Finishes – Page 13 – Feather Stitching

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, Halloween, Just Nan, Little House Needleworks, Lizzie Kate

More pumpkins … but no chatting time

19 October, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

Sorry for the drive-by post, but here are my latest pumpkin finishes for the Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010 while spending a week away from the computer away from home … I’ll update the blog more later when I have time to sit down properly, in the meantime here are the latest round of teeny finishes:

“Boo Squared” by Lizzie*Kate
stitched on 32ct Flax Belfast linen
with recommended Weeks Dye Works thread (except for Lucky,
which was substituted with recommended DMC)

“Jinx ~ Moon Riders” by Just Nan
stitched on 32ct Silver Birch hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch
with recommended DMC threads

“Jack ~ Moon Riders” by Just Nan
stitched on 32ct Silver Birch hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch
with recommended DMC threads

“Jasper ~ Moon Riders” by Just Nan
stitched on 32ct Silver Birch hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch
with recommended DMC threads

“Pumpkins” by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 32ct Merino hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch
with recommended Crescent Colours threads

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Freebies, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010

One more little pumpkin

6 October, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

As you can see I have been sat on my backside all afternoon, and have managed to start and finish another wee pumpkin for the Great Pumpkin Challenge 😀 This will probably get turned into a scissor fob, which is what it’s designed to be … either that or an ornie … I’ll decide when I get home and have my finishing fabrics etc within reach.

“Jack-O-Lantern Scissors Fob” freebie by Casey Buonaugurio Designs
stitched on 32ct dirty Belfast linen (from my mystery linen bag)
with recommended DMC threads

This was originally suggested to be stitched on light purple fabric … I think I may just have to restitch this one again as I think that would really make the colours pop even more than they do now! The threads are really bright in real life, so once again my late night photography efforts under the Ott-lite have washed the fabric and thread colours out.

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Freebies, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, Halloween, Lizzie Kate, Travel, Travel - New Zealand

Still in New Zealand

6 October, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

I wish I could say I was here doing lots of stitching, but I can’t truthfully tell you what I’ve been doing other than sitting in front of the gogglebox and computer and just letting the hours of the day disappear before my very eyes. I’ve got the car boot filled with boxes of junk to take to the Salvation Army over the next few days, and some not-so-junk to be picked over by family friends – then the leftovers will also get taken to the Salvo’s.

The only stitching I’ve managed has taken place over the last 24 hours or so, and are as follows:

“Chatrouille” freebie by Nathalie
(the freebie is still available here)
Stitched on 32ct Merino hand-dyed Belfast linen by Countrystitch
with DMC threads (except I messed up and used 310 instead of 3799
for the cat and lettering … oops)

“Welcome Baby” by Lizzie*Kate
Stitched on 28ct pink/white checked Graziano linen
with DMC threads
(have to say I MUCH prefer the boy’s version of this one!)
I still have to add the little rose button when I get home before framing

Here are a few piccies of Auckland from our first day of driving around after a visit to The Embroiderer … where we were VERY restrained and only bought two copies of this year’s JCS ornie magazine (Mum kindly treated me to my copy, as I’ve bought one for her the last few years). Rightio, here are some snippets from Auckland:

Auckland skyline from the harbour bridge (north side)

Kiwi (New Zealand) flag at Ponsonby

Art sculpture at a city park in Auckland – these ‘buried’ buildings have always intrigued me

Sidewalk mosaic with Polynesian style

Rangitoto Island – an Auckland icon that will always make me think of home

Auckland skyline from Doug Myer Robinson Park

And a couple of Kiwi foods that we don’t often see in Australia …
first Kumara (Kiwi sweet potato), and then Tamarillos (known as the Kiwi tree tomato)

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Freebies, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, Halloween, Waxing Moon Designs

One more wee pumpkin

28 September, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

Here’s another quickie that I’ve stitched over the last two nights, and which is now sitting in the finishing pile for when I come back from holidays:

“Boo Pumpkin” freebie by Waxing Moon Designs
stitched on 28ct Light Taupe Lugana
with recommended DMC & GAST threads
however, I used 2 strands of DMC for the stars instead of 1
to make them stand out more

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Freebies, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, scissor fobs, The Drawn Thread

Another wee pumpkin

26 September, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

And this one really IS a wee one!! Unfortunately I don’t have any of the right width ribbon to finish this one off, or I would have managed the finishing today too. I’ve got my heart set on using a ribbon for the hanger, so it’s being put on the side now until I can buy some. This is a really cute, really fast finish!

“Autumn Scissors Keeper” freebie by The Drawn Thread
Stitched on 36ct hand-dyed Edinburgh linen in Pipi by Countrystitch
with WDW Whisky, Silk n’ Colors Autumn Honey, and GAST Dried Thyme

The photo doesn’t do justice to the lovely fabric colour – unfortunately the glare from the daylight bulb tonight has washed out the fabric colour and made the other colours a bit extreme … when I take the next photo I’ll do it in daylight (hopefully then it’ll be an actual fob!).

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, Halloween, Lizzie Kate, pinkeeps, Stitching Smalls

Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010

26 September, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

BeckySC has offered a challenge to post as many Pumpkin finishes as we can until 25 November as part of her Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010. While I may not be able to contribute too many by the cut-off date, I’ve already kitted up a dozen or so potential designs to take with me on holidays, so I should hopefully get at least another couple of small ones completed by then. And it’s a great motivation to get some Autumn and Halloween stitching done (Halloween stitching would seriously have to be my all-time favourite theme to stitch, if I had to choose one). I have loads and loads of designs that include pumpkins, so this is a really fun challenge to participate in 🙂

While I’m not stitching pumpkins yet, though, I did find a Halloween stitch from earlier in the year that contains a wee pumpkin, so I decided to sit and finish it into a pinkeep today so I add another “finish” into the challenge. Don’t you just love the “Boo!” ribbon? We found this at a local craft show last year 😀 Unfortunately, I only own one Halloween fabric which is really crappy, so I haven’t shared the backing fabric with you … I really, REALLY need to order some Halloween fabrics from the USA, so I can do some more finishing! Plus I really need to turn some pinheads lime green! 😉

And now it’s time to get back to catching up on TV viewing while I potter around and do housework … and start packing for my upcoming holiday 😀

Cross Stitch, Exchanges, Finishes, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, Humbug, JBW Designs, Just Nan, pillows, Stitching Smalls

Autumn Exchange

22 September, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

This month I took part in a private Autumn Exchange, and Lisa V was my ‘victim’ for some autumn goodies. I just heard from Lisa that my little parcel has arrived safe and sound on the other side of the country, so I can now share my finishes. As this was a no-extras exchange, my little postal box to Lisa contained two items … the little humbug REALLY wanted to stay home here with me, so I’ll just have to restitch this one for myself I think 😀

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“A Very Merry Autumn” by JBW Designs
stitched on 28ct Antique Ivory Cashel linen
with Crescent Colours threads

“Hootzi Humbug” by Just Nan
stitched on 28ct Antique Ivory Cashel linen
with recommended DMC threads and Delica beads

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, Halloween, Mirabilia

Happy dancing before bedtime

19 September, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

I was trying my hardest to get this piece finished on Saturday, but alas it is now 1.10am on Sunday morning and I’ve just put the final beads on, so I didn’t quite make it! But it doesn’t matter, ‘cos regardless I’m doing one HUGE happy dance for this one! 😀 I couldn’t wait until tomorrow for decent daylight to take a photo – it looks much better in real life 😀

“Halloween Fairy” by Nora Corbett
(from Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine)
Stitched on 28ct hand-dyed Desert Sky linen by Silkweaver
with recommended DMC threads and Mill Hill beads

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Quaker, Sampler Cove

A finish!

6 September, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent sized finish, but on Saturday night I put the final stitches into Quaker Huswif – yippee!! 😀

“Quaker Huswif” by Sampler Cove
stitched on 36ct hand-dyed Edinburgh linen –
Moon Shadows ~ Dove Grey by Stitches and Spice
with Vikki Clayton’s Hand-Dyed Fibers Premium Silk Floss in Midnight

I’m sure whether to get this one framed, or to turn it into the Huswif it was designed for … seeing as I don’t have any wall space free, that’ll probably end up being the decider 😛

The only other news is that I had some great mail arrive, but I need to send a quick email of thanks before I post the piccie 🙂

And right now I have to run, because I need to pick up my laptop from the ‘doctors’ … it’s costing me a brand new hard drive, but it’s only $130 plus labour (total of $213, which is relatively reasonable, considering they also transferred ALL my old files AND programs to the new hard drive!!) … and I now have a 500GB had drive, compared to my old 120GB one! Can’t grumble … and it means I can go back to blogging from the comfort of the lounge chair or my bed … which also means the likelihood that I can get back into the habit of regularly blogging and blog reading … add to that I have a trip back home to Auckland coming up in 3 weeks time for Mum & Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary (of which a company travel bonus of $250 pretty much pays for my ticket!) … life is kinda good right now 🙂

Canvaswork, Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Jens Jems, Paw Printings, Photo Hunt, PhotoHunt

Penguin Hugs & Photo Hunt

7 August, 20106 April, 2014 Anne S

Here’s my latest stitching finish that I’ve been working on during this week – I put the final stitches into it last night while Katie and I watched the last episodes of Dark Angel (great series, shame it got axed at that point after the 2nd season). This design is supposed to have all the white stitches overlaid with a half-cross of blending filament … I managed to do the snow beneath the penguin’s feet, then got totally fed up with it (I truly detest BF), so I didn’t bother doing the BF in the border – I think it still looks alright to me that way 🙂 (The fabric looks kinda grey in this photo, but it is a lovely light blue in real life.)

“Penguin Hugs” by Paw Printings
from 2004 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Lugana
with recommended DMC