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!

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!

8th Finish of 2017 Floss Daily

Hello again! The clock is ticking and I only have a few hours to share the rest of my 2017 finishes.  My 8th Finish was Floss Daily by Wee Little Stitches on Etsy.  I started this for Stitch Maynia on May 21, 2016 and finished it on July 25, 2017 (less than a week after my previous finish).

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

I loved stitching this due to the fun fabric color and I finally got to try out my small collection of hand dyed variegated floss!

I didn’t like that the color I used called Rapunzel for the wording didn’t stand out very much from the fabric color so I ripped it out and tried another color.

Here most of the bobbins are filled in with my floss stash from Mo’s Sale and Fiberlicious.

This is the order I used the floss in for the pattern.  All of the floss on bobbins is from Mo’s Sale and the others were from my Fiberlicious Halloween mystery package from 2016.

This is the finish!  It was actually my first time using Kreinik for the metallic needles.  The fabric is Plum 14 count Aida by Stitchnmomma.  What do you think?  I really recommend this design to everyone because it stitches up quickly and has so many possibilities for you to change the colors and make it your own! See you soon...

7th Finish of 2017 Let’s Be Proud!

To continue my year in review of finishes, my 7th finish was Let’s Be Proud by Ursula Michael.  I started this piece WAY back in 2016 for Stitch Maynia on May 5, 2016 and I finished it on July 19, 2017!

Here is what it looked like the last time I showed it here.

This is my Michigan needle minder from Minding My Minders!

And here are some progress photos...

Here it is with all of the stitching finished!!

I did a few changes from the original pattern. I added some stars to represent the northern part of Maine and I added a few stars to represent the Upper Penninsula of Michigan which was unfortunately missing from the design.  I plan to share the rest of my finishes with you before 2017 is over!

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!

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!

Stitch Maynia Day 24 Patriotic Heart

Day 24: Patriotic Heart from Kincavel Krosses. I am adjusting the U.S. Flag to make a Taiwan Flag version.



I really didn't have too much time to devote to stitching on this day.  This is stitched 3 over 1 on 14 count Aida fabric.


When finished it will hopefully look like this.

See you soon...Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia: Day 23 Summer House

Day 23: A small start on Brooke's Books Summer House next to her Winter, and Spring.



I really didn't get much done on this design but a start is a start!

Happy Stitching!

Stitch Maynia: Day 22 Teachers Touch Tomorrow #2 and 4th Finish of 2016!

Day 22: Teachers Touch Tomorrow #2 and a FINISH of version #1!



Here is some more progress...



And a finish!



Here are both of these finishes side by side.



I managed to both stitching finishes into FFO's just in time for my daughter's last day of school:)  I plan to share some photos of that in a later post.  Until then...Happy Stitching!