Happy Dances! WIPocalypse Check-In: November

 

It's time for my monthly update for the WIPocalypse SAL, hosted by Melissa at Measi's Musings: http://measi.net/measiblog/

This month, I got quite a bit done, which surprised me because it was such a busy month at work.  But I managed to get my usual amount of stitching time in...I just got less sleep! :D

I had two finishes, one of which I posted about two weeks ago, but I'll post a picture of it again:

This is "Napping Kitten" by Dimensions, and will be a Christmas gift for my sister.  She will be moving into her own place soon (recently graduated from college), so I figured I would give her a decoration for her new apartment! 
I am planning to frame it myself, and am debating whether to use a self-stick mounting board or to tack and sew it: does anyone have any good/bad experiences with self-stick mounting boards?  I've never used one but it seems so much easier, there must be some sort of catch lol! 

The other finish is the third in a set of four ornaments by Kooler Design Studio I am making for my parents:

And I just started the fourth and final ornament I will be making them for this Christmas:

I worked on one other gift, a stocking for my bf, which I realized I never took a progress pic of last month!  So this is the progress over the past two months: 

Before:

After:
The cross-stitching is done, I just have to finish the backstitching and French knots!  So I should definitely have all of these presents stitched in time for Christmas: the trick will be getting them finish-finished before then!











I also worked (a little) on some non-gift stitching.

"Aurora Cabin" progress:

Finally got some better lighting for a pic of this that's true to color! 

 

"Beauty and the Beast Falling In Love":

This month's question is: what are your favorite and least favorite materials to use in stitching?

I don't feel like I've tried enough different types of materials to really give a definitive answer...up until this year, I stitched all my cross stitch projects on Aida (my favorite is 18 count) with DMC, which will probably always be my go-to cotton floss because I've always had good results with it and it is so widely available (and fairly inexpensive where I live, at 39 cents a skein.) This year, I've tried stitching on linen, which I really enjoy (although it's easier in the daylight than at night!), and once I finish the gifts I'm currently working on, I have a couple patterns almost kitted up that call for some silks and specialty threads, so I'll get to try some new things, which I am looking forward to! 


Happy Stitching! : )

Happy Dance: Napping Kitten

One gift down, three to go!
I finished "Napping Kitten" by Dimensions two days ago:

Please forgive the wrinkles, I will upload another picture once it is ironed and framed.
This is going to be a Christmas gift for my sister (who doesn't blog, so I am safe to share!)
It took me just over four months to finish this.  I think this is the earliest in the year I have ever completed a stitched Christmas gift: I am usually frantically trying to finish the week before!  So I am very happy that I have some time to mount and frame it.

Happy stitching!

WIPocalypse Check-In: October

Before I begin, I must hang my head in shame since I am nearly a week late for this post (October!  Where did it come from?!)  Fall is my favorite season, although sadly, here in Tennessee it still feels more like summer, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for some cooler weather soon. : )

The topic for this month is: are you a Halloween or Christmas stitcher?
I am a Christmas stitcher, as the majority of my holiday projects are either Christmas-themed or future Christmas presents!  I haven't stitched any Halloween pieces yet, but I have a couple in the wings for DUCJC 2015 (more info about my plan for that in an upcoming post.)

Now onto my stitchy progress (I worked on quite a few WIPs, so this post will be pretty pic-heavy!):  I've managed to get a bit of stitching time in, although not quite as much as during the summer months.  I've been trying to focus my attention on getting Christmas presents complete, although I have been called away more than a few times by other projects!  I had 2 new starts and a finish this month.

One of my new starts was Disney's "Beauty and the Beast Falling in Love" (Kinkade), which I received for my birthday from my wonderful bf along with some extra stitching supplies that I have been in need of (bobbins, needles, a floss organizer, and a few skeins of DMC.)  Needless to say, I was a very happy lady!  I've put a little time into it:

The start of some pretty sky!  I am excited to really delve into it in January once my gifts are completed.

My other start and finish are ornaments from the Nativity Ornaments series I am stitching up as gifts:

I finished the 2nd of 4 I am making:

and started the 3rd:

Hoping to have all four finished by Thanksgiving so I have plenty of time to finish-finish them!

Another intended Christmas gift, "Napping Kitten" went from here:

To here:

I finished the cross-stitching and am working on the backstitching: should be a finish by my next WIPocalypse post!

The stocking I am working on as a gift went from here:

To here:

Not quite as far as I had hoped for, but I think I can still get it done in time.  Once "Napping Kitten" is completed in a couple weeks, I will use that extra space in my rotation to work on it.

I also put a little time into "Aurora Cabin," which went from here:

To here:

I worked on "Quiet Time," but only put a couple hundred stitches in, so I won't bother putting up a pic until I've made more progress.

And I think that's it...whew!  My WIP list keeps getting longer and longer: the more I blog and read all of your blogs, the more stash I seem to accumulate, and the more starts I have! :P  Looking forward to seeing everyone's progress from the past month.  Happy stitching!

WIPocalypse Check-In: September

Hi all,

Can't believe it's over a week into September already!  Things are getting busy again because of school, but I still managed to stitch a bit on my WIPs, especially those gifts that are (and hopefully will be finished in time!) for Christmas.

The topic for this post is: Who is your favorite person to stitch for, or do you prefer to keep your stitching yourself?
Almost all of the cross stitches I have finished so far I have given as gifts to family members/friends, with the exception of one sampler, which was a kit I received as a gift from my parents (and therefore felt weird about then giving away once I completed it.)  I am currently working on a couple for myself: "Quiet Time" and "Aurora Cabin."  I am not sure who I prefer to stitch for: I really like giving cross stitches as gifts, usually to my immediate family who know how much time/effort goes into stitching a piece, but picking out a pattern that I like for myself is also fun, because I can really get into what I am stitching!

This month, I worked a little on "Aurora Cabin," which went from here:

To here:

I've gotten a bit more of the sky done, although this one has taken a back seat to the gifts I'm working on, which I can share since no one else in my family blogs!

"Checking His List Stocking" went from here:

To here:

I am setting myself the slightly-ambitious goal of finishing the cross stitch by my next WIPocalypse post. That way I will have two months to backstitch and finish finish the piece!
"Napping Kitten" went from here:

To here:

Just a little bit more stitching on the top: the cross-stitching on this one should definitely be done by my next WIPocalypse post (knock on wood!)

And I had two new starts and a finish (my first for 2014, woot!!)  I am making 4 nativity-themed ornaments for my parents (there are 12 total in the collection: I plan on doing 4 this year, and depending on how they are received, doing another 4 for each of the next 2 Christmases.)

I started and finished (stitching)  the first ornament:

It was a nice, quick stitch: very pleasant after all of the bigger projects I have been working on!

And I started the second ornament:

I only put in about 300 stitches on "Quiet Time," so I'll wait to post a picture until I have a page finish to show you (which may not be for a few months while I finish up these presents!)

I also acquired another kit: "Let It Snow" by Mill Hill.  I plan on adding it to my rotation in November once the bulk of my gifts are completed. I have only ever beaded on one other cross stitch, so I am planning on using this as a change of pace/beading practice!  I have been eyeing a couple of Chatelaine's Mandalas, but I know they require a lot of beading and either one would be an immense project to take on, so I want to make sure I'm at least halfway decent at beading before I seriously consider purchasing a Chatelaine pattern.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone has been working on!

1st Page Finish!

Yes, it is obscenely late (or should I say early?), but hey, it's the weekend, and I finally finished the first page of my first HAED! : )    This is the start of  "Quiet Time" by Sara Butcher:

In order to avoid lines in the finished product, I continued some colors onto the adjacent pages, so I have a small amount of pages 2 and 6 already completed.
Just gridded several other pages, and am excited to work on page 2! ( :  Now to bed!

WIPocalypse Check-In: August

Hi all,

Lots of fun progress to report!  I've been on a crazy stitching kick, especially the last couple days now that my new patterns have arrived.  I'm very ready for some new starts! : )  I am forcing myself to wait until I finish the gifts I am currently making....so difficult, but it's helping me find the motivation to work on my current WIPs. : )

The topic for this month is: Tell us about your oldest and newest WIPs.

My oldest WIP is "Aurora Cabin", which I started back in May 2009, then left it as a UFO for 4 years while I completed my undergraduate degree.  I picked it back up in October 2013, and am hoping to see a finish on it by May.  It is one of the patterns I am tackling as a part of WIPocalypse, and this month it went from here:

To here:

The sky is going so quickly after all of the confetti of the trees and mountains!

My newest WIP is "Napping Kitten" which I started in June (will be a Christmas present for my sister.)  It went from here:

To here:

I am also working on "Checking His List Stocking", which went from here:

To here:

And, last but not least, I am working on my first HAED, "Quiet Time."  I did not have a page finish, but it is about there, so hopefully I will be able to share one with you in the next couple of days!

I am thrilled because today I have absolutely nothing to do besides a little housework (when does that ever happen?) so for the rest of the day I plan on stitching, stitching, and stitching some more!

New Stitchy Stash! :)

Exciting stuff! :)  Now that I am stitching more than in previous years, I have been keeping an eye out for new patterns I might like to stitch after I finish my current WIPs.  I was lucky enough to receive some unexpected award money through the university for my thesis work, and while most of it will be going to pay for necessities and books, I decided to also treat myself to a "small" stitching shopping spree.  Thanks to some awesome lightly-used finds, I was able to get a surprising amount for my budget, which made me very very very happy!  This is what I ended up with:

Two books of designs by Joan Elliott: Bewitching Cross Stitch and Christmas Cross Stitch Treasures, and the Summer 2014 issue of Stoney Creek magazine (annual Christmas issue!  Can you tell I have Christmas on my mind?  It must be all the stitched presents I'm tackling this year.)  And because I like multiple patterns in each of these collections, I shouldn't need to buy any new patterns for at least the next three years haha!  (We'll see how that works out!)

Stoney Creek also has a cute Halloween pattern available for free (!!) called "A Frightful Welcome," so I ordered that along with the magazine (and decided to go ahead and purchase the fabric and glow-in-the-dark Kreinik for it as well!):

I think this might be my next new start after I finish stitching up presents for this Christmas.

Hope everyone is having a good end to the summer! It's hard to believe that school starts back in two weeks!