Late Turtle Trot

I have been a particularly poor blogger lately. Sorry. :(  Life has been a bit nuts.

However, I do have progress to show on a few of the pieces from my Turtle Trot list. (For more info on Turtle Trot, go here.)

I've put in a few more stitches on Welcome by Kincavel Krosses.

And I have been busily working on Elizabeth by Mirabilia for the last 2 weeks (and loving every stitch).

I think there's a chance my stitching mojo is back. Yay!

I still stitch … really!

I have good intentions when it comes to blogging. I do! But since I have little time to craft, there isn't that much to post about right now.

I've only picked up my needle once in the past month, and that's only because I went to a stitchy night with my friends. I worked on one of the projects for the Turtle Trot (hosted by BAP Attack).

Welcome Sampler by Kincavel Krosses. It'll be done … one day. Maybe?

Oh Bugger finish and other progress

Things are sailing along nicely with my UCJC projects. I finished my Oh Bugger Subversive Sampler by Kincavel Krosses yesterday, which is my 9th UCJC finish. That's 9 finishes in 5 months (and the first month doesn't really count because I was starting all the projects)! I've also had a non-UCJC finish during that time. I know I won't finish all 31 starts, but I am making a really good dent in the pile of WIPs!!

So, here's Oh Bugger all finished:

I think I'm going to frame this myself in just a simple black frame. Who knows when I'll get around to that though. :)

I also put in a little more work on Elizabeth by Mirabilia. By itself it just looks like a strange little blob, but if you look at it beside the finished picture, you can see part of the bow on her dress taking shape.

 

This piece is going to be HUGE ... for some reason when I started it I thought it would be substantially smaller. I think this confirms my lack of ability for visual-spatial conceptualization.

Oh Bugger Update 2

I've finally gotten my stitching mojo back ... if only I had the time to stitch!!

I did get a little bit more accomplished on my Oh Bugger Subversive Sampler by Kincavel Krosses.

I just love silk. Look at all that shiny, inky purple goodness!! Love it!

But I need a finish (even a small one) this month, so it's time to switch it up and pull out something else from my UCJC list.

Second UCJC Finish!

I haven't had a lot of time to stitch lately, but I've been plugging along, and finally managed another finish, the 2009 Snowflake ornament by Tor Rhuann Designs!

It doesn't quite look like the pattern though. As I got into the backstitching, I realized that my choice of fabric for this project was totally wrong. When I had originally looked at the pattern, I had seen all of the backstitching that outlined the snowflake and automatically thought that aida would work. Now that I was tackling it, I realized that almost everything in the outside border was charted for evenweave. I would have had to poke holes in the aida constantly in order to do the border. No way, no thank you! So, I decided to ditch the outer border, and I just backstitched around the outside to add a little more bling. I think it worked really well, and I am quite happy with it. :)

Look at that bling! This is the first time I've stitched with Petite Treasure Braid, and it was wonderful to work with. Kreinik and Accentuate are nice, but this was really lovely stuff.

Hurray for finish #2, and it's not even the end of February yet!

2012 UCJC - Day 28

Another fun and easy start today!! I was working on a freebie ornament called Christmas Eve Flight by thesamplergirl.com.

I made decent progress too. :) It's stitched on 18 ct white aida using DMC 321, 433, and 826. The blue might be a bit bold, but I like it!

2012 UCJC - Day 14

I'm back on the silk wagon!! Today's project is the Welcome Sampler by Kincavel Krosses stitched on 18 ct white aida using Carrie's Creations Pizzazz.

I must admit that I kind of "altered" the silk I'm using. I love the blue, green, and purple in Pizzazz, but there's actually a fourth colour (brown) that I've cut out of the lengths of floss. It was just so icky compared the the richness of the other colours. It'll be our dirty little secret, okay?

2012 UCJC - Day 12

Had a major visit from Mr. Frog today, so even though I was on a roll with my stitching, there isn't as much progress as there could/should have been. Good news is that I caught the booboo early and I'm still loving this piece. Big chunks of colour and non-varigated thread make this a joy to stitch.

Anyway, today I'm stitching the Spring Pansy by Solaria Gallery (I prefer to call it Stained Glass Pansy -- it's more descriptive) on 32 ct antique white lugana, 2 over 2, using DMC.

It's strange to think that everyone doing the Crazy January Challenge are beginning to wind down, the end is in sight. But for me, because I'm doing the Ultimate version, my challenge isn't even half done yet. Craziness!

Another start - Tree of Stitches

I always like to have a smaller project on the go, and since my Autumn Tree was finished faster than expected, I just had to go ahead and start another tree! (Seems to be a bit of a theme with me.)

This project is called the Tree of Stitches and was designed by Abi Gurden of TheStitchSpecialists Yahoo Group. It's my first time trying all of these specialty stitches, but the instructions so far are fantastic and I am looking forward to learning more.

I chose to stitch this 2 over 2 on 32 ct lugana in Siren's Ocean by Enchanting Lair. I love the colour and the mottling! So pretty! I'm using HDF silks for this as well (surprise, surprise). The trunk is done in HDF 5271, and the smyrna stitches in HDF White Chocolate.

Part 1:

My very first Smyrna stitch:

Parts 1 & 2:

QS Terra (HAED SAL) - Feb Update

My progress so far on the HAED Bulletin Board SAL:

I've almost stitched a 1/4 of the first page. The second page will be sent out at the beginning of March, but I won't be touching that anytime soon. I'll be happy if I finish the entire first page by December.

While the stitching is relatively easy right now because it's just big blocks of colour, I am really not liking the 28 ct fabric. My stitches are too small and they look uneven and funky. Bleck ... I don't like. But I refuse to restart (again) so will persevere in spite of my dislike. I'm glad I figured this out on a piece I'm not really attached to though. There is a distinct possibility that this may become a UFO (unfinished object) in the future.

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: