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!

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

Learning Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - 26 September 2014

I am so pleased with the progress I have made with the Learning Sampler this week.  I have managed to complete parts 4, 5 and 6.  They were all part done but still feels great to get some parts finished.  Here's a picture of where I had got up to when I picked this up again.

The next photo is where I'm up to now and then there are a few close up pictures.

Part 4 - cross stitches and diamond eyelets

Part 5 - Smyrna Crosses and Double Leviathons

Part 6 - Letters F,G,H,I,J and K - cross stitches only

I received some new stash this week.  The first package that arrived was from European Cross Stitch and contained the beads for the Chatelaine Seaside Mystery.

I can't wait to get to the point where I can start stitching them on.  I'm very undecided at the moment as to whether to stitch them on as I go or to wait until the end.  I've chatted about this with a couple of experienced Chatelaine stitchers and they both wait until the end so I think I will do the same but I can't wait to see what a difference they will make.

I am also saving up for a bead storage container after seeing Mrs Milkybar Kid talk about it on one of her floss tube videos.

I've purchased a couple of charts from KLT Charting.  

Advice from the Ocean

Celtic Butterfly

I also received a delivery from Sew and So with some more floss away bags and some DMC threads.  I ordered the threads I am going to need for the Alessandra Adelaide Christmas Mystery SAL so I'm all ready to go in the New Year now.  I have to say I cannot fault the customer service from Sew an So.  I placed my order on Wednesday and received it on Friday.

Rotating back to Together Forever by Love Thy Thread now I going to stitch on it every other week until it's finished as I want to get it done as quickly as I can.

Keep stitching and smiling.

Learning Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework as of 14.02.14

I've had the Learning Sampler on my frame for the last two weeks as I've not really had as much time to stitch as I would like.  Here's my before and after pictures.

I am really enjoying learning the new speciality stitches and hope to incorporate them into lots more projects in the future.

I've signed up to join in with the Stitching Bandits Chatelaine Challenge.  So I'm committed to working on one of my Chatelaines at least one week each month.  I think for consistency and so I remember I will work on it the first week of each month.  I'm going to be concentrating on the Seaside Mystery and look forward to making progress with it.

I'm slowly but surely starting (again!) to make an inventory of all the charts I own so that when I come to start a new project I can see all the ones I have.  I'm trying to categorise them by size and type so that if I finish a small project I can add another small one in it's place so I'm not constantly stitching BAPs!  Will have to see how it goes!

I'm hoping in the next few months we will have sorted things out enough in our house that I can finally transform our spare room into my crafting room.  I'm also hoping that once everything is organised and in one place it will make it much easier to see where I am up to with all my projects.

The next rotation on my frame is the model stitch for Northern Expressions Needlework and this is going to be my focus project which I intend to work on for two weeks out of every month.  I think I may put those two weeks together so I see more progress.

My next update will also include my update on the Stitch from Stash challenge.  We have been given an exemption this month and are allowed to spend an additional $100 dollars.  Unfortunately as much as I would like a splurge there is no actual money in my budget to allow me to do so and I'm just sticking to the original budget.

And last but not least I would love it if you would head over and check out my cousins brand new cross stitching design business.  It's called KLT Charting and the website can be found here and the Facebook page here.  Thanks for looking.  I'll show you in my next post the two charts I bought this month out of my stitch from stash budget.

Keep stitching, smiling and destashing

Learning Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework as of 03.01.14

This week I've been working on the Learning Sampler from Northern Expressions Needlework.  I've now completed part 3 and have started on parts 4 and 5 - part 6 has just been released so I'm trying to catch up.  I was keeping up to date as each part was released but then I decided to change the colours I was stitching with.  I am also slowly unpicking what I previously stitched so I could use the same piece of fabric I just started again at the opposite end.

I'm currently rotating three projects the Learning Sampler, the model I'm stitching and Lizzie Kate's Christmas Mystery.  I'm picking up the model next.

So far this month (I know it's only 3rd January!) I haven't spent any of my stitching budget.

Keep stitching and smiling

Learning Sampler - Northern Expressions Needlework - Parts 1 & 2 - Completed 15.09.13

I recently found out about the Learning Sampler by Northern Expressions Needlework.  It is being released in parts over about 18 months (I think).  I loved the design when I saw it and liked the idea of learning lots of new speciality stitches, it can only help with my Chatelaine when I get back to it.

This is the picture that I first saw.

I decided I wanted to stitch it in purples and I've chosen six Dinky Dyes colours to stitch it in.  I am stitching on 32 count Pearl Grey Murano.  I had originally thought I would stitch the border in white as shown but I am now doing it in DMC 4215.  The first part of the pattern was released on 1st September and was the border and the first five letters A-E.

Here is mine with part one of the satin stitch border completed.

And a close up of the corner.

When I first looked at the chart I thought the border looked very complicated but the diagram breaking down the border into three easy steps helped a lot.  I did miscount one stitch though which meant frogging a good portion of it but from start to finish the whole border took me three days of stitching possibly an hour or two a day.  I really like how it's looking so far.

And here is part two letters A-E.

And the whole

Keep stitching and smiling