Sheep #1.9 and Stitch from Stash October + giveaway that I'm having...

Hello all,

Let's hope this post is not a massive failure. I am attempting to post from my phone (not great). I hoped to have had internet by now and after 10 working days wait for the line to connect all would have seemed perfect until I discovered that there was no actual line... or the one that worked. Hmmm. You know what the nice man said to me after I described my issue? Have you tried resetting? Switching on and off? I'm not that technologically behind. So after 40 minutes he decided to notify me that the line wasn't working.

My phone (same provider) has been extremely patchy, so let's hope this works. Sorry girls for not updating sheep as regularly as I should (I have been stitching just unable to post). Speaking of stitching I went a little crazy and ehm watched about 5 films in a row with lots and lots of stitching! Can't wait to show my progress on my latest wip. But you'll have to wait since I am a pain.

900 stitches

Another update tomorrow. I hope. We'll see how my phone feels like. I get my emails streamed to it... which works better than online connection... well lets say they sometimes stop coming for a few days.

Next up is the stitch from stash update. Mel was so nice to log me on an email from my patchy phone. She is so understanding. Anyhow my spend was only £2 (or $) . I bought a file with some patterns from a charity shop. They are a bit hit and miss, but a few are okay. Sorry limiting on pictures (or my internet will definitely stop working). Similarly with rest of report. Sufficient to say I haven't been spending much in the recent months. Moving is expensive.

Anyhow onto other news. I think it is time for a giveaway. Love thy Thread is having a 40% discount (and I already bought some) but more on that in the next stitch from stash post. For now (let's hope th e offer doesn't end tomorrow hehehe) I am going to have a giveaway of a chart. Which one? One essentially of your choosing. You will need to give me an email and I think that will let me access your wish list. And you will get one through a download. I have promised a giveaway awhile back but kept putting it aside due to craziness. But I decided craziness might take awhile to depart. So by that time I might have a physical giveaway of stash etc. 

Deadline will be next Sunday. The 16th, 10am my time (i.e. UK). That way I can let you know the winner in the post of sheep (I am hoping the internet situation improves by then. You should be a follower. Either a 'reply' blogger or list your email in the post. Will need to have 10 charts on your wish list (at least that is)... so I can expand my list and the gift be a pleasant surprise. 

If we are told the event is being withdrawn... the giveaway might happen earlier so comment on this post to enter. 

Till tomorrow (or today) for my next 10 stitches on the sheep. It's looking really good.

Thank you for all you lovely comments,

Lija 

Stitch from Stash - September 2014 and I have a new start ...

Dear all,

I am not certain about this month's report ... or rather whether to weep or be proud. I spent ... a total of zero pounds/ dollars/anyothercurrency (a first since I embarked on this challenge). I was way too busy with the move, and poor with spending all that hard earned cash on letting agents, rent, additional rent, and even it seems now going to be overlapping rent. It's not that the money went to  something nice (like a brand new printer for which I will need to start saving again soon) but hey ho that is life, and a girl needs a place to call home. And things should settle down soon, deposits and fees are a pain, but they tend to attack suddenly at the start.

But on the even brighter side ... I made a start from stash! Perfect!  And I have £/$45.03 to carry to the next month (or whenever I will actually have money). For the hardcore addict that I am it is sooo nice that I managed to resist the urge.

It is 'Harmony' by the amazing Nancy of the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. I bought the chart from her in June (the spree month to be precise ... and if I am not buying any time soon I am planning on starting plenty from stash!). Fabric is evenweave (28 count I think although might be 32), it was bought and accounted for in August (and still for some reason coming out grey when it is more cream/peachy).  

latest threads won - featuring 1840 red violet in which I am stitching

The threads that I am using are of course hand dyed by Nancy herself, which I won awhile back and forgot to share photos of. I wish I could afford the entire collection (as do many others no doubt) ... one day. Nancy is soo generous, and this was actually a second time I won a giveaway from her. And this is my entire collection so far:

after a few projects stitched already there is still plenty!

Till soon,

Stitch from Stash - August 2014

Dear all,

Just a quick check-in, as I am in the process of packing up to move tomorrow. The saddening part is that I cannot take all my stash with me, so had to be a little selective of few projects that I will work on in the next few months before I get a chance to travel back up North for the weekend.

My shopping last month was mainly fabrics. Hmm most of which I have to leave behind (ignore the grey undertone of my photo taking).

Mostly evenweave, just one 18 count (bottom picture left). Total cost £36.25 and £15 for a dmc 310 cone (sorry no picture). Total spend £51.25

Minus £25 (£/$) exemption ... I have £/$26.25 - £/$21.28 (previous month carried forward) ... £/$4.97 from current month's £/$25 .... so that is a total of £/$20.03 to carry to next month. It is a good thing we had the exemption this month or I wouldn't have made it.

Till soon,

Stitch from Stash #7 (attempt post from a phone)

Hello all,

Sorry for a very long gap. Hope I haven't lost anyone in the process. I do have a good excuse for not posting (and even missing last week's Wipocalypse post - and I never do that). I have no internet! No internet and no phone line for 3 weeks and 2 days! I have spend about an hour on phone to EE tonight apparently the most 'reliable network' and also with whom you can check an existing fault online. The first adviser put me on hold for over 20 minutes and once the phone got taken off hold somebody else was asking what company I am calling from! And then hung up on me! The second adviser was a little better promised not to put me on hold, so I spent a further 15 minutes in silence. Apparently I will have an update in 24 hours and someone will start digging (again) tomorrow. How many times have I heard this over the past 3 weeks! Oh well maybe this person will actually follow through and update me. I also spent (on top of paying for line and internet that isn't working) £5.99 to have some internet on phone. And attempting my 1st post via the phone! Soooo proud.

Onto nice things... you'd think after my spree month I would not need to buy anything, well actually it turns out I did:

I bought 2 charts from love thy thread (half price) and I just had to have all three in my collection. And also I bought a metre and a bit of evenweave at a pretty good price when I was down south.

So a total of £22 spend this month. And so that makes a $/£ 21.28 to carry through to next month!

I hope this works and I can do few updates over the phone while internet is getting fixed.

Also as a small apology and a sign of joy (I have some changes going on in my life at the moment - will share later) I promise to have a giveaway soon.

Till soon I hope,

Lija

I'm late, I'm late, I'm very very late or Stitch from Stash #5

I just got back from visiting friends and family down South this morning (night bus is not the best way to travel) and need to rush out to work. So pictures at a later stage (I'll try to edit the post when I come home).

I bought:

$9.50 'Moonlight and Moonbeam' by Ravenscroft (HAED chart) ... it was on 50% sale.

£3.96 14 packs of assorted Madeira embroidery thread (ebay)

£1.39 'Cross Stitch Herbs Fruit and Flowers' book after 30% (Works)

£6.49 Simply heritage flower charts (ebay)

£1.20 Cross stitch material Magic Guide 14" x 18" ecru (ebay)

$/£15.82 was carried over plus the $/£ 25 allowance. I have $/£18.28 to carry through to next month. Mind it was a close call. I didn't bid on about 6 kits I was planning onto. Go me.

Till soon,

Stitch from Stash #4

Hello, just a quick update before I have to rush/run to work. There is lots of stash in this update ... and I am still in budget! Thank you to my lovely family who got me lots of stitchy things for my 25th birthday. "Quarter of a Century makes a girl think" (from 'Some Like it Hot')

First up I have some photos of that job lot I bought last time with threads.

sorted into 3 bundles

24 dmc

163 anchor

190 other companies

And I spent £35 if you can remember. So it is not too bad. Mind now I need something to use all those random threads on. And I am not 100% certain about the anchor ones as some are really old and have somebody else instead of Coats listed on the labels. But the logo is the same.

Stash wise mum got me the following kit:

It is  'Victorian Roses' by Candamar Designs. I can't wait to start stitching it ... look at all the gorgeous threads:

My sister gifted me four lovely charts by Little House Needleworks with buttons:

I have already sorted the fabric and threads for all 12 designs ... even though I only have charts and buttons for 6. I think I am going to start on 'Love' next month.

What did I actually buy then ... a magazine:

£4.25

It was a huge disappointment. The cover design is nice, and one other, but as magazine was packed up I did not realise that was all that would interest me in it. I don't think I will be buying this one again any time soon.

I also bought the Fizzy Moon kit exclusive from the World of Cross Stitching for £19.99. But it still hasn't arrived (almost a month now). And I am worried as they have put the price up to £24.99 now ... I will have to wait and see. But I would have felt a lot better if it was in my stash draw!

Okay I carried forward $/£15.06 + this month's allowance of $/£25 which is $/£40.06 I could have spent. I only spent £24.24. So I have $/£15.82 to carry forward. But the scary part next month is May ... and for some reason May and June are the worst for my cross stitching shopping sprees. Good luck to me!

And just a quick note on the projects from stash that I started this month:

Ember II

QS Poisonous Beauties

Till soon,

Smalls #3 & Stitch from Stash #3

I cannot believe this ... I am actually posting a few days in advance, go me! I just thought if I get these two updates out of the way I might get a chance to write that promised update on hand dyed fabric (if you don't remember the promise that was probably because it was made many many moons ago).

First up is Smalls SAL (for more info check the tab).

I have finished:

biscornu #229

Well, this was meant to be a Valentine's style biscornu (for a case I had booked in February) hence in shiny pink ... but as you can tell I finished it a little late. Oh well, it is still a finish (which list I am not doing as well on as last year).

Biscornu #229

Stitched on 14 count aida

Threads: DMC E967

by The Floss Box

You have also probably guessed that I have done this design previously, and I have ... back in July 2013.


And onto my spending with Stitch from Stash (again check the tab for more info):

First up (this is not part of the official report) is the purchase I made last month from Cross Stitch Heaven which has finally arrived:

99 dmc colours

embroidery thread storage box

pre-gridded fabric

2 metal craft rings

This was the first time I shopped from Donna and I still haven't made up my mind about the experience.  The prices are good, but I guess one has to take it with a pinch of salt. I was very excited to get the package and it was very well wrapped and packaged, neat as well! Fabric with threads and the rings between the fabric folds. My first mood damper was to discover one of the rings being a bit rusty. Oh well, not a big deal, I can live with that. The other issue was one of my skeins was the wrong shade. I have emailed Donna today, and am awaiting the reply ... but it is making me feel petty and rather silly. It is only one skein worth 39p after all. And I can probably use it in the future. But this means that one of the projects is missing a colour ... I have not checked which one yet and for me to order that colour I need to pay postage again, and well probably buy more items to make it more worth while. 

See, I told you you'd think I am petty. After all she done pretty well to get the 98 out of 99 right. And I love my new fabric. I have rolled it onto my new frame (the one my mum got me for Christmas) for the new start heading this way. I just hate feeling guilty! What to do? Well one of my reasons posting early, I guess, is to start on the next month's spending. So maybe if I buy just that right shade and more fabric... and then there is that exclusive Fizzy Moon kit by World of Cross Stitching ... but I am saving for that printer so I should think twice. Like Scarlett O'Hara said 'I will think about it tomorrow'. I will! I will sit down and properly budget. I haven't been getting many additional hours, so my last two pays were a little tight ... and my guess the next one will be similar. It might be even time to drop another magazine subscription. And definitely more ebay listing. Although with an average selling price in the vicinity of 50p how much time can I dedicate to listing and going to the post office?  

Anyhow onto the proper update. I have carried forward $/£25.06 and added to this month's allowance that makes the budget of $/£50.06. Remember I left you on the cliff hanger of going to the charity shop ... well I spent quite a bit. More than I have intended to! I picked out a pile of Anchor and DMC (quite a few repeats) and at £1 per 5 skeins it all added up to £28. With about same amount still in basket though not Anchor or DMC ... the lady offered me the whole lot for £35! I am not certain whether this was worth it. As the rest I would have probably not bought on its own. I will aim to separate and catalogue my purchase for the next update ... and see whether it was a bargain or not. To put this sum in perspective ... my mum bought a large set of wooden drawers (gorgeous!) with delivery for about £20 from the same charity shop. We crafters are insane!

This then means I have $/£15.06 to carry forward.

Incidentally this is also happens to be my 100th post ... woohoo who would have thought that I'd be here blogging just over two and a half years later. When I started blogging I wanted to document my completions ... I thought how would I have anything to write about if I stitch a particularly large design. Who would have thought that SALs and Wips would take over.

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. 

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.