February stitchalong update and a surprise!

Hey guys! It was really sweet that so many of you de-lurked and commented! It sounds like the comment issues may be with Blogger - I've been thinking about migrating our comments to Disqus for some time now, so I might go with that. In the meantime, I've enabled comments to appear as a pop-up window (thanks for the suggestions regarding that!) and we'll see if that helps.

Up above, you see my tardy contribution to the February stitchalong - I was determined to stitch along, even if I had to do it late! Like I do with most projects, I kind of winged it and modified it as I went along.

If you'd like to stitch a fuzzy pipe cleaner version like mine, here's the materials I used:



14 ct light blue Aida cloth
12 inch hoop
pink yarn
black floss
pale pink floss
black pipe cleaners
scissors
needle



I can be very persnickety about perfection, so this step was surprisingly fun. I chose fuzzy black pipe cleaners- they sort of look like cute caterpillars. Not that I would ever sew with caterpillars - I certainly don't recommend it... :)




I used light blue Aida cloth, because it has a stiff texture right out of the package, which gives the pipe cleaners some support. I used a big 12 inch hoop from my (embarrassingly large) stash of embroidery hoops.




Couching them was super easy and quick - since the pipe cleaners were bendy, I could smoosh or expand them as needed. I used six strands of black embroidery floss, but a contrasty color would work well, too.



I liked how it looked at this point, but it was missing some color, I thought. So I grabbed some pink yarn to couch inside the heart.




This step was tricky, since the yarn I chose was very fluffy and a bit splitty - but all in all, I ended up with a fun texture I really liked:




So, here you have it, my version of the February stitchalong. Feel free to stitch along with us, even if it's a bit late! :)




I hinted there might be a surprise for all of you who overcame your shyness, de-lurked, and commented - and here it is - I put together 2 mini kits with everything you see here:


1 mini hoop, pipe cleaners, floss, yarn and needle

I'm also sending 5 fiesta-bright colors of embroidery floss to 4 different people - you can use them to stitchalong this month, or for any of your own projects!

Here are the six surprise winners!

Luciana said...
I have no problems.
I love the blog.
March 10, 2012 1:46 PM


Kitsch and Curious said...
I've been able to leave a comment this time, but in the past, I have had problems on blogs like yours where the comments are on the same page as the blog post. On my blog, I have the comments box set to open in a new window, and that seems to be ok. I think it depends on the browser that people are using (e.g. which version of Internet Explorer, etc.)Let me know if you need any help with this.

I also agree that the new Captcha images are really difficult sometimes!
March 10, 2012 5:43 PM


Kaytea said...
Delurking to leave a comment. Love the blog :)
March 10, 2012 12:19 PM


crazycandigirl said...
Let's see if this works. I'm pretty quiet, but I love looking at the beautiful stitchy eye candy.
March 10, 2012 1:58 PM


Char said...
Ok I'm leaving a comment!
March 10, 2012 1:27 PM


Cheryl said...
I admit it, I'm a lurker. Everything you post inspires me tremendously, and I just wanted you to know. Thanks!
March 10, 2012 2:15 PM



If I drew your name tonight, please email your address to me: unafloresita@gmail.com - and I'll get your surprise prize sent out to you! Thanks everybody! :)