Holiday stitching.

I don't know why but I have stitching which I keep and only do on holiday. At the moment it is a set of Tuscan cats which have been coming on holiday for the last 2 years with me. I choose them as I do love them (obviously) and they're a set of 4 designs which have a good mixture of block stitching which makes them easy to do and confetti stitching which keeps the piece interesting. When I'm not on holiday this kit lives in my bedside cabinet so on the odd occasion I do stitch in bed I find this easy to pull out and pick up and continue stitch in from where I left off. 

As I said they are a set of 4. I have completed 2 already. 

This is where I was at at the start of my holiday with the current one. 

This is where I am now. 

I haven't done loads but hubby has been really poorly with a stomach bug so we haven't been going out as much, especially on a night and when it's been red hot in the afternoon sun is when I retreat indoors to the air conditioned apartment where I've had an hour or relaxing, reading and stitching. 

As we only have 2 full days left of the holiday I know I won't get it finished before I get home so I'll pack it away in my bedside cabinet getting it out occasionally to stitch in bed (though usually I'm so tired by bed time I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow!!) and I'll pull it out again for my next holiday. 

Stag Update

I had hoped to have this finished by now. I had 12 days off work and planned to spend every afternoon stitching. I was lucky if I got 2 hours stitching over the whole time off. I never stopped, in fact I find it easier being at work. I did get some long over due jobs done in the house. 

I am enjoying working on this but must admit I'm finding stitching on red difficult. I'm struggling to see the holes and need my lamp on to stitch, even through the day. 

Today though I have had a rare treat. I've had the house to myself all afternoon, so after doing some house work I have had an hour stitching. Yes a whole hour of stitching. Unfortunately I won't get any chance to do anymore today as I have to get ready soon to go out with a friend. So here's my update. 

This weeks offerings

CI have been working mainly on this. 

It's Dimensions Stag at sunset. I started it last Saturday and as I always start in the bottom left of a piece it's been mainly black so far. 

I have not worked on my other two pieces this week. With my seaside picture I've stitched the wrong colour. On the wind breaker on the left it should be blue. I've been using my pako thread organiser and loading up lots of needles at a time. I've accidentally out the colour for symbol S where into the section marked $ so when I've come to use that thread I've used the wrong colour so it's to unlock and re stitch. Also I've ran out of 676 so I can't go much further until I buy another 2 skeins. Here it is so far Mistake and all

On the left where it's pink and blue I've stitched a beige colour rather than blue. 

I've also been working on Heritage Stitchcraft's Fair game. I must admit I'm not enjoying it much. There is loads of half stitches and straddle stitches so I have to count several times to make sure I'm putting the stitch in the correct place. I also struggle to see the holes on the 28 count even weave. I think it's an age thing. Even in daylight I have to have my lamp on. Here it is so far. 

It also has lots of back stitch so I'm going to try and do that as I go along. 

A week when my stitchy bug came back

last Monday (4 April) I had a really bad day health wise. I suffer from a degenerative disease which I usually manage on a day to day basis but last Monday (after I'd got dressed for work) I had a massive flare up which left me bed bound. In the morning the pain Es unbearable and even though I want taking strong pAin killers it was not getting rid of the pain. A mixture of pain killers and the bodies natural defenders meant I shut down and slept the morning away. By the afternoon although still in pain I thought some stitching might help take my mind off the pain. As I couldn't get out of bed I asked my daughter to bring me some stitching up. I store each project in a popper type folder so asked her to pick one one bring some scissors and a highlighter. She brought me this. 

This was where I was at as of last Monday. I don't have a picture of what it should look like but it's a vase of flowers which looks like a water colour picture. I have loved working on this over the last week. When I started this I kept a record of the days and times I worked on it. So I kept on doing this while I was working. A week later this is what it,oils like 

and here's a photo of my time sheet. The 2 *indicate when I took the photos. So the first * is the photo after 4 hours 25 minutes stitching and the second photo is after 13.30 (or there abouts. You'll notice on the 10 April I recorded the start time of 18.35 and forgot to record the finish time. I think I stitched for about 15 mins that sitting) 

I know compared to some people it not many hours spent stitching but it is for me, especially over the last 6 months or so when I seem to have lost my stitchy bug. Ive got my next 3 projects lined up so I can't wait to make a start on them but I'm going to finish my case of flowers first before I stet the next one. 

Here's my next 3. I don't know how  I'm going to manage them yet. I'll have to let you know how it goes. 

Things aren't going to plan and a massive realisation.

There is no way I'm going to get my flower finished in the suggested 10 hours and I have realised how little I stitch. Lots of times I look at other peoples finishes and think how did they do that in such a short time and it takes me ages to do a small design and I've realised its because I don't spend a lot of time stitching.  I only work 3 days a week but I leave the house at 7.50 am and get home at 6pm. On Mondays and Wednesday's I go swimming after work so it's more like 7.30pm when I get home. Then make tea and by the time I sit down I'm too tired to start concentrating on stitching. I try and do as much as I can Thursday to Sunday's but this week did do some stitching through the day on Friday as I was poorly on the couch. 

Here's this weeks time sheet. After 2 hours 25 mins of stitching I realised I'd made a mistake. Sometimes if it doesn't affect the design too much I leave the mistake but I realised this would knock the whole pattern out. Fortunately it only took me 15 minutes to frog and then I could get on my merry way. 

Here's where I am now. 

The 2 stains on the left are red wine stains. Fortunately it doesn't affect this design but there is a lesson to be learnt there!!!! So it's taken me over 7 hours to get this far. There's no way I'll have it finished in 10 hours but I stitch for pleasure and never usually give myself time limits. I'm going to continue timing myself just because. 

Have a great Sunday. 

A Little Experiment

I'm very naughty but last week I was looking through some charts that were in my 'to do' pile and I saw a set of 4 bright flowers which I loved. I thought that if I did them on 18 count they would be a great size for coasters. I love stitched coasters. I use them at home and work. I have been looking at the charts and thinking the best way to stitch them for the past week. Today I cracked and started them. No I haven't finished my owl but I just couldn't resist them any longer. While I was photocopying the charts I noticed it says they take 10 hours each to stitch so I thought I would test the theory out. I use to record how long I it took me to do each project. I kept a record as I went along then recorded the times in a spreadsheet. Unfortunately my computer crashed and I lost everything. No I didn't back it up. Don't know why (doh) and I never bothered after that. So here's tonight's stitching. I'm going to record it on my blog as I go along cos even if my computer crashes it's still out there somewhere (as long as I can remember my password!!!). 

So after 1 hour and 40 mins stitching here's tonight's offerings. 

Owl update

I'm not updating as often as I would like but I am still enjoying working on this. It's a perfect project for a good stitchy session with a good drama on the TV and a cuppa. I've been doing lots of crochet too. I'll post pictures of my crochet another time and hopefully I'll not leave it too long for updates. 

A couple of finishes and a UFO

It's not quite New Year yet but my resolution is not to start anything new but complete some UFO' (unfinished objects) Like many stitchers there's so many gorgeous projects out there I find it difficult to finish a project before starting another. Every time I say to myself that I will work the current and the new project along side each other but usually one of them (usually the older of the projects) become a UFO. 

What has not helped for me is through November and December I lost my stitchy bug so got very little done. I am now also into crochet in a big way and do a little bit of knitting. 

On Boxing Day I finished this small finish which took me 3 weeks (yes 3 weeks) to finish.

One thing I love about the time between Christmas and New Year is I have the time off work (yippee) and there's loads of easy watching TV to sit with feet up and stitch/crochet and I can do it without feeling guilty about housework. 

This morning while everyone was still in bed I got up to a lovely quiet house, made myself a cuppa and caught up with my soaps while I finished this. 

I should have taken a before and after picture but all I did to complete was the pink flower on the right hand vase. My photos aren't brilliant its me and my tablet so there's shadows in the pictures. 

I've picked up this as the next UFO on my list

I started this in September 2014 and it was suppose to be a surprise Christmas present for my hubby. It's really nice to work on. I've done about 30 minutes on it today but hope to get a good run tonight and hopefully I might be able to get it finished for hubby's birthday in April. 

My other resolution. To update my blog regularly. 

A Lovely Surprise in the Post

I received this gorgeous card and candle ornament from a lovely lady from South Africa in the post yesterday I am in a Christmas card exchange on a cross stitch forum and this was my card. It's the first Xmas card I have received. 

Day 25 Vase of Flowers

I'm still enjoying this one but sometimes find it difficult to see the holes-they're not in straight lines

Day 18 of vase of flowers

It stitches up quite quickly and the colours are fantastic. 

Vase of Flowers - Day 4

This is day 4 of my new project. I know I shouldn't have started a new project yet but I did fall in love with it when I saw it in July 2015 CrossStitcher. I ordered the material - a whopping £15 plus postage from Willow Fabrics and this is the first time I have stitched on 19 count aida. It was out of stock so it took a fortnight to come but it was worth it when it came and I'm pleased I didn't use another alternative. 

The material turned up on Friday 26 June and I couldn't wait to get started but due to the type of material I decided to edge it with my sewing machine. 

I tried to edge the material with my sewing machine but my sewing machine and I don't get along too well  And after an hour of trying to thread it and get the bobbin to sit where it's suppose to I finally set off to edge the material AND the material got snagged up!!! And as I've probably mentioned The material was expensive so I spent Friday afternoon over stitching by hand. 

Finally about 5pm I was ready to start and I loved putting the first stitch in. I've stitched loads over the weekend and am pleased  The results. I am using 4 strands of DMC thread on 19 count evenweave. 

Here's the results after 4 days of stitching. 

The only thing is I have a busy week this week with work, evenings out and kids sports days/end of term assemblies so I won't get much done this week. 

This weeks crafting

I haven't done much this last week or so. Now the lighter nights are here we've been out and about on an evening and hubby and I have taken up swimming so by the time we've got in from work, gone swimming and walked the dog and had tea I'm too tired to stitch. 

I'm still working on my owl. I don't feel like I'm getting far with this but I am enjoying it still

I'm really onto my crochet at the moment. I'm working on 3 blankets at the moment working them in weekly rotation  this one I call Scandanavian Cool 

There is only one row of dark brown. I have tried doing it again further up but it doesn't work so this might be the only row of dark brown in the blanket. 

I am also trying my hand at knitting. I have subscribed to The Art of Knitting and am working through the squares. 

This is what I've done so far. Im falling way behind I've only completed 4 and started the 5th but I have 14 issues and to make it worse my sister has also subscribed. I'm not saying my sister and I are competitive but she's way ahead of me and I don't like it so my challenge now is to complete a square a fortnight!!!!

I'm 

A finish

I did finish this at the weekend but have only just got round to showing it. 

It was a great little stitch but like all my stitching it took me a lot longer than I thought to stitch. I did hope to finish it over a weekend but it took me 2 weeks to finish. I am also not on target to complete my other WIPSby the end of May so I can start my summery kits. It hasn't helped that I've been doing extra hours at work which sounded like a good idea when I said I would do them but now I'm regretting it. I did not realise how much it would cut into my craft time. 

Bank Holiday Weekend Stitching Challenge

Ok so it's another British Bank Holiday weekend here. I am hoping to get lots of stitching done especially as it's predicted to be a rainy one! I have set myself a challenge to get this piece finished 

It is an easy and enjoyable piece as it's mainly block colours but I do need good light to work on it as it's done on 28 count even weave and my eyes are not as good as they use to be. 

Here's an update on my owl 

I hope to have this finished through May and am hoping from June 1 I will be able to,start some new pieces, more 'summery' type ones I have in my 'to do' pile. 

A Finish

So I have finally finished the first of a set of 4 pictures which I have been doing on holiday. They are enjoyable to do with their bright colours and the right mix of block and scattered stitching. Not too taxing for stitching on holiday. On this holiday I've been waking up about 5 am every day so I'm able to get a couple of hours in before the others get up and it gets too hot to stitch.  

This is the fantastic view I have while stitching 

Overlooking the hotel pool and the fantastic carribean sea. And here's my finish. 

Holiday Stitching

Well I'm back onto a piece I haven't touched since my last holiday in August 2014. I continued with the piece on the train from home to Londons Kings Cross. It more difficult than I thought stitching on a moving train but I managed somehow. I picked it up again upon arrival and realised I've used 2 shades of white and it's very noticeable. I refilled my thread card with B2500 which was the number I've written on but now I've seen the difference I remembered I actually used Blanc. A simple and basic mistake but we all make them. I'm so cross with myself for not changing the thread number on the thread card. The difference is noticeable but I might leave it. 

If you look closely you can see the top couple of lines are a different shade of white then the rest of the White 

A cheeky new start.

I did say I wasnt going to start anything else until I'd finished all my WIP's but I do love the Sheena Rogers pin cushion in this months Cross Stitch Collection. The pin cushion I currently use must be about 15 years old so I'm making myself this lovely new one. I love the bright cheery colours. I started it on Thursday. So here's how much I did on Thursday 

And here it is as of 5 minutes ago. 

I think this will take me about a week to do cos I just don't seem to have a lot of time to stitch at the moment. Even as I write this my darling daughter is stood with her friend waiting for me to take her swimming. So off I go for a swim, sauna and jacuzzi (not too bad really 😄) and hopefully I'll get some more stitching done tonight. 

This weeks craft projects

Well I've been busy to week stitching, knitting and crocheting. I'm really into crafting at the moment and keep switching projects so I get to do some of each regularly. I've spent a lot of time in the house this week so I've got quite a bit done on each piece. I'm not sticking to my resolution of posting updates every week but I am trying. 

I've been working on the owl at sunset which is hubby's Christmas present. It's lovely to do with a good mixture of block stitching and confetti stitches so there's enough to keep the interest. Here's an update as of about 10 minutes ago. 

I have a,so been knitting. I have been working on this scarf which is done in a chunky wool which is duck egg blue. It's easy to do and relaxing. 

My sister and I met for a coffee and a catch up on Friday morning then we had a meander around the supermarket. We spotted a new issue of Art of Knitting so we both bought it and have set ourselves a challenge to knit the throw. We're both going to subscribe and keep a photo diary of our progress. Here's how far I've got so far. 

I've also been working on my crochet blanket, this one is coastal ripple. 

I must admit I'm loving this and often found myself stroking it (yes I am sad). 

Coastal Ripple Blanket

Well I've been diversifying with my crafts and in November started this gorgeous coastal ripple blanket which I found at Attic 24. I loved watching Lucy's blanket grow and knew I had to give it ago myself and I love it. I am working her cosy stripe blanket alongside this and I'm loving doing them both. The only downside is they're not big enough to cover my knees on these cold winter nights. Here's an update so far. 

I would never have put these colours together but they do work well.