1 Bobbin and 6 Skeins Later...

I am alive and I still stitch. I've been busy working on a model so no progress pics for that. I still find time here and there to stitch on my Purple Project. Here she is 1 Bobbin and 6 Skeins of DMC 3041 later...

A Purple Update

I've been focusing on 2 main projects. Project X, which is top secret and therefore, no pics. And the Purple Project (aka Long Dog's The Token).

I've stitched a couple of motifs on the Purple Project and I've also started working on the top, leftmost motif. I think I'm about half-way done on this project.

I'm Alive

Buffalo got hit with a crazy snow storm on October 13 and it did this to our house:

We didn't have power for almost a week. And we didn't have cable or internet for 10 or 11 days. It wasn't fun.

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What else is new? I turned 30. *gag* Moving on...

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I have been stitching. The purple project is going well. Currently tho, I am working on a secret project that I have named Project X. Project X is so cute! Its a lot of fun to stitch. I just wish I had more energy to stitch more than 15 min a night. Work is just so draining and the weather isn't helping either. I absolutely hate getting out of the office to darkness. So absolutely depressing.

I'll try to keep this blog up-to-date. I will probably take a pic of the Purple Project tomorrow if the sun decides to appear.

Showing Off

I stitched this for Anna and Kirk. :)

I used a piece of 28 count light gray Jobelan and DMC 498 and 3865. I also randomly stitched a "top leg" using a strand of opalescent Kreinik blending filament. I used the same DMC colors for the cording.

Trick or Treat!!!

I love this ornie! Its so cute. I really like how it turned out. I still need to work on my ornie-making techniques though.

I used a whole skein of DMC 51 (variegated) for the handle. This is my best attempt at making cording so far.

Dragon Dreams Happy Dance

Whooohooo my dear readers! I have another happy dance. :) I started this cutie last night and I put in the last stitches as soon as I got home from work. He is the newest freebie from Dragon Dreams. He stitches up really quick and he is such a cutie.

I really wanted to stitch an ornie for Halloween and this one was perfect.

An ornie needs a reverse side, so I decided to stitch this:

I used the same orange floss from the Dragon Dreams design and used the alphabet from TW's English Cottage Sampler. It could have been better, but I like it. I'm still working on the "finishing" part of it. Stay tuned. I might have a fully finished ornie pic by tomorrow night. :)

Yay me!!!

First of all, one big hello to my 8 readers!!!! How is everybody doing? I haven't abandoned blogging, there just hasn't been anything to blog about... plus I'm lazy. ;)

Anyway, I finally, finally finished Fox Hollow by Bent Creek. It took a while as I had to stitch an ornie for a co-worker who got married last weekend. The project was supposed to be quick and easy, but after realizing that I chose the wrong colors (I was almost done with all the stitching), I had to start all over again.

Without further ado, may I present Fox Hollow:

Dance With Me!!!

I started this little cutie Sunday afternoon and I finished the final stitches on him a few minutes ago. This is Dance of the Bumblebee from Bent Creek. The chart was part of my birthday shopping spree last year. I'm so glad that I decided to work on him.

Go Filipinos!!!!

You two better do well in Survivor darnit or I will be *very* upset with you!

No Fox Hollow progress pic just yet. I've been working on trees and the road... so not much to look at really. I'll prolly post something this weekend.

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Whoohooo! I have 7 readers. I am *SO EXCITED*!!!

Fox Hollow Part 4

Hello to the 3 people who read my blog!!!! LOL!!! I missed you guys!!!

I am now a proud owner of a brand new (to me at least) 'puter! Whooohooo. Its so purty! And fast. OMG. I had no idea I can scan and edit crazy high res pics in Photoshop that fast!

Here is the latest Fox Hollow pic. As you can tell, I ran out of GAST Sable and had to use some that were from a different dye lot. I think it looks okay even tho the new skeins are darker than the first one I used. I'm on my 3rd skein so far. I think I will end up using some of the 4th skein. This is such an adorable project. I will try my best to finish it this weekend.

Fox Hollow Part 3

Oooh. How exciting! Another progress pic. I actually wanted to wait until I finished the house closest to the fox before posting a progress pic. But then while cropping the pic in Photoshop, I realized that I forgot to the stitch the white picket fence. Oh well. Something new to see for the next progress pic. :)

I am really starting to like this project. I have decided to stitch the road diagonally as I don't like how the Xs look when you do full Xs in horizontal rows. Does that make sense? It does to me! LOL. I can never seem to get the stitches to lie properly when I do full Xs instead of ///// first, then \\\\\.

Anyway, enough rambling, here is the latest Fox Hollow progress pic.

Fox Hollow Part 2

I finally got around to stitching. We've been so busy with traveling and visitors and family that there hasn't been as much time to stitch. I'm hoping that this week is my "back to normal week". Anyway, here is the latest pic of Fox Hollow.

Fox Hollow Day 1

I started Bent Creek's Fox Hollow on Tuesday night and I managed to finish the schoolhouse before bed time.

I didn't bother to rinse any of my floss before stitching and now I am a bit worried about DMC 815. It's quite fuzzy and I am keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that it won't bleed and ruin this project.

This project seems simple and uses several colors of GAST. I'm stitching it on 32 count cream Belfast Linen.

Purple Project Update

I decided to return to my Purple Project. I worked on these two motifs. I couldn't finish the one that says "A Token of Love" because it would have the date of when I actually finish the darn thing.

I really like this project, but I don't have the focus that I used to have. I used to only work on one project at a time until it was completely done. But since finding the BBs I've started to work on multiple projects at a time... sometimes even multiple projects a night!

Bent Creek's Fox Hollow and Swirly Sampler are both calling to me. I have all the materials needed for Fox Hollow, but no fabric for Swirly Sampler... at least I don't think that I have a piece big enough for the project. I'll let you know when I make my decision.

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Work was absolutely insane last week. We had an emergency so I had to work on Sunday from about 1:30 pm to 7 pm. It was not fun. What was less fun was having to be at the office at 7 am the next day and working until 5:30... from Monday to Wednesday. I think I worked 36 hours and had Thursday and Friday off! Totally insane.

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I was gonna talk about our recent Canadian Adventure but real life is screaming and there are a million and one chores to do. So until next time...

I *heart* this project

I started this project on Saturday night and finished it last night. I'm quite happy with it. Its a freebie design from Better Homes & Gardens Australia. I first saw this as a WIP on Anne's blog. The fabric I used is a SW solo which was a RAK from Reba. I stitched the design using Pistachio Nut Caron Waterlilies. DH helped in picking out the colors and I really like the results. :)

Now, what to do next? I should really work on one of my WIPs, but then again, I have so many other projects screaming for me to start them.

Makeover!

I was getting tired of the pink Hello Kitty blog design so I went searching for a new one. I knew I wanted something that had more space for text and pictures. I didn't like the blogs that stayed mainly on the left side of the screen. I couldn't find any nice Hello Kitty ones. Although, I was very tempted to use this one.

Then I did a search on coffee and found this new design. I absolutely love it. I did change the top right picture. I might change it again if I find something else that I like.

Stitching but not blogging

I've been busy stitching, but haven't really been motivated enough to blog. The Purple Project is truly a Purple Monster. I got tired of stitching on it and thought that perhaps a smaller project would be finished faster and would be more encouraging. I started Dragon Dreams' Morning Fairy, but I have yet to finish it.

I am using a piece of fabric that was a RAK from Laura (Under Welkin) from The Wagon as well as Crescent Colors' Vintage Violet for the words. I was having so much fun with this project, but another RAK came in the mail and started screaming to be started. I fought it for about 2 seconds and finally started Mermaid Heaven.

This was a RAK from Lori, also from The Wagon. Yes, the lovely ladies from The Wagon spoil me like crazy. She got me the chart and the beautiful, sparkly SW fabbie.

This mermaid is so beautiful. I cannot believe how detailed she is even with all full stitches. I started stitching in the middle and basically just wandered off. Yes, the baby mermaid looks a bit freaky with just half a face, but I'm working on it.

I normally just upload the pictures on my gallery, but it has been giving me problems tonight. It won't let me upload pictures and it keeps saying that it can't create thumbnails. I have no idea how to fix it right now. So if anyone has a clue as to why its being grumpy all of a sudden, please help!

Thank you to all who posted comments! I love reading comments. :) I feel so special when somebody actually bothers to visit and leave a note. :)

Yes I'm alive

I just went through a major stitching slump this month. Thinking that I was just getting tired of the Purple Project, I went ahead and started something small, but not too small, easy but still fun. My Morning Fairy is still a WIP and who knows when I'll get around to finishing it.

I did manage to finally use up the last bit of skein number 3 for the Purple Project.

I really need/want to start another project. Yes, I know I have a lot of WIPs already and it would really be nice to actually finish something from that pile, but nothing is really calling to me. I need something new. But what? Hmm...

More Purple

Here is my third progress pic for Long Dog's The Token. So far, I have used up 1 bobbin + 2 skeins of floss. I've noticed that I've been a mix of floss miser and floss waster for this project. I just hate having to start over another length of floss when I only have this much to stitch and I hate it more to have to start a section with a partial length of floss. *shrugs* But that's just me.

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In other news... there really is no other news. DH and I relaxed this weekend. Saturday just flew by, but Sunday was more productive. I did laundry and cleaned the den (formerly known as the dog room) a little bit. The walls were so dirty so I thought a little scrubbing with my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser would fix it. It fixed it, but it was so dirty that even though I used up an entire eraser, I still have crap on the walls. *sigh* I think it would be better to just paint the walls. BUT then again, I don't really want to invest any money or time and effort into a room that I don't know what I'll do with.

The Purple Project

I didn't get as much time to stitch this week as I wanted. I've been feeling tired lately. I'm not sure why. I'm glad that I finally finished my skein of 3041 and I can take a progress pic.

I really love working on this project. Not having to worry about changing colors is very relaxing and I'm very happy with the color I picked. :)

Whooooohooooo!!!!

Its finished! Finished!!! Finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May I present my Blackwork Dragon With No Name:

Yes, I started something new

I tried to ignore the screaming, but The Token would not leave me alone. It kept begging for me to start it. So I did. :)

I started this project on April 7th. This picture was taken yesterday, April 9th after I finished off the DMC 3041 on my bobbin.

Blackwork Dragon Progress Pic #3

I have used up one whole skein of Flame Caron Waterlilies. I really love this project. Unfortunately, it will have to go back in the WIP pile until I can order another skein (among other things).

Another Progress Pic

This Blackwork Dragon project is such a fun and fast stitch! I finished filling in his crest tonight. I have a teeny, tiny boo-boo in it. If I didn't stitch the lines so randomly, I would've fixed it. I decided to leave it as it was tiny and I didn't want to have to cut up a whole section just to look for one little, teeny boo-boo.

1, 2, 3... Is this on?

Okay, I've been trying to post forever but Blogger won't let me. I hope this works. *fingers crossed*

I finished something, so now I get to start something new. :) Kati gave me the Dragon Dreams' Blackwork Dragon chart ages ago. I think its about time I started it... so I did!

I didn't read all the instructions carefully so I ended up confusing myself. LOL. After lots of help from Suz, I finally understood what I was supposed to do! Step 1: Outline the draggie using 2 strands of floss. Also, stitch the Xs that make up the eyes and nostril.

March 23: Blogger still sucks and won't let me upload a picture. Anyway, you can see my Blackwork Dragon here. If you click on that pic, you can see the supersized version. :) Thanks for looking!

March 24: Let's try posting the pic again.

Yes, I know

Yes, I saw the boo-boo I made. I posted a picture, saying that I had a happy dance, when I noticed that I forgot to stitch the top 2 leaves on the right vine as well as a little leaf/flower. Oops. My bad. Of course I couldn't just leave it alone and go to sleep. So I stitched the missing bits at around 1 am last night. I was too tired to scan the piece again tho. I'll scan it tonight and post the real happy dance pic. :)

Edited 8:30 EST

Here is the real finished Ye Olde Coffee House by Little House Needleworks. :)

Yay!

I finally finished Ye Olde Coffee House. I don't know why I dragged my feet with finishing this project. I think the last section took less than an hour to finish!

This design was stitch on a piece of 32 count Country Mocha Belfast Linen, using 1 strand of DMC floss, to create a delicate effect.

I'm still here

I have been too busy with work and just plain too tired to blog lately. I haven't had time or energy to go to the boards that often either. It sucks to feel so tired and run down all the time. I could really use another 3-day weekend. Hmm... I wonder if we get any days off for Easter?

Picture time!

As promised, here are my latest progress pics.

I had to frog the lower left vine as well as the top most part. The design was charted wrong and I hadn't noticed it until I had to stitch the very bottom. If Coffee quits screaming at me to work on it, I will finish this YOCH this week. *fingers crossed*

As you can see, I started Coffee in the middle. The middle is definitely more fun to stitch than the border. ;)

Coffee, Coffee and Bowling

I listened to Jo's advise and worked on Ye Olde Coffee House. I finished all the vines on the left and I just have the right side to go. I will definitely finish it this week.

I also listed to Mia and took out my poor neglected Coffee project. Unfortunately, I experimented and tried the parking method and after ignoring it for several months, I was completely lost and confused. So I decided to just junk it and start fresh. I had a piece of white dublin, so I decided to use that for Coffee. This time, instead of starting on the very predictable upper left side of the project, I started in the middle. So now, I have a nice blue/purple blob along with a nice light blue blob.

Stay tuned tomorrow for pictures.

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We had bowling tonight and I did really well. My first game was so-so, but during the 2nd game, I really got the hang of it and scored 123. Its my best score yet. My 3rd game wasn't as great, but it wasn't completely horrible.

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Wow! 7 comments on my previous post. I love it when people leave comments!!! Dani, I am enjoying being your stitching stalker!

Another Celtic Heart

This is my latest finish. It is Celtic Heart by Moonflower Designs. Its a freebie I got from SB&B. I started it on February 21, 2006 and I finished it today. I used DMC 600 to outline it and DMC 48 as my overdyed. I originally wanted to use DMC 107, which is a darker pink, but I couldn't find an appropriate solid color for it.

Now what to work on next? I am so tempted to start something completely new again, but I really should finish Ye Olde Coffee House.

Yay Sasha!!!!

Whooooohoooooo!!!!!
Yay Sasha Cohen!!!

That program was absolutely amazing!!! I hope she does as well in the long program.

Laura's Quilt

Here is my square for Laura's quilt. It is a section of TW's Pennsylvania Dutch Heart. The design looks so small I think. I may have to add some leaves to the side to fill the square out more? On the other hand, I like how delicate the heart looks. What do you guys think?

A Week With Blue Topaz

I spent this week with my Blue Topaz project. I am very happy with this project and I am quite happy with my progress considering that I didn't have too much time to stitch this week.

I think I will put this aside for now and work on my square for Laura's quilt. I will be stitching the heart from TW's Pennsylvania Dutch Heart.

Another New Start

As soon as I finished my Dinky Dyes ornie, I started looking for another project to start. I remembered seeing this wonderful pillow design in a magazine before but I could not remember which magazine, who the designer was or what the title of the design was. All I could remember was that it was blue and yellow and it was so pretty.

So I looked through all my magazines until I found it. My new project is Blue Topaz by Laura Tillson of Snapdragon Designs. I started stitching this design on Saturday night and here is what I have done so far:

Super Secret Project

I started a super secret project in October 2005. I finished it in December, but I couldn't share the pictures. Well now I can!

The project was a model stitching job for Kat Rocha of Cross Eyed Kat. It was a relatively quick stitch even though I had to frog an area of the pyramids and change the colors. I had so much FUN! Everything about the project was beautiful. Click on the picture to see the progree pics.

I wish I knew how to do hardanger. Kat ended up doing the hardanger herself. I'll post a picture of the finished model after I get permission.

This design was released in Nasville. So make sure you order from your LNS/ONS!

I have to go run errands now. I'll update my gallery later with dates and more details/descriptions.

Another HD

After taking almost 2 weeks, I finally finished my Dinky Dyes Ornie project. This freebie chart was given to me by Dani. I stitched it on 28 count white opalescent cashel using Dinky Dyes Wild Cherry (#26). Dani was right. The project will use the entire skein of floss. I ran out of floss and had to dig through my ort jar (I love my ort jar) for a strand that was long enough to stitch 9 Xs. But I LOVE it. I will finish it into an ornie once I figure out how to make tassels.

Laura

This morning I found out that Laura passed away on Friday night. I didn't know Laura that well, but I have had the chance to chat with her and read her posts on her blog as well as on the various stitching boards that I visit. I am deeply saddened by this tragic loss. She was so young (I think she was my age). It happened so quickly. I have been in a daze since this morning. I don't really know what to say to comfort Neil, their families or her friends. I am just so sad and devastated.

February Stitching Goals

My goals for February are:

• Finish Ye Olde Coffee House
• Finish the Dinky Dyes Freebie
• Finish Oak Tree's border
• Continue working on CB and DH's stocking
• Start something new! (or 2) :)

Crappers! I just notice an error on my YOCH project. I knew it looked off. I need to frog the right border. Grrrr. Darn it. Oh well.

Santa's Wildlife Stocking

As promised, here is my progress pic for Santa's Wildlife Stocking. As you can see, I managed to stray away from the what should have been my focus and move on to the foxie without finishing the poor bear. LOL

In other news, excuse the mess here. DH is fixing our server so everything is broken at the moment.

Dani, if you are reading this, thanks so much for the chart! I got it in the mail last week. I sent you an email, but I'm not sure if you got it. I can't wait to start stitching in. You know what? I think I'll got work on that now! :) I just saw this wonderful skein of Dinky Dyes. :)

Ye Olde Coffee House

I didn't get a chance to work on Celtic Banner today. I spent most of this week working on Ye Olde Coffee House and DH's stocking. I really, really like this project. I'll have to make sure to take a proper picture. I fabric just doesn't show well in the scan.

I only have the vines and the bottom border left to do and its done. :) I'm hoping to finish it this week. *finger crossed*

Watch this space for a new WIP pic of DH's stocking tomorrow. Good night!

A day of progress pics

I've been very lazy with posting progress pics. So I spent a bit of time today and got all my scans ready and got a bit organized.

First up is Celtic Banner. I stitched *very little* last Sunday. I only got to work on the border. Today, I was able to stitch more. I finished the knotwork as well as one of the squares next to the knotwork.

Next is Santa's Wildlife Stocking, aka, DH's stocking. I got to work on his Thursday night and Friday night. Progress has been slow, but I like the details on the project and I definitely like working on linen better than the Aida that came with the kit. You still can't see any of the sparklies on the fabric. I will have to charge the batteries for the camera and take a decent picture. Maybe we'll have sunlight again in Buffalo next weekend.

And to save the best for last is Ye Olde Coffee House by Little House Needleworks. I started this on Monday night and I worked on it on Tuesday and Wednesday nights as well.

This is one of three coffee-themed charts that I have from Little House Needleworks. It is from the June 2004 Just Cross Stitch issue. The other charts I have are Coffee Menu and Spot of Coffee.

I am stitching i on 32 count Vintage Belfast Linen in Country Mocha using 1 strand of DMC floss. I decided to do 1 strand over 2 to give it a delicate look. I started with 2 strands, but it looked a bit bulky. I definitely prefer the 1 strand.