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 =)

WIPocalypse - Febuary

Well, it looks like it's that time of the month again! Take a look over at Measis place to see what everybody else did this month =)
I had a small surgery last Friday and I am still recovering from it (taking a lot of pain killers and antibiotics) and so stitching has been a bit chaotic since Friday and I am late for WIPocalypse. I am a few days off (like 2) with my rotation, but plan to be back on track in a week or so.

This months question is about our favorite stitch - up to now I am only doing patterns featuring full or half crosses. Now and then I do a few french knots or some back stitching, but I wouldn't say that I have a favorite speciality stitch or so.

As for this months progress - I have lot's to show because I was so bad at blogging this month.

The first thing I want to show is my new start - which is also my first Golden Kite project!
It's called "Crossing the Stream" and it's huge - 990 by 707 stitches (funny thing, I was about to start this and I was sure it was 770 stitches high, so I panicked because of cause I thought that I had cut the fabric to small - and I didn't have any other fabric big enough... Well, in the end I noticed that the pattern was only 707 high, so I have a nice 3-inch-border left!). I am stitching this on 32ct murano evenweave in platin.
This is what the pattern is going to look like:

And here is what I did so far:

The pages on Golden Kite patterns are smaller than the Haed large format - they are 50x66 stitches (so 3300) and this means the pattern has 220 pages, oh my! But I already stitched most of page one (the end of the feathering is the end of page 1) and I did 3417 stitches. This was really fun and I think it looks great already =)

The second week was again dedicated to Kreimhild, I managed to catch up and got from here:

To here:

I added another 1750 stitches to this and now I will get to stitching some more sky... I'm so happy it's the last page of sky... but at least the sky stitches up quickly ;-) Maybe I'll even be able to finish the page in March =)

Next up in my rotation (and this is where I began to screw it up) was Yule Angel by Anne Stokes. I was so close to finishing the first row of pages, I just couldn't stop! So I added an additional day to my week (I was only some 300 stitches short). So I went from here:

To here - first row is done (4000 stitches added!)

In the next row, we will finally see something of the Angel, I think the top of her wings will be visible on the second page of row 2 =)

Right now I am working on my Map of Middle Earth and change projects again tomorrow. I'm going to take out my Sheep in the Meadow with the intention of finishing it =)

I also continued to stitch on QS Trapped for the Haed challenge - I am 300 stitches behind on this but I think it's not a big problem. I thill have 7 weeks for 2700 stitches. I went from here:

To here:

I am quite close to finishing page one and then I will stitch half of the page below to finish the challenge. I managed to add 2900 stitches since you last saw her.

I can only say that I am more than happy with my progress for February, but maybe I will slow down a bit in March. I didn't work on the Cloudsfactory SAL this month, but I will pick it up this week and try and finish the block for February on it.

Anyway, that's all I have to far and I hope to be back in a few days with a finish on Sheep in the Meadow (and some new stash I bought).

Happy stitching! =)

A finish and final update for 2016

Well, this is the last day of 2016, so I want to share one last update because I made some more progress on various projects.

First up is another finsih for 2016, yes, that does happen!! I finished my first Nora Corbett called "Gwen":

Actually, the colors on that picture are quite close this time! Now that she is done I am really happy with her, the beads really did the trick and they were so much fun to do! =) I can actually see myself stitching more Noras! I even found a mermaid I like! Oh my! Unfortunately I am not so good at capturing Gwens beauty on a picture. I will try to frame her and will take another picture then =)

As for further progress, I stitched like a mad girl! I had some time off before Christmas - you know like you have to prepare for Christmas and all the people and so on and then you have to relax from Christmas and all the people and so on :D It's nice to see all the family, but also a bit exhausting, just to many people around. Anyway, I while I had some time at home I hermited and stitched. So here we go:

I did some more work on Yule Angel, I am now at 28 000 stitches:

And I worked on Wolf Variant to finish my goal for 2016 of filling in the 100x160 stitches block:

And I also worked on Starlight, finally! I only did 2 columns, but progress is still progress, right?

So, that's it for 2016!

I plan to try another rotation, at least at the beginning of the year. I want to rotate through all my projects once, so I won't feel bad for not working on something for a year. So I will dedicate about one week to every project and I will work on Kriemhild each month for 5 days to get some progress into her. Once I am done with the rotation, I will decide if I continue with it of go back to stitching whatever I want.

The first project for 2017 will be my annual new year start, so stay tuned for that!

I hope all of you spent a nice time with your family and I hope you will make a good start for 2017! =)

Happy stitching!

WIPocalypse - July

So, it's the end of July already. July was a very busy and exhausting month, I had a lot of work to do at university because the semester is endig now and exams are drawing nearer and I have a lot of people asking questions and so on. Along with that, it was my boyfriends birthday last week and we decided to celebrate it with some friends yesterday. So we spent a whole week planning and preparing and I feel like we can spent another week cleaning the place :D But we had a lot of fun last night, everybody was happy and the food was great. I am still very tired, so maybe this post will be a short one ;-)
Since I started with the Haed Challenge 3 with my Map of Middle Earth, I don't have that much progress to show and the same will maybe go for next month.

First up is Danielle. Last time, very close to finishing page 2:

And now, 2 1/2 pages done:

Absolutely lovey, I love all those colors and I'ma bit sorry that you can't see the sparkles on the pictures!

Apart from that I worked on my Supersized Ride of the Yokia. Last time:

And now, I did another partial page and started to work on the 3 pages above, so stitches are now 40 stitches high and 189 across:

I want to get to some of the detail, so I started stitching the 3 pages above and will try and focus on them next. You can already see the legs of one of the ghostlike animal (?). By now, I am a great fan of the 32ct fabric, I'm looking forward to picking this up again =)

This month has two topics - one is about challenges for the olympic games and one is a half-year goal report. I'm not doing any challenges for the olympics (not really watching them a lot and since I am doing the Haed Challenge, I don't want any more and just stitch what I feel like) and I didn't really set fixed goal for 2016. So I am doing a half year progress report and compare to my thoughts from the beginning of the year (like I said "I'd like to put more work into that") and so on:

First up is Kreimhilds Revenge by H D Johnson. At the beginning of 2016 I had 20 pages done:

There is an actual goal for her - finish row 3 (or more). I did 2 additional pages, 1 full page and a partial (just some 10 or 15 columns) left to do - next time she comes to the frame that row will be done! Especially since there is only sky with way less confetti there =)

Rheingold by Kinuko Craft - didn't touch it so far, maybe I will still get my butt up to finish the page I started:

Yule Angel by Anne Stokes - didn't touch it - still 7200 stitches left to finish the first row. Gotta do that!

Starlight by David Hoffrichter - didn't touch it. It's absolutely on the list of things to go on my frame next - don't have any anticipations or plans for this one, but I really want to get some stitches into it, it's so pretty!

Eternal Promise by Matt Stewart - nope, no progress (did I stitch at all this year??) - plan is to finish the page I started - that should still be possible:

Wolf Variant by Bente Schlick - oh, I worked on it! Still 4000 stitches to go to finish the 100x160 block I started, but I stitched!
Before:

And now:

Now that I look at it, I really want to pick it up again, it stitches up so nicely =)

QS Paddys Luck by Joanna Bromley - I worked on it! I wanted to finish the first page and did that, yay me :D I even made a start on page 2 and I put it on my frame tonight (just felt like it):
Before:

And now:

Danielle by Sara Butcher, I wanted to stitch page 2 or more and I did both, I am 2 1/2 pages in (see above). But here is her at the beginning of the year:

Supersized Iris Keeper by J Wall - big plan is to stitch all of row 1 this year. I'm on a good way (I think).  Here is where we started:

And now - half way through page 3 and I crossed the halfway mark of the page - so much fun to stitch!

Supersized Ride of the Yokai by Ruth Thompson - a new start for 2016 - I worked on it quite a lot :D You can see my progress above. No real goals for that. I said that it would be great to reach the halfwaypoint of my first row, but since I decided not only to stitch the last row of pages but also the above, this is not going to happen. But I am happy with my progress so far and I think I can put in another few xs and will be happy by the end of the year =)

QS Trapped by Melanie Delon - another new start. I wanted to stitch something I bought in 2013 (you know that - by see things, you love them, you buy them and then you don't start them :D gotta do something about that!). The dark colors are giving me trouble, but it's quite pretty: 1 1/2 pages in so far:

Apart from that I picked up my Dimensions projects
Paris Market went from here:

To here:

From an UFO to a WIP :D Love it!
And I even picked up Aurora Cabin for a few crosses, from here:

To here:

I guess I still forgot about a couple of things, but this is most of my progress so far.

Happy stitching =)

WIPocalypse 2016 - January

We had the first full moon of 2016 last night, so here is start up post for WIPocalypse. As last year, Measi is asking questions every month and I will try and answer them.

As it is the beginning of the year, this months task is to introduce yourself, your projects and your goals for 2016.
So this could be a long post.

Lol, I forgot to introduce myself:
My name is Johanna and I live in the north west of Germany with my boyfriend. I am 25 years old and I am currently doing my phd in maths. I have been stitching since 2009. At the beginning this was just another hobby besides knitting but since  2010 I am completely addicted to it. I started my first Haed in 2011 and my collection is growing since then.
Apart from stitching I like to read and then and again I like to crotchet or knit. I recently got some coloring books (fun, but not as much as stitching!). I like to listen to audiobooks or music as I stitch and I am spending way to much time on youtube (flusstube) and facebook (various stitching groups).

Concerning goals I want to say that I don't plan on setting goals on all my projects, the big plan is to pick up all my projects during the year and work on them. I have a few ideas on what I want to accomplish on some projects and I will tell those ideas as I go by. So if nothing further is added, the idea is just to pick it up some time and work on it for a few stitches.

Also I started to track my progress by writing down when I stitched at a piece and how many stitches I did. I will try and continue with that idea for a couple of projects and share my experience at the end of the year.

But now here are my projects:

First up is Kreimhilds Revenge by H D Johnson (Haed). I'm 20 pages in and I plan to do serious business with her. She is my oldest project and I absolutely love her and I really want her finished (this century...). So I plan to stitch at least the four page of row 3:

Here is my start on her for 2016:

Das Rheingold by Kinuko Craft, we are still struggeling. One day my love for this will reappear...I will try and finish the page I started in 2015 (page 5 I think)

Here is where I left off in 2015:

Yule Angel by Anne Stokes, Still just background to show. It's 7200 stitches to the end of the first row, so I'm going to do that in 2016 and perhaps get a few stitches into the second row:

Starting point for 2016:

Starlight by David Hoffrichter, a lot of confetti, but very beautiful (need to pick this up soon).

Here is where I am now:

Eternal Promise by Matt Stewart. I just love Lord of the Rings and hope to make some good progress on it this year. I plan on finishing the page I started in 2015 (page 3 I think) and some more..

Current progress:

Wolf Variant by Bente Schlick, such an amazing designs. I already did some work on it this year. I am currently stitching 100 stitches wide and moving down. I plan to finish the 100x160 block this year (so I fill in the gap):

Starting point of 2016:

And now:

QS Paddys Luck by Joanna Bromley - such a cute design! I haven't worked on this for ages since my Qsnaps are packed with other things, but I hope to get a good bit of it done this year. The plan is to finish at least the page I started (first one).

Current status:

Danielle by Sarah Butcher - I never enjoyed stitching background so much. The colors are beautiful and I love the green leafs. She is currently on my frame and I plan to stitch at least page 2 (on which I am now working).

Beginning of 2016:

And now:

Supersized Iris Keeper by Josephine Wall.My first Supersized pattern (it's was once a tiny little storykeep). She is such a joy to stitch and I want to finish the first row of pages (about 3 pages).

And here we are now:

Last but not least, my newest addition to the WIP pile:
Supersized Ride of the Yokai by Ruth Thompson!
It is my biggest project, having nearly 730 000 stitches. Many of my other BAPs are just one third of this and even Eternal Promise, which was my biggest project up to date, seems to consist of "only" 440 000 stitches... This Journey will surely take some time, I did one page to far (started on first of January). I really can't say what I will accomplish this year. I feel like I need to put in 10 pages or so to finish this one day, but then again I am not yet used to 32ct and I don't want to ruin this for me by forcing myself to work on it. It would be amazing to reach the halfway point on my first row (consisting of partial pages), but if not, that's fine as well.

Here is the first page done:

I have a couple of other project on the go, which I am not including in this SAL (I'm suing them for other SALs and I don#t want to share one and the same update various times a month...)

I will continue working on my Map of Middle Earth, Wolf Kiss and my Candy Cane Santa Stocking as a part on the Gifted Gorgeousness SAL, on which i will update on the 15th of each month.

I will work on my two Dimensions Gold pieces Aurora Cabin and Paris Market during the UFO week (maybe one of them will become a bedtime project). I will update on them at the end of the month or the beginning of the month.

I also plan on stitching a few Mill Hill kits (I finished my first one today but the picture is crappy). I will just pick up the next kit once the current kit is done and then I am stitching what calls to me, so I don't have a real plan for them (can't even say which ones will be stitched).

As for plans concerning new starts... Starting the supersized Ride of the Yokai was a big thing. The project is huge and I need to add another 20 years to my life expectations to get this done. So I will try and not start any more huge projects this year. I will frequently start smaller ones (such as the Mill Hills), but I don't want another BAP on the list. I plan on starting smaller designs such as Quickstitches so I will have a finish from time to time to keep me motivated. One QS I always wanted to do is Trapped by Melanie Delon:

It is 225x190 stitches, so a total of 42 750 stitches. It's in my stash and printed and all kitted up for ages now and I guess it will make it to the frame this year.
Another thing is SK Trick or Treat by Randal Spangler. It was one of the reward charts from one of the freebee SALs (2013?). I have the big version in my stash as well, but this would be a BAP again. So maybe I will go with the Storykeep for starters. It's about 23 000 stitches and I don't seem to have a picture O.o But since I always wanted a Halloween themed project, this one might appear in October.

The big rule for new starts is that they need to have less than 200 000 stitches (so less stitches than the majority of my projects are lacking). I also want to try and start things that have been in my stash for a longer time instead of buying new charts and never stitching the old ones...
Noble Spirit by Jody Bergsma is in my stash and I really love it. With 163 100 stitches it would be fine to start:

Just in case you haven't noticed: I love designs with a lot of blue and purple...

Or maybe Nuakas by M C Escher, I alway wanted a black and white, it's "just" 114 300 and I guess I don't need to mention that Eschers pictures are amazing ;-)

But right now my need to start something is satisfied and those are just ideas(by the way, I got them all in 2013), so I will see what the next year brings.

Phew, that is a long post! I suppose the next updates will be smaller posts :D 

If you want to check out the other peoples post, feel free to take a look over here, you can also sign up your own updates for this month there :)

Happy Stitching!