Cross Stitch, Halloween, Just Nan, Works in Progress

Update on Frightful

Slowly but surely my Just Nan Halloween piece is getting stitched … the frog hasn’t reared its little head since I threw him back into the witches’ cauldron where he belongs …

just-nan-girls-night-out-fr

… and I managed to get a few more stitches into block #2 last night.  Fingers crossed I’ll get more chance of getting this closer to finished over the weekend, as I intend being a lazy slob just watching DVD’s and stitching (thanks to Katie who has just loaned me Season 3 of Supernatural to watch – woohoo!!  Although it’s hard to stitch and drool over Jensen Ackles at the same time! LOL).  Anyway, here’s the current update of Frightful as we lead into the weekend (yet again a crappy photo, as it doesn’t show the vibrant colours off very well – will have to take a photo outside on Sunday):

Just Nan-Frightful 23Oct08

And the BEST news is that I’ve heard from Karen at The Stitching Post, and apparently Mirabilia’s new mermaid is probably due to arrive next Tuesday … which means I should have her in my hot little hands in a week’s time – woohoo! 😀

Which reminds me, I haven’t been to the post box for a week – perhaps I’d better do that on the way to work this morning to see what bills are awaiting my attention … oops …

Cross Stitch, Halloween, Just Nan, Works in Progress

Halloween Frogs

Personally I don’t think Frogs should be permitted during Halloween (or any time of the year for that matter) … I noticed last night when I sat and did an hour’s stitching before bed that I’ve miscounted in the border of my Halloween piece by one stitch, so I have to rip all the right-hand side borders out (from the green stitches out) … thankfully I hadn’t managed to stitch too much, so it won’t take long to re-stitch again.  I only noticed last night when stitching the spider and ran out of room for the legs … and when I did notice my face was a really good mimic of the expression on that ghosts face!! LOL.  The photo is dreadful sorry – the colours really ‘pop’ in real life, and are really bright – love it, and just what the doctored ordered, I’m really loving stitching this one! 😀

Just Nan-Frightful 20Oct08

This is what it will look like ‘when it’s all grown up’ 😀

jn150-l

Thanks everyone for helping me out with the mermaid fabric – I have to admit my gut was also leaning towards Waterfall as well … I’ve asked Catherine at Countrystitch to send me a small ‘sample/ornie’ cut of each of the two colours (Waterfall and Ocean Blue) so I can do a true floss toss and see the colours in real life before making the ultimate decision.  I’ll show piccies of the various fabrics when I do so you can see the differences.

Rightio, time to start getting ready for work – it’s been raining cats and dogs so I need to find my umbrella too hmmm.  My intention was to go walking before work this week, but I took one look outside and went “nah” 😉

Cross Stitch, Just Nan

Just Nan’s Evening Star

Just Nan-Evening Star 1 Just Nan-Evening Star 3

You may remember earlier in the month I offered up a prize draw for my finished Just Nan’s Evening Star … well, this morning I pulled out the name from the proverbial hat (actually my Dolce Vita perfume bottle box!) … and the winner is ……………

Karoline!!!

I just need to check your mailing address, and also whether you would prefer me to leave it unfinished so you can frame it, or whether you would like me to turn it into a fabric-edged/quilted wallhanging (and if so whether you have a preference for the border fabric colour).  I thought I’d wait to give you the choice 🙂

Thanks again for your interest in this piece – I haven’t forgotten that there are a few people interested in the chart itself, but will work on that later, ‘cos now I need to quickly jump in the shower and get to work 🙂

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Just Nan

Just Nan’s “Evening Star”

Yippee, I can finally post a “finished” piccie of this piece.  This time the photos are crappy because they’re taken at night instead of early morning haha.  I still remain very disappointed in the finished result purely because of the colours involved – I love some of the bands, but it just doesn’t “do it” for me.

Just Nan-Evening Star 1
“Evening Star” by Just Nan (class project)
Stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
with recommended threads and beads (embellishment kit)

Just Nan-Evening Star 2

Just Nan-Evening Star 3

Going by some of the comments I’ve received during the stitching progress it appears there are a few people out there that do seem to like it, so I am pleased to finally be able make the “big announcement”…

This finished project is “free to a good home” – if anyone would like to go into a prize draw for this piece, please leave a comment stating this clearly, and at the end of September I will draw one name out of the hat to send this piece to. 

I will finish it as a quilted wallhanging so it’s ready to hang in it’s new home (you will just need to provide the hanger itself).  While it is quite lovely, I guess, I just don’t feel compelled to display it on my walls, and probably never will, so I’d rather it went to someone who would appreciate it 🙂

Now I guess it’s time to work out what to stitch next … I’m seriously considering going back to a mini-rotation, as I have some BAP’s that need to be worked on, so I’ll have to put some serious thought into that soon … for right now, I have no idea what I feel like stitching on next.  Might have to sleep on it and see what the new day brings … 🙂

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Just Nan, Needlerolls

Attack of the Frogs

I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to stitch up this little piece – mainly due to numerous attacks of the frogs!  If it was my own piece I’d probably have left two of the errors in it, as the larger blue flowers were one stitch out in their placement (I was quite impressed I managed to do that same error in both of them!) … and the border was unpicked three times as I’d managed to get loops and knots in the pearl cotton and not realised … mutter mutter mutter.

Barnabee's-Bride-1
Barnabee’s Bride by Just Nan (kit)
(once again apologies for the bad photo – I’ll take a better one
once it’s all finished into the needleroll)

Anyway the stitching is finally all done, and all I have to do now is the finishing, which I hope to attempt tomorrow.  Then this will be driven back home to The Stitching Post where it will live happily with its owner (I’m stitching this as a model for Karen).

As for the rest of today, it will be spent making a beef stew in the crockpot, along with a big pan full of pumpkin soup ready for the freezer.