Crazy Cross Stitch Challenge 2015: 'Scared Silly' finish

I have another finish for the Cross Stitch Crazy Challenge!  I seriously am so happy with the amount of stitching I've been able to do this year!  This challenge has really helped in that regard.  This is my fifth finish for the challenge, so just ten more to go.  oof.  But progress is progress right!  This is "Scared Silly" by Birds of a Feather.  It's a super fun design and I just had to stitch it. 

I used floss that I had on hand including Charcoal by Weeks Dye Works for the black areas.  It has a subtle variation that looks nice in the design.  The rest were DMC including a few variegated ones.  The orange in particular turned out very nice! I'm not totally happy with the yellow I chose, it's a bit too light, but I'm not going to redo it...at least not now. 

The fabric is 28 count cashel linen in the color Ale by Picture This Plus.  I love this fabric!  It's so nice to stitch on and this color really makes the colors pop.  I would buy yards of this color if I could afford it.  

This cat's face is just crazy.  I love it so much.  I'm not exactly sure how I want to finish this one off.  I think it would be a nice pillow to bring out for Halloween so maybe I will do that.  But for now, I'll just store it with the other finishes until I figure out for sure.  

'Til next time...happy stitching!

Mother's Day finish...a little late

I'm a bit behind on blogging again.  I seem to go through periods of active posting and then periods on inactivity.  I would say that's just how life is sometimes. So I have a few posts planned to show some recent finishes.  Up first is this small finish that I made for Mother's Day for my mom.  It was a quick stitch and I'm really please with how it turned out. 

The pattern is by The Primitive Hare and is a freebie you can find here.  I stitched it on some scrap fabric I had on hand, a dusty pink evenweave. I stitched it with a few different shades of pinks for the design.  I know the colors may not be very prim, but it is for Mother's Day and I wanted it to look a certain way.  

I decided to finish it as a little ornament that my mom could hang off of a knob or door handle or something like that.  I added a little floral fabric, some lacy trim and a few buttons to finish it off.  I sewed everything together by hand because it was such a small piece that I didn't want to drag out my sewing machine.  

This was a really nice little project. I like to work on small items in between my larger pieces so I have a feeling that I'm finishing things!  

'Til next time!

Update: Small finishes

In my quest to work on small items between my larger pieces, I've managed to finish quite a few smalls this year so far by stitching on my lunch break and joining some stitch-a-longs in facebook groups. So here's a few more that I've finished!

"Halloween 2013" by Glory Bee

This pattern is in the Just Cross Stitch Halloween 2013 issue.  I stitched it on some chocolate brown aida from my stash. This was a quick little stitch and I plan to make it into an ornament for my Halloween tree this year!

"Spring" by Trail Creek Farm

This was a freebie design that I actually picked up at a thrift store.  Fun and quick!

"Isn't is Fun to Be a Witch?" by Giulia Punti Antichi

This pattern is in the Just Cross Stitch 2014 Halloween issue.  I just loved this design and had to stitch it!  Again, I used some aida I had in my stash.  

The pattern used some spider buttons but I'm all about using what I have on hand so I dug out some black buttons and transformed them into spiders.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  I also stitched up the companion piece...

"Isn't it Fun To be a Little Witch"

This design was in the Just Cross Stitch Sept/Oct 2014 issue, I stitched her on the same fabric as the larger witch so they would match,  The patterns called for a pumpkin button for her to sit on,  I dug through my buttons and came across this mushroom and thought it would be cute.  

Here they are together (my apologies for the wrinkles, I haven't ironed anything yet).  Just darling. They look so cute together.


That's it for today.  'Til next time!

The Guelder Rose Fairy: Finish

I'm still playing catch up so I have another finish to share with you today! This is a gorgeous fairy that I stitched up for a Spring challenge. I am seriously in love with this design!

She is from an older issue of  The World of Cross Stitching magazine.  I'm sorry I do not know the issue number.  I ripped it out of a magazine I found at the thrift store because I didn't need to keep the entire magazine.  It was designed by DMC based off the artwork of Cicely Mary Barker who has a big series of flower fairies.

I stepped outside of the box with this design.  This kind of design is not one I would normally stitch, even though it is so pretty.  I'm so glad I did because she's so lovely.

 I really like the subtle shading in her skin and dress.  

This chart has a little bit of everything really; full crosses, half stitches, backstitch and gobs of french knots in the center of the flower!

The backstitching really defined the design as well. I love the little details of her face. 

So there she is, my little fairy.  I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with it just yet but I think she's be very pretty stretched over a canvas, but we'll see.  

'Til next time!

WIP Update!

Alrighty, I'm going to share some WIP updates for the Cross Stitch Crazy Challenge that I started at the beginning of the year.  I have been working on some of the pieces but I don't have another finish yet. There are some that I haven't touched since I started them back in January so I'm just going to show the ones that I've added stitches to.



WOODLAND SAMPLER by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

I've stitched through April on the Woodland Sampler and it's been a really enjoyable piece to work on, like all Frosted Pumpkin designs.



The little raccoon is so adorable!



The shroom!!  Ahh...the cute!



And finally the little jackalope standing in the rain.

AUTUMN SAMPLER by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

I didn't work on this one as much, but I did finished up one block and start another one. 

WHACKY WITCHES by Clouds Factory

I am in love with this design!!  It's so fun to work on and these witches are just too cute. I'm stitching the border as I go.  It's pretty intricate so doing it that way helps it not get too overwhelming for me.



I love this one, pouting over her exploded potion.



Running away from a ghostie



She's losing her hat! 

ADVENTURE TIME by Wee Little Stitches

I had finished Finn on day one of stitching this, so I've since added Marceline and most of Ice King and Gunther.  I always enjoy stitching Wee Little Stitches designs.  Simple and fun. 

So that's it for the Challenge WIPs.  I'm very pleased with my progress and hope to have another finish soon.  I've also been working on some non-challenge pieces so that's distracted me a bit but I think I'm stitching at a good pace.  It's supposed to be fun right?  And I'm definitely enjoying myself.

'Til next time!

Easter Carrot finish!

I'm sharing another finish today!  This is a small-ish piece that I did for an Easter SAL in a facebook group I'm no longer a member of (oops).  I'm still trying to gather up decorations for other holidays other than Halloween and Christmas so this Easter design was perfect and it stitched up pretty quickly.  

This is a Cricket Collection pattern, leaflet 290, another one I found at a thrift store.  I used the recommended DMC floss and I stitched it on a 14 count blue and white striped aida that I had in my stash. I'm so glad I chose that striped fabric, I love how it turned out. 

This design has a some really nice, soft colors in it.  Such a unique design. 

Hello little bunny!  I changed the bunny from white to brown so he would show up better on the light fabric.  Too dang cute.  I really adore this piece and I'm so glad I stitched it up.  Again, I'm not sure how to finish it but I think it would look great in a white frame so I'm going to be on the lookout for one.  That's it for this post, I'll cat ya next time!