Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Giveaway Alert!

The Craftbook Project is currently holding a giveaway at their blog.  All you have to do is complete a survey about your craft blog by July 31st and you are automatically entered to win a $100 Michael's gift card! 

I love this contest, because Michael's is the craft store closest to me, so I tend to pop by there as often as I can.  Having a $100 gift card would really go a long way!

Click >>here<< to visit the contest page (with the link to the survey!) and find out other ways to be entered, or visit http://craftbookproject.com

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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

7/26/11 Wild Thing & Cinderella!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  =)  I hope you all are getting lots of stitching done today!

Since I neglected to put up the progress update on Wild Thing yesterday, I'm just going to post it today along with my most recent work on Cinderella.  I'm really loving switching off projects every other week.  I never seem to get too bored with the current project and picking up the other one wish fresh eyes is a nice treat.

So, here is Wild Thing's most recent progress:

*rawr*

Total progress so far
I didn't get the chance to backstitch him before switching projects, so I'll just save that until later.  The next time I pick this up I'll be moving over to the giraffe (so cute!!).

Moving back to Cinderella yesterday was so nice.  I got some of the sky above the castle filled in and began the task of filling in the castle as well.  It's a LOT of slightly different shades of the same blue, so nothing too interesting.  It really took me looking back on the last update I did to see the difference, so I'll post that up here as well:

Progress as of 7/11/2011
Progress as of today, 7/26/2011
As I'm filling in the castle, I realize that I've missed a few 3/4 stitches where the sky and castle meet, but I don't think I'm going to stress about going back in to put them there.  It's literally only 4 or 5 stitches of the light grey color and that area will have some backstitching over it.  If it is noticeable once the backstitches are done then I guess I'll worry about fixing it then, but for now I'm fine with leaving it. 

I'm off to clean house and drag my two children out to the grocery store later today.  Happy stitching!
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Friday, July 22, 2011

7/22/11 Wild Thing


The little lion is coming along nicely.  I got on a roll stitching and got a bunch done on this yesterday!  I was hoping to have him completely stitched by the end of the day, but real life bumped its way in and I had to spend the morning killing ants in my kitchen and deep cleaning the house so the exterminator could do an emergency spray.

Now that all that craziness is over with, I'm going to get back to stitching and get this little cutie done.  I'm debating on whether or not to save the backstitching until the end.  I really enjoy the backstitches and I love the way they make the project look complete, so doing it sooner rather than later may be fun.  I guess I'll just wait and see how much time I have to do it.

No matter what, I will switch back to Cinderella next week so I can work on the castle.  I can't wait to see how it looks all filled in!!



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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

7/20/11 Wild Thing

Not a huge update today, but I'm convinced that if I at least show a little bit of progress then my brain will want to sit down and stitch more. 

Slowly but surely getting there.


I haven't been in the stitchy mood much lately.  It didn't help that yesterday I spent a majority of my morning at the eye doctor with my very uncooperative 5 year old.  Thankfully, she does not need glasses and she can start school in August without me constantly being worried about her vision.  But the appointment was a total nightmare!  She screamed, yelled at the doctors, and would shut her eyes whenever they asked her to look at shapes.  We finally did manage to get her to cooperate but by the end of it I was worn out.  By the time we got home in the afternoon all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and veg.

Today isn't looking too much better for stitching.  We may or may not have company over tonight, so I'm going to be cleaning the house, going to the grocery store with both the kids, and then making dinner.  Ugh!  Need a vacation stat!

Monday, July 18, 2011

7/18/11 Wild Thing

I had a fantastic, fun weekend full of friends and family.  (This update brought to you by the letter "F" apparently!)

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and got lots accomplished.  I didn't get as much done as I wanted, but I kinda figured I wouldn't have much home time so I wasn't totally surprised.

Border complete!
Even though it looks like I missed a part of the wooden border, I assure you it's supposed to be that way.  The panda in the far right corner hangs his feet over it.  The last time I stitched this pattern, I filled that part in my accident and had to do some serious blending to make it look right.

Looks good, but the feet still bother me!
This time around, I'm going to stitch it up right!  LOL  Of course, I sometimes enjoy when slight changes have to be made to a pattern.  Makes it feel more personalized, you know what I mean?

Anyway, I'll probably stitch this design some more this week rather than switching back to Cinderella.  Really gotta make sure this gets done.

Happy stitching everyone!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Still Here

Hey ya'll!  It's been a busy past few days and, unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to take pics of my current progress on Wild Thing. 

Trust me when I say it is coming along nicely and the wooden outline is almost completed.  I've just gotten my invitation for the recipient's baby shower (to be held in 3 weeks) so I really need to get busy.  Even though it can't totally be completed until after the baby is born -since I can't guess his birthday and weight!- I still want to have it done ahead of time.

Look for updated pictures tomorrow or Monday. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  =)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

7/12/11 Wild Thing

I really, really hate putting Cinderella down right now.  It's been so much fun to stitch over the past week!!  But, Wild Thing really needs some attention since my friend's due date is approaching and I want to be done with it before the baby is born.

Got a little stitching in last night:


Filling in the wood outline is so easy.  It's a blended color (one strand of the light brown, one of the dark brown) and all I have to do is fill in the gaps and be mindful of edges.  I was able to get this much done in just about two hours last night.  By the end of this week, I should be well on my way to stitching up the animals!

Monday, July 11, 2011

7/11/11 Cinderella Update

I was supposed to rotate projects to the Wild Thing sampler today, but I had already marked out some stitches on Cinderella last night and had to at least run through some of them before putting it away for a week! 



I was super excited to add some oranges, yellows, and blues yesterday!  The big blobs of blue at the bottom are the beginnings of the rooftops.  I stitched that portion until the thread ran out and that's how I'll leave it until next week. 

Hopefully I can restart the baby sampler tonight, but for now I have some housework to do (fun, right?) before I can do anything else. 

Have a great day!
----------------------------------------------------
Edited to Add:  Just found out about an awesome giveaway the Blue Ribbon Designs is hosting!  You can enter to win one of their Christmas charts FOR FREE!  The drawing will be held later today, so you have to hurry over to the Blue Ribbon Designs facebook page to get your entry in. 

Click >>here<< for the contest page, or visit http://blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com/ for more information.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

7/9/11 Cinderella

My goodness... all this green is starting to drive me crazy!  My husband keeps asking me why I don't just move on to another part of this design, but I'm determined to finish this tree part now that I've started it.



In the bottom pic, you can see the beginnings of the winding road leading from the castle.  Somewhere in there, the horse drawn carriage will be seen!  Really looking forward to that. 

My hope is that I can finish at least the tree on the left before switching projects on Monday.  Of course, that all depends on the amount of stitching time I get this weekend. 

Probably won't do another update until sometime on Monday, so until then have a great weekend!  =)

Friday, July 8, 2011

Contest/Giveaway #5

This is the fifth contest/giveaway post today!  There are so many great contests out there that I just couldn't leave any out.  Please be sure to check out the others I've posted so far.

Along the Paths of Pins and Needles is hosting a giveaway to celebrate the opening of their cross stitch design company called Jaunty Fox Designs!  (Head to their main shop page to get your freebie Halloween chart!)

The winner of the giveaway will win one of these two scissor cases (scissors NOT included):


There are a few different ways to enter.  Two winners will be chosen on Friday, July 15th.

Click >>here<< for the contest page, or visit http://pathofpinsandneedles.blogspot.com/

Contest/Giveaway #4

This is the fourth contest/giveaway posting today.  Please be sure to check all blog posts for information on other great giveaways!

Parsley over at Seasons of My Mind is hosting a "Christmas in July" giveaway!  To enter, you must be a public follower of her blog and leave a comment on the giveaway page (as well as posting information on your blog as I've done here!)  =)

Here's what's in the giveaway:(Magazines and patterns are in used condition/as is.)

Just Cross Stitch Christmas Issues from the years 2007, 2008, and 2010


5 Little House Needleworks Ornies: Gingerbread Village, Cardinal Winter, Bringing Home the Tree, Deck the Halls, and Silent Night

Christmas Pins from Just Another Button Company

A LIMITED EDITION Christmas Bag of floss from Sampler Threads/The Gentle Art including these colors: Cranberry Garland, Heavenly Night, Grinch Green, Wassail, Boughs of Holly, and Christmas Cookie

Winner will be chosen on July 25th.

For all contest information, click >>here<< or visit http://seasonsofmymind.blogspot.com/

Contest/Giveaway #3

This is the third contest/giveaway posting today.  Please be sure to view all blog postings to see all contest information!

Riona over at Oubliette is giving away a chart for Bent Creek's Blackbird Sampler



This is a chart only giveaway and comes with a noble condition:  once the winner is done with the chart, they are asked to pass it on to another stitcher or donating it to a women's shelter or prison.

The winner will be selected on July 10th and informed of their win by email.

Click >>here<< to view the contest page, or visit http://oubliette-riona.blogspot.com/

Contest/Giveaway #2!

This is the second contest/giveaway information posted today.  Please be sure to check the other blog posts for more great contests!!

Feathers in the Nest is holding a giveaway in honor of Caylee Marie Anthony.  I was a huge follower of the case and, although shocked by the verdict, I believe we need to remember that this wasn't about publicity or a family of liars of a little girl who lost her life too soon.

In honor of Caylee, she is giving away a pair of Gingher scissors and a sampler.  There are multiple ways to enter and the drawing will be held on what would have been Caylee's birthday, August 6th.

Click >>here<< for the contest page or visit http://feathersinthenest.blogspot.com

Good luck!

Contest/Giveaway

Awesome giveaway going on over at Purls of Wisdom.  Here's the info:

Happy Independence Day to all our USA readers!

We would like to celebrate this wonderful holiday by having OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY….. Yipee!!!

We racked our brains thinking what would be our perfect first giveaway… it had to be HOT, it had to be NEW, it had to be a QUICK STITCH and if it were a LIMITED EDITION that would be great…. We thought and thought and here it is:


~~LIZZIE * KATE “LIFE’S A BEACH” LIMITED KIT ~~

Giveaway includes chart, 2 buttons, fabric & shipping






Open to all readers of this blog except for family members or employees of The Stitcher’s Market (we have no employees). No information given on this site or any of our other sites will be sold to anyone. We value and respect your privacy.
 
Click >>here<< for the contest page, or go to this site: http://thestitchersmarket.blogspot.com/2011/07/our-first-giveaway.html
 
The winner will be decided on July 9th at 9pm EST, so hurry over to get your name into the drawing!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

7/7/11 Cinderella

Finally back to stitching Cinderella.  I have to admit that it was difficult moving from the 14ct Wild Thing to the 18ct Cinderella and it took me a few days to want to stitch.

Still working on the trees on the left side.  Pretty tedious since there is a lot of confetti, but it's actually starting to look like something now!



There are four different shades of green in there!!  It looks great though, considering that there is no backstitching on this part.  Definitely gives it some definition!

Hopefully I can get some more done on this in the next few days before switching back to Wild Thing.  Gotta make sure that is done with plenty of time to spare!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

7/2/11 Update

Got some more work done on "Wild Thing" these past few days.  I'm really loving working on this project again!


The two solid colors of the wood border are completed, so all that's left to do now is blend them together and fill in the gaps.  You can also see the beginnings of the lion in the top left corner.

I've discovered that I am a bit of a thread snob!  Since this project was previously completed using a kit, I still had some of the Dimensions threads left over.  I am supplementing the leftover thread with the corresponding DMC floss colors.  The difference between the two are are astounding!  The Dimensions thread feels very "hay" like and doesn't lay as flat as the DMC does.  I think I'll just stick with the DMC for the rest of this and maybe use the Dimensions for practicing embroidery or something.

By Monday, I'm planning on switching over to work on Cinderella for a week.  I have got to get that one finished so I can start working on the Beauty and the Beast kit... that I don't have yet... but will buy myself once I'm halfway done.  Oh, Joann's is calling out to me!! Must stay home and stitch!

Have a great Independence Day weekend!  Remember to say a thank you to those who serve our country!  To my little brother Josh (who is completing some training in Texas right now) I love you and I'm so proud of you!