A bit more January Cottage

I find it difficult to get the perfect angle and lighting on the camera, so here is January Cottage from a few different angles.

First WIP of January Cottage

I started CCN's January Cottage this weekend, 25 count Mushroom Lugana, 2 over 1, tent stitching. I am going to stitch all 12 cottages on this same piece of fabric, 3 wide and 4 down.  Should be an amazing piece of stitchery if I can stick with it.  We all know my track record is not too great.  But there is always a first time.  I have hope, as I really am enjoying stitching this so far.

More Blueberry Cake!

Blueberry Cake Progress

While waiting for BF at a doctor appointment this morning I was able to complete the border on Blueberry Cake.  It is similar, but a bit different from the border on Strawberry Shortcake.  I like how CCN changed things up a bit in each of these thread packs so they are not exactly the same, as that would tend to become a bit boring.  I'm just glad the border matched up when I got to the last side!

In peace, love, and stitches,
Danielle

Strawberry Cake Finish!

 
Country Cottage Needleworks Strawberry Shortcake

Fabric: Lakeside Linens 40 ct. Buttercream 

Threads: Crescent Colours

Started: 2/28/11 - Finished: 3/18/11

I also received some stash in the mail today!  The newest CCN thread pack in the cake series, Lemon Chiffon Cake, and some Lakeside Linens 40 count linen (Vintage Meadow Rue, Vintage River Willow, French Lilac) and some threads for a future project.

 

In peace, love, and stitches,

Danielle

Almost Done!

Jill and I went to Stitch Night at The Stitching Post on Saturday.  When we got there Jill gave me this great needlebook she made me.  I love it!!!

Here is a picture of my wall for being Stitcher of the Month.

I also stitched quite a bit on Strawberry Shortcake.

In peace, love, and stitches,
Danielle

Progress

I finally made it to the actual cake last night!

Happy Friday!

In peace, love, and stitches,
Danielle

More Stash and Cake!

I received Little House Needleworks Sarah Street~Faithfulness pattern, required flosses, and Lakeside Linens 40 count Buttercream linen to stitch it on!  I have loved this pattern for a long time.

I have been stitching every morning on Strawberry Shortcake. 

I have also created a Wish List page on my blog.  

Have a wonderful Wednesday, my peeps!

In peace, love, and stitches,
Danielle

Stash and Cake

Hi, my name is Danielle and I am a stashaholic!!!  LOL.  I have to admit I have bought a lot of stash over the past few weeks and it is starting to come in the mail now. 

Today it was the newest Blackbird Designs book "A Stitcher's Journey" and the newest silk thread pack from Little House Needleworks. 

And this morning I was able to work more on Strawberry Shortcake. 

In peace, love, and stash (ha!),
Danielle

More Strawberry Shortcake

I was able to get in copious amounts of stitching time this weekend and was able to get a lot more done on Strawberry Shortcake.  I am so loving stitching on the 40 count!  You get used to the small holes just like with any other piece of fabric.  I even signed up for a fabric of the month club for Lakeside Linens 40 count through Traditional Stitches in Canada.

I also took The Daughter to The Stitching Post on Sunday to get her supplies for her next project.  It is a set of butterflies in the latest issue of UK's Cross Stitcher magazine.  If you click on this link and look on the left-hand side it shows the cover of the magazine and some of the butterflies are pictured.

And of course I picked up some stash of my own!  4 Country Cottage Needleworks patterns:  Sheep In The Meadow, Pumpkin Harvest, Snowflake Serenade, and Bunny Hop.

The Daughter recently completed a project and we framed it yesterday in a wooden hoop.  She changed all of the floss colors to her own liking and she did not want to stitch the cat's face that was in the pattern, so I found a button for her to use instead.

I am hoping she sticks with cross stitching, but right now it is sporadic.  I remember learning from a friend in 6th grade and not really picking it up seriously until I was married at 23.  Only time will tell!  But the good thing about the butterflies is that, one, she loves butterflies, and, two, they are all whole stitches, so no backstitch, quarter stitch, french knots, or specialty stitches.  And it is about the only thing we have in common, so it is nice to share this with her.

It is all about finding what works for each of us, and then the hobby becomes that much more enjoyable.

In peace, love, and stitches,
Danielle

More Progress

I was able to work on Strawberry Shortcake a bit last night.

In peace, love and stitches,
Danielle

Strawberry Shortcake Take 1

A wee bit of progress on Strawberry Shortcake.  I am really liking the 40 count so far.  Working with 1 thread I don't have to worry about making sure the threads lay correctly on the fabric, and as VegasJilly puts it, the look is "crisp."  Seeing the fabric in between the stitches on 28 count or 32 count always did bug me.  So far on this fabric you cannot see that. 

This is my needlework bag.  Vera Bradley.  LOVE it.

In peace, love, and stitches,

Danielle

Weary

Today finds me weary.  Weary of giving it all away and not saving any for myself.  I just want one day where I can stitch and watch movies and bake cupcakes and not have to do something to make sure someone else's needs/wants are met. 

Country Cottage Needleworks Strawberry Shortcake Cottage Cake thread pack is all ready to be stitched!  I have the 40 count Lakeside Linens Buttercream linen ready on the Q-snap, and all of the threads and pattern are organized to my liking.  I hope to put in a few stitches tonight.  I will be stitching this 1 over 2.

I did find out from Jill that there is a new book coming out in July in the Pretty Little Liars series called Twisted.  I LOVE those books and look forward to this new one.  Apparently the author, Sara Shepard, decided in December 2010 to add four more books to the series.

Yesterday I purchased a new fax/copier/color printer.  Take a look here.  It's an HP Officejet 6500.  LOVE it.

Here's hoping YOUR Monday is less wearisome.

In peace, love, and stitches,
Danielle

Scrabble Addiction

I love playing Scrabble on my iPad, along with Words With Friends.  Since playing my game has improved immensely and I have discovered words that have never even existed.  I recently was perusing all things Scrabble on the Internet and came upon these three items that I had to have:

The book: Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis.  All about the world of Scrabble.  I have only read a few pages, but I love it so far.  It was not available on Kindle, so I (gasp!) had to buy the actual book.

The mug:  You all know I love me some coffee mugs.  This one is a pretty cobalt blue.  And when I saw the saying "It's your word against mine," I had to have it!

The calendar:  YES, I know it is for 2010, but they did not make an official 2011 one.  It is full of tips and tricks and ways to improve your game.  And was only a few dollars since it was for 2010.

I also went to ACMoore yesterday and picked out threads for my two handpainted canvases.  I am like a woman obsessed!  I did a lot of research yesterday, perusing blogs and sites about needlepoint.  I am going to try one of the canvases this weekend I think, on my own.  I mean, come on.  I'm not a moron and I just like I told Spinster Stitcher, I am not trying to recreate the Sistine Chapel on my canvases.  I am simple, and like simple stitching and threads, although I may throw some sparkle in sometime! 

I also realized that almost all of the cross stitch patterns I own would translate well to needlepoint, especially the CCN Cakes thread packs.  The only thing different is that with cross stitch the fabric is the background.  In needlepoint, it is solidly stitched.  So, what I needed to do was find a thread that would work well for stitching the "fabric" so to speak.  Well, splendidly enough CCN and LHN have taken to using Weeks Dye Works fabric in a lot of their thread packs and patterns lately, and WDW's fabric comes from their overdyed thread line.  For the cakes thread packs Parchment linen is suggested.  So, I bought three skeins of WDW Parchment thread and a canvas, and am just waiting for them to arrive to get started on the Strawberry thread pack!  Wish me luck.

Oh, yeah, I also found out that Bedecked and Bedazzled is ONLY 35 minutes from my house!!!  I am so going to go.  Oh, yes, I am!!!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

In peace, love and stitches,
Danielle

Gimme an N!

And another letter complete on the LK Kit.  I love working on this one.

 
I think I have solved the fabric riddle.  28 cashel in Toasted Almond.  I e-mailed Lizzie*Kate again and basically said, okay, you have to give me something more, like at least a few names of fabric that you used so I can have a starting point instead of just "various neutral fabrics."  She e-mailed back and said offhand she remembered Light Mocha and Toasted Almond.  Hmmm, I had not seen Toasted Almond on any of the sites I had looked at.  Eureka!!  I think that is it!  Wyndham Needleworks had some, so I ordered an 18 by 18 piece.  I had found a piece of Light Mocha yesterday and held it up to the kit fabric and the kit fabric was just a little bit darker.  I hope it is Toasted Almond.  It is a really nice color of fabric.

I just received an e-mail from 1-2-3 Stitch they were not able to process my PayPal payment for the fabric I ordered yesterday that I told you all about.  I don't know why that happened, as I had a PayPal payment go through to Traditional Stitches for two magazines just yesterday.  Maybe it is a glitch in 1-2-3 Stitch's system?  I don't know.  But I just cancelled the order outright because I am pretty sure the fabric is Toasted Almond, so there will be no fabric giveaway :(  but I'll be saving myself some $$$.    

And, ooh, I found the most AWESOME board game yesterday, thanks to Plum Street Samplers.  Dixit.  It has bunny pieces and art and the board is very pretty.  I e-mailed my brother yesterday to see if he had already bought my Christmas present, because if not, that game was what I wanted.  Alas, he had already bought it.  I mean, it is December 17th, you know?  So, it is on my birthday/Christmas list for next year.  One of my resolutions is to also not buy everything I see that I like, as I am apt to do, but instead put it on a wish list, so when someone asks next year what do I want, I have an answer.  I told BF about the game and about my list.  I said I am going to have the LARGEST list of anyone in the world!  And he just laughed.

I received some goodies in today's mail.  First up is the first thread pack in the newest Country Cottage Needleworks Cakes thread packs, Strawberry.  I can't wait to start this!

 

Next is my fabric and threads for iStitch's Sew Golden:  Crescent Colours Finley Gold and 28 count Ruby Cashel. 

Finally is the newest issue of Bookmarks magazine.  I LOVE this magazine!  It always has in-depth reviews on the latest books and I never come away without having found a new book to read.

Happy Friday to everyone!  Let the weekend begin!  Only 8 days until Christmas!

In peace, love and stitches,
Danielle