Its hard to make friends..

Its hard to make friends..but not impossible!!

Ok, so the friend in question is my little Santa I mentioned I was making so that I could practice knitting. He is currently sitting on my bed topless! That Santa is such a little rogue ;)

He is actually quite a large fellow - I had anticipated something a little smaller but as I sewed him together I realised that he is quite large but my what a cutey.  I was laughing like a mad woman as I stitched on his arms - who knew he had one arm longer than the other! (Did I mention I am not great at remembering which row I am on or even how many I have done - oopsy!)

I followed the steps in the book for putting him together but I would have stitched his face before making the head if I were to do it again.  I also (as I am prone to do - and you know it) changed some things...who me?..yes me.

I used cream wool for his skin colour instead of beige (I think the cream was to be used as a vest) and I didn't have any mohair wool lying around (except in black and silver :)) and so used white.  I also made some changes to his face so that he would look more like 'my' Santa - you know, the one who lives in my head.  I also decided to use red crayon for his nose only (the pattern recommended nose and cheeks).  I also stitched his rosy cheeks as well as his red mouth and then I gave him some blue eyes and he HAD to have gold rimmed spectacles...no?

He is still waiting for his jacket, belt, boots, hat and mittens to be made - he was feeling shy to have a picture taken with only his trousers on - but a few glasses of sherry and some cookies later, he let me twist his longest arm.....

This is what he is supposed to look like when finished....

And this is what Santa looks like at the moment......

Sorry about the blur on this pic but he was a bit startled by the flash.

Its desperate time when you have to knit yourself some friends! But he never disagrees with me and he lets me watch non-stop Christmas movies AND I get to eat all the chocolate! Who could ask for a better friend ;)

Its getting colder now though, so I better get him some clothes to keep him warm...

Kate x

Do a little dance!

Well.....what can I say? I am in overdrive at the moment and may have ambushed some people blogs with long and jolly comments - spread the joy that's what I say!

Why am I so happy?
Firstly, I have finally saved enough for my trip! Yippee :) But decisions will need to be made :( I am rubbish at making decisions....But it still warrants a very long and over exaggerated happy dance!

Secondly, my signed copy of Joan Elliotts Fairy enchantment has arrived - like I need anymore distractions! But yay! More dancing.

I am going to carry on reading some blogs and then stitch naked Santa together and make him some clothes!

AND I am one follower away from a nice round number of 30 - it will be nice to go into the new year with a round number (thats not too anal, is it?)

Bye for now and thanks for stopping by and a extra dosey doe and spin around for those who regularly comment on my posts and provide me with inspiration. THANKS!!!

*skips off*

I cheated on my...

I cheated on my....cross stitch! At least I felt like I had.

These last few days I have been spending time on my knitting. I even had a master class with my mother on Saturday. The reason for this was because I held the needles in a peculiar manner and was quite slow. So I decided that if I worked on my technique then I would improve.  I am glad to say that the practice has been paying off - I made a tea cosy (I need a tea pot in order to finish it off) and am half way through a knitted Santa. I can see straight away that the tension is better, and that my knitting speed is increased. I am really happy with the progress and will post a pic of Santa (and his cute nose) when he is finished (any day now).

When I woke up this morning I felt guilty, I seem to have inherited my fathers catholic guilt without being a catholic. I thought I should be stitching when I was knitting and when knitting thought I should be stitching. So to try and make up for it I stitched a snowman today.  I was going to put him in a card but I think he would make a great ornament.  I found the pattern in a Joan Elliott book (I am a fan - lol!) and thought I would give it a go.  After I started it I realised that I didn't have the exact colours or any gold beads.  So as usual I made do with the colours I had and used some blue beads - I thought they would pass as snow better than the red ones I have!

So here is a pic of the little man and when I have finished off making him into an ornament I will post it again.  I better get back to knitting Santa - he is armless and legless, mittenless, topless and hatless!

Who'd have thought it

After finishing the horse on Tuesday night, I decided to dedicate Wednesday to other things.  Of which I was unable to do any of them!

I couldn't find my advent calendar :(
I didn't fix my printer :(
I never sorted out quiz questions :(

I did spend a day with my sister and nieces :)

When they went home in the evening I read some blogs and signed up to theme-a-licious! After that, I was sort of bored...started twiddling my thumbs...and decided that I could probably stitch something, and picked up a magazine freebie to stitch. I did this whilst watching Christmas movie channel! I love Christmas :) I haven't quite finished but here is a progress pic. I hope to finish it today after I have been to a couple of nearby stitch shops :)  Then I will finish off my Santa exchange so that it can be posted off tomorrow! I know some people don't like these but  these kits are pretty good - as they come with all the felt, ribbon, buttons,aida and thread etc. that you need to make the ornament. I have another one from the month before for making three others (have misplaced the magazine at the moment with the pattern in - but could do any pattern) and the issue that is out next week has three more!

I can't post today without wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in America! Have a great day filled with fun and laughter and maybe some yummy scrumptious food :)

I'm off to make Devils Food Cake  - better the devil you know, eh?

P.S I have added a post to Off the Island and need recommendations, so don't be shy!

First past the post!

Morning All!

Did you like my horsey reference? No, me neither but it was the only one I could think of. ha!

The other day I responded to a question on Chris' Blog about my favourite part of stitching.  My answer was the backstitch. It is my favourite part BUT it is also my least favourite part. It always seems to take so long (is that just me?) and I am never convinced that it is right - it kind of looks messy as you do it. But once its done and you step back  - Yep! It really brings out the picture.

Last night at five minutes to midnight (GMT) I finished the backstitch. One horse down and one to go! Today I wont be stitching as I have to sort out my friends advent calendar - I put it in a safe place.....so safe in fact that even I cant find it! They will be disappointed if I cant find it so I will have to search everywhere (AGAIN).  I am also going to my friends for a girls night and they have requested that I take Hotter or Notter (my hottie game), I haven't updated the pictures for 2011 and we are so fickle that a lot of last years hot picks have changed. But that means sorting out why my printer won't print -so the list goes on.

Here is my finish of the big horse (I am going to try and add a slide show in the sidebar but I know some people have trouble viewing those).

Before the backstitch:

After the backstitch:

Not bad, not bad at all!

Last night

Hi all,

Last night I decided to pick up with doing some more work on the horses.  I had stopped for a break because I had gone wrong.  I know there are people out there who would have undone it all but not me! I did undo some when I noticed I had gone wrong but then I went wrong and thought, oh well. Then I carried on.  I don't think the error is too obvious at the moment and when it is finished and the backstitch is done it shouldn't be noticeable at all.  It has made me think that I should be more methodical. I don't mark the fabric and I don't colour in the pattern which I imagine are both preventative measures.  I much rather prefer to think of my piece as unique (who am I kidding) and unlikely to be the same as anyone else's - even if they stitch the same pattern.  I was originally thinking that I would finish the Geisha but decided on the horses as the Geisha doesn't have a deadline.

This is where I am currently up to.  I am not working this week so I am hoping to make a lot of progress. it also means that I might subject you to daily updates to see how I am getting on.

Thanks for all the lovely comments about the Christmas cards and all the lovely comments you have given me EVER!

November IHSW

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a good productive weekend.

Mine turned out to be a bit more experimental than I would have liked.

I stitched one card - which took longer than imagined and I havent made it into a card yet!

Then I played with some plastic canvas and eventually made two plastic canvas ornaments to hang in cards - on 14 count. They came out 'ok' but not as well as I would have liked.  I have some photos but I havent finished the cards yet.

So not too bad as I spent a lot of time stitching but slightly disappointed with the end results.

On 18ct

Pictures are blurry - oops!

One side of a Nativity tissue box

lying flat

Standing card

Again blurry - will have to retake them

hmmm - undecided

I am about to check out how everyone else got on.....I am well prepared for stitching envy and lots of inspiration.

Cards cards and cards

This IHSW is going to be dedicated to stitching some christmas cards. I am so far behind but I thought I would stitch a couple of designs from the latest Cross Stitch Card Shop.  Will post pics on Monday!

Everyone have a great weekend!

My first design!

I have stitched my very own design!! Admittedly, it is only a Christmas tree, but I am pleased with how it has turned out.

It all came about from my desire to make Christmas cards but my lack of enthusiasm regarding the time it would take to make them all (about 20) and I was trying to find a Christmas card design today that I could stitch in 2 hours instead of 4 or 5 and I thought I could design a quick stitch tree. And that's what I did!

I intend to finish the tree off with some wording..Merry Xmas..and then place it in a card.  The pictures below are just of the prototype! lol! I don't actually have a physical chart of it. Oops!

I just grabbed a scrappy bit of aida that I had and thought I would experiment by stitching. The colours of the french knots were random and I think some worked and some didn't as they didn't contrast enough with the green of the tree. I don't usually do french knots as they can be a bit hit and miss but I don't think they look too bad and they work well on such a small design. Its finished size is about 1 3/4" x 1 1/2" without the wording. My original idea was to place the merry xmas in an arc over the top but it could also go to the right of the design.

I think I will definitely stitch it again as it makes a cute ornament too - that could hang in a card aperture. So watch this space for future tweaks. 

And here are the pics.....

j

. 

And here is how I eventually finished it....

My other blog is a...

Hi All,

My other blog is called Off the Island(see sidebar on the right) and has been updated with a little anecdote of my visit to the Opera in Budapest earlier this year.  I will regularly be updating this blog with travel plans or past adventures.  I cant seem to go anywhere without some hi-jinx occurring. I look forward to hearing about yours too.

And am I right in thinking it is IHSW this weekend??

Kate x

Early start..

My good intentions to finishing the first horses head were far too ambitious as I didn't stitch anything at the weekend.

I promised an update on my nieces (she is 5) sewing.  I sent her off with needle and binca and some instructions on basic running stitch. She came back to show me that she was stitching a teddy bear and here was his head - I was impressed, especially when on Saturday morning (she came for a sleepover) she stitched whilst watching Scooby Doo!

Here is the finished bear and my niece.  She had no help with this and I don't think its too bad for her first attempt.

Now, I must get back on the horse (as the saying goes) and finish some more tonight - Do! I cant, I am off to the cinema (yet, again!) to see 50/50.  Anyone know if its good?

Bye for now :)

A WIP update (2)

Morning!

On Wednesday afternoon I posted my stitching update on the horses kit that I bought at an exhibition and I had stitched in Monday and Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday evening I went with a friend to the Cinema and to dinner.  We saw Tower Heist. It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be in all honestly and it was very light-hearted.  We also went to Pizza Express :) We totally used the Orange Wednesday offers with 241 on the cinema tickets and cheapest main meal free on the Pizza Express.  You are also able to get your parking money refunded by the cinema if you go to get tickets before 6pm.  It all worked out really well and a cheapish evening at only £12 for tickets and dinner. On Monday my friend has free tickets to the cinema to see the preview of 50/50 with Jo-Go and Seth Rogen.  I wish films were released at the same time everywhere.  I am keen to see this film as I have a soft spot for Jo-Go and I am intrigued too after seeing him earlier in the year in Hesher.

But back to the stitching - after not doing any on Wednesday, I managed to get some done on Thursday evening. I had hoped for Friday too but my 5 year old niece came to stay! I did manage an hour or so and then had to stop.  I wasn't happy to just sit idle so I finished off the small scarf I started with the wool/yarn I bought last week.  My niece was happy to model it too! here are some pics....

I also had a lovely surprise yesterday, I had originally arranged to meet friends at work on my birthday (weeks ago now) for lunch but one of our group was unwell and the next week she was on annual leave and so it had been delayed. Yesterday we all met up and they surprised me with snacks and cava. It was really sweet and the woman who arranged it all is the one who I am stitching the horses for! I hate having my photo taken but here is a pic anyway, it was such a lovely and thoughtful thing to do....

 I am hoping to finish the first horses head this weekend and start on the Snowmen. I need more than one thing to do so I don't get bored.

I hope you all have a productive weekend too :)

Kate

P.S I have updated my books and finishes pages....and my niece has sewn a bear! (*coming soon*)

Two new giveaways!

Morning!

What was that? I have said that already? I really must learn to read others blogs before posting my own, tsk.

So here are two new giveaways and good luck :)

http://fabulousfrogger.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-first-giveaway-wooo.html
http://kittenstitching.blogspot.com/2011/10/stash-building-what-did-i-present-at.html

Katy

New WIP update

Morning!

How is everyone?

I started the horse kit on Monday evening quite late and here are some pics of my progress so far for Monday and Tuesday. I hope to finish the first horse by the end of the day on Sunday.

A reminder of how it will look when finished.

A finish but..

Morning,

I have finished my Christmas exchange piece :) Sadly I can't show you yet :(  and I don't even send it till the start of next month! I hope Tiki likes it...

I have updated my 'expert waffling' page with a new rant - wahoo!

I have also decided to stitch two medium sized projects for Christmas in amongst everything else, one is the horses kit that I got from the exhibition - I started last night and will post a picture at the end of the week -it is coming along quite well in that it is quite quick to stitch.

The other piece I want to do was in Cross Stitch Gold magazine, not the latest but the one before. It is the Merry Christmas with all the snowmen. Anyone know how to calculate how long it might take me? I just need an estimate - If I know it is possible then I can see the finish line. lol!

So my list of craft jobs to be done before Christmas:

• Update house advent calendar (which I cannot find!)
• Stitch 11 Christmas card
• Finish horses kit and frame it
• Stitch snowmen chart and frame it
• Finish knitting small scarf
• Finish Geisha girl and frame it

I hope this is possible! If I focus it should be. Good luck with all your crafty/stitchy projects too.

Kate

So....update with pics

I made it back! I succumbed to a mirabilia and a HAED chart. I also bought a kit to sew for my friend and some wool for yet another scarf. Some buttons, some needles, some ribbon, some beads and some linen. I wanted to play tonight but I am on sister duty...but I have knitted a bit.
So here are some poor quality photos! :)

Mirabilia - Lady of the Mist by Nora Corbett

HAED - Gypsy Dancer Faery (Teri Rosario)

Anchor - gonna stitch this for a friend.

The scarf I started with my new yarn.

Had to share..

On train on way to NEC for craft, art and cake exhibitions. Feeling like death but nothing is stopping me. I am staying focussed on getting home and getting snuggly with my new stash items! If I buy anything that is! What are the odds?

I hope you all have great days too, but feel great.

Katy

Nothing, nowt, nada!

Hello!

I have no stitching updates (working on my exchange piece) but I am hoping to get some more projects that I wont finish on Friday :) I have the day off work, and am going on my own so that I can be completely selfish!

I added some photos on my travel blog (link on the right) even though they aren't really travelly :)

If you are bored and want to walk in my shoes via the photos than have a look!

I was a teensy weensy bit scared by the time I got home, I even managed to make myself jump with my own shadow!