Cross Stitch and Craft Cafe 2020

nmm

Well the blanket was a Crochet-a-long which should've taken 8 weeks, took me 10 months on and off to complete, oops but it's done in time for winter I might do a cardi next but first i have a 50th card to make for a friend, we met at K&N so its a 5 with a ball of wool for the 0 stitched on rainbow aida 

I say leave the giraffes, i think its a really lovely piece and it will be cherished, don't be so hard on yourself. Looks like just the border left to do? I challenge you to complete it by the end of the month then its onto Christmas projects.

Coxy11

Oh wow - such busy bees - loving all the photos!
nmm - love love love the blanket, the colours are gorgeous. Must be satisfying now it's all completed. I must revisit my list too  
Charly27 - the sampler looks amazing, don't ditch the giraffes they look good. You'll have the border done in no time. What's next  
I did a bit more stitching last night - it's coming together fairly quickly. Probably won't do any tonight as we are Zoom calling DD and then it's GBBO. 
Have a good day all,
Coxy xx

Coxy11

Hi everyone,
Happy Friday and all that! I've been beavering away this week and have now finished A Pair Tree bar the embellishments (stars) and French knots of which there are lots.... Not looking forward to that this evening but needs must. 

I have an unexpected day on my own tomorrow as everyone else has plans. This hasn't happened for literally months, so I'm super excited (sad I know!). Will be heading to town to look for a frame for A Pair Tree - thanks nmm for suggesting £land, will take a look  
Will be looking for my next project too - ooh exciting!
Have a good evening all,
Coxy xx

nmm

Hi all, Coxy enjoy your day tomorrow to do with as you please, well done on finishing a pair tree, you've done it so quick.

My friend treated me to some Cake today from a fancy cake shop in town, it was delish. I've made a start on the 50th card, using bright shades DMC 3812 Very Dark Sea Green and 3805 Cyclamen Pink to stand out on the rainbow aida

Random google searching and i managed to find the exact lock that The Junction is taken from, its Fradley Junction on the Coventry Canal.

Coxy11

Ahhh so nice of your friend nmm - gotta love cake  Photos of the card please when you're done. Love that you've found the lock from your design. Looks lovely and peaceful.
In 'ta-dah' news I have finished A Pair Tree:

Have been into town this morning to seek out a frame. £land, The Work$ and W!lko didn't turn up anything suitable but found a newly wrapped gold frame in Age UK - that my friends is my money saving tip for the day 
I need to wash and press the design before I attempt to frame it, so will post a finished photo once that's done. 
Question now is what's next? I have a complete Chicory Fairy kit - started this once before and got all confused and went wrong with the multiple colour blues and mauves, so gave up and binned it. Then found it again at a car boot a few years later. I do love the design so might try again. Or it could be another city scape design, I have Italy, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Paris. Will have a look a bit later and see whether I have the colours for any of those.
Hope you're all going well and commiserations if you have moved into a higher Tier for Covid. Getting a bit pipped off with those that wear their masks under their noses - feel like asking them why they are bothering at all 
Have a good weekend folks,
Coxy xx

nmm

Love A Pair Tree Coxy, and yay for charity shop frames, had a few from there myself. Maybe do both, try the fairy kit when it annoys you do the calming city scapes I hate wearing masks so i only go to the shop when i really have to, its not enjoyable anymore.

Charly27

Love A pair tree Coxy. What a bargain find on the frame too. The photo shows how accurate the junction kit is nmm. It’d would be great to display them side by side when you’ve finished.

The border is stitching up nicely. A very busy week before half term so didn’t do much stitching this week.
This popped up on my Instagram feed https://www.caterpillarcrossstitch.com/collections/cross-stitch-kits/products/world-map-cross-stitch you can tell I’ve been looking for my next project nmm.
It has a look of the city scapes. I have two Robin cross stitch bookmarks, to finish from last year, a quilt for my DS 21st, patterns galore and ....I’ll update tomorrow.

nmm

Charly27, that world map looks so quirky, i love it  

Coxy11

Love the World map Charly27, the way they've displayed it looks cool too. I have a little Michael Powell Christmas design mounted on a miniature easel, which comes out each Christmas for the mantlepiece.
I did a tidy up of my stash yesterday as I had the house to myself. All the odd 1/4 balls of wool from the Dune blanket project were stashed away in a box with my other wool. Put the embroidery thread bobbins from A Pair Tree back in their storage boxes too. I found a shoebox full of free gifts from the CSC subscriptions I've had over the years. Mainly cards and book marks, but some others too, all unused and unopened. These have been put by for the charity shop, so that's cleared some space. 
Found my next project and it's none of those I mentioned! About 4 years ago I purchased a scissor cradle kit from the Cross Stitch Guild stall at Ally Pally. Part of the thrill of going to AP is not only shopping for goodies but also seeing other peoples works of art, so you can just imagine the Cross Stitch Guild stall  Anyway, I've made a start - it's two small squares of linen with a symmetrical pattern that you stitch twice. You then mount them on felt squares and make up the scissor cradle. The kit is complete with mini scissors, a weight, buttons etc. and I plan to make it up for my DMum for Christmas. She's very difficult to buy for, but I know this has a chance of actually being used.

Managed to stitch one of the squares completely yesterday whilst watching Babe(!), Six Nations Rugby and Little Mix The Search (can you tell I had the house to myself). I think the making up will definitely take a bit of time to get right, so will pace myself.
Hope you all enjoyed the extra hour (of 2020!) in bed. We are raking up leaves today - MSE tip - do your own gardening 
Coxy xx

Coxy11

Hello lovelies,
Managed to get two designs framed yesterday. A Pair Tree and Cross Stitcher in Residence. The latter one cost me £1.50 for the mount which I originally bought for a sheep design for DSis last Christmas. The design ended up being a weird size, so my lovely framer cut me a mount to size for £2. The frame was a freebie - I have three more the same - gifted from church.


I managed a 5k run this morning and it was light due to the clocks changing. Made for a better run and could clearly see the leaves and tree debris so I didn't slip/trip. Have a few days off at the end of the week. Plan to go to knitting group on Wednesday and going to fetch DD from uni as she has no lectures Wed-Fri so will be staying a few days with us.
Hope your projects are all going well.
Coxy xx