Throwback Thursday - 2006 Part 4

We return to April 2006 for more projects. I made two more ornaments, a greeting card, and a small framed piece.

Peace Angel

I received this ornament kit as a gift in an online gift exchange. It had been so long since I'd attempted surface embroidery that I wasn't certain I wanted to stitch it. But a couple things changed my mind.

A gal from a local stitching group had done an entire miniature quilt in redwork (except that she did it all in a pretty blue instead of red). It was magnificent.

Then I got inspired by an stitcher who has a real affinity for surface embroidery. Her gorgeous work reminded me how lovely surface embroidery can be. I was encouraged to give this redwork angel a try.

My mom taught me surface embroidery when I was a child. I was surprised to find that reaching back into my surface embroidery past was very relaxing and fulfilling. As a bonus, my adult stitches are much more even than they were when I was a child.

I thoroughly enjoyed making this sweet angel. The more I stitched, the more personality she gained.

I finished her as a basic padded ornament. I decided to try something new by finishing the edge of the ornament with beads rather than with twisted cord. The sparkly red Rocailles beads are uneven in size, so I strung some them onto some fine wire, tucked one end of the wire into the top of the ornament, then couched the beaded wire over the side seam. After the beads were couched, I tucked the other end of the wire into the top of the ornament and added a hanging loop made of cording.

It's a little hard to tell from this photo, but the beads add a glimmered halo to the angel.

As an aside, when you make a basic padded ornament in an unusual shape like this, it's important to clip the curves a lot so they lie smoothly as you lace the embroidery to the backing board. It was pretty tricky getting all the wrinkles out of the curves. The beaded edge helped to hide the imperfections.

Easter Card

My daughter Jodie and I created this Easter Card for my daughter Jeanne who lived far away at Eastertime in 2006. I found the adorable Italian freebie chart online.

The card is embellished with watercolor paper, satin ribbon, and stick-on "jewels."

I really enjoy the creative latitude greeting cards give me. It's fun making small mixed media projects.

Little Bit O' Blarney

I stitched this sweet ornament in time for St. Patrick's Day, but my needlework shop didn't have the clover charm for me until April. Sigh.

I bought this chart on eBay for no special reason whatsoever. I just liked it. I'm not Irish. I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day except to wear green. But I thought it might be nice to have a new St. Patrick's Day decoration in my home.

I chose to stitch with Anchor floss and Gentle Art Sampler Thread floss this time. I like the quality of both these fibers a lot. For beads, I chose some from my stash that would work. They are Mill Hill white and Mill Hill emerald green. The clover charm is one that is usually used on Lizzie*Kate patterns.

I finished my heart as a basic padded ornament. Getting the fabric to lie smoothly around the heart's curve was slightly tricky — especially because I didn't leave myself much seam allowance! The cording and tassel were made from #5 DMC perle coton.

I continue to decorate my mantle with this ornament every year.

Hive & Blossoms

This is the second chart I finished from the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar by Accord Publishing. This chart is for the month of August. The stitched area is 59 stitches square.

This piece uses only six shades of floss. The specialty stitches used are satin stitch in the hive and Smyrna cross in the border. The pattern calls for some pewter buttons. Instead, I found some bright yellow novelty bee buttons at Walmart. I used gold acrylic paint to dull them down a bit so they would match my hive. I'm quite pleased with the way they turned out!

I decided to frame this stitchery, using the printed cardboard mat that was included in the calendar.

April proved to be a fairly prolific stitching month for me. In May 2006, I finished another seven small pieces. I'm looking forward to sharing some of them next time.

Throwback Thursday - 2006 Part 1

The wayback machine now moves forward into 2006: The Year of the Ornament. My goal for the year was to stitch a bunch of Christmas ornaments, since I have hundreds of patterns that I like. Just as 2005's Year of the Giraffe, it was only partially successful. I did begin with good intentions.


Cubicle, Sweet Cubicle

I'd like to introduce you to Sally, my alter ego. Sally began life in August 2005 when I was on vacation. It took me until February 2006 to finish her. Once done, she joined me at my new job.

Sally is much messier than I am!

This piece is stitched on 14 ct black perforated plastic with beautiful, bright cotton floss colors. All that black background is stitched. Perhaps that's why it took me so long to complete. Or maybe it was just the 15,000 stitches! Finished size is about 8" x 10".

My favorite part? The little framed giraffe sitting on the shelf behind her desk!

Jingle Bear

I received this little ornament kit in my Christmas stocking in 2005. It was a quick stitch, and my first Year of the Ornament finished ornament.

Valentine

I stitched this pretty little heart for my daughter Jodie's valentine. I found the freebie chart online at the Caron Collection. I hadn't left myself much time to stitch something for Valentine's Day, so needed something small.

Though I found a lot of free Valentine charts on the web, this one caught my eye because of the color and movement inherent in the small design. I chose to use a DMC variegated thread, #75 Cranberry. I like the changes in shading it created in this piece. I stitched the heart on a scrap of 18ct pink ... something. It has an aida-like weave, but it seems different than regular aida. Very nice fabric!

Then I created the card on my computer, and cut the card stock with some wavy-edged scissors. Inside it says, "To the Young Lady who has the Best Pieces of my Heart." I sewed the stitchery right to the face of the card with a long (over two) running stitch, then fringed the edges.

Olive My Heart

2006 was the year I began the designs in the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar by Accord Publishing. I finally finished all 12 charts last year, in 2018. It all started with this piece.

The designs are simple, cute, have embellishments, and a few specialty stitches. All are 59 stitches square. The calendar also came with pre-cut pieces of white aida and a cardboard mat, making a finished piece easy to complete.

The first chart I stitched from this calendar was for the month of February. It used six colors of floss. The specialty stitch is the Smyrna Cross. I did change out the background color so that there would be more contrast with the polka dots.

Blue Crochet Hat

Finally in February, I made another in my series of crocheted hats. The only thing special about this one is that I made it from the same yarn as the blue scarf I made for myself in 2002.

My lovely daughter Jodie is modeling the hat and scarf together in this photo. This remains one of my very favorite scarf and hat sets that I use every winter.

August Goal Update

Now that I've revamped my 18 goals, lets see how I've done so far, shall we? The blue print shows what I worked on or completed in August.

This is my overall scoresheet:

1. Finish all the charts in 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar and frame them
    or get them ready to display.
     Finished in May

2. Finish or dispose of Newborn King
     Disposed of it in January

3. Post a #ThrowbackThursday post each week.
     Ongoing multi-year project. I've posted images of my projects from 1986 to
     half way through 2001

4. Stitch and finish/frame Letter Snow
     Completed in July

5. Crochet 5 different pumpkins
     My September crochet project

6. Read and discuss the book Diana, Herself
     Have read about half of it. Will finish it in September and discuss with a Facebook group.

7. Special Christmas ornaments for my daughters
     Finished in May

8. Learn to use my new sewing Machine
     Figured out the basics in June and will continue to learn more features as needed

9. Improve my health enough to extend doctor visits to every 6 months
     instead of every 3 months
     Done! I got the go-ahead from my doctor in August. Plus, I've been good about exercise
     and have lost a little weight.

10. Make a pattern from my favorite t-shirt and use it
      to make some shirts
      Got the t-shirt made in July and attempted to dip-dye in August. The dying was semi-successful.
      I'm ready to buy some new fabric and make a shirt from my pattern from scratch.
      For the previous t-shirt attempts, I used fabric my husband's old discarded t-shirts.

11. New shelf paper in kitchen
      Finished in May

12. Finding Your Own North Star
      Read in April

13. The Artist’s Way 

      Finished in August! This is a big one, folks. The 12 week course turned into 7 months for me.
      I learned a lot and will continue using its principles and exercises.

14. Read the washer manual
      Completed in July

15. Design a new back deck and have it built
      Jeanne and I designed it in June. It was built in July.
      I've begun prepping the ground at the base for replanting.

16. Learn basic pattern drafting
      I have a recorded TV course that I'll begin watching in September.
      I'll figure out which techniques to try as I go along.

17. Take a color theory course
      Scheduled to begin in September

18. Go on a retreat
      Completed in April

Current Tally

Completed: 10 ... xs, Newborn King, Letter Snow, ornaments, sewing machine, health, shelf paper, North Star, Artist's Way, washer manual, retreat

Working on: 4 ... #throwbackthursday, Diana, Herself, deck, sew new t-shirts,

Yet to begin: 4 ... crochet pumpkins, color theory, pattern drafting,

Scheduled in September:
I hope to finish reading Diana, Herself, to prep the ground at the base of the deck, and to crochet the pumpkins

May Goal Update

I'm approaching the half way point for my 18 in 2018 goals. I admit, this is a test of perseverance. My progress continues, but it feels slow. If I was right on track, I'd have completed 7-1/2 of the goals by now. I have five finished and three in progress. I continue to work on the long-range goals that take weeks or months to complete. Here's what I did in May.

Goal 1: Finish all the charts in 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar and frame them / get them ready to display.

Finished and framed Winter Warmth. This was the very last chart. Goal complete!

Goal 7: Special Christmas ornaments for my daughters

I finished these! They are so adorable and I really what to share pictures ... but it's a secret until Christmas. 

Goal 11:  New shelf paper in kitchen

Goal complete! The idea of doing this was much worse than the execution. Now all the shelves and drawers are polka-dotty. Bonus, I rearranged some of the food and kitchen tools, got rid of things I didn't need, and cleaned all the organizers. It's a nice fresh start for an old kitchen.

Goal 13:  The Artist’s Way and It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again, both by Julia Cameron

I'm still working through The Artist's Way, but I'm sort of stuck. I'm at Week Nine. In May I read the chapter, took notes, and did two of the exercises. This course takes a lot of energy and time. When I devote myself to it, other needs around the house don't get attention. Then I feel like I'm in catch-up mode, which makes me a little crazy. I need to re-prioritize and find a way to finish this course. I'd like to finish it in June.

Interestingly, here's the opening paragraph of Week Nine's chapter:

Also interestingly, one of Week Nine's exercises is to list your creative goals for the year and be specific about when you will do them. So I took these 18 goals and scheduled them for the rest of the year. That was quite a good exercise because it helped me organize my thoughts and see that finishing these 18 in 2018 is still possible -- even when Life gets in the way of Plans.

Looking Forward to June:

June is to be my month of sewing. I plan to learn to use my new sewing machine, attempt to make another t-shirt from the pattern I drafted, start sewing the quilt squares together for my granddaughter's quilt (this will likely take more than one month), and perhaps begin to learn more basic pattern drafting. And, of course, finish The Artist's Way.

---

This is my overall scoresheet:

1. Finish all the charts in 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar and frame them / get them ready to display.
    Finished in May

2. Finish or dispose of Newborn King
    Disposed of it in January

3. Finish or dispose of The Finery of Nature
    Decided to finish it. Haven't restarted stitching yet.

4. Stitch and finish/frame Letter Snow
    Got out the pattern and picked the fabric and floss. Haven't started stitching yet.

5. Crochet 5 different pumpkins
    Bought the kit.

6. Make one handcrafted Christmas card per week(ish) - 40 total
    Total bust. I haven't started making these yet. Will likely do them all at one time 

    instead of one per week.

7. Special Christmas ornaments for my daughters
    Finished in May

8. Learn to use my new sewing Machine

    Plan to start this month

9. Finish Melody’s quilt
   I plan to get back to it this month.

10. Make a pattern from my favorite t-shirt and use it to make some shirts (pattern finished
     I have tried a couple times, but hasn't worked out well yet. Will try again this month.

11. New shelf paper in kitchen

     Finished in May

12. Finding Your Own North Star
   Read in April

13. The Artist’s Way and It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again, both by Julia Cameron
      Still working on The Artist's Way. Slightly stuck.

14. Submit to a stock photo site
     Scheduled for July

15. Learn hand lettering
     Scheduled for October

16. Learn basic pattern drafting
     Scheduled for September. May do some in June.

17. Take a color theory course
     Scheduled for August

18. Go on a retreat 

     Completed in April

Winter Warmth

'Tis done!

I decided to alter the chart just a bit to change the background behind the cup from black to green. I like it quite a bit. I also added more backstitching on the flower motifs on the cup to help them stand out, as well as backstitching around the steam. Those elements *pop* now. I also chose to leave off button embellishments because I didn't find any that worked well. I don't think this piece really needs them.

Winter Warmth is the last of the patterns from my 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar. This means that I've now completed another of my 18 Goals in 2018. Hooray!

I like that it only took me twelve years to complete these twelve small charts. I have many other patterns much older than this. In fact, I plan to stitch one of them later this year called Letter Snow. It's a snowman standing in a snowstorm of flakes shaped like the alphabet. That one will be in homage to my mom whose favorite Christmas song was Let It Snow. Stitching that pattern is another of my annual goals.

April Goal Update

It's that time again. Let's see what kind of progress I made this month on my 18 Goals in 2018.


Goal 1: Finish all the charts in the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar and frame them / get them ready to display.

I finished Bud Vase and I'm nearly done with Winter Warmth.

Goal 12: Read Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck

I listened to the audio book. FYI, I recommend reading it and working through each of the exercises instead of listening to the audio book. The narrator really oversells it and is crazy annoying to listen to. Gratefully, I got out of the book what I needed.

Goal 13: Work through The Artist's Way course

I'm making nice progress and totally enjoying the process.

Goal 18: Go on a retreat

I went to Arizona for a Celebrate Your Life retreat with authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Martha Beck. It was spectacular -- so much more than I'd hoped for. I met some marvelous women and learned some techniques that I continue to use every day to nurture my soul and creativity. The retreat dove-tailed beautifully with The Artist's Way course.

This means that at 1/3 of the way through the year, I've completed three goals and have made progress on four more. I feel good about this.

Final Start

Today I began the last of the patterns in my 2006 Cross-stitch Calendar. A little steamy somethin' somethin' in a pretty flowered cup.

It's stitching quickly. Hooray! I'll be satisfied when this annual goal is complete.

Bud Vase

My Bud Vase stitchery is finished, framed, and ready for display.

Once again, I used a simple square frame from Dollar Tree to hold the stitching and the mat that was included in the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar.

The chart called for four small buttons. I looked, but in my stash I didn't have four tiny buttons that matched. So I turned to my bead stash and found these gold flat beads. I attached them with for small stitches to hold them in place in the corners.

Ta Da!

With this piece done, I have completed 11 of the designs. One more small stitchery to go and I'll have completed goal Number 1 of my 18 in 2018 goals. I'll have an update on the entire list in three or four days.

Back At It

I'm getting quite close to my goal! I started this chart from the 2006 Cross-stitch Calendar a couple days ago.

It has a very limited color pallet which should help me complete it lickity split.

March Goal Update

Here's how I'm doing on my 18 in 2018 goals. I didn't complete many goals this month, but I've a bit of steady progress.

Goal 1: Finish all the charts in the 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar.

I completed King of Spring.

Goal 7: Special Christmas ornaments for my daughters

I made the patterns needed, and completed the supporting structure of 20 pieces. I've gathered all the rest of the materials.

Goal 10: Make a pattern from my favorite t-shirt and use it to make some shirts

Pattern made! One-and-a-half shirts complete.

Goal 12: Read Finding Your Own North Star

I'm about 3/4 through the audiobook now.

Goal 13: Do the course The Artist's Way

This is where most of my creative goal energy went in March. I'm 3/4 of the way through this 12 week course. One of the exercises in March was to find a photo of myself when I was a little girl and recall what some of her big dreams were. Then to "talk" to my younger self.

This is Little Mimi. I took some time to edit this old photo to remove dings and scratches. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out. I printed the new version of my photo.

Goal 18: Go on a retreat

I'm half-way packed. I leave later this week.

So I'm satisfied with my progress of 18 in 2018 and look forward to making more.

The King of Spring - Part 3

After a month-and-a-half, another chart from my 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar is now done. I'm one step closer to finishing one my my 18 in 2018 Goals.

He is a dandy little fellow, with his polka dot breast and golden crown. I added a heart-shaped button to the stitched heart.

The specialty stitches incorporated into this design are the yellow smyrna crosses at the corners of the border, a satin stitch for the big dots on the wings, and a half-cross that makes up the purple background. I'm crazy about the mat that came with this design and think the gold frame sets off the piece beautifully.

I think I'll take a short break from these calendar charts and work on a different piece of needlework over the next month. But I am determined to finish the last few charts before the end of the year.

February Goal Update

Here's how I'm doing on my 18 in 2018 goals. I didn't make huge strides this month. I'm going to blame it on February having fewer days ... (but I doubt that's the true reason).

Goal 1: finish all the charts in the 2006 Cross-stitch Calendar

• I made steady progress on The King of Spring and should be done with it by the end of the
  week.

Goal 3: finish or dispose of The Finery of Nature

• I looked over the kit and took a look at the progress I've made so far. It's all in good shape, and looking at the kit I recalled why I like it so much.
  
  One of the challenges of this piece is that it's large enough that I need to stitch it using my floor stand. So I'll have to decide where in the house I want to stitch because it's not that easy to tote the floor stand from room to room, and it takes up a bit of space.
  
  Another challenge is that it's stitched on a black ground cloth. That's harder on the eyes and will take some particularly good lighting.
  
  The main challenge for me is that this is another color chart. I just have a very hard time following colored charts, so I'll need to be particularly careful. But yes, I think I'll finish this piece sometime this year. It really is beautiful.

Goal 12: Read / work through Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck

• The audio version of the book I bought was in mp3 format. That's great for listening to it on my phone, but the CD player in my car doesn't play those disks. So, with the superb assistance of Dale, the CDs are now burned into a format that I can listen to while driving. 

Goal 13: Work through The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

• This is where the bulk of my creative energy went this month. I'm now in the middle of Week Six of the twelve week course. I truly love it. It gets me thinking differently and helps me see how I approach many aspects of my life with a creative twist.
  
  The Facebook groups I've joined have put me in touch with some lovely people who inspire me, and apparently, who I inspire in return. I've thoroughly enjoyed most of the Artist's Dates I've taken. This picture of my Artist Date flowers and the treatment I gave it in editing makes this one of my all-time favorites photographs.

Goal 15: Learn some hand lettering

• I've not formally begun my course, but I do practice some basic lettering each day. I do OK with pencil on lined paper. But when I've attempted to translate that onto the greeting cards I made, the results are very sketchy. But it's fun to try.

Goal 18: Go on a Retreat

• I've joined the private Facebook group that's set up for the True Magic retreat and have started to get to know some of the other participants. 

This means that at the end of February, I've fully completed one goal. But I've made at least some progress on ten of them.