Stitching Lotus

WIPs and More WIPs

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Heather

I’m just about to take part in a work-in-progress knit along in one of the groups I frequent on Ravelery. And, before we get started, we are supposed to take a picture of every project that we intend to work on during the next two months. Here’s what I have on the needles (or hook) at the moment.

Knitting and Crochet WIPs

There are three shawls, two pairs of socks, a pair of fingerless mitts, a sweater for the little man, a wrap for me, a teddy bear, and a sweater sampler from the book Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee. I also have a crocheted hat started that I forgot to include in the picture.

I will admit that I cast on three of the projects this afternoon just so they would be available to work on during the KAL. (That isn’t against the rules.) I’ll be working almost exclusively on the red shawl (this) until the end of the month. After that, it is full steam ahead on the other projects!

2 Comments | Posted in Crochet, Knitting | Tagged Crochet, Knitting, WIPs

TUSAL – August 2013

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Heather

It’s TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch-Along) time again! Yep, I’m a day late as usual. 😉

My little collection of orts.

I haven’t really done too much stitching this month, as is evidenced by my paltry collection of orts. I mainly worked on the Santa’s Journey Stocking and the ornament for the Ornament SAL.

My big jar of orts.

And this is my collection for the year. A few pieces of yarn have made their way into the jar, but it is mostly just floss ends. I doubt it will be full by the end of the year, but it will be fun to try. 😉

If you’d like to know more about the TUSAL, check out Daffycat’s blog.

3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged Cross Stitch, TUSAL

Fuzzy Snowman

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Heather

I’m sorry for the reminder about Christmas yesterday. It seems some of you prefer to ignore the fact that it is creeping up on us, slowly, slowly, slowly. 😉 How about thinking about winter instead?

Bernat Boa Snowman

This little guy is from the pattern Bernat Boa Snowman (available for free from Michael’s). He is knit from Bernat Boa (surprise!) in colourway Blizzard, and Bernat Handicraft in colourways Christmas Blue and Christmas Red. (I believe the colours are now named Dove, Robin’s Egg Blue and Red, respectively.) He was super quick to knit, but also tricky. The Bernat Boa is very slippery, and if it falls of the needles, it can be hard to get the stitches back. The one time I dropped a stitch down several rows, I had to make use of a locking stitch marker to stop it dropping further.

That’s it for wintery crafts for a little while. I promise. 😉 Tomorrow I’ll share a purse… or maybe my progress on the Santa’s Journey Stocking. lol!

5 Comments | Posted in Knitting | Tagged Finishes, Knitting

Santa Needlebook

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Heather

I’m so glad to see that there are still some people following along with the Ornament SAL. I know it is easy to lose steam, especially in the summer. And, I don’t know about where you are, but the weather here has been so lovely for the past couple of weeks that it is hard to think about Christmas or stitching at all. But we must! Christmas is about 141 days away!!

Speaking of Christmas, my mom has been asking me for a needlebook since just about last Christmas. And, since she loves Santa, I took a look through my pile of finished ornaments and made this for her:

Santa Needlebook – cover

The design is 2006 Santa by Vermillion Stitchery, and was in the 2006 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. I originally shared it back in December 2011 here. I made it into a needlebook using the directions in the book [amazon_link id=”1603424490″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]One Yard Wonders[/amazon_link] as an inspiration. (If you like to sew, this is a great book! It has all sorts of fun ideas. I’ll be sharing another project from it later this week.)

Inside is green felt, the perfect place for my mom to store her (expensive!) beading needles. The interior fabric is the same as the fabric on the back cover.

Santa Needlewook – interior

I’m so happy with how it turned out! I wish I hadn’t waited so long to make it. But, I’m a nervous sewist, and I didn’t want to make a mistake. I think my patience was well rewarded, and I hope my mom feels the same way.

7 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch, Sewing | Tagged Cross Stitch, Finishes, Santa, Sewing

Ornament SAL – July Check-In

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Heather

It’s the last Wednesday of the month, and time for another check in post.

For my seventh ornament I stitched Dragon Dream’s St. George’s Gift, from the 1998 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. It is stitched as per the pattern, with DMC floss and Kreinik braid, on some linen from Enchanting Lair. I think it might be Silvery Skies. Whatever it is, it is lovely!

St George’s Gift, designed by Dragon Dreams

I’ve already started work on August’s ornament, partly because I want to have this gigantic shawl crocheted to wear to a wedding on August 31st.

So, what did you stitch for your ornament this month? I can’t wait to see! Please let your link below. Don’t forget there will be a draw for a lovely stitchy prize at the end of the year. Every month that you leave your link you will get an additional entry. Easy and fun, right? The list will stay open for about a week.

Also, please be sure to visit some of the other participants. We all really love to have people stop by our blogs and leave comments.

Next Month – The check in date for August will be Wednesday the 28th.

8 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged Cross Stitch, Dragon Dreams, Finishes, Ornament SAL 2013

I Choose You!

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Heather

The title of today’s post is actually the North American title of the first every Pokémon episode. And, it seemed apropos for today’s finish:

Pokémon Sampler, designed by FingerPrickings

The Pokémon Sampler! It is done! And, honestly, I do find it kinda cute. And it wasn’t so bad to stitch something in black and shades of grey. It was very undemanding, and maybe even a little fun. And it really is stitched on white fabric. I need to get some better lighting!

So, after this little break, look at what is back at my stitching spot:

Stitching!

I appreciate the encouragement from so many of you. (I love comments!) I’ll share my progress on Mr. Santa in a couple of days, once it actually looks like I’ve done more.

Bloglovin’ and Other Options

It has been about a month since Google Reader rode off into the sunset, and I’m sure most of you have now found other solutions. I decided to go with Feedly, but Bloglovin’ seems to be another popular alternative. Check out my side bar (or below) if you’d like an easy way to follow my blog on Bloglovin’.

5 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged Cross Stitch, Finishes

Pokémon? Wha?

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Heather

Oh, the things we do to accumulate more stash. In exchange for some acyrlic roving for spinning, I’m stitching this:

Pokemon Sampler

The design is Pokémon Gameboy Sampler from FingerPricks. I’m stitching it as per the chart, using DMC, on some white 28 count evenweave.

Okay, the design is cute, but I’m just a bit too old to have been interested in Pokémon when it first became popular. I was just old enough to be dismissive of it, and I won’t get into the ire it raised back when I worked in a videogame store. 😉 I’ll stitch just about anything for some pretty stash though.

The sampler is a quick stitch, and I’m hoping to get it done by the end of the week. I’ll post again before I send it off to its new home.

3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged Cross Stitch, WIPs