Framed!@#

Letter S and Sunflower Fairy have been framed! :) I am really pleased with how they came out.

Yay finished

And She's done. I left out a bit of the beading because I really dislike beading lol. I am very happy with her. :) I used 28 count jobelan (I think..) in raspberry lite, and the Crescent colours it suggested.

I'm about ready to order the thread I need to finish Follow Me, and I've been adding and subtracting stuff from the wishlist that I'll be ordering along with it. I am definitely getting White Willow Stitching tribals Orca, Flamingo, and Maple Leaf. I'm getting the thread for Flamingo and Maple Leaf as well while I'm at it. Threadworx for those. I love threadworx colours! :D

Anyway that is all for now. Glad to finally have a finish after all this time. :)

Holy crud!

SO yeaaaaaaahh.. I didn't forget about this haha. I... really haven't been stitching at all lately. I mean, I finally picked up the needle tonight to work on Letter S while at my Saturday client, but I haven't done anything since I finished Rageface. Which I still need to mail, even.

To be honest the past month has been emotionally draining. My mood swings have been uncontrollable and it's making me miserable. What really sucks is that stitching always relaxes me, but I can't seem to pick up the needle to do it. I have immersed myself in gaming, though, to get me through it. I'm finally starting to feel a bit more like myself.

Anyway, here is my latest Letter S picture.

Pretty much just the wings to do, the flower bit, and then the beading. She was meant to be done a couple weeks ago, but yeah. Oh wells.

Hope everyone is doing well, and I enjoy reading your blogs every day. :) Take care and happy stitching! :)

Letter S

Back to the swing of things with Letter S! I think she will be done in a couple more Saturdays. :)

I may or may not have a gripe. What is with all the patriotic patterns? Especially patriotic patterns that are in a series. I think that is super ignorant to all the stitchers out there who don't live in the U.S.A. I was looking at the Cottage Series and surprise surprise, July is Patriotic. So I guess Canadians and Aussies and New Zealanders and well, pretty much everywhere else that's not AMERICA will have to change the colours and the flag. Does it even come with conversions for other countries, or even another house designed for the rest of us non-Americans?

I don't mind the patriotic patterns that are one offs. But this is a series and people making them should probably have something a little more country neutral. Anyone who has a TV and access to the internet should be well aware at this point that there is more to the world out there than just the country we live in. Designers should think about that.

Reading over that, it sounds a lot more snarky than intended, but I'm leaving it the way it is. :D

I have been working on Follow Me throughout the week, and I'm actually hoping that I run out of the Belle Soie thread I'm using so I have an excuse to order more.. and order some of the things on my 123 wishlist at the same time haha. :) 

I think that is it for now :)

Uh OH

Diablo 3 has launched and I have been doing nothing but playing that hahaha. Stitching is sort of out of the hobby list right now for the most part :)

I *am* still working on Nora Corbett's Letter S on Saturday nights with my 4 hour client, so this is how far I've come on that.

I tackled part of the dress, the arms, head, and legs tonight, as well as some of the letter S. I know I grumbled a bit about the chart being entirely too big, but it really helped on the legs and arms to see all the quarter stitches. Not a fan of those :)

All my goals have flown out the window, and I won't be as prolific until I've got Diablo out of my system. I will still be having a small giveaway hopefully soon. The For the Gatos package hasn't arrived yet. Waiting on that. Take care everyone!

ahoy!

Well didn't I just drop off the face of the earth. I've been so slacking in my stitching it's not even FUNNY. Going through one of those slumps, it seems.

I did start Little House Needleworks Summer Splendor after seeing Mouse's progress on it. I got one of the birds stitched in and a few leaves, but that's it!

On with April Goals! Lets see how I did.

- Mail threads and pokemonz  I mailed the threads, but not the pokemon. He wants me to finish Eevee before I mail them, since I'm sending it to AUS, he wants me to save money.. but I have to get Eevee done. doh.

- Continue on with Follow Me/Letter S Didn't get much of either done. Follow me was put away until I feel like working on it again. Letter S sort of got thrown on the backburner because the client I stitch it at is away at respite for 3 weeks. I go back there on the 12th of May, so I'm hoping to get working on it again then.

- Stitch up Rageface for another Guildie. It suits him perfectly haha. Still on my to-do list. It's super easy to do, I just need to DO IT!

- Get crackin on Cougar!  Didn't touch it. At all.

- WALK A LOT (Once my treadmill gets here!) Finally something I AM doing! I've been walking 5-6 days a week, for 30-50 minutes each time and feel great doing it. The google maps thing is WONDERFUL! I've made maps of places in Paris, Australia, New York, and around my town so far and it's been great. I'm down 3.5 pounds so far, and have been watching what I eat for the most part. the iFit program has a lot of bugs as it's something that is constantly evolving, and they are constantly working on it, but even with the problems, I'm still enjoying it. Finally something that gives my mind as much of a workout as my body. That will hopefully be the key to my success.

Should I make May goals? I don't even know. I'll try it. Seems with the better weather I want to spend time doing other things! But here goes.

- Suck it up and finish Eevee so I can mail my friend his package

- Work on Letter S when I'm back with my client on Saturdays

- Stitch up Rageface?

- Continue with LHN Summer Splendor

and finally last but not least: KEEP WALKING!

OH yeah, before I forget. I should be getting the stitcher's package in the next two weeks from Shakespeare's Peddler, and I already know I have one of the things already that is being sent, so I'm hoping to have a giveaway sometime this month, so stay tuned for that!

That is all for now. I really enjoy reading all your lovely blogs and admiring your work and life and pictures. Take care! :)

March Goals!

I had goals! did I do them? we'll see.

Start and Finish Eevee uhh. yeah about that. Eevee ... just didn't get stitched. I don't know what is with it, but I can't bear to do it lol. Going to give it a rest and see how I feel later about it.

Finish Pinkie Pie ALL DONE! and mailed. He got it two days ago and LOVES IT! that makes me so happy. :)

Work on Follow Me I did do some, but not as much as I'd have liked.

Finish my take-along project that I work on on Saturdays which is a Dinky Dyes pattern that came with a thread pack I bought. I worked on it over 2 weekends before switching it out and putting Letter S in. I found it sort of boring! I put it in a drawer for now and might pick it up later. For now, Letter S is in!

Mail everything that needs to be mailed after the 23rd but before April 1st, which includes Paladin, all the Pokemon, Pinkie Pie, and all the threads for Sunflower Fairy which I am sending off to a stitching pal of mine. I ended up mailing Paladin and Pinkie Pie and forgetting the Threads and the Pokemon stuff. Those are next up!


April Goals!

- Mail threads and pokemonz
- Continue on with Follow Me/Letter S
- Stitch up Rageface for another Guildie. It suits him perfectly haha.
- Get crackin on Cougar!
- WALK A LOT (Once my treadmill gets here!)

And that is that! I can't believe it's going to be April. Where is the year going?!

March can just stop marching tyvm!

Where IS this month going? WHERE? My goals went all wacky but I did do some of them. I switched out that dinky dies piece I was working on at my Saturday client and put in Nora's Letter S. So far it's coming along nicely :) I picked up Follow Me last night and worked on that a bit while I watched Planet Life. I did manage to mail 2/4 packages. I went and forgot two of them at home. They are going to have to wait for a bit as I'm short of money right now.

Wanna know why? :D I ordered a treadmill. I *really* want to be more active, but I also have high levels of social/anxiety so going out for something simple like a walk is really unbearable for me. Some times it takes all my will just to go to work.

I did a lot of research and ended up getting NordicTrack C1750. You'll notice the tablet on it. I am *that* geeky that I wanted it to be able to use google maps/ access the internets. This is supposed to recreate places I want to walk - bumps, hills, and all - and use street view so I can see where I'm going. That was a big seller for me. I'll let you know once I get it how awesome/bad it is haha. :)

If you have any places you think would be cool to walk that has street view, I'm up for suggestions! Pretty excited about this.

So here is to stitching and walking... just not at the same time!

.. or can I....!!!

Ever had a project...

That you just can't stand to work on? Eevee has turned into that project for me. I started it, frogged it, started again and just can't get into it. It has lead me into a shame spiral since it's for a friend and I know how excited he is about getting them. I told him about it and he said to relax, I'm doing this for fun and he doesn't care when he gets it.

BUT STILL. I feel pressure! It's not even that big and won't take that long to do. Agggrhhh.

So I got Twisted Stitches from Amazon on Monday! There are some very off the wall projects in there and a few that I'm interested in doing. Ones that stand out are Lizzie Borden

Would make the perfect gift for my parents. hahaha. Yes I am really that morbid. I doubt I could do my job if I didn't have such a sense of humor about it. :)

and this: on the one side is a happy go lucky bunny, on the other?

My job requires me to drive, a lot. With the increased driving comes the increased chance of hitting something. One fateful Easter Sunday I was driving to a client when out jumps in front of me, a bunny. I couldn't slam on the brakes because I was on a busy road and unfortunately for Insurance purposes, it's my fault if I cause an accident over trying to avoid an animal. So I ran over it, hoping that I didn't actually hit it. I looked in my rearview mirror to see tufts of hair flying all over. When I got to my client I was holding back tears. On her table was a newspaper. The picture on it just happened to be Easter related: two kids holding a brown bunny. That didn't help my guilt AT ALL.

The client after her had a calender with a brown bunny on it. Seriously, my day couldn't have gotten worse lol. I never forgot about that bunny and I think I'll make this keychain for myself.

This one I really like too.

creeepy eh?

And last but not least:

The Sugar skulls are really nice too. What's great is that on the back page is a pocket with charts for the bigger designs. My only problem with the charts overall is that they are sort of hard to see. The symbols that is. I would have to enlarge them. Some of the patterns (like one of  the sugar skulls) is in the middle of the book, so that's not cool to try and see the chart there.

I started Nora Corbetts Letter S yesterday. While I really love the pattern, she could have at least put the colours/symbols on the inside where the pattern actually is. Now I have to write them down somewhere so I don't have to keep flipping the pattern over. The pattern itself is really too big. I don't like messing up my patterns and this is just begging for a working copy because of it's size.

Tomorrow I have to iron and pack up all the projects that are heading out on Friday. It'll be nice to finally get them out :) I hope my friends like them!

That is it for now, take care!

2012 Projects!

Hello Everyone! I have fallen off the face of the Earth! Ok so I haven't, but I also haven't really been stitching too much the past couple weeks and don't have much to show you on Paladin. I have been working on him, just not enough for a TA-DA picture. :)

I did however, take pictures of my stash for next year, in their ziplocks and all. I know, I should be a professional photographer. (yeah I couldn't keep a straight face either.)

First up is Britty Kitty Stocking. I keep wanting to change the cat on the foot to a dog, since I have 2 cats and a dog, but I don't have a britty dog pattern in my stash that would go there. I'll survive, I guess. Anyway, this stocking will be done on 28 count Queen Anne's Lace with all the fibers and buttons it calls for. It'll be the first project of the year as it will be a SAL piece! I can't wait to get started. Needles ready!

Next up is Follow Me by Primitive Needle. It was the pattern I just HAD to have. I haven't decided on the fabric yet, if I'll use stormy grey  or something darker. I do have one skein of the Belle Soile silk with it. I love touching that silk. Pretty sure it's going to be all grimy and frayed by the time I get around to stitching with it.

And then there are more Britty Kitties. I and II to be exact! These will probably be spaced out through the year. I don't know what I'm going to do with them. I'm thinking of a collage of frames with them in them. I think that would look nice. They'll also be done on 28 count Queen Anne's Lace.

Let's see. How about some Buzzzz by Bent Creek. I am horrified of bees. I've jumped out of my vehicle before at the sight of a been inside. In my defense, I ~am~ allergic to their sting. Not to the point that I would DIE if I got stung, but enough to freak me the heck out. Here's to hoping I can get over my fear of bees and stitch this cute little one up. Maybe I could leave the bee to the last and stitch it with my eyes closed? I have 2 fabrics waiting on this one, and I might get an opinion later on which to use. Babbling Brook (blue) or African Daisy (yellow). I'm leaning towards the yellow, but we'll see when I do my floss toss later!

I have a 2011 Santa to make as well! I already bought the frame for it, to match the 2010 Santa. It'll be done on Summer Khaki with the required DMC threads.

And flip Santa around and we have Summer Splendor by Little House Needleworks. It'll also be done on the Summer Khaki. I have all the threads now for it. Might end up saving this one for Summer. I know. Original.

Next up will be Letter S by Nora Corbett. I've actually had this one in my stash for awhile, since last March I think? Might have been a birthday present to myself. Something like that. There is a floss toss somewhere back in the archives. I'll be using a pinky pink fabric. Raspberry Lite. Which will have me humming Raspberry Beret by Prince every time I think about it. I'm doing it now. AAAAAAAARGH. She wore a raspberry beret, the kind you find in a second hand store. a raspberry beret, if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more. Darnit. Worst part is I have a body wash called Raspberry Sorbet. Now you know what I sing in the shower.

I have Messenger by FireWing Designs. I picked out Threadworx Leather and Lace, which is sort of a dark brown and white fibre. Still waffling on that. I have a 28 count fabric in Desert Stone that I am thinking of using for it. It's a dark brown. We shall see!

More Christmas stitchings! by Stitchy Kitty I have Christmas Kitty Moon. I even bought those round metal plate things that you put your stitching on one and a backing fabric on the other, then glue together. sort of a cheater's way of finishing, but it looks cool. I'll be trying those out this year with this pattern. For such a small pattern, there are loads of embellishments. The fuzzy stuff and krenik and rainbow gallery something or other. Using the recommended fabric (millennium blue) and fibers. I've tried to stitch this pattern twice before. Once on a jazlyn opal fabric that had me raging so hard that I threw it out in a fit of anger, and then again on a white evenweave but it looks so blah that I never finished. I have the blue so hopefully third time will be the charm! (seriously, who gets angry at fabrics? ME)

And there you have it folks! These are my 2012 goals, and barring some gaming disaster (Diablo 3 and Warcraft Mists of Pandaria coming out next year kind of disasters) I should be able to get them all done.

My biggest goal for next year is to pay off my student loan. I have about 3500 left on it. I really want it over and done with, because 2013 I'd like to get a new car. My work requires a good car, and I'm sort of sick of paying 75+ dollars every two weeks to fill mine up. The stitching goal is no new stash next year (unless it's gifted to me) to save money.

Doesn't stop me from going all crazy NOW with my money. I did get a Nintendo 3DS in PINK!!! which I am really excited for. I traded my old one for Mario Kart 7, I have Nintendogs+Cats which came with it, and I bought Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. I know that for Christmas I'll be getting 2 more games, so that should do me too for next year. :) I'm set for gaming and stitching. Now it's time to save save save!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and an awesome New Year!

I know I said I wouldn't..

But I ended up doing another order. See, my fav stitching ONS was having a clearance of their Namaste Buddy cases, and while I already have one, I made up something in my head about needing a second. Plus it's light pink, and I like pink. Of course, I couldn't just order that! I finally got my order today!

I ordered Mirabilia's letter S and all the goodies. The pictures I took aren't the best quality, but whatever.

I have a piece of hand dyed jobelan in raspberry lite, which I did my floss toss on. I'm still not sure if I want it so pink, but we'll see after the next couple projects. I have time to think about it.