This Week's SBQ

This is my first time to post a response to an SBQ. Here we go...

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Carolyn and is:

How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them, scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you would like to share?

So far I have just been taking pictures of my recent finishes and posting them here on my blog to share. I would like to someday have an online photo gallery with photos of all my past finishes, but for the time being the blog keeps me happy. In the real world, I have several of my finished pieces displayed around the house. Some are framed but I also have a few pillows and hanging doodads here and there. I wish I was better at actually finishing my finished pieces so I could display more. :-)

It's Raining Cats and Dogs!

Literally! We've had quite a dry spell here in North Texas this summer, but today it is finally raining! We all stood outside and watched it pouring down. Then it got boring so we went back in. :-)

Anyway, this is one of those fun SamSarah designs using some wonderful Watercolours. I can't tell you how much I love overdyed fibers! I've had this puppy (haha!) nearly finished for ages, but I wasn't satisfied with the way the cloud turned out. So last night I endured a frogging session and today while it was raining I restitched it. It looks 100% better this time! The only thing missing now are the buttons, which I'm absolutely positive I bought... I think...

Mississippi Memories

I've been working on this old relic while trying to decide what to start next. What I need to be doing is going through my stash and deciding what stays and what goes. If I'm not in the right frame of mind when I do it, then I'll end up keeping way too much. Sigh.

In other news, DS1 is home on leave. The noise level in the house has quadrupled. I imagine the grocery bill is next.

The Little Fir Tree

One of the fun things we did waaaaay back when I was a CompuServe stitching "CISter" was designate the 25th of every month as a day for holiday stitching. Today being the 25th, I decided to resurrect that old tradition and work on something Christmas-y. This is yet another Secret Needle Night kit (one of these days I might actually run out of them!) called The Little Fir Tree. I'm at a good stopping point on it so... until next month, little tree! :-)

All Done!

I'm really pleased with the way this came out. Okay, I'm not 100% happy with where I put the buttons, but I can still play around with them. I'm going to have to schedule a finishing day soon, now that I'm an expert triangle stand-up thingie maker! :-)

I finally got started on adding the beads to this one. I was hoping to finish it tonight but my daughter brought home Fargo, which is one of my favorite movies, so the beads will have to wait! I did get the sun completed and I must say it looks fabulous!

I needed a project today, so I decided to make a test of one of those triangle stand-up thingies before I make one for real. My "guinea pig" was something I stitched a million years ago when I first started cross stitching. It's really not my taste anymore, and not something I would care about if I totally screwed it up. The whole thing probably took me two hours to put together, which I think is a bit long but there was a lot of sewing involved and I'm not as adept with a sharp needle as I am with the tapestry kind. I had to pull it out of my thumb on several occasions. Ouch! I made a few mistakes but overall I think my trial was a success. Most of my goofs could be concealed by some trim if I wanted to go that far and add it. I learned a few things, and I'll definitely feel more confident when I make the next one.

Summer Suits Me

Almost done with this one. I love the way the sun turned out, all shiny! I still need to add the beads and buttons but I'm not in the mood for a tiny needle.

Another Finish!

Happy Everything!! Isn't it cute?!?! Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with this one!

Two New Projects

Between work and other things this weekend, I didn't have much time for stitching, but I did manage to start two new projects. Go figure! First we have Summer Suits Me, the new Secret Needle Night kit. It's done in Fyrewerks metallics on a sparkly tula, plus there's beads and buttons galore.

The other project I started is a little tuck pillow kit from Pine Mountain called Happy Everything. I love stitching these because they're so quick and easy, and when you're done you just stick it in the pillow and VOILA!

Short, Stout, and Finished!

I had myself a stitching holiday today and now I'm all done with the teapot! I forgot to iron it before I attached the buttons, so I'll be re-doing those. No finishing kit yet, but my son is camping the mailbox for me.

What did arrive today is the new Secret Needle Night kit for August. It looks like it should stitch up really quick. I love the little fish buttons! Looks like this one is going in the To Do pile. :-)

MMMMMMM...

Monkey bread! We only had one can of biscuits so it's a little on the small side, but it was still plenty. And very yummy with my coffee this morning. We used cinnamon biscuits so it was extra tasty. :-)

No work today! Yay!

Woohoo! Got the handle finished last night! It looks nice and rope-y. After the spout is done there won't be much left! I'm excited to have this one almost finished!! I'm already thinking about what project to tackle next. :-)

The Daily Update

Still plugging away on the lighthouse teapot. I'd like to get the handle done today and maybe start on the spout. That way it will start to look more like a teapot. :-)

I ordered the finishing kit for it yesterday. It'll be one of those triangle stand-up thingies. I've never made one before so it will be a learning experience, I'm sure.

My First Project

The cross stitch bug first bit me back in 1985 when I saw a co-worker stitching during her lunch break. She took me to the nearest Michael's and showed me where the floss and fabrics were, and let me borrow a book of charts. I was pregnant with my first son at the time, so I decided I'd stitch something for him. I taught myself to stitch between all the feedings and changings and baths and 2am baby bouncing marathons. It's a wonder this one was ever finished! :-)




Today my son is a soldier in the US Army. He's currently at Ft. Lee in Virginia for his AIT, and will be heading to Ft. Bliss in El Paso next.

Lighthouse Teapot Part 3

I wasn't able to get much done yesterday, despite having the day off. Too many distractions, plus I really wasn't in the mood for stitching. We'll see what I can get done after work tonight.

It's hard to believe it's August already. It'll be time to pull out all my fall projects soon. :-)