Stitch from Stash - May

Hi everybody!  I've been SO busy this month that I haven't even had time to update my blog.  In fact, so busy that I FORGOT about the May Daily Treats at the Silver Needle that I told you about last month.  I didn't remember them 'til I saw it in last month's post just now.  I guess I didn't need anything... well, unless something wonderful shows up during this last week of the month! : )

The nice thing is that I've been too busy to shop, so I have a $0 spend month, and, even better, I finished my Precious Moments and a page of my HAED Nativity, so I get some "extra" to add to my virtual budget! WooHoo!!

Month: May 2015
Spent: $0
Earned: $23

So my balance forward is $100.88 + $25.00 for May + $23.00 for finishes = $148.88

Precious Moments (for Charity)

O Holy Night

HAED Nativity - Starting on Page Four

My HAED has been getting most of my attention lately - to the detriment of my Stoney Creek piece.  But I find the HAED to be so relaxing to stitch, and I'd love to make it across the top of it sometime in the next year... LOL!!

I think I have a theme going here... here is the Dimensions Kit that I'm stitching on right now... : )

Random.org says that the L*K Spring Alphabet chart is going to visit Alyssa. : )  I'll be in touch, or if you read this before I get the email sent, you can send me your address so I can get it in the mail.

Back to stitching!

Tricia

Mid - October Update

It's raining here and I have chocolate chip muffins cooking in the oven, so it seemed like a good time to update my blog.  I think I've decided that cross stitch is one of my comfort foods. :)  No, I don't eat it, but if I'm feeling a little low I love to look through my stash, window shop online, or make grand plans about next year's stitching.  I might actually even stitch a little! :)

Here's my update...

Page Two of HAED Nativity is finished! WooHoo!!!

The toe of the stocking is finished and I've worked on the band.  Little by little!!

Just a quick letter here and there when I need a stitch I don't have to think about too hard. : )

I've been having a needtobuysomething urge lately.  First I saw this...

... which is SO me.  I haven't bought it yet, because I am not sure I should have 2 HAED's going on at once, but I love it and would love to stitch it!

Then I saw this...

...which looks so fun, since I love Christmas stitching.  I didn't buy that either.

Then I saw this Petite Dimensions Gold kit on eBay.

Another sweet Christmas stitch.  I did buy this one.... : )

My Stitch from Stash account is over $100.00, I think, so I might cave in and place a small order just to get it out of my system.  But as soon as I say that, I am paralyzed, because I can't choose what to get.  LOL!!!  Should I start another HAED?  Should I just get fabric and floss and kit up a bunch of charts in my stash?  Should I buy the Christmas kit up there?  Or the two charts from my last post?  Or should I get one of those Vera Bradley Kiss and Makeup bags to stash with all the stitching goodies I always wish I had with me?  Or should I call Shepherd's Bush and see if they would kit up a fob for me with aida, since I'm allergic to linen???

Decisions, decisions!  I'm going to go ponder....

: )

Have a splendiforous day!

Tricia

This Week in Stitches...

Hello again!

First, let me congratulate VERONICA, whose name I drew as the winner of the q-snap covers.  I hope you enjoy them!

Then on to this week's stitching!  Let's see.... I stitched more on my exchange piece, but I can't show you that yet.  And I did some stitching and outlining on O Holy Night...

And finished another block on Douceur de Vivre... 

and even stitched for awhile on Cabin Fever!!

I'm not sure I'll be happy with doing the outlining as I go on O Holy Night.  I'm sure some of it will get covered up... but I really, really dislike having to do it all at the end, and I'd rather it be *all done* when I'm done with the stitching rather than feeling like I'm having to stitch the entire piece again in backstitch.

Here's a little thank you gifty that I finished and sent off a week or so ago.  The pattern was one I stitched during the Crazy 15 last year, and I finally finished it into a little pin pillow stuffed with crushed walnut shells.  Aren't those pins adorable?  They are some that I picked up in Branson at Cecilia's Sampler from the My Big Toe trunk show.  I think they are precious!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  You all leave such nice comments and they make me smile. : )

Happy stitching!

Tricia

aka InkyStitcher : )

A Little March Madness

  

Hello Friends!  Have you joined the Great Scissors Scamper yet?  I am having so much fun seeing everyone's scissors collection.  I've already added a few pair to my wish list and a fob or two as well!!

I pulled out my little March pillow that I made last year in an effort to do a little St. Patrick's Day decorating.  It is ds' birthday, so that makes it a special holiday! : )

My mom just gave my son the little leprochaun, but he was my favorite decoration growing up, so I asked him if I could display it forever for awhile.  He said "yes".   : )

Are you prepared to drool now???  Look, look, look what came in the mail last week!  My very own personal ornament from Mouse.  With a sheep on it!!!  His name is Inky.  Do you see the little jingle bells on the bottom?  My dd loves them.  It has a special place of honor in a basket in my living room, with another winter pillow that I can't bear to put away during the year.   Sigh!  Stitching friends are the best!

Nope, I take that back.  Husband's are the best.  Specially when they buy you a new charm for your bracelet. : )  

Since Spring has sprung outside - or maybe it's summer?  I think it was close to 80 today and our normal seasonal temp is about 45 - Anyway, I saw these pretty flowers at the grocery store for $1 each and picked them up for my table.  The beautiful rose smells as pretty as it looks!! {happy sigh!}

Here's my stitching update for the week.  Lots and lots of stitching on the Cabin, because I really want to have this page done by the end of March...

And last but not least, a St Patricks Day birthday card for you all.  I don't think ds looks at my blog, so it should be safe to show it here. : )

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to join the Scissors Scamper!! : )

What a Week!!

Hello friends!

It's been a busy, busy week here!  Where shall I start???  Hmmm....

Well, I finished the February ornament on time, but I haven't "ornamentified" it yet.  (Don't you love that word?  I saw it on Shirlee's blog, I think, but I'm not sure... )

And then I spent hours and hours and HOURS working on these new pages for GraceWorks...

I bought the basics for my Happy Monday Journal...

And drove through THIS...

To go away with my husband for the weekend.

Of course I had to bring some stitching along, and the WIP that called to me was Lizzie Kate's ABC's.  Want to see what I got done??

See the tulip and the half an "i", v, e?   That's it.  I started the letters at the beginning of the word 3 times and frogged them, before I figured out that I had moved the "B" in Be Kind down one row and had gauged everything from that.  So.... being the non-perfectionist that I am, I am just starting the word on the other end and making it work.  I really don't think anyone will notice in years to come! : )

We had a wonderful weekend away and my fabulous DH bought me a pre-anniversary gift of a Pandora starter bracelet.  I.am.in.love.  with him *and* with the bracelet! : )

I didn't have a ton of time to work on my Cabin this week, but there is still some progress.  I really need to concentrate on it, though.  I'm getting behind in my goals, and now I'm swamped getting orders out, so I'm going to set aside all my other stitching for a few days - even my SAL's and UFO Thursday piece - and just spend some quality time with this one.  "Quality time" it will have to be, though, cuz I'm afraid that I won't have a lot of "quanitity time"!

Yesterday, I got a package from 1-2-3 Stitch in the mail.  How incredibly fun!!!  Especially cuz I hadn't ordered anything from 1-2-3 Stitch, even though I have a huge wish list there.  Well, lo and behold, sweet Niina had chosen a chart from my wish list and sent it to me!!!  What she didn't know was how much I *really, really* wanted that particular chart.  She also sent me some Bohin needles, which I haven't used before and really wanted to try.  I was SO overwhelmed with her thoughtfulness that I cried!! What a sweet, thoughtful, RAK!!  It absolutely made my day, week, month!!  I think I'll stitch it while we drive to Branson later this spring.  (Which, seeing they just had a huge tornado, really makes me a little nervous.  I.do.not.like.tornados.)   Here's the chart... {Happy Sigh!}

Card making has been relatively non-existant this week, too.  I think this is the only one I've managed to make.  It's another Pure Innocence image from My Favorite Things...

Well, bless your heart for sticking with me through this marathon post.  If you don't see me commenting this week it isn't that I don't love you all, I'm just running crazy!  I hope you are having a wonderful week!

Tricia

On target and a Yiota's Cross Stitch Review

Hello friends!

I've taken little bits of time to stitch this past week and really feel like I've accomplished a lot.  This coming week I'll need to concentrate on a few things to meet my February goals, though.  I'd like to have this page of the Dimensions Cabin 2/3 done, finish my February ornament, and make some sort of sewn or quilted project by Friday.  It's too bad that I can't sit and stitch all day this week, but I seem to have some other deadlines this week that are a little more important than cross stitch! : )

Let's start with yesterday... my daughter brought in this long-awaited parcel from www.yiotas-xstitch.com.

I say "long-awaited" not because it was slow in shipping, I think it came from the UK in 5 days, but because I knew it would be coming in February and I didn't know when, so I was thrilled to finally see it!  You'll see the Post Office didn't quite get the "do not bend" idea, but that's ok - it was well packaged and not damaged, and  (drum roll, please) out came my pattern...

After looking closely at other reviews and at the patterns themselves online, I realized that these cross stitch kits from Yiota's were not going to be as detailed as, say, the HAED ones.  That was OK with me, as those have so many color changes to achieve that look that they can be overwhelming.  But, because of that I chose a piece that I would love even if there wasn't a lot of shading.  Let me show you what I mean....

This is a corner of the picture on the front of the pattern.  Do you see that there are definite lines in the color changes in the sky?  It isn't a problem at all and it going to be so fun to stich, but it can be different than you'd expect just by looking at the patterns online.

Here's how the kit was packaged...

Don't you just love those bobbins?  I put them on a ring and started to work right away.  I didn't use the enclosed 14 count aida - although it was soft and would work just fine - but after working on "Eye on the Sparrow" I decided that I would like to try to stitch this over one instead.  (I should've just gotten it with the evenweave, but I figured it would all be covered and wouldn't really matter which I stitched it on.)  The pattern is "large print" - the symbols are twice as big as the Dimensions kit pattern that I've been working from - so it seems like it will be very easy to work from.  Here's as far as I got in my little chunk of time I allotted to it...

Now when I got to this point and shot the picture I realized that the length of my fabric was going horizontally across my lap, rather than vertically.  AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH.  Well, I measured carefully, and because I'd left so much on each side, I can continue and it will still fit, I'll just only have an inch or so on the bottom when I'm done.  I know most of you die hard stitchers would have frogged it and restarted, but I can't stand frogging unless there is no other way around it, so I choose to pretend I meant to do it in the first place.

Anyway, keep watching to see my progress!  I'd love to have this done by Christmas, as I really want to add it to my decorations!

Whew!  Long post!  OK - here's a group shot of all my other projects.  Maybe you'll notice some progress on a few of them!

And there you have it!  

Thanks so much for stopping by, and HAPPY STITCHING!

It's Time!

For another weekly update!

First, the winner of my little giveaway is... CALAMITY JR.!!


Congratulations!  Could you email me at inkystitcher @ yahoo.com with your address?  Thanks!!

Now onto the pictures!

First, let me show you what Catherine sent me for the Love and Friendship Exchange.  It was amazing!  She stitched the pretty pillow and put my husband's and my initials on it, along with our wedding year.  That is SO special, cuz this will be our 25th anniversary this year and now I have a stitched remembrance of it!

Then there are beads and a mesh bag and a wonderful pair of Dinky Dyes scissors and lots of deep fall colored floss and needles and... HAND DYED FABRIC.  I could not believe it!!  The best part was that the color of the fabric was just PERFECT for a pattern I've had kitted up since last year, that I could not find fabric for!!  I was so excited that I started it right away!  I'm stitching it over 1 on the Hand-Dyed Monaco...

Do you recognize it?  It's Silver Creek Sampler's "Eye on the Sparrow".  It's coming along so quickly and I absolutely love working on it!  I have put in a few stitches on all my pieces, even my UFO, but I'm only going to show you a progress picture on my Dimension's Cabin which is still pretty close to being "on target" to be finished by the end of the year...

Oh!  Here's my exchange gift that I sent to Shirlee.  I enjoyed stitching her pillow, which was an ornament from one of the newest JCS ornament magazines.  I haven't stitched a whole lot of pieces that just use one color and it was sort of relaxing. : )

Now, for a favorite card... Hmmm... which one to choose...  I know!

This is a digi stamp that I colored with copics.  I followed the My Favorite Things Wednesday sketch and got to use my new Flower and Leaf Trio Die-Namics to cut out the flower and leaves.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Weekly Update and Giveaway

 Greetings, friends!  Here's my update for the week!

Cabin Fever...  Not as much done this week as I would've liked.  I had some trouble with my shoulder at the beginning of the week so I stitched on my "easy" pieces more than this one.  It's doing better now, thanks!

Twilight Bridge...  Just a thread length or two on this one.  I'm in no hurry, I just have to stitch on it a little each week. : )

February Ornament... It's coming along nicely.  I stitch on this when I need something ... ummm... brainless.

UFO Heart and Soul...  Lots of border and a little bit of flower this week.

Precious Moments ... I haven't done a charity quilt block yet this year and I've wanted to start this PM for awhile.  I do wish I would've started this one on evenweave, though.  Lots of fractional stitches in it, which I didn't think about until too late.  Next time I'll remember!! : )

 

Here's a virtual card for Mouse... since I missed her birthday...

and, last but not least, a little giveaway!  

I made this little pillow for an exchange, and ended up stitching and sending an entirely different one!  Plus a magazine and some candy... and I'll add a few of my handmade cards, as well! : )  Just mention you'd like to be included in the drawing in your comment and I'll add your name.  I'll draw the winner when I make my next update, so it might be 3 days, or it might be a week.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Be a blessing!!

Tricia

A Windy Day!

Hello, hello!  It's windy outside today.  I need to run out to the post office, but I really don't want to set foot outside, so I'll do this weekly wrap-up first! : )

First - my favorite card from this week...

The stamp is from My Favorite Things, and the layout is the My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge from this week.  The little girl is colored with copics and is sending all my readers some well wishes!!

Now onto this week's stitching...

Heart and Soul from UFO Thursday...

Today's progress on my SAL with DD - Dimensions Twilight Bridge

This week's progress on my BHP... Dimensions Cabin Fever

And, finally, my first finish of 2012.... Lantern Santa (JCS 20011)

I'm tucking this away in a box for later.  I'd like to have some things done ahead for Christmas this year, which is why I'm trying to stitch an ornament and quilt something each month.  

I did get the little quilt layered and quilted, but I haven't sewn the binding down yet, so you'll have to wait until next week for a picture of that one.

Don't forget that I have a few charts for sale or trade in the post before this one.  Let me know if there is something you would like!  You can contact me at inkystitcher @ yahoo.com