Boo......!

Well I haven't really had chance to sit down with the needle for a little while but I'm planning on settling down to some tonight with a scary movie. I have however been up to a few other Seasonal craft activities. I'm always off on little side projects but I always come back to those lovely little XXX's. So meet Frankenkin

I've carved a pumpkin for a few years now. Cos its fun and I get to make pumpkin pie yummy!

I've also made a pom pom/ pipe cleaner bat and spider mobile which my mother in law turned up with for my son but he's too little so of course I had to make it up for him lol.

Only the glue in the kit wouldn't fix anything, good job I'm a crafter so I grabbed my tub of Copydex that will stick all manner of craft materials. It was always what my grandma used and I would agree is a must for all craft boxes - that and double sided sticky tape.

Have a happy Halloween

Keep stitching

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

Well I have to say I'm rather enjoying all that starting this little blog has brought about. Love that I've found a whole world of fellow X stitch addicts out there. No doubt its gonna be fatal - sooner or later I'm gonna see all your lovely stitching and set off adding more things to my already long stitch list lol

My biggest tip to anyone starting stitching would have to be always take loads of photo's. I have done this for years but there are some projects I have no lasting memento of. Most of my stitchings end up as gifts etc so the photos are all that's left at the end to say I stitched that!

                            
 I have 2 albums with cross stitch and craft photos in but they don't really get out apart from when I try to show them to some poor relative or other visitor who hasn't really got any interest and just says that's nice. But this has led me to start up this blog not knowing if anyone would really read any of my stitching babble. And to my amazement and joy I have found a whole other world how exciting!!!!(not that my hubby is enjoying my new computer hogging habits)

The other reason photos are a must is that some projects you just don't get any sense of actually how well they are coming along from always being so close up. So when you take a photo it gives you a little bit of distance and the progress you are making stands out more. I do this mostly on those photo real pixaled type projects! They are a real love hate they look amazing when finished but the jumble of colours and pixalation just frustrates the hell out of me and you can't see or imagine that any kind of picture is going to ever emerge!! But one little snap and its like a different project. I think there are a few I've done that if I hadn't been photographing they would have become those dreaded ever lurking in the stitch stash UFO's (thanks for the lingo http://minnie-allxxs.blogspot.com/)

I'll be sure to go through my back catalogue over time cos behind every photo there's always a story!

Keep stitching

Christmas comes early

My main stitch this year has been one I've had on my stitch list for ages, fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. So hear it is Joan Elliot's Father Christmas from issue 177 of Cross Stitch Collection which is from 2009.

I decided to bring this to the top of my stitch list after stitching 2 bulldogs followed by a Tatty Ted I was screaming out for some colour to stitch! And this definitely gave me plenty of that. It took me about 7 months to complete which is not bad considering I started this stitch just before my son came along and I think it went well and truly on the back burner for a while. I love all the detail in this design.

 The sack of toys think was my favourite bit to stitch as I stitched each present at a time. All the metallic extras and beading give it a real Christmassy feel. I'm planning on backing it with some fabric to make it into a banner. So it is easy to roll up and store with the Christmas decorations. I think he's going to stick around from now until Christmas though seems rude to put him away for such a short time after I have spent most of the year with him on the stand, making my hubby sing Christmas carols in June lol

I received my new copy of Cross Stitch Collection the other day and what luck! Joan Elliot's newest design Madonna and child is just going to be the perfect companion piece so this will be going on my stitch list but I've got a few things that a still ahead of it at the moment. I'm a big fan of Joan Elliot's designs having done a few of hers now.

Loving the fact that the chart is a fold out so its all on one page as my 2009 copy with Father Christmas is looking rather dog eared pages falling out the lot.

So if your looking for a large traditional style Santa then this one is a must, and will be gracing our home every Christmas for years to come. If your looking to get a hold of a copy of the chart it can be found more recently in The Ultimate Joan Elliot Cross Stitch Collection bookazine. Which has added about 10 years onto my stitch list lol.

Keep stitching..

Disaster strikes

Arrrrrghhhhhhhh...................

I've just somehow managed to spill an entire cup of coffee over my work basket!! Could have cried and am now hanging my head in shame at the whole debacle.

Luckily the Mr Men kit was on the sofa as I'd lifted it out earlier phew!

The bauble only got minimal splashing as I dived for it first. But the silk panel I think is going to have to be completely coffee stained so it matches rather than having a discoloured edge, cos there is no way I'm gonna get it out without making it worse off the silk.

Once I got to the bottom I've been lucky and there is a couple of magazines soaked, my little book of stitch wishes, a bit of fabric, and some threads which are now drying on the radiator.

The only thing of note is the final panel of the bauble but I had only just started it so hopefully I have a bit more fabric and that can be replaced.

So calm is now restored and I think I'll be getting my next cuppa in a lidded beaker lol

So far....

I haven't really had much chance to sit down with the needle and thread for a little while not easy finding the time with a 7 month old baby. Not that I'm complaining of course just its an addiction and I find my fingers twitching when I haven't had some cross stitch time lol.

Here's where I'm up to with the Mr Men Height Chart:

Still got about another four Mr Men to add and a ton of backstitch but it seems to be coming along pretty fast so hopefully you'll get a completed picture soon!!

I'm still on with the bauble for my son as well. It's very nearly complete

The first side I have stitched name and date onto some silk. I did this by writing it on with a pencil and stitching over the top. I used some scrap fabric I had in my stash for the background pieces I think its scraps off one of my dad's waistcoats. I think I get funny looks when I collect up wastage from other people's projects but I know one day I know I'll find a use for it. I have quite a few tubs under the bed of all the bits and bobs I have collected up over the years. I get this from my grandma, she used to have a cupboard full of stuff and always put all sorts in her bag in case we could use them for 'crafty' later even the empty milk pots you get with your coffee in cafes. She wasn't wrong though they made many hats for Barbie!

These are the completed sides of cross stitch I think they are looking rather good. I got the motifs from an old book '101 Christmas minis book 2' by Holly DeFount. I inherited this from my mother, who no longer cross stitches. I've had it on my shelf for many years now and who knew they are the perfect size for these baubles. It was just meant to be! I have the last side still to do and then there is just the trim to put on to cover the joins.

Well I'm off now to get on with one of these while my son is still napping :)

Hello

I have been a cross stitch addict for about 22 years pretty much as long as I can remember. My earliest pieces I did on Sunday afternoon's at my grandma's. These were mostly samplers on larger count fabric,

This one, which is the earliest I still have aged 6, is stuffed away in a cupboard of my mother's I managed to get a snap of it but have yet to rescue it.

This one however has a prized place on my grandmother's wall along with just about everyone else in the family's stitching and craftings that she has been gifted over the years.

So from an early age I have had a huge passion for all things crafty but the cross stitch is my main stay. I just wish that the days were longer sometimes!!!

I'm currently working on a Mr Men height chart for my son's nursery and a Christmas Bauble for his 1st Christmas. I tend to have at least a large project and a small one on the go.

The Mr Men height chart is so far a pretty straight forward stitch as each Mr Man is a self contained small cross stitch so I'm working on them one by one. The only hinderence I have at the moment is my Stitchmaster stand has died, think I've only had it a couple of years as well so not impressed. It's listing really badly and the middle post won't tighten up. So this means that I'm stitching with a 26 inch Elbesse easy clip frame balanced on my lap!! So I'm torn between trying to see if the floor stand can be bodge back to working order or smashing it into pieces in fustration.

The Bauble is from a lovely book I got from a craft shop in York, 'Decorations to Dazzle' by Sue Schofield.

It uses polystrene balls which you then score and cover with fabric. I nearly didn't get the book as the last thing I needed was a new craft to learn, having a large stash to stitch etc. and I always go back to my cross stitch. However, the bauble that has circular pieces I thought was perfect for adding some cross stitch to. So I was glad I picked it up and now I'm stitching one for my son's 1st Christmas.