Stitching Class

So, way back in mid-October my LNS hosted an awesome specialty weekend class. They brought in the prolific blackwork designer Elizabeth Almond of Blackwork Journey to teach a 2-day class on blackwork.

While I have done a decent amount of blackwork in the past (mostly Elizabeth's design too) and currently have her Ciara Blue design on a frame, I decided it couldn't hurt to learn some tips, tricks, and pointers from one of the best.

We were given a choice of designs to work from, and I chose Floral Fantasy:

It's a neat design because it's customizable. You can choose to do all 16 squares or 9 squares or 4 squares or just 1 square. I decided to do 4 squares -- over 2 on 32 ct white evenweave. And over the course of the weekend, I got a decent amount of progress done:

I sadly haven't had the chance to pick it up again since the classes, but I do want to finish this piece. I've chosen some lovely green metallic and bronze beads to "bling it up."

An unplanned hiatus, an apology, and a Turtle Trot

I did not mean to fall off the face of the earth. I'm so sorry. I was super busy working in July and then went on vacation to the US for a week at the beginning of August. By the time I got back it was almost the beginning of the school year and I had crazy amounts of prep work to do for my classes.

I haven't touched a needle since the end of July. No cross stitch and no quilting has been done. I'm usually too tired by the end of the day to concentrate on such things. On top of that, I must admit that I am painfully addicted to knitting at the moment. On the rare occasion I have both down time and energy, I have been knitting up a storm.

I do have a progress pic that should have been up ages ago, but I just never made it to the blog on time. Near the end of July I made some great progress on Ciara Blue, and so I am posting those (late) pics now for the September Turtle Trot (hosted by BAP Attack).

I will update on the knitting front next time (and I promise that won't be 6 six weeks from now).

Not a real finish, but it feels like one

I have been kvetching about the filigree blackwork on Ciara Blue for months now. It was taking forever and driving me insane! I even had to start the next border so I could get some relief and feel like progress was happening (and I am the type that REALLY likes to do things sequentially).

But look:

Both borders are now done! Huzzah!! Done with the filigree!

So yes, it feels like a finish and I am happy dancing like crazy, but Ciara Blue still has quite a ways to go before it's a real finish.

Three sides

I've made it through three sides of the filigree on Ciara Blue (Blackwork Journey).  It is slow progress, but working on another border simultaneously makes it much more bearable.

Looking good eh? She's a beauty, that's for sure!

Turtle Trot - June

It's Turtle Trot time! Turtle Trot is a slow SAL where participants chose 10 WIPs at the beginning of the year and each month we report on the progress made that month.

As usual, my progress is not huge. Stitching has not been at the forefront of my crafty time this year.

I did make a little progress on Welcome Sampler by Kincavel Krosses.

I realized I don't have enough of the silk I was using (Pizzazz by Carrie's Creations), so I thought I could add in some black and maybe remove a few elements from the design. However, I stopped pretty quickly as it is not working out like I had hoped. Not sure what to do with this piece right now.

I also spent a little more time with Ciara Blue from Blackwork Journey.

Slow progress, but very pretty!!

I keep hoping I'll find more time to stitch, but really it isn't about finding time. I can always find time to craft. My problem this year has been motivating myself to stitch.

Finally Some Stitchin'

I've been working on Ciara Blue--my blackwork project--lately. I was getting frustrated with it before because the filigree border I'm working on now is complicated, tedious, mind-numbing, and never-ending. No matter how many hours in an evening I put into it, it feels like I've gotten nowhere. As a result, I stopped working on it as often.

I needed a new way to get excited about it. (Don't get me wrong, I adore this piece. It's beautiful. But stitching it is not all fun right now.) I finally decided to do something drastic! I started on the next border. I know!! Crazy, eh? It feels weird to go out of order, to start one when the previous border isn't complete, but it's the only thing making this bearable at the moment. Two lengths of pretty aqua thread for every one length of black. The new border I started on is kind of slow going as well, but it's a simple, straightforward border that does show progress after an evening's work. Plus I get to work with the pretty coloured silk--that always makes things better.

Even the filigree border is making a tiny bit of progress. I'll be thrilled when that border is done. I have a feeling I'll have to have multiple borders going for the rest of this project. There are other areas of tedium ahead.

At least it's pretty!

Turtle Trot - April

The only blog community SAL type thing I joined this year was the Turtle Trot. I figured it would be easy for me to pick 10 projects and make great progress (and even some finishes) this year.

Well, 1/3 of the way through the year and my progress is less like a turtle and more like a sloth. I'm not getting anywhere with my stitching. Mojo is gone.

A dear friend of mine challenged me to put some stitches into Ciara Blue (my blackwork project) the other day. I did so … two hours of stitching and two more filigree motifs were completed.

I didn't love it like I used to love it. Stitching used to soothe my soul. Right now it doesn't and that makes me very sad. I don't know how to get my mojo back.

Turtle Trot - March

I'm a day late and don't have a whole lot to show. :( When I started thinking about this post the other day I realized how little stitching I've done in the past month. Almost nothing. I need to do something about that.

I did manage a tiny bit of progress on two pieces.

Damask Square:

Ciara Blue:

I wouldn't mind working on some other pieces, but my Millenium frames are full and I have projects on them that I don't really want to switch on and off (like Ciara Blue - she's on my extra long side bars). I ordered 2 more frames in January and am waiting impatiently for them to arrive. One frame will be dedicated to the Chatelaine I want to start and the other will be intended for switching between projects.

Filigree Progress

I have not done much cross stitching lately … my bug has gone on a bit of a hiatus. Last night I pulled out my blackwork project. I find blackwork funny -- sometimes the progress is at breakneck speed and sometimes it is slower than a snail. The part I'm working on now is moving like a snail. :)

The filigree is very pretty but it takes forever to stitch. I don't seem to have a lot of patience with this bit, so I only do a little at a time before I put the piece away again. I'm trying to think of ways to make this part less painful ...

Just a little bit

I had the urge to do some blackwork over the weekend.

It doesn't look like much got done, but that is some fiddly blackwork! It takes longer to do than you'd think.

Looking pretty though, I must say. :)

Lots o' Boxes

Over the past few days I have been working hard on my schoolwork and rewarding myself with stitchy sessions. 

1 hour of schoolwork = 1 box

See ... lots of work got done. :) And I stitched a lot of boxes!

I think Ciara Blue needs a break; too much blackwork makes me crazy.

Turtle Trot SAL - January

Last year I didn't participate in any SALs (I think the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge, the WIPocalypse SAL, and the TUSAL in 2012 burnt me out a little). This year I decided to ease myself back into the swing of things by participating in the Turtle Trot SAL hosted by BAP Attack.

I've chosen 10 projects, both older UFOs and newer WIPs, that I would like to make slow and steady progress on this year. These pics are the most up-to-date available for each project.

1. Baked Alaska (Glendon Place)

2. Catch a Falling Star (HAED)

3. Ciara Blue (Blackwork Journey)

4. Damask Square (Ink Circles)

Side note: Damask Square was my New Year's Day start for 2014. This is the first progress pic of it. It's stitched over 1 on 28 ct black lugana using white HDF silk.

5. Drama Queen (custom chart by Skitzzzzz)

6. Elizabeth (Mirabilia)

7. Home Sweet Home (HAED)

8. Lickle Bit Shy (DMC)

9. Welcome (Kincavel Krosses)

10. Wise Wisdom (Stoney Creek)

Not a good start to the year

… in terms of blogging, that is. Despite my good intentions, I somehow didn't find time to blog until a week into 2014! My apologies!

Better late than never though, right? And I do have pics for you this time. While I might have been remiss in my blogging duties, I have still been stitching whenever I can find a spare minute (usually between the hours of 10:00pm and 1:00am).

First up -- more pretty pink skirt for Elizabeth!

I still have a lot of pink skirt left, plus the double ruffle on the bottom, her chair, her arms, neck, and face, her hair, and a ton of beads. She's lovely but a much bigger endeavour than I had originally thought.

I also put a smidge more time into Blue Ciara by Blackwork Journey.

I have a ton of WIPs that I want to work on (and a new start or three), but I think for the time being I'm going to stick to these two as my main big projects, plus I have two littler ones that travel more easily. (One is a new start that I'll have pics of soon.)

Side note: I noticed during my final post of 2013 that 9 of the 13 stitchy finishes (and both of the crochet finishes) I had last year were gifts. I think this year I need to concentrate more on stitching for me.

Double Update

There is something about seeing substantial progress that is both deeply satisfying and highly motivating. :)

Christmas Day was a very chill day for me, most of which was spent working on Ciara Blue by Blackwork Journey.

This piece is often mind-numbingly repetitive and boring, but it is also stunningly beautiful. Even though there is still a long way to go, I am excited about the finish.

My desire to work on the blackwork was inspired a little by doing the backstitching on the first owl in Wise Wisdom by Stoney Creek. As you can see … backstitching makes such a difference!

Working on some of my WIPs (like Ciara Blue) that I haven't touched in months certainly rejuvenates my stitchy bug.

Neglected Blackwork

I don't think I've touched my blackwork project, Ciara Blue by Blackwork Journey, all summer. It feels like it's been forever! I finally picked it up tonight and gave it a little love.

It is definitely a delicate, beautiful piece. I totally love it.

I do find blackwork difficult to concentrate on for long periods of time. It is best done in short spurts. :)

July IHSW (late as usual)

I did manage to stitch this past weekend despite having a raging migraine for a of couple days.

Progress on Ciara Blue is slow, but my oh my, she is pretty!

I did some stitching on Elizabeth as well, but I haven't taken any pics yet. Soon -- I promise!

Blackwork is growing

Not a lot of time to work on this piece, but the progress sure is pretty!

So delicate!

Progress on several fronts

My apologies for not blogging in a while -- I'm still stitching but I've been out of town a bunch and that usually means blogging takes a back seat.

Over the past month or so I have picked up and put down Elizabeth by Mirabilia several times. Most recently I finally moved her from a q-snap to a Millenium frame. It makes working on her much nicer and I get a truer sense of how big she'll eventually be. She's still just a big blob, but at least now she's got some colour in her!

I also put a little more time into my blackwork project Ciara Blue by Blackwork Journey. I love this piece, but it's very fiddly. A few hours at a time is all I can manage on this one.

I've also been working on my Frozen Flower hardanger project (no pic of this one, sorry). All of the woven bars are done and I'm now working on the double wrapped bars and the filling stitches. To say I loathe this project is an understatement. I detest it! Ugh. But it's for a friend and it will be lovely once it's done. Bleh.

Long time no start

This past weekend was International Hermit & Stitch Weekend (IHSW) and I didn't have the time or energy to work on any of my current projects. As I was tidying up Sunday night (and bemoaning the fact I had no progress to show for IHSW), I accidently on purpose prepped the fabric for something new.

It's been a while since I've had a new start on a project that isn't a gift. I've been wanting to start Ciara Blue by Blackwork Journey since last December, but just haven't been able to find the time (or make decisions about fabric and floss).

I finally decided to stitch it on 32 ct white lugana using HDF silk in black and Carrie's Creations silk in Marina.

I must admit I am loving it! The colours are very me and I love the rich boldness of the turquoise. It's a pretty fiddly chart, but only an hour or two in and it is stunning!

Mandala - May Update

Tomorrow is the final group gathering for both the Thread & Eye Mandala and the Blackwork SAL groups. Those who can from both groups will gather to ooh and ahh over the work that's been done thus far.

My blackwork piece was finished a few months ago and will be proudly displayed, but my mandala has taken a backseat more often than I wanted and isn't anywhere near done yet.

Over the past week as I traipsed all over the province for a conference, I did get a little bit nearer to being finished.

Just the corners left to stitch. I'm hoping the balance of colours evens out a little. I feel like it's a little blue/green heavy right now.

This piece will be headed out East with me later this month as I attend yet another conference for school, and I hope to finish it on that trip.