Monday, April 24, 2017

Slogging along! :)

It's a good job that this kitty design is so cute and absolutely perfect for my friend, otherwise it would have been in the bin by now!



I know last week that I said I was really wanting to get back to stitching the cat design, but there's something about the chart that's driving me insane. Honestly....the whole thing was almost dumped into the trash can as I was hating it so much. I think it might be the combination of symbols that are used, or maybe the symbols along with the thick back stitch lines.....whatever it is, I hate this chart. I find it quite hard on my eyes. Here's what I mean....


The cat in the design looks just like my son and his girlfriend's cat and originally I thought that I might even stitch it later in the year for the two of them.....but, nope....that ain't happening now! Once will be more than enough for this design.

I am plugging away at the design and can now finally see the kitty's ear and part of the face beginning to emerge. Here's a before and after...




All I can say is....thank goodness for project rotations....this week we bring back Etudes aux FraisesAhhh, heaven!

Here's another set of designs that are on my 'must-get-round-to-stitching-these' list (as if the list isn't long enough already!).......my fairy door design in the World of Cross Stitching magazine...


 World of Cross Stitching Issue 253
Immediate Media Co.


These little doors were such fun to design......I wanted to do more .......and I still might! These are in issue 253, which was out a few weeks ago in the UK. The magazine takes a long time to get here unfortunately.

Until next time....happy stitching!


Rhona

Monday, April 17, 2017

Spring is in the air....finally!

After all the snow we had a few weeks ago (click here for pics if you missed them!) we finally  have signs of spring which is wonderful ......


....it's just a start, but it feels so good!


So in keeping with the spring time theme, here's an update on my strawberry stitching (yeah, I know strawberries are more of a summer thing, but you get my drift!!!)

Here's what it looked like last time I posted about it...


....and here's where I am now...


Lots of stitching with one strand of thread, which for some reason, I feel goes more slowly then when stitching with two strands....I know that seems kind of strange, but I do feel I stitch far more slowly when using only one strand! The effect is wonderful and I'm delighted with how this is looking.

I'm still missing one colour of thread and every time I have been to the craft store, it's either the one and only empty slot on the thread shelf, or I haven't got the piece of paper with the number written down.  I'm running low on some of the red colours so I think another trip to the craft store is in order (with list in hand!).....fingers crossed they have the colours I need.


Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona


Monday, April 10, 2017

The two project problem!

Does anyone else have this problem when working on two different designs at the same time....each night when I start one of them, I'm wishing that I was working on the other one. It's driving me insane! 

Here's where I was with the kittie design in the last post ....


....and here's where I am now....


 And the strawberries looked like this...


....and now look like this....


There doesn't seem to be much progress with either design, but I guess that's another problem when you are working on two designs! The upside, I guess, is that I should have two finishes in quick succession!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Monday, April 3, 2017

A better week than last week....and a winner!

I feel like I have had a rather productive week....and it feels good! 

But before I fill you in on all the things I have been working on, I have to announce the winner of the chart giveaway. Drum roll, please! The winner is......Katie.... from the blog Jeremiah's Mom. Congratulations, Katie....I hope you'll enjoy stitching the Dandelion dreams chart.

Sooooo, what have I been up to this past week? Well, I stitched some more strawberries...




Don't they look scrumptious?

And then I realized that I had to start a stitched piece as a gift for a friend who is moving. If I don't start it now, it will be one of those last minute panics to get it completed in time.....you know how it goes! My friend is a cat lover, and I found this adorable Bucilla kit which would be perfect for stitching for her....


Such a cute kitty!


The design is quite small, only 5 x 7 inches, but it is very densely stitched....in fact, it's stitched all over, so it may take a while to do.

So I've done strawberries and kitties this week....and also...... a brain slug! What a mixture!!!


Heehee.....yes, I surprised myself and managed to crochet a brain slug to go with the brain hat....



Now for any of you who are confused about all this (and it would be completely understandable!) the brain slug is from the TV show Futurama. So the brain hat and slug will be winging their way over to California for my son, in time for the March for Science....ah, the things we mothers do for our offspring!

And another drum roll, please....... I managed to get the last lighthouse design framed!


So I now have the three designs in matching frames...and they look wonderful together.

And one final thing that's rather exciting.....this week is world craft week!


For more info and a free downloadable mag with loads of crafting ideas and some retail vouchers, click here  (love the cross stitch projects....they are on my to-do list!). There's also a Facebook page (World Craft Week) if you want to check out what everyone is up to.

So now I'm off to try some new crafts and join in the crafting fun.

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona