Thursday, March 24, 2011

Stitching Tragedy and a Sneak Peek~*!

Yesterday evening, I defrosted some cookie dough batter I'd made, sliced some Dove Dark, pressed the shards into the sliced dough, and baked:





Mnn! Because they are "well-done", you can taste the fresh ginger I grated into the vanilla extract.

Why I so-enjoyed those cookies:




I have so little stitching mojo. Yet, I SO wanted to own this darling leaping rabbit biscornu. Ever since I saw the one Myra made, I've dreamed of having it. Now, I've pretty much learned that I don't like to stitch biscornu. Particularly Floss Box's Biscornu. They look small, but they are huge (don't laugh, all your Ann, Mary, Elizabeth stitchers. They're totally larger than they look finished, so that makes them big. ;) Also, it's the same thing 4x!! Whether I stitch each quadrant to completion for variety, or do the duplicate parts all in sequence for assembly-line efficiency, it's still a chore to slog through. Particularly for all those fiddly little color changes. (All you in the HaED Peanut Gallery can keep your opinions to yourself. :D).

My point: This is most definitely not Process Stitching. Oh, no, it was all about the Destination. Which now can't be reached because IT'S NOT SQUARE!

I checked it. Oh, yes. Because it came from an LNS who-shall-not-be-named who always sells me the wrong count of fabric. They are forever miss-marked. It SHOULD have been 32, but my check showed me that it was 28. I pondered, b/c I wanted the finished product smaller, but went ahead b/c the fabric was cute. BUT, I didn't check that it was square. :( Gah!

Not sure what will become of these bunnies now. We shall see.

Weather Report: When it isn't raining this week, it's snowing, and last night we even had hail and lightning!



Yet today there's my favorite clear sky with puffy, fluffy cloud combination. :)

These tracks on a neighboring roof keep getting washed away or snowed over, yet someone keeps making them again and again. :)

~***~


Now, a sneak peek of my first design~




~"Fence-Cat's Hallowe'en"~


The colors are not quite showing true (the linen is more of a rich plummy brown), but enjoy, nonetheless! This will be a freebie design once I rustle up some interfacing, dye some trim and do some model-finishing!

Happy Spring (and Halloween) All,
Berit

33 comments:

Deborah said...

The cookies look yummy! Sorry about the biscornu. I hate when that happens. I am looking forward to your first design! I love anything Halloween.

Ranae said...

Could I please have a glass of milk with my cookies? lol they look so good right now, just because it's almost dinner time.

The want to be biscornu is so cute, sorry for the mishap.

Being the big Halloween fan I am, that looks very enticing, I can't wait to see it.

Lynn said...

Okay you deserve those cookies which BTW look scrumptious!
I can understand your frustration. I've never attempted a biscornu and don't think I'm going to go there. I hope something can be done with the bunnies. They're too cute to let go.
I'm very excited for you and your first design. I love Halloween and cats and it looks fantastic!

Carol said...

I can feel your frustration, Berit! After all that work and then it's not even square! You could easily turn it into a little hanging ornament, though and just take a stitch in the middle to tuft it if you want. Just a thought...

We awoke to more snow this morning, too--is it ever going to just leave us alone???

Nice looking spooky design--can't wait to see the rest!

valerie said...

OMGosh, those cookies look delicious! Sorry to hear your biscornu stitching isn't quite square but it is adorable and hopefully you'll find an alternate finish for it.

JOLENE said...

My favorite part is that Hallowe'en sneek peek....can't wait to see it done! Love the orange flavors it brings a little sunshine to the screen. Save a cookie or two for me and I will bring the milk!

Sorry about all the problems with your biscornu, I know first hand how frustrating things like that can be. I am sure you will think of something fantastic to make out it though.

Here's to better days...

barbara said...

So very sorry about your stitching tragedy. I had something similar happen with a design once and wound up finishing it as a sort of mattress-style pincushion.

Love your design and am very curious to see more!! :D

Anonymous said...

Hooray for frozen and waiting cookie dough to stick your Dove chocolate into. You definitely needed it.

Very weird about your biscornu design not being square. Is that because the fabric is wonky?

I'm looking forward to seeing your Halloween design. I love the colors even though they aren't showing true. I'm sure the actual colors are yummy, too.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

I'm so sorry the biscornu didn't work out. I'm sure you'll find a way to use it. It is darling. I don't like stitching small things like that either. Way too fussy for me.
your Halloween piece looks great- can't wait to see it" finished".

Sandra said...

Your first design is looking great. It should be a great success. So, not only are you a great baker, stitcher, finisher, but now a designer too. You are a multi-talented lady.
Many Happy Stitches,
Sandra
www.homepsunelegance.com
www.plainfancymerchant.blogspot.com

Margaret said...

Oh, your first design looks so cool! Can't wait to see it! Those cookies look delicious! But what a bummer about that rabbit piece. :( It's so cute -- can you salvage it somehow? I hate when a shop sends the wrong count fabric. Argh! And then the fabric isn't even square? Geez! Sorry. :( Oh, and yes, we got snow too -- thankfully not much. And most of it is gone now after a sunny day. Whew! I wonder what is making those tracks? Hmmmm....

Melissa said...

Berit, I'm so impressed with your first design! And I must say your stitches look perfect. They are all lying flat and neat. Mine has been looking like they're a little drunk!

Sorry for the little stitching tragedy. That's so frustrating!

Will there be a cookie giveaway? ;-) (I'm just kidding of course!)

Unknown said...

What a bummer your stitching tragedy is! I do think that you gave yourself the best medicine anyway. I sure would love those cookies. I liked Carol's idea of making it into a spring ornament - might be really cute. Your Halloween design is looking very interesting. Can't wait to see the whole thing.

Myra said...

Ya know Berit, unless you used floss that might run you might try dampening the piece and squaring it up. I have done that before with quilt blocks, stretching them a bit in the right direction - pinning them down and letting them dry and they worked out just fine.

Ooooo, I am loving that I see Halloween in your design - can't wait! The cookies look quite nice too. :o)

Sally said...

Oooh please can I have a cookie??? They look delicious!

Your not to be biscornu is cute. What a shame it's not square. Hopefully you'll find another use for it.

Love the sneak peak of your first design.

Giovanna said...

If I'm reading the numbers correctly, there's a 1/4" difference between the two sides, right? Which is about 5%. I think if you just assemble the square as a biscornu, the fabric might stretch a little and adapt to the square shape without too many problems. Incidentally, it's not unusual for linen to have slightly different counts in the two directions, and we usually don't notice unless we stitch a square.

Your design looks very yummy!

Laura said...

I love me some Halloween stitching and I'm already loving your design.

Cookies look good too but alas I'm on a low-carb, sugar-free diet and can only enjoy them from afar. :-(

Christina said...

The cookies look divine - although I can't get my head around Dove being chocolate - it's soap in the UK - now THAT would make for interesting cookies!!!

What a shame about the biscornu, I wouldn't have checked that it was square either. I think it would look lovely as a little Easter pillow.

Your Halloween design looks very intriguing...I'm loving the colours, especially the fabric you've chosen to stitch it on...I look forward to the release date!! I'm getting a bit bored of Christmas stitching now, definitely ready for Halloween!!!

Unknown said...

Your stitching is beautiful - and the bunnies will look darling whether you frame them or finish them into a pillow. It's a wonderful design even on a count you didn't think you had. And thanks for the peek at your Halloween design! Can't wait to see more!

Blu said...

Those cookies look delicious!

If the stitch count is the same then I don't think the size difference matters... Although it might be a lopsided biscornu?

Robin said...

Your cookies are simply drool worthy. What a way to get over your biscornu disappointment! Don't give up on the sweet little bunny design though. I think it would be darling finished as a pincushion with a little purple button in the center.

I am so happy that you are sharing a sneak peak of your first design. Of course I love the colors that you used and can't wait to see your finish.

Melissa Price said...

I have to go make cookies RIGHT NOW... Thank you very much. *drooling*

Kathy A. said...

Those cookies look to die for!
Boy, that must be so very frustrating with your biscornu. Maybe it can be rescued into a pincushion or such. I hope you ahve better results next time.

Riet said...

I never make a biscornu but when I read your story, I don't begin something like that. Luckely you can console yourself with the cookies (-:

Daffycat said...

That IS a darling bunny square...too bad it isn't SQUARE! I had that problem on a biscornu once and ended up making something else with it ~ a floss tag, I believe.

OMG your Halloween design looks ever-so-promising! Hurry! Hurry up, Berit!

Siobhán said...

I think the bunnies are adorable even if they didn't work out the way you wanted it to! Very cute.

I can't wait to see more of your first piece!

Faye said...

I am like you, a trusting soul....I just know you will finish off your not so square bunny piece just perfectly though.. AND, the best news I am reading is about your freebie design to come out...I dont really do that many Halloween designs, rather I get into "Fall" pieces...But, this one I will stitch!!! Love the sneak peak!

Take care, Faye

LiahonaGirl said...

The cookies look delicious! I had the best chocolate chip cookie of my life on Saturday at Max Brenner's chocolate shop in Caesar's Forum Shops. No other cookie recipe I have comes even close.

Looking forward to seeing your finished Halloween design!

Gillie said...

I'm sitting here waiting for the dinner to cook and blog hopping to while away the time and I come across gorgeous pictures of cookies or biscuits as I now have to call them since I came home! No fair! Had a chuckle over the biscornu too, sorry!!!!

Anonymous said...

Those cookies look divine! Sorry to hear about the stitching tragedy though! I have two halves of a finished biscornu not together for the same reason - the LNS had mislabelled the fabric, so one 1/2 is on 28ct and the other on 32ct :( It would look good as a 'normal' pincushion or pinkeep, or bag insert maybe? Either way, it's a lovely design that deserves to be on display :)

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