The "no frills, no gremlins (hopefully)" cross-stitch cafe

Mrs_ceejay

Hi.
B-e-g
Thanks,for advice on 12days of Christmas,I thought that was the way to go as you say.
*louise*
Madonna and child picture is interesting,not my thing usually,but there is something about it that is different.there's a lot of what seems to be gold thread round it which I always make a mess...
Ems.
The pirates look great,very complicated stitching.

It's my sons birthday tomorrow and have bought him a couple of books,then decided today I would make him a silly bookmark to go with them,just finished,spent all day playing about trying to do it, now cross eyed,am going to bed.x

Ailsb

Louise glad you got your pattern. Looking forward to the updates. Knowing you it will be finished by the end of the month.

flowerofscotland

43teabags wrote: »

Thanks fos for replying about my secret santa. You're right they substituted different threads, which are fine when you know what they are! Lovely progress pics and of course the finished results are fab.
Dare not browse anything stitchy related as I bought 3 HaED designs in their sale, just so I wouldn't run out of sewing to do!

Did you get a reply? This site has a conversion from Kreinik to Rainbow Gallery threads which might help

flowerofscotland

firefly369 wrote: »

According to the comments on the Ladys blog page it came from a book called Classic Storybook Cross stitch by Gillian Souter. There are a couple of second handcopies on preloved and amazon. Hope this helps :-)

FOS - Thank you for your comment. It was worth the wait. I just wish I had made the butterflies a little bigger but then it never would have got finished:p

FAbB - I would love to have my projects professionally framed but after years of trying for a baby I am finally pregnant so all pennies have to go on baby stuff so I get creative with second hand frames. Took me agesto get it framed and I got a little mark on the material that will probably annoy me till the day I die....but heyho on to the next exciting project:j

What fabulous news :j
All babies are special little miracles but it sounds as though yours will be even more so. Stitching during your first few weeks of maternity leave (pre baby) is ideal as it is both productive and restful. Don't expect to get much stitching done in the immediate post baby period though (I'm sure you know that already but it might influence your choice of birth sampler design - best to leave just the name, date and weight to be completed after the arrival )

I know what you mean about the marks annoying you even though probably no one else will ever notice. I have a framed piece where I missed stitching one tiny gold bead and everytime I look at it I can't see anything else but the missing bead yet even when I point it out no one else can see it

flowerofscotland

Loved all the photos of the thread stashes - probably wouldn't mean anything to non stitchers (their loss )

skint chick Love your New York project - so unusual and it's great to see your progress

mrsceejay My Mum still has her long term memory so she can remember teaching me various needlecraft skills (including how I could never get the hang of crochet) but her short term memory is very poor so every time she visits she admires my stitched pieces and cushions as though she has never seen them before. Alzheimers is such a cruel disease in the way it robs people of everything that makes them unique.

sweetcarer What a bargain - the storage bag for the boxes is awesome
Loving the Spring Sampler and the Learning sampler - did you stitch the border?

bossymoo Would it help if you stitched a little project like a card to get back into the swing of stitching before going back to the massive project? Like others have said just stitching a few stitches every night is great for making progress. And if you post a photo here we will be delighted to cheer on your progress. What's the design?

FE Your idea of a thread for magazine reviews is great and I have already enjoyed taking part and reading what Louise and Ailsb thought of the latest issue of Cross Stitch Crazy

ems You've made great progress on your pirate ship

jcs Sampler already looking good - you are making great progress

ailsb Thanks for the update on your 11 12 13 project - it was me who asked because I am doing one. Hope the aida works out. I'm with Louise and try to buy Zweigart as it's worth the extra for the quality

coxy hope you are feeling better. Lots of people seem to have colds at the moment

nmm great sleuthing to find Louise's chart so quickly. I love the Imaginating range

After a bit of a sort out at the weekend I am in finishing UFO mode - found 2 pieces which need very little stitching to be finished. They were put aside because of stitching deadlines (wedding and births) and then buried in my stash. Will take some photos at the weekend - may even be of the finished article

*Louise*

Ailsb wrote: »

Louise glad you got your pattern. Looking forward to the updates. Knowing you it will be finished by the end of the month.

Depends how long they take to ship from the USA :TBut I'm thinking I might make it my 11.12.13 project - quite suitable for a December finish

Speaking of December - I better get a move on with my advent calendar stitching :eek:

firefly369

Thank you all for your lovely words and Congratulations.

I have decided to dust off an unfinished project that I abandoned last year. It is a birth sampler for another family member who is due their baby in the second half of this month.

I spent this afternoon re-sorting the threads and stitching it back on to the frame.

img557_zps1aa1fb78 by Firefly9336, on Flickr

I am a bit further on that this picture but will update tomorrow.

sweetcarer

flowerofscotland wrote: »

sweetcarer What a bargain - the storage bag for the boxes is awesome
Loving the Spring Sampler and the Learning sampler - did you stitch the border?

I am still working on the border - the first part came out in three pages - only done the first page. The border is done in satin stitch

I only do work on the learning sampler at weekends and do the work on the seasons samplers during the week.

The designer has released the next part - which contains smyrna cross stitch, rice stitch and upright cross stitch.

Feeling quite tired - so will check on in FB then might do a wee bit of stitching to relax before bed.

Kind wishes to all

sweetcarer

moments_of_sanity

Evening All, some beautiful updates. Trouble with seeing them is that I want to add them all to my collection:eek:

I have finally washed the advent strips but forgot to 'edge' it before I washed it so ended up in a huge mess with knotted thread everywhere! Lesson learnt me finks!

I am about to start my Dad's Christmas Stocking after receiving the even weave but could you remind me how I stitch this, I seem to think it's 3 over 3 but not 100% sure:o

I ordered the Joan Elliott book earlier on this week that Louise's beautiful 'I love you to the moon and back' stitching was taken from and I have to say the book has some beautiful designs in, many of which could be used for lots of things, Birthdays, Good Luck etc so might have to start one once I have finished the stocking and advent calendar.

Mags_cat

moments_of_sanity wrote: »

I am about to start my Dad's Christmas Stocking after receiving the even weave but could you remind me how I stitch this, I seem to think it's 3 over 3 but not 100% sure:o

If you've got 28 count Evenweave and you want it to come out looking like 14 count Aida (or 32/16 or whatever) then it's one stitch over 2 threads.

So come up through the usual hole, then count across 2 threads and up 2 threads to find the hole to go down.

Each stitch will have a "hole" on each side of it, (between the ends of the cross) if you see what I mean.