Leap Year start and a snowy guy

Hello Everyone!

When I read Tama's post on her blog Stitching Daze this morning, I got inspired to celebrate Leap Year Day with a crazy new unexpected start. A start I hadn't planned for but a start that I'd love to make at some point. So I dug through my kits that I have gathered for some rainy days way off in the future, and then I suprisingly quickly made up my mind of which one I should start. Totally unexpected. In fact the decision was a no-brainer!

I fell in love with the Fairytale Castle by the late Sheila Hudson (I think?!), but when I received the kit a few years back, I realised that the chart was in black and white... I find black and white charts so difficult to read since I'm used to the colour charts in cross stitch magazines, so that really put me off starting this beautiful piece. On the other hand, there are a lot of blocks of colours and a lot of half cross stitches so it really shouldn't be soo difficult.
Well, today I made a small start...!

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I also asked my sister if she could help me to enlarge the chart a bit. Hopefully that will help me a lot in a future when it comes to this project:) I have a feeling that the finishing date for this beautiful project lies many years ahead, but today I made a start! Wow! And if you don't start, you can't finish! My motto when it comes to cross stitching lol!

 

When I took the picture of my start I angled my phone to the left where my two smaller furbabies often lie buried in blankets when I stitch. Notice how he's already taking possession of my leftover-yarn blanket lol!

If you wondered, I have also managed to finish my snowman for the Christmas Ornie SAL. I'm not completely happy with the backstitch, but it looks ok if you look at him from a distance. Which is why I'm not giving you a close-up LOL.



From the magazine Enjoy cross stitch at Christmas 2011.
Designer: Adam Prescott

At least he's done in the nick of time! Now I have to look for a suitable ornament chart with the theme of Santa and/or his helpers for March... Should be interesting!

Hope you're having a nice week with some time for stitching:))

Annie

A week of crafts...

Hello Everyone!

Thank you sooo much for your kind and supportive comments on my last post, and for your personal advice on how to get hold of cross stitch stash if you're on a very tight budget. It means so much to me that you took the time to comment, and it's comforting to know that I'm not alone in my crafty frustrations and limitations...! <3

So on to stitchy matters:)
My Cosy cushion is growing nicely...

...but as I mentioned last time I've now run out of the pink thread so unfortunately I'm not going to be able to finish it right now:( For once I've actually made quite a few changes to the original charts both when it comes to colour choices and to the patterns as you can see...

From Cross Stitcher issue 301
Designer: Felicity Hall

And I have to say that I'm very happy with my changes; I'm definitely more of a pink and purple kind of girl, rather than a blue and orange, if you know what I mean lol:)

This month I was very late starting my Christmas Ornament for Christmas Ornie SAL so I've had to work hard on my snowy small in the last couple of days.

Still, I had to take a break from this snowman today since I got really sick of those small fiddly backstitches around the hat. Especially when they are so small that you can hardly see them...so annoying! Of course that means I have to get the needle out tomorrow and make sure I finish him; fiddly backstitch or not...

Overall I have to say that my most enjoyable crafty project this week has been my leftover-yarn crochet blanket:) It is growing quite nicely and I took a picture of it today to show you how it looks...

 

 

At the moment it measures about 150 x 80 cm, but I plan to make it at least 150 x 150 cm. I hate blankets that are too small, don't you?! I'm very pleased with my progress; I didn't think I'd get this far this quickly! I must say that it is very nice not havíng to follow a pattern, and to just crochet with any colour I feel like for as long as I feel like... which is probably the reason why this project has grown so quickly:)

 

Now it's time for me to take my furbabies for a walk before I hit the sack:) I have to get a good night's sleep so I can tackle the backstitch with a clear head tomorrow:)

 

Hope you've all had a nice stitchy weekend!

 

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

Too many projects and too little time...

Hi everyone !

This week I've been doing all sorts of crafts , so my stitching has had to take a bit of a backseat . . : (  Sadly there just isn't enough hours in the day for me right now to do everything I want to .
For example , I've been making crochet snowflakes . . .

 

 . . . that I am going to stiffen and hang in my Christmas tree this year .

I've painted acorns in silver and gold . . .

. . . and I have made more handmade decorations for my Xmas tree :

The one cross stitch related activity this week was that I joined the wonderful SAL Kitten Stitching and the Friday Frolics , which gives me motivation to get some stitching done every Friday at least ! So this Friday past I worked on my Christmas tree for the Christmas Ornie SAL 2015 . . .

. . . and it is now finished ! Yay ! In the original chart (designed by Maria Diaz from the free leaflet with The World of Cross Stitching issue 183) the tree trunk and the top of the tree are left empty . . .

 

 . . . but I thought it looked odd so I decided to repeat the pattern ALL the way to the bottom and the top . I'm very pleased with it , but of course I have to turn it into an ornament as well in the next few days . . . Wish me luck !

I also started on another letter from the Crocus ABC in The World of Cross Stitching issue 212 : )

The ABC is designed by Lucie Heaton and it is a joy to stitch : ) I'm thinking I should use it to make something for myself too . since I like it so much . Maybe when all the Xmas stitching is out of the way . . : )

I have also started to stitch on a Iphone mobile case : ) This is the one that I am using right now . . .

. . . but I want to stitch myself a Christmas-themed case too ! A Christmas Fanatic like me certainly  needs a proper Christmas case !

I don't have a chart for this cover so I'm going to try to 'design'/put together something that I like . I have started off with this Christmas Tree from an old leaflet of Xmas designs from Cross Stitch Crazy magazine and then we'll see . . : )

I must try to get some stitching done on my Christmas gift projects this week - I have really missed my stitching ! The days and the weeks are starting to go by really fast now and there is sooo much I want to stitch before Xmas !

How is your Xmas stitching going ?

Happy Stitching Everyone !

Annie

New stash and WIPs!

Hi everyone !

It is about time I write a post again , don't you think ? !

I've been waiting for my cross stitch order from England , and today it arrived ! It's like Xmas Eve ( in Sweden we open our Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve ) in September lol !
Look at this stunning gold-fleck aida . . .

 

. . . AND it is called Stardust . . . isn't it gorgeous ? ! ! I have finally been able to treat myself to a cross stitch magazine subscription , and when I received the latest issue (208) of Cross Stitch Crazy I saw this very cute freebie Xmas sampler . . .

 

. . . and I am hoping that it will look extra-special stitched on the gold aida : ) ) Fingers crossed ! !

Of course I also received some more threads for my many projects : )

There are red threads for my white and red Xmas picture , and some blue threads for my Swedish santa , and some threads for new projecs that I can't wait to start . . ! As if I don't have enough projects on the go already . . !

My sister actually gave me good advice when I complained that there isn't enough hours in the day for me to have time to stitch all the Xmas gifts I want . She also has a lot of craft projects on the go for Xmas gifts so she knows exactly what I'm talking about . Anyway , she suggested that I should try to finish ONE project for each person so that everyone is 'covered', and THEN I can go crazy with more Christmas gift stitching ! So that is what I am trying to do now ; just get something done for each and every one and then the rest is a bonus : ) )
It is soo nice to have a crafty sister to discuss crafty issues with : ) ) 

So one of those Xmas gifts projects I am working on right now is this aida band I showed you a month ago (look HERE):

I wasn't happy about the thread colour for the backstitch details . As you can tell the letter M is backstitched in a lighter blue thread that is quite difficult to make out . I decided to have a look through my stash to see if I could find a darker blue that would still complement the other three colours , but also stand out a bit more . As you can also tell , I succeeded:) I am much more happy with the A and the R, and it is now possible to make out the small flowers too : ) )

I am also working on my September ornament for Christmas Ornie SAL . I struggled to find a design I was happy with so in the end I decided to stitch something totally different . . .

 

. . . and that ended up being this Christmas tree : ) It is stitched using only DMC Metallics and it's from an old freebie chart leaflet from The World of Cross Stitching magazine . As usual it is impossible to do justice to the sparkle in a picture , but trust me when I say that it looks really nice : ) I haven't decided how to do the finishing yet , but we're only halfway through September so I still have time to think about that one . . : ) ) )

 

That's all for now , fellow stitchers !

 

Annie

A few of my WIPs . . .

Hi Everyone !

OMG , you should see the state of my livingroom table ! ! ! Or maybe not . . . ha ha !
It is totally covered with Zip Lock plastic bags filled with a variety of different cross stitch projects . . . One day I may be brave enough to share a picture of my own personal WIP chaos , ha ha , but today is not the day : ) )

I cannot show you ALL of my Xmas gift projects , but luckily there are still plenty of WIPs whose future recipients won't read this blog .

So here are a few of my WIPs screaming for attention on my livingroom table . . .

 

I have shown you these before . They are freebie gift tags designed by Fiona Crouch from Cross Stitcher magazine issue 286 . I have now finished these and I am in the process of thinking of how to use these charts again for more gift tags - hence the WIP status : ) I loved stitching these simple yet Xmassy  designs , but instead of stitching with red thread on white aida , I think I'm going to stitch them on red aida fabric with white thread . That should be equally Xmassy , don't you think ? ! Or I might stitch these designs using metallics . . . If I am going to make gift tags for all my Xmas gifts I still have about 40 to do so wish me luck : )

 



These strawberries ( designed by Lucie Heaton in Cross Stitcher magazine issue 239) you have seen before too , but now I have started the backstitch on the first few . And you were all right ; they benefited from some backstitch : ) I have now stiched 6 berries and I have at least 6 more to stitch . . . Boring , but I must say that they look yummie , so I am pleased with the progress :)

Those of you who take part in the Christmas Ornie SAL 2015 recognize this Prairie Schooler Santa , which is going to be my ornament for August : ) I love working on this Santa ( from Cross Stitch Collection magazine issue 243 ) and I am really looking forward to do the other two designs featured in the magazine : )

 

This ABC I found in Cross Stitch Collection magazine issue 246. I loved these pretty Zweigart letters, but I realised too late that I should have stitched them on coloured aida instead of the white aida band . . . I just wasn't thinking . . !  As this looks , you can hardly make out the pretty LITTLE flowers, nor the blue backstitch . Bummer ! However, I will carry on with this particular aida band , and maybe I'll stitch it onto a blue towel to bring out the blue in the letters . But next time I use this pretty ABC it will definitely not be on white aida !

 

At last I just have to show you my progress on Joan Elliott's Christmas Fairy ( from Cross Stitch Crazy magazine issue 159 ) ! I'm a huge Christmas nerd (I even have my own Christmas blog ) and in the evenings I have started to watch some Xmas movies and lit some scented Christmas Candles and then stitched on my Xmas Fairy . Therefore progress has been good : ) This is another project that I am totally in love with , so I am very happy that I have been able to find some special time in the day when I work solely on this Fairy , just for myself : )

That is all from me for this time : )

Happy Stitching!

Annie

Xmas Fairy and Xmas SAL!

Hello Everyone!

When I woke up this morning the rain was pouring outside , so it seemed like the perfect thing to do to stay indoors and stitch on my new Christmas Fairy project ! I heard a faint voice in my head that tried to tell me to stitch on my Xmas gift projects instead , but I ignored that voice . Today was only for my Xmas Fairy !

So this is where I'm at right now ! Since it is quite a small fairy (stitch count 140x112) I'm making good progress : ) I already have all the different red-coloured threads I need so I can finish those parts of the chart . Unfortunately I do not have all the greens so I had to leave the wreath etc as it is for now : (

I have also made some plans to add more bling to this design by Joan Elliott .

A reminder of how she looks finished:)

JE has already added red seed beads to the skirt and wreath , and gold Kreinik to the wings . I am planning to also exchange the single white cross stitches on the dress for white seed beads , and to stitch the green xmas-tree branches surrounding her in green Kreinik . I think that would look great ! Maybe also switch the black cross stitches in the fur for black seed beads . . . we'll see how it goes : )

Still , I really need to tear myself away from this design for a bit . At the moment I am trying to find suitable pretty alphabet charts that I can stitch on 5 cm aida bands for gifts . Most of the ABC-charts I have are just a tiny bit too large for that size which is very annoying . . . !

Speaking of Christmas , I have joined my very first SAL ! It is the Christmas Ornie SAL 2015 hosted by Kaye at Kitten Stitching ! I am soo excited and have already begun to think of which Xmas designs to stitch !

I just love Christmas ! ! !

Happy Stitching !

Annie