New Mola and current stitching

I got a new Mola in the mail yesterday, and I'm thrilled with it. It was for sale in Etsy, and I had put the link in my favorites so I could go back and look at it every day; on Monday I found out I was getting a bonus from work for my 15th anniversary, by Thursday this was in my hot little hands.



The Mola is beautiful, and the needlework on it is exquisite! I think this mola was used in a garment; there are needle marks along the sides and the top. (There is also another mola for sale with the same maroon back-ground, showing Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus with a donkey, escaping to Egypt. Used molas usually come in sets of 2 because of the way the blouses are made.) There are 3 layers of fabric over all, the maroon, black, and yellow, and then there are partial patches around specific figures, the orange around Joseph (I can tell it is Joseph, because he has a beard), the green around Mary, and the gold and the green around the cows, just to mention a few. After that there are appliques: all the small bars and the "X's" are appliqued on to either the maroon layer or the black layer. On top of that yet, there is embroidery. Most of it is very fine chain stitch (the embellishment on Mary and Joseph's clothing) but there is also detached chain and feather stitch.

It even has angels!

Can you tell how much I like it?

I'm still working on this project:



It is part of a stitch-along, transferring a pattern that was originally made for a c8 base to c10 and 32 (and 42) centers. The first one went quickly, on a c8 there are 8 triangles and 6 squares to stitch around. The c10 went okay, there are 12 pentagons and 20 triangles to stitch around, so it took longer. The stitching on this one seems endless! (I'm not planning on doing the 42 centers.) There are 12 pentagons, 20 hexagons, and 60 triangles! I have pins in the mari because eventually I want to take out the marking stitches, so I didn't want to stitch the corners down and I like the way they look. They do tend to catch the stitching, though. When I have the 3 passes done at a corner I'm taking them out. You can tell how far I have to go.

Last night I had help (briefly). C likes to pull the needle through after I place it, but the stitching was difficult last night, she didn't have the strength to pull the needle, so she stopped after a couple of tries, and asked to pick out colors for her project (for me to make for her).

I had picked out these colors a couple of weeks ago, so I pulled them out and showed them to her:



They are acceptable. The next comment was "So let's get going, then!" Grandma had to explain that she wasn't quite ready yet. I'm such a disappointment. I will have to get the project set up so the next time she's around we can start on it.

Redwork

My daughter is fulfilling an ambition she's had since high school. There is a pottery studio near her home, and she has been taking classes. This pitcher is from the second class she has taken, where they have learned to make a tea-pot. I love her workmanship and the colors she has chosen. I know a lot of glazing is experimentation, because you can't see the colors beforehand, but she does have an eye for color and for what will go together.



I have a small bowl in use for our daily vitamin packets, and one for the doggy treats. I have received a couple of bowls as gifts, but not the two I am using (yet), but I think possession is 9/10ths of the law; they're mine, all mine!



I made this red-work pillow several years ago. I really enjoy doing red-work. It's the type of stitching you do on dish towels, and was the first embroidery I learned. This piece is sweet pea flowers over a white-on-white background of the fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control. I love the subtlety of the design, the same kind of subtlety the fruits display as they develop in your life. People may not realize what is happening to you, but as you grow and mature the Spirit of God in your life will show up in the way you deal with the people around you. I hope those fruits are becoming more evident in my life too.

Still no pictures

I came across these questions through Lelia's blog, and they were intriguing to me, so I decided to answer them; besides, I forgot to take new pictures this morning. They are asking specifically about cross stitch, so I will specify if I start talking about a different type of stitching.

1)Why do you stitch?
a. I stitch because I'm a fidget. I listen much better if I am doing something with my hands. I can hardly stand to watch TV without doing something else (drives my DH nuts! but after 30 years he's getting used to it). If I'm not stitching, I'm playing a computer game, or a hand-held game.
b. I love the colors. I've done a couple of single color samplers, but the combination of colors is what excites me.

2) On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being least important and 10 being most important what is your cross stitch passion level?
Specifically cross stitch? probably a 6 or 7. I like the exactness. Stitching over-all? 10! Some of my earliest memories are stitching related: a cloth doll my mom made me for my 3rd birthday; the quilts my mom and grandma made for our bunk beds (before I was 5); the set of embroidered dish-towels that were a gift from my aunt's mother (when I was 9 or 10); my mom making our clothes; my grandmother with her "work" (usually crochet, but also tatting). Stitching is in my blood.

3) If you're only option for cross stitch supplies and patterns happened to be the major chain craft stores would you just walk away from the little X? Kiss it goodbye?
The main thread I use is DMC, and you can get (some) linen so supplies aren't a problem, but patterns? Not so much! I didn't get hooked on cross stitch until I had a LNS (Local Needlework Shop). If it weren't for them (Thank you Penelope Tree!), I might be a quilter or a knitter. Now, I have S.A.B.L.E. (stash acquired beyond life expectancy) so it's not a problem (at least, finding patterns is not a problem; some times the SABLE is).

4)Also are you so passionate about cross stitch that if indeed your only option was the major chain craft stores, would that inspire you to create your own cross stitch pieces because you have to stitch and you've stitched your way through the whole of Dimensions catalog--because you must stitch and the thought of life without a relationship with the little X leaves you feeling empty?
Probably not, see answer above. I tried designing something once, and it is a very different set of skills.

5) Finally what do the cross stitch magazines on the market offer you? Do they relate to you as a cross stitcher? Do you look at them and think to yourself, who do they think buys this magazine? I guess what I'm asking, when you see the current cross stitch magazines do they make you feel like they know their readers or do you find it's more of the same? What could they do to be ambassadors for the art of cross stitch other than putting a sampler on the cover with "F-U" on it? What are we missing on a PR level that could change the opinion of cross stitch itself?
I have an extensive collection of Just Cross Stitch and several other magazines; I can find almost anything I need in those. I very seldom buy new magazines anymore because I don't see things I haven't seen before. I miss "Treasures" magazine. I would subscribe to something like that in a minute.

6) And finally, finally, do you do other crafts and if so what are they and why do they pull you away from cross stitch?
If you can do it with a needle, I've probably tried it: quilting, crazy quilting, applique, beading, crewel, hardanger... Crochet and Knitting... smocking, needlepoint, sewing clothes, etc. Temari! Right now Temari and cross stitch are at the top of the list, because of color, the precision of the stitching, and intricacy.

Probably more than you wanted to know!

Technical Glitch

I took pictures yesterday to share, but my 1G memory card is not working. (I hope I can get the pictures off another way, but I have already saved most of them on my Flickr account.) I will take the pictures again on my other memory card, and try to post tomorrow.