November & Beginning of December 2016 - Catch Up

These are the projects I have been working on since my last update.

I had a new start on Royal Orchid - Tiny Treasure Diamond - Mill Hill - as kitted.  This is what it will look like when finished.

This is the progress I made - not very much at all.  I cannot stitch in hand except for on plastic canvas or perforated paper so I need to get myself a little hoop to put this in - the fabric is only 5 x 5 inches so it will need to be a little hoop.  Also the finishing instructions on this are wild - it's going to take some concentration to work those out.

Another new start was Butterfly Lace from Cross Stitcher magazine.  I am stitching it on 28 count Jazlyn in Mushroom from Zweigart with the charted DMC.  Here's what it will look like then it's finished.

And my progress

My third new start was A Year at Hawk Run Hollow from Carriage House Samplings.  I am stitching this 1 over 1 full crosses on 20 count Bellana in Wild Porcini from Jodyri Designs.  I have stitched the border in a hand dyed thread called Nevermore also from Jodyri Designs.

I worked on Learning Sampler from Northern Expressions Needleworks and am really pleased with the progress I made.  I now have the first 9 bands finished!

I worked on Stained Glass from Love Thy Thread.

I also worked on Nautical Year from the book Sand Sea and Cross Stitch.

I had a finish - Needleworker from Little House Needleworks.  I started this on 1st June 2016 and finished on 4th December 2016.  I stitched this on 32 count Belfast in Light Sand.  This was my first time working on linen and although I didn't love it I didn't hate it either.  It is stitched with the charted floss.

I also had a second finish!  Twisted Band Sampler from Northern Expressions Needlework.  I had such a small amount left to stitch on this that when I pulled it out I couldn't believe I hadn't finished it before.  It was the Queen stitch band that had stalled me though but I pushed through and got it finished.

I don't know if I will get another post in before Christmas so I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Keep stitching and smiling.

Nic

xoxo

Learning Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - 10.06.16

I had a lovely week away last week with my family in Wales and managed to get quite a bit of stitchy time.

I spent some of the time working on the Halloween SAL model for Jodyri Designs which unfortunately I can't show you yet and the rest of the time I worked on the Learning Sampler.

I was working across bands 8, 9 and 10 and completed all of part 10.  I am really pleased with how this is progressing and really enjoying stitching on it.

Here's a close up of bands 8, 9 and the completed band 10.

And the whole project as it stands:

I'm going to go back to working on Stargazer next.

Keep stitching and smiling

Learning Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - Part 7 Completed - 28.05.16

I'm ashamed to say that the last time I worked on this project was 26th September 2014.  I honestly cannot say why it has been so long since I worked on this project as I really do enjoy stitching it.  The combination of bands of speciality stitches and cross stitch means there are sections I can do easily and then the speciality stitches once I get into a rhythm with them come easily too.

Here's the picture of where I left it in September 2014.

 

This time I mainly worked on completing Band 7 but I like to add in stitches in other bands so that one band isn't too overwhelming.

This is a close up of the speciality stitches in Band 7.

This is the piece as it stands overall:

I've decided with my new rotation that I will set myself a goal for each piece I work on.  I will then rotate the project either when I have met the goal or if I have been stitching on a piece for 7 days.  My goal for the above project was to complete Band 7 which I achieved in 3 days.

The next project I will be working on is the Jodyri Designs mystery Halloween SAL.  As I am model stitching this piece I won't be able to share the image with you until it is released.  My goal on this project is to complete part 3.

I got some more happy mail today.  A couple of gorgeous new charts that I can't wait to kit up.

The first is Fairy Grandmother by Lavender and Lace.  This is a piece I have loved for a long time and I finally decided it was time to add it to my collection.

 The second design is one I have only seen recently but I heard it was out of print so when I saw there was only one left in stock at Sew and So I had to add it to my basket.  It's called Vintage Stars by Jeanette Douglas Designs.  It is charted in NPI silks and I cannot decide whether to stitch it as charted as I do love the cover image or whether to try and sub out other less expensive threads.

The last thing I want to share is that I have finally got round to organising my stash to the point where I have all my projects in folders and have catalogued all my threads and fabric.  Still not quite done cataloguing charts but I have done over 1,000!

So just for fun here's where I'm at:-

I currently have 41 WIPs

I have 27 projects kitted up and ready to start

Finally I have 33 projects which I am itching to start but need to buy materials for.

I think I can say I've definitely earned my blog title of Obsessive Cross Stitcher.

Keep stitching and smiling!

Update on Stitching - 29.06.15

I haven't been updating as regularly as I wanted to so thought I would do a post rounding up where I am with everything at the moment.  I've had a few new starts over the past weeks and wanted to share them all with you.

Firstly I had some happy mail this morning.  My monthly threads from Jodyri plus a few extra silks I couldn't resist.

From top to bottom these are - Citrus Spritz, Oil & Smoke, Tropic Blooms, Raspberry Lime and Nile Princess.

From top to bottom these are Blue Juniper Silk, Hibiscus Silk, Pansy Silk and Pink Elephants on Parade the June 2015 Limited Edition.

I've been stitching on Shades of Olive which is a model for Northern Expressions Needlework.

I am also stitching a model of Tribal Hummingbird for KLT Charting.  This is stitched on 18 count aida in Bring Me Sunshine also dyed by KLT Charting.  The thread for the outline is a DMC and the centre is called Cha Cha Cha by Jodyri Designs.

I've started a photo conversion of my son which Michelle from Jodyri Designs converted for me a while ago but I've only just started.  I'm not going to post a picture of where I'm up to as I've only done about 100 stitches and it doesn't look like much but this is the photo used to create the chart.  It was taken when he was about 18 months old (he's now 5!)

I've also started a Love Thy Thread chart called In Our House.  I'm stitching it for my sister as she is getting a new house and it will be a sort of house warming present - although it may not be finished before her 1st anniversary in the house!  This is stitched on 22 count Oslo in Nebula from Crafty Kitten with a DMC variations thread for the letters.

I am also going to start stitching on the Santa's Village charts from Country Cottage Needleworks for the Cross Stitch and Discuss Christmas in July SAL.  My intention is to stitch them individually and then hang them like bunting for the festive season.  The bonus to this is that if I have one finished by Christmas I can just put it on my tree until I have all 12 completed.  I'm starting this on 1st July so will update when I've made some progress.

I'd like to encourage you all to read this blog post 

In the past before I knew about copyright infringement I will admit that I made mistakes.  I was publically outed for making those mistakes and will never forget the shame I felt at the time.  Since then I have learned from my mistakes and have built up a trust again (I hope) within the stitching community to the point that I now model stitch for a number of designers.  I am going to start adding details of my purchases to the photos I take and put on Facebook, Instagram and here on my blog.  I hope you will join me in helping fight against copyright infringement in the stitching community.  We all want to help the designers we love stay in business for a long time and we can only do that by supporting them.  I would also like to say that if someone does make a mistake I would hope we would all give them a second chance like I was given by some.  We can only learn from mistakes and move on from them.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading this extra long post.

If anyone has any questions about anything I've written here please feel free to message me.

Keep stitching and smiling

Stitch from Stash - April

Month: April 2015
Brought forward from March - £10.53 + March £25 = £35.53
Spent: £31.11
Earned: Nothing
Carried forward to April: £4.42

My first purchase this month was a Drawn Thread chart from a Facebook group which cost me £2.

I purchased some DMC variations threads for my new Northern Expressions Needlework project costing in total £9.93.

I purchased two charts from KLT Charting costing £8.

I also got myself some more threads from Jodyri Designs.  I got a duo set of number 5 and number 8 perle in Alaskan Beauty and also a skein of Tropical Bay silk total costs £6.19

I also purchased 4 Just Nan charts from a Facebook group for £5.

Sorry but I've not taken pictures of anything this month.

Keep stitching, smiling and destashing

Twisted Band Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - 8th February 2015

Here's my latest progress picture for the Twisted Band Sampler.

The disappointing thing is I now have to frog most of the light blue cross stitch back to where the medium blue cross stitch ends as I have discovered I've done that whole section one cross to the left. The good thing is it's cross stitches I have to frog and not speciality stitches - thank goodness!

I am happy though as I have started doing the Queen Stitches which I was absolutely dreading and although they are time consuming and fiddly I can do them.  Just goes to show instead of worrying over something for ages until it comes up I should have just grabbed a spare piece of fabric and given them a try.

Anyway onto good things.  I received my layaway order this week from Crafty Kitten which I paid off just after Christmas.  Dawn was keeping hold of the order until all the threads came in and until the third part of the Lizzie Kate SAL arrived.  I'm still waiting on some beads and the fabric for the Lizzie Kate but that just means I get an extra surprise from the postie at some point.

This is the Lizzie Kate Mystery SAL Things Unseen.  I ordered the charts, threads, embellishment pack and fabric from Crafty Kitten.  Not sure when I will start this piece yet but I love the thread colours.

These are the supplies I need for the Glendon Place chart Plum Pudding.  I am doing this as a SAL with Mrs Milky Bar Kid (aka Amanda) and starting on 1st March.  Just waiting for some more of the beads for this piece but it's not a problem because I am sure it will be a while yet before I get to the beading.

I think when I've frogged the part of the Twisted Band Sampler I may stitch on something else for a while as I'm feeling a bit demoralised.  I don't think I've ever frogged a pattern so many times.  It's all my own fault as I haven't counted or read the pattern properly and because of the design I just feel I can't fudge round the problem like I would normally.  I might go back to Seaside Mystery for a while as it's been ages since I stitched on that.

Keep stitching, smiling and destashing

Twisted Band Sampler by Northern Expressions Needlework - 25.01.15

Here's my latest update.

Keep stitching, smiling and destashing!

Twisted Band Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - 18.01.15

I can't tell you how many times I have had to frog sections of this since I last updated.  All due to my own carelessness either missing out a section of cross stitch which doesn't show up until you try and stitch the next colour next to it - this resulted in frogging nearly half a band of cross stitch, or using the wrong colour - I did this twice - the first time I just picked up the wrong colour and stitched for about an hour before I realised and the second time either it was a difference in dye lot from DMC or I had somehow wrapped a thread from a different colour skein round the wrong bobbin.  The is still some of this "wrong" colour stitched into one of the bands and at the moment I am leaving it there as it would be too difficult to unpick.  When I have finished the entire piece I will look at it again and decide whether I can live with it or if it needs unpicking.  Knowing my OCD tendencies it will be unpicked but I cannot face it at the moment.

Anyway less talking and here's the latest update picture.

I'm doing well so far with the Stitch from Stash although we are only 18 days into the New Year!  I will do a separate post later in the month regarding Stitch from Stash and showing the stash I have acquired so far (within my budget of course!).

You may remember my last blog post where I talked the big talk about my stitching plans for 2015 and at the time I had all the good intentions of sticking to it.  However I am so enjoying stitching the Twisted Band Sampler that I don't want to rotate onto anything else at the moment.  

Also I am currently undecided about the AAN Christmas Mystery SAL.  It is a beautiful design so far as all Alessandra's designs are but I think I am going to wait until a few more parts come out before I decide whether or not I am going to stitch it.  It is going to be such a large piece that I don't want to start stitching and decide in a few months that I'm not going to finish it so for the time being that one has been put on the back burner.

I'm hoping to receive my order from Crafty Kitten in the next couple of weeks that I paid off last year before I started Stitch from Stash.  It's got everything I need to stitch Plum Pudding by Glendon Place and also everything for the new Lizzie Kate Mystery - Things Unseen which I have only seen the first part stitched of so it may still be somewhat of a mystery by the time I get all three parts.

Keep stitching, smiling and destashing

2014 Round Up

At the end of the year I like to go through my blog and see what I have accomplished over the last 12 months.  Here are my projects be they WIPs, UFOs or finishes that I worked on at some point in 2014.

Learning Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - WIP

Shades of Orange - Northern Expressions Needlework - FINISH

Holly & Hearts Mystery Sampler - Lizzie Kate - FINISH

Seaside Mystery - Chatelaine - WIP

Valentine Peacock - KLT Charting - FINISH

Heart Tree - Jodyri Designs - FINISH

Stained Glass SAL - Love Thy Thread - WIP

Together Forever - Love Thy Thread - FINISH

Celtic Banner - Butternut Road - WIP

Chinese Symbol Love - KLT Charting

Doodle Heart - Jodyri Designs - FINISH

Twisted Band Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - WIP

That makes 7 finishes for the year!  A lot more than I thought I had had.  That's why I like this look back over the year as it reminds me what I have done.

I'm joining in again with the Stitch from Stash challenge for 2015 so I hope you will all follow my progress through 2015 and see if I can actually stick to it this year.

I wish you all a wonderful New Year and hope it brings you health and happiness.

Keep stitching and smiling

Twisted Band Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - 28.12.14

Another progress picture for the Twisted Band Sampler again this week.  I plan on stitching on this until next year!

I was very pleased to finish the band with the norwich stitches in as I really struggled with those.  For some reason I just couldn't find the right holes to stitch in for them.  But I got there in the end although they are far from perfect.

Stitching Plans for 2015

As this is going to be my last post for 2014 I thought I'd put down some plans for 2015, to share with you and also to be able to look back on myself and see if I managed to stick with them.

In 2015 I am going to be participating in three SALs.  The first is Stained Glass by Love Thy Thread which carries over from 2014 as I am sure most of you are aware Bev has unfortunately had to close down Love Thy Thread and she has sent out all the pages of the SAL to the members.  However I am hoping to carry on stitching one page per month until I have completed this.

The second SAL is the Alessandra Adelaide Christmas Mystery SAL for which we get the first page on 5th January (I think).  Again hoping to keep up with this one but I will only be able to stitch on it for one week a month so it depends on how big the sections are whether or not I can keep up.  However as long as I finish it by Christmas 2016 I will be pleased.

The third SAL is just between myself and Mrs Milkybar Kid.  We are both going to stitch Plum Pudding by Glendon Place.  I don't yet have the materials for this so I may not be able to start it in January but when I do start again I will spend one week a month stitching on it.

So those three stitch a longs take three weeks out of my stitching month.  To start with I will spend the fourth week stitching the Twisted Band Sampler as I would love to finish that and get it framed as soon as possible.  If there is a fifth week in the month I will stitch on Seaside Mystery by Chatelaine and once I finish Twisted Band Sampler I may put Seaside Mystery into the four week rotation.  

I am also participating in Stitch from Stash again this year and am really hoping I can stick with it for the whole year this time.  The rules have changed slightly from last year but I can't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to stick with it.

I have an order with Crafty Kitten which I paid off with my Christmas money which contains all the materials I need for Plum Pudding and I also caved in and got everything for the Lizzie Kate Mystery Things Unseen so I will probably want to start that when I see it too.  This will be my last (hopefully) big stash splurge for a while.

Anyway those are the plans for now no doubt they will change rapidly over the coming days/weeks/months.

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Keep stitching and smiling