I've finished Buttermilk Tabbies!!!!

It's finished!!! I'm so proud of myself!!! It took 85 hours to complete and was sent around on UFO RR in 2009. I've worked steadily on it since January and added about 45 hours to the work already done by the other stitchers (there was about 10 hours worth of stitching when it left for the RR). I'm really proud of myself! So here it is:

Title: Buttermilk Tabbies
Designer: Julia Lucas
Magazine: Just Cross-Stitch (June 2004)
Fabric: Antique White Lugana (28 counts)
Threads: DMC and 1 blue Anchor
Size: 122H x 122W
Time to complete: 85 hours

Thank you for looking!

Catherine Michelle

Murky Manor my next UFO

This is a design by Glendon Place. It is stitched on 28ct Dawn Cashel Linen by Picture This Plus. I am using DMC floss with a few Anchor, beads, JABC buttons, Kreinik metallics and Caron Wildflowers. It became a UFO last October when I put it away to do some Christmas stitching and when that was finished I worked non-stop on the Peacock Tapestry. Progress will be slow on this because I will be doing it occasionally for a change from the two big projects I am starting. I was a little disappointed with the fabric, when it came it seemed to have areas covered in a linty substance which had to be pulled away. I do not do a lot of stitching on hand dyed fabrics so this may be normal. Happy Easter fellow UFOers.

Peacock Tapestry Finale

At last it is finished. What a relief that is. I must confess I got a surprise when I took it off the rollers and saw how big it is. I cannot say I have enjoyed doing it but I have to admit I like the end result. I have three more TW kits and loads of charts which I will not be starting for some time! I must thank everyone who has given me such encouragement to get it finished, without that I think it would have gone back in the cupboard. Now to sort out my next UFO.

Dragons Update - A Page Finish

I am so sorry to have been so absent lately. Many of you follow my personal stitching blog and know I have been in and out of the hospital through February and beginning of March. So forgive me.
I have been trying to catch up and see all the lovely progress you have all been making.
Sometime last week I finished up my most recent dragons page and wanted to share it with you.

Here is a pic of the page I finished:

and here is the whole piece to date (camera skewed it a bit again sorry, it is straight in real life I swear):

Quick update

Here is my progress on Tuscan Gardens.


This time I'm doing the backstitch as I go along.

It's getting better!

Hi there quick update on my Breaktime. I've spent a little more time on this one. It's still not exactly romping ahead but 'it's getting better'. Hope for a better progress report next time.

Peacock Tapestry Update

I will be winding the peacock down for the last time. I am hoping to have it finished by Easter which is better than all my imaginings when I started this again. I am truly grateful to this blog because with this particular project you seem to sew for so long and see no difference and it is only on looking at previous photos you see how much you have done. I have another UFO lined up but the next one will be done at a more leisurely pace. Happy sewing everyone.

An unexpected find and finish!

Whilst rooting about in the stash room today I came across another UFO! And I thought that Michael Powell's Tuscan Gardens II was the last one!

When I found this only some of the head had been done. Stitched one over one this ginger cat was a cover kit with Cross Stitch Collection in Jan/Feb 1996. I still have the magazine and all the bits. Here it is.


It actually makes the insert to a keyring, which I also had.



If only all UFOs could be finished in a couple of hours! By the way, I don't think I started stitching this in 1996 but who knows. It's now back to stitching Tuscan Gardens. Heaven only knows what other forgotten UFOs are lurking in the stash room. Maybe I should not go in there for a bit!

Peacock Tapestry Another Update.

As you can see from the photo I have made some progress this week. This is mainly because the peacock is mostly done in whole stitches and some colours are not blends. I found that backstitching the wing was quite difficult even with the use of the backstitch chart which Emily so kindly sent me. Progress will slow now because I am back on the branches and leaves. I am on the top third now so I really want to get it finished as quickly as possible because I have some lovely things to stitch in my stash. Because I am hoping that my next wind down will be the last I will start the beading and I must remember to put in the french knots in some of the peaches. Happy stitching everyone looking forward to seeing how you are all getting on.

Celestial Dragon Quick Update

The head looked so unfinished that I couldn't leave it alone so went ahead and did the backstitching.  Whew!  Now I can change to the SAL Castles in the Air from Papillion Creations.  I'm only a few parts behind on that!

Dragon Riders Update

Not a great deal has been achieved on Dragon Riders in the last month. I have it on rotation but the week I was due to stitch it I ended up stitching something else as well. I've taken this off of my NeedleNeeds wooden frame & reverted to one of my Q-snaps with it & I must admit that some quicker stitching took place over the weekend. I've posted a before & after photo so that you can see that I really did do something... honest :-)



Happy Stitching :-)



Lisa's Stitching Life

Tuscan Gardens ll

This weekend I unearthed my latest UFO. Micheal Powell's Tuscan Gardens ll. This is what it looked like before I started stitching it again.


And this is how it looked after an interrupted days stitching on Sunday. You can find out more about this at my main blog here.


This became a UFO about 18 months ago. I started stitching it after I finished Reflections and the got side tracked by other stitching projects. I now intend to stitch this on Sundays.

Celestial Dragon Update

Here is my update as promised.  I thought I might get a few more stitches in today but no such luck.  It did go smoother than I had feared but of course this is only layer one of the backstitching, who knows how I will feel after layer two!  And there is couching in another part of it!  Oh the horrors!  No wonder this became a UFO, must persevere!  Backstitching does bring characters to life though I must admit.  Here is a before and an after. (Sort of, I missed taking a full picture apparently before starting the dreaded backstiching. ;-) )

my next project...

is the GGM Sampler by Kelly Searles of Suthern Stitching. This became a UFO in October when I misplaced it in the house! So I'll be stitching on it every day at lunch in order to get caught up with the rest of the German Marquoir Group!

GGM, a project being distributed by the German Marquoir Group with the permission of the designer

I'm stitching this on 40 count linen, which I dyed myself with coffee, and I'm using DMC floss, 1 over 2. What you see stitched is the bottom left-hand side of the sampler.