Friends Heart - Alessandra Adelaide Freebie as of 30.04.13 - FINISHED

Finished!  For the first time in as long as I can remember I have stitched on a design everyday from the day I started until the day I finished.  9 days in total to stitch this gorgeous design.  All I need to do now is get it framed and sent off to my friend.  Wish I could see her face when she gets it.

The nicest thing about this design is I can see me stitching it over and over again in different colour combinations.  Hope all my friends appreciate it.

Keep stitching and smiling

Friends Heart - Alessandra Adelaide as of 28.04.13

Last Monday I had a new start which I posted about it was a free design from Alessandra Adelaide for being in her Facebook group.

For the first time in a long time I have stitched everyday on the same project without getting the slightest bit bored.

Here are my progress pictures

Unfortunately I've had to stop stitching here as I've run out of thread.  I'm expecting a delivery any day now though so hopefully will get it finished in the next week or so.  I'm stitching it with a friend in mind so will frame it when I've finished and send it to her.  I hope she loves it as much as I do.

The random number generator selected number 1 so I am stitching another part of the Perpetual Calendar.

Keep stitching and smiling

WIPocalypse - 25.04.13

Sleeping Beauty's Castle - Chatelaine - Part 2 completed

Dragon Dance - Paine Free Crafts

Merry Christmas by the Letter - Lizzie Kate

Perpetual Calendar - Samsarah Designs - Part 6 completed

Alessandra Adelaide Freebie Heart as of 22.04.13

I treated myself to a new start yesterday.  I've been desperate to start using some hand dyed threads which I've bought from a friend who is starting up her own business.  She is called Michelle and you can find her designs and hand dyed threads on her Facebook page at Joydri Designs - if you join the group please let her know you came from my blog.  So inside of taking the easy option and using one of the many charts I have in my stash I've decided to stitch an Alessandra Adelaide design which was free to members of the Facebook group.  Here's a picture of the finished design.

It's the design on the right I am stitching for the single colour.

So here's my progress picture after day 1.

I am stitching on 20 count aida and the colour is called nougat.  The thread I am stitching with is called Rascal's Rainbows and the colours are so vibrant I'm loving seeing it come to life.

Keep stitching and smiling

Perpetual Calendar - Part 6 Completed as of 17.04.13

Really pleased with how quickly I've completed this part - only took me three days although I have been off work so pretty much spent most of the days stitching.

So this is part 6 of the Perpetual Calendar by Samsarah Designs.  I think this is my favourite one to date.  The letter F and the word Friday really stand out on this one.

My next rotation as chosen by the random number generator is number 4 so back to Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Keep stitching and smiling

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

Sleeping Beauty's Castle as of 01.04.13

I am really pleased with the progress I have recently made on my Chatelaine - Sleeping Beauty's Castle.  I would still be stitching on it now if I didn't have to wait for some more threads.  Here's the picture as it is now but as always if you want to see more in between pictures and some close ups please see my Chatelaine page.

Also here's my small start on Dragon Dance from Paine Free Crafts.  I am stitching on 18 count black aida so I don't have to stitch the black background but it is quite slow going.

WIPocalypse - 27.03.13

I've not had much time to stitch this month as we've been having a new kitchen fitted and with all the dust around I didn't really want to get it on my stitching.

I did manage to finish the next part of the perpetual calendar - it is the number 1.  The blue swirls were charted and then I followed the swirls with my variegated green threads to create patterns as well.  I completed this one on 28.02.13.

I've also managed to get back into stiching my Chatelaine - the anniversary sampler Sleeping Beauty's Castle.  I absolutely adore stitching with the silks they seem to fly through the fabric beautifully.  So here's the latest picture.  I've also updated my Chatelaine page with the in between pictures.

I have also been doing some knitting and have finished a scarf for my sister.  I've also started knitting a patchwork blanket.  Will try and take some photos for my next post.

I have started a new cross stitch project as well.  It is Dragon Dance by Jocarra charted by Sarah Paine.

I'm stitching it on 18 count black aida so I don't have to stitch all the black.  It's hard going stitching on black and I've not made enough progress yet to share a picture.  

Keep stitching and smiling!

WIPocalypse - 25.02.13

The themes for this months WIPocalypse are:

• Designer – Little House Needleworks
• Style – Love/Family
• Colours – White and Red

I really like the designs from Little House Needleworks but up to now have only stitched one of their designs.  I stitched Home of a Needleworker in 2011 and you can see my post about it here.

So style Love/Family this could be interpreted in different ways but here's my version.  I love gerbera daisies and struggled for a long time to find a pattern which I thought truly looked like gerberas and that I liked.  I'm focusing on finishing this piece next as it has been a long time WIP.  Here's my latest progress.  Unfortunately I discovered while I was stitching this time that the yellow/orange flower in the top right was one stitch too high I tried to fudge round it but decided I could see the error and would never be happy with it so have started to unpick it.  I'm hoping that I will get this one finished in the next couple of months.

I have also always loved the saying Live, Laugh, Love and recently there was a sale on at Mystic Stitch and I bought these three charts.

I am thinking about stitching them on some hand dyed fabric and not stitching the background.  Don't know whether to stitch them all on the same piece or choose three different colours.  No plans to start stitching them in the near future but I do enjoy looking at them and thinking what I will do.

Next colours - red/white.  I don't think I have anything in my stitching stash that would fit into this category.

I've been looking through my WIPs and have decided on a rotation of these projects:

1. Gerbera daisies pictured above
2. Merry Christmas by the Letter - Lizzie Kate
3. Sleeping Beauty's Castle - Chatelaine
4. Perpetual Calendar

I'm going to work 10 hours on each project unless I finish a page/section and then I may rotate sooner.  My plan is not to start something new until I finish one of these.

However I've just bought this from Sarah Paine and I love it so this may slip into the rotation somewhere.

Keep stitching and smiling

WIPocalypse - 26.01.13

OK so the theme for this WIPocalypse post is to introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year.

So here's my introduction I am a 37 year old married mother of one.  My son was 3 this month and my husband and I will have been married 5 years in March.  I have been cross stitching since I was about 10 years old and have a stash too large to contemplate.  There are so many stunning charts out there that I want to stitch and keep buying.  

I have set out my current projects and goals for the year in my last blog post so would direct you there  rather than repeat myself.

My main focus piece at the moment was an Ink Circles design but it is a secret project so I cannot give any more information or pictures at this point.  I am so happy to say that it was finished on 20th January 2013 thanks to my amazing sister.  We decide to stitch it between us in a kind of mini round robin.  I still can't share any pictures yet but will do later in the year.

I've completed the second and third part of the SamSarah Perpetual Calendar and here is "January".  

The next part is a blank marker so that when the month only has 1 figure i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc then this blank will replace a second number.  The background is all stitched in one colour and I chose an Anchor variegated thread number 1266.  As I approached the half way mark I really didn't think I was going to have enough thread to finish it but luckily I just managed to scrape the last stitches in which is a good job as I think this is a discontinued thread.  I've tried to make the background a bit more varied by stitching in circles within the green circle borders and stitching lines outside the circles.  I'm really pleased with how this one has turned out.

There are 48 parts to this design to it could take me a few years before I am ready to display it but isn't that the way with all cross stitch projects!

As I was stitching the second part of the perpetual calendar I was looking at the first part and really wasn't happy with the fact that the letter T and the word Tuesday really didn't stand out against the background colour I chose.  Here is what the original design looks like.

This is the photo of mine as charted.  

I tried unpicking the cream for the letters but it took about an hour to unpick one letter so I decided to just over sew the original stitches with a dark blue.  Here's how it looks now.

I still don't think I'm 100% happy with it but I'm going to leave it as it is for now and if I get all the other parts stitched and still don't like it I may restitch this one.

Here's all three of the parts I've stitched all in a row.

I've made some more progress on the Gerbera Daisy cushion which I'm pleased with.  Here's where I am currently up to with it.  There's less than 3500 stitches to go so hopefully should be finished in the next couple of months.

Also when I received the last issue of World of Cross Stitching I fell in love with the retro spaceship and robot designs and immediately ordered the fabric to stitch it.  I'm going to stitch all four designs on one piece and hopefully my son will like it in his room. 

So now my main focus piece is finished I have a quandry - do I start something else new or do I pick up another WIP - can't decide at the moment but I'm sure you'll find out soon.

Keep stitching and smiling

Happy New Year!

My first blog post of the year and I am hoping to set out a few goals for myself for the year.

Current WIPs I would love to finish in 2013:

1. Secret Ink Circles Project
2. Gerbera Daisy Cushion
3. Six Fat Men
4. Merry Christmas by the Letter
5. Masquerade SK
6. Butterflies Galore SK

I would like to make progress on:

1. Hanging Loose
2. Nativity
3. Rules for Life
4. Perpetual Calendar
5. Welcome Banner
6. Sampler aux Bouquet
7. Sleeping Beauty's Castle
8. Inspire
9. Shy Baby
10. Train of Dreams

I would like to start:

1. Celtic Banner
2. Mini Bookworm Fairy

I am sure there are more projects I will want to start to but I'm going to try my hardest to make 2013 a year of finishes rather than new starts.  Please wish me luck!

Keep stitching and smiling!

New Blog

A good friend of mine has just started blogging and I'd love it if you could pop over to her blog and send her some encouragement - crossstitcher132.blogspot.com

Keep stitching, smiling, commenting and reading new blogs!

WIPocalypse - 28.12.12 - An overview of the year

I've spent the last few weeks stitching on another secret project so don't have anything to show for my last WIPocalypse post for 2012, I have however finished the small project so that's another finish for the year, unfortunately it will be another few months before I can reveal a picture.  Instead I thought I would review my progress for the year.

At the beginning of the year I had 13 projects on my WIPocalypse list and I managed to finish 4.

Baby Patchwork - Cinnamon Cat

Hickory Dickory Dock QS - HAED

Living with Charm - Lizzie Kate

Afghan for Sam

The other projects on my list and where I am currently up to with them are:

Gerbera Daisy Cushion

Six Fat Men - Lizzie Kate

Forbidden Doorway SK - HAED

Hanging Loose

Nativity

Rules for Life

Still can't show any pictures of my secret Ink Circles Project but it will be finished and pictures shown in 2013.

The knitted baby blanket and String of Hearts were never started.

I had a few new starts over the course of the year.

Perpetual Calendar by SamSarah Designs.

Welcome Banner by Emily Peacock

Sampler aux Bouquet by Jardin Parvin

Merry Christmas by the Letter - Lizzie Kate

My first Chatelaine - Sleeping Beautys Castle

So that is 2012 in stitching.  My hope for 2013 is to get some more projects finished and no doubt have more new starts.  I am going to do my best to have a stash diet in 2013 no more buying charts or other stash unless I need it to complete a current project.

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Thanks for sticking with my blog for the last 12 months.  I look forward to sharing the next year with you all.

Keep stitching and smiling