Crazy 7 challenge anyone?

As I was browsing through some of my older posts, I came across this one from 2012 which details the charts I chose for the Crazy 7 challenge. Now for those that don't know, there was a challenge going around to start a new cross stitch project for each and every day in January - that's 31 new starts- with the aim of finishing them within the year. There was absolutely no way I could have met this challenge so I came up with the idea of a Crazy 7 challenge, just having 7 new starts in the first week of January. Out of those 7 I began in 2012, I actually completed 4 of them. 3 are still ongoing but I still think it is progress. 

So I am thinking I might do the Crazy 7 again next year........

I have had a look through my stash and these are the first 6 I am going to start. I still need to think about a 7th one and also I need to make sure I am all kitted up for starting. 

1. Ink Circles "Quackworth"

I am going with the grey fabric and pastel colours. 

2. Blackbird Designs "Their Song"

3.The Drawn Thread "Morning Glory"

4. The Sampler Girl "The Moon Shell"

5. Mill Hill "Joy to the World"

6. Kathy Barrick "Heaven and Nature Sing"

I need the fabric and threads for this one and I am thinking Polstitches Victorian or Egyptian or Heirloom. What would be your vote?

7. Yet to be decided.....

So will anyone join me? No real rules. Just have and enjoy 7 new starts and try and finish them within the year but it doesn't matter if you don't! And yes, you can have other starts in the year. Anyone?? Anyone???

It's been a while....

Well well, where did this season go? The last time I posted was way back in September and I think this term has just been super busy at work and super tiring too. I finish on Friday though for three wonderful weeks off. I am trying to get as much work done for next term as I can now so that it won't hang over me throughout the Christmas season.

I have been stitching! I have managed to do a fair amount on the Moira Blackburn sampler and pleased with my progress on her. I am more than half way there now.

I have also had a new start on a design I noticed in an Attic Needlework letter a few months ago. This is by Long Dog Samplers for Gentle Arts and was a charity design that proved very difficult for me to find. I eventually got it from overseas and threads took a bit of time to get here as well. So I haven't done much on this yet but I am sure it will be stunning once it is done.

I had another new start that I almost forgot to mention. I have been eyeing up this design for years now so when someone introduced me to some beautiful hand dyed fabric by Crafty Kitten then I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get it. This is my progress on Fairy Moon by Mirabilia and the fabric is Bramble Liquor 28 count cashed. I love it so far.

I have also purchased another Mirabilia chart Lady of the Mist and I'm planning on stitching that on Crafty Kittens Aurora fabric. I just need to kit up threads and beads for that one. 

This is what it will look like according to theviewer.net:

I also bought a little stash recently from Sue at Peakside Needleworks. I knew that some of the Prairie Schooler designs were beginning to sell out fast so I wanted to make sure I had the full set of monthlies and ABCs in. Sue is selling them as complete sets if anyone is interested but doesn't have many left in stock.

This weekend sees our annual Advent stitchy meet up and exchange which takes place at my house. I'm looking forward to welcoming Tracy, Tina, Lesley and Sue for a little Christmas cheer and stitchery. We have an exchange which comprises of hand stitched ornament, chart and chocolate and this year, Tracy and I will be doing our first ever advent exchange. We decided we would do 12 days of Christmas instead of the usual 24 and I really enjoyed putting it altogether for her. Hope she likes the little gifts I bought.

I got my Just Nan framed for my mum for Christmas and I am really pleased with how it turned out. 

I have another little finish as well. It is the Potpourri Heart from the Sweetheart Tree. You can't see how sparkly this is in the picture but wow! It really is stunning. I am looking for a pretty 4x4 inch frame to put it in. 

My son also picked up the cross stitch bug. I gave him a little kit by Daisy Designs to do and he got right to it:

And finally, I thought I would leave you with some cat pictures for you feline fans. They seem to have settled in really well and they are very much loved. 

So it's been a busy season with brass band concerts, nativities, trips to the theatre, retreats and parties and I am thoroughly exhausted. Looking forward to a long relaxing break.

I will try and post again after the weekend to show all the exchanges.

Best wishes everyone.

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Nan's Garden Finished!

Just a very quick post as it is Friday night and I am super tired but I had to share my finish. The photo isn't great but you get the idea. 

I was stitching this design for my Mum as her name is Nan and she is the most terrific gardener. I thought it was just right for her.
Nan's Garden
Just Nan
Fabric - 28ct Lambswool Linen
Threads - DMC
Beads - Mill Hill

My intention was to just get a couple more rows done this month but I have actually finished her. I am so pleased and can't wait to get her framed. Will have more pics soon. 

The Winner of the Lizzie Kate Travelling Stitcher is.........

Angela 

from

A Bit of This and a Bit of That!

Congratulations!

 Poor Angela has a cataract op tomorrow so I wish you all the best with that!

Please email me at hazelhenry@hotmail.com with your address details and I will pass it on to you as soon as I can. 

Travelling Stitcher Giveaway!

Well I managed to finish up the travelling stitcher piece I recently got from Vickie. It is Lizzie Kate's Love is Best chart. I have no idea how I am going to finish this. Maybe a little cushion? It is stitched on Picture this Plus linen in French Lilac and uses various hand dyed threads I had in my stash. 

Anyway, if you would like to carry on the travelling stitcher pattern then please pop your name down in the comments below. I will leave it up until Monday and then pick a random number and send it off to whoever wins! Where will it go next in the world I wonder? All you need is to be a follower and to have a blog of your own. 

Happy stitching!

The End of the Summer...

I can't believe how quickly these last few weeks have flown and tomorrow I will be starting back at work! I thought I would do a quick update before I go back as it will be a busy term and not sure when I will get time to blog again. It has been a quiet summer and I have enjoyed the slow pace of it. We haven't done a tremendous amount and I have spent a lot of time at home, taking things easy and catching up on stitchy projects and stitchy gossip. It has been good to get time to read some of your blogs and be inspired.

August Goals

I did okay on these goals.

I completed two CCN ornies:

Christmas Birdhouse

Merry Merry

I completed and finished my Peace Design from My Big Toe

Stitched using Victorian Motto Threads on 28 Cream Cashel linen

I completed page 4 on Moira Blackburn's Three Things Sampler. I am over half way through this design now. Feeling very happy about this sampler. I am loving working on it. It is easy peasy and I love the colours.

The only one I didn't stitch was the Travelling Stitcher pattern, Love is Best. I will make that a priority next month. I thought I had seen this pattern before and I was right! It is already in my stash! I think I might have even stitched it before as a giveaway so I might do it again and do another giveaway.

September Goals

1. Stich Fa La La CCN ornie
2. Stitch Love is Best Lizzie Kate
3. Choose ornies for xmas exchange and prep
4. Just Nan Nan's Garden - As I am stitching this for my mum I am going to SAL with Tracy as she is doing something for her mum as well. I need to try to do a band a week. 

Had a bit of a splurge this month as well as I have decided to stitch a couple of Mirabilias. I went off them for quite a while but seeing Lynn's Mermaid at the Nimble Thimble meetup inspired me to start another, I had a mad time going on theviewer.net to look at hand dyed fabrics to go with the designs. I finally boiled it down to two designs: Fairy Moon and Lady of the Mist. I have gone with Crafty Kitten fabric.

Fairy Moon

Ocean Ridge Cashel Opalescent

Lady of the Mist

Aurora Murano evenweave.

I have ordered the beads for Fairy Moon and need to do a thread inventory and will be starting her first. It may take a few weeks for the fabric to get here anyway. 

I have added a few more hexagons to my blanket too and it is looking good. I do like the colours I have chosen very much. This is going to be a slow project I think which will last me through the Autumn and Winter. Which reminds me.... I am happy that the weather is starting to cool off now. I'm really not a Summer person. I love the start of Autumn and hunkering down, putting the fire on and cosying up with a blanket project. Roll on cool weather. I notice the heather has started blooming on the hills. Here are some snaps of a beautiful place we go to. It is near Hathersage in the Peak District. Love the purple. 

Right well that's it from me folks. Hopefully I will be back soon. Happy stitching and crafting. 

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Autumn Inspired....

Autumn is my most favourite time of year. I adore the colours and textures and smells that hang around in the air - old leaves and dead matter. I love the shift from warm sunshine to nippy cold air biting your nose. I love the fact that you can hunker down and stay in and not feel the duty to drag yourself out but if you do you can wrap up warm in cosy scarves and big baggy jumpers. 

I have a huge Autumn board on my Pinterest and look at it regularly.Here are some snippets...

So when Darling Husband decided that we really need another autumnal looking blanket to match the other I made for our living room, I got really excited. I chose my colours carefully. I really wanted deep, rich, warm shades that reflected some of these and other images from my Pinterest page. I originally wanted some Sublime yarn but the price would have been astronomical and when the blanket would be getting chucked around as much as mine do, well really I just couldn't justify spending so much money. I decided to have a look at what faithful, old Stylecraft Special had to offer and I was not disappointed. These are the colours I chose:

From the top we have:

Plum

Walnut

Copper

Spice

Gold

Saffron

Meadow

Khaki

Teal

Matador

Lipstick

Claret

Burgundy

My intention was to do some sort of square and then surround each square in Teal so I bought two of those. Thirteen colours in total.

However, after hunting several patterns, I stumbled across this image below I found on Pinterest and I just couldn't shake it off. Hexies it was going to be...

 You can find the link to this picture  here.

So I set about having a go at some hexies and I was not disappointed with the result. This was my first one. I used Attic 24's pattern for this if anybody wants to give it a go. It is a very easy pattern and you can find it here.

A few more emerged and began to connect....

The Teal surround idea went out of the window. I might use that for the border. 

So this is where I am up to. They are quite time consuming as I am weaving in ends as I go. I am loving the result so far. I will do a few more and keep you updated. I have a feeling this might be a long project and might take some time to do. I still haven't finished the snowflake hexies off yet that I started and stopped and started again! Oh well, the joy is definitely in the journey so they say. 

Do you like it? Does it shout Warm Cosy Autumn to you? I'd love to hear your comments. 

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