Last Week's Progress (April 20-26)

I finished the breast cancer piece and bought a frame for it. I just need to press it and frame it. I made a mistake in the border. I forgot to leave the open squares around the inner edges. It would have looked better, but I'm definitely not going to rip all of that out! It looks fine the way it is.

"Pink Ribbon" by Ellen Maurer-Stroh

On Tuesday I started "Perception" by Elizabeth Almond. When I first started doing all of that back-stitching, I was thinking, "What have I gotten myself into!?" I wasn't enjoying it at first, but once I got going, I started enjoying it more.

"Perception" by Elizabeth Almond 

Perception is the first "blackwork" piece that I've ever done. I was very tempted  to do a very large blackwork SAL called "Save the Stitches" by Elizabeth Almond, but I figured I'd better do a smaller one first before I jump into a giant one! So many people have done very beautiful renditions, but April's "Save the Stitches" is my favorite! 

Last week's progress (April 13-19)

Last week I was working on the breast cancer cross stitch for my cousin. I ran out of the green color that goes around the border, so I was delayed a few days until I was able to get another skein. Then I started stitching with 2 strands of thread instead of 3. I had used a whole length of 2 strands, and then as I was threading my needle again, I noticed it. I had to pull out all of those stitches and start again with 3 strands. Ugh! Below is my progress on it. I will probably get finished today or tomorrow.

During the few days that I couldn't work on the breast cancer piece, I started on my Green Flips by Lizzie Kate. I got 2 finished and started on a 3rd. They're so cute! I decided to change a couple of colors because I didn't feel that they looked very good. I'm using the DMC conversion, so maybe that's why it didn't look just right. I'll explain all of my substitutions when I post my finish. 

I was a bad girl and ordered 2 of the Celtic Ladies by Lavender and Lace, but I was good by ordering the from eBay and saving a few dollars. I might join a L&L SAL on Facebook with one of them. It starts July 5th. 

I joined a Summer/Winter challenge, also on Facebook. It starts June 22nd and if I complete my chosen project by September 22nd, I'll be entered into a drawing for a goodie bag. The design I chose for this challenge is a freebie found at this website. Below is my printed pattern. 

It originally printed on one page, but the symbols were too tiny for me to read it. I opened the image in paint and cropped it in half. I printed each half on a full sheet of paper. Now I can read it much better! I already have some fabric that I can use for this and have about half of the colors needed. 

This will be for my almost 3 year old, Madison. She loves the movie Frozen! She always waves her hands around and says she's doing magic like Elsa. 

Have a good week! :) 

Last week's progress (April 6-12)

This past week I finished the Garden Pleasures cross stitch that I was working on. I still need to frame it or finish it in some way.

I used DMC floss for all except 2 of the colors. I used Dried Thyme and Raspberry Parfait by Gentle Arts Sampler Threads. This is my first time using anything other than DMC.  I'm not very happy with the way the Dried Thyme looks. To me, it looks more brown than green, and the Raspberry Parfait looks more pink than red. Below is a picture of the leaflet, showing how it "should" look.

Can you see how the leaves are supposed to be two shades of green? Mine doesn't look like that. The dress and flowers are supposed to look red, but mine look pink. Also, I personally don't see what makes these threads worth the high price! They are about $2 - $2.50 each for 5 yard skeins, and must be ordered online since I don't have a shop nearby that sells them. DMC floss is 38¢ - 44¢ each for 8.7 yard skeins and is available at several stores nearby. I didn't notice any difference in quality. Their website says... 

 "Working with overdyed floss is a fun experience. We developed ourSAMPLER THREADS^TM and SIMPLY SHAKER^TM threads especially to give new pieces an aged appearance. The thread colors are muted; the color variations per strand are subtle."  

The color variations are so subtle that I can hardly even see them. If you can tell the difference and can afford them, go for it. I can't tell the difference and can't see spending the extra money, so I think I'll stick to DMC for most of my projects. I've already purchased some Weeks Dye Works threads for the Cornwall Cottage Sampler. I hope I'm happier with that investment! 

Four years ago, I started on a breast cancer cross stitch for my cousin in Kentucky. I was stitching it while she was going through her chemotherapy treatments. She didn't want anyone to know about her cancer, but her mom (my aunt) told me anyway. I had to pretend not to know.  I wasn't able to tell her good luck, or that I was thinking about her. This was my way of sending her good thoughts. As I'm notorious for not finishing things, this one didn't get finished either. I'm going to finish it and send it to her. My aunt confirmed that it's no longer a secret. 

The breast cancer design is a freebie by Ellen  Maurer-Stroh of EMS Designs. After I finish this one, I was going to do Welcome Spring by Little House Needlework next, but I think I'll do the Lizzie Kate Green flips. I just can't wait to start on them! 

Getting back into cross stitching

As I mentioned in my previous post, I  go through spurts of different crafts. It's been several years since I've done any cross stitching. In the past, most of the work I've done was just kits from Hobby Lobby, Michaels or Jo-Ann. I didn't have a choice of fabric or floss. I just used whatever came in the kit. Only a few times did I do a pattern from a magazine or such. Even then, I just bought the basic aida cloth and DMC floss. This time, I somehow became aware of some great designers and tons of fabric and floss choices. This might be a financially dangerous hobby! :)

Since each of my flowers of the month is only taking about a week to complete, I figured that I need something else to work on for the other three weeks of the month. There are literally tons of projects that I would love to do, but I had to narrow it down a little! Below are the ones I decided to start with. By that, I mean that I bought the pattern, fabric and threads. I've only started stitching on one so far.

The "Green" series by Lizzie Kate. This is six separate patterns, but can be stitched together if you choose. The pattern for the border is available free on  the Lizzie Kate website.

"Cornwall Cottage Sampler " by Rosewood Manor. This one is HUGE! Size is something I will need to remember to consider before deciding on future projects! On 32 count fabric, the stitched area will be 18.5 x 18.5! 

"Perception" by Elizabeth Almond, from Cross-stitch & Needlework magazine,  March 2012.

"Dandy Wishes" by Sharon Pope, from just Cross Stitch magazine, April 2015. 

"Welcome Spring" by Little House Needlework. The pattern was free with the purchase of three new thread colors by Classic Colorworks. I bought mine from Anita's Little Stitches. 

"Garden Pleasures" by Little House Needleworks. This is the only one I've started on so far. (Edit:I posted a picture of my progress, but for some reason the picture is lost now, so I have removed the broken link.)

I think that's all. That's enough to keep me busy for quite a while. I've already spent a pretty penny and still need to figure out how I will display them. I will try to update my progress periodically. I might also write a post with some of my other favorites that I would love to do. :) 

And below is a picture of my April flower of the month, Sweet Pea.  

Starting a blog

I've decided to become a blogger. Not because I plan on making a business out of it, but just to document what I'm working on at the moment. My obsessions change frequently. I might be into crocheting for a year or two, and then I might be into cross stitching for a year or two. Sometimes I might post about gardening or reading. Who knows! 

I'll just give you a little snippet of who I am. I'm a stay at home mom of three. Ashley is 19, Brandon is 7 and Madison is almost 3. I've been married to my husband for 21 years. I've been feeling like I need some kind of change in my life. Maybe divorce, maybe running away and never coming back, maybe I'll just continue to sit here and feel depressed. I don't know yet. That's all I have to say about that right now. 

I was on a crochet streak up until a couple of months ago. I was working on a very large afghan for my oldest daughter. It took me two years to complete. I would get tired of it and put it away for several months at a time. I wasn't very impressed with her color or style choices at first. Once it was close to being complete, it started growing on me. It was so soft and snuggly! Below are some pictures of it. 

During my periods of not wanting to work on Ashley's afghan, I made some bags/purses, washcloths, hats, etc. I also made a dress up costume for my 2 year old, Madison. She loves the movie "Frozen", so I couldn't resist when I saw the patterns for the "Anna" items. See below.

I also made a "Hobbes" for my son, Brandon's 7th birthday. He loves the Calvin & Hobbes comic books, so I thought he might really like this stuffed animal. 

Once I finished Ashley's afghan, I felt like my crochet streak was coming to an end. I decided to dust off my cross stitch supplies. I hadn't done any cross stitching in several years. As I was looking through all of my  cross stitch bookmarks and pins, and doing some Google searches, I came across a stitch-along (SAL) at Brownie's Chair. The SAL is for the free flower of the month patterns by Ellen Maurer-Stroh of EMS Designs. These flowers have been on my wish list for quite a while, so I thought this would be a perfect time to start them. Below is a picture of all twelve flowers. Aren't they gorgeous? 

 I joined the SAL at the end of February. I started with the March Daffodils on February 28th. It only took about a week to complete, so I then started on the February Violets. Those also took about a week, so I started on the January Carnations. In three weeks, I was caught up! Actually, most of the other people in the SAL are not as far along as I am. They probably have a life. Lol! Below is a picture of what my flowers looked like as of March 24th.

 I had about a week to go until April, so I started shopping for other projects to work on. I found way too many! I'll do a new post with my purchases and wish list. I hope I can easily figure out how to use this blog! :)