Tag: ocean pearl

Hello December
Country Cottage Needleworks · cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mirabilia · Pillows · yarn

Hello December

My Time Stitching14 Comments

Hello my blogging friends and Happy December. The days keep moving faster than I can keep up and here we are ; December 1. If I blink, it will probably be Christmas! As you may have noticed in my feature photo, I have finished my December pillow. As per most of the months, I pulled it out just a few days before the start of the month.

I can’t believe this is the final pillow!

This pillow went as fast as the others. I worked on it a little at a time over 2 days.

For some reason I decided to be a messy stitcher for this one. I didn’t bother taking the time to separate the threads ahead of time or put them on floss drops or anything. It was ok. Sometimes you just have to be a messy stitcher. And in a flash it was finished!

I am a little disappointed that the green fabric is upside down. But I think the bows kind of hide that imperfection. And there was a rip on the side where the fabric was supposed to be joined to the cross stitch fabric. I had to stitch that up before getting started. But it is finished and I am so happy !

My monthly pillows are now all finished and I can pull them out each month knowing that I won’t have to stitch any of them up before displaying them. They have been in my stash for a lot of years and it feels great to get this project out of my WIP pile. The patterns are from Pine Mountain Designs and are no longer available. Though you may be able to find them on a secondary market.

So what else have I been up to? Well, I had put my Ocean Pearl piece in for framing to see how the framer would do with framing needlework. You know I have been on the hunt for a new framer or framing service.

It took me a while to decide on a frame for this one. I ended up picking a black frame with some swirls on it. And here it is all framed up.

She turned out beautifully. I am happy with it and have since put another piece in for framing.

Knitting. What is on my knitting needles?

I started the Impulse Buy shawl. The yarn is La Jolla from Baah yarns in color Sleigh Ride. When my Mother in Law was here in October, we visited a yarn shop and both picked up a skein of this beautiful yarn. The colors are so gorgeous and will go with so many tops in my wardrobe.

This pattern is super easy and very relaxing to knit. After the initial cast on and a few rows, it is just a 4 row repeat. I love stitching on this. The yarn is soft and squishy and the pattern is so lovely even though you can see it so well with all of the busy colors. The lace is just on the edges, so I am hoping it will show much more after I finish it and block it.

Now for what I have been stitching on. I added the 5th shop on my Beach Boardwalk series.

The Souvenir shop is the latest shop and it is so cute with the sand castle on top of the shop. I am really loving this series and will be sad when it ends. Just 2 more shops left. I received a shipping notice yesterday that my next shop is on the way. Can’t wait to get it and add it to my Boardwalk. Patterns are from Country Cottage Needleworks and I am stitching on 16ct Aida Friendship Greene from Fabrics by Steph.

I also pulled Rosamund out and gave her some love.

Oh how I have missed stitching on her. She is so beautiful!

I am loving every stitch on her.

And here is where I stopped with her. I put her away to stitch on the Boardwalk. I’m not sure if she will get worked on again this year, but I am definitely planning on finishing her next year. The pattern is Rosamund from Mirabilia. I am stitching her on 16ct Aida Salem from Fiberlicious Yummy Fibers.

So that is some of what I have been up to. I had started making my Christmas Cards about a month ago and I need to get back to that and get them finished. I also want to decorate for Christmas this weekend. Busy, busy time of year. Trying to balance it all and keep up with everything has been an issue for me the last few months, but I am doing what I can, when I can. How about you? What have you been up to? I hope you are getting some stitching in and taking some time for you. Take care and Happy Stitching.

Stitchy Hugs,

ginny

Happy Independence Day
cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long · Pillows · Stitch A Long · Tiny Modernist

Happy Independence Day

My Time Stitching5 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! And Happy 4th of July! Have fun, relax and most of all, be safe.

So, it has been a month since I last posted. I have been dealing with a health issue for the past couple of weeks, so I haven’t been wanting to do much except stitch. And stitch I have. I even have a few finishes.

First, I finished the Ocean Pearl SAL by Tiny Modernist.

This was such a sweet stitch. I did make a few changes on this one. The biggest one being that I replaced the Pirate that was supposed to be on the right side with a little mermaid sister with red hair. I also changed the color of the green mermaid because her original color blended in with the fabric. I also added some gold blending filament in the outlines in the tails to give the mermaid tails a little sparkle.

I am not sure how I will fully finish this one. I thought about trying to frame it myself, but that seems like quite the process that I am not ready for. So, I will think on it for a while. Like I said, it is the Ocean Pearl SAL by Tiny Modernist. All of the sections are available now on her Etsy as well as some other online shops. I stitched it on 16ct Aida Cascade from Fabrics By Stephanie and I used all of the called for fancy flosses in addition to the one I substituted in the green mermaid. I can’t recall what I used, but if you want to know, drop me a comment and I will find it out for you.

I also pulled out my July Pillow a few days before the start of July. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

Luckily this was a really quick stitch and I finished it the next day.

This is the Celebrate July pillow from Pine Mountain Designs from many years ago. Just 3 more to go and I will be finished this series and can happily display them every month for years to come. The next one I will have to stitch is the August pillow and then September and December.

I also finished my first Patriotic stitch that I mentioned getting ready for in my last post. I participated in Nichol Spohr’s Flossaversary SAL and started the Stars and Stripes Forever from Cherry Hill Stitchery.

I used my new Nurge hoop and I have to say I really love it! Of course I had to make a grime guard for it 🙂

I stitched this on 16ct Aida Everything Else from Mystic Fabrics. Loved how this turned out and it was a pretty quick stitch. Then came the finishing part. I decided to make it into a pillow. It took me part of a day to finally cut into the fabric. Iwasn’t sure how big to make it and after finishing it I wish I had cut closer to the stitching, making it a smaller pillow. But it is finished. My first Patriotic finish.

Not too bad. Live and learn, right? So I think this is a good place to end this post. I have more to share, but that will have to wait until my next post. Hopefully another month will not go by before that happens. I want summer to slow down so we can get out and do some things. With bad weather, being sick, health issues, bad air quality days and lots of much needed rain lately, we haven’t had a chance to do anything. At least I have my stitching, right? What have you been up to lately?

Happy Stitching!

ginny

Back To Blossom
cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mirabilia · Tiny Modernist · Uncategorized

Back To Blossom

My Time Stitching4 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! I finished part 1 of the Ocean Pearl SAL from the Tiny Modernist.

I can’t wait for part 2 to come out. This is such a fun stitch. I am using all of the suggested overdyed flosses for this one and I like how it is stitching up. The DMC equivalents are also provided. The fabric is 16ct aida Cascade (retired color) from Fabrics by Steph.

After finishing Ocean Pearl, I knew I had to pull Blossom out. I have been wanting to get back to her the last few months. She is from Mirabilia and she is just the sweetest!

I haven’t stitched on her in almost a year and was so excited to pull her out. I have been looking forward to stitching all of her beautiful colors. I actually stitched on this for a couple of nights before taking this photo, so I don’t have picture of where I was when I put her down almost a year ago.

My photos really do not do her any justice at all. Her colors are so beautiful, bright and cheery. Perfect for getting into the Spring mood even when the weather outside is not saying Spring.

Just look at those colors! So pretty.

So that is where I am with her as of last night. I am stitching her on 16ct aida Busy Izzy from Fabrics By Steph. This fabric has many of the same colors as in Blossom, but much paler, so she really pops on this fabric. I think I made the perfect fabric choice for this one.

I am in desperate need of some new scroll frames. If you use a scroll frame that you love, I would love to hear about it. Let me know in the comments. I would also love to know what you are working on this week.

Happy Stitching!

ginny

Busy Crafting and Purging
cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Durene Jones · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · organization · Pillows · Tiny Modernist

Busy Crafting and Purging

My Time Stitching7 Comments

Hello blogging friends! How are you doing? The sun is shining here today. Still a little nippy outside, but warmer temperatures are coming next week.

This week was a busy week for me. I spent a lot of time going through my crafting stash and doing a bit of reorganizing and getting rid of what I no longer want. I went through all of my Mirabilia and Nora Corbett patterns and made sure what was kitted was put into my Xstitch app as kitted. Even if it was just a bead pack or fabric. I was pretty much caught up on that. But there were a lot of patterns that I needed to add. Serendipitous Jo reminded me of the Inventory part of the app. There were some items already in the inventory section, so I have used it in the past. I think the reason I didn’t continue using it was because you can’t put a photo of the pattern in that section. But I guess when I go to stitch that pattern, I can move it to kitted and then add a photo. Almost none of my Nora Corbett patterns were in the app unless they were kitted. I added all of the Nora’s and a few Miras; there are a lot. I have been collecting them since the mid 90’s. They have their own storage trunk!

I still have a whole filing cabinet of patterns to go through maybe this week. I also went through a closet that had 2 bins of yarn in it. I will probably never use that yarn, so I donated all of it to a local senior center. The Activities Director was quite pleased as she said that a lot of the women don’t get to get out and shop for yarn. I am happy that it will bring joy to the women there. I am really trying hard to let go of the things that I know I will not use or no longer want. I guess this is my Spring-cleaning phase. Anyway, enough of that. Now on to the crafting.

I pulled out the April pillow to get it started. Good thing, too, because it is more of an Easter themed pillow.

I had forgotten how large the holes in the canvas are. Three strands don’t really give enough coverage, but that’s ok. It is what the kit came with so that is what I am going with.

It only took me about 2 1/2 days to get the stitching done on this one. When I finished, I noticed this:

I tucked the threads in and did a little stitching on the back by hand. Hopefully it holds up. I didn’t see this when I started the pillow, so maybe I pulled the piece too tight in the hoop. I do love a tight as a drum fabric. So, note to self; do not pull the next pillow to tightly in the hoop.

I think it turned out pretty cute and it is finished in time for Easter too. This is an old kit from Pine Mountain Designs. Another pillow finished, and 6 more to go.

I also stitched a bit on the Ocean Pearl SAL from Tiny Modernist.

I really like working on this piece. Very relaxing. I am stitching on 16ct Aida Cascade from Fabrics By Stephanie. And I thought this one was going to be my last new start for a while. You know, I had planned on getting back to my WIP’s. But just look at what I saw while browsing social media the other day!!!

Oh my gosh you guys! I saw this posted in the Durene Jones Cross Stitch group by Heather Hopkins. I hope that she does not mind me posting this picture here. But I think this is the cutest pattern and the best finish ever! I absolutely fell in love with this pattern and this finish! It is not usually my style of pattern, but I just gushed at the sight of this. So much so that I immediately went to Durene Jones’ Etsy shop and purchased the pattern.

It is the Haberdashery Shop, and it is so adorable. I just want to start it right now! I want to stitch this on a soft aida. I don’t know why. It just came into my mind that it should be stitched on soft aida. So, I will look through my stash and see what I can find. It is a full coverage piece, so the color really shouldn’t matter. Probably something light though. I will let you know what I find and if I caved and started it 😉

Well, that is what I have been up to. For now, it’s time to do a little cleaning up in my craft room. What have you been up to lately?

Happy Stitching,

ginny

I Started A New SAL and Project Bags
cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long · Project Bags · Stitch A Long · Tiny Modernist

I Started A New SAL and Project Bags

My Time Stitching10 Comments

Hello blogging friends! Spring still has not arrived where I am. Severe weather is in order for today, so I am getting my blogging done early.

In a previous post I told you a little about a new SAL that I signed up for.

The Ocean Pearl Series by Tiny Modernist. The word Ocean grabbed me as well as the cute little mermaid. I showed you that I found fabric in my stash (Bonus!!) and ordered the threads. The fabric is 16ct Aida in color Cascade by Fabrics By Stephanie. I am using the dyed flosses from Classic Colorworks and Weeks Dye Works as well as 3 DMC colors as recommended.

The first section came out on April 1 and I was so excited to get started.

So I was stitching on this project and the hanging threads were driving me crazy. So I pulled out some of my extra clear bobbins from GWStitchinDepot and my label printer.

I don’t think I can be a floss drop stitcher. I know that there is not much floss on Classic Color Works cards, but I don’t like working with them hanging and having to put the floss back through the hole. I am a bobbin girl and I love these clear bobbins that I had purchased a while ago. I had put some CCW threads and Waterlilies threads on these bobbins before, so I already had a file saved in my PT Touch. So all I had to do was open the file, change the text for each color and print them out. I did have to trim them a little so they would fit at the top of my bobbin.

Ahhh. This is so much better! Now I can continue stitching. This is where I am at with Ocean Pearl.

Just look at that cute little seahorse and those little fish! This is a cutesy pattern, but I am really liking it. And I do like stitching with Classic Color Works threads and Weeks Dye Works threads. There is something about stitching one X at a time that feels different, but fun. And of course, a cute mermaid bag for a cute mermaid project. I’m not sure if I showed that bag before or not. These are my favorite project bags from @clevergirldesignsco. She does a beautiful job on her construction and choosing fabrics. At the end of 2022 my husband bought me another year of bags. One a month for a year, but I let Kristine know that she can do them anytime and the last couple of years she has been doing 2 or 3 at a time.

These are my November and December bags plus an added bonus of an extra mermaid tail zipper pull or knitting progress marker. These bags have the vinyl fronts which I LOVE. That way I don’t have to unzip the bag to see what is inside. I have many of these bags and love that I can just flip through them.

Here are my January, February and March bags. This is the front of the bags with the vinyl fronts.

This is the back of the bags. I never have any idea what my bags will look like. They are all a surprise when I get them. But I know they will be beautiful and very well made. Kristine has a knack for putting prints with prints that look amazing together. All of my bags have projects in them. The yellow bag on the right contains my Rainbow Dice project because the colors are so similar.

I recently purchased some pink bins to hold all of my project bags. The other pink bin on the shelf above holds all of my leftover yarn from projects. It is full.

All of my project bags have a kitted project in them. And as you can see in the left bin, I still have to replace some of those little plastic bags with pretty Clevergirl bags. I think by the end of the year I will make that goal.

So that is what I have been up to. How do you store your kitted projects?

Happy Stitching!

ginny