Feb13

SOTM 2016

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While I was unable to join the group stitching this month since we decided to spend the weekend at the lake, I did get to spend the day stitching due to the extreme cold which kept us inside. And I actually finished this month’s stitching today – 2 months in a row is a record for me!

I was grateful that Linda had shared her progress as I was confused about the compensation on his month’s sections. The picture with the directions seemed to conflict with the wording about not crossing the lines for the section. It looks like Linda did what I did following the words rather than the picture.

I was surprised when I started stitching that last month’s and this month’s blues area more different than I realized when picking the threads. I’ve done enough playing with colors and have decided to stick with my latest choices! I did decide to go with my darker blue Kreinik even though Susan’s was a lighter one in hopes of blending better with section one. I would have liked some suggestions from Susan on picking colors as part of the SOTM info.

This is why I love stitching as a group. All these decisions can be done via group-think versus me on my own!

Here’s my progress for this month.

 

Diane’s Feb progress

 

Feb5

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon!

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For the stitch retreat before Seminar, I started a nightlight for my cousin's first grandchild expected in January 2016. Well, the little girl arrived January 25 so …. The pressure was on to finish the project. The stitching was finished so I had to tackle turning the canvas into a shade.

The canvas was sold as a package with the light so I had the major parts. I had a consult with a kind and generous expert (Sue C.) and some input from the internet – what did we ever do before?

Here is the finished nightlight which I will send to the new parents. Hope they like it.

 

 

Jan10

Welcome to 2016! SOTM!

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Hi Everyone,

Yesterday was our first meeting of 2016 SOTM.  This year we are doing the ANG SOTM created by Susan Hoekstra.  We now have twelve members attending this once-a-month stitching Saturday.

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Only half of our group!  But you can tell we are having a great time stitching together!

Our group meets at 11:30 and breaks around 1:00 for a BYO lunch session!  Then we stitch some more!  Since this was the first month on our new project, some of our group finished early and started work on other WIPs!  We also have a rule that previous members can continue to come if they are still working on prior NJNA SOTM projects.  It is amazing how much we all learn from one another!

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Here is our progress near the end of the day!  Won’t Susan be surprised to see all of the different color choices?  Blue (albeit different families) is the favorite choice, but greens, reds, and golds are all represented!

We are very happy to have another ANG project because it keeps everyone working together (i.e., it forces the fast stitchers to stay even and not run ahead!).

Here, without captions, are some of the other WIPs!

Cheers and Happy New Year!

Rosie

Dec22

Stitch of the Month 2015

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I’m making progress on Ruby Razzle Dazzle.  The smyrna ribbon outlines are complete and I’ve started working on the star points between the oval petals.

The instructions say that you’re supposed to put in the star points before the ribbons, but I gave up because I could not figure out how to orient them correctly.  It was much easier after the ribbons were done.

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And although I never seem to finish anything, I am looking forward to starting SOTM 2016.  See everyone soon!

Nov18

November SOTM

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Linda and Nancy came to Stitch of the Month on Saturday, which I hosted for the very first time.  Unfortunately, Nancy left before the pic so below is Linda’s (top) and mine (bottom):

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Nancy did kindly bring me mums, and I managed to get them into the ground before a freeze along with some irises:

Plants

Nov7

Mouline Rouge by Long Dog Samplers

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Hi everyone,

I am new to contributing to the blog and am also just getting back to needle pointing again after a short hiatus.  In the meantime, here is a pic of an old cross stitch project back when it was still in progress:

Mouline Rouge 02/25/08

Despite the fact that I have more UFOs than finished and framed projects, this one is actually done and hanging in my living room:

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Oct11

October SOTM

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Hi Everyone —

Greetings from Alaska!

We had a small turnout for our Stitch of the Month at my house yesterday.  Still, I think we all made SOME progress.  I am thankful that we do this as a group because Tina has saved me from more than one screw-up!

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Ruby Razzle Dazzle — Clockwise from top left — Rosie, Robin, Nancy, Tina, Linda

As you can see we are all at different levels of progress!

Can you believe we started talking about next year’s project already??

Cheers!  Rosie

Oct3

Fog in the Mountains

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And fog at the beach! After a lot of heavy rain yesterday and last night, the view is very foggy this morning. Allegedly my flight status is still “on time,” but we will see. Carol started her drive home at 4am, so she is well with on her way by now.

Morning, October 3.

Morning, October 3.

View from our hotel room without fog!

View from our hotel room without fog!

But I know what you are really interested in seeing is my progress on “Fog in the Mountains” by Gail Stafford. Well, here it is:

Day two progress.

Day two progress.

Each section is at least partially stitched. Gail showed us how to ravel the Flair and attach it for the fog — yes, you PURPOSELY ravel the Flair! I can’t wait to get home and finish this really lovely piece. Gail talked about how she designed it, and made decisions about the design, threads, and stitches, and showed us photographs of her doodle cloth and notes, all of which I found immensely interesting and inspiring.