Dragons Update

Well as the holidays are quickly closing in on me I have realized I haven't stitched all that much. (it's that darn Wii we got for Xmas I tell you, haha).
But, I do have an update. Here is my dragons so far:



I just want to say welcome to a few of our new members to this board. We are growing and it's great! I look forward to many more UFO finishes in 2010 from everyone!

Windswept Santas

This is a UFO I am doing alongside the TW. It is one of the kits I am stitching in Yoyo's Christmas SAL. It became a UFO some year's ago because I just got tired of it. The kit has been brought out again and I have now finished the first Santa and I have started the second. Considering that they are so small there is quite a lot of work in them. I want them on the tree next Christmas so that will spur me on. Happy New Year to my fellow UFOers.

New UFO Unearthed.

Well here it is. Did you guess correctly from my taster pic a few weeks ago.? I bet you didn't.
When I started this I couldn't figure out how to hold it so it's a case of taking it out and working it from a different angle.





It could take a bit of doing as it's 42" long although only 9" wide. On the plus side it's just straight colours.

Wish me luck.

Christmas Trees Update

Just a quick post with a little update. Twins are poorly at the moment & I'm just waiting for our Dr to give me a call back.

Thought I'd let you see the small amount of progress that I've made on Christmas Trees. I need to add the backstitch to the gingham tree & thats the 2nd of 5 trees complete. Slow going but at least it's going in the right direction :-)

Sorry about the blurry picture, not sure what happened there!

Lisa xx

Lisa's Stitching Life

Update on Italian Garden, and this month's UFO

November was not a good month, I did a lot of stitching though. If you want to know the backstory visit my blog. At least I managed to get rid of another UFO in the process. There was less left to do than I thought, plus it was good for me to stitch. Liz Turner Diehl's 17th Century Italian Garden is DONE! I added a close-up of the center section cause I love how it turned out, and the couched rings as well. There was supposed to be couched twisted braid in the rectangles above and below the rings (where now you see pink/lavender flowers). I just could NOT get that braid to fit in the figure-8 small spaces, so I "punted" as it were. Shush, don't tell!

This month of December I got out another UFO, Fanta Cat's Dragon Feathers Afghan.

I finished the two top blocks over the weekend, and I have 8 blocks left on the right side until this is also finished...wish me luck!

New member waving hello

Hello everyone!

I'm joining the group as yet another Teresa Wentzler pattern addict. I have a few of her projects which have fallen into UFO-land, and your little community seems like a nice one to share with. :)

I'm focusing on two of the projects at time in my rotation. They both fell off the wheels due to a combination of life insanity from planning my wedding two years ago followed suddenly by DH's mother passing away (and our house becoming cluttered as we went through her things). Both of these have been in UFO land now since 2006. I just started stitching again in October, and I've managed to do 10 hours on each of them so far. Here's the current status (I'll post them individually after this):

Egyptian Sampler:


Floral Bellpull: (everything above this square is done... so I'm on the 4th of 6!)


I'm planning on putting 10 hours of each of them per rotation. Hopefully I'll do them both each month, but in reality, I'll probably get 10 hours done on one or the other every month, as my rotation seems to be a 2-month plan.

Nice to meet you all!

- Measi

Christmas SAL UFO

This is a UFO which I hope to stitch alongside the TW. I have joined Yoyo's SAL and this is one of the items I hope to complete. I started it some years ago but put it down when I wanted to work on some other projects. It has not seen the light of day for some time. I have almost finished the Santa on the right on the top row. It is on quite a small count aida so there is quite a bit of work in each one. The SAL doesn't start until tomorrow so I have another evening on the TW.

Peacock Tapestry

I have made some progress on this because I am waiting for some linen band to arrive so thought best get on with the TW. I have worked on the leaves, which I am finding difficult, the border and the tail which I espected to be a nightmare but in fact it has not been too bad. I know some areas look as though they have measles but this has been to try to use up the blend in my needle. The backstitching would be very difficult but years ago I had some help from Emily. So Emily if by any chance you read this blog many, many thanks. I have now to work out how to wind the fabric down. It seems silly but I have several different frames and it is so long since I used this one, which is excellent, that it will be trial and error to sort it out.

Sail Away . . .

Drum roll ~ please!!!

I have it finally done!

What is it about only having

to put on the charms?

I had it all done except for that.

Sorry about the picture it is fuzzy!

I changed the alphabet

so I had to do some adjusting because of that.

I have my frame and mats already so when I get

a chance I will stretch it and finish framing it.

I am a picture framer at Hobby Lobby so we are sorta

busy right now.

It was so much fun to stitch

and I am sorry, in a way, it is done.

I did put some blending filament

in the sun so it sparkles!

I also put the glow-in-the-dark

filament in the upper top of the middle window

and the light in the lighthouse.

It's the candle burning for her loved one to return!

Dragons Update - Row 1 complete!

Well I have finally completed one complete row of the Dragons! :)
This is the first of five to complete.
Here is an updated pic:


Yes I am excited about one row. Cause it seems like it's been so long since I started this! But it's coming along. One stitch at a time.

YIPPEE IT'S FINISHED

I have finished my Carousel Horse. I completed all the back stitch and then went back looking at it closely and discovered quite a few missed back-stitches(probably where I'd finished a thread and gone on to a different part), so I had to sort them out. Next came the blending filament(Still not keen).
I can tell you all I have breathed a big sigh of relief. Now I can start on my next UFO.
Before I do that though I've got to sort out the threads and hopefully finished a Christmas piece that I've nearly done. Then of course there's all the other things to do that seem to crop up at this time of year.
I really do thank all of you that have sent support via this site, I can say that without you the Horse would still be in the cupboard.
My next big decision is the framing of it but that will not be until the New Year as I live some considerable distance from the framer. When it is totally completed I'll post a picture then as well.
Looking forward to seeing the next finish. Happy stitching to you all

TW The Storyteller 11-22-09

I stitched another 3 hours , working on the border.

Peacock Tapestry

I started this early 2004 so it has not been "on the go" as long as I thought. It took over two hours to collect the threads together again and sort them out so that they would be easy to find. There are over 70 colours and over 70 different blends! Now I remember why I stopped doing it. I have been so impressed with Flo's carousel horse that I decided I must try to finish the peacock. I hope to do so some every week but I am expecting progress to be slow. I am going to post another UFO shortly, one which I am going to do over the next twelve months in Yoyo's Christmas SAL.

My Next UFO

After almost a week of dithering I have picked my next UFO. Based on the time of year I thought I go with Christmas Trees by Cinnamon Cat. Yes that's right, another design by Cinnamon Cat, I fell in love with them all & have quite a few in my stash!

This is what the finished design will look like:

This is where I'm at so far:


I started this in December 2006, progress was good right up until christmas itself & then it got shelved. The intention then became to finish it for the following christmas but by then the "to do" pile had more than doubled.... the pros & cons of owning your own stitching shop, you get all the new stuff but not enough hours in the day to stitch any of it!

An update will follow in a week or so, happy stitching.

Lisa xx
Lisa's Stitching Life

Judgement Dragons Update

Well I am so close to the first row being done... and of course that means another page completed too.
Having a bit of a hard time getting this last bit done as, while it's easy, because it's only two colours left in this section, it's also really boring.
But slowly but surely it will get there. And then I get to go back to the left side and start a new row!
In the meantime here is the progress pic:

SO NEAR YET SO FAR!!!

Here I am again with yet another post. I've been working quite a lot on my TW . Back stitching takes such a long time doesn't it? While plodding along I discovered that I had missed out a flower completely and a couple of leaves, not to mention the 1/4 stitches. What a horror. Still not to be daunted I have put in the missing bits and straightened my shoulders, taken a deep breath and kept stitching.
I know it is probably very difficult to really see exactly what I have done so I'll give you a quick run down. The blending filament is completed on the horse's head and saddle area, also on the bottom left and top right fans. The Horse's tail and mane are now fully backstitched and I have redone some of the ribbons in the mane because I was not happy with their appearance.
I've completed a little more of the outer frame and have backstitched the majority of it (thank goodness). There is one big flaw in all this there is a part of the ribbon section of the frame(on the top towards the right) that I used the wrong blend in so I have to unpick that colour and redo with the correct blend (wish me luck).
Once again I can only say THANKS for all your support.
Keep stitching out there.

3 Hours on TW

it felt good to be able to pull this out again. I finished the motif in the top right corner and started the border on the left.

I've finished...... yayyyyy

I'm over the moon. I've finished my first piece of stitching since before the twins were born. Only thing left to do is stitch my name & the date but I thought I'd share it with you first.


I can't get it framed just yet as I have another to do for my little boy Robert & although his one won't be so pink it is about the same size so they'll be framed at the same time.

Now to decide on my next UFO..... so much choice LOL

Lisa xx

Travel Sampler

Finally picked up the Travel Sampler again. Making headway, just slowly!

Carolyn NC

Finish Post in Sight

Here is my progress. I'm really pleased with how it's going. All the pink flowers and leaves are now done( I think). The outer frames still need completing and then it's all the remaining back-stitching(Argh). After that is the blending filament (another Yuk), when that's done I'll be exhausted.
I have been on the hunt for my next UFO. I can tell you all now that it is nothing like the Carousel Horse. The pic (I know it's not a good one) is to whet you appetite and make you wonder What in the World is that? You'll have a surprise when you find out.



Anyhow thanks again for all your support with my UFO and Happy stitching to you all out there.

Henru VIII and all that

I finished this a couple of weeks ago but forgot to ask my husband to take a photograph. It has now been framed and has turned out better than I thought it would. I didn't use the horrible beads which came with the kit but used some from my own stash. Anybody who is going to do this project should look hard at the suggested colours for the skintones. I used these but don't like them and wish I had changed them before I had got too far with the project. Next UF for me is the dreadedPeacock Tapestry. I will post again when it has been brought out of hiding and photographed!!!!

Update on Companions, and another UFO unearthed!

Well, I only got 3 weekend days on Companions in October, but it's now in circulation in the rotation, so I should get back to it about 3 times a year. Here is an update picture...the wicker basket pack is done, and I will fill it next go-round (and add more bs).

For November, I pulled out an old CATS class project by Liz Turner Diehl. It is her 17th Century Italian Garden. It really is a nice piece and I got a lot done on Sunday. Here is the "before" picture....the four empty rectangles are nearly filled now! Will post an update at the end of the month.

Baby Love Progress

Evening all... well it's evening in London, UK :-)

I couldn't wait until the end of the month to post my latest update as I was excited by my own progress. The backstitch has done it's job & really defined the design. There isn't much to do so I just need to stick with & I'll soon have a finish on my hands.

My main stitching day has been a Monday, its the only day that twins are at nursery but next week is half term so they'll be at home & we also have house guests that week so I'm afraid my progress may slow somewhat.

I'm looking forward to picking out my next UFO to tackle.


Happy Stitching All

Lisa xx

Lisa's Stitching Life

Finished old finishes.....

Just a quick note and pic since I haven't actually touched my Christmas crazy quilt this month (Oct. ain't over yet). But I do have some OLD smalls (stitched probably back in 2004 or 05 for the pup and kitty ones, sooner for the heart) that I Finished (with a capital F).

I did these over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with them -- they are my first attempt at this. I have a whole stack of these and I figure if I can get one done every week or so, I'll have little things hanging all over my house. Wish me luck!

Marcy

Judgement Dragons update

I'm starting to get excited... I'm also done the last page on my first row for Judgement Dragons...
(we'll just not talk about the other four or five rows to still do :))

Here is the whole piece:


And here is the section I am currently working on in a bit more detail (forgive the blurriness).



A few people have asked what this looks like as a whole. On my blog there is a picture of it at the top of the left sidebar. You can check it out here:
http://epicstitching.blogspot.com

Thanks for all your past and future comments!

Companions by Teresa Wentzler

Finally! I've been a member for several months and had no luck actually getting to stitch on one of my UFOs....until now! I've decided to put my UFOs into a monthly weekend-only rotation, and starting this month I'm working on TW's Companions! I will post a progress picture the end of the month, but here is where I left off way back in October of 2007....so far this month I'm working on the basket full of gifts the horse is carrying. Santa is facing the horse, with trees in the background. I've named her Cinnamon, after the mare I used to ride years ago. The fabric is a custom piece from Crossed Wing that I had Paula paint for this specific design. I really need to finish it to justify the work she did for me!

Update on the Peacock Tapestry

Finally, since coming back from our holidays in August I have gotten around to adding a few more stitches the Peacock Tapestry. One day this piece will finally be done.

Big ~ Sail Away . . .

is coming closer to the sea.

I have enlarged the stitching photos.

Now you can actually sea them! He He!

I have really enjoyed stitching this pattern,

frogs and all.

I have changed some of the colors in some

of the motifs.

I changed the alphabet so I had to leave

out some of the in between stitches so the

alphabet would fit.

I also put in this picture so you could sea

the little persons' details.

He has on those sissy heals like they wore

back then.

I have the windows and door in, the tree

finished with the trunk.

The lighthouse almost finished and the

grass done underneath the lighthouse.

The clouds are done and the boat is

floating in the air.

Tomorrow I will work on the water and the

rest of the hill and sheep.

I hope to finish it the first of next week.

As usual, thanks for looking and leaving your

precious comments. I love hearing from you all.

God Bless ~

Lenna

Still Moving on, Nearly on the Last Part

The thread arrived from Janlynn so I've been back stitching like crazy. The horse body is now finally completed just some back-stitching on the mane and tail. I've been catching up on the border as well so that it will all hopefully finish together. When all the main pattern is completed I have to go back to do the blending filament on all the fans (I really am not looking forward to that bit.)
Thanks again for all your support it's helped such a lot. Happy stitching to you all

Sail Away . . .

This is one I have been working

on for a couple of weeks.

It's a Shepard's Bush pattern with

silk threads and the fabric included

in the kit. I joined this SAL and everybody

else is done or almost done so I have

been stitching away.

I have enjoyed it very much.

Sorry it is so small I will take a picture

and download it to my computer

and send a better shot.

I changed the alphabet so I had

to take out some of the speciality

stitches as the fabric was not

big enough.

After le froge (frog) made a visit

at my house I took the

second and third verse out

6 times. Yes count with me

SIX times!

I had decided that if I screwed it up

one more time I was not going

to pick up a needle again

for 6 days.

Thankfully, it did work out the 7th time.

I didn't feel good yesterday and I should

not have even picked up that needle.

So after I got the verses in and counted

to make sure I had room to finish

I did the house outline and the grass

outline.

Finally at 2:30 I decided to go to bed.

I will put this away and work on

something else for a few days.

I am anxious to get it done but I am

rather sick of it.

Those frogs will do that to you rather

quickly!!!

Giraffes

I now know why this particular project has been causing a log jam. Or should I say project jam.
The person who it is intended for is making my worklife quite difficult at the moment, so I have very little incentive to finish it.
I will add a picture tomorrow.
Just when you are unhappy in a place, you don't work on related things as they make you more so.

Inch-by-Inch...

I think I've maybe finished just an inch on this piece in the last month. I've been busy working on my Christmas stitching, so this poor piece has sunk to the bottom of the stitching basket again...SOMEDAY I will finish this! (I hope, I hope!) :)
Hugs,
Sharon in FL

Dragon Update...

Here is my work on page 4. I feel that this is maybe going a bit better than it was. I am trying to concentrate at least two nights a week and that seems to be helping.
Here is dragons to date:


And here is a close up of my latest stitching closer up on page 4:


Slow and steady wins the race. Or so I keep telling myself (and my uncle who I'm stitching it for). ;)

Baby Love Progress

It's been a couple of weeks since I joined you all & decided to get going on the UFO's. I'm quite pleased with the progress i've made. The main body of the design is really taking shape now & I'm desperate to get it to the point where I can add the backstitch... I just know that the backstitch will really bring it to life :-)

I'm really enjoying getting back into stitching. One week today & I'm off to Ally Pally... can't wait!


Lisa xx

Lisa's Stitching Life

On the Gallop again. Carousel Horse TW

Well after one or two (or maybe more) drastic days I seem to have got back on course. One poor leaf was done three times at least you know the system -right place wrong colour, right colour wrong place finally right place right colour. Next disaster was the realisation that I'd run out of a thread. Now to contact Janlynn. Thread on the way-Yippee-. Anyhow it's not as thought there isn't much else to do so I've battled on regardless. Huge amounts of backstitching done and also the border is growing . Any way my mind is now definitely drifting towards framing and also finding out my next UFO (perhaps this is wishful thinking for a while yet but HOPE springs ETERNAL. Happy stitching to you all and keep the good work with your own UFOs