Cross Stitch Ramblings

Lavender Fairy

2008-09-28T17:43:00.002+01:00

When I was hunting for a piece of fabric for Lavender Fairy, I came across this small piece of hand dyed fabric. Its a silkweaver solo. I then remembered I bought a number of these, and these little flower fairies are the only suitable patterns I have to use them for. I did give this one a little bit of thought before deciding if it was suitable, rather than my usual course of just launching into it and worrying about it later. I think it works, although. I know hand dyed fabrics are much revered in the cross stitching world, and they are lovely, but with my lack of creativity I'm probably better off using plain fabric for the most part, after all, its the design that's important. This fabric is more blotchy than most of the pieces I have, and I think I've got away with it for this one, but if I go for hand dyed fabrics in the future I'm more likely to chose subtly blotchy ones, a bit like the fabric I'm using for Moon Fairy Spirit.

My current project is Snowdrop Fairy which is almost finished but has taken me over a week, I should hopefully get it finished later today and it is the last of my little flower fairies for now.

Sleeping Beauty

2008-09-18T14:18:00.017+01:00

After I put Rhinestone aside I picked up Mirablia's Sleeping Beauty again and worked on it for a few weeks. I feel I have been working on this for so long, its a few years now, and still my first Mirabilia. It is so huge, but remains my favourite. It is the most beautiful project I am working on. Unfortunately the fabric is a bit on the small side - it does fit, but only just.

I have 3 other WIPs from way-back-when, Teresa Wentzler's Fantasy Triptych, the HAED Waiting for Neptune and the large flower Fairy, Rose Fairy. I don't think any of these have moved since I last posted photos of them.

At this moment I'm working on another little flower fairy, Lavender Fairy. Picture to follow tomorrow I hope!

Rhinestone

2008-09-18T14:18:00.013+01:00

This is the project I was writing about in my last entry. I got quite a bit of it done, but I did have a week off work and spent a lot of it sitting in front of the TV watching the Olympics (sort of) and stitching this. The reason it's cut off so awkwardly at the bottom is because the chart's on 2 separate sheets and this was the top sheet. The top half of it is nearly there, I stopped at this point because I was using a large hoop which it had just about got too big for, it will have to go in Q-snaps next time I pick it up. I do prefer using a hoop but as I also like to stitch large pieces a hoop is not really ideal.

Moon Fairy Spirit

2008-09-18T14:18:00.009+01:00

This is Moon Fairy spirit by Passione Ricamo. I think it was the last thing I was stitching before I packed away my needles and threads last year. It's quite close to being finished, but hasn't been worked on for about a year. It is my plan to get this one finished once I'm done with my current spate of flower fairies.

Forget Me Not Fairy

2008-09-18T14:18:00.006+01:00

My daughter said this fairy was prettier than Daisy Fairy so I decided to stitch her as well. I didn't have one of the main colours so took a bit longer to get going. also, I kept going wrong so had to do a lot of pulling out. So much for quick and easy! I've done a much better job of the french knots with this one, most of them are pretty good, am quite pleased with myself for that. Yes, I know it needs an iron to get rid of the hoop marks.

Daisy Fairy

2008-09-18T14:18:00.002+01:00

I've got some pictures at last. I'm going to post them all in separate entries as my computer is very slow and might crash again.

Because its so long since I had a cross stitch finish, I decided to stitch something little so I could have a finish and also slightly reduce the very long list of charts & kits I have stored in my stash. I don't have many charts that are little but I do have a few flower fairies. I like daisy fairy, I got it finished in one day although it did take several hours. It involves french knots which I haven't tried for quite a few years and couldn't quite remember how, and mine in this fairy are pretty bad. Fortunately there are only a few so they don't notice too much.

I am back!

2008-08-23T20:23:00.002+01:00

I am stitching again. Woohoo!

At one point I thought I'd even forgotten the password for this blog. It seems I haven't.

My stitching has been very erratic for the past year or so. Not sure how much of what I've done since I last wrote, next to nothing on most of my WIPs. At one point I even let my daughter have my stash of thread and declared that I hate cross stitching. How dare I!

Then I changed my mind and claimed my thread stash back - not sure how messed up it is, not sure I want to know just yet. But what there is is safely back in my stash cupboard.

A week or so ago I picked up 'Rhinestone' by Maria van Scharrenburg, a Lanarte kit. I had started this a while back, it is my most recent start. I've stitched quite a lot of it, seems I'm back into the swing of it again, for now anyway, and I'm getting to the point where I remember which colours the symbols correspond to.

I'm not committing myself as to when I'll re-commence stitching on anything else, will see how it goes.

But to reinforce the fact I'm back in stitching mode, I bought some more stash, as if I really need any more! Hobby Craft had some of the specialist materials packs for L&L designs in the sale and I couldn't resist. I did pick them up, and put them back, then decided if I didn't buy them and went back a week later to find they were gone I'd be bitterly disappointed. So this barely stitching woman spent £40 on specialist material packs for Celtic Summer and Celtic Spring. On arriving home I found I already have Celtic Spring fully kitted, so it was pretty stupid of me to buy that one. I wonder if Hobbycraft will take it back? I could have a go at selling it on ebay, failing that split it up and mingle it in with the rest of the huge bags of thread and beads. It was the cheaper of the 2 packs as doesn't have any of those mega expensive needlepaints threads in it. That doesn't justify me wasting £10 on it but there you go.

Back to 'Rhinestone'. I don't have a picture just at the moment. As I've been right off this writing on the internet lark, I have forgotten how to connect the camera to the computer. Husband knows how to do it, I promise there will be photographic evidence of my return to the stitching world this side of Christmas!

Eventually she writes something

2007-07-01T17:08:00.000+01:00

So many lovely comments on my last entry, and she didn't have a face! I did have a stitching frenzy a while back, but sadly not a needle has been lifted for about a month. Maybe I should take the hint, a busy working mum of 2 has no time for hobbies, oh but I do love to stitch! The ironing is nearly finished so maybe I deserve a treat. Who knows what might happen?!!!

Moon Fairy Spirit (again)

2007-05-13T13:12:00.000+01:00

After another lapse I picked up MFS again. Only because this is the one currently sitting in the Q-snaps. I don't seem to be the dedicated stitcher I once was! But I have made some progress - its a bit all over the place, I'm drifting to different parts of the pattern but who cares!

Moon Fairy Spirit

2007-04-18T13:51:00.000+01:00

I was determined not to let my 2 week stitching slump turn into a several months long slump like I had last year so, shortly after I posted my last entry, I started stitching again.

Everything seemed to be conspiring against me. First, I couldn't find the pattern for Sleeping Beauty. I turned to Moon Fairy Spirit. I stitched a large amount of the lilac colour then found it was supposed to have kreinik thread blended with it, so had to frog it all out. Then, I couldn't find the beads. Still haven't found them, I bought some more. Last weekend, I thought I'd stitch a bit while my daughter had a ski lesson. I took out the fabric, scissors, thread, even the beads. Forgot the pattern of course.

Ah well! Here is my progress ..... haven't touched her for about a week now. I think I need to stitch something a little easier so, now I have found the pattern for Sleeping Beauty, I will switch back to that.

Rose Fairy

2007-03-23T21:00:00.000Z

There's not been much stitching going on around here - I've not lifted a needle in nearly 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll get back to it soon.

The last pic I published was of Fantasy Triptych - hardgoing as ever but worth it! I will be glad when I've finished the land of green and brown. I had to do a major bit of frogging on this session so there's not as much progress on it as there should be.

Next it was the turn of Rose Fairy. I didn't get a whole lot done on this either! I'm stuggling to work neatly with the rayon thread. I have now got a smaller set of q snaps which do help a lot but the real problem here is the piece of fabric is just too small. I really do need to be less trusting with kits and check the fabric before I launch off. You learn!

When I eventually do start stitching again my next project is to be Sleeping Beauty. Hopefully not before too long.

Oops

2007-03-15T22:43:00.000Z

2 weeks since an entry - oh dear! Here's a quick update of FT. Will write properly soon.

Good News!

2007-03-01T23:08:00.000Z

I mentioned last year when I was in the midst of my mega stitching slump that part of the reason for my lack of stitching was I was trying to help my daughter prepare for a selective exam for entrance into secondary school. Today is 'national results day' and I am delighted to say that she passed the exam and has gained a place at the school we really wanted. We're over the moon. When I got the email I ran down the stairs so excitedly to tell my daughter. She is one happy, happy little girl.

On a less positive note my aunt is very ill with stomach cancer, I'm very worried about her.

Not much stitching has taken place this week - I can't quite get myself in the mood plus Fantasy Triptych is sooooooo very hard. It will not defeat me, I will get there!

Waiting for Neptune

2007-02-26T23:42:00.000Z

This is not the greatest picture, because I took it against dark carpet, but you get the idea....

I decided to work the top block all the way along the top edge, which is just under 4 pages - the completed rectangle at the left hand side with no threads hanging out of the bottom is the whole of page 1. There was a fair bit of plain black in the last few blocks - easy in theory but played havoc with my eyes! The problem with this one is, as I've probably mentioned before, I can see it best with my short sighted naked eyes, ie. no glasses, no contact lenses. The trouble with that is I have to have it really close to my face, and its impossible to get a scroll bar frame that close to my face and sit comfortably, I'm either crouched over it, bending my back, or I've got it up on its side digging into my knees. There's no happy solution, I have to settle with not seeing it quite so well and wearing contact lenses. Ah well!

I've now finished my first round of one week to a project rotation! I might get bored with this routine and start switching more often, who knows, but its working for now. This week's project is Fantasy Triptych.

Moon Fairy Spirit

2007-02-19T19:01:00.000Z

Here is the blue blob that is Moon Fairy Spirit. Not having worked on her for a while, I'd forgotten she was still just a little blue blob. Now she's a bit bigger. I've used kreinik thread for the first time. Two strands of blending filament on its own works quite well, much better than I'd expected, I haven't quite got the hang of blending it with DMC yet - need to practice that a bit.

As blogger won't let me put a picture of how MFS should end up in my sidebar - here is a pic of the finished article.

I wrote a few entries ago that I was going to work a 4 project rotation this year & abandon Waiting for Neptune until one of the others was finished. Well, I've changed my mind, I don't want UFOs, so until I've had another finish I'm going to rotate 5 projects - this week's one is, you guessed it, Waiting for Neptune!

Sleeping Beauty

2007-02-12T08:03:00.000Z

As expected, we had a good deal of snow last week. My children's schools both closed which meant I couldn't go to work, which I was guiltily relieved about because I dread driving in snow. I did a little bit of work from home and in the half hour I was on the computer these 2 fantastic snow people appeared in the garden.

I've got quite a lot of work done on Sleeping Beauty's robe this week. Its an enjoyable stitch - there are no beads in this part of the design so I'm not having to leave gaps - makes it much easier!

Christine asked about Waiting for Neptune. Here is a photo as it is today - I haven't stitched on this for many months but will be picking it up again next week. Its a long term project - it will be on the go for years to come!

This week's project is Passione Ricamo's Moon Fairy Spirit. I probably won't have as much stitching time this week as I did last but today is my birthday so I can do what I like!

Rose Fairy & Sleeping Beauty

2007-02-07T17:04:00.000Z

Thankyou Carol & Lana for your comments on my last entry. I really do intend being back to stay this time. I missed the stitching community while I wasn't writing, from now on I promise that barring holidays and disasters, I will write no less than once a week, even if there's not much stitching going on!

I added most of a leaf to Rose Fairy over the weekend. I'm not happy with the quality of some of my stitches, they're loose and baggy. Its because the fabric isn't taut due to lack of frame so I bit the bullet and ordered a smaller set of Q snaps from the US. I can't find anywhere that sells them in the UK, and the high postage is a bit of a put off, but it is done now! Next time I'm on Rose Fairy the frame should have arrived and I will pull out the stitches I'm not happy with and re-do.

Since Monday I have been working on Sleeping Beauty and have stitched the lower sleeve and part of the arm. When I chose SB as my first Mirabilia I think I picked the biggest one of the lot. Its huge! I've done loads but am still only about half way through. I do love stitching it though, it is really beautiful even if I say so myself!

Heavy snow is predicted for tomorrow. Snow is beautiful, I would love it if only I have to drive in it. I hate driving in it! My car is covered with a sheet all prepared. Tomorrow I only have to work a half day but if I'm driving, its not fun. And the schools sometimes close if there's snow. My children are at 2 different schools now, going on past experience my daughter's will probably be the last school still open in the county, but my son's closes at the drop of a hat. *Sigh* I hope it doesn't snow!

Rose Fairy

2007-02-02T00:40:00.000Z

Another bad scan - still can't find the camera! Not that this one would look much better I don't think, the fabric is terribly crumpled because I'm working it "in hand". The piece of fabric isn't all that big for the design so there's not much overhang, which means I can't put it in a hoop without squashing the already stitched areas, my q-snaps are too big, I'm thinking about getting a smaller set.

The area I went a bit wrong on is the unfinished one in the left hand corner. The branch and yellow-pinky looking blob on the right hand side (the legs) are what I've stitched this week. This kit includes rayon thread for some of the areas, I've never used it before and have to say, its a challenge! Its beautiful but very slippy and difficult to get neat, I am struggling, but I know what I need to do is stitch without glasses or contact lenses, I'm short sighted so can see close up work better without them. Problem is I can't see anything else!

Fantasy Tryptich

2007-01-30T01:11:00.000Z

Here is an update on FT after a week's work. Sorry about the poor scan - I can't find the camera. I'd like to have got a bit more done but its been a difficult week. I did have the land of green and brown marked out in a partial grid with red thread to make keeping my place easier. It really is just a mass of green until the backstitch goes on so really difficult to follow. But I found pulling the red thread out of the stitched areas really difficult and some of my stitching got a bit messed up so I decided to pull the whole lot out. Now I am using the parking method which is working quite well. I have a feeling of deja-vu with this one - I previously stitched Teresa Wentzler's "Companions" which is a beautiful design but full of trees, as a result of which it was a UFO for about 10 years. I love FT but am not surprised the pattern was discontinued. Its so hard!!

This week's project is the Rose Fairy which is a much easier stitch. I've skipped away from the area I went wrong on for now - will go back to that when I am feeling brave! I should hopefully have a bit more time for stitching & blogging this week so hope to update again in a couple of days.

Ballet Dancer is finished

2007-01-22T20:33:00.000Z

Finished at last! There was more still to go than I thought - I spent a lot of hours working on her this weekend determined to finish but at about 11.30pm last night gave up because I had run out of yet another shade and my supplies, being in the stash cupboard in the bedroom where my husband was sleeping, were not to hand. I finished her off this evening. The picture is bad - I'll see if I can get a better one in daylight next time I'm off work. (Wednesday). I ran out of 4 different colours in the end, warning, Lanarte are mingey with their threads. I had a bit of a sort out of my stash cupboard the other day and came across a number of kit thread cards with all the left over threads. DMC flower fairy kits are very well supplied, I'm sure some they had almost enough thread left over to stitch the design all over again.

I showed her to my husband, who said 'well done, now screw it up and put it in the cupboard with all the others'. Ok, I have quite a lot I need to get framed, including, shame on me, Celtic Christmas which was finished over a year ago. My husband does like a lot of my stitchwork but I don't think he's ever been a fan of my Ballet Dancer. (I must add here, they are not screwed up, they are rolled up).

My sidebar is out of date - I need to update it but this new version of blogger won't let me use html tags - I don't know how else to get the pictures on there! I'm wondering if *upgrading* to this new version was not such a good idea after all.

I've decided to go back to rotation stitching now that I seem to be back in stitching mode, but, instead of a 6 project rotation I am reducing it to 4. I have 5 projects currently on the go, Teresa Wentzler's Fantasy Triptych, Cecily Mary Barker's Rose Fairy, Mirabilia's Sleeping Beauty, Passione Ricamo's Moon Fairy Spirit and HAED Waiting for Neptune. The HAED will go on hold for the time being until one of the others is finished. It will be a while off, they all have some way to go on them. With this new rotation the idea is to stick with each one a week at a time, that way I should get a good chunk done without swapping them around too much but get some done on each every month. Tonight I'm pulling out Fanstasy Triptych, the land of green and brown here I come!

Ballet dancer

2007-01-16T22:47:00.000Z

I've done a bit more work on Ballet Dancer - not loads. On the column bit behind her head so here's a close up. there's metallic thread which frays like mad. I have got some thread heaven buried away somewhere - must give it a try. Should be finished soon!!!

Two Days in a row!

2007-01-15T21:41:00.000Z

Thank you so much ladies for the comments on my last entry. It means so much that you didn't forget me during my long absense!

Karen, good idea about contacting Lanarte. I will do that if I can't easily match up the thread. I have done a little more work on Ballet Dancer - on the column behind her head - it is a bit more rewarding that doing the shadow on the floor, of which there is unfortunately still quite a bit to do.

Today's picture is an update of Sleeping Beauty. I haven't stitched on her for months but haven't done a photo for even longer. She has a face!

Believe it or not

2007-01-14T19:12:00.000Z

I'm back!! You always knew I would be eh?!

I had a mega stitching slump at the end of 2006 - I always do seem to trail off in December but this was serious - about 4 months and hardly a needle lifted - what was happening to me!!!

I did, from time to time, pick up my Rose Fairy and put a few stitches in. But I've gone a bit wrong on it, and not being in stitching mode could not bring myself to sort it out. It will get done eventually, I'm feeling a little drawn back to it right now. Maybe it will happen ..... maybe not.

The real work has been done on my Ballet Dancer ...... taa daa!!

I am determined to finish - I've run out of a couple of colours - my frogging and not Lanarte's fault, unfortunately the pattern doesn't include the DMC numbers so I have to use my eyesight and colour chart and come up with the best matches. Not something I relish. These missing colours explain the hole in her head and half a missing foot - but she does at least look human now and not just a blue blob. The background stitching, in particular the bit on the floor which is shadow, is the most boring ever! I am so looking forward to finishing it. Don't have any strict rotation plans at the moment ..... will go with the flow. Would like to get a few more finishes done this year though - the stash cupboard is bursting at the seams!

Where have I been???

2006-10-03T22:05:00.000+01:00

I am still here!
Unfortunately, not stitching.
I haven't lifted a needle in weeks!
I was working exclusively on Sleeping Beauty for a while, she's looking good now, she has a face! I'll have to post a picture.......
At the end of August I took a sudden interest in my family history - my Dad's side has always been a bit of a mystery and I was intrigued. Since 27th August I've managed to build up a family tree with over 500 relatives on it!
I'm trying to leave that alone now as have to concentrate on my daughter's education. She has an important exam coming up in November that I need to help her get ready for. She needs to do a lot of work to get up to the standard needed to pass. I doubt I'll be stitching again until afterwards.
The real worrying thing is, my eyesight. It has seriously deteriorated in the last year, I'm now wearing contact lenses that were prescribed to me 2 months ago but I am just not seeing everything as I should. The only thing I can think has seriously contributed to a sudden depreciation in my sight is the intense amount of close stitching work I've done over the past year, I've been short-sighted since my teens but in the past few years my prescription had hardly changed at all. I really don't think I can continue to stitch on the scale I was doing. I do miss it, but I at the moment I can't see well enough even if I did want to stitch. I'm not giving it up for good, I will be back!
I hope everyone is keeping well.

Ballet Dancer & Rose Fairy

2006-07-31T07:06:00.000+01:00

Here is the latest on Ballet Dancer - she's still looking blobby but now at least she has a foot, a hand, and the beginnings of an arm. There is a lot of flesh in this design!

I spent a lot of time working on Rose Fairy over the weekend and now we have half a rose - makes a nice change from green leaves.

On Friday evening we had a power surge and the bulb in my new lamp blew. Strange - we had other lights on and it was the only one that blew - it had to be the most expensive bulb in the house and only 2 days old! My husband thinks I should ask the suppliers for a replacement, although it can't have been better packaged. I went to Hobbycraft yesterday to buy a replacement - they sell the lamp and had an assortment of daylight bulbs on sale, but, of course, not the particular one I need. On the way out of the shop I spotted some half price Mirabilia and L&L patterns. I have been very restrained at buying charts lately since I have enough to keep me going for nearly 20 years but I could not help myself! Here's a very bad picture of them. The L&L one is 'The Lady of the Thread'. My favourite is the Mirabilia 'Under the Friendship Tree' which is one of the discontinued ones so I'm pleased I got that.

Ann on my last entry asked what the horizontal lines on Fantasy Triptych are for - they are 10 rows apart and correspond with the grid on the chart. As I'm working this part of the design in columns, I'm putting the vertical lines of the grid on as I go along. I find it easier not to keep losing my place with a grid for FT as with most Teresa Wentzler patterns there is no such thing as a row of stitches, the individual symbols are all over the place and having the grid lined out on the fabric is a big help in keeping track of where I am.

Today, tomorrow and Wednesday I will be working on Sleeping Beauty.

Slacking again

2006-07-27T08:10:00.000+01:00

I've been slacking again over my updates and comments. Its so hot!! Its very difficult to do anything other than flop back in the chair and stitch!

This is the blue blob that is Moon fairy Spirit. Thanks to those ladies who left comments about the kreinik. I won't actually be on to the bits that use it for a while yet. There is one symbol that seems to be just blending filament on its own - that seems to be a bit strange. There is no indication anywhere on this chart how many strands should be used - I expect it should be 2 which I am using for the DMC but would you stitch with 2 strands of blending filament on its own? I guess I'll find out! Unless anyone has come across this before and can advise me.

I really enjoyed working on Waiting for Neptune this time around. I decided to use the 'parking' method a lot of HAED stitchers use and it really works well - helps me to stitch methodically and stop keep on losing my place! I think I'm not going to stitch one page at a time after all. After I've finished the current block of page 2 I am going to work pages 3 and 4 (it is 4 pages wide) down to where I am on page 2 and then work the whole thing down together, so to speak, if that makes any sense.

Fanstasy Triptcyh - the land of brown and green is getting me down a bit - it goes on forever! But I will keep plugging on.

And finally ... here is my new toy! We decided to go for the Ultimate Daylight lamp in the end. It was the most expensive but so far proving worth it. The bit you can see stuck out front with the white bag on is the maginfying glass. I know I said I didn't want one of those but it is removable, and, working on the tiny scale of Waiting for Neptune this week made me realise maybe I will need it sooner rather than later. I've been short sighted since my teens and most of the time wear contact lenses but in the mornings, and evenings when my eyes have got tired I switch to glasses, which are not quite as strong a prescription as my contacts. One morning this week I discovered that I could actually see Waiting for Neptune better without any glasses or contacts at all. I am short sighted after all and provided I'm holding something almost at the end of my nose I can see it perfectly. Of course I can't see to walk around the room! So maybe I could use the magnifying glass. The actual lamp itself is brilliant, feels like stitching in daylight and the bulb, although a strange one is a simple screw fit and replacements are available from Sew and So so no problems there. My husband likes the tray thing although at the moment it looks very messy as is holding the needle organiser I use for Fantasy Triptych. The most important thing, it holds my scissors which I am constantly losing. All in all a good buy so far!

Today I have promised my son I will take him to Windsor Castle. I am almost looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, only for the air conditioning!

Stitching for the next 2 days will be on Lanarte's Ballet Dancer.

Grrr

2006-07-20T20:18:00.000+01:00

I don't have any stitching progress to show today. I have worked on Sleeping Beauty for the past 3 days but almost all of it has got to come out. I went wrong. Boo hoo!

I was good as gold on my diet yesterday but managed to put on 0.6 pounds (I have scales that measure in 0.2 pound increments). I could live with staying the same, but gaining weight when I've been good is not fair!

Its hot. Very hot. The children break up from school tomorrow for the summer holidays and already my son is bored. He won't leave the dog alone. She is a hot dog and all she wants is to be left alone but he just keeps pestering her. I'll take her for a walk in a bit.

After I've finished frogging Sleeping Beauty I will be working on Moon Fairy Spirit for the next two days. I've got 3 days off work next week. Woohoo!

As there's no stitching pic, here's one of the dog.

Ballet Dancer & Rose Fairy

2006-07-18T07:37:00.000+01:00

The problem with blog updating more regularly is every WIP looks very similar to the previous one. Rose Fairy is slightly changed - a green blob has appeared above the first leaf. This is the beginnings of the 2nd leaf, but I don't think will look like a leaf until the backstitch is on. When I've finished this leaf I'm going to treat myself and move onto the first flower head, which is pink. I've got a thing about pink flowers at the moment, I like flowers in any other colour, but pink isn't doing it for me. I came home from work a week or so ago and found 2 hanging baskets on the front of my house largely dominated by pink geraniums. My husband was upset I couldn't say I liked them, what's wrong with them? All I could say is, they're too pink. I do still like pink roses though.

I still don't have a bulb in my lamp. I know I'm sounding like a helpless female here but its a funny lamp with a funny bulb and I have no clue which one to buy or how to fit it if I did. I'm tempted to buy one of those really expensive lamps especially designed for cross stitch, although am a little put of by the magnifying glasses they all seem to have on them, I don't need one of those yet! But really, anything so long as it has a bulb I can change myself.

Fantasy Triptych

2006-07-14T06:38:00.000+01:00

I've done a tiny bit of work on the land of brown and green. Last night the bulb went on my lamp so I am no longer attacked by moths when trying to stitch in the evenings but I can't see!! Impossible with any cross stitch especially Fantasy Triptych. Hopefully my husband will buy me a new bulb today.

Today and tomorrow I will be working on Ballet Dancer.

Waiting for Neptune

2006-07-12T07:18:00.000+01:00

Here's a quick update of Waiting for Neptune after 2 days attention. Slowly and steadily it grows - there's not much more to say!

Today and tomorrow I will be working on Fantasy Triptych.

Sleeping Beauty & Moon fairy Spirit

2006-07-09T22:42:00.000+01:00

This is Sleeping Beauty as at Friday evening. The brown and pink bits you see at the left are the beginnings of hair and flesh. Soon she will look human! I never stop enjoying working on SB, she is currently my 'focus piece', which means she gets 3 days attention in the rotation instead of 2. My intention is to finish her by year end, I don't know if I will, there's still a way to go.

Here is my latest new start which is Moon Fairy Spirit by Passione Ricamo. Yeah she's just a blue blob as yet. This project uses many blues, I must have a thing about blue, Ballet Dancer is blue, and I keep buying blue fabric. I have a blue car ..... I could go on. Anyways, not much to show for a weekend's work but there she is and will be my last new start for a while. You can't see the fabric in this picture but it is Silkweaver 'karma' in 32ct lugana. My first time stitching on 'actual' hand dyed fabric (as opposed to the printed fabric of some Lanarte kits). This project will be my first time using kreinik blending filament. I approach that idea with some trepidation, all my stitching dramas seem to surround speciality threads. We shall see .....

Sorry I've not been commenting much on blogs, I'm struggling again with the time management thing ...... so much to do ..... so little time ..... but I am absolutely determined to keep stitching.

Monday and Tuesday I will be working on HAED's Waiting for Neptune.

Rose Fairy

2006-07-05T06:58:00.000+01:00

I haven't had much time for stitching over the past couple of days but have almost finished the first leaf on Rose Fairy. There are a few individual stitches to go but I finally gave up last night because the bugs wouldn't leave me alone. We are having a mini heat wave here at the moment and with summer comes bugs - we do have a beaded curtain up at the back door which reduces them but the little ones still get in. Last night there was this tiny moth which had a fascintation for my thread. The only thing I don't like about summer - I am a summer person, I get a bit depressed in winter with the lack of light but I really could do without the bugs! The answer, I know, is to get up early and do my stitching by daylight.
I hope my American friends have been enjoying their independance day holiday. 47 years ago yesterday my parents were married. Its a good way of remembering their wedding annniversary!

Celtic Winter - Finished at Last!!

2006-07-03T07:18:00.000+01:00

Here it is at last. Whew what a relief to have finished Celtic Winter. I won't say any more now other than, I really like the beads!

This is Lanarte's Ballet Dancer. It is a kit, the fabric is lovely - its quite thick so holds in the Q-snaps well and has a subtle background print. A lot of this design is single strand - of what you can see here the white is two strands and the blue is one. I thought that was a bit strange at first but gives I think a sort of velvet look. I like working in one strand, less knots and tangles! This is not a huge design. I would really like to have two more finishes before the end of this year and this should be one of them. I just loaded up a picture of the finished article into my side bar - if its not showing up yet you can see it here

Today and tomorrow I will be working on The Rose Fairy.

Fantasy Triptych

2006-07-01T08:59:00.000+01:00

Here is my progress on Fantasy Triptych. The area I'm working on at the moment is known on the TW bulletin board as 'the land of brown and green' - it has to be the most hardgoing bit of FT. I'm working on it in columns corresponding to the grid, which is why it looks weird! For me its the best way to get through this bit as the symbols are all over the place, there is no such thing as a row of stitches! It will take a few months, but I'd really like to get through this bit as quickly as possible.

Today and tomorrow I will be working on a project thats been on the go for a couple of months but is as yet unrevealed in this blog - Lanarte's Ballet Dancer. Don't get excited, its just a blob of blue and white at the moment! I also intend finishing off Celtic Winter.

Although I didn't write them in the blog I did set myself goals for June - they were a bit ambitious!
Fantasy Triptych - Finish the backstitch & 2 columns of green. Nearly
Ballet Dancer - Finish the blue & white section above the fold. Yes
Rose Fairy - Start. Yes.
Sleeping Beauty - Finish the dress. Not quite, discovered a bit of dress I hadn't bargained for.
Celtic Winter - Finish. Not quite.
Waiting for Neptune - Finish top 5 blocks. No.

Goals for July
Fantasy Triptych - Finish the green colum I'm working on & 2 more.
Ballet Dancer - Finish the blue & white.
Rose Fairy - Finish this leaf and the next one.
Sleeping Beauty - Finish top of dress and do the face and hair.
Moon Fairy Spirit (Passione Ricamo) - Start.
Waiting for Neptune - Finish page 2.

Waiting for Neptune

2006-06-29T07:27:00.000+01:00

Here is my progress on Waiting for Neptune. I never really look forward to stitching this project much, because I can't visualise the finish, its such a long way off. But I do enjoy it once I'm stitching it though.

Thank you for all your kind comments on Celtic Winter, I get myself in such a strop over that one! I decided the following morning maybe the snowball didn't look quite so bad after all. Its never going to look perfect, but then I've also made other compromises on CW and there comes a time to stop and accept it for what it is. Besides, that wipser thread doesn't come out too easily and theres a danger if I pull it all out again I'll make holes in the fabric and that would be terrible. I think there's less than an hours work left on CW now, the rest of the snowball, the tiny bit of backstitch and a few beads, so I'm going to try & get this done outside of my normal rotation, hopefully this weekend.

Today and tomorrow I will be working on Fantasy Triptych.

Celtic Winter ..... grrrr

2006-06-26T21:00:00.000+01:00

Earlier today, I was at the point of writing something positive about Celtic Winter. Anyone who has followed this blog would know that is a rarity indeed - I've always got some moan or grumble about it. But today I finished the beads. I like the beads! The beads make it look really good. This is a terrible photo btw, WIPs generally come out fairly well with the background of the white lino in the bathroom but I guess CW needs daylight.

Alas, my enjoyment of CW wasn't to last. I have searched and searched the internet including the blogs of those ladies who have finished it and I can't work out how to make that infernal snowball look good. Mine just looks a mess - it probably doesn't notice too much in this picture, but trust me, its not good enough and needs to be pulled out and started again. I would appreciate advice from anyone who has already finished CW - what did you use? The pattern calls for 3 strands, but thats not working for me - maybe just 2 strands of wisper and skip the one strand of B5200 or the other one it is supposed to be blended with. I did write a whole diatribe, much more whingeing and complaining than you see here, but I deleted it. Its my fault it looks a mess and I will fix it, but not today, I've had enough of it.

Tomorrow and the next day I will work on Waiting for Neptune.

ps. I know its a muff but to me it looks like a snowball, so a snowball it is!!

Sleeping Beauty

2006-06-24T08:44:00.000+01:00

Here is my Sleeping Beauty. At first glimpse she doesn't look much progressed from the last WIP back in April, but she has grown quite a bit on the left hand side. I am now getting quite close to the face so hopefully next month she will start looking like a human rather than a bunch of rags!

I lost the pattern for SB a couple of months ago. I was almost tearing the house apart, I just couldn't find it. I gave up in the end and bought another one, fortunately SB is an earlier Mirabilia and quite cheap. This experience should have taught me to make working copies of my patterns, but it didn't. Again, I am working from the original.

I didn't get to wash and press all my finishes yesterday as I'd hoped. It was a bit ambitious - whenever I get a day off work it instantly gets filled with all sorts of chores, there's never a minute spare. Today is the school fete and this year I am the only facepainter. I'm expecting lots of red and white England flag faces - that's fine, they're easy, but I do wish some other Mums would volunteer to help me. My youngest child only has one more year in the junior school so after she's gone, I'm gone and they'll have to find someone else! Sunday, hopefully, will be a free-ish day so I might get around to doing that washing and pressing.

When I flop in the chair exhausted this evening, I will be working on Celtic Winter!

Primrose Fairy

2006-06-22T07:09:00.000+01:00

Thank you for the kind comments left on yesterday's entry. I don't deserve you all!

This morning I pulled my finished Primrose fairy out of the cupboard. She's all screwed up! I need to wash and press her. I now have at least six finished projects which need preparing for framing - I have the day off work on Friday so will put that on my list of things to do.

Primrose Fairy was a kit I received for my birthday last year - I swapped the kit fabric for some 32ct evenweave I had in my stash. She never was my favourite of the Flower fairies - always thought she looked like she had a beard - I have a thing about bearded ladies! But now she's done I think she looks quite pretty.

I got a bit more of that leaf done on Rose Fairy yesterday - I lied, it only has 7 different greens, that's enough! Today I'm going to work on Sleeping Beauty.

Rose Fairy

2006-06-21T07:24:00.000+01:00

I have no original excuses for not having written here for so long. I am a busy full time working mum of two and something has to give, so ........ But I do like writing about my stitching and the stitchy friends I've made online so this is another renewed attempt at some sort of consistency.

I've decided that rather than writing an entry with progresses on all my WIPs - and there has been progress on all of them - I will write about them one at a time, that way I have less excuse not to write again for another two months. Celtic Winter still isn't finished - I don't know why she is taking me so long!

Here we have Rose Fairy which I started on a couple of weeks ago -it replaces Primrose Fairy which I finished about a month ago. I will post a picture of it but its tucked away at the moment in a room where a sleeping man lies (ie. my bedroom!), so I will save that for later. Rose Fairy is a kit, its one of the larger DMC kits which was provided with evenweave fabric which seems to be getting rarer these days. I think this kit is discontinued now. Its an intensive design but not huge - the finished result is 9"x12". What you see is bits of a leaf - it has about 10 different greens in it, I'm trying to follow the guide of doing all the darker colours first but there's always this fear in me I will miscount and have to frog a huge area. I think I'm ok so far. My goal is to finish this leaf by the end of June.

Taj Mahal finish

2006-04-23T08:17:00.000+01:00

As promised, about a year ago, when I last wrote, here is the latest Fantasy Triptych picture, looking quite castle-y. I won't be working on it again this month, so I haven't achieved my goal of getting the castle done. It was a bit much to expect of myself. I did get quite a bit done and am confident it will be done next month.

Here is a wonky picture of Taj Mahal - finally finished. I would go and straighten it up and take a better picture, but, you know me, its a miracle for me to take a picture at all! I'm so pleased to have finished Taj at last - feels as if I've been doing it for ever. I didn't enjoy stitching it all that much, mostly because of all those Heritage stitchcraft style 'squashed' stitches on aida, not fun. If ever I stitch one of these again, which is unlikely, I will definitely not use aida.

Primrose Fairy is coming along quite well - I'm working on her today and tomorrow. She will have her green legs soon.

I have achieved quite a bit on Sleeping Beauty. You can't see it very well in this picture but there are some pink flowers coming across the dress at the bottom. Its a nice change to use some pink on this design after all the green. I will be doing a bit more work on SB before April is out. Now that Taj Mahal is finished, Sleeping Beauty is my longest running WIP. She will move up the priority list next month!

I've had a terrible time with Celtic Winter - *sigh*. Firstly, having almost completed the letters of WINTER - I found that the letter I was 2 stitches too wide - so had to unpick I through to R - that took me a whole evening - sob! The I ran out of one of the blues - I had some more but it was a very different shade to what I had been using. I think what I'd started off with must have been a bit of leftover thread out of a kit. That'll teach me not to be mean with thread. I pulled out the obvious bits and hopefully the rest won't notice. What a pain! I will be working on CW again for a few days at the end of this month but I don't think I'll get her finished as was the plan.

Finally - Waiting for Neptune. I more than achieved my goal on this, I was working on it last weekend and must admit I got a bit bored with it, but I will be ok again next time I pick it up.

I had a sort-of sort out of my stash yesterday. Not the fabric or thread, but all the charts and kits. I like to keep a list of all my future projects organised into how they will fit into my rotation, but I hadn't updated it for months. A few of the charts on the list are missing, I am beginning to doubt whether I actually owned them in the first place - one I can't even remember what it looks like! I think I may have stretched myself a bit. The 'miscellaneous' slot of my rotation, the one Taj Mahal was in, has 35 future projects in it, hmmmmmm. Taj Mahal will be replaced next month by Lanarte's Ballet dancer.

I have also started to get ready the replacement for Celtic Winter which I've decided will be Passione Ricamo's Moon Fairy Spirit. I kept changing my mind about what fabric to use for this project. Having never used hand-dyeds, I had previously promised myself I would splash out when it came to stitching something by Passione Ricamo, but this project didn't call for it quite as loudly as some of the others. I kept changing my mind - I didn't have anything suitable in my fabric stash - a piece of plain fabric would cost about £5 - buying some from Silkweavers about 3 times more. I finally decided it does deserve the nice fabric and ordered it. It hasn't arrived yet, when it does I'll tell you what colour it is, I can't remember! Following the disaster I had with Celtic Winter and the 'old kit' thread I am also making sure I've got enough nice new thread at the outset. I can now throw out that leftover kit thread with a clear conscience.

Waiting for Neptune / March & April Goals

2006-04-03T19:28:00.000+01:00

Here is my first venture into page 2 of Waiting for Neptune. Its only a teeny tiny little bit but did take me several hours on Thursday and Saturday evening. Didn't do any stitching on Friday as it was a night out.

Yesterday I did a fair amount of work on Fantasy Triptych which is my project again for tonight. Hopefully there will be a picture tomorrow.

The hand dyed fabrics are bought from Silkweaver arrived at the weekend. They are pretty - one is an opalescent which I definitely like. They are all 9x12" cuts which I hadn't realised was quite so small! They should be useful for some future smaller flower fairies. When I come to use hand dyed for bigger projects I'm going to have to splash out.

I also acquired the Anchor Fleur de lis kit 'Passion Flower' - it was an ebay purchase bid on before I made that rash statement in my last entry to stop buying stash! I got sniped but then the seller sent me a second chance offer so how could I resist?!

My only real goal for March besides continuing to work on all 6 current WIPs was to finish page 1 of Waiting for Neptune which I accomplished. I'm going to make some more concrete goals for April. For the two projects which I wish to finish I'm going to extend the 2 day slots to 3 days. There will be several non stitching days this month due to social commitments so this may be a tall order, but its worth a try.....
1. Fantasy Triptych - finish the cross stitch on the castle itself.
2. Taj Mahal - finish
3. Primrose Fairy - finish the fairy
4. Celtic Winter - finish
5. Sleeping Beauty - finish the draping part of the main dress
6. Waiting for Neptune - top left hand corner of page 2.

Next picture will be of Fantasy Triptych!

Celtic Winter update

2006-03-30T07:03:00.000+01:00

I managed to get all the metallic in the left border done, and two and a bit more letters at the top. Its strange 168 isn't used in the letters, the colours would blend better if it was rather than that sharp jump from almost white to quite dark grey. Hopefully it will look better once the beads are on. I had been having a terrible time with the metallic thread keep on fraying, but have finally discovered there's a right way up to use it. If I thread the end that I've just cut from the reel rather than the free end it doesn't fray at all. I wish I'd discovered this sooner, would have saved so much heartache! The metallic is coming along a lot quicker now. I do still have quite a long way to go on CW but would really like to have her finished by the end of April.

Next stitch: HAED's Waiting for Neptune.

Sleeping Beauty

2006-03-27T23:40:00.000+01:00

A bit more progress on Sleeping Beauty - I really enjoy stitching this.

I bought some silkweaver hand dyed fabrics off ebay the other day. Not that I need any fabric but I've never had any hand dyed so I want to see what they're like. My intention is to use it for Passione Ricamo if nothing else. Despite this I'm really trying to curb my spending on stitching stash - running out of places to keep it all and may never get around to stitching some of it. I might not be succesful at restraining myself!

Donna asked about my diet - I'm doing Weightwatchers online. It suits me because its flexible and fits in with my food faddiness, I'm very picky!

To stitch today - L&L's Celtic Winter.

Fantasy Triptych, Taj Mahal, Primrose Fairy

2006-03-25T23:52:00.000Z

When I wrote my last entry I couldn't get blogger photos to work, so I went onto Imageshack and found its got all new and improved since last I used it - I could post my entire blog entry there. But there's something weird about it, the text keeps disappearing, I've no idea why! Thankfully blogger photos seems to be working again now.

I made some progess on TW's Fantasy Triptych at the beginning of the week. Those turrets are breeding!

I did 3 evenings work on Taj Mahal but it doesn't look like it - all I got done was the boat. I messed up a bit and had to do some frogging. I'm determined to get this finished by the end of April so will need to pick up speed on it a bit.

I've devoted a lot of time yesterday and today on Primrose fairy and so believe there is a resemblance of a fairy now, rather than a blob of yellow stiches. She does look a bit like an auton though with her featureless face. She'll look much better once the backstitch is on.

Project for tomorrow .. Mirabilia's Sleeping Beauty

In other news ......

I've managed to lose 24 pounds on my diet. I am a serial dieter, but have not lost more than 10 pounds before blowing it and regaining it all for the past 9 years so this is progess.

My son, who is due to move onto secondary school in September, did not get into the school of our first choice. He initially didn't get offered our 2nd choice either, which at the time caused a lot of heartache. The 3rd choice school was good enough but he would have been the only one there from his primary school which is hard enough for any child but especially a problem for a boy with Asperger syndrome. He has since been offered a waiting list place at our 2nd choice school which was a huge relief.

My husband, unemployed for 3 months, has been back in work since late February. It is contract work so has no certainty, as a result of which I am still working full time, which I hate! My own future employment is looking increasingly uncertain due to an assortment of very boring reasons. Due to no fault of my own I will shortly be forced to take what is effectively a pay cut which is very aggravating. Company's attitude is par to 'be grateful you still have a job'. Bah humbug!

I have not played my piano for over a week, nor ridden my bike for a month. Shame on me!

Waiting for Neptune .... mini HD!

2006-03-19T23:14:00.000Z

I worked on Waiting for Neptune most of Friday evening and nearly all day yesterday and managed to achieve my March goal - I finished the first page of Waiting for Neptune (1 down .... about 23 to go!). I'm working faster on it now I've got into a system. Hopefully page 2 won't take 7 months like page 1 did. Page 2 will be like starting a new project, although it must be said it will be strikingly similar to page 1!

Celtic Winter

2006-03-17T20:58:00.000Z

I'm still doing my two day stints on each project. Weds & Thurs this week were for Celtic Winter. I had to take the day off work yesterday as both children were unwell. They don't need all that much supervision so I had time to get quite a bit of stitching done. I'm pleased to have work my way down to the bottom of the left border, and it met up in the right place with the dress! I still have the metallic and beads to do.

Pictures, and a finish!

2006-03-14T19:57:00.000Z

I've been slacking again on the blogging front, but I have at least been stitching!

Fantasy Triptych - loving it - can't wait to get onto the backstitch.

Taj Mahal. I like the image but is not a fun stitch. If ever I say I'm going to do another one of these John Clayton kits remind me how much I moaned about this one. Should be my next finish - hopefully before the end of April.

Primrose Fairy - my new start a few days ago. Hope to get it finished within 3 months then I can get started on Rose Fairy which is my favouritest flower fairy of all!

Sleeping Beauty. Slowly she progresses. One day, she will get a face.

Celtic Winter. Plodding on. Should be my next but one finish. Hopefully before the end of May.

Waiting for Neptune. I am really loving stitching this now I've got into it. My goal for March is to get the first page of this pattern finished.

And here she is, my happy dance! I finally finished Lily of the Valley Fairy late February, my first finish of 2006!

Playing catch up

2006-02-21T14:35:00.000Z

Lily of the Valley fairy worked on Sunday & Monday

Tuesday and Wednesday were for Sleeping Beauty, but because of Monday I didn't do very much, just a little bit of the white at the top of the pale green blob and some of the lilac colour just to the right of it - its difficult to be descriptive about this one but you know what I mean!

Thursday and Friday were the turn for Celtic Winter, but I was out both evenings so didn't put in a stitch - she is skipped for this round of the rotation - but she is further ahead than the other large projects so that is ok.

The weekend was devoted to Waiting for Neptune, I got quite a bit done. I need the camera to get a pic of this one and I've no idea where it is, so I will post a pic as soon as I can.

Yesterday and today is the turn for Fantasy Triptych. Not a stitch went in yesterday. Not quite sure why, too much else going on I guess. I didn't play a note on the piano either but will make up for both later today.

I've recently won some Vonnie & Hilda kits off ebay - I'm very excited! This company which produces quite trendy fairy kits, appears to have all but disappeared - they were all over ebay a year or so ago and I wasn't sure if I liked them back then. Of course, now they're much more difficult to get hold of I want all of them! *sigh*. I'll take some photos when I find the camera.

Fantasy Triptych & Taj Mahal

2006-02-12T22:11:00.000Z

I worked on Fantasy Triptych on Wednesday and Thursday and this is the result. Sorry about the wonkiness of the picture but you get the idea! The work I have done this time was on the far right of the castle wall and the turret that is sticking up on the right hand side. FT is time consuming because it is all confetti stitching but its ok - I'm really looking forward to doing the backstitch on this one - it'll make the castle come to life.

And here is Taj Mahal. I worked on this Friday and Saturday - I did a lot of work on it on Friday because I was off work but found a big mistake & had to do a fair bit of frogging. I got quite a bit done though - most of what has been done on the reflection.

I feel as if I've had Taj Mahal on the go forever! Can't quite remember when I started it but it was before my last finish which was in August last year. I'm due another finish! Roll on Lily of the Valley Fairy!

Today is my birthday. I'm not sure how I feel about being 40 now - I thought I'd got used to the idea but now it feels strange. I was in my thirties for such a long time! I'm mentally compiling a list of things to do before I die - I'm feeling the urge to achieve something in my life - a list may appear in the not too distant future!

My one stitching related birthday pressie was a 'proper' pair of embroidery scissors. On the HAED website they say one of the must-haves to stitch these designs is a decent pair of embroidery scissors since frogging something on such a small scale is near on impossible without a decent pair of scissors. My old pair are in fact nail scissors and they've been chewed by the dog so I was well overdue some proper ones.

Today I've done a little bit of work on Lily of the Valley Fairy. Pic to come soon!

Celtic Winter & Waiting for Neptune

2006-02-08T08:06:00.000Z

...

...I lied slightly when I wrote that I can't post photos. Its a bit of argybargy, but I can upload them via my son's laptop. He's fiercly protective of it and doesn't like anyone else to go near it, but I sneaked on before he got up this morning and uploaded these two. The one of Celtic Winter looks a bit strange because I took the photo over the top of the mousemat which you can see underneath, but I was right, the sparkle of the metallic thread shows up a lot better with the camera and gives a much more accurate representation of her. I've changed my mind about the fabric, it is the right colour, its almost exactly what the model was stitched on. What was giving me doubts was the way the light blue of the letter 'N' almost blends with the fabric - but I think it'll show up better when the B5200 is on. My Father-in-law took notice of this one the other evening, I can't remember him ever making a comment about my stitching before, I think he likes it. You can't always tell with men! We held it up beside my completed Celtic Christmas but he still seemed more impressed with the white version. I'm pleasantly surprised!

Monday and Tuesday's work was on Waiting For Neptune. I had been missing DMc3072 so it was looking patchy because this particular shade features fairly heavily. I've bought a skein of this thread at least twice before and they just disappear as soon as they enter my house. One day I will find lots of little Hobbycraft bags with single skeins of DMC3072 in them. I'm sure they will be used eventually. I also filled in lots of other little gaps - many of them single stitches. Now I have all the colours I'm going to try & not leave gaps - its much more satisfying working a patch and seeing some progress instead of lots of individual little stitches.

Tonight I move onto Fantasy Triptych. I think the worked area still fits on the scanner so fingers crossed there will be another picture within the next couple of days!

Celtic Winter

2006-02-05T22:41:00.000Z

Last time I wrote about Celtic Winter I said I was going to use the camera to post the next picture because the sparkle of the Anchor Reflecta metallic thread I'm using looked so dull - like it isn't metallic thread at all. Well I can't - I can't connect the camera to this computer - it doesn't work anymore. This has partly been my stumbling block at keeping this blog up to date. Cross stitching blogs really do need pictures. I can use the scanner but Celtic Winter is too big for it now. So, despite the fact I can only post pictures of smaller amounts of stitching (for the time being at least), i do still want to keep some sort of log of my progress, and this blog is as good a place as any.

I have been in full stitching flow since the beginning of the year. I am working through my six project rotation, working two consecutive days on each one. It seems to work quite well, I get a reasonable amount of stitching done, but don't have a chance to get bored with any one project. The only time I strayed from this was 4 consecutive days on Lily of the Valley fairy when I was away from home for a few days and took her with me. Currently Lily is the closest to being finished, followed by Taj mahal, then Celtic Winter. Fanstasy Triptych and Sleeping Beauty are still a long way off and Waiting for Neptune has an estimated date of completion some time in 2016!

The past two days has been on Celtic winter - lots of work since its the weekend. She started off with an almost bald head - all the dress and face was done, but not the snowball, or any beads, I',m leaving them 'til last. I've now completed the hair, except the beads and the bits with Wisper Thread - The blue line down the left hand side and the first horizontal line of the top border - the letters W and I (except beads) and half of the letter N. I am still not in love with this project and will be glad to see her finished. My thoughts - I won't use Anchor Reflecta again, if I'd used two strands instead of one it probably would have looked better but the worst thing about it is it frays. I also used the wrong fabric, the pale blue is too close to some of the blues in the design. I will continue with CW, and finish her, but I will have learned some lessons from my impulsive decisions.

In other news ...... a week to go until my 40th birthday. Aaaaargh!!! I already have two birthday presents - Yamaha clavinova - electric piano ..... love it! All those piano lessons my parents paid for when I was a child are being put to use! Aaaaand .... a bicycle! A real one that goes along rather than one of those that sits stationary in the living room. Exercise with a purpose! I only got it today, and I will use it, and I will get thin. I will!

I'm still here.....

2005-12-30T14:50:00.000Z

I'm not going to apologise for leaving it so long to write again, because I do that every other entry! But I will at least write something to let my stitching friends know I'm still alive!

My stitching goals written about in November were a bit ambitious. There was no way I was going to get through all that lot in November. I did, however, finish the skirt on Celtic Winter - I'll post a picture asap. In December I picked up Waiting for Neptune - intending to get one full page of the pattern done. I did get quite a bit of it done, but am not really satisfied with the quality of my stitching - maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist. Anyway this project is not making me happy right now so I'm not going to do any more work on it this round of the rotation.

I'm in a stitching lull right now. Since I put WFN away 2 or 3 weeks ago I haven't picked up a needle. December seems so full of other things. I didn't stitch all of December last year either so I'm not too worried - I have every confidence I'll be back in full stitching mode next year!

At the moment I have a stinking cold/throat infection. I've picked up a lot of cold type bugs this year but this one is the worst for years. I am on the mend now but at times have felt absolutely horrible. Hopefully 2006 will enter with me in better health.

Happy New Year to everyone ...... see you in 2006!

Celtic Winter

2005-11-13T21:34:00.000Z

This is the latest on Celtic winter .... it doesn't look like I've done a lot, but I have honest! My scanned pictures of Celtic Winter always look so awful, none of the sparkle in the gold thread shows up. Next time I'll use the camera and hopefully it'll look better. I was full of self doubt after my stint on this one last month, maybe I should be using the gold thread the pattern suggests, but really its the pictures I post here in my blog that are doing this to me. My Celtic Christmas in the sidebar also looks dull, but in real life it is full of sparkle and really beautiful. My intention is to keep going on CW until the skirt is finished.

My new toy from America arrived this week and I've realised why I kept moaning about my so-called Q-snaps when everyone else thought they were wonderful. The genuine article really is! My old version was much chunkier with big chunky corner elbows and the snap thingies didn't hold nearly so well. I should have bought proper ones long ago!

I also had a couple of ebay wins arrive ..... Teresa Wentzler's 'Lady of Shallot' chart, one of two remaining TW charts I was still hankering after. It is similar in style to Rapunzel so I'm not sure I want to stitch them both .... maybe if I leave 10 years between them. I don't want to repeat the way I am currently feeling about Celtic Winter having recently finished the very similar Celtic Christmas. The other chart is a Black Swan one, Avatar, wizard of the wind. I am drawn to fantasy-style designs and DH encourages me! Of course I want the other Black Swan wizards now .... more for the wishlist.

Long overdue update

2005-11-08T07:47:00.000Z

Sorry about my lack of entries recently. When I am out of the habit of writing, I find it so difficult to get back in the swing of it.
This is my stitching progess - I did some of Lily of the Valley fairy while I was away. It doesn't look like much but the green part on the right hand side is now finished. The holiday wasn't really conducive to stitching - the house was lovely but an old hunting lodge all wood clad - too dark! I had intended to do a stint on Taj Mahal while I was away but I forgot the part of the pattern I hadn't already stitched so I skipped it for October.

I've done quite a bit of work on Sleeping Beauty since I've been back and am pleased with my progress. I've ordered a 'proper' set of Q-snaps from the US for when this gets bigger - I don't want to squash the stitched area in the holder things plus there are beads all over it so I really do need a bigger set. I'd taken a dislike to Q-snaps last year but they're working fine for me now. The ones I've got are probably a rip off copy - I'm hoping genuine ones will be better - I've heard good reports of them!

For this months goals - rather than working a set number of days on each project I'm intending to work a certain chunk of each one. This may mean I don't get through the whole rotation but that doesn't matter - I'll do what I can.
Sleeping Beauty - do the long drapy bit in green and white (this is done)
Celtic Winter - finish the skirt
Waiting for Neptune - complete the first half page of the pattern
Fantasy Triptych - finish the Castle
Taj Mahal - do half of the remaining area
Lily of the Valley Fairy - finish it.

Waiting for Neptune & Fantasy Triptych

2005-10-20T14:22:00.000+01:00

This is Waiting for Neptune as at last Friday & Fantasy Triptych as of last night. I apologise once again for my lack of blog updating and commenting. Its the usual, work, children, chores. Plus now that DH is unemployed he's always here which means he spends a lot of his time on the computer, seriously limiting my access to it! Never mind, it goes so slowly these days it frustrates me no end.
I'm quite pleased with my progress on WFN. I know it still looks like a little blob, but there are quite a lot of stitches in there. I had hoped to get a bit more done on FT. I'm bored with the Castle wall colours, I think most people who have stitched this one found the Castle panel the most hard going. I'm keeping myself going by the thought it will look a lot more castle-y once the backstitch is on.

We go away tomorrow to Scotland for just over a week. Taj Mahal and Lily of the Valley Fairy are coming with me - there may or may not be progress on them. I won't be back until 30th Oct so definitely no more blogging until then.

Questions
How do you `non-hoopists' who use a rotation system handle it (as it
seems to be lot easier if you are in good terms with hoop)? Do you
have several scroll frames? Do you use Q-snaps or maybe something
completely different? Or do you just have one or two big projects and
others are small enough to be kept in hand while stitching?
I like working with a hoop but don't like hoop marks on my fabric so now I am a 'non-hoopist'. The two small projects are in lock corner frames, the largest one is permanently mounted on scroll bars and the other three are sharing a medium sized set of q-snaps. This may change as the stitched areas get bigger.

Do you mark or hi-lite your patterns or can you follow them without any markings? Do you make copies to mark up, or do you mark originals?
Depends. If its a mass of symbols and difficult to follow I will shade in pencil as I go along. I prefer not to if I can manage. Sometimes I work from copies, I should always work from copies, but very often I'm too lazy/disorganized to get a copy so work from the original.

Waiting for Neptune WIP

2005-10-11T22:42:00.000+01:00

This tiny little blob of stitches is Waiting for Neptune. For the first time ever I've started in the top left hand corner. I hope its central vertically! I know the fabric is almost twice the length I needed so it should be ok that way. This little blob is about 700-800 stitches worth - I'm working one-over-one on 25 count linen. One thing I've learned - use short lengths of thread - long lengths go in knots and drive me mad! I've stitched about one twentieth of the first page and there are 18 pages. I'm mad! I keep telling DH it'll take me 10-20 years to complete it and he finds that incredible to believe. Would you get it done in a year if you didn't stitch anything else? Maybe, if I didn't go to work either. There is always the chance it will never get finished. I might get bored with cross stitch, who knows? But if I don't try, I'll never know. Its safe to say its my biggest challenge to date!!
I had a new chart arrive yesterday - Carol very kindly sent me her Miracle Butterfly chart - I love this design and enjoyed watching Carol's progress on it - its next in line after Celtic Winter - which judging by my progress on that could be six months away - but I will get there!

Celtic Winter WIP

2005-10-10T00:09:00.000+01:00

Here is my update on Celtic Winter. I've spent quite a few hours over the past couple of days on her. I am still woefully behind the other SAL-ers but at least there are more than a few stitches in her now. The gold thread I'm using with Anchor reflecta. I had a hard time with the DMC metallic and petite treasure braid when I was doing Celtic Christmas, and I read somewhere this thread is easier to work with. So far it is pretty good, although two lengths have frayed. I'm not sure I like the gold with the white and grey, something doesn't work for me, maybe it'll look better when more is done. Silver thread would possibly have looked better, but for me silver is just sparkly grey and I would have hated working with it. I'll keep plugging away but for now CW goes back into the drawer until November.

Waiting for Neptune comes out of the cupboard tomorrow - I can't wait to get going on it again!

Sleeping Beauty WIP

2005-10-08T18:07:00.000+01:00

Here is Sleeping Beauty as at last Tuesday - most of the work was done last weekend, I only used two colours - white & the pale green. You can see now in the white where the swirls will be, but they are done in beads which I will leave until later.
My stitching time this week has been seriously eaten into as my son is in the top year of junior school and we are doing the rounds to chose his secondary school. Its an important decision and a very complicated process! As a result I've had two more 'no stitching at all' days and once again Celtic Winter has been seriously neglected. I am never going to catch up with the other ladies on the SAL, but these things can't be helped! I have done a fair amount of work on CW today and yesterday and am getting over my dislike of the grey. I should be able to post a WIP tomorrow.
I had a small ebay win - Just cross stitches Christmas ornaments 2004. Now I know what all these fancy threads my American blogging threads talk about get used for! Mostly the UK designs just call for DMC & Anchor - but the other threads are all available through Sew and So so the ornaments are do-able. Whether or not I actually get one done before Christmas is another matter!
Stitching Bloggers Question
When you have almost finished a pattern and start thinking about the
next one to stitch, how do you select it? (a list, most recent
purchase, etc.)
There is a strict plan. I have a six project rotation and each current project falls into a particular category, all stash in the same category is in a list behind the current project in that category. Categories currently are Teresa Wentzler, miscellaneous, flower fairies, Mirabilia, Lavender & Lace & Passione Ricamo, and HAED. Top of the lists go anything that has been given to me as a gift, to let the giver I appreciate it, next fully kitted up projects, lastly charts yet to be kitted. It is a very organised system, but I have to admit it'll all go out the window if what I fancy stitching doesn't happen to fit into the plan.

My husband gets made redundant at the end of next week. Its been looming for years but has finally come around. I have a part time job - three days a week, but to boost funds during DH's unemployment I will be working full time as of November. Gone will be my 'me' days of much stitching and very little else..... boo hoo! I am living in hope that he gets a fantastic new job soon, very soon!

Lily of the Valley fairy

2005-09-30T09:14:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the last of my September 5 day stint on Lily of the Valley Fairy. I had hoped to get all of the green on the right hand side done but there was just too much of it! I am quite pleased with myself though for continuing with the green bit rather than drifting over to the actual fairy - I'll save her for next month.
Stitching Bloggers Question
Have you ever just quit a project while in the midst of it? (We're not
referring to UFOs here, rather projects that you know that you'll
never work on again.) Why? What did you do with it - throw it out,
give it away, put it away?
I've written about this one before - Tutankhamun's mask. I was initially drawn to it because of the vibrant colours and did stitch quite a lot. But it involves metallic threads which I got all tangled up - and the other thread is all muddled up. At some stage it has had coffee spilled all over it. The main reason for its abandonment is I came to the realisation that, despite the vibrant colours, it is in fact a death mask, and I don't want a death mask hanging on my wall. It is languishing at the bottom of a box underneath a jumble of thread, fabric, old patterns and whatnot. I can't bring myself to throw it out but it's never going to get finished.
Goals
Its fairly early in the day but knowing me I won't write again for a few days so I'm going to do the goals thing now.
My September goals were to complete 5 days stitching on each of the 6 WIPs you can see in my sidebar. Due to other commitments I did have a few non-stitching days and Celtic Winter and Fantasy Triptych were very little stitched as a result. I did however manage all of my new starts. Some of the 5 day stints drifted into the 6th day because I wanted to finish the little bit I was on.
October goals are similar - there will be one extra day which is allocated to Taj Mahal. October is going to be a busy month - my son is in his last year at junior school and we are going through the process of selecting his next school. Its not a simple task! There will be lots of open evenings to be attended. October also includes 4 major birthdays (Mum, Dad, Son and good friend), plus we go away to Scotland for the last week so progress isn't going to be enormous.

Today Sleeping Beauty comes back out of the drawer. Must go stitch .....!

Taj Mahal WIP

2005-09-25T14:27:00.000+01:00

This is 'Taj Mahal' as it currently is - I've got to the top now, I'm about half way through. I'm liking this project a bit more now, because it actually looks like something, as opposed to most of my current works which just look like little blobs of stitches.

Stitching Bloggers Question
What is the most challenging specialty stitch you have ever stitched?
French knots.I had a mental block with them - I read how to do them over and over again in magazines but just could not understand how they were done. In the end I deliberately chose to stitch a project that involved hundreds of them - Apple Blossom Fairies - and got over the obstacle. I'm still not great at them - but at least I'm not scared of them any more.

Long overdue update

2005-09-21T11:43:00.000+01:00

I apologise for my long absence - there have been various things going on which I won't go into here (not worrying, just time consuming!) - but they have seriously cut into my stitching and blogging time.

I have managed to make all the new starts I had intended to do although they all just look like little blobs of stitches at the moment. These are, in order, WIPs of Sleeping Beauty, Celtic Winter and Fantasy Triptych. I have also made a start on the HAED Waiting for Neptune but can't post a pic of that just yet as its on scroll bars tucked away in a cupboard in the bedroom where DH is currently sleeping ..... I'll post a pic asap.

Sleeping Beauty I am really enjoying. I love the fresh colours. My stitching is a bit directionless at the moment - I usually like to stitch either in clear patches of the design or in 10 stitches square blocks - but I am being led all over the place at the moment with this one - not really sure which bit to stitch next - I have not totally got 'into' this one yet but I'm sure I will in the next round of the rotation.
Celtic Winter I've only done a tiny bit of - 5 blocks. I'm not enjoying it all that much - I have an aversion to grey. I sort of wish I'd started on Celtic Spring instead but I do eventually want to stitch all the L&L Celtic Ladies so I may as well stick with this one now.
Fantasy Triptych. The above is really only one days work. FT has got to be the most complicated cross stitch pattern I've ever tackled. It is virtually all blends, and involves plenty of the usual TW fractionals & backstitch as well as various other speciality stitches, plus metallics and beads to boot. I am loving it! The chart is on a big scale and is lovely and clear. I'm currently short 5 DMC skeins which are very prevalent in the castle wall, which is what the above pic is a bit of - so I need to get them in time for the next rotation round.
I'm currently back on Taj Mahal - will post a WIP in a day or so.
Stitching Bloggers Questions
Do you stitch for events like weddings, engagements, or other things
that might not last? If you have been unlucky and the two people broke
up, what happened to your stitched gift?
Nope. I'm very unlikely to ever do anything like that for the very reasons described!

Which way do you stitch (/// and then \\\ or \\\ and then ///)? Can
you (or if you haven't done it before, do you think you could) change
the way that you stitch temporarily if it is asked of you?
Always the first way. For the second of my early cottage trio, I stitched the other way round, just to make a change! I could do it, but there's always the fear that I'd lose concentration and revert to the way I usually stitch without thinking, and end up having to do mucho frogging. So its best to stick with the way that works naturally for me.

Lily of the Valley Fairy

2005-09-02T19:20:00.000+01:00

Here's an update of Lily as of last Tuesday - hopefully with a bit of backstitch the flowers look more recognisable. I decided to so the backstitch as I go along because with flower fairies it is always an important part of the picture - plus it saves having to do it all at the end.
I'm now working on Mirabilia's Sleeping Beauty - I won't post a picture just yet as it only looks like a little blob of nothing - having said that its going to look like nothing for quite some time yet! I had a bit of a shock when I got the chart out ... its huge! I was assuming its size would be along the lines of the L&L Celtic Ladies but it is much bigger. Still, I have never been intimidated by the size of a project, but it will take quite a bit longer to do than I'd figured.
Goals
I achieved all my goals for August with several days to spare .... if only I was as efficient at achieving my household chores goals as I am with my stitching goals!
Goals for September are not going to be too ambitious as I have another 3 new starts to go and I don't know how easy or difficult I'm going to find them yet. September has 30 days and my new rotation has 6 projects - so I am going to spend 5 days on each of them, being.....
Sleeping Beauty
L&L's Celtic Winter (SAL with several other blogging stitchers)
HAED's Waiting for Neptune
TW's Fantasy Triptych
Taj Mahal
Lily of the Valley Fairy

Stitching Bloggers Question
What do you use to hold your fabric while you stitch? A hoop, a
Q-Snap, a scroll frame, something else, or do you stitch in hand? Have
you always used just the one thing or have you tried one or more of
the others? Which do you like best? Why?
This is highly appropriate considering I was going on about hoops in my last entry! For the most part, I use a hoop; the biggest I can get the fabric in. I use the hoop until the stitched area grows too big to fit inside the aperture then I stitch in the hand. I have been known to squash the stitched area in the hoop but I hate doing this.
I do own a set of Q-snaps. I tossed them aside in disgust last year when I was stitching Maria Van Scharrenburg's 'Night'. They kept slipping and the fabric was too loose to stitch - I kept yanking the holder thingies back in place and eventually caused a long line of extra large holes in the fabric, which I was not happy about. But lots of other people seem to like them. I have reintroduced them again now and Sleeping Beauty is currently mounted up on them. So far, so good, the fabric has remainded taut. Maybe the linen with 'Night' was extra slippy? Who knows. I have also recently aquired 2 sets of scroll bars which will be brought into use with two of the planned new starts.
As for the hoops? I have bought interlocking bar frames for the smaller projects (much cheaper than Q-snaps and I could get them in a shop - there is always a reluctance in me to buy stuff online unless I have to), so we'll see how I get on with these......

Lily of the Valley Fairy

2005-08-29T23:08:00.000+01:00

Here's my first WIP of Lily of the Valley Fairy - who I'm going to call Lily for short. I have been working on her since Friday and have got quite a bit done - I am in a bit of a stitching frenzy at the moment - I'm enjoying stitching Lily and can't put her down. I changed the fabric in the kit for a piece of 32ct linen I had in my stash which I cut to the same size. I should have cut it bigger - at the moment I'm using a small hoop but won't be able to use a bigger one when the stitched area gets too big to fit inside the aperture. I don't want to squash stitches with the hoop - you can see from my picture of Taj Mahal on the last entry that I have had part of the stitched area squashed the hoop and I wish I hadn't done that - I don't like the way it looks at the moment although I don't doubt it will look ok once its finished, washed and pressed. I'll probably end up stitching Lily in the hand like I do with most projects as they come near the end.

Stitching Bloggers Question-
I'm being lazy about typing out the question .... it asked which was your biggest and smallest ever projects.

I'm too lazy to measure them! The biggest is a toss up between TW's The Castle, TW's Castle Sampler (these are about the same size), Maria Van Scharrenburg's 'Night' (aka Butterfly at Rest) - this may be a tad bigger than the TW's. Either that or Rainbow Ride, which is not very wide but is three times as long as any of the others. I'm going to plump for Rainbow Ride. The smallest would be a littly that I put in a Christmas card - probably the Christmas tree I gave to my Mum last year.

Taj Mahal / Questions

2005-08-25T20:21:00.000+01:00

A big thank you to everyone who left kind comments on my recent three finishes. It really means a lot to me to be able to share my work with ladies who are as passionate about cross stitching as I am.

Taj Mahal has gone from being my lowest priority WIP - to my highest, because it is the only one left! I've worked on it for 5 consecutive days now - the most time I've ever devoted to it I think. I'm itching to start something new but have been very disciplined - I intend sticking with each project for 5 days before switching to the next one. I sorted all the threads from the Lily of the Valley Fairy kit - I will start on this tomorrow.

Stitching Bloggers Questions
I currently have only two spots on my walls where cross stitch hangs - one is currently occupied by TW's The Castle and the other by the Narcissus Fairy. I change whats on the wall every now and then when I fancy looking at something different.

I don't think I've ever washed anything part way through, although I would
if I spilt coffee all over it or the dog splodged it with her mucky paws.
Unless it was a very quick stitch and doesn't need washing, I wash and press once its finished. I'm slow at doing this - 3 finished works are still waiting to be washed.

Castle Sampler is finished!

2005-08-21T09:19:00.000+01:00

Here it is, finished at last (click on the picture to see it a bit bigger). Of my recent finishes, this is the one I am most pleased with, as it has been a WIP for the longest. I started it late November last year but it feels like its been around for a lot longer than that as I had the unopened kit for about 10 years. This brings my finishes for 2005 to date to 6 which I'm quite happy with.

I will be replacing Castle Sampler in my rotation with Fantasy Triptych. From reading other stitcher's verdicts on the TW bulletin board it seems is a challenging design in view of the large amount of green, and I can't resist a challenge!

Castle Sampler/Misty

2005-08-17T11:33:00.000+01:00

Here's the latest on Castle Sampler. I've done almost all the over-two stitching now, just over-ones and backstitch to go ... there's still quite a bit. It felt a bit weird coming back to this after so much beading on Celtic Christmas, felt strange putting thread in the fabric without putting a bead on it!

As promised, here are some photos of our new puppy, who we've named Misty. She is gorgeous! Everyone who meets her likes her, even my sceptical Dad. She really is our dog even after just a week, she settled in after just a couple of days. It is a bit strange having a new household member, a bit like having a baby, but she is a very welcome addition! We chose the breed(English Springer Spaniel) and gender(female!)very carefully, and are delighted to have her.

My stitching progress has been slower since we've had the dog, also because I have read a book in the past two days! The recent enthusiasm for Harry Potter with the latest release reinforced how woefully behind I am with my reading of the HP books. My children have joined a summer holiday reading challenge at the library so we've been visiting regularly, and I managed to get our The Chamber of Secrets .... can't wait to get onto the next one now! Its really bad but I forget to use the library at any time other than when the children are doing summer reading, very bad really since my daughter is an avid bookworm easily getting through two books a day.

At the weekend a new branch of Hobbycraft opened up in Romford, the town I work in. This will be very useful for the odd skein of thread etc. I need, I will be able to pop in pick up in my lunch hour, rather than having to drive to my local branch and pay to park, which can make one skein of thread very expensive! I won't be stocking up on loads of new stash because everything is full price and I am a bargain hunter, but it was really nice to browse through and see all the stock in good condition and neatly arranged, a nice lunch hour treat!

Celtic Christmas Happy Dance!

2005-08-14T09:37:00.000+01:00

Here she is .... finished at last! I haven't got time for a proper entry today .... puppy pics to follow.
!

Celtic Christmas (and other stuff)

2005-08-09T09:09:00.000+01:00

CC is so nearly there. I spent many hours beading over the weekend, I am very slow at beading, it takes about a minute a bead. All I have to do now is finish the beads in the top border, the 'floating' beads around the wreath, and patch up a few crosses that I discovered were wrong or have come undone along the way.

I've been acquiring new stash again! Firstly, all these kits from the Coats bargain basement. They weren't as bargain-y as my usual purchases but they were calling me so the credit card came out. The Flower Fairy is a Margaret Tarrant one - all of my others are Cecily Mary Baker but I do like the MT ones too. I will have to do something about her mouth though. I like the little pencil drawing ballerinas, I like ballerinas! But no-one else likes these very much so I'm not sure they will ever get stitched. An autumn tablecloth - this is not cross stitch, but takes me back to the first needlework I ever did as a child. Two Maouri women - I wasn't sure anyone would like these but DH does because they go with the theme of our living room. Finally, Morning Roses by Linda Ravenscroft, which sort of counts as a Flower Fairy.

I've also been buying charts from Heaven and Earth designs. Inspired by Carol a week or so ago, I had to buy Revelations, and unable to stop at one, a few days later I also bought Waiting for Neptune, which is the one I intend to start on first. It will probably take me several years to stitch this one so I am not allowed to buy any more. If you catch me, stop me!!

I've been planning what to stitch in my next rotation. Because I want more variety I am increasing to 6 WIPS - which will mean 5 new starts in a row. DH thinks I'm mad! Only two of the 5 were fully kitted up so I've had to buy yet more stash. My order from Sew and So, only placed on Sunday, includes a huge piece of Dublin for Waiting for Neptune and the White Wisper thread and beads required for Celtic Winter, and Sleeping Beauty, which will be my first Mirabilia.

Gina asked if I had ever entered any of my work in shows. How flattering! I don't really think my work is good enough for that, although I have to say Lady with Lilac Flower is one of my proudest accomplishments. She is largely single thread, I am always much more satisfied with single thread work as it can't get all twisted like two threads do. The work on Celtic Christmas in areas could be a lot better. I am really quite a novice stitcher - I did finish a few designs back in the early 90's before I had my kiddies, but I've only really been stitching in earnest for the past year-and-half. I am still learning, and Celtic Christmas has certainly been a learning experience!

Stitching Bloggers Question
Have you hand-dyed your own fabric? Why or why not? Would you like to
try to do so?
No, and I have yet to use hand dyed fabric. I hope to soon but at the moment have large quantities of plain fabric to be used. I would like to try hand dying some day but would need to have worked on 'expert-dyed' fabric first. I will give it a go some day.

We go and collect our little dog this afternoon. I'm so excited!

Lady with Lilac Flower Happy Dance!

2005-08-06T05:49:00.000+01:00

Here she is finished at last!
Lady with Lilac Flower has truly been a white on white experience. With this project I have stitched in blocks for the first time which really helped me get along with it at a time when all I could see was a mass of confusing symbols and I was getting myself very lost. She needs washing and pressing which I'll do later today but I won't take her to the framers until my other 2 'nearly-theres' are ready to go as well. She doesn't look very happy to be finished does she?!

I'm replacing her in my rotation with DMC's Lily of the Valley Fairy. It is about time I stitched another Flower fairy, I have so many in my stash - and this one was a birthday pressie so I wanted to prioritise it. I also wanted to stitch something smaller as I will be starting several new projects at the same time but want them to be at varying stages and not all finishing at the same time as has happened this time around.

Lady with Lilac Flower

2005-08-03T23:52:00.000+01:00

First of all I want to say a big thankyou to Carol and Gina for your comments on my last entry. I am always full of self-doubt about posting anything personal, (that entry nearly got deleted several times!) and your words of support really do mean a lot to me.

I've been working on Lady with Lilac Flower over the past few days and she's now very nearly finished. I've done all the backstitch so her face looks a little more defined now, not sure if I prefer it or not, all I have to do now is about 6 blocks of cross stitching right at the bottom. The design includes the designer's signature on the bottom left hand corner but I'm chosing to exclude this - none of my projects so far has had the designer's signature on it so neither will this one.
My blog is probably very boring. All I ever post is pictures of the same old four projects! For the next round of the rotation I am going to increase to 6 projects. I've never had more than 6 WIPs at a time, I would feel uncomfortable if I did.

We went and chose our future dog tonight. She's a gorgeous 10-week old English Springer Spaniel - we should collect her some time next week. We haven't decided on a name yet - all sorts of funny and weird names are being bandied about. I'll post pics of her when she arrives.

Whats in a name?

2005-08-02T07:48:00.002+01:00

I'm beginning to regret having used an alias rather than my real name on this blog. I feel a bit silly being addressed as Julianna, it doesn't suit me at all. I don't think it would be very practical to change it, even if there was a way how, nobody would know who I am.

My real name is Gill, which is a shortened version of Gillian. Only my Mum calls me Gillian. I've always been reluctant to use my real name on the internet because of privacy hang-ups, but also because I didn't want anyone getting false impressions of who I am. For many years I have worked with US and Canadian clients in my job, and almost always, until they know better, they assume my name is Gil and that I am a bloke. Its quite amusing really, I am very much the wrong shape to be a man! Obviosuly the shortened version of my first name is not used in America, I'm not sure even my full name is particularly know, I've only ever noticed it in one American film (a Star Trek film .... the one where they travel back in time and rescue whales).

The name Juliana is an old fashioned name from which Gillian is derived. That's why I hit on it, I have used it as an internet alias on various sites, adding random numbers in various places. Some place or other Juliana was already taken so I added another n and from then stuck with the 2 n version. I also sometimes use Easysilence which is my ebay ID, I got that from a book that was sitting on the shelf above my desk when I registered to Ebay.

Other things about me .... I am 39. I'm slowly getting used to the fact of hitting the big 4-0 next February. I've never invisaged life beyond it. I'm still immature. I remember thinking that when I was 9 months pregnant with my son. I'm not grown-up enough for this yet!! My birthday is 12th February, and is always totally eclipsed by Valentines Day, therefore I don't like Valentines Day. I also don't like star signs, which is why my age and birthday are not published on my blog.

I have been married since I was 25 and have a son aged 10 and a daughter aged 9. My son has Asperger's syndrome (a mild form of autism). We currently have no interesting pets (we do have rabbits & goldfish) but will probably be getting a dog of our own very soon, having doggyproofed our house in preparation for looking after my in-laws little bichon frise this past week.

I live in a village that has a problem. There is a large community of people who have settled and built illegaly on greenbelt land and refuse to budge. No-one wants to live in my village.

It is now time for me to get showered and ready for work so I will stop rambling on!

Castle Sampler/Taj Mahal

2005-07-31T09:43:00.000+01:00

Here are this week's progress pics. I've not stitched as much as I would have like as we have this little houseguest....

I'm usually quite untidy with my stitching stuff (my daughter, reading this as I type, just exclaimed "no you're not!") but having a little dog around I have to be careful to put it all away after every session, and sometimes can't be bothered to get it all out again. Still I managed to complete the top side of the border on Castle Sampler eventually, it was quite gruelling, and six blocks on Taj Mahal, so all my goals for July are completed.

Goals for August ..... Lady with Lilac Flower, Celtic Christmas and Castle Sampler are all close to completion so I intend having no less than THREE happy dances! I will keep plugging away on Taj Mahal as well, my goal is six more blocks on that.

Stitching Bloggers Question

2005-07-27T22:48:00.000+01:00

What is your most unique/interesting stitching quirk? (This could be
something concerning the way you stitch, how you organize your stash,
etc.)

Its not unique or interesting, but my quirk is the need to stitch in clear patches, I have to finish the patch I'm working on before moving onto the next one. This was most noticable with Passion of the Dance, and my current Celtic Christmas, where the skirts had to be finished in their entirety before moving onto the upper body and head ..... they both looked like big blobs of nothing before anything vaguely human looking eventually emerged.

Castle Sampler update

2005-07-26T07:53:00.000+01:00

Here's the latest update. I did a lot of work on it towards the end of last week and on Saturday but have slackened off over the past couple of days. Partly because none of the household chores were getting done, partly because I'm currently on the backstitch in the main part of the border, which is painfully boring!. It looks nearly finished, but I still have to do all the twiddly over-one bits between the letter blocks, the letters, the moon block (bottom right hand corner), the numbers, and background to the numbers, and the twiddly over-one bits all around the numbers, and finish off the date and initial blocks. So there's still a way to go.....

Stitching Bloggers Question

2005-07-21T14:08:00.000+01:00

Have you ever done a color conversion? If so, what did you think about
your results and would you do it again? If not, would you like to try
someday?
No, probably not. If I am drawn to a design, then liking the colours that the designer chose is part of the reason. I lack the confidence to change colours, I'd be too fearful of it looking dreadful after many hours work. I would maybe consider using tried and tested conversions done by other people though.

This is my 100th blog entry. Congratulations me!!

Celtic Christmas/Castle Sampler

2005-07-19T13:38:00.000+01:00

I'm not doing too well with one of my July goals - I'm slacking again with the blog updates! It seems I am more of a stitcher than a blogger......

Here are two WIPs of Celtic Christmas, taken in very different light! The first was taken before I unpicked and re-worked the face, the second afterwards. I found the long lines of the border quite monotonous, but the symmetrical patterns were relaxing as I learned them and didn't need to use the chart. I don't like metallic thread though, I really don't like it! As for the face, I don't think the stitching of the re-worked face is any neater than it was to start with, but the colour shade is a little better. Perhaps I used the wrong colour for the middle shade the first time round. I had intended to work the face over-one, but that didn't work out. Either the fabric had become distorted as a result of already having been worked in twice, or because its linen it isn't totally even anyway, the over one stitches didn't look good, so they came out. The face isn't perfect now but I don't think I can improve on it so I'm going to leave be. All I have to do on CC now is the beads.

Every time I pick up the Castle Sampler I remember how much I love it. Its not striking in the way that CC is .... it doesn't have the immediate impact but its charm is in its subtlety. I'm going to keep working on this and get as far as I can until Thursday of next week then do a few days on Taj Mahal to finish the month up.

My monthly evenweave stash from Tandem Cottage arrived at the weekend. The sand coloured fabric will be useful for a future TW, but I don't think I can use the rather icky green and yellow fabrics. I'm cancelling this club from now on because, although I like receiving the monthly packages, I've now got far more fabric than I need and some of my future projects, especially the Passione Ricamo ones, call for hand dyed fabric so I will need to venture in to that so far unexplored area.

Question of the Week.

What do you do when you have some sort of obligation stitching to do,
but don't want to do it?
Eeek! Obligation stitching! Run away! Hide!!!
When I was obligation stitching African Dawn last year, I moaned, I whinged, I complained, I grumbled. I eventually finished it a month after it was due and vowed never to obligation stitch again. With Numbers in January I behaved much better, plugging away at it until it was done. I hadn't actually committed to giving it as a gift beforehand which I think helped. Lately I have become a lot more disciplined with my stitching, I would probably work an obligation into my rotation and doggedly work away at it, but I will still avoid it like the plague unless absolutely necessary. Stitching is meant to be fun!

Celtic Christmas

2005-07-12T06:24:00.000+01:00

CC is coming along much better now, I'm not making so many mistakes. DH is making all the right approving noises, he says he loves the way the gold thread glints in the sun.

Back to the Mundane

2005-07-08T16:25:00.000+01:00

Thanks for the comments on Lady with Lilac Flower. There is still a chunk to do at the bottom on the left hand side, but I'm on the home strait now. She's been put back in the drawer for another round of the rotation now because my eyesight needs a rest from the white on white.

I'm back on Celtic Christmas. I removed the candle tips and replaced them with 2 strands of PB01. They're better than they were, but still not good enough. Where I have used metallic thread in the top border I have used just one strand of PB01 and it lies much better, so the candle tips are going to come out again and be replaced with just one strand. Third time lucky I hope. I also removed the 'floating' beads around the candle wreath because I didn't like the way the invisible thread pulled on the fabric. I'm going to leave the beading 'til the end now, probably with a thread matching the fabric. As for the top border, I am having a nightmare with it. I KEEP doing it wrong. I don't know what's the matter with me! This piece really is proving to be my nemesis. I do eventually intend stitching all of the Celtic ladies so maybe I should regard this one as a test, a practice piece for all the others. But it is my favourite, so I really do want it to look good.

Stitching Bloggers Question
Q. Do you think that you stitch neater on Evenweave than you do on Aida
cloth? If so, why?
I haven't found that the type of fabric makes any difference to the neatness (or otherwise) of my work.

Stash Aquisition
I've been going a bit mad again. Passione Ricamo's Autumn Fairy Spirit (my favourite, this one is gorgeous!) and Summer Fairy Spirit, TW's Peacock Tapestry (have heard this is the most challenging TW - therefore irresistable to me!), the Myth and Magic book (can't find an online pic of this) featuring fanstasy designs from various designers, I'd been after this one for a while, and found it on the bargain table at my local bookshop half price!, Mirabilia's Midsummer Nights Fairy ....... there maybe more that I've forgotten about.

In Other News
Yesterday I baked cookies. Now doesn't that sound homely! They were for my children's school fete which is tomorrow, but this morning my son said he wanted to eat them so the children took shop bought fruit pies instead.

At the fete I will be facepainting, which is my other crafty/arty type hobby. Much like I am with cross stitching, I am completely non-creative, I just copy other people's designs, but I love the intricate, complicated designs best. When I was at school I used to hate art lessons because I hated paint. I hated the way it smelt and dried my skin. But I love face paint, it really is make-up rather than paint. I love the smell of it. Tomorrow afternoon I will end up covered in it but I won't care - I really enjoy it. And I like sorting out my kit afterwards after it has got all messed up - cleaning my paints and washing my sponges and brushes to get it all back in tip-top condition. Its a bit weird because I'm really not meticulously clean when it comes to other things in life, but with my facepaints they have to be perfect.

London

2005-07-07T22:04:00.000+01:00

I was going to post an entry yesterday all full of joy and delight at London having won the Olympics. It was almost unbelievable for something so positive to happen to us. I live in Essex, about 30 minutes train ride from the east end of London. I will actually be able to go and see the games. Amazing.

Then this morning do we have to be brought down to earth with a bump. What are these evil twisted people trying to achieve? I am an optimistic person, I always seek positive things out of bad situations. But there is nothing positive about terrorism, indescriminate murder. My husband was at work in central London and was unable to leave his building all day. He was scared. He's home now, and safe. Our thoughts go out to those who weren't so lucky as him.

I never intended this to be a rant blog. I've said my piece now.

Happy July 4th!

2005-07-04T13:33:00.000+01:00

Happy Indepedence Day to all our US friends. Today is also my Mum & Dad's anniversary so something I can never forget!
I didn't do any stitching on Friday because we went to an evening wedding reception (hubby's cousin) but made up for it on Saturday when I stitched my way through the entire Live8 concert. My favourite acts were Keane, who I can listen to over and over again without getting bored, Dido, who comes across as a down to earth, lovely person, and Robbie Williams, who is always entertaining. I did a lot of stitching yesterday as well and this is the result. If you look at the bottom of the picture you can see where it has grown from the last one, although I do appreciate this is not the most exciting part of the design. I'm going to stitch another 10 rows and then move onto Celtic Christmas.

We've just booked a holiday at Glasnacardoch Lodge in Scotland for the October half term with Mum & Dad and my two brothers, with my eldest brother's family. I'm so excited! I've seen very little of Scotland. The holiday is to celebrate my dad's birthday - he is 70 this year. Our earlier holiday this year in Lanzarote was supposed to be the birthday celebration, but my Dad was ill and couldn't fly, so we had to go without him, which kind of defeated the object of it being to celebrate his birthday!

Lots to say!

2005-06-30T22:48:00.000+01:00

Here is Lady with Lilac Flower as at tonight. She doesn't look very different to the last WIP, but I am keeping a promise to myself to update my blog more often and entries always look more interesting with piccies!

I had some new stash arrive yesterday - Teresa Wentzler's Sampler collection and Christmas collection. Now I really do have enough TW charts to keep me going for 30 years! I'm especially delighted with the Sampler book which is kinda strange since the stitcher I was before I had my children wouldn't touch samplers with a bargepole. How tastes change! I bought these books through Amazon where they were significantly cheaper than the online shops - I ordered them about a month ago and wasn't expecting them until mid-July so receiving them yesterday was a nice surprise.

Stitching Blogger's Question"

When starting a new project, do you start in the middle? If you do,
once you've worked down to the bottom, do you turn your chart and
fabric around so that you are stitching the top section downwards
again or do you just stitch upwards from the middle?

I always start in the middle, and am equally happy working downwards and upwards.

Goals for June/July
June Goals
Castle Sampler - 1 side of the border - yes, plus some of all the other sides.
Taj Mahal - 6 blocks - yes, I did 12
Lady with Lilac Flower - 20 blocks - yes, I think so. I am no longer counting the blocks but I did quite a few.
Celtic Christmas - finish the lady. Yes, I did, but I'm going to unpick and re-work the face.

July goals
My slightly longer term goal is to finish all 3 large WIPs by the end of August, this would mean doing roughly half of what is left by the end of July, so .....
Castle Sampler - at least one and a half more sides of the border
Taj Mahal - 6 more blocks
Lady with Lilac Flower - Appx 20 blocks
Celtic Christmas - finish the lady, unpicking and re-working the bits I'm not happy with, and stitch at least one side of the border.
Blog - Update at least twice a week!!

Taj Mahal / Lady with Lilac Flower

2005-06-28T11:36:00.000+01:00

I did a bit more work on Taj Mahal .... it probably doesn't look like it, but it is now one sixth done.

And a little bit more on Lady with Lilac Flower .... who is at a guess about 70% done now. She's proving quite hard on the eyes at the moment as the work is largely white on white. Its a good thing I am doing this bit in the summer when we've got lots of daylight hours!

I was looking back on my entries the other day and found that I'd received quite a lot of comments which I hadn't noticed first time round. So if I ignored you, sorry! One person was asking about the large Rose Fairy chart, which is now discontinued. Sew and So have got it in their sale section at the moment. Mine is next in line to be started once Lady with Lilac Flower is done, and once I've finished it the chart will be up for grabs to whoever wants it, assuming I haven't completely destroyed it! But I know its not going to be an easy stitch so it will be quite a long while off yet.

Castle Sampler/Taj Mahal

2005-06-26T10:08:00.000+01:00

I've finally finished one side of the outer border. Its uncomplicated stitching, but there's a lot of it, so its taken a lot longer than I was expecting. The actual letters and the twiddly bits between the letter blocks are mostly one-over-one. I have stitched all of these the wrong way round, because they are sideways I was looking at it at a different angle, but I don't think it matters.

I spent a small amount of time last night and this morning on Taj Mahal .... my son also wants me to stitch the Eiffel Tower as well now .... we'll have to see about that!

Stitching Bloggers Questions
Do you feel the need to stitch a design from a specific designer just
to say that you've experienced stitching one of their designs?
Yes, I am the sort of person that would do that, although I would never feel compelled to stitch anything I don't like. I started Celtic Christmas when I did because I wanted to have stitched something by Lavender & Lace.

Are there any types of designs that you won't stitch?
All sorts. Pictures of people taken from photos, images representing war, religious images, over-cutesie designs, bowls of flowers, man-type themes such as golf, cricket etc., modern samplers, and, at the risk of offending 90% of other stitchers, anything with cats. Sorry!!

Castle Sampler

2005-06-15T11:53:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everyone for your kind comments on my last two entries - I really do need to pour my little heart out sometimes!

I haven't totally made up my mind yet what to do with Celtic Christmas - she's going to remain put aside for a little while. I want to get quite a lot of work done on Castle Sampler, I feel this has been a WIP for such a long time, although looking back in this blog I found I only started it at the end of November last year, and then I did hardly any stitching on it for two months. I'd love to get it finished soon.

I've put some sort of organisation into my Yahoo photo album.
There's most of my finishes in there and other stuff, if anyone's interested in a glut of Castle Sampler WIPs.

Celtic Christmas & Castle Sampler WIPs

2005-06-13T17:58:00.000+01:00

Here is Celtic Christmas, (click for larger image) not looking nearly so bad as she does in real life .... although she does look like she's got a white beard....

and Castle Sampler. The border is easy!! I never thought I'd hear myself using the word easy in description of anything by Teresa Wentzler...

Sigh

2005-06-13T13:05:00.000+01:00

I'm a bit disillusioned with cross stitching at the moment. I'm not actually particularly good at it. As a result of which I have not been blogging for the past week or reading anyone elses blogs which is bad. Sorry!

Celtic Christmas is not going well.

(I'll add a picture in here later)

I stitched the face .... then realised it was one stitch out of line so had to frog it all. So I re-stitched it, now it is in the right place but doesn't look good. It is comprised of three different shades of pink - the darker 2 look exactly the same. I've checked them against my bobbins and I didn't make a mistake and use the wrong one, maybe one of the bobbins has the wrong shade on it? Who knows. I also think the face lacks definition, it would look better one-over-one. Not sure if the linen would stand up to another batch of stitches being frogged out, the holes are already on the big side. I'd have to be inventive if I did re-do it one-over-one, not an idea I relish, non-creative me - will have to dig out some of the charts from my stash & see if I can find a similar size & shape face that will help. I know that TW's R&J faces are over-one but they're pointing the wrong way. This one needs some thought.

The candle tips took forever .... I did them individually using loop starts with that horrible metallic thread. They simply refuse to lie flat and look terrible. I am going to pull them out and try a different metallic thread, just for the candle tips. I have some petite treasure braid I bought for Celtic Spring .... maybe that will be better.

My last point of discontent. The 'floating' beads .... the ones around the head I put on with the lightest shade of green thread. They look terrible, and need to come out. The ones around the candle wreath I did with invisible thread, which is the most horrible type of thread I've ever had the misfortune to work with - and I don't like the result, the holes in the fabric around them have been pulled too big. I am going to remove all of these beads .... the plan is to re-do them using the closest green I can find to the colour of the fabric.

But for now Celtic Christmas has been tossed aside ..... I simply don't have the patience.

The Castle Sampler seems suddenly uncomplicated. I'm on the large border now which so far is very simple, although there are some more tricky bits to come.

In better news ..... I finally got my ebay act together and now most of my unwanted magazines, kits and patterns are finally listed. Hopefully later I'll sort out the various bits of fabric I don't want and get them up too. Its clear-out time! Whether or not they actually sell is a different matter but at least I've made the effort.

In better news still .... the large town where I work, which has no stitching suppliers other than the woefully inadequate Coats Needlecrafts Bargain Basement, has a branch of Hobbycraft opening up soon! I do have a Hobbycraft locally, its in one of the 3 towns my village is equally distant from, but it does require a special trip since I don't have any other reason to go there. It will be very useful to have one near to work so I can go visit in my lunch hour. I rarely actually buy major stitching supplies from Hobbycraft since everything is full price but it will be very useful for the odd skein of thread or whatever I have run out of and nice to browse at something interesting in my lunch hour.

Lady with Lilac Flower/Celtic Christmas WIPs

2005-06-04T07:29:00.000+01:00

Here is the latest of Lady with Lilac flower, and Celtic Christmas, looking like Anne Boleyn. Hopefully she will have a head before the end of this weekend.

Taj Mahal
Ann - re your comment on my last entry. If I'd realised about the squashed stitches before I started on it, I definitely would have switched the fabric for evenweave. But I launched into it without looking at the instructions, I have a tendency to do that! Its a pain but I'm going to stick with it.

Stitching Bloggers Question
What do you like *least* about cross stitching?

Stitching large areas of plain colour. *Yawn*

Lots to say

2005-06-01T14:59:00.000+01:00

I've been slack on updating over the past week so heres lots!

Celtic Christmas

I finished up that little corner of the skirt last Wednesday. That meant my May goals were finished with a few days to spare!

Taj Mahal

To replace Mini cottages in my rotation, I've started on John Clayton's Taj Mahal - a heritage stitchcraft kit. I had several different new projects to chose from but decided on this one because my 10-year old son loves this building & wants to go and see it some day. Its destined for his bedroom wall. Its a weird pattern, featuring elongated, or 'squashed' stitches which I've never encountered before, very strange! These kind of stitches would be much easier on evenweave, unfortunately the kit comes with aida which I decided not to swap out because the pattern is entirely stitched with no background left showing. I've only done a little bit so far, its low priority until something else is finished.

Lady with Lilac Flower

And here is LWLF as she currently is. A couple more blocks to go on her & then I'm back on Celtic Christmas.

Stitching Bloggers Question
How do you deal with a stitching slump?

Setting goals and stitching in rotation definitely helps keep me motivated to keep going on projects I may otherwise get bored with, but if its a real slump, in which I don't want to stitch at all, then I just don't. Stitching is fun, but if I'm not enjoying doing it there's no point in forcing myself. There are lots of other things I am obliged to do in life which to be honest are higher priorities than stitching.

Movie meme
I was tagged by Carol (about a week ago!)
1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video: About 50 DVDs and maybe 20 videos, which are up in the loft. None of them are exclusively mine, they are all co-owned with DH and a good amount of them are kid's films. Quite a few are bootleg copies my in-laws brought back from Malaysia (I wish they'd stop doing that!), which don't work properly. I don't buy many DVDs, I always say we'll rent them from the video shop but we rarely actually do. Most films I watch are on TV.

2) The last film I bought: The last one I remember buying was LOTR boxed set for my husband, it must have been for his birthday in March 2004.

3) The last film I watched: Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (for about the 100th time!)

4) Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):Beaches, Rain Main, LOTR, Crouching tiger, Hidden Dragon (in original language subtitled), Harry Potter.

5) Tag 5 people and have them put this in their journal:I don't know 5 people! So I will cheat and say anyone who sees this and wants to answer it in their blog, please do.

Goals for June
Castle Sampler - one side of the large border.
Taj Mahal - 6 blocks (low priority ATM)
Lady with Lilac Flower - 20 blocks
Celtic Christmas - finish the lady - bodice & head - if that's going well do the candles as well.

Stitching Questions

2005-05-29T19:49:00.000+01:00

1. How old were you when you started Cross Stitching?
About 25

2.Who taught you to cross stitch?
No-one. I already knew embroidery but learnt how to do counted cross stitch by following the instructions that came with a kit.

3.What inspired you to begin Cross Stitching?
I did some embroidery and wool tapestry when I was in my teens, after that nothing for a few years. A short while after I got married, I felt a strong urge to do tapestry again. My mother-in-law bought me a long stitch kit for my birthday which I completed in about a day. I wasn't satisfied, so I went in a shop and found counted cross stitch kits. From then on I was hooked.

4.What has been your most difficult Cross Stitch Piece?
TW's "Companions". It involves a lot of green, and the backstitch was near-on impossible. If I'd had the printed chart, I would have found it a lot easier but I had the handwritten chart which came with the Janlynn kit. I found it so difficult to decipher the backstitch lines from the gridlines on the chart. For this reason, it was a UFO for about 10 years. I finished it eventually last year, but I improvised on the backstitch.

5.Do you have friends that stitch?
Only online friends. I'm very secretive about it as I feel a lot of people would consider it an old lady hobby. Only four of my work colleagues know I cross stitch. Up until a week ago it was only 2 until at a party last Saturday my husband decided to embarass me and tell 2 more. But they are nice, non-judgemental people so its ok.

6.What is your Favorite stitched Piece?
TW's Companions. Because it was such an accomplishment to finally finish it, and its traditional Christmassy without being tacky but a bit different, because Father Christmas has a horse instead of a reindeer and is wearing blue instead of red. I have it as the wallpaper on my computer. Its one of the lesser-stitched TWs which also makes it special.

7.What is your favorite Fabric?
I'm happy with most evenweave fabrics.

8.What is your favorite Fiber?
DMC. I've occasionally used cheap unbranded threads in kits which knot terribly. I rarely have those sort of problems with DMC.

9.What is your favorite Needle?
Size 26 tapestry needle.

10.Do you prefer Black & White or Colored Charts?
Black & white, but clear, because with complicated patterns I shade them in as I go along.

11.How many Works In Progress do you have at this time?
I am currently working 4 projects in rotation.

12.How many UFO's do you have at this time?
One. Tutenkhamun's Mask - its from my pre-childbirth stitching days. I was very attracted at the time by the vibrant colours and I think it was the only kit I paid full price for. Now, it is languishing at the bottom of the stitch box. The threads are all muddled, the metallics are a mess, and at one time or another its had coffee spilt all over it. I don't like it anymore, its a death mask, I don't want it on my wall. I doubt it will ever get finished, but maybe, one day when I'm an old lady...

13.How many cross Stitch charts/kits/mags do you own?
About 20-30 of each.

14.How much fabric do you have in stock at this time?
Lots of little bits, and about 20-ish big bits.

15.Where is your favorite place to stitch?
In the living room in the chair by the window where there is most light.

16.What is your favorite time of day to stitch?
I will stitch at any time but find it easiest during the day when there is the most light.

17.How many pieces have you stitched in your lifetime?
As a rough guess - maybe 40-ish.

18.Do you give your stitched pieces away?
Rarely. Most people don't appreciate the time and effort that has gone into them. I have given away as gifts three finished and framed projects, and about 6 cards.

19.How many different fibers do you have in stock at this time?
Almost every DMC shade, a few odd Anchor skeins, about 10 kreinik reels, and some petite treasure braid I bought for Celtic Spring.

20.How many pairs of scissors do you own?
One. They are not proper embroidery scissors, they came from body shop. If I can't find them I will use any pair of scissors I can lay my hands on.

21.Do you use stitching enhancers (lights, scroll frames...etc)?
I have a bright halogen lamp which is a godsend. I sometimes use a hoop. I own a set of R&R or 'Q-snaps' but I rarely use them. My favourite enhancer is my Paco needle organiser which currently houses all the blends needed on the Castle Sampler.

22.How many pieces that have been stitched but not yet framed or finished off in some other way do you have at this time?
Only my most recent finish, Michael Powell's Mini Cottages. I only take them to the framer once I've got two or more done.

23.Do you have a craft/stitching room?
No - I mostly do my stitching in the living room. I keep current stitching projects in a couple of drawers and a needlework box in there, everything else is in a cupboard in the bedroom.

24.Why do you stitch?
Because I am otherwise completly non artistic and it gives me a way of creating beautiful things. And I love it.

25.What is your most memorable time related to cross stitching.
Its a little thing, but its the admiration my daughter's 8-year old friend Emily shows towards my Flower Fairies. I don't expect a child of that age to show appreciation of subtle stitchwork. It gives a good feeling.

Castle Sampler WIP

2005-05-25T00:34:00.000+01:00

(click for larger images)

I finally finished the figures on Castle Sampler tonight. The close up pic looks blurry but it isn't like that in real life, must be the camera flash bouncing off it. Either I need to take my photos in daylight or work out how to use the scanner! I've run out of several colours of thread now but luckily had supplies of them all. Now all I have to do is the large, outer border, I guess I'm about two thirds of the way through now.

Tomorrow I intend finishing up the little corner of Celtic Christmas I put aside while waiting for the gold thread.

New Stash/SBQ

2005-05-23T11:05:00.000+01:00

New Stash
There has been much stash acquistion this week .....

1. The latest edition of Cross Stitcher magazine features flower fairies so of course I had to buy it. The free kit is of the marigold fairy, unfortunately they've chopped her legs off half way to fit her into a printed mount which is a shame. There is also a giant flower fairy sampler chart. The fairies are a bit simplistic for me, I like them to be more detailed, so, I guess the whole magazine is for the ebay drawer.
2. Ebay win - flower fairy booklet featuring various fairies mostly in birth samplers. This includes the marigold fairy complete with whole legs, which is better, but still not very intricate, so I doubt I'll work on any of these either.
3. Tandem Cottage FOTM. This month I got a fat quarter in a dusty pink, its not bad, I'll find a use for it, and two smaller pieces in beige, one of which has a mottled effect as if it is hand-died, but it isn't. I like getting these packages every month, feels like pressies, but I feel I ought to stop it as I'm getting far more fabric than I can use. I'll have a think about that one.
4. Three TW Rocking Horse charts, Misty, Diamond and Sweetheart. Ebay bargains at 99p each. My favourite is Misty.

Stitching Blogger's Question
How many strands of floss to you prefer to stitch with? Why?

I enjoy stitching with one strand, because the floss is less likely to go in knots and I can get a nice neat finish without worrying about railroading. Two strands are more appropriate for most of the designs I chose though.

New L&L Design
A picture of the long anticipated new L&L design has appeared on the TIAG website this morning. Looks familiar, lots of swirly gold around the hem???? Not sure at the moment, but no doubt it will grow on me.

Castle Sampler
All of my stitching this week has been on the Castle Sampler - progress is slow! I'm not posting a pic today as the king doesn't have a head yet and just looks like a blob of stitches. I haven't finished the backstitch on the mandolin player yet as I ran out of one of the colours. I'm bound to have some more in the cupboard but haven't got around to digging through it yet. I will get there.

In other news
Went to see Guys & Dolls in London with Ewan McGregor on Saturday. Excellent! Then went to a 21st birthday party and stayed out 'til 2am. Its been a looooooooong time since I did something like that! Then yesterday we had a family barbeque and the rain just about kept off. Its been a busy weekend ..... which might explain why less than usual stitching got done!

Castle Sampler/New Stash

2005-05-18T23:46:00.000+01:00

(click on pic to see it bigger)

I've finished the cross stitching on the 3rd minstrel, the mandolin player .... I hope to finish up the backstitch on him tomorrow, and a little of the king's leg. It was sad to hear that TW has decided to put cross stitch designing on hold, but good for her! Teresa has produced enough stunning designs to keep me going for about 30 years so I can't complain!

I had lots of new stash arrive today. Firstly, from Sew and So, the gold thread I need for Celtic Christmas, I'm intend finishing the bottom of the dress within the next few days. Also, because I didn't want to pay the minimum £1 postage for just one skein of thread, I bought a bead caddy. Celtic Christmas is the first design I've used beads on, and they've already been all over the floor twice. It is very fortunate I have wooden flooring.....

I also had some ebay acquistions arrive, the long-hankered after Celtic Autumn by L&L. I do like this maiden, but not as much as the other 3. I feel the colours aren't right for Autumn, I may have a go at changing them when I eventually get onto stitching it. Also, Mirabilia's 'Elizabeth and the Lavender Sky' - this one appeals to me, she looks sort of distant and mysterious. Finally, Mirabilia's Crystal Christmas. I do love ebay bargains!

Celtic Christmas WIP/SBQ

2005-05-14T22:21:00.000+01:00

I had intended to finish the bottom of the dress but couldn't because I have run out of the metallic gold thread. There is only a tiny bit needed for this bit but I will need quite a bit more in other parts of the design. I originally bought it from Sew and So who provide a shopping list of materials needed, according to which I only needed one skein, but unless I am extremely wasteful with thread it was well out! The LNS has none of this colour so I had to order some online, unfortunately it won't be here before Tuesday, but I'll finish off the skirt as soon as it arrives.

Joy - if you're still reading, thanks for your kind comments on my last entry :-)

Stitching Bloggers Question
Given the option, would you rather buy a chart and get the material
and floss together yourself, or buy a pre-packed kit?
I'd rather buy the chart and kit it up myself, one because I have a huge supply of DMC thread, two because I get to chose my own fabric..... I have yet to be very adventurous regarding fabrics, usually chosing a plain evenweave, but most kits come with aida, which I don't like anymore. Most of my stash is kits. I like kits that have pre-sorted threads and nice fabric, mostly because of my incurable lazy-itis!

A little off Topic
Ok this bit is aimed at any UK readers. I think there are probably only a handful of UK readers here but I'm going to ask anyway. Off the top of your head, without looking it up on the internet, have you heard of Crays Hill? If so, what do you know about it? Ill explain why in a later entry if I get any responses to this.

Celtic Christmas WIP

2005-05-11T13:25:00.000+01:00

Here is an update after a lot more hours. The idea of the bottom of a robe is now emerging, so I can stop calling it the splash of red paint! The DMC metallic thread is no fun to work with, I'll avoid using that in the future.
I won two ebay auctions today .... L&L's Celtic Autumn, which I have been after for yonks ... happy dance! and Mirabilia's Crystal Christmas which was a real bargain and is quite sweet. I just found out that the next L&L release is to be (edited to remove title), so I will have something new to keep my beady eyes out for.

Lady with Lilac Flower/SBQ

2005-05-08T11:06:00.000+01:00

I've spent many hours stitching this week and here is the result. Because its on such a small scale, it feels as though growth is very slow. From top to bottom, it measures roughly the span of my hand. I lost track of how many blocks I stitched, but its at least my goal of 20. Today, I am moving on to Celtic Christmas.

Finishing SBQ
Do you finish all your finished pieces? (pillow, frame, etc,) If so, how do you finish the pieces? If not what do you do with them?
Some of the little ones have gone into cards, all of the medium/large ones have been framed. I've never fancied putting them into pillows/cushions or anything else that would be used because 1. people put their bums on 'em, 2. they'd get dirty. My work is too good for that! Besides, the type of work I do tends to be pictures which are not really suitable. Having said that about my work deserving to be framed, all but two are stacked up in this room, due to lack of decorated wall space to hang them on.

Freebie SBQ
What is your opinion of Internet "freebies?"
Great idea. Especially the little ones offered by the known designers. Good for giving an idea of whether you could cope with a larger design. I'm really pleased I did that little Michael Powell cottages freebie rather than buying one of the large kits and launching myself into it without considering how mind-blowing all of the plain stitched areas would be, and regretting it. I also have a little Chatelaine freebie printed out which I will try some day, and I like some of the L&L Christmas freebies.

A few more ramblings

2005-05-04T23:20:00.000+01:00

I stayed up into the wee small hours last night and completed 2 blocks on Lady with Lilac Flower, and have done a further 8 blocks today, I spent most of the day on it! I think its about halfway done now.

I achieved a weight loss goal today so treated myself to non-ebay bargain stitching goodies. I've been after something by Passione Ricamo for some time, I spent quite a while deciding which one to chose but finally decided on Moon Fairy Spirit.

An ebay bargain also arrived today - Mirabilia's Fairy Idyll. I wasn't sure about this one, didn't pay very much for it, but now its arrived I really do like it.

I rarely buy cross stitch magazines nowadays but I did get The World of Cross Stitching last week because its got a Flower fairy in it - the Lady's Smock fairy (I think thats what its called). Its pretty but has a funny face. Its a long way down the line but when I eventually come to stitching it I'm going to try & change the face to be more like the original paintings. The magazines always seem to have a free Flower Fairy whenever DMC are about to bring out some new kits they want to promote. They seem to have re-released some old designs, one of them is Apple Blossom Fairies which has an RRP of about £15. The one I stitched is the same size as the kits which they retailed at £19, so I'm assuming this is a simplified version. The chart I had has long been discontinued. I guess they thought it would sell better as a kit. There's a new one - the Pink Fairies, which I do like. From my point of view its a shame they seem to be going in the direction of producing kits rather than separate charts since I have more than enough DMC thread in stock plus the new kits always seem to come with aida, which I'm not so keen on. Still, I've got about 20 flower fairies in my stash and really don't need any more, so what am I complaining about!

Goals and a finish

2005-05-03T23:22:00.000+01:00

Its been a hectic week. Preparing for my daughter's birthday sleepover. A house full of little girls, cuddly toys, sweets, cakes, crisps, assorted clothes, plastic toys, plastic jewellery, sleeping bags, visits to the sweet shop, hairbrushes, knickers, toothbrushes, giggling, wriggling, and finally sleeping. They've all gone home now. And my baby is nine years old!

Needless to say little in the way of stitching got done, and I didn't achieve my goal of getting Mini Cottages finished by the end of April. I've done a lot of work on it since though, and it is finally finished. I had a lot of doubts over this one while I was doing the cross stitch, but once the thick, heavy black lines of the backstitch were on I remembered why I liked it in the first place. Its earmarked for my son's room, he really likes it. Most of what I stitch is a bit girly for him this one is much more suitable.

My goals for May.....

Lady with Lilac Flower - stitch 10-20 more blocks, concentrating on the top (the hat) and working downwards.

Celtic Christmas - finish the skirt

Castle Sampler - finish the figures. This might be a tall order but we'll see.

I missed several questions of the week. The one about goals is pretty much answered above .... not usually but why not?

The one about model stitching .... I've never been asked. It would be quite flattering but unlikely ever to happen. My work is not of a high enough standard. Good enough for most people but not for the scrutiny of a professional cross stitch designer. Besides, the obligation would make it a chore, and I would hate it. It would be flattering to be asked though!

Stitching with the seasons - absolutely not! I'm quite happy to stitch for Christmas in the middle of summer and vice versa. I get a bit SAD in winter so its probably just as well to remind myself of brighter times.

Missions Accomplished

2005-04-25T22:30:00.000+01:00

The clarinet player is finished. (The above thumbnail is rubbish - please click on it to see properly) I don't know why I called her the flute player in my last entry, I clearly wasn't paying any attention to the instrument she was playing! It might actually be some old fashioned clarinet-style instrument, the chart instructions just call it the 'instrument', what a copout! Anyway ..... I am pleased with this figure. On the previous 2 I wasn't happy about how the faces came out, the features are made up of just a couple of backstitches and can't really be seen, but this one actually looks like a face! I was really enjoying stitching CS and found it hard to put down.

I've done more than my target of 6 blocks on LWLF, about 12 blocks I think. It doesn't look a lot different in the picture to the previous one but a lot of the hat, which is mostly white, is now done. Progress is quite fast now I've mastered stitching in blocks. Its so much easier, I don't know why I didn't think of doing that before.

The third mission, Mini Cottages, is not yet completed. When I was stitching this before I was missing a few key thread colours so had to leave gaps, which was very frustrating, now I have them in stock its flowing along nicely, although I have the dullest bits, the background, yet to tackle. I can't wait to finish this, more because I want to get it out of the way more than anything. I do like it, but its not a fun stitch.

My latest ebay purchase, the chart for Legends of the Spellcasters, by Teresa Wentzler and 2 other people, arrived today. I do actually prefer this one to Legends of the Dragons, although it seems much less popular. Another one to add to the ever-growing list!

Back from Lanzarote

2005-04-23T00:59:00.000+01:00

I'm back from my holiday. I got very little stitching done while I was away because Lady with Lilac Flower was proving so difficult! I stitched a bit but found I was going wrong. The chart is difficult to follow 1, because its not marked out in a grid like most charts are, and 2, the design is just one whole mass of stitches, not clearly defined separate sections like some designs are. I had taken one of the flower fairy kits with me as a spare but had forgotten to swap the aida in it for another fabric so kinda gave up. Towards the end of the holiday I decided to draw a grid on the chart myself and stitch in square blocks of 100, which is proving much easier, although it does mean more starts and finishes, I don't keep losing my place and since the bit I'm on at the moment is almost-white thread on almost-white fabric which is so hard to see, I don't think I could have cracked it otherwise. I did about 400 stitches on it in the end.

Since I've been back I've been avidly stitching on CS again. Much more fun! I've almost finished the next minstrel, the flute player. Hopefully I'll get the backstitch done on her tomorrow.

While I was away I had the Mirabilia chart Fairy Flora arrive, an ebay bargain, and the next monthly batch of fabric from Tandem Cottage. I got a fairly big piece of lavender minster linen, not sure what I'm going to use that for, maybe a flower fairy; a big piece of pink 'countrystyle jobelan' which they describe as light apricot, but to me its pale pink, no idea what I'm going to use this for, I may try & sell it, I'm not so keen on pastels; lastly a small piece of oatmeal coloured brittney which they say is lemon, but certainly isn't to my eyes! This one is the best colour piece in the pack, its a pity its a small piece. Its a silly thing, but I feel a bit insulted by the accompanying letter in every pack which tells me what the equivalent aida count is to the fabric they send me. I mean, if I'm buying evenweave fabric every month surely I'm a reasonably experienced stitcher who knows such things???? I'm a tad over sensitive, I know......

Missions for the rest of April.....

1. Finish the flute player on CS.
2. Finish the Michael Powell mini cottages.
3. Do at least 5 more blocks on LWLF.

Celtic Christmas is on hold until May.

Harpist Finished

2005-04-12T14:16:00.000+01:00

Two figures done .... 3 to go. I had hoped to finish all 3 minstrels before I go on holiday but that was a bit unrealistic. I may get a bit more of the flute player done. I've been working on the Castle Sampler about 6 months now. My first TW took probably about 2/3 years, the second one more than 10! It would be really nice to get this one completed inside a year.

Stitching Bloggers Question
What is your next speciality stitch?
I'm not intimidated by speciality stitches any more since I mastered french knots. The Castle Sampler has a diamond eyelet in the border, that will be my next one.

New Stitching Goodies
A late birthday present arrived at the weekend. Lanarte's 'Ballet Dancer' I haven't seen this one around much. Either its rare or its unpopular! I don't care .... I like it. Also, two Flower fairy kits, Primrose and Lily of the Valley. A year ago all I wanted to stitch was Flower fairies, but now not so much. I do still like them, but there are more in my stash than there are of anything else and I can't see me getting through them this side of retirement! I plan to embark on the Rose Fairy within the next couple of months, that one is my favourite so it should help re-ignite my passion for them.

I go away on Thursday for a week so there are unlikely to be any more updates until the weekend afterwards. Don't forget me! Lady with Lilac Flower is coming with me as my travel project so hopefully there will have been some serious progess on that next time I write.