Tatty Ted Finish

Well here he is. The Tatty Ted height chart is finished. Well the stitching anyway, I've still got to finish finish him. This is Gemma holding it up for all to see.



And here are a couple of closer shots so that you can see them properly.

I need to get some backing fabric to finish it off and to add the baby's name and date of birth when we know it. (It's due 1st January)

So for now, it's back to Enchanted Flute - at least until I've finished page 3!

This Week's Progress

This past week has been spent on Enchanted Flute again. I've got about half way through page three of the chart and the butterfly is begining to show.

So, it's gone away now for another week and Tatty Ted has come back out. I know they are all I seem to show at the moment, but then they are all I stitch on! I can't put Enchanted Flute down, and Tatty Ted has a deadline so I'm forced to make room for him. However, hubby is away one night this week so I might just get the advent stuff back out, although there is no chance of that being done for this christmas now - after all I'm still only on number 3!

Happy stitching to all, may the frog stay away, and thank you for visiting.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear......

I've spent the last week working on Tatty Teddy - and I now have two teddy bears (well almost - the second one still needs to be backstitched). I just need to add the third teddy and a few stars - oh yes and the balloon strings and then we are there.

They are going away now for a week while I go back to Enchanted Flute - I really want to see that butterfly appear. I'll do weekly rotation between the Teddies and Enchanted Flute until the Teddies are finished, then I'll bring Celtic Summer and Poppies back into the rotation.

Have a happy stitchy week everybody.

More Enchanted Flute

This week's stitching has been dedicated to Enchanted Flute and there is good progress to show on it. I'm still waiting for the butterfly to make an appearance but I'm sure it will before this page is finished. The stitching is now the full width of page three so I guess I've got about ¼ of the page done (allowing for all the confetti stitches).

I'm still really enjoying this but it is going to go away now this week and I will spend the week on Tatty Teddy. Then it really depends on how he is progressing as to whether I go back to this or continue with him - or maybe I should spend some time with my Celtic Lady or even visit my Poppy Fields. Oh dear too many BAPs on the go and not enough time.

I recently bought two Mill Hill kits as something small and different to do. This first one was a Tiny Treasured Diamond called Icy Snowflake. I had seen this one last year and liked the look of it so I gave in this time and bought it. It actually stitched up really quickly, only taking me three days to get it done.

I also bought Orchid Tassel which is stitched on paper which I've not used before. I let you know how it turns out. I've not started it yet.

At last I've managed to finish page 2 of Enchanted Flute. The next page of the chart gets a lot lighter as there is a clear change in the colours. I'll be moving on to the butterfly soon.

Tatty Ted is still continuing. I shall be making him top priority now. I've finished all the numbers down the side and am working on the second of the three teddies. I'll post a pic when there is a bit more to show.

Thank you for visiting.

New Moon

Well it was last week anyway. My excuse for, once again, being late with the Totally Useless SAL is that we were away. (Which is actually true!). So here is my jar as it stands now.

It's amazing how the stuff keeps on going in although the jar appears to be full.

For our week away, I decided to take Celtic Summer with me. I looked out all the threads (except two which I don't appear to have - I could have swarn I ordered them all!). I bagged everything up carefully, put them in the case - and then left it all in the car for the week! Ooops!

So progress isn't as good as it should be, but she is definately coming along.

I think I really need to devise some kind of rotation to my stitching. That way, something might get finished and I might see some reall progress with stuff. For now, I think it is back to Tatty Teddy as I do have a deadline for him (even if it's January).

Hope everybody is keeping well, and happy stitching to all.

We Have Lift Off!

Well almost! I've made a start on the Tatty Ted height chart and it is actually coming along quite quickly. We have one of the three teddies and some balloons. I just need to attach him to them and finish off the height guide to the right and then that is the top half of the chart done. I have to say it's a fun stitch after enchanted flute! The other day Rachael reminded me about the EMS advent calender that I had started. I was ashaimed to say that I had got no further than number 1. So I got it out again the other day. I have now finished number 2 .....

and made a start on number 3. Hubby is out tonight and tomorrow night so hopefully I will finish number 3 in that time. I still think I'm expecting too much to get this finished for the end of November but we will see how it goes.

Happy stitching everybody!

I'M BACK

Have you missed me? To be honest I really don't know where the time has gone and I had no idea that it's been over two months since I posted. Life just gets in the way sometimes doesn't it? I'm still working - my contract has just been extended to the end of August, not bad seeing it was originally to the end of March! Children have broken up for school summer holidays - eldest has now left primary school and starts comp in September - again, where has the time gone?

Now for stitchy updates!

To be honest, I hardly stitched for about a month so progress may not be as great as you expect. Most of what I have done has been on Enchanted Flute and she now looks like this:-

I've nearly finished page 2 of the chart and I'm moving away from navy and black into pale blues and greens.

I've also started a new piece by Anchor called A Host of Poppies. This is what it should look like when finished:-

And this is how it looks at the moment:-

This piece was actually bought for me for my birthday and is not one I would have chosen. Having said that I'm really enjoying stitching it. Funny how things turn out.

Celtic Summer is the other piece that is in progress. I've not taken a pic of her as I didn't think I had stitched on her, but having looked at the last pic posted here I have done some more so I'll post a pic next time.

I am going to have to put all these projects on hold for a while (or at least add to the list). I've kind of started a tradition of stitching something for each new arrival in our family, and as the next one is due in January I really ought to make a start. I've chosen the kit and it has arrived, so hopefully I'll make a start over the next day or two - although I would like to finish page 2 of Enchanted flute first.

Anyway, this is the piece I've chosen. It's a height chart of Tatty Teddy.

And finally, my Totally Useless SAL. This is what my jar looks like now.

Thanks for visiting and I'll try not to leave it another two months before I post again. Happy stitching to one and all.

Baking day!

I don't mean really hot, I mean baking as in cooking. I used to make fancy fun birthday cakes for my children but as they've got a bit older, and life has got bussier, I've stopped doing it. However, my sisters friend found out about it and I have just done my first commissioned cake. I'm glad to say that the recipient was very pleased with it, as was her father who it was for.

On a stitching front, I've been working on Enchanted Flute whenever I get the chance, and I've finished the last part of my round robin. I really haven't had much time at all so progress on enchanted flute is slow.

The Lady Returns

Yep! I've got her back. Celtic Winter is home from the framers. Yes it was expensive, but they have done a great job! I've had to take the pic from an angle otherwise all you'll see is the reflection but you get the idea.And here is an update on Enchanted Flute. There is progress, really! This is really my main project at the moment, and I'm not stitching much else, so posts will be slow for a while. I'm still really loving doing it though - just as well as there's another 23 pages of chart to go.

A Disaster and a Solution

Ok, maybe disaster is a bit dramatic, but it got your attention!!

The Disaster - You see, I was merrily stitching away on Enchanted Flute when the highlighter that I use to mark of my stitching ran out. Well the design is so full of confetti stitching that I didn't dare continue to stitch until I had another highlighter. It would have been asking for trouble to stitch on that without marking it. But what to do? I couldn't spend the evening without stitching.

The Solution - So I started Celtic Summer. Naturally. I mean, if I can't stitch on one BAP, I'll just start another. Can't say I got a lot done but it is a start.

(That's the top of the back of her skirt if you see what I mean!)

I am now going to do weekly rotations of the two. So today until next Wednesday is Enchanted Flute, then a week of Celtic Summer.

Oh, and I took Celtic Winter to be framed today. Gulp! HOW MUCH! If she doesn't look stunning when she comes back ..............

Doggy Finish

It seems to have been ages since I posted anything, but I do have a finish to show you all. Remember the black and white stitching I had you all guessing over? Well the Golden Retriever has finally materialised. Here he is completed and framed in all his glory, ready to go to my DH's grandmother for her 92 birthday later this week.

I've also completed the Round Robin piece and sent that on. I've now got the next one to stitch and will crack on with that next week.

Yesterday, I managed to put in quite a bit of time on Enchanted Flute. There are so many confetti stitches that all though I've probably done another4-500 stitches, no more of the pattern is showing. I'll give it another couple of sessions before I post another pic, that way there should be more to show in general.

Hope everybody has had a great easter break. Now back into the garden to make the most of this lovely weather! Ironing? What Ironing? That can wait for tomorrow!!!!

Spring has sprung!

Wow, it is a glorious day today. It's a shame I've been stuck in an office for most of it.

My stitching progresses - here is the completed page one of Enchanted Flute.

I ordered the rest of the threads for this the other day so ordered the fabric and threads that I need for Celtic Summer while I was at it. Now, if I could leave Enchanted Flute alone for long enough I could make a start on it.

The golden retriever is also coming along, and is begining to look recognisable. I'll try to post a pic towards the end of the weekend so you can see the progress for yourselves.

The round robin is almost done, I've run out of thread so I will need to get some more, just not quite sure when! Does anybody know how close DMC is to Anchor? If I swap mid stitching will it show?

Lets hope this wonderful weather continues over the weekend and we get lots of lovely, bright sunshine for stitching in!

TUSAL Day

It's a new moon so time to show my TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch Along)

Progress actually looks very good, but I did have to start a lot of threads for Enchanted Flute so there are a fair number of thread wrappers in there.

I've been working on the round robin since my last post so have nothing else to show at the moment.

It's funny though, when I started reading peoples blogs they would talk about projects they had forgotten they had started and really must get on with and finish. To me, this sounded so strange (I was a one piece at a time girl back then). However, I've just had a quick glance through my stash box (I never used to have one of those either!) and found two projects that I'd forgotten about. And I really do mean forgotten. I've got other UFO's as well but these I really had forgotten I'd even started them. What is happening to me? - too much contact with enablers I think. Will they ever get finished - I don't know - one of them hopefully, the other I'm not sure about.

Anyway, enough rambling. I've got a really busy weekend ahead, away tomorrow night then lots of socialising so probably not much stitching will be done.

Have a good weekend all.

More Enchanted Flute

Well, here is the result of all my stitching time since my last post! I am loving this and really can't put it down at the moment. I've very nearly finished the first page, leaving about 23 to go!!!!


I am going to have to put this down now for a week or so as I must do the next part of the round robin stitching and finish the Golden Retriever, both of which are needed by early April. So until they are done this will have to wait.

I hope everybody is getting plenty of stitching time.

HAED Update

I have to admit to concentrating on Enchanted Flute since I last blogged. I'm really enjoying the challenge of it, and have even joined Our Friends HEAD sal blog to keep me motivated and watch what others are doing. There is some amazing stitching going on there and worth a look even if you're not a HEAD fan.

My camera and I have had a long talk about it's recent behaviour and I've even threatened it with the scanner. I've always believe that you shouldn't make a threat that you won't carry out, so I've used the scanner and the camera to take pics of Enchanged Flute. I am posting them both in the interests of research, so that I know which looks best and if the camera and I have a future!

So, this one is from the scanner:-

and this is from the camera.

In fairness, I think the camera has justified itself. The colour are much truer. They should be blues, not purples. Interesting experiment though, and shows that the camera is worth perservering with.

Happy stitching all.

A Little Finsh and Some Fun

Most of my stitching time recently has been taken up with "Enchanted Flute" which is actually starting to show some progress. I'm keen to continue on this for now as I'm sure I will lose enthusiasm at some stage, so want to do as much as I can now.

However, I was having a little sort out (or rather through, as nothing actually goes out!) and realised I had rather a lot of WIP's and it was time I finished one. So here it is, a little biscornu. It still needs a button, but I don't have anything suitable at the moment. I'm not sure that the green colour really works but otherwise, I quite like it.

And now for the fun! I came across The Totally Useless SAL link from Rachael's Blog and thought I'd join in. I can't justify a purpose bought jar, so I'm making do with an old Honey Jar. The idea is to keep all your orts in the jar, and then post an update pic on each new moon showing how much you have collected. (Next post is 26 March).

Progress Update

I've not had a chance to blog much recently but I have been busy stitching. I'm taking part in my first round robin and my initial part of that is almost done, ready to send out to the other participants.

I've also done number one and started number two of the EMS advent freebie. I'm doing this as a surprise for hubby and trying to stitch on it when he is not around - which is not easy. Trying to get all 24 done my be quite a challenge. Anyway here is 1 and half of 2.

I've also been doing biscournu which is close to being stitched together. I might try to finish that tonight to get something out of the way and completed. But my biggest progress in on Enchanted Flute a HAED design. I've done about 2,000 stitches which is about 1/3rd of the first page. I am stitching 1 over 1 on 32 count so the stitched area so far is very small - anyway that's my excuse for an appauling photograph (I think I need some lessons). But I think you can get the jist of how it is developing. I'll see if hubby can take something better when he gets home.

A Bag and Snow

This is a little bag that I stitched for a friend who is a card maker. She had bought the kit some time ago as a card topper but hasn't got round to stitiching it. So, I've stitched it for her. Sorry the pic is out of focus, but I only took one photo and it's gone back to her now. It was a fun little stitch.

I've been give an award by Rachael which I am very honoured to receive. I shall give the idea some thought and then pass it on.

I pomised a pic of the snow here. Well I was suddenly late for work and by the time I got home the whole lot had gone. We did have more on the Thursday, and the closed the school but again it was gone by the end of the day. The children weren't happy about school being closed either as the eldest was supposed to be going on a school trip and the youngest had her class assembley. They did enjoy playing in it though!

Oh - and great guess by Pumpkin. It is indeed a dog - a Golden Retreiver to be exact. Well done - give yourself a pat on the back.

What is it?

Ok I've got a bit of a guessing game for you. We were away last week so I took a small project with me to do. I've done about a quarter of it so far and I don't think you can tell at all what it is going to be. So here is your chance to prove me wrong. Any ideas? Sorry, no prizes just the feel good factor of getting it right.

I've also started a biscornu just for the fun of it. Actually that's nearly finished so I'll post a pic soon. I've also bought the chart for Celtic Summer. I got all the speciality bits in a great deal a little while ago, so just need to get some fabric and then I can make a start.

Thank you everybody who commented on my Celtic Winter. It was lovely to see some new faces, I hope you visit again. She's still waiting to be framed at the moment (and probably will do for a couple of months while we recover financially from the holiday).

We've actually had some snow here! I'll get a picture and post it later.

Celtic Winter Finish

Well she's taken 6 months to complete but she will shortly be sent to the framers. Here she is, fully beaded and ready to go - Ladies and Gentlemen I present - Celtic Winter!

And here is a close up of her.

As you know I got my bargins on the thread packs for Celtic Spring and Celtic Summer - so the question is, which one next!

I plan on doing some more of my HAED design today and over the weekend so hopefully there will be something to show by the end of the weekend.

Happy Dance

Here he is, I've done it. I've finished "Tempest". He was a pleasure to stitch in the end. I did have my doubts to start with, what with all the blending and half stitches, but I think he was worth it.

I did make a start on the HAED design. I managed to put in about 600 stitches but it is so small, and the colours are so simillar that I really don't think it would show in a photo, it would just look like a black blob. I've loved what I've done of it, but it does take real concentration and plenty of day light. I've got a light that I stitch by but it's just not good enough for the job, I may have to invest in a daylight bulb. Anyway, I'll have another go at it this Friday and see if I can't get a picture then.

Happy stitching.

Thank you

Thank you all for your nice comments about "Walking in a Winter Wonderland".



Wendy - it's from issue number 194 of CrossStitcher and is designed by the Histocial Sampler Company. I think they sell the chart as well so you could try that if you can't get hold of the magazine.

I've done some more work on Tempest and am now on the backstitch of this, so he hopefully won't be too much longer.

I hope to start my HAED design on Friday. Actually, that's a slight lie - I've already made two starts on it, this will be my third. I started off doing 2 over 1 on 25ct fabric. I did about 300 stitches but it all looked a bit too tight and close together. So I decided to try 1 over 1 on the 25ct, but this didn't give enough coverage, you could easily see the white fabric through the dark threads.

So I made a big decision and decided that I liked the 1 over 1 coverage I had on Celtic Winter so have bought some white 32ct fabric. It is on this piece of fabric that I will start on Friday. So I'm about 600 stitches down with nothing to show for it. Oh well, it's a decision best made now rather than later on.

Happy stitching everybody.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everybody!

We've had a busy Christmas period, lots of friends and lots of fun which is what it's all about.

I had a huge list of stitching things that I asked for for Christmas but actually only got one - a lap stand. And I'm loving it. It really makes a difference not having to hold the hoop.

So, I know Christmas is officially over, but I thought I would show you a finish I did for last Christmas (2007). I wasn't blogging at the time so haven't had a chance to show you. Anyway, here is Walking In A Winter Wonderland which was a chart in CrossStitcher.

I've been quite busy on Tempest and he is definately coming along well.