I see Beads in my Future...

Just a quick update!

Bluebell's stitching is done now too! Her and Ivy get washed tomorrow and while they dry I will be adding the last of the beads to Nora's letter P my mom had stitched a few weeks ago...I don't mind I love sparkles!

 

I have a feeling I will be beading more than cross stitching this month I also have this to bead:

 

Which is this far along...it could have been done completely 2 months ago if I just did it:

First Finish of 2013...Kind of!

Feels so good to have put the last stitch into Ivy by Nora Corbett this evening! She is done and ready to be washed for beading.

Bluebell is near completion as well, she finally has another leg! I think all that is left to do on her is back stitching and I am hoping to get that done tomorrow so I can wash them at the same time. While they dry Mermaids of the Deep Blue will be pulled out and the beading will be worked on some more!

Before picking up Ivy my Winter Maiden by Joan Elliott got a page done! Just the snow at the bottom of her feet needs to be done. I keep putting her off knowing I have to do her hands 1 over 1 as well. I love the effect, it is just so time consuming! 

My 30 Day Designing Challenge, Day 1

I have been frustrated as of late for my lack of inspiration and motivation when it comes to designing cross stitch patterns. Today as I worked on a pattern I decided that I was going to challenge myself...30 patterns in 30 days. This will give me motivation to finally finish some ideas that are already started and to chart ideas that are in my head.

Each pattern won't be posted until I am 100% happy with the product and if it is something that I would like to stitch myself. Most will be small patterns but I am going to try and get 1 or 2 bigger projects finished.

Day 1, Design 1&2:

Sweet Petites Cake Stands

Ladies Night, Happy Hour

I will be missing a couple of days at the end of the month so some days will have 2 sometimes 3 designs. Feel free to leave suggestions down below for what you think would be fun to do. And as always please feel free to join in on the challenge!

HAED Progress

I managed to work on Cinderella some more. She is farther along than the photo posted below but I had to put her away a few weeks ago before going to Vancouver to visit family. Right before we left my mom bought me 4 HAED charts for my birthday so naturally I had to start one of the new ones last week.

Here is Cinderella:

Ruth Sanderson's Cinderella- Retired HAED Pattern

I actually have one bird completely stitched and part of the other. Just over half way done this third page with a half page below to have 4 near completion.

Here are the four patterns my mom bought plus one I bought myself during the Mother's Day Sale:

Faery 2 by Nadia Strelkina

Dreams of Atlantis by Josephine Wall

Faerie Melody by Ruth Sanderson

Golden Wood by Ruth Sanderson

Mini Fairy Key by Nadia Strelkina

I started Golden Wood the other week. I have over 800 stitches into it. Over the last weekend I put it away so I could stitch on my Joan Elliott Christmas Angle while my mom and I watched season 3 of Justified. Golden Wood is on a huge standing tapestry frame my nan gave to me during our visit. It is the perfect size for most of my HAED I want to do! As you can tell I am a pretty big Ruth Sanderson fan!

HAED Kick Once Again

With all of this spare time again I don't know what to fully do with myself yet! I did start cross stitching another pattern a few days ago. It is Ivy by Nora:

 

I have done a bit more on her but alas, she got pushed to the side when I was inspired to work on a Heaven and Earth Design once again! I ended up pulling out my Cinderella by Ruth Sanderson again and have managed a few stitches into her!

She sure is going to be pretty when done. I am already dreaming about the frame she will go in!

I'm Back!

Since February I haven't been all that productive in my cross stitching life. However after getting into a routine with school and forcing myself to relax when I get home I have managed to balance work and play. School is coming to an end in April, and I am really sad about that! I have met some wonderful people in that class and I enjoy going to class every day.

About 2 weeks ago I sat down and felt like designing a cross stitch pattern. I haven't done that often but I am going to set a goal of designing one per month from here on out. I need to do something creative or else I will go stir crazy.

I love the colors in this pattern. They go so well together and they remind me of spring and tea parties! Each dress has their own personal details. Of course there are beads and Krienik in them, it wouldn't be one of my designs without any! Here they are all stitched up with the beads:

They are stitched on 32 count Mushroom. Very antique looking almost. I will probably put them into a small frame sometime later this month. I just adore them!

Welcome!

Wow! My followers have almost doubled in the past two weeks thanks to the blog party! I say welcome to all of the new faces and thank you for liking me enough to follow me :) In the next few days I will visit everyone's blog and see what you all do for your hobbies!

The past two weeks I have been out of town house and dog sitting for my aunt. When there I don't have access to a great internet connection unless I hook up to her cord, so most of the time I don't bother and I enjoy the brief pause from social media, which is a nice breather. Recently I have also been diagnosed with Fibromylagia, which explains my frequent exhaustion and mind fogginess along with a bunch of other symptoms I have been experiencing over the years. It is nice to finally have a diagnoses but everything just seems to be elevated lately and it makes it tough to complete every day activities such as chores, everyday routines and replying to everyone's posts. I am not ignoring you all, I just find it hard to communicate my words properly so please bare with me over the next few weeks as I try and start feeling somewhat normal again.

Ok onto my latest project....

Mermaids of the Deep Blue by Mirabillia. I am in LOVE with this pattern. I can't believe how quick of a stitch it actually is when you sit down and do it. The colors are amazing in it and every time I pick it up I fall in love with it all over again. Today I managed to get the skin of the second mermaid started and her hair. Hopefully tomorrow I can get it almost done and ready for a soak in the water.

On Monday I start school for the first time in almost two years. I am pretty excited for it, but that means not a lot of time left for stitching. That's ok since it means I am finally getting my life back on track, but it also means not a lot of creative time will be had except for (if I am lucky) on weekends. The plan is to pack a small cross stitch pattern in my purse for those moments that I have nothing to do, so I can do little bits here and there. I haven't decided what kit I am going to take yet. Possibly either Ivy by Nora Corbett or a Stargazer Lilly I want to do on some fabric I dyed myself.

Again thank you for the new followers! I am going to go look at some blogs now :)