Wednesday Wish-It(s)

I've decided to *appropriate* a blogging idea from the multi-talented Missy who I think acquired it from someone else: A post of things I Wish I had stitched (and own). Now in my morality this open theft is acceptable because I'm a) promoting the sources (with links, even)and b) re-hosting the images so I'm not stealing anyone's bandwidth. I consider it a compliment...but you may not. If you are one of my honored (though un-consulted) sources featured in this blog, and you're furious to see your lovely creations shown-off and praised herein (or even if you'd just *prefer* not to be here) please let me know and I'll respect your wish. I'm not trying to steal anyone's thunder, only share a smattering of the images I keep saving to my desktop as I wander hither and 'yon on these internets.

So, Dear Reader, I present you with this Delightful Digest in hopes of cheering your Midweek.

Poncheka's beautiful piece is first--Now this is what I call Christmas Elegance!! I love everything, especially the sophisticated colour of the pearl beads she embellished with!



She finished this into a charming octagonal pillow, so follow the above link to her blog to see it in more detail! (I'm limiting my pilfering fingers to only ONE image per project! In my book it's one thing to pinch a picture, and another to burgle a whole blog's worth or work!) You won't be sorry you took a moment to see more pics of this beauty!



And here's another thing you've seen already: BBD's Stockings for September/October. While we're on the subject of wishing; I wish someone would magically reach into this photo and nudge the others aside so I could see the full design of the squirrel one second from left. I don't have any of their stocking books, and I feel myself caving: This may have to be the first.



Here is Primitive Bettys' My Favorite Kitten as stitched by the lovely Annemarie and accompanied by the dashing Pantoef. Her blogs are so wonderfully funny that I could just sit here and re-blog them to you all day, but I'm going to cut myself off and let you go read 'em yourself. (You know how 5 year olds will just corner you and let their wit flow long telling out some interminable "Because-it-was-so-funny" blow-by-blow in exhaustive detail? Well, I STILL do that. :) Ahem. The tale of her "My Favorite Kitten" is particularly funny because she *almost* held a drawing for the second kitten pictured as well. ;)
I've been eyeing this pattern for a while now, and Annemarie's charming modeling may just push me over the edge; acquisition is only one short click of the Primitive Bettys' link above, after all.



Here's another stunner from another superstar of the stitching world. Edgar Blacksheep (as I like to name him in my mind) is a talented needle who needs no introduction, but on the off chance that you haven't been by his place in a while, you must stop in to see his recently finished Hetty Child sampler! I am refraining from putting it here (One pilfer per person per post, Berit!), but it needs to be seen--by you! Edgar is one of the bloggers influencing me most since I began following the online Xstitch circle almost a year ago--they DO say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I can only hope that Edgar is also of this mind because in the last few months I have: ordered and made a penny rug like the one Vonna gifted him with, gone garage-saleing with my mom (who has always loved such pursuits), and finally ordered a quakery chart along with this PS Fox 'n Grapes.



Finally, I know that this isn't stitching, but it is definitely on my wish list: Fox n' Grapes Scissors!! If you like ciseaux (scissors) even a tiny bit please take a look--but be warned: Have your smelling salts at the ready: these beauties are very dear. (I've forgotten who shared this link in *someone's* comment section...my forgetful thanks.)

That's it everyone! Here's hoping you have a smooth slide to the weekend.

I'm off to meditate on the Tenth Commandment, but remain

Yours,
Berit

Monday in Springtime

Here, because it has been springlike-weather all weekend (to my great irritation: Why is it shorts-and-sandals weather in second-half of November!? I was shaking my fist at the sky all weekend. Do Not want to get sick due to yo-yo weather. But, if ya can't beat 'em, join 'em!)and even moreso today, follow a collection of summery items:



This is a long-long overdue show-off of the wonderfully citrus-y exchange I received from dear Ann (who is offering a charming swap today; head on over!) as her recipient in the Tiny Treasures Exchange (Floss Tag). The floss tag has appeared in the corners of some photos in my blog before, and says "Bobbins" on the primary side. The other two items are the extras she made for me--a complete "Sewing Set"!


The reverse side of the tag and the inside of the necessities pouch; so many nice pockets and a felt for needles and pins. How nicely it is made!



A details pic--see the hand-crocheted button loop? And the star-shaped stitch she used to attach the felt? And the beautiful embellishment on the sleeve keeper (In my ignorance I don't know what it is officially. I've been tucking my floss or smalls in-progress into it to keep them clean for travel).

Thank you so much, Ann, for this Exchange. I really do "treasure" it and have not put it away since it came in. I felt a little guilty about it at first because I read on her blog that she had been making the tag from before the exchange assignment and so perhaps had parted from it with difficulty upon seeing that the "bobbins" matched my initial. I hope it has not seemed that you gave it up only to have me not really appreciate it due to my late blogging of it, Ann! I completely love it!

And, here is a souvenir of my first encounter with the kindness of Stitchy Bloggers:



Some months ago I had been really admiring this darling "Watermelon Sampler" by Window Garden Designs which I came across on Terri's blog while googling for unusual alphabet samplers. Well, it was of course out of print, though at this point I was so green that I didn't know there was such a thing) until eventually I gave up and decided to try asking her directly if she had any leads on where I could buy a copy. She didn't though she very generously offered me her copy!! Stiching Bloggers are the Nicest People--I asked in person at the LNS only to have the owner not even know the designer at all. Another lady there did know it, had made every chart in the series, and proceeded to gloat very smugly about how she owned them all, had stitched them all multiple times...what a great fast stitch they were...how great they were as a traveling stitch...and how she thought she'd do it again over one now that I'd brought it to her remembrance... I'll never forget her smug face! And this was when I was *brand new* and even said so sweetly. Honestly, would it have killed her to give me a copy of it? (Copyright be damned; if you're OOP and Out of Business and don't leave me a P.O. box to mail your Ten-Buckses to if I give out copies of your work, then that's just tough. I respect copyright, but consider that to be a morally gray area). Realistically, she's under no obligation to do anything for me at all, but was there any call to convert it into a gloat-session?*end rant* So, I had no expectation of a loan or any help at all from Terri, really, and was shocked by her kindness.



The first photo was *supposed* to show that the linen was a (28ct?) pastel yellow with the sparkly threads shot through here and there; Opalescence, is it? This one shows the stitches to better advantage, though the linen is still washed out. I already have a charming 5" frame for this, but have been putting it off because I'm playing around with stitching in a background to give it a "pinstripe" effect and "square out" the design. Also, I'd like to personalize it somehow, and haven't settled upon a method.



And because it really is Autumn after all, a Darling Roast, all seared up and ready to begin his day in the bath. :D Don't you love his "deglazed bits" accessory?
Can a Roast be of male gender (And be accessorized)? Yes, and yes.

I'm off to find an umbrella to put in my drink, but I remain

Yours,
Berit

Berit, Berit–Quite Contrary; How Does Your Garden Grow?

First some pretty pumpkins sprout–some a rather anemic white...

Then, the brown ground arises all around;

As Dirty Dishes in the Sink abound.

...


Here, also, are several hours of work. I frogged this little guy so many times trying to determine how I wanted to fill the background. Then, when I'd finally done it, I again ripped it out because I didn't like the lay of the colour variegation. OCD, Much? Hey, it's okay, Marc starts counting the clothes pins (we have orange and blue ones, and he knows how many of each.) And if they aren't on the line or in their little buckety-home, he Wants To Know Where They Are :D Or, he takes the lids off the tea sample tins and turns them so that they read the same direction as the labels. I feel that it's relevant to mention that the lids are printed with only the issuing company's logo, and nary a mention of the contents therein. :)



Aand, because I have no restraint, a pic of the whole kit. You may notice that I've run out of "brown", Yes, I probably need a whole 'nother skein. Yes, I used an entire one save 4 inches on that ground. Why, yes, I do think it's because I wastefully stitched vertically. Hey, I like the way it lies. Or, maybe I'm just an amateur who can't make stitches neat when working right to left. :P I also estimate that I will need more orange, and I was TOLD at the outset that I'd need 2 black, but I think 3 is a more reasonable number. (I'm reminded of the time that Missy said in an aside to a piece on her blog, "Oh, Yes–Floss Pig!!". I'm not sure that I'm ready to blame "When Witches", but the shoe fits at least one of us.)

So, some may kindly console me that this is good progress; admonishing me that I've nothing to be contrary about, well, I'll grant you that. :)

Then, what's got my goat? Well, it's my birthday tomorrow (I'll be all of seven and twenty, which gives me another pair of years 'till I reach the landmark age of "Twenty-Nine and Holding"), and by way of a treat I thought I'd finally add a pair of (Overpriced IMHO) Ginghers to my little dragon-hoard. I'd been admiring the red plaid (called Mia) since seeing them on Deb's blog a while back, and upon asking at my LNS after them, I received the info (delivered as one might expect a set-down to be, and after no small amount of Patent Denial of Their Existence) that this style was Gingher's yearly Joann exclusive. Well, after some more looking around, I wound up with a nice little coupon to save 40% off of the price, and wheedled dear Marc into making the rather Pilgrimage-y trip to get them (the area of Lovely Jersey in which I presently reside has something of a dearth of Joann's.) Well, when we get there, of course they are not on the rack, and after some debate on my part, I decided to try inquiring with the shop girls. Well, they WERE in a box on this table. But speaking to the other girl reveals that they've ALL sold. So, we go home and I make a call or two: also fresh out.


Here lifted from Deb's blog are Gingher Mia (Left) with Kelmscott's Tudor Rose (Right).


A cursory ebay check revealed that one can buy "Gingher Mia Embroidery" from any number of sellers; the listing I looked at was for the "RAre hard to find" item with a quantity of 5. The Price? MSRP $29.99. Ah, the middle-man(agement) as(s)priations of America. In another world, I could have had my choice (the lay of the pattern does vary, and we know from the above should-be-finished 6 hours ago cat tag how I feel about that :) of, oh, say 5 pair of Gingher Mia for the low, low price of $19.43 (Free Shipping ;))(assuming the county of X has Jersey's highest sales tax rate).

I'm not really *too* mad, certainly this behavior is legal enough, but is it right? I do get really steamed when people work this scheme on kids toys like Tickle Me Elmo (remember that guy?) or more recently the Wii. Christmas has already had its meaning and observance commercialized enough without citizens seizing upon the opportunity to take up privateering; these people really are all but hijacking inventory off the store shelves, and ergo Santa's knapsack.

Well, we have a splendid opportunity to admonish ourselves on the transitory nature of material goods and the desires of the flesh. How puritanically festive. :D

From atop my Hoard, I remain

Yours Dragonishly,
Berit

"...And Black Cats Are Seen."

Miaou!~

"When Witches Go Riding
And Black Cats Are Seen...
The Moon Laughs and Whispers,
'Tis Near Hallowe'en."

I started this little guy with plans to make a cute floss tag to match PS When Witches..., which I've prepared--I actually blocked out a perimeter grid on last night. I wanted to make a "small" after the rather large (to me) BtSS. I'm going to be starting at the bottom on When Witches because I don't have "enough" blackbird to stitch the whole thing (I need 2 skeins, though I'm gonna' buy 3 matching because running out on BtSS has made me suspicious.) I'm planning to use some Belle Soie Lasagne (Quite possibly the best Hallowe'en colour ever) to fill in the orange section with a satin stitch! :D The full version will use a cotton CC, (Colonial?) Copper.

Aaaand, here's a progress pic on BtSS:


I felt that I didn't get much progress on this one at all, though when I compared it to Monday's shots I surprised myself by how much it had come along. At this point, all that remains are details such as adding in the centers of the "stars" at the top, or finishing the border, or adding smyrna cross berries to the vine at the side. But...I've lost a good bit of mojo to work on this one. There are a few things that I could do without that GAST Parchment, but somehow that's the only part I WANT to do. I also want to re-design the date, but was leaving that 'till last...blah. I must do whatever I can to prevent this from winding up in UFO purgatory.

Now, you Observant Readers may have noticed that the Above Cat greeted you in French, and there is indeed a reason for it:


A Finish!

I'm an "Honorary" member of the French Hallowe'en SAL called "HalloSAL" The idea is to make an ornament each month and post your finish (A Hallowe'en version of the ever-popular Christmas SALs) to the forum. Well, I joined midway, and never got around to finishing much--this may even be the first finished finish. eep. Don't worry, next year's SAL is a Band Sampler designed by GenCat, the moderator. I'm planning to talk more about this when I show my floss toss for the Sampler (Which begins Nov. 1st), and I'll post relevant links to all this at that time, so don't worry if you are interested in knowing more. :)
This is Mill Hill's "Autumn Harvest V: Boo Birdhouse (MHAH28)" with...quite a few changes. I thought the jack-o'-lantern was marooned somewhere between illegible and hokey, and I still can't make a final decision about the bird--do you Readers think it'll make the left side too black-heavy with the "spider"?(<--a very generous description for that collection of black beads and No. 310.) Looking at the photo, I think that it's more clearly a spider than in person. As for the rest of the stuff in the photo, there's my orts jar; can you tell I'm a floss-waster? So, what should I do regarding the birdie? Tack him in, or squirrel him away for another project?


I'm off to finish (I wish; we've got a party tonight) that grinning cat tag...

Yours Cat-ishly,
Berit

(=^.~=)


Oh, P.S. I wanted to give a huge THANK YOU!! To everyone who so kindly commented on my last blog--you guys all totally made my week! I have been trying to reply personally to each comment to thank you and/or answer questions, and if I missed you please forgive me!! In my other blogs it was always common practice to reply in the comments section to any comments made on the post, but in the stitching blogosphere it seems to be more common to email directly, or reply via comment on the other person's current post or...Well, as you can see, I still can't really make heads or tails of it! Thanks for your patience with my slow, improperly placed, or even forgotten replies.
...

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

My dear new stitching friend Patti is throwing a MASSIVE giveaway; JIC you haven't already heard, pop over and enter before it ends tomorrow!

From Stitchy Giveaways

This is not the giveaway (It's a whole bunch of S-T-A-S-H!!!), but is instead a pic of her "favorite thing I've ever stitched") Looks like a BBD to me--it's so charming!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!---

Get your copy of The Daily Mel!

From Stitchy Giveaways

Mel, of The Daily Mel is having a giveaway to celebrate her 8th blogging anniversary/1000th post!

Whew! Now, it's a bit of a stretch to imagine that someone might read my blog who doesn't already read hers, but just in case DO check it out! The deadline for entry is Wednesday, 26 August 2009 at 11pm (Gee; I'm not sure what time zone she is...), and the prize package is astoundingly wonderful in its bounty! Follow the link at the top of this post for full details and entry directions. :D

:::

Now, then, for stitching on the home front, I've started a few things, and even FINISHED a few things since I last made a post here on "PoPn'N" (Yes, I just randomly made up a silly acronym for my blog title...Reminds me of one of those games at Chuck E. Cheese's-type places that says, "LeeeeeEEEEtssss POP 'EM!!" Then, "HOLLLLD DA Balls!" Only it sounds like "Hold the phone". Or maybe "Bone" with a "P" so, = "Pone". Do they still have that "game", Moms of Blogland?)
But, The Camera is not cooperating. And, besides, I do kinda despise taking pics...(maybe it's just my loathing of The Camera...)

What kind of blog has no pics, you say? Well, There's one up there! ^
Mel's don't count, you say?

But, I can say this, I have finished a wonderfully watermelony summery sampler (stitching, not only eating), FOUR Christmas Ornies, and A scissors fob (which is a giftie, so no pix yet anyway). In truth, I am still contemplating adding the year to my watermelon love, so maybe I'm not QUITE finished yet. I need to take some pics and post it up for opinions from you Gentle Readers of Blogland!

Until Next Time, I Remain
Yours in Stitching,
Berit