Janet Zickler Casey Santas Stitched to Date - 1/3/23

 Click on the photo caption to view more information about each santa.

January 3, 2023--I had the opportunity to stitch a few more Janet Zickler Casey's santas in 2022.  Here are the new ones and if you scroll down, you'll see the ones stitched in prior years.  Now there are 16 stitched santas in the collection.

To see the santas yet to be stitched, please click on the 2 Pages on the right side of this blog called Planned Projects-Santas by Janet Zickler Casey and In Process Projects.

Santa Snow Cone

Santa Holly Jolly

January 1, 2022--In keeping with my goal of stitching one new and one old Janet Zickler Casey's santas each year, I stitched the below Cashmere and North Wind Santas.  This makes 14 santas stitched to date.

Cashmere Santa Completed

North Wind Santa Completed

May 18, 2020--Here's the 12th santa ornament stitched so far--North Wind Santa

North Star Santa Completed

May 12, 2020--the 11th Janet Zickler Casey santa stitched to date called Santa in the Moon.

Santa in the Moon Completed

January 5, 2020--The 10th JZC santa, Heart Santa, is stitched.

Santa Heart

February 11, 2019--The 9th JZC santa is stitched.

Star Spangled Santa

January 9, 2019--Here's the eighth stitched so far to add to the list below.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Santa

November 16, 2018—Recently I counted up the number of santa ornaments designed by Janet Zickler Casey that I’ve stitched over the years.  Below are 7 out of 23 total to date.  As new ones are completed, I’ll add them to the list.  My goal is to stitch two a year (one new, one old) until all are done.  Click on the caption for more information about each santa pictured.

Candy Swirl Santa

Pine Cone Santa

Nutcracker Santa

Christmas Tree Santa

Silver Bell Santa

Christmas Light Santa

Candy Cane Santa

2022 Year in Review - 12/31/22

December 31, 2022--Happy, happy New Year!  

I managed to complete the stitching on 16 needlepoint projects while doing so much else this year (traveled to Europe on a Rhine River Needlepoint cruise, went to ANG's 50th Anniversary Seminar in Tucson, AZ, got COVID twice even while fully vaccinated, had eye surgery in September, did some miscellaneous traveling around the country, finished Stage 1 and in the process of working on Stage 2 of ANG's Master Needlepointer Certification, etc.).  Below are pictures from most recent (December) to oldest (January).

Many have not yet been finished into ornaments, framed, etc.--I'm waiting to stitch all the projects in the collections before working them up into ornaments (e.g., Janet Zickler Casey's santa collection and Susan Portra's holiday ornament collection).

Also included in this list are the projects stitched in prior years that have been finished into pillows, ornaments, etc. in 2022.

Hope you enjoy looking at these pictures and walking down memory lane with me.  Click on the photo's caption to see more information about each project.

My Patriotic Heart

Patriotic Ornament

Dragonfly Mandala

Ornaments Diamond Drop Side One in White and Gold

Ornaments Diamond Drop Side Two in White and Gold

Ornament Holiday Light Yellow

Master Needlepointer Program of ANG - Stage 1

Holiday Bell Fuchsia Ornament

Santa Holly Jolly

Santa Snow-Cone

Bargello Fun

Peyote Beaded Needle Case

Holiday Gift White Ornament

Rose in Assisi Technique

Stocking Florentine Variation Mardi Gras

Wavelengths Purse

Game is On Checkerboard

Saint Paul Snowdrift

Projects that were stitched in prior years, but "finished" in 2022:

Heart Jeweled

Stacked Rectangles Tray

Early Merry Christmas Wishes - 12/6/22

December 6, 2022--I recently posted the below photo as my personal Facebook cover page.  It shows all the ornaments I've stitched and "finished" myself over the years, hanging on a metal frame in front of the fireplace (I have no mantel to speak of--it's used for my television's sound bar).  I love these pieces and very much enjoy bringing them out each December. 

But this is all I have to show you at this time.  I'm currently working on Stage 2 of ANG's Master Needlepointer Certification Program and cannot blog about it until I submit it for review next May.  I'm very much behind on the stitching of this project since I did a lot of traveling this year as well as having had eye surgery in September.  My vision is improving and I'm back to stitching, but not as much as I'd like because of ----   GOT ----  !!!!   

DH and I recently signed up for a year of HBO Max and are now binge-watching Game of Thrones (GOT)--all eight seasons (we've already watched what's been aired so far of House of the Dragon).   It's taking all of my attention to follow the numerous amount of characters in the story and their shenanigans, so I sit attentively for hours a day (when not out doing other stuff, of course).  We're half-way through Season 3, so that gives you an idea of how brain dead I've become (will I be a blue-eyed White Walker without having been killed first?).

Stay tuned--I hope to get back into my stitching chair soon, or at least into my craft room to "finish" stitched pieces into ornaments (that's always a lot of fun--ha, ha).

So, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and see you at the end of this year or early next.

Patriotic Ornament - Updated 11/6/22

November 6, 2022--Finished this fun project into an ornament in time to display on Veterans Day.   

See prior post below for more information about this project.

Ornament Patriotic Finished Front

Ornament Patriotic Finished Back

Just learned this will be a class taught by Ann Strite-Kurz at Denise's Needlework Shop in St. Michaels, MD sometime in the Spring of 2023.   If interested, call Denise for more information.

October 18, 2022--At the October 3rd meeting of Delaware's Seashore Chapter of ANG, one of our members, Ann Strite-Kurz (also a well-known designer and teacher) held a class on stitching her Patriotic Ornament. 

Working on this ornament was such a pleasure with lots of challenges and surprises.  Now all I need to do is finish it into an ornament.   The pencil markings on the edge of the circle will disappear as part of the seam allowance.

Patriotic Ornament Completed

Heart My Patriotic - Updated 11/5/22

November 5, 2022--Finished this heart into an ornament using a 3 color, 6 ribbon Kumihimo braid as cording around the edge.   Note to self--be sure to maintain the cord twist when pulling it tightly around the corner of the heart.

See prior blog entries (posted below) for more information about the heart.

Heart My Patriotic Finished Front

Heart My Patriotic Finished Back

I tried something different in the finishing process--instead of using my glue gun to piece the front and back together, I used a new glue pictured below.  It enabled me to take the time needed to move the front and back pieces together in perfect alignment, then hold them with clips.  After less than an hour of drying, it was ready for the cording to be placed around the heart with my glue gun.

This was a game changer for me because my back is usually a smidge larger than the front (done on purpose so the cording sits a little forward on the ornament).  When I used a glue gun to put them together, I didn't have time to make adjustments because the glue would dry so fast, so something wouldn't be right on one side or the other.  This Tacky Glue gave me time to move things around a bit for a perfect balance all around before the front and back dried securely in place.

May 7, 2022--This patriotic heart worked up quickly, especially since the groundwork had already been done by Vicki T (silver outline and horizontal separation line).  The stitches were fun and as always with Nancy Cucci's designs, the beading makes it all pop.  

My Patriotic Heart Completed

April 29, 2022--In 2020, I purchased this project from the estate of an old friend and co-member of the Northern Virginia ANG Chapter.  She and I were seminar roomies for a couple of years, and I miss her dearly.   

This heart, designed by Nancy Cucci, is called My Patriotic Heart and is just the kind of piece I like to work on.  Nancy's instructions are very detailed and easy to follow.  Below is a photo of what my friend had stitched while taking this at an ANG seminar class years ago.  It'll be a pleasure to finish it for her.

My Patriotic Heart Partially Stitched by VT

Dragonfly Mandala - Updated 10/6/22

October 6, 2022--Stitching on this challenging project is now complete, and the piece has been ironed as well as possible.  Now off to the framer (she has her work cut out for her in getting this evenly placed on a mounting board).  I'll have it mounted on top of black paper so the holes made by the pulled stitches will show nicely.

I learned a lot of new pulled thread stitches, e.g., Honeycomb Darning, Faggot Stitch, Double Cable and Pulled Upright Cross.  The paths taken for the lovely blackwork sections were very complex, so much so that I had to check off each stitch taken on the charts so as to not lose my way.

Please see the prior blog posts, below, for more information about this piece.

Dragonfly Mandala Completed

July 17, 2022--One of the classes I'm taking at ANG's Seminar in Tucson, AZ in August is a project called Dragonfly Mandala by Terri Bay (project photo can be found below).  Terry describes this as a blackwork, whitework, and pulled thread sampler.  I've taken other classes from Terri (most recently at the Hardanger University in Myrtle Beach, NC in 2019) and find her instructions to be complete and easy to follow.

For the class at seminar, students are asked to prework the outline, and we received our kits with enough time to get this done.  I did laugh though when I read the prework would take between 6 to 10 hours to complete.  Hah!  With all the miscounting I did which required constant ripping, ripping and more ripping, I probably put in three times the amount of time suggested.  It got so bad at times that I seriously considered calling ANG to tell them I wasn't going to take the class since I forgot how to count.  Of course, this is done on 28 count linen which isn't the easiest to see.  Well, I persevered and below are pictures of the results (one with and one without basting).  So, I'm all set to take this class and hopefully will enjoy it much more than the prework.  

Hope to see you in Tucson.

Dragonfly Mandala Prework (Basting Removed)

Dragonfly Mandala Prework (With Basting)

Dragonfly Mandala Designed by Terri Bay Project Photo

October 5, 2022--Well, this was funny, but sad.  I just read an online article from ALOT (click on title to get to website):

Home Decor That Just Screams "Granny Chic"

Here's what they had to say about needlepoint:

Needlepoint

Sure, needlepoint designs can be fun to create and they are a great way to kill time when you are absolutely bored out of your mind, provided you have the patience. You may even like the way your stuff turns out when you’ve finished it, but that doesn’t mean you should hang it on your wall.

Needlepoint is like the epitome of granny chic because it’s literally what you imagine in your head as a grandma doing all – that is until your mom becomes a grandma and she’s still not sewing. But anyway, your creations are best left stuffed in a box somewhere or maybe attached to a quilt.

Fortunately for me, I am NOT influenced by such nonsense and my walls are covered with needlepointed projects.