Tiffstitches a Blog!

Ack! I'm late! I'll quickly get this photo up since I have it on my computer and I'll get the rest up throughout the day.  Yesterday was the day to post for the Turtle Trot SAL run by Claudette over at BAP Attack. It's a great SAL in that you just do your best to stitch what you can on your 13 projects each month. This past month I managed to finish one! I also managed to start another project , but that can wait for a future post.  My finish is #6 Christmas Drop by AAN. I wasn't sure if...

My secret gift for a friend that recently broke her leg has been received, so I can post about it here!  I received this chart from a friend on the Cross Stitch Forum and it's such a fun little stitch. It only took a few days and I used some threads from my Dinky Dyes oops bags. There were all kinds of fun colours and the chart requested blues, but I think my friend preferred the purples I was lucky enough to get. They just work together so well.  Here are the colours I used to the far right in this...

I hope everyone had a fun IHSW, even if you didn't get to stitch as much as you wanted. Does that ever happen? I'm very happy to announce I actually finished something! This was a WIP from around September 2011, so it's nice to cross something off that huge list of WIPs I have. I'm happy to present: Christmas Drop by AAN! The main ornament is stitched with DMC satin, I think it was 666, and the yellow is Soie Crystale, but I lost the tag. Hopefully you can read it says "Merry Christmas" in the middle. The top ribbon is...

I thought I might have a finish for this month, but I got distracted by a new project.  No one is more surprised than me..... But on to updates: 6. Christmas Drop by AAN. I decided to use some lovely gold silk thread from Soie Crystale for the embellishments and the writing. And I went with French knots instead of beads. I like the look overall. I had started stitching the ribbon at the top in the DMC satin, but I fell in love with a Waterlilies Holiday thread and am going to use that instead. I haven't quite picked out all...

For this IHSW, again hosted by the lovely Joyce of Random Ramblings, I dragged out one UFO and a WIP to work on.  This is AAN's Christmas Drop and I used up all my satin DMC. So I have to get some more. I had picked up some WDW in Whiskey and another golden yellow colour, but I might just get another silk for the contrasting colour. I'll have to have a look at what the Whistling Duck has. They have quite a few silk thread brands, so I might find the perfect one.  And this is a miniscule start on...

I touched on Mabel's Fancies A Song of the Weather Hardanger SAL in a January blog post, but I'd like to mention it more now that I've completed February and most of March.  For February I used a piece of 28 count white Monaco, and DMC variations perle #5 for the beaded edging and DMC perle#5 ecru for the kloster blocks. The woven bars are Caron Wildflowers (I think that's what the perle #8s are called?) Jade and the dove's eyes and French knots are Caron Wildflowers Blueberry.  I'd like to mention again how much I'm enjoying this SAL. The new...

I do have some progress photos on more of my Turtle Trot SAL pieces. I somewhat gave up on Warbreaker since it wasn't going to be finished in time and set aside time for some others. Here's an update on the entire list. No, I didn't stitch on everything, because of course I had to start some new projects too!  1. Warbreaker - no update since February.  2. Gone With the Wind - haven't started yet, but I'll need to get a move on to finish it for my Grandma in November of this year! 3. Tree of Stitches - I'm...

Hello fellow hermitters! I hope you all had a great IHSW this weekend. Thanks to Joyce for getting everyone together to virtually stitch along with each other.  I'm taking a break from Warbreaker because I wasn't able to attend the author signing after all. I'm working on a thank you gift for a friend that is a big fan of these movies  This fantastic chart can be found at Pyro Dog's Etsy shop. The Evil Dead movies are a favourite of DH's as well, so I can see that I"ll be stitching this again sometime soon. I'm using 28 ct cashel...

For February's edition of the Turtle Trot SAL I only have one picture to share currently. I was really trying to motor to have this one finished by Saturday, but it's not going to happen. I got hit with a crazy case of vertigo on January 27th and that made it impossible to stitch for about a week. I've never had vertigo before, but wow, it is not fun. I couldn't even make it to work a few days when I really needed to. At least it's mostly gone now. I did some work on the HAED BB SAL Mystic Garden,...

I played hooky from Warbreaker this weekend to work a lot on my HAED BB Freebie SAL, the Mystic Garden QS. I didn't get much done since I've been recovering from a cold, but 500 stitches isn't too bad for one day's work.  I worked on Warbreaker throughout the week and I didn't get a lot done, but hopefully I'll be better off this week and be able to finish another page. There are 9, but the right-most page is only 20-30 stitches wide.  Wish me luck! Happy Stitching! Tiffstitch  ...

If you're like me, then you've started more projects lately than you've completed. So I've decided to join the Turtle Trot SAL over at BAP Attack. I don't have as many WIPs as she does, but I have more than I'd like. So in 2013 I'll try and work on these projects more than starting any new ones. Join in if you've got a pile of WIPs/UFOs you'd like to work on! Alright, so now I must decide for sure on 13 patterns to work on this year. My last post gave hints of what I'd like to work on, but...

We haven't met up with my in-laws yet for Xmas, so I'm not sure if we will. If not I have a couple small things I made for my BIL and SIL that I think they'll like, so I'll give them these next time I see them.  I modified this design to fit on a towel from Lady Kell's excellent subversive sampler. She has another one about wiping your feet, and lots of other great freebies, so check out her Kincavel Krosses site if you're interested. I used Carries Creations Berry Swirl and I really love the effect. Of course since...

I completed several projects this year, but I still have a few lingering WIPs I had hoped to complete. Since the Xmas Xstitching Challenge I joined last year kind of fizzled out I didn't keep up with my Xmas stitching and got distracted by other projects, like that huge carnival piece. I'm hoping 2013 I will actually keep myself on track and finish a few pieces, although I also have several new starts I'd like to make. My plan is to join the Turtle Trot SAL over at BAP Attack and work on 13 WIPs/UFOs. My list has been changing almost...

I completed stitching the 12 Days of Xmas the night before we left for our visit home, but I still needed to attach the backing fabric. We had some spare time when we were visiting friends, so I started pinning then and got 3 sides sewed, 2 long and one short. I left the short side open so I could flip the piece back the correct way. I completed stitching the short side at my parents while hiding the piece itself in my stitching bag. It was complicated, but it all came out all right in the end. One end, "On...

Thank you to Joyce of Random Ramblings for hosting IHSW the entire year! It was a lot of fun to see everyone's stitching and meet a ton of other stitchers.  This weekend I managed to finish the drummer, so all 12 motifs are complete! I'm still working on finishing the heart, I managed to stitch most of it, but there's still some backstitch to complete.  Here's the entire piece, so I'm mostly finished. I had DH wash the blue lines out today and some of the dark reds and green bled!  So annoying since I used all DMC, including the metallics. And let me say just...

I finished another one! The Geese-A-Laying is complete and only one more motif to finish, then another heart at the end.  I've started on the Drummer for the 12th day, but I don't think I'll finish this month since today is the last day! I should still finish in plenty of time for Xmas though.  I also participated in a Christmas ornament exchange on the Cross Stitch Forum. I forgot to take a picture of the ornament I sent, but my exchange recipient posted one. I stitched a Mill Hill kit, it was a lot of fun, and the beading, although...

I'm a little late getting this up as I've already stitched a fair bit of the 11th motif (6 Geese-a-laying), but it's not complete yet so I haven't taken a photo. I had hoped to get the 12 motifs done by the end of the month, but since that will be Saturday I don't think I'll quite make it. We'll see. The rings were a bit of a pain since they're all metallics, and then the red metallic hangers.. thankfully my LNS suggested Thread Heaven or I might still be working on this one. As it was the DMC still broke...

It's finally time to choose the winners! I assigned each entrant a number in order of your comments and I used a random number generator from Random.org and the winners are as follows: Mary Joan - Ice Queen Patricia - Blizzard Babe Megan B - All Dressed Up The three winners should all have an email from me asking for your snail mail address, but please let me know as soon as possible if you didn't receive it. Thank you all for participating in my giveaway, and I hope if you're in the U.S. you're having a very Happy Thanksgiving! Tiffstitch...

As usual, I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to stitch, but I still accomplished by goal of finishing Day 5 of the 12 Days of Xmas. I didn't quite finish Day 11, but a fair amount of the cross stitch is done for him. So 2 1/2 to go, plus a heart at the end all in metallics, thankfully I have Thread Heaven to make it possible. I think I have a good chance of completing the stitching this month, and that would be a unique experience. I'm usually finishing stitching December 24! Hope everyone had...

I had all day Sunday to stitch and an unexpected day off Wednesday, so I managed to finish off Days 3,4,9, and 10. Over halfway done now, so hopefully I'll have time to complete the entire design in time to get it finished completely for Xmas. Here are the photos: The French Hen and the Lady Dancing for Days 3 and 9 respectively were fairly lengthy to complete compared to Days 4 and 10. I do like the look of them though. The 4 Calling Birds look a little like fish to me, but oh well. I do like the enthusiastic...

I finished First Bass by Ink Circles on Friday. I really enjoyed stitching this one. It was a very readable chart, and with only four colours and all full crosses, it was easily done. I used Carrie's Creations in Blue Lagoon, Ocean Blue, Bliss and Jelly Fish. Hopefully the recipient will like it.  Time to get back to 12 Days of Xmas, and don't forget about my giveaway. There are still 11 days left.  And if you're looking for a good poppy chart today of all days, check out this one at Hancock's House of Happy or Lady Kell's version at...

As part of the Transworld Book Group, I recently finished Hereward: The Devil's Army by James Wilde. This story is based in England in 1069, after the invasion by William the Conqueror. I'm completely unfamiliar with this time in history, so I was interested to read more about it. This is the second tale of Hereward written by James Wilde, and I haven't read the first. I don't think you need to have read the first book to enjoy the second, but I imagine you'd get a much better background of Hereward and how he got to where this second book...

Some of you may remember this post about how my name got selected for Lizzie Kate's new Flip-It winter series, 6 Snow Belles. I received all 6 charts as of last week, plus a couple excellent new charts: Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm keeping these 2!! And I'm going to keep 3 of the 6 Snow Belles, but I will be giving 3 of them away. All you have to do is comment on my blog and let me know which chart you'd prefer. I will give one each to three people. These are the 3 that will be available:...

My LNS, The Whistling Duck, had their Halloween patterns on for 40% off! So I found some great deals. :) Of course I don't need any of these, well, maybe one that wasn't on sale, but that didn't stop me from buying all the threads I needed to complete 2 Halloween patterns. I did stay away from fabric today, so that helped keep the cost down a bit. But 40% off, how can you go wrong? Here are my purchases: AAN's Spider Banner and Bat Banner are pieces I've been considering since she came out with them, and I finally picked...

I didn't have as much time as I wanted to stitch this weekend, despite it being IHSW, but that seems to be how it goes these days. I did get a fair bit completed on the next 2 motifs of 12 Days of Xmas though.  The Lady-Dancing is almost completely stitched and the French Hen is well on it's way. Hopefully I'll finish them up this week.  Earlier this past week I did spend some time on my sort-of secret gift for my DH. Any guesses on what it is?  And I was lucky enough to have a ride to work...

First, the update from 12 Days of Xmas, I managed to finish the first 4 motifs as of this afternoon! I was going to reward myself and stitch on my freebie HAED, but I'm updating here instead, good for me. Here's a shot of the entire piece so far: I'm still enjoying it, and it doesn't have many colours, so it's not terribly complicated. Lots of backstitch though, so if you dislike backstitch I definitely do not recommend this design. I don't mind it so far, I think it adds a little whimsy to the motifs. Here's a close-up of the...

Finally I've completely finished the first 2 motifs on the 12 Days of Xmas table runner. Thankfully my LNS, The Whistling Duck suggested Thread Heaven to control those pesky DMC metallics. I've been working on a Hello Kitty piece that I've already given away without taking a picture . Annoyed at myself, but the recipient seemed to really like it, so I'm glad I finished, just sorry I don't have a picture of it for you. I do have a couple photos of the table runner though! So that's the full piece so far, I've got a lot of work to...

Thank you for all your encouragement! Of course I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but I pretty much met my main goal, which was to finish the top 4 rows on the HAED Siberian Forest QS. Even DH will admit it's starting to look like something now.  And I'm getting the hang of parking, so that has made this a lot easier to stitch. I think if I had a month to work on it I would be all caught up, but of course I have a million other WIPs to do! Here's a bit of...

As part of the Transworld Book Group I was given the opportunity to read and review The Queen's Secret by Victoria Lamb. This book is based in Elizabethan England in the summer, when Queen Elizabeth is traveling in the English countryside. She and her court will spend time at Kenilworth, home of Earl Robert Dudley, the Queen's long-time favourite. This tale chronicles Queen Bess' thoughts and actions, one of her ladies-in-waiting, Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex, and 2 commoners: Lucy Morgan, an entertainer who happens to be black, and her guardian, Master Goodluck, who just happens to be a spy...

Hello all, if you haven't checked out International Hermit and Stitch Weekend over at Joyce's blog, you're missing out on a fun weekend of guilt-free stitching, and seeing a lot of great stitching blogs. Why not join us this weekend, and then check out all the great stitching everyone did after this weekend? I hope to work more on my 12 days of Xmas table runner, put a few more stitches in my QS Siberian Forest freebie, and enjoy a great weekend of football! Happy Stitching! Tiffstitch...

I got 2nd place at the fair!! First place and best in division was won by a huge piece of a loon reflected in water. The entire piece was stitched, and I think it was about 16x20 inches.. just enormous, and definitely deserved to win! I don't mind coming 2nd to that piece. And Kate at Momuboocre Island is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her 1st blogoversary. Head over here to check out her blog and sign up. But maybe you don't need a $25 gift card to 123 stitch?  Pictures to come in the next post, until then, Happy Stitching! Tiffstitch...

Finally! I did it! I had to stay up 'til around 2 to finish ironing, mounting, etc. but it's finished!  Here it is in all it's glory.  Hopefully it will do well. The fair workers mentioned there were a few other pieces, so I'll be interested to see how it matches up. I'm very happy with it, and I did put it up for sale. But I know exactly where it's going if it doesn't sell.  Now I'll take a bit of a break before going back to some of my Xmas projects. Hope all your stitching is going well! And no...

I'm still not completely finishing my carnival piece, I must finish tonight! I'm slightly farther ahead as I'm maybe halfway done the big hot air balloon that goes above the roller coaster. I'm going to take it to work with me today and stay up late tonight if I need to. With luck I'll be done tonight! Here's another shot of the full piece, I have 3 1/2 more rows of the pink to complete in the hot air balloon and then all the top colour, plus the small balloon, which I could leave out if necessary. We'll see how it...

Thank you for all your comments and votes for 6 Snow Belles!! That name won by a landslide apparently! So on August 15th Lizzie Kate is sending me a copy of all the charts, just for having my name selected out of the top 5, and something else for winning! :) I can't wait to see what it is! So exciting And in other news I need to finish the Carnival project by next Monday! It might be possible. I'm wondering about skipping the big hot air balloon... Here's where I'm at now: So I am pretty close... but still, less...

Lizzie Kate sent out a call for names for her new snow-women series, and one of the names I submitted got chosen as the top 5!   So now you can vote for your favourite. If you'd like to vote for mine, 6 Snow Belles is the name I submitted. You can vote here.  Thank you, and happy stitching!  Tiffstitch...

I didn't have as much time to stitch as usual this weekend, but I did accomplish one goal.  The ferris wheel is complete!! So now it's just a fair amount of cross stitch, tons more backstitch, and I'll have a roller coaster, 2 hot air balloons, and another tent topper. I think the end of August is still within the realm of possibility.  And here's another close-up. You can also see a bit of the carousel in the right corner. That also uses the Rainbow Gallery blending filament and it shines really nicely. I've had no issues working with it at...

I've been concentrating on the carnival piece to hopefully get it done within the next month. I think it's possible. I'm almost done the ferris wheel, just need to do a little more filling in of background before I can fill in the backstitch.  So there's still a ton to do on the right side, but just getting all the blending thread and backstitch done on the ferris wheel will be a huge job. That might be halfway really. There's a lot of backstitch for the roller coaster too, but not as much as there is on this ferris wheel. :)...

I know I just updated recently, but I have done a bit more work on this, especially with the Rainbow Blending thread. Here's an update of the entire piece. It will be as tall as the ferris wheel half again. And on the right side there will be a fair amount of stitching filled in. This side is more open, but still takes some time. I'm doing the pinhead stitch to start the coloured "flags" and they're all Rainbow Gallery blended with DMC. I modified the grey backstitch inside the ferris wheel from DMC 169 as charted to DMC 317. The...

Well, I've been working mostly on my carnival project, and it may be an Xmas present for someone since I'll be stitching it for several months, so here's an update of that piece. I had a bit of decreased stitching over the last week, but I received the GG Rainbow Blending Thread and I'm back at it with a passion. :) I'm slightly farther than this now, working more on the roller coaster on the left side. Lots of backstitch, but I never really minded backstitch. And this is an update of my 12 Days of Xmas piece. I finally have...

Well it was a beautiful weekend, so I wasn't inside stitiching as much as I might have normally. I still got a bit done on my carnvial piece though. First here's a better picture of the finished piece. I'm about halfway across the bottom and I'll finish the bottom before returning for the middle parts. Part of the reason is I'm waiting on the GlissenGloss thread, the other part is I think my fabric is a little too big, but I wanted to stitch everything first before making any cuts. And here's my progress so far. Not too bad, and I'm...

With Father's Day and my mom's birthday coming up I finished a coaster for each of them. I'm pretty excited about this one, a Cyberman from Hancock's House of Happy. I added the lettering and stitched him in DMC 168, 169, 413 and 310 for backstitch and letters. Check out Hancock's site for some excellent charts and some amazing ceramics from their Etsy store. This is a freebie from Sweetbriar Needle Design. I used the colours as charted and went with French and Colonial knots instead of beads.Hopefully they both like them. :) I'm pretty sure you can guess who gets...

I started the fair project on June 1, so here's my progress as of June 7. I think I have a good chance to finish on time, and a kind soul is going to send me some GlissenGloss thread (if she has what I need), so I'll be all set there. I'm stitching it on 28 count Lugana, a silkweaver fabric that I don't know the name of. It has some subtle pink highlights in it though, so I'm hoping for a sort of late evening feel for the piece. It's mostly DMC, but also some GlissenGloss, as mentioned. I think...

Check out her new Halloween chart and comment to win one for free! Good luck, and find it here. Also she's giving away 2 $25 gift certificates to her store again, so comment here. And one more giveaway for her new alphabet series, very elegant, so comment here for a chance to win one of these! Plus she has a great new peacock chart, I know exactly who'd love this one, so comment here and check out her chart. Good luck and happy stitching! Tiffstitch...

For whatever reason my heart hasn't been in stitching White Wolves, so I've started something new. This will be an Xmas gift this year I think. It's large, but not difficult, and there's large patches of colour, so it shouldn't take too long to complete. Certainly before Xmas. Here's a picture of what it will look like. It's from a 2011 Cross Stitch magazine. There's only about 10 colours total and 3 metallics. They call for DMC Light effects, and I already had one that I needed, but I need 2 more. Michael's was out of one colour and their LE...

I suffered a bit of ennui this weekend, so I didn't finish quite as much as I'd hoped. And I realized I'm not that fond of White Wolves as I thought. So it's been somewhat of a pain. At least I haven't made any mistakes as far as I know. I'll likely do White Wolves every other day as I did with Angelic Melody until it's finished. Hopefully that won't be too long.  The left most stitching is the very end of the chart, and I am much happier stiching in my Qsnap than that old scroll frame. It was pretty...

I suffered a bit of ennui this weekend, so I didn't finish quite as much as I'd hoped. And I realized I'm not that fond of White Wolves as I thought. So it's been somewhat of a pain. At least I haven't made any mistakes as far as I know. I'll likely do White Wolves every other day as I did with Angelic Melody until it's finished. Hopefully that won't be too long.  The left most stitching is the very end of the chart, and I am much happier stiching in my Qsnap than that old scroll frame. It was pretty...

IHSW Okay everyone, it's time again for IHSW hosted by the lovely Joyce of Random Ramblings. I can't decide if I'll pick up White Wolves again or go back to my HAED freebie. Maybe both. Here's where I left them. I just realized I haven't stitched anything on this in over a year! So given my desire to finish up some WIPs this year, I should really spend some time on this. I haven't tried it with a Qsnap, which is my new favourite stitching aid. I had this horrible scroll frame before, so I'm thinking a Qsnap and with...

There's a few giveaways here, and it looks as if she has a great selection of products! First, some floss here, and it looks gorgeous! You have until May 30th to enter.  Then a $25 gift certificate to her ebay store, and again she's giving us until May 30th.  AND a Mother's Day giveaway as well! This one ends on Mother's Day of course.  Enjoy looking around her shoppe! ...

April was a pretty productive month, I had 2 finishes! So now I have 5 finishes out of 12, so I'm a little bit ahead. Shall we re-cap? Again, this is for Lady Kell's X-Stitching Xmas Challenge. My first finish was a rose coaster in DMC perle and DMC metallics on 8.5 count waste canvas on to ivory felt. I broke 3 needles and it's not an experience I wish to repeat. I think it was the thickness of the threads that caused the issue, but needless to say I will not be using waste canvas again soon.  My second finish...

I'm a new fan of Worsted For Wear, a comic about knitting! Yes, knitting. Great comic and the archives held one of the main characters knitting a Dr. Who scarf. That made me want to show mine off.  Here it is being modeled by my dad. Due to cost reasons I used Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand and I think the colours are pretty close.  I can't remember if this was the site I used for the pattern, but it seems like a good one if you want to give it a go. I think it took me 3 or 4 months...

Here she is! The finishing touches have been added, she was ironed for maybe an hour, although it felt longer.. and she's 100% complete and framed!  I also have some close-ups so you can see the detail. With the mat we were able to leave the glass in, as you can likely tell by the glare, and I think it looks really good this way.  Here are the promised close-ups.  As Joyce suggested, I stitched the strings for the mandolin right before she was stretched and placed on the mounting board. I think it worked really well. They're nice and flat without needing...

I started IHSW a little early and managed to finish Angelic Melody!! It's been a long haul since I started her for the Crazy January Challenge last year, but she is finally finished!  Yes, she still needs a little more ironing and then I'll add the strings to her mandolin, but I still feel as though she's finished. A little TLC and she'll be perfect.  I also managed to finish another piece, Lady Kell's 2012 Band Sampler. I stitched it on 14 count navy aida with WDW Bethlehem and Meadow. It was a nice break after the fussiness of finishing the Angelic...

It's that time again! Time to hermit and stitch! I hope the finish Angelic Melody before this weekend, but if not, then I'll definitely be working on that. With luck I'll go back to another Xmas project, or perhaps the HAED freebie SAL QS Siberian Forest.  Good luck fellow hermiters! Tiffstitch...

I started this subversive band sampler by Lady Kell of Kincavel Krosses last summer. It was for a thank-you for a friend that helped me out a lot when my car broke down 40 minutes from my house. I was away from home for a while and never got the piece entirely finished, and wasn't worried about it too much, knowing I would get back to it eventually. Recently I heard my friend was in the hospital for treatment and evaluation of a possible stroke! So I started back at this piece immediately and finished it up. I just need to...

 Hosted by Lady Kell at Diary of a Domestic Goddess No finishes this past month for Xmas X-stitching, but I did get a lot of work done on Angelic Melody. Let's start with her.  So she's well on her way to completion. It's possible even within a few weeks. The wing is all half cross-stitch and as you can see in the next picture, it's only the top banner that is practically untouched.  I've been backstitching and cording, etc. as I go so I don't have a ton left to do at the end. I'm going to leave the strings on the...

One of my favourite blogs, Random Ramblings, posted about one of her friends de-stashing and getting rid of a lot of wonderful stash. I picked some gorgeous blue fabrics and an Irish Sampler pattern.  If you'd like to see what else she has for sale, here's the original post from Random Ramblings.  I've been doing a fair amount of stitching lately as well. On the CSF someone brought up stitching 10 hours on something, then switching to another project. I've decided to rotate my projects over stitching sessions. I really need to finish Angelic Melody, so I've been stitching on it every other day...

I completed a small coaster for my Grandma using LK's St Patrick's day chart. I used navy 14 count aida and backed it with a spare piece of the same. Most of the colours are just DMC, but I did use WDW Purple Haze on the bottom right section and WDW Dutch Iris on the lower bird. I hope she likes it! I did mail it out about a week ahead, so with luck it arrived before March 17th.  I have an Easter one by another designer I'd like to start and right now I'm going to start on Lady Kell's Quaker...

So I didn't get my pre-IHSW blog post written. We had some friends down this week and I hardly had any stitchy time! I had even forgotten it was IHSW until I saw Joysze's post this morning. I did have to work all weekend, but of course some stitching was done. I rented Tintin on Saturday and Cowboys and Aliens on Sunday. We'd seen them both in the theatre, but both worth another viewing. Saturday I worked on my HAED, this can be like a game since I don't feel I accomplished much. Can you see the difference?  I've decided to try and...

I was marking my fabric when my finger just slipped, Now my pattern is torn and my fabric is ripped.  My thread is all knotted and my needles are bent, My get-up-and-go just got up and went.  But I've got a sampler for a wedding to do, It'll only be late by a year or two. The baby sampler for my sister is done, Her little baby has just turned twenty-one.   The WIPs are getting dusty, but my bobbins are wound For my new project needs this floss I just found.  I was on a little walk, when just my...

A new LNS is open only a 5 minute drive from work! It's called The Whistling Duck and did have another location previously, but they've been in transition for over a year and I had no idea they'd be re-opening so close! This location is excellent, in a plaza near the UPS store, Bead Crazy, Amarah's (chocolatier), Plato's Closet, and the Route 99 restaurant. I've been in every few days over the past couple weeks and there are always other customers, so I think they will do some very good business in this location.  I happened to notice their sign as...

This month brings another finish! I was able to find another LNS, and I really need a separate post to gush about how exciting that is, but the important point is they had both WDW Ivy and Autumn Leaves to allow me to finish this piece.  as you can tell I haven't ironed it yet, but I did thumbtack it to the wall and it makes me happy to look at it completed. I was really feeling bogged down by the number of WIPs I had going, so having another completion feels really, really good. A friend mentioned since it's on...

As one of my friends on the Cross Stitch Forum mentioned, it's easy to blame the Crazy January Challenge for my startitis.  That's right, I have a new project started. In my defence, it will be part of Lady Kell's Xmas Xstitching Challenge and a gift for my Grandma (I think). Of course, I already had a couple other things in mind for her that are half started, but no matter!  This one is entitled Homeward Trail in Winter from the January edition of CrossStitch & Needlework. I'm using a 28 count fabric that I've lost the tag too. It might be Jobelan? It was a...

My wonderful DH was going to be near my new favourite LNS and was able to pick up some of the threads for my Xmas tree. Unfortunately they didn't have anything for my 2012 Sampler, and only 2 each of Ivy and Autumn Leaves by WDW. He was able to order WDW Bethlehem, but the clerk told him the horrifying news that this store would not be stocking WDW anymore!! NO!!! I finally found this place after searching the WDW website for a nearby place that carried their threads, and now they're not stocking them anymore.. argh! I've emailed the owners...

After reading Random Ramblings I find it's IHSW time again! I likely won't have much, if any time to stitch since I'm working all weekend, but we'll see. At least it's a shorter workday on Saturday and Sunday than it is during the week.  Hope you all join in!   And a small finish, Heart of my Heart by Abi Gurden. I even did the cutting!  I used 28 count monaco with DMC Color Variations, DMC variegate thread, DMC perle #8 (Evergreen), PTB, DMC 699 and an unlabelled moss green from my stash. The cutting was tricky, but Abi sent me...

Time for this month's update on my Xmas challenge. I really hope I can actually meet this one, we'll see what comes up during the year. I was already slowed down a bit by another gift that was mentioned in the last post, but it maybe only took a week all told. In no particular order, here's what I've accomplished so far.  Xmas tree by skitzzzz I'm really loving this project, I just ran out of thread! Otherwise I think I would have finished it first. I'm using WDW Autumn Leaves and Ivy working 2 over 1 on 14 count gold...

Last night I watched our blu-ray version of A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars More and managed to finish my gift. I didn't work as hard on it until the last couple days since it will be received on Saturday (Feb. 4) now instead of this past Sunday (Jan. 29). It was fun to stitch this one, and Kell's charts are always fun to stitch. Also, I had my DMC colors wrong, it was 106 and 67 that I used. I actually used up a whole skein of 106. Without further rambling..   It's 2 over 2 on 28...

As mentioned yesterday, I worked on the gift for my co-worker who's abandoning us next week. Again, the finished project will look like this. I'm stitching on 28 count white monaco, despite the fact the picture looks grey! I completely forgot to write down my colours again, but I believe it's DMC 57 and 67. The outside will be all in 57 and the inside will be 67. I didn't have a ton of time to stitch because of work (naturally) but I think I put a good 6-8 hours into this so far. I was watching DH play Zelda Skyward Sword,...

I'm a bit late with my initial post for IHSW this month. We're hosted by Joysze of Random Ramblings and there's a record 163 stitchers signed up! I'll have to do some "stalking" of blogs later, but first I need to post my own entry.  I don't think I'll be able to stitch on Angelic Melody, instead I'll be working on Lady Kell's fantastic Don't Make Me Kill You sampler. It can be found on her Kincavel Krosses page. There's a ton of other fantastic designs, so check it out. A good friend is leaving work next weekend so I hope I can get it done by then. If...

I did take that break from Angelic Melody to relax over the last few days before the New Year. I worked a bit on The Good Life kit but mostly I relaxed after the frantic stitching before Christmas.  Angelic Melody latest progress. The newest stitches are the cording on her dress and the green riboon and of course more filling and more backstitch!  The Good Life update And on to progress/plans for Kell's Xmas Xstitching Challenge 2012. I started her 2012 Band Sampler and I'm using WDW's holiday threads, I think Bethlehem by their colour guide, but I need to find where I put...

So I did not get Angelic Melody completed for my MIL this Xmas. I'm not sure if it will be for next year or just as I finish it. My progress to date as of December 24th will be below. I haven't worked on it since because I needed a break from it for a while!  DH says it will be a masterpiece when completed. He's the best. :D ...

At the start of 2011 I signed up for the Crazy January Challenge after hearing some other members of the Cross Stitch Forum (CSF) talk about joining in. I started 15 new projects successfully the first 15 days of January as follows: 1. 2011 sampler by Kell (DONE) 2. Super Mario sampler by carladee (DONE) 3. spiral fractal by skitzz 4., 5. 2 flower coasters free chart by the Cross Stitchers Club (DONE 1) 6. Yellow submarine chart from Pinoy stitch 7. one ornament from Snowflake Elegance Ornaments Gold Collection by Dimensions 8. Angelic Melody Gold Collection by Dimensions 9. Tiger by Janlynn...

I spent an excellent weekend with my DH and my dogs and I did manage to get a lot of stitching done. There's still a ton to do by Saturday, so we'll see. I think it's impossible, but there may be a chance.  ...

Since I failed at the Crazy January Challenge in 2011 I've decided to tackle something new for 2012. Kell of Kincavel Krosses is hosting the X-Stitching Xmas Challenge 2012. If you don't celebrate Christmas, that's okay, any winter holiday will do. The goal is to complete 12 projects that you will be giving away around December 25, 2012. The first Saturday of each month will be X-Stitching Xmas Saturday when Kell will post her progress and we'll all try and comment and link back to our own blogs.  I love creating something for family members and friends that appreciate it, and I usually give...

This weekend I will finally join the Internation Hermit and Stitch Weekend. One of my few weekends off work and I need the time to try and finish my mother-in-law's Christmas gift, Angelic Melody. I've been following the IHSW all year, but I've never had the opportunity to participate until now. It's definitely needed since I still have over half of the stitching left to do on this project, not to mention all the backstitch. I think there are a few places I can skip the backstitch would should save me some time, but there is still a lot to get...