WIP Wednesday: Birdie

 Posted by on June 27, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Jun 272012
 

It’s been so hard to put this project down! Husband’s socks and my Sketchbook cardigan have been set aside and ignored in favor of “just one more stitch”.

The satin stitch parts are done as are the mosaic stitch parts on the bottom. Now it’s just filling in the background with continental stitch. Which…hooray? This is the boring fill work part but that means I can zone out to CraftLit. Which, you *really* should be listening.

Part 2/ chapter 4 of Gulliver’s Travels is amazing. Gulliver has left the Lilliputians and is now in the kingdom of Brobdingnag, land of the giants. Swift has shifted from contemporary political satire to now skewering human nature. The Brobdingnagians aren’t these gentle giants but are treating Gulliver as “other”. The king even comments at one point after Gulliver talks of his life in England that they think themselves so important when they are nothing compared to his people. Which, in Western history, is something that we have done and thought of the natives of whatever land we’ve “discovered.”

Stephen Hawking has said that this is exactly how alien life will treat us, if we ever make contact. However, I humbly disagree. When Gulliver lands on Lilliput, he is the giant. And yet, while he could have treated the Lilliputians like “cute” toys, he didn’t. There have been reports recently in the news of isolated tribes in the Amazon being spotted by us. (And by us, I mean the rest of the world). We now have the wisdom to leave well enough alone. I posit that any extraterrestrial life (if it indeed exists), equally has the potential to do the same.

For more WIPs sans a literature lecture, check out Tami’s blog.

WIP Wednesday: Birdie Needlepoint

 Posted by on June 20, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Jun 202012
 

This weekend I spent almost all of my Joann’s gift cards in the clearance section of the needle arts aisle. That’s where I’ve found almost all of my previous embroidery projects. I don’t like most of the stuff that hasn’t been marked down, isn’t that funny? Anyway! This was the only needlepoint kit that I saw and I loved it so he came home with me.

Here’s what birdie’s supposed to look like:

Birdie

And this is how much I’ve got completed:

Which is to say not a whole lot. I need to pick out a few bits and redo them so the satin stitches are going in the same direction. I’m not entirely sold on needlepoint. I doubt I’ll be able to finish by Friday but I have been working on resin jewelry and it just might be fully cured by then!

For more WIPS, check out Tami’s blog.

Day Five: In Stitches

 Posted by on May 16, 2012 at 3:09 pm
May 162012
 

Since today is Wednesday and I usually post my works in progress (that’ll be a separate entry) I figured the parcel marked “In stitches” was appropriate. Inside I found some tools that will certainly keep me in stitches!

Embroidery hoop and floss

It’s a small hoop, maybe 5″ in diameter? I think I’m going to stitch up something small and nautical (a tiny ship? or perhaps a little fishie?) and hang it up. Thanks for remembering that I love to embroider! Also, it was brought to my attention that Knitting in Beantown also added to the packages. Many thanks to you!

FO Friday: Elegant Oriole Embroidery

 Posted by on March 16, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Mar 162012
 

A few weeks ago, I posted about the Elegant Oriole I was working on. Well that week I finished it but I’ve been trying to space out my FOs cos I get more blog fodder that way. *wink* Here she is!

Crewel Work Oriole

Eleganza Extravaganza

It’s so pretty. I have to get a nice frame for it, though. The little bit of outlining really makes the whole thing pop and make it look like an elegant oriole. Husband kept petting the bird and saying ‘IT’S SO FLUFFY!’ He’s a big Despicable Me fan. Plus he thinks that I’m so cool and clever for knowing how to do this. I want to negate him but you know what? I am cool and clever! And so are you.

For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.

FO Friday: Tree and River Embroidery

 Posted by on March 9, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Mar 092012
 

I whipped this little guy up in about two hours.

Tree and River Embroidery
Over the river and through the tree?

 This was another kit that I picked up at the local Big Box Craft Store. It came with the floss, fabric, the mat, glass and the stand and clip. It’s about 5″ by 5″ so it was a really small piece to embroider. I have a short stitching attention span so that was just perfect for me. It’s up on my mantel and brings me tons of joy.

Speaking of joy, it’s been great to be at my old house. Though it is quite strange to walk around my old neighborhood and see what’s changed. I only left 8 months ago but it might as well be many years. Things just look very different and not always in a good way. It’s really made me feel like we did the right thing by moving. But it has been great to spend time with my mom, my sister and my brother. I’m slowly catching up with friends and that’s always a good thing.

For more good things, check out Tami’s blog!

FO Friday: I’m a Little Teapot embroidery

 Posted by on March 2, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Mar 022012
 

Last week I finished my vintage teapot embroidery! It’s a little puckered but once I have it framed it’ll look better.

Vintage Teapot Embroidery

Vintage Teapot Embroidery

I ran out of blue yarn towards the end so I had to make due with some blue Lion Brand yarn I had in my stash. It’s a little darker but that’s fine. Hopefully this weekend I’ll find a nice frame for it and hang it up. Hmm, or a big enough embroidery hoop and use that as a frame. I might do that instead since it’ll be a lot cheaper. This worked up quickly, in three episodes of Downton Abbey, actually. I’ve been on an embroidery kick thanks to this guy.

For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog and Happy Friday!

WIP Wednesday: Elegant Oriole Embroidery

 Posted by on February 29, 2012 at 3:55 pm
Feb 292012
 

I had some sad news to impart. The Frivolous Socks have been frogged. I tried them on (they are toe-up) and they were far too big.  I tried them on the SGT’s foot (his feet are a wider than mine but more or less the same length) and he said they felt a little loose. I whipped out my gauge counter and yep, 8 stitches to the inch. My target was 10 to the inch. I had made quite a bit of progress since the last time I had blogged and photographed it too. The yarn has been frogged.

In the mean time, since I’m a little sick of knitting, I pulled out an embroidery kit I purchased ages ago. I’m almost done!

Elegant Oriole

Almost done!

I’ve got all the main parts stitched now I’m just adding in the details. This is called “Elegant Oriole”. I’ve already got Friday’s blog post planned so expect to see this in a future post. Hopefully I’ll have it framed by then.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

WIP Wednesday: Teapot Embroidery

 Posted by on February 15, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Feb 152012
 

A while ago, I picked up an embroidery piece from Tiny Things Are Cute. Apart from selling tiny cute things, she also sells vintage craft kits and I couldn’t resist picking this one up. After sitting on it the whole summer, I finally decided to bust this bad boy out.

Love it!

Unfortunately, the colors I have are a bit darker than those shown but that’s OK. Here’s what I’ve got done so far.

Tea Pot Embroidery

Detail

I’m going to have to cut out the middle blue part since it’s supposed to be green and the button holes I made on the large diamonds. Those are facing the wrong way and it really bugs me. This is a nice break from knitting and it’s working up quickly. Plus, I’m watching the BBC 70s version of “Pride and Prejudice” so I feel very fancy sewing and watching Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy arguing.

For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.

5,4,3,2,1 Things About Me

 Posted by on August 1, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Aug 012011
 

Craftzine and Wild Olive are encouraging crafty bloggers everywhere to participate in this self interview. And you all know how much I love interviews. So this time, I’m interviewing myself.

One Project You’re Particularly Fond Of

This would have to be my first finished pair of socks. They fit just right and I feel really proud for not only finishing them, but figuring out the tricky parts like turning the heel and knitting the gusset. Unfortunately, it seems like every other sock that I cast on starts off with the best of intentions and ends up not working out for one reason or another.

Two Mistakes You’ve Made in the Past

In my personal life and my crafting life, I keep making the same mistake over and over again. I don’t trust my instincts. I tend to ignore that little voice that says, “Something’s not right.” Whether it’s a stitch count that’s off or a situation that I really shouldn’t be putting myself into, I am amazing at talking myself out of listening to the warning bell. I’m getting better at listening to my gut, though!

Another repeated mistake that’s in my crafty and social life is not attempting something because it seems to be too hard. Writing it down makes it seem so silly. Just because it looks difficult should be reason enough to try.

Three Things That Make Your Work Unique

It was made by me and therefore has my stank all over it. It’s a pleasant stank, I assure you.

I tend to disregard things like gauge, needle size and yarn weight and just dive into patterns so my finished object looks nothing like what it’s “supposed to”.

I fix most of my glaring mistakes but sometimes, I’m too lazy to tink back if a stitch count is wrong so I’ll just increase or decrease all willy nilly to get where I need to be. My February Lady Sweater (which still needs buttons) is full of these “design elements” in the body of the sweater. No photographic evidence yet, I’m still trying to make it fit me around the chest. It never will so I probably need to give up on that.

Four Tools You Love to Use 

Knitting needles! I love knitting more than I do crochet, to be honest.

Needle and thread to sew things. It’s amazing what a few stitches can do.

Yarn! So many weights, so many colors, so little time. 

My computer. Last year, I tried sharing a laptop with the husband and while it was OK for a while, I’ve missed having my own personal laptop. I’m not crazy about the Mac I’m using but it was very nice of my niece Olivia to give it to me when she upgraded. My next laptop will most likely be a PC. I miss Windows!

Five Inspirations

My family. Good or bad, they’re constantly pushing me to do what I dream of and to keep moving on. From my husband to my parents and my nieces and nephews, I’ve got a great safety net of love and support.

National Geographic. Their photos are always amazing and what better way to figure out good color schemes than to look at nature.

Martha Stewart makes me feel like I can do anything and have it come out perfectly. And that is a good thing.

The American Museum of Natural History. It’s my favorite place on earth and their textile collection is remarkable particularly in the Hall of Asian People as well as the Hall of Plains Indians.

I’m going to cheat a little here and put in two things for this last one: Anne of Green Gables and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. They are two of my favorite books and are a source of comfort. Every time I reread them, I find something new both in the plot and in myself too.

WIP Wednesday: Both sides of the crafting coin

 Posted by on June 15, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Jun 152011
 

WIP Wednesday

Houston, we have internet! Monday evening we finally got our internet hooked up. We’ve decided to forgo cable TV in favor of Hulu and Netflix which is fine but no TV and crappy internet connection make Vanessa go crazy. So last week some retail therapy was in order and I picked up two needlework kits. I’m currently working on this gal here:
embroidery

Isn’t she pretty? These are my favorite kits to pick up. They’re usually under $10 and they work up quickly. All I have to fill in are the flowers in her hat and some details on her dress. I’m hoping to be done by Friday.

lady

It also helps that satin stitch is my favorite stitch.

On the knitting side of life, I’m still working on my sock. It’s been slow going because my hands ache. I’ve been crafting too much and then lifting heavy things in the move so I’m trying to take it easy.

CIMG0375

I’ve got about another inch left before I start the toe decreases. I’ll probably finish this and then wait a bit before casting on for it’s mate. I’m in a bit of a knitting funk so I’m going to take a break once this sock is done. What I really want to do is sew on my machine but I have to get it fixed. I’m just waiting for some money to free up in our budget before I can get it looked at. (Look at me being responsible!)

To see more works in progress across the blogosphere, click on the banner above!