Monday, May 30, 2016

May Smalls SAL & a request for help!

I've posted a few other smalls this month, but I have a new one for the SAL post!


Now, you may be thinking that this is NOTHING like what I normally stitch, but there's a story behind this one! This is actually the first cross-stitch piece I ever made.

Or rather... it's the same as the first one I ever made, because that first one has been lost in the hoard known as my dad's house. I've attempted to locate it a few times in the past, but with no success. I only had vague memories of what it looked like, but after some creative searching online, I was able to figure out which line of kits had these cute painted frames. And I definitely remembered the carrots along the top!

It took over a year of waiting, but one finally popped up on eBay, so I stalked and waited then finally pounced to make it mine! $6 is a great price for some quality nostalgia. :p

I'm still convinced that the text on mine said "somebunny loves you" because I distinctly remember being teased about it - someone asked if I was making it for a guy I was friends with back then! (No, I wasn't... this was a random choice from cheap kits at the craft store, that's all!)

It still needs to be framed, but it's all done and I enjoyed the nostalgia trip. :D

~~~

I'm also in need of some help! If you've read about my Bride's Tree Ornaments, you may remember that I ran out of the brown thread I needed. When I went to the LNS, that color wasn't in stock, so they had to order it.

Well, my order just came in and the dye lot is so far off, it may as well be a different color!


The darkest portion of the thread is nowhere near as dark as the original, and the entire thread has a more reddish or orange cast. I don't have enough of the original thread to finish the soil in this design, let alone the remainder of the ornaments. I don't mind switching to another color for the other patterns but I really can't switch in the middle of such a large area here. (And frogging all of the brown that's in so far is just NOT going to happen...)

So, does anyone out there have some Crescent Colors cotton thread in Bramble Bush that resembles the original thread? The darkest portion of the thread is very dark, similar to DMC 3031. I would be happy to trade for or buy a full or mostly full skein of thread (or two) if anyone has some they're not using. It would be a dye lot with the original Crescent Colors label, not Classic Colorworks as they're called now.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Bride's Tree Ornament #6: Plenty (in progress!)

Once again, stuck at this point because I still don't have the brown thread I'm missing! Starting to get a little frustrated with the wait time on this, but it's not like I don't have anything else to stitch...


This one looks deceptively small, but it felt like a TON of stitching. There's a lot of color changes, but I think somehow this one really does have more stitching than some of the others.

However, it's really cute so I can't complain! Just missing the brown basket at the bottom. :3

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

various finishes and progress!

First, two small finishes - these are the March and April parts of the hardanger SAL. I'll take individual photos later for the smalls SAL post this month, but this will do for now!


And I'm making some progress on the Bride's Tree ornaments as well. I've done as much I can on #4 (pictured earlier) and #5 (shown below), since I'm still missing the dark brown thread. There's other stitching left on this one, but I don't want to count out that far without the darker part of the nest as a reference, so I'm calling this done for the moment.


I haven't done enough on the next one to show it yet, but I should have some to show soon! It's going to be my focus until the brown thread comes in. :3

Wednesday, May 04, 2016

planned stash & unplanned finish!

Made a run to the LNS for the thread I ran out of on my Bride's Tree ornaments, but of course it was out of stock and had to be ordered. I wish I'd thought to call first... it's a bit of a drive. Sigh. But I did pick up several charts from my wishlist, and I ordered a couple more things I'd been wanting.

New stash! Just charts this time. :)


Well, actually, I did impulse buy a small Mill Hill ornament kit. I'd seen and liked it in the past but it wasn't something I'd planned to get right away. I guess the frustration of missing out on the thread got to me a bit, but... at least I stitched it up right away instead of letting it linger in my stash?


As always, the colors are a bit off, but it really is a deep pink. It's all backstitching in Kreinik with a load of beads attached, and it will eventually be made into an ornament with a pretty tassel. Some day. When I feel like it. :p

So now it's time to get back on track with this month's goals, which means hardanger SAL since I'm cranky about the missing thread for my Bride's Tree ornaments. Boo.

Sunday, May 01, 2016

Bride's Tree Ornament #4: Hope (in progress!) & goals!

It's been ages since my last post, so even though I haven't made as much progress as I'd hoped for, I think it's time for an update!

I haven't stitched all that much in the past couple of weeks (been focusing on writing lately!) but I have made a good amount of progress on the next Bride's Tree ornament.


I'm going to run out of the brown before I can finish all the soil at the bottom, so it looks like a trip to the LNS is in order soon. I want to be able to look at the threads and pick the one that matches the current dye lot the best, so mail order isn't going to cut it this time.

Still struggling a bit to keep up with my monthly stitching... I have two hardanger SAL charts to work on, and I was hoping to have this ornament finished by the end of April. I have no excuse except that I've been doing everything but stitching during the day. Need to get back in the habit!

Next time... more stitching, I swear!

~~~

Whoops, forgot about monthly goals when I originally posted! Here's what I had for April:

- finish South Seas Mermaid! - YES!
- catch up on the hardanger SAL - no, didn't touch it!
- stitch #3 of the Bride's Tree Ornaments - YES!
- and a stretch goal, stitch #4 of the Bride's Tree Ornaments - halfway done!

And my new goals for May:

- hardanger SAL part 3
- hardanger SAL part 4
- hardanger SAL part 5
- finish Bride's Tree Ornament 4
- finish Bride's Tree Ornament 5