WIP Wednesday

Stitched a little more today while my daughter was eating lunch and watching cartoons! Was able to close the Western Hemisphere, stitched some of the very annoying border, and added a bow and a couple feathers to the Indian’s headdress! 

So funny story... apparently while my husband was supposed to be watching our daughter while I was at work all night, he did not notice that she had gotten into my container of cross stitch stuff for this piece... let’s just say when I came home this morning I was not the happiest camper! I had to google and see if this kit used DMC thread because I am missing 2 whole colors now from the kit! Luckily it is, so now I have to hope the dye lots aren’t completely different now when I go to replace them. We shall see! 

A Little Update...

So today, I decided I needed to spend a little time stitching. It was more as a calming technique than anything. Yesterday was an emotionally draining day, spent with my great aunt that is not doing so well. It was really hard to see her in her current state but what was even harder was seeing how my mom and grandma were taking it. 

Today I worked a tiny bit on the map. I'm not sure how but I was able to finish up a tree (which really isn't much) while my daughter tried to use me as a climbing post all day. 

That's all for now!

Halloween Trick or Treat Blog Hop 2017

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 

This year my daughter will be going trick or treating for the first time as Snow White! I was supposed to go with her before I had to go to work tonight but unfortunately I now have to go in for overtime due to staffing issues at work, so I will be missing out. 😢 Hopefully my husband will send me lots of pictures.

In other news, it's now time for the Halloween Trick or Treat Blog Hop hosted by Jo from Serendipitous Stitching! If you haven't already, stop by there first to begin a hunt for a mystery phrase!

It's been a bit since I was able to actually work on anything major since my last post (thanks to a bunch of things keeping me busy) and  I had high hopes of completing a couple different Halloween themed pieces but time was not on my side. I really wanted to participate in this blog hop so I made time to stitch this little piece! I found it while perusing Pinterest from this blog where the creator gives permission for anyone to stitch it themselves! 

Stitches and Cats, Oh My! 's "Trick or Treat Ditty" FINISHED!

Now for what you all came here for: your letter for the Mystery Phrase! 

That's right! It's an "O"! 

Now continue on your hunt by hopping on over to Cross Stitch Empire!

Hurricane Irma, Traveling, Needleminder Exchange, Sept 2017 GG

It has been a bit since I posted so this will be kind of a big post!

The reason for the lack of posting has been due to us being affected by Hurricane Irma and traveling for the better part of the last month. 

I must say that our daughter did awesome on all our different flights!

 At the end of August, we went to visit my dad in Michigan for 5 days, which included a day/night spent in Canada at Niagara Falls. It was absolutely beautiful!

 

                                      

After we returned from this trip, we had to focus on preparing for Hurricane Irma, which was obviously very stressful. Luckily, we only had a few fence panels that were blown down and we were able to get all the pieces and pop them back in afterwards and the fence is just fine. We were without power for 30.5 hours which is nothing compared to some other people who didn't get power back until a couple of days ago. We also completely lost cell service in our area because a tower was severely damaged and that took about 4 days to get fixed.

Luckily, they didn't cancel our flight for our next trip! From September 13-20, we took our first family vacation of just the 3 of us to the other side of the country and visited California: 3 days in San Diego, 2 days on a Disney cruise to Ensenada Mexico, 2 days in Anaheim staying at the Disneyland Hotel and going to Disneyland and California Adventure, and a day in Los Angeles! This was an amazing trip!

  

 

                        

                            

 After returning home and spending much of our first day back sleeping because we were exhausted, I checked the mail yesterday to find that my needleminder exchange gift had arrived! I absolutely love it! Thank you so much Justine (and yes it is absolutely nerdy enough for me)! I was definitely spoiled with all the goodies!

Lenore received my package early and said that she loved it! Yay!!

 I really enjoyed stitching this and participating in the exchange! Thank you Mii  so much for hosting this!

And the final part of this post if for my late addition to the September GG! I just have a little bit of progress to show on the Olde World Map but it is progress none the less! I am so close to finishing the 2nd page and will be starting page 3 soon! All I really have left is the little bit of border and the man's crown to finish off before starting the next page.

Sorry for the long post, but it has been a very eventful couple of weeks!

Needleminder Exchange Mailed!

This morning I mailed off my set of goodies for the Needleminder Exchange!

The requirements of the exchange was to send a needleminder, small stitched piece, and a skein of floss. I sent off a cute little purple/pink turtle needleminder, "Jewel Tone Geometric Pattern," 2 skeins (because I couldn't decide which one I wanted to send), and a little letter! Hopefully my recipient enjoys the package and hopefully it gets there before September 15th! *crosses fingers*

This was my first time participating in any sort of stitching exchange and I really did enjoy it! 

I can't wait to see what I receive from my mystery person and where it's coming from! 

August 2017 GG/WIP Wednesday

Today is a 2 for 1 posting: Gifted Gorgeousness and WIP Wednesday! 

The past week/weekend has been pretty busy for me but I have had time here and there to work on stitching. 

First, I worked more on the map! This satisfies GG and WIP!

Last week:

This week:

Much more border, the king on the horse, cornucopia, fish, and turtle all done. Just need to finish the rest of the border, another layer of color in North America, and then the words/banner are all that are left for this corner. I need to search for the last pages of the chart real soon so I can start working on the bottom half of the map! Yay for things getting misplaced a couple years ago when we were changing several rooms around in preparation for our baby girl being born.

Second, is also for GG and is the Jewel Tone Geometric Pattern, which I finished!

FINISHED! SeptemberLight's "Jewel Tone Geometric Pattern" 

This is will be sent to someone as part of Mii's Needleminder Exchange! I plan on shipping this out on Friday so it has enough time to get to it's recipient since it is actually going out of the country (hence the little USA) and will post all the goodies that I send probably on Friday as well. I truly enjoyed stitching this up and will more than likely stitch it again!

That's all for now!

WIP Wednesday

I am posting really late thanks to just getting home from work and picking up my daughter from the sitter's. However, I'm going to try to beat the clock to midnight to make sure this is still a Wednesday post! I have 30 mins :-P

First up is my usual, the map! Not too much progress this week thanks to being busy over the weekend and also stitching a couple other small things as well. 

Last week it looked like:

This week it looks like:

It's kind of hard to really notice a difference but the border is starting to be stitched and the horse has a mane, as well as some other little details starting to pop up. I hope to have much more progress on this by next Wednesday.

Next, I have 2 new small starts. The first is a jewel tone geometric pattern that I found on Etsy and I am absolutely loving how this is stitching up and is actually almost done after 1 day of stitching!

The second is a poinsettia that I am experimenting on plastic canvas with for the first time. If it works out then I would like to maybe make it into a magnet but we shall see. 

It is obviously not very far into the pattern but I hope to have this done in the next day or two, at least the stitching part that is. 

That's it for my WIP post and I beat the clock by about 15 minutes to still consider it WIP Wednesday! *does a happy dance*

WIP Wednesday

So I figured I would try and start a WIP Wednesday post. We'll see how often I remember to actually post! 

Outside of small projects that take a day or 2, I've basically just been focusing on the "Olde World Map." I'd really like to try to complete it with enough time to get it professionally framed so I can give it to my mom for Christmas. I am very happy with how easy it has been to work on lately and how much progress I feel I have made on it. 

Here is what it looked at last time I posted about it:

And here is where I am at now:

This will continue to be my main focus piece with small distractions to stitch other little projects in between to keep me from getting bored! 

July 2017 Smalls SAL

Yay for another Smalls SAL entry! I actually have 2 this month!

First up is Classic Mario to continue with my video game theme/series that I will be stitching up to add to my nerdy office!

FINISHED! Classic Mario 

He is super tiny but oh so cute! I made the pattern based off a promo picture of him on the Nintendo website a few months ago. I contemplated doubling his size when I realized how small he would end up but then decided against it. I'm also considering possibly adding to him. Maybe have him hitting a ? block and/or jumping over a goomba. I'm definitely not sure but for now cute little Mario is considered a finish!

My second Small piece was a spur of the moment decision. I was adding to/fixing our little gallery wall of photos near the front door and realized I needed something else to balance the pictures. I then decided I would add a W for our last name. I thought about buying the letter and then painting it or something but then the idea popped in my head to stitch the W using the colors from our wedding!

FINISHED! oneofakindbabydesign's "Letter 'W' Cross Stitch"

I found a blue/purple DMC variegated floss that was perfect since our wedding colors were blue/purple/white! Believe it or not it took me a while to find a W pattern on Etsy that I really liked. I love how it came out and how it looks added to our wall! Don't mind the center picture frame....I realized it wasn't straight after I took the picture and then fixed it but never took another after 😆

That's all for my July Smalls SAL post! For August, I do have 2 smalls planned as well. To continue in my video game series, I will stitch the main character from my absolute favorite series, "Suikoden," Tir McDohl. Like Mario, I will stitch the character but may go back and add something to him as well. The second piece will be for Mii's needleminder exchange so that it is ready to go once I know who/where it will be sent to!

July 2017 GG

A couple days late but it's time for the July GG post! I don't have too much to post this month but I did work here and there on 2 pieces.

First up is the Star Wars project for my friends' son. Last I posted I had just barely begun on Darth Vader and now he is almost complete and the words still need to be added. I got very tired of stitching all the black which also happens to be pretty much the only color left for the piece (including the words) so I have put this one to the side for now. Since it will probably be a Christmas or birthday gift (January), I'm not too worried about it right now!

Secondly, I finally picked up Olde World Map again. This will be a gift for my mom and stepdad whenever I get around to finishing it. 

Here is where I left off last time:

and here is what I've done after a couple days of starting it again: 

Not much progress but I plan to focus on this one for a little bit. 

That's it for this month's GG.

In other news, I have decided to participate in Mii's needle minder exchange! The rules are simple: you must send whoever you are assigned a needle minder, a finished small stitched piece, and a skein of DMC thread and they must receive it before September 15. I'm excited to say that I already have what I want to stitch picked out and all the floss, the needle minder I will send, and the skein of DMC! I plan on working on the small in August and will mail all the goodies to their new home either end of August or beginning of September depending on where said home ends up being! If you'd like to participate head over to Mii's post at this link!

June 2017 Smalls SAL

Before the start of this year, I had planned on participating in Stitching Lotus' Smalls SAL for the entire year but thanks to the busy first half of the year, this will be my first entry! Better late than never I guess 😆

My Smalls SAL entry is of one of my favorite video game characters: Vivi from Final Fantasy IX! Vivi was stitched over the course of 2 days (Thurs-Friday). He is 2.5 inches wide and 3.2 inches tall and is super cute! I am happy to have him as the first of a series of game inspired pieces I'd like to stitch!

FINISHED! CraftyGamerUK's FF Vivi Cross Stitch Pattern

I purchased the pattern from Etsy and stitched it on a 6x6 (actually 4x4 stitchable area) square aida cloth that was stretched over a wood frame. The squares I actually found at Michael's in a pack of 3 in 3 different colors so I'm excited to use them for future Smalls projects!

My future entries will more than likely all be video game themed pieces because I have a bunch of small patterns for various things from some of my favorite games! Next I will probably stitch classic Mario!

June 2017 GG

This month I have 2 complete finishes and a WIP to post for GG! 

First up is Happily Ever After finished, matted, and framed and was gifted to my best friend at his wedding on Sunday, the 11th!

Second is Love More also finished, matted, and framed and was gifted to my friends on Monday, the 12th!

The final is a continuation of the WIP for my friends and their new baby. I finished Yoda and am working on Darth Vader next!

I'll probably give my fingers a break from all the stitching for a little bit but I am super pleased with the finishes and progress so far!

Another Finish!?

Just 5 days later and I have another finish! Woo hoo! *does a happy dance* 

This one was really on my heart to do for my friends so I think that definitely made a difference with the speed at which I completed it. Overall I'm happy with how the personalization came in addition to the design.

FINISHED! "Love More" - personalized "Rainbow Heart" by FandomCrossStitchery

As I stated in my previous post, the original chart was just for the rainbow splatter that created the heart shape in the middle. I used a variegated floss to create the pulse symbol and all the writing. Coming up with the "Love More" text was interesting and took my several tries to find a font and size that I liked before stitching. 

Now to find the perfect way to frame this after cleaning and ironing!

As far as my next finish (hopefully), I plan on focusing on the Star Wars piece for my friends' child's room. 

First 2017 Finish...and another couple starts!

On Saturday, I finished the "Happily Ever After" wedding piece! Take a look!

"Happily Ever After" - (Recolored) Dimensions Cross Stitch Kit FINISHED!

Just realized I forgot to initial it, so after that is done, I'll be working on getting it cleaned, ironed, mounted, framed soon! Can't wait to see the completely finished product. I hope they like it. A lot of thought and love went into this one!

I've also started 2 new pieces that will both be gifts. Maybe one day I'll actually keep something I make....maybe 😝!

The first is a pattern that was given to me but I will also be personalizing it a lot. I'll call this one "Love More" but it's official title is "Rainbow Heart Cutout," I believe.

The original pattern just has the heart cutout, I've personalized it with the pulse and will be adding words to it. I think I can have this finished by this weekend!

The second start is a Star Wars mini cross stitch pattern of Yoda and Darth Vader that I bought on Etsy. This will be a piece for my friends who recently had a baby boy and have decorated his room with a Star Wars theme. 

Updates and GG - May 2017

2 part post! 

First: It's been a quite a while since I last posted...beginning of the year to be exact lol. Since starting the new job my schedule has been hectic due to different training classes I've had to attend in addition to the in house training. Other than that, I have been much happier, have had spent more quality time with my family, and my health has been the best it's been in a long time thanks to the stress level change. While I am still a 911 dispatcher, I am at a different agency with a different call volume and and taking different types of calls. 

In addition to the new job, I also have not been able to post because I decided to go back to school. I took 2 classes online for the spring semester just to take it slow and try to work it around child care and work. Luckily, I surprised myself and successfully completed both classes with As! My goal was at least to get Bs in both considering all the changes I was making this year but my daughter has been my biggest motivator and I wanted to do the absolute best that I could. Since I did so well, I decided to push myself again and take 1 online class over the summer term. At the time I didn't realize that it was actually a "half-term" class which means it started on May 8 and will be done on June 19...I'm going to really need to focus and hope I do well. Again, I have set my goal at a B. Wish me luck!

Second part of my post: the cross stitch update! Seeing as the 15th was Monday, that means it's time for GG! I haven't had much time to actually cross stitch but the past 2 weeks I've been working on a piece for my best friend's wedding gift. I had found a kit in the store that I really liked but did not like the colors at all. 

Here is what it looks like from the kit:

Here is what I've done so far using my own color scheme:

Seeing as their colors are white, gold, and a splash of teal, I decided to go with that color scheme and thought they would look really nice on a black aida. I'm playing with doing the letters with a variegated teal-blue floss (since their cake is going to be a teal ombre design) but I'm not entirely sure just yet. I will have to play with it a little. 

Overall I am happy with how my choice of colors have been working out and very pleased with my progress in working on this a few days each week so far. I plan on hopefully completing it sometime over this weekend and then mount and frame it for the June 11th wedding! 

This would leave me with a couple weeks to work on another little piece that has been on my heart to do for my friends in remembrance of the friend they lost a year ago during the Pulse tragedy.  

A New Year, A New Me (hopefully)

I can honestly say that 2016 was probably the hardest year for me. There were several negatives but I will focus on the positives! My beautiful daughter was born almost a year ago now and it has been the most amazing thing watching her grow! 

I happily welcome 2017 with open arms! I look forward to everything it has to offer. This is I am starting fresh. I'll be returning to school to hopefully finish my AA this year. I'll be starting a new job on the 23rd (currently I am on vacation til the 14th and that will be my official last day of my current job). This will hopefully free me up for way more family time and no more 14 hour work days! My husband will hopefully get the position he wants in March. Our daughter turns 1 on the 12th. I hope to be able to focus more on stitching this year and I'm shooting for at least 2 major finishes. 

I can't wait to see how things turn out this year! I wish everyone many blessings for 2017!