Supersize please.

I ended up ordering the supersize version of Sugar and Spice because the detailing on it is amazing. I was going to start it in 28 count but I decided to save up for the 25 count fabric because I like the looks of that more. In the meantime I have been working on a ton of different projects. I finished the second row of pages on the Story keep and started the row with the words.

I made this Precious Moments ornament over two days. Fastest project ever. 

Then I started Witches' Night Out by Blackberry Lane Designs. And have gotten this far...

I have also started Hocus Pocus by Tilton crafts and am half way through the first page.

This is going to be really cool looking when done.

Then I restarted Boreas on 25count fabric. Looking much smoother. I thought I would never go higher than 18 but this 25 count has weaseled its way into my heart.

I have been laid up with Strep throat and bronchitis again which is accounts for the progress on projects I have been making. This time it was bad enough to send me to the ER because I have a hard time catching my breath. Been using an inhaler often which is so strange to me. I don't have asthma but right now I feel as though I do. The strep seems to have cleared up, now just waiting for the rest of me to heal. In the meantime I have been stitching and I have ordered more patterns than I can ever finish. I thinking need to sit down and go through them again and get rid of any I can't see myself stitching now.

Progress

Many days ago... I am making nice progress on two of my projects. I have picked up my son's story keep Strength and am almost finished with the dragon, then I just have another pages and a column or so to do and that one will be complete. 

This is where I ended. 

When I am not working on this one I am working on my Sugar and Spice.

Only problem I am having with this is the lighting I have is not great for working on 25count fabric. So I have picked up a pair of 1.00 reading glasses. Hopefully it will help. I need to work on my kits but I haven't felt the call lately. The trick or treat witch will probably be the first to be finished as it is the furthest along right now. I haven't worked in it since my last update though.

Sugar and Spice

I have an update on the Trick or Treat witch.

This has been a fun stitch and the few days I have worked on it have gone fast. I have been neglectful of the kits I started and all other WIPs in my preparation of starting Sugar and Spice Heaven and Earth Design pattern by Dona Gelsinger. Such a beautiful piece of art and I have been longing to start it. After a few unsuccessful starts, fabric count issues and thread coverage problems, I finally found the combination that works for this one. 25ct Magic guide fabric with 1 over 1 full crosses. I had originally intended to wait til the Millenium Frame I ordered arrives before starting but I finally gave in early. I have stitched very little time over 3 days but here they are.

Day 1& 2 (I missed a day one pic)

Day 3

Each stitch is so dainty and smooth. I am much happier with this than my first attempts.such a tiny portion completed but I am very pleased with the progress so far. Today's progress was in part to the fact that I found a way to enlarge and print my PDF pattern to 4 pages per 1 page originally which makes the symbols so much easier to read and my stitching goes faster. I was using my Kindle and swore I'd never go back to paper. Then my Kindle crashed, had to be reset to factory settings and all my progress was erased. So back to paper I went and now with the enlargements to the print outs I am content to continue this way for now.

2 finishes and multiple new starts

Warning, picture heavy post ahead. I finally finished Pansies. I still need to wash, iron and frame it but it is done.

I also finished a small project commissioned as a gift by sister-in-law. While I loved the process, and having a finish so quickly, this isn't really my cup of tea. This pattern I got off of Etsy. I was disappointed in the pattern because it wasn't the same as the picture shown so I just followed the picture instead.

After these two finishes I joined two SAL on the Cross Stitch and Discuss Facebook page. Design Works SAL and Joan Elliott SAL. For the first one I started two kits, Coffe Break and Be Joyful. For the JE I started Trick or Treat, which I have the most done on so far.

Coffee break above.

Be Joyful (I have more done now)

Trick or Treat.

As a special treat for myself I saved up and ordered the Millenium Frame by Needleneeds in the UK and am excited to receive it whenever it arrives. I have heard it can take several months to arrive so I am prepared for the wait. My dad helped me make adjustments to my floor stand so it should now work wonderfully with it. 

I already have plans to start the HAED Sugar and Spice by Dona Gelsinger as soon as it arrives. I am in love with that pattern and am finding it hard to resist starting since it is all kitted up and ready to go. I did get a tiny bit more progress on the HAED storykeep for my son.

I am working on whatever strikes my fancy at the moment and have been getting quite a bit of progress done, especially since we are moving once again. (All for the good and a giant step towards our future but still it is exhausting and time consuming.) I have given in to working on the project that I am yearning for instead of trying to force myself to work on one that I find a chore to do. This means I have a LOT of WIPs going but I have noticed that my speed has improved on my work if I am really into it. For instance the Trick or Treat Witch has only been worked on since Friday when I put in about 10 stitches, so I have high hopes I can get a few of these kits completed this year.

Decision made...

After much deliberation I decide to stitch Patchwork Teddy stocking. This is an older Bucilla kit from 1997. My niece picked it out he year before last and I would like to get all of the kid's stockings done this year. I have 5 to do so we shall see how that goes. Here is a picture of how it will look in the end.

On a seperate note my Janlunn Sprong Sampler came in now I have all four. These aren't as fancy as some patterns out there but there is something about them that struck a chord with me and I look forwarded to making them. Here are some pictures of what they will look like. 

Also, I have two Deminsion kits on their way.

Twilight bridge (cheap off eBay)

Maggie the Messmaker.

Stocking #10

Another WIP finished. I just put the finally stitched into my brother's stocking. This isn't the best of photos but it will do.

I had our mom write his name and used transfer paper to stitch her handwriting onto his stocking. I thought it would mean more to have that part of her as a part of his stocking. Now I am deciding which one to do next of the 11 stockings I have  to do. So many choices.

WIPs

Sorry I don't have any pictures this time. I have been thinking about all of my WIPs that I have going as well as all of the projects I want to do and I was getting overwhelmed just at the thought. So I pulled out a few WIPs and planned to get something finished this weekend. The plastic canvas dollhouse for my daughter is one of the biggest and most time consuming. This will be a long while for the entire house to be finished so I have been considering each room as it's own project. I completed the construction of the first floor hallway. That was a chore since the door is functional, it was a pain trying to attach it correctly. It works, but I just hope no one does a close inspection of the inner seam as it is a bit messy. I have had some thoughts as to scrapping this project all together because it is massive, and I will have to redo the very large foundation, but each time I think of it I just can't bring myself to do it.

The next WIP was my brother's stocking. I was very close to having this finished at Christmas last year but just didn't make it on time. Since then I hadn't touched it. Today I finished embroidering his name and attaching the liner and the back. I only have the hanger to attach, the wreath  for his arm to construct and a candy cane to insert into the stocking and it will be finished. That work is minimal so I have my fingers crossed that I will have it done tonight or tomorrow night. 

After that I plan to crack down on Pansies. This will take a few days to finish the cross stitching and then a few more for all the backstitching but it will be very nice to have something completed. The remaining WIPs are very large projects that will take a very long time to finish. I have heaven and earth designs storykeep Strength, regular Boreas, Mini Kathleen and Summer, and Mini Hit Any Key. As for the dollhouse I really need to buckle down so it will be done in time for my daughter to actually play with it. The next room has a ton of pieces, it is the kitchen. All the cabinets, as well as the trash compactor and refrigerator and stove open. 

All of this came about while thinking about our future. We have talked about moving in a couple of years to Oregon and the thought of packing up so much stuff is exhausting. I started one drawer/cupboard at a time and am slowly but surely downsizing our belongings. Hopefully by the time we really are ready to move it will be an easier process than last time.

Storykeep and other, update

I was working pretty consistently on the storykeep but I did eventually get bored of all those greens. Here are a few updated photos.

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16 or the day boredom set in.

At this point I needed a bit of color, something different. So, I pulled out a WIP. It's a Stoney Creek pattern called Fright Night Friends and it is a cute Halloween bellpull. I was aiming for color and laughed when I picked it up to find the first thing to stitch next was a white ghost. He came out super cute I think. 

This was my weekend project and it worked. It cured my boredom. The next letter has a pumpkin sign that uses a lot of  glow in the dark threads. I may have to purchase more to finish them, also I found I was missing a color. So back into the WIP pile it went. I need to check my supplies to the list before continuing. Fortunately though, this little tangent brought back my desire to work on the storykeep as well as Boreas. I pulled that out last night and got just a tiny bit of stitching done.

And just as little done today.

I think I will keep the storykeep a my travel project and Boreas for my home project till one or the other demands my full attention. Boreas takes a lot longer than the other HAED because of all the color changes and I was attempting to show my son how to cross stitch. He has really been interested in learning.

Story keep 10, 11 & 12

 I used the wrong color towards the top and I had to frog it and redo a lot of it Day 10, before correction.

And day 10 and 11 after correction...

And this is where I am at now, day 12.

I have the first page done and only this last column to fill in before moving to the next row of pages. I love how it is working up. I am already planning my next focus HAED piece. I have quite a few kitted up I just need to decide. Boreas has completely lost my interest even with the better fabric to work with. I'm not going to force it, otherwise I will ruin it. So I am currently waffling between three

Warm at Home.

Christmas Presence, by Miles Pickney

And finally, my newest acquisition, Sugar and Spice by Donna Gellsinger. I am really leaning toward this one and the cat one. I may do both, that way when I get tired of working with so many colors in Sugar and Spice I can turn to Warm at Home.

 

My story keep has three full pages and four partials that total about 5 columns, if that. I think I can get this done soon. At least I hope so. Last two days I haven't worked on it at all, first day I had a migraine and yesterday between work and grocery shopping I was too exhausted.

Day 7, 8 & 9 storykeep

Storykeep update. I've been listening to my first audiobook while I stitch and I am really enjoying it. I chose 1776 written and read by David McCullough. I already plan to get his John Adams biography next month. Here is day 7...

Day 8...

And day 9 (tonight's progress)...

Restart, again

I have restarted Boreas so many times I have lost count, so I figured one more time can't hurt. The 18count oatmeal colored aida I am using for the storykeep has been so relaxing and the coverage so nice I began thinking of Boreas. I have been dreading working on it because it just hasn't been enjoyable. The amount of fabric I cut off for the storykeep left just enough to do Boreas with 2.75" all around. My floor stand and scroll frames have been torturous for me to use on this so I gave them up and have resorted to a hoop and rolling the extra fabric. There is an enormous amount of color changes in this one so over two days I have only been able to get close to finishing the first column of page 1. I do have to say this I am very happy with this, finally. Another plus, I haven't broken any needles yet.

Day 1

Day 2

On a non-stitching note I have potted a few plants to go by my front door, columbines, violas and snapdragons. Love the way these look but I have a notorious black thumb so fingers crossed they survive. I am hopeful.

Storykeep day 5 &6

I would have gotten further along on this except I came down with a stomach virus yesterday that really knocked me out. So here are days 5 & 6 .

Day 5:

Day 6:

3 columns of page 1 finished with a little over 2,400 stitches completed.

Storykeep day 3 & 4

With so few colors this storykeep is working up fast. 

Day 3

Day 4

I really like my new needleminder. The color was a surprise, when I ordered it the picture looked black. The green is really pretty actually so I am happy with it. With the needleminder came my order of the fabric and floss for Mini Warm at Home. I ordered 20ct lugana for it. The fabric looks nice and I am looking forward to trying it. I will start this when I finish something I have already started...at least that is what I keep telling myself, now I just hope I listen.