TUSAL #1 & Christmas Moth Finish... For Now!

Hello, stitchers~

Yes, as the exciting title declares, I have TUSAL pictures and my beading project finished! Well, sorta finished. It's quite amazing how much not having Internet aids stitching (Reaper, you were right! XD). When Skyrim doesn't get in the way, of course. I love Blackmageheart's idea of stitching the achievement logos. I particularly like the Dragon Soul and the Standing Stones icons, probably because of their Celtic knot influence. But first I have to stop playing the game long enough to get more stitching done. 8D

And now, TUSAL~ Only a week after the full moon. If'n I'd been smart, I'd've taken the picture last weekend and set the posting for that day. But alas. :) My jar was found by rummaging around in my mother's old food shed. We think the bottle was originally for some sort of pickled good.

 

 

January TUSAL!

In there we have some gold and green and ecru ORTs from my finish as well as some bright red mystery thread I found on the carpet. I think it came from my guy's bathrobe but the birds will like it all the same!

Now for the beads! Tah-dah!

 

 

Show me some beads!

Wait... that's not finished...

...

I ran out of sparkly floss. You'll have to use your imagination to finish the arch until I can actually get replacement floss, haha. I decided to go ahead and do the backstitching and beading on the part that was finished. I was really curious about the "bead posies"...and I love them! I think they're the cutest little things and not at all difficult to stitch! They were a little difficult to anchor though; I can see from the scan one looks to be too loose.

I made a minor adjustment to the angel. Her robe would have had another row of red and beads behind the wing (see original here) but I thought it looked a little awkward and not at all graceful like I imagine Christmas moths to be. So, I cut out that row. I'll have to make adjustments to the arch as a consequence but that's not a big deal (or so I hope).

In retrospect, I believe I may have misinterpreted the directions. They stated: "Use 2 strands of floss for cross stitch, backstitch and beading. Use the gold metallic as it comes, do not divide." I didn't divide it, but I did double it up to use "2 strands" as I thought the directions meant. It's the only thing I ran out of despite being frugal with floss so I can only guess that was the problem!

I haven't any previous experience with Mill Hill kits but does anyone know if I can call/write to them and get some extra floss to finish the kit? I've read Dimensions will. It's an older kit (1995) so they might not honor a request, I dunno.

Anyway, happy, happy stitching for another week! I can't believe January is almost over already, eek~

2011 Recap & 2012 Ambitions

Well, hello there, outside world! We still haven't got Internet and prospects are looking grim for ever having it! For a modern technology lover, this is most definitely a hit below the belt, haha~ I spent this weekend attempting to catch up on everyone's blogs but please forgive me the lack of commenting as of late. I am reading everything (hopefully everything -- Blogger is still acting wonky for me) and enjoying everyone's progress and holiday posts (I've lived my Christmas through y'all!). :D

Since I've got no new progress of my own to post, I thought I'd do a recap of my victories in 2011! It was a rather slow year of stitching for me; too many other things seemed to be happening!

Companion Cube - January

First accomplishment was a badge of the Companion Cube from Portal (video game for the unfamiliar). I was in such a hurry to make it into a badge, I forgot to do the backstitching detail! I designed the pattern in KG-Chart but didn't have the specific flosses in my stash so I worked with what I had. I took a darker gray and blended it with white for a lighter appearance. I think it worked pretty well but you can tell I'm not a railroader, ehehe~ Despite its unfinished-ness, I still really like it and it resides on my purse for all to admire.

Sunflower Tag - August

After a long expanse of no completions, I finished up this little piece for my guy's wonderful grandmother. It was a quick stitch pulled from a sampler in BH&G's America's Best Cross-Stitch. It was also my first attempt at learning a new stitch - blanket stitch! I felt wonderfully accomplished for it was quite an easy stitch and really helped make the edge look neat. Now if I could only cut straight. :D

Christmas Crewel - September

I started to pick up the pace and get some things done during this part of the year. Mostly because it gets too darn hot to do anything but sit inside an A/Ced room! This was a crewel kit I picked up at a yard sale. It had been started but I think the amount of French knots may have terrified the previous owner. I love French knots and these weird ones were especially fun. They could be "messy" and look perfectly fine! I did run out of the right green for some of the boughs and had to substitute in something from my stash. It doesn't quite match and was an absolute nightmare to stitch with but I'm glad I persevered and finished it!

FFVIII Logo - September

Possibly the crowning achievement. I'm planning to stitch all the logos in the main Final Fantasy series (again, a video game for the unknowing) but the order is somewhat haphazard. My boyfriend chose the first one and his favorite is Final Fantasy VIII. I designed this pattern in KG-Chart and promptly ignored most of it. Even still, it was fun to design and stitch and I learned a lot about the pattern making process! In retrospect, I almost wish this wasn't the first one I stitched because it's one of the more complicated logos. The gradient was very hard and there's only one area of it in the completed project that turned out as close to perfect as I could wish (the area directly above the T). I've taken that learning experience and applied it to the next FF pattern!

Halloween Blair - October

The last completed project of the year was my Halloween stitch! I designed this pattern from images in the Soul Eater manga (Witch Blair in kitty form and the Soul Eater logo on the "Soul Pumpkin"). I also charted out the font from the Pumpkin font found through a Google search. Limited to only items in my stash, the colors are a little bit darker than I would have liked but it turned out pretty well methinks! Especially considering this was the first pattern I drew completely from scratch in KG-Chart!

Only five completions and two of them were smalls! And no Christmas completions! Ah, how terrible~ I'm hoping to do much better this year. I've got the next Final Fantasy pattern ready as well as the materials for it. I'm raring to start stitching it but I still have to get some things in order at the new place. Maybe I could do some smalls to pacify/motivate/relax me. I really like making the badges.

As for some ambitions for 2012, I'm hoping to get at least two more FF logos under my belt (three or more if I really buckle down). I want to attempt a new style of embroidery (hardanger, perhaps?) or at least learn another new stitch. I'd also like to stitch a few Christmas cards. In terms of pattern designing, I was hoping to really get more active in the Sprite Stitch request forums but without Internet... Quite a damper! Maybe I'll actually finish the Dolphin Trio which is turning into a UFO. I'm signed up for this year's TUSAL (found a jar, wee!) and I'd like to join in a few (all?!) IHSWs! Internet being an issue (yes, I'm going to complain about this way too much), however, posting results won't be as punctual as I'd like but hopefully it'll work out!

I apologize for the wall of text and will let you have your eyeballs back now, haha. Enjoy your stitchings! :D

owhat!

omygosh, remember that last post where I mentioned moving? Yeah, we moved. Again. Long story short, the first house was horrible and I'm more than a little irked at the landlady for not disclosing the problems involved with the house. We got out of there ASAP into a delightfully crafty-inspiring farmhouse out in the country. The downside to this awesome new house is no internet yet and possibly ever! (I'm currently updating while visiting family for the holidays.)

Of course all this moving means I've failed to get my Christmas goal(s) finished (and everything else Christmas really!). This makes me SadRosey because I've made myself a small ornament for the past couple of years and I didn't get one this year! :( I'll just pretend our new awesome house is my ornament. Once I get settled, I'll be able to post some progress pictures, even if it has to be through library internet! I already have plans for a craft/hobby room, yay! I feel like it needs to be decorated terribly geeky but I might save that for the computer room. :D

I hope y'all have a magnificent 2012 and that all your stitchy goals come true! ♥

Where did I go?!

I've moved! And have found out the hard way that this is an absurdly awful time of year to move! I did manage to unpack my stitchy things (what, we need kitchen utensils? Nah...) and make progress on my moth angel! I've actually attempted to modify the pattern a bit and I think it looks acceptable and possibly unnoticeable if one doesn't know the pattern! I have pictures but no way of uploading them as I haven't unpacked the transferring apparatus!

I've also taken pictures of our "Christmas tree" that I've created just to have something, haha. I taped some yarn to the wall in the shape of a tree and have it "decorated" with Christmas cards. It's a little ghetto but I have been so overwhelmed with packing and unpacking to put up a real tree (too much farm girl pride to have a fake tree). I shouldered aside my prejudice and went with the yarn.

I'm sad to have missed the IHSW this month. I'm so close to finishing so maybe there is hope for something before Christmas. If the beads don't kill me first.

I think they are determined to do so.

Another week, another SAL update!

I'm just gonna jump right in with the pictures, haha.

Before!

After~ Not just a flying head!

Sorry for the ultra-bright picture! I used a different camera and was unfamiliar with the settings. I feel like I'm not making substantial progress on her but I'm so busy packing and flailing my arms around that it leaves very little time to stitch (or anything else, really)!

Because I left it on the hoop, you can just barely see my edge-binding method: painter's tape! I don't really like masking tape because it always seems to leave a funk behind on my projects. Painter's tape doesn't leave the funk, but it can be hard to stick to certain types of fabric. I seem to be too impatient to fold and baste my edges, haha. Well, that's all for today! I hope everyone has a lovely stitching atmosphere for the next week, too~!