A Bit of Embroidery

I find embroidery to be much freer than counted cross stitch. Wanting do do some embroidery, I purchased a quartet of Sugar Skull embroidery patterns on Etsy this afternoon.

I selected the one on the top left because I liked all the colours. 

I gathered fabric, stabilizer, and threads from my stash. I wanted to use one of my 4” hoops to FFO it so needed to reduce the pattern on my printer. 85% brought it down to about 3.375” which would fit nicely in a 4” hoop. Pictured is a 5" locking hoop.

I think the fabric is muslin. It was pretty thin so I fused medium interfacing onto the back then attached the printed water-soluble stabilizer onto the front and began stitching. First - the outline with backstitch.

Then the green stems and leaves. 

The leaves were done with the fishbone stitch.

Then came the blue flowers,

and the French knots for the centres.

Then the orange eyes, pink flowers, 

and the French knot centres.

Then finally the French knot pupils.

Rather than use satin stitch on the bands around the eyes, I used two parallel rounds of chain stitch.

I had to make substitutions for three of the bold colours; Cody Hoover’s Floss Color Tool and the DMC thread colour card were a big help for this.

The pattern calls for two strands of thread except for the French knots which called for all 6 strands. Since the image was smaller, I only used 4 threads for the French knots.

My next step will be to dissolve the water-soluble interfacing on the front and let it dry. Then a firm pressing face-down on a soft towel will smooth everything out before it gets mounted into the hoop for finishing.

I couldn't help myself. I made a little video of my progress through the process. Click on the 'play' triangle twice,

Next day...

I washed off the water soluble stabilizer. It's dried and pressed.

Busy Bees

 My iPhone ID tells me these are Common Eastern Bumble Bees.

They sure are loving my sunflower. Look at all the pollen on those anthers at the outer edge by the petals.

I don't think I've ever seen a bee so laden with pollen. It must have flown down from the sunflower to the gaillardia.

Not sure what the other insect is but I saw one like it on the gaillardia yesterday.

I need to grow more sunflowers next year. The gaillardia are perennials so I'll need to plant them so they'll be seen in front of the taller plants.

Pollinators

Every day I check the progress of my flowers. Today I was delighted to see a bee feeding on my recently-bloomed sunflower.

A little later it was covered in pollen.

The gailliarda are also attracting insects including bumble bees.

This guy must have been rolling in the pollen.

The sea holly were at their best a few weeks ago. My iPhone ID feature tells me this wasp is a Great Golden Sand Digger. 

The goldenrod are also very popular with pollinators and are almost at the end for the season. 

Other years, Skip grew spectacular zinnias which the insects just loved.

I must remember to plant some of these next year.

 

It Feels Like Fall Today

I got back early this afternoon from dropping Frény off and a nice couple of days with my niece, Rosa, and her husband, Darryl. They are very amiable hosts whenever I blow into town.

It is significantly cooler today. I could have even worn my hoodie if I had spent much time outside.

Back at home, I did a little garden tour and was so pleased to see that one of my sunflowers was actually blooming! This variety will only grow to about 4 feet high.

And it’s the medium-sized one! The big one looks ready to bloom any time.

I’m so pleased with these gaillardia (blanket flowers) that I got on sale at the grocery store. The two plants are still in the pot as I haven't decided where to plant them yet.

The bees and other insects LOVE the blooms. I deadhead the spent flowers, then lots of buds prepare to bloom.

Kim from my Tuesday night craft group gave me several well-established cherry tomato plants. They and my other plants have done well with my daily watering through the various heat waves we've had. I’ll be picking fruit in a few days.

This is another flower I bought late in the season. The tag called it osteospermum - a type of daisy.

The black-eyed Susans just do not quit. I’m going to divide them and move some shorter plants in front of them.

I do have a lot of yellow flowers. Will work on more of a variety of colour for next year. 

The basil was also well-established when I purchased it. Handsful will be put into the roasted tomato sauce I plan to make when the beefsteak and Roma tomatoes ripen. I have to keep an eye out for the basil starting to flower and literally 'nip them in the bud'. That way, tender leaves will continue to grow.

Skip used to make pesto with oil and garlic. We still have frozen basil 'pucks' ** in the freezer from last year. I may make more and just give them away.

As much as I enjoy having houseguests and being a houseguest, I do enjoy doing my own thing at home, too. My stitcherly friends are coming for the day tomorrow, then Scooter on Wednesday. Breakfast with friends is planned for Thursday. Lots to keep me busy and it's all good.

** basil 'pucks' are made by chopping up basil in a food processor with a bit of olive oil. Then press the mixture into mini muffin tins and freeze. Once hardened, pop them out of the muffin tins and into a Ziploc bag and toss in the freezer. Fresh basil can be enjoyed that way until then next growing season.

A Busy Week

Frény returned from Edmonton on Friday and made her way back to Whitby. We slept in a bit the next day, (yesterday) and got ourselves ready to drive to Sarnia.  

While driving westward, we drove through two violent rain systems and got what sounded like an Amber alert on our phones. It was a tornado warning - and we needed to take cover. We could see the dark clouds north of us so kept vigilant and continued on in a SW direction. 

Once in Sarnia, I dropped Frény off at her sister’s place and proceeded to my niece’s place near Oil Springs. 

It has been a much-needed relaxing time here. We have no plans for today which is totally fine with me. I’ll head back to Whitby tomorrow.

At Jeanette’s on Friday, I finished Maggie Mae.

Now I’m in search of appropriate fabric for the back of her, as she’ll be finished as a pincushion.

Poppy and Barb are in Atlanta this week at the EGA Seminar, learning some surface embroidery techniques and Hardanger. I’m having the gang over on Tuesday so I’ll get to see all the stuff Barb did. Wednesday James is coming out for a visit, and Thursday I’m meeting friends for breakfast.

I think I’ll spend the rest of the day today relaxing and maybe do some stitching on the many WIPs that I brought with me.

On The Tear and Eating a Lot

My childhood friend, Frény, arrived from Australia on Sunday after a very long couple of flights from Sydney. The flight was on time and I met her at the airport. You can read about how we originally met and some of our antics here.

We've kept in touch over the years via Facebook and I last saw her when she visited Canada in 2010 (as outlined in the above link).

She rested on Monday morning while I went to stitching. Afterwards we got her a SIM card with a Canadian phone number and lots of data, then headed to the GO station to get her a Presto pass for upcoming public transit/Metrolinx trips.

Later on we met her long-time friend, Gloria, at a wonderful northern Indian restaurant in Aurora for supper. It was their first get-together in 44 years!

The meal was delicious. The biryani was the best I've ever had. My freezer is full of leftover chicken tikka, chicken biryani, and butter chicken.

The next morning we were up before 5 (!) to get her onto the GO Train to Oakville to have breakfast and catch up with another friend, Richard. I picked her up at the GO station on her return in the afternoon; we both had to have a nap after such an early morning (and her still dealing with all the hours of travel across many time zones). 

For supper, we both enjoyed barg, delicious, seasoned, tender steak and salad at Oshawa's finest Persian restaurant, Cyrus, on Ritson Rd S, just north of the 401. 

Cyrus is basically a take-out joint but they do provide tables if you want to eat the food there. The hosts are very amiable and thrilled that we so enjoyed their cooking. 

Afterwards, I took Frény to my Tuesday evening craft group (Whitby Spinners) and we chatted away about many topics*** until about 8:45, when we headed back home.  Frény had to pack for an early flight to Edmonton this morning and we both hit the sack early again.

We were up this morning at 4am (!!) to grab some coffee and get on the 5:10 GO Train into The Big City. I accompanied Frény to make sure she would be able to find the UP Express train to take her to the airport. I had never even seen the train platform so it was good for me to see it and file the location away for future reference and travel. From Whitby on the GO Train and with Presto and senior discount, it's about $12 to get to the airport. It takes a bit more time but if the flight isn't TOO early in the morning, it's a comfortable and easy way to get to YYZ.

I came home, had a bit more coffee and climbed into bed for a couple of hours. I have an appointment at 4 this afternoon so have set my alarm for 3:30pm so I don't fall asleep or forget about it. 

I have no concrete plans for tomorrow. Friday, Frény returns from her whirlwind trip to Edmonton. Then Saturday morning we'll (NOT GET UP EARLY and) head to Sarnia where she will spend the next three weeks visiting with family and other friends in other locales. There, I'll bid farewell to Frény for this trip to Canada, visit my family while I'm in the area, veg out on Sunday and head back home on Monday.

*** some of the topics we discussed last night included looking at the Wee County Yarns website that Annie told us about. Last year they had a mystery Advent knitting kit for a scarf with medieval figures. I'm quite intrigued at the colourful design using 20g mini-skeins of Kinross 4ply (fingering weight) in 12 different colours. 

It will be interesting to see what they have planned for their 2024 Advent mystery knitalong.

Another topic was advent gifts for kids. One cool thing on Amazon were Pandora-style Advent calendar bracelets. 

We also discussed sun protection and Alexa brought out sleeves that she bought and a Rashguard pullover, long-sleeve shirt. 

This morning I ordered a pair of the sleeves for use when I'm gardening and want sun protection but don't want to use stitcky sunscreen or wear a long-sleeved shirt.

Stitch Day at Lemonville Community Centre

Yesterday was Kimat Designs' stitch day at the Lemonville Community Centre near Stouffville. Victoria skillfully drove us to the event.

I got a lot of stitching done between bouts of eating and visiting with folks at my table and at other tables.

Mostly, work was done on Maggie Mae. I got her head, cardigan sleeves, and fore paws done.

One of the stitches in those little spaces on her dress will be a lovely teal thread.

There was a show and share table. I took my Hands On Design Block Party HOME pincushion, 

embroidery hoop box,

and recently-completed Cornflower Scissor Envelope.

Also on display...

It was a full day of stitching - from 10am to about 4:30pm. Lunch, refreshments and treats were provided. Kim and Meagan had a mini shop set up as well as Lori and Emily Pengelly from Pansy Patch Quilts and Stitchery and Blueberry Ridge respectively, with some of their cross-stitch charts and new releases.

I really enjoyed spending the day this way. 

I was really hungry when I got home but I had been invited to Sue's nephew's place in Oshawa for dinner. I headed right over there and spent a lovely evening with Sue, her daughter, Erin, nephew Craig, and his wife, Maria. There was lots of hilarity and reminiscing. This September will mark the 50th year since I met Sue when she moved into our sorority. We kept in touch after uni because she only lived an easy drive away from me. We carpooled to annual retreats with some other sorority sisters, attended each others' weddings, and experienced many other life events together. 

After delicious Greek takeout dinner, generously provided by Erin, we sat around the backyard fire pit. The six of us told stories about our families and all agreed that friendships are chosen and maintained and can really provide such enrichment to our lives. I am so grateful for my friendship with Sue and Erin and was so happy to make the acquaintance of our amiable hosts, Craig and Maria. 

It was The. Best. Day. I'd had in a long time. So grateful...

The Stealth Project is Revealed!

When Poppy and I were on our cross-border shopping trip last weekend, she wistfully mentioned she needed a project bag for one of the projects she was going to be working on at the EGA Seminar 2024 in Atlanta next week. I filed that in the back of my mind for my return home. It is also her birthday next  week.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I crafted the project bag, a beaded zipper pull with a charm, and a matching pincushion. I met up with her yesterday at Kimat Designs' stitch day at the Lemonville Community Centre near Stouffville and was able to give her the birthday gifts which included the project bag.

I made the quilted checkerboard months ago and used it for the back of the bag.

When I bought the Promenade charm pack, I also bought some yardage of one of the prints which was used for the interior, and bindings for the zipper and circumference.

I found some cute sunflower ribbon on a spool which I cut and used as a little logo tag (sunflowers are some of my favourite flowers) and sewed it into the binding.

Zipper pull.

While we were at Hobby House last weekend, I saw her admiring a little tuffet pin cushion. I filed that away in my brain, too, thinking, "Heck that would be so easy to make".

I used two 5" charm squares for the pincushion, stuffed it firmly and stitched the radiating lines through the centre. The button was made with one 2 1/2" interfaced square that matched the lining of the project bag. The button blanks were left over from when we made needle minders at guild and Elim a few years back.

The little button on the bottom that I glued in place was from my jar of random buttons. I remember it being from an old négligée (from decades ago). The colour was perfect!

Poppy was as pleased with her gifts as I was making them for her.