Tuesday, October 11, 2011

CLOUD HOPPING AND A FALL FINISH !

Oh my goodness - time just flies on by - I can't believe it's been so long since I have made a blog post.

It is officially fall here - not according to the temperature - it was 85 just now when I made a Starbucks run.  EGADS - had to run the A/C on full blast and I got an iced pumpkin spice latte instead of a seasonal hot one.

I wanted to introduce you to Petunia the Pig -   She looks kinda like a pony - I tried getting a side shot but looked like a baby donkey so this is it.  This is by the same folk artisan that did my Harriet the hare and the bunny baby on the giant carrot.  The Jack is distressed wool and I love his face.  Actually this was a birthday gift from my mom and it has been put away until it was time to come out and play.

I have been busy with work and when I'm real busy with work that usually means lots of travel. Have been taking more trips on the company plane lately.   Here is a shot of the beautiful clouds on a recent trip home on the plane - it looks so surreal when you are up in the air.


 
and the finish - WHOOOOOOO - I finally finished - well finished the stitching part on the BBD Partridge from the Loose Feathers Part 1 booklet  - I can't wait to show you what I have planned for this piece.  I just need to get to the finishing part - yep - don't faint - I am going to do that myself and hopefully next post I will have the real finish to show you.  I used the called for Vintage Pear by LL and the called for Belle Soie silks - 2 strands made the coloring very vivid.  This was my first time using Dinky Dye silks and I must say I was very impressed.

For a long time I was stumped on what to do with those wheat sheaves/sheaths or whatever they are and I apologize to anyone who knows way more than I do about farms and so forth.  I put this close up so you could see how they were drawn on the far right and how the stitched ones looked on the far left.  I think this stitch is working out well.  The orangey ones are a mix of Vineyard silk and Planet Earth stranded silk and the golden ones are 2 colors of Planet Earth - I actually love that fiber too - my first time using it as well.  I'm not a big fan of the vineyard - it gets easily distressed and to me looks just like perle cotton.  I asked a fellow ega member about it and she said maybe I was using too long a strand - well not in my opinion and then she said I should pay careful attention to make sure I was stitching with the correct grain - EGADS - if I have to be so particular about all that - I would just avoid using it.  I'm not knocking their product - just sharing my observations - I don't want negative comments because I am ditzing someone's favorite silk.  We all have our preferred products to stitch with and I'm just sharing my opinions.

Here is the full shot - not much left to go now - I wish I had picked it up earlier this summer so it would be done for the fall season but alas I am always a day late and a dollar short.  I'll enjoy stitching it in the season and when it is done - it is done !  I am not sure what to do with the sky - I definitely want black but I might experiment with Gloriana Florimell in Antique Black - I adore this fiber - but then I adore Soie D'Alger the base for this thread.  I don't know what fiber to use for the stars - I do want them sparkly so I am thinking Krenik probably but I'll try several things until I find the perfect solution.

I never could understand what those black things below the fence were meant to be - rocks?  Buckets - oh well whatever they were - they are going to be dirt in my field and I will put in those grassy shoots last on top of all the stitching.  I have really enjoyed this piece.  Just a reminder it is Autumn House by Melissa Shirley Designs and I just went wild with stashed fibers using many different things.  I did buy a few new things but at least half or more of it was from my vast stash of threads.

Haven't shown my Spanish sampler in a long time.  This is only 1/2 of the sampler - the right side is stitched.  Sad to say this piece has not gotten much attention this summer - it is is fondly referred to by Jody as the "lap robe" (inside joke) and therefore if you get the hint - this is a 1/2 yard piece of linen and during the dreadfully hot summer months - it was just too hot to work on especially under my bright Daylight lamp.  I need to make a point of working on it at least one night a week so that some forward progress is being made.
This is a SAL with the Attic and I saw the first finished Spanish in Jean's recent newsletter.  I think the SAL leader has changed a few of the colors in the bands more to her liking - not sure I will make changes - I typically like to be in the ball park of what the original sampler looked like.


So - that concludes a brief tour of what's been going on around my house.  I have not been hooking much but hooking always ramps up in the fall and winter.  Hopefully I will have enough progress on my scarecrow to show a new photo next time.

Hope you are all enjoying lots of stitching, knitting, hooking, pumpkin pickin' apple eatin' and fall festivals in your neck of the woods.  Thanks for stopping by my blog and please leave a comment - I love to hear from ya'll !

14 comments:

Nancy said...

Such an enjoyable post Melody, and such beaut1iful pieces you are doing! I love everything, and I can't name a favorite. The needlepoint piece is amazing, the Spanish Sampler looks so pretty, and I love the partridge and can't wait to see how you have decided to finish it. Petunia Pig is just adorable, and I really love the jack-o-lantern she is sitting on! Gorgeous cloud shot too.

Margaret said...

Ah, it's worth the wait for a post when you show off such wonderful things! Love that pincushion piggie -- so cute! And all of your work is wonderful! The BBD piece is sooo pretty!! I hadn't really thought much of it but now I have to think differently! Love how you did the wheat sheaves on your needlepoint piece -- it's really coming out so nicely! Your lap robe is looking good too! lol about the nickname for it! Sounds like you've been really busy recently. Hope things slow down for you so you can do some more stitching, knitting, and hooking!

Joanie said...

Hey Mel! It's great to "see" you@ Love all your Wips. They are beautiful. I think Petunia is a sweet piggy riding on that great Jack!

Laura said...

Hi! Here is a link to the lamp you asked about: http://inspiredneedle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=85_86_634&products_id=8964

Love everything on your post!

Laurie in Iowa said...

Love your pig pincushion... so sweet.
Congrats on finishing the BBD piece... it looks wonderful.
The wheat looks fantastic on the needlepoint piece.
Hope things slow down a bit at work so you'll have more time for fun stuff.

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

My goodness you have so much going on! I love your counted thread piece I really do it is stunningly gorgeous! And your sweet little wool guy :) I'm glad he got out to play :)
Your sampler...looking great!

And those clouds from the plane window....always stunning to see how wonderful our world is and the beauty it contains and how we so easily can forget....Thank you for sharing!

Cari said...

Wow oh wow Mel...You have been busy. I love your needlepoint piece. I think the designs now are so much fun because we can use so much fun thread. I have a couple of designs in my stash and I'm looking forward to messing around with them. I'll be so glad myself when our weather cools down. It was cooler a couple of weeks ago but it's warmed up. I saw our sweet Henri a couple of weeks ago...she is so much fun. I'm so glad I've been able to spend some time with her. I told her to say HI to you and she told me HI from you!!! Hugs dear friend. Looking forward to your finishing on the BBD piece.

Rugs and Pugs said...

Mel ~
Great to hear from you!
You have been busy. Thanks for sharing.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Beehive Needleworks said...

Good morning...goodness me, you have been stitching your little fingers to the bone...with gorgeous results truly!

Love your wee piggy and JOL...each looks as though they might a bit mischievous! Perfect for the holiday at hand.

Thank you for sharing your lovely photographs...I always look forward to ogling your lovely posts!

Happy day to you...

Most warmly,
Judy

geeky Heather said...

Wow, you have gotten a lot done!! I like the stitches you're using for your wheat sheaves...I probably would have done a lot of boring straight stitches!

The Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure said...

Good looking needlepoint sheaves you have there, Melody. I'm glad you have enjoyed this piece. It looks very country and rug-like to me somehow. Great job!

Jackie's Stitches said...

You're working on such lovely projects! I'm looking forward to seeing how you finish the BBD piece. Your needlepoint is really coming along too. You've selected the perfect stitches! I know you've given that section a lot of thought and it couldn't have ended up better.

I hope you're enjoying the work travel!

Siobhán said...

Petunia the Pig is adorable!! How sweet. LOVE the BBD! I keep forgetting that is in that chart booklet thingie. I need to stitch that plus the three parter design. Your needlepoint design looks great, too! I always am kicking myself for not doing more autumnal stuff, especially when this time of year rolls around and I could be decorating with it instead of just stashing the charts. Nice progress on your Spanish Sampler, too!

Sharon said...

Everything is just gorgeous, I love all your work. Petunia Pig is just too cute. Love your cloud shots, I have not been in a plain in years and seeing those pics reminded me of how beautiful the clouds are. Thank you so much for visiting my blog recently, I am trying hard to keep up with it once again. Hope you will visit again very soon. xoxoxox