Border and Water

So since my last update on Pharaoh's Hound I've managed to finish the sky/moon and get to work on the border. The top is done and 1/4 of the sides, only have the remaining 3/4 to do before the finishing details get added and I'm done. I think this is 10 days worth of work since my last update. The border is full of fiddly little fractional stitches, they're worse than HAED confetti! They also seem to be charted full of mistakes - on the cover of the chart the 3rd glyph down is a different colour on the bottom than I have stitched it, only noticed after I was done and can't be bothered to correct it. Also the little chap 6 down has the wrong colour charted for his arms and legs, I think someone forgot to proofread the chart before it was published!

Worked again on The Wave at the weekend. Lots of water stitched this time. I have now reached the halfway point on the main part of the design, need to do the whole of the right side now and beach at the bottom and sky at the top of the left side now so that means I'm about just over 1/6 done in total.

Cancer Chesterton December 2012

It's been a while since I updated this one but I've finished page 3 (which was confetti hell) and made a good start on page 4 which has some confetti heavy parts and some nice larger blocks of colour, I plan to work on this one regularly next year and hope to get a page finish. So far I have about 10% completed.

Eternal Promise December

Just a quick update this time of my progress on Eternal Promise. Only have the last row of the page to do now for a page finish, then I can make a start of the page that has the top of Aragorn's head on it.

Pegasus and Blue Moon

Well I think the title nicely sums up what I've been stitching this last week. I've made some nice progress on the sky on Enchanting Pegasus, think this update photo shows two weeks worth of work, but it's really coming along quite well. I think the clouds in this look really nice. My other piece has been the 2012 HAED SAL Blue Moon. I have been looking at the progress others have been making on this and they have all got so much done! Got quite a lot done myself the last two days because I finally got to work on a non confetti bit.

Summer Horse

So this week I have been working on my Summer Horse from Permin AKA Sion, got lots more green done in the 5 days I worked on it. Think I have actually worked on it twice since the last photo I took so it looks like I've done even more in the last week than I really have. Nice to do some half crosses as they stitch up really fast compared to everything else. The only downside is that on such a low count fabric it has really poor coverage, not sure what the kit makers were thinking there! Looks even worse in the photo than in real life.

For my weekend project I worked on Little China. The little face on the little kitten is now showing signs of having ears. Might get the whole of his head done soon. Then all I need to do is to stitch the rest of the body before I can move onto the nice bright colours. I figure If I do it that way if I never get round to the background at least I have the kitty fully stitched and that could be finished on its own.

And Yet Another HAED

So as it it once again poring down with rain and I've finally charged my camera battery I thought I'd write the update I was going to do Monday but failed at due to a dead camera. First up to show you is yet another HAED. This one is Wolf Manor by JBG. Started it as a new start in July and have only done about 4 days stitching on it in total so far, the greys and blues have been nice and easy to stitch but the colours in the candle light were starting to drive me crazy, so many colour changes! This was one of the first charts I got from HAED so it's nice to finally see it being worked on. It's stitched 2 over 1 full crosses on 25ct linen. 

My weekend project for last week was the Julie Hasler Unicorn from here Fantasy book. Still working away on all that white, glad I'm only doing it for two days at a time. I find as it's all one colour it looks like I'm making no progress at all on it until I compare photos.

Another Update

Yes that's two updates in just a few days! Last week I was working on Eternal Promise. I thought I would get a lot done as I was off Uni for reading week but I got distracted by video games (and I did do some uni work too). I think I'm only a few weeks off another page finish on this. It's looking really good when you look at it from a distance, still looks a mess up close though!


I also got some work done on Call of the Unicorn over the weekend. Still working on lots of very bright pink, getting close to half a page done now, might start to see some of the Unicorn soon.

An Update - and a Finish

So life has been pretty hectic since returning to Uni, between work, lectures, training and assignments I no longer actually seem to get a day off now! I have still been managing to stitch and have even managed a finish! Monty, the little cat is all done. He's the 3rd in a series of 6 so I've move straight onto number 4. Will try to post some more updates of other projects soon (but don't hold your breath!).

Eternal Promise Oct

So only one update this week as I have done next to nothing on Blue Moon over the weekend. Did manage to put in  about 500 stitches on Eternal Promise. More done on the trees would like to be done with the trees now. Lots of colour changes, lots of greenish, brownish grays for this part.

Pegasus September Etc

Update of the day number two. I have been working on my Pegasus again last week. Nice chunk of background done, lots of pretty colours. Some time consuming blending of colours. While I have manage to get a nice chunk done it has impressed on me just how much more I need to do on the background before the piece is complete, even with it being half cross it seems like it will take months and months to get it done.

I also did some more work on my Little China. Didn't get much done this weekend as was playing with horses Saturday and playing with weapons on Sunday. Did manage to get the eyes finished so it looks a lot less creepy now, and they're a really pretty colour.  

New Start!

So as promised I'm finally updating with my new start. I was going to do this last week but spent so long re-enrolling for Uni on the Monday I never had time to do it. Will do a separate update for the stitching I did last week as well as this one (so much easier to add pictures into two posts and get them where I want them!). My new start is Little Partners Reunion based on the artwork of Chris Cummings by Needle Treasures. I have the partner design for it too but I only got this one a few weeks ago and it was easy to get to.

Sunlit Horses Finished

I have another finish this year. Go Me! Managed to get my Dimensions Gold Petite kit Sunlit Horses finished, evil back stitch, french knots and all. The back stitch took me a lot less time than I thought it would. Wish I could remember when I started it. Possibly March 2011, but that is as far back as my stitching calendar on my PC goes so might have been started before then. Would estimate it was 10 or 11 weeks work to complete. This finish means I get to reward myself with another new start. Horses again this time will reveal all in a future update.

Eternal Promise and More

It's a bumper crop of updates this week. First up is my Eternal Promise HAED, which has now been re-released as an even bigger chart. Quite upset about that  - If I had known they would eventually release it again wouldn't have paid out for the expensive original! Although on the plus side the old one is considerably smaller meaning I might actually finish it at some point. More work on the trees and I see lots more trees in my future for this one. It looks really pretty now but just appears to be a crazy mishmash of colours when stitching. As it's been a couple of weeks since my last update I have managed to work on another HAED. I have been working on Severeielle for about 3 weeks out of the past 18 months or so. She's big, 63 chart pages. Not sure about the  colours in it yet, they just don't look right all pinky colours where it looks like it should be greys but I'm hoping they will blend more as I stitch more. 

I also have two weekend projects to update, Little China and The Wave. Little China - the kitten's face is beginning to take shape now, might get some eyes soon. Just looks a little spooky at the moment. The Wave - it's been a wile since I updated this one, I've worked on it twice but still doesn't look to be much progress, mostly just more blue. Hope to get the main part of the left side done soon, then I'll be about 1/6 done on it. Yay! Double yay because I've managed to juggle this update and the farrier(who arrived halfway through writing), should really go out and see how he's doing... 

TUSAL September

Right then first post for today is my TUSAL update. Think this was supposed to go up yesterday but not added anything else to the jar since then so makes no difference! Some how it looks like I have less again than last month, even though nothing has been emptied out! Obviously I don't waste enough floss! Hopefully I'll find the time to get my stitching update posed as well, sometime between dealing with the farrier and cooking dinner - and I thought only working 8 hours per a week meant I should have loads of spare time. So much for my last week of freedom before Uni starts again!

Body! And Legs!

Two projects this week, both of which I did not update after the last time I worked on them so this is two months progress not one. I should do this more often as it makes it look like I've done loads! First up is Enchanting Pegasus. Not only have I now managed to start and complete the main body but the legs as well. Even made a small start on the background. Most of what is left to do on this now is all half cross stitch so might come along a bit quicker now.

Second project of the week is SK Blue Moon, the HAED SAL piece. Another row completed this week. Odd mix of larger blocks of colour (on the right in the moon) and insane amounts of confetti (on the far left, by her arm). Not sure I could stand to work on the detail of this one for more than a couple of days, driving me a bit crazy!

Pharaoh's Hound

I only managed to work on one project last week - Pharaoh's Hound. I haven't made an update post for this one for a while, think I was busy after I had been stitching on it every time. This update comes after an extra three weeks of work, which is quite embarrassing as I think many people can do the same amount in about 3 days. I only have to do the blue bits round the moon before I can start work on the border and use colours other than blue!   

Kitty has a Face!

This past weekend I have been back working on my Monty cat kit. Kitty now has a face! And a body! lots of white on white for part of his chest so for most of Saturday felt like I was making no progress at all whenever I looked at it. Only after adding the other colours on the chest did it start to look and feel complete. Just need to do the flowers/greenery/butterfly and that dreaded back stitch before I'm done and can start the next in the series.

Earlier in the week I worked on a HAED I started a while back. It's half of a chart called L'Amethyste and Motley. I plan on stitching this design as two pieces rather than one. At the moment I'm working on the Motley half of the chart. I have include a before picture as well as a picture of where I am now. A lot of the background has a mosaic tile effect. Makes for very hard work as there is lots of confetti, the colours are just scattered everywhere. Looks really good stitched up though. 

TUSAL August

My TUSAL photo for August. Back ground for this month is my fleecy leopard print dressing gown thing (I'm a Manic Street Preachers fan - owning something Leopard print is almost compulsory!).
Managed to drop the jar on the floor earlier this week, seems like I have less in there now than I did a month ago now!

Back Again

Been MIA for the past few weeks to to being away/not around on a Monday/not having anything to show but I'm back again now with an update on a couple of projects from the last week. First up is my latest progress on Eternal Promise, my Lord of the Rings HAED. Have most of the border on page 2 done now and working on the trees. Lots of colour changes going on here, feels as if no progress is being made as there are no big blacks of colour but comparing it to last month's update have done more than I thought. Don't think I'll be making as much progress next month as I'll be playing LOTR rather than stitching it. The new Riders of Rohan expansion comes out next month for the Online game, complete with mounted combat so stitching may have to take a back seat for a while.

My latest weekend project has been the Unicorn cushion design by Julie Hasler. Still just stitching the white on this one. Think my tension mush have changed or the white floss I was using thinner as my coverage doesn't seem to be as good this time round, but I'm sure it will sort itself out once washed. 

So Close

Getting very close to finishing all of the half cross stitch on my Sunlit Horses now. I've worked on this one twice since the last update but didn't get a lot done during the first week. I did manage to get a lot done last Monday when my Lord of the Rings game was down for maintenance. I think I'd get a lot more stitching done if I didn't have my game to distract me! Pleased to be nearly done with he stitching, less pleased with the prospect of all that back stitch...

I also manage to work some more on my Call of the Unicorn. Still enjoying this chart more than my Mystic Stitch as it has normal symbols. So far everything on this chart has been very pink and purple - very bright colours without the kind of shading you'd get from a HAED. I'm hoping the shading will get better as I get onto the center of the design.  

TUSAL July

Just a quick update for my July TUSAL. My honey jar is starting to look a little more full, think it will be a couple of years before the thing is full to the top tough as this is about 6 months worth of ends now and I haven't even started squishing them down yet! July's background: the landing banister - overlooking the cottage garden.

Another HAED

Time to introduce another HAED that I have been working on - QS Lavender Venice Night by Ching-Chou Kuik. I Started this one a while ago. I think I had done 3 weeks of work on it before I came back to it last week. Managed to get a lot of this one done as it stitches up really easily. Love the colours used in it, so pretty! Have included a before and after picture for this just to see how much progress I have actually made. Think this is now about 9% complete.

For my weekend project I was back to working on my Mystic Stitch Cats, Artwork by Jeff Spackman. Finally reached the bottom of the page on this one. Still finding the chart just made up of letters quite hard going. You have to be so careful to keep looking at it closely to not miss a stitch, hopefully it will get better once I move off the dark blues that are just randomly jumbled together and on to the bits that actually look like something!

Another (Tiny) Finish!

Yes, I have managed another finish! I went to London in the middle of last week to see Marilyn Manson play at the Brixton Academy. When I go away I take little mini projects with me to stitch on the train or in my hotel in the evening. The project for this trip was a little Heritage kit of a bay horse ( I think it's just called Bay Horse or Bay Pony). I managed to get most of it done while I was away so just finished the last few stitches and the back stitch once I got home so I have another finish to add to the pile.

I also worked some more on my Eternal Promise, but there is not a lot to show on it due to my being in London. I managed to get 400 or so stitches in while I was at home which hardly looks like anything. Over the weekend I put some more work into my Blue Moon SAL piece. I've now done 12 days on it and have somewhere over 1600 stitches, I'm not sure exactly how many as I only count completed 10x10 blocks. It doesn't sound a lot but it's over 7% complete.  I think I only have 3 HAED WIPs that have a higher % complete. These small charts really do make you feel like you're making progress!

A Finish!

Well it's only taken until July but I finally have my first finish of the year! My weekend project for this week was a banner from Dimensions  - Friends make life Purrfect, something I've been for at least a year and a half. Only had the back stitching to do this weekend - plus those dreaded french knots and a little bow. even managed to roughly finish it and attach it to the hanger that came with the kit.

Having completed my banner I worked on another UFO - Monty  from the Cats and Kittens series by Dimensions/Tootal Crafts British Collection. These kits are eBay purchases of mine - I've already completed two and have three more in waiting. The kits are old - from 1993 and the charts look hand drawn, some of the back stitch on this chart is really hard to see. Will be fun when I get round to doing that!

 Earlier in the week got to do some more work on Enchanting Pegasus, it's been a while since I updated this one so progress pictures are after about 3 months of not updating. Finally have the head and wings done, now for lots of larger chunks of colour in the body.

June TUSAL

Just a quick update as I think it is about time for a TUSAL update. May have missed one or two over the last couple of months but don't think I've done enough stitching to make a difference to my jar. 
This months background is my rather ugly carpet. Need to start finding decent places to take these pictures.

Normal Service Will Resume Shortly

So I know I've been neglecting my blog over the last few months. I was away at the end of April to see Placebo and again the next weekend for reenactment and never got back into posting afterwards. I think it has something to do with the  fact I only ever update on Mondays and the last few weeks has seen me busy on just about every Monday. That and I've been so busy I have had nothing of note to update on. Hopefully will have a lot more time on my hands after next week for more stitching. This week I only have the one update for you - my latest progress on Eternal Promise.

As I don't have much else to share I thought I'd include a couple of pictures from my trip to Edinburgh Zoo while I was away in April.