A dangerous discovery

Hello Stitching Friends!

Hope you are all ok? I've been very busy this month watching all the fotball/soccer games in the ongoing UEFA EURO 2020, and although I've been cross stitching every day I haven't found the time to write about it. 

But now Sweden is out of the tournament and with only 8 countries remaining for the quarter finals I have some time to spare again😉😁. Until the Olympics start...but that's another story!

Except for the fotball, my wonderful niece graduated from school this month which is a very big deal of course! 

And we were able to have a family celebration to mark the occation. (Luckily the older generation in my family are all fully vaccinated now and I'm getting my second shot this month.) Of course I stitched a card for my niece Linnea and the chart is designed by Emma Congdon. I used my own colours for this one.

I really had every intention to try to finish some projects this summer, but who am I kidding😂🙈?? Of course I still have those intentions, but I just HAVE to start some new projects; life wouldn't just be any fun otherwise😉😊! And then there is Christmas coming up in (only) six months which might require some new projects... There's just always a good reason to start a new project, isn't there?!

So this month I started work on this cute picture which I plan on displaying in my hallway, for obvious reasons😁🐾🐕🐕! 

It's designed by Durene Jones and I found it in The World of Cross Stitching issue 291. 

And I have been stitching some small designs like this dream catcher letter which I plan to turn into an ornament for myself at some point.

Dream catcher ABC by Amanda Gregory from
The World of Cross stitching issue 277

I decided to have some fun with this little design and added some beads from my collection and I think it turned out great.

However, the best thing (or worst thing depending on how you see it🙈😂) that happened to me this month is that I discovered cross stitch patterns on ETSY. Oh boy, what a treasure trove for cross stitchers! I'm probably the last one to find my way into that world, but now I cannot tear myself away from it, haha! Soo many gorgeous patterns😍😍😍😍😍! And so easy to get hold of too! 

I want them ALL of course, and I just had to get a few that were on sale...🙈. And of course I just HAD to start a gorgeous Christmas project from VladaXstitch...

...and I've gotten this far. It's a bit difficult to see the gridlines in the digital pattern so it's taking me a little bit longer than I planned. 

But overall it's an easy pattern to stitch and I'm enjoying  the process!

I'm in this crazy creative flow right now and I cannot stop thinking of crafting and cross stitch. Sleeping seems a waste of time and all I want to do is watch sports and stitch😁. It's quite a wonderful state of mind to be in actually😊. I just wish I had arms like an octopus and double the amount of time available to do all my creative stuff😂!

Now I'm going to take my furbabies for a sunny walk and then I'm going to get some stitching done. I haven't had time to pick up the needle yet today and it's really beginning to bug me, haha! 

Love,

Annie 

A crafty little holiday and a versatile flower for Spring Into Summer New Start Binge

Hello Stitching Friends!

This time around I haven't too much stitching to show you, but it's for a good reason! Me and the dogs were invited to spend a few days with my sister in their caravan this past week, and it was simply lovely. The caravan park...

...was situated next to a small fishing lake...

 ...and me and the dogs enjoyed leisurely walks around the lake every day.

As a child I spent a lot of time on our boat in the Swedish archepelago so it was wonderful to be back in that kind of environment again.

Since me and my sister are very crafty people, we did spent a lot of time crafting whilst in the caravan.

However, the light wasn't always good enough for the three cross stitch projects I brought along, so it's a good thing I also brought my knitting, a Swedish KAL which will be a cardigan eventually, fingers crossed. Obviously the most important thing to bring on a holiday is your craft projects, right?!😉😅

The one cross stitch project I managed to make some progress on was Christmas Town by Emma Congdon. Stitching with turqouise thread on white aida was easy on the eyes so I went from this...

 ...to this:

I'm very happy with my efforts so far on this gorgeous Xmas project, and next step is to stitch the snowflakes (and birds) in the sky so that I can fill in the rest of the turquoise sky without too much counting...

We arrived home on Saturday, so yesterday I was able to pick a project for the Spring Into Summer New Start Binge hosted by TIFF and RACHEL . 

This time I stitched my own version of one of my favorite small patterns, Patchwork Flowers by Lesley Teare from The World of Cross Stitching issue 230. 

It's such a fabulous pattern; it's got six different chart versions and it's perfect for using up your stash, and for mixing and matching your own colours. I've lost count how many various flowers I've stitched using these small patterns.

And here's the latest little flower all finished, and my plan is to turn it into a little gift for someone special.

This week I have nothing special planned so I look forward to lots of stitching and maybe some knitting. 

Happy Stitching everyone💓❗

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

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

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 Finish: Lovebirds!

Hello Everyone!

 

Here's the Finish I promised you in the last post! It is called Lovebird Pair and is designed by Jenni Mills and the chart was published in The World of Cross Stitching (issue 199). I stitched it as a 50th birthday present for my very good friend's husband:)

 

This is a picture I took before I removed the stitched guide-lines and before I added...

 

 

...my friends' names and the Swedish words for 'Forever', and and washed, ironed and framed it:

I really enjoyed stitching this motive with all its bright colours, and the black backstitching really made the design stand out:)

 

My friends seemed really happy with the picture and made plans to hang it in their living room:))

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Annie 

More fairies and quick and easy flowers!

Hi all!

Finally the Ultimate Cross Stitch Fantasy bookazine has arrived in the post ! !

I couldn't wait to have a look through it , and I was not disappointed : ) I liked almost all the designs but there were a few that I really loved , and that I can see myself stitching very soon .
I especially liked the Joan Elliott charts , as usual : )

 

First of all , there is this Spring Fairy ! How I love all those bright colours !

 

And how about this pretty Woodland Fairy ? Isn't she cute ? !

 

I also like this Tulip Fairy , especially all the pretty tulips : )

 

At the moment I am waiting for my order of threads for my secret project , and whilst waiting I've been stitching everything I can of the chart with the threads I DO have : ) 

 

 

Here is a pic of part of the design : ) I am waiting for some yellow and green threads . . .

 

In a recent issue ( 230 ) of The World of Cross Stitching magazine I also found some handy , simple charts for greeting cards by Lesley Teare . Since I'm always on the lookout for quick , colourful and fun charts to use for cards I decided to stitch one . 

 

These sweet flower charts are absolutely perfect for left-over threads , and in fact I didn't use the exact DMC colours they recommended in the magazine . I also swapped the 14-count aida for 11-count , since I wanted the flower to be a bit bigger . I stitched the flower in one day , and I really enjoyed it : = ) In fact I enjoyed it so much that I decided to pick some other threads from my stash and started to stitch another one of these flowers :

 

There are a few birthdays coming up in my family soon so I think these cheerful flowers will come in handy for future birthday cards : )

 

Finally a little greeting from my furbabies who are enjoying the Swedish summer sun on our balcony : )

 

 

Happy Stitching Everyone!

 

Annie

My secret projects are not so secret anymore!

Hi all!

The last few days have been crazy busy over here! It was my sister's 40th birthday and my mum and I worked hard to make it a great celebration for her , so Friday , Saturday and Sunday were all spent dealing with party business . There was no time for relaxed cross stitching on the sofa , or watching my favorite English murder mysteries such as Midsomer Murders or Lewis . . .

I made a birthday card for my sister . . .

 

 . . . using a cross stitch chart designed by Angela Poole from Cross Stitch Collection issue 200 , and I also made a little brooch/necklace for her using a self-cover button , felt and ribbons .

Finally I could also give my wonderful sister her birthday present that I have been working on for the last couple of months . Knowing that she likes unicorns , I decided to cross stitch Joan Elliott's beautiful design Magical Unicorn for her :

 

This was the first time that I stitched with Kreinik braid #4 and Mill Hill Seed beads and I absolutely loved using these embellisments . The Kreinik was soo easy to stitch with compared to other metallics and sooo sparkly , and the beads were so much fun to attach and made the unicorn look fabulous ! According to the chart I used (which came from The World of Cross Stitching magazine issue 189) the stitching time was 90 hours, but my own stitching time is normally double the time they state in the magazines so with the beading and the Kreinik I estimate that it took me about 200 hours to stitch this beautiful unicorn !

Close ups :

 

 

I made a couple of changes to the design compared to the original chart . I cannot afford the beautiful hand-dyed fabrics so I picked an blue marbled aida instead as an economy alternative , and I decided to use varigated DMC tread for the forest in the background . Both these changes worked out well I think .
Although this was a time consuming project I loved stitching it and I definitely want to stitch a Joan Elliott design with beads and Kreinik again sooon ! In fact , I have the Lavender Fairy in my stash . . . hm . . .

Yesterday I also visited my VERY good friend T who also celebrated her birthday this weekend , and for her I had made a big bag in which she can store some of her stash of knitting yarns : = )

 

I added two stitched decorative cross stitched patches . . .  

. . .using this wonderful little design by Emma Congdon from the Cross Sticher magazine issue 288 . I LOVE this stitching related design and have stitched it several times , although I have had to change the colours since I didn't have the exact thread colours from the original chart .

So . . . now I have to decide if I want to pick up a WIP. . .
or if I should make a new start. . .
or maybe two new starts. . .
or maybe all the above. . . ? ? ?

Such lovely stitching decisions to be made ! ! !

Happy Stitching everyone!

Annie