Another finish..... Black Capped Chickadee from Just Cross Stitch magazine... Sept/Oct 2010 issue.... loved this one so much I think I'll do at least one more from this series.

The heart is now framed.... love it. 

Heaven and Earth Challenge #3

Continuing on using cupcake for the challenge.  This time around it's using parking doing either colums of 10 and moving across the page or doing down 10 rows and moving across the page.  I'm going with the full rows across the page so that I'm sure I'll not have lines showing.  I'm also feathering and working out around the edges in some areas. 

Heaven and Earth Designs Challenge #2

I finished just in time..... we now have ears a little and part of a butterfly.  I'm continuing on and doing challenge 3 as well.

Have been busy, busy this past few weeks.  One project that has kept me occupied is this lovely heart design.  I've made two of these now.  One in the recommended reds and then a second in a set of purples.  I did put the date on the red one also but didn't get a photo with the date.   The fabric I used for both was 25 count white lugana.  I wanted them just a touch larger than the recommended 14 count would have done.  I worked two over two on both. 

The red dmc threads used were:  606, 666, 817, 498, 815, 814
The purple dmc threads used were:  211, 210, 3837, 552, 550, 154

This pattern came from etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KHANNAandILAN?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Heaven and Earth facebook challenge 2

The heaven and earth facebook group is doing a series of challenges.  The current one is to do a whole page by cross country stitching.  What that is means you take one color and you stitch that color every where it is on that page.  I do this often, sometimes for a section, sometimes for a page, sometimes and entire pattern..... it just depends on the pattern I'm work on.  So I'll show my progress on Cupcake: 

 

Stitch Maynia .... Year of Starts Update

Stitched the rest of one of the year of starts and my new start for this month I also completed. 

This came from Just Cross Stitch magazine April 2014 issue.  I used Dmc floss for the materials and a piece of material from my stash.  I am pulling this year from stash and a lot of it is lots off of ebay, some I know the brand of material and some just the thread count.

 

Here's my second finish on the year of starts..... this is from Just Cross Stitch magazine issue May/June 2004.  The original said 1773 at the top and  said beverage of the Colonists but I'm making this for a gift and put in the couples year they were married and their family name to tie into their home better.  I did modify the pattern in two additional places on the right hand side near the Olde the pattern did not call for the small berry leaf but this is a mirror image pattern and I felt it needed it.  Also on the side of the sign again one side had the stitch out to the side but the other didn't so I put it in to match up.  This is a really fast stitch and can easily be completed in a few evenings worth of work.

SALs..... my first finish of the year.... and a wonky schedule

Hi everyone,

So.... it's been busy, busy around here.  We have had two work schedules change and I'm not sure if I'm on first shift or second and I am not the one leaving the house every day :o)  I used to be able to get up at 5am and get stuff going and get the house up and running around 6am.  Now I've got one getting up at 4:30 am while another gets home at 2:30 am .... one needs it to be still in the morning but to be with them mid-morning till they leave..... the other needs me up to get them off and running super early in the morning and then have everything quiet later in the early evening so they can go to bed.  Yeah.... it's killing me.... I can't do a normal workroom schedule, I can't clean when I normally do, and I can't jump in and get work done early in the mornings because of the noise.... I'm awake super early, about the time I get to sleeping good one comes in..... I don't know if I can take this wonky schedule.  But I am getting a bit of uninterrupted time in the evenings when I have to have everything quiet to do some stitching. 

I'm a member of the facebook group called Stitch Maynia and have joined a few Sals.  I have a finish from one of those to show off and once I get it fully finished into a pillow I'll show that as well.  This was from the Jan/Feb issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine 2003 and is called Love is in the Air .

 

 

 I stitched this on Charles Craft Ivory Linen 27 count.  I converted the Gentle Arts Sampler Threads that the pattern called for and used DMC instead.  This is roughly 5 x 7 stitched area... actually a little less than that.  I worked 2 over 2 and this took somewhere between 4 to 5 hours of stitching time.  I am really pleased with it and love the color conversion. 

Cross Stitch Plans for 2016

It's a new year and I've got several "news" for this year planned.  First, I'm going to do a rotation this year.  Last year life forced me to do some rotation work and I actually found that I liked it so this year it's planned.   Last year my mother's health sucked up my life and so I was just putting out little fires all along.  This year I can plan my work out a bit more.  So here's what my thoughts are. 

First..... I'm finishing off the three cross stitches I've spoke of before that my husband brought in from an auction .  All these stitches were started by a lady who was a victim of domestic violence and to honor her and her family that died so tragically in 2014  I will complete them and give them a loving home. 

Here's a peek at them currently:

 

This one I've actually gotten a little of the back stitching done already but this is the most recent photo. This is the one that I will work on first in my rotation.



 

 

This one I have all the stitching finished and the back stitching just need to turn it into something... possibly a pillow or a wall hanging. 

 

This one I thought had a huge amount of back stitching but it doesn't and will be the one I put into my rotation once the Winter Wonderland is done.

 

This one I'm going to have to pull out a little of the back stitching that is already on there and start mostly fresh on back stitching as there are a couple spots that are a tad off kilter.  This one will be the last one I put into my rotation.

 

 

 

 

So my rotation will consist of three larger pieces in the works always.  Then I'll have one week of the month that I will just work on whatever is calling me or something small.... I have plans on doing ornaments and some smalls through out the year pulled from my Just Cross Stitch collection ( I've got every issue but one I think). 

 

 

I'm going to join several of the SAL on the facebook group called Stitch Maynia .  So far I've joined up the year of starts and I'm doing one new start each month for a total of 12 new starts.  For that event I have most planned and will sit down and get the order I want to work on them set up later in the month. 

 

Year of Starts SAL:

January New Start:

*Paula Vaughn ..... Rose of Sharon

This one has a history with me.  I bought it back in the 80's.  I started it, stitched up quiet a bit.... had to frog it.  Started it again in a different spot and did the same thing.  Frogged that out and started it a third time.... you guessed it.... mistake big time..... that time I just pitched it fabric and all and that's the only project I've ever done that to.   I'm a  very different stitcher now and can't believe this thing whipped me before.  I have already started stitching on the handrail this morning so it's going.   

 

 

New Year / New Start SAL:

I've also signed up to do the New Year/ New Start event.... for that one I'm working on a design from Heaven and Earth Designs.  It was retired last year and I'm so glad I got it prior to that.  It's this one called cupcake.  This one I've had kitted up for a time now as I wanted to do it last year but with Mom that wasn't possible.  So this is the one that I'll work along on all year.  It will probably fall into the week of whatever I want to do project but it will almost always have a dedicated slot of time set aside for it every month regardless.  It's my first ever HAED and my first full coverage piece although I've done one.... the unicorns.... that was almost full coverage.  If I can tackle the unicorns I can do anything and this isn't nearly as bad on confetti as the unicorns were.   I've put in a few stitches on it but will need to finish up the gridding on this one before I get too far in.  I don't grid every piece I do but for this one I definitely will do that. 

 

 

 

Save the Stitches SAL:

I've signed on for the Save the Stitches SAL as well.  This was another project that I wanted so badly to do last year but couldn't.  I had the fabric picked out, colors, and I'm just trying to decide between metallic I'll use in this.  So this one I'll put a few stitches into today to start the new year off with a bang.  This is a free pattern and is beautiful.  I'm thinking that to frame this one I may try something a little different and as I get closer to a finish I'll test some things out.  I've even considered breaking it down into sections, repeating parts of it and doing a collage of parts of it framed and hung as a grouping.  That's something I have to tinker with this week before I get too far in.  

 

 

So my January rotation is going to have in it:

 

~Paula Vaughns.... Rose of Sharon

 

~HAED .... cupcake

 

~Save the Stitches blackwork  by  Liz Almond

 

~Diminsions Winter Sampler

 

I'm not sure yet if I will want to work each piece for a week at a time or do something like a few days per piece.  I'll see how it goes.