F Word *Does happy dance* Actual F word

I know dancing is a bit of an extreme reaction, but it's so rare that I actually manage an F word (especially one where I'd been stressing about the time frame I'd set myself) that I have to celebrate at least a little bit.

I'm set up for a couple of stitching challenges this month, but then I have a new start planed, maybe two... woo hoo on all front.

Now I can go back to the land of colour and variation!

So close...

The title says it all really, I'm so close. I'm optimistically saying that another week will do it, but I suspect that that's being a little ambitious. I did manage quite a lot last week but Ben was away so it was pretty much all I did in the evenings, plus I had two days off mid-week so I've really flogged myself to get to this point this week, but I'm nearly there, colour isn't that far off in my future, I can feel it!

A bit more

It's definitely growing, I am definitely getting there, I am in no way craving bright colours and wishing that I could work on my other projects. I have rather ambitious plans for this week (I'm always over ambitious, but let's give it a shot), but if I do manage to complete them as I plan then I'll suddenly feel a lot better about getting this finished!

It grows

I meant to post this picture on Monday, but have spent the last two days forgetting, meaning that I am actually a little further on than this now, but it's growing, and that's the important thing, even if the chances of me finishing this on time are practically zero!

Whole sentences have made an appearance

It's growing, woohoo. I've got a month to finish it... ARGH Doomed!

Why do I do these things to myself? I've got 10 lines to do in 8 weeks, the first four have taken me about four weeks. I'm officially doomed! I have prety much immersed myself in it this week and am trying to not work on others things (why do you instantly get a pull from other projects when you've got a deadline?). I reckon I can get quite a lot done then next couple of weeks due to how my shifts and days off fall, after that I need to re-assess and see if this really is practical or if I'm just torturing myself for fun!

I accidentally bought four charts from HAED this week, then I'm involved in a Paine Free RAK event so I've been gifted two for joining in the event, and will then receive a gift voucher or charts from my partner at some point in the month as well... and then I accidentally bought two lovely crochet hooks last night, and was gifted another one on Thursday (although it's now been confiscated until my birthday). Help me, drowning in projects!

New Start

It's a present though, that's how I'm justifying it. This is intended as a wedding present for friends who are planning a relatively geeky wedding. It's We Are Geeks from Paine Free Crafts with a slight modification to tie in with my friends tastes!

Went to Yarndale today, has a fantastic time, so many pretties! Next year we've decided that we're going for both days!

Bits and Bobs

So, firstly I've manage to finish the second page of Family Values, and the page really came together at the end, especially the scythe, I really wasn't seeing that until right at the end.

Secondly, excuse the gratuitous boob shot, which, now that  type it probably isn't the thing to type on something that could be searched by google, but now the idea of someone searching that and ending up here is amusing me so it's going to stay in. Also excuse what is an incredibly unattractive photo of me. Anyway, I'm learning to sew. I'm trying to make a costume for LFCC but I've never made things in my life. I bought a pattern, got it out of the packet, stared at it for a while then put it back in the package and messaged a friend who is good at sewing, she is not teaching me to follow the pattern. This is a mock up of the top, it's the wrong fabric and too small, but it's tailored and I'm proud of that fact that, with her help, I actually managed to make something of sorts.

And finally... when I started this year I said that there wouldn't be any new starts but gave myself a couple of get out of jail free cards. These were mostly gifts for other people, but also included two designs that I knew had been sent to charters and so I was just waiting for them to be released. Typically they were both released in the same week and I'm now officially doomed. Here's my first of these starts. Heroes and Heroines, Supersized by Aimee Stewart and charted by HAED. It took me quite a lot of staring to work out what this is, it's pretty much nothing but bookshelf, there isn't really any picture in this page.

Progress of varying degrees

 So, Family Values is progressing, little stitches fill in the blanks now, so it's coming together quickly, but at the same time this last bit seems to be taking me ages and I really don't know why that is, so I'm still working on it. However Heroes and Heroines Supersized was released today, so I need to finish that page off so i can start my new project.

In other news I was at the Crafty Kitten stitching retreat this weekend with the lovely Angie from Miamina's Musings, Dawn from Crafty Kitten, Sarah from Paine Free Crafts and Eileen from Thread Pickerz and many other people, but they're the only ones that I can reliably link to. We had a fantastic weekend, but I didn't achieve quite as much stitching as intended due to spending far too much time talking instead but here's what I did achieve. I carefully set her up so that I wouldn't have to count at an point during the weekend, so at least that went well.

Actual change

I didn't have as much time as I was hoping to this week, I've been getting distracted by other projects. Been working on my crochet and a dress pattern has been calling to me... actually it's not calling to me, I'm a tad scared of it, but I will manage it (with a little help from a friend maybe), but anyway, here is my progress this week, and there is an actual difference this week. I'd like to say that it'll be finished by next week, but I don't think I'll have much time this week. There will be something to show though!

Spot the difference

There honestly is a difference from last week, although you have to look quite hard to spot it. I'm not really sure where this week has gone. I'm hoping to have a bit more progress to show next week.

I did have a slight panic about the curve at the bottom of the D this morning, but I checked the picture and it's right, I should have trusted Sarah.

More than I expected

Considering how little time of spent on this this week, I'm surprised that I actually have so much growth to show. Mostly due to a couple of hours on Friday morning. Again, loving how fast tenting stitches up.

My C is still looking a little bit like a E, but it's improving, couple of weeks should have this finished. Maybe even one week if I really get down to it, but I'm not sure whether that will happen.

It's back

I love Family Values, it took me quite a lot of will power to not make it my main focus piece, the only reason I didn't is because Dragon Rider is intended as a gift, so I figured that I ought to work on that the most.

This is tented, so it's stitching up really fast, which is always nice, and you can already see this page coming together (if you know what you're looking for. You've got the shape of the I S and C appearing. I did have a brief panic that the C was starting to look suspiciously like an E until I realised that it was Death's scythe running through the middle.

Enjoying this one as usual, and hopefully it'll only be a couple of weeks for another page finish.

Second week of stuff to show

So, second week in a row I've had quite a productive week and actually have progress to show. It's like magic, I'm actually finding time to stitch! Anyway, first off is Brave by Cloudsfactory, stitched 2 over 2 on 28 count from Polestitches, I think the colour is called Silver Lining, but I'm not as certain as I'd like to be on that. It was lovely to stitch, although the metallics drove me a little dotty, but Cloudsfactory charts are always lovely, simple little stitches.

Second up I have my new project that I was teasing about last week.As it's now actually starting to look like something I can show it off a bit more. This was a bespoke chart done for me by Sarah from Paine Free Crafts and the image is called Family Values from the artist Paul Kidby (charted with his permission). I am quite childishly excited about this project and it has instantly become one of my focus pieces. I went to Paul for permission for a couple of his images to be charted and Sarah's done an amazing job on them, but I just want to stitch so many of his artworks, I can see me going back to him at some point and requesting permission for more of them. For those that don't know the art work I'll put a copy of the image in the right bar so you can have a look!

Technical stuff: tented 2 over 1 on 28 count, which is how I've managed to do a page in less that two weeks!

Page finish, woohoo!

As is often the case, the title says it all, I have a page finish on Apocalypse Princesses, and this makes me happy. Jasmine has eyes and I'm just quite excited by how it's coming out. As I've said many times before, it's when I look at the photo that I see it coming together, it stops being lots of little pixels and I can actually see her eyes now!

The plans was that I would now move onto the Birth Sampler I'm working on, get that finished then move onto Madame, so I got the Birth Sampler out, managed about an hour on that but Madame started screaming, so I'm now working on her. The sampler is out as well, so I reckon I'm pretty safe to get it sorted, but with so many lovely Tilton charts in the offing I just couldn't resist! Happy stitching all!

Nearing a page finish!

No progress on the new starts to show this week I'm afraid, but I am making plans. As I was close to a page finish on the beautiful Apocalypse Princesses it made sense to go back to this, and I think I've only got one week left to hit my page finish. All there is to do is finish off her face then the rest of the background, and there's only one colour in the background so hopefully I can potter through the mindless stitching this week.

After that I've got a present to finish, Animal Fayre, which I have been vaguely working on but always forget to post because I never have it out at home, it always goes to craft group with me instead. After that my plan is to get back to all my lovely new starts that I showed my initial progress of last week. I'm very excited about showing some actual shape and colour in all of them, as I'm aware that all of last weeks pictures were a bit grey and shmush.

In fact, even as I type that I've just realised that I only actually posted two of my pictures last week, so here are the second two.

So, here are my other starts. Firstly I have Le Pas Du Sucre, which is probably the one I got the most progress on last weekend. I'm tenting over 28 count, which is probably why I got the most progress on this one. I was surprised by this page, the colours in this are really vibrant, so I didn't expect that I'd be working in black and navy, but I'm sure that it'll get brighter as I move further in to the centre.

Secondly I have Our Seasons, again a lovely colourful chart, but I started in the colour where everything was dark. This one is a major confetti fest, so I suspect that progress will be pretty slow. But again, I'm tenting on 28 count, so that does mean that my progress is faster than when I'm doing full crosses on 25 count. Wish me luck. I now have so many WIPs that I struggle to work on every one in a year. There's a chance that I have a problem. Especially as I'm waiting on two other charts to be released so that I can start them as well.

My name is Kim and I am a Start-aholic!

Did someone say new start?

 The titles says it all really, some fool (okay, that may have been me) suggested a new start SAL on the Tilton page on facebook, and as it was my stupid suggestion I was punished with being told I had to more than one start... but first things first, here's my progress on Apocalypse Princesses, Jasmine is coming together, you can see her face now. give it another couple of weeks and I might actually be able to say I've got a page finish. All I've got left if the confetti on her face, all the background is the same colour, so I can enjoy mindless stitching once her face is done.

 Secondly I have my first Tilton new start, In Her Room by Yuu. It doesn't look like much I know, in fact from the photo you can't really see anything other than the black, however the bottom left was some which stitching and some shading between the white and black. There's so much that I love about this design, the fact that it's a day and a life all at once. I know it's been done before but I still like the metaphor. However I'm also aware that at the moment it looks like neither a day nor a life, but it will, and it's lovely!

Secondly (although I actually started this one first) is Madame by Victoria Frances. She's a little creepy, but I really like her. Again, I'm aware that she doesn't look like a she at the moment, never mind a she, but she is lovely. I really enjoyed working on this one, and she doesn't look like she'll be too confetti heavy, because the chart is mostly shades of grey there aren't as many colours as you normally get in charts of this size.

There are two more starts planned over the course of today, one already started and one to be (see, four was my punishment), but I don't have photos of either of those, so they will probably appear in here next week.

Happy stitching all.

Finally!

I've finally finished the sword hilt, there was so much confetti, I don't even want to admit to what the back of that bit looks like, and I don't normally care what the back of mine looks like, because you don't see it, but even by my standard, it's dreadful!

Loving working on this, after a couple of weeks of fighting through that bit I'm suddenly seeing progress again. I picked up a block of colour again (the pale blue of her headdress) suddenly it's moving forward!

Hoping to have a productive stitching week next week, so hopefully I'll actually have progress to show over the next couple of weeks. I may have also been responsible for a Tilton Crafts new start Stitch Along next weekend so I'll be starting something new next weekend, in fact as it's my fault that people are doing this I'm getting pressured to start several as punishment for putting such an awful idea in to people's heads. I've definitely got two in mind, and there are another two that I'm umming and ahhing over, so next weekend could be very dangerous for me!

If you haven't checked out Shelley's beautiful charts at Tilton Crafts then I suggest you pop over by the way, she's got some amazing artists licensed, including Victoria Frances, so have a browse, there are lots of different styles, something for everyone!

Oh dear, startitus

There was a new start challenge on facebook this weekend and I couldn't resist, so I've got lots of pics to show this week, but there isn't much to show on them. Firstly is the continuation of Apocalypse Princesses, I still haven't managed to finish the sword hilt, but I am getting there, and I'm filling in other bits of confetti as I go along as well!

Secondly this is my first new start, this is the 2014 Cloudsfactory SAL, and it will be beautiful. They recommend working on 16 count, but I'm working on 28 count because I had some pretty fabric and it would only fit on it if I worked over one on 28. I love how delicate it's coming out though, and the sparkle is rather pretty! 

And finally, if you can guess what this is I'll be really impressed, although I have added a pic to the WIP bar, so it shouldn't be that difficult, this is the very beginning of Elsa from Tilton crafts, she's so pretty!

A bit of background

I still haven't managed to finish the sword handle, but working on a bit of background means that I do at least have a bit of progress to show this week. I think my progress will slow for the next couple of weeks... we're busy and short staffed at the moment, so it could cut into my free time a wee bit.

Happy stitching all

My first IHSW this year

Least ways it feels like my first International Hermit and Stitch Weekend this year. This  year is whistling past and I don't seem to have had many free weekends somehow, and practically never at the right time.

Anyway, Apocalypse Princesses have come out to play, I didn't achieve as much as I'd like, but at least you can vaguely see what it is. I was hoping to finish the sword hilt (bottom left) this weekend, but obviously that didn't happen, but at least you can kinda make out Jasmine's head.

We were at a little comicon this weekend with friends, and have been invited to a larger one in Cardiff later in the year. The temptation to try and Cosplay one of these princesses is much more than it should be!

Happy stitching all!