The Red Thread as a Draft Dodger!

I decided to finish off The Red Thread as a Draft Dodger.

Of course it didn't go exactly as planned, but here it is!

(Click to enlarge)

Ready, willing and able to stand up against any drafts that try to come in under my porch door!

If I had made one from scratch, I might have a different fabric for the backing, but I didn't want to cut the linen, leaving my options open for framing it later if I liked.

I also have a picture of it sitting on my mantle.

The project was not without it's problems! It evolved and took on a life of it's own after a while.

I am still getting used it it like this. Of course, if I decide I don't like it this way, I can always take it apart and frame it.

I put together a little tutorial on making a draft dodger below.

The Red Thread is Connected!

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

This is Connected, the twelfth and final design in The Red Thread. I finished this up on Friday. The two little snowmen (snow people) are now connected!

I took a picture but it seems a little washed out. It is over a yard long, and my photography skills are not the greatest! Here is how the whole thing looks:

(Click to enlarge)

I am still working out how to finish it. As soon as I do, I will post a picture.

Thankfully, Thankful is Done!

This is the eleventh design in The Red Thread series.

The next and last design is Connected.

I am close to finishing, but the next one will take some time because I have to go back and sew on all the little snaps and stars on the border.

I am still thinking about various ways to finish this design. Not sure if I want to frame it or not. I was thinking about the possibility of making a draft dodger out of it. Hmmm! We'll see.

The Wreath is Finished!

This was a fun, quick stitch! I really enjoyed all the colors.
I am stitching it using DMC, but for this one, I used blended threads for a more subtle effect.

Now that the end is in sight, I have decided to go for it and finish this up before I start any new projects.

Two more little boxes to go, plus the lettering and the border of course.

The next little design is Thankful.

County Fair is Finished!

This one was not one of my favorites, but I think it will blend well into the whole design.

This is how it looks so far:

Not the best picture, but it is getting harder to take such wide shots.

There are 3 more little boxes left.
The next one in the series is Wreath.

Crummy Weather!

The weather for the long holiday weekend was absolutely dreary!
I heard some fireworks going off Friday night, so I guess they managed to get some in between the showers. All the daytime activities were cancelled however. There were no yard sales, antique fairs, etc.

It turned into one of those "I don't know. What do you want to do?" weekends that no one enjoys!
I did get quite a lot of stitching done in the evenings however.

I finished up Ocean Voyage on The Red Thread. I think that is the oddest looking seagull I have ever seen!
The count was off by a bit. I know there is a mistake in there somewhere, but I couldn't find it.

The next in the series is County Fair.

With that finished, I wanted to sneak in a Christmas ornament before I started anything else.

Earlier, I fell in love with Valerie Pfeiffer's Christmas Chick when I saw it on Helen's blog.

I have made some good progress on it, but there are quite a few partial stitches and outlining that will take some time. It will be several more evenings until it is finished.

I am stitching it on 27 ct Danish linen, using DMC.

I am not sure yet how I will finish it. I have some red velveteen for the backing, and some velveteen piping for the edge, but I am still trying to decide on the shape.

Time for a Picnic!

I finished Picnic, the seventh design in The Red Thread.

I'm not sure that I like the snap on the flower, but I am completing it as designed.

Here is a picture of the whole thing so far.

Next is "Ocean Voyage".

Road Trip - The Red Thread

In spite of the high price of gas, the "Road Trip" has been completed!

I cannot believe I have 6 of these little boxes now! Time is just flying by this year!

I sewed on just a few of the little snaps and buttons on the border to see what they would look like. I'm not sure they improve the design or not.

I like the snaps in the various designs. It is perfect in "Road Trip" to designate a round-about or exit, but I'm not sure about them in the border.

I'd like to get ahead on this one because I would like to use it as a holiday decoration. To do that, it would have to be framed. At the rate I am going, I will finish the last box by December!

The next one is "Picnic".

The Maypole is finished on The Red Thread

I finished this last week, but I misplaced my memory card for my camera so I couldn't take any pictures. Boy is that annoying! Those slippery little things can get away from you so easily!

Here is the 5th month, The Maypole. The picture came out a bit dark and out of focus, but here it is!



It is hard to see, but the little white dots from the butterfly are French knots.

Here is a picture of the whole thing so far:

I am still not sure about these colors. I think I would have chosen different ones, but I am going to wait and see how it looks when it is finished.

Progress

I have mades some progress on The Red Thread.

I finished up March's "Go Fly a Kite", and April's "smell the Flowers"! Now I am caught up!

I am not entirely pleased with the way the flowers came out. I am using DMC and the purple flower was not purple enough. It came out an orchid color that did not provide enough contrast to the pink flower.

That being said, it is certainly a variation you would find in nature, so I opted to leave it as it was. For some reason this little design gave me some trouble, a lot of re-counting and pulling!

February's Love is Done on The Red Thread

I managed to finish up February last night.

I made a little start on March's "Go Fly a Kite".

Hopefully I will be caught up soon!



Hmmm! Still not entirely sold on these colors. I guess time will tell!

The Red Thread from Bent Creek

The Red Thread
An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break.
-An Ancient Chinese Belief-

Bent Creek, known for its little designs that can be put together in a theme, has come up with a design based on the Red Thread.

There is a little design for each month that can also be stitched separately for an ornament, and there is a separate chart for the border. The idea is that the red thread flows through the whole design, tying each one to the other.

It will look like this when it is completed.



Generally, I do not like to stitch "cutsie" things, nor do I like charts that are spread out over a year, but this one caught my eye.

I am stitching it on 32 count Light Mocha. I decided to use DMC instead of the hand dyed threads. I think the DMC looks just fine, and I have the all the colors on hand, which is a plus.

After working on The Chase Sampler for five months, I needed a little change of pace, something lighter!

This is what I have done so far.



As soon as I get caught up with the third month, I will probably start on another little design. I haven't quite decided which one I will do just yet.