SBQ – May 10, 2006

Posted on May 10, 2006 by Jenna Magee

Today’s SBQ is:

When you stitch from a kit and use the supplied floss do you have leftovers? If so, how much and what do you do with them? If not, do you usually have just enough or do you have to dig into your stash to finish?

To date, I have always had enough floss, which is one of the reasons I lean towards kits for smaller designs. In most cases, I trade away the kit and leftover threads. If I do want to stitch the design again and I don’t have enough threads left to do so, I use the leftover bits as a color reference, if no DMC numbers are given. Usually, at least one color has been pushed pretty close to the edge and would have to be replace to stitch it again.

I would be pretty irked if I had to dig into my stash to finish a kit because there wasn’t enough thread. That defeats the purpose! 😆

On a side note, I often substitute my own fabric for that supplied in the kit. I’m not a huge fan of aida…

Posted in Stitching Blogger's Question | 2 Comments

Career Interest Inventory

Posted on May 10, 2006 by Jenna Magee

Most interesting….

Jennifer, based on your responses, your top career area is Writing and Journalism

Careers in this field often demand that you possess exceptional verbal and written communication skills. You have a natural talent for articulating a message in a way that resonates with other people. Writers and Journalists not only understand and appreciate the power of the written word, but are able to harness that power and use it in their own unique way. Most likely, you enjoy sharing your opinion and perspective with others.

Take stock of what you really like to do at http://web.tickle.com/tests/jobinterests/index.jsp.

Posted in Meme | 4 Comments

“Victory is Mine!”

Posted on May 9, 2006 by Jenna Magee

To quote Stewie Griffin. And for those of you reading who have no idea what I’m talking about, Stewie Griffin is a baby who has a serious Napoleonic complex and stars in a cartoon named Family Guy.

Today’s victory was brought to you by the completion of the bottom half of my biscornu for the exchange and finishing of said biscornu. The goodies are ready to go, as well, so I’ll pack everything up and address it off to … somewhere. 😉

Which was proceeded by a victory against a malfunctioning piece of software at work today. I’ve been banging my head against this brick wall for days, with no solution in sight. But it was running by the time we left work this evening, by gum!

Mwuhahahahahahaaaaaaaa (that’s an evil laugh)! Excellent… excellent (said with the body hunched over and hands rubbing together like a bad old mad scientist)! 😆

Posted in Stitching | 6 Comments

1.5 Down…

Posted on May 7, 2006 by Jenna Magee

0.5 to go! Yep, that’s right. I’ve completed the stitching on my piece for the SBEBB Melanie’s Exchange. And, after spending two hours in ACMoore on Friday night, I finally figured out that I only really have one option for finishing it. Kind-of a bummer for me, as I had high hopes for several way to finish the piece, but I guess it makes the decision easier; it just took me a while to accept the fact that I had no other choice.

That was last night’s finish, complete with a great scan for my online gallery (it’s hidden, of course, so you can’t see it). In fact, I think I’m going to submit it for this year’s Silkweaver competition, if they have one. I’m such a tease, aren’t I? 😆 Hopefully, you won’t have to wait too long because I’ll be sending it out this week and it will take a week or so to reach the recipient.

This morning, I completed the top of the biscornu I’m stitching for the SBEBB Eight-Sided Pincushion Exchange. Now, I’m going to start the bottom. Because portions of the design are so time-intensive, I think I have another couple of hours to go before I can put the biscornu together. 🙁 I can’t wait to see my own finished product! This is another one that will be sent out this week, but I don’t know how long it will take before I can show it to you.

Sorry, no pictures, just teasing! 😀

Posted in Stitching | 3 Comments

I Mowed the Lawn!

Posted on May 6, 2006 by Jenna Magee

That probably sounds a bit odd, but it is the first time I’ve mowed the lawn since I was in my early teens, believe it or not. 🙂 It was fun and I like to be as precise as possible, but I’m paying for it now. I just hope that I’ll be able to stitch later tonight.

As for now, I’m going to go apply lots of Ben Gay to my neck and shoulders and hope that the ibuprofen I just took kicks in soon enough to keep the headache from exacerbating.

Along the same lines, I’m going to sign off now, as well. I haven’t read blogs at all today, so I’ll be a bit behind, but laptop usage will only increase my chances that this headache isn’t going to go away.

Besides, I need to eat and stitch. In that order… not both at the same time! 😉

Posted in Life in General | 2 Comments

SBQ – May 3, 2006

Posted on May 3, 2006 by Jenna Magee

Today’s SBQ is:

Do you or have you stitched with over-dyed threads? (Weeks Dye Works, The Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Six Strand Sweets, etc.) If so, what is your opinion concerning them? If not, why not?

I’ve stitched a decent amount with overdyed threads, including model work, where I was first introduced to them. I really adore the overdyed silks, like Waterlilies, because they are so soft and feel good when you are working with them. Weeks Dye Works has been my least favorite to date because it feels very stiff and is often resistant to moving smoothly through the fabric holes. I could probably soak the threads first or use Thread Heaven and not have so much of a problem, but I don’t feel that motivated. 😉

In general, I find overdyed threads to be too pricey, so I don’t stock up on them. I will buy some for a particular project, if I feel that the design really warrants the variegated look and the investment. Otherwise, for small designs (especially ornaments), I will either substitute with an overdyed thread that I have in my stash or the closest DMC equivalent. I think that overdyed threads are sometimes used gratuitously and can detract from the overall design when they are overused. Sometimes, I feel like specialty threads are being recommended just so that the manufacturer gets more sales. In those cases, I avoid using them and go for a reasonable equivalent.

Posted in Stitching Blogger's Question | 3 Comments

Advice on Blocking

Posted on May 3, 2006 by Jenna Magee

Okay, has anyone ever blocked a cross stitch project when finished? Due to the amount of pull that I had to do on my mystery sampler in order to get any sort of effect with the coil filling on that heavy Monaco fabric, the fabric is very distorted around that section and I need to pull it straight before I can finish it as a bellpull. Does anyone have instructions for how to block fabric? I don’t know what I’m doing or if I even have the materials needed to do so?

Help! Please. 🙂

Posted in Stitching | 4 Comments

May Stitching Goals

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Jenna Magee

Another ambitious list this month. We’ll see what I can manage. 🙂

  • Finish model
  • Finish SBEBB Melanie’s Exchange
  • Finish SBEBB Eight Corner Pillow (Biscornu) Exchange
  • Stitch my Round Robin piece
  • Work on VSCyberstitchers July Exchange Gift
  • Work on Dragonfly Stitches Needlebook
  • Restart Victoria Sampler – Spring Banner
  • Start Dragonfly Stitches Biscornu SAL
  • Start Chatelaine – Stitching Leporello
Posted in Stitching | 2 Comments

April Stitching Goals in Review

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Jenna Magee

Looking through this month’s goals, I have to say that I didn’t do too badly. Yay me! 🙂

  • :mrgreen: Finish Laura’s Quilt Square
  • :mrgreen: Finish Alchemy Stitchcraft – Mystery Sampler SAL
  • 🙁 Work on VSCyberstitchers July Exchange Gift
  • :mrgreen: Start SBEBB Melanie’s Exchange Gift
  • :mrgreen: Start SBEBB Eight Corner Pillow/Biscornu Exchange Gift
  • 🙁 Restart Victoria Sampler – Spring Banner
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Mystery Sampler Completed!

Posted on April 30, 2006 by Jenna Magee

Finally! 😀 I’m only two months behind the SAL, but the stitching is complete. Okay, almost complete. I still have to add a couple of beads, but I need to wash and block the piece first and I didn’t want to do that with the beads on.

I did two scans. One against a black background so that you could see the hardanger sections and the pulled sections more clearly and one against a white background so that you can see the colors more clearly. I did not follow the design exactly. In the top section, I chose to stitch Algerian eyes instead of cutting out the four small squares and doing a spoke filling. In the top hardanger section, I chose my own fillings instead of those charted.


Alchemy Stitchcraft Mystery Sampler (Black Background)
Alchemy Stitchcraft Mystery Sampler

This piece was stitched on 28 count Glass Blue Monaco fabric, using DMC flosses, white DMC pearl cottons in #8 and #12 and Caron Waterlilies overdyed silk in Moonglow. The design is by Christine Wilkins of Alchemy Stitchcraft and was presented in six parts as a mystery sampler for the members of her Yahoo! group. I purposefully chose colors that were close in color to the fabric so that the overall effect is very subtle. It looks better in person. 😉

Posted in Stitching | 12 Comments