Winnie the Pooh cube

Hello everyone *waves*

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.

As I mentioned in the last post, I'm working on a secret project and that's why I haven't posted in a while.

I will reveal it when it's finished and has found it's new home... I plan to finish it in about 2 months... hope I can make it *lol*

But I needed a little break from my big projects, so I worked on a design I've started around 2 years ago.

I took six letters from Vervaco's "Pooh & friends abc", stitched them on six square pieces of 18ct aida and then sewed all of them together.

Here's the result :D

I also had to try the Winnie Pooh letters I bought a few weeks back. I wanted to make a scissors minder but the first try turned out too big (2 over 2 on 28ct Lugana). So it just became a pin cushion :D The second try turned out smaller (2 over 1 on 18ct Aida) and was the perfect size for the scissors minder.

And now I'm off to work on my secret project again. :D

xx

Steffi

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Hello everyone *waves*

Yesterday I've finally finished the 3rd row of "Rose". :D

I now have 18 out of the 48 pages finished. And due to my cross country method I've already finished lots of the 4th row which brings me to about 50%. *yeah*

 

 

But now she has to go into her bag as I want to work on something else for a while. This also means it could take a while til my next update as I can't post update pictures of my new project. It will be a surprise for someone and I don't want to spoil it. I don't think the person reads my blog but better be save than sorry. *lol*

Last week I had a little browse on ebay and look what I've found:

Winnie the Pooh Alphabet in cross stitch Volume 1

As a big Eeyore fan I just had to buy it and today I've found it in my inbox. *yeah*

Haven't bought anything else than HAEDs for ages and I'm usually very careful when it comes to charts on ebay. Many charts on there are fakes or infringe copyright but I was sure this was an original so I tried it. And I'm glad I did as it's sooooo cute. <3

Don't know when I'll be stitching something out of it though. For now it's just something new for my addiction/collection :D But I'm sure it will come in handy one day. :D

Have a good week everyone.

xx

Rose, the millennium frame & the HAED button

Looook what arrived today. :D

I finally have my very own millennium frame. *jumps around*

I ordered the 30" and 24" bars and of course I had to set up "Rose" on the new frame immediately.

It's huuuuge and wow the tension is amazing.

Here's an update picture on Rose on the new frame. :D

 

This is with the 24" bars... looks smaller on the picture than it really is *lol*

It's heavier than my qsnap so I guess it will take a while for me to get used to it. But I'm waiting for needle needs to get their Aristo lap stand back in stock so I can order that too. Stitching should get a lot easier once that's here too.

As lots of people posted their "backs" on facebook over the last week, I'd like to be brave and show my "back" too.

I don't pay attention to my backs... it would just take away lots of the joy I'm feeling doing my HAEDs... so it looks a little bit chaotic *lol*

And due to the continental stitch I'm using (it looks like this / on the back instead of this |) it's got a lot more coverage on the back.

For everyone visiting my blog... a few days ago I've made a little button for my favorite cross stitch site (HAED) and added it to the blog to point new stitchers in Michele's direction. She know's about it and approved it.

You can find it on the right site of this blog, right under my little intro and my links.

If you click on the button it will take you directly to the Heaven and earth designs (HAED) page with more than 7000 amazing cross stitch charts.

If you want to add this button to your blog/website too, feel free do so. But please upload the button to your own server.

It's not much but every new stitcher led to HAED by that will help Michele to keep HAED going the way we love it.

btw. looks like photobucket is acting up big time for a few days now. Sorry if some of the pictures aren't working properly. I hope they get it sorted soon.

xx

Rose by Rachel Anderson

And another update on my "Rose" :D

 

 

Put in about 1200 stitches last night... not too bad I think. If it would only go that well every night *lol*

On the photo it doesn't look like I've done much over the past 10 days but considering that I work over 7-8 pages at the same time, my progress is okay I guess. It's almost the equivalent of a page.

I hope to get her skin finished soon and I also hope to get the 3rd row finished by the end of September.

xx

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Finally here's a new update of "Rose".

 

I'm working on four to eight pages at the same time (15-18 & 21-24). I use the cross country method cos I hate threading the needle and sewing the ends *lol* By working over so many pages at the same time, I reduce that to a minimum and it also prevents page lines.

I love watching the picture grow that way. It always feels like I've done nothing (only finished 3 colours in 10 days) but when I compare the new picture to the previous one, it tells me something different :D

My goal is it to finish the third row (18 pages) till the end of the year. And maybe I'll even finish the fairy by then. :D

xx

So many books... by Randal Spangler

It's been a few days since my last update.

As I said in my last post, I started a new HAED called "So many books so little time" by Randal Spangler.

Last night I finished the first page. It's really fun to stitch but it contains quite a bit of confetti where the illuminated stones appear. So it got a little bit bulky there.

It was started on July 19th, 2012.

Now I'm going back to "Rose". I intent to finish the next row there before continuing with these cute little draglings.

I took a little stitching break this weekend as I went back to my old home town for a family and friends gathering. My mum turned 50 so we had to celebrate a bit. :D She also got engaged so we'll have a wedding coming up sometime in the future. :D

But now that everyone is back home, the flat is cleaned, I can go back to my stitching. :D

xx

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Here's the latest progress picture of "Rose".

Finished pages 13 and 14 last night. Which means I now have 1/3 of her finished and it also means I've reached my yearly goal *yeah*

I'm amazed at how real the water droplets look. <3

 

Now I will take a little break from her to start "So many books so little time". Think I deserve a new start after finishing 14 pages in less than a year *lol*

xx

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Yay, my stitchy mojo is back, finally. :D

Spend the last few days stitching and here's a pic of how far I've got:

Working on pages 13, 14, 15, 19 & 20 at the moment to prevent page lines.

I hope to finish pages 13 & 14 over the next 1 or 2 weeks as that would complete my yearly goal on the HAED BB.

Sorry, not much to say this time. Only wanted to show my progress and now I'll go back to "Rose" as she's screaming for me again. :D

xx

Lots of floss :D

Look what arrived today.*jumps around*

148 skeins of floss in 90 different colours. *faints*

I just bobbinated half of the colours, now I have to wait for the fabric and the rest of the bobbins. Guess it will take 1 - 2 weeks for that to arrive.

I know, I should work a bit more on "Rose" before starting something new, but I can't wait to start "So many book...". *blush* I intend to do one row on "Rose" then one page on "So many books..." then another row on "Rose" etc. Hope I can stick to that plan. *lol*

As my stitching mojo is back in full force for about 3 days now, I hope to have a WIP update soon too.

xx

Dream over... welcome to reality

It's been over a week since Westlife's last ever concert at Croke Park in Dublin and still I can't put into words how I feel.

Most of the time I feel fine, I think it just hasn't sunken in completely that it's over. That there won't be anything new from Westlife anymore. But yes, I feel quite fine most of the time... only sometimes I feel like crying cause I already miss Mark so much. *blush*

I've never cried during a concert before... I've always saved that for being alone at home... but on the 23rd I didn't even get through "What about now" without crying... when Mark started singing I just couldn't help it, his voice always gives me goosebumps and touches my heart and even more so at this date... and I never stopped crying for the rest of the concert.

But it was amazing to be able to say goodbye properly, to be part of this huge crowd that was only there to see these four special boys for one last time. 85000 people - WOW. It was a wonderful evening, even though it broke my heart to see my fave Irish guys crying.

The atmosphere in Croke Park was absolutely mind blowing... and if it feld like that for me, how must it have been for Mark, Shane, Nico and Kian? Thanks so much guys for everything.

And Marks family made these last two concerts even more special to me. Thanks for being so lovely and for giving me the chance to let Mark know how much he means to me. <3

Here you can see the few pictures I took and read a more detailed review of our meeting with Marks family: Review Dublin 2012

Us German girls with Barry Feehily (Marks Brother).

And for those only visiting my blog to see my cross stitch progress... today I've finally picked up "Rose" again... I only put in about 20 stitches but hey, it's better than nothing, isn't it? And it were the first stitches after about 6 or 7 weeks. So I hope my stitching mojo is coming back.

And I treated myself to "So many books so little time" by Randal Spangler yesterday... I thought, as I've turned 30, I might be allowed a "little" new start soon. Can't promise a date as I need new fabric and most of the floss but I think it won't take too long. 8)

That's it for today. Finger's crossed for a new update on "Rose" soon.

xx

The beginning of the end... Westlife's farewell tour

Sorry for the lack of updates lately.

I'm completely caught up in my yearly Westlife tour blues *sigh* And knowing this time it will be the last time I'll see my favourite Irish lads live, makes it even worse.

I just can't concentrate on my cross stitching right now. It might sound stupid for some people but Mark, Shane, Nico and Kian were a very important part of my life for over 12, almost 13, years. They gave me amazing music and so many beautiful memories, they've made me do things I've never thought possible and gave me lots of new friends. Even though I've never got to know them personally, I feel closer to them then to most of my family members. It's really hard to explain.

And knowing it will all come to an end on June 23rd just makes me sad. I will miss these guys so much.

So this yearly "after-tour-blues" started a bit early for me this year, about a week before we actually left for the tour, and I guess it will go on for a while after their final gig. *blush*

On May 16th the first part of our yearly Westlife tour started in Cardiff. 4 German girls on tour to see 4 Irish lads live in concert. The journey was filled with mixed emotions this year. We really had a blast and the boys gave us a fantastic show - as always. They have so much fun on stage, it's really hard to believe it will all end soon. But maybe that's one of the reason for all that fun on stage... the pressure is lifted off their shoulders.

So for anyone who wants to read a bit more about our crazy little adventures, here's a little review of our days in Cardiff: Cardiff 16. - 19.05.2012

And a very small selection of my concert pictures:

Here's the rest of my concert pictures: Westlife 17-05-2012 & Westlife 18-05-2012

That's it for now. I guess the next update will follow a few days after I'm back home from Westlife's final gig at Croke Park on June 23rd.

xx

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Here's my update of the week. A day early this time as I've just finished the second row of pages. :D

 

And here's a close up of her face and wings. 

 

Really love how her face turned out. I had my doubts cause the first few colours of her face seemed so dark. But when the really dark colours of the hair, eyes and lips appeared everything suddenly looked perfect.

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Time for my weekly update on "Rose". :)

Great to see her face appearing slowly.

Hope to have her head finished by next week. Can't wait to see how it will look like.

I try to take part in the HAEDless SAL on the HAED-Board each month but "Rose" is hardly giving me any time for that. I can hardly put her down atm.

I put in about 60 stitches on my Non-HAED project yesterday before "Rose" screamed at me to get back to her. Very demanding little lady *lol*

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Weekly update on my "Rose" :D

Have to admit I'm quite satisfied with the progress over the last three weeks. When I started her I thought finishing one page per month would be the average but over the last three weeks I stitched the equivalent of about 3 pages. She's stitching up so quickly at the moment. Hope it will continue like this.

Love how the wings and her face are coming along.

At the moment it looks like one of the upper wings will be a little bit pale compared to the others, but I guess that will change as soon as the last stitches around it are in.

That's another thing I love about HAEDs... while stitching there are times where I really doubt if the colours are right but in the end, when everything's done and you watch the piece from afar, everything fits perfectly and it will look beautiful.

Can't wait till she's finished.

Rose by Rachel Anderson

Another new update on "Rose" :)

 

Haven't stitched as much as last week because of the easter holidays. But I'm still quite happy about the progress

The part of the background I'm now working on contains looots of confetti. Especially the area around the wings. But I'm sure it will be worth it in the end. :D

Rose by Rachel Anderson

One week later and here's a new update on "Rose". :)

Yay, the first signs of her head are there and you can see where her wings will be. :D

Took my big q-snap out again, so I can stitch over all of the remaining pages of that row at the same time. Hope this saves me a bit of time when it comes to the confetti.

Happy easter holidays, everyone.

I've won a prize *yeah*

I still can't believe it... I've won a prize on the trivia quiz held at the HAED burning board yesterday.

I can't remember winning anything in my live before. But yesterday I've won a HAED chart of my choice. :D

And a few minutes ago, this cutie arrived in my inbox:

Thanks soooo much Nance, Michele & Bob from the HAED team for their generosity.

Rose by Rachel Anderson

I just finished pages 7 and 8 of "Rose". *yippie*

It's a great feeling to finally stitch something else than just background.

This is how the whole piece looks now:

The stitching of the petals went quite fast. :D It was less confetti than I expected. But I guess that will change as soon as I reach the face of the fairy. *lol*

And here's a close up of pages 7 & 8. I really love how the petals turn out and the colours are so beautiful <3.

 

And now on to the fairy :D

Rose by Rachel Anderson

First update on my cross stitch projects on this blog. :D

This is "Rose" by Rachel Anderson - chart design by Michele Sayetta (Heaven and earth designs)

20 days for 1,5 pages of confetti heavy background... not too bad for me *lol* And after more then 7 pages of background I can finally start stitching the rose. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

I really really love the blending of the colours <3

Memories

Added a few pictures to the photo section from our trip to Dublin 2011.

Not many photos but looots of beautiful memories. Aw, I love this country. <3

Welcome

Welcome to my little blog about cross stitching (mostly HAEDs), concerts I've visited (usually Westlife) and other things that I'm interested in. :)

Up until now I had a homepage about Westlife. But as I'm a bit lazy when it comes to updates, I've decided I would try a blog. Maybe I will update on a more regular basis when I can talk about all my hobbies at one place.

My homepage was also called "Soledad", after one of my favorite Westlife songs, and I chose to keep the name.

But here you can not only find pictures of my favorite band but also updates of my current cross stitch projects, reviews of my journeys to my favorite country, the emerald isle, and maybe some other stuff. ;)

I hope you enjoy looking through this blog.

xx