Why I'm stitching Christmas charts in April...

 Hello Stitching Friends!

Finally spring has reached Sweden and Easter is just around the corner. Me and the furbabies are enjoying long leisurely walks in the warm sunshine and spending time on my balcony getting ready for summer. The grass is turning a lovely green and the beautiful spring flowers cheer me up whenever I go outside.

...OR NOT...😳!

That is certainly how I wish it was😳...but the truth is something entirely different. I guess there's a reason why whenever we Swedes talk about the weather in April we shake our heads and sigh... loudly. 

In the last week we've had a little bit of snow, which is quite late as well as cold for this time of the year. And then last night the weather Gods sent us a snowstorm along with 10 inches/20-25 cm of snow...😫!

So this was the view from my kitchen window today...

...and this is outside my house. Luckily the snow plows worked hard early this morning.

Piles of snow and snow-covered trees everywhere.

Check out the pile of snow on the other side of the road...😲

...and the snow-covered cars on the parking lot.

Normally I love snow. During the winter months (October, November, December, January and February) I constantly long for and pray for this amount of snow. But not now when the cold and dark winter is behind us and when we long for the warmth of spring😔😳😬.

Still, since I'm very much a seasonal stitcher, this weather certainly keeps me in the mood for  some Christmas stitching. I have a couple of Xmas charts on the go but the one that holds my attention right now is this festive design, Soaring Santa, by Emma Congdon. (The chart is called Santa's Coming on Etsy.)

Ultimate Cross Stitch Christmas Vol 19 
or 
Cross Stitch Crazy issue 223.

I'm not going as fast as I'd like with this one since I'm also trying to stitch a couple of Easter cards.

I'm also missing a couple of the main colours but I'm hoping to order them soon. 

Still, the Swedish April weather has certainly provided me with plenty of cosy stitching time indoors lately😉😜.

Hope that you're able to enjoy some WARM spring weather where you are, and that the weekend will provide you with plenty of time for stitching💝.

Annie

A Very Happy PS Dance indeed!

Hello Stitching Friends!

Today I finished The Night Before Christmas by The Prairie Schooler and I'm so so happy with it! 

The Prairie Schooler, Book No. 199
 THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Some finishes pleases you more than others, don't they?! Well, I just love this one and on the inside I'm very busy doing a very happy dance😁! I just love everything about this project. The pretty old-fashioned letters...

...and the gorgeous sleigh, and the sleeping cat and dog, and all the beautiful silvery snowflakes! It just amazes me that The Prairie Schooler ladies managed to get so much detail and Christmas feeling into a design with only SIX colours! Personally I also found it extremely relaxing to only have six colours to keep track of😊.

I did a couple of small changes to the design to make it my own. I changed the colour on the reindeers' harness/shackle (?) from green to red to make them stand out more. I also added an extra little snowflake above Santa's sleigh where there was an empty space.

I haven't decided yet what frame to use. Closer to Christmas I will go through my collection of frames and see if one of them will do my finished piece justice...

Now I'm trying to decide what PS Christmas project I'm going to start next. The two festive charts I'm deciding between are DECEMBER....

...and CHRISTMAS EVE.

Decisions, decisions... Maybe I'll live in the moment and start both of them...

Before I leave you I have to show you the gorgeous Easter flowers I have on my livingroom table.

I love surrounding myself with beautiful handmade things made by myself and by the people I love, and these colourful paper flowers are made by my clever and creative sister. I wanted something happy and cheerful for my tables and begged asked my sister to help me and these colourful blooms are what she came up with💝. Do I need to tell you I was well pleased😍😍😍?!

And if you want to fold your own spring flowers my sister has a Youtube channel, THE PINKLADY DIY , where you can find a 'Fold a Tulip' tutorial🌷🌷🌷!

Now I'm off to make some Fried rice for dinner😋! 

Hope you are all ok and finding time for some stitching💝.

Annie

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

My own Olympic challenge... and an Happy Dance!

Hello Stitching Friends!

I thought I'd pop in here and post my latest stitching update before the Winter Olympics kicks off for real tomorrow. I have a feeling I won't have much time for blogging during the next couple of weeks since I'm a crazy sports fanatic as well as a crafter and passionate dog lover. 

I've decided to set my own stitching challenge during the Olympics. 

I have picked one of my long-time WIPs, Welcome to Christmas Town by Emma Congdon, and decided that I'm going to stitch an hour or two a day on it every day before I move on to my favorite projects. I would really like to finish some of my old WIPs and I hope this can be a good way to do it. If I can stay disciplined, that is😉🤞.

So, I actually started my 'challenge' last week when my my own Christmas Town looked like this... 

Welcome to Christmas Town by Emma Congdon
Cross Stitcher issue 285, November 2014

Since then I've added some more wooden details on the houses...

...and some more Christmas trees.

I also spent some time on the large area of blue sky, so in one week the project progressed from this...

...to this: 

I really have high hopes for this project... and if I can finish it soon I don't have to feel guilty about starting even more projects in the near future🙈😉.

I haven't made that much progress on the wolf...

...but the bright elephant is slowly taking shape!

And guess what...? I have even had time for a finish!!! Who doesn't love a happy dance moment?! It's the smaller January design by The Prairie Schooler and I'm really, really pleased with it.

JANUARY
The Prairie Schooler, Book No. 177.

I made a couple of changes to the pattern. I chose to stitch the phrase Snow Day in red thread instead of brown (not too fond of brown) and I also added some more snowflakes to the design❆❄❅!

Speaking of snow .  . . we had some more snow yesterday and my oldest furbaby (he turned 13 in January)  happily wore his knitted wooly sweater to keep him warm. I've lovingly knitted 'only' five sweaters for him so far😂😍🙈.

Happy Stitching,

Annie

YAY- I'm back stitching again!

 Hello Stitching Friends!

I'm back😁🙌! And it makes me really happy💝. 

So, what happened you might ask...??

Well, I certainly did not plan for this extended break from cross stitch (as well as blogging about cross stitch) since last summer, but other things just happened in my life...as they do sometimes. I suddenly found myself knitting and crocheting lots of stuff for friends and aquaintances which kept me busy for several months, and then there were plenty of Xmas gifts to be finished. And before I knew it 6 months had passed since I had threaded a cross stitch needle...😲!

But now life has slowed down again and I have finally been able to dug out my cross stitch stuff again, yay! And I know you won't be surprised when I tell you that the very first thing I did was starting some new projects😂. During the autumn I saw this gorgeous silouette of a wolf designed by Durene Jones in Cross Stitcher magazine issue 375...

...and I knew that as soon as I started stitching again I wanted to stitch this wolf. 

As it turned out, this design was then joined by two more in issue 379...

...so obviously I had to make a start on all of them😉😁.

Since the wolf is my favorite design of the three I made a start on it first, and it's also the one closest to being finished.

The other two I have just started, and here's the elephant...

...and the polar bear.

Even though I'm back stitching and enjoying it, I have found it extremely difficult to stick to one project. Nohing new there really, but I'm more restless than ever and I'm a bit frustrated with myself because of it. I spend an hour or two on a project and then I loose interest. Maybe I can blame the covid situation...or the menopause...? Part of me just want to keep starting new cross stitch projects and hope that one of them will grab my attention for longer than a day, but that's obviously a bad solution😉. So I've looked through all my WIPs desperately hoping that one of them might grab my attention again...and only The Prairie Schooler projects called out to me.

One of my WIPs is the smaller design from the book No. 177 called JANUARY and inspired by the snowy Swedish season I decided to bring it out again.

This is where I'm at with this one...

I also found this pattern book No.143 with another snowy theme so - surprise, surprise - I started this one too.

My progress so far...

Finally I have to show you my 2021 calender from Cross Stitcher issue 365 which is now - AT LAST - framed and up on my livingroom wall!! As usual I did it myself and used a low cost frame from IKEA.

2021 calendar, Cross Stitcher issue 365.
Design by Cheryl McKinnon (Tiny Modernist)

I just looove this project!!! Soo much fun to stitch and looks great on my wall too😍😍😍! Now I've spotted a similar calendar with little doggy pictures 😍🐕🐶😍 and I'm dying to make a start on it, of course😂. But first I'm going to TRY to finish a couple of projects; hopefully the Winter Olympics will provide me with plenty of time and inspiration for that🤞🤞🤞.

My constant joy and reason for living😍🐾😍...
and a dear old Santa that mum made over 50 years ago🎅😍

.

Lots and lots of love to you all and I hope that 2022 has treated you well so far💝.

Annie

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 

Swedish summer, Mother's Day and a few more finishes!

Hello Stitching Friends!

Hope you all are ok? Over here in Sweden summer has arrived, and me and my furbabies can go for long leisurely walks in the beautiful Swedish countryside. 

On my balcony I'm growing chives and basil for all those lovely summer salads. I have also had my first covid shot, and have my second one booked for the middle of July. Thankfully my parents are fully vaccinated now which is a relief, and my family are actually gathering next week to celebrate my wonderful niece who's graduating and leaving her school years behind her and who already has a job as a security guard lined up🙌.

But apart from all that, I'm mostly spending my days cross stitching whilst watching sports on the telly😁. And my dogs use my balcony more than I do because I prefer to stitch curled up on my sofa😂. As well as being a crafting addict, I'm also a very crazy sports fan and I've been known to plan my life around World Championships etc. So with all the icehockey going on right now (Stanley Cup playoffs and the World Championships), and then the UEFA EURO 2021 and after that the Olympics, I plan for endless hours of stitching fun in front of the telly this summer.

I have already had time to stitch a few smalls. It was Mother's Day here in Sweden last weekend so I stitched a card...

Original design from The World of Cross Stitching, issue 198.
Designer: Lucie Heaton

...and a bookmark...

Petal Markers featured in Cross Stitch Collection, issue 206.
Designer: Lesley Teare

...for my lovely mum.

In fact, I owe the bookmark finish to the amazing TIFF who kindly offered to send me DMC threads (and aida fabrics) from the US so I could finish this project and few other unfinished projects💝. Her wonderful kindness still warms my heart💝🙏. Thank you again Tiff !!!

I have also managed to finish my snowglobe designed by Emma Congdon and I'm very pleased with it!

Festive Flurry from Cross Stitcher, issue 298.
Designer: Emma Congdon

My original plan was to display it in a hoop (like the original design) but hoops that size are just too expensive for me right now so I'll probably use a regular frame from IKEA in the end.

I love all the rich colours!

Finishing an old project felt soo good and really made me feel inspired to finish more projects so now I'm spending a little bit of time on this cute doggy picture every other day so I can get it finished too. I've already finished the top right corner and bit by bit I'm getting there. Lots and lots of white stitches left to do though...

It's a dog's life from Cross Stitch Collection, issue 224
Designer: Jayne Netley Mayhew

I have also finished the spring tree from the seasonal trees design by Cheryl McKinnon...

...and now I'm working on the brightly coloured autumn tree.

I haven't decided how I'm going to finish these yet...  Any ideas?

Seasonal Trees from Cross Stitch Crazy issue 260.
Designer: Cheryl McKinnon

I haven't quite finished cataloguing my WIP's/UFO's yet but I have taken some more pictures of them. Hopefully I'll finish that task next week before the EURO starts on Friday 11th. 

Now I'm going to leave you to go for a walk with the dogs before I get stuck into some more stitching. I saw these cute little dreamcatcher letters that I'd like to have a go at😁😉...

Hope you have a lovely stitchy weekend wherever you are💝🌞🌸!

Annie