gifts galore and it's not even the holidays

Okay, there’s a lot going on in my needle news. I feel like I should have updated this thing days ago! I had jury duty last week and that was part of why I didn’t post. I've been working on things for other people non-stop, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...just afghans left to whip out for xmas.

Okay, one piece at a time, right? I promised pictures of the yarn I got at The Slipt Stitch in El Segundo. Here it is. It’s 100% rayon (I think) and really soft. I’m still searching for a lace pattern that’s simple enough for me to not f’up and enjoy doing. The color scheme is WAY outside my box, and there was actually a peachy one that I resisted, but I really liked this one. Who knows if I’ll ever wear what I make out of it, but hopefully it will be a pleasure to work with.




The Shawl: It came out beautifully. Thanks to Victoria’s help I was able to get the beads onto the edges just the way I wanted them, and Carol loved it. Here is a picture trail of the beading process and Carol in the shawl.

The beads on the thread I found to match the brilliant:





The beads crocheted onto one end:







The finished shawl on Carol:




I finished up George’s hats, and I just need to set a date to get together with him to deliver them to him. Those I don’t have pictures of. I’ll try to get one of him in them for you.

And of course, The Stocking. I got in trouble in court for working on The Stocking. I had been in the jury box for 2 days, and the questioning was no longer being directed to me, so I pulled out my stitching…..I think the judge sent the court clerk over to tell me to put it away. The girl next to me was playing with a small video game. :)

So here’s what it looked like as of Monday morning after a hard weekend of stitching:



And this is what it looks like today after a hard two days of stitching...The toe is essentially done, just the half-stitching designs....I'm focused man!:





I'm not sure if you can see it, but in the left corner there's a light green design there. Those things are all over the stocking...when I think about that bit I start to lose steam, but I'm staying focused:




I’m getting closer to the finish! Even Tara thinks so! The only ‘issue’ is that it’s filthy! Nic & Christine think I should use a gentle soap to wash it once I’m done. Any one with cross-stitching experience out there wanna give me some advice? Will the colors bleed? What about shaping? Let me know. I so want to be done with it so I can try the lace….still gotta find a pattern though.


I think that’s all for now.
tb