The wonders of back stitching!

I feel like I have been quite productive this week! With just a few lines of back stitch....ok, maybe  a bit more than a few :) ....my Christmas design is almost done!

I can see the end in sight! Just one more bit of stitching to do.... a little pocket under the mouse who looks like he's floating in space!

I've even bought some fabric so that I can finish off the design.....a lovely bright red polka-dot fabric. I have no excuses....this WILL be finished way before Christmas. Woo-hoo!

Max the cat hasn't been ignored either. This was how he looked last time...

....and this is how he looks now...

Quite a change! I did say that I had been productive :)

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Almost ready for Santa! (I know it's only June!!!)

Since my camera battery has just died, and I have absolutely no idea where the charger is, I only have one update picture to show you....

 It doesn't look much just now....the horrible lighting doesn't help either.....but once the back stitching is done it will look great.....well, I think will anyway! :)

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Summer sun and Christmas stitching!

Only I could be stitching a Christmas design on one of the hottest days of the year! The things we stitchers do to be organized and have the perfect stitched gifts for family and friends :)

As you may recall I was stitching one of my own designs......

...well it's stitching up beautifully......

.....and such fun to work on.....

...until you run out of pale grey and pale blue thread. And to make matters worse, it seems like they are the only two colours that are missing in all the craft stores! Grrrr.  Luckily for me, one of the stores is getting a delivery of thread this week....so fingers crossed that DMC 800 and 3072 is on the delivery truck and I can get back to working on this cute design again.

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Max and the UFO

Max seems to be growing at a very pleasing rate......

I have started the third and last panel of Max! It doesn't really look like anything just now....just some brown squiggles, but it should begin to look more like a cat with the next session of stitching. (Hopefully tonight!)

Max was interrupted when I decided to pick up an old UFO :) This is one of my own designs and I had started stitching it just before Christmas, but it had been kind of relegated to the 'I-don't-need-to- work-on-that-just-now-as-I've-got-plenty-of-time-to-finish-it' pile....which of course means that it never gets finished in time! I did some stitches on it last month but it was in danger of being another no-show for Christmas.......again!

I decided that if I was going to get it done in time for this Christmas I really should get a move on and keep working on it! So this one is back in my sewing basket to be worked on in-between some Max stitching sessions. It's stitching up quite quickly so hopefully I'll have lots of progress to show you next time!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Max the cat

Max the cat number two is finished.....all except for the back stitching!

Such a lazy looking kitty.....just like my own Smokie (which is why I chose to stitch this design!)

Since I had finished the second part of Max, I decided to squeeze in another quick stitch before proceeding with the third and last part of Max....

 ...another free kit...

.... a cute Margaret Sherry design....

 ....that came with a printed card.  Doesn't it look great?

Such a cute design......and perfect for so many different occasions....another one to add to my stash of finished cards.

So all in all, it feels like it was a very productive week!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Lots more of Max!

Max number 2 is coming on quite quickly....that's what happens when you binge watch Netfilx all weekend! Here's where I left off last week.....

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

.... a great weekend of stitching accomplished....too bad about all the chores that were on the to-do list!


Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

A little card design....and Max (of course!)

My supply of cross stitched cards is getting quite low, so I decided it was time for some quick stitch designs for making in to cards......

I have already stitched one of these geisha girl designs and decided to stitch another one, as they are quick, easy and fun!

Unfortunately, I can't find the last few strands of the light green that I need for the french knots in her hair and for some details on the bottom of her kimono. I think the cat might have stolen them :) 

And speaking of cats.....here's an update on Max.....

I seem to have made quite a bit of progress on this one....feeling quite happy about this!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Max, mice and housework

As I was sorting out the pictures to post here I was thinking how busy and productive I've been this week.....then I realized that it was actually two weeks worth, since I didn't manage to post last week! Duh!!!

First on the list of things to show is Max the cat.....

I'm well under way on the second panel of Max....and still enjoying working on him.

Then there's a finish! Lizzie Kate's 'Housework' didn't take long at all.....

I'm sure I will stitch this design again (it's a great quick stitch gift idea!) but next time I will alter the colours from the DMC colours suggested as I'm not too sure if I like them or not. (Also it's more fun to change things up a  bit!)

I've also managed to get quite a bit of crocheting done as it's easier to crochet while watching TV rather than stitching....and when it's ice hockey season, I'm watching the TV! So here's how my afghan looks all rolled up in my work basket.....

....of course, I'm almost finished it now that the warm weather is arriving and I will have no need to use it....at least it kept me warm while I was working on it!

There's still quite a bit to go to get it to the length that I think would be best and then also an edging to be done, so it's going to be sitting on the work basket for quite a while yet.

I also picked up a design that I started last year and didn't get done in time for Christmas....always my problem...... but I'm sure it will be done in time for this Christmas!

If only every week could have so much progress made, it would be wonderful!


Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

One of those weeks...

Last week was not a good week at all. So on Friday, I decided to come home early and just stitch. No housework, no phone calls, no cooking....nothing but stitching.....yay, how to make the week better in one easy move!

So while driving home, I'm thinking about what to stitch.....yes, a crappy week deserves  a cup of tea and a new start :) Ohhhh....and I have a new set of q-snaps to use too......the week may not be so bad after all! A quick trip to the library to pick up a DVD to watch while stitching....perfect! 

Except......the kettle's on the blink, the q-snaps (cheaper craft store brand) clamps are so tight that they won't come off......and to top it all....the DVD is French with English sub-titles.....arghhhhh! How on earth can you stitch and read subtitles? Yup, definitely that kind of week.

Anyhoo.......this is what I started...

Lizzie Kate's 'Housework never killed anyone' ....seemed appropriate since I wasn't going to do any housework :)

This is how it looks so far using the recommended DMC threads. A great design that isn't complicated and doesn't require too much concentration to stitch......great if only the movie had been in English!

Hope you're having a better week than I am!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Baby feet!

Finally, I was able to finish the baby feet birth sampler! Baby Ricardo made his appearance into the world on April 12th. Both mum and baby are doing well. I made the little birth sampler as a wall hanging....

....baby feet are always so cute....

Now to get it parceled up along with some other baby gifts and posted to the proud new parents :)

This week has been a rather hectic week  with not an awful lot of spare time, but I did manage to get some stitching done on Max....

.... and a little bit of back stitching is bringing the face to life.  Hopefully, he'll be even more alive looking by next post!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Goldilocks eyes

Ahh, good old Max the cat and the tale of getting the eyes 'just right' ! 

For those of you who haven't been following along with the tale of Max the cat, this is a Dimensions kit which I chose to stitch as it looked so like my lazy cat Smokie.....except for the eyes. Max the cat has gorgeous yellow eyes, but Smokie has misty green eyes and I wanted to stitch the design to be Smokie, sooooo..... time to break out the thread collection and match Smokie's eye colour. Not as easy as first thought :)

Too weird a colour....

...too green...

....getting closer...

....success! Even though blogger keeps rotating the picture!!!

 And here he is (or really it should be she, as Smokie is a female!).......

Woohoo....Max is now officially Smokie! It was worth all the hassle of picking out thread combinations and all that unpicking to get it just right. Just the other two cats to do and the dreaded back stitch!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Zombie cat!

Poor old Max the cat still hasn't got any eyes! I loved the fact that many of you wonderful readers thought he looked like a zombie......I have to agree, he does a bit! 

I'm going to change the colour of the eyes to more of a pale green colour instead of the yellow of the chart so that it looks more like my kitty. 

Hopefully, I'll get round to picking (and stitching!) the right shade of green this week. Fingers crossed that next time you see him, poor old Max will look less creepy!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona