Monthly Update and SFS2014 April

Hello everyone,

I have just realized that I have only been posting about once a month this year. I find that I am not real interested in going online once I leave work. I do stitch though. I was able to complete quite a few things this month.:)

One of the ladies on a FB group graciously designed and shared with us a cute little owl.

 



 I had this piece of orange fabric (I think it is 28 or 32 ct) that I have been using for some of my Halloween ornaments that I used DMC 798 stitching 1 over 1. I placed a quarter next to the finished piece to show how small it came out. I am loving this little piece.

Next up is the charity piece I finished for Q4OC. We were provided the chart and we were allowed to pick our own colors. In the picture below you can't quite tell how bright a pink the hair came out, but I really liked the color combination.

Next up (sorry for the large picture but lines were appearing) is May's Lily in the My Garden Journal series. I am loving how these come together. Aren't the snails cute as can be?

 May's Lily

 

Below is the first completed panel of the series. I think that I am going to stitch December next so that I can have 2 completed panels (on the old color).

Spring panel of the series.

 I went to my LNS to pick up two more pieces of fabric so I can finish the set, but the manufacturer no longer dyes this particular shade of material. I spent an agonizing hour trying to figure out a color that will allow the greens to pop but still coordinate with my current pieces. I finally found the color but forgot to take a picture of the two different pieces together. While there I picked up the autographed chart I won on Norden Craft's FB page. The wonderful ladies helped me to change the color scheme from pink to blue. The more I look at it the more I love the way this came out.

 

 After finishing Corona, I was at a loss and asked my daughter what I should start next. She picked out Cat Lessons for People by Lizzy Kate. I picked it up as a kit so I am not 100% sure what count fabric it is but I think it is 28ct. Since the fabric is an off white color, I changed the cat to a brown, (I think I like him better this way).

 

Now, down to business.

 

 

Amount Spent: Balance $33.94 Spent: $44.66 (boy I did terrible) Ending Balance -$10.72

New Starts from Stash:

• Owl silhouette
• Q4OC Stitcher's Challenge #2 - Clown
• Corona
• Cat Lessons for People

WIPs or UFOs worked on:

•  My Garden Journal - May's Lily (I count this as a WIP since I am making all 12 into a 4 Season's project)

I now have 2 autographed charts that I will not do again so I am thinking that a giveaway will soon make it's appearance here.

 

Need to run and get a little bit of work done,

 

Ta Ta for Now,

Angela

 



SFS2014 March Update

Hello everyone,

How has your month been? Mine has just flown by. There has been some stitching but not as much as usual. My DD and I finally went on vacation to visit her Grandfather. When I got back I needed a vacation from my vacation. We were so busy that my poor body just couldn't handle it and the day we were leaving it let me know by running a fever. My advise...if at all possible Do Not Fly When You Are Running A Fever. It makes for a very miserable trip. I hope you don't mind me sharing a few pictures but first for lets get to the SFS2014 update.

Amount Spend: Monthly Budget: $43.06 (Thankfully I have the leftover from last month that I didn't use.) Balance: $50.00 - $43.06 = $6.94

• Floss and bobbins to complete the two HAED's $20.31. I also picked up some needles that were needed (thankfully they don't count towards our budget) :)
• Fabric $22.75 (I found some wonderful linen odds and ends that will be great for some of the ornaments I want to complete this year.)

New Starts from Stash: 

• Q4OC Valentine's Sal

This one took longer than I expected but the purple, pink and red look perfect with the variegated floss I used.

• WOCS Dolly Mama

 

This one turned out to be a little more difficult that it looks.

•  Q4OC Stitcher's Challenge #2

 

My little one really can not stand clowns at all and keeps telling me that this looks "Creepy"

But I have to say that this is turning into a fun stitch.

WIPs or UFOs worked on:

• Cat Collage

 

I was able to get two more cat squares done since my last post so that makes three for the month.

 That is now #18 & #19 complete out of 36.

Still a lot to go, but it doesn't seem so bad when I work on one box at a time.

Now that business is out of the way, lets go back to our vacation. Hehehe

As I mentioned above, we went non-stop almost the whole time we were there. Right off the plane we went to lunch at the famous Rosco's for their chicken and waffles. Thankfully they did not try to put the two together on the same plate since the chicken was smothered in gravy. Pretty good too.

Then we went across town to Union Station and walked a couple of blocks to China Town. What an interesting blend of the new and old. Then we stopped at Philippe's. Oh My Gosh!!! If you are ever in the area you must stop by for their beef sandwiches (don't forget to ask them to double dip the bread)!

Day 2: Disney Land. We were there from the park opening to the park closing. But what fun!

The Princess

Day 3: The Science Museum where the space shuttle Endeavor finally came to rest

The Endeavor is so big there was no good way of getting the whole thing in one shot

Day 4: The San Diego Zoo (again another day of opening and closing the park). I really liked how they try to make sure that each habitat is as close to their natural habitat as they can make it.

The little one at the Polar Bears

Day 5: a wonderful little flea market then off to the Santa Monica Pier and the end of Route 66. Thought I had a picture but I didn't get all the pictures my Dad took while we were there. Still, I now can say that I have been from sea to shining sea. For dinner we went to this wonderful local place for Corned Beef Sandwiches. Again OMG! These were great.

Some of the coastline from the Pier

Amazing Corned Beef Sandwiches

Day 6: packing and returning home (with a fever).

Of course the adventure didn't end there. I forgot to transfer my keys from one of the bags in my suitcase to my carry on. Do you see where this is going? Yes...our bags were delayed in Dallas. Thankfully we had someone taking care of the cats so were were able to get in the house but I still had no way to drive anywhere when we got back. On the bright side, I was too sick to go anywhere.

Time to get some work done,

Ta Ta for now,
Angela (Still Recovering ) in TX

Update and a New Givaway

Nancy over at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is hosting another one of her wonderful give-away's. She is giving us the chance to pick one of your new Samplers. You have to go over and check them out. Beautiful work and even more beautiful sayings. Don't forget to tell her I sent you.

I have a few updates to share with you today.

I finished my piece for World of Charity Stitching. They provided the kit. This is such a cute little stitch and saying.

 I was able to finish another cat in my cat collage...

Here is a picture of my progress to date:

Not the best picture but it was dark when I took it. :(

And my new start...HAED Mini Purple Dragon. I am stitching this on 20ct Jobalene fabric. I am loving this fabric. Nice and soft to work with, even holes that are amazing easy to see. And the coverage using 2 over 1 is perfect.

It is hard to imagine that this little bit is 960 stitches.

That's all the time I have this morning. We will be taking a trip soon so will not be able to make another post until after we get back.

Ta Ta for Now,
Angela CG

February's SFS2014 Update

Hello everyone,

Another month has passed us by and it is time to see how we did with our spending.

We were able to have a special buying weekend:

So the parameters of this exemption weekend has been set by my wonderful man. He has decided to be super nice to all of us, and has decided to give us a lot of money to spend (if you so choose!):
- Anything you want, it doesn't have market items or even new stuff. Essentially anything from anywhere, no exceptions (see how nice he is, lol!)

- Budget is $100 (US) not including shipping.

Mel's wonderful Husband has been very generous to us this month.

I was able to repurchase the HAED chart Boo that I wanted so desperately last month. I couldn't help myself, I continued to browse the shelves and found another beautiful pattern that I just couldn't pass up...

 

With our spending limit I was able to purchase the above pattern, the fabric for both Boo and Purple Dragon and all but a couple of threads to stitch P. Dragon.

  

Now, before I go into too much detail...let me get to the good stuff.

 



Amount Spend: Nashville Market: $96.34 Monthly Budget: $0.00

• HAED $20.15
• Fabric $42.17
• Floss $ 33.92

New Starts from Stash:

• Remember Me...
•  Flaming Heart
• April's Daisy

 WIPs or UFOs worked on:

• Spooky Welcome
• Cat Collage

Over all I think I did pretty good. I stayed within my limits on the exemption weekend and didn't need to spend into my monthly budget. (Which I will probably need to be able to pick up the fabric for the rest of the months of My Garden Journal).

 

Over this last weekend I was able to complete the two mini charts and one more cat on my cat collage.

Free chart from Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe stitched in her hand dyed Blue with Brown floss (wonderful floss to work with by the way).

 

This little Flaming Heart was a freebie from my LNS that my daughter decided she didn't want to do. I might do this a couple more times in different colors.



After 4 tries to get the cat above this one stitched I put the cat collage away for the night and started one of the smalls above. I came back to this piece because I was determined to get at least one of the silly little kitties stitched before the weekend was up. This one was really pretty quick to stitch and I love the colors.

Over all a very successful month. 4 completed projects and a mini finish on my cat collage.

Let's see if I can do just as well next month. I know that for at least one week I might not get a chance for much stitching since we (DD and I) will be going to visit my father. We can't wait.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG in TX

Giveaway!!!

Nancy over at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having another one of her great giveaway's. She is offering 10 of us 5 skeins of her hand dyed floss in spring colors. If you haven't tried her floss yet, I suggest you pick up some. She has some of the best floss I have used yet.

Head on over and tell her I sent you.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG

Happy Dance!!

Just finished another project.

 

Spooky Welcome by Stoney Creek

I loved working on this and am sorry to see it finished, but on the other hand it is nice to have another finish so early in the year.

I plan on making this into a wall hanging (sometime in the future). Right now I just want to continue stitching. I have another couple of months before it needs to be finished finished.

I picked up my cat collage last night. After three tries, I am still one thread too high, but I refuse to take it out again. The cat will just have to walk on air in this box. :) Hopefully I will be able to get one or two more cats completed before I get distracted again.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG, otherwise known as the crazy cat lady by her daughter.

Another finish and a Spooky update

Another month finished!!!

I was able to get April's Daisy finished last weekend. Sorry for the wrinkles but I don't want to iron until I get finish May's Lily of the Valley. I do enjoy the way these pieces are coming together and look when completed next to each other.

Once I completed this one I went back to Spooky Welcome. 

I am a little further than this right now, but this is the last picture I have taken. I am hoping to have another finish this weekend. :)

Ta Ta for now,
Angela CG

April Showers and A Spooky Welcome

Good morning,

I have been working very hard on a couple of pieces. I am close to the end on both and don't want to put either of them down. It is so hard to decide which one to pick up when I get home. I wish I had 4 hands so I could work on them both. :)

Without further ado, lets get to some pictures:

First up my latest progress photo on Spooky Welcome by Stoney Creek.

Stitched using 798 DMC on Purple 32ct Belfast by Under the Sea

 

I had to stop working on Spooky this weekend because I lost my working copy of the top half of the chart. I didn't want to mess up my nice copy.

 

I had a hard time trying to decide which project to give some love to. Would it be my Cat Collage? My HAED? A new start? No...I finally when with My Garden Journal - April. I decided I wanted to keep working on fabric that I stitched over 2.

 

 

This is where I stopped on Sunday...

 

 

 

I have not been able to put this down so as of last night here is where I am.

 

 

 

Sorry for such a large picture, but there were so many lines that it was hard to see the detail.

 

I plan on finishing April's Journal then go back to Spooky. Hopefully in the next two weeks I can add another finish (or two) to my list.

 

Ta Ta for now,

Angela CG





Stitch from Stash 2014 January Update

Hello everyone,

I decided to join Mel over at Epic Stitching in her quest to stitch from stash in 2014. To do this I had to figure what I had in my stash. After moving into our place almost a year ago I realized that some stuff was put up and organized but everywhere I looked I found more stuff that I didn’t realize I had purchased.

Since this post has turned into such a long post I am going to put my stats at the beginning so that if you don’t feel like reading to the end.

Amount spent: $23.00 US ($16.00 on fabric and $7.00 on threads)

New Starts from Stash: Spooky Welcome (Stoney Creek) & Steam Butterfly (HAED)

WIPs or UFOs worked on: None

To sort and organize was the first step in preparing for 2014 and the Stitch from Stash 2014 Group.

To this end I went all around the house and picked up every piece of stitching stash I could find (yes you read that right, I had stuff stashed everywhere) and dumped it in the living room. The first day the living room was unusable to anyone but me. I started by sorting things into a couple of groups: Kits (or items I have kitted up) that I eventually want to do, Charts (both free and purchased), Items to be sold (or traded), and trash. Isn’t it amazing how much we collect as crafters? This first step was difficult because I had to decide if I really wanted to stitch that particular pattern/kit. Some of them I still really liked but wasn’t sure that I would ever really do. Finally after a full day of sorting I had to get the living room cleaned up so that DD could have her birthday sleepover. Everything then got moved to my bed. My reasoning: if it is on the bed, I can’t sleep until it has been sorted and put away.  It turned out to be a good idea. Not only was I able to stay up late enough to make sure the 3 teenagers finally fell asleep, I had a good list of what I had and a good idea of the projects I tentatively wanted to complete this year. I was also able to go through all the fabric I have and made a list so that I could quickly see if I had the fabric on hand for a project. I measured each piece in my collection then wrote on a scrap piece of paper the type of material, the count and the measurements. Then I wrote the same information in my craft notebook. I started this notebook last year after reading that a couple other stitchers/crafters kept a journal of their starts and finishes. I never really thought to do this with my fabric before, but now I am so glad I did. 

Now that I am organized (to a point) I wanted to stitch something. Last year Over a year ago now, I purchased a couple of HAED charts.

Boo by Randal Spangler (picture from HAED site)

 

I decided that one of my big projects this year was to finally start and make decent progress on this chart. I had already purchased all the threads and even the fabric for this piece before I moved, but never got around to doing more than a couple of stitches before we moved. I pulled out the box with the threads, found the pattern and realized I didn’t have the size fabric I needed. So out to the store I went to pick up some fabric. I went ahead and picked up some fabric for the charity stitching I plan on doing this year. I get home and look at the chart for the dimensions of the fabric needed and realized I am missing the first page of the chart. GGGRRRRRRR!!!! I knew that it was not with any of my other stitching patterns since I just went through all those. Off I go to the computer looking for the original download. Nothing!! Then I remembered I printed the chart at my old job and should have it on a thumb drive. YIKES!! The thumb drive is missing. I think I had two more charts on that drive that I wanted (one already printed). I was so disappointed.  

So back into my journal to find the next project to work on. I settled for Spooky Welcome by Stoney Creek. 

 

I am not an orange fan so into my fabric basket I go diving. I find a beautiful purple piece of 32ct Belfast Linen by Under the Sea that I picked up from one of the FB Stash unload sites. Then I start thinking about the thread. The pattern calls for DMC 310 Black. I thought it looked a little harsh, so into my threads I go alookin’. I finally settled on DMC 796 a beautiful dark blue. I look again at the chart and realized I need 10 skeins. YIKES again. So the next time I had to go shopping, off to the craft section to pick up some more.

 

I have made some pretty good progress on this one if I say so myself. 

I put aside Spooky Welcome to work on a quick chart for Q4OC. I was able to get this completed in just a week. Such a fun little project. 

Last week I was looking at the HAED site to see about purchasing my Boo pattern again and found that they are having a sale. Can you say “TEMPTATION”? I decided against purchasing a pattern this time and instead decided to work on the other chart in my stash:

 

Steam Butterfly by Brigid Ashwood (pic off of HAED site)

I pulled all the threads that I had and realized I am only missing 19 out of the 90 colors called for in this pattern. I did have to pick up some of the background color that I was missing to be able to start. So Saturday I finally sat down to start and started with 2 over 1 tent stitch on 22 ct Aida. The threads didn’t cover enough so I decided to do a small test area of 3 over 1 tent and still did not like the way it looked. I frogged all the stitches I had done (about 400) and started over with 1 over 1 full cross. Again after about 300 stitches, I decided that there was still too much fabric showing so I frogged all those stitches. They say that the third time is a charm, and they are right. This time I tried 2 over 1 full cross and like the coverage. Did you know that 310 and 939 look the same when stitched next to each other? Neither did I until this project. This is my progress after 405 stitches (out of 134,808). A long way to go yet, but it is a start.

 

Ta Ta for now,
Angela

Cat Colage and 1st Finish of the Year

I was able to get a couple more cats done last month...

4 more cats completed

I needed to put this one down for a little bit. I enjoy being able to feel like I had a finish with each box but I wanted something bright to work on... So just before Christmas I picked up Ursula Michael's Trick or Treat.

My first finish of 2014

I tried to get it done on the first but I didn't make it. I was able to get all the back stitching done on the hat and the web done on the second.  I just loved these colors.

I am not yet ready to go back to the cats yet so onto another Halloween stitch. I picked up Spooky Welcome when Stoney Creek was giving it as a free chart. I just love that site!!

I am not a big orange fan so I decided I wanted a purple background. I figured that I could stay with the program of using black but why be normal? lol

I decided to stitch this using DMC 796.

I think the blue will look great with this piece. I figured that I will stitch the words "EEK" and "BOO" in black along with the spider web and the vine near the bottom of picture.

It is time for me to check on my house full of teen aged girls (DD is having her birthday party/sleepover tonight) then make a start on Spooky Welcome.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela

Cat Collage Update, a Field Trip and a new Recepie

Hello all,

I was finally able to get all the brown outline completed on my cat collage. At first I was only going to do the box that I was working in, but after a while the cloth I am stitching it on would get heavy and cause my fingers to cramp. My thought was that if I could finally get the whole outline done, then I could safely cut the excess material away and make the whole project much easier to handle. So I stitched and stitched with the same drab DMC 610 until it was all finished. I actually did pretty good and only had to frog two sections. Now normally I won't wash a piece until I am completely done, but this piece has been sitting around for over a year and has survived a move. It was very dirty. So in the wash (in a lingerie (sp?) bag) on delicate, hung up to dry and ironed.

Thank goodness all the dirt came out. I was able to cut off the excess fabric and sew the edges. I also removed all the tape that I had on the edges. (I did that before I knew not to use tape). As you can see I still have aways to go, but I feel pretty good with my progress. I know I have enough material and I have each section ready for me to stitch it's occupant. Below is a close up shot of the completed occupants.

 

 

After getting everything cut down to size, I asked my little one which cat I should do next and she picked the box with the words. What is funny is that this little kitten is my 13th stitched cat and he is # 13 on the pattern. I was going to go back to the other side ( am am kinda near the right side of the project) I would continue where the hoop is so I did not have to move my hoop. (Being a little lazy :) So cat # 14 will be stitched in the box to the left of the kitten and under the words.

 

 

 

While I was finishing this one up and starting # 14, I had a stitching buddy.

 

 

Last weekend my brother really wanted to attend Mudfest again for his birthday and he wanted me there. Boy was it COLD!!!! We had some barrels set up so we could TRY (and I mean only try) to keep warm. In the picture the truck with the Rebel Flags is a friend who was with us. He has a great looking truck up close. I didn't think that I would really like attending this event but after my second experience, I think I will keep attending. With one exception...I will NOT EVER attend the winter event again. It is too cold!!!!

 

Below is a little video of a silly little jeep trying to pull out a stuck truck. He had the power but not the weight.

 

 

There have been some pretty nice looking recipes on Facebook lately. One for a Pepperoni Stromboli sounded easy enough to make. And with simple ingredients something even my little one would eat.

 

I like mushrooms on my pizza but the little one does not, so...we made two. I split the dough in half (pre-made pizza crust), put half the ingredients (pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, seasoning mix (two egg yolks, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup oil) on mine and the other half on hers, then added mushrooms to mine. Rolled them up, pinched the ends closed, twisted a little bit of leftover dough into a ribbon to mark one of them, spread the egg whites on top and Ta Da!! Personal Stromboli. Delish! The little one ate all of hers and she is a picky eater. I am not sure where the original recipe came from so I can't post it.

 



Well, I've got to run and get some things done.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela

Quick update and a couple of Giveaways

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Good food, family, some laughs...and of course, some drama. I am very thankful that it stayed to minor verbal comments (that were not directed at me).  We are probably going to go back and spend Christmas there. Hopefully things will stay calm.

I was able to complete a couple more cats.

Cat # 10 is now complete. I tried four times to fix his eyes. This last time I left as is.

Cat # 11

Cat # 12

I have been working on stitching the boxes for the rest of the cats. I wanted to do this so I can cut some of the excess fabric off the ends. It is getting to be a little too cumbersome to hold as I am stitching. I currently have masking tape on the edges (I restarted this project about a year ago before I knew better). When I cut off the extra I am going to sew the ends. I'll take another picture of the full piece when I get the edges sewn. I need to put this aside for a couple of weeks so that I can get some presents for the kids of the family done.

I took a quick stitch with me to my Brother's but forgot to take a picture of it. I have not touched it since we came back. I think I am going to use this as my traveling piece. I might make a pillow out of it when done.

Now on to the Giveaway portion of our program today.

First is a wonderful pamphlet of snowmen give by the wonderful Parsley at Seasons of My Mind.

Next is another wonderful giveaway by Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe...


Fourth Day of Christmas Give-away....LOTS of FLOSS!

On the fourth Day of Christmas Nancy gave to Me:
25!!! yes 25 skeins (20 yards each!), 500 yards!
of floss from the 1795 Sampler Collection! One lucky winner. You pick the colors!

Stop by both these beautiful ladies pages and tell them I sent you.

Ta Ta for now,
Angela