WIPocalypse update

Another rubbish update on these

Cinderella?  Yes, I was plugging away with her slowly, but have lost the love for her at the minute.  I am feeling a bit of an itch to stitch her though so hopefully there could be progress on her next month.

Around the World, Cut Thru Stable, Honeysuckle Courtyard and Santa's Village are all sat next to me, on the bookcase, gathering dust!  I did actually put a couple of stitches into Around the World.  I won't give you a spot the difference, just where I am now! This is part 7 I think.

Papillon Creations
Around the World in 80 Stitches

Turtle Trot for March

Well this month I have made a bit of progress on the following projects...

A Place we call Home
CCN

On  A Place we call Home I have stitched the 'we' and 'ome' as well as the border to the bottom and right hand side.  I have also done the strange shape to the right of the house and the strange shape to the bottom left as well as the leaves also in the bottom left corner.  It's looking so pretty and I love the pastel colours too.

This is my progress on Midnight Unicorn.  I love stitching this as it is so quick not having to keep on dangling my thread as it doesn't twist like using 2 threads does.

Midnight Unicorn
Durene Jones

This is where Cinderella is at the moment.

Cinderella
Joan Elliott

Cinder-gate

Well sadly there was no happy ending for Cinderella this time!

I received a phone call from my mum the following morning (must be serious if she is ringing me during the day!), asking what was going on.  I read the facebook messages I had received up to that point, which my mum wasn't impressed with!  She had been phoned by my aunt the previous evening to discuss what had been said.  The day after all this I received several abusive messages on facebook from my cousin which were an attack on me, my character, my stitching and my life in general.  It was so bad that I ended up blocking her on facebook - which took me a while as I have never blocked anyone before!

I phoned my mum to tell her what had been happening and she said she already knew as my aunt had phoned or texted her to tell her how rude my cousin had been towards me.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I am keeping Cinderella so as not to have wasted 2 years of stitching time. My mum wanted to send my aunt the money back herself as she was so disgusted with my cousin's rudeness and attitude but as far as I was concerned it was given to me and so up to me to return.  So a cheque has been written and returned to my aunt along with the magazine so that either she can get someone else to stitch it or she can do whatever she likes with it!

I had thoroughly enjoyed stitching this design and although it would have been hard to see her go, I was prepared for it and happy to send her on to her new home, just not like this.  Cinders is currently on my WIP shelf, where I am avoiding looking at her for the time being.  There is a huge part of me that feels like a failure and that I should have just sent her as she was and let them do what they wanted with her.  I do think that had I done that though, there would have been little/no chance of her ever getting finished.

My plan is to leave her for a few weeks and to see if any more is said by my aunt or cousin and then finish stitching her for my Rachael instead...not as a birth sampler though!

Please feel free to comment/vent/rant over the outcome if you would like to, either comments or via email.

Theme-a-licious update on February's stitching

Just in case you have been on a completely different planet for the last couple of year, Theme-a-licious is organised by Geeky Heather who gives us themes for our stitching each month.

Hmmmm...last month after taking tips from Jo, Queen of shoehorning themes into whatever she happens to be stitching, I had quite a few things to show.  This month...not so much!

Obviously there is Cinders, who was marching ever closer to a finish...eventually. I will update on the drama that is Cinder-gate in the next few days...

My gorgeous unicorn must count too despite the fact there is currently no evidence of a unicorn! I love this one, it's so easy to stitch with just one thread!

There's my little Just Nan Santa too...not that I am saying Santa is a fantasy figure of course...

And that appears to be it!!  See you next month with hopefully a bit more variety.

Advice needed (part 2)

This one isn't quite as easy as yesterday's dilemma.

As regular readers know, I have been stitching Cinderella on and off for almost 2 years.  I was asked by my mum, who was asked by her sister (my aunt obviously!) to stitch it for her daughter (my cousin!).  They sent me the money for the fabric, kreinik and beads and provided the magazine with the chart.  I said I would pay for the DMC as I had a lot of what was needed.

Yesterday I messaged my cousin on facebook (I have only met her twice in my life so this is the only contact we have been having), told her I was nearing the end of the cross stitching and could she start looking around for suitable alphabets to personalise the design as it will be a birth sampler for her daughter.  She told me to find one to which I explained that I don't know her taste and didn't want to choose the wrong thing.  She then went on google images and chose pretty much the first one she saw, which is a pretty one but is SO wrong for Cinderella.  It's this...which is one I bought at Christmas to do my ORTS ornie.  She wants her daughter's full name which is 18 letters in total with 2 spaces. Each of those letters is around an inch wide so I explained that it would be too big (not stitching over one for her which would actually still be over 9") and that she needed to find something smaller.  I suggested a pretty alphabet but told her we would have to pay for it - I'm no copyright pirate!  It costs a whole £2.52!  This is it here.

She has then told me to finish the 'picture' and send it to her "She'll sort it out." That was after telling me that she has a frame that she '...thinks will do.'  Anyone see why I am feeling a bit cross yet?

So my dilemma is do I...

1. Finish the 'picture' and send it back.
2. Finish it, stitch the alphabet she wants, hate it and send it back.
3. Send it back as it is now - after all if she can finish the birth details, she can finish the 'picture'.
4. Send my aunt the money back and keep Cinders for myself.
5. Put Cinders away for a month and see how I feel about it once I am calmer and not so annoyed.
6. Just keep it anyway, after all, how many hours have I stitched on it?

Number 6 is out because to me that just feels immoral.  At the end of the day no matter how ********** (submit any word that means irritated or annoyed for the asterisks) I am, they have still paid for the materials mostly and it feels like theft.  

So assuming anyone has got this far, and well done if you have, what would you do???  If you have any other options that I haven't considered please let me know.  If you would prefer to email me rather than leave a message my email is sharon j stevens at msn dot com.  Obviously that is without the spaces and with the appropriate symbols inserted.

Currently Cinders is on my WIP shelf as I haven't got the heart to work on her at the moment which is a shame as I got a lot done today!

WIPocalypse - February update

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!  I hope you are feeling loved today.

So of the designs I want to work on this year for the WIPocalypse, what did I do?

Cinderella?  Oh yes, she is coming along great guns as my main focus piece.
Around the World, Santa's Village?  Nope, never touched them.
Cut Thru Stable?  Yes, I put around 15 stitches of pale pink into it.
Honeysuckle Courtyard? No, but that will be my focus once I finish Cinderella.

You may recognise the photo above.  I haven't done anything on her for a few days as it is assignment time again!

So how many projects do I feel comfortable with?  Hahahah...well as when I was updating my WIP's/UFO's page the other day I had 80 I suppose that must be the number I am comfortable with!!  I'd love to say one but I would be lying :)

Turtle Trot - February update (edited to add photos of Cinders)

Turtle Trot time again.  It comes round so fast.

This month I have worked mainly on Cinderella just because I want to get her finished and sent off to her new home as soon as possible so that I don't feel guilty every time I work on something else.  Here is where she is at the moment.  I have started adding the Kreinik and backstitching as I go, the thought of having to do it all at the end is just too much.  I will do the beading at the end however.

I have tried to catch the sparkly dress in the next two photos but it hasn't really worked too well.  Hopefully you will get the idea!

I did a tiny bit on Positive Thinking too - but not a lot!  Progress is progress though, however small :)

I even pulled out my Cut Thru Stable, but the progress on that wasn't even worth the effort of a photo. Approximately 15 pale pink stitches before I gave up and put it away.

Mary's Sampler got a little attention and I made a start on the border.  I got bored of that too though so not much progress.  Still if I did a little each month, it would be finished for Christmas this year!  I have changed the red of the flower in the border as the one I had was a little too strong and I felt it would overpower the actual design.  At one point I wasn't going to do the border but I felt that it needed something to 'finish it off' 

Theme-a-licious -

In January I stitched on the following designs that I could shoehorn gardens or flowers into.

In the order of the photos:

1. Cinderella - Joan Elliott
2. Rosa - India Grace Designs
3. Halloween House - Ursula Michaels
4. Touching the Autumn Sky - Mirabilia
5. Honeysuckle Courtyard - Patricia Ann Designs

I suppose I could have tentatively suggested that Oh Christmas Tree and A Very Merry Christmas have trees in which could be in a garden...but I won't!

Cinderella progress

I have FINALLY finished all the blue on the bottom half of Cinder's skirt.  WOOOHOOO.  I actually feel how I usually feel for a finish.

I am having a couple of days break from her and will get back to her next week.  I am determined she will be finished in the next couple of months.

WIPocalypse 2014 - January

This is my list of projects that I am focusing on as my WIPocalypse stitching.

Cinderella - Joan Elliott

Around the World - Papillon Creations

Cut Thru Stable - Bothy Threads 

Honeysuckle Courtyard - Patricia Ann Designs

Santa's Village - CCN

There is no photo of Honeysuckle Courtyard as it's not started yet.

For anyone who doesn't know me...I am really Sharon, 44 years old from Manchester, UK.  I have 2 kids - Rachael, 14 and Luke, 12.  They are both amazing (most of the time) and I am so lucky that they are 'mine'. I also have 2 demented cats - Biskey and Smudge who rule the roost.  Biskey is a soppy so and so and loves to be curled up on someone's lap.  At night, he sleeps on my feet although he often has more of the bed than I get!

I started stitching in 1995 when I wanted something different for my then boyfriend (now hubby) for our first Valentine's Day together.  I walked past a cake decorating shop every day going to and from work and noticed these cute little cross stitch cards they had.  I went in and the rest is history.

There was no charting for the initials in the middle.  I just decided to do them myself.  Thankfully my stitching has improved a bit since then!!

One thing that I am looking forward to this year is finishing my degree which will then free up around 20 hours a week for housework and jobs round the house stitching.  I am going to make up for the last few years where the coursework has stopped me from enjoying myself.

I have loads of favourite designers so won't bore you with them all.  Just have a look through my WIP's/UFO's list on the right hand side of my blog to see what I am into!  Favourite fabric is jobelan by a mile and discovering Sparklies, Crafty Kitten and Steph's Fabby's has greatly enhanced my fabric stash. 

One thing that I really love doing is being online and reading lots of different stitchy blogs.  There are several people that although I have never met them, I class as friends now who I have met through blogging.  One day I would love to meet up with them all!

Anything else you would like to know, just ask!!

Turtle Trot for January

Well with all the new starts this month, there isn't a lot of progress on any of the projects on my Turtle Trot list.  However, there has been a bit on  Cinderella and Honeysuckle Courtyard.

First up is Cinderella.  I have finished the castle which looks better than I thought it would.  I have also started some of the backstitching on her dress as there is a fair bit and I am not over keen on backstitch.

Then is another massive start...not!  This is the start of Band 3 of Honeysuckle Courtyard.  There is a good reason for starting on band 3 - I couldn't be bothered to walk upstairs to find the threads band 1 and 2 needed. Also I am still undecided as to whether to add my parents-in-law details to the finished project and where to add them if I do!

Cinderella - Joan Elliott

This is my progress so far on Cinderella.  I can't believe how big she is!  It's getting harder to consider giving her away.

Cinderella update

Joan Elliott - Cinderella

A really rubbish photo and a piece of fabric that is in dire need of a date with the iron.  Here it is so far though.  I am absolutely loving stitching on this one.  It is a favour to my aunt for my cousin so I am going to try and focus solely on this and get it finished for her.  The fabric is Polstitches jobelan and is so soft and gorgeous.

A stitchy update

As promised, although a day later than anticipated, a stitchy update.

But first...thank you to everyone who responded to Rachael's worries.  She read all of the comments and I have told her they will be printed off for her to read when she feels down.  I thought of putting them over her bed but will draw the line at that.  I took her to the hairdresser and we had a chat about how she felt about her hair.  The hairdresser cut it into a style that should be easier for her to manage and took loads of the weight out of it.  Even wavy/curly it is easy to see that it is a lot lighter.  Rachael is pleased with it and that is the main thing.

In the few minutes I have had in between writing my research proposal for my penultimate OU course, I have managed a little stitching.

So...there has been a bit of progress on Drac in the Box with most of of the head being stitched, all of the tombstone and some of the bat and moon.  Sorry for the really blurry photo but I am sure you get the idea!

My wired bat arrived which was a special order from Sewandso.co.uk so I will be ready to go when the stitching is finished.

There has been a little bit more progress on Cinderella and I am now down to the bottom of her dress.

 I ordered a couple of pieces of fabric from The Crafty Kitten which arrived a couple of weeks ago.  They look really pretty in real life with lovely delicate mottling to them.

As a weightloss incentive Colin is treating me to 'something' each time I go down into the next stone bracket. This time I chose Nora's Summer Faerie and some fabric.  I have to say that the fabric looks much nicer in reality and not nearly as 'blobby' as it looks here.

My final new purchase is some stick on thimbles to try.  Sometimes when stitching in hand I end up feeling like my pin cushion so thought it might be worth giving these a go.

And that is it for now.  In a couple of days my assignment will be completely finished and I will have 2 weeks of nothing but stitching before the next one begins!

Blue, Smudge, Bradford

No not me!  I've had some stitching time so I'm not blue!  But look at this ↓

Cinderella - Joan Elliott

All I have done in the last 3 days is stitch one of three shades of blue.  It's not even made for half the skirt being done...arrrggggghhhh.

I also decided to pull out Maggie the Messmaker who hasn't seen the light in years.  After about 10 minutes I remembered why - don't like the fabric and don't like the Dimensions threads either.  I think this may have to become a 2 strands a day project if it is ever going to be finished!

Maggie the Messmaker - Dimensions

I also stitched the snow on Santa's House too.  Well technically I stitched, unstitched, re-stitched, re-unstitched and finally re-re-stitched the snow on Santa's House.  I cannot believe what a hash of it I made. So if anyone wants a frog, you can have mine with pleasure.

Santa's House - CCN

The weird cat - aka Smudge - makes a reappearance.  Seriously, this is the position he was in yesterday.  No duct tape or superglue was used.  His rear end was right up the back of the sofa.  He is such a strange one!!

Colin took Rachael and Luke to Bradford a couple of weeks ago.  The went to the National Media Museum which we hadn't heard of before but he found it on Trip Advisor.  It spans 8 floors and they had a brilliant time.  There was a dalek - luckily no one got EX-TER-MIN-ATE'd.

There was one of the sets for The Wombles. (I loved this programme as a child!)

A set from Wallace and Grommit.

Morph!!!!

An Andy Pandy set - who remembers Andy Pandy?

And they both got to read the news in the 'studio' with the autocue.  If you fancy going it is well worth a full day there.  Admission is free but you do have to pay for some of the films they show if you want to see them. There is enough for a full day without the films though!

Sneaking in the back door...

Well the study is still going full steam ahead with 5 assignments written and 1 more to go.  Then all I have is the final project which is due on 19th September.  My next course will start on 28th September so there won't be much of a break.

I have done a little stitching, but not much  :(

I have added a blob of 3371 to the bottom left corner and a bit to the lower middle area.  Just telling you in case you can't tell!

Sweet Pea - Nora Corbett

Cinderella has a little bit done to the tops of the steps.

Cinderella - Joan Elliott

A small amount has been stitched on the Stable.

Cut Thru Stable - Bothy Threads

Can you spot the difference here?  Don't worry it's only 4 stitches!

Santa's Village - CCN

 I did finish part 7 of Around the World AND make a start on part 8, woohoo!

ATW - Papillon Creations

Part 7 - upside down!

 Rachael has been bitten by the cross stitch bug too and decided to make a leaving present for her form tutor who is off to London.  He has been an amazing form tutor and looked after her so well, especially with diabetes issues so he will be missed by us both.  She rooted through my magazines and came up with this design.  I haven't a clue which magazine she chose in the end but she personalized it by putting the 'E' on his chest which is his surname.

With a little help from me, she turned it into a cube finish and I made the bow for her which she was happy with.  What do you think of her first attempt?  I didn't help her at all with the stitching after explaining how to read the chart and to start the thread off.  I think she did brilliantly.

Mr E was pleased with it apparently.