The Next Christmas Stocking

Right before Christmas, I finally finished my oldest daughter's Christmas Stocking.  It was truly a labor of love that took me years to complete

 I have now started the second one for our second daughter who is a freshman in high school.

 I bought all the stocking kits at the same time (all seven of them), with each specific recipient in mind.  This one I chose because of the wildlife and the outdoors theme.  I thought it fit her perfectly and boy does it sure fit now!  This one appears to be much easier.  The stitching is not as dense and there are quite a few half stitches.  Maybe I can get this one done this year.....

This will be what it will look like when finished and she loves it!  Right now I am enjoying sitting down each evening and working on it for about 40 minutes or so - this is such a great way to unwind while the hubs and I watch one of our favorite shows.

Tami's, Ginni's, Sara's and Lydia

Super Big Finish and Itty Bitty Finish

This super big finish is a project that I have been working on for several years.  I have taken breaks to do other things and make gifts for people, but on average have probably worked in about 30 to 45 minutes everyday.

I am so proud to have actually finished it!

 I could not believe my good fortune in finding what I felt was the PERFECT fabric to line the front and also to make the back.

 This is the back.  I totally love, love, love it!

 And here is the front.  This is THE biggest most complicated cross stitch project that I have ever made.  To say it was a challenge would be a huge understatement!

 There is lots and lots of backstitching in all different colors and thread amounts.  There are half and quarter stitches.  There are places where there is one stitch in one color surrounded by other single stitches in other colors - sometimes with two threads of the same color, sometimes with two threads of different colors and sometimes with only one thread.

 French knots with this lovely, shiny, but very slippery gold thread.

 So many details :o)

 Love this dog and how the package in the background looks 3D.

 A starry, snowy night.

 A tree of many, many shades of green.

 My very first go at couching and with that super slippery gold thread.

 Hanging in it's proper place, finally finished for my oldest daughter who will be going away to college next fall.  This is her last year to be living under the family roof.  So proud of her!

 My itty bitty finishes are these earrings.  This set is for my oldest daughter.

 Christmas ornament + ear wire + 45 seconds = cool holiday earrings.

 This set is for me!

Feeling good today!!  I simply cannot believe the Christmas stocking is complete, it has been on the top of my craft stack for so long!

Sharing with Tami, Fiber Arts Friday, Creative Friday and I've Made Friday.

That Christmas Stocking!

I have been working on this stocking almost every night and it feels like there has been almost no progress at all :o(  Good thing I am not really minding the backstitch so much anymore.

 This is the last picture I took.

 This is what it looks like now.  I think you might need a magnifying glass to see the difference!

The new book I am immersed in right now.  I can't seem to put it down!

More good things at Tami's and Ginny's :o)

Almost There!

I am back at working on this cross stitch Christmas stocking for my oldest child.  I have been working on this on and off for quite a few years and it is time to get it DONE!

 Before I started stitching on it again.

 I always find it so hard to actually see what has been done on one of these when someone posts a picture and I am sure it is the same with my picture.  BUT....ALL the cross stitches are done now.  YIPEE!!  Only the back stitching is left and I have been slowly working on that nightly, only allowing myself to get sidetracked occasionally :o)

 I think this picture show the best update from the last picture.  I have done a lot of back stitching so far and I think if I keep plugging along like I have been, it should be done in a couple of weeks.

 This puppy is just so cute!!

 And of course, Santa!!

Had to take a picture of the book I am reading.  This is kind of a strange book and I am anxiously awaiting to see how all the twists and turns will be ironed out.

Head over to Tami's and Ginny's for more works in progress.

WIP #76

My WIPs have been getting a lot of attention this past week. I find it so hard to see the difference on a cross stitch project though so I am glad that there are before and after photos.

Before

After. I filled in some of the little stitches that were missing and started on the back stitching. It is going slowly, but I am starting to feel that excitement when a big project is nearing it's end. Hopefully lots of progress will be made this week!
This is part of a huge granny square blanket I started a few years ago and then banished it to the box. Do you see a pattern here?? This is what happened to the granny stripe blanket (which is finished except for a few little bits and will be revealed soon!).
I really love these color combinations. This yarn was also used in the granny stripe blanket, but I liked it so much I started this one as well with just these four colors.
This is where I am at now and it will become my new yarny WIP to work on. I'm not quite sure how big it is now, but it is not big enough. My very precise way of measuring these is as follows: crochet (or knit) until said blanket it long enough to reach from my neck to past my toes - then it's done!! How's that for precision :o)

Work-In-Progress Wednesday

I am desperately wanting to start on the next Christmas stocking!! Filling in all these little bits and then knowing that the outlining is looming (I know, outlining is a favorite for some :o) is making it very hard to stay focused. But stay focused I did!

Before

After

And then...because I just couldn't stay all THAT focused.....

I pulled out my Granny Stripe Blanket that was started two years ago. It got banished to the box when newer, more shiny projects came my way, but I decided to bite the bullet and just finish it. I had seen so many beautiful granny stripe blankets out there lately that they inspired me to take out mine. Well, lo and behold, there was really not that much to do on it. One last stripe made it the right length and I have been sewing in ends a little at a time. Once the ends are sewn in I will only need to make a border. Whoopee!! It should be finished soon...unless I get distracted again :o)

All piled up in it's Granny Goodness!

16 year old daughter last night said, "WOW! How beautiful, when did you start this one?"

The Grand WIP!!

This Christmas stocking seems to be my project that is lodged in the Twilight Zone. It seems that no matter how much I work on it, it defies being finished. This project has been in the works on and off for a couple of years now. It is intended for my oldest daughter who is now 16 and will be going away to college in about 18 months (EEEKK!! I'm not ready for that) My big goal for this year is to finish this thing and have it hung on the mantle this Christmas.

I have done "most" of it. The cross stitches are almost complete, but it is the backstitching that needs to be done. I can tell you, I am not looking forward to that!! Hours and hours of backstitching - WOOHOO - exciting, NOT! Anyway, I am going to try to diligently work on this every evening until it is complete :o)
Yesterday when I took this photo, I had planned on working in this section - the plan was to try to fill in all the empty spaces so that next week when I took another photo, the difference would be very evident. However, when I sat down last night, I started filling in stitches on the book that is just to the left of what this photo shows. That space was just calling to me! I am hoping to have a huge update on this project by next week :o) Wish me luck!

And....to see all the other wonderful things being worked on, visit Tami's blog.

Seasons Sampler Update

I seem to have gotten a wee bit of my stitching mojo back and it feels good. This is the Autumn portion of the Seasons Sampler from Novalee02. I am simply in love with these colors and the way this is stitching up.

Here it is in all it's glory so far. I can't wait for the next installment for winter so I can finish it, frame it and hang it up!
Now to work on that dreaded Christmas stocking for my oldest that has been taking FOREVER!!

Slow stitching & baking

Finally!! The Summer installment of this sampler is done! We went on a camping vacation for 10 days and it was very hard to stitch on this. I truly did not want to get it dirty and camping by nature is very dirty :o)

Anywho, it is done now but with a pretty glaring error. The taller flower should be at the same height as the other full flower. I didn't notice this until I was stitching in the butterfly trail and by then there would have been quite a bit of pulling out. I just decided to leave it as is and make the stem longer. I'm not quite sure I like it this way and will decide at a later date if I should take it out and redo or leave it as a "design element".
Spring and Summer together. I can't wait for Fall - these are really nice patterns!
Something else I have been getting into is baking "real" bread. "Real" bread to me is bread that uses yeast and does not use a breadmaker. I have been wanting to do this for a very long time, but the thought of using yeast and getting everything the right temperature and kneading and all that was pretty daunting. A friend of mine awhile back was raving about this book so when I saw it at the library, I decided that I would give it a go. Well.....it is AMAZING!! Very clear instructions and super easy to do....
Here is the dough rising. This is for four 1-pound loaves. Let it rise for a few hours, put it in the fridge for a while longer...
Pull off enough for one loaf of bread and put the rest back in the fridge for another day...shape and let rise for 40 minutes...
And PRESTO!! Bread. This is the very first loaf in the book, since then I have made many more loaves including a peasant bread recipe and olive bread. I can see that this is going to become super additive. All the kids, me and my husband love, love, love bread and this bread is super yummy! I would highly recommend this book!!

Fabulous Gift and Romantique update

A wonderfully generous friend on the Bits and Bobs2 Yahoo Group sent me all this cotton!! Isn't is great! And there is so much of it! I had made the off hand comment on one of my messages that I was starting to use other kinds of yarn for my fishes because I had run out of the bits and leftovers of my cotton. She contacted me and sent me hers! There is so much here!

Look at all that cotton - isn't it wonderful. And the best part....as I knit each and every fish with this yarn, I will be thinking of this wonderful and generous friend. Thank you so much, Peggy.

My newest update for the Romantique Sampler.

Part 11

Close up of the detail - it just changes the whole look.

Part 10 - love, love, love those roses!!

Another close up of the details. I can't wait for the next installment!