Happy Hump Day!!

(For anyone who is thinking, "what the heck is Hump Day?"..... Definition:  The middle of a work week (Wednesday); used in the context of climbing a proverbial hill to get through a tough week.)

Only a few more days until the weekend....and it is an IHSW no less!  I also have a crafting "girl's day" planned for Saturday, so here's hoping I have some hard work to show on Monday!


I finally brought Coral home from being framed.  I was so quick to give it to my sister in law, I completely forgot to snap a good picture.  I snapped a quick one at her home, but it's not the greatest (ignore my reflection in the glass!).  I love how it turned out....the frame is so beautiful!

This past weekend was Prom for my step-son Brandon.   Here's a quick picture of him and his girlfriend.

They look so darn cute together, don't they?


I did manage to get some stitching in this weekend, but not nearly as much as I had hoped for!  I wanted to get task #4 done from my rotation schedule, which was to complete Page 2 of Cathedral.   Unfortunately, that didn't even come close to happening!  I did manage to finally complete it last night!   Here's a full picture, it's so HUGE!   (lighting was bad..it was 1am when I snapped this picture!):

 And here is a closer look at just pages 1 and 2 (in daylight!):

I'm fnally able to make out the tree!!  The first page felt like blobs of green and gray everywhere...I couldn't tell what I was stitching!

I had a few folks ask me about the charts I recently kitted up, when I went through my piles and piles of floss!  I completely forgot to share that information, so here are some pictures of what I have ready and waiting to go!


Heaven and Earth 2012

 

Checkmate - for my son Sebastian

 

A Princess is Born - for my daughter Kella

Moonlight Immersion - gift for someone special

Now...to figure out an updated rotation plan to get some of these started!


Hope everone is having a wonderful "middle of the week" and you have grand plans for this weekend!



-lesli


p.s. - Did I mention there is another floss sale this week?   $0.25 per DMC skein?  Why do they do this to me!?   <sigh>  I'll probably end up buying floss for yet another chart!!   :)

April WIPocalypse

I only worked on one piece since the last WIPocalypse update....Coral 

And I am delighted to report, she is FINISHED!  :)

Here she is:

 I've washed and pressed her and dropped her off to be framed yesterday.   This is my first official HAED finish.  I was worried I couldn't take on a HAED, but I loved every step of the way.  The confetti was a nightmare in the beginning, but I've come to actually like it and stitching with the metallics is still a little iffy for me, but I'm better at it!

This means I can mark off item # 3 and #5 from my rotation schedule.  I skipped #4 because I couldn't put Coral down until I finished her. 

I've had some wonderful things happen to me since my last update!  Holly at Holly's Crafts Blog awarded me the Liebster Blog Award!  Thank you, Holly!  I'm honored! :)

I also had my name drawn by Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe to win her new sampler chart giveaway.  The sampler is Teach Me to Feel Another's Woes and I love it!  The verse she chose is by Alexander Pope (1688-1744) and her design brings it all together beautifully.  Here is a picture:

Today I've decided to take on the task of sorting through all my DMC floss!  Like a mad-stashing woman, I've gone on various trips to the craft store to buy floss for this chart and that chart, but then leaving it all aside to work on later.  I'm going to officially kit up 5 HAED charts, just to make sure I have all the floss I need, then make a final floss run tomorrow for any missing colors.....and then cut myself off from buying floss for the rest of the year!  (yeah...riiiiighhhhht, lesli!)   :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday weekend and you get to spend some time with family and friends...and of course, some time with needle and floss!


-lesli


Edit:  Ooops!  I lied!  I also did a little work on Wings since the last WIPocalypse update!  I was laser focused on Coral that I completely forgot.  You can see my progress on that piece here

Quick Crafty Update....before Midnight!

So my Monday has gotten away from me!  Midnight is creeping up on me and I have every intention on posting my weekend update BEFORE Tuesday hits!

I had a WONDERFULLY crafty weekend!!   In addition to crafts...hubby and I went plant/flower shopping and have a front and back garden full of flowers...Spring has officially sprung in the Daniels house!

Now on to bigger and better news.......

I can officially cross off the first two items on my "Rotation Schedule" Check-list!  <woooo!!!>  

My first item was to finish pages 4 and 7 of Coral, and here's how she looks:

Only 4 pages left to go!

 And my second item on my list was to finish page 1 of Wings:

It looks like a big huge block of light gray...but there are actually 3 colors in there!

I'm off and running on my third list item!


I also chipped away on my "yarn stash" by making some cute Spring Kitchen Towels.  I have tons of yarn I need to use up, and I found some kitchen towels I bought last Spring at a sale.  I also hit the craft store this weekend and bought a towel that was on sale for half off (I couldn't resist!).....here's the results of my de-stashing:

My cotton yarn stash

My sale purchases

My Spring towel stash

And here is what I turned those into......

The two made from knitting

The two made from crocheting

 I'm very happy with the outcomes!   Now I have some cute towel sets to give to my sisters for Easter!

That's it!  Just a quick update before Tuesday lands on me!!   Hope everyone had a wonderful start to the week!


-lesli

Calling All Hermits!

Who's joining me in the IHSW that starts.....today!?

I'm ready to go with Please My Wings Take Me Away <whew>!   Going to refer to it as Wings going forward.

Have my floss and gridding ready to go!

Have some time tonight I'll be stitching, but my Saturday is planned as a "date day" with my hubby.  Maybe I'll get some time in on Sunday as well.  

I'd really love to work on Coral also....as I'm itching to get her finished.  But starting a new HAED is just too difficult for me to pass up!


This past weekend I worked on the LHN chart, Nature's Beauty.  Maybe I'll even work on this one a little this weekend too!! Here's an update on my progress:

If you have a chance, travel on over to my little giveaway! 


Have a happy stitchy weekend!


Oh...and don't forget some green beer tomorrow!  :)



-lesli

March WIPocalypse

My March update is pretty minimal....I dedicated the majority of my stitching time to Coral, with a few small projects tossed in there!

Here's what Coral looked like just after my February update (1/1/2 pages):

And here's what she looks like for my March update (3 1/2 pages):

I'm hoping my April update brings a completed/framed piece!

I also completed a needlebook for a friend (though it wasn't officially on my WIPocalypse list, it's still a finished piece!)


Front of book



Back!

And..... in my last post I shared the LHN pattern I won from Bekca.... after I received it I fell in love with it and went on the hunt for more LHN patterns online.  I won a few from eBay, one of which was a pattern for a scissor fob.  The pattern came in the mail yesterday and I just couldn't keep my hands off of it, so I finished off the fob last night:

It was actually a little kit, but I used my own fabric/floss so I could save the rest for the bigger pattern it came with.  I think it turned out so cute!

And there you have it....all my stitchy stuff from the past month!!  (you can see my full WIPocalypse list and update here)


-lesli


ps:  don't forget to spring forward this weekend!  :)

WARNING....Long, rambling post!

As the title states....this is a long "catch up for the past few weeks" post..... I hope I don't put anyone to sleep with it!

One of the craft stores I visit (more often than my hubby would like) is having "March Madness" sales, and while I was looking around yesterday, I found myself in the yarn aisles.....considering giving knitting a go, again. 
My last knitting project was over 3 years ago, when I knit a baby blanket while pregnant with my daughter Kella.  It was definitely a beginner project, with no pattern and just going back and forth until I ran out of yarn.  I have knitted before, wayyyy back in High School.....but I haven't really gotten the hang of it.  

I figured I'd give it another shot, so I found a pattern online and bought myself some yarn and some needles (all on sale...in case hubs is reading!).   So there I sat last night, trying to remember which hand holds what and trying to figure out what YO, ST, K and P all meant!   After working on it for a few hours, here's how far I got:

I think the toughest part was that first row...either I'm doing the cast on wrong or I'm not pulling the yarn enough or something...I did that first row over and over about ten times!   Stay tuned to see if it actually turns into something! :)

Let's see...what else have I been up to.....  Oh yes, my son has an "Erupting Volcano" due this week, so we worked on it over the weekend.  I think he did a great job!

We'll pour some baking soda into each volcano and he has some red dyed vinegar to pour in.  He's so excited to take it to class!

I was also able to complete a lap quilt for a wonderful friend of mine this past week.  I used a charm pack of fabric and made pinwheels.  I love how it turned out and can't wait to send it to her!

I know this week is our WIPocalypse update week, but I'm going to post my progress on Coral anyway.  Maybe I'll get a bit more done between now and March's Full Moon date!!

The darker colors in her wings has been my favorite to stitch....I love how they create the contouring and depth!

Of course, because Michele at Heaven and Earth Designs went and had a Leap Day sale...I had to buy, right?  And buying new charts gives me the itch to kit up and start new ones :)   Over the weekend I kitted up Please My Wings Take Me Away, here's a picture from the HAED site:

This will be my first "black and white" piece and I'm exicted to get started.  Calling it a black and white is sort of funny to me, because there is actually no black or white floss used at all.....there are shades of gray and light blues and of course, the dreaded metallic sparkly floss.  There are only 10 colors in this work!

I also kitted up my first Little House Needleworks piece!!  I'm so excited about this piece because I won it from Bekca at The Stitching Lion.  Winning a piece from a bloggy friend makes it extra special to me, so I can't wait to get it done!  I'm thinking of finishing it as a pillow...not sure yet.  Bekca also sent me some scented DMC floss!  We don't have this in the states, so I felt spoiled when I recieved it!!  Why don't we get this fun stuff over here?

    
After winning 2 wonderful giveaways, I'm ready to have another one myself!!  I have a girl's day planned for this weekend, with a stop at our local cross stitch shop.  I'll be on the look out for some cute items and I'll start my giveaway next week!


-lesli

Rainy Days and Monday's Always Get me Down......

Aside from the fact that it is raining and it is Monday....I'm really not all that down, but I LOVE that song so I couldn't pass up posting the title!

I had a wonderful weekend, despite the weather.....and got some stitching accomplished!!
My hubby went out with his brother on Saturday evening, Kella skipped her afternoon nap so she went to bed early and Sebastian was hooked on either his laptop or his Xbox.   That left me with a good chunk of time to myself to stitch and catch up on the television episodes I missed through the week! 

I've been soley working on HAED's this year, and I got an itch to work on something I could finish before Monday.  So I stitched ths cute little needlebook for a wonderful friend of mine that has recently picked up stitching again. 


Needlebook Front (this is from a Lucie Heaton free design you can find here )  I changed up some of the colors and the picture in the frame:

That's supposed to be me on the left!  :)

Needlebook Back (I know I've said it before, but I despise back-stitching, so I avoided it as much as I could with this self-made design!) :

Inside:

  I wrapped it this morning and sent it off in the mail!  I hope she likes it!


I also finished page 3 on Coral.  It was a small page but finishing it puts me at about halfway complete!  I am so loving how her face is turning out.  Her eyes are so beautiful!

I had taken my Angel of Hope piece to be framed and it was completed this weekend.  I think it turned out lovely.  Once I finish Coral and have it framed, I'll be giving these pieces to 2 of my sisters-in-law:


 One of the wonderful gifts I won from blog giveaways came in the mail during the week.  I received this intricate  Hand Dyed Cluny Lace Ric Rac Trim in beautiful Boysenberry from Nancy at the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. 
Her blog can be found here and her eBay store can be found here.   If you've never visited her blog, please take a moment to travel over there!  I love all of her designs, and she is soooo generous, she has giveaways all the time!

The picture doesn't do it justice!  I need some ideas on what to use it on!!  I'm thinking maybe some ornies for the holidays.....but I can't decide.  I'd love to hear any ideas anyone has!


 I hope everyone has a fantabulous week!


-lesli

Late IHSW and Early February TUSAL

So I'm a little late to post my update for the IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend) but I'm making up for it by posting a little early for the February TUSAL!  That should even things in the balance, right?

My IHSW update......I worked on Coral this weekend and was able to almost finish page 2!!  (there's a tiny bit left to complete in the bottom right hand corner!)  Here's some pictures:

Coral Before:

Coral After:

And my early TUSAL for Febuary!

Sitting with my Valentine Sock Monkey :)   I layered on top of what I completed for January....but I'm thinking I'll transfer these to a larger container and start fresh for the next update!

Hope everyone had a great weekend (maybe a longer one for anyone that had Pres' day off too!)  Tomorrow I'll be catching up on everyone's IHSW updates and new TUSAL pics!! 

Though this is a quick update post....I can't contain my excitement for having won 2 blog contests!!   I've never won anything online before, so I'm soooooo excited!   I'll share more info with pictures in my next post!!   Now I have a new piece I'll be adding to my WIPocalpyse!! 


-lesli

First finished project for 2012!

Though..it's not a cross stitch project :)

I finally finished the quilt I started in January....with my new sewing machine from Santa.

The quilt pattern is Cathedral Window and I just love how it turned out!

Here are a couple pictures of the finished product:

Now I'm off to plan my next sewing project!  I have a good friend I'd like to make a lap quilt for, so now to find a pattern I like!


I actually found some time to cross stitch while also working away on my quilt.  I was able to complete a portion of page #2 for Coral.  Here's how she looks now:

Since it's IHSW weekend coming up, maybe I'll get the full page completed!  (that's a big maybe!)

For all those stitchers out there that rotate the pieces you work on, how/where do you keep all your projects?  I stuff all mine into an old Coach purse I have (I love it, but it has some stains on it....but this is a great way to keep using it and not have to toss it!).  I keep telling myself....if I can't fit it in the bag, I can't add it to my rotation of work.   Luckily it's a HUGE bag!!.

Looking forward to my 4 day weekend coming up!  I'm taking Friday off to spend with my little girl, Kella.  It's her birthday!   and then Monday is a President's Day, which means NO WORK!   I should definitely get some stitching done!!


Thanks for stopping by and catching up....I truly appreciate everyone taking the time  :)


-lesli

February WIPocalpyse Update

Hello?  Is it really already time for February's update?   I'm scared to blink.... it'll be Christmas before I know it!

I'm posting my most recent progress below, but if you want to see my full list of goals, just click here:  Lesli's 2012 WIPocalypse Page or you can click on each pieces title name, and it will take you to the history of that WIP!



Blue Moon - Officially have half of a page done

Cathedral -   First page complete

Coral - Started into the 2nd page

Can't wait to see everyone's progress! 
Have a great week!!


-lesli

January WIPocalypse Update

I can't believe it is already time for our first WIPocalypse update!!  For anyone who isn't signed up for this HUGE SAL, there is still time (deadline is January 15th)!!  Information can be found here: http://measi.net/measiblog/.

I'm posting my progress below, but if you want to see my full list of goals, just click here:  Lesli's 2012 WIPocalypse Page

Blue Moon -

Cathedral -

Coral -

Thanks for stopping by......I'll post updates to my non-cross stitch projects in my next post!

Have a great week!!


-lesli