Cross Stitch – Page 5 – Feather Stitching

Finishes, Green Apple Co, Hallowe'en Ornie SAL, Halloween, Heart in Hand Needleart, Lizzie Kate, The Floss Box, Uncategorized, Works in Progress

Lots of stitching finishes

20 November, 201619 November, 2016 Anne S

Ever since I’ve been eating healthier, and sleeping better, I’ve managed to find my stitching mojo on a regular basis. As such, it’s seen a bunch of finishes over the last two months – most of them new starts, with one UFO from the start of the year.

First up I was trying really hard to do a catch-up for a Halloween Ornie SAL I signed up for this year. Unfortunately I found HAEDs at the start of the year and my sole stitching focus went into those for a while, then working life got turned on its head for a bit and crazy working hours became the norm once again. I decided in October I really did want to catch up on the SAL, but I didn’t want to stitch a heap of ornies. At the start of the year I’d planned on working on two larger projects, that each had a block containing something that would fit within the SAL monthly themes. Because of me starting so late in the piece, I ended up just stitching one larger piece with a couple of extra ornies thrown in for good measure. This is what I chose for the monthly SAL, which I stitched in strict order of the themes for the year (with the exception of the two ornies, which I stitched first):

January – Winged creatures (block 5, the owl and bat)
February – Mummies and Monsters (block 6, the Frankenstein head at the end)
March – Pumpkins (block 1)
April – Ghosts (block 2, the teeny weeny ghost hiding behind the tree)
May – Spiders (separate ornie, freebie by Lizzie*Kate)
June – Free choice (the geometric border)
July – Witches’ accessories (block 3, the witch’s cauldron)
August – Spooky words (the words in the border)
September – Bad fairies (still have no idea what on earth to do for that one)
October – Black cats (block 4)
November – Skeletons and Skulls (another separate ornie, Halloween Ornament 4 by The Floss Box)

14902768_10153984049718148_915660510871637921_o

“Halloween Markings” by Heart in Hand
stitched on 32ct Steel Grey Belfast linen
with a couple of recommended threads, but mostly replacements from my stash
Stitched as an alternative to ornaments for a Halloween Ornie SAL

14691339_10153934190673148_1289254629957464451_o-1

“Eek” freebie by Lizzie*Kate
Stitched on 32ct ‘mystery’ grey Belfast linen
with recommended threads

14680899_10153936260538148_955584607277085074_o-1

“Halloween Ornament 4” by The Floss Box
Stitched on 32ct ‘mystery’ linen
with recommended DMC threads

After my Halloween stitching binge, I decided to drag out a UFO from the start of the year. This was one of my Crazy January Challenge pieces (15 starts in 15 days, which I’ve decided really isn’t for me anymore – I want to spend my stitching time working through all those WIPs/UFOs cluttering up my stitching space instead of starting a bunch of new ones!). Anyway, after a few weeks chipping away at her, I had a few days of work this week and managed some major progress, and finishing her a couple of days ago. This was significantly helped by throwing a few seasons of Buffy into the DVD player, it was great mindless, and amusing, fodder for the brain while completing a stitching marathon 🙂

15025545_10154034014268148_1518052416831862422_o

“The Christmas Elf Fairy” by Mirabilia
stitched on 32ct natural linen
with kit threads (Crescent Colours) and beads

The last one, hot off the Qsnaps on Friday night was one I’d originally stitched as a charity quilt square a few years ago. I’ve been wanting to restitch this for myself ever since, and still had the DMC sitting with the chart ready for the day when I found time. I decided it was finally time to pull my finger out and get it stitched up so I grabbed some fabric and threw it on the Qsnaps – I love this one, and it’ll beautifully with my ocean/beach theme in the lounge!

15128862_10154040705318148_7266822407569716080_o

“Chambered Nautilus” by Green Apple Co (original watercolour by Janet Powers)
Stitched on 32ct off-white Belfast linen
with recommended DMC threads

And that’s all for now I guess … I’m not 100% sure what I’ll choose to stitch on next. I’ve been trying to finish off a lot of the WIPs sitting in crates so that I have a few Qsnaps free to use for new projects, so no doubt the next thing I choose to stitch will be something already started … Mind you, I do still have four ornaments left to stitch to complete the 2016 JCS Christmas Ornie SAL challenge on Facebook – I guess that’ll probably be the first thing ticked off, then it’ll be time to grab one of my WIPs as my next focus piece. At the moment I’m tossing up between the following WIPs/UFOs – I just may have to toss a coin, because I really can’t decide right now! 😉

14257620_10153855176043148_4050298683051398048_o

Bluebeard’s Princess Mirabella by Mirabilia

Flight of the Bumblebees by Ruth Schmuff

Christmas Ornaments, Finishes, Uncategorized

JCS Christmas Ornie SAL catch-up

19 November, 2016 Anne S

Oh my goodness, I started creating this post weeks and weeks ago, and never got around to finishing it. Since then so many things have happened … but for now I’ll leave this post as it is and I’ll do another update soon with the latest news and stitching.

——————————–

While I may not be doing lots of stitching each week I’m still showing slow progress on the ornament SAL – which means the little kitted up bags of fabric are gradually getting removed from the WIP crates and onto the Qsnaps. So far I’ve caught up with the following:

“Dear Santa” by The Little Stitcher
from the 2015 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 32ct Vintage Country Mocha Belfast linen
with a mixture of threads from my stash (mostly recommended ones)

“Pure Love” by The Snowflower Diaries
from the 2015 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 36ct hand-dyed linen by Countrystitch ~ colour Pipi
with a mix of recommended threads and others from my stash

“Joyful Santa” by Homespun Elegance
from the 2015 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 32ct Shell linen by Permin with a mixture of threads from my stash

“Christmas Test Drive” by Mosey ‘N Me
from the 2015 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 36ct hand-dyed Edinburgh linen by Silkweaver ~ colour Tallahassee Teal
with recommended DMC threads

I’ve also picked up another piece of cheap second-hand furniture that I really love – a new wine rack that cost me the sum total of about $25! After I moved all my ‘old wines’ into the cabinet I was going to throw the old ones away … but then there was an awesome sale through work and I ended up stocking up big time and filling them back up again! I’m now sorted for wine until my retirement I reckon … unless my mum comes to visit, then it’ll get whittled down haha.

ByGone Stitches, Christmas, Christmas Ornaments, Country Threads, Just Cross Stitch, Medina Originals, Stitch-alongs, Stitchalongs, Uncategorized, Works in Progress, Works in Progress

Final recap of WIP progress to date

11 September, 201611 September, 2016 Anne S

While I’ve managed to get a few finishes under my belt in the last six months or so, I’ve also chipped away a tiny bit at a couple more WIPs. The first one is “Quaker Christmas II – Songs of the Season” by ByGone Stitches. This is how it looked the last time I took a progress photo:

Quaker Christmas II - Songs of the Season by ByGone Stitches

And how it looks now (or at least how it looked a month or two ago anyway – there’s only been a tiny bit more progress on the right-hand motif since the photo was taken, but I’m too lazy to take an updated piccie just for those few stitches):

After I finished off Lizzie*Kate’s 2007 Special Edition Christmas kit, I wanted to stitch on something easy to work on – my choice at the time was the “Paris” kit by Country Threads. I was fully intending to finish off the letter R if nothing else, but in truth I’m not enjoying stitching with it in the scrollbars I’ve got it in, so I’ve since shelved it for a while until I find something else to pop it into. As it is I’m having to stitch it sideways so I could get it on the scrollbars in the first place … that feels really odd in itself really. I’ve actually done quite a bit more than what is showing in the piccie – and I think with a concentrated effort I’d get this letter finished with a good week of stitching, except my efforts have moved on for a wee while to something else.

I did a bit of online shopping and bought some lovely (balsa probably) wooden crates from Briscoes online (Australian version of the NZ store). I thought they’d be great to put my UFOs/WIPs into to keep them in one place … except I found that in fact I could probably fill 3-4 crates once I included my older unloved UFOs. It has made me more determined, though, to get some more of those WIPs whipped into shape and into the finishing pile. I’d dearly love to get that pile down into just the one solitary storage crate … perhaps by the end of 2018 it may be doable … or 2019 … OK, 2020 if I’m truly realistic 😉 So yes, these are probably just half of the WIPs I have around the place, although they’re all on frames so they up a lot of room and it looks worse than what it is (that’s my excuse anyway).

14138585_10153834282073148_1292607431793272845_o

In an effort to start whittling the contents of one crate down, I’ve opted to go back to working on a Christmas SAL I started in January, where we stitch a selected Christmas ornie each month from the 2015 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. I have all the fabrics chosen ready to go for each month’s project, and I’m way behind in the SAL, so I figured it could be quite a quick thing for me to go through and get those out of the way. Therefore my current WIPs will be, for the foreseeable future, various Christmas ornaments. I managed to catch up and stitch April’s ornament, and I’ve made a (very) small start on the May one.

“Very Merry Christmas” by Medina Originals
(from the 2015 Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament issue)
Started some time in April 2016 – Finished 3 September 2016
Stitched on a mystery 32ct fabric that I can’t remember
with recommended DMC threads

14188217_10153840383378148_2465654848638829109_o

Well I did say it was a small start … haha. I’ve actually done a wee bit more since then, although at my current rate of progress it’ll probably be another week away before this one is finished. It’s stitched on 36ct hand-dyed linen with one strand of thread, and I’m feeling my age when I’m stitching this one at the end of a long business day staring at a computer screen …

And that, I think, is all the stitching updates I have for now!

Christmas, Finishes, Lizzie Kate, Uncategorized

Ho Ho Ho …

10 September, 2016 Anne S

After all the over-one stitching I decided to give my eyes a brief rest, and picked up another neglected WIP that I started back on 24 November last year. Hey, at least for once it was finished in the same year it was started (well within the same 12 months anyway).

Here’s what it looked like when I dragged it out of the ‘unloved but not-quite-forgotten corner’ of my bedroom:

And here’s the finished product after a bit of tender loving care, and a whole heap of marathon TV watching:

“2007 Special Edition Christmas Kit” by Lizzie*Kate
Started 24 November 2015 – Finished 20 August 2016
Stitched on 28ct natural Cashel linen (I think)
with Crescent Colours threads as charted

The big updates have almost finished … just one more to go now and I’m all caught up for the year I think! Phew!!

Finishes, Graeme Ross, Ross Originals, Uncategorized

Blue and Yellow Macaw

9 September, 20167 January, 2019 Anne S

After I finished doing all that over-one stitching on my first HAED I decided to go back and dig out some very VERY old UFOs and make a dent in them … the first one I chose to do was one that I fell out of love with a long time ago. Initially started as a SAL with a fellow blogger, she fell off the face of the earth not far into the SAL. Truthfully when I started this one with her it wasn’t my first choice to stitch, so when she was no longer cheering me on I just lost interest – not to mention I wasn’t exactly enjoying the over-one stitching.

Anyway, I decided to just suck it up and get cracking … and lo and behind I soon had another finish once I put some serious effort into it. I must say I had no idea what to do with it when it was finished – I do love it now, but I’d never have it hanging on my wall. Next thing I know my flatmate has fallen in love with it and pretty much jumped on it when I said I didn’t know what to do with it. Eventually I’ll get it framed for her and it’ll go on the walls of her new house once it’s built 🙂

This is how it looked when I first picked it up again after not touching it since, um, ahem … 2007!

And here’s the stunning (if I do say so myself!) finished product – “Who’s a pretty boy, then?” 😉

“Blue and Yellow Macaw” by Ross Originals (Graeme Ross)
Started 17 January 2007 – Finished 31 July 2016
Stitched on 28ct Lugana, one-over-one
with recommended DMC threads

I may not have as many finishes as I used to do, but so far this year I’ve managed to tick off some pretty big ticket items as far as I’m concerned – it’s been wonderful to be able to put a few of my old UFOs into the finished pile.

Finishes, HAED, Uncategorized

My first ever HAED … finished!!

8 September, 20168 September, 2016 Anne S

The title says it all … I can’t believe it myself, but this year saw my first ever HAED finished – QS Iris by Josephine Wall! This was also, coincidentally, the first HAED chart I ever bought, so it’s quite cool that it’s also the first one I managed to finish too 🙂

I’ve always detested over-one stitching, but for some reason I really enjoy doing it on HAEDs, and it no longer phases me … yay me!! I must say I also adore doing the 2-over-1 tent stitch, it’s soooo much faster too, and with pretty decent coverage on the 28ct Lugana 🙂

“QS Iris” by HAED (artist Josephine Wall)
Started 1 April 2016 – Finished 14 July 2016
Stitched on 28ct Lugana in 2-over-1 tent stitch
with recommended DMC threads

Oh my goodness I’m still so incredibly proud of this achievement months after my finished! I actually made a short video of every colour getting stitched for a HAED Facebook Challenge, but I lost it when my hard drive of my PC crashed a couple of weeks ago now. Sadly that probably means I’ve also lost all my latest HAED purchases too, as the back-up portable drive will also not load a couple of folders either … so much for having a back-up of important files made! 😦

Anyhoo, one day I’ll download the software again to re-make the video and I’ll also add the rest of the photos in the process – it’s so much fun to see the project take shape colour by colour (when I remembered to take the photo anyway).

Finishes, Halloween, Lizzie Kate, Uncategorized

Very Scary Mystery Sampler – finito

8 September, 2016 Anne S

Back in June I decided I needed to start working on a few of my WIPs and getting them finished, especially as the HAED I was working on was starting to give me headaches during a very stressful period at work.

The first WIP I decided to pick up and work on until it was finished was Lizzie*Kate’s “Very Scary Mystery Sampler” that I’d had kitted up for pretty much as long as the kit was first released. I didn’t like the recommended linen at all as it was too close to the browns in the threads, and totally different to the cover picture, so I subbed with something from the stash that would ‘do’. I was a bit worried the purple tones of the fabric would clash with the border threads, but I think it turned out OK in the end. The same as most people have done so far, I didn’t realise the ‘grass’ was all supposed to be done as satin stitch and not just the bottom section … but I couldn’t be bothered unpicking it all and it’s good enough for me 😉

“Very Scary Mystery Sampler” by Lizzie*Kate
Started 31 August 2015 – Finished 12 June 2016
Stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Lugana by Countrystitch ~ colour Storm
with recommended (kit) threads and beads

The next project I finished was a huge achievement for me, and deserves a post all of its own … 🙂

Blue Ribbon Designs, Canvaswork, Challenges & SALs, Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Food, Laura J Perin, Prairie Schooler, Samplers Not Forgotten, Uncategorized

Stitching catch-up

20 March, 201620 March, 2016 Anne S

I didn’t realise it’d been so long since I’d posted! Obviously just been really busy living life and the day-to-day humdrum that that brings.

I’ve managed to get a couple more very small finishes under my belt, the first one after I finally received a stash order from back in November last year. As soon as I received my thread order it meant I could finish the following beautiful piece of canvaswork:

“Blue Birds” freebie by Laura J Perin (on the Rainbow Gallery website)
Stitched on 18ct mono canvas with recommended threads
(I even managed to track down the discontinued Tiara thread!)

This was the rest of my stash order – the first I’ve had in a very long time! It means a couple more projects are now able to be fully kitted up, which is great considering one of them was in my Crazy 7 group of projects, and already started!

12814727_10153404503503148_5026065216586013605_n

12799322_10153404503453148_5743125366357419915_n

Since the Crazy 7 challenge kicked off, I’ve actually been doing really well at keeping my stitching going regularly each week. While I may not have too much to show for it, my excuse is that I’ve started my very first HAED – Daisy Blue by Jo Lynch. Considering I’d always called my dear friend Nicki a crazy woman for her love of over-one stitching, and hating over-one stitching myself with a passion, it seems I’ve caught the craze myself! I’m stitching my HAED one-over-one on 28ct Lugana and I just can’t seem to put it down! I think in a couple of months I should see this one finished … and I’ve already got a couple more in line to be started immediately afterwards 🙂 The crazy thing is that I have Noah’s Ark by Teresa Wentzler as a seriously mistreated UFO because I couldn’t handle the one-over-one stitching … perhaps it may be time to give it some love and get it finished now!

This weekend, though, I really had to force myself not to pick my HAED back up again, and instead caught up on a monthly SAL I’m going of JCS Christmas ornaments from the 2015 issue. So far I’ve managed the first three months, with Feb and Mar ornies hot off the Qsnaps this weekend (I managed the blackbird one in its entirety today!). Here are the three ornies to date so far (they’re being stitched in order of popularity in a group vote, with January being the most popular).

“Snowmates” by Blue Ribbon Designs (2015 JCS Ornament issue)
Stitched on 40ct Silkweaver hand-dyed linen (can’t find the details just now)
with mostly recommended threads

10399696_10153452191023148_4136582036393970541_n
“Winter’s Eve” by The Prairie Schooler (2015 JCS Ornament Issue)
Stitched on 32ct Permin linen ~ colour French Blue
with my own choice of Carrie’s Creation threads

12799395_10153452247368148_1240693992213335952_n
“Merry Christmas” by Samplers Not Forgotten (2015 JCS Ornament issue)
Stitched on 40ct Silkweaver hand-dyed linen (can’t find the details just now)
with my own choice of Belle Soie and Gloriana silk threads

As well as stitching regularly again, I’ve also joined a group of fellow stitchers to do a weekly cooking challenge. I think my health struggles over last couple of years had really shaken my confidence in many areas of my life, and cooking was one of them. It’s been really nice getting back into the kitchen on a regular basis and cooking up some healthy (and not-so-healthy) meals. Even though I may not always like the ingredients chosen each week, I still make sure I give it a try and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the results so far.

Looks like life is finally getting back on a bit more even keel … hopefully it’ll continue the same way for quite some time to come! 🙂

Christmas Ornaments, Crazy 7, Finishes, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

Crazy 7 Challenge & First finish of 2016

3 January, 20169 September, 2016 Anne S

Well so far the year has started really well – I had a last minute invitation to a New Year’s Eve party very close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge with friends up from Melbourne. It gave a great chance to get up close and personal with the awesome fireworks display … Sadly the friends are moving shortly so it’ll be the last time – but it was a really great way to kick off the new year getting to bed finally at 4.30am!

I was feeling decidedly seedy on the morning trip home so opted to walk a couple of extra kilometres instead of catching the bus – it gave me some much needed fresh air and exercise and I enjoyed the beach walk immensely 🙂

Then in between sleeping the day away I managed to kick start my stitching plans and achieved very small starts on all my projects:

First up the Mirabilia SAL:

Then the first 3 days of the Crazy 7 (7 new starts in 7 days):

I also started my first Christmas ornament for an ornie SAL on 1 Jan then finished it off today for my first finish of the year.

“Beyond Cross Stitch – Level Three – Blackwork” by The Victoria Sampler

Sadly it’s back to work again tomorrow so my stitching will no doubt slow up again – but I want to get back into the habit of stitching most days/nights even if it’s just for a few minutes. Having some gorgeous new projects to work on will keep the motivation up I think 🙂

2015 WIPocalypse, 2016 WIPocalypse, Finishes, Goals, Hallowe'en Ornie SAL, Uncategorized

2015 Recap & 2016 Stitching Goals

30 December, 201530 December, 2015 Anne S

Well my stitching finishes in 2015 were pretty paltry in comparison to other years, but I’m still proud that I managed as much as I did considering the exhausting year I’ve had at work etc. Here they are all together (with the exception of one last finish coming tomorrow!):

10382254_10152911561583148_5636562565447605465_o

12194997_10153186961968148_2828939701670746_o

“Boo” (from “Boo Hiss Eek”) by Lizzie*Kate Stitched on 32ct Thunderstorm Belfast with a mix of threads (GAST, Carrie’s Threads, DMC)

“Eek” freebie by Lizzie*Kate Stitched on 32ct Thunderstorm Belfast with recommended threads

Black Cat (Boo to You) by The Prairie Schooler

Black Cat (from “Boo to You”) by The Prairie Schooler Stitched on 30ct Guacamole Weeks Dye Works linen with recommended DMC threads

“Grandma’s Cushions Stitching Accessories” by The Cat’s Whiskers

10940440_10152620300258148_6265425105763249782_n

10940478_10152620300338148_3369269700213471775_n

I have a HUGE list of stitch-a-longs and challenges I want to join in 2016 – I have no real intention of actually FINISHING any of the SAL projects during 2016, but I hope to get a decent rotation happening again where I can give each piece a bit of love and dedication throughout the year. Here is the planned list:

1 Jan – Mirabilia SAL – my choice is Bluebeard’s Princess, which I’ve had kitted up for a couple of years now, the only problem is I can’t decide on the fabric … I guess I’d better make a decision over the next 24 hours or so!
1 Jan – Ornament SAL (12 months) – my choice to kick this SAL off is Victoria Sampler’s Blackwork #3-4 … other ones throughout the year are ones that I already have the fabric cut up and ready for stitching.
1 Jan – JCS 2015 Ornament Issue SAL (12 months) – The chosen design will be the most voted for design from each double page spread throughout the year.
1 Jan to 7 Jan – Crazy 7 SAL – I haven’t decided 100% on all of my choices yet (or even if I’ll definitely do this challenge). I have a couple of large projects I definitely want to include, but also wanted to have some smaller ones too, which would give me more of a chance to actually finish one of them during the year! So far my choices aren’t looking too small though!:
1 Jan – Lizzie*Kate’s Christmas flip-its
2 Jan – Rosewood Manor’s Quaker Diamonds
3 Jan – Shepherd’s Bush’s Here We Go A Haunting
4 Jan – Mirabilia’s Christmas Elf Fairy
5 Jan – CCN’s The Tea Room
6 Jan – Shepherd’s Bush’s Finch Song
7 Jan – Either Country Threads’ Paris kit, or Mill Hill’s Haunted Hotel
10 Jan – Dimensions SAL – my choice is Weekend a Paris
10 Jan – Teatime Stitchers SAL – we have a choice of 3 freebies charts, so I’ll be stitching on of the pansy freebies for this round
12 Jan – Christmas Stocking SAL – I have a Dimensions kit Enchanted Ornament Christmas Stocking that I’ll be starting, but don’t hold out much hope of having it in use for 2016, maybe 2017 all going well!
13 Jan – HAED SAL – I’m still dithering over which one to stitch – I have a choice of three (originally it was two, but I just recently splurged on a piece that I’m totally in love with … and had to choose the maximum colours, so I think I’m a bit insane with that one!!). My choices are either QS Iris, Blue Daisy, or His Way Home.
14 Jan – Valentine’s Day SAL – Still deciding on a chart to use, but it’s like to be Bent Creek’s Bliss or the Drawn Thread’s Love fob.
15 Jan – 2016 Hallowe’en Ornie SAL – There’s no actual start date for this one, but I figure the first two weeks of the year are horrendous for new starts, so I’ll start my ornie in the middle of the month! The theme for January is Winged Creatures (bats, owls, crows, ravens etc), so I’m really looking forward to that one 🙂
7 Feb – Country Cottage Needleworks SAL – No idea which one I’m going to decide on in the end, but it’s likely to be one of the beach/seaside designs.
17 Feb – St Patrick’s Day SAL – A nice small one for me this time round, I think I’ll be stitching Bent Creek’s Leprechaun, or Victoria Sampler’s Ireland from the International Hearts series.
27 Feb – Easter SAL – Another nice small one, I’m going to be stitching Bent Creek’s Happy Easter.
26 Jul – Specialty Stitch SAL – I have so many projects to choose from, and this is so far in the future, I’ll see what I’m in the mood for closer to the time.