May New Moon Tusal Report

Time flies by so quickly, it seems like only yesterday I was posting the April Orts report and here I am posting May's Ort report.

May orts

I have to say taking part in the Totally Useless Stitch Along aka TUSAL has motivated me to stitch a variety or projects and it has fed my thread obsession, just a bit.

Here is what I have been working on since my last Ort Report,

greenman #2

The Greenman #2 hand embroidery piece is stitched and I have one more corner Celtic knot to finish.

I have to say stitching this piece has been a labor of love and the photo does not capture how truly beautiful it is.
Just off my crochet hook is a second amulet bag this one in green. I used the same pattern as the blue

one I made, same weight crochet thread and same steel hook size 6 yet there is a slight difference in

the size which I attribute to the stitches on the blue being loose which often happens when I work a pattern for the first time, more so when I use such a tiny hook and thread, stitching the green bag I was much more comfortable with the hook and thread.

One thing I should have done was crochet the second bag in any color but green, after weeks of stitching the greenman I wanted a break from the color green, which I will get when I begin some of the new pattens I bought.

A few new patterns arrived in the mail last week which I should be posting ort reports on in the next few months, two are from one of my favorite design studios, Crab-apple Hill.

poppy project bag

sunflower stitchery folder

And two patterns from Bird Brain Designs, I made sure to purchase the floss kits and perle cotton balls along with the patterns to save time hunting down the colors I need.

 My growing obsession for Crab-apple Hill patterns began with Hocuspocusville which I plan to have on my light box this week. I would love to make 2 of each block, one in all black as shown on the

pattern, and one in bright colors, this will depend on the time it takes to trace each pattern so I may only do one set for now, when I purchased the pattern a few years ago I also bought the fabric and the floss so I am all set to stitch once I get the patterns traced onto the fabric.  I plan to trace all the patterns first then start stitching, and I'm planning a Greenman #3.

If everything goes as schedule this week on Thursday I will attend another hand embroidry class which will focus on fill-in stitches. I may use one of the motifs from this pattern set.

Well that's my TUSAL report for May, not sure what an ort report is all about click on the link to Daffy Cat's blog and read all about it.
http://itsdaffycat.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-totally-useless-stitch-long-2015.html

Some new threads, a little floss and Aunt Martha's

Today I decided to take advantage of the Joann's sale on thread which is 50% off. I am building my sewing thread supply, I have spools of thread over 30 years old and some of them have faded and some tend to break while sewing with them so here and there I have been picking up several spools when its on sale.

The top 4 spools are Coats hand quilting and piecing thread and the bottom 6 spools are Gutterman's silk thread, I love hand sewing with silk thread.

I also picked up these cute little Wutton buttons to use to embellish one of the embroidery pieces I

have plans to make using one of the pages from the Day of the Dead coloring book I picked up a few months ago.

I also picked up some Perle cotton for an upcoming Greenman hand embroidery piece I have in the planning stages, these were not on sale.

I also picked up a package of DMC Amazon Collection color variations had a 50% off coupon to use.

I love the colors in this set and have a few ideas tossing around my skull for using them.  To my surprise while browsing the embroidery aisle I was looking at the Aunt Martha's embroidery transfers and came across this beauty.

close up

I just love trees and leaves, there were several other new Aunt Martha's transfers including a few Prim style motifs, I have used the Aunt Martha's transfers for over 40 years in fact I have several old packets still unused in my craft bins. I love seeing how this brand has evolved over the decades.

Progress on Greenman #2 is going slowly but I am progressing, I had a pesky headache for a few days so I need to see the eye doctor I believe its time for new spectacles.

No he isn't wearing glasses I was just following the stitch line and decided to stop before I completed all the leafy veins. I was having trouble seeing my stitches and had to undo one area three times, really just 4 stitches.