A wolf, an elephant, and a little bit of Xmas

Hello Stitching Friends!

I cannot believe what has happened in Europe and Ukraine since I last posted on this blog😨😢💔... 

However, if I'm going to stick to cross stitching, you may remember that during the Winter Olympics I had decided to try to work on Emma Congdon's Christmas Town every day during the competitions. I managed to stick to that goal pretty well so now the town has progressed from this...

...to this! 

Cross Stitcher magazine, issue 285

Now there are mainly white areas left to stitch. However, with everything that has happened lately I have found it hard to motivate myself to work on it. But I'm trying, and I'm determined to finish it.

Another project I have been working on after Christmas is the collection of three animal siluettes by Durene Jones.

I have now finished the wolf siluette.

Cross Stitcher magazine, October 2021

And I also finished the elephant siluette, but a friend of mine saw it, bought it, and it now hangs on her wall.

Cross Stitcher magazine, issue 379.

So now I have to stitch it again if I want the complete set😉.

As far as the polar bear is concerned I still have a long way to go...

Cross Stitcher magazine, issue 379.

After the Olympics I really wanted to stitch something cheerful and colourful so I made a start on the sampler A Song for Spring by Cheryl McKinnon.

A Song for Spring designed by Cheryl McKinnon.
From Cross Stitcher magazine issue 354 (March 2020)

In the last week or so I have struggled with my stitching/crafting mojo and suddenly I felt like picking up one of my Prairie Schooler Christmas projects again. There's something really relaxing about stitching PS charts. I only wish I had more of them.

The Prairie Schooler, Book No. 199

As you can see it is coming along nicely.

That is it for now, I guess. I've really struggled writing this post; my brain and my heart are just all over the place😔... I hope you are all well and staying safe in this crazy, scary world😔. 

Annie

We have a Finish!!

 Hello Stitching Friends!

Except for cataloging all my WIPs/UFOs lately, I have also worked on the gorgeous 2021 calendar in Cross Stitcher issue 365 designed by Cheryl McKinnon (Tiny Modernist). I decided to stitch it as a sampler and I have enjoyed this project soo much! I loved stitching all the little colourful seasonal motifs and seeing it all come together.

And now it is finished!!!

I'm so proud of myself! I started this a couple of weeks ago when I was feeling really stressed and needed something fun to take my mind off my financial worries, and from thereon every stitch has been a joy. In the last week I have stitched hours almost every day and now I'm almost a bit sad that this project is all done. 

I decided to give the sampler a Swedish twist by stitching the names of the months in Swedish. Luckily the translations are fairly similar to the English names as you can see so it wasn't too difficult😊.

I think my favorite months are Juli (July) and Augusti (August) since they remind me of lovely Swedish summers spent on our family boat as I grew up. Such happy memories and something I miss very much now that the boat is sold💔😔.

The month that caused me some problems was Februari (February). First I did a counting error, but I decided to leave it and see it as my own version, haha. Then I stitched those little bunnies in ecru as instructed in the chart, but it was impossible to see them afterwards😳. So I thought I'd backstitch around them, but then they looked like a cross between dogs and bunnies😂. With some changes to the backstitch I hope they now look more like bunnies than dogs, but with all the hassles I had and the frogging I had to do I just wished I had stitched them in another colour. 

Like I did with the snowman that was supposed to be stitched in ecru, but I used a bluish white instead (DMC 747). Mostly I had the threads required by the original chart, but I had to use another dark green and brown and grey colour from my stash, but thankfully I don't think it shows. 

I'm hoping I can find a frame soon that fits this project, because I really love it and I want to wash it, iron it and get it up on the wall soon!

Now, I'm sure I've heard a rule that states that when you finish a bigger project you can start a new project without any guilt...😉😁. I definitely have a few projects I'm itching to start (you'd never guess, would you😂🙈) 

But maybe I should finish counting my current WIPs/UFOs first...

Hope you're all safe and well and hope you have time for lots of lovely stitching!

Annie 

Second Finish (!) this weekend!

Hello Everyone!

Thank you very much for all your lovely comments on the previous post! Every single comment is greatly appreciated and makes my heart sing:))

Despite feeling a bit under the weather today - so frustrating! - I managed another Finish (before I fell asleep exhausted on the sofa in the afternoon...)! It's the Gingerbread House Sampler!
Here it is in all its sparkly glory:

Freebie chart from Cross Stitch Crazy

I am sooo pleased with this finish, and I can't wait to find a nice, simple golden frame for it! You know when stitchers say that 'they enjoyed every single stitch', right?! Well, I always think to myself that that simply cannot be true; there must be parts of a design that is a bit boring... However, with this particular project - and for the very first time - I must admit to saying that I enjoyed every single stitch on this sampler LOL!
It was soo wonderful to stitch on the sparkly fabric, and I loved the little motifs and the happy colours - I just loved it all! In fact, I'm almost sad that it is finished lol.

Here is another picture of it that I took when it laid on my lap - all the colours of the threads and the fabric are much more accurate here:)

I wish I could do a Happy Dance but today I think I have to settle for a Happy Clap:)

Now I just hope I feel more like myself tomorrow so I can carry on stitching without an headache or without falling asleep...

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Annie

Happily back to working on my own projects...!

Hello Everyone!

When I wrote my previous post I realized how much I have missed my cross stitch blog and how much I enjoy reading your lovely comments and catching up on all your stitching projects and general news..! So, now that a wonderful Christmas has come and gone I hope to be a much more active cross stitch blogger again:) Wohoo! I have so much to show you all; crafty Xmas gifts I've been given, crafty Xmas gifts I have made and the progress on my own joyful cross stitch projects I'm working on now:)

Speaking of Christmas, I really love my new blog design I used for the Christmas season so I'm not quite sure what I will do now that the season for reds and santas are almost over...:(
Please bear with me if I keep my jolly blog theme for a while into 2016, whilst I ponder what next to do with the blog design...I have a general tendency to hold on to Christmas a bit too long into the new year so I guess it is only right that my blogs should be affected too lol.

So, I am really enjoying stitching just for myself again! First I picked up the Gingerbread House Sampler and this is...

...where I finished before Christmas:) After a few hours stitching the last couple of days it now looks like this:  

 

A bit more purple, and border, and pinks; basically just a bit more of everything!

I still really enjoy stitching this one - maybe the design would pop more if I had stitched it on white aida but I really LOVE the gold-sparkling aida so no regrets! I love it so much that I have also bought a piece of silver-sparkling aida, and now I just have to find the appropriate design that will do the sparkly silver justice...:)

Even though I love my GBH sampler, I have had a couple of charts that I have been loooonging to start stitching, so yesterday I stiched gridlines onto a piece of blue aida and started stiching one of those charts:)

 

It is designed by my new favorite cross stitch designer Emma Congdon. Her designs have bright happy colours and often graphic patterns and words. This particular design is called Festive Flurry and can be found in Cross Stitcher issue 298. I really had to force myself to put this down last night; it was soo much fun to finally make a start on it! Any guesses what it is?

 

The first of my stitched Christmas gifts that I will show you is this ornament that I gave to my sister:

 

If I am not mistaken I think this design is also by Emma Congdon. I have stitched it a couple of times in different colour combinations since it is such a nice little crafty-themed chart. This time around I decided to add some beads for extra bling since I was going to give it to my bling-loving sister. From what I could tell my sister really loved it and immediately put it up on display in her own crafty corner:) That warms a sister's heart, I'll say!

That is it for now; my new project is calling for me!

Happy stitching everyone!

Annie

Purples and candy canes...

Hello Everyone!

Hope you're all doing well:) I hosted a lovely Christmas Party last Sunday for family and friends, and after that I have been completely exhausted..! I worked so hard getting everything ready for that party that I ran out of steam once it was all over and all the home-made goodies were eaten.

So this week I have tried to take it easy, relax and work on all my Xmas gift projects that I have left to do. I have at least five on the go so I desperately trying NOT to get stressed by them all. Luckily there's plenty of sports on the television that keep me company as I stitch away. I enjoy all the projects, but I still found myself longing to stich on one of my own pieces so last night I got the Gingerbread House Sampler out again and promised myself an hour of stitching time on it.

Here is where I picked it up...

 

...and an hour later I had soo much fun with this one that I just had to carry on stitching it until it was time for bed:) It felt a little bit like a guily pleasure, but I thorougly enjoyed my time with this sparkly stitch:)

 

This is where I stopped when it was time for bed... 

 

A bit more of the border, some more purple and a couple of candy canes etc. I can't wait to get back to this one again, but now I have to 'be good' and finish some other more urgent projects first..:)

Now I'm going to watch the final of the best season ever of Swedish Pop Idol!

Happy Stitching!

Annie

Gingerbread House Sampler update:)

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for all the lovely comments lately -  <3 they really make my heart swell <3 !

I had another really good session with the GBH Sampler yesterday evening! I swear for once my needle was flying lol:)

So this means I have almost completed the 'merry christmas' phrase and stitched the 5 Xmas trees at the bottom:) In the original chart all the 5 Xmas trees were pink, but I decided to stitch the middle one in green - I think that makes the picture more balanced. And I really wanted to stitch a green Xmas tree too!
I hope to put in another hour or so on this one tonight too:)

Hope you've all found time for stitching this weekend!

Annie

A quiet time with Xmas stitching...

Hello Everyone!

This weekend I am resting and doing a lot of stitching. I have several Xmas gift projects still on the go that needs attention and I have a feeling I will be stitching like crazy in the next few weeks to get them done! Sadly I cannot show you any of those yet, but I have put in another hour or so this week on Gingerbread House sampler...

 
...which means a couple of more letters and a Christmas tree:) I'm planning to spend another hour on this one tonight - it is really addictive:)

Today I decided to stitch me an A from the Winter ABC designed by Fiona Baker in Cross Stitch Crazy issue 209.

Isn't it sweet? I really liked this ABC when I saw it; partly because of the winter theme and partly because it had hardly any backstitch:) Yay! I'm normally quite a slow stitcher, but this little chart came together really quickly so I'm hoping to do a few more letters:) And it was really fun to stitch too!

 

Whilst stitching and watching skiing on the telly, one of my furbabies lay sleeping next to me on the sofa...doesn't he look comfy??

 

I have a feeling he enjoyed the quiet time I spent stitching just as much as I did:)

Hugs,

Annie

Gingerbread House Sampler

Hello everyone!

Yesterday I got out my Gingerbread House Sampler from Cross Stitch Crazy to add a few stitches. I haven't had time for this one for a while, but I suddenly felt like bringing it out for a bit...

This is where I started last night...

 ...and after an hour of adding some more pink and brown I stopped here:

I really feel like stitching the whole phrase of merry christmas next...or maybe some more Christmas trees at the bottom... or another reindeer to the right...:)

I'm hoping to add another hour to this one tonight - no matter how busy I am at this time of the year I really feel like I must find some - or just a little - time for some 'just-for-fun-stitching'!

Happy stitching!

Annie

Gingerbread sampler!

Hi everyone !

This is just a quick update to show you how I am getting on with my Gingerbread Sampler :

We now have a couple of reindeers and a start on the border : ) I'm still loving this , and suprisingly enough I don't mind all the starts and stops . On the contrary , I enjoying seeing the sampler grow item by item : ) I've had to do one change to the original chart . If you have a look at the three hearts in the middle , the heart to the left has a very invisible brown in the middle . . . Therefore I decided to find a slightly darker brown that would show up better on this particular fabric , and I filled in the other two hearts with the 'new' brown : )

Hope you've all had a wonderful stitchy weekend !

Annie

Christmas stitching update!

Hello Everyone !

I just HAD to show you all my progress on my Stardust fabric - I just LOVE that name ! ! ! And I love stitching on the this goldish aida ! This is my progress on my Gingerbread sampler from Cross Stitch Crazy (issue 208) so far :

I just love stitching this one so much and I could easily skip all my other projects to just work on this one , but I've managed to restrict myself to a couple of hours each evening : ) Some of the colours -like the light green - have a tendency to fade into the fabric but I can easily say that I don't care lol ! This fabric just makes everything look stunning ! There is also an aida with silver flecks , and I have a feeling it will be making its way home to me ( from the online store ) sooner rather than later . . .
I'm slowly coming to realise that I have a thing for stitching with a bit of bling ! !
Who would have thought ? !

Since I'm on a roll here I might as well show you my progress on my other Xmas projects : )
Here's my red and white Christmas picture  . . .

. . . where I am working my way across the red sky with my new red thread . I'm also working on the outside frame , so not long to go now : ) Still thinking of how to finish it . . : )

 Here's the progress on my Swedish santa :

I'm also stitching my way across this sky and it is coming along nicely . I had a go at stitching Santa's facial features , but it looked a right mess so I've decided to leave him as he is . . . I think . . ! I've been so spoiled with stitching Joan Elliotts beautifully detailed facial features lately . . !

Speaking of Joan Elliott , this is where I am at with her Christmas Fairy :

She hasn't had a lot of attention the last couple of weeks , but I've added a bit to the skirt and to the furry details of her dress:)

The other day I found this gorgeous Crocus ABC designed by Lucie Heaton in an old magazine (The World of Cross Stitching, issue 212)...

 

... and I just had to have a go at stitching some of these letters! The yellow and purple crocuses look wonderful and are very quick to stitch too:) I had some scraps of hand-died Polstitches aida to stitch on so these letters ended up looking absolutely fabulous : )

 

Happy stitching everyone!

 

Annie