Secret project & HAED BB SAL 2013

2,5 half months since my last post... uups. *blush* Sorry again for the lack of updates.

But I was busy working on my secret project.
I've spent the last 1,5 half years working on this (with most of it being stitched during the last 5 months) and finished it on January 21st.
And here it is:

This is a picture of Kian Egan that I took during the Westlife Gravity tour in Cardiff 2011. One of "my girls" is a big fan of him so I converted this picture into a chart to surprise her. After finishing it I've sewed the finished cross stitch work into a pillow case and my friend received it last wednesday.
I couldn't give it to her personally but judging by her posts online, I've made someone very happy. :D

After finishing this, I was very happy to get away from all the different greys, so I started this years chart from the Heaven and earth designs Stitch-A-Long: "QS Mystic garden".
It's quite confetti heavy so it took me almost 2 weeks to finish the first page but today I've put in the last stitches of page 1 :D

It is stitched on 28ct white lugana, 2 over 1, continental stitch and was started on January 23rd.
I love the white tiger and can't wait for page 2 to arrive so I can start his "brother".


At the start of January there was also a big surprise waiting for me over on the HAED forum.
You can set yearly and half year goals for your HAED projects over there and everyone who reaches their goals gets the chance to win HAED charts.
I still can't believe it but my name was chosen for the first prize which means I was allowed to add 6 new charts to my stash.
And these are the ones I choose:
- I know I can do this - Sharon Hurst 
- Winter rose - Rachel Anderson
- Panthera Leo Lion - Steven Paul Carlson *retired*
- Faces of Faery 185
- Faces of Faery 187
- Mini Melinda and Moohoo 

And these are my goals for 2013:
- Finish the Kian Egan pillow case (done)
- Finish pages 19 - 30 on "Rose" by Rachel Anderson
- Start and finish SAL piece "QS Mystic garden" by Ciro Marchetti (started)
- Start and finish "QS Lady bug" by Ching-Chou Kuik (only the lady bug without the flowers)
- Start and finish "Sailorboy" by Melissa Dawn (only the lighthouse as a SK for now, will stitch the whole piece at a later point) (done)

Now I'll be off to get "Rose" back on the frame. :D

Have a great day everyone.

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