M-I-C-K-E-Y

Whoa, where did the first half of May go?!? Things have definitely been hectic this month, especially with work. So much drama and all that fun stuff, to make a long story short, I am officially on the hunt for a new job! Any crossed fingers on the job search would be really appreciated!

I picked Biff up from the framers today! I have to admit I was a little nervous to see him finish, finished! I was sort of second guessing the mat colors, and having the yellow on top of the blue, since it's such a more prominent color than the dark blue. In the end though, I think he turned out great! I was so happy they had a blue wood frame that matched the blue in the piece.

"Biff the Wolverine"

Started March 08

Finished April 31

DMC on 14 ct. Oatmeal Fiddler's Aida

Since my last post, I've also started and finished a small project. I found this Mickey Mouse Sketch kit on clearance at JoAnns. I've seen the kit before and really liked it, so when I saw it on clearance for $4.97, I had to pick it up! I started and finished it over 2 days, it's all done in backstitches with a couple half stitches for the eyes, nose & heart shading. I think it will look really nice in just a simple black frame.

♪ M-I-C-K-E-Y ♫

Started May 05

Finished May 06

DMC on 14 ct. Aida

I'm a huge Disney nut, I have been since I can remember. I grew up during "The Renaissance" (The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, etc). My parents always bought us each Disney VHS when they were released, so I also grew up watching all the old, classic Disney movies as well. When I was young, whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always a Disney animator. I still hold a soft spot for Disney movies and see them in the theater when they come out. I can't wait for the new Winnie the Pooh movie coming out in July.

I also finished the next block of Boo Club, Fright, but don't have a picture. I have two new starts as well, "Santaberry Pudding" by Shepherd's Bush and a Dimensions kit, "Shell Collection". I'm not really feeling "Shell Collection" though, the actual colors don't look anything like the picture on the front of the kit. The colors are really dull and some of the colors used for some of the backstitching literally blends in with the stitches behind it so much, you can't tell there is any backstitching. I don't really see that one turning into a finish, which is disappointing because I really like the design.

Hope everyone had a great weekend & thanks for stopping by! Nick

A Maize & Blue Finish

Last night, shortly after 12 AM, I put the last stitches in Biff the Wolverine! I finished the hat Friday night and filled in teh block M last night. He took just short of 2 months to finish (I started him the first week of March). He was a fun stitch and I can't wait to take him to be matted and framed Tuesday! :D

Here are all the progress pictures I posted of Biff along the way. Hard to believe he was ever just an eye and some nose!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend - we're enjoying another weekend of wonderful, Spring weather here in Michigan! Thanks for stopping by! Nick

Happy Easter!

I hope every had a wonderful Easter yesterday! We were lucky enough to get a break from the gloomy, gray & rainy weather we've been having lately. The sun was out all day long and it warmed up to almost 60 degrees! I spent the day with my family, we watched movies and had a wonderful dinner. Honey ham, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, corn, fruit salad & deviled eggs, not to mention a turtle pie for desert! Needless to say, I'm still full! lol

The Easter Bunny made a late delivery today. This little fella was delivered this morning from Williams-Sonoma - a felt & mohair Steiff chick.

So much detail & love for a such a little thing! He was created from the pattern of a chick made by Steiff in 1951. The pieces were all hand cut and sewn together, with hand airbrushed detailing. He was an Easter treat to myself, a little pricey, but sometimes you have to indulge!

I worked on Biff some more since my last post, but didn't quite finish him. The only thing left is the blue part on the top of the hat and the blue block M! Excuse the wrinkles, I didn't think to iron it before I snapped the picture. He should definitely be finished this week. I also put a hand full of stitches into Boo Club, but not enough to take a picture. I started the haunted house, but most of the stitches were extending the black & white border down to the next block.

I think I found my next project. While on a long overdue trip to Barnes & Noble Friday I came across a sampler in Just Cross Stitch. It's called "Four Seasons Band Sampler" by Sally Hesketh. There is a new season in each issue, starting with Spring in the March/April issue. Luckily B&N not only had the May/June issue with Summer's pattern, but a copy of the March/April issue with Spring. I think I'm going to order the kit (reccomended fabric & Anchor floss) from Just Cross Stitch. The only places near by that sell cross stitch supplies are Hobby Lobby & JoAnne's and they don't have the best selection of colors and counts when it comes to cross stitch fabrics.

Hope everyone has a great weekend & thanks for stopping by! Nick

All You Need Is A Hat!

The title says it all, the only thing Biff needs is his block M hat! I'm hoping to be finished by the end of the weekend, most of the hat is just big solid blocks of blue or yellow stitches, so it won't take too much counting, just a little tedious. I can't wait until he is finished so I can take him to be matted and framed.

I wanted to share this video that I saw posted on the blog, Purple Peacock. It's about the Royal School of Embroidery in England, and it's really cool. I would love to go and take a tour and take part in a class!

Thanks for stopping by! Nick

It's hard to believe it's been a little over 2 weeks since I last updated! Between work and life it's been hard to fit in stitching time. Every time I pick something up it seems like I put it down after only putting in a couple dozen stitches. I haven't touched Boo Club in what seems like forever, I need to find a new spark to get the last couple blocks done, hopefully once Biff is done. Speaking of Biff, that has been the piece I've been concentrating on. I got a big chunck of the left side of his face and around his eye.

I actually took the picture several days ago in an attempt to get an update posted, but that didn't happen. Since then I've finished the face, so now the only thing left is the hat. Hopefully it won't be much longer until Biff is done! I thought about seeing about having it double matted (blue & yellow) and having the mat cut to trace the outline around Biff.

Hope everyone had a great weekend & thanks for visiting! Nick

The Lost Week

Wow, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last update! I feel like I completely lost last week, I was sick all week so when I wasn't at work I was dead to the world. I had a horrible headache and the worst body aches for several days and then that turned into a bad cold, complete with runny nose, sore throat and all that fun stuff.

The past couple days though I have been on a roll with Biff. I finished his nose, mouth & chin. Now I have the left side of his face & hat to finish. Michigan beat Tenesee to move on to the third round of the NCAA tournament but then lost to Duke. It was a great run while it lasted, their season looked like it was in trouble at the end of January so it was surprising they turned it around and got several rounds into the tournament.

I added a little bit to my stash as well. I picked up the Sue Hillis pattern, "America the Beautiful", which I've had my eye on for a while. It's a map of the United States with state names, capitals & little symbols representing the things each state is known for. I was surprised to get the chart and see it was one big piece of paper instead of spread out over several pages. I had originally thought about just stitching the state outlines along with the names and capitals but I'm not sure if that's how I will do it now. I decided to wait until either Biff or Boo Club is finished to attempt to start it, that way I don't end up with too many {more} unfinished projects! lol

Thanks for stopping by! Nick

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

It's been a very busy week since my last post but I have managed some stitching time. I finished the Pumpkin block of Boo Club and worked some more on Biff.

Once all the blocks are done I will add the buttons, so the pumpkin will get his eyes eventually. The next block is one of my favorite, "Fright" with a haunted house.

Biff is really starting to come along. I finished the left side of his face and started filling in his nose. I'm hoping to finish off his nose and mouth tomorrow while watching some more NCAA tournament games since I have the day off. Michigan plays in the afternoon against Tennessee. GO BLUE!

Last week a seller on eBay listed several prototype and archive sample Annette Funicello bears. There were several I bid on but I only won this one set. These 3 mohair bears are archive samples, but I don't believe they were ever produced. They don't have names, style numbers or edition numbers. Each one is wearing a lace apron with a little corked bottle on a beaded chain around their neck. They are very detailed, the aprons are hung over their shoulders and tied in the back with the same ribbon as the bows on their heads, and are also attached in the back with the little rosettes. My favorite part is the shaved muzzles and matching colored noses and suede paw pads. After I won this set the seller listed some more prototypes and samples including this set in gold, cream & grey.

Hope everyone has a good weekend & thanks for stopping by! Nick

GO BLUE!

TGIF! This week has been pretty hectic, we lost several closers at work so I have been there almost every night this week, today is my first day off since Sunday. In the thime that I have found to stitch, usually in the mornings/afternoon before going to work, I've been working on Biff the Wolverine. I got the other eye done and started the right side of his face and muzzle. It's a fun stitch but several areas of the chart aren't printed in the boxes right, so sometimes it's difficult and takes a little bit of guess work to know which stitch is which color. He's really starting to fill in and you can kind of see what he's supposed to be now!

My what big eyes you have, Biff! Progress on Biff from 03/07-03/11

I also worked on the next block of Boo Club - Pumpkin. I didn't take a picture because it's just the first couple letters in the word pumpkin. I had planned to work on it more and finish it, but I've really been into stitching Biff. I'm going to get back to the Big Ten quarterfinals, only a few minutes left in the game and Michigan's down by several points to Illinois. We need this win to make it to the next round! GO BLUE!

Update: Michigan came back to beat Illinois 60-55, now we play #1 OSU tomorrow in the semi-finals! GO BLUE!

Hope everyone has a great weekend & thanks for stopping by! Nick

Old School Maize & Blue

Last week while searching eBay for U of M memorabilia I came across a really cool old cross stitch pattern. As soon as I saw it had a buy it now, I couldn't click buy fast enough, especially since it was only $4.95. I've never seen it before, it looks like it's from the 80s and the main design is the vintage U of M wolverine logo that I call "Biff". The back has a U of M basketball design and a maize & blue rose design. I started the pattern on Sunday and it is a lot larger than I expected. So far I've managed to stitch his right eye, around the nose and some of the space between the other eye. I'm going to stitch just the head and not the block 'M' behind it.

The wolverine face logo was originally from the 1922 and was used again for some merchandise, such as t-shirts and pennants, in the late 80s and early 90s. He has made sort of a comeback in the last few years thanks to Adidas College Vault merchandise. I have several shirts, a hat and a hooded sweatshirt with Biff's face on it. Because the image is rarely used and popular with big U of M fans the stuff is hard to find, most stores that carried the Adidas College Vault clothing sold out. I purchased all of my stuff in Ann Arbor through out the last football season and am glad I did because most of it I haven't seen available since.

I call the old wolverine logo Biff because that was the name of one of the live wolverines from the 1927 season. Michigan doesn't have an actual mascot, they are just called "The Wolverines". They actually use the block M as their logo. During the 1927 season though they had 2 live wolverines from the Detroit Zoo brought to the stadium for big games and they were named Biff and Bennie. They were only used for that one season, and they have never had wolverines in the stadium since. Since then many fans, including myself, refer to wolverines that appear in merchandise as Biff.

Bennie & Biff being carried into the Big House - Bentley Historical Library

Hope everyone had a great weekend & enjoyed the mini Michigan history lesson. Nick