Let the WIPocalypse begin!

I may be starting a month late, but at least I’ve got organization on my side. I mutated my 10 Project Challenge list into my WIPocalypse list (see sidebar). All projects are cataloged, photographed and ready to be called to duty:
The reindeer rug is so close to done I can taste it! I only rug hook on Tuesday evenings, so I’m still a few weeks out from being done. I’m not doing the outside border.

Also rug hooking, this is a bench seat. Sooo much background left to go.

Needlepoint, so very close to done!

I will finish this for my sister in exchange for a portrait of our dog Billy, who just passed away.

Funnest XS project ever! Fantasy Landscape.

Italian Bird Tile.

Grateful Heart Band Sampler.

Celtic Bird.

Haven’t started this yet – it’s a french knot kit based on a hooked rug design.

This one takes a little explaining. These are my practice bullion knots. I’m really bad at them, but would love to be able to create some of the designs in A to Z of Bullions. So, the goal is 100 practice knots. Got a ways to go!

Weston’s wondering…

Why I’ve neglected the blog so long? I don’t know, baby, but it’s time to get back in the swing of things! Nice work on the French door, by the way.

Weston at the window

Fiona’s video

We currently have three bunnies: Hank, who has been with us for 12 years, and sisters Nora and Fiona, who have been with us since they were wee babies, five years ago.

Fiona, Nora, Hank

Fiona’s leg, which sticks out to the side, is from an injury she received while at the shelter (she and Nora were born there, after a large-scale rescue brought in a huge number of rabbits). Her hip was dislocated, and since she was just a few days old when it happened, her muscles and tendons simply compensated. By the time I adopted them, there was no way to fix it – her body had changed too much.

Fiona is a very happy camper, and unfazed by her somewhat unconventional configuration. She runs, she jumps, she bosses me around. What has happened to her over the years, however, is that her left back leg has been shifting, and is now almost as flat as the right leg. It isn’t dislocated – we’ve taken xrays – but it is troubling, and after a talk with my vet, we are trying to come up with some sort of device that might help ease the strain on her joints, and lift her butt up a little so she isn’t putting pressure on her lower abdomen. To put the word out to the vets at K-9 Carts, I put together this video of Fiona in motion.

I’m curious to see if we are able to come up with something for her (and if she’ll put up with it).

Mermaid Rug

Saraphina

She is done! And by done of course I mean pretty darn close to done. She is hooked, bound, taped on the back, but still needs the label and the glitter, which I have started but it doesn’t really even show up in this photo. The only glitter you can see is the slashy lines in her hair, and those are coming out (too distracting). There is glittery Sulky floss in the red outline of her tail. It is wonderfully subtle but adds a little oomph! I will put more of that in her tail and hair, then she will be done, as in complete. She is going in the State Fair, along with my Drawn Thread sampler and Morning Dew sampler.

WIPS

Cameryn's quilt

This is my first quilt in awhile…about five years, since the last one was for Kendall! I like making baby quilts that don’t scream “baby”, since there is no telling when the young ‘un will receive it. I’ve got enough deadlines in my life, I don’t need to add more!

This is all pieced and quilted in the middle (ditch), and has languished because now I need to quilt the border, and that involves planning and math, and a strong possibility of getting it wrong. But maybe today is the day…

Chocolat

I’m almost done with the stitching on Chocolat (there are two more medallions rolled over the top of the frame). This will make a needlebox, and is from a class I took from Elegant Stitch back in the fall of 07. The finishing of this project is going to be a challenge. I have simplified it from the original design. It was beautiful and complex, but I really want it to be something I use, so I streamlined it. We’ll see how it comes out.

Fantasy Landscape

Two Elephants

X stitch and needlepoint projects I am chugging away on. Both with animal themes, of course.

Mille Fleur

Miller Fleur front

Mille Fleur interior

The is the completed Mille Fleur needlcase, which is now in service! It resides in the Two Elephants project bag, and inspires me to make needlecases for each project…

I like things to be sturdy, so this needlecase has a lot of layers. I used thick cardboard inside, then covered the cardboard with some stiff mesh I had – I think it is used in making hats. Liberal glue + time + bulldog clips…and I have a very sturdy needlecase! Because of the stiffness, I had to work each “page” (inside front and inside back) separately. I tried to put a single piece of wool across the entire interior, but the push was too great – it caused a big fold in the wool. So, each page is it’s own piece of hand-dyed wool. Under the wool on the front page is the tie ribbon, and a flat rare-earth magnet, which is why the scissors “hover” – they are actually quite secure.

As much as I like to collect them, I don’t use too many gadgets. Scissors, pins, needles and my fiber hiders and I’m good to go! I got the gold bee fiber hiders specifically for this needlecase, and thought long and hard about how to keep them secure. I finally decided on a pocket made from some beautiful wide midnight blue ribbon I had, got out the sewing machine and sewed it up right on the first try!

The other trick I used on this is lots of terrifically tacky tape. This stuff is indespensible if you are using see-through or delicate ribbon that will not take glue well. I taped down the hider pocket, the ribbon down the interior spine, and the ribbon between the pocket and little wool pages (far right). To tape that ribbon down, I made it long and taped it under the wool, to the mesh/cardboard underneath.

The gods were with me on this project, I tell ya. I was puzzling it out as I went, burning brain power, and in the end, it looked pretty good!

Some Finishes

No photos yet, I’m still recovering from Run for the Buns yesterday, and too many work projects rattling around in my head.

From my 10 project list, I have finished the Crow House punchneedle. Gail Bird came to the Guild last month, and getting further instruction was just what I needed to finish the project (and do a better job). I also completed my Mille Fleur needlecase – that is worth it’s own post to come.

All energies now need to go into the mermaid rug…

First Post of ’09

Happy New Year! Not much crafting news to report, except for the unfortunate exit of my rug hooking teacher to another state. I am really going to miss my Tuesday nights with the girls…we are hoping to be able to resurrect it somehow.

I updated my 10 project list and am looking forward to moving through it. Yes, I am aware there are only 7 items listed, I consider 10 to be the project cap. Less is OK, more is too much to wrap my head around.

Completes

These are recent (as in, 2008) completes. They could be called finishes, but that term is also used when just the stitching is done, so to avoid confusion I will try consistently to call them completes.

This is my first and only Teresa Wentzler. Her designs are gorgeous, but a little tedious to create because of all the 1/4 and 1/2 stitches and all the color blending. Maybe someday I will have the necessary patience (and brainpower) required to do another…anyway, I finished Stretch into a long lavendar sachet. I had a lot of fun with the border – I twisted, stitched and wrapped a bunch of funky fibers together to form a loose cording. The picture below shows that better, along with the tail that I added beads and charms to…I”m getting into this beading thing, I think this was my first attempt.

My next complete is the W Arabesque, which now hangs on the dining room wall. I’m very happy with the framing job.

I got this framed at the same time. It now hangs on my salon wall in the craft room:

My last complete is my little mermaid jewelry box. I bought the canvas, fibers and box in Cambria in June at Flying Fuzzies. She was a fun, quick project – I enjoyed working with the glittery fibers in her hair and tail. I considered putting beads in her tail, but they just stuck way up and looked odd.

Big ‘Ole List

I have been doing a much better job of finishing projects than I have been about blogging. Here is a list of finishes I need to photograph and post:

- Mermaid jewelry box

- Unicorn needlepoint

- Castle Coch Monkey needlepoint

- Stretch door hanger

- “W” Arabesque, framed

- Bunny Sampler, framed

- 4 hooked/felted sachets

- 1 felted Halloween doorhanger (that has gone on to its intended recipient)

- random beaded fobs (because I needed a new hobby)

And I need to throw in a few posts about current WIPs. My 10 project list that I started…2 years ago is down to its final piece. Although, I see here on my blog it has morphed into a 5 project list and I still have a few to go. No problem-o, and I might as well make it a true 10 project list again, anyway!