Tag Archives: nantucket rose

March 2020 WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, goals, grateful, lavender & lace, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, WIPocalypse, work by

Hello everyone! WIPocalypse is the monthly check-in SAL hosted by Measi on her blog, and via the Facebook group – we welcome all enablers! Click on the icon to the right to learn more. If you’re a crafter, please join up either on your blog or via the Facebook group – we welcome all enablers!

March Goals were:

  • Finish the third panel in 12 Days – NAH
  • Start a Chatelaine – OH YEAH

I barely stitched any on 12 Days – we went into lockdown early (Mase is asthmatic & Grandma was seriously ill, as regular readers know, and then she passed very early on in official lockdown week). I didn’t get a photocopy of the chart prior to going into lockdown, doh, and my head simply didn’t follow the design very well, especially as I have made so many conversions.

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Instead I worked on Mermaid of Atlantis as my one-a-day piece. It was much easier as it was a simple random number generator, and I was only filling in the gaps with beads. There’s still a few errors, especially in the last week, but she’s finished.

In April, I intend to be very simple and just work on something every day. I would like a finish on Antique Celtic Sampler (this is very close. I stitched a dog butt yesterday, not often you get to say that!) and maybe some progress on Shakespeare’s Fairies or Nantucket Rose.

Obviously I didn’t get to attend my first Guild meeting but there was work on the Chatelaine. I stopped as I couldn’t focus even with a copy of the chart, but now that my brain is getting back online with work mode (damn internet) I’m sure I will be able to pick that up too.

Have you ever adopted a piece from someone else or gave up a piece to someone else? Which piece and why? I have inherited a few pieces when stitchers’ family members have passed them onto me but not really passed anything along. It’s rare that I will start something and not finish it (quiet over there in the cheap seats please!) but I am seriously considering passing along Mirabillia’s Raven Queen. I am not enjoying her much at all, and she’s been in virtual quarantine for close on a year now, more if you consider that I only pulled her out once I think for Magical Stitches.

Stitch From Stash oh boy, do we have to go there?

Bernina DMC 80C sale -52.00
Ribbon Rose -28.40
Stitch NZ -46.30
Sassy Pouch -98.12
Mermaid of Atlantis 40.22
Rollover + Budget $78.28
Total Available Budget -$106.32

April WIPocalypse

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

Hello everyone! I hope you’re well. WIPocalypse is the monthly check-in SAL hosted by Measi on her blog, and via the Facebook group – we welcome all enablers! Click on the icon to the right to learn more.

April Goals:

  • Use Genoa & Wales for Extra Credit piece (500 stitches) NOPE – used Nantucket Rose instead
  • Complete first fairy in Shakespeare’s Fairies YEP
  • Stitch Hello April AND Hello May NOPE
  • Work on Coffee Quaker every day in April ALMOST

 

While I didn’t get to many goals (I’ve gone right off the Sandra Santas, surprisingly) I did hit nearly every April #magicalstitches challenge and got a lot of progress in on various pieces. There’s over 800 more in Nantucket Rose (and I reached the far side, so this is as wide as it gets) and 2800 plus in Shakespeare’s Fairies. I also started Cloudsfactory Labyrinth and the Mill Hill Celestial Sleigh. That one’s been a PITA as the kit was missing some items, so substitution city. First time I’ve ever been disappointed in a MH kit.

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May Goals:

  • Stitch Hello April AND Hello May AND Hello June
  • Continue working on Coffee Quaker daily
  • Finish the second fairy in Shakespeare’s Fairies
  • Knock off a couple more “ultimate” stitch challenges

 

April 28 – Talk to us about your longest-running WIP or UFO. Mine would be the Teresa Wentzler Tapestry Cat design. I brought it for myself as a Christmas present back in 2003, when I was working at Air New Zealand. I vastly underestimated the number of quarter stitches and back stitch, and while I own a lot of TW charts, I’ve only ever completed Misty, one of the Rocking Horses! I’ve also started Noah’s Ark, and stopped at the over one. Now that I’ve completed Arezzo over one, I think I will be able to press on with the Ark at least. TC? Well, he’s nearly done, probably only another 2500 stitches in him, and I’d estimate the border is about at the quarter-way mark. There’s a LOT of backstitch.

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SFS is still in the red, thanks to a market find. Oh, well. Hopefully some of the May challenges will lead to finishes so I can claim!

WIP Wednesday #201 + WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, goals, lavender & lace, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

whoa – some lovely comments from post #200 & my give-away! This is still running; please click and comment on that post.

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WIPocalypse is hosted by the lovely Measi over on her blog. Please click on the icon to the right; it will take you to her blog. You can check out years worth of submissions! It’s fun (for me) to see the progress fellow stitchers make, & get haul ideas.

Stitching-wise, I am definitely in line with this month’s question:

Question of the Month – How do you get yourself out of a stitching drought?

Yeah. I’m there. I have ALL THE THINGS but ouch! wrist movement since that big BBM morning. I wear a brace to drive & stitching is so minimal. I have too many options too, which is making me pause.

On Nantucket Rose, I am maybe 8-10 thread lengths past where I was last week. It’s so minimal I can’t even be bothered to take a photo.

IMG_20170824_211656_040.jpgAll I have finished (& by finished, I mean up to the “cut out the backing & glue magnets on) are two pairs of Lucie Heaton Designs Chucks from the September Cross Stitcher magazine. Red for Louise, purple for Aliese. At least they will qualify for a Smalls SAL entry!

So stitch-from-stash, I’m still in the black & intend to be there, all going well & if Nora doesn’t release anything amazing between now and when I can legitimately ask for Christmas presents! YTD I am now -$48.40 but will be in the black by October, without any additional spend or finishes. I must look at the group & see if Stephanie (Ms Oh Sew Crafty, check out her blog for some serious stitchy progress!) has the check-in post up.

Stitch From Stash Aug-17
Budget $25.00
Expenses Lynne- Mira Mermaid -30.00
(Sunset Laguna + beads)
Finishes Plastic Canvas Chucks * 2 4.00
Rollover Rollover $57.12
Total Available Budget Total Available Budget $56.12

So August is a bit of a wash really. I spent, but only one piece. Even if I had full movement of my wrist, no way would I get to complete the top leafy portion, but at least I was close to monogamous for the month.

September Plans are to be in-line with Stitch MAYnia SALs, the Mira month & Return to Hogwarts. I plan to pull out either Mia Mermaid, or my Reindeer Parade; and the Clouds Factory Hogwarts banners to start (I have abandoned the initial 36ct start!). There’s also the 19th Pirate day, & I’ll pull out the Mill Hill Jamaica (mon) Santa for that one.

So, if you’re a regular reader, thanks for getting this far! And if you’re a WIPocalypse check-in-er, I look forward to seeing your progress too. Have a lovely month!

WIP Wednesday #200 #passthestash #sprinklestitchykindness CLOSED

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, grateful, lavender & lace, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler by

Okay then! Let’s get into this.

So the number is very, very arbitrary & we won’t get into my dodgy calculations to work out how many WIP Wednesday posts I’ve done since moving to WordPress. There are a few, so let’s leave it at that & get to the exciting stuff.

20170823_054202.jpgAfter 10 days or so not stitching, I am back working on Nantucket Rose, altho only 2-3 thread lengths per session. Anything more still hurts! I am about a quarter towards my goal of completing the top canopy. I don’t know if I will continue on her past the end of August or swap to my planned Mira month or Return to Hogwarts which are the Stitch Maynia SALs. If I have the fabric I might just start the Clouds Factory Hogwarts House banner pattern.

So. The Good Stuff. I want to #passthestash and #sprinklestitchykindness on you all in chart form. SO, in the comments, please indicate which piece(s) you would like to go in the draw to win. I will post worldwide, but you will only be eligible to win ONE chart. I will be drawing the charts in the order below, so as an example, if you win #1, and have asked to enter #4, you’ll be automatically ruled out of the later draw. You must also be over the age of 18, and entries prior to midnight NZ time on 09/09 will be considered. Winners announced in the WIP Wednesday scheduled for 13/09. Google random generator will be used to pick the winners 🙂

I’ve chosen my favourite designers or themes here. Hopefully there is something to entice everyone!

  1. Ross Designs White Tiger
  2. Teresa Wentzler’s Summer Carousel Horse
  3. DMC Poppy Field (this one does include the threads)
  4. Country Cottage Needleworks Joy
  5. Nora Corbett Inkberry (kindly donated by Lynne)
  6. Little House Needleworks Gourmet Garden

20170822_052919.jpgRight. Have fun, share this around, do whatever. TTYL!

June WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, High Five For Friday, lavender & lace, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, WIPocalypse by

WIPocalypse is a monthly DIY SAL hosted by Melissa over at measi.net This is my third year of formal participation & it’s something I definitely high-light in my planner. Click on the icon on the right to join up, or see links to other participants.

Let’s review June’s goals:

  • Finish Emi, my portion of Julie’s round robin (Stitch From Stash “Finish it Up” SAL) – COMPLETED
  • Finish Andromeda – or at least get the conversion nutted out & rock completed – ACHIEVED! COMPLETED THE CONVERSION DETAIL & ROCK. And as of last night, Baby Got Back.
  • Work at least one day on MH Believe (Stitch Maynia Whine & WIPs SAL) – ACHIEVED
I started 2 over 1 tent
then I hated it so this is “normal”

It’s just as well that I didn’t list “stay in budget” for Stitch From Stash as I’ve blown it. In the last month, too, of Part A, but I should be golden for the whole year. I was out at our Panmure store and just oops! Ribbon Rose was open. All I actually needed was a $3.90 pack of beads for Andromeda (03035, they might not work but they are pretty so I’ll use them somewhere), but I browsed. I never hardly ever get the chance to browse with no-one breathing down my neck or whining that I am spending too long or that they are hungry/thirsty/bored. So I took advantage of that to kit out the Mia Mermaid, the (yucky shop) freebie from the recent Mira meet-up. I had a fairly specific idea about the dyed threads that I wanted to use for the tail, but once I started laying things out I moved from the suggested to other Waterlillies, and then I turned around. A wall of Gentle Arts Sampler Threads (often abbreviated to GAST). Heaven could be a needlework store, right?

Mia-Mermaid-MirabiliaSo here’s my current thought process. Of course I’ll use Kreinik silver instead of the suggested DMC metallic, which goes without saying!

For her hair, sub from the dark DMC 3031 to GAST Dark Chocolate (1170). For the lighter portion, sub from CWL 137 Copper to GAST Toffee (7078).

For her tail, moving from the darker shades to the light:

  • CWL 083 Pine Forrest to GAST Pine (0120)
  • CWL 207 Bermuda Reef to GAST Mistletoe (0113)
  • DMC 958 to GAST Silver Fern (0114)
  • DMC 964 to GAST Evergreen (0150).

I like the subtleness of the dye difference compared to the wilder variations in the Waterlillies. I also won’t be stitching the lettering, but I’m thinking about keeping the year.

I also picked up the Mill Hill/Sandra Cozzolino Renaissance Santa (Florence) with his gorgeous painting but it was $27.90NZD which is a hideous price. At least there are the materials to stitch him at least twice – once for Lou and once for me.

MD151_40284On top of that spend, I purchased some things thru Down Sunshine Lane (www.downsunshinelane.com) who are amazing. They had the 3 new Mill Hill/Sandra Cozzolino Santas for 2017 at a reduced pre-sell, so I ordered those, and a Lizzie Kate Coffee design, and after everything was confirmed, the new Nora mermaid was released so I emailed the team, and they added that one to my package! I am in love with the Renaissance Mermaid. And with the top-notch service. It was so much better than 123, who charged me freight TWICE cause they split an order. I would have preferred an option to cancel as $12USD for a $7USD kit is not really worth it!

So onto July’s goals.

  • No stitchy spend (even framing).
  • Start & complete MH Christmas Island Santa (as that chart & leftovers are going to Michelle #sprinklestitchykindness Garrette, & she’s sending me Hawaii)
  • Finish Andromeda. Before I start Renaissance.
  • Kit up & grid for August start, Nantucket Rose, with Dena (half stitch) & Emily C (eclectic possessions) on Flosstube/IG. Which really means – decide on fabric. Hint of Autumn (mine is lighter than the sample) or blue? Dawn or full daylight?

 

Question of the month: Show us your Stitchy Spot!

So – not a question but the reason I’ve delayed posting this by a week. Si decided that he wanted a new chair, so we went looking. Two weekend’s searching narrowed me down to this: the modern Wingback from Freedom Furniture. High back, short-ish seat (I don’t have long legs and don’t want my feet hanging over!), decent padding and nice feet (that I can change out later if I want). All the frames in the lounge are black so the material will do for now. I’ll likely change it out in a few years tho. Mase helped me put the base on – he’s a natural!