A UFO finish!!!

Hello Everyone!

I'm doing a very happy dance over here in Sweden!!

Why??

Well, tonight I have finished my Swedish Santa UFO that I started over ten years ago!!!

I decided to stitch on it today as part of my Friday Frolicing , and it looked like this when I started stitching on it midday . . .

So I finished the sky and did some backstitched tree outlines and other missing bits of backstitch . Eventually I couldn't find any more missing stitches so here it is , AT LAST :

You may remember that I struggled with what to do about the Santas facial features . . . The original chart was not very precise , and when I tried to stitch the eyes etc following the chart it just looked horrible ! So then I thought I'd just leave out the details of the face . . . However , today I decided to try to add something to the face, so I stitched one eye and a happy mouth . I'm actually quite pleased with how his face turned out and it definitely looks better than on the original chart : )

So once again , here is another look at my FINISHED Swedish Santa picture that I started to stich over ten years ago , when I still lived in England . The chart is from a Swedish magazine dated 2003 so it is about time , wouldn't you say ? !

I feel really good about this finish : = )

Hope you all have a good weekend filled with stitching!

Annie

Wonderful Crafts Fair and some stitching!

Hello Everyone !

Yesterday I visited a yearly Crafts Fair in Stockholm (the capital of Sweden) and I had the most WONDERFUL TIME ! I spent lots of money and bought lots of crafty goodies : )
As far as cross stitching is concerned , I bought all these small beads for a real bargain price : ) 

They aren't Mill Hill , but I tried to pick beads in nice colours that I could use instead of Mill Hill seed beads . Now that I have found out how much I love beading I have to make sure I have a little stash of beady beauties lol !

I bought more of my very favorite knitting yarn !

 

I have never come across another yarn that is sooo soft and cuddly ! And luckily they come in my favorite colours too : )

I also got some sparkly metallic threads in Christmas colours for crochet projects . . .

 

Since this was a general crafts fair I also got some scrapbooking material and some crafty magazines ! Normally craft products - including cross stitch products -are very expensive in Sweden , so it is absolutely lovely to have an opportunity to find some bargains for once in such an setting ! It was just a wonderful time and something that really fed my soul with happiness : )

 

Otherwise I've had a really busy week and I've hardly had time to sit down to stitch . . : (

Therefore I had decided that today would be ALL about stitching , so for 8 hours I stitched . . . and it was pure bliss ! It made me realise how much I had missed not being able to cross stitch , so this week I have to make an effort to find more time for my cross stitch projects .

 

I worked on my Iphone-cover and made really good progress on it ! Almost all of the white background is done :

It is difficult to see on the pictures but I have used some white Pearlescent in the background . I tried to catch the sparkle from another angle . . .

. . . but I'm not sure it worked . . . lol : ) I can't wait to see this one finished and to be able to put it on my phone !

Speaking of finish , I am FINALLY finished with my never - ending strawberry band ! ! ! I did the last backstitching today . . .

Chart from Cross Stitcher issue 239.
Designer: Lucie Heaton

. . . so now I have stitched 14 strawberries in a row ! Mentally this was a huge struggle - soo boring to repeat a pattern over and over - but I must say that in the end they look great together all in a row ! However , I can safely say that I have definitely had enough of strawberries for this year lol !

Hope you've all had a really nice weekend with lots of nice cross stitching !

Annie

Lots of crafty Xmas projects on the go:)

Hello Everyone !

It's been a couple of weeks since I last checked in with you all , and the reason for that is that I haven't had any stitching to show you since all my stitching right now is Xmas gifts for people that may drop in here every now and then . . . And with no stitching to show there doesn't seem much point in posting on the blog . . . But just you wait until AFTER Christmas ; then I'll have lots and lots of stitching projects to show you : ) 

So , instead , if you don't mind , I'm going to share some crochet projects I've been working on lately . . . I tell you , there just isn't enough hours in the day to fit in all the crafting I want to do before Christmas lol .

I've been making some crochet lace . . .

 

 . . . and I've made about twenty of these crochet snowflakes . . .

. . . that I have to stiffen and bling up a bit before they are ready for this year's Christmas tree:)

I've been making these grey and white snowflakes that I am joining together for my Xmas blanket . . .

 

. . . like so . . .

 

 

. . .only now the blanket is much , much bigger : ) I really have to lay it out flat on my bed soon to see if I've made enough snowflakes to finish it . At last .

 

Lastly a picture of my three furbabies cuddling up together on the sofa . . .

 

. . . as a cold Sweden is slowly moving into winter season . And by the way , it is my stitching corner that they are occupying : ) We all love that corner of the sofa lol : )

Happy ( Xmas ? ) Stitching !

Annie

Catching up with you all...:)

Hello Everyone !

How are you all doing ?
Here in Sweden there seems to be an cold virus epidemic going across the country ; just about
everyone I know have been coughing and sneezing and eventually the virus found me too last week .

I spent the week on my sofa doing nothing else but going for short walks with my dogs and watching films . There wasn't much energy for blogging or reading other blogs or anything else that required brain power . Luckily I managed to do some easy cross stitching at least , but most of it was on a secret Xmas gift which I can't show you yet . However, the last day of September I actually managed to finish my ornament for  Christmas Ornie SAL . . .

. . .which felt like quite an achievement at the time .

My stitched Iphone case is slowly coming together .

I just stitch a bit on it here and there in between other projects so it is going very slowly at the moment .

Today I've been working on these strawberries . . .

 

. . . which are proving to be a bit of a challenge for me since I hate to stitch the same thing over and over and over again ! However , I think the aida band will look great once it is sewn onto a towel , so now I am determined to get this finished ! I've stitched all the strawberries I need so now I just have to finish them off with the green bits and the grey and white backstitch . . ! I tell you , I am going to be so relieved  pleased when this project is finished !

If you are curious and wonder what the background is on the last photo , I can tell you that it is the back of my BEAUTIFUL christmas blanket that my sister made for me last year ! I just got it out today to be enjoyed all the way until Christmas: ) )
Do all you crafters want to see it ? ?
Of course you do . . !

Isn't it beautiful ? ? ?
Whilst I quite happily can spend hundreds of hours on a cross stitch project , I can't imagine ever making a quilt like this one ! I think my sister would say the opposite lol : ) Isn't it great that we can enjoy our different crafts together and exchange such beautiful gifts with each other ? ? ?

Happy stitching everyone , and stay healthy !

Annie