week 27 ~ week 30 TAST and the 15 minute challenge

a few weeks ago i put together a basket of preserves and home baked scones for a local fundraiser/silent auction.

the preserves were some that my daughter put up and without them the basket wouldn't have been nearly as tempting.

i had a great time making  and adding tags, napkins and fancy jar lids with that bunny fabric that i love so much~!

i was unable to attend but word has it that the basket went for a very nice amount/donation for the cause (my local family resource center) which makes me happy.

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and now for some TAST stitch sharing.


week 27 ~ bonnet stitch: 
i had trouble with this stitch but i'm not sure just why. once i thought that i had a handle on it i decided to place it on a postcard seam using an aqua pearl cotton (size 8). i added a fly stitch to the "top" part of the stitch and a colonial knot settled nicely between these stitches. both the fly stitch and the colonial knot are worked in a raspberry colored floss (one strand for the fly stitch and three strands for the colonial knot.


week 28 ~ up and down buttonhole: i really liked this stitch and have worked it into my stocking in a double row along the top of a piece of lacy vintage cuff. the row on top is worked with a shallower stitch length than the row on the bottom. i've used pearl cotton 12 in red. 

week 29 ~ basque stitch:

i used two strands of metallic thread (one in red and one in a brass color) for this stitch and added a small pearly bead to the catch part of each one. metallic thread can be a bear to work with but i ran both of these threads through some bees wax which helped enormously. the bees wax also gave the threads a bit more body which made the curves within this stitch stand out nicely.

i also worked this one into a section of my own stocking.


week 30 ~ oyster stitch:
this is another stitch that i really liked.
i worked it into a different section of the lacy vintage cuff that is on my own stocking and once again used pearl cotton 12 in red.

the really nice thing about stitching around lace bits is that it's possible to use the various lace elements to naturally dictate and control the spacing of stitches.





there are more stitches that have been worked but i'm going to save those for another post.

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i've been able to meet my goals with Kate for the fifteen minute challenge on all but two days this summer which makes me feel good. some days i would like to be able to do more than that but winter's coming and those days won't be filled with the gardening/outdoors work so i can snuggle in and stitch for hours if i want to (i hope).

 

 

 

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recent gifts include:

• the comfort that my blog readers have made me feel in regards to my irregular posts ~THANK YOU ALL~!
• a visit from my daughter and a friend of hers that helped catch me up on a few things as well as gave us some time to share a few pleasant meals and some good conversation
• the smell of the freshly cut lawn

some creative spontaneity

about a month ago i happened to visit Nina, a very creative blogger who was experimenting and having fun putting some atc's together. i hadn't been involved with an atc trade for quite a while and she was making it look so tempting that i wanted in on the fun. Nina very graciously agreed to trade with me and i immediately began to create mine. if you want to see the cards that i sent to her then pop over for a visit to Mrs. Moen; The Not So Secret Life of a Quilter.

these are the fun cards that she sent to me. i love what she's done using textures, layers and just minimal accents.



Orange Flower

love this creative use of the orange paper clips


Tiny Forest



another simple and fun idea





Lovebird



this one's my favorite~!



love that nest of thread bits.

Little House

and check out this tiny little dwelling with it's wonderful "goodnight moon"

awesome huh~!?  

i have been inspired to use more creative textures within my own work.



sometimes it's good to just spontaneously jump in and PLAY a little bit~!!~ thank you so much Nina for the opportunity to enjoy both the creating, sharing, and (best of all~!!~) the receiving of a few more atc's.



:- )

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recent gifts include:

• the enjoyment of acting on a playful impulse and sharing in creative experimentation
• walking on the sun warmed soil in bare feet to pick (and eat) snow peas from the garden
• seeing the summer flowers colorfully burst into bloom  
• watching a couple of orange kittens romp in the field; so fierce and funny with fur standing out in excitement as they clumsily play their "gotcha" games with each other.

i've got no less than four posts in "draft" mode.
but none of them quite ready to post yet due to something or other missing . . . 

i know that i've been away for over a month and feel the need to get back into the blog world but am wondering at just where to start.

i don't like my blog to be about complaints and dark days but the fact is sometimes that's what i've got. today is one of those days.

initially i was away from blog land due to some efforts needed within the garden. i love (make that LOVE~!!~) to be in the garden, however if i work in the garden, even for a short time, then the rest of my day is pretty much shot. due to MS i'm sometimes forced to make decisions about what i get done which really saddens me. i'm one of those gals that likes to "have her cake and eat it too" and back in the day i could do that. it came at a cost but i did it anyway. quite frequently i notice that i can do this less and less which leads to anger and depression.
so it's a dark day. or two.  please bear with me as i work through it.

i have actually accomplished a number of things (besides short but intense busy spells in the garden) while not blogging. none of them earth shattering but when i'm not taking extraordinarily long naps i do try to at least keep my hands busy. i'm happy to say that my 15 minutes of sewing project continues despite all of this  and i'm not too far behind on the TAST work. i even have some new prayer flags and atc's.
i do get bored easily and move from project to project which results in much done but not a lot necessarily crossed off of any lists. sometimes i really do think i have ADD . . . sure, why not add that to my list of ails.

lately, i can't seem to always muster up the steady hands (or time) needed to take a photo that i'm happy with which puts me even further behind in relation to what i want to post as well as disgusted by what MS continues to take away from my life.

this summer i've been on my own quite a bit (wonderful husband works long, hard, hot hours at 'stomping out' wild land fires). this results in a few more household responsibilities left to me to factor into my time/energy. it seems to take very little to upset the balance and create a pile-up of bits and pieces to attempt to get back into some sort of manageable routine . . . which leaves me running about stomping at my own 'fires'.

so what started out as a small break from posting has turned into a long dry spell. i apologize. i have had a few late night moments that i used to wander aimlessly around the internet and have to admit that i often don't even have the energy to make a comment. sporadic lurking has become my 'contribution' to the web. i'm ashamed but cannot seem to find the energy for more.

i have had some extremely thoughtful inquiries about my mysterious long absence and i want to thank those who have kept me in their thoughts while i've been 'off the radar'.
the fact is that i am (mostly) okay. i miss my semi regular routine of blogging and know that this will all sort itself out eventually.
i appreciate whatever patience anyone wishes to bestow upon me and hope that i will not continue to disappoint.


despite all of this i do find that i have much to be grateful for and some of my recent gifts include:

• the peace that i find watching my pond and it's residents
• a bountiful harvest of fresh tomatoes being gathered
• the incredibly good taste of those warm from the sun, freshly picked tomatoes
• a cottontail bunny that comes to steal peas in the evening . . . i happily share them with this sweet creature
• warm milky tea sipped in the cool early morning while watching the hummers start their day
• being able to somehow (!?! garden hose in one hand and dog on leash in the other!?!) separate two sizable very bad dogs from a fight without getting bit
• both dogs coming away from said fight with only minor injuries
• witnessing the drama of a fiery red sunrise
• potatoes and onions promising their own generous harvest
• spellcheck

i hope that you are finding many gifts to enjoy within your summer days as well.

i would also like to apologize for dropping the ball on my ongoing give-aways. i hope to get back to those sometime in the fall.

TAST ~ palestrina stitch

morning gifts from the garden.
:-)


this week (26) the stitch on PinTangle was the palestrina stitch.
this is a new one for me once again and i really needed to study quite a few versions of instruction as well as videos to understand how to do this stitch.
once i did understand it though, i found it to be a really great stitch to work. it became wonderfully rythmic as i settled into it and now i'm looking for more places to put it~! first i worked these samples using a variety of threads. i randomly tried a few different things and then made a decision about which stocking to apply it to.


the wonderful daughter's stocking received a bit more work in this lacey area that i started  a few weeks back . . . the newly added palestrina stitch is along the top  of the lace and i love the way it created a small braided type of edge. feel free to click on any of these images to see a larger version and if you would like to see a 'before' shot of this area go here. it's been fun to see the actual 'evolution' of this particular area. i think that there will be more stitches placed here before the TAST challenge is finished . . .

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i did miss a day of the 15 minute challenge . but for the remaining six, i managed to meet with success. i worked on a few appliqued basket handles, more experimental stitching on some atc's, and the TAST/christmas stocking project.

my time and energy for stitching does seem much more limited during the summer but with this challenge on my daily list of to-do's i am still able to make steady, yet slow, progress.

if you think adding a 15 minute sewing session to each day's priorities is something you would benefit from head over to Kate's at Life in Pieces and join in.

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i thought i would show you a few shots from my garden. it's what has been keeping me only minimally involved in blogland and my stitching.

one of the columbine plants in some soft morning light

this is russian sage which is a new plant to my garden. i like it for it's wispy leafyness and purple blossoms which remind me a lot of lavendar. it smells wonderful when touched or wind blown and is supposed to be very winter hardy. i'm anxious to see how it does. i've planted several plants in various places and if all goes well i'll be adding lots more.

i've been unable to find a lavendar plant that makes it through our high altitude winter so until i do this plant will be my stand in. it's very fragrant (both plant and blossoms) and looks similar. it may be that this russian sage will be a better choice for the extreme winters as well as the other harsher elements here (lots of wind, very short growing season, cool nights and hot daytime temps).

we seem to have a lot of butterflys this year. the small blue ones like the one above flutter up out of the lawn as it's being walked upon. they are so pretty and so fragile looking.

this one had a bit of tatter on one of it's wings . . . i suppose that it's a short life that butterflys live but they seem to know how to make the most of it, don't they~!?

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recent gifts include:

• a couple of days rest from the garden work
• working on the dog's fetching skills in the evenings
• a small fabric shopping trip (+ lunch~!) out of town with a friend
• picking vine ripened tomatos

TAST ~ linked chain stitch

lace
or profound fragmentation
half full
or half empty
choose
and ye shall receive

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last week (25) on PinTangle the stitch was the cable chain stitch.

a new stitch for me, so i attempted it on some aida as a sample first.

then, just for fun, i experimented with working it using a fine piece of copper wire. this was interesting although a bit problematic . . .

in the end i used a metallic (like) thread on a short seam within the wonderful husbands stocking.

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this is the 'surprise applique' that i've been working on. i've given them as a gift and can finally show what i was doing.

55 very simple/primitive basket blocks with sweet curvy appliqued handles.

these were made for a friend's birthday.
she seemed delighted and i have to say that after working on them all this time i'm still quite happy with them myself. in fact, i'm making myself a few with the leftover bits that are hanging around in the studio.

LOVE those colors together~!

and of course there was a little party with flowers, and dark chocolate and a few other fun presents.

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for the 15 minute challenge  during last week all went well on all seven days with work being added to my own baskets as they get handles, some experimental stitching on atc's, and of course, the TAST/christmas stocking project.

if you think adding a 15 minute sewing session to each day is something you would benefit from head over to Kate's at Life in Pieces.

15 minutes doesn't seem like a lot but this challenge has kept me puttering forward on many things this year. thank you Kate~!

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recent gifts include:

• a weekend visit from the wonderful daughter
• the accomplishment of a really tasty pasta salad lunch
• further work and even some planting on the pond rehab project 

TAST & the 15 minute challenge

today i was thinking about things that i liked to do as a child. my favorite summer 'activity' was climbing the nearest large tree and getting comfortable within it's branches. i generally took a book but did a lot of daydreaming too. i loved the feeling of being hidden in all of that leafy cool dappled light.
in general i wasn't terribly interested in dolls. now as a middle aged woman i find myself occasionally captivated by the softer and more primitive dolls. the doll in this shot is one of my favorites. she has simple twig arms and legs, stands about six or seven inches high and has charming facial 'expression'. i purchased her at a craft fair several years ago for very little money and normally she hangs on a wall near one of my primitive doll quilts.
today when i seen her i imagined that look of hers to be an appeal for a change in scenery so i took her down off of the wall and lifted her up into the aspen tree. it turns out that those twiggy arms and legs are not great for climbing trees so she needed my help for this.
so there she is way up in the tree having her very own daydreams.
what did you like to do as a child? what made you feel safe and happy and able to dream a little? were you a fan of dolls? are you now? 

i hope that the summer season brings you some leafy cool dappled light of your own to get comfortable in.

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last week i had four stitches that had previously been presented during the TAST challenge worked into a seam treatment.

the "mini challenge" for week 23 was to use as many as eight to "create an interesting piece." 

i finished this seam by:

• adding a detached chain stitch using two strands of a reddish orange cotton floss and placing one on each side of the tiny autumn colored bullion stitches.
• adding single fly stitch in a single stranded light weight green cotton thread at regular intervals.
• creating playful arcs with a stem stitch that emerged from the open end of the fly stitches using a single strand of green cotton floss 
• and finally i loosely braided three separate threads (a light green, a dark green and a purple) and then wove that braid into the knotted cretan stitch allowing it to act as couching.

hopefully i haven't made it too confusing by changing the direction of the photo from horizontal (in my last post) to diagonal.


this week (24) on PinTangle the stitch is the buttonhole wheel stitch. another new stitch for me and i felt that it was a clumsy looking and inelegant stitch to work with at first.

finally i realized that by bringing my stitch size down and using a fine perle cotton (sz 12) in white i could create a lacier effect with the stitch which i liked much better.

by adding this to the bottom of a piece of lace that was previously placed onto my wonderful daughter's stocking i managed to create another visual layer of 'lace'.
this also served well to anchor down that lower edge.

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my 'report' for the 15 minute challenge (hosted by Kate at Life in Pieces) was all good this week with work being done on every day: the TAST challenge (stockings and postcard) as well as a few random stitches placed into 'this n that' while playing with some ideas that were scampering through my head.

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recent gifts include:

• the sweet taste of a rosy colored apricot
• a few cool evenings spent sitting and watching the hummingbirds
• taking the time to enjoy the feeling of my own breathing. slow inhalations and exhalations. effortless and often unappreciated.
• being told that seeing my 'recent gifts' is having the effect of other's seeing their own gifts 

:-D

the june give-away winner is . . .

Barb of Fun With Barb

Barb commented: "I think your photos had to do with being "open" or "opening."

i thought that this was an interesting guess and so i went back and looked at each picture. i was surprised to find that it really could have been "open" or "opening" but the actual theme was 'contrast'. each of my photos for  the month of may had at least one form (but often more) of contrast.

thank you Barb, i think you must be really paying attention to those featured photos~!!~

would you please e-mail me with your snail mail  info and i'll get your package on it's way.

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at pintangle week 22 was the knotted cretan stitch.  this was another new stitch for me and i found it awkward. i'm not sure why because my brain kept telling me that it should be an easy one but i just really struggled with it. finally after a lot of attempts and some removal of said attempts i got it. it ended up being placed onto a new area of the same fabric postcard that i was working on during week 21. i used two strands of a six stranded cotton floss in yellow to create my knotted cretan stitch.

initially my attempts went directly onto a stocking but as i said some removal of stitches happened and i decided to stitch on something a little less important until i got the hang of it.

once i had accomplished this i set about adding more stitches around it which happens to be the challenge for this week (week 23). it's actually a catch up week for those who need it but additionally sharon encouraged:

  "A mini challenge for stitchers who cant stop……

Take up to 8 stitches that we have have done in TAST this year and create an interesting piece. In other words create some eye candy for those who are falling behind, either because of busy lives or because they are new to embroidery that will encourage them to “catch up”."

i'm just barely keeping up but decided to keep going with the knotted cretan as my "base/foundation" and see if i could add seven more stitches to it . . . so far i have added:

• a french knot using two strands (of six) of a cotton floss in a varigated blue color.
• three tiny (single) running stitches protruding from each colonial knot using one strand of the same varigated blue floss. my stitches didn't run very far though so i'm not sure if that counts . . .
• a very small bullion knot using a thin single stranded cotton thread in autumn tones (also varigated). this thread is actually a quilting thread that i thought i would try using for embroidery.

so i've managed to use four stitches so far (counting the knotted cretan stitch) which means that i'm halfway there . . .

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although i'm late with the 'report' the 15 minute challenge hosted by Kate at Life in Pieces was mostly a success for me.
mr. wonderful unexpectedly invited me out for dinner one evening (~!!~). it wasn't until the next morning that i realized i hadn't stitched at all the day before. talk about sweeping a girl off of her feet~! normally if i don't stitch during the day i get some time in during the evening. i've been spending quite a lot more time outside with the spring turning into summer days and have begun to really rely on that time. ooops.

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recent gifts include:

• finishing up a group of surprise birthday blocks (just in the knick of time). i hope to show those on a future post.
• a cup of hot chocolate on an early rainy sunday morning while i watched the news with mr. wonderful
• a whole flat of pretty flowers given to me by a friend for planting in the garden ~!!~