Some Piskies are Having a Giveaway!

Debie of Piskies and Poppets is celebrating her 200th follower by having a giveaway on her blog. If you haven't made her acquaintance yet, you really ought to. Her dolls are wonderful and so is she.

Wednesday's Progress

Back In the Saddle, So to Speak...

I pulled (frogged) the offending white tones and have replaced them with the DMC 5200 bright white. I'm much happier with the effect.
I need to finish filling in the center of the flowerpot with white and four spaces with a pale gray. That's 1) kind of boring and 2) something I can do without needing the chart, so I've moved onto the flowers for the moment. This also has the benefit of being more interesting color-wise.

Needlepoint Workshop

This is the progress from the today's needlepoint workshop. This is the instructor's original design called "Dove In the Window." As you can see we jumped around quite a bit so we'd get a chance to try each stitch while the instructor, Susan Hoekstra, was present.

It was a lot of fun, but I'm currently cross-eyed and brain-dead so I think I will go veg somewhere for a while.

Irritating Respite

FH suggested I pick up a small UFO (unfinished object) and use it as a distraction from the frustration of frogging the white in the Flowerpot Kitty. The project in question was started when I was in junior high school (18+ years ago) and was never finished for one reason or another.

Here's the original amount of progress.
And here is what I've managed to get done, as I work around the numerous mistakes that my pre-teen self made in this piece.I have stopped counting every mistake I find because it's just too irritating. Instead I'm pretty much doodling with thread right now in the attempt to create the lattice around the flowers. The other vexing issue with this piece is the remainder of the lighter green has gone walkabout. I need it for some back stitching of flowers, but I will make something work. I could have used it to repair the biggest mistake...

The original kit shows the blue butterflies studded with yellow French knots which I believe I shall replace with straight stitches which I think will look less clunky.

This week will be quite busy. Monday I am on the quest for supplies for a needlepoint class. Tuesday members of the stitching guild and I have the pleasure of meeting the instructor for a demonstration of rag rug techniques, lunch, and shopping. Then on Wednesday we have the actual class. I should have pictures Wednesday.

Flowers and Frogging

As to the "frogging" bit, I'm pulling out every stitch of white thread from the flowerpot portion of the current cross stitch. It's nearly impossible to see in a picture, but somehow the kit included two tones of white floss. I went out and purchased a skein of white floss and it's ye a different tone. How in the world that happened I don't know... But I figure if I pull the whites out of the flowerpot and replace it with white from the purchased skein it will look a lot better in person. The white on the kitten can just be a bit different from the white on the flowerpot.

Back to Stitching

Requiscat in Pace Meat Loaf Augustus

Meat Loaf Augustus Claudius Drusus Gremanicus Octavius Britanian I

March 30, 1994-
July 14, 2010

A ridiculously long name for a cat with ridiculous amounts of both hair and personality. He was supposed to be my kitten, but he had other ideas and decided my mother was "his" person. Quite a blow to my 14-year old self, but by then I knew cats were cats and therefore disposed to make up their own minds.

He and Confetti were the best of friends and it seems fitting to picture them together now.

More of the Same Stitching

I finally have to turn the camera to get the whole picture! :-)

Monday's Work

I plan on stitching more later today, but currently I'm trying to get some more housework done. I think the antibiotics are making more unusually tired. It's a possible side effect according to the print out from the pharmacy and I'm doing my best to try and overcome it. I haven't made a pot of tea yet, but I may if my brain doesn't snap back to normal soon.

More Progress

Weekend Adventures

Saturday FH and I went to a surprise party for a friend and then saw "Despicable Me". Afterward we stayed up for hours watching things on PBS; he read and I stitched. This is as far as I got.
We went to bed around 3 in the morning and then around five Castor decided to try and walk across my face.
FH took me to the hospital since it was the only place open where we could get antibiotics for me. Cat feet are not clean things.... The nurse in the ER called animal control on Castor which has really irritated me as this was not an attack of any kind. This was an old cat trying to walk somewhere and slipping.

Now I have to deal with some moron at animal control in the morning and explain the difference between a bite and a scratch.

Flowerpot Kitty WIP Progress

It look staying up until 3am, but I did get the kitten's face finished last night. Now I'm in position to start the purple bow for contrast while I muddle through the grays of the actual flowerpot.
Time to go run errands, hang with FH, and stitch!

Flowerpot Kitty WIP

I've started the cross stitch for Confetti's other vet. It's called "Flowerpot Kitty." This is what it will look like when I'm finished:
I started stitching this afternoon and am stopping for the night at this point:
Tomorrow's goal is to get most, if not all, of the face done and move on to the flowerpot.

Achoo!

Now I just need to block and frame this one. I found a frame (on sale) the other day, but didn't buy it. I need to have a custom mat made and I figured on getting them at the same time.

Belated Welcomes

I just wanted to pop in and give a welcome to some new followers who joined the party while Confetti was ill. I hope you enjoy things here once regular posts keep coming and I will try and get to your blogs to visit as soon as I have the chance. :-)

Spots!

Today (yesterday/Tuesday) was filled with laundry and running around, but I did get to stitch all evening and into the wee hours of the morning once FH went to sleep.

I've got about nine more spots to make and those three hollow ones need filling. I've started a bit of the backstitching and will hopefully finish at least the spots tomorrow (today/Wednesday) after I get some sleep... And finish the laundry. ;-)

I Got Distracted...

... by a few Agatha Christie novels. So this is the progress so far.
I still need to fill in one leg with white, finish the half cross stitching, and do the back stitching. As you can see I started the half crosses to break the monotony of the white full crosses.

Independence Day 2010

I hope my fellow Americans have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Achoo Progress

As of this moment, this is my progress with Achoo.
Still more areas of white to fill in and the toes need defining. Then I can move on to the half cross stitches.

Stitching Catharsis

Since the 19th of June I've been steadily working on this piece as a gift for one of Confetti's two vets.
She's a bit more complete at the moment, but I haven't taken a newer picture yet. The name of the piece is "Achoo" and will look like this when I'm finished:
I think I may have to stitch the title onto the top right corner somewhere to make sure the joke is conveyed properly.

Currently the beginnings of her tail and the partial back foot are in progress, the two unfinished legs and her belly are more filled in, and I could jump into the half cross stitches that make up the spots at any time.

I have a different kit for the other vet and I will post about that one once I get started. I'm hoping to have this one completed by the end of the holiday weekend... which luckily includes Monday since FH actually has a day off. ;-)

Happy Canada Day!