Mother's Day card!

Hi all!

 

So , yesterday I was determined to finish the little card for my mum as it is Mother's Day here in Sweden today , and I knew I was going to see her at 2 pm today !

So, I stitched . . . and stitched . . .and stitched . . . And I swore over the tiny holes in the 16-count aida . . . and I swore over the short , short threads that were included in this freebie card set . . . and I swore over the fractionals I had to do in the tiny aida squares . . . and I swore over the very fiddly backstitch . . . and I swore over the mixing up of cross stitches stitched with one thread as opposed to two threads . . .

An hour after midnight I finally finished off the last thread , rubbed my aching fingertips and relaxed my hands and drew a deep sigh of relief . . . my self-appointed task was done ! ! ! Yay !



 

 

And actually , I am very happy with this little chap ! ! ! He is really cute and those of you who are familiar with the designer Margaret Sherry will recognize characters like this one : ) Personally I have not stitched many Margaret Sherry designs before , and I am not sure I will in the future either . The end result is simply wonderful , but the road to get there . . . ! Well , that backstitch is not for the faint hearted , especially when using 16-count . . !

 

Anyway , having put the card together it looked like this :

I am glad I stuck with it because it looks really , really sweet , but frankly , I cannot wait to get back to my Lavender Fairy with its beads and Kreinik . . . much easier ha ha ! !

Happy Stitching Everyone !

Annie

Freebie card

Hi all!

What a frustrating week I have had ! Life has gotten in the way of my cross stitching and I have barely had time to stitch on my fairy ! I have started stitching with the Kreinik but so far I have had so little time to stitch that it is no point posting an update pic yet : ( ( Hopefully I can get some cross stitching done over the weekend - I feel like I will go insane if I have to wait much longer to stitch on my fairy !

I was hoping I might get some time to cross stitch tonight, which I did . However, here in Sweden it is Mothering Sunday this Sunday , and since I do not have the money at the moment to buy a gift for my lovely mum, I decided that the least I could do was to stitch a card for her . . . !
So I dug through my box with all the freebie cards from cross stitch magazines , and found a suitable card to stitch . It is not too detailed and should be reasonable quick to stitch. The one thing I do not like is the 16-count aida used ; I find it too fiddly and prefer 14-count. But since it is only a small card I am going to do my very best to cope . . . !

So this is as far as I got tonight . . .

I know , pathetic progress isn't it ? ? I definitely blame the 16-count aida . . . ha ha !
Can anyone guess what it will be . . . ? ?
Hopefully I can show you a picture of the finished card tomorrow evening !

Hope you all find time for some wonderful cross stitching this weekend !

Annie

Fairy progress

Hi all!

 

This is just a quick post to show you my progress on Joan Elliott's Lavender Fairy .

 

I have managed to stitch a bit over the weekend so now all the skin areas are practically finished . I still have the backstitch left to do on her arms and shoulders and on the rest of the dress . The lavender flowers are also done , except for the stems which will be backstitched in Kreinik . The last week has been quite stressful for me so I have found it difficult to focus on my crafts , but I hope that things will quieten down now so I can get back to some serious cross stitching again : )

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Annie

A Little Birthday Card

Hi all!

My plan was to do lots of cross stitching this week but anxiety and stress put a stop to my plan . Then I also received the heartbreaking news that my wonderful physiotherapist passed away very unexpectedly . . .  Needless to say I have barely stitched anything on the Lavender Fairy , but I hope that the weekend will bring some peace and renewed stitching energy , because I can hear Belle calling from the pile of WIPs : )

Meanwhile I have a small project to show you which I stitched last weekend . It is a birthday card for an acquaintance and I used a chart designed by Durene Jones from the magazine Cross Stitch Gold issue 100 .

I love her designs since she always uses a lot of bright colours and has a very interesting and different way of using sketchy backstitch to highlight her colourful designs : ) These particular charts were originally meant for a female recipient , but I fell in love with them and decided to try to adjust the colours and the design to fit a birthday card for a male recipient . I also added the name and tried to add backstitch to the name in a way that would match the rest of the design .

There are five more similar charts to this one in the magazine and since I really loved stitching this card it is quite possible that I will stitch a few more for future birthdays . But then I think I will stick to the recommended thread colours - it is much easier that way : )

Now I am going to try to get some rest and relaxation so I can get back to stitching my beautiful Belle : )

Happy Stitching Everyone !

Annie

Not long to go now!

Hi all,

 

Lately I have spent a lot of hours on Belle , the lavender fairy . All her fairy wings are stitched . . .

 

 

 . . . and I am now stitching the lavender flowers on each side of her .

 

 

The lavender itself is not difficult to stitch . I began to stitch each flower on its own and finishing off the thread before I moved to the next flower . However , it seemed as if the amount of thread the kit provided dvindled rather quickly when I did it this way , so I then decided that I would ' jump ' with the thread beween the small lavender flowers as long as the distance wasn't more than 2 - 3 aida squares . I am also going to add Kreinik for the stems , so I am hoping that any threads on the back won't show through the fabric later on .

 

The other two things I have left to do now is to finish the skin areas and to stitch all the little pretty flies that fly around the fairy . However , the flies are tiny which mean a lot of starting and finishing threads , and stitching the skin colours requires a lot of concentration so I'll only stitch those in the daytime . Still , I hope I can finish those last areas this week so I can start with the beads and Kreinik soon : ) Can't wait !

 

By the way , does any of you know whether it is possible to hand wash Polstitches hand-dyed fabrics ?

It would be nice to be able to wash the stitching since I have handled it so much . . .

 

Now I am going to take time to catch up with all your lovely blogs ; my stitching has taken up all of my time lately and have made me neglect my blog reading !

Happy Stitching Everyone !

Annie

To face a Face!

Hi all!

Yesterday I gave away the crocheted poncho that I made recently .

The recipient was delighted and full of smiles and plans for when she was going to use it ! It sure is lovely making things for people when they show such appreciation ! !

I'm still stitching my Lavender Fairy , and I have now renewed determination to finish this project within not too long : ) The reason for that is probably that I have now stitched her face , and thus she has almost developed a personality . . . ! I know , it sounds a bit crazy , but she is more alive now and I have also decided to call her BELLE ! Such a beautiful fairy deserves her own name , especially since I am spending so much time 'getting to know' her . . . : )

So the process of stitching the face was quite time-consuming ; three different skin colours , lots of fiddly fractionals and quite a few thread changes . . . ! After a few hours I had done this much . . .

 

. . . and I was beginning to wonder if she would really end up looking as good as she does in the original picture ? ? Hm . . . nothing to do but keeping my fingers crossed and then stitch the different backstitches around the eyes and the mouth . . .

Well , now she began to look a bit better, with some of her 'make-up' on : ) But there was still something missing , so I carried on with the last bit of backstitching in and around the face and voila . . .

 

 

 . . . here she is ! Isn't she beautiful, my BELLE ? ? It is amazing what a few backstitches here and there can do ! I can just feel how I have fallen in love with this project all over again : )

 

And here is a picture of her as she looks tonight in all her glory ! !

 

The next big step is to finish stitching all of her wings and there are also all the lavender flowers that grow on each side of her . Although there are still lots of things to stitch , it feels as if it is doable and I am really looking forward to when I can go crazy with the embellishments . . .ha ha !

Happy Stitching everyone !

Annie

A week of wonderful stitching !

Hi all!

I have had such a nice week filled with icehockey on the telly and lots and lots of stitching ! My Lavender Fairy is coming along nicely : ) I have now stitched the legs and I have done some more backstitching . . . : )

 

I have also started on the fairy wings. All the skin colours coming up is making me feel slightly bored so I am trying to mix it up by stitching different parts of the charts according to my mood. I'm also debating with myself whether I should stitch the face now or save it until the end . . .? Any thoughts ?

  

Here's another picture of one of my stitching buddies . . . :)

 

Isn't he cute rolled up like a little ball ? ?

 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday filled with lots of stitching !

 

Annie

What did I do all afternoon ? ? ?

Hi all!

First of all I just want to thank you all for taking the time to read my blog and comment my posts ! I do not think you understand how happy reading what you write makes me : ) At times it thrills me so much that I just HAVE to call my sis and tell her how wonderful I feel when I see your  nice comments ! So I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of YOU for the happiness you all give me when you visit my blog : ) So , THANK YOU all you lovely cross stitchers out there in the world !

Now , on to stitching business ! So yesterday my Lavender Fairy looked like this . . .

. . .and today I stitched all afternoon and when I looked at what I had done . . .

 

. . . it looked like I had done almost nothing at all ! How depressing . . .! So , what DID I do ? Well , I completed some of the cross stitches I had left to do on the skirt , and I did some backstitching on the skirt too . However , the chart says to use grey thread so therefore it is almost impossible to see the backstitch once done . . .

Can YOU see the backstich ? ? I almost wanted to switch to black thread since I really don't like designs where one can't see the backstitch clearly . However , who am I to argue with Joan Elliott when it comes to design , so I am going to perservere with the grey thread and trust the chart and the designer . . .

I am so tempted to start some of the beading , but I know I have to wait . I stitch in hand and do not use a hoop or frame so there would be a risk of handling the fabric too much after adding the beads and Kreinik . Of course I don't want to risk having to redo any of the embellishments .

Now I have to decide what I want to stitch next . . . the legs . . . or some lavender . . . or more backstitch . . .? I'll see what I feel like tomorrow .

Happy Stitching Everyone,

Annie

The Joan Elliott world is my oyster!

Hi all!

Since the first moment I saw her cross stitch charts I fell in love with Joan Elliott designs . I loved the details and the colours she used and the subjects - just the overall feel of her designs : ) However , a lot of them felt very much out of my stitching reach since I had never used beads - how scary! - and I found metallics really challenging to stitch with .
However , I challenged myself to use beads for a gift I made last autumn . . .

 



 ...using a Joan Elliott chart . I used slightly larger beads that I had bought cheaply at a craft sale and the process of stitching the beads to the fabric was such an exhilarating experience , and the the whole stitched piece looked sooo good with the added beads that I was truly HOOKED! Then I decided to stitch the beautiful Unicorn by Joan Elliott for my sister's 40th birthday , where I got to use Kreinik braid #4 which was a very nice experience ! I found Kreinik very easy to use compared to DMC Metallics . I also used the small seed beads for the first time , and although they did their best to escape from me , the beading was a lot of fun : )
So , now that I had conquered my big fears as far as JE designs was concerned , it really dawned on me the other day that I CAN in fact stitch ALL of her charts that take my fancy ! WOW ! Of course it would be quite expensive , since I would want lovely ( hand dyed ) fabrics and beautiful beads and Kreinik , but still , I could do it ! And I also realized that I have quite a few of her charts already since I collect cross stitch magazines and have quite a few bookazines with some of her patterns . Of course I had to get out back issues of the magazine that often has her chart , Cross Stitch Collection magazine , and I made a list of the JE designs that really took my fancy !

So here goes:

CSC issue 225

 I love this Fabulous flapper ! Who doesn't love the Charlston Era with all the fun dresses and headpieces etc ? ! And look at that necklace . . . lots and lots of beads : )

CSC issue 229

 I LOVE christmas ( which is why I have a Christmas blog! ) and I love vintry christmas designs ! This Christmas Rose Angel would be perfect christmas gift for someone : ) Those christmas roses are stunning !

CSC issue 204

 I love all the green foilage , poinsetta flowers , and christmas roses that surrounds this Winter Goddess ! The greens and the reds are really beautiful and there are some lovely gold beads and Kreinik braid used as well : ) It is just a very festive design , and the chart that comes with it is very easy to read , which helps a lot !

CSC issue 212

This Sweet Pea Fairy is simply stunning ! However, it is a rather elaborate and large design so I don't think I'll be stitching it yet . I feel I need a little more stitching experience before I tackle it . It is definitely on my to-do list though ! I've always liked Sweet Pea flowers and this design really reflects the beauty of Sweet Peas : )

CSC issue 214

This Dragonfly Fairy is definitely one of the charts I am thinking of doing next : ) I like those muted colour and the easy, breezy feeling of this design ! I would definitely have to find the perfect hand dyed fabric for it though , since the fabric really is in focus on this design .

So those are my stitching dreams/plans for the moment ! I love the fact that I have lots and lots of beautiful , inspiring , beaded projects on my to-do list ! Whatever else life throws at me , I know that I have lots of lovely stitchy moments to look forward to in the future : )

Oh , I mustn't forget to show you my progress on my present JE project !

 

At the moment I'm looking to do some of the backstitch on her skirt so I'm trying to finish all those dress folds . It is now possible to see where some of the beads will be positioned on the dress too : ) The hair is also basically finished and just waiting for the beads and Kreinik decorations . I love the feeling of the hair , the way it just falls freely on her (invisible) shoulders . Yes , I know , I'm dragging my feet on the skin areas . . . just bear with me !

 

Now I bid you all farewell for this time because I'm going to return to stitching my Lavender Fairy by Joan Elliott : )

 

Happy Stitching Everyone!

 

Annie

She has hair and a left sleeve!

Hi all!

How I had longed for this day when I had nothing planned except for lots of stitching and lots of tv ! It was bliss ! ! ! Sadly I have been feeling very tired lately and I had to take a nap this afternoon too , but otherwise I just stitched and I also did some crochet : )

Of course I stitched only on my Lavender Fairy by Joan Elliott ! I have other wonderful WIPs hanging around , but right now the Lavender Fairy is calling my name from the moment I get out of bed until the moment I go to bed in the evening. . ! So today I stitched some of her brown hair and her left sleeve . . .

. . . and I just love the fact that I can make out her shape now ! It makes me feel even more inspired to stitch her - if that is possible ! I have a dislike for stitching skin colours since they are so similar and difficult to make out on the chart , but I am going to have to do brave those pesky colours soon. . . ! It is just much more fun to stitch the colourful dress . . .ha ha !

I am hoping that I can get lots of stitching done this coming week , as I have nothing else planned except for dog walks and icehockey matches on the box : ) It sounds like crafty heaven to me !

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Annie