Whine and WIPS June

Back in June I participated in a SAL in Stitch Maynia called Whine and WIPs.  Basically you choose some of your work in progresses that you whine about somehow for a whole month.  Some people picked tricky designs, or ones they are making for other people, but my choice was my old pal Girl with a Pearl Earring.

I chose this one because it makes me whine that I would really like to finish it this year, and also I was at the point where there is a lot of stitching with yellows and browns which are not favorite colors at all.  Anyways when I started in June (after a few days with no stitching after starting a new project each day with Stitch Maynia previously) I was where you can see below, except the head scarf was finished I just didn't have an overall photo of it complete.



And here are some of my progress pictures.









I had completed Page 7 of the design here below.












And here is where I left off at the end of the month!  I got quite a lot of stitching done on this design this month.  And at this point I only have two smaller pages left to complete and around 3 months left if I want to try to finish her this year!  Do you think I can finish her this year?  That is my goal.

Until the next time...Happy Stitching!

Stitching in the Clouds...

Hello again :)  Almost one year ago my husband and I were able to take a short trip just outside of Kathmandu to a lovely resort in the city of Dhulikel, Nepal.  The resort was on top of a beautiful mountain which led to some pretty amazing views!  I even brought a new stitching project with me and got to "stitch in the clouds".



This is my project that I started last August for the "August ABC's" Challenge for the Stitch Maynia group on Facebook.  This is Map of Norway by Permin of Copenhagen.

When it is finished it will look like this...



I purchased the kit from a store when I lived in Oslo, Norway.  But after learning about all of the beautiful hand dyed fabrics out there, there was no way I could stitch it on the white Aida the kit came with.  So back in 2013 I ordered this gorgeous 28 count Lugana in the color called "Enchanted" from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie.  I chose this color because I wanted the background to look like land and the sea to add to the map feeling of this design.




Here is some more progress.  I saw a similar waterfall when we did the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour from Oslo to Bergen on the West Coast of Norway.







Here I finally added the letters that made this fit into the theme of August ABC's.



Here are some more animals and cities added to the map.



Here is a close up of the Orca whales and Puffin birds in the design.



And here are a few of the gorgeous views from on top of the mountain in Dhulikel...



The clouds were amazing at sunset when we took this photo.



If you look closely, you can see the tip of Mount Everest and the snow capped Himalayan Mountains right in the very center of this photo.  Unfortunately this was the clearest view of them we had during the two days we were there.



This is the beautiful infinity pool, but the sky was very overcast at this time...



Here is another gorgeous sunrise view from on top of the mountain.



I hope you enjoyed seeing some beautiful views in Nepal and my new start of Map of Norway.

Don't forget to sign up for my 4th Blogaversary Giveaway here.

Until the next time...Happy Stitching!

Teachers Touch Tomorrow FFO's and Giveaway Reminder!

So back in the end of May I finished this lovely design below for both of my daughter's Pre-school teachers.  And I managed to finish them ( I am horrible at turning finishes into Fully Finished Objects) to give to her teachers in time for the last day :)

Here are the finished stitched pieces.



I was able to find these options in my fabric stash.  I really liked the matching colors in both and wasn't sure which one to choose...



Here is my final fabric decision all pinned up and ready for the sewing machine!



Pushing the fabrics through the hole to turn them right side up...this part always makes me nervous.  I hate wrinkling up the fabric of something you have worked hard to stitch.



Next step is the stuffing!



And then hand stitching up the hole.  If anyone has any recommendations for a better way to do this please let me know...



And here is my FFO from the front!



And the beautiful backs :)



The teachers left me a wonderful note that they were happy to receive these as gifts!  I am proud of actually taking the time to get out my sewing machine to work on these finished pieces and being able to send them as a gift on time :)

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway for my 4th Blogaversary which was actually yesterday here!

See you soon and Happy Stitching!

4th Blogaversary Giveaway! 4 Prizes for you to win!

Hello stitchers and crafters!  Thank you all for sticking with me through my many updates from my Stitch Maynia 31 starts in 31 days posts.  I really appreciate all of your comments and kind words of support.  I got WAY behind in following up on commenting but I think I am all caught up at the moment.

On to my fun news...I am coming up on my 4th Blogaversary!! And this year to celebrate I am offering a few giveaways!  I have been wanting to do a giveaway to celebrate since my first year but this time I am actually doing it :).  This blog has been an amazing opportunity for me to share my love of cross stitch and crafting and travel with other like minded individuals, and I am so grateful to all of my followers and those amazing people who leave encouraging comments and advice for me.  Also it only took me 4 years to figure out how to not be a no-reply blogger anymore so now I am able to communicate better with you.

To celebrate 4 years of this little blog I am giving away 4 prizes!  And I have decided that I will mail to the winners anywhere in the world, but if you win and live outside of the US I will ship via Taiwanese mail which I have heard is very reliable but I don't read enough Chinese to know if there is insurance or a tracking system.

Without further adieu here are the prizes I would like to offer to my loyal followers:

#1 - Sandy Orton Designed Rapunzel Kit from Bucilla



This kit has been opened but everything to complete it is included.

#2 - 4 Patterns from Kelly at Stitchnmomma , Truest Wisdom, Continental Kisses, Simply Sweet Flowers, and Just Desserts bookmark.




These include 4 patterns only for the above designs.

#3 - Jill Orton's Cross Stitch and Beadweaving Book



Here is a peek inside at some more designs...

This book includes multiple patterns for cross stitch and bead weaving.

#4 - Grand Prize Dimension Gold Collection Coastal View Kit



This kit has not been opened and includes all fabric and threads needed to complete this project!

Giveaway Rules:

#1 - You must be a follower on either my main blog page at Blogger or on Bloglovin'
#2 - Comment below which prize you would like to win (you can put yourself in the running for all four if you would like)
#3 - If you share via your blog or social media I will give you 5 more chances to win please reply in the comments if you have done this.

I will draw winners on August 31st, 2 days after my Blogaversary on August 29th!

Good Luck to everyone and thank you for celebrating 4 years of writing and sharing my stitching, crafting and traveling life!

Stitch Maynia: Day 31 Tooth Fairy Pillow #2 Start and 6th Finish of 2016!

Day 31 Start and finish JCB Tooth Fairy Pillow for my son! This was also a present from my mom like the previous pillow for my daughter.  And this was quite easy to finish in one day since there are so few stitches (they were still tricky though since I had to hold the linen away from the pillow to stitch it).  My son really won't need this for awhile but I was happy to finish it and have it ready when he needs it :) Whew! This is the last of my Stitch Maynia starts, are you as tired as I am just looking at all of them?  I will write more soon on my thoughts on this whole challenge.  But until then...Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia: Day 30 Tooth Fairy Pillow #1 Start and 5th Finish of 2016!

Day 30: Started and finished JBW's Tooth Fairy Pillow!  This was my 5th finish of the year :) This was another stitchy gift from my mom for last Christmas. Everything was already sewn together which made getting under and behind the linen to stitch a bit tricky...I decided to start this for the challenge so I would have it done in time for my daughter to lose her fist tooth.  She is only 4 but sometimes as stitchers and Moms we fall behind and I didn't want to with this :) Here is the back with the pocket for the tooth... Only one more day and then all the start madness will be over!  Until then...Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia: Day 29 Autumn House

Day 29: Autumn House by Brooke's Books on fabric by Stitchnmomma. I got quite a bit of the fence finished on this day! And for all of you who are curious about what all four seasons will look like together... They will look something like this :)  See you soon...Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia: Day 28 A Cozy Table for Two

Day 28: HAED's A Cozy Table for Two. I am really starting to love parking!



This is what it will look like when it is finished.  This is the original artwork of Mikki Senkarik.



My start on Mikki Senkarik's A Cozy Table for Two! I am really enjoying parking and the speed it adds to my stitching. The first photo was 800 stitches the first page row (large format) all done in my sons long 3 hour nap! This is done continental tent stitch 2 over 1 on 28 count.

Here is more progress on this design...



I have started in the top left corner of the design, and I can't wait until I can work on this again!  Until the next time...Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia Day 27 May The Luck

Day 27: May the Luck by Love thy Thread. Floss is Mo's sale silk Irish Proud.



This is what it will sort of look like when it is completed.  I have changed the floss for a variegated silk floss called Irish Proud from Mo's Sale.



Here is how far I got with my start.  I finished the t and h and started the i in with.  This is stitched on 14 count Aida opal iridescent fabric.  The scraps from this design were used on the Teacher Gifts I stitched earlier in the month :)

Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia: Day 26 Bushmarket

Day 26: Bushmarket by Hanne's Needlecraft. I am doing both of these on fabric by Mo's Sale.

I loved both Bushmarket and Roadside Sellers so I wanted to find a piece of fabric that could accommodate both of them together.  It's hard to see but I was able to start two baskets on the bottom left of the design.  I haven't worked any more on this design since, but it is a nice go to piece when working on a HAED or something very tedious because in a short period of time you can complete parts of the design such as baskets.  

Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia: Day 25 Roadside Sellers

Day 25: Roadside Sellers by Hannes Needlecraft on Etsy, fabric by Mo's Sale.



I had found this pattern on Etsy when I first discovered Etsy.com for cross stitch about 4 years ago.  This really reminds me of the time I spent living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  I had searched and searched for a fabric that could help capture the heat, the active frenzy of life, and the beautiful color of the dirt in Africa.  I was so excited when I found this one at Mo's Sale that seemed perfect!  

I only got a little bit of stitching done on this of the two African hut statues on my first stitching session.  



The next time I pulled this out to stitch I got a bit more done on the first fence post.  There is another design above it that you will find out more about later :).  Until then,...Happy Stitching!