An Old Needlepoint UFO and Critters

This week's been filled with happy things!  The flash flood receded and FH was finally able to get back to work.  The office building wasn't damaged at all!

It appears Pixel and Pollux might be closer to accepting Gus into their lives.

Pollux is also beginning to feel better finally.  We did have to put him back on steroids, but as soon as his IBD calms down, we're going to start weaning him off them immediately.

I did manage to find where I'd put the violet tool case this week.  It was in a seldom-used work bag.  So it's back in the queue of things to finish.  Hopefully this coming week.

I'd been wanting to do something different this week, but I also wanted to work on a UFO.  Happily my needlepoint heart sampler rolled out from the depths of the workroom.

I honestly don't remember when I started it, or even why I bought the kit.  I do remember having fun with the two green sections and being irritated when I figured out the two-tone pink section didn't look like the sample picture.  The lighter pink lines are supposed to be thicker.

Then I was frustrated by the cream sections of continental stitch until I figured out I needed to mount the canvas on stretcher bars.  Then I needed to rip out the cream wool (for the second time) and redo stitch those sections.  Then I figured out I didn't have enough cream wool left from the kit.  That's when it got shoved in a bag and forgotten.

When the heart rolled out, it was right before I was headed to a guild meeting in the next city over... the one where the needlepoint shop is located.  So I started frogging the cream wool.  When that was done, I did the solid pink section (reverse scotch stitch), just to have something else to do.

Well I got new cream wool on Wednesday and got going on the upper cream section.  The tension is still off, but that's due to a lack of experience/practice this time.  I briefly considered frogging it again, but the canvas was started to show signs of wear.  Samplers were meant to be teaching tools and proof of practice anyway, so I left it in.

The background was fun to stitch.  It's pearl cotton done in a reverse continental stitch.

I still need to get the embellishments done and fill in around the background with something.  That way plain canvas won't show along the edges when it's framed or turned into a pillow.  Unless I turn it into an ornament or something.  But then all the neat texture from the pearl cotton would be lost.

But since Wednesday I finished four sections of this canvas, so I'm pleased!

That's all this time.  Depending on how fast I get the embellishing done, I should have more than one project to show off next Sunday.  But we'll see when next week rolls around.

Busy Week

We've had some flash flooding in our neck of the woods this past week.  FH's office building is still inaccessible, but the building itself is intact.  Needless to say things have been really busy this past week.

 Between helping him make sure the business could still function (the power was out and their network was down) and taking care of Pollux, I haven't had much time for anything fun.

Pollux is starting to feel better.  He will finish the course of antibiotics on Monday.  Hopefully this means we're done with them.  The toe still looks icky though, so I'm wondering if a second course will be necessary.

Gus is settling in really well.  We've been going to the dog park every day, except when we had about 36 hours of rain in a row.  Hence the flash flooding in the area.

 I have been working on a design project for the guild.  The quilting group wants to make some blocks for an exchange, but they all need to be the same finished size.  I was elected to draw up the instructions to handout.  I was hoping to do a test run of the block yesterday, but ran out of time with everything else that was going on.  Hopefully this week.

I've also managed to misplace the violet tool case pieces.  I wanted to work on fixing the issues with it last week, but can't find it.  I guess it's time to clean the work room or something.  Perish the thought.

I'm going to leave you with a cute picture of Pixel.  She was doing her best to keep me sitting in the chair yesterday.  I think she wanted us to stay home instead of taking Gus to the park.

Sunday Puppy Sunday

More like "weekend, puppy weekend!"

FH and I took Gus to the local dog park both Saturday and Sunday.  He had an absolute blast on Saturday. We met several sweet dogs with friendly owners.

As far as projects go, I've been playing with some rough sketches for a bag  to carry essentials to the dog park.  Sunscreen, plastic bags, water, etc... I'm not quite happy with anything I've drawn up so far.  I'll probably sleep on it again and see what they look like in the morning.

I've also drawn up simple plans to make a washable cover for the old comforter that Gus uses for a bed in our room.  He ripped it on his first night here, so washing it is out unless I figure out how to repair the huge chunk of fabric he tore out of it.  I figure a box-style pillow cover made from fleece will do the trick.  Put a zipper in it and call it useful.  Nothing too fancy, just big enough for the old comforter folded into quarters (36" x 42") with a 24" sport zipper.  When the comforter finally disintegrates I can put a 2" thick chunk of foam inside it.

I've asked FH to make Gus a new collar with his name on it and some Celtic knotwork on either side of his name.  Not sure when he'll get around to it, but hopefully sooner rather than later.  Gus has been loosing weight (which is a good thing since he was way overweight!) since he was surrendered to the shelter last June.  He actually slipped his current collar of one day last week.  Happily he stayed right next to me instead of running down the street.

The cats are starting to adjust to Gus.  They aren't too happy, but things are evening out.  However, Pollux managed to rip one of his rear claws off sometime last week.  We're not sure what he got it caught on.  It's infected and nasty.  He's on antibiotics for the infection, but they're upsetting his stomach.  Hopefully we won't have to put him back on steroids to deal with the stomach problems.  His liver doesn't need the added stress.

Happily the medicine seems to be working.  The swelling is down enough for me to clean more of the gunk from around the quick easier.  I've been making him an Epsom salt soak and dunking the infected foot into it.  I'm not sure it's actually helping, but it doesn't burn or damage tissue like rubbing alcohol or peroxide would, and it helps my peace of mind.  Plus it gets him to wash the toe himself.  He's not too keen on bathing anymore these days.  That probably helped the infection take hold easier.  Ugh.  I'll let everyone know how he's doing next week.

 Here are some more pictures of Gussie having fun at the park.  He's one pooped puppy right now!  In fact, he's behind me, snoring away.  :-)

 See you next week!

Another Distracted Sunday

Another late post, but it's still Sunday here for another hour.  This week I worked on dying a piece of linen to stitch on.  However none of the pictures came out well.  It's not finished yet either.  Only the base color, a medium grey, is done.  I need to do a resist over-dye this week.

I've also been dreaming up designs for a leather collar for FH to carve.  Something with Celtic knotwork or some cool conchos.... or two leather collars.  Not sure yet.

As to why I've got collars on the brain, meet Gus!

Gus is my new ESA (emotional support animal), not to be confused with a service dog.  He's limited to places where pets are allowed, the cabin of airplanes, and (if I was renting my dwelling) he'd be permitted to live with me regardless of their pet policy.  He will be filling in the gap of time between now and when my turn on the 2+ year waiting list for a PTSD service dog comes up.  Gus just turned 10 years old, so we're hoping that with lots of good care and love he will be around until I'm paired with a more mobile K9 partner, if not longer.

FH and I specifically looked for a senior dog from our local no-kill shelter for a few reasons.  1) He's already trained on several commands and housebroken, so less stress for us.  2) Not many people adopt the older dogs, many of whom lost their previous humans due to death or moving into an assisted living home.  The lucky ones end up at the no-kill shelter, but have no idea why their set-in-stone routine has been up ended.  3) A senior dog is more settled than a younger dog would be, making it easier on the cats and us to get used to having a dog around.  4) In this case, the shelter was offering a break in the fee for people willing to adopt animals who have either been there for more than a year or who were older than seven/eight years of age.  This meant we had more money left over to get a kennel, food, toys, etc.

We met Gus Thursday night and he came home with us 30 minutes later.  I fell in love with his sweet face and gentle demeanor.  He's a big boy... a Labrador-collie-beagle mix.  I figure he has to be that big just to fit his heart.  He loves car rides, walks, and rawhide treats.  Oh and carrots.  He really likes carrots.  

The cats are adjusting to him so far, but it's not been easy.  For his part, Gus ignores them.  He'd love to cuddle with them though, if given the chance.  He was in a foster home and that family has a pet bunny.  Apparently Gus believes bunnies should be snuggled and kissed.  I can't disagree there.  Artie, on the other paw, believes that Gus is the Antichrist and should be both loathed and feared.  Pixel tends to waffle between fleeing in terror and sauntering past a snoring Gussie to get to us.  Pollux doesn't come up from the basement unless Gus is outside or we carry his up to bed.  Like I said... it will take some time.

Gus prefers to sleep at the foot of the bed, but on the floor.  That leaves the cats their usual spots with us, undisturbed.  They finally slept in our room again Saturday night. I'm taking this as a sign of future détente.

In the picture above, we're headed to the Christmas tree farm that friends own.  We spent the morning watching Gus explore new smells, meet new people, and find something absolutely foul to roll in.  Needless to say he got a bath when we got home.   

That's all for tonight.  It's been a long weekend full of walks, the dog park, and learning to live with a dog.  See you next week, hopefully with some dyed linen.

Belated Happy Easter!

Our Easter consisted of a wonderful meal with our best friend, her two kids, her boyfriend, and his two kids.  It was total sugar-induced chaos, but it was sure fun to watch!  We didn't get home until late and by then the food coma had set it pretty hard.  In fact I'd forgotten all about the blog post not being done until a few minutes ago!  Better late than never!

Before I get going on the crafting stuff, I want to say that Pollux is doing really well.  He's to the point where you'd have to know him as well as we do to know anything happened to him.  I'm not sure he'll ever be 100% again, but frankly it's been a while since he was truly 100%.  His 14th birthday was this past Friday.  For 14, with his health issues, he's really doing well and we're tickled pink about it.

Last week I had the embroidery group from our Stitchers' Guild here for a meeting.  I made those dyed deviled eggs I tried out two weeks ago and had a veggie tray to supplement lunches.  The dessert and tea treats had a more interesting fate.

Dessert was a pink lemonade cake, the recipe can be found here, and it was divine.  Mine didn't get divided into the thin layers though.  There was an incident with the cookies I was trying out, namely I burned the heck out of a spot on my left palm.  By then I was tired, hurting, and just didn't care about making the cake gorgeous.  It could deal with just being delicious.

 I forgot about getting a picture of the cake before I cut it.  The top picture is all that's left to date.  The second one really shows the pretty pinks.

After burning myself, the cookies were abandoned and FH went out and bought goodies to have with tea at the start of the meeting.  I was tired anyway from all the cleaning and rearranging the furniture to accommodate the group. 

While the ladies were here, I finished a bit of some back stitching on a cross stitch. 

This piece is just a corner of a design that I made myself.  I'll show the finished piece off once we figure out how to get it copyrighted.  Everyone in the Stitchers' Guild thinks people would like to purchase copies of the pattern, so I think I'm going to look into it.  I've already made an electronic version of the pattern via some fun software FH bought for me.  That was my other project last week.

Thursday I took a field trip with a friend to a cross stitch shop, so nothing got done but shopping and girl time.  Oh darn! ;-)  FH had Friday off, so I spent it with him instead of crafting.  Darn again!

One of the things we did Friday was taking a trip to the local no-kill animal shelter.  My doctor wants me to have a dog.  Not just any dog, but a service dog trained to help me with my illness.  Apparently those exist now, and have been helping veterans cope with their symptoms.  The problem is there is a long waiting list for the local group who trains these dogs.  Minimum two years on the wait list.

FH and I were pondering rescuing an older dog from the shelter to keep me company during the day, and encourage being active outside, for the interim while I'm on the waiting list.  Then if/when I'm approved by the program, we can decide if I'm still in need of a service dog.  I may be better enough by then to not need one.  Plus we can get an older dog out of the shelter, making room for someone else to be rescued.

Right now we have two candidates in mind.  We've met one, who was a total sweetheart and liked us too.  The other we'll meet sometime this week, depending on the fosterer's schedule.  Then we'll make a decision.

That's all for now.  I'm headed back to the laundry after I finish this slice of cake.

No Pictures Today

There are no pictures today for a very bad reason.  Pollux had a stroke on Thursday.  He's doing fine and the vet is confident that he will recover most, if not all, of his balance once the "seasickness" feeling goes away.  We've got him on pills and are watching him carefully.  FH and I are also giving him sub-q fluids here at home.  Pollux is eating well, but his drinking is so-so... hence the fluids.  He's also getting lots of love and quiet time.  He's really enjoying the "love" bit... not so much the quiet time though.

So, no time = no pictures.

I did managed to get most of my tool bag done on Tuesday at the meeting.

* The pieces are all quilted.
* The pocket section is all sewn together and I'd basted piping around the edge.
* I added hand embroidered details to two pocket edges.

Then I realized two very important things:

1) I'd rather have button loops and buttons than velcro.  This meant I needed to go home and make button loops from matching fabric before I could sew the final seams.

and

2) Somehow I'd forgotten that I'd cut the grey outer fabric wider than the pocket sections.  I did it on purpose, to give myself wiggle room in case the applique stitching pulled the fabric too much.  The happened on the table runner center block, so I decided better safe than irritated.

This means I have to remove the basted-on piping and trim the appliqued section to fit the pocket section.  The lining too, since I'd used the grey as a guide piece. 

All that is really simple to do, but for obvious reasons, I haven't taken the time to finish the complete piece.  I was still irritated with the project (and myself) on Wednesday, so I worked on a large cross stitch instead of fixing the issues.

Between today and this coming Wednesday I'll be cleaning, decorating, and baking.  The guild's embroidery group is meeting here Wednesday morning.  I'll have pictures of three new recipes and hopefully get a chance to finish up the tool bag for next the next post.  If things go right in the world, I might even have a finished cross stitch.  It is rather difficult to stitch with an extremely loving Siamese cat pulling your hands towards his head so you can scratch him in just the right places.

Oh, and before I forget, Pollux turns 14 on the 29th of this month.  It's hard to believe how time flies.

See you all next week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I made two different attempts at a classic party dish this week.  I'd never made deviled eggs before and saw a fun way to dress them up on a really cool food blog.  I think they're going to be a hit at the next guild meeting I host here.  They were good, but the whites tasted more like a pickle than an egg white.

 I also did some in a darker green, just because, for the second attempt.  This time the outside weren't overly vinegary.  I gave the whites a quick rinse after pulling them out of the dye.  This time they were perfect.

The appliqued violets are finished, waiting for Tuesday's guild meeting to be turned into a tool case.

That's all for this week.  I was busy running around for several days, hence the lack of projects.  Friday I visited a historic home in Bloomington, IL that would be a gorgeous dollhouse.  The David Davis Mansion is a stunning home that was constructed between 1870 and 1872.  Pictures were not allowed in order to better preserve the antiques.  I will have to go back with a sketch pad and colored pencils sometime.  The ceilings in the public rooms are all hand painted with different floral motifs.  The hall stand in the front hall can hold six gentlemen's hats and is graced with a bronze stag's head on top.  The hat hooks are all carved animal heads as well.

I know I'm going back between Mother's Day and Father's Day.  That's when the gardens are in full bloom. Happily they allow cameras in the garden.  All the plants are either original to the garden (and thus very old) or have been replaced using information from letters written by Sarah Davis and the help of other historic gardens.  Many of the replacement plants have come from Monticello, as did several of the original plants.

That's all for this week.  Happy crafting!

Homework

When I attended the PASG Quilters' group meeting last month, I was informed that we would be making a fun case to carry our various tools to quilt classes/workshops/retreats during the March meeting.  After examining the sample and the cutting list, I decided it was a little plain.  Yes, I could simply use some wild and happy fabrics for my case, but I don't have any that isn't earmarked for something else and I can't justify buying more for this.  So I came up with a plan.  A fun plan.

First I chose some fabrics that weren't set aside for anything in particular.  Neither of them is particularly stunning, but I liked them when I acquired them.  The bottom fabric will be the lining and one of the inner pockets.  Note: I simply adore violets.  Pansies and violas too, but violets are my favorite.

 I needed to go ahead and cut my fabric so I'd have a better idea of size and proportion for an applique.  I like the contrast between these fabrics, and the grey will make a nice neutral background for a violet or two to pop out from.

Then I did a little surfing and found lots of pictures of violets.  Lots of pictures.  (And a pansy too, because it was gorgeous.)  You see, appliques are really just pieces of fabric that fill in an outline.  All you need is a set of outlines to fill in.  If you're good at tracing around a picture, you can make an applique design.  This also means coloring books are an awesome source for making your own appliques. 

In the case of flowers, I like to find as many shapes as I can.  Different angles for petals and leaves are a must if you want it to look real.  Tracing onto a transparency sheet allows for flipping elements as needed.

The next step is fun, if somewhat fiddly.  I don't own a light box, so I got to trace my elements onto paper via a window.  I had a basic idea in my head for the picture, so it only took two tries to make it.  The dotted lines indicate where an object is behind another.  You do need to keep the size of your elements versus the size of where they're going in mind during this process.  I don't show it here, but there was a good deal of measuring going on.

Next, you trace the design again, this time onto another transparency sheet.  This is a tip I read in a quilting book over the summer.  You can check the placement of your pieces as you're working by laying this piece on top of the applique in progress.

Here's the fun part.  The final check to make sure your design fits where you want it.  Room to spare without affecting the seam allowances!

 

Now you're ready to make the individual pattern pieces for the design.  I'll be using a thin cardboard to make templates for tracing onto freezer paper.  That way I can reuse them down the line since two of my sisters also love violets.  Once my freezer paper shapes are ready, I can start in on the applique.  I need to have it finished before the next Quilters' meeting so I can sew along with the other ladies.

I have already found some fabric to use.  Of course I have plenty of purple scraps on hand.

Once the applique is done, it will be hard not to go ahead and finish my case.  I'll have to tough it out and work on the quilting on the table runner instead.  Or finish a cross stitch.  Or something.  Oh darn. ;-)

Frustrations of Designing

So an idea for a quilt popped into my head whilst I was lunching at my favorite Lebanese restaurant in town.  I've sketched out several ideas for block placement since then, the blocks stayed the same.  I just need to figure out sizes, placement, how many, etc.

The problem is I walked into the quilt shop after lunch that afternoon and saw the absolute perfect fabric for part of the blocks.  And then I saw the other perfect fabrics for the blocks.  And of course I hadn't done the math yet, mainly because I wasn't sure about the numbers of blocks I wanted.  So I left empty handed and got down to some serious thinking about the blocks.

Well I've since figured out the placement and done the math.  I've also gues-timated the amount of money I'll need to purchase my fabrics.  I have to buy it in small increments to make the money fit in with my cash allowance.  Not a huge deal, since most everyone is on a budget these days.

Here's the final layout of the quilt.  The outer border is supposed to be the same dark brown as the large triangles in the windmill blocks.  It's still blank for a reason...read on to learn why.

Apparently I forgot to turn it, but I don't think it really matters since it's not a unidirectional quilt.  The notes at the bottom of the page read:10" blocks; 85"x105".  This will be a twin size bedspread when it's finished.
 


When I went back to the  store I checked all three bolts of fabric, planning on purchasing the one that had the least left on it.  There sat my main fabric... with only two yards left on it.  I need two and a half.  Ugh.

I bought it anyway.  I figured I could check the other quilt stores and the internet to find another piece.  So far no luck.  Snow has kept me from driving the 20 miles to other shops and the internet hasn't yielded any results.  So I'm left with the choice of changing my design and using a different fabric for the outer border, or continuing the search.

The story behind the idea is rather involved, so I think I'll save it for another post.  In the meantime, I'll be looking for another yard of this fabric.  Otherwise I think I'll see what a different woodgrain pattern looks like on the outside.

Slow Week

Progress on anything this week was difficult due to various appointments/meeting Monday - Wednesday and then somehow throwing my back out on Wednesday night.  I've spent the last several days migrating slowly from bed to the couch and back to bed, accompanied by a heating pad.  Not fun at all.  And stitching whilst being horizontal is not a skill I've ever perfected... Oh well.

I did manage to get the table runner sandwiched and basted.  I pin basted first, as that was the easiest way to get it done by myself.

Then I went back and thread basted it, removing the pins once I was finished.

I also completed the cross stitching on five quilt blocks from a piece I started last week.

That's all for now.  I'm going to keep resting up and hopefully be back in the game tomorrow or the next day.

Tempie's Rose Garden Runner

I finished the top of my table runner! 

The first chunk that was finished up were the bunny blocks.  I think the embroidery really gives them life.

Then I made all my sashing pieces and put together everything but the long horizontal strips.

Next I made some special corner blocks to help make the whole thing "pop" more.

The above picture really doesn't do the pinwheel block justice, but it was the better one.  The picture quality wasn't the only frustrating thing about the pinwheels.  The first set I made ended up being too small.  The center pinwheel needed to be 2 inches square to fit the white border.  So I remade the pinwheels and they fit.

But then my long sashing pieces were too long.... which I didn't discover until after I'd attached the pinwheels.  My fault for being excited and not checking before I got carried away.  Easily fixed though.

Also the bow tie and broken dish block sections were shorter than the rest of the runner.  Apparently the cutting instructions I used failed to include seam allowances in the finished block size.  So I shortened the other sections to fit.  It's not like this is going on a bed, where size would be an issue.

The batting is already cut to size.  I don't have a picture, but I'm using white flannel.  It won't be too bulky to set things on this way.  Now I just need to decide on the backing fabric and get it pieced.  I have some fabric in my stash that I've been planning to use for this, but the manager of the quilt shop showed me some adorable fabric that has white bunnies and purple flowers on it.  I might have to change gears and use my other fabric for the binding only.

So this coming week I'll be getting that figured out and figuring out how I'm going to quilt the applique blocks.  I do know that quilting each section will be it's own project.  I'm doing this by hand and it might take a while.

I also (in theory) have to start stitching on some fine linen this week.  It's (hopefully) going in the Judged Show in May.

I'm a little disappointed with the linen itself already.  Most of the over-dye effect that I loved it for washed out.  Normally I don't launder stitching fabrics before I stitch, but something in my gut told me too this time.  I'm glad I did or else the threads could've been stained.  Whatever they used for mordant on the over-dye didn't do well on the linen.  I may have to call in help from a friend who dyes and see about re-dying the piece.

That's it for this week.  Catch everyone next time!

Table Runner Progress

I've been working on the table runner pieces all week long.  In fact, I'm cautiously optimistic about getting the quilting started sometime this coming week.

First of is the biggest challenge I had to getting any work done this week.  This is her preferred spot to sleep.

 Now for the revised runner design.  I finally figured out how I wanted the sashing to look.

 

 

And of course Artie got disgusted with me whilst I was working on the  revisions, so he pulled my coat off the chair and made a nest.

Then I made the bow tie and broken dishes blocks.  I cut more pieces than I need for the runner, but that's a different project done the line. 

 

When I started working on the bunny blocks, Pollux decided they needed to be snooper-vised.

 

 

He approves of the progress.

 

 He has been demanding more attention of late, which means I'm not surprised that I forgot to get pictures of the blocks when I finished the applique.

Next I fixed the center on the large rose.  If you recall, it was off center when I posted it's picture before.  Now it's fixed.

And the block has been embellished.

I started working the embroidered bits on the bunny blocks next, not realizing how late it was... almost midnight!  I was tired, so I parked the needle for the night.  I still need to finish the eyes, work the rest of the face, and add some fur details.  Long-time blog friends can probably guess who is sitting under the flowers.

 I'll be finishing the embroidery later today (I hope) and moving on to putting the whole top together later this week.  See you next time!

Planning and Charting

I spent most of this week playing with a book I found at our library.  It's by Lesley Wilkins and called Blackwork Made Easy: Techniques, Patterns, and Samplers.  The illustrations are gorgeous and I've always had an intellectual affair with blackwork.. meaning I've thought about doing it, kitted up a couple of charts, but never did anything with it.

Now I've made a chart, which will probably get kitted up and set aside for when I decide I've finished enough UFO's (unfinished objects) and played with a couple of things I've already been promising myself I would do.  Like the previous blackwork chart I kitted up for myself.

I fell in love with the dragon design in the book and just had to sketch him out before I returned it.  Then he looked sort of sad and lonely on the page, so I gave him a friend.  Then I doodled with some border bits that I thought were interesting.  The next thing I knew, flowers had appeared and I decided he was in a garden.  So more flowers and creatures were added to make the picture filled out.

As I was working, it occurred to me that my best friend would really enjoy this piece, so I personalized it with her surname.

All of the motifs are from the book.  I really had fun playing with it.  I doodled out a few other things, but they haven't turned into anything fun like the dragon did.  I do believe I will be purchasing a copy of the book though.  There are so many gorgeous designs inside.

I've also been playing with designs for two charts that each feature a piece of my recent poetry.  Neither of them are finished though.   I keep changing too many things.

I also found the fabrics I'm going to use for the sashing on the appliqued table runner.

The purple was so seductive... I bought a full yard even though I only needed one third of a yard.

I wanted to get more done on the runner this week, but the sun was out on more days than not, so I wanted to be upstairs where I could see it.  And the stitching designs had my attention anyway.

Thanks for checking in this week.  See you next time!