Happy Halloween

I took a break this weekend from crewel and worked up some Halloween ornaments.

I used the format of the Christmas ornaments I've been doing (here) and paired orangier wools with olive and dark sage greens. The little spider, above, is beaded. I think I need to learn to cut better bats.

These were all gifts, now in the hands of their recipients.

Surprise Package

I received a surprise box of goodies!

It arrived on my desk at work full of fun things. My friends thought I'd get a kick out of this Marjorie Seedling Plum jam that they found in their wanderings--I am!  I haven't tried it yet.  I brought back a package of Waitrose crumpets last spring and froze them. I think they will be perfect with this jam and some tea. 

I have tried these cookies and they are very yummy--lemony and good, shaped like St. George or the dragon. Most of all, though, I love the box. Along the sides the story of St. George and the Dragon is written.  The princess (with the dragon on her leash) is on one end flap of the box (the other has the knight's horse and opened down). 

This gift is from a young friend who shares my love of all things Dr. Who and it is very much appreciated (I've been wearing it since I got it).  He also included a bright orange Dalek (which I suspect formerly held candy). That Dalek lives on my desk, exterminating any dull tasks that come along. 

It feels a bit odd that I'm the one who got the presents (they actually came a few days ago but it took me a bit to get photos)--today is my brother's birthday--Happy Birthday, Chuck!

Crewel Friday--progress

I've been making progress--I don't want to put it down.

I received lesson two back from the instructor, Judy Jeroy, on Monday. She had some comments and areas for improvement in the samplers I sent her and some comments on the notes on the paper that I sent her. Now I have a lot to do--finish the paper, complete my notebook (I have fabric to make a cover for it, too), make up the pockets, and finish the edges of the band sampler.

All I want to do is stitch.

Small finishes

These feathers are for the Magic Feathers project over at Jude's Spiritcloth blog.  I've been seeing other feathers appear across the blogs and decided it was time.  The four-patch squares were found in a resale shop ages ago. They're old but not antique; I think one of the fabrics is rayon, the others cotton. Stitched with perle cotton and silk threads.

I completed two more felt snowflake ornaments.  Here are the fronts and below..

...are the backs.  I have piles of felt circles waiting to be ornamented.

For these I used DMC Medici wool thread on the wool felt.

Fun Weekend!

After a long week of storms--cold, torrential rains, very windy with huge gusts--Saturday dawned calm, sunny and warm.  I had a long awaited lunch with friends planned.

Here we are, dining in Spain! Well, we felt like we were visiting there. We met at Don Quixote Restaurante in Valparaiso for a long, leisurely lunch of soup, tapas and dessert! We had great fun. The food was great and we felt warmly welcomed.

While I was in Valparaiso, I stopped in at Imagine Beads (just around the corner from the restaurant). That stop did not help my budget but I had a great time browsing all of the wonderful beads on display. I brought home beads for a few holiday gifts--the new owner is very inspiring and enthusiastic.  (no pictures because, well, presents)

When I came home I noticed this beauty in the pot on by our front porch. I'm amazed it survived all of the storms and cold. It was really nice to see it glowing there.

Crewel Friday

It's started.  It's a lot of fun. 

I would work on it all the time, except I find crewel can be hard on my fingers--I poked a hole in my right middle finger from pushing the needle. Then I remembered I have this great rubbery thimble to use and it helped a lot--not only pushing but pulling recalcitrant needles through. I tend to use a fairly large needle to help ease the thread, and it's quite easy for the first row, but any subsequent rows in close proximity seem to be tough.  Some of this was done in a hoop, some not, depending on how the teacher classified the stitches.

I like working with the very clear outline. I wish I'd done it in a softer color and perhaps a green.  It shows through some of the paler shades of thread I've used. 

My Chinese fortune cookie fortune from a lunch this week said: "good beginnings is half done." The perfect sentiment!

this and that

Not a lot of finishes this week. I did complete this afghan square for our "Legal Loopers" Warm Up America project.  We've begun holding lunch-time stitch-ins at the Law School for anyone interested in coming (e-mail me for details if you're interested).  Knitting, stitching, even lanyard making. Beginners welcome. I nearly finished this at last week's meeting--I crocheted the last row at home.

Front, above; back, below.  I think afghans should look good from both sides. That's the last of this rather ugly yarn.

I want to begin knitting preemie caps for the hospital but the yarn's in my car trunk and I keep forgetting it. So I began knitting a ruffly baby hat for a gift for a friend's daughter.  It's marinated in my stash for a couple of years now, so should be ready to knit! I'll post a photo once I have enough done that it looks like it might be something.

Below are two needlepoint projects for Homewood Guild that kept me busy the last month. You can read more about them on the Guild blog.

I also began working on some Christmas gifts that I won't be showing for a while.