Hi, Everyone —

A few months ago, I met Janis Note of Noteworthy Needle and she was stitching the lenses for a pair of her trade-marked Cross Eyes glasses.  I thought the sun glasses would make great stocking stuffers for my girls so I bought a few kits.

Today I finished the stitching on Marisa’s glasses and I wanted to share the result with you.

Cross Eyes by Janis Note

And here’s a close-up of the design.

Close-up of Lens Stitching

Janis assembles the pre-drilled glasses into a kit which also contains an eyeglass case, Size 28 Needle, Beadalon Big Eye Beading Needle, Waxer, Needle Grabber, detailed instructions, and two charts.  Marisa picked her own thread colors at JoAnn’s.

In addition to sunglasses, Janis sells magnifier glasses as well as several colors and types of sunglasses.  I think this is a way cool idea and a unique stitched gift and conversation starter!  Don’t you agree?

Cheers!  Rosie

Hi, Everyone —

This past weekend, Sue R and I took a “Learn to Weave” workshop that was sponsored by the Jockey Hollow Weavers Guild!  Each student had a small, 4-shaft loom at their workstation.  We learned how to thread the loom — what an interesting and complicated process!  Luckily, we had an NJNA guild member, Dee, to help us figure it out.

The teacher, Daryl Lancaster, was absolutely fantastic!  We learned so much!  Finally, with only two hours left in our 7 hour day, we actually started to weave!

My Woven Sampler!

Daryl had provided us with a “draft” or pattern so that we could see the effect of different threading sequences, weaving sequences, and color sequences!  We also learned how to “read” a draft!

Sue and I now understand the weaving process better and can appreciate why hand woven goods are so expensive!

Cheers!  Rosie

Hi, Everyone —

The third and final day of my Atlantis Rising class was a bit of a disappointment.  Our teacher wasn’t feeling well, so she just went through the instructions page by page and left as soon as she finished.  A few people stayed through about noon to continue working on whatever threads we had hanging out.  When I got home, I continued to work on the bargello portion of the project and so I was able to get a second pass in.

Today, I decided to try the next “fancy” section of the design — Sprat’s Heads that fill the four square boxes in the bottom of the mountain.  I ripped the first box out at least six times and after about two hours, finally, I decided to throw away the charts and just do the motif so it sorta filled and centered in the boxes.  My head hurt pretty bad after all that thinking!

Atlantis Rising Progress

I think I’ll do another row of bargello next and then move on to another section with fancy stitches.

I helped Dottie on Saturday with the double fans (below those awful squares) and as a thank you, she fixed the scissor fob that I bought in Anaheim and then she made (!) me a scissor fob and a threader fob to match my stitching supplies bag!  How cool is that?

Fobs: Two New and One Improved

The threader to the right of the red beads is the one that Dottie removed to fix the fob.  It seemed like such a good idea when I saw these in Anaheim, but the threader has hooks instead of holes and the hooks got caught on everything from stitches to tablecloths to sweaters.  So now the threader is relegated to my magnetic needle box and the red fob looks awfully handsome on my hemostats!

All in all, I am glad that I came to take this class in person because I met so many wonderful people!  I’ll definitely be back to stitch another day!

Cheers!  Rosie

Hi, Everyone —

I’m in Southern California taking Ro Pace’s  “Atlantis Rising” with the San Bernardino Chapter of  ANG.  I shared the pre-work with you in an earlier post.  Harold and I fumbled through putting together a carrier for the project and it is working great!

Custom Carrier for Atlantis Rising

I had searched the web for directions for the homemade carrier I saw at the Anaheim seminar, but never found them.  Today, however, Diane gave me a copy of the official “Project Safe” directions by Judy Rager!   I think this might make a good chapter program for next year!

So, I’ve now finished two days of stitching on Atlantis Rising.  This is a very complicated design with lots of Jean Hilton stitches.  I am enjoying the class camaraderie and I always enjoy the Hilton stitches because they cover a large area with only a few stitches!  Yesterday, we did Jessicas, Reverse Jessicas, Bargello, and a few Amadeus stitches!  Today we did Double Fans, a Walnetto, a Starfle, Crescents, Sprat’s Heads, and Chilly Hollows!  Who knew there were so many stitches!

Atlantis Rising Progress After Day Two!

In addition to the kit, I purchased two possible glass “spoons” to be mounted near the peak of the mountain (although the class has noticed that the current progress makes it look like a Furby with teeth and square ears!).  Here are my two possible choices for the “spoon” or I may decide to choose a pendant from my jewelry box at home!

Glass Pendant Options for Atlantis Rising

I’ve been getting lots of ideas for new programs, new meeting features, and gadgets!  I even met someone who regularly visits her friend in Randolph, NJ and who wants to join us for one of our stitching sessions!

Cheers!  Rosie