SFS 2014 Update for June

Hello folks, time for another update on Stitch From Stash.

First pics on what I worked on for June. Directly below is an ornament that I started stitching on in late May and just whipped together using stuff from stash. I had left-over fuzzy thread and I used it for the lamb and bunny here. These charts came with Mill Hill Beaded Pin kits from way back in the 90's. I was flipping thru my stash and ran into the charts and voila! a new little ornie! Tres chere

Below is Pedigree of Honey by Sharon Pope. I started this in May and it will soon be finished, hopefully before June 30th! I did purchase 4 honey bee charms to put around the bee skep. In case you are wondering, yes, the urn on the right is darker than the one on the left. I had wrapped the floss around the wrong skein and didn't pic up the color difference. C'est la vie, I am not frogging it out.

Below are 4 magazines that I ordered from Needleworkers' Delight/Silkweaver in June. They were having a sale but I forgot to add the code so they sent me an extra magazine. I just loved these mags, they are from around 2008 and are filled with motifs and home projects. They have inspired me to start working on some towels I have and an afghan that would look great covered in Christmas motifs. 

I am still working on the Petal Pin Cushion...I need more light and time so its been hard to finish, but I have not lost hope that I will!

So, to calculate my expenses for June it would be $5.25 for the bee charms and $12.00 for the magazines for a total expenditure of $17.25.

Here is the break down to date:

Jan $0
February $0
March $4
April $9
May $0
June $17.25

Well that's it, and  hoping everyone is enjoying their summer. Prayers go out to all those working thru a loss or thru illness.

Hugs, Christina

Stitching from Stash 2014 Update for May

Hello fellow stitchers,

Hope everyone is starting to feel a bit of Spring in the air.

I've got a finish related to SFS 2014 challenge. I just finished Major Tree by AAN Designs. Pics below. I've enjoyed this very much.

My May SFS project is Sharon Pope's sampler "The Pedigree of Honey". I started this over the week end and have completed the bee skep and the right-hand vase. I haven't a pic of my work but below is a pic of the sampler. I am hoping to finish this within a month. I might start something for Christmas afterwards...am not sure.

I am also still working on the Petal pin-cushion from JCS but the construction directions have errors so it has not been fun.

So far here is what I have done for the SFS challenge:

Jan - spent 0

Feb spent 0

March spent $4

April spent $9

May spent 0

Not bad at all. How am I doing so well? Other than my other tips that I posted previously, I have not visited any shops in months. As you might know, I travel thru Florida and SC quite a bit and would routinely drop into Local shops and spend a few bucks. I stopped doing that for this challenge and even though I was sorely tempted to drop into "A Stitch In Time" in Jacksonville, I just didn't. Almost ran into the Hobby Lobby in Daytona but I resisted...my mind is stronger than my...mind. HAhaaahaaa.

OK, well, that's it for now and wishing everyone happy stitching moments!

Christina

Stitching from Stash and Pin Cushion SAL and other stuff

Hello all (I like to pretend that there are more than three people on the planet reading my blog), hope you are all surviving the coming of spring. For those of you that are dealing with flooding and those that are still seeing snow, my prayers are for your safety and strength to see you through this.

As always, I will start with my stitching stuff and leave the boring journaling to later on.

JCS Petal Pin Cushion 
The picture below is not very good, its what happens when you are taking pics of a yellow fabric in a yellow house with a yellow light. Nothing I did with the camera could correct this. OK, so the question is do I finish the bottom of the pincushion with the colorful fabric or the matching yellow?

SFS 2014
I am having such a blast with this. This is my April submission. This month I am working on the pin cushion as my stitch from stash project. I am also still working on Major Tree. I did spend $ 9 on a yard of 36 ct linen at Joann Fabrics...I know. It never occurred to me to buy suiting linen for my stitching. Someone suggested this and I just remembered it and so I went with my 50% off coupon and voila, a whole yard of linen! Who knew? Does anyone know of any drawbacks to stitching with this stuff? I did notice that the crosses aren't square.

So far, during this challenge:

Jan- spent 0
Feb - spent 0
March - spent $4
April - spent $9

I do have a tip to share about how I stay well within my limit: I still do visit the web sites and read their newsletters, and then I fill up the on-line carts with all the stuff that I want and then, then...I hit the delete button and make it all go away. Crazy, I know, but I get that rush of picking stuff out and thinking about it but without the cost.

Another tip is that I have stuff already kitted and ready to go, so no real reason to shop for anything.

Anyway, that's it for now. Hope to have pics of Major Tree (in daylight) soon.

Boring Journaling Stuff
My kids are taking their FCATs this week. They are stressing about it but I told them that they had done the work that all they could do now is take the test and hope for the best. I try to think back on what I went thru for testing but I was a nerd at school and studied all of the time. Testing didn't stress me out - I knew the material. I was an honor student due to incredible study skills. Problem now is you can't just memorize stuff anymore, and of course, the education is different. Kids are sat in front of a computer reading "articles" that might be 3 paragraphs long, and then spit out answers on a computer. Very odd. I do agree that institutions are investing in the "dumbing down" of America. I am watching it before my very eyes, seemingly powerless to stop it. I augment the "education" with other activities - use of a microscope, cataloging specimens and talking about science and the cosmos. Competitive edge? There isn't one apparently, unless you are in the upper economic class. My girls are cute though, so maybe that will get them through life, for a while anyway.



Christina

STitch From Stash 2014 Update

I know! Another update but there aren't any rules really....Anyway here is a pic of current progress on Major Tree.

Stitch From Stash 2014 - Below are my supplies for the petal pincushion featured in JCS magazine, May/June issue 2014. This is my Stitch from Stash Project for March.  For March, I spent $1.99 for the fabric and $1.99 for the buttons. I had found some buttons from my stash but I liked these better. 

I spent nothing in January and February and this month I spent $ 4. Yahoo! 

I am using 32 count yellow linen from Wichelt. The green and pink floss are DMC Variations, the brown floss is DMC Linen and the ric rac is form my stash as well as the green ribbon. I think this is going to turn out quite pretty. A bit different from the one in the magazine but still nice. Oh, I almost forgot, I have two bunny buttons that I bought somewhere last year and I thought one of them would look really cute on the inside of the pincushion.  I can't wait to start this, but am waiting until a fellow stitcher will be able to stitch along with me. 

Well that's it for now. Hope everyone is having fun stitching. 

Until the next time...adios!

Christina 

Work in progress Update

Hello stitching friends, here is a short update with a pic of my progress to date on Major Tree by AAN. So far, so good. I do have a counting error towards the bottom of the tree, can't find it, but I know its there. This means continuing to work up and then right and then down, so I can accommodate one less row towards the bottom. I'm an expert in accommodating errors, you see!

Well, its March and I hope to finish this by the end of the month. It would be cool indeed to finish a project every month or so! I will be starting that lovely little pin cushion on the cover of JCS magazine. I have the supplies except for the matching fabric for the bottom...soon, soon.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well and for those of you still in the thrall of winter, hang in there, Spring will be here soon.

Keep safe,
Hugs, Christina

Another stitchy update and SFS2014

Hello folks, well, it seems that Jack Frost decided to take a vacation in the "South". Snow in SC accompanied with sleet, and frozen roads, power outages. Quite a mess! Hope everyone being impacted stays nice and warm and safe.

OK,here are the pics as promised.

Nora Corbet's Sunflower Fairy, whole. =)

Nice pics of the beading...sort of.

Major Tree by Alessandra Adelaide. Very colorful orange tree with round decorations and birds. This is stitching up quite quickly but I haven't stitched on it in a few days. I am really enjoying this stitch. Below is pic of what it will look like.

The Major Tree is my project for Stitch From Stash 2014 for the month of February. I had kitted this up last year. I have most of the DMC colors and quite a bit of fabric. I've put this on a 28 count white evenweave. The pattern calls for 25 count but I've never even seen that count of fabric. For February I spent nothing on stash ...so far so good. I spent nothing in January, as well. I am doing really good!

I almost put this on 22 count Aida but I didn't want to fuss with that tiny of a count...but the 28 count makes this a pretty big project...hard to frame by myself. 

Major Tree by Alessandra Adelaide.

And below is are pics of my progress on the Mill Hill scissor pocket. I like working with beads but can't do it at night which is when I mostly stitch. Hope to finish it this coming weekend. This also came from my Stash. At this rate, I won't have any stash left come Christmas! Yay!

Well, that's it for now folks! 

Happy stitching to all! 

Hugs,

Christina

Stitching update and SFS2014 for February

Hello fellow stitchers, I have completed Sunflower Fariy using Vickie Clayton's HDF. Am really surprised it turned out as well as it did. I was stitching this for my SFS2014 January Challenge. Pic below: I would have more pics but I somehow managed to delete 250 pics from my husbands phone while trying to make room for more pics of my stitching...and yes, I am in the dog house. Praying and hoping that a friend of mine that works in IT can recover some of the files.

The I also substituted with beads that I had on hand which worked out perfectly. I added yellow beads around the hem because the pattern only called for the orange ones but it seemed off balance. I didn't have the Kreinik I need either but I think the colors I used on her wings worked out perfectly. Wish I could show you more but like I said, I lost everything and just don't have the heart to try for another pic. (Spent the whole night crying last night due to this.)

Above is my project from my Stitch from Stash Challenge. Its a Scissor Pocket from Mill Hill. Easy enough to stitch but it's adorned with a beaded fringe and the necklace part is also all beaded and suspect that this will take uninterrupted to time to finish. Let's see how this works. 

SFS 2014 Month of February:

Mill Hill Plum Opal Sampler Scissor pocke. I have had this kit for years, maybe like 6 years!  (if I finish this quickly, I will work on Adelaide Alessandra's Major Tree - more later if and when I actually start it. =)

$ spent: 0 so far, will update if I have spent anything else.

Anyway, that's it for me.  Hope everyone is staying warm and healthy this winter season...oh, and safe too!

Hugs,

Christina