May Smalls: July!

Hiya! I know I mentioned last post that I didn't have anything prepared for Smalls but was going to go rummaging in the digital stash to see if there was anything exciting in the hoard.

click for info!

Success!  Although maybe it's not exciting, this was a simple, cute stitch that will give me something else to hang/set out for my favorite holiday.

more 'merica

I changed a few things and am fighting a hard battle over trying to not change another.  I added the white in the flag.  It felt incomplete without it.  The fireworks position and shape were altered a bit.  The sparkly floss did not want to be straight but I guess that's okay as fireworks aren't straight...  I tend to like symmetry in my patterns and I am struggling with myself over whether or not to frog "appy" and move it over one stitch.  It bothers me that there is not a "one-space" gap between the H and the rest of the word!

Technical Details

• 4th of July by Tiny Modernist, found here on her freebie page (not a direct link, scroll down a few patterns)
• Two over one on white 14-count Aida.
• Approximately 4 hours stitching. 

what to do, what to do

Mine is technically not complete as I wanted to do the little fireworks (there are supposed to be four total) in sparkly floss and I did not have red like I originally thought!  I had my "odds and ends" box out on the table when my husband returned home and he questioned what I was doing with it (thinking organizing).  I lamented that I didn't have sparkly red and being the good enabler he is, promptly told me to go buy it haha.  Unfortunately none of the local stores carry DMC Light Effects...  I am hoping to venture out sometime this weekend to the Big City and maybe I'll have better luck there.

Also I am still waffling over how to finish-finish it.  Originally, I thought to make a felt ornament but I also think a flatfold would be nice beside the little flag finished during last month's Smalls!  I do not have any patriotic fabric though.   I usually watch the remnant bins for holiday cottons but gosh, it's hard to find anything but Christmas!  Maybe after this weekend or the 4th of July there will be options.
 

See you next time! :D/

May GG ~ The Return of the Speaker Cozies

Howdy, folks! Hope everything is swell where you are~ We've finally decided to end winter here and of course, skip straight into summer. I am a bit grumpy over this.  I hate being hot!  Plus with the fresh green grass needing mowed every five days...  whew.  Sometimes I wonder how I am staying awake at all.  But you're not here to listen to me complain about the weather being weather, you're here for Gifted Gorgeousness!

click for more info

First up, we have substantial (for me) progress on the 5th side of the Monster Hunter cube!

before

after

We finally picked up a PS4 and my husband has been busy playing through Dark Souls 3 and I've been busy enjoying all the spare crafting time next to him! I'm not sure why this particular side seems to be taking forever. It might be the large blocks of color.  Soothing to stitch yet seems to go nowhere fast.

before

after

Next up, the long-neglected speaker cozies. I have been forced to decided to make a change. I joined the two smallest cozies together to make a single larger one that will grow even more. One of our cats (not mentioning any names, Oreo) likes to steal small items and carry them around.  Coasters, socks, actual cat toys, and apparently small doilies are not safe from this sneaky kitty (Oreo). So, I am making it into a bigger cozy for either one of the larger speakers or possibly for the end/coffee tables. They are still pending decision from the other half. And possibly to see if they're big enough to NOT be of interest to a certain furball (Oreo). 

totally innocent

I also made another fan bookmark for a Mother's Day gift.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of it before sending it off so you'll just have to use your imagination of a variegated peacock blue. :)  I really, really love this pattern and the resulting bookmark!  You can find it here on ravelry or if you don't use ravelry, here on the blog post.

That's all for this edition of Ishkabibble Babble.  I'm not sure if there will be a Smalls post at the end of the month.  The vast majority of my small stitches are Christmas and I'm just not feeling like working on Christmas!  I will have to go through my digital stash to see if anything leaps out at me.  Until next time!  :D

April Smalls: 'Merica

Hello to you all!  Here we are for a proper Small SAL post at a proper Smalls SAL time.   I rummaged through my Drawer of Wonder and chose this little kit to work up.  I did not notice it was double-sided even though it says it in plain English right on the front of the package.  Luckily even double-sided it is quite small sooooo...

click for info!

Of course this kit was found in a thrift store, this time by my mother.  I thought perhaps I could cheat on the French knots with little glass beads but alas, they turned out just a tad bit too large.  I don't hate French knots but this plastic canvas was so tough to get the needle through with just stitching.  Then to go on after with the knots... eh, I persevered.  100 little knots later, I had a completed American flag.

Klondike, don't eat that

Boy, they knew what they were doing with this kit!  Each length of floss was just enough to finish one line of a stripe.  The plastic canvas was cut to size which led to a terrifying second flag until I knew it would fit!  The kit also came with the tiny dowel and stand so it could be displayed upright.  And the front and back were mirrored images so it can look correct no matter which way the wind blows.

little LEGO dude, don't eat that

This is actually my first Americana anything if you can believe that.  I'll set it on the little shelf beside the door all by its lonesome self (and the ever-present candy for guests and a husband coming/going) during all the flag-y holidays.   Yay!

Technical Details

• "Stitch 'N Hang kit #2001: American Flag
• Three-over-one on white 14-count plastic canvas
• Approximately 8 hours stitching.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★
This is obviously not for the Smalls SAL as it is very much not small (although they certainly had a lot of "small" issues).  I took Final Fantasy III and VIII back to the framer to address some of problems.  She straightened out III and VIII got a new cutout design entirely. In case you've forgotten the speech bubble:

before, plus bonus VII

after - the difference

I am still not happy with the workmanship of this framer and unfortunately I do not think I will be going back to her.  There was not the attention to detail that I guess I was expecting.  III never should have been presented crooked although to be fair, when they are viewed at a flat angle, it is not noticeable.  But wouldn't a framer set them upright?  Or notice the fabric is warped?  I mean it's not like cross-stitch fabric doesn't have "lines" to make sure things are even...  I can still tell it's a bit crooked in the "fixed" version. Is this something only a stitcher (particularly the one who did the work) would notice?  I will say this (again) though: The fabric for III was horrible and could have very well contributed to this drama.

VIII... I'm not sure how I feel about it though it certainly looks better than before.  It was not re-stretched so there is an outline of the previous cutout mats' shape on the fabric.  There is some sort of water damage on the red mat, under the glass.  The red mat was not supposed to have the little "flairs" at the corners.  Apparently the mat cutter available could not do the curve all the way?  She did not discuss this with me and instead just left it (this is the second time I felt like I was "supposed" to like it so she wouldn't have to do anything else).  I did not want to argue the point so I just went with "they're fine" to be done with it.  They may grow on me as I do not hate them, just the surprise that they were.  The water staining and the outlines aren't acceptable.  That doesn't inspire confidence on how the actual stitching was handled.

All-in-all, kind of an underwhelming experience especially for projects that I get SO OVERLY EXCITED over.   Maybe these pieces are just too weird in the cross-stitch world to be easily framed.  I have saved the information and will keep future finished stitches until I can do the 200 miles (~320km) drive to my old framer.  I will probably bring these two with me and see if she can do anything to fix them.  I am incredibly patient, but on the flipside, incredibly picky.  Or maybe my pickiness is justified this time.

Okay, I've complained enough hah~ Tune in next time for another edition of Ishkabibble Babble! :D

April GG ~ Bat Cats and Skillets

Hello there, world!  I hope this post finds you joyfully productive with your Gifted Gorgeousness.  I've kind of had a slow crafting month so far.  The weather had moderated for a bit and I spent a good portion of my time outside cleaning up the yard, spring cleaning windows, and prepping the lawn mower for another year of working out on the slopes!  I am so happy to report I have daffodils this year!  YAY!  \:D/

I also made brownies because brownie sundaes. That is a Very Important because.

click for more info

before

after

For this month's GG, I give you a bit more on the 5th side of the Husband Cube; it's starting to look like the bat cat!  Or possibly like a bird of prey at the moment.  Also there is an awful lot of that particular dark blue; 53% of the piece will be that color and I would suppose I'm about halfway through using it here.  I wanted to move on to another color for variety's sake!  So far so good, even if it's a bit sparse this month for other crafty things to show.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★
This last part isn't for GG unless I bring out the Almighty Shoehorn Power of which I am so fond.

I really like cast iron skillets. Whilst out and about one day, I found one that had been "gifted" to a thrift store. It wasn't old but it was large and I was on the lookout for one that size.   It needed some reseasoning so I took advantage of this absurdly cold spring and ran it and a couple other pans that needed some love through the cleaning cycle on our oven.

I hate glass-topped stoves.

Don't they look scary!  I always question my choices when I see them like this haha.  The one on the bottom left is the new-to-me one, a 10" Lodge from...?  I cannot seem to find info when Lodge started stamping the assist handle with their logo (this one does not have a stamped handle), but it does have the egg in the pan on the bottom so it has to be from at least the late 80s.  I would guess it's from the 90s.  The smallest one on the bottom right is a Wagner from at least the 60s (has the "Made in USA" stamp).  It's a fantastic egg skillet!  The top one is another Wagner, a #9 from the 1890s-1910s.  It was abandoned in a house we rented.  The inside was okay to use, especially at a time when I had no skillets!  The underside, however, is VERY pitted most likely from being used on a fire.  It is why I was on the lookout for another large skillet.  It sure cleaned up nice though!

old Wagner crud

old Wagner cleaned up

second layer of seasoning

Much better!  I wound up baking four layers of seasoning on these.  They are now ready for their bacon baptismal! :D  I will probably be retiring the old Wagner, though...  The underside is so, so pitted and slightly warped (but not cracked).  It's a shame though because it is as smooth as silk inside.  I love the old stuff!

Okay, enough from me.  I will see you on the next edition of Ishkabibble Babble, probably for the Smalls SAL!

March GG: Special Edition - "Toads!? I hate toads! Don't turn me into one!"

Hi!  Hello, howdy, hi!!  I don't usually post so soon after a previous post but this is the last day to link up for GG so it had to happen!  I've been kind of silent this month due to my husband and I running away for an anniversary vacation.  And then after we got back, I got sick!  I am feeling much better by now, but still have a nagging cough.  But who cares about that!  It's time for exclamation points!  And there are probably more exclamation points than really necessary in this post!  Can you guess what that means?(!)  If you're a regular reader, you probably know!  !!!!!!!!!!  I was thinking that some shoehorning would be required for this month's Gifted Gorgeousness but as you'll see, it worked out in the end...

click for more info

EXCLAMATION POINTS YAAAAAAAAAY!

an accurate representation of my life

This post has been too long in coming.  Way too long. I was so afraid of his face haha.

I can't believe I started this back in 2014!  It's been through a lot with me and me with it.  It was plagued with frogs (I eventually grew up and fixed them).  I hated the fabric (though admittedly this became less of an issue once I got it in proper Q-snaps instead my old frame set up).  I will give myself a pass for one year because admittedly last year was a bit on the dramatic side.  But still, even three years would be far too long for such a piece!  But it's done, Done, DONE! !!!!!!!!

better lighting required

His face terrified me for the longest time, not only because it was a face and faces are hard enough but also because it happened to line up with a color change.  Poor Luneth, he got stabbed in face an awful lot before I was happy ahaha.  The swords were another perplexity.  I am thinking one is the Brave Sword (a regular in Final Fantasy games) and the other is the onion knight sword from the original FFIII.  I had to figure out a way to make them sword-like with both cross stitching and the backstitching.

Boy, did it need a bath after four years on the stand(s)!  There was no way I was going to chance the floss without a scrap to dunk first!  Luckily, it was safe.  And good thing too; I actually wound up washing it twice as it was just that filthy (I guess four years on the stand will do that.).

bath #1

And I've found a framer up in our new location who was able to match the style of FFVII.  I took both this and FFVIII in to have them both done at once! !!! I'm so excited! I'll have THREE done!!  eeeeeeee I also got a free upgrade to museum glass which is great!  It was a bit expensive to do both at once but it has become our 5th anniversary present (there's that GG requirement)!  5th is wood, right?  The frame is wood!  The pattern was on paper, which was once wood pulp, right?!  Totally fits!  I'll shoehorn anything. :D

horrible fabric

She had to sew additional fabric on III to make it work. Part of it was my fault for using too small of a piece, but if it hadn't frayed so badly or had been cut straight, I think it would've worked out okay.  Because I had the paperwork from FFVII, she was able to make sense of the numbers and get the exact frame and black mat.  I took my husband with me because I trust his judgement with colors and he (looked like he) had fun picking out the color mats!  Then the details with the mats...  I think that took a good portion of our time trying to gauge distances and the fancy cutouts, whew! 

Technical Details

• Chart designed with KG-Chart with a whopping five colors including black.
  
• 1-over-1 on white 22 count (hardanger). Black 2-over-1.
  
• Finished size: 11" x 14" (26.5cm x 35cm), ~10,000 stitches.
• Started: March 3, 2014, Finished: February 28, 2018. 
• 100+ hours including design time.

A silly little bonus: It felt so nice returning the game case to its proper shelf with the other games ahaha!  I had kept it with the project for these past four years as a reference point.

Lessons Learned

• NEVER USE REGENCY HARDANGER EVER AGAIN.
• Fix mistakes promptly.
• Q-snaps are pretty awesome.
• Four years is a lot of funk/dust/cat hair.

a trio of frames

A know issue is the cutout at the bottom of VIII is not correct and the framer acknowledged this when I picked them up, however it will take a while to fix it as she had some life events of her own happen and I am quite patient.  However, I'm not sure the fixed cut will look good either.  The whole piece has a feeling of a speech bubble which I cannot UNsee.  Another small issue is that III is not straight, but this was not noticeable until it was up on the wall with VII and she immediately said she'd fix that.   I'll be taking both back in sometime next week for her to remedy and to discuss options for VIII.  I may wind up picking out about an inch or so of the longest swoop in order to have a flat bottom.  I am open to fancy cutout suggestions for VIII!

#5

And in case I'm being too cheeky with my shoehorns lately, I did make a small start on the next MH3U glyph for the Husband Cube!  I must've been in a picky mood this month as I had a hard time making this guy's chart.  That tail!  *grumbles incoherently*  At least an annoying tail in chart form is fitting for the actual monster in game.  Beaver slap, anyone?

totally looks like a thing

Okay!  This post was really long!  Excitement!  Easter Blog Hops!  Really late for GG!  And then I got a surprise in my email that I am Blogger of the Week this week!  WOO!  We even bought "fancy" furniture today!  I am so pleased with March! :D