Saturday, June 25, 2011

Phuan SK Start

I started him last week and this is my progress. I am pleased with it. I used some Kreinik Blending Filament (002HL) in with one of the golds and I am liking the way it's working out. You can't really see it in the scan, but IRL I think it's lovely.  He's fun to stitch too! (See post from June 10th for pic of original artwork.)
Next up, in honor of Fairy Day, is Goblin Tree.  I brought her out yesterday and will work on her for this week.
Speaking of which...    Hope you all had a lovely Fairy Day yesterday.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Bewitched

I worked on her this week for the UFO/SWIP SAL. Here she is before and after

The Freebie SK SAL and the 2 week Fairy Day SAL both start this weekend. I will start off with the new Freebie SK. I selected Phuan (see post below). I have big plans for this guy, but I'm not going to say anything in case they don't turn out. Anyway, I plan to start, and work on him for a while. Then Next Frdiay is Fairy Day, so Goblin Tree will come out to play.

Have a wonderful stitchy week!

Friday, June 10, 2011

June Week 2 - Progress, New Starts

Yay, it's Friday! Time to post my update for the week. I've been pretty good about it lately, haven't I? First up is Fragile Heart, from the SAL this past week.

I'm happy with my progress so far. I should have spent more time with her this week, but other duties called. Still have house work, yard work, etc. Aaaaahhhh, if only the world would stop so I could just sit and stitch!

Next, I've kitted up 2 (yes 2!) new starts. I seem to have the new start bug lately. It's weird cause I usually hate the kitting phase, I'd rather be stitching. But I'm excited about Catfish - Rayyan. Let me tell you the story of this. Sheila Rayyan is a new artist that HAED just started charting. Catfish is on the intro page of her website. One of her first pieces to be charted was Cheshire Cat. There were people on the board wanting Catfish, including me, but I didn't think it would be charted quickly (for some reason, I don't know...). So I purchased Cheshire figuring it would keep my mind occupied. I also ordered silk from HDF to stitch him, he's only 11 colors so not too bad. Then, guess what? Catfish was charted. I had to have him immediately! He is only 9 colors, and most are the same as Cheshire, so I ordered the 2 colors of silk I was missing for him. When it all arrived I was just too excited! So without further ado, here's Catfish all kitted up! I chose Opalescent White 28 ct. (I don't know what) fabric and HDF silk. The only silk not pictured here is the off white.

I am all ready for a New Start SAL in July, if I can wait that long.

The 2nd new start I kitted up is for the Freebie SK SAL on the Board, runs Jun. - Dec. I chose Phuan - Lesley Anne Ivory. Here's what he should look like when finished, and my ready to go kitted up piece.

I think the contrast of the soft pink with the blue and golds will be very nice, plus the cats body won't get washed away as it would on white or off whtie fabric. The SK Freebie SAL will start sometime this month.

This week is the UFO/SWIP SAL on the borad. I think that the perfect fit for this SAL is Bewitched. I started her back in Jan. 09 and I haven't touched her since May 09. (See this post from Jan. 09.) I'm stitching her with HDF silks as well, so she will also comfort me in my yearning to start Catfish.

Now for your wonderful comments on my last post. I know what you are talking about saying that Wall charts are scary. I felt the same way. I am always amazed by the beautiful work the Wall Stitchers (that's what I call them in my head) do on the board. Floors me everytime. I too, would never have started a Wall if it weren't for Dragon Charmer. I just couldn't resist her. What's not to love? A beautiful girl, an adorable dragon, and all those wonderful blues! Blue is my favorite color. So I gritted my teeth and jumped in. And you know what? It isn't that bad. Really, it's no different from any other HAED chart. After all cross stitching is just making one little X after another. The thing is... you have to LOVE the artwork. If you love it, it's a tresure to stitch.

Boy! I'm chatty today!

Once again, Happy Stitching, may every X you make bring you closer to Heaven!

Monday, June 6, 2011

June Week 1 Update

Last week was Themed SAL on the HAED board, the Theme was "Sky", I sould have stitched my cat (one's name is Sky). The only thing I had on the go that had sky to be stitched was Dragon Charmer - Wall. I started it back in Oct. 09 and haven't touched it since. (I know, baaad) So here's the before (from 09) and the after:


As you can see I am in the upper left corner where the castle is, in the distance. It was fun to stitch on it again, but it's detail intensive so I didn't get far.

This week it's the Freebie SAL so I'm back with Fragile Heart. It is less intense so I hope to get alot more done. We shall see...

Thank you for your comments. In answer to a few:

anojaa , it may be a while before I start Catfish. There is usually a New Start SAL on the board at least once a year, so I am going to try to wait for that. But Catfish is screaming at me, and the silks are gorgeous, so I might not be able to!

Crafty Princess , I'm not really that close to a finish on Goblin Tree, I really am only a little more than halfway. :-) I think I have at least 10 more pages to go. It doesn't feel slower to me because of how close I am to the finish. I have been stitching on Goblin for a long time (many years) so it actually feels faster. I have the color symbols down fairly straight in my head now, after working on it for so long, so the color changes kinda flow for me now. Also, it feels like an old friend that I love to spend time with. When I get back to working on GT it's like putting on an old, comfortable pair of leather gloves (you know what I mean).

Have a wonderful stitchy week!