Category: Mermaids

I Stitched May Away
cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Floss · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted cowl · Knitting · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long · Pillows · Stitch A Long · Tiny Modernist

I Stitched May Away

My Time Stitching3 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! Happy June! Let’s hope it doesn’t go by as quickly as May did. Sadly, I only had one post in May. I was sick for about 2 weeks shortly after my last post. And then getting back to normal took a bit. Nothing serious, but it was my first time getting sick in 5 years and I guess my immune system was sluggish. Hubby was sick first with a sinus infection, and maybe shared with me? We had also made the decision to go without masks, so maybe we picked up something while out and about one day. Anyway, I am feeling much better now and thought I would hop on to the blog and share what I have stitched on during the month of May.

First, I did finish the Anchored Waves Cowl by Stephanie Shiman using a beautiful Wonderland Yarn Blossom cake.

Just look at that fade!!! Wonderland Yarns really do have the most awesome yarns that fade so perfect. It really turned out beautifully.

I look forward to wearing this one in the fall and winter. I don’t have anything else on my needles except for my Airplane scarf, which is my travel project. I didn’t get a picture of it for this post. I have been wanting to make some summer tops for myself. I picked a crochet top from Berroco. So cute. But you know how my crocheting goes. If I don’t have pictures and specific instructions, it’s pretty much not going to happen. I couldn’t get gauge and my sides were not straight on my swatch. So, I decided to purchase a book with some summer tops from Berroco, using the yarn I had bought called Isola. The one I wanted to make does not have written instructions. Maybe they all only have charts, so I nixed that one, too. So for now, no knitting. On to cross stitch.

I stitched on the Ocean Pearl SAL from Tiny Modernist Cross Stitching.

The reason I decided to do this SAL is the Mermaid, of course. She is so cute. And on the right side of the treasure chest, the pattern has a pirate there. I wasn’t sure if he would be an important part of the rest of the design, but I decided not to stitch him. Instead, I added another mermaid 🙂

So cute!! I really enjoyed stitching on this one while I was not feeling well. I am using all of the called for Fancy Flosses and stitching her on 16ct Aida Cascade from Fabrics by Stephanie. I received part 3 and started stitching on it last night. This is how far I have gotten.

The snow globe is full of ocean life and I know I will love stitching on it over the next few weeks.

I also stitched on Blossom and I am still loving all of her beautiful colors.

Even with all of the color changes, it has been a wonderful piece to stitch.

I just started stitching the next page, from the middle towards the top. So I guess I am about half way finished. I had to take her outside to see if I could capture her brilliant colors. For the details on this one: She is Blossom from Mirabilia. Fabric is 16ct Aida Busy Izzy from Fabrics by Stephanie. I have put her aside to stitch on the Ocean Pearl piece and a few smaller pieces. I look forward to getting back to her later this month.

A few days ago I pulled out my June pillow kit.

The threads in these kits just come rolled up as shown in the picture above. Since there is only a few colors, I decided to make my own Floss Drops to put the flosses on.

I die cut the tags. Pulled out some stamps and stamped a few summer images. I used some different sized circle punches to hang the flosses on and to add them to a floss ring. It gave me a chance to use my beautiful floss ring I purchased from @themermaidsdaughter6 on Instagram. I love the look of Floss Drops. I love seeing all of the flosses hanging all together. But I will admit, I am not a fan. Seems like a lot of work to me. It’s not to say that I will never use them again for a small project. But I am happy being a bobbin girl. Anyway, I finished the pillow yesterday, in perfect time for displaying in June. Kit is from Pine Mountain Designs. These pillows are from 2007, so I don’t think they are available anymore.

I am so happy to have another monthly pillow off of my project to do list. Only 4 more to go!

So that is all of my stitching for May. I am hoping for a couple of finishes in June, but we shall see how it goes. I have been spending my stitching time watching Flosstubes. I have a few favorites that I love to watch and one of them is Nichol Sophr LLC. She is a quilter, cross stitcher and card maker and I don’t know what else she does, but everything she creates is beautiful. I don’t necessarily stitch what she does, but I love watching her and seeing her projects. I am not a quilter, but I want to buy all the fabrics and make project bags (I probably won’t, but I really want to, LOL) She has wonderful tutorials on her channel and her card making videos are wonderful. Yesterday she started a Patriotic SAL and I decided I need some Patriotic pieces to decorate my house. You can find all of the details on her Facebook page group. If you want to participate and be in her drawings each week, you have to stitch on a Cherry Hill Stitchery Patriotic piece. Or you can stitch on whatever you want and hang out each Wednesday on her Flosstube Live. I haven’t had time to gather things for it in time for the start yesterday, but I did purchase a PDF from Cherry Hill Stitchery last night and pulled some fabric and floss from my stash this morning.

I will be stitching Stars and Stripes. The fabric I chose is 16ct Aida Everything Else from Mystic Fabrics and all of the flosses are DMC. So, yeah, another new start, LOL It’s ok. It’s a small 😉

So that is what I have been up to. How did your May go?

Happy Stitching!

ginny

I Started A New SAL and Project Bags
cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long · Project Bags · Stitch A Long · Tiny Modernist

I Started A New SAL and Project Bags

My Time Stitching10 Comments

Hello blogging friends! Spring still has not arrived where I am. Severe weather is in order for today, so I am getting my blogging done early.

In a previous post I told you a little about a new SAL that I signed up for.

The Ocean Pearl Series by Tiny Modernist. The word Ocean grabbed me as well as the cute little mermaid. I showed you that I found fabric in my stash (Bonus!!) and ordered the threads. The fabric is 16ct Aida in color Cascade by Fabrics By Stephanie. I am using the dyed flosses from Classic Colorworks and Weeks Dye Works as well as 3 DMC colors as recommended.

The first section came out on April 1 and I was so excited to get started.

So I was stitching on this project and the hanging threads were driving me crazy. So I pulled out some of my extra clear bobbins from GWStitchinDepot and my label printer.

I don’t think I can be a floss drop stitcher. I know that there is not much floss on Classic Color Works cards, but I don’t like working with them hanging and having to put the floss back through the hole. I am a bobbin girl and I love these clear bobbins that I had purchased a while ago. I had put some CCW threads and Waterlilies threads on these bobbins before, so I already had a file saved in my PT Touch. So all I had to do was open the file, change the text for each color and print them out. I did have to trim them a little so they would fit at the top of my bobbin.

Ahhh. This is so much better! Now I can continue stitching. This is where I am at with Ocean Pearl.

Just look at that cute little seahorse and those little fish! This is a cutesy pattern, but I am really liking it. And I do like stitching with Classic Color Works threads and Weeks Dye Works threads. There is something about stitching one X at a time that feels different, but fun. And of course, a cute mermaid bag for a cute mermaid project. I’m not sure if I showed that bag before or not. These are my favorite project bags from @clevergirldesignsco. She does a beautiful job on her construction and choosing fabrics. At the end of 2022 my husband bought me another year of bags. One a month for a year, but I let Kristine know that she can do them anytime and the last couple of years she has been doing 2 or 3 at a time.

These are my November and December bags plus an added bonus of an extra mermaid tail zipper pull or knitting progress marker. These bags have the vinyl fronts which I LOVE. That way I don’t have to unzip the bag to see what is inside. I have many of these bags and love that I can just flip through them.

Here are my January, February and March bags. This is the front of the bags with the vinyl fronts.

This is the back of the bags. I never have any idea what my bags will look like. They are all a surprise when I get them. But I know they will be beautiful and very well made. Kristine has a knack for putting prints with prints that look amazing together. All of my bags have projects in them. The yellow bag on the right contains my Rainbow Dice project because the colors are so similar.

I recently purchased some pink bins to hold all of my project bags. The other pink bin on the shelf above holds all of my leftover yarn from projects. It is full.

All of my project bags have a kitted project in them. And as you can see in the left bin, I still have to replace some of those little plastic bags with pretty Clevergirl bags. I think by the end of the year I will make that goal.

So that is what I have been up to. How do you store your kitted projects?

Happy Stitching!

ginny

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

Cross Stitching Chaos

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.

Rosamund by Mirabilia

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.

Sweet Rosamund

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.

Beautiful Rosamund

And this is where I left off before the weekend.

Sweet Rosamund

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:

Esmeralda

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

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.

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.

What was your final finish for 2021?

Stitching, Knitting and Shopping
Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Project Bags

Stitching, Knitting and Shopping

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.

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?

Two Finishes For June
Autumn Lane Stitchery · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Queen · Sunny Dyes Fabrics

Two Finishes For June

My Time Stitching10 Comments

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?

What Happened To My Fabric!
cross stitch · Mermaids · Scroll Frames

What Happened To My Fabric!

My Time Stitching10 Comments

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?

Knitting Another Shawl
Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · yarn

Knitting Another Shawl

My Time Stitching6 Comments

I just have to have something on my needles. So when I finished the You Are Enough Shawl, I immediately started the Merfolk Fade Shawl by Jennifer Owens. The Yarn is DK Merino Superwash from Cape May Fiber Co. and comes as a kit with a few goodies and the pattern. The pattern is also available on Ravelry.

Merfolk Fade Kit from Cape May Fiber Co.

My very small start. And no other stitch marker would do except for a sweet little mermaid! It was included in a bag order I placed with Firerweed Studio. The yarn huggers on my yarn cakes are also from Fireweed Studio. She has cute knitting accessories in her Etsy shop.

Merfolk Fade Shawl start

This is my first shawl using DK weight yarn. The yarn is soft and squishy. It has a bouncy feel and I like the way it glides through my fingers and over my needles.

Merfolk Fade Shawl progress

The color I am currently using is called Nessie. It really reminds me of mermaid scales. All the beautiful greens with splashes of Pink, Blue, Purple and Aqua. The other two colors in the fade are Sea Swords and Mermaid Mane. I will talk more about those two colors when I get to them. For now I am enjoying the beautiful Nessie.

Lace Section

So far the pattern is well written and I am enjoying the knitting. I have added a few rows of the lace pattern and it looks so pretty. I am loving the way the splashes of color pop up on my needles in between the beautiful shades of green.

So that is what I am stitching this afternoon. What are you stitching on today? Drop me a comment and tell me all about it.

Mermaid Perfume
cross stitch · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Sunny Dyes Fabrics

Mermaid Perfume

My Time Stitching8 Comments

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?

Time To Catch Up
Autumn Lane Stitchery · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted scarves · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Queen · Sunny Dyes Fabrics · yarn

Time To Catch Up

My Time Stitching11 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! It has been a long time. Not sure why, other than while crafting, time just got away from me. I can’t believe that just about 4 months have gone by since my last post. But I am doing well and still crafting away.

So, where to begin…How about I share with what projects I am currently working on? A couple of weeks ago I started stitching on Mermaid Perfume by Mirabilia.

Mermaid Perfume

I couldn’t wait to get everything I needed to get started on her. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Hidden Cove, a hand painted fabric from Sunny Dyes Fabrics. I can’t wait to see how she emerges on this fabric.

I found this fabric on the Design and Fabric Viewer. This is a site where you can see what fabrics would look good with a particular design. If you have never been, you should go and check it out. You will have to create an account (just an email and password) and then you can play with the designs there along with many fabric dyers’ fabrics. And if you haven’t visited this site in a while, I urge you to check it out. It is all new, with a subscription level to allow you to save more than 3 picks. The first 3 are on the FREE viewing. And with a subscription, you can upload your own fabrics so that you can see how your favorite designs there will look on your exact fabric. It really is a great tool for cross stitchers and I encourage you to check it out. You will have so much fun matching fabrics to designs.

The other cross stitch project I have worked on is the Dark Queen of the Seas MSAL (Mystery Stitch A Long)

Dark Queen of the Seas

This MSAL is by Autumn Lane Stitchery. It started in September 2020 and each section is released on the 1st of the month until August 2021. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Iris from Fabrics By Stephanie. This photo was taken after I finished section 6 a few weeks ago. Section 7 just came out on March 1, but I am not a fan of the added pieces, so for now I will leave them off. I may add them later when I see more of the design, but for now, I am leaving them off. I hear that next month we will start working on the lower portion of the design. I can’t wait! She is such a beauty! Just look at her face!

Close up of Dark Queen of the Seas

The designer has done a great job designing her. That face is so awesome. And those eyes! The shading is fabulous, too.

Last month I started knitting on Fairies In The Snow Shawl MKAL (Mystery Knit A Long) I have really been enjoying this knit.

Fairies in the Snow MKAL part 3

This MKAL is by Softyarn Designs and is on Ravelry if you want to join. The last part, clue#4 just came out on Thursday, March 4, but there a lot of people in the group that are on different parts of the pattern. There is a chat group on Ravelry, too. The yarn I am using is from Speckled Finch Studios in colors Kismet 4 Magic Stone (the darker color) and Champagne Wishes. I love how these 2 yarns look together and the yarn is so soft. I should finish the last clue this week, and then decide if I want to add another section to use up yarn, or leave as is.

Last month I finished a scarf that I started in January. It turned out gorgeous and I have to say it is now my favorite scarf and have worn it several times already.

Adventurer Scarf

I call it my rainbow scarf, but the actual name of the pattern is The Adventurer Scarf and Wrap by Ambah O’Brien. I knitted the scarf version in Basic Sock Mini’s from AJHC Wools. I love everything about this scarf; the yarn, the colors, the weight, the knitting, the pattern.

I have many, many more knitting projects and cross stitch projects I want to work on, as well as stamping and scrapbooking that needs tending to. For now, I am enjoying whatever it is I am working on. I have missed all of you and I hope that my blogging mojo is back. I look forward to hearing from you and catching up on all of the blogs I have missed in the last few moths.

So, what have you been up to? What are you working on today?