still stitching ....

Months have passed...
Time moves ever forward ....

and covid19 still rages across my city, my country, my world.

So I focus on the little things as I take each day, one at a time, as it comes.
I am still stitching here.

It is soothing to be creating something with my hands.

And moments scattered in-between, I make masks.

Stay safe.
Stay home.
Wear your masks.

New list of finishing goals ....

Here is my current top ten (plus 2) list of projects that I aim to finish by the end of September....  All have indeed been started and yet are lingering too long in this unfinished limbo state.

1) bind my first Red-n-White quilt (& label)

2) bind my Oopsie Daisy quilt (& label)

3) finish my cross stitch ABC Words of Wisdom

4) buttons and buttonholes on peach plaid shirt

5) stitch up rayon peach top

6) quilt "Dream" quilttop (or will it be a pillow? or pillow case?)

7) quilt "Geometric USA" then finish into mini quilt or pillow

8) finish assembling 2015 Row-by-Row (water theme)

9) finish piecing, quilting, binding & label the latest Thangles pattern

10) dress and garnish my first spirit doll (maybe more than one)

 11) bonus:  quilt and finish my original Instagram logo mini-quilt (and finish an identical twin for a future swap ...) pattern by Lori Holt (IG: beelori1; her website: www.beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/)

12) might as well go for an even dozen:  finish any old UFO that I re-discover in the next two months .... (hee hee hee - there are many that I've forgotten about!)


This is my official list for the Finish-Along group effort -- teams of fellow finishers are wonderful spirit-boosters!  Check out this link or this one for more information and join (if you act fast .....).

Thank you to all the Finish-Along hostesses and prize donors and participants for inspiring me to get things DONE!

I am happy to report that I am linky number 87 for the 3rd quarter of 2017 Finish-along fun.

Torah portion completed

I am thrilled to announce that I have completed my cross-stitch Torah portion for the Torah Stitch By Stitch project and have sent it off to Canada .... hopefully I will receive word soon that it has been received.

My four verses tell the story of Joseph's return to Egypt after he had traveled to bury his father in the land of Canaan and about his brothers reaction to their father's death. The English and Hebrew are on my first post (here) about this project.

 Genesis 50: 14-17

I added the borders on the three sides - an option.  I look forward to seeing the entire piece assembled and on display.

For the curious - here is a view of the back of my piece.  Is it almost has interesting as the front?  Sylvia, my mother-in-law, was always more interested in admiring the backs of my projects than the actual project.  So I share this one in her memory -- may her memory be a blessing.

For more information on how to participate in the international project (recreating the entire Torah in cross-stitch, four verses at a time), or just for updates as to how it is going, follow the website: 

http://torahstitchbystitch.temmagentles.com/

This completes my July goal in A Lovely Year of Finishes too.  Click here to find out more about this monthly "can you finish it?" challenge being run by Melissa at Sew BitterSweet Designs (http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/) or Shanna at Fiber of All Sorts  (http://fiberofallsorts.blogspot.com/).

I am Linky #20 in the Goal posting for July (click here to see all that posted goals) and I am Linky #28 in the Finishes posting for July (click here for all who posted finishes)

Blanket stitch

The second stitch for Take a Stitch Tuesday is the Buttonhole stitch, also known as the Blanket stitch.  This is the first embroidery stitch that I learned -- when I was a Brownie Girl Scout, we made "sit-upons" using 2 squares of red checkered  flannel-backed vinyl, with folded newspapers for batting.  We stitched these squared together using the Blanket stitch.  I believe I may still have my sit-upon tucked away somewhere .....  We did the same project the next year, but upgraded to a foam cushion in the middle, replacing the newspapers.  The trusty blanket stitch was used again, too.

This week, I used the blanket stitch to outline a simple amoeba flower shape as a nod to the use of the blanket stitch for applique work in traditional quilting.

Join us on Facebook (FB) with our "TAST - Take a Stitch Tuesday" which is an open group.  Sharon Boggon, of Pin Tangle fame, posts a new embroidery stitch every Tuesday (it often appears usually on Monday nights - as she is posting from Australia) and includes many eye-candy inspiring samples as well as links to more "how-to" steps for each TAST Stitch-of-the-Week.

Click here to see those posts or click here to see my "Buttonhole" sampler I made back in January 2012.

Sneak at the next stitch: It is the Feather stitch!  click here for more on the feather stitch

More favorites from the Joy of Quilts show

The Quilt Guild of Greater Houston held its bi-annual quilt show this past week-end and here are a few more favorites that were in this amazing show.... starting with one of my own, Mmm, Pot Pie.

Mmm, Pot Pie (a Michael Miller challenge) by Cathy Winter, quilted by Pam Biswas

Mmm, Pot Pie was made specifically for a Michael Miller Challenge given to the Modern Quilt Guild.  Sadly, my quilt was rejected and never displayed at QuiltCon in Austin earlier this year.  How exciting that it won a 3rd place ribbon in the Small Wall Quilt category at the Joy of Quilts show!  Click here and here to see earlier posts about this quilt or click here to go to Pam's website.

Spring Landscape by Jo Sweet

My friend Jo stitches amazing photographic pieces, though the image is entirely rendered with thread and small bits of fabric.  They are often inspired by photographs she or her husband have taken.  This tiny quilt was easily the smallest quilt in the show, except possibly for the miniature quilt category.  Jo states "Every spring the earth presents a lovely gift to Texans.  All manner of wildflowers take their turn embellishing the land, but the bluebonnets truly enchant."  I totally agree with you, Jo!

The next quilt is in keeping with the Texas theme....

Boot Scootin' Boogie detail view of boots

Boot Scootin' Boogie by Suzanne Purvis, quilted by Jane Plisga

I first saw this pattern on display at Quilt 'n Sew Studio in Katy and learned that it was featured in the Sept/Oct 2000 issue of the Fons and Porter magazine (click here to purchase).  The pattern is called Boot Scootin' Boogie, and is on my "quilt bucket list".  I fear that this list only grows lately -- might be time for me to get busy and sew sew sew.

Making a basket quilt has been on my quilt bucket list for years. Now I can check 'basket quilt' off of my quilt-bucket list.  Below is my Red Summer Baskets quilt which is the only one of the four quilts I entered in this show that did not win a ribbon.  Regardless, this is my all time favorite quilt and lives proudly on my living room wall.  After reading the judges' comments, I understand why they did not like my awesome quilt (also quilted by Pam Biswas), and I disagree, but that's OK.  It is what makes entering quilts shows so challenging and fun as you cannot predict what the judges will love or not love.  I know that I love my Red Summer Baskets and I will not fret over the judges' opinions.  Click here and here to learn more about its making.

On display to the left of my quilt are two quilts: City Living by Pam Tedeschi, which won an Honorable Mention in the category of Pieced Wallhanging Small, and The Bottom of My Spool Drawer by Susan Pain.  I served as the Co-Chair of Daytime Programming of QGGH with Susan Pain seven or eight years ago.  We had a blast working together.  The other fun thing to note - making a spools quilt is on my quilt bucket list, as is making a city horizon of my own.

Brody's Bots and Aiden's 'Droids both by Susan Pain

Can you guess that these two quilts are for young brothers, who happen to be Susan's grandchildren?  These quilts are fun and playful and perfect for her grandsons.  Nice job, Susan.

Nathan's Quilt by Ellen Brodsky Gaber

This Astros quilt is the first quilt Ellen ever made.  It uses many of her son's Astros t-shirts and was a labor of love.  Ellen states that her son "is passionate about baseball and loyal to his home team."  This describes one of my sons perfectly and I am not surprised that he loves Nathan's Quilt.  It looks like I will be making a quilt from my son's Astros t-shirts .... one day.

Zen Batik by Suzanne Purvis

Suzanne's was inspired to make this quilt using a jelly roll and a few more pieces of batiks after seeing a post on Pinterest.  I love this look, and the simplicity appeals as well -- may have to make one of these too.

The photo below shows a close-up view of a beautifully embroidered quilt, a hexie quilt!

Second Chances by Rhonda Dort, detail

Second Chances by Rhonda Dort

This quilt, Second Chances, is another by the talented Rhonda Dort.

Second Chances by Rhonda Dort, 2nd detail

This quilt is named Second Chances because Rhonda has given a second chance to life, or as shes states: She is "giving life to old, stained, tattered and torn vintage linens, buttons and ribbons.  Each hexagon is heavily hand embellished.... created with what might have ordinarily been unusable vitage pieces, easily discarded."  This is a design and execution of Rhonda's own creation.  A lovely creation it is too.  Good job Rhonda!

Cascading Blooms by Suzanne Purvis and Cotton Pickin' Bee, quilted by Linda Beiswanger

I love the modern take on traditional hexagonal flowers in this quilt.  They look like they are cascading down from the heavens above.  Lovely job to the Cotton Pickin' Bee!

Anwyn's Quilt a.k.a. Rainbows by Fran Urquhart, quilted by Jane Plisga

Let's end this post with one last Modern Traditional quilt, and one also using hexagons.  Jane made this quilt for her granddaughter, Anwyn, after her granddaughter saw the pattern in the Spring 2014 issue of Modern Patchwork.  The only alteration Jane made was to add more colored circles than were shown in the original pattern.  The colors reflect those found in a rainbow and stand out nicely against the mixed neutral, stormy grays of the background.

A new season of TAST begins

Here is my first stitch of the new run for Take a Stitch Tuesday which started again on July 14, 2015.  My goal is to keep up with the weekly assignments this time around.  I plan to add my new sampler pieces to the embroidery roll that I began a few years ago, the first time I participated in TAST.  Click here to see those posts or click here to see my "Fly" sampler I made back in 2012.

This is the size of my embroidery-sampler roll as of today -- I believe I need to add the last few pieces that I stitched in 2012 before I begin the new 2015 section!  Ever running behind and racing to catch up - that's me.


Join us on Facebook (FB) with our "TAST - Take a Stitch Tuesday" which is an open group.  Sharon Boggon, of Pin Tangle fame, posts a new embroidery stitch every Tuesday (it often appears usually on Monday nights - as she is posting from Australia) and includes many eye-candy inspiring samples as well as links to more "how-to" steps for each TAST Stitch-of-the-Week. 

Patriotic cross stitch

On road trips, I like to have handwork projects with me to keep my fingers busy.

This is one of the projects that I brought along on this summer's road trip (we are visiting many college campuses ....).  It is a small patriotic Mary Engelbreit pattern and kit that was given to me.

It stitched up quickly and I finished on America's Independence Day!  

Happy Fourth of July!

my July goal - ALYoF

Can you tell?  After a few months of stitching, I am nearing the end of my cross-stitch verse for Torah Stitch by Stitch!  It took months for my assigned kit to arrive at my doorstep and while I started on it immediately, I am surprised at how long it has taken to reach this point ...

For information about this international project led by Canadian fiber artist Temma Gentles refer to my earlier post here.  A quick description is that "Torah Stitch by Stitch" is an impressive art installation of the Torah depicted entirely in cross-stitch.  Participants from around the world are currently cross-stitching individual portions of the Torah to be a part of this exhibit.  The TSBS website states: "Torah Stitch By Stitch honours the Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch) through the timeless medium of cross-stitch, a basic textile tradition in many cultures.  Participants from numerous national, linguistic and spiritual backgrounds - regardless of gender or craft skill - are joining hands and hearts to stitch 1463 individual panels of the Torah in Hebrew, 4 verses at a time."  The project's website is   http://torahstitchbystitch.temmagentles.com/

My portion for this project is Genesis, Chapter 50, Verses 14-17: the story of Joseph's return to Egypt after having traveled to bury his father in the land of Canaan and also his brothers' reaction to their father's death.

If you are interested in learning more about this amazing undertaking click here or send an email to:  torahstitchbystitch@gmail.com.

I am pushing hard to finish my section of the Torah for TSBS and have decided to make it my project in this month's A Lovely Year of Finishes challenge.  Click here to see who else has set a goal in this month's challenge.  You can find me at linky #20.

I believe it is the perfect goal for this month of A Lovely Year of Finishes.  Stitching away .... see you again at the end of the month!

Torah Stitch by Stitch

It was nearly one year ago that I first learned of this amazing project being pursued by a Canadian fiber artist Temma Gentles.  Temma is creating a Torah entirely by embroidery stitches, cross-stitches to be exact.  She has named this endeavor "Torah Stitch By Stitch" and is busily recruiting volunteers to stitch up four verses at a time.  As she explains on the website: "Torah Stitch By Stitch honours the Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch) through the timeless medium of cross-stitch, a basic textile tradition in many cultures.  Participants from numerous national, linguistic and spiritual backgrounds - regardless of gender or craft skill - are joining hands and hearts to stitch 1463 individual panels of the Torah in Hebrew, 4 verses at a time."

If the image above is difficult to read, go directly to the website:

http://torahstitchbystitch.temmagentles.com/

I was excited to learn about this project and knew immediately that I had to be a part of it.  So I eagerly filled out the online form, paid my $18.00 and waited patiently for my kit to arrive.

I waited .... and waited ..... and waited.  I contacted Temma to inquire about my status only to learn that my kit had been mailed months ago.  A replacement kit was sent out ... more waiting ... more emails .... to make a tediously long story much shorter, one week ago my kit turned up!  Hurray!

 

Mailed in a plain white legal sized envelope, my complete kit arrived.  As there was not a postmark on the envelope, we can only imagine where in the world it has been traveling to between leaving Canada and arriving at my home in Texas.  I contacted Temma who was as thrilled as I was and I began stitching immediately.  Here is the first word of my portion which is from the book of Genesis, chapter 50, verses 14-17.  I have officially begun!

This portion is about Joseph's return to Egypt after he had traveled to bury his father in the land of Canaan and about his brothers reaction to their father's death.  Here is a translation that I found on the Chabad.org website here (Hebrew is read right-to-left, opposite from English):
 

		יגוַיִּשְׂאוּ אֹתוֹ בָנָיו אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ בִּמְעָרַת שְׂדֵה הַמַּכְפֵּלָה אֲשֶׁר קָנָה אַבְרָהָם אֶת הַשָּׂדֶה לַאֲחֻזַּת קֶבֶר מֵאֵת עֶפְרֹן הַחִתִּי עַל פְּנֵי מַמְרֵא:
14  And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.		ידוַיָּשָׁב יוֹסֵף מִצְרַיְמָה הוּא וְאֶחָיו וְכָל הָעֹלִים אִתּוֹ לִקְבֹּר אֶת אָבִיו אַחֲרֵי קָבְרוֹ אֶת אָבִיו:
15  Now Joseph's brothers saw that their father had died, and they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us and return to us all the evil that we did to him."		טווַיִּרְאוּ אֲחֵי יוֹסֵף כִּי מֵת אֲבִיהֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוּ יִשְׂטְמֵנוּ יוֹסֵף וְהָשֵׁב יָשִׁיב לָנוּ אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר גָּמַלְנוּ אֹתוֹ:
16  So they commanded [messengers to go] to Joseph, to say, "Your father commanded [us] before his death, saying,		טזוַיְצַוּוּ אֶל יוֹסֵף לֵאמֹר אָבִיךָ צִוָּה לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ לֵאמֹר:
17  'So shall you say to Joseph, "Please, forgive now your brothers' transgression and their sin, for they did evil to you. Now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." ' " Joseph wept when they spoke to him.		יזכֹּה תֹאמְרוּ לְיוֹסֵף אָנָּא שָׂא נָא פֶּשַׁע אַחֶיךָ וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי רָעָה גְמָלוּךָ וְעַתָּה שָׂא נָא לְפֶשַׁע עַבְדֵי אֱלֹהֵי אָבִיךָ וַיֵּבְךְּ יוֹסֵף בְּדַבְּרָם אֵלָיו:

I have been working steadily on my portion, sometimes as I relax and watch a little television at night or while I wait in the car for my teenage boys (I am still their favorite chauffeur).   Here is where I am as of today .... approximately half-way ....

If you are interested in learning more about this massive undertaking click here; or in making a donation to the Torah Stitch By Stitch click here; or in stitching your own contribution click here or here or contact directly via email:  torahstitchbystitch@gmail.com.  Buttons are being solicited  to help attach the panels of portions together.  Click here for more information on the buttons requested.  Last of all, click here to see an artist's rendition of the final display as well as an article that appeared in The Canadian Jewish News, October 2, 2014.

Reflecting over my 2014 ALYoF work

This is my year in review of the lovely finishes I achieved, thanks to the motivational challenge set by Shanna of Fiber of All Sorts and Melissa of Sew Bittersweet Designs with their "A Lovely Year of Finishes" monthly challenge.

My first month to join was February 2014.  I am linky # 148.

My goal was to make blocks to swap with my Block Builders Bee in March, and I did get my blocks made in time to swap and now have a lovely selection of scrappy red-n-white blocks sitting - wait a minute!  I've met a goal but also have a new UFO added to my pile of growing projects. I am certain these blocks may reappear in a future ALYoF goal.  Meanwhile, I did not finish these blocks before the end of February, so I did not have a finishing post ... sigh.  My first goal was not completed by the deadline.  I must admit, this set me back and months passed before I set a new goal in ALYoF.

July came and so did my renewed effort to set goals of finishing projects, or at least finishing steps in projects.  This month my goal linky was # 105.

My blog post about this quilt is here.  "Fields of Blue" is a quilt made for my son Isaac.  He selected the pattern and the fabrics that I used (I may have slipped in a few blue variations to enhance the variety...).  My goal was to finish this quilt.  My friend Pam Biswas quilted it (the photo shows her work in progress), but I am slow to add bindings.  Since the goal is to finish things, what can top the actual finishing of a quilt? 

I met this goal, and am linky #64  in the finishes post for July 2015 (no photo appears in the linky as I was stumbling with how to do linkys still).  Above is Isaac holding up "Fields of Blue" for the photo that I had planned to use.  Eli, his brother, has decided he would like a quilt like this too!  I need to get that started one of these days ... Click here for my blog post about finishing this goal.

It is exciting to finish your goal!  I immediately selected a new goal for the month of August where I am goal linky # 32.  This month's goal was focused on finishing two redwork embroidery projects.  I have been working on both of these for some time, rather sporadically too.

I had taken to bringing them to my Teacher Inservice meetings (I teach two-year-olds how to enjoy attending at preschool), but still had not completed either one.

As you can see, both now have the embroidery completed and I am linky #72  in the finishes linky party for August 2014 (I have the honor of being the very last linky that month!).  Click here to see my blog post about finishing or here for my original goal blog post.

For September, my goal is to finish a sweet baby quilt for a dear friend's first grandson.  I am goal linky # 52, or click here for my original blog post.

I had found this fabulous fabric at one of my favorite local quilt shops, Quilt 'n Sew in Katy, Texas, and wanted to make a quilt from the 'cloth book preprinted pages'.  Sweet Baby James clearly loves his new quilt (as do his English Professor parents!)  Best of all, I finished it and James is enjoying it while he is still a little baby!  There are other baby quilts actually lingering in my UFO pile (believe it or not, that is very true -- maybe I will finish one in time for the intended receiver's Bar Mitzvah ... I still have a few more years ...)

I am linky #65 in the September Finishes Linky Party, or click here for my nice blog post (which is one of my favorites).

I am on such a grand roll now.  I am loving meeting my goals and better, finishing projects!  Onto October where my goal linky is # 25.  This month I took a different direction with a goal of upcycling a pair of denim shorts, turning them into a tote bag.  Click here for more details on my blog post.

Andy, our dog, was wanting to play, as he is wanting as I write this -- so here is a short puppy break.

Andy approves of the finished tote, which is linky #28 in the October Finishes Linky Party and you can also click here for more details on my blog, where you can see photos of the funky cat-print lining and interior pockets (sshhh, don't tell Andy).

November's goal was to finish my piece for the Michael Miller challenge featuring eight pastel solids in their Spring Cotton Couture line.

I am linky # 38 in the goals linky party or click here for my blog post about this goal.

I was thrilled to finish this month's goal and I love the quilt and the quilting by Pam Biswas.  The pattern is Pot Pie by Thangles and is quite fun to sew together.

For November, I am linky #52 in the finishes party, and more information and photos is available on my blog post here.  I am sad to report that my "Mmm Pot Pie" quilt was rejected from the Quilt Con show in Austin, Texas this February.  I look forward to seeing the quilts that were selected from the over 1,000 quilts entered in this show, especially the ones in the Michael Miller challenge exhibit.  I now have a new challenge -- to get a quilt made and entered into a juried quilt show!  I have no idea how many rejections I may receive before reaching that goal, but I am ready for this challenge.

Meanwhile, my last goal of the year was to bind more quilts. This month I am goal linky # 58, or click here for my blog post.

I haven't figured out how to take a good photo showing that the quilt needs binding.  If you have suggestions, please share.

These bargello quilts are made by a brand new quilter.  Can you believe they are her first and second quilts ever?  The magnificent quilting is by my friend Pam Biswas too.  My claim to fame: I added the binding, that's all.

 
 I am linky #41 in the December Finishes Linky Party and you can also click here for my blog post.

That's all!  These are my seven goals that I set with my six finishes.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the "A Lovely Year of Finishes (ALYoF)" this year and plan to participate again in 2015.  My first goal - to add bindings to another quilt!

Thank you to Melissa (of http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/) and Shanna (of http://www.fiberofallsorts.blogspot.com/) for hosting this monthly year long challenge!  Did I mention that there are door prizes each month for the some of the lucky ones who achieved their goals?  I was lucky to win!  This post will qualify me for a chance to win one of the grand prizes for finishing a minimum of six goals (I barely got my 6 finishes completed!) and I am linky #32 in the final year-end linky party.  Join the fun for 2015.

Another great side benefit of "A Lovely Year of Finishes" is that I am blogging regularly again.  There are so many positives that I benefit from by challenging myself to set a goal each month and to reach it.....granted I do seem to start new projects just a quickly as I finish old ones ..... but that's a story for another blog post.