My WIPs, part 3

 Hello Stitching Friends!

Finally we had some sunny and warm weather for a couple of days, and me and the furbabies enjoyed a wonderful long walk in the countryside.

Sadly the rainy and cold spring weather is back now but at least it's perfect weather for stitching😉.

But first it's time for some more of my WIPs. 

This first one I started last summer for The Spring into Summer New Start Binge 2020. I'd had this chart by Ursula Michael in my stash for a good while, since I fell in love with her various backstitch motifs. 

I wanted to have some fun with this design, so I'm stitching it on a lime green aida fabric which meant I hade to change some of the thread colours too. Even though I'm a bit tired of backstitch at the moment, I stitch a little bit on this one every now and then when I feel like it. 

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This next one is from the period in my life - quite a while back - when I thought I could stitch ANYTHING... As soon as I saw this gorgeous design by Sheila Hudson in Cross Stitch Collection magazine I fell in love! I've always wanted to stitch a fairytale castle...but maybe I shouldn't have gone for one of the larger charts around😂🙈😂.

I don't think I even have to show you my 'progress'...since it's basically non-existant😂. Just stitching the guidelines took forever and I haven't even finished that😳...oh boy.

However, now that I actually pulled this project out of my neglected WIP box and had a fresh look at it, the 'only' problem is the size. Most of the stitches in the background are actually half cross stitches and should be fairly easy to do, and there isn't much backstitching going on either. Handling the project might be a problem though since I always stitch in hand and there's A LOT of fabric to handle😂😱. Like I said...what was I thinking?!!

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This stunning Santa project by CeWeC has a sweet little story attached to it. I was looking for an old fashioned Santa to stitch, and when I saw this project I fell in love, again. But it was a table runner where you stitched the Santa twice, and that would never happen in my nook, no sir😉😂. However, I knew that my mum liked to stitch these kind of Christmas motifs too, so I thought: why not buy it for Christmas and divide all the material into two and give my mum half of it as a Christmas gift?? Then we could stitch a Santa each, and the motif would definitely work as a picture instead of a table runner. So I did, and my sister helped me to photocopy the chart and the front picture so I could turn it into a proper kit for my mum. And I think she was very happy with her Christmas gift.

I made a little start on it after Christmas, but instead of using the 11-count aida fabric that was included in the kit, I decided to stitch it on 14-count aida so I could use the loop start. I'm sure I'll get back to this gorgeous project when Christmas draws nearer.

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When I got back from England 15 years ago and picked up cross stitching again, I wanted to stitch cross stitched gifts for everyone that I cared about. It took me a few years to realize that not everyone appreciated the time and love I put into every cross stitched item I gave away😌. In fact, these days I know that there are only a few people in my family and circle of acquaintances who truly treasures my cross stitched items. 

And this motorbike is one of those items I planned to give away...but then realized that it probably wasn't a good idea.

Maybe there will be a time where I can give away a stitched motorcycle to someone special and know that it'll be appreciated🙏. And whilst I wait for that person this project will remain a UFO...

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Those of you who read my blog last year might remember me working on these lighthouses designed by Cheryl McKinnon. I stitched one of them and gave to my dad (who grow up with boats and the sea in his life just like I did) for his birthday, and my plan was to stitch another one for him for last Christmas.

Sadly I had to change my plans. My wonderful dad has alzheimer's disease 😢 and is slowly getting worse, and when I gave the lighthouse picture to him on his birthday last autumn he couldn't immediately tell which way was up on the lighthouse😨😢. Obviously I realized that there was no longer any point in stitching another picture for him... 

My plan has been to stitch these gorgeous lighthouses for myself too, but at the moment it's all just a bit too sad...

At present my total count of WIPs on my WIP page are up to 35...and there are quite a few left. Bet you cannot wait for the next installment😉😁! All I'm going to say about it for now is that the situation is actually not as bad as I thought😂🙈😂. And if you need more details on any of my WIPs, you can find it on my WIP page.

Hope you have a lovely stitching weekend!

Annie

A week of easy stitching

Hello Stitching Friends❣

How are you doing? Today, the 1st of May,  is a public holiday in Sweden, but it's also my nephew's 19th birthday so we had a very small celebration at my sister's house. No hugs and with space between us and everyone taking their turn to head into the kitchen for cake. It feels weird but at the same time it's the new normal. Above all it feels important to still celebrate and keep it as normal as possible for the 'kids' even if the world is upside down.

But now I'm back home and looking forward to a weekend of relaxation and stitching. The week has been a bit of a struggle for me both physically and mentally, but I have still managed to stitch almost every day. However, when I'm tired and feeling a bit down I normally stay away from big projects, and I also like to perk myself up with a new start or two😊. It's always a nice mental pick-me-up😉!

One day I started and worked on this little project by Emma Congdon from Cross Stitch Collection issue 241.

The original chart was stitched on perforated paper, but since I didn't have that I used an aida ribbon instead. I also made a counting error, but I chose not to rectify it since it isn't too obvious. The pattern had an uneven number of squares, whilst the aida ribbon had an even amount of squares so I wasn't able to center the design perfectly but I think it looks ok still.

I also spent a few hours on my Ursula Michael design.

I made a start on the dark green section, and I also started to stitch with purple. The purple colour replaced the yellowish shade that just wouldn't stand out enough. 

Here is a much more accurate picture of the gorgeous aida shade😍 (I wish I could afford to buy many more pieces of coloured aida) and in the background lies one of my stitching buddies, my 8 year old Beagle.

And on the other side is my other crafting buddy, my 11 year old Dachshund/Chihuahua/Beagle mix.

One day I felt particularly out of sorts and really didn't have much energy for anything, so in order to get a little bit of stitching done, I decided to start a new little cute seaside picture.

These are just super cute and they come in a set with three Swedish seaside motifs and three little flexi-hoops.

And the black-and-white chart is really clear and easy to read.

Normally I definitely prefer a coloured chart but with this particular Swedish cross stitching brand, Svarta Fåret, I don't mind the black and white at all.

In the beginning of the week I also added some more green leaves to my summer picture and as soon as I have a good day again I look forward to working on this for a bit.

When I'm too tired it's just too much hard work trying to keep my place on the chart, even though I have stitched gridlines...

And finally, I actually have a FINISH!!!

Cross Stitcher issue 304. Design by Susan Penny.

When I went through my old cross stitching stash I found so many needles that I decided I needed another needle case for storage. And luckily I had this gorgeous freebie kit from 2016 lying around!
I loved how it turned out😍😀!
It's quite large and have four felt 'pages' so plenty of space for lots of needles. Simply perfect!

Well, that's all for now. I actually fell asleep for a bit 😴 in the middle of writing this post 😂which is an indication of how this week has been for me. However, now I hope I have a nice weekend full of lovely cross stitching ahead of me.
I hope you do too💝❣

Thank you for reading and Happy Stitching!

Annie

Spring Into Summer New Start Binge and thread organizers

Hello Stitching Friends❣

I'm SO happy to see that a few of you found my previous post, and even took the time to leave a comment. Thank you so much; that really made my day😘❤❣ And it also made me even more happy and pleased with being back in the land of cross stitching!

For the first time in a long time I also caught up with some of my favorite cross stitching blogs around the world and it felt really good to read your posts and be reminded of the warmth and encouragement that exists amongst stitchers💝. 

And to my delight I also found a perfectly good reason to start another cross stitching project...or two... I mean, who doesn't want a reason to start another project??? RACHEL and TIFF started and planned the SPRING INTO SUMMER NEW START BINGE with a new start every weekend during April, May, June and July to replace the sad absence of the Tokyo Olympics. I desperately miss all sports around the world that have been cancelled and anything that takes my mind off it is a good thing.   

Hence I started a design by Ursula Michael yesterday! It's one of her many gorgeous 'Let's…..' word designs made up of just words and backstitch. I love them all but only have a couple of charts. This one, Let's Cross Stitch, I bought back in 2016 so it's about time I started it, don't you think?!

I had some lovely lime-coloured aida in my stash and I originally planned to use it for another design, but I changed my mind and decided to use it for this one instead. And I'm so happy I did! It works perfectly with the bright colour threads and the simple backstitch design. I also replaced a couple of the original tread colours since I'm trying to use ONLY my old stash (the last couple of years have been a huge financial struggle for me...). That means that I have to make a couple of adjustments to the original chart. For example, the scissors should be stitched in DMC 333 but I used 915 instead as you can see. I actually don't think you can tell that I changed the numbers 333 to 915😊. Overall it feels great to finally start this project, and I only wish I had more of these lovely charts by Ursula Michael...

I was on such a stitching roll yesterday. After I finished working on my new start, I picked up this lovely Swedish project again.

I added some more greenery, and started to stich the cottages and lighthouse and some more water. My needle was flying and I didn't feel like stopping until well after midnight. Which I'm paying for today...😁. But I enjoyed myself immensely and I was so happy to be cross stitching again!

Lastly, I have to show you the thread organizers my clever sister made for me! When I stitch freebies from cross stitching magazines I always need some kind of organizers for the loose threads and mostly I make something really ugly and haphazardly such as this one:

 So I thought I'd ask my super creative sister instead if perhaps she could help me to make some nicer ones?!

So she kindly cut some new ones from her cardstock in lovely colours and then I decorated them with some old stickers that my sister also made. Aren't they pretty?! I almost want to grab a freebie card and start stitching just so I can use them😂.

Now it's time for me to stop blogging and start stitching.

Happy Stitching,

Annie