Ahh......the guilt!

It's not often that I feel guilty about starting a new cross stitch project - or any project for that matter - but guilt got to me this time!

After finishing off the lighthouse design (see previous post) I was eagerly anticipating a new start and trying to decide which of my three new kits I would start on....each of them wonderful and all crying out to be picked first! Unfortunately...or maybe it's fortunately, I'm not sure.... I only have two scroll frames that are the correct size for any of the new projects, and guess what....they both have WIP's on them. And that, dear friends, is where the guilt comes in. One of these WIP's  would have to vacate the scroll frame for the new project to be started....so which one?  One I want to finish...and will finish (eventually!) and the other I kind of want to finish but would need to frog quite a bit of it ( I'm not happy with the shading) and I know that if I take it off the frame, I'd probably never go back to it.
So...what to do...remove one that I want to finish, or remove the other knowing that it would be relegated to a UFO?

Guilt, guilt, guilt!

Since I'm fortunate enough to have a few projects to keep me busy for a while, maybe the best thing to do to banish the guilt would be to actually complete at least one of the WIP's.....logical, uh?


Soooo, I'm back working on Twilight Fairy!

Here's where I left her....

...and I can't believe that it was November when I last worked on her (oh, more guilt!) ....and here she is now...

.....ahh...feeling a bit less guilty now! I WILL get her finished!

And in case you're curious to know what the design on the other scroll frame is (my almost UFO)....it's this one...

...and the strange thing is, I have seen other bloggers working on this and it looks wonderful....so why does the shading on the bodice part really bother me? Maybe it's something as simple as I've used the wrong colour of thread! :) Anyhoo....hopefully this Geisha won't end up as a UFO...but I can't promise!!!


Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Slower than slow!

I call myself the Queen of Slow Stitchers and although the title is self appointed, it's truly well deserved. I've been working on my Geisha all this week and I feel like I have nothing to show! I even went back and looked at the last picture I had taken of it and I was hard pressed to find any progress. It's so disheartening. Anyway, this is where I am with it now....

Doesn't look any different, does it? This one is fast becoming one of those projects that ends up in the back of a cupboard unloved and unwanted. Please feel free to lecture me on how I shouldn't give up on it.....a good kick up the you-know-what is probably required!

Anyway, here's a new crochet project that I started that I know I'll not give up on. This was a free pattern from red heart yarns and you can see it here. I decided to change the colours from the very pale colours they used as I have two grey cats who just love to lie on anything that they shouldn't! So here are the colours that I chose...

The pattern called for four plain colours, but I decided to substitute one of the colours for this variegated one as I thought the colours were gorgeous.

Mmmm, all my favourite colours in one ball! Here's a close-up of how the stitch looks when done...

My daughter decided to do the same pattern and she chose purples and pinks to use on her throw. And to prove my point about the cat sitting on anything they're not supposed to, here's the proof...

She knows a pretty blanket when she sees one! 

Crocheting with four strands on wool and a rather large hook means that this grows quite quickly and certainly keeps you warm with that laying over your lap as you work....it's been rather nice working on this during the arctic blast we are experiencing just now. Too bad cross stitching doesn't keep me warm....maybe there would be more progress to show on my geisha!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Message in a bottle...

....well, it's actually a cross stitch in a bottle!

This adorable necklace came from Michelle  (you can find her blog here) and it came in a gorgeous little drawstring bag....too cute.  Can you believe it, she can do smaller bottles!!!  I do love the necklace - thanks Michelle!


Sticking with the cross stitch theme, I did manage to get back my mojo and have actually put needle to fabric! I've done a bit more on my Geisha....not much, but anything is better than nothing. 

Not great progress but time seems so limited at this time of year, don't you think?

I also managed to finish crocheting all the granny squares together and although it looked good, it didn't look great :(  (Also very hard to photograph!)

It look kind of unfinished and although I was desperate to say I had finished it, I decided that it probably needed a border all round the edge to pull it all together. So off I tootled, back to YouTube, to find out how to do an edging. The result was well worth the effort. Now I just have to decide if I want to repeat the edging (I do have an extra ball of yarn) and have a double border all round....what do you think?

I think a "Crochet for Dummies" book should be on my list to Santa this year!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

TUSAL and other updates

Although my cross stitch bug has abandoned me and shows no sign of returning, I do (surprisingly) still have a few orts in my jar to show...

Most of the orts come from the felt stocking I have been working on, but more of that later! The little bear and the diary and address book were a lovely surprise from Michelle at Shells Stitching for being her first guest blogger - thanks Michelle, that was a lovely surprise! Do pop over and check out her blog  -  she's having a fab giveaway too!

So, onto the threads that were in the ort jar. Most of them were from my stocking which looked like this the last time you saw it...

...but now looks like this....

After what feels like a million sequins and a million and one of those oh-so-tiny beads that refuse to  do what they're told, I'm almost finished...yay! Unfortunately, I have run out of those annoying little beads and also one colour of thread. Of course, stitchers law...every blue thread that I own doesn't match the thread that's in the kit! 

Anyway, here are some close ups of the stocking. Unfortunately, it's such a miserable rainy day here and the light isn't good to catch the sparkly effect of the beads and sequins.

So just the arms, mittens and the top part of his scarf and he'll be done!

And in the hope of tempting my stitchy bug to return, here are the updates of the WIP's, although I'm not sure if technically they can be called WIP's since I haven't worked on them in a couple of weeks.

Simple Treasures....

Geisha...

And last but not least, the good old Granny Squares!

This angle makes it look like there's even less than last time, but there's a couple more piles hiding behind the ones you can see!

And this is how it looks when they are all laid out...

Now I just have to figure out how to join them all together...YouTube, here I come!

Phew! For someone who has lost their stitchy bug, I'm quite surprised at how much I have to show you!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

TUSAL and other updates.

I'm quite surprised at how many orts are in the jar this month! I've either stitched more than I had though, or I have been rather wasteful with the threads. I'm hoping it's the first excuse reason. Here's this moths orts along with my jar for the year...

I've also managed to finish the last of the scarves that are Christmas gifts (and it's only October!!! Woohoo!)

I found a really interesting cushion cover made from this yarn, which I'm quite tempted to try. You can see it here.  I'm just not sure if my knitting skills are up for the challenge!

The granny squares count is creeping up albeit rather more slowly than I had hoped!  The grand total is now 86. 

And finally, some updates on my cross stitching projects! Here's the progress on the Geisha...

And you might have to be a bit eagle eyed to see any changes in Simple Treasures...

...but there are a few more stitches than last time - honestly!

Phew! I think I've been rather productive...let's hope it lasts.

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Stick the kettle on......it's a long one!

Sometimes when it comes time to write a blog post, I struggle to find something to say or to show. But today I have lots of bits to show and tell! So as I said in the title...stick the kettle on, and have a cuppa while you read!

First of all, my ‘shows’….

I’ve added some more Christmas charts to my website and have been busy stitching up some samples for you to see….

  

I’ve actually finished the penguin and the holly as items but will show you those finishes in my next post.

My next show is from this month’s World Of Cross Stitching magazine…

 The World of Cross Stitching

Immediate Media Co.

Issue 195

My merry elves! And don’t you just LOVE the card format they have used?

 The World of Cross Stitching

Immediate Media Co.

Issue 195

 I’ve made easel cards before (see mine here) but I adore the shaped front they have used….certainly something I’m going to add to my ‘to-try’ list! 

And I have to show you some progress on the Geisha…

 I’ve been trying to get some of her done while I watch the second series of Downton Abbey on DVD, but I’m afraid that I do too much watching and not enough stitching! Sadly I have to wait till the new year for the next season to hit our shores, so I should be able to get quite a bit of her done before then!

Phew! That’s my ‘shows’ for today.  Now might be a good time to top up that cuppa! 

Now to get on with the ‘tell’ part!

Did you notice I’ve got 200 followers! Yayyyy! So, welcome to those new followers and a big thank you to those who have been with me over the past (almost) 2 years.

I’ve met some wonderful people through blogging…I don’t know why I was so hesitant to start blogging! I think the 200 mark should be celebrated with another giveaway - don't you?!!! (More news to follow.)

And now, I would like to introduce you to a relatively new blogger, her name is Michelle and this is her blog here. Please pop over and visit her and if you click on her ‘My Guest’ pages, you’ll find….well, I’m not going to say, you’ll have to visit and find out!!!

And last of all, I have to tell you that I have made…..drum roll…

 .....seventy one granny squares!  And with all those loose wool ends, I might have to change my blog name to Tangled Wool!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

A quick update!

I'm busy working on some Christmas designs for my website but wanted to give you a quick update on my Geisha and Life's Simple Pleasures stitching. 

Although I've been  stitching like mad, it's been on designs that I can't show you until they're published so, sadly, there's not much progress on these two designs.

Here's the Geisha progress...

I normally leave any white stitching until the end, in the hope of keeping it clean, but for some reason, I decided to stitch the white as I came to it....I hope I don't regret this decision later on!!!

And here's Life's Simple Treasures.....

There would have been more progress to show you on this design, but I stupidly didn't read the chart correctly and was happily stitching away using two strands of thread only to realize (once I had completed the whole area) that I should have been stitching with only one strand of thread! Grrrrr.  I did think about leaving it as it was, but it was an area that was supposed to be a shadow and it really didn't look right, so I had to unpick a whole night's worth of stitching....I'm not a happy bunny! There's still a bit more there that has to be unpicked so my next update might have even less stitching to see!

An finally (well for cross stitching!), here's some stitching that I was working on a while ago but couldn't let you see it till it was published....

Obviously it's supposed to be above a dog's bed or kennel, but since we don't have our little pooch anymore I just had to hang it on the door! 

Here are some close ups...

This design was in Craftseller magazine issue 14.

And just in case you were wondering, here's  the granny squares update.....

Total to date....50!!!!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Cake and stitching

Yes, I've got both to show you!

First of all I have to show you the birthday cake my daughter made for me.....

Totally yummy! It's not really a cake, it's more of a pie. It has a shortbread base with white chocolate and cream cheese frosting and some super delicious fruit on the top. Looks very healthy, but probably has about a million calories per slice! It's a good job we only have birthdays once a year!

As for some stitching, well I have been really good and have worked on both WIP's!  I'm just giving myself a little pat on the back for being so good! ;)

Here's the progress on the geisha..

And the progress on Life's Simple Treasures....

It doesn't look like anything much yet, but you can just see the beginnings of the star fish!

And the tally for the granny squares has increased....

There would have been more, but I ran out of yarn! Can you guess what shop I'll be heading off to at the weekend?!!! Tee hee!

Until next time...happy stitching!
Rhona

I have a confession to make!

After all the hassles of the last few weeks when it seemed as if everything was breaking down, I did what almost every women does to make things better…. a bit of retail therapy. And as a stitcher, a bit of stash enhancement retail therapy really does cheer you up!

But in my defense, I have to say that it wasn’t really my fault. I shouldn’t be blamed for it. It was all Joann.com’s fault. They sent me an email telling me that there was 40% of all cross stitch kits….how could I not click on the very convenient link and just have a little nosey. And when they had a 4cent shipping offer, I would have been MAD not to buy something! And so it happened that a certain kit just happened to be added to the shopping cart - just promise not to tell my hubby! (And I hope that you noticed I’m being good and not linking to the site as I don’t want to be blamed as an enabler to all my fellow cross stitch addicts!)

So this is what cheered me up….

 Simple Treasures by Dimensions

Designed by Sandy Orton from the Kooler Design Studio

It’s gorgeous! I can’t wait to get stitching that seahorse, but I’m being good and working methodically and will get to him in good time. I think I might even stitch him again, separately, and make a little wall hanging for the bathroom.

This is what I’ve done of the kit so far.

But, of course, as soon as I started to stitch this magnificent piece, I began to feel guilty of not working on my Geisha. She’s been hidden underneath a towel for many weeks, (maybe even months) as I had really begun do dislike working on her. So full of guilt, I pulled her out and decided to do some more of her and maybe rotate which pieces I was working on. And would you believe it…I enjoyed working on her! The threads still tangle and the colours are not as subtle as The Mighty Samurai, but we’re back in business and she’s been promoted back to a WIP!

Here’s what she’s looking like now….

  

I also managed to finish the second scarf, and just have to decide what colour to the next one!

I should also confess to the start of another addiction, but I think I might hold off and tell you about that another time….I’m feeling too guilty as it is without adding more!

Until next time…happy stitching!

Rhona

TUSAL and other news!

Before I show you my ort jar, I want to show you why I got absolutely no stitching done over the weekend......(proud mama alert!!)....

My son graduated university! Like every Mum who's child graduates, I'm very, very proud of him. He graduated SUNY Plattsburgh with degrees in Criminal Justice and Anthropology and a minor in Political Science - hard to believe this was the kid who hated doing homework in high school!

Here we are together before the ceremony...

 And afterwards...

It just seems like yesterday that we were packing up the car and getting him settled into the dorms -  and I cried all the way home!!! lol Those four years have flown by!

Anyway, enough of the proud mama stuff  and onto the stitchy stuff!



Here's my ort jar for this month....

You can see some of those lovely bright greens that I was using for the Grain of Salt design. There might even be some of the geisha threads in there, but you would have to look very, very closely! I can't believe that it has been a month since I showed you any pictures of her. Sadly, there's really not much to show. She's a VSWIP... a Very Slow Work In Progress!   ;)

I'm hoping that since it's been so long since you saw her last you'll not notice just how little progress I have made! *hangs head in shame*



Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona