Here is a sneak peek photo wet your appetite:
Showing posts with label Crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crafts. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
HAED Bridge of Wings, has some progress!
Hey all, I have finally managed to get a post up about my HAED project Bridge of Wings and guess what, I finished the first row! Head on over to Pull the Other Thread for the full post.
Here is a sneak peek photo wet your appetite:
Here is a sneak peek photo wet your appetite:
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Sirdar Yo-yo Crew neck jumper – Hand Knit Finish
Hi there, I know I have been away from the blogging world for quite a while now but I finally have a new post up. It is about a knitting project I have talked about here before but i wrote a new post on my new blog.
CLICK HERE to check it out!
Here is a pic of the finished piece to make it interesting. I hope to see some of you at my new blog home!
CLICK HERE to check it out!
Here is a pic of the finished piece to make it interesting. I hope to see some of you at my new blog home!
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Very First HAED Finish!
Hey everyone, I'm super excited to share todays post with you all, it's QS Clara all finished and ready for framing. Go check out the post here!! Also a little preview picture of her in all her glory.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Hand Knit Finish - Hermione Everyday Socks
Wow everyone, I have managed to get another post up on my blog! After being away from blogging for so long I have a few things to share over the next few weeks. While I was away, my stitching bug was absent for a bit, but I did do some crafting in the form of knitting. Go check out my blog post on these Hermione Everyday Socks, which includes a link to the free pattern!! Click Here
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Dimensions Gold Elegance of the Orient - Finished
Well guys it finally happened, I finished Elegance of the Orient. The post on this project is now up on my new blog www.pulltheotherthread.com, so go check it out HERE
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Dimensions Gold - Elegance of the Orient, Nearly There!
Hey guys, I've a new post up on my new blog. I'm very excited. Link Here
Sneak Peek of the piece:
Sneak Peek of the piece:
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| Sneak Peek of Elegance of the Orient Progress. Click the link above to see the rest of this post, including more pictures. |
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Hand Knit Slouch Socks Finish
Hey everyone, Sunday has rolled around again and that means it's time to share what crafty thing I have been up to. However I would like to start this post with an update on my new blogging home. Last week I set up the hosting and made a start on the layout of the new website. I have kept it quite simple for now but there will be changes to it over the coming months, as I get to grips with the Wordpress software. I would love some feedback from my awesome readers on it, so if you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think, link here.
So now that is out of the way, we can get back to the fun stuff. While in my local craft shop recently I found a gorgeous yarn call Tivoli Haven. It is super chunky and soft so I bought a couple of balls to make some nice comfie slouch socks. However having gotten my yarn I couldn't find any patterns online that used Aran (8wpi) weight with 8mm needles. At first I was despondent but then I decided I could make them myself, if I knew how to calculate the number of cast on stitches I needed!
As it turned out there was a bit more to it than that, especially in the heel turn and the toe decreases but all I needed to know first was how to figure out the number of cast on stitches. Luckily the internet came to the rescue and I found great instructions on how to work this out, here.
So I now knew the cast on, based on the yarn gauge and foot size, was 24 stitches. I was delighted, so I made a start on my ribbing. I decided to go with 2x2 but I think it would have been better to use 1x1 instead, due to the size of the needles.
These socks knit up extremely quickly and before I knew it I had the the length I wanted and I needed to do the heel flap. So back to the internet I went again to find out how long this should be. I discovered another great site called Hands Occupied, which I would end up using for the rest of the math on this project. Soon I had one fully completed sock, I felt so proud. The second sock was just a matter of repeating the same steps, luckily I had kept notes for each stage on the Knit Tink app, so it was very straight forward.
Now I am the owner of a crazy comfortable pair of slouch socks, that have been hardly off my feet since they came off the blockers. If I could get away with it I would wear these to work! I was so delighted with the result that I am now making another pair for my OH in earth tone yarn. I can't wait to finish them for him.
This was a tricky project and I did make a few mistakes. When picking up the gusset stitches on one of the socks I didn't pick up one of them correctly and there is a slight hole. The other issue is with the gusset size, I think I made the heel flap a bit too long and picked up too many stitches for my size feet, making them a slightly too big. This is something I will research, but for now the fact that they are a bit large doesn't really matter.
So that's it for my super comfortable slouch hand-knit socks, what do you think? Would you ever try to make something without a pattern? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
So now that is out of the way, we can get back to the fun stuff. While in my local craft shop recently I found a gorgeous yarn call Tivoli Haven. It is super chunky and soft so I bought a couple of balls to make some nice comfie slouch socks. However having gotten my yarn I couldn't find any patterns online that used Aran (8wpi) weight with 8mm needles. At first I was despondent but then I decided I could make them myself, if I knew how to calculate the number of cast on stitches I needed!
As it turned out there was a bit more to it than that, especially in the heel turn and the toe decreases but all I needed to know first was how to figure out the number of cast on stitches. Luckily the internet came to the rescue and I found great instructions on how to work this out, here.
So I now knew the cast on, based on the yarn gauge and foot size, was 24 stitches. I was delighted, so I made a start on my ribbing. I decided to go with 2x2 but I think it would have been better to use 1x1 instead, due to the size of the needles.
Now I am the owner of a crazy comfortable pair of slouch socks, that have been hardly off my feet since they came off the blockers. If I could get away with it I would wear these to work! I was so delighted with the result that I am now making another pair for my OH in earth tone yarn. I can't wait to finish them for him.
This was a tricky project and I did make a few mistakes. When picking up the gusset stitches on one of the socks I didn't pick up one of them correctly and there is a slight hole. The other issue is with the gusset size, I think I made the heel flap a bit too long and picked up too many stitches for my size feet, making them a slightly too big. This is something I will research, but for now the fact that they are a bit large doesn't really matter.
So that's it for my super comfortable slouch hand-knit socks, what do you think? Would you ever try to make something without a pattern? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Lavender & Lace: Celtic Spring Cross Stitch Progress
Hey everyone, welcome to February, hopefully we will start seeing some nice Spring greenery soon. Speaking of Spring, in my continuing attempts to avoid working on Elegance of the Orient, last post here, I have some progress to show on my Celtic Lady! I really do feel bad that Elegance has once again been passed over, however at least I didn't start something new, that makes it ok, right?
I was looking for a project that had some nice areas of block colour and no back stitching that needed to be done immediately. I wasn't really in the mood for a HAED project, even though Bridge of Wings has some large sections of just one colour. I wanted something that made me feel like I was making tangible progress and Celtic Spring fit that requirement perfectly.
I worked on the swirls of metallic stitching, using 1 strand of the treasure braid instead of 2. I started filling in some of the gaps left from my last session with this piece and worked my way down towards the bottom of the gown. I also got to stitch the shoe, which for some reason I really like. I think it's that it really conveys she is in motion.
I also finished all the cross stitches in her bouquet and I love how it turned out. The yellow roses look so delicate. There is still some more beading to do under the flowers but I'm happy with the progress I made. I was very tempted to fill in her head piece but it's mostly beading and I wasn't in the mood for bead confetti so that will have to wait.
These pictures show the colour of the fabric I'm using quite accurately, which was an issue I was having with my other photos. It's a very delicate pink colour and the evenweave is so soft and comfortable to work with. I even find that the metallics don't shred that much with this fabric, making them much easier to use.
When I manage to get around to this project, it stitches up quite quickly. Hopefully when I start the other season ladies, I won't leave them wallow unfinished for so long.
Well that's my cross stitch project post for this week, hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to follow me on the various social media. I pop up a sneak peep of what my post will be about on Twitter and Instagram on Fridays, so check that out to get an early clue of what's coming up.
I was looking for a project that had some nice areas of block colour and no back stitching that needed to be done immediately. I wasn't really in the mood for a HAED project, even though Bridge of Wings has some large sections of just one colour. I wanted something that made me feel like I was making tangible progress and Celtic Spring fit that requirement perfectly.
I worked on the swirls of metallic stitching, using 1 strand of the treasure braid instead of 2. I started filling in some of the gaps left from my last session with this piece and worked my way down towards the bottom of the gown. I also got to stitch the shoe, which for some reason I really like. I think it's that it really conveys she is in motion.
I also finished all the cross stitches in her bouquet and I love how it turned out. The yellow roses look so delicate. There is still some more beading to do under the flowers but I'm happy with the progress I made. I was very tempted to fill in her head piece but it's mostly beading and I wasn't in the mood for bead confetti so that will have to wait.
These pictures show the colour of the fabric I'm using quite accurately, which was an issue I was having with my other photos. It's a very delicate pink colour and the evenweave is so soft and comfortable to work with. I even find that the metallics don't shred that much with this fabric, making them much easier to use.
When I manage to get around to this project, it stitches up quite quickly. Hopefully when I start the other season ladies, I won't leave them wallow unfinished for so long.
Well that's my cross stitch project post for this week, hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to follow me on the various social media. I pop up a sneak peep of what my post will be about on Twitter and Instagram on Fridays, so check that out to get an early clue of what's coming up.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
First Pair of Hand Knit Socks!!
Hey everyone, hope you all had a lovely holiday season and New Year.
Have you made any resolutions? I haven't made any concrete craft plans for this
year but I'm really hoping to get Elegance of the Orient finished. I
would also like to make some progress on HAED QS Clara. You can find my last posts on these pieces here and here. Another project that needs some attention is my Sirdar Blur cardigan, it only needs to be
blocked, stitched together and the decorative piece around the front
knit, last post on this is here.
Now enough about all the projects I haven't finished, today's post is about one I did complete. For a long time now I have been seeing hand knit socks online, and they always look amazing. However the pictures of them in progress made it look so complicated, just so many needles at once! Well I decided to get myself some yarn and a set of double pointed needles (DPNs), look up a tutorial and give it a go. Why not, right?
Well to my surprise it actually turned out to be some what easier than I thought it would be. I had to use a few different tutorials but the main one was a YouTube video you can find here.
The only things I found difficult to follow on this tutorial were how to do the long tail cast on, joining the round together, and picking up stitches for the gusset. I ended up searching for other videos to clarify these steps.
I used sport weight, acrylic/cotton blend yarn, on 3mm DPNs for these socks, knitting them top down. They are so warm and cozy, as well as being lots of fun to knit. It felt really great to learn something new and get a finished product out of it. I have now saved a number of other patterns I want to do and can't wait to try out different yarns.
This project was a great reminder to me to try new things and not be afraid to make mistakes. I had to rip back the start of these about 9 times before I managed to get it right. However once I got into a rhythm they were straight forward enough, even the heel turning wasn't that difficult. I did make a mistake in picking up the stitches on the gusset and there is a slight hole there, but it's very small and not a huge issue.
Have you tried any new things recently? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!!
Well that's all for today!
Now enough about all the projects I haven't finished, today's post is about one I did complete. For a long time now I have been seeing hand knit socks online, and they always look amazing. However the pictures of them in progress made it look so complicated, just so many needles at once! Well I decided to get myself some yarn and a set of double pointed needles (DPNs), look up a tutorial and give it a go. Why not, right?
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| Hand Knit Socks, my very first pair! |
Well to my surprise it actually turned out to be some what easier than I thought it would be. I had to use a few different tutorials but the main one was a YouTube video you can find here.
The only things I found difficult to follow on this tutorial were how to do the long tail cast on, joining the round together, and picking up stitches for the gusset. I ended up searching for other videos to clarify these steps.
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| Don't be afraid to try something new, I did and now I have hand made socks!! |
I used sport weight, acrylic/cotton blend yarn, on 3mm DPNs for these socks, knitting them top down. They are so warm and cozy, as well as being lots of fun to knit. It felt really great to learn something new and get a finished product out of it. I have now saved a number of other patterns I want to do and can't wait to try out different yarns.
This project was a great reminder to me to try new things and not be afraid to make mistakes. I had to rip back the start of these about 9 times before I managed to get it right. However once I got into a rhythm they were straight forward enough, even the heel turning wasn't that difficult. I did make a mistake in picking up the stitches on the gusset and there is a slight hole there, but it's very small and not a huge issue.
Have you tried any new things recently? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!!
Well that's all for today!
Monday, November 7, 2016
Bent Creek's Bird Seed Cross Stitch, Finished as a Cube!
Hey everyone, hope you all had a great weekend. Winter is definitely starting to settle in here, temperatures have dropped noticably and the heating is back to running regularly. I'm also making good use of my hand-knit yo-yo jumper/sweater, it's so snuggly warm, just perfect for Winter. I posted a picture of it on my Facebook page recently, click here to check it out and like my page to get updates! I will do a blog post on that in the future, as it recently got a proper photo shoot and I have have lots of lovely pictures of it.
Anyway back to todays post, I have my very first cube finish to show off. I have seen lots of this type of finish around on other blogs and just love it. I have been wanting to try one myself for a while now, so I finally took the plunge and used my Bent Creek Bird Seed finish, posted here, to try it out. I had checked out a few posts showing how to put these together in the past, so I had a good idea of what I needed to do to complete it.
I had two styrofoam blocks I had bought some time ago in my stash. One of these was too big for this project so I used the smaller one. Unfortunately it was too deep, so I ended up cutting it in half with a bread knife. Not the easiest thing I have ever done but it worked. Next time I think I will raid my partner's toolbox and use his saw. Also I will do it outside and not in our kitchen on the chopping board!
I searched through my stash of fabrics and selected a few different ones, before I settled on a tan piece with white polkadots. I pinned the cross stitch to the styrofoam block using flat headed pins, and did the same for the backing fabric. The back of the block was uneven from being cut, so I pinned a piece of batting to the back of the cube under the fabric to even it out.
I used a strip of the same tan fabric to cover the sides and top of the cube. I wanted it to go all the way around but alas I didn't have a long enough piece, so I folded in the edges at the bottom and pinned them in place. The whole thing is finished off with a wide green and narrow tan ribbon.
I'm delighted with how this turned out, it was actually a relatively simple finish. There are a few things I would change the next time I make one of these. I would add in a piece of batting to the front under the stitching, as it adds a bit of dimension to the piece. Also the stitching on the front is slightly tilted, so on the next one I will have to make sure it is straight when pinning it in place. I think it just needed to be stretched slightly to get it to sit properly.
I'm really looking forward to doing more of these cube finishes. The next one I have in mind is the Soda Stitch Harvest of Love, seen here, and I think I have the perfect fabric for it but will have to wait and see. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for these finishes, anything you do differently? If you haven't done one before would you like to try it out? Let me know in the comments below!
That's all for now!
Anyway back to todays post, I have my very first cube finish to show off. I have seen lots of this type of finish around on other blogs and just love it. I have been wanting to try one myself for a while now, so I finally took the plunge and used my Bent Creek Bird Seed finish, posted here, to try it out. I had checked out a few posts showing how to put these together in the past, so I had a good idea of what I needed to do to complete it.
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| Bent Creek Bird Seed Cross Stitch - Cube Finish |
I had two styrofoam blocks I had bought some time ago in my stash. One of these was too big for this project so I used the smaller one. Unfortunately it was too deep, so I ended up cutting it in half with a bread knife. Not the easiest thing I have ever done but it worked. Next time I think I will raid my partner's toolbox and use his saw. Also I will do it outside and not in our kitchen on the chopping board!
I searched through my stash of fabrics and selected a few different ones, before I settled on a tan piece with white polkadots. I pinned the cross stitch to the styrofoam block using flat headed pins, and did the same for the backing fabric. The back of the block was uneven from being cut, so I pinned a piece of batting to the back of the cube under the fabric to even it out.
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| Cross Stitch Cube Finish - Back |
I used a strip of the same tan fabric to cover the sides and top of the cube. I wanted it to go all the way around but alas I didn't have a long enough piece, so I folded in the edges at the bottom and pinned them in place. The whole thing is finished off with a wide green and narrow tan ribbon.
I'm delighted with how this turned out, it was actually a relatively simple finish. There are a few things I would change the next time I make one of these. I would add in a piece of batting to the front under the stitching, as it adds a bit of dimension to the piece. Also the stitching on the front is slightly tilted, so on the next one I will have to make sure it is straight when pinning it in place. I think it just needed to be stretched slightly to get it to sit properly.
I'm really looking forward to doing more of these cube finishes. The next one I have in mind is the Soda Stitch Harvest of Love, seen here, and I think I have the perfect fabric for it but will have to wait and see. Does anyone have any tips or tricks for these finishes, anything you do differently? If you haven't done one before would you like to try it out? Let me know in the comments below!
That's all for now!
Monday, October 31, 2016
A Cross Stitch Halloweeny Finish, in time for Halloween!
Hey everyone, here we are on the 31st of October, the spookiest night of the year. Hope all the Halloween preparations are done, for those who celebrate it. We will be having some friends up this evening to watch some cheesy horror movies and munch on junk food. What are your plans, spooky or otherwise? Let us know in the comments below.
Well seeing as it is Halloween I have an appropriate cross stitched ornament to show off. You might remember this from my previous post here. It's a super cute freebie from Durene Jones, and I decided I would make it into a cute hanging ornament to be the first of, hopefully, many Halloween decorations.
The first step was to look through my fabrics and pick out something for the backing that would match the cross stitch. I have a selection of 4" and 5" square pieces for quilting, I bought on Ebay just for this purpose. These small pieces are perfect for cross stitched ornaments as there is a large selection of colours and patterns included for a very reasonable price. This way I don't have to store a ridiculous amount of fabric, but still have lots to choose from for small finishes. I also have the option of stitching a few together if I need a slightly larger piece for a bigger project.
A thorough search through my collection later, and I had a combination of pieces I thought would go great with my Halloween Cat. I was torn between purples and oranges but in the end orange won the day.
The next step was to make up the back panel using the three squares I had chosen. I calculated how large I would need each piece to be, including the seam allowance, so that it would be the right size. Off I went with rotary cutter and mat, cut the three pieces and stitched them together.
All that was left was to choose a matching ribbon. I decided to go with purple rather than orange as it gave the piece a bit of contrast. Once it had all been assembled correctly it went through the sewing machine. As is typical with me I didn't leave a very large opening to turn it the right way and stuff it with the polyester filling but I managed it, with some difficulty. I closed with an invisible ladder stitch, and I now am the proud owner of my first Halloween cross stitch decoration.
I am delighted with this and it is now hanging up above the TV. If you like this cute Halloween Cat make sure you head over to Mii's blog and check out how she finished this piece off as an awesome cube, you can find it here.
Hope everyone has a great Halloween night, enjoy and stay safe.
Well seeing as it is Halloween I have an appropriate cross stitched ornament to show off. You might remember this from my previous post here. It's a super cute freebie from Durene Jones, and I decided I would make it into a cute hanging ornament to be the first of, hopefully, many Halloween decorations.
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| Durene Jones Halloween Freebie - Available here |
The first step was to look through my fabrics and pick out something for the backing that would match the cross stitch. I have a selection of 4" and 5" square pieces for quilting, I bought on Ebay just for this purpose. These small pieces are perfect for cross stitched ornaments as there is a large selection of colours and patterns included for a very reasonable price. This way I don't have to store a ridiculous amount of fabric, but still have lots to choose from for small finishes. I also have the option of stitching a few together if I need a slightly larger piece for a bigger project.
A thorough search through my collection later, and I had a combination of pieces I thought would go great with my Halloween Cat. I was torn between purples and oranges but in the end orange won the day.
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| Halloween Cat Ornament Preparation |
The next step was to make up the back panel using the three squares I had chosen. I calculated how large I would need each piece to be, including the seam allowance, so that it would be the right size. Off I went with rotary cutter and mat, cut the three pieces and stitched them together.
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| The back panel stitched from 3 pieces of fabric |
All that was left was to choose a matching ribbon. I decided to go with purple rather than orange as it gave the piece a bit of contrast. Once it had all been assembled correctly it went through the sewing machine. As is typical with me I didn't leave a very large opening to turn it the right way and stuff it with the polyester filling but I managed it, with some difficulty. I closed with an invisible ladder stitch, and I now am the proud owner of my first Halloween cross stitch decoration.
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| The Finished Ornament. How Cute is that?!? |
I am delighted with this and it is now hanging up above the TV. If you like this cute Halloween Cat make sure you head over to Mii's blog and check out how she finished this piece off as an awesome cube, you can find it here.
Hope everyone has a great Halloween night, enjoy and stay safe.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Giveaway Winner!!
Hey everyone, I hope you all had a enjoyable and creative weekend. I managed to get some finishing work done and will have a few posts on that in the future. This is a post that I have been meaning to write for a while, the lovely blogger over at Southpaw Stitcher had a giveaway a few weeks ago and I was one of the very lucky winners. Make sure you go check out her blog if you haven't before.
What a super lucky stitcher am I? I was so excited to receive this amazing package. I'm really looking forward to trying these out as they have lots of new techniques that I have not tried before. I really want to stitch the Rose Motif Sampler on some hand dyed fabric and with variegated thread, I think it would look amazing!!
These pattern booklets are quite substantial and a bit intimidating but the instructions look like they are clear and complete. I'm pretty sure I will make more than a few mistakes but that's to be expected with anything unfamiliar.
I haven't made much progress on my cross stitching WIP's but hopefully will get some more crafty time soon. In the meanwhile, have a picture of our fluffy kitty who was keeping me company during a photo session recently. I'm really happy with how this picture turned out, hopefully it's a sign my photography is improving. I just adore how bright and large his eyes came out in this.
That's all for now, see you soon.
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| Awesome happy mail from Southpaw Stitcher |
What a super lucky stitcher am I? I was so excited to receive this amazing package. I'm really looking forward to trying these out as they have lots of new techniques that I have not tried before. I really want to stitch the Rose Motif Sampler on some hand dyed fabric and with variegated thread, I think it would look amazing!!
These pattern booklets are quite substantial and a bit intimidating but the instructions look like they are clear and complete. I'm pretty sure I will make more than a few mistakes but that's to be expected with anything unfamiliar.
I haven't made much progress on my cross stitching WIP's but hopefully will get some more crafty time soon. In the meanwhile, have a picture of our fluffy kitty who was keeping me company during a photo session recently. I'm really happy with how this picture turned out, hopefully it's a sign my photography is improving. I just adore how bright and large his eyes came out in this.
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That's all for now, see you soon.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
My Journey to Improve My Photography - Soda Stitch Harvest of Love
Hey everyone, I hope you all had a lovely weekend and that the week is off to a very creative start.Today's post features a cross stitch finish that has appeared on my blog before. I am re-posting it because I was always unhappy with the photographs I used. In fact there are a number of finishes and WIP's which require new pictures. So the first of the re-photographed finishes I want to share is, Soda Stitch Harvest of Love.
The first picture is from a recent photo session, the second is the original I posted. As you can see the second picture has a blue tint, which doesn't represent the piece correctly. This is because the light at the time I took the picture had a blue cast to it that came through in the photo. This probably could have been corrected if I had changed the white balance setting on my camera but alas I still haven't quite gotten the hang of that, although I am learning.
While the original pictures give a good idea of what the finish looks like, the blue tint doesn't show the colours correctly. The new pictures are more accurate and I am much happier with the results. Seeing these photos together, I am actually fairly surprised by the difference between the old and the new. I hadn't realised how significant the blue cast was on the originals.
There are lots more projects that will be re-photographed in the near future, however there are some that I don't have access to as they were gifts. Hopefully my photographs will continue to improve as I learn more about my camera, photography in general and of course get in that all important, practise!
What do you think of the new photos? Is there a big difference between them and the originals? Let me know in the comments below.
That's all for now!
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| Soda Stitch Harvest of Love - New Photo Shoot |
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| Soda Stitch Harvest of Love - Original Photo Shoot |
The first picture is from a recent photo session, the second is the original I posted. As you can see the second picture has a blue tint, which doesn't represent the piece correctly. This is because the light at the time I took the picture had a blue cast to it that came through in the photo. This probably could have been corrected if I had changed the white balance setting on my camera but alas I still haven't quite gotten the hang of that, although I am learning.
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| Recent Photo Shoot |
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| Original Photo Shoot |
While the original pictures give a good idea of what the finish looks like, the blue tint doesn't show the colours correctly. The new pictures are more accurate and I am much happier with the results. Seeing these photos together, I am actually fairly surprised by the difference between the old and the new. I hadn't realised how significant the blue cast was on the originals.
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| Soda Stitch Harvest of Love - Love that big grin! |
There are lots more projects that will be re-photographed in the near future, however there are some that I don't have access to as they were gifts. Hopefully my photographs will continue to improve as I learn more about my camera, photography in general and of course get in that all important, practise!
What do you think of the new photos? Is there a big difference between them and the originals? Let me know in the comments below.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Blossoming Spring Continues to Grow - Cross Stitch Progress
Hey everyone, hope your week is going well so far. Last weekend I got in some down time, played Dark Souls 2 for a little while, once I got it to work on my laptop & connected it to the TV, no small feat I can tell you. I also spent some time stitching away on Blossoming Spring, Elegance of the Orient unfortunately was left neglected.
The top right cluster of blossoms was the one I had to rip out last time as it was in the wrong position, so I was delighted to get that re-stitched correctly and moved on to the other two sections of blossoms to the right. There is now one more row of flowers at the top to do, as well as some sections down the right side of the tree. You can find my previous progress post here, if you want to see the difference.
This has now out grown the hoop I was using and the fabric is too small a piece for any of my other frames to use comfortably. Therefore I will be finishing the rest of the stitching in hand. This isn't ideal as the fabric is hand dyed and can't be cleaned, as the dye isn't colour fast. I will have to be very careful not to get this dirty, she says as she remembers she left it sitting out on the bedside last night and it's still there uncovered!
Some of my readers will know that I am not a fan of putting frame clamps or hoops over stitching as I find it can mark or distort the stitches. Other than using a piece of felt under the Q-snaps clamps I have never found a solution for this problem, other than working as much of a chart as I can in hoop then finish off what's left in hand. Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? I would love to know, so leave a comment below!
That's all for now guys, talk to you all soon.
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| Blossoming Spring - Japanese Crab Apple - Sheila Hudson |
The top right cluster of blossoms was the one I had to rip out last time as it was in the wrong position, so I was delighted to get that re-stitched correctly and moved on to the other two sections of blossoms to the right. There is now one more row of flowers at the top to do, as well as some sections down the right side of the tree. You can find my previous progress post here, if you want to see the difference.
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| Blossoming Spring - Close Up |
This has now out grown the hoop I was using and the fabric is too small a piece for any of my other frames to use comfortably. Therefore I will be finishing the rest of the stitching in hand. This isn't ideal as the fabric is hand dyed and can't be cleaned, as the dye isn't colour fast. I will have to be very careful not to get this dirty, she says as she remembers she left it sitting out on the bedside last night and it's still there uncovered!
Some of my readers will know that I am not a fan of putting frame clamps or hoops over stitching as I find it can mark or distort the stitches. Other than using a piece of felt under the Q-snaps clamps I have never found a solution for this problem, other than working as much of a chart as I can in hoop then finish off what's left in hand. Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? I would love to know, so leave a comment below!
That's all for now guys, talk to you all soon.
Friday, October 7, 2016
Elegance of the Orient - 3 Sections Done, So Many More to Go
Hey everyone, hope you are all having an amazing and creative week so far. I'm super looking forward to the weekend and hoping to get in some crafting, relaxing and maybe some gaming (Dark Souls 2 or The Witcher 3, for those interested in such things). I may even pull out a finish or two and make some plans on what to make with them, that could be exciting.
Well onto Elegance of the Orient, I have some more progress to show. I managed to complete 3 of my small goals on this piece, the blossoms below the bird, the gold backstitching on the left side of the shawl and the same on the right. I'm pretty happy with that and plan to move onto the flowers and tree branch above her hand on the right side of the piece next.
The gold backstitching in the shawl was tricky and took longer than I expected. It uses 2 strands of metallic and 1 of cotton, which surprisingly makes it more difficult to use than just metallic on its own. I was really glad when I finished the last of those stitches. The only metallic left is in the underskirt and it uses just 2 strands of metallic rather than a mix.
I also ripped back what I thought was the incorrect stitching in the branch, which I mentioned in the post here, only to realise that the blossom and rest of the branch, back to the flower cluster, is also incorrect. That has been put on the to-do list to be tackled a little later.
I plan to do a post on the goal breakdown that I have started to use for this and some of my other projects. I would love to know if that would be something readers would be interested in knowing more about or not. Let me know in the comments section below.
Well that's all for now.
Well onto Elegance of the Orient, I have some more progress to show. I managed to complete 3 of my small goals on this piece, the blossoms below the bird, the gold backstitching on the left side of the shawl and the same on the right. I'm pretty happy with that and plan to move onto the flowers and tree branch above her hand on the right side of the piece next.
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| Dimensions Gold - Elegance of the Orient Cross Stitch Work in Progress |
The gold backstitching in the shawl was tricky and took longer than I expected. It uses 2 strands of metallic and 1 of cotton, which surprisingly makes it more difficult to use than just metallic on its own. I was really glad when I finished the last of those stitches. The only metallic left is in the underskirt and it uses just 2 strands of metallic rather than a mix.
I also ripped back what I thought was the incorrect stitching in the branch, which I mentioned in the post here, only to realise that the blossom and rest of the branch, back to the flower cluster, is also incorrect. That has been put on the to-do list to be tackled a little later.
I plan to do a post on the goal breakdown that I have started to use for this and some of my other projects. I would love to know if that would be something readers would be interested in knowing more about or not. Let me know in the comments section below.
Well that's all for now.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Blossoming Spring Is Not a Cherry Blossom - Opps
Hey everyone, hope you are all having a good, craft filled week so far. As the title suggests this is an update on Blossoming Spring. I was looking through the book/magazine that this chart is from the other night and noticed that this isn't actually a cherry blossom tree, it's a Japanese crab apple tree. This doesn't at all change how I feel about this project. Both cherry blossom and Japanese crab apples are stunning and this is a gorgeous chart.
I managed some progress on the top right set of blossoms and frogged some of the grass that was incorrect, just to get it done. I actually stitched another section on this but had to frog it as it was in the wrong position. I am beginning to think that little frog has taken a permanent liking to me, either that or I need to pay more attention while stitching.
I am hoping to get the cluster I had to rip re-stitched today. Thankfully this is all full cross stitch, no partials or back stitching. I'm working on this in a hoop, which is a little small for the entire design, therefore I am leaving some of the stitching from the left hand side until the rest of the pattern is done. This is to avoid having the hoop over the existing stitches, I may even stitch those sections in hand when the time comes.
Elegance of the Orient has also grown a little, I will be posting on her later this week so keep an eye out for that. Until then, have a great week all.
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| Blossoming Spring - Japanese Crab Apple - Sheila Hudson |
I managed some progress on the top right set of blossoms and frogged some of the grass that was incorrect, just to get it done. I actually stitched another section on this but had to frog it as it was in the wrong position. I am beginning to think that little frog has taken a permanent liking to me, either that or I need to pay more attention while stitching.
I am hoping to get the cluster I had to rip re-stitched today. Thankfully this is all full cross stitch, no partials or back stitching. I'm working on this in a hoop, which is a little small for the entire design, therefore I am leaving some of the stitching from the left hand side until the rest of the pattern is done. This is to avoid having the hoop over the existing stitches, I may even stitch those sections in hand when the time comes.
Elegance of the Orient has also grown a little, I will be posting on her later this week so keep an eye out for that. Until then, have a great week all.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Durene Jones Freebie Halloween Finish
Hey everyone, with Halloween time coming in fast, I have decided to share a finish I have been holding onto. This is a piece I did over a couple of days earlier this year and I thought it would be nice to wait to show it off. It is a freebie pattern by Durene Jones, whose charts I love, and is available on her Facebook page here.
This little guy is just so cute, with the witches hat and tiny little spider. It was such a fun project to work on. It is stitched on a piece of 14ct aida, just a scrap I had left over from other projects, using DMC 2 over 1. The back stitching is really straight forward so using aida was no problem and it stitched up very quickly.
The plan is to finish it off as an ornament of some kind and have it on display for Halloween, so there will be a post on that in the near future. Every year I mean to make some Halloween decorations but never get around to it, so this will be the first of what will, hopefully, be many Halloweeny goodies. There are lots of freebie charts on Durene's FB page that I want to stitch, as well as a number from various stitching magazines, so I'm sure you will be seeing more of her work on here.
We are really starting to see the effects of Autumn around here. The leaves are falling, the mornings are definitely cooler and the evenings are darker. I actually really like the early nights, I know quite a few people hate them but I just love that feeling of being all snuggled up at home with the darkness outside. Who else is a fan of the darker nights or Autumn/Fall season? I would love to know and also what you like about it, leave a comment below.
Well that's all for now.
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| Durene Jones Halloween Freebie - Available here |
This little guy is just so cute, with the witches hat and tiny little spider. It was such a fun project to work on. It is stitched on a piece of 14ct aida, just a scrap I had left over from other projects, using DMC 2 over 1. The back stitching is really straight forward so using aida was no problem and it stitched up very quickly.
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| Durene Jones Mini Halloween Cross Stitch Finish. |
The plan is to finish it off as an ornament of some kind and have it on display for Halloween, so there will be a post on that in the near future. Every year I mean to make some Halloween decorations but never get around to it, so this will be the first of what will, hopefully, be many Halloweeny goodies. There are lots of freebie charts on Durene's FB page that I want to stitch, as well as a number from various stitching magazines, so I'm sure you will be seeing more of her work on here.
We are really starting to see the effects of Autumn around here. The leaves are falling, the mornings are definitely cooler and the evenings are darker. I actually really like the early nights, I know quite a few people hate them but I just love that feeling of being all snuggled up at home with the darkness outside. Who else is a fan of the darker nights or Autumn/Fall season? I would love to know and also what you like about it, leave a comment below.
Well that's all for now.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Hand Spun Merino Roving in Lemon Popsicle - Delicious!
Hey there everyone. Today I'm taking a break from cross stitching posts to bring you some spinning I have been doing. I recently managed to find some beautiful merino rovings from a company called woolyknit, link here, at very reasonable prices so I picked up a few different colours and made a start on spinning up one called Lemon Popsicle.
When I first started spinning I knew there was no way that I could justify the expense of a wheel when I wasn't even sure I would like it as a hobby. While I now really enjoy it, it did take a while. This is one of those things that takes practise, however once I spent some time with my drop spindle I eventually became better but I'm still learning.
One of the big problems I have with spinning on a drop spindle is that I stand while using them, as that is how they work. This can get quite tiring after a while, as I'm sure you can imagine, so I tend to do a short period, then rest, then another short period. The second problem I have is that realistically I can only manage to get about 50g of roving spun before the weight on the spindle makes it too difficult to manage. I'm sure there are more experienced spinners out there laughing at that right now but that is what I have found to be the case for me. If you have any tips or tricks please do let me know. Now that I know this is something I have fun doing I will be looking to invest in a spinning wheel in the future but the spindles are still great for their portability and space saving.
I got about 233yrds of single yarn out of this 50g piece of roving. The plan is to ply it on the spindle, which can be tricky but is doable. I have no idea what I will do with it once it's done though. I really like how it has turned out so far and love the blend of colours. I'm excited to see how it looks once plied. In the above pictures you can see some of the other colour rovings I bought, some aren't included here.
I will post this again once it is plied together. Are there any other spinners out there reading? I would love to hear you thoughts. Anyone who thinks they would like to give spinning a go to see what it like? Please do leave a comment below on what you guys think of this.
Bye for now!
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| Partial Spun 50g Merino Roving from Woolyknits in Lemon Popsicle |
When I first started spinning I knew there was no way that I could justify the expense of a wheel when I wasn't even sure I would like it as a hobby. While I now really enjoy it, it did take a while. This is one of those things that takes practise, however once I spent some time with my drop spindle I eventually became better but I'm still learning.
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| Full 50g Merino Roving from Woolyknit in Lemon Popsicle |
One of the big problems I have with spinning on a drop spindle is that I stand while using them, as that is how they work. This can get quite tiring after a while, as I'm sure you can imagine, so I tend to do a short period, then rest, then another short period. The second problem I have is that realistically I can only manage to get about 50g of roving spun before the weight on the spindle makes it too difficult to manage. I'm sure there are more experienced spinners out there laughing at that right now but that is what I have found to be the case for me. If you have any tips or tricks please do let me know. Now that I know this is something I have fun doing I will be looking to invest in a spinning wheel in the future but the spindles are still great for their portability and space saving.
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| Full Drop Spindle of Single Yarn with Woolyknit Roving Stash |
I got about 233yrds of single yarn out of this 50g piece of roving. The plan is to ply it on the spindle, which can be tricky but is doable. I have no idea what I will do with it once it's done though. I really like how it has turned out so far and love the blend of colours. I'm excited to see how it looks once plied. In the above pictures you can see some of the other colour rovings I bought, some aren't included here.
I will post this again once it is plied together. Are there any other spinners out there reading? I would love to hear you thoughts. Anyone who thinks they would like to give spinning a go to see what it like? Please do leave a comment below on what you guys think of this.
Bye for now!
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Never Posted this HAED Stitching Milestone!!
Every so often on lunch in work, I have a look at the WIP pictures from my blog. When I'm having an especially difficult or stressful day, I find it helps me to rebalance a bit. So while doing just that, I discovered, to my horror and shame, that my progress on QS Clara hadn't been updated! Not only that, but it was a page finish that I had neglected to share with anyone. If you're interested the last post on this project can be found HERE
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| HAED - QS Clara - Hannah Lynn Disney |
While I was away from the blog world I did occasionally pick up a project or two, hence the new start on Fizzy Moon. During one of these creative bouts I worked a bit on Clara and I'm really surprised that I didn't immediately hope back on my blog just to shout out loud that I had finished the last of the full pages!!
That's right folks, I have only three partial pages, two large and one small, left to fill in and she will finally be done. After finishing the last full page, I was a little tired of hair confetti so I moved to her glove, which had some larger blocks of stitching. Once the block colours were in, I filled in the rest of the glove to the black outline, which had some confetti but wasn't too taxing. Also I love filling around colour blocks, it feels like a little mini completion.
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| HAED - QS Clara by Hannah Lynn Disney WIP |
This project is a bit too large to fit into my small Q Snaps so I had to stop a little short of the bottom. In order to have the frame over the stitching for as short a time as possible, I plan to stitch as much as I can then fill in the last lines across the bottom. I will continue with this page before I move across to the next rather than hoping around all over the place.
I'm not too sure when you will see Clara again as I am really eager to try and finish Elegance, so she is a focus for the moment, but who knows, maybe I will take a bit of time to put in a few more stitches if I can't stand to do anymore back stitching.
Thanks to everyone for your amazing comments and thoughts on the colour error in Elegance. Everyone said the same thing, leave it alone so that is exactly what I have decided to do. Once I have put in the backstitching I can see how it looks, if it is completely off then I may have to rethink but for now that's the plan.
Bye for Now!
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Fizzy Moon Finished!
Hey guys, well here I am again already and guess what....I have a finish for you all. Yes indeed I managed to get the last of the cross stitching in the flowers on Fizzy Moon completed and finished off the back stitching. He has now been ironed and photographed, so without further ado, here he is in all his cuteness.
I am really happy with this project, the fabric just complements the piece so well and I love those beautiful purples. This was one of those occasions when I picked the chart and looking through my fabrics saw this and knew it would just be perfect. I so enjoy when that happens, all the elements just come together so easily, if only they all happened that way.
I did initially have a small bit of trouble with the 2 white French knots in his eyes. It always takes me a few tries with these to remember the trick to them but once I get the first one, the rest are relatively simple. The back stitching on this, while time consuming, wasn't too troublesome due to the fabric being evenweave but I would not recommend anyone try a Fizzy Moon on Aida unless you have endless patience and fingertips like steel.
Now that this little guy is all done, he has been added to the rest of my completed pieces waiting to be used for.....something. I have no idea what it will be made into but I look forward to putting my creative brain to work on thinking something up for him. I have now moved onto Elegance of the Orient, the last post on which you can find HERE, way too long ago. I am eager to try and get this project finished as there is only the outline, detailing and some of the background blossoms left. If I can stick with it even for short periods every day I would think that I could finish it up pretty quickly.
Well that's all from me today, hope everyone is having a relaxing, creative weekend. See you guys soon.
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| Fizzy Moon Cross Stitch Finish, The World of Cross Stitching Issue 168 |
I am really happy with this project, the fabric just complements the piece so well and I love those beautiful purples. This was one of those occasions when I picked the chart and looking through my fabrics saw this and knew it would just be perfect. I so enjoy when that happens, all the elements just come together so easily, if only they all happened that way.
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| Fizzy Moon Cross Stitch Finsih - Close Up |
I did initially have a small bit of trouble with the 2 white French knots in his eyes. It always takes me a few tries with these to remember the trick to them but once I get the first one, the rest are relatively simple. The back stitching on this, while time consuming, wasn't too troublesome due to the fabric being evenweave but I would not recommend anyone try a Fizzy Moon on Aida unless you have endless patience and fingertips like steel.
Now that this little guy is all done, he has been added to the rest of my completed pieces waiting to be used for.....something. I have no idea what it will be made into but I look forward to putting my creative brain to work on thinking something up for him. I have now moved onto Elegance of the Orient, the last post on which you can find HERE, way too long ago. I am eager to try and get this project finished as there is only the outline, detailing and some of the background blossoms left. If I can stick with it even for short periods every day I would think that I could finish it up pretty quickly.
Well that's all from me today, hope everyone is having a relaxing, creative weekend. See you guys soon.
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