THE BUZZ FROM THE HIVE

Saturday, June 14, 2014

MIA but still busy as a bee..........

I have been busy stitching this past month but, since a number of my projects were gifts, I couldn't post about them. They have now been presented to their recipients and can be posted! I also managed to squeeze a trip in to visit my younger daughter in NC and 6 days (thanks Rich) in Ocean City, MD for Betsy Morgan classes and some much needed R&R. I have a Iot I am excited to share, so this may be broken up in to a few days so I don't bore you all at once!!!

First up, here are the gifts I made for stitching friends. The mermaid piece (in a Tim Holtz pocket watch) was a birthday gift for Sally at Salty Yarns. The design is from The Quaker Ball pattern by Amaryllis Artworks; I added the mermaid charm.

I usually take a small stitched "thank you" gift to Sally and Sara for their generous hospitality. This is a small kit, Album Souvenir I purchased from Jackie du Plessis in November at The Attic. I stitched one for me and realized I had enough fabric and fibers to stitch two more. Surprisingly I found the "album" at JoAnns, another Tim Holtz product, while searching for his pocket watches, and was able to put their tiny samplers in one. This must be close to, if not, the worlds smallest band sampler!!! The funny thing is all our names start with "S"!


On this trip, I was meeting up with my friend, Paola,who had flown in from Luxembourg for Betsy's classes. We met three years ago at Salty Yarns when Paola flew over for Betsy's class, The Toy Chest. We quickly found we were "kindred spirits" at heart and developed a fast, albeit long distance, friendship. I stitched her this as a memento--it was a "thank you" design from Donna at By the Bay Needleart for taking her class at Jamboree one year. It seemed perfect for Paola since we met sitting in the lobby of The Lankford Hotel stitching in those very chairs!!!
To fit the pocket watch, I stitched this over one on 40 count linen. I'm in the green and Paola in the purple!!! :)

I have also been busy working on non-gift projects. Here are some of them:
This is the free stitch-a-long piece from Blackbird Designs. Since it was a small design I thought I'd take my first "plunge" into stitching on the 52 count linen from Lakeside. I am using a fall color palette and pulling my silk fibers from leftover threads from my Betsy Morgan classes. I can only work on this for short periods of time as my eyes, literally, start to cross!!! I do have to say, I like the look of this and the linen itself.


This was my car project on the trip to North Carolina. I got the kit through my EGA chapter. It is the Folding Ort Box by Marilyn Owen. Once put together it should "collapse" into a flat box( kind of like the old coin purses) for easy transport to classes and such. I have finished the blackwork sections since I took this photo and just need to put it together. Pretty clever don't ya think? I'll post photos when I have it completed.


Now a little something I stitched for myself. This is a freebie card from The Prairie Schooler called Queen Bee. I saw this stitched in the Tim Holtz pocket watch on the Inspired Needle's blog and have been itching to stitch it ever since--you know I love all things "bee". I stumbled across this tiny pendant at Hobby Lobby one day and that pushed me over the edge. I came right home and figured if I stitched it over one on 40 count linen, it would fit perfectly. Again, I just used leftover silk fibers from classes.




The last project I'll share today are the final pieces for Under the Deep Blue Sea by Sue Hillis Designs. I've been working on this off and on for a couple, maybe few, years. I can't wait to start putting this all together in the Nantucket basket--will post photos when complete.
Top of Basket


Strip for inside basket

Scissor Pocket

Threader and Needlebook

Well, that's it for now. I think I have you all caught up on my stitching. I will try to post about my recent classes in the next day or so.

Thanks for wading through this post and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi


11 comments:

  1. Beautiful stitching, as always! It is so nice of you to stitch for the ladies at the retreat!! I am stitching the Blackbird SAL too, just on 40 ct with overdyed cotton threads. I am intrigued by your use of the 52 ct for this piece. I have several things kitted up with the 52 ct linen (haven't started any yet) and all of them are done with the Tudor Silk which is about 1/2 the size of the regular Gloriana. I know that Betsy kits her pieces with Gloriana so that must be what you are using for yours. Are you having any difficulty with the bulk of the thread?? It would sure be easier to make color conversions if you can comfortably use the regular Gloriana on the 52 ct! It is hard to find the Tudor silks and when you can find them, you frequently have to order them without knowing what the color looks like!! Thanks for your feedback on my question, Laura

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    1. Laura,
      I have not been having any trouble with the Glorianna, though this piece doesn't have any solid areas of stitching, which could possibly make the stitches too tightly packed. I am making full cross stitches and did the 4-sided without any difficulty. This was an experiment for me and so far..so good! That being said, for a larger piece with areas of solid stitching, the Tudors may be the way to go. Why don't you est them on a small piece and see what you think? Let me know the outcome if you do. Thanks for stopping by!

      Stasi

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  2. Stasi, everything is beautiful as usual. If I were there with you, I would take your temperature--52 count linen! Miss your smiling face. Hope you and the hubby are doing well. Maybe we'll cross paths one of these days!! Love, Carol Huffman

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  3. Lovely update as usual. Love all the stitching!

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  4. Stasi,

    Your stitching is just gorgeous! I was fortunate to see some the pieces in person at Salty Yarns, but hadn't seen your BBD sampler. It has a completely different look on finer linen - love your colors!

    I enjoyed chatting with you at Salty Yarns. Hope to see you again.

    - Margaret

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    1. Margaret--thanks for your lovely comments. It was nice to see you again...I'm sure we'll be running in to each other in the future.

      Stasi

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  5. Can you tell me where you got the freebie pattern for the Queen Bee ? I love it in the pocket watch. Thank you.

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    1. Barb, This was a freebie card Prairie Schooler would send to needlework shops as a promotion. It was from awhile ago.
      Stasi

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  6. Glad I could inspire you to make your own bee pocket watch! It's one of my favorite things. The minute I laid eyes on that Prairie Schooler freebie, I knew it just had to be a pocket watch. That was before all the cool kids were making stitched pocket watches. LOL! Can't wait to hear more about your grand adventures.

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  7. Oh my gosh ~ fabulous projects and gifts!!

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