Latest Stitching Updates

Well, I kind of fell of the stitching bandwagon for awhile, didn't I?  I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted anything.  To be honest, I've kind of lost my stitching bug a bit in the last couple months as well.  I think I may have taken on a little to much this year, and it burned me out in the year.  Don't get me wrong, I love monthly SALs and everything, but I think I will lay aside all the obligation they present for the rest of the year and just focus on what I want to stitch.  Of course, I will be doing the Crazy January challenge (31 projects, one for each day in January) again this year, or at least I plan to right now.  But other than that for next year I'll just see where life takes me.

So although I got burned out, I have been doing a little bit of stitching.  I finished the Cinderella/October block in my latest Frosted Pumpkin Round Robin piece, and got that sent off.  Here's a (kind of dark, sorry) photo of my finished portion:

Once that was sent off, it was time to pick up the next RR piece, since I'm a little behind.  The next one is Gingerbread Lane.  My part is to stitch the skaters on the pond below the middle house.  This is what I have so far:

I love this pattern so much, it's really fun to work on.  I'm ashamed to admit that I got burned out on the Once Upon a Time pieces, even though I love fairy tales.

Speaking of the Frosted Pumpkin Round Robin, I got my piece back recently (yay!) but forgot to take a picture of it.  Darn!  So I guess I will save that for another post.  

The other project I've been working on is for the newest round robin I've joined.  This one is sampler themed.  I sent out my Halloween Quaker project that I've stalled on to be worked on, so when I get that back, it will be almost finished for me!

The first project I'm working on is Simply Jane Austen, a Motif Sampler by The Sampler Girl.  This blog has a picture of what it will look like when finished.  I love Jane Austen, so although my part in this piece is pretty small (4 words and key) I'm enjoying it a lot.  Here's the latest progress pic:

We're taking a road trip this weekend, so I'm hoping to get a lot done during that (at least the first leg of the trip).  I need to finish up these Round Robin projects because I'm down to crunch time on Christmas projects!

August Stitch from Stash B

Here we are at the end of August, and I've been quite quiet lately.  Sadly, I've kind of lost my stitchy bug the past few weeks, and I haven't been stitch nearly as much lately. But I'm taking a trip this weekend, so maybe I will get that bug back a bit during the trip since I don't have to drive.
 
Month: August
Spent: $26.40
Earned: $0.00

As you can see, due to the loss of my stitchy bug, I didn't have ANY finishes for this month.  A first for me this year!

I did end up buying some stash though.   Last month one of the patterns I bought was one called Summer Designs by Bobbie G. Designs.  Well, doing some research into that pattern, it turns out it was a series of patterns and I got it into my head one day that I needed the other 3 seasons to match it (you know how I am with seasons and monthly patterns).  Sadly, my go to supplier (since there's no LNS to be found near me) 123stitch.com failed me and didn't have them in stock.  But I did find another website called Stitching Bits and Bobs that did have them, and what do you know, they were even on sale.  So added to my stash this month were Winter Designs, Spring Designs, and Autumn Designs.  I have to say spring and winter are probably my favorites of all of them.

And while I was poking around, I ended up adding another pattern to my cart.  This one is called Americat from Val's Stitching Stuff.  Val has lots of cute primtive-y cat patterns, and with my love of both cats and all things patriotic, I just loved this one so much.  And since it was another thing 123stitch didn't have currently in stock, I had to add it to my order so I could get combined shipping, right? I normally don't go for primitive type patterns, but they're starting to grow on me, and I find I really like Val's patterns (although so far I haven't stitched one).  I will probably even save up for both the Just Another Button Company buttons and hand dyed floss for this one.

I wish I could have found bigger pictures for you to look at (or even had the foresight to take some of my own) so you could see all the amazing details and colors of these patterns.  Of course, when they arrived in the mail I discovered that (gasp!) the Bobbie G Designs have quite a few blended threads.  Oh frogs.  I haven't done blended threads yet, been too chicken to try them, but I suppose these patterns will be as good of an excuse as any to try them out.

In other news, the Cross Stitch Crazy 2016 group (home of the Crazy January Challenge) has opened, so I'm already planning my starts for next January.  And sheesh, I still have Christmas present to finish.  I need to get this stitchy bug back soon!  Otherwise, I will completely fail SFS Part B.  I need more earning bonus, LOL


Starting balance from July: -$33.00
August budget: $25
Finish bonuses: $0   
Total:  -$8 to spend in July
- Total stash purchases: $26.40

Ending balance: -$34.40

Hey, my red balance only went up by a dollar...

Back with more progress updates

Yikes!  I can't believe how quiet I've been around here lately.  That little kitten is still keeping us pretty busy.  I guess I underestimated how much time can be taken up by playing and cuddling and all those things kittens are good for.  She's still really active, so stitching with her around can be a little bit of a mess, but she did decide to settle down with me the other day. 

She squeezed herself into that tiny spot between my leg and the next couch cushion and fell completely asleep.  Little stinker. 

So despite my lack of blogging updates, I have been stitching some, although maybe not at the rate I was before.  I finally finished up the Rapunzel block of Once Upon a Time for the Frosted Pumpkin Round Robin.  Here's what it looks like finished:

This particular project had a lot of pattern modifications made by the project owner, and some of them are really neat, so here's a complete picture of the whole project as it looked before I packed it up and sent it on:

The sunlight really washed out the colors in this photo.  The fabric was a beautiful color, closer to the Rapunzel picture above.  But man, was it difficult for me to work with!  Between it being linen, which I am slowly getting used to but not used to completely yet, and the dark color, and almost only being able to work on it at night, this block definitely went slower. 

While I was finishing up that one, I also got the next project in the round robin, which also happened to be Once Upon a Time.  This will be my third and last time working on this particular pattern, since the RR is coming to a close with just a few more rounds.  This time I'm working on the Cinderella block.  Not much progress so far, just a bit of the elaborate border FP is famous for:

Sadly the terrible night lighting washed out all the beautiful Weeks Dye Works colors, so hopefully I'll get a better picture of this as it goes along so you can see those better. 

In other stitching, Sunshine by Satsuma Street is also coming along.  Just have the dark and light pink ring around the outside to finish, and then that yellow in the middle that I still need to pick up.  I just love how the colors on this one are turning out. 

Until next time, happy stitching to you all, and let's hope my next update isn't really far away this time!

July Flower of the Month Check In

Welcome to the latest check in for the Flower of the Month SAL.  I can't believe I forgot to post this earlier!  Once again, I've been a very bad hostess and don't have any progress of my own to show this month.  (That new kitten has been keeping me busy!)  It's been so wonderful seeing all of your progress on July, and August is one of my favorite patterns, so this next month will be fun as well. 

Remember, if you are not currently a member of the SAL and want to join us, it's never too late to join!  The rules and official sign ups can be found on this page.  

Important Notes For Current SAL Participants: 
To earn an extra prize entry for this month, you must submit a check in (even if it's showing only progress and not a finish).  Your check in can be about the July pattern specifically, or any other month you are working on/have finished. 

If you have done a blog post showing your progress, please use the linking widget below to add a direct link to your check in post.  If you are a member of our Facebook group, you can also check in via that page.  You do not have to check in at both places, but you are welcome to if you wish. 

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.  I will leave the link widget open for a week (until August 13th), so please check in by that date.

July Stitch from Stash B

Well, it's almost the end of July (can you believe it?) and I almost missed my first reporting for Stitch from Stash B.

Month: July
Spent: $64.00
Earned: $6.00

Hmm, yes it seems I blew my first two months budget out of the water.   But I'm hoping to earn a good chunk of that back soon!

Let's start out with the good news.  I had two finishes to count for July, my Tropical Drink magnet and Fish Pond square for Love Quilts.  Pictures of both can be found on my Finishes page if you haven't seen them yet. 

As far as stash purchased, I have discovered the dangerous world of Facebook stash selling groups, which in addition to eBay was my downfall this month.  But I plan on stitching my way out of the red the next few months at least.

Here's a breakdown of what I bought:

$10 - Lizzie*Kate Sweet Tooth Boxers, Cupcake and Ice Cream

I guess this is a series of four designs, so now I need to track down Pie and Candy, which I have found on eBay, although both are the same price each that I paid for these two together.  These are sort of like kits in that they come with the fabric and embellishments, but not the threads to complete the design.

$20 Mill Hill Nutcracker set

Someone on Facebook was selling her entire set of Mill Hill Nutcracker Ornaments.  If there's two things I love about Christmas is the Nutcracker and 12 Days of Christmas, and I love Mill Hill kits too, so I jumped on the deal.  I am contemplating stitching these up and turning them into a wreath.

$12 Mill Hill Mask kits

Did I mention Mill Hill kits?  These larger ones are usually upwards of $13, so when I found 2 for $12 I was so happy.  I've been eyeing these mask ones for awhile.  Not really sure why, but something about the designs and colors just catch my eye.

$7 Bobbie G Designs

Starting in September I will be joining another Round Robin group (since our Frosted Pumpkin round is coming to a close soon).  This one is sampler themed, so I've been especially focused on sampler type patterns the past few weeks.  I contemplated doing this kitchen one from Bobbie G Designs, and the seller was offering them as a set with these two other designs.  In the end I chose something else as my RR piece, but I'm excited to stitch these patterns up eventually.

$15 Facebook closeout group

This was a set of several charts and kits I picked up from a lady who was closing out her Facebook albums because she was getting ready to move.  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture, so I will have to share those with you all at a later time.

Starting balance from June: $0.00 (new start!)
July budget: $25
Finish bonuses: $6   
Total:  $31 to spend in July
- Total stash purchases: $64.00

Ending balance: -$33.00

I definitely don't want to see that red sticking around too long! 

Rapunzel Update

I know the blog has been really quiet lately, but I haven't been stitching as much the past two weeks, mostly for 2 reasons.  The first is another crafty project I've been working on but can't reveal yet, and the second reason is this:

Yes, somehow we ended up with a new kitten in the family.  She wandered up from the pasture about 2 weeks ago and just started rubbing our legs and purring all over.  Poor thing was skin and bones, so how could we not take her in?  It's been over 20 years since I had a kitten and I've forgotten how energetic they can be (and need to be watched CONSTANTLY!).  This little girl is especially a bit of a spitfire.  I had to take Brownie to the vet last Saturday (dislocated knee and feline asthma, but he's doing a lot better now fortunately), and so I figured I'd kill 2 birds with one stone and take the kitten in for her first exam as well.  Well, since I only have 1 cat carrier, the kitten got relegated to a cardboard box with airholes cut in the sides, which she proceeded to rip open to get out of the box while on the drive to the vet.  Sheesh!

Anyway, despite the many challenges life has brought these past two weeks, I have managed to do a bit of stitching.  No new progress on Sunshine, mostly because I've been trying to finish this Rapunzel block for the Frosted Pumpkin Round Robin so I can send it off to the next person.  Last time I showed it, it just had a bunch of trees, but now it looks like this:

In case you can't tell, that lettering is done with 2 strands over 1, and it's black so it is HARD.  I've had to concentrate super hard on that section, so progress there especially is slow.  I just need to finish that, add another cloud, another bird, flag on the top of the tower, flower basket hanging out the window, stitch Rapunzel and her hair, and put in backstitching and details.  Not too much, right?  Hoping to have her done and ready to go out Monday...

Free Pattern Friday: Jane Austen

Well, today is Friday, so it's time for another free cross stitch pattern post.

Today's feature is a very quick pattern you could easily stitch up in a day or two, and it would make a great gift for any book loving friends you have.  I'm a big Jane Austen fan myself, so this little pattern was a great find.

You can head over the designers blog, My Hobby Gallery, to download this free cross stitch pattern in picture format.

Happy stitching!





If you ever come across one of my posts that contains a chart that breaks copyright law, please email me and let me know right away. In picking and posting my free cross stitch pattern posts, I make every effort to ensure the designs I share are legitimately free charts.