Catching Up On What I Have Been Stitching

August 16, 2024 My Time Stitching7 Comments

Hello Blogging Friends! So I feel like I am getting a handle on things and thought I would catch you up on what I have been stitching the last few months. Back in March, I made a very small preorder from the long list of wonderful things that came out at the Nashville Market.

Yep, that is all I ordered and it arrived pretty quickly. And I started one of the projects right away!

I was so anxious to start this project even on 30ct linen! I was also on the hunt for the box that she was finished in. The pattern stated it was purchased at Hobby Lobby, but my local Hobby Lobby had never seen it before. I did end up finding someone on Poshmark that was selling it. I was so excited to have found it and it arrived in perfect condition.

It only took me a week to stitch this and stitching on 30ct linen wasn’t too bad. I wouldn’t do it all the time, but for a smaller project like this I would do it again. The pattern is Keeper of Secrets and the fabric is Underwater 30ct linen; both by The Primitive Hare. The Underwater design is printed on the fabric and I believe it was made for this pattern. I really enjoyed stitching this.

I used all of the called for threads and stitched 2 over 2.

I wish I had stitched her more to the left instead of in the middle of the fabric so more of the fabric background would show in the finished piece.

The framer did a very nice job and I am really happy with how it turned out. I don’t have anything in the box yet, but one day it will be filled with some “special secrets”.

I then pulled out the Rainbow Dice piece and stitched on it as much as I could, trying to get it finished.

I was able to get it finished in time for my son’s birthday.

He loves it and is going to try to find a frame he likes and I will get it framed for him. The pattern is from Rack & Pinion on Etsy and the fabric is 16ct Aida Everything Else from Mystic Fabrics.

This next project has been in my stash for a very long, long time. I am talking like 20 years maybe. I purchased it to make for a long time friend, and somehow it got buried in a bin. Her birthday was coming up, so I decided to get it done in time to send it for her birthday.

It was a pretty quick, tiny stitch. I stitched it on 28ct Lugana white 1 over 1. Then I had to fully finish it. That took me about a week so sit down and get to fully finishing it. It is so hard for me to cut into a finished cross stitch. I am always afraid I am going to ruin it. Anyone else feel like that? Anyway, I had put the project on hold for long enough. I needed to get it finished and in the mail to the recipient, so I was finally on a mission.

I think the top of the that wooden box was about 2″ square. So tiny! I finished the stitched piece the best that I could and glued it on top of the box. I have not done very many finishes myself. But I think it turned out pretty good.

I tucked in a pair of earrings in her favorite color.

It has been sent and was received in time for her birthday and she was happy ❤

For my current stitching, I am all caught up with the Fox & Rabbit Mystery SAL, Faith Hope Love.

I can’t believe that this one is over half finished. Just a few more months left to this one. I am stitching it on 18ct Aida white. The blue floss is Mermaid from Forbidden Fiber Co. and the other colors are DMC. I can’t recall the numbers, but if you want to know what they are you can leave a comment or look back at a previous post.

And the last project I will leave you with today is The Deadly Aquarium by Lola Crow Cross Stitch.

I finished Exhibit 10 this week and exhibit 11 comes out today. I am looking forward to seeing what that is and stitching it up. Just 2 more exhibits left after today. I cannot believe this one will be over in just a couple more weeks. The time sure did fly by. I am stitching this one on 16ct Beanstalk from Fiber on a Whim. The fabric is actually a beautiful darker blue, but I have not been able to photograph the true color at all.

So, that is a good chunk of what I have been up to this summer. I do have a few knitting projects to share and a few more cross stitch projects as well as a storage update. They will have to wait for my next post. This one is already a bit long. So, what have you been up to? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear what project you are working on.

Happy Stitching!

ginny

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fox and Rabbit · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long

Happy Leap Year, No New Start

February 29, 2024 My Time Stitching7 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! Happy Leap Year! We are finally to the end of February. People say that January is the longest month, but I think that January flew by so fast. February, on the other hand, has been so slow going. Maybe it’s because I injured myself and spent a lot of time inside and not doing much other than sitting and getting up to walk every hour. I am much better now, so we won’t dwell on the stupid thing I did to cause myself so much pain. I did get quite a bit of cross stitch and knitting done, so let me get into what I have been stitching.

First up, I finished the Pocohontas section on my Epic Storybook Princesses piece.

That piece was my birthday start in January and once I finished the Pocohontas section at the beginning of February, I put it away for now. It is so cute though and I will enjoy stitching on the next movie characters when I get back to it. The pattern is from Cloudsfactory and I am stitching on 16ct Aida Aeriel’s Grotts from Fabrics by Stephanie.

The next piece I picked up was the 2024 MSAL from Fox & Rabbit, Faith Hope Love. This is a FREE SAL so if you want to jump in you can. Once I figured out my color placements, I stitched this section up pretty quickly.

We have our first word and I am assuming Hope and Love will be added in future sections. The 2 motifs on the bottom right were also added. Fabric is 18ct Aida White. So far I am happy with this Quaker looking piece. I do believe it is my first Quaker piece. I do have 1 other Quaker piece that I want to stitch up and hopefully it will be my first finished Quaker piece. It has a mermaid in it 😉

Next up I pulled out the Mermaids of the Seasons Piece from Bella Filipina Designs. I had finished stitching the Spring and Summer mermaids previously. So I stitched on the Autumn Mermaid.

Then I stitched on the Winter Mermaid.

I finished all of the stitching and backstitching and then it was time to bead! Yay!

I loved working on these mermaids and they turned out so sparkly and beautiful. Again, the pattern is from Bella Filipina Designs. It was a SAL from September – December 2023. Not sure if it is available to purchase now or not. The fabric I stitched on is 16ct Aida Adventurous Alice from Those Missing Stitches on Etsy.

My current piece that I pulled out to add some stitches to is Rainbow Dice by Rack and Pinion on Etsy.

I am not a big fan of blocks of color, but I am pushing through, LOL. This piece was requested by my oldest son and when a child asks for a cross stitch, I will do it. I am pretty sure that I can get it finished in a month’s time. I think there are 27 more dice to do and if I stitch one every day, I can get it finished by the end of March. I started this March 21, 2023, so I would love for it to be finished in March of this year. I am stitching this one on 16ct Aida Everything Else from Mystic Fabrics.

So that is what I have been cross stitching. I have a new knitting project that I will talk about next time, but no new start for Leap Year. I thought about it. Some people on Flosstube are starting a Long Dog Sampler today and shooting to finish before the next Leap Year. I thought about doing a that. I also thought about starting my first Modern Folk Embroidery piece, “No Time Like the Present”. But my thread choices fell through and I just didn’t bother trying to come up with new colors. Then I thought about joining others in starting a new Mirabilia. I have so so many I want to do. But I already have 4 Mirabilia’s started. And I am still working on getting through all of my WIP’s, so I am ok with not having a new start today.

This weekend is the Nashville Needlework Market, so a lot of shops are closed and designers and dyers are either already there or are on their way. I have usually only preordered a couple of things over the years. Most of the designs are not my thing, though my tastes have changed a little and I have been looking more at samplers and Quakers and a tiny bit of the primitive designs. This year I preordered 4 things; 3 items are from Fox & Rabbit and 1 is from Autumn Lane Stitchery. Fingers crossed that my chosen shop is able to grab them for me this weekend. There are some other patterns that are on my wish list and I hope to be able to pick them up throughout the year. Did you preorder any items? Do you have a wish list? I’d love to hear what you are looking forward to getting from the Nashville Market and what you are currently stitching on.

Happy Stitching!

ginny

Country Cottage Needleworks · cross stitch · Fabric · Floss · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mystery Stitch A Long

A Finish, New SAL and A Birthday Start

January 31, 2024 My Time Stitching15 Comments

Hello blogging friends! I hope the new year is treating you well. It is hard to believe that today is the last day of January. It was a busy month for me and I am glad I have found some time to get one last post in before the month ends.

So, what have I been up to? Well, I have a finish.

I finished the last of the shops on my Beach Boardwalk series. This piece was so fun to stitch and I am very happy that I stitched all of the shops together. They look so sweet all in a row. The patterns are from Country Cottage Needleworks and are available to purchase in stores and online. The fabric I used is 16ct Aida in Friendship Greene from Fabrics By Steph. Now I will be on the lookout for the perfect way to finish this piece.

Since I finished the 2022 Mystery Stitch A Long from Fox and Rabbit at the end of December, I knew I wanted to start the 2024 SAL. I had already decided I would use white fabric and a slightly variegated thread I had ordered online. Since it is possible that this may be the last SAL from Fox & Rabbit, I thought it would be fun to play with colors on this one, but I needed to see the first section on January 1. That first week of January I went through many color changes, stitching and frogging.

The name of this SAL is Faith Hope Love and my main color thread is the blue thread from Forbidden Fiber Co. called Mermaid (of course 😉 ) I also knew I wanted pink and gray, but what shades? After a few days of playing with threads and colors, I finally landed on my pallette.

The blue thread has some light variegation and that will be my main color. This will be my first time using multiple colors of my own choosing. Fingers crossed they will play well together. My fabric is 18ct Aida White. Yes, that is correct. I am using 18ct aida. Mainly because my local Michaels store was out of 16ct in a large enough piece. And I was impatient. So, here is my start.

I am happy with the look of this January section. The February section came out today, and I think I will be spending a quite a bit of time trying to figure out my coloring.

Last week was my birthday and it was a big one; 60! I can’t believe I am 60. My husband made my day special with lots of surprises. He even had the local bakery make me the beautiful cake that is in my header above. A big birthday deserves a big new start. I have been wanting to stitch the Epic Storybook Princesses from Cloudsfactory for several years now. So when the pattern went on sale last summer, I did not hesitate to purchase it and decided it would be my Birthday start in 2024.

This is such and amazing pattern! I just love it so much! Mine will be set up like the picture above. I am happy my favorite princess is at center bottom. I also purchased the Raya pattern for the empty space on the bottom left. I am not sure what I will be putting in the bottom right as of yet. I am thinking about Encanto. While the main character in that movie, Mirabel, is not a “princess”, she is the one that saves her family. But we will see. Another princess or 2 may come out in the next however many years it will take me to stitch this piece.

Figuring out how to wrangle this very large piece of fabric has been a bit of an issue, but so far I have managed. My fabric is 16ct Aida Ariel’s Grotto from Fabrics By Steph. The size of my fabric is 50 x 36! Wow. Definitely the largest piece I have ever worked on. Here is my progress after a week of stitching on it.

I started in the center with the Pocohontas section. These little characters are so cute! So far I have made 2 changes. The blue swirls have been changed to a lighter blue as the called for blended into the fabric. I may have to use the substituted color throughout the piece as it is used a lot as in Cinderella’s dress, the Genie’s face and other places. I also took out the light green strands of the Willow tree because I just couldn’t see them. I decided to stitch them all in the daker green. I will probably finish out the Pocohontas section before putting it away to stitch on the 2024 SAL.

I also finished my Minka top, knitting those sleeve edges and blocked it. I can’t say that I am 100% happy with it. I wish I had made it longer. We’ll see how I like it this summer. I also blocked my Impulse Buy shawl and have worn it several times and love it! It is so soft and squishy and keeps me warm.

So that is what I have been up to during the month of January, that is just about over already. I can’t wait to see what I get into during February. How did you spend your January? Did you start something new? Finish something? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Happy Stitching,

ginny

Bella Filipina Designs · Country Cottage Needleworks · cross stitch · Fabric · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mystery Stitch A Long · Pixie · Sampler · yarn

Good Bye 2023, Hello 2024

January 1, 2024 My Time Stitching8 Comments

Happy New Year, my blogging friends! I hope that you have had a wonderful Holiday season and that your new year will be everything you hope it will be.

The last couple of months have been very busy for me and they really went by so fast I could hardly keep up. I have been stitching and decorating and my Christmas was such a joy. All of the kids were here and we started new traditions, pulled in some old traditions and made lots of wonderful memories. So what have I been stitching on?

Well, most of my time has been spent on stitching on 1 project. I am still trying to get all of my WIPs finished (that is the ultimate goal ;) Around mid November I pulled out my 2022 MSAL, Changing Seasons from Fox and Rabbit. When the final section came out on the 1st of December 2022, it was the outside border section. I worked on the top border that month and it took me so long to get through it. I knew I wouldn’t finish it before the end of that month, so I put it away. Because I didn’t finish it, I didn’t think it would be wise to start the 2023 SAL. But when Foxx & Rabbit put out that 2024 would probably be their last SAL, I knew I wanted to participate. But first I needed to finish the 2022 SAL. So this is what it looked like when I pulled it out.

Oh the colors in this are so beautiful and rich and regal! I couldn’t wait to start stitching with DMC 115 again. And so I stitched and stitched. Stitching 4-6 hours a day, hoping to finish it before the end of the year.

So much stitching, but I enjoyed every stitch I put in, and took out. I did have to frog a section that took me 2 days to rip out. Ugh. But then I was back on track and paying close attention to where each motif was; counting from every angle.

In between decorating, shopping, wrapping, house stuff and everything else, I finally made it across the bottom border. I only had the left border to do! I was so excited to see this piece coming to a finish. And late on December 27th, I put in my last stitch!

Wow! I LOVE it! I will not lie…that border was massive! But it is finished. I do still have to add my initials and the date. And there are 2 very tiny blue dots on the piece that I have to try to clean. One on the front and one on the back. The only thing I can think that they are from, is Blue Slurpee! You know, sometimes when you drink from a straw and let go, a little drop can be flung from it? That is the only thing I can think of. It is funny that the spot on the front didn’t go through to the back and the spot on the back didn’t go through onto the front. Anyway, I will have to figure out how to clean the spots. The fabric is a hand dyed so I don’t want to wash it. We’ll see how it goes. But it is finished for the most part and I am free to start the 2024 SAL. I am still deciding on fabric for that one, though I will probably use 18ct aida (first for me) in white. It is what I have in stock and that is large enough as it will use a little bit more that a fat quarter. More about that when I get a start on it. Anyway, the above sampler was stitched with DMC 115. I also used a darker burgundy for outlining the letters, but I don’t have the number right here. If you want to know, I am sure it is in the older posts from 2022 or leave me a comment and I can get it for you. The fabric is 16ct Aida Winter Wishes from Fabric by Steph.

After finishing the sampler, I pulled out my knitting, since I had neglected my knitting in order to spend all of my free time stitching on the sampler to get it finished before the end of the year. I pulled out my Impulse Buy shawl.

The pattern called for 400 yards making it a 1 skein shawl, but I was thinking I wanted it longer. So I went on the hunt looking for another skein. I was worried about the colors matching the skein that I had and after talking with my Mother in Law, she said she would send me her skein that she picked up the same time I did when she visited in October. So I kept knitting. And I received her skein in the mail.

Just look at all of those beautiful colors in that skein!

I ended up adding about 24 grams from the extra skein. I think it will be long enough after blocking. So I finished the shawl.

It still needs to be block and the ends woven in, but it is a finish for now. And it was my last finish for 2023. The details are: Impulse Buy Shawl by Barbara Benson and is available on Ravelry. The yarn is La Jolla by Baah in color Sleigh Ride.

I also had another fully finished object. In my last post I mentioned that I had put another project in for framing.

I took Holly Berry Pixie in to get framed. I wanted her to be hanging in my house for the Holidays. So many frame choices! So many frames didn’t look good or were not deep enough to account the beads.

I have never gone through that many frames while trying to pick a frame out for a cross stitch project. But I wanted it to be perfect. And one that both my husband and I agreed on. And we finally did agree on the perfect frame.

I didn’t go into the framers planning on a dark wood frame. I thought I wanted a silver frame. But none of the silver or gold frames looked good at all. Hubby suggested a wood frame. I was very doubtful as I never go for wood frames. But that is the frame that we landed on. I really did like the look of it from what we could tell and couldn’t wait for her to get all framed up. A few weeks later, she was ready for pick up and I couldn’t wait to see her.

I think she turned out fabulous! I love the dark wood and the decorative swirls on the frame. She was so much smaller than I expected for some reason, but I love her! And I am very happy to have her hanging in my house for the holidays. The pattern is Holly Berry Pixie by Bella Filipina Designs. Fabric is a One of a kind from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics (no longer dying) in 16ct Aida.

So now I am back to working on my Beach Boardwalk series. This is the Saltwater Taffy Shop. It is the 6th shop in the series and is so cute. I just love the colors. After this one, just one more to go. The series is from Country Cottage Needleworks. I am stitching on 16ct Aida Friendship Greene from Fabrics by Steph, using all of the called for fancy flosses.

I think I had a pretty productive year as far as my crafting goes. I think I have had 21 cross stitch finishes (mostly smalls) and 6 knitted projects. Not bad. I am looking forward to crafting in 2024. I still want to work on getting my WIPs back to one project, though I doubt I will do that this year. It is always in the back of my mind, but all of my projects are large projects. There is also my oldest WIP that I definitely want to finish this year. It is my 30 year old WIP! More on that when I get back to stitching on it.

I have also been thinking about my word for 2024. I kept coming back to the word Enjoy. So that is my word for 2024. Enjoy. I want to enjoy more. When I am stitching, I want to be sure I enjoy the stitching on the project and not focus so much on “having to get it finished”. I want to enjoy all of my crafting while I am working on them. I want to enjoy where I am and who I am with, even though my anxiety seems to get the best of me. I want to enjoy what I choose to do instead of thinking I should be doing something else. This year I just want to enjoy. Do you have a word for 2024? I would love to hear about it and why you chose that word.

That is what I have been up to. What have you been up to? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Again, Happy New Year! I hope your year is full of Sparkle and Shine. I wish you a year of love, joy, happiness and good health and full of what you love to do ❤

Happy Stitching!

ginny

cross stitch · Fabric · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted cowl · Knitting · yarn

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2023 My Time Stitching12 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! Happy 2023! I hope that your 2023 is filled with Love, Health and Happiness. The last few years I have chosen a word that describes what I want for the new year and this year I have landed on Determined. I am determined to finish things, determined to use things up, determined to be more patient, determined to cook more, get upset less and determined to be a better person. This last year I have been so overwhelmed with “stuff” so my biggest thing is to use up what I have, like yarn and cross stitch and scrapbook products. And to get rid of what “no longer gives me joy”. It will be a long process, but a process that I am determined to work on this year. I only finished 2 cross stitch projects this year, and both were early in 2022. I did not finish the 2022 MSAL from Fox and Rabbit. The December section is quite large. I am almost finished 1/4 of the section and the 2023 MSAL came out yesterday and I think I want to stitch that one, too. But not until I finish the 2022 one. Here is where I am with it.

I am almost finished the top of the border. I am stitching this one on 16ct Aida Winter Wishes from Fabrics By Stephanie. The threads are DMC 115 and 902 for backstiching. It seems like it has been very slow going, but I didn’t get to work on it much in December because I did do a lot of knitting.

I made lots of Fingerless Mitts for family and a few scarves which I didn’t get pictures of. The pattern for these mitts is a FREE pattern from Premier Yarns and is called Sideways Wrist Warmers. I loved making these for everyone in different bulky yarns. I added my new garment tags to each one, too.

I ordered these tags from The Beam City. They turned out so cute! I was so excited to see that they had a mermaid option. I will be putting these tags on all of my future knits 😉

Which brings us to what I am currently knitting on.

I pulled this one out of my stash in November and started it but couldn’t get past the first couple of rows. I was about to throw in the towel, but decided to go to my Local Yarn Shop and get some help. Cris figured out my mistake in no time. I had some purls and yarn overs which I know to go all the way around my needle for the YO, but I didn’t realize that I didn’t need to go around the needle the extra time when the next stitch is a knit stitch. With the repeats, that is where my extra 4 stitches were coming from. So I started over and have been fine with it since. Didn’t get to work on it too much with making all of those mitts, but I have made progress.

It is the Marin Cowl by Juliana Lustenader (Knit by Jules).

Just look at that cute little mermaid! She is actually a charm that I purchased at our local Aquarium when I visited there in November. I thought she would be perfect for a progress marker. And she is definitely perfect for this project.

It is growing. Can you see all of the waves? The yarn is Cozy Worsted from Speckled Finch Studios in color “From The Deep”. The yarn is so soft and squishy and the colors so beachy!

So that is what I have been stitching on. I hope to get more stitching in this year and I am going to try harder to post here on my blog more often. One other thing I want to mention before I end this post is for my cross stitching friends. Have you heard of the Design and Fabric Viewer? Have you used it in the past? For those that have not heard about it, it is a website where you can match cross stitch patterns to fabrics to see how designs will look on different fabrics. Today a new version of the site was launched and it is now FREE to customers to use and you can store up to 100 of your favorite selections. You do have to create an account so that your favorites can be saved. If you have not used this site before, you need to check it out. And for those that have, go check out the new version. I have firsthand knowledge of the work that has gone into developing this new version and it is awesome. I didn’t get paid for this review, but I do know the master behind the screen, LOL. Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think. You can also join the private group on facebook to see updates and leave comments there.

Again, I wish you a Wonderful, Happy, Healthy, full of Love 2023 and I hope all of your dreams come true.

So that is what I have been up to. What are your goals for the New Year?

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

cross stitch · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · mystery sampler

Fox And Rabbit MSAL

November 18, 2022 My Time Stitching12 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! It is snowing where I am, so I have now had to accept that Winter is definitely here, even though the calendar says it is Fall. It is beautiful, looking out from my craft room window. And I am happy that I don’t have anywhere to go. I am also thankful not to be on the west side of my state or in Buffalo, New York right now. I think that is where they are getting blasted with a lot of snow and snow so hard that visibility is almost nil.

So I wanted to talk a little about the Fox & Rabbit Mystery Stitch A Long. First I have to say that this company is so awesome. They have been giving us FREE Mystery SAL’s for the last 6 years! The first one was in 2017 and that was my very first sampler that I ever stitched. I loved every minute of that stitch. It hangs in my craft room so I can see it whenever I am in my happy place 🙂

The Samplers from 2017-2021 are available for purchase on the Fox & Rabbit website. The current 2022 MSAL is available for FREE at least until the end of the year. So if you are interested in stitching the 2022 sampler, you can still download all of the sections through November for FREE and the December section will be available December 1. With these samplers, you choose the fabric and the threads you want to stitch with. It can be whatever you want it to be. I have stitched all but 2 of the samplers and they are well written and so beautiful. You can join their facebook group and see all of the beautiful fabrics and threads chosen by so many people from around the world. I can’t say enough how thankful I am for this company and their generosity with their beautiful designs.

As you know, I have been stitching on the 2022 MSAL even though I procrastinated when it first came out in January. I am so happy that I decided to add this project to my list this year and am over the moon happy that I was able to get it all caught up a couple of months ago. Which brings me to where I am now with the project.

This section was actually stitched sideways on my scroll frame and I was worried that my DMC variegated floss would not look nice, but I love the way it turned out. I did manipulate the colors where I wanted, like in the vase. I purposely made the vase and leaves darker, with the thought that I wanted the flower more red.

This is my finished piece so far. It is a very large piece, too. And I am so happy with how it has turned out. So now I wait to see what December will bring to finish off this gorgeous design. Many thanks again to Brendan at Fox & Rabbit for this beautiful and generous design. For the details; the fabric is 16ct Aida Winter Wishes from Fabrics By Stephanie. The floss is DMC 115 for most of the project with DMC 902 for backstitching the letters.

So that is what I have been up to. For now I will leave you with a picture of the view out my craft room window and wonder what are you stitching on?

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

cross stitch · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted hat · Knitting · mystery sampler

I Knitted A Hat!

November 11, 2022 My Time Stitching10 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! Happy Veteran’s Day to all the Veteran’s out there and thank you so much for your service. I am grateful to all that served and to those that serve today.

So winter will be here soon. Probably much quicker than I want it to be. I have a lot of hat patterns in my Ravelry that I want to make and plenty of yarn, too. My stash is way out of control and I am starting to feel really guilty about it. So, I thought that making hats would be a great way to knock out some skeins. I purchased a kit from Speckled Finch Studios last year. Actually I bought several kits from her. I do love her yarns. Anyway, I pulled out a kit that contained a skein of Cozy Worsted in the color Sangria and The Dragon’s Gate Hat pattern by Gamer Babe Knits.

Casting this on was heavenly! The yarn is so soft, squishy and bouncy.

I can’t tell you the last time I knitted some ribbing. It was actually relaxing and rhythmic.

The chain link looking cable is so easy. I didn’t even have to use a cable. Just slipped the stitches off and let them hang out there. The yarn just stayed in place. You can’t really see much of the cable here, but it is there. Blocking will definitely help open those stitches.

Then it was time for the dreaded Double Pointed needles. I must say that I really didn’t mind them so much for this pattern. The thing that throws me off is when there is a pattern to knit and some stitches are on one needles and the rest of the pattern is on the next needle. But I am getting better at knitting with the Double Pointed Needles. I’m still not a fan of them, but they are needed sometimes. Like the crown of a hat.

And in just a few days of knitting off and on, I have a finished hat. Complete with a really cute tie in Pom that also came with the kit. I was confused as to which size hat to knit from this pattern and chose the size 4, which the designer also knit for the photo. I think my hat is a little smaller than I wanted. It is supposed to be an adult sized hat. I did have quite a bit of yarn left over, so next time I will go up a couple of sizes. My chain link cable stitches are not very noticeable, so I will block it a bit in order to open up those stitches. But all in all, it is a cute hat and I would definitely make it again. The pattern is really easy to knit and easy to remember as you knit along. It is available on Ravelry, too.

Now for my cross stitch followers…I promise you that I have been cross stitching, too. I was working on Rosamund for a little bit, then switched to the Fox & Rabbit MSAL 2022. I am so proud of myself for getting all caught up on this project after starting it so late. And those borders were so long! I just started working on the November section.

Sorry about the lighting on this one. I had trouble getting a good picture of it this morning. I am hoping to get this section finished before the December section comes out. I am assuming that there will be some kind of design around the border, and that will take some time. This piece is quite large, so adding stitching around the border will not be a quick section I am guessing. I am using DMC 115 with a darker solid color (DMC 902 I think) for outlining the lettering. The fabric is 16ct Aida Winter Wishes from Fabrics By Stephanie

That is what has been on my knitting needles and my sewing needle so far 😉 I have visions of starting new projects!! What is on your needles?

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

Crochet · cross stitch · Fox and Rabbit

A Crochet Finish and A Cross Stitch Catch Up

October 3, 2022 My Time Stitching17 Comments

Happy October! The last 2 months have almost been a blur. I had company here until yesterday and spent time prepping for that visit. It was a wonderful visit with my Mother-in-law, but as always, way too short. I still spent a good amount of time knitting, crocheting and cross stitching. My MIL loves those things, too, so we made sure to have our crafty time together.

So where did I last leave off…Oh yeah. I was trying to finish up unfinished projects. After I finished my Windsor Mitts I pulled out my Nature’s Walk Blanket crochet blocks.

I started this blanket about 3 years ago. It is the Nature’s Walk Blanket by Sandra Paul. I had never crocheted blocks before and I remember how thrilled I was when I completed my first block. So I continued on and crocheted 48 blocks in 6 different designs. The instructions are very well written with very helpful images. After finishing the blocks, I think I was a bit intimidated by not knowing if I could actually stitch the blocks together or crochet the border. So I set it aside. I am sure some other projects were calling my name, too. After reading through the directions, I jumped right in.

I was actually crocheting the blocks together and it was quite easy. Again, the instructions were well written and very helpful.

After all of the blocks were crocheted together, I began the border. I was so nervous, but I pressed on. The first couple of rows went well. Then the pattern switched to creating a pattern in the border.

The pattern was creating open holes in the shape of hearts. And I was doing well. My holes were lining up the way they were supposed to, and I was elated!

My corners were looking pretty good. All the holes were lining up and I was nearing a finish!

I thought I had finished until I laid it out and noticed that I missed a peak near the top in the photo. I couldn’t have that, so I ripped out the last row and a half.

So I have a finish! I am so proud of myself for what I have done on this blanket and for finishing it. It really turned out so beautifully and I think Barb, the woman who taught me to crochet when I was 11 years old, would also be proud of me. I am even thinking about making another one of these blankets in the near future.

Now for my cross stitch update on the Fox & Rabbit 2022 MSAL. When I last posted about this one, it looked like this:

Since then, I have added the August section, September section and I finished both borders on September 30, the day before the October section was to come out.

And here is the October section completed, so now I am completely caught up with this one.

I will share what is on my knitting needles next time. What have you been working on? I’d love to hear about it.

Ginny

Bella Fillapina Designs · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitting · mystery sampler · yarn

A Knit Finish and Cross Stitch Progress

August 3, 2022 My Time Stitching14 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! We are expecting severe storms where I am, so I am hoping to get this post in before the storms come. Though it is getting pretty dark out right now.

So, when I finished knitting the last baby blanket, I decided that I wanted to finish the last 2 projects that have been in my WIP pile for the last couple of years. First up is Windsor Mitts. I started the first mitt in November of 2020 and I don’t think that I posted about them. So here is my start from almost 2 years ago.

A friend gave me this set of teeny tiny circular needles to try and I happened upon the Windsor Mitt’s pattern and it just happened to need this size 2 needle. I was not sure about knitting with this tiny circular, but it turned out that I loved it! So much better than Double Pointed Needles, which you know I hate.

I was knitting right along with the tiny needles and loved how the pattern was turning out. The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca and it is so soft.

I just couldn’t wait to try it on. So far so good! so that brings us to where the mitt was when I picked it up a couple of weeks ago. I still had the thumb to do. Ugh! Double pointed needles…

I only had to do about 9 rows, so it actually wasn’t so bad. I finished it and then cast on the 2nd mitt with the tiny circular needle.

And I finished them! Another project out of my WIP pile and just one more crochet project to go 🙂

For cross stitching, well there are still quite a few projects in that pile. But I will share what I was stitching on in July. First here is the progress I made on Esmerelda.

This is as far as I got on her before putting her away. She is from Bella Filipina Designs and I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Oberon from Fabrics by Stephanie.

And the last project I worked on is the 2022 MSAL from Fox and Rabbit.

And this is how it looked when I put it away to do some crocheting. I really love the colors I chose. I am usually not a fan of red, but this is regal! The fabric is 16ct Aida Winter Wishes from Fabrics by Stephanie and threads are DMC 115 with DMC 902 for outlining the letters.

I still have the inner border to finish and the outer border to do. And the August section just came out, so I will need to get busy on it soon. This design is FREE from Fox & Rabbit Designs. New sections come out on the 1st of the month through December.

It is storming now. Thankfully I took these photos this afternoon while the sun was still shining. I will end this post with a sweet photo I took this week of a beautiful little visitor. Until next time, happy stitching!

Ginny

cross stitch · Fabric · Fairies · Floss · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mirabilia · yarn

Juggling Four Projects

April 9, 2022 My Time Stitching11 Comments

It is April 9 and it does not feel like Spring yet. I woke up to a dusting of snow this morning 😦 I had planned on going to a Spring Fiber Fest today, but too many other things came up this morning and then it just seemed to be too late for the drive. Hopefully tomorrow I can get there. Even though I really do not need to add any more yarn to my stash. I did find out that there will be a booth carrying not only yarn, but cross stitch products too. Oh yeah, gotta go 😉

So as my title indicates, I have been juggling 4 projects lately. I have juggled 2 in the past, but not 4 that I can remember. Usually I knit in the morning and cross stitch at night. But I am all over the place with 4 projects. So, first up is the Liva Cardigan.

Yep, this one is still on my needles. This is a pattern in one of the Berroco books and can be found on Ravelry. I am using the called for yarn, Topaz by Berroco. I have picked up stitches along the left and right front and for the collar. I have to knit 6″ on about 300 stitches. I think I have 4 1/2″ stitches in right now. So, it is going slow, but I am getting there. Once that is finished all I will have to do is to sew on pockets (of course pockets) and weave in ends. It has been a few days since I put any stitches in. The Fairy Correspondence Shawl is the reason why.

This is section 2 and my least favorite of this one. The bobble row took me over 3 hours to get across :O Wow! They are not perfect either, but they are staying as is. There is a little v at the top of them that I don’t think is supposed to be there, but I’m ok with it. The Weeds and Thickets section before and after the bobbles were not fun either. None of these sections were hard, just very time consuming. I love the look of the Weeds and Thickets, but I am really hoping that there are no more of these or bobbles in this shawl. I am loving my color choices. That pop of pink is perfect with the purples. Purple yarns are Jilly & Kiddles Tour de France and Bonjour and the pink is Ishtar from AJHC Wools. Yesterday I finished section 3 and love it!

This section was called Conifers and it was so rhythmic and relaxing to knit. I was even able to watch tv while knitting this lace pattern. Though I guess I did get a little too into the “Bridgerton’s” as I forgot a yarn over a couple of times and had to unknit several rows. But I didn’t mind as this pattern was wonderful to knit. Section 4 doesn’t come out for a few days, so hopefully I can get the Liva cardigan finished.

The other 2 projects that have captured my attention are cross stitch. You know I can’t not have a cross stitch project going on in my life 😉 So now I have 2 going, LOL First up is Blossom by Mirabilia.

This one is a joy to stitch. The colors are so vivid. There are more than a few stitches in each color, so it isn’t like confetti stitching. I am stitching her on 16ct Busy Izzy from Fabrics by Stephanie. It is such a pretty fabric and I am loving watching Blossom come alive on it.

A special piece of fabric finally arrived for a project that I have been wanting to stitch since February. It is not the normal Aida that the dyer usually dyes so I wasn’t sure it was going to work. It is a rather flimsy Aida and the sizing looked to be off. One of the reasons that I use Aida is that I am a tight stitcher and having a flimsy fabric like Lugana or linen does not work for me. This Aida feels like a Lugana, so I am trying to be conscience of my stitches not being too tight.

Yes! I finally started the Fox and Rabbit 2022 Mystery SAL. The fabric is Winter Wishes by Fabrics by Stephanie. Like I said, this Aida is different and the Winter Wishes is a bit lighter than normal. But it is working. The floss I chose is DMC 115. I went with a color way out of my color comfort zone and I feel like I made the right choice. The way the colors change in this floss is awesome! I really like the continuous stitching with one floss. This is where I left this piece last night.

This project is quite large, using a 29″ x 29″ piece of fabric. I am not sure when I will be caught up with this one. The section that is stitched above is the February section. So I have all of the borders of the January section, the March and the April sections to do. I think after this section that I am stitching on now is finished, I will stitch the April section and hopefully have some time to do some catching up before the next section comes out May 1. This pattern is the 2022 Mystery Sampler and is a free design from Fox and Rabbit.

So that is what I have been up to. Juggling these 4 projects has been fun. I am enjoying each of them when I work on them. How many projects have you juggled all at once? I’d love to know.

And now I leave you with a most glorious sunset that I just saw out of my craft room window ❤

Ginny

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