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.
Pearl of the Orient Seas
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.
Pearl of the Orient Seas finished
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.
Hello blogging friends. Well, we are one week into the new year and I hope that it is going well for you. My days have been a little bit of this, a little bit of that, more time wasting and less cleaning. My Christmas decorations are still up. Very unusual for me, as I prefer to have it all down before the new year. So it seems I am procrastinating. Oh well.
In December I participated in a cross stitch SAL (stitch a long) with a designer I had not stitched before. I had seen a post of a beautiful blue fabric that Fabrics by Stephanie was dying for the Hands On Design SAL. So I had to check it out. It was for a Cookie Exchange. It was only going to be 3 sections from December 1 – December 5. I was sure I could squeeze it in. So I ordered the SAL from Hands On Design. I ordered the fabric from Fabrics By Stephanie. I ordered the red cookie board from Homestead Needleworke and the trims from Lady Dot Creates. Everything arrived in time to start on Dec 1.
Cookie Exchange Ingredients
I loved how the designer referred to the fabric, trims, board and floss as the “ingredients” for the Cookie Exchange. And the businesses as “the Bakers”. It really is a cute concept. So I was all ready to go. On December 1st I downloaded section 1 and went straight to stitching.
Section one completed
Section one was completed rather quickly. I love what looks to be strands of Baker’s Twine between the cookie cutters. At this point I was really curious as to what the rest of the piece would look like.
Section 2 completed
In section 2 I added the table and some holly. One more section to go to complete the scene.
Section 3 completed
How cute does that table of goodies look? I love the cookies under the cloche. And that jar of candy canes is adorable! So now that all of the stitching was done, it was time to do the finishing. And like with the snowman ornaments, it sat, waiting for me to cut it and finish it. I finally did just decide to gather the things I needed and sit down and do the finishes. I finished this one along with the snowman ornaments.
Cookie Exchange Finish
I think it turned out rather cute! I even had the perfect little cookie cutter in my kitchen cupboard that I just had to add. The gorgeous fabric is 16ct aida Vintage Tiffany and is so perfect for this piece.
I will enjoy adding this to my Christmas decorating every year. And I tried a new designer that I was quite happy with. Her designs appear to be quick and sweet and I think there may be a few more in my future.
Have you recently tried something from a designer that you haven’t used before?
Hello Bloggers! So before the holidays, I decided I wanted to make a few cross stitch ornaments. I had only made one ornament back in 2014. You can read about that post here. I had done 2 other flat fold finishes back in 2015 and you can read about those here. I can tell you it can be very nerve racking for me to cut my finished cross stitch, but I decided I wanted to make more ornaments or finishes other than getting pieces framed. I had already purchased extra fabric back in 2014 to make several snowman ornaments, so that is where I started. I had 2 special friends I wanted to make an ornament for so I started there. I did the stitching on both and then they sat. I was so afraid to do the finishing because I was afraid I would mess them up. So I kept putting it off. But then one day I just decided to do it.
Snowmen Love ornament
I actually made 2 of these snowmen ornaments. The pattern is Snow Love from Country Cottage Needleworks. I stitched them on 16ct Aida Dirty. I used white acrylic paint and a toothpick to add the snow after I finished the stitching. The other ornament had a different ribbon and trim. I was so excited to finally get them finished that I quickly packaged the one up for mailing before I realized I didn’t get a photo. So I snapped this one right before wrapping it up and packaging it up. The recipients received them and loved them and I was so happy to get them made. They are the only 2 ornaments I did in 2021. But I have plans for several others for 2022. I should probably get started on them now, LOL. I did make one more flat fold finish item that I will share in my next post.
So what kind of finishes have you done with your cross stitch, other than a framing?
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.
Pearl’s Tail
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.
Progress on Pearl
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.
Marit shawl
I am actually on the decrease tier now and making half triangles for the top edge.
Almost finished!
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 😉
Shop Hop Haul
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?
Front of the Gnomie bag
Oh my gosh! It’s Gnomies!! so stinking cute! I LOVE it! And here is the back;
Cute Gnomes project bag (back)
My December bag was just as awesome.
Mermaid bag and Floss Catcher
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!
Mermaid set
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.
Bins of 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
Another bin full of projects
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?
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.
Marit Shawl
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.
Lovely colors
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.
Second Start
So on Tuesday I re-started the shawl. My squares are definitely bigger and it is going faster this time around.
Marit Progress
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.
Start on Pearl in August 2019
This is what she looked like when I picked her up in October.
Pearl
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.
Pearl
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.
Pearl, Of the Orient Seas
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?
Hello friends! Today was a lazy day and I didn’t get much done. It looks cold and gloomy outside, maybe that explains my mood today. Anyway, I promised a photo of my finished 20 Year Celebration piece.
20 Year Celebration
Please excuse the wrinkles. It was on the scrolls for a long time. I can’t tell you how happy I am to finish this piece. It is so beautiful in person. I love the Round Robin feel to it. A little bit of 12 different designs by Passione Ricamo. I am still looking for a framer, but this piece definitely has to be framed. Another one out of the WIP pile!! I stitched this on 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky from Fabrics By Stephanie.
While I was finishing up the Jolie shawl, a local yarn dyer, AJHC Wools, posted a picture of her yarns in a pink to black fade that I absolutely fell in love with! So I checked my stash and ordered what I needed to make the Grevillea Shawl by Ambah O’Brien. Here are the yarns in all of their gloriousness:
AJHC Wools Yarns
Isn’t it just fabulous? I couldn’t wait to get started on it.
Grevillea Shawl startMy Progress
With every repeat of this pattern, I fell more and more in love. The pink section was so long. I was so happy to have added my first mini skein, Blizzard. And did you happen to see that adorable progress marker? A Starbucks coffee cup from my Best Stitchy Friend ❤
Pink fade!
The colors are looking so awesome together! Four out of 10 so far!
Grevillea Shawl
Almost finished! Just one more mini skein to go!
The knitting is finished!
I am so in love with this shawl! I love the long section of the light pink and the fade is so perfect! Just the blocking left to do. This shawl is the perfect example why blocking is necessary. The pattern is so blocky and lumpy. Here is a close-up.
Close up of Grevillea shawl
The pattern is broken up into puffy squares and the lace pattern is barely visible. Blocking allows the fabric to lay flat and opens up the lace pattern. And here is the finished shawl, which I have already worn and LOVE it!
See how that lace opened up and the pattern isn’t puffy anymore. Love how this one turned out. Again, the pattern is the Grevillea Shawl by Ambah O’brien. Yarn is from AJHC Wools.
So that is it for my finishes from over the summer. Stop back again soon to see what is on my knitting needles and what I am cross stitching now. What are you stitching?
This summer has been such a rainy summer so far. It is raining again today. Rainy days are perfect for being inside and crafting or snuggling up with a soft blanket and a good book. I usually spend mine crafting or cleaning. Today I did a little knitting and a little cross stitching. I will show you what I am cross stitching on, but first let me show you what I finished last week.
Dark Queen of the Seas
Well, she is not actually finished, but I finished section 11 and am now caught up. The 12th and final section will come out August 1. I am assuming it will be backstitching and beading. I did skip 2 elements; her crown and the corner ornaments. I am for sure leaving off the corner elements. I haven’t fully decided about the crown, but I am leaning towards leaving it off also. II think she looks fine the way she is. The fabric is 16ct Aida Iris and is actually purple and blue, but with all of the rainy days, I haven’t been able to get a good photo. Hopefully the next time I photograph her, I will capture her true colors. So now what am I cross stitching on?
20 Year Celebration
I have pulled out the 20 Year Celebration from Passione Ricamo. I have the block I am working on to finish, and below this row, there is another row of 4 blocks to do. And then beading on all of the blocks. This is such a fabulous design and I will be so thrilled to finish it. The fabric is 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky. So perfect for all of the fairies.
Jolie
Here is my progress on Jolie. It is a relaxing knit and the yarn is so nice to work with.
Jolie Sparkle
Can you see the sparkle? The yarn band says it is Gold Stellina, but it is clearly silver (which I prefer). I love it! This is going to be a light and airy shawl, so delicate. Yarn is from Britty Rae Knits.
So that is what I have been up to on this rainy day today. What do you like to do on rainy days?
Hello my blogging friends! We are over halfway through June already! The days are just flying by. The last 2 months we have had some work done in our back yard, so maybe that is why the days have gone by so quickly. But I am still filling my days with crafting. In fact, I have 2 finishes this month so far. On June 1, I finished Mermaid Perfume! Yay!
Mermaid Perfume
Please excuse the wrinkles. I was just so excited to finish her and get her photographed on a beautiful sunny day. Sadly, I still have not ironed her. But, having her on the Qsnaps for beading did help pull the fabric and she does not pucker in the middle anymore. That makes me very happy.
Sweet, sweet mermaid
I am really pleased with how she turned out. Again, she is Mermaid Perfume from Mirabilia. I stitched her on 16ct Aida Hidden Cove from Sunny Dyes Fabrics. I am still searching for a framer, so it may be some time before I can get her framed.
My other finish is only a partial finish, but a finish in my book.
Merfolk Fade Shawl
Yep, on June 3 I finished this beautiful shawl. I still need to block it and weave in the ends. The table I use for blocking has been covered with all of my cross stitch fabrics for reorganization. And now it is covered with a very large Diamond Dotz I have been working on. So, I hope to get that table cleaned off and get this shawl blocked soon so I can really call it a finish. This shawl was a joy to knit. The pattern was easy to follow and the yarns wonderful. The stats on this one: Merfolk Fade Shawl by Jennifer Owens. The yarn is from Cape May Fiber Co. all in DK weight. Colors are Nessie, Mermaid Mane and Sea Swords.
So right now I have nothing on my knitting needles, but I am going to remedy that soon. And as for cross stitching, I have picked up The Dark Queen of the Seas and am trying to catch up before the next section comes out on July 1. I neglected her while working on Mermaid Perfume exclusively for 14 1/2 weeks. Here is where I was when I picked her up a couple of weeks ago.
Dark Queen of The Seas
And here is where I am now:
Dark Queen Progress
I am working on section 9 at the moment and still have section 10 to do before section 11 comes out on July 1. There are a couple of sections I have decided to leave off; the crown and coral on her head and the top left and right corner ornaments. I like the way she looks without those things. And she is definitely not a mermaid. While I am disappointed in that, I do like her. And I love her face. So, again, she is the Dark Queen of the Seas Mystery SAL from Autumn Lane Stitchery. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Iris from Fabrics by Stephanie.
So that is what I have been up to. Join me next time for some organization updates 🙂 What have you been up to?
A few months ago, I decided I was at the end of my rope with scroll frames. They don’t keep my fabric tight, the screws get stripped and it is just frustrating. I am not a fan of Qsnaps, as they are awkward to hold. So I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then a friend told me about Edmunds Handi Clamps. So I found a set on Amazon and ordered away. When they arrived, I couldn’t wait to put my fabric for Mermaid Perfume on them and get started stitching.
Basically it has rods like scroll rods, but there is no slit in the rods. Instead, a clamp is used to secure the fabric like Qsnaps. I have always read about using felt under the clamp so that the fabric doesn’t get ruined. So, I laid the fabric on the rod, placed a length of felt on top and then added the clamp. I did the same for the other side. Wow! My fabric is taut! And they were easy to unroll and re-tighten. I am in heaven again! Then yesterday I beaded as much as I could in the open area, so it was time to remove the fabric from the scroll frame. And this is what my fabric looked like.
Puckered fabric
Oh no! The fabric is puckered where the stitched area is. I tried laying it out and pulling the ends, but it will not lay flat. What did I do wrong? Do I even want to bead it now? Has anyone else had this happen? I couldn’t find anything in the Facebook groups. So I went back to the package that the scroll rods came in and reread the directions. It does not say to use a piece of felt under the clamp. Ok, I did that on my own. I didn’t want the clamp to ruin the fabric. It does say to clamp the fabric and then to place a piece of batting, 4″ wide and the length of the rod, before rolling the scroll to reduce getting creases in the fabric. I did have a few creases in the ends, but the puckering is what I am worried about. So after some stressing and freaking out, I began to think about what I did wrong. The only thing I can come up with is that my piece of felt was shorter than the length of the rod. Basically it covered the middle, the design area. And since I worked on the project exclusively, I never loosened the scrolls when I was not working on it. So, I put the fabric onto my large Qsnap so I can continue beading.
Beading has begun
I was able to get her tight and flat on the Qsnap. I do hope that when I take her off, she will no longer be puckered. She is so beautiful and I LOVE her on the fabric I chose. I waited so long to see all of her on the fabric. So fingers crossed I have not ruined it. The next project that I put onto these scrolls, will have a piece of batting, the full length of the rod and hopefully that will be perfect. Has anyone had their fabric pucker on their scroll frame? If so, how did you fix the issue?
For the last 12 weeks I have been stitching mostly on one project. That project is Mermaid Perfume by Mirabilia. In one of my previous posts, I was working on her tail.
Mermaid Perfume
Since then I have finished that massive tail. So much green!
Mermaid Tail
Just look at that tail!!! I love it! And I am so happy to be finished with all of that green! And then, in no time, she had a face and some hair.
Sweet face
How sweet is her face? It was so nice to finally get to some other colors besides green. And last night I finished all of the cross stitching. So just back stitching and beads left to do.
Mermaid Perfume
I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Hidden Cove by Sunny Dyes Fabrics/Youthful Needle Crafts. I cannot wait to unroll the scrolls and see all of her on this beautiful hand painted fabric. The suspense is killing me! When I saw this fabric in the Design and Fabric Viewer, I knew it was going to be perfect for a mermaid. What? You haven’t heard of the Design and Fabric Viewer? This is a site where you can pair certain designer patterns onto certain fabrics listed in the viewer. It is a great resource for cross stitcher’s to see what a particular design will look like on a certain fabric. If you haven’t played in the Viewer, you definitely should give it a try. You have to create an account before starting, and you can save up to 3 images for FREE. Subscribing to the site will allow you to save more images and it also gives you the option to save your personal fabrics onto your account so you can pair images on the fabrics you have in your stash. Give it a try! And if you haven’t tried it in quite some time, it has changed so you’ll want to see what it looks like now. Go, try it out!
So that is what I have been stitching on. I am excited to get to the beading on Mermaid Perfume. Hopefully soon, I will have a finish to share with you. What are you stitching on today?
My Time Stitching 