The Home Stretch.......

My Japanese Maiden is almost done!! The back stitching has been brutal for me though. For some reason I don't enjoy the back stitching portion of a project nearly as much as the rest of the work!!
I can say though, that I love the results and how much the back stitching adds depth to my design. It is just so grueling!!

Here's my updates:

Bottom left-hand corner



Bottom right-hand corner




Flowers along side of maiden


I had hoped to be done with this one by now...I'm ITCHING to start my Angel of Hope and my HAED project!!

My parents are coming for a visit this Friday and will be here for 2 weeks!  We're all so excited to see them!!   Not sure how much stitching time I'll get in, so my next update might be delayed.

Next year I need to plan ahead better and allow myself some time to stitch some cute Halloween items.  I see them on everyone's blogs and get so jealous!

Hope to be back here soon......



-lesli

First Snow- Complete!

Finished my first linen project, First Snow by The Drawn Thread!!

Here's a look:

I made it into a cute little pillow to hang from a doorknob or on the wall.  I love it!! 

Linen is definitely still a challenge for me, though I was getting better towards the end.  There 1 or 2 mistakes I left in there, and I did have to frog a few times....but I survived!

Daffy at It's Daffycat opened my eyes to Monaco....I went out and bought some this weekend.  I also got some Hardanger.  They're both teeny tiny, but not as straining as linen.  Thank you for the suggestion, Daffy!!  I'm thinking of trying a small Heaven and Earth Design on one of those and see how it works out!



I also got a little time in on my Japanese Maiden WIP.  Almost done with the gold stitching, then it's all back stitching that will be left.  Here's a few close up pictures of the areas with gold:



 Thought I'd be about done by now, but my side projects took me off my timeline.  Well worth it though!


I'm so anxious to get started on my Angel of Hope stitch, but I promised myself I wouldn't start anything else until the maiden was complete.


My new follower tally is at ..... SEVEN!!   I feel like I win a little mini-lottery everytime I have someone new join!  :)

Thanks so much to everyone who's taken the time to read my posts and stop and leave a comment.  I really appreciate the support!!


Hope everyone has a happy day!

-lesli

Linen - First attempt

I'm attempting my first stitching on linen!! 
I love how finished projects look when they're done on linen, but the material itself has always scared me.  I have trouble getting all the counts right using aida cloth, how could I expect to get anything done using linen?  :)  I've played around with linen before, just to see what it was like and it felt too difficult for me, so this is my first official "project" using the pretty material.


Here's my progress so far:

It feels like it took me an hour just to finish that much!!!  I've even had to frog a little, already!!!  <sigh>  But, I am loving how it's looking,  so I'm determined to see it through!!

The pattern called for 36 count, but I decided to start slow, so I'm using 28 count (it feels like 500 count!!).


The pattern is adorable, here's a look at what my finished item should look like:

The pattern design is from The Drawn Thread and you can download it for free here.


I'm starting to put together some items for a contest!  I'm excited.... I know I love getting stuff but giving away is just as satisfying!  (After this linen attempt, I may have some linen to give away!!)  :)


Happy stitching, blog-land!



-lesli

I've got mail!

I just love getting packages in the mail!!

Today I recieved my second order of thread organizers.  I ordered some of these about a month ago and fell in love with them, so I ordered some more!  Here's what they look like:

They're so cute and handy!   They have pre-printed letters for each thread hole, so you can coordinate them with your pattern.  (close up pic below)

Or you can flip them over and they have a space where regular width masking tape can be placed and you can write your thread symbols in, to match your pattern.  When you're done, you just pull the tape off and stick a new section on!  (see pic below)

I also love that they have a small blade at the top (notice the top little notch on the bar in the pictures).  You can slide your thread in there to cut it!  This makes traveling so much easier- no need for scissors!!

You can puchase these from Greta at http://www.dovestitch.com/  along with many other wonderful items!!


I also received a package of notecards I won on eBay for $0.49!!  They have the letter Y on the front of them.  They're a pretty green color:

You're thinking, "Why would she want notecards with a Y on them?  Her name starts with an L!?"   I wanted to make some small hand-made packages of cross stitch cards as Christmas gifts this year and these were so inexpensive I couldn't pass them up!!  Here's a sample of what a cross stitch card might look like:

Now I just need to get stitching the mini patterns to make the cards!!


I'd also like to announce that I officially have...... wait for it.....
FIVE followers!!  (yes, I'm still counting my husband!)

I think I'm going to put together a giveaway/contest to celebrate getting to 20 followers!!  I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to gather items up!  :)


It will be a nice 3-day weekend for me, so I'm excited for the it to begin!


-lesli

Hoops, scroll bars and lapstands, oh my!!

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I love using the embroidery hoop for my stitching.  I've tried all the different hoop sizes out there and have come to the decision that my favorite size is the 5 inch diameter. 

I've seen pictures on other's blogs where they use the scroll bars or the Q-snap, but I don't know if my wrist can handle holding something so big for so long!  Then the idea of having a lapstand that holds my hoop comes to mind, but part of why I like my little 5 inch hoop is that I often like to turn it to the back and make sure my back stitches are lining up nicely.

I also don't like the idea of spending hundreds of dollars just to find something to hold my material!!
I'd love to hear what others are using or doing with their stitching!

I was able to get a little stitching time in over the past few nights.  Here's my progress:

10/05/2011 - Filling in all the white and gold.  It's difficult to tell, but the birds on her kimono are either white or gold and I left that stitching for the end.  The flowers by her right shoulder are also white and need to be complete.

I didn't get as much done as I hoped, but a little progress is still progress.  I left the white and gold stitching for last because I didn't want the white thread to get dirty and I didn't want the gold thread to get any kinks in it from having the hoop clasped over it.  You can see the history of this work here.

I also wanted to share how much I'm enjoying having my blog!! I'd like to thank Cross Stitch Queen from Between the Stitches and Carolyn from Taking one stitch at a time. I appreciate that they took a moment of their day to post a comment that inspired me to want to blog and stitch more!!  Thank you!!

Carolyn is also having a giveaway - Happy BOO 2 U!  You can enter here. The giveway ends this Friday, October 7th so you have a little bit of time to join! 

Now that I've found such interesting blogs to read, when will I find time to stitch?   :)

Happy stitching (and frogging if you're like me)!!


-lesli

Gridding

Happy Tuesday!  I am LOVING this fall weather in Florida!!  It probably won't last long, so I'll need to enjoy it while I can.  Another week of work, but also another week to stitch........
As I'm wrapping up the project I'm working on, I'm getting the itch to start my new one!  To pacify myself, I'm getting things "prepped" on my Angel of Hope work, so I'll have it all ready to go!


One of the things I'm prepping are....Gridlines!!!    I've never used them on my work before, but from what I've read they come in handy and help decrease mistakes and frogging.


I've seen other's post their WIP pictures with gridlines, some are drawn with non-permanent marker and others mark theirs with thread. 
I wonder if there are other ways out there I haven't come across?
I decided to go with using thread.  I'm sewing a 6-up and 4-down pattern, to create my 10-count squares.  It's a grueling process so far, but if it pays off in the end I'll be happy!!


Here's what my work looks like so far:

Hoping to get some stitching time in today after work!




p.s. - I have 1 follower!!  Love my hubby!  :)


-lesli

Debut

Hello Blogger-land!


I've spent the last few years following other's blogs and always thinking to myself, "I'd like to do something like that one day."  But everytime I'd start it up, I'd talk myself out of it..... mumbling something about not having enough time and worrying about starting something that I can't commit to.


Now I'm telling myself....who cares!?  :)   


So what if I start it and only post once a month, or once every two months?  So what if no one follows me?


Anyway....this gets us to my debut post.....  TA-DA!!  I DID IT!!


As my "about me" blurb states, I'm married to the most wonderful hubby and I have two absolutely beautiful children.  I work a full-time job during the day, but when I can find the time, I love to work on my craft projects.  Lately my focus has been on cross stitching and since I've committed myself to a few works as holiday gifts, these will be what I'll be doing for the remainder of this year.


Why the title "Fabulous Frogger" you ask?  The "F"-word for stitchers....FROGGING!!  I find I do it more often than I probably should, so why not just put it out there?   (for anyone who doesn't know what frogging means in stitchers terms, it's basically when you've miscounted or made a mistake on your work and you need to un-do it, or "rip-it, rip-it"...get it?  rip-it ...ribbit?)   


I plan to post my WIP (works in progress) tomorrow....I'm just proud of myself to finally get this started.


So there you have it.


My Blog!




-lesli