Plum Pudding - Glendon Place - 31.12.15 - FINISHED

Plum Pudding by Glendon Place - stitched on 28 count Jazlyn in Candytuft from Crafty Kitten fabrics.  Stitched with recommended Dinky Dyes threads and Mill Hill Beads.

Started 01.03.15 - finished 31.12.15

Plum Pudding - Glendon Place - 30.12.15

I am very happy to say I achieved my goal of finishing the stitching on Plum Pudding in 2015 - I just need to get the beading done.  This will be the biggest project I've ever beaded so I am a little apprehensive but will just take it one bead at a time.

I've also come up with a rotation for 2016.  I intend to have one piece that is my focus piece which to start with will be the model I am stitching for KLT Charting - it's a new SAL featuring owls which starts on 13th January.  I will then stitch 10 hours on the focus piece and 10 hours on one of my WIPS I will repeat this until I have stitched on all my WIPs and then I get to have a new start then just repeat.  Hopefully it means important pieces will get more time spent on them but each piece will get some attention.  Let's see how long the plans last anyway!

Hope you all enjoyed Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.

Keep stitching and smiling

Plum Pudding - Glendon Place - 13.12.15

I've been focussing on this piece for the last few weeks as I would really like to finish the stitching this year.  Here's where I am at today.

After my last post I have had a think about how I am going to work through my WIPs and new starts.

My plan is to work 10 hours on a project before rotating.  I will then work on a focus piece, a SAL, a new start and a WIP.  I will have more time on the focus piece than the other pieces and will work on my SAL pieces for as long as it takes to complete that month's part.

I've made big plans in the past before and never really stuck to them so all this is subject to change!

Keep stitching and smiling

General Update

It feels like a long time since I last posted.  I've been trying to spend less time on social media and more time actually stitching and I think it's working.  While I am stitching though I am watching flosstube and being enabled a lot!

I have had quite a few new purchases over the last few weeks and with Christmas coming can see more in my future.

The year of starts that a lot of people are talking about is really tempting me.  There's no way I can start a new project every day but I could possibly do one a month or even one a fortnight.

On the other hand for the past couple of weeks I have only stitched on one project - Plum Pudding by Glendon Place.  I would really like to get the stitching finished this year and then only have the beading to finish.

I've signed up for two SALs for next year, Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery and Mabel Figworthy's Hardanger SAL and I am model stitching a new SAL for KLT Charting.  There may also be a model stitch for another company's SAL in the pipeline.

I had made a decision a couple of weeks ago that I was going to make Spirit of Christmas by Lavender and Lace my focus project so that I could get it finished for next Christmas for my mum.  But now I'm thinking about new starts and having bought lots of new stash recently there are a lot of things calling me.

My latest impulse purchase was some of the months of the year by Cross Eyed Cricket. A stitcher on floss tube mentioned them and I looked at them and fell in love with them instantly.  So I am thinking of starting one of those each month.

The problem is I have just too many projects shouting at me at the moment.  Do you think if I sat down and worked out what fabric to stitch them on and put a few hours in on each one that would stop the shouting?

I don't know if it's the prospect of a New Year or what but I am feeling extremely unsettled in my stitching at the moment.  I spend all the time I am stitching on a project thinking of another one.  I know it is a ridiculous problem to have but sometimes having too many charts can be very distracting.

I am also spending time sorting through my stash and I wonder if this is what is making me remember forgotten projects.  I have quite a few WIPs which are very close to being finished and I had thought about making 2016 the year of finishes for me rather than starts!

Anyway I just wanted to get this all down to hopefully get it out of my head so I can concentrate on other stuff.

If you managed to read all this rambling thank you.

I hope to start blogging more regularly and will let you see all my new acquisitions and progress soon.

But if I don't post again this year I hope you all enjoy the festive season and get lots of time to yourself for stitching.  Peace, goodwill and health for the new year ahead.

Keep stitching and smiling

Summer Garden - Little House Needleworks - Re-Draw

As I have heard nothing from the person who was originally drawn I have redrawn and the next person the travelling pattern will travel to is CalamityJr.  Please e-mail (obsessivecrossstitcher @ gmail.com) me with your contact details and I can get the pattern sent on to you.

Keep stitching and smiling

See Ya Later Alligator - Jodyri Designs

For any of you who saw the Jodyri Designs Mystery SAL that I took part in this year I am happy to say it is now on sale for everyone and you can find it here.

Here's the picture of my finish to remind you:-

See Ya Later Alligator - Jodyri Designs

Also I still haven't heard from the person who won the travelling pattern Summer Garden by Little House Needleworks the person who was drawn was StitchinPeanut - so if you can e-mail me with your postal address I can get the chart sent on to you.  If I don't hear from them by 15th November I will pick one of the other people who entered the draw.

I've got no stitching pictures to show you at the moment as the project I am stitching on is a secret one.  I will be able to show you pictures of it in the New Year.

Keep stitching and smiling

September Stitching

I managed to not post anything at all in September regarding my stitching so will try and summarise it here.

I stitched a little gift for a friends son's 3rd birthday.  It was from Cross Stitcher Magazine and I started stitching it as soon as I got the magazine home.  I bought it on the Thursday and his party was on the Saturday - talk about cutting it fine.  It was originally meant to be stitched on perforated paper and just be the shape of the monkey.  I originally thought about making it into a badge so stitched it on plastic canvas.  Once I started it though I realised it was too big to be a badge so I filled in the background and framed it.  I changed the thread for the body of the monkey to Bitter Chocolate and the jumper I stitched in Genie of the Lamp - both of these are threads from Jodyri Designs.

I made a small start on A Hug of Owls from KLT Charting.  I chose to purchase the full coverage chart and it is extremely confetti heavy.  Kim has also done a black and white chart which utilises long stitch and cross stitch and I may purchase this chart to stitch instead.  I'm going to show you a picture of the finished design and then my progress.

I started and finished Mrs Clause's Christmas Outfits by Shannon Christine.  It is such a sweet design and I can see myself purchasing a lot more of her charts in the future.  I was lucky enough that Shannon asked me to model stitch this design for her.  It is stitched on 28 count opal Regal Peacock from Jodyri Designs.

I put a few more stitches in Plum Pudding from Glendon Place but not enough to post an update picture.

I also made a start on a secret project which I can't post about until after January when the recipient has received it.  I don't think the person I am stitching it for reads my blog but you can never be too careful.

So I think that's about it for September - I will try and post more regularly in October.

Keep stitching and smiling

Jodyri Mystery SAL - Part 8 - FINISH

The last part of the Jodyri Mystery SAL was released today.  As you all know I model stitched this piece for Michelle so I finished it a few months ago.  It was such an enjoyable stitch and each part only took me 2-3 days to complete.

I stitched this piece on Arctic Splash which is a hand dyed fabric from Jodyri designs and used all the recommended Jodyri threads apart from one I changed the lettering on Blow me a Kiss Goldfish as the recommended thread had blue in it which you couldn't see against the fabric I chose.

Michelle is going to be releasing the full chart for sale in the near future so if you are interested in purchasing the chart please go to http://jodyridesigns.co.uk/

Here is part 1:

And here is part 2:

And part 3:

And part 4:

And part 5:

And part 6:

And part 7:

Last but not least Part 8:

And here is the full piece:

And my little boy holding it.  He loved it when I stitched this and kept asking what the next part of the rhyme was going to be.

I have plans to finish it as a wall hanging but haven't got round to it yet!

This was a very enjoyable mystery SAL and I can't wait to see what Michelle comes up with next.

Keep stitching and smiling

Summer Garden - Little House Needleworks - Travelling Pattern - WINNER

Using random.org to select a winner from the comments on the blog post regarding the above giveaway the winner is - Stitchinpeanut.

If you can e-mail me at obsessivecrossstitcher@gmail.com with your contact details I will get the chart sent on to you.

Keep stitching and smiling

Jodyri Mystery SAL - Part 7

The latest part of the Jodyri Mystery SAL was released today.  As I am model stitching it for Michelle I completed my part a few weeks ago.

Here is part 1:

And here is part 2:

And part 3:

And part 4:

And part 5:

And part 6:

And finally part 7:

Keep stitching and smiling

Summer Garden - Little House Needleworks - FINISH - 30th August 2015 - TRAVELLING PATTERN - MOVING ON

Well today I have finished Summer Garden from Little House Needleworks which was a travelling pattern I received a LONG time ago!  I am so sorry that I didn't get round to stitching this pattern sooner but all I can say is life got in the way and this poor little pattern got put at the bottom of the pile.

However it is now stitched up and ready to move on to it's next stitcher.

I stitched it on a hand dyed fabric from KLT Charting called January's Boy a lovely mix of blue and white giving the impression of a cloudy summer sky.  I stitched it with the recommended Crescent Colours hand dyed flosses.  I would say however that Magnolia Blossom, Roasted Chestnut and Queen Bee had no visible variegation that I could see and any future projects that call for these threads I will be substituting the DMC.  The Clay Pot and Weeping Willow threads had a subtle variegation which I was happy with.

There was a group of flowers that was charted to have petals stitched in Magnolia Blossom (the white thread) with long stitch and french knots.  I tried to stitch them as charted but they weren't working out for me so I just made up my own little flowers with a combination of Magnolia Blossom and Clay Pot and was pleased with the outcome.

Here's my finish:

So if you would like to be the next recipient of the travelling pattern please leave a comment on this blog.  I will leave entries open for a month to allow people time to enter so will choose a winner on 30th September 2015.

The random number generator has selected Plum Pudding by Glendon Place to be my next project to stitch on.

Keep stitching and smiling

Seaside Mystery - Chatelaine - 16th August 2015

I've been stitching on my Chatelaine - Seaside Mystery this week.  My aim was to finish part 1 but I haven't quite got there yet.

Here is my before picture

and this is after stitching on it this week

I've been working on filling in the swirly sections which are outlined in the bright green.

I've nearly finished the one I was working on and I only have one more left after that one.  So hopefully next time I stitch on this I will finish filling those sections in.  The spaces you can see will be filled with beads.

I love the colours on this design and can't wait to get further on with it.  However I have decided to go back to trying to stitch it part by part.  Last time I wanted to see what all the colours looked like so did a bit of all the sections.

I've been using my Lowery frame adapator while stitching on this as it is a long frame and it's taking quite a bit of getting used to.  I honestly think I would have got more done on it if I hadn't used the frame but then I would have ended up with a sore shoulder again.  I'm sure with more practice the adaptor will become easier to use.

I currently have a list of 29 projects that are either WIPs or new starts that I have kitted up.  So I am using a random number generator to pick which project I will work on for the next week.  So this next week I will be stitching on Summer Garden from Little House Needleworks.  I am ashamed to say I have had this travelling pattern with me for nearly 12 months now but various things have happened over the year which have meant I haven't got round to starting it but now I finally have the fabric and threads and will stitch on it next week.

Keep stitching and smiling

Violet - Mill Hill Owlet - FINISH

I recently purchased the set of six Owlets from Mill Hill.  This was my first time doing a Mill Hill kit and the first time in a long time that I had done any beading.  I think this took me about four evenings to complete with three evenings of stitching and one of beading.  The best thing about these little kits is that the thread is DMC and the beads are of course Mill Hill - this means any extras left over of which there was quite a lot can be added to my existing stash.

Here's my completed owlet.

I bought some small canvases and easels from the Works recently for £1 each and the owlet fits perfectly on it.

I haven't backed it with anything yet but I think I will at some point just to ensure that none of the stitching or beads come unravelled.

I am very pleased with my little owlet and look forward to stitching the other five.

Keep stitching and smiling