Seaside Mystery - Chatelaine - 02.04.16

I have been working on Seaside Mystery and completed parts 1 - 3.  I have also started working on the other parts in one corner.  The over one stitching of the letters in the middle had been putting me off for so long but when I finally stuck to doing them they went really quickly.  It did make the over two crosses seem ridiculously large though after doing the over one.  Part of me regrets that I haven't stitched on this in such a long time but another part of me thinks that at least spending such a long time stitching on it justifies the cost in some way.  I think when I come back to working on this I will work each corner in it's entirety.  I cannot wait to see how it looks.

It's stitched on Crafty Kittens Sunlit Water 32 count Jobelan.

The next part of the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Pumpkin Passport came out today so I am going to rotate onto stitching that next.

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

Seaside Mystery - Chatelaine - 17th October 2014

I've worked on this for a couple of weeks as I was enjoying it so much.  I decided I wanted to try and use all the threads called for so I could get some idea of the finished piece.  Here's my before picture

And the after.

I love the colours of this piece and really can't wait to see it grow more.  I have however been disappointed with the pattern.  It was only on comparing one section from a part released to the same section in a later part released that I realised it was shown in one part to be done in cross stitch and another part to have some sections completed in rhodes stitch.  Mrs Milky Bar Kid mentioned in one of her videos that she would never stitch a Chatelaine as each part is released but would wait until all the sections are released.  I have to agree that I will also be taking this route with any further Chatelaines I may stitch.  Had I completed the section in the earlier part with the rhodes stitches I think I would have been very disappointed especially if I had to unpick them as the section is stitched in one of the most expensive silk used so any wastage would have been a real disappointment.

I've started stitching a new piece which I designed myself and I am very pleased with how it is coming on.  I will of course reveal all in my next post.

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.