TUSAL #3 and Wipocalypse #3 ...

Just sat down to do a belated (yet again) post and realised how long it has been. I am sorry for the lack of posting, but I am back now. Just had a few crazy weeks, so did not get much time to update anything (not just my blog). Sadly, I also have been stitching less and less. I blame the doll making personally.

Dolls you ask, it is a small project mum and I have been working on. She is in charge of the cutting and sewing them up, I am in charge of needle sculpting, face drawing, and hair at the moment. I am currently sewing hair on strand by strand, which I am estimating is taking me 15-30 hours per doll. I am almost finished the second. I will definitely time when I begin on the third to get a better number. Hopefully, I will feel confident to share some photos in my next post.

Anyhow, onto the updates, TUSAL:

last month

last month next to year so far 

2014 including last month

And Wipocalypse update seen me stitching:

Christmas Candle:

January 2014

March 2014

Oh dear, I felt I was doing great progress until I put these two pictures next to each other. Quite a few nights went into this one!

Lean on Me

February 2014

March 2014

It is not very noticeable but I have completed all the backstitching in light grey. Onto dark grey next.

QS Literate Dragon

February 2014

March 2014

March 2014

The project that has seen the most of the stitchy hours input. 

I am participating in a 2014 HAED goal challenge over at their official forum board. The goals I set myself for the year are:

• Complete page 4 on Christmas Candle
• Stitch approximately a page on QS Literate Dragon
• Start and stitch 1 page on QS Poisonous Beauties

QS Poisonous Beauties will hopefully be my next start. I had the needed threads back since I purchased DMC for the dragon, but I decided to try some pregridded fabric for the project, which has recently arrived. More on that in the Stash update later in the month. 

Speaking of the delivery ... I have also bought the needed threads for some other projects, including the Margaret Sherry SAL I am participating in this year. The bigger question is: why do I sign up to so many things?

Also I solemnly swear that I will limit my spending on cross stitch and other craft supplies even further, as I am beginning to save up for a new printer. I know, there is nothing technically wrong with my current one. But once you spend about £160 in ink cartridges (and that is just the last 2 months or so and I do search for online bargains and rarely buy them full price) you realise that an inkjet printer is only suited for those that print less than I do. Laserjet is the way forward and although costs 5 times more to get, and ink cartridges same, it prints about 10 times more according to google. So not only I think this will be a great investment ... it will also be good to the environment (less cartridges and packaging material wasted). The problem is I need somewhere between £100 - £300 to get one, and then I'd guess about £200 for ink. The total comes higher than my standard monthly salary, most of which goes to pay bills, food, student loan ... So onto saving, and I do hope it will take less than a year to come up with this money. 

Anyhow till soon,

P.S. Thank you for all your lovely comments, sorry if I did not get around to personally responding to all of them.
P.P.S. To be updated with the photos of where I like to stitch.

Smalls SAL update #2

Oh dear, I am a little late ... only by a little bit this time. For Smalls SAL February update I have another witch by the Snowflower Diaries. Spring Witch, chart available free over HERE.

It was stitched on Zweigart 28 count Quaker Linen in Confederare Grey.

Stitched in DMC: 310, 3770, 738, 3833, 3364, 818, and Anchor: 8, 360, 128, and Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe: Heather A (a gift from Nancy ... the rabbit). Isn't it gorgeous! Speaking of Nancy and her floss. She is having another giveaway. Click HERE and enter by the 10th March 2014. 

Till soon,

Reports, reports, reports ... Wipocalypse #2 and Stitch from Stash #2

Dear all,

I am as always being busy, busy, busy ... apologies for a belated (as per usual) update on Wipocalypse, but for one I really wanted to have some progress to show ... and not just a fabric with two extra crosses.

First up is QS 'Literate Dragon':

December 2013

February 2014

page done!!!

Well it doesn't look like much, but this progress took me about 4 nights. I have finally finished off the bottom right page properly (so many colours for so little! Each colour seemed to only have one cross or so). Yuppy! And started on the bottom left next.

My other progress is on the 'Lean on Me' that I started as part of Stitch from Stash last month:

January 2014

February 2014

I wanted to have this one done, but didn't quite make it before posting. Just the backstitching left. I was also going to start another piece from stash, but didn't get around. I have started the prep and all:

all colours for QS Literate Dragon and Christmas Candle

with those additional skeins and kreinik

I know this is for my current major projects, but now I do not have to be frustrated when I go search for some colour. Hence I was able to finish that page on the 'QS Literate Dragon'. I also now started to gather the threads for the next few projects I am going to start. I already bought threads awhile back for 'QS Poisonous Beauties', then I am starting a Margaret Sherry Sal as mentioned previously so I got the list of threads, put it together with that of 'Alice Enchanted' (gifted to me last year), and the list of LHN small projects. Then I got together all of the skeins I already had into a bag (well actually two, as half of them stink of cigarettes from when I bought them so continuing to get rid of smell through putting cloths for tumble drier in there). And ordered the rest ... so naturally time for my buying report:

Margaret Sherry had half price on her website (click here). The kits are no longer on sale, but the hen one is ridiculously cheap now ... as in 75% off! Wish I waited.

£9.47

£11.97

So that is a total of £21.44 spent.

Full report:

£/$21.50 was brought forward, then this moth's allowance is £/$25. This lets me carry forward £/$25.06! Go me.

But wait you'd say that I mentioned that I bought some threads too.

Well yes, I have. I bought 99 skeins of dmc, large bobbin storage box, 2 metal craft rings, 18 count aida (magic guide) for 'QS Poisonous Beauties', all for a total of £48.96. This was all bought from Cross Stitch Heaven. I was putting this massive order off for the next month, but that exemption/splurge weekend came in handy. Especially since I am planning a trip to a charity shop (I hear they have cheap floss at the moment).

And just before I go I will answer Measi's Wipocalypse question:

Topic: How many projects do you generally feel comfortable having in progress at a time?  Tell us about your one-at-a-time or rotation habits!

A very hard question indeed. I have as you know 11 official wips and increasing, but then there are the smalls I no longer count towards wipocalypse too. I get a little panicky when I think about 'the number', but they are better being stitched on than waiting in the stash pile ... right? I do not do rotations per se, but I choose whatever I feel like stitching (sometimes I ask mum if I can't decide) and stitch till I get bored with it and then move on. Having said that if I have some SAL/exchange etc commitments, that would take priority over my random picks. I have also started making jewellery and art dolls, so that takes some time away from cross stitching too. 

Belated winner announcements ...

Before I start I want to state that the blog party giveaway winner was drawn on time, contacted, and should have the package somewhere en route now. I just was bad at blogging the announcement, sorry. I blame the cold and fever and throat pain. Yuk! Glad that's out of the way now. Although I still haven't recovered all my strength entirely.

Okay so onto the winner announcement ... as always with a little help from my seven year old brother. I printed all the comments, cut them out, and placed face down. Guess who he has pulled out?

It is Sarah of Sarah in Stitches. I am so happy that my little brother pulled out Sarah, whom I met through last year's blog party and I won that day's giveaway from. So I think very appropriate.

Also, I know ... I know my Wipocalypse update is extremely overdue (is it a week?). I will hopefully be able to post it in the next few days. 

Till soon,

TUSAL - post #2 and the giveaway announcement ...

Hello all,

I have finally made up my mind what I am giving away as part of the Grow Your Blog! party. So I thought maybe I should post a few pictures before the giveaway concludes. I am a little ill, headache, throat ache, leg pains, so apologies if I make little sense.

But before that let me show you my TUSAL jar:

jar #2 and 2014

2014 so far

Now onto the giveaway. To enter click HERE and follow the instructions at the bottom of the post.

5 threaders

5 charms

1 chart and a chart booklet

2 small kits

a bookmark and speciality stitch charts

Hand dyed fabric with logwood and aluminium mordant by my mum

Once the winner is picked he or she can pick what part of the giveaway they want: all or some (and whatever is unwanted will roll over to the next drawing). I might add more prizes in the next few days (or maybe not) but for now that is how the giveaway stands.

Till soon,

Smalls SAL update #1

Dear all,

Just a quick first check in on this new SAL for me (for more info check out the separate tab). Speaking of SALs I have signed up to yet another one (grunt) ... a Margaret Sherry one. More on that later.

First finish (the two photos are at slightly various stages of day/artificial light):

It is the Snowflower Diaries: Summer Witch, chart available free over HERE.

It was stitched on Zweigart 28 count Quaker Linen in Confederare Grey.

Stitched in DMC: 310, 3770, 520, 827, 517, 818, and Anchor: 8, 360, 47, 882, 1010

Till tomorrow,

 

Stitch from Stash 2014 - post #1 or quite a bit of stash and still within budget ...

Dear all,

Thank you for your lovely comments on my previous post. If you are still curious about me and the party check out this post HERE. There is a giveaway I am doing as part of the party. So sorry I haven't got a photo up yet. But will do that as soon as I catch my breath. I will also need to visit all the party blogs. That hectic time of the month hit it seems. I will need to have 3 updates in a row. My to do list has grown with the things needing to be done.

The first of them ... Stitch from Stash 2014. Check out the tab for more info on the project.

I have managed to stay within limit and still have plenty of stash ...

My new stash:

I have won a thread giveaway over at Victorian Motto Sampler:

Is Nancy generous or what!? The threads are beautiful, and I have already started stitching with them.

Speaking of Nancy ... she is having another giveaway over on her blog. Click HERE to check it out before 14th February 2014. A hint ... there is a lot of red involved.

Next I will show you my Christmas present from my sister. I have only got it a few days ago (almost a week ago now) when my sister visited. She visited us here for a few days and then I went down to London/Brighton for a few days. And I only got back a few hours ago. Told you I was busy!

Hand dyed floss by Nina of Nina's Threads. The colour is Jingle Bells. 

Along with it I got the following chart with pre-sorted threads and fabric by Snowflower Diaries:

It was packed soooo lovely. Sadly I could not wait to start so you do not get the packed up picture.

packaging

It was my small project for the train. And I am making progress.

uniquely prepacked threads

Mostly Nina's hand dyed floss

The picture of the progress: 

Progress.

it is a bit of a wrong colour on here (happens when you take pictures after dark).

I bought myself a winder. (Not sure whether it is includable in the budget). The threads some wound some not were beginning to drag me up the wall.

Then my shopping from Anita's Little Stitches came. A blogging friend once recommended for me to buy from Anita ... as I was trying to find Little House Needleworks. I have ordered this back mid December and only now received. Anita and I agreed a slightly letter postage due to the insecurity of Christmas and New Year post.

35 count cocoa

I have never stitched on 35 count before. So this should be something new.

Cardinal Winter ornament chart

Specialised threads for the ornament

Little Sheep Virtue - No.1 Hope chart with button

Little Sheep Virtue - No.8 Wisdom chart with button

Little Sheep Virtue - No.5 Faith chart with buttons

Here are 3 sheep (and that is 9 to go) and 1 ornament (and not sure how many from previous series would I make.

What did I actually buy ...

A magazine ... with the Fizzy Moon. With student discount this was £4.50. And hence as I count $25 pretty much equivalent to £15 I have more that 2/3 carrying through to next month (£11.50). On second thought I will take the advised approach pretend $25 is equivalent to £25 (as Mel mentioned UK materials are expensive). Now I have 21.50 to carry through. This way when I order from the abroad it will be less confusing. Unless I need to include the winder. If yes I will update the sum and carrying would be a little bit less.

Also the project I started stitching from stash this month:

Lean on Me by Judy Rossouw (Anchor kit)

I am falling a sleep slightly at my desk now, so better wrap it up.

Till soon,

 
P.S. Will start making the party rounds tomorrow.