March Update

First off, Happy St Patrick's Day! I'm not Irish (or maybe I am for just today?) but I do have a table cloth that's got clovers on it, so I totally count that as holiday decor!

I haven't gotten much stitching done recently honestly. We've been busy making friends and going to the gym. Tonight we're headed out to a Meetup.com event for board games. It's being held at a local cider place. Maybe we'll make some friends there.

I finished the R I was working on for a friends wedding. I've just charted their last name for below, I'm not sure how I want to represent the date yet though.. write out the month or just use numbers? Thought?

I started the Dimensions Peacock kit (sorry it's sideways):

I switched out the fabric for a sky crystal linen that was a gift a Christmas or two ago:

I won't have to do all the background now! Which also means I'll have a ton of teal/blue thread left.

I also pulled out my Glendon Place Tiramisu pattern for a few nights:

It prompted me to order some fabric form CraftyKitten for the Cherries Jubilee pattern too (Tiramisu is also on a CraftyKitten piece, Plum Pudding is not) ... I still haven't finished one but I'm already planning on the third one to start. I make a mistake and it ticks me off so I stop stitching on them. Mostly because I have to fix the mistake in these patterns since they are so symmetrical.

Side note, I hate scroll frames. They just don't have enough tension in my opinion, but I did do some digging and trying different things and determined the best way for me to get tension was to do an S type roll, where it's over the top on the top and goes under on the bottom. I found the tension much better that way. Does anyone else have any suggestions for tension?! I have two of these frames that I never use because of the tension...

I also bought a magnifier/light! So here's a picture of my stitchy spot:

You can see my Lowery frame and my new light. It's great, I tried 3 other magnifiers before I bit the bullet and ordered this one. It's not the most attractive thing ever, but it allowed me to work on my Ink Circles Damask Square pattern so much more easily!

I also made those pillows this past month! They even have zippers. They go well with our sofa's blue velvet pillows that we had bought at Tuesday Mornings to go with the carpet we are now using in our living room. New place meant we had to rearrange our carpets to fit different spaces, our blue one is our largest and no longer fits in any of the bedrooms. I'm planning to make two more pillow covers at some point. I still need to buy two more pillows.

I worked on my Damask Square yesterday, it's on 40 ct crystal silkweavers fabric with Peacock Weeks Dye Works floss (1 over 2):

I've decided I love stitching with just one strand of thread, there's no worries about laying the threads right, they don't get tangled! It's so much easier with the magnifier though. I'm still young, but I'd like to be able to still see 40 years from now thanks! I also pulled out a hoop to use last night for this and I remembered why I hate hoops, those marks! It was only in the hoop for like an hour but left a nice ring... I'm going to have to find more random pieces of my q-snaps for this... I bought a 14in one but it's really just way too big. I should have bought another 9x9 instead.

How's everyone elses' stitching been going!? Is everyone ready for Spring? I sure am!

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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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Small Update

I really didn't get any stitching done in the past two weeks. I quit my job, went on a week vacation, then started a new job, so I've been pretty busy. I was planning to finish this little Lizzie Kate before Valentine's Day but it didn't quite work out that way, no rush. It'll just be early for next year!



I changed up all of the colors. I only have one of the called for colors (purple haze, which I haven't even used yet). I'm using a selection of Cosmo floss, Weeks Dye Works and Sampler Threads from stash. I think it's turning out super cute. It's being completed on a mystery piece of linen from my stash. I did another Lizzie Kate with it as well, the Halloween piece from October. It's really not my favorite I've decided. The threads are pretty "wiggly" and it's difficult to keep the tension the same. I prefer even weaves over the linens, depending on the project of course!

Speaking of fabrics, my Quarterly Silkweavers Fabric of the Month came!!! They have about a million different ways to sign up for their fabrics, I chose the "classics" line in either line/evenweave counts higher than 28 for 3 13x18 pieces per quarter. And here's my first quarter selections that they sent:



It was extremely difficult to get all of the colors to show up, the one one the left is actually pink-ish, it's called "Brandied Pears" the blue is a solo color (which means it's not in their regular line up) and the tan one is "Moon Dust". They are all crystal newcastle linens (40 count) which I've never used, but it could be fun to stitch with! I really love their classics line because the shading is so slight on them. I have found that I don't really like the fabrics that have a tie dyed look. Just my opinion. I will have 3 more shipments of this, I decided that it was better on my wallet just to do it 4 times a year. I still get fun new colors though!

What's your favorite type of fabric to use? Leave your answers in the comments!!!

PS don't forget to enter my sweepstakes!

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Sweepstakes time!

I missed last week because of being on vacation, but I'm back early this week with a Sweepstakes to honor my 1 year blog anniversary AND hitting 800 followers on instagram! All you have to do is leave a comment below letting me know that you are interested. I'm going to keep this open until Saturday February 28th at midnight EST and I will chose a winner randomly on Sunday March 1st.

This is open worldwide, I will ship anywhere!

I am opening this both to blog comments and to instagram, so if you do both then you'll have two chances to win! You can find me on Instagram @xstitchhaven. There is a photo to repost and a hashtag as your entry.

Here's a picture of what you can win:



Included are three patterns, Lizzie Kate Flip It "Halloween (#F17)", Lizzie Kate Snippet "Winter Wishes", and Little House Needleworks "Season of Love"; three skeins of floss, Weeks Dye Works Grape Ice and Aztec Red and threadworx 10341; a huge 18 x 27 inch piece of 32 Lugana from Picture this Plus, in the color Heather. I have stitched all three of the patterns that I am giving away and they were all great quick stitches with easy to follow patterns. There are no marks on any of the patterns, they all look brand new, two are even still in their original packaging.

Feel free to share with your friends and don't forget, if you are on Instagram as well, repost the picture in my profile for a second chance to win!

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January Blues... Purples!

Hi all! This should be a pretty short update. I have not gotten much stitching done this past week because my wrists/hands have been hurting. This has happened before, so I'm not terribly concerned about it, but it is putting a damper on my stitching abilities. I think I might have a touch of carpel tunnel, but not really because my pinky fingers are affected as is my entire hand. I am not sure, maybe it the two handed stitching. It is a bit different on my wrists. If it persists I'll go to the doctor, but hopefully it goes away soon because my husband and I are planning a getaway to Texas in two weeks! We are both quite tired of the weather and are looking forward to some sunny skies. We've never been to Texas so I'm looking forward to adding a new state to our list!

Anyways, to the stitching!

I worked on Plum Pudding some more. Most of this was done on Sunday afternoon. I am almost the entire way through a page. I did overlap onto the next one if the motif did. That whole variegated thread thing!





And I worked on my Lizzie Kate Winter Wishes:





That's pretty much everything. I told you it was a slow week! Until next time!

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MMMM III

Mega Mini Month Madness post 3! Mmmm makes it sound like I'm hungry or something! As a reminder this is hosted by Pull the Other Thread check out all the other cool participants too (there's 22 of us total)!

I have two finishes! I'm sure you all are just as excited about this as I am. :D I finished all the stitching on these two pumpkin designs. I think I'm about done with Halloween/Autumn stitching for now. I really need to get caught up of my swap ornament and then ornaments for family/friends for Christmas presents.

Here's the first that I showed progress on last week:

 

Heart in Hand - Pumpkins

The bottom pumpkin looks crooked, but he's really not! When I iron him again I'll stretch him right out.

Heart in Hand - Pumpkins

I mailed this little cute patterns out to a fellow Instagram follower who really liked it. I'm looking forward to seeing her stitch it up! It was a quick little pattern. My favorite kind!! And the little Just Another Button Company raven is an adorable touch!

I also started and finished a little Lizzie Kate design:

Lizzie Kate - Tingles F-143 - Jack O Lantern

Per usual I changed the colors to match what I had on hand.

Lizzie Kate - Tingles F-143 - Jack O Lantern

After taking these pictures, I realized I forgot to add the green button that the pattern came with! Off to do that and hopefully finish these into tiny wall hangings tonight! 

What is everyone else up too? Starting on Christmas yet?

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October Mini Mega Madness II

If you recall I joined a challenge for October, Mini's! While I haven't gotten much stitching done, it was on a mini! Go check everyone out on Pull the Other Thread's blog.

Here she is:

Wee One - Pumpkins - Heart in Hand

Wee One - Pumpkins - Heart in Hand

I am using the recommended threads, but it's turning out a lot darker than the model picture. I did wonder that when I was looking at the threads when they arrived in the mail. I'm not upset, just surprised. I like it. I think it will get made into a mini pillow as well when I am finished. I'm hoping to finish it up by next week.

I haven't been able to do much stitching lately because my left hand has been hurting. I think it's a combination of typing at work all day and holding a hoop. I am really considering buying a Lowery stand. Or a Needlework System 4. Or a Needle Needs frame. I think I'm leaning towards the Lowery because of the three it takes up the least amount of space. Do any of you readers use any of these? I did order some crafting compression gloves as well so I am going to try that first. Much cheaper at only $12. Fingers crossed it will solve the problem.

I did manage to stuff my Lizzie Kate finish that I showed last week:

It still needs a good pressing to get out the lumps. Next time I have the iron on I'll do that as well.

I posed it with my very own blown glass pumpkin! My husband and I took a 2 hour glass blowing glass back in 2012 and we each made 2 pumpkins (this one is actually my husbands'). I love taking them out every year and thinking about how much fun we had. My husband actually bought us a glass blown Christmas ornament making class for my birthday (which is later this month)! I can't wait to go, but I'll be waiting until December when it's offered.

While out at TJMax I found this little guy and I had to have him. I haven't found a place to keep him yet, but he is so cute!

That's all for now, hope everyone is doing well! How is everyone else coming along with their Mini stitching?!

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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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Haul and Finishes

I just got a bunch of things in the mail! Happy mail dance time!

First off is my bingo winnings from Debby (from a cross stitch website I belong too), I've actually met Debby in real life when my husband & I were on vacation in Colorado. That made it even better.

This awesome owl card (I LOVE owls):

This cute booklet of snowmen designs:

Mill Hill - Frosty Friends

This awesome piece of crystal lugana (which is super difficult to photograph), I can already see some of those snowmen designs on it:

Light Blue Crystal Lugana

And my favorite, Fleur de Lys Christmas tree chart which I WILL be stitching this year. Debby said it was a pretty quick stitch and I think I already have some variegated floss for it.

Scissor Tail Designs - Fleyr de Lys Tree

I love love LOVE everything she sent over. I knew we had similar tastes!

I also received come charts from etsy that I purchased, each were $3 or less:

Lizzie Kate Winter Sampler, Winter Wishes, December Flip-it, Autumn Sampler, Spring Sampler and January Flip-it

anddddd the Leisure Arts Back-stitch alphabet (I had found #705 (More Backstitch Alphabets which I showed you in this post) at my mom's house, so I clearly needed the first set too):

Leisure Arts Leaflet 407 - 20 Backstitch Alphabets

I also got a piece of Crafty Kitten fabric in, but it's also a crystal and realllly hard to photograph. I plan to use it to make the Frosted Pumpkin Halloween Sampler at some point. I have the cosmo thread for it, which I am really excited to use! I'll try to do a floss toss in the sunlight this week.

Clearly I was busy online.... I should have my wallet taken away from me I think! The Lizzie Kates all came to $15 with shipping and the LA leaftlet was $6 with shipping, the others were gifts so I don't think I did too poorly.

While I was busy online I was also busy finishing ornaments!!!  I got my sewing machine back on Tuesday and whipped these up in the days since then.

Fronts:

Top left clockwise: Little House Needleworks (LHN) freebie Seven Pines, LHN Gingerbread Cookie, LHN Snow in Love, LHN Hot Cocoa, Freebie found online, LHN Season of Love)

And the backs:

Ornament backs (fabric from my mom's stash)

It was my first time finishing them into pillows! I had done some quilting when I was a kid, but I hadn't done anything in a long time. I'm pretty proud of them. Are they all completely square? No. But that's ok! :) Some of them are to be gifts even though I find it quite hard to part with them. I also finished another one, but it was for my swap, so once it's safely in their hands I'll post pictures!

I'm planning some finishing ideas for my Halloween projects too. I need to get some orange thread first for the Lizzie Kate one for sure. I'm still trying to come up with something for the Jolly Jack pattern. I'm open for suggestions, leave your suggestions below! :)

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New Finish

I might not have been working on Jolly Jack exclusively but I've finished stitching him!

I think he turned out really well. The top of the design is supposed to say "Jolly Jack" but I prefer it without any words. I think he's general enough to keep up all Fall, right?

I'm planning to finish him as a flat fold, one of those A frame designs that stands up on their own. I should be going to JoAnn's tonight (after I pick up my sewing machine, squee!) to buy the supplies. I'm going to pick up stuff for this, my black cat pillow (that I haven't finished stitching yet), my two swap items and my Lizzie Kate finish. I'm hoping I'll be able to get my finishing mojo on. Have I mentioned that I haven't sewn anything since I was like 10? This should be interesting. I'm sure I can figure it out. I'll post the results when I can!!

I've started a new ornament. Remember that ornament a month challenge that I said I was doing back in January? The one that I kept up with until May? Yeah, well, I'm trying to get back into it. I'm using Weeks Dye Works Wild Berries, Sampler Threads (Gentle Arts) Gold leaf and some DMC. The pattern doesn't call for beads, but I thought it would add something nice and sparkly so I'm going to try to add some. I'm going to hold off on posting a picture, just in case my swap partner follows my blog. She's the one who organized the swap so she knows I'm mailing it to her.

I did forget to show you my pretties from my local needlework shop: 

I bought these each for $1 on etsy (the "whites" and browns in the above picture are for the mugs):

I saw a Winter Tag one too that I should have gotten to match the Autumn one above. I'm waiting for her to post some other things that I might be interested in so I can save on shipping. They are all Angel Stitchin' patterns. I love anything coffee related so I knew I had to have those mugs! The hot cocoa one came with a cute little marshmallow button too!!

I found this Leisure Arts Alphabet at my mom's house (More Backstitch Alphabets, Mini Series #20):

I just bought the first one on eBay yesterday. You can never have too many fonts to choose from! I personalize Christmas ornaments for my friends' children so it's a nice thing to have around.

I know I have a ton of magazines some where (probably at my mom's house still) that I bought years and years ago at a book sale in front of an Ames (remember those?) Now I just need to track them down, but who knows where they are at this point!

Overall it was a win all around for me this week! 1 finish and 1 new start (from stash, in case anyone was wondering!)

Side note, the Frosted Pumpkin Mysterious Halloween Town's third clue came out and I'm not really feeling it. I think I'm going to change it a bit. I really don't think a bakery is fitting with the Halloween Theme. Now maybe a candy shop would be better. I really wanted a cemetery though. Which would you like to see more? A candy shop (minor changes) or a cemetery (a total over haul)? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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More Halloween Stitching

This week has gone by quite quickly and I can't really say why.

I've been busy stitching up the Frosted Pumpkin's Halloween Town, so I'm going to blame that! I watched a ton of Grimm episodes (season 2, don't go spoiling it for me) while relaxing on Sunday and I'm a bit over half way done with the second clue now:

It looks so pretty in the sunlight! I'm glad I took a picture out on our balcony. It really shows how bright it is. I decided the change up the house to be purple, it was going to be the same color as the Bride of Frankenstein's face, but I really didn't like that.

I really can't say how much I love the fabric I'm using. It's the Tempest from Steph's Fabby. It's so nice and soft and a wonderful purple/pink color. I really do recommend her fabrics!!!

Any suggestions on what to do with this piece when it is finished? I think it's suppose to be a wide pattern, so maybe a lumber shaped pillow? I don't really want to frame it for two reasons, one, it's expensive and two it'll only be out at Halloween anyway!

Before the second clue came out, I did a bit more on Jolly Jack:

It's on Permin linen. Has anyone used it before? It's reallllly stiff, which I wasn't expecting. I had the fabric in my stash from the eBay haul of mine. :)

Picture this Plus's annual sale is on Friday! I've already filled my cart with opalescent fabrics (which I've never used before, and I've never used a PtP fabric either). I have three for sure (all Halloween colors, Echo, Fog & Haunted), but I'm debating getting the supplies for Glendon Place's Plum Pudding as well (fabric Sprite, Dinkie Dyes & beads). I have no intention of starting until I finish my current piece though. Decisions decisions!

I'm traveling next week for work, I think I'm going to bring another Mill Hill kit, but not the same kitty one I have been doing. I really don't like having to work with beads on the plane/in the airport. I'm afraid I'm going to lose them all. I'm thinking one of the Tiny Treasure kits I have. I have a cute little 4" hoop just for them!

What has been keeping you busy? Have you started any Halloween projects yet?

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Halloween in July?

I was reviewing what I had done since last week and I am sensing a theme. Halloween! I am pretty sure that the Frosted Pumpkin's Halloween Town is what kicked it off this time.

I started & finished a Lizzie Kate Flip-It, it's on a piece of fabric I got in that grab bag and random floss I had around the house already (Weeks & DMC). I really like how the Weeks floss turned out in the pumpkin. I'm thinking about making it again for my MIL because it only took 3 nights and she likes Halloween.

I would like to make it into a cute little pillow with half of it being a Halloween fabric like I've been seeing on the internet. I stink at sewing, so I think I'll convince my mom to help out. :)

I pulled out a design I had started last year around this time, it's from Holiday Cats (ebay link):

And while I am sooo close to finishing it, my motivation is low. I'm not sure if it's because it's been really hot in my hot (my air con isn't working), it's on black fabric, I had to frog an entire leaf when I picked it back up or what, but I put it down again. It's at least still out for me to pretend to work on...

I started another Halloween project since my Halloween Cat wasn't working out. I just bought the pattern in Denver, it's All Through the Nights' Jolly Jack:

I really love the shading on the Weeks Sweet Potato floss. It's such a fun orange color! :)

And last but not least, I ordered the 3x5 inch Floss-A-Way Bags from amazon and redid my special floss storage. I got the index cards and the plastic box at the dollar store. :) All of my DMC, Anchor & Cosmo gets wound onto bobbins, but the special stuff doesn't.

How do you store your floss? Do you have a lot?

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