Giveaway Winner

There were only two people who commented on my giveaway post who expressed an interest in winning the Home of a Needleworker pattern so I used a random number generator to pick either 1 or 2 and the winner was number 1 - Jo!  As it was also her birthday yesterday I think it's quite fitting that she should win.  So Jo if you can e-mail me your postal address to obsessivecrossstitcher@gmail.com I'll get your prize sent out asap.

Treasures SK as of 17.09.11

I've a few different updates this week as I've started a couple of new projects.

Since my last update on Treasures I've put in another 960 stitches and it is now 37.06% complete.

I've also started work on the Living with Charm Flip Its from Lizzie Kate.  I am stitching 2 over 1 full crosses (apart from the block backgrounds on individual letters which I am doing in tent stitch) on 20 count hand dyed aida in Dawn Blush from Crafty Kitten Fabrics.  I started stitching on 11.09.11 and have managed to complete 1 of the 12 parts so far.

I've also started work on a design from Cross Stitch Gold magazine which I have had for years and always wanted to stitch, it is called Elegant Trio and is a Mackintosh style design.  This is a link to a partial picture of the design from the magazine.

Here is my progress so far - it is quite difficult to see as I have only stitched some of the grey border so far.  I am sewing this on another piece of hand dyed fabric from Crafty Kitten, this was the August 2011 Limited Edition colour and is 28 count cashel linen.  I am stitching 2 over 1 tent stitch.  

I have never stitched on such a small count before and have never stitched on linen so this is quite a challenge but I am stitching it to go in the top of a box which I got free with a subscription to World of Cross Stitching so have to do it small to enable the whole design to fit.  Here is a picture of the box that it will go in.

The final thing I want to share this week is a picture of my son in a tank top that my Grandma knitted for him.  It was supposed to be for Christmas but unfortunately my Grandma passed away on Wednesday 17th September so he got his jumpers a little bit early.  She had been ill for quite some time, in fact 2 years ago around this time we were told she wouldn't make it until Christmas, but it was still very sudden.  So here's a picture of one of the jumpers she made for my son and a picture of him wearing it.

I owe my love of crafting to my Grandma as she passed her love on to my mum and she onto me.  I remember getting a long stitch kit for Christmas and sitting at the dining table on Christmas Day with my Grandma figuring out how to do it.  I used to go to stay with my Grandma and Grandad in Plymouth during the Summer Holidays and on a Monday my Grandma ran a craft club at her local church and I have memories of going there with her and learning how to make stuffed animals.  She spent years making stuffed toys to sell for charity and so many of my childhood toys were made by her.  She had a massive collection of china dolls and used to buy the head, arms and legs and make them up herself and make all their clothes.  She also loved to knit and up until the end she loved to knit, for her great grandchildren and others, as it kept her hands moving and her mind active.  She was a lovely lady and I will miss her everyday but I know she is happy now as she is back with my Grandad who passed away 9 years ago.  

Sorry to have gone off on a bit of a tangent but I felt this was such an appropriate place for me to write about my Grandma because as I said I truly believe she is the reason I and many of my cousins have such a love of crafting.

I love you so much Grandma and will miss you forever.

Happy Dance and a Giveaway

Today I've finished Home of a Needleworker and here it is.

It's taken me less than a month to complete this and it is so nice to actual finish a project.  This also completes one of my September goals.

I've decided to giveaway the pattern for this design so if you would like to be entered in the draw please see the instructions below.

1. You must be a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post to show you are interested in the giveaway.
2. If you would like to have a second chance then please mention my giveaway on your blog and add another comment to this post with a link to your blog.

The giveaway will close at midnight Greenwich Meantime on Saturday 17th September.

September Goals

These are the goals I set myself for August:

1. Complete second page of Hickory Dickory Dock - Done
2. Spend half an hour a day on chart inventory - Didn't do half an hour a day but I'm still making progress
3. Knit at least 20 rows on jumper for Hannah - Did not do
4. Do at least 200 stitches on QS Blue Rose Fairy - Did 200 stitches and made it a UFO
5. Pick a small chart to work on next, grid it and make a start - Done

I'm pleased with the progress I made with these goals, I didn't even start Hannah's jumper, did a tension square but just haven't had the knitting urge recently.

I'm going through my chart inventory and splitting them into categories - some I don't like anymore, some I like the picture but don't think I'll stitch, some I would like to stitch and some I would love to stitch.  The only ones I am going to be listing on my stash page are the ones I would love to stitch so that when I want to start a new project I will have a shorter list to look through.

I'm really happy with my progress on Home of a Needleworker and have been surprised at how a seemingly simple design has caused me so much trouble.  I don't normally frog if I have put a stitch or two in the wrong place but just kind of work round it but with this design even one stitch wrong shows up and needs to be redone.  Having said that I am really enjoying it and it is nice to be doing a project where I can see the end in sight.

So my September goals:

1. Complete fourth page of Hickory Dickory Dock
2. Spend some time each day on chart inventory
3. Start jumper for Hannah
4. Do at least 2000 stitches on SK Treasures
5. Complete Home of a Needleworker