Showing posts with label Finally Finished. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finally Finished. Show all posts

Friday, July 25, 2025

End of the week catch up

 I meant to write on Wednesday. Really, I did. This week ... it's been something. 

Between the weather, faffing about, and some work stuff that has been going on, I am a mildly tired girl. 

On the bright side it's Friday. Or, should I say "Fri-yay!" Ha!

Wednesday I completed a project that's been going on for around two years.  Can you even guess what it is? 

Dancing Stars!


Holy Hannah! When I hung it up on the clothes line to take a photo, I stepped back and took it in. It was a moment where I was a bit gobsmacked that *I* -- me -- made this. 

I am pretty sure I know what kind of batting I want for it. I still have to figure out the yardage for the backing and the binding.  Oh, yeah, and the color. I'm thinking I'm going to go with a black binding, to help those colors pop. Anyone have any suggestions for the quilting? I'm debating on tying or just going with cross hatch. I've never tied a quilt before. 

What else ... earlier this week my hubby and I installed a new fancy radio in his truck. I don't have any photos.  Now he can connect his phone to the radio and have all the fun apple play things that I have in my car, including a much bigger screen for his back up cam. We learned just how easy-ish it is to swap out the factory radio for something aftermarket.  If we had only known that 25-some years ago. When I was younger I had the impression that swapping out the radio was some mysterious thing that you had to be specially trained in on, or something. 

The weather has been all over the place this week. We've had sun, clouds, wind and rain with thunder.  It made it a wee bit hard to get out to the garden and record a garden update, but I eventually got it done. Look for a video on my Youtube channel this weekend. 

I did a bit more crafting. The last time I was at Michael's I saw butterfly charms and thought "Those would make pretty needle minders.  

So that's what I did! 





While I had the fancy expensive (not really) E6000 stuff out I also finally made some magnetic needle threaders that I've been wanting to make for *ages*. 



My friend Patty sent me a little care package a while back. In it she included this cute needle threader


and I was so inspired by it that I wanted to make some and that way I have them all over my crafting spaces and maybe even in my project bags. 

In other crafting news ... I have almost all my organizing done.  I spent some time moving my yarn around and trying to find a spot for everything that was on my yarn shelf before I decided it was a mess and something needed to be done. 


It's SO much better.  I'm not completely done. I may move some of those totes to a different spot.  My hubby and I were talking about it this evening.  He felt it was important I had my work space freed up.  I thought I'd just be shoving those totes around. Ha! He gave me a few ideas. 

I need to expand the storage I have for my DMC floss, too.  I have a few containers that I can add to my two towers of floss.  

The thing with "airing the stash," so to speak, is that you also get a fresh impression of just how much stuff you have. Along with seeing some things you may have forgotten you had **whistles innocently** I'm definitely set for Aida fabric.  Now that I'm feeling more confident about dying fabric I've definitely got enough materials to start with ... 

Speaking of dyeing, I'm thinking of some bare sock weight yarn that I think I have. If I have it, I bet it's sitting in the closet of the craft room. Yay, more sock yarn. Ha ha ha ha, heh, heh, *groans* oh boy. 🤭

I tell ya, I have stuff squirreled away all over the place. 

Work. Well, when isn't there something going on with my work, right? I love my job. I've been there for more than 22 years. However, there's stuff going on that is not in my control.  It's just ... frustrating. We've had this cloud hanging over us for years and years.  Longer than I care to admit, really. As I told someone this week, you can't really explain my company, you have to experience it. Really, the structure of the organization is definitely one of a kind. When I do try to explain it some are like "huh?" and "Wow."

So, if you would be so kind, please send some positive vibes and prayers my way. 

On the health front, I'm still feeling pretty good.  I've been taking it easy when I can, and pushing myself when I feel I can. Yay! I've been walking out to check the game cams each morning and I can walk out there and back without feeling very much discomfort. It's a win I'm happy to have. 

Why am I checking game cams? Well, hunting season is just a few months away. 


I love how the path into the back 20 looks. To me it is so inviting.

The trail in the woods. Hard to believe that in a few months all that green will be changing to fall colors. 


Really, it feels like summer started not that long ago and the Fourth of July was just last week.  We are heading to August in like a week. 

With August just around the corner the school supplies have started hitting the stores. 

The last time I was at Walmart, I was kind of bumming around and went around the school supplies aisle. 

I saw this: 


... and was hit with memories of when my son was just starting his school years. He wanted *all* the Mario things. He still loves Mario. Is it weird that I miss buying school supplies? He's been out of school two years now. 

Sometimes I think I need to write notes for stuff I want to write about on the blog. I could have swore there was more stuff I wanted to blather about ... Can I remember? No. 

I'm still continuing the trend of "taking it easy" this month.  I don't think I've really touched my knitting this week.  I've knit a little bit on my Red Panda cross stitch and my Christmas ornament piece. 

Weather is supposed to be nice this weekend. We'll be fishing in the a.m. Which, if I want to fish with some of my own ties, I need to get this blog published so I can go work on a few. 

Have a great weekend, dear readers! I appreciate every one of you who takes the time to read my blog. 😃

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Flosstube podcast 31 - WIPs, FFOs and a new SAL

 


Thank you for stopping by and watching my video. I am so glad you stopped by! If you like what you see, please subscribe and click the notification bell to be notified of when I load new videos.  Sign up to receive blog posts by mail.

Instagram: AmniconStudio

Email: AmniconStudio at gmail.com



Current Works in Progress (WIPS)



Project name: One Stitch at a Time
Started: Jan. 10, 2025
Finished:
Designer/Source: La-D-Da Stitches, purchased at 123stitch.com
DMC conversion: 501, 3799, 315, 3826, 169, 05, 832, 3787, 3859, 640
Fabric: 28 Charles Craft DMC "Tea Dyed"
I'm participating in a stitch-along in the Across the Pond - Stitch and Chat group on the book of faces.

Previous update:



**************************************



Project name: Black Bellied Whistling Ducks
Started: 5/3/25
Finished:
Designer: Lindy Stitches, part of the Bird Crush Club
Chart purchased at Lindy Stitches in 2023
Fabric: Hobby Lobby 14 count aida
Fabric color: Mist
Fabric count: 14 ct
Floss used: DMC 310, 605, 827, 644, 08, 3064, 712, 838, 3819, 3782, 3863, 603, 3790, Threadworx - Rustic Red

Previous update:



****************************



Project name: Licorice vanilla socks
Started: 5/3/25
Finished:
Needle size: U.S. 1 (2.5mm)
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll "Licorice Tweed"
Yarn color: Charcoal grey with flecks of color
Yarn Purchased: Stash yarn that was given to me.

Previous update:



****************************************



Project name: Beach Cruise socks
Started: June 1, 2025
Finished:
Needle size: 2.5 mm (U.S. 1)
Yarn: Knit Picks Felici "Beach Cruise"
Yarn color: Yellow, orange, blue
Yarn Purchased: 2025 Knitpicks order

Previous update: 






Fully Finished Objects (FFO)




Love, Hugs, and Kisses
Started: 5/9/25
Finished: 6/3/25
FFOed: June 15, 2025
Designer: Arlene Cohen of WorksByABC
Chart purchased: Just Cross Stitch Feb. 2023 issue
Fabric: Stash aida
Fabric color: White
Fabric count: 14 count
Floss used: DMC 816 garnet instead of the called for DMC Mouline EtoileC816.


*************************************




Bedelia Bunny
Started: Jan. 10, 2025
Finished: April 12, 2025
FFOed: June 23, 2025
Designer/Source: The Artsy Housewife, purchased at 123stitch.com
Used DMC colors. Changed color of bunny to DMC 03 to match the color of my little Feffer's fur. I also used Classic Colorworks - Blackbird for the eye and the few other spots in the flowers
Fabric: Stash Hobby Lobby Lugana 28 count "Ivory" color


********************************


New SAL




A daily reminder by Brenda Gervais. – Doing my own conversion. 
Purchased from Farm Girl Dry Goods. Still need to dye fabric and choose colors
Other Flosstubers in the SAL are @Sarah’s Stitchy Spot, @Hobbies of Holly, Judy@Stitching bunny

Mail 
Charts from Ashley and Jan @We stitch and we know things. Thank you so much!
Kimberbell Needlepunch kit from Alison over at @ Mrs. AZfamilyzoo Stitches

Channels mentioned during my video:
Kenzie @mudpuppy Stitchery
Bernadette @Bern Stitches
Becca @Sambrie Stitches

Other channels I’ve watched since my last video. 

Patty @Stitching with my kitties – She has been making crazy quick progress on jessiechallinor1904
Roberta and Lenny @Sable Stitchers
Nancy @Disorderly Stitcher – New patriotic SAL, along with @stitcherwithalaughingface
Kathy and Molly @Linen and Scraps 
Dottie @Stitching Scottie
Stacy @911 Stitcher
Sheldon @Sheldon in Stitches 
Jason @Jason Cross Stitches – had really kind words at the end of his last video.  I encourage everyone to go take a listen. Episode #7
Shellie @Antique Needleworkers – fun video of her with Holly @Hobbies of Holly,  Kari @Tiger Lily designs, Lisa @Lady Huzzah and Jessica. She said she will start up her flosstube.
Joshua @Cross Stitch and Cambria










Sunday, November 19, 2023

Another end of the week catch-up-ish ...

 This past week a lot of my focus was on an early deadline for work. 

We made the deadline. Woo hoo! Then Friday there was something wrong with our work email.  So that kinda threw me off my game.  I am SO glad that it didn't happen the day before.  That would have made for a very stressful day.

Thursday, I think it was, I decided it was time to devote some time to my spinning project that has been languishing. 

Friday night, at 8 p.m. CST, I spun the last of my grey corriedale fiber.  


When I pulled this last bit out of the bag I was so surprised it was the end. 

I purchased this fiber back in August 2019. 


The last of it all spun up. 

Like four years it took me to spin up a little more than 2 pounds of fiber. I have too many hobbies!  I can NOT take 4 years to spin the next sweater's worth of fiber. 

Saturday I turned it in to a 2-play and today I soaked and whacked it.  It's currently air drying. Sometime this next week I'll measure it and see how many yards I have. 

If I have enough yardage, I'm going to aim for the Brielle sweater in the most recent Knitty.com. 

If there is a LOT of yardage, I'm going to look for something that will use more yarn. 

In other news, the mystery CAL I signed up for I am not doing.  The parts were released and when I saw what it was I decided No thanks.  It's cute but it's not something I'm interested in making. So now I have two skeins of acryllic yarn I need to find a project for. Or, just put it in the stash/collection. 

Next week is probably going to be a busy week for me. Getting ready for Thanksgiving, There's some other things I need to take care of.  

Then, maybe then, I'll be ready for snow ... 



Friday, November 10, 2023

End of the week catch up and a finished project!

 I took Thursday and Friday off of work.  I felt the need for a break and to clear some things off the plate.  I knew I was getting into a mood. There hasn't been a lot of downtime lately. 

Yesterday I took care of  several things that I've been meaning to do for a while. 

One was ironing the last of the fat quarters for the Dancing Stars quilt. Now I can start cutting it up for the squares.  


Another, less sexy, project that I've been holding off on was to make a cover for our new smoker. 


I'll be the first to say it is not my best work.  I didn't have a pattern, or anything to work off of.  I stuck that welding blanket on the smoker and drew lines and sewed. 

I thought I was super clever with what I was doing, until I got to a part where I realized I wasn't nearly as clever as I thought. *sigh* and I had to cut the fabric. ... 

The cover is almost all done.  A hold for the vents in the back needs to be cut out.  I have the fabric all stitched and ready for the hole to be cut. 



This week I received some fun mail. Someone sent me a goody box full of sock yarn. All Forbidden Fiber Co yarn. 


It's all so PRETTY! 

I have books full of sock patterns that have barely been made. 

I chose this skein of yarn for my journey back into patterned sock-making. 


  The colorway is "Tale as old as time," on the Fortitude base.

I decided to go with the Monkey sock pattern, by Cookie A.   It's a simple lacework pattern and I probably need something easy to start out with. 

Then I yarn-caked that skein of squishy goodness, and admired it. 


Maybe my favorite moment of the last couple days is when I sewed on the last button of my crochet cardigan!

I admired my handiwork and then tried it on.

It fits a bit close, but I'm optimistic it will stretch out a bit.


The important thing is that I would wear this outside the house, in public. To me, that is what's most important. If I didn't like how it turned out, it would be a only-in-the-house-cardigan.

Today I gave it a nice soak and it's still drying in front of the wood stove.



Project Name: My first crochet cardigan

Started: Sept. 30, 2023
Finished: Nov. 9, 2023
Designer/Source: Craftsy or Lionbrand. 
Yarn: Lion Brand wool ease
Colors: Grey heather
Hook Size: H 5.0 mm
Made For: myself. 

I am no longer afraid to make a crochet sweater or cardigan.  I've worried because my crochet tension is not always consistent. I'm definitely feeling more confident with my crochet. 

Friday, November 3, 2023

I have a finished object!

 Last weekend, while sitting out in the deer blind, I started working on a CC copycat hat.  


I messed up the provisional cast on and had to start over. Boo!  Specially after 3.5" of 1 x 1 ribbing. 

The second time was much better. 

I worked on it a little bit each morning and each night this week.  

Just a little bit ago I cast off. 


I've been wanting a cc copycat hat in orange for years. 



Started: Oct. 28, 2023
Finished: Nov. 3, 2023
Yarn: Loops and Threads Impeccable
Colorway: Orange crush
Colors: orange
Required Amount: half a skein of the yarn
Needle/Hook Size: U.S. 7 (4.5 mm)
Gauge: beats me
Made For: Myself
Dye Lots: 2022-05-643066

In other news, I signed up for a mystery CAL I saw on Instagram. 

Already picked up the yarn. 



Our area had snow earlier this week.  Tuesday, Oct. 31, if memory serves. I was definitely not ready for it. 


I got the chicken run winter prepped just in time.  I opened the door to see how the birds were doing, because no one was outside. 

Yeah, they weren't too happy about the snow either. 


I dragged some in on my shoes and they were shooting it dirty looks, like they couldn't decide if they should kill it or eat it. 

Little Feffer didn't look very happy either.  I tried taking a photo of him and he's even more camera shy than the birds. 



That day, on my lunch hour, I went out and dug up the carrots out of the garden. 


That was a treat, trying to find the greens in the snow. 

And, in hardcore gardener fashion, I sat down in the snow and separated the greens from the carrots so I'd have less of a mess in the house. 


The carrots all cleaned up.  I've heard about how great carrots taste if they are harvested after a frost.  I heard correctly!  



The garden is officially done for the year.  Come February I'll be starting seeds up again in the house and all the fun garden madness will start again. I learned a lot this garden year and am proud that every single plant in my garden this year I started fro seed.  Including the flowers. 

Today my husband and I went up to Fleet Farm for their orange Friday.

We each received a blaze orange cap, and ended up not buying what we went there to look at. 


It's fun to get the hat, though.  

We got back home in time for me to start my work day. 

There is supposed to be a warming weather trend this weekend.  Likely our last decent weekend before the weather turns *serious*




Tuesday, October 24, 2023

One thread before bed

The other day I was taking out a new flosstube for a spin.  Unfortunately I don't remember which channel, or her name.  

However, she said something that stuck with me.  I've heard it said other ways, but her way rhymed. 

"A thread before bed." 

And it makes total sense if you want to have some progress, but not dedicate hours a day to something. 

How do you eat an elephant? 

A bite at a time. 

Does anyone ever do just one thread when they pull their cross stitch out?  Maybe it's different if you are working on a high count linen. ... I usually end up stitching two or three threads. Tonite was three threads. 

I decided to take a break from the crochet cardigan.  I was crocheting like the wind and my hand started aching.  

I've pulled out my snowflake cross stitch project and giving it some attention. It is just over 50 percent completed, according to patternkeeper. 


Did you notice the pretties in the photo? I'm kinda matchy-matchy with this one. 

I found some snowflake scrapbook paper and made matching flossdrops and a thread charm.  Floss bling? I don't know what it's called. 


I also made a little beaded pendant to go with the charm. 

And then I decided to be *really* clever and make another scissor fob. 

The only way I could improve upon this is if I had a snowflake needleminder.

I had a LOT of fun pulling it all together. 

Project Name: #723 Snowflake

Started: Jan. 1, 2023
Finished: 
Designer/Source: Tiny Cross Stitches
Fabric: Aida cloth 14 count Hobby Lobby Zweigart. Aida has silver threads running through it. 
DMC floss in called for colors
747 ; 964 ; 995 ; 996 ; 3756 ; 3761 ; 3843 ; 3846 ; B5200
Colors: blues
Needle Size: 26
Made For: Myself. I've decided I'm keeping it for myself.  I told my husband that when it is done, I'm putting it on display year-round. 


Let me show off a finished object. 

Remember Edna? 

I finally finished her!



I'm trying out frames for her. That's why the fabric isn't trimmed or threaded.  

Isn't she beautiful? 


Project Name: Edna goes to brunch
Started: early July 2022
Finished: early September 2023
Designer/Source: Lindy Stitches
Fabric: 32 count Mint Splash Lugana by Zweigart
Floss: I'm using the called-for colors in DMC
Stitch count: 133 x 96s
Size: 8.3" x 6"
Needle Size: size 28

Lugana fabric is definitely not my first fabric of choice.  I'm a aida girl.  Definitely.  

But, ... I'll definitely give it a try on a small.

Friday, January 20, 2023

Valentine Day SAL Finally Finished (FFO)

Look what I finished today! 


Oh my gosh! Isn't it adorable?! 
 

I used an orphan quilt square for the backing. 


I also put a ribbon loop on top so I can hang it where ever I want. 

Project Name: Happy Valentine's Day SAL Chart is only available in the group. 

Started: Jan. 1, 2023
Finished: Jan. 7, 2023
Designer/Source: Cherry Hilly Stitchery Chart is only available in the group. 
Fabric: 14 count aida I dyed aquamarine 
Floss: Called for DMC and recommended DMC for the substitutions for fancy floss.
B5200 ; 310 ; 321 ; 3345 ; C816 (A floss I included in case I want to add a bit of sparkle
Stitch count: 77w x 58 h
Size: 4 5/6”w x 3 5/8”h on 16ct/equivalent.
Needle Size: size 26

What else did I do today? 

I cut up some fabric for a quilt. 


This will be a year-long project.  I'm signed up for the fat quarter solids club through Fat quarter shop, and I'm going to make a block a month. 

I had a hard time understanding the cutting instructions at first.  It's been ages since I cut pieces for a quilt. 



I stared at it a few minutes and then it clicked. A ha! 

I cut up the fabric I picked up for the background, sashing, border, etc. 



And discovered I'm short on fabric.  I don't know if told the person the wrong amount to cut, or if I got shorted. The person didn't seem to know what they were doing, so ... Yeah ... So I'll have to get a bit more fabric for the borders.