Cross Stitch

So

2011-12-20T15:15:00.000-08:00

I thought I had fulfilled the requirements . . . not quite . . . oh and Doorway is bigger than I thought it was at first. Ooops 18" won't work for that.

Well

2011-12-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

This was disappointing. The eBay seller claims she didn't know she didn't have the size 20 platinum lugana, that it was size 25. Huh? Like, um, shouldn't you know what you're selling on eBay? So now I have to find another piece of 20-ct lugana in something that will work well - or at least ok - with the colors for Strength. I have no idea what I'll be using now for Doorway and I so need that for January! I'm not even going to worry now about the 3rd piece, I'm not even sure what I was going to stitch anyway. But those 2 pieces need fabric! I'm not so tied to 20-ct for Doorway, but I definitely neeeeeeeed it for Strength, since that's what Courage is stitched on.

Speaking of Courage, I did make some nice forrays into the unstitched bits. I went around the dragon with the ( color, which was kind of neat to see how big it will be. I'm kind of looking forward to the 817's which are in the middle bits that show the dragon curving over. I can see the end of the middle page in sight!

oooh a 15% off the total on everything coupon at AC Moore (Sunday 4 - 10 pm)! I never usually get to use those because it's always during the game times and we're not gaming until after the new year. Actually, I think it's the day after page 1 of Doorway is sent out.

Edit: I wrote this a couple of days ago, but stupid internet explorer doesn't "publish post" and I kept forgetting to get on Firefox.

Progress on Courage and Tannith

2011-12-14T20:36:00.001-08:00

Ok so I have been working on QS Lotus Wood aka Tannith as well as SK Oriental Courage. It's a bit hard to get a picture of Courage because it is black/red. I decided to try to fill in the background green bits on the first row of pages. So here are the latest pics:
Tannith:

Courage:

It's been a while, I know.

2011-12-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

Ok so it's been a while since I last updated my blog. I had really meant to keep up with it more. I have gotten more done on the Courage SK. And my friend Julia wants it and the Strength one which goes with it when I'm done. As she says, she needs both courage and strength (while she's going thru this difficult time). I found a piece of platinum 20-ct lugana I can use for that, the Forbidden Doorway SK, and will maybe be able to get another SK out of it! Sweeeeeet! Maybe Logan? That might be a bit tight width wise, but if I don't do a 3" border for the height of the other 2, I might could squeeze him into the excess . . . waiiiiit . . . what about QS Queen of Swords Owl? I'm guessing it'd be 10 by 3.15 . . . that might just fit . . . oh well, I don't know. Oh back to Courage, sorry, I have gotten a bit further, but not enough to take a pic. I think I'll wait until I get the middle page done. I so want to get Courage done by the reward program on HAED.

I got some more done on Night Shade II, but I sort of lost steam on her. But here is the latest on her.

I had joined the HAED Bulletin Board several years ago, maybe 2008 or 2009? I had heard they did SALs on there, but I never seemed to know about them until too late to join. And I would have loved to be in the 2011 one - they did Ice Wind 1 as a SK. I have a particular fondness for that one, as she is who I picked for Corsira, Tannith & Corsaire's daughter. Ah well, I've got the actual picture. So . . . this year, I actually, finally heard when they were taking signups! Yay!
Basically, I have to post 4 pics (not the same pic) of my work on the SK (or if I'd picked a QS, 6) on the bulletin board sometime during the year and I'll get the other 5 charts for free. Aaand if I finish it, I'll be in a drawing for a free chart. Yes, please? I decided to not do any of the QSs, tho if I were to have picked one of those, I'd have picked Lovers.

The most popular of all the SAL charts is this SK - Blue Moon:

Here is the one I picked to participate in! It's called Forbidden Doorway and has the fewest participants stitching this one:

The floss lists were sent out, last week, I think. And people are picking their fabric and getting ready. I'll be using part of that nifty platinum 20-ct lugana I found. I think once I get it, I'll grid it up and get my flosses all ready to go. We won't get the first page (there are 3 dates they're being released - there's 4 pages but not much on pg 4) until January 6th, but I can get as much ready as possible ahead of time.

I thought Yarn Explosion was going to be ordering me some 20-count black lugana. Evidently, I was wrong. I never got a phone call either telling me that. I called and left them a message last night and they finally called me back today. :( You'd think they'd want to help their customers. Evidently not. I can get my sparkly threads and beads and such elsewhere online, I just liked supporting a local business. I think I might go make friends with that place in Lynchburg I heard about, called Backstitches.

I finally got pics of the pieces I made for my dad over the years. He told me "you're the only one who gives me cross stitch".
I made this for when he got married (which didn't last). He was asking if I'd mind it if he had it re-framed. He said he wouldn't bother if he didn't like the picture. I told him if he wanted to, sure. The background boxes are all blackwork - and yes, they do look almost identical to the front. I want to restitch it on black with grey floss and silver thread, so this is a day scene and that will be a night scene. lol I've been saying that for years!

There is a nice thing on the HAED website called the Birthday Club. Basically, you pay $10 and then on the person's birthday, they pick a chart and get it on their birthday. I asked Michelle from HAED - who btw, sent me a fb friend request [squeal!] - and she said yup more than 1 person could do this. So these are the ones I definitely want for my birthday:
Fright Night:

and Judith:

I love Fright Night, it's the only Halloween piece I've found that's not cutesy or nasty/gory. It sort of reminds me of the Addams Family, yet whimsical at the same time. I know I'll eventually get it, even if I don't get it for my birthday, and it'll be my annual piece to go up in October.
Judith was just released last week. And yes, that is a head in the corner. Yes, I know it has nudity, but its biblical nudity, so it's ok. Evidently there is much confetti, but she will be worth it. It's based on Judith from the bible.
This is what wiki says:
The Book of Judith has a tragic setting that appealed to Jewish patriots and it warned of the urgency of adhering to Mosaic law, generally speaking, but what accounted for its enduring appeal was the drama of its narrative. The story revolves around Judith, a daring and beautiful widow, who is upset with her Jewish countrymen for not trusting God to deliver them from their foreign conquerors. She goes with her loyal maid to the camp of the enemy general, Holofernes, with whom she slowly ingratiates herself, promising him information on the Israelites. Gaining his trust, she is allowed access to his tent one night as he lies in a drunken stupor. She decapitates him, then takes his head back to her fearful countrymen. The Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Israel is saved. Though she is courted by many, she remains unmarried for the rest of her life.

I do think I'll use the Mystic Stitch pattern I got called Belladonna as what my Star Wars character will look like. I like her enough she'll also be my fighter/warlord Bella (Bellasaria) and my paladin, Gwennie (Brangwen).

It's been a while

2011-11-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's been a while since I did any updates to my blog.

I haven't been able to work on the Courage SK as much as I thought I would. I sort of thought I'd be further along or even done. I'm about a third of the way through the middle page. I did take it to the Sunday games the past few weeks, but didn't do much on it there. Well some is better than none.

I wasn't going to start this one any time soon, but one of the ladies on facebook was talking about the fabric she'd bought to stitch hers on not getting there. She later picked out some other fabric and we decided to do a SAL. That's a Stitch-A-Long. They're fun because you can encourage each other. She did get her replacement fabric - it's nice, a blue/purple color with some nice white streaks that look like lightening.
Here's Night Shade II again for reference:

I started it 11/1/11 and this is how far I've gotten so far! I am definitely looking forward to having her done.

HAED sale and I was bad

2011-10-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

I was bad because I spent money . . . tho they were each 31% off, so it's not as bad! I wasn't originally intending to take advantage of the Halloween sale, but I couldn't resist. Plus, all 3 are Quick Stitches, so they're only $9 usually.

I'd had my eye on this one, QS Rose Fairy, for quite a while. I'm not usually one for these fairies with ginormous heads, they look a bit animeish and a bit strange. Buuut I really like the colors, it makes me think of fall. All of a sudden, the other night, I realized it reminded me a bit of my granny, who'd passed away in April 2011. The colors make me think of fall, and more particularly, of November, which is when here birthday was. Also, she used to grow roses, and she adored butterflies. So . . . I want to get to stitch this in memory of her.

I love how this one is only 63 stitches high, 200 wide, but only 63 high. Which is just kind of cool. Plus it just looks neat. But the last sale, I had decided I didn't reealy need it, but this one, since I was already being bad, one more wouldn't hurt much, right? This is QS Queen of Swords Owl.

This little beauty is named QS Forget Me Not. She was an impulse buy sort of, but I'd liked her for a while, she kind of makes me think of my friend Stefy (she looks a bit like her, well I think so). Plus . . . blue . . . my favorite color!

Courage update

2011-10-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well I have finally finished the first page of my HAED Courage SK!

It took me quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but that's because we've had so much to do at work with the indexing project (I look for 8-digit account numbers, all day, every day), I've been doing up to 10 hour days to try to catch up, plus like 6 hours last Saturday and this Saturday. Whew! It's kind of exhausting, but nice to be getting paid for all that time. Which is how I got to buy the floss for the eBay aqua-haired mermaid, House Work, and Nightshade II. That, btw, finally did get here (they had sent the wrong version of Nightshade and then it took another bit of time for the correct one to get here - but I did get a free pattern). I did pick out the fabric I want for NS2 - Picture This Plus's Masquerade. It's green and blues, mottled over it. It will go well with the Voodoo from them I had picked out years ago for HW. There are two other ladies on facebook in some of the groups I'm in which also have Nightshade (one has II and the other has the HAED version, it basically looks the same). So I told them to let me know when they wanted to stitch it as part of a SAL. That's a Stitch-A-Long, where at least 2 people stitch the same pattern at the same time, they're kind of fun. Well, that is if the other person(s) don't crap out on you like the one I tried with a former best friend did. Oh well, I eventually finished that piece. So I think I'll take Courage with me to the game and hope I get some done.

latest on Tannith

2011-10-07T16:23:00.001-07:00

This is my latest on my Tannith. I've been sort of working on it at work, well trying to at any rate, while on lunch. I got this batch of #310/black done, so it seemed like a good stopping/picture place!

The latest on Courage

2011-10-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have totally just given up on trying to track how long I've worked on Courage, I just decided to wait until I had a significant amount of stitching done. So here it is! I'm probably 2/3 done with the first page and you can see where the symbol is.

2 days of stitching

2011-09-26T21:54:00.001-07:00

Ok first, I must say, getting a picture of this project is not easy at all! It wants to be all blurry or whatnot. Booo. But eventually, I got a picture clear enough to not be random blobs of various shades of red.

This is actually 2 days of stitching as I didn't take a pic of it last night. I was going to keep track of how many hours I stitched . . . eh that didn't happen. This might have been 10 or so between yesterday and today? Not really sure tho. Weekend stitching is great for getting a lot done. I do very much like being able to take the + color and saying, "hmmmm where's the next bit of that? Oh I see 2 blocks up and one over to the left." It's still a lot of #817 . . . but I'm doing some of that, then some of the confetti colors. I guess all the other colors are confetti since at least 2/3 of this is 817. lol

Don't think I've forgotten about Snappie, since I haven't. I just got wrapped up in Courage, plus being a bit disappointed with the measuring. I do want to pick her back up tho and try to get close to being done by Sunday's game. Probably won't happen tho.

New HAED, Courage

2011-09-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so the first piece I tried gridding was a piece of 20-count black lugana I got on eBay. It was big enough to use for 2 different pieces, the mermaid with the aqua hair and a HAED storykeep, Courage. I've had this pattern and the corresponding one, Strength, for a while now. Actually a little over 2 years, since 9/22/09.

This is what Courage looks like. It's actually only got 11 total colors, one of which is black. So since I'm using black, I'll just have 10 then.

This is after about 8 or so hours of stitching! The gridding does seem to help find where to start things, provided, of course, that the gridding is accurate. But so far, so good.

There is a looooooot of #817 or the # symbol. I mean a looooooot! I definitely will need to go to the store and get some more of that color! I've done a good start to it, most of what I stitched was #817 and I only have 1 1/3 pieces left. (Meaning a full piece and 2 strands.) But unfortunately, AC Moore did not have any 817 today. :P I suppose I'll go on my way home from work Monday to Michael's, I think I may get 2 skeins as there is so much of that color used. I think this is going to look gorgeous! I might think about filling in the dragon at least, possibly with maybe 2 strands of black blending filament? Not sure about that tho. I do think I'll need to possibly do a running stitch or a backstitch along the outside border as the framers would maybe not get it right otherwise. It's supposed to have a bit of a black border.

Now . . . onto the "new HAED" portion of the blog entry. They have released a map of Middle Earth! As in from the Lord of the Rings books/movies! And the super cool part of it was that I had gotten The Hatchling (the one which makes me think of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern) and QS Pirate Dragon (which makes me think of Girdlekrep the kobold from the Pathfinder game I play in) and it said on there to email Michele if there were any design ideas I'd like to see. So I did just that. And I got an email reply stating she's had one for a while and it was just released! omg . . . just like Christmas! I hopped on, even though I was not planning on buying another one, and THERE IT WAS!!!! omgimusthaveitNAAAOOOWWW! So yeah, it had to come home to me.

I think once I stitch this (no telling on how long it will be before I can even consider it!) I will be the envy of cross stitchers, nerds, and gamers everywhere. They will bow in awe of my nerdness . . . I will be queen of the nerds . . .
(ok maybe not)

Latest on Snappie

2011-09-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ok so I did get some more done on Snappie. I had actually done some on Saturday and yesterday, but didn't really feel like taking a pic/updating the blog/etc. I figure I've done another 9 hours into her. I have found that the fabric is not really the size I needed for this . . . sigh . . . it will only have about an inch of space on the bottom edge and I'm trying to find out how much there will be for the top, especially that the top has a selvedge edge (or whatever it's called). But I'm really too far into this project - over 1/3 of the way done I'm guesstimating - that it's too far for me to scrap her and restart on a different piece of fabric. Oh well.

18 hours into this project now.

The latest on Snappie!

2011-09-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so after going back to Michael's again . . . and spending my 37 cents for a skein of 939, I then discover it is a very dark blue, hmmmmm that seems to match very well to one already in my bag . . . oh crap. I had already had it out and I couldn't find it because I was looking for a green instead of a blue. Well crap. I did the same thing with Fragile. oops

So I did decide to stitch for another 3 hours, bringing my total to 9 so far. I didn't get nearly as far as I thought I would, I will blame it on watching tv, there was a new series (Secret Circle) which I was watching . . . yeah I'll go with thaaaat. Oh well, it still won't take me long I think. So here's the latest:

9 hours into the Little Snap Dragon

Update 2 for Little Snap Dragon

2011-09-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ok . . . so I picked up the skein of #798 today on my way home. Good, right? Yes? Ok . . . took a shower and started work on the piece. I was going along fairly well until . . . 939? Where's 939? I see 989, look again. I realized I think I misread 989 as both 989 and 939 . . . ugh! So I go to my box expecting to see it. No 939. And not in the bag-o-leftovers either. Sigh, one more to pick up. But I did go ahead and do all I could on the head/neck without it and aside from the gaps for 939, that bit is done. And I had stitched for 3 hours tonight. So that's 6 hours into the stitching. (I'm not counting the time I put in to de-scenting the fabric!) But even with the missing color, I'm rather pleased with this. Plus, this batch had more confetti to it, and that always takes more time. I'm looking forward to both a) getting the 939 to fill in the gaps and b) to doing the arms/hands and then the rest of the body. And of course, to get the whole picture done. I wonder how long it will take.

Started 9/13/11, 6 hours of stitching.

The Little Snap Dragon and smelly fabric

2011-09-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ok so I had found a piece of what I thought (according to the listing, the pic was not good enough to tell) was 22 count Hardanger. And it would be a perfect size to stitch Rendezvous. And the whole thing cost $4.49. Well it was not 22-count Hardanger, it was 25-count lugana. While I do very much like 25-count lugana, I don't think I'll probably ever stitch on 25 over 1 again (with possibly, just maybe, the exception of maybe Dad's commissioned piece). Oh and plus . . . what a stench! Blech! So I sent the eBay seller a message saying hey, it's 25-ct lugana and it's very smelly, like cat pee or something, but I can wash it tho. So she replies saying she'll refund my money and to keep the fabric. Which - yay. So I was looking at my bookshelf (not thinking "oh what can I use the smelly fabric with once it's washed") and the first one I pull off is the Little Snap Dragon by Kustom Krafts. And lightbulb! This will be a perfect size piece!

But first . . . time to de-smell the fabric . . . far easier said than done! I'd been keeping it in the envelope it was mailed in, it was that smelly. Oh I did get that piece of 20-ct black lugana - no stinkiness - and have 2 projects in mind for that - the HAED SK Courage and a pattern of a mermaid with aqua green hair I got on eBay years ago (lots of confetti I think . . .). But anyway, back to the stinky. I washed it twice in cold water with my, well it's not soap, cleaning agent I guess to call it. It's this nifty stuff called Mountain Mist Quilt Wash. You never, ever should use Woolite - that leaves residue on your fibers. I've only ever had to wash 2 items in the 19 1/2 years I've been stitching, but I got a bottle so if I ever had to, I could. There's also something called Orvus, but I've never used that. And when I wash something like this, I swish it around and then let it soak for a while, at least 20 minutes. Ok . . . more like 3 hours because I forget to go back and take it out/change the water.

So . . . after 2 washes, you'd think that'd be nice and clean-smelling, right? Wroooooong! No it still smelled awful! So after consulting with Mom and finding out we did indeed have OxyClean, I decided to add some of that. I remember Grandma K used that on the hummingbird piece that my aunt's dog stole and stepped on it when I was still working on it for my other aunt. I don't remember how many washes, but she finally got it soooo light - and it's on the back - you could barely see it. Plus it did help that most of his paw print was in the border area which was not stitched, so it was covered by the frame. I got that same Hummingbird Society picture last year I think on eBay. So I combined the OxyClean with the MMQW . . . oh noes! Still somewhat smelly! Ack, cannot win! Tho now it smelled musty/moldy. So I took that darn piece of fabric and laid it out on the tub floor (it was clean) and sprinkled 2 whole scoops of OxyClean on the thing, one on each side, and scrubbed at it. Then after that soaking, I rinsed it really well and let it soak. Ok . . . is it good now?

sniff . . . sniff . . . nooooooo! Still smelly!

Dammit, I didn't want to use Febreeze . . . since one of the ingredients listed is perfumes. But at this point it was getting - ok already past getting - ridiculous! So I hung it up and spritzed the heck out of it! Then I let it dry. I went back and . . . almost the whole thing had no smell! There was just oooooonne little bit left. Febreeze bomb it!!!! Let it dry. sniff . . . sniff . . . omg . . . there is no smell. No smell?! Wooooooooo! So then I washed it one more time with the MMQW, rinsed/soaked it 2 more times and let it drip dry. Then it was time to iron it and it could then be a home for my Little Snap Dragon.

I think I earned that piece of fabric.

So after that whole debacle, you probably want to know what this Little Snap Dragon looks like?

This is what the Little Snap Dragon will look like:

It's sooo cute! I have a definite penchant for little, cute dragons! I think she'll kind of go with the little sad pink dragon (HAED SK Fragile that I submitted for the rewards program), he might like a friend.

This is how far I have gotten after a little over 3 hours of stitching.

Wow! Sooo much faster than a HAED! lol

So she'll be about 14 by 20 according to my calculations, perfect for this piece of fabric - 20 by 27 (well ish, some of the strands frayed off with all the washing). It won't matter tho if it's not exactly 3" around since I'm centering her. I'm stitching her on this piece of 25-count ivory lugana, stitched over 2 with 3 strands. Yes, I usually do stitch 25 over 2 with 2 strands, but I wanted a lot of coverage. I mean it wasn't bad with the 2, but I much prefer the 3 for this particular piece. Oh . . . I should have done 2 with 2 strands of blending filament! Never mind, I have already started her. Oh well. It's sooo funny to be stitching on 25 over 2 after having worked on Tannith for quite a while on 25 over 1 . . . these are HUUUUUUGE! I think I may see how long it takes for the dragon to be stitched before going back to Tannith. Don't worry, I'm not setting her down (and will still take her to work in case I actually eat lunch, I can work on her then), I just think that this will be sooo quick to stitch.

Ugh

2011-09-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am so disappointed in the piece of fabric I received today. The only good things I can say about it are that it a) only cost $4.49 and b) it shipped relatively quickly. That's about it. I mean ok don't get me wrong, the fabric is not bad fabric but it is NOT what I paid for. The eBay listing clearly stated 22-count ivory Hardanger fabric. I did not get 22-count ivory Hardanger fabric, I got 25-count ivory lugana fabric (or possibly jobelan or monaco fabric, but I don't think those come in 25-count. Oh . . . and it gets better. The seller mentions they have cats. Well it smells like they peed on the fabric. I really didn't want to use 25 over 1 for Rendezvous. :( I suppose I'll have to just suck it up and buy the yard of it that's listed. I did send the seller an email/message telling them that they totally sucked. I mean I was nice and all, but that is definitely misrepresented. Plus . . . stinky cat pee smell. I said something like I'll have to wash it before it can be used for anything. But it's just disappointing. :(

Ok so I was a bit bad

2011-09-07T16:26:00.001-07:00

Ok so I was a bit bad. I spent money. Buuut on the other hand, I did get a temp job, so I could justify spending some money.

I found a nice piece of 22-count I think ivory colored fabric which will be big enough to stitch Rendezvous on.
In case you forgot, this is what Rendezvous looks like:

It reminds me of Tannith & Corsaire. It also only has like 50 colors (lol "only" . . . I suppose references go a bit skewed when stitching HAED's). But I counted up, and I have probably half of the colors from this in the Tannith one. I'm waiting to put up a pic after I get a significant portion done on that one. It's going to take me a bit longer now that I'm working again. Plus I've not even worked on Heart of the World for a while. But hey, $4.49 is an excellent price for the piece of fabric I got for Rendezvous.

I also spent money to get a piece of 20-count black lugana. I've used 25 count, both stitched over 1 and stitched over 2. But I was thinking 20-count black lugana might just be what I'm hoping for for Healers Touch. I don't really want to stitch almost 40,000 black stitches, so black fabric sounds like a plan . . . buuut I don't like the look of aida and black 25 count will be a pain to stitch, so 20 count black lugana might be the best of all possbilities. :)

(I also won a nightmare mini on eBay - I cannot find the one I had bought before and while I think it was at home, it could possibly be in the pod. If I find it, I can always list this one.)

I also couldn't find my Mystic Stitch chart for Housework. I had gotten it a couple of years ago, but wasn't in any rush to stitch it. I even got the 32 count lugana in the "voodoo" combination - it's a bit softer than the linen colors, but still maroon and orange. The fabric is sitting on my shelf of videos. But I cannot find the pattern anywhere! I've looked for months around the house and still cannot find it. :( I don't think it was in the pod, but I'm starting to think I've lost my mind (also I can't seem to find the Robin Hood/Sherwood Forest one either, but I don't want to stitch that now)

Soooo . . . what to do to remedy this? I bought a new one. I just have to work 3 hours to pay for the Mystic Stitch order. I'm ok with that.

This is Housework. She'll be stitched on that voodoo fabric, so instead of a black background (which is supposed to be stitched . . . yeah right so not gonna) it will be a maroon/orange one.

This is the other one I bought - Night Shade II - this is the smaller version. There's also a HAED, but that's bigger than either one and I want her to go with Housework really well, so I'm doing the smaller one. I don't know what color I want for her background tho. I kind of think a blue. I think they'll go really well together, like opposites - red/blue, facing opposite ways, etc. I didn't see any other designs like that and I kind of like that they're a pair.

And Mystic Stitch is running a sale where if you buy 2 patterns, you get 2 free. So since I decided to get both my backgroundless witches and that made twooooo . . . I could pick 2!

So I picked Belladonna. She would be a good character picture, I'll have to remember that.

And the other free one I picked was Lissander.

I didn't get this one, but I think it's very striking. There's a 3 baby ghosts one I like too . . . I'd need to pick another 2 for the sale, tho it'll probably end before I get more patterns . . . tho that 3 baby ghosts would go well with that one ghost chick pattern that reminds me of Helena Ravenclaw aka the Grey Lady. Oh well . . .

Ok . . . monkey bib!

2011-09-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ok now I can put up a pic of the monkey bib! It's all done! Woooo yay me! Done and on it's way to Brigette. I have to say this is the most akward piece of stitching I've ever done, and that includes a pocket of a hot pink t-shirt I stitched a pair of bunny rabbits on many years ago learning how to use waste canvas. I remember stitching that . . . I was visiting my granny and watching the series after "Are You Being Served" it was their PBS fund-raising bits. Ah yes, memories . . .
Ok so back to the monkey bib. Yeah, I had to hold my hand in a weird sort of way to be able to reach the back of the stitching area. Plus I'm not sure about this whole pocket thing, but hey I'm not washing it, so I don't care if it gets food in there. So I thought it would take foreeeeee-ver to stitch the second monkey. I just kept getting soooo bored with the first one, like "are we there yet" with little kids/road trips. But Brigette, who was never like get it done NAOW, did gently ask how it was coming, since said baby was due soon. So I buckled down and told myself "no Tannith until the monkey bib is done!" And 8 hours later, the second monkey was totally done and the 3 little hearts I added as well. And it was funny, I was like I think this will take me about 8 hours. And it did.

So I can't remember if I posted this or not, but this is the butterfly UFO I finished a few weeks ago. So I decided I'd send this with the monkey bib, since Brigette loves butterflies! :) One more finish for 2011 and a home for it, yay.

So because I was working very hard on the second monkey, as well as on the internet a while, I just haven't worked as much on Tannith as I thought. Plus . . . on that gold medalion bit on her skirt, I have hit confetti! I mean it's not uber-bad, like evidently almost every page of Mystic Stitch's Once Bitten (according to the lady stitching her, who btw, I think my "I want to stitch as fast as Angella" whinging has helped me get faster, has reported it is). But still there is confetti. But once I get that and maybe some of the green on the right side done, I'll take another pic. I do want to find the black on that part, I'm almost nervous, not really, maybe more a bit iffy, to just count over from the left bit, near the top of her butt. Like I'm afraid I'll count a bit skewed. Plus . . . a lot of black isn't that much to stitch in a block, even if it's best to do that first if possible.

I'm not sure how fast she'll be stitching up now since I'm supposed to start a new temp assignment on Tuesday [crosses fingers] so I won't have as much free time. But that's ok, I need a job. (I missed the temp agent lady's call and she was gone by the time I checked my vm so I hope I still have a job.)

:)

2011-08-30T20:57:00.001-07:00

Ok . . . so tonight's blog entry is a much happier one! Michele got back to me this morning and Healers Touch was waiting for me! Yay! There are a looooot of black threads, like it says it needs 35 skeins of black. Um . . . couldn't I just use black fabric? Oh wait, I do dislike black evenweave and I don't think Hardanger comes in black . . . hmmmm will take a bit of thinking . . .

But I finally decided this was a good stopping place to take a pic of Tannith. So here she is:

I do need to work on the other monkey, I've been so very bad . . . just procrastinating because it's hard to stitch. But I really do need to do that tomorrow, no matter what. And I really should get up in the am, not 11 am either.

:(

2011-08-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

*sniff sniff* I just tried to download the large chart version of Healers Touch and the HAED website told me that it had already expired (well ahead of the 14 day mark) - I just purchased it like 10 minutes ago. And when I emailed Michele, it didn't go thru (I did contact them on the HAED site and Michele on fb). :( I really wanted to get my chart, even tho I know I really probably shouldn't have bought it, it's been like forever since I'd gotten anything fun/new (well ok other than the 2 reward charts) and I've just been very down lately, I was looking forward to getting that one. Plus, it just makes me think of my Tannith's beloved husband, Corsaire, so it'd go in my collection of character charts. Hopefully, she'll get back to me tomorrow.
I reaaaally want this one.

Update/rewards

2011-08-26T01:52:00.000-07:00

Well I got a lot done on Tannith - I found her butt as well as the lower right corner of the picture! And #336 is kind of hard to see on 25 count over 1.

So I did decide to try submitting both the Alien Cat SK and the Fragile SK. I made sure to let Michell at HAED know that I had forgotten to take a pic with my name and got my friend to send me a pic with my name.

Her response:
No worries and your work is lovely, thank you so much for sharing and I have attached your charts here, enjoy :-)

Yay!

I had well ok, more than just two on my wishlist, but these are what I picked out for my rewards:
Dragon Moon:

Artist: Nene Thomas
100 by 309 stitches = 4" by 12.36" on 25 over 1 or 5.56" by 17.17" on 18 count.
There are 90 colors, including 3,488 which are 032 #4 braid on the moon. I like the #4 braid, so I'm good with that.
This will be 30,900 stitches . . . kind of big for a SK, but the design is soooo pretty with the colors.

Logan SK (there is a full picture as well):

Artist: Carrie Hawks (same artist as the alien cat)
75 by 262 stitches = 3" by 10.48" on 25 count over 1 or 4.17" by 14.56" on 18 count.
Only about 50 colors, some of which are 023 #4 braid, but unlike the other one, I don't know how many stitches of which specific color there are. I got this one to do for my mom, she loves ladybugs.

Latest update

2011-08-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I'd been kind of depressed lately due to the whole job situation. I got my hopes up and they were dashed since I didn't get the job - I'm like a backup in case someone quits or screws up. Ugh. But I did get more done on Tannith.

Nearing the right side

2011-08-21T09:45:00.001-07:00

Ok I didn't get quite as far on the big blue dots as I had wanted to. They extend above the section where my needle is, sort of filling in the ledges, as well as quite a few in that beak-like section to fill in her abdomen below her arm/sleeve. But the good thing is that the part I did work on last night did get me halfway across the right-most page, so yay!

Ok so today is game day, so I will probably leave her at home, I took her last week but didn't even take her out of my bag. Plus I sooo need to work on the monkey bib or the Christmas present for Dad. I think I might just need to think about that for next Christmas. It's not . . . well, very interesting and has a loooot of stitches in it. It looked like a good idea, I just didn't realize how much work it would be.

Not quite as far as I wanted to get

2011-08-19T02:07:00.000-07:00

Ok so I didn't quite get as far as I wanted to, but I did get close to being done with the H's . . . which is where I wanted to get, so not that bad. I do want to do the large black dots next (#158) because that's a nice big patch. Also it will get me closer to the right side of the picture, as well as you'll then be able to see where more of the dress is. I'd love to be able to get this done by my birthday for the reqard program. Rather than being like "oh I need to stitch this amount per day", I'm taking it one bit at a time, like the H's or the large black dots or things like that.

New update!

2011-08-17T01:05:00.000-07:00

So I had originally decided to work mostly on Tannith through Saturday, neither on Sunday, and then back to Heart of the World on Monday. Yeah . . . that didn't happen. I just kept finding more to work on on Tannith. But I got some really good progress done yesterday and today!

well I am teh ossom

2011-08-14T00:15:00.001-07:00

as the lolcats would say. ("I am the awesome" is the translated version.)
Why? Because I think I've gotten more done in the last 5 days than I had since I started the pattern September of 2009. Plus . . . this evening, I had a migraine. Yup. I took some meds for it (otc stuff) - one and then waited half an hour or so and took another. The only bad thing was the aura where I couldn't see very well but somehow in a way, it was almost easier to stitch? I mean not really, but in a way, it almost helped me to concentrate on my stitching. Tho this time, I got kind of dizzy and nauseous, which doesn't usually happen. :(
Buuut I did still get a nice bit done

I worked until 8 am on 8/13/11 - I had a tiny bit further than this, but just didn't feel like taking another picture.

This is how far I got tonight:
This is a bit further back, so you can see relatively how far along I am - about halfway or so on the width. There's more length-wise not shown, but it's nice to see I am almost halfway to finding the right side of my picture!

And this is a better picture, more close up of my progress. I found y's and #'s (both greens) which I want to stitch, buuut I did start on a section of h's (#553 - violet) . . . oh so much to do! Everytime I think I'm done, more to go! Plus, I think I'll blame it on the migrane, but a section of the green/gray bit I've had to restitch like twice, grrr. Oh well, I'll just stitch over the mistake. It's not nearly as bad as the mardi gras mask, where I had to re-stitch 3 feathers (left purple, right green I think, and left blue)!

I think my motivation to stitch this is because this is my Tannith picture and we go back to the Hollow tomorrow . . . less than 12 hours from now! (I've been very much looking forward to this!) So I'd like to see her stitched. I wonder if I could get her done by the January deadline for the HAED reward program - I know I won't get her done by August 30, 2011. lol I mean, hey free HAED chart? sweeeet. I think I'll take a new pic of Fragile storykeep with my name on a piece of paper next to it - they don't say I need to have that in the wip pic, which is good since I didn't do that whenI was stitching it. Then I could maybe get either Logan SK (storykeep of a cat who looks like a ladybug and some big, fluffy purple flowers) or SK Dragon Moon (scantily clad chick with a red firelizard (or maybe a tiny dragon) sitting on her shoulder in front of the moon).
Logan SK:
http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=85&products_id=1775
SK Dragon Moon:
http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=85&products_id=7066
Darn you HAED for having a 30% off sale and me not being employed and wanting certain charts!
This one I really want - The Hatchling:
http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=160_416&products_id=7562
it looks like something from an Anne McCaffrey novel and I so would love to stitch that and also that one I got from ShinySun of the chick in the lavendar dress with the green dragon. I think that one looks Mirrim and Path. Speaking of ShinySun, I would loooove to finally stitch the 3 Baby Dragons one I had also gotten. Ok, yeah I know, there's only 24 hours in a day right?

This is the details:
http://heavenandearthdesigns.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=24&zenid=nmr21nm1eaqe65e7vref1pbqb1
Reward Program
For anyone that completes a HAED design we will offer a free chart of equal or lesser value to the finished piece.

Simply send us a good quality picture (see guidelines below) of the finished piece with all the details such as fabric, design name, artist, how long it took you to stitch, any special comments (this is required to get your free chart and essential to giving you proper credit) and we will email you the chart of your choice of equal or lesser value. The following are the guidelines and each of the items must be included with the finish.

The program will be running twice a year with the next session starting June 30 to August 30 2011 and the next will run from December 30 through January 30 2012 and the same schedule for following years.

In order to receive your free chart you must provide the following with your submission:

* Picture of the front of the piece
* Picture of at least one wip
* The picture must be taken straight on and of good quality
* Picture with your signature on a piece of paper placed on or near the piece

Please keep in mind that we do reserve the right to use the image in a catalog with proper credits to the stitcher of course. All of the above criteria must be met in order to receive your free chart.

Have fun everyone!

Ok, so, I'm fairly sure there won't be enough light to work on Tannith at tomorrow's game - I have 2 40-watt (or the equivalent I think) bulbs in my overhead light and also a small desk lamp I use. So, I'll have to pick out something else - maybe the monkey bib? I found I can work on that if I stitch it upside down. Weird, yes, but it works. Strange thing? I can't stitch from the pattern upside down . . .

Tannith/latest update

2011-08-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

I did some work on Tannith aka QS Lotus Wood today/tonight. I actually have lost track of how long I worked on her this time . . . probably another 8 or 9 hours. I was able to find a few patches of nice big color and worked on those. All those little x's . . . I think this will be the last HAED I do on 25 count over 1 with full crosses. I do still have The Moon I've not yet started, and yes, the fabric is 25 count. However, I'll be using tent stitch (which is like a half-cross stitch) with 3 strands. I do like how Heart of the World is turning out (granted I've only been stitching it for 2 days . . . I think I might wait until Monday to go back to it) on the 22-count Hardanger. I think that might be an ideal size to do more HAED or HAED-like patterns on.

Latest update

2011-08-11T00:44:00.001-07:00

Well I did a lot of work on Heart of the World today. I actually have lost track of how much time I actually worked on it, but I suspect possibly close to 8 or 9 hours. There's just always something more to stitch. Like oh here's another patch of this color! I did stitch more on the monkey bib, tho that seems to take a long time to stitch a small area because of the whole pocket thing. I really should work on that a lot more tomorrow. I also probably should work again on Tannith.

Heart of the World - started!

2011-08-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

I got my fabric today in the mail - it's the 22 count Hardanger I got off of eBay. I worked on it for 3 hours and this is how far I got:

This is what the whole thing looks like so far.

I definitely am hoping it will stitch up fast. It will look totally awesome once it's done. Gilee told me it would look epic. lol

Actually making some progress

2011-08-09T01:53:00.000-07:00

Ok so I hadn't worked on the QS HAED Lotus Wood since last September. 9/18/10, actually. So I kinda felt a bit bad for not having done anything on it, really pretty much since I started it in October 2009. Tho that waaas because I had started the HAED alien cat storykeep and I had a deadline to get it done (when Gilee graduated). So this one sort of fell by the wayside. And she's the one I picked out to be my favorite Pathfinder character, Tannith. Due to irl interference, that game hadn't been played since December 2009. Buuuut . . . we are returning to the Hollow this upcoming Sunday! Wooooo! So . . . I probably should work on her, I think. Tho she'll probably get a bit derailed when the fabric gets here for Heart of the World. So this is after about 4 hours worth of work from the last update.

2011-08-07T00:42:00.000-07:00

I've gotten some more done on the Tiffany Nativity stocking. I've got about halfway done with the white on the veil, which is the last bit of that before I can go to the halos. The blending filament is being a bit tricky and I'm pretty sure I don't have enough of it. So I was kind of worried that the light gold/filament I was working on the veil on wouldn't be enough. It was barely enough - finished my last 3/4 stitch and had just enough to do my knot/weave in the end.

Last night, I went looking through the red World Wildlife Fund bag I had been keeping the UFOs (un-finished objects) I had started years ago. And then was like, "oh I need to stitch this" and "oh this really should be worked on" and the like. There was one - a tiny little kit I'd gotten years ago as a "traveling kit" which I did start and of course, got bored with. But me being me, I didn't just pitch it in the trash. No I save crap because someday I may want to work on it again. And you know what, more often than not, I will go back and I will work on it and yes, even finish it! Soooo . . . I picked this tiny travel kit back up today when I went to the hair dresser and while my hair was dyeing, I worked on it. It is a little blue butterfly and a spray of pink flowers with green leaves. And I must stitch a lot faster these days becaue I remember that the butterfly (and I only had a little of the backstitching done on the body) seemed to take soooo much longer than the rest of the picture. I think it took me about 2 hours and I was done! And I ironed it and then put it into the little blue heart frame provided in the kit. And now I need to chart out the monkeys so I can stitch that bib and both it and the butterfly can go on their way. See . . . I'm fighting the tendency to hoard all my stash as "my precious" one item at a time. But don't touch my blending filament/#4 braid, or I will sic my gerbil minions upon you for stealing.

Dang it! I still keep forgetting to take the camera downstairs and get a good pic of the Dragon of the Summer Sky . . .

Ok . . . not quite what I thought

2011-08-06T02:56:00.001-07:00

I had thought I'd be further along by now with the Tiffany Nativity stocking. I thought I'd be done with the veil and both halos on Mary and Joseph. However, I did not count on the fact I mixed up light and pale gold. Oops. Yeah, I was using pale gold instead of light gold. I took part of it out, but then just really didn't feel like frogging all of it out. Frogging is picking out/removing stitches. I also got distracted by the little kit I got for Mom's Christmas present. (I'll post a pic of that after she receives it.) I'm also a bit distracted by the idea of Heart of the World and even the Tannith one.

I think I hadn't posted the last one for that pattern:

It was actually taken in September 2010 (which I hadn't been updating this blog, so understandible it was missed). Look there's her sleeve! I think I might like to pick her back up and do some so at least it's not just hanging about.

I also decided to look through my red bag I've been keeping the wips in. I had thought one of them, a snowman advent calendar, I had thrown away. It's nice to know I hadn't - since it's really a cute picture and I actually had gotten further than I thought I had. I think I'm a third of the way through? Anyway, I think that is one I should finish. I think I'll probably make it into a wall hanging, rather than a framed picture. It's neat because you put one half of a snap on the back, so the pointy bit sticks out through the fabric to the front. The other half is glued to a snowflake-shaped sequin. Then for each day, you put one sequin on the calendar. I think I could construct a pouch on the backside of this proposed wall hanging so all the snowflake date minders would have a place.

I also found a little piece I started as a "traveling kit" - it's a butterfly and some flowers. It is about halfway done. I sometimes keep things and not know why I do. I think this will go to a friend, the same one who wants the monkey bib, since she adores butterflies. Plus - it'll be quick and easy to finish. :)

Now I need to find a pencil and then start charting out the monkeys, now that I have found my graph paper book.
I suppose I'll just have to miss the 20% off the total amount at AC Moore this time (I have a coupon good for 8/5/11 & 8/6/11). If I could have found my House Work chart, I might have, but since I still don't know where that darn thing is (I'm really, really, really hoping it wasn't in the pod), I'll wait until I find it.

Ok that's all I've got for now.

Heart of the World

2011-08-03T15:18:00.001-07:00

This gorgeous piece is called Heart of the World. It is a Heaven and Earth Designs pattern (charted by Michele Sayetta), artist is Ruth Sanderson. (Evidently I like her since there are 2 others I would loooove to get.) It's a retired piece, but I do have the pattern.

Stats are:
450W by 276H
That makes it
20.45" wide by 12.55" high when done on 22 count fabric

I will be stitching it on a piece of 22-count ivory Hardanger I got off of eBay (yes it is a much bigger piece of fabric).

I've had the pattern for a long time and got the floss earlier this year (I think, or maybe late last year), when I was still employed at my last job. With this large a piece, I'm guessing I'll have to get more of some colors . . . who knows tho. I just put off and put off buying a piece of fabric. Then I decided to see if there was anything that would fit, size-wise for the pattern and still be cheaper than buying the $13 piece of Hardanger from Herrschners. That's not including s/h . . . and cheaper is better, plus still slightly miffed at Herrschners over that 25-count black lugana nonsense. Oh well. So . . . off to eBay . . . and I found one (the one I bought, of course). And so I put it on my watch list and then said, hey what the heck, I'll bid. Then I realized it had 3 1/2 hours to go, even better! Wait, wait, wait, . . . I won! So, while ok yeah, I do feel guilty spending money when I've not got a job, I don't feel as bad. I mean it would have been probably close to $20 had I gone thru Herrschners. Grand total? $7.22. Sweeeet.

Now I just have to wait for the fabric to arrive. Then decide when to stitch. I hope it stitches up fast.

I do feel a little bit guilty at all the other projects, both UFO's and USO's which I'm not currently working on. The main one at this very moment is the QS Lotus Woods one - that's the one I decided my character, Tannith, looks like. Well a blonde Tannith that is - I know, she used presdidigitation on her hair (she did do that in game once). The main reason I feel most guilty over her is we hadn't played that game since early December 2009 for irl reasons, and now we'll finally get to play that game again! *girly squeal!* So I kind of feel like I should be working on her.
But then again, there's always the space tiger which just needs it's background and possibly some backstitching . . . and the stocking I picked back up . . . and the emperor and empress . . . and that berries sampler . . . oh and don't forget the samurai to go with the 2 geishas . . .

I do know that before I go picking anything else up, I will definitely be finishing mom's Christmas present. It's a very small kit - only $1 total. I've gotten about a bit over halfway done with it. I decided to add blending filament to parts, ok ok most of it. There's a blue section and a pink section, so that's the color I picked for the corresponding section. Then I decided to use 032 (pearl/opalescent) for that last bit. I very nearly didn't have enough! So I did get more today. But that shouldn't take long and will be nice to be one less to still do.

Other news:
Ok so I just remembered this. I was looking about on the Gloria and Pat website and found a page where they had pictures of some Angel Quilt Projects finished quilts of Precious Moments stitching. And then I went to AQP website. And basically, it sounds like anyone can participate, you just need a minimum of 12" x 12" piece of fabric in any color/count/type other than black or bright orange (which I hate orange so I wouldn't use that anyway) and a child-friendly pattern. Then you stitch it and then send it to a finisher and they turn it into a quilt for a newborn/premie/etc. I've done small quilts in the past (and have that idea I want to do for the astrologer/zodiac one, but that would be for meeeeee!), I was thinking, I wonder how hard it would be to become a finisher, they haven't got anyone listed from Virginia, which is where I am. So I'm waiting for the person to answer me back. I think that would be a wonderful thing to do. Yeah, I wouldn't get paid, but I wasn't thinking I would. Plus, it'd give a great sense of accomplishment to help people like that. I think the G&P website said the AQP would be up to 50,000 quilts sometime in December, how great is that? I hope I hear back from them soon!

moving along nicely

2011-07-30T22:16:00.001-07:00

Well I decided to work on the ram next. After about 6 or so hours of stitching, it's done. Well that portion, not the whole stocking, of course.

Next, I will go onto Mary's veil and then the halos. Hopefully, it will stitch up quickly, even tho I know it's a not insignificant portion.

outlining

2011-07-30T02:33:00.000-07:00

Ok so I finally got all the black on the toe of the stocking done. o . . .mg . . . that much black background is super boring. Like "is it ever going to end?!" boring. But I eventualy did get thru what I wanted to and can move on to stitching the ram and then Mary's veil. I think I'll also do the halos on her and Joseph, that would be a nice place to take a break for a bit while I do my monkey bib. I'm thinking it'll take me at least a day or two to get that far. This really is coming along pretty quickly. :)

And I did start the pattern I have for Dad's Christmas present. This one may take a while, I'm glad I started it now. Cause it's 75 x 200 . . . so 15,000 stitches. And I'm only 102 into it . . . . ah well I'll get it done.

Elegant Geisha

2011-07-28T22:00:00.001-07:00

Ok I finally can put up a picture:

I gave her to my friend today and she was just tickled! :)

I'm starting to think the black on the stocking is a bit boring. It will be nice to get done with it tho.
I'm still looking for monkeys. I'll figure it out tho.

Stocking is coming along!

2011-07-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been working pretty steadily on the stocking for the past 4 days. Well a bit less last night, since I did a lot of sleeping yesterday, but still steadily. And yeah, this hacking/coughing is not helping. I had bronchitis (saw the dr Tuesday before last) . . . I was doing ok with the antibiotics and the cough syrup, taking the last of that Monday morning. So then Tuesday morning I am trying to go to sleep . . . ok gooood . . . hack/hack/cough/hack/gag!!! I took some of the blue vaporub cough syrp, and crawl into bed. Eventually, that spell subsided . . . I driiift off . . . and bam! nearly 3 hours later it's back! Gah! So mom tells me I need to go back to the dr. So I do, and the nurse practitioner tells me it's not more infection/pneumonia, so that's good. However, it's a bunch of irritation in the lungs/bronchial tubes from all the coughing. Soooo . . . my coughing is making me cough, greeeat. So she hooks me up with advair and some cough pills (I had a bunch of giggles when I was thinking to myself "if I come down with cultrasine poisioning, I am so kicking your butt" (from that House episode)). I did do some stitching, but decided to take a nap about 3 or 3:30 . . . and I woke up at 9 . . . some nap!

Buuuuut I did get a lot done either way! And here's a picture of how far I've gotten:

From what I can guesstimate, I think I'm close to 1/3 of the way done with the cross stitching, which is great! I do want to get at least the back up to the veil where Mary is looking back (so outlining the ram), the ram, and Mary's veil. I think that would be a bit over halfway done.

I'm still looking for monkeys . . . wait, what I can picture you saying, you're looking for monkeys?! lol I mean I need to find cross stitch patterns of monkeys! I need to find monkeys for that baby bib I'm going to stitch for a fb friend who's friend is having a baby (and the momma likes monkeys, hence the I need to find monkeys). I have a loooot of cross stitch magazines, so I'm looking in there to be sure I don't have to do more work than I need to. lol

In other news, I made turkey meatloaf today and it was rather tasty. I realized when I was making that glaze bit which goes on top that I had ketchup, check, brown sugar, check, mustard . . .wait, oh crap we have no mustard. Dammit. So . . . ranch dressing and garlic powder to the rescue! And when mom gave the dogs some for their dinner, it was quiiiiet! lol They did not just gobble down their food like they normally do, they were interested in it.

I wish I knew where that Mystic Stitch pattern I have is, it's the one called House Work. It's of this witch in a very short pair of shorts and she's got a broom. I have the fabric for it (a gorgeous piece called "voodoo" which is orange and maroon) . . . and I KNOW I've got the pattern, but where it is, idk . . .

Good day and other niftiness

2011-07-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so I probably won't be doing many Christmas presents this year, as I'm unemployed. But I do still have to give presents to Mom, Dad, and my sister. That last one was easy, bit expensive, but easy. I had done the mardi gras mask for her for her birthday and the frame is for her Christmas present. And I got that done before I lost my job, so all paid for, yay. But I did still need to find one for mom & one for dad. I found a sweet tiny kit which mom will like at AC Moore for get this - $1. Yup $1. Of course, I got it. I think I might add some blending filament to that, sparklies are always pretty. Then that brings me to dad. What to do? Well I found a free pattern which I think will appeal to him. (I'm not saying what it is, in case he reads this, I'll post pics of both after Christmas.) I decided to go with earthy shades, like his mitten/hand warmer from last year, rather than the black/white/grey of the original pattern. I had a bit of trouble at the store today picking the floss out . . . who decided to buy all the 434 - 437? Like seriously, grr. So I went with 3862, 3864, and ecru. There was only 1 skein with the papers on and what appears to be another full skein with no paper, but it's the same color. (I like to get all the floss I need at one time). So that's that. I think I might add backstitching (so to speak) between the colors, maybe in that sparkly black #4 braid. I think that might make it look kind of like stained glass, and maybe even more so if I do 3/4 stitches instead of full crosses where there are angles. So (not counting any sparklies as I've already paid for them and for those projects shouldn't take too much) . . . I think my Christmas projects left to do cost $5 with my time.

Sooo I got this nifty idea the other day when I was cleaning up a bit/organizing my patterns in the crate I keep them in. (They've been out of the order I had had them in ever since I let an ex-best friend look through them back in 2009, what can I say I'm lazy.) Sooo nifty idea . . . right. Ok. So I started this picture years ago called The Astrologer, by Joan Elliott. And yeah that would make a super cool picture. But then I came across 2 leaflets I had gotten years and years ago (like not long after I started cross stitching). They're both of the zodiac - one is for mug inserts and the other is supposed to be done on waste canvas on shirts. I did the Aquarius one from each, because I'm Aquarius. I did the mug one on a mug insert and the waste canvas one I did on a piece of 14-count aida. I think I wanted to turn that into a pillow eventually. That was in 1996. I know I did at least 1 of the other mug ones - Virgo I think. But that was long ago. So my idea is what, you ask. It originally was to stitch each of the waste canvas ones and then sew them into a quilt. Ok I thought to myself, when I get a chance, sounds nifty. But then when I was wandering around my AC Moore, I thought to myself . . . wait . . . what if I do patches of all the waste canvas and all of the mugs and combine that with The Astrologer? !!! wait no . . . yes wait . . . that could work!!! So that is what I want to do. I'm thinking of doing the Astrologer, then strip(s) of fabric, then the row of mugs, then more strip(s), then the shirt ones, then maybe more strip(s), then a border. Tho now I'm not sure if I want to do little, then big or big, then little. Or even how much fabric/how many strips/etc. I think I might add a border to the mugs as some are more "blocks" than others.

To remind you of what the Astrologer looks like:

And this is what the Aquarius of the waste camvas leaflet looks like:

And the Aquarius of the mug:

Oh and have I mentioned I think it would be super cool to have a cross stitched map of Middle Earth (Lord of the Rings). Well if I haven't, I do think that. I would then be the envy of both cross stitchers and gamers everywhere. Cause, you gotta admit, a cross stitched map of Middle Earth would rock. Plus, it might encourage people who wouldn't ordinarily think of picking up a needle that it might be kind of neat to do so. Plus . . . it would just be awesome!

Ok ok I know I just did a post

2011-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I just did a post, but then I took a pic of how much I'd gotten done on this go-round of the stocking. And yes, it's for me (can't remember if I said that or not, but it is). So this is like 6 or so hours of stitching - 4 or so last night and about 2 today. I'll be doing Mary's shoes, then the rest of the blue on her robes, then the black on the bits between her and Joseph. Then I'll see about maybe doing the back around up to her head. Then maybe the ram. I don't know how long this will take, but I'd love to have this for this year, wonder how much I can get done. I'm guessing a month and a half or even 2 months. We'll see!

I will have to set it aside for a little while because I need to do a baby bib a friend asked me to figure out - I'll be seeing if I can find another bib, I've got a denim one, but that just has a strip of aida in it. Oh well that's what waste canvas is for, yes? Plus I need to find some good monkeys to be able to stitch on it. But I don't think this will take a long time, so it shouldn't cut too much into the stocking.

I still do want to stitch the Emperor and Empress . . . I glance over to my bookshelf every so often and see the zip lock baggie that has all the floss for them in and think, "oh they should become stitched pieces". One day, one day. If I could stitch as fast as I type, I would have no UFO/USO/wips! lol

Another finish

2011-07-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's try this again. My stupid computer went to my dashboard, what the crap?!

Ok again:
I can now add another finish to my total for 2011. I finished the Enchanted Geisha. I started her 6/14/11 and finished her 7/24/11 a little after midnight (12:30 or so). That's just 2 days short of 6 weeks. It wouldn't have been as long, maybe a month, had I not been working hard on Fragile. Oh well at least she's done. I will put a pic up after I put her in a frame. There's one at Wal-Mart which I have an eye on (like $8 maybe at most, maybe I can find a similar one at AC Moore with my 40% off coupon). It's black and has a silver part on the inside of the frame. I think that will go nicely.

Ok and the second bit.
I decided to pick up the stocking I had started years ago. I started it back in 2003. I know this because I remember working on it downstairs and I also remember reading the first 2 Harry Potter novels downstairs at the same time. (I didn't start reading them until book 5 came out and that was mid-2003.) It is this lovely stocking of a nativity scene and looks like it's done in stained glass. This one I am doing for myself.

Dear Enchanted Geisha . . .

2011-07-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

your background is totally kicking my butt at being interested in continuing to stitch you. Please be more interesting? I know there is a whole 'nother section of half-cross stitches and I know that's what I lost steam and switched over to stitching and completing the sad pink dragon (aka Fragile) . . . but I really would like to count you amongst my completeds? Please? No, you won't go any faster and it's like pulling nails? Ok . . . then don't be surprised when I pick up the Astrologer . . . she's always patient. And let's not forget the Space Tiger - he's been started once, restarted, sun-dyed when I left him in my car for a couple of years and the sun faded it, and has patiently waited for me to return to him to finish the background.

Finally got a pic

2011-07-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ok so I hadn't gotten around to taking a pic of that seashells picture. I mean I had one I had taken on my cell phone but it was not a good one! lol So I decided to take a pic this morning.

Ok let's try this again

2011-07-15T00:21:00.000-07:00

Ok I thought I had the right picture for the mardi gras mask . . . evidently not . . . I guess I had added the picture from my work computer (which isn't mine anymore obviously). Ok so let's try that again . . .

I am just so unmotivated to finish the geisha . . .

I do think I want to get the turkey napkins I started the first part of this century (maybe 1999 at the earliest, probably 2000 tho) done along with the table runner. That would be great to have for this Thanksgiving. Plus I've also got a stocking I started years ago for myself. It's a beautiful staned glass nativity scene. That would be nice to have for Christmas . . .

Wow I am very bad at keeping up with this, aren't I?

2011-07-14T17:29:00.001-07:00

Wow . . . it's been since middle of October 2010 since I updated this blog. And I told Gilee she should update hers . . . irony, yes, I know. I've gotten quite a lot done since then. I did start and finish the Dragon of the Summer Sky as well as the Hope one.

I finished the Hope one near the end of October.

The Dragon of the Summer Sky I started near the end of October and finished it December 14th about 12:30 am. I think the 28 count colonial blue aida was smaller than 28 count on the winter one since this one is so much bigger than this one.

But in the meantime, I finished the cardinal wreath for my sister for a Christmas present.

I did pick the Astrologer back up for a while, but got bored with it again . . . but better than not at all, I suppose.

I needed a Christmas present for my friend, Joe. I knew he was getting me something for Christmas - a lighted d20 and a very cool Big Bang bag, which I use for taking my cross stitch places (it started out as a gym bag, but I just like it for a cross stitch bag). Soooo . . . what to do? Wait, Joe likes Christmas, so an ornament is perfect . . . now what? Oh wait, he loves Ghostbusters! So off I go to find the logo, run it through my cross stitch converter, and stitch it! I used glow-in-the-dark floss for the ghost. When I told him that, he grabbed it and shut himself in the bathroom. A muffled exclamation of "omg it works" or something like that followed. He has since reported that his little boy does the same thing - charging it to the light, then going in a closet. lol Awesome!

I decided I needed to make myself a new dice bag, to replace the ones which were in the pod which are long since gone :( I could try to re-stitch them, but the Dragon's breath or mist or whatever it was called is from Enchanted Fabrics and they're no longer in business. :(
Sooo I took the January dragon of the Dragon Dreams birthday dragons and the August dragon, but with different colors. I liked this spool of blending filament from the dragon of the winter moon which has more blue in it than the ones produced now by the same number.
January

the gold one

I needed a baby present for a (now former) co-worker. Her theme was jungle and her colors were brown and green. So the 3 peas in a pod came to mind. I started it sometime before this. Got that done mid-January 2011.

And then I decided to work on that scallop kit I got for Mom off of eBay. It stitched up very quickly and I still have a bit of that pink sparkly thread. I think I'll use it one day for the little dragon motiff I did for Tannith's dice bag.

I did finish another shells/seaside picture for Mom, but I have to take a better pic of that before posting it here.

I had started this wolves picture back in 2003 and finished it 2/7/11. One less in the UFO pile! Go me!

I had this kit for the Lord's Prayer and decided to see how long it would take to stitch it. 10 pm Thursday, 2/24/11 - 2 pm Sunday 2/27/11. That stitched up so very, very fast!

I also was working on one of 4 crystal ball views. There is a Joan Elliott pattern which is a wizard with a crystal ball and there are 4 options. I still don't know which I like best, but I did decide to stitch each on a small piece of sparkly fabric. I started with the dragon. There's also a castle, an unicorn, and an owl. I finished this one in February.

I did do some more on the 2 different color variations of the castle in the clouds while I was in NY for granny's memorial service in May.
blue

green

Mary asked me to make this mardi gras mask for her. I had shown her and Mom the pattern at Christmas and said I'd love to stitch it. It took foreeever to get the fabric - it was back-ordered 3 times and finally I just told them to substitute black jobelan for black lugana. Then I got to start it mid-March. I finished it mid-May and got it framed. I think it was the most difficult thing I've done because of all the partial stitches as well as having to redo several big bits of it.

I decided the picture was for her birthday present and the frame is for Christmas.

I had started the sorceress as part of a SAL, or stitch-a-long, with a former (best) friend during the Sunday game. And then she stopped cross stitching during the game and also started playing more WoW. Then there was that whole debacle which ended our friendship. I had pulled it out one day and asked myself "why did you stop working on this? Why did you let her stop you from finishing this?" And I found I had no answer for myself. My next problem was that I couldn't remember what I used for what color. Sooo I made it up as I went along. I think I was originally supposed to use blending filament places where I didn't and added some where I wasn't originally going to (that sparkly bit for the underside of the cape flipped out). And I think she's turned out better than I thought she would. I did start the wizard guy at the same time, but sort of put him down for a while, stitching with velvet is difficult.

So then June 14th I decided to start the Elegant Geisha kit. I decided to stitch this for a friend I used to work with. She's stitched up relatively quickly. I'm fairly certain I would have finished with her if not for being distracted by the Fragile Storykeep and that whole loss of job thing. Well also the half-crosses are kind of tedious to stitch. I do want to finish her soon tho, I only have the wisteria and the remaining half-crosses and of course the backstitching.

I had gotten the pattern and (some of the) threads I needed for this a while ago and asked myself why have I not done this one? I didn't have a good answer, so time to pull out some 18-count aida. None of the background is visible, so aida is fine. Oh my gosh! It stitched up so quickly! 2 weeks and 3 days.

I want to get this framed, but I'll have to wait to have a good job . . . or someone has it framed for me for Christmas. That'd be a great Christmas present.

Plus I've go so much more I want to stitch . . .
I will try not to leave another 9 months until the next blog update.

Ooookay

2010-10-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since I blogged last. I finished Gilee's alien cat storykeep. I have given Aunt Susan that music pic - she loved it! Yay! I'm currently working on the Dragon Dreams kit I have of Dragon of the Winter Moon. I started this, no lie, on September 19th! And yes I really am so very close to being done with it! In a little more than 3 weeks! Wow! I have almost everything I need to start stitching the sister piece, Dragon of the Summer Sky. I've picked out a lovely Joan Elliott design to stitch as a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society for my friend Carrie. It's a lovely design with the word "Hope" and doves on it. I'm changing the beads to a nice green for her mom, who passed away this year from liver cancer. (Green is the color for liver cancer.) So here are the pics.

oh and I forgot

2010-06-12T00:31:00.000-07:00

The cross stitch kids stopped coming to learn cross stitch :(

Sooooo it's been a while

2010-06-09T19:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah I've been kind of bad with the blog updating and all . . .

Ok so the Two Geishas and the bird heart wreath have now found homes on the wall of the dining room - mine near my end and Mom's near her end.

I did start the pixie mentioned, Fern. I started her like January 17th or 18th or so and finished her in March before I went to London, England to visit my friend, Gilee. The peach beads match the fabric almost exactly, which is nice.

I did get the fabric and the threads for that SAL I mentioned, The Moon. Unfortunately, it never did materialize since the company it was being done thru went under. :( I'm still going to stitch her tho. I printed out the whole patters - 42 pages!!!! I'm hoping to start her later this year.

I did get some more stitched in February on the alien storykeep, but not much then. I definitely didn't want to take that with me to England! Too tiny - 25 count over 1!

I did however, take WAY more projects than I could have reasonably expected to complete . . . but that's normal for a cross stitcher! lol
I took that Going to Market and the pink dolly (I will eventually stitch for my sister, Mary). I did decide to take my now (well then) oldest wip, the Celebration of Music. I started that in 1993 and want to give it to my Aunt Susan, who plays the flute - she's the reason I decided to play flute back in the 6th grade when we were picking out instruments in band.
Gilee got us tickets for the Britain's Cross Stitcher's craft show/fair/thingy. So we went on Sunday - it took us 4 tube transfers but we made it! It was neat - the cross stitch dealers had actual stitched models up, which was neat to see. I was VERY good and only got one kit of Sherwood Forest & one book, both very cheap.
Kew Gardens and both Platform 9 3/4 (yes there really IS one!) and the Great Hall were very cool to see.

I didn't start the not-yet-started kits nor did I finish the Celebration of Music, but I did get a nice bit done on it!
I did finish the Celebration of Music on May 13th yay!

I then picked the alien cat storykeep back up and got all the threads for it. 50+ colors! Wow. It is a HAED (Heaven And Earth Designs) afterall!
This is what it will look like:

Also Sal & I discussed converting his art - awesomely cool abstract stuff! - into counted cross stitch. I started with a line drawing called Gato Bruja. My charting program actually turned it into cross stitches rather than backstitched lines . . . this will take some working on I think . . . also it's kind of harder than I thought it would be on that white evenweave, I think I'll re-do it on a different color, I haven't gotten very far yet so it's ok.

I've been working REALLY hard on the alien cat storykeep and now that I've gotten used to the tiny stitches, I'm comfortable working on it during my lunch hour - I take a couple of pb&j sandwiches and then have the whole hour to stitch!
I've gotten further than this but this is the most recent picture I've taken:

I also started the "castles in the clouds" as I call it - on the blue/periwinkle combination and the green/copper combinations! What a difference the background makes!

I got my Daniel Radcliffe framed and now I have to decide where he's going to go . . . I don't really want to take him back to work with me! lol

I got Joan Elliott's blue geisha which came out in October. I was hoping someone'd get it for me for Christmas, but nobody did. And then maybe for my birthday, but still nobody did (and I even had them circled in the catalogs :( ) I hadn't used the gift card Aunt Debbie & Uncle Bill had given me for Christmas to Hobby Lobby. There isn't one any closer to me than Danville and I never go there (been thru it a few times on my way to Greensboro but never stopped). I didn't use it when I got it because there wasn't anything I wanted from their online shopping bit. But I had gotten to thinking about it. So I went online and looked . . . and ohmygosh!!! That blue geisha!!!!! So I got it - it still cost me $17.59, but that's still half of what it would have cost me from Herrschners or the Stitchery so that's good.

So I've got a bit of a rotation going on with the alien cat storykeep for Gilee, the two castle in the clouds, and the blue geisha. I want to stitch the Gato Brujah, the two houses ones for my cousins (for their house/home-warming presents late I know), the other 3 pixies I have the floss for, the Moon, my Tannith one, and maybe something else - I also want to stitch the Going to Market, the Three Yoruban women, and that cool-looking old world map as well as House Work. I would REALLY like most of that list to be done by the end of this year!!! No wonder I don't have time to update my blog! LOL

I also got this thing called a topsy-turvey - so far I've gotten three strawberries! They were tasty. I wonder if the Mr. Stripey tomatoes will be any good. I have strawberries, like 4 or 5 tomato plants, some cucumbers, and some squash.

Hmmm been awhile

2010-01-20T21:36:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been quite a while since I updated my blog. Since September actually. I've been trying to remember what I have done since then. Let's see . . . the flower fairies have finally gotten framed and mailed to Stefy. She told me that Andy didn't believe that I had stitched them until she showed him my initials. lol I also got my two geishas framed and they look awesome! Well worth it since I started them like what about 9 years ago? At the moment they're sitting in front of the Christmas tree (yes we still have a Christmas tree up 2/3 of the way thu January - mom was saying something about decorating it for Valentine's Day) It looks rather nice in front of the tree. I was able to get the framing done for 60% off so I feel it was like a Christmas present to myself. I also got Mom's bird heart wreath framed. And it looks great being hung up in the dining room. I'm very glad I finally finished it!
I completed several more projects.
I started and finished a lovely castle on some 32-ct linen (Hawaiian sunrise). I want to stitch this again with 2 other color combinations a periwinkle/periwinkle and a green/copper color. The border is what really makes this piece pop out and look great.

I finally finished the card I started for Sal - it just made me think of him. Plus the kit had been on sale at Michael's for $1.40. And when I gave it to him, he really liked it.

I also finished the wine trivett that went along with the coasters. :)

I found a free pattern of Daniel Radcliffe on the Britain's Cross Stitcher website. I finished it on Saturday about 8 pm.

And after I finished my Daniel Radcliffe, I started on my latest of the pixies, Fern, right after that. I still have to get my fabric for the big SAL I signed up for. I've already gotten really far with Fern - half her green dress and most of the fleshy bits. I'm hoping to get her stitched or most of the way stitched by my birthday (1/30) . . . that would be very cool.

This is the SAL I signed up for - it's called The Moon, tho I'm thinking she needs a name . . . still haven't decided between Bolka (Pathfinder's dwarven goddess of love/beauty) or Falga (queenrider in Moreta Dragonlady of Pern).

I just recently (like last week!) started teaching cross stitch lessons to some girls. Only one of them showed up tonight and she got all the way to actually stitching - two whole rows. I can't wait until next week. I got the idea that it would be uber-cool to have a studio, like if I had enough students. And it would be so cool if there was a part of it that was like art and pottery and stained glass and the other part like needlecrafts and yarn crafts and the like. Maybe it would be cool if there was like a loft or a second floor for the needlework crafts. Ah that would be so cool.

Ok off to stitch some more . . .

2009-09-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the flower fairies all done . . . just needs a frame.

I got some more done on the Tannith HAED. Here it is.

Latest updates

2009-09-05T22:50:00.001-07:00

Well I took a little time off of the stitching of the flower faries (or rather fairies as it probably should be spelled, oh well). I did however, pick it back up last night and have worked on it all day today, well after I came home from the shopping bit . . . and reading my new pathfinder dragons book. I've gotten a bit further along. Actually quite a bit further along as I am almost done with the next blue fairy. She's got the same color hair as the cat so that will be the last bit on her. As you can see, the progress between the pics is the same but that is because I decided you lost detail if I keep showing the whole picture. Its not like the leftmost ones are going to disappear if you don't see them in the pics. So while I listen/watch Smallville Season 1, I am working on my cross stitch. They go thru a lot of locks and vehicles on this show I've noticed. I'm at least going to get thru this fairy if not the cat by the end of my day today. Well after I get off the computer.

I had done another day of stitching on Tannith. I didn't get nearly so far as I thought I would, but it is still better than nothing. I will be going thru the chart and marking where the clothes and hair/skin are, I think.

And thus the journey begins . . .

2009-09-02T02:05:00.001-07:00

My odyssey of stitching a HAED has begun . . . I started my QS Lotus Wood on 9/1/09 about 10 pm. I thought it'd be funny to start it on the same day as the term @ Hogwarts starts. It took me longer than I thought it would but I think it's partially because I'm not used to stitching on 25-ct over 1 with 2 strands of floss and partially because I'm railroading both legs. I'm going to try to stitch at least a little every day and take lots of pics. (She makes me think of my d&d character, Tannith, tho I will need to change the hair color and give her a pointy ear.) I would be absolutely thrilled if I could be done with the bottom row of pages by my birthday, but I'm not going to have a conniption if that (admitidly more than likely unrealistic) goal isn't met. My poor little ancient gerbil has been keeping me company and taking naps on my shoulder and asking me if she can't go back in her box now? lol I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her take shape.

Just to remind you what the HAED/Tannith looks like:

The blank fabric - 25 count lugana, being stitched over 1 with 2 strands of floss. The color doesn't matter since you won't see it. (Cheap on eBay for the size I wanted.) The needle shows you where I am starting the piece.

All the floss that will be turned into my pretty picture. Tho I do need to change the color to red and give her a pointy ear.

This is the first stitch . . . just as confucius says about the journey of 1000 miles beginning with a single step, thus the journey of 58,900 stitches began with this one. Oh ok, purchasing the design, fabric, and floss had to happen first also with deciding to stitch this picture rather than another one . . . but you get the point.

Here is the first wip pic of it - I estimate I've gotten about 4 squares done, give or take (I don't stitch the whole square I go with the flow sort of, so this is more of a guestimate plus no lines between the squares) which means that I've gotten about 400 or so stitches done. 58,500 to go I suppose. Not bad for about 6 hours worth of work?

Ok off I go to get me some of this rare and precious commodity we call "sleep" . . . well after I put Paige back in her cage.

dyeing update

2009-08-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ok so a lady from facebook emailed me a couple of articles about dyeing fabric. One was like what the RIT people had, but it didn't have what I was looking for. The second article was about making it mottled, which is like what the Silkweavers and Enchanted Fabrics hand dyed fabrics are like. I have read it through a couple of times and I think I know what's going on. Of course, there is nothing like actually doing said dyeing to put theory into practice. It might turn out just like I think (and it probably will) but then again might be a total messy disaster. Of course, I won't know until I try it out. I did pick up several different colors of dye to attempt this grand experiment in hand-dyeing. I don't know when I will get around to actually attempting this, but it should be interesting. I'll try to take lots of pics to document it.

finally an update

2009-08-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished Jewels of the Orient (aka the 2 geishas) - I finished them on 7/1/09 after oh about 9 years of stitching on them on and off. I had to wash the piece, but that isn't surprising since it'd been a long time since I started it.

I started this one back in like 2003 or 2004. It's not very big, so I should have had this one done a long time ago. Oh well. At least I'm decreasing the UFO pile. If I get around to it, I'll take a pic of what it will look like.

Here is the finished Iris, along with a closeup of the wings bit. I love the beads. The purple ones have purple on the inside and blue on the outside. It took me a bit longer than I thought it would since I had a bunch of overtime. I started her on 7/1/09 and finished her on 8/15/09.

Well I have finally gotten thru the left side of the flower faries which I'm making for Stefy's baby. I started them on 8/15/09, and had really hoped I'd be done with them today, the 31st. Oh well . . . that didn't happen. I'd really liked the idea of starting my Tannith HAED on 9/1 just like the beginning of the term of Hogwarts. I might still start it, I'm not sure tho.

dyeing fabric

2009-08-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

I have been getting special hand dyed cross stitch fabric (lugana) for the pixies. I decided I want to try to dye my own. That way they'd be extremely unique. But it's hard to find any info on how to go about it. I picked up some literature from that RIT dye but that was for if I want to make it all one shade or dye it. It's not the same as the cross stitch fabrics. I looked on Booksamilion to see if there was any books about it. I found some books and then found them on Amazon.com (put 'em in my wishlist too). So I decided why not swing by Barnes & Noble on the way home and see if they had any books. I found a big, fat nothing for my trouble. (Tho I was able to find the Twilight book 3 in paperback and the Gypsy Morph book which I was looking for.) Blah! They had just about any other kind of crafting thing you could think of, including get this upholstery but not one about dyeing fabric. What the crap? Three upholstery books but no dyeing? Sigh . . . I think I'll try calling over to Books a million tomorrow and see if they have any and if not, I'll order them from Amazon.

More to come on the odyssey of the fabric dyeing.

Iris update

2009-08-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Onto the wings!

Oooh loook a dreeesssss!

2009-08-01T17:37:00.001-07:00

I finished the dress bit of Iris a little after 6 am on Harry Potter's 29th birthday. lol I crack me up. That means 7/31/2009 for those of you who have no clue when that is.

Onto the fleshy bits, the hair, the wings, the backstitching, and the beading in that order.

2009-07-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here's more update pics of Iris. I stayed home sick and watched some dvds on my new little portable dvd player and stitched a lot. I have gotten further than the second pic, but I didn't feel like taking another pic yet. I have gotten about 1/3 done with the purple bits on the left side.

When I finish the left side, then I'll work on the fleshy bits - legs, arms, face, hair. (Ok that's not fleshy but it's part of the fleshy bits.) Then I will just have the wings to stitch. Then after that will be the back stitching, and there's not much of that on the pixies. And the last bit will be the beading. That usually doesn't take too long. I'm going to update my places where I post cross stitch pics and then work on it some more.

Ok it's been a while time for an update

2009-07-24T23:30:00.000-07:00

Ok I've not been very good about updating this lately, but here it is.

I finished the geishas on 7/1/09 sometime around 3:45 am or so. They needed to be washed, as did Mom's bird heart wreath. Not surprising, I'd say, since the geishas were almost a decade old and the wreath was over a decade and a half old. The wreath bled from that maroon color thread and it took me about 8 soakings. But I was finally happy with it. When I have a little extra money (I'm thinking after I do a lot more overtime?) and they have a 50% off framing sale at AC Moore, I'll have Mom pick out her frame.

I have finally started Iris - I started her on 7/1/09, and I got lots done on her during the 3-day weekend. Then, however, I sort of stalled a bit with the 2 weeks of overtime. This is how far I've gotten on her:

I'm really looking forward to being done with all that gold/brown . . . I'm sort of sick of that color. But it will look really nice when it's done.

This is what I am really looking forward to stitching. I'll be stitching this for Stefy for her baby. I don't think they're going to take that long to do. I'm thinking it'd be really neat to be able to mail it to her for her baby shower, which is August 29th. But I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't make that deadline. I'm adding some 0032 blending filament to the wings. I'd thought about matching the sparkly to the color of the fairy, but Stefy thinks opalescent would make sense for fairy wings.

They have another 4 new pixies! Ack! I'm falling further and further behind. lol I do have Pansy and Sweet Pea. I haven't gotten Bluebell (I really like the color on her) and Magnolia yet since I just ordered them this week.
Here are the new ones of the pixies:
Bluebell:

Magnolia

Pansy

Sweet Pea

And in the music videos:
I'm thinking now for Ishtar, I'd really rather use Godsmack's Voodoo and that maybe their Serenity would be nice for Aveyond. I was thinking their Running Blind might be nice to use for that Miribilia's Stargazer. Yup I do want to stitch that too. So I think that Corsira will get Greensleeves (RVCB).

I think I need a 36 hour day to stitch this all.

music videos

2009-06-21T01:17:00.000-07:00

Well I decided I liked making the purr rawrs video and will eventually make more vids. I think I'd eventually like to make the Prayer of St Francis again, just so I can use that Sarah McLaughlin song. Yeah I'm crazy like that. It's not like I don't have lots to want to stitch already. lol

Here's a list of the projects and the songs:
ones I can do now: (just not sure of the music)
Poppy
Tigerlily
children's noah's ark
more realistic noah's ark

The ones I want to do and the music:
Tannith: that oboe piece on the 25 one hit classical wonders cd
T&C/Rendezvous: Lifehouse's Everything
T&C/Aveyond (yeah another one): ??? I'm not sure *
Corsira (Ice Wind 1): ??? I'm not sure *
Prayer of St.Francis: self-explanitory, I think
Legend (which I have as a wip): I don't remember the name, but it's on that same one as the Tannith one
Ishtar: I think maybe Sting's Desert Rose
Harry Potter (yeah I found a chart on eBay): the Roanoke Valley Community Band's HP&POA
Vampire Sisters: Transylvanian Concubine (BTVS)
Millenium (Teresa Wentzler): final battle music from Buffy the vampire slayer
From the Ashes/phoenix: Rascall Flatt's Feels like today
Fire Angel: idk but maybe that Potomac Sunrise one? it sort of sounds like HP & pirates of the carrabean, idk tho
Moth Queen: Evanescence;s Bring Me to Life
flower fairies - idk
Queen of Hearts: Him's Wicked Game

that's a lot of stitching

* I'm not sure which one it is, but either Aveyond or Corsira is going to be getting the Greensleeves from the Roanoke Valley Community Band cd - it's very pretty

update I suppose

2009-06-11T23:47:00.001-07:00

This is the latest of the geishas - I have a bit more to go on the umbrella. I would really like to be able to get them done so that I can go onto other projects. Namely, Iris, the fairy row for Stefy's baby Kadence (ok I have until October to get that one done), and of course the Tannith HAED. Of course the one I would really like to fast forward to where it is all finished stitching is that Rendezvous one - the Tannith/Corsair one. :) Of course I'd like a lot more of them done too . . . oh well . . .

I also put together the Purr-rawr pics into a movie. Here it is for ease of finding.

geisha update

2009-06-08T01:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest pics of my geishas.

I figured out how my "muvie maker" that came with my computer works. I decided to fart around with the purr-rawrs I'll post a link on YouTube if I figure out how to upload it. One step at a time, one step at a time.

Ok here's an update

2009-06-04T02:18:00.000-07:00

Quick update: I've been working on the geisha's and have gotten the head of the standing one done, tho I haven't gotten a pic of it. The others are the school and the countryside church of the plastic canvas musical village I started years ago.

I wanted to start Iris (the one I picked of the pixies to do next, Fern will be her buddy) on 6-1-09 since it was after Relay and also the beginning of the month. But it just didn't feel right, so I didn't. I only have the fan, the umbrella, and the wisteria of the cross stitches and also the backstitching left. I'll have to get some more black, since I decided to do 3 strands for better coverage. Oh well. "Floss is cheap and I know where to get more" - I think that was something I read in one of my ccs magazines. So once I get the geishas done I'll start on Iris. I really want to get to the Tannith one, but I know that's going to be quite a commitment. I got my laptop and I've been getting to know it. (I haven't figured out a name for it yet - the other one was named "Carritas" from Angel.) But one of the features is that I can make movies on it. Granted it wouldn't be anything like a Hollywood movie by any means, but I think it'd be really neat to take a bunch of pics of a HAED and put it to music so you can see the progression of how it grows over the fabric. I had seen one on YouTube of where someone had it for the water lilies feng shui pic. It was really neat.

Computer problems

2009-05-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Well I've had some computer problems - it's on crack or something I think. There is something wrong with it where it doesn't read the card reader. I'm like oh this is a load of bs! And many other naughty words were uttered in reference to it's parantage. Be that as it may, my friend Kattie looked at it and it's sort of limping along now. Not great or anything but not omg go would you?!

So here is the missing updates.

I picked the Jewels of the Orient picture (aka the two geishas) back up on 4/29/09. I have gotten quite a lot done and even more than just this. Sometimes I can amaze myself. lol

I also organized my wips so I could see what I have. I think I would like to finish my now oldest wip (also from 1993) - the music sampler. I only have the bottom, one of the little boxes, the side and the top left. I'm like, why did I leave it?

The 6th installment on the sorceress. It was supposed to go on the missing update, but oh well.

And the legend pics - one for the missed update and the other is how far I've gotten since then.

latest update

2009-04-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

I worked on Legend and I got some more done. I figured out that I had put the wrong color - I used 782 which is a gold rather than 553 which is a purple. A little over an hour later, it made much more sense. I then put it aside to work on that bird heart wreath I started back in 1993.

Speaking of which, I was able to finish it today, 4-21-2009, at 2 pm, right before work. Yay me! I am pretty sure I started it back in April or May of 1993, as I know I worked on it during the 8th grade trip. I don't remember where we went, but I do remember stitching on that project in the back of the bus. I am really happy now that the stupid thing is done. lol I only call it that because I was sick of it hanging on. But it is really pretty.

Which pixie?

2009-04-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

I was trying to decide which pixie I should do next. I was going to do Fern but now I'm not sure. What do you think?

Daisy:

Fern:

Holly:

Iris:

Ivy:

Jasmine:

Lilac:

Lily:

Lily of the Valley:

Morning Glory

Rose: (I want to stitch her twice - once for me and once for Relay For Life to raffle off)

Violet:

4-13-09

2009-04-13T10:25:00.001-07:00

Well I was able to finish the plums and I am definitely happy with that one. It's a lot prettier than I thought it would be.

I also got further on the sorceress - both the medium and dark blues. I should be able to get through the lighter blue bit with next week's game session. I look forward to seeing how she'll look.

While I was filling in for the church secretary (very few phone calls and not much to do) I got some work done on the heart bird wreath for mom. I wonder how far I'll be able to get this week. No pics yet, I'll put one up next week. I also want to get back to Legend. The wip pics were put up on the white willow stitching web site. How cool is that?

4-6-09

2009-04-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Here is how far I got on the SAL Sorceress this week. It's week #4. I've gotten all of the only variations color done and went to the darker one. Really there's 2 colors there. I hope next week I'll be able to get to (or maybe through) the lighter version bit.

Here's the summer plums feng shui. I had hoped to get it done but considering I only picked it back up 2 weeks ago, I think it's going well. I should get it done by next week I think.

Here's the bamboo picture I had done before the plums. I had finished this back in 2002. There are 2 other kits in the feng shui ones, tho I don't know when I'll get to the fall mums or the winter water lilies.

some older pics

2009-04-04T16:15:00.001-07:00

Tannith's dice bag:

Mermaid:

Mermaid:

Poppy:

The Purr-Rawrrs I made for Kattie and Matt:

I made this one for mom - it's a needlepoint picture. I entered it in a needlework competition last November.

Dolphin picture I made that I entered in the same needlework competition. I had stitched the whole thing because I liked the pink fan corals.

The prayer of St Francis picture I made for the church. I finished it back in 2004 and I also entered it in the same competition.

This is another picture I did for the church. I finished it almost a whole year ago and finally got it framed a few weeks ago.

This is the other Noah's ark picture I did for the church. It took quite a while as the elephants were really hard to stitch. I finished it back in December I think. I got it framed at the same time. It looks really good framed.

This is how far I had gotten on my two geishas

This is one of the vases I did.

This is the other vase.

This is the little samurai I stitched.
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This is Mai, one of the geishas.

I did this for Mary for Christmas. The kit only cost me $1 and I changed the background from the 14 count plain white aida to the 28 count African daisy I had. Much nicer.

This is the first of the bird afghan I started a while ago. There are like 8 birds and verses.

This is one of the peacock pics I did.

Here's another peacock picture I did.

This is the kingfisher that Aunt Carol commissioned me to do

2009-03-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here is how far I've gotten with the sorceress in the last game session on Sunday. I didn't actually stitch much while we were playing since I had to play both Tannith and Zoltan, but I stayed for like 2 or 3 hours afterwards and stitched. I almost had gotten all of that color done . . . if I'd been able to stitch during the game, I might have gotten a bit further.

Here is the heart wreath that I started back in 1993. I hope to get it done by the end of the decade. lol Maybe posting pics will help?

Here is how far I have gotten on the summer plums. I was just working on it before I took a pic of them. I think that I'll probably be able to get it done soon, maybe next week? I'd like to get done with this so it's finally done, and then maybe I can get back to Legend. I hope.

Oh I forgot the Tannith ccs pics

2009-03-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

I just realized I forgot to add pics of the 3 Tannith pics.

The first is called QS Lotus wood, the second is called Rendezvous, and the 3rd is Kindred. I know both Lotus and Rendezvous need some tweaking. Tannith is a redhead who likes blue, Corsair is a blonde, and they both need pointy ears. Half-elves, after all, you know. I think I'd only do the portion of Kindred that has the woman/dragon and take off the wings.

Tannith:

Tannith & Corsair:

Tannith:

Well here's what I've been up to

2009-03-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

I sorted out the flosses of the heart-shaped bird wreath I started back in 1994 for Mom. I thought I'd started it back in 1992, but I remember working on it on a trip I was on in the 8th grade. Oh well. Wait, no that would be 1993. I had to replace some of the flosses as age or something got spilled on some of them and I was like eeewww. I had tried to work with them before and I don't like them. Oh well. Now it's all sorted out and I think I might get to finish it by the end of this decade! lol

I worked on the alternate sorceress this week during the Tannithland game. I got rather far on her. Now you can see almost all of the shape of the cape. I look forward to seeing how she turns out. I have been asking people about what color you'd put a wizard/sorcerer in. Most have said blue, but a few have told me purple. Tho I think I may go with burgundy like Dad said. I could always do 2 of him. lol

I also have been working on the feng shui of the summer plums lately. I'd like to get the bar at the top done tomorrow, like with the burnt orange back stitching. The back stitching looks kind of cool, almost a little like candle flames.

Other than that it's been rather quiet. Tho I did look on HAED (Heaven And Earth Designs) and I found 3 more pics I'd like to do for various d&d characters. lol
Corsair & Tannith's daughter, Corsira

I thought this would be Amalanna's daughter Ro, but Kattie told me she already picked out something for Ro. I still like this tho:

Sarenrae - well she needs fiery blonde hair:

SAL

2009-03-17T00:47:00.000-07:00

SAL = Stitch ALong

These are neat. I've done several online ones. With the online ones, it's not always stitch the same project, tho it could be. The irl (in-real-life) ones are most often where you do the same project. So I started a SAL with Kattie this weekend. We're stitching the sorcerer (tho we have tended to call him a wizard) and the sorceress that I had stitched back in 1998 & 1999 respectively. We'll work on them on Sundays when we play in Matt's game. She decided to start with the sorcerer and I decided to start with the sorceress. She is doing hers in forest greens for her mom for Christmas. I'm not doing either for anyone, but I am changing the colors. I've decided to use the dmc color variations in blues and lighter blues and white/grays. Plus I am changing the hair to be red. I suppose I'll have to change the ears so they're pointy. lol Tannith is a half-elf after all. I'd added some blending filament on the magic items in both pictures, but Kattie asked about adding some blending filament to the stars on the robe. But I got off to a good start on the sorceress. (Ok I did do a little today, but I wanted to finish off this one section that isn't in the picture.) I started with the sorceress since I still don't know what colors I want to do the sorcerer in.

The original color scheme of the sorcerer:

The original color scheme of the sorceress:

The new sorceress:

Progress

2009-03-13T00:00:00.001-07:00

Here's my latest progress . . . well since the last time I posted.

I've been busy!

I made my dice bag for my character Kheti. I used varigated yellow/orange for the ankh with the cable for the backstitching on the one side and on the other I used some 742 with some high luster blending filament (gold), gold #4 braid, and the cable for the other side being a sunburst.

I got lots of stuff finished on 3-8-09!
I also did my raindrop kids. I'd have gotten them all done during Shivacon had I remembered the white floss and also if I'd stitched at all during the last game session. I think I'd like to do them again, but change them a bit. I want to change the little boy's hair to red and his skin to be a grayish green, so he's Little Corsair. And change the girl's hair to black, her skin to bronze, and add a tail, so she can be Tobin.

Then I finished my Herself the Elf - I had only had the backstitching to finish when I'd gotten to Shivacon, but I wanted to only work on the raindrop kids, so that's why it took me another week or so to finish it. But now it's all done. Yay vintage cartoons! I like the little froggy - I think I'll use that bit of the pattern on Ayla's dice bag. (Now I just need 3 more animals and some plants . . . )

I also got the cross stitching done on Haruna's dice bag. It was really easy. I just randomly picked different musical notes and symbols and just randomly put them where I thought they should go. Now I just have to put it together. I will use some of the musical fabric I have for the liner. I think that'll look nice.

Currently working on:
Legend.
Yup I've picked Legend back up and I've gotten a little further on the sphinx done. It's a little hard following along with the pattern since it's more than 2 - 4 pages. I don't think I've ever done one with this many pages before! lol But I've wanted to do this one since 2005, so I will. It's not a hard pattern to follow, tho the shading is very close together, so it's helpful to do all of one color that I can before moving on to the next one. I'm hoping to get lots done. Tho I keep getting sucked into the internet . . . hmmmm . . .

The ones I want to work on next:
SALs with Kattie - she and I will work on the wizard and sorceress pics during Matt's Sunday game. It's going to be fun working on something with someone. I think I'll do different colors tho I'm not sure what colors I'll use. But I think I may do varigated or overdyed floss for the sorceress. Maybe blue(s) for her dress, turquoise for her cape, and red for her hair? Not really sure at this point. But I think it'll be on some sort of evenweave.
HAED - I finally have the fabric, the floss, and the chart for the QS Lotus Wood one, or as I have decided in my mind, the Tannith one. I just need to figure out the hair before I stitch it. She's got to have red hair, even if the face isn't exactly her. I'll use this sparkly blue/turquoise stuff for her eyes.

I decided to make a cross stitch blog

2009-03-02T23:53:00.000-08:00

Yup, blogging is fun. And so is counted cross stitch. Hence the counted cross stitch blog.

That is Tigerlily. I started her about 7 pm on 2-1-09 and finished her a little after 6 am on 2-15-09. She is one of the Pixie Couture Collection by Nora Corbett thru Mirabilia. I stitched her on Silkweaver wandering ivy on 32 count lugana. She was really easy to stitch and went really quickly. If I were to ever stitch her again, I'd reverse the light and dark areas of her skin. She is actually the second of the pixies I've stitched.