Well, so that’s the stress of Christmas over for another year

Here’s to hoping you all had as much fun as I and my family did this year, and you all got lots of lovely crafty stash 🙂

I got two cross stitch kits, and of course I’ve already started one 🙂

The one I started is from enchanted needle, which can be seen here. Unfortunately, I left my camera in York when I came home for Christmas, so I can’t show you a picture of anything.

I also got a cat alphabet, which can be seen here (you have to scroll down a bit to see it, it’s the one called ABC Cats, the third one down). I’m thinking that I will put that one on the scroll frame, and take off pokemon, as I have decided that I’m not going to carry on working on it, due to some personal stuff going on. But that means I will have my scrolls free to work on these cats, so it’s not all bad 🙂

I also got some buttons to make, which look like fun. I decided that I’m going to dedicate each month next year to different ‘things’, such as June being a month for me, as it’s my birthday then. July will be Christmas things, and so on… So that’s something I need to think about before January starts! Although it won’t really start until I’m in York again, as most of my things are up there!

Oh, nearly forgot to mention! Frederick was framed and given to his new ‘owners’, and they love him! They have a ginger kitten, and he liked looking at it too! I think that was more for the reflection, but still!

So here’s to a Happy New Year, and may 2014 be craftier than this year!

 

Frederick has been finished!

I’m amazed as well! But Frederick has been finished, and not much later than I had hoped. All that needs to happen how is getting framed. I have a frame to fit it, and since there isn’t enough excess material to lace the cross stitch, I’m using some sticky-backed mounting board, which I got from the local artist store here in Salisbury. But enough talking, here’s the finished cross stitch

The backstitching really wasn’t as bad as I was making out in my head, I just had to get down and just do it 🙂 So happy that it’s finished, and now of course I want to do another couple- one for me and one for an author friend of mine. Her’s will have some modifications to it, which I’m looking forward to making 🙂

So, all that is left for me to do for Christmas is to frame Fred here, and also darn in a grand total of three ends in the other doily for my parents Christmas present, and then that’s that! I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to finishing presents this early before! I’m very impressed with myself, and enjoying the chance to knit outside of the bedroom!

How are your Christmas plans going? All finished, or are you still frantically working on things where no-one can see?

A little bit of everything

So, apparently the best way to get on with backstitching is to just sit down and do it! Who would’ve guessed? So, as you may have picked up, work on Frederick is well underway. I’m still not entirely convinced that he’ll be done by my train home on Saturday, but I have a day tomorrow dedicated to working on him, so hopefully by tomorrow evening I’ll have a better idea. Unfortunately, there is no picture of him now, as he’s downstairs, and I am upstairs.

So instead, I’ll show you some nice yarn

Nice chunky weight yarn 🙂

This yarn used to be a scarf, until I decided that since I never wear it, I should reuse the yarn and make some leg-warmers, since my knees get really cold very easily. The plan is 60 stitches on 5 mm needles, with rib and then basketweave stitch. I think they’ll look pretty good when done 🙂

I’ve also started another doily:

This is about 10 cm long at the moment, so I think it’s about time I made an edging- I would like to make a definite edge this time, rather than just add some beads to the final round. This means that I can’t do any more on it until I check that the other one fits the larger jug, so that’s been put on hold until the weekend, when I get home. It also means that I need to sort out a sock to work on the 6 hour train ride on Saturday, or at least something to do then! Any ideas?

I also need to figure out what to take home to work on over Christmas…should be fun. Are you planning Christmas projects?

Well, I have been busy

I have two new finishes to show you all!

Only little things, but still.

Well, the first one is small; it was decided that the house I’m living in (it’s a student house, there are 6 of us in total) needed a Santa. And because I wasn’t really doing anything at the time, and everyone up here knows I craft, I was somehow roped in to make it. So, here is Santa:

Itty Bitty cork Santa

I think it’s a really cute thing to make with some left-over corks. I have plans in my mind to make some elves, as place markers for Christmas, but although I have the wine corks to make them, I’m not sure if I’ll have time to make them. I do have a couple of long train rides coming up, so I may do them then, unless I’m busy doing something else!

I’ve also finished the first doily for my parents:

I really like it, and hopefully my parents will too :). I’m currently planning on making two now, as there are really only 2 jugs at home we use. This doily is 20 cm across, which I think should be big enough for the larger jug, which has a 16 cm diameter. I will check when I get home for Christmas though, as I’m not a complete idiot  I don’t want to leave these things to chance 🙂

I really need to get on with Frederick now… I only have a week before I go home, and in an ideal world, all the backstitching will be done by them time I get home. Somehow, however, I doubt I’ll get all the backstitching done in a week, so… I’m trying not to think about how much time I’ll have to finish him off when I get home, both so I don’t scare myself and so I won’t relax and not start until I get there!

Are you on track for Christmas gifts?

The Backstitch hill has been started

So, I finally decided to start the backstitching on Frederick. So far, I’ve used two lengths of thread, one black around the books, and the other yellow to write the titles on the spines. Here’s a close up of the stitching done.

Lovely stitching

It’s really difficult to see the yellow stitching on the blue book- it says ‘Garbage Can Guide’. It’s a bit easier in real life, and not tugging the threads so they hide between the full cross stitches helps a bit too. I do think it’s going to look better when it’s done, which will be nice. Hopefully it’ll be finished by Christmas 🙂

I’ve also started a penguin. I have a rough idea of starting an etsy shop to earn a bit of money while I do my PhD. What do people think? Any tips to share with a newbie?

Hope you’re all having a crafty time.

Fred is finally all stitched up

So now there’s just all the back stitching to do! Ahh well, that can wait for another day…

Here he is in all his bookish heaven

Books all stitched up nicely 🙂

I’m not looking forward to all that backstitch, I can tell you! Ahh well, I’ll probably spread it out over all the weekends from here until Christmas!

I’ve also started doing some paper embroidery. I saw this first on One Sheepish Girl, and I really like the idea 🙂 Rather than just do some random pages in a notebook however, I decided to completely fill a notebook with lovely doodles of the thread variety. Here’s my first page

I think it’s pretty sweet 🙂

Does anyone have any kind of idea about what to put in the bottom right corner? Now that I’m looking at this as a picture rather than in person, I’m thinking maybe another bunch of flowers like in the top left. What do you people think?

Well, that’s all from me, I’m off to do some more work on Alex, my crochet teddy bear 🙂

So, Fred didn’t get finished

Unfortunately, I didn’t even finish all the cross stitching on him! I did however, nearly finish. Yeah, I know, not that impressive! I don’t even have a fully up to date photo of him since I’ve packed both my camera and Fred up safely somewhere in the mists of Daddy’s car. I don’t even have a more up to date pic than the one in the last post. Bad Gladerider!

In other, slightly more exciting news, I am today heading up to York. This is currently making me feel a wee bit nervous, the whole going off to Uni (again) thing!

I think I’m gonna have fun though. But it does mean that I’m not entirely sure when I’ll have time to post, at least for a few weeks, while I get settled down into a routine. 🙂

Have fun everyone!

Nearly finished Frederick :)

So now I only need to finish up a couple of the books, and then all the backstitching (deep joys!)

This is where I’m up to now:

Close up of where I’m currently working

You can see that the red book in the middle still needs some more work, as does the green/blue one to the fight of that, and the white one lying down above that. Oh, and the black cross to the left of the green book needs doing in a metallic blend, which I’m going to do at the end. 🙂 Here’s another shot which shows the whole thing so far

All of Fred so far 🙂

There’s a LOT of backstitching needs doing- I think all the books are outlined as well as titled… yipee. And around Fred there’s some, to show off fur lines mostly I think. Ahh well, I’m hoping to get all the stitching done this weekend, and then spend as much time as possible next week just trying to get it done. Not going to be fun, but I’ll try (fingers crossed, I have no idea how insane this plan is right now… ) to have all the backstitching done by next weekend before I go up to York. Wish me luck, I’m gonna need it!

Hope you’re all doing much more fun crafty things 🙂

Fred and a little fun :)

Top row finished!

So, I’ve mostly been working on Frederick this past week, in between having fun and shopping since I’m down in Plymouth. And meeting up with some friends 🙂 And now the top row is completely finished! Well, the cross stitching is completely finished :). If you ignore the missing shelf which goes above it 🙂 Which I am doing. As you can see, I’ve now started the bottom left. There are 7 books here, including the two I’ve started. Hopefully they won’t take too long to do. And then the back stitch… I know it’s going to look pretty damn awesome when it’s all done, but it is really rather boring, so Fred may get put away for a while before I start it. Or maybe intersperse the back stitching with more interesting stuff…after all, it is (hopefully) going to be a Christmas present to my wonderful ex-next-door neighbors (they recently moved into a smaller place).

I’ve also had a bit of a play around with variegated threads 🙂 And come to the conclusion that something a tad bigger would show off the changes a bit better. But all in all, I really like it :). Now I just need to master my mum’s sewing machine and sew these together 🙂 Which will happen when I get back to Salisbury. Hopefully I won’t mess things up too badly…

Playing with variegated threads

Frederick, so far

I’ve had a bit of an up and down relationship with this particular cross stitch piece. I bought the kit off Amazon about a year ago, in September. This wasn’t really the best plan of mine I’ve ever had, since what with starting Uni again and everything that entails, I wasn’t able to work on it all that much.

However, at the start of the summer holidays, I decided to get him out again and see if I could finish him. So he got some loving care and attention until I realised that, what with graduation and then York University coming up, I should probably get a move on with graduation presents (now all finished!) and Christmas bits (still in progress but coming along nicely). So he get put down again.

Now I’ve popped back down to Plymouth for a few weeks to visit friends and what not, I decided to bring Frederick, rather than the Christmas bits. Which of course meant that I needed to take a photo of what he looks like currently. Which I think isn’t too shabby, all in all 🙂

There are a few more books to do next to his head, and then up to the same spot on the bottom. I also still have to do all the backstitch (mutter mutter…), and there’s a shelf above Fred which still needs doing too. But all in all, I think he’s jolly lovely 🙂

And just so you all have another picture, here’s another Christmas card decoration thingy I finished recently

Another beady lovely 🙂

I’m not quite sure I’m so fond of this one, I think the bugle beads (the long ones) need better placement planning, but all in all it’s a nice little sparkly thing I can give someone for Christmas 🙂