Cross-stitch projects update

Tree Frog is nearly complete, but I have gotten distracted and it has been put off to the side for awhile.  First I did a small owl pattern that I found a picture of on google images, that I charted out from the picture.  Here is how he turned out:

I plan on framing it using one on my old hoops and gluing a ruffle type ribbon, in the same color as the heart, around the outer edge.  It will be a gift for one of my crafting friends.

Next, I pulled this out of my UFO stash.

Actually, it was someone else's unfinished project that I bought at a thrift sale some years ago.  I'd put it away, because I'd only worked on Aida and the even-weave fabric intimidated me.  Now that I have experience with even-weave, I decided to pull it out and give it a try. I took a look at the stitching that had been done, to see if I should frog it or just pick up where they left off.  The answer to that question is definitely frog it.  Take a look at the back, pre-frog:

It was obviously someone's first attempt at cross-stitch. They'd used knots to anchor the threads, and there was mid strand snarls left in place.  The stitching did not follow any real discernible pattern.  And as I was picking out the stitches, I discovered not all the crossing stitches leaned the same direction.  Oh, the horror.  Once I finished frogging, I put the fabric into my q-snap.  At first I couldn't get the q-snap c-clamps to go on because it kept getting caught on the 7 count Klostern fabric.  So I cut some strips of fabric from an old t-shirt to cover the fabric and the c-clamps went on easy after that.  And yes, I said 7 count fabric.  It uses all 6 strands of floss at once.  With such big stitches, the stitching has come along quite quickly.  I am about 90% complete. 

Happy Stitching!

Batman cake

Here is how Alex's Batman birthday cake turned out:

Alex's Batman Birthday Cake

As I said before, the cake pan was discontinued in the late 1980's, so I had to get one from Ebay.  I found the instructions on the Wilton website, which were fairly easy to follow.  I've made buttercream icing before, and it is quite easy using the Kitchenaid Stand Mixer.  Hardest part was mixing all the colors.  The one I had the most trouble with was black.  I used about 3/4 of the gel coloring, and it still wasn't black, so I resorted to using a pre-mixed black frosting I had on hand.  I just squirted it into a piping bag and it was all set.  The frosting went pretty well, but it did take quite a while.  All those little stars weren't all that bad.  It is a pretty neat way to cover a cake, and it uses much less icing than I thought it would.  The batman symbol on his chest was half tracing and half free-hand.  I was very nervous, and quite happy when it was done.

Alex loved it!  I was thrilled that it came out so well.  He had an awesome Birthday.  We drove to Las Cruces and took him to Chuck E. Cheese for pizza and some games.  Then we went to the Bouncy Place in the main part of the mall.  Let him run himself tired.  Then back to home for cake and presents. 

Hello Mr. Frog

All cross-stitching is complete! 

Tree Frog Among Leaves WIP 10OCT13

 

Now on to the back-stitching.  Have you ever looked at a pattern and wondered if all or part of the backstitching is unnecessary, distracts from the overall picture instead of adding to it, or just might look better without it?  I'm sure that the backstitching to define the features on the frog are necessary, but the backstitching on the leaves might not be.  I think I will backstitch the frog and then remove the EZ-Count guidelines to get a good look at it without backstitching on the leaves and decide.

Happy stitching!

WIP update

The branches are done... holy cow, that went quick!  Started on them last night right after I posted about getting the leaves done, and finished them right before 9pm tonight.



Tree Frog Among Leaves WIP update 7Oct13

Now on to Mr. Frog... he has 8 colors left in him.  First one up is Pale Peach.

Happy Stitching!

Sunday status

The leaves are done!  Check it out:

Tree Frog Among Leaves WIP - 6Oct13 update

Now onto the branches, with Dark Green Grey being the next color.


Here is a look at how I keep track of progress:

I highlight the color to be worked next in yellow.  Then mark them with orange highlighter when they have been worked.  I also make a copy of the pattern to work from.  The original pattern never gets marked on.  I've been doing it this way since around 1997.  Before that I used to mark worked stitches with pencil. I much prefer using the highlighters.

Happy Stitching!


Froggie update

Here he is:


Tree Frog Among Leaves WIP 30Sep13

I just finished with Light Yellow Green.  One more down, actually 2 more.  As it happens, hubby came home from work on Tuesday and announced he had to go the Las Cruces for a career seminar.  Of course I went with, so while he was in the seminar I could do some shopping.  As we prepared to leave the house, I packed up my stitching for the drive.  Once on our way, I worked the length of floss that was already started, and discovered that I had forgotten the envelope with the Light Yellow Green on the arm of the couch.  So I looked at the pattern and decided on a symbol that I could see easily enough without highlighting,  and started stitching Pale Yellow Green.  Worked on it during the drive to Las Cruces, then once Jason was dropped off, I went shopping.  After I was done shopping at Hobby Lobby and Joanns, I parked the truck back at the facility the seminar was being held, hopped into the passage seat and continued the stitching.  Pale Yellow Green was completed and I started with the color Charcoal.  Got one strand of Charcoal done and Jason's seminar finished up.  Sun was already down, so I couldn't stitch during the ride back home. 

Next color to be worked is Brown.  Not much of this color on the pattern, only a spot here and there, so it won't take long.  After that there will be Olive Green, Dark Olive Green and Charcoal, which are the last colors in the leaves.  Dark Olive Green has about the same number of stitches as the Light Yellow Green.  Charcoal has a low number of stitches, so will go quickly.  Olive Green has about the same number of stitches as the Dark Yellow Green so it will take some time to complete.  But then the leaves will be done and I can start on the branches.  I am leaving the frog for last.  He will be my reward for finishing all the cross-stitching.  Then comes the back-stitching, which there is a considerable amount.  At least it is a lot of long continuous lines, so it should progress steadily.

One last thing, is I finally found the perfect travelling Ort container.  I've struggled using a snack size baggie for sometime now.  I just happened to see this sitting on the countertop and the light bulb in my head went off.

It is working wonderfully!  Light weight, easy to open and pop in the bit of floss and close up.  A little flick of the wrist and all the orts compact to the bottom making room for more.  I'm not quite sure where this container originated from, but I am so glad I found it.  Whenever it gets full, I can just dump it into the big Ort Jar and start filling it up again.

Happy Stitching!


Birthday cakes

My son's 7th Birthday is coming up in October, so last week we asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday.  We've always given him the option of doing something special with us, or a birthday party with his daycare/school friends.  So far he has chosen to do something special with us.  This year he has made the same choice.  Although before he answered that question, he answered a question that wasn't even asked yet.  He piped up and emphatically stated he wanted a Batman cake this year.  Today we asked him about it to make sure he wasn't going to change his mind.  Still Batman.  He has said he wants the Batman image on the cake, and not just the Batman symbol.  Darn it.  The Batman symbol would've been easy and sure to turn out awesome.  So after doing research, I've found there are not really any designs that lend themselves to my skill set (I don't do fondant, not yet anyway, and this is not the time to start).  I've decided to use a Wilton cake pan, the kind you decorate by piping hundreds of little stars onto it.  I've avoided it as long as I could.  Now is the time to try it.  The cake pan was discontinued in 1989, so I had to buy one off eBay.  This is what it looks like:

 Hopefully it turns out well.  We'll have to see.  Admittedly, I may have set the standard a bit high with last year's cake.  He asked for Spiderman.  I found some great tutorials online for a simple Spiderman face design.  My only real challenge was getting the Red color icing deep enough for my liking.  Once I solved that problem, the rest was fairly easy.  Here is how it turned out:


Alex's 6th B-day Spiderman cake

For next year I may need to figure out what is doable for me and start planting the idea in his head a little earlier.

Who knows, I may find I really like the Wilton shaped cake with all the piped stars on it.  Maybe I'll find an occasion to finally try out fondant.


Tree Frog update

Here is what Tree Frog looks like now:

Tree Frog Among Leaves WIP

Finally finished the Dk Yellow Green color.  There was a lot of that color!  Next color will be Blue Green, which comparatively has significantly less stitches, so I will get through this color much faster.

UFO back in storage

MIL came back early from Florida, so Innocent Guardian had to be put away, which kinda sucked, because I was making progress and really getting back into it.  I finished the backstitching on the upper portion of the main stitched area, and was moving on to the French knots in her hair garland and the grape bunches.

 

 

Next I will start the backstitching of the grape leaves and work towards the bottom half, then work all the backstitching and French knots on the skirt and hem garland.  Last thing to do will be the "halo" that is around her.  The pattern uses one strand of gold floss and two strands of gold blending filament to make French knots to in a large oval shape around her upper half to form the "halo".  I tried, but the blending filament is just too slick, my French knot kept slipping to the back.  After several attempts, I removed it.  I've decided that I am going to use glass gold colored beads instead of French knots for the halo dots.  I think that will look awesome.  And that will be the last thing to do before she is finished.  I will be so happy to get her done and framed.

 

Now that I've started working on her again, I'm anxious to get back to it.  I may have to set it up in a corner of my craft room that the MIL never ventures into.  The problem is that corner is quite dark, so setting up good lighting will be necessary.

past Halloween decor - hand-woven spider web

My hubby was cleaning out his workbench area and found a bag with on old sheet with strings tied to bulldog clips hanging out of it.  It took me a minute to remember exactly what it was.  When I remembered, I figured it would be a cool thing to show everyone.  A few years ago, at work I participated in a door decorating contest.  Since I was working in a secure vault at the time, I couldn't actually decorate our door.  Not a good idea to cover up the "Controlled Area - No unauthorized personnel permitted" signs.  So I decorated a large bulletin board that is just outside the vault door.  Here is how it turned out:

 

I used the inner strands from parachute cord for the webbing.  First I covered the bulletin board with plain black fabric to provide good contrast.  Next I attached bulldog clips to the outer frame to serve as anchor points.  Then I began stringing the cord just as a spider weaves a web. I used what I think is called a half-hitch knot each time the spiral thread crossed over a spoke thread to keep the strands from sliding all toward the center. It took me about a week and some change of working on it for about 4 hours a day to complete it.  I added some prop spiders I got from Walmart, and spun some of the fake spider web stuff you get into little oblong bundles to mimic a meal the spider has caught and a couple in spherical shape to mimic egg sacs.  I used the font Showcard Gothic to create the Happy Halloween text pieces.  I printed out the letters in very large font, cut them out, used them as templates to trace the letters onto felt.  Glued the felt onto super stiff interfacing to provide some structure, and then cut them out.  A little double stick tape was enough to get them to stick up on the board, given they are pretty light.

After Halloween I didn't the heart to completely dismantle it, so I took it down and laid it out on an old sheet, then rolled up the sheet and put the whole thing in a bag.  This coming  up Halloween we are going to unroll it and see it how it has faired, and figure out a way of tethering it up in the front yard, or on the front of the house.  If it works out, I'll be sure to get some pictures to post.

LNS events

This post is going to focus on my LNS experience.  LNS stands for Late Night Stampers, a wonderful group of paper-crafters. I came to know about LNS when I was preparing to attend the Stampin' Up Convention for the first time in 2012.  I had sent a message to my upline asking about finding some roommates in need of another person, as most people will share rooms with 3-4 people in each room to help with the cost of the hotels downtown SLC.  I was matched up with Angel and Marie, both from Dallas/Plano TX area, and we clicked so well, they are now my roomies every year.  While doing the initial contact messaging to make sure we were all compatible roomies, they clued me into the LNS events.  I became interested and signed up.  I had so much fun that I signed up for this year's event as soon as I got home from Convention.  This year I was signed up for next year by the end of the first day!

We arrive on Sunday, and even before Convention starts we make our name tags,

have a white elephant type gift exchange of handmade gifts, do 2 stamp camps, 3 shoebox project swaps, a WOW event, a Reunion Party, a Welcome Party, and an 80+1 card swap.  OODLES of crafting, creativity, and meeting awesome people!  And then Convention starts!

I am so happy to be a part of the LNS clan!  I am so looking forward to next year.  I met some really great people this year and am anxious to see them again.  I've already started the pre-planning for my swaps.  I can work out the basic framework for the swaps, and then when the new SU Catalog is released, I finalize the details and start production.  I really enjoy creating the tutorials for my shoebox swaps.  Here are the ones I did this year:

note paper holder

heart shadow box

chalkboard easel card

 

Here is my 80+1 swap card:

Another sweet element of the LNS Preconvention events is that we all stay in the Radisson downtown SLC, and all the LNS events are in the hotel ballroom which is so convenient.  The hotel is very nice, the employees are wonderful, and the rooms are great.  And bonus, this year they had mini fridges in all the rooms.  We even had our reservation in for 2014 halfway through the first day of events.  Because we have such a large group of people that stay at Radisson every year, we get a group rate that is even better than the room rates Stampin' Up offers.  And it is so nice to know where you are staying months (even a year) in advance.  No waiting for SU to open up their blocks rooms just a month in advance and hoping that you're quick enough to snag a room before they're all taken.  Our arrangement with the Radisson is simply awesome!

And when Stampin' Up Convention starts, we are merely steps from the back doors of the Salt Palace Convention Center.  So our walk to the meeting place and main stage area is in air conditioned comfort.  Being SU's 25th Anniversary they had nearly 6,000 demos attending Convention this year.  So long lines for activities was unavoidable.  One cool thing about that was you had a chance to talk to and get to know complete strangers, whomever you happen to be standing next to in line.  I told so many people about the LNS events, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of them joining the LNS crew next year. While we were seating and waiting for the final main stage session to begin, SU had the question "What was your favorite part of your Convention experience?" on the main screen encouraging everyone to text their answer.  I couldn't help myself, I wanted everyone one to know about LNS, so I texted in that my favorite part was the LNS events including the fun crafts and the wonderful people.  And it popped right up on the screen for all nearly 6,000 people to see!

The rest of the year, LNS holds online Treasure Hunts, Blog Hops, and shares projects daily in their Yahoo groups.  LNS includes SU Demos and non-Demos alike. 

If you are an SU demo, planning to go to Convention next year, and want to know more about LNS, feel free to contact me!  If you are not a Demo, you are welcome to join us online, and if you want to attend the LNS Preconvention events, I feel it is worthwhile even if you can't participate in the SU Convention stuff.

My Big UFO and a couple quick projects

Here is My Big UFO:



Innocent Guardian - in progress

 

It is a Dimensions kit that I started approx. 10 years ago, as a gift for my Mother-in-Law.  The main stitching went well enough, but I got very frustrated with the immense amount of backstitching and French knots.  I hit a point where the color listed for a section in the instructions just didn't look right.  I contacted the company to see if there had been any modifications to the pattern, specifically the color choices for the backstitching.  I did not get any reply.  So it got put away for awhile.  Now that my MIL lives with us, I have to take advantage of when she travels since she still has no clue I'm making this for her.  She is gone for 2 weeks visiting family in Florida, so out comes the UFO.  I finally just changed the color that was causing my issues.  Now I'm making progress again.  We'll see just how much I can accomplish while MIL is gone.  Then it will get packed away until her next trip.  I will certainly celebrate when this one is done.

I've completed a couple small projects:

The sunflower and bee is a small kit that I picked up at Michaels in SLC.  A nice easy project that was fun to stitch.

I happened across this little project while doing a Google images search.  The original border was a bit awkward, so I modified it.  This little guy took only 3 hours to stitch up. Here is the pattern I drew up:

Tree Frog progress has slowed but not stopped.

Also, I have two more additions to my stash.  Again a Google Images search led me to these.  Both are from an Ebay store named Stitching Addiction.


Morris' Flowers and Foliage

Dandelion

I was very excited to find the dandelion pattern.  I've been looking for a realistic looking pattern of a seeded dandelion for quite a while. There are exactly100 colors in this one. 

Getting back to it...

Question is... where to start when you've taken some time off from your blog posts?  I guess just start in somewhere....

Well, went to Stampin' Up Convention and had an awesome time!  This year I drove up to SLC.  It is about a 14-hour drive, and only 10% of it is Interstate highways, so it was mostly state highways which slows me down.  If it was mostly interstate highways, I could make it in 9 hours.  It was awesome having my vehicle there, so we could just hop in it whenever we wanted and drive to Target or Michaels, or out to eat someplace farther than walking distance from the hotel.  And it allowed me to bring as much stuff with me as I could stuff into my RAV4, which is a lot.  No worrying about my luggage weighing more the 50 lbs this year.  My little RAV took quite a beating though, as there are a lot of hills between here and SLC and its little 14 year old 4 cylinder engine wasn't very happy about that.  I really hope by next year I have a decent enough job that I feel comfortable taking on a car payment and I can upgrade to something with a 6 cylinder engine.  More on the trip later.  I have pictures and so much to talk about.

I am officially retired from the Air Force now, my first day as a civilian was 1 Aug.  I am now looking for the perfect anti-Obama bumper sticker for my vehicle, since now I am allowed to speak my mind on the matter. 

Alex started 1st grade on 12 Aug.  He is doing well.  Having a few issues with learning proper behavior, and just having a lot of energy, but we are making progress.  We took him to the public library today, and he was so excited to check out 4 Fly Guy books.

Stitching has slowed down, but not stopped.  Tree Frog is making progress, but still working on the same shade of green as stated in the last update.  I've also gotten a couple other project's grid work done. 

Well, that's a start...  and no more just not posting anything because I feel overwhelmed that I have too much to catch up on.  I hope to just pick something to blog about every few days, allowing myself to be as random as I need to be.

My SU up-line posted something on FB recently that I thought was great, it is a little e-poster that says "When people ask me 'How did you get to be so creative?' I tell them it's because I ate paste as a child." 8)

Starting my washi tape stash

Just want to show off my short term storage for my fledgling washi tape stash.  I've sort of resisted washi tape, although I knew it was only a matter of time.  Stampin' Up has finally produced their own, so the time has come.  I was bumming around online today and got looking at washi tape storage ideas.  I only have 6 rolls at this point, so I have time to find a more robust storage for when I have more.  But I came up with a short term storage that will house this start of the stash.  Here it is:

I used transparency film, made a small box to hold the 3 rolls from a group.  Then I created a small shelf from foam core and used zip-ties to secure it to the underside of the shelf above my crafting desk.  The little clear boxes slide right onto the shelf. This little system keeps them visible and within reach.  It was quick and easy to create with stuff I had on hand.

Sunday Status + pool update

Tree Frog:

 

I am done with the first green!  It is called yellow-green.  You can't really see it in this picture, but it is a really pretty color of green.  I figure I'll start referring to the plethora of greens in this project by their actual name.  Just so I don't lose track and can't remember if I'm on the 5th or the 6th green.  The next color will be Dark Yellow Green.  I've highlighted it all on my working pattern, and there is a lot of it, so I will be working on this color for quite some time.

Sunny Thought:

 

I've completed all the backstitching and the french knots, so the top portion is pretty much complete.  I just have to cut it out.  I decided on the sentiment to put in the "frame" area.  Since the area is quite small I am having to keep it simple.  I am working on designing the pattern for the area.  It is going to read: "Shiny!"  Firefly/Serenity fans will know just what it means. 

 

Pool update:

 

We got the pool assembled on Friday and started filling it.  Saturday we finished filling the pool, got the adapter for the Saltwater system, and hooked everything up.  2 bags of salt went in.  The Saltwater system is busy converting some of the salt to natural chlorine.  We were all in it for awhile today.  The water hasn't quite had a chance to warm up yet, but it was still comfortable enough.  Alex, who has zero body fat on him could only stay in for about 10 minutes before his lips started turning a bit blue.  I, on the other hand, with a fair more body fat lasted about 1 hour.  Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart to find swimsuits.  That was a bit of an ordeal.  Took me a over an hour but I managed to find 2 suits, one is a simple black one-piece in which I don't feel too unattractive that is good for everyday.  The other is a cute floral halter top with attached bottom with skirt overlay. It is not all that practical for daily swimming, but I look pretty darn good in it, so it will be perfect for when we have company over to use the pool. Today we put together the new ladder.  The one that comes with the pool is very unstable, so I bought a replacement ladder. Not cheap, but so worth the money. It is much more stable, has a large top deck that makes turning around so much easier, and it has a rolling panel that covers the outside treads when you're not using the pool.  It even has a spot for a padlock.  That way Alex can't decide to climb up it when we're not in the backyard.  Or anyone else for that matter.  I was thinking about putting the original ladder up for sale, but as it turns out, it is a great spot to keep towels handy for when you get out of the pool.  So, we'll hang onto it.  Besides, I really wouldn't feel right for anyone using it as a ladder.

 

Tomorrow, we plan on trimming the tarp under the pool to fit the border we'd set up to mark the circle, and use small paving stones to hold it down and create a nice somewhat finished appearance.  And the grill area is getting moved to the other end of the backyard. 

 

Well, I'm off to bed... hubby promised me a massage tonight.  8)

 

My floss organization system - part 2

Today as I was reviewing last night's post to ensure it made sense (I was up pretty late working on it), I realized I didn't include an overview photo, so here it is:

 

It is currently being housed on a shelf next to the entertainment center because my craft cave is going through a massive reorganization.  Ultimately, once I decide which shelf they will be on in the craft cave, I'm thinking about building a mini shelving system out of foam board so that I can pull out a box towards the bottom of the stack without have to relocate the ones above it as I have to do now.

My floss organization system

Last year, when I was getting back into cross-stitching regularly, I realized that I needed a much better system of organizing, storing, and tracking my floss inventory.  What I had just wasn't working very well.  When I wanted to start a new project, instead of pulling from my stash, I would just go buy the floss.  So began the scouring of the internet for ideas.  I spent a couple months searching for ideas, formulating possible scenarios and running them through my head.  What supplies were needed?  How much will they cost? Where will be able to get these supplies?  How easy will it be to use and maintain?  Some of the systems were just too expensive to consider.  I couldn't bring myself to use the floss bobbins.  While I would have no problem winding all those bobbins, and the storage containers are great, I know that I just can't handle all the kinks in the floss caused by the bobbins.  So keeping the skein intact was the way to go for me.  The little zip-loc type bags sold specifically for floss storage wouldn't work for me, because I really wanted to not have to fold the skein in half, and they couldn't hold many skeins.  In fact, I didn't find exactly what I wanted detailed anywhere, but I did use elements from other folks systems and designed my own system. Since it is unique to everything I found online during my research, I want to share it, in case someone else finds it useful.

Most simply put, I have the skeins in snack size Wal-Mart brand baggies, in photo storage boxes I got from Hobby Lobby.  Inexpensive, easy to obtain materials, scalable, easy to implement, use and maintain.

I started by creating a card to go into each baggie to give it some structure.  I used MS-Word, and Snipping Tool to grab the graphic for each color floss from the DMC website.  I typed the color number above the graphic and the color description below.  Then I printed it out onto cardstock.  It took awhile to complete, so if you want a copy of the file, just email me and ask; I'll be happy to share.

 

 

Then I used my paper trimmer to cut the cards to 6" x 3".

 

And placed them into the snack-size baggies.

 

 

Then I loaded the floss into the baggies, keeping it straight and untwisted.  The cardstock gives the baggies structure and make it easy to keep the skeins straight and lined up nicely.

 

I can fit 7 skeins on the front side...

 

 

and 7 skeins on the back, for a total of 14 per each baggie...

 

and if there are more, I cut blank 6x3 cards and write the color number and which baggie it is (color 310 is up to 4 baggies at the moment).

  

The filled baggies are loaded into a standard photo storage box.  I load enough into each box so they're just slightly snug front to back.

 

This is what is looks like from the side (I started out using plastic bins, but switched to photo boxes because they are currently stored on a shelf that gets several hours of strong New Mexico sunlight through a window).

 

 

Most of the colors have between 3-7 skeins so they are single sided thickness baggies.  There are roughly 31 double thickness baggies.  They are all currently contained in 13 photo boxes, with number 13 being about 2/3 full.  I have 14th photo box that houses the skeins of DMC Varigated, Variations, Linen, and Satin. 

 

I created an Excel spreadsheet to keep an inventory of my stash. It tells me how many skeins I have, plus how many skeins are allocated to projects. It also tells me what I need to buy in order to cover new projects and maintain a buffer.  This spreadsheet was incredibly helpful during my shopping trip to Joanns this past weekend.  I was able to ensure I had enough skeins to cover my planned projects plus have a 3 skein buffer on all colors.  That way if a pattern uses more than initially called for, I'm covered.  Or if a new pattern gets added I won't have to run to the store for any of the colors.  This way I can keep my floss buys limited to the times of the year when I can get the best prices on them.  Here is what the spreadsheet looks like:

 

 

If the pattern indicates how many skeins of each color are needed, I put that number in the block.  But not all patterns do this, so if not, I just put an X in the block.  I have totals at the bottom of all the columns.  Right now, according to my excel sheet, I have 2,641 skeins of regular DMC floss.  I keep a separate tab for the special DMC floss varieties.  I've recently started using specialty over-dyed floss from other companies.  For right now, I order what I need for a specific project, but I figure soon enough I will have to add another tab and another photo box for them. 

 

If you'd like a template copy of my inventory spreadsheet, just e-mail and ask. 

 

I really hope this explanation of my system is helpful for some of you fellow stitchers out there.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

 

Happy stitching!

 

 

Sunday Status + life stuff

Another week gone...

I got some done on Tree Frog, not much though, still working on the first green:

Sunny Thought is coming along... got all the x-stitching done, so now onto the backstitching and a few French Knots. 

I've been thinking about changing up the design a little bit.  The sentiment block is supposed to be cut out like a picture frame and a slip of paper with "Smile" printed on it to be placed in the frame.  I'm considering filling in the section that is supposed to be cut out of the "frame" with a lighter color and stitching a sentiment in.  I'm thinking something like "Live in the Sunshine" or "You are my sunshine".  I will have to see if I can make that come out good.  If not, I can always remove the changes and go with the original design.

I also gridded out a project that I've had stuffed away for quite awhile.  It is the free pattern from Golden Kite designs:

 

I downloaded this some time ago, got it started and then put it away.  It was still in the hoop, so that is an indicator of how long ago that was.  I had only gotten one length of the first color done, so I pulled out those few stitches, removed the hoop and spent about an hour ironing it to get the hoop marks out.  Then I gridded it, and tried out one of my q-snap configurations; that is the creases you see in it now.  I am having a little trouble deciding on whether to use q-snap, stretcher bar or scroll bars on this one.

While I was on the Golden Kite website to obtain a fresh copy of the Rose pattern, as I had lost some of the pages, I came across a pattern that really spoke to me, and it was on sale, so I ordered it.  It is called Garden of Delights:

I so love that it is a repro of an actual tapestry.  It is gorgeous!  This one will certainly be a long-term project.  Adding another one to list.

The other craft thing I did this week was to buy some more DMC floss.  Now that I have my floss organized, I have an accurate inventory of what I have and what I need, including needs for future projects, all on a spreadsheet.  I love Excel.  So when I saw Joanns was having floss on sale 3 for 99 cents, and I also get an extra 20% off for being military, I bought floss to fill in any gaps in my stash and prep for future projects.  So, Friday I was at Joanns buying the floss, and the next 2 days incorporating the new floss into my system.  Which reminds me, I haven't explained my system yet.  I should start drafting that post tomorrow.

My major non-craft activity was prepping for the swimming pool.  We decided to install an above ground swimming pool this year.  It will give something for Alex to do during summer break.  Our backyard is landscaped in river rock, which it quite popular in this region.  That means we had to clear the rocks out of the area we plan to put the pool.  It was a bit of work but we managed to get it done in 2 days.  Here is what it looks like:

 

Tomorrow we are going to pick up the pool and the filter system from Walmart.  We picked up 20 (50lb) bags of sand from Lowes yesterday.   We'll need to get 20-30 more bags.  Once we get a good sand base put down and leveled, then a pad on top, we can start setting up the pool.  Jason has to call about getting a tanker to come by to fill up the pool.  City ordinance forbids filling pool from the house water system.  Besides our water pressure sucks, so filling with the hose would take a week. 

Hopefully, everything goes well, and we're swimming in our pool by the end of the week.  Keeping fingers crossed.  Now I just have to find a swimming suit I feel comfortable in.  ugh.