Full flow festive

Was that really just a week!!! feels more like two since I last blogged and doesn't seem like I've been on with my stitching but here we are ten hours on and a week passed.

Festive preparations are in full flow and it takes some sorting with two little ones around. Having said that it's great fun having them getting excited and we've even been up to some more festive crafting.

I have finished the Christmas Houses.

I also have then finished a ten hours on the 3D gingerbread houses

.

 

That's the end and one side completed and the door started. I had thought they might have been a quicker project but there is a lot of beading and fiddly bits.

 

It will be interesting to see how they stitch up.

 

I forgot that I'd got a willow wreath in the sales last year. I haven't quite decided what to do with it but while I'm thinking some cheeky winter sprites have made a home in it.

 

These are one of my Grandma's makes, so I'm very happy they have found a home. Just maybe need to collect some holly to finish it off.

 

The advent calendar is out again and I've been having fun showing each pillow off each day on my xxxstitching facebook page.

 

It's on with the next rotation and probably more festive fun with the tots.

 

Keep stitching...

There and back again

Happy Easter everyone!

Here's the boys Easter hats for the competition at playgroup. We had great fun making them. Sticking all the things in the flower arranging foam was huge fun to my 2 year old. We made the pinwheels from paper the boys painted and the flowers from tissue and straws, I bought the eggs on sticks from the pound shop and got some Easter stickers. Loved the moment I said to my eldest will you stick this sticker on your brother's pot for him....followed by my eldest nearly sticking the sticker on his younger brother's head!! That's kinda what I said lol too cute.

And yes boys it's the taking part that counts....but yippee we won we won lol!! We got a prize for the larger one which was my eldest's.
Wow the weeks are just flying by. We all got rid of our rotten colds only to replace them now with an even more rotten cold. Oh well we solider on. And what is with this weather, I'd expect Easter to be starting to warm up but instead we have snow and freezing conditions. All the kids Easter activities have been planned with this thing called Spring in mind. Sigh. Last Monday decided to wrap up warm and venture out only to find the event had been cancelled due to the weather. Hoping it warms soon and we can get out to the parks and seaside and the likes.

I've still been working on baby hearts as my new nephew is due in may and seen as my sis in law was in hospital with a false alarm the other day so I'd best get a wriggle on!!!!

Today we sent the boys to grandma's and settled down to finally watch the Hobbit. Being a childhood favourite and probably the source of my love of fantasy novels I was really excited to see it but having not had the chance with the little ones so we watched it at home and this meant a couple of uninterrupted hours of stitching....in the daylight! I'd forgotten how lovely it is to stitch in sunshine seen as I have to wait till little fingers are in bed nowadays.

Here was last time:

And now:

I've got the top heart done and just need to finish the bow and background. The stripes meant there was a lot of white on white stitching to do. Which was slow going as white on white is soooooo boring lol.

I got really excited to get to stitch this months free kit from cross stitcher magazine

but I'm staying focused on what I'm doing as like I say I need this to be in the bag finished ready just to add the name etc. I have to say though having been a one at a timer before I started this blog. I am finding the staying focused on this project a bit hard and I really crave the swapping over.

So I guess I'm officially no longer a one at a time stitcher.

Keep stitching and eating chocolate :)

Twas the night before...

After having a slow few weeks recently on the stitching front things are looking up. I have completed the X stitch panels for a Christmas bauble for my new arrival. And I haven’t even took the 10 hours to do it from start to finish.

Ok so they are mostly back stitch verse which whizzes up, but I am very pleased none the less and really feel like I’ve got my stitchy vibes back. I initially was going to just do one of the verse but after looking it was only half the line in the first round so I decided to go with the full quote over the 2 sides. The night before Christmas has to be one of my favourites I love to read it every year and even more so to read it to my son this Christmas gone.

I love the candle stick as well I think it fits with the verse very nicely. I just need to make the bauble up and stitch baby’s name and 2012 onto the fourth circle but I’m not going to do that until a bit closer to Christmas to get myself in the Christmas spirit, and means I can just hang it straight up!! I can’t wait to see the 2 baubles together. The other thing is that I am in the zone with making x’s so I don’t want to break that by getting on with different crafting.

I have already made a little start on the next project in rotation so I’m hoping that this continues and I can get a bit more back on track.

Such a happy bunny to feel like I’m making progress on stuff, even if it wasn’t to tick anything off my Crazy January list that is still haunting me lol.

Having said that I have just had a tot up and I have 5 completed and 3 are moved into current rotation so maybe not as bad as I think? What do you all think? I’m pretty sure I’ll not be doing similar this January though no no no lesson learnt ha ha.

Keep stitching....

Pretty kitty and more Easter crafts

Bit slow on updating but I wanted to complete my rotation before I posted.

Hope you have all had a nice Easter.

This one is one of my UFOs I intend to finish this year. It's Teresa Wentzler's Tapestry Cat. I started it years ago after searching high and low for a cross stitch chart with a Birman cat on like my lovely cat Dot.

I found this one but it was discontinued but this was no problem with ebay!! I seem to remember taking it off to do a wedding sampler for my brother and sister in law - which they wed in 2007!!! Yikes this really has been sitting waiting to be completed for ages! It has been out on a few occasions over the years and has always come up against things that needed doing sooner like the wedding sampler but was never meant to be a UFO at all.

This is where it was when I picked it up

Every time I have got this out I have actually been surprised with how much has been done more than I remember each time. The only thing with UFOs I think is trying to find where you left off with it all. But I have loved every minute I have spent on this one.

So here's where I have got up to

Maybe doesn't look much but I have been working on the fill of the borders. There are some really lovely things about this design I love the eyes and they look so good as they are worked one over one where the rest of the stitching is two over two. This gives them such depth.

The other things is that a lot of the colours are tweeded using a strand of each colour mixed this gives interesting colour mixes and blending. This was the first design I encountered this on. I love the border on this as well.

So all in all I'm really happy with getting some stitching done on this one and think maybe this rotation malarkey is going to work out after all. I'm thinking I'll be working back on the JE Motherly Devotion next I can always expand the rotation from there but I'll take it slow I think 3 is enough for now.

Vince has decided walking is the way forward now so I have a little Frankenstein bumbling about the house now instead of clinging to furniture lol. This week we got the craft stuff out again and have made a decorated egg....Which won an prize at church!!!!

Vincent actually did all the painting on this himself, so I was super proud. He's getting the idea of what to do and didn't try and eat any paint this time!!! I used to love doing all the little craft projects like this when I was young - bet you couldn't tell - and who am I kidding I still love doing stuff like this lol.

Oh and later today I get to go and find out if number 2 is pink or blue and how they are growing - excited -  just a bit!!!

Keep stitching...

TUSAL and naughty felines

I've signed up for next year's TUSAL but I'm getting into good habits so here is this month's

I only started it on the 1st so not bad going. It's not very colourful it's full of black mostly from backstitch and the start of the Starry night. My cat Dot is here 'helping' as she has been all day. She has ran off with threads, sat on my stitching and just generally made a nuisance of herself today. Love her to bits though.

I've also finished the X stitch for another of the christmas houses so just one more to do then I'm on with making them up.

While out shopping I saw the cutest advent calendar, it was a garland with 25 little stockings hung along it with the numbers on, so you could put your own little gifts in them. It was one of those moments I looked and thought I can make one of those but as the hubby pointed out its only 4 days till December. Not that that stops me with madcap spur of the moment projects normally lol.

Actually enjoyed being back at work for the half days but did miss my little man like crazy. Sure Monday will be the big test as I'm in whole days from then.

True love and tangled threads

I have made decent progress on stuff this week considering that I haven't done much the last couple of days as I have been away for my sister's wedding.

Here's the sampler I stitched for it, I did this at the beginning of the year to make sure I definitely had it done with not knowing how much time I would have to stitch with my son arriving in March.

I let my sister pick which kit she wanted as I had asked if she wanted a sampler. Sometimes I worry if people get sick of stitchy gifts. She's a huge Tatty Ted fan so this is one she picked. It was a pretty easy stitch (only took a week to complete) but is very cute and I'm sure it'll look great in their home.

I have made a start on my small project. It the freebie kit from Crossstitcher magazine 244 the little Christmas houses. I'd been dying to do them when they came but I decided to be focused and get other stuff finished first. I've stitched the cross stitch for the first one. So got 2 more to do and then make them up.

Progress is coming along nicely on Starry Night despite a few initial grumbles with the Riolis kit.

Even though its only 2 colours I'm loving the vividness of it so far. And it seems to be stitching up well as the chart is easy to follow.

When I first opened the kit I wasn't impressed with the thread being more wool than cotton. These were all in little bundles as well with just a shade card.

I ended up with a right tangle situation with the first bundle I used, spent nearly a whole day trying to untangle and I still haven't done it. I tried to wind another one onto a bobbin card that I use for my DMC cottons but that got tangled too. I was nearly cursing the whole kit and chucking it in a corner; when my DH gave me a hand so we sat side by side on the sofa watching TV with my DH with his hands out front with the loop of wool over his hands while I wound it onto the bobbin giggling at the sight of us. But ah that's true love!!

Seen as I'm still full of cold along with my DS and DH I think I'm gonna cosy up on the sofa and get stuck back in after my little break.

Keep stitching...sniff sniff

Another day, another finish..

I'm on fire at the mo lol. After finishing the Mr Men height chart I've now finished the Christmas bauble.

I'm really pleased with it. I think its much more special and personal than the bought printed baubles you get for a baby's first Christmas.

This is the final side that needed doing and then I've added all the trimming on. This was the second stitching of this as I had already started it before I managed to get coffee everywhere!!

So here's the full set of close ups.

The front piece of silk had got a splash of coffee across it but I used a bit of coffee to stain it an even colour so it just looks a richer gold than it did before.

The hardest bit of making the baubles is getting the hole through the middle of the polystyrene ball. It takes some effort to get it through and even more to get the hole in the centre. I use an 8 inch mattress needle from an upholstery set of needles I got. It does the job great but always seems a bit scary sure I'll end up with it through my finger!!!

 Here's a peek in my Christmas bauble box from my stash. This contains christmassy fabrics, floral pins, sequin pins, upholstery needles, polystyrene balls, trimmings, ribbon, tassels and bells.

So my house is slowly filling up with Christmas decorations but it would be no point putting them away so close to getting them back out now would it? At least that's my excuse anyways!!!

Keep stitching..

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