September Pinterest Inspired Craftiness

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that cross stitch is not the only crafty pastime that I enjoy.  Lately, doing beadwork has become something I've been doing a lot more of.  I think it's because of all of the new types (for me) of beads on the market.  Superduos, Tilas, drop beads, and others have all caught my eye, making me wonder:  What can I make with this?  I've found that I particularly like to work with Superduos.  I found this Youtube video on Pinterest and knew that I had to make the bracelet.

I chose all bronze tones for the three types of beads used in this project.  Beads required were Superduos, 15/0 seed beads and just a few 8/0 seed beads.

Something I learned: when choosing colors for a bracelet (or for a necklace for that matter), figure out what kind of fastener looks best with it BEFORE starting your project.  I found that bronze closures are not easy to find.  Maybe there are multitudes of them, and I just was lax in my research.  Could happen.

I did find this magnetic fastener at my local bead store and I like it.  But it was the only one they had that would be suitable for this bracelet.  And this is a very well-stocked bead store!  So what do you think?  The video shows that you can make this really long to go around your wrist a couple of times, but I chose the single version.  The only teeny tiny change that I made was to add an extra 8/0 near the fastener.

This was a fun project to do and I would say that it's a good beginner to intermediate bracelet to make.  The instructions are excellent and it came together very quickly.  If you really wanted to, you could complete this in an afternoon.  Oh, and you can make this bracelet in wider widths by using more beads across.  That's explained in the video.

My visit to the bead store netted me two more tubes of Superduos in really cool colors, plus some beading necessities.  Don't be surprised if you see more of these bracelets on my blog!

One more thing.  My sister, Sheila, asked me if I wanted to take a painting class with her.  It was offered locally in conjunction with Colors of Fall Art Exhibition and Sale sponsored by the Sawnee Association of the Arts.  It was conveniently scheduled on my day off so I happily accepted.  So we went today not knowing what to expect.  Sheila is definitely the better artist/drawer/painter of the two of us, but I had a lot of fun.  Thanks to the instructor (who is obviously very talented and very patient), I successfully painted a pear and I also learned a lot.  OK OK, I got a little help, but I think everyone else in the class did too.  Don't laugh.

I had the distinction of being the messiest and most disorganized class member.  Go me!  I left the class with the most paint on my hands.  We will be taking another class in a couple of weeks called Color Theory.  I don't know exactly what that is, but I like colors so I'll probably like it.

So that's my craftiness for the week.  I hope you enjoyed seeing the fruits of my labors.  Ha ha, "fruits".  Get it?  I am such a jokester.  Thanks for visiting and come back soon.

Which Are Your Favorites?

September is a big month for many of us stitchers.  That's when the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue comes out.  We snap it up at our local bookstore or LNS, or purchase one online and then settle in to decide what we'll be stitching for Christmas.  Or in my case, for next Christmas. 

I was lucky enough to buy this year's issue from a friend who already had one and it is certainly full of beautiful charts.  My fellow blogger, Vickie, from A Stitcher's Story, wrote a post about her top five favorite ornaments in the Christmas Ornament issue.  Such a fun idea, so I asked her if I could borrow it.  She said I could, which was no surprise because stitchers are awesome people.

So here are my top five in no particular order:
1.  Christmas Eve Delivery by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

2.  Plenty by Hands On Design

3. Barn Star Christmas by Summer House Stitche Workes

4.  White Christmas by New York Dreamer

5.  Simple Hearts by Elizabeth's Needlework Designs

There are so many more pretty ornaments, but I'm limiting this post to my top five.  Now, which of the 75 projects in the magazine are your favorites? 

I finished my portion of the secret project I told you about.  It turned out well, and now it's winging its way to the next stitcher.  Or maybe it's rolling its way.  I don't know.  I'm pretty sure I'll be able to reveal the finish in a couple of months.

This past Saturday was our stitch group's Stitch Day so I was able to put a few more stitches into my current project, Kaleidoscope by Sheena Rogers. 

Wow, I thought I got a lot more done than that.  Hmm, I think I need to devote a little more time to stitching if I'm going to have any finishes this year!

Each month at Stitch Day we have a gift exchange.  It's become a cherished tradition and is just plain fun.  I thought you might like to see what September's gifts look like after they were opened. 

Looks good, right?  And there were only four of us present this month!  You can imagine what it's like when all of us are there!

Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate that and all of the comments I get.  If you're not yet a follower, please consider becoming one.  Until next time!

Stitching And More Stitching

The last couple of weeks have been stitching weeks for me, and I'm happy to say that I made some progress on my pincushion project.  As promised, here is the photo on what I've done so far.

Notice I said "some progress" and not "tremendous progress".  I am seeing it take shape and that is a good thing.  The chart is "Kaleidoscope" by Sheena Rogers.  This is one I'm going to finish before I work on anything else.  I think.  You never know. 

I was contentedly stitching this one and then two more library books came in off of my reserve list.  Not one.  Oh nooooo.  Two.  And we only keep them out for two weeks.  And then, another stitching project arrived at my doorstep.  In one of my stitching groups on Facebook, we're stitching something for one of the members and it's a surprise.  This project has already visited the homes of 2 members, then it came to me.  It will go to more participants after me.  And that's pretty much all I can tell you because I'm not exactly sure who all reads my blog.  Here's a tiny view of it.

That's all I can show.  Weird photo too because the colors are completely off.  I think I had bad lighting when I snapped this.  Oh well, good disguise.  I can say that I'm stitching this one pretty quickly, which is unlike me. 

The other day on Facebook, someone posted a link to a freebie that caught my eye right away.  And you know how I am when it comes to freebies!  Jody at Satsuma Street designed this cute chart, Summer's Flight, and is generously offering it as a freebie.

 The colors in this pattern are, what can I say, just delightful!  Plus, she includes finishing instructions right there on her blog.  Please check out her blog.  Her designs are colorful and whimsical and I may have to do some shopping there. 

Thanks for visiting!  I will post photos of the secret project as soon as the recipient receives it. 
Until then, keep checking back for more crafty stuff.