Friday, January 28, 2011

HAED Freebie SAL 2011 - QS Terra Fairy Sprite

This year I decided to join the HAED Bulletin Board Freebie Stitchalong. We had a choice of 6 quickstitch patterns, and I chose Terra Fairy Sprite by Brigid Ashwood.


It's not something I'd normally stitch, but the other patterns really didn't call to me. I admit I do like the tattoo on her arm, almost matches mine. :)

It's a year-long stitchalong, where I get one page of the pattern every 2 months. I have a ton of other projects on the go, so I don't expect to get too far on this, but I have committed to finishing at least the first page before Christmas.

I was originally planning on doing this in petit point on 32 ct silk gauze, but one thread wasn't enough coverage and 2 threads was so squishy that I couldn't tell the stitches apart (which is a problem since you need to count stitches in counted cross stitch - go figure!). I then bought some 32 ct lugana and tried 1 thread and 2 thread tent stitches, both of which I hated. I then tried 1 over 1 full crosses on the 32 ct and still hated it. For my last ditch attempt (keep in mind I stitched 200-300 stitches each time I tried this), I tried 1 over 1 full crosses on some 28 ct jazlyn fabric. It's doable, but it's not my favourite.

Since I had so many false starts, I really haven't gotten very far on this yet, but progress is progress.


Spur of the Moment Stitching

I saw a few people on CrossStitchForum.com stitch up this freebie pattern called Brushstroke Butterfly, and I just couldn't resist! (I will admit that I altered the pattern just a smidge.) I'll be framing it myself (maybe tomorrow) and sending it off as a surprise for my mom. This was the first time I used a DMC varigated floss, and I really liked using it. I think it stitched up really well.


And now it's framed by me:


Friday, January 21, 2011

HSH - Page 2 Finished!!

Look at me go!! Hurray for progress! Page 2 is done!


I seem to be able to finish a page of this in about three weeks. So I think I'll still aim for 1 page a month, and then use the last week or more of each month to work on any or all of my other projects. I swear I'll finish one of them soon ... maybe.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Stash Check ... Oh My!!

I often frequent a forum (crossstitchforum.com) to read and discuss stitchy stuff. One recent thread asked to see everyone's stash, just cause stash is fun to look at. I decided to lay out all of my stash this morning and take pictures. Oh my ... maybe I shouldn't have done that. I have WAY more stash than I thought, and the pictures below don't even include the 20-30 charts I have saved on my computer.

These are all of my kits:

I'd love to start/finish some of the really small ones so I could have some decorations for my apartment. They are so cute and really ... what woman doesn't like flowers once in a while?

These are some of my charts and the start of my magazine collection:

I'm just dying to stitch some of these charts, particularly the Alessandra Adelaide and Ink Circles ones. (As if I don't already have 5 projects on the go. Am I insane?)

And finally, my fabric and thread collection:
A lot of the thread is already sorted into boxes for particular projects I want to start, but my general collection grows frequently. The fabric I love. I don't have plans for most of it. I just couldn't resist buying such gorgeous pieces. One day I will find a use for it all!!

New Year's resolution: no more stash buying unless it's for a current WIP (work in progress). Let's see how long I can stick to it. (My bet is a week ... maybe less.)

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Blackwork SAL - Jan 2011 Update

There's a Blackwork SAL meeting next week, so I thought I'd put a little time and stitchy energy into this project. I've now completed all of the fill patterns (except for the contrast colour and the beading) and I still have to do the border. I might just get this done by the last meeting in March! I must admit I love this colour - so vibrant, so rich!
It's funny - any of the fill patterns on the right hand side I loved stitching, and those on the left hand side I hated doing. There's something about octagons that doesn't agree with me apparently.

Well, it's back to the HAED for a bit I think.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

HSH - Page 1 Finished!

Over the holidays I managed to finish page 1 of my HAED Home Sweet Home. It took me about 3 weeks to stitch, though at the end I was stitching 5-6 hours a day since I was on holidays.


While at my parent's place, I remembered to take pictures of the framed AAN tree that I stitched for my brother.