Alex Jayne

14
Feb
2015

Another new start

categories: craft

I know, I know, I should really be working on some of my endless WIPs, but this has been calling out at me for so long and has been kitted up for a month that I had to make a start!

I sent a text to one of my best friend’s with the above picture. The response was “WHAT IS THAT. IS THAT RED RIDING HOOD?” … She knows me too well.

Day 1 Progress.

Day 2 Progress. Believe it or not, that blob on the left is two different colours.

Day 3 progress. Starting to introduce varying shades in – I’m a big fan of cross country stitching, I am far too uncoordinated for parking.

Day 5 – or, as I call it, “Avoid the confetti (single stitches of one colour) for as long as possible”. I can’t wait until I finally get some kind of pattern coming through – not that this area will have much as it’s the ground and the side of the forest, but I’m hopeful that eventually it will be distinguishable as the forest!

I’ve never gridded my fabric before and seem to be doing fine with my other Heaven and Earth Designs chart (Mini Watching It Fly), however that has a lot less colours – 16 vs. 81! It’s too late now, but I may keep it in mind for future projects.

I think my aim on this is to finish about four rows across completely – my next aim is to try and fill in those single stitches, but at least I’ve made a bit of progress! The whole thing is just shy of 70,000 stitches, and I’d be surprised if I’ve done more than 1000…. this could take a while.

09
Feb
2015

Beginning United Stitches

categories: Uncategorized

A bit of a change now – some embroidery work!

I’ve made a start on the first stitchery for Rosalie Quinlan’s “United Stitches”, her 2015 block of the month (with a twist). It’s my first time using Staflex instead of Parlan, but because this is being turned into a quilt, I didn’t want parts of it to be thicker than the other. I admit, had a bit of a moment with the Staflex and wasn’t 100% confident which side was the side to iron on, but since it stayed put I figured it’d work 😉

My goal for yesterday was to finish all of the dark green. I finished that quicker than I thought, so had to revise my plan…

I’m still not a massive fan of satin stitch, mostly because I never think it looks as good as it should – but at least I’ve done a passable job. I’m really enjoying stitching this so far, probably because it’s stitching up pretty quickly (although give it a couple of months and then we’ll see how far behind I get…)

I did come across a bit of a problem though – the picture has three different shades of blue but only calls for two colours! Which doesn’t seem to add up – I’m going to have to dig out the rest of the threads and see what’s going on here, has anyone else stitched this one yet and come across the same thing?

I’m still stitching on Ode to Dogloaf (no updated pictures though) and I’m hoping to finish the bottom part of the neck today or tomorrow, and it’s really coming together!

In case you missed it, I’ve also started a Stitch-A-Long for the 2015 Story Time Sampler – head on over if you want to take a look and sign up!

07
Feb
2015

A new home…

categories: craft

Looky – it’s a brand new home for my blog! I’ve transferred it over (although I still need to get some kind of redirect going on from the wordpress site), but I took the plunge and have now officially got my own blog. There were a few thing I was trying to do that wouldn’t play nice on the WordPress.com hosted site, so now I’ve moved over and can do whatever I want! Plus, I do like having my schmancy own blog url, I have to admit.

I’ve been busy, though! Incredibly, I am still managing to stay on track with my Story Time Sampler, and have completed February:

Yet another adorable frame – The Secret Garden.

I’ve also created a stitch-a-long for the Story Time Sampler as I’ve seen a number of people mention they have a blog – go along and check it out, the link is right here, or alternatively, can be found at the top of the page.

Finishing this meant I could put it away until the end of the month, which means that I can pull out my Ode to Dogloaf!

When I last posted about it with my goals, I was here:

And after stitching on it for most of today while I was curled up on the couch, sick, here’s where I’m at:

It doesn’t feel like heaps of progress, but I’m slowly getting the bottom part of it stitched in – why on earth I continue to pick patterns that are in the same colour, I will never know. I’m really hoping to get most of this done by the end of the month, but if that fails, I’m heading off on a craft retreat so you never know what that will bring!

Part of me is dying to start my new Heaven and Earth Designs chart now I have the fabric and it’s fully kitted, and then I also want to start the 2013 Woodland Sampler – but then I know that I have so many other projects on the go that I really need to at least finish ONE of them – or at the very least one of the pages….

29
Jan
2015

United Stitches

categories: craft

I’m excited – happy mail today! I’ve signed up for “United Stitches”, which is Rosalie Quinlan’s 2015 block of the month (I’m still working on 2013 – Best Friends Forever & 2014 – Simply Blessed, we don’t talk about those just yet…)

Unlike the previous ones though, this is designed around a ‘stitch and switch’ theme. Each set of stitcheries is numbered, and actually comes with two stitcheries of each design. The intention is that you stitch one for yourself, and one for someone else – either in a sewing group, or as a round robin, or by posting on the Facebook group and finding someone to swap with, and most people will select whether to do the odd or even designs. The team over at Creative Abundance have been posting up pictures of all the stitcheries, and I have to say they are ADORABLE!

I’m going to be doing this one with my mother, who is the one who took me down the rabbit hole of craft addiction, so it seems only fitting. I predict as usual she will be way ahead of me, as I tend to take on far too many WIPs at once, but it’ll be nice to do even if it takes me a couple of years!!

The pack arrived today and includes a fat quarter bundle of the “Chirpy Lola” fabric which is gorgeous, all of the Cosmo threads needed, extra linen for the quilt, the quilt instructions, a tin to keep all the swap cards, a 4 1/2″ template for the stitcheries/blocks, and the first two stitcheries.

I can’t start it just yet as a) I want to get up to date with the Story Time Sampler and a couple of other cross stitch projects, or reach a certain point, and b) I meant to order some thinner stabiliser as I don’t want to use Parlan on this, but totally forgot to! So I’ll be ordering some of that shortly now that I have the requirements for the full quilt.

This is the finished quilt that Rosalie finished – isn’t it just so bright and adorable?? I think putting it together may be a bit of a challenge, but to be honest, once I’ve reached that point I’m hoping to be more confident with some of those blocks.

The Story Time Sampler is trucking along and I’m definitely going to reach my goal of finishing all of the frames before the next clue is released on the 31st (which is Sunday lunchtime here due to the time differences). The frames are all so intricate and so require a lot of concentration when counting, although I’m pleased to report that I have remembered how to count properly so haven’t had to rip out whole frames any more!!

One of my friends who is also stitching this came over for dinner tonight and we were working on this together so I managed to make some decent progress – I’ve begun the last frame! I probably won’t finish it until Friday evening but I’ll definitely have it done, which means that I can hopefully put some solid progress in on the banner and knock out some of that before the clue is released.

I’m determined with this to stay up to date and having the frames is helping so I can jump straight into the stitching – I managed to stitch up Alice incredibly fast and on the day that the clue was released, so I’ve proven to myself that I *can* knock things out and I can stay on target – and I’ve got a couple of other friends who are doing this as well to keep me on track 😉

Is anyone else doing either the Story Time Sampler or United Stitches? I’d love to see your plans and if you’re staying 100% true to the design or making a changes to give it your own personal touch!

25
Jan
2015

Story Time progress

categories: craft

Not much progress yet, but I’ve been plodding along with this – I’m still determined to finish the frames (and hopefully the banner) before the next clue is released at the end of the month.

I’ve just started the frame for July, so I’m doing well – I’m aiming to finish at least one frame a day which will bring me to the 31st, and hopefully I’m ahead of schedule so I can knock out the banner too.

I adore all of these frames, they’re all slightly different, but I have to say I’ve been having the worst time counting lately! The first green frame I had to rip out three times, and then the second brown one I was half a stitch off. Knock wood, I’ve got all the frogging out of my system, as the last two that I had started are correct, but it’s been doing my head in!!

I’ve been seeing a few posts over on the FB group about people concerned about the green (Weeks Dye Works in Seafoam) blending in and being unable to see it well, but I haven’t seemed to have that problem. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s on linen, or the different count – one thing I learned from doing the designs from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery was that hand dyed fabric holds the dye differently depending on if it’s Aida, or linen, or even the different types of linen.

Either way, I’m loving stitching with the WDW and the colour variegation, and I’m really looking forward to stitching this one up this year.

22
Jan
2015

2015 Projects: Cross Stitch edition

categories: craft

Once again, I’ve been neglecting my blog! I have been stitching up a storm though, so here’s some of my progress lately!

I’m trying to set myself a list of projects to work on this year – these are all projects that I’ve either started, or am planning to start sometime this year. I’m not going to set myself goals like last year in terms of “finish x amount”, I would like a few finishes, but my aim is to at least make progress on every one of these and hopefully post a before and after at the end of the year with my progress.

I’ve got cross stitch, embroidery, and quilting projects, which I’ll blog about separately, but I’ll start with the cross stitch as that’s what drew me back into crafting again a couple of years ago. So, without further ado:

2014 “Once Upon A Time” sampler by the girls at the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I am abysmally behind on this one as you can tell – I’m really wanting to try and smash this out by the end of the year and try and work on it in between other projects. The blocks are so adorable, but I got behind and then just struggled to catch up and ended up bailing on it for quite a while.

Stitched 2 over 2 on 28 count linen from Picture This Plus (I forget the colour, but it’s the recommended fabric).

The 2015 “Story Time Sampler“, from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I’m actually on track (if not slightly ahead!) of this one, as the first clue – Alice – was released on the 15th along with the frames, and then will be on the 31st and then at the end of each month. My goal for this is to get all of the frames stitched before the next clue is released, which, barring any major difficulties I should be able to do – I’m hoping having the frames will make it easier for me to keep up compared to last year!

Stitched 2 over 2 on 36 count linen from Picture This Plus in Crystal Storm.

Remember my Grey Blob? Yeah. “Mini Watching It Fly” from Heaven and Earth Designs – I’ve been doing this one forever. I pulled it back into my rotation about a month ago, and I’ve very nearly finished the top page! The stitchy bug for this one has come back and I think a large part of that is finally being able to see the clouds form (even if it did take hundreds of stitches in B5200 to get there). There’s still a crapload of grey in this but once I get across to the next set of pages at least it’s got some more variety (and then I’ll start cursing all of the confetti).

Stitched 2 over 1 on 18 count Aida.

My tribute to ‘Dogloaf’, my sausage dog who died late last year – he had an awesome life and was nearly 18, but it was still very upsetting as I’d grown up with him. When I found this pattern I fell in love with it as it looks so similar to my dog. As much as it feels like a couple of the colours are identical, I love the shading that’s going on here.

Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 count linen (I think?)

This is a new kit which I haven’t started, but it’s a small one and the design is quite cute. I don’t have any specific plans for it – maybe somebody will come along that I can gift it to, who knows – but I’ve had this kit for a couple of years and want to at least make a start on it.

I started doing this one ages ago for a friend’s wedding, but circumstances changed so I shelved it. It’s still adorable and I’d like to finish it at some point, whether for someone specific or if I’ll just stitch it up and leave the name blank, but I want to pull it out eventually. This one has delightful blended stitches which is always fun, but I’ve made a decent start on it at least.

Stitched 2 over 1 on either 16 or 18 count Aida.

So close on this one! The fiddly border was annoying me, and then I got distracted by something else. I really should finish this – it’s so close that it’s on the list to definitely try and do this year which I should be able to! This is another one from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery and is their 2014 Christmas Celebration Sampler.

Stitched 2 over 2 on 36 (?) count linen in Crystal Gingerbread from I think Picture This Plus – I purchased a kit on Etsy for this one.

I have no idea where the front of this is! This is a set of Christmas ornaments that I bought as a Dimensions Kit ages ago, back when I very first started getting back into cross stitch. I haven’t touched this in about 3 years and have no plans for whether I’ll gift them or keep them, but I’d like to get at least a bit further on these!

Fairly sure this is 2 over 2 on 14 count Aida?

Hogwarts! Another one I’ve had forever and sporadically pull out – one of my friends has just finished this and it looks amazing, so I’d like to knock a bit more of this out. Maybe finish the outline, or at least the middle part of the crest?

Stitched 2 over 2 on 18 count Aida.

This is going to be another new start – Mini Red Riding Hood by Heaven and Earth Designs. I stumbled across this and fell in love – I’ve already got all of the threads, bobbined up and everything, along with the fabric, ready for me to make a start. I can’t bring myself to pull this out yet though until I at least finish a couple, or at least get up to date on a few, but I’m itching to start this one. Someone I follow on Instagram is stitching this up at the moment and I just ADORE it.

Well – that’s my cross stitch projects for the year, there’s a ton of them but I’m looking forward to trying to make some decent progress on them. I’ve decided that 2015 is going to be the ‘me’ stitching year after making so many gifts last year, and this year I want all that time and effort to go towards things that I can display – some people found it surprising how much time went into making things!

11
Nov
2014

Christmas progress!

categories: craft

I’ve been working like a busy bee the last few days…

I tracked down another skein of the DMC 115, so I managed to finish the stitching for one of my Christmas presents.

Which meant I could get started on this one! It’s also a Gail Pan design, but this one is stitched in Cottage Garden Threads “Bush Christmas”.

I must say, I love having a local patchwork shop – and Jess over at A Patchwork Quilt is AMAZING. I had the original thread this pattern called for in my stash but I wasn’t feeling it with this particular pattern so I browsed a few of the other CGT colours. If you haven’t checked them out, you seriously should – they’re hand dyed and the colour changes are so subtle, but the best thing is they’re pre cut strands! I messaged Jess on Facebook to see if she had this in stock and she popped it in the mail for me the next day (because I do so many BOMs through her, she had my details on file ;P) and so I was all ready to go.

I also learnt from the previous design that I am pretty awful at freestyle drawing straight lines, so I made sure to use a ruler when tracing this pattern. I think it looks a lot neater.

I also made a start on the Moda Bakery “Trifle Dish” sew along that Jess is doing on FB – there’s a group of us who are sewing this, some with fabrics she has chosen, the rest with their own from their stash. I am remarkably behind – this is month one, and we’re already on month two!

When I went to sew this though, I realised that I’d never actually sewn HST before. I thought I had, but apparently not!? So a few google searches later to get a couple of tips and I had a pile to trim up and sew together.

I think I did okay for my first go! This is block one of five – I haven’t done any of the other cutting but I’m planning on cutting up the rest of the blocks this week and at least putting the pieces into bags so I can get it out of the way.

And despite seeing a few “whoopsies” on the FB group, guess what I promptly did? Argh!!!

All better now! I still need to sew the border on, and give it a press, but I’m pretty proud of myself. The points don’t line up perfectly but I think it’s a decent attempt for my first go, and I’ve picked up a few tips for the next blocks.

I also came across the Farmer’s Wife Quilt. FabricDirect.com.au are doing a sew along – it’s about to go into month 8, so I’m already behind, but seeing as that seems to be the story of my life I messaged Eve to see if I could still join in. I’ve seen so many pictures and blog posts of this around and I love the modern take on this – I need a new BOM/project like I need a hole in the head, but I’ve been really interested to see all the different colour schemes people are using on this, as well as the stories behind the blocks. Plus, it’s going to (hopefully…) be great at skill building, especially as for this QAL it’s starting with the easier piecing and moving up to the more complicated.

I went into Spotlight today to pick up some needles and some template plastic. Turns out they had a 30% sale on fabric. Someone take my credit card away from me, honestly. I picked up these GORGEOUS fabrics though to make a quilt for my nephew – still tossing up a few designs, and I want to see how my interwoven quilt turns out to see if I want to do something like this, or if I want to get a few more different fabrics in, but it’s the first quilt that I’ve decided I want to make without following the exact pattern, so fingers crossed!

Back to some more stitching – with all these projects I’m aiming to do at least some kind of craft each day otherwise I’ll never get anything done!

29
Oct
2014

WIP Wednesday

categories: craft

I swear, things would be finished a lot easier if I didn’t have CDD – Crafting Deficit Disorder!

But, I’ve been working steadily still –

Started a new Gail Pan stitchery which is another Christmas present. I traced this out months ago but finally pulled it out as I realised it’s less than 2 months til Christmas and I really need to get a move on!

I appear to have run out of DMC 115 though – I swear I have one floating around but my craft room is an absolute mess at the moment so I think I may have to duck down to Spotlight to pick one up.

I’ve been making some decent progress on my dachshund cross stitch – the shape is starting to form! The ear is probably just over half done but I’m loving the colours in here and how complex they are.

I am in LOVE with this range – it’s Color Theory by Moda. I went from these….

…to 160 of these! I just need to pick them out in groups of 7, sew them into rows, then sew those rows into a quilt. So far the sewing machine has been working like a charm, so here’s hoping that it works out well! Fingers crossed…

I also have to make a start on another Moda BOM – a lot of the ladies in the FB group have finished Month/Row 1 already and given that Row 2 starts in 3 days, I need to kick my ass into gear!

22
Oct
2014

6 month wrap up!

categories: craft

Oh dear – I’ve just realised it’s been 6 months since I last posted. I have no idea how it got that bad – I’ve still been crafting, and have had the intention to post, but then just kept thinking I’d do it later and then all of a sudden it was October.

Here’s a quick snapshot of what I’ve been working on since my last post, though…

I pulled the Lion Huggable latch hook out of the craft room to try and do it again. I’ve got to say, I’m really not loving this project. I remember why I got rid of it in the first place – I’m at the stage where I need to sew it together and it is driving. me. crazy.

I’m currently stuck trying to sew the ears onto the head and think I may have to pull apart some of the stitching I’ve already done – I’m really hoping though that once I get the head done, the rest of the body won’t be as bad. I need to finish this by Christmas for my nephew, so I’m working to a bit of a deadline. I tell you, it’s a lot easier to work to a deadline when I’m enjoying the project…

I attended Stitches In Time with my mum (hey, remember how last year she took me to one of these and it started my stitching obsession? At least this time I didn’t pick up a new hobby). It was a great day, we got 4 projects and they’re all in Cottage Garden Threads – this was one of the ones designed by Ramona that I have finished. It’s in “Mistletoe”, from memory. I’m dying to start the others, but I need to finish others first.

I started a new cross stitch (because I clearly needed more…) – I’ve been working heaps on this one as the pattern is the spitting image of our late sausage dog who sadly had to be put down a couple of months ago. He was almost 18 so had a fantastic life, but I miss him quite a bit and I’m hoping that this will be a fitting tribute to him. I’ve done quite a bit more of this, so I’m hoping to put a separate post up with some progress shots.

I am…incredibly behind on the Frosted Pumpkin Bakery “Once Upon A Time” cross stitch. I’ve still not finished April – and yes, I’m well aware that it’s almost November! I keep meaning to go back to this but just keep getting distracted by other projects. I really do need to make a move on this one, particularly as I signed up for their 2014 Christmas sampler that starts next month, as well as purchased a few other patterns of theirs – plus I’m sure they’ll put out a 2015 monthly sampler!

I finished the stitching for one of my Christmas presents..

And bought a new sewing machine! I’ve got a ton of projects in mind for this for when I crack it open (hopefully tomorrow!) I bought this from a local sewing store and I’m in love with all of the fancy features that it has!

I finished the stitching for this one, too!

Block #2 of Rosalie Quinlan’s “Simply Blessed” BOM is complete – I am loving the blue/brown colour scheme on this one.

As is block #1! Rosalie’s designs so often feature satin stitch – I’m still not a fan although I’m getting relatively decent at it. They also feature a TON of chain stitch, but I’ve luckily come across a different method of chain stitching which I found a lot easier to do, and it means that I can do it quicker with the added bonus of making the stitches tinier.

I made a bit more progress on my Hogwarts Crest – this is a project I’m going to be stitching forever, at this rate – it’s nearly been 2 years since I started it!

And lastly, I finished Leanne Beasley’s “Enjoy Today”. I haven’t worked out if I’ll frame these or wrap them around canvas as I need to finish the companion “Live Simply” which is sitting in my stash awaiting to be put into my rotation.

What have you all been up to? I promise I’ll be making some more posts soon about specific pieces and more regularly as hopefully that’s going to keep me on my kick of making quite a bit of progress!

21
Apr
2014

Stash building

categories: craft

The postman has bringing me lots of lovely gifts this past week! (I think he’s sick of delivering parcels that I have to sign for as well…) A few bits and pieces, and they’re actually mostly all for current projects, which is a change from the usual…

I’ve ordered some 7 1/2″ and 9 1/2″ hexagon templates for the Best Friends Forever block of the month from Under The Mulberry Tree. I figured that if I’m going to need to make 96 hexagons, having proper templates will be a lot easier. I still haven’t finished the first stitchery, but it’s definitely going to be worth it.

Also pictured is some of the Cosmo Seasons threads for the Simply Blessed BOM that I’m signed up for. I haven’t received the pack for this one yet (I’m stitching the French version, and the store is waiting for the fabric to come in), but I’ve got enough to start the first couple of months now. It’ll need 16 skeins over the 9 months, so I’ll be needing more either way.

I also ordered some more fabric from Quilted Fabric Delights, who are closing down. I really only needed a fat quarter, but the minimum order was 1m and it was at a steal, so I couldn’t help myself. I also grabbed a couple more cosmo threads for the BFF stitching – by the time I went to purchase them, most of the colours were sold out!

Lastly, I got the Toymaker kit from Cinderberry Stitches – I have no real plans for who this will be for but it’s the full kit including all of the fabric needed and it was at far too good of a price to pass up.

Block three of the BFF block of the month came too – every month when I get it, I admire the new designs. I can’t wait to get to this one (in say, 6 months!?) but it’s been great seeing the fabrics as part of the club, as well as the designs. It’s definitely keeping me motivated.

And lastly, the April month of the Cottage Garden Threads collectors club came – with an adorable design! It’s also got the thread case pattern which I signed up for – I don’t have any plans for it right now, although I’m going to have to especially as I get more of these each month! But as a collectors club member, we got a 20% (I think) discount of the pattern, so I added it to the pile.

With all of these purchases I’m really going to have to go through and sort out my craft room! I’ve got some things in piles but then I’ve been pulling out various patterns and fabric to decide what I want to do, and some areas are getting totally out of control. Time for an overhaul in the future.