Humpty Dumpty

A couple of pics of the latest afghan block and the whole afghan as it stands now. I think I will take a bit of a break from this for a little bit. I want to stitch on something else for a few days until the Mira RR comes, then maybe when I finish with that I'll come back to the afghan.

Thanks everyone for your comments on my garden - the ones here and some made on facebook really helped point me in the right direction. I'm slowly getting there on what I want/need to do to make it look decent. :)

One other thing, I think I'm going to skip entering anything in the Fair this year. I'm just not close enough to finishing anything, and in no mood to push myself to have a finish just to enter. I'm going to try to go to the judging though anyway. It is always a fun day. If you are thinking of entering something in the WI fair this year though, be aware the entry deadline is June 20 - so go check out the website if you want to enter. :)

Fair Results

Well, Silkwood Manor did not place. When I picked it up after the judging the woman who took my claim check and had to fetch it and bring it to me asked me if the judge commented why she didn't place it. The judge hadn't said anything about it (though she spent a great deal of time pouring over it - at least it seemed to me!) and I said so to the woman. The woman said, "Well, if you want to know what I think, I think it is gorgeous and you did a beautiful job." I thought that was really nice of her to say. Even if she was just being nice, it was encouraging and part of the reason I like going to the fair judging every year. Mixed in with all the crazies that take winning way too seriously, are the gems like this woman. You could tell that she geniuely enjoyed seeing everyone's work, and it was so kind of her to take the time to comment to someone with a non-willing entry.

I did not get "skunked" though - my Enchanted Alphabet, which I figured probably would not place, got a fourth place ribbon in its category. That was a pleasant surprise.

The best part of the day though was that I had a friend there this time! Kelly decided to make the drive over for the day from Monticello and it was really nice to have a friendly face to share the day with. We watched the crazies and admired all the cool stuff people entered this year. The woman who usually has her yearly temper tantrum (okay that is an exagerration but not much) and claims she isn't entering anymore was pretty well behaved this year, but then she placed in almost all her categories, so she didn't have much to complain about this year. She was still fun to watch though, as she was as serious as ever.

I don't know if I mentioned in years past that the judging isn't just needlework items, but all sorts of crafts, we also watched judging for jewelry making, yarn spinning, rug hooking, teddy bear making, pencil drawing, and lots of other stuff that isn't coming to mind right now. It was a fun day, and I'm glad I entered, and will keep entering each year, even when I've had a dry year for finishes (like this year). Now to get some work in on my WIPs so I'll have more to enter next year!!

Silkwood Manor HD

Finished it just in time for the Fair! Not a moment too soon, put the last bead on at 8:30p last night, finished the framing at 10:15p and dropped it at the fair on my way home from work today - Whew!

I'm also entering my Enchanted Alphabet that I finished a few years back. Don't have much finished this year to enter, and Enchanted Alphabet was completed in a year where there were more finishes and wasn't entered in favor of something else that year. I don't expect either entry to win any blue ribbons, but a second or third is possible, depending on the other entries, we'll see.

Most of the fun is the people watching and seeing what everyone else entered. :) I suspect I'll have just as much fun this year as I have in the past even though I haven't entered much myself. Judging is on Friday, so I'll likely post that evening or on Saturday with the results.

I'm back!

So after a few frustrating days of trying to repair the old computer and not getting anywhere with it and then going back and forth with DH over what to get for a new PC - I'm finally back online at home. We ended up with a new hp. We had good luck with the one hp we owned a few years back, so we were pretty happy with our selection. When it came down to going to the store and actually getting it, we were able to make a major purchase without a lot of angst and arguing, which is a big deal for us! :)

Anyway, I've been doing some more stitching on Silkwood Manor and it is coming, but not nearly as quickly as I'd like it too. Here's a pic. I have to have it in the frame by the end of the night July 15th in order to drop at the fair for judging, so it is gonna be real close even with doing the framing myself.

Progress on Silkwood Manor

As you can see, my Silkwood Manor is coming along pretty well - just need to stay disciplined enough to stitch everyday and I should have no problem finishing it in time for the fair. Now, whether I'll have time to also stitch another reindeer is still up in the air - but I'm going to give it a try. I've chosen Cupid to do next, mainly because I have all the "extras" for him and I think he will stitch up the quickest! :)

Fair Judging and a Get-Together!

The Fair judging on Friday was a lot of fun like it always is. I really enjoy seeing what everyone else enters and the people watching is a lot of fun too. Maybe I'm just weird, but I find it mildly entertaining to watch some of the people who take the whole competition thing way too seriously. For example, one woman who I've seen there every year I've gone plopped herself next to me and began to comment on everyone else's piece and whether she agreed or disagreed with the judges about everything. Thing she announced to me that she had been coming 14 years and had over 100 ribbons. Wish I'd had a cookie for her. ;) Every year this same woman gets upset over some piece of hers that doesn't place (even though she usually has 5 or 6 that do) and says in a huff she isn't entering next year, yet she always does.... Like I said, she is entertaining though. Best of show went to a fabulous Brazillion needlwork piece, very well done and a great piece - well deserved.



Waiting for Ships did win the blue ribbon in her size category, so I was thrilled with that. I also entered Cottage Garden Fairy which did not place. However after the judge announced the winners she held her up and went on for about 10 min. about how the workmanship was excellent and there was technically nothing wrong with it, but something was just off somehow, she couldn't explain what and that is why she didn't place it. I was fine with the decision as the pieces that did place were all wonderful and deserved to win ribbons, but I wanted to hide under my chair when she was talking about my piece and how it was "wrong". I think it might have been the green fabric, which goes really well in my bedroom with soft blue walls that sort of soften the fabric color, but I can see where it is a bit more jarring out of that context. I also entered the Baby Afghan that is shown in the pics in one of the posts below, but didn't really expect it to place because of the simplicity of the design and I was right.



On Saturday, I went to my first-ever get-together! It was so much fun. I met up with Melissa (MissyCor), Susan (SusaninIndiana), and Kelly (marrissasmom). Susan has a great recap on her blog, so I won't repeat all that she said, but I also returned home very tired, but thrilled to have had the chance to meet these great ladies. Hoping we get a chance to do it again real soon.

I got some nice stash too, most notable Rosewood Manor's Inspiration. I also purchased the special hand-dyed fabric for it - so now I'm committed to starting it! :) I have finished quite a few things lately, so I think I can allow myself this new start. I've also been meaning to start Mirabilia's Stone Roses for ages, so I may just start them both in the next month or so.

Waiting for Ships Happy Dance!

I finished the beading at 9:30pm, the framing at 11:30p and turned into the fair for entry today at 12:30p (on my lunch hour). I just managed to finish her. I'm not totally happy with the frame she is in, but since there was no time for a professional framing job, I had to find a ready-made frame to put her in and this was the best I could do in this size (10 x 16). I actually ended up taking apart a framed print that I bought in this frame and using that as the frame. Even though I wasn't really interested in the print, the $20 I paid for this was way cheaper than a professional framing job. I might have to change out the frame someday though - I really wanted a dark frame to match her hair - we'll see.

So the fair judging is on Friday and Saturday I'm going to my first ever get-together! I'm really looking forward to both - I need some stitching boost now since stitching only on that mermaid for so long sort of sucked out my stitching mojo. Those two things will be just what I need to get it back!

More WfS

Another scanned image as I'm meeting with resistance from DH on buying the new camera. I may end up buying a used one on ebay cause I really hate being without one, and I can get the same camera that I had for about $30 with shipping. (It was not a high end model and a few years out of date, so...)

Anyway, here is my progress on Waiting for Ships. I am trying to finish it in time for the fair - have to drop off entries on July 19 and I'm starting to worry I won't have time to finish and frame her. I am already planning on framing her myself, so time at the framers isn't really an issue. I'm going to keep plugging though, even if I don't make the fair at least I'll have a happy dance sometime in the near future.

Is it bad that having some extra stitching time in on this factored heavily into my decision to take tomorrow off from work?

Baby Afghan Finished!

ARGH! And since my digital camera is still very much dead, I cannot show a pic. Of course there is no way that sucker is fitting on the scanner, so you'll just have to imagine with me what it looks like until I can buy a new camera. (I'm hoping that will be soon, but have to warm DH up to the idea.) I used a flannel backing with little handprints and footprints in pastel colors and a purple blanket binding to finish it off. I'm rather proud of how it came out. One side has the bright colored alphabet, and the other the pastel prints, and the purple binding compliments both rather nicely. I will post a pic once I get a new camera, just cause I'm so gosh darn glad to be rid of stitching on those afghans that now I have to share my victory.

So now I'm focusing on getting as many pieces finished for the fair as possible. I have to turn pieces in by July 19, so I have just under a month to finish stuff. This year I'm entering "Cottage Garden Fairy" as my large piece. I finished her in late 2005, but don't have a more recent large finish because of spending all the time on the darn afghans. Since she was finished within the last two years and I've never entered her before she is still eligible. Only reason I didn't enter her last year was that I entered Chatelaine's Sampler Mystery II instead, which won me my first blue ribbon in that category! I don't think CGF will win this year, but she may place - we'll see. I'm also entering the baby afghan I just finished in the "not a framed picture" category, so at least I have two pieces already done. I'm really hoping I can also finish "Waiting for Ships" for one of the medium size categories, and possibly "Girls Night Out" by Just Nan for the small category. Guess we'll just have to see if I can actually accomplish that!