Olive Hope » finishes

Feeling Scatterbrained

olivehopedesign — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:16:13 +0000

The past 2 weeks I’ve felt like I’ve been trying to do a number of things, but not really finishing much of anything. Last week my son got sick with some stomach virus (the first one for him!). He was only really sick for 1/2 a day and then his energy was mostly back. I felt a bit under the weather after that, and took it easy for a couple of days. I’d always wondered how I would deal with a sick, vomiting child, as the smell makes me gag. I was amazed to find that I could just go about cleaning up the bedding and my son without gagging or feeling nauseous. It wasn’t pleasant, but at least it wasn’t made worse by me getting sick to my stomach as well. We’re both fine this week, which is good, because it’s been a busy week, plus I decided to start spring cleaning this week. I decided to start, but that doesn’t mean I’ve accomplished much yet I did finish the worst (for me) job – cleaning the fridge. Amidst all this, I’ve had little time for stitching.

I started a group on yahoo, where I’ve started a SAL for this Teacup Sampler:

Teacup Sampler byOlive Hope Design

I accomplished a little stitching on this sampler last week, but haven’t had time this week:

progress as of May 8/09

To join in on the SAL, join the group here.

I’ve also been working on the EMS Rose Sampler. Most of my progress on the 4th part (the letters) was accomplished earlier in the month of April:

progress as of May 4/09

I also have a finish to share! After working on it sporadically for almost a year, I finished knitting a sweater for my son, and it actually looks like a sweater:

sweater finished May 3/09

I was having visions of sleeves being different lengths, back and front not lining up, etc. It’s a little big on him, which is fine, as then it might still fit him by fall so he can actually wear it. Next time I will try using long enough needles to knit both sleeves at once. At least then I won’t have to concern myself over if they’ll be the same length

I’ve let my etsy shop sit empty for a few weeks. Partly because I did forget when the last items were expiring, but mostly because I was trying to decide what to do with it, whether to keep selling, or to close the shop. I will no longer be selling my cross stitch charts through etsy, unless it’s a special release or limited edition, etc. I do have some items that I want to work on over the next month to add to the shop. So while there’s nothing there now, the plan is to have some items there within the month.

In other news, we had a bit of snow this morning! Yes, snow in May. Somehow I don’t think the fish will be biting very much for Opening Day tomorrow – and I definitely don’t want to be out on the water in this cool weather!

Published in The Gift of Stitching

olivehopedesign — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:59:59 +0000

I have an ornament published in the lastest issue of The Gift of Stitching magazine! The whole issue looks great, and it reminded me that I need to go through those issues as well to add to my ornament list!

Apparently I was in such a time crunch to ge the ornament off to the publisher, that I completely forgot to take a picture of it before I mailed it. So, at least for now, if you want to see it, you’ll just have to get the magazine!

New Finish, and Door Prize Winners

olivehopedesign — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 01:20:40 +0000

Peace*Joy*Love by Lizzie*Kate, JCS OE 2002

This was a quick stitch, which was just what I needed. I actually feel ready to get back to stitching some on Fish City, which I think I might do tonight. I’ve got to tidy up my stitching bag first; it gets so cluttered that it often is fuller than it needs to be.

Door prize winners for today from The Needlework Show are: Christine P. and Melissa M. Congratulations! I will be doing a couple of more draws throughout the weekend, so if you haven’t entered, you still have time.

WIPs and a Finish

olivehopedesign — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:21:57 +0000

I’ve been madly stitching the last few days on a model I need to have to the editor of The Gift of Stitching by September 1. Sorry, no picture; you’ll have to wait until December to see it

I do have some pictures of other WIPs and a finish:

By the Sea (from CS & CC magazine)

Once finished, this will be sent off for use in a charity quilt.

From the Luxurious Afghans book by Leisure Arts

I finally found an afghan pattern that was both long enough for my husband, and that I liked the way it looked. Right now it just looks like a really long scarf, but someday, it will be a useable afghan

Easy Living "Denimstyle" by Bernat

I’m daring to knit a sweater. So far, I’m doing good, but I’m not getting too excited, as I’m not trying to match pieces up yet. In fact, I’m really just getting started, as this is only the back piece of the sweater. For my first (and last?) attempt at a sweater I decided it might be good to start small, so this is for my son. The yarn is really soft, and I imagine it will be one of my favorites for him to wear, should it turn out.

And finally, my finish:

from Linen Scenes' Spring Bulbs issue

This design is from Angie Kowalsky of Linen Flowers, from the spring bulbs issue of her magazine, Linen Scenes. Eventually, I plan to finish it as a needlebook.

Complicated Stitching

olivehopedesign — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:46:00 +0000

In an effort to blog more regularly, I joined a group that sends out stitching related questions on weekly basis, I think. Hopefully, since most of the time I simply have difficulty knowing what to blog about, this will help.

What is the most complicated piece you’ve ever completed?

I had some difficulty figuring this one out. The only one that popped into my mind was a Thomas Kinkade design, but that is a UFO, not a completed piece. Then I remembered the design I did for my parents a couple of years ago:

I designed and stitched it, and although overall it wasn’t a difficult piece, Dad’s jacket was frustrating both to chart and stitch. To keep the look of the plaid jacket, there were a lot of color changes, in varying shades of brown and beige. Mom and Dad loved it, though – it was an anniversary gift, and a complete surprise to Mom (Dad knew, as he’d asked me to do it).

What I’ve Been Doing Lately…

olivehopedesign — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:20:00 +0000

I’ve talked about posting some pictures of what I’ve been working on over the past few months, and I’m finally getting around to doing it. I’ll start with a WIP: I’ve been wanting to learn to knit for a while, so I decided that with the laptop gone, it was as good a time as any to learn. It took a while – having learned to crochet first, I had some difficulty figuring out how to pull the yarn through without having a hook at the end of the needle. I was just about ready to give up, and then I figured out the knit stitch. Then the purl stitch was giving me a headache, and once again I was just about ready to give up – I was thinking, “I can crochet, I’ll be content with that” – but then I figured that out too. So I decided knitting a ribbed scarf would give me lots of practice with those two stitches. Next I’ll tackle increasing and decreasing, and learn some more ways to cast on; so far I only know how to do the knit cast on.

Next is my crochet hook case:
I absolutely love this case! I had crocheted a case a couple of years ago, but I was getting increasingly frustrated with it, and just didn’t like it anymore. With my limited sewing skills, I was able to finish it in a couple of hours. I plan to do one for my knitting needles as well, sometime.

Next are a pair of slippers:

I crocheted these for my husband. I’d started a pair last winter, but I really didn’t like the pattern. Now, I’ve found a pattern I really like, and these are kind of similar to ones my grandma used to make (although I have this feeling she didn’t need a pattern to crochet those, lol). They didn’t take too long to make, so I don’t think I should have a problem keeping my husband in good supply of slippers year round.

I’ve finally sewn a bag to hold my cross stitch WIPs:
I admit I love all the fabrics, I’m jut not sure I like them the way I used them for this bag. Actually, I’m only unsure I like the way the front pocket turned out. I actually had to settle for that fabric, as I’d goofed on the pocket the first time I tried it, and the white flowered fabric was the only one large enough to accommodate the pattern pieces. I should have just waited until I could get to the fabric store again, but I had the sewing bug, and really wanted to get this bag done. Oh, and I’m not sure I like the handles for this bag. I do like the handles, I’m just not sure for this bag. I plan to sew a bag for my knitting and crochet using a different pattern, so we’ll see how that turns out.

Next is something I’ve found has really come in handy while using my sewing machine: a sewing machine catch-all!
I don’t have a specific sewing area, so I spread out on the dining room table. This catch-all has been really handy for putting my bobbins and thread – they are close at hand, and I don’t have to worry about them rolling away! And, when I clean up, all I need to do is roll it up and store it with the sewing machine. Very handy!

Lastly, my scissor case:
I admit so far I have not gotten any use out of the strap. I thought it would be very handy for keeping my scissors close at hand, but safely out of reach of my son, especially if I had to step away from my stitching for a minute or two. But, if I’m going to do any needlework while my son is playing, I tend to reach for the knitting, since it’s so easy to start and stop anytime. But I’m sure this case will be especially helpful if I choose to take along some cross stitching while driving, as I’m able to keep my highlighter and pencil, as well as a package of Stitchbows in this case. It is so much nicer to look at than the Ziploc bag I was using before.

So that’s it for now. I’ve been working on some cross stitch projects as well, but no progress pics yet.

2 Recent Finishes

olivehopedesign — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:24:00 +0000

I finished stitching these two projects recently. The first one, “Merry Mooseness” is a design found in the 2002 Just Cross Stitch Ornament edition, and the second one is “Morning Joy” by Designs by Jodi Evans. I’m now down to one WIP! It probably won’t stay like that for long, especially since I’m already trying to figure out the next new project.

A Small Finish

olivehopedesign — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:46:00 +0000

I finished this a couple of weeks ago. This “Christmas Triptych” by Jacinta Lodge, was a quick stitch, so I did 2 of them. It was a perfect fit for a page in a scrapbook I’m working on. I had told a friend I was going to find a way to include some cross stitch in the scrapbook, and I did!