Halloween argh!

That's all I can call it. I was working on my Halloween exchange piece, Halloween Spot Motif Shoe, from the Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue, which I finally received after Nordic Needle was out and Ginger's delayed shipping on me twice. I stitched it on some large-count fabric I had on hand, over one. Bad idea. I put interfacing on it, sewed it together, and tried to flip it inside out. It was too bulky, and all my attempts just shredded the fabric. So the entire stitched piece wound up in the garbage, and I threw away that fabric just so I wouldn't be tempted to use it again. Argh! So now I have to figure out something else to stitch, but I think I'm going to take a break. I'm too annoyed to enjoy it.

Family outing: Yesterday Matt, Logan, and I went to the Austin Children's Museum. It was...mediocre. The baby section was too boring for Logan, and the other areas were mostly too big for him (as in he couldn't understand them or wasn't tall enough to see them). He eventually started to enjoy what he could do, but it took a while. At least I don't have to keep wondering if he's missing out. Also, he's been babbling up a storm lately, giving a good try at saying most words. There are many sounds he can't say yet, but he's giving it a go at least.

Zelda's Fancy Hat finished

Here's Zelda's Fancy Hat finished! (Click for bigger pics.) I'm donating this to a silent auction at work. I was going to show pics at every step, but with everything going on, I didn't get to it. No worries, I'm going to do a second hat, so I hope to take pics then. I learned a few things along the way, so maybe this will make my own hat better!

Whole bunch of sick: As you can tell, I haven't blogged in weeks! But then I've been sick with a sinus infection for about three weeks now (Levaquin to the rescue!). Matt wound up in the hospital with rhabdomyalosis, which means all his muscles were breaking down. They gave him IV fluids and bicarb, and his levels eventually came down. There are two theories: drug interaction since he was taking meds for severe back pain or a virus (the catch-all). He's all better now. Oh, and Logan got a stomach bug (fever, diarrhea, etc.). My mom caught something the other day, fortunately after we were all on our feet. Everyone's on the mend now. Matt just needs to catch up on a week's worth of schoolwork, poor guy!

Zelda's Fancy Hat pieced together

Sewing the pieces together was really easy. The owner of the local quilt store gave me the idea of putting a piece of thick tape on the 1/4-inch mark on my sewing machine to help guide the fabric, and that worked really well. Much better than buying an expensive foot for my sewing machine! Next is basting these onto large pieces of muslin. Then the stitching can begin! I'm looking forward to that part.

By the Sea exchange from Lisa V.

Here is a photo of the exchange Lisa V. sent me for HoE's By the Sea exchange. The cute little pillow is Wee Seashore by Heart in Hand. She stitched it on 28-count ice blue evenweave and added the small shell button. Logan helped me open the package, and it took forever to get those buttons away from him. He really liked them! I'll have to make something for him using them. I really appreciate what she sent and will use the extras with a good heart! Thank you, Lisa!

Zelda's Fancy Hat cut out

I managed to cut out my pieces last night for Zelda's Fancy Hat. I'm going to chronicle my progress in case you're interested. I cut out two of each in hopes of doing the second one for a charity auction. I'm excited! Now if I could just find a 1/4-inch foot for my sewing machine.... The next step is sewing it together, and I'm not sure I can freehand it.

Missed the gathering in Dallas

First Logan got sick, then my mom, and then me. So that made me miss the gathering of stitchers in Dallas-Fort Worth yesterday. I had been looking forward to this for weeks! This always seems to happen when I have plans. I'm pretty unhappy about it. I really wanted to meet my fellow stitchers from the boards.

So instead I stayed home in bed and read a book (a good book, granted). I also managed to trace and cut out my pattern on freezer paper for Zelda's Fancy Hat. I am toying with the idea of making two hats, one for me and one for the silent auction for charity at work. We'll see how it goes. I need to get cracking if I'm going to do it.

I have a free chart up for offer. It is She Sells Seashells by Country Cottage Kids, which I stitched for an exchange. The pattern is not perfectly crisp anymore (it's plain paper), and I've misplaced the plastic bag for it, but it doesn't have any marks. If you'd like it, please leave a comment with your email address (or email me your address if you don't want to post it). I'll draw a name if there's more than one person interested.

Coming soon: a progress pic of Lady of Shalott.

Lady of Shalott

I began this in June but have only now started working on it in earnest. It is very rich looking, and I'm really enjoying it so far. I do need to work on Maggie the Messmaker some more since one of my goals for the year was to finish it, but I'm indulging myself a little right now.

Incidentally, I had a reader ask about the Barnabee's Quest SAL a while back and never got to answer (please leave an email address if you have a specific question for me). The SAL was one that a few of us did together and wasn't on a website or anything. I think everyone has finished their pieces now.

Also, Babs asked where I found the Sweetheart Tree needleroll patterns. I found them in a variety of places, and some are sold out. Stitches and Stuff has some on their website. Sorry I can't be more help.

By the Sea exchange

Nic received the Hooked on Exchanging (HoE) exchange I sent, so I can show a photo now. This is She Sells Seashells by Country Cottage Needleworks. The back of the little pillow has a pretty blue-green fabric similar to the ones I sent her. It's so nice having a quilt shop in town now!

This was a fun stitch. I replaced the Crescent Colors with Weeks Dye Works. CCs bleed so easily that I'm afraid of using them anymore. I think I used an entire skein of amber for the sand! I changed up a few colors because I'm not fond of persimmon.

Wildflowers Needleroll HD

I finished this one last Sweetheart Tree needleroll today! That's the last of the series, and I'm so relieved. While I enjoyed stitching them, they're so similar that it got monotonous at times--and I have a high tolerance for monotonous stitching!

Most of these are done on Wichelt fabric, but the color for this one (champagne) was discontinued. I chose Zwiegart putty instead. Let me just say how much I prefer Zwiegart over Wichelt. Wichelt linen is coarse and see-through. Zwiegart linen is soft and denser. It also seems to have fewer slubs. I haven't really paid much attention to the maker of linens, but the difference is so pronounced, I can't ignore it. I think I'm going to stick to Zwiegart linens from now on, no matter what the design calls for.

Warhammer: Matt and I have been enjoying playing Warhammer Online. We're not letting it get to addiction level, though. That way lies madness. Once Matt starts the fall semester (in a week and a half), we're going to have less time to spend on it anyway.

My little biter: Logan got sent home from daycare the other day because he had bitten other kids three times. We emphasize to him how wrong that is, but it doesn't seem to get through. Ah, the terrible twos.

Facebook: Matt's gone and gotten me addicted to Facebook. It's so weird seeing my classmates from high school--only older and with kids that look just like them.

Dragon Alphabet framed

Here is a picture of Dragon Alphabet all framed, as promised. This one reminds me of the days when Matt and I were dating. I'd stitch on this piece while I listened to Matt and his friends game.

Yesterday I put the last stitches on the finishing of my By the Sea exchange piece for Hooked on Exchanging. I'll try to mail it off tomorrow. I think it came out rather nice, and I wouldn't mind keeping it, even though it's not my style. I try to stitch the piece I think my partner would like, not the piece I would like. There's no guarantee I'll get it right, but I try.

Cupcake: Here's yet another cupcake. These were a request from Matt, who loves peanut butter. They were good, especially the icing, but fortunately peanut butter is not my thing. They were safe!

Strawberry Patch Needleroll HD

Have you ever liked your mistake better than the way a pattern was charted? That's what happened to me here. I mistook a square symbol for a circle symbol and put beads where there should have been dark red stitches. I thought it looked different for a Sweetheart Tree pattern to have all those beads, but I double checked even! In my defense, the ST charts are tiny, faint, and hand drawn. I did really like the effect; even my mom commented on how pretty it is. Then I saw the symbol correctly on the smaller flower lines and realized what I had done. Normally I would have ripped it out to stay true to the designer's vision. But I really liked it! So I gritted my teeth and left it as is. Click on the photo to get a better look. It's very sparkly.

This is my second to last Sweetheart Tree needleroll, and I have the fabric for the last one. I ordered it along with a chart for the By the Sea exchange, which I'm furiously stitching on. It's a little large for an exchange piece, but it was all I could figure out to stitch.

I also ordered the Weeks Dye Works for Zelda's Hat. My mom bought me a ton of different black fabrics, so I'll need to start that soon.

Futurecast HD

Here's my second Futurecast by Teresa Wentzler. In 2006, I did a blue/silver version that I called Ice. I had the idea to flip the image and do a fire version. It took me a while to find an overdyed floss I liked (this still isn't "fire" enough for me)...and then I didn't work on it for a few years. I got the urge to work on this one again the other day, and since my mom's out of town and Matt and I had full babysitting duties, I worked on this one most of the weekend.

Logan is thankfully leaving my cross stitch stuff alone, with some reinforcement, but when you're the only caregiver, it's too much work to be able to stitch for any continuous amount of time. The boy's a handful!

Cupcakes: The cupcakes I've been featuring in my blog are from the book Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. You can probably also find them online if you do a search.

Sweetheart Needleroll HD

This one was very quick to stitch. I'm not fond of the eyelets that every one of these has. There isn't much space to anchor the thread, and the eyelets rarely come out looking good since they're done with perle cotton (or maybe it's just me). One of the eyelets also had a big slub get in the way--ugh. I do like the look of the needlerolls, and the stitching itself is fun (other than the eyelets). I have two left, though I'm missing some champagne/putty fabric for one of them. I'll wait to order it once I need something else because you know I'll need something else right after I place the fabric order.

I've been agonizing over what to stitch for the By the Sea exchange for HoE. I should get my partner's name today. I usually like to pick the chart after I get the name so I can stitch something she likes. But this one only has a month before it's mailed out, which probably doesn't leave enough time to order a chart. I've already checked the LNS. I probably would have stitched the Just Nan mermaid piece if Ginger's would have had it in stock.

Chocolate chip cupcakes

I think these were my favorite so far. The cupcake is white with semisweet chocolate chips, and the icing is dark chocolate with nonpareils (like a Snowcap!). I made a batch of these and some cheesecake cupcakes for a birthday party (which I didn't get to go to because I had to stay home with Logan). They were a hit; I got a lot of nice comments after the fact. :-)

It's also time for my ort jar and the Totally Useless SAL.

Victorian Floral HD

I finished this needleroll yesterday (I'll put it together later). I had thought about stitching it on something other than white since so many of these are white, but even cream fabric had the colors washing out. The next one is antique white (almost indistinguishable from white), and the floss colors are also very pale.

Spring Faerie HD

Here she is! This one definitely took longer than the other two. I think it just had more confetti to it. I also didn't preblend my floss on this one. Oh, and there's Warhammer Online, which we just started playing....

So to talk about recent stash acquisitions... When I went to Ginger's this past weekend, I picked up Bewitching Cross Stitch. She said she orders one copy at a time, and they keep disappearing! So I obliged and made this one disappear. I also picked up an embroidery pattern, Zelda's Fancy Hat. Matt spotted it, and he knows how much I like Halloween items. I haven't done embroidery in a long time, but I just have to do this one. I'll need to go shopping for some black fabric. Also, today a pattern came in from an eBay auction, Quilted Bear by Just Nan. I have been looking for this one for a long time, and now I have it!

What to start next...I may work on Lady of Shalott or one of my other WIPs. We'll see what bubbles to the surface.

Spring Faerie update

Not far now! I should be able to finish the stitching and beading this week.

I made a trip in to Austin this weekend to pick up my reframed Dragon Alphabet. I'll get some pics up soon. I also bought a few items at Ginger's, which I'll tell you about too. ;-)

Cupcakes: It's time for another cupcake. This is marble cupcake, and it tasted great. It's very light, though I kept choking on the fine texture. You shouldn't breathe in your cupcakes!

Tulip Time Needleroll HD

I finally finished this Sweetheart Tree needleroll. I've been working on it here and there for over a month. I'll turn it into a needleroll later, when the mood strikes me.

So I now have four more ST needlerolls to go. I plan to do them all because I'm a completist. I have to admit they're getting tedious by now because they're all so similar, but I just have to look at my basket of needlerolls to know it's worth it. I think they're so pretty.

I made a small purchase recently. I bought a "beading mat" in order to make the minimum order when I needed to replace my plastic bead case (which I shattered). What came in was a thick piece of fuzzy fabric, kind of like velour. I was skeptical to say the least. I tried it today, and it's actually pretty nice! My beads don't go skittering across my desk anymore to land somewhere in the carpet (and accompanying dog fur) where they're lost forever. I also picked up a little wooden bellpull rod; I can never find those when I need them.

Recipe

Zeb asked for the recipe for the Boston cream pie cupcakes. Ta da.

Spring Faerie update and Boston cream pie cupcakes

I got a pretty good bit done this week, with the holiday. Another two weeks should do it. But Matt and I have started playing Warhammer Online, which has taken up a good bit of time lately. (If anyone wants a key for a free trial, let me know.)

Cupcakes: Last week I made Boston cream pie cupcakes, which tasted really good. I now have a good recipe for pastry cream and chocolate ganache! The cupcakes were rather messy. I think a cake is a better choice than a cupcake for these.