SALE, sheep #7.7 and Wipocalypse ...

Dear all,

I can't believe it has been almost a month since my last post.

It is also very hard to believe how much has changed since then. United Kingdom has voted to leave EU. Lets say since the result came out it has been a turbulent fall into the abyss for us.

Pound sterling is failing. The earrings I was planning on buying for £9 have magically increased overnight to £11! (and I am dreading to think how much other purchases I have planned cost). On a positive side for those of you outside of the UK you can now grab a bargain from our island. In addition (just to be a bit more tempting) we are having an up to 50% SALE over on our Etsy store (click).

We are trying to clear out some of our older stock ... so how about a birdhouse that you can stick your needles in while you stitch ...

50% Sale - now £6

or a linen bag to stash bits and bobs ...

50% Sale - now £6.50

and another idea for your needles, pins, buttons  ...

50% Sale - now £5

Talking about all the various changes in my life... I am finally no longer a trainee ... as of 1 July I have been promoted to a Tax Semi Senior. So after a week long depression following the referendum something good finally happened.

And now onto the stitching ...

Sheep SAL # 7.7

The next 100 stitches ...

700 stitches

Wipocalypse update ...

I haven't done one of these updates in a while, so in addition to Alice and Dodo by Tanya Bond (that you seen in the last post).

June 2016

Since then I have done some late night stitching on Christmas Candle.

July 2016

I am yet to finish page 5 and 6 ... and now page 7 it seems. I have started the additional page for a challenge I was participating in on Heaven and Earth Designs forum. Unfortunately I have not met it. The challenge was to stitch a full page in cross country method.

Half a year has gone by and I only met one out of my sixteen goals. Not a very inspiring progress, but on the other hand a few of the goals are getting quite close to being met.

Until soon,

Lija

Wipocalypse - post #1 and my new Etsy shop ...

Dear all,

Before I get into the whole Wipocalypse update I would like to mention my new Etsy shop opening:

Click here

Here you can find some of the handcrafted (including cross stitched) items that mum, my sister and I make and sell through craft fairs and display cases here in the North East of England. I thought it is time to expand to a new market.

The selling info on the few items you have seen me create last year (they are not the only items on Etsy): 

Makeup bag. £9.99. Coming soon to Etsy.

Makeup bag. £9.99. Sold.

Makeup bag. £9.99. Available on Etsy.

Makeup bag. £9.99. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £5.00. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £5.00. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £8.00. Available on Etsy.

Biscornu. £8.00. Sold.

Hope you check my new shop out, and let me know what you think of it. There are also some handmade little angels, teaspoon ladies, and birds that I haven't shared the photos of here that my mum made. I am also working on adding more and more items. 

ILiNidesigns Etsy shop

Onto Wipocalypse ...

If you want to join in this SAL in 2014 click on:

This month I am meant to introduce myself, my projects, and any goals that I have for this year.

I think I might skip the intro and refer you back to the last years post:

Welcome to Stitching in Crosses and More ...

it was for the blog party and is still pretty accurate. Although I am now a member of 2 reading groups, rather than one, participated in another 2 exhibitions, graduated from Newcastle University, and now opened an Etsy shop (as can be seen from the start of the post).

Speaking of which if you would like to know more about it (although unfortunately the deadline for sign up has passed this year) click on:

Projects/Goals

Ongoing:

1) Good Heavens by Margaret Sherry [Goal: Complete]

This used to be a UFO till recently, so I am very proud for working on it in December.

December 2013

2) Christmas Candle - HAED [Goal: Complete another 5 3 pages]

So far 0/5 3 (goal) and 3/36 (total)

I decided to keep the same goal that I did not manage to meet last year. Lets hope I will be better this year.

December 2013

January 2014

January 2014 - closeup

3) Yiota's Xstitch: Field of Poppies [Goal: Complete]
Based on Van Gogh's painting

December 2013

January 2014

4) 'Picture of elegance'. [Goal: Complete]

Sara Moon from The World of Cross Stitching issue 181. This is my mum's birthday present from almost a year ago ... oh dear I am very late.

December 2013

5) Literate Dragon - HAED [Goal: complete the full SAL]

So far 0/4. 

December 2013

UFOs:

6) Xmas Chums [Goal: Complete by next Christmas ... as if]

I have begun it as a present for christmas 2 3 4 summers ago ... managed to stitch the entire face before realising I have stitched it 10 squares lower than the centre. How silly! I then started unpicking and got up to:

June 2012

7)  'Tending the Flock' [Goal: Pick up and work on even if just a little]

from Cherished Teddies and Friends. A matching pillow hopefully to one in my earlier  prehistoric posts.

Before 2012

8) Making Lickle Wishes [Goal: turn to a WIP]

April 2012

9) Cabin Fever by Dimensions (Gold Collection) [Goal: turn into a WIP]

September 2012

10) John Clayton: Venice [Goal: complete]

December 2012

New Starts:

As part of the Stitch from Stash initiative I will be starting from my huge stash list and the first up is 'Lean on Me'. My january start. 

11) JR01 Lean on Me by Judy Rossouw (anchor) [Goal: complete]

January 2014

Obviously I will be starting some more wips including another HAED (after all I have a new frame - a Christmas gift). 

And some giveaways to check out:

• Blogoversary Giveaway @ Sarah in Stitches:

Click here to enter.

• A Chart Giveaway of your choice @ Stitchers Anon

Click here to enter.

Until soon,

 

Wipocalypse - post #8

Dear all,

I think I am progressing with my stitching rather well ... though blogging is not as high time spent as I would have hoped. I have just did 11 days of work in a row, so felt a little tired to comment, post, and respond in the evenings. A few days off for the bank holiday weekend now ... but it will be full of business unsurprisingly.

I am taking part in a craft fair at Snods Edge:

So if you live in the North East do come along. 

The biscornus are all made up and ready to be sold, amongst all other different beauties. I'll share the pictures in the next few days (need to get back to packing for the event). After all you are here for my Wipocalypse update:

'Boats':

July 2013

August 2013

About half way there.

And some finishes for this month that you have already seen:

You see a very productive ... stitching wise month ... and not just small finishes if you count the African lady that took me ages to backstitch.

Till soon with the promised pictures,

                                            
Aw, and by the way:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

TUSAL - post 5, some exciting news, and check out a giveaway ...

Well, I have promised myself to stay away from the blog world in view of my exams. But I could not resist. So this evening after writing a 3 hour Business Taxation exam I feel I can be a little bit distracted from my Law revision.

Okay 1st up is a week and a half late TUSAL post.

May in a jar ...

May 2013 with the rest of 2013 behind it ...

2013 after the may joined it

And you don't want to see my lonely jar/glass/container now that its tipped out. All empty.

Next up some exciting news.

Fabric!!!

Aren't they/it gorgeous?!?! I just couldn't wait to share them. I got some hand dyed fabrics. Every time I see hand dyed fabrics on people's blogs I get extremely jealous. Well these beauties have all came out of raided boxes of fabrics, leftovers, and stolen from kits (I am changing the count for one of the projects), and then were all hand dyed by my lovely mum (who is into dyeing at this moment - lucky me). Which in turn means I can pick one (excluding the bookmark obviously) for the Margaret Sherry SAL of puppies. Hope it is not yellow (that is the evil count 22). And attempt to catch up with all the ladies already stitching. But before then all the rest of exams, maybe a few more individual photos with better light (and I'll tell you what mum used to dye them too). One of those don't do try it at home.

Now onto more news ... my handmade bags and accessories business. Check out some popular updates from ILiNi designs: 

Work in Progress

handmade silk scarf with tulips

For ILiNi designs website click on the:

handmade bags and accessories

And to like us on Facebook (and to get all the exciting updates) click:

handmade bags and accessories updates

And finally (if you not had enough of me yet). There is an exciting giveaway:

over at  Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe

It is so nice to finish a post on a happy note (after all don't want you all to disappear without finishing reading mine first). But now you can go, do let Nancy know that I sent you.

Till soon I hope, but not too soon so that I get a little chance to revise,

Welcome to Stitching in Crosses and More ...

Hello and welcome. It was suggested to us to share a little about ourselves... so here it goes ...

I am Lija and I am an addict. I have been hooked up on cross for some time now. I have learnt to stitch at the age of 6 or 7 and one of my first finishes I remember to be was some snowdrops - the flowers. I have then over the years picked up knitting, and other crafts. Most get picked up and put away for spells of time over the years, but when I picked up cross stitch up again about 2 years ago I couldn't stop ... so here I am, blogging about this small part of my life.

that's me

I have graduated as a Master of Mathematics last year and am now studying towards being a Chartered Accountant. In my spare time I stitch, blog, collect stamps, knit, paint, draw, read books ...

Me pretending to read War and Peace
for the picture - I will finish it one day! 

My favourite authors are Paulo Coelho, Dostoyevsky, and Margaret Atwood. I was a World Book Night giver last year, which was a lot of fun, and I got to pass on Coelho's book to unsuspecting victims. I am part of a reading group, ran by the library (aren't they wonderful - all the books you can borrow for free, mine even does e-magazines so I get Crossstitcher for free now). Of course I also happen to be a part-time librarian so maybe a little prejudiced, an artist (participated in about 13 exhibition over the past 5 years), and recently I have started an online business, selling handmade bags and accessories - a sort of a family run online store.

me modelling the scarf ...

From our website:

ILiNi designs is a creative enterprise based in the North East of England. The handmade bags and accessories that we design and make are unique, each one individually thought out. The products available for purchase range from everyday use to special occasions. You will find exclusive leather handbags, hand painted silk scarves, jewellery, and many more treasures waiting to be picked. 

And if you would like to check us out, Click here! for our website and here if you would like to find us on facebook. I would appreciate any likes we get.

Another one of ILiNi designs bags

And a progress picture of a scarf with my oil painting hiding in the background:

So where are all the cross stitch pictures you ask, after all this is a blog mainly about cross stitch. There is a tab on the top of this page for all the finishes I had in the last 2 years which feel free to browse. And here are some highlights:

the first of eight
John Clayton

Fizzy Moon

Where would I be without Margaret Sherry?

Aren't they beautiful ...
I am stitching another one by the same designer at the moment

 And finally my progress on the HAED 'Christmas Candle':

This is the biggest project I have ever attempted and so far has taken half a year to do ... maybe a finish in a few years time. After all I can't say I am a heavy cross stitcher without having attempted one of these.

I should probably stop now, I have most likely disclosed too much about my life (personal information which we are told not to broadcast over the internet). 

I am looking forward to browsing all the blogs out there, and seeing what everyone else stitches/knits.

Bye for now and thanks for looking,

                                                             

P.S. Don't forget to check out all the other wonderful blogs that are here for the party at 2 Bags Full. I am very grateful to Vicki for organising this.