The Oldest UFO SAL!

Evalina has started "The Oldest UFO" stitch-along on her blog!  She is working on a sailboat UFO that she started 18 years ago.  I pulled out this needlepoint project that I started in 1980!  Wow!  That's 30+ years ago!  She has encouraged me to "get 'er done!"

Visit her blog, "this and that," to sign up.  Just post a pic of your oldest UFO on the last day of the month.  She is offering a prize, too!

I remember wandering into a LNS in December of 1980, when I was a senior in high school.  I saw this beautiful Stained Glass Nativity needlepoint kit and thought I would have it done by Christmas and proudly display it every year.  Sadly enough, it has never seen a Christmas yet!  I did end up dating the cute guy who framed needlework at the LNS, though!  LOL.

Lamplight Bridge - update #3

Thomas Kinkade's Lamplight Bridge is one of my Crazy January Challenge 2011 kits.  Now that everyone is planning for 2012, I figured that I should hurry up and finish it!  This is an "embellished" cross stitch, where the picture is printed on the fabric, and I make cross stitches, half cross stitches, LOTS of French knots, and outlining in parts of the picture.  It is not a full coverage pattern.  The left side is almost finished.  Next, I will stitch the lamp posts, then do more French knots for flowers on the other side of the stream.  It also uses some metallic floss for accents in the water and the sky.  This is how the full picture looks now:

I am using 14"x17" Q-Snaps so no part of the picture is covered and I won't have to move the fabric (lazy me).  I'm also using a Q-Snap huggie, custom-made by Christine.

Oh, by the way, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  I'm waiting for my mom to give me a ride to the store so I can buy some candy for the trick-or-treaters!  I still don't have a car since my accident last December! :-(

Kaye is having a giveaway!

Kaye in Australia is having a giveaway on her blog of a cross stitch kit of Australian Heritage Architecture, a Queenslander House!  She will mail it to the winner anywhere in the world!  Enter HERE for a chance!

Trick or Treat SAL - update #6

On Fridays, Linda and I have a SAL of Trick or Treat by Ursula Michael. I'm almost finished with the second witch hat and I plan to fill in the spots next Friday and start on a letter or two. You can see her progress HERE. I did all the backstitching on both hats, except where they touch a letter or another hat. This is so bright and colorful and fun to stitch!

We also have a SAL on Wednesdays of Dog House Sampler by Little House Needleworks. You can see Linda's progress HERE. When we finish this, we will stitch Trick or Treat on both Wednesdays and Fridays, so we can finish it by the end of the year. Then our plan is to have a SAL of Halloween House by Ursula Michael on Fridays starting in January. Linda is having a giveaway on her blog for two of these charts, so pop on over and sign up! The drawing will be on Halloween. We hope the winners will join us in our Friday SAL next year, and anyone else who has the chart is welcome to stitch along too!

TUSAL #11

My cat Billy says it's time for another TUSAL update of my ORT jar!  I have been adding more and more to it every night!  My cross stitching has gone into overdrive as I try to complete more projects from my Crazy January Challenge before the end of the year.  I'm also starting new projects for Christmas presents!  It's too bad that my job and housework take time away from cross stitching!

Trick or Treat SAL - update #5

I started on another witch hat with a black cat hiding underneath it. I've been doing some backstitching too, so I don't have it all waiting for me when I'm finished.  Linda, my SAL partner, has most of the second hat finished already. We plan to keep doing SAL's on Fridays. After we finish Trick or Treat, we will start Halloween House, also designed by Ursula Michael. Linda is having a giveaway on her blog for 2 Halloween House charts.  Feel free to join us, whether you win a chart or not!

I have a small update on the Plymouth Rock Chickens double light switch cover.  I stitched the chicken's legs and one baby chick. This will go under a clear plastic light switch cover for my mom's kitchen.

Since I finished the Violets Teacup, I started something new! This is called "Ant" by Ann Logan, a freebie on her website, cross-stitch-pattern.net. My aunt collects ants, and she lives in the same city as my grandma. So when we go to visit, I will have gifts for both of them!  I'm stitching on 14ct Fiddler's cloth.  This chart has 17 different colors.  I'm having fun stitching it, even though it gives my daughter the creeps!  She hates bugs.

Violets Teacup - Finished!

 

I finished the Violets Teacup freebie from Vermillion Stitchery!  The picture was taken outside so you can see the actual color of the fabric is mint parfait, a very light green.  I bought fabric at JoAnn's and my friend Dona has offered to sew it into a walker bag for my grandma!  Another pic will be posted when it's finished.

"February Violets - Teacup Posies 2011 Series"
Designed by Donna Vermillion Giampa
Started 9/17/2011, Finished 10/20/2011

This is my progress on the Dog House Sampler for my Wednesday night SAL with Linda.  She started on the letters first, and I started on the dog.  She is also stitching the companion piece, Kitty Cottage Sampler.

Now that I've posted my updates, I can start stitching on my Friday SAL, Trick or Treat.  Happy Stitching!

Trick or Treat SAL - update #4

I finished the center hat of Trick or Treat (except all the backstitching) of my SAL with Linda. She is still ahead of me and already started stitching on the second hat!

We each bought a new chart from Imaginating by the same designer, Ursula Michael, called Halloween House.  This will be our next Friday SAL after we finish Trick or Treat.  They are both so bright and adorable!  Does anyone else want to join our little Stitch-Along?  It's nice to have a project designated for a specific day of the week. I have never stitched this way before.  It's so fun!  Thanks, Linda!

Does this black cat in the window look like a Halloween decoration to you?

Violets Teacup - update #4

I finished stitching the leaves. Now the last thing to do is the backstitching!

I've been having so much fun stitching lately. I love starting new projects and building up my stash of fabric, floss, and charts. It's amazing that some of you have entire stitching rooms and shelves and closets full of goodies. All my kits and charts are in one box, fabric in another, and floss in another. I think I will need another box soon!

How is the weather where you live? I have seen some pics on blogs of the trees changing colors in the fall. That is something I never see in Southern California. It was 102 degrees yesterday! Wow!

New Start - Dog House Sampler, LHN

Linda and I started a new Stitch-Along last night of the Dog House Sampler from Little House Needleworks. I bought this chart from Tricia, and Linda already had it, so we decided to stitch it together on Wednesdays!

I haven't stitched a sampler yet, with ABCs.  This one caught my eye because it has words mixed in with the alphabet (Bark, Fetch, Leash, Paws, Woof).  I am stitching it on 14ct Fiddlers cloth.  I am getting tired of this zebra stripe Q-Snap cover.  I only have 2 of the 8x8 size and I'm using the other one on the Violets Teacup. It's time to order more from Christine's Q-Snap Huggies!

Here is my inspiration for the Dog House Sampler!  His name is Teddy.  My daughter picked him at the animal shelter because he was the biggest dog they had.  He was a year old in this pic and weighs 100 pounds.  They told us he is a Yellow Labrador, but I think he has some Mastiff mixed in there too.  He has amazing yellow eyes.  The big baby sleeps at my feet under my desk all day and is snoring there right now!

Have you noticed that most cross stitchers have cats?  I wonder why dog charts aren't as popular as cat charts. On the HAED website, there are 201 cat charts, but only 6 dog charts!  What a difference!

WOCS - Clown Carol - finished!

This cheery clown face was fun to stitch for World of Charity Stitching. The quilt with 9 cross-stitched clowns will be donated to Ronald McDonald House.  I found this free chart HERE.

"Clown Carol"
Designed by Sonea, cross-stitch-patterns.eu
Started 9/27/2011, Finished 10/11/2011

You can see what a difference the backstitching makes!

Lisa is having a giveaway!

I'm a new follower on Lisa's blog, Hockey Mom Stitchin' Hobby.  She is having a giveaway for her 3rd blogoversary and also trying to reach 100 followers.  I just helped her get one step closer!  I learned about this giveaway from Joyce and Linda.

WOCS - Clown Carol - update #2

Since you've seen it last, I have stitched the rest of the face and filled in the diamonds on his bow-tie!  He will have a purple hat and green hair, then I will do the backstitching and this clown will be done!

If I wasn't stitching so much on the clown, I would have gotten more done on my SAL, Trick or Treat.  It will look like THIS when it's done!

Here is a cute sleepy-time pic of Blueberrie and Teddy.  My daughter was sleeping on the couch, too.  This is her cat and dog, so I assume she will take them with her when she moves out some day!

Violets Teacup - update #3

Hurray! I'm finished with all the 7 shades of purple and 4 shades of gray!  Now all that is left is the 5 shades of green for the leaves, and the dreaded backstitching!  If anyone wants to stitch this freebie from Vermillion Stitchery, be sure to use 28ct evenweave or linen and stitch over 2, because this project is FULL of 1/4 and 3/4 stitches on every flower petal and especially the stripes on the cup and saucer.  The picture on the website sure looks a lot simpler than it actually turned out to be, but I'm glad that I followed through with it.

Now I'm going to stitch on something easy for awhile!

New cross stitch kit from Yiota's XStitch!

 

I received one of the lovely cross stitch kits from Yiota's XStitch yesterday!  It is named "Bird Nest (No 2)" (since she also has another pattern called "Bird Nest").

I had read reviews by Sandie from Tigermum's creative corner (tiger) in the UK and socialsue (meerkat) in Canada when they also received cross stitch kits from Yiota's XStitch.

The first thing that impressed me was that it came in a large sturdy envelope with the entire back side of the envelope made from cardboard, so it couldn't be bent in the mailbox.  The cross stitch kit came in a nice cellophane pouch and all the floss bobbins were neatly lined up as you can see in the picture above.  They had barely shifted during the long journey from the UK to my front door in California, USA.

The front sheet of the pattern has the photo of the completed cross stitch project and shows the stitch count and finished size in centimeters and inches. The white 14ct Aida cloth that came with the kit measures 16.5" x 15", which leaves a margin of 2.5" to 3.75" for framing.  I have read that the preferred amount should be 3" on all sides, but I'm sure 2.5" will be adequate.  It would have been great if the Aida cloth had serged or whip-stitched edges already.

The pattern is printed on large sheets of heavy paper measuring 16.5" x 12.5".  I prefer this size instead of having several smaller pages to shuffle through.  The symbols are in black & white and very clear and easy to see.  I appreciate the larger printout.  The legend shows all the Madeira floss numbers, but Yiota's XStitch also provides the DMC floss numbers, in case you want to use the pattern and your own floss instead.  That was extremely thoughtful, so the stitcher doesn't have to search for a conversion table.

The most unique feature of Yiota's cross stitch kits is that they come with all the floss already wound on bobbins labeled with the Madeira floss color numbers.  The next best thing would have been if the symbols were also included on the floss bobbins.  It looks like there is more than enough Madeira floss to complete this pattern.  I will provide updates after I start stitching this beautiful picture.  I chose it because the pink flowers and birds looked so pretty to me!

I hope this review of Yiota's cross stitch kits was helpful to you!  I will certainly order from her in the future.  She has over 500 patterns to download in PDF format, or you can order the full cross stitch kit with the printed pattern, needle, fabric, and floss included.

Happy Stitching! 

Violets Teacup - update #2

This is finally starting to look prettier. I am done with most of the purple flowers and part of the teacup. Next, I will stitch the rest of the teacup, then do the green leaves, and save all the backstitching for last.  That will really make a difference!

I tried something different and took a picture of the clown outside next to my hibiscus plant.  I finished his blue bow tie using bright turquoise floss.  The diamonds will be purple to match his purple hat.

I went for a scenic drive the other day and took this panoramic picture from a mountain top.  Can you see the itty bitty buildings? That is downtown Los Angeles, about 30 miles away. Click on the picture for a better view.

New Start for WOCS - Clown Carol!

The ladies of World of Charity Stitching are making a quilt for a child with a clowns theme.  My cat Billy is modeling my new start of a clown cross stitch square to add to the quilt. He will have a little purple hat and green hair!

I stitched some more green on my Trick or Treat SAL with Linda last night.  I really like stitching with these bright cheery colors!

Today I am going to pick up my daughter at the Los Angeles Airport.  She has been gone for 3-1/2 weeks in Montreal, Canada for work.  Now we can catch up with all our TV shows this weekend!  I'm baking chocolate chip cookies right now so she can eat them in the car on the way home. I'm such a good mommy!