More ornaments done

I'm almost done with my ornaments.  Here's just "a few" I've finished recently.  Some have the names on them already because I made them specifically for that person.  The others don't have the names because I either a) didn't know who they're for, or b) forgot to stitch the name before I took them out of the hoop. 

Iris update

It's been slow going on my Iris restart.  I'm having a harder time with the 28ct on the khacki than I am on the antique white.  I thought the darker color would be easier but I was wrong.

More Ornaments

Here are several more ornaments that I've finished.  I've done 13 so only 9 more to do.  And I've started painting the frames again for the Zodiac pieces.  Unfortunately I'm starting to get that "holy crap I've still got a lot to do and I'me not going to get everything done in time" feeling . . . and it's only October.

Japanese Beauty #1

Since I finished my Cherished Teddy Japan bear this is my next start.  I'm working on the top one first.  I decided to do it on 16ct Antique White Aida.  The precut size for 14ct wouldn't have left much room for framing with a matt so I went to the smaller count so I'll extra border around the edges.  I'm doing it 2x1 full stitches and I started in the lower left page (there's 4 pages total).  Once I finish the first one I'll start the next one after I've worked on other things.

Here's the booklet:

Here's what I've done so far.  I've just got to fill in the main color of her kimono and then the page is done.

Cherished Teddie - Japan FINISHED!!!

I didn't think it would be this easy to stitch up.  Even the backstitching wasn't as bad as I had fears.  I'm not saying I liked it either, but it's finally done.  Now I can wash it and store it away with all the other projects I've made for myself that I haven't framed.  I think I need to do something about that.

Year of the Rooster redo

Here's the redo for the Year of the Rooster.  14ct light blue Aida, 2x1, full.  Now I'm done stitching them . . . . again.  Hopefully I won't run into any problems when I try to frame them that would cause me to restitch one again. 

Year of the Snake - redo

So here is the first of the ones I've had to redo because the gridlines wouldn't wash out of the dark green fabric.  It's the Year of the Snake.  The other one I have to do is Year of the Rooster.  Everything is the same as last time except the fabric is a pale blue (so I could use my blue grid pen which I KNOW will wash out).

More ornaments done

So I've got 3 more ornaments done for my Christmas project.  That makes 7 so far.  Only 15 more to go.  At least to stitch anyway.  I've still got to stitch the names and year on the backside, sew together and stuff.  Hopefully I'll get them all done in time.  This whole Christmas present project has taken up a lot of my time that I'm getting tired of it.  And I'm having to restitch 2 of the Zodiacs because the grid lines wouldn't wash out.  I've got one of them done but I still have one more to do.

Twilight Balloon Flight - update

So here's my latest update on this project.  I'm doing this for my mom and yes, she has seen it.  I'm doing it on 18ct Aida 2x1 full.  I got the pattern from patternsonline.com.  I've got one more row of pages to do.  That's 3 full pages and one skinny column of stitches down a 4th page.  Then I've got to add all the strings for the little balloons.  I don't think I'll have it done by her birthday but maybe for next year (I've already got something planned for mother's day).  It's in desperate need of a wash so I might do that before I start the last pages.  I actually finished the last page at the beginning of June but I'm just now getting around to taking a picture.  I think it's only been 4 years so far . . . .

Cherished Teddies - Japan update #2

This project has been much easier than I expected, especially with all the quarter stitches that had to be done.  Every time I pulled the project out and said I should get an update pic before I start stitching again I would just tell myself I'll do it later and then I start stitching.  Well, it's done . . . sort of.  The regular stitching is done and I only have the backstitching left to do. 

I hate backstitching so I'm happy to put it off for awhile so I can redo a couple of the Zodiac projects because the gridlines wouldn't wash out.  I'm having to redo the snake and rooster that I had done on the dark green fabric.  I tested the marking pen on the red and dark blue and it came out just fine so I thought it would be the same for the dark green as well.  I was wrong. 

Once I finish those I will get back to this one to do the backstitching and finish up so I can start another project.  I love starting new projects.

Cherished Teddies - Japan

I got a book called Cherished Teddies Around the World and it has a bear for a lot of different nations.  I loved it and thought I'd stitch them all.  But which one to start first?  I thought I'd do them in order of the nations I've visited.  I'd start with Japan, because I was born there.  Then the USA, because I live here.  Then Mexico, because I've visited there first.  And finally Canada, because I've visited there too.  And that's about it.  How depressing is that?

So . . .

I've decided to make it one of my "bucket list" items to visit all the places represented by these bears and then stitch up the corresponding bear to hang on my wall.  I doubt that I'll get to all of them but at least it's worth a shot.

Here's the book:

I'm doing the Japanese Bear first.  This is what it's suppose to look like:

This is how much I've got done so far (14ct Mint Aida, 2x1, full):

City of Swords update

So I've finished my second page on this massive project.  I think any time you finish a page on a HAED project you should celebrate . . . even if it's only a very small (and only 2 colors) page.  At least it's progress.  The next actually has more colors to work with.  What will I ever do?

(When I scanned it I really didn't think it was that crooked on the scanning bed.  Oh well.)

Chinese Zodiac - ALL FINISHED!!!!!

I can't believe it.  I'm all done stitching the Chinese Zodiac characters for my family.  All I've got to do now is paint the frames, frame them and stitch and assemble the xmas ornaments I'm making.  I might actually be done months before xmas gets here.  And the best part is I'm not having to scramble around finding the money to buy gifts.  They'd already be done.

Here's the last one.  It's for me.  Year of the Dog.  14ct lavender Aida, 2x1, full.

Year of the Pig

My next to last finish.  Yeah!  It's the Year of the Pig on 14ct Mulberry Aida, 2x1, full.  I thought it would look absolutely wonderful on this fabric but it didn't turn out as well as I would have liked.  I think a lighter fabric would have been much better.  I don't know how I'm going to do the frame for this one.  It's for my niece and her room is all in red.  I'll figure something out eventually.  I only have one left to do and it's mine so I can take all the time in the world . . . but I'm not.

You know the feeling you get when you get so close to finishing a project.  Suddenly, a project that you once dragged your feet through gets faster and easier to do.  You become hyper-focused on the project and excited to finally see it finished . . . and the chance to start something new.  That's how I feel about this one.  I'm almost done with the next one after only working on it for 2 days.  I could finish it tonight.  Then I've got a bunch of small ornaments to do (although they have a lot of backstitching on them which I hate) and then I'm done with the stitching part of this xmas gifts.  I can't wait to dive into the painting again.  For some reason I don't feel like painting while it's super hot here.

Year of the Sheep (4) FINISHED!

This is my last Year of the Sheep and it's finished.  AND I changed the colors.  I think it turned out better than the rat that I changed colors but I should have picked a darker brown for the color and inside the ears so the transition stands out more.  I also should have used a darker brown for the backstitching.  I'm still happy with it and I'm not going to nitpick about it.  Now I only have 2 left to stitch.

14ct red Aida, 2x1, full

Ornaments Xmas 2012

So I've been thinking.  Dangerous I know.  What I've been thinking about is the Chinese Zodiac projects I've been stitching up.  I'm pretty sure that some of the guys (okay probably all of them) will not be that enthusiastic about getting 'em for Xmas presents.  I thought about what would make this better so I was thinking about things I got for xmas.

One of those things was each year I had a Grandmother who would buy an ornament and tape it to the outside of our gifts.  When we opened the gift we could put our new ornament on the tree.  She always tried to find something that we were interested in.  One brother got a lot of drum ornaments because he played.  I got a lot of dance stuff.  Another brother got a lot of music stuff.  Nothing really exciting but when we looked at the tree it was nice to know some of those ornaments were yours.

One year, as we were taking down the ornaments my mom started sorting them in different boxes.  We were to get all our own ornaments to hang on our own tree.  We were all moved out of the house so we could have our own tree.  It was nice to get a shoebox full of ornaments that I could shift through.  I don't remember what gifts I got with each ornament but sometimes I could remember what ornaments my siblings got just by looking at mine.  And every ornament was a memory of my grandmother.

So . . . I decided to stitch up ornaments for everybody and stitch their name and year on the back.  They might not like those any better than the Chinese Zodiac, but maybe many years down the line when they have a shoebox full of ornaments (if my parents or my siblings decide to take up the tradition) they might have a memory of me to hang on their tree each year.  "Oh this one!  My Aunt Gwenn made it for me."

I got this idea right at the end of June and thought for sure that someone would have a "Christmas in July" sale.  Sure enough 123stitch.com did.  I moved a bunch of ornament books to my cart but ended up getting some of them at the local store (full price for everything I got was still cheaper than the sale with shipping).  I didn't get all the books but maybe I'll pick up more later.  I did have 12 xmas patterns that someone in college had given me.  These first 4 designs are from that collection.

So while I only have 3 more Chinese Zodiacs to stitch I now have 18 more ornaments to do.  And, yes, I'll be doing one for myself as well.  I want something to remind me of this crazy year.  I got waste canvas to stitch their names on felt for the backing and it will be my first time using that but I'm looking forward to it.

Here's what I've done so far:

Year of the Snake (3) FINISHED!

Here's the last of the Year of the Snake.  Still 14ct Aida, 2x1 full.  I thought it would look better on the green than it does.  Maybe when I wash the white lines off it will look better.  I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to paint the frame for this one.  I have time to experiment.  I only have 3 left and that includes the one I'm doing for myself.  I'm actually getting really excited to finish these and start to get them frame.  I still have a lot of the frames I need to paint but I can't wait until I'm finished with the whole project.

Year of the Monkey

Here is my latest in the Chinese Zodiac series.  It's the Year of the Monkey.  14ct 2x1 full on light blue Aida.  I did change the hair from blonde to dark brown.  This one is for my niece and she has dark brown hair.  This pattern didn't have a nose on it like all the other ones do so I added one anyway.  It just looked too weird without one and I didn't want people to look at it and think I forgot the nose.  I wish I wouldn't have save this one until towards the end because of all the 945 stitches.  I'm getting really tired of that color and this was almost too much for me.  I persevered and finished it but it was a struggle at times.

Year of the Rat (3) FINISHED!

This is my last Rat to finish.  I changed the color scheme to a gray instead of blue since it's for a little girl.  I don't think it turned out as well as it could.  Instead of looking through all the grays in the color spectrum I picked 3 that I had already pulled for the kit.  And for some reason I think it looks more like a boy that a girl. 

It's done on Mulberry 14ct 2x1 full stitches as usual.  I also stitched most of this up with only 1 functioning eye.  Due to eye problems I wasn't allowed to wear my contact in the left eye.  Fortunately that eye is used for distance and my right eye is used for close up stuff.  Still, my depth perception is off and sometimes I was hard to get the needle to come up in the right hole.  Only 5 left to go.

Year of the Tiger (2) - FINISHED!

I'm getting closer to my goal.  This is the second and last Tiger I have to stitch up.  It's done on 14ct Pewter Aida 2 x 1.  I used this fabric for another guy and didn't like it.  This time I didn't find it so thin and flimsy.  I also found a nice groove when stitching the Tiger parts up and it went very smoothly.  I'm getting pretty good at these guys.  I have 6 more on my list after this one but I just finished one of those today at lunch.  I'll have to scan it and post the picture on that one later.  That means I have only 5 left to do.  Two of those are singletons so it will be nice to have something new to stitch with these guys.

Year of the Dragon (3) - - A Happy Accident?

So I've stitched the last of my Dragons (thankfully) and with this one I couldn't decide if what turned out was a happy accident or a terrible disaster.  I had stitched all the flesh including the legs before I stitched the body.  I just wanted to be done with that color because I'm getting tired of it (7 more to go Whoo hoo!).  I did the pink belly part and those confetti stitches, but I decided to do the confetti color in the surrounding area before I did the bigger block of color. 

Unfortunately I must have gotten interrupted between looking at the pattern, deciding what to do next and pulling the corresponding color.  What I pulled was the color for the big section . . . which I ended up using for the confetti stitches.  I didn't realized my mistake until I finished and went to grab the color of the bigger section and realized that was the color I had just used. 

So . . . the orange main color should be small confetti stitches around the lower body, the muzzle outlines and around the eyes in the headdress.  The dark red/coral color should have been the main body color (which I did in orange) instead of the single confetti stitches.  Once I made the mistake in the lower half I had to leave myself a note on the pattern to switch them up on the headdress.  You can go look at a previous one to compare.

On one hand I think it looks great.  I think it gives more definition to the headdress but the pink belly next to an orange body (which should be dark coral) looks a little off.  I have a couple other characters that are going to the same family group so I've decided to change the colors up a little bit so everyone's not the same and for those it will be easy.  I have 2 dragons going to my sister and niece but I couldn't figure out how to change the colors without it being a disaster.  So maybe I got lucky.  I wasn't going to mess with the Snake's colors either but now maybe I can work something out.  What do you think?

Year of the Sheep(3) finished!

Here's my next Chinese Zodiac finish.  It's the third Year of the Sheep and I still have one more to do.  This one was done on Platinum 14ct Aida (2x1 full) and I don't remember the brand.  I'm not sure I like it.  It feels very thin, almost like paper.  It feels like it will tear at the slightest tug; even though it doesn't.  I love the color Platinum so I'd use this color again for other projects but I'll have to find out what brand this is so I avoid it in the future.

Year of the Rooster

Here's my next Chinese Zodiac finish.  It's the Year of the Rooster, 14ct green Aida, 2x1 full.  This one was very easy to do and I think my stitching is getting neater after each one.  Not that it was messy to begin with, but there's just more uniformity to how they look.  I'm hoping my orange paint for the frame will match this one and not clash.  Otherwise I guess I'll have to use the yellow paint.

Pirate - Page 3 COMPLETE!

So here is my latest progress on Pirate.  Page 3 is now complete.  And I've met my yearly goal for this project that I set for myself on the HAED BB.  Yeah me!  Tent stitching is so fast, especially with large blocks of one color.  So far the confetti stitching has been manageable but we'll see how things get when I get into the thick of things.  After working on a couple of 28ct projects this 25ct seems large and easy to see.

Projects on the Go

I made a list the other day of all the projects I have on the go . . . and ones I want to start. I wanted to see how many I had and whether or not I needed to pair down my rotation so I actually, feesibly can finish some of them. I also wanted to know where I got them and how I was stitching them up. I like lists and trival informaiton like that. So far my list is:

Projects I'm working on:
The Last E Ticket Ride (HAED) 20ct 2x1 full
Pirates (HAED) 25ct 2x1 tent
Twilight Balloon Flight (patternsonline.com) 18ct 2x1 full
Iris (HAED) 28ct 2x1 tent
QS Curl up with a Good Book (HAED) 22ct 3x1 tent
Calla (HAED) 28ct 2x1 tent
City of Swords (HAED) 28ct 2x1 tent
Chinese Zodiac (123stitch.com) 14ct 2x1 full
The Accolade (HAED) 25ct 1x1 full
Clock Fractal (Cross Stitch Collectibles) 20ct 2x1 full
Grim Reaper (ebay) 14ct 3x1 full
Wreath for all Seasons (kit) 14ct 2x1 full
Carcassonne (PCStitch-myself) 14ct 3x1 full
Sprial Fractal (patternsonline.com) 18ct 2x1 full

Projects I want to start:
Father (Cross Stitch a Day calendar) 14ct 2x1 full (various thread types)
Chinese Symbols (patternsonline.com) varoius cts, 2x1 full
Godspeed (HAED) 25ct 1x1 full
Asian Home restart (patternsonline.com) 16ct? 2x1 full

Projects I'll probably never finish:
Wild Things Birth Record

QS Curl Up With a Good Book - page 1 DONE!

There was a time when I never thought I'd finish this project let alone page 1. It's taken me over a year and a lot of headache but page one is finally done!!!! The confetti stitches are a nightmare. Working with 3 threads instead of 2 was also a nightmare. The end results looks fantastic but I think I'm going to have to wait awhile before this one comes up again in rotation because I need a break. It's done on 22ct Hardanger fabric in 3x1 tent stitches.

Year of the Rat (2) finished

Here's the second one of these done on light blue Aida, 14ct, 2x1 full, as usual. I have one more of these to stitch up and then I'm don with this guy. It was really easy to stitch up except for when I wasn't paying attention. I'm now a full month ahead of schedule so I think I'll take a break for awhile and work on something else.

Calla (HAED) started

This is the floss companion to City of Swords. I also started this one in the bottom left . . . and I'm doing it on 28ct fabric . . . and in 2x1 tent stitches. I like to keep the patterns that share a floss box similar, at least in thread count and stitch style. There was so much grey threads used at first that I was beginning to wonder if the leaves would look green at all. I guess I should have had faith since it is a HAED design and they always work out, even if you don't think so while you're stitching it. Here is what it's suppose to look like:

Here is one page (bottom left) done (the stitching isn't making the fabric wonky, that's just how I layed it out to scan it):

Chinese frame #2

Here is my next frame. The purple paint was much thinner than the browns (same brand) so it didn't give very good coverage in some places. I thought about doing another coat but I'm not trying to be perfect here. I think I should have done the flowers in opposite corners. Maybe for the next one.

Chinese Zodiac frame #1

So I started painting the first frame for my Chinese Zodiac project. I've found that I like painting. It find it just as soothing as cross stitch even though I'm not very good at it. I'm hoping I'll get better in time.

I wanted to create a plaid pattern on this one and I was very proud of myself when I laid the tape down. When I took it off I was disappointed. It looks more like tire tracks than plaid. I'm going to have to rethink which one I match it up with.