Disaster avoided

... I think!

I was finishing off the column on FF88 last night and I found a hole in my fabby! It looked like the top bit of the weave going horizontally had either snapped from my gridding or I'd snipped it. So when you stitched over it, the stitches collapsed into each other.

At 1.15am last night, that was so not funny. Unpicking the bottom of the page was not an option. Nor was starting again, not now that I am nearly a quarter through!

I looked at it again this morning, and even got the magnifier out lol. I ran the same colour thread up down and across all the stitches at the back all the way round the broken one to create a sort of patch and to hold the stitches in. I then took out the piece of gridding that seemed to be supporting in and held my breath. Luckily the stitches seem to be holding and, when the underneath page is stitched, it should be even stronger.

Lesson learned! Do not grid so tightly and be careful with scissors!

Here's looking at you ...

It's been a while, but I'm back to stitching FF88. After the nightmare that was the confetti stitching on Sunny, I think that the last thing my needle wanted to do was Dragon Charmer! So FF88 it was. I am loving her! The eye has a ton of colours in it but it really was worth it. The eye just draws you in. From close up it doesn't look that great but from a distance, and in a photo .. well, you can see what I mean. There is just another three and a half partial columns and I will have finished the page. I am still parking amongst my previous cross-country stitching but the next column is the last one that should cause any problems.

Faces of Faery (JBG) 29 November 2010

I think I will stay stitching her for a while as I really would like to get something else finished this year or at least be near to it. Ideally I would like to get Sunny and FF88 done but it's not looking good! FF88 has three more whole and two partial pages, and I have only just started page two of three for Sunny. A bit over-optimistic as usual! And the trouble is they have started to release details of the next SAL and there is a Spangler draggie in there. It is going to be very hard to resist! Just waiting for details of the last two charts and then I will have to decide. I could do without another new start but hey, the more the merrier :-D

In the meantime, I've been buying again. This time another JBG - The Three Fates. I am going to reward myself by starting this once I have finished FF88 and Sunny.

(c) Heaven and Earth Designs 2010

I'm still waiting for the Snapdragon Faery QS to be released, but that will be another definite one to add to the stash. And then of course there will be a Christmas sale and I'll just have to pick up a couple of charts then, won't I? :-D

It's a little bit Sunny

It's been a while since I've been on here but I have been stitching - honest! I've had a couple of weeks on Sunny this time around, the SAL week and also an extra one to try and catch up with myself. I've now found that her hair is a right *whatsit* and is a pain in the parking! Sorry the photo is so messy, but I stopped mid-column (in disgust really) and so there are parked threads everyone. It really is a nightmare changing from cross-country to parking midway through a project so I really must make sure that I stick to parking from the start from now on!

Anyway, off her now for a while thank goodness. I'll get back to her in December for another week. I was going to go back to Dragon Charmer but I've got the urge to do FF88 so I'm going to work on her for a while.

True to form I am thinking about my next project! I've picked up some gorgeous hand-dyed lime green 28ct jobelan and I'm going to have a go at one of the Ink Circles patterns called Cirque des Carreaux shown here. I've ordered some hand-dyed threads to do it with. They are Carrie's Threads in Berry Swirl. I've got to wait a couple of weeks for the threads to come from the States so I am hoping the colour combination works although I am now wondering a bit about the blue! I went for a clash rather than co-ordination - can you tell!?

First picture

of Dragon Charmer. I have loved working on her, despite the fact that it really is all confetti! I must admit that I still can't see anything - it just looks like loads of blobs to colour to me lol. I was hoping to have finished at least half a page before the Sunny SAL but it just didn't happen, oh well :-)

Dragon Charmer at 5 November 2010

I am loving parking! I am really really surprised as I was very sure that I wouldn't like it at all. That said, I don't think I could cross-country a Wall - there would definitely be lots of frogging :-D I have had to frog a couple of times, but it was so easy to see where I had gone wrong, that I didn't have to spend too long doing it which is always a bonus.

This week it's back to Sunny for the SAL. I really want to get page one finished and make a proper start on page 2. Page 3 came through the other day - there are lots of nice blocks of colour on that one which will be nice after the confetti mess of page 2!

Just plugging away ..

.. at my Dragon Charmer. I've been working pretty solidly on her and I've got nearly three columns done. I am still enjoying parking (which I didn't think I would!). I like the fact that it is so methodical and you can just plod from box to box. There is definitely something satisfying about filling in those little boxes and knowing that there are 100 stitches in each. It also makes it much easier to count the amount of stitches done. I was tempted to post a picture, but I think I will wait until the end of the week when I take a break from her to carry on with Sunny for the SAL week. At the moment it doesn't look like anything except a jumbled up load of colours. I can't see any of the details in it - and I certainly can't see the castle that is supposed to be there! Hopefully once I have done the fourth column things will become more apparent!

Thinking about SALs, it looks like next year's HAED SAL will be a year long one, with a Quick Stitch rather than a Story Keep. It will be interesting to see which charts are going to be on offer - apparently fudgey is sorting this now and we should find out soon. I am sort of hoping that there is nothing that I want to stitch as I really do have quite enough on the go already but, chances are, there will be something that grabs me and I will have to join in! I don't think I will be able to resist temptation. At least if it is a year SAL I will have time to get Sunny done first! I'm not going to make any of my 6 month goals - one of which was to finish Sunny. I think I was a bit enthusiastic and overstretched myself lol, that's not like me is it?! I will have to try to make any new goals more achievable (yeah right) :-)

I've been enjoying working with my new Lowery stand as it definitely suits my style of working much more than my old stand. The QSnaps are better for me too. I like to have my work right under my nose and this new combination certainly achieves that. I'm looking forward too, to going to the NEC this weekend for the Crafts for Christmas show. I've got the money from selling my old kit to spend - lets hope I can find something to spend it on this time!

My charming Charmer

I made a start on Dragon Charmer last night, just less than a hundred stitches but a start nonetheless. I am still waiting on most of my threads but I had the ones in the first block, less three colours. I have managed to do almost all of the gridding - the rest of it can wait until I have five minutes when the kids are quiet enough to do something, but not quiet enough to sit and stitch!

I have to say, already I am loving this and I am desperate to get on with it! The colours are great and parking seems to be working a treat. I say that now, but this is pretty confetti light at the moment lol! I am looking forward to seeing how this column turns out. I should be able to get a whole night's stitching in tonight which is great because I won't get any stitchy time tomorrow night or Sunday.

Don't you just hate it when your social life interferes with your stitching! :-D

I gave in (again)!

The HAED sale was just too tempting lol! I caved and bought Dragon Charmer by Josephine Wall. Another Wall, I must be crazy :-D I just couldn't resist her, I love her tattoos, the stars, the colours and the dragon .. and .. and .. and !! Here she is:

Josephine Wall: Dragon Charmer (c) HAED

She is going to be a new start (uh oh). I have the perfect piece of fabby for her, a really nice blue 28ct Jobelan. I'm going to print out the floss list in a minute and put an order in with Donna. Then I just need to grid and, fingers crossed, I can make a start. I hoping all of the pretty colours will cheer me up and help to chase my winter blues away! I think I might put Vanity onto a SWIP as I have been feeling pretty uninspired by her at the moment, poor Vanity :-(

Those HAED sales really are lethal!

Atchooooo !

Feeling a bit rubbish this week, even though I've had some nice stash turn up. I've had a cold and it's made my stitchy bug go to sleep :-( I haven't really stitched much at all. I just couldn't face any of HAEDs so as well as the snowman cushion, I've stitched up the owl cushion for DD3 ready for Christmas. I couldn't decide which HAED to rotate back to, so I went for FF88 as she is relatively new and I can practise parking on her.

I also got my new floorstand this week. I sold my Needleneeds and four frames to my sister - she is an on and off stitcher and has decided she wants to get back into it - and I got a Lowery instead. I really wanted the Lowery in the first place but the cost put me off. I should have bought it as I lost about £90 on what I had paid for the Needleneeds stuff. Ah well, you live and learn! Anyhow, I really love the Lowery. It is much less obtrusive and holds my Q-Snaps a treat. What I like best is that it brings my work really close to me but I can still curl my feet up on the sofa, which I couldn't do before. And, if I want to get up, I don't have to slide out from behind the stand, I just loosen it off and it moves away. Great!

I got an 11x11 Q-Snap too, for Vanity. And I've ordered a grimeguard and also the extension pack. I think I only have two more sizes to get and I'll have the full set.

HAED have a sale this week. I am very tempted to pick up the two charts on my must have list but I really shouldn't! One is Dragon Charmer by Wall - eek am I mad, another Wall! The other is QS Tag Alongs by Hannah Lynn - it's got some really cute baby penguins in it so DD2 would love it. The sale doesn't finish until the end of the month so I've got plenty of time to decide. And you never know, there might be some really nice new releases ....... :-D

It's been quite a Sunny week ..

Not only has the weather been surprisingly and uncharacteristically warm for this time of year, I have also been taking part in the Sunny SK SAL this week. I was hoping to complete the page but after finishing the confetti in the flower and the hat, I was burnt out! So I'm trying to decide between Aurora and FF88. Aurora is slightly more tempting as she has more done, and I really would like to get at least one of my goals done this half year. Whichever I decide on, I think that I am going to practise parking on it - ready for when Sunny comes back round as her hair is a nightmare.

Sunny after October SAL

I went to AllyPally this weekend and met up with T. We had a great time! I was very reserved and only spent a little, unusual for me. I got some more scissors (like I needed more of those!), a pretty pink needle keep, a flamingo kit (DD1 loves flamingoes) and one of the Pinemountain Designs pillows. I found the snowman one half price at the show, and it is the same style as the owl one I have ordered for DD3 from the States (which hopefully will arrive this week). I've done the snowman pillow already, it took about 3 hours :-) I would like to say that I made the pillow, but I would be lying! Here it is:

Snowman pillow stitched 10 October 2010

No willpower!

Well I really have no willpower! After seeing Aquarius yesterday I've been doing my usual obsessing about it and so ... I've just bought it! It really is stunning, but at 41 pages (and most of those confetti) it is going to have to wait a while as Vanity must come first!

Here she is, isn't she a stunner?!

Josephine Wall: Aquarius (c) HAED