SandZ Stuff!

Patchwork Santa Progress Dec 18th 2011

2011-12-18T19:08:00.000Z

Here is my progress so far (it is taking longer than I ever imagined!)

Here is what he will eventually look like:

I have decided to not do the yellow oval and just to continue the holly border all the way up. It has taken a bit of working out as to what stitches in the border were missing where the yellow oval overlapped BUT I think I have worked it out successfully for the section I am stitching right now :0)

I am pleased with my stitching and I hope you have enjoyed looking at my progress...

Hello Kitty Cushion Finished...

2011-07-07T20:27:00.001+01:00

The cushion finished and Gina loved it...

My Mum helped me to make it up on the sewing machine...

I'm proud of how this turned out as this is the first cushion I have made...I plan to make a few more with some Christmas designs that I have done...

I hope that you like the finished item :0)...

xXx

Hello Kitty Finish!

2011-06-18T18:30:00.000+01:00

Yay ~ I've been working on this for my best friend Gina...

She adores Hello Kitty and she's moving house next weekend so this is going to be a pillow for her new room...

This is the fabric I'll be using to make the pillow...

I hope you like my most recent project...

I'll put another photo up when I've made the cushion...

QS Coral Addiction WIP 10th March 2011

2011-03-10T22:16:00.000Z

Here's where I'm at now...she looks so beautiful...only another 100-200ish stitches on this page to do...

If you've had a look at my blog - thank you...

I hope you like my progress...

QS Coral Addiction WIP 6th March 2011

2011-03-06T15:40:00.000Z

This is where I was at on the 2nd of March:

& here is where I am at as of the 6th of March:

I'm practically finished her hair on this page...(almost) I was confetti stitching yesterday to bring me to this stage...on the pink section underneath the yellow 'blob' there is krenik thread which is sparkly...not that you can really see from that photo...and her eyes are emerging too...

Tonight's work I think shall be more confetti stitching around her face to the left and right and possibly her eyes...this is one of the pages with the most stitches on it...when I finish her wee face I shall go onto the page to the right as there is more of her hair in this page...

I'm loving her progress, she's beautiful and even the masses of confetti stitches aren't bothering me too much...just making progress slower...

I hope that you like my progress if you've been kind enough to look at my blog...

QS Coral Addiction Work in Progress

2011-03-03T17:17:00.001Z

3 or 4 days work on my newest HAED design...

Here's a bit more of a close up...

I'm enjoying this design, it is being done on 28 count Polstitches opalescent evenweave - 'Shimmering Seas'...

I've had the backgrund removed so that I am only stitching the main mermaid and her coral below, this is so you can see the hand dyed fabric below...

I'm not sure how many stitches this one has because each page is not a full page of stitches, I might count one day and see how many there are so I can work out how many I've done and also got left to do...

(edit 4/3/2011) I've had a bit of a count today and this design is 27,699 stitches...with the background if I'd chose to stitch that it would've been 42,222...

Thanks for looking if you have done...

Finished Scarf Complete With Tassels!!!

2011-02-23T13:06:00.000Z

I finished my scarf at long last. I had to wait for another ball of wool to come from eBay as my local stockist was waiting on a delivery which was delayed...the complete scarf is 70inches long, lovely, chunky and cosy...I'm now working on a matching hat...

Scarf Progress 5th Feb...

2011-02-05T12:59:00.001Z

I've knitted a substantial amount more as you'll be able to see from the picture...

I'm about halfway through my wool aswell (I weighed it lol)...so I may need another ball so that I can make it long enough and do tassles etc...then I may knit myself a hat too (following a similar pattern to the one that I knitted for Abby!)

I hope you like my progress if you've been kind enough to view my blog...

Chunky Knit Scarf...in progress...& Abby's finished knitted bits...

2011-02-02T18:24:00.003Z

I am starting a chunky knit scarf for myself...I plan to add tassles and crochet flowers when I have knitted the main bulk of the scarf...I'm not sure just yet how long I am going to make it...I think I'll just knit until I feel happy with the length...if it goes well then I plan to knit one for my best mate as well (for Christmas - oOoOo organised...) as the wool also comes in a pink/red/orange ball too...

Wool: James C Brett - Marble Chunky (blues, purples & greens) - beautifully soft and subtly changes from one colour to the next!

Needles: 5 1/2mm

Stitches: 47 (1 each end for selvage)

Pattern found here: http://web.archive.org/web/20071117054344/www.knitlist.com/96gift/giftsscarf.htm

I hope that you like my new project & choice of wool...

I am enjoying knitting it so far even though I've only done a small wedge...

xXx

...Abby's Knitted Bits...

^^^ Close up of border ^^^

^^^ Mum's Knitted Cardigan ^^^

^^^ Mum's Knitted Pixie Style Hat ^^^

^^^ Everything Together...^^^

^^^ My Crochet Flowers On Abby's Hat...^^^

xXx

Baby Hat For Abby...

2011-02-01T17:04:00.003Z

I wanted to knit a hat for baby Abby(my cousins new little one) to use up some of the wool I had left over from the blanket I made...

I wanted an easy but effective pattern and I found one here: Baby Hat on Two Needles - I kept looking for patterns and finding them knitted up on circular needles, I wanted something simple using just 2 needles and the pattern I've linked was perfect.

Here is my attempt (I even added two crochet flowers which I did myself...):

I'd do another, I started this last night (probably just after tea at about 7pm) and finished it this afternoon :0)

I hope you like my little project...

xXx

Baby Blanket All Knitted Up & Sewn Together...

2011-01-29T14:54:00.002Z

Yay...

All knitted up and sewn together...now for a crochet border which I am getting on with today with a bit of help from my Mum. Then we will back the main knitted bulk of the blanket with a fleecy material (it was an old bed sheet which now has a couple of holes - being thrifty & re-using what we've got laying around) and we'll be good to send it to my cousin!!!

I hope you like my blanket now it's all stitched together. Its been a real labour of love and I've enjoyed every moment of my project which is a bit different from the norm that I do!!!

xXx

5X5 blanket all stitched up...

2011-01-24T18:38:00.001Z

I've so far knitted enough squares to make a 5X5 blanket...and I've stitched it together...here it is:

I have made a slight change in my design - I am no longer making it 7X9 but instead 7X7 with a crocheted border...I do have a photo of almost all my knitted squares for my 7X7 blanket but as yet I have not stitched together the outer squares...(as you can probably tell)

I have (as you can see from the photo) another 6 squares to knit, then I can start stitching my outer layer of squares onto the 5X5 blanket...then I'll almost be done...only the crocheted border to do...I'm very excited!!!

Thanks for looking if you have done. I should be finished my blanket this week maybe? Then I can go back onto the HAED...

xXx

Cream & Pink Squares...

2011-01-18T15:18:00.000Z

Cream & Pink squares ^^^ at the moment it's 5X5...I'm hoping to make it 7X9...

That means another 24 squares knitted to make it 7X7 and then another 14 (7 along the bottom and 7 along the top) to make it 7X9 so 38 more squares in total...

I've done 25 so far, so got a bit of a way to go yet...

I hope that you like my progress so far if you've been so kind to view my blog...

xXx

Middle of Baby Blanket

2011-01-17T16:48:00.000Z

I have finished all the middle squares for the blanket...
My cousin gave birth to a baby girl on the 12th & her name is Abby...
So I have got another shade of pink and I am making the majority of the blanket in cream and pink BUT wanted to use the other blue and pink squares as didn't want to waste them...

So here is the centre of the blanket as it stands at the moment...

I hope you like my progress so far...

I have another 16 cream and pink squares that I haven't photographed yet...
xXx

Knitting...2011

2011-01-11T17:31:00.000Z

Making a baby blanket for my cousin's new baby...

Baby hasn't arrived as yet and my cousin did not find out if it was going to be a boy or girl (she already has one of each)...
I am knitting squares in cream, pink and blue at the moment...using different types of stitch...I have 5 done already and I'll need 54 in total (to make a 6 by 9 blanket) plus a crocheted border...

^^^ Wool colours...

^^^ 3 plain knitted squares...

^^^ 2 knit on one row, pearl on the next...

(bit curly at the edges but will be okay when stitched together in a blanket!)

^^^ Basketweave squares...knit 4 stitches, pearl 4 to end - do 4 rows of this...

THEN once the 4 rows are done, knit where pearl stitches were before and pearl where knit stitches were...looks like a little checkerboard...the pink one was the 1st square that I knitted and I was just playing around, its a bit different from the cream one...

That's it so far...

The End of 2010's Finishes/WIPs...

2011-01-07T18:22:00.001Z

Finished American Smooth for my Mum in time for Christmas...it now takes pride of place in our hallway...

Framed version:

Also made some progress on my HAED Moon Glow...I'm now onto page 5, this photo was taken after I completed page 4...

This was my progress before I finished page 4...

I'm hoping to have page 5 finished within the next couple of weeks. I'm just over halfway done and it is only a partial page...

I'm now back at home in Lowestoft rather than living in Crewe, please see this post if you're interested in the drama surrounding this situation...http://www.craftbubble.com/index.php?do=/public/forums/display_topic/id_21931/Im-moving-again-soon/

I plan to try my hand at some knitting this year I think...I want to make a baby blanket for my cousins impending arrival...might have to ask my Mum to help me...

New Year New Start...just got to find a job now...

Wish me luck!!!

sulks

2010-08-23T23:20:00.002+01:00

I've got a virus and I'm a poorly girl at the moment :0( it sucks because I don't have the energy to do anything. NOT even stitch :0( that is really nasty because I could've got loads acheived on Friday, today and over the weekend. All I want to do is sleep though :0( this is exactly how I feel right now!!! >>>

BEFORE I got poorly I have been working on this - John Clayton's American Smooth. >>>

This is for my Mum's Christmas present :0) I'm quite proud of my progress so far...

<<< this is how much I have done in just a few days. I might see what I feel like tomorrow and attempt some more. BUT I don't want to try and do some and go wrong and then spend my next session at it frogging the mistakes I did when I was poorly. That would definitely NOT be fun!!! It is a nice design because each symbol for stitches is either a plain colour or two different colours combined called 'tweeding'. This means every section that I am looking at has a different 'feel' to it and some of the depth and detail in the colours is created by stitching with one strand of one colour and one strand of another at the same time (hope that makes sense!) I am really enjoying the work that I am putting into it. The reason why I chose this design to do is that the dancer looks a bit like my Mum when she was younger and she used to do ballroom dancing so I think it'll remind her a bit of those days which will be nice. Whether she'll have any place to hang this design is another matter but hey it's the thought that counts!!! I need to do something for me next - HOWEVER my HAED is for meee but I haven't worked on that in a while...maybe I need to get that out and see if I can put a few more stitches in that or it'll end up a UFO!!!

CURRENTLY my HAED stands at this:

With no stitches placed in it since May time. Perhaps I should make an effort with this project tomorrow if I feel up to it - we'll see!

Thanks for reading this (if you did) and I hope you like my current project for my Mum, I will really try to put some more stitches into it this week and post another update!!!

:0) xXx

Motivation...

2010-07-07T23:24:00.000+01:00

I need some lol...I need to get on with my HAED as well as the design I want to do for my Mum for a Christmas present (now I know this sounds early but hey...it is July after all!) I haven't worked on my HAED for ages now. I need to start putting in a few stitches here and there or it'll NEVER grow... :0(

I also need to concentrate on losing some weight before my holiday to Magluf in September...74 days to go and counting! 20th September for a week - I'm very excited as I am going with my boyfriend Tom and it'll be LOVELY!!! I currently am 10stone, I'd like to be about 9stone - maybe 9 and a half stone when I go away. I have a lot of work to do. Today I have eaten a lot of fruit, drank a lot of fluids and had a small tea. I know that it is my exercise & overall fitness which lets me down though. I have a trampoline in my back garden, I know I need to use that more...and I should really walk more...I'm so lazy! I really must get that sorted out before September!!!

That's all I wanted to say, other than the fact that I am still here...I just haven't written in a while...
xXx

Little Hedgehog finish...

2010-05-27T19:41:00.002+01:00

:0) stitched on hand dyed evenweave...I'm very impressed. I'm waiting on a little metal hanger that I bought last night so I can finish it up and send it to my friend :0)

This is the first cross stitch finish that I have done in months :0) so I am very proud of myself. Hope my stitching pal likes it too! What a nice way to spend a Thursday afternoon though, the weather has been sunny but also very cloudy and a bit windy - so not warm enough to sit outside :0(

I've also been playing on Bejeweled on my iPhone (small obsession) trying to always beat my high score...that's kept me entertained a lot of the afternoon...waiting on my boyfriend to come round now as he finished work at 7pm! I've missed him today...can't wait to chill out with him and watch some tv...all in all my day off has been very productive I feel :0) - also went and collected a parcel that was waiting for me at the post office, two new pairs of shoes!!! Can't be bad...

Fishtank, stitching and general stuff...

2010-05-27T00:58:00.000+01:00

Things are much better lately I feel...:0)

I have a fishtank with a red fighter fish and 3 snails in it...2 of 3 snails have been in there a month on Saturday and the other 1 almost 2 weeks on Saturday. The fighter has been in there a month as well :0)!!! This is much more encouraging...

Here's some wee photos -

One wee snail :0)

One wee fish :0) (who doesn't have a name yet!)

Don't know if you can see but he has lilac/purple scales along with his red ones, he's really pretty!!!

Another snaily pic...

The actual tank now. Looks a lot better with some real plants :0)

I'm also completing a Margaret Sherry Hedgehog design at the moment from CrossStitcher issue 226, I'll be sending it to a friend when it is done...just the back stitch to go and 1 bee. I'll put a picture up when it is done! :0) It feels nice to be back doing a small design, I think I've got a bit put off with my HAED but I'm sure that I'll find the motivation to start it up again soon...I hope :0)

Also bought some garden furniture this weekend when the weather was lovely - 28degrees on Sunday, positively Meditteranean...here's a photo of my boyfriend Tom enjoying the sun in my garden with it's somewhat newly laid turf...

I'm in a good place mood wise at the moment, long may it continue. Day off tomorrow so I am going to try finish my hedeghog design and hope that it is sunny enough to sit in the garden. I don't think it will be but I can only hope. Also Tom & I are planning on buying a house next year, that I am really excited about...I'm hoping we can find a nice small place within our budget which I'm sure we will. Just feel that I need a different job (can't stay in a call centre forever) and I'll be much happier but we will have to wait and see on that front...

Thanks for reading my latest entry...I think it is much happier than previous postings!

xXx

:0(

2010-03-07T01:05:00.001Z

I've had a slight tropical tank issue and 5 out of 6 tetra have died :0( I am a very sad little fish mummy at the moment and failed my kiddy winks (the dead fish) I think :0( I have 1 swimming around looking mightily lost at the moment but feel he may follow the same fate at some point if all the others didn't make it for some reason.

My pleccy however is doing great if that's any consolation :0(

Ohhh well give the tank a couple of weeks and I'll start all over again...

*sighs*

Long long time no post!!!

2010-02-28T23:41:00.005Z

Hi peeps!

OMG so much has gone on since I last posted here...where do I start? Well Jack and I are no more (for various reasons) we split up in November just gone and I moved out into my own little flat in the December as I was living with Jack's Mum. I love my little flat. It's ace. Has a garage and everything & in such a nice location too. Here's a wee picture -

I've also got a new car <3>

I also have a fishtank (tropical) with 5 baby tetra and 1 baby catfish (pleccy) in it so far. I'm really getting settled in :0) I love having my own little place. Again please see photos below -

(This is my tank whilst it was 'settling' before any fish were added.)

This is my catfish or pleccy as they can be known. He's called Delap and he's ace. So docile and pleasant - the Tetra's just swim around him and he's not bothered by anything. Just chills a lot of the time.

I also have a new boyfriend called Tom who I've been seeing for a little while now, he's such a sweetheart and treats me like an absolute princess. No day is boring with my Tom. We do loads of things together such as snowboarding (wheee!), going to Chester Zoo, he surprises me with flowers all the time, he booked a surprise meal for Valentine's Day - I could go on and on but I wont. Just letting you know I'm all happy and may have found 'the one' eee! Hehe. Here's a sweet picture of the two of us -

Needless to say I haven't been crafting much lately. Although now I feel settled in my environment I have been working on my HAED the past couple of days and have put just under 1000 stitches in in the past couple of nights. I've been working on the massive blocks of black and navy that are around the edge of the piece. I reckon probably 100/200 more stitches and I've got one page completed. Just a reminder...I am working on this -

That's it really. Just a bit of an update on my life. Going well so far. Hope to be back with an 'update' photo of my HAED when I complete that first page!!! ;0)
I'll write again soon...
:0) xXx

Long long time no post...

2009-08-02T16:24:00.004+01:00

It has been ages since I have posted. Lots has gone on since then. I have stitched quite a bit more on my HAED Moon Glow, completed a free kit, made a few decoupage cards and stitched Winnie the Pooh for a baby sampler!

I am out of work at the moment due to my previous area manager not treating me as well as I think I could've been treated. She preferred my supervisor in my eyes and my supervisor got extra training days and went to stock takes etc that I did not even get invited to or consulted about. Things would be organised without me being considered and I would not find out about things until the day - for example I would expect to be working the day with my supervisor and I'd get in to find another one of my staff members there to work etc...ALSO I was put through meetings up to a disciplinary hearing about cash handling and banking (of which I did nothing wrong) I appealed against this and got the outcome (which was a verbal warning) overturned. So I left there on June the 5th and have been applying to various jobs since then with NO luck.I am hoping that this situation changes asap!!! Although in the mean time I have been doing odd bits of craft work (as detailed above...) please see pictures below - I hope you like them...

HAED progress 2/08/09:

Winnie the Pooh Birth Sampler: (the coloured pen lines are washable ink!)

Crazy Flowers Free Kit:

Decoupage Cards:

That's all...
xXx

Long time no post...

2009-03-20T11:51:00.004Z

I've been rather busy recently. I have just moved (well beginning of Feb) up to Stoke on Trent to be with my boyfriend and to start a new job. I am now manager of a 'The Works' store in a local garden centre. We sell books, art and craft stuff, stationery, kids books & toys etc... it is great and I love it. Although not much time to do any stitching or catch up online. However the other day we got a wireless router so I can be on my laptop again - so more time to catch up with the things I do online, yay!!!

My HAED has progressed a little bit since I last posted - here are some photos - here is a photo as it looked on 18th January!
This one is a little bit closer -
This photo is how it looks now (taken on the 18th of March) -
And here we have yet another photo which is a bit closer -
Here (just as a reminder) is what Moon Glow will look like when she is completed -
I hope that anybody looking really likes my progress - it is not coming on quite as fast as I would like but a lot of changes have taken part in my life over the past couple of months so I have to cut myself some slack really =0)

HAED Progress #2

2009-01-05T11:19:00.002Z

My progress as of today (05/01/09) is this:

I have enjoyed stitching so far. Although I had to get some of my symbols for colours changed by HAED as they looked really similar and I couldn't decipher between them on my chart. SO HAED changed the symbols for me and sent me a larger chart too all free of charge :0) that's brilliant service!!!

So I shall be getting on with some more stitching later today!!!
xXx