TUSAL - July and a big finish!

Here is my Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long (TUSAL) update for July!  Check in on Daffycat's blog with a link to your TUSAL post, too!  Alice is posing again with the ORT jar, but this time she is finished and framed and matted and ready to go to my son at last!

TUSAL 2014 #8

Alice from Resident Evil - FRAMED!

I also added mats to the frame for Dog House Sampler, which I finished in 2011.  I found this perfect blue wood frame at a thrift store.

Dog House Sampler - FRAMED!

You might have noticed some yarn bits in the ORT jar.  They are from the Stained Glass Nativity needlepoint, which is finally finished after 34 years!  The framer has it now and is working her magic on it to get it blocked and framed just right!

Stained Glass Nativity - FINISHED!

"Stained Glass Nativity"
Designed by Wayne Maurer
Sunset Designs needlepoint
10 ct cotton mesh canvas, 100% wool yarn
Finished size 10" x 20"
Started 1980, Finished 7/23/2014

Whew!  I'm out of breath after doing that big happy dance!

Framed finish and giveaways!

Hurray!  I actually finished this birthday gift and got it framed on time!  I started The Sorcerer way back in 2011 for the first Crazy January Challenge, and I started The Sorceress for the UCJC this year.  My best friend, Colleen, has always liked castles and dragons and wizards.  Our dads have been friends since they were in kindergarten and our moms met in high school.  They got married around the same time and she is only 2 days older than me, so she is just like a sister!  Now she lives in Texas and I'm still in California.  I will see her tomorrow for a visit!  My son is coming to her house too, and we'll all go to my daughter's graduation from Army boot camp together!

Here is her handmade birthday present!  You can click on the picture to see it bigger.

The Sorcerer and The Sorceress - FRAMED!

This was framed by Beth at Wilson's Frame-Up in Riverside, California.  The purple mat is linen and the gold and red mats match the stitching colors perfectly!  It was Beth's idea to get a charm and I found this wizard pendant on eBay.  The frame is brushed silver metal.  It's bigger and heavier than I expected.  The full size of the frame is 16" x 25" so it's 1 inch too big for carry-on.  I will wrap it in bubble wrap and surround it with all the clothes in my luggage.  Hopefully it makes the trip in one piece!

Here is a picture from a few years ago of both of us:

Colleen and Debbie

I'm also waiting until the very last minute to finish Alice from Resident Evil for my son's belated birthday present, since I'll see him tomorrow too!  I have a frame ready to pop it into tonight, or maybe tomorrow after I get off the plane!  LOL

Alice from Resident Evil update #8

Parsley of Seasons of My Mind blog is having a giveaway of this beautiful project bag to celebrate becoming an EMT!  Enter HERE and drawing is on July 21.

Nancy from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having a summer floss giveaway!  Enter HERE and tell Nancy that I sent you.  Drawing is on July 30.

Sadly, I have no YOTA update this month on Universal Unity, since I was stitching every day on the same thing (The Sorceress and Alice).  I'll get back to all my SALs after I come home from vacation.  

Happy Stitching, everyone!

Back from the framer!

I just picked these up from my framing friend!  This is Quaker Moon by Bent Creek.  I found the perfect black square frame at a thrift store for $1 and she only charged me for mounting it.

Quaker Moon - FRAMED!

This is Mary's Sampler II by Plum Street Samplers.  This is another thrift store frame for $1 that I thought matched the colors perfectly and I only had to pay for mounting and the gold mat!

Mary's Sampler II - FRAMED!

This is I'll Get You My Pretty by Sue Hillis Designs.  I did pay for this one to be custom framed because it was an unusual size, 7" x 12".

I'll Get You My Pretty - FRAMED!

Beth at Wilson's Frame-Up has framed 17 of my cross stitch finishes so far!

Back from the framer!

I finally got Mr. Mittens framed!  I finished him in June 2012.  This was a Janlynn kit that someone gave me.  Then I had a giveaway drawing and passed the chart on to another stitcher.  I found this natural wood frame at a yard sale for a dollar.  It was brand new and from Ikea.  My friend Beth the framer mounted it and cut purple and green mats that match just perfectly!

Mr. Mittens - FRAMED!

Mr. Mittens - FRAMED!

I'm almost finished with Mary's Sampler II, the free Mystery SAL from Plum Street Samplers.  Part 9 is almost done except for the red flowers around the border and one more crown in the blank space on the right side.

Mary's Sampler II (part 9)

Here I am in my usual stitching position with a cat or two, watching the Olympics and stitching!

Teddy usually sits next to me but he's getting so darned BIG, he takes up half the couch!  I took him to the vet on Friday and he weighs 131 pounds!  The animal shelter told us he was a Labrador when we adopted him 3 years ago.  Hmmmm... vet says he must be part Mastiff, of course!

 

Crazy January start #10

Day #10 of the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge is The Wizard of Oz by Pixel Power.  I'm stitching on green hand-dyed 14 ct Aida from Stitchnmomma.  This will be about 7" x 3.5"

The Wizard of Oz

It wasn't hard to find a similar start in my WIPocalypse list.  I started this Star Wars design by Wee Little Stitches back in 2012.  Today I stitched Princess Leia.

Star Wars update #2

Quoth the Raven is back from the framer!  She made a custom black wood frame since this wouldn't fit in an 8x10 frame.  The size is 7" x 11" and is exactly what I wanted!

Quoth the Raven - framed!

Now I can finally mail it to my nephew as a late Christmas present!

Final WIPocalypse update of 2013

The apocalypse didn't happen on December 21, 2012, after all, so we still have time to finish all of our Works in Progress (WIPs).  I started 2013 with 49 WIPs and added 31 new starts in the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge by starting a new project every day in January.  Then I started 12 more during the year.  I had 29 finishes this year.  You can see them all on my Finishes 2013 page, but here are some of my framed finishes:

 

 

 

Here is one more that I finished this year and just got it framed in this wooden box that I found at a thrift store.  It fits perfectly!  This is The Bear and the Bees by The Prairie Schooler.

 

I also made progress on some big designs this year.  

Boo! Club by Lizzie*Kate started in January with just one part finished:

Now 7 out of 12 parts are finished: 

I finished one full shelf of "99" by Ink Circles, only 8 more to go!

Universal Unity looked like this back in January:

and looks like this now:

I didn't finish Quoth the Raven in time to get it framed for Christmas, but it can be a January present instead!

Quoth the Raven update #7

I also just posted my choices for the Ultimate Crazy January Challenge 2014.  I'll start a new one every day in January.  Then I'll have an even 100 on my WIPocalypse list. I wonder how many I'll finish in 2014!

I also posted a page for my Turtle Trot SAL choices for 2014.  I will try to make progress on these WIPs during the year and post updates on the 10th of each month.  You can sign up HERE.

Happy Stitching, everyone!

More framing finishes!

I found these frames at thrift stores and my framing friend stretched and mounted my finished cross stitch pieces for me.  They didn't need mats.  Jolly Jack fit perfectly into this black wood 6x6 frame.

Jolly Jack - framed!

Cut Thru' Igloo also fit perfectly into this metallic green 9-1/2" square frame.  I love how she centered it so precisely.  I even counted the holes in the Aida and it's exactly the same on both sides! :-)

Cut Thru' Igloo - framed!

I also asked her to fix BBQ Queen.  I framed this one myself with a piece of sticky board but it bugged me every time I looked at it since it wasn't centered.  She took it apart and mounted it with pins and now it looks perfect!

BBQ Queen - framed!

Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having an 11th day of Christmas giveaway of fabric, the winner's choice of 32 ct Belgian linen that she dyes herself or 18 ct Aida in different colors.  Drawing on December 23.  Enter HERE and tell Nancy that I sent you!

Her 12th day of Christmas giveaway is a $50 gift certificate for her eBay store!  The lucky winner will be drawn on December 24.  Enter HERE and tell Nancy that I sent you!

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!