Saturday, December 31, 2011

last finish of 2011!

I know I said I wouldn't be finishing Chelsea this year, but I decided to power through it and get it done even though my eyes were crossing after all the close-up work.  So glad my wifey was there to attach the corner beads for me, I was losing my mind at that point!

These are small thumbnails but you can click for BIG images. :)


Whew!  I'm glad that's over.  This was a beautiful design but took a LOT longer than I expected... it's about 5 x 5 inches but probably took over 30 hours to complete.  I'm glad I have the finished product but if I knew how fiddly it was going to be, I probably wouldn't have bothered.  I'm still not thrilled with the long stitches on the shells, but I'm not messing with it any more!

Apparently this design was made to fit perfectly on the top of a very expensive box from Sudberry House.  After all the time spent stitching, I think it deserves the royal treatment!

I know I sound like I'm complaining a lot, but that's just my sore eyes talking!  It's amazing in person, full of sparkle from the braids and beads, plus the herringbone stitch gleams even though it's just cotton!  I wish the pictures could capture the shine... and imagine how great this would have looked in silk!  But no, I'm not making another! :p

If anyone is interested, this pattern is Chelsea (by Janelle Giese) from the May/June 2010 issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine.

Time to rest my eyeballs so I can start the Crazy January challenge tomorrow! :))))

Friday, December 30, 2011

progress on Chelsea

Ah, yes, did I forget to mention that's the name of my current WIP?  Well, now you know. :p  It's coming along nicely though I've slowed down now because of the specialty stitches.  Couching is very pretty but also a pain in the you-know-what!

I'm working on the empty boxes near the shells now.  The stitch here is plaited herringbone, which looks AMAZING but takes forever to do since it uses three strands of DMC and I have to be careful not to bring the needle up between the threads that are already there.  I've been using a pin to push the existing threads out of the way and that seems to be working.  It took me a few episodes of old school Doctor Who (I'm talking black and white, first Doctor stuff!) to complete the block you see on the right.


And here's a closeup!  There will be beads in the very center once it's done, but I'll finish up the other three blocks before adding anything that might snag my precious threads. :p


I was hoping to squeeze this in as a final 2011 finish, but I think this may end up as the first finish of 2012 instead... unless one of the small Crazy January projects gets done on the day I start it!

Oh, and Randi is having a nice giveaway on her blog for reaching over 100 followers!  Check it out!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

new WIP & last stash of the year!

Back from vacation, not at all rested but I had a lot of fun, so that's okay.  Our trip to NYC was the highlight of the week.  Got to visit the Met, saw the talented and gorgeous Cillian Murphy in a live solo performance, ate at an incredible French restaurant, and got married!  Not sure what could top all that. :)

I started a new little project before leaving and made good progress while I was away.  It's from a semi-recent JCS magazine... the first picture includes the magazine so you can see what this will actually become.  I'm a sucker for specialty stitches!


And a closeup.  The grey on the very inside is darker than in the model because I decided that combining DMC 168 & 169 should be illegal. :p


Oh, right, no vacation is complete without scoping out the LNS scene.  I picked up a JCS ornament issue I was missing and the Lizzie Kate summer alphabet.  My GF (oh, excuse me, wife!) got two small kits by Elizabeth Designs, a Dimensions chart by Haruyo, and a small Lizzie Kate design.


And what about the Rosewood Manor ABC Tapestry?  Well.  It's not really our style and if I had just seen the booklet, I wouldn't have given it a second glance.  Buuuut... there was a completed model on display with such vibrant colors and on such a teeny fabric count (must have been 40 or higher!) that was just stunning!  My sister took a sneaky snap, but it's MUCH prettier in person.


I wish her camera had been able to get a better picture, because it was AMAZING.  I'll resist the urge to put this on my Crazy January list since I don't have suitable fabric and I don't need another giant project on there.  This big guy will have to wait its turn. :)

Sunday, December 18, 2011

IHSW... went a little crazy :p

Well.  No progress on any of my large projects, but I stitched three more ornaments and the TW fob is finished!  Can't take any credit for the finishing, my GF always helps with that, but I did stitch all of them! :p

So we have...
- Christmas Candles (freebie from Elizabeth's Designs)
- Celtic Inspiration ornament (freebie from Teresa Wentzler)
- Angel Ornament (Paw Printings) ...but the fabric is green, not grey!
- Angel Wreath (freebie from Abi Gurden)

The candles and wreath are stitched on the pretty fabric that Ruth sent me in our exchange... probably the fastest I've ever used a piece of fabric! :p




Now, of course, the rest need to be finished...

And maybe I'll stitch something else today!  I dunno, I should really be packing for vacation.  I'll be away from tomorrow until the 26th.  Of course, I'm bringing a project with me, so maybe I can have yet another finish before the end of the year! *greedy* :D

Thursday, December 15, 2011

a quick break!

I got tired of Wisteria (surprise, surprise!) so I made something else instead.  This is Celtic Inspiration Ornament, a tiny freebie from Teresa Wentzler.

And I mean tiny!  The stitch count is only 20x20, but I've expanded it to 22x22 with a little border so it can be made into a scissor fob.

Still not in the mood for Wisteria, so I'll either do another small or work on a different WIP.  Should probably consider working on one of my goals for the month, eh?  We'll see how I feel about that. :p

Monday, December 12, 2011

wisteria grows!

What a cheesy post title. :p  Anyway, I'm quite pleased with my progress on Wisteria and VERY glad to be done with all those leaves!  There's more leaves on the far right, but I don't have to stitch those right now, nyah nyah! :p


I still don't think there's any way to finish by Christmas but at least there's visible progress. :)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

exchange with Ruth!

My final ornament exchange has arrived safe and sound!  I actually received it earlier this week but kept forgetting to take pictures until it was late, and I prefer taking pictures when the sun is out! :)  This exchange is from Ruth, and man, I'm jealous of her amazing finishing technique!

I received the ornament, a lovely card (beautiful art!), a piece of metallic fabric that will make another great ornament, and four skeins of Waterlilies in pretty seasonal colors!  I really wish I'd thought to include some threads in my outgoing swaps.  NEXT TIME for sure! :)


A closeup of the main event!  This little pillow is perfectly stuffed and edged with beads!  I hope that I'll be able to do such a good job finishing someday.  I wish you could feel just how plump this ornament is!  The beaded edging is beautiful and looks great. :)


And here's what I sent to Ruth!  A Teresa Wentzler ornament, a scissor fob (made by me!), and two seasonal charts, plus a greeting card.  I must say, the netting stitches on this ornament made me a little crazy, but the result was worth it.


And that wraps up my ornament exchanges for this year!  I should really post a picture of my ornament tree one of these days... but it's still pretty empty along the bottom.  I'll definitely be doing more swaps in the future, but not four at once... that was a bit much!  Maybe just one or two for Valentine's Day?

I went to my LNS yesterday and drooled over all the ornaments that were on their tree... the thing was covered in them, and there were more all over the store.  Ah, jealousy. :p

Of course, I came home with STASH, but I put it all away before I thought of taking a picture.  Bah!  It was mostly threads again, some for a few of the Brooke Nolan angels from JCS magazine plus a few stray DMC I was missing.  Also grabbed a Mirabilia muse (Caprice, I think) and the new Merchant Mermaid, which I'll try stitching without the anchor medallion at the bottom.  Tail reconstructive surgery time! :p

I made huge progress on Wisteria, but I'll save that for next time.  Enjoy the swaps for now! :D

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

thread stash!

Man, the mail is SLOW around this time of year!  This package was shipped by Priority on November 30 and I didn't get it until last night... that's one week!  Does not bode well for shipping satisfaction ratings when I mail my eBay stuff... but I'm sure people expect that.  I hope!  I do enjoy selling stuff on eBay, I recycle the money into stitchy stash and other goodies so I don't have to touch the "real" budget when I want to indulge.

So, yes, this bit of stash is powered by... stuff I didn't want anymore. :p  These are the rest of the threads I needed for my Crazy January starts, and since they looked so pretty, why not share a picture? :)


Most of the Kreinik is for one design (Hope by Brooke Nolan) - crazy, right?  CRAZY SHINY! :p

Unfortunately, that's all to report for today.  But everyone loves stash!

Monday, December 05, 2011

ho hum

I'm having a bit of a cranky day, not for any particular reason, so maybe a stitching post will help.  Or maybe I should go fondle my stash!  Which reminds me, maybe my threads will be here today... too bad the mail doesn't come until late afternoon! :p

Even though Wisteria is stitching up fast, I'm not sure I can finish in time for Christmas.  I've finished most of the first two pages, the left side of the design, but there's still some leaves to go before I'm truly done with those pages, not just at the bottom but also on the right side of the stem.  Those cross over onto the right side pages, but still...

But anyway, I'm happy with how the flower closeup came out!  The colors looked a little odd until I started working with them... wasn't sure how the darker colors in the center were going to come out.  Not bad. :)

I feel like I want to start something new, but considering my list of WIPs and the fact that I'll have Crazy Janaury to take care of all my startitis, I will resist!  Sometimes it's tough to have all your WIPs be big projects, though... I feel like I'll never get to start anything new ever again. :p

Oh, yes, and I have a fall theme now because... hey, it's still warm here in Texas! :p

Thursday, December 01, 2011

November/December goals

Time to see how I failed last month. XD

November 2011:
- send all exchange packages by the 15th - YES, all shipped on the 15th, delivered on the 17th
- finish Amaryllis kit - NO, did some stitching but didn't finish it
- finish Butterfly Scroll kit - NO, didn't touch it
- make visible progress on Tree of Hope - how about NO progress? :p
- WIN NANO - YES, and this was more than enough to make up for everything I didn't do!

So, new goals...

December 2011:
- finish Wisteria
- finalize Crazy January list (I blame my exchange gifts :p)
- gather/organize Crazy January materials
- finish Amaryllis kit
- finish Butterfly Scroll kit

I'd realllllly like to finish another big project this year, but I have to be realistic.  Visiting my family for a week over Christmas carves out a chunk of time... though I'll bring a project with me.

And here's my current progress on Wisteria.  I'm working on the purple flower at the bottom.


exchange with Measi!

Imagine my excitement when I came home last night and discovered another exchange package on my doorstep!  Of course, I snatched it up and opened it within seconds of getting through the door.  This exchange is from Measi of WIPocalypse infamy. :D  Which reminds me that I should get cracking on those link buttons...

But first!  Look and be amazed by how spoiled I am! XD

The full package!  I'm definitely stitching both of these designs.  Maybe I'll have to rearrange my Crazy January Challenge a bit...  And threads!  I LOVE Crescent Colours, I've built up quite a stash but all of these colors are new to me.  Thanks Measi! :D


Lest we forget the main event, check out this amazing ornament!  This is also a Teresa Wentzler design, and I love how there's so much color!  I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but I think the hanger is a type of kumihimo braid, it looks awesome in person. :D


And a shot of the pretty back (why didn't I think to back my exchanges?) with all those gorgeous threads in the background.  Talk about spoiled, right?


And finally, here's what I sent as my half of the exchange!
Measi, stop reading if you haven't opened it yet! :p

This ornament is also a TW design (good taste, what can I say?), and I included two winter charts and a scissor fob that sort of matches the ornament.  Not pictured, but I also sent my extra copy of Cirque des Cercles (don't ask, haha) as a thanks for being such an amazing moderator/cat-herder for several round robins I participated in over the last couple of years. :)


Just one more exchange left.  I hope it gets here soon!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

oh dear...

Have you seen the new Octopus Treasure Cave from Chatelaine?  I know I said I was only going to do ONE of Martina's designs because they're so large and expensive (if you get all the goodies) but... this one has an octopus!  AN OCTOPUS!


I really wanted Deep Blue Sea, but I like this one even more!  Surely this would be reasonable in DMC and with the beads/crystals I already have in my jewelry-making stash.  Right?  RIGHT?!? :p

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

exchange with Rachel!

I came home yesterday and found a sad, smooshed box waiting on my doorstep!  Fortunately, everything inside was safe, the box just got a bit squashed in the mail because it wasn't very full.

Inside was my ornament exchange and giveaway prize from Rachel!  The black and white snowflake ornament is from the giveaway, and the larger pillow (a Teresa Wentzler design, I'll have you know! :p) is the ornament exchange.  There's also a lovely spool of HDF thread (my first one ever!), a pretty Elizabeth's Designs winter chart, and a little silk gauze chartpack.  Just reading the instructions for the silk gauze pattern kind of scared me, but I'm going to have to give it a try. :)

Now, pics!

The two lovely ornaments!
I wish you could see the finishing on these.  But they're mine, so you can't. :p

Everything together:

And finally, I can reveal the exchange goodies I sent to Rachel!  This white ornament was my very first piece to have cut threads on it, and I was really worried that it would come out wrong.  But it was no problem at all, to my relief!

I also included a card, a scissor fob, and three small Christmas/winter themed charts. :)


Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put my new treasures back on my ornament tree. :)

PS:  I won NaNoWriMo this morning!  Now I can stitch again. XD

Sunday, November 27, 2011

IHSW... finally!

Hopefully I can cheat a bit and say that Tuesday through Friday was my IHSW, since I wasn't able to participate on the actual weekend due to NaNo and packing for a trip to visit family.  I took my wisteria project with me and actually spent the entire flight over working on it.  Only two hours, but it went by fast because my hands were busy!

I put in a few more hours on Wednesday and Friday too (spent Thursday eating lots of Thanksgiving noms!) and ended up making quite a bit of progress!


I'd say this is about 20% complete so far.  Definitely do-able by Christmas, since NaNo is done at the end of November and I can devote time to stitching again. :D

I started another knitting project, but again, there's nothing to see yet so... no pics!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

exchange from Shannon!

Ahhh, now that I'm finally back home, I can share pictures of the lovely exchange I received from Shannon!  I received the package at least a week ago (sorry, can't remember the exact date) so these pictures are very late!

Check out this pretty design!  It's finished as a very fluffy pillow that has a lot of squish.  It's fun to squeeze. :)  Be sure to look at the bigger image so you can see the over-one stitching!


And this is the full package of goodies!  There's some nice backing fabrics that I'll be using for more ornaments, a cute pad of sticky notes, a skein of thread, beads, a pencil, and of course, a card. :)


Thank you Shannon!  I hope you enjoyed my exchange as much as I like yours!  Here's what I sent out to Shannon...


More exchanges to be posted when they arrive! :p

Sunday, November 20, 2011

planning for 2012!

It's never too early to plan ahead!  Never mind that it's IHSW and I haven't even picked up a needle yet this weekend.  I blame NaNo, Skyrim, and errands, in that order!

I've added a page with details of what I'll be stitching next year in Measi's WIPocalypse.  This is nothing special, just a list of projects I expect to carry over into 2012.  Too many. >.>

The interesting part is my list for the Crazy January Challenge, because it has PICTURES!  Oooooh! :p

List is subject to change at my whim, but I'm 99% sure this is final.  A lot of it is kitted up already, and I plan to order missing threads soon.  Like right now.  Time for shopping, gotta go! :)

I'll leave you with a pic of Hope by Brooke Nolan, one of my fifteen chosen designs, so this post isn't totally boring. :p

Friday, November 18, 2011

Wisteria... and stash!

Finally updating!  I finished my Loopy Beaded Scarf (knit project) but I don't have a picture as it hasn't been blocked yet... need to get more pins before that sucker can be stretched!

I caved and showed my GF what I'm making her for Christmas, because I just wasn't making ANY progress by trying to stitch during the day.  I've been all NaNo all the time during the days, and in the evenings I couldn't work on it because... GF is home. :p  There was no way I could finish on time that way, so I gave in and showed her...

Here's what it'll be when I finish!


And my progress!  Before I showed her, all I had was the green stem, the bottom two leaves, and the darker branch that runs diagonally from the stem toward the bottom right.  I've spent TWO NIGHTS on it since then, look how much has been completed!  Almost three times what I started with now!

And if this looks different from the model pic, it's because I changed the very dark brown in the leaves/flowers to a lighter brown so it wasn't so stark. :)


Okay, you say, that's nice, but where's the STASH?  Well, I found a message board post from someone who was selling some fabrics, including some Sugar Maple Fabrics.  I've never met a piece of SMF I didn't like, so I had to snag a few.  I used to wonder what the big deal was about SMF, but once I got my hands on my very first piece, they instantly became my favorites.  Just look at the amazing colors!


Sadly, I've never STITCHED on a piece of SMF yet (despite having about, er, ten pieces of the stuff...) but that's got to change.  My next start will be on SMF or else!

Okay, back to the NaNo dungeon... up to 31k words and I've hit a sweet spot where I have two VERY easy chapters going at once, both of which will end up being super long.  Finally, all that struggle earlier this month is paying off! <3

Friday, November 11, 2011

knitting update!

Well, it's not stitching but I do have a knitting finish!  Sorry for the terrible picture, I took it with my Playbook while it was still on the blocking wires (stretching out the lace pattern) so it's not the best...


This crocus dishcloth pattern is free from Kelley on Blogger. :)

My GF and I have started going to the knit-in Thursday nights at Yarntopia.  I'm almost finished with my loopy beaded scarf thanks to two three-hour sessions there.  Of course, I've already started a new project, but there's so little to show that it's not worth a picture.  It seriously looks like a line of yarn on a needle.  REAL exciting. :p

This month will probably be poo for stitching as NaNoWriMo has eaten my brain.  I'm trying hard to get ahead but after taking last weekend off (BAD idea) I'm scrambling to keep up.  I'm exactly 300 words behind as of this very moment, so I should be able to get ahead this weekend.  Surely I can crank out more than 2000 words on a Saturday!

Another off topic thought: if you haven't seen In Time yet, I highly recommend it!  I've been anticipating the movie for AGES (two words: Cillian! Murphy!) but fully expected it to be terrible since the script was so dang cheesy.  It wasn't exactly high art, but it was quite enjoyable.  And, y'know... Cillian. ^^b

HAHA I can't believe this is the first time my sad obsession has reared its ugly head here. :p

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

October/November goals!


A new month, a new set of goals. :D

October 2011:
- stitch Measi's exchange ornament - DONE!
- stitch Shannon's exchange ornament - DONE!
- finish the treetop on Tree of Hope - DONE!
- spend at least 10 hours on Cirque - only 6 hours in here :x
- NO NEW STARTS! - DONE!

Unplanned:
- stitched Ruth's exchange ornament
- stitched Rachel's exchange ornament
- finished all 4 exchange ornaments!

Because I'm mean, you can see the backs of the ornaments. :p



I think I need to accept that I'm not feeling Cirque right now, and that it's okay to put it away for a while.  If I keep forcing it, I'm gonna set it on fire or something. :/

So, November is gonna be tough since I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year (write 50k words in one month, basically!) and I'm determined to win this time!  Already got 2241 words for today and it's only 10am WOOT WOOT. \o/  Thanks in great part to Darren Hayes and his amazing, inspiring, flawless, etc voice!  ILU <3333

Anyway, that means stitchy goals will be a bit light this month.

November 2011:
- send all exchange packages by the 15th
- finish Amaryllis kit - didn't realize it came back from the RR almost done! (thanks Blu!)
- finish Butterfly Scroll kit - another near-finish from the RRs :)
- make visible progress on Tree of Hope
- WIN NANO (ahaha not stitchy but whateverrrrrr)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

censored! :p

I've finished the stitching on all four of my exchange ornaments!  It's KILLING me that I can't post pictures because I have no other progress to show, so... here's the censored version! :p

Hopefully I've pixelated this enough that no one can guess what these are. :)  
IF YOU KNOW, DON'T TELL! :p


I'm pretty excited because one of these features my FIRST EVER cutwork.  Or whatever you call it when you cut and remove a few threads.  It came out looking just like the picture! :D

Now comes the hard part... the actual finishing!  I need to get some cute backing fabrics because I don't really have anything appropriate for these designs in my stash.  OH TRAGIC, I have to go shopping! *mock sob*

Hmm, what else?  I'm working on Cirque again, but I haven't done enough to show.  I have to get on that or I won't even make my pathetic goal of 10 hours for this month.  Boo.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

IHSW = IHK(nit)W? :p

The weekend isn't over yet, but I don't think any more stitching will get done.  And to be fair, none of the stitching that happened was done by me, ohohoho!  It pays to have other crafty people around. :p

The giant lollipop is finished!


Now I can work down the trunk and do something other than leaves.  And I should really do more of Cirque... I've put in about four hours since Thursday so there's some visible progress.  Unfortunately, no picture of that one because... I dunno. :p  Maybe I'll edit with one later.

Yeah, here it is!



But I don't know if any stitching will happen, because I've been distracted by THIS:


The color is more accurate in the second picture (closeup).

This is only my third knitting project (and I've only finished one of the other two, haha) but it's going really fast and it looks cute because of the beads and colorful yarn.  We went to the local yarn shop (Yarntopia) on Friday and picked up the yarn and pattern because there was a finished sample in the store and I couldn't stop coming back to it and making pouty faces. :p  This pattern is called "Loopy Edged Beaded Scarf" by Sony Hartley and I'm using the recommended yarn, Ella Rae Lace Merino.

The scarf is supposed to go until it's about six feet long, and I have about one foot now.  So stitching may have to wait a bit while I plow through this bad boy. :D

PS:  Wagapapa, please contact me so I can send your giveaway goodies! :)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

giveaway results!

I couldn't wait until tomorrow. XD

Sooooo, the winners are...

Jayne wins prize #1 - the charts and floss!
Wagapapa wins prize #2 - charts and fabric!

Could you comment with your email addresses, or send me an email at rahenna[at]rahenna.com? :D

And here's my little spreadsheet showing how I did it.

Thanks so much for entering and being a follower, everyone!  This was a lot of fun and I'll definitely be having more giveaways in the future. :D  Now, if I'm NOT following you, please let me know!  I think I got everyone but I'm not sure as a few of you have more than one blog.  Help me find your stitchy blog. :)

Time to go work on MY stitching... :p

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

crazy treetop

Don't forget my giveaway!  The deadline for entering is tomorrow!  There's two prizes up for grabs and only 19 comments so far, so you still have a good chance. :D

Odd, my tags (excuse me, labels, whatever) aren't showing up for me to click.  Hopefully my posts haven't magically become untagged! >.<

I've been quiet, but I'm stitching!  I'm working on an ornament for an exchange, so I can't show that here, boo.  But Tree of Hope is slowly growing!  Here's what it looked like last month (and the month before that, haha):


And here's how that gigantic treetop looks now.  I'll finish up the rest of the orange today.  Yay to my GF for doing all the filling in between the leaves.  Yes, I cheat. :p


Need to hurry and finish that orange because the Ink Circles SAL starts today and I HAVE to get some of Cirque done this month or I'll be really disappointed with myself.  BACK TO WORK!

Friday, October 07, 2011

questions about Chinese Mandala...

Rachel and Joyce, I blame you for this post.
But also need one of you to answer some questions, haha!

I've been thinking about doing a Chatelaine for a while now.  Just ONE, because they're huge and complex and expensive, so I had to take my time and pick the right one.  I've been torn between Chinese Mandala, Butterfly Sparkly Garden, and the new underwater mystery (and I totally looked at the full preview, so there!).

But you two with your constant Chinese Mandala updates have shoved me over the edge!  I was dying after the spring scene, and then Joyce had to post a detailed closeup of the summer scene.  Self control = gone!

So, about three minutes and $40 later, I have a few questions for you two. :p

- Did you guys get the materials kit or assemble them on your own?
- Does the "full kit" include the bead pack as well?  Kind of odd that it's a separate item...
- AM I CRAZY???????

And don't forget to check my previous post and enter my giveaway.  Wheeeeeeee.
(okay, no more sugar)

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

giveaway time!

Who doesn't love a good giveaway?  NO ONE, that's who!  So I'm having my first giveaway to celebrate the super-belated opening of my Etsy shop, Silverfruit Design.  I registered as a seller over two years ago and finally got around to photographing some of my jewelry.  Oops. :p

BUT that's not why you're here.  You want goodies!  There's TWO prizes for this giveaway because... there just are, so don't question it! :p

Prize #1 is a selection of five different Christmas themed charts, plus some floss in Christmassy colors.  There's 2 skeins of Dinky Dyes silk (on the left) and 9 skeins of DMC (on the right).  They're all random, not the colors used in the charts... just ones I thought were pretty. :)


Prize #2 is a set of two larger Christmas themed leaflets, plus a FQ of hand-dyed fabric from Sunny Dyes. (SD is awesome, by the way!)  The color of the fabric is Faerie Heaven and you can see a better picture of it by clicking here.  It's a 28 count opalescent evenweave.  Ooh. :)


How to enter!

  • Be (or become!) a follower.
  • Comment on this post.  Please leave me a link to your blog so I can follow you too. :)
  • For a second entry, advertise this giveaway on your blog.  If you're doing this, please give me the link to the exact post when you comment.
  • Please only post ONE comment.  So if you're advertising, please do that first, then come back here and comment with your link. :)

How to win!

  • I'll list everyone's name (twice if appropriate!) and use random.org to choose two random numbers.
  • The first person chosen wins prize #1...
  • ...and the second gets prize #2!

I'll ship prizes anywhere in the world, so anyone can enter. :)

Enter by October 12!  I'll post the winner on October 14.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

goals & a giveaway!

Let's review my goals for September.  Where DID September go?

September 2011:
- spend at least 25 hours on Cirque - not even close (about 6 hours)
- complete trunk & nearby flowers on Tree of Hope  - well, no, but I'm working on the tree part again!
- finish knitting the washcloth - nope, only halfway done
- start a new knitting project (SOCKS!) - and no again!

Hmm, that's pretty pathetic.  But I did have these unplanned starts AND finishes:
- Sunflower Fairy (Nora Corbett)
- candle ornament (Dimensions)
- Tree of Stitches (Abi Gurden)
- plus a start on a SECRET PROJECT oooooh!

All in all, a good month for stitching. :)

How about some realistic goals for October? :p

October 2011:
- stitch Measi's exchange ornament
- stitch Shannon's exchange ornament
- finish the treetop on Tree of Hope
- spend at least 10 hours on Cirque
- NO NEW STARTS!

And for the giveaway (no, it's not mine, though I have plans for one soon!) - Kay of Kay's Random World is having a sweet Christmas giveaway at her blog!  Check it out and become a follower. :)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

sadness is...

...wanting to start something OMG RIGHT NOW!!! and not having the right fabric on hand.  Or in this case, having the right fabric, but just a bit too small, and I've already learned my lesson about squeezing things in on fabric that's not big enough.  Sigh, grumble, pout, etc.  Now I have to hope one of the local big box craft stores has some cream Belfast in stock, because sometimes they do... and sometimes they don't!

That's okay, I need to head in that direction to get my illustrious community college student ID anyway.  Can't buy the student edition of CS5 without that as proof of my broke peon status. :p

Anyway!  Whining and rambling aside, I do have a small finish!  The comments on my Sunflower Fairy seemed pretty evenly divided between Cirque and Tree of Hope, so of course it was logical to do something completely different.  Riiiiiight?


This is the companion to the tree ornament I did about a year ago.  Only took me two days to stitch, then some slacking off before actually finishing it into an ornament.  Have to get some practice before working on my ornament exchanges for Measi and Shannon, after all. :)

I think I'll divide my stitching time between Cirque and Tree of Hope, since my GF has volunteered to help fill in the solid areas around the leaves on ToH.  Don't want to lose out on the opportunity to have someone else do half my work for me! :p

But if I manage to get my fabric, you bet your behind I'm starting something new!  Unfortunately, I won't be able to blog about it at all because it's my GF's Christmas present and she reads the blog, so... no news on that until the end of the year.  Or earlier, if I cave and give it to her early because I'm a sucker like that. XD

EDIT:  Mission accomplished, linen has been obtained, no thanks to Hobby Lobby for jacking up the price four bucks on a FQ of Belfast.  And no thanks to me for leaving my 40% off coupon on my desk. *facepalm*  Also, the community college can bite me, I've been there FOUR TIMES trying to get my ID and every time there's some BS reason why no one is available to do it.  RAWR!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

ornament swap?

NOTE:  I've already taken on all the swaps I can manage for this year! :p

Hey, would anyone be interested in doing a holiday ornament exchange with me?  I've been wanting to do a swap for a while but I'm not sure how to find a group (plus I'm a weenie about groups).  Now that I have a few followers, maybe I can swap with one or two of you? :)

My thoughts were...

THEME:
- This would be a Christmas/holiday/winter ornament exchange.
- Please no religious-themed designs for me.
- But I can stitch an ornament for you with a Christian theme, if you like!  I don't think I have anything appropriate for other religions, though.

STITCHING & FINISHING:
- Ornaments should be stitched on evenweave/linen and finished as an... ornament. :p
- I'm NOT picky about finishing.  I don't mind if this is your very first ornament. :)
- But I'm not very good at finishing myself, so please exchange with me only if that's okay.  Of course, I'll do my best, but I don't have a lot of finishing experience.

ETC:
- Extra goodies can be included in the exchange, but it's not required. :)
- I will send extras because I'm a nut like that, but please don't feel like you have to send me anything other than the ornament!

Here are examples of ornaments I've made in the past so you can get an idea of how my finishing looks.




If you're interested, could you leave your email address in a comment so I can contact you directly? :)  If several people have already commented, please comment anyway since it's possible that an exchange may not work out, or I'll want to take on more than one or two. :D

NOTE:  I've already taken on all the swaps I can manage for this year! :p