I just love Halloween stitching!

I was hoping that I would be done with Gigi by now, but I ended up not doing very much stitching this week. There was even one day where I didn't stitch at all, and that is a true rarity for me! However, she is still progressing:

Yesterday, though, I got distracted by the first part of a 4-part mystery design by a company I hadn't heard of before, called The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, which I discovered through a post on Facebook. The design is called The Mysterious Halloween Town Club, and the first part can be seen here. I started stitching it yesterday on a piece of PTP Haunted Edinburgh, using a bunch of different over-dyed flosses from my stash:

Isn't it cute? I'm really looking forward to seeing the remaining three parts! I should be able to finish up part 1 this weekend, then I need to get back to Gigi, and Frosty Forest part 8 will probably be showing up any day now...I just want to stitch everything!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Gigi's taking shape

I am really enjoying working on Nora Corbett's Gigi, and she is turning out to be a pretty quick stitch. This morning I did the beading on the top part of the chart, and then extended my Q-snaps to fit the rest of the design:

The fabric is a Silkweaver solo on opal Belfast, and I think it's a nice witchy, but still pretty, background for her. I'm hoping to have her done within a week or so.

I want to say thank you to all of you who have left comments; I had 11 on my last post alone! While I started this blog as a way for me to keep track of my projects and actually see progress, it is so much fun to share with other stitchers from all over the world. :)

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Frosty Forest update

I have now completed seven parts of CCN's Frosty Forest, with two parts still to be released. Part seven was the last of the four house blocks, called Snowgirl's Cottage:

I'm glad there are only two parts left, as I find myself ready to be done with this design. ;) Here is the entire piece so far:

I also completed part three of the By The Bay Needlearts mystery SAL, which looks like this:

It is now ready for the embellishing, which Donna posted a few days ago on her blog. She embellished the heck out of it!! I'm currently working up the courage to try some of her suggestions--might be a while!

Meanwhile, I finally got the charts for Nora Corbett's new Bewitching Pixies, Gigi and Luna, and I had a fun day stash diving in my fabric bins to find the perfect witchy fabrics for them; I think I found a couple of winners. :) Gigi's is a Silkweaver solo on opal Belfast:

Luna's is Silkweaver's Odyssey on Belfast:

I've already started Gigi; she has a black cat with her, so she had to be first as I love black cats! I'm hoping she'll be a pretty quick stitch, so I'll have a lot to show in my next post.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Just Nan SAL for May

For the April SAL I completed Noella's Christmas Berry, which meant I had finished three of the four JN pieces that came with enameled boxes. So for May I decided to stitch the last one, Minerva's Mouse:

This was a quick stitch, and since the finishing was very similar to Noella's, I was able to do a better job on this one:

As I did with JN's Honey Bunny, I used kitty whiskers that had been shed by my cats to make the mouse whiskers. ;)

Here are all four pieces:

It looks like Zeb hasn't updated her blog with the other JN entries for this month, but check back here in a few days and hopefully she will get that done.

Hope everyone is having a great stitchy weekend!

No more Tingles until July

I finished up the final design last night, so now I have to wait until the last three charts are released in July. Some pictures of my weekend progress:

Now I need to get caught up on the By The Bay Needleart SAL, and the next part of Frosty Forest should hit my LNS this week. I'm really missing working on Red, but hopefully in another couple of weeks I'll be able to get back to her.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

I've got Tingles!

I just had to post a quick update, as Linda, the designer behind Lizzie*Kate, has used a picture of my Tingles WIP in her blog. I had posted a picture in a L*K Facebook group, and she asked if it was okay to borrow it, because she really liked the fabric I chose (which is PTP Cauldron on Belfast linen). Of course I said yes!

I'm one part further than that picture now, as I finished up part 3 this morning. Here is Gracie, doing her best Price Is Right girl impression to help show it off:

Sometimes I'm not sure if this is my stitching table or Gracie's napping table!

This weekend I'm planning on spending time in my craft room with Longmire seasons 1 & 2 on DVD, and hopefully getting close to finishing the next three parts of Tingles; then I'll have to wait until July for the last six.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend!

Poor Red...

...has been languishing in the closet since my last update. I have worked on three other projects, with more to do on a couple of them before I get back to Red. The first is my piece for the Just Nan SAL this month, which has now been completed and will be posted on the SAL date.

The second is the By the Bay Needleart Mystery SAL, which is now complete through part 2, with part 3 to be posted on Donna's blog this Wednesday. Here is picture as of now:

It looks like part 3 will finish up the regular stitching, then in part 4 Donna will show how to embellish it with specialty stitches; stay tuned for the fun part!

The last project I've been working on is the new Lizzie*Kate Flip-It Halloween design, Tingles. I'll be stitching all 12 designs as one piece; I picked up the first three charts (with six designs) at my LNS last Thursday. I finished the first one on Saturday:

I'm stitching it on PTP's Cauldron on Belfast linen., instead of the suggested fabric; I think PTP has some of the best fabrics for Halloween designs. I'll probably work on this project until I'm done with the charts I already have.

While I was at my LNS, I once again got puppy kisses from shop-dog Bella, and played with her for a while. Here is a cute picture of her with a couple of her toys:

Here's another critter pic; this is Gracie, curled up on my stitching table and letting me know that my Ott light is too bright!

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

I'm going to Tuscany!!!

Okay, it's a year away, but I just signed up today so the excitement is still high! The Primitive Hare is having a stitching retreat in Tuscany in May 2015, and I have decided it will be my chance to see this gorgeous part of the world. I tend to be pretty timid about trying new things, so traveling to Italy on my own is a huge endeavor for me, but I am determined to expand my horizons (at least just this once!).

In an effort to help fund my trip, I have added a "stash for sale" page to my blog (tab at the top of the page). Please feel free to have a look; I'll be adding various items (charts, magazines, scissors, fabrics, etc.) over the next few weeks.

On the home front currently, I have been working on a few things since getting caught up on Frosty Forest. Donna of By The Bay Needleart is having a free mystery SAL on her blog, and I have finished part 1:

Donna had said to use Lambswool linen, but of course I had to go my own way and pick a blue fabric. However, now she has said that those lines above the house are not part of the sky, so I hope I don't end up regretting my fabric choice. Oh well, I guess that's part of the fun of a mystery!

I have also pulled out my May project for the Just Nan SAL and gotten it started. It's another small design, so I should have it done in plenty of time for the May post.

Finally, I have done a bit more on Mirabilia's Red. Here is the last picture I posted, which was taken right before the Mirabilia Retreat:

This was taken right after the retreat, during which I was able to finish the right side of the white part of her dress:

And here she is as of today:

The blue part of the dress has been finished (except for the beading), and I'm ready to move on to either more cape or more of the white part of the dress; I'll have to see what calls to me the loudest. 

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!

Caught up on Frosty Forest!

I finished Bluebird Cabin this past Tuesday, drove up to my LNS that afternoon to pick up Snowy Foxes, and finished that one last night. Here are all six parts to date:

This has to be the best I've ever done on a multi-part SAL, as far as keeping caught up with the different parts! Here's a close up of those cute little foxes:

Speaking of cute, my LNS owner recently (like, last Saturday!) acquired a new beagle puppy named Bella, so I left her shop with the chart and a bad case of puppy love:

Hope everyone has a great stitchy (and puppy kiss-filled!) week!

April Just Nan SAL entry

As predicted, a day late. After an amazing Mirabilia retreat, then a nine hour drive, I had absolutely no ambition last night!

My entry for this month is Noella's Christmas Berry, which is one of a set of four JNs that came with a beautiful enameled box to hold the stitched piece. Here is Noella, holding her berry:

Here is the berry, before and after finishing:

I make no claim to having good finishing skills, which is why there will never be a picture of the top of this berry! Gathering the fabric and attaching the bead cap was a bit beyond my limited skills, but other than that it turned out pretty nicely.

So I now have three of the four "enamel box" designs completed, with only Minerva's Mouse left to stitch (Minerva is an owl). Here are Lady Scarlet's Secret Garden, Barnabee's Bride and Noella's Christmas Berry:

I hadn't intended to stitch Noella, but an opportunity arose to trade the pattern for Lady Scarlet's Scissor Roll (which I have wanted for a long time), so I ended up stitching the berry in a couple of days, finishing it on the third day and then sending the pattern out to its new home. And now I have Lady Scarlet's Scissor Roll to stitch!!

For more JN April SAL entries, click here.

Hope everyone has a great stitchy week!