I've hit the bottom!

First:  Complain, complain, moan, groan, whine.

Now that’s out of the way, it’s time for my 2^nd qtr. Blog post. J

There are finishes to report:

 

The first one took ages. The other two took days. Figures.  The designs are by Heart in Hand from a leaflet called Christmas Triplet.

New Start!

 

You guessed it.  I started Death by Cross Stitch.  The winning color was sapphire by Carrie’s Creations.

After many years of not trying, I’ve finally hit the bottom.

 

Yes, that’s the bottom of the Ballroom picture.  I haven’t worked on it since of course. Still overwhelmed by it I guess. J

Happy Stitching World.

A Pretty Good Start

Stitching wise, the year is off to a good start.

 

 

 My first finish – Summer Blackout by Heart in Hand.  The fabric is a piece of damask, slippery stuff.  The floss is some blue Threadworx.

Inspired to look for other things in my stash, I did this.

 

The chart is from a booklet called Fab ABC Chartbook that came with an issue of World of Cross Stitching.  The design is by Rhona Norrie.  The floss was included too.  Curious colors, but I really like the design.

 

And there’s progress on the camper kit.  I’m easily distracted, of course, or there would probably be more.  I’m a collector too, which is why I caved and bought the fourth kit in the set when I found it on sale. J

Here’s to more progress and finishes in February.

Happy stitching World

Happy New Year!

I’ve decided on my goals for 2017:

Stitch more.

Blog more.

Keep it simple right.

Christmas was fun. J

Then I got a cold for New Years K

So my new start was put off – for a day. J

 

This was in my stash.  When I got 2 more in the set for Christmas, J I thought it was time to start.

I have to admit, what I really thought would be a great start was this.

 

This was a birthday gift.  It will get started sometime this year. Right after I finally decide on a color.  Or colors.  Could you see this in more than one color?  I can, which only adds to my confusion.

No new finishes to show.  But I did put some older pieces to work.

 

This was the first time I tried this.  I can see it making a return appearance next Christmas.

As for me, I’m off to do some stitching so I can have something to show next time.

Happy stitching World

July Catch Up

Not enough stitching going on around here.

Some other happenings:

There was a flood, which could have been much worse.  Happily the person on the 3^rd floor came home for lunch.

We went to the local Comic Con and gazed upon Haley Atwell, John Barrowman, Sean Pertwee and the one and only Stan Lee.

The rest of the gap was just life.

Has anyone bought the JCS Halloween issue?  I saw it the other day but didn’t get it – yet.

Stitching stuff:

Because it seemed like a good idea, I bought a piece of fabric to start the “To the Beach” series by Hands on Design.  Here’s what it looks like so far.

 

My current plan is to cut them apart when done, but this piece should hold 6-8 designs so that could take awhile.

My other recent start was this.

 

A Jody Rice/Satsuma Street design that was in Cross Stitch Crazy.  I think she has it out on Etsy now.  It may also be proof that not chopping up that other piece was a good plan.  I’m not completely sure if it’s centered yet.  At least I know my sewing machine still works. J

This is not shaping up to be one of those weekends where I don’t have to go out and no one wants anything.  Surprise right.  But my new starts still seem fun and colorful so I’ll just have to fit them into the schedule.

Happy stitching World

An Update at last

Hi there!

Where have I been?  Who knows?  Blink and it’s the end of April.  I can tell that it’s Spring though; it’s been snowing more often than not this month.

I have some stitching to show.  January was finished (in March) and now the whole set is done.

 

This series is from the book “Sand, Sea & Cross Stitch” by Anna Field.  April is mostly a pillow now too.  It’s been sewn, turned and displayed all month.  Just not stuffed and closed.

 

Like many (every?) other thing I start, I had visions of this one sewing itself while I wasn’t looking.  And like every other project I could show you, there has been some progress.

 

This is the Disney Opening Ceremony Poster by New York Needleworks (Etsy).

That’s all for now.  I just wanted to get this post in before another month got away from me.

Happy stitching World

So it's like this...

Last year I joined the Frosted Pumpkin SAL.  I ordered the fabric straight from the maker and it looks like this.

 

The mat underneath is 12 ½ x 18 ½.  The fabric is marked 13 x 18.  To add insult to injury, when I took this picture, I decided my feeble attempt at starting might be on the wrong side.  Figures.

Just to prove I never learnJ, I signed up for two SALs this year, Frosted Pumpkin and Cloudsfactory.  This time I ordered the kits.  I thought the fabric company would take more care with the pieces they sent though them.  Apparently I was wrong.

 

This is the Frosted Pumpkin piece.  A little closer, but still not 13 x 18 according to my rulers.

 

Here’s the piece for the Cloudsfactory SAL.  I don’t really have a complaint; it’s more of a question.  How is it that the design area, which the pattern tells me is 13 x 13, comes out to be 11 ¾ on the fabric?  I pinned it out every 10 squares down one side to make sure it fits.  All I really did was confuse myself more.

These look like really cute patterns.  So once I finish pinning them out I look forward to starting.  And I’m sure I’ll buy more patterns from both.  I just won't buy fabric.

Happy stitching World

January's Over?

I don’t know where the month went, but I do have something to show for it.

There are two things I don’t normally do.  Metallic floss and beading.  I made an exception to the bead part for this.

 

An Ursula Michaels design from the book, “A Cross Stitcher’s Countdown to Christmas”.  I still won’t be going out of my way to do any beading on a regular basis, but I was pleased with the results.

Did I mention that everything I finished this month I meant to finish last month?  You know how that goes.  The first thing I actually completed was a Lucie Heaton pattern from Cross Stitch Crazy #209.

Someday it will make a perfect coaster. J

And because I do intend to complete this set, I give you

December.  That just leaves January to stitch and 10 months to finish into pillows.

Happy stitching World