“Merry” -- November 25, 2008

“Merry” was put in my travel bag in mid-October, 2008. I have all of the kits in this series and I’m enjoying working on them!

“Merry” worked up quickly. As you can see, the cross stitches have been completed. I’ll pick it back up again one evening at home to stitch on all of the beads as beads don’t travel well!

“Frosty” has been put into my travel bag and I’m making great progress so you’ll be seeing him soon!

During my reorganization efforts, I found lot’s of Mill Hill kits that I’ve stitched but that I’ve never finished into ornaments or pins. I’m planning on having a finishing party sometime after the Holiday’s. It’s easier to finish a bunch at one time then to do them individually. :-)

Have fun visiting with “Merry”!

I’ve enjoyed reading the different comments about the Bargello Monthly club. The fun thing with this club is that these are small ornaments. And unlike food they don’t spoil so if you can’t stitch a project during the month it’s released, it’s still good later! And please don’t look in that container over there where I have all of my monthly club canvases/kits. Yes, I’ll get to them! And, no I don’t feel a bit guilty! :-)

If I remember correctly, the kit prices ranged from $6.00 to slightly less than $20.00 per month.

Glad to enable those who have decided to look into the club!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

“Stars in the Sky” -- November 22, 2008

I’ve finished the May, 2008 Canvas of the Month club. This one is by Margaret Bendig and is offered by the Rainbow Gallery.

I enjoyed stitching this design and it worked up very quickly. I added two additional rows of basketweave using the Old Gold for finishing.


I’ve had several questions about the Canvas of the Month projects. These were offered by The Stitching Post which is located in Catonsville, Maryland. They will be offering a Bargello Christmas Ornament Club again next year. This time you will be able to choose between 18 count canvas or 18 count linen. You can read about the club in their quarterly newsletter at;

http://www.the-stitching-post.com/documents/Newsletter-December2008.pdf

I’ll be signing up for the 2009 club but I need to get the rest of this year’s ornaments done. On to June’s ornament!!!


Comments, Questions, and Answers:

Pierrette,
Since I usually do rotation stitching, the Heartstrings “Chimney Santa” will probably not be finished by the Holidays. He’s actually not that little. He’s apx. 5” by 7” and that doesn’t include the background. Though I might decide to pull him back out again soon! :-)

Thanks for stopping by and I enjoy reading everyone’s comments!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

“Heartstrings Chimney Santa” -- November 16, 2008

I’ve been able to make some progress on my Heartstrings Chimney Santa!

When you last saw him, I had finished the face and was working on his coat. I was able to finish his coat and the fur on his coat last week! I’m planning on stitching his mittens, stocking, tree, and the star during his turn in the rotation.



Pat writes great stitch guides and even though I’m comfortable choosing my own stitches for painted canvases I usually follow her stitch guides.

The main reason that I make changes to a stitch guide is that I like full stitch coverage on my canvases. Now, before you all comment that lighter stitch coverage is perfectly acceptable and that it allows the painting to show through let me add that this is a personal preference and that I prefer to cover most of the canvas. And, yes, I’ve tried lighter stitches but I just don’t like them. :-)

I’ve modified my rotation a little bit as I’ve been playing with different options during the last few months. I’ve already discussed that rotating based on a set time doesn’t work as I can’t sit down for an hour at a time. What I’ve found that is really working is to stitch a section or sections on a project when its turn comes up in the rotation. During another post I’ll share with you how many projects I actually have in my rotation. It’s quite a few! LOL!!!

A quick note about the Mill Hill kits as I’ve been receiving some questions. For those who are interested in these kits and who have not tried them before, they are very well written and are a quick and easy stitch. The line is now carried by Wichelt Imports, Inc. To find a retailer near you, visit the Mill Hill site at;
http://www.millhill.com/

I’ve been stitching and collecting the Mill Hill kits for many years. When the Holiday decorations come out of storage again, I’ll share my finished pieces with everyone!

Madonna,
The stitch on the cuff of the “Peppermint Stripes” stocking was called Woven Ribbons. I’m not sure if it’s in Father B’s stitch book as right now my copy is deep in the reorganizing pile!

Beth,
Yes, I love the Mill Hill kits and I’ll be sharing a picture of “Merry” soon!

Jane,
Yes, the “Moonlight Ghost” is a Mill Hill kit. If you can’t find them locally, you can view the line at the Mill Hill link above.

Judy,
Thanks for letting me know about the new pens and your high tech testing methods! If they don’t run after all of the things that you have tried, they should be safe! :-)

Thanks for all of your comments and emails and for stopping by and visiting my blog!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

“Moonlight Ghost” -- November 13, 2008

I started Moonlight Ghost in the summer as I was going to stitch him as a travel project. I spend a lot of time waiting for our children at different events and I like to have at least two to three small projects in my tote bag for those moments. I had added Moonlight Ghost to my travel bag but I quickly found out that he was not a good travel project. I’m usually stitching in low light conditions and since he’s stitched on black perforated paper well, this was just not working! :-(


Ghostie was quickly promoted from a travel bag project to a table project. I finally had a chance to pick him back up last week and I was able to quickly finish all of his cross stitches. Beth, I didn’t forget him!

The next time that you see him, he’ll be beaded as doesn’t every ghost need a little bling? :-)

Have fun visiting with Moonlight Ghost!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

“Boo and Stash Enhancement” -- November 11, 2008

I belong to several ANG Chapters including the San Bernardino Chapter.

I’m a long distance member and they are very supportive of those who can not attend meetings. They offer many different programs, classes and projects through out the year and many of these are open to their long distance members who are referred to as “Ghosts” for the classes. Very appropriate for this post! :-)

They recently offered several classes and projects by Janet Zickler Casey. Since I enjoy stitching her designs, I ordered several;

“Boo!”

“Trick or Treat” A Spooky House”

“Along Came a Spider”
No picture available.

They all arrived at my house in time for Halloween. I wanted to add one to my rotation so I finally decided on “Boo!”. I quickly put "Boo!" on stretcher bars and began stitching. I decided that I would stitch Boo’s eyes and mouth during this rotation. The eyes worked up quickly though it took me several try’s to get the outline of the month just so. Okay, I’m picky! :-)

My teenagers did not trick or treat this year so they were taking turn’s answering the door. This has been my job for many years as I enjoy seeing all of the children’s costumes while DH would take our children around the neighborhood!

We decorate the outside of the house and play fun spooky music out through an open window. The inside of the house by the front door was dark except for my stitching light. I was sitting by the light quietly stitching until we heard someone coming up the walk. I would quickly turn out the light as one of the kids answered the door so the inside of the house would be dark. Since my kids were now the “official” door answerers, I had to peek around the corner to see the children in their costumes. Once we were done, I would return to my stitching corner and turn back on my light.

This was lots of fun and what made it even more fun was that the white portion of the eyes and the center of Boo’s mouth were stitched with Kreinik glow in the dark threads. Yep, they really glow! We thoroughly tested them that night!

Enjoy my start on “Boo!”

I hope you had a fun Halloween or at least had some great candy!!!

Glad you could visit! :-)

Cynthia
Windy Meadow