Adding The Bling...

 

Brynwood Ladybug WIP

All I have left to do is apply the red chipping so it's sparkly. Once that's done I can cut all my brooches free and create the brooches. I'll do that this weekend. Next week, you'll see finished brooches!

Happy Easter Weekend!

Ladybug, Ladybug...

Earlier Ladybug Brooches

I actually didn't get much any needle dancing in yesterday. Handsome had a doctor's appointment for a wellness checkup, and I needed to get a few things for an Easter project, so we went out together. (One vehicle, remember?)

By the time we got home it was late afternoon, and I had orders to pack for tomorrow's mail.

So, I thought I'd remind you what the ladybug brooches look like. The one I'm making now will also have a magnetic back. I'm doing the same for the baptism brooches, specifically to avoid the pin backs on babies.

So, I'll plan to get some stitching in again today. After all, this ladybug isn't going to stitch itself!

 

Fly Away...

The bottom ladybug was my first attempt, and I used check purls for the spots. I keep the first of every goldwork piece I make "for the archives". After the first one, I used tiny 32mm sequins and check purls to attach them. 

Those two are already listed in my Etsy shop HERE and HERE, and are ready to fly to new homes. (I created a separate listing for each brooch.)

Each Ladybug Brooch measures approximately 1-1/4" long by 1" wide by 1/4" thick. As they are smaller, I decided to use a pair of tiny magnets for wearing them. One magnet is adhered under the cork backing, and the other on the outside back.

Now that they're completed and listed in my shop, I'll be setting up my next project. This one has a deadline as it's a wedding gift for my great-nephew and his bride to be. They're getting married this month, so I'll be stitching this one start to finish.

After I finish the wedding gift, I'll be making the last four frogs to go to the Final Four giveaway winners. My plan is for all of them to be completed and mailed by the end of this month. 

I'm at work today, so the stitching will begin tomorrow. My best intentions are always to stitch in the evening when I get back home, but that hasn't worked out lately, so I won't make promises I can't keep. 

Oh, and I'm so happy that the day was uneventful yesterday. Where we live, it seemed to get darker for a while in the afternoon, but the birds never got quiet. I think they were so happy with the clear blue skies and 60º temperatures that they just couldn't help themselves. I kept working on my goldwork pieces and hoped for the best. Mind you, I'm certainly not complaining! Uneventful is good. See you tomorrow!

Another Bug...

Another ladybug that will be turned into a brooch as soon as #3 is completed. I don't know where my head was yesterday when I said Handsome had a rehearsal. He only has them on Monday nights, but weather and a couple work days added to my schedule, for some reason my week is all turned around. Sigh.

I did stitch all day, but an unexpected chaotic event helped me decide to stand down for the night. You see, I was relaxed and stitching away...sort of in Zen mode. I had a cup of tea at my side, as I sat next to our window bench in the dining room. While I use my lighted magnifier, I like working with natural light, too, and this is my favorite spot for stitching.

I hadn't noticed that Claudette had decided to lie down on the bench, also enjoying her view out the window, but I'd soon know she was there. 

Handsome came over to check out my ladybug progress and told me that he'd seen some recently expired Japanese beetles on the floor near me. He complimented my work and left the room. I thanked him, but didn't give it another thought. Then, without warning, he appeared behind me with the hand vac to suck up the dead beetles...neither of us aware that Claudette was behind me...until...

As he came around the corner with that vac turned on, she made a beeline away from the sound...across my lap, knocking over my cuppa, and scratching my leg in her haste to exit the room and escape the vacuum monster. I darn-near had a heart attack. I'm sure it was like watching a cartoon!

First order of business was to make sure that there was no tea on my needlework. I let out a big sigh when I realized it was safe. Then to assess any other damage. There was tea all over the quilt I used to cover the cushion on the window bench. Tea had splashed all over my plastic storage containers for beads, etc. so I had to mop up all tha, plus the floor.

I had to move everything off the bench and then Handsome took the quilt downstairs to the washer, while I grabbed paper towels to clean up the floor and my containers. It wasn't until everything was "back to normal" that I realized how much adrenaline I expended during the whole event. I suddenly just needed to sit down and collect myself. I also declared that this must have been some kind of cosmic message to stop stitching for the rest of the day, so that's what I did.

I work tonight, but I'm going to get a good run at Ladybug #3 before I have to leave at 7:00 for a few hours. I've relearned a valuable lesson, too, by the way. NO BEVERAGES or food around my needlework anymore. It's something I had never done for years until lately, but this was a caution (without damage) to quit it, so I'll make sure my work isn't at risk again in the future.

Hoping to finish #3 today as I picked up another work shift tomorrow. I've learned that by the time I get home, I might be too gassed to stitch. Otherwise, I'll complete the third ladybug on Sunday. Either way, I'll soon have finished ladybugs to share with you. Here's to an uneventful day of needle dancing.

Ladybug Progress...

 

Yippee! I finally got to sit down and stitch for a while yesterday. I managed to finish the first one, and then make good progress on the second. 

While the felt for the head on the first one was red, I decided it would be better that I do a black background for the black embellishments. I also have used 3mm (tiny) black sequins and black chippings for the spots on the second one. 

Once I release all three from the hoop, I'll add the antennae and complete each one as a small brooch. All three will be available in my shop once they're finished.

I plan another day of stitching today, so I know I'll finish the second one and make good progress on the third. I may even complete that one, as Handsome has band rehearsal tonight. I'll just keep stitching (with little "straighten up and walk around" breaks in between) until he gets back home. 

Stop back tomorrow and you'll be able to see how much I accomplished. If you hear faint giggling, it's just me. This little project is really fun!

Working It Out...

I've completed this much of my little ladybug, but am still working out how I want the head and antennae to look. 

Heads are typically black, so that's the direction I'm heading, but I still have to delineate the eyes so they don't disappear. I think I'm going to outline the eye beads with gold super pearl purl - as I outlined  the body. I'm planning to use a thin wire for the antennae.

I'm going to finish it today, and then work on the other two so I can "release" them all at the same time. I already have 3mm sequins I'm going to try on the next body to use for the spots. (Thanks for that idea!)

Handsome has been in the hospital for the past couple days with a recurring issue, but I'm hoping to bring him home today. It would be nice to spend Easter together. 

Wishing all my friends a Happy Easter.

Home Again...

D. Morgan "Home Again" Cross Stitch (Leisure Arts)

He's safely back home and all is right in my world again. I tried (unsuccessfully) to capture a good photo of this piece, which hangs in our back hall.  It's a perfect piece to place where we see it during each of our comings and goings.

The verse reads: "I hear your footsteps down the hall. You are home again...and safe. All the burdens of the day are softened, and all the night noises are music to my ears."

I guess I wrote about this back in 2015. I didn't get a very good photo of it then, either. You can see that post HERE.

I took this photograph of the girls to send to Handsome while he was in Florida. I also shared it to my facebook page. My stepsister saw it and commented that she saw the "heart" on the gravel between the girls and said, "I see a heart from Tag between Bella and Carly". Once she said that, I noticed it, too. She said she also saw his shape lying in the snow behind them.

Needless to say, it made me smile (with a tear in my eye). I like the thought that he left a little love note for us when we were taking this picture. The heart is where he usually would have sat during our photo sessions of the trio.

I'll be at work today until four, so Handsome will spend the day here with the ladies. My plan is to finish my first ladybug when I get home. Sherry was right in her comment about my post yesterday. Of course, they have little antennae, so I'll figure out a way to add them to mine at the end. We'll see what I can come up with, and I'll be sure to share when the first one is done!

See you tomorrow!

I Couldn't Wait...

I spent much of yesterday baking, as Handsome comes home today. I wanted to have some tasty treats for him to enjoy once he gets settled back in. However, I did have time later in the day to sit down to stitch. I couldn't concentrate on my mockingbird, though. I had this on my mind!

I drew out a little ladybug and proceeded to set up the project in my hoop. I'm not sure how I feel about the black chipping for the spots. I either have small black seed beads (like the eyes), or really large black beads for larger pieces (like the frogs). I think I need to find a bead that's a #8, rather than the #11s for the eyes. I'll complete her this afternoon and then see about getting what I need to do the other two.

What do you think? Do you like my execution for this idea so far? I'm not planning to stitch legs. I think she'll just be "tucked in" for the little brooch. I'm still deciding whether or not I'll do this little antennae. I don't recall seeing them on the read ones. Decisions. Decisions. More results soon...