The Stitch Up

Fall WIP Round Up

I've been juggling several projects for the last few months.  Part of it is the fact that I get a bit bored just working on one project for weeks at a time, and the other part is that some projects need occasional prep steps: transferring patterns, stitching different parts together or finding the right color of embroidery thread.  Despite the stops and starts however, I've made some progress on the various projects I've been working on.  Not enough to finish all of them by the end of the year, but enough to feel like I haven't lost all momentum and the finish line is close.

Project 1 - Spanish Ladies Quilt

I have about 3 “tile” patterns left to stitch for the bottom section of the front of this quilt.  Once that is done, I can move to some borders, a really cute backing fabric and then bind it all together.

Project 2 - Mexican Tourist Jacket

This has been slow going, mainly because I can’t work out exactly how to transfer the embroidery patterns onto the felt. I’ve tried a couple methods - heat transfer pencil and sulky stabilizer paper - but they don’t work so well for large sections.  Currently I’ve been doing some basting stitches to get the pattern down and then re-stitching with the wool embroidery thread. Since I'm basically stitching each pattern twice, I’ve just made it through the pockets and one sleeve.

I probably wont finish the whole jacket by the end of the year but I would like to get most of the embroidery on the jacket pieces as I think the most challenging part for me will be actually sewing the pieces together so that it becomes an actual jacket.

Project 3 - Sashiko Quilt

I really pick this up during breaks from my other projects.  It's pretty easy and quick to transfer a sashiko pattern to a denim square and start stitching whenever I need a short term project. I’ve made 10 squares and a couple of small panels.  These squares come together pretty quick and I think once I focus on it, this can be turned into a final product without too much trouble.  The one issue I do have is that I keep wavering a bit on whether I want these squares to become a quilt, or if I'd rather turn them into a bag, or some other end product.

 

4. Year in Stitches Tea Towel 

Surprisingly, I’m almost up to date on this.  I just need to stitch up something for the month of October. It’s been fun to think about the big events of each month and try to capture them in an icon or two.  This is another nice project to pick up whenever I want a break from my larger projects.

 

I wanted to give myself this sort of status check since we are fully into the holiday season now and I've got a number of Christmas projects in the works.  I'm hoping I can still find a little time over the next six weeks to work on my various WIPs, but if not - there's always next year!

Sending out my wish that everyone is having a wonderful Fall and enjoying a little relaxation before the holidays kick into gear.

Plugging Away

I had a little break for travel last month and then some busy days at work so I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked on my ongoing project.

 

For the Spanish Quilt blocks, part of my issue is I'm still playing around with a plan for the quilt squares but I'm a little closer to figuring out what I want to do.  I decided to use a pattern called Tiny Treasure from Etsy Shop No Frogs Allowed to create what I hope look like talavera tiles.  What I'm toying with now is whether to shade sections of the tile pattern using some blackwork techniques.  Because I"m still toying around with this idea, I think I'm going to do several of these blocks with the tile pattern outlined and then decide later whether to fill them in.  

 

This is why this project is probably destined to take forever for me to finish, but I also just kind of want to follow my instincts on this and hopefully come up with a finished product that makes me super happy.

 

The  sampler project is also coming along.  I'm done with the flower borders and I've moved on to the horse and what I know will be some challenges with filler stitches for the horse body.  This is a little closer to completion.  I don't have any existential questions about additional techniques to use, just pushing through and finishing it.

 

 

My needlepoint bag is similarly moving along but still has a lot of work left.  I's a big project that I bring out when we are sitting outside for a little mindless stitching while I sip wine and the husband grills.  Because it is something I just pull out for a bit here and there, it may take a bit longer to finish, but I WILL finish it by the end of Summer (don't quote me on that).

 

I did start a new travel project while I was traveling in May.  I used a tattoo pattern that I'm hoping to use as a patch for jeans, or a shirt or something.  This is one of those smaller projects that I could knock out in a weekend, but I think for now I'm just going to keep it for a little stitching while traveling.

 

My friends and I are still sharing various art journal challenges which have been good for inspiration.  Check out my Flickr feed for my occasional attempts at art including a pasta self portrait!

 

Our current art challenge is to make a tiny magazine.  I'm thinking that I might do a digital version as I've thought I might like to do a magazine as a spin off the blog and this is a great opportunity to play around with that idea.  I'll post some pages here when I've got something finished.

 

Hope everyone's Summer is off to a great start and you're enjoying lots of stitching outside!

End of Spring WIP Update

Progress on WIPs!  It always feels good to be able to say that I've actually knocked out a project here or there and that I'm progressing on others.  I managed to finish up my "travel" project - the Cowgirl Boots.

I'm happy with the way it came out and glad that I decided to fill the boots in rather than just leave them outlined.  I think the colors pop and it should go well with the other material I'm planning to use for my "Cowgirl" quilt.  In a pretty glaring departure from my plan to just use up patterns and materials I've already bought, at the same time I was finishing this up, I purchased a sampler with the Calamity Jane quote "I figure if a girl wants to be a legend she should go ahead and be one."  In my defense, I was shopping in a really cute needlework store that I wanted to support AND although I bought a new pattern I plan to use fabric I already have stashed.  REALLY.

For the Spanish Lady quilt, I've finally got a plan of attack for the additional quilt squares. I'm planning a mix of nine patch (pic below) and a few "mosaic" quilt square patterns.  The nine patch is a bit plain right now.  I think the color goes with all of the embroidered squares as it picks up the green and blue that dominates the squares.  I do plan to embellish the center of some of the nine patch squares with some blackwork designs with either blue or green.  So, while I've at least started to dive into the quilt squares I'm still struggling a little with what I envision as the final design.

Picking up my other two WIPs has been good and bad.  Good in that I feel confident that I'm going to be able to wrap them up this time.  Bad in that, being away from a project for a bit gives you a critical eye when you pick it back up.  There are a few spots on my Ida Tunnell sampler that I'm contemplating picking out and redoing, but I'll decide after I finish up the parts I need to finish.

In other news, this weather is so amazing right now.  Perfect for sitting outside with some stitching, some wine and a sleepy cat!  I hope the weather is lovely where you are as well.  

New Year New Projects

I love January. I love making New Year resolutions and goals, starting a new planner for the year, making lists and getting organized.

 

My first project of the season is a combination of my desire to get organized, recycle and upcycle. I've been saving wine corks with the plan to use them to make a note board and I finally got started. I combined the corks with an old frame I was no longer using and started hot glueing.

 

 

This is a pretty fun project that comes together quickly if you don't count the time it took to drink all the wine -I did NOT drink all that wine during the pandemic. Although this past year probably contributed to a large portion of the corks I used. I'm close to finishing but I do need to drink a few more bottles so this will probably take another month or two to wrap up. I'm thinking of asking friends to toss me some of their corks so I don't have to sacrifice my liver for a cork board.

 

I'm also working on the 2021 tea towel from September House.  I love her patterns and love kicking off each new year with her calendar tea towels.

 

Finally, I've planned out my big project for 2021. I've decided to finish up the Spanish Ladies Quilt that I started back in 2006. When I say "started", basically I got inspired while we were living in Spain and I stitched four panels that I wanted to turn into a quilt and that's pretty much where I stopped.

 

 

I've figured out that I need 48 6-inch squares to complete the quilt. I'd planned to either stitch or applique the squares to look like Talavera Tiles. I'll probably still do that, but I think in order to get it done I'll have to intersperse some regular fabric squares. I'm hoping to use fabric from my current stash but if all else fails I'm going to try and find what I need at the thrift store.

 

I'll also be fitting in some projects from my WIP backlog where I can. I'm going to try to learn from last year not over estimate what I can get done and keep it fun!

 

I hope everyone's year is starting off with promise and inspiration. I'm looking forward to sharing and learning in 2021!

Stitching the Infanta

I've been spending a lot of time on this latest square for my Spanish Quilt Project.  

 

She's based on the Las Meninas painting by Velazquez.

I found a coloring book page that just had the little Infanta and used that to make a pattern.

My insane decision to fill in these designs instead of just going with an outline meant a lot of tiny long and short stitches to fill in her dress.

 

I had planned to just do the suggestion of a drape although I'm looking at it now and thinking that I might add some more "material" to the draoes just to balance it out a bit.

She fits right in with the other squares I've stitched so far -

These take a while and I was thinking to just end with this square and start putting them together with some pieced quilt squares and maybe some photo squares.  But I'm thinking now that 5 squares is going to make a more even quilt.  I'd also like to have a little homage to Queen Isabella in my collection of Spanish ladies, so I'm thinking of making a pattern based on this street sign:

I won't be starting this too soon as these squares seem to take me forever.  This project has already been something I pick up and put down for the last couple of years so I figure there is no rush.

It feels good to have this completed and to be able to start a few other projects - hopefully a few that I can wrap up quickly!

 

Fall Fun

We've been continuing to enjoy Fall, the best season in the mid-atlantic.  We took a trip to Occoquan, which is a quaint town on the Occoquan river.

We meandered around the downtown area a bit.

We ended up at a cute tea shop (my choice obviously!) called the Pink Bicycle.  It was charming and the owner made delicious scones and sandwiches.

It was a relaxing way to spend the day. 

I also FINALLY finished the third square in my Spanish Quilt Project.  Ta da!:

It involved a lot of little stitches, but it was so fun to do.

I've also gotten a jump start on some Christmas crafts.  I'll start posting some of those projects after Thanksgiving.  Until then, I hope everyone eats their fill of turkey and mashed potatoes and has a great Thanksgiving!

Spanish Quilt Block 3

Unlike the previous two squares in this project, I did not make this pattern myself from a picture.  I had a few photos of flamenco dancers, but they did not make for good patterns.

It's difficult to catch the flamenco dancer's movements in a photo and not being an artist, I really could not sketch out a great representation.  I DID find a great vintage pattern on the Hoop Love site however and I think she is a beautiful representation of the graceful flamenco dancers I saw in Spain.

So square number three is under way. 

 

I have a red and green color scheme planned for her dress which I hope doesn't end up looking christmasy.

In addition to the ongoing Spanish Quilt project, I wrapped up the scarf I was making for the Husband.  It matches the gloves he bought in Latvia pretty well.     

This is actually a fairly timely project - finished before the cold weather hits.  Usually I'm wrapping up knitting and crocheting projects in the height of Summer.  There may be time to finish a couple more cold weather projects before it's even officially Winter!  

After this square is finished the Spanish Quilt project will be on the back burner again as I get a few things done ahead of time for Christmas.  In past years I get the bug to do a TON of Christmas crafts sometime after Thanksgiving - and that's just not enough time to get anything done in time for the holiday.  This year, I'm all about the planning.  We'll see how it goes!

Focus

I've been reading around a few blogs that are choosing to pick a word to inspire them for 2011 rather than making a list of resolutions.  I thought this might work better for me as well.  I'm realizing that I've been a little scattered and my plan is to try and focus on one thing at a time and hopefully accomplish more.  Hence my inspirational word for 2011: Focus.  

Case in point: my craft projects.  I've got 4 or 5 going on at once:

 

The Mountmellick project I started about a year ago.  I figure that if I went all the way to Ireland to learn the technique, I should actually follow through and finish.

Technically, this is my travel project.  Something simple I can shove in my purse or Carry-On when the Hubby and I are off on another adventure.  But this has been my travel project for quite a while and I think with all the time I've spent on airplanes over the last year I should have made a little more progress.

Yeah, this is a recent project as you can see.  But this time of year I feel compelled to knit or crochet something.  This will be a scarf and it should be a quick and easy project.

I did take stock of my 2010 resolutions.  My first resolution was to finish a quilt and enter a competition.  It's possible that I bit off more than I can handle within a 12 month span.  I finished one square and just finished the second...today.  Yes, my first attempt at focus was completing embroidery on the second square for my Spanish Quilt...a year after I started the first square.  Ahem.

This is a big project and I think that in addition to focusing on one thing at a time I need to set realistic goals.  It's ok if the entire quilt takes longer to finish than I'd originally planned.  I will however focus on completing each square once I start it without distracting myself with three or four other projects at the same time.  Keep a look out for Spanish Quilt Block #3!

My other 2010 resolutions to improve my Spanish and to run more, did get some attention in 2010.  I made progress on both, although I also slacked on both at the end of the year.  I'll be continuing to focus on both of these in 2011 as well, but I'll be keeping my goals realistic: to improve, but not necessarily have to be speaking Spanish like a native or running a marathon by 2012 in order to feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Focus is difficult for me in that I have about 10 ideas running through my head at any one time for new projects.  So step one in my quest for focus is writing each of these ideas down so that I can come back to them when the crafting above is all done.  I'll keep you posted!

 

Spanish Quilt Block 2

It's taken a little longer than I expected to finish off my first Spanish quilt block and start block #2 but I've finally gotten there.  I described my over all plan for this quilt and my inspiration for block #1 here. I now present finished block #1:

 

 

 

I'm really happy with the way it turned out!  

The inspiration for quilt block #2 is a mural on a cervezaria I used to pass by every day on my way to work in Madrid.  

 

The restaurant had closed by the time I started walking past it so I'm not sure what type of restaurant it was but I think given the fishing themes in the mural it was probably some type of seafood restaurant.  My favorite part of the mural is the fishing girl panel in the middle:

I took the picture and ran it through a photo process on Sporkforge to turn it into a sketch like the last quilt block:

 

I then cleaned up the image, moved a few things like the fish basket around and expanded the clouds and scenery to make a complete background, transferred the pattern to fabric and voila - I'm good to go!

I'm excited to start on this!

An ongoing project I'm also focusing on is getting my embroidery tools organized once and for all.  My thread is a mess.  For those of you stitchers with sensitive stomachs, please do not look at the next photo.  This is how I currently store my thread:

 

 

I know.  It's criminal.  So I have started getting my act together.  Baby steps:

 

The pace of this quilt and my organization plans are a little slower than I would like, but I'm getting there.

The summer weather has turned nice again so there may be a little more delay while the Hubby and I hit the pool.  I hope everyone is having a great summer.  Soak up the season!
 
 
  
   

 
 
 

New Year Resolutions #1 - Complete a Quilt and Enter a Contest

Oh yeah peeps - I'm taking on some mad challenges this year!  Resolution #1 - Complete a new quilt.  But that's not all - I plan to enter my first quilt contest!  I don't imagine winning any prizes, but I think it will be a good motivator to complete the quilt and fun to be part of an event.  I have taken the first step of deciding what my quilt theme will be and what contest I want to enter. 

First, I want to do a quilt themed around our time in Spain.  There were a number of awesome street signs I saw around Madrid and I want to turn them into embroidery designs that will make up the bulk of the quilt.  The first street sign and design is obvious.  There is a street in Madrid just off of Puerta del Sol that has a decent Thai restaurant we used to frequent quit often.  You can see why I loved it:

That's right - it's Embroiderers Street!  Awesome.  In order to turn the pic into a pattern I used a program online that will take a photo and transfer it into a sketch.  I think there are a few different programs out there but I used Sporkforge which can change a photo to a sketch, charcoal drawing or even a cartoon.  It turned out like this:

It obviously needed some cleaning up, but it's a good jumping off point for a pattern.  After cleaning it up I used a transfer pen to trace it and ironed it on to some basic white fabric:

I've started some outlining and I plan to keep the colors true to the sign.  I'll update with additional street sign patterns as I make them and load up the pics of the completed squares as well.  I have an idea of how I'm going to finish/border the quilt as well, but I'll post that later after I've played with the idea a bit more.

As for the contest I plan to enter - it is none other than Quilt Contest at Lake Metroparks in Kirtland, Ohio.  You may remember that posted last year about our trip to the quilt contest at Lake Metroparks and how awesome it was.  The contest is at the beginning of the year - so technically I will be entering the contest in 2011, BUT that gives me the whole year to finish the quilt, so I think it's perfect.

O.k. - that's my first resolution.  I look forward to sharing my progress with you throughout the year!