December 06, 2009

Let There Be Kreinik. And Bugle Beads. And Seed Beads.

Yesterday, I took the finals for school and kicked those two hideous classes to the curb. Worst semester ever. Today I was free, and I've now got about an eight-week break. I'm giddy. And to celebrate, I wanted sparkles. The weather gave me sparkles in the back yard. We got a few inches of snow yesterday, and here it is, pretty much all gone, but there's enough left to frost the lawn:

I couldn't settle on a large project, so I picked up a small one that was calling to me: Prairie Schooler's "July," which is almost done. Perverse, to do a summer stitch.

I decided to add some sparkle, so I stitched the fireworks with Kreinik that I had in my stash.

I wanted even more sparkles and shine, so I stopped by my LNS and bought this little project. It's called "A Very Merry Winter," by JBW. It doesn't look like much, but there was a stitched model in the shop, and the stitcher (a customer) had chosen to do it on sparkly 32 count Belfast Opalescent, seen to the right of the little chart photo. It calls for GAST fibers and little black seed beads for the bird seeds.

Then there's this, from Cross-Stitch and Needlework Magazine, a magazine I probably have never bought before: a project called "Winter Garden" which is dimensional and features not only an underlying cross-stitched picture of the gingerbread house which is DMC, beads and metallic thread stitched on linen, with an outer "frame" stitched on 14 count Vinyl weave (it looks just like vinyl aida, and I found it at Michaels tonight; my goodness, what a horrifying material) and also beaded and stitched with metallic threads as well as DMC. What a blast! I love the candy/fruit/ornament/berry outer frame over the bead-encrusted cottage. Something fun to stitch on Christmas morning, don't you think? Not my usual style, of course, but irresistable with 30 shades of DMC (none of them subtle), 9 colors of Kreinik braid, and 13 different beads of all sizes and colors.

"I have a sparkling personality."

Happy week ahead!

27 comments:

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

Hi, Elvis! You do look sort of sparkly, now that your biped mentions it.

It looks like Pumpkin and Patch still want to host Audrey for Christmas, so you'll be next after her New Year's date with Hef. Start planning some bunny fun!

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

Audrey has no plans for after visiting you, other than tagging along on my vacation in late May/early June. It sounds like she'll have a fine time with you on your own little winter adventures!

Loraine said...

Love all the "bling bling"! Fun new stash. I love the idea of adding sparkle to the Summer piece. I bought that pattern, thanks to you. Thanks for the good idea. I'm working on Sail Away, here in the prime of Christmas stitching! Perverse indeed, but I have to get it off my frames. It's driving me crazy!
Take Care.

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

You'll enjoy Audrey's companionship. She's easy to please and curious about everything, but quite content to spend an afternoon quietly doing her own thing. She's never offended if you don't feel like talking, and she'll never criticize your choice of music or TV shows. Silence is okay, too. She'll just take a nap and dream her little Audrey dreams until you're ready for her. :-)

Would you believe my husband actually misses her? I do, too, but when a man admits to something so silly...!

mainely stitching said...

You'll certainly have the corner on the market on the "bright" part of holidays that are 'merry and bright'! :D

Have fun with the next 8 weeks! Yeehaw!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Hootie, Hoot, Hoot! Yay for kicking the hideous classes to the curbs. But a double TOOT for having 8 weeks of freedom from hideous classes :)
Love your new projects and I LOVE July...wanna send it to me ? :)
YOU have a great week ahead!

Giovanna said...

Love your July WIP! And the new stash is nice too.

Unknown said...

Glenna, congrats on finishing the semester! I have one class remaining which does not end until next week, but I am hoping to finish it this week. I will be so glad to be done.

Love your new stash! I haven't seen the JBW, but it is a cute little project. I have never worked with vinyl and am curious what you will think of it.

We got a few snow sprinkles on Saturday, but nothing stuck, thankfully.

Enjoy your school-free time!

Margaret said...

Huge congrats on being free of those classes for 8 weeks! :D I love your July WIP. And I have to admit that piece you found in the magazine has an appeal to it even if it's not your usual taste. It's so perfect for Christmas! Love the little snowman too -- must be nice to be able to just pop into your LNS. Mine is far enough away that I have to think about it before I actually go. (We had snow too, at least a couple inches. Nice for the tree cutting!)

Catherine said...

Congrats on finishing your classes!! Great new stash - love the snowman with the little bird.

Kreinikgirl said...

Love love the fireworks! Great touch.

d. moll, l.ac. said...

What a relief to be done for a while. Love the sparkles. Elvis is the most sparkly.

aprilmecheelesdulllife said...

I loved seeing all to new goodies. Puts me into the Christmas Spirit !!! Great Idea for The July stitching !!!

Dona said...

Glenna, so glad your semester is over and what therapy to pick out sparkly projects! The little snowman is very cute. But not as cute and sparkly as your bunny, though!

Jan said...

Let the sparkle 'reign', Glenna! Love it all!You additions of the sparklies is such fun, love the PS, so far!! And can't wait to see your snowman stitched!

Congrats for your 8 week freedom from classes, don't waste a second!

Laurie in Iowa said...

Woot Woot Woot for your class completions. Enjoy your 8 weeks of freedom. The PS piece is sweet and I think you should consider yourself ahead of the game in prep for the summer holiday. It would look lovely with my Flag Day Farm quilt. :-)
The sparkly fabric is perfect for your JW design. She has such sweet designs.
The 3D project has left me speechless. YGG... please be sure to share your progress with us. It certainly is colorful.
Your bunny is adorable... I'm so glad that you share snaps of your bun buns with us. Love them all.

RG said...

There is an old Donovan song "The Season of the Witch" with stitching and rabbits both in it! No - wait, I did not mean it like that ... help .. Elvis!!!!

Siobhán said...

Oh, good. I was thinking about starting Jenny Bean Halloween but thinking I'd be a bit off if I was stitching Halloween at Christmas. Glad to see I'll be in good company, if I do start, since you're working on your July piece. ;) It is gorgeous, btw, with the extra sparklies! Love the new stash, too.

Katrina said...

Everything is so pretty, love the view from your backyard and all the sparkles in your stitching.

Glad you are getting a much needed break from school.

Michelle said...

Love the sparkles you're adding into your life. Congrats on finishing up those finals and getting a bit of a well-deserved break. I love those little fireworks - how fun to make them sparkle!

Caroline said...

Congrats on finishing your classes - enjoy a much deserved break with your stitching!

Littlebit said...

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and your sweet comment. I very much enjoyed browsing your blog..love the PS design..I could use a touch of summer right now with the weather we have been having! Enjoy your 8-week break.

Anonymous said...

your work is amazing!

Stitch By Stitch said...

Sparkles make everything more fun! Congrats on another semester finished!

Brigitte said...

Wow, your new stash is funstitching stash all over. Well bought! Enjoy your eight free weeks.

MyLifesAStitch said...

Love all the "flair"!! These projects just look fantastic!! Good for you re: finishing up the semester!

Kim said...

Glenna..Love your PS July! Makes me feel warmer thinking of July! ;o) And I LOVE your Plymouth Sampler! That's in my stash waiting. I'll enjoy watching yours come together!