First Page Finish of 2016

Adrift, pages 23 and 24 (of 42)  8550 stitches in total and a row finish!

Not the best photo, I'll admit.  I laid her out on the couch and took her in a hurry.  But she's looking pretty, none-the-less.  I can't believe how much I still have to do on her.  The next row is the beginning of the bottom of her tail.  It's the part I fell in love with most, because she reminded me of a betta fish.  I'm looking forward to finally getting to that part.

Not much to really add at this time, as I've just come home from a 12 hour graveyard, but I wanted to get this up and posted before bed.

Enjoy!

~Rai Rai

Last Page Finish for 2015, Winter Hat Owl, pages 13 and 17

This is a 2 page finish, even though page 17 was just a partial, IT STILL COUNTS! 
This was 8160 stitches, started Dec 2 and finished Dec 27.   It would have been done a lot sooner, but Christmas, and then visiting with my sister, who I kitted up to do her first HaED, an owl.

This makes 20 HaED page finishes for 2015!  Frankly, I'm surprised I still have fingers left. I'm not crazy enough to try and beat that for 2016, but I do make the goal of finishing 2 projects next year, possibly 3.

Wish me luck.

Happy New Year to all of my stitching kindreds.  May your New Year be filled with free time galore, and ample opportunity to stitch.

~Rai Rai

Adrift, Page 22/42 is Complete

Started Nov 3 and finished Dec 1, this page took nearly a month. 

7315 stitches.

I'm back to Winter Hat Owl, the last 8 pages, with 4 of them being very small partials, so the end is in sight.  I can't wait, and I've lined up my next project, which I will unveil in good time. 

I have to say, I really enjoyed reading all of your favourite accessories to stitch with.  Mine have become such a daily part of my stitching life, that I don't really think about them much, in short, I fear I take them for granted.  So I thought I'd give you a top 10 list of favourite accessories of mine.

1. My stand.  It's a K's creation, and I can easily snap my q-snap into it and work away.  I know it looks a bit steampunkish, but I love it.

2. My Mighty Bright Magnifier. (the only photos of have of it have the cockatoo - sorry)  It's the only thing that saves my eyes from certain blindness brought on by HaED patterns.

3. My ipad.   (sorry, no photo)  But using it with Goodreader has been the best thing ever.  I make far fewer mistakes and the fact I can zoom that baby in so I'm only focusing on a 10x10 grid is helpful. 
If you haven't converted to .pdf patterns, I highly recommend it.


4. My Q-Snaps.  I'm convinced this is the best invention since sliced bread.  My sad little favourite hoop has been semi retired.  I now mix and match my sizes. I have put the 11x11 with the 8x8 to make a sort of landscape style Q-Snap.  It works for me!

5. My floss case.  I bought this around 1992 in Nova Scotia.  Note the great big section in the middle that gives me scads of room for scissors and other necessities?  I've never found this particular style of case again.  I almost handle this with white gloves, that's how precious this is to me.  A friend found one in a dollar store, but when she went back they were sold out, with no recollection of ever having them in stock.  If ever any of you see one like this, I'd appreciate a heads up.

6. My Scissors.  It's no secret I have a bit of an addiction when it comes to Gingher designer scissors.  I can't help myself, they are just so darn beautiful!  I've since collected a total of 5 that I rotate with every page.

7. My needle minders.  I'm starting to get out of control with this addiction.  I've even taken to making my own using old costume jewellery.

8. My needle threaders.  Most useful accessory when it comes to threading Krenick and other tricky threads.

9. Wax for when your threads just won't stop knotting. 

10.  My Tacky Bob, which comes in dead handy for beading.  Sadly, I don't have much use for it anymore, but I still pull it out and use it when I want to make some scissor fobs. (For those that don't know, a Tacky Bob looks like a cd cover, with sticky flypaper-esque paper on the inside that you can throw beads on and they won't end up all over the floor/couch/lap)

Honourable mention!
My SnagNab It. Handy, handy, handy little tool for grabbing wayward threads that aren't sitting neatly.

That's it! That's my top 10 accessory list.  I need every single one of these things on my list.  Stitching without them would simply be barbaric!

If you do a top 10 list on your own blog, please link to it in the comments.  I love, love, love seeing your favourites!

Happy stitching, everyone!

~Rai Rai

Winter Hat Owl, Page 12 is Complete

Started October 26 and finished November 3, this has got to be a new stitching record for me!
(Ok, technically it was a partial page, but it was 6270 stitches, so close to a full page.

Only 4 full pages and 4 partials to go and I will be done.

So I survived Halloween, and so did the cats.  Since the black one is a darter who will run out of the door whenever we open it, he had to be locked in the bathroom.  So we put him in there with food and his litter box and in protest he knocked all of the knickknacks off of the shelf and pooped in the tub.  And in 3 hours we got less than 20 kids.  I have a lot of candy left over. 

I loved hearing about how your other half supports/tolerates your hobby.  There are some good men out there! 

So I have another question for you.  What is your favorite stitching accessory/tool that you love?  It might not be something you use every day, but it's something that you can't do without? 

Mine would have to be the Snag Nab It!  What did I do without this item?   For those who don't know, its' a great little tool that is a needle with a fuzzy end that grabs those threads that are not laying nice and snug and pulls them through.  http://www.123stitch.com/item/Dritz-Snag-Nab-It/DRITZ-618
I don't use this often, but boy does it come in handy!

Anyone care to share their must have accessory?  I'd love to hear it!

I'm off to stitch Adrift.  It's almost all tail this page, so I won't be as fast, but I hope to have something to show off to you in a month or so!

Happy stitching!

~Rai Rai

Adrift, Page 21 is Complete

Started October 8 and finished Oct 26.  Lots of water and hair with just a peek-a-boo of the tail, so a quick stitch overall.   The next page will be nearly all tail.  It's surprising how much I look forward to working on that.
So this is page 21 complete. Would you believe I still have 15 more pages to do?  *wibbles*

I have all ready purchased my next project, that I anticipate starting some time in the new year, as there are only 5 more pages of the Owl left to do.  I anticipate I will be working on Adrift for the better part of another year - just enough time for me to start saving up for framing her!  After what will be a 3 year project, I will be sparing no expense on framing!

So, I was stitching with my usual group of girls on this past Sunday, and an elderly gentleman came into the store.  He must have spent a good 45 minutes in there, on the phone with his wife, picking up various things and explaining to her in detail what they were ask asking if she would like one.  He pulled threads, picked up various patterns, discussed in detail the difference between the benefits of Aida versus linen, and then spent the longest time of all at the accessories shelf, picking up various things.  He then exchanged a few cheeky barbs with the stitch-n-bitch ladies before he went on his way.  But he sparked a healthy debate on what makes a good man - to which we all heartily agreed he was one!   But just curious now, does your partner support your stitching addiction?  I'm lucky because my hubby doesn't bat an eye when I come home with a $300 frame I bought with my Christmas money, nor does he complain when I ask him to dart into the local stitching store in order to pick me up one colour I'm low on.  He's even been known to feign interest when express frustration on shipping costs when I find something I want.  In short, he's a good one.

Well, it's nearly Halloween, and it's a struggle keeping my kitty cats in.  One is all black and I do worry for him during this time of the year.  He's a darter when you open the door, he's out, so on Halloween night we oppress him by locking him in the bathroom while the kidlets come to the door.

                                                 (This is the face of the oppressed)

And on that note, I hear him scratching at the door.  I hope you all have a happy Halloween and happy stitching.

~Rai Rai

Winter Hat Owl Page 11 is Complete

Started Sept 10 and finished Oct 7.  7315 stitches.  68% done!!

This is the last full page of owl.  The next is straight background, which should be an incredibly fast stitch, and then just partial owl and lots of background.  Just 9 more pages after this, and 4 of them partials, so really, just 5 more pages and I'm done.

The urge to just stitch on, now that the end is in sight is so, so strong, but I dutifully took him out of the Q-snaps and put him away, because I know if I don't pull out Adrift (who still has so much left on her to do) I will lost my mojo for her and not want to stitch her.  And that just simply cannot happen.

So here he is, two angry little eyes glaring out at you, complaining that his feet, once stitched, will be cold!

I'm so in love with this little guy, I can't adequately express it.  I just want to kiss his tiny little beak and do up his hat.

Next up, Adrift - this time with tail!   Stay tuned!

~ Rai Rai

Adrift, Page 20 is Complete

Page 20 is officially a wrap.  Started Aug 23 and finished Sept 10, it was a pretty quick stitch, with not much detail.  Just a whole lotta water and a li'l bit of hair.

The next page I should get a peek-a-boo view of the tail again.  I can't believe I'm only half way done, 58%.   These patterns are so large that you do a page, 7315 stitches to be exact, and the percentage only goes up by 2%.   But onward, next page update will be 60% complete.  I may celebrate that with a glass of wine - or 5.

I'm already back working on the Winter Hat Owl.   It's already 300 stitches in.  AND, I've managed to start not one, but two friends on a Heaven and Earth pattern.  (Bad Rai.  Bad, bad Rai.  It's not nice to enable people with stitching addictions.)  This next page of the owl will probably take me an entire month to stitch. It's pretty confetti heavy.  But the colors are pretty fabulous.

I'll see you in a month!  Happy stitching!
~Rai Rai