A new start- The Gaze

Here is my meager start on Kustom Krafts "The Gaze".

Here is what it will look like when finished:


Not much progress. But still a start.  This one was for The New Starts SAL at Full Coverage Fanatics FB group.

Thank you for stopping by! Happy stitching!

Autumn Peace update

It's coming along!! I've only got 4 partial pages left to a finish! (3 half pages and a quarter, so 1 full and 3 quarter pages!) I have really enjoyed working on this! I'm so behind on Blogging this year!! I cannot believe it's been nearly 2 months since I last blogged! (ok, it's been 2 months and a day!)  I have a new start, and progress on  few pieces. I will have another new start tomorrow.( I joined the full Coverage Fanatics FB group, so that is why I have so many new starts, to go along with the various SAL themes.) Tomorrow I will be starting Moonlight Bay, by Kustom Krafts.

It looks like this:



I'm super excited to start it! I love all the blues in this chart!!

Thank you for reading, Happy Easter, if you celebrate!! And I will try to get back here again to share what I've been up to again, before too long!

WHAT is happening?! Another new start?!

For the most part I like only rotating about 3 projects at a time, since most of my projects are full coverage, I feel the less amount of active WIPs I've got going, the more progress I see on each one. However, I joined the "Full coverage Fanatics" stitching group on Facebook, and Septembers challenge was new starts. I couldn't pass it up! So, I started:

Winter Rose By Heaven and Earth Designs.
and here's how far I was able to get on it:

This is a project that has a plethora of firsts for me: first time stitching on 25 count lugana. (I usually opt for 18 count aida) first time tent stitching, (2 over 1) and first time stitching with a hoop. (I am an in-hand stitcher) I had to use a hoop, as number one: those holes are SO tiny, I thought if I stretched out the fabric I would be able to see the holes better. And Lugana is a very soft fabric, not as stiff as the aida that I'm used to stitching on, so it was flopping all over the place while trying to stitch in hand. I started off using Q snaps, but because the those pipes are so big around, I was having a hard time handling it, but the hoop is much better, so going with the hoop.  I had a hard time getting used to this, but now I'm in a groove with it, and loving it!! doing that tent stitch really makes the progress go fast!!  SO! Now I have 4 active WIPs going! (insert look of shock here) I'm trying to figure out the best method for rotating, but I'll get it eventually. 

Thank you stopping by!! If you celebrate, I hope you have a great and fun Halloween! And I'll see yah next month!!

A "Give Up" and it's replacement

So!! I'm late in posting this month, because I've been having computer problems, so sorry about that! 

As you can see by my title, I have given up on my ornaments for now. I am just not enjoying them anymore, like I used to.  I find myself struggling to pull them out each month and it's become a chore to me, and since this is a hobby, I decided to not do it anymore. When it becomes a "chore" it's time to break up with a project.  I don't think I've actually given up, I'm just not in the mood for them now, so I'm thinking that maybe later on in the year, as it grows closer to Christmas, I'll feel like picking them back up again? Who knows.

As for my title? Anyone who watches floss tube knows where that reference came from! Good ole Jimmy Flosstube! LOL....that guy cracks me up! and I love Emily!! She's awesome! If you aren't watching Flosstube, go! as soon as you're done reading this to YouTube and look up Floss tube, I mean, what is your life if you're not obsessed with it?! LOL....I'm just kidding.  (To explain to those who don't know, the husband of one of the beloved flosstubers referred to her projects that we call UFO's as "give ups"...the term has been coined, and there yah go!)

So, here's August's attempt at an ornament....as you can see? I gave up! In the UFO pile it will go....for now....

 However, I have found a NEW obsession, or interest....DYEING!!!! (Not to be confused with Dying) As in I'm now dyeing my own fabrics. This came about because I decided I wanted to do this piece:

 I actually made this decision YEARS ago, and I had ti all kitted up and sitting in my stash pile forever!  When I went to pull it out though, I found that I had kitted it up with a Seafoam colored piece of 14 count aida. 14 count Aida!?!? No.....that was not happening....I am an 18 count aida girl all the way, 14 would just seem huge to me, and I knew I would end up not enjoying the project. So, I thought, I would look for  a hand dyed piece of Fabric online as they are all the rage.  Now as most of you know, I'm a Full coverage stitcher. Meaning that the majority of my projects are full coverage, so I find that  though I love seeing all the beautiful hand dyed fabrics out there, and think they are gorgeous, I really have very little use for them myself. However, I found myself suddenly realizing, "Here's my chance!  I can finally see what the hoopla is all about with hand dyed fabbies.  Well, I looked online, and saw a bunch of beautiful pieces, but, I was weary to buy them, as sometimes they don't actually look like the picture shown online in real life.

So, I decided to try dyeing some myself.  Here's the result:

This is my first attempt, so sure there are flaws, it's not perfect, but I like it, and think it is really pretty.  And here is my start:

There's not much there, but I'm excited about it. Can you believe this my first new "real" start since June of last year, when I started Autumn peace? (I don't count all the little ornaments.....)  So, it is nice to have a new start. The feeling of newness is exciting, and to be working on a piece of hand dyed that I made myself, makes it even more exciting, somehow. 

Well, that's all for me for now. Thank you for stopping in and reading. I love all the comments you leave, and thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to see what I'm up to. It means so much to me! 

Happy stitching!!

A new start!

So! The majority vote was for me to make a new start. So! I did! This is one my daughter asked me for months ago. She LOVES cats, and I had this book of cat patterns out because I was going through my stash trying to find something, and she saw it and asked me if I'd do this one for her. When completed it will look like this:

It's a really cute pattern. It's only 2 pages long. So I thought "this won't take long at all! I can stitch a cat each day and then finish the bottom row "cats cats cats" and be done in about 10 days....riiiiight. Best laid plans and all that.... Here's where I am:

In all honesty I really haven't put that much time in on it. Life has just been busy lately. We've been having some bad storms that had knocked out power for long stretches of time, that totally flooded our backyard making us fear that the water may get into our house. And then the lack of sleep when a storm rolls through every hour or so and wakes you up. There's just been a whole bunch of life things that seemed to get in the way of getting some solid stitching time in this past week. I would really love to have a page finish on this by months end, so that I can pull out my HAED piece and work on it starting next month. So... Wish me luck. Today is the last day of school so my large chunks of stitchy time will go bye bye for a bit... But hoping to still be able to make some good progress on my projects despite that. 

Thank you for reading and for leaving comments!! Joyful stitching!

OMG! OMG! OMG!!

Well, people, I have slid over to the dark side....ok, ok, maybe not what I should call it, how about the crazy that is Heaven and Earth Designs? I actually downloaded and printed two of their freebie charts!

Here is Flower Bride- by Linda Tso:

 Ok, this is SUPPOSED to be a book keep. But not when you switch the fabric from 25 cnt. to 18 count. Then it becomes a good sized wall hanging! Look at how huge that is! 

 The next one I REALLY am going to stitch on 25 cnt. fabric. But since I don't have any, I am gonna wait until after the holidays. and I get home from my trip, to order it.

These two will probably take me the rest of my life to stitch, so I may never get to any more of their designs, except that all the beauty on their page is calling me!! My favorite artist is Rachel Anderson! Those long flowy gowns? Those beautiful colors?! I want to stitch them all!!!

 

Yup, I'm in trouble! Or at least I think my wallet will be!

 

Joyful stitching!

 





A finish and two new starts!

So, last week, my black fabric that I ordered finally came in on Friday! And I couldn't resist! That night I started this piece, which has been on my "to stitch" list for a very long time. It is Mystic Dragon 2. And it is in the same Stitchery Magazine issue as is The Web of Life and Snow Valley Express. I don't remember which issue it is, I would have to look it up if anyone is curious as to exactly which one it is. I have looked around for Mystic Dragon 1, and I have seen photos of it online but have not found a place to purchase it. I would love to do it as well. But I think it is out of print. So, I will just try to finish this one. My goal for this one is to finish it by September 20th of 2014. That gives me a year. But, with so many other projects on the go now, I am not sure how that is gonna work out. Maybe after I finish The Abbey. But I was really thinking to fill that spot with one of my new Kustom Krafts pieces. So, lots of thinking and planning will be happening. 

 This is how it will look when finished. I have loved this piece since I saw it, and it always just seemed like a dream that I would ever actually start it, and now I have!!! It's gonna be sooo pretty when it's finished!

 And now for my finish!! Here is my finish on Winter Fun Ornament #3:

 Aren't these guys so cute! And love how colorful and bright they are!
And right after I finished them, just this morning, and started right into #4:

I only put one thread into it, which was just a handful of stitches as you can see here, but at least it's a start!

Also on an exciting note, my "Moonlight Bay" Pattern showed up in the mail yesterday!!! Oh! I want to start it sooooo bad!!! But, I shall refrain!!! I really want to finish The Abbey before I start any more truly big ones again. But! I am now the proud owner of FIVE Kustom Krafts patterns! Six if you want to count "Howling at the Moon". Now I just gotta figure out how to finish stitching them in my lifetime. Since I went back to the beginning of The Abbey here on my blog, and I started it 7 years ago! Although mind you, I took quite a few breaks from it, and took one LONG one between 2010 and 2012, where I didn't even touch it in all those two years. So even though I started it 7 years ago it hasn't been 7 years of steady stitching on it. But I am truly hoping for a finish on IT by years end! Good luck to me!! Ok, I'm done rambling now, thank you so much for reading and for all the lovely comments!! I love them all! I need to return the favor! I'm horrible at that. I love reading everyone's blogs. and do religiously, as they pop up on my feedly, but I usually just read and keep going. So, I am gonna try to be better about that!

Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday!

Gasp! A new start!

So, I started a new project about a week ago! This one is a pattern that is in the magazine that I'm working out of for Snow Valley Express, and for some reason, one day I just decided to kit it up, and said "This way I will have something to stitch if I end up finishing the 3 things I am working on (Ornaments, Snow Valley Express, and The Abbey), during my move. Why I didn't just get into my WIP drawer and grab something else is beyond me, but I just felt the need to make a new start, so here it is! 

It is a native American Design with a Dreamcatcher with a  peace pipe, called "Web of Life". The verse says "Humankind has not woven the web of life.  We are but one thread within it.  Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves.  All things are bound together.  All things connect."  ~Chief Seattle.

As you can see, I have not done much to it yet.  I am actually thinking about putting this in the place of the Ornaments in my rotation for now, because the ornies are nice small pieces I can work on, on the plane ride and car ride when we move. I have a long 17 hour plane ride, then will be on the road as we drive from California to Louisiana.(about a days drive!) So we shall see. I do really enjoy those little things, so not sure if I could stop working on them all together. I'm working on revamping my rotation a bit to fit this one in somehow!

So, yes, I was bad, and made a new start! I think I'm gonna blame all you guys who do the (I think it is) Crazy January challenge....the one where you make a new start every day or something like that? I got caught up reading about everyone's new starts and all of a sudden...wa la! I have one of my own! I probably woulda started a few more, if my Aida collection wasn't dwindling drastically. Oh well. Maybe that is fates way of telling me to work on projects that are sitting in my WIP drawer, Lord knows I have enough in there!

I think I am off to get a bit more work in on this one! I will be back tomorrow with an update on my Ornies!

Joyful Stitching everyone!