Hold Your Horses!, Finishes, Ewephoria!

I'm back with two finishes from last weekend. After that, I took a stitching break! I got caught up with a book and worked with one of my wool kits. That will be near the end of this post. I also joined in with Justine on her Faithful April where you dedicate April to just one project. All those starts I had last month, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed on what to stitch! So this is perfect for me. Hopefully, Justine will have a Faithful May!

So here's Kansas Sunflower Pincushion by Lindsay Lane..

On 40ct with silks. And here is the base I found for it at a second hand store last weekend. It's perfect and is exactly what I was looking for! 

My next finish is Merry by PSS..

It's so cute and square! On 36ct linen with overdyes. I have a frame that goes perfect with it but I'd like some museum glass on it. Arizona is super dusty and lately, very windy and the dust is everywhere! My favorite motif on here is Santa with his cup of coffee! If you read Paulette Stewart's blog, you'll know she's addicted to coffee!

So you saw Ewephoria on my last post? Well, here she is now, blinged up!

Now I'm one of these people that have an aversion to knick knacks everywhere. It could be from my mom who just loved them and they were on every surface! Gotta love her! She's been gone for awhile now but when I saw the spaces in between the sheep, the grass, and the word, I thought I needed to fill up some of the space! So in went some bees and their vapor trail, lol, and the buttons. They're from my stash. I love how it looks and taking the picture not too close shows the light pink of the fabric. I will make this into a cube. I have the perfect wide pink ribbon and another skinnier one that's brown with pink butterfly's on it.

And now please meet Crowley, the crow..

Wool is easy to cut when you use freezer paper. Believe me, I tried the other way, nope! So I need to cut a piece of batting and a backing fabric for it. At first I was thinking of a binding for trim but now I think I'll just blanket stitch all the way around for a table mat.

Another Giveaway! This will be the last one. First up are these booklets:

All lovingly taken care of. Snow Day is the only chart with a button included. Either you can pick all 5 or one, like Marilyn is doing in her comment, or two. For example, Linda is interested in all of them. If she is picked for the charts, she will get them and the draw for the charts is over. If Marilyn is the winner of the one chart, then I will pick names to win the rest, whether it's a few charts they want or the 4 that are leftover. So be sure to state whether you want to win all 5 or a particular one. I just want them gone, haha. Hope this is understandable!

#1 I think this might be 10ct. 11 1/2" x 9 3/4"

#2 14ct Light Fiddler Aida 17 3/4" x 15"

#3 28ct Dirty Belfast 17 3/4" x 13" An older fabric, the newer Dirty Belfast linen are lighter than this. It resembles Tumbleweed.

All the rules are the same. I can mail to Canada, the UK, and anywhere else. I'll draw names on the 23rd of this month. Once again, if you are interested in all of it, your name will be included in each draw since I draw names for each item. Good luck!

And that will be that! Thanks for dropping in! Appreciate it. I will now go and look for my missing stitching mojo. WIPs wait for no one!

Winners!

Using the old fashioned names on papers in a basket, I have picked winners!

The 14ct Aida goes to......Stitchinowl!

The white shimmery evenweave and the silver blue linen go to......Calamity Jr.!

The dyed evenweave goes to.... Tiffany of Tiffstitches a blog blog!

The Lizzie Kate chart goes to DebbieSFL!

    and....

The Floba goes to.....Bette!

Ladies, I will be contacting you for mailing addresses. I would put an email address down here but that sets off spam emails so I'll have to contact you through your email listed on your profiles.

Thanks for playing along everyone! I'll be back this Saturday with more stuff to giveaway so check back!

Post-Easter, finishes, startitis, spring cleaning

Good Morning or Afternoon, Or Tomorrow! 

With the Pioneer Woman cooking up a 16 minute salad in the background, I thought I would show some stitching. Picture heavy.

I stitched two Spring-y designs, both freebies. This first one is Bad Hare Day, which I had in my last post but I finished it into an itty bitty cube..

I just decorated it as I went along! The burlap flower at the top I decorated with pastel colored pins. I like to put rubber baby buggy bumpers (try saying that quickly!) for feet on my cubes. Protects the cube itself and furniture.

I started Ewephoria by Mosey 'n Me on this pretty pale pink evenweave that I won from Tiffany from Tiffstitches but didn't make it under the wire..

The color is sure washed out on this! Trust me, it's pale pink, haha. I had to go online to see colors of sheep! I decided on the dark head and legs kind of sheep. I only see sheep at the county fair here, once a year! This is a freebie also. I'll finish this up soon. I need the other streamer, the other half of her body, and a patch of grass under the sheep. So stay tuned.

I also finish finished a Christmas design, a Pineberry freebie. I'm pretty sure it's Pineberry!

 My Santa looks like he spent some time in Florida at the beach. Nice tan, Santa! I should have put some red x stitches at the junction of linen and fabric to spruce it up some but I like it.

Last weekend, I kind of went on a 4 hour start marathon. Each hour I started something new. So here's one that I'm still working on

Lindsay Lane Designs has been putting out some nice designs lately. This is on 40ct with called for silks. Very dainty, I put a quarter beside it for size comparison. I'm on the lookout for a white candy dish or egg cup small enough to put this in it for the pincushion. I think what I have in mind is the dishes that are called Milk paint or Milk-something like that. I am nearly done and it's been my before-I-go-to-bed project.

I also started this..

Yes, PSS. On the called for fabric and overdyes. I have to have my Halloween fix!

The two other designs I'll show when I have more stitching on it. 

Before I went back to work, I did some spring cleaning in my craft room/bedroom. Went through piles of magazines, old JCS that had projects I had wanted to do but not any more. I'll be heading to Goodwill to drop things off and to the Swap Meet to sell oodles of books, clothes I can't fit because I can't get my head together to lose more weight!, craft stuff I won't be using, and more. This brings me to this little GIVEAWAY! Here are the items:

#1 Fiddler Aida 11.5 x 11.25 

#2 White Sparkly evenweave 19 x 13.5

#3 Sparkly dyed evenweave 17 x 13

#4 28ct Silver Blue linen 13 x 18

#5

#6 25ct Oatmeal Floba 2 pieces 18 x 14 and 18.25 x 13.5

This Floba is such a nice neutral color. 

I don't stitch with Aida no more with the exception of a long standing WIP that is on Aida that I will conquer some day. The two evenweaves I don't know the count of and while I'm not a fabric snob, I just like stitching on 30ct and higher so the 28ct can go. LizzieKate chart, and believe me I have more to let go.

Everybody is welcome, overseas too. Follower or not. Leave a comment with the number of the item(s) you like and I will draw names on the 13th. I won't be separating names for each item so one person could very well win the whole kit and kaboodle! I'll throw in extras too. 

I still have more organizing to do and because I have stitch stuff spread out allover this house, I may have a few more giveaways this month.

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I know by reading your blogs that you did. My daughter and I went to the last day of the Renaissance Festival down past Phoenix last Sunday where it reached 85. Thats warm for me, that's summer! Lol. I have pics but my cell phone is not cooperating with me to let me have my pics. We always have a good time and I have to have the funnel cake! Not bad considering I have one every other year or two!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Finishes and more

How's everyone today? I'm in the last week of my month long leave of absence from work and dreading my return, lol. So I will live it up these few days left! This is why I've been able to stitch so much. Oh, and picture heavy!

I have finishes to show. First up is a WIP from last year, The Journey by LHN. Yay!

Ta da!! I'm so happy I finished this. Journey was a crazy start from last year. How to finish finish this? I'm not sure, either framed or turned into a pillow. I have a tan, suede-like fabric that would go nice with the colors and subject, maybe some fringe. We shall see. This is my 7th finish of the year. Happy happy! 

Next finish is Witches Night Out by WTN&T..

Yes, I did manage to pull on the big girl panties and got the kettle done! However, I noticed I forgot to stitch her legs in. She is basically hovering above the kettle. But hey, she's a witch! 

Next finish is Bad Hare Day by Mosey 'n Me, a freebie that is still available on their website..

On 30ct Cocoa linen, beads for French knot eyes, and DMC. It looks kind of blurry or it's just my eyes! I have a flat ornament in mind for this one. I'm not keeping track of these because they are not WIPs from last year.

Last Saturday, Attic Needleworks had a Market day and I drove down..

It was warm, the skies blue, and easy parking. I didn't take pictures because my cell camera doesn't let me have my pictures after I've taken them but the walls are just covered in samplers. I walk in and I'm just overwhelmed! I have a list and managed to find the market things I wanted plus a few other things. One complaint I had though is all the new market items were just spread out all over. One fellow customer saw the new PSS chart I wanted over at another area and not anywhere near other market items. Oh well, I enjoyed my shopping there. Here is what I bought..

Had to have some Halloween-ish things in there! I have PSS's Salem Sisters I and III and picked up the 2 chart. I didn't intend to buy the LK kit but that fabric color is so pretty in real life and not the super pink that shows up in pictures. Threads for future projects, SB dyed ribbon, and that great thread holder, and fabric.

I received my Valentines Day stash order also..

Beau Leggy is perfect for these here parts! I love how he is squatting over the cactus. Ghostly Guard and the tribal rooster that I saw stitched up over at another blog in 1 variegated thread and it looks great. 

For this chart, I'm seeing a metallic color fabric, maybe a light copper or bronze with the symbols being a color resembling coins or something. I'll have to do some research on fabrics and thread.

So there you have it. New stash that should take care of me for the rest of the year. Should! Haha.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Have a great stitchy day!

Finishes and a start

How are you all doing? 

I am back again after a pretty productive week or so. Finished up a woolfelt candle mat from last year. This is Autumn Apples..

It's cute. I have more woolfelt kits that I really should start doing.

And here are a couple of WIP finishes, yay! First is Blackbird by BBD..

I wanted to ruche brown ribbon for the trim but turns out I had none. Shucks. So I took two pieces of transparent ribbon and just attached it to the bottom. It's a different look. This is my 5th finish for 2016 and was a DUCJ/FSAL2015 start.

The second WIP I finished is Peep, a Cricket Collection design from the chart called Rabbits Delight #243, in case you want to know..

Adorable! Peep has been in the WIP pile for two years and stitched up rather fast. All I had was the triangular portion at the top done. So last night watching yet another Harry Potter marathon, I finished Peep. I used black beads for the eyes instead of French knots which I can't get the hang of. I have another carrot from the designer that I finished with stuffing and trim. This one though, I'm thinking of a flat ornament with large white ric rac sandwiched between the pieces of mat board that I use. This is finish #6. 

And of course, I still have the startitis! Here is Witches Night Out by Brenda Gervais..

It looks slightly blurry and skies are somewhat overcast. On 36 ct Mello. I got so used to stitching on lower count fabrics that this one is dainty. I just have the kettle and the pumpkins to stitch. I stopped at this point because I've been looking at that kettle with some trepidation! There's a lot of kettle! Lol. I'll pick it back up once I get the big girl panties on!

That's it. I have two Easter-y/Spring-y freebies that I want to stitch and they shouldn't take long. 

Take care all! Appreciate your stopping in!

Mojo on steroids, Spanish class, and other stories

Hi all!

As my title suggests, my mojo must have gotten a shot of steroids because I have three new starts and one has been finished! Warning- picture heavy!

But first let's check out the progress on two WIPs, shall we?

Here's The Journey by LHN. I love how the turquoise color really spiced this up! It's actually CC Mint Julep and it is now my favorite color. It's stitched on Slate linen, not sure of the count though. I wanted a 'rock' looking color besides the usual flagstone color which is mined nearby me. There are two more lines of stitching left in different colors below the white. Then I'll start the top portion of the up and down which represent mountains. The bottom would be upside down mountains! I'm seeing this finished in March. 

I also pulled out Blackbird by BBD. Here's what it looked like a year ago..

And how it looks after a couple days of stitching..

This is a DUCJ/FSAL2015 start! Pretty bad if you ask me! This is stitching up smallish. I always get my measurements wrong. I do use a a calculator to find the width and height of the finished design for a good piece of fabric and am always surprised when the design is small! It looks so big on the chart! Not much more to go now, the vase, branch and a few more leaves.

So startitis really got a hold on me and here's what I started..

Rojo y Verde, hence Spanish class in my title. Means Red and Green. Designed by Raquel Blanco/Maggi's Co Village. I bought this in PDF with a few other charts and freebies. In December we received emails from her notifying us she is closing her cross stitch business due to illegal downloading. That makes me so angry! There is a pinner on Pinterest that has a load of Maggi's Co graphs on her board. I don't know if she has permission to do that. I won't go into how aggravated I get seeing actual graphs on Pinterest. Grrr.. Anyway, I'm working with just 4 DMCs, two shades of red and green. I'm doing this on antique white linen, maybe 32ct. It's nice to use up the small pieces of mystery linen I have my stash! Here is how it looks stitched up, picture borrowed from the Internet..

It's the NOEL at the top right. As you can see, she had really cute designs. 

Next up is Merry Brew by PSS, a favorite designer of mine..

I just started this last night with the called for linen and overdyes while watching Top Gun! Once again, have a big ol piece of fabric left over and the design is shoved up into the left hand corner because I was expecting the design to be big! Lol. But I have a good 4 inches for framing so it's not so bad.

My last start is Snow Much, I believe, by Barbara Ana, and finished also..

It is sooo cute! The fabric is a Dahlia evenweave, don't know the count, from stash. I thought it was perfect for this design with the pink running through it. I changed the brim color of her hat because I didn't have the called for color. Her nose and the wording are DMC color variation threads. I'm starting to really like that DMC thread. I found a perfect backing fabric for this as I'm making a flat ornament out of her.

I haven't received my stash yet, :(  One of the items I'm buying is a brand new Market item so I think that's what's holding my order up. Speaking of Market, anyone seeing interesting items you got to have? I'm treating myself to a road trip down to Phoenix for the Market day at the Attic. I'm not sure what day it is, I'll have to checkout their newsletter to find the date. Going by myself since my daughter considers a walk inside a needlework shop to be some kinda H. E. L. L. Lol! 

I wanted to yell from the mountain top that the funny thing they saw in my mammography is BENIGN!!! Yes, I had to have an MRI two Friday's ago and just got word yesterday that I'm Benign. I can't tell you how relieved I am! So ladies, if you're over 40, please go get yourselves a mammography if you don't already do it. I hadn't had one in 10 or more years. I will now be getting one every year since I'm 52. Eh.

Thanks for your comments everyone. Wish I could put up an email so I could talk back to you. The email I stated in my last post for Barb to send me her mailing info resulted in a couple of trash emails. I just hate that.

Have a wonderful weekend

Winner and progress

I have drawn a name and the winner of the PS chart and fabric is...............BARB the Wicked Stitcher!

Whoop! Whoop! Email me at        Barb, to let me have your mailing address. 

I have been stitching on The Journey...

I must say that stitching up and down, up and down is pretty boring! I'm really hankering for a new start of something and really fighting the urge. I would prefer to finish this but....I might start a few new things this weekend. I'm watching Downton Abbey season 5 right now and I have the 6th season in DVD. There again, I'm trying not to watch the entire final season! 

Yes, it's been a weekend of fighting my urges! Speaking of fighting urges, since I don't have a significant other, I bought myself a little package of chocolate truffles and bought some stash! Can't wait for my stash!

Thanks for stopping in! Wow, those of you in the upper Midwest and the East coast are just getting walloped with cold. Hope you're keeping warm and safe. Not to make anyone mad but it has been in the middle 70s here where I live! Front door is open, heater shut off! Oh, and...