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!

Stargazer - Mirabilia - 25.05.16

I finally started Stargazer by Mirabilia which is a chart I have wanted to stitch for a long long time.

I am stitching it on 28 count Britney from Jodyri Designs in Regal Peacock 2 over 2 full crosses with the charted DMC threads.

I worked on this project for three days and could almost see myself working on it until I finished it.  But then I started the skin 1 over 1 full crosses.  I have never done skin 1 over 1 before but decided for this piece as there is a very small amount of skin it would be a good one to try.  This really did burn me out for this project.  It took me two days to do all the stitching you can see here and then one day just to do the one over one.  I really do not know how people stitch large amounts of skin one over one it really is a labour of love.

So here are my pictures:-

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Close up of one over one

Full piece - this is the best photo of the colours in the fabric

I am so glad I started this project and I think that Maynia really did make me wonder why I don't start pieces I long to stitch.  Having thought about this for a while I think I've decided on how my rotation will work now.

Bear with me - I hope this makes sense.

Firstly I will work on a focus piece which currently is the Jodyri Halloween mystery SAL which I am model stitching.  My focus piece will either be a model or a project I am stitching for someone or one that is close to completion.

I will then have a new start - which this time was Stargazer - call this Start 1.

I will then go to a WIP which this time is Learning Sampler from Northern Expressions Needlework - call this Start 2.

Then I will do:-

Focus - Halloween SAL
Start 1 - Stargazer
WIP 1 - Learning Sampler
Focus - Halloween SAL
Start 2 - To be determined
WIP 2 - To be determined
Focus
Start 1
WIP 1
Focus
Start 2
WIP 2
Focus
Start 3
WIP 3

and so on.  This means that my Focus pieces get regularly worked on and my Starts and WIPs get regular attention but I also get regular new starts.

How long this will last I don't know as I always make plans and then don't stick to them but we will see.

Keep stitching and smiling

Stitch Maynia Round-up

I have really enjoyed taking part in Stitch Maynia and it has made me eager to start more new projects.  I am however glad the Maynia is over for me and I can get back to stitching for more than one day on each project.

During Maynia I have been thinking a lot about WIPs, UFOs and new starts and how I can manage a rotation that can include them all.

To start with I will always have a focus piece which currently is the Halloween Mystery SAL Model that I am stitching for Jodyri Designs.  As it's a mystery I obviously won't be able to post about this design until each part is released.  After I have finished a section on my focus piece I will switch to a WIP then go back to the focus then to a new start (if I have any kitted and ready to start).  I plan to work through my WIPs and new starts in alphabetical order using my trusty XStitch App.

I will also use this app to keep track of the charts I have which I have not yet kitted up and will work on getting them kitted.  I am ashamed to say that at last count including all the electronic charts I have and charts from magazines I have well over 1000 charts to stitch.  I am going to try very hard not to buy any new charts unless it is to finish "sets" of charts that I already have started.  There are a few more that I have on my must have list and I am sure more will get added but I need to look back at what I already have before buying more.

Obviously my stash now well exceeds my life expectancy!  If only I could win the lottery and give up work and just stitch full time.  Well I can dream can't I!

So the Maynia is over but the new starts are not.

I wanted to take an opportunity to thank all the people who comment on my blog posts.  It makes me smile every time I open my inbox and find a new comment so thank you for making me smile.

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

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

Model for Northern Expressions Needlework as of 21.02.14 & February Stitch from Stash

I've been working on the model for Northern Expressions Needlework this week.  Here's my before and after photos.

I'm going to be stitching on this next week as well but I have decided to change my rotation slightly.

So each month in the evenings I will work on the following:-

Week 1 - Chatelaine
Week 2 - Northern Expressions Needlework Model
Week 3 - Northern Expressions Needlework Model
Week 4 - Learning Sampler
Week 5 (if there is one) - Free choice

Then if I get chance during the days to stitch on a Wednesday and at the weekend I'm going to firstly work on my Lizzie Kate Christmas Mystery and when that is finished I have two small designs from Jodyri Designs and KLT Charting that I want to stitch for a SAL I'm participating in.

My stitch from stash budget this month was £15.19 as I had nothing to carry forward from last month.  I am really pleased to say that this month I've only spent £8!  I bought two new charts from KLT Charting:

Tribal Butterfly

Tribal Owl

I was also lucky enough to be RAKd two charts

Tribal Heart

Valentine Peacock

So having only spent £8 of my £15.19 budget I have £7.19 to carry forward giving me a budget for March of £22.38.

Keep stitching, smiling and destashing

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

Sleeping Beauty's Castle - Part 2 Completed without beading as of 14.04.13

I have been working on Sleeping Beauty's Castle this week and am thrilled that I have completed part 2.  This was the first time I have done a lot of speciality stitches and have to say I think I have now mastered Jessicas.  I was very nervous before I started but as long as I kept the diagram in view I was fine - after about 10 I can do them in my sleep.

I am leaving the beading until the end so currently there are big empty spaces where a lot of beads are going to be added.  The corner motifs currently have the gold stitches done and will be filled in with a lot of beads. That's going to be another first when I get round to it.

So as always with my Chatelaine here is the total picture and more close ups can be seen on my Chatelaine page.

I do like that this picture shows some of the gorgeous colours in the hand dyed fabric.  It is the March 2012 Limited Edition from Crafty Kitten Fabrics.

The random number generator has picked number 1 which means I will be stitching the next part of the Perpetual Calendar.

Keep stitching and smiling

Dragon Dance as of 08.04.13

Here are my latest updates.  I've been stitching on Dragon Dance from Paine Free Crafts and have now completed 1,034 stitches (1.53% complete).  Here's the picture.

It's not the best picture.  Looks very much all the same colour but there are so many different colours in this small patch.  My stitching bug is well and truly back and I am loving stitching this piece.

I've also completed the next section of Merry Christmas by the Letter by Lizzie Kate.

And this is the whole piece.

I'm currently focusing on five projects and am using a random number generator to decide which one to stitch on next.  The five pieces are:

1. Perpetual Calendar
2. Merry Christmas by the Letter
3. Gebera Daisy
4. Sleeping Beauty's Castle
5. Dragon Dance

And the random number generator has picked number 4 - Sleeping Beauty's Castle. 

Keep stitching and smiling

Baby Patchwork as of 14.03.12

I'm trying out this new way of rotating where you work on a project for 10 hours at a time.  My focus project at the moment is Baby Patchwork so I will work on this every alternate 10 hours.  This is my progress after this rotation.

Top half completed without backstitch.

And with backstitch.

I love how cheeky this little giraffe looks.

Here's how far I've got with the bottom half.

I have completed 1,388 stitches since my last update which brings it to 6,499 of 11,068 which is 58.72% complete!