Stitchin’ In The Desert

My stitching time has been reduced drastically here in Quartzsite.  For those of you who have no idea what Quartzsite, AZ is all about here is a brief description.  It is a little town on I-10 west of Phoenix and almost to the California border.  Most of the year the population is 17,000 +/- and in the summer it is HOTTER THAN ____ ! 120 + at times.  But during January thru March the population swells to nearly 50,000.  There is a large presence of snowbirds who arrive to spend time in the desert during the winter where it is a pleasant 65-75.  The draw is a large gem and mineral show, an RV show and acres of swap meet treasurers to sort through.  My DH and I love to roam through swap meets looking for that treasurer that we didn’t know we wanted   Motorhomes, 5th Wheels, trailers and just about every type of camp set up can be seen somewhere on the BLM land that is free to camp on for 14 days. We have a group of  6 to 8 where we are. Some come for a day or two some stay longer.  We have been here for over a week. It is just about time to head off to Yums, AZ as out holding tanks are getting full.  Our current plan is to head south to Yuma on Sunday. My time for stitching should improve when we get back to civilation.  We eat good here in the desert….potlucks every few days, a fish fry and a couple of bar-b-que meals. I must get back to my walking when we get to Yuma.

Now to the important stuff…..my progress on Trail of Life. Here is Areas 2-5 complete.  I discovered that I have made a huge error when I went on to Area 3,4 and 5.  It has now become a design change as I really do not want to start over again.  It is hard to see in the photo but the fillin mosaics in Area 2 go in opposite directions.  the pearl goes North and South and the metallic goes east and west.  Well …. when I went to area 3 I KNEW what I was doing so who needs to check the directions Pearl and metallic mosaics go the same direction, same with Areas 4 and 5.  the instructions gave new colors and said repeat area 2…… From a distance it is not noticeable but up close you can tell there is a difference but who will know that it is an error ???

I have gone on to Area 6, which was very small and I am now on area 7.  I am carrying on the “design change” from area 3. I packed my stitching supplies so quickly that I brought the wrong floor stand.  I just picked up the stand from my studio and put it in the motorhome.  I forgot that I need the stand with the light attachment.  In my studio I have a floor lamp that I use.  I have to limit my stitching to the daylight hours and maybe a little while after dark before my evey get too tired.  Cell towers are WAY overloaded out here so I hope I can get this posted …… more from Yuma soon.

From The Windy Desert

Area 4, The Beginning

Thursday, the 19th, we loaded the motorhome and headed to Quartzsite, AZ for a couple of weeks of “boondocking”  read, no power, water or sewer connection…….. The power we have comes from a generator, the water is in our fresh water tank and we must monitor the level of the “black” tank where our waste goes.  We had two good days of warm weather and today the wind came up and is rocking and rolling the rig.  I am very uneasy in the wind.  I have never figured out why… I will be glad when this system passes.

Area 4  is complete and I am on to area 5.  I will get a better overall photo in my next post.

Well, WordPress is at it again…I thought I was uploading the photo in the next post into this post …… Oh well.  This is where Trail of Life is today.  Area 5 is nearly complete and if the wind keeps up I will make more progress tomorrow.

Trail of Life Area 5 Step 2

Trail of Life Progress

Step 3

This project is coming along pretty fast.  It is fun watching the colors come together as I am not using all the listed supplies.  I am using the listed Watercolors but using stash for the floss and metallic accents.

I have finished Area 3. It was an interesting stitch. Basically the same as Area 1 but done in a horizontal direction.

Some days I just can’t figure out how to position the photos the way I want them.  Thus you have the Steps in reverse order………:)

The overdye is Marigold Watercolors, with Ecru #8 perle and a gold krienik #8 braid.  The gold is a little hard to see in Step three, the camera doesn’t pick up the metallics well at all.

My iPad is taking up stitching time ….. but it IS fun.  Will there ever be enough hours in the day ? I hope not because then I might learn what it is to be bored.

Step 2

Area 3 Step 1

Trail of Life : Area 2

Area 2, Step 1

The color is beginning to appear.  The Watercolor is Fiesta, with DMC 938, brown perle #8 and Krienik #8 braid #029. I have the Watercolors and perle done and the Krienik is to be done today. The Watercolors is a byzantine stair step.  It creates all the little squares.  These will be filled in with alternating mosaic with the perle and metallic. Step 2 shows the perle mosaic.

Step 2

Trail of Life

I have the outline complete for my Trail of Life.  I found it a challenge to do the outline all in continental stitch.  Curved lines and changes of direction gives areas of the outline a different look. Note in the close up how the lines change with a change of direction.

The chart called for black #8 perle….. I only had navy #8 perle so that is what I used.  One of my goals for 2012 is to use more of my stash in projects.

 

 

 

 

 

I did purchase all the Watercolors that the chart called for and the Splendor .  I am using floss and krienik from my stash.  I am working on area 2 (lower right corner) and it is coming along great.

This year is already flying by !!!! Having a new iPad2 (from Santa), making a “quick” trip to Phoenix yesterday to spend some time with my son and granddaughter and all of a sudden it is the 3rd of Jan and I haven’t picked up a needle.

I also want to explore stitch apps for the iPad ……….  HAPPY STITCHING YEAR TO ALL

New Projects

Gosh I missed my goal of posting once a week.  The holiday season seems to go so fast.  Here it is almost the end of 2011.  When I look back at the projects I have completed I feel a great sense of accomplishment.  Since I finished Plum Blossom Kimono I have been in a funk about a new project.  I guess it happens to all of us.  I do plan on finishing the 2011 STOM but just not right away.

 I picked up a small Stitch znd Zip project that I had planned on carrying to my chapter meetings and put it by my recliner in the living room.. I just wanted to put the needle in and out of a canvas without thinking.

Santa is responsible for some of my delay in posting…. he put an Apple IPod2 under the tree and it has occupied a lot of my time.  I feel like a kid with a new toy to play with.  I will have to explore the world of stitch apps to download.

I played in my studio a few days and have started a new project…. Trail of Life, original design by Diane O’Leary. It was a free chart I downloaded almost a year ago from The Caron Collection. It uses several Watercolors, which I love, and I am going to use stash to finish out the required supplies. Here are the threads I plan to start with……  I will see if the chart is still available and provide the link.  It is a line drawn project and I should be able to post the completed outline tomorrow.

UFO STOM 2011

I got out my STOM (Stitch of the Month) project, found the threads…miracles do happen   The outlining was January, February and March were done before we headed north in the motorhome last May. I spent an afternoon, a few days ago, and got April and May done……. but I felt like I was doing homework

More thinking and looking needed to be done. Usually I have a easy choice of what to do next, now I am in a funk.  Lots of charts look OK but nothing says DO ME.

Plum Blossom Kimono Complete

YEAH !!!! Plum Blossom Kimono is done !!!

Here is a close up of the left wing complete.  

Now I am torn between what I think I should do and what I may fine in my stack of  “want to dos”

Plum Blossom Progress

I am making slow progress on my Kimono.  This project is not stitch charted.  By that I mean each section has a chart of the stitch and colors to be used.  It is up to the stitcher to decide where to start the pattern.  This means everyones is a little different and the compensation stitches are not charted.  It is a good project for working on your compensation skills.

The right side is now finished and I am working on the left side.  Compensation is a challenge due to the stepped outline.  Don’t look too close

The area on the left side that is pink and wine is done with the colors reversed from the instructions…..opps. I think it looks OK and I certainly didn’t even think about taking it out. I only have three more sections to complete. I hope to have it done this weekend.