Theme-A-Licious Menagerie May

The theme for last month was Menagerie May, "Is it a zoo in your stack of WIPs? How many projects can you find that include animals or birds?"

I have lots of WIPs with animals and birds and this was just the right incentive to stitch on some of them that have been ignored for awhile!

On Bird Nest (No 2), I stitched more of the pretty pink bird from Yiota's XStitch.  I started this one in the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge 2012.

Bird Nest (No 2) update #3

Yiota's XStitch kits come with all the floss on bobbins already.  Isn't this nice?

I stitched the other back leg on Leo, a freebie from Stitch Alley.

Leo update #5

I stitched an owl on Picnic Area.

Picnic Area update #7

I stitched another little bird on Thankful Critters.

Thankful Critters update #13

I also started stitching another crow and the basket on Fall Welcome.

Fall Welcome update #12

And here's another bird, a goose on Santa's 12 Days of Christmas!  The gap in the middle is where Santa's arm is holding him.

Santa's 12 Days of Christmas (Day 6) update #2

Santa's 12 Days of Christmas (Day 6) update #2

I filled in the rest of the raccoon and started the zebra on Universal Unity. This is on a 14" x 17" Q-snap.  Since I'm right-handed, I turn it upside-down to stitch the zebra so it will be closer to the right side.  Do any of you stitch your designs upside-down, too? 

Universal Unity update #17

Check in on Heather's blog, It's Geek to Me, to see links to more blog posts with the animals theme this month!

Heather sent me this amazing prize package for suggesting the theme for April Showers.  All the goodies have the "water" theme.  She sent an April Showers chart from Country Cottage Needleworks and a kit to make a Lighthouse scissors charm. The fabric colors are Seafoam and Neptune blue.  But the most amazing part is the floss with names like Tropical Ocean, Mediterranean, Seafan, Silver Icicle, and Sea Turtle!  She included a vinyl project pouch to protect my WIPs from getting wet! Thank you so very much, Heather!

April Showers Theme-a-licious prize package!

The theme for this month will be June Jolt, "School's out for the summer! Let's work on things with sunshine in them or REALLY bright colors.  Summer is here!" (Northern Hemisphere... LOL)

My WIPs with sunshine and bright colors are Stained Glass Nativity, The Sorcerer and The Sorceress, Flaming June, Pac-Man, Holiday Cheer, Thankful Critters, Fractal 156 bookmark, Dance of the Geckos, Triple Jack-o-Lanterns, Beach Babe, Basket of Fruit, Orange Poppies, Jacks are Wild, Trick or Treat Greeting, and Believe.

I'm looking forward to making some progress on these to share with you on July 1! Happy Stitching, everyone!

Crazy January start #8

Day #8 of the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge is Nesting Season, a very cute chart that I received from Sarah Beth of Sarah Beth's Cross-Stitch Blog.  I made a comment on how I liked her finished bird in the nest and she sent me the chart! Thank you so much, Sarah Beth!  I will certainly pass it on to another stitcher when I am finished.  I am using 14 ct Oatmeal Aida and it will be 3-1/4" x 3-3/4".  I'm using a hoop because it's too small for a Q-Snap, but I took the picture of it in a blue heart-shaped frame that I found at a yard sale, which will be perfect for this!  You can see Sarah Beth's finish on her blog HERE.  The chart is also in this booklet, The Nestlings.

Nesting Season

From my WIPocalypse list, I pulled out another bird nest design from the UCJC in 2012.  This is Bird Nest (No 2), a kit from Yiota's XStitch.  I started stitching the gray feathers on the bird and the light pink and creamy colors are his chest.  Hopefully he will come to life soon!

Bird Nest (No 2) update #2

The cross stitch kits from Yiota's XStitch come with Madeira thread already wound on bobbins.  I'm looking forward to getting another kit from her some day!

November 22-24, per Random Number Generator!

The Random Number Generator is choosing these numbers from my WIPocalypse page, which has the current photos of all of my WIPs.

November 22 - #4 Thai Dancer.  This kit by PINN is so nice!  The edges of the fabric are serged and all the floss is already sorted.  It has a glossy color chart so I have to mark it with a regular pen instead of a highlighter.  I didn't make a working copy.  This is on 14 ct Aspen green Aida.  I am stitching this one for myself because I think she's so cute!  This is a kit I bought many years ago, I think from The Stitchery catalog or Ebay.  I started her on Day #1 of the CJC 2011 and stitched a little bit more on Day #16 of the UCJC 2012.  Today I stitched the edge of her sleeve and part of her left arm.

Thai Dancer update #2

Thai Dancer update #2

November 23 - #31 All's Good in the 'Hood.  I bought this fun chart from Kincavel Krosses.  This will be a gift for my son instead of the typical "Home Sweet Home."  It made me laugh!  I'm using variegated garnet floss, DMC 115, on 14 ct Dirty Aida.  Today I stitched part of the border.

All's Good in the 'Hood update #1

November 24 - #11 Bird Nest (No 2).  This was my Day #5 start of the UCJC 2012.  I haven't touched it since.  This kit is from Yiota's XStitch in the UK.  I love birds and the color pink, so this seemed like the perfect combination!  Today I stitched the pink chest of the bird and part of the eggs or flowers.

Bird Nest (No 2) update #1

Bird Nest (No 2) update #1

Yiota's Praying Hands kit giveaway winner!

Happy Mother's Day!  I have used the Random Number Generator to pick a winner of the Yiota's cross stitch kit, Praying Hands.

The way to enter was to visit Yiota's Cross Stitch and then leave a comment on my blog post saying which of the kits you liked best.  Here are the cross stitch kits that everyone mentioned in their comments:

Now that you've seen everyone's favorites, I will finally tell you who the winner is!
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Golden Angels Works!  CONGRATULATIONS!  Enjoy your Praying Hands cross stitch kit!

Yiota's Cross Stitch Kit Giveaway!

Hi everyone!  I am a happy customer of Yiota's XStitch and she has wonderful cross stitch kits that you have probably been reading reviews about all over the blogging universe.  She has a family-owned business in the UK, but ships her cross stitch kits all over the world, or you can buy PDF files of the patterns and not have to wait.

To help Yiota's website be seen by even more visitors, I am having a giveaway of this cross stitch kit, Praying Hands, designed by Yiota.  The kit comes with Madeira threads wound on bobbins, a black and white chart printed on heavy A4 paper, and 14 ct Aida fabric.  The finished size will be 10.6 x 11.8 inches (27 cm x 30 cm).  I will ship it to the winner anywhere in the world!

This is how to enter:  Visit Yiota's XStitch website and browse through all the patterns and kits she has designed.  Then come back here and leave a comment telling me which of her designs you would love to stitch.  I will draw the winner's name on Sunday, May 13, which is Mother's Day here in the USA!  Good luck!

Day #5 - Bird Nest

 

Day #5 of my Ultimate Crazy January Challenge is Bird Nest (No 2) from Yiota's XStitch.  I really like pictures of birds and the color pink, and this design caught my eye. Yiota's has wonderful cross stitch kits.  They come with Madeira threads that are already wound onto floss bobbins!  The chart has the Madeira and DMC floss color numbers, in case you prefer to use your own DMC.

I am off work all day on Friday, so guess what I will be doing?  That's right!  Stitch, stitch, and stitch some more!

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!