So Much Yellow!

January 21, 2016 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:

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 😉

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:

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:

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?

Crochet · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted scarves · Knitting · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Passione Ricamo · Passione Ricamo SAL

Accomplishing Alot

November 22, 2015 My Time Stitching24 Comments

Even though I haven’t been blogging a lot, I have been crafting and even have a few finishes. First, I finished the Spice of Life afghan.

It’s not perfect, but I am happy with it. It seems I got a little too relaxed with the last 10 or so rows and so my sides veered out. I wanted to take the last 10 rows and the border out and re-do, but hubby wouldn’t hear of it. He liked it just the way it is and has claimed it as his own. He has even used it a few times :). I learned so much crocheting this blanket. Thank you to Sandra at Cherry Heart Blog and everyone involved for a wonderful Stitch A Long. The pattern is still available on Sandra’s blog if you still want to give it a try.

I also finished a couple of scarves. The first one was a gift to someone at my husband’s work. I thought I had taken a picture of it, but can’t seem to find it. This morning I finished the fun fiber scarf I was working on. It turned out so pretty! Love all the different fibers.

I can’t wait to wear it. I really enjoyed kitting the pink/red/tan ribbon fiber on this one.

Last night I finished a beautiful little project that I worked on this week.

This is Winter Whisper by Passione Ricamo. I call her Winter Princess. It is for a contest. Now that I have finished stitching her, I have to turn her into some kind of finish. Can’t wait to see what I come up with ;). I stitched her on 16ct Aida Ice Goddess from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. LOVE this color and I am so in love with this design. My photo doesn’t do it justice.

I also picked up Under the Moonlight mermaid from the framer this last week. I had the framing done at Joann’s and I must say, the gal there did a great job. Aside from crooked beads, I am very pleased with it.

Now I need to figure out where to hang her. I have really run out of wall space.

I will be getting back to stitching The Raven Queen tonight. I will post a progress photo soon. I am getting close to finishing the stitching on this one. What are you working on finishing these days?

Afghans · Craft projects · Crochet · cross stitch · knitted scarves · Mirabilia · New stash!

Crafty Stuff

October 28, 2015 My Time Stitching27 Comments

Yesterday I told you I would post my purchase from my weekend get-away. So here goes:

These fun things ended up in my bag from Stitches N Things. The newest Mirabilis pattern, Twin Mermaids and the bead pack. No plans to start this right away, but just had to have it. It’s 2 mermaids! And some threads and a horn book for an upcoming project.

This past weekend hubby and I spent the weekend in Frankenmuth, MI for our anniversary and he spoiled me wonderfully. We stopped at one of my favorite shops there. Rapunzel’s Yarn and Boutique, where I picked up this:

I didn’t get a picture of the yarn hank before I tore it all apart. I forgot to have them wind it for me, so ended up spending the whole trip home trying to detangle it. But as you can see, I started knitting a scarf already. The yarn is so awesome; lots of fun fibers and textures all in one skein! The yarn is Alp Premier from Feza. It was quite an expensive hank, but like I said, hubby spoiled me. So I can’t let this yarn just sit around. I will work on it in between everything else. And if you click on the picture, you will see those cool looking knitting needles I picked up. I had planned on starting this on the car ride home, and needed a pair of needles. These are from Knit Picks. Very pretty, made of wood, with very sharp points. They are actually very nice to knit with. I am glad I picked them up.

I am also still crocheting on my Spice of Life blanket. I have 4 more rows to go before I start the border.

This blanket has been keeping me warm the last couple of days while I crochet on it. I am really liking it and am hoping the border will not give me any problems so I can get it finished.

We stopped at a bead shop while in Frankenmuth. Boy was I overwhelmed! I haven’t taken up beading yet. Not sure I ever will, but I like looking at all the beautiful beads and charms. Bead Haven was the largest bead shop I had ever been in and if I were going to shop that day for a project, I wouldn’t have known where to begin. Hubby found a rack in a corner of the store that had some hand made knitted items and he purchased this beautiful hat for me.

I love it! It’s a pinky mauve color and fits me perfectly! I can’t wait for a little bit cooler weather so I can wear it. Someone did a wonderful job knitting it and lining and adding beads and fibers to the sweet knitted flower.

Dear husband bought me this awesome bag to carry around while shopping for the weekend.

It is a very nice bag and held all the little things we picked up over the weekend. Right now it is holding my scarf project and it’s perfect.

And for my most favorite purchase of the weekend… Hubby bought me this as an anniversary present from a wonderful shop called The Enchanted Garden.

She is a beauty and I love her! She is 26″ tall and gorgeous! So I had a wonderful weekend and was spoiled to the max. So now I am off to crochet a bit and see if I can get those last few rows finished.

What are you crafting on today?

Afghans · cross stitch · Mermaids

Crocheting Again

September 27, 2015September 27, 2015 My Time Stitching12 Comments

In my last post I mentioned working on the baby blanket that wasn’t going so well. You’ll be happy to hear that I finished it!

I am actually pretty pleased at how it turned out, even with all the mistakes. The picot stitches were new to me. I really like the way they made the border lacey. Before finishing this blanket, I decided to participate in a Crochet A Long that I found on Cherry Heart’s blog. It is called the Spice of Life blanket and I immediately fell in love with the vintage look of it and all the different stitches that I will be learning 😉

If you want more information on this amazing blanket, you can click the button above. The first pattern section was just released this past Tuesday (September 22, 2015) so there is still time to catch up. I didn’t order my yarn until Sunday, and so far I have only received a partial shipment. I am using Stylecraft Special DK yarn that I ordered from Love Knitting. A lot of people are using this yarn, hence the backorder. But the rest of the yarn did ship the day after my original shipment, so hopefully it will be in this week so that I can continue. Yes, I did start already! Here are the colors I have received so far:

I made my swatch.

Not perfect, but will be ok for a blanket. Had to go down a hook size. And here is my start:

A lot of the gals were posting their starts rolled up like this, so I thought I would, too :). I am very pleased with my start. So far my edges are straight and I have the correct amount of stitches after 6 rows. I learned about those neat little holders (you can see a little of them in my picture, the greenish things poking out of the top) and they really helped me out a lot. I placed one at every 25 stitches on my chain and into the end stitch. I did that every row and I didn’t make any mistakes! So proud of myself. My next color is supposed to be a turquoise, which I don’t have yet. So while I wait, I will be working on cross stitching Mermaid Azure. Here is how she looks after last night:

She is taking me longer than Coral, but I had a vacation and all this crocheting. But I am loving stitching on here. She will be done in no time, I am sure.

So what are you spending your time on these days?

Crochet · cross stitch · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Passione Ricamo SAL · Uncategorized

Still Here and Still Stitching

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 My Time Stitching18 Comments

So in between getting ready for and having a garage sale, going on vacation with my wonderful hubby and getting back to the real world, I have been stitching. In fact, I had a finish!

Yep, I finished her. This picture really doesn’t do her justice. She is beautiful and she sparkles when the light hits her just right. I absolutely love her and I am very proud of myself for keeping up with this one until the very end. I stitched her on 16ct Aida Nederland Sea from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. The pattern is “Under the Moonlight” SAL. If you would like to stitch this beauty up, you can purchase it at www.passionericamo.eu

I have also made some progress on my crochet baby blanket. Not sure I am liking how the pattern connects the rows. The holes seem a bit large. I keep imagining a baby’s foot pushing right through, LOL. I will continue on, though. Here it is so far.

It is nice to work on while in the car or when I have a few minutes here and there. And it is getting me reacquainted with crocheting.

I have also made great progress on Mirabilia’s Raven Queen.

She really is a wonderful stitch. I am enjoying every stitch of her. So relaxing. But I can’t wait to see her sweet face appear.

So that is what I have been spending my time stitching on. What have you been working on lately?

Crochet · cross stitch · Mermaids · Mirabilia · Queen

Cross Stitching, Beading and Crocheting, Oh My!

July 1, 2015July 1, 2015 My Time Stitching33 Comments

I have forced myself to put down Mirabilia‘s Raven Queen to get back to beading on mermaid. This is how she looked last night after 10 evenings of stitching:

I know it’s not much, but it is a pretty good start. I have enjoyed stitching on her and will get back to her real soon. Right now I am getting to the beading on PR Under the Moonlight. Here is what I did last night:

There are going to be a lot of beads on this project! I managed to make them fit along the top border by omitting a few and and then taking my needle through the entire length to try to get them as straight as I could. The corners were easy and look very cool.

I hope to get a lot of beads stitched on tonight. Over the weekend I started another project. I know, like I really need another project. But it’s not a cross stitch project. It’s a crochet project 🙂

I have been wanting to do a crochet project for quite some time now. After seeing the Citrus Stripe Blanket on Not Your Average Crochet, I knew it was time to get started. My Step-Mom taught me to crochet when I was 12. And I was pretty good at making ripple afghans and over the years, a lot of Bed dolls. But I wanted to get that hook out and do something current and have a “quick, go-to project, that can go anywhere”. The only problem is, I can’t remember a lot of how to connect rows and turning is the biggest problem for me. So, I started with the peach stripe, and decided to sign up for a crochet class. I go next week at a local yarn shop. By then the other colors of yarn that I ordered should be in and I can continue on with this baby blanket.

So, that is all of my stitchings for this week. What are you stitching on?

Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Mermaids · Mirabilia

So Much Stitching in My Head!

June 22, 2015June 22, 2015 My Time Stitching27 Comments

I know, weird title. But it’s true. I have so many projects I want to do and in my head I can see myself stitching on all of them. But in reality I can only stitch on one project at a time. So, what have I been stitching on? Well, I finished the last section of Under The Moonlight SAL by Passione RicamoRicamo and have started the beading.

It is a very small bead start as there are a lot of beads on this project. I love beading and couldn’t wait to get to this point, but then I was distracted! By this:

Yep! Miss Nora did again. Another gorgeous design! This one is The Raven Queen by Mirabilia and was released on June 15. I ordered her and all her pretties right away from Stitches N Things and picked her up on Saturday! I played in the Viewer on Monday and Tuesday, so I already had my fabric picked out from my stash. I decided on Twixt N Tween 16ct Aida from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanhie Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie. Here is my layover:

I LOVE it! I think she will look fabulous! Here is my floss toss:

I was so excited to get her and all her goodies, that I started her on Saturday night. Here is my progress after last night:

Not much, but a start. I will stitch on her for a few days and then force myself to put her down and work on beading the mermaid. I also picked up this sweet pattern by Hinzeit; She Sells Sea Shells.

It came with a little package of real seashells and a little blue star fish, but somehow the bag was open and the embellishment package fell out at the cross stitch store. LouAnn knew it must have been mine, so she called to let me know she has it for me and I will pick it up when I go back to pick up the little Nimue fairy framing, which has to be sent back. There was a little piece of plastic behind the glass at the bottom of the framing. It looks like it might be a broken piece of a spacer. So I will show pictures of her when I pick her up next time.

So… what projects are calling your name these days?

Mermaids

Siren and The Shipwreck All Framed Up!

May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 My Time Stitching20 Comments

I picked this beauty up from the framer’s a couple of weeks ago and just haven’t gotten around to taking pictures and posting. But she is already hanging in my dining room. She now resides in the place that Galatea used to hang and Galatea is on another wall in the dining room, in place of a piece of art that hubby did not like. I have to say, his choices are perfect! Siren looks great where she is and Galatea is perfect in her new spot. This piece turned out so wonderfully!

Just look at the sparkle on that chandelier!

LOVE all the beads! This is an awesome chandelier!

And just look at that marvelous fin!!

And such a sweet, sweet face!

The frame was actually behind the counter at Stitches N Things. After looking at several frames, LouAnn whipped this one out and I knew it was the one! So perfect! I love the black in between the 2 different moldings; it really brings out her hair and makes the blue of the fabric pop! So happy with this one and so glad she is hanging on the wall for me to enjoy every time I walk through the dining room.

Stats: Siren and the Shipwreck by Mirabilia.

Fabric is Under The Sea by Sunny Dyes and is 16ct Aida

Framing done by Juanita from Way Cool Mats through Stitches N Things.

So…what is your happy finish?

Fabric · Mirabilia · WIP

New Start – Moon Flowers

March 21, 2015 My Time Stitching14 Comments

Last night I started a new project; Moon Flowers by Mirabilia. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Black Magic by Under the Sea fabrics. This fabric turned out exactly how I envisioned it for Moon Flowers. I am typically not a dark fabric kind of gal, but when I first saw Moon Flowers, I knew Black Magic would be the perfect fabric. And Leslie didn’t disappoint. I am so excited to start stitching on this one. What new project are you looking forward to getting started on?

Mermaids · Mirabilia

A Mermaid and Her Sparkly Chandelier

March 9, 2015 My Time Stitching25 Comments

I finished Mirabilia’s Siren and the Shipwreck last night and just LOVE how she turned out.

Her colors are so beautiful and that chandelier is so full of beads that make it sparkle so beautifully when the light hits it just right. If you click on the second picture, I swear it looks like the chandelier is lit up! I am so happy for this finish. Can’t wait to get her framed and then I will have to find a place to hang her. I stitched her on 16 ct Aida Under The Sea by Sunny Dyes Fabrics.

What are you hoping to finish soon?

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