Some little finishes!

Ahh...that wonderful feeling when the stitching is complete...times three! Well, maybe it should only be two, as I finished one last week , but the other two that complete the set are now all stitched!

The first designs for Christmas cards are stitched and now ready to be made into cards....

....and the one I showed you last week....

I didn't follow the chart exactly (I'm such a rebel! 😃 ) as the half cross stitches for the background were supposed to be done in two strands of thread and I thought it looked a bit too heavy, so opted to use only one strand. I love how it looks a bit softer than on the finished pieces in the magazine.

Here's the set...

All I need to do now is trim the designs down to size and attach them to the card mounts that came in the kit.  Don't you just love those quick projects that look as if they took ages to do?

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

A finish, an almost finish and some progress!

Since it's been two weeks since my last post  (how did that happen?) I have a few things to share with you! I'll do them in the order of the post title. First up is my little finish....

You may recall from my last post that I was itching to have a finish and this free kit that came with this months World of Cross Stitching magazine arrived in the mail box at just the perfect time! The tangle of threads at the top is what happens when you are stitching in the hospital waiting room and can't lay out the threads neatly! A couple of hours waiting for hubby while he had some tests done meant that I got lots stitched and was able to finish off the design the next night. Don't you just love those quick to stitch things? There's some metallic X's in the background design which give just a subtle sparkle (a bit too subtle for the camera to pick up though!)

The 'almost a finish' is one of my own designs that I decided to stitch up...

 Since the title is clearly visible on the top of the chart ( I didn't notice it when I was taking the picture!) there's no point in trying to keep it a secret! This little Halloween banner shouldn't take too long to finish. The stitching is almost complete and since Halloween is just round the corner, I really can't procrastinate with the finishing ....I do want to use it this year!

So now I need to show you the progress I have made on Winter's Lace....

I'm getting there...slowly but surely (with the emphasis on slowly!)

Last of all, I want to share with you my oh-so-cute gift card holders that are  in this month's World of Cross Stitching magazine....

I loved the idea of taking a stitching hoop and making it into a gift card holder and was so excited when the magazine accepted the idea and the designs.  World of Cross Stitching now prints the name of the model stitcher and these designs were stitched by Jan Hazeltine who did a fantastic job with them. Here's a close up of one of the finished hoops...

 Wouldn't they look great hanging on your tree at Christmas?  They have been added to my 'to-stitch' list but I doubt if I'll get them done for this Christmas, my list is too long!

Until next time...happy stitching!

Rhona

Feeling the blues!

I'm feeling the blues....the blue threads in the sky of Winter lace! It's slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

Here's what Winter's lace looked like last week...

....and here's how it looks now...

Lots of shades of blue in this design and also lots of browns and greys for the wolf. All very muted shades but totally gorgeous...

And though I'm loving this design, I'm looking for a quick stitch project to do....I need to have that 'Yayyy, I've finished something' feeling . I'm sure you know what I mean :)

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Bookmarks and blending!

I love how the World of Cross Stitching magazine have finished my little Tomte bookmark designs....

....aren't they cute? They can be found in issue 286 which is on sale now. These little bookmarks would make great Christmas gifts. The designs also work as Christmas cards. Remember, it's never too early to start Christmas stitching ☺ (says she who hasn't even started to think about her Christmas stitching!)

And now on to blending threads.....it's those glorious wolves .....

 There doesn't look like there's been much progress, because there hasn't! I didn't stitch for a couple of nights and then when I did, it wasn't for long.

The sky is all done with blended colours which also slows down progress a bit, but the effect is gorgeous.....

As you can tell, I was getting a bit fed-up of doing the sky so I started on another of the wolves....those few dark stitches on the left hand side will be another wolf....eventually!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Finish, finished and a bit of progress!

I finally get to put on my dancing shoes and do my happy dance!

Here's my finish. It didn't take long to complete the little feather at the top....

The colours (just two) were gorgeous...

 ....and the little details, like french knots added visual interest as well as stitching interest. Yes, I'm one of those weird people who likes doing french knots!

The two smaller feathers were supposed to be done using two strands of thread, but I thought they might look too heavy so I opted to use just a single strand....I think it looks perfect.

 As for the 'Finished' part in the title, well I framed the Ice Cardinal design....

I thought the blue/grey mat went perfectly with the colours in the stitching and warmed the whole thing up compared to using a black mat. A simple black frame completed the look.

And onto the 'progress' part of the title, well I picked up the wolves design again. Since it's been a while since I worked on this design, here's the cover picture just to remind you of how it will look...

 ....and here's my progress picture...

Still lots to do!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Getting my dancing shoes ready!

I've got my dancing shoes out ready to do a happy dance......I'm almost finished another design! 

I was hoping to finish it today and show you a completely finished piece, but I had a root canal done this morning and I have such a headache that I can barely see the needle let alone the tiny holes in the evenweave fabric. This is how close I am to a finish....

....there's a little feather at the top right hand side that's half done. Once that's finished, then I can start my happy dance. This is the cover picture from the kit....

I have been stitching up a storm, but unfortunately can't show you the designs as they are for publication in a magazine. I don't normally stitch for the magazines, but these designs I wanted finished in a particular way, so it's easier for me to do the whole shebang....design, stitch and finish! Here's a sneak peek....

Could be anything, right? I promise to show it in all it's glory when it's published. And the second piece.....

....at least there's a bit more colour in this picture! And the threads carefully placed to obscure the design :) The stitching for both is completed, so now it's on to the finishing process....time to play with ribbons and beads!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

Doing my happy dance!

Yayyy for me! I have a finish....want to join me in my happy dance?

Ice cardinal is finally finished....

This one feels like it's taken forever to do....please don't look back to see the date that I started it as I'll be really embarrassed!

I'm still not convinced that the back stitching really shows up, especially round the bird's feet, but the yellow and white on his face  shows up well....

It's not easy to get a good picture of this finish and it really does look better in real life.

Here are the details of this kit - 

Dimensions kit #70-35292
Stitched on 14 count black aida
Finished size 11" x 14"
Design by Mark Mueller

Anyway, I'm glad this is finally done and I can get working on anything that's not stitched on black fabric!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

When the back stitching doesn't pop!

It's been a week of back stitching for me. I know some people hate it, others love it. I'm kind of in the middle, it's not my favourite thing to do, but I love the effect.....usually.

I finished the back stitching on the two little cards I had been working on and made them up as cards.... no more wasting away in my to-do pile!!!! 

The coloured back stitching on the butterflies really  made the design pop......

 And without the back stitching, the hot air balloons didn't look like anything, let alone hot air balloons, but now you can see what they are....

The back stitching on the balloons was a bit fiddly and I confess to not following the chart, but I know you'll keep my secret! ;)

Now the one design that isn't really 'popping' with the back stitching is the Ice Cardinal design....

I don't really know if it's making much of a difference. You really have to be quite close to actually see the back stitching. Because of this, it's not quite as satisfying to be plodding along doing the boring bit!

And more designs with back stitching.....

My pet library in this month's World of Cross Stitching magazine. Forty little designs of pets.....furry, feathery (is that even a word?) and slithery pets are all covered in this collection....

No mention in the magazine as to who stitched them, but they did a great job don't you think?

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

It's been a week for smalls!

Small finishes that is....not the underwear kind of smalls!  :)

I tried to get some of the back stitching done on Ice Cardinal, but the qsnaps frame and the fabric is rather large and the fabric kept rubbing against the poison ivy blisters that I have on my arm....not pleasant - or hygienic! 

I only managed a small bit of back stitching then decided to work on something else so that I didn't end up with an infection as well as the blisters. I finished off the seagull stitching from last week and now have another card to add to my collection...

This little kit from CrossStitcher magazine came with a small cardboard frame to place round the seagull. Originally I wasn't going to put it on as I thought it rather strange, but changed my mind once I had placed it on the stitching. I thought it was rather cute and quirky....

I then started working on another free kit, this time from Cross Stitch Crazy magazine..

....and now have a cute little luggage tag that should stand out at the airport when all those 
oh-so-similar suitcases come out on the luggage carousel...

And since I was on a roll, another freebie kit that I had tucked away in my stash was this little butterfly design....

....and if it looks familiar, it's because I have stitched this design before. I have no idea how or why I had two of these kits, but I'm not complaining!

And the last of the smalls for this week.....

....another freebie from this months CrossStitcher magazine - I do love those free kits, don't you? This shouldn't take too long to complete and then I'll have yet another card to add to my stash.

All in all, I would say it's been a good week for smalls!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona

A seagull and chips!

Not much stitching getting done here unfortunately.

When we came back from Scotland, the garden was badly needing some TLC....all the rain and the sun had caused the grass and weeds to grow with abandon. Deciding to tackle it, I donned the gardening gloves and bashed ahead with the weeding. So what has weeding got to do with me not stitching? Well I am very allergic to poison ivy, so much so that I just have to go near it and I end up with that horrible blistering rash. And that dear friends, is what happened. The rash is very painful and the heat makes it worse. Medication from the doctor helps slightly, but it is so uncomfortable to do anything!  The little seagull was finished before my encounter with the poison ivy and will hopefully  be finished into a card soon.

You may remember the mess the back of this piece was when I was stitching on the plane and didn't have any scissors to snip the threads on the back....

Yikes....how awful! Well Rachel from the blog Ten Hour Stitcher  suggested a wonderful and simple solution.....just bring the threads back up to the front of the design so they don't get tangled! How simple is that - and definitely worth sharing! Thanks Rachel :)

Fingers crossed for a finish next week!

Until then....happy stitching!

Rhona

Itching to stitch!

The last two posts have been brought to you by the magic that is Blogger's scheduling feature. I have been back in Scotland dealing with my late father's house - so not really a holiday, but nice to be back in Scotland all the same. 

I had taken some stitching with me but didn't have time to do any of it....yes two weeks without stitching - unheard of! I did manage to buy some cross stitch magazines (of course!) and was keeping them as a way to pass the time on the flight back to the US. As soon as we were on board the plane coming home, the stitching magazines had their plastic covers ripped from them and the contents devoured. Then it was time to start one of the free gifts that came with the magazines....ah, the heavenly feeling of threading the needle and starting a new project!

Of course, being on a plane meant no scissors allowed and so the freebie kit became a bit of a mess on the back since I couldn't cut any of the threads...

Oh my goodness....this drives me insane....the threads tangle up and get caught in the stitches....I'm sure you can feel my pain :)

Anyhoo, lots of turbulence meant that stitching was a bit difficult to do (that needle refused to go in the correct hole) so this project is in my current to-do pile and being worked on just now...

Being the queen of slow stitching, it's still not finished!

Coming back to all that laundry and the usual pile of bills and junk mail that always awaits you after a holiday, was made easier by finding this months issue of World of Cross Stitching sitting waiting for me. Issue 284 has my matching game designs in it...

A cross stitch version of the traditional game...

My kids adored playing this game when they were little and I love being able to use cross stitching for more than just pictures for on the wall!

Also in this issue is an interview with yours truly......

...with a very rare photo of me!

So now it's time to go visiting all your lovely blogs and get caught up with the backlog of blog reading. Thanks for visiting!

Until next time....happy stitching!

Rhona