Near To a Finish and Some New Stash!

July 26, 2016 My Time Stitching36 Comments

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. And I have been working pretty hard on Aphrodite. Her hair is amazing, but is taking me so long to finish!

Just look at that gorgeous hair! There are many gorgeous colors in that hair. I’ve worked on it the last 2 nights and I am hoping to finish that hair tonight and get to the backstitching and hopefully to adding some beads! She is going to be Fabulous!!

So this last weekend, hubby and I took a day trip to Port Huron in Michigan. We went to a craft place that I have been wanting to visit for years!!! Mary Maxim. Have you ever received one of their catalogs in the mail? I have, for so many years. And finally, I went to see the store. Love their sign out front.

Isn’t that just the coolest sculpture to hold their sign? Love it! I spent quite a bit of time in there. Looking at yarn and afghan and baby blanket kits. I couldn’t decide what to get! Lots of other craft items there, too. But I was obsessed with all the yarn 😉

Look at that long aisle of yarn!! So many skeins to feel and squeeze and so many colors! This is what I actually ended up getting:

2 skeins of a scarf yarn (yes I am addicted to scarf yarn) that I have never tried before. They will be fun to knit. A skein of Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball and pattern. Maybe I can actually knit this one up since I am still at a stand still with the other 2 shawls I started. The Knit Pink book really caught my eye 😉 It is full of fabulous patterns (yes in pink) and I fell in love with a knitted afghan that I want to make for my younger son and his girlfriend for X-mas. I couldn’t find a tweed yarn at Mary Maxim, so I ordered some this morning from LoveKnitting. I also LOVE the scarf on the cover, but can’t find the yarn called for…yet 🙂 I think it is an Italian yarn. But if I can’t find it, it is a bamboo yarn, so I may find something else I like.

I also found some scrapbook paper and a small bobbin box for my cross stitch threads. Can’t seem to find the little boxes at the craft stores anymore.

After leaving Mary Maxim, hubby took me to Fort Gratiot, where I saw my very first Lighthouse, Ft. Gratiot Light. It is actually the oldest lighthouse in Michigan, built in 1829 and stands 86 feet tall.

The light was automated in 1933 and still guides ships today on Lake Huron into the St. Clair River.

Beautiful Lake Huron. This was on Saturday, and the temperature was a muggy 98 degrees. There were lots of boats on the lake and the beaches were packed.

This is the St. Clair River. The bluest, most beautiful water I have ever seen! It actually took my breath away. This river flows under the the bridge from Michigan to Canada, rightfully called the Bluewater Bridge.

My sweet husband. Posing in front of the beautiful blue waters and Bluewater Bridge.

Just a stone’s throw away from our neighbors in Canada. I love this photo.

So, if you are still with me, thank you for re-living my weekend to Port Huron. I hope I haven’t bored you. It was a wonderful day and I have some great memories and some fun new stash. So now I am going to go work on Aphrodite and hopefully have a finish to show you next time. What are stitching today?

cross stitch · Elegant Ladies · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mirabilia · Uncategorized

Knit, Frog, Knit, Frog…

March 3, 2016March 3, 2016 My Time Stitching24 Comments

So, over the last couple of weeks, I have started this shawl about 12 times now and knitted back I don’t know how many rows. I am at the end of my last nerve with this pattern. Here is what I have knitted back on the needles and have completed row 17.

It is such a cute shawl, featured in the Creative Knitting magazine Wraps, Capelets & Cowls. Looking at my knitting and the pattern, I don’t think I am doing it right, but can’t for the life of me, figure out what I am doing wrong. It is just a bunch of yarn overs and K2tog and Make 1 stitches. And I am afraid to go any further for fear of not coming up with the correct number of stitches at the end of the row…again. The pattern is Roman Stripe, which I have never done before, but doesn’t seem to be difficult. In fact, the pattern says it is for “A Confident Beginner” giving it a ease 2 rating out of 6. I have been knitting for about 30 years, so I think I am beyond a confident beginner, but just can’t figure this one out. If anyone knows this pattern and can tell what I am doing wrong, I would greatly appreciate it. On a side note…I LOVE the Addi Turbo needles!! They glide so nicely and may just be my new favorite needles. I give them an A+ rating.

In between knitting on this and waiting for threads and beads for Pixie Anne, I have picked Ella up again. Here is where I left off last night:

She still has a lot of yellow, but it is so much more relaxing than knitting on that shawl! I am also still working on my craft room; adding things and organizing my supplies. Having fun 🙂

So, have you ever just scrapped a project because it wasn’t coming out like you wanted or had been working on it too long and decided enough was enough? I have done it once, and am seriously thinking about doing it again with this knitting project.

cross stitch · Knitting · Mirabilia · New stash! · Uncategorized · yarn

So Much Yellow!

January 21, 2016 My Time Stitching16 Comments

Hello friends. I hope that your New Year is going well. I can’t believe that we are already over half way into January! I have a funny feeling the rest of the year will fly by also. So, here is to taking one day at a time and enjoying each day doing whatever makes us happy.

So…what have I been up to? Well, I am still stitching on Mirabilia’s Ella, the Frog Princess and trying not to let all the yellow get me down! Here she is as I left her last night:

As you can tell from the photo, I have a long way to go. I am trying not to let that sea of yellow get the best of me. Thankfully I have some pretty flowers to give me a boost of color when I get too bored of the yellow. I have been overly tired lately, so the progress has been slow. But I am still enjoying her, so far.

A few weekends ago, I found a couple of knitting shops that I had never been to. Here is what I added to my stash 😉

Yarn and needles to knit a pretty little shoulder shawl from the book shown above. Forgot to take a photo of the actual shawl. But I will when I start it. I also bought my first Addi needles. I have heard they are nice, but have never tried them before. I am not a fan of circular needles, but this pattern called for circulars, in a size I knew I didn’t have. So I will let you know how I like them when I get to knitting on them.

And from the other shop that I visited, I found this:

This shawl was actually done up in the store and I fell in love with it immediately. The yarn it calls for is Saki, a hand dyed yarn by Prism. The color I chose is Portofino and I can’t wait to see how it knits up. I have actually started it and this is where I left off with this one:

I started with 11 stitches and increased up to 161 stitches in just that little bit! It is full of pattern and the last row that I did, I ended up with too many stitches, so had to knit it back 2 rows. I have put the purl row back in, but was a little afraid to pick it back up for fear of making another mistake. I have been too tired lately and I know better than to tackle a pattern when my brain is not up full speed. I am loving how the colors are knitting up already.

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

cross stitch · Games · Knitting · Mirabilia · Stitchy Gifts · Uncategorized · WIP

Happy New Year 2016!

January 7, 2016 My Time Stitching30 Comments

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you a happy, healthy, wonderful 2016!

I had a great stitchy year in 2015 and hope to have another great one in 2016. Usually I grab something new to start on New Years, but this year I decided to work on a WIP. And this one may as well be considered a new start as I didn’t have much done on it when I picked it up. It is Ella, The Frog Princess from Mirabilia. Here is Ella when I started her in November, 2013..

Not much of a start, so that is why I say it’s like a new start 😉 Here she is after I put her down last night..

It sure is a lot of yellow. But I am trying to keep her going until I finish her. Or until a wonderful designer releases something that I just have to start right away 😉 The lovely flowers give me a nice break from the yellow when I need it.

I only received one stitchy gift for Christmas this year, but it is one that I have been wanting for quite some time. A dear friend gifted this to me..

An adorable yarn bowl!! And I have used it to make a couple of scarves already 🙂 I love it. And it looks so pretty on the table with yarn inside it.

While this next gift isn’t a stitchy item, I have designated it to be.

It is my stitchy journal made and gifted to me by my VBSF (Very Best Stitchy Friend). She made this amazing journal cover from clay. She is so talented with her new clay hobby and she knows me so well. I just love this little journal and will keep all kinds of stitchy info on projects and materials and such, inside.

And one other gift that isn’t exactly stitchy per say, but stitchy related..

Hubby bought me the Yoshi’s Wooly World game for the Wii U and I am so addicted to it! Everything in Yoshi’s world is knitted, crocheted or sewing related. Even Yoshi 🙂 As you can see in the picture, the trees and walkways all look like they were knitted or crocheted. There are buttons and crochet hooks and needles throughout. The object in each level is to find all the yarn balls to knit a new Yoshi back together. So cute and I love that all the scenery is stitching of some sort.

So that is my update for the beginning of 2016. I have a long list of things I want to accomplish in 2016. Most are stitching or craft related, like finish up WIP’s, scrapbook all of my page kits, stamp more cards, use up my yarn stash, etc., etc, etc. What do you hope to accomplish this year?

Crochet · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted scarves · Knitting · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Passione Ricamo · Passione Ricamo SAL

Accomplishing Alot

November 22, 2015 My Time Stitching24 Comments

Even though I haven’t been blogging a lot, I have been crafting and even have a few finishes. First, I finished the Spice of Life afghan.

It’s not perfect, but I am happy with it. It seems I got a little too relaxed with the last 10 or so rows and so my sides veered out. I wanted to take the last 10 rows and the border out and re-do, but hubby wouldn’t hear of it. He liked it just the way it is and has claimed it as his own. He has even used it a few times :). I learned so much crocheting this blanket. Thank you to Sandra at Cherry Heart Blog and everyone involved for a wonderful Stitch A Long. The pattern is still available on Sandra’s blog if you still want to give it a try.

I also finished a couple of scarves. The first one was a gift to someone at my husband’s work. I thought I had taken a picture of it, but can’t seem to find it. This morning I finished the fun fiber scarf I was working on. It turned out so pretty! Love all the different fibers.

I can’t wait to wear it. I really enjoyed kitting the pink/red/tan ribbon fiber on this one.

Last night I finished a beautiful little project that I worked on this week.

This is Winter Whisper by Passione Ricamo. I call her Winter Princess. It is for a contest. Now that I have finished stitching her, I have to turn her into some kind of finish. Can’t wait to see what I come up with ;). I stitched her on 16ct Aida Ice Goddess from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. LOVE this color and I am so in love with this design. My photo doesn’t do it justice.

I also picked up Under the Moonlight mermaid from the framer this last week. I had the framing done at Joann’s and I must say, the gal there did a great job. Aside from crooked beads, I am very pleased with it.

Now I need to figure out where to hang her. I have really run out of wall space.

I will be getting back to stitching The Raven Queen tonight. I will post a progress photo soon. I am getting close to finishing the stitching on this one. What are you working on finishing these days?

Joan Elliott Round Robin · knitted scarves · Knitting

Two Completed Projects

February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 My Time Stitching11 Comments

I feel like I am getting things accomplished. Yesterday I finished another block on a Round Robin.

This is Joan Elliott’s Spring Garden Fairy. She is in the March 2014 issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework magazine. She was a fun, easy stitch. I usually hate stitching the hair on JE’s fairies, but this one was super simple. I love the way she turned out. I stitched her on Johanna’s Round Robin. She is going to love getting this one back. Here it is in full:

Such a beautiful RR. Everyone did a great job on this one. So sweet and sparkly. I will be putting in the mail to Johanna soon..well, maybe..yeah I will return it 🙂

I also finished this pidge scarf for a sweet stitchy friend.

She received it in the mail yesterday and loves it. I knitted it using Deborah Norville’s Serenity Chunky weight yarn. When I first started knitting it, I thought it may be a bit too bulky. But once finished, I think it turned out nice and will definitely be warm during this cold winter. I need to knit myself one in reds to match my coat. The buttons took me a bit to find, but once I saw these, I knew they would be perfect.

So, 2 more projects off of my list. Now on to the next Round Robin piece. What are you trying to finish up?

knitted scarves · Knitting

Another Pidge scarf off the Needles

November 27, 2013November 27, 2013 My Time Stitching6 Comments

I finished another Pidge scarf for Sue last night.

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

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

Lots of new stash, but no new finish

November 14, 2013November 14, 2013 My Time Stitching9 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

I received this pattern in the mail:

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

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

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

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

knitted scarves · Knitting · Mirabilia Round Robin

This Week’s Stitching

September 19, 2013September 19, 2013 My Time Stitching14 Comments

Here is what I have accomplished this week in the way of stitching:

I had some yarn left from the pidge scarf I made here. So I made this neck scarf. I loved, loved this pattern! 4 rows are repeated over and over to get a look like cables. Every 4th row makes a hole, so instant button holes, as loose or as tight as needed.

I received this pattern free when I purchased some yarn at a shop while on vacation. I will be making more of these. It only takes about 100yds of a worsted weight yarn, so I was able to get 2 neck scarves out of the skein with a little left over. It would make a nice flower or embellishment for a hat or sweater 🙂

Next, I started Johanna’s Royal Holiday on her Large Stitch RR. I feel guilty for having it in my possession for so long and Johanna really needs to see how beautiful it is in person.

I am just starting on her face. I will show the entire RR when I finish it. It is truly a beautiful piece and I plan on duplicating it someday.

And last, my new look. I have decided to go quite a bit shorter with my hair. I had it cut about 6 weeks ago and it was a little difficult for me to go short. But I loved it and wore it wavy through the summer. But now that fall is here, I needed a new shorter look. So I took the plunge yesterday.

It’s very hard for me to take a picture of myself and I cut the top of my head off. Oh well. You can see my new short look. I think I look very business like. Hubby calls it short and sassy. I like it. What have you been stitching on this week?

knitted scarves · Knitting

Sweet Scarf Finish

September 4, 2013September 4, 2013 My Time Stitching14 Comments

I finished the Pidge Scarf last night and added the buttons this morning:

Other than it being a little loose, it turned out great! I love the buttons that Sue chose for it. They match perfectly. I think this scarf would look great with the perfect outfit as well as being a winter scarf to keep warm with. I just had to try it on 🙂

I am definitely going to have to make myself some of these. It feels nice around my neck. I’ll bet it would keep me warm on a cold winter day here in Michigan. Thanks for stopping by to see what I have been up to. What are you stitching?

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