Finally some progress!

Well, I had a relatively decent bank holiday and have had some time to get some stitching done!!!

I finished the Disney ATC for CSF and my recipient was very happy with it which is great. Here it is in all its piglet-ty glory. Stitched on light blue 16 count aida with Anchor threads and finished on card with borders using Anita's sticky ribbon.

I've also made some progress on Persephone, although not as much as I'd have liked. My shoulder is still causing me problems, and I don't want to push it too hard, but I still managed a good ten hours on her.

Here she is at 35 hours

And where I left off at 40 hours.

I figure I'm on target for finishing the second page in another 20 hours, going on that it took 30 for page one, although it may be less as the majority of the blank space is now just black, but there is some confetti in the bottom right so that may slow it down. We shall see. I'm still enjoying stitching her and watching her take shape, and I'm determined that she will be my first ever HAED finish. When exactly that will be, I have no idea! I'm going to work on Majesty for a bit next and I'll be doing my bookmark too (which I've started.) And of course, I'll post progress as and when I have some :o)

TTFN

Stitching slow...

Wow, it's been a month since my last post and sadly, I'm still no further ahead on any of my main stitching projects, I did take some stitching on holiday, but didn't have time to do anything other than actually be on holiday! I've kept myself stimulated and such by continuing with one of my re-found loves, letter writing, but I'm really missing stitching. I'm taking part in a few exchanges over at CSF - a Disney character ATC, a bookmark exchange and a halloween biscornu exchange, and I really hope I can get them all done. When the kids go back to school and Cheeky starts nursery, I'll try my hand at stitching a bit during the day and see how it goes, I just hate that after so long away and how much I loved getting back into it, that now I'm stuck in a rut again because of my shoulder.

Anyway, good news! My exchange partner for the mini biscornu received the second one I sent, so I can now post pics! Here it is:

Front

Back

I was quite happy with how this one turned out - moreso than the first (because I nailed the stitch together on this one!) They are very pretty, and I may do some Christmas themed ones nearer the time as gifts for friends and whatnot. I think they'd look lovely as ornaments, given the right design...

TTFN

Shoulder & Biscornu Issues

I still haven't done any stitching - again - my shoulder has been playing me up something chronic for pretty much the last month, and the doctor's advised rest, so my stitching has suffered for it unfortunately. I went to see my consultant on Tuesday and he said they could operate, but the chances of my EDS interfering with the success of the operation long term were too high, so the operation is a no-go. I can see his point, but I still think that it even being better in the short-term would be preferrable to the amount of pain it can cause me. But the buck, so to speak, stops with him. So it's rest and pain killers...

The mini-biscornu I did for the exchange at CSF never arrived in Australia so I'm currently working through stitching another one. Hopefully I'll be able to post it to Toni this week. Here are the pictures of the one I orginally sent

I'm really disappointed that it never arrived because I was really happy with the result even though it was a pain in the butt to do (being only 20x20 stitches) and I'd never done one before. I kinda threw myself in at the deep end. Still, can't do anything about it now.

Hopefully my shoulder will be feeling better after another week's rest and I'll be able to get some more stitching done on my main pieces. I miss them terribly.

TTFN

Giveaways Galore!

I haven't been stiching much at all the past couple of weeks. What with hubby's back, my hip, my daughter's drama production and a teething six month old, as well as a stubborn toddler and an eight year old prone to whining tantrums, I've not had time to do much of anything! Hopefully this week will be more productive - but isn't it always the way that when you have loads of things you want to do that you don't have the time to do them?!?

I've caught up on pretty much all my blog reading (I think) and I've found some wonderful giveaways in the process, and here they are:

Stitching Devotee is having a Quaker Chart Giveaway. The drawing is on July 23rd.

Eat, Stitch, Love is holding a Christmas in July Giveaway  for a gorgeous pair of Gingher Mia 4" Embroidery Scissors. The drawing is on July 25th.

Cindy is having a giveaway to celebrate her 100th follower. The drawing is on July 31st

Therapy by Thread is having a Biscornu Giveaway to celebrate her 100th follower too! The date for that drawing is also July 31st

Hanging on by a Thread is holding a Giveaway for a gorgeous hand sewn Poppy Pincushion. The drawing is on August 18th.

Don't forget to enter before the drawing dates to be included in these wonderful giveaways!!!

TTYL

:o)

Persephone - Page 1 - Done!

As you heard in my last post the past two weeks have been a bit crazy here. Hubby has been off work with a bad back so I've been spending my time literally looking after everyone (hubby, 4 kids, two cats and a dog) and haven't had time until this week to get some stitching done on this. Thankfully, this week hubby's back seems to be a bit better and has gone from being agonising pain to an extremely annoying ache, and I've been able to stitch while he's gone to bed earlier (it's a sure sign he's bad cause he went to the doctor and actually took the advice to rest!)

Anyway. I've done 30 hours altogether and I've managed to finish a whole page! I'm so chuffed cause I'm still really enjoying it (confetti, colour changes an' all!) when I'd finished the section I turned to my hubby and said "look, look" There's the corner of the cavern!!!" and he looked at me like I was completely insane!

Here's my detailed progress:

15 hours

18 hours

21 hours

30 hours

So that's it for now. But watch this space!

TTYL

:o)

Loopy Lou - Hearts & Flowers Biscornu & Fob

Well, what a mad couple of weeks it's been! I've not been able to do much stitching on anything until this week. Hubby's been off sick from work - he put his back out so I've had very little time to do anything as I've been a nurse for the majority of the past fortnight. Still, I saw this gorgeous biscornu kit and had to get it. It's Hearts & Flowers from Loopy Lou Designs. I ordered it from Sew & So and it turned up, so while the kids were at school and hubby was in bed resting, I gave it a go. I've only ever done one biscornu, and that was a minature one for an exchange on CSF (and because of that I can't post pics yet as the recipient still hasn't received it.) Anyway, I enjoyed doing it although it was challenging being as how it was 20 x 20 stitches, so I thought "why not, I'll do a large one!"

Here is what it will look like:

I am a complete idiot...

It arrived and I started stitching. I got to the stage where I was doing satin stitch hearts and algerian eyes and I was all "Jeez, this is so hard!" And then I started thinking "well, I'm sure it should be bigger than this, shouldn't it?" And guess what? I was right. Turns out that I'm a complete idiot and I was stitching over 1 instead of over 2 - on 27 count Linda!!!!!

I felt like such a fool, I put it away and couldn't even look at it without squirming for a few days but now I've decided I'll use this "error" as the front of the scissor fob, and the actual scissor fob design for the back of it! And I'll re-start the biscornu over 2 and hopefully I'll find the speciality stitches a little easier!!!! Hopefully I'll be able to re-start at some point this weekend.

Here's the "error" piece (including progress) :o)

 

 

 

 

Watch this space!!!!

Persephone - Update

I've been working on Persephone since Saturday and I'm absolutely loving it!!!! I had a bit of a hard time with the tent stitch at first (having never used it before) but now I've got myself into a rhythm of sorts and I'm getting quite into it. I'm extremely happy with the coverage (and the speed!) and even though there have been a fair few colour changes (there's 19 on the first half page and I've used 16 so far) I've plodded on and enjoyed seeing the subtle shading take shape.

I can't believe I'm nearly half way through the first page already and I still have over a week left on this rotation!!!

Here's my detailed progress:

5 hours

9 hours

12 hours

I'm off to bed now, and I'll be stitching some more tomorrow!

:o)

TTYL