May Update

I haven't been super busy but I have managed two more finishes for 2015 as well as working on my Glendon Place Plum Pudding & a new Ink Circles design. Hopefully no one minds my switch to a once a month update. I just can't find time to update every week anymore.

Here are my two finishes:

I have two more in the series to compete. I'm unsure if I will want to frame them separately or all together in one frame, but I'm planning to find a spot for them in the kitchen.


Here's my new start, Damask Square by Ink Circles:


It's on 40count sparkly fabric from SilkWeavers with Peacock floss from Weeks Dyed Works. It's sooooooo tiny I can only work on it in good light, with my reading glasses on for short periods of time, but it's going to look so great when it's done. I'm almost a fourth of the way done. :)


And last but not least, Plum Pudding update:





What's everyone else working on? Have any bug summer stitching plans??

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Progress and a Haul

Hope January is treating everyone well! I've had a good one so far.

I won a Little House Needlework pattern from CJ over at Tea-n-Stitches! I think the card is handmade too, which is totally awesome!



I also had $50 to spend over at 123stitch so I picked up the following:



Watercolors and Wildflowers cottons for some hardanger, the thinner strands look like they could be used for cross stitch too. Has anyone used them?!? The Watercolors seem to be thicker than the DMC pearl #5, maybe I need to pick up some smaller count fabric? I don't know, I'm still trying to figure this hardanger thing out!

Some cute valentines day charts (the other one was out of stock, hopefully it'll come later this week), black anchor, a heart button for a different chart as well as some snowflake charms.



This Weeks Dye Works fabric was on clearance too:



Then The Drawn Thread released some new patterns that I just had to have:





I bought the full kit for both of them. I'm hoping to do the Love Birds one for my husband for V-Day.

I also have some progress (this was as of Sunday afternoon), Plum Pudding:



and Winter Wishes:



I also purchased a LOWERY STAND. I'm so excited. It arrived Wednesday last week so I've been using it with Plum Pudding and trying out two handed stitching. It's been going well as long as I pick up the correct color. Whoops! I'll try to do a review for everyone if they are interested after I've used it more than a week.

Does any one else use a needlework stand?

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Show Your Stash: Patterns

Back again with another Show Your Stash from Anna. This is from an old post (mid-October), but I thought it would be a great filler to use while I'm on vacation! 

When you shop for patterns, do you buy on impulse or do you buy only what you need?   Umm, what is this word "need" being used. I impulse by patterns. I can't go into a LNS without buying something (which is usually floss, but sometimes a pattern).

How do you sort your patterns—by designer? theme? Season?  Sort patterns? Funny. I "sort" mine by size. Example, small Lizzie Kate's live in my sewing box in a specific tier, but full sized patterns live at the bottom or in some IKEA furniture we have. I've been meaning to get some page protectors and put them into the 8 million 3 ring binders I own thanks to studying for actuarial exams. I bought the protectors, but still have made 0 progess on this goal. 

How do you store your patterns? I guess I answered this above! The majority of my patterns are in my sewing box that I found at a local junk store, but all the over sized ones are in my Ikea cubbies. I stitch by scanning them into my iPad, so I don't really need to have it on hand any time after that so they get stuck in various places. 

Which designer do you own the most patterns by? Probably Little House Needleworks or Lizzie Kate. I'm a smalls fan, and they both design tons of cute smalls. 

Which designer have you stitched the most patterns by? Hmm, I think it's a pretty close tie... between LHN  and L*K with maybe Lizzie Kate for the slight edge. Mostly ornaments. 

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? This is more difficult, I have many many magazines that I purchased at a book sale one time, so I guess, don't restrain yourself if everything is a quarter! 

When do you say enough is enough? When you have no room left? Or when you start buying the same pattern more than once? This is a personal decision. 

How do you whittle your stash down when it's gotten too large? Giveaways! There's probably someone who would also love what you love! 

Do you have a current favorite in your stash? Let’s see it! My current favorite is probably Plum Pudding by Glendon Place. I don't know why I didn't start it first (I'm currently working on Tiramisu), but it's my favorite at the moment.

Feel free to join us and post a link to your post below! 

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Halloween Madness

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful October 1st. The Halloween season is fast approaching (though I've had my Halloween decor up for a few weeks now) I did reach my goal of finishing Happy Halloween before today!

Happy Halloween - Silver Creek Samplers - JSC Halloween 2013

I finished all the stitching! I also "signed it" after I took this picture (in the bottom right corner, DNA 2014 in the same color as the N). Now I have to decide how to finish it. I was originally thinking a flat fold like the one further down in this post, but I don't know if I could do it justice. Then I was thinking about framing it, but it's 6 x 7 inches. So while I could put it in an 8 x 10 frame, I would want a mat too and I don't think that's enough room. Dilemma! Let me know what you would do in the comments!

My super awesome friend (Kathleen, no blog) came over last night for a crafty night! She is working on a baby blanket that she is crocheting and then doing cross stitch on! It's actually super cool and I had never thought about doing that! We might make this a weekly or bi-weekly thing! Which would be super cool.  We would both be motivating each other.

I was able to get a lot done on my finishing. Keep in mind that both of these are only partially finished. The Jolly Jack needs cording around the edges to make it look neater (I'm thinking of making some in orange colors) and the pillow needs stuffing. 

Jolly Jack

Lizzie Kate - Flip It Halloween

I'm not totally pleased with the A frame flat fold, but for my first time I think it was pretty good. And I had to sew the ric-rak on by hand for the pillow and I think it turned out super well! Once I have both totally finished I'll probably share them again. They are both so cute. I'm so excited to actually finish-finish things! I don't have a big drawer filled with unfinished but totally stitched things. I do have a drawer with unfinished cross stitching though. Everyone does. Right?!

I also bought some more Weeks Dye Works thread for some additional small patterns in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2013 magazine. And a pattern just fell into my cart. I have no idea how that happened! The pattern called for some Just Another Button Company buttons so I bought two in case I decided to make it twice, once for myself and once for my MIL. We'll see.

123stitch.com order

Oh for my Ocober Mini Madness I think I'm going to work on those various Halloween pattersns I mentioned earlier. :) I don't know if my finishing of that Lizzie Kate counted, but yeah, I'm ready!!!

How are you coming along with your Halloween stitching (if you do any)? And what are you thoughts on finishing my Happy Halloween? Let me know in the comments!

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Show Your Stash: Threads

I was reading some blogs and I came across Anna's and I decided to play along. Here's my answers:  

What thread do you usually stitch with? I'm pretty much a DMC girl because it's so easy to find around here. I really enjoy Weeks Dye Works and sub in some to a lot of my smaller projects. I have some silks for specific projects, but I can't really warrant $4 skeins most of the time. 

When you shop for threads, do you buy on impulse or do you buy only what you need? I'm a mix here. For DMC, I only buy on my list because I am only missing about 50 colors to have a full set, so chances are I will buy one I already have. For silks, list only. Classic Colorworks, Weeks, Threadworx, Sampler Threads, etc I try to buy on a list, but I also pick up things that are pretty. I have a small collection so I am pretty good at knowing what I already have. I also have a "Floss Checklist" app on my android phone to check against.  I also use Google Doc's for my DMC. I'm crazy like that (it's so I can print out the list if so desired).

How do you store your thread? DMC/Anchor/Cosmo are all on bobbins in those plastic floss keeper boxes:

Everything else is in a Floss-A-Way bag with an index card for stability, in the top box in this picture:

How do you sort it? Sorted by manufacturer then by color name (Alphabetical) and DMC/Anchor/Cosmo is by number. I love the rainbow way but then I would NEVER be able to find anything. 

What tips do you have for building a stash? Buy slowly, it's not a race and your wallet will thank you.

How much is too much? What a silly question. NEVER. 

How do you whittle your stash down when it's gotten too large? I'm still collecting. It's not too much... yet. However, I do like to give away patterns that I've completed and do not plan to stitch again. Friends are always a good place to start! 

Do you have a current favorite in your stash? I really like Weeks Dye Works Peacock and Taffeta. My two favorite colors. :) 

Come join us and leave a link to your answers in the comments either here or over on Anna's.

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