Thursday, January 28, 2010

Stitchy Updates

Whew; December is not an easy month to recover from! I've been feeling kind of quiet lately, and making a proper blog post--Whew! I don't know where to start! But, I do want to share what I've been working on, so I'll let the work do the talking this time, and away we go!!

Here is my first finish for the year, a cube scissors fob to thank Nicole for kindly lending me her copy of BlackBird Designs' Beneath the Sunlit Sky (Loose Feathers No. 26). It is an arrangement of various motifs from the design, as well as our initials. I decided to make them a bit like a children's alphabet block, because we share the coincidence of having our first and last names begin with the same consonant ("N" and "B", respectively) I was a little worried that this was too forward of me, to put my initials on it as big as hers were, thinking, "This is for her, why will she want something personalized for someone else?! But, I decided it would be okay due to the motif.) The cube is about 1" square in finished format. So, without further ado,

"Merci Cube"








And my favorite pic, Nicole's from her blog showing it adorning a lovely pair of pewter-finish scissors. I'm so honored that she decided to use it.



Thank You Nicole, for your generosity and patience!


You might notice that I've got the chart for PS Fox & Grapes under the glass there; I really want to stitch and enjoy this one, and I just determined yesterday that I have OVER TEN WiPs if you count the smalls awaiting finishing!!! This will certainly not do! I know some of you are lauging at me for being alarmed at only ten, but when you consider that I've only been "at it" about a year, and that I have...I don't even know, but one hand has enough digits to count them with room to spare, well... I should make a deal: If I finish 2 more I can start F&G! ;)

I also finished my Valentine's exchange on the Becky-moderated Holiday Exchange Blog, which is now accepting new members and is open for sign ups for Easter until January 31, 2010. Please check it out if you are interested. I'm a bit concerned about my package, though, as delivery confirm shows that it was delivered on Monday, but here it is Thursday and no word from the recipient. I really hope she received it safely, and that she likes it! I also look forward to showing it here, as I had many adventures in finishing it! (That should make for a funny post!)

Fox Forest Update:










I do know I used 3 where 1 would have served, but with this new phone I've got (the EnV Touch), I'm really enjoying my needlework photography. Trust me when I say I spared you oh-so-many more. Mostly, I'm enjoying looking at the "floss toss"; I subbed all the colours in, and I like admiring it on the sunny coffee table more than I do stitching it. And I LOVE stitching it. Thanks, Edgar. ^_^

Proof that foxes are really cats:





Because it really was a quiet, sorry-feeling sort of morning, and then the post came, and now as I'm typing the sun's come out, here is the nicest part of the Afternoon Post (My mail is, of course, delivered only once per day, but it was after noon. Sometimes, it's The Morning Post. ;), my order of Scissors from Yuko!

Her service is so lovely, if you are on the fence about this, please order from her! I ordered her styles "C" and "D" from a French seller, who charged 24 and 26 dollars for scissors and S&H, and NO combined-shipping! Yuko is a much better value, and her service is fast--only 8 days after shipping they arrived!

The packaging is lovely: Even Marc remarked on the rose-printed wax paper.






In an amusing bit of "Engrish", the packaging says that they are "Manicure Scissors". lol! They are very nice, but I wouldn't touch my cuticles with them! You are to use them WITH your hands, not ON them! :D Pesky Prepositions! This is the manufacturer's mistake, and not Yuko's, though. Her English is very good (certainly superior to my paltry Japanese), and EVEN if she did I would never laugh at it! :D

Thank You, Yuko, for collecting and offering such good products for us! I will enjoy my scissors today!

Well, all, thank you for your time and kind attention (and to the owner of the Preying Fox who posted his image on Wiki), next time I hope to show you the Valentine I made for the exchange and also the one I'm now making for myself!

Yours in Stitching,
Berit

20 comments:

Sadie said...

Beautiful stitching and finishing Berit. Love the scissor fob you made for Nicole.
I hope that your exchange piece has arrived safely, I am sure the recipient will love it.
Wow, your phone takes great pics!
Love the scissors too :-)

Melissa said...

Hi Berit! I love that stitchy cube fob that you made for Nicole. I've stitched Sunlit so I can recognize the motifs. Very nice!

I love those scissors from Yuko and she might have a new business venture now, as we all want more scissors, don't we?

Happy Stitching!

Berit said...

Thank you so much, Sadie! Yeah, Incidentally the camera phone (a 3.2), takes better pics that Marc's old Die-Hard Kodak 3.1. It has a good macro, and auto focus. And, it was "Free!" Of course we did have to renew our 2-year contract, and add a data option for $14 a month, but Darling REALLY wanted this phone. Seeing as he makes the monies, and isn't asking for a iPhone or Droid after all, I didn't say no.

Also, I can now message my photos right to my hosting service! Bliss! I HATE taking photos, uploading photos, linking photos....

I am such a one for scissors. I cried bitter tears over a pair in my childhood. Truly. ;)

...

Melissa, I thought I was "a thing" for having figured out such a cute finish, then I saw a published chart featuring it. Nothing new under the sun, eh? BtSS was beautiful, but I am SOOO SLOW! Or, I was when I began it. Now, I think I can drop one of the "o's" and make that "SOO SLOW!" :D

Thanks for visiting and commenting, ladies!

Ranae said...

Love the little cube finishes.
I am sure Nicole was excited to receive it.
I have Fox Forest and love that design, I should go take a dive for it, lol.
Pretty scissors! I girl can't have to many now can she?! hehe
I look forward to your exchange post and hope she did get it and is too busy at the moment to email.
Take care!

Berit said...

Ranae, I am certain you are right, the girl is a mom, and I hope all is well with her. It's just on my mind, you know?

Thanks for saying kind things about the fob! As for Fox Forest, it was a kind loan from Edgar! :D

Anonymous said...

Your cube for Nicole is very clever and pretty, nice work!

Love your progress on Fox Forest - I just kitted up Reindeer Forest by the same designers and am anxious to start it LOL!

Berit said...

Karen,

I didn't know the Workbasket had other Forests! *drool* It is just such a fun and cozy stitch. it has so many small motifs that it delivers lots of tiny got-it-finished hits of happy-brain chemicals. Very enjoyable.

BeckySC said...

You did a great job on the cube fob for Nicole! Very nice :)
Your progess looks just great :)

Edgar said...

What a great "cube fob" - and a super snap of the darling fox.

Becky K in OK said...

Love the little cube. Too cute. Your scissors are wonderful. What can I say about the fox? I love it.

Deb said...

Your cube is fantastic! What a great finish. And I love your WIP too! And those scissors - I just love scissors and had to get some of those myself. They are such a great deal, it's hard to resist them.

Blu said...

The cube fob is awesome! And that fox pic just made me grin~

Myra said...

Wow you have been busy. I love your cube fob finish. Very clever and pretty to boot!

staci said...

That is the cutest fob! And it looks exquisite on Nicole's scissors :)

Enjoy your new scissors too!

Catherine said...

Love the cube! Great job!

Brigitte said...

That little cube is so pretty, you are doing some very creative stitching and finishing.
I love your WIP. All the four Forests are such beautiful designs.

Carol said...

What a pretty and unique little cube! I love the way you personalized it for Nicole--looks great adorning her scissors :)

Yuko said...

Brite,
Thank you for lettin me know that your scissors arrived safely!
And thanks for the lovely words about me! he he :D

Your cube is very lovely!!

I'm back to "Scissors Shop" now
LOL!!

Yuko

Littlebit said...

The little scissor cube is adorable, Berit. I saw it on her blog when she first got it. What a sweet thing for you to do. Thank you for stopping by my blog and for your sweet comment. Autumn..I'll really be in over my head! LoL! I want that one too! And I can't wait to start Shores..and my daugter will be releasing a couple of new things before long that are musts. :-) I'm hopeless! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Siobhán said...

Berit, I am so glad to see a post from you! Your scissor cube for Nicole is just adorable. Fantastic finishing! I love your Fox Forest wip--beautiful colors.