Fractal White Tiger September 2016 Update

This month, I added about 800 stitches to my Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger cross-stitch based on artwork by Ricky Barnard.

This is how it looked last month.

I do love working on this one for my eldest son!

I began this project on January 1st, 2016 as a part of A New Stitchy Start. If you have a minute to visit, there are some gorgeous projects being worked on this year.

1 Christmas Item a Month September 2016

I have a partial finish to share this month. I finished embellishing this Christmas fabric postcard. 

Many of the seams were embellished with TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) stitches. 

The gift boxes were created using Sharon B.'s Crazy Quilt Template Set 2. (Please note: I received a complimentary set in exchange for an honest review, and I LOVE my set. This seam was also featured in my formal product review published in the Summer 2016 Edition of the Crazy Quilt Quarterly. I am not affiliated with the magazine or the templates. I just love both.)

I want to thank Narelle at 1Xmasitemamonth.blogspot.com for keeping me motivated to work on Christmas items. Can you believe there are only 13 weekends until Christmas? (Including this weekend.) Yikes! Time does fly.

Next month, I will share a photo of the assembled postcard.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
Renee

TAST 2016 Stitch 52

TAST Stitch 52: Sheaf Stitch

This week I added TAST stitch 52 - the sheaf stitch - to an under the sea themed block I am working on.

I used the stitch to couch down a velvet ribbon I dyed in the free Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course 102 (ICQC-102) that I took from Kathy Shaw last year. (According to her blog, registration for the next ICQC-102 course will open in 2017.)

Although the fabric did not pucker, the ribbon did fold in on itself a bit as I cinched the sheaf stitches together. For this block, I like the effect that created.

The first time I used the sheaf stitch, I made it into a filler stitch on an October crazy quilt block. (I believe it was the 2nd block I ever embellished.) Orange sheaf stitches were added to the black stripes on the orange and black striped fabric in the upper-left side of this block.

The original blog post for the block may be found here. 

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, Pintangle.com. Anyone may join in at any time. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Renee

HAED SK Effects of Caffeine Days 9-11 Update

Over the past few months, I had 3 opportunities to work on my travel cross stitch project, Heaven and Earth Designs "Storykeep Effects of Caffeine" based on artwork by Randal Spangler.

This photo shows how it looks after 11 days of stitching during appointments (just over 15 hours of stitching.)

Oops. I forgot to share the photo I took after Day 10.

And this is how it looked with my last update.  

It is fun to see visible progress - especially on a project I work on so infrequently. Over the next few weeks, I will be taking someone to appointments a couple of times a week that may last up to an hour, so I should have more updates to share soon.

I am linking up with Monday Stitchery Link Party #77 at Super Mom - No Cape! You will find a free vintage embroidery pattern and links to other blogs participating HERE.

If you do any hand embroidery, I encourage you to join the party!

TAST 2016 Stitch 42

TAST Stitch 42: Fern Stitch

I had fun with the fern stitch this week! In the past, I have made similar plants on under-the-sea blocks using the fly stitch. Both methods are enjoyable.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches are being shared. Anyone may join at any time during the challenge. 

In my last post, I asked if anyone kept a bullet journal. I should have shared a link. Sorry about that! This journal system is described at bulletjournal.com.

Speaking of journals, Sharon Boggon will be focusing on journaling at her blog, In a Minute Ago. 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Renee

Please note: I am not affiliated with any of the websites mentioned in this post.

I Love Pumpkins

There are several reasons I love autumn. Two of my favorites are full harvest moons and pumpkins.

I love pumpkins. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin coffee creamer, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin soup... Well, you get the idea. (Thanks to Pinterest, I found diary-free, egg-free and gluten-free recipes that allow me to keep these favorites in my diet. Yay!)

Last fall, when I saw this darling pumpkin cross-stitch pattern Pamela Kellogg shared in the Autumn 2015 Edition of the Crazy Quilt Quarterly, I knew I would stitch it some day. Last week, I finally did! (Please note: I am not affiliated with the magazine. I just love it!)

I used waste canvas, which always makes it difficult for me to keep my stitches even. However, I still love how this turned out on the spider web fabric I found in my fabric stash.

Every year, I plant pumpkins. They never do very well. However, the ones that pop up from my compost make up for that!

I have 4 pumpkins harvested and ready to puree and another 4 still ripening on the vines outside.

This week, I have also been making a wee bit of progress on an under-the-sea themed glasses case I am making to put in my Etsy shop. (Yes... I do still hope to add inventory to my poor empty Etsy shop... I suppose I need to stop giving away the items I have made for that purpose - as I did with 3 of the first 4 things I made for it! )

This week, I have a few questions for you all.

1.) What is (are) your favorite color(s)?

2.) What is your favorite theme? (For example, I love pumpkins and snowmen, autumn and Christmas.)

3.) Have you ever tried Bullet Journaling? If so, do you like it? (I discovered the idea on Pinterest and Instagram and opted to try it out using a spare composition notebook we had on hand.)

I am linking up with Stitchery Link Party #76 at Super Mom - No Cape! Please check it out! And, if you do any hand embroidery, I encourage you to join the party by sharing a link to your hand embroidery post.

TAST 2016 Stitch 55

TAST Stitch 55: Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch

I worked the Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch with a size 5 variegated DMC pearl cotton.

It is my hope to catch up on a few more stitches to share next week.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches are being shared. Anyone may join at any time during the challenge. 

Twilight Duel Updates 12 & 13 September 2016

It is the 2nd Monday in July, so it is time for an update on my Heaven and Earth Designs Twilight Duel cross stitch, based upon artwork by Ruth Thompson.  

This photo shows how it looked in my July update.

Although I took photos for an August update, between appointments and guests arriving I was unable to share them.

Because I began on August 30th of 2015, I try to take a picture capturing my progress on 30th of each month.

This shows my progress through July 30, 2016. (I finished page 2 on July 17th!)

There is a parking challenge at the New Heaven and Earth Official Facebook Group that requires a full page. So, I am jumping down to work on page 8 next. 

This photo shows my progress through August 30, 2016.

There was not much time for stitching in August!

And this is how it looks now. I am working on the 5th row of page 8. 

Looking at the chart, I realized part of the white dragon's mouth will be at the bottom of this page. Part of one foot will also appear soon. I am so excited! 

27,070 stitches done and 120,530 stitches to go! (Shh... I try not to think about that. *Wink*) 

Below is a breakdown of my progress. (This keeps me motivated when I do not see much of a difference.)

Percent complete:
Project: 18.34%           (It was 16.25%)
Page 1: 100% - Done!
Page 2: 100% - Done!  (It was 95.73%)
Page 3: 14.14%           (It was 13.52%)
Page 4: 100% - Done! 
Page 5: 1.83%             (Same)
Page 7: 2.95%             (It was 2.7%)
Page 8: 36.75%           (It was 0%)
Page 9: 0.22%             (It was 0%)
Page 10: 0.25%           (Same)

I am linking up with Stitchery Link Party #75 at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to visit to see the free embroidery pattern and to discover what other bloggers have been working on this week. 

Oh, before I forget, I actually upgraded to a smart phone last week. My husband laughed when I told him my first task would be figuring out Instagram. My user name is "neeorama" if you want to find me there. I will be sharing more updates from Twilight Duel on Instagram as I complete each row on page 8. 

Thanks for stopping by! -Renee

Monday Stitchery Link Party #74 and a Painting!

I am wishing those of you in the USA a wonderful Labor Day!

There is not a lot of stitching I can share this week. Normally, I would share progress on my HAED QS Red Hearts project, but I fear I have not touched it since my update on the 4th of July. (Life threw us a few curve balls this summer.) 

Last weekend I worked on a crazy quilt project I had hoped to finish in July. The seam pictured above was created using a free seam treatment pattern shared at Magpie's Mumblings. I worried metallic thread may not stand up to the potential wear on this project, so I used pearl cotton flosses. Lacking the pretty sheen of metallic thread, I added extra beads to my seam. Thank you for the gorgeous idea, MA!

It is not stitching related, but on August 29th, I had a blast! Last year, I told my mother-in-law and sister-in-law that I would love to attend a Paint Nite event. For Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a Paint Nite gift certificate. Last Monday night, the three of us created a "Sunflower Swirl" painting. It was so fun! I hope to have another painting to share in the not too distant future. My husband wants to have a Paint Nite date night!

A few notes that may be of interest:

1. Marian at Seams to Be Sew is hosting an Eerie Nights Blog Hop. You may learn more about it HERE. Sign ups are open through tomorrow, September 6th. (My crafting time is limited, but there is something I've been wanting to make for a while so I think I am going to sign up.)

2. This morning Kathy Shaw, of Shawkl Designs, shared information about The 70273 Project. You may see Kathy's post here and may find more details about the project here. 

I am linking up with Stitchery Link Party #74 at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to visit to see the free embroidery pattern and to discover what other bloggers have been working on this week. 

Thanks for stopping by! -Renee

Fractal White Tiger August 2016 Update

In August, I only added 554 stitches to my Charting Creations Fractal White Tiger cross stitch based on artwork by Ricky Barnard.

That being said, the project is now 6.27% complete and I am really close to hitting the 11,000 stitches milestone. 

This photo shows how it looked last month.

I hope to have more progress to share next month. I really do love working on this one!

I began this project on January 1st as a part of A Stitchy New Start. I do hope you will visit to see what everyone else is working on!