Weekly Update

Cross Stitch:

I did some more stitching on Joy of Computer Work which is based on artwork by Randal Spangler and adapted to cross stitch by Michele Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs.  I also made a start on cleaning up the text. The word "OF" is much more legible now, and the "E" in "THE" is looking better although it needs a bit more work. Stitching over the existing stitches with 1 strand of floss is working well.

 

 

Swedish Weaving:

I made good progress on Mountain Pines from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Quilting:

I finished 1 binding strip on the potholders and started a 2nd.

I also layered and basted 2 more blocks.

Knitting:

I finished the back of Soft Shoulders, a sweater designed by Kathy Zimmerman and started the front.

 

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more work on the step afghan (pattern here).

 

Weekly Update

Cross Stitch:
I did some more work on Joy of Computer Work which is based on artwork by Randal Spangler and adapted to cross stitch by Michele Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs.

 

I'm not happy with this pattern. In fact, I'm feeling a bit cheated. As you can see, it's difficult to read the text, which is one of the most important aspects of the design. It's not quite as bad in person (my camera washed out the colors somewhat), but parts of it are all but illegible. It looks like 3 things have gone wrong here. First, the cover of the pattern package shows this which appears to be the original artwork before it was adapted to cross stitch, which makes the customer think they're getting something different from what they're actually getting. Second, the computer mockup on HAED's website shows that Ms. Sayetta didn't do a very good job on the text when she adapted the artwork to cross stitch. Third, I suspect that Ms. Sayetta stopped after finishing the mockup and didn't test the pattern. Even the best design programs don't render colors accurately, so it's vital to test the pattern by actually stitching it, especially with a highly detailed design like this where a slight difference in color can make a huge difference in the finished result. I have 2 other patterns by Ms. Sayetta that I plan to stitch (fortunately they don't have any text), but based on my experiences with this item I will not be buying any more patterns by Heaven and Earth Designs.

Now, how to salvage this project? The stitching is so dense that frogging is a non-starter, so I'm going to try stitching over some of the stitches with a single strand of floss to see if I can't make the lettering legible. Wish me luck.

Swedish Weaving:

I finished the first half of Mountain Pines from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly and started the second.

Quilting:

On the potholders, I finished quilting another block.

 

I also did some more work on the 4th binding strip on the Tree Frog Trio (designer unknown) based on No Evil Frogs by Royce B. McClure.

 

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more work on the step afghan (pattern here).

 

Weekly Update

Cross Stitch:

I did some more work on Joy of Computer Work which is based on artwork by Randal Spangler and adapted to cross stitch by Michele Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs.

Swedish Weaving:

I made some more progress on Mountain Pines from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Quilting:

On the potholders, I finished piecing the last 2 blocks.

I also finished quilting the block I started last week.

 

Crochet:

Finally, I did some more work on the step afghan (pattern here).

 

Weekly Update

This was my week for taking failed projects and turning them into something useful.

Crochet:

A while back, I decided to try my hand at crocheting with fabric strips and started to make a bowl:
 

I soon discovered that not only was cutting fabric into strips a lot of work, but it also took way too much fabric to make a decent-sized object. So I gave up on that and set the bowl aside.

This week, I ripped out the sides of the bowl and remade it into a pad to set my hot iron on.
 

I also did some more work on the step afghan (pattern here).
 

Quilting:

When I first started quilting, before I really knew what I was doing, I started the Shining Stars quilt by Lydia Quigley of The Rabbit Factory.  I was using inaccurate templates and far too many pins, and the result was a mess. I should, however, be able to make these blocks and pieces into 3 potholders which will at least be useful, if not very pretty.
 

 

 

I'm using this old potholder as inspiration. It's basically 2 potholders bound together on 3 sides to form a pocket. I love this style of potholder because the glove potholders never fit my small hands, and the pocket potholders can also double as a hot pad.
 

This week, I finished piecing one of the unfinished blocks and started another.

I also started quilting one of the finished blocks.

I finished the 3nd binding strip on the Tree Frog Trio (designer unknown) based on No Evil Frogs by Royce B. McClure and started on the 4th.

I also finished 4 flying geese blocks for Around the Town by Dawna Baker.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more work on Joy of Computer Work which is based on artwork by Randal Spangler and adapted to cross stitch by Michele Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs.

Swedish Weaving:

Finally, I made some more progress on Mountain Pines from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.