Daily stitching and more rock art

 I had a pretty productive week, managing to do a square a day and work on my fabric book. I got some inspiration from Pinterest and learned a couple of new-to-me stitches. I found a person that I really like on Youtube, Mary Corbett. Her instructions are excellent and she walks you thru the stitch step by step.

These first three were inspired by Pinterest..

I liked the little tridents around the edge, so I did it again.

New-to-me stitch, Herringbone. Trouble with spacing, as usual.

Double Herringbone. Interesting because there is weaving involved, but not good to do in a small circle. I tried several times and gave up and deemed as a stitch that is better in a straight line.

More Double Herringbone. This reminded me of the Polly Flinders smocked dresses from days of yore.

 Another new stitch for me, Wheat Ear. I liked its simplicity and how easily it went around the circle, even small ones. 

I still enjoy seeing the rock art as I take my morning walks. I don't know who does them, but they seem to be in the same style, using bright colors and lots of dots. I thought that this new alligator was very cute. Check out the detail on his face. Hard to see, but there is a tongue sticking out. 

We noticed that there were no turtles, so Ruthie and Claire decided to do one. Isn't he cute? We have searched for good rocks, not always easy to find the right size. They have another one planned and I'll show it next week.

I am linking up with Off the Wall Friday.

Daily Stitching and Blue Flowers

 Although I did stitch every day, I only got four squares done. Some took longer than others and I was also stitching on my fabric book. If I find a stitch I really like I repeat it in different colors and sizes.

I found this cute flower-like design on Pinterest.She had done it much smaller with a small center that she filled in with French knots. I did a grid in my much larger centers.

First you go around the circle with small vertical stitches.

Then you loop thru all those stitches with six strands of embroider floss. Then go around the circle a second time. Ignore double blue lines in the center. I was trying to get that inner circle centered.

Voila

A little asymmetry with variegated floss. I only used three strands and went around three times to get the colors to blend. 

It's hard to find true blue flowers and I am loving these Plumbago shrubs. They only grow in Zone 9.5 and up, so no good in my CT home, which is Zone 6.

I will be linking up with Off the Wall Friday.

Daily Stitching and Blueberries

 I was able to keep up with my stitching this week and even learned some new stitches. The first two I found on Youtube and although the woman had some lovely stitches, she did not speak or name the stitches. Perhaps you will recognize them.

This was the first stitch. It was a little tricky to learn, but easy as I got on with it. As always I have trouble with spacing.

The same stitch doing it closer together. 

This was the second stitch. I really liked it and found it much easier to deal with the spacing so I did it three times. Here with size 5 Perle cotton.

 

                         Six strands of variegated embroidery floss. Maybe my favorite of the week.

Size 8 Perle cotton.

I found this on Pinterest. First you make a buttonhole stitch with the rays pointing out (size 8 Perle cotton) and then you do a buttonhole stitch over the base of the the first stitch (6 strands of floss), not going thru the fabric. Finish off with French knots. I think it looks like crochet. She called it Inside-Out Buttonhole Ray Flowers.

I wanted to do something special for Easter. That stitch I liked so much going two ways and some straight stitch, stem stitch and French knots.

I finished up the double page I showed last week. I wanted to break up all that blue, so I added the red. I may add another color on the next page, but I won't do another double. I just takes too long and cuts into my daily stitching time. Click in this for a bigger view.

I love blueberres and eat them every day. I have never seen blueberries this large, as big as Concord grapes. They are just as sweet as they are big. We can only get them at one small supermarket. 

Next to a quarter. Bigger than! I cut them half to put them in my oatmeal.

I wish you a Happy Easter!

I'm linking up with Off the Wall Friday.

Daily Stitching and a challenge

 I didn't get as as many squares done this week but I was stitching every day on my challenge stitching book. I just did some tried and true for the squares that I could do whole watching TV. The book had to be done at a table because of the bulk.

This is a double page with a woven background. I'm still not finished. I want to do something on each little square or rectangle. I added some charms and button and yo-yos. I put lace on the edges of each page, as I will do for all the pages. I often used the pattern in the fabric for stitching inspiration. Click on the picture for a bigger view.

I'm linking up with Off the Wall Friday.

Daily Stitching and Chocolate

 I seemed to get stuck on one stitch again this week. It was Eskimo Laced Running Stitch (ELRS). It was a very easy stitch to do so I just kept trying different variations.

ELRS facing out.

ELRS facing in and out

ELRS facing out with hatched mark center

My favorite of the week. ELRS with Straight Stitch and Lazy Daisy

My least favorite of the week. I was aiming for an elongated ELRS, but my running stitch was not even and thus the whole thing is cockeyed.

ELRS with chain stitch and French Knots

We had a sit-down dinner party this week for 13. We had all been double vaccinated and Dr, Faici said it was OK. I also had the doors to the lanai open so there was lots of air circulation. It was so much fun and felt so good to doing an almost back to normal thing. 

One of the guests brought this box of Norman Love chocolate. I do love chocolate and this box was exceptional in its beauty and taste.

Just look at them, each one a work of art and almost too pretty to eat. But we have sampled them and they are as delicious as they are beautiful. It came with a chart, explaining each flavor. 

I am linking up with Off The Wall Friday.

Daily Stitching and More Birthdays

 Even though I had a busy week with company and such, I still managed to get a square done everyday. I am still exploring the buttonhole stitch and its variations.

Double Twisted Buttonhole. So easy to do.

What would happen if I turned it into a Triple Twisted Buttonhole? I love it!

How about a Quadruple Twisted Buttonhole? Love that, too, but don't think I am trying for five.

Triple Twisted Buttonhole again with some FrenchKnots.

Crown of Thorns Buttonhole. Not my favorite.

Some stitches are hard to do on a small circle, so I did an In and Out Buttonhole in a straight line down the middle.

Crossed Buttonhole down the middle.

Celebrating my sister Ruth's and Claire's birthdays with my niece, Lauren at DeRoma's Restaurant (outside, of course.) The food was delicious, as were the Expresso Martinis. And,no, we did not all plan on wearing blue.

I'm linking up with Off the Wall Friday.

Daily Stitching and Rock art

 I was a little behind on my daily stitching because I was working on my monthly challenge, which you will see at the end of the month. I had fun with the Buttonhole Stitch and its variations and I am not finished exploring those. 

High, Low Buttonhole, in and out

Double Buttonhole

Double Buttonhole with closer spacing.

 Just Buttonhole repeated

HIgh Low Buttonhole, French Knots and plain Buttonhole.

Closed Buttonhole. I really had a hard time with the spacing on this one. It is not a difficult stitch, but very hard (for me) to get it even on a circle. I took out quite a few and finally said "it is what it is".

 I walk for at least an hour every morning and was surprised to see these cute rock sculptures scattered around the common area walkways. There were a few more, but these were my favorites.

I am linking up with Off the Wall Friday.