WIP, November

Dec3

Not a lot of stitching accomplished this month, but a number of projects have been squared away. Time to look at the WIPocalypse list and see where I will be at the end of this year:

Walker bench seat (rug hooking): moving along, this will carry into next year.
Lurcher (needlepoint): complete, finished, boxed and ready to ship as a birthday gift, see photo.
Fantasy Landscape (xs): this will go into heavy rotation!
Italian Bird tile (xs): can’t wait to pick it up from the framer’s, it will be opened Christmas morning.
Grateful Heart Band Sampler (xs): back into rotation, truth is I haven’t pulled a stitch on it all year.
Celtic Bird (xs): A possible contender for a finish by year end!
Rows of Birds (french knot): hmm, this is just the kind of easy project I should be working on right now…

Lurcher, completed:

Reindeer rug, ready to report for duty:

WIP finish and Completes, November

Nov7

Woohoo, the Italian Bird Tile is done! In time for Christmas, which comes in handy because it will be a gift.

And in the Complete category, first is the hooked door stop:

And finally, the wombat has been turned into an ornament. He was stitched on bookmark linen, so I left the frilly little edges visible. He now graces the knob on my craft-room curio cabinet. Hmm, maybe it’s time to start another over-one…

WIPocalypse, October

Nov1

Happy Halloween everyone!

I missed September’s check in, unfortunately, but at least I have some progress to report:

Lurcher is done!

Italian Bird Tile is oh so close:

And the heart bench seat is trucking along:

Thanks for viewing!

WIPocalypse, August

Aug31

Time to start thinking about fall! I’ve had enough of 100 degree days, August was full of them and it sapped my stitching mojo. I’ve made progress on a few projects, though.

Italian Bird Tile

Lurcher needlepoint

Rug hooked bench seat cover

Thanks for viewing!

WIPocalypse, July

Jul4

I didn’t post in June, but have been working away on my WIPs (even as I’ve been working on plenty of other projects as my recent posts explain).

Some progress on the Italian Bird Tile:

And on the Lurcher:

And a start on the french knot rug:

Completes

Jun28

I’ve added another list to my sidebar under the WIPocalypse list. This one is called “To Complete”. In the lifecycle of needlework and rug hooking projects, once you are done with the stitching or hooking, the project is “finished”. Woohoo! You get to show it off and do a happy dance.

But then what? When does the finished work turn into a rug, pillow, framed art, eyeglass case, or whatever its final form is? How do I decide what it will be (truth be told, I actually don’t need any more needlepoint pillows). This is the sticking point for me on many, many projects. I am not alone in being a stitcher/hooker who loves the journey and is less interested in the final piece.

But to honor the work I’ve done and the time I put in, these projects need to be completed and turned into…something. Here are photos of my projects in the To Complete list:

Reindeer rug – just needs to be bound, then it will be on the floor at Christmas time (with Clark on top if it, apparently).

Two Elephants needlepoint – most obvious way to complete it would be a pillow, but I keep hoping for inspiration to strike.

Heart Doorstop – wrap it around a brick, it’s a doorstop. Easy and useful.

Jan’s quilt – Steve’s aunt Jan gave me unfinished quilt squares that had been in her family. I’m finishing the blocks and will turn it into a lap quilt.

Castell Coch Monkey petit point – I’d love to do something interesting with this! I finished it a number of years ago and am still deciding what it could be.

40’s lady needlepoint – she is my oldest finish. I love her look, what should she be…?

Wombat over-one cross-stitch – he could be a bookmark, I suppose, or a little ornament.

Hare over-one cross-stitch – he will become a scissor fob.

Mondrian needlepoint – this was a really fun cyber class from Napa Needlepoint. It is supposed to be an iPhone case, but I already have a case I like. This one is a mystery about how to complete it.

And this is an actual complete! The bird needlepoint eyeglass case. Since it was a stich-n-zip kit, I could hardly not complete it. I lined the inside with some ultra suede.

Cambria 2012

Jun25

After missing Cambria last year, it was a welcome breath of fresh air (literally) to go back this year. I wasn’t in top rug hooking form – it isn’t calling to me as much as it has in the past. But the week was so delightful that it helped bring some of my mojo back.

I started every morning with a walk around Cambria Pines Lodge. I always ran into interesting wildlife – quail and deer, mostly – and made it down the hundreds of steps to town (and back up again). Then I found a cheater way back up to the lodge – still steep, but no stairs – and was welcomed by this sweet family:

Momma and her twin fawns. Momma was on alert, but then hung around long enough for me to fumble out my iPhone and snap a couple of photos before they cavorted off.

Cambria Pines Lodge is a beautiful oasis, with their own gardens, including a vegetable garden (walled against the deer but visitors are welcome to walk through a gate to visit it). They use the produce from this garden in their restaurant, and oh boy do they feed us well!

So what was I working on? A project I inherited from my former rug hooking teacher. She had already done the face and big leaf, and I was having trouble getting the feel of the shading. Wound up being the perfect project to bring and have Elizabeth Black help me with. I got the front plant and rabbit’s body (mostly) done:

So now I need to decide if I keep working on this, or go back to my WIPocalypse rug hooking project…decisions, decisions!

WIPocalypse, May

May5

I got a lot done in April, although not all of it on my WIPs (see A Start and a Finish). I switched gears to work on the Italian Bird Tile and got a decent amount done. Top pic is from January, bottom pic is current.

A Start and a Finish

May5

I’ve been concentrating on my WIP projects, but once in awhile something new slips in. I found a cute needlepoint “stitch & zip” glasses case that I couldn’t resist. My current clamshell style sunglasses case is comically huge – I can’t even use some of my favorite handbags because it takes up too much space, fer cryin’ out loud. I enjoy working on this kit, although I’m disappointed that it came with 6-strand embroidery floss – not the greatest coverage. On the plus side, I was able to swap out the very bright red and white for more subtle versions I already had in my floss stash:

I also finished a project I started years ago in a class at Elegant Stitch. I simplified the project (it had a lot of different pieces & parts) into an elongated box top. The hardest part was finding appropriate material to put around the sides of the box. I tried different fabric and ribbon, but they all clashed with the top. Finally I found scrapbooking paper that was just right. I had fun putting together the inside of this box as well – my finishing skills need improving, but it’s not a bad first effort:

WIPocalypse, April

Apr7

I almost didn’t post this month, with not a lot of progress to show. But the WIPocalypse has been so inspirational I decided to go ahead and share.

Biggest finish for April – the reindeer rug. It still needs to be bound, but it has already been claimed by Clark. I like his enthusiastic appreciation!