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.