August and September Stitching Updates

Well it has been a long time since I last Updated but I do Have a lot to share! My plan is to get caught up in a few posts. I am going to recommit to my Crafting Blog as I really need it to help me stay on task.

Cross-Stitching:
I have been working heavily on 2 projects:

Brigid's Shamrock

This is a HAED pattern that uses DMC threads and I chose to put it on 18CT AIDA as it is 100% Coverage. The Pciture above was the starting point in July. I worked on this project on 2 summer stitch days sponsored by my LNS and got to this point:

Then I spent concentrated time on the project in August and some of September am at this point currently:

My plan is to get to 1/4 complete before I move to another Focus project for awhile. I have already consumed 5 Skiens of DMC (2 black, 1 each of white, 906 and 907). I also made the grime guard on my Qsnap as well :)

I also worked on Tapestry by Ink Circles.

This is using the called for threads on Autumn by Under the Sea Fabrics on 32ct lugana. this was a true joy to work on but decided to take a break to focus on Brigid's Above.

Finally, I completed the following that was my travel stitching:

I used the called for DMC and a piece of 28ct. evenweave from my stash. It's a Cute Pattern from Lizzie and Kate Called Live Well

The plan for October is to get to the 1/4 point on Brigid'd and move to a Halloween pattern of some sort.

Happy Stitching everyone!

WIPocalypse Jan Check-in!

The January Check-in for the WIPocalypse SAL check-in was on January 29th. I was unable to check-in that day as I was just released from the hospital after emergency surgery. Needless to say, I was super tired and really didn't have the gumption to get online. That being said I am on the mend and Checking in only a few days late.

The topic for this month is: What Stitch-a-Longs (SALs) are you participating in this year?
The only SALs that I am participating in this year is this one and the Smalls SAL where we stitch 1 thing that is small every month. I am intrigued with other SAL's but have not jumped into that pool yet.

Now for the Progress on my list thus far (I do not have very many WIPs so some of these are will be new starts):
Cirque Des Cercles - Started but not pic
Cirque Des Carreaux - not started
Pretty Little Toronto - Focus piece. Here was my start after the stitching retreat weekend.

Pretty Little Toronto - Called for DMC on 32ct. Tarnished Silver UTS

Noah's Submarine - not started
Pinocchio - Did not work on but here is where I left it the last time I worked on it

Santa and Westie Stocking - did not work on it.
The ABC's of Family -  did not work on it but here is it's progress

 Snowman ornaments - did not work on these but I think I am going to use them for the Smalls SAL to get them done this year and finally off this list for good.
Brigid's Shamrock - Worked a little on this. Need some good downtime to work on this as it is a large project. - over a yard of fabric.

All in all, with the surgery involved, a lot of good stitching was done.

The focus for the rest of this month is Toronto and a small.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Finish #3

This past weekend was the Stitching retreat sponsored by my LNS. It was held at a local state park Lodge from Wednesday through Sunday. The Theme this year was a weekend in Paris. Sue Hillis of Sue Hillis Designs was the designer in residence for the retreat. She spoke of her start, designing process, and some of the issues she sees today impacting pattern design.  There were over 90 women in attendance.

I did get a lot accomplished during my time there. First, I worked some on Brigid's Shamrock from HAED.

I have almost completed a page. it is hard to see but the White section between the Right most Black vertical line and the knot is filled in with White. So That took some time.

I also worked on "Metamorphosis" by Ink Circles. This is where I stopped at the retreat.

I am using Picture this Plus 32 count Linen in the color Wren. I am using the called for Gentle Arts Sampler Threads And Simply Shaker Threads except I swapped out the Uniform Blue with Midnight and the Picnic Basket with Onyx. I continued to work on it when I got home on Sunday and finished it on Monday.

I also worked on Ink Circles - Cirque Des Cercles but only finished about 300 stitches. I also forgot to take a Picture of my Progress.

My Final Start this weekend was Pretty Little Toronto by Satsuma Street on Tarnished Silver from Under the Sea Fabrics.

All in All a very Productive weekend. Now it is back to the daily grind of Work :(

Happy Stitching Everyone!

"99" COMPLETE

So I was able to finish "99" by Ink Circles on July 2nd. It was completed using the called for DMC floss on White Linen.

"99" by Ink Circles

Bottom 33 bottles of "99"

It was a relatively easy stitch. It is also another finish on my WIPocalypse.

Right now, Pretty Little Paris is on the q-snaps. I have two weekend stitching days that should give me some solid stitching time that are sponsored by my LNS.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Ink Circles "99" Progress Update

I have been spending a lot of time on Ink Circles - "99" recently. I realized that my picture was slightly blurry but decided to post the picture anyways.

Ink Circles - "99", 36 ct. Cream linen called for DMC

I work on this one in three shelf increments so these are the middle three shelves. The hope is that I can get through them in the next few nights.

I also went to my first stitch-in sponsored by my local stitching store "Keepsakes." It was a single day and a great event. I met a lot of great women with common interests. There is a weekend event that happens in January that I hope to attend.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Christmas Stocking Complete!

I was asked by a close friend to make Christmas Stockings for her and her husband. Below you can see the completed stocking. I have to finish hers as well. She provided all the materials. I just need to stitch them.

 

 

 

Snowman Stocking - completed 7/5/2015

After I completed this stocking, I made a Christmas ornament. Since I am crazy I have an in process pic but not a finished one.

Ink Circles Christmas Ornament Pattern - Just Cross Stitch Christmas Issue preview July 2015

I used DMC floss scraps and changed the colors to be more vibrant as this is a gift for someone who loves those type of colors. I now decided to put "99" back on the Q-Snaps. I am going to concentrate on that for the next 2 weeks at least.

Happy Stitching!

WIPocalypse Check-in: February 2015

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's time for the next check-in for WIPocalypse. I was able to work on three of the projects that are on the list on the left side of this page.

1.) Santa's Office - This was a new start for me over the holidays that I had kitted up for over a year.  Between the initial check-in and now, I added some more stitching to his bag(about 100 stitches) but of Course I forgot to take an updated picture :( here is where he was on the January check-in.

 

2.) 99 - this was a new start since the January Check-in. I took 2 progress pics:

99 - After 1 hour of stitching

99 - progress as of January 16th

I still have this one on the frames and will continue to work it until the first three shelves are completed.

3.) Flower cards - These have been a WIP for going on 2 years. I have decided that this is the year that they get completed as I am tired of knowing they are 3/4's completed. When I checked-in for January, they were here:

Flower cards - Susan Bates  - January Check-in

I have spent some solid time on these and finished the 4 that were almost completely stitched (including Backstitch) and continued working on the other 2.

I feel like I made some great progress on some WIPs.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

 

30 Days of New Starts - Check-in #3

If I have realized anything in the plan to start/work on different things every day for 30 days...I need to plan...plan...PLAN. I am living by a spreadsheet that I have set-up for myself and I made sure not to inset too many large projects as I always want to work on them more that a few hours each night. As for what I have been working on, here we go:

1/8: Cocoa Mug Cross Stitch: This kit is so much fun. Each of the 6 is relatively small and gives a great sense of accomplishment.

Cocoa Mug - Dimensions Kit?
From my stash

1/9: Red and White Ornament: This ornie is one of my go to designs for each year. There are just so many color ways that can be played with that I am always trying something new.

St. Charles - Ink Circles Designs
Scrap of Linen and Floss from my stash

1/10: Purple baby Blanket: The first baby blanket of the year needs to be completed by 2/9 for a work friend who is having her third child. She is so excited because (in her words), "when you are on #3, no one thinks of really doing anything for you." I am glad I can make her happy.

Purple Blanket
Caron - Simply soft
Basket weave pattern on size 10 needles

1/11: Dish Rag - Block #5 Pinwheel

Pinwheel - Lily's Sugar and Cream Cotton

1/12: Snow Man Ornaments - Ski's - This little guy is from a Herrschners Kit and has a snowman riding on Skis. I made some great progress for only working on it 1 day.

Snowman on Skis
Herrschners ornament Kit

Well, it looks like I am all caught up on my 30 days of projects. I am slightly amazed at what I have been able to accomplish once I put my mind to this endeavor.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

WIPocalypse Official Check-in: May

It's time for another WIPocalypse check in. I worked on and completed 2 projects from my list.

1.) First up we have NOEL. I can only seem to find the last progress pick but I only needed to finish the N which is done. This is going to be made into an ornie for my Grandparents in Law.

2.) in my previous post I finished the Winter Mandala.

Not bad with 2 finishes. My post is only 5 days late too so I guess that isn't too bad.

The Prompt for this month was:

What designs or themes do you really wish you could find?  What do you think is missing among stitching designs?

For a long time, I thought there was a lack of architectural pieces. but there have been additions recently by Thea Gouverneur for example. Otherwise, there are not really any designs that I have been looking for recently that I could not find.

Happy Stitching everyone!

back from my hiatus with a finish! (Turtle Trot and WIPocalypse)

So I took an unintended hiatus from my blog to get my life organized, take a trip for work and spend quality time with my dear husband.  I also took some time to stitch, which is always a good thing.

As a matter a Fact, I finished the Winter Mandala and took all 4 to get framed.

Winter Mandala - Ink Circles
Called for DMC - 2 over 1
16ct. White AIDA

Winter Mandala - Ink Circles
Called for DMC - 2 over 1
16ct. White AIDA

I also took a picture of them all completed together on the Framer's table. It gave me a great sense of accomplishment to call them done.

4 seasons mandalas - Ink Circles
Called for DMC
16ct. White AIDA

This also knocked one more off of my Combined WIPocalypse and Turtletrot list. All in all it was a productive few weeks. Hopefully, I will have some more to show including a table runner or 2 and some curtains.

Happy stitching everyone!

TUSAL and Progress Pics - April 2014

I have some progress to show on 2 projects. First, the Winter mandala. I have completed the black outline and started some of the colors.

Winter Mandala by Ink Circles
16ct. white AIDA
DMC floss as called for

I also started a new knitting project. I am using the seed stitch scarf pattern found here. The picture below shows the first color sitting on a scrap piece of tan colored linen. The color is vandyke brown and is Venezia Yarn from Cascade yarns.

Seed Stitch Scarf
Cascade Yarns Venezia
Size 10 needles

I remembered to take a picture of the ORTs from my sewing endeavors. These scraps are the ones that I throw away and do not put in my scrap bins. They are mainly coming from the placemats I made and the patriotic table runner. I need to remember to take a picture of my cross stitching ORTs.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Stitch from my Stash - April 2014 Report

This month saw more leaving my stash than coming in again via the Stitch from my Stash:

Carryover: $38.22

April budget: $25.00

April spend: $2.33 - 1 spool of thread

April budget left over: $22.67

Total Carryover to May: $60.89

The Projects that I worked on this month are as follows:

New Starts: Winter Mandala, Eagle Table Runner, Prayer shawl for my grandmother

WIPs or UFOs: NOEL

Finishes: Pinky Baby Blanket, 2 St. Charles Ornaments, NOEL, Ohio State placemats

Stash Consumed: 

Yarn: 1492 yds for blanket

Fabric: 2 yds for table runner, 2 yads for placemats and coasters

Stitching: NOEL kit consumed, scrap 36ct linen and some floss for ornaments.

All in all in was a good month! Happy Stitching everyone! Hopefully I can remember to take progress pics when I get home later.

IHSW recap

This past weekend was International Hermitting and Stitching Weekend where one can sign up to hermit with some projects to dedicate set time to getting them done. I focused on 2 projects this weekend. The first being the Winter Mandala by Ink Circles. I put my first stitch in on Friday night and by Sunday evening, this was my progress:

Winter Mandala - Ink Circles
16ct. White AIDA
Called for DMC

I also worked on a Table runner that will be a gift for my mother-in-law. My dear husband picked out the fabric so I spent a lot of saturday determining the design and size of things. I completed piecing together the entire top and intend to quilt it sometime this weekend.

Eagle Table Runner
Progress 4/20/2014

Eagle Table runner, close up of fabric choices.

All in all it was a very productive weekend. My dear husband is going to his cousin's wedding out of town this weekend and I am taking those days off to have a crafting Marathon. Hopefully it will be a productive marathon.

Happy Stitching everyone!

WIPocalypse Check-in

It's time for another check-in for WIPocalypse. If you would like more information as to what this is, see the button in my sidebar to the right. I worked on 2 of the projects on my list since the last check in, these were also the 2 projects I worked on for TurtleTrot (that I missed the post for :( ).

1.) NOEL - this project is a kit from 1975(before I was born) that was handed down to be from my dear Husbands grandmother. It is on 30ct. even weave stitched 1x1.

NOEL (circa 1975)
The Carolina Cross Stitch Company
30 ct. even weave 1x1 DMC

I only have a little of the light green to finish on the N and I can call this one complete.

2.) Dream Catcher - this is one that I blogged about earlier so here is the progress when I put it down.

Dream Catcher - March WIPocalypse check-in

Dream Catcher - April WIPocalypse check-in

Besides posting about the progress on Projects we are supposed to answer a prompt from Measi:

How do you keep your stash organized? This one is an interesting one for me as I am slightly OCD when it comes to organizing things. First, for Cross Stitch Items:

I have a 4X4 cube shelving unit from IKEA that houses all kits, floss, fabric and patterns. I am in the process of digitizing that inventory. I keep the fabric that is not kitted to a pattern in a bag labeled with the count, color, and size if possible. Floss is wound on labeled bobbins or kept in labeled ziploc bags. Kits are organized by subject matter and designer. Patterns that I have kitted up are in bags with the pattern, floss, and fabric. finishing items, needles, beads and kreinik are kept in an antique spice cabinet in on a shelf.

Yarn is kept in 2 places: In the 4 blue cubes in the last picture above, I have cotton yarn for dishrags and baby blanket yarn. I have a shelving unit on the wall that i won in an auction that has 30 cubby holes that can hold up to 4 caron simply soft skeins each.

Fabric storage is something that I am still figuring out. Currently, quilting yardage is folded in 2 large 31 totes. Precut items are in one of the black cubes in the picture above. My goal at the end of this year is to have all items in this one room in my house.

I will say that some in progress projects are next to the couch in a large lined basket where I typically stitch.

Happy stitching everyone!

Christmas Ornaments and Baby Blankets

I have been working heavily on the Pinky baby blanket. I am really enjoying this one…the colors and pattern are very easy to work with.

The baby that this is for was adopted by a couple of close friends of mine. I used some variegated pink/green yarn combined with some light pink Bernat baby on size 10 needles. Hopefully I will be finishing this one in the next 2 nights or so.

I also worked some on a few Christmas ornaments as well. I used the free St. Charles Pattern by Ink Circles.

St. Charles by Ink Circles
32ct. Linen

The one on the bottom left used some of the floss I bought from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe's 1795 floss collection - Christmas Red and Green. I decided to try a few other color options as well.

I was sick with a pretty nasty cold this past weekend so I wasn't as productive as I would have liked but all in all not bad. This week I would like to finish a few more christmas ornaments and possibly a new start.

Happy Stitching everyone!