Finish One, Start Another and My Blogaversary

March 24, 2023 My Time Stitching28 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! How are you doing? The sun is partially out today, making my craft room bright. The perfect place to type out my post today.

So let’s start with my Blogaversary! Tomorrow will be my 11 year blogaversary! I truly cannot believe that it has been 11 years since I started this little ole’ blog of mine. I originally started this blog as a place to document my crafting and share with others. I can’t tell you how much joy it has brought me and how many wonderful people I have met. I appreciate each and every one of you that has stopped by to take a look at what I have been up to. I have enjoyed reading all of your wonderful comments as well. So for the next 6 days I will be having a giveaway. Each day I will post a picture of a giveaway and a code word for you to leave in your comment. On March 31, 2023 I will post the winners of all of the giveaways. I will post more at the end of the post. Now let’s get to my finish!

I have strictly worked on Holly Berry Pixie the last few weeks. This is where I was the last time I posted.

I finished all of the stitching and was so excited to start beading that I forgot to take a picture before the beading started.

So many beautiful, sparkly beads! I beaded the top portion while on my scroll frame. Then I switched to a large Qsnap.

When adding my beads, I use a thread that matches the color of the bead. If the beads are clear, then I use a thread that matches my fabric. I put a half stitch to attach my beads, from lower left, through the bead and down through the top right. This way my beads sit at an angle. It is not the only way to attach beads, but my preferred method. Putting a full cross stitch through the bead will attach the bead sitting straight up and down. Whichever way you want your beads to lay is totally up to you. The tray I use to hold my beads is a Tacky Bob. The name has changed to Tacky Bill. Not sure why, but the ones that I have are Tacky Bob’s. It looks like a small CD case with adhesive foam on both sides of the inside. I have always beaded with these and love them.

A picture of my stitchy spot. She is looking so beautiful! Almost done with this beauty!

And she is finished!! Sorry for the dark image. I had so much difficulty getting a good picture of her and the fabric. I am so happy with how she turned out. I will be looking for a framer this year to get her framed before the holidays. Now for all the details: She is Holly Berry Pixie from Bella Filipina Designs. Fabric is 16ct Aida, a One of A Kind from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics (she is no longer dying) and she is stitched as charted.

Once I finished Holly Berry, I immediately started a new project that has been ready for the last month.

This one is not my style of stitching, but it was a request from my oldest son. And when a child requests a cross stitch for his gaming room, you ask excitedly “what would you like?” He chose this design from an Etsy designer, Rack & Pinion. So I immediately purchased the PDF, went stash diving into my fabrics and pulled all of the threads. Everything was all ready to go. Here is my small start.

I am stitching this on 16ct Aida Everything Else from Mystic Fabrics. It is more of a cream color, not white like it looks in the photo. I will admit that this project is a little boring. I am not used to stitching just blocks of color. My son is in no hurry for it, so I can see myself doing other things in between stitching on this. Like some smaller projects. I have fallen down the hole of the Flosstube world and have seen so many smaller designs that I want to do. Well, I will be honest, I want to start all of the things!! But that would be a lot of WIP’s so I am restraining myself…for now. More about the flosstube world in another post, but how do you feel about flosstubes? Have you watched any? What are your favorites?

Now to that giveaway. Again, tomorrow is my 11 year blogaversary. So fun! I want to share some of things that make me happy. Bella Filipina has quickly become one of my very favorite cross stitch designers. So how about one of his beautiful designs?

This one is a beauty and she is in my stash to stitch someday. So if you would like a chance to win this pattern, put the word Reina in your comment on this post. I will choose a winner next Friday.

So that is what I have been up to. What are you creating?

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Pixie · yarn

Sunday Stitching

March 5, 2023 My Time Stitching13 Comments

Happy Sunday, my blogging friends. We had a snowstorm on Friday with a dumping of 10″ of the heavy white stuff. There was Thundersnow and lightning and white out conditions. The sun came out on Saturday and quite a bit of it has melted. Today was just an easy Sunday inside, doing a little laundry and some stitching.

I spent quite a bit of time stitching on Holly Berry Pixie. The designer is Bella Filipina Designs and I am stitching her on a one of a kind 16ct Aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics (she is no longer dying fabric). When I last posted about her, I had her skirt done and the berries at the bottom.

Since then I have added many stitches.

Look at that beautiful face! I have added some back stitching and more of the ribbons along the sides.

I have so enjoyed seeing this sweet pixie come to life. The colors are so bright and vibrant. And this is where I left her today.

Just a few more berries and then filling in of all the sparkles and draping strands of blue Kreinik, which I may need another spool of. I am not sure I started with a partial spool or not, but I don’t think I will have enough left for the amount of strands I need to stitch. And then I can get onto the beading. Lots of beautiful, sparkly beads. I will pick this up again tonight and maybe get my berries finished. I like to do most of my cross stitch at night. A habit I fell into after I had my children and while they were growing up. I like to spend my morning knitting with my coffee and I do have a new knitting project.

I recently purchased this yarn cake from The Yarn Garden. The Head Gardner there, Lindsay, talked about this yarn on her Feature Friday video a little over a week ago. If you are looking for something to do on Friday mornings, her facebook videos are great and I always learn something from her. You can find her videos on her facebook page The Yarn Garden. Her live videos are on Friday from 11:00 am to noon ET. Anyway, she talked about Wonderland Yarns doing a year long series with their Garden Club Blossoms called Ocean. Each month will include a Blossom Cake, a pattern and a stitch marker. This cake is the February cake and the color is called Great Barrier Reef Anemones. It came with a hat pattern that is cute, but I didn’t feel like making a hat. So I spent a lot of time on Ravelry looking for a shawl or cowl pattern that would work with this yarn. I wasn’t coming up with anything and sought the help of a friend. She came up with a couple of great ideas and I decided on the 22 Little Clouds pattern by Martina Behm. It is a free pattern on Ravelry and I think it is more of a shawlette, a smaller shawl.

I got started right away and couldn’t help but notice that my nails matched my knitting again. I like when that happens 😉 And here is where I left off this morning.

I am enjoying this knit and am really looking forward to seeing the color changes. I like knitting with this Mad Hatter Sport yarn. It is soft and knits up nicely. I did find a shop online that had 1 skein left of the January cake and I will show that one in a future post. Oh, I did forget to mention that each month comes with a post card with some beautiful artwork on one side and project tracking information on the other. Here is the February card.

So that is how I spent my Sunday. Doing what I love; Stitching. What did you work on today?

Happy Stitching,

Ginny

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Pixie · WIP

Holly Berry Pixie

February 7, 2023 My Time Stitching20 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! January got away from me and I thought I had better make a post before February disappears! Though when February is over, I will be even closer to Spring. But I really cannot complain about this winter. Temps have been above normal for the most part and we have not gotten much snow. Yay!! I will take it! The days do seem to be going by so fast for me. Maybe that is why I hurt my back over the weekend. In too much of a hurry and twisted wrong. So, I have been taking it easy the last couple of days and getting in lots of knitting and cross stitching. Today I will share with you what I have been cross stitching on.

Let me introduce you to Holly Berry Pixie from Bella Filipina Designs.

I fell absolutely in love with this pattern when it was released in December. I could not get her in my hands fast enough! I ordered right away and then went stash diving to find the perfect fabric. And boy did I find the perfect fabric!

The fabric is more pink than this photo shows and I think it is very similar to the fabric shown in the design. It is 16ct aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics (the dyer is no longer dying fabric) and I think it has been in my stash just for this design.

My floss toss with the threads that I have on hand. I definitely think this fabric will work well with all of the threads. The pattern arrived on January 6, well before I expected and I started her right away. Well, after digging for a scroll frame first, LOL. So, yep, I have added another WIP to my pile. And I needed the break from the Fox & Rabbit Mystery SAL. I hope to finish this one so that it can be displayed on my wall, somewhere, for the Christmas holidays next year.

My start. I am loving every stitch of this one. I love seeing her come to life on the pink fabric.

The red just pops on the pink fabric. Her skirt is so cute!!

This is where I left her last night. I am loving this pattern so much. Even the berries 😉

So that is my first new start of 2023. I am hoping that I don’t get sucked into too many cross stitch starts this year as my pile is still driving me crazy. In fact, let me share my pile.

My Local Yarn Shop is doing a Bingo card to help knitters and crocheters get their yarny WIP’s February Finished Objects. The shop owner suggested gathering all of the WIP’s and putting them in a pile to see what we have. Since I am caught up on my knitting projects with just 2-current project and a travel project, and no crochet projects, I decided to pull out all of my cross stitch WIP’s. There is a blanket I had started that has to be abandoned because the fabric has yellowed 😦 And another project that was started that I probably won’t continue with. There is one more project that I will be adding for sure, but this is the pile. I would like to make good progress on all of these this year and maybe finish a few. My ultimate goal is to get back to one cross stitch project at a time. That is my ultimate goal every year, though, LOL Do you have a WIP pile? If so, how many? I’d love to hear about your WIP’s.

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mirabilia

Cross Stitching Chaos

June 20, 2022 My Time Stitching12 Comments

Hello my blogging friends. It is now past mid-June and creating a blog post has been longer than I had planned. So many things get in the way and yet I can’t remember most of them. I had a big cross stitch post planned, but plans change and I have decided to go in a different direction.

So, what have I been stitching? Well, my cross stitch projects have seemed to have expanded in the last few months. I was stitching on 2 Mirabilia’s and the Fox & Rabbit Mystery Sampler. But after the events that unfolded on Social Media over the weekend, I couldn’t even stitch on Saturday night…at all…on anything! That almost never happens with me. And on Sunday night I started yet another cross stitch project. So much for trying to get through my WIP’s. Anyway, a lot of my recent nights have been spent stitching on Rosamund by Mirabilia. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and immediately started stitching on her as soon as I received her and the fabric.

I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Salem from Fiberlicious Yummy Fibers. I worked with the dyer to get the fabric painted so that I wouldn’t lose the edges into a frame. There are only 2″ on the sides for framing, and I am wondering if any of the black will show. But for now I stitch on.

I rarely ever do a face first when I am cross stitching. I usually work from the middle down and then the middle up. I feel that if I do her face first, I may get bored and my progress to get her done will really slow down. But since this is a vertical design, my needle automatically went to the right and wow! She is beautiful and I do love stitching on her.

And this is where I left off before the weekend.

I am really enjoying stitching on this Mirabilia. But after the Mirabilia designer posted on social media that she thought the Bella Filipina Designer was copying her designs, I couldn’t stitch on her Saturday night. There were so many negative comments going around and I just felt awful about the whole thing. I thought it was very distasteful what the Mirabilia designer posted. I love both designers. I think they each have their own style, that is different from each other. I am sure I will get back to Rosamund and Blossom, but last night I decided to do this:

This was a recent limited design by Bella Filipina Designs for the Casa Cenina shop in Italy. I am so lucky to have gotten her and very quickly I might add. I am not using the 32ct fabric that was included in the kit. I am going to stitch her on 16ct Aida Oberon from Fabrics by Stephanie. I thought it would be perfect for Esmeralda. After all the time it took me to find the perfect fabric and a scroll frame that wouldn’t drive me crazy, I don’t have much stitching to show. I will next time.

So what are you stitching on?

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids

Last Finish of 2021

January 9, 2022January 7, 2022 My Time Stitching8 Comments

My last finish for 2021 is a beauty! I started stitching on her back in August of 2019. I had put her down to stitch on something else, most likely. I didn’t have much stitched on her when I put her down, so here is what she looked like when I picked her up in October.

I was enjoying stitching on her.

Let the Beading begin.

I swear it took me 2 weeks to bead this beauty. Some sections I beaded, ripped out, re-beaded, ripped out, changed beads, ripped out, left beads off, ripped out. I didn’t use a lot of the large pony beads. Instead I went to a smaller pony type bead and in some instances, left beads off all together. The pattern calls for 28ct fabric, so working on 16 ct aida gives me a smaller space to work with putting the beads on. So leaving off beads, was not a problem. Changing to smaller beads worked well in some places. The long bugle beads needed extra space in order for them to lay flat, so I kind changed those areas in order to accommodate the bugle beads.

Here she is finished. She has so many beads! I think she is the most heavily beaded piece I have done. She is Pearl of the Orient Seas by Bella Filipina Designs. She is stitched on 16ct Aida, a One of a Kind fabric from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

What was your final finish for 2021?

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Project Bags

Stitching, Knitting and Shopping

November 12, 2021 My Time Stitching8 Comments

Hello blogging friends. The temps are getting cooler here after a few days of surprisingly wonderful warm and sunny days. The dreaded white stuff is coming though. About an inch or two of snow is predicted for this weekend 😦 Are you a fan of snow and cold weather? I am not looking forward to winter and can only hope that it will fly by as fast as my summer did.

I need to plan out some projects for the winter. But for now, let’s talk about what I am stitching on right now.

I finished the tail on Pearl of the Orient Seas, minus the beads. I have moved scrolls to the middle of the design to work upwards.

While I am enjoying the stitching on this one, the colors are starting to bring me down and I am getting the itch to start something new. I am trying really hard to resist, but I do see some smaller projects creeping into my plans. For now, I stitch on 🙂 Just to remind you, the design is Pearl of the Orient Seas by Bella Filipina Designs. Fabric is 16ct aida, a one of a kind dye from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

The Marit Shawl by Amy Christoffers is still on my needles. It is going well, but still looking a little small to me.

I am actually on the decrease tier now and making half triangles for the top edge.

Maybe blocking will give me the size I need. This shawl will also have tassels.

Now onto the shopping as mentioned in my title. Last week Shop Hop started at local yarn shops. I decided not to shop hop this year, but just visit my very local shop, The Knitting Nest. I picked up some yarn for the newly published on Ravelery, Urchins and Scallops shawl from Soft Yarn Designs. This one should definitely be put into my winter knitting plans 😉

After getting home, I realized the yarn colors are very similar to the colors used in the pattern. I think they are perfect. The lovely shop owners also pointed out that they had some new stitch markers that they knew I would be interested it. Mermaids! Yes, please. And I couldn’t help but pick up another Project Bag by CleverGirl Designs. This one is a little bigger than the bags I usually order from her. It just fits into the bin I keep them in, but is taller than the other bags. I don’t think I can ever have too many of Kristine’s bags. Hubby ordered me another year of the Bag of the Month from her in August. I have received August, September and October, but I cannot find the pictures. Today I was surprised with the November and December bags and they are Awesome! Here is my November bag…ready?

Oh my gosh! It’s Gnomies!! so stinking cute! I LOVE it! And here is the back;

My December bag was just as awesome.

She knows my love for mermaids and I do love this one. In fact, it matched the mask I was wearing when I went to the yarn shop to pick them up. Did you catch that cute Seashell zipper pull/progress marker? So cute! And check out that cute wallet looking matching piece! Have to show the back and the open wallet, too!

Just look at that cute little Floss Catcher! I just love all of Kristine’s bags. They are so well made and her attention to detail and choice of fabrics is amazing. You can find her on Instagram @clevergirldesignsco

This is how I store my CleverGirl Project Bags.

There are 20 bags in these bins. It doesn’t include the one I am using for Pearl or the 2 new ones I picked up today. I can still use some more, LOL

This been is full of not so pretty bags filled with wonderful projects. Some day it will be filled with pretty CleverGirl Design bags.

While at the Yarn Shop today, I was looking for even more yarn. This time for a sweater. Yep, a sweater, not a shawl! I haven’t made a sweater in years and I think I need to add one to my winter stitching plan 😉 I didn’t buy any, as I need to figure out what I want to use. So, I am off to make a swatch. What are you up to? What are your crafty plans for the weekend?

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · yarn

A Mermaid and A Shawl

November 4, 2021 My Time Stitching17 Comments

Hello, friends! So today I am going to chat about what is on my needles now; both knitting and cross stitch. Let’s start with the knitting. When my Mother-in-law visited in September, we went to the local yarn shop. The shop was having a Berroco Trunk show, and MIL found a shawl that she loved. She asked if I would knit it for her. Of course I agreed. I already had the book that the pattern was in, and she purchased the yarn. Last week I started it.

The pattern is the Marit Shawl and is in Berroca Book 428 – Topaz. It is also available on Ravelry. So I started it and it is the weirdest construction I have ever done. I am told it is Entrelec knitting. It is a little confusing at first, but I have learned that if I look ahead to see whether the next row is knitted on the right side or the wrong side, I am good to go. I think I just start second guessing myself and then confuse myself. The diagram included also helps. So I started knitting away on a 7 US needle.

I was getting the hang of the pattern and enjoying the knitting. I am not so sure about the yarn. It is Topaz from Berroco. It goes from thin to thick, hence the lumpy look in many spots. I need to grow to love this yarn as I purchased quite a bit of it in another colorway for a cardigan for myself. And then I happened to look up the pattern on Ravelry (I don’t even remember why) and noticed that my squares were a bit smaller that the picture. So I started looking at the stats and the Ravelry pattern suggests a size 9 US needle. What?? The book pattern suggests a 7 US needle. Oh my gosh! So I had to rip it all out. Yep, frogged the whole thing, and it was not easy. This yarn is a bit fuzzy, so it took me quite some time to try to carefully rip it all out. OK. On to start number two.

So on Tuesday I re-started the shawl. My squares are definitely bigger and it is going faster this time around.

This is where I left off last night. I will say that this pattern is so fun and at times, I say to myself, “one more block.” And then I have knitted 3 more. I just want to keep going with it. But usually I knit in the morning while having my coffee. I didn’t get to do that this morning, so I may be knitting “a few blocks” tonight. But evenings and nights are usually reserved for cross stitching. Which brings me to talk about what I am stitching X’s on these days.

When I finished The Dark Queen, I immediately went to my WIP stack and pulled out Pearl, of The Orient Seas from Bella Filipina. I started her in August of 2019.

This is what she looked like when I picked her up in October.

This pattern is very heavily beaded and has lots of Kreinik threads. So there is going to be lots of holes left for adding many, many beads in the end.

She has a very skinny body leading down to her tail. Oh good, that should go rather quickly. And then there is beautiful tail! Here is where I am at now.

She is coming along nicely and I am determined to stick with her until finished. I am stitching her on a one of a Kind 16ct aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

So, that is what I have been up to. What are you working on?

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Elegant Ladies · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Project Bags · Storage · storage bags · WIP

Still At Home, Still Crafting

July 6, 2020July 6, 2020 My Time Stitching12 Comments

It’s been almost 4 months at home during this Pandemic. I am sad, frustrated, depressed, angry and lost. I am sad for all of those that have been sick with this virus and for those that have lost loved ones. I am frustrated and depressed because I can’t go out and do the things I used to do or go to the places I used to go. And I am angry because the numbers of cases are going up again and hospitals are reaching capacity in some states. I cry watching the news, wishing I could magically make everything ok. And I have periods where I just don’t want to do anything. My husband is going back to work tomorrow, and I am really sad about this. I will miss him being home and I worry about him being in a place where the risk goes up. So I turn to my crafting to take my mind off of things. So, what exactly have I been up to?

First, I want to talk about a product that I purchased on-line a month or so ago from a yarn shop. I saw this product last summer at a fiber fest, but chose to spend my money on yarn at the time. But it has been in the back of my mind as a great organizational piece. How do you store your circular needles? This is what I decided to use:

Sorry about the poor photo. It was the best I could get while it was empty. It is hand made by Wonderfully Made and I thought it was a great idea. So as soon as it arrived, I started pulling my needles out of their original packages and threading them onto the holder.

Now I am not so sure. Now I will have to put the needles in a needle gauge to find the size I want (which was included with this holder) and will have to measure to see how long they are. And I always forget if I am supposed to measure from tip to tip or just the cable. I think it was easier to flip through the packages in my accordion needle holder to find what I wanted. It looks nice and I love the concept. Maybe in time I will forget all of the packages. What do you think?

In my last post, I forgot to post my May project bag. It took 19 days to get to me by mail and from a driving distance of about 20 minutes. It really took the scenic route.

This is the front. I love the pink and yellow watercolor top of this one. And the striped border looks awesome with the Spring colors.

Here is the back. Just look at all of those pink boots! So fun and totally a surprise. And since then, I have received the June bag. It arrived in record time, getting to me in a day.

I was over the moon when I received this one. It is now my favorite 😉

And here is the back. SO SWEET! Kristine knows me well. And she does an awesome job with all of her project bags. Different shapes and styles for everything you want to store. She is Clevergirl Designs and you can find her on intsagram. Oh, and this bag is already filled with a project gifted to me from a very sweet friend.

I can’t wait to start stitching this beauty. I still need to find a fabric. So for now, I am still stitching on Lady Mirabilia and here is how she looks this morning.

She is getting there. She has been a joy to stitch and I find myself relaxing while stitching on her. Unlike my knitting project…

I pulled out the Wingspan yesterday and knitted 3 rows and was so done. This pattern is not hard, just requires my complete attention and I feel like I hold my breath and really tense up during every row. Ugh! But it is my only knitting project on needles right now and I really would love to get it finished. A few rows every day 😉 So far, I am very proud of myself that I have not started anything new. Still trying to get WIP’s finished.

I spent last weekend getting some of this and that done. And I crossed 2 bigger projects off of my to do list. I finally redid all of my cross stitch files. They were still mostly in boxes from when we remodeled the basement. They all wouldn’t fit in the 2 filing drawers I had planned, so they went into the old file cabinet and with a few more files added.

It took 2 1/2 drawers, but they are like I want them. And all patterns are filed. Woo Hoo!

I also reorganized most of my yarn. I put a lot of it in the 2 file drawers that would not hold all of my cross stitch files. the top drawer is all AJHC Wools yarn. Just love her yarn. The 2nd drawer is mostly 2 skein project yarns. It will be fun to rummage through the drawers when I want to start a new project.

My ottoman is also home to some pretty yarn, Mostly one skeiners.

So that is what I have been up to. Trying to keep myself a little busy and away from the tv, except to watch Vampire Diaries. How are you spending your time these days?

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitting · Mermaids · Project Bags · Uncategorized · yarn

Shelter In Place and Craft

April 25, 2020 My Time Stitching20 Comments

Wow! It has been over a month since my last post. So much has happened in the world since then. Just 2 days after my last post, we decided to shelter in place. Hubby’s work suggested that people who can work from home, do so. The next week our state issued a stay at home order. Today is day 42. Home is my happy place, but I can’t say that it has been totally easy. There are some days that just get away from me without getting much done. I have so many things to do that sometimes I don’t know what to do and I do nothing. But I am trying to get something done everyday. Today, is my blog post 🙂 So I have pulled my pictures to share with you what I have been up to this last month. I actually have a couple of finishes! First, remember the black and white photo I shared of a project I had started last month?

Well, it is a baby blanket. The yarn is AJHC Wools in color Aether. It is so gorgeous and I knew it was the perfect color for a friend who was expecting a little boy.

The pattern is Simple Eyelet Baby Blanket by LeeLee Knits and is available on Ravelry. I really enjoyed working on this blanket. The pattern was nice and simple, but elegant looking.

Sadly, my friend lost her baby. My heart aches for her and her husband. I cannot even imagine what they are going through. I finished the blanket. It still needs to be blocked. Then I will tuck it away for now.

I also finished Aquamarina this last week and she turned out so beautiful and sparkly!

I am thrilled with how she turned out. She is my first Bella Filipina finish and I can honestly say she will not be my last. The fabric is 16ct Aida, a one of a kind from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics and is really is the perfect fabric for her.

So far I have not pulled another cross stitch out to work on, but I am really itching to. Instead, I have been knitting in the evenings on a cowl project I had started last September. The Wilma Cowl.

It is a project I picked up last September during a Shop Hop. The pattern is from a book and the yarn is Heritage from Cascade Yarns in colorway #502. It is supposed to have chevron pattern all around, but they really are not showing up well in this yarn, even though it is the yarn called for. When I stretch it I can see it somewhat, but for the most part it just looks like random knitting. The yarn is soft and the color is perfect for fall, so I will continue on with it in between working on this project:

Yeah, it is the Wingspan. And if I wasn’t turning gray from the Corona Virus, I would be from this project. I pulled it out and put in my second lifeline right away. Knitted 4 or 5 rows and had to rip back to the lifeline. Picked up the stitches and knit the rows back in. Now I am up to Section D, another transition section. So I add another lifeline. I hold my breath the entire row and UGH! I have 2 stitches left over. So I rip out to the lifeline and boy were they a bear to pick back up this time! Finally got them back on the needle and knitted the row again. Perfect. Thank heavens for Lifelines. But for now, the project is in a time out! I wanted to knit a couple of rows everyday so I can get this finished, but it is too stressful some days. So I will wait until later this week to take it out of time out. I thought I had been working on this project for 2 years, but turns out that I started in June 2019, so it hasn’t even been a year. Just maybe I can get it done before the year is up 😉 But then again…maybe not. There is a newproject start in my near future! More about that in a minute…

I have also pulled out my sewing machine and have been making masks for family and friends. I made 25 until I ran out of elastic. I received a small shipment of elastic on Thursday, so I need to get back to sewing to fill some more orders I have received. I will sew again until I run out of elastic and wait for my original shipment to arrive, hopefully soon. It is a little something I can do to help out during this pandemic.

Since I last posted, I have received my March and April project bags from CleverGirl Designs. They are so cute!

I love the knitting on the March bag on the left. And the April bag has such cheery colors!

This is the back side of both bags. March on the left with little kitties to go with the yarn balls. Fun, vintage typewriters on the back of the April bag. I love them both and have yet to fill them with a future cross stitch project. But don’t worry. I have a gazillion projects to choose from 😉 They won’t be empty for too long. I have really enjoyed getting these happy mail packages every month, especially now during stay at home.

So, this leads me to the very near future project I mentioned earlier. If you are a knitter, you probably have heard about Casapinka’s new shawl pattern that is out this weekend. This weekend was supposed to be National LYS day and she designed a pattern for the shops to give for FREE when purchasing the yarn for the shawl. This is the Breathe and Hope shawl:

I fell in love with this as soon as I saw it in my email!! I love the colors and the pattern. She is not telling us the yarn used, so that we can shop at the yarn shops. I do hope that someday she reveals the yarn used, as it definitely deserves recognition. The day before this photo arrived in my email, I had purchased a special bag and matching yarn from Tippy Tree Yarns. The spring bag made by Knit 2 Together, has a matching skein of yarn dyed by Tippy Tree Yarns. I contacted her after receiving the email from Casapinka asking if she had a solid color to match the yarn. She did and I ordered it and it should arrive this week. It is a dark coral and I think it will be perfect with the yarn I just received yesterday.

I am so excited for a new start this week. I know I shouldn’t, but the Breathe and Hope shawl is perfect for this situation we are all in.

So, that is what I have been up to. How are you spending your days while sheltering in place? Do you have any new projects started? Finish anything during our quarantine? I’d love to hear about it! And as always, be safe and stay healthy.

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitting · Mermaids · Nora Corbett · Project Bags

Craft and Stay Calm

March 12, 2020 My Time Stitching19 Comments

Hello my blogging friends. With the Corona Virus news everywhere, it is hard to not wonder and worry. So I craft and try not to think about it too much. I do hope that you are safe and healthy where you are.

I have gotten out of the habit of getting on my computer and checking my mail and blogs on a daily basis and I do miss it. Can you believe that it is already about mid March? The year is flying by so quickly. One thing I am glad of is that Spring will be here soon. We have been flirting with 40’s and 50’s, but I am looking forward to the grass turning green, trees and shrubs budding and flowers breaking through the softening soil.

So, what have I been up to? Well, I finished the Rainbow of Hope Advent shawl.

It still needs blocking, but it is finished. It is so beautiful. AJ Wools did an awesome job with this Advent shawl. I am proud of myself for keeping up with it and finishing it on February 2. Another finish for 2020 😉

Remember the Travel shawl I was working on? I finally finished that one, too!

I used the Rainbow Shawl pattern from Katia, but I am not as thrilled with this one. I had trouble trying to figure out how to wear it. Lots of fabric at the back of my neck which I don’t like. But I love the colors and it is so soft. I used Knit One, Crochet Two Kettle Tweed in color Winter Blossom. I started this project in October 2018 and finished it March 1, 2020. So happy to have this one off of my needles.

I picked up a framing from the framer on February 15. Here is Wherefore Art Thou by Nora Corbett.

She turned out so beautifully! While this piece is not one of my very favorites that I have stitched, she is one of my favorite framings. Because of the large bead in the middle, it had to be framed almost like a shadow box. Juanita from Way Cool Mats did an awesome job, as usual. I just love it so much. I did find out a few days later that Juanita will be retiring from framing in May. I have no idea where I will take my stitchings to be framed in the future. She has framed just about all of my pieces for the last 25 years. I wish her well, but I will sure miss her.

That brings us to my current projects. I pulled out Aquamarina on January 17 and have been working on her as much as I can. I am stitching on 16ct Aida one of a kind fabric from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

I have been loving stitching on her. Her tail is massive and I didn’t think I would ever get through it. But I did, and here is where I am at with her today.

Her colors are much brighter than my photo. Not sure why they look like that. The photo on my camera is much brighter. Anway, I am hoping to finish her in time to get her to the framer before she retires. I would love for this one to be framed by her.

I am also working on a new knitting project. I know, I am on a stash diet. But I have a good reason for buying this yarn and starting this project. It is a baby blanket for someone special. And since she may just see this post, I have to turn it black and white. But believe me, the yarn is gorgeous!! It is from AJHC Wools and it is not your traditional baby color 😉

I will show more of this one later.

I received my February Project Bag and it is so pretty and already filled with a future project.

I think this is my favorite bag so far. It is pink 😉 And here is the back.

I am anxiously awaiting my March bag which I am sure will arrive any day now. I will be sure to share in my next post.

So…that is what I have been up to. And what I am doing to take my mind off of what it is out there in the world. What are you doing to keep yourself busy?

Category: Bella Filipina Designs

Finish One, Start Another and My Blogaversary

Like this:

Sunday Stitching

Like this:

Holly Berry Pixie

Like this:

Cross Stitching Chaos

Like this:

Last Finish of 2021

Like this:

Stitching, Knitting and Shopping

Like this:

A Mermaid and A Shawl

Like this:

Still At Home, Still Crafting

Like this:

Shelter In Place and Craft

Like this:

Craft and Stay Calm

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: