Ending 2018 With A Bang!

Hi stitchers, my last post for 2018. I'm sure every year goes faster then the one before. 

How was everyone's Christmas? Mine was ok, it could have been worse. 

I did get a great money box, I put my $5.00 in for my New Years start.

It's a little like a picture frame at the back, with glass in the front. I'm thinking I could put a nice picture on the back if I wanted to. Love it.

Talking about my money box I'm adding that if I start a mill hill kit it's just 5 cents and not $5.00 as they are small. Only mill hill kits though.

So I'm all set for my money box for 2019.

Let's get into this week before the end of year stuff.

Just before Christmas I got a stitchy gift from Kay and oh my god

She gave me the Christmas elf fairy chart that I was going to get in 2019 after seeing it a lot this Christmas. How did she know? How did you know Kay? I'm still amazed by it and so thankful. Thank you again Kay. 

Just before Christmas I also got my beads that I've been waiting on sooooo

I have a finish Miss Black Swallowtail by Nora Corbett is done, yay happy dance!!!

Here's before 

A bit dark so took another photo. I tried to take a few close ones too but too dark. Sorry. 

I love her. Not sure if I will get any others now I've stitch the two.

Over Christmas I stitched on Minerva by Nora Corbett. I had a little goal to finish the side I was working on and I did. When I reached that goal I didn't want to stitch on her anymore.

Here is before 

And now

I love the colours in her the teals and dark blue.

Next I wanted a new start but the one I picked I should not have started. 

Oh well I saved myself $5.00 ha ha

It was Earth Angel by Lavender and Lace. (I just was not in the mood for her)

Stitched on 32ct evenweave rainbow cloud by sew it all

Not a lot got done.

The weather has been up and down but it got hot by the end of this week and so I wanted to stitch something summer.

Mill hill kit shades and I finished it yesterday after stitching it most of the day with the fan going. Love how bright it is.

Like I said finish 2018 with a bang!

I would like to now say a big huge thank you to everyone that has come to my blog to look at what I'm stitching. Who has become a follower of my blog. Everyone that has taken the time to leave me a comment and a huge thank you to the lady's that comment on every post that I put up. 

I would also like to thank the lady's that have given me a stitchy gift this year. Oh my god, I was so touched that you would do that for me. I feel this year I have made some really great stitchy friends so a big thanks to everyone and I hope your all back with me in 2019.

Looking back on 2018.

I stitched my heart out this year lol.

I joined the smalls sal but sadly could not log in the last 3 months because of changes.

It was fun to do but looking back, it has turned my year into stitching a lot of smalls. Not that it's a bad thing but my normal is medium and big charts with only a few small ones in the mix. I started buying a lot of smaller charts and stitched a lot of them. 

Looking back I haven't touched a lot of my bigger charts, Wips that I love. 

I guess you could say 2018 was for stitching smalls.

Now the following is not 100 percent but it's close.

In 2018

I had 58 New Starts

I had 34 Finishes (the 12 months I did is counted as 1)

Right now with the end of 2018 I have 63 Wips but it might be less because of ones that are on a big hold or I what to re start at a later date. I'm one that keeps it until.... So it all gets counted.

Lots of stitching people, lots of stitching.

In 2019 I want to get back to my bigger projects and get my Wips down too. 

I will still be starting things. I don't think you will see as much finished. 

My plans are to stitch what I want and get things done. 

And my money box, notebook fun.

A few days left until the new year, I will make sure I don't start or finish anything lol. 

I wish you all a Happy Safe, Lots Of Stitching New Year!!!

See you in 2019 and Happy Stitching!!!!

Bewitching Christmas

I wish you all a Merry Christmas!!!

I'm doing my weekly post tonight as I'm busy tomorrow, but I'm sure you don't mind about that.

How has your week been? Hope you are finding a little time to stitch.

As in my last post I said the app wheel picked Renaissance mermaid and so I stitched her over the weekend and went up to the top so I can work down. I got her face done but for backstitching and a little hair. She has a lot of hair in 4 dmc colours. 

Here's before 

And now

Monday I woke with a just there headache and by the time I got home it was a chop my head off full on headache so went straight to bed. No stitching.

Tuesday I was lucky the headache was gone and when it was time to stitch I got out my tropical Christmas but just couldn't stitch it or anything Christmas. I was in a Halloween mood. 

Looked at my list and got out Minerva, not that I've stitched much on her this week. 

Here's before 

And now

Over Christmas I'm going to stitch on Minerva or get out my Halloween Quaker, it's what I'm feeling right now. That's when I have the time of course.

I'm weird but I'm not in the Christmas stitching mood this year.

Mum made gingerbread cookies and I just had to show you, they are yum.

I also got a stitchy gift from June that I keep forgetting to show you until now. Thanks again June.

And I went on the heaven and earth designs website, I don't know why as I'm trying to stay away and have for most of this year but they have a new freebie chart and had to share with you. If you want it go to heaven and earth design under free charts.

Here's the picture of the chart. Great for Christmas.

I had to have a look and found 3 charts I like 

Fairies welcome

Follow the butterflies 

Smiles in my cup

Maybe in the next sale I just might get them, we will see. I'm sure I would find more but stopped looking after an hour or so. Ha ha.

That's it I think. Have a great Christmas and I will do my last post 28th December.

 See you all then, happy stitching !!!!

Double dip

Hi stitchers, thank you for all your comments and your well wishes for my dad.

He's back home but still unwell. Christmas is a bad time to be sick with everyone going away on holidays. What can you do.

It's been a busy week for me so very little in the way of stitching.

Over last weekend I stayed with forever and ever

Here before

And by Monday I think.

Like I said not much.

Monday or Tuesday I made my 2019 plans, changed all my project bags and such.

I also wanted to stitch a mermaid. You know when you get a feeling that you want to stitch a subject or a designer. 

I started Sea Flora by Nora Corbett

Fabric 32ct evenweave Rainbow ocean by sew it all

Sadly I was so tired by the end of the day, that not much was done on her.

Evenweave is harder to stitch on when tired then Aida I found out this week.

Here's the photo of what she will look like

And the very small start.

You don't see how gorgeous this fabric is as it has a bit of a rainbow on it but I hope, as I stitch her it will show up for you.

Because I was so tired and busy a lot this week. 

I didn't stitch Wednesday and not much the rest of the week, but I went back to something easy my forever and ever. 

Here's what is looks like now

This week I think I will have more stitching time and not be soooo tired.

I got my app wheel to pick and it did Renaissance mermaid so that's what I'm going to stitch today.

That's it until next week, happy stitching!!!

Final Plans For Rest Of 2018/2019

Hi Stitchers.

I'm ready For 2019

I was looking for something in my stitching stuff at the start of this week.

I saw all the zip lock bags I have of beads and kreinik for the cross stitch projects I'm stitching or wanted to start, everything to finish them. 

Too many bags and lots of money just siting there, waiting to be used.

I made a plan around all the beads and kreinik that's just sitting there.

Here's my final plans

As you all know I'm doing my money box.

I got a notebook to keep track,

1. New start $5.00

2. Re start 10 cents 

3. Finish 20 cents

4. Page finish on a heaven and earth 50 cents 

5. New chart buy in 2019 $1.00

My mum is giving me my money box for Christmas so I will show you that in the new year.

I'm going to do my own year of Wips. Not join a group.

I'm not making any goals, they will be my focus but I can and will stitch other projects as I feel like.

I would like to finish, start or make progress on all of the following. 

1st of January new start will be Mini Red Queen Red Dragon (I have my $5.00 all ready) 

From my Wips as follows 

Mini Pirate, (I would still like to get it finished.)

Lilly Of the woods

Sweet pea fairy

Spring fairy

Songbird's garden series 

Electra

Owl

Halloween Quaker 

The south sea mermaid

Renaissance mermaid

Spring topiary garden

Treasures of the deep Sal (I would love to get finished)

Raven

Minerva

Tropical Christmas both books

New starts as follows 

Snapdragon

Mermaids of the deep blue

Sea flora (I made a little start this week, see Friday)

Cassiopeia

To get or waiting for in the mail as follows (for now, might be others later).

Miss moss

Fairy of the wind

Most have been put in my 14 project bags and have the beads, kreinik, fabric, any other thread. 

I want to use what I've already got.

Now at times I will pick what I stitch but I will also let tiny decisions app pick for me.

On the wheel I have all the above and

Mill hill kit

Big box of my other Wips

If I want to do a new start other then above, I will.

I'm going to give myself the freedom to stitch what I want but my focus is above.

See how well I do at the end of 2019!! 

Hope to see a finish or four by the end of the year with the above projects.

If not, that's ok too. It's stitching and I want to enjoy it after all.

That's my plans for the rest of 2018 onto 2019.

Happy stitching!!!

What a week!

Hi my friends, summer is now here!! today it's to get 37c or for most of you 99f. That's hot people. I don't like summer and already wish for autumn. I think it's going to be a very hot and wet stormy summer this year.

Stitching!

I changed a few charts in my project bags, taking out a few Wips I don't want to stitch right now and putting new Wips in. I would like to focus on the ones now in my bags to get them done and finished. I put a few that I don't want to stitch but still want done so it's a mix of old and new. Plus the new starts that are coming soon. 

This week I got my mum to pick out of the 14 bags what I should stitch.

She said Treasures of the deep Sal. Not the one I thought she would pick but ok.

Here is before

And the two mermaids I stitched with more of that never ending border.

For someone who said last week she didn't feel like doing half stitch, I sure made up for it this week with the Christmas one I did and the two mermaids. All are full of half stitch but love how they look.

Now. I'm mad. I ordered fabric (I don't put names) for my songbird's garden series. For 3 of them. So 3 fabrics. Now I've ordered from them 2 times before and had no problems but this time.... After so long of not getting it in the mail and finding out via email that tacking said it was delivered and no I don't have it. I went to my post place to ask what the hell where is my package only to be told the sender didn't put my full address down only 10 my suburb and Melbourne with post code. Post will try and find it. No luck it's now lost in post. I got back to seller and tell them all this, give them the tracking to show they didn't put right address and I want my money back or the 3 fabrics re sent at there cost. Now I got a email saying its  MY Fault that I didn't put the right address in when it shows right in front of them billed to is this address which is different to what was sent and that they had a look it said delivered so they are not going to do anything, I need to cool down before I email them back but basically they are saying its my fault, has nothing to do with them,they have my money so to bad if I don't have my 3 fabric.  I'm so angry about this. 

In the mean time I watched sammyjstitches on flosstube and she is doing forever and ever the first songbird's garden on blue fabric and I really liked it. I've been hanging out to start it and with the problems with the above...

I went over my stash of blue fabric and found the right one with a Christmas chart that right now I don't care to stitch as much and later I can get more anyway.

So I have a new start it will look like this

I'm stitching it on 18ct Aida by sew it all called western sky.

 I'm loving stitching this. It's all full cross, easy to read chart and NO half stitch or backstitch. 

After getting home from Christmas shopping I found in my mail box a package. I was thinking "but it's too small for any of the orders I'm waiting on"' Then after a much needed drink I saw it was from June, it's a stitchy gift. Oh wow. Your timeing couldn't have been better.

Can I open it June or do I have to wait until Christmas Day? Please please can I open it... Your gift made my day. Please can I open it??? Thank you sooooooo much June, wow just wow.

And no it's not opened until you tell me I can before Christmas or on Christmas Day. So can I, can I. Lol I'm starting to sound like a little kid.

I thought this week couldn't get any worse than not getting my fabric but now my dad is in hospital. I'm not going to go into it but he's in the best place. 

So that's my week the bad,the good, the great gift, and the bad again.

This week I'm going to keep stitching forever and ever, see how it goes.

Hope you got a little stitching in over the busy season and see you next week.

 Happy stitching

Festive Flamingo

Hi my friends. 

I have a finish to show you, as I finished it today the 1st of December. It's just right that I show you now. It's also the start of Summer.

A lot of Christmas charts are winter themed, with snow and snowman.

Mid year this year I finally found a summer Christmas. My type of Christmas.

Tropical Christmas by Stoney creek. I also got book 2 Mrs. Claus tropical Christmas.

The plan is to stitch all the little ones, not the stockings. I also got all the buttons. 

My finish is from tropical Christmas called festive flamingo.

How cute is he!! I just had to stitch him. He had so much half stitch.

Fabric 16ct Aida haven. It's a little darker blue then the photo.

Now I'm counting each book as 1 start and 1 finish, so all 12 little charts will be counted as 2 Wips.

I hope to stitch more of them in December but will see where my stitchin takes me.

Until next time happy stitching!

Dog House

Hi my stitchy friends, how was your week? 

Miss black swallowtail is on hold. All the cross stitch is done, I'm just waiting for the post man to bring me the beads and then I will finish her. Looks like a December finish.

So I had to find something else to stitch for most of this week. 

You know when you get the "I don't want to stitch kreinik or half stitch, anything too big and on the list goes. That's what happened to me. What I didn't want to stitch was long but what I did want to stitch was a small wip that I could get a finish soon.

It took a while to find but I did. In my number 4 project bag of all places, why did I not just go thou my project bags in the first place. Oh well.

So what I stitched and tonight I finished was 

Dog House sampler by little house Needleworks 

I changed the colours as you will see but love how it turned out.

Here the chart picture again

My before 

And my finish.

Looks better in person sorry.

This week I've also been trying to work out how many cross stitch starts and finishes I've had so far this year. I've been finding it harder then I thought as I've stitched a few smalls I didn't write down because I did them in a day, or are from magazines. I'm not going over all my posts in 2018 but I'm very close with the numbers I worked out. Who cares if I'm one or so off right.

It got me thinking about 2019. 

I've made a plan that was about using the wheel but I've changed my mind on that. 

2019 I what to stitch what I want to, but I also would like to stitch from my stash. 

I know I'm going to buy new charts. Joan Elliott is coming out with a new set of fairys that will be a must have and I'm also collecting the songbird's garden series. I'm sure there's going to be more I will want to buy over the year to. 

Trying to find out how many new starts and finished projects I've had, gave me a new idea. One that I can keep all year long.

My idea is a money box.

Lol what I can hear you say....money box????

This is my 2019 plan, the last one I make I promise.

As I want to get my Wips done and the number down...

For every new start I do $5.00 goes in the money box

For every finish 20 cents (I also end up with a lot of them so this is easy)

A re start 10 cents (I have one or two I want to re start at some point)

And for every new chart I buy 50 cents

Everything goes in my money box and at the end of the year I just count the money to get the right number of starts, finishes and even new charts. 

I also can put down I saved money at the end of the year too.

It's a win win.

I can stitch anything I want to, it's just going to cost me a little more money to stitch a new start then A wip, which I'm hopeful that will help me stitch from my Wips.

I love my new idea for 2019 and you can join me if you want to, all you need is a money box and how much you want to spend on new starts, finishes, buying. You can put your own price on them and at the end of the year not only will you be able to count how you stitched for 2019 but you saved money doing it too.

Let me know if you do. Or what you think of my plan for 2019.

That's it for now. Until next week happy stitching!!

Miss Black Swallowtail

Hi again. Time for my weekly post and I only stitched on 1 wip.

I had a very up and down week this week with a few days that I didn't stitch. 

I think I will just keep going on miss black swallowtail until she is a finish as I'm so close.

Here is before

And now

I looked at the beads for her and had to send away for one colour, hope I get them before I finish her as they are in her wings and I can't wait to see what her wings will look like all done. As you can see I'm going to fill the wings up last, it will give me something to look forward to after stitching the boring grey of her dress. Maybe next week I will get all the stitchin done on her. We will see how it goes.

That's it this week. 

Thank you for all your comments and happy thanksgiving to everyone that has that holiday. 

Until next week happy stitching!!!

Smalls Sal November

Hi stitchers it's time for the smalls Sal again. 

Sadly and I don't know why but last month I couldn't link up to it. With the new change in link up it just will not let me. Maybe because I do all my blogging and cross stitch on my iPad and not a computer.

So with only this month and December to go I thought I would still do a smalls post but I will not be doing it next year, just sayin. 

Here's my smalls for November 

Not bad this month if I do say so myself ha ha. Happy Stitching!!!

A Little Christmas and A Little Miss

Hi my Stitchy friends, thank you for all your comments. I'm glad you all like my Christmas stitching.

This week I started holiday Quaker by Lila's studio. 

I wish I hadn't started it. I say that because as soon as I did I felt guilty because I haven't finished the Halloween Quaker yet and I guess in my mind I need to finish the first one before I can work on the next. So it's only a very small start .

It will look like this

And my small start. 

Fabric is 16ct Aida Mirage. I had got the called for fabric and it was too light for my liking.

As I wanted to stitch Christmas I picked another new start and I got it finished too.

Kringle's Crow by Threadwork Primitives. I did it on 18ct or 16ct Aida called wren. Lost the tag.

Here is what the picture is

And my finish. I have seen this made into a Halloween one to but I think I will just keep it this way.

Next i have plans to stitch the songbird's garden series by cottage garden samplings.

I just got the weeks threads for the first one forever and ever and waiting on my gray fabric in the mail. Maybe it will come next week. 

I want one of my project bags to keep all 12 in and the thread as I buy it. I could buy a new bag and have looked but I thought if I finish a wip that would save me money right. I would love to get another 3 bags but right now that's not going to happen. The other 2 I would use for 2 new heaven and earth I want to stitch soon, maybe next year. Never know maybe Santa is listening ha ha.

Anyway so I looked at my Wips in the project bags to see what I feel like stitching and started working on Miss Black Swallowtail by Nora Corbett. I can't put her down. 

Here she was before 

And now

The wings feel like they are taking forever to stitch but how cool are they. When I put in the kreinik and beads the wings are going to be so pretty. 

That's my stitchy week my friends. I think I will keep going on swallowtail for now. 

See what next week holds. Happy Stitching!!!