We're getting back to fun!

 I received my flyer for the Carmel Bach Festival yesterday. I know those far flung from Monterey probably won’t be able to join in, but if you can, DO!!! Let me know your plans and I’ll do my best to connect with you!

A bit of choosing

Remember the elephant? It’s been awhile since I posted about it. I’ve finished the main part with the couching of the tusks, most of the background with silk and cotton, and am starting on the border. I haven’t been following the color choices the designer asked for. There were just too many pretty threads! Mary Long is a fabulous designer and her text for this class has been thorough and clear. I just didn’t think a toy should be in a light color. Anyway, as I looked at the border, I imagined what my favorite framing service would use as a mat. I wanted to pick up colors so that the piece pops in glorious fiber! Ok. I’m just being overly creative.

So, here’s the colors I chose: 

First, laying in the base of metallic: 

With the basic blue: 

Then adding the accent: 

Now a bit more accent: 

Then, the echo of the background: 

I know it’s not traditional. But, my color guru likes it, so I’ll stitch boldly on.

Hiking in the park

 The weather forecast calls for rain. I heard some during the night, but the clouds just don’t look like rain to me. Of course, I can’t see out over the ocean far enough. That’s because I’m close enough to walk down to the Bay. If it doesn’t rain I just may do that.

Meadow of Live Oaks

Earlier this week, I turned the other direction for my walk. I wanted to see the wildflowers. Some have already bloomed, others are almost blooming.

Blue lupin finding some sun

I’ve had questions from those far flung to me about the Oaks here. We have Live Oak trees in our yard. Here’s what I saw growing in the forest:

Live Oak seedlings

Poison Oak

I don’t mind them, but these plants I will leave alone!

Hear o'Daisies in 2 colors

 

I finished my next trial. This is worked in Coats sewing thread (The 100% cotton kind you can pick up at your average fabric store.) which is about size 120 or so. Not recommended for a beginner. I left very long tails as I wish to sew it onto the cross stitch piece when I get the background stitched.

Happy Thursday

 I have every intention of finishing the heart. It hasn't happeden as I had planned. 

We're hosting a guest instead. Everything is dusted, vacuumed, fluffed and folded. Perhaps I'll get time to tat while we chat.

Easter is coming!

 This year I’m ready!!

The shuttles have been set aside for a few days. Just long enough to make sure I can pull off the music I committed to. At least to the best of my current abilities. No far comparing my present performance to when I was in my prime….whenever that was….

I finished a test tat of a heart. There were too many mistakes to show a picture. Lots of cutting and starting again. But, the next version is going to look nice!

I wish you all Happy Easter!

Here it is

 All finished!

The answers are:

I used three different shades of green along with black to stitch the blackwork samples.

I’m off one repeat of the edging pattern on the long sides.

The backing fabric piece was replaced with a long enough piece.

All better looking now!!

I thought I was ready

 I made several major mistakes. Three of them. You’ll be hard-pressed to see in photos on this blog. I’ll bring it to the next meeting for those local to me. You should be able to see the skipped repeat in the photo of this post. And if you have a really good monitor, you might catch the color difference here. For the third mistake, I measured wrong. I wanted to join the front and back using the holes in the Aida cloth. I cut the back fabric one row short. Sigh!!!

It ends up like this:  

That just won’t do!!!

Answers along with a photo of it completed will be in the next post.