Cross stitching for my daughter!

I had to follow up my last post with another about the cross stitch gifts I'm making for my daughter!  She took French in high school and has always wanted to work in Paris, so most of the things for her are in French.  She has been to Europe four times and loves to travel!

I'm stitching the free Positive Thinking SAL from Jardin Privé in French, La Pensée Positive, for her.  This is on 18 ct baby pink Aida.  I finished part 2 using Cosmo Seasons variegated floss for the words.

La Pensée Positive update #3

I'm also using VMSS floss for the rest of the design.  I just found out that Nancy of Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is giving 10 lucky winners 5 skeins each of her hand-dyed floss in spring colors.  Her floss comes in 20-yard skeins so this is 100 yards for each winner!  Enter HERE and tell Nancy that I sent you!  Drawing on March 10.

The Hungarian Peacock Sampler will also be a gift for my daughter.  I'm using Cosmo Seasons variegated floss for this one, too.  I added another pretty peacock.

Hungarian Peacock Sampler update #1

This will be a hanging sign that says Merci on one side and Thank You on the other. It is a freebie from gazette94 that you can find HERE.  I used DMC 48, variegated baby pink floss on pale green mint parfait Aida.

Merci - FINISHED!

"Merci"
Designed by Claire Findlay
gazette94
14 ct mint parfait Aida
Started 2/28/2012, Finished 2/23/2014

Another one I'm stitching for her is Leo, a freebie from Stitch Alley, since that is her zodiac sign.  Her birthday is in August.  They have all the zodiac signs and lots of free charts.  I stitched his back and tail.

Leo update #3

The first cross stitch gift I made for my daughter was A Paris Kiss by Vervaco.  I only stitched it when she was at work, so it was a complete surprise when I gave it to her for her birthday!  This was my first time stitching on linen.

A Paris Kiss

She picked out this Day of the Dead sugar skull from the Twisted Stitches book, so I stitched this one for her, too!

Day of the Dead

I also made her this bookmark.  "J'aime lire" means "I love to read."  This was a freebie from Les petits bonheurs de Miss T blog.

J'aime lire bookmark

I've also stitched these French Christmas ornaments for her future Christmas tree, but haven't finished them into actual ornaments yet.  We really should have a crafty weekend some day and finish them up!

Bon Noel

Boule Bordeaux

Boules Baroques

C'est Noel

These are all freebie designs from gazette94, Le Blog de Vava, and The Sampler Girl.

More framing finishes!

I am so happy to have these pieces framed in time for Halloween!  I provided the frames and my friend who works at a framing shop cut the mats and mounted them. Today, I found two more frames at a thrift store that will be perfect for some other finishes.  Stay tuned!

Day of the Dead from the Twisted Stitches book has bright blue and hot pink mats in a black & white 8x10 frame.  I love how she cut the corners!

Day of the Dead - framed!

Trick or Treat by Ursula Michael was a SAL I had with Linda last year.  She used purple, black, and orange mats in an 11x14 black frame.

Trick or Treat - framed!

Halloween House is another great design by Ursula Michael that Linda, Joyce, and I just finished. She used a black mat with an orange beveled edge in a 13x16 wood frame that I found at a thrift store.

Halloween House - framed!

BBQ Queen by Diane Arthurs was finished last year.  I framed her myself in a white 8x10 frame that I bought at a yard sale.

BBQ Queen - framed!

Happy Stitching, everyone!

Happy Dance Finish! (and more beer)

Hurray!  I finished the Day of the Dead sugar skull.  My son bought me the book, Twisted Stitches, and my daughter asked me to stitch this one for her.  I used the DMC floss listed in the chart and stitched on 18 ct white Aida.  The finished size is about 5" x 7".  There is another sugar skull in the book, too!

Day of the Dead - FINISHED!

"Day of the Dead"
Designed by Phil Davison
Twisted Stitches
Started 8/21/2012, Finished 8/31/2013

I stitched more water, fish, and bubbles on Cut Thru' Igloo.  This will only have one or two more updates and then it will be time for another happy dance!  Check out everyone's progress on the Bothy Threads Cut Thru' SAL page!

Cut Thru' Igloo update #22

I stitched two more bottles of beer on the wall on "99" by Ink Circles.

"99" update #5

Bottle #8 is Neustadt 10w30, Neustadt Springs Brewery, Neustadt, Ontario, Canada.

Bottle #9 is Fat Yak, Matilda Bay Brewing Co., Australia.

Turtle Trot SAL - August

For the Turtle Trot SAL, we choose 13 WIPs to work on and post progress pics on the 13th of every month. Now I'm down to only 12.  I didn't stitch on all of them like Linda did!

I skipped the update in July, so here is my progress since June.  You can click on the picture to see it bigger.

Universal Unity:  I stitched the tiger's other front leg.

(before)

Universal Unity update #10

The Sorcerer:  I stitched his smoking crystal ball.

(before)

The Sorcerer update #6

Flaming June:  This is my first HAED chart.  I stitched more blue sky.  Next time I'll get down to the water.

(before)

Flaming June update #4

Merry Christmas:  I stitched the letter "i" on Christmas.  This chart is from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.

(before)

Merry Christmas update #5

Day of the Dead:  I stitched the jaw and chin and yellow on the mouth.  I'll start on the forehead next time.  This design is from the Twisted Stitches book.

(before)

Day of the Dead update #8

Orange Poppies:  I stitched two more strands of orange around the edge of the poppy.  This Thea Gouverneur design will be huge!

(before)

Orange Poppies update #3

June WIPocalypse update and a finish!

It's another full moon (did you see the super moon?) and time for the WIPocalypse SAL update!  The focus colors this month are black and green. You can see current pics of all my WIPs on my WIPocalypse page.

I finished Quaker Moon during the GTG (get-together) on Saturday with seven women in the SoCal Cross Stitchers Yahoo group.  We stitched at the food court in the mall for almost 8 hours!

Quaker Moon - FINISHED!

"Quaker Moon"
Bent Creek
Started 1/28/2013, Finished 6/22/2013

I'll pass this chart onto another stitcher (worldwide) and hopefully the winner will give it away when she's finished, too!  Just mention in the comment if you're interested.  I'll draw a name on Sunday, June 30.

I started the next part (7 of 12) of Boo! Club by Lizzie Kate by stitching the word Pumpkin in green.

Boo! Club (Pumpkin)

I stitched the black jaw line on the Day of the Dead skull from the Twisted Stitches book.

Day of the Dead update #7

I stitched the black letter P and some of the border on Picnic Area by The Prairie Schooler.

Picnic Area update #3

I finally started stitching again on Santa Hang-Up, which I started for the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge and haven't touched it since the first day.  I'm stitching on sparkly 20 ct Valerie fabric, 2 over 2, so the X's are pretty big (10 ct size).  This is an every other weekend SAL with Linda.

Santa Hang-Up update #1

Remember to check in on Measi's blog with a link to your WIPocalypse update, too!  Next month's theme is Designer - Glendon Place, Project Theme - Animals, and Focus Colors - Red and Yellow.  I'll try to do some stitching in those categories, too!

Turtle Trot SAL - April

For the Turtle Trot SAL, we choose 13 WIPs to work on and post progress pics on the 13th of every month.  You can sign up at BAP-Attack.  Here is my progress since last month.  You can click on the picture to see it bigger.

Universal Unity:  The tiger's head is done except for his ear.

(before)

Universal Unity update #7

The Sorcerer:  His sleeve and more of his cloak is done.

(before)

The Sorcerer update #4

Flaming June:  I stitched more of the sky.

(before)

Flaming June update #3

All's Good in the Hood:  I stitched the word "THE" and more border on top and bottom.

(before)

All's Good in the 'Hood update #5

Merry Christmas:  I finished the letter "h" in Christmas.  This design is from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.

(before)

Merry Christmas update #3

Disney Princess Birth Announcement:  I finished Cinderella's forehead and eyebrows.

(before)

Disney Princess Birth Announcement update #3

Day of the Dead:  The skull has a pretty smile now!  This design is from the Twisted Stitches book.

(before)

Day of the Dead update #6

Majestic Eagle:  I started stitching his other wing and chest.

(before)

Majestic Eagle update #2

Today I'm going to stitch outside at the mall with the SoCal Cross Stitchers Yahoo Group!  Have a great Saturday, everyone!