A Little Behind on the Holidays and a Frog (the good kind)

Yes, I know it's February, and Halloween is long gone. But I fell in love with this design by Vee and Co, and decided that I could think of it as getting a jump on next Halloween's stitching. Doesn't she look deliciously crafty as she stirs her cauldron? The fabric is a much truer orange than my camera shows.

Vee and Co
Witch's Brew
WDW 30 count linen
DMC 310

I was wrong about the Oakhaven Designs 2012 SAL - I thought it would be all cats, but February's chart was of a dog. I have no idea what's coming next!

And finally - a find! I went to a flea market last week and saw this odd-looking candlestick - the candle holder seemed rather small for a taper to sit in.

I turned it over, and voila - it became a flower frog!

I'm going to stitch a little pin pillow for the inside hollow. I'm still not sure whether it's really a candlestick or a flower frog. What do you think?

My First Beaded Edging

For about halfway around this ornament, I was thinking the title of this post was going to be "My First and Last Beaded Edging." It was hard to pick up the beads, it was tedious to get through the stitches, and I couldn't remember whether I'd just stitched a bead on or had skipped a stitch between beads. But I finally got into a rhythm. I started being able to keep track of the bead/stitch/bead pattern by saying "bead" then "no bead" over and over. It actually started feeling kind of fun to watch the edging grow. Now, the beads aren't always turned the same way (I think I wasn't always pulling the thread through the stitches in the same direction), but for a first effort I think it's passable. Next time I will follow Staci's tutorial and do the backstitching over two threads instead of one - I think it will be easier to keep the front and back lined up. The front of the ornament is from the JCS 2004 ornament issue. The back is an amalgam of two Country Cottage Needleworks trees. The 2010 date tells you how long it took me to screw up my courage to try the beaded edging!

Tidings of Joy
Heart in Hand Needleart
WDW and CC

Country Cottage Needleworks

Latest Stitching and 2011 in Review

Though I feel like I'm stitching all the time, I've had little to show for it lately. Over the holidays I managed to complete one small piece of work.

Joy and Peace
Little House Needleworks
GAST, CC, and DMC

I changed it slightly to make the garland around the tree red instead of white - I'm pretending it's a garland of cranberries. Hmmm, maybe I should have made it red and white - then it would have been cranberries and popcorn.

And Oakhaven Designs has started a new SAL for 2012. This time it's cats. Here's January's cat.

Oops  - Ernie, get out of the way so people can see it! Yes, I know real cats are more important than stitched ones, but...

I'm still working on Summer Song - I've hit a big block of brown stitches and it's tedious, especially on the black fabric, so I've slowed down on it. I'm also stitching a monochromatic design, and it's seen me through episodes of Downton Abbey (it's good to have something else to focus on when the war scenes come on).

For 2010 I had something like 19 finishes. In 2011 I had quite a few less, in part because of the two SALs I participated in. We'll see what this year brings. I finished:

Owl SAL by Oakhaven Designs 

Mystery SAL by iStitch Designs

Jenny Bean's Christmas Sampler by Shakespeare's Peddler

The North Wind by Little House Needleworks

Sew a Brown Bunny by iStitch Designs

Dandy Dreams by Silver Creek Samplers

Blue Moon by Brightneedle

Snow White by Little House Needleworks

Souvenir de France by Blackbird Designs

This year I'd like to work on my finishing skills, which are rudimentary at best. I'm tired of having piles of stitched linen piled up in a container, instead of out where I can see them. There's lots of inspiration out there, so hopefully I can bring this New Year's Resolution to fruition!