Little House's Apples

After a good two weeks on the Chinese Garden, I needed a break, and pulled out this Little House Needleworks piece from the Fruit series, which I stitched up over the weekend. I added the button just for fun! This is the 8th from the series I have stitched, with just Plums to go, and then I'll make a quilted banner for my kitchen closet door. These designs came with the Crescent Colors floss, and I used some Silkweaver solo small cuts for each. They are in my LHN album on Webshots if anyone is interested.

First progress report on the Chinese Garden Mandala!

After two weeks of steady stitching every evening I have finished the first part of the new Chatelaine design, the Chinese Garden Mandala! I am using the full silk kit from ECC, along with black 32ct Belfast linen. I love this part so much! It alone would make a nice top for a fancy lacquer box, don't you think? All the beads and crystals have been added because I like to add as I go or else I worry I'll miss one!


A couple of small changes due to the black fabric....I turned the lights on in the building by using the lightest yellow Eterna silk in the window openings before backstitching over them. I used the same green silk for the steps to backstitch the motif over the door, knowing that black on black just would not work!



And here is a close up of the central building with all the crystals!

Now I'm going to take a break and stitch a couple of smalls before moving on the the next BAP in the rotation....Happy Stitching!

Stitching thru the years...

Today I was adding a few freebie charts to my Excel file inventory and decided to take a look back at my stitching life. Most of the time I keep the list of charts and leaflets in alpha order by designer and title, with columns for publisher, chart size and subject/use. I have a column for supplies needed and as each project is started and finished I make note in a final column. Today I indexed the Date Done column and it was eye-opening! It took a while to enter all the charts, kits and leaflets still in my possession...the magazines are nowhere near entered, and some few old kit charts are long gone, but looking back to 1978 when I first learned to cross stitch (after having learned some crewel and needlepoint as a child) I spent the next 20 years until 1998 stitching about 50 different projects, mostly as gifts for friends and family. In 1998 I attended my first stitching "event", the Spirit of Cross Stitch, in Knoxville, TN and concurrently discovered the online world of stitching message boards. A obsessive stitcher was born!

Fast forward to today, more than a decade later, and I have reached the 400 project milepost! Frankly, I'm amazed! Keep in mind that does not include stitched projects from magazine charts, but I hope to get them added in time.....nor does it put much of a dent in my stash of charts/leaflets/kits that I want to stitch "someday"! It seems I have reached SABLE....*Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy*!! I need to stitch faster or grow another arm to be able to get to the end (not withstanding future Stash additions), and therefore my future retirement is secure in that I will never be without something to stitch, as long as they still make DMC!

Now, back to the task at hand.....stitching my newest acquisition, Chatelaine's Chinese Garden Mandala! Progress pics to come......

Two small projects before a new start to come!

Finally able to get a post up with my last April project and the first one of May!

I had another Kitty Kalendar monthly kitted so I did that while watching THE WEDDING festivities...I'm sure you all know what that's all about! Such a nice distraction from the woes of the world and before reality hit again on Sunday. At any rate, this one is August, stitched on another 28ct Silkweaver Solo with called for Weeks. Longing for some sunny days now!




Sunday I whipped out another mini biscornu necklace fob, this time with a pattern by Janie Hubble Designs (formerly Cat's Whiskers) http://janiehubble.com.au/
This is Peacock Feathers, a freebie you can get by signing up for her newsletter. Once you are on the list, you will receive the current newsletter link, and can access the newsletter archives, where other freebies are offered. Of course, to make it small for wearing on a chain, I stitched it over one using one strand of Gloriana's Tropical Seas. It's just over an inch across!


Next month I'll be using another of her freebies from the May newsletter, called High Tea!


My new start was my birthday present but I had to wait for the supplies to arrive from ECC...it's the new Chinese Garden Mandala from Chatelaine! My rotation has been working so well this year, I decided I needed a reward...another BAP! Watch for my first WiP picture later this month....;D