Spring Into Summer New Start Binge and thread organizers

Hello Stitching Friends❣

I'm SO happy to see that a few of you found my previous post, and even took the time to leave a comment. Thank you so much; that really made my day😘❤❣ And it also made me even more happy and pleased with being back in the land of cross stitching!

For the first time in a long time I also caught up with some of my favorite cross stitching blogs around the world and it felt really good to read your posts and be reminded of the warmth and encouragement that exists amongst stitchers💝. 

And to my delight I also found a perfectly good reason to start another cross stitching project...or two... I mean, who doesn't want a reason to start another project??? RACHEL and TIFF started and planned the SPRING INTO SUMMER NEW START BINGE with a new start every weekend during April, May, June and July to replace the sad absence of the Tokyo Olympics. I desperately miss all sports around the world that have been cancelled and anything that takes my mind off it is a good thing.   

Hence I started a design by Ursula Michael yesterday! It's one of her many gorgeous 'Let's…..' word designs made up of just words and backstitch. I love them all but only have a couple of charts. This one, Let's Cross Stitch, I bought back in 2016 so it's about time I started it, don't you think?!

I had some lovely lime-coloured aida in my stash and I originally planned to use it for another design, but I changed my mind and decided to use it for this one instead. And I'm so happy I did! It works perfectly with the bright colour threads and the simple backstitch design. I also replaced a couple of the original tread colours since I'm trying to use ONLY my old stash (the last couple of years have been a huge financial struggle for me...). That means that I have to make a couple of adjustments to the original chart. For example, the scissors should be stitched in DMC 333 but I used 915 instead as you can see. I actually don't think you can tell that I changed the numbers 333 to 915😊. Overall it feels great to finally start this project, and I only wish I had more of these lovely charts by Ursula Michael...

I was on such a stitching roll yesterday. After I finished working on my new start, I picked up this lovely Swedish project again.

I added some more greenery, and started to stich the cottages and lighthouse and some more water. My needle was flying and I didn't feel like stopping until well after midnight. Which I'm paying for today...😁. But I enjoyed myself immensely and I was so happy to be cross stitching again!

Lastly, I have to show you the thread organizers my clever sister made for me! When I stitch freebies from cross stitching magazines I always need some kind of organizers for the loose threads and mostly I make something really ugly and haphazardly such as this one:

 So I thought I'd ask my super creative sister instead if perhaps she could help me to make some nicer ones?!

So she kindly cut some new ones from her cardstock in lovely colours and then I decorated them with some old stickers that my sister also made. Aren't they pretty?! I almost want to grab a freebie card and start stitching just so I can use them😂.

Now it's time for me to stop blogging and start stitching.

Happy Stitching,

Annie

The Mojo is back in town!

Hello Stitching friends❣❣❣

I knew it would happen at some point. I just didn't know when… And I certainly couldn't predict that something as awful as the Covid-19 pandemic would be the main reason for it😲!

But regardless of the reason….I have found my cross stitching mojo again🙌🙏👏❣

And I couldn't be happier about it😀. And I'm Back in the land of Cross Stitching👏!

I stopped stitching towards the end of 2016 because I was struggling badly with my mental health and I just couldn't find the joy in stitching any more. Instead I picked up my crochet hook and later on I also did some knitting and that's what I've been doing for crafts for the last three years. 

However, I knew that eventually I would bring out the aida fabric and the threads and I actually gave it a try last autumn. Sadly that experience did not work since I got an anxiety attack as I tried to stich. So I put the stuff away again. 

But then this awful year happened… And Covid-19 made all the amazing sporting events I looked forward to this year, such as the Olympics, disappear - as well as a lot of other things - and lots of time suddenly needed to be filled with something. Strangely enough I also started to get bored with crochet and knitting - I mean, I had ONLY been doing it for three years😂😂😂!

So when I spotted this cross stitch project by Permin...

...I knew it would be a perfect gift for my sister when she turned 45 this spring. She's amazing and she is always creating all sorts of stuff or she is busy thinking of creating stuff. 

I must say it was a perfect project to get me stitching again; an easy pattern and just a few colours. And since I had a deadline I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. Which I didn't😊.

Being on a cross stitch roll I also decided to stitch this cute freebie birthday card for her:

The card is from Cross Stitch Crazy issue 213 and designed by Margaret Sherry. Very cute, but I had completely forgotten how much backstitch her designs include😳! I remember now why I didn't really go for her designs that much before. Just doing the backstitch took me as much time as the rest of the design...or at least it felt like it...

Still, I'm very glad that I kept ALL my freebies from ALL of my old cross stitching magazines. It's such a stitching treasure to have now.

With Easter coming up, I also stitched a few Easter cards to send to my online friends...

The patchwork flowers are designed by Lesley Teare from

The World of Cross Stitching issue 230

 ...as well as a little cute hanging.

From Enjoy Cross Stitch Birds & Butterflies Spring 2016

When I started to stitch again, I also decided to go through my enormous cross stitching stash to see what I had and to try to create some kind of order out of all the boxes of stuff I had saved since 2016.
Of course I had not gotten rid of ANYTHING since I knew I would get back to it when the time was right. Out of all the projects I found, these two are the ones I've started to work on this week.

They're from a Swedish cross stitching brand (Svarta Fåret) and the theme is Swedish summer and archipelago, and it's something I long for now. We used to have a large boat in our family, but my father had to sell it for health reasons and the way things are now in the world I really miss the whole soothing boating experience.

So instead I try to create it in stitches. As you do.

I have absolutely no idea if anyone is ever going to read this post since it is over 3 years since I last posted something here. I know I had some followers back in the day but that was a long time ago. But now when the cross stitching mojo came back, I also got the urge back to blog about my stitching. Even if no one else reads this except for me, it is still a very nice way to keep track of my projects and enjoy the progress I make. And for now, I'll keep writing my posts in English. That way hopefully more people can understand me (if they ever find me😉)...and I get to practice my English skills!

Happy Stitching,

Annie