Rainy days and other things

Wow! Can you believe Memorial day is here?  Where does the time go? So often I ask this question yet I still wonder, then I take the time to look around me and see what has been accomplished in those days.
Some of the time I'm tending the plants in my garden or pulling weeds and clearing debris, watering and repotting, it all takes time and as I grow older and move a little slower the time doesn't stop and wait for me to catch up, it keeps moving.

On Friday all my potted plants had to be  moved to make room for supplies and equipment that will be used to stucco my house.

Then mid way through the weekend the rains came from sub-tropical storm Alberto visiting us this weekend.  That can't be good for the grass. Sigh!  The groaning of the cement mixer all day Saturday made the day seem extra long, why wasn't the time flying by then.  The headache I woke with in the morning stayed with me most of the day.  The sun stuck around most of the day as well and by 8:30 Saturday evening the workmen left for the day. 

Sunday morning started off with some rain and clouds then gave way to sunshine and the return of the workman.  The cement mixer didn't drone on all day but the work did and right outside the window where I was stitching away.

And stitching I did until the Aine piece was completely stitched

The next time I work a Sashiko piece I will be sure to use sashiko thread, while the perle cotton that came with the kit did the job I found some of the stitches look thicker in places which could be because of the twist. 

I do like the finished piece and plan to finish it as a pillow.  I learned a few things along the way, the first is not every thing I stitched needs a backing fabric so I should make a few test stitches first.  The fabric had felt thin to me so I backed it with a thin cotton chambray which made stitching at times difficult when pulling the needle through when my stitching progressed.

I love the Celtic knot design which is probably why I continued to stitch it long after I should have tossed it onto the discard pile.
My next in between project will be this pillowcase sundress kit I picked up a few weeks ago.  I thought it would cute for Tessa.

Pillowcase dress 

There were two different motifs to choose from the floral one here and one with kittens.  I like to having a piece or two to stitch between larger projects or when I have no idea what I want to do next. Pre-stamped kits come in handy for that purpose too. 

Everything is included in the kit for the embroidery: floss, stamped fabric and needles, a clearance sale bargain for $1.75. 
I will link up to Kathy's Quilts here:https://kathysquilts.blogspot.ca/2018/05/slow-sunday-stitching_27.html
I need to put the final touches on my design for the next stitch at home challenge click the link for more info  http://www.sfneedleworkanddesign.org/rules-and-entry-form/

New Moon again and time for the Totally Useless Stitch A Long

Well yesterday was the New Moon so I am a day late but I can still post my orts for the TUSAL aka:Totally Useless Stitch A Long over at Its daffy cats blog:   https://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/2018/05/totally-useless-update-wait.html

My photo looks a bit washed out must be either the lighting or photographer error.  The orts were from the Greenman and the Antlered Goddess pieces I recently finished hand embroidering.

Green Man pattern Urban Threads

Entering the Forest on Beltane Eve my design

The few white threads are from the Sashiko style piece I have been slowly working on the kit is from Scarlett Rose Celtic and is called Aine.

On Monday the package of Kreinik threads came in the mail, these are for the newest stitch at home challenge which you are required to use in you piece and are supplied by SFSNAD.

Lots of lovely colors in this bag o' bits which now has me rethinking my entire idea for the challenge. I guess its a good thing I sketched several different ideas, however, now I'm thinking of creating a design around the colors of threads I'd use. Here is a link for the challenge:
 http://www.sfneedleworkanddesign.org/rules-and-entry-form/

Greenman Stitched

I finished the hand embroidery on the newest Greenman piece a few days ago, the pattern is by Urban Threads.

I am pleased how he turned out.  He is worked on cotton muslin fabric using 3 strands of DMC floss, the main color is 890, the secondary colors are 987 and 986, his eyes were done using DMC variegated floss 111, I was going for amber eyes and I think I got it right.  He measures 8x8 inches now I need to find a frame for him.

Thursday I drove over to Brick City Cross Stitch for some new colors for an upcoming project.  I don't need more floss but for some reason I found myself wanting to used over dyed floss so off I went. I picked up some Weeks Dye Works and The Gentle Arts floss.

It's the 7 colors of green in the center, all of them named after herbs which I plan to use for for one or two projects.  I am drafting my pattern for the next stitch at home challenge which I posted on my blog on May 1st.  The other pattern I have completed and now I'm just deciding on my fabric choice. Both are going to be using green floss.  Those two floss colors to the left are just colors that appealed to me, absinthe is the bright green and amber is next to it, both are Weeks Dye Works so I will do a run/bleed test before I stitch with them, some over dyed flosses have been known to run when wet.  The 3 colors to the right are DMC variegated skeins to replace what I used up. 

A New Challenge offered by the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design

The newest stitch at home challenge has been announced by the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design. I just signed up, this will be my 4^th challenge, my profile photo was my self portrait entry  I really enjoy these challenges. 

Here is the link if you would like to see what the challenge is all about.  

The entry deadline is August 15,2018

http://www.sfneedleworkanddesign.org/rules-and-entry-form/

Happy May Day