Author: My Time Stitching

I am a wife to a wonderful man and mother to two terrific sons. I love cross stitching, knitting, stamping and scrapbooking. I have decided to start a blog as a way of documenting and sharing my love for cross stitching, knitting, crocheting and anything else I may be up to ;)
Angels · Frogs · Mermaids · New stash! · Nora Corbett · snowmen · Stitchy Gifts · Uncategorized

A Birthday Finish

My Time Stitching14 Comments

I celebrated my 50th birthday on Friday, and this weekend.  And the birthday present to myself was I finished Angel of Grace!  Woo Hoo!  Yep, finished her just before midnight on Friday for a great birthday finish. Here she is:

Finished Angel of GraceShe is Angel of Grace by Lorrie Birmingham Designs.  She is stitched on 28 ct Salmon and Gold Linen Banding, which was not fun to stitch on.  She is pretty much stitched as the pattern is charted, but rather than outline all the little squares that were left open on the dress, I decided to add gold beads.

Close up of basket on Angel of Grace

A basket charm, Austrian Crystals and 14kt butterfly charms were included in the pattern.  She really turned out beautiful, but there were many obstacles along the way on this one.  I truly wondered if I would ever finish her.  She will eventually be turned into a bell pull and given to my Mom for her birthday this summer.  I am just so happy to have her finished, and on my birthday 😉

So speaking of my birthday, here is how I celebrated all weekend:  I had a Stamping workshop at my house on Thursday night and the hostess brought me this:

birthday cakeYummy!  White cake, my favorite.  And I love that she had 29 put on it rather than 50.  She also brought me these:

HyacinthsBeautiful, pink, fragrant hyacinths.  My personal Spring!  Every time I look at them, and smell them, I know I am edging towards that much awaited day when the weather breaks and green starts poking though.  It’s a good thing I am in the basement right now as I don’t want to look out the window at this moment.  And a cute little frog key chain that lights up and croaks.

I spent most of my actual birthday on Friday, stitching.  My hubby and youngest took me out to Chinese for birthday dinner and then it was back to stitching until I finished the Angel-almost midnight, but I did finish her on my birthday.  Hubby bought me this:

New selphy printerMy own little personal printer and it’s wireless!  I had the earlier model, but the printer cartridge got stuck inside and it would have cost almost as much as a new one to fix it.  So now I have a new one and it’s wireless!  I love having my own personal printing for my scrapbooking.  And now I can print from the computer, too.  Awesome!

I also received a Gift certificate for 1-2-3-Stitch from a my sweet stitching friend, Annie.  I am waiting to see if they get the new Ophelia’s Pearl mermaid in so I can get that and her bead pack and threads.  That will be a super project to have in my stash.

On Saturday, my Friend, Carol, came over and we spent the day scrapbooking.  We did take a break for presents!

Carol scrapbookingShe gave me pink tiger ribbon (great for all of those zoo pictures I still have to scrapbook), Lindor Limited Edition chocolates (My favorite and in a pink bag :),  2 boxes of adhesive, (we scrapbookers go through a lot of that) and a set of Vampire Academy books.  I had not heard of them, but Carol knows I love vampires.  Can’t wait to read them.  And all my gifts were in a very nice re-usable shopping bag.  I love taking them to the grocery store instead of getting tons of plastic bags.  We also went out to Chinese for lunch and then back home to scrapbook.  While scrapbooking and having fun, this is what came in the mail:

shopping spree stashThe items from my Birthday shopping Spree at Stitches N Things. The thread is my missing thread for Biancabella.  The Snowmen Trio by Country Cottage Needleworks was too cute not to add to my stash. And the newest Mermaid Letters from Nora Corbett.  The “G”  is for Ginny of course, and the “I” is beautiful.  It almost doesn’t look like a letter.

And this was in the other package I received in the mail:

Frog pincushionMy Best Stitchy Friend, Johanna, sent me this adorable pin cushion.  It’s not small either.  It’s about 6″ tall and 7″ wide. The most adorable thing I have ever seen!  I love collecting decorative pins, so now I have a beautiful pin cushion to put them in.  I have to get a better picture of the froggy pin in the back:

Frog pinIsn’t it just the cutest?  And he is even wearing a birthday hat 🙂  I love it!

Blowing out the candle

So I had a wonderful birthday weekend and it wasn’t so bad turning 50.  And I finished the Angel!!!  Do you have a project that has been hanging over your head for a long time?

Angels · Cross Stitch Patterns · Mirabilia · New stash!

I See An Angelic Finish Coming

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After my first finish for 2014, I picked up a WIP that has been around way too long.  At least a few years.  You may remember her; Angel of Grace? Well here is how she looks now:

progress on Angel of GraceI’m getting really close to a finish.  She certainly is a challenge on that fabric.  It is 28 ct Salmon and Gold Linen Banding.  It is the most uneven fabric I have ever worked on.  The pattern is Angel of Grace by Lorri Birmingham Designs.  I am hoping to finish this by the end of the weekend.  I just have her ruffle to finish and some gold stitching on the right of the dress,  then outlining and some charms, buttons and beads.  I am so happy this one is actually coming to a finish.  It is a gift for someone special and I will by happy to finally have it crossed off of my WIP list.

And because I don’t have enough Mira stash, this is what I purchased on Saturday from Stitches N Things:

Biancabella stashThis month is my birthday, so I went on a birthday month shopping spree.  Shown here is the lovely Biancabella and her bead pack and one of two Waterlilies needed.  The other is on backorder.  I love the colors in Biancabella.  I am thinking of adding a snowflake in her hand instead of the apple.  She is my favorite winter colors, so I think a snowflake will be perfect.  Some day I will get to work on her.    I also ordered a couple of patterns that were not in the shop yet.

So now, back to stitching on Angel of Grace.  What WIP have you had in your stash for a very long time?

Fairies · Joan Elliott Round Robin

Last Finish of 2013 and First Finish of 2014

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Now that Christmas is over, I can show you the last project I finished in 2013.

Carol with her wine stitchThis is my friend Carol.  I made her this Wine A Little stitch by Sue Hillis Designs, Inc. I tried framing it myself…what a disaster.  Let’s just say I am leaving the framing to the professionals.  I’ll take it into Stitches N Things sometime this month.  It was a pretty quick stitch and even came with the little wine bottle charm.

My first finish of 2014 is Iris Fairy on Debbie’s Joan Elliott Round Robin.

Iris on Debbie's RRShe turned out very pretty with lots of sparkle.  Someday I will have to stitch her in full.  While I wait for the next Round Robin to come my way, I will be working on “The Angel” and will get her done this year. And since it is -35 degrees out, I think it’s a good time to cover up with a blanket and do some stitching.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I have been up to.  What are you stitching on?

Stitchy Gifts

Lots of Stitchy Gifts

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I am finally just about over the flu.  I still have a bit of  a lingering cough, but I feel much better.  I want to share some wonderful stitchy gifts I received from wonderful stitchy friends.

First, from my best stitchy friend, Johanna, I received a subscription to Just Cross Stitch Magazine:

Just Cross Stitch magazine

I am hoping to receive this issue in the mail as my first issue, but if not, I can view it on-line.  The subscription also included the last 2 years of digital issues.  So I have been having a lot of fun looking at all the patterns in the back issues.

Next is a beautiful handmade project bag from Karen:

project bag from KarenIt is Beautiful with all those fairy frogs!  I love it!

Next is a gift from a fellow-blogger- Angela over at Pretty Little Things in a Box.

pincushion from Angela

A pretty stitched pincushion and some stitchy supplies all the way from Singapore. What a sweetie.

I also received this wonderful knitting book from Sue:

knitting book from SueIt’s a wonderful book full of great knitting projects. I love the cute hat on the front. The project that really caught my attention is this scarf:

scarf in knitting bookI love how soft and lacy it looks.  I will have to pick up the perfect yarn when I am ready to start a new knit project.

I received these wonderful gifts from a new stitchy friend, Annie:

Stitchy gifts from Annie3 wonderful pixie patterns to add to my collection and a gorgeous froggy scissor fob.  He is so cute and I can’t wait to stitch these Pixies.

This next gift I received from Stitches N Things as part of the stitchers club.  I always look forward to the wonderful gift Deb comes up with for her stitchy club members.

stitchy gift from SNTA beautiful wooden box with the option to add a stitched piece to the center.  I rather like the the Stitches N Things name and logo.  And a miniature thread holder scissor fob.  So cute!  I also received a $10 Gift Certificate for the shop.  And since this month is my birthday month, I will use it when I go on my 25% off shopping spree (also part of the stitchers club rewards).  Can’t wait to shop there!  I already have a list going 🙂

My last stitchy gift is from my wonderful hubby:

yarn shelfHe bought me this shelf for Christmas with the thought that I could put my yarns in it just like a yarn shop.  Isn’t he sweet!  I’ve already added a few yarns that I had in bags here in the house.  The rest of my yarn is in bins out in the garage.  I think this week I will go out to the garage and bring in some of those yarns I haven’t seen in a while.  Maybe it will help me use them up if I can see them 🙂

I hope I haven’t forgotten anything.  Thank you for visiting and seeing what I have been up to.  What stitchy gifts did you get for Christmas?

Uncategorized

As 2013 is drawing to a close…

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imagesAs 2013 is winding down to the last 11 hours or so, I would like to take this time to wish all of my family and friends a Happy New Year!  I hope that 2014 is all that you want it to be and that all of your dreams come true.  This year really seemed to get away from me.  It went by in the blink of an eye.  I didn’t get to do all that I wanted nor see all that I wanted to see.  But all in all it was a pretty good year.  I set some really unrealistic goals for myself last year, so this year I am not setting any goals.  Not today, anyway.  I just want to have fun this year and not be stressed with deadlines and lists of things that have to be done.  I only completed one personal project this year.  That was “Emmy”, Emerald Mermaid.  I did several RR projects and stitching for others.  Even though my “2013 To Do List” was quite unreasonable, I had hoped to accomplish more.  So, this year, while I have many projects that I would like to do, I am not listing them.  I will stitch what I can and list them at the end of 2014.  I have received quite a few things in the mail in the last month, and haven’t had time to get on my blog to share.  I have been fighting the flu and bad cough for the last 11 days.  But I will share all of my goodies received  in my next post which will be next year, in 2014.  So for now, I wish you all a happy day, happy New Year’s Eve and Happy New Year!

Crochet · Give-away · Uncategorized · yarn

Beautiful Result From a Yarn Give-away

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A while back, Katherine, Pillows-A-La-Mode, won a yarn give-away I had.  Here is what she created from one on the skeins of yarn:

scarfIt’s beautiful!  And the colors have that retro-Christmas look.  Great job Katherine!  Go here to read more about it.

knitted scarves · Knitting

Another Pidge scarf off the Needles

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I finished another Pidge scarf for Sue last night.

Gold Pidge

This one was made with a worsted weight yarn by Berroco called Flicker.  While this pattern calls for a Bulky weight yarn, I think it turned out very nice.  I enjoyed working with this yarn.  It had some elasticity to it and feels quite soft and spongy.  It also has flecks of  gold glitter in  it which you probably can’t see  in this photo.  The antique, gold buttons that Sue chose,  look perfect on this piece.  I am working on finishing things before the holidays.  Now on to the next project that needs to get done.  What are you trying to finish before the holidays?

Give-away

Link to an Awesome Give-away!

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yarn-bowlHi!  I just wanted to let you know that Hannah, over at Not Your Average Crochet, is having an awesome give-away.  A beautiful yarn holder, which I have never tried, but this one looks awesome! Also some other goodies!  Go here and check it out!  Tell her Ginny from My Time Stitching sent you 🙂 Good luck!

Fabric · Joan Elliott Round Robin

A Butterfly finish and some Goodies

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I’m so happy!  I have a finish!  And by today’s deadline for mailing, too!  Yay!  I stitched Joan Elliott’s  Butterfly Fairy on Rachel’s Round Robin.  She turned out lovely!

Butterfly Fairy on Rachel's RRHer hair was a crazy mess and I didn’t think I would ever get it done, but I did and it’s lovely.  Hubby really likes this one and has asked that I stitch in full.  I do believe he said that about the last JE fairy I stitched.  I will add it to my future list of things to do 🙂

Here is the RR in full:

Rachel's RRIt’s a beautiful piece and Rachel is going to love it when she sees it.  So many sparkly beads!  Amazing!

I received this lovely piece of fabric in my mailbox yesterday:

Lunar EclipseIt’s Lunar Eclipse 16 ct Aida by Stephanie. I can’t wait to see what I end up putting on this one.  Though it’s really more green than blue.

I also received these beauties from Silkweaver on Monday:

More Silkweaver stashFrom top to bottom we have: Hocus Pocus 14ct Aida, Spellbound in 18ct Aida which I plan to use for The Gift, Spooky Day Gray in 14ct Aida, Witch’s Brew in 14 ct Aida and Spooky Day Grey in 28ct Lugana.  They are all lovely.

Last night I put a few stitches into Ella after finishing Butterfly Fairy.  It was a nice change.  Especially to work on Aida again.  Well, that’s all for today.  I’d love to hear what you are working on or what goodies you have acquired lately.

Cross Stitch Patterns · Dragons · knitted scarves · Knitting · Mermaids · New stash! · Uncategorized

Lots of new stash, but no new finish

My Time Stitching9 Comments

I am working on Rachel’s RR and as soon as I get it finished I will post a picture. Now that I am about done with the hair, it may go quicker.  I have recently acquired so much new stash, I don’t know where to begin…Yes I do.  A stitchy gift from my BSF (Best Stitching Friend)

Gift from my bestieThis cute little packaged arrive so pretty! Johanna sent it to me as a thank you for stitching the Royal Holiday on her Queen RR.  Isn’t she a sweetie?  Here is what was inside:

gift 3Sorry about the blurry photo.  I’ve always wanted to do a sweetheart tree design, but never knew which one do do.  Now I have the perfect one.  Complete with a key charm inside. The colors are beautiful.  I am hoping that when I stitch this up, I can finish it just like the picture.  I may have to get some help with that.

Next is last month’s Fabric of the Month from Stephanie. It is called Bewitched.

Bewitched 16 ct AidaIt is 16ct Aida and it is BEAUTIFUL!!  I love the colors in it.  Can’t wait to find something special to stitch on this baby!

I received this pattern in the mail:

The Gift pattern

It is a gorgeous pattern I saw on Patricia’s facebook page.  There is a mermaid in it.  I just had to have it. And hubby likes Dragons, so it is the perfect combination in a cross stitch pattern 🙂  I picked up a piece of fabric on Silweaver’s auctions last week and I am hoping it will be perfect for this pattern.  If you are interested in this pattern, you can contact the designer Particia Aikin by email at particiaallisonarts@hotmail.com  I can’t wait to stitch this one up.

And last I have a knit project I picked up this last weekend:

beaded scarf projectHubby and I stopped at a local knit shop on our day out this weekend and I found a partially knittied beaded scarf sitting on a shelf at the shop.  It was pink, so you know I had to see what it was all about.  It wasn’t even half knitted, but it was so heavy with the beads.  I loved it!  And had to have one!  They didn’t sell the yarn used anymore, so I decided to go with a cream yarn.  That will go well with my red coat.  At Joann’s I found some clear beads with a copper looking center that I thought would look good with the cream yarn.  It’s done on a size 5 needle, so I’m sure it will take me a while to knit.  Someday I will start it and it will be beautiful and sparkly when it is finished.

So, that is all of my new stash as of late.  Still working on some pidge scarves as well as Rachel’s RR. It is due in the mail next Wednesday, so I had better get to stitching a little faster.  Thank you for stopping by and seeing what I have been up to.  What have you added to your stash lately?