Category Archives: cross stitch

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch by

By the time this posts, I’ll be in the air! My holidays would have kicked off and I am really looking forward to minimal computer time and massive family time over the next few weeks. I’ll still be on Instagram but maybe not here. So Merry Christmas to you all, and may you have a wonderful, fun-filled holiday season.

December’s StitchMaynia SAL was a finish line. After completing Wise Words, I moved onto Mermaids of the Deep Blue. As is usual with December, I over-estimated the amount of stitch time I would have and didn’t get to the goal. Nearly there tho!

It does show progress, and I think penciling it into the last week of January will see the stitching portion completed. But as I am doing SFS, and only have three packs of beads purchased, the finish itself will need to wait a bit.

fb_img_1482135970154The next SAL will start a bit early for me. I was really tempted by the Satsuma St 12 Days of Christmas but then I thought – I paid BIG money for the Hands On Design chalk ornaments and no, I don’t like that it’s 32ct instead of 28ct (my fault) but let’s get them done. They fit loosely into the “12 Days” theme and I have the chart copied, threads prepped, needle ready and it’s small enough to travel with. So I have these ready now, along with my pathetic start. I’m thinking I will do Cathy’s 12 Days series that she is featuring on IG right now – super cute!

12 days Cathy.jpg

 

 

December WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

Whoa. It’s December already! And I have just these two days left at work for all of 2016. I’ve taken a loooong break this year so won’t be back until Jan 9th. And – gasp! – I have some cover. Amazed.

WIPocalypse is hosted by Mel at her blog http://measi.net/measiblog/ 2016 was the fifth year of the SAL, and my second year participating.

Anyway, let’s get into the recap. In January, I had a few plans/goals.

  1. Keep a separate portion of my diary for stitching goals AND keeping my WIP blog page updated with pics as I rotate. MOSTLY ACHIEVED – I was much better about recording than I was in 2015.
  2. Mirabilia Mermaids of the Deep. NEARLY COMPLETED – well, the stitching anyway. I had hoped to complete that in 2016 but there’s about 30-35 hours left, and it’s not going on holiday with me.
  3. Mirabilia Raven Queen. WORKED ON.
  4. Nora Corbett Cherub with Tree. FINISHED.
  5. Mirabilia Roses of Provence. DITCHED & FROGGED. I have a different fabric, so planning this for after I finish Persephone. Two Mira skirts would be one too many.
  6. Nora Corbett Blitzen. WORKED ON
  7. Mirabilia Persephone. BLITZED GOALS – currently in the middle of stitching the skirt. So far all conversions are working out.
  8. Nora Corbett Arezzo. DID NOT STITCH
  9. Semco Toy Story sampler. DID NOT STITCH.
  10. Teresa Wentzler Tapestry Cat. MINIMAL STITCH TIME.

I also completed a lot of smalls!

  • Jan – Chinese year of the Monkey
  • Feb – Nora Lily of the Valley RR, Noel mini sampler, Lizzie*Kate Up in the Treetops
  • Mar – nil
  • April – Hands On Design Plenty
  • May – Spring biscornu portion
  • June – Mill Hill fireflies kit, Pickle Barrel Noel, Cross Stitcher bunny kit
  • July – Mill Hill Holly kit x2, Mill Hill Berry kit x2
  • August – nil
  • Sept – Mill Hill Saxony Santa kit
  • Oct – Mill Hill Lapis kit x2, Mill Hill Merry Christmas Santa
  • Nov – Nora Petal Fairy RR
  • Dec – Plastic canvas trees

I also got a few “medium” finishes in. Country Cottage’s Afternoon in London, Cloudsfactory’s A Team and Emma Congdon/Stitchrovia Wise Words Tolkien quote.

For all the missed WIPs in the first section, I feel like I achieved a lot.

 

WIP Wednesday 

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL by

Yay! I am taking part in the Stitch MAYnia SAL this month, which is a finish line SAL. Firstly I carried on with the Emma Congdon/Stitchrovia design Wise Words Tolkien that was in a Cross Stitch Crazy (note that this will be on her site as a pdf purchase early in the new year):

And I have a finish! I am thinking I will #ffo as a hoop for a quick finish. Plus I want to work on that as a technique. 

I drove Brandon to the last Domain tag round for the year. Because of Christmas in the Park it was moved to Cox’s Bay. The tide was in and it was beautiful. I went for a little walk. Just had to! 

The pohutukawa flowers are out. Beautiful reds. I want to take the kayak out!

And while waiting I started on Celtic Winter by Marilyn Leavitt-Iblum. This is a classic piece so I’m sure you’ve seen it before. I am doing this on a 28ct opalescent Elegance lugana by Silkweaver, which I picked up in Andie’s destash. I am changing out the gold for silver, at least on the borders and motifs. Possibly blue on the skirt. The silver is PTB32. 

Then my next focus-on-a-finish piece is Mermaids of the Deep Blue by Mirabilia. This is on a 28ct Raglan Surf lugana from Countrystitch. This is my start point:

And since Saturday I have got a wee bit done: 
 

WIP Wednesday 

Posted in cross stitch, me by

Whoa. Not a huge amount of stitching but some hauling is going on. My local junk store has a DMC stand from another that went out of business so I’m trying to get a full master set of DMC going.  At a buck a skein it’s good value so worth the detour. 


My current piece is Emma Congdon’s wise words. The quote is from LOTR / Hobbit (you’ll find it in both, worded slightly differently). I may carry this thru into December as the Stitch MAYnia monthly SAL is the nearest-to-finish WIPS. I have this and Mermaids of the Deep Blue planned. 

I may yet frog the white clouds for a light gray. Not totally sold on those. 

What are you up to in your crafty life?

EEP Monday-itis

Posted in cross stitch, family, growing, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, work by

I’m feeling more than a little off today. It’s the first Monday of the new fiscal month here at work, so it’s busy-busy-busy yet I want to play (as I write this I’m heading into the last couple of hours and I’ve cleared today’s reporting requirements and am up to the 23 store emails from Friday, so at least that’s something). As a family we have a new routine this week with Si away (we’ll see him briefly on Thursday but that’s it until Sunday). I am absolutely stoked to have finished Cloudsfactory A-Team (only 6 stitching nights!), a huge chunk of Persephone’s skirt for Stitch Maynia’s colour challenge (over 2K stitches or nearly half a skein!) and a new start on Emma Congdon’s Wise Words trilogy (altho for now I only want to do the Tolkien). Both my Secret Santas this year are really hard!!!

And on a personal note, I am struggling with forgiveness.

On Saturday my eldest brother let me know that his dad, my stepfather, is very ill and has been admitted to hospital. JM is 87, so this may be his time, but I am struggling to give a crap. I’m on empty when it comes to him & my (biological) mother – and that’s where I have an issue. Great that I’m not angry or disappointed or frustrated anymore – but where is my Christian spirit? My heart is so hard. I imagined visiting and telling him that I forgive their selfishness and the hurt they caused; but as neither honestly believes they have wronged anyone of us children this would be a waste of time, and would hurt me more. I’m having trouble lifting this burden. Please remember me in your prayers this week. x

Decisions, decisions…HOLP!

Posted in conversion details, cross stitch, friends, grateful, lavender & lace by

So I brought some haul, as Andie was preparing for a serious move. It was my civic duty, right? Yeah, let’s hold onto that thought.

But now I have a dilemma. I want to start Celtic Winter RIGHT NOW but I am at work, and no threads handy. Not ones that would suit! And I need to finish A-Team. And I brought two pieces of fabric, and I’m at a loss as to which will be best. Keep in mind that I am planning on changing the golds to silvers…

celtic-winter

The StashCache file is already uploaded onto that tab 🙂

 

What do you think?