And Just Like That, It’s August

August 1, 2022 My Time Stitching8 Comments

Hello my blogging friends. Can you believe it is August already? I have been so busy and going in many different directions. I have a new hobby; Memory Planning. It’s like scrapbooking in miniature, in a daily planner. I signed up for Heidi Swapp’s Stop The Blur classes and have been following several Planner artists on Insta Gram and learning whatever I can. I only have a few pages under my belt, but I am loving the entire process. I have actually tried memory planning for the last 7 years, but didn’t get far at all. So yes, I have 7 planners that have been abandoned with only a few photos and entries. I just couldn’t find my way. In June I purchased a planner that started with July 2022 and I thought I am going to do it this time. So I took Heidi’s classes, gathered some supplies, purchased a few more things and finally sat down to start. It took me about a week to do my first page. Laying things out, changing my mind, adding some new techniques until I ended up with my first page.

I had to incorporate a couple of Heidi Swap’s tag techniques which allowed me to add more photos about getting my mermaid hair done.

In addition to the photos I wanted to add from the last week of June, I added some stamping, some stickers, scrapbook paper and my journaling. I also added some photos that flip up revealing more photos underneath.

I have really enjoyed creating this page in my new planner and do plan on keeping up with this planner. While Memory Planning has taken up a lot of my time the last month, it’s not the only thing I have been working on. I actually started and finished another baby blanket for another special little someone arriving in late August.

I decided on the Aran Baby Blanket because I love making this pattern. The designer is Sassafrass2 on Etsy. The yarn I used is Sweater Worsted by Blue Sky fibers.

I love knitting this blanket. All of the different stitches keeps me from getting bored and I can get it finished pretty quickly. I love how it turned out. The color, Sea Horse, was really hard to capture. In the photos it looks blue, but it really isn’t. It is more of a gray/very pale green. It is perfect for wrapping around a new little someone.

I have more to share next time, so come back and see what I have been up to this last month. What have you been up to?

Afghans · Craft Room · Crochet · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Nora Corbett · Passione Ricamo · Pixie · Shannon Christine · Shannon Christine designs

So I Visited The Crochet Expert

October 26, 2018 My Time Stitching19 Comments

Wow! Another post so soon from me? I’m on a roll, LOL.

So on Wednesday, I went to my Local Yarn Shop for a session with the Crochet Expert, Jen. She was amazing. I feel like I learned so much. Not just for my blanket, but for crochet in general. So here is my blanket how I left it Wednesday night:

Not a whole lot added since my last post, because I now have tendonitis in both of my elbows. Ugh. Too much knitting and crocheting the last few weeks. So I am wearing a brace on my right arm, which is the worst. I could barely dry my hair yesterday 😦 But, I do have the correct number of stitches and I am using stitch markers to mark the first stitch of every row. It appears that I have left some stitches unstitched on my ends. And Jen is going to help me with my border when I am ready so that it looks evened out since I opted to just continue on rather than rip it all out. So I am more confident going forward from here…when my elbows stop hurting.

This week I stitched the October mermaid on the SAL and even started beading 🙂

This piece is going to have so many beads!! I was so excited to start beading, being that I am on the bottom row, that I forgot that I still have January to do since this SAL started in February. So I didn’t put the rest of the bigger beads on October since I am using a scroll frame. The biggest bead, at the top of October, gave me such a tough time. I just couldn’t get it to lay properly. It took me about 40 minutes to finally get it the way I wanted after putting the other white bead on, so I am not taking them out. I will put some felt or batting on top of the beads before I roll it up when I do January. So for now, I will skip the beading. It was fun putting all those gold beads in. I love beading.

So last night I pulled out my Pink Princess.

It is really called Dawn, the Fairy Spirit of Grace, by Passione Ricamo. But I am going to stitch her without the wings, so I call her my Pink Princess. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Tintagel from Fabrics by Stephanie. And when I pulled this out, I saw in my notes that I started her in March of 2015!!! What? It just could not have been that long! Where does the time go. There is no way I should have these things as WIP’s for this long. I will stitch on her until the next section of the Mystery Sampler comes out on Oct. 31. Hopefully she won’t be put away for too long.

A couple of weeks ago, I hung some stitchings in my craft room. I was reminded by a blogging friend that I hadn’t shared photos.

Ella, the Frog Princess. I love seeing her when I am crafting in my room. Which obviously isn’t enough as my plant is dying. No worries. I did water it after taking my photos. It should be all perked up tonight.

I added the White Angel Trumpet pixie to the other pixies I have stitched. They all look so cute hanging together. I don’t have much wall left though. I can fit one more to the left of Iris. I’ll have to figure out which one that will be.

And lastly, I hung the Mystery Sampler 2017 right beside my desk.

While I am working at my desk, I can look up and see this one. This was my very first Sampler and I am happy that it is hanging when I can see it when I am at my desk. Oh, I was in my craft room this week. I put together an 8 x 8 travel scrapbook which is where I am planning on putting my pictures from my trip up north last weekend. So I guess I can say that I am in there at about once a week. I love seeing my stitchings on the wall when I craft 🙂

So what are you up to this week? Any stitchy plans for the weekend?

Afghans · Crochet · cross stitch · Fairies · Hand Stamped Cards · Passione Ricamo SAL · temperature blanket

Crazy Busy, But I’m Still Stitching

July 5, 2017 My Time Stitching30 Comments

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post! And where did June go? I swear just the other day it was June 1 and now here we are in July! Summer please slow down 🙂 So even though I have been going at full speed almost every day the last few weeks, I have managed to get my regular stitching in 🙂 So here is what I have been up to:

Here is where I am with Moon, Sweet Moon, Mystery SAL by Passione Ricamo. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida OOAK from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics. It is actually a gray color with hints of purple. Bad photo, sorry. It is really beautiful in person. Unfortunately, this is no longer a SAL. Someone has passed the first few sections onto the internet, illegally, so Laura ended the SAL. So sad for someone to do this. She has released the full pattern to each person that signed up, with watermarked pattern in their name. This is how it will look when finished:

It is so beautiful and I am so sad to see it end as a SAL. It is now available for purchase on Laura’s website if you are wanting to stitch this beauty. You can find it here. I am waiting on threads for the moon, so I have put her aside and picked up this one:

This is the Linen and Threads Mystery Sampler. I can’t begin to tell you how I much I LOVE stitching on this piece. I have just started stitching the April section, so I am a bit behind. But it is such a relaxing stitch. I am using Sullivan’s variegated thread London Fog and DMC 3888. The fabric is 16ct Aida Castleview by Silkweaver. I am hoping to get this caught up before getting back to something else or starting something else. If you would like to stitch this piece, it is a FREE SAL put out by Linen and Threads and the January through July sections are on their website. Here is another view:

I have also been adding a row or two, now and then on my Temperature blanket. I am somewhere at the beginning of April and here is how it is looking so far:

I’ve added another row of yellow and a row of light purple. Hoping there will be more of these colors as I am really getting bored of the darker ones. This is nice to work on when I have a few minutes here and there. It is getting too big to carry around, so I will keep adding to it now and then and hope to also get caught up with it, too.

In my last post I told you briefly about a new stamp obsession of mine. Here are some cards using products from Heartfelt Creations:

Here is a close-up of those beautiful 3-d flowers!

And this one is my favorite:

I am having such fun making 3-d flowers with glitter, and frosting and beaded centers. I need to play more 🙂 I have also added these 3-d flowers to my scrapbook pages. I will have to get photos of those for next time. Right now it’s time to go play 🙂

What are you busy playing with these days?

Afghans · cross stitch · Elegant Ladies · Fairies · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mirabilia · yarn

My Framing is Such Joy

February 23, 2017 My Time Stitching37 Comments

Hello blogging friends. Hubby took 1/2 a day off today and he surprised me by taking me to the Rocking Horse to pick up my latest framing.

Isn’t it lovely? I was so afraid of how it was going to turn out because my framing session was not enjoyable. And I didn’t have it framed like the model in the store because I felt it was too much green. My fabric is a darker green than theirs, and I am not a fan of green. So I went with the red mat. And then I was afraid it wouldn’t match the stitching, but I really like it. The frame was my first choice. I didn’t even look at any others and I think it is perfect. So now to find a temporary hanging place for it. Just for a while so I can enjoy it a bit. So sweet.

I am still waiting for threads for the Mystery Sampler. My LNS says they are on back-order from the manufacturer, so no telling when I will get them. However, a very sweet gal on the sampler group has offered to send me 3 skeins that she has as she is undecided about her sampler. Stitcher’s are such sweet people ❤ While waiting on threads, I have been working on Ella. Here is where I left her last night:

Not too much added since my last post, but every stitch counts, right? The empty area in the dress is getting smaller, so I am excited about that. Once I finish the bottom of the dress, I will have to move the scrolls up and work from the middle up. But that will be a lot less stitching than the bottom. This photo also represents my fabric perfectly, as it is a beautiful sunny day with 60 degrees! It is 16ct Aida Pandora from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.

I also started my Temperature blanket the other day. What is a temperature blanket you ask? Well, it is a blanket that is crocheted or knitted, with each row based on the high temperature of where you live. So I found this color scheme on-line and tweaked it a bit for my blanket:

I ordered my yarn from LoveKnitting and if finally arrived on Thursday. I am using Stlyecraft DK instead of worsted weight. Here is my start:

I am using a G hook and chained 250 stitches. I decided to do my blanket 3dc, sk 2. Then do 3dc in the skip 2 space of the previous row. Today, while in the car, I noticed my blanket is bowing and my ends are not even. I should have started with maybe an I hook and then switched down to a G after my foundation row. I will have to brush up on my chaining on the ends and where to stick my hook for the first stitch. So today I will be ripping this out and starting over. I will probably be doing a different stitch, too. Something where I can make sure I have the right amount of stitches every row. My crochet skills are still not very well without a specific pattern and some visual tutorials, so I will be sure to have all that when I re-start. It will be a fun blanket to stitch on every day or do a couple of rows once a week, based on the high temps. If you are wanting to get started on your own Temperature blanket, you can knit or crochet, whatever pattern you want, whatever yarn and color scheme you want. I do believe that Lion Brand also has some info on their website. For the high temperatures, there is a website called weatherunderground.com that you can get the history of high temps in your area.

So, what are your needles creating today?

Afghans · Crochet · cross stitch · Mirabilia · Romanitc · Stitchy Gifts

Stitching Update

April 21, 2016 My Time Stitching25 Comments

Hi! I’m still stitching along with a ton of other things; stamping, scrapbooking, putting pages in albums, and reading. But let me show you how my stitching is going on the Mira Mystery. I am finished section 1! Finally! Took me about a month, but I finally can move onto section 2. Here is how it looked last night:

While the above picture shows the stitching colors better, the photo below shows how the fabric actually looks:

I have seen the mystery stitched in full by other stitchers on the facebook group, and she is a beauty! Just wait until you see that sweet face!

I also finished this yesterday:

The baby shower is on Saturday, so I finished in great time. I really love how this turned out! The pattern is beautiful and while I didn’t think the colors would be great together when I started, I am loving them now.

So it is all ready to be packaged up. Just have to add a tag and washing instructions. I also made a card to match.

The nursery theme is owls in these colors, so this card is perfect.

So that is what I have been working on this week. What have you been creating?

Afghans · Crochet · cross stitch · knitted scarves · Mirabilia · Nora Corbett · Romanitc · Uncategorized · yarn

Lots of Stitching Going On

April 6, 2016 My Time Stitching14 Comments

I have been so busy this week and getting quite a bit done, too. Yesterday I put together all of my tax stuff for my home business so that Hubby can start on the taxes this weekend. What a job. I promise not to wait until the last minute for this years taxes (fingers crossed I can stick to this one) I have also been getting in some stitching.

First, I finished this over the weekend:

The colors remind me of cotton candy! Love it. I have so many balls of scarf yarn, and my goal is to get them all stitched up by the end of the year. I have already stitched several and gave them away. But not a big dent in my pile yet.

I am still stitching on the Mira Mystery. I picked up section 3 over the weekend. I am still on section 1, so I had better get moving on this one. Here is where I left it last night:

I also picked up my back ordered Weeks Dye Works Threads so I am trying to fill in the blanks. Mostly the green vines and the darker green leaves.

While out shopping this weekend, hubby bought me these:

I’m not sure I would be any good at knitting and crocheting little things and turning them into something, but I love a lot of the items in each of the books. The items on both covers are really interesting and pretty. I’d like to give them both a go sometime.

And while out shopping, I picked up some yarn and a pattern for a baby blanket. I have a baby shower coming up in a few weeks and I wanted to make the Mama to be a blanket for her baby boy that will be here soon. Her nursery colors are Turquoise, purple and brown. I had quite the time trying to find those colors in a baby yarn or sport yarn. I spent so much time looking for patterns and then yarns to match. So I ended up picking worsted weight Red Heart Yarn. This is what I ended up with:

I already love the pattern and it was quite easy to memorize. So I will be able to take it on the go if I need to. Just hope I can finish before the shower. Oh and I am the photographer at that shower! No, I am not a photographer. I just love to take pictures. So the mother of the Mom to be asked if I would come and photograph the shower. I am really nervous about doing it. Not something I have done before. I have so many “what if’s” in my head, but now I am telling myself to just do what I would do at any family function. So I will try. Then I will teach the Mom to scrapbook the pictures so that she can make a scrapbook to give to her daughter when the baby is born.

So, that is all my stitching news for now. What projects are you working on?

Afghans · Craft projects · Crochet · cross stitch · knitted scarves · Mirabilia · New stash!

Crafty Stuff

October 28, 2015 My Time Stitching27 Comments

Yesterday I told you I would post my purchase from my weekend get-away. So here goes:

These fun things ended up in my bag from Stitches N Things. The newest Mirabilis pattern, Twin Mermaids and the bead pack. No plans to start this right away, but just had to have it. It’s 2 mermaids! And some threads and a horn book for an upcoming project.

This past weekend hubby and I spent the weekend in Frankenmuth, MI for our anniversary and he spoiled me wonderfully. We stopped at one of my favorite shops there. Rapunzel’s Yarn and Boutique, where I picked up this:

I didn’t get a picture of the yarn hank before I tore it all apart. I forgot to have them wind it for me, so ended up spending the whole trip home trying to detangle it. But as you can see, I started knitting a scarf already. The yarn is so awesome; lots of fun fibers and textures all in one skein! The yarn is Alp Premier from Feza. It was quite an expensive hank, but like I said, hubby spoiled me. So I can’t let this yarn just sit around. I will work on it in between everything else. And if you click on the picture, you will see those cool looking knitting needles I picked up. I had planned on starting this on the car ride home, and needed a pair of needles. These are from Knit Picks. Very pretty, made of wood, with very sharp points. They are actually very nice to knit with. I am glad I picked them up.

I am also still crocheting on my Spice of Life blanket. I have 4 more rows to go before I start the border.

This blanket has been keeping me warm the last couple of days while I crochet on it. I am really liking it and am hoping the border will not give me any problems so I can get it finished.

We stopped at a bead shop while in Frankenmuth. Boy was I overwhelmed! I haven’t taken up beading yet. Not sure I ever will, but I like looking at all the beautiful beads and charms. Bead Haven was the largest bead shop I had ever been in and if I were going to shop that day for a project, I wouldn’t have known where to begin. Hubby found a rack in a corner of the store that had some hand made knitted items and he purchased this beautiful hat for me.

I love it! It’s a pinky mauve color and fits me perfectly! I can’t wait for a little bit cooler weather so I can wear it. Someone did a wonderful job knitting it and lining and adding beads and fibers to the sweet knitted flower.

Dear husband bought me this awesome bag to carry around while shopping for the weekend.

It is a very nice bag and held all the little things we picked up over the weekend. Right now it is holding my scarf project and it’s perfect.

And for my most favorite purchase of the weekend… Hubby bought me this as an anniversary present from a wonderful shop called The Enchanted Garden.

She is a beauty and I love her! She is 26″ tall and gorgeous! So I had a wonderful weekend and was spoiled to the max. So now I am off to crochet a bit and see if I can get those last few rows finished.

What are you crafting on today?

Afghans · Crochet · cross stitch · Mermaids

Stitching My Little Heart Out

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 My Time Stitching25 Comments

Yes, I have been stitching and stitching on my crocheted blanket and my Mermaid Trio and I am making great progress. First, here is my Spice of Life blanket:

It’s getting quite long and keeps me nice and warm while I am crocheting on it. I have about 20 rows to complete on section 5 and then I can start the border which was released yesterday. So I am not too far behind.

I have learned so much stitching on this blanket and have felt so close to my Step Mom who taught me to crochet when I was 12 years old. She taught me to do the basic stitches and the ripple afghan. I never really learned how to read a pattern or do complicated stitches. So I am doing this in honor of her. She passed away 4 years ago and I miss her dearly. The Spice of Life blanket reminds me of the “scrapghans” she would make from her left over yarns. If you would like to create this beautiful blanket, you can get the pattern at Sandra’s Cherry Heart Blog here. Sandra did a wonderful job.

I have also been stitching on Mermaid Trio. Hubby says if I get it finished by Friday, we can take it in to be framed on our way out of town on Saturday. I finished beading Mermaid Verde last week and she turned out so sweet!

I love how she turned out. Now I am working on beading Coral Charms and she has so many beads! I am hoping to finish her today so that I can get started on the last mermaid and get her finished by Friday night. I will keep you posted on my progress. For those that are not familiar with the patterns, they are La Petite Mermaids by Nora Corbett. I am stitching them on 16ct Aida Summer Showers by Sunny Dyes fabrics.

That is my update for today. What is on your needles today?

Afghans · cross stitch · Mermaids

Crocheting Again

September 27, 2015September 27, 2015 My Time Stitching12 Comments

In my last post I mentioned working on the baby blanket that wasn’t going so well. You’ll be happy to hear that I finished it!

I am actually pretty pleased at how it turned out, even with all the mistakes. The picot stitches were new to me. I really like the way they made the border lacey. Before finishing this blanket, I decided to participate in a Crochet A Long that I found on Cherry Heart’s blog. It is called the Spice of Life blanket and I immediately fell in love with the vintage look of it and all the different stitches that I will be learning 😉

If you want more information on this amazing blanket, you can click the button above. The first pattern section was just released this past Tuesday (September 22, 2015) so there is still time to catch up. I didn’t order my yarn until Sunday, and so far I have only received a partial shipment. I am using Stylecraft Special DK yarn that I ordered from Love Knitting. A lot of people are using this yarn, hence the backorder. But the rest of the yarn did ship the day after my original shipment, so hopefully it will be in this week so that I can continue. Yes, I did start already! Here are the colors I have received so far:

I made my swatch.

Not perfect, but will be ok for a blanket. Had to go down a hook size. And here is my start:

A lot of the gals were posting their starts rolled up like this, so I thought I would, too :). I am very pleased with my start. So far my edges are straight and I have the correct amount of stitches after 6 rows. I learned about those neat little holders (you can see a little of them in my picture, the greenish things poking out of the top) and they really helped me out a lot. I placed one at every 25 stitches on my chain and into the end stitch. I did that every row and I didn’t make any mistakes! So proud of myself. My next color is supposed to be a turquoise, which I don’t have yet. So while I wait, I will be working on cross stitching Mermaid Azure. Here is how she looks after last night:

She is taking me longer than Coral, but I had a vacation and all this crocheting. But I am loving stitching on here. She will be done in no time, I am sure.

So what are you spending your time on these days?

Afghans · Cross Stitch Patterns · Mirabilia · New stash! · Passione Ricamo SAL · snowmen · WIP

I Am Making Stitchy Progress, and Adding More!

January 16, 2015January 16, 2015 My Time Stitching21 Comments

I can’t believe it is already half way through January 2015! But so far I am doing well with my stitchy goals to work on finishing projects and keeping up with another. I just finished section 7 of the Passione Ricamo SAL #4.

I am really itching to see the mermaid appear on this one. The next section is due out on January 26, so I have some time to stitch on another project I have been working on:

Autumn Snowman! As you can see, I am getting really close to a finish here. I will pick him up tonight and work on him until he is finished. Hopefully soon.

Last weekend I visited my favorite Needlework Shop, Stitches N Things. I belong to the stitchy club there and get to have a 25% off shopping spree once during my birthday month. And since January is my birthday month, I just had to go shop. And boy did I shop. Here is what I actually brought home:

Lots of awesome goodies: Nora Corbett’s Fairie Winter Dream ,even though I have it in magazine version. The magazine pattern is a color pattern, which I am not fond of. I also picked up 2 more of the little witches, Ana and Mari. And the main reason for visiting the shop and using my birthday discount was for Mirabilia’s Christmas In London and the bead pack. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous pattern and I can’t wait to stitch it. I ordered a piece of 16ct White Aida to stitch her on. The latest edition of Stoney Creek magazine called to me because of a particular pattern that caught my eye while flipping through it.

The Snow Friends Collectors’ Series Afghan. I am a sucker for snowmen and I have been thinking about doing an afghan. I love working on an afghan during the winter months. Keeps me warm while I stitch away. So after I checked out at the LNS, and after ordering a bunch more stitchy stuffs (with birthday discout 🙂 ) I headed over to Michael’s to pick up the floss. And to my surprise, found the required afghan there also. It was about 1/2 of the cost of what the magazine wanted and I had a $5 off coupon so that made it even better. It looks like a nice, warm afghan, too. I thought that the first 2 blocks started with this issue, but when looking at the back of the magazine, I saw it actually started with the Summer issue, so I called my LNS and had them order it for me and it will be added to the bag that will be filled with goodies when all of the things they are ordering for me come in. It will be like Christmas again! I’m sure I will be starting this afghan soon, but not until I get a finish 😉

So that is my stitchy updates for now. I will be back soon with a Snowy finish, I’m sure. What new project are you itching to start on?

Category: Afghans

And Just Like That, It’s August

Like this:

So I Visited The Crochet Expert

Like this:

Crazy Busy, But I’m Still Stitching

Like this:

My Framing is Such Joy

Like this:

Stitching Update

Like this:

Lots of Stitching Going On

Like this:

Crafty Stuff

Like this:

Stitching My Little Heart Out

Like this:

Crocheting Again

Like this:

I Am Making Stitchy Progress, and Adding More!

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: