January 30, 2017

This mitten was finished today, my day off, and I moved onto a mitten that is essentially a study in blues. I misjudged one of the colours and its lack of contrast to some of the other colours I had chosen so there has just been some ripping out of stitches and stitching the area again in a different blue. More on that tomorrow. Happy stitching!

January 29, 2017

I had hoped to finish stitching this mitten today on what has been a most lazy Sunday. Some of my fingers are starting to hurt so it is time to put down the needle and thread. The pattern is from pinterest and is the third in my series of six. There are two things that I love about these mittens: they are adorable to stitch and they are using up so much of my scrap thread collection. Operation De-clutter continues on all levels in this house.

While I was in the spare room getting dressed today, I dragged out this tote of frames that I had purchased shortly after we moved into this house. A handful of the frames did get used for some projects that I had done for my fella's kids, but I did not use up near as many as I had thought would get used. There are easily 20-25 frames in that tote so I pulled out a few that I could see me using, gave a few to a friend who has recently rebuilt her home after a fire and the remainder are listed on a local yard sale site. The tote is just taking up room on my shelving and perhaps someone else will have a more immediate need for them.

January 28, 2017

And done. Nothing like a cold and wintry day to finish some stitching.

January 27, 2017

Thanks to a bug of some sort, the stitching has been slow going this week. I have been feeling crappy on a low grade scale for the past week, dragging my butt home at the end of the day and having little or no energy to stitch. Trying to focus or concentrate has been next to impossible so the stitching has suffered. This mitten has taken me 3 evenings to get this far and yet, still incomplete! The pattern can be found here on pinterest. Here is hoping that my immune system will clear this bug by tomorrow so that I can enjoy the weekend. Happy stitching!

January 24, 2017

My next series of six ornaments is mittens. I saw some beautifully stitched and finished mitten ornaments on a tree in a local doctors' office and have been mulling them over in the back of my mind as I stitch away. This pattern is from pinterest. I am using 14 count Aida cloth (brand long forgotten) because I hate this stuff and want to use it up with mitten patterns where the fabric will not show. Maybe "hate" may be a bit strong of an emotion to be expressed towards a fabric although I really dislike the finished look of projects done on 14 count Aida. Personal preference, I suppose. This pattern took a few evenings as I have been fighting off a virus of some sort with some vague, yet annoying, symptoms and we were invited out this evening for dinner at a friends' home. 

For the finishing, I am considering ironing interfacing onto the back, cutting out a mitten shape in felt and attaching the two pieces together. You know, for whenever I get around to doing the finishing work. Happy stitching!

January 22, 2017

This little tree was finished yesterday afternoon before friends descended on our house for a potluck last night. This one is the last of my tree series and now I will move on to stitching either mittens or bulbs. I am not yet inspired to do the finishing work for all of these pieces that I have been stitching, but that will have to start soon to make a dent in my craft supplies as part of my de-cluttering efforts. The potluck is part of my continuing efforts to meet our neighbours and to spend time with the friends we have made here. Our community is so transient that we have had three neighbours in the house beside us in the two years that we have lived here! We invite people in every couple of months to enjoy some good food (last night, we served up a huge pot of chili) and to hang out with some lovely people. The chili pot was almost empty and we fell into bed some time after midnight after the last guests left. All in all, a good night.

January 20, 2017

Here is tonight's stitching. I am stitching the tree in the middle with the bulbs from my dear friend pinterest. I had been feeling all wonky today at work and that feeling continued into this evening. My system is probably trying to ward off a virus or something, making my bones feel achy and a mild exhaustion making it difficult for me to get out of my own way. The brain fog resulted in a few curses and some ripping out of stitches when things did not meet up properly.

Well, the dog is staring at me from across the coffee and I am not eating anything so she must need to be let out. Happy stitching!