Friends and get togethers

Every year or so, I travel to visit with a bunch of friends and have a long stitching get together.
I didn't go last year because I was new at the job, and although I could have, I didn't want to take time off without having accrued leave (we have an abysmal PTO policy), and I always feel weird taking time off within the first 6 months of a job... Even though I'm at the level where no one thinks twice, it just feels weird to me.

So anyway, I went to visit friends and had an absolutely lovely time.  We got some good laughs in, and other than a horrible trip home (I'm still waiting to see what Southwest says about that - I got home a day late! ), I'm very happy I went :)

So here are some of the goodies:

At Attic Needlework, I didn't purchase much (I feel like I'm pretty saturated now, and the things I'm really after haven't come out yet), but I did get:

Key to Home, which I'd really like to stitch and put an old key on (instead of the stitched one).   I'm also tempted to do them for all of the major places I've lived.  I won't, but it's a nice idea ;)   I do like the way the chart is made, there's a separate chart for you to figure out how to center your numbers (unlike some others that just have a blank line in the middle of the chart).

Judge Not by Plum Street, which I saw at the Silver Lining when I was at the Houston Quilt Show, but they were sold out of.  I was super excited to see this one!    I love the sheep on the top row that's up on two legs, he just cracks me up.

And another Sweetheart Tree -  Pretty Pyramid #2.   It's the only one I have (and the only one I saw).  I just love constructing 3D finishes.  So I grabbed it :)

I also bought a pair of copper scissors.  I don't have any that color, so why not?  Unfortunately I totally forgot to take a picture of them.

We also went to Mulqueens, and I gotta tell you, I LOVED that store.    They had tons of fabric, but even better they had TONS of notions, tools, threads (Aurifil, which is my favorite, is not one I see "in the wild" very often, and I bought two spools I knew I needed) and other stuff.   They also had a huge room full of used/older model machines.    I am saving up for a new (to me) machine, and if I was ready, I would have definitely gone ahead and taken one to be my carry-on :)

Anyway, other than some chalk markers (blue and yellow!) and a few other notions, I picked up fabric for a project.   I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to finish a cross stitch piece using Bonnie Hunter's Diamond Tile, and these are the fabrics, I picked up:

The white fabric on the end is actually a green/white grunge, and picks up the bit of green at the edge of some of the blended threads.   This finish will definitely not be something I would have chosen for myself, but the person I'm making it for will love it - and isn't that what really matters?

I'm super glad I found the fabric that matched so easily, and I look forward to getting that piece finished (this weekend?!)

I found new, better(!) fabric for my Hearts of America - California piece.   I keep buying new fabric for it, not really loving anything (but hey, at least previous versions have been "acceptable."
This one was in the BOGO bin, and it's perfect.   When I lived in California, I was a wee kiddo, and I remember loving my books, so I'll definitely stick to this one.

And this is the precut kit I posted partial pictures of yesterday.  I realized I hadn't taken a picture of it before I started sewing on the center tile, but this is what it looks like!    The example is what it looks like if you finish it into a 3x4 block solid piece, but there are tons of layout on the back (in case you can't lay them out yourself, I guess?)  I just really love the colors. It's also crazy easy to sew together.

And finally, we all got little gift bags from various friends.   Many people brought something from where they were from (I brought a Moravian Sugar Cake from Dewey's Bakery as well as Moravian sugar cookies), and our hostesses had great little gift bags with tools  that we won by playing "stitcher's bingo"  - it included a 2x2" and 3x3" acrylic blocks for checking your start at the corner, a snagnabbit, and other little things, and in my bag I got these two kits as well:

I'm so looking forward to adding this to my Mill Hill magnet collection.

And this adorable little ornament!

And for "one of those things that will be funny one day,"  I meant to bring some veggies with me on the plane to snack on (I'm trying to spend less money and airport food is SO expensive).  I brought most of them but managed to forget a container of cauliflower when I parked at the airport.    I was annoyed, but then totally forgot about it.   When I finally got home (a day late, and wearing the same clothes I'd had on for more than a day!), I opened my car door and gagged.    Rotting, hot cauliflower is in the top three most disgusting things I've ever smelled.   After throwing my backpack into the bed of my vehicle (90% of the stench was there) and blasting outside air on the way home (2 hour drive!) I made it home and took everything out of my car to either trash or wash.

On the back floor boards, inside a reusable grocery bag, I found a pair of Bohin scissors I TOTALLY forgot about buying nearly a year ago! (at least it was a year according to the receipts!)   So I guess occasionally rotting veggies in the car isn't a total bad thing.

(And yes, after 4 runs through the wash, a soak with Nature's Miracle, AND a soaking in OxyClean, the backpack does not stink any more... sadly, it's one of my favorites and one I can't easily replace here on the East Coast, so I was very determined to save it!)

Back from the stitching grave! And PUPs! and TW! And WIPWednesday!

Long time, no see!

Of course long time, no stitch, as well.

This past weekend I went to visit some friends and have a stitchy get together.  I'll blog all about that later (tomorrow?  Friday?  I dunno!)   I'll even blog WIPocalypse soon, because I have an actual update (yippee!)  But for now, let's talk about PUPs

PUPs is something my friend Terri said she does with her quilt guild (I could be wrong, don't thwap me if I am).   Their group has Poor Unfinished Projects, and people bring a few to the guild meeting and they have to focus on finishing it over the next timespan.

My stitching group decided to adopt PUPs and (some of us, the deadline isn't for a couple of weeks) put some PUPs up to vote on finishing by next year.    I chose Fantasy Sampler, BoInk, and Freshwater Pearls.    I had intended to finish them up this year, but then house stuff and health stuff and puppers got in the way (I'm not sad about the pupper, because she's great, I am a little miffed about the house issue, because it had to do with someone else not doing their job and I will never hire that handyman again... I digress).   Oh, and Diablo.  I've been playing a couple of the seasons, I SWEAR I'll get to Level 70 Greater Rifts someday!  In the meantime, I'm just having fun being a Necromancer ;)

Back to PUPs...
Here is where the three of them currently stand:

What totally surprised me is that (so far), BoInk is off to a VERY strong lead (5-1), so it looks like BoInk will most likely be my 2018 PUP.    I think that because it was a mystery broken into smaller blocks, I can break it down into nice segments; but I'm super happy I have a reason to focus on it.   To be perfectly honest, I thought that Fantasy Sampler would be the one.

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Which brings me to another topic:  Teresa Wentzler.

The topic was brought up in the TW group on FB that she had taken down all of her dragon patterns from PatternsOnline.   Someone asked her about it in the comments of a recent blog post and she mentioned that she'd taken them down and would not care to discuss it, but used language that pretty much screams "religious reasons."      I'm not gonna lie - I'm super bummed about it.   I do not have a lot of love of religions, particularly not more strict or extreme ones.   I also remember how much she would enjoy talking about her dragon designs and she expressed a great fondness for dragons at various stitching shows where I met her.  I think it sucks.   I had also sold a few charts because I thought "oh well, I can always get them on POL" only... maybe not so much any more.   I did keep the most "important" charts (those I think I have a real shot at doing), but I suppose I'll have to stop drawing on my originals. 

I remember being heart broken when she announced her retirement.    We had a glimmer of hope when she posted a small shot of Illuminata way back when, but I know she's stopped stitching because of her arthritis and she likes to stitch her own pieces (not just design them on a computer), so we'll never see that piece. 

I think when I work on TW pieces, it'll be with a little stab of sadness that she doesn't take the pride she should in some amazing designs.

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And because it's Wednesday, let's end on a positive note with a WIP Wednesday!

Zenia by Mirabilia!
I won't be stitching the "frame" or whatever that was around her.  I just want the witch in a beautiful red dress with a cocktail in her hand.   She's being stitched on Storm by PTP, and I'm liking it so much that I'm thinking I might use it for Red when I get around to stitching her.

Girls weekend!

This past weekend was my annual sojourn to Vegas to hang out with some very wonderful girlfriends.   We shopped, we gambled, we ate, we laughed, we cried, and maybe had a bit of fun.

The two stops I always appreciate are Stitcher's Paradise - an absolutely fantastic LNS with a huge, awesome fabric room, and a back room chocked full of older and overstocked patterns and Quiltique, a really nice quilt shop.   I could probably live without going to Quiltique, but I'm always excited to go.   I haven't really found a quilt shop I like here, yet (sadly, my quilt shop in Chapel Hill closed last year).

I didn't purchase a terribly huge amount, and I'm happy to say almost everything was purchased with an actual plan ;)

Cross Stitch:

I purchased a bunch of tiny cuts for biscornus and other little projects I'd like to work on:

I (try to) do a biscornu for every year and stuff it with the previous year's ORTs as a keepsake.   I am a bit backlogged, in part because I try to find something I like.  Luckily!  I have plans to get 2016 and 2017's biscornus done, and I've already started on what I'd like to use for 2018.   I ended up picking up three Biscornu kits from Sweetheart tree to front load my biscornu needs :)

I'll actually be doing the Blackwork one for 2017's.

I purchased fabric for Mirabilia's Zenia, a piece I will stitch on this year (for the Year of WIPs, I was short a WIP, and decided to bite the bullet because I luff her :) )

And I also purchased Royal Games II (and the beads).   I will be stitching each one as a full card and hanging them in the game room (since I won't be reno-ing that room until later this year, it's no rush; I'm thinking of starting them in 2019).  Because of my FB break, I had totally missed that this one was being published!   I absolutely ADORE the Queen of Diamonds.

I also bought a bunch of DMC.   I realize I could've gotten them for cheaper from a local craft store, but I only needed a few to fill in a few holes where I didn't quite have everything for a project or two (a skein here, a skein there :) )

And here's what I got from Quiltique:

If you ever go with me into a fabric shop, you will quickly discover that I have an utter weakness for precuts, especially jelly rolls.   Welp, this jelly-roll was half-off, and it's in my beloved monochromatic grays, so I had to have it.   I'm thinking of a wild and crazy colored backing after I make it.   And I'm going to cut some of these strips in half so that I get a strippier looking quilt.   I think it'll be fun (in years if I ever get around to it ;) )

I grabbed a couple of fat quarters; the evergreen looking one is for my Hearts-Across-America wall hanging, I'll use it for California.   I like it a lot better than one I picked up earlier (I was never sure I really wanted that one, this one felt right).  And that gray.  Because I like it ;)

I bought these fabrics (FQs) because I just thought they were beautiful.  I plan on making a topper for my Lane chest (next to the bed).   I bought a couple of yards of the backing fabric (way more than needed) because I love it, so pretty!

IS IT NOT GORGEOUS

 I also bought a yardish of fabric to back a spring themed table runner for the dining room table.  I'm so determined to end the year with less (unused) fabric than I started with.

So that was my fun for the trip.   A few things purchased, nothing over the top, and I'm pleased with everything.

International Quilt Show - Houston

This past weekend I went to the International Quilt Show in Houston with my friend Melissa.  I've been a few times in the past (when I lived in Houston), but decided to take a trek back to hang out and check it out.

There were many, many pretties, but unfortunately, they are also kinda strict on pictures.  It's understandable, most quilts can be deconstructed by people who are good quilters.  I am not an awesome quilter, so I did take a few pictures, but mostly just bought a few things.

We didn't get into the actual quilt show area - it took us an entire day just to walk the floor, and we didn't feel like coming back the next day.  

Fortunately (?) the 'Stros were kind enough to win the World Series, and there was a huge parade downtown as well.  The George R Brown Convention Center is just down the way from Minute Maid Park (the baseball stadium/park), so the parking/driving was a bit of  a mess, but the attendance was lighter than Thursday (we're spit-balling the idea that people either went to the parade instead or just stayed away from downtown).

We got to look at quite a few things and venture into the booths and there weren't too many problems with bumping into people.

So here's my haul and/or entertainment:

One of the things I suck at with regards to fabrics/sewing, is changing colorways.  It's funny how easy it is for me in stitching, but quilting breaks my little brain.  So I found this pattern I liked in another color scheme and took a picture for reference (not that I'd use the aquas, but I like the idea better than the original).

These are two quilts I just really liked.  I'm not sure I'd do them, though.
The "Wrented" one just gives me a giggle, and I found the preponderance of raccoons somewhat surprising at the Festival.  There were a lot of raccoon quilts, but I really liked these guys best.   I thought they looked like they might mug you for your Christmas prezzies.


This quilt I straight up bought the kit for... Ok, I didn't.  I thought about it for an hour or two and went back to it, hoping it was sold out because I really love the colors in it.  It's in a very different color way than the pattern (Poppin' In).  I loved it in the hot pink and I have a great place to display it in the Lady Lair.  Plus, I thought the kit was more than reasonably priced, especially because I wouldn't have to go hunting for the fabrics myself.
It was at a booth that sells those crystal bits, and while they were really pretty and sparkly, I won't be embellishing my own quilt.


Oh heck, here's the pattern from the interwebz:
There's a "Poppin' Out" pattern that is it convex instead of concave, and I nearly bought that one, too.

There was a booth with a lot of pincushions: Cats, Mice, Dogs, Pigs, etc.   They came in pretty small and fairly large pieces, and I just loved this mouse so I got it.   He's huge.  And all mine (and added more than a little weight to my overly burdened bag!)

I stopped by the Missouri Star Quilt Company booth, because I had to.  If you haven't been to their site, or checked out their youtube tutorials and you're into quilting (or want to be), they're my favorites.  So easy and not annoying ;)

This is Tula Pink's "Spirit Animal" layer cake.   I just kept saying "SPAAAACE OTTERRRRS!" because they make me laugh.  I have absolutely no idea what to do with it, I just wanted space otters.

I didn't pick up much in the way of fabric, because it's heavy, and to be honest, I wasn't seeing a whole lot that was so unique I had to have it.   Plus, the quilt show is a little pricey and I come from a state with tons of quilt stores (and FQs that are typically 0$.50-1.00 cheaper)

But there was a nice place that had really pretty metallic fabrics, and I thought these would make a fun table runner for Christmas:

The very first large purchase (so clearly my camera roll isn't set to chronological) is this quilt, Weeds in the Sidewalk.   They had this one displayed and I HAD to have it.  They had it in the pure black and white, and another with a yellow splash of color.  Melissa is a bad person and found the very last kit and presented it to me.   And of course I bought it.   At least it will go well with the white fur from Mona.

Oh heck, I'll stick them in here, too:  The two colorways.  I think the yellow is pretty, I just like monochromatic designs a lot more.


And then we stumbled upon a shop that does a lot of dish towels and pot holders and the like
A lot of them were really cool, and a lot of them were also Texas themed.

First off - I grabbed their very last UT dishtowel.   Of course they were the first school sold out ;)

And then I grabbed these three pot holders - sorry they're a little fuzzy.  I thought they were all cute, and I got duplicates to give out as Christmas gifts as well:

We swung by a shop called "Treasures of the Gypsy" that I remember from even my first quilt show in Houston.   The show sells 'exotic' fabrics and dolls (and patterns) by Arley Berryhill.  His blog/sale site is here.    Treasures... doesn't have a website, and it's full of really cool soft-sculpture dolls.  My only complaint is that the owner can be really rude sometimes.   They could also improve their signage re: not touching anything, because they're soft sculptures, people touch, and their signage is crappy.  More than a few people came away from that shop muttering/talking about 1. rudeness and 2. the need fore better signage.

*ahem*

Anyway, I saw a doll with a raven's skull, which I would have loved to purchase, but was priced for more than I was willing to spend. 

And I had bought a lot of the patterns for the dragons back in the day and they were lost or stolen, or who knows what, so I was looking to replace them.  But you know what?  I suddenly didn't feel the need to really sew them, and then I saw the firebird:

You can check out more/better pictures here - scroll down - (because again with the no picture taking), which I highly recommend.  I'm looking forward to using fashion fabrics - dupionis and jacquards to really make this special.  I love it.

And I also grabbed this six image panel - part of Fabric Fiesta by Dan Morris.  I'm thinking about cutting and sewing it into a long panel as as a dining room table runner, and embellishing them.  If there's a panel left over (size, y'all) or something, maybe I'll make a super blingy, embellished wall hanging.

And finally, a couple of patterns - this one is a sloth pattern;  I have a lot of friends who are obsessed with sloths, so I thought I could make a single panel Sloth Pillow for them - the pattern is fairly easy and straightforward and I think it looks like fun.

And the last of the quilt patterns - "God Bless Texas"
I've seen this one around quite a bit, and I was happy to grab this.  Fairly easy again, and I think fun for a smorgasborg of fat quarters.  I think I'd go with something other than white for the background because that section of the "supposed to be white re: the flag" is already so close; maybe a nice light blue.   It's hard to see in this photo (or the pattern itself), but they've actually quilted the Alamo, roses (presumably yellow roses ;) ) and other Texana into the backing.  Quite pretty.

I went by the Silver Needle, but sadly, they did not have what I was looking for in stock.  Their booth was in an odd location and seemed kind of small this year, but it's been a while since I've been there.

We also swung by the Bohin booth (on purpose!) and in fact, had cash in hand because they do not take cards.  I bought a few packets of needles - I usually buy them in bulk but have not found my bulk needles to take with me to Houston, and I grabbed a pair of bunny (er... "hare...") scissors.

They also had some hand made scissors for more than $500, but I managed to stay away from those, though they were STUNNING.

So that was the one day quilt show extravaganza.

The next day we swung by ABC Stitch Therapy, a stitching store on the NW side of Houston (fairly close to where I grew up, actually, though they weren't there back then).    They are pretty close to where 3 Stitches is, but since I've had nothing but bad experiences at 3 Stitches, I never darken their doorway any more.

Everyone was super nice at ABC, and lo'!  They were having a Primitive Hare trunk show.   I really LOVE her designs, but I know I'll never get around to stitching them, so I haven't bought a lot.

But I did find this, which I think would be perfect for the kitchen:

While I was at it, I went ahead and grabbed Dog Pile from Ink Circles, which I've been meaning to grab for a while (I always try to purchase from Brick and Mortar stores, and tend to get my yearly's wish list at the get together every year at Stitcher's Paradise in Vegas, but since I was here...)

I found this older Sweetheart Tree April sampler - I was actually looking for a biscornu to grab me, but this did instead :)

And my last grab was this:
They had different gates, but I liked this one best of all.  And it fit within my rule which is now: "Will this work with any of the mountains of fabric you already own"  haha.

So that's my Quilt Show weekend extravaganza/purchasing fest.  It was a lot of fun, and I hope to go again in the future (though not as soon as next year).

And one last final thing:  The scrap metal sculpture I picked up at the grocery store.  Because who doesn't need a longhorn santa that you then have to figure out how to transport home ;)

Framing is coming! Framing is coming!

In the past, I've gotten a few things framed at Nick's in Mesa (? I think it's Mesa, I visited my friends in Phoenix and they took me there).  Well!  One of my friends was in town (sorta) for work, and we met and had dinner.   She offered to take some of my stitching to Nick's since we're going to see each other again in a couple of months and I can fly home with my pieces (vs having them shipped like last time).  We didn't go to Nick's the last time a bunch of us were in Phoenix because he was ending his business, but for reasons he hasn't actually closed up yet.  Yay for us!

So we did some framing-by-text, but luckily Nick is pretty damn awesome and the options I got were pretty awesome from the beginning and I was happy.

First up is the Dracula book cover, which I finished earlier this year (and hey, this picture is really a color accurate photo of that Aries by Sparklies that I adore).   He is actually using two frames to make this, one frame acting like a kind of mat, which is WAY awesome.   This was so good that it was an immediate yes.   And to be honest, it's my favorite framing thing from everything that's getting done.

Next up is Ferret Knot by White Willow Stitching.   The other option had a frame that didn't have that gold edge, and I like the way it breaks things up.  I also love that suede mat, which I think should work super well with the overdye chocolate that I used in the design.   Much love for this (man these are going to be heavy ;) )

Next is Tapestry by Ink Circles.
And again, it's the double-frame thing.   Annette (link to her flosstube) showed me her Tapestry (or, rather, a photo of it) while we were hanging out a few weeks ago, and I really did like it.  This is the same thing she had done (and I think we've even stitched on the same fabric?  hah!).  We, and some other friends, all stitched on this together at the same time; starting at approx the same time.   It was kind of fun to be bouncing off of each other's progress pictures, and not only is it a gorgeous design, but I will always think of my wonderful friends when I look at it.   I can't imagine a frame I'd like better, honestly. 

Next up is Immaculate Heart (again, by Ink Circles).
It's a pretty small design, and I love the old world/medieval feel of it and wanted a heavy, thick frame to go around it.  And lo'!  This is the option Nick pulled.  So, yes?   Seriously, this guy is a genius.  And luckily this is fairly small so at least one of these will be easy to transport ;)

And finally, I bring you Celtic Christmas by Lavender and Lace/Told in a Garden
I stitched this back in 1998.  At one time, I "finished" it into a cheap Michaels frame using stitch witchery to hold it to the backing board, so there's still residue of that stuff around the edges.   Way back when I "didn't know any better" and what not.  Luckily the sticky stuff isn't anywhere near the stitching, but around the very edges;  it's not like that stuff comes off easily, either.

I don't have a blog post with her in it, but otherwise I stitched it as directed, same fabric, same materials, even that god awful DMC 284Z (I didn't even have to look it up, I remember that stuff!).  I recently hit this piece with a lint roller to try to get any extra dog hair off of it, and that gold started flaking!  So I thought I should get it framed tout-de-suite.

I didn't want it too look too Christmassy (hence the removal of the "NOEL" from above her head), but I stitched her because I love her red dress, so I knew I wanted red in the framing somewhere, but when it was the top mat, it just overwhelmed the framing.   This is eventually what we settled on - this was definitely the piece that took us the longest to pick a frame option for.  It's the costliest one we framed (I think the red is suede, and the tan is a really pretty silk mat, actually), but 1.  she's worth it and 2. it was still a helluva lot cheaper than if I'd framed her at a regular place here. 

I'm quite happy with this choice and now I have to decide if I want to hang her in a public area of my house or just put her above my dresser so I can look at her every day.

So that's the framing that's coming my way.  I should get everything by January at the latest, and I couldn't be more excited/pleased.   I hate to wish ill on Nick, but I hope the issues regarding his shop continue for just a few more months so I have one more crack at framing with him.   Mostly for those desert pieces.