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

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Pixie · yarn

Sunday Stitching

March 5, 2023 My Time Stitching13 Comments

Happy Sunday, my blogging friends. We had a snowstorm on Friday with a dumping of 10″ of the heavy white stuff. There was Thundersnow and lightning and white out conditions. The sun came out on Saturday and quite a bit of it has melted. Today was just an easy Sunday inside, doing a little laundry and some stitching.

I spent quite a bit of time stitching on Holly Berry Pixie. The designer is Bella Filipina Designs and I am stitching her on a one of a kind 16ct Aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics (she is no longer dying fabric). When I last posted about her, I had her skirt done and the berries at the bottom.

Since then I have added many stitches.

Look at that beautiful face! I have added some back stitching and more of the ribbons along the sides.

I have so enjoyed seeing this sweet pixie come to life. The colors are so bright and vibrant. And this is where I left her today.

Just a few more berries and then filling in of all the sparkles and draping strands of blue Kreinik, which I may need another spool of. I am not sure I started with a partial spool or not, but I don’t think I will have enough left for the amount of strands I need to stitch. And then I can get onto the beading. Lots of beautiful, sparkly beads. I will pick this up again tonight and maybe get my berries finished. I like to do most of my cross stitch at night. A habit I fell into after I had my children and while they were growing up. I like to spend my morning knitting with my coffee and I do have a new knitting project.

I recently purchased this yarn cake from The Yarn Garden. The Head Gardner there, Lindsay, talked about this yarn on her Feature Friday video a little over a week ago. If you are looking for something to do on Friday mornings, her facebook videos are great and I always learn something from her. You can find her videos on her facebook page The Yarn Garden. Her live videos are on Friday from 11:00 am to noon ET. Anyway, she talked about Wonderland Yarns doing a year long series with their Garden Club Blossoms called Ocean. Each month will include a Blossom Cake, a pattern and a stitch marker. This cake is the February cake and the color is called Great Barrier Reef Anemones. It came with a hat pattern that is cute, but I didn’t feel like making a hat. So I spent a lot of time on Ravelry looking for a shawl or cowl pattern that would work with this yarn. I wasn’t coming up with anything and sought the help of a friend. She came up with a couple of great ideas and I decided on the 22 Little Clouds pattern by Martina Behm. It is a free pattern on Ravelry and I think it is more of a shawlette, a smaller shawl.

I got started right away and couldn’t help but notice that my nails matched my knitting again. I like when that happens 😉 And here is where I left off this morning.

I am enjoying this knit and am really looking forward to seeing the color changes. I like knitting with this Mad Hatter Sport yarn. It is soft and knits up nicely. I did find a shop online that had 1 skein left of the January cake and I will show that one in a future post. Oh, I did forget to mention that each month comes with a post card with some beautiful artwork on one side and project tracking information on the other. Here is the February card.

So that is how I spent my Sunday. Doing what I love; Stitching. What did you work on today?

Happy Stitching,

Ginny

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Pixie · WIP

Holly Berry Pixie

February 7, 2023 My Time Stitching20 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! January got away from me and I thought I had better make a post before February disappears! Though when February is over, I will be even closer to Spring. But I really cannot complain about this winter. Temps have been above normal for the most part and we have not gotten much snow. Yay!! I will take it! The days do seem to be going by so fast for me. Maybe that is why I hurt my back over the weekend. In too much of a hurry and twisted wrong. So, I have been taking it easy the last couple of days and getting in lots of knitting and cross stitching. Today I will share with you what I have been cross stitching on.

Let me introduce you to Holly Berry Pixie from Bella Filipina Designs.

I fell absolutely in love with this pattern when it was released in December. I could not get her in my hands fast enough! I ordered right away and then went stash diving to find the perfect fabric. And boy did I find the perfect fabric!

The fabric is more pink than this photo shows and I think it is very similar to the fabric shown in the design. It is 16ct aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics (the dyer is no longer dying fabric) and I think it has been in my stash just for this design.

My floss toss with the threads that I have on hand. I definitely think this fabric will work well with all of the threads. The pattern arrived on January 6, well before I expected and I started her right away. Well, after digging for a scroll frame first, LOL. So, yep, I have added another WIP to my pile. And I needed the break from the Fox & Rabbit Mystery SAL. I hope to finish this one so that it can be displayed on my wall, somewhere, for the Christmas holidays next year.

My start. I am loving every stitch of this one. I love seeing her come to life on the pink fabric.

The red just pops on the pink fabric. Her skirt is so cute!!

This is where I left her last night. I am loving this pattern so much. Even the berries 😉

So that is my first new start of 2023. I am hoping that I don’t get sucked into too many cross stitch starts this year as my pile is still driving me crazy. In fact, let me share my pile.

My Local Yarn Shop is doing a Bingo card to help knitters and crocheters get their yarny WIP’s February Finished Objects. The shop owner suggested gathering all of the WIP’s and putting them in a pile to see what we have. Since I am caught up on my knitting projects with just 2-current project and a travel project, and no crochet projects, I decided to pull out all of my cross stitch WIP’s. There is a blanket I had started that has to be abandoned because the fabric has yellowed 😦 And another project that was started that I probably won’t continue with. There is one more project that I will be adding for sure, but this is the pile. I would like to make good progress on all of these this year and maybe finish a few. My ultimate goal is to get back to one cross stitch project at a time. That is my ultimate goal every year, though, LOL Do you have a WIP pile? If so, how many? I’d love to hear about your WIP’s.

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

Afghans · Craft Room · Crochet · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Nora Corbett · Passione Ricamo · Pixie · Shannon Christine · Shannon Christine designs

So I Visited The Crochet Expert

October 26, 2018 My Time Stitching19 Comments

Wow! Another post so soon from me? I’m on a roll, LOL.

So on Wednesday, I went to my Local Yarn Shop for a session with the Crochet Expert, Jen. She was amazing. I feel like I learned so much. Not just for my blanket, but for crochet in general. So here is my blanket how I left it Wednesday night:

Not a whole lot added since my last post, because I now have tendonitis in both of my elbows. Ugh. Too much knitting and crocheting the last few weeks. So I am wearing a brace on my right arm, which is the worst. I could barely dry my hair yesterday 😦 But, I do have the correct number of stitches and I am using stitch markers to mark the first stitch of every row. It appears that I have left some stitches unstitched on my ends. And Jen is going to help me with my border when I am ready so that it looks evened out since I opted to just continue on rather than rip it all out. So I am more confident going forward from here…when my elbows stop hurting.

This week I stitched the October mermaid on the SAL and even started beading 🙂

This piece is going to have so many beads!! I was so excited to start beading, being that I am on the bottom row, that I forgot that I still have January to do since this SAL started in February. So I didn’t put the rest of the bigger beads on October since I am using a scroll frame. The biggest bead, at the top of October, gave me such a tough time. I just couldn’t get it to lay properly. It took me about 40 minutes to finally get it the way I wanted after putting the other white bead on, so I am not taking them out. I will put some felt or batting on top of the beads before I roll it up when I do January. So for now, I will skip the beading. It was fun putting all those gold beads in. I love beading.

So last night I pulled out my Pink Princess.

It is really called Dawn, the Fairy Spirit of Grace, by Passione Ricamo. But I am going to stitch her without the wings, so I call her my Pink Princess. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Tintagel from Fabrics by Stephanie. And when I pulled this out, I saw in my notes that I started her in March of 2015!!! What? It just could not have been that long! Where does the time go. There is no way I should have these things as WIP’s for this long. I will stitch on her until the next section of the Mystery Sampler comes out on Oct. 31. Hopefully she won’t be put away for too long.

A couple of weeks ago, I hung some stitchings in my craft room. I was reminded by a blogging friend that I hadn’t shared photos.

Ella, the Frog Princess. I love seeing her when I am crafting in my room. Which obviously isn’t enough as my plant is dying. No worries. I did water it after taking my photos. It should be all perked up tonight.

I added the White Angel Trumpet pixie to the other pixies I have stitched. They all look so cute hanging together. I don’t have much wall left though. I can fit one more to the left of Iris. I’ll have to figure out which one that will be.

And lastly, I hung the Mystery Sampler 2017 right beside my desk.

While I am working at my desk, I can look up and see this one. This was my very first Sampler and I am happy that it is hanging when I can see it when I am at my desk. Oh, I was in my craft room this week. I put together an 8 x 8 travel scrapbook which is where I am planning on putting my pictures from my trip up north last weekend. So I guess I can say that I am in there at about once a week. I love seeing my stitchings on the wall when I craft 🙂

So what are you up to this week? Any stitchy plans for the weekend?

Books I am reading · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitting · Nora Corbett · Passione Ricamo · Pixie · Poison Pixie · scrapbooking

First Finishes of the Month

January 19, 2018 My Time Stitching22 Comments

Hello blogging friends! We are a few weeks into January and already I have a few finishes. Earlier in the month I finished the 1 ball cowl I had started over the summer and I just love how it turned out.

The yarn is “Shawl in a Ball” from Lion Brand. The color is Community Coral. It was pretty mindless knitting in stockinette stitch and so it became my take along project for knitting on car rides that were 1/2 an hour or more. After the new year, I decided to bite the bullet and knit on it until I finished the skein. I have already worn it once and it is nice and warm.

Next up I have my first 2 scrapbook pages for the year. They were part of a kit from my Local Scrapbook store. January pages of the Calendar Club.

I have done the calendar club at this shop for the past 4 or 5 years, but this year is going to be my favorite as she will be using products from Blue Fern. I Love their products and I enjoyed creating these pages. Hopefully I can get more pictures on them and keep up with it all year. Photos will hide those finger prints on the 2nd page from me putting lotion on my hands. Ugh.

Next up is my first book finish.

I finished this book on Wednesday. It is the 2nd in The Guardian Trilogy from Nora Roberts. With all of my hobbies, reading takes a back seat, reading usually only at lunch time or when I am at a hair appointment or take my car in for an oil change. One of my goals this year is to read more. I am happy to have my first book finished in January. This series is pretty good. I am anxious to start the 3rd book and see how it finishes up.

I finished this sweet little thing last night:

She was a pretty quick stitch. Binge watching the old X-Files has certainly helped me move right along with her. She is White Angel Trumpet, a Poison Pixie from Nora Corbet. I stitched her on a OOAK 16ct Aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics. The fabric looks like it has poisonous gasses in greens and grays. I think it is perfect for her.

So I dug this WIP out to work on for now.

This one is Passione Ricamo’s 20th Anniversary SAL. It is quite a large piece and I would love to finish this one this year. There are many blocks on this one each containing a portion of different PR patterns from over the years. I am stitching on 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. It is truly going to be an amazing piece. Not sure how long I will stitch on it, but every stitch will put me closer to a finish, right?

So that is it for my finishes so far this month. I have a long list of goals for 2018 and I am still trying to put them into a “18 in 2018” order. I hope to have that list nailed down for my next post. So what are your goals for 2018? What are you currently working on? I’d love to hear all about it 🙂

cross stitch · Nora Corbett · Pixie · Sampler

Welcome 2018!

January 3, 2018 My Time Stitching22 Comments

Happy New Year, my blogging friends! I do wish you all a wonderful, happy, healthy 2018. I just love starting a new year. It’s a blank page to make it what you want; to make those lists of things to do, (and not do) and what we want to accomplish in the new year. It is also my birthday month, so I am a little partial to January 😉 I have made my list of New Year Resolutions and things I would like to do this year. It is a really long list and I intend to work very hard at accomplishing all of my goals. Some of the things at the top of my list are to eat healthier by cooking more, get my butt on the tread mill, clean and purge my entire house (I got a good start in December) eliminate a lot of knitting and scrapbooking stash and to finish cross stitch WIP’s. I have been pretty good at working on WIP’s this last year, so hopefully that will continue into the new year. So, let’s get to the stitchy stuff. I finished the Mystery Sampler from Linen and Threads.

I put the last stitch in just minutes before midnight on Christmas Eve. I really, really enjoyed this stitch all year long and am so pleased with my color selections. If you are seeing this for the first time, I stitched this on 16ct Aida Castleview by Silkweaver. I stitched with Sullivan’s variegated London Fog and DMC 3888. And a special thank you to the gals that donated some 3888 floss to me so that I could finish this project. I chose this floss from my DMC cabinet and didn’t realize that it was a color that was offered in a box of new colors that have not been added to the DMC line. So I really appreciate the gals helping me out. If you are interested in stitching this, the pattern sections are FREE from Linen and Threads and they are still available on their website. They have also started a new Mystery Sampler for 2018, for FREE, and I have a feeling it will be just as gorgeous as this one. The January section is up on the website. I can’t wait for my threads to get here and to get that special piece of fabric so I can get started on it. Here is another angle of my finished piece.

I have put a few stitches into my newest start, White Angel Trumpet, by Nora Corbett.

So far this has been a very nice, relaxing stitch. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida, One of a Kind from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

That is all for now. I do hope to blog more this year. I’d love to say that I will be create a new post every week, but I think I would totally fail at that one right off the bat. So I will post when I can and share what I am up to 😉 So what are your goals for 2018? I’d love to hear about them. I will leave you with a gorgeous winter sunset I saw last night 🙂 I am still thinking about the gorgeous pinks and purples and oranges and what a wonderful piece of fabric that would be.

Pixie · Sampler

Iris Framed and a New Sampler Start

February 9, 2017February 9, 2017 My Time Stitching23 Comments

This last weekend I picked up Iris from the framer. The frame is darker than what I ordered, so we will see if it grows on my.

I ordered a brown frame, but this is more black. It is the correct number, perhaps they used a different color stain than the corner I chose. I will see how I like it after some time. There are also a couple of large beads in her hair that are turned sideways. That may bother me more than the frame. We shall see. In case you are seeing her for the first time, she is Iris from Nora Corbett, stitched on 16ct Aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

In my last post I told you I started the Mystery Sampler from Linens and Thread. I was stitching it in DMC 310 – black, but was not liking how I could see the fabric through the stitches. So after looking at (and buying) many different variegated threads, I found one that I liked with my fabric. So here is my new start on the sampler.

I could not get a good picture of the colors, but I am using Sullivans London Fog. Which is a gray/blue/purple thread. I have decided to add some solid accents, such as the dragon which I stitched in DMC 3888. The fabric is 16ct Aida Castleview from Silkweaver. I am really liking how this is working up. If you are interested in stitching this design, it is a Stitch A Long from Linens and Thread and it is FREE. The January and February parts are out now and a new section will be introduced the first of each month until the end of the year. Here is a closer picture:

I have also ordered yarn to start a temperature blanket and I am excited to get crocheting on that when the yarn arrives. More on that when I get it started. So what new project have you recently picked up or are dying to start?

cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Hand Stamped Cards · knitted scarves · Knitting · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Nora Corbett · Passione Ricamo · Pixie · Queen · Uncategorized

Show and Tell Time

October 24, 2016 My Time Stitching35 Comments

Wow! Where did October go? I can’t believe it’s been a month since I last posted. Time is flying! So I have things to share. First, hubby went to the framer over the weekend and picked up this:

Mirabilia’s Raven Queen. Isn’t she a beauty? I had the frame picked out for months and it is even more perfect for her than I imagined! I LOVE this piece immensely! She is stitched on 16ct Aida Twixt N Tween from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.

A closer picture of her and the awesome frame:

And remember the piece I was stitching for a friend, so I couldn’t show it? Well hubby also picked it up from the framer and here it is:

Yeah, my friend is a Trekkie and I finally got this stitched up for her. It is actually stitched on a blue 14ct opal fabric. Here is a better picture of the fabric:

My friend was actually at my house on Saturday for a card class when hubby came home with it, so I was able to give it to her right away. She loves it and was planning on taking it to work today to show all of her Trekkie friends and then I am sure she will find the perfect place to hang it at her house.

I also finished this, but haven’t put it in for framing yet.

Nora Corbett’s Iris Pixie on 16ct Aida OOAK from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics. I just love her on this fabric! So cool how it turned out.

She is a cutie. I can’t wait to get her framed. So now I am working on the Passione Ricamo’s A Journey Into the Deep. I would love to finish this one before starting a new Pixie. Here is how I left the mermaid last night:

I know you can’t tell from this picture, but this is a pretty big piece. I am almost finished the tail, and then I have another fish to do to the right of the tail and another further up then I can move up to her sweet face and all that hair. And she does have a million beads, too, so she will be nice and sparkly! I am stitching her on 28ct Lugana Pixie Dust from Silkweaver.

I also did something new. I knitted an infinity scarf on size 50 needles. Size 50!! Boy was that a little awkward.

The yarn is Red Heart Boutique Twilight in color Metallic. It is soft and will be nice and warm on the very cold days that they are predicting we will have this winter.

I have also been making Christmas cards. One for every day in October. Here is today’s card:

If you want to see the prior 23 cards, you can view them on my business facebook page at Ginny’s Place, Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. Leave a comment so I know you visited and let me know what you think of the cards.

Well, now I am all up to date with what has been happening with me the last month. What have you been working on?

cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted scarves · Knitting · Nora Corbett · Pixie · scrapbooking · storage bags · Uncategorized · WIP · yarn

My September Happenings

September 27, 2016 My Time Stitching24 Comments

Hello my Bloggy friends! It is officially fall where I am and the leaves are starting to change and there was a nip in the air this morning. The sun is shining brightly today, so it is a happy day. I have been stitching and stamping and scrapbooking and shopping 🙂 So let me begin with my Iris project:

If this is your first time seeing her, she is Iris Pixie by Nora Corbett. I am stitching her on a One of a Kind fabric from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics in 16ct Aida. Johanna creates the most beautiful, one of a kind fabrics! The best way to purchase them is in her Etsy shop; Fantasy Dyed Fabrics Etsy It is so quick and easy that way. What you see is what you get and very quickly, too. I am finished with the bottom of the dress, except for outling and beading which will come later. I have started on the wing, and not sure I am liking the colors. The picture shows them a little more purply, but mine appear to be more gray. But the Kreinik thread (the three darker dashes in the wing) are a Pewter color, so maybe they are supposed to be that way. I will continue as the chart says, when I pick her back up, and see if I like it more. For now she has been put aside so that I can work on another project. I can’t show much, as it is a gift but I will give you a peek:

I know, not much of a peek. But did you notice that I am using Q-snaps on this project? Wow! I want to say that I am using them because they are awesome and great and all that, but in all actuality I am using them because 1. all of my scroll frames are in use and 2. The 14ct aida I am using is a stiff opal and I didn’t want to use a hoop. And 3. Almost all of the design fits in the square. I have been using it for almost a week and while it is not the comfortable feel of my scroll frame, it’s not too bad. I can’t rest it on my knee and stitch 2-handed like I am used to, so progress is slow. But that’s ok. It’s a nice change and I do plan on using this same Q-snap frame for a HAED design that have barely started a couple of years ago. Someday 🙂

This week I received some very happy mail.

Five new lovely bags and grime guards for my last 5 WIP’s. I can’t say enough about these bags! They are by Deanna and you can find her Facebook page at Deanna’s Frame Covers and Storage. She does such a wonderful job creating these bags and covers for all of us crazy stitchers with way too many projects on our hands! Her attention to detail is phenomenal, matching each fabric with the perfect lining and zipper. She also makes covers for Q-snaps (I have 2 sets on the way!) and grime guards for hoops also. Go and check her page out. She even has ready made sets available for purchase. And let her know you heard about her here on my blog 🙂

This week I finished another scarf 🙂

I am totally in LOVE with this scarf! Do I say that about every scarf I make? Probably. But I really love this one. These are usually not my colors, but I love the vintage, shabby chic look of it. Now I want clothes to match it 😉 The browns, tans and creams and just a hint of pink here and there make it perfect for fall. I’m not sure you can see in the photo, but there are sequins on the yarn that give it a little sparkle. The yarn is Patons Pirouette and the color is called Sienna Sparkle. So pretty.

Speaking of yarn, I went to Fiber Festival with a friend last weekend and found a sweet little yarn shop there. They also raise Alpaca’s there and so I am assuming they dye and spin their own yarn to sell in the little shop there. I couldn’t resist purchasing a couple of hanks of the softest yarn I could find in there.

The sweet lady there was so nice to wind them into yarn cakes for me. There is just something about a yarn cake that is so heavenly. The yarn on the left is 100% Alpaca wool while the one on the right is 80% Alpaca and 20% Merino wool. They are both so soft and I will have to find a scarf pattern for both. I think the one on the right will be perfect for a infinity scarf. I could have bought a lot more, but there is this huge stash of yarn at my house that has been growing that I really need to start using. Someday, right?

I have also been scrapbooking and getting into the latest craze of Memory Planners. I am totally sucked into Heidi Swapp’s world of Memory Planning. I had purchased a planner kit many months ago and decided that it wasn’t big enough for me to add photos and journal like I want. It was of a slimmer design. So I decided to turn it into a little scrapbook for my husband who had to go out of town to visit his Father whose health was failing. While he was gone, I created a little memory album of his trip with all of the pictures he texted me. It was all finished for him the day he returned home and he was thrilled with it.

Basically I took out the calendar pages and used some of the overlay pages and added stickers and papers and pocket pages. I even learned how to use a new phone app called PicFrame that is great for making photo collages. I was able to get all of the photos he texted me into the album and it is a nice keepsake of his trip to visit his family.

So that is what I have been up to lately. I also have some new cross stitch fabrics and patterns and threads that I have added to my stash, but they seem to be all over the place right now. I even have some plans for some new projects! Imagine that! I am also getting the knitting bug now that the weather is starting to cool off. So come back and visit to see what I am up to next 😉 What kinds of projects do you have in the works or what fun new projects are you planning?

Books I am reading · cross stitch · Fabric · Nora Corbett · Pixie · WIP

My Wednesday WIP Update

September 7, 2016 My Time Stitching20 Comments

Happy Wednesday, my blogging friends! Since I took some pictures and added them to facebook, I thought I would update my little ole blog while I am still on the computer. So, here is my progress on Nora Corbett’s Iris:

She is really starting to come to life and looking so amazing on that fabric. It is a one of a kind from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics and is 16ct Aida. Just loving her so far and amazingly not so tired of the gold yet 😉

Today I finished reading this:

It took me a long time, but I must say it was a really good read. It is actually 3 books in one and I don’t take a lot of time to read. Mostly during my lunch hour when I can or when I am at the salon getting my hair done or waiting to get an oil change. This is isn’t my usual type of read. It was suggested by my husband who knew I would like it. And once I could get past the boring battle stuff and the sometimes boring details from the author, it was a great read. I really dragged out the last 30 pages or so as I really didn’t want it to end. So if you like those books about knights, squires, paladins, elves, dwarfs and kingdoms and many battles, then I do recommend this book.

So what are you up to this fine September day?

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