TAST: Portuguese Knotted Stem Stitch

This is a wonderful stitch for bold outlines.

Ol' Blue Eyes...

Wings Class: FME on a Tulle Sandwich

I really enjoyed making these wings. They are quite thick and substantial and made from snippets of yarn, lace, and fabric (there are even some scraps of Angelina fibers left over from cutting out the Angelina wings!) – all encased in tulle. I love projects where I get to use up leftovers. They make me feel so darned efficient…

Just Blame Al Gore and Global Warming…

Greetings from the Feline Home for Unwed Mothers! Found these little guys (and gal) underneath the pile of wood that was dropped off last week. We lured Mommy into the screen house with food and they are all living in there until we get arrangements sorted out inside. We don’t think Mom is feral but she is terribly frightened. We can’t touch her, although she allows us to handle her babies. So there is much work to be done trying to calm her down – and gain her trust. We figured there is no point taking them to already overburdened shelters. The “experts” say this year’s kitten boom is due to global warming… I always like to quote President Lincoln who said (around 150 years ago), "No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens."

TAST: Scroll Stitch

Here’s my first attempt at the scroll stitch. I love this stitch! I think I’ve said that (or thought that) about each one - well, almost… It occurred to me that, by the year’s end, I will have been introduced to fifty-two stitches, most of which I’d never tried before (some I’d never even heard of!). And that just opens up so many possibilities…

Personal Library of Stitches Course

For anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to take Sharon B’s Personal Library of Stitches course at Joggles, it’s being offered again starting October 31st. I took it last fall and thoroughly enjoyed it – and learned so much! I find myself referring to my filled notebook of printed class pages again and again. It’s an excellent resource for design and stitch inspiration!

TAST: Crested Chain Stitch

I was introduced to this stitch in Sharon B’s Personal Library of Stitches course last fall and fell in love with it. Here, I added French knots and experimented with a fall color palette…

Create Your Own Radio Station!

A very nice and helpful person named Terry left a comment on my previous post (where I was grousing about the unjust demise of The Christmas Radio Network) with a link to a music site called Pandora, where you can create your own radio station (or multiple stations) made up of your favorite types and styles of music. I tried it out, today, and it is way cool! I typed in the song, “Silent Night.” It gave me a list of artists with different versions of that song. I chose “The Irish Rovers.” From that choice, a station was created for me with other Christmas songs from multiple artists, all with a folksy acoustic feel; like Jewel, James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, etc. What fun! You can even bookmark your favorites! This is all based on data from The Music Genome Project which can be read about here. As I always say, “Ain’t technology grand?”

More Wings...

My “Tiny Kitty Collier” dolls insisted on modeling the wings. The ones on the left are made from organdy colored with Jacquard Dye-na-Flow paints. I used Angelina fibers and micro beads for the wings on the right. I was surprised at how very sturdy and strong these are, despite their delicate appearance.

I clicked on The Christmas Radio Network the other day for some Santa-making inspiration – and got this message. I’m thinking the Congress could spend their time a little more productively, like maybe ensuring the safety of the nation’s infrastructure…

TAST: Cast on Variation – Drizzle Stitch

This is a repost of the drizzle stitch (a variation of the cast on stitch) from Sharon’s Personal Library of Stitches course last fall.

My First Faery Wings...

Here is a scan of my Tyvek wings before wiring. This is such a fun class – I can see where this wing-making thing could become addictive…