A finished WIP!

...Tove Bliss, arrived 11am on 22 October 2008.

Time to dot the 't's and cross the 'i's...

Finished stitching Maggie last night - now for the back stitch, which I really enjoy. The detail in this kit is amazing, but there are none of the dreaded metallics after all (hurray!), although there are a variety of colours and flosses used....here she is before I start!

Lazy day? Lazy weekend!

Only on the stitching front! On Thursday I went to the theatre in Southend as a belated birthday treat - we saw David Essex's musical All the Fun of the Fair, which was much better than we expected and definitely worth a trip if it comes to your local theatre. Check it out here http://www.allthefunofthefairmusical.com/ for more details - the man might be grey these days but he's still twinkly! I also hit Bluewater (now there's a place crying out for a decent stitching shop) on Friday to do some last minute baby shopping, and after a reasonably quiet day on Saturday Daisy had a birthday party to go to on Sunday. She had a great time playing with other people's toys and when we got home she used lots of parcel tape and paper to 'make Daddy's present'.

This all left very little time for stitching, but I did fill in some of the gaps on Maggie and am only left with a few small areas to do before I start the mammoth BS task. It looks so cold and windy outside today that if Daisy has a nap I might indulge this afternoon.

Lazy day today

Suffering with a sore throat and late pregnancy niggles so haven't felt like working on the big project in the last couple of days - have been working on Cul-Purr-It instead as I can curl up on the sofa and feel sorry for myself! Most of the main cat is done, only the ears and the white left on the body, then there's the flower and the BS to do. I love the BS on these cats.

A visit from the frogs last week meant unpicking the top of the head. Then the eyes were in the wrong place....etc etc etc. Fortunately I noticed it before doing too much of the infill. I hate those frogs!

On a whole different note - I saw Coleford (small town in Gloucestershire where I had my first date) on the 6 o' clock news today as it already has it's Christmas lights up. 71 days to go...how depressing!

The end is in sight!

Got really fed up of doing all the fiddly colour changes and blends and half-stitches that seem to make up most of the bottom left quarter of Maggie and decided to do all the black and white areas that I usually leave till last. Seem to have made a great leap forward which has made me feel much more optimistic about finishing her (at last!).

Spot the dog!

Random thoughts...

...can it still be a stitching blog if you're too busy blogging to stitch??

Demob happy!

Just finished work for maternity leave - no wrestling with rush hour for a few months at least. On the downside, I lose my quiet time - that 40 minute slot on the train listening to my mp3 player, stitching away without my darling daughter 'helping' me! The one problem I find with stitching on the train (apart from there being no handy sofa arm to stick needles in :-) ) is that it's occasionally hard to count accurately, particularly on evenweave.

The pic shows how far I've got since Monday, the basic outline of the cat is there.

No progress on Maggie this week, but now I'm off work I have a cunning plan - I'll be digging out my floor stand and stitching while I sit on the birthing ball in the hope that the baby will get into position! Assuming Daisy will let me have the ball as she's appropriated it already....

WIPs

This is Maggie the Messmaker, a huge Dimensions Gold kit that I started in March 2006. This pic is from August 2008, as you can see I'm 3/4 of the way through. Poor old Maggie got put down quite early on while I concentrated on being a mum and then on getting through PND in 2007, but I have picked her up again this year after much teasing from my OH.

I was hoping to have her finished by the time the new baby arrives, but with less than three weeks to go this latest pic shows it might be unlikely! I may get the main stitching done and then I'll just be left with the details and backstitching - and there's lots, including couching and metallic thread which I really hate using. The detail in this is amazing, and there are lots of colour changes and blends as well. Definitely a challenge.


My second WIP is a Margaret Sherry design called Cul-Purr-It, from the Heritage Stitchcraft range a few years ago. I've done a few of her designs and I love the way the backstitching gives a great furry effect - and also the expressions on the cats' faces. This is my 'portable' project that goes with me to work - I stitch on the tube in the mornings and really don't mind the delays!

Let me please introduce myself....

....not a man of wealth and fame, but a 30-something mum of one and a half looking for a way to share my stitching bug with others.

I've been cross stitching for 14 years now - I started by accident when I couldn't find a Valentine card I liked enough to send to a boyfriend! I saw some on the front of a magazine, bought the stuff and that was it...kept the hobby, got rid of the bloke and think I got the better end of the deal! I like Flower Fairies, cats (especially Margaret Sherry) and things that catch my eye. My stash is hidden under the bed (hey, it's supporting the bed!) and latest additions are the new Bothy Threads kit 'Row of Ladybirds' and a couple of ready-to-stitch toys. I try and pick up Nimue kits when I'm in France, as well as some of the lovely Celtic ones you find out there.

New finishes are the Black Medick Fairies from DMC and a ready-to-stitch ladybird toy, a present for my older daughter from the impending arrival.

Ladybird & close up of bib!