Three little houses...

Hello Everyone!

This week did not turn out as I had planned... I had such stitching mojo last Saturday, and I thought I'd spend the whole week stitching and writing several posts to show you all how well I had done lol!

Instead I spent most of the week feeling utterly exhausted which meant I lost my stitching mojo, which meant that I didn't stitch anywhere as much as I had planned. And then when I started to feel a bit better on Friday and planned to start a long stitching weekend, my youngest furbaby - who has several health issues (like his mummy) - started to feel very poorly instead.

So of course I couldn't focus on my stitching, and even though my poor darling is doing better now, I'm still feeling distracted by my concern fo him and worry that he'll get worse again. Sadly I've had to take him to the vet more times in four years than the other two furbabies together...

This means that I've only stitched a bit here and there, and to help my mojo I decided to pick a new small project  that I fell in love with when I saw it online. It's these cute little cottages designed by Maria Diaz from Cross Stitcher issue 297.

 

I finally managed to get hold of a back issue online so I picked out suitable threads and fabric from my own stash since I didn't have the exact ones used in the magazine.

This is the first cottage I stitched:

I used white beads as snowflakes and red and gold beads in the Christmas tree instead of French knots. As you can see the white thread doesn't show very well, so on the next cottage I decided to use white satin thread, as well as add a few more white beads:

As you can see the satin thread didn't work perfectly either, so for the third and final cottage I decided to use another fabric, and then I added some more white cross stitches to increase the overall snowy effect.

This cottage turned into my favorit of the three, but I'm sure they all will look very sweet once I get around to finish them... It's quite possible I'll stitch these again soon since they are so cute and so much fun to stitch as well as fast to finish:))

Tomorrow I'm taking all the dogs to get their yearly booster shots and then I hope things can quieten down for all of us so I can relax and get some serious stitching done. As it is right now I can only focus on doing small projects, in between checking up on my furbabies and worrying about them and trying to catch up on very boring housework that I ignored when I felt under the weather...

So let's all keep our fingers crossed that I'll be able to write another post soon showing off all my progress this coming week lol.

Happy Stitching!

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

Too exhausted to stitch much...: ( (

Hi everyone!

 

This week I am taking care of my sister and brother-in-law's two dogs , which means I have five dogs at home , which means 105 kg in weight , which means double the amount of walks every day , which means less rest for me , which means less stitching time , which means a very exhausted ME !

 

In my mind I am just dying to sit down and stitch , but there is just not enough time in the day nor enough energy in my body to do much more than looking after these five dogs .

 

My family's lovely pack of dogs!

I have managed a few stitches here and there in between dog walks .

Here is my Christmas Fairy :

 

I have completed the red sash on the dress and stitched some more on the skirt , but progress is fustratingly slow right now .

I have also managed to stitch some more letters for my up-coming christmas gifts. These are designed by Maria Diaz and can be found in Cross Stitch Crazy magazine (issue 156).

This ABC is causing my some headache , since the robins are placed so randomly around each letter .  I wasn't sure weather I should line up the actual letters exactly along the same line , or weather I should just match them up according to each chart size . . . ? In the end I decided to place them according to the exact chart measurement since that required less aida fabric , but I am not sure how it will look finished when the letters themselves are not exactly lined up . . . I just have to hope that it'll look so charming in the end that the recipient won't care either way : )

Here is another cute bird-themed letter as well :

I have found some good charts to use in my cross stitching magazines so now I just need the time and energy - and some additional threads I have to order - in order to create some Christmas gifts : )

Happy Stitching!

Annie

Some new charts!

Hi!

 

Yesterday I received two English cross stitch magazines that I had purchased online . One of them was Cross Stitch Collection issue 245 and as usual it had some lovely charts!

 

I really liked this cute little design by Emma Congdon .

 

 I love her use of colours and letters and the way she combines them : = )

Sadly I don't really have anyone special to stitch this for : (

 

This chart of a vintage sewing machine by Maria Diaz is also lovely .

 

In the magazine they have turned this chart into a cover for a sewing machine but I think it would look just as good as a picture or a cushion!

 

However , my favorite chart from this magazine is this picture of three adorable puppies by Jenny Barton .

 

It is soo cute , and as a doglover this is a must-stitch for me! Once I have finished my Jack Russell-WIP , I'm going to make a start on this one .

The last couple of days I have not stitched much . One of my dogs had a surgery and I have been too stressed and exhausted to pick up a needle . Still , I hope I can finish my secret projects this weekend so I can move on to my other not-so-secret projects soon : )

 

Happy Stitching everyone!

 

Annie