Holiday stitching

Latest finish as of last night, which only took me a few days to stitch up but really like how it turned out. My camera rarely gets the color of the material right and this is no exception. It should look more like a light tan not greyish or off-white.

Next up will be one of the below patterns, not sure which I'll go with first.  Maybe the Merry Christmas one. I'm thinking green and red, then possibly something sparkly for the hearts, which would look more like snow. Have a light blue 14 ct Aida ready to go.  All of these here are freebies you can find out there. Mine were located through Pinterest.

Why Not! progress 11-4-2013

Latest on this one, and now to get back to it today. Need another finish, but this will not happen in one day. :) And I would love it if I could turn the flash off on my camera but I guess there isn't a way to do that. I checked the book and nothing there on it. Ah, just found where I can decrease the brightness, but that didn't seem to do much either.

Halloween progress

Yes, that holiday is past us now, but I'm not done stitching Halloween stuff.  Latest finishes as of last night. Freebies from Michaela Learner at Cross Stitching Guild  a facebook group. She's also working on the 4 seasons freebies and has 2 done, so I'm going to wait for the other two and eventually I may try doing the all on one piece of fabric with a boarder between them. Sounds interesting, but will wait to see what I end up deciding, and when I can get to them. Many projects waiting in the wings to get started and finished yet.

Now to get back to Why Not! my other Halloween project to be finished and hopefully that will be soon. I have a Christmas one I want to start, but need to grid the fabric first, which can be time consuming but well worth it in the end. Love working with grids!

Why Not! 10/14/2013 update

I had to darken this a bit since the picture turned out way to bright.  Would like to get all the cloudy part done and start to work down, but the greys get a bit tiring after a bit.  Might just go back down to the bottom and do some more greens.  First I could get the rest of the tree on the left done, which won't take long.

Why Not! update

Why Not! progress

I'm so loving stitching with grids.  Makes it a lot easier than I thought.  I can jump around and change colors when I get tired of one, or like the greys at the top and I worked with a bit of green.  Then I jumped down to stitch some dirt at the bottom.  I don't think I would go back to no grids now and the mechanical pencils (cheap at the dollar store) work like a dream.  I made sure they would wash out and now have no worries about getting rid of them once the project is finished.

More Halloween cross stitch

Grabbed this freebie from Cross Stitching Guild  Should be a quickie and I have it started.  Maybe finish today or tomorrow. There's a companion that will go with it but not sure when I might get to that one as I have two more Halloween cross stitch projects in the works to get done. 

Have more Halloween decorations to put out and clean the house up.

Old Witch Mary Update

Had a couple of days not feeling up to par, but I guess the upside is it wasn't all that terrible either. Stitching did suffer a tiny bit but got some done and more yesterday and today.  Not too much left to do, some leaves and the rest of the letters to put in then it will be done and I'll hunt for a frame for to house it.

Have to say this has been a fun one to do, and am happy with choosing a different material to work it up on.  It's only a bit larger but enough that I like it this way. Once this is finished I really need to get back to A Whole Lotta Latte and finish that one.

Old Witch Mary 8/7/13

Old Witch Mary

Ordered and received the six skeins of floss I needed for this one.  Bought two of the eight at Walmart but that was all they had.  This is suppose to be worked up on 32 ct. Belfast Linen Thunderstorm but I'm using 14 ct. Marble Aida. The original is 6 3/4" x 6 3/4" and mine will be 8" x 8" which I'm more than fine with.  This is going to be a nice break from working on A Whole Lotta Latte on black Aida.  I think the end result will be as good as the original.  As long as I'm pleased with it that's all that counts.

I did get a late start yesterday, as in very late in the afternoon.  Eventually I got everything situated the way I wanted to make my stitching easier and comfortable.  Am hoping this works up fairly fast and I think it will.  Then I can start one of my other Halloween projects.  Can't wait to get a couple or three of these done before the holiday begins.

This is what mine will look like. The gap in the upper right corner is where the moon goes.  I'm thinking of trying something else instead of the plain white it calls for.  If I'm no happy with my own choice I can always rip it out and do it over.

This is what the original looks like. It can be found quite easy with a simple search.

Craft treasures

My huge find for today and who knows how long. 115 full skeins of DMC floss for $4.00.  Wow. Granted, there are some duplicate colors but that's okay, there's still lots of different colors. Found at The Arm's of Love in Greenville.  Have not been there before but we decided that since there weren't very many yard sales today we'd hit some stores.  It was just chance and spur of the moment my sister and I decided to go into this thrift store.  Not a lot of air moving around for a hot day, but it ended up being well worth it for both of us.  More goodies than this were found but this was the best one for me.

They are having a half off sale again next month so we plan on watching for that!

115 skeins of DMC floss

Latte coming along

Quite pleased with the progress I made yesterday. Now to see if I can do as well today, although I should get some laundry done also - getting pretty low on clothes.  Third cup on the cross stitch is working up really well and fast.  Would love to have at least that part done by tonight even if I don't make it to the saucer.  There's always the weekend. 

That said, I have every day to stitch to my hearts content, so days don't mean much to me, other than tomorrow I'm going to garage sales with my sister, so won't be stitching until evening.  Would love to find more cross stitch goodies like I did last week, but those don't happen often and that was two estate sales rolled into one.  Possible that I missed some things but there was too much and a lot was not sorted the way it should have been.

Another Latte and Red Dragon update

Started 3rd cup.  Can see it forming already. Love when I can see it come together.  After this one then 2 more cups and saucers to go. Hope to spend time on this one again today.

And the red dragon is done. Just need to figure out what to put with him. I'll do something with his eye and nose.  Maybe can find some flames to stitch for him.  A stash would be nice if I can figure that out.  Have a short poem I came up with that I may put on here too.

Red Dragon

Joy of cross stitch shopping

Just sent an order in for:
28 Count Opalescent Autumn Blush Jazlyn Fabric 13X18
28 Count Irish Cream Linen Fabric 13x17
28 Count Millenium Blue Cashel Linen 18x27
Petite Needle Threader And Cutter

I love 123Stitch. Material was on sale and think I got a good price. Have no idea what I'll use them for but I'll find something to stitch up on them. The needle threader and cutter I saw on the Cross Stitch Forum.

Love sending myself presents.

Red Dragon update

Getting close to being done with the stitching.  Then I need to figure out what I want to put on for extras.  A little poem I wrote may make its debut but I want a little dragon stash to go with, so will be checking my nooks and crannies for beads - glass and pearls that I know are around here.  Could add some sequins but not sure yet.

Back to stitching while the night is still fairly young.

      

 

 

 

 

Red Dragon update

Dark Waters - HAED

Just came across this Dark Waters HAED

I've never done an HAED and this one is worked over one on 25 count evenweave.  My eyes are saying ouchie.  I love this but just not sure I could stitch it.  Something to think about for the future I guess. I do have my magnifying light and that helps a lot working on dark colors, although this piece is done on very light.  Maybe will have to think about doing something very small on 25 count to see how hard it might be for me.

Red Dragon

Started this yesterday.  Not sure if I've done this many stitches in one day before.  Now to decide what little saying I want to put next to him when he's finished, which I'm hoping for today.  I'm using Prism in a red.  Haven't done any of this floss before and I'm kinda liking that I don't have to change colors.  The pattern was found on a site and had been taken from a 1900 magazine, which I believe was originally done in fillet crochet.  It's just a black symbol on white squares so the color choice is up to the crafter.  I decided to go with a green background since I didn't want anything light colored and I already have the "Latte" I'm working up on black. This color gives my eyes a break from very dark to very light material.

Not a lot of body but I think I'm going to like when it's done.  And this may end up being the fastest cross stitch project I've ever done.

Red Dragon

And I think I just came up with a very short poem to go with this.  That didn't take long. :)

Price gouging?

I'm looking at Dimensions Balloon Glow with the vivid colors and while I know it would be a lot of work I just think it's gorgeous.  I know I would never get into one to take a ride but I love this cross stitch kit.

Herrschners has 40% off but it would still come to $37.24. Now, it would be a good deal if you could subtract the shipping charges of $11.45 from this price.  Amazon Prime has it for $23.70. With my Prime I don't pay shipping and I always receive my purchase in 2 days, with no extra cost. I realize I paid for the Prime, but I order many items through Amazon and wish I had signed up for it a year, or even two years ago.  I feel that in the long run I'm still ahead of the game by ordering through my Prime.  I also think that high a price for shipping is not right.  This item would not weigh that much to charge this amount.

But that's me and others might disagree, which is their right to do so. Still, I have yet to find anything at Herrschners that I want to buy at their prices.

Dimensions Balloon Glow

Can I rotate?

I've never done rotation in my cross stitch so not sure how to set it up.  I know it's a personal choice as to which way you decide to go, but I'm feeling a bit lost, although I really want to start.  I picked up Bow Ties/Country Pumpkin last night and started that thinking it might be a fairly fast one.  Didn't work so well as my cat wanted to be on my lap and I couldn't refuse her.  I don't know how long I'll have her so cannot deny her any and all attention she wants from me.

I'm not sure if I want to keep this project or give it away.  Only stitched two things that I gave as presents, but I'll decide for sure once it's finished.

A bit cooler out today and I have house stuff I need to get done. Maybe get back to the stitching sometime this afternoon. And for short breaks I'll be popping into the CrossStitchForum.

Wizard of Fire & Tada!

I've been thinking about rotating lately, but have never done it. I do this.  Start a project then put it away.  I haven't had this, Wizard of Fire, out in probably about 4+ years.  Sad, since I have so much done on it and really love how it was turning out.  Still much to do on it, so with that in mind I think I need to get back to it if only a bit at a time.  Might mean Sleep Hollow gets put on hold, although, I'm itching to begin that one.  I could always try rotating 3 projects I guess, but don't want to bite off more than I can chew either.  Will have to see how it goes for me, the ultimate procrastinator.

Wizard of Fire

Oh, I haven't said that today I received my 3rd, wait for it, tada!

So, if I get a set of the longer rods I could then add Sleepy Hollow to my list of stitching.  I do have another lap stand I kinda like, but not as much as this one, I could set it up on that one.  Actually, had plans for the smaller length rods this time so will see which way the wind blows for me.

More "Latte"

Finally more progress on "A Whole Lotta Latte" by Dimensions.  Need to finish the inside of the cup, the steam coming out of the rim and then the handle (looks like a bit more on the saucer too).  Once I get there that will make three more cups and saucers to go. Each one gets larger. When they are done I'll do the back stitching - love the way that makes projects pop.

Can't wait to finish this and see it on my kitchen wall above the bar.  The black is going to be a great contrast to the light paint.

A Whole Lotta Latte

A little progress made on "A Whole Lotta Latte."  Just need to try to keep at it and not procrastinate so much.  Black is not the easiest to work on.

Stands, stands. . .

. . .and more stands.  I came across this last year and I think I fell in love.  Read reviews on someone's blog but can't find it now.  She had some great pictures of it and how it worked for her.  Today I was delighted to see this beauty once again.  Lowery Floor Stand might not be a work of art in wood, but it certainly makes up for it in steel. :)  The downside is the cost at $310.00 and that's without the L shaped bar at the top.  Another crafting special on my wish list.  Who knows, barring any extra costs later in the year, or maybe even next year I may pick a summer month to do Christmas for me. Again!

Lowery Floor Stand

Future acquisitions

I have coveted this for 2 years.  It reminds me of pirates, treasures, adventures, and romance. So I read enough of those in my early years. :)

Not sure how hard it would be to work on, but it intrigues me every time I see it.

Old World Map

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Been looking at this for about a year.  I think it's so cute.  Just wish it came in a kit, but it's only the pattern.  Still, it's on my wish list.

Little Snap Dragon