Framing and a Finish (Picture Heavy)

I know, it's been forever!
I'm so sorry!
And wow! I have 101 followers!  When did THAT happen?!

I haven't been stitching much this summer - too much pool and jigsaw puzzles! But I have gotten some framing done and a little finish to show you guys :D




Going to Market  is now hanging on my Mum's wall in her Africa/jungle themed den.  She already had this frame and the glass, I only had to pay for the mat and the work.




Mermaid of the Deep will soon be hanging on my living room wall, as soon as I figure out where. Sorry for the flash burn, it was impossible to get her focused without it.  The framer chose to pick up the weird skin tones in her tummy for the mat - I like it!




I don't remember the name of this kit, but it's going in my living room, too.  I got the antique frame at a flea market, and the framer added the mat and glass.  The Mermaid's frame color was chosen to match the gold trim on this one.



and doesn't Spike look gorgeous?  I couldn't figure out how he was going to be framed so that he wouldn't blend into the mat, but my framer said to trust her and I'm glad I did!

Total for getting these four pieces framed?  $46.23!!!  I love my framing shop!!!  Small, independent business for the win!  :D :D :D

And here's my finish - 'Welcome Guests' by 2Needles.



I can frame this one myself - just got to get around to washing and pressing it!  It's roughly 5x7, and one of my Crazy January starts.

Going to Market

I finished it!






'Going to Market'
kit by Dimensions
finished size 8x17


I think the 'JPeg bug' ate the pic just a little, since you can't see the detail on the dress. I'll try again when there is more sun. There was a LOT more backstitching than I expected - I forgot about all the little polka-dots on her dress that had to be outlined - then had to have a french knot added to most of them.

I finished it on Saturday, the 8th, just in time to show Mum for Mother's Day. She doesn't actually get it until it's framed, lol!

Last of March's Progress

Sorry I've been so silent; I've been doing job-training and I didn't have much time for anything else!

I decided to try out 'Erin's Rotation System' (with the neat chart!) and it's worked pretty good so far. I'm limiting the number of projects to the ones I want to finish this year, plus two open spots. I'll be doing the little things, ornaments, Bride's Tree, and Mary-motifs in between the bigger projects.

I'm treating 'Going to Market' like it has a deadline, like they talk about in the Shakespeare's Peddler link, and so it got 10 more hours.


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I'm thinking 10-15 more hours will finish this one :D Yay! It would go faster if I didn't continually miscount the background. Even with highlighters and line-ruler thingies... lol!

Here's the wee bit I got done on the dolphins, too. They're not part of the rotation, they ride around in my purse until I'm sitting somewhere with nothing to do, like the doctor's or something.

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I added tags to the projects/posts so you should be able to see the before pictures easily :D Since blogger's being a bit iffy with pic-posting and all! The dolphins are under the 'UFO' tag.

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I also celebrated my birthday on the 25th by starting my first big HAED, Lost in You, which took up the first open slot on my new rotation. I'm only about 5 hours into it, though. I'll post a pic at 10, even though it won't be very big!

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Thanks for reading!

Sorta Met My Goals...

I met most of my February goals - 'Going to Market' didn't get as far as I wanted, though.

Here's how it looked:

And how it looks now:

eh. Like I said, not as far as I wanted. Guess I'll try to wrap it up in March :D

I did get some work done on my dolphin-UFO, though. Mostly waiting in line at the bank's drive-through.

Before & After:

I kept forgetting to go back and stitch those last 11 stitches on the dolphins; otherwise they would be done except for eyes and backstitching.

Progress and Loot!

I went to Georgia to visit my brother.

I took 'Going to Market' with me, and although I completely lost track of the hours, I have reached the halfway point! It is now a little over 50% done!

I think I'll be able to finish it in February if I keep my focus. The only iffy bit is that it is really easy, at least for me, to miscount the background stitches.

I also got to go to Hobby Lobby while I was there - such a treat - there is no LNS here, and the only place that sells floss, Joann's, is about 2 hours away.

I got 77 skiens of DMC, a 30x36 piece of fabric for a HAED, and these:

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This kit my mother and grandmother both really admired when they saw it in a catalog, and since it has the DMC colors listed, I may make it twice. It's fairly simple - mostly solid blocks of stitching. It was only on clearance because the bottom of the plastic had been stretched out oddly; everything was in it and otherwise undamaged, so I grabbed it :D
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The big hooks are N, K, and M - I usually don't buy Susan Bates hooks, but I've never yet seen a Boye sized M. A friend bought me a pack of knitting needles that had sixteen in it - sets of four for sock knitting - but no way to tell what size they were, so I got a needle-sizer while I could! And the sock yarn was on clearance, too - that was the last color of that type they had left so I may make short socks! I'd hate to run out on a first pair... XD

I'm hoping the needleholder cards will help with the HAEDS and the horsehair banding was on clearance for .25 cents each. I wish they'd had more than two left!

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and then we went to a place called Hancock's Fabrics - I was disappointed that their cross stitch floss wasn't DMC or Anchor, and their kits were priced way above my budget, but they had the expensive in-the-drawer McCall's patterns on sale for 5 for $5. Limit 5, or I would have bought soooo many! My sister and I like to make old-style clothes, so I nabbed these:


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So it was a good trip - I got to see my brother, made good progress on a project, and I got some good stash!

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So now I'm working on Mary Wigham! If I finish the motif and then get another hour or so on the HAED freebie, I'll have met my January goals. Yay!

2010 Goals in Pictures

Alternate Title: I Was Playing With My New Camera

I didn't stick to my 2009 goals very much, so I thought I'd try again this year.

These are the major WIPs that I'd like to finish:

From left to rights, starting at the top, they are 'Going to Market', 'Frederick the Literate', 'Brinkerhoff Home', 'Archangel', 'Angel of Grace' and 'Spike'.

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This is the next Bucilla Christmas kit I'll be stitching (I let my Mum pick from the four I have left):

These are some ornaments that I've had stuffed in a drawer forever and I decided I I want to stitch this year:

I have one more already started that I forgot to take a picture of. It's a snowman with a birdhouse.

Let's see... also, I joined the Bride's Tree SAL.

I want to stitch one motif on 'Mary Wigham' each month.

I also want to finish the 'Mermaid of the Deep SK' freebie SAL at HAED.

Here's my start:

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I'm not going to list what I want to start! Plus I'd also like to finish my DB & SIL's wedding sampler. It's barely started, not much worth a pic yet.

Hope you're all having a fun New Year's Day! Or at least a quiet, peaceful one :D