Tag: mermaids

Stitching Is Keeping Me Sane
cross stitch · Fairies · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Passione Ricamo · Passione Ricamo SAL · Sampler · Shannon Christine designs

Stitching Is Keeping Me Sane

My Time Stitching27 Comments

Hi!  I am still here, and stitching, packing, getting over a stomach virus and still cleaning out the basement.   Hubby and I just about have the basement cleaned out in preparation for the waterproofing.  Just a few pieces of smaller furniture left to bring up and the 3 bigger pieces that we won’t be able to bring up. Our garage is filled from floor to ceiling with lots of bins and boxes.  A few weeks ago we had new gutters installed and for some reason we are now getting water in the basement when it rains.  Ugh!  We have never had water, just a damp carpet on one side of the basement.  So one night, while hubby and I were both sick with a stomach bug, he had to go out at 10:30 at night to buy a shop vac.  We were up until 1 am vacuuming up water.  And we have bought a dehumidifier to help dry everything up.  I will be so happy when this is all done with.  And then we get to figure out if everything gets to go back into the  basement.  I’m almost  to the point that it can stay an unfinished basement.  We’ll see how long it will be until it is all back to normal.

Through it all, my stitching has been there to lift my spirits and take me away.  So what have I been stitching on?

I finished the peacock on the 2019 Mystery Sampler from Linen and Threads.

peacock sampler 2

I stitched the peacock in DMC 3810 on 16ct Aida Graceful Gray from Wichelt.  I also finished the borders using Gloriana Silk Rain Forest.  I love the colors in that thread!

peacock-sampler-1.jpg

I ran out of thread for the bottom middle block, but I have some on order and fingers crossed it will match what I have done.  And I finished the March block in no time.

Peacock sampler 3

I am hoping I can complete this sampler with just the DMC 310. But if it turns out that I need to add more color, I can pull colors from the Rain Forest thread.  I like the March block and wonder if all the blocks will be similar.  So for now it is tucked away until the April section comes out.  I have decided to work on some of my WIP’s and pulled this one out:

PR 20th anniversary SAL update1

I love this piece and would love to get it finished.  I completed the second block from the left and am working on the 3rd block.  This is Passione Ricamo‘s 20th anniversary piece.  I am stitching it on 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky from Fabrics by Stephanie.

PR 20th anniversary SAL update2

I will stitch on this one until I finish the block I am working on and then pull another WIP out.  I am hoping to finish a couple of projects this year.

This weekend I picked this up from the cross stitch store, all framed up by Way Cool Mats:  Treasures of The Deep, by Shannon Christine Designs.

Treasures of the Deep framed

I thought I captured a good image of this one, but I didn’t.  It really has a lot of beads.  So much so, that in some angles it looks really gaudy, like in the top of the photo.  And then from a different angle, it looks like the bottom of the image.  Sometimes the mermaids get drowned out by all of the beads.  I didn’t think there could ever be too many beads on a project, but this one I think may just have too many.  I do love all the little mermaids though.

March 1 was my 7 year Blogaversary!  I can’t believe I have been posting on this little ole blog for 7 years now!  And I still love it.  I just need to make the time to post more often. I will try this year 😉

So that is all I have for now.  I do have a few knitting projects and crochet projects going on, too.  I will post about them next time.  So what are you stitching on today?

So I Visited The Crochet Expert
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

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:

Spicier Life blanket 2

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 🙂

Mermaid SAL Oct

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.

Pink Princess progress 1

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 framed and hung

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.

pixies on the wall 2

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.

Mystery Sampler 2017 hung

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?

 

I Have Been Stitching Away
cross stitch · Knitted Shawl · Knitting

I Have Been Stitching Away

My Time Stitching27 Comments

Hello blogging friends.  It’s been a bit since I last posted.  A little over 2 months.  It was summer, and now it’s fall. The last 2 days here have felt a bit like the start of winter though.  We were at 80 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday and today it’s 46.  Wow!  I do hope that we get a Fall season though.  I love Fall.  The beautiful colored leaves, just a nip of cold in the air, great stitchy weather and a time for change and new beginnings.  This year has been a difficult year for me.  Filled with many changes.  Some good and some not so good.  This week was a hard week for me.  Today, I have decided to forget about the negative things, and move on for me.  Wish me luck.  So on to stitching.  What would I do without my stitching.  It is my friend, my therapy, my salvation.

Last night I finished the Funny Rainbow shawl I have been working on since May.  It was mostly my car traveling stitch, but this week I decided to work on it more and give it a finish.

Katia Funny Rainbow Shawl

I really enjoyed stitching this and it is so soft and bouncy and the pattern was garter stitch, so easy to take in the car.  It needs no blocking, so I am hoping to wear it soon.  The yarn is Funny Rainbow by Katia and the pattern is Funny Rainbow Shawl by Katia. I have it on my list of things to purchase more of this yarn.

Two nights ago, I finished the Sea Grass Shawl by Janina Kallio.  It also turned out beautifully, but needs blocking.  So this morning I soaked it in cold water, squeezed out the water after about 20 minutes and started putting it on my set of 9 blocking blocks which I had purchased recently.  You see, this is my first time ever blocking anything!  But my shawl was too big, so I had to run to the local yarn shop and get another package of blocks.  So here it is all blocked out.

Seagrass shawl being blockedNot much to look at right now, but in a day or two, when it is all dry, it will be beautiful!  I hope I have blocked it right.  The Blue sparkly yarn is Tardis by Mint Rain Hand Dyed Yarns and the variegated yarn is Surf’s Up from AJHC Wools.  Both were nice yarns to work with.

This week I also finished the October section of the Mystery Sampler from Linen and Threads.  First let me apologize in advance if I offend anyone with this one.

October section of Mystery SALEver since the beginning of this one, I was hoping for mermaids.  And the designer did not disappoint.  I absolutely LOVE this section and it is my favorite.  I know the mermaids are naked, but they are old world mermaids and so perfect on this SAL.  I am stitching this on a 16ct Aida One of a kind fabric from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.  It is more of a peach color with gray throughout.  The threads are DMC 53 and DMC 310. I am looking forward to seeing what the November section brings.

Since I last posted, I also finished the August and September mermaids on the Treasures of the Deep SAL.

Mermaid SAL Aug and SeptThese mermaids are so adorable.  In a couple of days the October mermaid will be released and I can’t wait to see her.  I may even start adding some of the millions of beads this piece has.

So that is all I have for now.  I did finish the Heirloom baby blanket I was working on, but it also needs to be blocked.  So hopefully I can get that done soon and have a picture posted here next time.  For now I am back to cross stitching on a piece that I am not too happy with.  But I will keep going with it, at least until the new mermaid comes out 😉  So I hope things are well with you.  I am doing my best to get caught up on all of my blogging.  What are you stitching on these days?

cross stitch · Mermaids · Nora Corbett

Mermaid Azure and the Mermaid Trio

My Time Stitching20 Comments

I finished Mermaid Azure last Thursday, thus completing my Mermaid Trio.  I was so excited to get it finished.

WIN_20151022_225818

She was another sweet stitch and it only took me a day to bead her.  So here is how the entire piece looks.

WIN_20151022_225910

I stitched this piece on 16ct Aida Summer Showers by Sunny Dyes fabrics.  The 3 mermaids are all individual patterns by Nora Corbett.  They are Mermaid Azure, Coral Charms and Mermaid Verde. I  started this piece on August 28, 2015 and finished it on October 22, 2015. So it took me 8 weeks to stitch. And since I finished before my trip out of town over the weekend, hubby said we could stop by Stitches N Things and drop it off for framing.  I chose a frame that is very similar to the frame used on Siren and the Shipwreck.  I can’t wait to see it all framed up. A few fun things ended up on the counter while at the cross stitch store.  More on that tomorrow.

What are you working on finishing up these days?

Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Halloween · Joan Elliott Round Robin · Mermaids · New stash! · Nora Corbett · patterns · Uncategorized

My Next Project and More Stash!

My Time Stitching7 Comments

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.

10623848_10204427649196632_801462939567002087_o

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 😉

cross stitch stash

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:

Gifties from Annie

 

 

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!

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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.

100_9075

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??