WIPocalypse January

It's the evening of the 26th, so I am on time for this post - yay me! Be sure to check out this months link-up, there is going to be a lot of action in the next days when all the people check in for the month =)

Just like last year, there is a monthly question and just like last year, the first one is about which SALs I am participating this year. And just like last year, it's only this SAL and the GG SAL, where we are working on projects that were a gift or are meant to be a gift. My last post was my entry post for 2020 for that and I already did a great start with my map of middle earth ( 2 500 stitches!).

Since I speant quite a lot of time on Middle Earth, I did not get as much done on my other projects, but I am still happy with what I did.
First I stitches another row on Supersized Maxcolor Once upon a Fairytale, which is a lot of fun, but full of confetti. So last time:

And now:

So during this month I did 2 600 stitches, since the project has nearly 714 000 stitches, I am nearly done...not...

The second project I worked on is one of my non-haeds! You all know I love my haeds and I work on them a lot. But I also own a big bunch of projects by Gecko Rouge, Dimensions and lately Tilton crafts (they released a bunch of great Lord of the Rings charts lately), but for my taste I am not working on them enough. Therefore I will try to work on (at least) one project every month that is not a haed. For this month I chose a design by Gecko Rouge called "Across Winter Lake". The artist is Jo Grundy and she did a lot of lovely winter and nature designs. I started this project in 2018 (I think) and then it disappeared in my cupboard until last week. I remember that the confetti really put me off and I must say that this project is going quite slow. But the part of the chart I am working on is just full of confetti and it definitely gets better.
Any way, a long long time ago, Across Winter Lake started to look like this:

And now I finished page 1 and it looks like this:

I added 2 016 stitches and I am now at 3 888 stitches done. I am currently undecided if I should continue to work across (more trees and confetti) or start to work down (then I would stitch a part of the lake with less confetti). Since I am going to switch projects again, I have a bit of time to decide on this matter (I just hope it won't be another 2 years until I work on it again).

I also did some more work on that Christmas ornament. I was in the middle of writing an extra long paragraph telling you that I did the beading, but hate backstitching and seriously need to get my butt up to do it when i decided that I could just give is a try. And now, I am done with the backstitching! I must say that I am no good when it comes to french knots, so my rabbit look a bit stoned....

So that's actually a tiny finish for this year! Don't get used to it ;-)

I am off to bed (and a nice book) now, so happy stitching to all of you =)

WIPocalypse April - including some finishes ;-)

Yes, the title is correct, this post actually features some finishes and those who know me also know, that this a very rare! But don't worry, I didn't finish any BAPs ;-)

This wonderful SAL is hosted by Measi and as every month, there is a link-up for this month, you can find it here. Also, as every month, there is a question:

"Tell us about your longest running WIP or UFO"

This actually brings two projects to my mind, one is featured in this post anyway and I would consider it a WIP, the other is tending to be an UFO because I constantly forget to work on it.

Well, fist my UFO, which is also my oldest project. It's a Dimensions Gold kit called "Paris Market" and I think it's a pretty design.

I am not completely sure about when I started this, I think it was in 2010? This would make sense because in early 2011 I found Haed and my progress on this one was slowed down :D I honestly don't know why I don't work on this more often, it is pretty and colorful. Usually, working on the tree puts me a bit down because nothing seems to happen, but last year I stitched my way down to the flowers which a a lot more fun to stitch.

You know, my very fist stitching project was a little duck, a kit I found in one of my parents cupboard. It was one of the kits you give to children to teach them to stitch, so it was really basic. But this caught my interested and after looking at a lot of designs, I decided that a Dimensions Gold would be a good start (go big or go home). I originally wanted to go for Aurora Cabin, but I remember that it was summer and very hot, so I wanted to start with a summer design instead of a winter design, so I got Paris Market. I did get Aurora Cabin a few months later and started working in that one and in February 2011 I got my first Haed pattern and worked and I went down the serial starter lane ;-)
I also had a lot of drama with this one. I was a newbie when I started this, I made a lot of mistakes and that put me off working on it for a while. But I finally sat down and froged all the wrong stitches and started working on this one for the YOTA SAL (back in the days). Since Yota is no more, I am in need of a big kick to pick this up more often.
I just noticed that there was only one update on Paris Market in 2017 (it was in May), I always forget that this one exists. It is somewhere between a UFO and a WIP, but I definitely want to finish is. Therefore I am going to pick this up for a few days and try to get a few stitches in!

The second project that comes to my mind is my oldest Haed Kreimhilds Revenge, the one that took my attention away from Paris Market. I got the pattern in February 2011 and ordered the materials around that time, but I think it was already late March or April when I started her, My first update on her was on 8th April and at that time I was about 75% done with page 1.
I would consider her my oldest WIP because it is my oldest project on which I am updating on a regular basis. So I am doing a better job on her than on my Paris Market ;-) Those who follow my blog know, that I am working on her every month and so there is also a new update on her, I went from here:

To here:

A row finish, yay! Now I also crossed the halfway point pagewise ;-) Picking her up every month and stitching about half a page definitely adds up over time :) I think the next row will feature her shield and her spear and - the best part - not so much sky!
The sky on this was really putting me off for some time, especially since I am stitching on ivory colored Lugana, so the bright colors are hard to see.
She surely has a lot of mistakes, misplaced stitches, some knots, grid lines, page lines... everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong, but I sort of taught myself about stitching while I worked on her, there were times when I thought about restarting her due to all those mistakes, but I decided to keep and love her as she is ;-)
And one glorious day, she will look like this:

I don't know why I picked her, I just fell in love with her the instant I saw her ;-) I am know at 139.950 stitches and my next goal is to hit the 150.000 stitches mark (which I will surely achieve this year), I super motivated to work on her again =)

This also brings us to my progress for this month. Apart from Kreimhild, I have three more projects to show, including 2 finishes.

But first up is my work on my Golden Kite project "Crossing the Stream". It's one of my largest projects, so I try to get some work into it. Luckily the Golden Kite pages are smaller than the Haed pages, so it's easy to stitch a whole page and that's what I did. I went from here:

To here - page 3 is done:

I have now 10.117 stitches done, so it's still a (very) long way to go. But stitching Haeds for so many years taught me one thing: Just focus on the current progress and don't calculate how much there is still to go ;-)  As long as it is fun to stitch, everything is fine and I am definitely enjoying this one =) Though I would love to stitch something else than trees, maybe I will start working down ;-)

Now for my finishes. The first one is a small design I started around Easter - one of the Mill Hill Easter eggs that are entirely done in beads. This is Daffodil Egg:

I screwed up the colors in the top part of the egg and it took me aged to notice it. But I liked it, so it stays like this... Who cares about the stripes, as long as the flower is not pink instead of yellow, I don't care :D

The second finish I have is another Mill Hill -my Buttons and Beads kit called "Hydrangeas". I got a rush and finished all the remaining cross stitching and then started beading and is all went quite fast after all. I could have done this months ago, but well... better late then never.
Last time:

And now - done and dusted:

It's super pretty in real life, but you know, beads are always hard to catch on camera. Since I really love Hydrangeas, I want to frame this. I also have a companion piece called Geranium (I got it for my birthday) and I want to stitch and frame that one, too. I don't think I own a matching frame, so I will need to look for one. You can see that the design is not centered, but I plan to hide that when I frame it ;-)

I guess this is all I have for this month. My plans for next month are to start on the fifth row of pages on Kreimhild, get some stitches into Paris Market and choose a new small project that I want to try and finish next (maybe Cliffside Beacon or that DMC bird I found when I tidied up my cupboard).

Happy stitching =)

WIPocalypse - March

It's the last Sunday of March and therefore, it is time for WIPocalypse and I am on time! I also learned that I was not late for February, because the date was moved due to the Olympics, so I am actually on time for a second time this year, I can't believe it ;-)
Anyway, a few people already signed up for this month, so visiting the link-up page here is a great idea ;-)

As every month, there is a question for us to answer: What newer designers and product creators (fabric or floss dyeing, etc) out there have you discovered and recommend?
Well, you know, I am very traditional, I mostly do Haeds and Dimensions kits and I don't really try a lot of new things. When I went to the crafts fair this month, I picked up two kits for a company I didn't know before. It's now exactly "new", they seem to be in business since 2014, but to me they were new. I haven't started them (yet), but I surged the edges and took a chance to look at the small kits.

The designer is called "Liebevolle Kreuzstitchentwürfe" and they had lot of stuff on display and everything looked so pretty. These are kits, including linen and threads (plenty of it), along with the pattern. All seems to be of good quality. A friend of mine also bought a smaller design and already stitched it and is super happy with the result. So, far, I have only seen a photo of it so far, but that already looked very pretty. Maybe I will start one of the kits for next WIPocalypse =)
  You know, I already spent 110€ for two other kits when I went there, otherwise I would have bought more ;-) They also have an online shop (but I don't know if they ship international), where you can take a look at their pretty designs. The site is in German, but that should be fine if you just want to look ;-)

But this brings us to this months progress. I am super happy, this month has been a blast! Finally, I had more time to stitch (especially during the last week - I was ill and had to stay out of work. I have another week in bed ahead of me, so another week of sleeping, stitching and reading...)

The first thing I want to show is my progress by Jule Angel by Anne Stockes. I made a start on the second row of pages and stitched a whole page. This sounds like a huge amount of stitching, but since it was only background, it stitched up rather fast. I went from here:

To here - a total of 5005 stitches done!

The second project I worked on is QS Paddys Luck. I took Paddy out for IHSW and already showed an update, but since then I managed to finish page 2. I went from here:

To here - 2160 stitches added:

So, we have a few new colors in the rainbow and his head has grown a bit. I messed up my counting in the pink/rose colored ray, was not able to find my mistake and tried to fix it and I don't think it will be visible in the end (lucky me, the colors were rather similar). You can also see one of the new needle minders I got =)

The third project I want to show is - as every month - my Kreimhilds Revenge. I am doing my best to get the fourth row of pages done. I went from here:

To here - 2695 stitches added to her.

Now there are only 4 columns left to stitch on her and I want to get those done by next month. Maybe I will even stay with her and tray to stitch those 4 columns next week.

Last but not least, I have an update on my Hydrangeas by Mill Hill. I went from here:

To here:

I stitched one shade of green and started on a second one, which I will hopefully be done with by next month ;-)

Well, that's all I have for this month. I got 9860 stitches done (plus the ones on Hydrangeas), I wish every month would be a successful as March ;-)

Happy stitching =)

Gifted Gorgeousness SAL - March

Here we go for another GG SAL update. I could have sworn, February just turned into March, but it looks like March is already half way over! And I am two days late for the SAl, so if you take a look at the link-up there is already plenty to see ;-)
I was super busy during the last weeks, my students had their exams and we spent ages correcting them. Luckily only 540 students turned up for the exams (the students are signed up for the exam automatically and most of them don't turn up - our list had 1096 students on it), but it still took a lot of nerves to go through it all. Now there are just some oral exams to do, but we think we can finish them in one day. And after that, I have two weeks off from work, yay! I'll stitch and start working in the garden then =)

But back to topic - my progress for the GG SAL. I managed to work on two project and have some stash to show (I got some kits for my birthday and since I was to busy to drive to a "local" shop (80km one way), I order a few things online)..
Let's start with my actual stitching.
The first thing is - just as last month - my Map  of Middle Earth. I managed to get a page finish on this and went from here:

To here:

So I added 2 000 stitches since you last saw this one. 6 pages done, 54 to go.... I hope to be able to finish another page this year. If I stitck to my plan of doing roughly 1 000 stitches per month, this should not be a problem ;)

The second project I worked on is my Candy Cane Santa Stocking - yes, he's finally back! Not to much progress on him, but every stitch done is a stitch closer to gifting this to my fiance. I went from here:

To here:

You can see that I am now working on background now and since it's only half crosses, it stitches up rather fast. I just need to pick this up more often.

And since I don't already have enough on the go, here is some stash I got for my birthday =)

First up is a small kit by Dimensions Gold - it's from the petite collection. I think it's very pretty =

The second kit I got is also from Dimensions Gold. I loved this when it was released, but it was quite expensive here and then sew and so had it on sale, so I got it =)

The third kit I got is a Mill Hill beaded kit called "Geranium". I am currently stitching "Hydrangeas" from this line, I am close to finishing all the stitching and looking forward to get to the beading =)

And once I am done with my Hydrangeas, I will stitch this one =) It looks like so much fun =)

That's all I have for this month.
Happy stitching =)

WIPocalypse - October

Considering how late I usually am for my monthly SALs, I am nearly on time when I am only two days late :D This wonderful SAL is hosted by Measi and you can find the link-up for this month here.

This months question is: How did you begin stitching?
I guess there are two answers for that. I first came across stitching in elementary school, I remember that we had to stitch bookmarks, just a few simple crosses and straight stitches in two or three colors. I created a small bookmark and liked it, but my teacher insisted, that it wasn't finished and forced me to add more things to it. It messed up the "proportions" of my bookmark (in my view) and I didn't (and still don't) like when people tell me when something that I created is not done (had some trouble with some art teachers). It's a bit like "I am doing this for me and I like it and I don't want to change it the way you like it unless it's something I do" or something like that. Anyway, the lady forced me to "ruin" my bookmark, so I didn't pick up the needle again (very consequent girl - I think I was 7).
When I was 18 I was searching the internet for some knitting blogs and I found one blog that also featured some stitching. A lady did the Woodland Enchantress by Dimensions Gold and it was like the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! So I started to look up some stitchy stuff, I cam across the Dimensions kits and Haed and many many more. I found an old cross stitch kit in my mums cupboard and stitched this  (it was horrible - twisted crosses, not centered, the backstitching was awful) and then I bought my first Dimensions Gold kit (Paris Market - go big or go home) and a few months later my first Haed - and now I am here ;-)
Funny thing: I bought the Dimensions kit for Woodland Enchantress this spring and I think I will start das one next year - I just feel like I should stitch her because I owe her that because she was my introduction to this fabulous hobby ;-)


Ok, now for my progress, I really feel like I got a bunch of things done!
First up is an update on my Ride of the Yokai by Ruth Thompson. I finished the partial page I started and decided to add another row.
I went from here:

To here:

I added some 1890 stitches. The crosses are so tiny on 32ct, I always take some time to get used to it.

The next one I worked on is my Kreimhilds Revenge - as every month. I started page 29 and stitches half of it. I went from here:

To here:

So this is another 2230 stiches added to her, next month I will meet the halfway point! Yay!

The next huge project I took out is Crossing the Stream by Golden Kite. It is currently on my frame and I will share another picture next month.
I went from here:

To here:

I added some 1100 stitches so far, it's the getting used to 32ct thing again... but I am fine with it by now and will work on this for a few more days.

I also stitched a small Just Nan design . it's a cute little Halloween Mouse!

It's a bit complicated to take a picture of her, but she is really cute =) It was my first Just Nan kit and it was so much fun, I'm glad I have a few more in my stash ;-)

The last project I worked on is my Mill Hill design called Hydrangeas. I finished all the cross stitching for the blossoms and now I am stitching the leaves. I went from here:

To here:

I hope my November progress will be as good as my October progress, maybe I can finish the leaves and start beading in December, I love beading! =)

I think that's all I have for now! I am well over 5 000 stitches for this month, so I am truly happy =)

Happy stitching =)

WIPocalypse - August

As usual - I am larte for my WIPocalypse update, but at least it is still in August!
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to show this time, I was just so busy with work and most evenings I was really done and did not spent to much time stitching. This actually fits this months question:

How do you get yourself out of a stitching drought?

Ah well, I just wait. I think, as there are days, where I can't put my needle down, there must be days where I don't want to pick it up at all. I try my best not to push myself when it comes to stitching. Sometimes I read an amazing book, so when I pick up my needle I am thinking like "ah well, I'd rather be reading" and then I just put the needle down and read a bit. 

The only big crisis I had was when I had a terrible break up a few years ago and I didn't feel like doing anything at all. After a few days of just doing nothing and being miserable (you know those "everything reminds me of him"-thoughts?) I just decided to try and start something completely new, a new pattern and a new start free from any memories and that actually did the trick. 

If you want to read how other people manage their stitching droughts or take a look at their progress for last month, you can find the link-up here.

As for this months progress, as I said, it is not to much. The first thing I want to show you is my new start, which is also my first Gecko Rouge project! It is called "Sloth" by Eya Claire Floyd. It is rather small with 134x178, so a total of 23 852 stitches. I am working this on 18ct Aida, 2 over 1 full cross.

So far, I did some 2 400 so far and it looks pretty awesome! I can't wait to get back to this one!

Here is what I have so far:

And as a reminder, here is what it is supposed to look like:

It may not look like it, but there was a lot of confetti in the actual sloth, so it took a while to stitch. I am stitching 89 stitches high, which is half of the total height, and hope to get the first quarter done this year. 

The second project I worked on was my Cliff Side Beacon by Dimensions. I took this one on vacation with me, so it got a bit of love. I am now done with the sky now, finally!

I went form here:

To here:

Not much, but every stitch counts, right? I am on a conference next week and I think I will take this one with me, so I will hopefully get some more done for next month.

Another tiny progress I have to show is on my Mill Hill kit called Hydrangeas. I added a few stitches and went from here:

To here:

Last but not least, I currently have my Kreimhilds Revenge on my frame. I only added some 800 stitches, but I plan to continue on her for a few more days and columns.

I went from here:

To here:

Ok, I think that's it for this month. I worked on various things, but I didn't get much done on any of them, so it doesn't really feel like progress. 

Ok, I will get some stitching done now!

Happy stitching =)

WIPocalypse July

Guess what? I am in time for WIPocalypse, yay me! I can't believe it! If you want to see what everybody else has to show for July, take a look over at Measis place =)

I am really happy with this months progress. I managed to get through with my rotation (finally, it only took two months longer than expected!) and I got another page done on Kriemhild!

The first project I have to show is on Wolf Variant by Bente Schlick. It's one of the two project I was still missing in my rotation this year. So it has been a while since you saw it.
I went from here:

To here:

 I added some 2400 stitches to it, I am still working 100 stitches across and this is 200 stitches down (well started, you see the gap). I am not sure if I will continue to stitch down or move a bit more across. I guess I will decide when I pick this up again ;-)

The next one I was working on is Kreimhilds Revenge. I finished page 27, now there is something apart from sky! Yay for the rocks!
I went from here:

To here:

As you can see, we are getting closer to the actual Kriemhild, soe of her dress should appera on page 28 =) I got a bit more than 2100 stitches done on her . I have about 7000 stitches left to do until I reach the halfway point on her and I think it should not be a problem to reach that goal this year =)

The second project still missing in my rotation was QS Paddys Luck by Joanna Bromley. It has been ages since I was working on this, but it is so pretty and colorful =) Iadded two columns/ 1600 stitches and went from here:

To here:

There was an awful lot of confetti in Paddys hat, but now that it is done, it looks amazing =) Since it has not seen any love for so long, I think about finishing the rest of page 2 as well now =)

This already makes a total of 6100 stitches since my last update and this does not include 2000 stitches I did on my map of middle earth (which I am sharing for the GG SAL at the middle of the month). I really didn't notice that I stitched that much, but it makes me happy ;-)

The last project I worked on is my Mill Hill kit called Hydrangeas. I pick this up from time to time and got quite a bit done.
I went from here:

To here:

It is really nice to stitch and goes rather fast. I am doing all the cross stitch and then I'll add the beads and I think it will be amazing once the beads are in =)

I haven't answered this months question so far. It's about showing our oldest and our newest WIP.
Well, my oldest WIP is really old (I don't really know how old it is, I think from 2010?) and far from being complete. It's a Dimensions kit called Paris Market and you have seen it from time to time. It was on the edge to turning into a UFO, over the last year I picked it up more often and I would rather consider it a WIP than a UFO.
Here is what it currently looks like:

I think my newest WIP is actually the Hydrangeas above, I started them in May. But as soon as this blog post goes up, I will have a new newest WIP :D I am finally going to start my first Gecko Rouge project! I have a couple of their kits by now and I became a member of the Golf club in March, so my first gold voucher is to be done in August! And they have so many more lovely designs!

But I guess you would like to see what my newest-WIP-to-be will look like:

I think this Sloth looks amazing and I feel like working with all those wonderful colors =) So I guess I will stopp here and get my needle into this one =)

Happy stitching =)