I can wear it! (and a giveaway)

I finished my knitting adventure project....and I can actually wear it!  :)

Here's how it looked when I got started:

and after about 3 days of working on it.....messed up some of the "yarn overs"...but sort of fixed them

My finished product!  Not too shabby!

And lookie here....I can actually wear it!!  (pardon my photography skills...taking my own picture proved to be more difficult than I would have thought it would be!)

And now for the good stuff :)  

Had a wonderful "girl's day" this past weekend and dropped by a cute little stitching shop in town.  I didn't get much stitching done (too much girl chat to catch up on!) but I did pick up 2 LHN charts to give away!   Here they are:

Strawberry House (the strawberries have little beads for seeds!)

Tall Pines

This will be a short giveaway..... Everyone that posts a comment is entered!  There will be two winners (one for each chart) and I'll draw the names the morning of March 22nd (in time for the TUSAL update for anyone who takes part in that!).  

Happy Hump Day!

-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