Rhapsody by Amybear - Week 1

The supplies for Rhapsody have been on my pressing table for over a month.  As soon as E. Mears was finished, I started getting the Rhapsody project ready for stitching.

Marking the canvas was easy... with one exception.... the designer suggests putting the letter and number designations onto the canvas.  Well... I put in half of the letters and then decided that I placed them too close to the actual work area.  Not really an issue and but if it really starts to bother me I have Ceramcoat ready.  Then I started putting in the numbers -- with the amount of space available not an easy task, so those numbers went onto the edge fabric.

The stitching has barely been started but I am sure that this will be a fun project with all stitching done with one strand of Watercolours on 18 count canvas.  My color selection is trying for a tropical look - but - with overdyed threads the result isn't always what I expect.

Rhapsody - Week 1

Pillowcases are fast and fun

It's fun to be able to start and finish a project in one day!! Really, it was a couple of hours and I had two great pillowcases.  I will keep track of the time with the next one because I'm curious to know how long it actually takes.

Today I made two dino pillowcases.  The one at the top that is folded in half goes super fast because it is just one piece of fabric.  The second case was made using the burrito (or rolled) method.

These are links to websites that show how to make the second pillowcase - same process with different presentations.

Rainy Day Quilt School
http://www.rainydayquiltschool.com/Rolled%20Pillowcase%20Pattern.pdf

MaryQuilts.com
http://www.maryquilts.com/pillowcase/

There are a variety of pillowcase patterns at allpeoplequilt.com for the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge -- great inspiration!
http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/freepatterns/index.html

Stitching with Lizzie - Week 30 - Complete!!

Elizabeth Mears Sampler - Completed 27 July 2011

This morning I completed the stitching for the Elizabeth Mears reproduction sampler.  I haven't decided how I am going to sign it, but that doesn't really count as part of the the stitching.

I am completely delighted with the way it turned out -- mistakes and all!  This is the largest and one of the most beautiful pieces I have stitched completed.

Am I the only stitcher that would pay more for a chart if the designer would provide some overlap stitches from one page to another?  I had been away from the cross stitch world for some years and with recent purchases of large charts I have been dismayed (putting it nicely) that designers have dropped the overlap section.  This is forcing me to make copies and do a cut and paste activity to be sure my stitching is in the correct position when moving from one page to the next.  The chart for this sampler is an example of the lack of overlap.  Perhaps it is now the industry standard -- but seriously, how hard can it be to add a couple more rows the the page?

In spite of the shortcomings of the chart for this sampler, it was a great stitch!

Stitching with Lizzie - Week 28

Elizabeth Mears at week 28

This fabulous house looks so much better in person!  This week I have, once again,  spent several hours working exclusively on the Elizabeth Mears sampler.  I am hoping that by this time next week the house will be complete even there is still quite a bit to be done.

Stitching with Lizzie - Week 27

Elizabeth Mears at Week 27

Wow -- what a difference a week makes!  The castle is stitching up quickly -- even for me, one of the slowest stitchers on the planet.  Once the gable is complete, the remaining stitching is simple cross stitch. Perhaps an August finish??

I've tried a couple different ways to work the checkerboard brick work -- putting in a whole section of white and then filling in with the brown, working on a diagonal, putting in the brown and then filling in the white....etc.  In my opinion, it is easiest to work in horizontal rows with two needles -- put in the white, fill in the brown and then drop to the next row.

Stitching with Lizzie at week 26 - what was she thinking??

Lizzie at Week 26

The past week, I have only stitched on Lizzie aka Elizabeth Mears.  I have spent a ridiculous amount of time stitching the center gable at the roof line.  The white outer edge of the gable is stitched one thread high and two threads wide with plenty of partial stitches to confuse me.  Needless to say, it took a couple of attempts to have a gable that was presentable and I'm fairly pleased with the result.

If you are stitching this piece, I suggest you follow Barbara's direction and put in all of the full and partial stitches surrounding the gable first and then go back and work symbol 9.  Even with that I found that I needed to mark my progress on my chart to keep my stitches in the correct positions.

Since the high temperature continues to hover in the 110 degree plus range, it should be another good week for stitching.

Stitching With Lizzie - Week 25

Elizabeth Mears Sampler - Week 25

This is Elizabeth Mears  at Week 25.  The baskets came out great and the big house should start taking shape soon. I'm sort of wishing I had selected a darker ground fabric so that the house will stand out a bit more.... but .... I really wanted to use the church linen.

Mr. Snowman - Ornament #5

Ornament #5 is still in progress. I was distracted with the pompom on the hat.  The stitch guide uses modified turkey work that is then cut, but I've never been a fan of that stitch.  I have a few ideas...