Olympic Stitching Ornaments

Check out my new page, for this SAL.  I am posting the pics of my finishes in there. So far I have two, both from Just Cross Stitch, one from 2012, one from 2011.   I will update all on some more time intensive stiching over the weekend.   Olympic X'Stitching

Medieval Town Mandala Chatelaine

Medieval Town Mandala has arrived in the mail today.  Because I have been blog hopping a ton of late, I have seen all the beautiful Chatalaines out there.  I have been drooling over these, but have been too nervous to try. 
HOWEVER, because I am me, I will never be happy until I do one of these.  And Meari was so helpful,SO I pick one and this is it... 

Doing this means speciality stitches and beads.  No doubt, can't get away from it.
Whats new and different:

I am and AIDA fabric person.  But I am going to do this on a 28ct evenweave. I know it is not the Belfast Linen 32 they suggest, but I am going with the evenweave - I have to take baby steps.

The other thing, that right now I can't do is the silks.  I would so love to, but after totalling them all up on more than one cross stitch site, I just can't do the silks right now.  My kids would starve or the cable would get cut off - well maybe I would feed the kids, but you know, it is what it is, and just can't work in this expense right now. .  So for this first attempt I am going to go to DMC.  I want to start this project soon, and that means DMC.  I know I will lose something in the translation.  But I will still do a project that is going to be an amazing learning experience, completely out of my comfort zone, and something I know I will frame. 
Also I am going to start this in the middle.... Which means I will have to work up and out - I have always, always started top left.  But I am actually going to read the directions and follow them... Oh my goodness, Mindy, you can change your ways.

There it is.

So with my Olympic Decoration Challenge starting this week, and Medieval Town Mandala (MTM) and my other adventures (will update as they happen), well my next few months WIPS will be way different.

  

There has not been a stitching update in awhile.  Why not,  because I was not stitching.  So what to do, what to do.  My brain wants to stitch, but it can’t convince my hands to pick up the needle.  All those wips out there, all those HAED half (quarter) done pages.

All those NON HAED pages begging for a little attention.  Some of them with so few stitches left one good stitching week and they would move from the WIP to the finished…

Knowing, wanting to do something, I started reading blogs.  Lots of blogs, lots of blogs where you guys did all types of stitching.  All different designers.   Reading about specialty stitches, online SALS and online tutorials.   Meari posted great instructions about her Chatalaine project, Japanese Garden.  There are so many beautiful  Norah Corbett’s, thank you Koehler Kreations and Joan Elliot’s, thank you Manbroider .

 Not taking anything away from my HAED, because I love HAED and I so love those projects.  But  I did not want to do a new HAED start but I wanted something different.  Michele, you know how much I love you guys.

Stitching the Night Away
Ornament Pattern Club
Changed Colors to DMC 666 and 606

So as I am blog hopping I find Stitching the Night Away and I join their blog hop, and I join their Ornament Pattern club.  So quickly I got my first ornament and here you go, I have a finish.  Yes a small one, but it’s a finish.  Like when losing weight – celebrate even the ½ pounds. 

I ordered from 123stitch my first Chatalaine Medieval Mandala – this is so me.   

From Fabulous Froggers Blog I learned about Around the World in 80 stitches and joined that at Papillon Creations basically to learn about all the different types of stitching done all over the world. 

From Gizzimono I searched out GeckoRouge and have my wonderful Whimsical Shoes, I posted about earlier this month.

Dang I feel like I just won an Oscar and who do I thank – I know it is from all of the blogs I read over the past week – please review my blog ‘s to the right – cause every author has something amazingly wonderful to show and share.  And I do have to stop this post, or no one will read to the end. 

So bottom line, I am going to change my focus for the rest of the years.  If I try to complete all my 2012 HAED goals I will get none done, but I have not quite figured out the new plan.  Do I need one, no I don’t think I really do, I think I just need to stitch.

Book Review -Stitching Update in a bit

SO I have not spent my free time this week doing much stitching.  I have read two amazing books in a row, they were both relatively small books but both were so different from the things I read, and both have left me thinking WOW.

This post will be about those books – and then I will post a new one about where my stitching thoughts have been this week.

First Where are the Coca Puffs by Dr. Karen Winters.   This is a book about manic depressive illness, bipolar – and if you have ever experienced this – you must read this book.  One of my very best girlfriends daughter was diagnosed with this when she was in middle school.    You would think this may be a depressing read, but it wasn’t.  I am by no means a book reviewer, so I am not about to review with all the stuff about defining character and plots, etc.  But I do know, for anyone who loves someone, or knows someone who loves someone who has been diagnosed with this disease – read this book. 

Now a book that was depressing Winters Bone by Daniel Woodrell.  A friend of mine saw this movie, the lead actress in this movie is the girl from the Hunger Games . Of course I hate to see the movie before I read the book, which meant I had to put this book on my next to read list.  WOW.  This was so depressing, but what a wake up call for me.  This is modern day in America – the land of opportunity.  It is a sad reminder of how in this amazingly awesome place I live, there still are areas where there is no opportunities.  After I put this book down, read the last page – I got on the internet to look for book club discussions, looking for anyone who had read the book and what they thought.  Just another WOW.  This was only 150 pages but it did not go fast for me.

So there you have it.  I am debating on my next read, I am not sure I want to pick up Game of Thrones #4 yet, or take a break for one more book – and I do want something still somewhat light and not a series.  When I read those series books, I get weird – you know Twilight, looking for my perfect Were Wolf, Harry Potter, what spell can I use to make my truck fly,  and with Game of Thrones – well you know my Knight in Shining Armor must be out there somewhere.

Advice: Every once in awhile, take some time and lose yourself in a great read – and audio books are great to listen to while you are stitching (but tend to be a bit more expensive).

My First Blog Hopping Event #6

Some of us have a favorite chair that we sit in to stitch, others prefer to enjoy a steaming mug of tea while they stitch. Maybe you need to get comfortable and put on your pajamas before you pick up your needle or you simply must rearrange all the sofa pillows before you sit down. Sometimes the ritual is in the clean up when we’re done and everything must go in a certain place. What sort of stitching rituals do you have when you sit down to work on your projects?


None, wish I did, I think it would make things easier, but rituals, are just about as odd to me as being organized, or creating and following a todo list.  I do try to make sure there is some noise in the background - tv or radio, radio is better, because then I only need to listen, not watch or speak.  I do have to admit, I like to stitch alone.  I am easily distracted, lose count quite often and that is somewhat frustrating.

I think maybe if I had a couple of simple stitching routines I would get more stitchinge done.  But who knows. 
Blog Hop Sponsored By

Blog Hop #6 and how to join

Witches Update

I so want to keep this blog light and fluffy - one NO DRAMA ZONE for me to escape to and share my thoughts.  But this week sucked.  and it affected my stitching.  Wish I could figure out how to replace the urge to drink and eat with either exercise and stitching when I am stressed or depressed.  But hell with the stress issues - Depression is when you have to bury your 27 year old niece's 28 year old husband because he died of cancer - brain..... Would I upset you all if I just forced you to read a million different (or the same) 4 letter words now.  Instead of me writing them, please just use your favorite ones and think of me screaming them.

Did manage to get a tiny bit of stitching done just on Witches, it was easy enough so there was no thinking, just stitching, but even then it was hard to stay focused. No HAED stitching this past week.

Not sure what I will be committed to this week.  Thinking a little work on Fancy Dancing will be good.  There are so many areas of NON CONFETTI stitching, and this sort of stitching will take me to the place I need to go.

Thanks for listening.

Stash - Just had too

Whimiscal Shoes Madart GeckoRouge

Okay, so I may have decided I could not purchase another HAED until I had a finish - my total HAED charts is somewhere around 250 and my total finishes is 1 - and that was a Freebie SAL... BUT I did not say I would not purchase a chart from any other place.  So today I purchased Whimiscal Shoes by Madart GeckoRouge is the vendor.  Fell in love with this chart - after seeing the review on Thea's blog   Free Shipping... So excited, can't wait. UPDATE: GreckoRouge sent to me via email my new chart, as a PDF.  Received the chart in color, in black and white, and a thread listing with number of stitches and lengths....  Yes I am happy, and Yes I will have to have a new start.  Can't help myself. Happy Dance...

Non HAED Update

Halloween Witches Go Riding Update.  I am going to continue to work on this NON HAED WIP for the Summer and hope it will be finished by Halloween 2012.  It is a very easy project for me, when I can work on in the car waiting, or at a picnic etc.  There is only nine colors so the transport of the project is very simple and it is easy to pick up and put down without losing my place.  So here is the update of the past two weeks.  Did seriously mess up the right side of this design - but I hate to FROG, so I just went with the flow and made some adjustments, and since the world knows I am SO NOT A PERFECTIONIST, this will do just fine.....it will just be a little lopsided....

Friday CrossStitch Update

  I am so excited to be on the last page of this SK. This is the first HAED I ever started, and I only have finished one which was an SAL back in 2009.  I can say I am on the last page - who cares if it is only three pages.  Right?  It is so tempting now not to keep working on it, but I have so many others  I want to work on also.

 SAL SK Forbidden Doorway.  Maybe, just maybe I will finish Page 1 - but I will have to work this weekend, so I will be missing out on several stitching hours.  I don't know why I am dragging my feet on this one. 

This upcoming week I will be working on 

   

Giveaway day

And the Winner is  1 Hailine

Drawing:
1 Hailine                          
2 Nikkin
3 Thea
4 Karen








So excited, my first ever Blog Giveaway, and the Winner is Hailine.
  Hailine please send to me your email address (groverc53@yahoo.com) or reply to this post.  Have you ordered from the Heaven and Earth Designs website, and are you familiar with the RAK program?  Please verify if I have the correct chart Winged Things