Smalls SAL - April 2016

It's time for my first Smalls posting and I have 2 small finishes to share!

First is actually an embroidery piece that I was using to test stitching on black cloth. 

Dimensions Needlecrafts "Love on Black" Embroidery Kit FINISHED!

I didn't pay attention when I picked it up that it wasn't cross stitch (doh!) but I did enjoy the easy stitching and will need to find a spot to put it!

Second, I found a little kit that was actually cross stitch to test stitching on black aida. This is a jar topper kit with 4 different patterns. I decided to only do 1 and will save the others for other months.

"My Stash" - Dimensions Crafts Jar Topper Counted Cross Stitch Kit (Set of 4) FINISHED!

This is now the top of my ORTs jar! I felt it needed some love :-P . 

So all in all, I've come to the conclusion that black aida isn't as scary to stitch on as I thought! If you aren't a part of the SAL and would like to join, here's the link to the sign up.

And on to my other stitching adventures:

I have made great progress on "Love is Patient" but have had to take a couple days off from it. It should be finished on my next set of days off from work. Thank goodness!

This past week I also worked on a needlepoint "Polar Pals" stocking for my daughter's first Christmas this year!

Our theme for her room is penguins because they are my husband's favorite animal and I love snowmen so I thought this stocking was perfect! The only thing is that this uses basket weave and continental stitch, which are both new to me so this is taking me forever. Hopefully it'll work out and be nice in the end.

I have decided to take a little break from the "Olde World Map" project. I also have a bunch of other big projects that I want to either continue working on or start as well. I started working on a Puerto Rico piece for my dad about a year ago and need to get back to that. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of it just yet. I also plan on starting on "His Name is Jesus" for my mother-in-law. I just picked up the cloth and floss today so I'll probably begin within the next week or so. I think I will try to rotate focusing on 1 big project a week just to break up the monotony but I'm not sure yet. We'll see how it goes! 

Progression Check-In

It's been almost a week since my last post but I thought I'd go ahead and check in with my progress so far. Plus, I've been up with a fussy baby most of the night so I figured I might as well do something since I'm wide awake :-p.

I looked at the calendar and realized I only 3 weeks to get "Love Is Patient" completely finished and framed. I knew May 11 was close but when I actually looked at the calendar, it sent me into a bit of a panic. Ideally I'd like to have it completed in 2 weeks so last night (since I couldn't sleep) I worked on it a fair amount. 

It may not look like it but I got a bunch of the border shading done and then started the "Love Is Patient" line because I got tired of looking at beige all the time. I officially have less than half of the shading left and then I think the words will go fast after that. 

On the "Olde World Map" front, I also made a little progress. It was pretty busy at work this past week so I didn't get as much done during down time as I usually do. I did manage to add a few more words and the background around them (which I hate stitching because it's practically the same color as the fabric), a few lines here and there of random colors, and a dolphin (my favorite sea animal)! 

Not much but progress is progress!

In 7 days, the Smalls SAL will be due so I need to start on that but it won't take me long at all. I have a really small stitching project planned for that:

The reason I have chosen this tiny project is pretty much only because I found it while perusing around Michael's and it is stitched on black aida. I have heard that dark fabric is hard to stitch on and I wanted to test the waters with something small because I plan on stitching another "Love Is Patient" for my husband & I to hang somewhere in our home but using our wedding colors on black fabric. If this test sample proves to be harder than I thought, then I will rethink about stitching the one for us on black fabric and probably just stick with white!

Gifted Gorgeousness - April

Today is my first official posting for the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL! Both my current projects are intended to be gifts so I will post my progress for them! Please look past how wrinkled both look :-P

First up is my "Olde World Map"! Again, I've only been working on it during down time at work but I feel that I have made good progress. This will be a gift for my mom and stepdad who absolutely love anything having to do with maps and globes. I would love to have this one done in time for Christmas but if not then I'm ok with that too.

Second is "Love Is Patient". I didn't really work on this one at home very much this week because I've been busy with the baby and other things but I'm happy with the progress and how easy it seems to move along. This will be a wedding gift for some dear friends of mine. This verse has always been one of my favorites and when I saw this kit, I just had to buy it and knew exactly who I would give it to. This project has a deadline though. The wedding is May 11th, so I need to have it finished and framed by then! I definitely need to get crack-a-lackin on this because I really don't want to be rushed in the end. 

All-in-all I am happy with my projects' progress and can't wait to see the finished product for my friends' wedding!

In other news, I will also be working on a small project for the upcoming Smalls SAL and I have recently joined the Totally Useless SAL. I look forward to posting for those soon :-)

"Love Is Patient" project

I started working on this yesterday here and there and am pleased with how easily it is coming along! I finished one line of text and half of the inner shading (which is hard to see because it is a beige color). I think I will I finish the inner shading and then move to the outer shading. That way all of the silly filler stitches are done and I can focus on the main stuff. Although I still don't think it will be done in time for this month's GG posting...but we'll see.

I think the plan will be to work on the map during down time at work and this at home when I can (since the intended recipient works with me). We'll see how it turns out!

"Olde World Map" progress & SALs

It's been a bit since my last post but March is always a busy month for me. Mom's bday, Mother-in-law's bday, and anniversary! In addition to all that, I also returned to work from maternity leave...oh joy lol.... So it's been an interesting readjustment after being home for 12 weeks as a normal person and going back to the midnight shift.

Last I posted, I had just finished my first quadrant of the "Olde World Map" cross stitch. I've worked a little bit more on it in between dealing with the baby and trying to get a little sleep here and there. It's not a ton of progress but it is progress none the less.

In other adventures, I am stepping out and have joined 2 stitch-a-longs. I don't know if I'll actually be able to keep up with them, but I'm going to try because they sound really interesting. Hopefully they will motivate  me to work on and complete little side projects to break up the monotony of the huge map project. 

The first SAL is a smalls SAL hosted by Heather from Stitching Lotus. Basically you get to decide what small size patterns you want to stitch and you post about it on the last Thursday of every month. I will need to find something soon to work on! If you are interested you can sign up to participate here.

The second SAL I found is hosted by Jo from Serendipitous Stitching and is called Gifted Gorgeousness. For this one, you have to work on a chart that was either gifted to you or intended to be a gift for someone else and posting occur on the 15th of every month. I doubt I will be able to post anything for this one by the 15th but I will be working on a kit for a friend's wedding in May that will hopefully be my first entry. This is a pic of the "Love Is Patient" kit:

I look forward to being apart of these SALs and to working on new and more pieces!