Happy late August! It's hard to believe we have gone through the year so quickly, isn't it? I thought I'd break my month-end post into two this month as there is a lot to share and I plan to do some quilting today so may have an impact on my stash numbers before the month ends.
Let's start with the State Fair - I have toyed around with the idea of entering items into the State Fair Home and Family Arts competition for several years, but finally decided to take the plunge this year (getting my entry in just a day or two before the deadline!). There are so many categories across all kinds of arts, and needle arts makes up a big portion of the catalog. I decided to enter three quilts and four stitched items. I've had quilts judged at our guild show in the past, but had not submitted stitching for judging before.
I wound up with four ribbons - each quilt earned one (!!) and one of my stitched pieces earned one too. It was so much fun to go to the fair and see my pieces with all the others. Here are the pictures of the items at the fair with their ribbons. I received high marks on all of my pieces so am very happy with the judging results too.
 |
| Welcome Stars |
 |
| Lighthouse ABCs |
 |
| Midnight Mystery - Honorable Mention |
 |
| Broken Star Log Cabin - Honorable Mention |
 |
| Half Sashed Hexagon - 2nd place |
 |
| Pop Cracker pillow & Fox Biscornu - third place |
In addition to the fun of the state fair, my mom and I also hosted one of our semi-annual retreats last weekend - I have tons of pictures, including show and tell, in our latest Flosstube video (you can skip to the last 15 minutes to hear about the retreat and see the pictures). I worked on four projects while there and enjoyed making some progress on each between chatting, snacking, and enjoying time together.
I do have a finish and a couple fully finished items to share from August. I finished Dahlia, a Mill Hill kit that was started back in March. I enjoyed working on this one and loved seeing it come to life with each color I added. The beads at the end just made it really pop. My plan is to order a Mill Hill frame for this one and frame it simply so that the stitching is what you see.
 |
| Dahlia - a Mill Hill Kit |
Then I had three FFOs! We did an exchange at our retreat, and I finished stitching A Little Autumn by San-Man Originals (free pattern available here) and FFO'ed it into a pillow. I think it turned out pretty cute. I used the pillow making method where you sew around all four sides and then snip it open in the back to fill it, so needed a piece of fabric to close up the back. I found this cute Halloween themed fabric and fussy cut it for the back. I think it makes for a fun back for the pillow too.
My next FFO was a more recent piece - Cute Deer by Durene Jones was in the 2019 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments issue. I saw another stitcher make this shape, which is called a pendibule, and I just had to try it! The stitching went quickly during StitchMaynia, and then I set it aside to work on other things. It got pulled back out and I stitched it closed, adding a bead on every other stitch. I made the cording from the same red thread that's in the stitching and looped it over the closure. I think this will be a fun addition to the Christmas ornaments.
The last FFO I have to share today was my oldest unfinished piece. I stitched this Lizzie Kate piece way back in 2012 (it's funny to think my kids were in K and 2nd grade that year and they are now in 10 & 12!). I found the medium sized pom-poms at Joann's as I tried the mini poms but they were just too small for the size of this piece. The finished pillow is ~6"x7" and I think it's really fun! I can't wait to put this one out for display during October.
With this finish, my next oldest cross-stitch piece that's unfinished is from 2015. I think I want to frame that one so I will need to get on the ball and start looking for a frame that will work. I also have several fall/Halloween items that aren't yet FFO'ed and would like to get a couple of them finished up for this season. Let's see how I do - the next few weeks aren't too bad, but then September gets busy after Labor Day.
Hope you are all enjoying the late days of August and have a chance to enjoy some quilting, stitching, or other crafting on the hot days. See you again in about a week to share my quilting activities from August.
Comments