Finished stuff!

First off, I must apologise for missing my YOTA post, I didn't stitch anything of them so honestly, nothing to see here!

You may remember me mentioning a bit ago that I'd been stitching something as a gift, well it's now been received so I can share photo's!

It's a kit from Anchor called Together Forever designed by Margaret Sherry:

It's stitched on 32ct Fairy Forest Opalescent Murano from Crafty Kitten.  I took a picture prior to personalising as they preferred for their detail not to be shared online and of course I respected that. It was framed in a modern, gloss white frame with an off-white mat.  I did find it hard to get through as it wasn't my choice and although it's cute, the fact it was for someone else put that "obligation" on me to HAVE to stitch it.  I am very pleased with the result and the fabric looked amazing and was wonderful to stitch on.

My next finish is my "Go-Bag" stitching.  I've not shared any pictures of this before mainly because it generally in my bag ready to go!  It's a nice easy to stitch design that is just 1 solid colour, so perfect for when you are out of the house!

Sorry for the slightly creased picture!  This was a free design from Love Thy Thread, who sadly are no longer trading.  It's stitched on a piece of 28ct fabric from Colour Cascades Fabric that has gold opal threads running through it.  It'a actually a little more red than the picture shows.  I can't tell you what the colour is as it was an oddment from one of the month sales from the FaceBook group.

I don't think I've shared a picture of my framed Pyramid with you all yet.  I've had it back for a while, just haven't managed to get a good picture of it, however I'll share one of the ones we've taken of it!

I hope this gives you some idea of how it looks.  We still haven't decided where to hang it, but hopefully once it's on the wall it'll be easier to photograph!

Also, my most recent progress photo of The Three Fates:

I was going to switch away from this but couldn't decide what to switch to.  hubby suggested using a random number generator and picking that way, so I did....seemed the Fates have conspired and are insisting I continue as this was the number that came up!  I think I'll switch back to the left side and continue down, maybe I'll reach the bottom corner, although that may be slightly too ambitious!

Finally, I want to thank you all for your lovely well wishes; I am feeling better now (well at least as good as I get!) and Charlie is doing well too.  Lets hope we continue feeling well until our little trip away at the start of June!

Messenger

Ok....I admit defeat, the rotation that I had planned at the beginning of the year has fallen by the wayside.  I'm not really worried about it as the main thing is that I am enjoying my stitching and that is the most important thing to me.  I've finished all the "obligation stitching" (i.e. stuff as gifts/for other people) so I am perfectly free to stitch what I want!

I've started and completed Messenger - Firewing Designs, stitched on Crafty Kitten's July 2012 Limited Edition fabric (28ct Jazlyn).  It is the most lovely blend of pinks, oranges and yellows.

Other than Messenger, I've mainly stitched on The Three Fates by Jasmine Becket-Griffith (HAED)

This was where I left it last time:

This is where I am up to now:

I've made it to the other side of chart and it's starting to look like something!  

I've also decided on a new start and although I don't have any pictures to show you as yet , this is what I've made a start on:

It's Mini Starlight - Linda Ravenscroft (HAED).  I love unicorns and I really wanted to stitch one, I also wanted to stitch a Linda Ravenscroft chart so this is a perfect choice!

Also I need to say HUGE thank you to Alicia - The Crafty Princess for gifting me this lovely chart out of blue!

It's another HAED chart called Midnight Rose - Bente Schlick and it absolutely gorgeous!  I can't wait to get the thread together to make a start on it!

I'm still behind on the blog reading, but I am catching up so you may find some comments on posts from a while back!

A bit behind.....

As usual, I'm a bit behind on my blog reading and updating....I blame all you wonderful people who keep updating your blogs regularly!  I promise to read them all but I might not comment on all, that doesn't mean that I don't love the work you produce!

Well, I've done a bit of stash buying, although I'm too scared to put it all in one place to take a picture!  Needless to say it included a fair bit of Crafty Kitten Fabric (one of my favourites!), some Sparklies fabric (another favourite!), Ink Circles charts and new QSnaps.  I've finally got my fabric for the AAN SAL, so I plan to start that very soon, possibly next week.

I've a few project updates for you though, so there are some pictures to see!

This is one that has been unloved since mid 2012 and I decided I'd quite like to finish her this year.  It's Joan Elliott's Celtic Fairy:

The fabric doesn't show up too well, it's a lovely pale yellow with hints of pink through it.  I'm really enjoying this stitch so I think I'll keep on with her this week too.

Next up, another project that hasn't seen any love since I initially started it back in 2013, The Three Fates - Jasmine Becket-Griffith (HAED)

It's starting to look like something rather than some splodges of blue, actually no, it does still look like splodges of blue!

Last one for you is Endless Dream - Vacher (HAED)

A bit of progress, although I can still see the mistake, as I stitch more it is becoming less noticeable!

I'm really happy with how my stitching is going so far this year, maybe a bit less than I hoped for, but all in all, a good start to the year!

As a final note, I want to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

We don't really celebrate it, I feel blessed everyday and although I don't feel I need a special day to tell my loved ones how much I love and appreciate them, I know it can be really fun!  This year we decided to sponsor a kennel at the local Dog's Home as our present to each other!

A bit of a catch-up!

Well it's been while since I posted last but as tends to happen, life got in the way a little!  I'll not go into detail (mainly as it's boring) but things are now getting back on track.

I have managed to get a fair bit of stitching done though so at least I have some things to share with you!

In September it was our 1st wedding anniversary and I stitched a present for my husband that represented how I lucky I feel to have met such a wonderful man!  It's a Design Works kit (designed by Joan Elliott) called Happiness Bears.

I've also joined in 2 different SAL's with 2 FaceBook groups.  I apologise that neither of these have been pressed so they may look a little crumpled.

The first is An Important Flower - Alessandra Adelaide Needlework (AAN) Stitched on 28ct Deep Teal Jazlyn using Sulky Blendables thread in Baby Soft.

Next is a design by Love Thy Thread that was created specifically for this SAL called Halloween.  I stitched on 18ct Aida in Moondust from Crafty Kitten using DMC threads.

 

I've joined the Lizzie*Kate Mystery SAL and I've made a start but not very much to show of that as yet and I'm still steadily working through the HAED BB SAL and I promise I'll take a picture next time I move my Q-Snaps!

Hope you are all doing well and I'll catch up on your blogs.  I may not post comments on all of them but I do enjoy reading them!

Just as a final note, my thoughts go out to Pumpkin's (Cathey) friends and family, as she lost her fight with cancer.  Her wonderful heart and spirit will be missed.

Birthday Stash!

It was my birthday at the end of July and I did a little bit of stash shopping!  As most of it was online, some bits haven't arrived as yet, but a few have and I thought I'd share it with you!

First up, a lovely selection of fabrics from Crafty Kitten:

Some of the very cute Whiskerkins designs by CM Deisgns, also bought from Crafty Kitten:

A couple of Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks charts:

Some of the lovely threads from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe:

The lovely cake that hubby bought for me:

Also, I was very lucky to win a giveaway of a chart, threads and fabric from the Jodyri Designs group on Facebook.  If you haven't heard of them I strongly suggest you check out her website:

Last, but definitely not least,  I was gifted a lovely chart of QS A - Tamara Newman from Heaven and Earth Designs by the wonderful Nikki:

I'm currently looking for the perfect fabric to stitch it on now!

I feel really lucky to have a few special friends and a wonderful hubby that made the day really nice for me!  Hubby even encourages the stash buying too!

WIPocalypse - June

I've been a little naughty and completed a few things that weren't planned, I just felt like doing some small things to break that feeling of not getting anywhere on large projects.  I do have to say that it worked and I've been able to go back to my Pyramid slightly refreshed!

This was completed for a charity that makes quilts for sick children:

It was a design I found online from Passion Creative blog and I changed the colours slightly to fit with the threads I already had.

Next was a design by Ink Circles that I've had for a while and kept meaning to do called Aventail.

It's stitched on 32ct Belfast Linen called Evening Magic from Crafty Kitten using a Dinky Dyes thread called Merlot.  I really love the way it turned out and I have lots more planned!

Next up is a small kit that I've had hanging around for ages that my niece wanted me to stitch for her.  I finally decided that I'd better get it done as it was a fairly small design I knew it wouldn't take long!

It's Fairy Girl - Bang on the Door DMC kit stitched on the white 18ct aida that it came with.  Once I find a nice frame I can finally give it to her :)

I also did a little work on the HAED BB SAL piece, QS Mystic Garden - Marchetti

May

June

Not a massive amount of progress but anything is a step closer!


Last up is Pyramid 4 - also by Marchetti:

 

May

June

I kept thinking I hadn't done that much, but you can definitely see some progress so I'm really happy.

I'm really happy with what I've completed this month and having a "time out" and doing a few smalls definitely helped spur me on with my larger projects!  Hope you guys all had a great month and I look forward to seeing all your progress pictures!

Ravenhair

I'm very happy to have a small finish to share with you!  As you may remember, a friend of mine has produced a few cross stitch designs and this was a freebie that she offered on her blog.

This design is called "Ravenhair" and is stitched on Polstitches - Fairy Dreams fabric that I got in one of their grab bags.  I recommend having a look at Tapestry Moon, which is Jennidee's blog and see some of her other work.

Since the wedding I've been finding it hard to get back into stitching so decided that some stash shopping was needed!  I've found that even just shopping helps motivate me to pick up a needle!

So I got some Sunset Sky Jazlyn from Crafty Kitten for an upcoming project as well as an Ink Circles chart and Evening Sky linen fabric to stitch it on.  I also got the Lizzie Kate chart "A Good Marriage" from Sew & So, which comes with the thread to stitch it with and picked up some Floba linen to stitch it on.  As usual, the camera never picks up how lovely the fabric is in person!