Do what makes you happy!

I want to thank everyone for all the suggestion on how to keep working on kitty design with the awful chart. The suggestions were really helpful, but in the end I decided that there was no point in spending time on something that wasn't making me happy. Stitching is something that we do for pleasure and I can honestly say that I was getting no pleasure whatsoever from working on this design. In fact, I spent two evening just looking at the chart and trying to decide which part would be the least painful to work on.....even my hubby asked why I wasn't stitching it! Sooooo, I started on something else.....something that I know I would enjoy stitching (and that my friend would like too!).....a Margaret Sherry design.....

....it's called Coffee and Cuddles...

I changed the colours a bit as it's charted using Anchor threads and I don't have a complete set of anchor threads. I converted the colours to DMC and still changed them to what I liked better.....I'm a bit weird like that :) I used a softer shade of red, mine is more a pinky red rather than the very bright red that the chart called for.  It's stitching up quite quickly.....and I'm enjoying it, which is what it's all about! 

Some of you may remember that I have previously stitched this design.....and changed the colours then too!  This is the colour scheme I went with then.....and I so wish that I had written down the thread numbers that I had used, it would have made life so much easier this time! I really should invest in a stitching diary, or something of that ilk.....does anyone record their stitching in a diary or notebook? What sort of info do you record....is it the number of hours you work on each design, or thread info etc....please let me know as I'm quite curious.

I also had great success in the craft store this weekend....the missing thread for Etudes aux Fraises was in stock....finally! I picked up some other threads that I was running low on.......and nothing else! Wow....that's probably a first :)

Now I'm back to being a happy stitcher once again!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

More strawberries!

This week I have been working on Etudes aux Fraises. But can you believe that I still can't find that one elusive thread colour?  Luckily I have plenty of stitching to continue with before I have to go into panic mode about one single thread colour. I'm hoping that my local craft store will re-stock that colour soon, as I really don't want to have to order it on-line.....I hate paying postage, especially for one single item! 

Here's where I was last time on Etudes aux Fraises ......

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

The pictures aren't that great as I had to use the camera on my phone...

  ....but there's progress!

Not only did I work on this design....BUT, I also decide to (maybe!) master the sewing machine! As many of you know, the sewing machine and I are not exactly the best of friends :) But it seems  kind of silly to own the machine and not really use it, soooooo, I bought some fabric  (just a fat quarter....nothing fancy!) and decided to master the sewing machine. Perhaps not one of my better ideas, but I will persist and I will use it.  I found a rather cute idea on Pinterest (where else?!!) of fabric coasters and decide to make some and add a crochet border. So here's where I am at the moment....

....I have actually sewn two......one where I followed the instructions from Pinterest which I didn't really like and the second time I just did my own thing.  Hopefully I can complete this project and end up actually liking my sewing machine! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the crochet part of this project.

So this week, it will be back to working on the cute kitty design with the dreadful pattern, and trying to master the sewing machine.....wish me luck!


Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

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 Fraises! Ahhh, 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

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

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

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

A single strawberry!

It's been one of those weeks where I haven't been able to get any stitching (or anything else, for that matter!) done. Ah, such is life. I did manage to start stitching yesterday on Etudes aux Fraises ....

....just one single, solitary strawberry.....

....but it's a start.....and does feel good to pick up a needle again!

As you can see, I decided on plain, crisp, white aida as the fabric of choice. I looked out some 28 count white linen, then decided that the old eyes really couldn't cope with it....not if I wanted to enjoy stitching this design....which I do!

Hopefully I'll have some more strawberries to show you next time!

Remember there still time to enter the giveaway for the chart of this gorgeous dandelion design ....

....details can be found here. I'll announce the winner next week.

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Snowpocalypse and a giveaway!

Happy first day of Spring! After the major snow storm we had last week, I''m really looking forward to Spring and some spring like weather. This is how much snow we had last week....

 ....yes, that's a 24 inch ruler! It was so deep at the bottom of our drive that my poor hubby couldn't even get the snow blower to work as there was too much snow! We even had to dig out the bins..

So what is there to do when  the governor declares a state of emergency and no-one can get to work? Yup, that's right....you craft and get some of your WIP's finished. Every cloud has it's silver lining :)

So the brain hat was first on the to-do list .....

 ......pins, pins and more pins required...

With so many pins holding the cording in place, the hat ended up being quite heavy! There was lots of sewing involved and it took quite some time to get it finished ....

The lighting is a bit funny in this picture, but you can see the end result. Now I'm trying to decide if I should crochet a bright green Futurama brain slug to go with it! Time to check out the yarn stash to see what's there or if I have to go yarn shopping :)

Next to be completed was the dandelion stitching.....

Yayyy.... another finish!

I loved the fact that there was no back stitching involved in this design and that the date (or year) is stitched too. Not my usual style for stitching, but it was a nice change and I love the saying. Another piece to add to the ever-growing pile of stitching that has to be framed or 'finished' in some way.

So now that I have finished this design.....would anyone else like to stitch it? If you would like to stitch it please comment below saying that you would like to receive the chart. If there's more than one person, then I'll put the names into a hat and draw out a name. I'll leave it open for two weeks so there's plenty of time to add your name to the list. So, last date to add your name will be Sunday 2nd April and I'll announce the winner on Monday 3rd April 2017. Please feel free to share this on your blog if you would like to.

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

It's been a busy week!

Phew....what a week it's been! But at least I have some things I can show you....and some things that I can only show bits of....such is life!

So it was my daughter's birthday and I realized that I hadn't stitched a card for her....what an unorganized Mum I am!!! Anyway, thankfully I had a free kit from The World Of Cross Stitching magazine so I hastily got out the needle and threads and started stitching....

I think this was supposed to be a Valentines Day card, but I thought it worked well for a birthday card too :)

Here it is in the printed card that was supplied...

Cute...don't you think? The colours were a bit tricky to work with as they were quite close to each other, but the end result looked great. 

So, number one son asked if I could crochet brain hats for him and his girlfriend as they are participating in the March for Science where they live in California. Luckily they gave enough notice and it shouldn't be one of these projects where it's a mad dash to get it finished in time! So I crocheted just a plain hat and then made two really long crocheted cord 'things' which will be attached to the hat so that it look like a brain.....or at least, that's the plan :)

Now I just have to pin each cord on to look like a brain and then stitch the cords in place......I have a feeling that I might not be so happy half way through that part of the process.


I have a couple of projects that are taking up a bit of time, one I can't show as there's no way to take a picture without revealing what it is.....once it's published I'll show the pics of the work in progress and the finished item. Here's another project that I'm still in the beginning stages of .....this one will be such fun to get on with....and it will involve a trip to the craft store where I'm sure I'll be very good and not buy anything that I don't need ;)

The dandelion stitching was put on the back burner this week, but I did manage to do a little bit of stitching on it last night.....

One thing that I am enjoying about this design is that there is absolutely NO back stitching involved! I don't think that I have ever stitched a piece that didn't have even a little bit of back stitching in it, which seems quite surprising.

I also managed to look out all the threads for the glorious Etudes aux Fraises design...

I just can't decide what fabric to use with this design. I have seen it stitched on crisp white linen and it looked wonderful. I've also seen it stitched on a very pale grey fabric too which also looked wonderful but gave a very different look to the piece. I have a large piece of fiddlers oatmeal which might look nice and give the design that old antique illustration look.....so many choices....think I might have to stitch a trial size on each fabric then make up my mind.

Hopefully this week will be as productive as last week!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Oh my!

I just had some wonderful news that I had to share with you....

Yes.....this little blog of mine was runner up in the British Craft Awards...what a wonderful surprise! I would like to say  thank you to everyone who voted for me....and a big thank you to all of you who read my  posts every week and leave a comment...no matter how small, it's truly appreciated. Thank you.

I'm not sure who the winner was, but when I do find out, I'll let you know.....definitely a blog worth visiting!

So what else has been happening this week? I've been working on a few different things, but my camera battery has died so I can't take any pictures for you to see. I did however take a quick snap using the camera on my phone....

The light isn't too great but you can see that I have made some progress, although not too much! Time  to look out that turbo charged needle and get this finished! 

Hopefully lots of pictures for my next post.

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona