Roses and bookmarks and other crafty things...

Hello Friends!

Oh well...clearly not much has happened on this blog lately - SORRY! - but IRL lots of things have been going on in My Little X-Stitch Nook:)

My mum has an allotment and in a couple of weeks all the allotment owners and their families are having a kind of 'flea market' sale for the general public, and my sister and I are planning to have a little 'stall' where we are going to try to sell some homemade baked goodies (baked by me), and some beautiful homemade paper craft like greeting cards and flowers (made by my sister), and some small crochet things (made by me). We did it a couple of years ago too, and we were surprised to see that we actually made some money!!!

We are both looking forward to it as well as dreading it and battle with a lot of negative thoughts...Will people really want to PAY for our things? Will anyone even be interested? Do we even make things that are good enough to sell?!  Etc, etc... But we try to stay positive and think of it as a fun day that we can spend together; if we make any money it is a big bonus!!! And if we don't sell anything we have both got all our Christmas gifts made already LOL!

So, as you may have guessed by now I have spent all my free time lately with various small crochet projects that may be turned into something that could be sold. I have made little colourful crochet roses...

...that I'm turning into bookmarks...

 ..like this one...

 

I'm also making some more small crochet hearts as well as these African flowers:)

 

I haven't quite decided how to use these ones yet; maybe they'll be turned into pincushions...:)
As usual my inspiration comes from the lovely Swedish crochet blog Bautawitch !

I've also been working a little bit on my leftover-yarn crochet blanket and I took a picture of it as it looks right now:

 

It is quite large (150 x 115 cm) but I like my blankets big enough so I can wrap myself in them properly from head to toe, so I still have plenty more granny stripes to do:)

 

Finally I actually do have some cross stitch to show you since last time:

 

Aren't you impressed, LOL?!
OMG, how on earth did I manage to stitch soo much since last time?!

Hopefully I'll get back to my stitching once this allotment business is over and I've been able to order some missing threads. If we can sell some homemade stuff we'll have more money for more craft stash etc so it is definitely a priority for my sister and I right now:)

Hope you all have a nice crafty weekend! Over here in Sweden the weather is atrocious right now; cold, very wet and very windy. The only good thing about it is that it is perfect weather for long hours of crafting indoors, so I'll be spending the weekend on the sofa watching Midsomer Murders with a crochet hook in my hand and plenty of yarns in my lap:))

Annie

PS Santas and Swedish crochet vibes:)

 Hello dear friends!

Thank you very, very much for your kind and supportive comments on my last post! It really warmed my heart, especially since I've felt so bad about not getting around to reading all your wonderful blogs. But I have begun to feel better - for the time being at least - so I hope I can catch up with you all properly in the next week or so.

One afternoon this week I made an effort to stitch on my PS Santas. So this is where I picked it up...

...and in an afternoon I managed to get this far:

 I'm afraid I have seriously fallen behind on this project, and my hope to catch up with my lovely stitching buddy Gominam is completely lost. And even more so now, since I also ran out of my red Santa colour DMC 221...:( My birthday is in June so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some birthday cash so I can order some more threads, as well as a chart for a forth PS Santa:)

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With all the sporting events this summer, including the Olympics and the UEFA EURO 2016 (football), I'm feeling very patriotic at the moment and have decided to make some Swedish crochet decorations for my home. In case you didn't know, this is the Swedish flag...

...and in my local craft store I was lucky enough to find the perfectly coloured yarn. I'm working on a crochet bunting for my balcony, using these Maybelle flowers. Since one of my furbabies like to destroy my plants I don't really have any flowers on my balcony, so I thought a Swedish-style bunting would cheer the space up:))

 I have also made this little crochet heart as a decoration for my summer bag:

I have made hearts in other colours too...

 ...since they are kind of addictive lol.

I'm doing other crochet projects too, but they are going to be Xmas gifts so I can't show them here. Last Xmas I made a promise to myself to make sure I started VERY early with my gifts so I could take some time to relax in December, and now I'm making good on my promise to myself!

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Sometimes I get a feeling that my furbabies think I spend too much time crafting lol. Especially my smallest furbaby. He's VERY devoted to me and likes to be very close so sometimes he can get quite frustrated when he has to compete with piles of aida and balls of yarn. Last night at my sister's place, he was desperate to lie next to me whilst I was crocheting, which meant that he had to lie on top of the armchair's armrest...

...and hang his head down next to it in order to lie as close to my legs as he could!

I tell you, we all laughed at him and were amazed that he could lie like that and sleep for over an hour LOL! Such devotion really makes your heart swell:))

I guess that's all for now. Hope you all have a lovely week and lots of time for some happy stitching and crafting!

Annie

Struggling with life....

Dear Friends,

Life has been a bit of a struggle lately. My computer has crashed and I've struggled with my depression and aches and pains.    

Except for some crochet not much else is getting done around here and that sadly includes blogging and reading all your lovely blogs, for which I'm very sorry. I've been given a second-hand computer that I hope I can get up and running soon, and meanwhile I'll have to use my iPhone  for everything, including writing this post.

The only project I've stitched on lately is my PS  Santas...

...but it is going very slowly.

Instead I've been doing lots of crochet since that has been the only thing that has inspired me lately. I've been doing a version of granny squares...

...for a cushion and...

... a potholder. I've also made various little pieces...

...that eventually will be turned into various things like...

....this little crochet heart. The inspiration for these projects mostly comes from the wonderful Swedish crochet blog www.bautawitch.se.

Hope you're all doing well and finding time for your crafting😊

Annie

Hooked on crochet

Hello Everyone!

Today I don't have much cross stitching progress to show you, since I'm in an insane crochet flow just now. All I want to do is crochet:) All day, every day!

One of the things I've been working on is a crochet storage basket. The inspiration for the basket comes from the wonderful Swedish crochet blog Bautawitch . The reason I needed a storage basket is because I have a new craft shelf in my livingroom, and I thought a handmade basket would be perfect for this shelf. So, instead of having this horrible and not-so-organized corner of the livingroom...

 

...I decided to have a tall, narrow IKEA shelf (couldn't fit in a wider shelf ). I originally wanted a dark shelf that would blend in well with the wallpaper, but the only shelf available in the shop was a white version so white is what I came home with lol.

 

Then my creative sister helped me to cover some storage boxes with leftover wallpaper, so the shelf blends in pretty well in the end, anyway:

 

And on top of my new tall narrow shelf is my new homemade storage basket...

 

...which is far away from perfect but was really fun to crochet:)

I've also been working on my left-over-yarn crochet blanket...

...which is coming along very nicely. My furbabies already love it and have tested the required cosiness of my new blanket:)

The only stitching I've done lately is on the PS Santas...

 

...but I'm afraid the progress isn't too impressive.

 

I'm not sure how much stitching I'll get done in the coming week, since I'm finding it hard to put down my crochet hook at the moment...:)

 

Happy crafting!

 

Annie

 

 

Birthday cards delivered!

Hello Everyone!

Over the weekend I've been stitching some birthday cards for family and friends who have birthdays around this time.

For my wonderful sister I stitched this card...

...and from a dear friend I made this card:

 

Both charts are from Enjoy cross stitch hearts & flowers (Spring 2012).

 

From Enjoy cross stitch House to home (Spring 2013) I picked this chart...

 

 

...and turned it into a card for an animal lover. I'm sure the recipient loves bees too lol.

 

I also stitched this freebie bookmark...

 

 

 ...from Cross Stitcher issue 269 as a birthday gift for the same animal lover. And I know for a fact that she had a pet bird at one time lol:)

 I often find that I'm close to running out of the provided threads when I stitch freebies, but in this case I'm pretty sure that I have enought threads left to stitch the cute bird design once again:) And since it was a fun stitch, I'm sure I will!

 

Although I have one more gift to work on, I must get back to the PS Santas. My Santa stitching buddy Gominam is speeding along with hers so I need to catch her up lol. Check out her wonderful progress while I get going on mine:)

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Annie

Potholder and cute freebie!

Hello Everyone!

Hope you're all well?
I've had a good week including a nice visit to the movies (My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2) as a birthday treat for my sister.
I have been stitching too but I can't show you what yet:(
What I CAN show you is a potholder that I'm crocheting:

In general I'm not a 'beige' fan, but I've fallen in love with this particular colour-combo! I just love the general vintage feel of it:)

 

Today I also received my montly Cross Stitcher magazine, and it had a really cute freebie gift with it:

 

So sweet and definitely on my never-ending stitching-to-do list:)

I'll be back with some more stitching updates soon, and I hope you'll all have a nice stitchy weekend:)

Annie

A quick update:)

Hello Everyone:)

I tried to write a post last night but I was way too tired and cold-ridden that I'm not sure what I did exactly... I clearly didn't post anything anyhow lol!

So today I'll try again:)

Luckily my cold hasn't stopped me from stitching, so my PS Santas are coming along nicely...

...and Christmas Tree Farm has some more Christmas trees...

...and a cute fox:)) I just love the precious little details on this piece!

I have also stitched a PS piece for the Christmas Ornie SAL ...

...although I'm a month late with this one:) Better late than never, right lol?

I'll leave you for now with a fun pic of my smallest furbaby...

Happy Stitching!

Annie

Prarie Schooler starts:)

 Hello Everyone!

Just a quick note to show you my start on my Prarie Schooler charts:) I'm having a rough week healthwise, but I have managed to stitch a little bit inbetween aches and pains and sneezes...

First up is my start on Christmas Tree Farm...

I really love this project, and I'm already fallen in love with the reindeer lol.

Secondly, I have also started on my PS Santas...

...and since I'm stitching them alongside Gominam at Stitch Niche , I decided to stitch them all together like she's doing:)
I have three PS Santas (1999, 2004, 2006) so far, but I hope I'm going to be able to order some more soon so I can start stitching the top left corner too:)

Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I will feel well enough during the weekend so I can get lots more stitching done! I just don't need any other bugs than the stitching bug lol.

Happy Stitching´!

Annie

A Cosy Happy Dance!

Hello Everyone!

 

So, before I get stuck into my Prarie Schooler stash, I decided to actually finish a project:)

Just to make me feel just a little less guilty about starting yet more projects lol! And what project could be better than my Cosy cushion that I worked on before I ran out of threads. Obviously the needed thread colours were in my new thread stash, so with everything needed at hand I dug through my pile of WIPs to find it and get started before the weekend.

 

Before I show you my pictures I want to remind you of what the original cushion looked like:

 

It's from Cross Stitcher magazine issue 301, and it is designed by Felicity Hall. I REALLY liked the phrase on the cushion, but I wasn't so keen on the colours she had used. Therefore I exchanged them for more pinks and purples (my favorite colours). Let me know if you want the exact thread colour I used and I'll do an extra post on them. I also decided to use 11-count aida to make the cushion cover a bit bigger.

So this is as far as I had stitched when I ran out of hot pink:

As well as using other colours than the originals, I decided to play around a bit with the motifs. I added some more cute snowflakes for example. I also decided to stitch a more prominent border.

So that meant that when my version of the Cosy cushion was done, it looked like this:

 

I'm very happy with my work, and I am definitely happy that I did a bit more with the border! I do love the pom-poms trims they have added to the original cushion, and I think I have some black pom-pom trims I can add to the cushion when I sew it together:)

 

But that will have to wait for a bit; now I really want to get stuck into my PS stitching. I actually have made a little start on a chart, but now Gominam at Stitch Niche has suggested that I start stitching my PS Santas like she is, so that we can cheer each other on:) That sounds like a lot of fun so I might have to do that, although she is bound to finish her Santas well, well before me lol!

Now I wish you all a very stitchy week to come. Myself, I'm off to do some more Happy Dancing!

Annie

Happy days!

Hello Everyone!

Today I received my new stash!!! I was thrilled to bits to receive it so quickly; the delivery time was said to be 2-4 weeks but I got it in less than two weeks:) They must have known how desperate I've been to get my new charts and threads LOL!

So of course you  want to know what was in the parcel, right?! And of course I can't wait to show you LOL!
First of all I ordered some DMC threads.

Threads so I can finish some WIPs, and threads for some new projects:) Even though I knew that I needed more than one skein of some colours, I decided to order just one of every shade. Then I can at least make a start on my projects, and hopefully I can afford to order more threads as and when I need them.

Then I just had to order some more aida fabric in some gorgeous colour. Here in Sweden it is very difficult to get hold of colored aida, so this time I picked a lovely piece of lime green aida which I can't wait to use:) I tried to take a picture of it, but the photo wouldn't do it justice at all so you just have to imagine it lol.

Now on to the most exiting part of my new stash - my new charts!
Firstly I picked this chart by Ursula Michael:

I've seen these kind of charts around other cross stitching blogs and I really liked the look of them. And when I found this cross stitched themed one, I just had to have it!

But above all I wanted some Prarie Schooler charts, and I picked these books:

I just love them! And I also love that their blank and white charts are so easy to read! Normally I prefer coloured charts, but when they are as clear as the PS charts I have no problem whatsoever with black and white ones:)
I also bought the PS Santa from 2006 since I really liked the sewing theme:

This means that together with the two Santas that were gifted to me by the lovely Brigitte, I now have THREE PS Santas...

...and I hope to collect even more red cuties:))

I'm just soo happy about my new stash, and I can't wait to start some new projects (and perhaps finish a few WIPs)! The only thing that remains doing is to decide which PS book I'm going to pick first...
Any suggestions??

Happy Stitching Everyone!
Over here I can see a Prarie Schooler weekend coming up lol!

Annie