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

Hickory Dickory Dock as of 20.08.11 - PAGE 3 COMPLETED

So I decided to carry on working on Hickory Dickory Dock and think I will carry on until I finish this piece.  In the last week I've done 733 stitches which means I have now done 17,181 stitches which is 64.17% complete and I have now finished page 3.  There are only 3 partial pages to do now and I'm really hoping to have this piece finished before the end of the year.

I've also made some more progress on Home of a Needleworker.

It's really relaxing to stitch something where I can glance at a pattern once and then stitch away for ages without needing to look at the pattern again.

I don't know if I mentioned on here but I've am now the proud owner of a millennium frame.  They were mentioned on the HAED bulletin board and I watched the video showing how to use one and it looked amazing.  I placed my order last Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to receive my order on Wednesday morning.  It took me a while to get into the packaging as it was so well packaged but when I did I was amazed by the quality.  All I can say is that they are well worth every penny.  I have to say it wasn't quite as easy as it looked to get the fabric on the frame but it was the first time I'd done it and I am sure it will get easier.  If you're interested here's a link to the site that sells them.

Blue Rose Fairy as of 15.08.11

So I've done the 200 stitches that I set myself for this month on Blue Rose Fairy and I have now submitted the 6 photos needed for the SAL to get the other charts and I'm giving up on Blue Rose Fairy.  I am just not enjoying stitching it and I can't see myself ever displaying it if I did complete it.  Honestly there are other projects I'd much rather be stitching so I am putting this in the UFO pile.  I'm not saying I will never come back to it but it certainly won't be featuring in my rotation for the time being.  So here's the picture of where I'm up to.

My husband has also just shown me a setting on our camera which means I can take close up in focus pictures for the first time.  Can you believe we've had this camera at least 3 years and I didn't know you could do this!!

So what will I stitch on next I just can't decide at the minute it might be Masquerade because I am close to finishing it, I may work on Believe or might go back to Hickory Dickory Dock, or should I work on Shy Baby I've not done anything on that for ages!

Decisions, decisions - I guess you'll see on my next post :-)

A Non Stitchy Post

I hope you will all indulge me with this post as it isn't really related to stitching.  I first became aware of Lisa Steinke's art through HAED when I fell in love with this design.

It first caught my eye because of the colour, my favourite colour is purple, I also love butterflies and I have always wanted to stitch something with Live, Laugh, Love.  So I added the design to my ever increasing wish list and didn't think too much more about it.  Then the other day on Facebook Michele Sayetta was tagged in a photo, it's not a great image on here because I've had to use the Facebook photo.

This image really spoke to my heart.  I have had depression for a long long time and unfortunately also suffered with postnatal depression following the birth of my son.  He is now 19 months old and I still have down days but recently I had decided to let these thoughts go when I started feeling them.  When I saw this image on Facebook it literally took my breath away as it seemed to be there just for me.  I am finding it hard to put into words exactly how it made me feel.  I immediately contacted the artist Lisa Steinke and requested to be her friend, I looked at her other images on Facebook and looked for more of her art on the internet.

I then came across these images which also spoke to me.

I hope you will forgive me this self-indulgent post and go and see Lisa's art for yourself.  Her new website is http://www.lisasteinkeart.com/

I hope HAED will chart more of these designs and as I can guarantee they will be added to my stash and I'm going to be saving up to buy some of Lisa's prints so that I can have this gorgeous designs hanging on my walls even if I don't get round to stitching them.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!

Hickory Dickory Dock as of 13.08.11 - PAGE 2 COMPLETE

So here's the progress I've made since my last post on those August goals

Complete second page of Hickory Dickory Dock

I've done 2,106 stitches on Hickory Dickory Dock since my last post and have completed page 2.  I have now done 16,448 of 26,775 stitches which means I am 61.43% complete.  There are only four partial pages left to do on this design now and I must have done over 50% of page 3 already so I'm well on my way with this.

Spend half an hour a day on chart inventory


I've spent over 4 hours going through all the charts I have.  A lot of them are stored electronically and they are all over the place so I am going through making sure they have names so that I will know what they are at a glance, making a list of them and my intention is then to split them into small, medium and large projects and try and make some sort of priority list otherwise I just know I will have lots of charts I would love to do that I never get round to.

Knit at least 20 rows on jumper for Hannah

I didn't manage to get much knitting done this week but I did complete the tension square so should be able to start on the actual jumper next week.  I think I am going to do it in a bigger size than I originally planned to and then if it takes me a long while to complete it will hopefully still fit.

Do at least 200 stitches on QS Blue Rose Fairy

No stitching done this week on Blue Rose Fairy but she will be the next one on my frame to work on.

Pick a small chart to work on next, grid it and make a start

So I chose to start stitching Home of a Needleworker by Little House Needleworks as my small chart.  It's a great project on as I can outline areas and just pick it up and fill in a few stitches whenever I get chance.  I am stitching it on 18 count cream aida 2 over 1 full crosses.  Here's how it should look when it's finished.

This is the picture of my progress so far.

Lastly I have had a major splurge this week.  Someone mentioned earlier in the week on the HAED BB that they had purchased a Millennium Frame and how great it was.  So of course I had to have a look!  The website that sell them have a great video explaining how easy they are to use and I was immediately hooked.  Granted they are expensive but a number of other people who use the frames have told me that they don't think they would ever need to buy another frame again.  So I've bought two sizes of the top and bottom bars and one set of the side bars.  I'll let you know when they arrive and how I get on with them.

Monthly Goals - August

So I decided I would set myself some small goals each month and this is what I've decided for August:

1. Complete second page of Hickory Dickory Dock
2. Spend half an hour a day on chart inventory
3. Knit at least 20 rows on jumper for Hannah
4. Do at least 200 stitches on QS Blue Rose Fairy
5. Pick a small chart to work on next, grid it and make a start

I'm not sure how realistic these goals are as I haven't set monthly goals before so I'll just have to see how I go.

When I say a small chart I'm thinking of maybe doing one of the Lizzie Kate's I have or maybe a Little House Needlework design.  Anyway we'll see how I go I don't really need a new project right now but I would like something I can stitch on during the day when I can't give my stitching 100% attention.

Hickory Dickory Dock QS as of 30.07.11 - 50% COMPLETE!

I've not posted for a while as I have been concentrating on achieving some of the goals I set myself on this blog and the HAED bulletin board.  I decided to put them into order of the least to do to complete the goal so I felt I was achieving something.  So the first goal was to complete 50% of Hickory Dickory Dock and here it is.

So the next goal is to complete two pages of this design.  I'm only about 2000 stitches away so I'm hoping to have it done in the next couple of weeks.

Here's the stats.  Since I last worked on this I've completed 880 stitches and in total I've completed 13,384 of 26,775 which is actually only 49.99% complete but I've only got to do 4 stitches to make it 50%!!

Treasures SK SAL as of 11.07.11 - Page 1 Complete!

Firstly I want to thank people for voting in my poll and commenting on my previous post.  I have decided that I won't be selling my patterns before I stitch them but will keep them.

Now onto the fun stuff.  I've finished page 1 of Treasures SK SAL and I'm really happy with the result.

I decided I wanted to keep on stitching until I'd finished the page rather than rotating a piece each week and it feels really good to have a finish (even if it is only a page finish!).

I'm also really pleased as well as I have been gridding with Sulky metallic thread in dark blue.  Up to now I haven't completed enough of a project to be able to take the gridlines out but on Treasures I have now taken the gridlines out and I'm pleased to say the thread came out very easily and didn't leave any marks behind.  So if I can get away with it on a project with so much white I am sure it will be fine on all my other projects.

So the stats for this project are 7,350 stitches completed which is 26.49% complete.

So this one can go on the back burner now until I get the next page which I don't think is until September so I'll have plenty of time to get some stitching done on my other WIPs.

I've also started knitting a blanket for my best friend who is expecting her third baby.  It is a design called Sampler Blanket by Debbie Bliss and I have treated myself to the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino wool to knit with.  It is absolutely gorgeous to knit so soft and lovely.  I may have to keep the blanket for myself in the end!

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I had signed up for half yearly goals on the HAED BB.  I set myself small goals this time which were to complete 1 page of Treasures SK and 1 page of Believe QS and obviously with this post I have completed one of those goals.

I'm not sure what I am rotating onto now or whether I'll just concentrate on some knitting for a while.  Once the blanket begins to take shape I'll take some photos.

An ethical dilemma

OK so I have this ethical dilemma.  I have a massive stash which I know there is little chance of me stitching in my lifetime so I am planning on selling some of it.  However the majority of the patterns I want to sell I would also like to stitch at some point.

Now when I stitch a chart I make a working copy and then sell the original pattern afterwards.  So my question is would it be ethical or not to make a working copy of a pattern that I may (or very likely may not) stitch in the future and sell the chart now before I actually stitch it.  Obviously I couldn't do this with my HAED charts as these are all electronic, I am only talking about the patterns that I have actually purchased hard copies of.

I'd love your opinions on this either in the comments or in the poll.

Thanks

Nic

Blogaversary!

Well I've just realised that on 29th June it was my blogaversary - to be fair I was in bed with flu and hadn't moved for 48 hours so my blog wasn't really at the forefront of my mind.

I'm amazed to have made it to a year and I still love updating and getting everyone's comments.

Other good news is that I have now completed my Foundation Course which I have been doing for the last 6 years 4 weeks spread out over 7 weeks and I got an overall mark of 97%.  I just have to have the confidence to put the theory into practice when I go back to work.

No stitchy update I'm afraid as I just haven't sat down with my stitching at all this week.  I am still working on the SK SAL Treasures as I would like to finish the page before I move on.  Hopefully I'll be able to show a finished picture next week.

Thanks to everyone for following and keeping up with my blog and if anyone has any suggestions of anything else you would like to see here please let me know.

Treasures SK SAL as of 24.06.11

This week has been the new HAED SK SAL and I chose Treasures.  I've also been away this week so have had a little more time to stitch than normal.  I managed to do 4,389 stitches which might sound like a lot but the upper two thirds of the page are all B5200 so I've been filling in the main part my doing one thread of B5200 and then a thread of another colour at the bottom.  I'm stitching on 20 count aida in a colour called Nougart with three strands in tent stitch.  I've substituted the 032 Kreinik with DMC S5200 which is a silk thread with a lovely sheen and much much easier to use then a metallic thread.  So here's my progress picture of Treasures 15.82% complete.

Believe as of 12.06.11

I've been working on Believe this week and I'm really pleased with my progress.  I've managed to do just under 1,000 stitches and it is now 22.56% complete, the only trouble is I forgot to take photos of each individual colour as I added it and I am not sure how many colours I've completed.  The left side of the body is almost full now and it's looking great.  I'm beginning to think I will have to complete the whole background though.

Hickory Dickory Dock & Blue Rose Fairy as of 05.06.11

I was off work last week and managed to work on two projects.  The first was QS Hickory Dickory Dock I completed just under 500 stitches and this is how it now looks.

I then spent some time on the HAED BB QS SAL Blue Rose Fairy.  I did just over 2,100 stitches which means I have now completed 8,337 of 34,595 which is 24.1% complete.  One of my BB yearly goals was to complete one page of this and although I haven't physically completed one page I have done an equivalent amount of stitches so I am counting this as having completed this goal (although I don't think it will count on the BB).  I've done quite a lot of the sparkly stitches which aren't showing up on the photo but for the first time in a long time I am actually enjoying working on this which is good.

We should be getting the information soon about the SK SAL.  I chose the black and white SK called Treasures.  I'm looking forward to working on another black and white as I love working on Shy Baby.  Here's a reminder of what Treasures looks like.

Believe as of 28.05.11

So I've not updated for a while because of a very intensive course I've been on with work, but over the past two weeks I have managed to get just over 2,100 stitches done on Believe.  I've completed another four colours as I am doing all of one colour at a time on this one.  So here are the four progress pictures for each colour added.

I love how the blues are coming together in the wings of the butterfly and as always seems to be the case the colours are so much more beautiful in real life.  I'm not sure if my plan to not complete the enture background will work out but I am just going to carry on with the one colour at a time and see how it goes.

Little Boy Blue - 14.04.11 - Happy Dance!

Firstly I am going to apologise for this picture heavy post but I am ridiculously proud that I have made something for my son to wear!!  It was my intention to sew it up myself but due to the fact that I've never stitched anything up before and that I wouldn't get chance to spend time with my mum showing me how to do it over the next 7 weeks, I decided to ask my mum to stitch it up for me so that it would still fit Samuel when it was finished.  I went over to my mum and dad's today and there it was finished.  Here's some pics of Samuel in his new jumper and the jumper itself.  The one's with Samuel are action shots as he wouldn't keep still for me to take a photo!

Blue Rose Fairy as of 12.05.11

This week it was the HAED BB QS SAL.  I'm really struggling with Blue Rose Fairy and only managed to do a little under 500 stitches on her.  But any progress is progress right!

I may not be able to update over the next couple of weeks or get much stitching done as I am doing a course that I need for work.  I'll be leaving home at 7am and not getting home untill 7pm so don't know if it will just be a case of eating my tea and going straight to bed or if I will have the energy to get some stitching in.  However the third week I have four days off work and my little boy will either be with his grandparents or at nursery so once I've caught up on the housework I can have four full days stitching!

Hickory Dickory Dock as of 05.05.11

I've been working on Hickory Dickory Dock this week and I just love it.  I did over 1,600 stitches on it and have completed 41.08% of the total design.  I'll honestly be quite sad when I finish this and might have to look at Nancy Faulkner's other designs (like I haven't got enough to stitch already!!).  Anyway here's the progress picture.

I thought you might like to see the card my mum made from the Brushstroke Butterfly I stitched for my colleagues retirement.  My mum makes some really great handmade cards but I think she excelled herself with this one.  I honestly just expected her to cut out a square and put it on a card but I love what she did.

I made the carrot cake again last weekend and am pleased to say that it actually turned out ok this time.  I did have to cook it a lot longer than it said in the recipe but at least it cooked through this time.  The cream cheese frosting didn't seem sweet enough to me but everyone else said they enjoyed it.  I'm a bit conflicted at the moment about my new hobby, I love baking and obviously love eating the things I bake but being diabetic this is obviously not the best thing.  So I've decided to limit my baking to once a fortnight and then will try and give the majority of the baking to my family so we only have a small amount in the house to tempt me.

The HAED BB has just released the new images for the upcoming Story Keep Stitch A Long.  I was determined that I wasn't going to take part in this SAL as I have far too many projects on the go already but now I've seen the pictures I think I'm going to have to take part.  The difficult decision now is which one to stitch.  The good thing is in the end I will end up with all four charts as long as I publish enough pictures of my work in progress but I know I made the wrong decision for the QS SAL as I am really struggling to stitch on Blue Rose Fairy - but I am determined to keep going so I can get those charts as well.  I'm just a chart addict and can't miss out on an opportunity for more stash (especially free stash!!).  So the pictures below are my choices, please let me know what your preference is and that might help my decision :-)

      



My New Blog

I have started a new blog regarding my diabetes and my hope to change my life for the better.  I'd love it if you would check it out and help me on my way.  I understand that this will not be of interest to some people but hope some may help me be accountable.  The blog is Diary of a Bad Diabetic (Who is trying to be good!)

I hope to see you there.

Masquerade as of 28.04.11

So I've been working on Masquerade again this week and finally feel like I am making progress.  I did 863 stitches this week which means she is now 83.01% complete.  I can finally see the end in sight.

On the knitting front I've not made any further progress with Little Boy Blue this week but I have managed to do quite a bit on the blanket for my cousins baby.

                                

 I also had a little more success with my baking this week.  I made triple chocolate cookies and Devon simnel loaf.  Everyone who had some said they were both delicious.  Might try making the carrot cake again next week (following the recipe properly this time!!)