July IHSW

I spent this past IHSW working on the birth annoucement for my niece's upcoming birth. I don't have a progress Pic to compare it to as I started it mid-week.

Toys Birth Annoucement
14 ct Aida, 2 over 1
started July 18, 2013

I have made huge headway and hope to have most of the cross's complete by the end of this week. The baby is not due until September but I have a blanket to knit so I want to make sure I pace myself.

I also knit a few dishrags as well.

Lily's Sugar and Cream - Batik
Garter Stitch

Bernat Handicrafter

Hopefully a few more will get completed in the next few days...Happy stitching!

A goal for this Year!

So as I am sure that all readers of this blog have the same sickness...Random Stash Addition (I will call it RSA for short), I am running out of places to store things. As such, my goal for the year is to be net even on stash, ideally in the negative, but I am shooting for even. Also, when I say stash, I mean cross stitch, yarn AND fabric. All Stash :)

I am also doing this on a fiscal year cycle. My day job is all about fiscal years so it seemed fitting to do that here as well. In the next few posts, I will be working on an inventory of the stash (in between stitching of course). I may post a few pics of interesting finds and organization ideas while I am at it.

What is the reward for this? I am still trying to decide. I am thinking a new sewing machine...but I am open to ideas if anyone has some. 

Happy stitching!

A finish, Progress, TUSAL, and a few other random things!

I figured an update is long overdue considering I was on a "stay cation" last week over the 4th of July holiday here in the US. My grandmother is in town so I didn't spend the whole time stitching but I did spend a good bit of time on things.

First thing first...I made it past the halfway point on the Butterfly cushion I am making for said grandmother. Here is where I was when I last updated:

And as of 7/6/2013, I have made it past halfway:

Butterfly Cushion
DMC Floss 3 X 2
28ct. Linen

I did have to take it off the hoop as my grandmother will be spending more time at my house this week and I do not want her to see it.

So I started and finished something else:

Heart - Brigitte DaDaux.com
Threadworx color 1005 "Cherries"
30 ct. Lugana 2x2

It was very easy and quite fun to stitch. I also started a new birth announcement kit for a niece that is on the way:

There wasn't really amy part of the stitching to show as it was only 33 stitches last night but I will be working fast and furious on this until it is complete.

I also spent some time working on some unfinished sewing projects as well. I started making quilted coasters and am moving right along

4 coaster set
Moda "Sassy" charm square pack

Finally, I have my TUSAL progress:

The majority of the threads from this month are from the butterfly cushion and the ends from the quilted coasters. :) You can see other's progress at Daffycat's Blog.

Happy Stitching everyone !!

IHSW, some found finishes, and a new hobby!

I am one of the few that thought IHSW was the weekend before last and when I realized it was wrong, I got excited! More stitching time for me :)

I began working on a butterfly cushion for my grandmother. She has no idea that I am making it for her but she does not have the internet so I am not worried that she will even begin to figure this out. A picture of my progress can be found below.

28 ct. cream linen
3x2 DMC cotton Floss

The patter is from The Cross Stitcher magazine. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have at least half of the outline done. Then it needs to be put away for awhile as my grandma is coming to visit :)

I also found a few older finishes as I was organizing my craft room.

14 ct. white Aida,
2 x 1 DMC Cotton Floss

This is one that my mom finished when I was a baby. I am not sure why she never did anything with it. I am going to find a frame for it or possibly some pretty fabric to make a wall hanging to put in my entry way.

Both projects, 14 ct. AIDA, DMC cotton Floss 2 X 1

I think both of these Holiday pieces are from a Leisure Arts catalog but I need to figure out which one. :)

There was a portion of the last few weeks that I got bored with the Butterfly so I started and almost finished: "You're so cute, I can Hardly Bear it" from The Cross Stitcher Magazine.

"You're so Cute, I Can Hardly Bear It"
18 Ct. Aida, DMC cotton Floss, 2 X 1
The CrossStitcher, January 2012

I also threw a new dishrag on the needles:

Finally....I picked up a new hobby! In my previous post I showed a few items that I had sewed, including quilted coasters. After spending months searching for a table runner that I liked, I decided to make my own. I have completed piecing together the 2 sides of the piece. 

Now all is left is actually quilting them together. The fabric was a set of precut strips, Bali Pop from Robert Kaufman (I think). If you cannot tell, I am a huge fan of the Color blue and all of its possible shades! I didn't realize until I put the knitted dishrag and the table runner pics near one another how close they are in color...interesting.

So I had a busy but more importantly productive 2 weeks, hopefully the next ones will be as great!

June TUSAL and progress

First and foremost, I need to show my ORTs from TUSAL. Check out Daffycat's blog for more information.

You can see from the color variations I have been working on 3 different projects since the last ORT check-in. The bottom layer is the Spring Mandala from Ink Circles, the middle layer is "The Lady and the Flag" from Miribilia, and the top (all black thread) is the from the Butterfly Cushion that was in the April 2013 issue of the The Cross Stitcher Magazine. My ORTs for the year can be found below:

Next up is my progress on "The Lady and the Flag." This was my progress as of my last post:

"The Lady and the Flag" progress as of 5/30/2013

"The Lady and the Flag" progress as of 6/9/2013

 I decided to remove her from the hoop as I was getting board with working on that. I then put in the fabric for the "The Butterfly"cushion from the April 2013 Issue of The CrossStitcher magazine. I will post a pic of this one as soon as I get a chance.

Finally, I have spent some time sewing and have a few things to show:

Receiving Blanket - completed 6/3/2013

Receiving Blanket - completed 6/3/2013

Fleece cover for Chair - completed 6/4/2013

Coasters - completed 6/3/2013 - Sassy by Moda  5"x5" squares and black backing fabric

I hope to post more progress soon. Happy stitching!

Memorial Day weekend Update

This past weekend was Memorial Day in the US which meant an extra day to myself for projects. I put "The Lady and the Flag" back in the hoop after a break of a few weeks. Here was where I left off:

Progress as of Mid-march

I put a good bit of work into it in the last few days:

The edge of the stitching that is covered by the "hoop huggie" covers the lowest row of red on the flag for perspective. My hope for this upcoming weekend is to finish the more neutral colors of the dress and make some progress on the American Flag.

I also spent some time with my family this weekend which meant I made a few more dishrags: 1 crochet and 1 knit.

Knit

Crochet

I also made my first attempt at a quilt mug rug but no pics to show for now.

Happy Stitching!

IHSW, a new finish, and some Yarn projects too!

I finally got the photos from IHSW uploaded to my computer. I spent the majority of the day working on the Spring Mandala from Ink Circles, finishing the stitching completely. For a reminder, here is the last picture I took:

I had made some progress since this picture where I finished the Black outline. Below is the finished project just out of the Q-SNAP.

Spring Mandala
Ink Circles
2 over 1, 18ct. white Aida

I had tried stiching this on linen but the fabric floss combination was not working for me so I ended up on Aida.

The I also made a receiving blanket for my nephew and Machine sewed the backing on the finish below. I am planning on stuffing it to make a pin cushion.

Lizzie and Kate - Whatever!
36ct linen
2 over 2
backing scrap from my stash

Finally I had spent much of the previous week working on some knitting and crocheting of dish cloths! All that is left is weaving in the ends!

Various dishcloths - Lily's Sugar and Cream Yarn.

This weekend is a long weekend in the US so I have some Family time, my father's birthday and hopefully big stitching. I put the Lady and the Flag back in the hoop for awhile. :)

Happy Stitching!