Happy New Year!

January 1, 2023 My Time Stitching12 Comments

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

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

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

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

Which brings us to what I am currently knitting on.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

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

I Knitted A Hat!

November 11, 2022 My Time Stitching10 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

Crochet · cross stitch · Fox and Rabbit

A Crochet Finish and A Cross Stitch Catch Up

October 3, 2022 My Time Stitching17 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ginny

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

A Knit Finish and Cross Stitch Progress

August 3, 2022 My Time Stitching14 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ginny

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