Tag: Ella the frog princess

What Have I Been Up To?
cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted cowl · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Shannon Christine designs · Uncategorized

What Have I Been Up To?

My Time Stitching30 Comments

Hello my Blogging friends.  It’s been a little while since I last posted.  In my last post in April, I had noted that I tore the meniscus in my knee.  I had surgery on May 23, and have been going to physical therapy since.  It was a more difficult recovery than I was led to believe.  And Monday I found out that my knee cap is not moving, so that is hindering my progress as far as going down the steps normally and going from standing to sitting and sitting to standing.  So yesterday my therapist taped my knee and I am hoping this will help with the pain in trying to  put more weight on it when bending the knee.  The stairs are the worst and I live in a quad level house.  Ugh. But I am getting around better and have ditched the cane.  Woo Hoo!  Tonight I am going to try to walk the zoo at hubby’s company family night.  We’ll see how much I can do.

But I have been crafting and am now able to sit at my desk to make cards and scrapbook for longer lengths of time now.  And I have been stitching.  Let’s see… where to begin…

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This has ben my travel project and go to project when I have a few minutes here and there.  It is a going to be a cowl.  The pattern is from Katia and the yarn is Katia’s Funny Rainbow.  When I purchased this back in April on a weekend trip, I wasn’t sure how it would knit up.  But I am so glad I decided to get it.  The yarn is so, so soft!  I am loving this. It is straight garter stitch, increasing a stitch each row on one end.  I love how the striping colors are coming out, too.

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Next up is the Mermaid SAL designed by Shannon Christine.  The June mermaid is out, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.  Mainly because I have been working on this:

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The Mystery Sampler from Linen and Threads.  I am working on the June/July section and just loving every stitch of it.  I am stitching this on 16ct Aida, OOAK from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.  It is more of a peach color than shown here.  I apologize for my photos.  I took them with my Surface and they didn’t come out very well.  Anyway, I am using DMC 53 and DMC 310.

Last weekend I picked up this beauty from the cross stitch shop:

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She is Mirabilia’s Ella, the Frog Princess.  I finished her in 2017, but recently put her in for framing.  And she turned out lovely.  I even picked her up on Mirabilia’s  25th anniversary, so I thought that was so perfect.  Happy 25th Miss Nora!! I can’t believe that I have been stitching Nora’s designs for nearly 25 years!!    I stitched her on 16ct Aida Pandora from Fabrics by Stephanie.

As if I don’t have enough to do… this happened:

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Yep, I started a new project.  I am stitching Enchanted Mermaid again.  I gave my other one to a dear friend, so I am stitching her again.  This time I am using a hand dyed fabric, 16ct Aida OOAK from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.  I can’t wait to get back to her.  She is so blingy!

And yesterday I received this beautiful piece of fabric in the mail.

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It is a OOAK 16ct Aida from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.  It is so gorgeous in person.  Now to find the perfect pattern for it.

Well, that is about all I have to update you on for now.  I have signed up for a knitted shawl MAL at a new local yarn shop I found in May.  The first session meets next week, so I will fill you in on that soon.  So what are you crafting on today?

Winners and Ella Update
cross stitch · Mirabilia

Winners and Ella Update

My Time Stitching30 Comments

Good morning, blogging friends.  Another cold, cloudy day here and snow on the way…in April!  Though that is not so unusual here in Michigan.  But I was really hoping for Spring.

I pulled names for my blogaversary give-away and they are as follows:

The Knitting give-away:  Nicola Florence

Cross Stitch give-away:  Gretchen Parker

Congratulations, ladies.  Send me an email at ginny@mytimestitching.com with your addresses and I will get your prizes out to you.  So sorry for the delay.

Now for an update on my stitching.  I have been steadily stitching on Ella and am making pretty good progress on her.

Ella update 1

I am almost finished with the ruffles and then I can move onto her waist and arms and I am so excited!!  She is really beginning to come alive.

Ella update 2

In case you are seeing her for the first time, she is Ella, the Frog Princess by Mirabilia.  I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Pandora from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.  Just LOVE how she is turning out.

I also have a new app I have been playing with on my phone.  It is called Xstitch.  Have you heard of it?

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I heard about it in one of the facebook groups and it sounded like something I needed.  So I bought it for $2.99 and started playing around with it.  It was a little confusing, because I wanted it to do somethings a little different.  You can keep track of your WIP’s and supplies, keep an inventory of  fabrics and threads you have.  It doesn’t have a list for Sullivan Threads or Mill Hill beads and treasures.  You can keep track of charts and kits and wish lists.  So I have been adding things little by little to the app so I can keep track of what I am working on, and where all of my threads are.  I also am going to add all of my inventory and projects that I have kitted up and ready to go and to keep track of charts I have and any supplies that I have for that chart.  It will be nice when I go to the cross stitch store, too.  I can keep a shopping list on it, too.  So have you heard of this app or are you using it?  What do you think of it?

My Framing is Such Joy
Afghans · cross stitch · Elegant Ladies · Fairies · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mirabilia · yarn

My Framing is Such Joy

My Time Stitching37 Comments

Hello blogging friends.  Hubby took 1/2 a day off today and he surprised me by taking me to the Rocking Horse to pick up my latest framing.

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Isn’t it lovely?  I was so afraid of how it was going to turn out because my framing session was not enjoyable.  And I didn’t have it framed like the model in the store because I felt it was too much green.  My fabric is a darker green than theirs, and I am not a fan of green.  So I went with the red mat.  And then I was afraid it wouldn’t match the stitching, but I really like it.  The frame was my first choice.  I didn’t even look at any others and I think it is perfect.   So now to find a temporary hanging place for it.  Just for a while so I can enjoy it a bit.  So sweet.

I am still waiting for threads for the Mystery Sampler.  My LNS says they are on back-order from the manufacturer, so no telling when I will get them.  However, a very sweet gal on the sampler group has offered to send me 3 skeins that she has as she is undecided about her sampler.  Stitcher’s are such sweet people ❤  While waiting on threads,  I have been working on Ella.  Here is where I left her last night:

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Not too much added since my last post, but every stitch counts, right?  The empty area in the dress is getting smaller, so I am excited about that.  Once I finish the bottom of the dress, I will have to move the scrolls up and work from the middle up.  But that will be a lot less stitching than the bottom.  This photo also represents my fabric perfectly, as it is a beautiful sunny day with 60 degrees!   It is 16ct Aida Pandora from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.

I also started my Temperature blanket the other day.  What is a temperature blanket you ask?  Well, it is a blanket that is crocheted or knitted, with each row based on the high temperature of where you live.  So I found this color scheme on-line and tweaked it a bit for my blanket:

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I ordered my yarn from LoveKnitting and if finally arrived on Thursday.  I am using Stlyecraft DK instead of worsted weight.  Here is my start:

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I am using a G hook and chained 250 stitches.  I decided to do my blanket 3dc, sk 2. Then do 3dc in the skip 2 space of the previous row.  Today, while in the car, I noticed my blanket is bowing and my ends are not even.  I should have started with maybe an I hook and then switched down to a G after my foundation row.  I will have to brush up on my chaining on the ends and where to stick my hook for the first stitch.  So today I will be ripping this out and starting over.  I will probably be doing a different stitch, too.  Something where I can make sure I have the right amount of stitches every row.  My crochet skills are still not very well without a specific pattern and some visual tutorials, so I will be sure to have all that when I re-start.  It will be a fun blanket to stitch on every day or do a couple of rows once a week, based on the high temps.  If you are wanting to get started on your own Temperature blanket, you can knit or crochet, whatever pattern you want, whatever yarn and color scheme you want.  I do believe that Lion Brand also has some info on their website.  For the high temperatures, there is a website called weatherunderground.com that you can get the history of high temps in your area.

So, what are your needles creating today?

Birthday Surprises and Ella Update
cross stitch · Elegant Ladies · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mirabilia · New stash! · Stitchy Gifts · Uncategorized · WIP

Birthday Surprises and Ella Update

My Time Stitching23 Comments

So last weekend was my birthday and hubby spoiled me with a weekend get-away and some fun shopping.  He also surprised me with a techy gift.  Did you notice my new blog address??  I’m a dot com now!  and I have my own email address attached to my blog so if you ever want to drop me a note, you can at ginny@mytimestitching.com

I received a couple of stitchy gifts for my birthday.  I received these from my VBSF (Very Best Stitchy Friend):

Stitchy birthday gift

Johanna knows I LOVE tea pots and tea cups.  It is so perfect.  If I had a needle, scissors and a hoop on my getaway, I would have already started this cute stitch. This will look lovely in my kitchen one day.  And the beautiful pendant she made from clay. This photo really doesn’t do this piece justice.  It is really gorgeous in person.   She is so talented.  Thank you so much, Johanna.

I received a surprise package all the way from Singapore from a dear blogging friend, Angela.

Stitchy gift from Angela

A beautiful stitch kit that will be perfect in my new craft room (coming this Spring).  It says DREAM, sorry I covered that up with the cute little scissors.  And a bag full of buttons and charms.  I can’t wait to use them in my crafting.  Thank you for thinking of me, Angela.

And now my update on Ella, the Frog Princess:

Ella update

I feel she is going so slow.  I have been working on her for about 4 weeks now and this is only the middle of the dress layers. I guess I have my wish to stitch on a lady with a big dress 😉  This is definitely a Big Yellow Dress.  I hope to have much more done the next time I update her.  In case you are viewing her for the first time, she is Ella, the Frog Princess by Mirabila.  I am stitching her on Pandora 16ct Aida from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.

So, are you working on a project that just seems to be slowly getting done?

So Much Yellow!
cross stitch · Knitting · Mirabilia · New stash! · Uncategorized · yarn

So Much Yellow!

My Time Stitching16 Comments

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

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

Ella progress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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