Category Archives: freebies

WIP Wednesday

Posted in 16 in 2016, conversion details, cross stitch, freebies, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

I almost forgot to post! Head down, tail up at work and (mostly) at home, I am still not reading much and writing even less, with the exception of Board reports. Which are boring. Unless of course you want to know more about the good/better/best matrix and how that is affecting sales? Yeah, thought not.

Anyways, I still haven’t got Rahenna’s round robin from Jacqui and I’m getting quite concerned. Not sure what to do – a RR going missing in the last round is rough. I KNOW as I still don’t have mine, and that was from another Auckland address. I’m kind-of scared that this will mean that I won’t be in any more international RRs and that makes me sad.

I’m working on Cherub with Tree. So many threads now have been converted, I have notes all over my working copy (a plus that I don’t know a PDF would keep up with on my tablet). I’ve worked out how to stitch and watch Netflix or Flosstube – blu-tak! – and the only frogging I did was colour related. Si has picked out the blues for her dress and is waiting for me to start – but I am about 20 stitches away from completing her wings and I want to get that nailed first.

This is the original and where I got up to on the weekend:

Not that much further to go! Then I’ll have a second finish (the ornament just needs making up but you can wait until the Smalls check-in to see that).

I also found some large book rings – perfect for the BAP quantities of bobbins! This is Persephone’s, minus the dress…pretty!

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Sharing is Caring: Snowflower Diaries

Posted in books, cross stitch, freebies by

I found a new SAL for the year via @stitchymom on IG. I quite like the gentleness and primitive aspects of this one – which will be really surprising to most! Me too 🙂

Each will be free to download on The Snowflower Diaries blog – take a peek! Here’s Jan & Feb (already released) & the schedule for the rest of the year. I think I’ll honour the book I’m currently reading and stitch the month in French, inviting a bit a of Paris into my life.

The hashtag for this SAL is #joyfulworldsal

Monday. Yay.

Posted in 16 in 2016, conversion details, cross stitch, freebies, Mirabilia by

After last week (some work frustrations & a migraine) I wanted to hole up all weekend. So I did. I only went out for the essentials (groceries) and enjoyed that feeling of being left alone. Or as alone as you can be with four males in the house.

I am beginning to think that I made my rotation goals too small. It took only 11 stitching days to get to the RP point for Mermaids of the Deep Blue and 7 for Raven Queen (updated images are on my WIP page). That just doesn’t seem long enough but it does mean I am not disliking any piece when I put it away. I’m not sure yet what I will do with the larger pieces.

I put the 2004 Cherub onto the scrolls on Saturday afternoon and was at that goal by dinner Sunday (to have the LHS background & her hair done, excluding Kreinik & beads) – so I’m going to work on her until finished, or Jaime’s RR piece arrives from Jacqui (whichever comes first). Being a bit more disciplined has meant that this piece has gone from hovering on the border of becoming a UFO to potentially my first finish in 2016. Plus there are a lot of thread conversions going on. If you would like to stitch this chart, you can find it HERE I will post my conversion details later on, once it’s all sorted.

I have plans for the next start already! Something small-ish that’s already in my stash. Something quite different from my usual stuff:

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This is Little House Needlework’s Gourmet Garden. I’m going to convert the threads to a mix of DMC blends and have a really good play with it. I have a little baby blue lavender that I will use as a template for the two larger stems, and I’ll use some buttons instead of the white hearts down the centre. And probably re-watch the Branagh version of Much Ado as this design reminds me of the scenery in that film. Which has Keanu Reeves in it for additional scenery bonus. And the script is so so close to the original Shakespeare, even more bonus! TRAILER if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

I will probably give this chart away once I’ve completed it – but that may not be for a few months, depending on how adult I stay. I’ll have to think of a competition question to go with that post!

 

 

 

the very last Smalls SAL 2015 (well, it should be)

Posted in Christmas, cross stitch, freebies, Smalls SAL, Uncategorized by

As part of my computer ban I didn’t post anything to the blog over the holiday period. Now I’m back at work so here we go. Thanks Heather for hosting this SAL. 2016 details can be found on her blog by clicking into the icon on the right of my blog or HERE

I chose to stitch home*stitch*ness’ freebies in December. Stupidly, I still haven’t made them into an ornament, but we have Second Christmas on Jan 23rd this year so I have plenty of time.

I think they’re gorgeous, and I plan to repeat stitch these for sure. Maybe on some 10ct aida for cushions? What do you think, Erin?

I linked to these charts earlier on this post HERE

Sharing is Caring – the Lazy Genius

Posted in freebies, playlist by

I found these guys via Caroline TeSelle’s yearly top 10 – she follows their podcast. And now so do I.

The Lazy Genius Collective

http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/blog/

some very funny reads here! to quote:

4. You melt butter to soften it.

I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. When you bake, butter should be treated with care and reverence. Butter is basically Beyonce. 

and if you’re still looking for an android FREE podcast app, I use and recommend Podcast Addict. Here’s an official-type review:

http://www.androidcentral.com/best-podcast-apps-android#slide4

and you can get it from your Play store.

 

 

Wowzers! Be in to win!

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, friends, grateful, High Five For Friday, me, Smalls SAL, WIPocalypse by

UPDATE 29/10/15: This competition is now closed.

When I started blogging I didn’t think that anyone other than family would notice. I’ve been blessed by your feedback and comments, and now I’d like to pay it on!

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The prizes are:
A Lizzie*Kate snippet, Cross Stitcher in Residence plus goodies
OR another snippet,  Stitching Forever plus goodies
OR if you follow me because I read & you read, I’ll custom make you a book mark. It could be the design pictured here, or something else that depicts you or what you read (let’s keep it pg tho!).

So to enter, you need to be a blog follower and comment below with “snippet” or “bookmark”. If you comment with bookmark, let me know what genres/authors interest you, or a cross stitch designer or theme of you prefer. I’ll post wherever so this contest is open internationally.

Three winners will be announced on October 27th, two WIPocalypses away from today.

Good luck!

You Can Quote Me

Posted in freebies, stitching patterns, You Can Quote ME by

preview-rainbow-cloud-pattern

YCQM is an on-going semi-weekly post, based on my One Little Word, Serenity. You would get it weekly, except some weeks I just don’t have my A into G, as my Nana would have said.

Today’s quote is a Maya Angelou. Admittedly I usually only see these on fancy or fluffy gift cards, but here’s one you can stitch. Thanks to Loretta from Stitching The Night Away – it was on her weekly newsletter. To subscribe (she has recipes!) follow the links on her site.

http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/5350/maya-angelou-quote-be-a-rainbow-free-cross-stitch-pattern/

WIP Wednesday & Smalls SAL check in

Posted in freebies, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitching patterns by

Hello!
I’ve been very busy, in between painting the house, refereeing the brats, work and the cricket world cup (& amazing laugh filed brunch with stitching girlfriends) but I’ve completed my Small this month.

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This is a Joan Elliot design from the same book as the Orient piece. Much nicer to stitch! This is on a simple 6*8 frame for Sarah, one of my work mates who has a gorgeous garden. It’s her birthday on Sunday and I wanted to give her something special.

I’ve decided to stitch the rest of the bead stars on Stargazer. I’ll pick up some invisible thread to do that with. In the meantime I started one of the free cherubs from the Mirabilia site.

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I’ve changed the background colour from 310 to 823. So far I hate the hair colour but let’s see how adding more colours changes it. I’ve already frogged a section due to cricket excitement so that’s not a problem anymore.

I’ve also tentatively decided what to stitch for the Round Robin. I’m very lucky as Zeb is lending me some of her charts to snip some small portions from. As of today, this is how I look:

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What do you think? I am short one section still…