Happy Halloween!

Dear friends,

I'm in a very spooky mood. Unfortunately there are no Halloween stitches to show you as I didn't find one that particularly struck my fancy enough to pull me away from my myriad of other projects currently in the works.

I do, however, have some very late photos of our carved pumpkins to show off. DB decided he just had to have a HD Willie G Skull for his and, since we are currently printer-less, I drew one for him. Turned out pretty decent if I do say so myself.

Mine, on the other hand, came straight out of a book. Hand-drawing one was enough!

You can barely see my spiderweb covered front steps, but I assure you, it's terrifying. :-)

If you haven't already, head over to see Jo at Serendipitous Stitching, she currently has a Hallowe'en Trick or Treat Blog Hop going on and it's quite fun! I love seeing all the other participant's Halloween themed crafts. So much inspiration from a bunch of very talented crafters.

That's all for the moment. I can't wait for the trick-or-treaters tonight! I absolutely love seeing all the kids in their costumes.

Happy Halloween my dears!

Happy Day!

Dear friends,
I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I was to see a sudden influx of comments and views and even followers!! I almost fell out of my chair when I looked last night at my growing email inbox! Thank you for that. :-) Slowly I am getting over to all of your blogs to see what is going on outside of my little bubble.
**UPDATE**
Sending tons of kudos and love to Jo at Serendipitous Stitching, for mentioning my fledgling blog on her recent post. If you didn't stop by and see her blog first, and somehow got lost on the world wide web and found my blog elsewhere, please go visit her! It's well worth the stop!
On to the recent updates and, my favorite part, the photos!!
We shall start with the "painting." I honestly TRIED to get a little more done on the paint-by-number to no avail. I retrieved it from its hiding place, away from my DB's prying eyes, only to have him show up home early from work. Attempt no.1 foiled. I did manage to grab a photo of the most recent progress to share with you all. The colors aren't showing up particularly well here. The front of the boat is a dark brown, not black, and there's a lot of detail lost in the bottom left corner. Might have something to do with the fact that I don't have my own camera so you are all blessed with the horrid phone camera photos I'm stuck with. :-)

On the cross stitching front, I also have the completed photo (below) of the "Wine A Bit" design by Sue Hillis. I am absolutely IN LOVE with this design. The fabric provided is, because I'm forcing it to be, enough to make 2 designs although I may run a hair short on thread. More charms will need to be purchased prior to finishing any more of these anyway...

With the wine design finished, I finally picked up my Beauty and the Beast design. This one has been in the works for longer than I'd care to admit, but it's faithfully stayed in the ever growing rotation!

I can't wait to finish this one and get it framed. You'll learn quickly that I am fairly obsessed with all things Disney.
That is all I've got for the moment my dears. Keep stitching and feel free to comment and follow so I can comment and follow you in return.

Paint-by-Number

Dear friends,

I have typically looked at paint-by-number as I did when I was young. As a fun, easy project that ends with a decent picture. Well when you're anal about detail, as I certainly am, it makes for a very LONG project. These little buggers are way more detailed and intricate than I ever thought possible, but with that being said they're a blast.

Originally I was hunting for a Harley-themed cross stitch for my DB. This has turned out to be much harder than I anticipated and has not ended with much success. I picked up this Dimensions Paint By Number since I liked the scene and assumed he would as well.

This seems to be taking MUCH longer than I had figured it would. There are so many tiny little areas that need to be painted in what feels like 400 different colors. With that being said though, I do like how it's turning out so far. The only major downfall is that I'm trying to keep him from seeing it and, with no place to call my own for crafting, that is proving harder than I anticipated. I can't do anything unless he's not home. This has pretty much narrowed it down to the few Saturdays that I don't work in a month. So about every other week. The progress in this photo is as of 2 weeks ago. I can't seem to find the most recent picture so I will upload that one later today.

That's all I've got for the time being. Please feel free to follow and comment so I can follow you back! Enjoy!

Back to Posting

Dear friends,

My sincerest apologies for the long hiatus between posts. I was unaware just how busy things could get around my house. My last update was prior to finishing the Angel of Christmas for my grandmother. I am happy to say that not only was it finished, but also framed and ready for delivery on time!
Now for the bad news. Regardless of the crazy amount of packing and bubble wrapping done, the lovely folks who load and unload bags on a plane managed to shatter the glass at some point en route to my destination. Fortunately the actual project remained unharmed, however dealing with shattered glass in my suitcase was less than thrilling.
This is the finished product! Yay! The first cross stitch I have completed from start to finish. Ever. I am quite pleased with the outcome. (I apparently forgot to take a photo when it was matted and framed. Oops).

I received, courtesy of my mom, a new project from my wish list. "Wine a Bit" by Sue Hillis Designs. This one worked up extremely quickly and seems to have come with enough fabric to make two designs. I'm not yet certain if the thread will be enough or if I will need to purchase more.
I'm hoping to have this one completed and framed by this weekend. I can feel another trip to Hobby Lobby in my near future!

That's all I've got for the moment folks! Please feel free to follow and leave a comment so I can check out, and follow, your blog too!