Done!!!

Last weekend I was taking part in the International Hermit and Stitch Weekend. I love those weekends, thank you Joysze for hosting them. There was 98 of us! I've accomplish 2 things:

1. finished my audio book Nefertiti by  Michelle Moran, and
2. finished Thine is the Trick and the treat

This piece is done on the 28ct linen with Black Crow from The Gentle Art. If I would do it again, I would use just plain black DMC. The effect of over dyed thread wasn't as dramatic as I expected.

One thing less on my WIPocalypse 2012 list! Now I have to find a piece of nice black fabric for the back...

If you would like to see what others were working on this weekend click here.

So long my friends,
Evalina

Four down, two to go!

Yep, I just finished fourth page of Thine is the Trick and the Treat. Only two left to go!

I could not have done it without my little ZoomZoom's help. He was holding pages in place...

I also have a new start... Can you guess what it is?

and I was working on a long forgotten UFO

It is a lovely piece but I dislike to stitch on aida... This ornament I bought as a kit and instead of choosing another fabric I started to stitch on the one from the package. I do not mind the look of it, it is just so stiff and not very pleasant to work with. Anyway, I'm glad that I switched it's status to WIP, maybe I can finish it for Christmas...

So long my friends,
Evalina 

Silent retreat

Oh, it was lovely! The whole 5 days of silence - no internet, no telephone, no TV. Instead there was a nature and an awesome library.

The Domaine of Silence is set in a magnificent forest in Lachute, just outside of Montreal in Quebec, Canada.

Rooms are pretty small but very clean and comfortable. I just loved the blanket on the bed

All activities were announced by the bell - wake up, meals etc. I did not have to look at the watch at all. The surroundings are fantastic, here is a view from my window:

Can you see a bridge far away (click on the pic for a better view)

Well, that is the bridge. I was a little hesitant to step on it, it looks a little crooked. I got brave, walked on it - it was stable

 and that's the view from the bridge

On my little walks I found not just beautiful views but some critters

Do you see a little chipmunk? It's on the grass by the leaves.

And there was a lawn. I swear, there was no flowers previous day... they show up from nowhere

Aren't they look lovely? And there was a humming on the lawn, I had no idea what it was, so I decide to do a little hunting with my camera

 it took me a while, but I captured a very handsome grass hopper.

The walks were amazing, lovely paths

except the signs - all in French!

Though I found one that I could understand

 Inside the Domaine I found a lot of Egyptian art

and, to my surprise, a lovely embroidered piece

Are you still with me? I had a great time. I came back rejuvenated, relaxed and transformed. I've lost close to 6 pounds and 2 inches of my waist line. I feel great and I'm sure I will do it again!

Even today's weather didn't affect me much. You know, I was going to look for a box form my Stitcher's Alphabet but it turned ugly and I decided to go home. I took some pictures while driving

 Do you see the snow on the trunk of the car?

 Poor visibility

 Signs completely covered

SNOW

 

 and in the middle of this - swans going south... I wish I could fly with them...

That's OK, I'll bet that tomorrow there will be a lot of black ice patches... but tonight is a stitchy night!

So long my friends,

Evalina

Another full moon and another WIPocalypse update

Well, here I am. Back from my Silent Retreat, energized and transformed. I will tell you about this retreat in the next post. Today I want to do a quick update on my stitching. I have finished Stitcher's Alphabet:

Under 'M' there is a little gold heart. I really wanted to put an embellishment there but all my hearts were just a little to big. At the end I stitched the heart with a blending thread. I think it looks OK. The finished piece is 6" by 6" and I think it would look lovely on the top of a sewing box. Now I'm on the mission to find a right box...

I also worked on the 'Thine is the trick and the treat' and, I must say, I'm very happy with my progress. I'm over half way done!

So long my friends,
Evalina

2012 WIPocalypse

I actually have a WIP update! About a year ago or so I started 'Thine is the trick and the treat' and for some reason I didn't look at it since... until Jo who can't think of a clever name of Serendipitous Stitching put a picture of the same chart on her blog. All of a sudden I've got the urge to stitch it again. But I have a problem. All my scroll frames and q-snaps are having projects on them and I promised myself that I will not buy any more of them. I have to finish the project and then I can put another one on. My 'Thine is the trick and the treat' was folded nicely and resting peacefully in a bag. I can't stitch in hand if is a nice soft linen and that project I'm stitching on a very soft linen. Now the urge to stitch is almost unbearable, it's painful - and no frames... Like a desperate addict I dived to the stash and - bingo! I found a few pairs of stretching bars  with interlocking corners. So, I made my own frame, pinned the project to it and start stitching. What a relief! Here is the progress:

During the week I was working also on 'Stitcher's Alphabet. I absolutely adore this project.

And this is how much I have done on 'Halloween House'.

Now I'm back to stitching!

So long my friends,
Evalina