AlwaysGoofy's 2017 Stitch-A-Long Updates

[AlwaysGoofy]

It's been a long while since I've posted an update. I have made some progress on my Tinkerbell piece. This will be the year I finish her...I promise.

[karen4bells]

Almost there!!! She looks amazing!!!!

[rcperryls]

So close to a beautiful finish!! She looks great!

Carole

[Squirrel]

She is looking really great and we will keep urging you on to finish her this time round. It doesn't look as though there is a lot more to do?

[AlwaysGoofy]

Thank you for the encouragement. I am really motivated to get some projects finished this year.

[DisneyStitcher]

Love that Tink! I recently finished Cinderella's castle from back in the 80s/90s and an old Leisure Arts Sorcerer's Mickey. I've got 2 very special Disney projects in the wings - I'm waiting to start them so I don't jinx anything.

[AlwaysGoofy]

DisneyStitcher,

I look forward to seeing pictures of your pieces. Disney pieces hold a very special place in my heart.

[DisneyStitcher]

AlwaysGoofy's,

Thanks for the encouragement. Somewhere on this site there are pictures of the two Disneys I did after my daughter got back from the DCP. They are on a thread that had something to do with using beads. I'd re-post them for you but, honestly, couldn't figure out how to do it. My daughter had to help me the first time. The castle pattern, in particular, was so old (I'm pretty sure I bought it at Disney on my honeymoon in the late 80s) that it looked like the color symbols were hand stamped onto the grid paper. The backstitching instructions left much to be desired and I spent a lot of time with a magnifying glass studying the picture that came with the kit as it was stitched slightly differently than the written pattern. Either I had forgotten how bad the patterns used to be or my eyes and brain used to be much younger and more flexible. There is a mistake in the pattern for the left side castle banner that I didn't catch until I finished backstitching. If I'd been paying closer attention, I would have fudged the backstitching so it wasn't so obvious. Now it's going to be one of those things that irks me every time I see it. Ah well. As the new Disney lexicon goes " Let it go....."

[charmagne_capalad]

Lovely progress update...so happy to see her once again....

[fccs]

I just love your Tinkerbell and am looking forward to seeing more of her.

[AlwaysGoofy]

AlwaysGoofy's,

Thanks for the encouragement. Somewhere on this site there are pictures of the two Disneys I did after my daughter got back from the DCP. They are on a thread that had something to do with using beads. I'd re-post them for you but, honestly, couldn't figure out how to do it. My daughter had to help me the first time. The castle pattern, in particular, was so old (I'm pretty sure I bought it at Disney on my honeymoon in the late 80s) that it looked like the color symbols were hand stamped onto the grid paper. The backstitching instructions left much to be desired and I spent a lot of time with a magnifying glass studying the picture that came with the kit as it was stitched slightly differently than the written pattern. Either I had forgotten how bad the patterns used to be or my eyes and brain used to be much younger and more flexible. There is a mistake in the pattern for the left side castle banner that I didn't catch until I finished backstitching. If I'd been paying closer attention, I would have fudged the backstitching so it wasn't so obvious. Now it's going to be one of those things that irks me every time I see it. Ah well. As the new Disney lexicon goes " Let it go....."

DisneyStitcher, I'll have to see if I can find those pictures you posted previously.

For the record, I honeymooned at Disney in the late '80s as well. I've bought several kits over the years from the Art of Disney Store. When I am finished with this piece, I have several more Disney designs I'd like to do for my home office/sewing/stitching room.

[DisneyStitcher]

AlwaysGoofy,

I too have a lot of the Art of Disney kits. One that I never purchased was Mickey Salutes a Fireman. As luck wouldn't have it, my daughter's fiance's father was a firefighter who passed away very unexpectedly a little over a year ago. His family has had the print/lithograph hanging in their house for quite some time, and as you can imagine, after the father's death it became quite sentimental to them. I started scouring the internet for the kit and/or pattern and that is how I stumbled onto this forum. I had gone so far as to contact Stoney Creek who still has the pattern archived and got the name of the procurement head at Disney to see if they would give Stoney Creek a release to sell it to me - no such luck but Disney was it's usual magical self. (Isn't it crazy that you still smile when they tell you "no"?) I managed to make the Disney manager's day because it was the first time in 15 years she had gotten a question about merchandise that she didn't know the immediate answer to. When she called me back a couple of days later she was really upset that she couldn't get the release for me. She figured if it was the first request of that kind that she had ever gotten, I probably wasn't out to scam the system. I eventually found the kit on Ebay by contacting a seller that was advertising other Art of Disney kits and was listed as having sold the fireman in the past. It only took about a year, but persistence usually pays off.

I think my castle and Mickey sorcerer are under a thread called Rule of Thumb for beads or something very like that. Don't judge, I did them really quickly and the castle pattern in particular was just awful. Remember how patterns looked before computers...? The left side banner had a pretty obvious mistake in the pattern itself that had I been paying better attention I would have smoothed over by fudging the backstitching. Unfortunately, I was so aggravated trying to figure out the backstitching from the poor pattern quality that I really didn't see it until it was too late. My daughter says it looks good to her and that I'm the only one that sees the mistakes, but I feel certain everyone on this forum sees them ALL. I probably should have used a stiletto to help smooth out the stitches but again, I chose the lazy way out and just let the needle dangle every so often. I stitch inside hoops and using the stiletto thing while holding the hoop is a pain in the behind. I've always thought about trying a scroll frame but all the feedback I've seen is that the sides stay floppy, which would drive me bonkers.

Happy Stitching. Can't wait to see the completed Tink.

[AlwaysGoofy]

DisneyStitcher,

AlwaysGoofy,

I eventually found the kit on Ebay by contacting a seller that was advertising other Art of Disney kits and was listed as having sold the fireman in the past. It only took about a year, but persistence usually pays off.

Happy Stitching. Can't wait to see the completed Tink.

I'm glad you were able to find that one. The fireman kit is one I don't have. I have "Puppy Love" as a UFO right now. I was having difficulty reading the chart, which is pretty unusual for me. Maybe when I'm finished with Tink, I'll have to pull it out again.

[AlwaysGoofy]

I finished two small sections since my last update. Here are the pictures:





You'll have to excuse the pirate bling I've added to the pictures. They were for my pirate-themed blog entry. It was inspired by the recently released trailer for the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. Gotta love that Jack Sparrow.

I'm trying to keep this thread stitch related, so if you want to see any of my quilt updates, please feel free to visit my blog.

[rcperryls]

Looks soooooooo good! You are getting closer and closer and closer!

Carole

[kingfisher68]

This is so lovely & you have done well with this. Look forward to seeing Tinkerbell finished - it is a favourite of mine & many others I should think. Great work

[fccs]

So close to a finish and she's looking wonderful!

[karen4bells]

Very nice update and so very close now to being completed!!!! She looks amazing!!!

[vanessanjf]

Looks great and so close to a finish

[Squirrel]

I think the pirate motifs add something extra to this beautifully stitched picture. Well Done on a great update. Love your quilts too.