May SFS Report

It's that time again, my Stitch from Stash report. I worked on a few pieces this month, including managing to finish Majestic Peacock. However I have already posted pics of this piece so I won't post them again. If you would like to see Majestic Peacock in all its glory have a look under my finishes tab at the top or at my YOTA post for this month.

So how did I do in SFS this month:

Amount Spent: $11.80

New Starts from Stash: None

WIPs or UFOs worked on: Dimensions Gold Majestic Peacock, Dimensions Gold Elegance of the Orient, HAED QS Clara & HAED Autumn.

Some piccies:

Dimensions Gold - Elegance of the Orient

HAED - Autumn

HAED - QS Clara

My promise at the start of the year was that I would work on two large projects from my WIP's and one mini project. Well I did manage to work away on Autumn and actually managed a page finish, which I am so happy about but it is swiftly becoming apparent that Autumn will be a long slog. It is a huge chart and quite challenging. I missed working on another HAED chart so I pulled out Clara for a little while and finished up the feather in her hat. I want to try and get the last of this top row of pages done as there is very little left in them to do.

Now to show what I spent my money on this month. I have been looking for this for ages and just by chance came across it the other week, it was the last one in the store so I snapped it up!

Stash

Hope everyone had a good SFS this month :)

Late YOTA

Sorry my YOTA post is a little late this month. I have to admit that my post is a bit of a cheat as I have been having lots of fun working away on my new YOTA project. As many of you already know I finished Majestic Peacock and have now move on to the next UFO in line.

Here is where I was with Majestic Peacock last month:

And here it is again this month all finished up:

My new YOTA project is another Dimensions Gold kit called Elegance of the Orient. Here is where I was with it before I picked it up again this month:

And here she is as of today:

I manage a nice bit of stitching on this one in the last couple of days, I finished off the flowers in her hair and stitched her other arm. I am actually really enjoying stitching her and there isn't a huge amount left so I hope it get her finished up fairly quickly.

WooooooHoooooo

My very first YOTA finish, Majestic Peacock is all done! It has been a long time in getting this finished. There is a lot of French knots in this one, they were fine once I got into a rhythm with it. I did find the couching a little difficult, it was the first time I used that technique.

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock.

French Knots - Close Up

Peacock - Close Up

Just needs to be washed and ironed now before framing :)

Some Good News.....

..............about Majestic Peacock. Dimensions very kindly forwarded me on the thread I needed to finish the back stitching. I finished up all the back stitching and have now moved on to the couching, which I have never done before, and the hundreds (may be an exaggeration) of French Knots in this!

Hopefully I will have a happy dance for you all very soon, however I will wait until it is all finished up before I show you a picture. I do have another picture to show you all. As I mentioned in a previous post I am trying to get a handle on spinning yarn. Now that I have somewhat increased my speed and gotten better at drafting I am finding to such fun!

Here is a picture of my first attempt at plying, this has made this yarn so soft and snuggly and I can't wait to make something with it, not sure what yet though.

Well hopefully I will be back soon with a finish, so keep an eye out for that.

Stitch from Stash April

It's Stitch from Stash time again being held by Mel over at Epic Stitching. Unfortunately this month I don't have a zero spend. I bought the first of the New Age Cross Stitch Digital Magazine so my spend this month was $4.99. Still I think that was pretty good. In the interest of full disclosure though I will admit that I stashed in a few of my other crafts, I bought some stuffing for finishes, a set of crochet hooks and some House Mouse unmounted stamps.

Here is how I did:

Amount Spent: $4.99

New Starts from Stash: None

WIPs or UFOs worked on: Dimensions Gold Majestic Peacock & HAED Autumn.

Some piccies:

 

As some of you will already know I am waiting for replacement thread to finish Peacock. However this month I haven't been doing much stitching. I have completed a few finishes. Here are the piccies:

I have mostly been knitting and learning how to spin yarn with a drop spindle. I will post my progress on those in my next update.

 

March YOTA time

Well it's YOTA time again. I have managed to get a good bit done on my project this month. However as some of my readers know I ran out of the brown thread used for most of the back stitching on this one. I had planned to just continue on with the rest of the back stitching while waiting for replacement thread but knowing I won't finish it I haven't felt like doing any more on it.

Last month:

This month:

Here are a couple of close ups of some of the back stitch detail.

What are your thoughts?

Well guys I could use your input on something, if you all would be so good. As many of you will know I have been working away on Majestic Peacock, however I have run out of the main colour for the back stitching. I will need to contact Dimensions and see if I can get more.

Here is my question, once I have the other back stitching etc done in this, should I work on only Autumn until I get the replacements to finish MP? Or do I move onto my next YOTA project, Elegance of the Orient? Or will I start a new mini?

I am really not sure what to do. I am struggling with the 'new start itch', HAED Fallen Angel and I Believe in Fairies are calling me but I am determined not to give in to it. I made the decsion at the start of the year of no new starts, except minis, until I work my way through my current WIPs. Some of my other WIPs are also calling to me, HAED Bridge of Wings and Clara, but I had made the choice to work on Elegance next.

So what do you guys think I should do?

IHSW - Fail

Well ladies and gentlemen, not one stitch did I manage over the weekend of IHSW. I don't know why but I just wasn't in a stitching place. I did manage to get some housework done though, which is something I suppose. However I know you all just love pictures so here is where I am with the back stitching on Majestic Peacock.

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. I am hoping to get more done on this so I will have something different to show you all for YOTA. I love how the back stitching is making the arch look more detailed. Hope you all had a better IHSW than I did :)

Because you are curious

I have received a number of comments asking if I have my next YOTA project picked out yet. With Majestic Peacock so close to the finish, I have been thinking about what next. It has to be another UFO, so I am going to do Dimensions Gold Elegance of the Orient next.

This is where I am with it at the moment:

Dimensions Gold - Elegance of the Orient.

As soon as Majestic Peacock is finished I will be moving onto this. It was supposed to be a gift for my mother , so I really want to complete it so I can give it to her. You probably won't see any progress on this until May YOTA because Peacock has a lot of backstitching, french knots etc.

Majestic Peacock - Early Post

Majestic Peacock is usually my YOTA piece so I really shouldn't be showing this until the next YOTA post day on the 5th April but I can't wait :) I am sooooooo close to the finish on this. I have been stitching it over the last few weeks and it started to come together really quickly so I have stuck with it.

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock

I did have quite a bit of frogging to do on it, as the bit of the top of the arch I had stitched was mostly wrong so I had to rip it and restitch. I think it is looking really great and I am so hoping that I will have a finish to show you for YOTA day. I am absolutely delighted as this is a long time UFO and I started YOTA to encourage me to work on this, it worked!

March YOTA

I have been working away on Majestic Peacock and I am delighted to say that I have nearly finished all the stitching within the arch!! There are just a couple of small areas to fill and then I just have above the arch and the small bit to the right. Then I need to do all the outlining stuff but I am getting close to the finish on this one.

Here is Majestic Peacock last month:

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock - as at 1st Feb 2014

And here is this month:

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock - as at 1st March 2014

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock - as at 1st March 2014

I'm so happy to be near the end with this one. Looking at it now I can't believe it took me so long to get it done because I think it is really beautiful.

I'm looking forward to seeing how others got on with YOTA this month.

February YOTA update

Well it's that time again, time for those UFO's to see some daylight and hopefully some stitching. I actually managed to get a good bit done on Majestic Peacock this month and am quite happy with my progress. This can be a tricky project, as the part I have been working on is mostly blended threads and can have anywhere between 2-5 strands. They are also mostly half stitches at the moment, but they are so spaced out that doesn't make the stitching go any faster.

Here is last month's progress:

Majestic Peacock - as at 4th Jan 2014

And this is where I am as of today:

Majestic Peacock - as at 2nd February 2014

Majestic Peacock - close up

I hope everyone else had a good YOTA month. If you would like to see how everyone else is getting on with this piece, check out the tab at the top of the page.

Stitch from Stash 2014

This is being hosted by Mel at Epic Stitching and is all about doing exactly as it says, stitching from stash. Each month participants have a monthly budget to spend on stash and the point is to stay within the budget and work from items you have already.

If you want more info, then click the link above. I can't figure out how to add the button to my sidebar, once I do I will put it on my blog. I am actually really excited about this SAL as it ties in with a number of my own plans for the year, namely finishing what I have.

So without further ado here is how I did this month:

Amount Spent: $0

New Starts from Stash: None

WIPs or UFOs worked on: Dimensions Gold Majestic Peacock, HAED Autumn, Margaret Sherry Hedgehog from Summer Fun Booklet & Joan Elliott Mini from The Ultimate Joan Elliott Collection

Want to see some pictures? Some of these you will have seen before and I don't have a picture of the Joan Elliott to show you I'm afraid but here we go:

As you can see I finally won the battle of the French Knots and managed to add them in to my hedgehog, though the bee does look a little off.

This month I haven't found the budget too hard but I have felt that buying itch start in the last few days. I am determined to keep it at bay though :)

Let YOTA 2014 begin!!

Well first of all I would like to welcome all of those who have joined in on YOTA this year. This is a SAL all about getting some work done on those UFO's. It is a no pressure SAL that participants can join at any time and if you miss a month or two there is no problem.

I am super excited about YOTA and am hoping to get a few finishes this year with it.

Here is my YOTA piece, it's Dimensions Gold Majestic Peacock.

Last time:

And here we are this month, been working on the last of the pillars in the foreground:

I will hopefully get some more progress done on this one by the next check in day. Please feel free to join in with us and please do check out how well the others are doing and cheer them on :)

YOTA Update.

I have finished the second pillar!! I'm very happy now as I can now fill in the rest of the centre of the pattern. I also managed to make a start on what was left of the front pillars on the right of the peacock.

Last Month:

This Month:

Close up:

I'm going to try and concentrate on a limited number of WIP's and try and get some things finished. I will try and post a little more often as I know I have been lacking in my posting. I have gotten into playing Diablo 3 on console recently which has been eating into my stitching time.

Finally.....

I have a YOTA update this month (three days late). I managed to get some work done on Majestic Peacock and I am so delighted that I did. I worked on the 2nd of the pillars and got a good bit done on it.

Here is the last update on this one:

Last YOTA Update

Here is where I am this month:

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock

And a close up on what I have been working on:

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock - Close up

From working on this pillar I think I may have made an error in the colour on the other pillar so I think I may have some frogging and re-stitching to do, but not much.

I would have liked to continue working on this but I must put it away now and take out Autumn for the SAL posting on the 15th. You all will get to see more on this one the first Saturday of next month. Don't forget to check out the other participant's work using the tab at the top of the blog. They are doing some amazing things.

No YOTA for me

Well I have no YOTA update to show you this month I am afraid. My stitchy bug seems to have entirely deserted me at the moment. Hopefully it will come back soon and I will have some more updates for you.

I will show you where I was last month on my YOTA piece:

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock.

I promise I will have an update on this one for you next month. In the meantime I did do a little card making. I made this one from Joanna Sheen's TC Chiu Country Cottage range of Decoupage.

I hope that little bit of craftiness makes up for my lack of stitching update :)

A Day Late

I know that YOTA post day was yesterday so I am a day late. I do have some progress to show you all so I hope that makes up for the lateness of my post. If you are wondering what YOTA is go to the tab at the top and also check out the others involved in this SAL.

Last month I got to here:

Majestic Peacock - May YOTA Progress

Here is what I managed to get done this month

Majestic Peacock - June YOTA Progress

Majestic Peacock - Close up.

I'm actually really happy with how I managed to do on this one. Hoping to do well on this again this month, I would love to have it finished by the end of the year.

Have a great day all :)

One Happy YOTA-er

Well I actually managed to get a good bit done for YOTA this month and am very happy with my progress. I have been trying to be a little more methodical with this piece as because it is a lot of half cross stitches they can be a bit scattered and I find I can end up jumping around the piece. However this month I kept blocking off areas for myself to do and I found things went smoother for me. So I suppose you want to see some picture? Well here we go:

Last month:

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock April '13

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock April '13 Close Up

And this month:

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock May '13

Dimensions Gold - Majestic Peacock May '13 Close Up

So I managed to finish off the river on the left side and got some of the trees on the same side done as well.

Don't forget to click the tab above and see how the others involved are getting on. I have enjoyed working on this so I might stick with it for another few days and see if I can make some more progress.