Northwest Red Head

Are you done with YOUR Christmas shopping? I know I'm not *sigh* I still have my mother, my least fun person to shop for and a few other bits. Overall not bad for someone who perpetually stalls on her shopping. I worked retail for 12 years, 7 of it in a "major discount chain store" so there was no option but to have my shopping done before the season hit. Now that I don't live at work during Christmas I keep stalling more and more getting shopping done. Here is my latest progress update on Baroque. 2 of the 3 journeys around the outside border are done, one to go. The black stitching is alternating tent stitch, nice and fast and easy I also got a bit of progress done on Poirot, its coming along to Sit N Stitch this evening so I should have something to show and I'll post a photo of that tomorrow.

My latest bit of progress on Baroque. I've not been getting a lot of stitching time in lately, this is actually my progress over the past few days when I got some time to work on it. This outer border actually goes quite fast so I've been working on it for the instant gratification of having a large area stitched for the time spent :) I really *should* work on the inside but I just can't get into it, any stitching is a good thing right now. I really do need to get my tail in gear if I'm going to get this finished this month though! ACK

Well I finally decided to get off my tail and do the hem stitching on my Black and White Sampler this weekend. What's sad is I was sitting there with thread in hand looking at the linen and trying to remember how, apparently I love hemstitching so much I've blocked it from my memory.  Thankfully I have a good book so I dragged that out. I may still do more with this design, there were samples in the test class showing using the motif to make scissors fobs and pin cushions that I snapped pictures of so I could remember the basics of how it was done. This was my Sunday work, Saturday was taken up with cleaning and getting the Christmas Tree up. Now looking at it I see I really need to get my tail in gear and stitch some more ornaments for it from the many, many issues of Just Cross stitch I have sitting around.

Let see, where to start.  First mom brought this pattern for me. After making the Vintage Red Tin for her she took the pattern and made a set for my aunt and then she decided to pick this one up and thought I would like it as well. As you can see I have 2 of the three tins designed for, I'm not sure where to find the third one. If anyone does spot it and wouldn't mind picking me up a set of them (I'm sure mom will want one as well) I'd be happy to send you $$ for the tins and shipping. I know around here they run about $1.50 for one. The one I'm hunting for is the 1930 replica tin, its gold with what I can only call a "quilted" design embossed into it. The center is dark red with the name. If anyone else is looking for some of these tins please email me, I can readily get the blue Wynnewood and the larger one for the Vintage Red set at my neighborhood grocery. And the Christmas party bits... Starting top left is Hardanger Monogram bookmarks from Satin

I managed to finish with just minutes to spare. I quite possible would have had this done last night but I ended up with yet another killer headache and all the counting became too much, not to mention I was having trouble focusing on the beads to get them on the needle so I went to bed early and got up a bit earlier than usual so I'd have time to finish. This is the ornament laid out, as you can see 5 "ladders" of bugle beads and seed beads draped between. Its not much more than a web of beads to lay over a glass ornament. And here is is draped over an ornament.  I've always liked these frosty ornaments with no color but you could use any color or finish to change the look. A fun ornament to make if you don't mind all the counting, the seed beads start with a row of 5 and the lowest has 87 so there's a bit of counting involved. This is the second of these I've made, I didn't remember to get a photo of the first before it was given away, but

Have you ever had one of those projects where you stitch and stitch and stitch and never get anywhere? I'm begining to feel that way about Baroque. I still love the project but I put a lot of hours into this piece this weekend and didn't get nearly as far as I felt I should have Its coming along but not nearly as I thought it would. I had this on my list of things to finish for November but after spending half of Saturday and a good portion of Sunday working on it I know that even without the interruption of my Mom's birthday present that wouldn't have happened. For example the diamond that comes to a point at the bottom center. That last band in teal and red took hours! There are 6 different threads in that little space for 13 journeys end to end plus the Jessica stitches, ACK! As it stands now that bottom center part is complete as is the lower left square, I still have a bit to go on the outer border which hopefully won't take quite as long. --------------