Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2018

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Hello! If you arrived at my blog through Jo's wonderful blog hop, welcome! If you didn't, you might want to visit Jo to see what's going on.

So what's an Easter blog hop without a hopping bunny, I ask you??

This little bunny is hopping past some of my Spring-y temari. The two in the back are from Japan and feature cherry blossoms (sakura), a sure sign of Spring!

Since March is almost over, the SCOD decided to masquerade as an Easter basket.

Hmmm, I'm not sure it's fooling anyone!

The bunny is designed by Just Nan, and her fluffy tail is pink because she just finished hopping through a strawberry patch. But wait, it looks like she's found something else while hopping amongst my temari...

It's your next letter in the blog hop! That's right, your next letter is A.

I hope you have an Amazing, Awesome Easter, and that you'll be singing Alleluia Along with me!

For your next letter, please hop over to Mary's Thread! Enjoy the hop and Happy Easter!

JiffNotes

Welcome, welcome! If you're new here, you may be wondering what a "SCOD" is! That stands for "Sparkly Compote of Decree", and every day in March I draw a slip of paper from it, and that tells me which of my WIPs I will work on that day. That's right, a different WIP each day in March! You can visit some of my earlier posts this month to see what I've been working on so far, or come back early next week to see the thrilling conclusion of "March Madness"!

Smalls SAL June 2017

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No idea what the Smalls SAL is all about? Click the graphic above to learn more (and see lovely smalls from others!)

All I managed last month was finishing a small I had already finished the stitching on, but I'll take it as a win!

This is Keep a Little Secret by Just Nan, also known as She Who Makes You Stitch Really Intricate Designs, Only to Hide Them in a Tin or Box. I love it, anyway.

Why did I have so little time this month, you may ask? Well, I spent two weeks in Shanghai and and Tokyo! And let me tell you, jet lag is REAL. I'll just show you one thing for now...I "rescued" this temari from an airport gift shop on the way out of Tokyo.

Isn't it gorgeous? I say I "rescued" it because...airport gift shop. And it was only about $20! I know how much work went in to this temari, and I will appropriately appreciate it!

JiffNotes
Yup, I was gone for a while...but I have a good excuse...I was out of the country!

Theme-Tas-Stitch Monochrome May

What is Theme-Tas-Stitch, you ask? Kerry hosts a theme every month that you can build your stitching plans around. Click on the picture above for more details!

This month's theme was..."Monochrome May - Choose a colour and stitch on your projects that contain that one colour."

If you have been around me for any length of time, you know that my favorite color is BLUE! I could have pulled out a million pieces to stitch with blue in them, but since May is the last month to get Loopy Academy pieces done, I didn't get to stitch on any of them! Fortunately, I did get my blue beaded scarf done!

I was running out of time to get a photograph, so all you get is a terrible headless selfie. :) It really was a monochromatic month for me, since I had to work on this pretty much non-stop to get it done by the deadline.

Next month's theme is "Jardin June - Venture outdoors and put some stitches in a piece that has a garden or floral theme."

I have a bunch of garden-related pieces, so I'll have a ball with this one!

Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2017

Hello beautiful people! It's Spring, it's Easter (well, Good Friday, anyway), so it's time for Jo's annual Easter Blog Hop!

My mom made me some beautiful ceramics when I was little, and I love being able to put them out each year. I added a little bunny of my own to the display this year.

This is a freebie bunny you can find here. There are two other Quaker pattern bunnies as well! I think my bunny needs some friends for next year. =) This bunny is stitched on perforated paper in DMC 335 for the outline and DMC 4120 for the pattern. I'm not sure what that thread color is named, but it should be named strawberry lemonade!!

Now, I know why you're really here...you want your letter so you can complete the phrase Jo has come up with and enter to win her prize draw which hopefully includes delicious British chocolate!! So here is the letter, rendered in our pale American imitation of said chocolate:

In case you can't see the picture, L is the letter! Have fun hopping, and remember, Christ is risen!!!

Please continue hopping to the next blog, which is
http://familybusinessgroverc.blogspot.com! In case you showed up here without visiting Jo's blog first, start at the beginning by visiting over there.

Smalls SAL March and a Small Start

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No idea what the Smalls SAL is all about? Click the graphic above to learn more (and see lovely smalls from others!)

I'm squeaking in under the deadline this month, but I did manage to finish the stitching for a small!

Keep a Secret by Just Nan

I just need to finish the edge and then sew the wool on the back of this, then it will fit nicely in the pretty peacock tin. This is one of the pieces that the Sparkly Compote of Decree gave me for March Madness, and after working on it for a day, I thought, "Now that there is more sun with Daylight Saving Time, I can totally finish this tiny over-one piece!" So I did. =)

I also have a small start on a medium piece; Tiffstitch and I are doing a Wednesday SAL on Nora Corbet's letter "H". Here's my start, just a couple hours of stitching (you know, after stressing out about whether I was "really" starting in the center or not):

Wherever Tiffstitch decides to start, I know hers will not look like mine, because I changed the color of her dress! That blob you see is the bottom hem of it. It's a funky shape because when I stitch with overdyes (especially ones that are as variegated as this one), I complete one X at a time, and I do not stitch in rows. This avoids what Leon Conrad once called the "stripey bacon" effect. Of course, sometimes you want that effect, but I want her dress to look like it's made of flower petals. The floss I'm using is called "Morning Glory" (which is a very ironic choice for stitching my fairy namesake, since mornings and I are not on friendly terms).

Click the graphic at the top of this post if you'd like to see what smalls others have stitched in the past month!

JiffNotes
Thanks to Theme-Tas-Stitch's March Madness, I was inspired to finish a small I started a long time ago!

Gifted Gorgeousness March 2017

What is Gifted Gorgeousness, you may ask? It's the brainchild of the lovely and talented Jo at Serendipitous Stitching, who invites us to celebrate gifts we've been given that we are stitching on (or gifts we're stitching for others). If you're up for seeing more eye candy, click on the graphic above and visit Jo's link up post!

As my birthday is the end of February, you may be thinking I'm going to show you all kinds of stitch-related gifts! Well, I at least have one:

This is some of my haul from my wonderful spouse, and you'll notice the beautiful Jane Nicholas book at the bottom. My husband told me, "You already have everything I'm giving you, just not these versions." Yes, I have T-shirts and stumpwork books (even ones by Jane Nicholas), but of course I need MORE!

And now, for the rest of the post, I will use the largest shoehorn that I own, as I want to show you what else has been happening during March Madness! My shoehorn is that the Sparkly Compote of Decree gives me the project I'll stitch on each day.

We left off last Tuesday. Wednesday, March 8th, the SCOD wanted me to work on a scarf that I frogged during the Lottlympiad. *ahem* I really should clean out the SCOD! So I picked the socks I took to Disney World in case we had decided to see the new Rivers of Light show, which would have required an hour wait. =)

Woo hoo! Happy Dance! March Madness has given me a finished object! Well, two, actually. I'm wearing them right now and they are quite comfy. =) The sock pattern is named Björk, but I called the project "Swan Feathers". Why? Well, when I think of Björk, I think of only one thing...

...wait for it...

March 9th the SCOD coughed up a slip of paper with a project that I could not for the life of me find, so I picked this related project (sea-themed, like the one I was supposed to stitch):

This is an EGA nametag for my chapter I was supposed to have stitched a looooong time ago. Good thing I am a remote member!

March 10th:

Keep a Secret by Just Nan. I could probably have this finished soon if I just concentrated on it! I'm assuming I put it away because I couldn't see the over-one stitching, but now that Daylight Savings Time has given us the GIFT of more light, I could get back to it....

March 11th:

Sanctuary by The Drawn Thread. This was plagued with problems when I picked it up. I wanted to start the trees on the left, but I seem to be missing JUST THAT ONE COLOR of NPI silk! Fine, after a fruitless search, I decided to just do the trees at the top. See that one pathetic tree trunk? Yeah, that's because I stitched all the trees before I realized I was ONE STITCH TO THE LEFT. I couldn't fudge it because there's a corner tree, and I would have had to fudge all four sides and corner trees similarly. *sigh*

March 12th: This was a Sunday, so I was hoping for a nice, big project to work on. Instead, I got a paltry little knitting project. I drew again (I do that occasionally and switch days). ANOTHER yarny project! I drew a third time. Finally, a stitching project!

And then, it turned out that with church and errands and other commitments, I didn't have time for a nice, big project, so I worked on the knitting, anyway. The Sparkly Compote of Decree is looking mighty smug in that picture, wouldn't you say?

March 13th: No stitching. Apocalyptic day!

March 14th:

The SCOD, in its yarny mood, gave me the oldest (and only) crochet WIP I have. A friend kindly taught a few of us to crochet using a cute little acorn bag. According to Ravelry, that was 2009!!! After doing two rounds in what I thought was single crochet but turned out to be something I made up, then ripping and doing one round correctly, I decided I really hate crochet and I frogged the whole thing today! So now I have the gift of spare yarn....

Well, my shoehorn is starting to bend under the strain, so I will leave you wondering what project the SCOD has given me today...it's the nice, big one I drew for on Sunday!

February 2017 Smalls SAL Check-in

No idea what the Smalls SAL is all about? Click the graphic above to learn more (and see lovely smalls from others!)

This is going to be a replay of a finish from Focus Finish February...I finished this soutache embroidery snowflake ornament.

I can't wait to work on the other two in the series; they are much "fancier". I didn't know how this one would turn out since this was my first foray into soutache. Now that I have conquered one, I'm sure I can do the others!

I really thought I was going to have a different small finished for February ("there's ages between the Theme-Tas-Stitch check-in and the end of the month!"). Hahahahaha.... Hopefully these pieces will turn into a March small finish.

Hmmm...looks like somebody got the lens cap shadow in the shot again. "Somebody" really should take some photography classes. Or just pay more attention!!

Finished Object Friday: Mikkey

It's time for another trip in the Wayback Machine to an old finished knitting project!

The final Loopy Academy project for Freshman Year, Semester Two was to create something using slipped stitches.


Mikkey Cowl Ravelry project link

I knit this GIANT, SUPER WARM cowl using three strands of worsted weight yarn held together! Last Winter I used it a few times, but it hasn't been cold enough this Winter to use it! It is REALLY warm, since the slipped stitches mean it's essentially six strands thick, AND it can be worn as two layers.

Since it's a slipped stitch pattern, the "wrong side" is completely different and just as interesting!



I cannot say enough good things about this pattern. The directions were so clear, and there are a TON of pictures throughout (closeups and overall views). You can knit it in whatever weight you want. She even teaches you how to triple-strand yarn as you go, which is brilliant. I've bought two more patterns from this designer since I got this one. The second one I have finished (ah...yeah...still need to take pictures of that) was just as brilliant as this one! Now, that is not to say these patterns aren't complicated...they are. But her directions are so great!

This cowl is also ingenious because most cowls require you to twist them if you want to double them, sometimes resulting in a very uncomfortable bulge behind your neck. Mikkey has a slot-and-strap system that means it is always a two-layer cowl. I made the "medium" option, so you can have it longer, but this picture shows the inner layer as small (i.e., as cozy around your neck!) as it can go, and the outer layer as long as it can go.


And finally, for really windy days....

Theme-Tas-Stitch Focus Finish February

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It is with great excitement (although also great lateness) that I post my first Theme-Tas-Stitch post of the year! What is Theme-Tas-Stitch, you ask? Kerry was inspired by the Theme-a-licious SAL I used to run and asked to continue the theme-ing tradition. I gladly said yes, because if there's one thing I like better than a themed SAL, it's one I'm not responsible for running! =)

This month's theme was Focus Finish, and I had grand plans, let me tell you...Grand Plans. I had a whole list! However, I forgot that Loopy Academy starts up again this month and I'd be casting on and knitting like crazy. So I modified my list to include one old WIP I wanted to work on (Curios by Kathy Rees) and a list of small things I thought I could finish. I finished one. =)

This is the soutache embroidery snowflake I started last month:

I forgot to include something for scale. It's pretty small; about 3 inches (7.5cm) in diameter. I can't wait to try making one of the other two in the kit; they are much "fancier".

Another small thing on my list was this pair of socks. They were so close to being finished, and I was all ready to Kitchener stitch the toes this past weekend. When I went to get my yarn needles, they were gone! I looked "everywhere" twice, but to no avail!

I finally gave up and took this picture to show I missed the finish line by a toe (bad pun!) Of course, I found the needles TODAY.

So that was the "Finish" part, now for the "Focus" part. This is how far I got on Curios:

I love that zig-zag motif in the center! It's my favorite so far. By the way, thank you for all the good suggestions on my squirrel canvas. I'm still mulling that over. Carol suggested I find out if there is a stitch guide available. Unfortunately, I have no idea who the designer is, and I don't know if the friend that gave it to me does, either, because she got it from a "de-stash" group. I do have a couple of canvas books, so I will pore through those.

Next month's Theme-Tas-Stitch theme is March Madness!! You all know this is one of my favorites...I looked back in the blog, and the first March Madness I recorded was 2008, but I referred to loving it "last year", so that means 2007. That was even before Theme-a-licious, when I was just doing themes with my "local" stitch group ("local" is in quotes because some of them were in Florida =).

Ahhh...meeeeeeemories, like the corners of my miiiiiiind.... *ahem* Sorry for that song break. Anyway, March Madness means stitching on something different every day I stitch. I may not be able to do that this year, but I'll do my best. And you know what ELSE March Madness means??

.
.
.
The return of the SCOD!!

(Sparkly Compote of Decree, where I draw a slip of paper to tell me what WIP to work on.)

JiffNotes
Stitching themes are back!! I managed to finish one thing this month, but I guarantee it'll be worse next month. ;)

Finished Object Friday: Litchfield Hat

Ravelry project link

Wow, I actually found a finished object photo that is so old, it's from Loopy Academy, Freshman Year, SEMESTER ONE!! It didn't get posted because I finished it about an hour and a half before the deadline! That's why the picture is so terrible, too. The hat pattern calls for a brim. And though I usually look better in hats with a brim, I did not like the way this brim turned out when I finally knit it, so I'm going to frog it at some point.... The problem is that I love my rose hat so much that I just always wear that....

Rise Up!

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Last weekend, we sent the Falcons off to Houston in style...

Today, we are ready to cheer, with Falcons Spirit Cake!

And just so there's some stitching content here, here's a shot of my progress on Prancer. We last left him here:

And now he is here:

But Heather, I hear you saying, that is just a stocking! Where is the deer? Where??? He's hiding behind there somewhere....

JiffNotes
For those of you who 1) aren't from the USA or 2) couldn't care less about football, my home team is in the Super Bowl!! And, there is a stitching picture at the bottom of the post for you. =) There is much excitement and nail-biting here. And hopefully there will be much celebration later!

Happy Groundhog Day!!

I am certain that no matter what Punxsatawney Phil does, our local groundhog, General Beauregard Lee, will not see his shadow. We're kind of already having an early Spring...it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday, and on Sunday when we went to the Botanical Garden, the daffodils were already blooming!! We usually have one last hurrah of Winter towards the end of the month or the beginning of March, so we'll see....

Thank you all so much for your kind comments on my snowman. You're all more than welcome to "steal" my idea...I'm sure I saw something similar elsewhere and stole it myself! =) Hmmm, I guess I should put poor Mr. Snowman away soon now that it's so warm....

You see this finish isn't nearly so inspired; if I had all the time in the world I would have made him into a cube, with cute fluffy ribbons and everything, but I just sewed him to a piece of cardstock with invisible thread and then mounted that on a bright yellow and that on a blue. No tape touching the stitching. =) I managed to cut the cardstock, but I'm so klutzy I usually make my hubby cut everything. He did make a little stand for me, but if you look closely at the top, you can see that I've already dropped it and dented the thing. *sigh*...should have made that cube!

Finally, Finally Framed

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Some people make new years' resolutions in January. I never do that, but I do sometimes look around me and think, gee whiz, why haven't I finished all this stuff that's sooo close to being finished?? (And hey, if you are thinking the same thing right now, you probably should be joining in with Theme-tas-stitch Focus Finish February!) So I finally buckled down and framed a couple things that my long-suffering hubby had cut mat boards for several months ago.

First up, Dancer!

(His glamour close-up shots are here if you missed them.)

I found a frame with a molding that was similar but not exactly the same as his brother Dasher's. Here they are together!

I really had to get into the Wayback Machine to see how long ago I finished the stitching for this next one. Almost four years!! Pathetic. I had a sort of vague idea of how I wanted to frame him, but it took a while for it to marinate in my brain, and then for me to actually search for a square shadowbox frame. I finally had to order it from Amazon.com; there was nothing local and getting one custom made was going to be more than I wanted to spend. Anyway, without further ado, here he is!

I'd like to tell you that I spent hours placing each snowflake, but I'd be lying. That would also be kind of crazy.... No, I just punched a bunch of snowflakes out of some translucent metallic paper and dumped them in the bottom of the frame with some tiny snowballs I found in the miniatures section of a craft store (by the dollhouse stuff!) Then I laced the design on the foam core a little North of center so the flotsam at the bottom wouldn't cover up the stitching.

JiffNotes
Poor Dancer languished for six months before being framed, but that is nothing compared to the poor snowman, who had to wait NEARLY FOUR YEARS for me to do something with him.

Smalls SAL January 2017

I'm only a couple days late to check in! No idea what the Smalls SAL is all about? Click the graphic above to learn more (and see lovely smalls from others!)

Every year, on Groundhog Day, I think, "Rats!! I should have stitched that Groundhog Day freebie that's in my stash! I should definitely write myself a reminder in January next year!"

But not this year!

This year, somehow, I remembered this design, in January, WITHOUT a reminder, and WITH enough time to actually stitch it before Groundhog Day.

I stitched it on perforated paper because that was the easiest thing to grab and required fewer decisions (I have fewer colors of perforated paper than I do of linen....) Even so, I managed to pull the wrong color of perforated paper...I wanted "sky blue", but it turns out I stitched it on "periwinkle blue" instead. Oh, well. I changed most of the swirl colors and substituted random beads from my stash for the scattered stitches so that I could use invisible beading thread that wouldn't show through the paper holes.

Stay tuned for finishing! (Spoiler alert: You'll see it on February 2nd! =) If you are interested in stitching this freebie yourself, let me know and I will pass it on to you.

Finished Object Friday: Butterfly Wing

Ravelry project link

My Butterfly Wing shawl was a project for Loopy Academy, Freshman Year, Semester Two. The assignment was to create something with two (or more) color stripes. Of course, simple stripes weren't enough for me, I had to have lace, too. ;)

This was really fun to knit, and the pattern is easy to memorize. I made it longer than the pattern by using her supplementary suggestions on how to extend the shawl. Or, I tried to. I lost count and did a strange combination of the suggested segments, but it all came out fine!

This is one of my favorite things I've knit. I took it with me on our cruise through Norway, and it functioned as a warm expedition scarf, elegant dinner wrap, and casual scarf depending on the day!

Finished Object Friday: Felted Moebius Bowl

Three posts in one week! Don't get used to it. =)

Ravelry project link

This was a project I did for Loopy Academy, Freshman Year, Semester Two. The "assignment" was to create something felted (using 225 yards of yarn). Don't let anyone tell you that front-loading washers don't felt...as I already knew due to an unfortunate scarf incident. It only took me two tries to get the moebius cast-on correct. ;) From there it was a quick and fun knit. The middle of the bowl is a different color because I didn't want to buy extra yarn!!