Happy New Year 2019!

Hello and Happy New Year 2019!  I hope that 2019 brings you all of the best life has to offer.  I spent New Years Eve at home this year, but on New Years Day I went downtown to do a bit of people watching in Taipei.

Here are two photos that I took on January 1, 2019.

The last photo shows how cloudy/foggy it was here, because the top of the Taipei 101 building is disappearing into the clouds...

These photos are the first of a 365 day photo challenge I have decided to do in 2019.  If you would like to see more you can find me on Instagram with the user name: Crafting_across_continents.  Please send me a follow request.

I cut back my stitching time a bit in November and December but I don't plan to stop stitching anytime soon!  I have a few goals for 2019 which include to reduce my WIPs to under 20 (I currently have 25) and also to really make my health a priority this year.  So far I am logging everything in my diet trying to stay under 1800 calories a day (to lose around 1 lb a week) and I am working my way through the Body Boss program.  I hope that if you have resolutions or intentions for 2019 that you keep your focus on them and achieve your goals!

Please stay tuned and I promise that I will definitely update here more than I did in 2018...which isn't too hard to do since I only posted 3 times all year :(  I plan to do a few giveaways during the year and finally show you some old finishes like my Girl with a Pearl Earring and a few more, plus I am hoping to start my Chatelaine in 2019! 

Friday Progress Photos 11/9/18 I Love You AKA The Princess Bride

Hello :)
I am trying to follow in my footsteps of when I first started this blog over 6 years ago and share some progress photos today.  I'm not sure if anyone reads blogs anymore when we have Facebook Cross Stitch Groups and Flosstube, but lately I have felt that I miss posting my progress here on my blog.

I have been working on my current WIP for a few weeks now after a recent finish which I will share with you soon.  This design is called "I Love You" by Love Thy Thread, but I prefer to give it the nickname of The Princess Bride which has been one of my most favorite movies since I was a child.  This was a Stitch Maynia 2016 start and it is a full coverage piece.  It is almost all yellows and oranges which are not really my favorite colors but I was really drawn to this design.

This is what it will look like when it is finished.

Here are some photos of where I was with it...

Here you can see my awesome Prince Bride needleminder from the now defunct Minding my Minders.

And here is where I am as of today Friday November 9th...

I am trying to concentrate on finishing a few WIPS but I think I will try to finish all of the black on these pages before moving on.  I chose to do both pages at once because I don't want to get a line where you can tell the columns that I stitched on like you can sort of see with the yellows due to using the Parking stitching method.  What do you think?  Are there any other Princess Bride Movie fans out there??  If so I have another special story to share...later.

Until the next time...Happy Stitching!

Needleminders from Needleminder Factory AKA Finn Stitcher on Flosstube

Back in December of last year I was watching Finn Stitcher on Flosstube and saw that she was making and selling needleminders in her shop on Etsy called Needleminder Factory.  I decided to check them out and she had some cute ones at very reasonable prices including her shipping charges coming all the way from Finland.

They were very well protected for shipping, as you can see below.  I have heard a few horror stories of the magnets getting stuck in the machines at the post office but I had no such issues with mine.

And these are the lovely needleminders that I bought!

I chose the green swirly oval because it reminded me of "The Heart of Te Fiti" from the Disney movie Moana.  I chose the sparkly teal ones because teal is my favorite color.  I have stitched many owls including this one.  And I bought the Moose to use on my Norge WIP.  I am really happy with all of them and enjoyed supporting a fellow stitcher in her business.

See you soon and Happy Stitching!  

2018 My Fifth Continent...Australia!

Hello out there if anyone is still reading this!  I can’t believe I have gone almost a whole year without writing here.  That makes me really sad, but I finally decided to just do it.

In 2018 I decided to make my health more of a priority so I cut back on my stitching time quite a bit. I have also rediscovered my love of reading, but there is still something that keeps drawing me back to stitching and I don’t feel like it was a good day unless I was able to get in a few stitches.

So much has happened this year.  I’ve had a few finishes and some new starts.  But the biggest thing that happened to our family was visiting our 5th Continent Australia in July!

We loved it so much! We spent a little over a week in Sydney and took advantage of all of the amazing sights.  I even was lucky to find a LNS!! I will write more later but I will leave you with a few photos from Sydney...

Happy Stitching!

13th ( and last) Finish of 2017 Celtic Butterfly!

Hello!  Thank you so much for staying with me with all of my year end posts!  You read that right my 13th finish was indeed my last finish of the year.  I found Celtic Butterfly on Daily Cross Stitch.com. It is stitched on 14 count white Aida for the WOCS World of Charity Stitching yahoo group.  I started it on December 13, 2017 and finished it on December 16, 2017.

Here is how far I got on the first day of stitching...

This is the needle minder I bought from Gina’s Unique Boutique on Etsy for my Girl With a Pearl Earring WIP.

I really liked stitching some very small designs lately!  They finish up so quickly and it’s nice to think of all of the pieces stitchers have donated made into a quilt for someone in a nursing home.  

This is stitched in variegated cotton floss in Smell My Feet by Fiberlicious that I received in her Halloween Mystery Box last year.  

Thank you all for reading my blog and I wish you all many blessings in 2018!  Happy New Year!

11th Finish of 2017 Reflections of Paris

Hello!  These posts will be coming to an end soon but here was my 11th Finish Reflections of Paris by Ink Circles.  It is stitched on hand dyed fabric by Youthful Hands in 14 count Aida with all DMC Black 310 cotton floss from a cone I previously bought from JoAnn Fabrics.  It was started on May 1, 2016 for Stitch Maynia and finished on September 6, 2017.

I am pretty sure this was my progress the last time you saw it...

At first I wasn’t sure how to decide what parts of it he buildings to stitch...

But then but then I decided to start with The Eiffel Towers...

And then stitch all of the L’arc de Triomphes

And then The Notre Dame Cathedrals..

                                     

You get the picture;) ...

Here is my overall finish!  

I really enjoyed working on this.  It was nice to not have to stitch one stitch a time like in my previous variegated floss finishes and it was great only having one color to work with.  How many more finishes do you think I have???  Stay tuned to find out...Happy Stitching!

10th Finish of 2017 May The Luck

Hello! I hope you are enjoying my finish yearly review here.  Finish #10 was another Stitch Maynia 2016 start.  This is May The Luck by Love Thy Thread and I started it on May 27, 2016 and finished it on August 11, 2017.  It is stitched on 14 count Opal Aida in Mo’s Sale in Irish Proud variegated silk floss.

I think this was where I was the last time you saw it...

The needle minder is a Leprechaun hat from Gina’s Unique Boutique on Etsy.

I was a little nervous about the shamrock only having 3 leaves instead of a lucky four leaf clover and briefly thought about trying to change it and then I came to my senses!  

Here are my progress photos...

Here is the finished piece!  This is for a dear friend of mine but I have unfortunately not yet found the perfect frame for it.  I enjoyed stitching this design with the floss I chose.  This is my second finish ever with silk floss.  I only have a few more finishes to show you before 2017 ends.  See you soon!