Wow! I Love This one!

So far this week I've put in 8 hours on Northern Lights Sampler, I'm now well into row 3 and I'm loving every stitch of it! The combination of stitches and fibers makes everything look just awesome!

Onto The Next Model

Today I started the next model I have in my pile! This one I KNOW I'm just going to love and will regret giving it away. Its another model for Changing Tides, but this is to go in the shop, its not for the designing side of the business. The piece is Jeannete Douglas's Northern Lights Sampler. So far I've only put in 4 hours, I've got the northern lights all stitched up in row 1 and I've started putting on the beads, not sure if they're supposed to be stars or snow, since they're clear. I'd like to think they're stars and well it doesn't snow when its clear out.

The deadline for this piece is April. I plan to have it done ASAP so I can move onto the last model in my "to do" pile. Its Marc Strassad's Bandon Light (The Silver Lining), Marc is a great guy and gives no deadlines. However I'm feeling really guilty because this piece keeps getting pushed back!

A Colourful Happy Dance

Ahhh its been nice to have the weekend to stitch... well except for late this afternoon that's toast because I'm attending some Women In Taekwon-Do training session. I think I was suffering withdrawl because I barely stitched all week!

So here it is, the fruit of my labours :

Michael Powell's Mini Cottages I c2002

This has been an on and off (more off than on) travel piece for me between Christmas ornaments since August of 2003. So it was about time I finished it off. This is stitched on 14ct aida using Anchor floss, a kit I purchased from Knowledge and Needles. I have to complain about this kit, I did run out of at least 3 Anchor colours. Luckily I was able to find DMC equivalents that were a barely noticeable shift in colour, since Anchor isn't readily available around here and I wasn't about to wait for more to come in the mail.

Michael Powell's art is really cute! It kinda makes me think of Whovill from Dr. Seuss's "Grinch Who Stole Christmas". I plan on stitching Mini Cottages II & III in the future and framing all three as a set.

To check out more of Michael Powell's Art go to his website.

I Cut my First Mat Tonight!

Week two of my framing course. Tonight I cut my first mat using a simple hand cutter. Wow its really not so difficult... just keeping straight lines is with a little hand cutter. I definitely will invest in something better when I'm ready! We were also shown how to cut double mats but didn't get the time to practice. I'm already looking forward to next week.

I've not stitched much at all this week because I haven't been home to do it!

A Busy Week for Dani

I think by Saturday I'll be joining the ranks of the walking dead! Here's what this week looks like, most nights I won't be home until after 10pm

Monday - TKD
Tuesday - Guild Night
Wednesday - TKD
Thursday - Framing Class
Friday - Grocery Night

Tonight was guild night. Oooh I love guild night, I don't really go for any of the little workshops, etc. I just love the energy in the room, being around stitchers, and its not just cross stitch its so many different needlearts and its great to oogle over everyone's projects! I know I had a good time tonight because I was talking a mile a minute all night! I put my Peacock Tapestry on the show and tell table and it got many oohs and ahhs quite a few people came over to talk to me personally which was really nice. I also got to meet up with two women who are also stitching Mystery VI. We've tentatively talked about getting together on SuperBowl Sunday to work on Part II which should also be released that day.

Tonight I made my first beaded scissor fob ever! With the help of my friend Vicki of Dragons Lair Beads. Its gorgeous (in my opinion) and I'll be making more for my stitching friends as gifts!

Here's my fob

A Nudder One!

Yesterday I spent most of the day out shopping with my Mum, got some fabulous bargains in Michaels. DMC floss is 4/ $1, I picked up $10.00 worth in colous I know I use frequently (of course I didn't have my floss list with me or I could of picked up what I really needed). I also picked up all kinds of ribbon at 70% off for ornament finishing. I went into my LNS and picked up a piece I've had on display there for the last six months. So my Fairy Tale Sampler from Dragon Dreams is finally home, I've put it up in the bedroom. I also went to pick up some cream Whisper. As usual my LNS didn't have any in the colour I was looking for. Sometimes I wonder why I even try to shop there anymore.

Despite being out all day yesterday I still managed to get my second January Christmas ornament stitched up! I decided to stitch The Drawn Thread's freebie Santa Keeper c1996. Technically this is supposed to be a scissor keeper but I think it'll make a just as cute ornament. It was this piece I needed the cream whisper, instead I used the white I already had in my stash. Again another quick stitch!

Ornament Time!

Yes you heard me right! Christmas is a full year away, but its never too early to start stitching ornaments. Last year I had decided to stitch at least one ornament a month so that once Christmas came near I wouldn't have that last minute panic and be stitching ornaments until my fingers bled. This year I will be stitching two ornaments a month.

Today I stitched my first ornament. A really simple one since most of this month was dedicated to finishing Kuspuks. The first ornament for January is called Noel and its from Free Patterns Online. The colours called for are 319 and 666 since I chose a pale green fabric (no idea what it is besides being green linen) I wanted stronger colours to show up. I replaced the green with DMC 890 and the red with 304.

Hopefully tomorrow I will finish my second ornament.

Whew!

Its done, and with the permission of the woman I stitched it for Jan of Changing Tides Inc I can show a picture.

After 137 hours over roughly 5-6 weeks here is Kuspuks By The Yard copyright Barbara Lavallee.

This piece will be on display at the Nashville trade show this February.

I'm off to bed now! I gotta get up for work at 6:15am!

Oh Sooooo Close!

Well, that's it, its bedtime. I am THIS close to finishing the model, I have maybe an hour of work left. But its bedtime and I'm tired. So it will have to get finished tomorrow.

Sigh.

Tick... tick .... tick

Hear that? That's my deadline clock. Its now the wee hours of Wednesday... I still haven't gone to bed yet so I still see it as Tuesday. I've put in another 5 hours on the model. Page 7 is pretty much done except for some 1/2 stitches and the backstitching. Which will leave page 8... the last page. Its not a large page maybe 40x50 stitches and not solid stitching at all.

Will I HD tomorrow night? I hope so!

2 Days...

Another 5 and 1/2 hours of stitching done. I think I'll finish page 7 tomorrow.

Soooo close.

Every time as I get close to the end of a project I always look forward to what I can start/work on next. I'm thinking about the two ornaments I should stitch up this month. I've already got two simple ones in mind. After those are done, do I go straight to my next model? Or do I work on my own stuff a bit? Mini Cottages I by Michael Powell could seriously use my attention. Then there's also Celtic Banner. I also have to keep in mind that in two weeks I'll be getting the second installment of Mystery VI. So I should get a start on my next model.

Decisions, decisions.

3 Days To Deadline...

Things are going well with the model but I'm still not sure if I'm going to make it! I've completely finished page 6 and I'm now a couple of hours into page 7, the last 1/4 of the design. Its moving along nicely now that I've finally found the groove... Its taken me 6 pages of this design to get there. I still don't like it.

I've stitched a total of 33 hours this past week.

I'll be skipping TaeKwon-Do on Monday to keep on track with this model. Perhaps a miracle will happen and it'll get finished by Wednesday!

Burning The Midnight Oil

Yup, staying up late, to get in as many hours as possible on that darned model. I'm now up to 20 hours of stitching this week on it. I've even been taking it to work and stitching on my lunchtime. That tells you how panicked I'm starting to get over finishing this piece in time.

I did manage to finish page 5 and I'm well into page 6 now.

Its almost 3am and I'm ready to pack it in for tonight.

8 Days and Counting...

To my model stitching deadline. Argh! Am I going to make it??? I sure hope so, I feel like I've really let down the person I'm stitching for when I don't make the deadline they request.

I really am trying to work every available moment on this piece, but I've not been feeling well again. Between yesterday and today I've managed to put in another 6 hours, hopefully I'll at least be able to finish all the cross stitch on page 5. Mondays and Wednesdays I don't get a lot of stitching done because those are the nights I go to Taekwon-Do. Because I intend to test for my second degree this June its vital that I attend all my classes so that I can be ready. I really don't want to have to wait until the next test in November.

I predict some really late nights this Friday and Saturday!

Too Much Stitching?

I think I must of OD'ed on stitching this week. I put in 29 hours on my model, at times stitching 7-8 hours a day. By Thursday night I was SICK of the sight of my model. I didn't touch a single project all day Friday or all day Saturday. I stitched about 4 hours today. But I'm definitely under pressure now, I've got to get that model done and in the mail by next Wednesday.

I did celebrate a bit of a milestone with my model tonight I finished page 4! This means I am now past the 1/2 way point! This is good!

But Monday is back to work, and back to Taekwon-Do. I'll be back to stitching in the evenings again.

Happy New Year!

Hmmm a new year for new chances and new ideas. What do I hope to accomplish this year. Well I've got to start training for my black belt physical in June. That's 16 laps of the track, 6 minutes of skipping, 250 push ups and sit ups both done over a 5 minute period so that's about 50 a minute. This means eating healthy, getting back on the treadmill and attending TKD religiously.

Stitching wise, no true lofty goals. I want to get my model stitching under control and out of the way. Or at least down to one project! Also to make my needle available to my favorite designer ;-) You know who you are! I want to stitch two Christmas ornaments a month, a goal I managed to almost keep in 2003... I kinda flunked out over October/November but I was trying so hard to get Peacock Tapestry done! Personal projects I have in mind for 2004? Well keeping up to date with Chatelaine's Mystery VI and today I'll be starting Celtic Banner from Butternut Road (Lavender and Lace). Also every second Sunday of each month I hope to work on a Dragon Dreams design. Very lofty ideas... lets see if I can keep to them.

As for stitching wise over the last two days... I've now put in 22 hours this week on my model. Pages 1-3 are done!!!! Page 4 doesn't have much to it, and that will be the top half of this design done. I don't think there is as much stitching to the bottom half. But I've eluded myself before! I realized tonight why I don't like stitching this design (besides the fact its on aida... evil stuff that is). Almost all the time when I'm stitching I'll pause or stop and hold my fabric up at an arm's length. I'll be awed by the design, be it how realistic, intricate, or the neat effect with this stitch or that backstitch. This design doesn't do that. Only one very small part has, I was putting the backstitches on this "fabric" being held up by one of the figures in the design, its a paisley fabric and by adding a touch of yellow backstitch it really made it appear like fabric with paisleys. Anyhow I'm rambling but I hope you get the point.

Today ... I mean yesterday (you can tell I like to blog late at night) I managed to finish off my second Christmas ornament for December. Just Nan's Christmas Peace Ornament c2003 This is stiched on a mystery fabric from my stash (that means I have no clue what it is or what colour, or exactly count). Definitely linen and I'm pretty sure 28ct using DMC floss and Mill Hill beads.

So Happy New Year and Happy Stitching!