January Ending- Stitching and Snow

It would seem my large Christmas cactus doesn't know what month it is, as it's just begun to bloom........ it always bloomed in October in previous years, but maybe it's just adapting to the new house......

we had more snow this weekend..............another 5" or so, blowing all over and making the roads slippery, and with lots of cold temperatures.......very unusual for this area, so we're told.......but a lot like where we used to live.......

these goldfinch were gobbling up the bird seed.....even in the blowing wind

I love the shadows on the snow.....

see the pathway? it's almost all filled in again, just an hour or two after I shoveled it........

in a calm moment, I caught these 'arms' reaching out......

 even the baby cactus has begun to flower

the pelargoniums like the light from the livingroom window......  I have several pots I dug up from the front garden bed and decided to overwinter indoors.......













As January comes to an end, I realize I'm still behind on my tree skirt.

This layered tat was added over a poinsettia flower. I love that fabric!

french knots all along this edging. I like the bits of colour and design peeking through those openings......

and 1 lonely cast-on stitch was added (more to come)

and that's all the progress I made on this first portion of the first quarter piece







I did, however, finish piecing the second quarter of the skirt

It's ready for stitching......whenever I get that far ....lol



There was other stitching for StitchMAP which I can't show just yet......

We've just received our first pdfs for our HEX LABS ( this will be a year-long project with a choice of 3 designs each month to stitch on a hex piece. Minimum is 1 choice/month.) so I shall also post my progress on the HEX LABS stitching.

Here's the second piece of the TIAS as of day 8. I still don't know what it will be, but I'm having fun trying to solve the puzzle.
Do you have a guess, too?

With all the snow and blowing winds, and unseasonably cold temperatures, it's a good excuse reason to stay indoors and stitch!
Wishing everyone a Happy February!

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

CQJP and TIAS

After a late start, I made some progress on my tree skirt for CQJP 2014, and cut, sewed, and shaped the muslin. Since our tree is quite full, I decided to create an oblong skirt rather than a smaller circle.

To keep as full a skirt as possible, I chose to cut the skirt fabric into 4 sections, even though it meant that these larger pieces would be more difficult to handle.

the first section of the skirt is pieced

 lace additions

 the second and third sections were also pieced, and strips of red velvet ribbon were placed to delineate each portion

lace and trims were added to sections 2 and 3


Now I'm ready to add some stitching to section 1!













TIAS after day 4 created a complete little piece

 and day 5 saw the beginnings of another shape...........

It's day 6 so my needle and thread are ready and waiting! I wonder what we're tatting.......


That's all I can show for this week.

I hope you've had time for some creative fun!



Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

January Beginnings: CQJP and TIAS

Hi everyone. Hope you're all warm and cozy. We've been in an Arctic Vortex here, which means the cold arctic air is flowing down into Ontario. The other night it dipped to -28C, and with the wind chill factor it felt like in the -40's. Brrr.
I ventured out to feed the birds, but I plan to spend as much time indoors as possible! Maybe I'll stitch.............
Yesterday there was a little blizzard in my mailbox. That's because the gorgeous snowflakes Debra embroidered for me arrived. Yay! Now I can begin to plan my tree skirt around the snowflakes.

Aren't these just wonderful?
Thanks so much, Debra!

I love the white against the red fabric-- so crisp

Debra sent some beautiful metallic snowflakes, too. They really sparkle, but it's difficult to see on the photo. I've only shown you a few......

here's my pile of cottons for the skirt-- mostly red and white with maybe a bit of green thrown in, too. I'm not sure about that yet.

some small pieces of fancy red fabrics might also be included

so I went through my stash to see just what might be appropriate for embellishing the tree skirt

 yah, more stash......... I told you I'm a thread junkie, didn't I?  lol
oh, yes, and a bead junkie, too, though I have yet to go through my bead stash........ oh, fun!

So all this is packed into a shoe tote.
I usually place each project's supplies in its own tote so I don't forget what I have......... ;-D

This piece is still hanging around, and I've almost finished the second attempt at a tatted border.
I decided I didn't like the way the tatting looked. hmmmm
It's going to come off! (again)
As it's a gift for a friend, I can't send it if I'm not happy with it..... sigh.

I'll have to decide what to do instead of the tatting and get this project done.



Well, I changed the mat edging to this:

I think it looks so much better, don't you?
I'm wondering if it all comes down to scale-- if the tatted edging was too insubstantial for the size of the mat.
What do you think?
 I did add little tatted poufs of blue to the corners though.......
 This will soon be on its way.

I haven't been idle, though, while waiting for my snowflakes to arrive...........I've begun tatting some snowflakes, and.........
 I've been stitching these..........(shhhh, it's a secret)
I've been asked to create a few projects over at StitchMAP  and these photos are just a little tease.........

These are the first work-ups as I'm playing with different techniques. They may or may not be the
final choice for the projects........but I thought Id give you a little peek......

tease #2........

I've also begun Jane E's TIAS -- Tat It And See. Here's day 1 of the pattern. Jane releases it in bits and pieces and tatters around the world tat it up and try to guess just what the pattern will be. It's my first time doing the TIAS, and it should be lots of fun!
 

TIAS day 2
I'm needle tatting with Lizbeth size 40 in colour 122.
There's extra ends.....I had a dreaded knot in my thread (argh) that I couldn't tonk, so I had to cut and add more........I hate when that happens!
My guess is:- a circus clown holding a helium balloon.....lol!



Hope you've had a creative week.

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz