a whirlwind of a day at work. I must have sounded a bit nuts this morning on the phone because one of my favourite doctors in the building said, "You do good work" after he called in some refills for his patients. So, the cross stitching is done. The back stitching may happen this weekend.

Here is my belated TUSAL contribution for this month:

I only empty the jar when it is full so there are more than a month's worth of orts in the jar which may not be fully in the spirit of the TUSAL. I like watching the different layers of colours as they reveal themselves as time goes along. There is also a little of perverse pleasure in seeing how many DMC floss sleeves end up in the jar because they mean that yet another skein has been stitched up.

Here is a photo of our cat, Strong, to give you a giggle. She likes to sit on this chest so that she can keep an eye on our other cat, Pebbles. Everything else in this house has cat hair on it so why should the tennis rackets be spared?

June 24/17

Well, it is that time of the month again. Noooo, not THAT time of the month. It is TUSAL time and here is my contribution to the TUSAL blog that I follow. My ort jar is lovely and colourful this month from the threads used in the project pictured just below my ort jar. The threads on the left are being used for my next project that I started this evening while watching "Rogue One".

I had to work this morning at 9am so you can imagine how bleary eyed I was when the alarm went off this morning after putting the last stitch into this pattern at 1:15am. Now to wash it and fill it with some Nova Scotia wines.

Here is my new start. This lovely seahorse pattern is also found in the June 2017 issue of "Just Cross Stitch". I had two canvas Charlescraft bags in my stash so I decided to stitch this one up as a Christmas gift for my mom. While I do not have a specific goal for reducing my cross stitch stash, I am thrilled to be using up as much as possible as quickly as possible right now. One of these days I will take a picture of my thread stash to share with you all as it astounds me at its size. Then, there is the pattern stash and the fabric stash. Besides, any of you who are into crafts can most likely relate to the reality of having enough materials for a few life times of crafting. Guilty as charged.

Well, back to the movie for me and then bed for this tired little stitcher.

Happy stitching!

May 11, 2017

Update photo! I managed to get a fair bit stitched last night after walking the dog and going to bed. The dog walk was interesting to me in that this is Spring Cleanup for the junk one finds in all the corners of one's house. I love to look at the piles on the curbs because I have had some fabulous finds like the little table that sits on our deck and the decorative lighthouse that sits in our flower garden. I did not see anything of interest last night although I did find two barbecue covers that had blown away during storms and landed in the field where the dog was running off leash. They were both fairly new and in better condition than our current barbecue cover, but I decided to drop them by the nearby school bus stop shelter as chances are one of those families is missing their cover.

I deserve a medal as I received this email:
"From now through May 31, 2017, you can use coupon code MAYSTITCH at checkout to get $10 off any single order of $50 or more! 

Thanks for being an Everything Cross Stitch customer, and happy spring stitching! "

I looked at the website, found some cute patterns that I would love to have and I DID NOT BUY ANYTHING!!! There are two boxes of patterns and one box of kits upstairs in my spare room that should be tackled before any new patterns come into this house. At least that is my official stance today.

Happy stitching!

May 9/17

Work is underway on CADPAT bib #4. I had hoped to be farther along as I was off yesterday until noon when a friend called to say that they were feeling quite sick and could I cover their shift? The extra money will help out for our summer vacation and the cottage rental involved. I have not offered them for sale yet as I want to have several stitched up before I post them for sale. Part of that hesitancy is anxiety about putting my name and wares out there and part of that is wanting to have a decent supply available if there is a demand for them.

My little Mason jar is almost full to the brim with orts and discards. I like to cram the orts down and fill the jar until it can hold no more. Weird, I know.

March 30, 2017

TUSAL time! My jar is slowing filling up as I stitch on the handful of bibs in my stash. Hopefully there will be a finished photo of a bib tonight if I don't go to bed early. 

March 5, 2017

Two views of my orts for the TUSAL (totally useless stitch a long). There has been a fair bit of stitching of Christmas ornaments in the past month. My attention is now on baby bibs as I have a commission to do two bibs for a friend of mine who is attending several baby showers this spring!

February 5, 2017

Apparently, I am not the only person who is fascinated by orts. I came across this blog and post today while I was blog surfing. The idea of the TUSAL (totally useless stitch a long) made me giggle because every stitcher creates orts and every stitcher can participate in a TUSAL. Here is my contribution to the TUSAL as of 5 minutes ago, a little mason jar that has served me well for many years. I stash orts, fabric ends and various stitching detritus in there, including a piece of popcorn this time!

There has been some stitching today in between ice skating on a local pond and now I am on my way out to let our dog run free on the golf course. What a lovely Sunday!

Mitten number five has been mostly completed today. The backstitching is the only hing left to do and will have to wait until tomorrow as my fingers are starting to hurt. Of course, this pattern comes from pinterest. The ort jar is about to be emptied and the scrap thread back is getting lighter as each piece is stitched. Win-win in my books!