Here's an update on Fry and Leela. It's been a busy month with moving and not really having a place to sit and stitch, so I haven't been able to get much done. I'm pretty excited with how this one is coming along, and I just had enough DMC 927 for their skin. It was close, I think I only have a foot or 2 left!

And here's an update on Homeward Trail in Winter. I haven't touched it in over a month as it's a little complicated if there's no place to sit and sort out colours. I hope to be able to work on it soon though as we're getting settled.

I started a new piece again as well, and will update that in a separate post once I take a photo.

I hope everyone else did well this month on their Turtle Trot pieces!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

I did end up working on a different piece for my Grandma and putting the GWTW aside. I'm just afraid it's not going to look right and I don't want to waste time working on it. Instead I'm working on Homeward Trail in Winter from a magazine. Of course I"m writing this at work since we have no internet at home right now and I don't remember what magazine it was. Anyways, this is my restart, since I worked on it for about 2 weeks before realizing I started off-center and wouldn't have enough room!! 

2. Homeward Trail in Winter (switched from GWTW)

I

I also finished Fry's face and have been working on more of Leela's hair, but today of all days I left my stitching bag at home.... So I'll get a pic up as soon as I can. 

Hope everyone else got more stitching done this month. With the move I don't think I did much of anything these last 2 weeks. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

I won't say I succeeded completely at stitching the weekend away, but I did spend my day off doing a lot of stitchy-related activities. Mostly I wound a lot of my perles onto bobbins instead of having them in a big mess in my stitching bag. It took hours to get them all finished, but I did finally succeed and have 3 rows of perles and miscellaneous Weeks Dye Works and Dinky Dyes where before I had a big mess my cat liked to play with. 

I've gone back to my WIP of Home for the Holidays instead of the Gone with the Wind project for my Grandma. I started stitching GWTW, but I'm just not happy with how the sky looks, and even if the faces look good, the sky will be bothersome to me at least. So if I'm not giving my Grandma my best work for her 90th bday, I don't want to waste the time. This is a really nice project and I know she'll love it, so I've gone back to it, and picked up a lot of the colours I needed at The Whistling Duck. 

I hope to work on it some more today since it's not too busy at work, but whenever I bring something fun to do, it gets busy. But that's good for stash acquisition too! 

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

Yesterday was the day to post for the Turtle Trot SAL run by Claudette over at BAP Attack. It's a great SAL in that you just do your best to stitch what you can on your 13 projects each month. This past month I managed to finish one! I also managed to start another project , but that can wait for a future post. 

My finish is #6 Christmas Drop by AAN. I wasn't sure if I liked the ribbon on top for the longest time, but in the end I'm really happy with this finish. It was stitched on 14 count gold sparkly aida with DMC satin 666 (I think), a golden Soie Cristale thread and Caron Wildflowes Holiday for the ribbon. 

I also updated #8 Fry and Leela and #9 Peace Ornament. Peace Ornament mostly just needs the background and a little more backstitch in the center, so it should only be a few more days of work. I just need to find a few free days... 

Fry and Leela are well on their way as well, just more filling in to be done. The pattern cuts Fry's hair off at the top and I'm thinking I might add the hair, but just the hair and no background to make it a little different. We'll see. 

I started my Gone with the Wind project for my Grandma, but I'm not sure about it. I may switch it out for another one. I definitely will, and details are in the next post! 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

I received this chart from a friend on the Cross Stitch Forum and it's such a fun little stitch. It only took a few days and I used some threads from my Dinky Dyes oops bags. There were all kinds of fun colours and the chart requested blues, but I think my friend preferred the purples I was lucky enough to get. They just work together so well. 

Here are the colours I used to the far right in this photo. Plus a few colours I plan to use on another project soon. The other threads are some 4mm ribbon and some #8 and #12 perles. Since I've been working on Mabel Figworthy's Song of the Weather hardanger SAL, I'm sure I'll find a use for these lovely perles. 

This is the rest of what came in the 3 Oops bags I ordered from Dinky Dyes. They're 1 for $10, 2 for $20 and 3 for $25. Clearly the 3 bags is the best deal, so that's what I chose. I'm really happy with all I received. They appear to be all silks except for the specialty threads in the upper photo, and they're so soft and wonderful to stitch with!

Just contact Jo (dinkydyes@iinet.net.au) at Dinky Dyes if you're interested in any Oops bags. Apparently they're always available. As you can see some threads are just short of a normal skein, but some had some spots of red dye on them. It won't affect my stitching, and I don't mind getting such excellent threads for a bargain! 

I'm off to work on a new secret project that I hope to finish by November. It might be possible. I'm always reminded of Douglas Adams' words when I give myself a deadline though. "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

Christmas Drop by AAN! The main ornament is stitched with DMC satin, I think it was 666, and the yellow is Soie Crystale, but I lost the tag. Hopefully you can read it says "Merry Christmas" in the middle. The top ribbon is stitched with Caron Waterlilies Holiday. I loved stitching with the silks, they are lovely, and so much nicer than the DMC satin. No fraying or messy ends with the silks. I can see why so many people like them. 

I also had a chance to join a stitching group on Saturday at my LNS, The Whistling Duck, and it was a lot of fun. There was a true beginner to cross stitch there and it was nice to share knowledge with her. I finished almost another 10x10 square on Mystic Garden, but that's not really much to share a photo, so that will wait 'til I've progressed a bit more. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

I thought I might have a finish for this month, but I got distracted by a new project.  No one is more surprised than me.....

But on to updates:

6. Christmas Drop by AAN. I decided to use some lovely gold silk thread from Soie Crystale for the embellishments and the writing. And I went with French knots instead of beads. I like the look overall. I had started stitching the ribbon at the top in the DMC satin, but I fell in love with a Waterlilies Holiday thread and am going to use that instead. I haven't quite picked out all the previously stitched ribbon yet. 

8. Fry and Leela - they have quite a bit more done, all of the outline and some skin for Fry now too! 

9. Peace Ornament by Dimensions. I finished the goldfinch off finally except for backstitching. 

Here's hoping I might actually finish something by next month! 

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

This is AAN's Christmas Drop and I used up all my satin DMC. So I have to get some more. I had picked up some WDW in Whiskey and another golden yellow colour, but I might just get another silk for the contrasting colour. I'll have to have a look at what the Whistling Duck has. They have quite a few silk thread brands, so I might find the perfect one. 

And this is a miniscule start on Abi Gurden's Confetti of Hardanger SAL from The Stitch Specialists. I'm using WDW Blue Bonnet perle #5 and I have DMC 521 perle #5 as well for this first part. The SAL itself is almost over, so there's a chance it will show up on her website soon. There are lots of wonderful photos of finished ones, so I hope they show up in her gallery. I'm leaning towards the no-cut version since I saw a beautifully finished one.  

Hope you all had an eventful IHSW!

Tiffstitch

For February I used a piece of 28 count white Monaco, and DMC variations perle #5 for the beaded edging and DMC perle#5 ecru for the kloster blocks. The woven bars are Caron Wildflowers (I think that's what the perle #8s are called?) Jade and the dove's eyes and French knots are Caron Wildflowers Blueberry. 

I'd like to mention again how much I'm enjoying this SAL. The new stitches are tricky sometimes, but the effect is well worth it. It hasn't been too difficult as yet, although the Basque knots in March were a little tricky for me. Mabel's instructions are excellent though, and she posts a thorough explanation on the Song of the Weather blog as well. That helped tremendously, especially when I had to tuck my ends in after cutting. 

And for something completely different, I completed by Evil Dead sampler! I haven't framed it yet, but I'm so happy with this one. It was so fun to stitch! And I'm so happy that Pyro Dog came up with this fantastic chart. 

Enjoy the rest of IHSW everyone!

Tiffstitch

I do have some progress photos on more of my Turtle Trot SAL pieces. I somewhat gave up on Warbreaker since it wasn't going to be finished in time and set aside time for some others. Here's an update on the entire list. No, I didn't stitch on everything, because of course I had to start some new projects too! 

1. Warbreaker - no update since February. 

2. Gone With the Wind - haven't started yet, but I'll need to get a move on to finish it for my Grandma in November of this year!

3. Tree of Stitches - I'm actually not sure where this one is. I found the thread just fine, but I can't find where the actual piece went. I'm not too concerned yet as I haven't really searched for it, but I'd like to know where the heck I put it! 

4. QS Mystic Garden HAED BB Freebie SAL - made a decent start on this one over the past few weeks, but didn't meet my goal of finishing the page before the 2nd page arrived. That's okay, and I'll likely go back to this one soon after I finish up some small pieces for cards. 

5. QS Siberian Forest HAED BB Freebie SAL 2012 - hasn't been touched yet since last year. If you can tell, I'm stitching Mystic Garden 2 over 1 on 18 count, and Siberian Forest 1 over 1 on 28 ct. It's very different, and I'm still not sure my preference overall. I'm using tent stitch on another HAED as well. 

6. Christmas Drop by AAN - I can't find this one either, although again, I have the thread. Plus I've picked up some golden thread for the central wording (Merry Christmas). I think it might be with ToS somewhere.

7. White Wolves kit - haven't touched this one yet either, my next goal is GWTW, then we'll see what else starts calling to me when I need a break. 

8. Fry and Leela from Futurama - DH guessed, so I can post a little more, and outline the characters to make it easier to fill things in. 

For projects 9-13 there has been absolutely no change, so rather than plague this post with more photos you've already seen, you can see their last updates in my January Turtle Trot SAL post. 

I hope everyone had some success working on their TT SAL pieces, and good luck for the rest of the year.

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch 

I'm taking a break from Warbreaker because I wasn't able to attend the author signing after all. I'm working on a thank you gift for a friend that is a big fan of these movies 

This fantastic chart can be found at Pyro Dog's Etsy shop. The Evil Dead movies are a favourite of DH's as well, so I can see that I"ll be stitching this again sometime soon. I'm using 28 ct cashel linen in sand which DH thought resembled skin somewhat, so it would appear as if it was from the Book of the Dead . Standard DMC, and I added a touch here and there, like the rope around the cross. 

We had an Evil Dead marathon whlie I was stitching too. 

Happy Stitching everyone! I'll be on to my Mystic Garden HAED after I finish this one. 

Tiffstitch

I was really trying to motor to have this one finished by Saturday, but it's not going to happen. I got hit with a crazy case of vertigo on January 27th and that made it impossible to stitch for about a week. I've never had vertigo before, but wow, it is not fun. I couldn't even make it to work a few days when I really needed to. At least it's mostly gone now.

I did some work on the HAED BB SAL Mystic Garden, but haven't got a pic yet to show you, or an update on Fry and Leela. I will post those pics as soon as I can, but I wanted to make sure I got my post up today. :)

Happy Turtle Trot everyone!

Tiffstitch

I worked on Warbreaker throughout the week and I didn't get a lot done, but hopefully I'll be better off this week and be able to finish another page. There are 9, but the right-most page is only 20-30 stitches wide.  Wish me luck!

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch 

Alright, so now I must decide for sure on 13 patterns to work on this year. My last post gave hints of what I'd like to work on, but here's the official list. Fortunately this SAL doesn't exclude me working on other projects, so I will be concentrating on several throughout 2013. I'm going to list them in the order I'd like to finish them.

1. Warbreaker - my most recent update as of last night. Ideally I'll get this finished by February 16. There are 9 pages and I'm almost done page 1. Wish me luck!

2. Gone With the Wind scene for Grandma's 90th birthday in November.

3. Tree of Stitches - this one has been really calling me to finish it lately.

4. QS Mystic Garden HAED 2013 Freebie SAL - I need to finish at least some of it to get other free charts.

5. QS Siberian Forest HAED 2012 Freebie SAL - I'd love to just finish my first HAED!

6. Christmas Drop by AAN - I have an idea of giving this to one of my aunts and uncles and the other will get skitzzzz's Christmas Tree that I completed last year.There's not too much left, and when it's mostly one colour it should be a nice break from all that HAED confetti.

7. White Wolves - a very long overdue gift for my brother and SIL!

8. Sort of surprise for DH - lots of blocks of colour, so again it will be a nice break from the HAEDs

9. Peace ornament - a little over half done and it's always a good to have extra Xmas gifts prepared.

10. HAED Mini Winter Magic - I really love this one, and so far not too much confetti. 

11. Homeward Trail in Winter - another good Xmas gift that was originally planned for my Grandma, but not sure if I'll get it done this year.

12. Spiral fractal by skitzzzz - intended as an anniversary gift for my BIL and SIL, but not sure if it will be used for that now. Still, it's a cool pattern and I'd like to finish it.

13. Yellow Submarine - a gift for my cousin maybe, although I think I might restart it, I'm not happy with how the face looks with 2 over 1.

Hope you're going to join us, and good luck!

Tiffstitch

I modified this design to fit on a towel from Lady Kell's excellent subversive sampler. She has another one about wiping your feet, and lots of other great freebies, so check out her Kincavel Krosses site if you're interested. I used Carries Creations Berry Swirl and I really love the effect. Of course since most of Carrie's Creations threads aren't colorfast, hopefully they won't actually use this towel.

And this great one is from Sprite Stitch, a great blog and home to many amazing video game patterns. Definitely worth checking out if you have any video game fans.

This is the January part of the SAL over at Mabel Figworthy's Fancies.I found it very relaxing to stitch, and I used 20 count fabric, which is why I think the stitches are a little too spread out. I'll try and find at least 22 count for the next months. Mabel's instructions are very good, so if you're interested in hardanger, this SAL is inexpensive and a great way to learn.

And I'm working on this cute pattern from Hancock's House of Happy, it's also for my BIL, sort of a joke between my DH and him. I'm not really far enough along to post an update, I don't even have one elephant outlined yet. The reasons for that will be in my next blog post.

Until then, happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

I completed several projects this year, but I still have a few lingering WIPs I had hoped to complete. Since the Xmas Xstitching Challenge I joined last year kind of fizzled out I didn't keep up with my Xmas stitching and got distracted by other projects, like that huge carnival piece.

I'm hoping 2013 I will actually keep myself on track and finish a few pieces, although I also have several new starts I'd like to make. My plan is to join the Turtle Trot SAL over at BAP Attack and work on 13 WIPs/UFOs. My list has been changing almost daily, but here's a list of what I hope to work on this year and maybe complete some of these.

1. Tree of Stitches - from a SAL on The Stitch Specialists. It was planned for a pillow for my Grandma if I ever get it finished.

2.Spiral Fractal by skitzzzz - one I'd planned for my BIL and SIL, but I haven't worked on in about 20 months or so. I've learned parking now and I think I might be better at this type of design when I pick it up again.

3. White Wolves - a long overdue piece for my brother and SIL. I think it was a housewarming gift in 2004? It's been a while anyway and I would really like to complete this one.

4. HAED 2012 Freebie SAL - Siberian Forest QS - this would be my first HAED completion

5. Home for the Holidays - this was supposed to me by Grandma's gift this year, but I didn't get it finished. In fact it's still right about here, so it would be nice to complete it for her this year.

6. Gone with the Wind scene - purchased a couple years ago and intended for my Grandma's 90th birthday. That's this November, so I will need to get cracking on this one!

7. DH's sort of surprise that he still hasn't guessed, although he hasn't had a good look at it lately. 

8. Super secret project for DH that I won't post here since he doesn't know about it

9. Mini Winter Magic - an HAED gift from this past Xmas from Debbie, thank you again, I've already started this piece! 

10. AAN's Christmas Drop - this one is really close to being complete, so I just need to get my act together and finish it off. I picked up a few different WDW threads to try for the central "Merry Christmas", we'll see how each one works. I think I will give this to one of my relatives for Xmas 2013. 

11. Peace ornament is pretty close to being done, and it will be good to actually finish a few things in the coming year, so I'll add this smaller piece too. 

12. Warbreaker - I'll have an opportunity to meet the author in February 2013, so if I want to be insane I can try and finish this piece by then. I really haven't done much on it at all since having it as a Crazy January Challenge piece from 2011. I might even get it re-charted since I just used pic2pat.com and I'm not sure how well it will turn out. 

13. HAED 2013 freebie SAL - Mystic Garden - I love this one and can't wait to start it! I had trouble choosing among the options this year, but this one really stood out to me. 

And that would be 13! So the list keeps changing, but that's where it stands now. I'm supposed to have the final list and pics up by January 13, so don't hold your breath that these will stay the same. 

Hope you all have a great 2013 and Happy New Year!

Tiffstitch

I completed stitching the short side at my parents while hiding the piece itself in my stitching bag. It was complicated, but it all came out all right in the end.

One end, "On the First Day of Christmas". These were a bit of a pain to stitch because of the metallics, but with Thread Heaven it was a little easier. I will definitely invest in metallics other than DMC if I ever stitch this again.

Day 1: The partridge and a pear

Day 2: The turtle dove - I really enjoyed this one, I'm not sure if it's the angle of the feet or the awesome tail feathers, but this was one of my favourite motifs.

Day 3: The French hen

Day 4: Four calling birds - I like the whimsy of this one, but these out of the way stitches were a little annoying. Lots of pinhead stitch to try and keep it as neat as possible, and I really like the finish, although they still look a little like fish to me.

Day 5: Fiiiiiiiiiive gooooolden riiiings! (bah dum bum bum - as per Miss Piggy from the Muppets Christmas Album with John Denver) kind of metallic hell, but nice and shiny in the end.

Day 6: A Geese-a-laying, again fairly easy since there were a lot of solid colours.

The other end of the table runner "My True Love Sent to Me"

And we'll flip it so we start backwards on the other side.

Day 12 : Drummer drumming, love his outfit! Kind of Sergeant Pepper's musician style

Day 11: Piper piping has a Moroccan kind of feel with those harem pants - although there must be another name?

Day 10 - Lord-a-leaping - kind of a Tim Burton style with the huge pants and teeny feet don't you think?

Day 9 - Lady dancing - she was fun too, I really love her dress

Day 8 - Maid-a-milking was fun to stitch as well

Day 7 - Swan-a-swimming was another one of my favourites, a very elegant design.

And one more shot of the entire piece, my parents were thriled with it and may hang it instead of using it as a table runner, and that's okay by me.

There was other stitching I didn't complete, but I'm really happy to have finished this one.

Hope you all finished what you wanted to as well!

Happy stitching,

Tiffstitch

This weekend I managed to finish the drummer, so all 12 motifs are complete! I'm still working on finishing the heart, I managed to stitch most of it, but there's still some backstitch to complete. 

Here's the entire piece, so I'm mostly finished. I had DH wash the blue lines out today and some of the dark reds and green bled!  So annoying since I used all DMC, including the metallics. And let me say just one more time, thank you Claire of The Whistling Duck for recommending Thread Heaven. So much aggravation was averted after I had that. Hopefully I can finish up the rest of the stitching tonight and at least begin, if not finish, stitching the piece to it's backing material. 

I also finished up this little cutie which I may be making into a card for an exchange recipient. We'll see what kind of time I have after I finish the stitching on 12 Days. That's the first priority. 

Hope everyone had a great IHSW, and happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

p.s. almost forgot I finished up this scarf for an Xmas gift!

I've started on the Drummer for the 12th day, but I don't think I'll finish this month since today is the last day! I should still finish in plenty of time for Xmas though. 

I also participated in a Christmas ornament exchange on the Cross Stitch Forum. I forgot to take a picture of the ornament I sent, but my exchange recipient posted one. I stitched a Mill Hill kit, it was a lot of fun, and the beading, although numerous was not difficult. 

I received the Mill Hill kit in an exchange last year, so I'm happy to have stitched it and sort of payed-it-forward to another stitcher. 

I received this really cute Santa ornament! I love the finishing of it, it's so well done I can't see the stitches at all. Thank you again! 

Hope everyone is having a good week, and happy stitching! To all my CSF friends, Happy Stashmas Day tomorrow!

Tiffstitch

I'm a little late getting this up as I've already stitched a fair bit of the 11th motif (6 Geese-a-laying), but it's not complete yet so I haven't taken a photo. I had hoped to get the 12 motifs done by the end of the month, but since that will be Saturday I don't think I'll quite make it. We'll see.

The rings were a bit of a pain since they're all metallics, and then the red metallic hangers.. thankfully my LNS suggested Thread Heaven or I might still be working on this one. As it was the DMC still broke frequently, but I finished it and I think it looks good, so that works for me.

This is the completed Piper-piping. He has some very fun pants. :) The last few motifs on this side all have the metallic swirls around them. Lots of Thread Heaven is helpful here again!

And this is the full piece so far. Only 1 1/2 more motifs and a large metallic heart to complete now! Hopefully I'll have some time to stitch over the next few days.

I've also decided to try and increase my exercise, which will cut into my stitching, but hopefully make me healthier in the long run so I can live long enough to complete all the charts I currently own.

Also, if you're like me and you tend to bite off more than you can chew stitchy-wise, you may want to join the Turtle Trot SAL at BAP Attack. Just work on 13 pieces you'd like to move along next year and post about it and maybe get chosen for a prize once in a while. You don't have to finish anything and it doesn't keep you from working on other projects, but just see if you can finish off some UFOs or WIPs that have been mouldering a bit too long.  Read more over at BAP Attack to get the idea. 

Until next time, happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

Mary Joan - Ice Queen

Patricia - Blizzard Babe

Megan B - All Dressed Up

The three winners should all have an email from me asking for your snail mail address, but please let me know as soon as possible if you didn't receive it.

Thank you all for participating in my giveaway, and I hope if you're in the U.S. you're having a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Tiffstitch

So 2 1/2 to go, plus a heart at the end all in metallics, thankfully I have Thread Heaven to make it possible. I think I have a good chance of completing the stitching this month, and that would be a unique experience. I'm usually finishing stitching December 24!

Hope everyone had a great IHSW, and don't forget there's a few days left in my giveaway!

Tiffstitch

Here are the photos:

The French Hen and the Lady Dancing for Days 3 and 9 respectively were fairly lengthy to complete compared to Days 4 and 10. I do like the look of them though.

The 4 Calling Birds look a little like fish to me, but oh well. I do like the enthusiastic Lord-a-Leaping.

Don't forget to join Joyce and the gang for IHSW this weekend and give yourself a great excuse to sit and stitch all weekend.

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

Time to get back to 12 Days of Xmas, and don't forget about my giveaway. There are still 11 days left. 

And if you're looking for a good poppy chart today of all days, check out this one at Hancock's House of Happy or Lady Kell's version at Kincavel Krosses. I'll be thinking of my great-uncle today, he was shot down in Normandy during WWII. 

My great-uncle and his air force squadron brought hope to a region of Normandy that did not know anyone was fighting for them. When his Spitfire crashed he was given a hero's funeral in the town, against  the express wishes of the occupying forces. I was lucky enough to visit the town in 1994, to see his decorated gravesite. 

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." ~ George S. Patton

Tiffstitch

This is the second tale of Hereward written by James Wilde, and I haven't read the first. I don't think you need to have read the first book to enjoy the second, but I imagine you'd get a much better background of Hereward and how he got to where this second book starts.

The action begins immediately, with Hereward's rebel band searching for better footing to fight their Norman foes. James Wilde's writing style had me gobbling up the action and battle details as he describes the brutality of the guerrilla-style warfare. While Mr. Wilde describes everything in exacting detail, he also leads the story on and it progresses at a fast pace. I felt as if I knew Hereward, and how he felt against the hated Norman invaders, the love Hereward felt for his wife, and the loyalty he felt towards friends, whether that loyalty was misplaced or not.

Hereward's story is not easy. He is a brutal man fighting a brutal war, but James Wilde made me empathize with Hereward and his followers. The Normans were destroying the England that Hereward loved and Hereward was beset with enemies at all sides. Even in their supposed stronghold of Ely, villagers have an uneasy respect/hatred for Hereward and his followers.

I'm looking forward to finding James Wilde's other books, Hereward and The Time of the Wolf to read more about this turbulent time in England's history. Mr. Wilde's writing style is very descriptive without being wordy and he allows his readers to feel the soft marshes of Ely and the cold stone of the Norman castles.

Tiffstitch

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm keeping these 2!! And I'm going to keep 3 of the 6 Snow Belles, but I will be giving 3 of them away. All you have to do is comment on my blog and let me know which chart you'd prefer. I will give one each to three people. These are the 3 that will be available:

Ice Queen

All Dressed Up

Blizzard Babe

Let's run this contest until November 22, 2012, also known as Thanksgiving if you're in the U.S.A. All 3 charts include the snowflake charm.

Good luck!

Tiffstitch

Here are my purchases:

AAN's Spider Banner and Bat Banner are pieces I've been considering since she came out with them, and I finally picked one up! One of my friends at the Cross Stitch Forum recently stitched this piece and added some very cool details, like some green on the spider's body decoration and a different coloured border. I'm definitely stealing some of her ideas.

Midnight Manor is a Waxing Moon design and I already picked up the threads to complete both pieces. I have some WDW Jack O'Lantern for just the house, and for the larger piece I got some TGA Black Crow, which is actually a really nice blue-black, and some WDW Mulberry and Chesapeake to add some purple and green colour to the motifs in the larger piece. I'm sure I have some grey fabric I can use.

I also picked up my first 2 Ink Circles patterns, which will be a gift for my MIL once I finish them. I actually started First Bass already and hope to have it done by Xmas for her. She's a voice coach now, and still a very talented singer herself. This should liven up her music studio a bit. Here comes Treble will likely have to wait. I had the threads to start First Bass with some modification of what it calls for. I used some of the beautiful Carrie's threads I got for my birthday this year.

I also stitched a lot on an Xmas ornament for an exchange, but I can't show that here yet. Hope everyone else had a great weekend!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

The Lady-Dancing is almost completely stitched and the French Hen is well on it's way. Hopefully I'll finish them up this week. 

Earlier this past week I did spend some time on my sort-of secret gift for my DH. Any guesses on what it is? 

And I was lucky enough to have a ride to work on Saturday, so I got a fair bit of knitting completed on the scarf. I should have a chance to finish it up within the next week as well. I have to get everything completed by the end of the month to send it to my parents for the church charity. 

Max is helping smooth out the scarf here.. 

Hope everyone had a great IHSW!! I'll be off to try and check blogs as much as possible today. 

Tiffstitch

First, the update from 12 Days of Xmas, I managed to finish the first 4 motifs as of this afternoon! I was going to reward myself and stitch on my freebie HAED, but I'm updating here instead, good for me. Here's a shot of the entire piece so far:

I'm still enjoying it, and it doesn't have many colours, so it's not terribly complicated. Lots of backstitch though, so if you dislike backstitch I definitely do not recommend this design. I don't mind it so far, I think it adds a little whimsy to the motifs.

Here's a close-up of the Turtle Dove:

I finished this one Friday and made a good start on the Maid-a-Milking and finished her today. She was a little more work as the reds changed quite a bit in her gown, but there was also a large section of white in her apron, so she wasn't too challenging. Just the backstitch certainly took a while.

So it's on to the next set, the French Hen and the Ladies Dancing I think. I've made a bit of a start on both, but only just.

My other stitching project is a sort of surprise for DH for our anniversary. It was a couple weeks ago, but I didn't get finished in time. Maybe by his birthday? I have, of course, again taken on more projects than I will likely finish by Xmas. But we'll see what I get done. I have 2 or 3 possible things for my Grandma, one of which is already started, but more complicated than the other 2. But if I can I'll get going on that one. There's another Xmas-y project I have completed stitching and just need to figure out what to do with it, and one I'm almost finished. I'll try and get through them and decide who gets what, or at least get them finished.

Here's the sort-of surprise project. Any guesses?It's a sort-of surprise because I'm not hiding it from DH anymore.

And finally, my hometown church is having a market/charity sale in November and I thought I'd try and knit a few things to sell. I've only been able to start on this scarf, and I hope to get it done shortly. It's made with 2 balls of Vanna's choice that I had leftover from completing the Doctor Who scarf   for my dad. This pattern is from a knitting calendar; I get one every year from my parents.  

It's in a broken rib pattern that I've never stitched before, but I like it. It seems to knit up fairly quickly, this is maybe an hour total working on it so far. I have almost 2 full balls of yarn, so I think it will turn into a decent scarf.

Last but not least, don't forget to sign up for IHSW with Joyce over at Random Ramblings. That gives you an excuse to stitch away all weekend. Until next time, happy stitching (and knitting)!

Tiffstitch

So that's the full piece so far, I've got a lot of work to do to finish it in time for Xmas. I took a close-up of the partridge as well, my most recently finished motif.

So now it's on to the next set, the Turtle Dove and is it Maids-a-Milking? Hopefully it won't take me as long this time to get the next 2 done. I'm still working on a somewhat secret gift for DH too, sort of for us. He'll figure it out soon and I"ll post a pic then.

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

Thank you for all your encouragement! Of course I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but I pretty much met my main goal, which was to finish the top 4 rows on the HAED Siberian Forest QS. Even DH will admit it's starting to look like something now. 

And I'm getting the hang of parking, so that has made this a lot easier to stitch. I think if I had a month to work on it I would be all caught up, but of course I have a million other WIPs to do!

Here's a bit of the 12 Days of Xmas table runner. I finally found the DMC metallic I need, although I hate working with them so very much. My LNS (The Whistling Duck) talked me into getting Thread Heaven, and that did make a HUGE difference. I also picked up the Kreinik equivalents of the DMC so if I decide to chuck it and start over I can. Or maybe make 2... 

The partridge is almost done, and then I can move on to the next motifs. I should really work on this project more since it's an Xmas gift, but since I'm crazy I have a new project kitted and almost gridded. I'm working on 16 count pearl grey aida to try and make it go faster, and if I can get it done by October 1st I"ll be extremely happy. We'll see. 

Hope everyone else had a great IHSW!

Tiffstitch

As part of the Transworld Book Group I was given the opportunity to read and review The Queen's Secret by Victoria Lamb. This book is based in Elizabethan England in the summer, when Queen Elizabeth is traveling in the English countryside. She and her court will spend time at Kenilworth, home of Earl Robert Dudley, the Queen's long-time favourite. This tale chronicles Queen Bess' thoughts and actions, one of her ladies-in-waiting, Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex, and 2 commoners: Lucy Morgan, an entertainer who happens to be black, and her guardian, Master Goodluck, who just happens to be a spy for Sir Francis Walshingham.

First, I'd like to mention how much I enjoyed the writing style. I found it flowed easily and I never felt as if I was being patronized, despite my lack of knowledge about Elizabethan England. Ms. Lamb was able to describe the area in a manner that allowed to visualize every aspect of Kenilworth Castle, as well as its grounds and the outer court where the commoners stayed (the Brays). Her descriptions of the clothing worn and environments were concise, yet descriptive. She draws her reader into her world easily and makes you want to stay.

Each character is also described very well, including her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I. It seems clear that Ms. Lamb has done extensive research to make her character so believable and this tale seem more a story of fact than fiction. Young Lucy Morgan, the Moor who became a favourite of the Queen during this trip became like a dear friend, and every triumph and injury felt as if it were mine. Master Goodluck's adventures in the backgrounds added a nice element of suspense to the tale, and the conflict between Robert Dudley, the Queen, and Lettice Knollys is well done. The Queen's jealousy, the conspiracy among Dudley's servants to allow him freedom to meet his mistress under the Queen's nose, an assasination plot, all these aspects come together in this novel to give the reader a glimpse into a dangerous time to live, and try to stay in power. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will have to seek out Ms. Lamb's other novels.

Tiffstitch

I hope to work more on my 12 days of Xmas table runner, put a few more stitches in my QS Siberian Forest freebie, and enjoy a great weekend of football!

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

And Kate at Momuboocre Island is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her 1st blogoversary. Head over here to check out her blog and sign up. But maybe you don't need a $25 gift card to 123 stitch? 

Pictures to come in the next post, until then,

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

Here it is in all it's glory.  Hopefully it will do well. The fair workers mentioned there were a few other pieces, so I'll be interested to see how it matches up. I'm very happy with it, and I did put it up for sale. But I know exactly where it's going if it doesn't sell. 

Now I'll take a bit of a break before going back to some of my Xmas projects. Hope all your stitching is going well! And no package from Lizzie Kate yet, but I'll post when it arrives. 

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

I'm slightly farther ahead as I'm maybe halfway done the big hot air balloon that goes above the roller coaster. I'm going to take it to work with me today and stay up late tonight if I need to. With luck I'll be done tonight!

Here's another shot of the full piece,

I have 3 1/2 more rows of the pink to complete in the hot air balloon and then all the top colour, plus the small balloon, which I could leave out if necessary. We'll see how it goes today.

Hope everyone had a great IHSW, and thanks again Joyce for hosting!

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

And in other news I need to finish the Carnival project by next Monday! It might be possible. I'm wondering about skipping the big hot air balloon... Here's where I'm at now:

So I am pretty close... but still, less than a week to finish, and I work all week?

Here's a close-up of the most recent stitching:

So wish me luck!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

Lizzie Kate sent out a call for names for her new snow-women series, and one of the names I submitted got chosen as the top 5!   So now you can vote for your favourite. If you'd like to vote for mine, 6 Snow Belles is the name I submitted. You can vote here. 

Thank you, and happy stitching! 

Tiffstitch

The ferris wheel is complete!! So now it's just a fair amount of cross stitch, tons more backstitch, and I'll have a roller coaster, 2 hot air balloons, and another tent topper. I think the end of August is still within the realm of possibility. 

And here's another close-up. You can also see a bit of the carousel in the right corner. That also uses the Rainbow Gallery blending filament and it shines really nicely. I've had no issues working with it at all. I think it adds just a little bit of pizzazz to the whole piece and I can't wait to see what the whole thing looks like. 

Happy Stitching, and hope everyone had a good IHSW!

Tiffstitch

So there's still a ton to do on the right side, but just getting all the blending thread and backstitch done on the ferris wheel will be a huge job. That might be halfway really. There's a lot of backstitch for the roller coaster too, but not as much as there is on this ferris wheel. :) And the backstitch hasn't been a pain. I really like how it's looking, so that definitely helps. It's always frustrating to do a lot of work and then be unhappy with the result. 

And here's a close-up. The Rainbow Gallery blending thread sparkles really nicely and it's pretty easy to work with as far as metallics go. I just have to watch the ends don't get caught up in the cross-stitches for the cars. That gets annoying.  I'm a little farther than this now, all the blending thread is done for the ferris wheel and the backstitch stretches to almost half. There's a lot of background to fill in before I can do the rest of the backstitch though. 

Happy Stitching! And I think this weekend is IHSW, so hopefully I'll get even more stitching done! :)

Tiffstitch

Here's an update of the entire piece. It will be as tall as the ferris wheel half again. And on the right side there will be a fair amount of stitching filled in. This side is more open, but still takes some time. I'm doing the pinhead stitch to start the coloured "flags" and they're all Rainbow Gallery blended with DMC. I modified the grey backstitch inside the ferris wheel from DMC 169 as charted to DMC 317. The 169 seemed to blend into the fabric too much and wasn't really visible, so a little frogging there to fix it. My strategy is to finish the ferris wheel, then move to the right side of the piece.

Here's a closer shot, I don't know if you can tell how sparkly the flags are, but they look great in person. I'm really enjoying this piece, it's just so different from anything I've seen before. Thank you for all your words of encouragement!

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

I had a bit of decreased stitching over the last week, but I received the GG Rainbow Blending Thread and I'm back at it with a passion. :) I'm slightly farther than this now, working more on the roller coaster on the left side. Lots of backstitch, but I never really minded backstitch.

And this is an update of my 12 Days of Xmas piece. I finally have the DMC E677 I need, so I will be working more on this one shortly.It has very few colours compared to my carnival piece, so it's almost relaxing. Plus it's on 18 count, and those bigger holes are nice compared to my 28 count.

And here's a pic of the long piece of fabric I had. It didn't seem like I could fit 2 Days of Xmas on it, but I am going to end up with a long skinny piece. I'm sure I can find a use for it. I got a great deal on this piece, and I'm enjoying stitching on the damask. It's a first for me, but it seems nice to work with so far.

Hope everyone else has been doing well, happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

First here's a better picture of the finished piece. I'm about halfway across the bottom and I'll finish the bottom before returning for the middle parts. Part of the reason is I'm waiting on the GlissenGloss thread, the other part is I think my fabric is a little too big, but I wanted to stitch everything first before making any cuts.

And here's my progress so far. Not too bad, and I'm still pretty hopeful I'll get finished well before the end of August. There's a lot of patches of colour and that certainly makes it easier. I'm definitely enjoying this one, even with all the backstitch. I definitely feel that backstitching as I go is the only way with this one, otherwise I might go crazy trying to finish everything in backstitch.

Hope you all had a great IHS weekend!

Tiffstitch

I'm pretty excited about this one, a Cyberman from Hancock's House of Happy. I added the lettering and stitched him in DMC 168, 169, 413 and 310 for backstitch and letters. Check out Hancock's site for some excellent charts and some amazing ceramics from their Etsy store.

This is a freebie from Sweetbriar Needle Design. I used the colours as charted and went with French and Colonial knots instead of beads.Hopefully they both like them. :) I'm pretty sure you can guess who gets which one.

Happy Stitching everyone!

Tiffstitch

I'm stitching it on 28 count Lugana, a silkweaver fabric that I don't know the name of. It has some subtle pink highlights in it though, so I'm hoping for a sort of late evening feel for the piece. It's mostly DMC, but also some GlissenGloss, as mentioned. I think I'm maybe 1/10th or 1/8th done, so I should be good to submit it at the end of August. 

And here's the update on 12 Days of Xmas! I'm still missing DMC E677 so the first 2 motifs aren't quite complete, well the swan is, but the partridge is missing a sort of ring around it and some sparklies on its feathers. The heart will also get another column in that colour. Hopefully I can find that someday soon. I suppose I have until near Xmas though.

Happy Stitching everyone!

Tiffstitch

Also she's giving away 2 $25 gift certificates to her store again, so comment here.

And one more giveaway for her new alphabet series, very elegant, so comment here for a chance to win one of these!

Plus she has a great new peacock chart, I know exactly who'd love this one, so comment here and check out her chart.

Good luck and happy stitching!

Tiffstitch

Here's a picture of what it will look like. It's from a 2011 Cross Stitch magazine. There's only about 10 colours total and 3 metallics. They call for DMC Light effects, and I already had one that I needed, but I need 2 more. Michael's was out of one colour and their LE section was horribly garbled. I ended up putting all the satins away where they were supposed to be, so maybe someone will order the metallics that were missing... Given choice I would have gone to the LNS, but we were over an hour away. Next time maybe.

And this is about where I am so far. I'm missing E677 or Kreinik 104C I think it was, Colonial Gold. It's kind of annoying because I need a lot of it. Ah well, I'll keep going for a while with the colours I do have. I'm stitching it on 18 count damask that I picked up at the Whistling Duck. It's a really long piece, and was only $6, so perfect for this! I have another long piece I'd intended to use, but I like the elegant look the damask fabric has. Maybe I'll stitch 2.

So here comes the crazy part. There's a local fair at the end of August, over Labour Day weekend. They have a needlework section and I entered last year, but didn't win anything. It was a very small piece, so I'm not surprised. But this year they have an "any medium" theme of Fairgrounds, and I got this chart through an exchange, so I think it might have a chance. The only things holding me back are I need to be done by the end of August and it's 11x14, and I need to find GlissenGloss blending filament somewhere, or an equivalent. That might have to wait a bit 'til I have some cash on hand. I have the perfect fabric for it though, a nice Silkweaver hand-dyed 28 count Lugana. I checked and I have a lot of the DMC needed too, so I'll be able to make a good start. I'm so crazy.

Not to mention, Mabel Figworthy, a friend from the CrossStitch Forum has a fantastic website, Mabel's Fancies, where she offers some amazing hardanger designs. She's planning on running a SAL in a few months for hardanger, and I would love to sign up for this! The details are here.  

Happy Stitching!

Tiffstitch

The left most stitching is the very end of the chart, and I am much happier stiching in my Qsnap than that old scroll frame. It was pretty miserable. I'm using the 11x11 Qsnaps and they're just about right for half of the chart. It's split into horizontal halves, so using the original chart is somewhat cumbersome. Again, with luck I'll be done this one soon. 

I am very happy with my progress on QS Siberian Forest. I managed to get all the way across the top row of the 2nd page, so this is as wide as it will get. I just need to fill in a bit more and that will be the two top rows complete! This one is definitely calling more to be stitched. 

White Wolves just gives me kind of a guilt trip since it's been hanging around almost 10 years. 

I also stitched up a bookmark for a friend, but forgot to take a picture, and worked on another bookmark a bit, but it's not calling very strongly either. 

I hope you all had good weekends!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

The left most stitching is the very end of the chart, and I am much happier stiching in my Qsnap than that old scroll frame. It was pretty miserable. I'm using the 11x11 Qsnaps and they're just about right for half of the chart. It's split into horizontal halves, so using the original chart is somewhat cumbersome. Again, with luck I'll be done this one soon. 

I am very happy with my progress on QS Siberian Forest. I managed to get all the way across the top row of the 2nd page, so this is as wide as it will get. I just need to fill in a bit more and that will be the two top rows complete! This one is definitely calling more to be stitched. 

White Wolves just gives me kind of a guilt trip since it's been hanging around almost 10 years. 

I also stitched up a bookmark for a friend, but forgot to take a picture, and worked on another bookmark a bit, but it's not calling very strongly either. 

I hope you all had good weekends!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

IHSW

Okay everyone, it's time again for IHSW hosted by the lovely Joyce of Random Ramblings.

I can't decide if I'll pick up White Wolves again or go back to my HAED freebie. Maybe both. Here's where I left them.

I just realized I haven't stitched anything on this in over a year! So given my desire to finish up some WIPs this year, I should really spend some time on this. I haven't tried it with a Qsnap, which is my new favourite stitching aid. I had this horrible scroll frame before, so I'm thinking a Qsnap and with good light I should be able to get a fair bit done. I like stitching this piece, just something else always seems more urgent.

HAED freebie QS Siberian Forest. I think I'm really getting the hang of parking now and will attempt to finish this in a horizontal manner. That seems to be working better so far as I feel like I made much more progress in my last stitching session than I had any time I stitched on it previously.

So those are the goals for this weekend. As for my 2 finishes, one was for my brother's birthday, and the other for my mom for Mother's Day. Maybe you can tell which one is which.

This is courtesy of DorkStitch. It's a free pattern on the site, and it was fun to stitch. One warning is the described size is incorrect so my piece is slightly decentered. Just count the pattern first and you should be fine. I'll try and remember that lesson next time too. I used 14 count seafoam aida and DMC threads. I almost wonder now if I should have blinged up the border with Petite Treasure Braid or something. The only PTB I have is a dark blue which would have worked well. Maybe if I ever stitch it again. Or add a little blending filament to the light saber.

And here is Colin Firth from CrossStitcher's Stitch-A-Star series. It was a fairly easy stitch and I used 14 count navy aida with DMC threads. At one point during the stitching his left cheek and mouth were unfinished and he kind of looked like a zombie. That made me giggle a bit since he played Mr. Darcy and there was that whole Pride and Prejudice with Zombies book craze. I'm sure my mother prefers the "normal" version best. Oh, I gave it away..

So happy stitching everyone and enjoy your weekend!!

Tiffstitch

First, some floss here, and it looks gorgeous! You have until May 30th to enter. 

Then a $25 gift certificate to her ebay store, and again she's giving us until May 30th. 

AND a Mother's Day giveaway as well! This one ends on Mother's Day of course. 

Enjoy looking around her shoppe! 

April was a pretty productive month, I had 2 finishes! So now I have 5 finishes out of 12, so I'm a little bit ahead. Shall we re-cap? Again, this is for Lady Kell's X-Stitching Xmas Challenge.

My first finish was a rose coaster in DMC perle and DMC metallics on 8.5 count waste canvas on to ivory felt. I broke 3 needles and it's not an experience I wish to repeat. I think it was the thickness of the threads that caused the issue, but needless to say I will not be using waste canvas again soon. 

My second finish was the Xmas tree. I used Weeks Dye Works Autumn Leaves and Ivy and I really like how it turned out. I still haven't done anything with this as yet, but I'm leaning towards a hanging. Something it would be easy to have out seasonally, then roll up to keep it in good shape. 

My third finish was Kell's 2012 Band Sampler on 14 count navy aida with WDW Bethlehem. I really enjoyed stitching this one. I think this might also be destined for a hanging, perhaps with a nice purple fabric? I might be giving it to my SIL who loves purple. 

Fourthly, her majesticness herself, Angelic Melody! All framed and everything. Unfortunately I do need to take her out since I forgot to sign her, but she is done. Such a huge relief to have her finished, she'd been weighing on my mind since I missed her 2011 Xmas deadline. 

As I was tidying I found this little cutie about half done. So I finished her off over a few days. There were 5 others in the kit that were given away a few years ago as presents, but I never finished her in time. So now I've finished the set. I have an idea where she might go this year, we'll see. 

Next up are some progress pics on my other projects. 

Here is AAN's Christmas Drop stitching on 14 count gold dust aida with satin DMC 666 (I think). At some point I'll have to pick up some gold satin for the "Merry Christmas" that will go in the centre, although it might have to be "Joyeux Noel" depending on who will get this one. I'm enjoying stitching this up, this is my first large AAN design. I've done her 2011 SAL and a Friends design, but nothing larger until now. 

And here's the latest on my HAED freebie SAL, QS Siberian Forest. The second page was released at the beginning of the month of April and I've decided to go straight across. I think I'm getting the hang of parking a little more as well, so I'm finishing off blocks more than cross-country stitching. I am looking forward to trying an HAED on 18 count though, I think that might be a lot easier than on 28 count. 

So there's the round-up for this year up to this month, hope you're all doing as well!

Happy Stitching,

Tiffstitch

Here it is being modeled by my dad. Due to cost reasons I used Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand and I think the colours are pretty close. 

I can't remember if this was the site I used for the pattern, but it seems like a good one if you want to give it a go. I think it took me 3 or 4 months to complete. It was quite the adventure. Apparently my dad had always wanted my Grandma to make one, but had never mentioned it to her! He mentioned it to me, so I got to work in secret. :) 

Still cross-stitching today! and when will someone have a cross-stitching comic?

Happy Stitching,

tiffstitch

I also have some close-ups so you can see the detail. With the mat we were able to leave the glass in, as you can likely tell by the glare, and I think it looks really good this way. 

Here are the promised close-ups. 

As Joyce suggested, I stitched the strings for the mandolin right before she was stretched and placed on the mounting board. I think it worked really well. They're nice and flat without needing any couching. I really wanted them without couching since that would affect the look of them. Thanks again for the suggestion Joyce! 

Sorry these are all on the side, but it was the best way to show the maximum detail. :)

Happy Stitching everyone! 

tiffstitch

Yes, she still needs a little more ironing and then I'll add the strings to her mandolin, but I still feel as though she's finished. A little TLC and she'll be perfect. 

I also managed to finish another piece, Lady Kell's 2012 Band Sampler.

I stitched it on 14 count navy aida with WDW Bethlehem and Meadow. It was a nice break after the fussiness of finishing the Angelic Melody details. It was interesting to see how the threads would match up during the solid lines of stitching and the effects on the motifs. I enjoyed it. 

Since I was in a finishing mood, or maybe a monochromatic mood, I picked up AAN's Christmas Drop to see how far I could get. 

That's a fair bit more compared to where I started, and there's not too much left of the ornament itself. There are still the ribbons on top and "Merry Christmas" in the middle space, but that will come. I'm stitching the ornament with DMC satin 666 I think and I'm really loving the colour. The satin threads are always a little tricky, but I do a loop start since I'm stitching 2 over 1 on 14 count gold dust aida. For the words it calls for a gold, but I can't decide what gold I would like to use. There are also areas for gold beads or French knots. I think beads might be a nice touch, something sparkly, but I can't decide if I want a metallic gold for Merry Christmas or just a gold coloured satin floss.  

Your thoughts are always welcome!

Tiffstitch

It's that time again! Time to hermit and stitch! I hope the finish Angelic Melody before this weekend, but if not, then I'll definitely be working on that. With luck I'll go back to another Xmas project, or perhaps the HAED freebie SAL QS Siberian Forest. 

Good luck fellow hermiters!

Tiffstitch

Please forgive me not ironing this yet. I stitched it 2 over 2 on some oatmeal evenweave I got with a lot of other fabrics on ebay. I'm not sure the count, but likely 28 or 32. I used DMC 125, a variegated colour. I like the effect. Hopefully he will as well. He has a good sense of humour, so I thought he'd get a kick out of something that looks fancy, but is really telling you to "kiss my @rse" as Lady Kell puts it. 

Also, I've been off work for a few days so I managed to get quite a bit done on Angelic Melody. I skipped my usual alternating rotation to get the left banner completed. I'm fairly happy with my cording, which isn't a strong suit, but it seemed to turn out well. Now I just need to complete her wing and start on the top banner. The end is definitely in sight. 

Happy Stitching! 

tiffstitch

 Hosted by Lady Kell at Diary of a Domestic Goddess

No finishes this past month for Xmas X-stitching, but I did get a lot of work done on Angelic Melody. Let's start with her. 

So she's well on her way to completion. It's possible even within a few weeks. The wing is all half cross-stitch and as you can see in the next picture, it's only the top banner that is practically untouched. 

I've been backstitching and cording, etc. as I go so I don't have a ton left to do at the end. I'm going to leave the strings on the mandolin until the very last since the Qsnaps might wreak havoc on the tension if I stitch them in now. Ideally if I could do them without couching they would look best, just having it so tight that it lays flat might be problematic. We'll see when we get there. 

Next here's my update on my HAED freebie SAL, QS Siberian Forest

We can play that game, "Can you see a difference?". There is some progress, but not a heck of a lot. The next page was just emailed to me, so I'm hoping that I can actually get some work done on this tomorrow. Possibly even noticeable work..  

That's all I've touched this past month. Because of the 2 holidays (St. Pats and Easter) I've been busy making small gifts for that. I'm happy to report my Grandma did receive her coaster and loved it, she says it's too nice to use! Hopefully my Easter cards arrived in time as well, or not too late. 

Hope you all have a Happy Easter! 

Tiffstitch

If you'd like to see what else she has for sale, here's the original post from Random Ramblings. 

I've been doing a fair amount of stitching lately as well. On the CSF someone brought up stitching 10 hours on something, then switching to another project. I've decided to rotate my projects over stitching sessions. I really need to finish Angelic Melody, so I've been stitching on it every other day and whatever else I want on the other days. Recently I finished up 2 small projects for Easter cards. 

This is an Easter card for my Grandma. I used the Quaker Easter Egg pattern from Kincavel Krosses. I loved stitching this one. I stitched it with WDW Sunset - I love this name since it has lovely pink and orange tones- 1 over 1 on 28 count monaco. As you can likely tell I fudged the card a bit myself. I think I'll have to invest in some sort of paper crafting cutter and stencils since I forsee myself making a lot of cards over the years. 

Another finish was for a co-worker who recently moved on to better things. 

I used LK's LIfe's a Stitch pattern and stitched 2 over 1 I think it was on 28 count monaco as well. I used WDW Bethlehem, Union Blue, Sunset, Meadow, Purple Haze and Ivy. I could only find a 4 x 5 frame, so I added the little extra stitching on the side to make it fit a little better. She received it last Saturday and seemed to get a kick out of it. 

My last finish is a Bent Creek design

I wasn't that thrilled with the pattern as there were a few charting errors that made me end up frogging a few times and that's always annoying. I used WDW Basil (purple and green) for the border, not worrying about doing one stitch at a time, and I like the muted effect. The pink egg is WDW Camellia and DMC 309, and the purple egg is WDW Purple Haze and DMC 3750. The yellow is TGA Lemon Drop and the white is DMC satin B5200. The greenery is WDW Ivy and the flowers are WDW Dutch Iris and WDW Union Blue. I like the little snaps, although I stitched this 2 over 1 on a slightly smaller count so they were a bit of a pain to get through the holes. This fabric was part of a grab bag and I'm guessing it's around a 22 count fabric. I liked stitching on it, wasn't too stiff and it seemed to handle the frogging and fiddling well.  

As you may have noticed I've picked up a nice selection of WDW lately. They're really lovely to stitch with, I'm extremely happy with them so far. 

Time to get back to Angelic Melody! I'll post a pic of her over the weekend. 

I have an Easter one by another designer I'd like to start and right now I'm going to start on Lady Kell's Quaker Easter egg design. 

Happy Stitching all!

Tiffstitch

Saturday I worked on my HAED, this can be like a game since I don't feel I accomplished much. Can you see the difference? 

I've decided to try and work on Angelic Melody every other stitching session. As DH says, we'll see how long that lasts. 

Here's her update, one a close up of Sunday's work, and the 2nd shot is her overall progress. 

I'd really like to finish up 'til the top red banner this month. We'll see. Her hair is kinda freaky right now, almost like Medusa snakes. I'll get to filling in soon though. I've been listening to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on audiobook and it's made me want to watch the 1995 miniseries. I just ordered the blu-ray from Amazon and it should arrive in time for my day off on Wednesday. Now that will be some happy stitching time! 

Hope you all had a successful IHSW!

Tiffstitch

Now my pattern is torn and my fabric is ripped. 

My thread is all knotted and my needles are bent,

My get-up-and-go just got up and went. 

But I've got a sampler for a wedding to do,

It'll only be late by a year or two.

The baby sampler for my sister is done,

Her little baby has just turned twenty-one.  

The WIPs are getting dusty, but my bobbins are wound

For my new project needs this floss I just found. 

I was on a little walk, when just my luck,

I found this little shop called The Whistling Duck. 

They had everything I needed and more besides,

Time for my checkbook and my wallet to hide. 

I happened to notice their sign as I was going to the UPS store and it was as if I was pulled inside to gaze at all the wonderful stitchy goodness. They have a wonderful selection of threads, so many WDW it almost brought tears to my eyes, so much better than the previous LNS that has discontinued their WDW stock. There's even Caron, TGA, and full DMC at only 45 cents! That's not much more than the local big box stores at 39 cents! There's also some wool for tapestry/needlepoint and there's a gifts section with some lovely bags and decorations, etc. I think having more than just needlecraft will be very helpful for them too. 

And the charts and patterns, so many charts everywhere! LK, Prairie Schooler, JDW, anything you can name, they have it. And so many types of charts. There's even a fabric section with a lot of Charles Craft tubes, but also Zweigart, Weichelt, some hand dyeds, it's just so amazing. There's also coloured perforated paper! If I could have a dream stitchy store, this would be it. I still feel like I haven't seen everything and I've been in maybe 5 times already! 

I didn't even mention the accessories, they have everything. Boxes, pincushion holders, even an ottoman to place your needlework on! Stretcher bars, scroll bars, bell pull hangers, needles, beads, everything! There's even a kits section! 

It's so exciting and dangerous to have this wonderful shop so close by. Possibly the only bad thing, although it's good for my wallet, is they're open around the same time I work. 10-6 Tuesday through Saturday. I can sometimes sneak over there on my lunch break, but I never have time to really look at everything since I have to get back to work. I'll definitely look forward to continuing to see what other goodies are in store when I go back next time and the next time and the next time... 

By the way, the title of this post is ripped from The Pirates of Penzance, my favourite musical. I was as happy walking into the Whistling Duck as I am whenever I listen to that wonderful, silly song. 

as you can tell I haven't ironed it yet, but I did thumbtack it to the wall and it makes me happy to look at it completed. I was really feeling bogged down by the number of WIPs I had going, so having another completion feels really, really good. A friend mentioned since it's on gold dust aida a few gold charms might really add some bling, so I'm considering that idea. It's fairly large, around 8x10, and I'm trying to decide how to finish it. At first I was considering attempting a flat-fold, but it will be so large I think it would be cumbersome to display. Now I'm thinking of a hanging with a bell pull style hanger on the top and maybe some dark green fabric for backing. I'm trying to step outside of the traditional framing "box" and try some new ways of finishing my projects. Any thoughts or other ideas are very welcome! 

As I wrote about in my last post, here's my new start on a project for my Grandma. 

It calls for a few specialty stitches and some Kreinik #4 and DMC Satin. I picked up the DMC Satin B5200 at AC Moore since they don't yet stock it at my new favourite LNS. There is a nice Kreinik stand there and I had a quick look through when I was there last week. The colours I needed didn't jump out at me, but I could only remember the name (Marshmallow) of one of them and couldn't remember either of the numbers. I'll bring the magazine with me one of these days. Likely that will wait until I finish the cross stitches in the center element. They seem to be all regular DMC and I think I should have most of the colours. 

I haven't progressed any more on my HAED since my last post, but here's the update again!

It's a little farther on than last month's Xmas update. I'd like to continue on with this one, but I'm determined to make significant progress on Angelic Melody this month. If I don't soon, it will become part of this challenge since it won't be done 'til next Christmas! I think I'm going to add it on anyway since that's likely the only way I'll get done 12 projects. 

So goals for next month would be to finish Angelic Melody up to the last banner and perhaps start my 12 Days of Xmas table runner for my parents. I just got the fabric back from the seamstress and I think it will work perfectly. It's 18 count Anne Cloth and the design calls for 28 count monaco 2 over 2, so the stitching will be slightly smaller, but only slightly. The panels worked out so I should be able to fit everything in a single panel and there's a central motif that will go in the middle of the panels. I'm pretty excited to start it. With luck I'll have some pictures for you next month. 

This one is entitled Homeward Trail in Winter from the January edition of CrossStitch & Needlework. I'm using a 28 count fabric that I've lost the tag too. It might be Jobelan? It was a gift in an exchange last year and it's lovely to stitch on, so I'm very happy with it. I changed the fabric since my Grandma loves blue and has a lot of blue in her house. She tends to favour blue/silver decorations, but is happy with all Christmas decorations as far as I know. Her house always looks wonderful every year, that's for sure (she said with natural bias)

Here's the original design. I'm not too scared of the specialty stitches since I've tried out a few things thanks to the wonderful Abi Gurden and friendly folk over at The Stitch Specialists. She designed the heart I completed a week ago. I really like the look of this piece since I live over 9 hours away from my Grandma and this design somehow makes me feel like I'm on my way to her house. Perhaps from the Christmas song I'm looking through the woods to Grandmother's house. The point is, now I have another WIP! 

Speaking of WIPs, here is the sorely neglected Angelic Melody. I have put a few stitches in her, most notably part of a wing, but lost some interest again. It's definitely become more of a burden, which is unfortunate since I do love the look of her. Maybe since I failed her this past Xmas and the way things are going she'll be this Xmas' present! Although I do have a kind of goal. There's a local fair at the end of August and I'm thinking of entering her if I can get her finished up well enough. She may not be good enough since I'm not thrilled with some of my cording, but that can wait 'til the xstitches are all finished. 

Here's part of the reason why Angelic Melody got put down again. The Siberian Forest QS was screaming "me! me! me!" while I was trying to be good, so after a rough week I spent a day off working just on this. I'm still not sold on parking since I seem to take forever to figure out what stitch I'm on, but I am getting there. Hopefully as I work on more HAEDs I'll get better. 

And last, but by no means least, I've been RAK'd!! A wonderful friend from CSF, also a pen pal sent me this chart from my wish list! I'm still extremely excited about it and have a huge grin on my face as I write this. I need to look at this chart every time I have a rough day at work since it brightens my mood every time. I have a plan for this and the Bailey Basset chart I ordered last year.

I was at my local Good Will store just to see if I could find some of these stitchy goodies some CSF members have mentioned and I scored big time. A 58"x58" piece of 18 count Anne Cloth! I've had some in my wish list at various ONS', but never got up the courage to buy it because of the cost. Now I'll be set for a while. I think I've figured out how I can fit Adobe White (above) and Bailey Basset on about 36x28 pieces and I'll have a long piece left that I might be able to use as a table runner for a gift for my parents. One of my xstitch mags has this 12 days of Xmas design for a huge piece of fabric. It calls for evenweave or linen naturally, but with Anne Cloth I might be able to work it so I can fit a piece of the pattern in each square. And if that doesn't work, well, a bell pull might be a great idea. 

Oh, did you want to know how much I paid for the Anne Cloth? Well the sticker said $4.99. However, somehow I got the cloth and a hardcover book (sticker $2.99) for $4.87! The Anne cloth is unhemmed, but I happened to see a sign for "sewing" at a nearby house and I'm hoping she'll be up to hemming the fabric so it doesn't fray while I'm stitching. In fact I should really get all my pieces of fabric taken care of. Plus some pants need real hemming, my basting abilities aren't that great, and there's a skirt and pair of pants that really need to be taken in. 

What's that? Too many ideas and not enough time? You're not kidding! Hopefully I can get it all taken care of on my days off. There are a few coming up, just not together. But a day off is always better than working. 

Happy Stitching! 

I've emailed the owners a couple times to ask about this since DH told me, and they told me I'm welcome to order the threads, but they won't stock them since they're not a "huge seller". Thing is, you can only order the colours in sets of 5! Well, how many projects need 5 skeins of thread? Some of the Cross Stitch Forum members have some really cool mono patterns, but I loved being able to go to the store and fondle all the threads and see how the colours went together.

I'm searching for another LNS nearby that might carry them, but maybe I can make plans for a road trip if there's nothing around. There's one that's over an hour away, but it does sound like a dream LNS with all kinds of different threads and focusing on just needlework. The other LNS was more a "craft" store. It's in the tourist trap town nearby though... hopefully she doesn't charge the earth! 

Enough whining though, onto this weekend's progress! 

I really love this design by skitzzzz from the CSF. It's so nice and whimsical, definitely fun to stitch after a long work day. There have been a lot of those lately, including today. That may be obvious by the start of this post though. 

I'd like to concentrate on this one for a while until I have a finish. I just have this horrible feeling I'm going to run out of WDW Ivy! 

Hope you all join in!

And a small finish, Heart of my Heart by Abi Gurden. I even did the cutting! 

I used 28 count monaco with DMC Color Variations, DMC variegate thread, DMC perle #8 (Evergreen), PTB, DMC 699 and an unlabelled moss green from my stash. The cutting was tricky, but Abi sent me instructions that helped a ton. I even bought some new, sharper, pointier scissors. I think they helped. 

Xmas tree by skitzzzz

I'm really loving this project, I just ran out of thread! Otherwise I think I would have finished it first. I'm using WDW Autumn Leaves and Ivy working 2 over 1 on 14 count gold dust aida. 

I also ran out of thread on Kell's 2012 sampler, so that might have been another one I would be farther along on, or finished by now. I can't get to my LNS for another few weeks, or maybe my tax return will come early!  I'll hope for that, but I'm definitely not expecting anything. It's just frustrating since both of these projects have been a real ease to stitch. Likely the 14 count aida helps there since it's less fiddly with as many holes. I do love the look of stitching on evenweave though, just seems more finished somehow. 

Again, I'm using 14 count navy aida and WDW Bethlehem (pretty sure). Notice I'm stitching around my pets again and everything is covered in pet hair! 

I do have one finish this month. I spent far, far too long stitching this and broke 3 needles! I think my problem was trying to use perle and metallic and stitching through felt on waste canvas. This ended up a bit larger than I wanted since I only had 8.5 count waste canvas. It's supposed to be a coaster, but it's a bit too large, almost would work as a pot holder! So I may attempt more, but I'm definitely changing the materials, possibly with the equivalent floss to this colour perle. 

This is stitched with DMC Color Variations Evergreen Forest (7025?) and DMC metallics 321 (yes it was horrible) on cream felt. I started this in late November 2011 or early December intending it for an Xmas gift last year, but ended up as a UFO for a while since I didn't even want to look at it. But it's finished, I'm happy, it's a load off my mind. 

I also started my first ever HAED this month. It's the Siberian Forest QS from their freebie SAL. All the confetti is definitely a challenge. I think the first 10x10 square had 37 different colours! I think a combination of parking and cross country stitching will be best for me, but we'll see as I continue. I got all mixed up with parking at first, but that was mostly because I didn't think to always start the next stitch in the same part of the next hole, so some were on the top right, top left or bottom right or left. Now I know I will start all the stitches in the top right hole, but I still don't know if just parking is for me. 

I'm slightly farther than this now, but only very slightly. 

And that sums it up! I lost about a week to Don't Make Me Kill You and a few days to Angelic Melody, but I don't have an updated pic of her yet. Plus ideally I'll have her delivered well before Xmas this year since she was supposed to be given for Xmas 2011.

Happy Stitching all!

Without further rambling..

It's 2 over 2 on 28 count monaco and ended up being about 8" x 5.5". I think an 8x10 frame should work fairly well. Just deciding on matting or not. I'll see what I can find.

Without further ado:

Back to work for me!

I don't think I'll be able to stitch on Angelic Melody, instead I'll be working on Lady Kell's fantastic Don't Make Me Kill You sampler. It can be found on her Kincavel Krosses page. There's a ton of other fantastic designs, so check it out. A good friend is leaving work next weekend so I hope I can get it done by then. If not, then the party is February 4th, so I will deliver it then at the latest. I hope to stitch 2 over 2 on 28 count white Monaco since I know I have some in my stash and I'll play with my DMC variegated floss to see what I can come up with. My friend has a somewhat black sense of humour, which may be unnecessary to mention given the project , so a light and fluffy colour of floss might be perfect. 

Small update from yesterday, I did get some stitching done, but I've forgotten the DMC colours. Pics and more details will follow on Monday AM. 

I did take that break from Angelic Melody to relax over the last few days before the New Year. I worked a bit on The Good Life kit but mostly I relaxed after the frantic stitching before Christmas. 

Angelic Melody latest progress. The newest stitches are the cording on her dress and the green riboon and of course more filling and more backstitch! 

The Good Life update

And on to progress/plans for Kell's Xmas Xstitching Challenge 2012.

I started her 2012 Band Sampler and I'm using WDW's holiday threads, I think Bethlehem by their colour guide, but I need to find where I put the label. I'm stitching 2 over 1 on 14 count navy aida. I think the colour works well. I was debating about trying a different colour for contrast, but I love this thread so much I think I'll just keep using it. The colour is so rich. I just have to be careful since this is my first time using non-colorfast hand-dyed threads. 

My other plans including finishing White Wolves for my brother and SIL

spiral fractal by skitzzz for my BIL and SIL

maybe finish Tree of Stitches for my Grandma. I did choose colours that would match her decor in the living room.

I'd like to give AAN's Christmas Drop to someone as well. I like working on it, it's very fun! Possibly my parents? I have more plans, like starting my first ever HAED tonight, so I'm off to get started! 

DH says it will be a masterpiece when completed. He's the best. :D

1. 2011 sampler by Kell (DONE)

2. Super Mario sampler by carladee (DONE)

3. spiral fractal by skitzz

4., 5. 2 flower coasters free chart by the Cross Stitchers Club (DONE 1)

6. Yellow submarine chart from Pinoy stitch

7. one ornament from Snowflake Elegance Ornaments Gold Collection by Dimensions

8. Angelic Melody Gold Collection by Dimensions

9. Tiger by Janlynn (DONE)

10. Hummingbird and Morning Glories Gold Collection Petites by Dimensions (DONE)

11. a self-designed bookmark with "Dovie'andi se toyva sagain" with some dice from my favourite book series The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson (DONE)

12. Warbreaker book cover

13. Letters A and E from Dimensions Princess Alphabet (DONE)

14. Christmas SAL by Alessandra Adelaide Needleworks

15. Baby Feet by Janlynn (DONE)

I've marked which ones I did manage to complete, and that certainly was not all of them. The one I had really wanted to finish was the Angelic Melody for my MIL for Xmas. That did not happen, so we ended up giving her some frogs from this excellent artist Arthur Ward. Earlier in the year we had discovered his frogs at a Vermont Holiday shop in the mall. I love them! I wish I had someone to give each design. 

This will be a picture heavy post since I'd like to wrap up my finishes of 2011. This is as completed chronologically and I'll post the leftover WIPs at the end. 

1) A bookmark with a phrase from the Wheel of Time series started by Robert Jordan and completed by Brandon Sanderson/Robert Jordan. I freehanded the alphabet and dice. 

2) One-Drink Woman by Lady Kell of Kincavel Krosses 

3) Mario Sampler by carladee of Flossy Bobbin - my absolute favourite thing to stitch all year

4) 2011 Sampler by Lady Kell of Kincavel Krosses

5) Letter A from Princess Alphabet finished first and Letter E was finished later in the year

6) Samus bookmark from Karyn that she posted on Sprite Stitch as a slightly late Valentine's gift for my DH

7) Another Valentine's gift for DH, this was my first time using DMC satin threads. I like them, just they're slippery and the ends frayed easily. 

8) Bibliophile bookmark by Kell at Kincavel Krosses. This was eventually given for donation to another member at CSF. I used DMC variegated threads for this after picking some up at a 1/2 price sale at Joann Fabrics. 

9) Pog mo thoin subversive ATC by Kell at Kincavel Krosses given to my cousin, luckily he has a good sense of humour. 

10) Baby Feet by Janlynn. I changed the feet to green since I wasn't sure who I was giving it to. I still haven't given it away actually. 

11) Golden Retriever from the WOXS - for DH's aunt and cousins after they suddenly lost their Golden, Mousky. Yes, I spelled his name wrong and had to fix it later. This took up maybe 6 weeks of solid stitching to try and get it completed by a certain deadline. This was definitely the most meaningful work I had all year. 

12) Yellow rose coaster from Cross Stitcher's Club as a Mother's Day gift for my Grandma

13) Another version of One Drink Woman by Lady Kell of Kincavel Krosses for a friend who prefers white zinfandel. 

14) Pinguino for DH on seafom 14 count aida by Alessandra Adelaid Needleworks

15) an entry for a DMC contest about why you love stitching, I didn't win :) I used DMC Color Variations and KX Stitch to make the pattern

16) Janlynn Wildlife series Tiger, some bleeding on the side with washing! With careful matting and framing it's hidden now. 

17) Dimensions Gold Petites Hummingbird and Morning Glories entered into the local fair, no prize. But the winning piece must have had 500 beads! So I know what to do for next year. Plus someone contacted me wanting to buy it, but it was a Christmas gift for my mother. 

18) a card for an exchange on The Stitch Specialists 

19) a fantasy biscornuu for an exchange on CSF. The front was a free dragon pattern from P-tites Croix and the back was a pattern from Sprite Stitch with a quote from The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (a fantastic book). 

20) Last finish of the year, an ornament for my Grandma. I think it was a Dimensions kit.

So these are all the finished projects from this year. I'll have to make another post with all my leftover WIPs from the Crazy January Challenge and my hope of finishing them off for 2012. Some will be finished as part of Kell's X-stitching Xmas Challenge as well. 

Hope you all have a happy and healthy 2012!

I love creating something for family members and friends that appreciate it, and I usually give handmade gifts at Christmas, so this sounds perfect for me to really try and finish up some of those old UFOs and some of the WIPs left over from the Crazy January Challenge. Most of them were intended as gifts anyway, so this is a good excuse to try and get through all  of them. Plus there will be some new items, I will be starting at least one HAED in 2012,likely one for my sister-in-law first, or possibly Bailey Basset for my husband. He already knows I have the chart, so I won't have to keep it secret. 

The Crazy January Challenge made me realize I dislike being a serial starter and having so many projects on the go. I much prefer to have one or maybe two larger projects and the ability to work on smaller projects inbetween tackling the larger ones. 

Kell didn't mention about posting the charts you're going to work on ahead of time, but knowing my memory I'll try and keep track on here. So far I'm thinking I would like to get these done for Xmas 2012. 

1. White Wolves UFO for my brother and SIL

2. Dimensions pink Christmas ornament for my mother (CJC leftover)

3. Popeye or a Dr Who related design for my dad

4. Gone with the Wind design for my grandmother (although this may be a birthday gift since she'll be 89 in November, still winter!)

5. Bailey Basset from HAED for my DH

6. Believe QS from HAED for my SIL

7. Beatles Yellow Submarine design for my cousin (CJC leftover)

8. Spiral Fractal by skitzzzz (CSF) for my BIL and SIL (CJC leftover)

Those are all a fair size except for the ornament, so maybe I'll leave that list for now and see what I think I can accomplish. I have a few more of Kell's designs I'd like to try as well. She's come out with some fantastic holiday ones this year, some excellent freebies at Kincavel Krosses and some excellent designs for purchase at her Folksy site. 

Hope lots of you join too!

My last update from December 8, 2011

Info about IHSW can be found here. Enjoy your weekend everyone!