Hello blogging friends! I’m back for my 6th day in a row with another quick post. I didn’t know if I could do it, but I did. It is the 6th and final day of my blogaversary celebration. My last giveaway will be at the bottom of this post. remember to use the special code word in your comment for today and the previous 5 posts. I will draw for all of the prizes on March 31, 2023 and post the results here on my blog. I truly don’t know where the last 11 years went, but I have had fun with this blog. I have enjoyed posting and sharing what I have been up to and reading your comments and getting to know you through your blogs, too. I have really enjoyed my blog and hopefully you have, too. So what have I been up to since yesterday?
Still stitching on Spring Basket. Sorry about the wrinkles, but I don’t really feel like ironing it just to get it all wrinkled again when I work on it later. It is a more involved stitch than I first thought, but I really am enjoying it. I thought about leaving the border off, but I think it really adds to the design. I just have to finish the border and decide how I want to finish it. The next time that I post, it will be a FFO (Fully Finished Object)
Now for my last giveaway. Another cross stitch pattern. Another favorite designer, Country Cottage Needleworks.
I have many of this designer’s patterns in my stash and I loved this one so much I purchased it twice, LOL. So now I am giving you a chance to win this one. Put code word Christmas in your comment if you would like a chance to win it.
I won’t post again until March 31 when I have picked all of the winners. Again I want to thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and leaving comments. I try to read and respond to each and every one. I have enjoyed sharing what I am up to with you the last 11 years and I look forward to many more. Thank you ❤
Hello my blogging friends! How is your Sunday going? Mine was spent doing laudry, a visit from my kids and some stitchy time. Here is my progress on Spring Basket:
The design is not as small as I thought it would be. I was thinking it would go quicker than it is, but it is going well. I love the colors and have been thinking about fabrics I would like for the back if I do turn this into a small pillow. I think pink with coral flowers. We’ll see. Again, this is Spring Basket by Crocette a Gogo’ and I am stitching on 16ct Aida in color Dirty Aida.
So watching flosstubes has made me want to go through my stash and revisit my older patterns and fabrics and see what I have and what kit needs what. I do have the Xstitch app on my phone and am petty religious about putting new things in there and moving things that I start into the start section with a start date. But some of my patterns from 15-20 years or more ago are not in there. So that has been an ongoing project for the last week or so. I have the free version of the app, so there isn’t a place to put just a pattern. So when I buy a pattern and put it in the app, I have to put it in the kitted category even if it isn’t kitted. Kind of weird. But it reminds me of what I have. Do you use the XStitch app? Do you have the version that you have to pay for and do you like it?
One of my flosstube friends, Kenny, from Kenny Stitches showed some wonderful things he has added to his stash. One thing that really caught my eye was a Luca-S kit. I had never heard of this company before and had to find this kit:
This is White Santa with Christmas Tree. I immediately fell in love with this beautiful kit. I love the colors and just had to have it. I actually found this one on Amazon, so I didn’t have to wait long for it to arrive. I also love that it comes with 16ct aida fabric. Bonus for me as I pretty much only stitch on 16ct aida. And it comes with all the threads.
So beautifully laid out, too. They are Anchor threads and I don’t remember if I have ever used Anchor threads before. If I have, it may have been very little. I do have some Anchor threads kitted up for a Mirabilia conversion but haven’t started that one. The threads feel really nice on the cards and I am sure they will be fine. I think this kit is very well put together and I can’t wait to stitch on this one. I also could not resist adding this kit to my order while looking for the Santa:
Sakura. This is so adorable! I love Cherry Blossoms and the little Pixie is just so cute. It, too, came with a piece of 16ct white Aida and all of the threads.
Such beautiful colors! Those pinks and corals and tans just jump right out to me . I can’t wait to stitch this one up some day, too. I am really impressed with these kits. I love that the floss is wound on the cards and the symbols are printed above each thread. And if you look at the card on the right, there is a little hole to the right of the symbol that you can punch out to hang your extra threads until you need them. So nice.
I have one other project that I kitted up this week. This one showed up on Facebook from Tiny Modernist and just couldn’t resist purchasing it.
Hello, there is a little mermaid there! So you see why I could not resist. I don’t think I have stitched a Tiny Modernist pattern before, but I know that I have a few in my stash. Since I am not doing any SAL’s right now and this one is only 3 months long and it is small, I just had to jump on it. So I did a little stash diving for threads and fabric.
I found this small piece of 16ct Aida Cascade from Fabrics By Stephanie and thought it would be perfect for an ocean themed project. It is perfectly sized, too, so I think it was meant to be 🙂 I decided I want to do them in the specialty threads, but there is a DMC conversion also. I think the threads go well with the fabric. The Sea Glass color may be a little iffy, but we’ll see when we get there. I already can’t wait for the first of April!
That is all I have to share today except for my giveaway #3.
Since Mirabilia is another one of my favorite designers, I couldn’t leave one of her patterns out of my give-away. I purchased 2 of this pattern, Blossom, last March. One for me and one for a give-away for last year’s blogaversary, but it got away from me. So I put it aside for this year. I started stitching this one last year and have been wanting to get back to her the last couple of months. When I go to pick up one of my WIP’s, she is the one I will grab. So use code word MIRABILIA in your comment if you would like a chance to win this pattern. I will draw a winner for this and my other 2 giveaways on March 31.
Hello my blogging friends! There is a lot of different weather going on outside of my craft room window today. Everything except the sun. It’s cold, very windy, raining, sleeting, snowing. The perfect day to be inside and hanging out with you 🙂 Since the calendar says it’s Spring, I am still hoping that it arrives soon.
So, earlier in the month I started the 22 Little Clouds shawlette using the February Wonderland Ocean series yarn. This is where I left off when I first posted about it.
The yarn was so nice to knit with, and the pattern was one of those that you really only needed to glance out every now and then. So I watched a lot of tv while knitting on this one.
I was so happy to see the subtle fade emerging. It is so beautiful and I couldn’t wait to see more. So I kept knitting.
Wow! I really love how this yarn gently fades into the next color.
I loved it so much I finished it about 2 weeks ago. It still needs blocking, but it is finished and it turned out so cute! It was a great, quick one skein project. I don’t have a new project on my needles, but I did start a new project last night.
After all of the Flosstubes I have been watching, I decided I needed some small projects in my life. Things I can finish rather quickly, and into something other than a framing to hang on the wall. Especially since I am really out of wall space. So I ordered this one and it arrived a few days later. I dug into my stash for a piece of fabric and found a piece of 16ct Aida. I believe that the color is Dirty Aida.
And in a hoop! Wow! I can’t tell you the last time I used a hoop. I am a 2 handed stitcher, so using a hoop or Qsnap makes me feel like I am stitching very slowly. But it is relaxing and I am enjoying the stitching while watching more flosstubes, LOL
This is where I am at with this one. I just love all of the colors in this one. I really would have loved to stitch this on a white or light fabric, but since the birds and bunnies are white, I needed to go darker. I think I will be making this into a little pillow, but I may try my hand at framing it myself. The design area is about 5.5″ x 5.5″ so a small table top frame would be perfect. I am hoping I can get it finished by Easter.
So that is a little bit of what I have been up to since yesterday. And that brings me to my Giveaway #2 for my 11 year Blogaversary.
Since I also like to Crochet, I have hung onto this yarn for a special giveaway. This one I will have to limit to the US as I don’t know how the International shipping will be. When I special ordered yarn for my Nature’s Walk blanket, I way over bought and had all of this yarn left over. All full skeins except for the light pink at the top, but I don’t have a use for it so I threw it in.It is Comfort DK from Berroc and is so soft and squishy. Use code word YARN in your comment if you are in the US and would like the chance to win this. Tune in tomorrow for another giveaway. Thanks for stopping by.
Hello my blogging friends! How are you doing? The sun is partially out today, making my craft room bright. The perfect place to type out my post today.
So let’s start with my Blogaversary! Tomorrow will be my 11 year blogaversary! I truly cannot believe that it has been 11 years since I started this little ole’ blog of mine. I originally started this blog as a place to document my crafting and share with others. I can’t tell you how much joy it has brought me and how many wonderful people I have met. I appreciate each and every one of you that has stopped by to take a look at what I have been up to. I have enjoyed reading all of your wonderful comments as well. So for the next 6 days I will be having a giveaway. Each day I will post a picture of a giveaway and a code word for you to leave in your comment. On March 31, 2023 I will post the winners of all of the giveaways. I will post more at the end of the post. Now let’s get to my finish!
I have strictly worked on Holly Berry Pixie the last few weeks. This is where I was the last time I posted.
I finished all of the stitching and was so excited to start beading that I forgot to take a picture before the beading started.
So many beautiful, sparkly beads! I beaded the top portion while on my scroll frame. Then I switched to a large Qsnap.
When adding my beads, I use a thread that matches the color of the bead. If the beads are clear, then I use a thread that matches my fabric. I put a half stitch to attach my beads, from lower left, through the bead and down through the top right. This way my beads sit at an angle. It is not the only way to attach beads, but my preferred method. Putting a full cross stitch through the bead will attach the bead sitting straight up and down. Whichever way you want your beads to lay is totally up to you. The tray I use to hold my beads is a Tacky Bob. The name has changed to Tacky Bill. Not sure why, but the ones that I have are Tacky Bob’s. It looks like a small CD case with adhesive foam on both sides of the inside. I have always beaded with these and love them.
A picture of my stitchy spot. She is looking so beautiful! Almost done with this beauty!
And she is finished!! Sorry for the dark image. I had so much difficulty getting a good picture of her and the fabric. I am so happy with how she turned out. I will be looking for a framer this year to get her framed before the holidays. Now for all the details: She is Holly Berry Pixie from Bella Filipina Designs. Fabric is 16ct Aida, a One of A Kind from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics (she is no longer dying) and she is stitched as charted.
Once I finished Holly Berry, I immediately started a new project that has been ready for the last month.
This one is not my style of stitching, but it was a request from my oldest son. And when a child requests a cross stitch for his gaming room, you ask excitedly “what would you like?” He chose this design from an Etsy designer, Rack & Pinion. So I immediately purchased the PDF, went stash diving into my fabrics and pulled all of the threads. Everything was all ready to go. Here is my small start.
I am stitching this on 16ct Aida Everything Else from Mystic Fabrics. It is more of a cream color, not white like it looks in the photo. I will admit that this project is a little boring. I am not used to stitching just blocks of color. My son is in no hurry for it, so I can see myself doing other things in between stitching on this. Like some smaller projects. I have fallen down the hole of the Flosstube world and have seen so many smaller designs that I want to do. Well, I will be honest, I want to start all of the things!! But that would be a lot of WIP’s so I am restraining myself…for now. More about the flosstube world in another post, but how do you feel about flosstubes? Have you watched any? What are your favorites?
Now to that giveaway. Again, tomorrow is my 11 year blogaversary. So fun! I want to share some of things that make me happy. Bella Filipina has quickly become one of my very favorite cross stitch designers. So how about one of his beautiful designs?
This one is a beauty and she is in my stash to stitch someday. So if you would like a chance to win this pattern, put the word Reina in your comment on this post. I will choose a winner next Friday.
So that is what I have been up to. What are you creating?
I promise you, I am still stitching away. I can’t share the project, but I am seeing a finish in the near future! In the mean time, I have still been adding to my stash collection and have even picked out the next project I will start once I finish the model stitch.
That gorgeous mermaid is Nora’s newest release, Mermaid Undine by Mirabilia. I fell in love with her immediately and ordered her right away. Her colors are magnificent and I just love her tail. I will be stitching her on 16ct Aida Gina by Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephaine. It will be perfect for her. I am still missing 2 of the Waterlilies threads, in this photo, but they are at my LNS and I will get them before I start her. I know that I have other projects that I want to work on and finish, but I am really itching for a new start and Undine will be it when I finish my current project.
I have not slowed down in adding new beautiful things to my ever growing stash either. When I picked up Undine and her supplies at Stitches N Things, a few other things fell into my bag 😉
Let’s see, we have the 1st and 3rd editions to the Snowglobe Mantle by Bent Creek. Love this piece, but I will definitely be changing out the fabric on this one. Do not like the brown linen it came with. I’m sure I have something in my stash that will work out wonderfully. Noel by T. A. Smith Designs, Trick or Treat by Needle Bling Designs, Summer Laguna Mermaid by Nora Corbett, some petite braids for the PR SAL, a tea pot needle minder (I love tea pots) and Santa Claus Weeks Dye Threads that I want to try on a project.
These beauties I received from my good friend, Annie. She is such a sweetie. I love all the gifties she sent:
Last week I received these beauties from Stephanie’s 4th of July sale along with my August Fabric of the Month. All are 16ct Aida and are gorgeous!
From top left, clockwise, we have Soaring Dragonfly, Pretty in Pink, Oberon, Storm, Silvermist, and Hexing. I can’t wait to stitch on them all some day.
And my most recent additions are a magazine that hubby picked up for me. He works near a Barnes and Noble and new I was waiting for this issue to hit the stands.
Joan Elliott’s Belle de Mer is exquisite! Can’t wait to stitch this one someday, too and I already have the perfect fabric for her. And the Halloween pattern I received in the mail yesterday is an Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks pattern and I LOVE it! I have been wanting to stitch one of her designs. She had a rough time on her face book group from a not so nice individual and I wanted to show my support of her work. There are several other designs by her that I want to stitch, too, but I settled for this one for now.
So, there you have it. All of my new stash. Lots of things for me to dream about stitching one day. For now I will keep plugging away at the model stitch. I’d love to know what you have added to your stash lately??
This luscious, hand dyed fabric from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. It’s called Sailor’s Delight and it is 16 ct Aida. I LOVE the colors! I joined her Fabric of the Month Club and this is January piece. She is currently dying a piece of Sky & Grass that I will be using to stitch Roses of Provence on and can’t wait to get it next week. Her fabrics are so beautiful and my wish list from her is getting longer and longer every time I see something stitched on one. And I love it that she is located in Michigan as I am. Click on the link and check out her lovely hand dyes. From there you can check out her facebook page and see what people are stitching on her fabulous fabbies!
I also received this:
I purchased this on ebay after trying to find it in stores and couldn’t. It contains a pattern by Nora Corbett that I have seen many times over the last few months and when I first saw it, I fell in love with it.
Snow Queen. Me being a snowman lover, I just had to have it. She is just beautiful and the pattern will be added to my “stash of things to do”. Of course I have to find the perfect fabric for her and it just might be a hand dyed by Stephanie! I already have something in mind…
Hubby and I spent most of the weekend re-organizing. We started in the “man-cave” where we cleaned off the book shelves and got rid of things no longer needed. Then we ordered 2 new shelves with doors to accommodate my 54 (and growing) scrapbooks! The shelves that they are on now are too narrow and the books hang off of the edges by several inches. And only the 2 middle shelves of the 2 current book shelves can be used for 12 x 12 scrapbooks. We will pick up the new shelves on Thursday and hubby will have to put them together. So then what did I organize??
I took all of my cross stitch patterns out of 2 banker boxes and made new files for my filing cabinet that has been sitting empty for a year now. I made all the labels with my brother label maker-LOVE that thing. Above is drawer 1. Here is drawer #2:
This drawer is full of my Mirabilia, Lavender & Lace and Joan Elliott patterns. I even tore apart my “kitted” Mirabilia’s and added the Krenik threads and beads to my collection and just left the pattern with the fabric. I started on the top 2 drawers for my stamping and scrapbooking, but that will be another weekend. I still have 2 bins out in the garage full of cross stitch “stuffs”, but that is mostly bulky things like afghans, pillows, kits, towels, borders and such. I would like to bring them inside and put them on the shelf where the bankers boxes used to be. That too will have to wait for another weekend. It was fun looking through all of my patterns and seeing what I have that I had forgotten about. The only draw-back…I want to start a ton of new things! I did get a little stitching time in this weekend and worked on Erin’s RR. Just started putting the beads on and I will post that when I am finished. I also added a few stitches to August Fairy and here is what she looks like now:
I know, not a lot added. I really love the colors.
I will add another post in a bit and show you what hubby made for me over the weekend!
My Time Stitching 