Before-Christmas Catch-Up!

Whew! It has been a while, so I will try to keep it to the photos! Just because it is my treasure, here is the birthday card Marc made for me in its perch with some of my other favorite treasures on my coffee table. Yes, That PS Halloween small is still out. :)






And here it is with the beautifully wrapped gift it accompanied. I adore this card because he drew it, and it uses the darling caricature of me which we developed a couple of years ago. (He rendered, I "art directed": "Okay, have a rabbit making tea. Yes, but the rabbit should be like an eggplant. LIke a waterskin. Yes, okay over here...") Additionally, it induces a neat bit of recursion in the form of a Droste effect when I hold the present. :D :D :D





The darling paper, which is a gift in itself. It is a long story, but the gift inside is not a surprise, and is somewhat "owed". This makes the love and care he put into the packaging the REAL gift, and I adore it. He went above and beyond to order this wrapping paper; it is a good produced using motifs from one of my favorite comics, Ochibisan, which I spoke about here.





Inside the box? Why, it's this mug! There is also a blue version, which I also recently acquired. :) The food shown here is a green tea latte and okonomi senbei.




I was also blessed with other kind gifts. Wonderful Christina not only remembered my day, but sent me a pattern I had admired her finishes of! And, scissor charms, too! Thank you, Christina!



Meanwhile, I decided at the beginning of my birthday week that I would make the "Ultimate Gift" for myself--I would stitch The Chart: PS Fox & Grapes. (Do you have a "The Chart"?) Well, it was "ambitious", shall we say...I wonder if I will finish in the new year. It does have a lot of leaves!

Myra must have really been on the same wavelength (Not that my Fox Mania isn't somewhat legendary)





She sent me this amazing fox project bag! :o She said she got the fox fabric panel from etsy, and this mystic fox has really grown on me! It even has a rabbit! I like the co-ordinating black print she used; though multicolored the confetti dots remind me of pinhole constellations in a magical sky.





Here's a "batman snap" showing the scale and lining of this beautiful bag! About a week later I realized it even has green grapes!!!

I caught quite a cold in November (Right before Thanksgiving; the guys had to make It All!), and I feel like I am still catching up even now!


Okay, On to Christmas! (Somewhat)





I promise to get some better tree shots, but I do like the light quality in this and seeing ornaments from my friends! Don't you just love The Tree? I adore tree pics on blogs. :)





The messy desk layout of all the ornaments I have stitched since the summer--there are 12! (Well, 2 were from last year). I am surprised and glad to have reached part of my goal--more on the goal as I get closer/organized on it.

Some of these are officially for Becky SC's Ornament Challenge, and here follow closer pics of the ones I have worked on since I last blogged:




fr. Prairie Schooler Bk. 151 "Santas and Snowmen"
worked in the recommended DMC



With thanks to Myra for the loan of this OoP Chart! This was the "stitchin'-est" ornament in memory! Does anyone else "forget" that white or light stitching umn, has to be stitched when they are sizing up how much of a BAP a chart is?




fr. Prairie Schooler Bk. 117 "Prairie Stars"
worked in the recommended DMC


I've been pining for this one since I saw Edgar stitch it a year or two ago.



Here is a Mary Garry Santa ornament which I previously stitched for an exchange; I need to get a few colors I am missing to finish up santa!

Now, here is this week's WiP:




Yup, I started PSS Yuletide! I think the overdyes really make this piece, and I am glad I bought the JCS this year! This is another one which has a goodly amount of stitching, but once you figure out how to "work" the townhouses they are a fun repeating motif. :D



Also, I decided I had to have a noro scarf (as seen on Nicole's Blog).

Here is my trial run (I cast on 29 stitches instead of 30-something), and only used 2 balls of yarn. Learning the rib stitch to make this was so irritating, but I was really satisfied when I did.

Okay, friends, this is already overlong! I hope to be back soon with a shorter, stitching update type post. Just in case,

Merry Christmas!!
Berit

Yesterday's Three Finishes

How did I manage this? It is almost cheating, but technically true...




Day 11
fr. Prairie Schooler Bk. 127 "Santa's 12 Days of Christmas 9-12"
Fabric: 36 or 40 ct. Days Gone By
Fibers: Recommended DMC


Shown with Scissors for scale, here is M.F.H. Santa in all his gear on the field. The fox seems to be popping up; "You called?" or maybe "You Mad, Bro?" I did change the white to B5200 to make it show up better on the linen. I DID rip and replace the the red after reflecting on Vonna's advice particularly. It seems that life's trick is knowing what "moving on" in life means in each situation. I will say that I thought the previous red was prettier on the linen; too bad I don't know what color number it really was.





I am beyond thrilled by this Autumnal Hunt themed Ornament. But...I couldn't figure out what the fox was doing. Their paws are actually white, so I though he was pointing. Is he telling the chasers to run the opposite direction from what the Huntsman is calling? That's awfully goofy for PS. After comparing the cover image, the graph, and mulling it over, suddenly I knew! That appendage is his brush! Oh.

I like the idea of fox hunting, though I only know reports of it as given by Rita Mae Brown. She portrays it as a noble game which the fox naturally always wins, as he is so sly. Recognized American clubs never kill the fox.




fr. Prairie Schooler Bk. 159 "Fall Fields"
Fabric: 28 ct. Wichelt Antique Tan (?)
Fibers: Recommended DMC


Have you seen this before from me? Well, I added in the ring around his eye, finally, so that now he doesn't look like some sort of soul-less carcass! :)




A Visit
fr. Prairie Schooler Bk. 48 "A Christmas Visit"
Fabric: 28 ct. Wichelt Antique Tan (?)
Fibers: Recommended DMC


Though I am quite vocally sour about The disease of Early Christmas brought on by our American Marketing Machine, this one had me singing Jolly Old St. Nicholas all week. Though I only know the first two sections, I somehow love this old song; perhaps one of the reasons is because aforementioned Machine hasn't worn it out for me. I can't recall the last time I heard this one; can you?

The colors seem quite different from the model picture, particularly the chimney/window. This publication is from 1994 (eep) and I think perhaps the dye lots are that different now. I decided to just go as charted, however, because I fell in love with the version seen on Mary Katherine's blog. If possible, I'd like to find some green gingham ribbon just like this to finish this piece! :D





This roof-haunting santa wound up with a bit of a smirk. :]



I started this goody from Primitive Betty on big, big 28 count wichelt...and I don't like how huge it is. But...It looks so good in the picture that it makes me want to finish it rather than moving on as I had planned. Hurmn. I think this will be a good candidate for the walnut crystals I have on order from Stacy Nash. :) Maybe I will stick with the plan to make it a smaller pin pillow...but will I re-stitch the whole design after that? This calls for over-two stitching on 35 count, which I find tortuous! Even some tight 32 counts I hate to stitch over two. What do you think about the 35 or 36 count 2/2 practice?

Speaking of my love for this pic, I almost love photos of stitching more than the real piece. (Does anyone else concur?)
Here are some Stitchy Still-Lifes; I just love this stuff when I see it in blogland!



Three Culprits





I love the floss toss for Santa's Days! Why is only poor languishing JB in focus? I found the fill text I want to use for her, now I need to decide what image editing software I want to use for charting now that I have moved to my new computer. Any suggestions. I had macstitch and it was an abomination.

~*~

Previously, I wrote that I was struggling to "Get My Autumn On", but I have been making strides:





Do you remember "My Tree"? It is one of the first in the neighborhood to turn its leaves and loose them, so I was happy to catch this photo recently.




I made Oxtail Stew twice last week! Chef John is my modern american cooking source. I made this with a friend using his pressure cooker (50 min meat and etc., + 5 for the veg), and subbed thyme for the rosemary. We made it again adding Guinness and some mustard powder, and while both were good I would prefer Chef John's italian style with a pint for drinking!

Oh, also! I did not add any potatoes but instead did roast veg (cauliflower, carrots, brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes) in the oven and served it in the same bowl. This is an amazingly delicious, incredibly healthy collagen-rich (woo-hoo; youthful skin!) way to eat red meat. A small amount of meat is incredibly satisfying. I really want a pressure cooker now!





I love presents; especially giving and wrapping them! So, here is Edgar's Birthday Card.



And some of the two spliced together with a few already-wrapped packages in the background!



...

Thanks everyone, for your visits and comments! I am behind on reading last week's, so please excuse me while I catch up.

Yours,
Berit

October Happy Dance

Hello, Everyone! It's beyond time for an update on what I've been up to in stitchy land! Here follows the floss toss (which I meant to post a while ago) for the piece I've been working on:



I just fell right in love with this piece after seeing it on Nicole's blog around Memorial Day, so off I went looking and looking for it on the 'net. Now, at this time I didn't know a BBD from a pair of BVDs, and so of course had No Idea that it was a Loose Feathers Design and also OOP. OOps! Well, in the end I was really blessed because kind Nicole agreed to lend it to me! So, it arrived mid-July, and then the battle to acquire fibers and fabric began. It was long and arduous battle with many setbacks--the less said the better! Note: This fabric is Silkweaver's Purely Primitive (28ct. Cashel), which is the same colour if not count as the one Nicole used.

And Now, progress as of this Morning:



I realized after taking this that the floss is entirely in the dark.
All I can say is...
a.) lol
b.) Good thing I uploaded that floss toss!
c.) Photograpy is not one of the visual arts in which I excel. :P



The Heron-Crane (can never remember which the leaflet identifies it as. Can you tell I'm a naturalist :P) I've really been hauling to get this thing done, but it totally doesn't show! I STILL do love this design, though I must say I'm itching to stitch for Hallowe'en, and will likely do so all of November!! As for this piece, I would love to finish it, though I am all but out of GAST Parchment (off-white), yet not halfway through the charted stitching of it. Gargh!!



And here, because my love is fickle and has many objects of devotion, is a closer shot of these darling scissors. To see them is to love them (IMO), and I finally got my paws on a pair thanks to intel from Staci's blog on ebay seller rosa0537 (I had no luck at all in wading through her 700+ items to get to these darlings until I searched the french "ciseaux"; "scissors" returned exactly zero results.) I want to post more in-depth about these beauties in future!

Also needing mention is the fatally charming floss tag lurking in the above shots, which was an exchange I received from dear Ann, which came along with some darling accessories and is therefore part of a Sewing Set. (I capitalize it so that you will know that its wonderfulness is such that it has attained Proper Noun status--lol!!) This is yet another item in need of its own blog entry!
...
Now, I'd like to make a brief "Seasonal Landscape" intermission.
I present to you a stunning photographic landscape the likes of which would compel even Ansel Adams to gnash his teeth in envy:


(Just look at the pretty crimson tree.) :)

And, here is "My Tree" which is a tree (in point of fact, this tree) as seen by me as I gaze upon it as I enter and exit my little apartment. It's rather concrete-y in the corridors of our place, but this little peek is my natural oasis:


My tree dressed in Autumn.

With such weather as this, is it any wonder that I am Expiring With Desire to stitch:



Now, this is another piece whose acquiring was fraught with frustration--and I still have yet to put needle to fabric. It's a conversion which is not mine (yet I don't care to identify the source now; I'll see about that if there is any interest) from DMC to cotton overdyeds (Mostly Crescent Colours, but one WDW thrown in for good measure.) I am actually Still WAITING for one of the fibers, the black calls for two skeins. Le Sigh. The fabric is 28ct Pilgrim Brown from R&R. A week or so after I saw this one all stitched up at the LNS (Oh, how Glorious it was--I even dreamed about it after leaving the shop!), Vonna decided to unleash her own version on the Unsuspecting Public! I was able to prevent my own Deaty by Envy only by admonishing myself repeatedly that I "really do like the conversion/fabby I'm waiting on better." I will however admit that I only now closed the browser tab containing the link you can see by clicking "her own version". :P

As a reward for enduring to the end:



Charty stash: PS "Autumn Leaves" and JCS Jan/Feb 2009 (Yes, it's the issue featuring "This is the Day", to which Edgar turned me on.)

To round things off (since I haven't a cat and so can't pleasurably pad out the post with charming pictures of him) here is a vintage card:



If I don't post before the day, Happy Hallowe'en to you and yours...

In Stitching,
Berit