Tag: those missing stitches

Good Bye 2024, Happy 2025!
Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted scarves · Shannon Christine · yarn

Good Bye 2024, Happy 2025!

My Time Stitching5 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! How have you been? I have missed you so much! It’s been a while and 2024 is over! I can’t say that it was all bad, but I am happy to welcome in 2025. My biggest highs of 2024 came near the end. In October my husband and I celebrated our 40th anniversary. We chose to spend it at the zoo with our kids. It was there that our youngest son and his wife told us that they were expecting their first child. We are going to be first time Grandparents in June 2025. We are over the moon. We had a wonderful day, being all together at the zoo. And about a week before Christmas, we found out the baby is a girl! We can’t wait to meet our Granddaughter this summer ❤ And just a fair warning, there will be even more pink things to come 😉

So how were your holidays? What have you been crafting on? Did you finish all of the projects that you wanted to in 2024? I am happy with what I finished in 2024 except for 1 project. I will talk about that in the knitting part of my post. Even though I haven’t been posting, I have been crafting and I plan on sharing the things I have worked on in future posts.

I do have a new word for 2025 and that is PATIENCE. I definitely need to have more patience in my life with what I am crafting on, what I need to get to, with healing, learning new things, and with myself. Something I am definitely going to work on this year.

So let’s get to what you are really here for…My Stitching. What am I stitching on?

I have pulled out the Black Water Sirens SAL from Bella Filipina Designs. This SAL started on October 31, right in the middle of the fabric with a Treasure Chest.

I am stitching this on 16ct Aida Epically Evil Fairy Godmother from Those Missing Stitches. It only took me a few days to get this Treasure Chest stitched up, minus the beads which I will add at the end of the SAL. After finishing this first part, I stitched on other projects and couldn’t wait to get back to this one. On Christmas day I pulled it out again to get stitching on part 2. And this is where it is as of last night.

Part 4 came out on December 30, so I have some catching up to do. But I am so happy to be stitching on this one again. It is going to be amazing. My fabric is actually green and not yellow like in the photo above.

Yesterday I picked up a couple of pieces that I had put in for framing. This one I put in for framing in early December. When I brought it home, it began puckering more and more.

The frame I originally chose was not deep enough for the spacers and the beads and the ribbon on the headband were pressed up against the glass. I took it back and had to pick a different frame. Picking a frame takes me so long. And this time was even more difficult because I thought I had already chosen the perfect frame.

The first frame I chose is a frame that I often go right to. I love this frame and didn’t know if I could find another one that I really loved. But I did find one that I thought would be a good fit and when I picked her up yesterday, I knew it was the right one.

I love how it looks; like a shadow box with the deeper frame space and the extra spacers. I love it! The pattern is The Frog Princess from Brooke’s Books Publishing. The fabric is 16ct Aida Friendship Greene from Fabrics by Steph. Eventually I want to stitch all of the Princess dresses from Brooke’s Books Publishing and maybe this frame will be perfect for all of them.

The second piece I had put in for framing is Winter Snowfall.

I finished stitching this piece back in February of 2022 and was so happy to finally put it in for framing. I did have a difficult choice though. Picking the perfect frame is so hard! But I did make a decision and this is what I chose.

It is really is so beautiful. The frame really picks up the gold beads in person. So immediately after taking this photo, the Christmas picture was pulled down from the wall and this one put up in my dining room. It is the space that I am always changing out my framed pieces. Right now my dining room is decorated in a pink and white winter theme, so this piece is perfect!

Again, the pattern is Winter Snowfall by Shannon Christine Designs. It is stitched on 16ct Aida Valyrian Steel from Fabrics by Steph. There is a companion piece to this that I would love to stitch some day.

The last stitch I have to show you today is a knitted piece.

This is the Lothian Scarf I finished for my husband. I had hoped to get it finished before Christmas, but that didn’t happen. I finished it a few days after. It still needs blocking and I will take a better picture of the pattern in it then. The pattern is a free pattern on Ravelry by Home of Cords. I couldn’t get the edge stitches to be tight so I changed them to garter stitch. The pattern is charted on a graph and was very easy to follow. It was a really relaxing knit. The yarn is from Passions Yarns. It is their Baby Weight Fingering in the color Go Your Own Way. It is 70% Bably Alpaca and 30% Silk so it is really soft and was easy to knit with. Hubby picked this yarn out when we went to a Fiber Fest in October.

So that is all I have to share with you today. I hope that your holidays were wonderful and that your 2025 will be filled with Love, good health, happiness and of course, lots of stitching. Tell me in the comments what you have been crafting on. I want to hear all about it.

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

What I Have Been Stitching
Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long · Stitch A Long

What I Have Been Stitching

My Time Stitching6 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! How are you doing? My mind has been heavy with thoughts and so I dive into stitching. So let’s get started on trying to catch up with what I have been stitching on.

A couple of months ago I started on a project for my Daughter In Law for her birthday in October.

She is a Taylor Swift fan and I knew she would love this. The pattern is from Frizzy Lizzie Stitches and it is so cute!

Can you name all of the songs mentioned in this stitch? Fabric is 16ct Aida Pixie Pink from Fabrics By Steph. I have not tried framing something on my own, so I decided to make it into a pillow.

It made a really cute pillow and my Daughter in Law loved it. I am hoping to make another one for myself someday.

Next I pulled out this WIP and gave it some love.

This one is Rainbow Dice from Rack and Pinion. Blocks of color are really not my thing so this one is a bit boring for me. I am making it for my son, so I will eventually get it finished.

Over the summer I found a seller that makes Floss Buddy Flips that I have fallen in love with.

They come in different sizes depending on how many floss bobbins will fit in them. Each Flip has a vinyl pocket on the back for holding a pattern or extra floss or whatever you want to put in there.

I usually use plastic bobbin boxes to hold the bobbins for each project or 2 projects in a box. I end up having a stack or bag full of little bobbin boxes for projects. Using the Flips I can put them right into the project bag with my pattern, beads, specialty threads and treasures. If you are a bobbin user, these are great. They hold my acrylic bobbins as well as the paper bobbins. They are well made and are sold on Etsy from Bagzplus.

The next project I worked on was the Mugshot Villains SAL from AbbieSue Designs.

I started on the blocks about a week before the SAL started and didn’t get very far.

I figured the first row was a good start for the first few villains. Snow White’s Evil Queen was the first Villian that came out on October 23.

This one took way longer than I thought it would. I am stitching on Aida, and there are so many fractionals! And from what I hear, there are lots of fractional stitches in all of them. So I will probably not be keeping up with this one. Especially since there have been 2 more releases since this one that I have not started on. A villain comes out every week for the most part. But it will be awesome when it is finished. I am stitching on 16ct Aida Masquerade from Picture This Plus.

Another SAL that I have started on is Mermaids of the Seasons from Bella Filipina Designs and Fiberlicious Yummy Fabrics. I mentioned this one in a previous post and was afraid that my fabric and embellishments would not arrive in time for the start on September 15. But they did arrive the day before the release date.

So, I was all ready to start on the 15th. The Spring Mermaid came out first and she is a beauty! I started stitching the border on the called for fabric shown above, but the gray was not showing up well. I wasn’t happy with it. So, I switched to one of my standby fabrics from Those Missing Stitches and that worked out so much better.

The colors really look lovely on this fabric.

Spring Mermaid was such a sweet stitch! I will save the beading for the end. Summer Mermaid came out on October 15 and she is also a beautiful one in pink.

And here they are together.

I can’t wait to see which mermaid comes out next week! The fabric is 16ct Aida Adventurous Alice from Those Missing Stitches.

Still trying to get caught up on my projects both here and in stitching them. I think I have made this post long enough. So come back to see what else I am stitching on and what is on my knitting needles. What are you stitching on these days?

Happy Stitching!

ginny

September Is For Stitching
Bella Filipina Designs · Country Cottage Needleworks · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Halloween · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long · Stitch A Long · WIP

September Is For Stitching

My Time Stitching5 Comments

Hello blogging friends! Well, another month has come and gone in the blink of an eye, it seems. The end of August marks the end of summer for some. As I look out my craft room window, several trees already have some red and orange and yellow leaves already. How can that be? I want more summer. And where I am I will be getting just that with temps in the 90’s this weekend and next week. I will be sure to enjoy those last few days of summer.

August was a very busy stitchy month for me and I am hoping that September will be also. So let’s get right into what I have been stitching on.

First, you probably noticed in my header photo, I stitched up my September pillow. I pulled it out just a few days ago.

With this pillow, I had to stitch quite a bit in hand because I just couldn’t get my hope close enough to the edge and get it taut.

I stitched the entire ruler in hand and I have to admit, I did enjoy getting those stitches done in half the time. Especially since I finished ruler and went to put in the 1/8″ marks and made each 1/2″ section 3 stitches wide instead of 4. I am blaming it on paying too much attention to flosstube 😉 I don’t think that I would stitch in hand on Aida since most Aida is a bit stiff. But since this Tula fabric was quite soft, I really did enjoy stitching in hand.

So happy to have another pillow finished. My October and November pillows have been finished in previous years, so only 1 more pillow to go and this series will be totally finished and out of the WIP pile. Right now the plan is not to wait until November 28 to work on the December pillow, but we will see. These pillows are from Pine Mountain Designs and the series is called All Tied Up. They are from around 2007, so I don’t think that they are still available, but you may be able to find them on the secondary market.

Next up is the Greenhouse of Oddities.

I could not put this project down. It was such a joy watching each item appear. In the left of side of the Greenhouse is George Washington Carver who helped so many farmers with how to manage their soil to get better crops. I also found out that he dabbled in Cross Stitch, so he was my choice to add to the Greenhouse. The other choice was Charles Darwin, who was also a great biologist, with his Theory of Evolution. I am stitching this one on 16ct Aida in color Rugged Rochester from Those Missing Stitches. I think the stitching looks perfect on this fabric.

This is where I was just after the 11th and final planting section was released. I am so proud of myself for almost getting this one caught up. Especially since I started this one with the 6th section. Like I said, I couldn’t put it down and stitched almost exclusively on it until it was finished.

This is the finish. The last section, the Exploding Tree, was a beast! So much confetti stitching, but the end result is beautiful. This entire piece took me 6 weeks to stitch. That is how good it is. I will note: To the right of the exploding tree there is a space where I had forgotten to stitch one of the seed pods before taking this photo. I did go back and add it, and forgot to take an updated picture. But it is still beautiful and I am so happy with this amazing piece. The pattern is from Lola Crow Cross Stitch.

I also started the Halloween project that I mentioned in my last post.

This is a SAL with Nichol Sophr on her flosstube channel. She has chosen the pattern Flying Lesson by Silver Creek Samplers. She will do a weekly live SAL on her youtube channel. She has broken the pattern down into 4 sections, 1 section per week. Then on the 5th week she will have a finishing video. We are currently on week 3 and this is how far I have gotten after week 2.

I am doing a conversion of this pattern that Nichol had shown on her Facebook page. I am using DMC floss and a gold Krenik. The fabric is 16ct Aida in the color Gina from Fabrics by Steph. This is a cute little stitch and I have plans to finish the same way Nichol will, using a Chantelle 141 wooden sign, which I still need to order. I also have a plans to add an additional stitched piece to this display. Hopefully I can get it all finished before Halloween rolls around.

And the last project that I stitched on is the Beach Boardwalk Surf Shop from Country Cottage Needleworks.

I love working on this piece. I am doing all of the shops as one long piece-it is a Boardwalk after all 😉

And here is where I left it this morning.

I am so excited to see my second shop next to my first shop! So cute! I already have the third shop in my possession and I hope to start adding it as soon as I finish up the Surf Shop. The fabric I am stitching on is 16ct Aida in color Friendship Greene from Fabrics by Steph.

Now to a project that I am planning on starting in September. It is the Bella Filipina/Fiberlicious Yummy Fabrics collaberation SAL. This is the sneak peek picture that was put out by them.

Mermaids of the Seasons! 4 mermaids on one piece of fabric dyed by Fiberlicious Yummy Fabrics. I have ordered everything and fingers crossed all will arrive before the September 15th start.

Here are all of the flosses that are used in the project! All of those beautiful colors! I can’t wait to see what the first mermaid is. I ordered the called for fabric from Fiberlicious Yummy fabrics, but I have some back-ups just in case it doesn’t arrive in time or it’s not quite right for me.

A couple of beautiful blue fabrics that could be perfect for any mermaid 😉 These fabrics are from Those Missing Stitches. She is a new fabric dyer and her fabrics are beautiful and her turn around is pretty quick, too. You can check out her Etsy shop here.

So, that is what I have been up to in August. Lots of stitching and I hope to get a lot of stitching done in September also. What are your plans for September?

Happy Stitching!

ginny

Hello August
Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Green House of Oddities · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Mystery Stitch A Long · Pillows · Stitch A Long

Hello August

My Time Stitching6 Comments

Hello blogging friends and Happy August! I do hope that August will stick around a lot longer than July did. The days just seem to go by faster and faster. I waited until the almost the last day to start my August pillow, Tropical August.

It is a good thing these pillows are pretty quick to stitch.

Everything is coming up PINK! I love it when my nails match my stitching. Nail strips are from Color Street in color Berry Bliss. They scream Summer!

Su cute and full of summer vibes and happy feelings. I will look at this pillow and smile, appreciate all of the days of summer and try to hold onto them just a little bit longer every day. This pillow kit is from Pine Mountain Designs from 2007. I don’t think it is available anymore, but you may be able to find them on the secondary market.

So in my last post I mentioned that I started stitching something new. Here it is.

This is the Greenhouse of Oddities from Lola Crow Cross stitch. I had been watching people on Instagram and flosstube stitching on this one since the start in April. I couldn’t resist any longer and finally purchased the pattern a couple of weeks ago.

I am loving every stitch of this one and wish I had started in on the SAL from the beginning. But that’s ok. I am enjoying it now. And there is nothing like a new highlighter. If you know, you know. And yes, I am a paper pattern girl but this pattern also comes with a Pattern Keeper option. I have not tried Pattern Keeper, so I have no idea how it works. I prefer paper and highlighter 😉

Here is where I am with this one.

I still have a long way to go to get caught up with this one. The next section or “planting” as the designer calls them, is due out this Friday. There are 3 more plantings left and I am hoping to get it all caught up shortly after the last planting. I am stitching this one on 16ct Aida Rugged Rochester from a new dyer, Those Missing Stitches. Beautiful fabrics! Check out her Etsy shop here.

There are so many projects on my radar right now! Yesterday I received the next shop in the Beach Boardwalk series so I will have to get back to that one. A new Halloween SAL with Nicol Sophr is starting mid August on her flosstube channel and I am hoping to participate in that one. There are a few small Christmas charts I would like to work on and today I signed up for a new Mermaid SAL from Bella Filipina Designs and Yummy Fiberlicious Fabrics that is starting in September. I want to stitch all of the things!! And that is why my 11 WIP’s are not getting finished this year. So many things and so little time!

What are you creating with your needle today?

Happy Stitching,

ginny