Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Autumn Comes Again





Yesterday I spent $5 at the local vegetable market to buy this little bevy of gourds. :)


This little green watermelon-y one with its over-long stem is my favorite.


Did I fool you with my laid out quilt block quarters? Only these three have now been sewn together--last time's "quilt" was just me deciding block placement by laying them out on top of my quilt-covered bed. My friend's mother let me use her Bernina--what an eye-opener that was. Want. 

I think I need to use a walking foot though, because of how varied and scrappy all these fabrics are. (They are getting quite "stretched by the process of being sewn together. Also, two were sewed together in the wrong placement. The foreground block is definitely coming apart. I need to decide which way to iron my seams. Heh.



I love wip pictures which elevate materials and textures. :) Last time's PS WIP with scissors Christina sent to me in an exchange. I've changed the fibers, most notably the ground below the Haunted House.


Please Advise: When I started, I thought of using just black for a pen-and-ink illustration look. I then decided to add browns, but am still not sure about adding in the orange. I've basically decided to orange the windows with an overdyed silk, but...should I do it anywhere else? If the keys aren't orange, should they be brown or black? Should the owl legs be brown or black? Should I just make the windows with their black backstitch only and no orange glow at all???

I AM disappointed that Marc is only afraid of the orange-eyed owls, but I do like the limited palette. I need elves to stitch this for me again as-charted, perhaps.


Didn't think I'd stitched much while away, but "found" this on "Aoutline"'s linen. I loved this motif I stitched for Faye a while back for an Autumn exchange, so here is one for me. But, what to put in the center? :) (I realize I did stitch, and quite a bit more than this...watch this space?)


I though Lovely Autumn'd just begun, I got the Christmas Stitch Itch. :) This is from a leaflet I bought because it had a Huntsman Santa with Fox. Do my threads drive you crazy? Me, too. 

But...

I loathe clipping them while/after stitching, but I ENJOY doing it at the beginning of a stitching session.  Thus, many "finished" pieces have little trail-y threads like this poking out of the front. Once or twice I've clipped them just for the purpose of shooting a blog photo for you (but not woven them in)--this is Not Allowed. :P



What else is on this "Linen No. 9"? Why, more PS! 


And Kindred Spirits by Prim Needle! Bad! How are things to keep clean with such an M.O.? I tell myself larger works (like a BAP Quaker) do, but my mind is not satisfied. 


I remember working hard to give this cat charming markings with the Belle Soie. Do you think I succeeded?


Another Away Stitch (with away waste knots, too!) This is a PS piece from the big Halloween book JCS put out last year, but I altered the colors and filled the background to match my favorite small (as seen in this post's first photo). So far, it is out all the time (though still unfinished!!) I need to stuff it (do I, though?) and finish the beaded edging. 



Thank you everyone, for your visits last time and kind comments. I am quite surprised and touched, and happy to be able to talk with you again. 

I am making a little extra time to integrate more visiting and commenting into my life, so I hope to see you at "your place" and talk with you again soon. 


Berit

15 comments:

Margaret said...

Love the gourds! Love that piece you have displayed with them too. Just love that! Your quilt blocks are so pretty! Yes, I want a Bernina too, but that's not happening anytime soon. Sigh. Your Who's There piece. Hmmm. I like the look of it without any color on it actually. maybe make the keys brown? I suppose you could put orange windows, but I don't think it's necessary -- I like that monochrome idea. Pretty Quaker motif. And love your PS Santas -- very nice! Funny how you stitch so much on one piece of linen without cutting them apart! And your loose ends. lolol! Cute pumpkins too -- that fabric is a pretty color.

Deb said...

I really like your gourds! Especially the watermelony one! And you know that I'm loving your quilt blocks so much. I have a Bernina, but to be quite honest, I barely use it. I got stupid a few years ago and bought one with bells and whistles. What do I use the most - a $250 Janome and my 1950's Singer - go figure.

I love your stitching too, and it's good to see someone that uses waste knots. I thought I was the only one that did that - a holdover from needlepoint I guess. If you place them right, you stitching covers them and you don't have to weave them in - just clip them off.

Oh, and I would do the keys black!

Myra said...

Berit! I have missed your posts. All your stitching is wonderful - you know I love the Halloween pieces. I am happy to see your are still quilting - fun isn't it? I think the green gourd is my favorite also - love that stem!

Christina said...

Another great post Berit! I think I'd hold off with the orange on your PS Whoo's there. It looks great as it is. I'm still hooked on Halloween stitching at the moment. I think November may kick start my Christmas stitching when I realise how many gifts I'm planning on stitching!
I love the PS piece from the JCS book. The plum/orange combo works so well.Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Daffycat said...

Wonderful stitching, Berit. I love this time of year and seeing autumn and Christmas stitching in my reader. Your post is such eye candy today!

Brigitte said...

Another feast to the eyes, this post, very autumn-y and Halloween-y. This PS piece will be terrific no matter what colour you will use for the windows or keys. Although I love the idea of having a bit of orange in it, no matter where.

Giovanna said...

I enjoyed seeing all your stitching - anything PS in particular is always a joy :-) Lovely work!

Catherine said...

Always so nice to see a post from you! Love all of your stitches ~ I think I would keep that PS piece monotone with the blacks/browns. You could always try a dark black/blue like the Blackcrow sampler thread. Looking forward to seeing what you decide!

barbara said...

I just love all your seasonal goodies!!

Karen said...

Looks like you have been very busy! Love the little halloween stitch in the first pic... perfect with your display of gourds.

Patty C. said...

Love the gourds & the quilt blocks - great colors ;)

Carol said...

Oooh--lots of PS goodies for us today! Thank you, Berit :) I really like what you've done with "Whoo's There." Don't think the orange is necessary on the windows and I like the skeletons without the weird orange eyes (they looked like aliens to me on the chart!).

Loved visiting with you today!

Lynn said...

Love the gourds!
Wonderful stitching too! I'm with Carol, I don't think you need to add the orange to the windows of the skeletons. I'd stitch the keys and the owl legs in the brown. I think it will look great like that.
Seeing your Christmas stitching is helping motivate me to get mine out. There really isn't a lot of time left for that!

Sally said...

Lovely stitching. Love all the PS ones!

Tammy said...

Oh man, I love every single thing you are working on! Don't you just love Prairie Schooler? That little Halloween ornie/pillow you made is perfection!