Last finish of the year

Here is my completed Zentangle. I really enjoyed stitching this design. I have used 28 count lugana and it is stitched with Primaries from the Sulky Blendables threads range.

I am very happy with how 2010 turned out stitching wise as I was able to complete several projects. Not a usual trend for me. Hopefully I will have some finishes as well in 2011.

Something for Christmas

I found the tutorial for this cute wreath on this blog and I had to make one for myself. I bought the supplies last Christmas but did not manage to complete it. I've made sure that it will be ready for this Christmas. I am quite happy how this turned out. Now to find a place where to hang it.

Tulips and crocuses

Here is my progress on Holland Springtime. The border with the tulips and crocuses is almost ready, only  some of the tulips are left to be stitched. 

One part to go

Here is part 17 of Zentangle. Soon, I will be happy dancing!

Part 16

Here is part 16 of Zentangle. I'm excited that I have another project that is so close to be finished. I am going to keep working on it until I finish another part. Not a great picture as it was already dark when I completed this part so I took it in artificial light.

Happy Dance

Finally I have completed Ten Tiny Toes by Vervaco. I've run out of one thread colour. Took me awhile to find the equivalent DMC as the number of the threads are not listed on the chart (grr!) and the skin colours are so very close to one another. After tying several threads I think I found the closest match. I am happy with my choice.

Getting closer

The end is in sight. Hopefully, by the end of this week I will have this finished. It is an enjoyable stitch, although I am a bit tired of stitching with only skin tones colours.

Good progress

I am very happy with the progress done on Mouth of Flower. Only some missed stitches are left to do on the  right flower. I will be working on the stems next. I really love the colour of the flowers.

A quick stitch

This is part 15 of Zentangle. The end is near. Yay!

Part 14

I have finished another part of this design. This part was quite big, took me awhile to stitch it. I should stitch the next part quickly as it is small compared to the one I've just stitched.

Shaping up

Here is my progress on Ten tiny toes by Vervaco. It is now looking like a small foot instead of just a blob of cream. My goal is to have this finished by the end of November. We'll see!!

Lots of backstitching

The upper left side of PIG is completed except for the backstitch of the iris flowers on the columns. I tried one and did not like the effect. Still, I am not sure if I want to leave the columns blank, I will try to stitch them at a later time and decide then. I also changed the backstitch on the doors in the background as I found it to bulky stitched as designed. This part needs so much work but it is totally stunning. Now to stitch this  part another three times!!!

No toes yet

But the heel of one foot is almost completed.

Holland Springtime

The centre of this mandala is completed except for the specialty stitches and the beads.

Birth Sampler

This is for my nephew Ben, who was born last August. His parents chose this design. It is a kit by Vervaco and it is called 10 Tiny Toes.

Back in rotation

I cannot believe that I have not worked on this design all summer. I forgot how enjoyable and relaxing it is to stitch on a Chatelaine. One side of part 6 is almost completed and it will definitely get finished the next time I will work on this again.

Another part

Part 13 of Zentangle is completed. I will try to catch up on this as I am three parts behind.

Weekend stitching ...

or rather frogging I must say. The lower part of the flower and the stem were off by one stitch. I ripped it out as it would have been a greater headache to try to fudge it and to line up correctly the upper stem. I did not manage to re-stitch what I had ripped out, although I managed to add some stitches in the upper part of the flower.

A Finish

I have completed the mystery which I stitched with the group Sticklounge. The design is by Debbie Draper. I still have not decided how I am going to finish it.

Been awhile

The second part of the Sticklounge's logo is stitched. It took me a long time to finish this big part because I  suffered so much from lack of motivation, that I only stitched for a couple of minutes before stopping. I miss the days when I could stitch for hours without getting bored. Hopefully, since Autumn is on the way, things will get better.

Here is the picture, I love how this is coming along.

Part 3

Managed to finish this part just in time to get the last part of this mystery as the deadline is next Sunday. I am really liking how this is turning out.

Another SAL

This is a logo SAL that I am stitching with the group Sticklounge. The design is Odds and Ends 4 by Tams Creations. I have used only DMC and the fabric is 32ct linen Flax. A very enjoyable design in which most of it was stitched during an evening.

Part 2

This is the second part of Debbie Draper's mystery, that I am stitching with the German group Sticklounge. The thread is Sulky 12wt Jewel Tones. The fabric is 32ct lugana Fairy Morn by SMF.

Something new

I started a small mystery project with the German group Sticklounge. It is designed by Debbie Draper. I have signed for it by mistake as I mixed it up with another project, but since it is small, I decided to stitch this one as well.

Back on track

I managed to completed part 12 of Zentangle in time, except for a couple of rows in the border. I did not follow the chart perfectly as the fabric had a small hole (most probably done by the q-snaps being too tight), so I stitched over the hole, and thankfully the stitches covered it well. Part 13 is out today. This is turning out to be a lovely design and I always enjoy stitching on it.

Finally!

Yay! I have something to blog about. Seems I have finally found my stitching bug as  I have completed part 11 of Zentangle, which is a stitchalong that I am stitching with the German group Marquoir (soon the be renamed Sticklounge). I completed this part late as the current part has been out for almost two weeks. Hopefully, my stitching bugs stays put so I can complete the next part in time, and dedicate some attention to my other projects.

Some blues

Still working on part 1 of Holland Sprintgtime. The colours are gorgeous. This is what draws me the most to Martina's designs, as I think she has such a great eye for colours. I have the intention to keep stitching on this until I finish part 1.

A little progress

Still working on part 1 of Holland Springtime mandala. The progress I made does not really deserve a blog post, but I guess, even little progress is a step in the right direction.

June goals

I did very badly in May, as mostly, I worked on the Zentangle and barely touched the others.

May goals:
1  Stitch part 9 and 10 of  Zentangle. Done!
2. Stitch part 6 of Persian Iris Garden on top half of design only. Nope
3. Finish Page 6 of Mouth of Flower. Haven't worked on this piece.
4. Start Holland Springtime Mandala. Yes.

June Goals:
1. Stitch next part of Zentangle.
2. Just stitch on whatever WIP takes my fancy.

I guess it is better to keep my list light and stitch more, rather than be ambitious and barely stitch. Let's see how I will do this month.

Part 10

My slump continues, as I am barely stitching. It took me almost a week to complete part 10 of Zentangle. I finished this a week early, as for some reason I kept thinking that the next part comes out today (it comes out next week), so I forced myself to finish this part as I do not want to fall behind. Hopefully this will give me the motivation to work on my other WIP's.

First stitches

I have finally started Holland Springtime mandala. I am really pleased with my choice of fabric. I am sure this will be a pleasure to stitch and hopefully it does not take me years to complete. This is what I accomplished after a couple of hours stitching. I do not keep track of time but roughly, I spent about three to four hours.

This picture shows the colour of the fabric well.

A close up

Just in time

Part 9 of Zentangle is completed. Tomorrow comes out the next part. I really enjoy stitching on this piece.

End of slump?

After barely stitching all week, I spent the whole weekend stitching on Persian Iris Garden. Part 6 is so stitch intensive that I did not manage to finish half a quarter of this part. The colours are gorgeous, hopefully it will be an incentive to keep stitching. I am taking a break from this as I need to finish part 9 of Zentangle before the next part comes out on Thursday!

May goals

Re-cap of April goals:
1. Finish part 4 and 5 of Persian Iris Garden. Done!
2. Finish page 6 of Mouth of Flower. Only half of it.
3. Stitch part 8 of Zentangle. Done!
4. Start Holland Springtime Mandala. No, did not start yet.

May goals:

1  Stitch part 9 and 10 of  Zentangle.
2. Stitch part 6 of Persian Iris Garden on top half of design only.
3. Finish Page 6 of Mouth of Flower.
4. Start Holland Springtime Mandala.

A new interest

You would think that I had enough of beads after beading a Mirabilia and a Chatelaine in the last four months but it seems that I started a new addiction. Lately I browsed some bead weaving and jewelry making sites and watched some videos. A couple of weeks ago I plunged in and ordered some supplies and below you can see my first bead weaving project. I am very happy with how this project turned out, was quite easy to weave and the best part it was completed in a couple of hours.

This cube bracelet was featured in Bead magazine issue 16. I chose my own colours, I omitted the charms and I stitched this bracelet with just two rows instead of three. I used Toho beads and Miyuki cubes.

Another part

Part 5 of Persian Iris Garden is completed. It was a fun stitch and I stitched the four corners in a couple of days. From now on, progress will be slow as the rest of the parts are big and very stitch intensive with lots of backstitching and colour changing. I am aiming to at least finish half a part each month.

Second flower

I am halfway through page 6. This one stitches up pretty quickly, I love the combination of colours used in this piece. I will try to find time to stitch again on it this month.

Iris flower

The first corner of part 5 of Persian Iris Garden is completed. I opted to stitch this part instead of beading.

A close up:

New Stash

I have received the fabrics from Enchanted Fabrics. I took the opportunity to purchase these last February when the cart was re-opened for the last time.

Oceans Dreams 32count linen

Abyss 32 count Jobolean

Not a great picture as the colours are a bit washed out.

Fairy twilight 32 count linen

Not sure if I like it, I don't really like those big splotches of blue.

Fall Foliage 32 count Lugana

I love this one!

Midsummer Dream 32 count linen

This one is great too!

Part 8

Part 8 of  Zentangle is done. I stitched it without any hiccups and it is ready in plenty of time before the next part comes out.

Done for now

Part 4 of Persian Iris Garden is completed for now. I hit a minor stitching slump while stitching this part  and it took me more than a week just to stitch the bottom corners. This is such a gorgeous part especially those rice stitches. Usually  I don't like stitching rice stitches but I loved stitching these. I used two ply as I preferred the look better than with one strand. I am not sure with how many plies they were supposed to be stitched, as the number of plies was not specified in the instructions. I will stitch the jessicas and the iris flowers at the end before I start beading.

April Goals

March goals recap:

1. Finish Saint Petersburg White Nights. Yay, done!!

2. Complete Part 4 of Persian Iris Garden except the jessicas and the iris flowers. Nope, did not manage to complete it.

3. Stitch part 7 of  Zentangle. Done.

4. Complete page 5 of Mouth of Flower and start page 6. Finished page 5 only.

5. Rinse the threads for part 5 of PIG. Done.

6. Rinse the threads for part 1 of Holland Springtime Mandala. Done.

My goals for April:

1. Finish part 4 and 5 of Persian Iris Garden.
2. Finish page 6 of Mouth of Flower.
3. Stitch part 8 of Zentangle.
4. Start Holland Springtime Mandala.

Creating my own Zentangle

I had a major frog attack while stitching part 7 of Zentangle. Most of the mistakes are fixed, but there are still some minor mistakes, some stitches stitched wrong by one or two threads. It is hard to notice that they are in the wrong place, so I won't be fixing them. The simpler the pattern the more mistakes I seem to make. Hopefully next part will be better. I am happy to finish this part before the next part comes out.

Happy Dancing

After three years, White Nights in Saint Petersburg is completed!!!! I started this design when the class started back in 2007. I am really glad that I finally completed my first Chatelaine, hopefully the first of many others. The fabric is 32ct linen Shimmering Twilight Blue by Sugar Maple Fabrics. I used the kit from ECC except I substituted the NPI for DMC.

 From another angle

Bicone sparkling

I am still beading, nothing new there as I must be the slowest stitcher ever to pick a needle. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will be happy dancing. Yesterday night, while I was beading the bottom right of the design, I noticed how much the bicones in the border are sparkling and catching light so I took a picture in artificial light without the flash.