Friday, January 4, 2013

Let the (Stitching) Games Begin!

There is a fun new stitching game starting this month over on Stitcherie and I am so excited to both participate in and spread the word about it.  "Stitching Games 2013" kicks off this month and it couldn't be easier to join in, as you have the option of using a canvas already in your stash.  Of course, you could buy a new one or even paint your own if you wanted, as it's a pretty flexible game you will be playing, with lots of room for using your imagination.  Our wonderful K.B. (she of the Challenge fame from last year) has cooked up this idea and will be playing moderator along with Ruth Schmuff.  I'll give you the gist of the idea here, but be sure to read the rest of the details here over on Stitcherie.  

You should choose a canvas that can accommodate 10 different "treatments", as you will be stitching a bit of the canvas each month for 10 months, so it doesn't need to be so much a large canvas as it should be something that has enough detail to give you something to work out your "clues" on each month.  At the beginning of each month Karen will post a new clue and you will interpret what the clue means to you and stitch that portion of your canvas.  To get started, you should post a photo of your unstitched canvas on Stitcherie, then thereafter post a photo a month after you have stitched each clue, along with a description of how you interpreted the clue on your canvas.  And yes, there will be prizes involved-- one prize awarded for each month of the Games! Participants will have all of November to finish stitching their canvas, and in December the voting begins to pick the Viewer's Choice prize for the overall favorite canvas.

I myself have yet to even pick out a canvas, but I plan to do that this weekend.  Meanwhile, the game has officially started, so I'll share with you here what has happened so far.  K.B. has chosen Melissa Shirley's "Circus Dogs" for her Games canvas and posted the picture on the group's page:


Melissa chose Raymond Crawford's Christmas Model A:



The clue for January is "Shape Up" (pretty appropriate for this time of year, no?) and Melissa interpreted the clue as the "spare tire" many of us are carrying around after the holidays (or year round in my case, lol) as the tires on the Model A.  See what I mean about using your imagination?  She did a fantastic job on those rims! 



See how fun this will be?  Everyone will be posting their photos which is sure to stir up some pretty fun chatter too.  I'll keep you updated here, but I do hope you'll pick out a canvas and come join us-- the more the merrier!  And even if you don't stitch along, we love the folks who cheer from the bleachers too-- hope to see you there! 

Monday, December 31, 2012

Finishing Up the Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  Many hopes and wishes for all of us to have a great 2013!  Here are a couple of new finishes to close out 2012-- Linda from the Split the Needles blog just received her Garden Party Heart back from the finishers and it looks great, just check out that wrapped cording on the edge!


Ruth Schmuff had to show off the wonderful framing job done for Lisa's CandyLand Christmas, read more about it on her blog:


Looking forward to many more great finishes in the year ahead!  Happy Stitching to all!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all the happiest of holidays, with lots and lots of stitching time!  


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Bells on Her Toes!

Or at her feet, that is!  Green sparkly jingle bells for feet on this stand-up, courtesy of Sue at West Coast  Finishing, stitching by Marla Muth.  Great work, both of you and thanks for sharing!



Keeping it short and sweet today, the holiday rush is on!! Hope you all are having a great holiday and finding some time to stitch!  

Monday, December 10, 2012

Still More Kits!

Ruth just recently added my Halloween Collage to the list of canvases with stitch guides, and this one is by Julia Snyder herself, no less!  Look at all those great threads and beads, you know it's going to be good!


Here are the thread kits for my Fall Tree and Winter Tree, with stitch guides published in Needlepoint Now magazine.  Thanks so much to Melinda from Living the Good Life blog for her lovely photos!




The wonderful folks at Peacock Alley Needlepoint pulled these pretty threads for my Halloween Star:


The Pockettes at Pocket Full of Stitches were intrepid enough to put together thread kits for my Prismatic Quartet design, also published in Needlepoint Now.  These are the threads for just ONE of the four sections!


Threads of Virginia designed a stitch class using one of my Halloween Topiaries and now the instructions and kit are available to all, so give them a call if you are not local and they'll be happy to send this beauty your way!


Hope this has helped you to fill out that shopping list a little further!  Until next time, Happy Holidays and Happy Stitching!