A New Start and my Third Finish for 2011

I really thought I had lost my stitching mojo as I'd not done any stitching for nearly a week.  I've been wanting to experiment with a different count and a different type of fabric for a while.  I decided that rather than start a big project on a new fabric and find out I didn't like it I would just do a small project.  So I have had a pattern for some Assisi Christmas cards for a while and decided to try one of them.  I started it last night and finished tonight.  It is stitched on 27 count hand dyed Linda from Crafty Kitten.  I did it 2 over 1 in tent stitch and I really enjoyed stitching it and am happy with the outcome.  The only thing I am not completely happy with is the back stitching but I don't think it looks too bad.

So here's the picture from the magazine of what it should look like.

And here's my attempt.

I've also finally managed to break the cycle of bad luck with Little Boy Blue and have made it over half way up the back.

And progress is being made on my first blanket for SANDS.  It currently measures 8 inches and needs to measure 22 inches so I've got quite a way to go yet.

I'm so happy as I feel like I am making progress now.  I have also conquered my fear of fabric that is not Aida and I'm hoping this means that I will be able to try different designs (like a Chatelaine!) but that might be a bit ambitious yet.  I think I'll try a few more smaller projects before attempting a BAP.

Masquerade SK as of 24.03.11

I am very disappointed with my lack of progress all round this week.  I've had Masquerade on rotation for two weeks and only managed to do 887 stitches.  I don't know if I've lost my stitching mojo or if I'm not enjoying Masquerade as much as I was or if it's just because I've been so damned tired the past few days.  I honestly haven't been out of bed later than 7.30pm for the last few nights.  Anyway I've now completed 78.44% of Masquerade and here is my update picture.

Also I've made no progress on the Little Boy Blue jumper.  I'd done about 30 rows and showed it to my mum and she asked if I had measured it or done a tension square, the answer was no.  So I measured what I had done and it was 10 inches wide and it should have been 10 3/4 inches.  So my mum suggested I try knitting it on a bigger size needle because this should make the difference in size.  So I have had to unpick it and start again, hopefully it will be third time lucky.  I'm really glad though that my mum told me know before I spent a lot more time knitting it and stitching it up.

On a positive note I have started knitting my first blanket for SANDS it is a very basic pattern where you start with one stitch and increase on the second stitch at the beginning of every row.  I currently have 50 stitches on the needle so some progress has been made here.  I find I am able to knit in the car while commuting to and from work.

Hopefully I'll get more stitching done over the next week and get some of the jumper done too.

Little Boy Blue

No cross stitching update this week I'm afraid.  I have been working on Masquerade and decided to keep on it for another week before I rotate and update. 

I have however started another project.  I am knitting a jumper for my little boy.  Samuel has become a lot more mobile over the past few weeks and I can no longer have all my stitching stuff out to just add a few stitches whenever I get a minute as of course he thinks mummy and daddy's toys (i.e. cross stitching, TV remotes, PS3 controllers etc) are much more exciting toys than his own.  So I thought at least with the knitting I can pull it out and put it away again a lot more easily then my stitching.

So this is the jumper I am knitting for him.

The pattern calls for Baby Cashmere Merino Silk 4 ply but as this was £4.70 for a 50g ball and I could get a 100g ball of ordinary 4 ply for £4.20 I decided my budget could only stretch to the ordinary 4 ply.  I decided to go for a beige colour as he has so many blue tops already and I wanted something different for a change.  I had done about 12 rows of the back and then discovered I had done half of the rows using one size of pattern and half of the rows using a bigger size so my pattern wasn't lined up at all so I've had to unpick it and will be starting it again.

I have done some knitting over the years and have made a cardigan for myself in the past but my mum has always had to sew it up into a finished article for me.  With this jumper I want to do it all myself and then maybe move onto making myself another cardigan at some point in the future.  I also hope to make some baby blankets for the charity SANDS they are very simple blankets and I hope to be able to do some knitting in the car to and from work every morning and evening as I feel this is a wasted part of my day.

Anyway I hope all my cross stitching friends don't mind me adding a bit of knitting to my blog.

My sister has recently started a blog about her cross stitching and knitting and I'd love it if you could visit her blog and follow her too - if you add a comment as well she would be very excited :-)

Blue Rose Fairy as of 11.03.11

This week has been the HAED BB SAL and this is my progress on Blue Rose Fairy.

I managed to do just under 1,500 stitches on it this week which means it is now 16.45% complete.

Only a short update today as I am feeling a bit delicate as I've been in bed with food poisoning for the last 24 hours.

Coming out of the stitching closet

I've been cross stitching since I was very young but have always been quite secretive about my hobby.  When I was at school I didn't tell my friends because I thought they would make fun of me and this has kind of stuck as I've got older.  I used to put photos of my stitching on groups on Facebook but would never add them to my news feed for fear of ridicule.

A couple of months ago I was asked to be on the reader panel for World of Cross Stitching Magazine and was amazed when after it was published about 10 people got in touch with me asking if it was me.  I didn't know that any of these people were interested in cross stitching.

It was this realisation that there are lots of people out there who stitch that made me more confident about coming out of the stitching closet.  So now I am trying to promote my blog more on Facebook and when I add photos I am making it so that they are visible to all my friends.

It feels really good to be able to share this part of my life which I've kept secret for such a long time.

Thanks for sharing my stitching life with me!

Samuel as of 04.03.11

I've been working on the picture of my Son for the last few days.  Here's the up to date picture.

It's still quite abstract at the minute but when I compare the photo to the stitching I can see his ear, his mouth and his eye.  I am still not sure about the colours that I'm using but I am putting my faith in Michele's years of charting experience that it will look right. 

I've done 1,905 stitches on this since my last update which brings it to a total number of stitches done of 4,421 which is 4.55% complete.  At this rate I'll have it finished for his 18th Birthday!!

I don't know if you've seen the poll on the left hand side but I'd be grateful if you could vote for which project I will start next.  As I write this blog post there has been 9 votes and 3 projects have each got 3 votes.

Still have quite a lot of items for sale or swap if anyone is interested.

Nx

Measi's Musings - Giveaway

Measi has been blogging for 10 years and is having an awesome giveaway to celebrate - have a look here

Measi's Musings

Also while you're here reading this post would you mind voting in my poll for which project I should start next.

Thanks xx

Masquerade SK as of 25.02.11

Well I have finally completed page 1 of the SK Masquerade, I've done a lot more than page 1 but to finally get that last stitch in and complete a page was a great feeling.  This week I've done 1,261 stitches which brings me to a total of 13,954 stitches done which is 73.76% complete.

I've decided to make this my main focus piece and will be stitching on it evey other week unless that clashes with the QS SAL.  I am desperate to start a new project but also want a finish.  Masquerade is the project I am nearest to completing so it makes sense to concentrate on this and get it finished.

Calling all stitchers of Chatelaine Designs

So I've been seeing loads of blogs where people are stitching Chatelaine Designs.  Now these are such gorgeous designs they really intrigue me but I can't seem to find out much about them.  So I am putting out a call for information - if you are familiar with these designs and can answer any of these questions I'd be really interested.  Or if you can just tell me your experiences with these designs, i.e which you stitched first, how you decide what fabric to stitch them on etc etc.

Are they cross stitch designs?  If you join in a mystery how does that work?  Is there a particular design you would recommend starting with?  Do they have to be stitched on linen or can you do them on aida?  Any other information you can share with me.

Thanks for reading and (hopefully) sharing your experiences!

Believe as of 20.02.11

Here's my latest update for Believe.  I've completed another two colours I've done just over 1,000 stitches which means in total I have now done 3,508 of 29,250 which is 11.99% complete.

Just to remind you as well I still have lots of items for sale or swap on the Sale or Swap page.  Thanks for looking.

Items for Sale or Swap

I've been sorting through my stash this week and have decided to be truly ruthless and try and sell or swap any item which I don't think I will ever get time to stitch.  It's breaking my heart to sell some of these items but I have so many more that I think there is more chance of me stitching.

Items for Sale or Swap
Please take at look and hopefully someone will get some enjoyment from these items.

Thanks for looking.

Hickory Dickory Dock as of 12.02.11 - PAGE 1 COMPLETE!

It feels like it has been so long since I have completed something and even though I haven't completed the total design the fact that I have completed one page feels great.  I love how you can just see the eye peeking out from the clock.

So I have now completed 10,347 stitches which is 35.37% of the total design.

Blue Rose Fairy as of 06.02.11

So here's my update on Blue Rose Fairy.  I've managed to do 2,235 stitches on this bringing the total number of stitches done to 4,194 which is 12.12% complete.  I'm really enjoying watching this grow as it is quite diffferent from any of my other projects.

Christmas Stocking at 03.02.11

This week I've been working on the Christmas Stocking for my son.  So here's the picture of my progress.

It's only been two colours up to now apart from the white snowflakes.  It certainly makes a change from all my other projects which have lots of colour changes.  So I've now completed 2,064 of 17,502 stitches so it is 11.79% complete.

Masquerade as of 26.01.11

Well I went back to work last week after my maternity leave so I'm not getting as much stitching done as I was.  I've been working on Masquerade this week and did slightly less than 1000 stitches on it which takes me to having completed 67.09% of this design.  My goal is to complete this design by the end of the year.  So here's the updated picture.

Believe as of 21.01.11

I've been working this week on QS Believe by Jessica Galbreth.  I am stitching on 20 count hand dyed aida called "Love in the Mist" from Crafty Kitten, 3 over 1, tent stitch.

I am using a different method this time for the stitching.  I've decided that as the fabric is so gorgeous I may not stitch the entire background.  I have therefore decided to stitch each colour one at a time over the whole design.  The first picture was taken after I had completed all the 310 and the second after I had completed all the 336.

I have to say that all the photos I take of this gorgeous fabric are in no way showing it at it's best.  The purples and blues are stunning and as much as I love the whole of the background of the design I want to leave some of the fabric showing.

Hickory Dickory Dock as of 14.01.11

This week I am really really happy with the progress I have made on Hickory Dickory Dock (sorry about the slightly out of focus picture).

I am really close to completing the first page.  I've now completed 26.33% of the total design.  I am really enjoying the colours and the pretty details on this. 

I am now about to start on my new project.

I am sewing it on a hand dyed fabric called "Love in the Mist" from Crafty Kitten.  This picture really doesn't do the fabric justice.  It is a gorgeous blend of blues and purples and absolutely perfect for this piece.  Dawn at the Crafty Kitten helped me choose exactly which fabric would be perfect.  I would highly recommend going to her if you need any hand dyed fabric or advice in choosing what would be the perfect fabric for your chosen piece.

This is all the floss in the piece.  I've never done a floss toss before and found it really interesting to see all the colours which will soon be blended together. 

I am stitching this piece as a memorial for a good friend of mine who  unfortunately lost her son last year to a congenital heart defect.  She and her husband are doing a sponsored sky dive in March to raise money for the hospital who cared for her son.  I hope you don't mind but below I have copied the e-mail she sent asking for sponsorship.  Should any of you be able to donate even a few pennies to help this extremely worthwhile cause it would be very much appreciated.

Dear all,


On March 11th 2011 our son Matthew should be here celebrating his 1st birthday, on 12th March Stephen & I are taking part in a Skydive to raise money for Birmingham Childrens Hospital as part of their heart appeal, I don't know if you're aware, this is the hospital where Matthew was looked after until he died. It is the most amazing place, the nursing staff are honestly heaven sent so we are trying to raise as much as possible, believe me when I say every penny counts.

I've unfortunately not been able to set up a JustGiving account as we have to raise a certain amount prior to the Skydive to pay for the jump itself, unfortunately the company don't offer these events for free :-( so I have set up a Paypal account and an email account so all the money is in one place and once we have raised enough to cover the costs, every single penny after that goes directly to Birmingham Childrens Hospital.

I appreciate not everyone likes having a sponsorship form shoved under their noses so please don't feel obliged to sponsor us, I just thought this was a way to reach a lot of people quickly and like I say, please don't feel obliged to do anything, but if you can spare even a few pennies please log onto Paypal and deposit whatever you can. The email address is skydiveformatthew@hotmail.co.uk I think if you send the money as a gift there isn't a charge.

If you would like to see the confirmation that we are actually taking part in this event let me have your email address, I'm more than happy to forward the emails confirming our places.

Thankyou,

Jo x

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you don't mind me bringing this to your attention.  I know times are hard everywhere at the moment and especially at this time of the year but as Jo says every penny helps.

Blue Rose Fairy QS - 2011 SAL - as of 06.01.11

So this week I started stitching the 2011 SAL.  The chart I chose was Blue Rose Fairy and the finished item should look like this.

I am stitching her on 20 count white aida 3 over 1 tent stitch and here is a picture of the progress I have made so far.  I have completed 1,959 of 34,446 which is 5.69% of the total complete.  My BB goal is to complete 1 page and I have completed 24.99% of this goal and my blog goal is to complete 2 pages and I have completed 13.33% of this goal.

HAED BB 2011 Full Year Goals

A few days ago I set myself my stitching goals for 2011.  Having thought a bit harder about it I think the goals may be a little too much.  So today I have set myself a few less goals on the HAED BB, they are

1. Complete two pages in tent stitch of QS Believe not currently started
2. Complete two pages in tent stitch of QS Hickory Dickory Dock currently done 10.44%
3. Complete in full crosses SK Masquerade 2010 SAL currently done 61.83% 
4. Complete one page in tent stitch of QS Blue Rose Fairy 2011 SAL currently done 3.64%

I will still keep the original goals I set myself here on my blog but will be working mainly to complete the HAED BB goals.  Looking forward to seeing how realistic any of these goals are!

Shy Baby as of 30.12.10

Here's the latest update on Shy Baby.  I have now completed 15,102 of 164,850 which is 9.16% complete.  Still love stitching this as much as ever.  Only moving on so I can start on the 2011 SAL.

With regards to my 2011 goals I am about half way to completing the Shy Baby goal.

So here's the picture update.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that you have a lovely New Year.