February Cottage of the Month is FINISHED!

Good Morning Everyone!

Hope you are having a great morning so far! I posted my WIPocalypse January Wrap Up post a few days ago to go over all of the things I worked on during the month. One of my projects that I started early in January was my February Cottage of the Month from Country Cottage Needleworks and I was able to get it finished during January also! YAY!

Here is what my finish looks like:

I used all of the called for floss and even stitched it on the called for fabric. The only additions I made was to add some little Mill Hill beads for the dove's eyes (they had none charted) and I added a small gold bead for a doorknob on the door. I know some people have swapped the darker pink floss for a little darker one but I decided not too. At times I was a little concerned it may be too close to the lighter pink, especially when I was stitching the cottage but after it was done the overall look is pretty cute. I am happy with it. I now have January and February cottages stitched, I just need to figure out how I want to FFO this set and get going on that also! My goal is to try and stitch one of these each month.

I don't think I have shared my January Cottage on my blog, so here it is:

This one the only change I made was to stitch the snow with 1 strand of Pearl Kreinik with one strand of white DMC to add some sparkle.

Thanks for stopping by today! Take care!
Laura

WIPocalypse 2018 January Check In

Good Morning Stitchy Friends -

Wow! I can't believe January is almost over already! I am glad that it is closer to being Summer again but holy smokes time sure does fly!

It is time for the monthly check in for the WIPocalypse 2018 group that I joined this year. The goal for this group is just to encourage you to work on and finish some or all of your older wips that you have had for awhile. We all can use that I think!

Here is my progress on my WIPS during the month of January:

First up is little Witzy and I was able to finish this one! I think he is super adorable :) I plan on making him into a Christmas ornament instead of a little card as he was originally intended.

Here is where he was at the beginning of the month:

And here is finished:

Next I worked on my Heaven and Earth King Coda Story Teller from Heaven and Earth Designs. This is artwork by Aimee Stewart and is the Super Size Max Colors Version. 

Here is where I was at the beginning of the month:

                             

And here is where I got to:

I was able to finish Page 2! Only 152 more pages to go!! :D 

I also worked on my Heaven and Earth Design called Heavens Little Angel by Katerina Koukiotis.

Here is where I was at the beginning of the month:

And here is where I got to:

I almost have a page finish, only about 200 more stitches to go and page 1 will be done!

I also worked on my February Cottage of the Month from Country Cottage Needleworks. I would like to try and stitch one of these every month this year.

Here is where I was at the beginning of the month:

And I was able to finish this one!

My last WIP that I worked on was my Forest Snowfall from Country Cottage Needleworks. I am doing some alterations and add ons to mine to make it a little different.

Here is where I was at the beginning of the month:

Here is where I am right now: 

I am still working on this one and hope to have it completely finished in the next couple of days.

Also during the month of January I had a new start and a finish. This is the Gingerbread Tree by Little House Needleworks:

My goal is to try and stitch at least one Christmas Ornament and one Halloween Ornament each month. I completed the Christmas but have to start a Halloween one still. 

Last I had to start the new Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Into the Jungle SAL when the pattern released on the 15th. It was the little sloth and it was too cute not to stitch right away! 

                                    

Here is a closer view of my fabric: Crafty Kitten July 2016 Limited Edition

Speaking of SALs that is the question that Melissa from Measi's Musings asked the WIPocalypse members this month. What SAL’s are you participating in this year? and If you are participating in the Olympic Stitching Challenge, what challenge are you accepting?  What are your goals?

Here are the SALs I plan on trying to participate in this year. Sometimes it is hard with my work schedule so I will just try and do the best I can!

Frosted Pumpkin Into the Jungle (would like to try and keep up on this one)
Stitch from Stash
Various Stitch Maynia ones through the year
Various Full Coverage Fanatics ones through the year
Wipocalypse

Those are the main groups I try and participate in the SALS with. My goal is just to try and participate in some, my schedule is horrible at times so it can be tough.

If I get to do the Stitching Olympics with the Wipocalypse Group it would be for the rotation category :)

Thanks for checking out my January Wrap-up! Have a great stitchy week!
Laura

Coffee and Tea Dyeing Fabric

Hello Stitchy Friends!

On my day off a few weeks ago I decided to get brave and attempt dyeing my own fabric for the first time. I have all of the colors of rit dye but wanted to start out with something a little less intimidating than that! LOL.

I am a huge fan of Priscilla and Chelsea and have followed Priscilla's blog for the last few years. They always stitch on fabric that they coffee and tea dye and their finishes are always adorable. They put together a great video tutorial on their coffee tea dying process so I decided to try it out myself!

Here are my results....

Here is my fabric taking it's coffee tea bath :)


And here it is after baking and fully drying:

Side 1 - Lighter Side 

Side 2 - Darker Side

I love the way this turned out! I wish I had done this before stitching my Gingerbread Tree ornament because I think it would look amazing on this fabric. Hmmmm...I may need to stitch it again! :D  This color is a great neutral and many designs would really look nice on it. Since I only did one yard of fabric I did use a little less tea and coffee than Priscilla and Chelsea did in their video. I used 4 Lipton family size tea bags and 1/3 cup of instant coffee. I just got the cheap Great Value Walmart brand of instant coffee. I know I will be doing this again when I need more of a nice brown neutral fabric :) The fabric I used was 28 count white Monaco since I have an entire bolt of it to use up.

I have also seen some other great tutorials and videos on Coffee/Tea dyeing your fabric as well so I will post links to them here:

Priscilla and Chelsea - Coffee Tea Dyeing Video (this is the one I followed)
Vonna - The Twisted Stitcher - Baked and Basted Fabric (I think this is where the baking in the oven originated)
Primitive Stitcher - She has about 3 or 4 videos on dyeing your fabric to be more primitive looking

If you have not tried coffee or tea dyeing your fabric, give it a try! It was easy and the results are awesome! Now I just need to get brave and try some rit dyes! :)

Happy Stitching!
Laura

A START and a FINISH!

Hello Stitchy Friends!

Today I wanted to share with you my first START and FINISH for 2018! My goal is to stitch more Christmas ornaments for our tree this year. I loved seeing quite a few stitchers posting their gorgeous trees with their cross stitched ornaments on facebook, flosstube and instagram this last Christmas and I want to have mine filled as well :) I didn't have any for my tree last year. I had some stitched just not FFO'd to put on there. So that is another goal this year also...FFO my finishes! Just need to learn to sew first - LOL!

Anyway...I joined the facebook group Little House and Country Crafts Stitching Group and they have a monthly SAL challenge to stitch an ornament. PERFECT! So I decided to pull out and stitch one that has been on my "to stitch someday" list for quite awhile. I went through my fabrics and found a piece that came in one of those ornament cut grab bags that I had purchased quite awhile ago from 123stitch that would look nice with it and got busy! I started this January 3rd and finished it January 6th and it was my first finish of the year so far.

Here is Gingerbread Tree by Little House Needleworks:

I found some cute gingerbread cutter style fabric on Etsy and will use that to FFO this once I learn how to use my sewing machine. Goal for this year! I was going to use beads for the eyes and buttons but decided to try and do french knots as the pattern called for. I am not very good at those yet but I never will be if I don't try them. Overall I am pretty happy how it turned out :)

This design was located in the Just Cross Stitch Magazine from July/August 2010.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stitching!
Laura

Design Details:
Name: Gingerbread Tree by Little House Needleworks
Fabric: unknown grab bag fabric - seemed like a 28 count Jobelan
Stitched: 2 over 2 Full Cross 
STARTED: January 3rd, 2018
FINISHED: January 6th, 2018 
Pattern can be found in the Just Cross Stitch Magazine issue July/August 2010

WIP UPDATE: Page Finish King Coda Story Teller

Good morning stitchy friends!

I finished page number 2 on my Heaven and Earth Designs WIP King Coda Story Teller by Aimee Stewart! I am stitching the max colors, super size version of this one so I only have a measly 152 more pages to go! LOL! With that many pages each one is a victory!

Here is what it looks like now:

And here is what this will look like in 30 years:

Only about 4 more pages I think until I get into the beginning of the crown for a change of pace. I think I will be really ready for that once I get there. It is neat though being able to pick out the tapestry pattern details in the design so far though. Love this design :)

Thanks for stopping by today and have a lovely stitching day!
Laura

Design Details:
Name: King Coda Story Teller by Aimee Stewart - Supersize Max Colors charted by Heaven and Earth Designs
Fabric: 28 Count White Lugana
Stitched:1 over 1 Full Cross 
STARTED: August 9th, 2017 
Needleminder - Maggie's Minders on Etsy (Tiger)
Needleminder - Crazy Heart by NoName Needleminders on Facebook

First FFOs for 2018!

Hi Stitchy Friends!

Hope this year has been good to you so far and you are getting loads of stitchy time! I decided to try and FFO my Mill Hill ornaments this morning that I stitched in honor of my Grandma and Grandpa who have both passed. My goal is to stitch an ornament in their memory every year for our tree. Last year I stitched these Jim Shore Mill Hill kits for each of them because I wanted something with a cardinal on it. These were my first time stitching Mill Hill kits and they were really a fun stitch to do.

I stitched the Festival Friends Santa for my Grandpa and the Angel With Cardinal for my Grandma. Here they are all finished:

I think they turned out pretty nice! I backed them with a thick felt and made hangers using leftover beads from the kit. I saw that idea about using the beads from one of the Schoolhouse Stitcher's flosstube videos.

I am excited to make more of these ornaments they turn out so pretty and are a fun stitch!

Have a great stitchy week and thanks for stopping by today!

Laura

WIPocalypse 2018 - Introduction & Goals

Hi Stitchy Friends!

I have joined a new group on facebook called WIPocalypse which is basically a group to help encourage and motivate you to work on your WIPS, especially those older ones that have been hanging around for awhile. This will be my post to share the WIPS I currently have and where they stand as my starting point for the year. I will also be listing my goals for each piece. I currently have 20 WIPS, with most of these being larger BAP pieces since I seem to be drawn to those!

Before I show my WIPS I thought I would share a little about my stitching time and rotation that I plan on trying for 2018, or at least the beginning to see how it works for me. I work overnight shifts as a 911 Dispatcher at a Police Department. We are allowed to bring things to do in our down time between calls so I bring cross stitch and work on some of my pieces there. I have decided that I will continue to rotate through 4 of my Heaven and Earth Designs pieces but at the beginning of each month I thought I would take some smalls and get those done first. I want to do a Christmas or Halloween ornament each month and also my Country Cottage Needleworks Cottage of the Month series. So I thought the first week to week and a half of each month, depending on stitchy time, I would do those first then go back to my HAED rotation.

At home, my stitching time is not as much as I can do at work which seems odd! I have a crappy schedule working overnights which means I sleep during the day, try and get up by 4pm and then have to do all the house hold stuff, like make supper, chores, errands all that fun stuff before getting ready to work. So most weeks my only actual stitching time at home is on my days off. I started doing a time based rotation at home pulling random wips and working on them for 10 hours approx. before switching. That seems to work really well for me since my stitching time is sporadic so I thought I would stick with that for my home rotation. I do plan on modifying it just a tad though...I decided that I would make some goal based progress also. So I will work on my designated wip for approx. 10 hours or if I am close to finishing a section or character or whatever the case might be, I may extend that 10 hours to finish an area.

Now on to the good stuff...my current WIPS and my goals for each piece.

2015 Starts:

WIP #1: New Girl 3 by Bec Winnel charted by Heaven and Earth Designs (one of my work wips) I currently have 4 pages complete on this one.

Goal for 2018: Complete 2 more pages on this one.

2016 Starts: 

WIP #2: Cozy Cub by Dimensions

Goal for 2018: Finish this one

WIP #3: Dog Double Shelf by Randal Spangler charted by Heaven and Earth Designs (one of my work wips) currently working on the first 4 pages.

Goal for 2018: Finish the first 3 pages

WIP #4: Durene Jones Lakeside Needlecrafts Fantasy SAL 

Goal for 2018: Complete 3 more characters and the top 1/3 of the border

WIP #5: Eat my Dust Dimensions Gold Collection Kit - I started this for Stitch Maynia on the kit fabric which is a 16 count Aida. I am not sure I like it though. I am contemplating re-starting this on a different fabric.

Goal for 2018: Decide on fabric and if I am going to restart it. Want to work on this at least 2 rotations in 2018.

WIP #6: Witzy Cute Christmas Card Kit (freebie from a magazine)

Goal for 2018: Finish it

WIP #7: Heavens Little Angel by Katerina Koukiotis by Heaven and Earth Designs (one of my work wips)

Goal for 2018: Finish pages 1 & 2

WIP #8: November Quilt by Paula Vaughan from the "A Quilt For All Seasons" booklet

Goal for 2018: Finish it

WIP #9: Sea Pearl by Maxine Gadd from Mystic Stitch - I started this on a 25 count fabric doing it 2 over 1. The coverage is awesome however it is a little tight. I am concerned that when I get in to the confetti areas that it may be a nightmare. I am contemplating re-starting this on a different fabric.

Goal for 2018: Decide if I am going to restart this and if so choose a new fabric. I would like to complete 2 rotations on this one.

WIP #10: Seasons in Chalk Art Winter by Priscilla Blain charted by Hands on Design. Was in a Just Cross Stitch Magazine.

Goal for 2018: Finish it

WIP #11: Darth Vader Sugar Skull by StitchLine on Etsy

Goal for 2018: Finish it

WIP #12: The Fortunate Traveler by Teresa Wentzler

Goal for 2018: Complete top half of this

WIP #13: Winter Bell Bull by Stoney Creek

Goal for 2018: Complete the letter "W"

2017 Starts:

WIP #14: Dreamer Max Colors by Nadia Strelkina by Heaven and Earth Designs (one of my work wips)

Goal for 2018: Finish page 1

WIP #15: Forest Snowfall by Country Cottage Needleworks

Goal for 2018: Finish it

WIP #16: Giants of the Plains Elephants by Jayne Netley Mayhew from the Safari Book

Goal for 2018: Complete half

WIP #17: King Coda Story Teller Max Colors Super Size Version by Aimee Stewart charted by Heaven and Earth Designs - Have 1 and a half pages complete

Goal for 2018: Finish page 2 and do 3 additional pages

WIP #18: Red Birds by Marie Barber from Just Cross Stitch Magazine issue Nov/Dec 2001

Goal for 2018: Complete Half

2018 Starts:

WIP #19: February Cottage of the Month from Country Cottage Needleworks

Goal for 2018: Finish it

Wip #20: Shih Tzu for Christmas Stocking by Dona Gelsinger charted by Heaven and Earth Designs

Goal for 2018: Get the Top row finished

Those are all my current cross stitch WIPS! See... loads of BAPS because I just can't help myself! :)

I do have some other goals and new starts planned for 2018. I want to;

Start a Mirabilia
Start a Joan Elliott
Complete 1 Christmas and 1 Halloween Ornament each month
Complete the Cottage of the Month Series from Country Cottage Needleworks
Do more Seasonal and Holiday pieces.

I also would like to start doing my own Floss Tube videos (super nervous about it and technology challenged)

I would also like to try and do some more SALS but it is hard with my stitching time being so wonky.

And lastly... I am doing Stitch from Stash also so I hope to be able to stay in the positive for a change!! LOL!

I think these plans should keep me pretty busy! I look forward to participating in this year's WIPocalypse and seeing everyone's progress and WIPS!

Thanks for stopping by!
Laura