A New Start and my Third Finish for 2011

I really thought I had lost my stitching mojo as I'd not done any stitching for nearly a week.  I've been wanting to experiment with a different count and a different type of fabric for a while.  I decided that rather than start a big project on a new fabric and find out I didn't like it I would just do a small project.  So I have had a pattern for some Assisi Christmas cards for a while and decided to try one of them.  I started it last night and finished tonight.  It is stitched on 27 count hand dyed Linda from Crafty Kitten.  I did it 2 over 1 in tent stitch and I really enjoyed stitching it and am happy with the outcome.  The only thing I am not completely happy with is the back stitching but I don't think it looks too bad.

So here's the picture from the magazine of what it should look like.

And here's my attempt.

I've also finally managed to break the cycle of bad luck with Little Boy Blue and have made it over half way up the back.

And progress is being made on my first blanket for SANDS.  It currently measures 8 inches and needs to measure 22 inches so I've got quite a way to go yet.

I'm so happy as I feel like I am making progress now.  I have also conquered my fear of fabric that is not Aida and I'm hoping this means that I will be able to try different designs (like a Chatelaine!) but that might be a bit ambitious yet.  I think I'll try a few more smaller projects before attempting a BAP.

Masquerade SK as of 24.03.11

I am very disappointed with my lack of progress all round this week.  I've had Masquerade on rotation for two weeks and only managed to do 887 stitches.  I don't know if I've lost my stitching mojo or if I'm not enjoying Masquerade as much as I was or if it's just because I've been so damned tired the past few days.  I honestly haven't been out of bed later than 7.30pm for the last few nights.  Anyway I've now completed 78.44% of Masquerade and here is my update picture.

Also I've made no progress on the Little Boy Blue jumper.  I'd done about 30 rows and showed it to my mum and she asked if I had measured it or done a tension square, the answer was no.  So I measured what I had done and it was 10 inches wide and it should have been 10 3/4 inches.  So my mum suggested I try knitting it on a bigger size needle because this should make the difference in size.  So I have had to unpick it and start again, hopefully it will be third time lucky.  I'm really glad though that my mum told me know before I spent a lot more time knitting it and stitching it up.

On a positive note I have started knitting my first blanket for SANDS it is a very basic pattern where you start with one stitch and increase on the second stitch at the beginning of every row.  I currently have 50 stitches on the needle so some progress has been made here.  I find I am able to knit in the car while commuting to and from work.

Hopefully I'll get more stitching done over the next week and get some of the jumper done too.

Little Boy Blue

No cross stitching update this week I'm afraid.  I have been working on Masquerade and decided to keep on it for another week before I rotate and update. 

I have however started another project.  I am knitting a jumper for my little boy.  Samuel has become a lot more mobile over the past few weeks and I can no longer have all my stitching stuff out to just add a few stitches whenever I get a minute as of course he thinks mummy and daddy's toys (i.e. cross stitching, TV remotes, PS3 controllers etc) are much more exciting toys than his own.  So I thought at least with the knitting I can pull it out and put it away again a lot more easily then my stitching.

So this is the jumper I am knitting for him.

The pattern calls for Baby Cashmere Merino Silk 4 ply but as this was £4.70 for a 50g ball and I could get a 100g ball of ordinary 4 ply for £4.20 I decided my budget could only stretch to the ordinary 4 ply.  I decided to go for a beige colour as he has so many blue tops already and I wanted something different for a change.  I had done about 12 rows of the back and then discovered I had done half of the rows using one size of pattern and half of the rows using a bigger size so my pattern wasn't lined up at all so I've had to unpick it and will be starting it again.

I have done some knitting over the years and have made a cardigan for myself in the past but my mum has always had to sew it up into a finished article for me.  With this jumper I want to do it all myself and then maybe move onto making myself another cardigan at some point in the future.  I also hope to make some baby blankets for the charity SANDS they are very simple blankets and I hope to be able to do some knitting in the car to and from work every morning and evening as I feel this is a wasted part of my day.

Anyway I hope all my cross stitching friends don't mind me adding a bit of knitting to my blog.

My sister has recently started a blog about her cross stitching and knitting and I'd love it if you could visit her blog and follow her too - if you add a comment as well she would be very excited :-)

Blue Rose Fairy as of 11.03.11

This week has been the HAED BB SAL and this is my progress on Blue Rose Fairy.

I managed to do just under 1,500 stitches on it this week which means it is now 16.45% complete.

Only a short update today as I am feeling a bit delicate as I've been in bed with food poisoning for the last 24 hours.

Coming out of the stitching closet

I've been cross stitching since I was very young but have always been quite secretive about my hobby.  When I was at school I didn't tell my friends because I thought they would make fun of me and this has kind of stuck as I've got older.  I used to put photos of my stitching on groups on Facebook but would never add them to my news feed for fear of ridicule.

A couple of months ago I was asked to be on the reader panel for World of Cross Stitching Magazine and was amazed when after it was published about 10 people got in touch with me asking if it was me.  I didn't know that any of these people were interested in cross stitching.

It was this realisation that there are lots of people out there who stitch that made me more confident about coming out of the stitching closet.  So now I am trying to promote my blog more on Facebook and when I add photos I am making it so that they are visible to all my friends.

It feels really good to be able to share this part of my life which I've kept secret for such a long time.

Thanks for sharing my stitching life with me!

Samuel as of 04.03.11

I've been working on the picture of my Son for the last few days.  Here's the up to date picture.

It's still quite abstract at the minute but when I compare the photo to the stitching I can see his ear, his mouth and his eye.  I am still not sure about the colours that I'm using but I am putting my faith in Michele's years of charting experience that it will look right. 

I've done 1,905 stitches on this since my last update which brings it to a total number of stitches done of 4,421 which is 4.55% complete.  At this rate I'll have it finished for his 18th Birthday!!

I don't know if you've seen the poll on the left hand side but I'd be grateful if you could vote for which project I will start next.  As I write this blog post there has been 9 votes and 3 projects have each got 3 votes.

Still have quite a lot of items for sale or swap if anyone is interested.

Nx

Measi's Musings - Giveaway

Measi has been blogging for 10 years and is having an awesome giveaway to celebrate - have a look here

Measi's Musings

Also while you're here reading this post would you mind voting in my poll for which project I should start next.

Thanks xx