Cross Stitching Away Stress

Things have been a bit hectic in my life recently - lots of good stuff going on but it means not as much time for planning craft projects!! I think it is because of this I have been getting back into cross stitching over the last few months. Its such a lovely thing to do - calming and relaxing without taking too much concentration.

I've actually been subscribing to Crossstitcher magazine the last couple of years but almost never do any of the projects. I decided it was time to rectify this and the first project I went for was a cushion as a present for my grandma in a beautiful, bright gerbera design.


She was thrilled with the cushion - in fact, so much so that when I last went round there she kept moving it everytime someone wanted to sit down near it because she didn't want to risk anyone squashing it! (Even though I told her that was the point of a cushion!!) I also found this fab fabric which matches perfectly to use on the back:


Then, a few weeks ago, for those brief few days when it felt like summer, I needed a portable project that I could take into the garden so I spontaneously started an Emily Peacock design from the Valentine's issue of the magazine. I spent some lovely hours in the sun stitching this:


I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but I really like it - gotta love the leopard print. I might make it into a stuffed ornament to hang somewhere even though the last thing my flat needs is more clutter!

My latest project - a cushion cover with a bird and buttons on - isn't finished yet but I had to show you a picture to show you my new embroidery frame:


Those wooden embroidery hoops always annoyed me and I was forever adjusting them so when I saw that Wendy had one of these square clip frames and said it was great I thought I'd give it a go. Now I have one I can't believe I didn't get one before - it is genius! So much better than the hoops - it actually holds the fabric taut! I got mine here and totally recommend it!

I am really enjoying this latest design and hope to have the finished article ready to show you fairly soon!

Happy crafting ladies xx

Giveaway Reminder and Gorgeous Swap Goodies!

Firstly, just a reminder that my giveaway closes at midnight tonight. If you haven't entered all ready then head over to this post and leave a comment post haste! I will announce the winners tomorrow.

Now, onto the loveliness! A while ago the lovely Lori from Hippywitch crafts and I agreed to have a swap. It started when I asked if anyone wanted to have a swap from some of my fused glass goodies and went from there and this week I received a lovely package of goodies from her - so exciting! I told Lori I liked the sea and snorkelling and diving and look at these lovely amigurumi sea creatures she sent me:



I LOVE them - so cute. And such happy colours - really brightened up my dull Thursday afternoon! And if that wasn't enough (and it totally was!) Lori also included this beautiful cross stitch ornament in some of my favourite colours:


And this fab cow cross stitch card:


I told Lori that I seem to have been given a lot of cow things in the past (I try not to read too much into this!!) so it is very appropriate for me! Thank you so much for the goodies Lori - I love them so much! If you fancy seeing more loveliness like this then I suggest you pop over to Lori's blog or etsy shop!

I know Lori has received her package from me so I can show you what I sent her too. Firstly a couple of glass necklaces:


A cute little amigurumi cat (Lori told me she is a mad cat lady!):


A plush strawberry ornament / pin cushion:


And finally a little crochet bag in some of Lori's favourite colours to keep her necklaces safe:


I really enjoyed doing a swap and am definitely planning to do lots more in future! I hope you are all having a lovely weekend - staying warm and doing lots of crafting. I will be back tomorrow to announce the giveaway results.

xxx

Woohoo! Tapestry finally finished!!

This week something very exciting happened - I finally finished my Emily Peacock / Rob Ryan tapestry! I don't know how long I have spent on this (it must be well over 100 hours) but it was very exciting to see it all coming together at the end. Ta-dah:

I think I started this in about February and have gradually been working away on it between other projects. I must have sped up lately though as I seem to have completed about half of it in the couple of months (comparing it to how far I'd got when I wrote my WIP post).

I am really pleased with how this turned out. Although I have to admit that these don't take that much skill other than following the pattern! The finished result is all really down to the fantastic design.

This is the fourth tapestry I have completed now. I've done two other Emily Peacock designs:

And one design by granny knits:

The camper van is the only one I have made into a cushion though. I am hoping that finishing the round design will spur me on to make the others into cushions! The Hug and Kiss designs have been finished for well over a year so I have no excuse really!

I am a bit worried about turning the latest one into a cushion as I'm not sure my sewing skills are up to it!! The one in the Rob Ryan shop is made into a round cushion with piping which I would really like to try and do but I've never done piping before. Plus, I know from the camper van one that the tapestry is pretty hard to manipulate through the sewing machine. I have no idea what I am going to do with all these cushions!!

I am already really missing having a tapestry on the go. I really like to have a project that I can pick up and work on which keeps me occupied without having to do much thinking! Its brilliant for the days when I am not feeling well or am sleepy but still want something to do in front of the TV.

I have already started researching what I want to do next. I'm thinking maybe this to be framed above my bed:

(Picture taken from Emily Peacock website)

Or maybe a handbag kit from Felicity Hall or a kit from Jan Constantine. Ooooh so many options...... The big question is whether I can wait til Christmas to get my hands on one!!

I suppose the next step would be to design my own....!

Hope you are all having a lovely craft weekend xxxx

Finished presents!

After lots of work I finally managed to finish the cross stitch I was working on for my grandmother in the nick of time. Phew! Here is the finished piece:

My original plan was to make a picture with nine butterflies but I quickly realised that it was going to be impossible in the time I had given myself so I had to settle for six butterflies instead. I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't plan better so I had more time but other than that I am actually really pleased with how this picture turned out.

My grandmother seemed super pleased with the pressie and was obviously really touched that I had made the effort to make something so that is the most important thing!

It was also my aunt's birthday celebration but luckily I had been a bit more organised for her present and started working on it a few weeks ago in my fused glass class.

I decided to make a dish made up with squares of some of my favourite glass colours - mainly blues and pinks (as usual!!). This was slumped over a mould to give a slightly curved dish shape.

I really like making these dishes and I always make things using lots of squares and in these colours - it seems to be becoming my signature style!! I love the way the glass shines like boiled sweets!

I'm still finding it really hard to take decent pictures of my glass pieces - hopefully you can kind of see the shape of the dish in this one.

This dish is roughly 20cm square. I also decided to make a smaller one to match too which is about 10cm square. Here they both are together:

I think my aunt was pretty pleased with these too - but it was more difficult to tell from her reaction! I hope so!

I really like making homemade presents but I find it so much more stressful giving them than bought ones! Does anyone else find this? I think the reaction feels so much more important when you have put so much time and effort into making something.

I definitely need to start planning my Christmas presents now. Working on that cross stitch last week has made me realise that I will need to be a lot more organised if I am going to give homemade presents - I don't want to be frantically finishing all my Christmas presents with one week to spare!

Better get to work.....!

xxx

Stitching against the clock!

Firstly, thanks for your comments on my last post - its given me a lot to think about before I start attaching my granny squares together. I've had to put that to one side this week as I have been working on a present for my grandmother's birthday. It was her birthday on Thursday and I am seeing her tomorrow (Sunday). I've known I wanted to make her a present for ages and I've known I am seeing her on Sunday for ages. So when did I start thinking about what to make? Monday of course! There's nothing like forward planning!

Since Monday I've been frantically stitching in any spare moment to try and get the present ready in time. Its been tricky as I've had a pretty busy week. And I still haven't finished! In fact I should really be stitching now but I need a break! I decided to make a cross stitch picture using some butterfly designs I found in Crossstitcher magazine.

Here's the results so far of my frantic stitchery! And the process my brain goes through when I start making something.

Day 1: Monday

"Right, this is going to be great. I think I'll do a sampler with 9 butterflies"


"Aaaah, I'm enjoying this. The butterflies do seem to be taking longer than I expected though"

Day 2 - Tuesday


"Hmmm....these actually take quite a long time. Its probably not great to stay up til 2 am sewing every night"

Day 3 - Wednesday

"I'm so tired. I shouldn't have stayed up so late stitching last night! I'll just fit in one more butterfly before I go out tonight"


Day 4: Thursday

"I'm not sure I really like this. Maybe I should put in the black back stitch to see if that makes a difference and check they really look like butterflies"


"Yep, starting to look more like butterflies now. The back stitch part takes ages though. Maybe I haven't left enough time....."

Day 5: Friday

"Aaaaarrgggghhh. It's Friday. I'm never gonna get this finished!"


And that's as far as I got by the end of yesterday!! I'm still stitching away and hopefully I'll have it finished by tomorrow! I think I like it but I'm never sure til I've finished something. And its going to have to be 6 butterflies rather than 9 which is disappointing. Aarrgggh - why didn't I start planning earlier?!! I never learn....

Right back to work! I'm trying to bake a birthday cake and wrap up my aunt's pressie at the same time! Hope you are having a lovely (and not too frantic) weekend xx