Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Gifted Gorgeousness - November Edition and Some Help Please!

Here we are at our second-last or penultimate Gifted Gorgeousness link-up! I have always loved that word and its iterations, like anti-penultimate, which is 3rd last. :) I think it keeps adding "anti"s after that, so 4th last is anti-anti-penultimate, etc. 

Hosted as always by the marvelous Jo aka "speedy needles" for her finishes this year (okay, that's maybe my inner voice talking) this is our monthly showcase for all the things we've worked on that are somehow related to gifts. So if we're giving them to someone or have received them for someone or it's a free pattern and therefore a "gift" from the designer, however you can shoehorn your work in, go for it! 

My summary since last month is:

Halloween Monster, a FFO!

Halloween Bat by Durene Jones, free from her Facebook page
Somebunny - for DD

I feel like somehow Somebunny looks like a weird ghost Goofy right now, but it will get completed for Xmas. I was disappointed to not get finished by the weekend, but I had to spend 2 nights on photo orders for Xmas gifts and they had to be done last week or they wouldn't be delivered on time, so not much I could do about it.

DD doesn't really know or care at this point either, but I'm a little disappointed in myself. 

Song of the Weather Hardanger Lap Afghan

for individual photos check the 2015 Completions tab

Almost done! I just have 4 more bands to attach to the backing, then either YouTube or DH will help me figure out how to use my sewing machine to make the backing a little prettier. Then I hope to make a fringed outer perimeter. You pull out out all the horizontal threads, then sort of tie the vertical ones together. Fingers crossed I can pull it off before I go visit my Grandma. She turned 93 yesterday... 93! 

If you're a follower you know she's had a lot of issues this year, and currently she's dealing with some severe back pain. They don't know if it's stress fractures or neuropathic, but they've upped her pain meds. Of course that has other side effects and my cousins and I are trying to prepare ourselves that she may not have much longer, but I don't think it will matter. We're going to be wrecks. 

She has been the most meaningful family member in my life. Always there, always willing to interact with us, fiercely protective of us, to the point where one day when my Grandpa said something she thought could be misconstrued she made him call me to apologize! Wow.. She's knitted I don't know how many amazing sweaters for us, taught me how to knit, just an amazing person. She's given so much of herself to so many people. I even made DD's middle name the same as hers, only turns out she's always hated it!! She's always had a great sense of humour too, and has kept it even though she's in pain pretty much every day right now. 

So I'd also like to finish off Rejoice Tree for her as an Xmas present. I'm debating about a cube finish that could be put on a table since apparently it's hard to get anything hung up in her nursing home. 

Last thing is, I kind of dislike working on Vermont.. and I'm debating about a new start. Your advice, as always, is appreciated! This is Vermont:

and this is the new start I'm considering:

A friend on the Cross Stitch Forum was de-stashing and passed along the chart. I'd always thought of stitching this for my co-worker's family and now I own it! I don't know if I have the fabric, but I might have something similar. I'm also expecting my FOTM from Chromatic Alchemy (new website, check it out, wish lists!) which is Florin and might work well for this pattern if it's large enough. 

I wanted to change the lettering colour anyway, but I think the other elements might still work on this fabric. 

I've started Vermont, although not much:

and I haven't started the other, but it looks fairly quick. 

Suggestions are very welcome, and thank you if you made it all the way through this long post. Clearly I had some things to talk about. :)

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

21 comments:

  1. Hope your grandmother gets some relief soon....lovely stitching.
    hugs
    xxx

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  2. Somebunny does look a little odd at this point, but coming along very nicely. I would go for the cube for your grandmother, just thinking bout when my mom was in care. If you're not feeling Vermont, stop and do the one you really like. This is supposed to be a stress relief hobby and forcing yourself to stitch something isn't going to cut it.

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  3. Your stitching projects are beautiful! Nice to know about how much you love your grandma. I also learnt crochet from my grandma.
    Work on project you would like to. You can keep aside the one which you don't. You can return later and even if you don't like at that time, then you can offer to give someone who would be interested in stitching.

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  4. Sorry to hear about your grandma's continued ill health. Sounds like she is an amazing woman. I agree that Rejoice Tree would make a good cube finish.
    You're almost there with Somebunny! Remember how much you had to stitch when you picked it up again? Don't be hard on yourself.
    Ditch Bermondsey and stitch on something fun. The Florin fabric looks gorgeous!

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    Replies
    1. Sorry...that should be Ditch Vermont. Though I wouldn't do a cross stitch of Bermondsey either.

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  5. Lovely stitching. Your grandma sounds like a wonderful person. Reminds me of mine.
    I would advice to stitch on the project you like . Life is too short to stitch what we don't like ...lol

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    1. Thank you! And I'm glad you have a wonderful Grandma too. :)

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  6. I have enjoyed reading your post today. I hope that your grandmother gets appropriate pain relief soon. you need to be a little kinder to yourself, I think. Stitch things that make you feel happy.

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  7. Great idea to finish Rejoice as a cube... and it's easy to do and put away :)
    I love Somebunny and you have made great progress on it despite the photo order!
    I would advise on ditching Vermont if you're not enjoying it and definitely start the LK!!! She's my favourite designer, so I was bound to tell you to start it :)

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  8. Your grandma sounds like a wonderful lady Tiffany. Great stitching as always. If you don't like working on Vermont (I have actually stopped working on about 5 and reused the fabric) than you should stop. I really like the Lizzie Kate chart and I know it would stitch up a whole lot faster than Vermont. Would you be interested in selling the LK chart when your done?

    Linda

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Linda! I'd be happy to pass it on when I'm finished, as it was passed to me. Remind me though! :)

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  9. Tiffany, I wish you and your Grandma all the best, as you know it has been a difficult time for my family working out what is the best to do for my Dad. Your Grandma sounds like a wonderful person and all that you can do now is do everything you can to make her comfortable and now that she is love and your stitching will certainly help with that. On a stitchy note, lovely stitching and I think that Vermont is a great piece although I can see why your Lizzie Kate is calling to you. hugs, Kaye xxxx

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  10. I like the Rejoice piece which sounds perfect as a cube and I like also the Vermont design. Most grans are wonderful people and I hope yours is more comfortable soon.

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  11. So sorry to read about your grandmother's health issues. That's a great gift that you want to give her on Christmas.
    Great gift stitching since last month.

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  12. What a great post and so much awesome stuff to show!
    I know you've been reading my blog for a while now, so you probably know I have a very soft spot for grandmas in general. I love my grandma dearly, and she's the recipient of lots of my crafting as well, and I know I'd be devastated if anything happened to her! So I wish your grandma all the best, and that she will have a lot more time to enjoy with you and the rest of her family.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. :) It's so awesome making anything for her as well because she's always so appreciative of it.

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  13. Thanks for taking part in GG this month, maybe it should be GGG for Grandma! She does sound rather wonderful and it's nice that she appreciates your work too.
    I think you should alter Vermont to say Varmint and add some critters around the letters, subversive stitching at its finest!

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  14. Love GG post... I do hope that your Gran is ok. Sounds like she has been a huge inspiration for you over the years
    Hugs xx

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  15. I'm so sorry to hear about your Grandma. I know how it feels. I've lost all but one Grandma and Grandpa now and it still hurts even though time ticks by. I hope she feels better soon and can be around for several more great memories. I think Rejoice would look perfect as a cube finish. Or a decorative pillow that doesn't need hung up.Sorry you don't enjoy working on Vermont. I've notice if I take a break that hopefully it will call to you later. Sorry that your adorable bunny didn't get finished by your deadline but if will sometime. Hang in there and don't be too mad at yourself it's beautiful! I think the fabric you have pictured would look great for that piece. Looks like a fun piece. Love the sayings on it.

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Thanks for any comments!

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